#$*&#^@#!!

Gahhhhh. So outraged....

Since I am stupid and clumsy, I dropped my external hard drive in class today. The same external hard drive where my entire iTunes music library, various photos, documents and lyrics, and other important things all reside. Now, it can't be read by any computer. Not going to lie, I'm really depressed about this.

I contacted this one external HD place in Michigan, and they should get back to me either tomorrow or Saturday. I really hope they can recover my data, I'll pay anything.

Hopefully, 6 Flags will help me get happier. Gotta conquer the Raging Bull, yet again. Wish me luck, folks.

A Few Photos

I feel really accomplished, looking back on my weekend. I managed to get my homework done (and then some), log on a few hours at work, and even save a few of my hungover friends by giving them a ride home. Now, a few photos I've taken from my cell phone from the past few days.

This here is Dave Elkins, the lead singer of Mae. I saw them on Thursday @ Schubas, and they put on a real good show. Quite a shame I didn't get the rest of the band though :(

This is The Fold; they opened up for Mae. I saw these guys in the Summer of '07 in the Metro, opening for Allister's last show. I still think of them the same way I did back then: nothing too good, nothing too bad either. They were all so....frail-looking. And I think their drummer was on drugs.

Meet Gustavo Leone, my music theory teacher. He is probably one of the quirkiest men I've ever met. That's my Mom's guitar he's playing; I brought it in because we were discussing triads and inversions, and we were going to play this old jazz song. Originally I was supposed to play chords to the song, but he wound up taking my guitar and playing it, while drinking his tea. For the entire class.

What can I say? I get happy when I get Grape Fanta, and Grape Fanta get happy when drunk by me!

No, this is not a hickey. It's one of 2 burns I got from work today. The culprit? Hot bacon trays.

I'm At It Again!

I put up another song cover on YouTube. I just had to. I sing this time around! I chose Oasis; for those of you who know me, it shouldn't be any surprise. I guess the fact that I have my tickets made me really happy and eager to put a video up. So, enjoy it! Excuse any mess ups; I tend to do things in one take.



I think, just for fun, I'll put up a new Oasis every week or so until the concert. God, I cannot wait for this.

Shane Is a Happy Camper!

Fuck yes. Thank you, karma.

Not only am I passing comp sci, I'm also seeing Mae with Marta tomorrow after class, at Schubas Tavern. My midterm for Chicago History on Friday won't be as bad as I thought: 20something multiple choice questions, and 4 short answer/essays, so there's a relief. Then there's after school baseball on Friday, then Fright Fest the following week on Halloween! And if that wasn't enough, my Oasis tickets arrived in the mail today; I nearly shit myself with excitement. I'm just letting the euphoria flow through my veins as we speak, and I'm going to enjoy this as much as possible.

I also ate an entire habanero pepper today, and lived. It was by far, the hottest thing I've ever eaten. The taste wasn't bad, but the heat was a different story. It sucked, but at least I can say I did it. Man, that thing kicked my ass.

Bittersweet Week

So today I found out the verdict of my doomed comp sci/java midterm, and I was correct. I had failed. But I missed passing by 3 points! If only I had answered one more (close to) correct response! It's definitely something I'm not proud of at all, but I'll take it. I did the math and considered the fact that my homework is 45% of my grade; if I do a good job on the rest of my homework assignments and do a decent job on my final, I will still pass the class, and I won't have to worry about losing my scholarship! Oddly enough, I'm not as let down as I thought I would be. It's weird, because with the exception of this one, I'm kicking all sorts of ass in my other classes, which is why I'm not worried about losing my scholarship. From this point on, I'm not going to fuck around in that class any more. I'm going to be a java coding machine. Well, I'll try to be.

The rest of this week isn't looking too bad. Sure, I have a midterm in my Chicago History class (I don't have a study guide for this yet because my teacher is dumb and keeps on forgetting to give it out), but I don't think it will be that difficult. I'm also seeing Mae at Schubas Tavern with Marta after class on Thursday. I hope to have some good photos, I'll put them up here. Friday after the midterm is another game of Zips baseball with my friends, and probably a monster movie night at Bianca and Nadia's house. Should be fun!

"You gotta roll with it. You gotta take your time. You gotta say what you say, don't let any fucker get in your way."
-Noel Gallagher

I feel I'm going to be following that advice a lot.

Lord, Don't Slow Me Down.

I've had one rough week, mainly because of insecurity involving my academics. It was pretty much a mix of taking a terrible midterm on Thursday, which I'm sure I failed and the possibility of losing one of my scholarships. I mean, I drank a small bottle of wine that Auntie Sang gave me when I got home; I never drank to get over something before. It was that bad. I won't know exactly what will happen from here on out, but I'll have an idea on what to do when I assess the damage of my midterm, when I get it back on Tuesday. There's so much I still have to do, and I really want to meet any challenges that I come across. But I'm pretty disheartened with how things worked out this week. I haven't been this down in a very long time. Plus, Dad is in the Philippines. Mom is always at work, and Ate Jen is busy with school and doing her own thing. This usually leaves me alone in the house, with more time to think. The more I think about my situation, I get more down. I'm not pleased with myself, plain and simple.

But, there's still that part of me that's still willing to push on and deal. Ultimately, it's up to me and what I can do. No more bullshitting around. I have to man up, and do something about this.

So besides all this damned academic trouble, I had a nice week. On Monday, I met up with Walter at Sally's for breakfast. I was happy to see him again, and we both needed something to get our mornings to start out right for once. Later on that day, my friend Bianca toured me around her South Side neighborhood of Bridgeport. It was for my Chicago history class; I had to visit a neighborhood and visit a local (historical) site of interest, and write a short paper and proved an appendix; I chose to take photos. I chose the Monastery of the Holy Cross. Aside from the one by Talcott and Harlem in Norridge, I haven't seen any other monasteries in the city before. Anyway, the neighborhood was really nice and welcoming. There were a ton of churches in the area. Since I'm weird, I really liked looking at all of them, and taking photos. I even saw the church that Mayor Daley used to attend. I found it cool that she knew almost everyone that we saw driving around; we even saw her sister Nadia and their Dad walking down by the Red Line! After I dropped her off, it took me almost an hour to get home, but I'm just proud of myself for driving down there and getting back, because I'm sub-par when it comes to directions. Tuesday through Thursday involved me being wrapped around my homework, and studying for the midterm. Then I got tipsy after said midterm. Friday, we played some baseball in the student lounge. But it was a huge event; we made up rules specific for the lounge, who the teams and lineups were, and we even had a bullpen! It was funny watching the people walking by the room, to see what we were doing. My team lost by a run, 9-8, but it was a real fun way to round off the day. I even made a Facebook group for it because I'm the Commissioner.

This morning at work pissed me off. I already knew that Ryan took the day off, so I expected that. What I didn't expect was Jazmin, the other opening cashier for Ryan, to be late 2 and a half hours. Opening by myself sounds bad, but it wasn't. I got everything ready efficiently, believe it or not. However, once the doors opened, the people didn't stop coming in. Lines close to the door at 8:30 in the morning was something I definitely did not expect. And to make matters worse, both of my managers were in the back room, making catering orders because they were bum-rushed by a few big ones this morning. So yeah. This got me mad. Then the customers got me mad; a couple took 18 of my bagels (I didn't have many to begin with) and one asshole wanted me to pretty much make his entire meal for him, in front of him and the fucking line. Combine that with a few texts from my Dad talking about school (he spoke with Mom this morning, apparently) and the fact that the line never seemed to calm down, and you got yourself one irritated Shane. PLUS, I had to train a new cashier. Fuck. It was so bad that I just had to request to leave early. Thankfully, Robin came in right when I was about to snap, and she let me out early by an hour or so left in my shift. I hope tomorrow isn't as bad as today was.

And now, a photo to lighten the mood.



Not going to lie, this photo made Walter's and my mornings.

I pray to God my week(s) get better. And that the Bears win tomorrow.

No Mas!

Just thought I'd run through an entry with some bullet points today, due to my music theory homework being mentally draining. Here we go...

-Dad leaves for the Philippines again next week. We had a nice Italian lunch featuring kick ass tiramisu, pasta, and really strong coffee. No wine though :'( Lame, I know, but it was still very enjoyable.
-Saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua and ate at Chuck E. Cheese yesterday with my friends. You know, the ones I go to school with. In college. Needless to say, the movie was better than I expected (still kinda horrible though, and for a Disney movie, it's pretty downright racist and awkward for the majority of it). But still, the usage of "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias single-handedly saved this movie...I think. Also, we won over 1,000 tickets at the place where a kid can be a kid.
-I'm getting sick and tired of midterms, despite doing fairly well on them. I still have one more in my Java programming class Thursday. Gaaaaah
-Currently, the Tampa Bay Rays are down 1-0 in the series, but they have an 8-7 lead over Boston in the 8th right now. Come on, I don't want to see those evil bastards in the World Series, again! But then again, the Rays kinda don't have a loyal fan base...just a bunch of bandwagon blowhards with cowbells.
-Walt came back down to visit for the weekend, which was a nice surprise. We're fixing to have some Sally's breakfast on Monday before our classes.
-Check out the new Motion City Soundtrack vid. Justin Pierre looks like a trendy Jesus.


"Fell In Love Without You" video


That'll be it for me. Gotta practice for my guitar lesson.

Money Well Spent

A few hours ago, I purchased myself 2 tickets for Oasis. They're playing in December and Ryan Adams & The Cardinals are opening for them. Ticketbastard pulled through for me for once, and found me floor seats, so I'm pretty fucking stoked for it. Now the tough part is going to be choosing someone to go along with me. By the end of the month, I'll collect a bunch of names, put them in a hat, and draw.

I've been on Fall Break since Monday and today, so I did a bunch of errand running yesterday. I cruised down to Lincoln Park to the Guitar Center, to get new sets of strings. I went into the acoustic guitar room, and played this:



Needless to say, she sounded great. The only problem was that she was over $4000. Yeah. Maybe when I'm old and rich.
Getting back to the money well spent theme, I bought Rise Against's new disc, along with the new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul. I still have to get through them both in their entirety, but I'm really digging the new Oasis a lot. I can't believe it's been three years since their last tour, which means my sister's cotillion was three summers ago....sheesh, I'm getting old!

Anyways, I'm pretty sure that by the end of October, I'll have no money because I would go and spend it on music....like Unearth's new CD and the Between the Buried and Me CD/DVD of Colors. A sample from YouTube:



Oh my God, I cannot wait for this. October's going to be a busy month, with two shows (Mae and The Roots w/Gym Class Hereos and Estelle), two more midterms, and holding down the fort for Dad while he goes back to the Philippines for business. Can't slow down now, just have to keep on pushing!

{EDIT} By the way, my new RAM on the laptop kicks so much ass, you have no idea.

L.G.F.U.A.D

Well......looks like I, along with the city of Chicago, will have to wait yet another freaking year for the Cubs to earn another shot at the coveted World Series. I'm not even going to talk about this year's NLCS vs. the Dodgers yet. It still has to sink in for me. I'm afraid that once it does, I will be pretty bitter; to be honest, I'm quite calm at the moment.

I'm just so...heartbroken. As Cubs fans, we have pretty thick skin; we get trash-talked and ridiculed on a daily basis. We normally fire back, take it, or let the team do the talking. But their performance in the entire series was....embarrassing.

The good adage of "We'll get them next year" will forever be our mantra, until we get a World Series title.

And on another note, I've been single for 2 years, and counting. I hope to end that soon.

The Unit!

Well, I'm not going to lie, I need something to do to keep my mind of this terrible playoff game that the Cubs are giving to the Dodgers right now, on a silver platter. Last time I checked, it was 7-0, bad guys (EDIT: Yep, we lost. Fuck...). Alright Harden, time to step up on Saturday, strike out a dozen batters or so, and remind our infielders that they do, indeed, play for the Chicago Cubs. Reminding them to remember how to field a ground ball or execute a 6-4-3 double play again wouldn't hurt either. In fact, that would be great. Time for our last stand!

Like I was saying, I need something to do. So, I've decided to profile my family and yours truly. Thought it would be a nice (cheesy) dedication.

Dad, The Old Block


Wow, I totally forgot about this photo. This was taken at the family reunion in early 2006. Probably one of the best ones I have of him! By the way, he gives Dusty Baker a run for his money when it comes to chewing on toothpicks. He's always there to give me some quick and insightful advice whenever I need it.

5 Random Facts:
-Dad moved to the US when he was 17, and graduated from Senn HS.
-He is well-versed in Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel comics.
-He will OWN you in poker, enough said.
-His favorite bands/artists consist of Queen, The Eagles, Journey, Regine Velasquez, and Gary V.
-He's a huge night owl. I've heard him sing opera songs as he cooked breakfast around 3 AM, which tasted amazing.

Mom, The Superwoman


There's one simple statement when describing my mother: she is the hardest-working woman I've ever seen in my life. She puts a ton of effort and dedication to work and to her family. She also makes being in her early 50's and looking like her early 30's look easy. This photo was taken in Austria, I believe.

5 Random Facts:
-One of her favorite hobbies is gardening.
-She loves The Bee Gees, ABBA, and The Carpenters, in that order.
-She makes the best eggrolls, ever. I really mean ever.
-She hates cream or sugar in her coffee.
-She is the eldest sibling, in her family of 9 brothers and sisters.

Ate Jen, The A-Lister Sister


A lame title for her, I know. But it works. Though she's a year older than I, we pretty much function on the same level; we're closer than a lot of people thing. She can be plain goofy at times, and she's an extremely hard-worker; also, a better piano player than I.

5 Random Facts:
-She's extremely artistic, and can sketch pretty much anything.
-Her favorite TV show is Prison Break.
-Her favorite Cubs player is Geovany Soto, though she loves the entire club, especially Henry Blanco.
-If nursing wasn't her thing, she would gladly train to be a chef.
-A poem of hers, that she wrote in grade school, was published in a book- a collection of poems.

Me, The Chip


I love Italian Beef sandwiches.

5 Random Facts
-I shoot pool and play tennis left-handed.
-My favorite band of all time is Oasis. I'm mad fer it!
-Raw cookie dough is the key to my heart.
-The guitar I use for class is a Garcia classical guitar- my Mom's engagement gift from my Dad!
-Noel Gallagher is my idol.

*phew* That took a while. Now, excuse me while I try to get over the Cubs losing Game 2. But I will be back!

$700 Billion Dollars & The Playoffs

So, my goofy self found my way into a featured video on the Loyola website. These people were going around, asking us what would we do for $700 billion dollars. A bunch of different people gave out pretty interesting answers in this; I'm towards the end of the video, making a short but sweet appearance. I still can't believe I sound like that...anyways, here's the link to the video:

http://webapps.luc.edu/ignation/video_detail.cfm?id=1231102155

About the playoffs, I was unfortunate yesterday, seeing that I had to work. I got text messages every twenty minutes or so, telling me everything that went on during the game. But when it was confirmed that the Cubs dropped Game 1, I wasn't myself for the rest of the evening.

But I bounced back; I kicked my Music History midterm's ass, despite only studying for it for a little over 3 hours over the span of 3 days.

Getting back to the playoffs, I'm looking forward to have Big Z on the bump against the Dodgers. The Sox aren't looking good at the Rays at the present moment (I mean, Evan Longoria has been 3 for 3 with 2 homers for crying out loud), so I could care less about it. I've been neutral the entire time, until both Chicago teams are in the World Series. It's been extremely difficult so far. But, you better believe I won't be so neutral when it happens. But, to get there, we gotta dig in and play some kick ass baseball. Let's go Cubs *coughcoughandSoxcoughcough*. Let's make Chicago explode. Honestly, how awesome would a Red Line Fall Classic be?! I think it would be better than the '85 Bears, the '05 White Sox (not that I really cared about that too much), and dare I say it......the Bulls Dynasty of the 90's!

Think about it...but we have a long way to go.

EDIT: Both Chicago teams are now down 0-1 in their series. This ends today (and tomorrow).