Knocking On Porno’s Door

“The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.”~ Douglas MacArthur

I am going to have to keep this rather short. This really isn’t the time or  space for an “all out” post with the steamiest of details.

The past weekend, I traveled to Houston, Texas once again. For the first time in well over a year!! Yes, I went to see SIX MINUTE CENTURY.

But this doesn’t have anything to do with the band, the friends, the love, or the fellowship. It has to deal with the hotel that I was staying in the two nights I was there.

When I arrived in town, the memory of the place came back to me. But I still to this day, cannot remember which side are odd numbered rooms and which are evens. The last several times I’ve stayed, were almost always numbered rooms ending in an odd number.

Not this time though.

Room 120. Important to the story.

As I began to settle in for the first day/night of my stay, I roamed around the property of the hotel, bypassing the swimming pool.. Laughing to myself because of what happened with a swimming pool the last time I went near one.As I gazed up, I saw several people hovering around the edge of the pool. One gentleman holding a hand-held video camera. I knew instantly what was happening.

I ignored it at first. But when I was back in my room, a few minutes later I could hear a horrendous roar of moaning, screaming, shouting, and overall noises of explicit ecstasy. Yep, someone nearby was going at it like rabbits.

Wouldn’t you know it, it was all going on in Room 118.

Yes… right next door to me!!!

Finally, it stopped. And the curiosity was killing me. I heard a door open. I dashed for my room door and yes I was able to catch them all coming out. Two girls wearing bathrobes caked and drowned in make-up all over their face. One man with just a towel around his waist and pink slippers. And another man standing there, smoking.

A conversation began.

I think that I spooked them really bad because I told them that I knew who they were in general, and I knew what they were doing there at the hotel. The looks on all of their faces were of absolute terror.

I had taken the upper hand.

I asked what the name of their website was. They scoffed at me, playing as if they did not know what I was talking about. They weren’t very good at lying.

Then I started to play with their minds even more. I told them that if they needed something larger to work with, to stop by. I said nothing more. I gave one last look at the females of the group and went back inside to my own hotel room and kept my business to myself.

45 minutes later, they knocked. Full of inquiry. And bringing offerings of food…. good timing considering that I was hungry and the obvious plans for dinner that were obviously never going to happen in the first place were not happening.

The next day, I ran into them again as I was getting ready for the day to spend with SIX MINUTE CENTURY and most importantly, my best friends. I heard comments coming from them … something about “That was amazing.” and “I can’t hardly walk straight, or at all.”

These are the things of legend. The things of fantasy. The stories that are told only in magazines, books, and novels. But this honestly and truly happened.

Boston Dreams: Updates #01 Through #03

 

There’s good news, ladies and gentlemen. Sports fans!!

This afternoon, I was in contact with The Cape Cod Cookie Company.

They were willing to share the fundraising site for my dreams to play sledge hockey in Boston in 2014.

The Cape Cod Cookie Company has graciously offered an incentive. Whomever donates the biggest amount, shall receive a dozen assorted cookies for FREE!!!

I have personally ordered cookies from this company in the past and their cookies are absolutely delicious. And they aren’t the packaged-sized cookies. These baked goods are BIG!

The Cape Cod Cookie Company is from Massachusetts. The owner of the business and I have known each other for many years. I am thankful for their added incentive which came as a surprise.

And then earlier this evening, I received word from the ever beautiful and lovely Jodi Ambrose.

In previous blog posts, you have read about my whacky relationship with the author.

Jodi Ambrose also states that whomever donates the biggest amount, shall receive a set of her Sex & Intimacy books for FREE. Jodi’s offer will go to the TOP TWO donations. Not just the the top donation, but the two most donated amounts.

There’s a $5 donation already sitting there. Can you top that????

I thank Jodi for this wonderful and generous incentive.

The third update is to inform you that a Facebook Community page has been set up for this fundraising drive. It will probably have more exclusive news and updates as the fundraising continues.

I am really excited to share these updates with you and hope that you will give what you can to help my teammate and I to get to the tournament in Boston in 2014. Everything is appreciated.

Spread the news!! FREE cookies and FREE books. Join the Facebook page. How can you possibly go wrong? You can’t!!

Stay tuned for further updates. Thank you as always.

http://www.gofundme.com/2t2pvs

There Still Are Nice People In The World

Money definitely doesn’t grow on trees. At least not how we all would like to believe.

This morning, I had a visit with the RN.

She said that I was doing very well and improving at a spectacular rate. Something that they always like to report and that we like to hear.

Then she asked me if I had remembered the conversation that she and I had about my goals to get to sledge hockey tournament in Boston in 2014.

The Austin Blades program isn’t going to help if any of us players want to go to this tournament. So we have to do this on our own and raise enough money to go.

This RN apparently discussed it at some capacity with another patient of hers earlier in the week. And when she came by for a visit this morning, she reminded me that I was needing all the help I could get.

This patient, or whomever she told about my story…. proved to me that there are still nice people out there in this world.

This person (unknown to me because of laws) gave a cash donation of $10.

I was so excited and surprised that I couldn’t even think straight!!! 

A total stranger. I do not know exactly what was said. And I do not know who this person is. And I will never know, but they felt interested enough in helping me reach the goal.

A teammate of mine (the other assistant captain) vowed this season that when we heard where the next year’s tournament was going to be, that he and I would work together in trying to get the money together to go. We both would go, even if nobody else from the Austin Blades went.

So the fundraising is a little different, since everything is going to be split between the two of us. The goal is definitely not as high as my personal fundraising site that I put together on my own last year… which is still available to receive donations. That one is up to help me upgrade my equipment and be able to return what was loaned to me back to the team so we have that equipment for new players in the future.  IF you are interested in that one, please let me know.

This campaign though is for two people. Two players strongly passionate about the game of sledge hockey that its all we ever talk about when we get together. Eventually at some point in the conversation between he and I, the topic of sledge hockey or the team will dominate our conversation.

We’ve both gone as far as to say that sledge hockey is in our veins.

My partner in this adventure has already stated that he doesn’t want any presents given to him for any holiday, whether it be Father’s Day, a birthday, or even Christmas. Instead he wants people to donate to help him get to Boston.

I have jumped on that as well. I would request that anyone thinking about a Christmas gift or birthday to go ahead and just make a donation to help me out as well.  

Let’s face it though: fund raising is very difficult. Especially for things like this. I hate to sound like I am begging as well. But nobody can get anywhere if they do not ask.

And even though it is really early before the start of the tournament…. I believe an early start is a great head start!!!!

I already have received a donation from the kindness of a complete and total stranger. And I am very thankful for that person. So whoever you are– THANK YOU!!!

And if you are reading this and feel that you are interested in helping, or inspired by the story of the anonymous donation, the link to the site is in the Blogroll. Or you can click on the link provided below.

Even if you are not willing or ready to make a donation, by sharing the story of the stranger and the link would be very, very, very helpful.

We are not looking for or anticipating donations of large amounts. Anything obviously will help. And the more of those kinds of contributions that are put together then the goal can be met and our dream of once again going out, doing something that we love to do and are very passionate about, and having that personal independence to actually have the ability to play the sport, would make every cent and dollar that much more special.

So please help if you can. And spread the word. Think of the kind stranger who doesn’t even know me but still had enough in their heart to believe in me.

Thank you.

http://www.gofundme.com/2t2pvs

 

 

Get Out Of My Way

“Don’t be mad because I don’t care anymore. Be mad because I once did, and you were too blind to see.”

Perhaps you feel that it is too difficult. Maybe you feel that it is too much money or expensive. Maybe you think that its a waste of time and resources.

Maybe it is because you don’t like the idea and you personally don’t want me to do it. And that probably is coming from the fact that you are either jealous because it seems like to you that I have a better life than you or you want me to be as miserable as you are because it seems like to you that you have no life.

Or you think that I am not going to be successful in life and will just fail and want me to stop.

If any of you fit the above descriptions. I have a few things to say to you.

First off- GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is NOT up to you to dictate what I do or don’t do in my life. I did not come out of your birth canal. And the fact that I am a grown adult. Your argument is invalid!

My successes and failures come from one person and one person only: ME!

Should I fail miserably, it is because of me. And if I succeed, it is because I had the will to try hard enough.

Keep your hands off of me and stop trying to drag me down to the ground so that I will fail. Your name is not “God” and my destiny is not in the balance because of your own opinions or actions. Again, get out of my way and let me try!

You tell me that I shouldn’t disturb people or step on their toes. YOU are the one who who has been stepping on my toes this entire time. Keeping me from accomplishing what I have been wanting to all along in the first place. Maybe it is time to step on toes and knock on doors. Because with as many times as I will be told NO (and I will be- I understand that) there will be someone who will tell me YES. Let me find those people!

If you are not going to support me, believe in me, or even let me try? Then all you will find is the back of my head as the dust begins to rise.

 

 

A Bit Of Reflection

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”~ Confucius

I’m reflecting on this day. And I would have to say that today, I am doing much better personally and emotionally than I had been doing just one year ago.

By the way, my apartment manager gave me Starbucks for my birthday, so if this seems “off” you can blame him.

Its my birthday. A year ago, I was laying in a hospital bed with a deadly infection that had me out of commission for 12 days. It was something that I saw coming and noted in a previous blog, and I was right.

But this year I am not in the hospital. I am at home. And healthy.

Around the time of my birthday in 2011, I had not yet started this blog. It was created a few days later. But this is the first time that I am at home and able to write on this blog on my birthday.

I’m grateful to those who have given me birthday wishes thus far. I appreciate everyone who have thought of me thus far today. I’m sure that there will be much more as the day goes on.

As for the rest of 2013, I am full of hope. I’m feeling upbeat and not so depressed. Let’s hope I can hang on to this kind of emotion for a long, long time.

I am looking forward to more hockey, and many more times with friends and away from home.

Nothing but good times.

So I won’t find something like this in my home for my birthday, but I can dream!! Right?

I probably will not be doing anything special to celebrate and that’s just fine. I’ve not been able to do something like that in such a long time that I’ve pretty much forgotten what that is like. And I’m probably not missing anything.

But I give my love to all of you who continues to read my mindless posts, whether or not its been educational or not.

I’m glad to be alive. And I’m glad to know that I do have so many people thoughtful and caring enough to take a second out of their lives to wish me a happy birthday.

I do have many more subjects that I wish to write about in this blog in the near future, so keep your eyes open for those.

And as I suffer the caffeine crash from the Starbucks and the sugar drop from the cookie, I do feel bad for anyone within 150 meters of me for the next several hours.

But all in all, I am so happy that I am NOT in the hospital this year. And that I am free to do what I want to do on this day. Its a wonderful feeling to have this freedom.

Thank you dear readers, and stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If I Can

“Look at him. He gets out. He goes to shows. He does whatever the hell he wants to! He doesn’t sit around at home and shit. He isn’t sad about his condition. He doesn’t let it stop him either.” ~ Dr. Froth

This was the words of Dr. Froth not that many years ago about me at a time long before I had ever met him or SIX MINUTE CENTURY.  Someone who apparently had some kind of illness or medical condition was mentioning that he wanted to go to the next show of theirs, but could not do it because of the condition.

Dr. Froth turned around and didn’t believe it for a second that it should be a legit excuse. He had used my life as the example of his encouragement to this man in order to boost his spirits and get him to realize that he can do whatever he wanted.

Ironically, Dr. Froth didn’t know that much about me at that time. His idea of using my life as a positive example was actually correct. Lucky hunch? Not really. He just really took the example of my life as he had known it to that point in order to prove his point. Several months later, he would work with me on an itinerary to get me to my first show.

All evening long tonight, I have heard excuse after excuse after excuse from many people. And as I sat there in silence, I kept thinking about Dr. Froth’s words that were spoken so long ago.

Even though it is true that I will personally never be able to do the exact same things as other people around me doesn’t mean that I should just allow myself to be swallowed up by the dark cloud of depression and sit in the corner inside of my home… waiting for death.

But I can honestly say that in the past decade there are some wonderful examples of my life experiences where I had gone and made a decision to do something or go somewhere. And even though it might have been difficult, I did NOT give up. And I think back on those times and I can honestly say that the experiences were rewarding in various ways. All because I made the decision to do it.

And to add to it all, I have so much less opportunity than others do and I STILL DO IT!!! So then yes, if I CAN do it……… SO CAN YOU!!! And even though I can do far less than you, I am still successful. Just think of the rewards that YOU can achieve.

With this evening’s bombardment of people throwing excuses left and right just really made my stomach turn. There’s something inside of them that is allowing them to bow to defeat. Meanwhile, people with less fortunate lives are out there surpassing what you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t done yet because of the excuses you have been making which has stopped you.

I personally don’t believe the excuses that I’ve heard tonight. I believe that these downtrodden people have come up with their own excuse that they think is legit and its their way of saying to themselves that they’ve quit and its okay.

Bullshit.

And yes, I do understand that there are things that we would love to do that we probably never will be able to if we lived ten thousand lifetimes. Everyone still has their boundaries.

Ten years ago if you would have told me that I would be playing sports, particularly sledge hockey, I would have kicked you out of my home on the grounds of believing you were insane. But now I have been playing it for many years now. And I keep getting better at it. 

Make the decision to do the things that you’ve dreamed of. Start out slow and small and work your way to the top. Failure should never be an option in life. Neither should one be afraid of failure. That is why they call it dusting yourself off and getting back up and trying again.

How about this: You never know until you try.

Ever hear that one before? You probably have and you have just forgotten about it. Shame on you.. to be honest!!

I have done some pretty awesome things in the past decade. I have done a lot of traveling that took me places that I never thought I would be. I have met people that I would never thought that I would meet. And the greatest reward of all of that was that they are still a part of my life today.

I’ve done things that people are just simply amazed at when they hear about it. Why? Because I am not laying on my bed wishing for a miracle to be delivered to my front door. I get up out of bed just like the rest of the world and I have gone through that front door and entered into that world and made myself a force to be reckoned with.

And if that doesn’t do it for you, remember one thing.

While you are sitting there thinking of ways that you cannot do something that you want to do, I am finding ways to do the same exact thing and then I am doing it. Thus, I am BEATING YOU TO IT!

How foolish do you feel now?

 

Meet Brittany

Brittany

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”~ Norman Vincent Peale

I have actually been sitting on this story of inspiration for quite some time now. I don’t really know why. Tonight, I have decided to share it with you.

Through the magic of Facebook and mutual interests, I was introduced to Brittany. That was just over one year ago.

Her story is one of dreams that actually do come true.

As she was beginning her college education, this ravishing redhead who was studying in the southeastern United States began a very serious campaign of wanting to meet her most favorite person in the world, her idol.

Her efforts did pay off, as an e-mail was sent to Chicago, Illinois and the offices of none other than Oprah Winfrey. The news of Brittany wanting to meet her idol so badly actually spread to Oprah Winfrey. As Oprah said, “She is a fan, and probably the hottest redhead ever.”

And then in 2007, while she was in her college dormitory settling down for “Movie Night” a special surprise was played on a DVD recorded by her idol herself. That being Céline Dion.

Brittany was then flown to Chicago to be a part of the studio audience for The Oprah Winfrey Show, and that is where Brittany was able to meet her idol face to face, sitting on stage next in between Oprah and Céline Dion and in front of a nationwide television audience.

Shortly after that, Brittany would have the opportunity to duplicate her chances of meeting her idol, at LEAST three times in total (if I am not mistaken).

Her undying passion really paid off for her.

Earlier this evening, I traded messages with Brittany. I reminded her that she now has experiences that she will never forget for the rest of her life. I also mentioned to her that she is (in a way) an ambassador and her experiences are truly an inspiration for others. If this girl can do it, so can you!

Brittany also has a very nice start at a career or modeling/acting now. I am to understand that she can be seen in a few scenes of the film, “The Hunger Games”. I haven’t seen it, but others who have seen it have confirmed that they had seen her on the big screen. And that is now currently coming out on DVD/Blu-Ray. She also has her own profile on the IMDB website.

I cannot say that I personally or intimately know Brittany. I have traded correspondence with her via Facebook. And she’s always leaving smiles with each of her messages when she replies. That is always a shock for me because she has so many friends on Facebook that she takes the time to write me. And I wonder as to why she laughs when I’ve repeatedly requested an autograph??

And so there is a point to all of this:

No matter who or what your own passion is, no matter who your idol may be, there is always a viable and plausible opportunity for you. For some it is a political figure or a Hollywood actor or actress. For others it is musicians.

It is possible that with enough dedication and hard work, that your efforts in the end will cause your dreams to come totally true!!

Most importantly though, NEVER give up on your dreams! You may think that it is impossible because it will never happen. Or that it costs too much money. Whatever the excuse is– let it go. Do not let negativity overpower you.

In the case of Brittany, she set out to do something and she stuck with it and never gave up. Sufficed to say that she was greatly rewarded for her efforts.

If you have enough desire and will power, you will be rewarded too.

So did Brittany TRULY get to meet her idol? Well, you tell me… If you go to YouTube and do the right search, you will be able to witness all of these moments of Brittany’s dreams coming true.

 

 

 

 

Goals

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”~ Hannah Moore

When I was a young child, I remember crying because my parents were leaving the house for the night and my siblings and I were in the house alone with a babysitter. My parents were going out to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

And then I remember finding out that my father had married my mother at the age of 26. From that point, I knew that I wanted to be married at that age too. But it didn’t happen. The goal that I had set for myself was a goal that was unrealistic because it was bound to change as I grew older. People still today make goals in their life that are unrealistic. And those are the ones that are bound for failure from the start.

The goals that we set often are unrealistic. For one reason or another. They are too high or too low, or not right at all. We all have dreams of what we want to do. We fantasize about what we’d want to be doing by a certain point. Not just a few of us- we ALL do it!! Some of us succeed while most of us fail. And its all in the process of deciding what we want and how we plan to make sure that we are able to reach that point.

Often goals are set too high. You don’t hear a lot about setting them too low, but it happens. But usually they are too high. And when we do set them too high, it no longer becomes something that is plausible, but rather we’ve aimed too far and we’ll never hit the bullseye and then it seems in the end that it has been an impossibility.

If our goals are set too high, the inevitable disaster will strike. And unfortunately, it becomes more than something that we bargained for in the first place. When are our goals are too high, and we’ve seem to come closer and closer to the end timing of that goal and we are nowhere near reaching it… we often find ourselves throwing away common sense as well as common courtesy. We begin to step on those around us and damage our personal relationships because in our minds, we find them to be obstacles in the way of us reaching those goals. The very sad part about it, is that we don’t realize that is what we are doing to our personal relationships with others- until it is too late.

The goals are unrealistic and we say “Damn the Torpedoes!”, in an all-out effort to prove to the world (and ourselves) that we are right and they are wrong. This begins the whole process of the damage that I just mentioned.

Depending on what we were doing and what we have done, there is a chance that those damaged relationships can become salvaged and mended together. The problem is that nobody is thinking about it as it bursts into flames while we sprinkle fuel all around us because our focus is on one thing and one thing only- REACH THE GOAL.

So then we don’t reach our goals. They never happen. Now what?? Well, usually a few things go on when we’ve realized that we have failed. Usually we go through a lot of different emotions. Mainly depression, stress, and anxiety. We are crushed because we didn’t make it and we become very sad. The stress levels begin to rise because we begin to internally beat ourselves up for what we have done (or in this case, have not done). And then we go and allow our flawed human nature to take over and we assign the blame on others when we should be looking in the mirror. Our anxiety levels as well as our stress goes through the roof when our goals are just so far out of reach and we’re running out of time.

By the time I was twenty years old, I still wasn’t married. Not that I thought I’d be married while in high school, but still there weren’t any even any prospects of marriage at that point. I had only six years left to make that goal that I made as a child. And I placed all of the blame on all of the women that I thought at the time, were the ideal person to make for me a wife. And when nothing happened with them, I blamed them. I blamed all of the women in the world for a lot of things. I destroyed relationships with females during high school because that’s all that I thought about. And when things were not going as planned, I made them worse and ultimately killing any chance of any kind of relationship- friend or more- with any of them. Which is partly why I no longer have any communication with them today.

I should have been looking at myself in the mirror and thought things over and realized that my goal was not going to be something that would be attained. Mainly because the goal was never really defined or planned. It just was “a goal”.

When we make our goals, we have to actually stop and think about whether or not these things are attainable. Most of us will have to admit defeat a lot of the times because the things that we want, probably just won’t ever happen. If we can work on separating what is attainable and what is just ‘a fantasy’, and acknowledge the two then I think we have a better chance of setting better goals for our lives.

If we don’t, then we are going to end up living a life that is miserable and full of depression. Our relationships will begin to fail, and our overall physical as well as our mental health will soon fade into those dark and creepy places that we never want to be in the first place.

I would love to travel to Utah, and all states westward. But I would also like to travel to Denmark, Germany, France, and Romania. There would be nothing wrong with making these a goal in life. Except for the fact that they would be unrealistic goals. Why?? Because I do not have the money, or the means to make them happen. I might be able to visit a few of the states but going to Europe is something that really isn’t something that is plausible at this time.

I needed to realize this, and because I had then I was able to breathe a little better. Sure it was sad, but life is not always going to give you what you want.

Instead, we all should strive for goals that are within our means. Goals that we are certain we can achieve. There is nothing wrong with setting goals, in fact it is a wonderful idea. Setting the wrong goals however, will always be a burden.

Nightmares!

Dreams and nightmares are still a fascinating thing.

I remember that about 10 years ago, I would always try to analyze my dreams. Both good and bad and see what my body was trying to tell me. I was never really any good at it though.

There are some things that I have phobias about and they will enter my dreams from time to time.

But last night, I had such the nightmare that I found it rather difficult to shake even though I knew from the moment I woke up that none of it was true. All events never really happened.

Nightmares can plague someone to the point where they just never feel safe. And thanks to Wes Craven, back in the 1980’s there were a lot of people who were afraid to fall asleep.

Last night’s horrid dream dealt with plenty of situations that hit the wide spectrum of feelings, thoughts, and emotions. The content of sex (both consenting and non-consenting) mixed in with the fear of being chased, then being betrayed and then ultimately murder and helplessness.

Perhaps some of it was an extension of some post-traumatic stress in my past. I don’t really know. It has not been diagnosed with me. Not officially anyways.

What I ended up doing was getting completely out of bed and trying to get busy doing something other than sleep to get the horrific images out of my head and memory.  All I know is that it scared the living shit out of me.

I didn’t return back to bed for at least an hour and a half. But then I had trouble going back to sleep. So I got up a second time and by then I had been awake for pretty much most of the night, and the sun was beginning to rise.

So how do you deal or cope with having a nightmare that tends to stay with you even after you realize that it wasn’t real and it still is haunting to you?

My ex told me that it was best to talk about it with someone, outloud. That way, you can bring it to the surface and let it go. But I was personally confused by that idea. If you had a vision or a nightmare and you were awake and realized that it was over and it was not real, why would you want to talk about it and have to “re-live” it all over again?

I had heard from another person to write it down. Like writing a story. Yet again, it was seemed odd to do that because you have to think hard about the details that you just are trying to escape from.

So what’s the best way to deal with having nightmares? How frequently do you have bad dreams? We all have them. Some more than others.

I had several towards the end of January, and through February almost every night. But it soon had passed. But last night’s evil visionary tale has been stuck in my mind even this afternoon. But thankfully, not so vivid and not as scary.

Dream Vacation

I think I know now why they call them, “dream vacations”. I just spent the weekend in Houston, Texas. No, not the ocean like I said I would be at. There are reasons for that deception. I’ll get to that in a moment. But now that it is over, it felt so much like a dream.

I would have to say that it was quite difficult for me to keep things under wraps, so to speak. The whole intention of the so-called weekend getaway was to surprise a few people who live in the Houston area.

I had other things going on, but I won’t be so boring getting into them. Besides, who wants to talk “business” when its supposed to be a vacation?? So I’m just going to focus on solely, the “personal”.

During that time though, I got to do what I had only been dreaming of doing for many years now. For one, getting to a SIX MINUTE CENTURY show. But I will blog about all of those experiences in another post. Their lead singer, Chuck Williams was celebrating his birthday and they had a show. My entire plan was to surprise the whole band by traveling the 200 miles to be there. The other, was to finally meet in person, romance author Jessica Trapp.

To be honest, I never would’ve thought in a million years that these dreams would  come true. But they did. I am so grateful for those dreams to turn into a reality. I am above Cloud Nine at this point.

I had never been to Houston before. I had gone through it on the way to Galveston twice in my life and I thought that Houston was scary! Maybe it was just the traffic. So I knew this was going to be quite the experience for me. Nervous, excited, and totally stoked to go. I showed up far too early at the bus depot that it was just totally unnecessary and inhumane to be there that early. The excitement got the best of me for sure.

Three hours on the bus and I was met by one of my dearest friends, Lori. I had known her for about two years and now I was face to face with her. Then later meeting up with her fiancee, Michael. The bassist to SIX MINUTE CENTURY.

I had only been there for about five hours and I remember thinking to myself, that this was a great idea and I was excited for the next day to meet everyone that I had been in communication with over the Internet for so long. All of my worries were carried away. I was able to just chill out and relax and enjoy those who were hosting me for the weekend. Great and awesome people! I knew that the excitement would build.

Its so surreal when you are in non-verbal communication for so long and then you are directly in their face. There’s no turning back. There’s no delete button. No backspace key. It becomes whatever you make it and that’s the way it is.

I have no complaints though. I didn’t have any problems at all with anyone. And I was glad for it.

That same night, I was taken to a recording studio where SIX MINUTE CENTURY is hard at work recording their second album. So thrilling for me because I had never been in one before. I got to meet lead guitarist, Don LaFon later that evening. (See guys? I spelled it right!)

For me to have that opportunity as a fan to get to hear the new material was just so cool! I definitely felt like I was receiving the VIP treatment!! I’m probably one of the band’s biggest fans.

When I begin to like something and feel passionate about it, I go full force. The dedication stays with me until death!

That first day, I was awake for 21 hours before I was able to crash at the hotel. I literally sat there all alone in the hotel room, overwhelmed with positive energy, happiness, and full of emotion that I cried myself to sleep. Getting to see the entire band was going to be so awesome.

The 22nd of April was the big day. The reality was slowly creeping in that at long last I would be in the presence of great colleagues and get to see the band that I admire so much play live.

In the afternoon, I met up with author Jessica Trapp and her son, had lunch and spent the afternoon walking around in the mall and the surrounding shopping centers. 

I was totally nervous. I had so much trouble with being so scared that I would sound like an idiot. After all, she is a writer and it would stand to reason that her vocabulary would be more advanced than mine. I just hoped that I sounded like a decent human being when I engaged in conversation. To me, that was a lot of pressure.

Even with my nervous driving me insane, I still found a way to become relaxed and  comfortable. Even though the first impressions are always the ones that become impressed on the mind and opinions of others.

The world seemed to have stood still. Nothing else mattered. Yet time still melted away and I parted ways from Jessica in the late afternoon. It was a real fun time. I enjoyed her company. And as always, I was appreciative that she took me to lunch, and took the time to come out to see me. Even though I was probably quite a drive from her.

The night of the concert I will be saving for the next post. Yet it was another 19 hours of being awake and crawling into the hotel room at 5:00 AM? Yeah, all I can really say about it is, “that’s rock and roll for you!”. I’d do the entire day all over again and again and again and again if I could.

Saturday was a day of trying to recover. I think I kind of failed. Such the headache and fatigue crept over me like a blanket and I just was fumbling around so much like a goofball. But I was happy about it!

It literally took two days to get over it. But that second day was the day I was to return home on the bus.

I needed to get back to my own life and I needed to let others return to their routine of daily life as well. Not having my own mode of transportation and having to rely on others to get me where I needed to go, does become burdensome. I’m just so glad that I have wonderful friends who didn’t mind so much. I did exactly what I needed to do in order to gain some of the good mental health back into my life and stop worrying about the bullshit drama that actually surrounds me at home every single day.

There was a discussion about the possibility of me returning to Houston for the band’s next show and when that could be. It looks like near the end of the summer. It was also discussed about whether or not things could be done to make it happen on both sides with my wonderful hosts and myself. I think there’s a chance. I discussed my feeling that I would like to have a bit of a longer stay but I knew that it would mean a lot more. And besides, things worked out great this past weekend, having it being Easter. Those around me having the day off and all. If I were to go, I’d probably have a lot more free time on my hands all by myself until people are out of work and able to connect with me.

There was really not a lot of negative stuff happening around me. I lost my cd player in the process, and a favorite writing pen walked off somewhere in the city of Houston. But I have plenty of pens at home, and I was able to replace my cd player while I was there.

I was supposed to depart at 12:30, but things got fouled up when I heard that the 12:30 bus did not have a wheelchair lift. Instead, I had to wait until 3:30 to take the next one that did have a lift. I wasn’t sure what happened. I did what I was supposed to do on my end. So my hosts got to hang out with me at the bus depot.

And then Jessica Trapp came back for one more visit, bringing her entire family with her, on their way through town to celebrate Easter with someone else. She brought a bag full of goodies. Brought a few books that I did not have that she wrote and autographed them. It was a really nice surprise. (I actually came home with A LOT of stuff that was just given to me. I am thankful for everything and everyone.)

After the short visit by her, my hosts departed to be on their way as well to celebrate Easter with family. More pictures were taken. Hugs given. Loving sentiments traded. I just needed to let everyone know how much I appreciated them, and how much they meant to me. Their sacrifices that they made to make this all become a successful trip. Totally overwhelming for me.

And then, wouldn’t you know it? Drama has to set in while sitting outside in the sunshine.

Some bum came up to me and asked me for change and/or a cigarette. I told the guy that I had nothing. So he moved on to the next person standing about four feet away, puffing away on a cigarette.

He asked him for a smoke, and the guy told him to get bent because it was his last one. Just about that time I adjusted myself in my wheelchair and shifted my weight. Right when I did that, all this change came pouring out of my pocket and spilling onto the sidewalk.

That bum heard it, and came running after it. I freaked out. I mean, I had my stick with me. And we all know by now the history of the stick. But it was buried at the bottom of my bag. It would’ve taken me a very long time to dig through to find it, and possibly use it if I needed. I just wouldn’t have had enough time to do that and protect myself. This guy came running so quickly that I started yelling.

So lucky that Houston police was right there when it happened. They yelled at the guy and he tried running away, but the police officer did one of those running tackles from behind. Something that I’ve only seen on “COPS”. He was arrested and hauled away. Not sure what charges were given.

I saw that, and I got to witness a woman getting arrested for shoplifting at the mall on Friday morning. Such sad people. But I was okay. I wasn’t hurt.

I finally boarded the bus around 3:00 and was under the impression that we would be leaving at 3:30. But we pulled away from the bus depot at 3:15. Then being told over the intercom that we would be arriving at 6:45, I thought that the ride home was going to be miserable. It was bad enough that I didn’t want to go in the first place. Lucky for me, we arrived just three hours later. I think I finally entered my apartment at 7:00 on the dot.

So my personal thanks goes out to Michael and Lori, and Jessica… and of course, SIX MINUTE CENTURY. It was worth every ounce of energy planning this for so long, and worth every penny spent to get down there. I hope to have an even better time if I make it down there again in a few months. Now that I know the ropes of riding on the bus to and from Houston. It will get easier and be better each time I do it.

I met so many people and made new friends. It was definitely a wonderful time. I can say it over and over again. Hard to believe that I saw all these wonderful, beautiful people just YESTERDAY!

So I believe its called a dream vacation, because I had such a wonderful time and didn’t want to come home at all. Please Houston, if it was only a dream… NEVER wake me.

Note: SIX MINUTE CENTURY’s MySpace and Facebook pages, along with Jessica Trapp’s new website, “Getting Trapped In A Book”, can be found in the links in the blog roll. I highly suggest you check them all out.