Last Roar on The Mountain

I don't even know really what to say, so I'm just going to ramble. I wish I kept in touch with him more. But it sucks losing a friend. When I was in high school, Disney had re-imagineered a new animatronic for their nighttime show Fantasmic!. At first it had its issues, and at the time when I was really apart of the fan sites, it started as a joke. I created an account as the maleficent dragon in Fantasmic!. Soon followed many other animatronic twitter accounts. The Red Headed Wench from Pirates of The Caribbean, Esmerelda on Main Street, the seagulls in Nemo Bay, and Harold the Snowman...all of them were creating these stories and adventures through twitter as a fun way to create this sort of...alternate realm where the AA's had a voice. It was a blast, and quite frankly, I forgot about it after I stopped writing my part.

But, today I found out some really terrible news. Brett, the guy who wrote as Harold died in a freak accident during a flash flood while hiking.

It's insane. He was such an amazing guy. Funnier than most people I knew, had an incredible wit to him, and was so incredibly happy any time I talked to him. His writing as Harold brought so much entertainment to the Disney fan community. It was fantastic to read what this guy could write. He would weave these after-park-hour stories with his 'neighbors' the Nemo bay Seagulls about eating butter packets, or chasing off the ducks, and if I remember right, there was one time he wrote that he stole the Red headed girls' dress and had Harold run around in drag. It was just wildly off the wall, fun stuff.

Yet here I am, writing out my memories of a guy only two years older than I am, who died far sooner than he should have. I've been mulling over it since I heard about it, and I can't wrap my head around the fact that he's gone. I mean, just a few weeks ago we were chatting on Facebook about stuff, and now the conversation's ended. The roars on the mountain are fading with the breeze whistling through the caverns, and the Gulls lost their neighbor. I'm gonna miss this guy, and all the amazing things he was. Rest in Peace, Man. 

Faith Restored

My life really isn't too terribly exciting. I've got a 9-5 job, going to school, the usual stuff, y'know?
But my job is a bit different than most. I work with developmentally disabled adults at a autism facility (basically a school for these guys during the day). It's not the easiest thing to do, but it pays well, and is a good placeholder until my college classes are over.

So most days I'm on a van run that takes the clients back to their homes they live at. It's easy enough. Ride in a van, make sure no one has a temper tantrum, and go home. But, one of my clients' moms is going back to junior college to get her degree. She's had a lot to handle in life, and is doing her best. Dad's a truck driver, other siblings of this client are in and out. Mom's doing her best she can. She takes the bus cross-town to get to the campus.

She called before classes started and tried to work out a system of meeting up with us in the afternoon at one of the bus stops to drop off her kid. We worked around it, and accommodated her. That alone was enough her to give us a lot of thanks and gratitude. It wasn't a big deal to us, we were just doing business.

But, last week she missed the bus.

Now, from the campus to where we pick up/drop off, it's probably a solid 25-30 minutes on the bus route, with stops included. So when she called us in a panic, trying to figure out what she was going to do, I just told her not to worry, we'd drive cross-town and drop her kid off there.

You think we just had given her a million dollars.

I haven't felt or seen the gratitude this woman showed us in a long time. I'll get to the reason I'm even writing about this in the first place in a minute. She was in tears by the time we were done on the phone. Said things like "Thank you so much, this means so much to me" and "this is a godsend". She was ELATED, and that was just on the phone.

We get to the school, and she's still wiping tears away. She hugged me, thanked me and the driver again, and went back to her afternoon/early evening classes with her autistic son in hand.

So, think about this: she's a mom who is working, has an autistic son, takes the bus to the junior college to get her degree to then try and get a better job, while her husband is truck driving to bring in money, with older kids out of the house already. If you want a role model in perseverance and dedication to getting through life, she's number one on the list to me.

This struck me as we left the school. I didn't think about it until about halfway back to work, but she's literally the real MVP. I'm not looking for a pat on the back for helping someone out. I don't care about what I did. I care about how that lady reacted. She was genuine, she was truthfully, and legitimately grateful just for something that we would have done for anyone that was in a tight spot and couldn't pick up their kid the usual way. That's just what we do.

But what struck me, was that she didn't expect it from us. She was trying to find a way to do it on her own. She was looking for any and every option before she even asked us for help. I don't see that mentality much, nowadays. I see a lot of people whining for a handout, or complaining when they don't get the exact thing they asked for from someone. It gets old, and unfortunately becomes the norm when you hear the complaints for so long.

This woman stood out to me because she was grateful for something as simple as us driving cross-town to drop her child off, rather than us standing up and saying "nah, we'll just wait at your house, you can come here".

The point is: it feels a lot better on both ends of the story when someone is truly grateful for something you did for them, and something you did for someone that truly needed help is grateful for you doing it. There's been times I've tried to help people in the past, and then they come back at me with "well this isn't what I wanted, why did you even do this for me in the first place if you aren't going to do it right?". I feel like crap after hearing that, because all I try to do is help someone else out to the best of my ability. Where is the grace, and thankfulness from people anymore? It's such a rare occurrence by people, that this feels bad to write about. It's sad that we live in a world where expectancy trumps gratefulness in terms of lending a hand to humanity.

This lady gave me a bit of restored faith that there are still people out there who are grateful for the help, and don't expect it. I just wish there were more of her in the world.

A Glance at Race Day

Here's some shots from around Carsland. I need to practice more at shooting on-ride shots along the side of the car, because I want more shots like the one posted below to turn out along various parts of the track.

LAX Photos

I really can't wait to get down to L.A., mainly because there's SO many different things to photograph. I love urban art and architecture, so when my family went to pick up some family from their trip to China, I went around LAX and snapped some photos. Here's two of them that I really liked. I'm still trying to work on long exposures with so much light around me. I'm used to standing out in the middle of a field in Bakersfield shooting stuff and making the dark sky light up, so this is a fun new challenge to me. But, I think these turned out well, and would love your opinion.

Blasting Through A Solar Flare

I love this ride. It's old, and admittedly needs some upgraded love, in my opinion. However, it's still a lot of fun. Every time I'm with family or friends, we're on a constant competition to see who gets the high score. But, I don't think it's fair for the rest of them, because I found out where all the high score hidden targets are. Do you know where they are? 

Is This Your Sign? Magic On Main Street

This has to be one of my favorite stores on Main Street. It's small and quaint, but it has some cool history. Steve Martin got his start here before he went on to be an actor. In fact, there's a photo of him near the cash register. Also, this is the only building (outside of the Coke Corner's red lights) that has colored bulbs, outside of the traditional white that adorn the rest of the buildings along Main Street.

Disneyland Forever: An Orange Start to a Magical Kingdom

I'm trying to get back into a habit of posting more photos I've shot. Most of these have been sitting on my desktop for a while, and I've done nothing with them. A while back a friend of ours signed us into Disneyland, and we got to check out the new 60th Celebration stuff. All of the shows are fantastic, and the upgrades to the attractions are top notch. So, let's start this off with a opening shot of the new fireworks show, Disneyland Forever.

This show's technology is fantastic. Steve Davison and his team took the projection mapping from previous shows they've done in other Disney parks and brought it home for the 60th. It starts out with orange groves, as it once was before Disneyland was built. To see something like this, even projected, gives a really surreal idea of what it must have been like for Walt to look at trees, and see where his Castle would go, or where the world of Tomorrow would be. Tying it back to what was once there was really awesome to see, and to think that imagination truly has no limits is inspiring, to say the least. 

Meet Winnie

It's been about a week since we've had our new family member, and she's already captured my heart. It's funny, because I didn't even want her. Hailey has been on me for about the last six months, trying to convince me that we needed a dog. I haven't wanted one since I lost my first dog DJ. It just never really felt right.

But, a week ago, after coming home from a trip to Long Beach, she had looked up at least half a dozen puppies of various breeds, and wanted to 'just go look'. I had started to take a nap, but I was woken up around 8:00pm with a phone in my face and Hailey saying "Theres puppies we can 'just go look' at right now. Well, look at how well 'just go look' went. We 'just bought' a puppy. Not just any puppy, the first puppy we looked at. There wasn't any hesitation or doubt. She was ours.

The owner was a good old country boy. I'm not talking your basic redneck. I'm talking, the guy had a definitive twang, and when we walked up, he was finishing up a pack of bud light with his friend, and smoking deer jerky from a recent hunting trip. Shorts, tank top, fishing hat, he fit the stereotypical bill for redneck. But, he was an absolute gentleman, and came off as a guy who would hug you over hit you. His dog, our puppy's mom, was super clean, well behaved, so I figured the puppy had to be the same way. We walk to his backyard, and there she was, laying by the side wall of the house, in the shade. There she was, a little half Queensland, half uhm...half...Schnauzer? Terrier? We don't really know. Anyway, Hailey held her first, and watching her, I knew that this was it. The minute I would hold her would be it. I'd melt, and say yes.

Now I've got two girls to look after. 

Well, that obviously happened, because now we're a week into owning this puppy, and she's adapted so well into our little family of two. Hailey was right. A dog would be great for us, especially me. I've been grumpy lately, because of a variety of reasons. Coming home now to a dog gets my mind off things, and I've got a little thing that loves me unconditionally and doesn't care what happened during the day, and just wants to play. It really is the best.

 Obviously we're still learning how to train her and housebreak her a little bit, but she really is quite adorable, and learns fast. On friday nights, we decided she gets to sleep up on the bed with us, but otherwise she's adapting well to her crate. In the next few weeks we go to get her second round of shots, and once she's cleared, I'm thinking a trip to the park to play is in order.

As for now, I'm going to go play some tug of war with this little one, and just enjoy some pure happiness. 

It's What Brings Us Together, Today

I consider myself unattached to any side of the political spectrum, and usually avoid writing about it. It's mainly because both sides are extremists for the most part. If anything, I'm a centralist. There's good and bad to each side, and I try to be objective and find what would be good as a whole. Sometimes that means agreeing with a Democratic idea, other times it's siding with the Republican point of view. That said, today's a good day. People who've been fighting for their rights, won. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that this happened and if it is, well, we all know you live under a rock now, so your secret's out. 36 of the 50 states have already legalized marriage for homosexual couples. It's not hard to see the writing on the wall that this was going to be passed. 

What's hard to see for me, is how people are upset that this is defaming marriage for straight folks, and impeding on their rights. How? How is this damaging anything you do on a daily basis? If you're straight and already married with tax benefits and all the perks of putting a ring on it, congratulations, you're already taken care of. You're still going to get what you've always gotten, and your life isn't going to be affected by some dude tying the knot to another guy. 

I grew up in Bakersfield, California. A little red island in a sea of California blue. I've been around hearing how bad and terrible this is, because this town is vastly conservative Republican. Fun fact, Bakersfield's considered the Bible Belt of California. So it goes without saying that a lot of people are mad about this happening. In a 2000 vote, 80% of the town voted against gay marriage. I guess this is the centralist in me, but I can't help to ask: "why?" 

Why rebuke this? Church and state should be separated anyway, but that's another discussion. Here's my argument. God to one means Jesus' dad who resides in Heaven, created the world, and sent his son to die for our sins. But to another, God means Alah, who gave Mohommad the Koran, and gives away virgins in the afterlife to those who follow out his will. Yet, to another, God is a couple dozen different Buddha's, all meaning different things. 

All of them have the same name, and a different meaning  to each person who chooses to believe whatever they believe in. I don't hear Christians making a huge to-do that Buddha isn't the 'true God'. I think because they believe it's not, and then they go about worshipping their own Lord. 

So why make a huge to do about someone who probably doesn't believe what you do, and defines it differently? Where's the harm in letting someone be themselves, and you work on being a positive, caring influence in their life? There's so many words in the dictionary that hold multiple meanings. Nothing is truly singular to one specific definition. 

 So, if you're Christian and don't believe in gay marriage, fine. That's your belief and no one can tell you you're wrong. But for those that agree with it and see it differently, that's their belief and you can't tell them they're wrong either. Now that the country holds a majority vote for this and not against it, it's time to hold some class, accept the fact that this is the change our country is making, and roll on with your life. No one is hurting you by flying a rainbow flag from a house just like you aren't hurting anyone by playing Kutless and having a fish or cross on the back of your car. How many non Christians have come up to a Christian and said "your stickers bug me. You need to stop it."? Maybe, just maybe, it's because they don't care. They know you're religious. They know you believe something they don't and that's okay. Why not return the favor and let them be? If you think it's offensive and wrong, that's your thought. Someone else may think you're offensive and wrong. What truly matters in moments of difference like this, is how respectfully you can agree to disagree, and learn to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That goes for anyone of any race, of any orientation, of any religion. The world will be a far better place should you choose to do at least try to do that. 

Satan's Little Beauties

Now that school is over, and I can actually breathe a little, I'm going to try and blog more. Not really about anything specific, just stuff that comes to mind and I want to elaborate on.

So, this morning, like most mornings, I'm a part of a really awesome group chat with some awesome guys. Think of it as The View for men, but better and less obnoxious. Today, we somehow came up to the topic of spiders and whether or not to kill them or let them live. I mean, these are the eight legged freaks with fangs. These little creeps crawl around, killing off bugs with their webs and suck the life out of them so they can live. Some of us want to kill them mercilessly, others are willing to save them and set them outside, free to live from the perils of flyswatters and shoes coming down on them at any given time. 

Personally, I'm terrified of not just spiders, but also scorpions. I mean, let's be honest, they're evil. What good can come from eight legged, venom filled creatures? Or an armored bug with crab claws and a tail ready and aimed to kill at any given time? Sure, they benefit the downfall of other bugs, which I guess is cool, but really. They're evil. They look evil. They act evil. They just. are. evil. 

But then it spun into a fun little concept that I couldn't stop giggling about. What if God let Satan design some creatures? I mean, let's be honest, they aren't the prettiest of creatures, and all they do is sting and bite. So what if there was a conversation before Lucifer went all 'I'm going to be the next God' on God that kickstarted his kicking-out of Heaven? Let's think about how that could have gone down...

God: What now, Lucifer? 

Lucifer: God, I've got some ideas. You know how you're creating all these creatures on that rock you called Earth? Well, I want to jump in on it. You see, there's some things I'd love to see share the planet with your creatures. 

God: Okay, well what do you have in mind?

Lucifer: Okay, hear me out: there's these things called 'bugs', right? You've made caterpillars that turn into butterflies, and y-you've also made bees that pollinate and help the plants. But I've got these two that I think would be awesome to see! Check this out: the first one, will have a two part body, but on each side, it'll have four legs, so it can scurry around really fast. But, but, it'll also poop out this white string stuff, and it'll spin its 'home' between places that are really in the way, that way everyone knows they're around. Even better, to protect itself, some of them will have teeth that can bite anything, and give annoyance to its victims. Cool, right?! 

God: ....so, what's its purpose? 

Lucifer: well, I guess it can eat other bugs, that way it can keep the balance of things in check. But outside of that, nothing really..it's just cool. 

God: I don't like it, but I'll let it pass. 

Lucifer: Oh great! So, here's my second pitch. 

God: Oh goodie. 

Lucifer: So, picture this: imagine a bug that has six or so legs, and a long body, with a this armor on top of it. Give it the snappy claws of a crab, and a tail with a stinger of a hornet, and multiply it by a thousand. Some can be yellow and clear, and blend in with the sand, but the deluxe version will be HUGE and all black. It'll be...the emperor of all of them! It'll have this intense and terrifying name...like...like...scorp-i-on..

God: So you're telling me, you want to create a bug that not only stings everything in its path, but also give it a death grip to squeeze the life out of all my innocent creatures? 

Lucifer: Yup. Exactly. Can I have it like I had the other one? 

God: NOPE. That is far from anything I would ever want on my planet. It serves no purpose but evil, and to kill. It does not help anything and I see only fear, anger and intimidation. I will not have that on my planet. 

Lucifer: Wait a second, so you're telling me, you can create things like a...a platypus. That freaky furry thing with a duck bill, a otter body and a beaver tail, and I can't have my scorpion?! Come on! How fair is that? You even created that short and fat hippo! The only thing it does is have a big mouth! Seriously. You made an animal leathery, gray, and can hinge its jaw at 180º. That's about as good as it gets, God. You really did a great job with some of these things. 

God: Don't question me. Once I got past most birds, dogs and cats, it was hard to get creative. I mean, do you know how much work had to go into figuring out how to make a giraffe? 

Lucifer: That's not my problem. I'm here to help, and I want a scorpion. I want it, and I want it NOW. 

God: Don't take that tone with me, Lucifer. 

Lucifer: Don't take what tone? This tone? You get all the fun. You make a ball with rock and water and then all these things to run and swim around on it, and all I want is two tiny bugs. Hell, you even made a snake! It's literally a worm with teeth and a mouth. 

God: Now you're just getting rude. 

Lucifer: I don't care. You get all the fun, and all us angels have to do is play harps and sing praise to you for all the cool stuff. We're literally groupies with halos and wings, and I'm sick of it. I want in on this fun, and you're going to let me. 

God: Y'know what...you're right. 

Lucifer: Of course I'm rig-....wait, what'd you say? 

God: You heard me. 

Lucifer: Y-yeah, I...I am right. I'm right. 

God. You sure are. And y'know what? I'm going to give you your two creatures. But there's a catch. 

Lucifer: Okay..I don't even care, I'll take it. 

God: Good. Now you're the king of the earth, and you have to care for your two little bugs, but also, you have to tend for all of mine that I've done.

Lucifer: You sure? I mean, I only wanted to help. I didn't really plan on ruling...

God: Well, you've been acting like a brat as of lately. I've had to deal with not only this, but you ended up sending Gabriel to the hospital the other day, because he believed you when you said everything up here was literally made out of milk and honey. It took the doctor 3 hours to fish out the bolts and shards of metal from his attempt to eat a lamppost.

Lucifer: hehe, yeah that was a good one...

God: *sigh*...yeah, you're out of here.

*POOF* Lucifer's gone.


And kids, that's how Satan became ruler of earth, lurked around the garden of eden and punk'd all of us into being less than holy. All because he was mad at God for screwing him over and trying to teach him a lesson. We're victims of holy collateral damage.