People are people

People are people

I do not see black, white, or brown

I just see people

 I am blind to race, creed, and religion

I just see people

Do not expect me to judge a book by its cover

People are people

 

A Very Odd Day

     As I write this, the college I attend is on a partial lock down due to the fact that we have received a shooting threat. Why it is not on total lock down is beyond me. Now, things are going as they usually do everyday; the tutoring center is still open, the food court is still serving food, and people are still coming for classes almost acting as if there wasn't even a threat of any kind. If all of the students are hiding their fear than I applaud them because I cannot see any. Fear is like a virus, it can spread fast and easily if not contained causing more damage. If we all just stay alert I am sure things will turn out smoothly. Despite that, I personally am scared out of my wits and almost at the point of being overly paranoid. I keep on expecting to hear not so far away gunshots at any moment.
      The faculty of my school are hurrying back and forth between offices, making me feel even more uneasy about today's situation. The college's President's office is practically a fishbowl which is allowing me to see the huddled group of faculty, campus security, and cops. No doubt discussing how they should take care of the threat. I am being as alert as I can and keeping my ears and eyes open. That extra kick I put in my coffee this morning should help me out for a couple of hours.
      I never imagined an event such as this would happen in my little corner of the world. But as I read the news this morning it only confirms how naive I am about how the world can be in this day and age. An Ohio high school was reported to have an actual shooting not too long ago this morning. With five students reported to be shot, one of them now dead. I do not find this comforting at all, in fact this just amplifies my fear. I keep finding myself starring at everyone that passes by me, looking for any evidence that may lead me to believe that they are the ones who are going to eventually shoot up the place. Now, I know that I am judging like crazy today and usually I am not like this. I could care less what one looks like or what one does with one's self. But, when the safety of myself and those around me are threatened, you bet your ass I am going to be scoping people out. Well, at least until the threat has passed, then it's back to non judgmental David.

Photo Madness

So, today I thought that I would share a little bit of my photography and what it means to me.

An inlet next to a nameless beach just south of Bandon Oregon. 

     Ever since I have been able to grasp the concept of a photograph and learn how to take my own I have practically fallen in love with the world of photography. I got my first camera when I was in high school and nothing was safe from my photography madness. Now, back then the pictures I took were alright, nothing special. Mostly of the people and some moments in my life. As the years went by the cameras I owned got more advanced, my photography got better, and my main photo targets also changed. My main targets now are landscapes. I love to capture a scene of a meadow, forests, rivers, canyons, oceans, and really anything that is part of the natural world. This love for landscapes was inspired mainly by the photography of Ansel Adams (I suggest to Google him if you do not know who he is already) and the rest comes from my own love of the natural world.  With the help of my current camera (a EOS Rebel XS) and a little Photoshop magic, I have been able to capture the following landscapes and moments over the years.

A beach in Bandon Oregon.

  

  Really, I love to take photos. Even if it means walking up a beach or river in the searing summer sun to get the perfect one. These specific photos come from my very own photography portfolio full of my best work to date.

My two brothers running in an orchard of some kind.

    I think why I love taking pictures of landscapes is because they remind me of what this country was once full of before it became so industrialized. I guess you can call me a tree hugging hippie. I also love knowing that my photos will be a reference of what this earth looked like for generations to come.

     I love that with every great photo I take there is an adventure that goes along with it. May it be me traveling solo on a beach or in the woods or the siblings and I traversing uncharted (uncharted to us that is) territory risking our life and limb just for the sake of adventure. If ever I write a book it will be full of those photographic adventures of mine. Perhaps I will share a few of those on this very blog. We shall see.

The moon.

Gotta love those little moments

 


       I also love to capture not so common moments with my photography, like a full moon or a place that you know you will not visit again for some time. I love to capture those little moments that a lot of us tend to miss in this crazy world of ours.


    
       All that to say, I love to take photos and I do not see myself getting bored of it anytime soon. The world is so big that I cannot imagine how I would. To all of those who have a camera or can draw/sketch well, I encourage you to go out and capture a moment of your own to share with the world. Because those moments will only be here for a short time and the best thing we can do is preserve them so that we, as well as the rest of the world, can enjoy them for years to come.

   

A Land Before TIme

This is the account of a recent dream I had. After waking up from the dream I felt as if I had just come back from a long trip or journey. Whether that journey was through time or space or even both, I do not know. Now, some of this does not make sense so don’t worry about it. A lot of it did not make sense to me either, but I am hoping it will start to sometime soon. Anyways, here is my dream; I have tried to describe everything as well as I can while the memory of it is still fresh in my mind.

I remember throwing my bike over the ridge. Behind me was a vast beach that went on as far as my eyes could see. I started to climb the steep ridge and when I reached the top a paradise was revealed to me. In the distance I could see a majestic mountain range lining the entire horizon. Over them a clear blue sky with a warm and loving sun just right above me, lighting all that I could see. And towards the West I saw a grand mountain leading the mountain range on one end of this horizon. This leading mountain was bigger than the rest in the range. It stood taller and prouder than any other mountain I have ever set eyes upon. Just the sight of it intimidated me. Covering the roots of the mountains was a thick forest more green and beautiful than any forest in existence today. Each tree was stronger and nobler than any tree that ever existed. I could see the trees swaying in the breeze (for my eyesight in this dream was the same as if I were wearing binoculars) inviting me to rest under their sturdy branches. I also saw a winding river flowing from the mountains into a great lake. Its waters reflected the sunlight so well that it was almost too magnificent to look at. From where I was I could see the blue clear water and I knew that I could not be wrong in thinking that that water would have been the sweetest I would ever taste. Upon seeing these sights together I started to weep, for I never imagined a place as beautiful as the one beheld to me at that moment could ever exist. I started to beckon the couple below me to witness the magnificent sight that was before me. Once they too had reached the top of the ridge they had the same reactions as I; seeing this land before time…I wish that I could go back.

Pretty Good Weekend

               Nightmares are horrible things; especially when you wake up with the same fear that you have in your dream. That is how my weekend ended and I am not ashamed to say that I fear for what may be in store for me this coming week. What makes it worse is when its meaning eludes you. I believe that vivid dreams have some sort of messege or meaning to them. Of course some dreams or just plain silly, but there are some that really do mean something. Fairly recently I had three dreams in three nights, each different from the other and each with multiple possible meanings to them. The meanings of those dreams did not occur to me until the events they foretold unfolded before my very eyes. Looking back I now realize that this has happened to me before, even if I did not see it at first.

                 

                On a lighter note, I had an extremely fun Sunday catching up with some of my good friends in Eugene as well as some exploring of said city. Also, I was introduced to a new coffee house that reminds me of the coffee house that I frequently visit here in my town. If ever I move to Eugene I now have somewhere to go (that is not Starbucks) for a Mexican Mocha and any other caffeinated drink I desire ;) I feel so blessed to have the friends that I do and I love them all with every bit of my heart. There is seldom anything that I would not do for them, especially in their time of need.

                Well, I am sorry to say, but I am going to have to cut this entry short. I still have a mountain of homework that needs to get done ASAP :P College can suck sometimes, but it always is worth it in the end. Or so I have been told. Anyway, I hope that you had a great weekend and that this week treats you well. See you next entry!

Yo Peurdo Hablar Espanol?

Recently I have thought that it would be best if I actually made an effort to learn my native tongue. And by “my native tongue” I mean Spanish. Yeah, one would think that a person of Mexican/Spaniard decent would have learned a bit of their own language over the years. But, that is not the case for me. I am the third generation of my family to be born here in America. And over the years since my great grandparents emigrated here from Mexico the importance of passing on the Spanish language to the next generation has lessened a great deal. Mainly this is due to the fact that while living here in America my family has had more of a use for English rather than Spanish and as a result taught the children English so that they may have an edge in the future, or at least that is what my grandfather on my mother’s side thought. He said that “English is the language of success”, so initially Spanish was dropped from that side of the family. The case with my father’s side is that he actually was taught Spanish by his parents (my grandparents) and perfected his Spanish speaking skills when he worked at a small market in California. He never become fluent though, he knew just enough where he could get by pretty well.

Now, by the time my siblings and I came along my parents rarely used Spanish to communicate with us or others. They knew a little bit of Spanish, but not enough to be able to teach us very effectively. Although my grandmother (on my father’s side) did attempt to teach us by saying certain phrases to us when we were little, however this was unsuccessful. So, English naturally was my/our language of choice and still is to this day. And now that I am older and actually have the brain capacity to learn a new language I think would like to give it a shot.

Currently I am being taught by a very good friend of mine who is practically fluent in the language. My friend is an excellent teacher and does a very good job of helping me understand the language as a whole. We have only had two lessons so far, but I really understand what I have been learning. I can honestly say that this is the most enthusiasm towards learning a new language that I have ever had. Something about not having a grade attached to it all just makes it so much more fun and less stressful to learn. The things that I learn on my own free will are the things I never forget. And with that I bid you all a good night and I hope that you all have a good weekend. Later!

Fork in the Road

                These past few days I have found myself actually doing the work that I am supposed to be doing for classes O_o Strange I know, but I think that this is a good habit that I need to learn. Even if I do goof off from time to time.

                At this point I am not quite sure what I really want to do as a career. The classes I am taking now are helping me get a transfer degree, but after that I am as blind as a bat. And before I continue, yes I know that bats are not blind. Anyway, I originally thought that I could/would work on becoming a history teacher. This seemed like a brilliant idea, seeing that I have a knack for all things historical as well as sharing it with others. But, as time has gone by I have realized how much is needed to be a teacher of history as well as the sucky pay and job opportunities. All that to say, I am now considering a new career path and on my list right now is viticulture (if you don't know what that is I am sure Google can help you find out), which would not be an all too bad field to be in. I actually have the opportunity to pursue viticulture at my current school. The program is quite accessible and I recently found out that most of the classes I have already taken since I have been attending here actually are required for the specific viticulture program I have been eying. Like I said though, I am still considering it.

                One last thing before I get back to my studies; I really am starting to enjoy writing these blogs. I get a great satisfaction and sense of accomplishment every time I put up a new post.  And I am so grateful that some of you are taking the time to look at it. And with that I bid you all adieu and hope that you have a wonderful day (even if it is hump day).

Valentine's Day: What I Think

        

What more can I say about today that has not been said before. There are so many clichés and traditions that go with this "holiday" that I am sure that one could make a line of them that would reach from here to the moon and back. Honestly I think the idea of Valentine’s Day is great, showing how much you love a special someone or even a friend is always a good thing. Heck I don't even mind the candy and the occasional gifts. But, what I do mind is how many go about celebrating the day and their overall view on the word "love".

Now, call me old fashioned, but I do not think anyone should spend exceeding amounts of money for a single person for that one day just to say “I love you”. I recently learned that in America, Valentine’s Day is a 17.6 billion dollar industry and really I am not surprised by this. In fact, I am a little disgusted. But hey, if you want to spend a boat load of money on a loved one then by all means go ahead. I just personally think that it should not take large amounts of money to express how much you love someone. If you really are in love with another person then it shouldn’t take much to get that across to him or her. Now, it is true that I am single and it may look like I am being a little biased towards all of this, but the truth is I have had this opinion for some time now and even when I was in a relationship this idea has still stood strong.  

Now, about the subject of the word "love" itself. I really do think that in today’s society the word “love” is being thrown around much too loosely by people, especially by younger folks. The word “love” has lost a lot of its value and people use it too often. The next generation will not know how to properly use “love” unless we (and by “we” I mean those in my generation) set good examples for them and show how one is supposed to handle and nurture true love. I myself have only used the word with seldom anyone else besides family. I think that saying “I love you” should be reserved for someone that you care for deeply and vice versa. “Love” should be used on someone that you know will be there till the end and never give up on you when times are tough. What I am trying to say is that there is so much more wonderful emotion associated with the word and I feel that the world is starting to forget that.

                This Valentine’s Day and for future days to come I do not have a special someone to spend them with, but I am alright with that. Rather than search for someone, I will await the arrival of my true love using the patience that God has given me. Right now, I am content with the love of my family and my friends. For those of you who do have a special someone to love, I wish you the best and hope that you both enjoy this Valentine's Day.

Weekend of WIN

                This past weekend went rather well for me and I could not be happier about it. Last Friday I was not really anticipating the weekend to come. For me, it consists of going to an extremely boring class that if not for the good people in it I would probably go insane. Oh, and that class lasts just about all day -_-. The rest of my so called weekend is me trying to catch up on any homework that I may have not had time to do during the week, or finishing it up after working on them throughout the week. I usually can find a couple hours or so to just chill a bit before my Mondays come along and for those little hours I can find I am very grateful.

                However, this past weekend was 150% better than my typical weekend, which you have read about above. Starting on Saturday morning I went to my community college to get some working out done as well as some last minute studying before my all day Geology class. I really do find that class interesting, but I swear if those lectures get any longer I am going to lose my mind to the minerals in earth’s crust and plate tectonics :P Anyway, during my session learning about Mother Earth I got a text from a friend inviting me over to their place for a spaghetti dinner. I was informed others would be there (who they would be I had no clue) and to bring my tobacco pipe along with me. Being in the desperate state I was to get out of my class I immediately accepted the invitation.

                After finally finishing my class for the day I rushed home and had just enough time to get ready before I had to be at my friend’s house. Upon arriving I was greeted by a very sweet dog named Toby and by this I knew it would be a good night. As time went by others came and joined us and we also realized that everyone present knew each other in one way or another, which made for a very merry and interesting time. The dinner was fantastic, the people were great, and the atmosphere was as classy as it could be. In fact, with the 1940’s-50’s jazz in the background made the night feel almost unreal. It was amazing to say the least.

                 After the dinner, some of the guests left, but a few of us stayed and brought out our tobacco pipes. For the next few hours we just talked about life’s great mysteries; Why, How, and Women. Saturday night I had the most fun and intelligent conversation I have had in a very long time. I am very glad I was able to enjoy it with good company.

                Now, for my Sunday. As far as Sunday’s go it was typical to start out with. Got to play some Ocarina of Time: Master Quest for a bit (which is hard as biscuits by the way) before I was going to meet a very dear friend for some coffee later that day. Now, I am not going to lie I was extremely nervous to be meeting this friend of mine. Now, you are probably wondering why I would be nervous. Well, we had not been on the best of terms lately (at best our friendship had been quite shaky, that is how I felt at least) and this was the first time we had actually gotten together in about three months. So, as you can imagine every good and bad scenario of our meeting went through my head, but in the end it turned out much better than I expected.

                It was as if things never changed between us and I was glad for that. Although yes, we did bring up how we felt about our friendship and like adults we talked it through and things, I am so happy to say, are back to normal. We spent the rest of our time together catching up on what we both had experienced in the time we had been out of contact. Not all of it was good, but not all of it was bad. I am just happy that we can talk to each other once again.

                                I consider this friend to be my best friend and I appreciate him/her (you know who you are ;)) so much and I honestly think that I would not be the person I am today if it were not for them.

                Unfortunately our time did not last nearly long enough; my friend is a very busy person and had other matters to attend to. Although this did disappoint me a bit, the fact we had the chance to mend things between us made me happy enough so that our limited time did not bother me for long.

                The rest of my Sunday consisted of having dinner with some old friends of my parents from their YWAM (Youth With A Mission; if you know what that is already than good on you ;)) days. They are from Poland and I must say I enjoyed their company and our conversations - as political and farfetched as they were - very much. I do not think I will be forgetting them anytime soon.

                Anyway, that was my weekend of WIN. These events have motivated me for the future week and many weeks to come and I hope that I have more weekends like this one. Now, I must be off. I have some last minute assignments to take care of before my morning classes. I know, I am such a college procrastinator, but who isn't these days? I bid you all a fond adieu.  

Jazz Friday

Since it is Friday I think I will cut this entry short.

                I think today I would just like to express how much I really do love music (If you think that is a boring subject then why not send a comment with something better for me to talk about ;) ). Music to me has always been a way to escape the world that I am currently in and into another where I really have no cares or worries. That is until the song ends. I especially have been fond of jazz, smooth jazz and blues specifically.

                I love the sound of the saxophone and/or trumpet. I feel like I am in the 30’s or 40’s and all that is missing is a bar like atmosphere (from the time period of course), a cigar in my hand, and good company all around. It is very easy for me to be transported straight into a Humphrey Bogart film whenever there is jazz or blues playing in the background. This genre of music also does wonders for me whenever I am feeling down or just not myself. As soon as I click play on my computer my worries and sadness just disappear.

                Yeah, there are other genres of music that make me feel this way, but jazz is the one that does it the best and I happen to enjoy it more than the others; another reason to feel I am much older than I actually am. Anyways, I must be off. It may be Friday, but that does not mean that I do not have other matters to attend to. And by other matters I mean school matters -_-…You know, I could go on a whole other rant just about school, but I think I will save it for next time. Hope you all enjoy yourselves today and have a great weekend. Adios! :D

Colours

If you had the choice, would you find out what your friends and family say about you when you are not around? Would you choose to know what others thought about you; good or bad? And if you did choose to find out, what would you do with that knowledge? Would you take the knowledge with you wherever you went letting it bring you down and burn bridges that you thought never could? Or would you just forgive and forget?

                As you may have guessed, the thought of what others think of me and how they view me has been on my mind lately. I will not lie and say that I do not care what anyone thinks of me, in fact I have cared about what others think for a good chunk of my life. And every second that I do spend caring I feel as if there is a burden that goes along with it. As of recent I have been doing my best to try and not let what others think of me take me into that worried/depressed/self-conscious state that I have visited more often than I would like. But, yesterday I was informed of how a good friend viewed me and it was this view that has led me to really question how others perceive me as a person.

                Do people see me as smart, friendly, and gentlemanly? Do they see me as an ignorant fool who does not know what he is talking about? Or do they think I am just the nice guy who finishes last? Honestly, I don’t know.  Nor do I feel like I would want to. But, there is a comforting light that I have found in all of this gloom.

               

                While I was listening to Pandora one of my favorite songs came on. It is by a band called GROUPLOVE and the song is titled “Colours”. I have heard this song many times before and I love it. However, I have never really have taken the time to understand it or its message. Until just a bit ago I finally took the time to really understand and listen to what the song was saying. And believe it or not the song really has spoken to me, especially concerning what I am talking about today.  The song as a whole has really comforted me, but there are some particular lyrics in this amazing song that really stood out for me. They are as follows:

“So I pull the switch, the switch, the switch inside my head.
And I see black, black, green,
and brown, brown, brown and blue, yellow, violets, red.
And suddenly a light appears inside my brain
And I think of my ways,
I think of my days
and know that I have changed.

It's the colors you have
No need to be sad.
It really ain't that bad.

It's the colors you have
No need to be sad.
You've still got your hand”

              

                 Personally what I take from this little part of the song and the whole song as well is that I am who I am. I do not need to see what others think of me as burdens. I have no real reason to be sad about how others see me. And that even though I feel brought down to my knees by it all, it really ain’t that bad.

                 The fact is, there is always going to be someone who sees me in a negative or not so flattering light. I cannot change that. All I can do is wear the colors I have as best I can and learn what I can on my journey through life.