I'm Kind Of A Big Deal

That is me at a Papa Roach concert. I know, I'm cool.

Featured on the 98 rock website, here's the link if you guys would like to check it out:

http://www.98online.com/photos-miller-lite-nite-07.asp

Eventful Week Ahead

First of all, this Thursday I will be attending The Fray's concert so I'm extremely excited about that. What can I say, my friends love me and they continue to spoil me with concerts; which is the very reason I am taking them to a Goo Goo Dolls/Lifehouse concert in July. For those of you who know me well, you should know that those two bands are two of my favorite bands of all time. So I'm very excited about that, but it's totally for them, I swear :)

Anyway, a very close friend of mine is celebrating her 22nd birthday this Saturday so we have a couple of events planned for the weekend as well. Friday we will be going to eat at Kobe and Saturday will be spent at Six Flags. Now, I love food and I love roller coasters, however, I have to say I'm somewhat dreading these two events a little bit and heres why. For one, Kobe, its really great food and good entertainment (it's the restaurant where you sit around a grill and watch the Japanese guy cook your food in front of you and do tricks etc) but it's also one of those places that I happen to continually embarrass myself while I'm there. I have been there twice, the first time I didn't really know what to expect, but I had a lot of fun, minus the fact that I always seem to be the one the chef picks on, no matter where I sit. Anyway, near the end of the "show" the chef cuts up little pieces of shrimp that he gracefully throws at you so that you can catch it in your mouth. Well-the first time that I ever went I didn't really know what was happening until it was too late and the little piece of shrimp had hit me on my forehead, I was of course the first one he chucked it at so by the time he got to everyone else they had their laugh and knew exactly what to do. The second time I went, I was determined to prove that I had great eye-mouth coordination and it's all I thought about the entire time, you can do it Amanda, you're ready this time. The mixture of anticipation and anxiety was enough to give anyone a heart attack. So, I see him set the little pieces of shrimp off to the side and I'm ready for it. He throws it at my little sister, she catches it in her mouth, he throws it at my mom, shes catches it in her mouth, he throws it at me and I lift my head up just enough so that it smacks me right in the eye. Bravo Amanda, bravo. So, needless to say, I'm not looking forward to that part of the dinner because I won't be with my family this time (who cares if I embarrass myself in front of them) but I'll be with my friends and my girlfriend. Ha-Wish me luck!

As for Six Flags, there's the obvious annoyance of standing in line for an hour for 2 minutes of thrill, however, I also have a curse. It seems to storm every time I go to Six Flags, not rain, STORM. So I have that to look forward to as well.

Philosophy for today:

Character and intelligence. The poles your talent spins on, displaying your gifts. One without the other brings only half success. It isn't enough to be intelligent; you must also have the right character. The fool fails by behaving without regard to his condition, position, origin, or friendships.

100th Post!

I've decided to celebrate my 100th post by adding something new to my blog. I came across this book, The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian. It's a pocket oracle and basically there is a philosophical statement of a sorts for each day of the year. You are supposed to read one each day and think/ponder about it. I've decided to share this with you guys just in case you want to think/ponder about things with me. :)

I'm not sure if I can keep up with the every day thing, I mean, it is me we're talking about here :) But I will try my best. Perhaps I will just select one from the book that may pertain to a particular entry or way that I'm feeling at the time. We'll see :)

But, to start it off, here's the very first one in the book:

All has reached perfection, and becoming a true person is the greatest perfection of all. It takes more to make one *sage today than it did to make the seven of Greece. And you need more resources to deal with a single person these days than with an entire nation in times past.

*sage
1. a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom.
2. someone venerated for the possession of wisdom, judgment, and experience.
–adjective
3. wise, judicious, or prudent: sage advice.

Happiest Day Of My Life

My dad had his final CT scan yesterday after his first round (round meaning 6 treatments of chemo) of treatment to see if the chemo worked or not. If the chemo worked they would continue treatment and if it didn't work they would end treatment and give us a final prognosis.

Yesterday was also my mom's 40th birthday and she got the best birthday present ever-yesterday we found out that the tumor in his liver has shrunk down to less than half it's size and the tumor in his pancreas hasn't spread at all. My mother said that the Drs stared at my dad as if he were some kind of medical marvel, they couldn't believe it. Everyone at the hospital was ecstatic and the nurses were saying that they wanted to call my dad a few days ago when they got the results but the Drs made them wait.

My father is also taking part in experimental drug research, he is the 4th person in the country to try this drug and they said they are getting excellent results so far. The Drs also said that the one in a million chance they were telling us about in the beginning may actually come true. This will still be the cause of my father's death, but the 6 month prognosis has been changed to as much as 5-10 yrs if he continues to respond to treatment so well.

I'm not getting my hopes up here, however, this is the best news my family has had in a long time and I'm all for celebrating that :)

So, great news, great day for everyone and I happened to be enjoying a snowball with my mom, all alone-

Me: Mom, I have something kind of important to tell you...
Mom: Oh my god, what is it!? What's wrong?
Me: Ha ha, nothing is wrong mom, its just-I've been dating a girl for the past three weeks...
Mom: Ha ha, jeez, you scared me there for a second, I thought you got like a DWI or were in some kind of trouble or something
Me: A DWI? Thanks mom...so you're not shocked or weirded out by me?
Mom: Of course not honey, whoever makes you happy, makes me happy. I'm not shocked at all.
Me: Really? Why not?
Mom: Well, you rent and own a lot of gay movies for a straight person.
Me: Ha ha, good call. Well, thanks for being so understanding, can you tell dad for me?
Mom: Ha ha, why can't you tell him?
Me: I don't know man, that's like going to him and telling him I need to be on birth control or something
Mom: Ha ha, ok honey, I will tell him, he will be fine with it though

Get home, mom tells dad, dad's response-

Dad: Are you sure you're just not confused?
Mom: She's a little too old to be confused John
Me: Yeah dad, I'm definitely not confused
Dad: Ok honey, whatever floats your boat I guess

So my parents are pretty much awesome. Yesterday was the best friggin day I have had in a long time :)And, I thought for sure that they would act differently around me or wouldn't know how to act, but, they act as if nothing has changed. Life is good :)

Antibacterial Soap Isn't The Cure I Was Hoping For...

My dad had to miss another chemo treatment because his platelets and white blood cells are dangerously low, lower than they were the last time he had to miss a treatment...He is very close to the range that they have to hospitalize you and give you a blood transfusion. Now there is antibacterial soap all over my house and he has to wear a face mask whenever he leaves...I can't even begin to imagine how that must make him feel...Not only do I have to deal with the fact that my father is dying but now I also have to worry about accidentally giving him a germ that could potentially kill him...What kind of torture is this? Why am I even typing this right now?

I hate washing my hands with that soap...it hurts...it almost makes it too real, to feel the sadness on my hands...to hold it...to smell it...to rinse it away with water...

Out & About

I am now in a relationship.

Her name is Vanessa. She's wonderful and perfect for me :)

The past couple of weeks I can't help but feel extremely lucky. My friends have been nothing but supportive of me. It's a shame that sometimes when people come out with something like this they have to suffer some kind of loss and I feel like I have only gained so much and I have so much to be thankful for.

I feel like I have finally started a new chapter of my life and I'm extremely excited about it and very happy because of it.

Bring it on :)

Monday Night Madness

There is only one woman on this earth that could drink almost an entire bottle of Jose Cuervo with me on a Monday night and then wake up at 6am the next day :) Thanks for letting me borrow your girlfriend for a night Will, I had a great time beating her in pool and getting her drunk :)

Cheers!

P.S. I can only play DDR at like 100bpm or less and then its just hilarious because its so slow, there are pictures, these will not be posted.