My plans today?
Living vicariously through all of you an' accepting any donations of chocolates for my poor poor stomach.

As true with most Valentines/Singles Awareness Days, I try to be fiscally responsible and keep myself single.

Like some of my friends, we have issues with the consumer holidays.
Why spend only one day focusing on someone you love.
Make it everyday.
Make it every night.
Make it right now.
At the least, treat yourself to something special.

I've got fried chicken, yogurt, & a Burn Notice marathon.
I'm good.

I'm also available as a part-time Valentine this year to anyone that would like one.
Goin' stir crazy in the apartment as of late.

More posts headed your way!
...possibly?

As we edge closer to Valentines/Singles Awareness Day, I thought it'd be fun to share one of my more popular pieces during my open mic runs.

To My First Ex
...
.....
.....*sigh*
....
......I hate you.
----------------------

This is probably one of the most honest pieces I've ever put together.

Open Mics, how I've missed thee.
Now that I've found solid venues in the San Diego area, I'm making a more concentrated effort to frequent them.
I figure once a month is a good start.

In theory, that leads to me posting here more often as I've been on a writing binge as of late.

And then I discover the actual benefits to regular exercise.

It's stories like these that lead to people asking me "How do you do that Reggie?"
I don't know.
I just do.
Is it charm?
Is it luck?
Are planetary alignments involved?
Does it have anything to do with me being an Asian that has size 11 shoes?
Read through and come up with your own theory as to how I make new friends.

Last week I started jogging regularly again.
Partially to test out my knee strength.
Mostly to see if I can get back into shape and start acting full-time again.

I'm approaching mile three of my run/sprint/walk.
Being weighed down by the cassette-tape walkman I carry with me during my jogs I find myself at a leisurely point of my run.
A brunette vision of blurry beauty flies past me.
Maybe it's hunting instincts.
Maybe it's testosterone telling me I can't look weak in front of women.
Regardless of the actual reason, I find myself sprinting after her.
I'm thankful the stoplights around here are my friend.
A redlight helps me catch up to her.

Heavy breathing on my part, I send a smile her way as I walk up next to her.
She sends a smile back my way.
"Wow."
"Wow?"
"Your smile took my breath away... that or the block I just jogged."
She laughs.
I feel slightly more confident that I actually might have personality when my looks fade.
Introductions are made, we converse and jog, all the way back to her apartment complex.
I happened to be 2/3 done with my jog.
She just started her jog.
Gotta love motivational elements.

Having to ice my knee for half the day was worth it.
I guess.
Got a number.
Barely 20.
Got a jogging/hike buddy.

I truly do lead a boring life.

Can I?

How can I go on
Knowing I sleep alone again?
There's an emptiness in my soul.
Can you help me fill it please?

Can I
Get your number?
(I feel so alone.)

Please choose me.
(I'm so, so lonely.)

How 'bout your name?
(I wasn't really paying attention the first time you mentioned it)

My bad.

Truthfully,
Your smile is all I need.
------------------------

Generally, this is what you'll get from me if you ask me to pull a poem/serenade from out of nowhere for you.
Other actually serious pieces are still on my editor's table.

So I came back to the pad after a bar outing to clear my mind and I notice that it's been cleaned.
Well, clean for a bachelor pad.

As I recycled alcohol from the night's festivities into the toilet, I noticed that the toilet had gotten a makeover.
Completely spotless...

There's a woman in the apartment!

I'm glad my interest in mystery shows growing up have paid off.
Other roomie/buddy invited a lady friend over while we were out an' about.

On a sidenote: I really want to have my own little bachelor pad again.
Kinda over the adventure of sleeping on couches.

First post of 2011.
Anything amazing or profound to be found in this one?

Nope.

Just a thought I came up with the other day:
It's hard to bloom late when you're a weed.

Today's filler post is brought to you by something my friends an' I want to tryout in San Diego's Gaslamp District.
As more and more people find themselves aware of papercuts this weekend, I hope that the holiday season finds itself treating you well.

Untitled

I'm not the greatest
I'm not part of that list
Why does my life always try to make me believe this ish?
I'll just ignore all the nay-sayers and all of life's negatives
Focus on the narratives, avoid yelling out too many expletives
Tell myself to stop thinking that my life is irrelevant
Because it's relevant

To hell with this

The name change to Calamity, was that done on purpose?
Your name used to mean something now I find that it's worthless
I know that it was subtle over this passing of time
For far too long you've been messing with my mind
With some undermined
Unrefined
Intertwined
Seemingly baseless showing of emotions left behind
That can make a man feel like he's flying blind
Yours is the type that's always mine mine mine
Kinda hard for our hearts to align
Especially when you have me focusing all my energies to build you a shrine

Moving on

There's no point wasting more time on this
When there are other reasons that the pains in my heart still exist
Lives taken early before they've even hit their prime
I can only tell myself that they heard the chimes
Of Heaven's bells
Calling back some of their angels from Earth
Their lives had worth
From every smile that was created from the day of their birth
To the the dearth of tears that hit the ground when they go under the dirt
The pain is real enough to cause one disconcert
I will be here holding on to that hurt
At least until we can all assert...

That every life has value and shouldn't be taken for granted
But if you do find yourself as one of the disenchanted
From the daily struggles of life's give & take
Than for goodness or whatever you believe in's sake
Just go ahead and throw away your life
Just don't do it in a way that can cause others strife
Make us perpetuate
Towards this cycle of hate
To a guy whose prison sentence doesn't seem long enough
To another that shot himself because he thought his life was too rough

Fuck you

Taking the easy way out
I can sit here thinking that without a doubt
As a three year old's fears fill the room with cries
That you couldn't look directly into your daughter's eyes
Man up an' try to explain to her why
You wrapped your hands around your wife's neck too tight
Sent into a coma a life that was bright
Eventually she ended up losing the fight
Month's later still nothing seems right

And you
Yes you
The guy that shot himself
You think you aren't the only with too much crap on the shelf?
Disease, hunger, foreclosures, unemployment
You think that you're the only one lacking in enjoyment?
Well you're definitely not, you made sure of that
With a selfish act
That outright went and attacked
Our sensibilities of what's right with this world

Goddamn

But what can we do now except keep our heads held high?
Use our legs to keep walking forward on the path that's right
Remind ourselves that it's okay to cry
And with time everything turns out alright

Good things happen to good people
Eventually I'll be right

-------------------------

Woke up in a writing mood.
This is what poured out.
Kinda covers most of the past few months for me.

In theory, I'll switch back to lighter pieces in the near future.

I once had boxer briefs that were damp like like teenybopper's panties at a Justin Bieber concert.
Essentially, the dryers at this apartment complex are horrible.

Been meaning to post more content here.
Just found myself dealing with a fever an' general stress.
I've learned I don't put up ideal posts when I'm in grumpy pants mode.

I did take full advantage of the fever however an' put together some interesting work.
Horton Hears a Hoohah.
If only I had access to a scanner again.

I'm not sure about you folks, but I tend to be thankful 364 days a year.

At some of my friends' insistence, I've been trying to take a break from dating.
Mostly because I've been dealing with alot of misses that, along with other circumstances in my life, have kinda shaken my confidence.
In theory, this break helps me to recover an' bring a little stability to my life.

To celebrate, I found myself at a gourmet burger establishment the other day.
Found myself leaving with a phone number.

It's a blessing or a curse.
I'm thinking at this point I either need an intervention or should just accept my family's designation of resident bachelor/playboy.

Currently, I blame _____ for my current bout with sickness.

Going into 5 months of unemployment with no aid from the Government has pretty much destroyed my savings.
Entering the next week, I'm looking at $47 to last me 'til the end of the month.
That's probably just gonna go towards gas.

Generally, that's not the ideal monetary situation heading into a weekend at Vegas to celebrate a cousin's wedding.
Especially when I want to try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRQl8BaqZ50

It's a controlled freefall from the top of the Stratosphere.
Sets back any adrenaline junkie like myself about $114.

I figure with enough friends, I could easily fundraise that through donations/loans.
But that's just selfish an' unlike my nature.
There are so many great causes out there.
The one in particular I'd like you to focus your attention on is this one:

Music with a Cause
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans

For those with low attention spans, let me try my best to sum up what's happening here.

At the time of this posting, there are 12 days left for people to place pledges.
These pledges help him cover the cost of recording a full album that he's been deserving of for many years.
Unlike other people that use this pledge program, Derek Evans plans on putting a good portion of those pledges towards three outstanding cause.

Specifically:
Lemons to Aid - http://lemonstoaid.org/
The Dana Farber Cancer Institute - http://www.dana-farber.org/
Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research - http://www.michaeljfox.org/

Three very worthy charitable organizations.
However, this is an All or Nothing campaign.
If he's unable to hit his goal 100%, no one will be charged an' he won't be able to contribute to those charities.

Derek Evans is an amazing talent.
A genuine class act in a world that sorely needs people like him.
An artist with a passion for music an' for helping others.

Do me a favor, help him out.
Make a pledge.
Share this story an' the webpage with your friends an' family.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/derekevans
http://www.derekevansmusic.com/

Thank you for your time.

Conversations with a Niece Pt.II

Her: Hi Uncle Reggie!
Me: Hey little one. Did you forget to brush your teeth? Your breath smells.
Her: I brushed my teeth already. Silly Uncle, you can't smell over the phone.
Me: I can.
Her: Really?
Me: ...no.
Her: Boo! Why do you like tricking me?
Me: Because you're adorable.
Her: So Daddy wanted me to tell you that the woman you are dating right now is a cunt.
Me: *laughter* That's sweet dear. Thank you for telling me that.
Her: What does cunt mean?
Me: You might want to ask your mom about that.
---------------------------

So this conversation actually came around late September.
Really need to laugh at the time.
If I could, I would've hugged the ish out of her.

Personally, I define cunt as:

Can't
Understand
Normal
Thinking

I really do lead a boring life.

At the moment, I'm perfectly okay with breaking down mentally.
Physically, not so much.

Currently wearing an eyepatch.
While I do look amazing, I'd just prefer it to be under different circumstances.

I'm under the impression that my stress level caused a blood vessel to pop in my eye.
It's been irritating me for the entire day.

Good times with life.
Good times.