Journal of the Vernimal
Friday, January 30, 2004
What to do......
Please come now I think I'm falling
I'm holding on to all I think is safe
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And I'm trying to escape
I yelled back when I heard thunder
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out 'Heaven save me'
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Sad eyes follow me
But I still believe there's something left for me
So please come stay with me
Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me
For you and me
For you and me
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Please come now I think I'm falling
I'm holding on to all I think is safe
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
MY VACATION TO MIAMI AND THE BAHAMAS!!! WHAT AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!!!
Talk about one of the best vacations i've ever been on. From beginning to end it was an experience of a life time. I realized that there are 2 kinds of vacations. Vacation #1: When you do nothing but relax the whole vacation. Vacation #2: When you have a timetable and you try to do everything possible. Of course since I was with my family Vacation #2 is what happened. Pretty much I had like no sleep the entire vacation. But It was well worth it. Pretty soon I'll have all my pictures up from the vacation. We went on this cruise cause its my parents 35th anniversary. All who went: My parents, My oldest brother Vergil, his wife Jeanette, my nephew Justin, my brother Vincent, his fiancee Charlene, my brother Vic, his wife Pam, my niece Allura, and of course myself. Here is the time table of our whole vacation.
Thursday: A NIGHT IN MIAMI
07:00 AM Vincent brings Vic, Pam, and Allura to the airport (they took United Airlines)
11:00 AM My aunt brings my mom, dad, and myself to the airport (we take United)
12:00 PM We check-in our baggage
12:15 PM We eat McDonalds
12:30 PM At the gate, the gate agent asks anyone to give up their seats and go on a later flight (Flight was overbooked)
So I gave up my seat, got a free roundtrip ticket, and get booked on the 5:40 flight to Miami
01:20 PM My parents take off from O-hare for Miami
01:30 PM I hang out at the airport with my cousin Rose
03:00 PM Vince and Charlene's flight gets changed to my flight so we go together. I get bumped up to Business class.
05:20 PM Vergil, Jeanette, and Justin leave for Miami on American Airlines
05:40 PM Vince, Charlene, and I finally leave for Miami. On the whole trip there, alcohol was free, so the flight attendant kept refilling my glass with wine.
09:30 PM We finally arrive in Miami (I AM SO DRUNK BY THEN, 20 or so glasses later)
09:45 PM Romeo picks up the 3 of us at the airport and we head to the hotel.
10:15 PM We drop Vince and Charlene off and we pick up my bag at the Holiday Inn
10:45 PM We change at Romeo's and we pick up Paul
11:15 PM We get to Jade. It's a nice Hip-hop club it was jammed pack. I had one drink there and was so messed up. We met up with Anthony and Jose and some of Romeo's other friends.
12:15 AM We get back to Romeo's to change
12:45 AM We get to Twist. This was an awesome club. I liked the 3 different rooms of music. I met so many people there it was ridiculous. People I met included Alvic, David, Jaime, to name a few it was a great time, Awesome dance music was played.
04:00 AM We head back to Romeo's and pass out
Friday: MIAMI AND ON THE CRUISE
10:00 AM Romeo drops me off at the hotel
10:30 AM The family walks across the street to Bayside Mall
11:00 AM We eat at a chinese restaurant
12:00 PM We stop by Walgreen's for last minute shopping
12:30 PM We head to the Carnival Cruise boat Fascination
02:00 PM We are all checked in and we all get in our rooms to get familiar with our surroundings (i'm bunked with my brother Vergil and Jeanette)
02:00 PM We all eat the lunch buffet on the Lido Pool Deck (Let me tell you, All I did on this trip was Eat and drink) We also get our first 2 rounds of drinks
02:30 PM Vic, Pam, and I wander around the boat to get familiar with where everything is (Plus getting more drinks along the way)
04:30 PM Mandatory Lifeboat Drill (We all get our life jackets and learn about boat safety
05:00 PM We walk on top of the deck and take more pictures
06:15 PM The family goes to the Gourmet Dinner in the Sensation Dining Room (It's a 4 course meal) I got the Lobster Tail.....It was delicious
07:30 PM Charlene and I go to the Spa to see if we won a free Spa treatment, of course we didn't
08:30 PM Charlene, Ted, and I go to the Casino (I didn't play yet) They both played Roulette.
10:00 PM Charlene, Ted, and I go to Jackpot Bingo and don't win again.
10:30 PM We meet up with everybody and my parents take care of the 2 kids so the rest of us could have a good time. We all decide to go to the Karaoke lounge.
11:00 PM We all decide to go to the Casino. I only played 5 dollars in the slot machine and lost it.
12:00 AM We go hang out in the club. the DJ REALLY REALLY Sucked.
12:30 AM We go eat at the Midnight Pasta buffet. IT WAS GOOODDD
01:30 AM We go back to the Casino.
02:30 AM I decide to play again so i put 2 dollars in and I won $50 in the 25 cent slots.
03:30 AM I go eat Pizza at the all-night pizzeria
05:00 AM I finally go to sleep
Saturday: A DAY IN NASSAU, BAHAMAS
09:00 AM The family goes to eat breakfast. Basically at teh breakfast you could have anything you want, So I order, cereal, eggs, an omelette, pancakes, hash browns, sausage, bacon, corn beef hash, and a few danishes.
11:00 AM We finally get off the boat an into Nassau.
11:30 AM We take a tour of Nassau and the island we were on New Providence.
12:30 PM My parents get blessed by the bishop of Nassau for their anniversary.
01:30 PM We take a tour of the Atlantis Hotel
02:30 PM Tours over, and my parents take the 2 kids back to the boat while the rest of us eat and shop
03:00 PM We eat at The Iguana Bar and Grill. I ordered Grilled Dolphin with Mango Sauce. It was a very interesting Bahamian Dish. It tasted very good.
04:00 PM We all go shopping around Nassau
05:00 PM We head back to the boat and meet up with my parents to get ready for dinner.
05:30 PM We all get all-you-can-eat sushi.
06:15 PM We eat dinner at the dining room our server was the bomb. I ordered the Tenderloin Beef Au Jus.
07:30 PM We take more pictures around the boat
08:30 PM Vic and Vergil join the Blackjack Tournament. Pam and Jeanette go to watch them. My parents took the kids again of course.
09:00 PM Charlene, Vince, and I go to the Game Show Mania. I was so frustrated at how easy the questions were, that the Game show host picked ME to be on stage. When I got on stage, I got stage fright and I froze, I knew all the answers but felt like a dumbass
10:00 PM We go meet up with my other brothers at the Casino
11:00 PM We head out back to Nassau
11:15 PM We get to Senor Frogs...We were about to go in but it was live music so we ended up not going in
11:30 PM We get to Club Waterloo, a Hip-hop and Reggae club. This turned out to be a great place. We were cool with the bartender and met some cool people there.
02:00 AM We get back to the boat (I'm so drunk again) and go directly to the casino
02:30 AM I finally decide to play blackjack at the same table that Vic was playing at. I only put down $20. I was so sloshed that Vic played for me. Apparently I had a 10-hand run in a row and within 10 minutes I was up $250. So I pulled out when I had $220 so then I was up $200 for the night ($250 for the weekend so far)
03:30 AM Ted, Vic, Pam, and I go to the Pizzeria to celebrate my win, I order a round of drinks and get Pizza for everyone
04:30 AM We finally go to bed
SUNDAY: A FUN DAY AT SEA
09:30 AM We eat breakfast at the Dining room
10:30 AM We go to play Bingo
11:00 AM We attend the Debarkation Talk
12:00 PM I go and sign up for the Talent Show
12:30 PM I meet up with everyone at the kiddie pool and playarea
01:30 PM Vic, Pam, Allura, and I meet up with my parents for lunch
02:30 PM Vic, Pam, Allura, and I finally have time to relax and get a tan for a few hours.
05:45 PM I treat Pam to a manicure with me at the spa, My manicurist Shantal did a great job.
06:15 PM Pam and I meet up with everyone else at dinner
08:00 PM Charlene, Ted, and I go play ping-pong
09:00 PM We get all our stuff packed for coming back
10:00 PM I get ready for the Talent Show
10:30 PM THE GUEST TALENT SHOW: I performed with scarves, lights, and glowsticks (EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WAS BAD ASS) I do have a copy of this show if you would like to see it
12:00 AM We go to the Midnight Buffet
01:30 AM Vergil and I go to the Casino.
02:00 AM Vic, Charlene, and Vince meet up with us. Vic helps me play again and I win another $200. ($450 all together)04:00 AM Everyone goes up except Vergil and Me. I decided to play again and I win another $50 by the time they kicked me out of the casino for closing (all in all I won $500 in the casino)
05:30 AM I finally go to sleep
MONDAY: A DAY AT THE AIRPORT
08:00 AM Our final gourmet breakfast
09:00 AM our final pictures
10:00 AM We disembark
11:00 AM We get to the Airport, our flight isn't until 4:30. I pass out and fall asleep
01:30 PM We go eat lunch at Chili's and I fall asleep there again.
03:00 PM We go to the gate, and I fall asleep again.
04:30 PM Our flight gets delayed due to the bad weather in Chicago.
06:00 PM we finally leave Miami (I sleep the whole trip)
08:30 PM we arrive back in Chicago
10:30 PM HOME SWEET HOME!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, January 22, 2004
MIX 17 IS FINALLY UP!!!
OK everybody!!! After a 1 year Hiatus MIX17 is finally up!!! Check it out. I think you'll like it.... The tracklisting will be posted up soon.
I'M OFF TO MIAMI AND THE BAHAMAS
Well I'm just hours away from going on vacation. I'm going to Miami and on a cruise to the Bahamas! I'll let you all know how my vacation was when I come back.
DAILY RECAP:
Wednesday:
Went to Hunter's.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
A month of Spiritual Renewal and a New Direction (Part II)
Now comes the rocky part of the month. SOOO many ups and downs that I have gone through. Things Change.....People Change.... I will try to comment on how I was feeling on each day.....
DAILY RECAP:
Thursday 01/01:
THE DAY OF REALIZATION
At Hunters I can't believe I got my friend Dave to come. I haven't seen him in like 2 years! I was so happy he was able to share New Years with me. I also met some familiar faces there! It was a fun time at Hunters. After Hunter's I headed over to Randy's for the after party. At Randy's I was able to finish the scrapbook (after 681 hours whew). Before I gave it to Randy, Randy and I had the first heart-to-heart in a long time. We talked for a few hours about the friction between us that be the time I gave him the book, I didn't get the reaction I was looking for. I was happy he was happy to get the book, but hurt, cause it didn't seem like he wanted the book. I listened well to his words and we rejoined the party. So then I had to bring Dave back to my house cause he had to get going, so I borrowed Tom's car. When I got home, my brother Vergil started yelling at me because I had Tom's car, so then my parent join in on the argument, about my life and where it's going. A long story short... I finally got my dad to realize my faults and for the first time in my life, my dad ACTUALLY apologized to me. For the past 3 years all my dad ever did was yell at me for the smallest thing. Ever since then he has NOT yet raised his voice at me. I was crying the entire time. Right after the argument, I called Randy and told him what had happened. I then had to stop by Juanito's on my way back to Randy's. When I was at Juanito's i passed out for a bit. In the meantime, Tom was looking for me cause I had his car.. (I'm so sorry Tom). When I woke up , I booked to Randy's. They were mad at me for not bringing the car back in a reasonable time. (I'm truly sorry). That's when Randy told me to re-evaluate my life and see where it's going. So then Tom drops me off at home.
Friday 01/02:
THE DAY OF THOUGHT
I literally stayed in my bed ALL day thinking about what had happened, I was utterly depressed. I only left my bed to get food and to go to the bathroom. Randy wasn't talking to me, and it really hurt that he wouldn't. I began to think that the first step is to talk to some of my close friends about my life.
Saturday 01/03:
THE DAY OF STEVE
Another day of staying in bed. around 10 PM I called up Steve and ask to go over and talk to him. For some reason, I always talk to steve first when I'm down. He's always been one of my two consciences (Stephano being the other one). He tell me outright what to think about any situation I present to him. So he and I talked for a few hours about my life.
Sunday 01/04:
THE DAY OF JOEL AND JORGE
It's Sunday and I pick up Joel and we go to Crobar. Jorge met us up there. At Crobar I talked to Joel and Jorge about my life for a few hours. Teri tore up the club with her AWESOME music. She even play Flower Duet!!!! The best was when we were about to leave, she plays Yomanda - Sunshine. We all ran back to the dance floor and went nuts...
Monday 01/05:
THE DAY OF TOM AND STEPHANO
The next set of conversations pursued. In the afternoon I talked to Tom on the phone for a few hours about the situation. Then Stephano and I went to eat at Applebee's and of course talked about the whole situation. We then both watched Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. What a great movie to end the LOTR saga.
Tuesday 01/06:
THE DAY OF RON
So for dinner, I went with the family to China Chef for my Uncle Romy's Birthday. It was a great time. The food would not stop coming. I was so stuffed from all the good food. When I got home I talked to Ron on the phone for a few hours about my life.
Wednesday 01/07:
THE DAY OF JEM, RIJAY, JON, and MANNY
So I go and pick up Rijay and go to Jem's to hang out. So then I go over with Rijay and Jem about my life. And I take in their input. In the afternoon, I helped Jon bring in his new car to the shop, and while we were waiting for his car, I go over my life with him. Then I had dinner with Manny. I decided to treat Manny to Cheesecake Factory. There I go over my life with him as the final person on my list. Then I went off to Hunter's and chilled with Ron and Randy there. After Hunter's Randy, Ron,and I went over to Steve's.
Thursday 01/08:
THE DAY OF RECONCILIATION
So Randy and I talked for about 10 hours and we were able to fix the problems we had. I was happy this happened cause I hate it when friends are mad at me. So then Randy and I went to Home Depot to get supplies for Randy's mom and to pick out the colors to paint my room. Randy's mom and Ron meet us there. Then we headed over to Randy's parents house to install the new ceiling fan. Ron left cause he had things to do, then Manny came over to help out and stuff. Manny then had to go home. When we were done, Randy and I decided to hang out at the hottub. Becky came over to join us for a bit, and the Rijay and Jem come by as well. We had fun hanging out in the weight room. Randy did a few backflips and other kooky moves.
Friday 01/09:
Rijay and Jem come over and chilled at my house. We pretty much just watched movies and played on the computer. Then I headed over to Manny's to get a haircut. I was so tired when I got to Manny's I pretty much just slept there for a bit. I wake up like at 1:30AM and then headed to Hunters. I chilled with Ron and Randy there for a bit.
Saturday 01/10:
I spent the day babysitting Allura and Justin. Then I headed to Crush for Timmy's and Deo's Birthday. I hung out with the old crew. I had a great time there. Afterwards I headed to Hunter's and met up with Randy, Manny, Jon, and Stephano.
Sunday 01/11:
Pretty much chilled at home. It was the first Sunday that I didn't go to Crobar.
Monday 01/12:
Started my "Friends" marathon. I watched part of the first season.
Tuesday 01/13:
I went to Archiver's with Charlene and Ted to work on their invitations. Continued my "Friends" marathon with Rijay and Jem.
Wednesday 01/14:
Went to Archiver's in Bloomingdale to work on the invitations. Then Ron and I went to Oberweis for dessert. We then chilled at his crib. Then we went to Hunter's and met up with Randy there. Randy didn't get there til about almost midnight.
Thursday 01/15:
Went over to Randy's for "THE MEETING". Basically Stephano and Manny also came over. We went over what I've learned the past few weeks and I finally got a chance to talk to John about everything.
Friday 01/16:
I picked up Brian and we went to Hunter's. Romeo was in town and I got a chance to see him there at Hunter's. Randy met us up there. I also saw a lot of old faces like Jason, Joey, and Jonny. I also got to see Tim :) as always. We all had a blast. When we were leaving, Joey locked his keys in his car, So Brian, Joey, and I went to Steve's to pick a wire hanger so we could break into the car. When we got back Randy was able to help and after a while they were able to open it. So then Jonny, John, and Monica hop in my car cause they needed a ride back. So I dropped off Brian, and then Jonny, John, Monica, and I go to Golden Nugget to eat. I then dropped them off.
Saturday 01/17:
I hung out with Randy at Steve's. That night was Jorge's going-away party. Then I picked up Rijay and headed to my house. Then Tom came over. Rijay and Tom helped me create Jorge's gift. We decided to give him a mini-collage of all his friends and it would fit in his wallet. Ron also came over to help out. So then Tom goes to the party at Sandra's House with my JBL Speakers. Then Ron and Rijay head there. Then finally I'm able to get out of the house to go to the party. I had so much fun at the party. All of Jorge's close friends celebrating him going off to the military. Jorge loved my gift. I love giving such gifts that will last a lifetime. I also spun there for a little bit
Sunday 01/18:
Hung out with everybody at Randy's. We had a great time just chillin and hanging out.
Monday 01/19:
Chilled at home. Started to watch Season 2 of "Friends"
Tuesday 01/20:
More babysitting of Allura and Justin. Then I went to school. I'm taking "Networking Basics" cause I'm going for my CCNA certificate
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
A month of Spiritual Renewal and a New Direction (Part I)
Well finally I can get back into my daily journaling. Sorry it took so long but this past month has been a doozy. SOOO much has happened. In December I pretty much spent all my waking moments working on my christmas presents especially the one for my best friend Randy. His present took about 5 months (681 man hours) to complete. I made him a scrapbook of the past year. It was well worth the effort put into it.
DAILY RECAP:
Wed. 12/10:
Went to Whirl Wednesdays at Hunter's as usual and hung out with Randy and Ron.
Thurs. 12/11:
Spent the day at Archiver's working on the Christmas presents
Friday 12/12:
I wasn't gonna go out at all but Tom conned me to going out for Becky's birthday. She celebrated it at Crobar. Crobar honestly is more fun on Sundays than it is on a Friday or Saturday. The DJ was Felix da Housecat. I really didn't get into his music. Then I headed of to Joel's and met up with Joel, Norbert, Josh, Joe, Randy, Stephano, Manny, Jon, and a bunch of others and we all hung out to celebrate Becky's birthday.
Saturday 12/13:
Hung out at Jon's apartment with Jenny and everybody before going to work.
Sunday 12/14:
Hung out at Juanito's apartment with Jem, Rijay, Joe, Mike, Tony, Annette, Jesse, Denise, and of course Juanito. We ended up playing spades and chillin. Later I went to pick up Joel and Jorge and we went to Crobar as always
Monday 12/15:
Went to Archiver's to work on the Christmas Presents
Tuesday 12/16:
Went to Archiver's to work on the Christmas Presents
Wednesday 12/17:
Went to Archiver's to work on the Christmas Presents. I actually didn't go to Hunter's for the first time in forever, mostly cause I was WAY too tired from going ot Archiver's so much.
Thursday 12/18:
Another day at Archiver's
Friday 12/19:
I was too busy working on the scrapbook that I opted not to go to Visions when everybody was urging me to go. But the Becky calls me like at 1AM and asks me to go, so then I was persuaded to go. I did though bring the scrapbook with me so I could work on it. I met Becky and Kathy at Visions. We all met up with like Manny, Stephano, Jon, Angel and everybody else. We all decided to hang out at Jon's afterwards. At Jon's while they were hanging out, I was working on the scrapbook. Yes I'm a nerd
Saturday 12/20:
Becky, Tom, Kathy, and I hung out at Brian's for a while. Then I went home. Norbert so graciously came to pick me up to hang out. We both ended up being dragged by my brother Vergil to Best Buy, as well as other places. Norbert was kind enough to drop me off at Deo's. Then Deo, Emer, Gel, and I headed to Manny and Rachel's for their Christmas Party. It was a fun time. At the Christmas party we had a lot of fun hanging out and then later Manny brought out the Karaoke. We all took turns singing almost every song on the Karaoke list. It was A LOT of fun! Then Becky picked me up and we went to Visions. It was ok there.
Sunday 12/21:
Spent the morning at Brendan's apartment hanging out with Ryan and friends. We had a lot of philisophical conversations. It was a great time as always. That night went to Crobar as always with Joel and Jorge.
Monday 12/22:
Went to Archiver's as always
Tuesday 12/23:
Hung out at Tony's. Rijay, Jem, and Joe were helping me with the scrapbook, such great friends helping me out.
Wednesday 12/24:
Spent the day working on the scrapbook hoping to finish it for Christmas Day but to no avail. Went to Hunter's that night. Met up with Ron, Randy, and Tim there. It was always a pleasure to Celebrate Christmas with my good friends Ron, Randy, and Tim. We decided to head over to Randy's afterwards.
Thursday 12/25:
Hung out with Randy, Ron, Manny, Steve, Jon, and Stephano at Randy's. Pretty much just chilled and hung out. Then Randy, Steve, and I headed over to Steve's for a while. We hung out there for a bit. Then I went over to Vic's to attempt to finish the book, but I gave up and decided to give Randy the book at New Year's. So then I went home to celebrate Christmas dinner. Then I headed to Oasis to meet up with everybody there. I saw Joe, Jem, Juanito, Randy, Manny, Angel, Jesse, Stephano, Joe, and Jon there. It was a fun time, lots of great music was played! We then went over to Steve's to Hang out.
Friday 12/26:
Hung out at Steve's most of the night.
Saturday 12/27:
Went to Archiver's and Slept. Yes I didn't go out.
Sunday 12/28:
Went to Crobar with Joel, Norbert, and Jorge. Crobar was packed again that night. I met up with Randy there as well as like Bruce and a bunch of other friends We all went over to Bruce's afterwards for an afterset. Joel mixed a very good set.
Monday 12/29:
Chilled at home, then went over to Vic's and hung out with him and Allura for a bit. Then I went over to Randy's and hung out there for a while with Randy. Rose stopped by on her way home.
Tuesday 12/30:
Hung out at Tony's and worked on the scrapbook with Jem and Joe.
Wednesday 12/31:
Worked with Jem on the scrapbook at Archiver's. Then chilled at home. Becky, Tom, and Dave came over to help finish it. So then we all went to Hunter's to meet up with everybody. Hunter New Year's was the best , I had so much fun there. I was able to see Tim and everybody else there like the usual crew Randy, Manny, Jon, John, Stephano, Joel, Norbert, Margaret, Jorge, to name a few faces.
Thursday, January 01, 2004
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
I'm just wishing you all a happy new year!!!! All is pretty much back to normal. I'm back in the game!!!! Yeay!!
