So this evening was pretty interesting. As I walked to the Alex Theatre from church (a mere 4 blocks), I was approached by a guy. Actually, it looked more like he was waiting for me to walk by. He looked to be about 23-24, dressed in stylish attire and he asked me where the Americana was located. Keep in mind that the street I was walking on was relatively dark and empty. Instant red flag.
"Um, a block that-a-way," I explained as I pointed in the right direction.
I kept walking and he joined me, much to my dismay. He explained that he was meeting up with a friend and proceeded to make small talk. I just shot him down with bleak responses.
"The Americana really put Glendale on the map, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"So, where are you headed?"
"The Alex Theatre."
"Oh. I'll walk with you, if you don't mind. You live around here?"
"I.. uh, don't mind. And yeah, I sorta live in the area."
On and on until it somehow got to our ages and ethnicity. He asked if there were any good Filipino restaurants nearby and I pointed him to Max's of Manila. He asked if I'd like to join him sometime. I very politely turned him down -- "stranger danger" was loudly echoing in my head.
And he asked, "So how do you feel about dating older guys?"
"Uh, not interested, sorry."
"You seem really cool and we've got that Asian thing going!" He was half white/half Taiwanese. But that's totally beside the point.
Then he kept going about how this was the norm and that this was how people usually met nowadays.
Uh, what? Come again? It's normal for people to meet on dark streets and start dating?! What happened to meeting through mutual friends? Or cute & innocent study dates because you happen to be in the same class at school? Is this just me being naive? Too oblivious? Does this stuff seriously happen? I don't think so. It's creepy and my guard was definitely up. And I clutched my pepper spray with an insane death grip throughout our walk. I thought it was weird. And to make things even weirder, this was the 2nd time this week this has happened. Except that one was a little more to my tastes, a random 2 hour conversation with someone at Borders while I was waiting for a friend to get off work.
Anyway. Directionally challenged boy seemed kind of interesting -- he told me he used to play in the Youth Orchestra here and that he still plays double bass in a band. But his advances were just so... direct. And is that really the best place to meet women? A dark street? Hmm, cause that's the hotspot nowadays, right? Right. That's a CSI episode waiting to happen, thank you very much. All I'm saying is that guys shouldn't be such creepers.
Whatever. I just really needed to get that off my chest. My feet hurt from all that walking. Damn sandals.
Ventura.
I seem to have lost my followers. Sad face. Not quite sure if it was due to a glitch or if they actually unfollowed me, in which case I'll have to ... meh, I don't care. My blogs are pointless to begin with! :) Though I'll admit I was kind of excited that Kelly Tenney was following me. Sad face, again.
Moving on.
I spent this past Saturday with a few friends in Ventura County for a little reunion slash makeshift birthday get-together. Daniel and Kristy were the brains of the operation, leaving Sheila and I in the dark. I was only told to bring a sweater and to keep a lookout for imminent danger. Their words, not mine and it couldn't have been any truer.
So we were walking on railroad tracks along the coast to find the secret location. And because of our engrossing conversation, we weren't really paying too much attention to our surroundings. If a train were to pass by, we were sure we would've heard the loud "choo choo" warning us of "imminent danger". Dun dun duuuun. But no. It wasn't like that at all. We heard a mysterious and earpiercing metallic sound but we didn't think much of it. Kristy, bless her heart, turned around and screamed at us to get out of the way because the train was coming. So we jumped out of the way, with maybe 10 seconds to spare before the train passed. Stupid conductor couldn't even warn us.
The rest of the day wasn't as dangerous, thank goodness. It was pretty relaxing -- a picnic on the cliffs at Carpinteria Bluffs, walking along the shore, picking out really colorful shells, etc. I have the most random adventures with these people and it really sucks that we barely get to see each other because of our school schedules. But we'll plan out these trips every couple of months to catch up and rebuild friendships and it's just a good time. We've turned the summer bonfire into a yearly tradition -- one I hope will last us all for years to come. I love them and I'm blessed to have them in my life.
Click.
Moving on.
I spent this past Saturday with a few friends in Ventura County for a little reunion slash makeshift birthday get-together. Daniel and Kristy were the brains of the operation, leaving Sheila and I in the dark. I was only told to bring a sweater and to keep a lookout for imminent danger. Their words, not mine and it couldn't have been any truer.
So we were walking on railroad tracks along the coast to find the secret location. And because of our engrossing conversation, we weren't really paying too much attention to our surroundings. If a train were to pass by, we were sure we would've heard the loud "choo choo" warning us of "imminent danger". Dun dun duuuun. But no. It wasn't like that at all. We heard a mysterious and earpiercing metallic sound but we didn't think much of it. Kristy, bless her heart, turned around and screamed at us to get out of the way because the train was coming. So we jumped out of the way, with maybe 10 seconds to spare before the train passed. Stupid conductor couldn't even warn us.
The rest of the day wasn't as dangerous, thank goodness. It was pretty relaxing -- a picnic on the cliffs at Carpinteria Bluffs, walking along the shore, picking out really colorful shells, etc. I have the most random adventures with these people and it really sucks that we barely get to see each other because of our school schedules. But we'll plan out these trips every couple of months to catch up and rebuild friendships and it's just a good time. We've turned the summer bonfire into a yearly tradition -- one I hope will last us all for years to come. I love them and I'm blessed to have them in my life.
Click.
Auditioning.
Continued from the last entry.
Throughout high school, all I ever dreamed about (that is, concerning music) was to march with the Blue Devils. To be on the field at DCI championships, with the bright lights shining down and performing the show of a lifetime.
But that's never going to happen. EVER.
For one, you can't march when you're over 21. I'm still 19. But if you ever want to make it into BD, you have to start young. There's even a C Corp for little 5 year olds.
But anyway, the main reason why it's never going to happen is because I'm deathly afraid of auditioning.
Senior year, I auditioned for the Honor Band in Pasadena to march in the Rose Parade. I walked into that room with the judge, all decked out in my concert attire, baritone in hand. I thought I knew what I was doing. Really, I did. I mean, I rehearsed like nobody's business. But when he put the music on the stand in front of me, I completely froze. I forgot how to play and nothing at that moment made sense. I freaked out. The music was pretty simple enough -- just a few sixteen note runs. I tried. Failed. Started over. But I couldn't do it. I felt my face turn bright red and I walked out of that room with my head lowered in shame.
Now, if I can't even audition properly for something like that, how the heck am I supposed to face my fears and perform in front of Scott Johnson and all the Blue Devil greats? I can't. Plain and simple. But I am living vicariously through some other music buddies of mine. The friend/captain that I mentioned in the last post is going to audition this December and I really hope he makes it. After all, he's got the talent and the drive (and the connections) to get in.
I know I'd be able to make it into a lower division and all, but naaah. My days are over. I'm never going to audition. I've accepted that. But that won't stop me from going to the shows with my friends and cheering for my favorite corps.
Throughout high school, all I ever dreamed about (that is, concerning music) was to march with the Blue Devils. To be on the field at DCI championships, with the bright lights shining down and performing the show of a lifetime.
But that's never going to happen. EVER.
For one, you can't march when you're over 21. I'm still 19. But if you ever want to make it into BD, you have to start young. There's even a C Corp for little 5 year olds.
But anyway, the main reason why it's never going to happen is because I'm deathly afraid of auditioning.
Senior year, I auditioned for the Honor Band in Pasadena to march in the Rose Parade. I walked into that room with the judge, all decked out in my concert attire, baritone in hand. I thought I knew what I was doing. Really, I did. I mean, I rehearsed like nobody's business. But when he put the music on the stand in front of me, I completely froze. I forgot how to play and nothing at that moment made sense. I freaked out. The music was pretty simple enough -- just a few sixteen note runs. I tried. Failed. Started over. But I couldn't do it. I felt my face turn bright red and I walked out of that room with my head lowered in shame.
Now, if I can't even audition properly for something like that, how the heck am I supposed to face my fears and perform in front of Scott Johnson and all the Blue Devil greats? I can't. Plain and simple. But I am living vicariously through some other music buddies of mine. The friend/captain that I mentioned in the last post is going to audition this December and I really hope he makes it. After all, he's got the talent and the drive (and the connections) to get in.
I know I'd be able to make it into a lower division and all, but naaah. My days are over. I'm never going to audition. I've accepted that. But that won't stop me from going to the shows with my friends and cheering for my favorite corps.