Sex, Love, and Money...and Other Things As Well

You know what this is.

5) I got the general election catalogue in the mail. You know, the one that lists the 12 propositions that will be on the ballot on November 4. Well, first off, VOTE! I know there are the few of you that are discouraged because unless you are an Obama supporter, Barack Obama is going to win this state's electoral votes and your vote for anyone but Obama is worth shit, but you forget that there are propositions to consider. Even though there are 12, I have 3 that seem interesting to me.

Proposition 1: High Speed Rail bonds. The gist of this is that a YES vote will allow the state to give $9.95 billion in bonds to develop a high speed rail that will travel 220 mph from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This rail system will potentially also connect to other major California cities as well. The state (a.k.a. the taxpayers) will eventually have to pay back the bond which will total to about $19.5 billion due to interest.

My Vote: YES Usually I am reluctant on propositions that involve the taxpayers a.k.a. me having to pay for these projects because I question how efficient the government will use the money. If we have learned anything about the government, they will eventually ask for more than the initial price to complete the project or even worse the project gets canceled and the money goes to waste. However, in the future, if this works out I would love the convenience of using a high speed train to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles which would only take about 2 hours to travel and also potentially cheaper than an airline trip. Therefore giving me more reason to travel to SoCal, or more reason for those who live in SoCal to visit me!

Proposition 4: Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. A YES vote will change the California constitution mandating that a physician that is performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor (a minor without any parents or guardians) must give a notification to the parent or guardian 48 hours before the abortion is performed. Exceptions to this rule is in case of medical emergencies or if the parent or guardians provides a waiver for notification.

My vote: YES This has been the third election that this proposition (commonly known as Sarah's Law) has showed up. While I am reluctant or near unwilling to ban abortions overall in this state or the country (if you want a discussion about this, hit me up), this is one exception to my feelings toward abortions. To be frank, a minor has no rights or no freedoms as long as I am their parent. They don't vote, so they don't have a voice. While there is that argument that the minors will risk going to underground abortion clinics that may be potentially unsafe or even fatal to the minor, this kind of attitude indicates that the parents need to be involved more in the goings on and the feelings of their children. I don't want my children to feel like they can't talk to me about these things. I will teach my children to not have sex before marriage, and I will push my hardest in some crafty and creative way to ensure that the message gets to their brains. However, at the same time, when they have questions or feelings and whatnot, I want them to know that they can approach me and to talk to me about it. This proposition will ensure that this kind of philosophy will make it easier to apply.

Proposition 8: Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. A YES vote will mean that the California constitution will specify that marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

My vote: NO While philosophically I do believe that gay marriage or homosexuality is immoral, that does not mean that my philosophy has to be forced down on everyone, especially to those that are gay. Besides, this can blow out of control in terms of excluding gay couples from joint benefits or even eliminating divorce rights for gay couples when the relationship goes sour. This proposition will just hurt the state as a whole rather than preach the ideals of purity and virtue. Also, it is not the business of this state or even the federal government to know that goes on in our private lives to begin with. As long as they are not hurting anyone else or myself, I can care less.

4) Wasn't the Office freakin' ridiculous? I loved it! Enough said.

Every little boy fantasizes about his fairy-tale wedding.
-Andy Bernard

Watch it online on nbc.com if you haven't seen it yet.

3) My sister, dad and myself went to rent movies. This movie place is pretty old considering that they are the few movie rentals that still have an adult section. You know, that room that is closed with a door covered with posters of children movies to conceal what is inside that room. I have been to that movie rental place so many times and I have never seen anyone walk into that room, until this one dude did. End story. That's it, I saw a guy who actually had the balls to rent porn at a movie rental instead of going to an adult store. To me, it's like finding a unicorn or a leprechaun. The moral of this story: Get your porn through the internet err... DON'T DO IT.

2) I was talking to an old friend at home about his relationships. He had a horrible break up with his girlfriend recently. He also told me his main reason as to why he is hurting: sex. Yes, you read that right.

Well the first thing I told him was that sex is not a good reason to be in an early relationship, much less to be hurt by it, I guess. It was interesting because I don't have to deal with that in terms of criteria for having a relationship. Sex is the absolute last thing I would think of in terms of finding a relationship. I will admit that considering the times and the situations, I would totally fuck the first thing that moves. However, that's not love that sustains and survives the test of time. I am in search of genuine love, not lust. Whenever people come across me and I tell them that I am still a virgin and I'm saving myself for marriage, they find it intriguing and unfortunately weird. A friend at the dorms even called me a "dinosaur." I consider it a compliment in my opinion. We're the great giants that used to rule the world, but sadly we are quickly becoming extinct.

My faith plays a big role in taking that massive step. Also, eliminating sex as a factor in a relationship at this stage in my life makes things way easier in my opinion. If you think love is complicated in terms of feelings, emotions, methods, approaches, etc., consider how even more complicated it gets when sex is considered. It was ridiculously hard trying to convince my friend that he doesn't need sex at this point, but eventually he did consider that he wants to find a form of love that lasts the ages. I guess love and sex have become so intertwined in this modern time. I think people forget that there is the 10 million other things that we have to go through between a start of a relationship and sex and a 100 million more steps after sex to truly indicate that we have really found the so-called "one" and thus find someone that genuinely loves us for not just how we look but also what we do, think, and feel.

To be real here, I will be the first to admit that I love the idea and nuances of sex, and I am not going to hold back the first night that I am with my wife. However, it's something that I rather not do at this point or even when I am with my future girlfriend. There's way too much to think about in a faith as well as a secular perspective like disease, pregnancy, contraceptives, the list goes on. Removing sex in the equation makes things a little easier, though still difficult, to truly find how I really have to love someone else.

1) To refer my last blog about the book Why is God Laughing?, I posted those riddles and the answers: fear, ego, and addiction. Yes, I know, grim answers, but I hope you had fun trying to figure out the riddles unless you just cheated and clicked the "responses" button. I rather not give out what the book is about because I would suggest that you do read the book. However, the main gist of the book is talking about the one desire that every woman and man wants out of life...freedom. To be specific, spiritual freedom. In the perspective of Catholicism or in fact every religion and faith in this world, that freedom comes with truly being with God. On the other hand, there are these three factors that get in the way of attaining that freedom. Really thinking about it, the characteristics of fear, ego, and addiction really are the major characteristics of sin. These characteristics or sin in general really convinces us to live another way and not in the way that God calls us. It also convinces us that we need to live like this for the society instead of really living for Him. Obviously the way to attain this freedom is to eliminate these three characteristics from our lives a.k.a. removing sin from our lives. This is really basic Christianity 101. However, this leads to many questions like, "Can sin really be totally eliminated or even nearly eliminated in our lives on earth?", "How do we even attempt to eliminate these characteristics and thus get that freedom regardless of it being possible to begin with?", "Why are we who we are in the first place in terms of our talents and our weaknesses?" and so on. Well, the book has brought up really good points to think about to really answer these questions.

I won't reveal what the book suggests. However after reading the book, I will say that perhaps it is possible to eliminate these characteristics from our lives and thus really get that actually closer to God. Why live the way that we are living? Why accept the way that we are? Why accept the weaknesses?

Well, read the book if you have the time, and tell me what you think.

That is all.

PS: I had to leave Irvine now. Great.

Carne Asada Wishes and Philosophical Dreams

Here are my top fives of the moment:

5) I freakin' miss SoCal so much! It's like a drug, and I'm having withdrawals (metaphorically speaking). On Monday, I looked on Yelp on where I can find carne asada fries in Vallejo. Technically speaking, NorCal does have carne asada fries. They're pretty good, however, they're not the same as the fries in SoCal. I came close. There was a taco truck that sold cheese and steak fries for $5. I went there and bought the fries. I was terribly disappointed. All it was was fries with sour cream, white cheese, and carne asada. That's it. There wasn't even guacamole sold on the side in the truck. The sour cream wasn't even dolloped on there as well; it was squirted on. I felt cheated! Cheated I tell you!

Well, during my research, I learned that carne asada fries is particularly a Southern California specialty. To be more specific, a San Diego specialty. Sooo...I guess my theory on the more north you go, the more the fries suck is actually true. Also, the Mexican food in NorCal is probably from a different region of Mexico compared to the SoCal style of Mexican food. Our burritos in NorCal have a lot more "filler" (beans, rice, veggies) compared to the burritos in SoCal (usually it's 95% meat a.k.a. my kind of burrito).

4) I applied to a lab tech job at Solano Community College. Job applications would not usually be a part of my top five. However, this job sticks out because they are paying ten to twelve thousand more when I compare doing the exact same thing at UCI. It's crazy to think about really.

3) The Office season premier is coming in I believe a couple of weeks. I am freakin' excited for many reasons. Last season's finale had just left way too many questions that needs to be answered this upcoming season. I really like the fact that Holly is now in the mix of things! Where did she come from, seriously?!

2) One word guys...Economy. Everything's so crazy right now in Wall Street. What does this mean to every American? Hmmmm...nothing...at least not yet. Unless you are directly connected to these huge finance corporations and everything related to it (working in those newspaper stands, fancy restaurants, high luxury shops, etc.) or if for some reason you are looking for a loan, you're pretty in the shits. However, in terms of us young people and finding jobs, it's not completely bad, at this point. The hope is that things become better for the coming year. If not...Well, another great depression isn't bad I guess. I'm being sarcastic with that last statement.

1) I've been reading here and there these last few weeks. The last book I've "finished" was Why is God Laughing? by Deepak Chopra. I've finished the book. It's really an easy read. However, it poses a lot of deep ideas and philosophies. In fact I will write a separate blog about this.

Well, there's my top five for now. I will leave you off with three riddles that were from the book, I will expand as to why these three answers are critical for the message in the story.

1) I tell many lies but am always believed
If the worst happens, I'll be greatly relieved
On the day you were born I poisoned your heart
I'll still be there on the the day you depart.

2) I'm keeping your secret, you're paying my price
You know if you don't, I'll stop being nice
Protection is worth it, wouldn't you say?
Life is so empty when you don't get your way.

3) One day you love me, the next day you hate
But you never resist the hook and the bait
You cry for escape, but what do I care?
The net that I cast is a permanent snare.

If you want the answers, just click the comments.

So this is where the blog ends, it has been a blast
The week has been crazy, yes? It has gone very fast
Well now I'm sleepy, so I won't stall
Have a nice day today and that is all!

Have a Nice Day, Irvine

My last couple of weeks in Irvine has been great! The overall gist of what I did was simply hang out, chill, and eat, eat, eat. It has perhaps one of the most awesome moments I have had in Southern California. I had to live it up, because, at least for the moment, this short time of hedonism must stop for now. In case you haven't heard, I have moved back to the Bay Area. Is it forever? For a moment? Who knows. Well, here's what happened these last few weeks.

However, I am now sitting in my room writing this blog. I've also slowed down my food consumption for a bit because of my binge from the last week I was in Irvine. As of now, I'm still on the job search, hopefully not for long though. I've also been taking it easy for the last few days because of all the hectic-ness that happened in Irvine.

Do I miss being in SoCal? Obviously, yes. Not the school though. I'm completely over UCI at this point and everything that is connected to that school (classes, professors, walking ridiculously long distances to get to school, staying up all night to just barely pass an exam, etc.) and surprisingly everything that's connected to Interfaith and UCC in general (If you don't know my true feelings about this topic at this point, don't ask because you'll never know!). I will definitely miss Liwanag and PUSO as well. Not necessarily the meetings and formal events, but more so the people and friends that I have met and became close to over these past four years. What else will I miss? Well I am a total sucker to the top fives, so here it goes:

Derrick's top five things he will miss, but will totally recover in due time:

5) Late night stuff: This is one big thing that I will miss. There's also only the few people that have become a part of this late night ritual (Since not everyone can stay up until 5am anymore!). Thanks to those who were a part of this late night crew. This will become a part of the past though since I want to maintain a stringent sleeping schedule at this point on.

4) Being with the ladies: A majority of my "personal" time in the last two weeks in Irvine was devoted to the opposite sex. Yes, they are my good friends, but it was definitely fun being a faux-pimp for my last weeks. Obviously I will eventually (have to) recover here in NorCal. However, I am making a drastic policy change at this point: No more friends! In other words, she either likes me back, or I will straight out tell her to "Fuck off, bitch!" I have enough friends, thank you!

3) The relative safety bubble known as Irvine or South Orange County: Being back in the Bay Area, particularly in Vallejo or American Canyon has made a huge reality check: it's not so safe to go out at night. This is something that many UCI people take for granted, that I can walk in the streets of Irvine on 3 a.m. to Jack in the Box and back to my apartment in Cornell without being afraid of getting mugged, shot at, etc. Sure I may be a guy and all, but there must be women who also walk the streets of Irvine or the UCI campus alone and will return to there houses safely. Sure there are those incidents that have occurred in the last year, but compared to everywhere else, it's ridiculously safe here.

2) The SoCal attitude. When you lived all your life in NorCal, and then all of a sudden live in SoCal for about 4 years, you know there's a difference. I don't know how to explain it, but there's just a difference in attitude. Especially in Irvine, people tend to be a tad stuck up and arrogant. It's like they got way to much to prove in life. Enough, okay! I get it, your fucking successful. Now just back off!

Well, to demonstrate how NorCal attitude, in particular Bay Area attitude is like, I have a story. It was in August when I was still at home. I wanted to get money from an ATM to the supermarket. Then there was this lady who was driving around with her Cadillac, her hip hop music pumped up, and she was pissed. I don't know why, but it was obvious she was pissed. She had her window rolled down and was yelling and cursing at everyone that was around the parking lot. Then all of a sudden she passes me by, and then called me a BITCH. Yes, you read that right, a bitch. I would have done something, but she was driving a car. And I don't want to get potentially ran over by her Cadillac. This is what I deal with when I'm in the Bay. Perhaps this is why I tend to be a little hot headed or intense.

1) The actual top 5: Well, I'm just going to miss how exciting it is to know everyone else's top 5 yet at the same time not really revealing my own top 5. In reality this is a very annoying question. This is because of many reasons. I would write about it, but it would be in the form of a five-page essay. And I'm over school, so I'll just "assume" you know what I'm talking about (I really hate assumptions by the way.).

So there you have it. Besides that "I'll miss you all, and I love you" message that perhaps I should have written about, these are the other random things I will miss while being in Irvine and the greater SoCal area.

Well, I guess it's time to really start living life.

Have a nice day, Irvine.

That is all.