skip_p

We be cr-azy. If you are a consistent follower of this blog, you will have noticed there was no post last week. Last Wednesday was rather unique. I was given the opportunity to play cajon in the main chapel for the Day of Prayer, a day devoted to prayer. A small band of us led worship for the Biola community, a concept I often take for granted. We were leading our fellow believers in worship to our omnipresent, all-loving God, the Creator of the wind, of emotion, of honesty. Absolutely incredible. Following chapel, I headed to Downtown Disney with Ms. Morgan McGannon to eat lunch with her mom and brother at the famed Rainforest Cafe. This was nothing short of a riot as we experienced Kat, uncooked chicken, and an adventure through a cave to discover the facilities. Following an incredible ice-cream cone from Häagen-Dazs, we ventured through the extravagant hotel that is the Grand Californian; the place is marvelous. After some goodbyes, I headed to Wingstop with some old pals from yesteryear: Mr. Michael Warnecke, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Ben Coulton, and Mr. Scott Gamelson. We completely obliterated a table-full of wings and felt a good amount of sickness following. Nothing but good times, soo good to chill with the dudes again, felt like freshman year. This is the crew that JAMMED at the Ashley Tisdale concert. And Black Star Canyon. And many many other adventures. Miss those days big.






A picture was taken last Wednesday though, here it is:

Now, THIS Wednesday throws everything for a loop, because it's MISSION'S CONFERENCE. Now, what's so funny and ironic is that EVERY Mission's Conference is SURROUNDED by CRAZY things. Crazy crazy stuff always tends to go down around the conferences here at Biola. Don't understand why, perhaps never will. Here's links the the last 3 years:

2012: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2012/03/paint.html
2011: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/03/shack.html
2010: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/03/patty.html

This year is no exception. It's been straight nutty over here, but it's been immensely important and growing. SO many great conversations as of late, so many great examples of God's provision through difficult circumstances, incredible circumstances, friendships, relationships, education, creativity, LIFE.

Also, one of the BIG projects this last week was the Mission's Conference Promo:



This video? Quite the wild experience. I will never for as long as live forget the experience of filming this piece of work. We chose to film it in the Tropicana pool, the pool in my former living environment, a pool that is not heated, a pool that has been sitting through the winter undisturbed. Folks, this pool was COLD. We filmed for two nights and it was absolutely frigid, even while wearing full wetsuits. It's hard to explain how cold it was and I honestly don't know why it was. The way I've described it is: the pacific ocean is really cold. But what happens is you, especially while surfing or boogie-boarding or whatever, moving around and there's lots of energy in you and your body and the air and everywhere. There is an adrenaline while in the ocean that keeps you warm. So, in the ocean, it's freezing, you numb up, and then it's a blast. In the Trop pool, there was no energy, it was at a standstill. There was no surfing, it was at a standstill. We numbed up and it HURT. It was unreal, but hey, we got the shots, and the video turned out sweet. Oh, also, it's very hard to hold your breath while under freezing water. 1 second feels like 30 seconds. And then, when you put a bed sheet over your head, the intensity grows. Filming this bad boy was a BEAST. Turned out well. Mr. Cody Ramaekers and Mr. Frank Maldonado joined me in this shenagian. It's a picture of us after we wrapped.

It was so cold. I can't get over it.




Here's some tweets from last week:

LASTLY: My good friend Mr. Patrick Greene married Ms. Alex formerly known as Casey this weekend! This was the first wedding I have attended in which a good friend has been the one exchanging vows. I've been to a lot of weddings in my day but I've never been so excited and so curious on what this wedding would be like.

Okay, I have a story (if you are Patrick or Alex or anyone else at the wedding and you didn't know about this, sorry). I received the invitation a long long time ago. I read it once, didn't look at it again. The ceremony was at 5 in the evening on the 8th of March, 2013 in Camarillo, CA. I told my date, Ms. Morgan McGannon, we would leave at 2:45pm so we would have an hour of wiggle room in case of traffic. At about 2:40pm, I go to look at the address so I could get directions. I look at the invitation: "Ceremony begins at 4 PM." 4 PM?!?! Not 5?! NOOOOO! We leave immediately because if there was absolutely no traffic, we would make it just barely. There was traffic though. A lot of it. So we pull up, walk in. The ceremony had already ended. BOO! BUT, the reception hadn't started, we arrived right in the middle, so nobody knew! Well, maybe not.

So, we missed the ceremony. The worst.

The reception though? FANTASTIC. There were so many of my high school friends there, some of which I haven't seen in four years. It was so good to catch up and relive the "glory days," seein' our bro Pat get married. Super surreal. Ms. Morgan McGannon was a dancing queen, the dance floor was poppin'. There was even a mosh pit of sorts, we were tearin' it up. Such a good night. Can't believe Pat and Alex are married, we're getting older; old, old, older.

Here's some other random events/videos:

WOW. What a post. Certainly was not expecting that. Super dig. Super dug.


Have a pleasant week. Take some time to smell the roses. They're beautiful. And they smell great.

Gifts

"Right on, doctor."

This is immense. Mr. Michael Warnecke and Mr. Joel Limbauan are reppin' suits on this fine Wednesday. Straight up immense.

SO. Last week, I complained and whined about the whole "blue suit" mixup. Well my friends, I am here to tell you, the complaining and whining was a bit premature. After that post was posted, my friend and teacher, Mr. Matthew Weathers, sent me an email reminding me of something:

"Hey Morgan, 

I have your blog on my Google Reader, so I check it out every month or two. I saw your latest post (http://emliv.blogspot.com/2012/05/sportz.html) where you said:

Today is the last Wednesday of the semester. Typically, I wear the powder blue, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics suit. Today, I forgot. And it's really too bad.

But a year ago, you did it on the Wednesday of finals week: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/05/finale.html - so you still have a week."

He is completely right, I have made this mistake before. No surprise there. Here's a side note, Mr. Weathers is one of the greatest teachers I have ever had. He teaches "Nature of Math," an general education, entry level, math class. Yes, it is entry level, but throw Mr. Weathers into the mix, and the class becomes the primo education event of the year. Let me show you a video that explains why:





I was taught math by a YOUTUBE CELEBRITY.

And he reads this blog and fixes my previous misconceptions about blue suit habits.





Something big happened this week. I live with three dudes: Mr. Joel Limbauan, Mr. Ben Jacuk, and Mr. Michael Warnecke.  I have lived with these three dudes for the entirety of my Biola career, three years. In these three years, there is not a posed picture in existence of just the four of us. There are countless photos of three of us, different combinations, different additions, but just the four of us? Doesn't exist. Next year, living situations are changing. I am moving on, into a house that will definitely be a complete change in scenery. Fact is, now that I am moving, if the three dudes who I have lived with for three years and myself do not take a picture together, we have no physical proof of our massively incredible and memorable three years as roommates. So we had a photoshoot. Because we just had to.

I am exceedingly glad we did this. These dudes are family, they will be as long as we're alive. And before this lil photoshoot, there was no proof this little unit existed.

Just look at us, we're weirdos. We don't belong together. We're completely different, different interests, different styles, different ways of living our lives. But we live together. And it works. Somehow.

Imma miss these dudes. BIG. Way too many memories, laughter that exceeds skyscrapers, stories that fill libraries, experiences that define life.

Yikes, I'm getting all nostalgic.


One of the greatest things about this blog is this fact: these memories will never be lost. Many of the memories are contained within this strange blog I keep up and when reread, welcome to the time machine: right back in the moment, remembering the experience like it happened five minutes ago.

And THIS, my friends, is why this blog exists.

This semester is over. It's finished. Summer is here. Does it feel like it? No. Should it feel like it? I guess. Where did the semester go? It took off running, got faster, and then BOOM, finished the race. Incredible. So many things happened that if I tried to list them all, I would have an empty list because I wouldn't know where to start. So many great things happened this semester. New classes, new assignments, new friendships, new conversations, new experiences, new memories.  It's been a blast, every second of it.

And WHAT?! Leaving TROP?! This place has been so good to us. The pool is heaven sent (as is the balcony), the atmosphere is super dope, and I told my roommate I wouldn't mind living here for 20 years (that may or may not be true).

The weird thing about semesters is how drastically different each one is from another. The ebb and flow of people and connected friendships are incredible. This semester was COMPLETELY different from the last, both GREAT in their own individual ways. Because of this consistent track record, I have no problem believing next semester is going to be a complete surprise, full of new new new. I pumped, excited, and maybe a tad nervous, about what is to come, but you know what the best part is? I have absolutely no reason to worry because I trust a God that leads my roller coaster of a life in every which way. I know He's in control, in the good and the bad, and I am thankful for the learning experiences in it all. Next year's going to take a fierce learning curve; BRING IT ON.





To all of you who I have spoken with this semester, thank you for exchanging words. Conversation is a gift and the fact that we have been able to talk with each other this semester is incredible.

To all of you who I have joked with this semester, thank you for sharing laughs. Laughter is a gift and that fact that we were able to connect on a humorous level this semester is incredible.

To all of you who I have studied with.....  oh wait, that never happened.

To all of you who I have shared life with this semester, thanks for living it up with me. Life is a gift and the fact that we have been able to do cool, bizarre, fun, serious, outlandish, random things with each other this semester is incredible.

To all of you who I have collaborated with this semester, thank you for boosting my creativity. Collaboration is a gift and the fact that we have been able to create new, fresh ideas and content together is incredible.


You people make this college experience the best a person could ask for. We're just getting started.





LES GO.

sportz

I just got this as I was walking out the Production Center: "Going to play tennis, guy?" I wish I was.

I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT. Today is the last Wednesday of the semester. Typically, I wear the powder blue, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics suit. Today, I forgot. And it's really too bad.

So, instead, which this is pretty cool, I'm going to give the links to all the other "blue suit" days.

And this picture, straight from '08. That was a long time ago. I guess.

Here's your linkz from oldest to newest (so funny to see how writing/personality/blog/humor style have evolved):

Dec 2008: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2008/12/1984.html
Dec 2009: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2009/12/azul.html
Dec 2010: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/12/iron-cally.html
May 2011: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/05/finale.html
Dec 2011: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/12/blues.html

This is pretty funny too. Sub 2008, probably 2007:

As you probably can tell, I've been messing with this media-type stuff for a while.


Speaking of messing with media-type stuff, I made this this week. And there's a story behind it:


So, on Sunday, I wanted to take a quick dip in the Tropicana pool because it was really warm and the pool was literally calling my name, like, I could hear it. I own a GoPro camera that is waterproof and I hadn't tested those waters, so I decided it was time. I grabbed, I went, I jumped. I dove into the pool and something went askew. It could have been because I was holding the camera, it could have been because I'm terrible at diving; whatever the reason, I dove in and hit the square top of my head on the bottom of the pool. Didn't feel good, didn't feel pleasant. Honestly, it hurt pretty bad. But here's the thing, the SECOND I hit my head, I thought to sophomore year at Royal High School. A good friend of all of us, Mr. Tyler Broberg, was at a family reunion, having fun in a pool. Somehow, he was knocked unconscious while sliding down the water slide, flying into the pool without a soul knowing what had happened within that slide. Tyler was trapped under the water for quite some time before being noticed, drowning to his death. Tyler was genuinely (and this still holds true) one of the nicest people I have EVER met, leaving a legacy that still lasts today. And his life was cut short. When I hit my head on the bottom of the pool, I immediately remembered the drowning, the events that followed, and every emotion of me, my friends, and the families surrounding this horrific accident.

So, the video that follows is an interesting one. It is an abstract representation the joy of the pool, my friend Tyler's death in the pool, the terror of the pool, and the emergence of hope through it all.





HEAVY.



On a lighter note, last Wednesday was a good one. My good friend, Mr. Kelii Miyata, tells me about a concert featuring contestants of the television show The Voice, one of which is my new friend Mr. Pip Andrews (this is when this blog is great: this is when we met: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2012/05/maze.html).  This is an event that couldn't be missed! So I headed out to beautiful Hermosa Beach with the lovely Ms. Jess Harrell to the famed Saint Rocke to watch all these fine folks play music. There was something so great about this little concert and that is: every person singing (I believe there were about 12 that switched off, did about 2 songs a piece and rotated around) was up there TO SING. They all KILLED the vocals. Everyone was so so so solid, the vocals were loud and clear, and it was in a word: excellent.  Not to mention the so so so so solid musicians who backed up the so so so solid singers. These guys could jam like I've never seen, spillin' chord progressions, changing keys on the fly, and GROOVING the whole way through. 3 top musicians: bassist that looked like Mr. Kelii Miyata in 20 years (like, spitting image), beast of a cajon player with gnarles barkley dreads, and the drummer who put his cymbals at full arm extension + drumstick away from his kit, the dude was flying. Such a great show, such great people, such a great night.  Good to see everyone again.

Side note: Kelii and I go back, way back. Here's a video of us surprising our 2009 gradating class with a little jam...







Friends, one of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou, has just released their new record title "Ten Stories."  A year ago May 14th, mewithoutYou played at Biola (which was absolutely 100% incredible) and a year later they release this incredible incredible album. I have listened to it a few times through and the blend of old and new mwY sounds, old and new mwY styles, is SPOT ON. They killed it on this record and it is quickly going to become a classic in the world of music. Below is one of the tracks called "Fox's Dream of the Log Flume," featuring Haley Williams of Paramore; it has rather quickly become my favorite song on the album, it's been stuck in my head for DAYZ. Enjoy:







And then this commercial is just great. So clever, humorous, brilliant. But does it sell product? I don't know. I probably wouldn't buy the purple squirts.







This has been a great post, haven't had one these in a while. I hope you enjoyed it all! Every part! Every video! Every story! I hope you just enjoy this blog in general. If you don't, sorry. I just write this thing because I always have. But the whole point of writing is to entertain you, Internet user. Without you, this would just be a lonely website on the wave of millions, but you, lovely reader, make it worth it.

So thanks.



Enjoy a glass of ice cold water. It's a warm one.

Valentined

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Friends, this is the 200th post of this blog. 200. Something else monumental happened this week. 20,000 views. "It's Wednesday!" has been viewed 20,000 separate times since it's creation in 2008.  And this is the 200th post.  It's been quite the journey, people.  This thing has survived through the best of times, the worst of times, the age of wisdom, the epoch of incredulity. This thing has survived through times of drought, through times of abundance, through times of obviousness, through times of mystery. 

20,000 views from you, the reader. 200 posts from me, the writer. Thank you. Seriously.

It was raining today. Rain is the pits. I'm not going go into that.

Don't mistake me though, today was great! Other than the rain. Here. Take a look. I took this picture about a half an hour ago right outside my apartment:

This rainbow rainblew my mind. The picture doesn't do the real thing justice, this rainbow was off-the-wall vivid, the colors radiated through the sky and pierced my pupils, making my eyes get real big, forcing me to take off running, grabbing my roommates to check out the "they're-after-me-lucky-charms" extravaganza.

Rainbows are up there on my "favorite things" list.  It's a promise given to us by our Creator. And a reminder. Unreal. In awe. Awesome.

¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. - Genesis 9:13-15

So yesterday was St. Valentine's Day. This was me yesterday, during St. Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day is one of bizarre-est holiday's on this planet.  It's a day about love... I guess. I enjoy watching the festivities take place. Lots of roses, lots of holding hands, lots of smoochy smooches. I wore my Grandpa's Sun Maid Raisin's hat and my 101 Dalmatians tie from Ms. Ellie Mullins.  Red and white, red and white.  Good day, no doubt.

The night is better though. So my Tuesday's are crazy, I've got class for hours and hours on end.  I get out of class at 10:00 PM and head back to Tropicana and find an apartment full of girls who were previously going to see The Vow but had bowed out and bought the newest Twilight movie instead, insisting on a movie night. So what did I do? Well, I watched a movie I've only heard girls squeal about. I watched a movie about vampires, werewolves, weddings, and love. I watched a movie that millions upon millions of people, mostly of the female kind, absolutely adore. I watched Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 with a bunch of girls and a couple dudes. I also ate chocolate, a lot of chocolate. 

So, the movie ended, the girls swooned, the guys gaffed. The Ms. Amanda Cooper had this brilliant idea: "LET'S GO TO THE BEACH!" It was 1:30 AM. Earlier that day, I had eaten a Dove chocolate and this is what it read:

Friends, end of story. We had to go. So we took off, Ms. Amanda Cooper, Ms. Veronica Luckey, and Ms. Brittany Watts, Mr. Ben Jacuk and I took a drive to Seal Beach in the middle middle of night.

It was cold, real cold.  It was also strangely reminiscent to the madness that was the Kids of the Run all-night-bonfire-party that took place last semester (take a gander at that story here, near the end: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/11/tick-tock.html). Seal Beach is an interesting beach, very industrial. Also, I had IMMENSE stomach pains the entire time, I think it was the massive amounts of chocolate I ate while feasting my eyes on Twilight.  BUT, definitely definitely definitely a good time. Spontaneous events like this make life just THAT much better. Seriously. Here's a picture of us laying perhaps a little too close to the water on the frigid sand.  Good times.

We ended up getting back to Tropicana around 4 in the morning. It was early. It was late. I'm sure we all had problems getting up/staying awake the next day (today). But you know what? It was all worth it, all 100% of it. This is memories in the making. These are memories in the making. Then BOOM, we've got a memory. It's a beautiful thing.

And I believe that is all there is to report on! I always enjoy blog posts like this, blog posts with stories, blog posts that are interesting to read, look at, watch. I hope you do too.

I'm going to pass Dove's advice onto you:

DO SOMETHING SPONTANEOUS!

Spontaneity

It's been quite the week!

Let's start from the beginning. On Thursday, the 6th, my good friend Mr. Sean Cook informs me he is playing a free show with the band Press Play in Long Beach. Naturally, I have to go. I start talking to people, trying to get a group to go. I start with the Simi people, people who would be interested in chillin' with Sean regardless of the concert. No luck. Then I started asking people who just seemed like they would want to go. No luck. EVERYBODY I talked (or tried to talk to) either wanted to go but couldn't, didn't want to go, or just straight up sick. FINALLY, an hour before I was hoping to leave, I found two people to come with me. I was ECSTATIC not only because friends were able to go, but because there was a vehicle that was able to go. Over the next 45 minutes, however, the tides turned. Both people turned down the chance of a lifetime. I was bummed. SO CLOSE! I was in a pickle, I still wanted to go. Should I go alone? I don't see why not? But... who goes to concerts alone? Seems, I don't know, a little gutsy. Plus, I didn't have a car...

BUT, I just had to go. I found a car last second, asked my roommates if they wanted to go one last time and then headed out by myself.

Naturally, I took a camera.



Guys, this was just great. Not only was the experience as a whole great, but going to worship God with the community of Christ at a place I had never been before was GREAT. Press Play is impacting the world and it was incredible to see that first hand. I've discovered over the years that I enjoy spontaneity a whole lot. Spontaneous events are nothing but a big bundle of surprise and, honestly, it never fails for a good time. Even in situations that may not seem "fun" or "worthwhile," 100% of the time, it makes for a good memory. Stories that begin "Remember that time?" are consistently GREAT stories. Click the links below for some incredible spontaneous stories from my life. I cannot express to you how great these memories are:


The story of a car accident, a white elephant gift exchange and a wedding: CLICK

The story of crashing the uncrashable sweet 16 party: CLICK

The story of the photographs, getting caught in a ditch, and flipping a coin: CLICK

The story of ditching Senior Ditch Day: CLICK

The story of the April Fool: CLICK

 (Mr. Scott Weir seems to be the spontaneous helper)


Be spontaneous. Do random stuff at random times. These are the best days of our lives.




Speaking of spontaneity, the fun doesn't end.

On Saturday, I was given the opportunity to shoot photographs at a wedding. Mr. Austin Axen asked me if I would like to help him in an extremely relaxed, stress-free environment. I was hesitant at first, but just couldn't turn it down. I was BLOWN AWAY by how different shooting photographs at a wedding is from shooting video at a wedding, not to mention that is was really REALLY hard. I was definitely stretched throughout the day and it was the perfect "practicing" situation because I wasn't expected to perform and produce professional images. I must say though, Mr. Austin Axen is a G when it comes to photography. His shots were consistently incredible. He's got the eye and I'm pumped to see where he goes. Here's a few images for your enjoyment.

  

Then, that night, Mr. Scott Weir called me up and invited me to join him and others to go to this wild place called Guppy's. Supposedly, Guppy's is just a tea house just down the road. But of course, when you stick me and Mr. Scott Weir in the same vehicle, something crazy is going to go down. So, of course, we get lost. We always get lost. After a decent amount of laughs, we arrive. So, I guess this place Guppy's is famous for like shave ice or something. We take a look at the menu, discover the shave ice is pretty expensive, and get the largest one. And let me tell you, it was MASSIVE. Here's a photo of the mayhem courtesy of Ms. Sierra Falco.

Gigantic clam-shaped bowl filled with mounds of shave ice, pretty much a whole fruit tree, and softball-sized icecream scoops. Let's just say we didn't finish it. Yeah, didn't have a chance.


Then, the next night, it was time to celebrate Ms. Laura Cook's birthday. I'm not going to get too much into this, but when you stick 15-20 well dressed (as per Laura's request) people around a table at Elephant Bar, the term "good time" just fits. It was an evening full of good friends, good conversations, and good food, which, in my opinion, is one of the best combinations you can ever have. Definitely a good night, stickin' in the memory bank for good.

So, all in all, EXCELLENT week. One of the best in my recent memory.





AND GUESS WHAT! You may not have noticed, but the last few weeks, I have mentioned the tour of the apartment and I have mentioned it simply can't happen that particular week. Here's the deal, everything that I said was going to happen "eventually" still hasn't happened. So you know what this means? You get the tour of the not-quite-completed Tropicana 205 apartment!

So without further ado, I present to you 205.


I encourage you, enjoy the tour. If you would ever like to stop, please let the tram driver know and we will wait for you. Our tour guide has led African safaris for 15 years so he is understanding if you want to take picture or two.

 

Here we are! Tropicana. If you look forward, you will notice the vintage apartment building that is Tropicana. This is the entrance to the building leading to the numerous apartments inside. Let's go inside!

Okay, we've just made our way up the stairs and are now looking out from the second level over the "hole" if you will in the middle of the apartment complex. If you peer across the gap, you will see a door that reads "205." That's we are headed. If you look below, you will notice there is a considerable body of water. This is the Tropicana pool, a pool that has been used by all kinds of people including party-goers, volleyball players, competitive swimmers, and the normal pool-goer.  This pool is the home of fun.

Let's move across to the other side.

We have made it to our destination. If you take a look at the handle you will notice the "Krill Egg." This egg has been stolen by numerous critters including raccoons, squirrels, and crows. Somehow, it has survived the years and still resides on the door handle of our residence. It is one of those irreplaceable amenities.

Please watch your head and take a step inside.

Welcome to Tropicana 205! Like I said, it is still in the working stage, but we're making progress! Immediately you will notice the ficus and the flags. The ficus is one of the most notable aspects of the apartments as you can see it from almost anywhere in the complex. It also creates a jungle-like atmosphere which is always great. You will also notice the flags, representing the communities (from left to right) Oklahoma, Alaska, the Philippines, and Hawaii.  We are mulch-cultural in 205.

In the front of the living room, you will notice the "Call Police" sign which has always been notable and often the conversation starter with many types of people. You will also notice the "Skyline" and "S'us b'ilt" signs, two treasures from my summer at Hume Lake Christian Camps. Those two words/sayings bring back multitudes of memories and make me smile. Rep the skyline. You will also notice the entertainment system. It's been fun. See that white box in the corner? If that ground is shaking, well, you can blame that guy.

Take a right and you'll see our dining room. Right now it is home to housemate Mr. Ben Jacuk's materials after that beast of man stayed up through the night studying. Remarkable. This is where we eat meals every day, no matter how good or bad they happen to be.

This is the kitchen, where food is made, where food is stored. Take a look inside the refrigerator if you dare. I may as well mention the snack bar that you will be able to purchase food from once this tour has finished. "Serving Tour Food since 1990."

Okay, next stop are the rooms. Head down the hallway and look left. This is where I and my roommate Joel live. What you see here is Joel's area, including the unfortunate Phillies flag. It seems like all they do is win. Joel's clean. I'm not.

This is an interesting area of the room. You'll see a number of ties on the ground. This is because I have not found a place to store them which has become quite the problem. I'm sure a solution will present itself soon. I hope a solution will present itself soon.

This is my desk. It is a mess. I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm still moving in. Kind of. This is unacceptable and embarrassing.

This is the mural. You may recognize it from years past. I rescued him from the Royal High School dumpster my senior year. It was part of a set for a drama production, and no, Ms. Melanie Lott and Mr. Kyle Dietz had nothing to do with the creation of the painting. I expect this painting to grace my home for years to come.

If you take a look at the ground, you'll see the rest of the materials that need to be hung on the walls. This includes posters, comic strips, and other goodies that have been collected thorughout the year. Perhaps the most notable object in this sad pile is the picture of my pal, mentor, and inspiration, Mr. Rudy Campos. You see, Rudy Campos is a Video Production Professional and when I acquired this gem in high school, I aspired to be just like him, a video production professional.

Here is a SECRET spot in the room. This is the where the Sleep Talk 100 (http://sleeptalk100.tumblr.com) is recorded. If you know what that means, you might say "woah" or something. I don't know how you'll react, I just sleep there.  But there you, Behind-The-Scenes to the MAX.

This is Mr. Michael Warnecke and Mr. Ben Jacuk's room. With respect to privacy, I politley ask you not to look in there. I have no authority over their room.


We're almost done with the tour! We have one last stop. As you head toward the front door, take a look at the wall separating the door and the window.

 

This is our Santa. Yes, he's creepy. Yes, he's red. Yes, he's in a train. Yes, the dude in the onesie just received coal in his stocking. Yes, this is a magazine cut-out. Yes, it's provided for a number of great laughs. Yes, you can see a close-up.

 

And that concludes the 2011 tour of the Tropicana 205! I hope you enjoyed your trip, learned some interesting facts to be used in trivia games, and leave feeling refreshed and encouraged. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Tropicana and have a great day! Please be sure to visit, you're always welcome. Buh-bye now!

Friends. That concludes this Wednesday's edition of "It's Wednesday!" I must say, this one is one for the ages. Lots of good content. It may or may not make it onto the Top 5 list, I'm leaning towards not.

I'll let you decide.

Have an excellent day. Encourage someone.