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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.

Ness, Busy

So it is summer. Sure is. Let me tell you, it's been nonstop. If you know anything about me, know me personally, or don't know me at all, you probably know I am just a tad busy... all the time. Once the semester ended (which ended spectacularly, by the way. It's always interesting saying goodbye to friends, classes, housing, and the campus. For the time being.), the work load did not slow down. I have realized that approximately 20% of the work I do is actually school work, 80% being other "stuff," personal projects, weddings, photography, web design, and everything else. So, that said, the removal of "school" from my schedule honestly did not change the makeup of my life all that much. BUT, I'm not complaining. I am immensely blessed and honored to be able to capture life in the Morgan Lott perspective. EVERYTHING is a learning experience, whether is fails miserably or succeeds with flying colors. Learn, adjust, improve, share. GO.

For two of the four weeks we have been out of school, I have spent my time at Hume Lake Christian Camps. That place, phew. Gets me every time. I worked there as a "video guy" during the summer of 2010. Here was my farewell blog post after the summer came to a close:

http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-it-up.html

That place has a big ol' part of my heart and I wouldn't be half the man I am today with our Hume's influence. I went up orientation week to help my sis Ms. Melanie Lott move in, she's working at Hume 'n' Beans, the coffee shop, this summer. Mr. Isaac Svensson then came up so I chilled for the week with him, working on Mawwiage Films stuff. I spent the majority of the time in the media office, my old stomping grounds, working working working (thank you to the media staff for allowing me to sit in there, you certainly didn't have to) on personal projects. I worked my tail tail tail off on the brand new Mawwiage Films website which is right here for your enjoyment!

http://mawwiagefilms.com

And also this video featuring Mr. Greg Ramey.

Greg's Testimony from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Orientation week was funny. It was WILD being at Hume, around staff, during orientation week, during the week the staff are learning what to do and how to work their jobs. I worked in the office, I ate in staff dining, I met lots of staff members, I felt like I was legitimately on staff. But I wasn't. And then I left. Bizarre experience. Fun experience. Worthwhile experience.

And then two weeks later, I went back. Every summer, my family spends a week up at Hume Lake in a cabin that runs in the family. Every summer for my entire life, I have spent at least a week at Hume, basking in the place that many people classify as "the best place in the world." Like I said, blessed and honored. This week was different though, I spent very little time engulfed in the staff life. I spent a lot of time at the cabin, a lot of time working on the Hume 'n' Beans deck, a lot of time working on the Snack Shack deck.  I intentionally kept my distance from the "I feel like I'm on staff because I'm so involved!" moniker and kept to the "I worked here 2 years ago and it was great, let's reminisce" moniker. Very different week, equally as great week. It was FANTASTIC being able to use the wonderful outdoors, the forest, the lake, as my office. It was FANTASTIC working at a table by myself, and then a new friend approaches and asks to sit, establishing a relationship. It was FANTASTIC watching rec, seeing campers, seeing staff, all enjoying Hume Lake to it's fullest. It was FANTASTIC being with my fam bam at our cabin, playing games, sittin around, straight up relaxin. It was FANTASTIC seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and laughing a little bit. It was FANTASTIC getting a day full of the extravagant talents of the voice over pro Mr. John Olson. It was FANTASTIC getting blasted with some of the best weather I've every experienced at that lake. It was FANTASTIC seeing some absurdities at Open Mic Night, laughing about the most ridonkulocity Open Mic talents such as running on a treadmill or reciting the list of 1997 top 25 action movies with my little bros Mr. Connor Lott and Mr. Spencer Lott, celebrating Ms. Kaitlyn Bodin's birthday with a spontaneous midnight jump in the lake, and being taught how to handshake by Ms. Jessica Whitney and Ms. Kacie Johnson. It was FANTASTIC leaving Hume with a straight up ridiculous electro/lounge/hip-hop cd that blasts all other music out of the water.

FANTASTIC.

We'll see if I make it back again this summer.


And then we made it down to Reedley to celebrate my Great-Grandpa Walter Warkentin's 97th birthday, as well as send off my cousins the Hiett's as they are moving to Oklahoma in a matter of weeks. When the whole extended family is together, it's nothing short of a great time!


SOOOO this summer's been busy! I'm just going to embed some videos for your enjoyment:


CROOK: my final project for my Typography II class at Biola:


CROOK from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.


and five Mawwiage Films Teasers!


Karley & Lauri Mase :: Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Bradley & Taylor Zeller :: The Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Mr. & Mrs. Wilson Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Carter & Chelsea Sapp :: teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



David & Stella :: The Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




You know what that means right? 5 Mawwiage Films Moments that coming up real quick. YIKES! Gametime.







So that's how this summer is looking this far. Pretty wild, man. Like I said, this summerz NUTZ!


Whether your summer is or is not NUTZ, enjoy it with all you got. Serious!

Storytime

 

It's raining and rain is the worst (to put it heavily), I dislike it (to put it lightly). A lot of people disagree with me, they LOVE the rain. I cannot fathom why. Here's my argument. I say to them "Yes, I LOVE the rain too. It's important to water the earth. It's necessary. I LOVE it when I have NOTHING to do and I'm sitting with a cup of hot chocolate in front of the warmth of a fire. In that situation or anything other situation that involves sitting around, rain is the greatest. But when you have to do ANYTHING else, rain is the absolute pits. It makes everything more difficult, it's hard to travel, people drive like 5 year olds, there are accidents, mudslides, your clothes get wet, you can't see because water is getting in your eyeballs, it's cold, it's uncomfortable. How can you say you LOVE that?!" I'm seriously baffled. It makes everything so hard, everything a chore. Going to class is no easy task, it involves protecting your stuff from getting wet, trying to get there without getting soaked, and then sitting through class where everybody is damp in some sense and the musty scent of wet clothes hangs in the air.

I've got one word: yuck.

Just a word: in the end, this is just a rant. Obviously, the rain replenishes our earth, gives an opportunity to harvest, provides clean water, and ultimately is a gift from God. For that, I am grateful.

Well, it's another week. Another week. Another week. Time's flying. Another week. I've been training myself not to blink because I just know that the next time I blink, I'm going to be hanging out in a senior citizens home, recollecting memories from my 83 years of life. Just like *snap*.

It's been made apparent to me lately that I enjoy stories, all sorts of stories, telling stories, listening to stories.  There is something about a story that just makes the world go round, and it's wonderful.  We've all had the experience of sitting in a dull history class, listening to a lecture, when all of a sudden Mr. Boredom himself begins the story of his sophomore year in college when he snuck into the Natural History Museum in order to complete a class project. It is at this point when we start listening. Why do we start listening? Because Mr. Boredom is passionate about his illegal venture.  Mr. Boredom is NOT passionate about history. History is FULL of stories, but if the person telling them is not passionate, well, why would we listen intently? Passion seems to be a pretty important part of storytelling.  Every once in a while, I take a look through the records of this blog. I enjoy using the "Random Post of the Refresh" button in the upper right corner to re-discover the stories of past. In doing this, I've realized a couple of things. 1st: our memories are INCREDIBLE. Yes, we cannot recall any life experience at anytime. But, with a trigger, you can recall any situation like it happened yesterday.  I've learned that this blog serves as an EXCELLENT trigger. At the time of writing, the stories don't seem that significant, because they just happened. But let me tell you, there's nothing better than returning to a story from 2 years back, getting drilled with details, and reliving the situation. And then you share. You remind others of this situation, regardless if they were there with you or not. You tell the story.


I have some stories for you.

I revisited this story from May the 9th: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/05/high-five-for-first-kiss-birth-of-viral.html. This story just makes me laugh, I still can't believe it happened this way and I got a front row seat to the power of the viral internet. A GREAT learning experience, a TON of bewilderment, and a FANTASTIC story. Enjoy!

And now some wedding stories, fresh off the press!

Jordan & Danielle Rose: mawwiagefilms.com/​jordandanielle


Jordan & Danielle Rose from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.


AND

Alex & Danielle Blackhall: mawwiagefilms.com/​alexanddanielle


Alex & Danielle Blackhall from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



These are good stories. So is this one: I saw this video the other day. I was intrigued to say the least. If this were at all legal, this is how I would travel. Just imagine a road trip with a group of musicians.  Can you say "not-only-would-this-be-awesome-to-see-while-on-the-freeway-but-I-would-have-a-BALL-on-a-road-trip-like-that?" I can.




Makes me laugh, each and every time. JAM ON.


Well, that's the post. Hoop, there it is.



Go tell someone a story. Tell them a funny story. Then a sad story. Then a surprising story. Then, listen to their funny story. Listen to their sad story. Listen to their surprising story.

SHARE STORIES!


It's all about the memories.

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.

Artismic

I quite possibly think I maxed out the amount of work possible to do in a week.  As I say that, I know I nowhere near maxed it out.  The human body is incredible in that way, you honestly have no idea about how much, if you really put your mind to it, you are capable of doing in a week.  Here's what I'm talking about: not only do I have a 4 hour Spanish class every day of the week, I also work a part time job 3 hours a day.  It's not too bad.  Here's the thing, this last week, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I launched a new wedding videography company.  You may have seen something about it, you may not have.  This past week was absolutely INSANE, trying to get our first video finished, trying to get a suitable website in action, trying to get all the logistics in place so we could officially launch on Saturday.  That's what we did and we did it.  I'm just telling you all of this for a bit of perspective on the week.  Want to check it out?  This is our website: http://mawwiagefilms.com.  Yes, MAWWIAGE FILMS is the name.  I posted on this blog a little blurb about it, so here is the link to that.  Lastly, here is the Mawwiage's first wedding video, made for Mr. Randy and Mrs. Megan Marshman.


Randy & Megan from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



All that to say, it's been a crazy week!  BUT, it gets better.  Last Monday, Mr. Dustin Laemmlen called me up and asked if I'd be down to play drums for a winter camp at Hartland Christian Camp.  Yeah, that weekend was going to be my only relaxation for the entirety of the 3 weeks of interterm, but how could I pass that up?  10 hours of driving, and 4 sets later, I returned to Biola, glad to have the opportunity to play drums again.  I really enjoy it, I really do.  Hartland was a good time + we jammed Aaron Gillespie's new worship single "We Were Made For You" which turned out to be a hit for both the campers and for all the members of our band.  This song touched lives this weekend, as I'm sure it's touching lives all around the world.  All in all, great weekend.

Oh, I forgot one thing.  Saturday night, the only full day we were there, I spoke in my sleep.  Mr. Cameron Toews heard me, and in the morning told me "Dude, you were speaking a different language or something!"  I have no reason to believe it was not the Spanish language.  I've been living and breathing Spanish for the last two weeks.  If I really was really speaking Spanish in my sleep, I am absolutely, positively, 100% PUMPED.  Incéible. 




I've got something for you,,,pretty exciting.

I just discovered this new publication called C A R S O N; when I saw the image above, my heart leapt a little.  "Could this be by David Carson, one of the most influential graphic designers of all time, not to mention perhaps my favorite graphic design?"  Indeed, C A R S O N is a new magazine that shares graphic design, fine art, photography, the list goes on and on.

Here's why I'm pumped: David Carson is known for his extremely experimental approach to magazine design, reinventing the way the magazine should be read.  C A R S O N is taking David Carson's inspiration, collaborating it with multitudes of other artists and writers and compiling the collection of ideas to form a new type of journalism that strays away from normal tabloid-journalism.  Here's a quote: "C A R S O N is a way of seeing our world in an exciting way, which in these times can often seem confusing, overwhelming, and/or soulless."


I am extremely pumped for this, it looks like it's going to be steady, revolutionary, look into what print is today and what it is going to become.  Print fascinates me and I want to learn more and more and more about it....this is definitely a start.

If you're interested, check out the C A R S O N website at "http://www.carsonmag.net."  Perhaps a subscription?

Dig it.



Quite the aside, huh?

I guess you could call this the art-fied blog post, because the video I'm going to show you next is from a video installation in a Best Buy.  What?  Check it out:




Best Buy As Art Gallery from PopSci.com on Vimeo.




This is crazy.  Number 1, the artist sought out Best Buy because no art gallery (or anywhere else for that matter) can supply enough HD televisions to properly display Borna Sammak's work.  Number 2, the way they convinced Best Buy to let them have an art show in their store was by telling them the show will generate foot traffic from potential buyers that wouldn't normally step into Best Buy.  Number 3, take a look at what is on the screens, can you get any nuttier than that?  Chopped up video, going CRAZY, all saturated a such.  Pretty cool.  I dig I dig.





Well, I think that concludes this post.  I hope you enjoyed yourself, I know I have.  In the mood of art, I'm going to search "random art" on google and find a truly random piece of art.  Then I will post this random piece of art right below this paragraph.  In the meantime, I hope you have a brilliantly artistic day.  Take the next writing utensil you hold and take the next suitable writing surface, such as a piece of paper, a napkin, or even your hand, and doodle.  Maybe write something, like something inspirational or something.  Or doodle a little dude holding a shovel.  I don't know, you do what you do, you artist, you.

Comfortable

Alright, alright, alright, alright. It's good to be comfortable. Here's the deal: I have class from 9-12:45, then (most days) I have work from 1-4. That's a lot of sitting. It's good to be comfortable, otherwise, that's a whole lot of time of squirming and squiggling in a already uncomfortable chair. It's an interesting business.


Here's the other thing, I have very little time to write this, but I do it anyway, not sure why, I've got stuff to talk about, not really, but, hey, we'll try it out, see where it goes, no knowing where it goes, because, hey, this is "It's Wednesday" and it could go wherever those words want to take it. Boom boom bam, let's go.


Last week, I sped through the post, last week I didn't even mention 2011.  It's 2011 folks, nutty and a half.  Yesterday was 1-11-11, nutty and three quarters.  I'm almost used to writing "11" instead of "10." Normally this process takes months, but because of my job, where I am writing the date numerous numerous times a day, the process was sped up.  I still mess it up sometimes though, I'm human.


Interterm has been incredibly busy, it's perhaps unreal, but it's very real because I am here doing it.  So many things to do, so little time to do it.  I posted this on my facebook the other day: "Life is just getting crazier and crazier...and then once it feels packed full of crazy, it rocks into the previously-unknown form of crazy.... Let's do it."  This is still true.  


There's big news, you know the post entitled "THE STORY (link)" and the wedding surrounding it?  Well, that video is very close to being done, and in the process of the developmentation of that particular video, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I developed a serious interest in wedding videography.  All that said, we have developed a wedding videography production company called......


Nope, not yet...it's not ready yet.  Imagine it like a chocolate cake that is just a little underdone so it needs 10 minutes left in the oven...just 10 more minutes.   Expect a separate post with the name, the website, and the premiere of the very first video!


It's exciting.  We're excited.




Here's news, I had the opportunity to play a little bit of roller/street hockey the other day.  Mr. Carlo Dangelo mentioned it, just a chunk of time to skate around and shoot around, pass around, all that jazz.  I jumped on it.  I haven't played since 8th grade,  but for my middle school years I breathed roller hockey.  I still have my skates albeit TINY, but I smashed my feet into them and skated and shot around, pass around, all that jazz.  It was a blast, I was tripping and fumbling all over the place, but it was like riding a bike, it came back pretty quick.  Super fun.


Here's a challenge: think of something you used to do all the time but stopped and haven't done it in a long long long while.  Do it soon.














I've got some video for you, yeah?



First up, if you are artistic/photographical at all, you've either already seen this or you REALLY need to see it.  It's decently long, almost 10 minutes, but totally worth it.  Basically, a brilliant street photographer named Vivian Maier lived years and years ago with zero recognition, nobody knew she existed as a GREAT street photographer until recently, thousands upon thousands of negatives were rediscovered after being buried away in attic(s).  This story is crazy, crazy crazy crazy.  Talk about a discovery.




Next up, you played wiffleball?  Yeah, the white ball with all sorts of holes all over it and it goes really slow through the air but is surprisingly hard to hit and it turns into a rather entertaining game of wiffleball?  Yeah, that one.  This video is entitled "Sick Wiffleball Pitches."  The title cannot get more accurate.  The amount of control and the movement this gentleman has on this hole-y ball is OUT OF CONTROL.  There's other videos of him against actual batters and the batters look like loons trying to hit a wiffleball.  Beauty.






Lastly, check this drummer out.  Huh?



This video is WHACK.  At first I thought, this drummer is a tool, yeah, talented, but a complete tool.  Yeah his moves are awesome, out of control, brilliant, but they just do not match up with the rest of the bit.  But then I thought, actually, this isn't a concert, it's a show!  The drummer is putting on a show, like a circus, for the audience.  This is very present in this next video where the drummer and this other dude (not sure who he is) go nutty, get the audience into it (3:35), this is no concert, ladies and gentleman.  So, in this sense, go for the gold Mr. Drummer!









And that concludes it.  I have work to do, I'm sure you have work to do too.  That's what we do, we work, so in your work, be happy, be content, be glad you are working on whatever you are working on because you could be sitting in a corner staring at blank wall for hours upon hours, which in my opinion, is much better than doing data entry.

Go outside maybe, it's a nice day.

Midweek

It's Wednesday again, the middle of every week.  I must admit, I do not have much enthusiasm for this post.  Call it laziness, I just don't really feel like writing it, messing with it.  Consider this a life lesson; sometimes, you need to do things you just don't want to do.  I know this is a crummy example of that, but it applies nonetheless.  Life lessons, good stuff.

This week has been good.  It has consisted of traveling and seeing family members that I do not see on a regular basis.  My extended family is incredibly fun to be around, every member is a unique in their own way, and when you combine every unit of the production, you just get a party.  It's a good time.

That was my week, now I have a few days until I head back to Biola to take 3 weeks of español, basic immersion. 




HEY! I've got a surprise for you.  I just recently launched my website, it's still in development, the kinks are being worked out and more elements are being added, but hey, check it out now!  Might as well, huh? 

http://morganlott.virb.com


and now,

I've got two fun videos for you.


1st.

One of the couple days I was at home, I went with my family to the local Brunswick bowling alley.  It's weird situations like this that spark my creative fire, don't know why, so here's what I did.  I told my family "I have this video camera, I'm going to put it down on the table, at any time, you can pick up the camera and film anything you want under one condition, you must show your face first so I know who is taking the footage." I proceeded to show how to work the camera and all that jazz, and off we went.  Little did they know, the "show your face first" part was the only part I cared about.  Check this out and you'll see why:






2nd.

If you read the post THE STORY (http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/12/story.html), you know that a wedding took place.  If you read the post THE STORY, you also know that Mr. Isaac Svensson and I captured the wedding videographically.  Want a tease?


R + M Wedding Teaser from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

12+11+10

Randy & Megan Marshman

Encinitas, CA








That's the post ladies and gentlemen.  Sorry if it's not all you hoped it might be.  Sorry if it's lacking on the content.  Here's another life lesson: life's a rollercoaster.  There's ups and downs and it doesn't stop, it keeps going, there's a big ol' surprise right around the corner.

I must have just hit the bottom of the bunny hop.



Have a delightful day.  Tell someone what your favorite color is.  Mine's charcoal.

Twenty-Tow Truck

Here's the deal, last week's post was the best ever, it had the most interesting content that has been posted on this here blog in it's existence, no other post comes close.  This isn't only my opinion.  The response from you, the reader, was alone enough to blow all the others out of the water.  I really don't blame you, anything that says "YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT: gnarly car accident, craziest day of my life, R+M wedding, it can't get much better than this! CHECK IT OUT!," I'd be a sucker and click on it too.  I'm still aghast that all went down.  If you're reading this and you haven't read last week's post, you've missed history.  Luckily for you, the internet is scriviling with history, so all you have to do is click this link: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/12/story.html or simply scroll down until you hit the post labeled "THE STORY."  That's all there is to it.  Enjoy.

So here it is, this week is piddly compared to last.  Although fun and surprising, the sheer monstrosity of last week overpowers this.  I digress (Shout out to Schmidt).

We finished out the semester this week.  Un-be-lievable.  We just started, we just finished.  I'm I'm full fledged into a couple weeks of break, head back to the Bible Institute Of Los Angeles and complete an absolutely ridiculous three weeks of learning the Spanish language.  8 AM - 12 PM: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.  It shall be a memorable three weeks.  After this, the spring semester begins.  Here's my schedule:

It's going to be busy busy busy.  I guess that's the point to college right?  Stuff that brain with all the good stuff, preparing you for the world beyond.  Let's do this.


I am at home right now.  I was at home on Friday.  On Friday morning, my mother prepared a special "Brunch," a very secretive brunch.  My sister and I knew it was a big deal because bacon was being made.  My mother invited two guests over the very secretive brunch, two VIPs from the Joshua Wilderness Institute, Ms. Cheyenne Wedel and Ms. Julie Nicolas.  I was very surprised (although I figured out the surprise prior, but hey, you never REALLY know) and enjoyed the very secretive brunch very much.  The events that followed were Christmas shopping and a grand tour of the city we all know and love: Simi Valley.  It was great way to spend the first day back at home.

The next day, we set out to Oma's ("Grandma" in German) house in Walnut Creek, California.  6 hours in the Monster (our vehicle) and Ms. Cheyenne Wedel as a guest, the trip went relatively smoothly, save for the 4-lane-blocking accident on the 5.

Oma's house was fun, a good relaxation.  I destroyed my brother in chess and we never played the rematch he demanded.  Not much went on and it was great.  The epitome of "break."

Now I am at home.  It'll be a few days.  Christmas is soon.  Very soon.  Disturbingly soon.  When did December start?



I don't have much more.  Here's a video:







Yikes, I forgot how heavy that video was.  I had saved the link from a few weeks ago because I didn't have the opportunity to embed it, and now that I have; it's quite the video.  Really makes you think.









Wow, interesting ending note, huh? 



A young businessman had just started his own firm. He'd rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear busy, the young businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Sure. I've come to install the phone!"




Imagine that.  Know what you're dealing with, don't tell lies, be yourself.

Be prepared.







Have a brilliantly beautiful day today.

THE STORY

More than likely, you have stumbled upon this page because you clicked on a link talking about a car accident, or a wedding, or something of the like, something super exciting that you can't wait to read.  I'm here to tell you that that entire story is just down below, you'll know when it begins.  If that is what you came for, scroll down and begin reading at:

Today was arguably the most incredible day of my entire life.

That's where is begins.  It is Wednesday the 15th and I still am disbelief over the whole event.  Scroll down if you want, read on if you want, I'll still be here.

It's finals week, the week every college students dreams for.  This is the week where the classes we all have been working so hard in come to a close in the form of a final exam.  This is the week that the semester or quarter or other obscure school system decides to say "sayonara."  It's an awkward time.  And it's over.

This semester is over, it's been real, it's been challenging, I've become a working man.  Overall, I really enjoyed this semester, it's been very hands on with projects rather than stuck in a book, which in my book, is a good thing.

In other news, the suit you see above has an interesting story behind it.  You see, months ago, I couldn't tell you how many, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Michael Warnecke and I set out to purchase some fine suits.  We found our deals, left with the potential of the cast of Mad Men.  Here's the catch, we needed to get our pants hemmed.  Long story short, last week, hemmed they became as Mr. Michael Warnecke's aunt graciously worked her magic.  So, somewhat naturally, we got excited, Monday we wore the suits, Monday we took this picture, Wednesday I wore a suit; naturally, we got excited.

I think it is time for the time you have all been waiting for.  Or have you?  Well, buckle up because it's going to be a bumpy ride, and please, for the safety of all passengers, keep all arms and legs inside the car at all time.  Thank you and enjoy your ride.



THE STORY


Written on Friday, the 11th.


Today was arguably the most incredible day of my entire life.  The events that went on were passed that of a blockbuster, they were passed the mind of a creative child, the events that went on today absolutely, 100% blow my mind about 10 feet out of the water.  The events of today not only went down in history, but reminded me that life is a trip, that life throws you into the craziest events at the most random of times, that life is utterly unpredictable.  I'm going to say this: I love living.  Today was all about the beauty of life, going with the flow, and sitting along for the ride.

This weekend started out as an out of control weekend.  Mr. Isaac Svensson and I were set to videograph Mr. Randy Marshman and Ms. Megan Fate's exchanging of the vows on Saturday the 12th of December.  The wedding rehearsal was set for the 11th, so, naturally, we prepared to drive down.  This morning, Isaac and I gather up our gear, pack up the car and head out, heading to the northern parts of San Diego.  (Note: upon leaving Biola's parking lot, Isaac mentions something along the lines of "I really don't like this car, its a boat, the handing is bad, and it doesn't respond well.")  So we're driving south on the 5 freeway in the far left lane, having nice conversation over a varied number of topics, just enjoying the Friday afternoon drive, when I see the car in front of the car in front of us swerve to the left, causing the car in front of us to slam on its brakes, causing us, by laws of reaction time, to slam on our brakes.  Now, when a car swerves, normally this means they made a split second reaction, realizing they would not be able to make it with a straight brake, so this caused the Land Rover in front of us, which had decent brakes, to stop on a dime.  Mr. Isaac Svensson's car, however, has the slow response he had mentioned earlier so even as he slammed on his breaks, we proceeded to smash into the Land Rover.  Here's the scene: we're driving along, I see two cars ahead of us swerve, I look over at Isaac, he yells, lifts his leg up and slams on the brakes, we skid, we slam into the Land Rover, the airbags blow up in our faces, white powder erupts throughout the car, we, on instinct, open the windows and start waving the white powder out the window, all happening within one second.  In the blink of an eye.  We are both quite alright, Isaac's glasses took a tumble, and we proceed to get out of the car, march through a massive puddle of radiator fluid/antifreeze/oil, and push the car to the side of the road.

The typical takes place: make sure everybody's alright, discuss the situation, exchange insurance information, speak with the motorcycle policeman, discuss the next steps, call up AAA, Land Rover leaves.

So there we are, Mr. Isaac Svensson, myself, and this motorcycle cop, standing on the side of the 5 South freeway, watching the people of the freeway look at our mess, cause a bundle traffic (which was incredibly interesting, by the way) and sitting tight until AAA comes.  As I'm standing there, leaded up against the car, I remember my art project.  You see, I have a final video art project based on the concept of "profile" in which I must profile someone to any extent, I needed to work on it at some point this weekend, but due to the wedding, I would have no time to do it.  I decided to bring my small HD video camera with me, you know, just in case.  As I stood on the side of this freeway, I realized this motorcycle cop was the perfect profile subject.  I proceeded to video tape him as we waited for AAA, which has turned into a completed video art piece:





Here's what is going on: I realized that the image of the motorcycle cop is extremely mysterious and illusive, everybody sees them, immediately recognizes them, but how often to people have an actual conversation with them outside of a speeding ticket?  Not to often.  I was intrigued by the persona of the motorcycle cop as he stood there, pacing every five minutes, for a half hour, not interacting with us whatsoever.  And that's okay, he's doing his job and he did a fine job doing his job.  Nevertheless, his job is definitive.


AAA shows up, the motorcycle cop leaves, and we proceed with the towing.  Everything runs smoothly and then we leave in the tow truck, soon realizing #1 we are going to miss the wedding rehearsal #2 we need to go somewhere right now, we cannot stay in the tow truck #3 we need to get back to Biola tonight #4 we need to get back for the wedding tomorrow.  We discussed our options and realized a friend we worked with at Hume Lake, Ms. Ashley Clark, was going to school at Cal State San Marcos, just a few minutes from our current location.  Isaac calls up Ashley and says something along the lines of "Hey Ashley, we're right around San Marcos, figured we'd drop by, we'll be there in about five minutes, see you soon."  We show up, in the tow truck, at Cal State San Marcos and find Ashley, who not only is surprised to see me because Isaac didn't mention I was with him, but was surprised to Isaac working for a towing company.  It didn't take long before we began emptying out all of Isaac's belongings from the car onto the concrete, to which Ashley realized the totaled car on the bed of the tow truck was Isaac's.  Obviously, there is disbelief.  We say goodbye and thank you to the tow truck driver and we make our way, with our belongings, up to Ashley's room.

From here, we have a game plan to create.  We have three options: #1 Call somebody from Biola to come pick us up in San Marcos and bring us back to Biola. #2 Stay the night in San Marcos, go thrift store/discount shopping to find dress clothes for the wedding. #3 Have Ms. Ashley Clark drive us down to Biola IF we went with her to a white elephant gift exchange party.  Upon discussion, we decided on option three.  So, because of the trade, Isaac and I needed to find white elephant gift exchange gifts.  Earlier, upon cleaning out the remains of his vehicle, I asked him if he wanted his car mats, two in the front, two in the back, to which he replied (paraphrased), "I don't really want them, but they're so nice and decently pricey.  I just don't want to have to carry them around until I get a car.  I guess we can get rid of them."  So we decided to each take two of these mats and use them as our white elephant gifts, complete with plastic bag wrapping, custom by Vons.

We go out, hit WalMart, pick up a few more people, and head to this White Elephant Gift Exchange.  Funny enough, we enter this extremely confusing area of town where there are unique gated communities within hundreds of feet of each other.  Let's just say we got really lost, some got really frustrated, I thought it was hilarious just because it was adding to this already bizarre day (it gets even better), but eventually we made it to the house.  So here's the deal, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I enter this house brewing with numbers of people we do not know.  This is an interesting situation, indeed.  We go in, start partaking in small talk with other people at the party, and begin introducing ourselves to the bulk of the group.  We enjoyed a fine meal of pasta, garlic bread, and all the additions, and conversed with the people we have never met before.

About half way through this party, it hit me...ALL OF IT.  I started busting up laughing, laughing my head off if you will.  This is what got me: When I woke up this morning, never in a million years would I have guessed I would be, at that moment, at a White Elephant Gift Exchange with 30 people I had never seen before at this house in San Marcos.  I was baffled, I simply could not believe what we had gotten ourselves into.  Bizarre is an understatement, it just gets bizarre-er.

Before long, the actual gift exchange was set to begin.  We all had a number to declare the order, when your number was called, you were to pick an unopened gift and unwrap it, or steal a gift from someone who has already opened a gift.  After a gift has been stolen twice, it is dead and the owner will forever keep it.  Upon looking at the group of gifts, our "gifts" were pretty ratty as they were "wrapped" in plastic bags, most of the gifts were formally wrapped in wrapping paper and/or gift bags.  The game began, tennis balls, movies, funny hats, were opened, gift cards, robes, were stolen.  When #14 came up, I opened a nice lavender-scented fragrance set.  It was real nice, however #15 snatched it right from me, so I got to go again.  From here, I chose this nice X-Men bag, opened it up, and found a pink boa, Disney Princess pens, a tiara/jewelry kit, and a Disney Princess pencil holder.  Let's just say, I'm not sure I was the right candidate.  Nevertheless, I was content at what I had opened and I was ready to be the rightful owner.  Mr. Isaac Svensson, #20, opened up the movie "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," but the delightful film was stolen almost immediately.  A few shenanigans later, Isaac ended up with my gift, two of his own car mats.  The gifts were growing low, Isaac had his car mats and I had my Princess pack.  #24 came up, the last number, one gift left, and the one and only Ms. Ashley Clark.  To my surprise, Ms. Ashley Clark stole my princess pack, enabling me to pick the last gift of the gift exchange: Mr. Isaac Svensson's gift of the remaining two car mats!  Obviously, I eagerly snatched these up and exclaimed at the perfect ending.  We couldn't believe it, we ended up with the gifts we had brought, the car mats that Mr. Isaac Svensson was sorry to leave.


It was at this moment, I realized I simply love life.  In the good, in the bad, in the optimistic, in the pessimistic, life is unpredictable.  You sometimes have to just laugh at the absurdity.  I am blessed to know there is a God that has it all under control, an aspect to life I cannot even fathom.  We were protected, we were provided for, and we got hundreds of incredible laughs out of it, ALL of which was completely unplanned and on-the-surface scary and discouraging.


So we leave the amazingly random party and begin to head home with the gracious Ms. Ashley Clark.  After a run in with some thick fog, some of the thickest I've seen in Southern California, we arrive at Biola safe and sound.  We drop Isaac off at his apartment and then I lead Ashley to her temporary quarters with Ms. Amanda Cooper.  After a nice discussion about the eventful day, I head back to my room, it's 1:30 AM at this point, to find my roommates not there.  I find out where they are, they're headed to Del Taco, so I join.  We go to Del Taco to find it closed, we try a number of other places to find them closed, so we end up at Yum Yum donuts to have some delectable treats.  I proceed to tell the story of today, this story you are about to finish reading now.  We have a good laugh, a good eat, hang out a while, and then head back home.  It is now 4:06 AM and I am finishing the story of Friday, December 11th.

Know what's funny?  The wedding hasn't even happened yet.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.



[Written after the fact]

Saturday arrives.  Ms. Ashley Clark, Mr. Isaac Svensson, and myself take to the 5 freeway once again to try to make it to our destination.  At this point, who knows what's going to happen, so much randomity has already happened that either we have exhausted the cause or we're just getting started.  The car ride went very smoothly, a nice contrast from the day before.  We said goodbye to the gracious Ashley Clark as she dropped us off at the location in the Encinitas area of San Diego.

Here's what happened: the wedding went incredibly smoothly.  Everything happened exactly the way it should have, no hiccups whatsoever.  Not only that, but the weather was beautiful, the house was beautiful, the bride and groom were beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, the reception was beautiful, the sunset was beautiful, and the rest of the evening continued in the same fashion.  Seriously, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I sat baffled at the incredible lack-of-the-unexpected of the entire day, definitely a nice contrast between the quite eventful day just a day before.  We had the privilege of shooting along side the photographers Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser of "The Image Is Found" (http://www.theimageisfound.com Blog: http://www.theblogisfound.com).  It was incredible to work with them, attempting to produce the most effective photography and videography simultaneously without getting in each others way.  I believe we, as a collective media team, were quite successful in capturing the entirety of the wedding and I can not wait to see the final products for both the photography and the videography.

That's pretty much it for the wedding, it was just that good.  Seriously.



Congratulations Randy and Megan Marshman!





One more: it was great seeing a lot of the Hume crew, you know who you are, it's always a pleasure.  Oh, and thank you so much to Ms. Alexa Garner and Ms. Kayla Bible for driving me and Mr. Isaac Svensson back to our home in La Mirada, without you we'd still be walking.

That's the story.  I'm still kind of in disbelief that that turned out to be the sequence of events, it seems so distant already.  Time is a weird, I think "weird" should just be a noun for nou-n on, time is simply a weird.  If you have read this blog very much, especially in the last few weeks, you know time is a topic I enjoy speaking about, and if I don't enjoy it, it's just very prevalent.

I kind of wanted to write more, but I don't have more to say.  Even though THE STORY was written on Friday and "after the fact," just having it in this post is exhausting.


So, that said, it's the holiday season, it's the Christmas season, it's a wonderful season.  Be careful, be safe.  Enjoy life, love life, enjoy randomity, take advantage of every opportunity you get even if it is a trash opportunity from first glance, it might turn out to be one of the most memorable experiences, in a good way, of your entire life.  You never know.  Bad can turn to good in a heartbeat if you heart is beating the beat of optimism and enthusiasm and maybe a little inspiration.



You can do it, I believe in you.