Life is a funny thing.

Ask yourself this question: Do you ever just stop and think? Not just... think, but really think. The existentialist kind of thinking. Things like, "I am alive. I exist. This is real, I am real, these things are all real, and one day I will cease to exist, and all the worries that cloud my head will be meaningless." I had one of those moments today at work while I was on lunch. I was just scrolling aimlessly through Reddit on my phone and the above thought occurred to me. I willingly jumped into the sea of thoughts that were rippling through my head, and I did so without a life jacket. It was only when I got a text message that I was able to pull myself out of it, it seemed like hours had passed while I swam through my own mind, though it was really only about twenty minutes. Normally I would go into detail about my thoughts, but they were/are incredible personal and I don't feel entirely comfortable releasing them to the vultures that circle the internet as if it were a corpse in the desert.

Thus ends this blog post.

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Hello Blog, we meet again.

I'm sure everyone thought I had all but forgotten about my little slice of Eden on this side of the internet, but rest assured, I haven't. I have simply been putting off writing another entry due to me being lazy. There's no excuse other than that.

 It's been an interesting few weeks, though! Weeks filled with goodies; a holiday, promotions, and mostly busy-work! So, let's begin.

I've found myself working much more at the restaurant, which is taking up a lot of time that I should be spending with my girlfriend. Thankfully she's amazing and totally understands. It also helps that we work together so we aren't exactly apart all the time. With Valentines just now passing I suppose I should let my faithful readers in on what exactly I did for Kym. I won't go into where/how I went about everything due to the fact that she reads this blog, but in short, it was $130 spent on flowers, chocolates, balloons, a teddy-bear, and a nice heart-felt personalized card from me all delivered to her house on Valentines day. I was unable to be there with her to see her reaction because I was working; as usual. She was delighted when it all arrived and she drove down to work to express exactly how she felt (after sending me at least 45 texts and trying to call me) and to let me know just how much she loved it.

As for me, she came to my house around 11 AM and gave me my favorite coffee, (peppermint mocha) and a tray of assorted baked goods all hand-made by her, as well as a hand written card. Apparently I'm dating Betty Crocker. No, I'm not complaining about it. She came in and we sat and talked for a little while, but she was anxious to get back home just in case my stuff for her came. It didn't actually show up until around five or six that night, I want to say. But she waited patiently all day for it.

Work on the 14th was absolutely crazy. Now I'm no stranger when it comes to fast-paced work environments because I came from a restaurant before this one, so I knew what to expect. But holy shit. I didn't expect it to be that crazy. It probably didn't help that I was supposed to be training a new hire that night too. But in her defense she did very well for me basically leaving her in the dust in order to keep up all night. I added in a bit of unorthodox training, which is how I spiced things up for myself. The normal monotony of training had already taken it's toll on me from the previous three new (now old) hires. Re-reading that last sentence makes me feel like I have no idea what the English language is. But it makes sense; that's what matters.

I finally got my 'Training Team Member' pin! Myself and every other trainer was supposed to have gotten them when trainers were selected, but somehow the pins were on back order and we just now got them! We've been waiting since September, which is kind of sad when you think about it. Oh well.

Gears of War is still the game I'm focused on. MLG is getting pretty close for the team, I can feel it. We're entering ourselves into online tournaments, playing against other teams, and practicing almost everyday. It'll pay off. I mean, it has to. When you put so much time and effort into something, there's no way it can't. Right? Right.

 I feel like this entry is really sporadic. Meh. Who cares, I'm tired, and going to bed. Good night readers! Be sure to check my Facebook, and follow me on Twitter!

Ciao,
Zach

Better late than never

Damn. I've already missed a day. That's rough.

Anyway, Friday night was my first night back at work after my five days off. I suppose it was an okay night at work, just a little busy until it died. Now that we're an established local eatery I think people choose other places now, because we aren't so "new." I'm okay with that, it's no big deal. I started at six o'clock and was there until about one in the morning. Just a normal Friday night closing shift. Before work I did a little bit of calling around and research on how to sign up for a simple Psychology class at my local community college. The woman I talked to was helpful, but didn't give me all the answers I needed; pretty much just enough to hold me over so to speak. After work I came home and got on the Xbox for a little bit, since I can't just come home and go to sleep after running around for seven hours. I played a little bit of Gears of War, checked my Facebook and finally, thought about just sitting down and busting out this blog entry. I obviously decided against it. Because, well, here we are.

So I overslept today. Not by much, but just enough to give myself that "Holy shit, I'm going to be late!" feeling. I know you guys know what I'm talking about. I had work at 11, and ended up waking up at 10:20, needing to leave at 10:30 due to it taking 30 minutes to get to work. I don't think I've ever showered and gotten dressed faster in my entire life. I did make it to work on time though, surprisingly. So I get to work and instantly make two cups of coffee for myself. I didn't need them, but whatever. So I'm back on track to serve again, and unfortunately I won't be able to open the Dublin store and train over there, which is a little bit of a bummer. Other than that, nothing too eventful happened today. Just a normal day where I go to work, come home, talk to my girlfriend and play games. Sorry this isn't as interesting or in depth as my previous two, but oh well. Good night, readers!

Ciao,
Zach

A different kind of birthday card

Day 1; Entry 2

January 19th, 2012

So today is my mothers birthday, and her and Jason did actually get out of the house and do something (for reals this time). They went out and had lunch at Shirasoni, which is a nice Japanese restaurant. Now, during their absence I could have done many things. I could have gone and bought a card, and flowers, and jewelry for my loving mother. But I didn't. I stayed at home again and thought of something that is different from all the normal birthday cliches. A simple 'Happy Birthday, Mom!' card won't cut it. No amount of flowers in a diamond encrusted vase could show how much I care for this wonderful woman. Zoe did not just give birth to me. She gave life to me, and even when I'm 112 years old, I still will not have had enough time to express my gratitude.

The word "Mom" means something different to each person. To some, she's just someone you come home to and don't speak much with. To others, she is your best friend. To an unlucky bunch, she's your worst enemy. I, on the other hand, don't feel like my mom fits well into any of these categories. To me, she's an elite. A top tier cream of the crop mother who is everything I ever needed her to be throughout my life. That's something I know will never change, no matter how old we get or many fights we have. It's only natural that you bump heads with your mother, and it's not the end of the world. I bumped heads with my mom for years. It's only now that we've stopped, and I just turned 20. I can honestly say that it's made my relationship with her so much stronger. 

Nobody will ever know you as well as your mother does. It's just a simple fact. And just a little tip -- don't ever lie to your mom. She'll find out. She will always find out. I learned that the hard way, but anyway, back on track. My mom knows me inside and out, what foods I eat, where I like to go, what I like to do, my ideal girl, what kind of people I like to associate myself with, my many strengths and my many weaknesses. She knows it all. Whether I want her to or not is unimportant.

Now that I've rambled on for three paragraphs I suppose I should get to the point. This is a different kind of birthday card for my mother, because as I said when I started writing this, a simple card won't do. I simply wouldn't have had enough room to express my feelings on that tiny $18.50 rip-off Hallmark card filled with words that aren't mine, that I didn't write and that have no meaning to me or to anybody else who gets that card. In order to make this special, and a memory that she will never forget, I had to do this. This will be posted to my Facebook as usual, for everyone to see. I hope someone takes this to heart, and does something similar to this for their mother. Trust me, she deserves it.

In conclusion,

Happy Birthday, Mom.

Our relationship, in a nutshell.

I love you more than words can possibly express, so I did the best I could with the four paragraphs above. I hope you realize that even though I may not show my appreciation as well as some other kids, I do appreciate everything you have done, everything you have sacrificed, and everything you will do in the future for me, and this family. You mean the world to me. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and I'm glad I'm around to spend another year with you. I also hope you enjoyed reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Love, your son,

Zach

More entries to come; remember to check my Facebook!

Until next time!

Formal post... Formal post...

Hi. I'm Zach, and this is a blog about my day-to-day life. Let's start with a personal introduction of myself.

My name is Zach, I'm 20 years old and my birthday is January 15th, 1992. I suppose you could say I'm just an average 20 year old. I work in a restaurant and make enough money to live on. I have a girlfriend whom I love dearly and unfortunately I still live with my parents. I guess it's not that bad though, since they feed me.

I spend a lot of time on the computer and playing console games; it pretty much takes up all of my free time that I'm not spending with my girlfriend. I plan on going to school again to get my certificate in Computer Science as well as take a few Psychology classes, I've always been interested in how people work, and since staring at complete strangers isn't exactly socially acceptable, I figured I may as well take a class or two to learn how to do it properly. 

I could totally add more, but... Whatever.

Oh, one more thing, I'm hilariously funny and devilishly handsome.

Clearly as handsome as I said.

Formal post... Formal post... Okay.

Well, I created the blog. It's 1:41 AM in California as I write this, I was a bit tired a few minutes ago, but It's slowly fading now. I've been off work for the past 4 days due to my birthday and poor scheduling, and I have tomorrow off as well to celebrate my mother's birthday. I don't know exactly what we're doing to celebrate it... but I'm sure it's elaborate, well thought out and not at all boring. I woke up this morning to my mother saying goodbye to me as her and my step-father Jason left for Monterrey. They were supposed to be staying overnight there for her birthday, but ended up coming home. I won't say I didn't have a part to play in them returning early, because I did, but that's unimportant. 

When I turned 20, well, actually, a little bit before that, a light bulb turned on in my head. I've always been a good kid. I don't drink (often), I don't smoke, or lie, or cheat or steal. I do what I'm told and basically walk inside the lines instead of on them or outside of them. But for some reason when it comes to doing things around the house, I always have to be asked. I can never just do it because it needs to be done. Is anyone else like that? But anyway, the light bulb; it turned on and I've changed (or am in the process of) and I'm taking things a bit more seriously. Life is very short. I'm saving money, I'm budgeting, and more importantly, I'm thinking. I'm using my head and making decisions based on facts, and thinking things through. Not impulses. I guess it just took me a bit longer than others to hit that point where I know I need to get my shit together. Maybe it's because I was born three months early; late bloomer? Maybe.

Now, in between my parents leaving and them coming home lies the majority of my day. My day was spent for the most part, upstairs in my room. I'm not a hermit, and I enjoy human contact and socializing. Just not at home. So I played games. Mainly Gears of War 3 with some friends of mine. I also read part of the book I got for Christmas. It's the biography of the late Steve Jobs; if anyone is thinking about getting it, do it. It's a good read and I recommend it. I also listened to the new CD I was given by my girlfriend, Kym. She got me the last Kings of Leon CD I needed, which was "Aha Shake Heartbreak." I love it. 

Oh, and so my soon to be faithful readers know, I was diagnosed with ADHD in the fifth grade. For those of you who clearly never went to public school, I'll explain what it is. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder. Essentially I was hyper and could not focus on one thing. Ever. It's not like it happened randomly during the day and then stopped and I was normal, oh no. It was a 24/7 thing. However, I grew out of it when I was around 16-17 and stopped taking my daily medication for it around then as well and only took it as needed. There is one place my condition is still present though, and that's in my writing. Now that I've pointed it out to you, it will be painfully obvious forever.

Alright. I think that just about concludes the first of many entries in this blog of mine. I hope you enjoyed reading it and didn't want to rip your hair out too many times. I'll be posting the link to my blog on everyone's favorite social network, Myspace. Just kidding. It'll be on my Facebook. 

Ciao,

Zach