What keeps me going

Just recently it was application weekend for my department at UF. It was really interesting being on the other side of the interviews after experiencing the whole process last year. God Im glad to be on this side but I was reminded of all the amazing opportunities that I have available to me here. It is easy to loose sight of how lucky I am when Im buried in my own little world and my private mounds of work. Keep those eyes open and the world will amaze you. Thats all for now.

Cheers,
Jake

Awe-some

This past weekend was really interesting... I went and saw Andrew Bird and it was so amazing. For those not so familiar with him. Here is a small sample. I was in the first row at a show only 300-400 people. So I was really close. Ill try to upload some pictures I got on my camera, although I can't guarantee the quality. He really was awesome, in the true sense of the word. The way he blends the violin as a classical instument with folk and rock really just inspires awe. He blends the past and future to create his own present, that seems to be outside the mainstream music world and I love it. I also really like his clothes ;)

I was trying to think of how to categorize his style of music... neo-gypsy, post-folk, indie-whatever... and I realized that the genre he fits into really isn't important. One really just has to see him and then it all makes sense. Although, trying to describe what I went and saw this weekend to other people has been tough.

So this concert was in Orlando, which is like 1 1/2 hours from Gainesville. On the drive back I was starting to get a little tired. Nate and Shannon, my roommates were in the car with me and they were getting pretty worn out too. We decided to stop at a Dunkin Donuts for deliciousness and caffeine, only to realize (I already knew this) that my car has no cup holders. Consequently that coffee was squeezed tightly between my legs and muffin in my hands, leaving only my knees to drive the car.

Now children... take a lesson from great grand-dad Jake. Never, ever drive with your knees. Unless you have something really tasty (and messy) to eat.

As a result of the aforementioned questionable driving practices I was swerving a bit in the lines. Crossing those sacred white lines which act like some sort of magical barrier to keep cars separated (ideally anyway).

Moments later I see flashing lights. Shit. I know I wasn't speeding. I had the cruise on and cars were passing me. I try to stay calm and surprisingly I do. I pull over. The cop comes up to the window. I'm sure he looked in and thought to himself, bunch of drunk college students out on the highway (it was around1:30 at this point) trying to kill all the law abiding citizens out there.

He asks me to step out of the car and walk out behind the car. I guess I convinced him pretty quickly that I wasn't drunk (I hadn't had a single drink that night). He looks me over and says, "What do you have on your pants". I look down and my lap is covered in muffin crumbs. Literally covered. I wanna say " ah that damn shitty Colombian cocain, always gets all over my lap". Luckily I resist the urge and manage to say "Pumkin muffin" without laughing uncontrollably. It was a struggle though. He lets me go with a warning and no more mention of the illicit crumbles on my pants.

Let the lesson be learned. If you do spill coke on your lap while driving try the old "Pumpkin muffin" routine. Works every time.

Cheers,
Jake

O Dios Mio

I got it!! I actually followed through. I was a little worried that I would chicken out at the last moment but I went to Anthem by myself and with only a little bit of hesitation I sat down in the chair. Dave, the tattoo artist, was really easy going and did a great job (in my opinion, of course). I've gotten really good responses from everyone that has seen it so far. Let me know what you think.






As you can see the image changes a little bit depending on how I have my arms placed. The lines are not always completely straight but I think that just makes it more interesting and plus there isn't really any way to fix an image on skin.

Getting a tattoo was really not as painful as I expected. The needle used to make the thick outlines was definitely the most painful. Good thing for desensitization and endorphins or things like this probably would be unbearable. I'm glad my body figured out that the pain was going to continue and it was better off not paying attention to it and moving on... the diaphragmatic breathing really helped too

New additions

So I started working on a long and involved blog that spelled things out very clearly...and then the window closed and I lost it all. Frustrated. This will now be short and sweet. Im getting a tattoo. Ive thought this through and I know what I want. Here it is. Hopefully it doesn't hurt too much. I'll just have to grin and bear it.

The long and winding road

This is something that I have been meaning to start for a long time now. I have been feeling a strong need for both an outlet and a chance to connect a little more to the friends and family that have left. Hopefully I will keep up with with this. Expressing myself has not always been a forte of mine and the thought of doing it a few times a week is a little daunting but I am going to give this a very honest try. Not too much censoring and hopefully not too much rambling bs.

Cheers,
Jake