Welcome to another edition of XangaSecret, featuring secrets from your fellow Xangans.  Enjoy watching!

RE:  Amateurprose can be such an asshole, but DAMN that boy is sexy!

“I want this person to come on over to my place and ‘watch a movie’ with me……or do whatever ” -Amateurprose

RE:  TheTheologiansCafe was the first to friend me here and for some reason, in light of all the drama, I couldn’t leave because Dan is still there. If Dan leaves Xanga, I am out of here.

“Crap. Now I feel pressure. I hope I am connecting to that person in the right way.” -TheTheologiansCafe

RE:  I’ve always had a crush on LoveSporks. I don’t think she realizes how beautiful she is or how inspiring she is. I am scared to tell her how I feel… she doesn’t even know who I am.

“what a compliment, thank you. and if you think i don’t know who you are, that can always be solved by trying to get to know each other. (:” -LoveSporks

RE:  I want to take Verified_but_still_denied, take his clothes off, and make him mine! ;D

“Meep!  Please be gentle.” -Verified_but_still_denied

“I want to make verified_but_still_denied mine, too. He’s so adorable and sweet. I wonder if he knows if I exist or not?” -anonymous

RE:  MyxlDove managed to quadruple the already very high expectations I have for a future husband, and I’m now afraid I won’t ever get married.

“Wow! You flatter me. But don’t be discouraged. Be hopeful! If anything, use me as proof that there ARE men out there who, although not perfect (because Lord knows I’m not), will still exceed your expectations in ways you’ve never imagined.” -MyxlDove

“Girl, the key is to always have hope and to work on your patience. In a marriage, you gotta have hope. Things will not stay the same forever and there is always room for BOTH of you to grow. It took Riis years to become the husband he is now. Don’t ask for immediate perfection–only the desire to become better as the years go by and the determination to make it happen.” -TheMarriedFreshman

RE:  Through her writings eternal_relevance reveals her beautiful soul. I could fall in love with her if we ever met IRL. Too bad we live many miles apart.

“That’s so incredibly sweet. You are really too kind.  Truth is, I continually fear that my content is either too personal, emotionally raw or impulsive. ~It makes me feel so blessed to know someone is remotely interested in getting to know the different facets of me.  Just for that, you get 10+ brownie points and makes you awesome in my books…even if I don’t know your name. ” -eternal_relevance

RE:  Before the NYC Xanga Meet I wasn’t appreciating Xanga as much as I used to.  I was becoming a secret hater, but after the meet I revived my love for this place again.  Too many great people on here where it is too hard to hate this place anymore.

“Hearing this really makes me glad I ended up planning that huge meet.  It was a lot of work, but it was also most definitely worth the experience and the effect it had on those that attended.” -Alex

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New replies to secrets featured in this video will be added to the above reply section as they come in.

To submit your own secret, please leave them anonymously (signing out) in the comment section below OR leave them over at the XangaSecret Formspring page.  There’s a good chance you’ll see them in a future video!  For more information on how to submit a secret and how this all works, check out some of the previous XangaSecret posts:

What’s Your XangaSecret?
XangaSecret: Volume I and Volume II
XangaSecret: Volume III and Volume IV
XangaSecret: Volume V and Volume VI
XangaSecret: Volume VII
XangaSecret: Volume VIII (Love and Heartache Edition)
XangaSecret Volume IX
XangaSecret Volume X (April Fools Edition)
XangaSecret: Volume XI
XangaSecret: Volume XII (Live at the NY Xanga Meet)

P.S. You should also go check out the original PostSecret as well (the main inspiration for this video project).  I highly recommend it!

Me:  Mhmm.  Well hey, it was nice talking to you but I have to head out now.
LJ:  ok…seeing your new gf right?
Me:  Actually no, I’m not seeing anyone right now.
LJ:  whoa really…?  that’s pretty depressing man…
Me:  Don’t worry, it was rough at first but after a while it’s not the worse thing in the world like I, er you, used to think.
LJ:  I don’t know how you go about life without your amazing gorgeous better half there to complete you…
Me:  I said stop with that cheesy talk!  Wow, was I really that annoying sounding?
LJ:  …hey I’m still here!
Me:  My bad.  Okay, I’ll cya later.  *signs off*

LJ:  ….hmm…I kinda liked the future me…as strange as he is.  hmm…I haven’t cryptically posted up song lyrics on my blog lately.  Time to go do that!  I’m soooo clever heh… *signs off*

**********

Post partly inspired by this article.  Yes, I used to write and think like that.  I’m sorry.

I’m sure many of you have read IntoxicatedShortstop‘s “I once dated a girl named Christine…“, which I think is the most recommended post ever on Xanga.  It’s pretty obvious to anyone who read it why this bittersweet post became so popular and why people remember this even after 5 years.  If you haven’t had a chance to read it go check it out now before you read the following.  I’ll wait.

*Drinks some green tea*

Okay, ready?  Good.  So, during my vacation last week I received a very interesting message from a random user.  In it, this person mentioned he/she saw that I enjoyed that post as well and wanted me to share this news he/she found out the other day about Justin and Christine.  This person didn’t want credit for this and wanted me to spread the news since she believes I have the ability to share it to more people.  I was hesitant to be the one to tell this news, but I think there are a lot of you that would be interested in hearing about this. 

Although the person that sent me this didn’t know them personally, he/she has common friends with them and went to the same college.  While looking around, this person manage to find Justin’s brother’s 2010 wedding page.  At the bottom of the “About Him” section, Justin’s brother shows some pictures of his family.  Guess what’s there?

I don’t feel comfortable linking the site since it does have a lot of personal information, but I will show you a screenshot of what this mystery person found that answers the question “Did Justin and Christine ever get back together?”:

Looks like they did!  Now you know =)

To Justin or Christine: if you end up seeing this and want me to take this down just let me know.  I wasn’t sure if you wanted to avoid anymore spotlight, but just know that even after 5 years a lot of people are probably very excited to hear how your story ended up.  Hopefully you don’t mind, but I understand if you do.

While riding around LA this past week I started pondering about how I ended up at this point.  Back in 2008, I would not have predicted I would be vacationing with people I’ve met online in California, much less for the 5th time in two years.  Yet, here I am. 

It’s crazy to imagine how so many little, connecting events led to this trip.  What would have happened had I not started blogging more in late 2008 due to job/relationship woes?  What would have happened had I not discovered there was a community on this site, one that I’ve been a member of since 2003 but was totally clueless about this interactivity?  What would have happened had I not befriended so many people online to the point where I viewed them as close, if not more so, than my current in real life friends?  What would have happened had I chickened out of meeting these online people in real life?

Well, I probably wouldn’t have found myself hanging out with them in Sacramento:

Sacheads: Jesus, meowmeowkimmaee, and xchinkylaydee


Delicious yet very reasonably price sushi buffet: the ONLY reason I was in Sacramento! (j/k)

Nor would I be hanging out with them in LA:

 
sumoneoverthere and shillykins at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles


With junbelievable08, the food guru


Downtown Disney with (from left to right) tsotofu, sonychak, flipguy31O, shillykins, wongtonshrimp, and sumoneoverthere.  Like our distorted hair?

Rooming with them in a motel as well?  Inconceivable:

Cool people webcam in the same room.  Trust me.


Ironing my clothes, in return for free breakfast.  I say that’s a fine deal!

 
sumoneoverthere: “Tell me your secrets!”

I most certainly wouldn’t have visited the Hotel Careyfornia:

With CareyGLY and notyourson holding that infamous sign.  I can now cross that off my bucket list!

I wouldn’t have seen myself visiting the Griffith Observatory with them either:

Watching the sunset over LA with (from left to right) wongtonshrimp, sonychak, ch0w, d_ciao, flipguy31O, shillykins, and sumoneoverthere

  
Who’s love is better?  ch0w/d_ciao or flipguy31O/sonychak?


Now you know how I’m able to keep up with my replies.

Visiting YouTube star TimothyDeLaGhetto‘s family at their restaurant?  Nope, that wouldn’t have happened:

Us (plus jesuismir) with Timothy’s cousin and parents.  Very hospitable people!  They were constantly chatting with us, making sure we were enjoying our experience.  They even got some jokes!  If you read this, thank you Timothy’s family for the free appetizers and discount on our meal!

But the most important thing of them all…

…I wouldn’t have a freakin’ gunblade!

OHHH YEAHH!!!! Time to go fight some foes and level up! /end dork mode

Seriously though, I’m so glad my past events have led me to where I’m at now.  I’m really enjoying this fun, interesting chapter in my life.  To think, none of this would have happened had I stopped writing here.

Thanks to everybody that came out this week!  Sorry to those I wasn’t able to meet up with due to schedule conflicts.  Next time!

Check out what some others had to say about the trip (will add more later):
flipguy31O:  Yeeee, what up?
sonychak:  Roscoe’s Disney Yard, Hollywood Sunset
CareyGLY: It Was the Summer of ’85 – Xangalebrity Edition
meowmeowkimmaee:  Xanga Meet with Roadlesstaken, sumoneoverthere, and xchinkylaydee
sumoneoverthere: My vacation and Xanga meet!

It’s time again for me to venture over to the west coast.  I think this marks the 935th time I’ve been in California within the past 2 years (just an estimation).

I will be in California from Saturday, August 14 until Thursday, August 19th.  I’m arriving in Sacramento first, then from there a group of us are driving down to Los Angeles, where we will hang out for a few days before driving back up to NorCal.  Hopefully along the way I will meet up with all the people I’ve tagged on the side of this entry and perhaps more if I’m fortunate.

Now you know where I am if you don’t see me around much this week.  I’ll probably still pulse, so you can check out updates there if you like.

See you later!  Take care of the place while I’m gone, alright?

~Alex

If you were me, how would you respond/react to the following texts (note the times):

                                                           

I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to them, but I have to admit I was amused.  I wonder what’s going to be in the next text?

A lot of memorable, surreal things happened last night while I was working at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.  It was a night of many firsts for me, where each firsts could have been easily my favorite moment on any given day.  However, what ended up being my favorite that night was not one I had expected.

It was my first time on a practice courts where the tennis pros would often warm up before matches.  Here, I was one of the people hosting a serving challenge.  A funny moment happened at the beginning when the court we originally had got taken away by frickin’ Andy Roddick.  Geez…I GUESS he’s a higher priority.  Pretty sweet, but not quite my favorite moment.

It was my first time inside the players only hallway.  So many random tennis pros were walking pass us and even chatted with us a couple times.  The girls with us were definitely enjoying the shirtless guys wandering around.  Pretty cool feeling special to be in such a restricted area, but I still wouldn’t put this as my favorite moment.

It was my first time standing right there on center court.  Sure, I was really just there to escort the fast serve contest finalists on court to get a photo with Andy Roddick and Gilles Simon, but it was exciting nonetheless.  Pretty awesome being there with the pros while everyone in the stadium was watching us, but that still didn’t top my favorite moment from last night.

Now, what ended up being the moment I enjoyed the most last night? 

This:

I know, what the hell right?  Of all that happened yesterday, why was sitting in a suite (another first) watching the sky pour down on us for 3 hours so great?

Don’t know exactly why, but it felt so…peaceful.  Relaxing.  Calm.  Serene.  During this period, all my worries, thoughts, and stress melted away as I just sat there staring into the sky.  It was a big change of pace to the hustle and flow of the day, something totally out of our control.  With nothing else to do, I just sat there and took it all in.  I haven’t been in such a blissful trance in a long time.

So somehow, out of all the moments I could have chosen, sitting in a heavy rainstorm that caused everything to stop dead in its tracks was my most enjoyable memory from last night. 

Yep, I’m an odd one.

Have you ever looked at your footprints and saw that someone recently visited an old entry/pulse/picture/etc. of yours through a Google search?  I always find it interesting which stuff gets so much random hits due to a keyword or phrase I didn’t think was so popular.  Here are a select few that people on the internet keeps on visiting on my page.

Most Searched Picture: “That PostSecret” (posted 12/06/09)
Keyword(s): “PostSecret + Xanga”

Ah, how foolish.  I made this for a girl I kinda liked a while back and put it in a PostSecret book I gave her as a gift.  I never did hear back from her about what she thought about it, which was disappointing.  Perhaps, like one commenter suggested, it was due to my bad grammar XP.  Anyway, I debated a long time whether or not to post this up, but eventually I figured it had been a while so why not.  On the plus side, I believe this was one of the inspirations for me to start up XangaSecret.

Most Searched Pulse: http://roadlesstaken.xanga.com/pulse/5062978/item.html (posted 11/19/09)
Keyword(s): “lol + drowning”

Have you noticed that the “lol” symbol looks like a drowning guy, and all you see is his head and arms sticking out of the water?

Found this over on CollegeHumor one day and thought it was a pretty funny revelation.  Apparently a lot of people also thought it was neato.

Most Searched Entry: Female Accessories That Can Weaken Me Like Kryptonite (posted 04/14/09)
Keyword(s): “female accessories, anklets, sundresses”

Yup, still a weakness

By far the most searched part of my site, period.  I still can’t believe how much feedback I got on this particular post back then.  It was such a fluff piece, especially after my more serious in tone entry beforehand.  In case you’re wondering yes, I think all those accessories on girls are still hot.  Yay for summer time!

Oh, just one more…

The HUH? Searched Entry: What my brother secretly does in the bathroom (video) + Snowmageddon 2010! (posted 02/07/10)
Keyword(s): “brother + bathroom + secret”

Hmm, I wonder what those people were really searching for.  Do I really want to know?

I seem to find myself in the leadership position often, whether I ask for it or not.  For example, last weekend I ended up coordinating a meet up in a state I don’t even live in and this past weekend I winded up being one of the people coordinating the biggest Asian cultural festival in the Mid-Atlantic. 

One of my duties this past weekend: guiding this mascot around the festival for a few hours since the person in the suit could barely see.  Quite a memorable experience with this huge ball.

I didn’t sought after those roles in both instances, but I ended up with the responsibility anyway.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m not totally complaining here.  While such a role asks for a lot of time, energy, and responsibility from me, I generally don’t mind the task at hand.  I feel pretty confident in my ability to get the job done so I’m not all too worried about that aspect.  If I feel what I do makes a difference and will benefit others, that’s enough motivation to keep me going.

Of course, that’s not the only thing rewarding about being in charge.  As selfish as I feel this sounds, I get a lot of satisfaction when people acknowledge my efforts.  Such a simple gesture, but it means more to me than I would like to admit.  Everytime someone thanks me or tells me he or she recognizes the work I put in I feel like all the stress from the experience was worth it.  Everytime.

You would think something like that would lose it value to me over time, but it most definitely have not.  I’ve learn to never take people’s kind words and acknowledgment for granted, especially after this one time when I felt I didn’t get the appreciation I deserved.  I’ve actually never really mentioned this to the people involved because I didn’t want it to be a big deal, but I have to admit that to this day I still feel bothered whenever I reminisce about that time.

It was the end of my senior year of college and I was about to leave my college tennis club, a club I founded and was president for three years.  I was one of two main senior members leaving and there was a part of me that was expecting the team to do something for me in recognition of my services.  I ended up being let down when the team as a whole didn’t do anything special for me.  I think it hurted me a lot more because I actually did something for the other guy that was leaving.  He was our top player and I got everyone to sign a big picture frame I created for him.  He was a major part of our success and I wanted him to have something that showed the team and I will miss him.  When I realized I wasn’t going to be getting a similar treatment from my team, I felt such a heavy sense of disappointment that’s still there in the back of my mind.

Like I said before, it’s a very selfish thought that I felt wasn’t needed to be mentioned to anyone at the time.  I don’t hold a grudge against my teammates for this omission.  Many of them are still my closest friends and some of them did say thanks to me later in private, which was cool.  I understood that many of them didn’t have much free time to plan anything since it was finals time.  Still, a part of me wishes the team could have found the time and taken the effort to do something for me, like I did for them all those years.

I have to look at the upside.  Thanks to that experience, I’ve been greatly humbled and now do not expect people to acknowledge my efforts whenever I take on such a role.  I just assume they don’t notice, so when someone does recognizes what I do I cherish it as if it was the first and only time I’ve heard it.  I hope anyone that have ever given me appraisal knows that.