@Timmmmmmy and I have been friends for a long time, ever since our moms were pregnant with us.  Over the years, we have been a part of each other’s lives at various points.  Here’s us during 8th grade formal, for instance:

Why yes, that tall guy was an 8th grader. No joke.

What could possibly ever come between us?  Must be something really serious, right?  Perhaps a girl?  Well, before I tell you more about that, let me briefly tell you what brought this up.

Yesterday evening, I was chatting with my mom about what I’ll be doing for Thanksgiving.  I told her I will most likely spend it at Timmy’s with his family since they normally celebrate the holiday whereas my family does not.  Hearing this, my mom remembered that I didn’t spend Thanksgiving at their place last year like I normally do.  Apparently, this was so unusual that Timmy’s mom called my mom worrying that Timmy and I were fighting. 

Hearing that made me laugh, mostly because it reminded me of the only time Timmy and I got into anything resembling a real fight.  I personally thought it was over the dumbest thing, but Timmy, to this day, still tries to justify his actions.  Perhaps you guys can be the judges and settle this once and for all for us!

This incident took place during sophomore year of high school while we were eating at the cafeteria with friends.  We both went to different lines to get food.  I got my food first, so I went back and sat down at our table.  Timmy later came by and looked upset.  He sat off to the side away from me, which was confusing.  I tried to talk to him to see what was up, but he ignored me.

Still unsure as to what was bothering him, I tried talking to Timmy the next day only to once again receive the silent treatment.  I didn’t find out what was the matter until after I heard it through a mutual friend.  Apparently, the reason why he was mad was because I took his seat at lunch, something that I honestly did not realize I did.

Do you know how long Timmy continued to hold that grudge against me?  A few days?  A week?  A month?  Nope.  He ended up not speaking to me for a whole frickin’ school year!  So awkward.  Obviously we have made up since then, but we still argue in jest about who was more wrong in this situation.

Now, let me ask you this:  If you were in Timmy’s shoes, would you have handled this situation any differently?  How long would you be mad at someone for taking your seat at a cafeteria?  Have you ever gotten into an unnecessary fight over something trivial?  Do you think Timmy should let me slap him for Slapsgiving?

I know you want to say yes!

UPDATE:  Here is Timmy’s version of the event.  Sounds plausible, but even he admits the year long silent treatment was too extreme…so I believe I win =)

2ND UPDATE:  Here is @Cakalusa ‘s version of us.  Okay, he wins.

Lately though, I’ve been troubled by the state of some of my friendships.  I feel like the people’s priorities shifted elsewhere and they no longer make time for me like they used to in the past.  What sucks more is when I know they’re available to hang out, but I’m not asked to join.  I feel dumbfounded by this change, especially since these were people I once considered would make excellent groomsmen in my future wedding.  Now?  I question whether it would feel too awkward to invite them at all.

I do ask myself if all of this is just the natural progression.  I understand that some people are only meant to be a part of our lives during certain points, only to later move on because we’ve outgrow one another.  Is that the case here? 

Perhaps I am the problem instead.  I admit that I make mistakes and I occasionally have stubborn tendencies, so I wonder if I somehow discouraged them from fighting for our friendship due to their lowered perceptions of me.  A part of me really wants to fight for them despite what’s happening, but as time goes on I lose more and more energy to put into this unrequited effort.  I think I’ve reached the point now where I don’t want to try anymore and I should just cut my losses.

And so, those once great friendships have declined to acquaintance/casual friend levels.  I really hope I’m wrong and that somehow those friendships can be strengthen again.  Otherwise, I’m forced to make do with these weakened relationships.  I suppose it’s better than nothing, but it saddens me that it had to go down this path.

 

*Special mentions to @TheTheologiansCafe and @Suuperstar for inspiring me to write this down after I read their respective posts (“Dan on Friendship” and “Worth fighting for“).  They are both good reads, so check them out if you haven’t already.

Something bad has happened to Team ASSCAT.  Similar to a previous event that happened last year, Halloween has changed each member into different, frightening creatures.  Before, we were all decent (more or less) human beings.  Now, look what has become of us…

This transformation has forced all of us to turn against one another.  We each set off to gather our own legions of supernaturals to fight along side us just in case we are ever forced to do battle with our former comrades.  In the end, ASSCAT members turned fellow Xangans into hellish monsters to join their crews:

@FlipGuy31O ‘s Demons

@swtaznxtc90, @dayrab, @MissMaritimes, @ItisallGravy

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@SonyChak ‘s Witches

@Hello_Bianca, @ArmyWife4Life2007, @bittersweetromantic, @iones_island

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@Junbelievable08 ‘s Werewolves

@smile4leena, @Joanna_said_SO, @VaneDave, @Godlessliberal

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@Cakalusa ‘s Zombies

@itsayanav, @BFB1131, @lovejennyy, @Titan35

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@Roadlesstaken ‘s Vampires

@Cestovatelka, @ladiiee, @seedsower, @pika_whoosh

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@Timmmmmmy ‘s Ghouls

Click on the clip below to hear me whine about an oh so crucial matter that I’m dealing with right now.  It’s okay, please don’t feel bad for me after you hear about this horrible pain and suffering I’m going through:

Joking aside, I really do not get why there’s only ever just one that appears at any given time.  Do they somehow know when one dies, so it gets replaced right away?  Is it a family member exacting revenge on me for killing a kin?  Is it actually the same one, but reincarnated to haunt me forever?  I really wonder…

Anyway, that’s my current first world problem.  What first world problems are troubling you lately?  Let me know.  Remember, misery loves company!

As some of you might know, the 2nd season of The Walking Dead debuted this past weekend and I was VERY excited to catch it.  I’m not sure if many of you know this about me, but I became a fan of the zombie genre ever since I read World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide.  The idea of it fascinate me and I don’t know why exactly.

After I finished watching the show, my imaginative brain started kicking and made me think, “What if a zombie apocalypse happened right now while I was in my room?  I don’t have any weapons like guns or swords lying around, so what could I use?”

Looking around my room, I only spotted a couple things I could use to potentially defend myself with.

Ah, my trusty rackets.  These wouldn’t be so bad to use initially as I can swing them rather fast at an approaching zedhead, but they probably would break after the third or fourth one I try to take down.  Hmm, what else could I use?

I won this cane at a wedding I recently attended and have kept it around ever since.  While it could be intimidating to a human, it’s too hollow to make much of an impact on a walker that doesn’t feel pain.  This would most likely break faster than the rackets as well.

As you can see, my tennis racket and cane wouldn’t really be effective weapons in the long run.  I would need something more durable and reliable to have with me.  With that in mind, I decided to purchase a tool that meets all those requirements.

Ability to pry open doors and crush skulls?  Relatively lightweight and able to take a beating?  Endorsed by The Zombie Survival Guide and Half-Life‘s Gordon Freeman?  I say that’s good enough for me.  LEGGO!

Don’t worry, I’m not crazy (yet).  I’m pretty sure I won’t be battling the undead anytime soon, but at least I can say I won’t be helpless if the situation arises!  (Literally! Since you know, dead people would be rising up and…okay okay, I’ll stop explaining.)

If you didn’t have a real weapon lying around, what improvised weapon would you equip yourself with in order to fight off those pesky zombies?

I’ve been a big fan of television for as long as I could remember.  For 30-60 minutes at a time, you get to experience a whole other world that you generally don’t see in your regular life.  Those brief escapes from reality were, and still are, a great incentive to keep me watching.

Even though I knew that television shows were created for my entertainment and that not everything I saw was real, there were times when I had a hard time distinguishing which TV facts were rooted in truths and which were spiced up.  It didn’t help that I was still a confused, middle school kid when I had these ideas of how the world should be.  Some of my biggest gaffes came from shows such as…

#3. Popeye the Sailor Man

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Why does the spinach look like drugs?  Wait a minute…

On the Show:  Whenever it look like Popeye is in trouble, he just pops a can of spinach down his throat and TADA!  He’s kicking ass!

My Expectation:  Spinach will give me MOAR POWER!

The Reality:  While healthy, it didn’t quite give me the boost I was looking for when I challenged my neighbor, who was at least a foot taller and 2 times my weight, to a wrestling match.  Ouch. 

#2. Dawson’s Creek

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On the Show:  When Joey visits Dawson, she doesn’t ring the doorbell and walk through the front door.  Nope, she just climbs right through his window.  Dawson does not get phased by this, so it is assumed that this is normal behavior.

My Expectation:  My pretty neighborhood friend will also start climbing through my window at night to hang out!

The Reality:  Apparently girls, like the one that lived across the street from me, will be turned off if asked to climb up my ladderless house to lay in bed with me at night.  Whodathunk?

On the Show:  Whenever the son is sad about something, the father character (or in Will’s case, the uncle) would sit down with him and give some words of wisdom and/or comfort.  It’s not unusual for them to hug it out at the end.

My Expectation:  Dad will comfort me (with great empathy) whenever I am feeling down!

The Reality:  My dad, being the typical Asian dad, never did anything close to what I saw of fathers on TV.  I think I started harboring resentment towards him in my youth, wondering why he didn’t love me.  It was only later on that I realized he does cares for me, but he shows it in indirect ways.  Nonetheless, I made it a point that I will behave more like the typical TV dad than the typical Asian dad in the future towards my children.  I want my kids to never doubt that they can count on me to be there for them in their times of need.

Hello guys!  Sorry for the slight hiatus in blogging.  I got wrapped up in work last week and this past weekend I took yet another trip to NYC to hang out with some cool Xangans. 

I could tell so many stories, but I’m thinking I might keep the juicy ones just between the folks that I went with.  Don’t worry curious people, I’m pretty sure some tales and bad pictures will leak out eventually (oh boy…). 

Anyway, at some point during this weekend @nimbusthedragon somehow converted the CATs of ASSCAT from this…

into this…

Look at those frickin’ hipsters

Clearly with the looks come the attitudes, right?  Let’s see what the Xanga Hipsters think of…

I did.

Not surprising, she was very angry at me for doing that.  Who could blame her?  At the time, things were wonderful.  The chemistry was unmistakably there and we had the timing down.  We could talk and laugh for hours.  Seeing her made me smile uncontrollably.  She was what I looked forward to at the end of a long day.  We were by no means perfect, but I honestly couldn’t have asked for more.  She was happy.  I was happy. 

Sadly, I knew this perfect moment we had couldn’t continue.  Soon, the timing would no longer be on our side.  Without it, we could probably survive on our chemistry for a little while longer.  However, our relationship would eventually deteriorate.  I worried that if we waited until then, our inevitable separation would be worse for the both of us.  With that in mind, I was convinced that I had to end things before it went down that rough path.

Although I made what I believe was the most logical decision, I suffered for a long time with my choice.  The guilt of it weighed heavily on my heart as I struggled to ride it out.  I wish I could have comfort her, but that wasn’t an option at that point.  Very quickly it went from our once great, passionate relationship to…becoming strangers. 

As bad as it ended, I would be a fool to wish that we had never happened.  I do not regret our time together, nor do I wish to dwell upon the sad conclusion.  Despite everything, I will remember the blissful, perfect moment we were lucky enough to share for a brief period.  I am going to appreciate that forever.

I do wonder though…if there’s a version of us out there that is still together, that managed to get pass the obstacles laid before them.  If I had more belief, faith, and perhaps more luck, could that have been us?  Was that path even possible?  I guess it doesn’t matter now, but still, I wonder…

I cannot wait until you meet that someone that will give you all that you deserve.  To see you as happy again will bring so much joy to me.  I truly mean that. 

Really, if they are going to dismiss you so easily without putting real consideration into what they concluded of you, why should you give what they said any respect?  Go ahead and dismiss their words just as coolly.  It’s one thing if it’s constructive criticism, but their opinions are ultimately meaningless and a waste of time to dwell on if they stem from ignorance, jealousy, insecurity, apathy, etc.

I admit, I’m not completely innocent.  I’ve caught myself taking on the hater role before.  It’s quite easy to fall into that trap when you judge people or things based on first impressions, an emotional response, or shoddy information, which I’m sure a lot of us have done for one reason or another.  When I reflect on those times, I can’t help recognizing how poorly I approached those situations.  My opinions from those moments proved to hold little to no value, as they deserved.

To those that have to deal with unwarranted, careless, hostile remarks directed at you, I say…