Farah

They say when you're in a relationship... And the two people are falling for each other... And when they inexpressibly feel the joy of the relationship (despite the turmoils, hardships, or "inconveniences" of the relationship)... That one finds beauty in the smallest things in life.

Well, it's true. I just looked out the window and was captivated by the site of rain drops splashed against my writing room window... The lamppost's light shimmering off of the glass, reflecting off of the rain drops against a pitch black evening sky... it's just kinda---kinda amazing.

Ok.. I may officially be the most sappy guy on earth... But here's to beauty. (Don't rag on me Parker)

I got NOTHING

Could this be? The first day where I have NOTHING to do? I am so happy. Seriously, I've needed a little bit of a break, I'm happy to keep going and going and going, but maybe one day a month I need to take a NOTHING day. Gotta love the NOTHING day.

So here is my plan (eek, squirm, yuck, I can't believe I have plan on a day off where I have NOTHING to do--I am so anal retentive)... I am going to spend at least an hour in the writing room writing to my hearts content. And then I plan on going to Blenderz in the grass (mmm yes... I love Blenderz), and then perhaps going got to dinner for some Italian food (otherwise known as pizza).

The only thing that would make this day of NOTHING better would be adding a little Farah. Ahh one can only dream.

Shaw, out.

American Idols... Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

Listen, I love American Idol... But here's the thing... I think a lot of the contestants, especially the guys, look like people I've seen before... Check it out.

Paula said it first... That the young Will Makar looked like someone... You know.. Will Makar...

Yeah him... SEEN HIM! He looks a lot like Bobby. Yeah. From the Brady Bunch.



That's gray haired guy... You know... Taylor Hicks...

Yeah him... SEEN HIM! He looks like Sam Eagle. Yeah. From the Muppets.


And then there's that little boy.. You know... Kevin Covais...

Yeah him... SEEN HIM! Can we say an odder, and far more dorkier version of a Barr child?


[pic not available]




Then there's that goofy guy... You know... Elliott Yemin (who in my and Simon's estimation is the best guy we've seen)

Yeah him... SEEN HIM! Can you say? David the Gnome?



Ok... Then there's that even goofier guy... You know... Bobby Bennet...

Yeah him... SEEN HIM! Can you say? CRAZY DRUNK!? (don't ask about this picture--it's the one you get when you type the words "drunk guy" on google--deal with it.)



So yeah... I knew I've seen these characters before.

The BIG Day!

Reception aka Time to Rub Elbows

Pre-Wedding Jitters

Survivor Picks

So I didn't pick the Survivor Names until just about 10 minutes ago. But it is around 7:25, so I guess that is ok. I haven't read anything, but my guess is Terry is out tonight followed by Nick next week. That's my luck... Or even worse they will be the top two and they will both surrender over to Courtney and Bruce because they want to be their friends. That'd be my luck. But still... here is the list. Dear Lord, please may I not come out a loser for four times in a row!!!!!!

1.Michael--- Nick… Terry
2. Alyssa--- Dan…Aras
3. Melissa--- Sally…Cirie
4. Angelica--- Ruth Marie… Danielle
5. Valerie--- Misty… Bobby
6. Cory--- Courtney…. Bruce
7. Karan--- Austen… Shane

Four-Inspired by Tanya

Four facts about me..

FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE
1. Preschool Teacher
2. Associate Teacher
3. Teacher's Assistant
4. Receptionist at WASCO (yuck, patooey!)

FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER
1. Troop Beverly Hills
2. Clue
3. X2
4. Batman

FOUR CITIES YOU'VE LIVED IN:
1. Santa Maria, CA
2. Orcutt, CA
3. So Central Santa Maria, CA
4. NW Santa Maria, CA

FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH
1. Survivor
2. American Idol
3. Lost
4. 24

FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. New York
2. England
3. Las Vegas
4. Disneyland

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
1. My Blog
2. Farah's Blog
3. Trent's Blog
4. Parker's MySpace

FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
1. Olive Garden
2. Jack's of Orcutt
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. The Hitching Post

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Spaghetti
2. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
3. Peanut-butter Sandwiches
4. Nachos or Tri Tip

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED
1. Patterson Road School
2. Righetti High School
3. Allan Hancock College
4. University of LaVerne (Tanya-- Ours are almost the same!!!)

FOUR PLACES YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT
1. Euro Disney
2. Chicago
3. Washington DC
4. Italy

FOUR THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Write a good story
2. Have kids/Get married (I guess do both but I'll clump them)
3. Go to Euro Disney
4. Eat a box of Granola Bars

FOUR GOALS IN THE NEXT YEAR
1. Get my Masters/Credential
2. Enjoy Farah
3. Type most of my story
4. Buy better clothes for the wardrobe
(These are pretty shallow goals)

FOUR NAMES YOU GO BY
1. Michael
2. Teacher
3. Iggy
4. Ricky Ricardo

Ahhh...

She'd hate me for posting this picture--but look at her... Cutie or what!? We went to dinner last night...



















Yeah... I need to tell her to look toward the camera... But here is our picnic we had this morning.






















Beautiful architecture on our photo walk...

Drama at D-land...

Disneyland...

Great Times--this time no lies.

So, I have a confession to make. One of the blogs in the past week, the one labeled "Truth and Lies", contained a blatant lie in it. I had to fool her... It was totally necessary. But it was all for the lovely Farah... Let me work it out like Aloha Misho...

So Parker, Tanya, and I (yeah you read right no Kaleb Baker and no Jenn Loux boo hoo...) went to Disneyland on Thursday. We took off Wednesday night and spent the night in Anaheim. We woke up around 8:30 and took off to Disneyland at about 9:30. We were able to just walk, which was simply smashing. We got there and to our surprise the crowd was very thin. We were able to ride EVERY RIDE we wanted at least two times with limited (5-15 minutes) or no wait at all (i.e. Pirates where we walked RIGHT into a boat from the line). It was amazing... But here is where the trickery and tomfoolery come into play.

So Farah believe that after the moment when the park closed, we'd be heading home. But ah ha. After the park closed we walked back, and stayed in Anaheim. The next morning, Friday, we walked over to California Adventure and had wonderful Adventures of our own... We were the first people (technically) to ride Monsters, Inc. that morning, and then we rode Screamin' twice and Tower twice, Rapids, Soarin' and watched the Aladdin Stage Show (Please note, the show is "cute" but SUPER cheesey... But if you are in to the music of the movie, go check it out... Plus the Genie is REALLY funny and throws in some really funny current events jokes).

So then at 2:00 (yes, you read right we got all that magic done in 4 hours), we headed home... Or I should say Tanya and Parker did, cause I headed to surprise Farah for Valentine's Weekend. (hence all the lies that I had to post on my blog, not to mention the lies I had to tell Farah on the phone) I showed up here in Redlands around 4:30-45 and got somethings ready for her... Then I showed up unnoticed (thanks to Courtney's tricky phone calls), to Farah's place. It was great. Her look on her face was priceless. So I took her out to Isabella's, this little chi-chi restaurant, and then we walked a little bit around downtown Redlands. We headed to the coffee shop that we wrote at upon my last visit, and then headed to the theatre... There was a bit of key loss scare in the theatre, that took some clearing up... Turned out I left my keys in the car. Oh well, I'm prepared, so I busted out my spare and saved my own hide. We watched Curious George, which was really cute, except I started feeling sick in the middle of it... But I can safely say the movie is really "cute" maybe somewhat like the Aladdin stage show... Hum... More to come on this one.

Anyhow, now I am going to pick up Miss Drazin and spend most of the day with her. Then I'm heading home :-( boo hoo... this long distance thing can be tricky....

Adu Adu...

Oy! Space Rangers...

Image of the Month

Here's is my calendar picture for February. I really like it. I think it captures both a sense of tranquility and feelings of candy hearts and cupids whizzing through the air. Sorry it appears a bit blurry. It looks better in full view.

Thoughts of Friendship...

Lucy: Oh gee, Ethel, thanks. It's times like this when you know what friends are for.

Ethel: If I'd known this was what friends were for, I'd have signed up as an enemy!

MORE LIES!

So I decided to take a tip from Tani's blog and a little girl in my class (STOP SPREADING LIES!) and do a little truth and lies blog (good stuff Tanya):

Truth- This semester I'm really organized when it comes to my classroom.
Lies- This has been an easy first two weeks of school.

Truth- I worked like a mad man the last couple of days on Family Advisory stuff.
Lies- I worked after 1:30 today.

Truth- I did homework this afternoon.
Lies- I felt healthy this afternoon.

Truth- Farah got a really cool flower arrangement from me yesterday.
Lies- I will get to see the flowers in person.

Truth- I have a girlfriend.
Lies- I will see my girlfriend this month
(More Truth- Worst news ever!).

Truth- I did 5 loads of laundry yesterday.
Lies- I will have to do laundry this month.

Truth- I will be going to Disneyland next week.
Lies- I will be eating beans next week.

Truth- Jessica Simpson sounds horrible on the PizzaHut Commercial.
Lies- I believe Cher is the best choice for the Weight Watchers commercial. Sidebar--what is going on in this world where Cher sings on the Weight Watchers commercials?
(More Truth-Come on, horrible!)

I'm just saying.

Blessed...

I am so blessed in my life, let me just do this via shout outs right now to the greats of the week:

Farah, she is lovely, supportive and practically perfect in every way.
Parker, he is funny, loyal, and constant.
James, he is devoted, loving, and a true friend.
Jim & Jenn, he is hilarious, committed, and passionate while she is supportive, loads of fun, and devoted.
Jennifers, she is honest, flippin' silly, and trustworthy.
Kaleb, he is random, insightful, and lavish.
Jon & Morgan, he is solid, witty, and compassionate while she is charismatic, encouraging, and passionate.
Tanya, she is silly, excitable, and consistent.

I could go on and on... But for now I will stop there... If you read this blog and you aren't mentioned... Sorry. But that probably means I haven't had a ton of contact with you outside of the 9-5 in the past week.

And then there's my lovely family who I can't say enough about. I love my life. I have some amazing people around me.

...on the bathroom wall.

Seriously. I was listening to some American Idol auditions today, and let me just say this. It was so funny! This one guy got to audition twice and he sang this horrible song where he looked like a possessed six year old child... I know most of you don't know what this looks like, but I do. Anyway it was all about "Constance." or something like that. It was so funny, I snorted a few times. The best part is when the camera guy/girl pans across the judges table to show their reactions to the singer. Kudos to the camera guy/girl for capturing those classic AI moments.

So this week has been a ROLLERCOASTER of activities. Let me sum it up like this. We had a surprise visit from the state to check out our documents and I was the only person around to show the man the stuff. Crazy times. But seriously guys, we did well...

And now comes the point where I tell you the truth and no lies: I am going to have a great weekend, cause well.... I deserve it. Is that totally selfish and insane of me to say? I'm gonna vote--No it's not. I can party harty and deal with it, cause I have been through the ringer this week.

So bottoms up, or something (shudder that reminds me of a gross movie--never mind, I'll tell you when you're older...)

Shaw Out.

My Break...

Here is a new list off of the "list of amazing things I could do during my month and one day off" that I actually did:


Write my story: Memoirs of a Gay-Shaw (ok, I started the film version--watch out Oscar Party!)

Wake up late and sleep in everyday

Chop down a cherry tree--ok it was just part of some birch tree but I did it. (shout out to Tanya who was my accomplice)

Meet Farah's family-- I loved all of them, and still do.

Meet a new imaginary friend and call him Bill, Harold or Augdington (I called him Augdington)

Hunt for the Larsen family who went to Disneyland on Regis and Kelly--I think I looked online.

Cut my toenails--at long last I did it.

Eat a box of Cheeze-Its--mmm I better do this again. I am going on my health kick tomorrow.

Write two new chapters of Brandon's Story in Nedge--I did some brainstorming and prep work which I will gladly count as 2 chapters.

Watch three movies I've been putting off watching--I pretty much did this by watching Batman Begins, 24, another one I can't remember, and the Shawshank Redemption tonight.

Find a way to make silent garbage trucks so you don't wake up early--I discovered wearing ear plugs or getting too much wax in your ears solves this problem.

Create the official definition for bean-phobics (I know there are more out there)-- I came up with it. Michael Shaw

Find something in the sand at the beach-- I found a Corona bottle and new directions to the beach.

Find out why The View is the best place to spend the holidays (I have my doubts)--I found out it is because Star Jones only has one boob (ok that sounds gross but I watched a show where they showed why Star Jones only has one boob--it was REALLY funny.)

Find out why I thought a griffin was an eagle body and a lion head--I didn't I'm just stubborn and didn't like being wrong.

Make a list of exciting adjectives- Totally did this with the Lovely Farah.

Make a list of captivating verbs--Totally did this the day after I saw the Lovely Farah.



That's all. (I think I am officially odd) (again)

24

Look... It is 5:something am and I just finished 24. I'm just saying. It was good. I am not tired, and I've been awake since 11 am. This is the longest day of my life (not really, but still).