'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life...'

My dad just called me about an hour ago. My Grandfather died last night. Even though we were never really emotionally close or anything, it still hurts. I think I'm more sad for my dad than my grandpa though. That's seriously got to suck to lose a parent. It sucks that I won't ever seem him again though to. I saw him last December, and although he was pretty sick (and has been for at least the last two years), he was still coherent, and talking, etc. My parents seriously thought he was going to die a couple years ago, and I yelled at them for being so negative and morbid. It was like oh, Grandpas sick, and old, so he's going to die soon, and that was that. My Aunt and Uncle on my dad's side will likely be going to my Grandpas house this weekend. I'm not sure when they're going to have the funeral, but I'd already talked to my supervisor a couple days ago at work about possibly having to take a few days off to fly up to Washington for it, and she was fine with that. If he'd died a day sooner, I'd likely be on a plane on my way up there already. Thankfully I've been saving for my car, and have quite a bit of money in the bank, so buying a plane ticket should be no problem, irregardless of the price. When I checked early this week, I could've gone one for today at a mere $250, though I'd have to take off at 6:30 in the morning, which actually wouldn't be too bad, as I could've worked most of the night, and took a taxi to the airport, which is practically next door to where I work. My work provides up to 3 days of "bereavement", which is basically extra paid time off for deaths in the family, which means it shouldn't effect my vacation in November, which I just got approved for yesterday.

Anyways, off the subject of death; I may be dramatically changing my hair in a few weeks. Stefanie said I should grow it out a bit, dye it black, and spike it. I've thought about dying it black before, or even just a darker brown. So anyways I told her I'd try it. I figure if it turns out horrible, all I do is shave it off and I'm back to looking like me =P. Besides, last time I changed my hairstyle, it was definitely for the better, and I need to learn to try new things.

As was mentioned above, I was approved for vacation time a couple days ago. Planned on going the 8th through the 28th of November, but apparently the 8th and 9th are blackout days at my work, so nobody can take vacation at that time. Stefanie can only come up that weekend, or the weekend of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately the weekend of Thanksgiving is quite a bit harder to get vacation on for her, so I'm really crossing my fingers in hope that she'll be able to anyways. If not, she may only be able to go up for the weekend, which wouldn't leave us a whole lot of time to go very many places. My supervisor said that if I needed to reschedule my vacation, that it shouldn't be a problem. I was really lucky in getting my vacation approved. Thanksgiving and Christmas are given on a priority basis, which means since I was brand new, it was unlikely of me to get it if someone that had been there longer happened to have vacation time, and wanted that time off as well. I also asked for three weeks in a row, which they said would have to be discussed with the rest of the management, as they usually only allow up to two weeks. However, I got approved for both Thanksgiving, and three weeks in a row. I think a lot of it has to do with how hard I've worked since I first started there. I even worked nearly 5 hours of overtime last night (almost 13 total hours), and a lot of the people thought I was crazy for going it. I used to work 12 hours shifts on a regular basis while at JC Penney, so do work 12 hours, and get paid $32 an hour for anything over 12 hours (and $24 an hour for anything between 8 and 12 hours), there's not even a question as to why I would do it. I'm surprised more people don't. I would've stayed much longer, but the supervisor finally noticed how long I'd been there, and forced me to go home =(. There was a ton of work though, and they were extremely happy that I stayed. Not only did I get all that overtime, but they gave me a free pair of movie tickets =P

Donald "Spark" Barber, on his birthday, October 2004 (I think he turned 86)

'Read my writing on the wall!!! '

Well, the estimated date for getting my car has been pushed back yet another month, to October. I've been spending tons of money lately, mostly on food, and sometimes on necessities. I went to the optometrist for the first time in over three years on Friday. Originally went to get a pair of glasses. Wearing contacts for the last three years for 18+ hours a day, and for twice as long as they're rated, can really wear out your eyes. I'll still be wearing contacts, but mainly only when I leave my apartment, otherwise I'll wear the glasses, which should not only help save my vision, but it'll make playing games much, much easier, as my eyes won't instantly dry out.

Dennis' wife Nicole's birthday was on Saturday. We went out to eat at The Olive Garden, which is an Italian restaurant, and afterwards, went to a couple places for drinks and appetizers with a few friends. Ended up having a pretty good time, as did everyone else, and it was mentioned that we should go out together more often, but I have a strong feeling that's not going to happen. Ah well. Hoping to hang out with Stefanie tonight, but it's nearing midnight, so I'm wondering if she'll call back. She works fairly late, so I'm not giving up hope quite yet. Haven't hung out with Mike in two weeks. Last weekend he said they were just going to relax around the house, and he went to Payson to visit his mom this weekend. I would've gone if I didn't have Nicole's birthday to go to.

Anyways, I read a friend's blog recently, which was basically had a bunch of facts about him in "layers", so I'm going to do the same thing below, just to add some content, and in case any of it's interesting to anyone for some odd reason.


Layer One: On the Outside
* Name: John Cameron Barber
* Nicknames: Juan, Lank 1
* Birthday: September 22, 1981
* Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States
* Eye colour: Blue/Hazel
* Hair colour: Lt. Brown
* Height: 6'6"-6'7"
* Righty or lefty: Righty
* Religion: Agnostic
* Sex: Male

Layer Two: In the Inside
* Your heritage: Scottish, Dutch, German
* Who do you look like: Me.
* Your weakness: Lazy, low self-esteem, my heart condition
* Your fears: Rejection, inadequacy,
* Your perfect pizza: Hard to say. Pepperoni's fine, but I love Canadian Bacon and Pinapple as well.
* Goal you?d like to achieve: "The American Dream", seriously.

Layer Three: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow
* Your most over-used phrase on MSN: N/A
* Your thoughts first waking up: Ah Christ...
* Your best physical feature: I have no f'ing clue. I suppose my general weight, as I'm naturally and permenantly thin. Can be a curse or a blessing...
* Your bedtime: Weekdays: somewhere between 11am and 2pm. Weekends, usually around 2am to 5am.

Layer Four: Your Pick
* Pepsi or Coke: Tough choice. I'll drink both, and enjoy them equally, depending on what I'm in the mood for. Right now? Coke.
* McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds, but had it been an option, Jack n' the Box
* Single or Group Dates: Overall, single, but group dates can have their pros as well. Never "really" been on either though.
* Adidas or Nike: DC Shoes, or other skate shoe company
* Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
* Cappuccino or Coffee: Frappuccino

Layer Five: Do You?
* Smoke: No
* Curse: Continually
* Sing: Yes. Not professionally, but along with music I'm listening to.
* Think you?ve been in love: Possibly... They say that you "just know" when your in love, so going by that definition, I haven't, but I've definately had very strong feelings toward a girl
* Want to get married: Absolutely
* Believe in yourself: I guess sometimes, but not often
* Motion sickness: No
* Think you?re attractive: Not really, but not particularly unattractive either
* Think you?re a health freak: Definately not
* Get along with your parents: Definately
* Like thunderstorms: Yep
* Play an instrument: I played the sax and piano for a very short time in elementary/junior high

Layer Six: Have You Ever
* Smoked: Cigarettes: no, marijuana: yes
* Done a drug: Everyone in this generation has done a drug at some point. As far as illegal drugs, only marijuana.
* Gone to the mall: Of course. I worked at a couple for a combined 4.5 years.
* Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Many a time. Like I said, definately not a health nut =P And Oreos are awesome
* Eaten sushi: Yes, didn't particularly care for it
* Been on stage: Yes
* Gone skating: Roller skating yes, Ice skating no
* Gone skinny dipping: No, though I did have the opportunity
* Stolen anything: I steal litterally every day. As far as shoplifting though, I suppose I did relatively often in elementary and junior high. Much riskier these days
* Played a game that required removal of clothing: No
* Been caught ?doing something?: No?
* Been called a tease: Definately not... I don't think...
* Gotten beat up: No.
* Shoplifted: Yes

Layer Seven: Getting Older
* Age you hope to be married: 35
* Number and names of children: At least two, boy and girl, boy first. Names? Not really sure.
* Describe your dream wedding: Definately in a church. I'm not religious, but tradition and all. Other than that just your standard wedding I guess. I don't need anything special.
* How do you want to die: In my sleep, and before my brother.
* What do you want to be when you grow up: Retired eventually, other than that, something in the IT industry.
* What country would you most like to visit: UK, Egypt

Layer Eight: In a Partner
* Best eye colour: Brown
* Best hair color: Brunette, dark, medium, light, I don't care
* Short or long hair: Medium
* Height: 5'5"-5'9"
* Best articles of clothing: I really like white speghetti strap tank tops, jeans are always good.

Layer Nine: In the Numbers
* Number of drugs taken illegally: 1
* Number of CDs that you own: 50+
* Number of piercings: 0
* Number of tattoos: 0
* Number of times your name has appeared in the newspaper: Once, when I was born.

XM Radio and other good stuff...

I got XM Satellite Radio this weekend. I was planning on getting it around September, when I bought my car, but it turns out someone at my work was selling their hardware, which was still in the package, for $50 less than what it would cost me if I bought it from the store, so I got the XM SkyFi Receiver, Vehicle Kit, and SkyFi Audio System for a mere $200. Plus I didn't have to pay tax or shipping. If it were up to me I would've got the SkyFi2, which has a built in wireless transmitter, but the wireless transmitter only works when in the car kit, and even then I'll be buying an XM compatible stereo for my car, so the FM transmitter would be useless. Even though XM radio has 150+ stations, I only really listen to about six or seven of them. Two rock stations (ch 47, 48), three electronica stations (ch 80, 81, 82), and two hip-hop stations (ch 67, 68) which I very rarely listen to. Most of the other stations are pretty much crap. I might add the 90's station later, but whenever I've turned to it, there wasn't ever anything I liked playing. They shouldn't just have a "90's" station, it should be like "90's Alt Rock", or "90's Hip-Hop", etc, not everything ever made in the 90's all rolled into one station... You can't have Celine Dion come on after Tupac....

Got some excellent news this week/weekend. I've been trying to get my best friend Mike to go with me to Washington on vacation at some point, and he keeps blowing me off, but DJ said he'd love to go up when I go for Thanksgiving this year. Mainly he wants to smoke some Washington and/or Canada grown marijuana, as well as hang out and see the sights, etc. Apparently Jimi Hendrix is buried in a cemetery in or near Seattle, so we're going to check that out, as well as go to Kurt Cobain's house, which I think is right up the street from my brother's apartment. Kurt was cremated, and his ashes put in three different places, so he doesn't have an actual grave. According to what I read, when Courtney Love asked around to a couple cemeteries, they refused to put a grave for Kurt in their cemetary because it would generate unwanted traffic (aka immature teens).

Not only is DJ planning on going, but yesterday Stefanie mentioned she was going to drive up to Washington with her ex-boyfriend at some point. I got a bit angry because I had just asked her a few weeks ago if she wanted to go up with me and check it out, but she made an excuse about how she wouldn't because she'd probably end up not coming back because she liked it so much. I thought she might actually just be thinking it was a little forward of me to ask her to come because we're not dating or anything. Apparently she had just said that because she thought I was going at Christmas time, and she had to be here in Phoenix for Christmas. When I explained to her that I didn't have any actual dates set, and that I was planning on going up for three weeks anytime around Thanksgiving through Christmas, she was a lot more open, and seemed genuinely excited about going.

I'm a bit wary about how long that excitement will last though. November is quite some time away; and, since we're driving up, she'd have to take quite a bit of time (at least a week) off from work, because it takes a minimum of 2.5-3 days of constant driving to get to Seattle from Phoenix. She would only drive up with me on the way there, and then fly back to Phoenix after staying there a few days. I'm still remaining optimistic that she'll end up coming after all though. There's so many places to go, it'd be pretty hard for her to get bored in only a few days (*knock on wood*). Now to wait out the four months....

Well this weekend was...interesting...

I forgot what I did Saturday, so I'll start with Sunday, which is the interesting part anyways. On Sunday I went to Arizona Mills, which is a mall in the southern part of Phoenix, with Mike and Tiffany. I bought some Egyptian stuff from one of those little stands in the hall. One was a sort of 3D picture of what I think is the god Horus. Most people won't recognize Horus himself, but rather the Eye of Horus, which is seen quite a bit. The other is the head of Anubis, which is my favorite of the Egyptian gods. Not just because he's the God of Death, but he always looks cool no matter where you see him. Must be because he's depicted as a jackal or something. I'll post some pictures later on. I've always been kind of into Egyptian stuff. I used to want to be an archaeologist. After we went shopping we watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the theater, which is a pretty good movie. Then they took me home because I had been invited to a house warming party for my friend Richard and his girlfriend at 6:00 (I posted a few pictures of their new house in a previous entry).

Richard came and picked me up and we picked up some soda and other stuff before heading to his house, which is in Avondale, about 20 minutes southwest of where I live. His neighborhood is really nice, mostly because it's all brand new houses which surround a fairly large park and public pool. Other than Richard, his girlfriend Jennifer, and her friend Heather, I didn't know anyone that came to the party that night, and as much as I tried to be social, it didn't really work out that way. All in all there were about 25-30 people there, which would've been a decent sized party if they'd all been there at once. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. When I first got there, there was only about 10-12 people there, most of which left after the fireworks went off at the Phoenix International Raceway down the street around 10pm.

Not too much later the rest showed up though, and the party got a bit livelier because everyone wanted to play Beer Pong, which, for those that have never played, is when you set cups of beer in triangles on opposite sides of a long table, and each person (usually teams of two) tries to throw and/or bounce the ping pong ball into a cup on the other teams side of the table. If the ball makes it in the cup, the other team has to drink it. First person to drink all their cups of beer loses, and of course, becomes that much more intoxicated. Basically this is a very easy way to get people very drunk, very fast, but have fun doing it, so they don't really keep track of how much they've actually drank. Since I don't drink, i just have fun watching other people make fools of themselves, and of course the women often attempt to catch the balls in their cleavage, which is quite entertaining as well =P.

Ok, now for the interesting part. Around 1:00am or so, after all but about 5 or 6 people have left (besides Richard, his g/f, and myself), Richard asked me if I wanted to learn to ride a dirtbike, which of course I did, since I wanted a motorcycle, and had yet to learn how to ride one. He wasn't quite sure if it would be a good idea because it was really loud, and at 1am, the neighbors might end up calling the cops, but he didn't seem too worried about it since he was telling me this as he started up the bike and revved the hell out of it in his garage, which only made it louder =P. He takes off down the street and goes back and forth a couple times doing I would say at least 60mph. When he comes back he makes a comment about how it's probably too loud, and he doesn't want the cops to show up, so he parks the bike.

About five minutes later, a friend of Jennifer's (Dustin is his name if I remember right) says something about running down the street naked, and somehow or another (the alchohol likely had a lot to do with it) Richard puts two and two together, and says "Ride the bike naked?" as if it's the greatest idea in the world. I laugh and tell him he's not that drunk, only to look over and see him striping his clothes off. I suggested to him a couple more times that it's probably not the greatest idea, but he seems pretty determined, so I go in the house and tell everyone that Richard's providing a show if they're interested in seeing one. They all run outside to watch, while I sat and watched TV, because personally, seeing him naked wasn't a huge priority of mine.

About 15 minutes later his girlfriend comes back in and goes into the kitchen. I asked her if he actually went through with it, and she tells me he wrecked. She didn't seem too distraught, so I figure it must not be too serious. I went out in the garage and I see everyone standing around Richard, who's only wearing his shorts, which are only half covering his ass. He's missing large sections of skin in various places on his body, and there's a decent amount of blood coming from one knee, and he can't walk well because his right ankle is swollen up to about the size of a baseball. Apparently he decided to show off and attempt a wheelie, and didn't land right or something, and ended up sliding about 10 yards across the street. Even with all the damage to his body, he's still smiling almost the entire time. I suppose alcohol will do that to you =P. BTW, Richard is the same guy that I branded a couple years back at another party. I'm guessing he either seeks out pain when he gets drunk, or he just likes to entertain in very odd ways. He certainly doesn't seem to learn from the past at any rate =P. I wonder how he'll top this one.

I stayed over at their place that night, since both of them were pretty wasted. Stefanie called and we talked for quite a while, and she said that she'd come pick me up, but I told her even if I wanted her to, I wasn't completely sure how to get here, and I didn't think it was the greatest idea for her to be driving around lost at three in the morning. The next day we left around noon, got something to eat at a pizza place I'd never heard of, though was quite good. Then we dropped Richard off at the Emergency Room (yes, I realize our priorities are a bit off =P ). While Richard filled out the paperwork, etc, Jennifer took me home.

On the way there, Dennis called and said he needed my help to pick up something at a store. Apparently he was at one of the other stores his company runs, and they had one of those soda coolers with the sliding glass doors sitting in the back. He was talking to the store manager about how he'd been looking for something like that for his house, but it'd cost him at least $500. The store manager said if he wanted he could go ahead and take that one for free. So we went with his uncle, who had a truck, and brought it back to the house. It needs some cleaning, but other than that it's in damn good condition, and looks really cool in his game room. A bit on the noisy side, but not overwhelmingly annoying. After that he dropped me off at Stefanie's place. She wanted to go get something to eat, but not only did I just eat with Richard and Jennifer, but she only had an hour and a half before she had to be at work, so I just hung out there while she got ready for work. Then she dropped me back off at Dennis' on her way there.

I went back to Dennis' because he was having a barbecue for 4th of July. There was tons of food there, all of it really good to. Both Dennis and his wife are extremely good cooks. Not fancy stuff necessarily, just damn good food. I left there around 10:00pm, since I was really tired, as I'd been up since about 8am, plus I'd gone swimming at Dennis, which really wore me out. As tired as I was, I decided to call Stefanie anyways, just in case she didn't have any plans for the night. Couldn't get a hold of her, so I told her to call me back. Went to bed almost as soon as I got home, which sucks, because that means I woke up way too early the next morning, which was yesterday.

I pretty much just sat around the house, installed Pariah, listened to music, browsed the net, etc; until around 2pm, when I called Stefanie to see if she wanted to go to lunch today since we weren't able to the day before. She did, but she wanted to go to The Olive Garden where she used to work because her friend was leaving the next day, and she happened to be working at the moment. She took her time getting ready and we talked about various things. Apparently the night before she'd gone out with some guy from work, and they went swimming at his uncles house until like four in the morning or something, and she was considering dating him. For whatever reason I found myself getting a bit jealous of a guy I didn't know over a girl I've never, nor do I at the moment, intend to be anything but friends with. Not that I don't think she's dateable, I just don't think it's worth putting our friendship at risk. Perhaps I've been spending a bit too much time with her lately. Is it possible to spend too much time with friends that want to spend time with you?

So anyways, we went to go eat and I got what I always get, which is Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I felt a bit like a third wheel the entire time, because everyone kept coming up and talking to Stefanie since they hadn't seen her in a month or so, when she got fired. I didn't say anything because she wasn't doing anything wrong, but she could tell something was bothering me anyways. I just told her I was tired. After we finished eating we went to a bead shop to get her sister some beads. Then she demanded that she be allowed to take me to work, and after arguing a bit I gave in. It would allow me to go to sleep for a couple hours before she picked me up to go, which was much needed; and here I am, about to get out of work in about 45 minutes. Not too much work to do today, which allowed me to write this giant blog entry, as well as browse the net a bit.