And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides.
Delerium,"Silence"
---
I've been meaning to update this blog for a long time. First it was after I saw a movie, then it was after I had my hearing, then it was after I came back from vacation.
Finally, it's this
web site about military facilities that caused me to take the time out to do this. I thought it was a fairly interesting website, one of those places where you bookmark and never look at again until someone asks you a random question like whether Landstuhl is an army air force base or a naval air station.
I've been telling a lot of people that 2003 was a magical year for me, and that I lived the charmed life with no worries, in direct contrast to events this year. Well, I had the chance to tell this to a couple of friends of mine over dinner at a Thai restaurant after a movie, and at that moment I realized...
I'm hanging out with my friends over dinner at a Thai restaurant after a movie! A life is only as charmed as your ability to recognize it.
Passion chokes the flower
Until she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty
Hungry still for more.
I'm comfortable enough now with the outcome that I can talk openly and plainly about what happened: I drove home drunk after a night at the pub; I lost control of my car coming around a bend in the road after trying to pass someone. My car ends up going into oncoming traffic, where I have a roughly-head-on collision with another vehicle. We're both alive, he was the only person in that car. Because he sustained injuries, my DUI gets upgraded to a felony (in fact, the DA further upgraded the charge to a GBI (great bodily injury) meaning that not only is it a felony, it's a strike) and I currently face anywhere from the minimum 3 months in prison to a year based on the guidance given by the Ventura County judge.
There are statutory limits as to what a person can do when bringing litigation against someone else in the case of personal injury. A broken shoulderblade is only worth so much. I cut is worth so much. And so on. So not only do I face a harrowing criminal case (to which I've pled guilty; my sentencing hearing is in about three weeks), I also face the civil case where I get to pony up some dollar dollar bills y'all.
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence.
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe.
I've said it before that I don't fear the outcome of either case, because both are brough on by human hands, namely mine. I would never be one to run from the consequences of my actions. As a result, I think it really helps my case. Even at the scene of the accident, I immediately took fault when the police talked to me, and my counsel believes that I'll finish my sentence somewhere between 3-6 months.
So that's my story and I'm sticking with it. In about a year, this will all be past tense, and I'll pick the remaining pieces of my life and be proud when I build it all up again.
I was a VIP for about five minutes one evening. In visiting my parents in Oceanside after seeing my accountant, they informed me that they secured tickets to a show starring a Filipino comedian. Now I will be the first to tell you that I don't trust Filipinos in large numbers. I don't like the idea of "community"; I feel that a person's merits should be able to stand on their own. But it was my parents, and I didn't want to refuse their hospitality, so I tagged along.
There's a pun there, but I can't quite get it.
The show was held in an old theater in downtown San Diego. It was an old building, reminiscent of the WWII-era structures at Tech, complete with old rusting copper pipes in the bathrooms to the smell of stale air throughout the hall. Incidentally, the show wasn't all that great, but my parents had a good time. I'm not a big fan of ethnic humor; I thought My Big Fat Greek Wedding was vastly overrated. Likewise, you can only make so many jokes that are only funny because of a Filipino accent.
I'll continue this train of thought later, but I just wanted to take the time to get back in the swing of things.
