When was the last time your treated your body...

My massage...

Wow... It's going to be hard to convey all of what I just experience into words. Silly words, but I am writing from my iPhone at the bus stop while I wait for the bus just after this monumental moment in my life that just happened. This guy that just walked up to the corner glanced over at the same time as I did and gave me the "what's up nod like we knew each other. I don’t know you sir...not sure what that was all about. lol 

Anyway, So I have for over 20 years of my life treated my body ummm...let just say not so good. I wouldn't go as far to say horrible. I know what your thinking... How could it really be that bad? He doesn’t do drugs, barely drinks, and besides some weight issues looks like a pretty decent human being. Well, trust me I have not been so great to the body that I have been giving for my time on earth, but that is so the first 20 years of my life. If you happen to catch some early pics of me you would understand. Let me see if I can find one that will show you what I mean. *scans through my computer, then my box of photos* Maybe I won’t show you after all...lol. =P

Anyway, starting few years back I started on a different path than I was before. I have talked a bit about this already, but in the last two years I have made some great progress...and I am like a snowball that is catching a lot of momentum. (think I said that because it was snowing at the mountain like crazy and in the valley too...in April? It’s pretty cold out now too. My hands are quite cold as I type this. *looks for the bus* anytime motherfucker...lol) Where was I... Oh so goodbye to the old way of doing things with Derrick's body. I am expanding my horizons and open to new things that the world offers me. Never would I have thought that I would be a big fan of acupuncture, but I go at least a few times a month now. 

So rewind to a few months ago...my sister Paula got a massage from one of our lovely coworkers at the market. She said it was amazing. I thought to myself I have never had a massage...hmmm. That sounds like it would be a very nice thing to do for myself. I didn't have the money at the time, but knew my birthday was coming up. That's what I want and what is more important my body wanted it too. Fast forward to today few days before my birthday. Sitting at the bus stop still waiting for the god damn bus...but wait we have fast forwarded too far...  

The story starts on my lovely bus ride to my massage. There was a bit of a situation with the bus that I was on that ended up making me late, but that story will be saved for my book titled "You Haven't Lived Unless You Have Taken Public Transportation More Than Once" or Y.H.L.U.Y.H.T.P.T.M.T.O. for short...lol. *bus finally came*...warmth... Yes... 

Ok so, after all that mess. I showed up at Christina’s wonderful home about 30 minutes late. Not only that I didn't make it to the bank before I got there. Thank god we work together. If you go see her I would not suggest doing the same. =) lol So we get through the formalities. She is very nice and welcoming person. I immediately felt comfortable. I introduced myself to her cute dog named Star. Sorry I didn't take pics. Still not sure with how people feel about me just shooting pics of everything around me. Lol She was a very sweet dog. Then it was down to business. She asked some questions to get better idea of what I was looking for. I told her "I have never had a massage before so give me the full experience." So then we tried to figure out what kind of essential oils she was going to use. I smelled a few and decided on cedar. She put a dab of something else in there, but I forget what it was. Then I proceeded to get almost into my birthday suit (quite appropriate I should say since my birthday was just few days away). Lol The table was very warm and cozy. A nice change from the cold air and rain outside. She put on some nice peaceful sounds with some breathing over tones. So I tried to relax myself and get myself to the same place that I get when I am on the table for acupuncture at my doctors place. It's that place between sleep and awake. I am finding that is a very important place to be. As I try to focus on my breathing Christina goes to work. Oh the power of touch. We all are capable of power of touch, but there are those in the world that have the gift to go beyond that. I believe now Christina is one of those people. At first she kinda just pushed down on my body as if to get it to just settle. She than kinda wiggled me around so that my body was loose. Then she moved back the sheet covering my back. She started of on my shoulders. Oh how I love my shoulders rubbed. Then she started working straight down the spine. Then she moved to just doing the right side of my back and over to my right arm. All of it was sooooo great. There was definitely some trouble spots in my upper shoulder. She patiently worked them out, but what she did on my forearms was amazing. I made sure to tell her so. I love my forearms rubbed too. She then repeated on the other side. Kept reminding every once and awhile for me to focus on my breathing. Which was good because I kept getting distracted with all that was going on? Breathe...seems like such a simple thing, but we forget to truly breathe like we should. Deep slow breathes... Something I have been working on. Add it to the list! =)

Breathe...

So after there was some of the most enjoyable work being done to this wonderful body I have been blessed with. The next part is an additional thing you can add to the regular massage...the hot stones. I forget the amount you add to the price for her to use the hot stones. I don’t think it was too much, but it doesn’t really matter. If you get a massage from her without it you are a fool. The stones are warmed long before I get there. I did not actually even see the stones, but oh did I feel them. She clanked them together before she applied them to my back as if to warn me. At first the stones seem to hot, but after a second or two of being on your skin my body seemed to absorb all the heat into my body. Then it seemed the stones were actually just the right temperature. First pair of stones went straight down my spine. After she used the first two stones for like maybe a minute or two she left them at the bottom of my back by my tailbone and grabbed two more. Oh man I cannot explain how wonderful this felt. Even though I have spent quite a bit of time on this blog entry trying to do that very thing...lol. After a while of the stones she moved back to using her hands and rubbed down my legs and did some amazing stuff on my feet. I really liked all the things she did with my feet. Interesting I really didn’t think that was going to be a point of interest for me. Oh but it was...*sigh*... good stuff. So after the wonderful leg rub down it was time to flip over. 

Breathe...

After I was flipped, she then did work on my chest and then on to my shoulders and head. Oh my how I love my head rubbed. By this time I was very relaxed and very much into that place between sleep and awake. Her hands went to work and I was out after that. Putty in her hands. Nothing else mattered. After a good amount of time massaging my head and shoulders. She finished the massage giving me instructions in a very gentle voice to take my time waking and getting up. She would be in the other room whenever I was up and ready. I heard this clearly even in the state of euphoria I was in. It was very much like when my doctor comes in to take the needles out after acupuncture. I have to slowly wake and gently stretch my body out. So I took my time. It was nice to wake up to the natural light coming from the two windows near by. (don’t worry no one can really see in them from where she lives) Also out the window was a plant with beautiful flowers. I asked her what kinda of plant it was when she came out later. Because I have been noticing that same plant all over the Portland metro area of late. Something I had not noticed before. Christina said that it was a magnolia plant.

I make my way to the rest of my clothes and make it to her bathroom for a tinkle. By the time I was out of the bathroom she was out of her room and waiting for me with a cup of water. Which I was very happy to get? Christina said that absorbing all the essential oils will made me dehydrated for the rest of the day. I drank the water slowly and gave her feed back. Wow how great it is when you start treating yourself so good. I made arrangements for her payment and said bye to her dog star who was still patiently sitting in the same spot on the chair since before I got there. Told Christina she was amazing and I will see her again in the future. Then headed off down the hill towards my bus stop. Down the hill with a new bounce to my step with a big smile on my face and taking deep breathes of the world I live in. Feel so great to be alive. =)

Breathe...

Now I am on the bus finishing this entry. This is just a new event in a long list of things I have done and things to come in my new path of caring for my body. So how about you? What path are you on? How have you been treating your body? I encourage all of you to take steps in the direction of better care and better health for your mind, body, and soul. It’s amazing how life can be when you do. Whether is getting a massage from Christina or something else. Today can be the first step. Don’t delay!

Blog question: “What is the last really nice thing you did for your body?”

As always all this brought to you with love and pure D-lite. =)

Christina Pyktel Info:

Phone (503)452-2723

E-mail: sunnydaz@hotmail.com

Here is your blog song to go with this entry:

Last day in Washington...

April 7, 2010

So again I woke up late. By late I mean in between 10 and 11am. Looked out the window.... another beautiful day in the Pacific NW... gray and rainy..lol. After looking out the window a bit. I got up and work on stuff on my mac and then went and took a shower. Which usually signals to Mike that I am up and ready for the day. He usually gets to the shower before me. So today was a very lazy day. I spent most of the morning editing my blogs and looking through my videos. Cleaning up my stuff and packing it up all up. Then I headed downstairs and was greeted by chef Mike Jackman all dressed up for work. He was in the process of making oatmeal for the two of us. One of the few things that he could serve me from out of their fridge for breakfast. Some butter, brown sugar, and some raisins.... what are calories...lol. Just tack it on the list of the things I ate today. I am on the train right now and I just finished a 450 calorie pack of skittles. I’m on vacation! Anyway, when Mike left for work J’anne took me to the closest Transit Center. Now let me just say something before I get into this. This is just my experience with the transit system in the state of Washington. The day before was just the opposite of this experience. 

So after I said my goodbyes to J’anne and then headed over to my bus stop. Mike told me earlier it’s a very easy trip. Take the 511 straight into town and get off at 5th & Jackson walk two blocks over and the train station is right there. I wasn't worried as long as I have my phone I never get lost. As I am making my way to the bus stop. I notice there is a person spraying down the sidewalk with a pressure washer. So I stay out of the way and move up closer to my stop. It was raining out and so I stood under the covered seating area. He kept moving closer no matter how far away I moved and I swear that he was trying to spray me. I understand he is trying to do his job, but I have dealt with the guys that do the same kinda work at Beaverton transit center all the time. They are WAY more courteous than this asshole creeping closer and closer. I went out of the shelter and basically stood on the curb...he is still shooting the mist in my direction. I am a very patient man. This kinda got to me. It didn’t make me mad it made me more like wtf man. Are you serious? Finally I got on the bus and headed towards downtown Seattle. It was pretty easy ride, but I am not use to riding a bus that goes on the freeway though. I don’t know why I think that is silly. Downtown was nice its a very beautiful city. I enjoyed the ride even though there was a pointless conversation between the driver and “one of those” lady riders.You know what I mean when I say that...lol. They were talking about how it was raining sooooo much.... Ummm not even people. Next was their take on the economy...that was interesting. Blah Blah Blah... Then she had to keep thanking the driver over and over because he joked with her as she was about to get off at an earlier stop (I guess was her normal stop) about making sure she had her umbrella. (Oh because remember it was a gully washer! Jesus people I will show you rain...lol) So she decided (because of the good advice of the driver about not getting soaked in the fucking GULLY WASHER!) not to get of at her normal stop and  do her normal walk. She would instead wait and ride the bus to her destination. Great more pointless conversation! Seriously it was not even coming down very much. Why does this matter this pointless chatter? Well, I got it stuck in my head now you have it in your head...lol. =P Some of the most fake conversation we have with people...why waste our breathe. We all our guilty of it myself included. I think that my conversation is a bit more interesting and not so fake though. I using talk to people like I would any other person. With some differences in subject matter because I am not here to offend anyone. I also like to be very random with people I don’t know either. Life is way more interesting that way. ;-) So I made it to my stop and got off the bus and I walk a few blocks down to King Station. Enter the station and check in. Looked at my watch 4:34pm...nice, about half an hour before they board business class *pops my collar* yeah thats me. lol So I board the train. It’s a bit more packed than the train coming to Seattle. Yeah because they know what state is better. Speaking of which I was with Mike the first day I got in to the state of Washington and we stopped off at the Fred Meyers by their house. Mike was getting coffee at the Starbucks inside. He is a regular there so she starts chatting away with the barista he introduces me as his friend from Oregon. I can’t even explain the horrible face she made when he told her that. Mike got on the defense. He still calls Oregon his home and so do all his siblings and they all live in Washington. So he asked her. So have you ever been there? She then gave another horrible look. I was like WTF. I have not heard to many talk that much shit about Oregon without even saying anything. How dare she! She said she had driven though once. lol Well good I hope you don’t ever come back. Geez...some people. She acted like we are backwater folk in Oregon. Well, let me tell you missy...it's not that different from the state you live in. *shakes head* It just shocked me. Although Oregon is way better!

So I am currently sitting in the dining car and about 50 minutes out of the train station in the wonderful city I call home, my birthplace, and home of some of the coolest people I know! This has been a short, but sweet vacation. I probably should have gone for a few more days, but it’s just what I needed. On to the next one....hmmm where to next. I will hit up that music museum next time. As I told J’anne after she asked me “So when our you coming up again?” I told her that their house is like a second home to me. They our wonderful and always a blast to be around. It was so nice to see Chuck and Erin as well. I am sad I didn’t make my way to see his sister Rachel. Things to add to the next time I venture up to the “other“ pacific Northwest State.... yes the one that no longer will be named. lol j/k K I think I am going to pack stuff up and head back to my seat. My sister bless her soul...got mixed up and tried to come pick me up last night with my birthday cake to boot! Oh my sister how sweet she is. I can’t wait to see her. Ok, thank you for reading! Don’t be afraid to subscribe either I don’t bite....haaaard. lol I hope you find some vitamin D somewhere in my writing. 

A little more that I would like to add to about a week later. I was asked the other day...so your vacation already seem far away? I was like actually not really. I am so happy at were I am and how my life is going right now that I was very ok with coming back. Usually I have that “oh back to reality...fuck” feeling, but not this time. I have so much going on and that I am trying to do that I not so worried about being away from my day today. You guys don’t even know about half of it yet! OH PLUS I FUCKING MISSED MY BED BAD! Felt so good to sleep in it again. The blog is only a small part of it and it’s definitely helped me get the ball rolling for me. So I think I am going to try to do weekly blog entries. Kinda take bits of my week that I feel like sharing and that I think will inspire you wonderful readers. Will see how that works out. I have one more after this one that I might post. Really I write because I love to share and have so many thoughts I think are at least interesting. I like that you guys are commenting more! K enough rambling. This blog entry is long enough! 

Your question for this blog entry is: Where would you like to go for your next vacation? It can be realistic or not. You can leave a comment now without subscribing.... “Oh whats that...you already subscribed?...great! Than no worries....thanks!” 


Oh here is your song to go a long with this blog entry:

Peace, Love and Pure D-lite. 

Oh before I forget here is a few pics of Balrog one f two of their cats at the Jackman house. He was so awesome. He spent the most time with us. The other was too shy. 

This one is for the ladies...

April 15, 2010

I woke up this morning not quite fully rested, but for some reason didn’t want to go back to bed. So I laid in bed and grabbed my phone. Used my phone to do a bit of my regular  morning routine. I responded to texts from last night I got after I fell asleep and the ones I had gotten this morning. I also went and checked Facebook and then played my turns in the scrabble app “words with friends”. Then for fun to get my mind going I have two apps that give me random facts. I always find this interesting. One of the apps is all around  random facts. The other apps is random sex facts. I decided to open random sex facts up this morning. The first fact that popped up stopped me dead in my tracks. I was so appalled by this fact that I was like are you serious? No way... here is what it said:

“The average man ejaculates after just 2 minutes of intercourse...”

.... .. . . ...... . Are you fucking kidding me... wow. That’s what us men bring to the table? I know that when it comes to sex there is many differences of how men and women work especially when it comes to climaxing, but come one guys! That is just sad. *shakes head* Is there any guys out there that can hold back enough to at least make love for longer than 2 minutes? Or is that because women really control how much sex we really get anyways. Meaning it is much easier for a woman to get laid than a guy. Or is this the mean balance of life. Where woman can have as much as they want, but have to sift through all that sex and find the good sex. For the men what we get is always too good or we haven't gotten enough to know what is good and what's not so we can’t hold back. lol I am not sure it’s just a thought. This may be to much info, but I do not fall into that category. Never have even been close to that amount of time... even the first time. I am not just talking myself up either. If I did I certainly wouldn’t have sex because two minutes is nothing. That is the amount of time that your suppose to brush your teeth in just one side of  your mouth! I don’t know what it is that I do that most guys don’t, but I wish I knew so I could spread the word. I am sorry for you ladies.=( In fairness its hard to fine a woman that actually likes giving head more than just doing it because "he" likes it. Because ladies there is quite a bit of difference between the two. lol. Just saying...lol.  I wonder how many times I have said  all the different forms of two (2,two, to, too) in this blog entry already. I won’t go too much deeper than than I have. Just found it very shocking and sad. Not even just sad more pathetic. Think there needs to be some sort of classes set up for men that are required to take. Guys read a book, talk to your lover, jesus just do something! We need to bring that average way up!!! Maybe collectively we can make a difference gentleman. *raises fist in the air* It’s a revolution for the ladies! lol Ok I am done. Thanks for reading. Sorry I am CRAZY...lol. Sorry if it was too much info... it’s just too bad for the ladies. Too bad so sad, but this HAS got too change! 

As always all of this has been brought up for pure D-lite. =) 

Feel free to chime in and leave a comment. Come one don’t be shy we all do it... well most of us. lol =P 

Music museum?... Negative....

April 6, 2010...

Another late morning... lol damn video games AGAIN... for being so fun and entertaining. lol No museum today, but we did make it out of the house for most of the day. We got up late, but got Shit, Showered, and Shaved fairly shortly after waking. Headed downstairs to get some grub. I ate what as left of those cashew crack clusters...lol. Which was like maybe 4 and then a bit of the crumbs. No I didn’t line up the dust at the bottom of the bag and snort it up my nose... fuck that I just poured it straight into my mouth...lol. Soooooo good! So after that incident  with that thing I might need rehab for. Mike makes me a omelet  with green onions and red bell pepper. Quite D-licious! I also had a orange and some almond milk

Then we decided to head out to the real world. We first headed up the street to the Fred Meyers so Mike can get some of his coffee crack. Then to the bus stop out in front of the little strip mall. The buses in Washington are quite different. They don’t give you transfer slips after paying fair to ride the bus. So its a one trip thing when you pay cash. Mike had some card thing that he just tapped to some machine. Magic I say... its black magic I tell you! Crazy technology I am sure will come to portland one of these days. So the bus ride was like may 10 minutes. Yes, Mike you should definitely get a bike. He has been talking about that he has been thinking about getting one. After seeing how short of a ride it was. I was like hell yeah you could take so much waiting time out of your life. lol. Not to mention the exercise he would get too. We headed straight to the mall since right after we got on the bus it poured down heavy with a mix of rain and heavy wet snow. What a crazy spring so far. lol Snowing in the lower elevations in April? Can I get a WTF? 

We decided on seeing the movie “Hot Tub Time Machine”. It was a lot of fun. So many one liners. Very decent movie to see in theaters. If you don’t see it there you should definitely rent it. “It’s the great white buffalo.... great white buffalo....” and “Shotgun to the dick...” are the two that come to mind for me. Good times. After the movie we walked to P.F. Chang’s  because earlier we had walked by it on the way to the theater and I said to Mike that I would like to go eat there after the movie. He was like sure. That’s how shit gets handled. I had been craving some chinese food the night before. lol Who am I kidding I always crave chinese/thai food oh and hawaiian food. =) The service was great, lots of eye candy...lol, and food was quite wonderful. Mike said it was way better than his last experience. The Lettuce wraps were my favorite. A bit of wheat I will pay for later. Why don’t more places use tamari soy sauce. There really is no need for wheat in soy sauce anyways. It’s not rocket surgery JESUS PEOPLE!!! GET IT TOGETHER! After we were content with our fill of chinese food we headed back to the the homestead. Also across from P.F. Chang’s is Mike’s employer Borders. Well actually he works in the connection coffee shop. Funny thing is he still went to the Starbucks and not to his work to get his coffee crack. So we get back to the house and to our surprise it was empty. So we went upstairs and I got my mac out and was showing some funny videos and music videos to Mike. We did that for bit even after his parents got home. We also where watching some video’s that I have taken so far. Some funny stuff with Mike and me that I will put together soon. Having fun with that flipcam so far. Just getting use to it, but I am sure it will get better over time. The cool part is it’s more than just taking video, the other half of the fun is editing and putting it together. =) So then after a bit of that the parents called us down with the promise of treats they brought home for us. So we got suckered! Well kinda lol it was just the andies chocolate mint candies they got from Olive Garden when they got dinner earlier. lol So we watched a bit of tv with them. Then when they went to bed it was time to load up Battlefield... oh yeah. Mike was nice enough to let me use his dads big screen TV in the living room and he went to his bedroom. My brother was busy at first so Mike and I started it out just us in the squad. I won’t bore you with all that went on. Just let me say two things... First, we really kicked some Heine....  Second, Playing on Doug’s 50+ inch nice HD TV was quite the experience. I would like new tv one of these days. Don’t got room for it right now really. So again we were up till the wee hours of the morn. So I must go to sleep. Tomorrow is a half day in the state of Washington... then back to where I call home. =) D~

Blog question is: "Where is you longest place of residence?"

As always with love and pure D-lite! =)

Relaxation is what vacation is all about...

April 5, 2010...

Today again Mike and I both sept in because we again were both where up later than we wanted to be. Damn cool video games! We keep trying to wake up earlier so we can go to that music museum in Seattle. I forget the exact name at this moment in time, but it doesn't really matter because I don't think I am going to make it there...lol. Sleep is a very important thing. I have been reading a lot about how much it is really important to get lots of good sleep to avoid some really bad risk factors for your health. So I have been trying to do a better job of just allowing my body to decide when to wake up. Of course I still set an alarm for the time that I should be up so I am not late to work, but I find that my body already knows when to get up. That is if I allow great sleep to happen.

So we had a lazy morning. I woke up around 11:30, but got straight on my Mac and start working on blog entries. I also watched some of the video I have taken...some good stuff coming soon. After I go downstairs and talk with Mike we decide to stay home since the museum is only open till 5pm. It was already early afternoon by then. We would have to take the bus down there and so we wouldn’t have very much time to be there.

Mike made some bomb ass oatmeal for me and open a bag of what I call “The ONE reason to get a Costco card”.

Here is the best picture I could find of the bag, but basically it's these cashew, almond, pumpkin seed clusters bound together with honey. So basically... it’s like fucking crack... We pretty much at a whole bag that day. Cashews are my thing right now. If you know anything about Costco you know that that is not a small bag! It’s so awesome to find snacks that are good for you and that I can eat. Again it was fucking crack in nice big clusters...lol. So who’s got a Costco card? Will pay in cash upfront for more of these...I’m serious! 

So then while were munching on those Mike asked have you ever played the video game Little Big Planet? 

I said I have not, but heard great things about that video game. Since I don’t own a Playstation 3 I was happy to get the opportunity to play it. So we enjoyed that game for few hours before his mom came home from running errands. It’s really fun and very different from anything I have ever played. Its like no other game out there and I suggest anyone that has an opportunity to play it to do so! Even if you are not into video games. So after Mikes mom watched us play for a bit. We then turned on the wii (after a call to his dad and the three of us trying to hook the wii up to there nice big TV...just a little problem solving 101...Bill is in the mail!) to play Mario Brothers Wii. Also a very good game. Playing video games with J’anne is so much fun. She always makes it interesting. So we played that in between her fixing dinner. Then when she got really involved with making dinner we decided to switch to a movie. So Mike put in his blue ray version of District 9. Nice! I get to knock another movie I haven’t seen off my list. So we watch the movie even through eating dinner at the table. lol Great dinner entertainment. Thank god I have a strong stomach. Not a bad movie. Not at all what I really thought it was going to be like. It is crazy watching movies, video games, and just regular TV on their TV is crazy clear and really different at first. After that Mike and I left the parents for a little “alone time with the TV” lol and headed upstairs to his room to play some more video games in his room. He started out playing one of his madden franchise games. I set up a camera on the table in front of us and captured some pretty funny stuff. The best thing I caught on camera was the craziest tackle I have ever seen on Madden. Which I entitled “Two feet in the air with the G.I. Joe arm chop”. 

After that Mike finally showed me “Burnout Paradise”. That he had told me about so many times before. It’s another game I wanted to check out, but there is too many games so little time. Plus I got lots going on in the real world...lol. I remember playing the original burnout with Jason years ago. We loved that game. There has been a few installments since the original. The second one was all right, but I lost interest since then. I was a bit excited when the trailer came out for Burnout Paradise though. It also helped that it used a little classic Gun’s and Roses for the trailer. So in short the game play and looks of the game is GREAT. The speed is unreal and the crashes are awesome. They would make any car insurance agent cringe or even raise there blood pressure. lol We had too much fun playing that game. 

Finally my brother text me to see what we were doing and to see if we wanted to get down on the new battlefield game Bad Company 2. Mike had just bought Bad Company 2 before I came up up to see him. Of course My brother and I had persuaded him to get  copy and join the squad. Now we have him hooked. It was really good to have him in the squad and he is doing very well for a first timer to battlefield series. I love playing collectively with my buddies more that against them. I guess that is me just becoming an old man. So we played that to the early hours of the morning. So since we went to bed at like 3am I doubt we are going to get up early enough to head out to the museum...again. lol Oh well, go with the flow. There is always a next time. I know the Jackman’s love having me around. 

Mike’s mom was saying in the car when we went and got coffee earlier in the day that she loved having me live with them back in the day when they lived in a house in Oregon. They really didn’t want to have me leave. They also felt bad after having me leave  because they thought they were moving soon and they didn’t end up moving till a bit later then they thought they would. I told her it’s ok it all worked out like it was supposed to. In that same conversation I also talked about my status with my mother and the wonderful progress that we have made. She was very happy to hear that. The reason I was living with the Jackman’s was because of my mother. J'anne really helped me through that time in my life. She said something really powerful to me about that situation. She said... “If your planning on being a parent then get ready to deal with true guilt and regret. Because no matter how hard you try...you will make mistakes and regret things you did or didn’t do.” That does make sense to me and if I ever have kids or involved with kids I am sure that I will experience this. The other thing in our conversation in the car ride was we were talking about how as humans we are capable of so much better than we are. Taking about some of the cruelty that still goes on in this world. She said another powerful line that goes as follows “The only sin is being intentionally cruel to someone else”. That is so true. Oh how I miss my long talks with her. We use to sit and play Tetris and she would get me to talk about most anything. Just wonderful woman all around. K well that is all I can think of right now. Time for some sleepy sleep. I am sleeping on to memory foam pads stacked on top of each other is very interesting to say the least. lol Night world. D~

Your question for this blog entry is: Do you have a Costco Card? If so please leave you name, current address, and phone number. lol But really...it's fucking crack.... I need more... lol =)

Of course I have to post a music video to go along with this blog and so here you go here is two... pick your posion...




and a bonus Burnout Paradise trailer video

I spent the morning with my dad....

April 4, 2010...

I love riding the train. It reminds me of my father. I can feel his presence every time I ride the train. He loved trains to a level more that anyone I know. It’s another one of those “I hated when I was a kid, but I love now”. Well, maybe not hated, but I definitely didn’t appreciate it as much as my father wanted me to. Of course it’s one of those things that my father tried to force us to love as much as he did. Thinking back now I don’t love trains at the level that he did, but I do enjoy a train ride quite a bit. My sister did to, but what is more important she loved the Amtrak bathrooms....lol. Same goes for all those signs that he made us read at state parks and such. Now that I am older I find myself looking forward to those signs and find I usually want more info than what they have put. Thanks to my phone I can usually research more info quickly...Oh technology...lol. Here I am the start of my first full day as a 29 year old. lol It was a little tough getting up early after my wonderful bowling birthday bash the night before. Which was wonderful! Thank you all that showed up it meant so much to me. My back was a little sore from bowling though... god I am getting old...lol, but I was very excited to ride the train and see the Jackmans so I managed. It is a very mild gray morning in Portland as my sister and I head down to the train station. We both are too tired to talk so my sister put on some great tunes. The song that stood out to me is the song by The Mamas & the Papas called "Go where you want to go".  (I will put a link at the bottom to a video) While I got my morning cup of music I messed around with my new flip cam. You will see a video of my trip on the train going to Seattle and then back to Portland soon. When I have time to get to that project...lol. So many projects so little time. God that is exciting. I have so much to learn and I am very excited about it. 

So I sat in the train station for about a half and hour before they boarded the business class. Which for those that don’t take the train business class is basically first class seating on the train. More room, less people sitting next to you, and even an outlet so if you need to plug in your laptop or... anything that requires electricity lol. Hmmmm  speaking of that... I wonder, if next time I could bring my blender so I could make lava flows for my trip...lol. ;-) 

My seat was at the back of the business class car with only one seat in the row. Which was plenty ok with me. I settled in and started the ride with about 15 minutes of filming of the beginning trip out of town. Then after that I was  super thirsty and so I headed to the bristo car for some water. I also got a $3.00 off voucher for being in business class that was burning a whole in my pocket. I had to go spend it! lol So I make my way there and end up getting a chicken bowl, bottle of water, and I guess what was a king size bag of skittles. I thought it was just a regular size till she put it in the box with the other things. “...daaaaamn that a huge bag...”...”It’s ok Derrick you’re on vacation... when in Rome... right?*shrugs shoulders*” lol Short wait for the microwave and I headed back to my seat. So since I had no seat next to me at all. I had a lot of free room and extra tray to keep things out of my way. I also used the second tray to set up my tripod and flip cam.  I sat down and proceeded to eat the best of what Amtrak offers as food. The water was good. The chicken bowl was like barely even a serving and I don’t eat large portions. The skittles were melted which I wasn’t quite sure about. They were sitting next to the chicken bowl in my box carrier so I figured that was the reason. I ate them anyway as I pulled my head phones out plugged them in to the seat headphone jack and started to watch the “in transit” movie selection.(Normally you would say in flight movie... wasn’t sure how to say it on a train... I know I am definitely not in flight...lol) I was happy to see it was “The Blindside”. I have been meaning to get around to seeing it for a while. So I set up cam and then enjoyed the movie and the view out the window at times. If you have never taken the train before the train ride up to Seattle from Portland is a very nice trip. There is several rivers you cross and later on in the trip up to Seattle large bodies of water to the left side of the train. Even on this gray day it was still a lot of fun to just enjoy the view. Everything is so green...Oh how I love spring. So the movie entertained me up to about the Tacoma station. Then I took the headphones out of the headphone jack on the seat and into my iphone and let my music collection take me the rest of the way. I film almost all the way into Seattle’s train station, but the camcorder filled up right before Seahawks stadium. Perfect! I love my new flip cam already. It knows I hate the Seahawks. Anyways, There wasn’t even 10 people in my car so exiting the train was a piece of cake. I walked down the train and found My good buddy Mike and his wonderful Dad Doug waiting for me. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing there is someone there waiting for you. Same way goes for the airport. That wonderful enjoyment of reunion. I bet that this same feeling is very similar to how it is when we die to meet with those that have already past over. After smiles and warm greetings are shared we head to the car then to Lynwood where Mike’s parents have a house. 

Riding in the car and joking around just like the good old days. See I lived with Mike and his parents for about three years. So we have quite a bit of history. It felt very nice. Another sense of being home. We get to the house and I am greeted by Mike’s older brother Chuck and his Wife Erin and baby on the way. To the kitchen and long hug from his mom J’anne. I know so many great woman in my life. Even my sister was saying such things on my birthday. So she catches up with me briefly and continues to prepare dinner. Then the rest of us head to family room and watch Chuck play Modern Warfare 2 then later he is streaming random things with his computer to Doug’s big screen TV. Chuck works on video games. So he was showing some of his projects and what video games he has been involved with. Just a wonderful gathering and more importantly while Mike and I were hanging out on there couch we got a surprise visit of the lost ninja turtle “Homoangelo”. 

Oh Mikey J it doesn’t take long before you get me laughing like a chipmunk. lol Priceless!

Dinner was lovely. I didn’t get a pic I was too hungry and caught up in conversation. Salad, a roast, and some veggies. Yum! Later they had some strawberries and shortcake. Well, they did...lol I had just strawberries, but it was wonderful! I am so lucky and blessed. We also after dinner and while having dessert played two games of scrabble. I have been playing a lot of that lately. Both on my phone and with friends of late. In the first game we had too many players and so we did team scrabble. Doug and J’anne, Chuck and Erin, Mike and me. It was was too much fun. Mike and I came in last, but only because we had to save the board...lol. Then the after first game Chuck and Erin had to leave. Something about work in the morning.... being responsible...damn the woes of getting older...lol. So the second game was a 4 way battle royal. Which to my surprise I came in second behind J’anne. That’s impressive to me since last time I saw her play she scored like over 300 points. lol Then after that a bit of TV. Then Mike and I headed upstairs and I showed him my new baby....*rubs my macbook*...we end up getting on ichat with my cousin Jason and his girlfriend Celeste. That was a lot of fun. Never know what you are going to get with my cousin. From pictures of pig balls to watching short episodes of cops (his favorite...lol). Looking for the classic line... “Why you running?...” We were talking on there for like 2  1/2 hours. Crazy shit. Then off to bed. Time to get some much needed sleep. Wonderful day ... being 29 is going to work out perfectly. Love you all goodnight. =) 

This Blog question is: " Have you ever taken the train for traveling? If so where did you go?"

Feel free to leave  comment... or I will just keep talking to myself... lol =P

With love and pure D-lite! =)

More coming blog entries from trip coming soon! 

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