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News - April 2004 |
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04/30/04 -- Hi everyone. So yesterday was yet another busy busy
day. I actually came home early because I wanted to get a little well
needed rest. Of course, that didn't happen. I got back, and tried to
rest for an hour or so, but I ended up trying to finish and answer e-mails and
stuff. I wasn't going to go to the twice-weekly game, but I decided to go
anyway because...well...there was no real reason not to. I don't know if
anyone out there can understand this, but I try to constantly get out and stay
physical and active. After going through some time when that wasn't an
option, it makes me more appreciative to do so now. It makes me glad that
I am able to get out there and exert energy. Even if I don't feel like it,
I force myself go to a practice, or train, or a bb game with friends, or
something. I try always to remember how lucky I am.
Anyway, so I went to the game, and actually not many people showed up.
Plus, my ankles were KILLING me...I guess as a result of the last three
consecutive days. Man, I was feelin' a lot of pain. It was pretty
much just a combination of soreness and lingering affects from previous
injuries. I am thinkin' of moving that surgery up sooner. I am
looking to hopefully alleviate the pain permanently. It's not too bad
though. It could be worse.
So after that I showered, ate, and sat down at 8:00 pm to slide into the NBC
lineup. After a great 'ER', I started some of my readin' and got on the
computer, all while half-ass watchin' the Mavs lose to the Kings. After
that, I talked with Rob Pruett for a while, as he informed me that he asked his
long-time girlfriend, Amanda Matthews, to marry him! She said
"yes" and they are now engaged! It was such great news. As
they say in New York, they are both "good people"! A few of
Rob's words about his good news can be found in the Message
Board.
So after I talked with Rob, I finally got to watchin' the recorded shows that
I missed. 'Friends' was SO good. I can't believe it ends next
week! That's going to suck. 'Survivor' was actually pretty good
too...better than it's been in a few weeks! 'CSI' was okay, it's been
better though. So as the clock read way late in the mornin', I finally sat
down to quickly add Pete Canales to the Classmates
section. (Thanks Pete for sending in your information!). That's when
I hit a snag though. I added his listing, created his icons, and was
almost done. As I was working on his picture, all of a sudden Photoshop
crapped out on me! I was SO pissed. I didn't know what the hell
happened. And because I was so pissed, I couldn't leave it alone. So
I ended up trying to fix Photoshop for the remaining hours of the night. I
FINALLY fixed it, and was able to rework some picture stuff that got screwed up
with Photoshop. Gladly, nothing was permanently screwed up. I was
tired as hell, but I got everything working.
All that brings me to now. Yup, after I fixed that crap, it was already
time to take a shower and start the mornin'. Man, it just seems like there
is never enough hours in the day. So after the shower, I got dressed, and
that's where I am right now...sitting in front of the computer with my
apple. I am writing this entry, and literally am out the door as soon as I
finish this. I am DEFINITELY coming home early, because I NEED some rest
today. I am supposed to get on the road this afternoon, but that might
have to wait until tomorrow when I feel more up to it.
Again, I force myself to get everything I want done in a day. I am
grateful that I find the energy everyday to do so. It wasn't so long ago
when I didn't have any. -- Michael
04/29/04 -- Sorry y'all, there were a few things I wanted to get done
to the site last night, but I got sidetracked. Gabbs called, and I ended
up talkin' with her for hours cause I hadn't done so in a long time. It
was good hearin' from you Gabbs! I was havin' such a great time on the
phone, I forgot what time it was. So I had to stay up late finishin' some
readin', and type some stuff on the 'puter. Nonetheless, I didn't get a
chance to get to the site. I'll try and do so tonight, but I might not
again, cause...HELLO!!! 'Friends' is on tonight! Could I BE anymore
excited! This is the last episode before the big finally in two
weeks! I can't wait. So tonight I am meetin' the regular peeps to
play basketball, haul-ass home to shower, quickly eat, and then watch the NBC
lineup. Then I'll watch the CBS shows ('Survivor' and 'CSI') because I
record those while I am watching the NBC stuff. And IF I feel up to it, I
still need to watch 'The OC' I recorded from last night. I didn't get to
catch it yet. So no one tell me anything about it yet! And I'll
probably be half-ass readin' throughout that whole night of TV. Haha, I
try to be versatile like that. Okay, time for me to get a move on.
Have a great Thursday and I'll talk with y'all tomorrow. Bye! --
Michael
04/28/04 -- Okay, so if anyone has any sleepin' tips, let me know
'em!
I just never got tired last night. And I hate that, cause then I'm just
layin' there in bed and nothing happens. I have to watch TV or do
something until I get tired. I actually napped after I got home last night
because I was tired from not gettin' any sleep the night before. Hunter
called, which woke me up. That was a good thing too, cause I needed to get
up and finish a few things I hadn't before I fell asleep. But since I
napped, I was wide awake after I woke up again. And now, here we are butt-
ass early on another mornin', with Mikey gettin' little sleep again. Ho
hum...
Wow, thanks to all the peeps who wrote in regarding the new Questions
& Answers page. I appreciate the comments, as well as all the new
questions. I'll do my best to answer accordingly, and post the ones that
are relevant to the page. I imagine that section will be one that might
get updated frequently, judging by all the questions being sent in.
So on to the Classmates section... I
am happy that so many people are listed and check it on a regular basis.
That brings me to a few points though. One, please make sure that your
listing is up to date. I am mostly speaking about all the e-mail addresses
listed. The only way people can get in touch is if your info is
correct. I only plan on sending a message out reminding to update every
few months or so. I don't want to be a pest like that. I hope none
of y'all feel that way already.
Two, please tell your friends so they can list also. The best method so
far of getting new names is through word-of-mouth. Everyone out there must
have a friend or two that isn't currently listed. They can be from any
school in The CC, from any year. If y'all want to continue to see new
names, y'all need to let others know about it. I can only do so much in
terms of getting the word out.
Three, the only way to populate your year, and/or for me to add a year, is if
y'all send in your information. Some of y'all have said, "well, there
aren't many people in my year yet, so I'll wait". Well, thanks for
expressing interest, but what are you waiting for? By adding your name,
others hopefully will want to do the same, thus populating your year
further. And the only way I can add a new year is if I have a name to put
in it. A personal "thanks" goes out to Tarah (Rogers)
& Chance Durbin, Jimmy Guerra, Karen (Holst) Bragg, Ryan Goodman, Haley
(Rogers) Duke, Michael LeRoy, Jonathan Carrillo, James Pocza, Fonzie Gonzales,
Reagan Weil, and David Berlanga for all being the first listing in their
respective years. Y'all have helped pave the way for others to list.
Thank you very much.
And four, I have spoken with so many people who want to be listed.
There are names in the Guest Book who are not yet listed. I want to
personally thank all of y'all for gettin' in touch and for visiting the
site. I mean that! The site doesn't mean much if no one comes to
it. And judging from the hit counter below, people come. I
appreciate all who visit. Let's all get listed though. Everyone from
the Guest Book, all who have told me they want to,
those who have said their info is on the way...let's get it in to me. It
honestly doesn't make as much time as y'all think. All you have to do is e-mail
me your name, colleges (if any), e-mail address, location, and whatever else you
have to write. That simple. Just come up with a few sentences.
Thank you in advance!
Another "thanks" goes out to all the people who view this site, all
of which I don't even know! I have had people contact me about the site,
and I have never met them. They found their way to the site through one
way or another, and have since come back either daily or often. It's cool
to know that the site has reached people what aren't even in our circles, or who
I don't even know. I know the site is mostly geared towards us from The
CC. However, y'all are never forgotten in my intentions. Thanks for
letting me know y'all are out there!
Okay, I really gotta run now. Have a great day and I'll talk with y'all
later. Bye! -- Michael
04/27/04 -- Mornin' y'all. How is everyone today? Good I
hope? I am okay. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night...nope, not
one. Honestly, I really don't know why either. I wasn't doing
much. I spent most of the night workin' on the site. But as the
hours kept creepin' on me, the tiredness never did. So anyway, I'm sure I
might feel it in a few hours or so. But until then...
Thanks to DeAnn Nyquist, Lesley Hutchinson, and Mariel Garza for adding their
information to the Classmates
section. They are listed accordingly. The site is receiving a great
word-of-mouth following, and I appreciate that very much from everyone. I
hope it continues to grow as such.
I added a new page. I get a lot of questions about various
things. So I created a Questions & Answers section which will address
questions that people write in with. I will be adding more to this section
later, so please keep checkin' it. Also, if you have any questions for me,
e-mail 'em my way.
Okay, that's about it for this mornin'. I might be updating the site
throughout the day, so keep checkin' back. Talk to y'all soon. --
Michael
04/26/04 -- I hope everyone had a good weekend. I watched the
draft and not much else. I was feelin' pretty sick, so I didn't do
much. I did grab a few minutes Friday night to go out and saw a few peeps in
The CC. I saw Kelly Sanders and then Robert Arredondo at Havana.
They were each with friends and were havin' a good time. David Benavides
came in town also. It was good seeing him because I hadn't seen him in
quite some time. My sister's birthday was Saturday, so I saw my family on
that day, though that's when I was feelin' the worst. Sunday it pretty
much rained like crazy in The CC, so the day was shot. But I did enjoy
watching 'The Sopranos' and 'Deadwood'. The Spurs kicked some this weekend
also. I am looking forward to when they play the Lakers in the next
round. As much as I like the Rockets, they are down 3-1 and I don't think
they can pull it out. Oh well!
Anyway, that's about it for me this morning. I'll write more tomorrow
hopefully. Talk to y'all then. Keep those names coming in for the Classmates
section, and please register as a user in the Message
Board if you haven't already. Thanks y'all...bye! -- Michael
04/24/04 -- Happy Birthday Cindy Villarreal (my sister)!
I am watching the NFL draft right now, and not too happy with it. My
thoughts are in the message board. -- Michael
04/23/04 -- Happy Birthday Chad Allen!
I don't have much to say this morning. I know I know...my posts are
starting to sound the same (no sleep and not much to write). What can I
say y'all? I haven't really gotten' out much nor have I seen too many
people recently. I have been travelin' quite a bit, and really haven't had
much energy to get out. Consequently, it all leads to a rather boring
month or so. It'll pick up I'm sure soon.
Yesterday was a pretty routine day. I finally got most all of my
research work done, which took a major weight off my shoulders. I finished
up the dailies, and then happily found a few minutes to hang out with
Jonathan. I'm happy he's back in Texas 'cause it enables me to see him
more. I wish I have more time to though. We went and did the regular
Thursday game, and then I had to haul ass home to shower up and slide right into
the middle of my Thursday shows. By the time I showered and ate, 'ER' was
just starting. I watched 'Friends' and the other shows that I recorded,
caught the end of the Spurs beat-down on the Grizzlies, and then got ready to
call it a night. That's about it.
Today should be an easy day, which I am looking forward to. Tomorrow is
my sister's birthday, so there should be some fun happenin' in The C.C..
The NFL Draft is also this weekend. I am excited to see where Roy Williams
(WR from Texas) and the rest of the UT boys will be drafted. Hopefully Roy
will go to a good team in the top 10 picks. I think he is the best player
in the draft. He is gonna kick ass this season. Since the draft is
quite long, and I am a big fan, that telecast might encompass some of my
weekend. I am gonna try to get out and see some peeps also.
Hope this weekend treats everyone well. Good luck goes out to James
O'Keefe as he competes in his triathlon on Saturday. Stay safe
y'all! Talk to everyone soon...bye! -- Michael
04/22/04 -- Same 'ol song and dance y'all...I got like no sleep again
last night. I was tryin' to finish some research, tryin' to talk on the
phone, watch 'The OC', watch the basketball games, and eat...all at the same
time! It wasn't working out very well. I played basketball last
night also, and my ankles are killing me right now. Those things are SO
gone...it is ridiculous. Let's see...I broke my left ankle once before,
and my right three times! All three of the right were like in two years
time! Can you believe that! Let's see, I broke it first in
08/01 landing a dismount wrongly. Then I broke it again in the gym in
06/02. And the third time was last summer 05/03 while playing
basketball. Haha, it is SO shot by now. I am gonna have Jason
perform surgery on it! Isn't that crazy, that smartty-pants is a doctor in
like a month?
Yeah, so last night the Message
Board got bombarded with tons of posts. Haha, most of them
made me laugh; some were just straight up silly...all in good fun though!
Jonathan, that was a nasty ass memory you brought up, lol! Nicole, Duke
still sucks! And Leah, go rock it at Fiesta this weekend. And yes,
'The OC' is a good show!
Speaking of which, I have decided that if the west coast can have "The
OC", then the gulf coast can have "The CC". So from hear on
out...I will refer to Corpus as "The CC". Haha, I love it!
I'm hopin' it catches on! Okay, time to end this one. Talk to y'all
later...bye!
04/21/04 -- Sorry y'all, I so got off to a late start, so this
entry is coming a little later in the morning. I hope all is well
with everyone. Thanks to Dara Heffler and Stacey Pennell, a couple
of athena brats like us, who sent in their information. Haha, don't
worry ladies.... 'athena brat' is a term of endearment. At least
that is what I was always told; I always hear us being referred to as that
by others...lol. Both are in the 3rd grade picture that was posted
last week.
For all my Carroll '94 readers, I confirmed info for y'alls upcoming
ten year class reunion. It's a little later in the year (as opposed
to the typical summer date)...
Mary Carroll High School Class of 1994 Ten Year Reunion @ The Omni
Corpus Christi Hotel - Marina Tower on October 2, 2004. Reception at
7:00 PM, with Dinner served at 8:00 PM.
If you have any questions, e-mail me and I'll try to help. That's
about it for this morning. I don't have much time right now.
I'll talk to y'all more tomorrow. Take care y'all! -- Michael
04/20/04 -- Hey everyone. Yesterday was a pretty busy day
for me. I had a lot of catchin' up to do on some stuff. I did
find time to add a few things to the site though. Thanks to Jay
Kutnick for sendin' in his information from Denver for the Classmates
section. Also, I added some pictures that Austin sent from
Iraq. Look at the recent updates box on this page to see the links
to his pictures, and his letters. Both can also be found in his
listing in the Classmates section
(Carroll 1996), and
the photos are also in the Photo Album.
I have done a lot of behind the scenes work to the site recently, so if
anything looks screwed up to y'all (links not working, misspellings, etc.)
please let me know. E-mail me or something. Okay, I gotta get
a move on. Talk to y'all soon. -- Michael
04/19/04 -- Howdy y'all. I took the weekend off from
making posts on the site. I was actually doin' a lot of behind the
scenes work on the site. It is in preparation of some changes I'll
make in the upcoming weeks when hopefully I'll have more time to do
so. A lot of people have been writing in with regard to Austin's
letter. It is listed in the post from 04/15/04. You can find
that post in the Old News section,
in April 2004. The thread to post a message to/about Austin can be
found in the Message Board.
I don't have much time to write right now. I'll write more
throughout this week. Talk to y'all later. -- Michael
04/16/04 -- I don't have much to say this mornin', nor do I
have much time to write. Please be sure to read Austin's letter below in
yesterday's post. Don't forget to become a user on the Message
Board and make posts. Thanks to all who have already done
so. The Classmates section is growing; let's
keep tellin' our friends about it allowing it to continue to grow. I hope
everyone is well and I'll talk to y'all again soon. -- Michael
04/15/04 -- Sorry this post is coming a little later in the
afternoon. I got off to a late start this morning.
I do have some news from Iraq to report to y'all this morning. I know a
lot of y'all have been writing in asking how Austin Moffitt is doing and the
like. We received word from him again yesterday from Iraq. He is
doing well out there, adjusting to the life, environment, and such. Austin
is a tough, strong, and courageous individual. Thanks for all the
thoughts, prayers, and wishes on his behalf. Below is a letter that he
sent to let everyone know of his experiences...
| Wednesday, April 14, 2004 5:57 AM CST
Texans and those who wish they were,
I have discovered two things since I have written you last: 1) this is
no longer a peace keeping mission and 2) I have a nicely
shaped head. You might be more focused on #2
than #1. I know #2 to be true because I am currently
bald…like the Mop n Glo guy. After climbing into our authentic Iraqi barber chair, I told SGT Moore to shorten it up…I
was scalped. However, he charged me two less
dollars. I really am bald.
If you have had ear plugs in or blinders on for the past
two weeks, then you might not know that Iraq is
heating up to a much more dangerous level for our
soldiers. Great timing…the day we take over is the day that events took off. Yes, my unit has had some incidents,
some injuries, and many close calls, but for the
most part, our guys are doing a great job on the
streets. Easter morning’s greeting was four rockets into our
backyard. The sorrow rests in the fact that
the unit we are replacing was to leave in a
week. However, the Army extended their unit’s stay for four
months. Not only that, but the Army sent the
unit down to Al Kut to take back the town, where
they had more intense fighting than throughout the entire year they have
been here. The day that the town fell was the day they were to
arrive in Kuwait. Now that they have done such a good job…they get
to patrol the most dangerous route in Baghdad, the
road to the airport.
The temperatures are still holding at a tolerable level;
however, we expect much to change in about two
weeks. The flies and mosquitoes are the more intolerable
element. Apparently, OFF does not work on mosquitoes here. A .20 gauge is the alternative. There are several old
fountains full of stagnate water around the base of
the building next to our work area. If we cannot
figure out a way to drain the fountain, I will either take a sledge to it or hook up a ten ton wrecker and tear it down.
I will not live next to a virtual breeding ground.
Many of the Iraqi workers that support the daily
operations on our base have not shown up for
work. Apparently, the oppositional Iraqis have been threatening
lives and acting on it. Our laundry service has gone from a 3-day
to an 8-day turnaround. Now, we just do it ourselves and hang it out
to dry on clotheslines. The mess hall continues to
run though as all of the workers are from
India. For those West Point people it is very similar to Mess
Hall workers…where do they come from and where do they live? We do
not see these Indians come or go.
Get out on the lake and have a good time for all of us here.
Take care,
APM
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Thursday, March 11, 2004 09:06 PM CST
Thanks for the well wishes Mike...
I will send some kind of a crazy story about arabs with a pic or two
after a while.
Take care,
A
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Any well wishes and messages can be left for him in the Message
Board, under the thread titled, "Austin Moffitt (Class of 1996)
serving in Iraq" under the General Discussion category of the Mary Carroll
High School Message section. Don't forget you have to register as a user
of the board before you can make a post. Don't worry, it literally takes a
second or two to do, and is of course free. You can also e-mail
them. Anything received will be forwarded on to him. I do have some
pictures from Iraq from Austin that I will be posting soon.
Likewise, Larry talked with Joey Palacios a few days ago. He is also
alive and well. He is currently in his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Joey is staying strong and making us proud. Wishes and messages for
Joey can be left in the same Message Board, same category, same section, under
the thread titled, "Joey Palacios (Class of 1995) serving in
Iraq". The same ways to post as above apply for Joey's thread.
Thanks to those who have already sent wishes to him.
If any of y'all have any information on others, let me know and I'll post
accordingly. Thanks y'all! -- Michael
04/14/04 -- Howdy pardners? Despite the fact that I got
like no sleep last night, I am actually feelin' pretty good this Wednesday
mornin'. I was pretty happy last night because #1 Texas beat #3 Rice
again (sorry Jase and Mark, haha). It was a good game and went down
to the wire. I'm sure the two teams will meet up again in the post
season. So far it is shaping up as a great year!
Last night I stayed up finishin' up some readin' and stuff.
I didn't get in until like 8:45 pm ish, and by the time I showered, it was
already passed 9:00 pm. So I ate, read, talked to a few people,
watched a tad of television, and before I knew it...it was SO late.
Does anyone else ever get that feeling? Like there are not enough
hours in the day?
Thanks to Heather (Hopkins) Wellman of Ray 1996 and good
'ol Leah Bad
for giving me their information to post. Heather is an Athena brat
with us from the Windsor Park and Baker days. Leah wanted me to
write that she is the no longer a little girl anymore, but a full grown
adult woman! Haha, I laughed when she said that. You crack me
up Leah! Glad to have both of y'all on the site! Done for now,
talk to y'all again soon! -- Michael
04/13/04 -- #1 Texas Longhorns vs. #3 Rice Owls @ 06:05
pm
04/12/04 -- Sorry I haven't written in a while. These
last few days have been pretty busy. Let's see, where did I leave
off?...
Last Thursday was pretty busy for me, which is why I didn't get a
chance to write, and haven't been able to since. I was asked to
speak at the UT MIS meeting Thursday night on campus, so I accepted.
The day was so crazy, I ended up being late to the panel. All in all
though, it was fun and went well. Friday I was SOOO sick. I
felt like total crap. My sickness forced me to miss the UT MIS
steering committee meeting that I was supposed to attend. I felt bad
because the steering committee is a very important thing to the
department. That morning though, I just felt awful. I had to
force myself to gather the energy to drive down to Corpus for Easter and
stuff. It was to no avail though. Saturday, I pretty much took
it easy, trying to get a bit of work finished, while resting.
Yesterday I felt bad again. There was not much to this Easter for me
since I pretty much stayed laid up all day. I still feel bad right
now, all be it slightly better than this weekend. At night, I was up
pretty late, and I talked with my friend Nicole. We were cracking up
about some stories that we were sharing. Haha, I laughed my ass off
talking to her last night. Nicole, as per our conversation, it has
been decided that cheeks need to stay closed, mid-life crises are to be
avoided (especially when including persons who's cheeks cannot stay
together), Tiffany's ice cures all, 'Jailbirds' should be left to fly
away, and above all, Hillary Duff kicks ass! Haha, inside jokes
y'all. Had to be in the convo to understand!
What was really cool about yesterday though, was that an old friend
from way back got in touch. Laura Taylor found the site. She
moved away after Windsor Park and Baker but before starting high school in
Corpus. I found this picture from when we were in 3rd grade (
I was taking the picture)...
(Mrs. Windybanks' 3rd grade class) left to
right: (front row): Travis Berry, (second row): Marty Garza,
Laura Taylor, Christina Chapa, Roxanne Ryza, Teresa White, Brooks French,
Barbara Wong, (third row): ???, Jana Martin, Jenni Rubio, Dara
Heffler, Erika Longoria, Cinda Goodman, Ashley Graham, Sophia Omani, Joey
Beth Statos, (fourth row): Spencer Fagg, Joshua Garza, Peter Irot,
Eric Madry, ???, Ramiro Benavides, Brian ?, Stacey Pennell, Jerome Remington)
She is now in Iraq! When you read this Laura, glad to hear you
are well, and be safe out there! Thanks again for gettin' in touch!
Okay, so everyone is askin' questions about the phone issue. Let
me explain...
Yes, the phone is turned off right now. Yes, SprintPCS sucks
ass. No, it is not my fault. That basically sums it up.
So I last paid my bill in person at the local Sprint store. I
stupidly paid it in cash. Next thing I know is that my phone is
turned off because there has supposedly been an issue with my last payment
(or lack there of). Supposedly, they don't have record of my
payment, go figure?!? I guess that is my fault for paying in
cash. So, in other words, I paid my bill in cash at their store, and
they have no record of it. I was furious when I found out. I
was even more furious that my phone was turned off without even being
contacted first! They told me that I should have been given a
receipt. If I can find that, I can fax it in and they will give me
credit for it and restore service. I remember the kid, who couldn't
have been more than 16 years old, gave me some sort of paper when I
paid. So I have to look for that, hope that it was a receipt, and
fax it in. If for some reason I don't find it, I'll have to
repay. Screw that, there is no way in hell I am going to repay
something I already paid. The principle in the matter is that they
screwed up. Hopefully, it will get taken care of soon. I'll find the
receipt, or I am kickin' someone's ass. In the meantime, y'all can
reach me via IM, e-mail, or house line.
Okay, so I gotta get the day started. Hope y'all have a great
start of the week. Talk to y'all soon. -- Michael
04/11/04 -- Happy Easter Sunday!
04/07/04 -- I am feelin' pretty sick
today. I don't feel like typin' much ...sorry y'all, I'll
write more tomorrow. -- Michael
04/06/04 -- So last night I was right about to
get on the computer to type a short letter, check e-mail, etc, when I decided to
skim through the TV channels to see what was on. I stopped on MTV2 because
they were doing a live news special from Seattle because it was the anniversary
of Kurt Cobain's death. Wow, has it already been 10 years since he
died? I couldn't believe it has been THAT long! Back then, I just
liked their music. Looking back now though, and being ten years older, I
realize how profound Nirvana was, and what a musical genius Kurt Cobain
was. It's a shame he didn't last longer. I'm sure part of the
mystique of Nirvana is the fact that Cobain died too young, and the manner in
which he perished. Even so, the few years that we had with Nirvana was
enough for them to revolutionize music. Our parents had Elvis and The
Beatles. As kids in the 80s we had Michael Jackson and Madonna both in
their musical prime. However, it is Nirvana that will define the music of
our generation. They were one of the most influential bands in music
history.
Needless to say, I got caught up in the news specials, videos
and live performances, including the MTV Unplugged show they did in November of
1993. Man, their music really does kick ass. "Nevermind"
is one of the greatest albums of all time, and "Smells Like Teen
Spirit" is one of the best songs ever written. Their CDs have never
left my musical rotation. They were one of a kind.
So going back to my story from last night...While I was watching
the Nirvana MTV Unplugged show (which is regarded as one of the best musical
performances of all time) I received a call from a younger friend of mine that I
used to teach how to stunt and tumble. She's Jonathan's age (20 year old
sophomore in college). So of course her first question, as with any
conversation, was, "Hey, what are you doing?". I mentioned that
I was watching the show on Kurt Cobain. She replied with
"Who?". Thinking she merely might not have heard what I said, I
responded with, "I'm watching a show they are giving on Kurt Cobain and
Nirvana. He died ten years ago today." She then answered back
with, "Who's that and what's Nirvana?". Who's Kurt Cobain and
what's Nirvana? Wow, I was speechless! -- Michael
04/05/04 -- I hope everyone is doin' well this
Monday mornin'. I am kinda draggin' right now. And that's
because I actually got a decent amount of sleep last night! Haha, I
guess I am so used to not sleepin' much that when I actually do get more
than the customary few hours, my body isn't used to it! Go
figure! Anyway, I am in a hurry this mornin', so I gotta make this
one quick. Not much happened for me this weekend. I did some
charity work all day Saturday, which was fun though I got burnt from being
out in the sun all day. I spent the rest of the weekend catching up
on some work I needed to finish. I have some events coming up this
week and weekend that I need to prepare for also, so this week will, yet
again, be a busy one. Okay, seriously, I am SO late right now.
Talk to y'all tomorrow...bye! -- Michael
04/04/04 -- Dude, I am pretty sunburn form being in
the sun all day yesterday. I got the nice farmer tan goin' right
now! Haha, there's nothin' like havin' burn forearms and a nice red
neck! I am watching 'The Sopranos' right now, so I'll write tomorrow
morning. -- Michael
04/03/04 -- Wow, I am dragging this
morning. I got like, no sleep last night! Oh well, nothing like a
little Saturday morning charity work in the sunshine to motivate you,
right? Haha, I go to get a move on. Hope y'all have a great
Saturday. Talk to y'all tomorrow! -- Michael
04/02/04 -- Hi everyone. First off, I
would like to thank everyone who got in touch and responded to my post
yesterday. I appreciate: one, that all of y'all visit the site
regularly; and two, that each of y'all felt the need to get in contact and
express such kind words. The gestures were all very nice. I
honestly was only trying express all that I had been feeling over the
course of the last few weeks. When I started typing, it just kind of
flowed out. It became my way of sorting through all the feelings
that I experienced. It was actually very therapeutic.
Nonetheless, it's great to know that there are a lot of friends out
there.
Please keep one more person in mind during this
time. I still keep in touch with Austin Moffitt (Carroll '96).
He has been doing pretty well. I had especially been keeping in
touch with him recently. I last spoke with him on Thursday, March
11th. For the week prior, we had been talking about his upcoming
deployment to Iraq. He was scheduled for deployment a couple of days
after that Thursday. Please keep him in y'alls thoughts and prayers
as he is making us all proud serving our country. It's a scary world
out there. Let's hope he, and all the others, stay healthy and
safe. Austin, when you read this... we are all thinking of
you. Kick ass and take names buddy! J
I don't really have much more to type right now. I'm
sure there is more, but I hasn't come to me yet. I'm doing my best
to get back to normal in all respects, including the regularity of the
posts on this site. I hope everyone is doing well out there.
Enjoy y'alls Friday! -- Michael
04/01/04 -- This post actually has a lot of
meaning and emotion, so please read it through, long as it may turn out to be.
Wow, it's been almost four weeks since I last updated the
site. I know, I was doing pretty well too, in terms of making a post at
least once a day. My sincere apologies are extended. The month of
March has been VERY crazy for me. I don't even know where to begin.
I guess I am just going to start typing and see how things comes out.
Sometimes it's easier to communicate to people when you are sitting behind a
computer screen. There is comfort in the anonymity I guess...
This past month has been quite a hectic experience. I have
been doing some travel, been slightly fatigued, and a little sick. All
that combined with mounds of paperwork I had to finish, taxes I had file,
reading I had to accomplish, etc., I was very tired having very little
free time to even catch my breath. To say that I was busy would be a huge
understatement. Y'all should know me by now. If my website is not
up-to-date, I am not in contact with people, or I have the same IM away message
for days on end, if even logged on at all...it usually means that I am pretty
damn bogged down. With all that, the month was tough. However, those
proved to be the least of my worries.
On Friday, March 19th, I lost my uncle Jimmy
Carrizales.
He was my daddy's brother, the baby of his family. His passing was
unexpected, and hit us all pretty hard, especially my dad and
grandmother. He had been sick from a kidney illness that runs in my
family on my daddy's side, though he was never considered to be terminally
ill. On that day though, he had a few unexpected complications that ended
up proving to be too much for his body to endure. He was 47 years old.
That whole experience was hard for me on many levels. It
made be face things that I really hadn't had to before. I guess the most
obvious one was the fact that, to that point, I have never been through a death
in my own immediate or first extended family. I mean, there have been a
few people in my family who have passed on, but they were very extended family,
people that I was not extremely close to, or in some cases even knew. That
is not meant to disrespect any of those people in any way. I just mean
that like it doesn't hit me personally very hard when say, a parent's cousin's
sister's step mother dies...you know what I mean? And I have had friends,
teachers, and people I knew die before. Most recently, my mom's uncle died
in December (whom I didn't know very well), and a very very close friend of
mine, Carrie, died last October. That was hard for me because I was very
close with her, and I was with her on the day she died. Honestly, I didn't
even talk about her death all that much. My way of dealing with it was to
practically pretend it didn't happen. I have been very lucky that I have
not had to go through a death in my close family. Every prior funeral I
attended, I always had the feeling of, "Gosh, I feel so bad for his/her
family, I can't imagine what they are going through."
All that being said, my uncle's death was tough for me. It
was hard to see my grandmother hurting so much. She went to visit Jimmy
that evening, and found him dead at his home in his bed. I imagine that
has to be the worst feeling in the world, a parent finding their youngest born
child, or any one of their children for that matter, dead. It's always
said you should never have to bury your child. After seeing my grandmother
at the funeral, I can now understand why that is said. Honestly, the whole
thing didn't sink in at first; it was kind of weird because it's like I was numb
and in disbelief. When my grandmother found Jimmy, she hysterically called
my parents looking for my dad. She told my mom what happened.
Coincidentally, I just happened to drive down to Corpus from Austin on that
Friday. I literally got my bag down from the truck, walked inside, and
then answered my mobile phone because Gabe was calling me. I talked to
Gabe for like two minutes before my mom showed up and told me what
happened. I got in the car with her and went to be with my grandmother
because she was there with Jimmy. He looked very peaceful lying in his
bed. He died in his sleep. When the paramedics came to take him, the
family had a hard time...but I still wasn't able to feel much. It was like
I was watching a movie or TV show or something. Spending my share of time
in hospitals, I guess I had just grown used to seeing people sick, and/or dead.
The hardest part was when the funeral service came around a few
days later. Watching my cousins Jimmy Jr. and Eddie mourn the loss of
their father was tough. Seeing my uncle's body in the casket was
tough. But the hardest part was seeing how much it affected my dad.
Sometimes I don't give my daddy enough credit, because he truly is an amazing
man. There is not one thing he wouldn't do for any one of his
family. Countless times he has shown that to be true. As I sat with
him and watched him during the service, all those memories came to me. He
was very close to his brother. He was sitting next to his mother holding
her hand and selflessly comforting her. Throughout that whole weekend, he
was being the strong rock of support for everyone, like he always has been in
the past. But when it was time to pay our last respects to my uncle,
that's when I saw how much it hurt my dad to lose his brother.
If any of y'all know my dad, he is this larger than life,
strong, tough, rugged, selfless, honest person that epitomizes the definition of
what a real man should be, especially a Texas man. Any of those qualities
that I may possess, the rugged and tough natured, muscularly sound, Texas
prideful, outdoorsy, boots wearin', truck drivin' qualities, I get from
him. He is a man's man. When I was a kid, I used to think of my
daddy like he was superman, so big and strong. He is the patriarch of our
whole family. On last Monday though, my eyes had never seen him hurt so
bad. He became human to me. That was probably the hardest moment of
my life...watching him step to the podium to talk about his brother, speak on
behalf of his entire family, sit with his mother and mourn. As I am typing
right now, it is still affecting me. My sisters and the rest of my family
had already walked out of the room. I walked out with my dad, my mom, and
my grandmother as we were the last to pay our respects. My dad was the
last to one to say goodbye to Jimmy before his casket was closed.
It was very tough for me because I felt like, after us four said
goodbye to Jimmy, it was like it was now my role to be the strong rock of
support for everyone in my family. My dad, mom, and grandmother all got
into the family vehicle to lead the procession. I, along with the other
five nephews of my uncle, was a pallbearer for his casket. My cousin
Gabriel and I were at the lead, with cousins Gerald and Andy, and Mike and Danny
behind us. Again, walking the casket up to the grave site with my family
sitting under the cover, it was just very surreal. When the service was
over, my dad and grandmother led the final rose and sand drop, and then
proceeded to the left and stood as everyone followed suit. I was right
behind my dad with my mom. When we finished, I gave him a huge hug that
seemed to last for days. A few private words were exchanged, and then we
both turned around to be greeted my each guest as they gave their
condolences. We stood side by side as each person came up to us. I
have never felt more like an adult in my life. I grew up more on that day
that in all my previous 26 years.
In addition to everything that was physically happening, there
was also a lot of mental strain also, understandably so. I couldn't help
my mind from visiting the worst possible thoughts. It made me fear for the
medical vulnerability of the rest of my family, especially my parents. It
made me revisit thoughts about my own morbid possibilities. I felt things
that I had never felt before. Terrible fears that I previously had for one
reason or another were now beginning to resurface. It was all very
scary. I know death is a part of life; I am just not used to it hitting so
close to home.
(To any of my family that might read this: I hope my
divulging of our personal loss does not anger or offend anyone. I normally
don't get this personal in my posts. But Jimmy's passing and all I/we
experienced affected me quite a bit, probably more so than I let on. I
guess this is my way of coping. I hope you all understand and allow me
that much. Thank you.)
...I guess that pretty much encompasses the major part of this
brief separation between me and the rest of the world. Thanks to everyone
who always keep in touch. I'm sorry if I haven't been back in
contact. My mind has been on other things. I am dealing
though. When things of this nature happen, people cope in many different
ways. I am slowly returning to normal though. The hardest part is
fending off the terrible thoughts that sometimes creep into the back of my
mind. They are hard to get rid of. When things like this happen,
seriously events that you can't escape, it makes me yearn for the carefree days
of youth and adolescence. I yearn for the times when life was so
easy. I miss those times a lot.
As far as the incommunicato goes, I'll try to respond to
everyone soon. Again, thanks to everyone for being such good
friends. Don't feel like you have to be on eggshells around me. I am
doing better, and welcome any communication and friendship. I hope all is
well, and I'll talk to y'all soon! -- Michael
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