...Yes, I know, I know...I'm truly in need of an ass-kicking for leaving this sitting for so long. *Slides self down on own scimitar*

So, as Lifetime blares in the background whilst being watched by my mother and the scent of the weed our tenant is smoking passes through an open window and hits my nose, let me try and gather some of the numerous events that have occurred since the last post...

Though I'm definitely going to have to bust ass and review everything before going back, I feel comfortable in regards to Papa 'Ōlelo Hawai'i...I'm signed up for the 102 class, same time, same place, still with Kumu Ekela...I only hope most of the original class returns, for there were very few of them I can honestly say I didn't think were interesting people.

Scanning through yearbooks, scouring old obituraries (Though I've stopped that for various reasons), assorted net research while bored...I've picked up quite a few names (Male First Names, Female First Names & Surnames). Whenever people ask why in god's name I do this, I inevitable just end up saying "writing purposes" - Indeed, that is what it is for (Character naming, currently only for one project but it may prove useful in the future for other projects), but at times it seems like all this name indexing is becoming a project in itself...wayyy too much time on my hands, I know.

In addition to this name compilation, I recently created a prototype for a list of the numerous people (And a few non-humans) that have impacted my life in some way or whom I would consider having played even a small role in the incredibly strange play called Riley's Existence...last I checked, the list was at about 414 or so names, among them Fun Factory employees, my friends then and now, high school people, random people I saw that I thought were interesting (This is classified as "Non-Humans/Semi-Humans/Insane Folks/Dolls", though the only doll on the list is Felicia), teachers, etc.

How much of a freak am I? As I've met and become more familiar with some of the other employees of Consolidated Theaters, I've created a semi-mythology about it much like the Fun Factory one. I swear, every person I come in contact with I end up picturing with RPG-like superpowers at some point or another...between Jean teleporting everywhere and being a extremely accurate sniper to The Twins being able to levitate and having other powers (Ashley being telekenetic, Leslee being psychic)...yeah, once again, wayyy too much time on my hands.

Speak of the theater, what movies have I seen...? Um...Rent was good (The soundtrack is a demigod in itself), Memoirs Of A Geisha was artfully done and pretty but kind of slow and plodding in pacing, and Wolf Creek...well, it has convinced me that all white Australians are either complete idiots or serial killers that live way in the Outback...(In short, it wasn't that great)



I find a strange connection with those long-extinct creatures of the sea called Trilobites. Don't ask.

At this point in this incarnation, I would be a fool to say my life was hard or that my life sucks. It's not a bloody ocean cruise, but it's hardly equivalent to say, living in Mogadishu or Kabul. Though it will be difficult to deal with, as I end up handling each case of it differently, I think I can conquer my own personal, self-made paranoia...though at times I tend to have a false sense of security in many things, at the same time, I worry way too much about other things...things I should not be worrying about as much as I do. I admit it, I am a gigantic asshole...but when I get paranoid, the real asshole comes out, that shitty part of me that lashes out at everything around him that doesn't deserve it, most often because he fucked up and he's not able to accept it at the time. Fortunately, my calmer side usually returns in due time to beat the daylights out of the shitty me, but until that happens, I can be a big prick (Though some would say I am that all the time).

However, I can't have this. Though, it will inevitably come out (Nobody's perfect; I'm nowhere near a fraction of it), I'm not going to make any stupid mistakes, because I want things to work. Make no mistake, I'm not going to stop being acerbic anytime soon, but I will attempt to better myself as a human. If not for her, then for the sake of the rest of those around me.

My existence is good at the moment. And truly, I want to thank the cosmic forces and every single person involved who made it possible. You lot keep me moving just by being yourselves and existing on your own paths.

To my friends, many props for being there for me and providing me with both amusement and advice. Whether new or old, y'all rock.

To Andy, thanks for putting up with all the stupid shit I do and for making my life a whole hell of a lot brighter...I only hope I can do the same for you (Or at least serve as a decent sandbag should the need ever arise). You're the best, dear. (Also, "It's just a bit of bling." :p)

To the random, odd people I will never speak to but I see constantly (Mall regulars, random street folk, etc.), thanks for giving me something to talk about, to ponder with wonder at who exactly you are and all the things you do.

To the "non-humans" (The "No Humans in Here" lady in Gamestop, the Orange Nightmare Neko from KKHS, the Unknown of Omaopio, the wasp that stalked me at MCC, the cat from the Japanese cemetery in Hana, and especially the ghost from Pu'upiha Cemetery)...congrats for freaking me out.

And just for the hell of it, so I can have a long overdue dorky moment and use a reference nobody will catch...


Are You A Bad Enough Dude To Rescue Tristan White? (Or, "When Boondock Saints fans go wayyyy too far.")

Assalaamu Alaikum.

In a strange set of events, it seems as though I am not quite dead, and have indeed survived whatever cataclysmic event seemed to occur!

Right.

Anyway, I am drawing a blank as to where to begin, but for starters, I am currently facing what everyone has likely faced and dealt with their first semester of college; that period in time where things just seem to pile up, and they must be done despite the fact that combined, they are like one impossibly large task.

*- To Do -*:
- Botany project (Trace plant name changes/uses across the Pacific)
- Papa 'Ōlelo Hawai'i (Family book project...this will be difficult but interesting)
- Anthropology: A paper we were just assigned and my ethnography as well. FUN OH FUN.
- English 100: In addition to the crap I missed, we have that big project (Subject's erosion at the Mantokuji Mission...not too bad) and a smaller one which shouldn't be too hard.

...Yay?

My day began unusually early (6:30), as I arose and snagged a ride down to Kihei with my mom's friend, arriving at Kalepolepo Park around...8:00-ish. For the next hour I proceeded to collect numerous amounts of limu. There were numerous varieties, but the lot of them were hidden beneath the layers of generic green limu that looks like that fake grass crap they put in Easter baskets.

After that, got a ride back (At least five people from Papa 'Ōlelo are also in botany, which is good) and we were only five minutes late to class. Class proceeded as usual, and was enjoyable despite the fact I forgot to place li'ili'i in a sentence when I should have been paying attention, haha.

Migrated over to the mall during lunch, ate, talked to Tim at Fun Factory, said hi to Theater Sniper Jean, mugged tourists, returned to MCC.

Went to English class, listened to Reid, talked to some people in the class, that was that. Nothing exciting there.

In another example of my father's blinding stupidity, there was a story on the news last night about a woman who was back on her rent due to the bad financial situation she was in, and how the community around her came to support her. They showed a shot of the woman, AND SHE HAD TWO KIDS, and out of my father's mouth comes the idiotic comment "Why don't you have more kids?" (Implying the woman was using her kids to get welfare...he also ASSUMED she had more children...). I swear I nearly stood up and punched him in the the throat, but I restrained myself and berated him verbally like he so deserves instead. BLOODY IDIOT. I will place pieces of factory-cut bologna on his car on a very hot day soon.

The more I think about my father's past, the harder I look at each and every little bit of detail and piece of info I obtain, the more and more it becomes clear to me that he may just have married my mother and had myself and my sister to further improve his own image, which at the time, was severely bruised and that of someone who was an extensive fuckup in many avenues. In the years prior to meeting my mother, he was an alcoholic and a drug user who had been in and out of prison...oh, several times. Regardless, the more I analyze the situation, the more I start to see how A.A. has done next-to-nothing for him; the alcoholism may longer be there, but he might as well still be one: He still goes over our head, he still lies, he still cheats, he still talks smack.

And that is another thing that is truly amazing...for somebody who is so insecure, paranoid & lacking in self-confidence, he still manages to be extremely self-centered, egotistical, and (to use the Pidgin phrase) "tantaran".

I have not seen the wasp for a while...methinks it died/found a new human to stalk...OR PERHAPS IT WAITS IN THE SHADOWS, WAITING TO STRIKE WHEN MY BACK IS TURNED. Accursed winged insects, stalking me about the campus when they should be off harvesting the amphibians in their plans to grow larger and dominant over the new world above the sea building nests.

E hiamoe koke ana au, akā Pukikī lōlō au.

On the plus side, I found some interesting tattoo books at the MCC library...thankfully, they did not contain any images like the ones Andy showed me of the Japanese men...@_@...all of the worldwide tattoo designs were nuts, but as usual, the Pacific ones were my favorites...especially some of the sketches Europeans made of tattooed Marquesans...the Marquesan tattoos were bananas. And the Māori facial tattoos, just...wow.



Maruesan man...unfortunately the picture is gimpy and small The Internet fails me



A sketch by a European artist of another Marquesan man...



Māori Chief Wi Te Manewha

And, I suppose that is it for this evening. I shall see you guys about, likely soon.
- Toodles,
Pocho/Riley/Bartok

Because I have nothing particularly exciting to make note of today I will resort to posting lyrics because I am a lazy-arse son of a bitch HOHO (The first song is more of a cruising song and not so deep as the second one, but the second is much deeper and harder to find because the Yusuf Islam CD is an import. Both are good and if you can find them I recommend them completely.)

Salt Water Anthem - O-Shen & Lopaka Kanaka'ole

(Intro Chant, performed by Lopaka):
E ala e kahiki kū
E ala e kahiki moe
Mai ka Ho`o ku`i a ka halawai
A ke ala ula ka lā e wewelo ana
Ana i ko ka pakipika a aia no Ho`i e ki`ei aku ana
Ka maka no Ho`i o kai e malu mai ho`i

(O-Shen, Hawaiian):
I auana kaua ke kama e kamalani
Kamaholomoana (Eo Kanaloa)
Pili pae na lehulehu pua’oiwio ka Pakipika
Pa he’e o pele (a po uli uli)

Walking in the forest on a moony night
Swimming in the river by the firelight
Looking at the stars and they be shining bright
Beauty was the only sight

Ghetto taking over, now it's time to pay
Better know your roots before they slip away
Mother nature had to cry again today
There’s rubbish is the bay

(Tahitian):
Merahi tamari’i roto I te moana
Te’ie mahana (Ahi’o I te miti)
Te haere nei ratou fa’a he’e I taharu’u
Oaoa ratou e (Oaoa ratou)

Children of the sea give thanks today
Children of the sea give thanks today
Without the water there’s no life
Without the water there's no life

When the rain comes falling down,
When the rain comes falling down on me
You won’t see me run away
Tell the kids they can come out to play

(Fijian):
Liwavi naeagi ni wasa wasa niu tu eke
Yanuyanu ta lei (yanuyanu ta lei)
Lutuvi au na yalo e mamarau niu galo nei
Lomani wai tui dei (Lomani wai tui de)

(Tongan):
Malu efi afi pea vana iki mai’ae matangi
Fanagoa e peau (I hene fasi)
Avea ai sieku manatu ki si o fofonga
Ho’o faka ofo ofa (Lau lo taha)

(Lopaka Chant):
E Hawai`i e ale te ale no ta nu`a ho`i o Kanaloa
O `oe ia hino o u`i pō polohiwa kino ehu e a`o kahi
E ha`i kū ha`i ka kakala ka ho`i no ka namu
Ke nanahu ta pualo tahie ka we we anan tapole
O ta hale i ka ohu`ohu o Kanaloa a e
Ho mai e tea e loa e hoa e a e o wahihi
Moana no `o Kanaloa ana hoa

(Samoan):
Tele ai o le sami ua ou va’aia i le gatai fale
Ua ou fiafia (Ua ou fiafia)
Ou foliga ua ou iloa I luga o galu
Toe fia tepa atu (toe fia tepa atu)

(Papuan):
Nau mi sori na lukaluk i go na nambis i bagarap ya
Solowara i karai ya (Kilinim, Kilinim)
Asua bilo yumi toromwe pipia nabaut ya
Rabis i silip arere (Wasim em, wasim em)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I Have No Cannons That Roar - Yusuf Islam (Formerly Cat Stevens) & Dino Merlin

I have no cannons that roar
But I have faith in God and love
And I surrender you to no one else
My mother, Bosnia, my love
Those hated things that crush
Cannot break the power of my (?)
Nor the sands gleaming water from rocks
I’ll defend you with my last breath
I’ll defend this bit of happiness
The flame in my heart and the tears of my son
The mercy of God on the door of my house
Like a light at the end of my journey

And your warm eyes and the delights of the (?)
Burn in my heart tonight
In death, victory comes
Don’t look for my grave
Freedom will come when I am gone
I’ll be everywhere
In warm breeze from the (?)
In the rippling and trickling river
In the smile of the child, in the blue of the sky
You will know how to find me
For everyone else, I’m just a secret
And when you smell the sweet fragrance of flowers
It’s the perfume of my soul

And your warm eyes and the delights of the (?)
Burn in my heart tonight
In death, victory comes
Don’t look for my grave
Freedom will come when I am gone
I’ll be everywhere
I have no cannons that roar
But I have faith in God and love
And I surrender you to no one else
My mother, Bosnia, my love

Notes: Song was written by the late Bosnian foreign minister Irfan Ljubijankic, who was killed in 1995 when his helicopter was shot down by a Serb rocket. The album as a whole was dedicated by Islam to his memory.

Notes 2: Haven't been able to find the lyrics on the 'net, so these are my best interpretation of them. Note I am not Muslim (Nor religious in general) but this song is a good song all the same.

In an intriguing set of events, I have an inhuman stalker, it seems. I have encountered the same black wasp (Or, three seperate black wasps of similar size and shape) in my moving about the MCC campus. WHAT DID I DO IN A PAST INCARNATION TO ANGER THIS CREATURE(s)?

Tomorrow I must go to Botany (Which I will likely just doze off through as usual), and then to Papa `Olelo Hawai`i where me and the rest of the class, as Pōhai put it, "Will be hung out to dry".

Roughly one and a half hour period of non-destruction shall commence with my return to English 100, which I have missed quite a bit, wherein I will attempt to catch up with various things I have missed (Yay for a syllabus?)

On the brighter side of life, my room is nearly clean and I will have my new computer soon. YAYS what a meaningless update. Oh well, THERE WILL BE MORE FUN THINGS COMING SOON LADIES (As I am well aware the audience of this god-forsaken blog consists of three of the most wonderful ladies I could ever know the wrath of whom I greatly fear, particularly a certain one who is an absolute muffin, thank you)

Random self-critiquing:

- Riley is persistent, too much at times
- Riley is too paranoid at times
- Riley worries too much about certain things
- Riley most definitely needs to get around to dealing with said certain things by doing certain things

^Checklist...one of you kick my ass if at least one of these is not dealt with in a week...

Just for the hell of it, random OH THOSE WACKY JAPANESE pic:



Jerkcity for good health also:

Okay, here I am, posting both for posting's sake, and to avoid the vengeful wrath of the rest of you lovely, lovely people.

What is there to make note of as of late?...mmm. It would seem as though my father's stupidity has finally caused my mother to have had enough, and she is threatening him with a divorce, as it were. He, fool that he is, seems to underestimate her and does not think she would actually go this far...I believe he is sadly, sadly mistaken. Mayhaps this should be affecting me more emotionally, but it does not seem to be...I have better things to worry about...

And in a fit of amusing/sad, he has said to me both that "He doesn't want to be enemies with me." and "That he's not a bad person." On the first count, he perhaps should have thought about that each time he managed to anger me with his stupid attitude and screwups, for I am done with him and have given him enough chances. On the second count, I would be a fool to say he is a completely bad person, but I don't think I'm incorrect in saying he is hardly a particularly good one, either. And in any event, his false sincerity is not going to fool me...I've seen his tricks before.

Went to Everett's house party thing last night...saw Jess and Everett for the first time since they left for O`ahu, they are doing well and their hair (Jess' cut short, Ev's dyed a more blonde-ish color) looks good. Jessica's eight or so earrings also look good, and I am glad to see she has not changed a bit. Also saw the likes of Cody, Max, Brandon, Kaeo (who had the most adorable jacket ever OMGBWAHAHA), Reid, Garrett & Gavin (Ev's brothers) and Erin. Party was fun, we acted stupid and played Soul Calibur III and such (Random creation leads to some fucked up characters...). I fell asleep on Ev's couch about 2:00 AM and awoke later (8:30-ish) just in time to stop Thunder (Ev's immense dog) from plowing over a end table containing numerous things on it. WAS FUN, YO

Oy, apologies...if I've been somewhat...persistent, maybe even assholish, lately...I worry too easily and I will admit paranoia is one of my main personality flaws. Those who this message is directed to know of what I speak, eh?

Okay, this is a sparse entry, I know...something more interesting to follow soon, I would hope. FOR NOW THOUGH, THIS MUST SATISFY ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN MY BORING EXCITING EXISTENCE.

POCHO/BARTOK/RILEY, OUT.