Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Sacra/Profana

Hey World,


          So you know how you work really hard at something you won't see till later, and when you finally do see it, it blows you away? Well that is exactly what happened to me recently. I've been singing with this amazing chorale group called, Sacra/Profana, and even though its been a challenge its been so much fun. We recently shot a music video for a Jimmy Eat World song called CHASE THIS LIGHT..I think you guys should check it out.
Also check out my friends Bunnell Strings...


Sacra/Profana & Bunnell Strings - Chase This Light (a jimmy eat world cover)









thanks for the love World
                                 Vic

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Love of Women: The Root of All My Evil - Sandy



Hello World,



          These things get harder and harder to write, because I've honestly lost interest in this project. However I must finish what I start, and that'e exactly what I will do.

          Having said that, lets begin. Sandy oh Sandy, she was the one that I wanted, ooh ooh honey. If you didn't get the reference, step your pop culture game up. She was beautiful and smarter than she let others know. We looked great together. Were worked very well together, as friends. See, Sandy and I were almost too alike. We could finish each others sentences, break out in the same random song together, we even knew what the other was thinking and could convey that thought with a single look. We' had been that way since we first met. She was "my dude" I guess you could say. There was an obvious attraction there but we never acted on it, until it just became too much to handle anymore. Then with added outside pressures pushing us closer, we made that leap into a doomed relationship.

          It started out rainbows and butterfly's, and that lasted for about a week. The long distance aspect of our relationship, did more to stifle than anything else. Because while our friendship was based on how much we knew each other, our relationship was ruined by the same factor. In spite of our long standing friendship, our relationship was purely physical. Soon, as I knew would happen, she lost interest, feigned love, and did her own thing. All of which I knew she was capable of, just didn't believe she would actually do to me. Needless to say our relationship ended as quick as it started and it threatened to ruin the friendship. In time our friendship mended, but there is still that feeling of regret on both parts.

          The question comes to mind, "Was it all worth it? If the friendship is still in tact was the relationship worth it?" The answer is no. It wasn't worth the effort and emotional time we put into each other, and it wasn't fair for either of us. I guess we can both see that now, which is the reason we have remained friends. That and the fact that she hates to feel like she's lost. So she tries to keep me around.

                                                          What can I learn from Sandy

           1. Never allow outside pressures to influence your decision on starting a relationship. With Sandy it was friends, family, and honestly curiosity that drove us together. It was the easy way out of dealing with emotions and feelings we both needed to steer clear of. we both knew it would end, so even talking about long term seemed strained and fake.

           2. Long term relationships based on the physical will not work. Trust is important in any relationship especially a long distance relationship. without trust it is impossible to thrive. I am of firm belief that long distance can work, if the two involved are completely committed to each other.

           3. Never think that it won't happen to you. I'm gonna leave that alone

         




          So, I know I said I was loosing interest, but this one kind of sparked my interest again. So stay tuned for Betty, Lola, Serena, Blair, and Camille. Love ya world, till next time.

Vic

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

What it is Life?

Hey World Hey,


          Life. One small word, but yet it holds great meaning. Some understand it, and seem to cruise right along in it. Some struggle through and barely make it out. The Bible says life is "a vapor that appeareth for a little time, then vanisheth away." Popular culture says life is a Highway and I'm gonna ride it all night long. Pessimists say life is a B****, optimists say life is beautiful. It seems everyone has an opinion of what life is. That's easy to assess because everyone goes through life differently.

          So honestly, I think people should form their own opinions about life, and do their best to live the best one you can.


          That's it, love ya
                          Vic







Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The Love of Women: The Root of All My Evil - Carolyn

Hey World Hey, 


          Carolyn, when I met her I was blown away. It was like a breath of fresh air. The light finally came on at the end of the tunnel. My wings were full grown, I could finally take flight, and every other cliche you can think of. It was almost perfect, and I say almost because there were a few issues from the start. Issues like ex boyfriend drama, previous psychiatric battles, daddy drama, and ex baby issues. Oh and did I mention she had a boyfriend at the that time. ( Just by reading that paragraph you can already tell that the what I learned portion of this chapter is extensive.) Nevertheless this girl was amazing. She didn't hide her past, but she didn't glorify it either. It was as if she accepted it and had moved on from all of those issues. I was instantly hooked by her down to earth persona. It was refreshing to meet a girl so cool. However since she had a boyfriend, and I wasn't about to step on his toes. I kept all notions of my feelings free from her radar. It wasn't hard to do because she was oblivious. She knew very little about me. 

          Well needless to say a short time after we met she broke up with her boyfriend, (go figure huh) and not long after that we were "talking". We  were both very into each other and we might as well have dated, but we were both trying to give her a respectable time to "get over" her last relationship., or so I thought. Well after a tear filled conversation about how I didn't want to be serious and how she felt neglected I asked her out. (don't judge me to the end) We dated for a month or so, things were good in fact they were beautiful. Everything was looking like forever was in the distance. Then slowly but surely the issues, that I thought in the beginning were taken care of, started to creep out and come between us. Now in all fairness I had my own situations with work and school going on that kind of got in the way as well. You know the natural things like work, school, money, those kind of issues. Things that could cause problems with any relationship. That being said, things got really tense at times, they were really awesome as well, but it seemed the deeper we got into the relationship the more the bad outweighed the good. We tried to take the relationship in better directions multiple times. We would talk, we would decide on a direction or action, then we would try to go there. Eventually she wouldn't like the direction or I would cave and we would go right back to where we were. It just wasn't healthy physically or mentally for the both of us. 

          Believe it or not, I loved her, hard, even through all the drama. I loved her with all I had and I made sure everybody knew it. At times I couldn't even tell you why, but I did. I even had gone as far as to save money to set her grandmothers ring in a new setting. I was planning the proposal, had the jeweler picked out. It was forever for me. I thought I could deal with it all. You know all the issues, all the fighting, all the tears and late nights of worry and anger. I thought we could work it out together. However, our plans differed, our minds were totally on two separate plains. So after a lot of fighting, bickering, and confusion we broke up. I believe it was for the best. At first I didn't think it would happen. I never wished it to happen but it did. It was hard at first. It's supposed to be hard. Not gonna lie, I cried the first day. But; I took a step back to evaluate myself and realized that it was absolutely the best thing for me. I used to think she was the best thing for me. Funny how that works out.


                                                     What I learn from Carolyn

1. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, its not a dog but it may be a goose. Red flags are very important in any relationship. Red means stop. Think about what your going to do. Me, I didn't do that. I dived head first into a puddle and tried to roll around and hope I got wet. It was the dumbest thing I could have ever done. I should have never gotten into the relationship in the first place. I do not regret it, but if I could do it all over I wouldn't do it at all. it wasn't worth the stress. It looked like it was going to be perfect. It look like a great match, but looks can be deceiving. 

2. If a girl has issues with their father, she will have issues with you. Point blank. Nuff said. 

3. Protect your heart and your sanity. I give both of those things away too easily I always have. Its my personality. I can be so engrossed in a girl that nothing else matters. However that is a wrong way of thinking, because everything else matters. 

4. Lead her no matter what. If she doesn't want to follow than that's on her. Never be so afraid to lose her that you lose yourself and modify who you are and what you believe. I did that with her. i was so afraid of losing her that I tried to do whatever I could to keep her. Again, that's wrong thinking. No relationship is important enough for you to lose value in yourself. 

5. Take responsibility. You know blame is always thrown around after a breakup, but honestly this relationship was on me. It should have never happened. I knew better. I've been through enough on my own to see the red flags and heed them, but I didn't. I was too caught up in the emotional, physical, and personal benefits of the relationship that I didn't care. Its always nice to have somebody around, but it came at a high price. I should have made smarter decisions. 


          When it all boils down, yes, love is blind. The thing that most people forget is that you have 4 other senses to use when love has blinded you. Every one of them can help you see more clearly. I wish I would have payed more attention to my senses early on, because pain, stress, frustration, and loss, all suck simultaneously. 


Hope this helps somebody out there.
Love ya world,
            Vic 


          

Monday, April 15, 2013

The Love of Women: The Root of All My Evil - Amelia

Helloooooo World,


          Haha, I start this one out laughing because of a conversation i just had with a friend. I was reminiscing trying to remember how this particular relationship got started. My friend was of no help at all. She was hating per usual, but its OK we will be entertained none the less.

          This chapter in my life belongs to a girl who I will affectionately call Amelia. However let me tell you a little bit about my life at this point. Picture me a senior in college, 20 years old with the world at my fingertips. A bright and shining future lay wait for me after two semesters were over. Hah, I was bored, tired of school and singing "the Diddy" ( I need a girl part 1 and 2) . I had been in some wreckers of relationships, of which I'll tell you more about later, and I had come out pretty scarred, but I wasn't going to let that deter me from finding "true love." Amelia came to me at a time when I was trying to stay away from females. Not in the I'm turning gay sense, but in the i need to chill kind of way, but that always works out to plan right...lol Now while I don't remember how I asked her out I do remember how we met.

          There she was, a cute girl, nice build, you could tell she was an athlete, which was a big plus. At the time I wasn't interested in her in a dating sense, but there was definitely an attraction. She was sitting all alone in the cafeteria. Eating all alone. She looked so, pathetic really. At first I didn't even notice her there, my friend who I was eating lunch with pointed her out. We both go talk to her, because at the time I was super shy and couldn't approach a girl. ( because I have no game whatsoever, real talk) We got to talking and told her that if she ever needed friends to sit with we come in every day at the same time to the cafeteria. Well my dude did the talking I just smiled and cosigned. So life goes on and a couple weeks pass bye. My friend tells me that he kinda thinks she's cute and wants to know more about her. So being the friendly guy that i was of course I knew her close friends so I inquired. Turns out she liked me. OK, so dilemma, a couple dilemmas. 1. she was hot 2. my boy inquired 3. what do I tell my dude 4. I'm tryna stay away from girls. I eventually (2 days later) told my dude and to my surprise he told me to go for it. Which I eventually did.

          The relationship was good for a while, and despite getting white knuckled in a movie theater I genuinely had feelings for this girl. There were some problems though. We didn't clicked as well as I would have liked. I am a very nonchalant kind of guy. I don't freak out much. I don't let my emotions come out in public. I usually trend on the calm, cool, collected side. That was a problem because she was polar opposite of that. Freak out and "trips to outer space were a frequent thing. At first I chalked it up to her just being a girl. However, eventually it started to affect me, and not just me but our friends as well. Of course her long time friends were now mine as well, and it was tense all around. In fact it was so tense I was advised to end the relationship. Nooooooo (Kevin Hart voice) I wasn't ready for that, so I mulled it over for a while. Still situation after situation finally influenced my decision and I ended the relationship. I could spend great time going over every thing and how it all crumbled down, but then it wouldn't be helpful at all, and that's why I'm writing this to learn more about myself. After college and Amelia I didn't get into another relationship for a while, I know it doesn't show much now, but I took the relationship with Amelia seriously, and it hurt to let it go, but I knew it was best for the both of us.



                                                          What I learn from Amelia

1. Stick to your guns. The thing with Amelia was I started off in a sticky wicket because it wasn't something I went after, it came to me. I was trying to stay away from all the relationship stuff and this is exactly what happens when you don't do what you know you should.



2. Emotional baggage and instability matters. Issues with exes and emotional problems that stem from that can ruin relationships. Instability is so audible its visible. I needed to learn to recognize it earlier and keep the situation at a safe emotional level for both parties. It taught me to work on my own stability as well.


3. Be picky. One of my biggest problems was taking what came to me. Side dooring it, going through friends or alternative routes to make decisions or ask girls out or whatever. I needed to man up and go after what I wanted and leave what I didn't need alone.


         

What Constitutes Failure?

Hey World,


          The game of life is a tricky game to play. I know that's a very cliche thing to say, but its still remains true. You hear it all the time, people say " You win some, you lose some", as if it is just as acceptable to lose as it is to win. Makes me think, about the times I've "won" in life and the times I've "lost". Are they of equal significance? The answer is no, in fact a HUGE NO! I submit to you that losing, is better than winning....Wait! Let me finish before you freak out...I am saying that ,in life, you get more out of losing than you do winning. That is, if you apply yourself. Which is the constant problem for a a lot of people.

          See when we lose we like to think of it as failing. I don't like to see it that way. Losing is life's way of telling you exactly what you need to do next time to make it better.I believe that failure is two things. First, failure is what happens when you refuse to acknowledge the tools that losing gave you. Its not that you simply don't learn from your loss, its that you refuse to acknowledge that you need to. The thing about losing is you can lose more than once and for more than one reason. This little nugget of "life's lessons" is hard to perceive, hence multiple mistakes, repeats, breakups, missed shots, and lost opportunities. Personal example: I've been in a few relationships, people would call them failed. In some ways I can see why, but if I apply the "loss lessons" ( as I will call them) would it all have been a failure? I like to think I've learned a lot from relationships about myself and what I need, dislike, can tolerate, and love, as well as how I react and function in certain situations. Relationships is only one are though. I remember a situation where I was playing a 3 on 3 basketball game. My team had already beaten the other team 2 games to none. We had a simple formula my teammate would drive the ball in, his father would set an off ball screen for me and my teammate would pass me the ball and I'd shoot the outside jumper. We would do this for at least 5 of the 11 points needed to win. Thing is, the other team caught on to the play and my shooting approach and blocked my shot every time I went up to shoot the ball. I became so frustrated that I stopped trying for the shot, and the other team won the game. What happened there was the other team applied the "loss lessons" and I Failed. We clearly had the skill to beat them for the third time, but I failed to adapt to the new challenges.

          The second way I look at failure, is the refusal to apply what you've learned. You can clearly see that you need to change some things but you don't instead you move on to something different and continue to have mistakes, repeats, breakups, missed shots, and lost opportunities, plague your life. You think your done with it but over and over again it comes back. Why is that? It is because you didn't take the time necessary to apply those loss lessons. So over and over again no matter what you do its going to plague you. It's like this. If your shoes come untied and you fall, do you tuck them back in your shoes without tying them or do you tie them, before you get up? Its simply put in this manner but its a shame how many times we leave our shoes "untied but tucked" in life. I'm so guilty of this just neglecting the fact that I need to improve some area in my life before starting another venture. I think sometimes that its unrelated and won't affect me. WRONG! It always comes around through the side door and takes a big chunk out of my butt. I can't be mad though, I left it there and left the door open for it to sneak in.

          So next time you lose at something or lose someone, remember that life is trying to teach you a lesson, One that could prevent you from further loss in the future and produce a win. More importantly, life is teaching you something that could prevent you from failure.


Till next time world
                    Vic

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Love of Women: The Root of All My Evil - Stella #2

Hey world,


          So I know I said I would post this tomorrow, but I had to get this out today!! So you know how there are those girls that give you all the signals and every inkling that they are attracted to you or that they like you? You know those girls, the ones that tell all their friends about you. They tell everyone how they feel about you, but you. Yea that was Stella #2. However, unlike Stella #1, Stella #2 couldn't speak to me in person at all! Well, I mean she would smile and continue conversation, but she didn't speak unless spoken to, at least not to me she didn't. It was a very quiet friendship (because we never dated), but man she just looked so good! UGH!! It was frustrating at times, but then again we were both kids, 17 years old, no knowledge of what a real relationship was going to be. All we knew was that we liked each other.

          Thing is, she was smart. She said she didn't want a relationship until she had spent some serious time in school. Seeing as how we were both freshman at the time, I was OK with that. In fact, I respected it and was completely on board with it. You see, contrary to popular belief at the time.
I really liked her. Like a lot, a whole lot. It wasn't love, I had yet to figure out what that was, but to me it was pretty close, at that time. Like I said earlier I was a kid. I was dumb and inexperienced in the ways of women. I had no idea that what i thought was a good thing, wasn't anything at all.

          Yea, as quick as it started, it ended. She just stopped talking to me one day. I never knew why, till this day, but hey, if it was that easy it wasn't meant to be. In all reality I probably did something to make her upset, or I said something or somebody else said something. Either way it was done. It didn't hurt me, it was just perplexing. I couldn't seem to figure out what I'd done wrong. That's what messed me up the most, not knowing. It was like someone coming up to you and smacking you in the face and you had no idea why. I raked my brain for months afterward trying to figure out what I'd done wrong. Eventually I just got over it....and yea that's the story of Stella #2.


      What I learn from Stella #2

          #1 Establish a better foundation before you really commit to something. Now this could come off as having commitment issues, but it really isn't. It's being smart. It's choosing wisely to better yourself. It's having the mental fortitude to know whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with this person based on who they are, and what you can and cant live with. I believe that is exactly what Stella #2 did. She made those decisions for herself while I was too busy feeling. She was thinking. 

          #2 Talk about more than just your day. Really get to know the person, what makes them tick and click and cluck. these things are important. If there is no depth than when the tide comes its over.
(and the tide comes in daily) 

          #3 Spend time talking alone, without friends. If there is never a point that you can have one on one conversation. You will never really see that person for who they really are. Phone calls, emails, hand written letters (I know old school), all of these will help you have those intimate conversations without pushing the boundaries of comfort.



          I guess if there is a nugget of wisdom in this it would be just to realize exactly what your getting into before you do it. If I would have realized this, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.



love ya world
Vic