Debbie and Lauren started packing up. It looks like I'll be the last one to start packing. I think it's the worst part of moving, because it's like unwelcome closure. Everything gets stashed away in boxes and bags and things get taken apart... and then you realize that you neglected to pack all sorts of things laying around the house. 5 more days of this. I'm going to miss my room... which just happens to look like a desk and bed thrown in the corner of the living room... even though I didn't have a third wall, much less a door, at night (my time), it was nice. Like I had my own studio apartment, yet attached to 4 other rooms. No more loud music at night and ear-popping loud music during the day. For now though, I'll keep it bumping.

There's too much going on these days. I hate having to pick and choose who to hang out with. The practice MCAT limited things for me though, so it wasn't that bad. No overnight Days retreat (until tomorrow), no movies, just some basketball.

A little exercise is great for the soul. Quan and Elwin were playing basketball, so Martin and I joined then up at the ARC. We were going to play at Mesa Court, but there was some cheer practice or something going on. I saw Roma and Thanh at the ARC courts too, but they were playing tennis. Her brother (Mel) came over and wanted to play, so we ran some 3 on 3 with the guy (?) and girl (Candace) who were shooting around with us.
- game 1: guy/Candace/Elwin/me vs Mel/Quan/Martin - 4 on 3? Yea, we won. We let them have a nice 4 pt run to start on, and then basically shut them down. A win is a win, whether it's 4 on 3 or 3 on 4. 4 beats 3.
- game 2: Martin/Candace/Mel/Quan vs guy/Elwin/me - 3 on 4? It was clearly unfair, so we lost. Mel was tiring me out. 22 years old and I'm lumbering around on the basketball court.
- game 3: Martin/Candace/Quan vs guy/Elwin/me - finally even teams. I wasn't hitting my shots, probably because I had to guard 6'2" 220 lb. Martin and I was hella tired. I got a little more and more aggressive on defense and capped it off with a huge block on Martin. I was just hanging in the air for a while too. All ball. 5'8" Filipino owns 6'2" Englishman. I also had a nice layup under the basket floating from the left of the key, pump faking, then laying it in from the right. Actually I didn't mean to pump fake, I just jumped too late to make it from the left. But it was still a nice shot. Unfortunately, we lost a close game.
- game 4: same teams - I finally hit a few jumpers. Not that it was all that noteworthy, because I was open, but it was better than missing them for sho. Martin reedemed himself by packing one of my reverse layups. I didn't let it happen again. Of course, I didn't drive in much after that. Again, we lost. Sucks.
- game 5: same teams - It took so long for anybody to score that by the time it was 3-1, the lights shut off.

I got home, had a nice strawberry banana protein shake with Martin and passed out on the couch for 2 hours. I guess I am getting old. I have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning.

Stress... arrrrrgh. This one's a doozy.

I wanted to win a sweet ass bike on ebay this morning. I've been wanting to replace the one that got stolen for a while now, and now that I'm moving back to Irvine, it's much more feasible for everyday transportation. The auction ended 8:04 am. Being the lame-ass I am, I stayed up watching movies instead of going to sleep and waking up a little before the end of the auction. I kept telling myself how much I was willing to pay ($600... not bad at all for a bike worth $1400 new). The bidding started at $450. By the time I went to bed, it was up to $490. Damn. I'm not even sure if I woke up or not, because when I finally got out of bed around 12:30, my stereo was still on (and it has to be off for the alarm to work... and the alarm goes for an hour max). I think what happened is that I woke up and checked the bid price and it was $570 with some time left, so I lost hope (because people bid last minute) and went back to sleep with the stereo on. When I checked on the final price, it was only $590. Son of a... I was kind of pissed at myself for not staying awake until the auction ended, because having a bike next year in Irvine would save me a lot of time and stress with parking. I even started comparing bike locks online. Protection and security really become an obsession when two bikes are stolen from you. Bastards. No bike, no lock, no luck, but at least I wasn't down another $600.

There was still more stress though. Phone calls and voicemails every half hour from my mom telling me to call the body shop about my car, which was supposed to be done last Wednesday... last Friday... Monday... Tuesday... Wednesday at the latest... the end of today... tomorrow? Damn it, I hate when things get pushed back like that. Finally, after 4 calls to the shop and 3 calls to my mom telling her to wait until I get the final word on my car, the guy at the shop tells me it'll be ready by 5. They close at 5:30. I got the final word at 3:45. I left my place at 4. Rush hour. Bitch. Take the 405 to Jamboree (out of my way). Take Jamboree to the toll road. Pay $1.25. Ok, whatever. Pay again $2.50. Whoa. Crazy. I thought the total was only $2.25. Good thing I took extra change. 4:30 I get off the toll road. 3 miles to the 71 and 3 miles on the 71 till I get home. 25 minutes later, and I finally get off the freeway. 6 miles in 25 minutes. Facking sheet.

I come inside and my mom is freaking out. I go back to the car and wait another couple of minutes for my mom to leave the house... even though she was practically ready. Slow down Jay. Look out Jay. Go slower Jay. Stop listening to the radio. Don't touch your cell phone. What did the guy at the body shop say? STOP! My mom is always telling me to avoid distractions while I drive, yet she's always the biggest distraction to me when I'm driving her around. Luckily, traffic is light on the way to the shop and we get there at 5:25, 5 minutes before closing.

Monkey Wrench #1
The lady at the front desk informs us that we need to pay $1000 to have the car released. That's $500 for 2 premiums, for 2 different claims. That $500 more than the insurance company told us we would have to be responsible for. That's $500 more than both adjustors said we'd have to pay. My mom starts trying to talk to the body shop guy like he knows exactly what's going on and stressing him out, while I'm stressed out that we're already paying $500 bucks for damage that I didn't need to have fixed, damage that took 2 weeks extra to even get inspected by the insurance company, damage that wasn't my fault... and $500 on top of that for that bumpers they told me would be fully taken care of... and my mom just kept jabbing away. Why. Why. Why. Why. My dad shows up and the car is brought and everything gets paid for. If only he came earlier.

We checked out the car and it looked good, except for a few slightly larger gaps between some body panels. My dad wanted to check all the lights, and what we thought were the turn signals up front turned out to be the parking lights. Doh. Time to return the rental car, except Enterprise closes at 6. It was about 5:55. I didn't have quite the 1/2 tank in it that I got it with, so I was worried that they'd charge us. Luckily, even though we arranged the rental in Diamond Bar and actually got the car in Chino Hills, they let us return it in Walnut.

Monkey Wrench #2
It turns out our insurance company played us again. A claim normally entitles us to 30 days of rental car coverage, but since there were 2 claims on the car, they split up the 30 days into 15 days per claim. And just for the heck of it, they only covered 15 days for ONE claim. 28 days rented. 15 days paid for at $300. That left $390 (tax included). Son of a... If there are 2 claims, shouldn't the rental time covered increase instead of decrease? And since the deductible hasn't been waived on either car, can't they cut us some slack with the rental coverage? And since they completely dropped the ball and forgot about it for 2 weeks (not inspecting the car while it sat at the shop waiting to be inspected), why should we have to pay extra? Again, my dad saved the dad and presented the plastic.

I got to my car finally and tried to start her up, but the battery seemed to be acting up a little. I got it started my second try. On the way back, my mom suggested we go to Costco so she could get me some groceries. I basically lashed out and refused. What the hell was happening to me? Traffic was a little crazy on the way back, so I took a shortcut and cooled off, so we went to Costco and gassed up. Paid by mom. Then we try to park and some guy stops to my right, so I go straight, but he doesn't know what the hell is going on (umm... what's that car doing crossing my lane?) so he decides to go. We both stop. I wave him on so I don't have to worry about him, but he waves me on more. So I go. And then he moves again. Damn it. I let him go and then I go on my way. My mom then proceeds to freak out. I was so over it at that point I pretty much told my mom to drop it. In the nicest way possible.

It was a little relaxing to stroll through Costco. It was weird seeing people that I remember who didn't really know me in high school. One girl was working there. She looked at lot older than what I remember. Another girl was pregnant. Another had a kid. I guess that's what happens when you move away. Things get all crazy. We made our way home and I went upstairs. I looked at the time and it was 8 already. My brother was being annoying so I passed out on the bed in the computer room, sweating and feeling the headache grow in my temples. Damn the Inland Empire heat. I was in and out of sleep until 10, when I ate dinner. My mom gave me $200 bucks. She also tried to have me get more money from my dad to "reimburse" me for the MCAT. Whatever. It's not like I'm going to beg for their money, but I appreciate anything I get. I'm not one to ask for it. Still, my mom did the talking and got my dad to shell out another $200. Crazy. Freaking crazy. $1000 (2 deductibles) + $390 (rental car) + $12 (gas) + $40 (groceries) +$200 (mom) + $200 (dad). Damn near $2000 on the day. I was only expecting $500 for the car and $100 for the rental. My parents really went above and beyond this time. Thank God for them. I'd really be in the hole right now if I they weren't forking out my car payment, insurance, car repairs, groceries, and extra money. I never liked accepting money from them because I wanted them not to worry about my expenses, but I know what it's like to give as well. Give and take.

Monkey Wrench #3
I got everything in my car and turned the key. Nothing. No ficking way. Fack Fock. Five more tries and still nothing. Dad brought out the jumper cables and we tried to jump my car. And failed. Four times I believe. I was out of my car for not even 5 minutes and I was already getting chewed up by mosquitoes. Three bites in less than 5 minutes and I haven't been bitten all summer. The 5th time we tried to jump my car it finally worked. I was worried I would have to get a new battery, another $80. My dad told me it was probably because the car's been sitting around in the shop for a month. My mom still took it upon herself to freak out. Again. Stay home Jay. You're not going home Jay. You need a new battery now. You get one first thing in the morning. Thankfully my dad calmed her enough for me to leave. It felt good to be driving my baby again. I made sure to hit the brakes a lot at first, because that's one way the battery gets recharged.

When I got back to Costa Mesa, I feared future battery problems, so I decided to go for a joyride to keep the engine going and the battery charging. Once around the Fairview Developmental Center. Lots of braking. Down to Newport Pier, through the parking lot. There are a lot of people out at night in Newport. It's kind of nice, except people were spilling out of clubs into the street and I guess they were nice and drunk because one guy almost walked right in front of my car while I was going 40. Stupid guy. Of course, there are people who do stupid things like that when they're sober too. Back up Newport Blvd around Leo's soon to be old apartment. Back to Newport Blvd and onto the 55. Exit University, but go left. Hit Jamboree and take all sorts of random turns. Get to Bison, back to Macarthur, racing through the University exit off Macarthur (it's practically a race course at night) and down to Rancho San Joaquin, which also has a nice curvy section when you can really tear it up. One more lap through Rancho San Joaquin before I jump back onto the 55 and head home.

I parked and took out the key. Curious, I tried to start my baby up again. Oh hell no. Hell no. Stupid ass. Mother freaking a. It took four tries to start, and I didn't even think it was going to stay idling. I let it idle for a while, watching the lights dim when I rolled up the windows. Stopped and started again. Just a little bit better. Again. Worse. I ran it for about 10 minutes while I emptied the trunk, making sure nobody jumped in my car and drove away while it sat on the street. I finally said "screw it" and stopped the engine. I'm not looking forward to a jump start tomorrow.

I put away the groceries and saw half my enchiladas were gone. Great. The place is a mess, but it feels so empty with on 4 people here. I had to clean out the fridge a little bit to fit everything in. There are so many vegetables that are going back in there because my mom always buys them for me and I don't have the heart to tell her not to buy me food. I love food. I just don't always get around to eating all of it. Part of the problem is that we're not sharing food anymore and I have to eat all of it. I already had to throw out 9 cups of yogurt. I hate wasting food. And money. I think I hate wasting food more though, because being hungry is sometimes worse than being broke.

All this stress is killing me. I'm far less stressed about the MCATS than what's going on with my insurance company and their shady tactics. Bastards. If their adjustors weren't so nice, I'd consider going ballistic on them. Nine more days till the MCAT. 6 more days left in 2511 Christopher Lane. 6 days left to move out. $500 in my checking account. Time for bed.

Wednesday. Another lazy day. Like those other days... Monday... Tuesday... Thursday... Friday... Sunday. I think the only day I really do anything lately is Saturday.

I met up with Leo and Mel at Newport pier for some fishing. I saw GP trying to find parking and made myself sound like a lame ass driving sitting on my horn while every car around is at a full stop. Funny thing is, he didn't see me until I got a spot and walked up to his car. Fishing was interesting, although it made me feel even less in tune with nature than before. Seeing as how I can't swim and can't fish, I'm out of my element on almost 70% of the Earth's surface. The fish kept biting off the shrimp from my hooks. Stupid fish. Mel and Leo were a lot more successful though. The wind chill was pretty crazy though, so we retired around 9. It was nice being humbled by nature, watching the moon light up millions of points in the vast ocean. I need to learn how to swim. After fishing, I went home and cooked enchiladas again. And ate alone. Man, I guess that's what living alone is like. Alone, single and no visitors in sight. I think I need to get out more.

My car is still not done yet. Grrr. I had to put up with the neverending glut of voicemails again, all from my mom. Six of them. Latest word is that they're fixing up some scratches they left on the paint. After paying the rent, I played some ball at the ARC and worked out a little, then tried to make it to Liwanag on time, but Leo told me to take my time... so I took my time. I ended up being an hour late. I was a chill meeting, and Jei broke out the Days songs. Man, I love those songs. Dee and Em were going camera crazy after the meeting. Some of us went to Tapioca Express to chill and play chess. I got to take over Leo's game against GP and won. Good game. It was a nice come from behind victory. Derrick showed up later and GP, Leo, Derrick, and I talked outside after TE closed about what's going on with LOG. It's not going as well as it could right now, but I feel that Leo and Cristina will be awesome leaders.

Saturday
I finally took my first practice MCAT today. I think a good sign was that despite only 3 hours sleep, tired lungs, and hardly studying, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. A few more practice exams and I'll be set, in a way. There's not much more information I can absorb, but at least I'll be able to test well. Not feeling like scoring right away, I wasted away the rest of the afternoon playing Warcraft with Martin. Damn that game. Before I knew it, it was past 10 and I had a headache.

Sunday
I need to work on this little thing called punctuality. I made it on time for mass choir practice, but I started getting ready an hour and a half early. Where does all that time go? Singing for mass really felt good though. It's so awesome that I had the chance to be a part of it. Afterwards, nobody wanted to go to the fair to see the seven foot bull (so I heard). It was the last freaking night of the OC fair. Four years in Orange County and I still haven't gone. Three years living right next to it... Instead of the fair, we decided to go to Bon-Bon's (I mean Charlie's) party in Downey. There was a bunch of us, so we grabbed some quick Carl's Jr just in case there wasn't a lot of food left. Several non-driving jokes later, we made our way out. We had a nice freeway view of the Disneyland fireworks on the 5. It's been a while since I've been to Disneyland... almost two years I think. I have a once-a-year limit though, so I have to plan carefully.

Most of the people at the party were YFCer's from all over. Not all of us went to the YFC conference, so we were waiting to be introduced... and we waited... waited. We ended up crowding around the back door while Grace and her brother cooked oysters. I tried one, but it wasn't that good. It was just like a fat slimy mussell. Of course, I didn't add any salt or lime or tabasco because I was preoccupied with figuring out how to eat the stupid oyster. We moved inside, killed the cake frosting and tortilla chips, and kind of chilled there... Reg was busy trying to break things and the girls started to argue about who was the strongest girl in LOG. When we got home Fran was talking about alternative books or something. I think that was the que to peace out.

Monday
Another day, but still no car. Just the same hassle trying to explain to my mom what's going on. Martin gave me a ride to Lee's Sandwiches. I remember going to Lee's almost every week during spring quarter. It's been so long that I forgot exactly how to get there, so we called Lauren for directions and ended up at the 24 hour Lee's. Cheap food is great.

Later, I helped Shane and Martin move to Pine Creek down Adams. It only took us 2 hours with 3 people unloading and 1 watching the stuff. I unloaded most of the stuff from the truck which wasn't too bad, but hauling everything the 300 ft and up the stairs to their apartment was killer. Luckily, there was an abandoned shopping car which we commandeered, making everything a little bit easier. I even got a free gatorade out of it. I don't think I could have kept going without it. I got back to my place, and I was minus 2 roommates.

I rolled to the ARC later with Debbie. Not the best time for a workout considering I just wore myself out, but there were basketball courts open inside, so I ended up shooting around. I saw Reg, Leo, Ed, and Joe there. We actually got a 5 on 5 going with Leo and I. It looked a little hopeless for a while until we started making some shots. My man was giving me all sorts of room so I dropped 2 on him from downtown. I was kind of lazy on defense and played zone. By myself. Halfway through I was cherrypicking on defense. How lame is that? I started getting more aggressive after I hit my shots, so I chased down a guy on the breakaway and alomst stole the ball, but he slowed down and I ended up stepping the ball... losing my right shoe... landing on my right elbow and my knee... and taking out the guy who had the ball. It was cool though. They played a lot cleaner than most people I've played with. The guy was pretty cool about me knocking him over. Leo said he asked me if I was alright while I was still halfway in the air. I don't even think anyone was keeping score, but it was still really competitive. Good game.

Next year it turns out I'll be sleeping on the top bunk, for at least a few months. Damn. At least I got bottom bunk for two years already.