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Like every year, 2007 had many ups and many downs. I always like to go back to every month and try to remember incidents that happened, and remember obscure events and think "Wow, that happened THIS year?" And research with past LJ entries how things got to where we are now. So here's a look back at each month and then an analysis on classes, concerts, events, and other statistics...
JANUARY:
By this time the Raiders season was over and we were the worst team of the 2006 year. This month featured relaxing in the first few weeks until school started. The Fall 2006 semester I had a perfect 4.0 GPA. School Spring 2007 had my second semester of Choir, third semester of Piano, Musicianship 1B, Conversational Spanish, Programming in C, and Scriptwriting and Storyboarding. It was also my second (and most recent) semester of Aerobics, and second semester of General Exercise. I'm not sure of when specific events occured in each class. I probably did very few socializing. I got some e-mails and phone numbers in the first day of Spanish and Scriptwriting, but I did not use them.
A few days before my birthday I attended A's Fanfest 2007. I think the only player I saw in person was Bobby Kielty (finished the year on the Red Sox) but I forgot to put the SD card in my camera so I couldn't take pictures :( I attended an interview session and I had a fun time. But I was there with a stomach virus that was pretty bad. Yeah, during the middle of January I had a pretty bad virus which caused my stomach to turn whenever I ate ANYTHING. Some herbs and spices from the Elephant Pharmacy helped me and by my birthday I was a lot better. We had burgers the day before my birthday, and sushi the day of.
I think I got into watching The X-Files on Sci-Fi this month? I since stopped because they run it out of order and I download episodes instead, but the HD it's on is dead (explain in October) so I haven't watched it since then!
I believe I saw Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Month in this month, I liked them both. I think this month had a lot of me playing Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360, which despite being lousy was addictive.
A week before my birthday, we lost our dog Cleopatra to (we believe) natural causes. A really sad day but she was never really happy after her mate Marc Anthony died in 2004.
FEBRUARY:
The week after my birthday we had the official "party" at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Concord. It was ...good! But I remember it being better, I'll stick with the Cheesecake Factory.
For Chinese New Year I went with family to Pier 39 in San Francisco and went to the Parade downtown. Good stuff.
A couple of days before Valentine's Day, my "girlfriend" (we only knew eachother on the internet) decided to break up with me. I don't even remember the relationship much despite that it lasted a year. Some people even try to tell me she's actually a guy, Sigh... We still talk though. Valentine's Day as you might expect of a guy like me, was awful.
This semester didn't do much for my social life, but I had a nice acquantance in my Aerobics class. I wasn't even close to pulling anything off with her though! There were also some cute girls in Scriptwriting and Storyboarding, but yeah, again, nothing came out of it.
What else did I do in February? The Super Bowl happened, the Colts won, uh, okay. I'm not really sure. This month was likely spent playing NEW Super Mario Bros. and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox 360) which I got for my birthday.
Our new dog was adopted this month, her name is Molly. She is very sweet!
MARCH:
This month ended with Spring Break and my father leaving on a trip to Bolivia. I had to write a script prior to Spring Break. I was able to do it at the last minute.
I'm not sure what else happened this month. I maybe rented a few games, Madden 07 and Metal Gear Solid 3 come to mind but I may have rented those in February.
Was this month when the Black Celebration and Construction Time Again Depeche Mode remasters came out? That must have been a highlight.
APRIL:
The first real interesting month of the year. I went to FOUR concerts. It began with Spring Break, and I got a haircut (which would be my last one until December). On April 7 I saw The Killers w/ Solarcade and Howling Bells. It was a fantastic show and I loved Howling Bells and The Killers especially. I picked up Howling Bells' album. Technically it came out in 2006, so I cannot rank it.
On April 9 I saw Muse, one of my all-time favorite bands, with Immigrant, and Muse performed a 2 hour setlist which included Map of the Problematique, Butterflies and Hurricanes, Sunburn and a few other favorites of mine. It was worth nearly skipping a class for (the class was cancelled anyway)
I got a lot of A's in my tests apparently.
April 25 and 26 I saw The Decemberists perform with My Brightest Diamond. I had a blast at both shows although the first one had the better setlist easily. The second one was memorable too because earlier in the day I got to play Kickball with people from the Decemberists forum and some members of the band! Also, they played The Crane Wife 1+2+3 that day and that's my favorite song by them.
I saw Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters this month, and it was alright.
Rented Tomb Raider Legend, loved it.
MAY:
I saw Grindhouse and it was really good! I loved Planet Terror a lot, and uh Death Proof was good at the end after a slow start. I missed out on Free Comic Book day though.
The Spring Semester ended and I got a respectable 3.67 GPA with a B in Conversational Spanish and Scriptwriting and Storyboarding, and A's in everything else. I got my second straight Honor Roll for the semester.
I didn't really make any friends though... but I celebrated by attending a baseball game between San Francisco and Oakland. The A's won 15-3 :D
and I did get POKEMON PEARL. I actually forgot all about this game. But I was addicted to this game for quite a while... I may have rented Test Drive Unlimited for the 360.
JUNE:
I saw Paprika this month.
Also played a lot of Pokemon Pearl. I'm not all that sure of what Xbox games I played. Maybe not anything. Confirmed my vacations for the month of July.
JULY:
On July 3 our dog Molly ran away and things weren't looking hopeful.
July 4 I went to see the A's and Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadian team kicked our asses 10-3 on Independence Day. Ouch.
On July 7 I went on a trip to Los Angeles by myself. Walking around Hollywood extensively without restrictions from friends like last year was fun and I got to see a lot of stuff. I went to see The Decemberists perform with the LA Philharmonic along with Band of Horses and Andrew Bird. It was a spectacular show! I have to go back to the Hollywood Bowl sometime, maybe The Cure in 08. I definietely want to keep traveling to SoCal every year.
On the way back I discovered that an online website for the local pound had pictures of lost dogs and my mom was thinking one of the dogs (looked like ours but skinnier) was Molly. I felt that it was. We confirmed it and Mom picked her up during LemoCon :) The very same day I came back we had to quickly pack up for my plane flight, ate sushi and watched some of the A's/Mariners game (we lost).
LemoCon was a blast and clearly the main highlight of 2007, I had a lot of fun with all of the people I met, although I'm not all that sure how they felt of me. Some of them appear to dislike me now. There were some things I did that I probably shouldn't have. But I've moved on (others may not have forgiven me yet) I am not really sorry but I will not do it again. Move on folks.
Saw SiCKO at the end of the month and I enjoyed it.
More info on LemoCon and LA here
http://nikjamiii.livejournal.com/2007/07/08/
http://nikjamiii.livejournal.com/2007/07/19/
I did not see Daft Punk as I wanted to. I'm not that regretful but if I saw it I could have matched my totals for concerts attended in 2006. Plus several friends attended other shows and I could have talked to them and shared experiences...
AUGUST:
The beginning of August was known for SAGE. I did four SHOUTcast performances and enjoyed playing my favorite songs to other people. I also sang a lot to mixed opinions.
On I believe August 1 I went to my first and final A's game of the year, where they beat Detroit 3-2 on Root Beer Float day. I love Root Beer Floats, I'm going to do it again next year.
On August 3 I got the Wii! The same day Barry Bonds hit HR 755... overall a pretty interesting day. Wii Sports was fun :)
Raider season begun and I went to the Raider Nation Celebration by myself, however at the pre-season game against Arizona I went to a tailgate and met a load of cool people I'd hang out with for the remainder of the year :) If you didn't know I am a season ticket holder...
Obviously August for me was defined by my trip to Miami, Florida. My dad, sister and I went there to visit my Dad's family. I loved Miami, the beach was beautiful as was Dolphin Mall. Our family is wonderful too...
The day after I got back was the first day of the Fall Semester of 2007 at school. This was one of the more interesting school semesters I've had in my life, mostly because of events in November and December. On the second day of Spanish class we were practicing how to introduce yourself and others to another person. The teacher paired me up with two really cute girls. If I went back and told myself I had a serious chance with one of those in December, I'd call him crazy but who knew...
Also started Choir and several Music theory classes and instrumental stuff. Those were also interesting themselves.
One more pre-season game against St. Louis but prior to that I contracted a cold. Still went to the game but it got worse and I felt like total crap for over two weeks.
At the end of the month I got Madden 08.
SEPTEMBER:
I rented Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz and picked up Super Mario World on Virtual Console. Both were nice breaks from Wii Sports.
The regular season opener was getting started! On September 8 I hung out at Ricky's Sports Bar and Grill for the first and last time in '07 and met some Raiders fans from around the world and the next day had a huge tailgate. Unfortunately the Raiders lost to the Lions.
I declined to tailgate for the Browns game which I regret. But we won that game and I was estastic when that FG was blocked... (And I met LaMont Jordan later that day, who knew he wouldn't do all that much after that game) The day before I took a picture of me with some Raiders players and cheerleaders. One of those pictures was mocked in #lemonade for about a month. Ouch. I would have taken the picture again anyway. No regrets.
The Broncos game the week before was a travesty that I will never let go of. We did beat the Dolphins and that was cool :)
ALSO, it was the California Golden Bears season too! In August they beat Tennessee in a thriller but the end of the month had a game between them and the Oregon Ducks where the Bears won when Oregon fumbled at the last minute when it looked like they would tie the game. Beautiful.
Sadly, the A's season was coming to an end and they didn't make the playoffs. In fact, they sucked completely since July.
OCTOBER:
The biggest moment of the month was obviously the Download Festival in Mountain View, California. I saw a plethora of bands including Metric, She Wants Revenge, 65daysofstatic, AFI, Kings of Leon and of course, my second favorite band of all time, The Cure. They performed for nearly 3 hours and if not for Lemocon this would be the greatest day of the year. I would love to see The Cure again next year but I'm not sure if they're coming around here again, I may have to travel to SD or LA. The same night I started watching Death Note which will be a part of my regular Saturday night schedule for weeks to come along with Blood+, and it's good.
The Download Festival would turn out to be my last concert of the year. The Decemberists cancelled their November shows.
A few days later In Rainbows by Radiohead was released on the internet. My favorite album of the year. I love Reckoner and House of Cards the most.
In Sports this month wasn't good at all. Cal and the Raiders lost all their games this month. The one game I attended, Raiders vs. Chiefs had a lovely tailgate at least. Started talking more at them too...
Saw a psychologist on my Dad's advice to test myself for autism.
I do not have pictures of my Halloween costume but I can assure you it raised a lot of people's eyebrows, especially since I had the most creative one of everyone at school (Most people did not wear anything at all so... I stood out) Went around Berkeley for the night
The final two remasters by Depeche Mode were out this month, I picked up Ultra and Exciter. David Gahan released a solo album but other than the song "Kingdom" (which is great) I did not actually get the album till Christmas. It's not that great.
NOVEMBER:
I was cleared of Autism and Aspergers but I found out I have severe ADHD and OCD. Therapy was recommended and I've seen a guy for the past two months. Whether this had a part in how the last two months of the year would turn out I dunno.
In November I was struggling in my Spanish class and it was gettling scary that I might not actually pass the class. Same with Guitar, but everything else was going good. Performed in the Choir.
The Raiders did not win their two home games in November, which frustrated me because the tailgates were so good only for the day to not end as well.
One of our four cats, Fluffy, went missing in mid-November. We have not seen him since. It's getting difficult referring to our "3" cats even now...
Video games I got... The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Super Mario Galaxy. Zelda is good and I do not see why so many people dislike it. Yeah the stealth dungeon is lame to play over and over but other than that it was a fun game. There's no doubt in my mind however that Mario Galaxy is game of the year. I love it so much and I even thought about calling it the best game I've ever played. I don't think it is though.
Thanksgiving I visited my Grandparents. Good as usual, Same 'ol stuff. The Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs the following Sunday, ending a 17-game losing streak against division rivals, and I was really pleased with how they played.
Towards the end of the month I started talking more and more to people, especially in Spanish and Choir, setting up a wonderful first two weeks of December.
My Xbox 360 broke and I sent it to repairs, I got it back but the power adapter doesn't seem to work so I have to send that before I can play my 360 again... :/
DECEMBER:
Most people I know had a lousy December, but the first half of mine wasn't bad.
I was making a comeback at school and was starting to make some friends. Unfortunately most of the friends I made aren't going to be back next year, so it was too little too late. But it was a memorable occassion and it showed that 2008 looks ilke a promising year for my social life. I'm still very awkward but at least I took more chances when it came to talking to others. Read my December entries for more info... The last two days were the most memorable as I said goodbye and hugged the two girls mentioned in the August part, neither of whom I will likely see again. Also enjoyed a nice Pizza Party to celebrate the end of Guitar class. I think I will do the class again.
Ended my drought of watching movies when I saw Across the Universe, which was recommended by the Guitar teacher. Was good! It was the last movie I saw during the year except when I saw Transformers on DVD.
Football... the Raiders beat the Broncos in early December in what was likely my favorite game of the year. Tailgate + Raiders win = Happy day. Plus it was against my most hated team in Denver. However they would not win another game. The Indy game was depressing because it came during the situation at school and I heard that the HC might be fired which would cause a lot of chaos and hopelessness for the 2008 year.
Cal won the Armed Forces Bowl today, I'm happy they ended their disappointing season on a high note.
Super Paper Mario is an alright game, I'm enjoying it for the most part but it's not as good as the other Paper Mario games.
That should wrap up 2007!
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FAVORITES
Best album of 2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
Honorable mentions: Kanye West - Graduation, Bright Eyes - Cassadaga, Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Erasure - Light at the End of the World
Best game of 2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Honorable mentions: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (DS), The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Best show of 2007 (so far): Death Note (adult swim)
Honorable mentions: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (seriously), BLEACH (premiered in 06), Blood+, Kid Nation, The Amazing Race 12
Best movie of 2007: Grindhouse
Honorable mentions: Transformers, Paprika, SiCKO
Best moment of 2007: LemoCon 07
Honorable mentions: Decemberists in LA, The Cure in Mountain View, the last two days of school, the last day of Choir, Raiders vs. Lions tailgate, Raiders vs. Chiefs tailgate, entire Raiders vs. Broncos game, Raiders vs. Chargers tailgate
Favorite month of the year: July
Honorable mentions: October, August, December
Pathetic note:
Last year, hugs with girls: 0
This year: 7
December alone: 3
At community college, all past semesters: 0
This semester: 3
Not to mention older people (both genders) at Raider tailgates, and other parties but I don't count those, it's like hugging your parents
Haha I totally know I'll get picked on for noting that.
Jobs: 0
Girlfriends: 0
Oops...
Concerts I attended
Last year: 7 (Colin Meloy, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, The Pillows, Muse, The Decemberists, Live 105 Not So Silent Night)
This year: 6 (The Killers, Muse, The Decemberists x3, Download Festival)
I wanted to break it, but oh well.
Which brings me to NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2008
Get a job, of course.
Continue to make friends at school, getting a girlfriend would be great.
Attend more than 7 concerts to break 2006's record. I don't expect to.
Attend a Golden State Warriors game.
Attend a San Jose Sharks game.
Renew/Upgrade Raiders season tickets.
Go to a Cal game.
Attend a Raiders road game, probably in New Orleans.
LemoCon is a must this year.
Save the $350 I got to help the cause for most of the above.
Thanks for reading if you did. And have a great 2008 everybody...