Hey again.
It's been a few days since my last update; so here goes. My dad's still in the hospital. They've removed one of the tubes draining fluid. He's becoming more and more energetic and hopefully he will be out by Saturday. I've become less scared as the weeks have progressed because my dad's getting better and better.

I hope to go out tonight; possibly with Jesse. I guess we may go to a birthday party. I know I haven't been out partying lately and I suppose I aught to make an appearance and catch up with friends. I'm almost positive there will be some people there who I know I don't want to see but I don't think that should hold me back. Jesse and I gotta get back to hanging out with him more.

I've also been writing a few new songs lately. They'll be along sometime soon.

I plan on getting out this weekend, maybe even with the guitar :)

Hit me up.

Cheers,
- Sammers

7/27 - Part one

Hello again friends.

It's Monday and work has been miserable thus far. I'm off in two hours so hopefully everything runs smoothly. I'm starting to get sick of this wacky place. I'm really considering switching to a part time employee and going back to school. It's been almost 2 years since I've been in school and I'm seeing no real progress here in terms of my career advancement.

I'm going to start saving for a middle of the line Dell laptop for school and for the tuition costs. I'm thinking of taking a few business courses but I haven't decided entirely yet. I know I won't be able to take on a full time schedule with my dad's illness being my number once concern right now. I need a new laptop for sure though regardless. My old Windows XP PC is about four years old now and it's beginning to show it's age. I've actually nicknamed it "I Think I Can," ha. I'd hate to lose all of my music. (Not to mention my old Nickelodeon shows ha).

Anywho, I'll update again later today.

Cheers,
- Sammers

Ahh Tucson, Arizona; home of many memories.

It also has quite the murky side. Ever since I lost all that weight in late 2004 I started to slowly emerge myself into the 'scene' of Tucson. The scene here is full of pretentious social networking sluts (and bros, emos, indies, etc) attempting to make a name for themselves.

Now before I start bitching any further about the wacky unnecessary cliques that dwell in our little spot in southern Arizona, I will say that there are some plus sides to the scene in Tucson. The music scene is great (most of the time). I do have a lot more fun going to the living room or going to Plush and forking out five bucks to see a live show (namely Portugal The Man's last show at Plush was amazing). 4th avenue is a great place to walk around and explore the many freaks and geeks that lurk on that side of town. You don't have to spend a lot of money either (unless you wander into some wacky Native American tourist shop). For the record, Plush IS my favorite bar on 4th avenue. Mostly because even on weeknights you can just rest easy on the couch with a scotch & coke and simply enjoy an ambient jazz band do their thing without being bothered by the Bro's & Ho's that lurk around O' Maleys.

Anywho, onto the downside of Tucson. As I slowly emersed myself into the "who knows who" or to be more blunt "who's fucking who" side of the scene, I noticed less and less substance through the people involved. Most of this was involved in simple conversation. You could'nt simply debate or have a meaningful conversation with someone without them spouting off about some pierced, tattoed "celebrity" of Tucson being a dick to some innocent newbie in town.

And after that Skrappys shooting that took place, (I believe one person was killed? Not too sure on that one) it went downhill even further. I've said it before and I'll say it again and I don't care who's life it affects because if you look further into my text you'll see it has an all around peaceful message. The only "tragedy" that went down at Skrappys was that ALL the straight-edge "CREW" morons werent fatally wounded. Honestly Tucson, that's what you've become? A bunch of idiot crews? I don't even know the names; all I know is if you have some 'gnar' thing or anything for that matter in front of your socially networked nickname, you're a piece of shit.

/end rant

Cheers,
- Sammers

Greetings again.

Well for the 2nd time, the root canal didn't take. It started bleeding too much again and they had to stop, put a temporary crown on it, and put me on a 3rd antibiotic. Eh, I didn't mind too much though. The doctor decided to give me 6 valiums before the procedure to calm me down. We also smoked a cigarette outside while waiting for the numbing agent to kick in. He's quite the cool dentist I must say.

Afterwords Drew's family and I went to Broadway & Pantano to some annual Tucson wings convention thing. Basically you spend $10 and go in a room with 16 wings vendors and you receive 2 wings from each vendor. It was quite fun considering I pretty much snuck in for free. We also received free beer tickets from some lady. After that Drew's dad witnessed someone who worked there throwing away a bunch of tickets. He snatched them; and thus we had more Nimbus.

I'm hoping this weekend is rather eventful; regardless of my lack of funds. Hit me up.

Cheers,
- Sammers

Hello again friends,
My dad has returned from the hospital (again). He's feeling much better than he did the last time he was home. He's not on any pain medication and is not complaining of pain. He's eating regular solid food, watching his diet, and moving around the house on his own. It's going to be a slow recovery but I'm just happy to see him home.

It's starting to eat at me that I haven't been out to any social gatherings lately because of all of this but I also recognize that it's for the best that I stay close to home. I do want to get myself back out there though and possibly find myself a lovely lady. Another reason I haven't gone out a whole lot lately is this silly $2700 I still am paying back to the dentist for work I'm having done. Speaking of which, they're finishing my root canal tomorrow afternoon; eep.

I really do hope things start to pick up for me, because so far, this year has given me hell.

Cheers,
- Sammers

Hello everyone. I've got an update on my dad. Around ten o' clock yesterday morning my dad was complaining of having short breath and a bile taste in his mouth. His blood pressure and heart rate were both very low. The paramedics were called and once again he had to return to the Northwest hospital. His heart rate and blood pressure were back to normal when they got him on oxygen.

The doctor said that part of the incision on his stomach (and it's a LARGE 'L' shaped incision) was coming undone and that's what's causing the bile to leak both onto his bandages and into his mouth which caused the nasty taste.

He will be in the hospital for the next few days most likely, which he is not thrilled about having been home for 3 days. I personally believe they just let him out a tad bit too soon. He's in high spirits though and is taking it one day at a time.

I'm still living one day at a time as well. This family is driving me more and more insane though. I really wish my dad was in better health; enough that I'd be able to rent a house from him. It'd be way out in Marana, but hey you can see the stars out there and there's plenty of room for shindigs. He's going to be recovering for some time though. I'm taking care of my coworker's girlfriend's cats while he's in New York for a week, something I regret doing now. He's being quite a jerk, even though I'm doing him a huge favor.

It'd be nice to go to sleep for a few months and let things blow over.

That last week was something else. There's so much chaos going on around me it's hard to keep my head straight. Problem is, it's most likely going to get worse in the coming days; stress wise. I'm going to have a cigarette and kick back tonight before my work week begins. I'm going to lay down and watch Burn After Reading. Still have yet to see it. Coen Brother's movies are always a gamble, but Clay Pigeons was good so I may just enjoy this. Then again, The Nightmare Before Christmas happens to be in the Netflix instant que as well. Lately I've been falling asleep listening to the Wristcutters soundtrack; it's been a few months since I've sat and watched that movie but the soundtrack always helps me sleep for some reason.

I wish I could say I'm mentally prepared for the coming weeks; but then again who can say they are completly mentally prepared for anything coming their way?

Cheers,
- Sammers

Seven -slash- Eighteen -slash- Two Thousand and Nine

I really wish I could take a vacation right now. Not a vacation in the traditional sense either. I'd like to save up some money (maybe sell a bunch of stuff I don't use anymore on Craigslist), and get myself a motorcycle. No, it's not a crotch rocket that I want; although they are fun to ride. I'm talking a straight H-O-G. I'd like to spend a week or two just riding across the country, stopping along the way for whatever necessary. Throw my iPod in, rock some Thin Lizzy playlist, and just enjoy every sunset.

Ah but alas, I've gotta stay close to home for quite some time. There's a nurse coming daily to change my dad's bandages, do the ocassional bloodwork, and all around make sure he's recovering properly. Next week I guess there's even more family (nephews, and screaming kids) showing up. I don't think I'll be able to handle that very well. I suppose I'll try and relinquish my bedroom to them and stay at a friends house or something. I mean, I love family being around and all, but there's only so much a 21 year old can handle being around screaming step-kids.

Work has been rather hectic as well. It seems every day that I come in there's some new "procedure" in play that has no real value or merit; just put in place as some sort of placebo to make corporate believe things are evolving. There also seems to be a new manager every other week. I'm gradually becoming more and more jaded on the corporate landscape. It's all dogshit and everyone who actually ENJOYS contributing to the company are those who've already brown-nosed their way to the top. I need to go back to school so I take this shit less seriously.

It's too much of a gamble.

Well that's my update for the day. I'll leave you with a music recommendation if you get the time. It will be worth your while; I can promise you that. Portugal. The Man's new album is definately a keeper. If you enjoyed "Censored Colors" than I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. It has fewer slow paced songs but it's still an enjoyable album regardless. Also, Brand New has announced a release date and title for their new album. "Daisy" is set to be released on September 22nd, 2009.

Cheers,
Sammers

My Dad

So my dad has been home for about a day now. After being in the hospital for 9 days, he's really happy to finally be out of there. He's still very tired but we're making sure he takes the time to get up and walk around every hour or so. He's not on any pain medication and he has no complaints of pain. So as it turns out, my dad has bile duct cancer. Bile duct cancer is a malignant growth in the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine. Cancer of the bile duct is rare and is most prevalent in people ages 50 to 70. Approximately 2,000 cases of bile duct cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. The tumor sometimes blocks the bile ducts, which can cause jaundice, clay-colored stools, itching, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, chills or abdominal and back pain. These tumors usually grow slowly and spread gradually. In many cases, bile duct cancer tumors are diagnosed in the advanced stages.

We do not know if the cancer is completely gone yes; but it is certain that this type of cancer cannot be treated with chemotherapy. The good thing is, if this cancer had not been caught when it did, the doctor said my dad would have had roughly 30 days.

Naturally my pops is a little scared and I'm just trying to be there for him. I slept on the couch right outside his bedroom and gave him a little bell to ring whenever he needs anything.

Life has been so damned stressful, but I'm hoping for the best.

Cheers,
- Sammers

Uno

This is my first post. I plan on updating on here quite frequently and quite extensively. Expect less from the other wacky social networking sites.

Cheers,
-Sammers