Dream Big.

When I was a little Gabe in Louisiana, I remember when I use to enjoy the little things in life, like eating my watermelon on the edge of the front porch with my family. I never had to worry about anything. I remember getting off of the school bus every day after school. I would run all the way down our dirt road just to see my family before getting back in the truck to drive down the street to our dock. We would all pile in our boat to go fishing on the lake. As I grew up, I moved new places. I learned new things. When I grew up, I gained responsibilities. I left to go out into the world on my own. My name is Gabriel. I live in a small apartment in a shabby area of San Diego. The ghetto as some call it. I've got no money in the bank. I work part-time to pay for school and other things that have come my way as I've grown to this point. Sometimes I forget to dream. Sometimes school feels like it is never going to end. Sometimes I feel like we will never make it in this world that just seems to be getting worse and worse. I once dreamt of a beautiful wife, not only on the outside but on the inside too. I wanted to be one of those guy's that when people saw me, they would think, "How did HE get HER!?" I found that girl and when I realized she was way out of my league, I asked her to marry me. My dream came true. She is the best of the best and I get to spend eternity with her, which I am so grateful. I now dream of finishing school. I dream of a better job. A job that can support a family. I dream of a home, not a big home, but one that is peaceful and comfortable. I dream of a family of my own. When I dream big, with a little effort on my part, my dreams come true.

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes, because better days are sure to come. When you smile be sure to smile wide. Don't let them know that they have won. When you walk, walk with pride. Don't show the hurt inside, because the pain will soon be gone. When you dream, dream big. As big as the ocean blue. When you dream, dream big, because when you dream it just might come true. When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud, because it will carry all your cares away. When you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself. It will help you feel okay. When you pray, pray for strength to help you carry on when the troubles come your way. When you dream, dream big.

toys can dream too. Photo by Blake Bishop.

According to Jimi.

According to Jimi, Katie is the bestest. This morning, I dropped Katie off at her Physiology class. As Katie walked away, Jimi stared out the window at her. He looked so sad to be left with me. I'm a pretty cool guy and Jimi thinks that too, but I guess I just don't compare. Jimi barked as Katie got further and further away. Katie looked back at both of our sad faces and giggled at her two favorite boys as her cute little sun dress disappeared behind the school buildings. When Katie got to where she was almost out of sight, Jimi jumped onto the steering wheel to get a better view and accidentally honked the horn for a few seconds. Everyone stared as I took Jimi off of the steering wheel. He was left with me and I had to be the cruel parent that put him in his little cage to drive him home. I knew he would love me again when he needed someone to sleep on so I didn't worry too much. According to Jimi, Gabe is just a warm bed to sleep in when the cold comes in at night or when he just can't keep his eyes open any longer.

Down & Out.

Saturday was lame. Hanging out with Katie was fun but we ended up at a bar and it was not fun. At least not for us. We thought we were on our way to a club. If we were at a club, then we could atleast dance. I'll take the whole club to the streets. I can't take a bar anywhere and I wouldn't want to take it to the streets. That would just be scary. I'm sure the bar tenders were confused as to why they were not making any money off of the kid spinning around on the bar stool, and why the hell he was drinking all of their tap water. We were already on our way to downtown San Diego when we found out we were going to a bar. Going to a bar when you don't drink is like going to a club when you don't dance. It's like going to a buffet when you are not hungry. If you need a snack, get a McDouble or a salad. Don't go to an effing buffet. Just to add to the frustration of the night, we wasted twenty dollars on parking. Usually there is a bum around to help find a parking space for about five dollars, but they were nowhere to be found. With that said, Sunday was fun. We did go out and spend some money so don't judge us. Katie's Auntie Jane was in San Diego. After church and many hours of visits to fulfill my new calling as Assistant Ward Clerk, we went to my parents house and played Wii Fit and Wii Mario Brothers. Afterwards, we made our way back home where Katie's Auntie Jane and Uncle Austin picked us up. Katie's mom, Starr, also came. We drove to the downtown theater to see the movie, The Young Victoria. We bought slurpees and tons of popcorn. It was a great movie. After the movie, we walked to Ghiradelli's for ice cream and hot chocolate. So good. Its funny how much fun you can have doing simple things with people you love. I'm so thankful for family. My family and Katie's as well. I'm also thankful for friends. The true ones. I'm thankful for lots of things and I want to give back. I think God made us special here on purpose. I want to be an example to those around me and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. There are so many people that need help but won't ask for it. I want to help, so that if I die today, the last thing you remember won't be about some apple bottom jeans with the boots with the fur.

Valentine's Day.

Yesterday, Katie and I celebrated my birthday and Valentine's Day. Katie bought me the movie, Zombieland, which is my new favorite movie. Well, that and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She also bought me swedish fish to eat during the movie, which is my favorite candy. She always gets me the perfect gifts. Anyways, we walked to the car and I had it decorated for her. I left earlier that morning to buy her present while she was asleep. We watched the movie, Valentine's Day, which wasn't bad. I expected it to be a little better, but I still liked it. Afterwards, we dined at Taco Bell because its better than a five star restaurant according to Katie. After Taco Bell, Katie and I went back to our apartment and hung out with each other and Jimi. After a short nap and that, we headed to Pacific Beach. We went to a cajun restaurant called Chateau Orleans. We ate outside and they brought a heater out for us. There was a live jazz band playing. They were brilliant. The singer was cajun and he had some really cool stories. I wanted to talk to him to find out where he was from in Louisiana, but he didn't get a break before we left. You never know, he could know some of my family. Louisiana is a small state. It is like a different country; nevertheless, a small state. The food was amazing, but the restaurant was a bit pricey. All in all, I would recommend it to anyone that likes cajun food. On Sunday's they have a buffet from 11 to 3 for fifteen dollars. After our full day of fine dining, we went for a walk down Pacific Beach and took some pictures. Katie is the most special valentine ever! So special that I decided I'm going to make her my valentine every year.

23.

Tomorrow I will be Michael Jordan's number. I want to fly high like him. Become legendary.

Black and Gold.

The streets were flooded this morning. San Diego's roads were not built for this weather; nevertheless, Katie and I ran to our car and after getting in, we drove through the lake that used to be our driveway. We met my parents at a Chinese buffet we found in Lemon Grove. I don't even know the name, but it's really good. Just go to the In-N-Out off the 94 motorway and walk to the end of the outlet center, it's hidden in the very back. After eating and a trip to Sam's Club, we dropped some papers off at the El Cajon Toyota dealership and headed back home. We just laid around with Jimi and I took a short nap because I wasn't feeling well. Katie cleaned a little bit and I woke up to try to fix my hair with the clippers my mama bought for me. It's pretty bad when you have to fix your hair multiple times after you pay for it. I went to some eight dollar barbershop called Sal's yesterday. I walked in and there were three barbers. Two were cutting hair and the other was just standing there with no customers. There was one customer not getting his hair cut but he was sitting down waiting for the others to finish. I went to the "other" barber. I told him what I wanted and I came out with a buzz cut. Dammnit Sal. I'm never going to your barbershop again. I don't have much luck with barbers, but when i go to the hair salon..that is when my hair is beautiful. In other news, Super Bowl forty four is tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to watch the Saints and the Colts play. It's going to be a good game, but of course, I'm on the side of the black and gold. Finally, they make it to the Super Bowl and all of the sudden there are Saints fans everywhere. Where were you at the beginning of the season? Colts fans are crawling out of every corner. Who knows who is a true Colts fan anymore. Last year a lot of them were wearing Steelers jersey's. All I know is, for me, it has always been black and gold.

The Whisper Boat and The Village With No Roads.

Toyota got us. Even after all of the recalls, we got such a good deal on the Toyota Yaris that we bought one. Well, we didn't really buy it, we got it with no money down. I guess you could say we are in the process of buying it. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, the interest is going to add up, but it isn't. No interest for five years. Katie is really excited about it and so am I. You probably googled it and are thinking of how little and ugly it is. Yeah, you're wrong. We got the four door sedan. It is a manual, but it has the power package. As soon as we get the beetle fixed, we will have two cars again!

I personally think we should have invested in a whisper boat instead. Yeah, a boat. It is brilliant. It is an electric powered boat, which hardly makes any noise. They are driven by electric engines which are fed with two big batteries, which allows for seven hours continuous drive. You might be wondering where I'm going to drive this thing. Well, I will tell you. We would have to move to a little village in Holland called Giethoorn. A village with no roads. Transportation is done by boats alone. In the old part of the village, there were no roads and all transport was done by water. Now there is a cycling path. All we would need is a whisper boat and bicycles. To top it all off, the village is effing gorgeous!

This morning I was superman.

This morning we woke up early so Katie could drop me off before driving her new car (you will have to wait a little while for that story) to her Physiology class. She dropped me off at my parents house so that my mom can take me to work at 11:15. As I headed towards the house with Jimi, she waved and drove away. I went inside, put Jimi down, and sat down on the couch. I reached into my pocket and realized I had Katie's cell phone! I jumped up off of the couch, ran out the door, closed it, and ran down my extra long driveway towards the gate. I ran through the gate and sprinted all the way to the end of my street to catch Katie before she turned off onto the main road, and I made it in time. I was wearing my untied Nike 6.0's with no socks by the way. Man, I'm fast! She laughed, not realizing how far I had just ran. I'm sure she thinks that I started running after her as she was driving away, and she just failed to see me running behind her. Not the case. Yeah, you can call me superman.

No more sorrow, we're looking for a new car tomorrow.

So the beetle was never fixed, not yet anyway. We are going to look at cars tomorrow with the hope that we can afford one. There are many cars that we want, but we are looking at what is affordable. With that said, what's affordable to some is not affordable to us. We are broke. We have no money. There is a no interest for five years deal at Toyota though and we think we can afford a monthly payment. Barely, but we have no way to get anywhere if we don't try. We're thinking that if we can buy a car now that we will have at least one reliable mode of transportation and eventually, we will fix the beetle and have two. Hopefully you've been praying for it, so we can find out how to fix it ourselves or come up with the money. Whoever you are. I feel like I'm never going to catch up even if I got a head start, but I'm sure everyone has that feeling starting out. I know God will help us even though I feel a long way away. I know that we're blessed though and things would be a lot harder without my wife. She is pretty much the coolest person I know. The greatest.