Hey guys, I'm back yet AGAIN.  I know, I'm a persistent annoyance of a column that WON'T go away.  Hey, that's what I'm goin' for. :)  Hope you enjoy!

Well, I want to thank all of you who supported me with my previous essay.  If you don't know, I had the honor and privilege of speaking at the funeral of the aforementioned Mr. Landeis.  It was pretty intense... perhaps the most important thing I've ever done.

Mortality is a pretty darn fickle thing.  I recently found out that my uncle Antonio "Joe" Garcia passed on due to cancer.  This was a gentleman who was actively involved with the Marines for a number of years and achieved the rank of Sergeant Major.  This was an extremely tough man.  It gives you cause to think when a man who was that tough was susceptible to cancer.  I don't know, things like this just make me think.  I mean, we can be gone just like THAT.  Seriously, we should all work hard to let people know the love of Christ and what we're about.

At what point is the right time to ask for help from friends?  I'll be honest, I don't really enjoy it.  I like to take on other people's problems but I don't like sharing my own.  I don't think it's any kind of "nobel duty" thing.  I just am wired that way.  I wonder if I'm correct in it.  I do that often.

I think that self-examination is a great thing.  Well, as long as it's rational.  I mean, we can't always revolve our lives around anything that people say about us because some people will say things to hurt us.  That's just a fact of life.  But it's okay to examine things to see if there's any truth to it.  It's a good thing to constantly work on improving one's self.

I've started learning self-defense from a friend of mine on Sunday mornings.  Man, talk about a FUN thing.  I love it.  It's also a useful thing to have under your belt.  It's great to know how to fight as long as one is not an idiot about it.  You hate to see someone who knows how to do this stuff and acts like a loudmouth to everyone.  Great responsibility really does come with great power, apparently.

On a lighter note, Seattle's WNBA team has made it to the Finals.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I mean, I'm rooting for them... I guess... but there's a part of me that just doesn't want them to win it all.  I don't want Seattle's first pro sports championship in GOD KNOWS how long to come from a women's basketball team.  I'd rather see the Seahawks take it all this year.  Am I a sexist?  Maybe.  But one can NOT deny the difference of quality between men and women's basketball.  I dunno, I don't want to get into a gender-based rant that'll get me in trouble.

Wooooooooooo.... maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.....  that wasn't so bad, was it? :)

On a more serious and AWESOME note... we're FINALLY RECORDING!  Gosh, I can't believe that I'm actually able to say that.  Benj got a hold of his mixer, got Pro Tools for his mac and he, Adam and I have been working on a new track entitled "To Be With You."  There will be a copy of it available soon and our demo CD should be ready within a couple months.  Man, this is so exciting to say.  I've been waiting to do this for quite a while.  It's nice to have something recorded that you can give to family members and such.

ESPN NBA 2K5 is AWESOME.  That's all.

I'm working very hard on saving my money.  Ironic that I put that after pumping up an X-Box game but I really am.  Saving money has no downside whatsoever.  It helps put you in the position of helping yourself or a friend(s) if something bad ever comes along.  It's like building up a defense against the sucky things of the world that cost cash.  I HATE those things. :)

I'm glad that I'll never have a job that has "knowing good fashion" as one of it's requirements.  I would get my BUTT KICKED if that was part of my job.  I'm not so hot at it.  It's why I always take a girl with me when I go shopping.  There's no downside to it. :)

I miss the SPU gals.  All of them are very cool and I wish they were around more.

Even after all these years, music is still largely a mystery.  It can affect people in so many ways, both good and bad.  I don't know what it is but I'm glad it can be used as a power tool for the kingdom of God.  Otherwise, I dunno what I'd do on Fridays. :)

Well, in closing, I'd just like to say that Benj was the winner of the "find out where that quote came from" contest.  His picture is below, by the way.  Anyhow, my next one is "LEONARD!!!!  COME OUT HERE!!!  IT'S JESSIE!!!"  If you can tell me where that came from and who said it, I'll give you big ups AND put an awesome pic of you in my editorial for next time.  Till then, have a great week!!