And The Countdown Begins

After today, there will only be one more day left of my summer vacation. Rats. It's been one of the best summers I've ever had. I'm sad to see it come to an end. From the experience of camp, to all the shows, to spending time with my mom and friends, it's been amazing. I have gained so many memories just from these quick 2.5 months. I hope next year's summer is just as fun.

At the moment, a BBQ is going on at my house, but I can't say that I'm having tons of fun. It's probably due to me being tired (like always). But anyway, that's why I'm on my laptop yet again, typing out this blog. I spend why too much on my laptop, oh well. Hopefully I become more energetic.

I finally went to Target to buy The Academy Is...'s new cd. It's awesome. I love those boys and their music. The album cover is really refreshing too. I'm guessing it's the colors and cleanness they used in the font and the picture. I applaud them. *clap clap* :]

-Riot!Ross

Who Let The Yankees In The Chip Shop?

I had so much fun today. I went to the Art&Soul Festival in Oakland to see The Wombats and The Matches (and a few opening bands on Clay street). It was Justin's (their bassist) last show today. He's going back to college. I'm going to miss him. :[ BUT their new bassist Dylan is adorable and really good. Yes! Bassist Unite!

The Wombats were so much fun. Their bassist is insane. He was jumping and swinging his bass all over the place. He almost hit these Asian kids in the front row with the neck of his bass. That would have hurt..ouch. 0_0

Matches=Amazing. It was sad that it was Justin's last show though. It was sad when Justin switched off with Dylan but he's cool. I got to meet him. I asked if he could sign the map of the festival. When he was about to, he was like ,"I keep wanting to put this can on the floor..hmm." Then I said I would hold it for him. Dylan: "Really? I love you!!" Haha.

Later on when I was talking to Dylan, Momo, and Nikki, he got our names and we just started talking. It was very chill and he says Legit! haha. We're his new BFFs now. His words, not mine. It was funny when he asked Nikki if her myspace last name was Thump. "I didn't want to confirm you till I met you. Now I can!" That's awesome. That's called a connection right there. I'm all about connections.

Ok, I'm completely rambling now so I will cut it off now. Have a nice night for those of you who might read this.

xo:Riot! Ross

Adventures at the State Fair

Went to the State Fair up in Sacramento with my mom and Andrew yesterday. I don't usually enjoy the fair due to: the heat and the fact that I've gone so many times in the past. This year was a bit more fun since I had a friend there. Here's an overview:

1. HEAT
2. Junk Food
3. Tons of booths...Snap Caps!
4. Jon and Kate +8 type families. lol
5. Peking Acrobats( thumbs up "OK?!" lol) and creepy man hypnotizing people on stage(hilarous)
6. Sore
7. Richard Kiel signing autographs. He's from the Bonds movies and Happy Gilmore. (yeah didn't know him by his name either.)

That's basically what the fair is plus other musical acts. Andrew is hilarous. Very entertaining haha. Today I'm going to the Art and Soul Festival in Oakland to see The Wombats and The Matches last show with Justin as their bassist. *tear*. Hope it's a good show!

-Riot!Ross

Shoulda Coulda

I thought about joining the FTSK Street Team..but after reading through all the "What's expected of you" stuff, it kind of scared me. I barely have enough time for myself. It sucks to think about how I knew about them before most kids. I coulda joined the street team at that time and then said I've been there from the start..but nope.

I began to really get into their music just before they suddenly showed up on MTV..poop. I wish I could go back in time, become great friends with them, and then I'd have everything in the bag. Oh well, I'll just have to find another way to work with them or become a least slight friends with them. Sucks that so many people are into them now. There's tons of people who want to do the same thing as me. I saw I'm different than them...but maybe not. I need to find a way for myself to stand out. Who knows? Maybe it won't happen, which is a really sad thought. I was also invited to join Hey Monday's ST, but I haven't really listened to them. I should though. They're pretty good I think.

The future scares me. I still am not 100% sure of what I want to do. Sure, no one really does, but I stress about these kind of things. Of course I have dreams and ideas, but how do I reach those goals? I need to seriously start looking more into it. I say I want to be a photographer at live shows..but how? One year I'd like to work Warped Tour. That's a dream.

Ugh. School starts soon.

-Riot!Ross

Sassyback....please?

< #1. This picture of K Dirty makes me laugh everytime. Thought I would share...

Moving on: The closing ceremony for the Olympics is surprisingly slightly sad. Everyone has been so involved in watching it..what will we watch now?? haha. It'll be weird to not watch it (even though I sometimes got tired of it) I hope London can live up to the amazing ceremonies that Bejing provided for our viewing pleasure.

Shout out to KYLE BURNS (even though he won't read this..lol. i wish!): HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wow he's 23..making him 7 years older than me and Janessa..maaan. lol.

That brings me to say, we HAVE to make it to that FTSK concert. I will go crazy and be in a really bad mood if we don't go. If I have to sit in band practice while missing an amazing show..flames/smoke will be coming from my head. Janessa wants to customize drum sticks for Kyle and I wanna give Kyle, K Dirty, and maybe the other guys something. Yess. It's cool how I can say I knew about them before a lot of kids..but too bad they don't know that. darno. :( I hope to professionally photograph them live (Live as in performance) one day! I pray we make it to the "Sassyback Tour".

-Riot! Ross

PS. Yay! I got my new light installed in my room.

Short and Sweet

So hooray! I was able to upload a new profile picture. I was going to be mad if Blogger didn't let me lol.

Pretty tired from band camp again. It was ok though. We had master classes and it went pretty well. Marching seems to be going so-so with the new group too. Hopefully this fall season is amazing. I'm not in drumline, but Z already said that they are 10x better than last year. haha. WOW. I'm excited for them. Oh but if Mr. Foreman wants me to play bass for drumline, he better let me know soon. I don't want to know about it last minute.

-Riot!Ross

"One time at band camp..."

First off, I'm highly annoyed that Blogger isn't saving my profile picture. It better work by tomorrow.

Ok second, today was the first day of band camp. I definitely wasn't looking forward to it...but it was good to see everyone. We don't seem to have gotten smaller which is a good thing. That would have been terrible...but we only have two flutes..and I have to play piccolo...uggh. Oh well. I'll hopefully get the hang out it. We have band camp all week. I'm so tired. I slept for at least an hour after camp. haha. I had a huge headache. Hopefully I won't get one tomorrow...but I probably will.

Wish me luck. Thanks if you actually read about my life. I appreciate it, really I do.

-Riot!Ross

PS...thanks Jackie for probably being the only one that reads this. lol. <3

Warped Tour: Take 2

For years I've wanted to go to Warped Tour. I was finally able to go this summer...better yet, I was able to go twice. I went to the one down at the Pier in SF and then the other in Mountain View. Both were amazing. I have to say I like the set up at the Pier better, but performance wise, everything was super.

FTSK's set had to be one of my favorites. I love how much they love their fans. They'll take the time to actually talk to them. That's how all bands should be like. I'm glad I held down my spot at the barricade. It was well worth it, and of course I got great pictures.

After their set I was able to see them face to face once again. I even took pictures with K Dirty and Joe. Joe was like "With me??" Hey, even the techs are important. Those guys are awesome.

Janessa was going crazy every time she saw or met Mr. Kyle Burns. Those two drummers set off the "vibe" lol. I adore those boys. I hope to be able to get better live shots of them once I buy my Canon. I need money!

So, even though scheduling and running around to fit in as many bands as possible was tough, it was a lot of fun. I love how my mom went around to gather the free goods from booths. She's amazing. Can't wait for next year's Warped. I will hopefully be able to go. :)

-Riot!Ross

Records Only Please

I love the city. It's the perfect place to be inspired and the perfect place to photograph things. Too bad I don't have a special Canon camera yet. I would be using that treasure to death if I had one. I really need to save my money for one. I need money for some clothes too. Ok, yeah. I don't NEED any more clothes, but I have these pieces that I really WANT. I found basically all of them at Urban Outfitters, but since they just want to gobble up everyone's money, I couldn't buy those pieces. Sucks, but I guess I'll have to wait.

It was rad to hang out with Tycho and his friend Anton. I'm glad I'm keeping in touch with the GC Kids. Tycho is an interesting and amazing human being. He surely is one-of-a-kind. I love listening to his stories. I love the record/music connection he has with his father. He keeps me entertained and I learn something new from him each time.

It was fun to watch him search through the $1 bins at Amoeba and other record stores searching for the old school or strange prize possesions he calls records. He bought a total of 14 today..and 20 yesterday. Wow. Poor Anton was not digging it. lol.

-Riot! Ross

"When I Was Your Age..."

Wait, SATs?? How old am I??..16. Ok, how did I get this old so fast? It's starting to freak me out. Soon I'll be a little old granny telling my grand kids stuff like..."When I was your age we had 2D TV." lol idk.

I went to Barnes and Noble with my mom today to find a SAT and an AP US History Exam book. There were so many choices I started to feel overwhelmed. It was the worst feeling. The stress and anxiety started to come back. Yeah, school is definitely starting soon. I hope I survive my junior year....I probably will..but I'll have to work my butt off as always. I'm scared..terrified really.

I just hope all the hard work will pay off. I definitely don't want it to go to waste. I'm working so hard on going to a good school..what if the best school for me is like a little art school for photography or something. Oh well, I need to go to a four year. I've worked too hard not to.

-Riot! Ross

To Inspire Me, Press 1

I'm beginning to feel like myself again. I felt like I was in a weird spot in a pool of confusion which was really nothing at all. I find myself being inspired a lot lately. I'm still developing into my own self. My interest are growing, my style is expanding like always, my connections are increasing and I hope I will become the person I've always wanted to be.

I've always had goals and rules for myself. Things that I've always believed in have made me strong a person and they've helped me along the path of life. Some of those inlcude: Being straight-edge (aka no smoking, drinking, or drugs), Having my own mind, Staying focused on school and my dreams, Loving music, and other things I believe in.

I read about this girl named Patriciana Tenicela and she's like me. She's straight edge and said that since she has tattoos and dresses with a punk style people think she's a drinker or druggie. She's not though. I find her amazing and inspiring.

I'm inspired by people who dare to be themselves, even though it shouldn't really be a dare. People who care so much about what people think of them are insane. It takes way too much effort. This really is a random post but it's something that is always on my mind I guess. I'm just a girl who's trying to find and develop herself. I may not know what the future holds for me (which is one of my biggest fears) but I know whatever happens, I want to be happy.

-Riot!Ross

Ribs Anyone?

Last night was definitely a different experience. My mom and I went over to her best friend's house to celebrate both of their birthdays. Her best friend had also turned 50, 3 days before my mom did, and they hadn't gotten together yet, so we went over last night. I showed them the video of the GRAMMY Camp Showcase that my mom taped, and then we went to dinner.

We drove over to Oakland, because one of her sons was getting off of bart there. We met him at the restuarant, Everett and Jones, a BBQ joint. The girl seating everyone was super lame. This was not the kind of job she should be working. She was so quiet that when she called someone's name, no one could hear her. Well, we waited about 30 minutes before this asian worker came up to us and told us they had run out of ribs. A BBQ rib place with no ribs...WTF. haha. When we walked out and down the street, that lame girl came out and actually YELLED "Arlene! Party of 6!!" Whoa, she could actually speak loudly. Anyway, we left to go to their other establishment in Alameda.

When we arrived and entered the doorway of the supposed restuarant, to our surprise, the restuarant was at the back of a sports bar. We walked past the bar to a very casual counter where we had to order out food. We sat down at one of the few tables at the place and laughed our heads off. We had 6 people, 3 adults and 3 kids. (Well the other two are a couple years older than me) When we got our food, the corn bread was cold, and the 4 sides (that are suppose to feed 3/4 people) weren't even big enough for 1 person.

At the bar portion of the building, there were freakin kids and one was a baby. The dad was feeding his baby in one arm and drinking with the other. His other son was also chasing after an invisible ball around the bar. Child services anyone??

They also had the most random songs playing on the jukebox. No One by Alicia Keys, a Beach Boys song, and Creep by Radio Head. Wow, not the greatest mix ever. Good songs, random placement.

When we left that crazy place, we went back to their house and guess what was on HBO?? A Revenge of the Nerds marathon...heck yes! Only got to watch #1+2 though. It was getting kinda late so we had to leave..darn. It was a nice ending to our random night though. Yay! for birthdays. lol.

-Riot!Ross