Look mama I made it!

**Musical Selection**
**Pat Green**
**http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=30902701**
**The music should start playing when you click on the link.**

I've been waiting a long time for a special post to put Pat Green as the musical selection, I figured this was that special post. Today is a special day for me; 987 hits to rickysroost, 48 posts', and more imporantly 365 days since my residence was in New Mexico.

Yes that's right, you heard correctly, it's already been one whole year that I've been a Texas resident. Looking back on my past 12 months I've had a myriad of experiences.
I remember the day I left with my uhaul towing my truck behind it, like it was yesterday. I don't think I will every forget that day for as long as I live. I was excited to get "my" life started, nervous that I was starting something that I knew nothing about, and sad that I had to leave my family behind.
The next portion of my year was the hardest part, and quite possibly the hardest several months of my life. I'm a very social person and moving here without knowing anyone was incredibly more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I just went to school two nights a week with people who were 2o years older than me and then...THAT WAS IT. That's all I did. If it wasn't for me going to the gym 5 days a week I'm sure I would have went insane. I would go to sleep at 4 or 5am, and wake up in the afternoons. I played xbox and watched too much tv. As I wrote on the website on March 10th, 2006, describing the hardest things I've ever done were/are... "So what's left?...You guessed it, moving to Irving. This has been a rough six weeks, I got nobody to play with, I got no job, and I got no dogs to wrestle with. I moved out here with only my determination, enthusiasm, and my perseverance. This is the hardest thing I've ever done.In retrospect, I can tie my shoes, I'm pretty proficient at walking, I was a late bloomer athletically, I became a member of the greatest fraternity in the world, I PASSED CALCULUS, and I graduated. So I guess this too will pass...didn't someone famous say that? I'll beat this too like everything else, but F$%K this is the hardest thing I've ever done."

After the initial shock and events that came with moving to a place where I didn't know anyone the next portion of my year may have been the most exciting. I met a girl, I got a job, and I finished my first trimester in graduate school. In March I met a girl that I thought was pretty awesome but, as most relationships it didn't work out. Although it wasn't as good as it could have been dating her was a great relief in my life because I was finally able to socialize with someone and get out of my 700 sq. ft. prison cell I had created for myself (my apartment). After volunteering with a professor at UD I was able to get him to recommend me to the Dallas Mavericks and low and behold I finally got myself a job. The playoffs started and evertyhing got exciting, I met some awesome people and was able to finally begin to feel like I could stay in Dallas.

The next portion of my year was a touch stressful. I had classes that I had to finish up and the NBA season was getting ready to start so work was ramping up. My eyelid started twitching uncontrollably - apparently a sign of stress - and I was on the end tip of three consecutive trimesters without a break. I got through that with some quality library time and the help of the great friends I have in Dallas.

So today...my new years eve...I sit and reflect on how far I have come in the past 365 days. I went from wanting to go back home everyday to shopping for houses in Dallas. My goal is to own a home out here by May. I guess you could say I've made a bit of progress in one of the largest cities in the country. As Jay-Z said "look mama I made it!"


Love you all.

Dick goes on Vacation 33 and 1/3

**Musical Selection**
**Pretty Ricky**...no really that's their name!
**http://atlanticrecords.liquidbuilder.com/prettyricky_lns/**


First off I feel the need to clarify my musical selection tonight. No I do not enjoy the musical stylings of Pretty Ricky but shit they do have a sweet ass name. when you go to their website listen the the beginning of the song that starts up. Once they actually start singing it basically turns to crap. But it's oh so good to start with.

Now back to the trilogy (I hope at least some of you got the Naked Gun reference in the title). I know you have read the book and know how this trilogy ends but trust me the blog is much better...better graphics (?). Well I have talked about the NYC and the 5 oh 5, so it is only obvious that I talk about the big D, right? But you might say "hey Pretty Ricky, I thought you were talking about your vacation?" Well young lad I'm glad you brought that up --and thank you for the compliment--but you see after spending two and a half weeks away from Dallas, it felt like a vacation getting back here.

So I get back to Dallas on New Years day and Ben is there to pick me up, I think he would have been there no matter what. Every time I called him with a new plane reservation he didn't even hesitate to let me know he'd be there. Once I landed in Texas and my friends were dying to tell me stories of the weeks past and the times they had while I was gone, not to rub it in but more of a wish you were here tone.

I get in my truck, drive home, turn the key, open the door, and then finally felt relaxed. It was an odd feeling. I had the same feeling on December 15th when I turned and locked that same door knowing I wouldn't be back for a long while. Sure I did a lot of just relaxing and sleeping in on my vacation but for some reason I felt exhausted. Maybe too long of a break from the norm or not having a sense of being established in the places I was...who knows. What I do know is that I definitely needed a vacation from my vacation.

Now I'm back, school has started, I'm back at work, I got a fresh dome shave, took down the 8 week old beard and now time to start a new year. As for resolutions, they're all great and everything but I don't believe in them. I'd rather attempt to make myself better every single day...why wait for a certain day on a calendar to make yourself better?


p.s. 9 days till my 1 year Dallas anniversary.

Dick goes on Vacation (part duex)

**Musical Selection**
**Swollen Members**
http://www.swollenmembers.com/06/
**Check out 'Deep End' and 'Fuel Injected' Right on the home page.**
In my last post I spoke of the incredible ride of a trilogy you may choose to take a ride on and not to disappoint (or maybe it's disappointing who knows) here is part duex.
After my action packed trip to the NYC, I figured my time in the ABQ would be the opposite. I thought I'd be able to hang out and just relax to finish off my 2006...oh boy was I wrong. I got home and it seemed as if all the little socialites that had spread across the country were back in the 5 oh 5 for the big weekend filled with Judeo-Christian celebrations a plenty (how's that for politically correct?). Friend I hadn't seen since I left for Dallas last January were back and of course there were the friends that never left...even the ones who are "too smart to be here". I ended up going out every night I was back home except the "eve's" both Christmas and New Years. It is so much fun to go out with different people every night, this is the first trip back home that I think I got to see almost everyone (sorry if I didn't hang out with you...I promise next time). It actually got to the point where my dad would ask me "where's the party at tonight?", I think he actually found it a little entertaining that I came home at 3-4am every morning. So if you bought me a drink, shot, cocktail, hooker, or late night hot dog...thank you and in most cases phi alpha.
So that was the fun...now for the RIDICULOUSNESS! So it's December 29th and I'm sitting on my plane ready to leave on my way back to big ole freakin' D and the following were the events that occurred as I believe them to be true: {it has been snowing for an hour but doesn't look that bad} plane gets de-iced and ready for take off, we taxi out to the run way, we make a U-turn (not good), I see the terminal (really not good), after sitting on the plane for an hour and at the gate I call southwest and tell them I want to fly out the next day, wish granted, my bags are still checked but it will be alright I'll get them tomorrow when I get to Dallas right? Wrong! Not only did I have my Friday morning flight cancelled, I also had my Saturday morning and new Saturday afternoon flight cancelled. So I go to stay and play in the snow...and play we did. Since we are desert kids and not used to this amount of snow we went crazy; snowball fights a plenty, a 9' snowman...that's right 9 FLIPPIN FEET TALL, and full contact football in 18" of powder FUN. So I wasn't able to get out of Albuquerque till New Years Day and was finally able to acquire my luggage which missed me dearly after 4 days on its own.
So as chapter duex came to a close it was such a relief to get on that plane and head "home" to Dallas on New Years morning. How fitting after the year I had and the turbulent ending to 2006 that I was able to get the first flight to Dallas in 2007, a fresh start for me and a new year to learn and grow. And what did I learn in part duex? It can best be summed up in this lyric..."friends, friends, friends, you and I will be, whether in fair or in dark stormy weather, we'll stand or we'll fall together

Dick goes on Vacation (part I)

**Musical Selection**

**Eli Young Band**

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=8237588&MyToken=db2c9c7b-6115-44a0-9821-27409985f342

So I just spent the last 17 days in every time zone except the pacific and oh boy do I have some stories. I figured to be able to deliver all the stories I have, I needed to break them up. Here enters the Dick goes on Vacation trilogy. Yes that's right folks a freakin' trilogy, that's how action packed the last 17 days of my life were. So sit back, stay glued to your computer, and wait for the next two installments, but for now here is part I.
To begin my vacation I spent 5 days in New York City. Our hotel was located right in the heart of midtown Manhattan. When we got there the hotel had screwed up our reservation and they only had one room left...the freakin' penthouse! No not the kind with dirty pictures but the kind with several rooms and a wrap around balcony with amazing views of the entire city...it was amazing.
We did all the major "tourist" things you should do while in NYC; Statue of Liberty, ground zero, the top of the empire state building, central park, two broadway plays, times square (during the day and night), Rockafeller plaza (you know the place with the big ass tree), the UN building, Grand Central Station, and pretty much wore ourselves out.
It was a trip that every American should make in their lifetime. So many great sites and sounds (apparently honking your horn is like a language out there). So much to do and just an amazing place. Everywhere you look it feels as if you are about to be swallowed up by a monster with buildings for teeth.
I guess if I were to take one thing from that trip it would have to be the pace of life. People are in such an amazing hurry to get things done. I guess when you live with 9 million other people you can kinda get left behind if you don't make yourself known. A lot of those people know no other way to live, but that lifestyle is definetly not for me, an amazing city, yes...but a place for me to live, no. I enjoy having downtime, I enjoy friends and family and not needing to always be in your face or on the go and that seemed to be the NYC way. So adios east coast, and hello again southwest.