Losing Myself In A Virtual Reality

If I'm not doing magic tricks or on the computer or playing music you can probably find me with a controller in my hand and shooting something at someone on the screen. That's right folks, by reading this blog you get an inside look behind the magic man and see who he really is. Before all the magic (and heck, before you could even say I had a life, that is if the one I have today counts) I was all about the video games.

I remember back all the way to 3rd grade when I got my gameboy. And what game was I playing? Pokemon of course. Everyone that was cool had pokemon.

Elementary school consisted of me with that small pocket sized gaming device in my hand. Whenever I would get in trouble my mom would take away my gameboy for like two or three days and lets just say I just felt like my life ended.

Middle school came around and the tv game consoles came. My friends and I would spend the night at each others houses pretty much almost every weekend and we would play till early hours of the morning. I definitely remember one time where we played Super Smash Bros. till about 4 in the morning... I'm pretty sure we started at like 4 pm the day earlier. Good times...

As time moved along more homework came, so my gaming had to be put aside... But did that stop me? Absolutely not. High school came with even more homework. But I still from time to time found myself playing until 1 or 2am on school nights. And I'm pretty sure it did not help that I had a tv in my room...

In high school I got my own computer and the introduction of online games. I'm pretty sure I spent a lot of time playing Counter Strike. Shooting game where you play against REAL live players on the internet. And you can talk to them and stuff. TOO much fun. Whenever I had homework that needed the use of a computer, you can imagine that I easily put that aside, hooked up my headset mic and started gaming for hours.

As high school went along and I gained new "interests" I gamed less and less. Although once a while on a weekend I would re play one of my old games. I guess it was also because my money went from video games to school and hanging with friends and stuff.

So what is it with these video games? Yes they are fun. But when you find yourself playing for hours and missing meals and stuff, thats not good. And it took me awhile to figure that out, but I did. And I'm glad I am not finding myself as a 30 year old dude who doesn't know what a girl is, has a non-existent social life, and finds himself in front of a screen for hours. No. That is not me. (Thank the Lord). But really, why get so crazy over them?

I think now that I look at it, I can only come down to this solution. I spent so much time on video games mostly because it was my escape. In video games, I could lose myself in the virtual reality where anything I wanted could happen. I was given a cool person who either had really cool guns or a fancy car or had cool superpowers, plus the free ability to move them however I want with the single push of a joystick or a button. In many of the games I play, I could run around and drive cars and fly planes, things that as a little boy I could never do. I would get so lost in the game that I lost track of time and some serious physical needs (aka food). Even when I wasn't playing all I could think about was when I could leave this boring world and go home and play

more games. Haha as I'm writing this I realize just how much of a gamer junkie I was! It was an addiction! And not a good one to have as a kid. Especially with the games I was playing. You've read or heard of those stories of kids who went and stole or probably seen those little boys you see jumping off the walls thinking they're a Power Ranger.

I'm not saying video games are bad. It's fun to play games! As

long as the game does not become the player's reality. It's always important to have that self control when it comes to playing video games. I finally can say that I am no longer addicted to video games. Thanks to having a social life and having other interests that does not involve me sitting in front of a screen. Sure time to time I still love playing games. There's always fun ones coming out! Sure I wait a year for the prices to go down but its still fun for me. I am always down for playing a round in Call of Duty (BOOM! Headshot!) or kickin someone's butt in Super Smash Bros. (Falcon PUNCH!)

Do the Dew

Mountain Dew. The drink of champions. Or should I say, failures. It seriously has become an addiction! I think I have legit Mountain Dew withdrawals. Nooo bueno. Ever since the introduction of vending machines in high school, I have been going crazy on caffeine. One a day. Def not good. It eventually go to the point of not just one a day. It became two... then three.... Then yesterday I found myself downing 4 of them in one day! SO bad. ARGH.

The fact (or should I say RUMOR) that Mountain Dew helps decrease my chances of having children in the future is not something that makes some people happy. But dear friends, it is just a rumor!

"In the late 1990's, a new rumor about Mountain Dew began circulating around. At times, it still rears its head today. Unlike the "caffeine rumor", this rumor specifically targeted the male population. It probably even stopped some younger guys from drinking the popular soft drink. This rumor stated that drinking Mountain lowered a man's sperm count. Not only that, but drink Mountain Dew and you'll notice your male appendage growing smaller in size.

The alleged culprit is a chemical known as Yellow 5. It's also known as Tartrazine. Supposedly, Mountain Dew contains a large amount of this dye. That's why it was targeted. The truth of the matter is that this dye has been used since 1916. You can find it in Mountain Dew, soups, candy, jelly, macaroni and cheese box mixes, mustard, Kool-Aid and a host of other prepackaged products. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Yellow 5 is safe for consumers.

However, a little known fact about Mountain Dew Soft Drink is, if your sensitive to Tartrazine, you may have an allergic reaction to it. I think the number is 0.12% of the American population is thought to be sensitive to this chemical.

In children particularly, Yellow 5 is attributed to problems with hyperactivity and ADHD."

I don't think I am sensitive to Tartrazine. But some of you who hang with me would probably laugh at the last part of that nice shpeel about Yellow 5. ANYWAYS, I know it's a HORRIBLE thing to be putting into my body, let alone more than once DAILY.

Slowly but surely (and with the help of others) I will be decreasing my intake of this delicious, yet harmful drink.

I want to live till 100!

"Mountain Dew" by KJ-52

Well hello everybody,

Welcome to MDA, that’s Mountain Dew Anonymous, for those who have

abuse problems with mountain dew. We have a new member today his name is KJ-52.

KJ why don’t you introduce yourself (Hi KJ).

My Name is KJ-52 and I’m addicted to Mountain dew.

Tell the people a little bit about what happened.

Ohh what am I gonna do,

I’m addicted to mountain Dew,

When I drink just one to two

These people say “what’s wrong with you man?”

I start acting like fool,

from all the caffeine and the sugar too.

I’m feeling like I aint got a clue.

And it’s just what I’m gonna say to you,

(Chorus)

Uh gimme dat Mountain Dew,

Uh gimme dat Mountain Dew,

Uh gimme dat Mountain Dew,

I aint playin with you,

You better gimme my Mountain dew!

(Repeat)

Well KJ I know that must be tough to talk about (it is, it’s hard)

But part of recovery is talking about how it starts,

Explain how this started.

Well it started while I was on tour,

I had to stay awake, I went to the store

Then I loaded up and I bought like four

And I just kept taking more and more

All of a sudden it happened to me,

Just for some reason I couldn’t fall asleep.

Maybe it was the sugar and the caffeine

Not sure, but I started to scream

(Repeat Chorus)

Well KJ I know that was painful to talk about, (it was painful, I’m sorry)

But you know you can over come this addiction.

(I can?)

You just have to admit that you have a problem.

I’ve got a problem I just can’t help it,

Somebody help I think I’m addicted,

Every day I gotta just have it,

I can’t help it it’s just a habit,

I’ve got a problem, I get it

I’m an addict I’ll admit it

And I promise I’m gonna quit it

Hey, that Mountain Dew over there, anybody gonna finish it?

KJ you need to put the mountain dew down, (‘couz I’m sayin’ if you aint gonna finish it)

KJ I, you need, back away from the Mountain Dew (I’ll, I’ll take it)

KJ BACK AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAIN DEW NOW, MAN I AINT PLAYIN’ WITH YOU, MAN!! (all right)

(repeat chorus)

Sorry I don’t now what came over me,

Uh, sorry

You didn’t have to hit me.

New Year. New Me?

Wowww.

Soooo.... before the start of the new year, I had planned to write one blog a week. It's week 4 of the month and I am just starting. Fail. Let's just say these past 4 weeks have been rough as I did not start the new year as good as it could have been. Nooo fun. Maybe soon I will share about what happened.

I didn't begin my "one blog a week" thing too well, but better late than never!

I think it's funny when people make "new years resolutions" and get all excited about it and say they will go through with it but find themselves 3 weeks later giving up on it. I can't say I haven't done this before because of course I have. My 2010 "new year's resolution" was to eat healthier. Reasons why this failed: Too general. Not original. No accountability. Yeahhhh soo much for that. I found myself making fast food runs like no other. THEN I decided to find myself an addiction. Mountain Dew. My addiction with Mountain Dew Don't even worry. My friend is going to help me through the 12 steps of addiction to help cure this madness! But anyways! This year, I decided to not do a "new year's resolution." I pretty much just decided that the whole concept is dumb. Why wait to make improvements or changes or whatever until the beginning of the next new year. Why not do it immediately.

I don't have a resolution to make this year. I realized that if I make a goal and I put it off until a future date, I end up getting lazy and losing focus of it and therefore, goal failed. No bueno. If there is something that needs to happen, I try my hardest to place it into immediate effect. This concept in itself is rather a huge hypocritical statement in itself. I'm still struggling to place it into effect but I am trying!

I say this because the beginning of this year was a rough start for me. My world got knocked upside down which threw me for a loop. The past 3 weeks or so I have slowly but surely moved forward. Let's just say this. God pointed the big finger of conviction and told me to grow up.

I am no longer a kid. In less than a month and a half, I will no longer be a "teen." Time is moving forward I am becoming a person with more responsibilities. An "adult." For too long I've messed around not taking things as seriously as I should have.

A week after the new year I was hesitant to go on a weekend church retreat with the college group. After a rough start to the beginning of the year, I just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide forever. That did not help motivate me to go on this retreat along with the fact that only 6 kids from the college crew were going, 5 being dudes. The 1 other decided not to go, so therefore it would just be us 6 guys. Awesome. I wasn't feeling it. Not one single bit. But I went anyways.

Let's just say I did not go on a normal church retreat. The first night, the Spirit moved in all 5 of us guys and we pretty much ripped off all our scabs and wounds. All of them. Our pastor did not plan for any of it.

"Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me."

Job 38:3 NIV.

I like the other translation of this verse.

"Gird up now thy loins like a man"

God meant business. I thought life was good and all. No. He needed to kick me in the you-know-whats to wake me up and tell me that I need to start getting down to business. His business, not mine. Who was I to think that I knew what God was doing? Who was I to think that life is good and that I should just keep living it with smiles? The whole weekend pretty much was a process of me ripping off my wounds and moving forward. I'm glad I was able to get away in the middle of nowhere because there, I was able to just be fully in the presence of God. No distractions. No noise. I was able to be still, and know that He Is God.

If I want to live out the true meaning of love as laid out in 1 Corinthians 13, I need to do just as it says. The time is now for me to put childish ways behind me and become a man. But I don't want to just "be a man." Being a man is more than "being swift as a coursing river... having the force of a great typhoon... having the strength of a raging fire... being mysterious as the dark side of the moon...." (Who knows what that's from!??! Muahahaha bonus points if you do!) ANYWAYS, haha.

In all seriousness, I do not just want to be a man. I want to be a man of God. What does that mean? I don't fully know yet. But I know that I want to be a man of God, FOR God. I want to live out His will and I want to be used for His glory. And I don't plan to do that next year or when I turn 21 or whatever. I began this plan on that weekend retreat. I don't know all the answer nor am I close to what I want to be. But I want the world to know that I'm all serious about the business of God. And I don't plan to tell them. Instead, I will show them.

Not only do I want to show the world what this whole "Man of God" thing is, but BE a "Man of God". I want to be the strongest man for whomever God places in my life especially spiritually because that will be the thing that keeps us solid.

Enough talk. I'm going to stop telling you, and start showing you. Man of action. Man of God.