Mawwage, Mawwage is What Bwings Us Togeva Today...

So my friend, who for the sake of his privacy we will call "Armando", just got off of his mission 2 months ago and is already engaged. Did he have a girl waiting for him, you ask? Why, no he did not, i tell you. He met a girl, started dating her and got engaged all in a 3-4 week period. Its absolutely ridiculous, and frankly (in my opinion) unintelligent.

Its common knowledge that im not exactly the most faithful Latter Day Saint theres ever been, but if there is one personal belief that i share with the church, it is that families are eternal and your spouse on earth will be your spouse in heaven. I just dont understand how people that believe that same thing, are willing to base their eternity on a relationship that theyve had going for THREE WEEKS! Ive known guys that used girls for their bodies for longer than that.


I'm only 18 and i dont have any desire to be married for a long time, but i can guarantee that when i AM ready to get married, ill be dating any prospective wife for a hell of a lot longer than 3 weeks. or even 3 months, for that matter.

Sundays are NOT Fundays

Exodus 20:3-17 spells out the 10 commandments. One of those commandments is to keep the Sabbath Day holy. Now, every religion has a Sabbath Day they believe in (most observe on Sundays, though 7th Day Adventists and a few select others worship on Saturdays), but for LDS people (more commonly known as Mormons), the Sabbath day is a little bit different. Whereas other people consider going to church for the alotted hour or two, LDS people dont do much of anything else. Services are 3 hours long, which isnt so bad once you get used to it, but the rest of the day, youre not supposed to go shopping, out to eat, fill up your car or do basically anything else that causes either you or someone else to work or spend money. THAT is what keeping the Sabbath Day holy means to them. I've been raised LDS, but this is just one of the many things that i have never liked and/or believed about it. I hate having to sit at my house all day doing nothing. My parents wont even let me play music because it "drives away the spirit". Mormon Tabernacle Choir and gospel music only, which all sucks. My mom doesnt even approve of Explosions in the Sky which is completely instrumental and not at all unpeaceful.

Now, some of you are probably wondering why i dont just say "to hell with it" and go and do stuff anyways. That would be because i live in Utah Valley, where 85-90 percent of the residents are LDS, which means close to nothing is open on Sundays. Also, lots of the people i know are LDS and are at church and/or meetings for most of the day and then choose to observe their day of worship alone after that.

It makes me really jealous of all the people in Texas who loved Sundays to no end because they were free to do whatever. I always heard the phrase "Sundays are fundays!" (usually in joking or when speaking to little kids), and i have definitely concluded that Sundays are NOT fundays.

Poetry

While i recognize that my poetry is probably somewhat angsty and shitty, i still am under the impression that some people enjoy reading it. As a result, every once in a while, im going to post a poem or two. I have to be honest-thats mostly gonna be on days when i have nothing better to say, but i still feel like updating this thing. Today is definitely a day like that. So here we go with two of my latest poems. Read and enjoy. Or read and feel demoralized and a little dumber than when you started. I dont really care.



Deeper Than the Sea

I sail away from shore again
Glad to be at sea
The gentle rock of deep blue waves
Sends a true calm right through me
My heart is half on ocean floor
And half inside your hands
I feel the absence of my full self
As I walk on foreign lands
I'm bound to you in all i do
I'm not sure that you see
That dear, my love for you is strong
And deeper than the sea
Aft! Aft! Hard to port!
A storm is coming fast!
But even if a hurricane brews
It cannot change the past
It cannot change the words you said
And, undoubtedly, meant
And blow away my misery
Or drown the tears I've spent
I wish my life could change for good
Like the winds that always blow
But dear, the sea, and love of thee
Are all that I have known



Mirage

Through the haze of drizzling rain
And the din of thundering
A mirage begins to fill my view
And starts me blundering
An image transfixed in my mind
Fills my eyes therein
And causes happiness to swell
And makes my face to grin
A daydream that invades my nights
And, once, was partly true
Is monopolizing all my thoughts
To make me long for you
This dream is not a fleeting glance
But a day you spent with me
When i carried you through flooded streets
And we took shelter under trees
A minute we spent on a bridge
When falling raindrops flattered you
When the Tyndall Effect simply filled our gaze
And the sunset warmed us through
Those rainclouds still exist in me
And rain drops soak my soul
For only in this vision's joy
Do i ever feel as if im whole
But now the drizzling rain has stopped
And the mirage is gone from view
And i am left all cold and wet
With my unrequited love for you

First Blog...Wow.

Okay, so ive never really had my own blog before. I suppose some of you would be wondering what this blog is all about, and the answer to that is: everything. Some days youll be able to look forward to me ranting about something, or raving about something else-or both. Some days ill post reviews of albums or movies. Some days ill share some of the stuff ive written. But today, im going to explain why i named my blog Alfredo's Shade.

In many ways good ol' Pearland High School was comparable to Nazi Germany. The administrators and teachers were all about their power and didnt like to be questioned about anything, or by anyone. Anyone that didnt like the system had to work undercover to oppose them and had to be careful about it.

My friends and i defied all the rules we could in high school. I'll be the first to admit now that if i had focused as much on my studies as i did on breaking rules, i would have a full ride academic scholarship to whatever school i wanted, but the past is past and theres no use worrying about it. For all the bad that came of it, i DID enjoy high school. But thats besides the point. AS i was saying, we broke lots of rules. Just one of those rules was that we were supposed to eat in one of the cafeterias and nowhere else. However, my friends discovered a wonderful little eating area outside, under a tree that (for unknown reasons) was dubbed "Alfredo".
Our midday meals under Alfredo became one of my favorite memories of high school. It was peaceful and fun and came to represent to me all of the innocence and irresponsibility of high school that I sorely miss.

So i named my blog after Alfredo-an old friend that i hope to see again someday, but probably never will.