It's amazing how one death can impact the world.

As expected, it's been quite a while since I've updated this blog. I've got a lot to talk about here, and I may as well because I'm actually home tonight being bored rather than hanging out with friends or working.

As I said there, now that summer is here, I've been going out a lot more with good friends. It's always a blast being with them and there will be a lot more to come later on. I've been coming home a lot later, sometimes being as late as 3 A.M. It's weird for me because I go to bed earlier than that! But either way, it's always a great night with them. I know I'm gonna be coming home that late when my friend and I go to see Mastodon in 3 days. It's still gonna be a fun time, nonetheless.

Like I said in my last post, I would go over a summary of my freshman year at college, so here goes...

I didn't really know what to expect. Anything could happen there, so I basically expected the unexpected. What I got was pretty good, if I'd say so myself. My floor was cool (at first...), I met some great people and I was just having a fun time. Over time though, it started to get very boring. I had no idea why I would stay there on weekends because really, I found out myself that I really don't like to party, and that's all there is to do there on weekends. Video games were absolutely boring at this point, and most of our floor lost almost all interaction with each other. I was noticeably gaining weight, and that's when I started to go to the gym. I'd normally go once a week just to miss the Hall Council bullshit, but I started going every night at 8 P.M. It was a great way to kill time because I'd have nothing to do at night after dinner, and it was very beneficial. I started this near the end of first semester and carried on through the whole second semester. I also changed my eating habits. I'd eat a lot during lunch or dinner time, inevitably leading to more weight gain. I cut out the big eating and tried to eat smaller meals throughout the day in attempt to raise my metabolism. It wasn't too bad for me to do, but continuing it was very hard because I'd be busy some days and not have access to snacks or any other food I would want. I'm still trying these methods today and working out more. I got my L.A. Fitness membership back and I'm going any morning that I'm free or not lazy. I'd much rather work out at night than in the morning, but I guess I'll have to live with it now since I'm busy most nights. So basically, to sum up my first year at college: First semester: Decent start, but pretty lame on some parts because I didn't know what to expect. Second semester: Awesome! I listened to music for most of it (Seriously, I had my headphones in my ears more than I didn't in a day) and met a lot of people. While I did meet a lot of people at college, I'm afraid I could only call a few of those my friends. These friends are awesome. Without them, I wouldn't have known a lot of things or done other things, such as going to possibly one of the best shows of my life, or getting into awesome bands. If by some divine miracle, they end up reading this, they know who they are and are awesome. I'm really looking forward to next semester!

In sadder news, a legend has been taken from this world. Ronnie James Dio, the inventor of the devil horns hand gesture, one of the most important figures in music, and the bearer of quite possibly the best voice in all of metal music, died today in the afternoon. He was battling stomach cancer for quite some time now, but what was really confusing was that there were reports of him having great health recently. This was very unexpected, even with the rumors of his death last night. Apparently some site said that he had died, causing fans to be very confused, but Dio's wife confirmed that he was indeed alive, but not in great health. She then confirmed later in the day the very unfortunate news...

I can't say I was a huge Dio fan. I loved Holy Diver and his work with Black Sabbath, but never got around to his other albums. Maybe I'll check it out when I have time. But from what I did listen to, I knew that he definitely did have the greatest voice in metal and influenced nearly all the bands I listen to to do what they do now. After Dio's death announcement on Blabbermouth.net, every single article following were from various band members mourning his death. As the title states, it's amazing how one death can impact the world. I never got to see him perform with Heaven & Hell when they came, but I couldn't go otherwise due to work and restrictions, which is pretty sad. I would've loved to see him and the remaining members of Black Sabbath live.

It's a very sad day in metal, and while Dio may be gone from this world, his soul and voice will live on throughout history and keep fueling metal, inspiring new and old bands worldwide. Rest in Peace, Ronnie James Dio. You were one hell of a musician, and you will be missed by many.

\m/

So that's all I really have to say here. Today's been a very boring day, and the death of one of the biggest metal icons didn't help at all. I'm currently learning the 24 minute epic The Odyssey by Symphony X on guitar. I may not be able to get it done soon, but I will try and possibly get parts of it on video. Other than that, here's to an amazing summer coming up.

Now Playing:
Artist: Morbid Angel
Song: Desolate Ways
Album: Blessed are the Sick

I would not expect such a beautiful song to come from a band like Morbid Angel. Regardless, it's an amazing song.