Damn. There goes 2004. To be quite honest, I'm happy this year is through. It had its moments of ups, downs, lefts, and rights. If we were to put a rating on this whole entire year, on a scale of 1-10, i'd give it a 7. I'm going to roughly list what happened to me in 2004 in (almost) chronological order.

-Spring 2004 Semester @ Palomar-

Math: D (hated this class)
Psychology: B
Art: B
Econ: C

- American Street Dance w/ Angie Bunch @ Mesa College w/ Joey & Melvin
- Helping out with Eastlake's errbands

-Lost my grandpa to cancer (you will be missed Papa Joe.)

-Trips up to Riverside to visit Hope
-Spending time with Hope
-Any chances of anything more than a friendship dissolved by Hope (and to think i was a Hopeless Romantic? How ironic.)

-depression kicks in for a bit

-Summer kicks off-

-mad beach days with Team Gooch
-lots of kick backs with people
-Summer semi-fling with Steph
-Summer semi-fling with Steph deteriorates

-turned the useless age of 19

-Comic Con w/ Tristan & Ray (Too bad i didn't have a job yet...I would've bought myself more stuff)

-Ray leaves for the Navy

-Numerous game nights, boba runs, & JCVD nights with Tristan, Jer, Justin, Ellis, JT, Al, and the gizzang a.k.a. Genshiken

-crazy ass farmer tan
-banzai bleached hair
-start collection of Japanese street fashion mags

-The Hives concert w/ Pam (not sure when this happened so i'll put it here)
-HIM concert w/ Ellis (happened in Oct.)

-Fall Semester @ Palomar- (This is probably the string of positivity that occured in 2004)

-Speech w/ Iris & being Palomar buddies with Iris (we pretty much ran Palomar community college. She made the Fall semester 300% more enjoyable then it would have been if i was solo)

-Cinema w/ O-side peeps (gave me the chance to become much closer with the O-side heads + Matt Reyes)
-cinema also opened my eyes to how shitty hollywood films are these days and urged me to pursue more independent films and foreign films as well.
-rush of asian romantic comedies (my collection is still growing)

-San Diego Asian Film Festival (Fucking awesome dude.)

-JAM CONTROL (good shit hamie.)

-Grades breakdown-

-Speech: B
-Cinema: C
-History: C
-Philosophy: C

-Fall 2004 was probably my most lax semester so far. It was worth it though. Studying just aint my kinda thang.

-Crossing paths with Gorgeous Girl about 15 times during the whole semester
-running into Gorgeous Girl @ Margarita rocks and accidentally hitting her on the side of her head with my sparratic dance moves
-conjouring up the fact that she was a lesbian so that I didn't feel so bad that she didn't acknowledge me when I was dancing with her

-Landing a job @ Deer Canyon ESS (I love my job and it enables me to buy fun and useless items.)
-1st day of work~ I find out that my co-worker, Maricel wears the same body lotion/spray as Hope which brings a rush of nostalgia whenever I smell it, but I got over it.
-Good times building relationships with the kids
-James "Jimmy" Chai Lee is my Home-E 4 Life

-Halloween as Pai Mei & Tokyo Trendy + Wiley's crazy ass house party with the whole world.

-Start hanging out with Rona & Team Sephora a lot more

-Establish an interesting friendship with xJewls

-The mexican introduces Halo 2 to me and i'm hooked
-Touch base with Joe Kraft and catch up
-Thanksgiving with the fam and Halo 2 + good food

-Christmas in San Francisco (fun times with the fam and lots of spending in Downtown Frisco)

-Ideas conjoured up in 2004-

-Tokyo trip 2005/Study abroad in Tokyo after Palomar
-Transferring to Cal Poly Pomona after Palomar majoring in International Business
-Brilliant Industries
-Dennis & Mark's business venture/entrepreneur project
-The Riff Raffs/Rabscallions Band creation

Which roughly leads me to today. If I left something out, I apologize...it's about 3:10 in the AM right now, so it's kinda hard to think about other stuff that happened.

Happy New Year's everybody.

-Mark Ino

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so i guess this whole story starts off a little bit like this...

there used to be a girl that i was head over heels in love with. i mean, i'd do anything for this girl. if she told me to jump off a cliff, i'd already be giving myself a running start.

the only drawback was that it seemed like i wasn't getting out what i had put into the "relationship" per say. it was like i was putting in 110% of my efforts while she just sat there and did minor things like call once in a while or pass by the house randomly one day. and i guess that was enough for me at that time. little did i know that she was just toying with me like a cheap puppet. little did i know that she was talking to other dudes while i bit my lip for her, at all the opportunities that came my way. stupid, yes, but i am one to keep my promises to the end, regardless of what gets in the way. so long story kinda truncated, she ends up putting my heart through a meat grinder and the rest is history.
~~

little did i know that during that whole time, there was a diamond amidst the rough and the haze of love and infatuation that i had for the other girl. totally blew me away when she revealed to me that she had an interest in me during my love games with the other. the fact that i threw myself into a big hole and forgot to leave a rope to exit angered her very much. for she knew for herself that i was in a bad position and found it unreal that i was dealing with all of that bullshit. there are times where i sit and think to myself, and question, "what would have happened if she flagged me down and smacked me in the head with a large trout?" sure things would be way different, but there's a reason behind everything right? i think i kind of have it figured out. the reason why we're a lot closer now as oppose to before is because i need her the most now, and hopefully she doesn't mind me stickin' around either. she is the epitome of what i dig in a girl, and on top of that, we have a weird connection. and ironic events that pop up that slightly freak me out and slightly leave me in awe.

i want to sing songs to her with my acoustic, even though my voice isn't top notch. i want to watch international lovey dovey flicks with her. i want to chat with her over a cup of hot cocoa (i don't drink coffee). i want to gaze at the stars with her. i want to dance with her, laugh with her, cry with her, and most importantly, be there for her, nothing more, nothing less. cuz i mean, i aint no super hero, nor am i a psychic or a genius. i am just a regular guy filled with these thoghts. i'm mark. and that's as much as i can give to her. my time, ears to listen, a shoulder to lean on, a body to hug, hell maybe even a hand to hold. everything is as simple as that. no disclaimers. just the real thing. no need for extravagant things. i liker her just the way she is, and i'd be stoked if she thinks likewise, but that may be asking for too much. then again, i never ask for much to begin with.

~ maybe she can be my rope and pull me out of this hole for good.

oh yeah, her name's...


i have no shame, i'm not going to keep these thoughts in like i did with eunice. it's time to take a different approach.


June, 30/July 1, 2004

M.P.I.

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so here's my plan.

Loft in Okinawa overlooking the beach and a Condo in Tokyo, in the heart of the city. Turbo-charged Van, and a Nissan Fairlady Twin Turbo all sexed out. A Vespa for metropolitan commute. A yacht in Okinawa so i can circle the island on weekends. A Jack Russel terrier named Spam. A Japanese rock garden, with carps. Modern, yet simple interior decor. Jacuzzi. Fireplace and plenty of skylights. Rickenbacker electric guitar and bass. Sound-proof room. Drumset, Keyboard, Microphone. Turntables with D.J. B.P. spinnin' the 1's and 2's. I will have investments in a 401k, Roth IRA, and Mutual Funds. I will be living off of the interest alone. After that's settled, I will go on a trip around the world. A map of the world will be posted on my wall, and I will randomly pick a place on the map. I will go to that place on the map, and soak up whatever culture that i may be in. By the way, I will be retired at this point. At the age of 25. That's seven years from now. I'm going to make it happen.


oh yeah, and this isn't an April Fool's joke.




-Mark Ino

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To fall in love, is it so uncool?








it's not. really. it isn't.

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love of my life.

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