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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Kevi Kenobi's LiveJournal:
| Wednesday, October 10th, 2001 | |
| 9:36 pm | Cal Berkley Yeah. Me n' Bim is goin down to Cal tomorrow at the ass early time of 4:30-5am. but it's all good baby 'cause we get to hit six flags and stuff. Oh, yeah- and we'll beat Cal. UCLA, though... that'll be one tough mother of a game. Hope that the Huskies loose, but I suppose that'll make UCLA even tougher... well one thing at a time: THIS WEEKEND will rock. that's certain. plh |
| Thursday, October 4th, 2001 | |
| 6:31 pm | tonight is 3 can night at regal cinemas- so instead of paying like $8 for a show, i bring in 3 cans of food. last time we tried this, the best thing playin was "the original kings of comedy." it was pretty cool, but i only remembered to bring in 2 cans that day, so i had to rob one off of a friend (thanks pete). why do i remember this random ass trivia? i don't know either. maybe, just maybe, somebody somewhere will think it's funny. hell i always find myself laughing at myself. okay, that's just sad. i'm hungry, so i'm goin to have some tostitos. you all needed to know that too. hey, i got my red subaru back from the auto shop place-- you guys remember the Dave concert in the gorge when the RV man thought he could squeeze by and he ended up squeezing my car? yeah. it's all neato now. they did a great job, too. i was impressed. so that's my cone car moment of the year. in other news, i'm done. Current Mood:  amusedCurrent Music: Cake - Stickshifts and Safetybelts |
| Friday, September 14th, 2001 | |
| 11:18 pm | My thoughts on these recent events we're all aware of... a lot of it's still hard to belief. I mean to me it seems so surreal. Watching video pictures of the plane hitting, the fire ball and smoke/particle cloud still look only half real- like a film. Part of says, "it's far away, don't worry about it." But more and more I hear about people and friends that I know whom knew someone in New York at the time, and hearing through news personal stories of concern, loss, and heartbreak. Tonight during our marching rehearsal we took off time at 7pm, with so many others, to honor a moment of silence for reflection and appreciation. More and more, this' really starting to hit home for me. What touches me most is hearing & seeing others' reactions. People around the nation and around the globe focusing their genuine concerns for the well-being of those on our east coast, and the well-being of people globally- to defend ourselves against such terrorism. Tim and I were talking about how amazing this is; how so many peoples are recognizing this as a threat against innocent lives on a global level, and how so many countries can come together. It's sad that these ideals of people living together for the sake of people (rather than the sake of government, or religion, or money, or anything that can sometimes put concerns for life secondary) could only come after so many lives are suddenly lost, and so many more severely altered. However long it may take us to realize it, my hope is that sometime maybe people will discover that a possible goodness behind the motives of war is the coming together of people for the cause of life. I'd then also wish that we'd be able to recognize that and then respect our differences enough to not attack each other, and not war against ourselves. Just a dream now, though. I don't want to go to war. If there's a draft, who wants to go to Canada with me? :) Current Mood:  tiredCurrent Music: Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water |
| Sunday, August 12th, 2001 | |
| 9:59 pm | Pete's published in the paper Pete had a letter to the editor published recently. And from those of use who need that reminder, for any reason- thanks. From the Oregonian's Editorial page, Saturday August 11th 2001, section E page 6: "No force, violence by parents" In his Aug. 8 letter about Brian and Ruth Christine, "Not kidnappers, just parents," Layne Barlow asserts: "Each of us is just a piece of paper away from losing our kids - laws, constitutions and just plain common sense notwithstanding." Barolow disregards the facts with the same vigor as the Christines. It is against the law to abuse your children, it is against common sense to abuse your children, and nowhere in the Constitution are you given the right to abuse your children. I am happy to live in a society whose government protects its children from abuse. Before people support Brian and Ruth Christine merely out of their hatred for the government, maybe they should take a look at what they are supporting: child-abusing people accused of several crimes. Parenting is about love, not force or violence, a lesson many seem to forget. |
| Sunday, July 29th, 2001 | |
| 10:04 pm | Here's a song in good memory of the Deschutes River Quintet- Pete, Tim, Bri, Bim and Dude. We're all back from rafting, but I swear that there's something in my body still out there in the water. No, I don't mean my glasses... sitting here at home, there's still a sensation of up & down and up & down and up & down. I'm still floatin down a river. doo de doo de doo Ben - happy 21st my son. Paint your shirt with pride. Although, i'd advize that you not paint it nor have it painted while you wear it- we all know that areosole just isn't the best thing for us to be sucking in. back to shool. Hooray for ... well nevermind. I thought about going back to class tomorrow morning, and then I couldn't think of anything to be excited about. what can ya do? Looking forward to school being out in 3 weeks, to my sister's 19th birthday, to my own 21st, and most definetly looking forward to a concert with Dave. I hope they play 'Bartender'. we're really gettin the road trips in this summer, aren't we? sweet. Current Mood: tiredCurrent Music: Righteous Brothers - You've Lost that Lovin Feeling |
| Wednesday, July 25th, 2001 | |
| 6:32 pm | Oh yeah- Sarah- would like to talk to you one on one sometime soon here. No worries, and no rush. Current Mood: still whatever Current Music: Chara - Junior Sweet |
| 6:31 pm | today i signed for another summer school class- 4 weeks long, 3 credits. so now i'm up to 21 total and only getting more and more tired. also today, i withdrew some $ from the atm and discovered that i'm under quite a bit, which isn't good. one of my philosophy classes had a movie assignment issued- we watched 'birth of a nation', which is only the most race-controversial film of all time. that, and the fact that it's over 3 hours of silent film made it fantastic. All in all, though, things are doin pretty good. The OMB finally has the CDs from last season in, so when i have a spare ten bucks i'll get myself one. heheh. that was funny. Hey, anyone remember this tune? classic aloha band room atmosphere- right up there with Tom Jones. Current Mood: whatever Current Music: Chara - Junior Sweet |
| Sunday, July 8th, 2001 | |
| 10:19 pm | well here's the start of my week. I'm a councelor for some band camp kiddies in the dorms. So far, pretty boring. They're old enough to know what's up AND act responsibly. Really, i've discovered that I don't have to do too much- which is great of course. Can't get the phone to work yet, though, so ordering pizzas is going to be a slight inconvenience... Current Mood: band geek Current Music: Pearl Jam - Do the Evolution |
| Thursday, May 31st, 2001 | |
| 4:17 pm | hey everyone. At my last band council meeting, Tim brought a magazine with the most beautiful centerfold ever--- The new Dodge Viper Venom 800. OH, my gracious. what an incredibly exceptional vehicle. Before the magazine could be pried from my hands, drool saturated everything within a 2 foot radius of me. ah, she's a beaut. Wanna see? check out http://members.aol.com/speeddmn16/venom yeah. there it is. Current Mood:  bouncyCurrent Music: Beastie Boys - Fight for Your Right |
| Wednesday, April 18th, 2001 | |
| 11:43 am | well this spring I'm playin some softball for a coupla teams. the first being the marching band softball team. Our coordinator, Angie, placed my ass in right field. She put me in the field! god Damn, I suck and I know it, but at least give me a sympathy field position and not some outfield shit. I'll have time to lay eggs out there while everyone else is having fun, and switching sides, and counting and running and laughing and spitting and scratching and adjusting themselves and eachother... I'll be sittin on my flat ass on wet grass, trying to keep myself awake by attempting to squash ants between the thumb and fingers of my mitt. The sky may fall, nuclear holocaust may erupt, and plague may spread, but I won't notice any of it because I'll be on the outside corner of existance tryin to pick up ants with my toes (as by now I've not only taken off my shoes and socks but have just decided, "what the hell" and stripped completely nude) so that I can try to squash those damn ants between the thumb and fingers of the mitt I bought with from my poor college kid bank account- the mitt I never had for my adult life and purchased for the entertainment of intramurel college sports- the mitt that I'll never experience using in right field because NASA isn't even sure how long life may survive there, let alone being able to guesstimate any chances of me being able to play with any flying balls headin my way. The only balls I'll be playin with while I'm sittin naked out in right field with my mitt... well, forget about that. Why the hell am I being sent to purgatory? to Right Field? Holy Fucking Shit with fish crackers Current Mood: dorky Current Music: Pulp Fiction - Kool & the Gang - Jungle Boogie |
| Friday, March 23rd, 2001 | |
| 9:35 am | Hey y'all! My last final is comin up this mornin. Looks like others had to wake up even earlier than I did. And I thought I had a bitchy schedule. Dang. Spring break will be spent with a road trip to San Fran and Vegas- I'll be returning to Beaverton on Thursday I think. Maybe Wednesday. Maybe Friday. I don't know for sure. Lots to do before I go though- tuba lessons (if i can reschedule them) and finalization of my spring term schedule (it's been a bitch to solidify) but first, but first---- aural skills final. It's completely dictation from listening (last week we had our final for sightsinging. God I suck at that. here's me: "LALALLALALLALLALLALLA" and i hope it's right) I'm done in an hour and a half! I love it already. Don't get too cocky flyboy- I've still got that hour and a half to go. Okay. Let's kick some dictation ass Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson |
| Tuesday, March 13th, 2001 | |
| 8:11 pm | i am stinky Current Mood: stinky. what'd you expect? Current Music: Spinal Tap - Love Stinks (not really, but it's funny) |
| Friday, March 9th, 2001 | |
| 12:48 am | RIDDLE: If a squirrel and a half eats a nut and a half in a day and a half, how many nuts do seven squirrels eat in seven days? one nut. Current Mood:  exanimateCurrent Music: Men at Work - Land Down Under |
| Friday, March 2nd, 2001 | |
| 12:16 pm | running into people: earlier i ran into Ryan Salerno randomly. for those of you who don't know Ryan, lemme tell you a little bit about him. He's known as the human rubberband, or man-ape, or monkey boy, or simply "the missing link". He's a student here at UofO because this university is the only one in the nation offering a trampolene major. Upon asking him how trampolene was going for him, he only replied, "Oh, it's got its ups and downs" also quite randomly, i ran into John Kelly today on the way home. This little punk has not only taken a liking to cigarettes, but he rolls his own. Maybe he grows his own? i don't know... the cigarette with his shagg hair cut and orangutan side burns give him an almost James Dean image- but it's John, so of course it's a shorter James Dean. Pretty weird to randomly run into people I haven't seen in so long. Current Mood: mellowCurrent Music: Doors - People are Strange |
| Wednesday, February 28th, 2001 | |
| 9:33 pm | "Cajun Fettuccini" Tonight I gone ate me some chicken Them spices were sure finger-lickin' And now ev'ry step of mine gots more pep- Cajun spices get my gas kickin' Current Mood: gassy Current Music: Bare Naked Ladies - Call and Answer |
| Thursday, February 1st, 2001 | |
| 5:38 pm | Standing Tall His fight against cancer sends John Brennan off in new directions Thursday, February 1, 2001 ---------------------------------------- By Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian staff BEAVERTON John Brennan stands at the edge of the Conestoga Aquatic Center swimming pool and watches the Southridge High swim team take warm-up laps. He assesses the turn of one student and doesn't like what he sees. He shouts directions to the swimmer, who heeds his advice. After all, he knows what he's talking about. A champion swimmer at Aloha High School, the 20-year-old Brennan was going to swim at Brigham Young University -- until he lost his right leg to bone cancer. He wears his prosthetic leg proudly. It's a badge of honor from his war against the cancer that claimed the limb just months after he was a Metro League swim champion and before he was to begin competing at BYU. For Brennan, who has always been cocky and sure, the cancer is merely a challenge he was meant to beat. He's moved on to another challenge: living as a cancer survivor. "I beat the statistics by getting it," Brennan said. "So the statistics don't mean jack! I figured, to make the statistics, someone had to live, so why can't it be me?" The first lap Brennan had it all: Good looks. Good student. Good athlete. And he knew it. And he'll tell you all about it. "He thinks pretty highly of himself," said his 18-year-old sister, Melissa, a swimmer at Southridge. A 1999 graduate of Aloha High, Brennan swam for the boys swim team and the Tualatin Hills Swim Club. He won the Metro League championship in the 100-yard breaststroke his senior year. For Tualatin Hills, he placed in the top 16 in the 200-yard breaststroke at the Speedo Junior National Championships West. But while he was winning swim meets, cancer was eating at his right knee. He began feeling pain in February 1999 and competed through it. But the pain began to escalate, and in May, Brennan consulted a doctor. An X-ray showed nothing abnormal. Later that month, while he was jogging, the knee gave out. The diagnosis was torn cartilage. Brennan underwent arthroscopic surgery on June 4, and a week later he walked in his graduation ceremonies. Soon afterward, his leg began to swell, and Brennan found it harder to put his knee brace on. "I couldn't figure out what was going on," he said. Doctors thought a hematoma was causing the knee to swell with blood. They drained it, and Brennan resumed exercising as he prepared for college. As summer wore on, Brennan's family noticed a change. He lost weight, appeared fatigued and was not his usual active self. His leg bothered him more. Melissa, who was used to working out with her brother in the pool or running, knew something wasn't right. "It scared me,"she said. The turn Brennan left for BYU, where he had an academic scholarship, in September. His mother, Lisa Brennan, 42, accompanied him. "I had this gut feeling that I needed to be with him," she said. They day after they arrived in Provo, Utah, Brennan's leg became unbearably painful. "It was hard to even walk," he said. The swelling engulfed his kneecap. They found a doctor, who drained the knee. A biopsy at a hospital in Orem followed and uncovered a tumor the size of a football, Brennan said. The diagnosis was osteosarcoma, which had destroyed tissue all the way to his hip. Doctors told Lisa Brennan first. When she told her son, he responded in his typical cocky fashion. "Oh, I'm not afraid of a tumor," he said. His mother was. "It took a week to digest the word 'cancer,' " she said. "Your initial reaction when you hear cancer is, you're going to die." The rest of the family -- father, Greg, and sisters, Melissa; Amy, now 15; and Shelby, now 11 -- were camping in Idaho when they got the news. Greg Brennan sent his girls home and drove to Utah to be with his son. The cancer had metastasized to Brennan's lungs, where doctors counted at least 40 tumors. They predicted Brennan wouldn't live past Thanksgiving, the family says now, although at the time the family asked not to know the prognosis. But the Brennans could guess. Greg Brennan remembers seeing medical staff standing around his son. "They weren't saying much, but some were shaking their heads," he said. "But we decided that we really didn't care what the odds were." The Brennans told the doctors to forget about the numbers. "We wanted them to treat him as an individual," Lisa Brennan said. "We didn't want him treated as a statistic." The second lap Instead of starting college, Brennan began chemotherapy under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Freyberger at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Within months, his 6-foot-1 frame had dropped from 170 pounds to 120. "We got to a point where there had to be choices made," Lisa Brennan said. Should the leg be amputated? Could the lungs be operated on? Doctors advised that if the tumor were removed, the chemotherapy could focus on the lungs. They weren't certain whether they would be able to save the leg. Brennan underwent surgery May 2, 2000. He awoke from the operation and asked the nurse what happened. "She told me, and I went back to sleep," he said. When he got home from the hospital, he had to adjust to his changed life -- as did his family. His three sisters weren't sure how to act around him. "I felt bad, but I didn't know what to say to him," Melissa said. "I was really involved in swimming and would want to talk about it but felt bad because I didn't want to upset him." Six weeks later, he was fitted for a prosthetic leg from the thigh down. The worst part, he said, was getting over the phantom sensation of feeling his leg was still there. "That was the worst pain of all," he said. Throughout his recovery, her brother "set an example for us," remembered Shelby. "If he can be happy, then why should we be sad?" The final kick After the amputation, the family began looking for a doctor to remove the tumors from Brennan's lungs. After a lengthy search, the Brennans found Dr. Charles Douville. On Aug. 23, Douville removed 78 tumors from Brennan's lungs. The family noticed the same competitiveness Brennan had displayed throughout his life resurface in his fight with cancer. "He's really competitive, and that's one of the reasons he's done so well," his sister Amy said. In recovery, Brennan learned doctors originally had given him a 2 percent chance of survival. Beating the odds made him proud. Five months later, Brennan said he feels great and goes to the gym five or six days a week. He began coaching at Southridge in November and started a job as a bank teller Monday. Head coach Carl Jaynes said the swimmers respect Brennan and never allow his physical limitations to enter the equation. Sometimes Brennan will take off his leg and get in the pool with them. "Just him getting in the water and swimming with them has had a real impact," Jaynes said. Southridge junior Mike Herrall said he didn't think much about Brennan's missing leg when he met him. When he learned more from Melissa, he said he was impressed. "It's amazing," Herrall said. "It kind of makes you look up to him." Brennan is not out of the woods. A recent checkup revealed two tumors on his lungs. The doctors are waiting to see what happens: The hope is that his body will fight them off. If not, more surgery could be necessary. The discovery was cause for sadness, at first. "I thought for a minute," Brennan said, "and realized that it was pretty good. I had already survived 78." The next lap Brennan wears his prosthetic leg proudly. He smiles when he sees a child turn and gawk at the mechanical limb. Adults go out of their way to avoid looking at his leg. But Brennan doesn't mind if they do -- he often wears shorts, half showing off. "I'm not ashamed of what happened, and I'm absolutely willing to discuss it and talk about it," he said. "Part of the goal is to allay the fear. If people ask, I will tell him." His mother is amazed by his spirit. "He just never gets down," she said. Brennan intends to attend BYU in the spring, majoring in mechanical engineering and taking prerequisites for medical school. The mechanical engineering will help him with his next project. He hopes to design a more useful prosthetic leg. "Right now the project is for me," he said. "If it turns out to be successful, then I will pass it along." He's studying how the foot and toes move in walking and running. People sometimes must change the type of prosthetic they have for different activities. He hopes to design something that can do anything a regular foot can do. "I'm not concerned with doing things for myself right now," he said. "I'm not doing it for me anymore. I'm happy with who I am. I just want to be able to help other people." |
| Sunday, January 28th, 2001 | |
| 10:00 pm | when i was little, i'd do everything possible not to have to go to the bathroom. i'd dance. i'd wiggle. i'd run around to keep my legs movin- i'd do anything and everything possible to keep myself out of the restroom. i had no fear of the public bathrooms- i just didn't want to miss out on what might be goin on while i was wasting time taking a pee. i didn't want to be goin to the bathroom while everyone else was havin so much fun doin other stuff. i danced as if i were a hyperglycemic on kool-aid packets. but from those moments, i've learned a valuable lesson: bladder control. you see, bus rides from corvallis to eugene can seem much longer when you really have to pee. the bus has a stall- a "lavatory", but i don't care for that. not me! i can hold it for the hour 'til i get home, thank you very much. the only problem is the walk from the station to my house. with legs in motion again, the juices start flowin. i begin to really wish i'd just gone on the greyhound. the walk home was brisk. and once at the apartment complex, my keys gotten from my pack well in advance, i quickly decide that i must take the stairs to my quarters on the fourth floor. the elevator tonight would present two very large problems. the first being that i'd be stationary. my bowls were shaken up enough now so that if i didn't keep them shaking, the liquids would stop sloshin around inside and would instead gush out. well all have had this feeling at some point. rather than gush, it feels much more like a near-eruption. well i like my innards enough to want to keep them innards. they should stay innards, and not become outards. keeping my legs in motion was the only way to save my guts and my pants. the second reason for taking the stairs over the elevator is much more simple. the elevator has a glass door to the outside courtyard. anyone outside smokin' a cigarette would see me inside a slow movin' elevator, pacing back and forth inside it, holding my crotch, and occasionally jumping up and down. and dispite being in an upward moving elevator and biting my lip, the people smokin in the courtyard would hear my wailing from within. there are miracles that occure everyday in life around the world, and the one for me was making it back before the bladder burst. the mood explaination doesn't mean at all that i'm angry- i'm quit more relaxed now... Current Mood:  pissed offCurrent Music: Orquesta Aragon - Yaye Boy |
| Wednesday, January 24th, 2001 | |
| 11:42 am | attention: proof that matthew mcconaughey Really Is on Pot interviewer: so the police were investigating a noise complaint, found you playing bongos in the buff, and busted you for pot. we've got just one question: why the hell were you naked? matt: it was hot, man. interviewer: should marijuana be legalized? matt: its a pretty harmless drug. i like the mellow stoner personality.... you gotta be able to handle your shit just more proof that homework socialism videos really do explain it all Current Mood: stoned Current Music: Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze |
| Tuesday, January 23rd, 2001 | |
| 5:13 pm | i have a learning disability. No, i mean besides the common sense thing that you all know i suffer from. my keyboarding class isn't really that hard, but i cannot do what is required. i cannot play with both hands while singing the melody. instead i think, "okay, left hand, you do this, and right hand, you and i are doin the same thing, only you play it and i sing the note names" and by that time, my left hand forgets what it's supposed to do. so i get goin with the singin and the right hand is playing, and then i realize my left hand isn't doing anything! GAH! so as i think, "okay lefty, don't be an ass, gimmie a hand" but thinkin that means i forgot to keep singin, then i think about singing and my right hand quits, and of course the whole time my left hand hadn't even touched the keyboard. just more practice, right? Current Mood: blankCurrent Music: keyboarding playbacks stuck in my heard |
| Friday, January 19th, 2001 | |
| 12:55 pm | hey word everyone. pete- is the lemon trailer completely digital camera pics? bro & cone's hand shake sequence is pretty fatty. awsome stuff. megan- you huskey looser. that game was so bad on so many levels. sure, the duckies didn't play incredibly well. if it weren't for so many missed free throws, we'd have had the game in regular time. but that buzzer shot- well shit. it happens. i just thought you should know that i'm holding you personally responsible. bro- kickass action down in santa clara homes! damn, i was bummed to hear from bim that you guys only made alternates after all the work, blood, sweat, & tears (hey that sounds like a cool name for a band...) but hey, if you're free this comin summer, you could always drive a taxi in alaska. OH SHOOT i just rememebered i was supposed to call kerry 'cause she was comin to eugene wednesday. dang, that might've even been wednesday of last week. well, we'll just not tell her about that, okay meg? thanks ;) damn i'm retarded. i was just checkin' the specks... the other day in my drawing class (yes! a visual design course! but don't tell anyone i'm taking it- it's a secret!) i studied a live model for the first time ever. i've never done that before. well, not nude anyway. the model i mean- i didn't draw in the nude. but now that i think about it, that does sound rather freeing... hmm... anyway, i was extremely nervous (i'm just not around naked people too often) and i kept dropping my pencils and charcoals and sweating as if i were the one without clothes. by the time the 3 hours were up, i really just needed a hug. "it's okay kev, you're not completely prude. you're just stupid" and as luck, or fate, would have it, the gods sent me a letter from my bud emily that very afternoon. that was so great. wow. hey, maybe i should write her back, huh? school's groovey. one groove afta anutha. sheeeeaht. i get mahself to class n' back, lickity split. you'd think i was some crazy ass angel. you'd be cryin. yeah. you'd thought it was rain. okay enough of that. back to the point. ohwaitaminute, i don't ever really have points do i? y'all just hafta kind of sit through it. spankerific! ohohoh! for those whom aren't down with the plan, sarah, here's what's going on in eugene on saturday february 17th at 2pm: save up your money, 'cause tickets are $22.50. i'll put a request on will call for the number of tickets we'll need. so far, the count is 6. oh, what are we doing? well that's a good question i suppose. Jekyll & Hyde is comin to the hult center (kinda like the hutt center, only without mr. sluggo (OH NOOOO!)) so all in favor of seein that at the expense of gas, ticket, and the soul of your first born (expcept maybe dude's, in which case we'll just take his first piece of furniture or something), please e-mail me at khiggs1@gladstone.uoregon.edu and tell me you're diggin Jekyll & Hyde. if you'd like, you could prolly just respond to this lj entry- i'll prolly check it and see who's down. invite friends! just let me know how many tickets to get. megan, pete, i expect to see you two there! wow, that's a lot of babble. i guess i'm done right now- so y'all chill. p'chewie chomp, p'chewie, chewie chomp. plh, -Kev Current Mood: barbaric Current Music: Hans Zimmer - Gladiator - The Battle |