Sitting in bed and blogging

It's moments like this that make me love the Internet. I'm laying in bed on my iPod touch listening to the rain and trying my best to get back into the swing of blogging. I just spent 10 minutes in the appstore looking for a good blogging app bit then just settled for whichever one I'm using now. Anyways, sorry for the lack in posting recently, I had no excuse before, but now, I've just been so busy and stressed!

Even at this moment, I just got done typing a 12 page paper that's due tomorrow. I mean, there's school work that seems to be never ending, extracurricular activities that I do, and everything else that's been making me so busy lately. it really makes me want to scream!!!!

Now that I think about it, I have 8 quizzes and tests tomorrow. EIGHT!!!! I should probably keep this short then so I can at least get a couple hours of sleep.

Anyways, I thought that since nobody looks here, that this would be the perfect place to release some stress. Ugggg, I hate breaking out when I'm stressed...

I still have to make Sara that letter that I promised her 4 months ago...

Anyways, I'm getting tired and think that I should to to bed before I pass out. I may be taking a break from everything Internet. It's really been taking up too much of my time that I could be doing things IRL. We'll see.

For now, ADIOS amigos

~Stretchandmayo

Yea... Sorry about that...

Umm.... so I know I haven't posted in about 4 months... I'll try and work on it though. I mean, this year has been really busy for me, so finding time to blog hasn't been the easiest. I just started my junior year in high school, and things are really really busy. For starters, I'm taking so many hard classes to try and make up for my lack of A.P's. I'm taking an Honors American Studies Course (which includes English and Social Studies for a 2-hour-straight class), Honors Chemistry, Honors Pre-Calculus, and A.P Psychology. On top of that, you have to include everything else that I've been up to outside of school. I'm the president of my school's broadcasting club, which puts on a monthly "Student News" show on the community access channel (which is a lot of work coordinating and such), I'm active in my schools Key Club (community service), and I'm also a member of my school's T.S.A (Technology Student Association), D.E.C.A (a marketing club) and F.B.L.A (a business club) chapters. On top of all that homework and extracurricular activities, I'm also in charge of my town's B.S.A troop. Yes, I'm a boy scout, but I enjoy it for the most part, so I could care less about everyone's opinions on it :-P. But as far a work goes, being in charge of this many things can take up a lot of your time.

Aside from all of these activities, I'm also trying to keep up with the traditional duties of an average high school junior. I'm just about to get my license, I'm looking for a job, and much like every other teenager, the social scene can sometimes be a mess. Don't even get me started about college searching. I'm looking all over the place for the perfect college, but every single one that I find tends to be... about $50,000 a year. Yea... that's what I thought... I'm really liking NYU, but I don't know if I could handle being in such a busy place 24/7, or even paying the tuition on itself. Feel free to share any ideas of places you think I should check out in the New England/East Coast area!

So, what what I been up to recently? Well, these past few months have been CrAzY. I've been bombarded with work from all of these previously states things (school projects, clubs, etc), but I've also had the chance to do some really cool things. So a few week ago, the YouTuber SxEPhil had a contest through twitter, and I won! Yup, me myself and I. I won a brand new iPod Nano! Exciting, right? Then, a few days after that, I went to New York City for the YouTube Gathering. I have to tell you, even if you don't make YouTube videos, you have to go to a gathering. They're so much fun! You get to meet the people whose videos you watch, and it's really amazing to have conversations with people about this online world that would otherwise be looked at strangely by other people. I got to meet Buck from the What The Buck Show, SupaDupaFlyGirl, DaveDays, and a bunch of other really cool people. Then, I won a T-Shirt contest from Lonelygirl15 for my Halloween costume. As far a Halloween goes, it was really fun. This was the first year that I hadn't gone out trick-or-treating, so instead I just went to a party that my friend invited me to. You might be wondering what I dress up as... so I'll just let you know... A WHORE. Shhhh... don't tell anyone. I know that people who follow me on YouTube know that I've been slacking when it comes to videos, so I'm going to try my best to push out more. I have some really amazing ideas for videos, I just got to find the time to make them! And that's about what I've been up to for the past few weeks. What about you?

I really should be working on my Heritage paper that I need to do for American Studies Class that's due on Wednesday. I can hear my mom pulling up the driveway, so I think I should finish this whole blog off. I really just wanted to check in with all of you guys (even though I don't think anyone looks at this blog), and see how you all where doing. I'm going to go start my interviews, BYE!

Coming Back a Changed Person

I know its been a while since my last post.....but I've been up to a lot of things, and thought that now would probobly be the best time to explain everything. So, from July 5th, until July 13, I went away with my church do do something called A.S.P (Appalachia Service Project). It doesn't sound like much, but what we did there was to help make repairs on homes for familes in Appalachia who can't afford to have it done, or who are unable to do it themselves. Because that area is such a poor part of the country, they are always looking for help, and I thought that this was the perfect idea to actually change something in the world. Anyways......

No matter what, and no matter who goes on the trip, everyone has some sort of fear before they leave that the trip will either stink, or that they won't make any friends, or that it will just be a miserable week. So when everyone gets into their giant white "sketch vans" as we call it, everyone seems to bit a bit excited for it, but still don't know what to expect. Once we made it down there, it was still almost the same thing. Nobody was talking to anyone from other groups, and everyone seemed to just go off with their friends, or walk around as if they were board out of their mind. After a week though, everyone from all the groups seemed to come together, I can personally tell you that I've made friends with people that I will continue to talk to for a long time.

Besides going down to Logan County West Virginia to make friends with people, our church also went down there to help to rebuild houses for people who are unable to do it themselves. I have to tell you that it is a very humbling experience. Speaking for people in my area, we take so many things for granite.

I was lucky enough to work on two houses when I was down there, and was able to help two separate families. The first family that I went to was Brenda and Randy. Their house had previously gotten into a fire, and what they had was destroyed. That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part about everything was that when they were trying to escape from the fire, they tried to open the back metal door, and the door knob came off. They were trapped in a tiny room in the middle of a fire until a fire fighter came to kick open the door. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been. At the house, we finished up some of the work done by previous weeks by putting up baseboards around the carpet. The other thing that we did for this family, was to put in the new back door. It seemed to me that it was a start of something new for that family, because the door that had once been the reason for them almost dieing, was now gone, and replaced with a new, better door. After we were done with these two projects. Brenda and Randy said the sweetest thing. They said that they knew what we were doing was good, and that there were people out in Appalachia who needed our help more then they needed it. It just amazed me that these people were willing to give up our help in order for us to help someone else.


That was a picture of my second house that I worked on. The family here was a 17-year-old mother of two, and a 21 year old father. Since there are only a certain amount of work sites, and that we were already done with ours, we were "double crewed" with another group from Tennessee. When I walked inside the trailer, it made me very sad. The trailer was in such bad condition, that it was unlivable. The floors were rotten, the walls had holes in them, and the roof seemed as if it was about to break. We knew that this was too much on, so our crew took on fixing the rotten floor, while the other group took on the task of underpinning the trailer (meaning to make sure that no animals or rain is able to get trapped under the trailer and ruin it even more).

By the end of the week it was amazing. Not only did we get all of the work done that we needed, but both crews seem to work perfectly together, almost as if we've known each other for years. I met some amazing people, such as Blaire, Mary, Alison, and Josh, and wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

By the time that I got back yesterday, I have to say that I was a changed person. Because of the things that I saw down there, I don't think that I'm going to be the same person. It's such an amazing feeling to see the expression on the family's face when we do things for them. Even the littlest things. For example, one day when we were working Jerica, along with her mother went out to get a refridge. When then got back from the used/dent store with it and slid it into place, they opened the freezer and looked inside. All of a sudden her face lite up like we've never seen before, and she said "I can't believe that we actually have an electric ice maker!" An electric ice maker. Something that everyone takes for granite every day, and one thing that made her smile from cheek to cheek.

If any one of you have the chance to do something like this in the future, I would highly recommend it. It doesn't take a lot to make a big difference in someones life.

~Chris

P.S: I just posted a new video over on my youtube page if you wanna check it out. Don't forget to subscribe and follow me on twitter! :)

Why do You......Tube?

Just today, my family had a graduation party for my brother Tom, who just yesterday graduated from High School. At the party, there was family, friends, and some of my brother's friends parents. It came to be that they all had something in common. They ALL had seen my youtube videos. Most of them said that they thought they were funny, and would point out one that they liked. I mean, I can't really tell if they actually liked them or if they were just trying to be nice, but that's besides the point. Anyways, one of the things that everyone asks me when they bring up my youtube videos is, "Why do you make them?" That question always makes me think.....why do iTube (get it?)? After months of thinking, here's what I've finally thought up.


Just a few years, youtube came into the public eye. Since that time, and even before, I had been on youtube, mostly checking out music videos and funny videos, but not even thinking about posting any (mostly because I was scared that my parents would find out and KILL me). Then, I came across people like Brookers and Lonelygirl15 (before she was exposed). These were the people who I saw as "regular" people who make videos for fun and just post them on youtube. So, after seeing them, I decided that maybe I should try. I posted my first lip syncing video. Hours after posting, one of my friends had found it and showed many people online. A few of the people I knew saw it, but all anyone said was "hahahahaha" about it. So, I decided that I should continue to make these "Youtube" videos. After a while, I began to find people all over the site that I thought were funny, or made cool videos, or had a lot of things to say. That only made me wanted to post videos even more, so I could be just like them. Everything was fine in my own "youtube land", until a few months later, when the criticism started.....

I had walked into school, when one of "those" kids (you know, the ones with the tilted baseball hat, shorts that are so far down they look like long pants, and gold chains) came up to me and mockingly said, "Youtube kid, youtube kid, gimme your autograph!" Doing the only thing that I though I could do, I just pretended like I didn't hear anything and just kept walking. He continued to follow me down the hallway making a scence, and it was really awakward. After a while though, he stopped, and I just went on with my day. That was the first time that I had been mocked for making my youtube videos (aside from those random anonymous haters who leave comments). Then after that, I began getting mixed reviews all the time. Kids started showing their parents, and soon parents were coming up to me telling me how funny I was on "the youtube" (whether they were saying that truthfully, I'll never know), classmates were either laughing at me for making them, or reciting a line they they remembered from them. I mean, don't get me wrong, there were a few people who supported me in making them, but they never seemed to outway the negative. Anyways, a few weeks ago, it finally hit me. My best friend, Ian, told me that making youtube videos was dumb, and that there is no reason why I should even make them. That made me wonder if I even should....but through thinking, I thought of something important.....

By making these youtube videos, I'm able to show the little creativity that I have to the world. I'm able to jump around doing different things, or make a video with crazy editing, or show the world something that had happened to me. It's my way of communicating to the the world. The reason why I youtube, is because it's my way of reaching out to the world. Other's play sports, some do the school play, but I see this new form of media as my way to express myself. I know many people don't like my videos, and they have every right to hate them, but...I don't care...it's what I love to do. I don't make fun of football players for grooping eachother on the field or watching each other change in the locker room, so they have no reason to judge me on making youtube videos.

I've come to see that it's hard for some people to relize that there's a new form of communication and media. Like some people in the 1970's believed that they computer would go nowhere, there are people who feel that places like youtube are never going to last, and are "dumb".

That's why, when people ask me why I youtube, I'm going to tell them that it's a form of communicating with people, much like through television, radio, and movies, and that even though it is hard to grasp, that you should be open to it, and give it a try.




Now, I wanna know, if your on youtube, why do you tube? Tell me what happens when someone you know see's a youtube video of yours, and how you deal with the pressures from those people who either like or hate your videos, in the comments!


~Chris

THE END?

On my last post, I talked about new beginnings......but what about endings? Today, I went to my brother's high school graduation. An end of schooling for some, the beginning of a higher education for others, but an ending of a large group of friends and people who grew up together.

But, it made me wonder.....how does someone accept that something is coming to an end?


Just about exactly one year ago, an online series called "Kate Modern" was born. Much like it's predecessor (Lonelygirl15), this show was meant to be "video blogs" by "average" people, and seeing how their lives were affected by an evil organization called "The Order". Now, I know that I'm using a lot for air quotes, but stick with me. When it first came out, many people in the States (since it takes place in London) were not a big fan, including myself. Then, within the last 6 or 7 months, I had gotten really into it. I had fallen in love with the characters, who all seemed as if they were "real" people, as if I could run into one of them in the street and see them video blogging. Then, just today, they had their series finale.



For the past month, I've known that this was coming. I made it through the first 11 out of the 12 videos today without thinking twice. Then, as the last video was put up, it hit me. This was THE END. I would no longer have Kate Modern Episodes to look forward to after school. I would no longer have 2 amazing video series to look at. And, it felt really weird.

You know the feeling that you get when your favorite TV show has a season finale, and you know that your going to have to wait 4 months for answers? That's EXACTLY how I felt. But, there would be no return, this was THE END.

Concluding everything that I have said, how does one deal with THE END? Does the end bring together a new beginning, like in the case of a high school graduation? Or does the end really have nothing more in store for you, like with Kate Modern? In both cases, everyone knew what was going to happen. The students knew that they would soon graduate, and Kate Modern was never meant to last over a single year. So how does one actually prepare?

I have no idea. Who knows, maybe I'm thinking to far into this. I mean, in reality, it's only a graduation and the end of one single tiny web series.....

~Chris




P.S- If anyone knows any insiders from Lonelygirl15, can you tell them to BRING BACK KATE MODERN!!!

New Beginnings........?

So it's been almost a year since the last time I blogged on here....I know, I really wanted to keep posting, but one thing led to another, and then I forgot all about it all together. I then came upon Caitlin's (Thehill88's) blog cleverly called "My Digital Life" (http://www.thatgirlonline.blogspot.com/) and it made me wonder. What have I been doing to contribute to my Internet "fans" who watch my videos, follow me on twitter, or just want to know more about me? Certainly not as much as I should. Recently, I got my new phone, an LG Chocolate, with unlimited texting, and it made me see how easy it is to edit things from the Internet, even if I'm not home. Here's my new phone:

Ever since I got it, I can't stop doing things such as sending youtube video's via texting, updating my twitter, and adding facebook pictures. If it is this easy to do things from my phone, then why shouldn't I do things like this while I spend hours on the Internet? That made me come to the conclusion that I need to do more "things" online. I want to do things such as update my twitter and let people know about this great service, actually trying to make better videos using less copyrighted music, and get a webcam and do live shows on BlogTV. I even got e-mails that are dedicated to just stretchandmayonaise mail. Through this, I have decided to name the beginning of this new stage of Stretchandmayonaise, Stretchandmayonaise 2.0. But, what about Stretchandmayonaise 1.0? Do I keep it up to show the world the reason why they subscribed to me in the first place, or do I private/delete them and start new, and make a Stretchandmayonaise 2.0 that old fans and new fans can enjoy?

I have no idea, but it's time for me to tell everyone that this is a new beginning of Stretchandmayonaise. Expect to see things from me such as new, better, original, videos, and a better online presence from me.

Who knows how long this will last? A week? A month? I have no idea. I really hope to get all this to work out. For once, I'm actually happy with my "url" life, and even happier with my "irl". All of this was just food for thought. I'm going to stop rambling.



If you had NO idea what I was talking about before, then check me out.

YouTube------www.youtube.com/stretchandmayonaise
Twitter------www.twitter.com/stretchandmayo


~Chris