So everyone is freaking out about this whole ban of LJ/MySpace by La Salle. If you think of it though, it was the necessary and right move that they needed to make...

1. It is not an invasion of privacy or violation of your first ammendment! The moment you sign that Academic Handbook you agree to all their stipulations as much as you may hate them. You do still however have the freedom of choice, so you can choose to leave if you guys don't like what is happening.

2. Last year cause of LiveJournal, our 2005 Class almost experienced a complete ridge between faculty-administration and students. Meanwhile, while everyone was busy pointing a finger at Mr. Shane saying he is searching through our LiveJournal's and trying to expell everyone, he only asked one person to leave and was torn doing it cause he knew we would be upset. If you come to think of it had he actually searched through our LiveJournal's to get us out, alot more of us would have been expelled-asked to leave. (Including myself)

3. To the current students and alumni of La Salle, every single one of you can say that at one point or another (and I strongly believe more than once) La Salle has been good to you. They have always been very accepting with us and never have "hunted" us down like everyone has concieved in their minds.

4. I have to believe that Mr. Shane and the administration do not get some sort of twisted pleasure banning these sites from their students. But I have to believe that after the events last year, it was a preventive-precaution to ensure the union and safety of the La Salle student body. I know for a fact it was not an easy decision for Mr. Shane, he does not like making you all miserable. He actually does care and is one of the few Deans of any school that ever will. So stop making him the bad guy when he is trying to make the best of an already difficult situation.

5. Quoting from someone's LiveJournal, La Salle & the administration we're reffered to as a "Gestapo-like" force and trying to be our second-parents. Here's a realization for everyone. The Gestapo-like force isn't La Salle. Shane isn't trying to be your second-parent. The force that has gone after Livejournal-MySpace like this are actual parents that are involved with the school... Parents that are breathing down Shane's neck for him to do something about this. Parents that don't want to see pictures of their child's fellow students drinking/smoking/or showing themselves online. They are the ones who think its also a danger for you guys to put your pictures and information online. (It's not all of them, its some. But some is enough to sway a decision by the administration to keep everyone happy)

6. We kind of do ask for it when we post (deemed by the administration and parents) inappropriate pictures online. They cannot turn the cheek forever.

7. For everyone outside of La Salle saying things aobut our school. I don't understand why if one, it isn't your school so why are you complaining; and two, that school welcomed several of you with open arms to our school without thinking twice.

So overall, before you guys start saying how much LaSalle sucks or Mr. Shane does, really think of the situation from both sides. It's just a website guys. Its not like they took away your right to speak or eat. Be grateful for the school you are in. I know that I can't complain of anything they have done. I think the step he took was the best possible to prevent any further conflict and I know it was not easy for him. Anyways once you all graduate, there is always Facebook... Well thats all from me. I'm not sure how anyone will react to this or if there is going to be an Anti-Swimmer webpage-group now but if there is, this has just gotten to ridiculous.

To everyone, best wishes for the future and may all go well for all of you. I hope this has in someway helped take away from the unneccesary conflict.

[	mood	|	nostalgic	]
[	music	|	Mr.Brightside - The Killers	]

So... Its almost here. Kind of hard to say really. I have nine days left till I move to college in Mobile, AL. Its funny, we anticipate and dream of this moment since we are little. The idea of being free and moving on. And yet, when it gets here you kind of just want to curl up into a little ball and hide. (At least that's what it's like for myself) I think it hit me when I was in Brazil. One night I was up just thinking back on everything. When I say everything, I mean everything. Everything from old girlfriends to my new one, days at La Salle, days in swimming, absolutely everything. And while I was there I missed alot of thing, but I figured "Hey it's going to be okay. I'll be home in a few days." And that's when it hit me. I have been so calm about everything this summer and not really treasuring every moment that I had with my friends from so long cause in the back of my mind, I still thought I would see everyone again back at La Salle or in the pool when school started. The fact of the matter is I'm not. And all of sudden that comfort that I held of seeing all these faces that I have grown to love again was gone. I know there is Thanksgiving and Christmas and all those nice little breaks that college gives us to keep us sane, but it hurts having to admit to myself that when I want to see Sabrina get frustrated at things and laugh as she whines, I wont be able to. When I want to hear Pep break the silence with a unique "Eughlll" I won't be able to. When I'll want to hug Susie to tell her I care about her, I won't be able to. When I want to hear Annie, Amanda, and Jessica all make fun of each other, I won't be able to. When I want to hear about Gaby's crazy ass driving, I won't be able to. When I want to see my friends who have been there with me all the way... I won't be able to. I know there is email, MySpace, LJ, Facebook, and all those great things, but NOTHING can replace the genuine individual you knew. It sucks and hurts alot cause it feels like I am leaving so many things undone and unsaid with people. I have been caught in this world of Swimming and work that hasn't given me a chance for myself. I don't know where to go with this anymore cause I am at a complete loss for words... I'm so mixed in feelings. I just hope that everyone will be with us this last weekend... Our Farewell weekend. . . So for old times sake Class of 2005. . .  Lets give this town a run for its money. . .

Day One (Thursday): District or Soho

Day Two (Friday): Last Party at Gaby's

Day Three (Saturday): Scavenger Hunt & Party at Mi Casa

Day Four (Sunday): Sabrina's Farewell BBQ

This won't be my last post. I'll post with more info on these events and a farewell address... Till next time. Laterz...

[	mood	|	ecstatic	]
[	music	|	Starry Eyed Surprise- Paul Oakenfold	]

SO ITS OFFICIAL. . . TAKE THAT LA SALLE. . . SEE IF YOU MISSPELL MY NAME WHEN IM IN THE OLYMPICS IN 2008!!! J/K Thank you to everyone who has believed and supported me along the way. None of this would have been possible without you. I love you all. . . Im Out to party . . .  Laterz

[	mood	|	accomplished	]
[	music	|	Iris - Goo Goo Dolls	]

I accomplished one of my dreams. . . I got to dedicate a song to my class . . .

Yesterday, Graduation seemed so far away
Now it looks as though its almost May
Oh I believe in yesterday

Suddenly, I'm not half the boy I used to be
Theres a shadow hanging over me
Oh yesterday came suddenly

Why we have to go I don't know, we cannot say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, all we ever did was laugh and play
Now we'll all be leaving far away
Oh I believe in yesterday

Why we have to go I don't know, they wouldn't say
We've been young to long, now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, graduation seemed so far away
Now it looks as though its almost May
Oh I believe in yesterday.

I love you La Salle and Class of 2005. . . The memories will always be with me. . .

Oh and I have the fucking coolest prom date!!!

Well I gotta go for now... Laterz

[	mood	|	pensive	]
[	music	|	Everybody's Free - Baz Luhrman	]

I recommend everyone read the lyrics to this song with it playing in the background. Its Baz Luhrman - Everybody's Free.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 (insert - '05) 
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

SPRING BREAK + ULTRA + BEACH EVERYDAY + CLUB G SQUARED + AMAZING FRIENDS =

ONE FUCKING AMAZING SPRING BREAK... AND ITS STILL NOT OVER...QUENCH TONIGHT, SANDBAR TOMORROW...

[	mood	|	thankful	]
[	music	|	Kill - Jimmy Eat World	]

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends at all, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in Halo2 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around school. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the food was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative, and confusing. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to hook-up with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. (I hope.) There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming

[	mood	|	relieved	]
[	music	|	Sweetness - Jimmy Eat World	]

Well alot has happened this weekend. . . I have a date to Formal which is really cool! I am approaching my cut times in swimming and am really excited about that. CBS is going to be awesome... I can't believe I am going to be giving another talk. I am official declaring my *Last MAYhem @ La Salle* -  - - just pretty much going crazy for the last few months we have here, all of it culminating in May. I'm still highly undecided for college, time will tell.

I had to add this.... This weekend I hung out with some old old old friends. We were talking about what has happened to all of us in the last year of our lives. So I started talking and one of them had this to say....

      "You people (La Salleians) . . . live in a world of baby mama drama. With your girlfriends, backstabbing, name-calling, and relationships. My friends, were a brotherhood of friends. It was always a good time. Your group, is like the Goddamn OC and Laguna Beach."

Now don't think that I just let him tear us up like that cause I came back with this. . .

     "Yeah there's drama. There's heart breaks and fights that we could do without. But when it comes down to it, there is always that feeling that we all are one united group. And we aren't a brotherhood, cause we are a family. And when all the drama settles and the hearts are mended, we can all look back and say we've been through it all together and it only made us all better in some way shape or form. And I couldnt have wished for better people to go through it with."

There was alot more I said but I dont remember exactly but I pretty much shut him down.

Well I guess thats all for now, Its late and I'm sleepy as hell. So I'm off... Laterz

[	mood	|	silly	]
[	music	|	Great Romances of the 20th Century - TBS	]

Well there is Seventy something days left in school... part of me (well alot of me) is starting to realize that I won't see alot of people here ever again. So lately I have just been trying to get to spend time with everyone and in Sabrina's wise words, "suck the life out of high school."

In other news, I am dateless for Winter Formal which means. . . Swimmer is open on the market. (lol) I was kind of still keeping my idea of going by myself but after I talked to Andy he made me realize alot of things. So I guess what I'm saying is. . .

                   My Name is Gabriel Penaloza a.k.a. Swimmer. I like long walks on the beach and looking at the sun go down and the stars come up. . . (Insert cheesy description here)

So I would actually like to have someone to go with to Formal. I guess if anyone has no one else to go with I'm up for it. Just talk to me or whatever. I really don't want to ask a person cause I feel that makes me make them obligated or something. Well thats all for now I suppose. And by the way. . . I CAN DANCE!!! (lol) Im Out...