2004 was coming to an end and I was reinstated at UCSB. I went up to Santa Barbara to look for places to live. I looked in IV but really didn't want to move there. I found a spot on the far west of Santa Barbara, about 2 miles from campus. I had a motorcycle, so I wouldn't have to pay to park, it was perfect. It was a 5 bedroom house, with a decent backyard and I paid $400 a month for a room. It was rundown, but actually kind of nice, and an excellent deal for the money and location. The roommates all seemed cool, Jonathon Aspuria, Kanani Leite-Ah Yo, Justin Mui and Dante Valentine.
Around the time of my 3rd AA birthday, I started drinking again. Drinking being the most popular social activity in Santa Barbara for people my age. As a house, we were all sorta creeped out by Dante. He had these laminated spreadsheets he would study on how to hit on girls and was studying to be a masseuse at the Bacara. He painted his room a dark blue or all black. Just creeped everyone out. We would all talk shit about him indirectly. I thought this was funny and we should all hang out and see if his spreadsheets were any good. So, Kanani, Jonathan, Dante and I all went to Cooney's on Anacapa Street. We sat in a booth, drinking hard alcohol and mixed drinks all night. Dante had no game. All he did was talk about how hot all the girls were but refused to try to talk or dance with anyone all night. About a month later, we were all just too creeped out by him and as a house, asked him to leave. Kanani's sister Helani would move into Dante's old room.
Nobody hit on Helani because she had a boyfriend and we would also have to deal with Kanani. He was a taller, thin Hawaiian, who was really good at volleyball. I would meet him at East Beach by the pier to watch him play volleyball one time. I asked him to put some sunscreen on my back so I wouldn't burn, and he was very reluctant to. I thought his fear of even being perceived a homo, funny. I did manage to get his sister Helani to be my date for Shaun Ryan's wedding in late 2005. But that was it.
My grades at UCSB during this time were excellent. I took an environmental ethics class, with such stupid ideas, if all creatures have a right to live, what about flies and bacteria? In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina wiped out New Orleans. During my environmental ethics class, my teacher declared that New Orleans as a geographic area, should be cordoned off and declared a Superfund Site. Being all the paint thinners and various chemicals in peoples' garages, would make the entire area toxic, and lead to increased cancer rates several decades from now. One of the students in class was an environmental refugee from New Orleans and stated his objections. Not all places on this planet are suitable for human occupation. An effective government would acknowledge this.
The next quarter, Winter 2006, I had an environmental law course, where we learned "torts" were the most effective method for suing someone for environmental crimes. Torts were used to sue the oil companies after the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill. One year after the oil spill in 1970, the environmental studies charter and program were founded at UCSB. One of the department founders, Mark McGinnins was a guest lecturer for a class. I was doing something else before class, I don't remember exactly. Anyways, I drank half of a $20 bottle of Jack Daniels before class and the other half I left in my backpack while I attended the lecture. I think I took a taxi home that night.
Meanwhile at school, early around fall of 2004, some of the other motorcycle riders and I started a club, the Santa Barbara Sport Riders, also known as the UCSB Motorcycle Club. One of the members, Cyrus Chen, would get money from the school for club events, and instead spend it on beer and we would watch MotoGP at his house. I started off junior year with my dad's FZ1, but towards the end of the year, he let me use the CBR 954. On my CBR, in late 2005 I would do a track day at Streets of Willow Springs out in Rosamond, by one of the entrances to Edwards Air Force Base. We went out in separate heats; beginners, moderates and experts. I was in the beginner group, but still one of the fastest out there. It was hot, so in between 20 minute heats, we were told to drink a Red Bull and a bottle of water. I probably drank 6 Red Bulls that day.
