A Cruise

First Part
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Shiro managed to find himself in the center of the large crowd leaving the ship. He hadn't had much interaction with people from the capitol, aside from the captain and the baggage boy, quickly realizing the differences between the people from home and the people here. There was an air around him that he couldn't quite grasp, one he'd never felt before and he stopped for a moment to try and figure it out.

"Hey out of my way!" Shiro turned toward the voice before being knocked to the ground by a passing man. His face and body had the look of a man in his thirties, but his hair showed his real age. Not a single hair on his head was a color other than white. Shiro watched the man as he started to get up, dusting himself off.

"Don't mind him mister! I don't like him either." Shiro attention was pulled down by a little girl, no older than 7, tugging at his pant leg. A smile spread across his face at the girl's words.

"Lacy! You can't say things like that about the mayor. You know, he's only a step away from becoming president. Can you imagine what would happen then if he heard what you just said?"  The mother turned to Shiro. "It was your fault you were in his way, you should know better."

Shiro quickly disregarded the mother and turned back to Lacy. "Hey," she had started tearing up, "it's ok." He squatted. "Your mother has a point you know. You shouldn't be so quick to judge people. Especially at your age."

"But papa sai-"

"Lacy!" Shiro shot up as her mom grabbed her by the arm and yanked her away into the crowd.

He reached for his necklace, holding it tightly in his hands, and watched them disappear. "Please give me the strength I need."

The crowd surged forward and Shiro was forced out of the ship, blinded by the lights of the capitol. The sun had already started to set, but the buildings that stood before him each mimicked its brightness. The crowd thinned out as people found their complementary limos or stepped aside to greet a loved one, and Shiro continued on, searching for the limo he knew was waiting.

"Mr. Winters!" The voice was gravely, and Shiro immediately knew he had found the right driver. "My apologies for the lack of a sign." He opened the door and beckoned for Shiro to get inside.

Shiro got in to the limo and was greeted by a young man, no older then twenty-five, with dirty blonde hair and deep green eyes. He suppressed a flutter at the sight of the man. "Hello Shiro, I've been looking forward to your arrival." Confusion flashed across Shiro's face. "Right, your mother couldn't tell you everything could she?"

"How long have you known I was coming and how did you know my mother?" Shiro shot out before he realized he was talking.

"The name is Sebastian Frost, but you can call me Bastian." He looked out the window, scanning the sea of limos. "Hey, we've got a bit of a drive, I'll explain everything to you on the way, but before we start driving do you see that limo over there?" Shiro turned to look through the window. Which lim- Oh. His eyes landed on a driver dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. "Stands out doesn't he?" Shiro nodded. "If I were you I would take note of the passenger, and do my best to stay out of his way in the future."

"Who is he?" Shiro questioned as a large man approached the car.

"President Ivan Roberts." The man was tall, built like a bodybuilder, and didn't look a day over thirty with his deep brown hair. "His grandfather's dad was one of the founders of the capitol, and he's going to keep it in his family as long as he can."

"Aren't there other descendants vying for that?" Shiro was still perplexed by President Roberts.

"They tried, they still try, but he's relentless." Bastian clapped his hands and the driver started to leave the lot. "His whole family is, which is why you of all people should stay out of his way. If he finds you he'll eat you up and every single person who isn't inside the walls of the capitol will feel his wrath."

Shiro swallowed, "I can handle myself. First person to make it in from outside. Says a lot doesn't it?"

"No offense but the Alexandria has no security. In fact, that's a perfect starting point." He leaned back in his chair and motioned for Shiro to do the same. "We'll discuss President Roberts more later, but for now I need to fill you in on what your mother couldn't." Shiro shot forward at the mention of his mother. "We've been in touch for several years now. It's not easy getting word out of the walls, so we could only communicate when the Alexandria took a group to see the sights." He motioned sarcastically and made a face.

"Is that why she was always out when the Alexandria came by. The guards always came to watch the city, but she was never anywhere to be found. I never told anyone because I didn't want the guards to be the ones to find her."

Bastian smiled, "I like you already." Shiro couldn't explain his feelings to himself, but his heart skipped a beat when he saw Bastian's smile. "That's exactly why she was gone. I never met her, but my men made the trip to deliver a message to her and then bringing one back for me."

"Why my mother, why me?" Shiro quizzed him.

"You ask all the right questions." Bastian grinned. "Your mother may not have told you, but she once lived here in the capitol. In fact, she was good friends with my father, and boy did he have stories to tell me about her." He noticed Shiro's lost expression. "Don't worry, we're not related or anything. My mom admired her strength, but father admired her for her bravery. She was braver than anyone inside these walls, and no one even knows her name anymore."

"What happened? Why did she leave this!" Shiro motioned at the buildings they flew past. "I mean look out there!" Shiro actually looked, for the first time at the city they were in, and for a moment forgot to breathe.

The buildings stood taller than anything he'd ever seen, and each one advertising a different company or brand. The people who walked around all looked young, no more then thirty, and so full of life. They darted in and out of buildings always coming out with bags full to the brim. Everything was clean too, the streets were spotless, and the buildings were in perfect condition.

"That's what he said." Shiro was pulled back inside the limo. "Seriously, he could not understand how she would want to leave. She told him that one day he'd understand, that it would make sense to him when the frost signaled the coming fourth winter." Now Bastian had the perplexed look on his face. "Never figured that one out."

"Wait, she always told me that too!" Bastian focused entirely on him now. "She always said that someday the frost would signal the coming of the fourth winter, and that on that day it would all make sense." He sat for a moment thinking about the phrase. "Did your family ever know my dad?"

"No, your dad never lived in the capitol. It wasn't until I got in touch with your mother the first time that I even knew she had a kid. Dad always said she wasn't the marrying type." Bastian looked intently at him. "Why the sudden question about your dad."

"So she wasn't Margaret Winters when your dad knew her?" Shiro was more intrigued and sat forward even more, almost falling out of his chair.

"No, it was Margaret Sullivan." The gears in Bastian's head started to turn. "She spoke of a frost signaling a winter. I'm the Frost,"

"And I'm the Winter!" Shiro shot up. "Does that mean she had this all planned out from the beginning?"

Bastian sat in silence, contemplating the question, and trying to figure out just how much of this Ms Margaret Sullivan had planned out while she lived here. Had father known what she meant. Could he have known what she meant?


Shiro sat back in his seat, intrigued by the new situation that stood before him. What else could she have been planning?

Those Thought Provoking Days

So I posted a new blog like... yesterday. And now I'm working on another one. I dunno why, I mean I should probably do some more videos that I can upload or something, but I'll give that a few more days before I pick it back up again.

Well, by posting that last one I got interested in seeing my old posts. I kinda like my old posts, I kinda like my old me. Not that I don't like new me. It's just that new me isn't old me. Well that was redundant.

Let me try that again, there's this thing I've always done where I keep track of things I've written or done in the past (e-mails, notes, blogs, videos, etc...) and then randomly I'll go back and look at it. It's really fun seeing how far I've come, and how much I've change, and exactly how much I'm still the same as I was when I started this thing.

One big difference I noticed is that I was really thought provoking at times in my old blog posts. I picked ten or so at random and read through them and the majority of the time I was talking about something that I could learn from or that anyone could benefit from really. It was interesting, and I had many cool references (to Doctor Who usually.)

Recently any thought provoking thoughts I've had I've kept to myself, which I don't like doing because me and thought provoking thoughts result in hours of lying in bed thinking about said thoughts and just getting bogged down in whatever rabbit hole of thought I find myself thinking through.

And with that being said, today's thought provoking thought, and sorta yesterdays. As a kid I sorta instilled in myself what I  believed to be absolute truths and this strange set of rules that I won't let myself break. As I grew up, I came to the conclusion that God made no mistakes in creating me, and as such said beliefs were law. This is me, and don't think I'm saying they should be, and I'm not saying I'm without fault, just that I don't doubt the things I came to believe as a kid.

Among these things are my belief in God, my belief in people, my love for others, my desire to put others before me, my disdain for drugs, my disdain for smoking, and my disdain for alcohol. A lot that I could talk about, but only really one that is on my mind at the moment, and that's the alcohol thing.

I'm not against alcohol as a thing, I'm not against people drinking it. Happens all the time, and I have no problem being around people who are drinking (with moderation). I'm mainly around that when I end up at the cousins for Christmas and the adults all grab a beer of sorts, or at the brother's wedding, or when the father is cooking and does the typical beer in front of the grill thing. I'm ok with all of that, don't like the smell, but it doesn't bother me.

What bothers me is this whole idea of getting drunk. I've had too many conversations with friends, and acquaintances about drinking and why I shouldn't be bothered by it. I know I shouldn't, I shouldn't let other people's decisions mess with me, but I can't help it. I have no basis for despising it, never had any actual interactions with a drunk person (except maybe his dad, but I'll never be sure on that one).

You see, I'm in college, so the topic pops up. Not often, but you can't really go far without it. I managed to find myself a set of people who I value more than words can describe, and this topic comes up even less, but it still does. On the rare occasion there is always someone who says "We should get  (insert name here) drunk!" to which everyone laughs and agrees. This is usually followed by a conversation of what they would be like drunk, and then eventually a what would everyone be like drunk.

This conversation I can't stand, which gets me in a lot of arguments with people. I've never once ended an argument about this on a good note, and I'm betting I'll ruffle a few feathers here too, but that's what I do. I despise the thought of interacting with drunk people, regardless of who they are. There is nothing in that that sounds even remotely appealing to me. Which is followed up usually with, "What if your friend was drunk and needed a ride?" I would probably go and pick them up, and take them to their home, and hate every minute of it. Not even gonna lie, that isn't how I would prefer to spend time with a friend. Would I stay there and make sure they were alright, I have no idea. I can't even begin to imagine myself in that situation. I would love to say yes, but I don't know for sure.

And all this drinking makes it easier to have fun stuff is crap as far as I'm concerned. I have had so much fun just making stupid jokes about love being a battleground and playing board games and just having a quaint dinner and talking with one another. One drink, sure, fine, but getting drunk to get drunk, getting drunk to party doesn't make any situation more fun. It makes you stupider, and no longer yourself. At that, my friends, is the point where you're not the person I befriended, which I why I don't know how'd I react to my friends really getting drunk. I'd probably cry, and do my best to take care of them, because I'm the type of guy who cares too much about everyone else. I'd deal with my own pains, and force my judgmental nature down because the person I chose to befriend, that person who I gave a place in my heart, is still there somewhere, underneath the drunken mess.

Maybe you like the taste, maybe it's not a bad taste, and maybe you drink only occasionally, or you just have one after work, or you go a little over board on accident at a wedding. Maybe I'm broken and won't ever comprehend drinking, maybe I'll never change my views on it. It won't ruin my friendships though. shouldn't anyway, as long as we're still on great ground in our friendship.

I sound like a jerk right now, and so judgmental, and not like a blue at all. I never claimed to be a hundred percent blue, and maybe that's something that more people need to learn about me.

Basically, if you want, I have no power to stop you. Can you rely on me to be mister designated driver? As long as I don't have to be where ever you are while you're getting drunk. Will I hang out with you while you're drunk? Nope, I care to much about who you really are to let that picture of you get damaged. Will I take care of you if you're drunk and in need of help? Very likely, wouldn't know how to, and wouldn't enjoy it, but I'm not going to close the door on a friend in need.

Will I judge you if you drink? Yup. Will I hate myself for judging you if you drink? Yeah, severely.

That's the end of my rant, I think I've gone on long enough. Sorry, I know you won't all enjoy this, but it's true, and it's me, and that's what this blog is for.

Ummm... What do you call a place that sells clearance foods?



Sellmonella! =P

Apartment Adventures: Working Man

Once again, apologies for dying for like... Ages... I'm still alive though, just keep getting wrapped up in the world of college, and not being able to find the time to sneak away to write in solitude.

So, I'm back, for how long no one knows, but as long as I have something to say and have somewhere to say it I'll post something here. Sound good?

Cool! Well, before I start talking about the now I want to catch you up on a few things. And looking to see when my last post was I realize it hasn't been as long as I thought. 6 months isn't *too* bad. =P

Well, since then I've had about a billion journeys so here goes. (And then I realized that the last real about me blog was in October...)

Since October, I... went to a haunted house with the UT crowd, and continue to despise haunted houses.
Since the haunted house, I... Stayed in Austin over Thanksgiving break, and had Thanksgiving with the brother and his wife, and the not yet born baby.
Since Thanksgiving, I... went home for Christmas, got the Uncharted 1/2/Controller set and beat the first one.
Since Christmas, I... started video blogging, thanks to a Question A Day book (where there is a question for every single day of the year and spots for answers for 5 years. I thought it was a fun vlog idea so I went with it, and am currently a month or two behind, go figure. Haha.)
Since the vlog started, I... drove to Nikki's house in Dallas to hang out with the gang before the Spring Semester started.
Since the semester started, I... sadly lost Jacob as a roommate, but gained Gerardo as a roommate who while no Jacob was a fantastic roommate.
Since switching roommates, I... was visited by the wonderful Emily Stumme (who has a last name that Blogger doesn't recognize as a word) who flew in all the way from Maryland so Sara could have a dentist appointment, and she could see Mario, Sara, Enrique, Samantha and myself for a few days in our natural environment.
Since Stumme visited, I... officially became an uncle to the handsome Harrison Oliver Combs.
Since Harrison was born, I... lost track of time and the next thing I can think is finished off the Spring Semester.
Since the Spring Semester ended, I... was visited by the fantastic Nikki who flew in all the way from Dallas so she could hang out and see what Amarillo was like.
Since Nikki visited, I... (and while she was in town) hung out with Cody, Camron (which Blogger says is misspelled) and Chelsea a lot, which made me realize how great all of them are and how much I miss them when I'm not there.
Since hanging out with them, I... lost my PS3 to the Yellow Light of Death after having it for... however long it has been since it came out.
Since losing my PS3, I... left Amarillo to go to Austin, because I had a job lined out and waiting for me.
Since heading back to Austin, I... started my job with Alcatel-Lucent and it has been great so far.


Which catches you up. Sorry about the style, I accidentally started that, and couldn't stop. Haha. Somewhere in there I was on an Intramural Indoor Soccer team. We lost, all the games, but it was enjoyable. =D

So, William Combs has a job huh? Yes, with a cool badge, and one of these:

I'm silly, yes, but that's why you're still here. =P

But the job, right. It's great, as I previously stated, and everyone who works here is super nice. I've not met everyone, but those I have have all offered their help in case I ever get stuck or don't know what to do. So, the job is going well, lots of reading and training before I actually start doing cool things like debugging, woot!

While in Austin for the Summer I'm staying at an apartment with Pedro, Ernest and Ricky. It's a nice apartment and the guys are all cool. When we're all there, which only happens on weekends and after 8pm during the week, we just watch shows, do work, play games, have nice little dinners (on occasion), and just talk. Which is cool. Sometimes Cathy comes to visit, Eric came down from Dallas after everyone visited Nikki for a weekend, I stole Matthew on Saturday, Camron came by for a bit after his Orientation... Yeah. It's cool!

Umm... I guess if you didn't know I was doing videos, you can watch the old ones here, and I'll work on making new ones. I also continued writing the story about Shiro Winters if you by any chance started reading that. And I'm working, so don't expect too much of this to actually happen in a short time period, except for my work, which will definitely happen. =D