Day 10 (Monday)

Today I woke up about 20 or so minutes before class, skipped my shower and went to class on time. After I got there, something awesome happened, class let out early. so, i walked to my dorm, and watched some TV. where for the first time i was offered fried tofu. It was pretty good not gonna lie, the texture was a bit … weird, but all in all I'd say it was worth the "Yes." A little while later i watched 28 days later until it was time for lunch,  then i had an awkward moment with some girl - but things are only as awkward as you make 'em so its whatevs. When lunch was over I walked back to the dorms n got some books and went to English. I'm a little behind on a research paper, but we had time so I pitched as many topics as i could, hopefully i'll have some more by tomorrow - after class I was asked if i'd like to go on a super long longboard ride to a place called the bike factory. I was kinda tired but of course we said "Yes" but as I got ready, I fell asleep for about an hour or so, but the guy I was going with (Brandon) got a bit sidetracked anyway so it was all good. We left at like 3:20 p.m. or so, and just meandered our way farther than we've ever gone before. I was groggy and kinda wanted to stay in bed but I'm so glad I went. The longboards there were RIDICULOUS. I rode a few, and just stood on others. If I ever win the lottery, that's one of the first things i'm getting. But the selection there… gosh everything you could ever think of, and more. like there were some that legit resembled and rode like surfboards like you could do intense stuff on it, but it was just hard to ride period. There were a few with intense suspension systems, one was even close to a foot off the ground.  Also they had some with tires and stuff for dirt roads, and there was this big monstrous one tucked away in a corner. from nose to tail it was close to 7 feet. It looked just like a surfboard with wheels. anyways after the lng ride back we made it just in time for dinner, pizza and a cheeseburger. After I went back to the dorms I was asked by someone in a class if I wanted to do some homework. As we got some work done, and another friend came along we had some discussions of nostalgia relating our pasts and such with some of our favorite TV shows growing up. Then i watched an episode of the Hard Times of RJ Berger, having never seen the show before I had no idea what to expect but it was pretty hilarious. about an hour or so after that I got some of my favorite chips at 7-11 tried to slide on a nice longboard, rode in the back of a pickup, and watched a bit of animal planet / adult swim for a few hours, then it came time for bed, and here we are. altogether i'd say it was a GREAT day, lots of "Yes's" and lots of fun.

Till Tomorrow,

Cheers

Day 9 (Sunday)

Today was slow, I woke up late and missed brunch, then played guitar for a bit. I showered and such, then paid a visit to Tucker upstairs, we played COD for a while which was nice, (he's the most fun to play with) While playing we had some of his massive gummy worm. It was excellent. I tried texting that girl who gave mer her number while we played and she never got back to me - but that's okay cause I still may have something else lined up =P . 

We went to dinner and had some good food, the pizza today was above average. unfortunately i caught myself making a mistake while there. When I was asked if there was anything I wanted from one counter i said "no." …I feel like a "No Man" now =/       

But in reparations to this "no" I'm considering taking one more day of yestitude. (To be perfectly honest I don't ever really wanna stop this "yes" thing it's getting too awesome.) after dinner I hung out with Brie till about an hour ago. We had some deep discussions about stuff like ghost encounters and fun things of that variety. In between all that we had some cake, did some homework, which I strongly doubt would have gotten done today without this experiment, and had some candy. Come to think of it, I've been having a lot of candy today….. 

Anyways when it came time for her to leave I met her brother (which was something on the agenda anyways) and I went for a brief walk. Upon my return I said 'Yes" to watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. That movie made my night, After that, i came upstairs and began writing this - and now its time for bed

Till Tomorrow,

Cheers

Day 8 (Saturday)

Today I woke up at about 8:30 a.m. I had only been asleep for about 4 or so hours, but I remember having some crazy dreams about walking in the freezing desert. It was pretty strange, yet I had the distinct feeling that there was something uniquely human and deep about its atmosphere.

Anyways, after waking up I brushed my teeth and threw on some board shorts. It was Tucker's birthday today, and as part of his special day we went to North Shore bright and early. (the part of the island known for the crazy waves) The beach we went to was too nuts to surf, but we brought a few bodyboards instead.

The waves at this beach were astonishing, there would be these so called "freak" sets, which came out of nowhere. The water was choppy and hard to read, but these waves would suddenly hit 8 feet or so and just pound the shore. Needless to say we got wrecked a few times; the waves would suddenly barrel over as they reached the shore, picking you up and dropping you a few feet on impact . It was intimidating, the waves were so rough, and each time you got caught between them and the shore, it was almost guaranteed that you were not going to maintain control. Plus, it kinda hurt. A lot. 

But I'm glad I'm doing this "Yes" experiment, because people would keep asking if I was gonna go back in the water; and as reluctant as I was, I'm so psyched we gave it our best. ( i rode one massive wave perfectly into shore, and ended on that note)

Also on a much different , yet equally satisfactory note - today the beach was constantly populated with girls, 95% of whom had exceptional behinds. Way above average. (just wouldn't quit) saw a few thongs as well. Great Job! 

We got some shaved ice afterwards, and went back to the dorms. Also everyone got sunburned pretty bad at the beach, but it was so worth it.

We got back around 5: 30 p.m. - I showered and napped for a bit and we continued to celebrate Tucker's birthday by going to the movies. (I've had a problem with going to see movies - I haven't gone for at least 4 or so years) But I got a footlong hotdog, and watched "Insidious" - I'm not gonna lie, it was scary, and jumpy at times, but I was having a lot of fun. This would NEVER have happened without this "Yes" crusade. I seriously have a major problem with going to the movies, and I did NOT want to go. But I'm so glad I did. I have a great friend here, her name's Brie and over break, I haven't seen much of her. But tonight it felt like we were connecting again, and things were back to normal. (It was kinda funny watching her in the movies, cause she doesn't do so well with horror movies) All in all it was a great experience

After the movie we went back to the dorms, at about 12:30 a.m. and had some cake to end Tucker's birthday celebration. Chocolate with Reese's Pieces on top - T'was most excellent. Following this. it became time to go to bed, and here we are.

Till Tomorrow, 

Cheers

Day 7 (Friday)

Today is the feast day of Rebecca Black

Today I woke up late, missed history, it was no biggie, because I asked a friend to sigh me in, i showered n stuff - afterwards, I just hung around my room for a bit, watched Full Metal Jacket on Netflix. That movie's pretty heavy, but it was nice to watch plus it made me never want to join the military. ever.

.Afterwards I went to lunch and forced down some pineapple and whatever else they were shoveling, I was in a rush, cause of English. I was passing notes during class with that girl…. word up middle school =P

When class ended someone told me i had a package in the mail, so I went and retrieved it. It was a Birthday present for Tucker, it's like a 2 foot gummy worm. (win) and it got here just in time - his birthday is saturday. anyways. I played video games with a few pals across the hall, n after dinner we had a jam sesh in Tucks room for a bit, it was kinda light, but that's alright cause it's just nice playing with him.. There weren't a lot of yes's on a large scale, just small offerings like snack food n such but towards the end of the day I The day started to pick up/

The fella next door was on his last day here with us (he leaves for Guam saturday) n I was conveniently offered Vicodin from a friend, so as part of the "Yes" campaign  we partook, as sort of a mutual last hurrah. He's a great guy, I'll never forget how he made my first night here ridiculous and I'll miss him - I had never been really stoned like that before he came along. ( My first night I was hearing my fan echoing off the walls and talking to an alarm clock) But after the Vicodin I went to McDonald's with Sara n Maya n had the first Big Mac since I've been here. watched a little NCIS and decorated Tucker's door n outside wall for his upcoming birthday. After that I tried Making some large scale origami - I made a Brachiosaur - It was pretty BA not gonna lie. (psh...long necks)

Somewhere down the line though I experienced a bit of technical difficulties with my mainframe and hardware. Meaning, as I was making origami, I might've had a backlash from some pot again that might've mixed with the Vicodin, because I felt like i got hit by a ton of bricks. between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. i draw pretty much a complete blank, and i came to sitting up in my shower, the water was ice cold and i was shivering. Apparently i had been in there for two hours, I realized my inability to function and then i went to bed, still a little messed up, but I was not capable of writing this. So this entry was a little delayed. But all in all the day was good, I said yes to the few things I was offered, and I feel much better for it.

Day 6 (Thursday)

Today I ditched class again. except it's fair to say that i feel rather guilty about it this time around. i should hope to not me doing that again any time soon. Today was eventful to say the least, though the morning started out pretty slow. After ditching class I lounged in my room for a bit looking for new music n such, nothing special. 

I visited a few friends upstairs for a couple hours, and went to dinner, dinner was alright, and upon out return to the dorms I was asked if I would like to play intramural volleyball. It's becoming apparent that saying "Yes" is starting to come a little easier. We played for about 15-20 minutes, the wind was pretty strong, but that just added to the experience as a whole, and my team won! But it was all in good fun, no one was super competitive. 

Immediately after volleyball, I went to go have a foot-race down at the track with a few people from the volleyball game. I didn't win, but after the serious competition we also did dizzy racing. (spun around a lot and sprinted) It was pretty nuts. I showered afterwards and saw an ad on the internet to get a Netflix membership, so I did. 

Right after that I got one of my favorite flavors of chips at 7-11. We walked back to the dorms, and saw Talladega Nights on TV, but as we watched I was offered dried squid again =/  but it had spice this time, 

 Immediately following my ingestion of the squid, I saw a commercial for the movie Yes Man which made me smile at the irony. I went up to my room, played some guitar, and hung upstairs for a bit. Apparently as I was upstairs the cops raided the room of the guys next-door, one of whom was the anonymous persons who ask me to smoke every now and again. Unfortunately he's not allowed to live here anymore, but he's a good kid, hope i'll still see him around. 

When it came time for bed, I decided to test out my Netffix membership and watched an old french film called Jetee. It was only like half an hour, but still it was nice. all in still frames, it was kind of a head trip really. Now i'm watching Zombieland, and writing this. Ima finish the movie and then get some sleep.

Till Tomorrow,

 Cheers

Day 5 (Wednesday)

Today started out with me waking up at about 7:30 a.m. to my roommate coming in from ROTC - I fell back asleep, and about an hour or so later he re-enters the room asking me if i have class soon. It was about 8:30 a.m. leaving me with half an hour or so to pry myself out of bed, shower, and get to class. Then the Perfect thing happened. I've never been one to ditch class, so it was a mystery as to why he asked me if I was going to skip. But seizing the opportunity, I replied "Yes," rolled over and fell back asleep. Win.

I woke up around 11:30, and showered n such. It was about noon when the routines were completed, This is time where I would usually go to Brunch in the cafeteria, and afterwards head over to English class. But as i was brushing my teeth, one of the fellas across the hall asked me if I wanted to go to the beach right then. I had no choice but to reply "Yes." I grabbed some poptarts, and to the beach we went. There's a nice swell coming in off South shore (the one i'm by) all the sets today were ranging from 5-8 feet and they broke pretty often; maybe one out of every two. So i went body surfing for the first time!! It was flipping awesome. Though, I got smashed by a wave and thought I lost the board, and would have, had it not been for some nice gentleman returning it. Also, from that experience I definitely learned a thing or two about the catching a wave that will translate over with surfing.

I got a bit of sunburn on my face, but it was worth it. I tried talking to some girls as we were leaving, which was a bust -- but I definitely would have regretted it if I left without at least trying.

After we got back I showered again, played some guitar, and went to dinner. Hot dogs again. i was in heaven. Also, I got invited to join in a miniature sports competition taking place amongst a few of my dorm's residents. When i was trying to nap, I got invited to go to a bible study session. Now i'm not religious, but still the "yes" obligation had me going. All in all it wasn't so bad. As we were leaving, someone asked if anyone there would like the 2 bags of unfinished chips, and once again I said "Yes." Admittedly it felt very selfish, but hey, no one else wanted them. So now I gots 2 bags of chips, son. word up. 

After that i watched some Invader Zim downstairs, which was flipping hilarious, it was so strange, yet just what I needed. When the episode ended I went out for a late night long boarding sesh with a couple fellas down the hall. Upon our return, I hung out in the lobby till it was time for bed, and here we are.

…or are we? (hah)

 Till Tomorrow,

Cheers

Day 4 (Tuesday)

this one is a bit of a special addition

so enjoy,

Well, guess who's stoned again?

This guy

but this is nowhere near as comparable to the times stated previously. when i'm high, i have a bio-locomotive tick which i like to call "robot mode," essentially is a strong tendency to move very suddenly and direct, as though i were a robot. right now, My "high" in standings with robot mode: i'm barely even at cyborg status.

so what happened today? today was alight, i woke up late and didn't shower. ain't nuthin' but a G thang. I was a few minutes late for communications class, but the teacher didn't mind, this class was pretty heavy -- the teacher shared very deep life experiences with us. like some of this stuff made me cry on the inside =/. But today i finished class, and went to lunch an hour early because of the "yes" obligation. looking back, i would have probably not gotten one of the rare normal hot dogs hawaii has to offer, as the cafeteria would've run out had i gone at my usual time. so yeah i had a hotdog, and afterwards i went to check on a potential scholarship application, and i'm almost guaranteed a grant if i finish the criteria on time, so that's pretty darn cool if yo-- after that i played someguitar, then COD with the fellas across the hall. dinner came, and i ate modestly, compared to the other few times i've been in the caf since break- meaning, i ate without forcing myself to the brink of exploding. afterwards i hung out with tuck n sarah played more video games while they were at Bible study. afterwards i went for a three or so mile run with my roommate Tony. Also a high point of my day was Treston letting us use his pads n such to have ourselves a bit of may thai practice. after that i just came up here n took care of a few much needed things,  I stumbled for a bit n as i was going to the bathroom someone offered me to smoke, i really didn't want to, because i feel groggy the morning after, but i had to say "yes" and now i'm high

…and sleepy       DX        --yawning face

Till Tomorrow,

Cheers

Day 3 (Monday)

Today I woke up for the final time at about 8:40 a.m. but earlier in the day I had a very interesting experience when I woke up at about 4 or so. I can't really remember the time exactly, but I remember rolling out of bed to use the bathroom and wondering what was different. For one reason or another I felt like I was very detached from reality; almost spacious. Then, I noticed my movements started to become very direct and I had the familiar feeling like I could almost squeeze air out of my hands. These were symptoms which felt very familiar to me, but at the time I couldn't place them to save my life. Looking back, there is little to no doubt in my mind I was high. I don't know how, but it must've still been in my system from the weekend.

Anyways, I woke up sober as a priest on sunday, at about 8:40. Though, I was EXHAUSTED beyond all feeling. It was the first day back from spring break and most of my being was dedicated to staying in bed. I mean, it wouldn't be such a big deal - I would only miss one class, (9:00 a.m. history, which is a breeze anyways) Unfortunately, I felt I had to go. It felt as though I had to say "Yes" to early learning. However, I took my time and arrived 20 minutes late. i walked in with flowing swagger. My shoulders rolled from side to side like a panther stalking prey. Champ status. peeps recognized.(+5 charisma)  LEVEL UP!  I talked to that girl from English for a bit on my way back to my room, and I think I played my cards alright, cause by English class she had made a list of music for me.

But between History and English I took what felt like a well deserved nap. (though reflecting now, it's apparent I was just being a bum) and I played my guitar in a really nice jam sesh. I played a song called "Sink to the Bottom", by this band Fountains of Wayne. (the guys who sang "Stacey''s Mom") Anyways, it was really nice cause we never woulda found this song without this "Yes" experiment. 

Come time for English I was late to class again by like 5 minutes. We wrote and had "group discussions" and not much homework was assigned. However It was some well needed info and if anyone has any old research papers related to work and social justice, please let me know. After English, I had a long phone conversation with my dad and just sorta bummed around till dinner; It was nice. Before dinner, I shot a text to that one chick who's number I got saturday - she has yet to respond, but no biggie, already might've found another potential squeeze. But yeah one of the fellas across the hall knocked on my door asking me if I was going to dinner. So I did. We went to dinner and STUFFED. It felt nice, seeing as during break it felt like there was never enough food. (also this is where that new potential bitty was discovered) Anyways, feeling sick from all the food I went back to the dorms, played more music, and had a nice chat with my pal Heather, upstairs. For those of you who don't know my roommate's name is Tony, he brought this girl around who I guess they had "a thing but not really" - sort of thing with. It was just nice seeing him happy. 

(But they went to hang out… all day. =P)

That left me in the room and I just felt like playing more music, so I did. I learned "If I ever leave this world alive" by Flogging Molly. Also, I'm trying to reconstruct the nearly perfect Happy CD I made some time ago. (for those of you who know what's up, it's the one with Walcott, Noah and the Whale, Soft, Jumper - so if you remember any songs from it PLEEEZE do not hesitate to lemme know - DANNY FOX)  

Also the people I've grown closest to here came back from their trip to Kona, on the big island. (E-man Sara Treston Tucker) So I bothered them for a bit upstairs. It was flipping nice seeing them again. We just sat around and talked about stuff and other things for a bit until it came time for bed, and here we are. 

Till tomorrow,

Cheers 

Day 2 (Sunday)

today was eventful.

It started out with me waking up to what I thought was my alarm at like 8:20 a.m. Then a voice called asking if I was awake. It was my neighbor across the hall; he was checking to see if I still wanted to go to the swap meet. The "yes's" started early. After learning we had 11 minutes to catch a bus, I showered quickly, brushed my teeth, and began the dash down the hill to catch the bus while eating strawberry poptarts.

We caught the bus, and another, and went to Aloha Stadium for the Sunday swap meet. It stretched in a complete circle around the stadium. I didn't buy anything, because I wasn't offered (THANK GOD) and by the end of our outing I was offered some lehi-moi pineapple, and some dried squid. Apprehensive I accepted. The pineapple was pretty good, but the squid had some sort of weird aftertaste to it. Anyways we began our search for some food other than deep-fried flea market snacks. We took the bus to the mall and got some food at the food court. Two members of our party departed for work (in the mall) and we caught the bus home. Feeling full I pondered sleeping, but decided on going for a run. I ran about five miles and came back. A friend asked if i wanted to go shopping, which I replied with a "yes" and shopping we went. I got grapes son. The friend hung around for a bit, we got some food, and now I'm typing this. It's about 9 p.m. here and that cute girl from my english class just texted me. (YESS feelin studly)

All in all, the day was pretty nice, we traveled a decent way across the island, saw a bunch of stuff, and I got to play a ukulele-banjo. I tried some gnarly squid and drank soapy water from a hose. ( a lot…by accident) Plus I got some nice grapes to snack on for the week. the run has me feeling good right now but I'm also very tired after only getting like 5-6 hours of sleep so this is where we call it a night.  cheers.

day .5 (friday night)

after first starting this blog i began my to don "yes man" activities by simply walking downstairs waiting for opportunity to come along. After watching sealab 2021for a few minutes, an anonymous friend greeted me as he or she went to drink from the fountain. this person asked me if i wanted to smoke, and all i could say is YES. after  already being in the "NICE" zone and burning my esophagus - i was still being offered hits. already weezing i accepted, and got stoned off my ass ; probably worse than ever before. (my throat feels much better, though i burned it pretty bad yesterday)

Day 1 (saturday)

Today i woke up with a bit of a light feeling, knowing I wouldn't have to plan my day.I did my daily routines, and went downstairs. I laid around for a bit and was offered Doritos from a friend. I would have said yes without this experiment. Later I checked my mail and on my way back up to my room I saw a commercial for the World Wild Life Fund asking for donations. Feeling obligated I said "Yes" - Long story short, for $10 a month I now help endangered species world wide. Also I adopted a polar bear.

Immediately after I had a nice text exchange with a cute girl from my english class. As I was about to watch Jeopardy in the lobby a few girls came in with anime and asked if we could watch that instead. It was a little weird but the story was creative and very interesting. Following that i took a nap, because my sleep was cut short from last night. I had some strange dreams but all in all it was a pretty decent nap.

Later on in the evening I was feeling sluggish and hungry, when I was asked to go to a Greek place some ways down the hill. Normally I would have said "no" (I had a bad memory for Greek food and wouldn't know if I'd have liked what they were serving) So yeah, I had Greek for the first time! Falafel and Garlic Fries - t'was most excellent. There was this pretty girl working the counter, and by the end of the meal the "yes" obligation had me trying to get her number. Which i did. Like a Boss. Her name's Sam. 

Towards the end of the night I was playing COD with a few friends across the hall. Another individual, one of the anonymous persons from last night, asked me to smoke yet again. I continued playing COD shortly thereafter and I'm still puzzled at how beast I was, (compared to my regular sub-standard abilities)Iit felt like I was actually in the game tho. After a couple hours and a full box of poptarts later, I came down, watched some Futurama, and began writing this. It was an eventful day, and I got some chick's number - needless to say I'm pleased. Also I'm afraid to check my e-mail.

THE YES MAN EXPERIMENT

Hello,
My name is Richard Toolis, and the reason for this blog was to share and perhaps enlighten.
What I will be doing is saying YES for two weeks. To everything. At the end of each day I will post a brief, thorough, overview of the days events. (and perhaps reflect on them depending on how tired I may be. ) Day one starts Saturday March 26, 2011