Turlock Junior High School, 1995-1997
Eighth Grade, 1996-1997
McElhiney was the chair of the String Bass section in the Chamber Orchestra at Turlock Junior High School. He also played String Bass with an acoustic pickup, and Electric Bass in Jazz Band. He took bass lessons from Steven Hooper, who was studying Music at California State University, Stanislaus - which was located right next to Patrick's house.
Patrick McElhiney travelled to Disneyland with the Jazz Band and Concert Band, which he both performed in at Disneyland during Eighth Grade. They also travelled to Medieval Times, a reenactment of the time period, which included serving a small chicken with soup on metal plates and bowls, while we watched horse jousting competitions and medieval fighters going at each other in a main arena. There was also a magician in the lobby of Medieval Times.
Patrick had a girlfriend at the time, however it was nothing serious. There was a mysterious green blob in the television at the hotel that Patrick and a 7th grader who was a drummer stayed in near Disneyland. Patrick later broke up with the girl so that she could be with the drummer, because he was conscience of her feelings for him. She would go with Patrick to CSUS to help setup for a concert that was for one of his sister's friends, or something like that. Patrick was more into music than he was into women at that age. He later dated the same woman in college, but again it was nothing serious. He accidently fell asleep at her house, during college when they both attended Modesto Junior College, and had to explain to her mother that quote "Nothing happened..." and that was entirely true. She liked peanut butter coconut waffles - Patrick wasn't too keen on them, to be completely honest. She had a dog named Columbia, which Patrick wasn't fond of because it was mean to him. Patrick's father would later make a comment that made Patrick go to the Red Cross in Modesto to cover Hurricane Katrina efforts for TurlockCityNews.com, which Patrick was developing at the time, while Patrick wasn't previously aware that she worked there. Later he complimented her on Myspace.com, and she made fun of Patrick for spending too much time on his computer. She told him to get off of his computer, while Patrick continued to develop his computer science skills in the future, and it has only become more common for people to use computers in their everyday life.
Seventh Grade, 1995-1996
On March 22, 1997, Patrick performed Aria from Suite #3 by J.S. Bach on String Bass at the CMEA Solo competition. He received a Superior rating, the highest possible. He also performed in a strings Trio that received an Excellent rating, the second highest possible.
In seventh grade, McElhiney enjoyed the Language Arts class with Mrs. Cordell, and noted that she was one of his favorite teachers because she was just so smart and nice. Patrick learned about poetry. He was already planning for college, and planned for the future to marry "a fine looking girl" and have two kids.
The first girl Patrick liked in Junior High was in his math class in 7th grade, but he says he honestly doesn't remember who she was. He just liked the way she looked. He tried to approach her, and was made fun of. She asked for his phone number, and he told her that his mom didn't allow him to give out their phone number. That policy changed after Patrick told his mom how he was made fun of. Patrick's parents were strict about keeping their phone number unlisted, but it became listed years after that even though they paid to have an unlisted number. He says it came out in another telephone book that was new, and after that they stopped paying for an unlisted number because it was pointless - it only applied to the phone book published by the telephone company. Patrick's parents were strict about privacy - Patrick wasn't, at least until later in his life.
The first girl that Patrick kissed was in band class. He really liked her, but he later found out it was just lust, and he got tired of her quickly. It was a classic - how he broke up with her, clearly outlining how immature, inexperienced, and afraid of women he was early on - Patrick broke up with her by recording himself saying he was breaking up with her on a tape recording, and then called her and played the audio to her when she picked up the telephone. She hung up on him. Her brother hated Patrick, and he thinks her brother even threatened Patrick once. It wasn't a serious threat, probably just something like he'd beat up Patrick if he hurt his sister's feelings. He never did, so Patrick guesses her feelings were not hurt, or at least that her brother wasn't serious about the threat.
Most of Patrick's girlfriends in Junior High were short-lived relationships - one to two weeks - Patrick would get tired of them quickly. He remembers how he found out that one of his girlfriends was doing drugs, so he broke things off after that. She wanted to have sex with Patrick, but he wasn't ready for anything like that at such a young age. Patrick's dad always told him, "Keep it in your pants. Know what I mean?" and that policy has stuck with Patrick for most of my life. Other than one person later in college, Patrick really hasn't had a sex life, and he thinks that it's kept him out of a lot of trouble and put him ahead in life. After all, a kid costs at least $250,000 through their Bachelor's Degree, not to mention the price of a larger house to raise them in. Patrick can't say that he's disappointed in himself for not having a family with kids of his own as of the date of this being published (8/16/2017), because it's been his choice not to engage with the wrong party. He didn't want it at the age of 15, at least. He's always looked for a woman that wants to be an equal partner with him throughout his life, and he really isn't materialistic. Patrick is a very sensitive man that demands a lot in a personal relationship, and no one has ever met his true demands. Now that he's publishing his life story, he hopes someone out there will learn from the mistakes of others, and try really hard, not just to impress Patrick, but to love him completely. He has a lot to offer his soul mate - he just doesn't think that she originated from Junior High School.
McElhiney met the owner of the disc jockey company that would later become the first client of his website design company, MCE123. Featured on the front page of the Turlock Journal, Patrick can be seen having fun with his friends during a lunch-time dance promotion (Lieb, 1996). He started promoting the company, giving out TNT Productions key chains to his friends at school. He also volunteered to help at his school dances, and was very outgoing - often on stage dancing in front of the entire crowd.
Patrick McElhiney really liked dances in junior high school, and he helped the DJ grow the business through advertising, order forms, and pricing sheets. By high school, Patrick had decided that he wanted to start his own marketing firm in 1999. Patrick applied his own knowledge and experience to help develop and grow other businesses. The disc jockey company is now incorporated. The marketing materials that Patrick developed for TNT Productions helped to gather information from potential customers that then turn into sales leads. The company has a niche market in Modesto, California and surrounding towns, allowing it to charge more than competitors due to an increased perception of the value of the services that the company offers.
Patrick joined the Turlock Junior High School Jazz Band in seventh grade, playing both upright and electric bass. He was seen on the front page of the Turlock Journal playing Electric Bass in the Turlock Junior High School Jazz Band Christmas float on Main Street (Elliot, 1996). Patrick appreciated that so many people were interested to know what he was doing over and above what was required at school.
Patrick was on the "Ocelot Team" at Turlock Junior High School, and he was recognized for his Academic Achievements twice (Ocelot Team, 1995-1996) in addition to completing all of his assignments in the Second Quarter.
Patrick's 7th grade yearbook was such an embarrassment to him, that he would later destroy it in high school, shredding all the evidence of it. There were a lot of comments written on it pertaining to anarchy, and he really didn't understand what that meant at the time. It wasn't until he grew up a little more that he understood what anarchy was and why it was a disaster to associate with. He wouldn't want to associate himself with anarchy, so he destroyed the evidence of it. This story about Patrick's life is meant to be all-inclusive, so referring to these facts is the evidence of Patrick McElhiney maturing throughout his life.
On March 18, 1995, McElhiney performed Vocalise on String Bass at the CMEA Solo competition. He received a superior rating, the highest possible. On January 11, 1996, Patrick performed with the TJHS Jazz Ensemble at California State University Stanislaus for the Martin Luther King, Jr., A Tribute to His Dream event. He also performed with the Jazz Ensemble at the CMEA Jazz Festival in Pittsburg, California from January 26-27, 1996. McElhiney performed with the Jazz Band at Disney Land, Los Angeles in Seventh and Eight grade during the Disney Magic Music Days. The trips included a visit to Medieval Times. Patrick always seemed to have ample supply of disappearing ink.
