Drinks and Robots

Oh what a weekend! It just seemed to come and go so damn fast. I got off work around 5 last Friday, went home, ate, showered, changed and then waited for Juan to arrive. Once he did, I drove us out to the hotel where Felipe & Co. were at. Luckily, I found a good parking spot right in front. So I grabbed my iron from the trunk (he'd asked me if I could bring one) and we headed in search of the room. Then I find out he'd also told a couple other people to bring one, just to be sure. So there were three irons there. lol And here I had this whole little dumb joke planned out about how they could call me "Iron Man" lol j/k So anyway, we hung out there for a while, having a couple drinks, taking pictures and listening to music. We then got into a taxi-van, six of us in total, and took the short ride to the club. At that point I was already feeling a bit tipsy. It was the first drink that did it for me. I never mix drinks and don't know what's strong and what isn't, so when Juan was making mine I told him to pour more vodka in it. lol So it ended up giving me a big buzz right off the bat. Needless to say, I was pretty buzzed all night. But I had a great time! I usually drive so have to limit myself and can't really "let loose". lol So it was nice to just enjoy myself after the long slow work week. Plus it was fun celebrating Felipe's bday with some of our friends and meeting a few new people (his friends). Everybody was cool. There are still bits and pieces that kinda seem fuzzy from the night. lol But I remember most of it at least, which is good. When we ended up going back to the hotel, I started getting sleepy. I didn't fall fully asleep though until everyone was all tucked into the beds.

Come morning, I got up around 7:50 because I had to move my car from my parking spot. After 8 am the parking was no longer free. I was still feeling slightly out of it, but I knew I could handle moving the car around the block. What I didn't know was how much trouble I was going to have parallel parking. lol Even when I'm 100% myself I struggle, so add to it a slight morning hangover buzz....took me a few good back and forth motions to get into that spot. lol At least nobody was around to make fun of me. And I was able to find a spot literally around the corner, on the other side of the hotel. So it was perfect. Later that morning, around 11, after we all spent some time reminiscing about our favorite childhood TV shows, it was then time for us all to leave the hotel, so we headed out to breakfast at a restaurant in West Hollywood. I had an omellette, which I never get but it just seemed tempting this time around. Juan got a salad...but barely even touched it. lol It was nice having breakfast with the group after a fun night.

The rest of that day, after Juan and I came back to my place, we mostly just chilled and regained our energy. Come nighttime, we were ready to head out. But no drinks though. lol Instead we went to see Wall*E. That was such a great movie! So sweet, so heartwarming, so cute, so funny....just well-done all around! I mentioned elsewhere that if I had to use one word to describe it, I'd say "emotional". It was very touching, and that's even with the lead characters being robots! Who knew that animated robots can bring more emotion to a film than some human actors can? lol I loved the movie a lot. It made me wish Wall*E was real so I could have one of my own, kind of like what I felt when I saw Gremlins for the first time and wanted my very own real Gizmo.

Sunday was my usual day of running errands. But we also hit the gym for a bit. I'm really loving going to the gym now. I've managed to work it into my routine so that it's just become part of my daily things to do. I don't get grumpy when it's time to go, I look forward to it. I just hope that this feeling is permanent! I want to keep going for as long as my body can take it! lol I've only been going about a week now, I started on the first day of Summer, June 21. But already I'm feeling a lot better. I'm not worried too much yet about whehther I physically see results, 'cause I know that takes time to develop. But when they do start to appear (hopefully)...I'm sure it'll be even more motivation for me to keep on going. :)

So yeah, that was my weekend in a nutshell, surrounded by people I love. That's what makes life worth living after all, right? The people in your life that mean a lot to you. Those are the moments I always look forward to the most.

Who are you, again?

The internet, now more than ever it seems, is a great tool for socializing. You can meet people from around the block or around the world who share your views, interests, hobbies, etc. People you can relate to, have long discussions and perhaps even start friendships with. Some you'll just get to know online through various communications (emails, chats, social site comments, etc.) but others you might invite out for a drink, a movie or a party that's going on. That's all pretty cool right? Never would I have imagined when I was younger how easy it would be to make friends worldwide. Sure, there were "pen pals" and such, but that was usually a slower process. So many things happen in between letters, as they are traveling those thousands of miles for days. Now, you can tell someone not only about what's happened a week ago, but what's going on at that very moment (live chats, video conferencing, pc-to-pc mic conversations, etc.).

All this is great, but there's one little problem I often find myself running across. Sometimes when I run into friends I've made through the net, for the very first time, in person...I totally don't recognize them! I know there are people that can use just one photo as reference and pick out someone from a crowd without any problem. Me, on the other hand, I tend to struggle with that. lol Even if I've met the person before, through another friend for example, and then I see that same person later on there's still the chance that I may not recognize them. Maybe I'm just not that great at making physical observations? Luckily though, I've gotten a bit better at this over the past few years. I'm not as bad at recognizing "new" people as I used to be, but it still happens. Latest incident wasn't more than some weeks ago at the club, a friend from MySpace saw me and I was kinda puzzled at first when he called my name, 'til he said his own name then it clicked. lol So if you ever see me out and about and it looks like I'm ignoring you...I'm not! I probably just didn't pay close attention and recognized you were there. hehe

And don't get me started on movie stars! I'm horrible at recognizing people, especially actresses. Maybe it's because they tend to change their looks a bit more than the guys. So when I'm watching movies I often turn to whoever I'm with and ask "who's that?" And it's usually someone quite famous that I should've known. Maybe this would explain why, after living all my life in L.A. and spending the past ten plus years studying then working near the more star-prone areas of West L.A./Beverly Hills/Hollywood/Wilshire, I don't think I've ever seen any celebrities. Well, I'm pretty sure I probably HAVE seen some...but with my bad visual memory skills I probably didn't realize who it was. :) Plus, it doesn't help that almost everyone walking around here usually looks like they'd be an actor or model, too.

But as I mentioned earlier, I've gotten a bit better at recognizing people, the famous and the friends alike. Not yet perfect, but improving. I just hope I'm never a witness to a crime, because I'd probably end up picking the wrong person out of the police lineup.

Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible"

DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG

I'd heard bits and pieces about this project, but got caught up with all the Dollhouse stuff that I'd almost forgotten about this. "Once More, With Feeling" was awesome, so I can't wait for this one! I don't know exactly what the plot details are yet, but who cares! Put Whedo on it, and that's all I need to know.

From the wonderful mind of Joss Whedon comes Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, an online live action musical series. Directed by Whedon himself, and starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day (among others), filming finished in March and nowe there is a teaser trailer!


Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

N-R-G @ J-O-B

So...I've finally been able to get to work in the morning feeling more awake and with some energy this week. I started doing some morning exercises, after 28+ years of being a lazy ass! It was time to make some changes. So far I'm loving it. It really does make a big difference through my day. But...of course, it just so happens to be a slow week at work (so far) with not much work to do. Go figure!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I've been told that I am scared of changes...that when big changes happen in my life, even if they are for the best, I often stress out too much and worry about them. Tough as it may be to hear those descriptions, I have to admit...they're true. I don't know why that is though. I guess I just like the stable feeling. I don't mind routine. Is that so bad? I like knowing what's coming up and being ready. So when big changes happen, I tend to worry a bit too much about them. In particular, jobs tend to stress me out a bit.

I remember when I started my current job, the first few months I would freak out at times. I'd get super nervous about meetings, worried that I'd look stupid and not understand what was going on. Which, granted, I was new...so it was understandable. But I guess I always want to be on top of things, and when I feel like I don't have total control yet I freak out. Now, after a few years, I got the hang of this job. I know it inside out and any problems that arise I can usually handle effectively and with complete confidence. And if I don't know how to do something, I at least know the right people and resources to use. But what if this was all to change again?

I've been thinking about this the past couple of days because of some changes that are stirring up here at work. I don't want to get into all the details just yet, since I just heard about this on Monday and many things are still undecided. Point is...I've just started thinking about my job. Do I want to continue here and accept a possible new position? Or do I want to move on to a new company soon? The people here are great, the location is nice and convenient and the occasional perks...I love them! But a bit more in the paycheck dept would be nice. A change of jobs might help freshen up that feeling of "same ol' same ol'" that one gets when being at the same job for a while. So we'll see. Right now I've made no decisions. Once the dept leaders start telling us what's going to happen next, and any possible offers are placed before me, then I'll really have to figure out what I want to do. In any case, wouldn't be a bad idea to start brushing up my resume. lol

The Big Picture

"In Loving Memory - May 1987 to June 2007" I saw those words on the back of a van as I was driving to work this morning. I see those kind of words on vehicles quite often, but for some reason this one got me thinking about a few things this morning. That guy was only 20 years old! He was still so young, had so much ahead of him. He fought for his country, for what he believed in, to protect all that we as Americans are able to have. I never knew him personally of course, and come to think of it I really don't know exactly how he passed away. Because of other stickers on the car, I knew he was in the military. But it all just got me thinking about how so many of the things that bother me on a daily basis can really seem so trivial compared to what other people face.

It made me think about all the scary things people out there in the world face on a daily basis. I have a job to earn money, a home to go to at the end of the day, a bed to sleep in, food to feed me, etc. I need to start looking at the bigger picture more often. There are bigger problems out there in the world. What difference am I making, if any? I'm not a bad person, I'd like to think that I'm not contributing to the problems...but then, am I helping? Hmmmm.

More Monday Blah

How many possible ways are there to say that Monday's suck!? I don't think I ever get tired of saying that each Monday morning. lol It's not that I'm a lazy person and have no work ethic. I do my job, and I do it pretty well. Yeah, I might lag at times, especially when work is kinda slow. But when there's real work to be done, I get it done quick and efficiently! Maybe I don't always enjoy it, but it has to be done. It's what I signed up for, so to speak. If I want to enjoy the good things in love, I gotta work for them. To me, those good things aren't about fancy cars or stylish clothes and whatnot. What I care about more is just having a nice time. Doing things that make me feel good and happy, and a lot of that has to do with the people I care about. Spending time with my family, friends and my loved one is what brings me lots of joy. Whether it's just hanging out at home with my family, going out for drinks with friends, or just chilling with pizza and a dvd with my bf...those are the moments that mean so much to me. But of course we all still need money even for the simplest things...those drinks and pizzas and dvds aren't coming at me for free! So when a new Monday comes around, I can't help but just feel grumpy I guess. I just want to get the week over with so I can get back to the people and things that really matter to me in life, which I get to see a lot more of on weekends. :)

Today, in particular, is an especially "icky" Monday. First of all, I've been feeling a bit sick (sore throat) since Saturday. Got kind of bad last night with lots of coughing. Right now I'm somewhat calm, maybe it's passing by or the cough drops are helping. But I just really hope it goes away quick. And then there's the fact that this is my second week of being on call for jury duty. Tonight, after 7pm, I find out if I have to show up at the courthouse this week. I REALLY hope I don't. And this time not just because I don't want to go, but because I don't know if I'll be back to 100% health tomorrow. I don't want to be sick AND on jury duty. Uggh! And I also don't want to ask them to postpone again. I just want to get it over with. So cross your fingers that they don't need me again this week. For my health! ;)

Gas Pump Wonders

The other day, as I was at a gas station, I got to wondering...how exactly does the gas pump know when the tank is full? I mean, if you think about it, it's kinda weird. You just stick the nozzle into the gas tank hole, press on the trigger and out comes the gas. It keeps going and going until finally it stops. But how does it know when it's time to stop so that your gas tank won't overflow? At first I thought maybe it was some kind of high tech wireless signal. Maybe the pump communicates with the car and they tell each other how much gas needs to be put in. Or perhaps when the end of the nozzle touches the inside of the gas tank, some kind of sensors communicate to the pump how much gas is needed. I honestly had no idea. lol So I looked it up online. Turns out it's actually quite simpler than I thought, yet still pretty clever. Apparently, at the end of the nozzle there is a small hole that sucks in air (like a vacuum). As the gas is pumping, it keeps sucking in the air. Once the gasoline inside the tank reaches the end of the nozzle, that little hole is blocked and starts to suck in some of the gasoline. That then is the signal that the tank is full and it triggers the "Off" switch. I never would've guessed. :)

Now, if we can only figure out some clever yet simple way to lower those damn gas prices! lol

Duty Free Week 1

Phew! ::wipes forehead:: That was close! I'm free from jury duty! Well, at least for this week. I'm "on call" for two weeks. But luckily I only have to call on Monday night, and if they don't need me that week, then I'm free until the next Monday. Last night, a few minutes after seven, I dialed that 800 number. But no luck...it was just a busy dial tone. I kept trying and trying, but nothing. Finally around 8:30 or so I got through, and never did a robotic lady's voice make me smile as much as when she said the magic words, "You do NOT have to report..." The only bad part is that I still have to call in next Monday, so it's back to crossing my fingers and hoping I don't get called in again. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't care as much about going if my job paid for jury duty days. But they don't, so I'd either have to take any days I'm out without pay, or use up some of my vacation/personal days. But that would suck, to have to use my vacations days for jury duty! So hopefully they don't need me next week. Cross your fingers!!!