Sneeze-O-Rama

I woke up yesterday feeling pretty much "OK" for a Monday morning. Sure, I had my usual grumpy mood just because the weekend was over and it was back to work for another 5 days. But what can I do, right? It's gotta be done.

It was a slow day at the office, many people were out and not a lot of work came in. For most of the day I felt ok. I even ate my lunch while I was still working so I could just use my actual lunch hour to go out for a nice one hour active walk. You know...what with me trying to be more "healthy." lol So there I was, out in this hot weather, going for a walk. And what happens? Damn allergies is what happened! After I got back, I came back with a runny itchy nose and watery eyes and just felt like crap! So those last two hours of work were no fun at all. Later that night, J and I went to have dinner and then to Target, so I got some allergy pills there. I still woke up feeling allergy-crappy this morning. But now I've taken a pill and as of this minute I'm feeling a bit better than I was an hour ago. I hope I can pull through the day without feeling all crappy and hazy. I wanna be like those Claritin commercials where they take the people out of their funky hazy feeling. lol Still...I didn't use Claritin. But it better still work. lol

Is there such a thing as being allergic to the sun? I seem to notice that many times when I get this allergic reaction is when I'm out on a sunny day. Like one time I went to Disneyland, feeling normal, but by day's end I felt like tearing my nose and eyes out! lol Same thing happened once at a beach, I felt normal and then later on felt crappy. I guess it's kind of a good thing then that I don't have to work outside. But kinda makes me think twice about whether I want to go back out on my lunch hour walk today. I was doing so good with that all last week! I'd hate to stop now. But is it really worth it if I'll come back again feeling crappy afterward? But hmm...maybe this allergy med will help. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure I have allergies. lol But based on what I've felt and how it just hits suddenly, I'm guessing I must have some, albeit maybe not as often and as strong as some other people.

Fat, be gone!

I hate you! You annoying dirty little son of a bitch! Why won't you go away? Why must you always cling to me, being a constant pesky presence and reminder of my failures as a human beign? Why can't you finally just go away, shrivel up somewhere and die like the worthless piece of crap you are? Why, why, why? Just leave already! Damn you! Yes, I'm talking to you...Fat!

So yeah...I'm sick and tired of feeling "fat". And I have to admit, I use the term "fat" loosely. If you look at me, you probably wouldn't think of me as fat. I'm kinda tall and have thin arms and so I do look like I'm thin all over. But I do have a tummy troubles, though...just like many of us here in America. Usually the clothes can hide it pretty well. But once it's just me, alone and naked...that's when the secret's out. lol Plus, there are times when I stop caring much and just eat whatever crap I want...then it starts to show in my face. People start to comment on how I look "bigger" and I start to notice it in my own pictures. That's usually when I'm reminded I need to do something. Like I've just started to again this week.

I've already been eating a bit better for a while. I no longer go out to fast food places every day for lunch like I used to. I bring my own food from home, usually something light and healthy. And I can usually finish it pretty quickly at lunch, which would then leave me time to just play on the net and browse around. But no more of that! I'm going to try to go out for a 30 minute walk outside the office, after I finish my actual eating during lunch. And when I get home, I want to go back to doing some exercises. I don't really want to go jogging at night around where I live, lately just doesn't feel as safe anymore with what I've seen in the news. So I'm just doing it all at home for now. Maybe once I see some results and feel more "active" I'll try a gym, too. Another thing I'm working on is watching what I eat when I do go eat out. Instead of the stacked up greasy burgers and fries, I'll try to eat lighter dishes, grilled chickens, salads, etc. I also need to cut down on all my sugary drinks. I love smoothies and lemonades when I go out to eat...but as Juan pointed out water is way healthier and cheaper (i.e. free lol).

In the end, I have nobody to blame but myself if I don't like how my body looks. I don't necessarily want a big buff toned body, although hell...that WOULD be nice! But honestly, I just want a flat tummy and thinner face....just to look better, healthier. I see guys in magazines, in movies, in ads, jogging out in public...all over...with the nice healthy in-shape bodies that I've always wanted to have. It just kills me when I go home and it's still just me...Mr. Out-Of-Shape and always lazy and tired. lol

Will this be the one time I finally stick to my new lifestyle choices and get in better shape? Only time will tell. Maybe I need to do something dramatic. Like take pictures of myself in my underwear and then say that if I don't reach certain goals within a time frame, they'll be released to the public. lol I saw that somewhere....was it Oprah maybe? I don't know...but seemed like a good idea that would work on me. The threath of having those gross pictures released if I don't keep in shape. lol

Oh well, here we go...day three of my latest goals. I should weigh myself soon so I have a starting point to look back on and compare later.

Daft Punk - Harder Bodies

I could soooo do this. But I just don't want to. :) So I'll let these guys take over. Enjoy! lol

Another Weekend Ends

It's Monday yet again, another three day weekend has come and gone. Why must it end!? lol I took last Friday off from work just because Juan was on Spring break and since I don't get such a break, I wanted to take a couple days off with him. I took the Monday for his birthday, and then Friday just to hang out. I'll tell you right now, we didn't do that much all weekend. But it doesn't matter. Just spending time with him means a lot. Yeah I know what you're thinking...enough with the mushy love stuff.

Anyhow, let's see. I went over to his house Thursday night, as has become a sort of unofficial tradition, to the point that even my family is surprised when I do go home on a Thursday night. lol We just ordered some pizza that night, pigged out a bit, and chilled. Friday we ran a couple of errands he needed, and then had lunch at a CPK. It was nice. Having lunch with him on a Friday instead of being at work...oh so definitely worth every minute of it! lol That night we were kinda trying to figure out what to do. Neither of us was in much of a clubbing mode, there weren't any movies we really wanted to see at the time, so he suggested we just go to Best Buy and just look around. We both love electronics and all that stuff, so we love to just browse those types of stores and look at all the goodies we wish we could get. hehe Earlier that day, I bought a Maroon 5 CD, their latest, so I took it with me in the car and we listened to it together. We ended up missing a turn and drove a bit further than we needed to. But thinking back to it, driving around just listening to that CD and talking, it was nice. Reminds me of one time when we just stopped the car near a beach, turned on a Madonna CD he had in his car, and just sat there, staring out into the night, listening to the music. Yet another thing I'd rather be doing now than having to be back at work. lol

On Saturday we didn't do too much either. We did watch some episodes of Just For Laughs. That's one of our favorite things to watch together. We always share many good laughs with that show. It's another of our little unofficial traditions. lol He records them for us and waits for me to visit and we watch them together. Laughter is fun when you're on your own to make you feel good, but sharing it with somebody is even greater. That night he ended up going out with his cousin to the pool, but I needed to get back home and take care of some tasks. I washed my car, cut my hair, shaved, showered, paid a few bills, checked mail, etc. I was then freshly shaven and groomed and felt good. But I didn't end up going out that night. Didn't really make any plans with other people and didn't feel like the bars where Juan was going. (Although in the end he ended up at Arena. grrr! lol) Still, I had my Angel DVDs to keep me company. I ended up falling asleep kinda early, and I was up bright and early on Sunday morning. I spent the morning just chilling at home, trying to keep cool in the 90+ weather! Damn crazy weather! Now I hear today it's gonna be cooler and through the week it'll be in the 60's or so! By next weekend a 30 degree drop from this weekend. Crazy, I tell ya! I don't like the very hot days or the very cold days, I just like it in the middle. :) But being a hot day yesterday, it was perfect weather for some ice cold smoothies. We stopped by this place near my house and had a smoothie. Strawberry Banana for him, and plain Banana for me. :) Yet again, another one of those "moments" I think back to and would love to be doing again right now. hehe My night then ended with a fresh episode of Desperate Housewives. I still love watching that show, but honestly I feel like it's kind of lost it's spark. But hopefully something very interesting happens soon to pick the show up. :)

So that was my weekend. Nothing too exciting, but full of several moments that I wish I could go back to and escape this working world. lol We're thinking of trying to go out of town soon, maybe just somewhere not too far, driving distance. Should be nice, to get away together again. It's nice to escape from the usual and visit new places, especially when I get to go with the person I love. I always love those trips. hehe And now that I think of it, today would've been our official six year anniversary. Six years ago today we made our relationship "official." But along the way...things happened. All that matters now is that we're together and things are going great. I couldn't be happier. I now count the day we first met as our anniversary. Because that was truly when it all began.

I love you! And thanks for the little toy cars! lol

Kid At Heart

There are times when even I scare myself...just a bit...at how excited I can get over things that only a 5 year old should. lol Over at Juan's house, he had some cereal, Lucky Charms, in which they had some little cheap plastic toy cars inside the box, to promote the new Speed Racer movie. I was never a fan a Speed Racer and didn't watch the cartoons, but I knew who he was and I'll probably go check out the movie, too. But still, for whatever reason, I was like a little kid when he gave me one of the cars, the red one, the #33 "3 Roses" one...whatever that means. I was entertained for a few minutes putting the little stickers on the car. lol Most guys would probably be embarrassed to admit this, but I don't care! I even kept asking for the other car that I knew was in the second box. lol That one ended up being #12 "Hydra Cell". Again, no idea who or what that means, but I had fun decorating it with the stickers. lol I won't actually end up playing with them though. I just like to have them as little decorations. I lost that bit of imagination that kids possess long ago...the one that allows them to have endless hours of fun with random little objects or toys. Still, I've always felt I'm a kid at heart to some degree. I love cartoons, love amusement parks, stuff like that...just like to have a good time. I know if I ever do manage to have a kid, I'll try to be a fun dad. hehe Strict, yet fun! Can't let them always have their way after all, right?

What's the last thing you've done that made you feel like a kid at heart?

WHA!? Studios (Free MP3 Mashups)

I don't remember how I came across this site, www.whastudios.com, but it had two of my favorite words "Free" and "Music". You just can't beat that, right? lol I first came across the mashups featuring Scissor Sisters songs, but then I saw they also had this other album up, Mashups of the Year 2007. I've been listening to that one streaming through their site right now...so far I'm really enjoying it! I'm downloading the full zip file too with all the songs. It'll soon be on my iPod. It's all free and legit, so check it out!

Some info from the site:

The WHA!? started as a bootleg compilation series by Simon Iddol. The basic concept was simple, collect the best mashups, organize them into a themed compilation and present it to the mass audience. The WHA!? bootleg series had 9 albums. Each album received thousand and thousands of downloads and resulted more spotlight for the featured producers and for the bootleg scene general. Simon Iddol has decided to use the power and popularity of the WHA!? to help other artists and he turned the WHA!? project into a netlabel. Now the WHA!? is open for other artists as well, to release their music. Enjoy it!

Click on each album cover to check out the full details, along with track listings, the download links and a streaming music player (for if you want to play the songs before downloading). Spread the word!

Juan's Bday Weekend

Where did the weekend go? It just flew by so fast! lol Yesterday was Juan's bday so the celebrations started early last Friday night...

I got home from a long, yet kinda slow, week at work and chilled for a bit, then hit the shower, gave myself a nice smooth shave, picked out some random clothes...I really should get new clothes!....then I waited for him to arrive. Once he did, I drove us to his cousin's to pick him and some other friends up, and we headed out to Circus. It was another busy Friday night at the club, saw several friends and many familiar random anonymous faces. You know...the usual club suspects. But we had a good time. It was fun. The next morning, Saturday, we headed to Bunker Hill in Downtown L.A. for his BBQ Pool Party. It was more of a small gathering than an actual party, but it was nice nonetheless. I wasn't in a pool mood though, so I just chilled poolside...by myself. lol Nobody was land-lovin' that day so I had to rely on my iPod. hehe We were there all day and into the night, til around 10pm. Then we headed back home. Sunday and Monday we mostly chilled out near Juan's place. I took the day off yesterday, Monday, for his actual bday. We ate together and went to the movies (The Ruins). Just spent time together, the two of us. It was nice. I wish I could've planned something more exciting, but I know he had a nice time. And myself...I really love those moments, where we just get to spend time together...doesn't matter where we are or what we do. That's what matters, being with the people you care about, right?

So needless to say, I missed him from the moment I had to leave last night and at work today. I just wanted to be back at his side, chilling, laughing, talking and just having a nice time. :) But luckily I'm taking Friday off too, so this is going to be a short week and then it's another three day weekend coming up!!!

I can't wait!

New Brazilian AIDS Awareness Campaign

A new AIDS awareness campaign launched in Brazil earlier this week. A poster featuring a naked man, laying down on hundreds of red condoms (reminiscent of American Beauty), is sure to attract attention...which is always good, right? Sex sells. Let's just hope that safe sex sells, too. The main message above the guy translates to something like "Do What You Want, But Do It With A Condom."

(click for full size)

From the official site:

"For the first time the Brazilian Ministry of Health has launched an action plan to contain the incidence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases among gay men, men who have sex with men (MSM) and transvestites. During the launch of the plan, on Tuesday (25), Health Minister José Gomes Temporão emphasized the importance of the measure. “It is fundamental to recognize the magnitude of AIDS among this population and to prioritize effective actions in this area”.

The plan has eight objectives for gay men and other MSM and six for transvestites. The document prioritizes issues such as the reduction of the vulnerabilities associated with sexual orientation, guaranteed access to AIDS prevention, increased information regarding this population and guaranteed actions by all three levels of government. Behaviour studies commissioned by the Ministry of Health indicate that gay men and MSM are 11 times more likely to become infected with HIV than heterosexual men.

During the event an education campaign for this specific public was also launched. 100 thousand adhesive posters and 500 thousand folders containing information on STDs, AIDS and correct condom use will be distributed. The posters and folders will be sent to the State and Municipal Health Departments, which will be responsible for distributing them locally.

The graphic materials centre on the language and identity of the target population. Posters and folders will be distributed in gay bars, nightclubs, parties and other places frequented by gay men, in addition to civil society organizations that work with this public."

To read more about this, visit www.aids.gov.br

Go Digital February 2009!

I got my two "coupon" cards for the digital converter box today! My TV doesn't actually need it, since it's an HDTV and I'm getting my signals through HD broadcast channels. It's an older model HDTV...but still HDTV nonetheless! lol

As you may or may not know, on February 17, 2009, all television signals that are currently being broadcast through analog signals (those that use regular old fashion "rabbit ear" antennas) will be converted to digital signals. Will you be ready? If you have an old TV that doesn't support any digital signals (HDTV) then you're going to need a converter box. I'm not sure if they're still accepting applications for the coupons, but you can give it a try at www.dtv2009.gov if you don't already have them. Check out this site, www.dtv.gov for more information about this whole digital TV revolution. lol If you already are receiving HDTV or Digital cable/satellite, then you may not need the converter box....but hey, maybe the parents or grandparents or other not-so-digitally-advanced people will, so why not help them out? I've seen these going for about $50 or so at Wal*Mart, so with the $40 coupons it'll help.

This concludes my public service announcement for the day! lol If you have any questions about all this, feel free to ask me. I tend to read up a lot on this. lol

Food Court Musical

A couple days ago I posted a video about a group of public pranksters who did some random musicals in a school library and a lecture hall. Well, today I ran across this other public musical prank, done by people over at the site by the website improveverywhere.com. This one was done here in L.A., if only I could've been there! Would've been a fun surprise. lol You should check out the rest of their site, they have done several other public pranks (or "social experiments" if you would) which are all pretty fun to watch.

Life's Coincidences

It's kind of funny the way things just seem to "connect" some times. The other day, my friend Felipe hit me up in an IM. "Hiyee!" he said. For some random reason, that one word brought up an image in my mind. My brain immediately went through the many years of pop culture information that have been stored in it and that one phrase, as I imagined it being pronounced in a super-perky sort of way, made me think of Bonnie Brindle. Name doesn't ring a bell? Well, if you didn't grow up in the 80's then you probably never watched a little show called Small Wonder. The show starred Tiffany Brissette as Vicki the Robot, a AI robot created to resemble a not-so-average little girl. It was a corny show, if you look back on it now, but I (along with many others in my age groups) loved it and it brings back some oh-so-wonderful memories. lol But anyhow...on that show, just as with many sitcoms, they had some nosy and kind of annoying neighbors, the Brindles...Bonnie Brindle (played by Edie McClurg) was the mom.

Now, back to the chat with my friend. I told him how that phrase, when he said it, made me think of Bonnie Brindle. To me, it sounded so much like something she'd say. He got a kick out of it. lol I'm not even 100% sure if she ever actually said it, but she could have! I do know she had a catch phrase, "No, no no no, no no!", which she said plenty of times. lol I even left him a little comment with her picture, as a little inside joke. hehe

While I was searching for her picture online I ended up finding a little more info about her. I found her IMDB profile, her official website and a bunch of other random fan-created Small Wonder sites. I even checked out a few clips on youtube, which actually lead to my trip down memory lane about a few other shows I liked back then, which I posted their theme songs on the post before this one.

So there I was, having my own little Edie McClurg moments. It had come and gone. Or so I thought. Last night I go over to Juan's and we're just chilling, having eaten some pizza, and watching a new show he likes, Miss Guided. The second episode we see is about this teacher, Ms. Pool, that nobody likes. She's like the school bully-teacher. She puts people down, picks on fellow teachers and makes men run errands for her. I'll give you one guess as to who was the special guest star playing this person! Think hard. Yep...the one and only Edie McClurg! lol I couldn't believe it. lol I just thought it was so funny and crazy how I'd spent a few moments just recently looking up stuff on her and now there she is again on TV, in glorious hi definition! Checking out her IMDB I did see that she had done many things, including a lot of voice acting, over the years. But as of now, Miss Guided isn't listed on her page.

I just find it kinda funny when this happens. And I notice it happens every now and then. Some new person, thing, place or idea will enter my knowledge. Something or someone that maybe I haven't heard of before or not in a long time, and it's freshly stored in my mind. Then all of a sudden I see this same thing appear somewhere else, mentioned by someone else or read about it. I know it's really all about the knowledge. Because I've just learned about this thing (or been reminded of it recently), if I see it again it will obviously stand out. Whereas if nobody had ever told me about it or I'd already forgotten it, if I saw it I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Hmmmm...or maybe there's some magical powers all around us that connect our everyday thoughts in a way that none of us will ever understand. I'd like to think the latter. ;)

My Childhood Friends: Vicki, Evie & Andrew

Ahhhhh...these intros bring back so many TV watching memories of my youth! These were three of my favorite live-action shows. Even then I was already into girls made of steel, half alien girls and guys who could fly. lol No wonder I love the kind of shows I watch now. hehe Also, they just don't make theme songs like they used to! :) Nowadays you'll be lucky if you even have any opening song at all! lol

Gay Marriages

There was a time in my life when I saw myself getting married. Living that so-called American Dream. Having a happy wife, a few smiling kids, a hyper dog running around the yard, which is surrounded by a white picket fence and situated behind a big house, with the sun shining bright in the distance, birds chirping in the trees, and two cars parked in the garage. Hmmm...well ok, maybe that wasn't exactly my dream. lol But I did believe I'd end up married with children. *cue theme song*

I always knew I had these "strange" feelings for other guys. Those thoughts I secretly carried about certain neighbors or classmates or just random people. They would always be just that, my secret thoughts. I'd grow up, move on past them, and finally realize how crazy I was to think such things. But oh how wrong I was. lol Call it confusion, denial or just a plain self-discovery process. In the end, I grew up to learn who I truly was and that there was nothing wrong with it. I discovered so many new people just like me, whereas before I felt like I was the only one that felt this way. I never would've imagined that in my city there were probably thousands that felt this way. Hell, I didn't even have to look too far. My own neighborhoods had others like me.

Now I'm grown up. I've gotten through most of those stages of confusion. I know who I am, no ifs ands or buts about it. But then new thoughts and questions arise. One of them being the big M word. Marriage. Some of us want it or need it, others don't really care, and the rest just don't want it at all. I think I probably fall in the middle somewhere. I wouldn't say that I don't want it at all, but I also wouldn't say that I "need" it. There's so much debate about all this, I really won't get into that. My thoughts on this are usually more on a personal level. Do I really need a piece of paper, a certificate, to prove my love? Yes, if legal, it would carry with it some legal "rights". But I'm not even talking about that. I guess the way I see it, if I truly love someone, that person knows it. My friends will know it. My family (if I can ever get the courage to tell them) will know it. That's all that would matter to me. So on that level, a marriage wouldn't matter as much. Still, I guess I can see why the whole ceremony itself is something people like. It is nice, it's special and memorable to share that moment with your friends and loved ones. But then there are all those issues of planning it, paying for it and dealing with all the dramas leading up to it. lol I'd much rather just do something quick and simple with a small group instead of a big event. I'm a romantic...but I like to keep it simple. hehe It's the little things that count.

So if gay marriages ever become equal with straight marriages, who knows where I'll stand. Will that change my feelings toward getting married? Maybe the new "rights" would convince me. hehe In the end, my love for him wouldn't change. I'd still love and cherish, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, just as much as I did before any "I Do".

Perfectionist Dreams

Anyone that knows me quite well can tell you that I tend to be a perfectionist. I want things to be perfect. I like things neat, ordered and all in the right place. I like my room to be organized (although that needs to be worked on lately), my desk to be neat at work and my car to be clean and litter-free. I often get comments on how neat my car is. lol I also try to be as "correct" as possible when it comes to writing and grammar. Yes, I'm not perfect, but I try. When I write on these blogs, for example, I always look for any spelling mistakes or things that just don't make sense. Still, this IS a blog, so it doesn't matter too much. But it represents me, after all. I want it to be a good representation. I don't want to seem like I'm sloppy. lol I keep the tone of the whole blog casual though, I don't want to use "big words" because honestly...I can't think of "big words" to use half of the time. lol

Long story short...my point to all this...I noticed that even in my dreams these tendencies of mine have started to creep in. Last night I was having another of my random weird dreams. I can only remember bits and pieces now that really wouldn't make sense to anyone but my own mind. But the key scene took place out in some sort of back yard. I was being held prisoner there by some people, who were looking down over us from a balcony that wasn't that high up. I believe some of my family and friends were there with me. I can't really picture their faces anymore...but I know they were people that I know and were close to me. We always had a "guard" looking down at us from the balcony, so we couldn't escape. At one point, somebody we knew appeared and was talking to the guard. We then got the idea to write out a note, saying something like "Help! We are being held prisoner!" and try to get it to the person we knew. So I grabbed a pen and started writing it out on some paper scraps that were scattered throughout the yard. But then I kept making spelling errors, or my writing wasn't neat enough, or the pen started to run out and it wasn't an even ink tone...and I kept crumbling up papers and started from scratch over and over. In the end, I took so long that our friend in the balcony left and we lost our opening. lol So because of my wanting the message to be perfect and without any errors or scribbles...I screwed up our plan. How sad is that? lol

Life: The Musical

So you're going about your day as usual, nothing out of the ordinary, same old routine. When all of a sudden you start to hear some music. Out of nowhere a random guy starts bursting into song, as if you're in the middle of a musical or a classic Disney animated movie. He starts to sing a song related to the location or event you're in. Now wouldn't that be cool? LOL

There's a website, www.prangstgrup.com, where they did pretty much just that. They film pranks (social experiments?) involving unsuspecting people. Take an ordinary setting (a library and a lecture hall) and then have someone burst into a song. People look on, half confused yet probably more amused than anything. And the lyrics and music aren't all that bad. LOL Sure would help brighten up my day, that's for sure. Still, after a while if there were too many songs I'm guessing it'd get annoying. :)

Anyhow, check these out...

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted

Yesterday I received a new catalog in the mail. It's for the 2008/09 travel season, at Contiki. I get these catalogs every now and then because Contiki was the company we used when we went on our two week European Discovery trip in 2005. It was a trip I will never forget! I loved the tour group experience because all we really had to do was make it to the starting point (a hotel in London) on our own, and from there our tour guides did most of the work. All hotels were already arranged, along with some meals and optional excursions. They made sure we saw all the main attractions in the cities we visited, along with a few others that we might not have known about had we gone alone. All the people in our group, people from several countries, were all really cool. We didn't really interact too much most of the time, but still they were all nice.

Anyhow, long story short...getting that catalog in the mail got me thinking about that trip again. I think about it often actually, along with the one we took on our own to Spain a couple of months ago. Wow....I can't believe our Spain trip was literally just a little over two months ago! I could've sworn it was longer. I guess once the trip is over, once the excitement and fun of a visiting a new country ends, everything just tends to go back to normal...time just becomes one jumbled mess of work, commuting, sleeping and random appointments. Looking through that catalog yesterday, which covers their Europe/Egypt/Mediterranean trips, and seeing all the glossy pictures of the young people all over Europe....just made me wish I could jump into the pages and magically appear in those countries. I mention they are "young people" because this particular company specializes on "Vacations for 18-35 year olds". That was pretty cool. I've got nothing against my elders, but some times you just don't have much in common to talk about with an elderly couple when travelling on a vacation. lol

I loved those trips. It is such a nice feeling to get away from everything. The stresses of work and bills and just dramas in general. Although...I don't really have too many dramas in my life, to be honest. I've been blessed with a great family and a great circle of friends, along with a great love. So really...it's more just life's demands that I like to escape from. To go and relax, start each day with a smile and end it with a smile, with nothing but smiles in between it all. It's a smile orgy! lol Plus just seeing all the new sights, peoples, food, buildings, nature...everything seems new and fun to explore. I can't wait for the next trip. I have no idea when that'll be though...or even where to. I'm not exactly Mr. Moneybags here. So I must be patient. But not TOO patient. I'm not getting any younger! lol

My TV Banners

What do most people use the Internet for? To look up things they are interested in, of course. Therefore, I'll often spend a lot of my online time checking out entertainment, music, film, animation, electronics, DVDs and television related sites, blogs or news. I have an ever growing list of bookmarks that I like to check up on every so often.

Recently, one of the television sites that I enjoy, thetvaddict.com, put up a little challenge of sorts, "Pimp Your Show." The deal was that you could submit a banner of a given size where you promote your favorite show. The banner/header image would then be used at the top of their website for a day (or more). It could be a current show, an upcoming show, or maybe a show that got cancelled and you want to show your anger over it...something along those lines. This immediately caught my attention. I love television shows and I love playing around with graphics/editing...albeit on an amateur level. So to combine two of my interests sounded like a fun project for me.

Of course, the very first thing that came to my mind was "How can I involve Buffy The Vampire Slayer?" lol Then I remembered that her creator, Joss Whedon, is working on a new show with Eliza Dushku, Dollhouse, which should be coming out this Fall (if all things go as planned). With that in mind, I got to work on my first banner image. And this is it:


I don't know if it'll get picked. Looking back now I feel like it's too simple, not much to really catch your attention. Plus, I wanted to go with a sort of "girls of Whedon" theme....showing some of his past characters and then the new one. But this new show is still quite far off. Last night I got to work on a second idea. This time I wanted to promote Reaper, one of the new shows from last year on the CW that I really liked. Unfortunately it's still "on the bubble" and could get cancelled. So I thought it'd be perfect to try and promote that one a bit. After working out some ideas in my mind, I couldn't really come up with something that great. LOL Below is what I came up with.

It's not horrible, I think. But I felt like it wasn't complete. Maybe I should've worked on it a bit more before submitting. But oh well, who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and one of these will be used on the site. It'd be the first time an image I edit makes is viewed by thousands of eyes. lol It's things like this that make me smile. lol

What do you think? If you had to pick one, which would you use? As much as I love my Buffy, I think I'd go with the second one...even though I felt I needed to add a better message in it. I'm not 100% happy with either result, but I still had fun making them. And if either one is used on the site, even better! There's no prize or anything. It's all in good fun.

Spongebob Does The Movies

I thought this was pretty funny! The voice actors that work on Spongebob Squarepants take on a few scenes from some classic movies! :)

Cobras & Cars

Where does time go, seriously? It's already Tuesday! Feels like just yesterday night I was getting ready to head out for a night at the club with some friends. But that was actually already four days ago! The weekend just flew by.

Last Friday I got home from work at the usual time, a bit tired and lazy, just planning to chill for the night. Relax and take it easy. I was finally feeling better, got rid of the cough and cold, so if I wanted to go out I could. But for whatever reason I was just planning to stay in. Felipe had invited me to Club Cobra, out in North Hollywood. But I hadn't planned on going. Then I found out a couple other friends were going too. So at the very last minute I decided to go. Would be nice to see friends again. So I took a very quick shower and shaved. I hadn't shaved all week, so I didn't want to go looking like a caveman or something. lol Then I printed out a mapquest map and was on my way! Luckily I didn't get lost or anything. In fact I got there faster than I thought I would. The whole night was fun. I saw several people I knew, more than I thought I would and met a few new people. A cool night all around. Afterward, five of us headed over to breakfast at a nearby restaurant, Coral Cafe. I actually just had some OJ though. I wasn't hungry. Normally even if I'm not hungry sometimes I'll have a bite but for whatever reason I literally felt like I couldn't have a single bite! Trust me, I've been known to eat up some big burritos after the clubs. hehe And the food did look good there that night. But maybe next time then.

I didn't get to bed until around 5:30am, and by 10:00am I was up again. lol Juan came over and we headed out to go car shopping for him. He ended up getting a new 2009 Nissan Murano, which took us well into the night at the dealership. Luckily, he's good at negotiating, and got them to give him a good price. Plus, the three guys that worked with us were very helpful. Some of those people can tend to be intimidating and make you look stupid. But these guys were all cool with us, very friendly, and helped us out a lot. The final guy that we dealt with, the one who has us sign all the forms, he was especially nice! We kinda got that vibe...wondering if he was "family" or not. lol But hopefully when I have to go back to my dealership to deal with my car's lease ending, I get someone that's as cool as they were. I'm still not sure whether I want to trade in, buy a new car, pay off my current car...or what. Sometimes I almost wish I could just go back to riding the bus and not have to deal with all these payments. But I don't know if I could. I've gotten used to the independence and being able to go anywhere I want at anytime and not having to worry about bus schedules or bus fare or if it's too dangerous out at the time.

The rest of the weekend, Sunday, we just spend running a few errands, hitting up a few stores. Then it was back to work on Monday! But I actually just worked a half day. I needed to go take my car for a service/checkup. The place was pretty empty and I was in and out relatively fast (compared to previous times). I may just have to keep going on weekdays from now on. hehe


And now another day is here. Before I know it, Friday will roll around again, and another weekend will be welcomed into my life! hehe

The Bridge

(my view this morning along the L.A. bridge)

It was a really foggy (or smoggy, rather) morning today. It was hard to see that far ahead of you. As I was driving to work today, crossing the bridge that I've crossed so many times in the past 28+ years, going over the L.A. river, looking ahead at the Downtown L.A. skyline, I noticed there really wasn't much of a skyline visible today. It was all just a big grey smokey wall. The tall buildings I'm used to seeing, growing bigger and bigger as I get closer, were gone. I literally couldn't see anything past the bridge! As if I was driving toward an abyss. It all reminded me of the movie The Mist. I almost stuck my head out my window to look up and check for any giant bugs. lol Well ok, not really. Still, I just find it kind of crazy how one day it'll be all grey and gloomy, and then another day the sun is out bright and early and the sky is clear and blue and I can see the windows of the downtown buildings glistening and reflecting the morning sun.

Smoggy air and all! Home sweet home, I love L.A.!