Moving on Up!!

Today I start my second week on this new job. I've been working on the post production schedule all last week and guess what I'm starting my Monday with.. yep the same post schedule. One good thing that happened today... we were suppose to have eight editors but after I got done with the schedule I realized that we only really need seven so that freed up one of our edit bays to be an office and of course I snapped it up.

Up to now I've been in the "bullpen" area with the story people, who are great but it's really out in the open and there is a lot a traffic going back and forth. Also when my post coordinator starts in a few months that place will be packed. So I moved my future post coordinator and I into this new office.

I got it all set up and was in it for about four hours when the executive producer came in and said "I need an office here, find me one". Well there are no offices left, they are all edit bays as I mentioned and this one just opened up. But if the EP wants an office the EP gets an office so I offered her up my new office.. I'm waiting to hear back from her.

After work I was jonesing for some Lord of the Rings Online and hang time with my bestie Chris. Soon as I got home and fired up the machine. I quickly ate dinner and then jumped on with Chris. We quested for about two hours and had a blast. Chris had to head to work so I finished by going back to my Hobbit hole and unloading all my loot that I gathered during these quests.

Chris purchased a VIP membership to LOTRO last week. I've been debating on doing it and tonight I saw an ad saying I could get a 12 month membership for only $99.99. It's normally $14.99 a month and since I'm loving it so much and don't see myself stopping anytime soon I went ahead and purchased the membership for the entire year. With this membership comes lots of perks and I can't wait to explore all the perks in the coming weeks.

I know I joke about being addicted to this game... but I'm really not. When I play I only play for a few hours and I don't sacrifice sleep to play. I may put off podcasting or watching TV to play but that's different. Do I wish I could play more.. OH HECK YEAH!!! But I know I have limited time. I'll just enjoy the time I am able to play and when I have more time.. then I'll play more.

Podcasts and More Podcasts

Today I was hoping to be more productive then I actually was. I was recording six episodes of my MASH 4077 podcast today with my buddies/co-hosts Al and Meds. That wasn't going to happen until Noon. I had gotten up around 8am so I had a few hours to kill and my plan was to edit my next MASH podcast, which is due to be released in a few days.  Well as I said that was my plan.. instead I watched TV. Now to be fair I do have a large amount of shows recorded on my DVR so that does need to be done at some point but I was really hoping to work on my podcasts.

So noon came and for the next two hours we recorded six new episodes of MASH 4077 podcast (for Feb, March and April). We had some fun conversations I think these one will be very entertaining.  Afterwards I made some lunch and once again went back to watching TV. I chatted with friends online here and there and I really procrastinated for a few hours. I finally go started on edited the next MASH podcast and sure enough I ran into avid audio problems over and over again. So what should have taken me three hours to edit I spent seven hours editing. I did take a break at 8:30 to watch the new episode of Once Upon a Time with my bestie Chris (it's our thing).

But when that was over I went back to editing and finally finished around 11pm. So episode 46 of MASH is prepped and ready to be released on Jan. 15th. Now time for bed!! Gotta go to work tomorrow.

Disneyland & Buffy

Today was a fun day, it started with driving over to Robert's place early and then heading to Disneyland. When we got there we thought it was going to be packed as the parking structure was packed and we had to park all the way on the top level. We figured if it was too busy we'd just go home and hang. That's a plus to having a annual pass, you don't feel like you have to stay there just to get your money's worth.

Well when we finally got to the park the crowds weren't that bad. It was around 11am and both of us were starving so of course we went to the Little Red Wagon to get a corn dog. Once we were done we got a fast pass for Star Tours and then headed to Space Mountain. We waited for about 45 minutes (which wasn't bad) before getting on the ride. We then just kind of walked around the park and talked. We sat for a bit and people watched. It was a nice relaxing day at the park. We headed over to Indiana Jones ride and it said it was about a 45 minute wait so we got in line. It look an hour or so before we got on. While in line Robert and I started texting sexual insults back and forth to each other. I surprised myself at some of the things I texted :)

We decided that to hit up one more ride before heading back to Robert's place. We had a fast pass for Star Tours so of course that's what we wanted to end with. Took us about 20 minutes to get on and guess who was the "rebel" spy... ME!!!! I was wearing my Mike Wasaski hat and I'm sure that was the clincher. It was a fun ride and a nice way to end our short 5 hours stay at Disneyland.

We headed back to Roberts to continue with our Buffy Watch/Rewatch. We watched our first episode  of the evening from S3 episode "Consequences", this is where the series really gets going with the whole Faith storyline. Afterwards we walked to Taco Bell to get some dinner and then continued our Buffy watch with "Doppelgangers",  "Enemies" and ending the night with "Earshot".

I called it a night around 9am as I had to get home and still prepare for my MASH 4077 podcast that I am recording tomorrow. Got home around 10pm and started to watch six episodes of MASH. I was exhausted so I did more fast forwarding then watching. I spend the next two hours taking notes and trying not to fall asleep.  Finally at midnight I call it quits and went to bed.

It was a fun day hanging with my BFF

First Week of Work

Today ends my first week at the new job. It's been some long hours 8 to 8 (including commute) and I'm trying to adjust to working Monday through Friday. Still having some sleeping issues and I don't have much energy once I'm home to do anything really productive.

I'm liking the people alot, some really fun co-workers. I'm still struggling with the post edit schedule which I have done four or five versions and none of them seem to work. Will pick that back up Monday and hopefully find a solution.

I also got a flu shot on my lunch break. I've been watching the news and hearing about this flu epidemic. They are saying that this strain is one of the harshest they have seen in years and it's actually killing people. I've gotten flu shots in the past but I haven't gotten one the past two years. I went to a local Walgreen's and was surprised to see that they had a wait. There were about six or seven people ahead of me. They said that the shot won't take effect for two weeks, but lucky for us here in LA the flu hasn't hit as hard as it has all over the U.S. so I am hoping I don't catch it before the shot can do it's work. Folks at my office have been and are still sick so wish me luck.

When I got home from work I jumped on LOTRO with my bud Chris and played for a few hours. It's just want I needed to decompress after a long work week. Hanging with my best bud did the trick and I ended my night on a high.

Snow

Well on my way home from work today when I got into my town of Agua Dulce I realized it was snowing. It's been cold all week but with the rain we finally got our first snow fall. Of course it didn't stick to the ground and melted as soon as it hit but it was still fun seeing the light snow fall. Hopefully will get some that sticks around for a few days.

Sleepless Nights

I've never been a good sleeper waking up here and there throughout the night but the past few nights it's been pretty bad. I have been waking up around 3am and then proceeding to wake up every half hour until finally around 6:30am I just get up and start my day. I'm sure it has to do with the new job and the stress I'm trying to not let get to me. Obviously I'm failing at that. Could explain why I am so tired by the end of the day. I'm hoping in the coming weeks my body adjusts to the new job and I go back to sleeping the majority of the night.

Day 3

Well I just finished my 3rd day at the new job and I'm still working on the post production edit schedule. By the end of the day my eyes are crossed and tired from staring at the computer screen all day long (10 hours).  I'm getting to know my co-workers. I think I've met everyone in the office. They all seems great with a few exceptions but that's always the case when working with so many "strong" personalities.  I think the majority of them like me.. at least they seem to, to my face. Still feeling a bit overwhelmed but things will start to settle down in a week or so.. I hope.

I'm really loving my commute. I mean it's still an hour commute but that beats the two hour commute I had with my last job. There is barely any traffic, I just live an hour a way. I can even get home in 45 minutes if traffic is light. Jeep is holding up, I still plan to get a new car but I am thankful that the jeep is keeping it together.

The past few nights when I have gotten home I've been so tired that I barely make dinner and then chat with some folks online before going to bed around 10pm. I felt the same way tonight but I've really been missing my buddy Chris and I know he was having "one of those days" so I talked him into joining me for a few hours of game play with Lord of the Rings online, not that he put up much of a struggle :). I haven't played since I started this new job but it was great getting back out there and having some fun. We played until Chris had to get ready for work. I didn't stay on much longer after he left. I did a bit of smelting and forging but called it an night 11pm.

Am I Broken??

So it's been almost two years since Harry and I broke up and a year and a half since Harry moved back to Austria, officially ending our 8 1/2 year relationship. Months after the break up I wanted nothing to do with a new relationship, but that's to be expected. But the past few months I have been extremely lonely but even so I'm still not finding the motivation to get out there and look for someone new. I mean I'm not one for going to bars and picking up people. I don't do one night stands. I tend to do the online dating but it's been over nine years since I did that last. Lot's has changed including me. I mean I'm now in my 40's, have less hair on the top of my head and gained 40 pounds. I may feel young at heart but the outside doesn't match the inside. Looking back at older pictures I think to myself, wow I was pretty cute (at the time I didn't think so) but looking at me now I just see a short, balding, overweight geek. Yes I may have a great personality but unfortunately if the outside package isn't attractive they will never find that out.

I feel broken, like something just is a little off with me. Maybe I'm liking the single life. Maybe I'm afraid of falling in love and having my heart broken again. I don't know what the problem is but I'm just not feeling motivated to get back out there. I have filled out a few profiles on a few dating sites but not getting much traffic. I'm not actively looking for love.. I just want it to fall from the sky and into my arms.. is that to much to ask for.

My New Job!!!

Today is the first day of my new job. I've been out of work for several months now so it's nice to be working again. I'm working as the Post Production Supervisor on the second season of a showed for Oxygen called "I'm Having Their Baby". It's produced by Hud:Sun Media. I've never worked with this company so everything is new to me. They have been editing for a few weeks already so I'm coming into a show and hitting the ground running. I'm happy to say that where I am working is only half of my commute (about an hour) from my previous job. I'm working at Atlas Media in Los Angeles (Universal City). It's a nice building and so far everyone seems to be very friendly. As usual my first job is working on the post schedule. This is a very tedious job. It's mapping when Editors start and stop, when episodes are edited, when outputs are done and when we online footage. It's alot of juggling and it's constantly changing.

Spent most of the day being introduced to people and just trying to wrap my head around all that was going on. There were lots of issues and questions from folks that I was trying to answer. I put out a few fires already. This is going to be one crazy job.. I'm hoping things settle down once I get the lay of the land.. but I have a feeling that's not going to be the case.

But in the end it's a job. I will work hard and do my very best. I will try and not let things get me stressed. Again it's only a job.

Came in at 8:30am.. didn't get to lunch until 3pm and didn't get off work until 8pm.. was a very busy first day.

My Elf, My Friend, My Screeners

Woke up this morning and couldn't wait to play Lord of the Rings Online (yeah I know I have an problem). Since Chris wasn't around I didn't want to play my Hobbit character so I decided to create a new character. I was really wanting to create a Dwarf but I've always wanted to play a Mage like character but in LOTRO there are no Mages as we all know there are only 5 Wizards in Middle Earth. But there is a Lore Master but those only pertain to Elf and Human. I didn't want be human... how boring is that so I opted for Elf. I teetered on being a female Elf but in the end I went with a male Elf. He's from Lorien and after going through what felt like hundreds of names I came up with Gillthalion, I wanted Gilthalion but that was taken so I added another L.

I spent the next six hours straight, no food, no drink, no bathroom breaks and I leveled my elf up to 10. I probably would have played all day but my buddy Brett was coming over to hang out. He arrived around 2ish and I pulled myself away from the game. We were going to watch some screeners and then grab a bite for dinner. I had Brett go through and pull out movies he wanted to watch and he selected Flight, Hyde Park on Hudson and Promised Land. I had already seen Flight and wasn't thrilled to see it again so we started with Hyde Park on Hudson, if you don't know what this movie is about here is a brief synopsis.  The President. The First Lady. The King. The Queen. The Mother. The Mistress... One weekend would unite two great nations... After cocktails of course.  The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.

My review... well Bill Murray was playing FDR so that was fun. Overall I enjoyed the movie. It's nothing special. My favorite bits were with the King and Queen. I had no idea of how much FDR was a womanizer. There's a bit of comedy, a bit of drama. glad I saw it but I wouldn't watch it again (of course if someone wants to see it with me I'm not opposed to watching again). I give this movie an average C

Up next was another movie that I had yet to see Promised Land. Here's a brief synopsis. Corporate salesman Steve Butler (Damon) arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (McDormand). With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (Krasinski) who counters Steve both personally and professionally.

My review... I saw a preview of this movie and it look interesting and I have to say it was. I very much enjoyed this movie. Frakking is a very hot topic and I think this movie does a good job and showing that. I liked all the performance, especially Damon. There was a very surprising reveal that I didn't see coming that I thought was well played. I would watch this again on my own or with a friend. I give this movie a solid B

After those movies Brett and I were hungry so we made our way to Chili's for some dinner. Little did I know that Sunday night Chili's is a happening place. Took about 10 to 15 minutes but we were seated and enjoyed a yummy dinner. Afterwards we called it a night as Brett had a long drive home and I have my first day at the new job tomorrow.

It was great hanging with Brett.. he and I are still fairly new friends but with every visit I grow closer and closer to him.

Cars, Friends and LOTRO

Today my buddy Will (who stayed the night) and my other buddy Robert who came over early went car shopping with me. But first... we had some lunch at Islands, and then went to seven or eight car dealerships in Valencia. What was cool is that my buddy Will was also looking for a new car so I wouldn't be car shopping alone.

As you know if you've been following my blog, my jeep is on it's last leg and I am in need of a new car. I've been debating on getting a brand new car or one that is a little older (no more then 5 years). I've also been trying to figure out what kind of car I want and I have to say, after several days of friends input... I still don't have a clue. So today I was hoping to go out and just kind of see what was out there.  I have to say I was a bit disappointed in what I saw. None of these places had any kind of selection of used cars and all the new cars were well over my budget. After walking around for a few hours we called it quits. I need to go to a Car Max and see what they can offer. I mean I did like several of the new cars like the Honda CRZ and the Honda Fit, both over my budget but it had me thinking if I could pull it off some how. Luckily for me I wasn't stupid enough to try. So for now I will hope for my jeep can hold out a bit longer but I do plan on having a few car by the end of January... I'll keep you all posted.

Afterwards we came back to my place and Will packed up and left. Robert on the other hand hung around until the evening and just hung out (our favorite thing to do).  Once Robert left, I worked on downloading the Lord of the Rings Online MMO to my computer. I tired to download the program a few days ago but it would take a few weeks as my internet is super slow and the file is 9 gigs. But I had asked Robert if he could download for me (his internet is so much faster) and then bring it to me on a flashdrive, which of course he did. So I was running the set up and after an hour of updated downloads I sat down and started the game. I wasn't sure if the lag was going to be horrible and unplayable. Chris was on with me so we attempted to do a few quests. At first everything seemed fine. There was no lag and I was having a great time playing but then when we got to Bree and there was alot going on (on screen) it happened. Got some major lag and then the game crashed. I shut down everything and started back up and that must have done the trick as the rest of the night I had no issues ( I did stay out of Bree), we even went to Weathertop (which was awesome). It was a perfect end to my Saturday.

PGA Awards & Hanging with Will

Today I got to vote for the PGA (Producer's Guild of America) Awards. As a member of the PGA I get to vote for Best Producer in several television categories as well as several movie categories. It's fun being part of something big like this. I can't tell you who I voted for but I'm happy to say that I saw about 95% of the movies so instead of just picking a movie that I saw I actually picked my favorite movie of the bunch. 

One of my favorite people came to visit me today... Will. We haven't seen each other in month or so and I was really looking forward to hanging. He got to my place in the late afternoon. We had planned to make some lunch and then go for a hike at Vasquez. Well he didn't get to my place until a little after 3:30pm and we still had to make some lunch which I expected to take an half hour or so and then we had to eat.. Vasquez closes at 5pm so that was out. Instead after we ate we jogged/walked my dirt road to my mail box. It's 1 mile one way so I got in a good 2 mile walk. It was cold and starting to get dark but it was fun hanging with Will.

Afterwards I started fire and we just sat in front and chatted for a bit, it was very relaxing. We had a late dinner since we had a late lunch. I didn't have anything else to make so we went out to Pizza Hut and picked up a pizza and some wings. Once back at my place we chowed down and watched Brave since Will has never seen it.

Afterwards I was tired and went to bed while Will stayed up watching some TV. He was crashing at my place tonight so he could go Car shopping with Robert and I tomorrow.

A Good Year For Screeners

2012 was a great year for PGA (Producer's Guild of America) screeners. I normally get about 30 or so screeners a year and this year was no different. For 2012 I got 31

Skyfall * Brave * Rise of the Guardians * The Dark Knight Rises * Wreck it Ralph * The Hobbit * Cloud Atlas * Argo * Lincoln * Flight * Silver Lining Playbook * The Perks of Being a Wallflower * Amour * Anna Karenia * Promised Land * The Master * Hitchcock * Moonrise Kingdom * The Impossible * Hyde Park on Hudson * Madagascar 3 * Zero Dark Thirty * This is 40 * Frankenweenie * The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel * Beasts of the Southern Wild * Searching for Sugar man * The Lorax * ParaNorman * The Gatekeepers * Les Miserables

And the great thing is, unlike previous years, I actually watched 90% of these movies and will probably watch all of them as some point. Can't wait for 2013 screeners. I think I'm pretty prepared this year to vote for the PGA Awards.

Getting Back To Normal...

...Well as normal as my life can get. I actually was startled out of bed this morning when I thought I had overslept and I wanted to spend as much time with Chris as I could because that's what I have done the past 16 days. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was home now and didn't have to get up if I didn't want to, so I turned over and went back to bed for another hour.

Got up and decided to go through all my mail. There were several packages and several large envelopes that I knew were screeners. I got a bunch of Christmas cards, thanks to all who sent me those. I also got a few Christmas gifts, Thanks Alycia, Thomas and Charles, I love the gifts. I got two more and probably my final screeners Les Miserables and The Gatekeepers.

I was suppose to start my new job today but I had emailed my boss and asked if it was cool if I came in a day later as I knew I had a ton of things to do today and I really wanted to decompress after a 16 day vacation. They were great and said why not just come in on Monday. So I get to enjoy the next four days before starting my new gig... super excited.

I only gained 3 pounds this trip. The last time I spent two weeks in Montana with Chris I gained 15 pounds.. so I think I did pretty good this trip.

Took a few hours but I took down all my Christmas stuff. It actually took me all day be I kept doing stuff then taking a break and going on the computer or watching some recorded TV. By the end of the night I had everything packed away.. all I had to do was put the tree and all the plastic bins in the garage.

I'm so jonesing to play Lord of the Rings Online.. I started to download the game but with my slow internet it's going to take at least a week to download it... and even then I don't know if I can play it with my internet speed... guess will know in a week.

It was a nice relaxing day.. just want I needed.

Montana Vacation - Day 16 - Final Day

So today is my last day in Montana, I'm super sad to be leaving Chris, but also ready to go home. I miss the comforts of my house and my other friends. We were up early as we wanted to spend as much time together as possible before I had to leave. So as always, I got up, showered and then went to make breakfast. Chris showered and took over of the making of breakfast, biscuits and gravy (which Chris' introduced to me last year and I love them).

After breakfast we of course jumped on LOTRO, we were still in the middle of gathering silver and going to the other peoples of Middle Earth (Man, Elf and Dwarfs) shopping area to see what kind of furniture they had. We did a little mix and match of some things but in the end both of our places look awesome. Another big purchase in game were our horses (or ponies for us Hobbits). Those defiantly make getting around alot faster.

While we played LOTRO  we put on Cloud Atlas and kind of watched while we ran around Middle Earth. Chris made us some steaks for lunch. I was never a huge steak eater until Chris made them for me. There is just something about the way he seasons it that they come our perfect every time. So it seemed appropriate that my final meal with him, would be steak.

4:30pm came quickly as time always flies when you want it to slow down. I finished packing up my things and loaded them into his car. Chris isn't one for long goodbyes so he just dropped me off in front of the airport. There were no tears this time, unlike my last visit where I sobbed in his shoulder. And I think that's because last time I was saying goodbye to him for the first time, the thought of not being able to see him or hang out with him on a regular bases killed me. Now that nine months have passed I've gotten use to him not being around (not that I like it). So saying goodbye wasn't as bad. I  know I'll be seeing him again in a few months (either I'm visiting again or he'll visit me).

My first flight was from Great Falls, Montana to Salt Lake City, Utah. Unlike last time this flight was jam packed. I sat just in front of two young kids (had to be 5 and 3) they asked questions and talked to their parents the entire 2 hour flight, at times they were screaming (I assuming to talk over the plane engines). The actual flight was very uneventful.

I had a 2 1/2 hour layover in Salt Lake so I stopped by a burger joint called SMASH burger. They have a build your own type of burger thing going on. I guess it's a chain but I never heard of it. The burger was pretty great. I spent the next few hours checking Facebook and twitter.

My second and final flight was from Salt Lake City, Utah to Ontario, California. I didn't have any small children next to me on this flight.. instead I had a crying infant in front of me. This little girl cried bloody murder the entire 30 minutes we were just sitting there on the tarmac. You could tell people were starting to get upset. I mean the parent were doing everything they could to quiet her. I was annoyed but of course I understood that there isn't much they could do. Luckily she quieted as soon as we took off and only erupted a few times during flight and only for a minute or two. The flight was a bit rough at times but for the most part pretty uneventful.

I arrived at the Ontario Airport at 10:30pm. My brother was nice enough to pick me up and take me home (and hour and a half drive and then back, so three hour round trip for him). Thanks Bro!!

Got home around midnight. It was great to be home. Everything looked good at home though it was freezing, around 40 degrees inside the house. All my Christmas stuff was still up. I did pull out a ton of mail and packages from the mail box.. I'll be opening all that stuff tomorrow. For now it's time for bed, thus ending my 16 day adventure in Montana.

Montana Vacation - Day 15

It's my last full day here in Montana. Don't really have much planned, trying to spend at much time with Chris as possible. It's cold and snowy outside so we remain inside and play Lord of the Rings Online. We did manage to get bundled up and go out for some lunch. Chris wanted to introduce me to a favorite pizza place of his called Mckenzie River Pizza Company. It's like a CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) but with a more warm and comfy atmosphere. Like CPK they serve unique pizzas. I got a BBQ fajita chicken one and it was very tasty. I didn't eat much because for an appetizer we got pulled pork nachos and they were the best.

Anyways after lunch we came back home and continued out quest on LOTRO. Our goal was to buy a Hobbit houses for our characters. We both finally had enough gold and silver and purchased our homes. Of course Chris and I had to get Hobbit houses next to each other. We settled in the town of Grovedon and our house address's are 4 Chalk Road (Chris' Hobbit house) and 5 Chalk Road (My Hobbit house). So if you're in the area stop by and say hi. They have the best views of a windmill, waterfall and the valley below.  We spent the rest of the evening getting more silver and buying furniture and such for our homes.. it was tons of fun.

My Gimpy Life Podcast Episode 9

Download from Itunes ow.ly/guKCw or Listen, get direct download mygimpylifepodcast.com

Show Notes:

Now that My Gimpy Life season one series has come to an end. There will be no more companioncasts, but that doesn't mean the podcast is over... far from it.

In this episode I sit down with Costume Designer Kristin Ingram as we talk about wardrobe for Season one.

thanks & enjoy,

Kenny

SwampCast #6 - Listener Feedback & More

Download from itunes http://tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes or listen/direct download http://MASH4077Podcast.com

We normally release a "regular" episode reviewing an episode of MASH, unfortunately we will not be releasing one today (January 1st) instead we bring you a fun Swampcast.

A SwampCast is a non-regular show.. meaning we will not be reviewing an episode during this podcast. These SwampCasts will come out now and then and cover "cast" interview, or listener feedback or anything else that we want to share with the listeners that doesn't fit into our regular show review episodes.

Our 6th SwampCast is full of Listener's feedback, We have itune review (the good and the bad), email comments and a new segment from Simon titled The Martini Segment (Have to listen to find out what that is) but I have to say I love this new segment.

Hope you enjoy Swampcast #6 and remember a new "regular" episode of MASH 4077 Podcast will be released on January 15th.

Happy New Years,
Kenny

2012 My Year in Review

So I'm just going to post month to month some highlights and maybe a few low lights from this past year.

January

I started a new podcast with my brother. Alien Nation The Newcomer Podcast. Alien Nation was/is a show that my brother and I loved when we were younger and I have been wanting to do a podcast with my brother for sometime so this seemed a perfect fit. We have the best time getting together and recording a few episodes at a time. It's not my most successful podcast but we're having a great time doing them and really that is all that matters.

Starting working out again, I tend to do this at the beginning of each year. I'm pumped up to lose some weight and start eating better. And as usual things don't always go as planned, it's a constant battle that I refuse to give up on.

Had one of my movie marathon weekends, this time we watched Back to the Future Trilogy. And as always it was epic.

February

My bestie Chris always drove three hours down to see me for my movie marathon so this weekend I decided to drive up to see them. I asked a few friends and Anthony, Rupert and Aaron joined me in this adventure. It was a ton of fun, the ride up and back was a blast but it was great seeing Chris and where he worked. It was a very memorable trip.

Did a trip to Disneyland with some Guildies. It's always fun getting together with them and to add in more fun throw in Disneyland.. the happiest place on Earth.

During this latest trip to Disneyland I finally got to meet Robert. Robert was an extra for Season 5 of The Guild. I really don't remember seeing him there but we became Facebook friends and one day I had tickets for a Hammer improv show that I couldn't attend so I posted on facebook that I had them and if anyone wanted them. Well Robert respond and got the tickets. I had checked out his profile and thought he was extremely cute so a week later I messaged him over Facebook and asked about the show. That started regular conversations between us and him joining us at Disneyland. He was only with us for a short time at Disneyland but the little time I hung out with him we really clicked. I was bummed to find out that he was straight but hey I don't mind having nice looking friends. Robert joined us for my next movie marathon and that was it. We were BFF's.  He has become one of my very best friends. We bonded quickly and I really got to know Robert. I talked to him via facebook everyday and when I was working in Santa Monica I saw him two to three times a week. We're even doing TV nights once a week.. started with Firefly and are not currently in the middle of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Meeting Robert is truly one of the best highlights of 2012.

Another good friend of mine came to visit me this month. My buddy Thomas from Ireland was doing tournament in Las Vegas and extended his stay a few days so he could come and hang with me... how awesome is that. We hung out for several days, did movies, dinners, Vasquez Rocks and Disneyland while he was here. I don't get to see Thomas often but when I do I cherish every minute.

At the end of the month I had another epic movie marathon weekend, this time we did 80's Scifi and Fantasy movies. It was a huge turnout for this one and most of use dressed up as our favorite 80's movie/tv character. Many greats times were had that weekend.

March

Started off great with another trip to Disneyland, this time I went with three of my best friends, Chris, Jen and Robert. I have to say that I love Disneyland and I enjoy myself everytime I go but this was by far the most fun I have every had at the happiest place on Earth. The four of us just clicked, every conversation was hilarious, we all just had the best of time. I hold that day as one of the best days of my life.

Went and saw a very cool musical written by an ex of mine, Tom. He's so talented and I'm so happy that he's getting some truly deserved success. The musical was called Geeks! The Musical! and it was FANTASTIC!!!

Had what I said would be one of my last movie marathon. This time it was Jurassic Park. I have highs and lows with it come to these marathons. It's alot of work on my part to put something like this together so there are times during each one of these weekends were I get low or upset or frustrated. It happens at everyone but in the end I always wind up having a great time.

I did Wondercon this year because it was in Anaheim this year. It's normally in San Fransisco. It was a mini version of Comic Con but still a blast and I got to hang out with some of my most favorite people in the world.. not to mention that I went dressed at a Hobbit and anytime I can dress up like a Hobbit I'm going to take it.

The month ended one something that I would hope would never happen. My best friend Chris was relocated to Montana and was leaving California for years. I put on the biggest and best going away party I could pull off. There were picnics, fancy restaurants, painting balling, movies, great food and most of all the best group of friends. I think Chris really enjoyed his send off. I was very happy with how everything turned out.

April

Since my best friend Chris was moving to Montana I wasn't going to let him do this all by himself. So he packed up his place in a U-haul and I joined him for the 1000 mile trip. We went to Vegas the first night and then pretty much drove through another four states and made it to Montana in three days. We stayed on base while we looked for a new place for him to live. We found a perfect apartment, moved everything in and during my final days he introduced me to Minecraft which I quickly became addicted to. I spent two wonderful weeks up in Montana with a person that has truly changed my life. I don't even know if he is aware at how much I adore him.

End of the month there were two top secret shoots done at my house. First was Felicia's Country music video with Jason Charles Miller. I'm even in it. The second was a 5 Minute Comedy Hour episode (which has yet to air so I can't say much about it). Both were tons of fun and I'm glad they were able to shoot on my property.

May

Started taking a picture of me everyday in May

Finally got to meet an online friend who I have been friends with for years.. Sebastian. He was awesome and we have become really good friends. There is something about Sebastian that I can tell him pretty much anything and feel comfortable about it.. I love that about our relationship.

My friend Teal started her webseries My Gimpy Life, which I was happy to be a part of. Extraing and podcasting.

President Obama came out on gave his support for Gay Marriage.. this was a huge moment in not only "gay" history but history in general.

Had another movie marathon, this time we went with 80's Teen Movies. This was the first movie marathon without Chris, but I did invite two new friends, Justin (who it Josh's brother and Brett, who extra'd on The Guild). Both have become part of The Geek Mob.

I got to go to my first Renaissance Faire, can't wait for my next one.

And the end the month I got to watch The Avengers with a group of Guildies and then we went out for Shwarma afterwards.. it was pretty epic.

June

I got a job.. after being out of work since October (9 months) I finally got a new job working as a Post Production Supervisor for High Noon Entertainment. Unfortunately it only lasted until September when the show I was working on got pulled for re-tooling.

I got to see an Lord of the Rings musical that I've been wanting to see for years "Fellowship: The Musical". It was awesome and I can't wait to see it again.

July

Attended my 9th San Diego Comic Con, again was surround by friend, best bud Chris even came down. I dressed up at my Hobbit alter ego as well in my Star Trek outfit. Had a blast as usual.. lots of great memories.

On the ride home Chris and I came up with a great idea that we are calling our "Secret Project" We have been working on it all year and hope to announce something in the near future.

I released the first episode of my newest podcast (5th one) My Gimpy Life Podcast

August

The Guild season six started filming and once again I was on set, but this time I only could do weekends.. so I was there for 6 of the 15 shoot days.

Everyone seemed to like my pic a day in May so I did a picture a day until my 42nd birthday.. so day one I posted a picture of me at age 1, day 2 age 2 and so on. It was a lot of fun seeing how much I changed over the years.

September

Attended Comickaze Con in Los Angeles.. again anytime i have an opportunity to dress up as a Hobbit I'm going to take it.

Got to watch the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over my work place.. it was pretty amazing to see.

Had a great 42nd Birthday party weekend. There were few bumps that weekend and saw a few cracks in my Geek Mob. But you know everything can't stay the same.. change is inevitable.

Lost my job due to the show being pulled for re-tooling.

October

Started preparing my house to be sold. Harry and I purchased this house three years ago and since we are no longer together and I am able to sell it now I'm taking steps in starting that process.

Starting getting my PGA screeners.. this year I got some fantastic movies.

Did a Geek-A-Thon for my friend America.. that was a ton of fun.

Disney purchased Lucas film and made one of the biggest announcements in recent history. Star Wars Episode 7 is in pre-production with plans to make a new Star Wars movie every few years.

Watched Downton Abbey and fell in love with it. One of my favorite TV series on right now.

November

Got my 3rd Tattoo.. this time Lord of the Rings themed. I think it turned out great. So far I've gotten one a year since turning 40. Harry Potter at 40, Star Wars at 41 and now LOTR at 42.. next will be Star Trek

December

Did a Lord of the Rings extended edition movie marathon at the Arclight with my buddy Robert.. had an awesome time.

Watched the first installment of The Hobbit movies An Unexpected Journey and loved it. Saw it in the new 48 fps as well as traditional 24 fps.

Got a new job that will be starting in January 2013

Did a Christmas movie marathon but this time with a much smaller group of friends and it was AWESOME.

Ended my year with spending the holidays with one of my most favorite people in the world.. yep you guessed it Chris. Had my very first White Christmas. Was introduced to Lord of the Rings Online and become addicted. Had a fantastic two weeks just hanging.

Overview of 2012

So 2012 is over and I have to say that I've had a really great year. Of course there are always ups and downs but after going over all 500 of my blogs this year to prep for this blog post, I can say that I am truly a lucky guy. I have the best family and a group of the most incredible friends that I have ever had. I have five great podcasts and the best listeners anyone could ask for. There are some cool projects on the horizon that I can't wait to get started with.

Of course not everything has been great.. I'm alone and lonely. I haven't dated or been with anyone since Harry (going on a year and a half) . I'm fighting bouts of depression from time to time but they don't last too long. I'm still struggling with my weight and food consumption. It was a rough year for work, as I only worked about 3 months this year and my savings if at $0 now.

But you know what.. even with all those "downs" their have been far more "ups" making 2012 a pretty great year for me.

Let's hope some of the "downs" turn into "ups" for 2013

Montana Vacation - Day 14

So this is the last day of 2012. It started with breakfast and watching the Downton Abbey 2012 Christmas special. I didn't even know they were doing one until I saw a few tweets about it a few days ago. I won't spoil anything on this blog since we won't be seeing it here in the U.S. for a few months, but if I were you and you watch Downton then move on to the next paragraph and skip the rest of this one. Because from the tweets that I saw I knew something big was going to happen (which kind of spoiled it for me) as Chris and I were waiting for the ball to drop with every event that was happening. We kept saying.. OMG they better not do this or they better not do that.. it kept us on edge the entire time but also when it finally happened the shock wasn't there.. but that still didn't take away the OMG moment and Chris and I just stared at each other. Have to wait a year before we get season 4 and it can't get here soon enough.

Afterwards we played a bit of Lord of the Rings Online... I know shocker...

We then went to lunch at Chili's before heading to the theater to see Les Miserables . If you don't know about this book turned play turned movie here is a brief synopsis. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, 'Les Miserables' travels with prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean Valjeun, as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert on a journey beyond the barricades, at the center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl with a child is at turning point as she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child, Cosette. Valjean promise to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between Cosette, Marius who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Enjolras leads the students to fight upon the barricades.

My review... First of all I have seen the play when it was here in LA about 15 years ago but I really didn't remember much.. I mean I remembered the general storyline so going into this movie it was like watching it for the first time. One thing that caught me off guard and I don't know why because I knew it was based off the stage play, is that they are singing from beginning to end. They sing their conversations to each other..  I think there are like 10 words that are actually spoken. The other interesting thing the director did for this version of Les Mis was make everyone sing live while they were filming. Most movie that have people singing do ADR (that's when they go into the studio and re-record the audio and clean it up). But this director didn't and you can tell. Don't get me wrong these actors could sing (well most of them) but it's odd hearing someone sing on film and it not be sweetened and cleaned up to sound perfect.

I'm a huge Hugh Jackson fan and knew he can sing. I am not a fan of Russel Crowe at all and his singing was fine but you could tell he's not a singer. Anne Hathaway is getting praises from critics and friends for her performance and I have to say they are justified. She shined in this. Her performance as Fantine was incredible and heartbreaking. But the person who stole my heart was Samantha Barks who played the love lorne Eponine. She sings my favorite song from that play "On My Own". If you don't know the song you can hear it HERE. I can really identify with that song. I have loved male straight friends so much that it hurts but of course I know they can't return the love the way I need it. So when this part came on the tears started to flow for the first time. I mean I weld up and my chest tighten on several parts prior to this but this one got the tears rolling down my cheeks. Speaking of crying, the end almost killed me. You know how you get to a point where you are crying and you can't stop even if you wanted to.. yeah that was me. I had a hard time seeing the screen through the tears... it was that bad.

The movie is long and I don't know if I could watch it over and over again but I really enjoyed it and plan to see it again at least a few times (I got a DVD screener). I give this movie a solid B

When we got home we jumped back on LOTRO for a bit before making dinner. After dinner we had a glass on wine and went outside to smoke some cigars. Now I don't smoke.. never have but I did have a few puffs on a cigar about 20 years ago to celebrate a friends accomplishment and Chris asked if I wanted to have one to celebrate the new year and I said sure. Again I had a few puffs before putting it out, not a fan of the taste that it leaves in the mouth. We then went back to LOTRO and played until around 11:30. We then started a google hang out with friends Jen, Steve and Scott to bring in the new year. Steven already brought it in an hour prior with the east coast and Jen and Scott still had another hour. But Chris and I got Champagne and as the clocked struck midnight and the ball dropped we cheered along with everyone online and toasted 2013. Afterwards we hung out for another hour to bring in the new year with our west coast friends. At 1am the ball dropped again for them and we cheered for Jen and Scott.. it was loads of fun. Around 1:30am we called it a night and headed to bed.

It was a very emotional up and down kind of day. Sadness from Downton Abbey then fun with Lord of the Rings Online, then heart wrenching sadness with Les Mis but we ended the day with friends and LOTRO. I couldn't have asked for a better New Years Eve gathering.

Montana Vacation - Day 13

Well this is going to be an very easy blog today.. Chris and I played Lord of the Rings online all day long. Got up at 8am, showered and ate breakfast. Started LOTRO at 9am and played none stop until 1ish and took a half hour for lunch. Then started again at 1:30 and played until 7pm and once again took a half hour dinner break and started back up at 7:30 and played until midnight. By the end of my night my left hand was killing me and my fingers were so tired of hitting A,S,F,W on the keyboard. Yeah I know.. I'm addicted and I love it. I really hope my internet is fast enough to run this when I get home.. if not I will be bummed.