Home Inspection & Downton Abbey Season 4

Today was the final house inspection. They arrived at 2pm, inspector, both realtors and the potential buyers. I left and went out to lunch, they said that the inspection should take 2 hours or so.  While I was out and after lunch I headed over to Target to get a few Christmas gifts for my niece and nephew. While I was there I got a call from my realtor letting me know that they were done and that she would call me later with the details.

I got home and about an hour later she called me and said that the inspection generally went well. Nothing major but she expected that the buyers would have some minor things that they would want me to fix. She said that we should be getting their requests in a day or do.

During the evening I finished watching Downton Abbey season 4 (series 4). It was a good solid season. Lots of ups and downs but it feel a lot less crazy then previous seasons. I won't go into great details as the series doesn't air here in the US until January but overall it was another fantastic season and I can't wait to see where they take the story and these amazing characters in season 5.

I also got another screener, Blue Jasmine. They are arriving slowly this year. 

Just Another Day

Nothing to crazy happen today.. I had to go grocery shopping for this Thanksgiving weekend. While I was out I stopped by BJ's restaurant as I left my Harry Potter (Wizarding World) cap there yesterday when we went to the movies. So I picked that up and then went to Vons to get some food. I don't normally shop at Vons but they were having a deal were you purchase at least $30 in food and you can get a 20+ lbs turkey for only $15. So that's what I did.

Besides that I pretty much caught up on some TV and continue to pack up the house. Tomorrow is the big general house inspection and after that I'll get the list from the buyers on what they want me to fix and then it's clear sailing to the finish line.

I did realize that it's only one month to the day until Christmas. I'm so bummed that I'll be moving during this time (if all goes well) as I won't be able to put up my tree or decorate the house. Christmas is my favorite time of year.

Catching Fire & The Croods: Review

Today I get to hang out with my best friend Robert. After a bit a of confusion on who was driving to see who, he made his way to my place. He arrived around 12:30pm and we headed down into the city to get some lunch and watch a movie. We were seeing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. We checked the times and saw that there was a 3pm showing, this would give us a few hours to eat. We went to a near by restaurant called BJ's Brewery, if you've never been it's a sports restaurant with TV's all over the place. Today was Sunday so that meant Football. So we had our lunch and watched some football. There was one game that caught our attention, Green Bay Vs Minnisota. It was towards the end and it was tied. Even though we were done with our lunch and the check was paid we had to stay to see if the tie was broken (it wasn't).

Anyways after lunch we headed back to the theater at 2pm, a full hour before the movie started and to our surprise the 3pm showing was sold out. We should have purchased tickets when we first got there. The next showing was at 4pm but there was an IMAX showing at 3:30pm. Now this is, what I like to call a "Faux MAX" screen. I don't know how these theaters get away with calling this an IMAX but they do and they charge an extra $4 per ticket. I was hesitant to purchase a ticket but we didn't want to have to wait another two hours for the movie so we got tickets for the 3:30 showing. We got in an outside line before moving into an indoor line and finally into the theater. We got some prime seats and we were ready for part two of The Hunger Games saga.

If you've been living under a rock and have no idea what The Hunger Games is. It's a 2008 science fiction novel (trilogy) by the American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the voice of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death.

This is part two of what will be a four part movie series. This film begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

I have read the books and enjoyed the first movie so I was really looking forward to this sequel. and I have to say it did not disappoint. Like the book this movie jumps right in, no character introductions (well until we meet all the new tributes), it just continues from where the last book/movie left off. The majority of this movie is dealing with the uprising that started in book one. Katniss has become the symbol of hope to the 12 districts. The visual effects are better in this movie, it's been a while since I read the books but they followed the book pretty closely with just a few minor changes that didn't really matter. I had forgotten how little time takes place in the Quarter Quell. It's only the last half hour of the movie. 

The casting of some of the characters were not what I pictured in my mind when I read the books, so that took some getting use to but I cried, as I did with the book, when they were killed. This movie was fast paced though there is not a lot of action until the last half of the movie. The stand out performance for me would have to be Effie played by Elizabeth Banks, she's a hard character to like, especially in book one but she really shines in this movie and Elizabeth did an incredible job bringing this character to life.

I can say without a doubt that Catching Fire enters the small club of sequels to great films that manages to not only meet audience’s expectations, but exceed it. 

I can't wait to see what they do with the next book, which they are splitting into two movies. And I have to say I'm interested to see how they do this since I very much disliked the last third of that book.

I give The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a solid A

After our outing we came back to my place and watched one of my PGA screeners. We decided to watch something lighthearted and picked The Croods. Here's a quick synopsis: After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.

I heard lots of good things about this movie and I have to say they were not wrong. This is a fun, entertaining animated movie. Lot's a great voice actors like Nick Cage and Ryan Reynolds. The animation was great. The story was sweet and had a lot of heart, it even made me tear up a few times. I give The Croods a big ol' B

Shaved Head, Family and 50th Who

So the guy who was suppose to come by this morning and remove my spa cancelled.. and he had a pretty good excuse. His wife went into labor. So will have to reschedule for next week.

Was heading out to see family but first I wanted to cut my hair. As I continue to lose my hair I like to keep it really short. My trimmer died last week and my buddy Robert got me a new one for an early Christmas present. Well it came yesterday so I was looking forward to checking it out. I assumed that the same setting on my old trimmer would be the same on this one.. well I was wrong. The first pass on the right side of my head I knew it was wrong. But I had no choice, I either shave my entire head the same length or walk around with this strip on the right side of my head. I like the buzz cut look but this is really buzzed to where it looks like I'm completely bald. Luckily for me it's not a big deal. I know it's just hair and in a few weeks it will be where I thought it would be when I first did it. And after taking this picture I think it looks pretty good.

I got to my family around noon, went out to lunch with my dad. We went to Red Robin and enjoyed some tasty comfort food. We then went to Target to do a bit of Christmas shopping. With all this craziness that is happening in my life I hadn't even thought about Christmas shopping. I didn't pick up much but did find some stuff from my buddy Chris, niece Molly, nephew Kenobi and my brother Mike. Afterwards we headed back to the house where my brother, sister-in-law and kids were home so I got to play with Kenobi and Molly for a few hours.. oh how I adore those kids. I had a great time hanging out with them. I was there until around 6pm. Got home around 8:30pm and decided to watch Doctor Who.

The 50th anniversary special for Doctor Who aired today on the west coast at 11:50am. I knew I was lucky that I didn't see any spoilers on twitter or Facebook but I also knew my luck wouldn't hold out for long so I opted to watch it tonight when I got home.

I loved it, it's what I expected as far as who the John Hurt's character was. Had some great writing and storytelling. I really liked how they brought Billie Piper's Rose character into the story. This episode had so many great nods to past Who and set up a great story for the future of Who. Having Tennant back really made me miss him as The Doctor. I'm still bummed the Eccleston couldn't appear in this special but it was amazing to see Tom Baker at the end. I saved it on my DVR as I know I'm going to have to watch it a few more times before I fully get everything. Can't wait for Smiths swan song in The Christmas Special.

Finding A Place To Live

Packing continues at a very slow rate. I think once the general house inspection is over and everything is in the clear I'll be able to really start packing things up. Right now things are in a limbo state. I have been getting emails from my realtor with questions & requests from the buyers. I'm worried that when they get the inspection evaluation, they are going to want me to fix every little detail which I will not. I still think they got this house at a steal. It's not brand new there are going to be minor fixes that they will have to do when the move in. I refuse to put any more money into this house even if it means these buyers pull out. Now if I sold the house for $20,000 more then what I did sell it for then yes I'd be happy to do the fixes but for the price they are paying.. not a chance. General inspection is this coming Tuesday.. wish me luck.

I have been thinking about where I want to move next. I have a bunch of friends who live within a few blocks of each other in North Hollywood. I, of course, would love to move within that neighborhood but the price of rent might be a bit to much for me if I moved into a one bedroom so I was considering getting a two bedroom and looking for a roommate. My buddy Robert and I have talked about moving in with each other in the past but in recent conversations I'm getting the feeling that he is not wanting to leave the Santa Monica area where he works. And I don't blame him, traffic can be a pain in the ass at times. So I put it out there on twitter and Facebook that I might be looking for a roommate and as I expected friends who don't live close by said they would love to roommate with me if they lived closer but I did get one person who seemed interested, my friend Red.

My other issue with moving is do I want to rent an apartment or a house. I have lived in this house for four years and then before that, Harry and I rented a house for a few years so can I go back to apartment living? I guess it will depend on the apartment. I already know my space will be limited. I have accepted that. I am going from a 2000 sq foot house to a less then 1000 sq foot apartment/house. My biggest issue are the neighbors. I have gotten use to the peace and quiet and I know living in an apartment you don't always have that peace and quiet.

I haven't really started looking into renting a place yet, as I have mentioned above that I'm in a state of limbo with escrow. I don't want to move forward with renting a place if the escrow falls through. I think once all the inspections are done and everything looks good then I might consider finding a place. If not then my plan B is to put everything I own into storage and move in with my brother for a few weeks and look for a new apartment come January.

Hobbit Tickets and Podcasts

Today I continued to pack up stuff around the house. It doesn't look like a lot of stuff until you start putting it in little boxes and then it looks like it multiplies 1000 times.

I purchased my Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug tickets. They went on sale moments ago and I grabbed six of them for a Sunday afternoon showing. Within a few minutes five of my friends claimed the tickets (which I knew they would). I actually was thinking of getting ten tickets but I played it safe. So we're going to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Sunday December 15th at 4:30pm at the Arclight Sherman Oaks. We're seeing it in 3D but not HFR. Our showing also has the Atmos audio system which is truly the best sound I have ever heard. Me and my friends will be sitting in Row J if you want to join us. There are still plenty of seats around that area.

I wanted to get a jump start on the next few episodes of my MASH 4077 Podcast. Since I'll be moving next month (if all goes well). I wanted to get the next few episode edited and ready to be released so I didn't have to worry about them with all the other craziness that will be happening next month. I spent about four hours editing Ep 67 (which is due out Dec. 1st). I started prepping Ep 68 (which will be released on Dec. 15th). If I can, I'm gonna try and prep the next six episodes just to get a jump start.

The guy who is interested in my Jeep stopped by my house with his wife and a fresh battery. He wanted to see if  he could get the Jeep started up and if it did he could hear the pinging sound that I mentioned was the problem. We hooked up the battery and seconds later the engine was running. He took a listen to the sound and said it sounds like it's a valve in the engine block, luckily he can fix it himself. His wife liked the Jeep and he is defiantly interested in purchasing it. Said it will take him a few weeks to get the money together but hopefully by the beginning of December the Jeep will be gone and one less thing I have to worry about.

Packing, Screeners, Jelly Beans and Delivery Man

Spent the day packing on and off, it's difficult to pack full on when I still have a little less then a month of living in the space. I also have Thanksgiving dinner next week so I can't really pack much of my kitchen up. But I am trying to pack up things that I know I won't need this month.

I got more screeners in the mail. They are arriving alot slower then they have in previous years. I don't know if that means I will be getting less this year or the companies are just getting their screeners out later. Today I got The Croods which I have not seen yet but have heard great things about and looking forward to watching. Prisoners which I did see a screening of and enjoyed. It's a very intense movie and I don't know if I could watch it over and over again. And the final screener I got today was Gravity. I saw this on the big IMAX screen and loved it. I'll be interested to see what kind of experience you get when you watch it on a much smaller screen.

My buddy Chris turned me on to this video that uses Jelly Beans to represent the days one has in an average life span. It really makes you think about your life and question just how much time you really have to just "live". Check out the video below.. it really does put things into perspective.

Today the septic tank people came by and inspect the tank, they were there for quite a while and when they left there were two large holes in the ground. Not sure what's going on but I'm sure I'll hear soon enough if there is a problem.

I don't think I mentioned this on my blog yet but one of the conditions from the buyers that I agreed to was to get rid of my broken spa. A friend suggested that I put the spa up on Craigslist and see what happens. Well I was completely surprised by the response to my "free" spa ad. I got over 30 emails, within 12 hours and everyone of them wanted my broken spa. So instead of paying someone $400 to remove it I choose a guy who seems to do this professionally, he is the only one who offered to drain, remove and cap off the wires with no damage to my patio. He is also insured. So I contacted him and we set up a time for him to come over on Saturday morning. Fingers crossed that this all goes well.

The final thing I did tonight was have dinner with my bestie Robert and then go to a prescreening of the new Vince Vaughn movie Delivery Man. I drove over to Robert's place and parked my car. We then headed to Islands for some yummy burgers and fries. Afterwards we headed to the theater. Neither of us had been to this theater before. We were early to we walked around the mall that the theater was in. We got in line and soon was in the theater and both Robert and I were very impressed with this theater. Big screen, nice sound system and comfy reclining seats.

If you haven't heard of Delivery Man here's a brief synopsis: David Wozniak, using the alias "Starbuck", is a sperm donor who learns that he has fathered 533 children. When a large group of them petition the sperm bank to reveal his identity, David has to decide whether or not to come forward. Simultaneously, his girlfriend is deciding whether he would make a suitable father.

Here's my review... I LOVED THIS MOVIE. It was funny, sweet and had so much charm. Vince Vaughn was adorable in this lead role. It was fantastic to see Cobie Smulders who plays his pregnant girlfriend and Chris Pratt was great as his best friend. You try and put yourself into his situation and ask what would you do. I don't know if I would have gone down the route he did, it was frustrating at times because you like his character but he makes some stupid decisions. But of course in the end it all works out. I found this movie very heartwarming and it brought me to tears several times. I can't wait to get this on Blu-ray. I can see this being a movie that I watch when  need my spirits lifted. I give Delivery Man a solid B+

I did find out later in the evening that this is a remake of a French Canadian movie called Starbuck that came out last year. I think I'll have to check that one out as well.

Hobbit BTS, My Jeep & A Surprise Dinner

Today was all about The Hobbit and packing. Got up early and was still in my Hobbit mood after watching the extended edition of The Unexpected Journey yesterday. Now if you know Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson, you know he does these amazing behind the scene documentaries that are hours and hour long. Well the one for this Hobbit movie is over 9 hours of extra behind the scenes footage. So while I was packing today I watched about five hours of it.

I think I was just as excited to see these behind the scenes as I was to see the extended edition as I was to see the actual original theatrical release. Jackson is right up there with Spielberg and Lucas in my eyes. He's created these amazing masterpieces but what makes him different from the other two directors is that he shares his experience with the world. He explains everything, from his choices of cameras, to scouting for location, casting, prep time, post time and premiere. If you don't like a choice he made creatively in the film. You can normally get an explanation as to why they made that choice in the amazing commentaries that he does for each of his movies. I've always loved the behind the scenes docs and Jackson's Lord of the Rings and now The Hobbit have the best I've ever seen produced.

While I was watching the BTS and packing several inspectors came by the house as part of the escrow deal. First was the well inspector. He actually came twice and will be back a few more times as they are testing the well pumps and water being pumped. Also a termite guy stopped by and looked around my house for termite damage. I'll be getting their reports in a few days.

When the termite guy was leaving he drove down my driveway but then stopped and backed up. He got out of his car and came to my front door and knocked. I opened the door and he asked if I was thinking of selling my Jeep. I don't know why he thought it was up for sale. I mean it's just sitting over in a corner of my property. So when he asked me I was surprised. I told him yes I actually was thinking of selling it. I explained what problems it had when I stopped driving it and that it's currently not starting, even with a jump. He asked how much I want for it and I really just want to get rid of it so I said $1000, it's actually worth about $4000 even in the condition it's in but I think it would be hard to find  someone who would purchase a non-operational car for $4000. He seemed interested and said he would get back to me. He left once again and once again turned around and came back. This time he was sitting in his car in front of my house on his phone. A few minutes later he came back to my door and asked when I needed to be out of the house. I told him mid December and he said great, I'll take the Jeep but it's going to take me a week or two to get the $1000. He said he'll give me a deposit this weekend as good faith gesture. So it looks like I sold my Jeep without even advertising :)

During the evening I headed out to Pasadena to celebrate my buddy Josh's birthday. For the past few weeks Nicole (Josh's ex/current/I don't know girlfriend) and I have been gathering money from his friends for an Xbox One for his birthday. Tonight we were giving him what we had gathered. We didn't get enough for the Xbox but what we got will be a good start and hopefully with some Christmas money he'll have enough to make the purchase. Anyways we went to his favorite Asian food restaurant called Pei Wei. Me being there was a surprise, we both arrived about the same time and they actually parked one spot away from me but luckily there was an SUV in between us so he didn't see me. He was really surprised and happy when when I came up behind him. We ate and had a nice time. We then gave him the gifts. Nicole took her portion of the money and actually got single dollars bills and taped them together end by end so when he started pulling them out of the box it kept going and going and going.. it was pretty funny. Me on the other hand just had a card signed by all those who contributed and then the cash inside the card. It was a fun evening.

Escrow, A Friend and The Hobbit

Was up once again at 5:30am and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and started to pack up things around the house. Escrow officially starts today and that means I have 30 + 2 days to vacate this house if everything goes through. So I must be out of the house by December 19th. So I figured I'd start packing and downsizing.

I got to have lunch with my buddy Craig, I don't get to see him as much as I would like to but when we do we have some good times. Craig has been HIV positive since 1988. I met him when I was volunteering at APLA (Aids Project Los Angeles). I've known him for over 15 years. His health has been on a decline and he's been in and out of the hospital the past year. He called me up a few days ago to say goodbye. He is near death and he doesn't know how much longer he'll be around. He has his good days and his bad days and luckily for me he was having a good day and we were able to go to a local Denny's and grab some lunch and catch up on each other's lives. He has set short term goals, he said it helps him focus and not dwell on his situation. His next goal is to survive until 2014. So if you could muster some happy thoughts and send them his way I would really appreciate that.

After lunch with Craig I went to my realtor's office to sign some paperwork. There is ton of paperwork when selling a house.. and she said this is only the beginning.

I did a bit of work around the house like fix my garage door. I now have two fully operational garage doors...yay!!

During the evening I sat down and watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition. I purchased this a few weeks back and have been dying to watch but just haven't had the time.. so I made some time today. I haven't seen the Hobbit in a few months so it was fun watching it again and it was fun seeing what they added into the cut. They actually added 13 more minutes to the movie making it just over 3 hours long. I recognized small addition here and there but the two major scenes were the additional songs. One sung by the Dwarfs in Rivendell and one by the Goblin King. I enjoyed the extended edition very much but I can never get enough of Peter Jackson's version of Middle Earth.

Next I'll have to find nine hours so I can watch all the awesome behind the scenes and an additional 3 hours to watch the movie over again with commentary from Jackson and company.

The Waiting Game...

I couldn't sleep last night, I tossed and turned and finally got up around 5:30am. I went to check my email as I had a few more messages from friends giving me advice on what to do. My friend Thomas gave me the best advice when he said (paraphrasing), if I reject the bid and go to sell my house for a higher price and every month that it doesn't sell I will have to be paying the mortgage out of pocket (which I don't have) and that will be coming out of the profit margin when it finally does sell. Depending on when I sell it that could be the different between the price they offered me and the new price I would have liked.

That made sense to me and along with everyone else great advice I emailed my realtor at 5:30am in the morning and said to accept the offer with the changes we made to their conditions. Got emailed me back at 9am that said it has been done. Also that she hasn't gotten any more inquires or requests to look at my house.

So now it's my turn to wait and see what they come back with. Hopefully they'll just accept the changes I made to their original conditions and we can move forward. While I waited I finally finished painting the outside of my house!!! I started a year ago in October and this hellish job has finally come to an end. I will never ever paint a house/garage pretty much by myself ever again. I'm happy it's over and I'm glad it turned out nice.. but man it was hard.

Around 2:30 my realtor called and said, well they accepted the changes. All you have to do is give the okay, sign the paperwork and your house will go into escrow starting tomorrow. This was it, this was the final time I could actually pull out of this contract but I was happy with the final deal. I knew selling this house, because of it's location would be tough. You'd have to find the right people at the right time.. and mine just happen to be on day one of the sale. So I officially accepted their offer and the deal was done.

After painting I headed out to my garage as to clean out some of the crap as I'm going to be going from a 2000+ square foot house to a more then likely less then 1000 square foot apartment. Time to thin out what I have. As I started I kept coming across things that I hadn't used in a year or two but saw the possibility of using in the future. But I kept fighting myself asking if I'm going really use it. Is it worth keeping if I don't have the space. I struggled with throwing things away. I admit that I'm a pack rat but I didn't realize to what degree until I tried throwing stuff away today. It's going to be tough but I have to get rid of things that I haven't used in over a year. Regardless of if I think I'll be able to use it in the future. Time to downsize!!

In geeky news I watched the latest Once Upon A Time. If you haven't seen it don't read on as I'm going to spoil things. Once Upon A Time this season has been kind of lackluster. I was getting tired of the group walking around Neverland deciding how to save Henry. But I have to say the last few episodes with Ariel and Storybrooke have been fantastic and today's episode has turned the corner for me. Though it took place mostly in Neverland with that same group of characters, the story moved forward and we got some HUGE revelations. The biggest was that Peter Pan is actually Rumpelstiltskin's father. We get their backstory and when all this went down my jaw must have hit the floor. I actually applauded the TV and Once Upon A Time. I love those OMG type moments and that was one of the best. Also Rumple being sucked into Pandora's box and the final scene with Henry removing his own heart and putting into Pan was amazing. A nice little cliffhanger, and now we have to wait two weeks until we see the conclusion. I hope Once Upon A Time can keep up this pace. I hope the save Henry, stuck in Neverland storyline ends soon. I really miss Storybrooke and seeing all the different characters. But if they keep this pace up I'll be happy to watch a few more episodes as this storyline concludes.

1st Viewing, 1st Offer < 24 Hours

So I was up at 5:30am.. not sure if it was the stress of my house being up on the market or what but for whatever reason I couldn't sleep. So I decided to get up and check to see what time Lowes opened as I needed to buy a quart of paint so I could finally finish painting the outside of my house.

I was surprised to see that Lowes opened at 6am. So I got up, got dressed and was at Lowes by 7am. I got my paint and headed back home. I made my self breakfast and was about to go outside to finish the painting when I got a call from my realtor Mary, it was 8:30am. She said that someone wanted to come look at my house today at 10am.. that was only an hour and a half away. Of course I wasn't ready to show the place.. I never expected to have someone interested less then 24 hours after I listed my house. But I couldn't say no so after getting off the phone with Mary I went into full panic mode and started to clean. I knew there was no way I was going to finish painting the outside but I wanted the inside to look it's best. I had to sweep and wash the hardwood floors, clean both bathrooms, clean the kitchen, pack up all the crap in my office and move it to the garage. I vacuumed the carpets and washed down the base boards. I was a mad man but I did manage to get it all done by 9:50am and then went outside to clean up a bit there but at 10am sharp they pulled up.

It was very nice couple with their realtor, I excused myself to my garage and they entered the house. I was to nervous to actually clean up the garage but I did my best. They were in my house for about 30 minutes before coming out to the garage area. I opened up both garages and offered information about the water well, septic tank and various other things around the house. I took them on a quick tour of the property lines and explained how the trash works. They seemed to really like the place and the area. I of course apologized for the dirtiness of the house but the realtor said that my house really "showed" well. And the potential buyers said everything looked great.

They asked if they could go back in the house to look over things one more time and of course I said yes... fifteen minutes later they finally exited, said thank you and were on their way. I texted Mary (my realtor) and gave her a blow by blow account of what happened. She said that it's very unusual for someone to take almost 45 minutes to look through a house... that they must really be interested. I figured it was my first successful showing. I was not prepared for more.

My buddy Doug arrived just as they were leaving. He came over to help me clean out my main garage. We spent about two hours moving things into piles before calling it quits and decided to go grab a bite to eat for lunch. We headed over to Islands as it's one of my favorite places to eat and Doug had never been there before. Around 1:30 my realtor called and said, you're never going to believe this but we have an offer. They are offering you your full asking price and in cash.

I couldn't believe it. My house hasn't been on the market for more then 24 hours and I already have an offer for the full amount in cash. Of course they had some conditions that my realtor would get back to me once she was back in her office.

Home from lunch Doug headed back to town and I nervously awaited an email from my realtor with their conditions. I finally got it and also got a call from Mary to discuss it. There were a few technical things but their main conditions were that I pay for the well, termite, septic tank and general inspections. They also wanted me to remove the broken spa.

Mary and I went over everything. I refused to pay for any inspections (when we purchased the home, we paid for all those inspections, I wasn't about to pay for them again). I did agree to get rid of the spa but that was the only thing I agreed to do.

All we had to do now was accept the offer with the changed conditions and I was about to do it when I thought I should wait and talk it over with some friends and family.

Because I got an offer so quickly and they weren't haggling on the price it made me think that I was under selling the house. I mean Mary and I went through the comps and our price was lower but I wanted it to be a quick sale. The price that they are paying was the bare minimum that I willing to get. I was debating on rejecting this bid and then upping the price of the house by $20,000.

But after talking about to friends and family I was pretty close to accepting it but I wanted to sleep on it. I spent the rest of the day thinking about this and really didn't do much else.

Since I had gotten up at 5:30am I decided to go to bed a bit early. I would call Mary tomorrow morning with my answer.

What a day!!!!

More House Stuff & It's Screener Time!!!

My house is officially on the market.. now we wait to see if we get any interest. When Harry and I purchased this house it was on the market for 62 days.. let's hope it's doesn't take that long for me to sell it.

I finished painting the last side of the house, the only thing I have left is touch ups. But as I was about to tweet that I was almost done with painting, I realized that I totally forgot about the chimney and the three window gable. So I jumped on the roof, taped off everything and started to paint only to run out with just a bit more to do. So I called it night for painting and would have to run to Lowes tomorrow to pick up a quart and finish then.

By this time it was getting dark so I just chilled and watched some recorded TV.

It's screener time!!! A few days ago I got my first screener for the movie Rush. Today I got four more screeners. Monsters University, Dallas Buyers Club, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Before Midnight. I'm sure you can guess which one of these movies I have seen already... yep it's Monsters University. But I have heard good things about some of the others. Now that the screeners have started to flow I'm hoping to get 30 or so of them like I did last year. Can't wait to see what comes next.

If you're interested in hanging out and watching some screeners let me know.. that's my favorite way of watching these.. with friends.

"Get Fit" Week 15

So this week was good news, bad news kind of week. The good news is that I'm happy to say that I have kept my weight below 200lbs all week. This is the first time in I don't know how long I can say that. The bad news is I didn't lose any additional weight. My last weigh in (Week 14) I was 197 lbs and this morning when I weigh myself I was once again 197lbs. I know why and I'm not going to blog about them as they are just excuses.

I know this whole house thing is turning my life upside down. Right now my goal is to just maintain below 200lbs until this house situation is resolved and then I can get back into the swing of things.

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 66

Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or Listen, get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

Show Notes

Kenny Mittleider from Knights of the Guild, Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast & Confessions of a Fanboy Podcast, Simon Meddings from Waffle On Podcast & special guest listener co-host Donald discuss one of the most successful and longest running television series in history.. M*A*S*H

Today we cover Season 3, Episode #18 - House Arrest
66th Episode Overall
Directed by Hy Averback
Written by Jim Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum
Production code B315
Original air date February 4, 1975

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: After Hawkeye makes an insulting remark about Margaret, Frank snaps him with a towel and Hawkeye responds with a nicely placed right cross to Frank's eye. Hawkeye is then placed under house arrest and instead of being treated like a criminal, he is treated like a conquering hero for what he did even to the point of getting some very tasty water buffalo steak and having movies shown in the Swamp. In the meantime, Colonel Reese, the woman in charge of all the nurses in Korea, arrives to observe Margaret and her staff and, for some strange reason, becomes attracted to Frank and tries to seduce him. Also, Radar begins acting very strangely, even having the hem in his pants let out two inches.

House Prepping, Mini Who & Podcasts

Today I continued to paint the final side of my house. With my house going up on the market tomorrow I need to get this done ASAP.  While the paint dried I did a major clean up around the yard. My friends did an amazing job pulling weeds a few months back but I wanted to get rid of some dead plants and a ton of wood debris. I also worked on getting the backyard watering system to work. Lots of lifting and walking back and forth.

By night fall I was exhausted and sore, I felt like I just did the worlds most extreme workout. You think after months of this my body would get use to it.. but nope. My painters elbow is getting worse but there really isn't anything I can do.. this painting must get done.

My realtor Mary sent me a preview of my house listing that will officially be launched tomorrow. You can check it out HERE.

In geeky news.. BBC release a mini episode for the upcoming 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who "Day of the Doctor. This mini episode is called Night of the Doctor. I have to say it was awesome to see an familiar face, that hasn't been seen in a while. I'm really looking forward to this 50th Anniversary episode. You can check out the mini episode below.

And to finish my night off and since I've been so busy I almost forgot. I have a MASH 4077 Podcast that's due tomorrow (or rather midnight tonight). So I spent 7pm to just under midnight editing the next one and getting uploaded and ready to go.

Needless to say I was extremely tired and couldn't wait to go to bed.

The Gays, Sleeping Beauty & Babylon 5

First of all congratulations to "the gays" in Hawaii. They have become the 16th state to legalize gay marriage... equality for all. Ever since the US Supreme Court decision on Prop 8 here in California it seems more and more states are granting marriage equality. I know the fight is far from over I mean we can legal marry in only 16 of the 50 states but it's progress. Who know how many more states will join in marriage equality in 2014.

Okay now for some geeky stuff.. saw the first trailer for Maleficent staring Angelina Jolie. I've been looking forward to this since the first photo was released and I have to say that he trailer looks amazing. This will defiantly be a must see when it hits theaters next year. Check out the trailer below.

Today is Wednesday and it's TV night with my buddy Robert. We missed last weeks because I had so much work around the house and though I still have a lot of work I can't go two weeks without hanging with my bestie and enjoying some Babylon 5. Today we watched season 3 episodes 3,4 & 5.

First up was S3 Ep3 "A Day in the Strife" Sheridan and Ivanova deal with a dispute with the worker's guild. Then a probe arrives, and gives the station a test. If they pass, it promises to share advanced technology, if they fail the station will be destroyed in a few hours. Garibaldi talks to Franklin about his stim use-age. G'Kar struggles to retain leadership of the Narn community aboard Babylon 5

Lots of good stuff in this episode. Some comedy with Sheridan and Ivanova and the workers guild. I knew all along that something wasn't right with that probe. Whenever it's too good to be true.. it is. I knew the doctor was heading down a dark road. It was nice to see Garibaldi care so much for his colleague. But my favorite part was G'Kar's story. He is such a great character and a great leader that he was willing to leave (and die) Babylon 5 to save the families of those Narn on Babylon 5. And I also liked that Sheridan did not turn him over to that Narn/Centeri liaison. It was great seeing that all of G'Kar's followers stopped him from leaving and convinced him to stay and continue to lead the rebellion even though their families will be at risk.

I'm having such a hard time finding sympathy for Londo. When Londo was talking to Delenn about Vir and then he says that he missing the time they spent together. I kept telling myself.. Dude you're the reason everyone is shunning you. And then he goes and gets Vir transferred to Mirbar. He did it because Vir was his conscious. He reminded Londo of what kind of man he was before he turned to the dark side. I'm afraid to see where Londo is going to go next without Vir by his side.

I think this characters (Londo) turn of events effected me the most as I so liked him in the beginning and really disliked G'Kar.. but now I can't imagine disliking G'Kar, he's become one of my favorite characters and I feel betrayed by the character of Londo, he's become a character that I just despise.

Next up was S3 Ep4 "Passing Through Gethsemane" Kosh's ship arrives at the station bearing a surprise visitor, Lyta Alexander returns after visiting the Vorlon home world. Brother Edward, a monk with Brother Theo visits with Delenn to discuss religion. Soon he begins to hear voices. They discover that Edward is experiencing repressed memories, someone is forcing him to relive past moments.


I was happy to see Lyta back, I really enjoyed her character and she is now working for Kosh. Not sure what was happening at the end of the episode when the light was coming from her eyes and mouth into the Kosh suit.. I told Robert that it looks like Kosh is using Lyta's body to interact with the crew.. guess will find out. Also I like that Lyta is a kickass telepath and is not bound by the PSI Corp rules.

I found the Monk storyline very interesting, it was a intense episode. Robert would pause the show every few minutes and we would go into these long conversations about what is happening and what we would do. That's one thing I love about Babylon 5, it really does get you thinking about.. everything... politics, religion, war... it's pretty amazing.

And the final episode of the night S3 Ep5 "Voices of Authority" Sheridan has an interesting time dealing with the new Political Officer stationed by EarthGov and Ivonova visits the planet below Babylon 5 in search of the "first ones". G'Kar questions Delenn about the war council and the Rangers.

Another enjoyable episode. Hate the new political officer and I'm so glad Sheridan didn't sleep with her. Loved Ivonova in this episode. I loved that she took a big gamble and won. And I felt so bad for G'Kar as he's onto them, he knows what's going on with the Shadow. My heart broke when he had his one on one talk with Garibaldi, I know Garibaldi felt bad and I thought he was going to trust him and tell him but he didn't. I hope they bring G'Kar in the loop soon.

We started this TV night later then usual and with all the conversations we were only able to watch three episodes but they were three fantastic episodes. Can't wait for me.

House Game Plan & New S.H.I.E.L.D.

Today my realtor, Mary, stopped by to go over comps and to take pictures of my house. She was arriving at 1pm so I spent 7am to 1pm cleaning up the place. I wanted to make it look as nice as I could. I about killed myself but by the time she got here I think the house looked pretty good. Not everything was painted on the outside but the front of the house and deck area out back looked good.

Mary and I first walked through the house and she gave me advice on what to take down and what to leave up. I pretty much took down all my geeky things.

Next we went over details of houses in my area that were on the market and ones that sold and what they sold for. There was a house very similar to mine in size and acres in Aqua Dulce and they ranged in price from $289,000 to $420,000. I want to price the house to sell but I don't want to under price it. I know selling a house out here could take a while as you need just the right people looking for something like this. We settled on the price $365,000. It's about $20,000 more then what we paid for the house, so that's a good thing. I think it's a bit lower then I would like but I also think it will bring in the buyers, it's defiantly priced to sell. This house was on the market for 62 days before we purchased it from the previous owners. Who know how long it will take this time around.

After that she walked around and took pictures of various rooms and locations. I signed all the paperwork and my house will official be going up on the market this Friday Nov. 15th.

Now time to get all these little side jobs done so it will be ready to show to potential buyers. 

Watched the latest episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Hub". Another fantastic episode, I love Fitts and Simmons. I'm even warming up to Ward. Still a huge fan of May and Coulson. So far seven episodes have aired and I've loved each one of them. Still hearing a lot of hate for this series but I have decided to ignore it. It doesn't effect my love for the show. I'm a huge fan and will always be one of it's biggest supporters.

Veterans Day, IOS7 & More Deck Work

First I want to wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday today.. she'll never see this but she's my mom and I love her so Happy Birthday Mom.

Second I want to thank all the Veterans out there for your service to our country. I especially want to thank my best friend Sergeant Christopher Setts for his service. Chris is currently in Kuwait and we all can't wait for him to set foot back on US soil in six to seven months. Good luck buddy, love you and stay safe.

Now for my blog post.. I tried to update my iPad with the new IOS 7 software and it completely crash the pad. The same thing happen to my iPhone but I was able to fix it and get the new software uploaded and working but with the pad it's completely gone. Every time I turn the pad on it tells me to connect it to iTunes. When I do so it asks if I want to download the new version of ISO and I say yes. It downloads everything fine but then we it goes to update my pad it gives me an error. I've searched online for fixes but none of them have worked.. I think I'll have to take it to an Apple store and have them fix it. Luckily I don't use my iPad alot but still I hate that trying to update the systems software would case such a catastrophic failure.

Today I spent most of the daylight trying to fix my deck. If you read my previous blog you know I wasn't happy with the final results of the stain I had put on the deck.. well I tried all day to get it to look better but by the time night came I said screw it. It is what it is. It's not horrible but it's not great either. Hopefully the potential buyers won't mind the way it looks.

I did manage to finish spray painting the railing so I put that back up and I have to say it looks a thousands times better. At least I'm happy with that.

Gods, Goodies and Gays

Got up this morning and made some breakfast for Aaron and I. We debated on doing some deck work but we were seeing Thor: The Dark World at noon which meant we had to leave my place an hour and fifteen minute before hand which would give us about and half hour to do stuff... we opted to just hang out and chat.

Aaron and I drove separately as he was going to our bimonthly D&D session after the movie and I was opting to go back home to work on the house like a good boy.

We got to the theater a little before noon and were quickly joined by Jes, Dallas, Doug & Robert. Rupert showed up as we were sitting down. One thing I love about the Arclight theaters.. well there are many but a big ones is the assigned seating. I don't mind paying a bit extra and not having to stand in line for hours to ensure that you get a good seat. At the Arclight Sherman Oaks they had costumes displayed from the Thor movie, which was cool. We were also seeing it with the new Atmos audio system which is incredible.

As I mentioned we were seeing Thor: The Dark World. Here's a quick synopsis: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

I loved this movie, it was everything I was hoping for. I wasn't a big Thor fan until the first movie came out and I really enjoyed it. But this one really out shined the first one. I think the story was much stronger with this one. It didn't have to explain who everyone was, we just jump on in for a wild ride. The special effects were amazing, the battle scenes.. both with ships and people were crazy cool. Loki was amazing as expected and even had a surprise at the end that I didn't see coming. I really enjoyed Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor Who) who played the leader of the Dark Elves. He was creepy and very menacing. This Thor movie is defiantly up there with my favorites, like Avengers and Captain America.

And it still surprises me that anyone would leave the theater after the credits start to role. There was not only one but two extra scenes this time around. But of course some folks left when the movie ended and then more left once the first extra scene was shown midway through the credits... stupid people.

I give Thor: The Dark World a very solid A. I can't wait to take my dad to see this in the theater.. and this will be a must buy when it comes out on blu-ray.

As I mentioned I did not go to D&D tonight (boo) instead I came home and finished working on my front deck. And I have to say I'm very unsatisfied with the final results, but I have to keep telling myself this isn't for me.. but still I did not have a good experience with staining that deck.

Another thing that I forgot to mention a few days back is that my friend Lydia got me one of those awesome TNG hoodies that I blogged about a few weeks ago, as an early Christmas present. She got me a the Command (Red) one and it's totally awesome. It's so well made and super thick and warm. I can't wait until it's cold enough to wear it out all the time.. gonna get a lot of use out of it. I also plan on getting the other two colors as well. :) Thanks Lydia for the awesome hoodie.

Also today I found out that there was.is a gay scifi/fantasy con called Bent-Con and it was happening this weekend.

BENT-CON’s non-profit charter defines the following goals for the organization:

• To provide a forum to showcase and celebrate existing, new and emerging LGBT and our Allies talent in the fields of comics, graphic novels, cartooning, animation, gaming, sci-fi/fantasy/horror writers, film-makers, actors, directors, producers and other-related creative mediums.

• Enable participants in said-creative fields to share, learn and pool from more experienced individuals or parties in the various aspects of the creation, publishing, film-making, marketing and distribution of said-creative fields related content.

• To educate and express to the greater public and community of the said-creative fields in the areas of LGBT and our Allies presence and contributions to comic-book history, film history, gaming history along with the current trends within those various histories and fields, as well as the impact of queer/LGBT contributions to comics on popular culture and other analytical topics.

• To provide awareness and a fundraising forum for BENT-CON to build and nurture an often under-appreciated aspect of the contributions expressed from an LGBT/queer perspective within a global pop-culture.

I'll have to be sure to check it out next year as it's held in Burbank, which is close by me. I can always use more gay geeks in my life :)

Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast Ep 22

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/itunesAlienNation Listen on Stitcher Radio http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32281/episodes or Listen/ Get Direct Download http://Aliennationpodcast.com  

Show Notes

Brothers Kenny and Michael Mittleider review and discuss a short lived but very socially aware TV series from the late 80's early 90's ALIEN NATION. Each podcast we will review a single episode in sequential order starting with the Pilot. Will give you our thoughts on the episode as well as some fun behind the scenes information.

Today we cover Season 1, Episode 22 - Green Eyes
Directed by Tom Chehak
Written by Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider
Original air date May 7th 1990

Plot Summary: Matt and George investigate a series of Newcomer deaths which exposes a plot by the National Purist Front (NPF). Their plan is to eliminate the entire Newcomer population. At the same time, Matt and George need to reexamine their relationship when George gets a promotion, which puts him at a higher rank than Matt.  Matt tries to suppress his growing feelings for Cathy by dating another woman.

Deck Work & Puppet Sex

Today Aaron and I got up and I made some biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Then we started working on the front deck. We removed the front railing and laid it over some plastic. We then started sanding the deck down. When Chris was here for the surprise "let's help Kenny day" he manage to sand the front deck with the deck sander but obviously he couldn't get into the corners or where the railing was. So Aaron and I sanded those areas with a small hand sander and also by hand.

Once we were done sanding we went over and started spray painting the railing, I had purchased two cans of black spray paint and figured it would be enough.Well it wasn't.. we did manage to spray the front of the railings but that was it.

I went back to the deck and tested a patch of wood with the dark walnut stain that I had gotten. It made the deck look like it had been on fire, it was a sooty black. So we made a trip to Lowes to pick up more spray paint and to also find a lighter stain.

I arrived home with a special walnut and it looked alot lighter on the can, we I did a test patch and it was a bit lighter then the sooty black one but not by much. I never knew staining could be so difficult. Well I decided to go with the special walnut as I didn't want to back to Lowes again.. I just wanted to get it done. Arron started on one end and I started on the other and we got about half of the deck stained before we had to go.

Tonight Aaron and I along with a few of our friends were heading out to see a play that our friend Josh was in. His collage preforming class was putting on a show called Avenue Q. I've heard great things about this play but never seen it... so I was not only looking forward to the play but also to my buddy being in it.

Aaron and I picked up our friends Jes and Dallas and made the 83.5 mile trek out to Chaffey Collage. We got down there a bit early and after driving around for what felt like forever we finally settled on Chili's for dinner. We got to the collage around 6:30 and ran into Nicole and her roommate as well as Josh's family (Mom, Dad & Brother). Got our tickets, got in line and made our way into the theater. We found some prime seats. A few minutes later our friends Robert and Cait arrived and joined the group. I think our entire group took up 2/3's of a row.

In case you'd never heard of Avenue Q here's is some info about it. Avenue Q is an American musical in two acts, it's an "autobiographical and biographical" coming-of-age parable, addressing and satirizing the issues and anxieties associated with entering adulthood. Its characters lament that as children, they were assured by their parents, and by children's television programs such as PBS's Sesame Street, that they were "special" and "could do anything"; but as adults, they have discovered to their surprise and dismay that in the real world their options are limited, and they are no more "special" than anyone else. The musical is notable for the use of puppets, animated by unconcealed puppeteers, alongside human actors.

Josh plays Brian one of the humans. The only song I knew from this play was The Internet Is For Porn. This isn't for kids, it's a very adult show... there's even puppet sex.

I loved every minute of it. The set was well done, the actors were great, especially some of the actors/puppeteers they were just amazing. I had a hard time choosing between watching the puppet or the actor. I loved the songs, so much so that I'll probably go out and get the soundtrack. Josh of course was awesome, but then again I'm a bit bias :)

The play just flew by and before I knew it, it was over. We got to say a quick hi to Josh before heading back home. I had to drop off Jes and Dallas first before heading home with Aaron who was once again crashing at my place.

It was a good day.. got some work done on the house but also got to spend some time with friends and watch a friend in a play that I've wanted to see for years.

More House Stuff & FaerieCon

Today I spent the majority of the day painting my house. I've been focusing on the front of the house as my realtor is coming over on Tuesday to go over the details of selling my house. She's also going to take pictures so I want the front to look the best it can look. So I was outside from 9am to 5pm and I am exhausted.

Come the evening my friend Aaron drove up from San Diego and crashed at my place as he is going to help me with my house stuff tomorrow. He arrived around 8pm and we just hung out, talked and watched some TV. I was just a lump and really wasn't up for much.

During the day on one of my mini breaks I saw a post on Facebook from Kristen Nedopak. She posted a picture of herself in a Faerie outfit and the caption said "on my way to FaerieCon". I had never heard of this con and I'm a big Faerie fan. One thing that I've been trying to find the past several years is a perfect male Faerie drawing/picture/artwork. Anyways I immediately had to look it up. These are entire cons dedicated to the Faerie World.. there are several of them every year. Faerie Con West, Faerie Con East and FaerieWorld. They last an entire weekend with live music, masquerade balls, Fantasy authors & artists and it just looks like a ton of fun. Next years Faerie Con West and FaerieWorld are being held in Oregon. Depending on where I am in my life I might give one of these a go. They look similar to Renaissance Festivals, which I love.

"Get Fit" Week 14

So last week I finally hit my goal of getting below 200, I know it wasn't that far below (198.5) but even a half a pound below would have made me happy. I've been busy with getting my house prepped to go on the market that I have let my "working out" fall by the waste side. By the time it's dark outside I'm exhausted. I have forced myself to do the elliptical a few times this week but not nearly as much as I should. But with that said I am happy to say that I have kept my weight below 200 all week long (I weighted myself every morning). And as it is Friday I weighted myself this morning for my official "Get Fit" weight in and I'm happy to say that my current weight is 197 lbs.

So that's 1.5 lbs less this week. And that also means I have met my goal for the week. If you don't remember my new goal is to lose at least a pound a week. I still have lots of house stuff to do but I'm hoping to get back into my work out routine so I can lose more then just a pound a week... here's hoping.