Friends, Aliens & Succubus

Busy day today.. my buddy Aaron texted me and wanted to see if I wanted to do lunch and a movie. He wanted to see the new "Alien" movie Prometheus. I not a huge fan of the Alien series but I do enjoy the movie and this one being a "prequel" and the previews looking pretty good I agreed to join him.

He got to my house around 11am and we headed out to Islands to grab some lunch before the movie at 1:30pm. We were seeing it at a local theater in 3D IMAX (or as I like to call it, Faux MAX) since it's not a true IMAX theater. Anyways we had a great lunch and I got to hang out with a good friend. I've been in a funk the past few days and it was great getting to hang with a friend and talk.

After lunch we made our way to the theater, got our tickets and got in line for a few minutes before they let us in to the theater itself.

Prometheus was a very entertaining movie, it was a OMG that was AWESOME kind of movie but I really enjoyed it. I loved all the nods to the original Alien movie (so much so that I now want to go back and watch the original Alien movie). The story was cool and the effect were pretty awesome. I liked the characters and the acting was strong. There were some inconsistency in the storytelling but it didn't detract me from story on a whole. I still enjoyed Snow White and the Huntsman, that I saw last week, more then Prometheus but I'm glad I saw it in the theater and I think it's a nice addition to the Alien series.

After the movie Arron came back to my place for a half hour before heading into LA. I was going to try and work on some podcasts but that didn't happen and early in the day before Aaron got there I started to watch the eight episode of Lost Girl that I had on my DVR. So for the rest of the night I finished off what I have recorded, so I'm currently all caught with Lost Girl and ready for new episodes. I really love these series.. I already did a blog on Lost Girl but now that I've seen all of season one and the beginning of season two this series continue to impress and entertain me.

Nice Guy 101

So I know this may come as a shocker to some of you but I'm a "Nice Guy". I use to hate being called that but a few years ago I decided to own it. I am a nice guy, I can't change who I am and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. You know the saying Nice Guys finish last, well it's a very true statement but I wouldn't want to be any other way.

I like being a nice guy, I like that people know that they can rely on me. Yes I may not achieve huge success or wealth because I'm unwilling to be cut throat.. and yes I have been taken advantage of from time to time but that just goes along with being a good person. 

Why am I telling you guys about this because I decided to start posting #NiceGuy101 tweets on twitter. They are just little sayings or things that I live by, being a nice guy.

Here's an example... this is the first one that I tweeted;

Send a friend a text and say hi, it only takes a second but can brighten their entire day. #NiceGuy101

I plan on tweeting one or two of these every few days.. I got lots of "nice guy" things to share.

Life is Funny

This post is going to be just some random thoughts going on in my head at this very moment... 

The past few days I've been feeling blah, no job, no money, no partner and after having to ask for financial help (see my last blog) I've haven't been feeling so well. I don't know if my depression is the cause of it but I haven't been physically feeling well either... so much so that I've only worked out two days this week. It kind of a catch 22, I don't feel well so I don't workout, and because I don't work out I get upset with myself which contributes to my depression which in turns makes me sick... it's  vicious cycle.

Not really sure what's going on with me...  just feeling low the past few days. Missing friends, feeling extremely lonely (meaning companionship, not friendship). I have some of the best friends in the world who care for me very much but I don't have that special someone who will share the remainder of my life with. Going through tough times is always easier when you have someone you love by your side. I have no one, I'm completely alone in dealing with my problems.

I was complaining about being lonely to my buddy Sebastian and he asked me "Well are you doing anything about it?" And you know what...  I'm not, I'm not on any dating sites, I don't go out to bars or clubs so I don't know what I expect if I don't put a little effort into it. I am extremely lonely but do not feel motivated to start dating again. It's been over a year since Harry and I broke up and ten months since he left for Austria and though I am lonely I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship. If I'm honest with myself I just need someone to "play around" with.. kind of like a F*ck Buddy. Just someone to have fun with, not commitment, just someone to enjoy ones company with. Unfortunately for me most of my male friends are straight and the ones that aren't are in relationships.

Aw well I hope I can snap out of this funk soon.. I don't like being in it and I have so much stuff to do while I'm not working.. I feel like I've wasted months of free time to get some of my projects done.  Wish me luck!!

Asking for Help

Well the day has come.. I had to ask for financial assistance from my Mom and Step Dad. I've never asked for anything from anyone since I was 15, I've always been self reliant and doing this is just killing me. But after eight months of not working it takes of toll on your savings. If I didn't own this house, it would be a different story, but I don't want to lose my house so I swallowed my pride and made the call.

Being freelance I've always been good at saving up for the lean times and this time was no different.. only problem is, I'm normally out of work for 2 to 3 months which my savings can handle but eight months in a row is just too much time off. 

Don't get wrong I'm very thankful that I have this option I know alot of people out there don't. But it so hard for me to accept help. I'm a 40+ year old man, I should be able to take care of my own debt and the fact that it has come to this is just devastating me.

I use to live paycheck to paycheck in my 20's but was fortunate enough to be debt free by my late 20's and into my 30's. Then I meet Harry and got into a bit a debt again and a few years ago we manage to get out of debt so I'm debt free once again (yay!!). So I've grown accustom to not worrying about money. When I go out with friends I would occasionally buy dinner for everyone or when I go grocery shopping I don't worry what the final bill will be.. well now I need to worry about those things and it's tough because I haven't worried about those things for so long. But today having to ask my mom for money was a wake up call. I now know that I can't be spending money like I did in the past (at least not until I find a job).

It's going to be tough because I'll be making some sacrifices but it's what I need to do to stay on my feet until I find another job.

Vasquez, Voting & Vampires

Had a good day today. Got up and was sore from working out last night. But that's the norm for me when I start working out again. First thing I did was try and catch up on some blogging. I fall a few days behind so every couple of days I sit down for an hour and wrack my brain to try and remember the past few days events (tweeter & facebook helps). So I did that for an hour, then I prepared packages for my MASH podcast for winners of our latest trivia (they won a MASH 4077 Podcast Tshirt) so I had to get those ready for post, also I got several donations for KOTG so I have to prepare to send these guys some autographed pictures as a thank you for their donations. So everything is ready for post (which I will go to tomorrow).

Since I was sore and knew I wouldn't be doing any upper body workout I decided to go for a hike at Vasquez Rocks to get in my 30 minutes of cardio. But before that I wanted to stop by my voting place and vote (I've voted in every election since I was 18). That took me a few minutes and then I was on my way to Vasquez. It was a beautiful day, warm but breezy. I didn't really have a plan, I just started walking. I've been to Vasquez so many times now that I know alot of the paths and how to get back to parking from pretty much anywhere in the park. It was a great way to get my cardio in and not be stuck in my garage on an elliptical. Gonna try and do this more often.

After Vasquez I went out to El Pollo Loco to grab some lunch (I'm trying to limit myself to eating out to twice a week). And then I came home. I cleaned up the house (I hate having a dirty house) and blogged a bit more.

Around 5pm I headed out to my buddies Robert's place. Since we finished Firefly/Serenity last week we picked a new TV series to watch. It's a rewatch for me but a first time for Robert. This time we choose Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I have loved this series since it first aired in 97 and I wanted to share this great series with Robert.

So we had some dinner and sat down to watch the first three episodes, Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Harvest and Witch. It's so much fun to rewatch this series. It's especially fun to see these characters so young and so different from where they end up at the end of the series. It's going to take us well over a year to finish all seven seasons but it's going to be an awesome ride.

After that I headed home, surfed around a bit.. and went to bed.

Star Trek & Friends

This evening I went over to my buddies Sebastian's place to hang with him and his girlfriend. We got some pizza and sat down to watch a movie. Sebastian suggested that we watch Star Trek 5 The Final Frontier. I had mentioned a week prior that I had never seen this movie. I've seen bits and pieces but never sat down to watch the entire thing. So he popped on a DVD and for the next two hours I got to watch some new Trek (well new to me).

I've heard many people say how this was the worst of the original movies so I went into it with very low expectations and I have to say that it was alright. It's not my favorite original cast movie but I thought it was entertaining. There were some fun scenes and there were some extremely stupid scenes. The writing wasn't the greatest but there was some great acting. I'm glad I finally got to see it.. now all I need to do is watch Star Trek The Motion Picture (which I techncally saw at a drive in as a kid) but I feel asleep and haven't seen it since.

Starting to Work Out... Again

Today I decide to start working out again. The past few years I have started then gotten sick for several weeks/months and stopped and then struggled to start again. That happen to me earlier this year where I worked out for months, lost 18 pounds and was feeling great. Then I got sick, stopped and never went back.

So I've decided to try once again.. let's hope I can stick to it this time.

Every Monday I weight myself, this morning I was 205, I set my June Goal to get below 200 by the end of June. It's going to take working out and eating right to reach that goal. I really don't have a problem working out.. I enjoy it, my biggest issue is the food, eating properly. It's always been my biggest issue and I have still not be able to conquer it. I know things won't change over night but I'm going to have to find a way to eat better or all this working out will be for not.

Today's Workout (easing myself back into it)

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical

3 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)
3 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
3 sets of 10 on the free weight (110 lbs)

Snow White and the Huntsman (my review)

Got to see this movie today.. first here's a quick synopsis; The enchanting Snow White (Kristen Stewart) joins forces with the fierce Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who was recruited by the diabolical Queen (Charlize Theron) to kill the fair beauty, and together they fight to rid their kingdom of evil in this bold new take on the fairy-tale classic. Obsessed with being the fairest woman in the land, the Queen learns that Snow White will soon surpass her in beauty, and seeks to achieve immortality by consuming the young girl's heart. But the Huntsman is the only one capable of braving the dark forest to seek out Snow White. Threatened with death should he refuse to follow his order, the Huntsman finds Snow White, and begins training her for the arduous battle ahead.

(Spoiler ahead)

I loved this movie, it was fun, beautifully shot, visually stunning, cool special effects and overall very entertaining. I'm not a Kristen Stewart hater so I thought she did a good job as Snow, Chris Hemsworth is always great in playing the strong hero but my favorite was Charlize Theron as the evil queen. Whenever she was on screen all attention went to her. She was fantastic.

My favorite part of the movie is when they go to Fairyland, it's so beautiful and I loved seeing all the enchanted creatures. I really liked their take on the "fairy". I miss really good fantasy movies, Lord of the Rings was the last one that I adored and I can't wait for The Hobbit. I would have loved to see them do a bit more in this "Fairyland".

I really liked the Dwarfs, each one had it's own personality. My buddy Robert turned to me and said "I thought there were seven dwarfs but I keep counting eight." and of course one of the dwarfs kind of has this thing with Snow and you just totally adore him.. so of course something is going to happen to him, and it does toward the end of that scene. He sacrifices himself and takes an arrow to save Snow. It's the only time I teared up during the movie.. so sad... but now there are only seven dwarfs.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie again. I give Snow White and the Huntsman an A+ for visuals, B+ for story, B+ for acting and an A- overall.

Hanging with the Bros

When I got up around 7:30 the ladies had already left. Robert and Rupert were chatting in the living room. I made some sausage, toast and eggs for breakfast and we sat down to figure out what our plan was for today. We decided to watch a movie, after the guys scoured through my DVD/Bluray collection we decided to watch Adventures in Babysitting. This is one of my favorite movies from the 80's.

After the movie we headed out to my back porch to just relax in the hot sun. We chatted for about an hour before we realized that we were getting red so we headed back inside.

For lunch we headed out to Chilli's, man I love their boneless buffalo wings. Robert was the good one of the group by having soup and salad while Rupert had this huge burger and I had, of course, boneless buffalo wings with fries.

After lunch we headed back to my place and as I was getting in my jeep I felt this sting on my back. I wasn't sure but I think I sat on a bee and it stung me. Sure enough when I got home and I got out of the jeep there was a bee sitting in my chair. Luckily it only hurt for a short time and I'm very happy that I'm not allergic to them as that would have been bad since I was driving.

Once home we hung out for an hour as we plan to go see Snow White and the Huntsman. Robert really didn't want to see it but was being a nice guy as he knew I really wanted to see this movie.

We got to the movies, found our seats and waited for the movie to start. I loved the movie. I'm going to do a separate blog with my quick review.

After the movie we headed back to my place and Robert packed up his stuff and headed home. Rupert and I hung out for a few more hours watching TV and stuff. Jes, finally got home from the shoot and decided to crash one more night at my place because it was late and she lives six hours from me. Around 11ish Rupert said he's good byes and headed home while Jes and I called it a night and went to bed.

It was another fun and relaxing day with friends.