D&D Masquerade Murder Mystery Party

I totally forgot to mention this in yesterdays blog post but last night my buddy Dallas came over to my place so I could shave his head.. well it's actually called a Tonsure (aka the Friar Tuck look). I had never shaved anyone's head before other then my own and certainly not in this fashion. Friend Erik and Brett were there to cheer me on and in the end I think it turned out pretty cool. BTW he was doing it for today blog topic.

Okay.. now for today's blog post...

Today is a super duper D&D Pathfinder session. Today is Will's "Ginneon" session but Dallas has planned something extremely special.. We are actually doing a Masquerade murder mystery party/D&D session. Everyone is dressing up as their D&D character and there will be over 20 guests also participating, including my buddy Erik.

So we headed over to Will's place (this is where it's happening) and helped Dallas and others prep the area. Dallas went all out and is decorating the apartment from top to bottom. By the time we are done it will look like the inside of a castle.

We spent a few hours there before heading to lunch and then over to Michael's craft store to pick up some white masks and paints for tonight. Erik and I got back to my place and began painting our masks. It took alot longer then expected but I'm happy with the final results.

photo courtesy of Jes

We then got into costume, I wore my Hobbit outfit along with my feet and instead of my brown curly hair wig I had this white anime wig. Erik wore one of my Hobbit shirts.

We got to the session and we helped finish setting up. I'm not going to go into great detail about the event. All I will say is it was one of the best D&D/Pathfinder/Murder Mystery parties that I have ever been to. The food was fantastic (thanks the Jes), the ambiance was amazing (thanks to all who helped set up), the guests were wonderful and the storytelling/tasks were top notch (thanks to Dallas). I know Dallas was super worried about this event as there were alot of moving parts but from my perspective everything went off without a hitch and everyone had a blast.

We were up to about 1am and the party continued but Erik and I had a fun day planned for tomorrow so we called it a night and headed back to my place.

Watching my GI

So being pre-diabetic sucks when it comes to food selection. Not only do I have to worry about sugar in food but also carbs as many carbs turn to sugar once they're in the body. I already have a limited diet and now I have to worry about losing weight while not spiking my sugar levels, it's a tough balance.

It comes back to the Glycemic index, it's tough to know what has a high GI and what doesn't. Things you think would, don't and things you think wouldn't do. Not all fruit and vegetables are low in GI. Most beans are good for you but there it depends on how they are cooked. Some pasta is okay but the more you cook it the more sugar is produced. Same with some fruits.. the ripper they get the more sugar is made. In the past I would eat alot of rice cakes as they are low in everything but come to find out that they are high in GI and one of the worse things I could eat.

For now I'm focusing on eating more meats (chicken, turkey, beef and fish) as they are very low GI. I know that I'm not going to change my eating habits over night but it's been a week and I have cut out unnecessary sugars like candies and juices. I've also reduces eating potatoes and/or pasta to once a week. It's going to be a continued struggle and I know I won't be perfect everyday but I need to work on losing weight in the next three months so my tests come back and say that's I'm no longer pre-diabetic.

Miss Earth & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Was up early and got to hang out with Erik for a bit before I heading into work. Today marks my one week at this new gig. So far it's going great, I'm liking the people, it can be stressful as times but for the most part things are moving along as they normally do in post.

I came across this on my friend Marissa's Facebook page. Several of my friends, including Marissa worked on this mini movie. I remember when Greg was doing the alien make up and asked if I wanted to participate. Unfortunately I was out of town at the time so I had to decline. The final product was released a few weeks ago and it's pretty awesome. I would have loved to have been part of this. Check out the video below.

Here's a short synopsis: Victoria Young is thrust into Galactic's depopulation pageant and forced to fight for the survival of our planet.

I got home from work and Erik and I went out to dinner before coming back home and watching the latest Agents of SHIELD. S2 Ep5 "A Hen in the Wolf House" Raina threatens to expose Simmons to Hydra unless Coulson hands Skye over to her father. Hydra is trying to reverse engineer the alien artifact but aren't happy with the final results.

Wow what an episode, I don't even know where to start. This is by far my favorite of his season. So much action, so many things revealed and more questions asked. Coulson comes clean with Skye and informs her that she may be an alien. She also finds out that her father is alive, evil and a killer.

It looked like Simmons was done for until an unexpected friend revealed herself (Bobbi, aka Mockingjay) and saved Simmons and reunited her with the team. We find out that Coulson had Bobbi infiltrate Hydra to keep an eye on Simmons, she's almost as bad ass as May. We also find out that Bobbi is Hunter's ex wife that he's always complaining about.  And then Raina reluctantly gets recruited by SHIELD. I have really grown to like this character.. can't wait to see where this goes. So much awesome in the episode. It's an episode that you need to watch several times just to take it all in. 

Scorpion & Visiting Friend

So I had some time before work today (benefit of going in at 10am) so I watched the latest episode of one of my favorite new series Scorpion. It was S1 Ep5 "Plutonium Is Forever" A nuclear reactor at a Los Angeles power plant with an out-of-date system nears a cataclysmic meltdown. Walter must enlist the help of genius Mark Collins, a former troubled team member who brought him "down the rabbit hole", what he calls a dissociative state of intelligent thought years ago that almost jeopardized Scorpion.

Another amazing episode, I'm really liking the character developments. Some are saying that it's a bit to mushy/lovey dovey but I actually like that aspect of the series. All these characters really care and like each other. There were all so alone until they found one another. Maybe it's because this is how I felt until I found my current group of friends. The stories are fun, entertaining and suspenseful. I mean you know none of the main characters are going to die but still they are fun. I'm liking that they are slowly building some possible romantic relationships. I'm super happy that it's doing so well in the ratings that it looks like it will be picked up for a full season. Here's hoping for it's continued success so we can get plenty more Scorpion.

Super excited for this.. in the evening I went to pick up my buddy Erik who is visiting me for an extended weekend, but travel didn't go as planned, his connecting flight out of Salt Lake City was having mechanical issues and there was a long delay. They weren't even sure if it was going to take off so he booked another flight. So instead of flying into Burbank (about 10 minutes from my place) he had to fly into Long Beach (which is about 45 minutes from my work). And it gets worse.. he arrived in Long Beach and found out that his luggage did not, though he was assured that it was on his new flight. After giving his info so they could deliver his luggage to my place tomorrow we finally made it back to my place an hour after his original flight was to land. Not a great way to start his short vacation but hopefully it can only get better from here on out.

Bewitched Pilot, Middle Earth Safety & Age of Ultron Trailer

Today NBC announced a pilot for a new Bewitched series. If you don't know what or who Bewitched is, it's a TV series from the late 60s to early 70s. The show is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man, and vows to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife.

This version of Bewitched would be a continuation of the story from the original series. A reimagining of the tale two generations later, centering on Daphne, Samantha’s granddaughter, and Tabitha’s daughter — a "single twenty-something witch who has always used her magical powers to conjure herself the perfect life." But Daphne soon realizes that the one thing she cannot conjure and control is the one thing she wants most: real love.

I am a huge fan of Bewitched and back in 2011 there was talk from CBS about rebooting the series. I'm so glad that didn't happen and instead NBC is continuing the story. Of course it's a long ways from series but I hope the pilot does well so a series can be made. Let's hope it's a magical as it's predecessor.

Air New Zealand has made these amazing safety videos since Lord of the Rings was released back in the 2000's. Well they did it again and this might be my favorite yet.

Marvel had a bit of fun today... they announced that they would be releasing the teaser trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron during the next episode of Agents of SHIELD.. which is brilliant marketing. Well today a "leaked" version of the trailer got out. It looked as though someone videotaped it off of a screen so it wasn't the best quality.  It was hitting all the entertainment sites and would last about a half hour before Marvel asked them to take it down... but it was a lost cause as the video was everywhere so Marvel did the only thing it could do.. Well first of all they tweeted "Dammit, Hydra." inferring that Hydra leaked the trailer and then they officially released a nice HD version of the trailer online. So now everyone can enjoyed a sneak peek at Avengers 2... I have to say I'm super excited for this movie.

Dr. Appointment, Glycemic Index & Gotham

So I got up early this morning for my unscheduled Doctor's visit. I was meeting up with my doctor's PA to go over my options now that I'm prediabetic. We talked for about a half hour and came up with a game plan. I obviously need to do more cardio, he want's me to do at least 30 to 45 minutes a hard cardio workout every other day. He always wants me to cut out carbs, well bad carbs like potatoes, pasta, rice, bread... you know all the things that make up my diet. We discussed this thing called the Glycemic index which gives a number to food items and how they release their sugars into your blood stream, gonna have to research more on that.

I pretty much have to revamp my entire eating habits, I know it won't be easy but it's something that I have to do to regain my healthy body. There is also a medication that you can take that will slow the process of becoming diabetic. Since I was so close to the edge we agreed that I will take the medicine as well as revamping my diet and increasing my workouts. He also wants me to go see a diabetes specialist. I'll be going back in three month and having my blood sugar tested once again and hopefully with alot of hard work the numbers will go down. But even if they do go down this isn't something that I can just make go away.. I'll have to continue eating properly and working out for the rest of my life to maintain the lower blood sugar numbers. It's going to be a challenge but I'm up for it. I wanna be around for another 44 years.

After the doctors visit I headed into work, unlike yesterday the office was packed today since they were not shooting. I got to meet my office mates and they all seemed very nice and friendly. I especially liked the executive producer of the show.

When I got home tonight I had just enough time to watch Gotham with my friend Erik (via Skype). This was S1 Ep5 titled Viper. Bruce plans to find a way to speak to the board members of Wayne Enterprises to know their connections of the Arkham Project. A new drug called "Viper" is hitting the street where the user gains super-strength while having to consume milk and cheese to replace their used up calcium and would kill them if the calcium is not used. Maroni plans to rob a casino owned by Falcone. While Gordon and Bullock look for supplier Stan Potolski, Gordon is brought to Maroni when Cobblepot reveals that he used to work for Mooney and wanted confirmation of Carmine Falcone wanting Cobblepot disposed of. Afterwards, Gordon learns from an old professor of Stan's that he plans to distribute the "Viper" drug (which turned out to be an earlier version of Venom) at a charity event held by WellZyn and Wayne Enterprises which Bruce and Alfred are attending. Stan takes the "Viper" drug canister to the rooftop in order to flood the ventilation as he broadcasts into the charity event. Gordon and Bullock arrive where they arrange for the evacuation. When Gordon shoots the canister upon making it to the roof, Stan gets exposed to it as Bullock arrives. Stan then jumps off the rooftop as he suggests that they check out a warehouse. A Wayne Enterprise operative calls a mysterious person that the detectives found nothing and will take action when they get too close. Gordon and Bullock arrive at a warehouse where they find nothing. Outside the casino, Cobblepot and Maroni await for Cobblepot's contact in the casino. As Mooney makes plans to conspire against Falcone, a disguised Liza visits him in the park where she shares her opera music with him.

Another entertaining episode. If they keep Penguin as one of the leads then I'm a happy camper.  I really enjoy the actor's portrayal of this classic villain. I liked the interaction with Bruce and Alfred and the end when Alfred realizes that Bruce is actually on to something and is going to help him instead of trying to hinder him... awesome. Still not a fan of Fish Mooney and her plan to infiltrate Faclone group with her young protege. I'm softening a bit towards Bullock, I still think he's a pretty horrible person but I'm not hating him as much as I did with episode one.

Five episodes in and I'm enjoying this series. After episode one I didn't think I'd make it pass the second one, but week after week they keep me coming back... glad I gave it a chance.

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpu

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

Low GI Foods (55 or less)

• 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
• Oatmeal (rolled or steel-cut), oat bran, muesli
• Pasta, converted rice, barley, bulgar
• Sweet potato, corn, yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
• Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

• Whole wheat, rye and pita bread
• Quick oats
• Brown, wild or basmati rice, couscous

High GI (70 or more)

• White bread or bagel
• Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
• Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni and cheese from mix
• Russet potato, pumpkin
• Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn, saltine crackers
• melons and pineapple

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/understanding-carbohydrates/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#sthash.mPE9yhoX.dpuf

From Good to Bad in 30 Seconds

I'm so excited... I could barely sleep last night... today is my first day at my new job out in Santa Monica. I'm working as post production supervisor for a new pilot for CNN. I start at 1pm and will work until 10ish as we are getting our first footage in tonight. My regular schedule will be 10am to 7pm or there abouts.

Just before I left for work I got a call from my Doctor's office, I had gone for a full physical back in September and have been waiting for my results from all the testing. Well my doctors PA finally got back to me and though 99% of the tests were great there was one major issue. My A1C test, which test my sugar levels in the blood and it wasn't good.

Normal levels are 5.5 and below and if it's 6.5 or above you are diagnosed as being diabetic. Mine came back at 6.4, I barely came in under the "bad" number but what it means is that I have prediabetes. If I continue down this path I will most likely become diabetic within the next three months. Once you are diabetic you can never go back to not being diabetic. You can get your numbers down but you will always be diabetic and will have to control your blood sugar levels for the rest of your life.

I knew my eating habits were bad and that I have been gaining weight the past 10 years but I didn't realized how bad it was and how close I was to being diabetic. So I made an appointment with my doctor (well his PA) for tomorrow morning to go over my options and to discuss how we were going to prevent this from going any further. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress.

So it was a rough start to my day but I put it behind me and headed into to work. Even though I have been out of work for over a year and a half it was like no time had passed. I jumped back in with both feet and got started. I didn't have my laptop yet so I tried to do as much of my work as I could on my iPad. I should be getting my computer tomorrow. But overall it was a great day. I only met two people in the office as everyone else was out on a shoot but this looks to be like a fun group to work with.  It's good to be working again.

Nothing Much Happening Today

Today is my last day before I start my new job. I haven't had a "paying" job since March of 2013 so this is a big deal. I spent most of the day cleaning up my house and working on some podcasts as I know my "free" time will be coming to an end for the next five to six weeks.

No real geek news to share with you and I haven't had a chance to watch the latest Downton Abbey to review.

I'm super excited for tomorrow!!