SLEEPY SLEEPY DAY

I woke-up early to put some donations on the driveway for pick-up by the Vietnam Veterans of America. I always wonder what happens to donations when they're picked-up.

I remember helping out an organization run by a pretty well-known lady in Oakland during my AmeriCorps days. When we got there, we were to help sort clothes that people had donated. The problem was, she was in no condition to accept all these donations because she simply did not have the manpower to organize and put them out for sale or whatever her charity did with the donations.

Everything was stored in a massive warehouse. Stacks of clothes and other items were everywhere. There was so much stuff and there was no doubt mice and other creatures were living within all this mess. I felt dirty after sorting some of the piles because we could see mice droppings and we were covered with dirt and cobwebs and other minute particles after we left. One of these days I'm going to track whatever I donate and see exactly where everything actually goes.

Then I slept. And I slept. And I slept. I woke up around 1PM to eat. Then I slept. And I slept. And I slept. I don't like getting into this weird state, but sometimes I do. It might be a lack of sleep, it might be my body telling me to rest or it could just be boredom and laziness. I hope it's one of the first two.

I was able to do some research on data storage for the ol' PC we have. I think I'm gonna go with the Western Digital solution just because there are more positive reviews than the other ones I was looking at. Additionally, I know the brand and their online pitch is pretty good and easy to understand. Hopefully it's as easy to set-up as it says it is.

I also spent some time trying to fix the giant remote control I've had for over 15 years. The light on it stayed on for some reason and I thought that maybe the code had been de-scrambled. But it was just busted. The cool thing was that someone from the company actually called and she said that it was probably just old or that maybe dampness might have killed it while it was in storage outside in the shed. So I spent some time trying to find a remote control replacement as well.

Oddly, I thought I would have lost weight, but I'm at 163 now. I might be fluctuating and this might also be due to muscle gain or perhaps this week of rest in the P90x schedule. We'll see how it goes. The weight isn't as important to me as my body image. One of my goals is to get rid of this belly fat but my age and genes might make that tougher than I realize.

After playing some online poker, I ran into this EW list of the 50 best high school movies. I'll have to rent some of these when the kids are over to see if the movies have aged or if they're still good even today.

RAIN OUT OF NOWHERE

I woke up to find that it had rained either overnight or it had just started. It's weird because it has been so beautiful and warm lately, I've kind of forgotten it's still winter.

It was fun having my nieces over and my cousin, but looking back on everything, it seems like all we did was eat and watch Jersey Shore. That's pretty disturbing, but it almost doesn't matter what we do, it's just fun hanging out with the fams. It seems like my cousin just needed some time out of her place and I hope she can figure out what she wants with her situation.

After working out and showering, I watched the SAG Awards. The nice thing about it is that it's much shorter than the other awards shows. The SAG President also announced that within a year, SAG and AFTRA should be one union.

Then I played some online poker and suffered some bad beats. I'm not too upset by it because I'm not on a losing streak. I've been working my way up lately, so losses are just part of the game. The only time I get crazy about losing is when I'm on a losing streak.

POKER ALL NIGHT LONG

I got home pretty late from playing poker at my cousin's house. We played three games and one of my friends ended up winning two of the three and got 2nd on the last game. Was it luck or skill? Probably a little of both.

Then my nieces came over and we had some KFC for lunch. Later, my cousin came over and we basically just watched tv and hung out. We made some tacos for dinner then watched Knight and Day.

Sadly, we ended up watching Jersey Shore pretty much all night. We also tried making some red velvet cupcakes, but my cousin wasn't used to using a measuring cup and measured too much milk and oil. It was a disaster and we had to throw them away because they were just too wet. We made up for it by making some homemade pazookies that were basically cookies cooked in cupcake tins topped with ice cream.

IFORGOT

How the hell did I forget to vote for the SAG awards? I spent all this time watching movies and voting for the nominations, then I completely whiff on actually voting for the awards! For some reason, I thought I had until tomorrow, but I was wrong. Oh well, here's how I would have voted anyway:

Cast in Motion Picture - Social Network

Male Leading Role - Jeff Bridges, True Grit

Female Leading Role - Natalie Portman

Male Supporting - Christian Bale

Female Supporting - Hailee Steinfeld

There are also awards for television, but I don't think I would have voted for them because I haven't seen all of the performances.

127 HOURS

I made a mistake on my last post. There was still one more movie I needed to watch to vote properly for the SAG awards. It was 127 Hours starring James Franco. SAG and the studios began to allow people to download films from iTunes for the first time. Rather than spending money shipping DVDs out to people, you could download it and watch it on your computer. That's the unfortunate thing though. If you have a nice system, you can't really use it to watch unless you have Apple TV or some other way to connect your computer to your home system.

Someone told me that the character Franco plays had to cut through bone, but he was mistaken. Aron Ralston, the real hiker who got stuck, actually broke the two bones on his forearm and then cut through the arm. From what he says, the hardest part was cutting through the tendons and nerves while cutting through the muscle was much easier. He said it was like 100 times the worst pain he'd ever felt and going through that gave him a true understanding of what pain really is. I'm really tempted to read the book.

There was something Ralston says that reminded me of something my brother once told me. Everything you've done has led you to this moment in your life. There's really no point with wondering about the past and whether you've made bad or good decisions in your life. Whatever happened then led you to what is happening now. That idea really stuck with me and helped me to understand that excuses or blame or whatever doesn't get you out of where you are in your life. All that is, is right in front of you.

This week is a recovery week so there aren't any tough workouts in my P90x schedule. The toughest thing I've done I've imposed myself and that was the road running I did yesterday. The rest of the week is just stretching or yoga so it's nice to have a break from it all.

ALL YOU CAN EAT, BABY

My friend Tyler asked me if I did anything interesting today and I replied, no. Because when I look back at what I did, I didn't really do anything interesting.

I woke up early because Time Warner cable was right on the dot arriving at 8AM during their 8-10AM window. I could barely open my eyes when I opened the door and I think the homie saw that. I explained that my connection was slow sometimes at night when it drops off sometimes. He agreed it could be the weather. After checking the lines, he said everything checked-out and he left. What could it be?

Then I took a long nap until it was time for lunch. Waking up early like that and then having access to a couch is a killer for me. I just get sleepy and end up sleeping. Then again, I wonder, what else would I do?

After lunch, I called the window company Lorens Windows and tried to negotiate a cheaper deal for the Pomona property. They didn't go much lower but I felt it was probably worth it just to please the tenants and increase the value of the duplex. We'll see if that is the case when it's eventually sold.

After throwing some whites in the wash, I ran three miles on the road. I run to Lorbeer Middle School, run a mile on their track, then run back. The last mile is the toughest as there are two steep hills you need to go over. I could tell my fitness level was very good because it was easier than I expected.

Next was a trip to Bank of America to get a new eBanking account. Chase is now charging for their checking accounts after purchasing the now deceased Washington Mutual which had free checking. I remember getting out of BofA and switching to WAMU for the exact same reason and wondering why BofA wouldn't offer a free checking account to a long time customer such as myself. But I guess that's old fashioned and it's all about the all mighty dollar these days. I hope that changes someday.

They told me I could get a referral bonus if I knew someone who banked at BofA. So I sent a text to a bunch of my friends asking if they were bofa customers and many of them replied, what the hell is bofa? I was surprised so many people didn't know what that was and I realized that when it comes to banking, I think a lot of people are very loyal to their banks. After my experience with bofa, I lost all loyalty to any one bank. In fact, I may still switch over to a credit union just because I don't want to support companies that treat you like a number.

Then it was time for the pig out. My first cousin first removed planned a dinner to Osaka's in Brea. It's basically an all you can eat seafood buffet that is very much like the Chinese all you can eats I've been to, but probably a little nicer. I wasn't impressed and I think dinner for $20 is still too steep for a place like that. I'd much prefer spending less than that for a sushi combo at some Japanese joint.

Afterward, we watched Blue Valentine at my FCFR's place. I'm glad I wasn't sickly full because I don't think I would have been able to pay attention to the movie. It was a good love story, but it wasn't your traditional love story, thus the title's name.

Now that I've watched all the performances that were nominated for the SAG award, I can feel comfortable voting and I'll likely do that tomorrow.

IT'S SHOWTIME

After the core synergistics workout this morning, I ate lunch then left for Warner Bros. Our call time is 12:45PM but we don't shoot until 6:30PM so what the hell is the point of calling us in so early? We did one rehearsal around 3PM then they broke us for dinner and actually fed us in the commissary. That was pretty cool though I regret ordering the Philly cheese steak and onion rings. I should have ordered the sliced steak but I didn't really see it. Besides, I haven't had onion rings for ages.

I met Jo a fellow Pilipina who sat down to have dinner with me. I felt like a pig because in the afternoon, the crafty lady told us we could scavenge the leftover fried chicken and mashed potatoes she was about to get rid of. That meant this dinner was my third meal of the day. I guess that's normal, but I usually don't eat breakfast so I felt like I was eating way too much. Then again, I think I eat more these days because of all the working out I do.

Anyway, it was nice to meet Jo and allow her to share some tid bits about her life with me. I guess it's easier to do that with strangers. However, she told me she used to produce in the animation industry and that lit up my eyes. The funny thing is (or maybe it's not funny), everyone always wonders why she left but little do people realize what a bitch some corporate office environments are. I got fed-up with it too and probably should have left it much earlier in my life. Still, I'd like to learn what the field is like and if it's worth it to give it a shot.

I spent all the time before shooting lounging around bored to death. It was hot in the holding area and I was sick of reading everything I brought. It just made me sleepy and when I did try to sleep, I would wake up half-sweaty and in a pissy mood.

Finally, we were called-in and having a live studio audience there really changes things. Everyone is laughing and you get a good sense of what it's like to perform in front of an audience. When they laugh at a joke, you get a sense of satisfaction. I bet the writers love it and I bet the actors love it even more since they actually get to deliver the lines.

BIG BANG THEORY AGAIN

Booked on Big Bang Theory for the second time, I was interested in seeing Jim Parsons since he just won a Golden Globe. What is unfortunate about the show is that craft services is terrible. I suppose I've gotten used to the awesomeness of Law and Orders crafty but providing popcorn, donuts and some veggies and dip is not a good sign.

But the cool thing about working shows like this is that the crew is fast and furious. They don't do take after take so you get to go home at a reasonable time. On the other hand, I don't mind working long hours so a perfect 8 kind of sucks since there's no overtime.

When I got home I felt really sleepy. I got a good 8 hours last night but maybe it's because I woke up at 8AM and I'm just not used to that. I think I could have used a nap and I think I might tryntaking one tomorrow when I work the show again since it's a two day call. Unfortunately, I'm not available for Law and Order LA and I know they are shooting tomorrow. Oh well, work is work but I really enjoy working LOLA. Anyway, I did my yoga and it was good because I did it on carpet which is definitely easier than hardwood.

For some reason the internet connection is very slow on the PowerBook, faster on the pc and fastest on the iPad. I took some time to try to figure this out with Time Warner but that's all I figured out so far. Could it be the age of the computer devices?

DAY AFTER 40

I ran 2.5 miles with my nephew in the morning and we watched The Other Guys and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.

My friend and my cousin have birthdays that are close to mine. So rather than celebrate them separately, I thought it'd be fun to have all our birthdays together. We decided to go to the Continental Room but the place I really wanted to go was the Commonwealth Lounge. After a little bit of confusion early in the evening, we all met at the Continental.

They have a large smoking area and that's where we pretty much spent the entire evening. People offered to buy me drinks throughout the night so I ended-up drinking about four gin and tonics, one beer and Makers Mark on the rocks. I got a good buzz and just went home with Jansen that night. When we got to his place, we played a few poker tournaments.

In the morning, we had some breakfast and he took me back to my car that was parked in the MetroLink structure. I went home and watched Green Bay beat Chicago to represent the NFC in the SuperBowl.

Then I went to my sister-in-law's mom's house for dinner. We had ham, candied yams, twice baked potatoes, cole slaw and Hawaiian bread. As usual, it was delicious and I especially enjoyed the twice baked potatoes as I'd never had them before.

I feel like I just didn't get enough sleep last night so I'll probably veg until bedtime.

I'M &$%#@* 40!

They say that age is just a number, but I don't think it's true. Our age definitely determines a lot of things like when we can drive, when we can vote and when we can drink among other things.

I'm probably the most fit I've been in my life and most likely in the best shape physically (except for my Buddha belly). I think what happens is that when you get older, you start exercising more to stay in shape whereas when you're younger, you don't have to. You can eat crap and not exercise and your body maintains its shape in your youth. Too bad that doesn't happen when you're older.

Luckily for me, everyone thinks I look much younger than I am and that tends to fool a lot of people. On the one hand, everyone thinks I'm in my 20s but on the same hand, they treat me like I'm in my 20s. It's an odd thing and you begin to see what stereotypes are all about. It's kind of like when Tyra wore that fat suit and everyone stared at her and she cried. That was bullshit, I know, but you know what I'm saying.

I see this kind of stereotyping not just because of how I look but because of the work I do right now. As an extra, you see that people are cast for parts that "fit" their look. I understand this because you can't cast a person that looks like a witch as a hero. I mean, you can, but not in a picture like Star Wars. You need someone that looks like Luke Skywalker and of course you need someone that looks like Darth Vader. There's something about storytelling that requires this.

However, I love films that break that mold and challenge the assumptions we have about our lives. One of these days, I'd like to make this kind of film. It all starts with a script so that will be the first goal. Unfortunately, I've thought about this for about ten years now.

NO ADO

I felt like taking a break from doing anything today. So all I did was contact the window people about Pomona and they said we had to meet tomorrow to look at the duplex. After that call, I just watched some re-runs of The Walking Dead. I think my new rule with tv shows now is to just wait to see if the shows get any recognition, then watch them. I normally try to watch all the pilots, but there are just too many of them and sometimes they're just terrible.

Then I played some poker and got pissed-off at some of my bad beats. I swear, I don't know why I get so mad, it's not like I'm losing my shirt. It's just that my goal of getting to $100 on PokerStars has been a long road and I'm kind of getting sick of it. It's the journey that matters here because I got $100 free on UltimateBet and I don't play on that site at all. I started with $10 on PS and it's taken a really long time to get to $80 where I am now. As soon as I reach $100, I'm just going to play on Full Tilt Poker to try to reach $500 (I'm at about $430 now).

Next was finishing off the kare kare and doing the P90x yoga workout. I didn't get completely through it like I almost did last week because it's harder to do it on a hard surface. I did it on carpet last week and balancing is so much easier that way.

After dinner my first cousin, first removed asked me if I wanted to go out. I told him I'm too tired and ironically, exercising is supposed to give you more energy. I think it only gives you energy when you've rested. All I know is that I don't feel like going out but I know I will this Saturday when I celebrate not just my birthday but two others as well.

THE SHED

I don't know how long I've dragged my feet when it comes to cleaning out the sheds outside. It's not fun because it's so dirty in there and I have a real hard time throwing stuff away. Things have to get really messed-up or disintegrate before I end up tossing them away.

But I've decided I'd had it with myself and am trying to be much more aggressive about donating things I haven't used for such a long time. I go back and forth between being aggressive and going back to my rat-packing ways. I'm not sure where this comes from but I think it's in my genes. Why throw things away if you might use them some day? And why keep things you never use?

So I emptied one of the sheds completely and swept-up all the dirt and cobwebs that were inside. It's so dusty in there, I noticed that I was spittin' little dirt clods when I hocked some loogies. That meant I was inhaling this stuff! Disgusting right? I remember when I was in the Philippines, I'd blow my nose and there'd be dirt because the air was so bad. Same thing here.

As I finished my project, all I ended-up doing was organizing the mess that was in there. At least now it'll be easier to go through each box so I can finally get rid of all this stuff. Instead of boxes upon boxes, I bought some shelves so now it's easier to get to each box. It's still going to suck to go through all of them though.

GET LOW

It was cool being a part of the SAG nominating committee last year. I was able to see what it's like to nominate actors for our annual awards show. It's more difficult than I thought because it's pretty much impossible to watch every single performance. My goal was just to watch the screeners that were sent to me, but even that proved very difficult. In the end, I went with my best shot and also voted for some actors I thought deserved it based on other people's feelings.

Since I have to vote for the actual awards now, I watched Get Low last night since Robert Duvall is on the list for best actor. I think it's one of those movies that has a really good performance but because it's such a small movie, he doesn't stand much of a chance. Nevertheless, it's great that he's being recognized even though the movie isn't that good.

ERRANDS & SHELVES

I woke up pretty early this morning but knew it wasn't enough sleep. So I went back to sleep and it's a strange feeling when you don't feel like you're really sleeping and next thing you know, it's like two hours later. I can't wait to save my money for that memory foam mattress I've been eying for like two years now on eBay. It shall be mine; it's just a matter of time.

After lunch, I drove to Ace to see if they sold any Christmas tree bags. They didn't have any nor did K-Mart or Walmart. So I had to order it online on Amazon. The nice thing about going around shopping today was that it was nice and warm out and I get to compare prices. I remember I used to do that with very inexpensive items and didn't realize that the time and gas spent probably ended-up making everything even.

K-Mart was the only store that still had Christmas items. The other ones cleaned them out. It's a good thing K-Mart lags because I was able to take advantage of some gift wrapping and some Christmas cards that were 90% off. A $7 item was less than a buck. I love deals like this and will try to take advantage of this next year. I think the tree needs some new ornaments.

Ace also had a sale but on shelving units. It was also a good sale because the units I purchased are normally $50 but I got them for $30. Since I bought two of them, I saved $40! There's a show on tv about super coupon people and I would like to try to be one of them for like a month. It's amazing how these people can save so much money. I want to learn how to do it.

Then I went for a run and it was nice to see that my calf is pretty much healed. It didn't feel sore at all and I was even able to put some stress on it. A two mile road run is definitely very different from a two mile track run, so I'll have to keep that in mind as I train for my event.

DOWNTOWN VISIT

Stage 6 at LA Center Studios today was like an icebox. It was freezing cold because of the unusually warm weather we're having. It seems like that machine of an air conditioning system is just so off. Who controls it anyway? It definitely got a lot warmer on stage later in the evening probably because someone finally complained. Or it was the weather change outside when it got cooler and the machines didn't have to work so hard.

There was a blond woman who worked today that looked very, very familiar to me. I just couldn't make her out but she looks like someone in my mind. Did she look like an actress or had I seen her before? I didn't know how to tell her this without sounding like a stalker so I just stole glances at her all day. I know that's weird, but sometimes people strike me a certain way and I feel like my brain scrambles.

After we wrapped I visited one of my friends in downtown LA. I was just half a mile from the Biltmore and probably could have walked. However, I had my car so I drove there and parked on the street. I was surprised to see that the meters only operated until 3PM.

I was still in my suit so I figured I'd just wear it to the hotel. There's something about a suit that kind of demands respect. This phenomena is strange to me because if you think about it, they're only clothes. But it's like a uniform - our clothes represent something about us. They're just stereotypes but instead of being racial/ethnic, it's clothing.

A few bumps later and I was off to another friend's place off Fairfax. I hadn't seen my Bay Area friend who was visiting and was kind of sad to see that she was sick. Too much partying I guess. But it was just a cold, so I'm sure she'll get over it.

We caught up on some things. I wish she was in town a little longer, but she'll be leaving Friday which is my over-the-hill birthday. Jesus I'm old. My friend had apparently run a half-marathon so I finally got to ask someone (who isn't a fitness fiend that runs multiple marathons per year) what it was like. She told me what I figured - that it's really hard on your body and it's pretty much pointless. That is, there's no reason to put your body through that stress if all you're looking for is health.

I don't think my ancestors ever had to run that distance and if they did, it was like caveman or something. But then you begin to wonder, well, what did my ancestors do? Did they run long distances or farmed or partied or what?

On the way home, I began to think about survival. In other places around the world, some populations just try to survive. They do anything to live. In America, we don't really think about this. It's not too difficult to survive here in the States. So instead, we can focus on other things that allow us to make our lives better. Instead of survival, it becomes status or whatever it is that is important to you.

So given these opportunities, I feel like one should take advantage of this environment. People do, but I don't feel like I have. My day is yet to come.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE AN AFTERNOON NAP

I slept downstairs since I wanted to be sure I got up early enough to have breakfast with my cuz. It turned out she had to leave even earlier than she thought so she could take her parents to the airport this morning. So I got up earlier than I really felt like and had an egg with some rice. I bed my cuz adieu and started watching television.

I made some sports bet feeling really good about my latest streak. Unfortunately, I lost all of them. The bets were less than $2 total and I got the start-up money free anyway on FreeSportsBet.com so as the website says, you've got nothing to lose. I'm at $3 and my highest level was around $6 so I really haven't progressed much. I think sports betting is very difficult and much like my live limit poker game, I've never really been successful at it. One thing I do like is playing parlays (these are multiple bets and you have to win them all to win) and choosing multiple games with very high spreads. These types of bets have been the most successful for me, but you don't get them every day. So to be successful, maybe I just need to make fewer bets instead of betting every day.

After lunch I felt really sleepy so I took a marvelous nap. When I woke-up, I didn't feel hungry or bad or anything. It was just a really good, invigorating nap. Then I did my workout which is in the third week now.

In the middle of the workout, my nephew called me and asked if I had seen the email that my cousin sent me. It was a PS3 with 60GB hard drive for only $39! I got greedy and ordered nine of them, but when I sent it to a friend of mine, he noticed that the description was different than the title page. I had ordered a bunch of shooter controllers and not PS3s. I thought the upside was pretty good though, but after thinking about it more, I decided there would be no way Target would honor the purchase and I canceled all the orders. Sometimes these mistakes happen and companies will honor the purchases, but in this case, I just felt that Target had too many outs and excuses to nullify the order.

BROTHERS KIDS COME FOR A VISIT

Moms wasn't here long before my cousin picked her up to play mah jong at my aunt's house. I guess someone is in town and they decided to play for good times. That left me in the house with the kids after my brother dropped them off since he was going to the track.

We decided to go to Taco Bell for lunch since I wanted to try their $5 box big meal. It was okay, but I really thought it would be better. It's funny how most of their food is basically all the same stuff wrapped in different ways.

In the afternoon, I finally got to try baking a carrot cake. It turned out pretty good, but I think if I had a cake pan, it would probably turn out a little better and a little lighter. I split the batter into two cakes so the consistency in the square and wider dish didn't allow the cake to rise very much. I still have to try the bread pan to see if that turned out a little lighter.

After dinner at the local Thai joint, my cousin and I talked about our relationship issues. It's odd that we're kind of going through the same thing but on kind of opposite ends. Her main man is kind of like me - non-committal, low income and trying to figure shit out. It's a terrible description so it makes me wonder how women could even find us interesting. I hope she sticks it out with him because I would like to philosophize with him about our status.

Then we watched Winter's Bone finally. The folks at Roadside Attractions probably got fed-up with me sending them emails asking for a replacement disc since the dvd case they sent me lacked a dvd. It was very different than I thought, but I still liked it a lot. There were enough things in the movie to let you talk about what happened and who did what to who. After reading A.O. Scott's review in the New York Times, I decided he is one of my favorite critics because his reviews read like college essays that I've always tried to emulate.

MUSCLE STRAIN, MUSCLE PAIN

For the first time in my life history, I strained a muscle. At least that's what I think I did. Wikipedia says a strained muscle is an overstretched one, much like an ankle sprain is an overstretched ligament. I don't think I overstretched it, but the pain is localized.

As I was jogging, I was concentrating on my form. I was trying to land on the balls of my feet rather than my heel. About a mile into the run (I was planning to run two miles), I felt a sharp pain in my calf. It felt immediately sore, kind of like a spasm contracts your muscle and it's sore afterward. It was like a spasm, but just a quick, one-time spasm. I walked it off and was even able to jog a little bit further.

When I got back home, I thought I had some time to kick-back because my call time wasn't until 3PM. But Central Casting called and asked if I could get there earlier. I said I would, but when I arrived, I didn't work anyway so it felt like a waste.

The good thing is that I know the wardrobe people probably won't let me wear black because they made me change into my brown suit when I arrived in my black one. Oh well, I had to try. Most shows don't like you wearing black, red or white, but I had to try right?

I went to Ashley's after and we kicked it for a little while she waited for her Vietnamese friends to arrive. I wish I could have stayed longer because when I left, there was so much traffic. So I ended up calling nearly everyone I know just to talk to them while I was driving home. Is that bad?

I learned something on the drive home. Ellen Stewart was known as the founder and artistic director of the La MaMa experimental theater club. When she first showed it to a friend, he thought it was a dump. But she said, no, don't look at it as what it is, look at the possibilities. I love that.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR CHRISTMAS TREE

After lunch, I finally took down the Christmas tree and packed all the ornaments. I'm a little bummed that some of the glass ornaments were damaged because either they weren't properly packed the last time they were used or whoever was handling them wasn't very careful when they took them out. My suspicions lie with my nieces and nephew, but they're just ornaments, so who knows? I suppose it's time to purchase some new ones one of these days. But the best time to buy them is after Christmas and I just never have the motivation to do that.

Then I did my P90x workout and it felt good to get back to my strength and endurance levels. I feel confident that by the time I finally finish the program, I'll be pretty strong and fit. Ideally, my Buddha belly will be reduced and I'll be in good shape for the half-marathon. I'm looking forward to visiting the beach too since I haven't really been going these past years. I suppose part of it is that it's kind of far and since there are so many pools at my disposal, it's tough to get out.

Today was a good poker day because not only did I win the double-or-nothing sit-n-go, I also finally had a winning session in limit hold 'em. I'm on a pretty nice streak with the double-or-nothings and am beginning to wonder if I'm just getting lucky, or if there's something to my general strategies.

I also had a good day with my sports bet winning a three team parlay. I've noticed that when a good team isn't favored by much (in this case Orlando and Miami), they tend to lose. It worked out this time so let's see if it happens again in the future.

In the evening I watched a Frontline episode about Haiti. Although there's a lot of money being poured into the country, the rule of law is really messed-up where gangsters and politicians rule the country. It reminded me of the hopelessness I feel about the Philippines. Do these countries have any hope? Right now, there doesn't seem to be any.

LAW & ORDER #13

Even though I was tired yesterday (from not getting much sleep after working on Brothers & Sisters), I was still motivated enough to do the P90x Yoga workout. I felt good about it because I almost completed the whole thing. I just had to rest near the end because I started feeling slightly ill. I know this feeling already and it means you need to take a break because otherwise, you will get sick.

I remember watching these prison recruits going through workouts and throwing up during the workout once and always wondered why they did this. I figured it out when I first started P90x. I got dizzy and just felt like throwing up chunks. Thankfully, I didn't. It's this weird feeling of nausea and exhaustion. Your body is basically telling you to stop and if you don't, you'll vomit. It's pretty simple actually.

But I woke-up with plenty of time to spare. Little did I know that there would be a little bit of traffic so I got to LA Center Studios about five minutes late. Thankfully, there were people lined-up and I was close to being last.

We were driven to the Kenneth Hahn administration building and we shot some scenes there. It always amazes me how many women love Terrence Howard. All these women were lined-up and just so excited to see him. They were just gaga. I also noticed Terrence kiss his co-star Megan Boone on the cheek so I began to wonder if there is something going on with those two. I wouldn't be surprised.

Then we shot some scenes back at LA Center. As usual, lunch was awesome and I even got some time to take a nap.

Afterward, I tried to visit Ashley but she didn't answer her phone. She says she didn't get a call, but I question that. Oh well, next time I'm out there, I'll see her and we can catch up.

BROTHERS & SISTERS #5

It was nice to be booked for the first time in 2011! Perhaps this is the start of really something good where I get booked consistently and work a lot. I still wonder what I can do to get more work because it really is a mystery to me to hear that some people get work five days a week. Have they worked forever or do they know things I don't?

I actually met someone who drove a BMW and just did background work for a living. She seemed to have Asian features and was very skinny. She was probably around my age and told me that she barely made the health insurance level last year by about one day of work. I wondered how she made it and she just said she worked. She had joined AFTRA though, so I have a feeling that makes a difference. It's my goal this year to join and I'll probably invest some of my savings to try to get a decent return.

I was booked with my car and I basically parked it on a street somewhere in South Pasadena, near their library and school district building. It was very easy and we were out of there by noon.

So I called Jansen and he brought Jude over so we could attempt the Buffalo Wild Wings Challenge. They actually have pretty good wings and for $0.55 per wing on Tuesdays it's not a bad deal. However, I paid $9.00 with tax and tip and ended-up leaving pretty unsatisfied.

The good news was filming and watching Jansen attempt the challenge and making it look easy. You have to eat 12 super hot (both temperature and spice) wings within six minutes. However long it takes you is the cost of the shirt should you decide to purchase it. The funny thing was that Jansen paid for the shirt, killed the challenge and didn't get his picture on the wall of fame or get the shirt. It turned out that they don't post pictures on the wall anymore and use a digital picture frame instead. Additionally, he didn't get a shirt because they ran out!



I dropped off the final payment to one of our tenants after dinner since I was booked for Law & Order the next day. The next step is to replace the locks on the security doors.

MISSED BLOG ENTRY

Well, I finally missed an entry completely. I didn't put anything down last Monday. It might have something to do with Jansen coming over. Then again, I can hardly remember what we did.

I know I spent some time taking down the Christmas decorations that were on the fake tree. I remember telling him about how much I like organizing things, very much like that dog that would put all his toys in a certain grouping. Where does this come from? I generally like things very tidy and orderly, but I wonder how my room has gotten into a state of chaos.

We worked out in the afternoon and I was glad to feel that the workout feels pretty easy. I'm back to using the weights at about 100% of where I was when I was in full workout mode. Maybe it's the cold weather/temperature or maybe I'm more fit than I thought, but I'm feeling like these workouts are easier than I remember.

NIECES' BIRTHDAY

It was my nieces' birthday today. When I woke-up, my nephew opened my bedroom door to see if I was going to his Grammy's. I told him a little about the wedding, but I was essentially dog tired. The mind was willing to workout, but the body was weak. I was a little hungover, but mostly didn't have any motivation to do any work.

After lunch, I tried to nap but it was pretty useless. When I got to West Covina for the party, I was still tired. That didn't stop me from having a drink. I figured it might help me and it did a little.

But once I had some of the delicious dinner, it was back to the couch for a sort of trans-state. It wasn't exactly a nap, but it wasn't exactly full consciousness. It was a dream state and when I woke up, I didn't feel so good. It was like someone woke me up out of a deep sleep and I was in no mood to be woken up. I felt hot and started sweating a little and it took a few minutes to feel normal again. I think it was basically a lack of sleep.

I feel bad about not working out, but I'd rather rest and have a more intense workout tomorrow than do something half-assed tonight. I'm actually looking forward to a restful sleep tonight.

WEDDING DAY

To stay true to my workout schedule, I decided to go for a two mile run. It was fairly easy but these light workouts will probably end in a week or two, I decided to keep it easy initially just so I wouldn't get super sore and not want to workout at all.

Im actually writing this on an iPad the day after the wedding since I was just way too tired having got home about 3am last night/morning. iPad makes it a pain to use apostrophes so that is why I will attempt to not use then at all.

Anyway, I got to Turnip Rose about twenty minutes after 1pm. The groomsmen got a room to hangout in and the staff stocked it with beer and soft drinks. It was great but too tempting to drink continuously. After a drink or two, we started taking pictures around the building. They were pretty fun because we got to do some men in black and reservoir dogs type stuff.

Later, we took pictures with the bridesmaids and I felt bad for them because it was cold and their dresses were so short. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the guests to arrive. That was when Matt and I decided we should go out and purchase some gin and vodka rather than buying drinks at the bar.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful and nice and short. I dont know if I'm on my period but there were moments during the ceremony when I teared up. For some reason anytime I see people crying, I feel like crying. So when I saw that the bride and grooms parents were tearing up, I started to as well.

The food was delicious, the party was fun and it was good seeing all our friends. The only thing i regret was leaving the party to get drinks just when the party was really going. By the time i got back, the dance floor was dead and the ladies were gone.

After all was said and done, some of us went to Chateau for a Sri Lankin girls birthday. It was fun but I was too tired and had too much drink to really have some.

NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN

I had a hell of a time getting to sleep last night. I also had a hell of a time continuing to sleep when I would wake up from time to time. I guess that's what happens when you stay up too late after partying.

After lunch, I dropped off a pre-payment to Ivan, the guy who's going to install carpet in the Pomona duplex. He seems like a good guy and he speaks English so much better than Ezeqial. He will probably get a lot of side jobs in the future from us.

I tried napping to catch up on the sleep, but it was useless. So I got up from the couch and did my P90x workout and was happy to feel that I could get to my past state fairly quickly. I'm really curious to see if the post pictures will really look different than the ones I took before starting the system. Like I tell everyone, P90x has become P270x for me.

There's something about committing to a schedule that makes it somewhat easier to follow. You can plan around the schedule rather than going on how you're feeling. It might also just be my determination to finish what I start. Once I wrap my mind around something, I'm pretty obsessive about completing it.

BACHELOR PARTY

Sorry JD, but last night's bachelor party was easily the tamest one I've ever been to in my entire life. It was probably my oldest brother that set the bar for what bachelor parties are supposed to be like. They're supposed to be crazy! But all we did was drink a few drinks at Mesa in Costa Mesa. It was so tame, there were no women involved. That's pretty disturbing in my mind, but it was what it was.

I realized it's going to be very difficult for me to write an entry every single day. Sometimes, like last night, I will just get home too late and will be too tired to write anything. But that doesn't mean I won't try, it just means that I think it'll be more difficult than I realized.

After a simple wedding rehearsal, we had dinner at Capital Seafood. It was awesome. It was like a ten-course Chinese meal where awesome dishes just kept coming out. It was a little weird not having access to rice while eating all the dishes, but if rice was served, there would be no way we would finish the food. JD's dad ordered two of these courses and there was about 18 of us and we couldn't finish everything. It was impossible.

It started with this duck/pork/beef dish where they took these meats and sliced them thin. There were also pickled vegetables and some thick glass noodles served with it. Then the shark fin soup came out and I wondered if the shark fin was just sliced off the shark and the rest of the shark thrown back in the ocean. Next came snow pea leaves that were like spinach but held its shape better. Then the lobster came out and after that sliced fillet mignon probably pan fried in some kind of soy based sauce.

It didn't end there however, because a seafood medley came out in a pot, kind of like a stew. To top it all off, the biggest plate of honey walnut shrimp came out and a tiny bowl of stir fried rice accompanied it. They say the Chinese serve rice at the end to make sure you leave full, but there was almost no room for it. For dessert, a hot bowl of sweet almond soup that had some kind of pastry balloon on top that you had to break into to get into the bowl.

All in all, the dinner was much more exciting than the bachelor party. But we did vow to have a guy's night out in Vegas to make-up for the party. Hopefully this will happen sometime in May.

WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS

I knew I would eventually forget to write an entry but I can say that I spent a few minutes last night in bed contemplating whether I should get up and do it. Of course, I didn't, but if I had a laptop on my bed, I would have.

Anyway, I spent some time yesterday learning about windows. The Pomona duplex needs new windows because the ones that are on there are broken. The tenant should have replaced them, but I guess they're struggling so my mom finally had it and decided to replace them herself. It's probably going to run around $1000 but it could cost less depending on what kind of windows you want to use.

There are two ways to go about it replacing them. You can buy pre-fab standard sized windows and do drywall work, or you can get windows custom ordered to fit the sill. I think it's cheaper to go the latter and you don't have to deal with any permits. Then you have your choice on the window brands. Some are more expensive because they have "low-e" which is some kind of gas that is injected between the glass panes. It basically helps with insulation and windows these days also absorb UV rays. Pretty fancy huh?

So I had choice between a Chinese lady, what sounded like white folk and a Mexican handyman. On the one hand, I'd like to save money, but on the other hand, retrofitting these windows with good windows seems like it'd pay off in the future. I think it's probably better to spend money now as opposed to trying to save and spending more in the future. What's strange is that the price differences between companies seemed quite high as far as the actual windows go. Why is that?

Later, I ran a mile and a half. It got too dark so rather than running two miles, I skipped the last two laps. I saw the mysterious running girl again. I hadn't seen her for months so it's always nice to see a familiar face. Next time I'm going to say hi. She seems standoff-ish, but what do you expect a girl to do when confronting a strange guy on a public track?

After dinner I watched Cairo Time. Definitely an indie/foreign feel. It's essentially a love story that is on a slow simmer. These types of movies will always be measured against the classic Brief Encounter. Not nearly as good, but has the same feel. It also gives you a very good sense of what Cairo is like, at least in the cinematic sense.

SCAN BABY SCAN

I took another nap this afternoon, mostly because I felt like it. However, I wasn't really tired and I did it mostly because I was bored and procrastinating my P90x workout.

Although I was initially annoyed (which is always the case when you wake me from a nap), I was glad I got the call to pick-up the rent from the Pomona tenant. Before I left, I saw Don the plumber who came to pick-up the charge for the work he did with the Pomona tenant. We talked about Pacquiao a little and wondered if he would ever fight Mayweather.

I really wanted to work on organizing today and I spent a little time getting through some piles of paper I always leave for later. So I did some scanning and decided I will scan anything I have trouble throwing away. I'll need a larger hard drive for this and am thinking about getting a home server so I can use the PS3 to view documents, pictures and movies that are saved to the server.

NAPPY PAPPY

I used to be so organized, everything in my room, my office or whatever I worked on was neat and usually tidy. I knew where everything was and I could easily find something I put away. Over the years, this habit has dwindled and now I'm a pack rat with a lot of stuff just kind of put away. I've decided I would be brutal this year and begin throwing things away that I haven't used in years. It's always tough because I have difficulty throwing things away. That's going to change.

For some reason, I got really sleepy this afternoon. So much so that I fell asleep for a few hours. I think my body was telling me something. Not having worked out for a month took its toll and I needed some rest. Plus, I didn't get very good sleep last night for some reason. Every hour or two, I'd wake up and turn over. Maybe it's the bed? It's weird because my old bed was too firm and now this bed is too soft. One of these days, I'll be like Goldilocks and find one that's just right.

I left my phone at my brothers and his girlfriend found it. My nephew picked it up and I met up with him and his fams at their Grammy's. I feel so blessed that they are always so happy to see me and hope that that never changes. They always want me over for dinner but I feel bad because I'm always eating and never feeding. Anyway, after watching a little bit of the Bachelor which I started getting sucked into, I left and did the yoga part of my workout. I did about half of it but that's good enough for this first week.

JARED'S BIRTHDAY

I woke up wondering what we'd do for my nephew's birthday and what my oldest brother would say about why his daughters wouldn't be around. I guess he told my mom simply that they had gotten into a fight and they didn't want to have lunch with all of us.

I didn't feel very good about all of this. During lunch at BJ's, I was pretty quiet, but since I'm generally that way around the family, I don't think anyone really noticed. I met CJ's girlfriend Kathy and had a little bit of small talk with her at the table. Everyone ordered pizza except for me and my mom since we had pizza last night. I had one of those French dip sandwiches.

When we got back, I got on my brother's computer to figure out why the webcam wasn't working. It took some time to even find out what the webcam was called and how to bring it up. After a little googling, I discovered it might be missing a more appropriate driver so I downloaded and installed it. After starting the webcam, it worked like a charm. I don't know what it is about troubleshooting, but I find it so satisfying to finally fix an issue.

Afterwards, I went to the garage to do some P90x. I tell everyone that it's turned into P270x because it's taking me so long to finish the process. I hadn't worked out for about a month during the holidays, so I decided I would just start over and follow the program a little more closely. Rather than doing the kenpo and plyometrics workouts however, I substitute them for some jogging.

One thing I noticed is that I tend to focus on things that confirm my suspicions. It's kind of like being a scientist but sort of in the opposite way. Rather than setting-up a test, I'll use a hypothesis and look for things that support it. Since I'm a little bothered by my brother right now, I kind of noticed a few things he would say that supported my bothered self.

Lately, I've heard (and in the past noticed) that he will use the term "white trash" to describe his ex-wife and people he doesn't like or agree with. I imagine he means them to be uneducated, crude and probably fond of activities that are perhaps common or undignified (such as motorcross and drinking large amounts of alcohol in the desert).

So while I was at his house, I heard him make some argument about why pure bred dogs were so much better than not as far as their coat was concerned or something like that. I think that's ridiculous because the dog they have isn't even a show dog, nor is it being used for what it was originally bred for, so what the hell difference does it really make? I find it amusing that people are so ready to say that their dog is a pure bred while simply keeping it as a house pet. What does being a pure bred mean to an owner except to stroke their ego that they paid so much more for it? Pure bred dogs can't give you any more love than a mixed one, so if that's what you want it for, I say you should go to your local pound.

Anyway, the point is that I seem to be hearing these kind of things from him and it really bothers me. How did someone get to this point? How did my brother go from the Third World to feeling so critical of the lower classes? The irony is that he lives in Corona and many people think exactly the same way about that city than he does about "white trash."

VO2

I watched PBS' NOVA episode about marathons and remembered that all the runners began with an assessment of their VO2 or the volume of maximum oxygen consumption. The higher it is, the more fit you are. All the runners who trained for the marathon ended up with the same level of VO2 regardless of where they were before they began training.

Since I'll be running a half marathon this year, I figured it might be a good idea to measure my VO2. The participants in the episode had theirs taken using a treadmill and some fancy equipment. It turns out there are several ways you can measure your own levels and I used the Rockport Walking Test to measure mine. It ended up at 38.6 which is on the higher end of the moderate fitness level scale. I think my level will be higher and move into the high fitness level scale after all the training I do, exactly what happened to the participants in the episode.

BIUTIFUL

Watched Biutiful starring Javier Bardem. You can always find beauty even in the depths of darkness.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

I thought about describing what recently happened with my immediate family this holiday season, but rather than doing that, I felt it's best to leave that in the past and move on with the future. Why dwell on something bad that happened? It's the new year and it's time to move on and hope for better things rather than regret the past.

So one of my resolutions this year is to get back to writing this blog. I will attempt to write one entry for every day of 2011. I may fail, I may cheat, but it's the journey that counts right?

Another resolution I have this year is to run a half marathon. I met up with my old friend and former college roommate Todd during Christmas vacation and he gave me really great encouragement. I thought about doing a marathon, but I figured it's probably good to train for something smaller this year. I've heard of people not training properly and dying when running their first marathon. I don't think that would happen, but since I don't have health insurance, I don't really have access to a health care provider who could test me and let me know if I should worry about anything. I figured I'd just be extra careful and not push it.

Unlike some things in life, running a half marathon is already totally possible in my mind. I just know I have to train. Other things in life seem much more difficult to me such as finding a career I can care about that is fulfilling, or even getting a decent job that provides more income. I know that doing something very difficult can help open your mind to doing other difficult things, so let's see what happens. I've done a triathlon before, but I don't know - I don't think that really helped me much with what I can achieve. Let's see if this does.