A Backstory in two Acts
Prologue
I think perhaps that I should have written this post first. I hope that it will serve as an introduction as well as provide explanation and perhaps justification for the existence of this collection of ramblings.
Act I – Wherein we meet the protagonist
I am Seán, your narrator and guide. I am 40 years old as of this writing. I live in the Central Valley of California, in the grand metropolis of Modesto. I have many interests that I hope to share with you over time. These include music, dance, television, movies, languages, technology, role-playing games, Catholicism (my faith tradition), science fiction, photography, and many other things. I am single and trying to remain patient until the right woman comes into my life.
I have a very goofy sense of humor sometimes. Not everyone gets me. I hope that over time, you will.
- Bands/Artists: Barenaked Ladies, Depeche Mode, Garbage, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Roberto Leal
- Movies: Aliens, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Strictly Ballroom, Princess Bride, Matrix, Big Trouble in Little China, Inception
- TV (Currently): Chuck, Castle, How I Met Your Mother, The Good Wife, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, Smallville, Blue Bloods, V, Dexter, True Blood, Mad Men
- TV (All time): Sopranos, 24, Firefly, Heroes (but only season 1)
Act II – Motivations are revealed
Earlier this week, a young lady acquaintance of mine, Rachel, posted on one of her blogs that she had begun this WordPress postaday2011 challenge. This inspired me to make a similar attempt. Another friend of mine, Betty is a very creative individual and this kind of endeavor is right up her alley. Being friends with people like Rachel and Betty motivates me to try to be more creative and expressive. So I happily hitch my wagon to their stars and try to be a content generator.
Here is a link to the original post of the WordPress challenge http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/welcome-to-the-daily-post/.
Epilogue
I am not the king of follow-through. Your encouragement and support will be invaluable if I am to be anywhere near successful with this. Please and thank you.
Three to Visit
Today’s assignment: talk about three countries I’d like to visit.
In no particular order, I’d like to visit Ireland, Australia, and Canada.
Ireland has appealed to me for a large portion of my life. In part because I am a sliver Irish (at least 1/8 and as much as 1/4), and because I really like Irish music. I’d love to travel around from pub to pub enjoying the music and maybe joining in on my bodhran. I once told a roommate of mine, himself from Killarney, if Ireland isn’t like it’s portrayed in The Quiet Man, I’m not sure I’m interested. Well, he said it really wasn’t, but I remain curious.
Australia has only recently become a desired destination for me. I love the Aussie accent and I wonder how long it would take for me to convincingly emulate it. I really like that tipping is a somewhat foreign concept down there. 🙂 I love languages and I would like someday to travel to places where different languages are spoken, but I am 40 and pretty much travelled nowhere so far. So maybe a country like Australia where English is the language but different accents and vocabulary can cause just a little confusion is a good place to start.
Canada. My grandparents are from Canada and my mom and a couple of her siblings were born there as well. In 2000 I took a trip up to Vancouver and spent a few days there. I loved it. French is one of the languages of Canada and I spent many years studying French. It would be great to have the opportunity to practice speaking it a little.
I’m not terribly adventurous and rather inclined to inertia, but I really would like to go visit some of these places someday.
Some movie reviews
**Warning – the following will contain spoilers. Do not proceed unless you don’t care about ruining your own viewing experience!!**
I have seen three movies in the last week. I anticipate seeing many more in the weeks to come. There are three things fueling this prognostication.
1) Brenden is offering $5 movies Monday – Thursday, all showings, so it’s actually affordable.
2) It’s awards season and, just as happened last year, my friend Betty is engaged in an effort to see as many of the Oscar (and Golden Globe) nominated movies as possible prior to the ceremonies. And also like last year, I am joining her (at least to an extent) in that pursuit. So far, I’ve seen 10 of the 34 movies that are involved in the Golden Globes.
3) I’m not taking an evening class this semester so I have more free time than I’ve had in the past 6-7 months.
So, first, here is a list of the movies that I have seen that are up for a Golden Globe.
• Black Swan
• Inception
• The Social Network
• Alice in Wonderland
• Red
• Easy A
• The Town
• Despicable Me
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Toy Story 3
So I have two more Best Picture-Drama to see (The Fighter, The King’s Speech), and 3 more Best Picture-Musical/Comedy to see (Burlesque, The Kids Are Alright, The Tourist), as well as numerous other films that made it in other categories. I plan to see The Fighter and The Tourist (and possibly Burlesque) next week. Pretty good!
**Begin (potential) Spoiler section**
The first movie I saw recently was True Grit. This version is supposed to be much closer to the book than was the original movie starring John Wayne. In preparation for seeing the new release, I made a point of watching the original (for the first time!)
I enjoyed the original although of course it seems a bit dated now. But I liked this new version better. Westerns from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s seem to offer a sanitized version of the 1800s. The actors rarely appear to get dirty and never swear for example. I prefer the (theoretically) more accurate representation we get nowadays (but for all I really know, they’re just as romanticized and skewed as films of past decades).
On Tuesday evening, I went to see Black Swan. I didn’t really expect to like this movie; I was only seeing it because it’s on the list. I was surprised to discover that I really did like it! I didn’t know much about the premise or story before going in. And I’m not sure how much others know about what the movie is all about. If I’m NOT worried about spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, I’d say that it depicts what mental illness might look like from the perspective of the person suffering it. That the sufferer in this case is a ballerina strikes me as especially true to life. I have known a few ballet dancers and while their experience may not be typical, this movie reminded me quite a lot of what I saw in them. I’ve had one friend opine that the cause of Nina’s mental illness may stem from an overprotective mother. It makes me ponder about possible associations between mental illness and ballet. Do those sufferers gravitate towards ballet? Can ballet push one over the edge? Is there a reciprocal connection? I’ve just known too many dancers who knew that they weren’t supposed to eat anything, who were pushed to punish their bodies for the sake of dancing, who ultimately turned out to have real emotional and/or mental problems. Yep, I am not a fan. But, like I said before, that is what I have witnessed. YMMV.
Finally, last night I went to see Tron: Legacy. One word: Meh. Like with True Grit, I made a point of watching the original TRON recently so I would be all primed for this sequel. I was sort of surprised at how poorly the original held up over the years. As I was watching last night, I found myself wondering if, in 20 years, we will think that these graphics looked cheesy and dated. Right now it looks pretty darn good; except for the CGI Jeff Bridges. I think they should have waited another 5 years to let the technology advance a bit. They still don’t get faces right. Olivia Wilde looked amazing though. All in all, I can’t see that this is a sequel that needed to be made. The premise of the original was pretty thin and this one isn’t much more robust. I still don’t understand why programs are forced to play games. Oh well.
Stay tuned….
How I spent my winter vacation
In case I haven’t mentioned it before, my time off work really needs to be down-time for it to do me any good. Upon returning to work yesterday after being off for 11 days, a coworker told me that she hadn’t accomplished anything (housework, cleaning, organizing, whatever) during the break. I replied that this sounded like an awesome break to me. I know plenty of people who use their weekends and vacations to go do all the things that they normally don’t have time to do. Even their stories of whirlwind travel, snow or water skiing, hiking, camping, running around, shopping, parties, and family gatherings leave me feeling exhausted. It’s a wonder they have any energy to get up and come to work on Monday. But, that is what rejuvenates and re-creates them. This is not me. I enjoy doing stuff but not nearly to the extent that these people do and certainly not all at once. It’s almost like my goal is to do so little when I’m off that I’m excited to go back to work. (Yeah, it sounds sort of thin to me too but let’s just go with it.)
That being said, I had a very relaxed and stress-free break; starting Wednesday, the 22nd. The boss told us to go home at 1:00 in the afternoon and we were only too happy to do so. For the entire span of my break, unless otherwise stated, I spent my time watching tv and playing LOTRO. I don’t remember what, if anything, I did on Wednesday evening. Probably nothing, which is perfect! Thursday evening I went to Camp 4 to see my buddy Aaron play his last Modesto gig before moving down to southern California. It was a pretty good show. The place was packed! I had a really nice time chatting with people, taking photographs, and enjoying the music.
The next day was Christmas Eve and by golly, I don’t remember doing anything all day. Until nighttime anyway. I was the sacristan for Midnight Mass. I also took some photos during and after Mass. It wasn’t as cold out at midnight as I remember it being in past years. Saturday and Sunday I guess I pretty much did nothing (SCORE!!).
Monday was a game day at the House of Robot Pets (HoRP). Ross ran Brandon, Jay, Kathleen, Mike, and I through a short little adventure that involved searching for a missing smuggler and dispatching some goons that were trying to muscle in on his operation. Giacomo (my dwarf bard) acquitted himself admirably.
Tuesday was a rather frustrating day. I had on my schedule: donate blood, take my friend to a movie using passes that I was to get from the blood bank, and play guitar for the first time in months at a home Mass. I went to the blood bank for my appointment and had to wait 15 minutes for them to open; always annoying. Then of course there’s the donation process. I do aphaeresis which involves taking my blood out of me, separating out the parts they want, and returning the rest back to my body. This used to mean a needle in each arm for about 90 minutes. Nowadays, it’s a single needle/arm but it takes closer to 120 minutes. I’d rather it be the first way. (There are other complaints I have about recent changes, but you’re bored enough already.) Anyway, after being there for 2½ hours, I went to redeem some points for movie passes only to be told that they don’t do movie passes anymore. Grrrrr! So I had to call my friend and, with 30 minutes notice, tell her we’d have to postpone seeing the movie. The upshot of the whole experience is that I am DONE with the blood donation thing. At least for the foreseeable future.
The only part of the day that went as planned and therefore well, was playing for the home Mass that evening. Turns out I haven’t forgotten anything about playing, although I have lost all my calluses.
Wednesday and Thursday must have been uneventful as I do not remember those days.
Friday I ran around paying some bills then drove to Copperopolis to do a photoshoot with my percussion group, Burning Sky Musicians. I think the shoot went reasonably well. As I was racing home to meet up with a friend (we had plans to see a movie), I got word that she was feeling ill and had to cancel. *sigh* I wasn’t having much luck with movies to this point. That night, I was in bed by 9:30 and slept right through the commencement of 2011.
Saturday, I finally made it to the theater to see a movie! My friend (from Tuesday) and I saw True Grit. I really enjoyed it! I had watched the original a week or so earlier and liked that version, but I liked the remake better.
The rest of the weekend was uneventful/can’t remember.
Regarding tv. I watched all of the first season of Magnum PI, most of the first season of Lie To Me, some Rockford Files, and various other things on my dvr and computer. Speaking of Lie To Me. I really like this show! It’s too bad that it’s on Fox as that network has broken trust with me. I’m not sure I will ever forgive them for cancelling Firefly. In any case, I refuse to watch new shows on Fox because God only knows if they’ll make it through even a full season.
Regarding LOTRO. I spent most of my playing time leveling my captain, Aluatis and doing the winter festival event. Good times.
So, dear reader, thank you for sticking with this lengthy post to the end. Feel free to leave a comment indicating what you think the reward for your perseverance should be.
ttfn
Maintenance post
What have I been up to? Well, let’s see. I just finished up a couple of classes here at the college; a radio broadcasting class and a speech class. Work’s been pretty sucky. I’m pretty burnt out.
I just got a new TiVo, the TiVo Premiere. It’s a great upgrade from the box I already had but I’m having trouble getting the mcard digital decoder from Comcast to work. I have a cable technician coming out this afternoon so we’ll see. I re-signed up with Netflix because this box will stream directly. That’s been cool.
I’ve been playing lots and lots of LOTRO; I’ve been enjoying leveling up my Captain. I haven’t been to the theatre much but I have watched several movies at home recently. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Toy Story 3, RED, Knight and Day, some others I can’t remember.
I joined a Middle Eastern/Tribal/World Fusion percussion group and I’ve been playing for a lot of belly-dance events. You may have seen pictures on flickr or facebook. I ordered a new drum that is supposed to arrive on Tuesday. It’s called a cuica. This is a Brazilian friction drum that’s used in samba music. I can’t wait to get it and start mixing it in for our playing.
Family Christmas gathering tomorrow. Work MTW next week then 11 days off. I hope it helps.
And then there were four…
First off, let me apologize for all of you experiencing asphyxiation. It has been overlong since I reported on the burger challenge. Rounds 3 and 4 are complete. We now move to the semi-final rounds.
Here are our results from the last two qualifying rounds (remember, points can range from 8 – 40):
Round 3 (September 29th)
#3 P Wexford’s Irish Cheddar Burger with 26 points
#2 Fast Eddie’s MOAB (Meal on a Bun) with 27 points
#1 Fudrucker’s ½ pound burger with 30 points
Fudrucker’s ½ pound Burger advances.
Round 4 (October 13th)
#3 Sips Sliders with 32 points
#2 Scenic Drive In Knock Out Burger with 33 points
#1 Harvest Moon Dinah Burger with Swiss Cheese with 34 points.
Harvest Moon Dinah Burger with Swiss Cheese advances.
Wow! Round 4 really had some high scores!
In my opinion, the Harvest Moon Dinah Burger was the best burger we’ve tried all semester. Certainly the points support that, but we’ll see what happens when it goes up against winners from previous rounds.
Coming up, the highest point earner, Harvest Moon, will go up against the lowest winning point earner, Chili’s. Two weeks after that, Bacchus vs. Fudruckers.
Stay tuned and don’t forget to breathe!
There can be only one!
My office is in the process of trying to determine what the best burger in Modesto is. We’re conducting this investigation using a tournament bracket model. Using a highly unscientific selection process, we started with twelve burgers that would be in contention for the title of Modesto’s Best Burger. Every other week, during our office staff meeting, we would sample three burgers and rate each of them in the following categories: taste, value, burger construction/ingredients, and how well the burger appeals to the other senses. Of the three burgers, one advances.
We’ve completed two preliminary rounds so far with two more to go. Once the field has been narrowed to four contenders, we will have a semi-final round to identify the two best burgers in Modesto. Then, at the end of the semester, the final round will determine the champion.
Here are our results from the first two rounds (points can range from 8 – 40):
Round 1
#3 Firken & Fox Mushroom & Swiss Burger with 26 points
#2 Firken & Fox Guacamole Swiss Burger with 27 points
#1 Bacchus Kobe Beef Burger with 28 points
The Kobe Beef burger advances.
Round 2
#3 Mike’s Roadhouse San Francisco Sour Dough Burger with 23 points
#2 In N Out Burger with 25 points
#1 Chili’s Shiner Bock BBQ Burger with 27 points
Chili’s Shiner Bock BBQ Burger advances
Round 3 will happen on September 29 and will include burgers from P Wexford’s, Fudruckers and Fast Eddie’s MOAB.
Round 4 will take place on October 13 and will feature burgers from Sips Bistro, Barking Dog, and Harvest Moon.
For Rachel
For some reason, several frozen yogurt shops have sprung up in the greater Modesto area over the last several months/years. I’m not complaining, but I am at a loss as to why this has happened all the sudden. For years and years, we’ve had TCBY and the Yogurt Mill. But all of the sudden, we have LA Cultures, Yogofina, Yogolicious, Oodles, and probably some I don’t even know about!
I’ve tried all the ones listed here and I have no complaint about any of them. I do have a preference for the places where you create your own serving and pay by the ounce. So of all the places listed here, I like Oodles the best. Not for any particular reason apart from it is the self-serve type and it happened to be ‘on my route’. I like that there are lots of fresh fruits to choose from for my toppings and I typically go for a vanilla or banana flavor yogurt with lots of fruit.
However, there is one flavor that I will not pass up. That is the Irish Mint. I’m a sucker for mint. I get this flavor with chocolate chips, Andes Mint topping, or both. Love it, love it, love it!!
The heat of the summer is gone and we’re headed toward fall and winter. I hope that Oodles and the other froyo shops can make it through the colder time of year so that they are all thriving next summer. I know I’ll do my part. Will you? Yes, I’m talking to you Rachel! When are you coming down to help support my froyo habit??!!?! Make it so!
My good weekend – Part II
Ok. Sunday.
Sunday, started off with 8:00 Mass. I was asked to sub as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. One thing that is definitely true about me is that I like having a job to do. Music was meh. I was surprised by how little singing there was in the pews. Sad. The choir sounded small and very far away. Piano and strings sounded good but voices were just about too quiet to evaluate.
Then it was back over to BVG for the later morning service. I was helping with audio/lighting again. As an added bonus for this service, my friend Sonya was there, so after all the songs and baptisms, once Pastor Rick began his message for the day, I left the sound booth to go sit with my friend. On my other side was an attractive woman who it turns out Sonya knew for years past. After the service, Sonya, this woman, her dad, and I sat talking for a bit. Attractive, but this woman has many problems in her life. We prayed for her and will continue to do so.
So then it’s back over to St. Stanislaus for the priests’ residence open house. There was so much food! I spent a couple of hours chatting and mixing with fellow parishioners. But man oh man it was hot! Side note: there is some moving and shaking that’s getting going at the parish. GOOD!!
In the later afternoon, I met my friend, Lance, to see A-Team. The movie was good, ridiculous fun. It really captured the spirit of the series in many ways. I hope there are sequels.
Finally, back home to play LOTRO for several hours. I’d have stopped playing earlier than I did, but it was too hot to go to bed.
This was a busy weekend! I was go, go, going the whole time. But I didn’t feel like I was overburdened with activity. Oftentimes, I am scheduled for so much on the weekend that I don’t feel like I’ve gotten any downtime when I return to work on Monday. For some reason, that wasn’t the case this time. I need to figure out why so that I can replicate the effect of this weekend.
That is all.
Sean.
Out.
My good weekend – Part I
This was quite a good weekend! Let’s run it down.
Friday started with me assisting as a sacristan at a funeral. I know this will sound strange, but I like serving at funerals. Not because of the grief or what have you, but because I feel like I’m really providing a service at a time of real need. Hard to explain maybe. Anyway, I prepared the materials beforehand, served as an altar server during the Mass, proclaimed the first reading, and helped distribute Communion. I joked with the office staff that the next time, they’d have me preaching!
Then, in the afternoon, I went over to Rob’s place and played Dark Heresy with the gang. The adventure that day was very theatrical/cinematic and fun! My character did a decent job in combat, but I made a few bad rolls which nearly led to the demise of my Guardsman. Looking forward to the next session!
On Saturday, I went down to Big Valley Grace church for the Love Modesto event. Everyone met in the Worship Center to kick the day off, and I met up with my good friend Sonya. She and I went out to work at the Habitat for Humanity site. Met some nice people, broke up some concrete, had a great lunch.
In the late afternoon, I went back down to BVG for the evening service. It was my first time helping with audio/lighting tech for the regular services and I really liked it!! I ran the lights this time. At the service, I saw my ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend. I surprise myself a little by realizing that I really am over her, in the sense that I am NOT interested in dating her at all anymore and wouldn’t want her back. Granted, it still hurts, the way she treated me; I don’t think she was very honest with me. And, she still owes me $100 that she borrowed from me at the end of January.
So anyway, after the service, I’m driving over to my favorite frozen yogurt place, when I notice that she’s in the car behind me. She’s going to the same place. Now, she’s essentially been ignoring/avoiding me for the last couple of months so I think to myself, “This could be interesting.” I park my car and walk directly to the shop. She’s parked off to my left, 15 yards away with two rows of cars between us. As I’m walking up, her boyfriend and his kids(?) get out of a car right in front of me. I deliberately didn’t look her way as I walked up (I wasn’t looking to cause a scene or anything. If she wants to avoid me, I’m not going to try to force her to be a grown-up) so I only imagine that she must have made some motion to him to come her way. She certainly didn’t say anything out loud; I’m guessing so as to avoid drawing my attention. Anyway, he sort of stops and then starts moving her way. Ok, so I enter the shop, which was bustling, and go about getting my yogurt together. As I’m doing so, I can look out and survey the scene in the parking lot. Again, in my imagination, they’re having a confab about what to do.
My imagined dialogue goes something like this:
Her: Wait, maybe we should change our plans. My ex just walked in there.
Him: What’s the worst that could happen? Let’s just go in.
So they head for the entrance. I can see all of this from inside, but because of tinted windows, those outside can’t see in as well. As they enter, I’m at the cashier. I gather up my purchase and I’m leaving, but, if it’s obvious that we’re in the same place at the same time, I want to be nice and say hello. (I guess this is sort of in opposition to what I’d said before but I’m a complicated guy.) So, bag in hand, I reach the door and go to back out of it, opening it with my derriere. I was giving the room a quick scan so that if I saw her, I could walk up and smile, say hello, how are you, good to see you, have a good evening. Here’s the funny part (to me), she’s nowhere to be seen. She’s hiding in the bathroom or behind a wall or something. HAHAHAHAHA!!!
I feel quite wicked deriving amusement from this, but it is what it is.
Next up: Sunday and the end to the weekend.
