Going, going....gone 2008!

By the end of the day, we say good-bye to 2008. To some, they say good-riddance to the year that was. Its usually at this time of year (actually at the last few hours of the year) that most TV channels show us a year-in-review; a look-back at the good, the bad and the ugly that was 2008. I remember (back in the country I grew up in) they would also show the many sights of people who lost anywhere from a finger to a whole hand!!! Yup, in many countries in Asia, blowing up fireworks in your own yard was not only legal, but a cultural must-do tradition. Something about scaring off bad and evil spirits through the use of fireworks. Believe me, most of the fire crackers here in the states are whimpy compared the ones we popped off over there. Of course, you do this at your own risk. If you loose a limb, tough-break!


And this is where I'm going to introduce what may be the core and purpose of this blog: my
ranking of things and events that are relevant to me. Unlike my other blog where I take a more serious tone, I try to bring the immature, wacky and fun side of me that is sorely missed by yours truly and many of my younger relatives. My first attempt of my "top 10" list what I feel are the most significant events of 2008.

Top 10 events in 2008 that are historical in nature in my humble opinion

10. Sudden, unintended death of actor Heath Ledger

(ok, this is one of the noteworthy news - imho - from the entertainment world)

9. Chrysler & GM bailout

8. Gas prices lowest in years

7. Snow fall in Nevada and parts of Southern California

6. Global economy going sour/going south

5. Dispondent man kills in-laws on Christmas eve

4. Renewed and possibly escalating conflict in the Gaza strip

3. Terrorist attacks on Mumbai

2. Expectancy of a worsening economy

1. Election 2008 and our very first African American President

Top 10 favorite movies I saw in 2008

10. The Incredible Hulk

9. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

8. 10,000 B.C.

7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

6. Quantum of Solace

5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army

4. The Forbidden Kingdom

3. Wall-E

2. Batman

1. Iron Man

Movie I was most disappointed in:

Star Wars - The Clone Wars (heck, the Cartoon Network episodes were better)

'Till my next list, Good-bye 2008!!!

Countdown to the new year

By the end of this day, 2008 will be a memory - albeit a few minutes old depending on when you read this. It was a productive year for me but, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was not as satisfying or fulfilling. Still, I have a lot to be thankfull for. Hopefully 2009 will be a lot better in the progress department. However, I also have reservations about the coming year as we face challenges in every area of our lives. For starters, there's the gloomy economic outlook - both local and global, the ongoing war on terror, and the renewed conflict at the Gaza strip. But don't expect me to crawl to a corner and assume the fetal position out of fear; I intend to face the future all guns blazing! At least, the one activity I am able to indulge in, one that took me away from an existence I find rather mundane - even for a few short hours, was watching movies! 2008, wasn't a stellar year for movies from a quantity stanpoint, but two movies did stand out for me. Those two were "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight." I look forward to another round of barbequed pork kebabs and beer to welcome in the new year!

Yet another day before the end...

Ah, yet another unfulfilling and uninspiring day of work finally concluded. Thankfully, I don't screw-up as often as I did when I first started. However, I've been tardy a lot of times this past week and my supervisor was quite concerned. Oh well, better fix that tardy streak before I get written up for it. Anyway, the Christmas tree is drying up and now I can really smell the aroma of the tree - death never smelled so good as with a dying Christmas tree. Those so called scented candles that I bought that were suppose to smell like a Christmas tree couldn't even come close. What a waste of money. Live and learn.

Monday??? Already!!! No, it's actaully Tuesday!!!

Is it my imagination or does it feel like time is flying? Driving back from work this evening, it just sunk in that today is Monday. The whole week of last week (Christmas) felt really short - like about two or three days worth instead of seven days since last Monday. Anyway, I'm still in introspection mode thinking about old friends, old home towns and my former life. I know, I know, it sounds quite whiny but please bear with me; this should last until New Year's Eve. I guess I'm starting to understand how most elderly people feel like when they wax nostalgic. Not that my current life is all that bad, but it could be better. There's the absence of the feeling of wonder and excitement when taking on a new day. Nothing I do seems to bring me a sense of accomplishment, even satisfaction much less any joy. Maybe that's why I miss my old life (as I'm sure most people my age feel likewise), I also miss that carefree, peace of mind that came with it. You know what? I think I'm coming down with MLCS (mid-life crisis syndrome)!

Great! It's Monday!

Can't believe the year is about to end. Last Monday seemed like yesterday and here I am watching Monday Night Raw again as I type this. Looking back, this year wasn't too eventful for me. The only really fun thing I did this year was go to Portland, OR. Yeah, I can feel those "Huhs?" resonating in the background. At least my financial situation is looking up. Work is no inspiration either; again the pay is what makes it worth it though. A co-worker who shall remain nameless has been spilling the beans about our other co-worker's indescretions. Funny how he seems to get dirt on our co-workers though he's been working at my place of employment for less time than I have. Then again, I don't mingle much with my co-workers and I don't kiss ass trying to endear my self to them just to be accepted. This guy annoys me sometimes though I try my best (and succeed) putting up with him. Man, there's just got to be a line of work out there for me that suits my personality and interest as well as inspire me to be my best. I feel and treated like I'm the third stringer water boy in this team.

Outside of work, I'm hoping to get into some real mischief next year as the gears of my fragile little mind are turning, plotting how I will execute the deed. Looks like I'm running out of proverbial gas at the moment as I begin to feel the sandman beckon. I just wanted to get this here blog started before I succumb into laziness. As I look at the clock, I realize...it's waaaaay past my bedtime!!!

Hi there!!!

From the title of my blog, I'll be blabbing (maybe ranting randomly) about anything that interest or concerns me. I might talk about my personal life (work, friends, events and other situations), music, movies, TV shows, technology, the paranormal, politics, religion, toys, cars...just about anything that's already part of my existence. I'll be playing wanna-be critic from time to time so keep in mind that my criticisms are pretty much my personal opinions and reflect my world view and sensibilities. I'm by no means an expert on the subjects I'll be talking about so take my rants as the mere opinion of an average consumer.

With that out of the way, allow me to post the first of my blogs. By the way, the blog I've entered below already appears (nearly verbatim) on my myspace page. If anyone bothers to read my blogs and even comes back from time to time to check out the other entries, thank you. If you have questions, I'll try to answer them in a timely manner as best I can.

It actually took me two days to complete this part of the entry (I typed it during Christmas and the day after) as the power kept going out during a storm that rendered most of the island without power for a few hours. During that time, I sat in complete darkness eating pork kebabs and drinking Bud Light Lime while I waited for the power to come back on. I waited in vain. Yup, Christmas had snuck up on me like a thief in the night!!! By the time I had downed my second quart of egg nog, fourth plate of Christmas ham with all the fixins for lunch on until diner; Christmas day had come and gone! Don't even ask me about how many bar-b-q'ed pork kebabs, cans of Pepsi and Heineken as well as the various candies, pies and nuts I inhaled in between because I lost track. What's even worse was that I did all that as I stayed indoors all day watching Anime and WWE DVDs. I was really hoping to hang out outside and take in the Christmas vibe around the neighborhood but that obviously was shot to hell. The good thing about this Christmas was that I didn't go overboard with the Christmas shopping. I managed to buy cheap…ooooops! Er… I mean sensibly priced gifts to nearly everyone in my shopping list. I really need to reassess my gift giving list for next year. I guess, my co-worker had a point: most of the people we buy gifts for we don't really like anyway (Her words, not mine). How cynical for a young lady like her to think that way about Christmas, but her point about the gift giving part had some merit – some. I'm sure some will be disappointed that they got boring gifts from me, but It couldn't be helped: the economy's in the toilet and I'm restructuring my finances to minimize the financial stress brought on by the onslaught of the impending recession.

And wouldn't you know it, I finally got around to thinking and caring about my grand niece and grand nephew who I bonded with over the summer. I payed little heed to them before but they finally grew on me and now I find myself wishing they were able to drop by to open their Christmas gifts instead of me sending it to them (I hope I put the correct address on the package too). I better make an effort to bond with them more before I become a tiny footnote in their lives. Their father – my nephew – gets kudos for never giving up when it came to letting his kids know about their once-upon-a-time wacky great uncle who's become a recluse as of late.

Anyway, we all know that the next few days mean the last days of 2008 are upon us. It's usually that time of year where I look back at the year that was. But more importantly for me, I take a moment to look at where I am on life's long and winding road. I especially miss and long for the company of old friends who now live far away and live very different lives with families of their own; of old haunts that are no longer there (or if they are, would not feel the same as it did before). I miss the life that I once had, yet balk at the idea of actually going back to it. As for the friends that I miss, I miss Efren who I've known since before grade school. He watched my back and covered my ass when I was up to no good (I never even asked him to do this). I took him for granted most of the time but I'm sure he got his come uppence when he zapped me a few times as I was helping him assemble (as well as bankroll) his various electronic projects (some of which became high-end components for my sound system). Basically I was like his cranky, older brother who would harass him from time to time. Another friend I miss is Audel who I've known since first grade; our friendship was just as long with more adventures, hijinx and laughs. Sadly, our allegiance ended because of disagreements over money (although he claims it was over a girl). In hindsight, the fight over the girl seemed less petty, now that I think about it. Audel also introduced me to a larger circle of friends which later became our clique. We all had three things in common that cemented our bond like a large family of brothers: Food, girls and mischief – not necessarily in that order. My latest best buddy that I miss is Edwin who I met in 1991. Fortunately, I get to communicate with him via e-mail, but it doesn't compare to being there in person. Edwin is the lead guitarist in my last rock band. He fit in perfectly with my other circle of friends that Audel and I are in. Then there's Adrien who I've known about as long as Audel but whose appearance in "my scene" was more like cameo appearances. He made me more aware of the different types of music I'd eventually be into as well as introduced me to recording artist that would remain undiscovered in my playlists if it weren't for him. Last but not least, there's Anthony who opened my eyes and made embrace my inner geek. He introduced my to fantasy art, made me more aware of my fascination for comic books & Godzilla. If not for him, I would have never watched and discovered the world of Star Wars and learned about Lord of the Rings two decades before the movie came out (I didn't care for reading the book back then). For some reason, buddies like those five are hard to come by these days. All this maturity and responsibility is really cramping my style and causing me to think that most of the young people I run into these days are just damned annoying! Then again, being a grown up isn't all that it's cracked up to be. I must be turning into a hermit. But for what it's worth, I just wanted to vent on how much I miss my old friends - especially during the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone!!!