last picture post of 2008 - presents, popcorn, poop and cheese

As many Indoobians know, I'm known to be pretty lazy when it comes to the taking and posting of pictures specifically for purposes of sharing with the Workforce. Nevertheless, I did a few snaps today (literally minutes ago) and will share them. Some include Christmas presents, others... well... you'll see.


Here we see the first of three T-shirts I requested. I sometimes still wonder if this shirt really applies to me, but why not? I like it because my year of birth is 1986... so... yeah.


Most people that know me personal and have seen me on the street, might say "Hey, that's one of the brightest shirts I've seen in his collection, other than white of course." Okay, maybe they wouldn't say that word for word, but this is a new bright color for me, and according to my sister, this was the only color available. No problem, I wanted this shirt bad enough, and yes, I love this movie!


I didn't think I was going to get this shirt, but fortunately my sister shares my sense of humor. And I told them all I'd wear it to church that Sunday, and I did! Well, no one noticed since I had a button up over it, but I stuck to my word and people who read it love it. Plus, who else can say they have poop on their shirt and be excited about it?


What an interesting next shirt to debut... but this is from my mother and one of the few long sleeve T-shirts I have. I've never been a fan, but I like this one. This is actually the back of the shirt and it's quoting Joshua 1:9 "Be Strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you." I want to say the symbols are Chinese, but I can't be sure. The left one means strength, the right means courage.


This was my last gift given to me, today actually, from my Dearest Insta-friend of... how long has it been? Over 5 years maybe? The "insta-friend" part I'll explain another day, but the reason for numbering the years is important to what this is a picture of. You see, my friend boasted about these delicious apple muffins she would make back in high school, but I never got to taste them. So after all these years, about 5, she finally made me a batch. She made 6, there are 2 left, and I was nice enough to share with my parents. This is one reason why I decided to take the pictures because there wouldn't be any left and I know the picture doesn't do the muffin justice, but trust me, it's delicious. And I enjoy sliding that box out like it's some luxury food item. Don't mind the other things you see in the picture, especially the cookie tower.


Here's a look at my TV I bought myself last year for Christmas (I think). Anyway, it's showing season 5 of Seinfeld, which my other dearest friend whom I call Kitten bought me. She also bought me the Scene It: Seinfeld edition, which I have yet to play. I don't have anyone around here to play with, but now that I think of it, I might be able to play with my siblings, or wait until I can group up with Seinfeld fans that I know. Either way, I can't wait.

This is from "The Lip Reader" episode. My TV is definitely not big, but it was affordable and suits my needs. Plus it's thin and widescreen. Very nice.


My gift to myself this year. Due to the movie coming out next year (and rave reviews I hear about it anyway) I decided to up my geek points and buy it. It arrived Christmas Eve and I read it in three days. But you knew that already. As for the movie... I recently heard some news that doesn't bode well.


I touched on this before regarding my love of cheese, one of my favorite kinds is white cheddar, and Smartfood Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. I eat so much that I've noticed a difference in cheese levels. People might think I'm crazy, but I say try it for yourself. Here in this picture we see the 1.5 oz, 3 oz, and the most popular 5 oz bags. They are all empty. I ate the two smaller bags a couple hours ago for this investigation. Anyway, my theory is that the smaller the bag, the more cheese is coated. Now I gave the sizes, but I usually refer to them by the price. The 5 oz bag WAS $2.49, but I'm thinking due to slumping sales or trying to keep up with the economy, the prices rose, and now as you might make out, it's $2.89. "BOOO!" I say. But it doesn't stop me from purchasing whenever I get my cravings. The next size up USED to be $2.99, I don't know what the oz size is. 7 oz maybe. And then there is the family size. Usually those are the most expensive. Now listen carefully, the bigger the bag, the lesser the cheese. There is one exception. There is a wee 25 cent bag... possibly .5 or .75 oz. It's really small and stupid. Sorry, I just don't like it. No cheese and the last couple times they tasted burnt. Anyway, between the 1.5 and 3 oz, it's hard to tell which has more cheese, but check it out for yourself. I'm content with my 5 oz still, and sometimes sprinkle this on for extra cheesy fun.


So for my last picture, it involved once again hanging out with my Dearest Insta-friend. We were out dining at what you can clearly see as Friendly's, and my usually ordering involves mozzarella sticks. Well, they have mini-mozzarella stick. I had chicken quesadillas too... but as you see, they didn't last long enough to make it to print. But my mother never told me not to play with my food, and this show it. Plus it kept my friend in tears as I voiced each mozzarella stick sitting in their saucy hot tub, discussing what happened to all their cheesy friends.


Well if you don't hear anything else from me by tomorrow, I'll be back next year.

is it considered "insomnia" when you're on vacation?

I'm wondering why I'm still awake at this un-ungodly hour (it's almost 7 in the AM)... But then I remembered, I didn't go to sleep the night, or morningish before until about 5 in the AM. Furthermore, I didn't awaken until about 3 in the afternoon. Okay, actually I woke up from about 10 to 10:30 to talk to a friend on one of her breaks... but other than that, I stayed unconscious for most of the daylight hours.

I'm considering this an "unofficial" post because I wanted to do a "Christmas present wrap-up" (wow, that was an unintended pun)... I was going to accompany it with pictures, but you guys know how lazy I am with the pictorials. It's so bad right now, the camera doesn't even have battrees in it. I hope I didn't promise pictures of the snow. It's almost gone. And could you believe the crazy New England weather we're having and about to have? SIXTY DEGREES ON SUNDAY. What the stank is that about?

Anyway, I thought I'd give an update as to how my script is going. It's not. I bought myself an early Christmas present that arrived Christmas Eve. "What could this be?", a curious nosy person might ask. Well, I'll tell you. Remember a couple weeks ago with the first trailer trash post with the last trailer being that of next year's Watchmen? Well sometime after that post until about 3 hours ago, I previewed the original graphic novel, Amazonned it, waited patiently (for once), unboxed it, and read it within 3 days. December 24th to 26th. Technically 4 days, but I slept most of the 26th.

Hey, I just gotta say... That is an awesome story right there. And now I'm ecstatic to see this movie. If there is a midnight showing, I think I may show up to that. I pretty sure I donned some geek points for this too... but whatever. Still not big on comic books, but this one's different. It has an end. AND now I understand why many felt that this comic was unfilmmable. Man... I can't wait to see this.

So due to my reading this, with a mix of holiday festivities, I haven't done much writing. That should hopefully resume tonight (Saturday) or the latest Sunday night. My other issue was getting my CD/DVD drive on ol' Silver to work. I think I broke it somehow when I was trying to burn a multi-disc collection for a friend of mine. This suck worse than spoiled milk already poured into the cereal. I had one disc burnt already, and had 4-5 left to do. I can't explain what happened (partly because I don't know) but I tried everything I can do that doesn't cost money. I already admitted to being a geek, but my skills couldn't crack this problem and that saddens me. I'm considering the Geek Squad. It's where I go when I can't fix something I broke. But it's weird... I can fix other computers... but mine? I'm at a loss.

So I've got one week to do some damage to a script. I'll extend it until January 4th. I kinda can't wait because it was torture listening to Fall Out Boy and not jotting down a few lines... and as we speak I'm finally really listening to The Roots' Rising Down and feeling the rap schemes fall over me. In my head, taking their versus apart in slow motion allowing me to see/hear/understand why their lines/raps/verses are so hot, and how I might possibly be able to write my own. Still a craft I'm honing in on. My goal: to make a reader/hearer's face wrinkle up/frown or make them say "wow" or "whoa" and even "that's [any positive slang]" ...but I also still dig getting my sense of humor in my poetry as well AND telling stories. Perhaps I'll devote March or April to coming up with some really good material.

In the meantime, I must continue to hit the scripts. It's not that I'm creatively stuck. If anything, I'm more inspired to write other things... but with scripts I feel I'm more productive with a plan. I need to have the characters written out first. At least the major ones. I can always add or change some later. I already know "The Writing Retreat" has some weak points in it, but you know what? I'm not worried about that right now. I just need it "complete" then I will do some tightening. I also have been assembling a team of readers. I have 2 and a possible 3rd who would probably be interested.

Anyone else interested in giving me critical critiquing of some scripts I've worked or working on, let me know and I be sure to send you what I have looking for some honest advice. I won't be sending anything until January... so there isn't a rush. Well, not for you.

I think I'm feeling sleep come on. I think I will "nap" since I think I'm going to get a phone call at 9 or 10 this morning to hang out. And I actually want to go places tomorrow like maybe dine at IHOP for the last time until the new one close to home opens and price shop a Mac at an Apple store. Yes yes y'all!

i'd like a new window for Christmas

I was going to post something last night on Christmas Eve Eve, but I guess Christmas Eve isn't that bad either.

Anyway, I just want to wish all Indoobians, friends, family, strangers and strange-looking people alike a Merry Christmas. For those that don't celebrate Christmas... I can't help you. I jest! I jest! I'll just say the traditional Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings. The list of "other holidays" steadily gets longer every year, so I will refrain from saying any of them except for the one I celebrate. Deal?

And for those who are just begging to know what kept me from posting last night... it's a long story that I'll shorten by saying the ice/snow melting from my room is causing the window in my room to leak. Badly. I've already soaked up 10 man-sized beach towels--and that's only from the water I caught. It doesn't help that it won't stop raining until tonight... so... yeah...

I'd also like a new CD drive... I think I broke mine playing with iTunes... I can fix other people's computers, but mine? Totally clueless. I'm going to try again sometime in a few days.

I even managed to clean my room and do ALL my laundry. When I mean all, I mean I was down to the new underwear I hadn't broken into yet, and possibly #65 pair 'o socks. Hey, it's my goal to have 365 pairs of socks some day. So at least that will be it's own laundry day. Sock Day! Yes!

But all of this has kept me from staying on the good track I was on. I was up to 23 pages on "The Writing Retreat" and had stopped to sleep, but then if it wasn't one thing, it was another. The CD burner, the window, visiting with family, Christmas... So much to do, so little time.

I jest of course, I didn't plan to do much of anything on Christmas Day other than familizising (yeah, try pronouncing that one!) and that's always fun for us. Between the gift giving, the food and the general good times, it's what I love about the holidays. Then again, I just love my family and cherish anytime I get to spend with them. I guess that goes for my dearest friends too... but I don't like sounding sentimental here... so with that I say bah humbug.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays y'all!

how i can't wait to not leave the house

iTunes and I aren't getting along this week. Fortunately it's not stopping iSaac from giving me my awesome tunes, but I can't burn any CDs and I'm a quest--no... a mission to fix this problem so I can share in my musical joy with others who'd like a copy of one of a kind mixes apparently only I know how to mix. But let that not stop me from continuing my trek of trailers I adore. Even though it's the holiday season, you'd think I'd do something festive for my friPod iPick. HA! I probably would, but no.

I'd also lament about my job's recent layoffs and I'd like to thank God for sparing my job when a few people I know were let go. Yeah, this bad economy is hitting close to home for everyone. It also gave me yet another boost, or a push, or an increase of motivation to complete a script or two ASAP. With that, I began the script for "The Writing Retreat" (working title until I find the symbols I'm looking for). So you can believe I do count, appreciate and cherish each and every blessing I have in my life. The holiday season has nothing to do with it, I've always been like that.

How about an honorable mention? Fall Out Boy's newest album is indeed pretty enjoyable. I also recently acquired The Roots latest effort but I haven't listened to it. It takes about 48 hours for me to move on from something new that I like. Sometimes longer. Speaking of newness, I now have Seinfeld season 5. Yes yes y'all! Oh, and to accompany it, Scene It: Seinfeld Edition. I don't want to play it yet because I only have 4 seasons of supreme knowledge. I also don't have many people to play with me. :o( Nevertheless, it'd be a game well enjoyed soon enough.

Lastly, New England is finally getting REAL snow. A good ole' fashioned snow storm. It just started as I type. I'll brush up on my photography skills and post a few "Christmassy" photos later. And by later I mean hopefully by or before Monday.

But so far, my vacation has been everything I dreamed. Falling asleep in the living room at 10pm and waking up to this a few hours later...

To help put you in the frame of mind I was in, I woke up around 2:30-2:45 and remained severely puzzled for the next minute as I recovered from groggy confusion and waked-upness. Really, it was a massive "what... the... stank!?" moment for me and I was a little too nervous about going back to sleep at that point. But I eventually came to my senses and changed the channel to something familiar, then went to bed... only I couldn't fall asleep so I watched a movie while I ate a bowl of Cocoa Pepples, ground beef and a bag popcorn (not all together... but yes, those were consumed in the span of 3 hours).

And today I ventured to the Mart and my local DVD rental chain and encountered disgustingly long lines everywhere. I do not like it. These lines were preparations for a deadly last minute Christmas gifts, Christmas dinner and looks-like-we'll-be-snowed-in food and movies. I think it's a New England thing, but I could be wrong.

Well, I'm off to work on other written works, and eventually take a long winter's nap until I'm called to shovel out the driveway like we're about to go somewhere (we aren't). We go in shifts just to keep up with the snow. It's better to shovel less snow by shovelling more frequently, no? I better charge up iSaac.

in my mind, i'm already gone

My vacation begins officially December 19th. I don't have plans on going anywhere except the deep recesses of my mind in Dreamland which involves sleeping past 9 AM without worry of missing phone calls from my office phone. Actually, the ringer on my phone is already off (sometimes, especially on Mondays, I leave the ringer off and wait for the red lights to tell me when my phone is ringing). And whenever I leave my desk for the day, I'm rarely concerned about missing calls.

But not only do I get an extend stay in Dreamland, but I can actually write when I feel like writing. This is why I chose December to focus on my screenplays, because I knew I'd have these 2 weeks to devote some "anytime" time to them. Whereas when I'm at work, I can't run upstairs to type out a scene or wake up in the middle of the night to type out a conversation when I know I need to remain asleep so I can work the next day. I always get those strong urges to write at the wrong times. It's a terrible cycle.

With that, I'll just say I didn't get much script work done this weekend. It's not like I didn't try. I just wasn't feeling it. So instead of forcing myself, I just watched movies, talked with friends, relaxed, listened to new music and had some delicious Jamaican food! And when I say I watched movies... I watched about 5 in a 24 hours span. Not that that's new for me, I just haven't done it in a while. I haven't written reviews for these movies (which included The Visitor, His Girl Friday, The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008), Horton Hears a Who and This Christmas) yet, but they will be on my MySpace shortly.

Also, I think what I will do from now on is post reviews for movies I've seen in theaters on this blog as well as on MySpace. So look for The Day The Earth Stood Still in the very near future. Wow, that almost sounds like an actual threat.

On a sad note, I lost a dear friend and semi-prized possession over the weekend. Friday I was having lunch with my friend, and I shared that the belt I was wearing was tearing and how I thought I'd have another month left with it. I was off by a month and an hour when is snapped while I was shopping at the Mart. Fortunately no one noticed, except for me and anyone looking at my face with my sudden look of fear and embarrassment. Fortunately my jeans are not that loose that they would immediately fall because then I would've been in a lot more trouble.

But besides stopping dead in my tracks and looking like I lost my wallet or my keys, I was in the clear. I checked out and moved to my car as quickly as possible making sure my pants kept up with me. When I got to the car I checked the damage, cried a little bit, then went home. Ah, good times. As for happier news, guess who's first in getting all their wrapped gifts under the tree? And yes, I'll admit, I cheated and had practically all my gifts shipped already wrapped. So call me lazy.

fripodding and colbert caroling

I've been ill these past few days. Today I'm suffering from having to speak in a low monotonic voice. Not really fun. I sound so... boring. Hey, people can get away with being monotone, Steven Wright anyone? Speaking of Stevens... or Stephen in this case... I've been iPodding this album for the past week to much hilarity. I wish I was able to catch the program for which the following album had spawned, but I think that's all part of marketing I suppose... "Go out and BUY IT" he tells me. Who? Stephen Colbert of course. I consider myself to be a citizen of the Colbert Nation. What a brilliantly funny fellow he is, indeed. And so I simply had to watch his Christmas special. (Buy the DVD at Amazon.com for a loved one (like me).)

Anyway, I recommend checking this out. It helps if you are already a fan of his comedy and catch on to his brand of humor. I'm sure a non-Colbert fan would get the jokes as well, but if one person begins to watch his show (comedy central Mon-Thurs @ 11:30 pm) then I have done him some justice so you can see for yourself. Check out the Daily Show too. My only conflict comes when I must decide between him and Leno. I probably shouldn't let Stephen here that, but it's the truth. But I NEED to see "Headlines" on Monday night... and the other nights? I try to be asleep by 11 if possible. It rarely happens. Or I'm knee-deep in a movie.

I digress. This hilarious special is filled with music from various guest stars including Elvis Costello, John Legend, Fiest, Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. As far as I know this album is only found on iTunes, but it's worth checking out. Some of my favorite songs come from John Legend (no surprise) singing about his favorite spice on his eggnog, "Nutmeg." Now when I first saw and heard this song, I was under the impression he was singing about how much he loves this stuff. But after listening to the words... heh... wow... I liked Feist's song too. Not too familiar with all her music even though she's fairly new. But the song "Please Be Patient" is a hit in my book. I have an obscure book, but still, a hit nonetheless. And Toby Keith is probably the only country singer you'd find on iSaac. His song "Have I Got a Present For You" is one that sets the record straight about his stance on Christmas. Elvis Costello I don't know too well either, but he's a little crazy. He's featured on 3 of the 9 tracks. And Willie Nelson is a "Little Dealer Boy." What could I possibly mean by that? What do you think it could mean? Again, if you haven't seen the special, get on that. His special and album have made their way into my Christmas canon.

Oh and by the way, if you've been watching the The Colbert Report, you know about "Operation: Humble Kanye" and it was recently a success. As I am a fan of Mr. West, I was happy to see Colbert's operation a success. Basically, Kanye's new album was #1 and Colbert was about #15. Kanye also said he was the voice of this generation, which Colbert disagreed with and decided to put the humble operation into play. Friendly competition never heard anyone, right? Well, maybe their ego. It's only $8 so get your holiday laughs and cheers on and have a good weekend.

the november picture post (finally)

So first of all, I'd like to say Merry Christmas, it's officially Christmastime. I've also been holding out on posting pictures I've taken every so often. I keep wishing to be one of those people that brings his camera everywhere taking pictures of everything and everyone, but sadly my "good" camera has yet to make it on the official "personal effects list" (such as my phone, iSaac the iPod, which coincidentally has a camera, a pen, my MoleSkine, my wallet, my keys, and occasionally the Bag o' Tricks, which is merely my backpack that goes almost everywhere with me). So my phone has a camera, why don't I use it? Too frustrating to send picture to the Internet. It can be done but I need a strong connection and a couple minutes while it sends. I get more failed attempts than I would like, so by the 8th time I ask myself what is it really worth?

Anyway, my first picture comes from my office and is actually last years Christmas present from my boss. I'm considering starting a snow globe collection... but I'm not sure yet. So here is my Christmas greeting to you all.

I couldn't tell you why the snowman looks sad. Maybe he fell of his skis? I can't say.


The best stuff on Earth. This I sprinkle on a lot of foods from my eggs to veggies and of course, popcorn! What could be better? Adding it to Smartfood Popcorn, as if it didn't have enough cheese already. It also comes in other interesting flavors. Go to the site for more.


I'm the tech guru/PC doctor in my immediate family, yet my brother-in-law has a lot more knowledge than I, unfortunately he lives in Maryland. In any event, I get called upon by friends and family to see if I can figure out what's wrong with a computer. Fortunately, this was a successful attempt after about 6 hours of working. My grandmother's laptop ran disgustingly slow due to some corrupted file. Just because I'm good at problem solving, doesn't mean you can call me or drop off your computer. I have other things in my life that needs to be tackled. But I could use a good puzzle like this every so often.


One problem is freezer burnt ice cream. I can't just throw it away, especially when its a full carton of forgotten ice cream. That spells a wet and eventually stinky sticky mess in the garbage. So I sent it to liquid form down the sink and tried to make some art because it took awhile to melt. I certainly didn't feel bad about this because I hate freezer burnt ice cream.


I'd just like to take a moment to discuss the flash feature in my camera. This is the only way I can "freeze" something like water. I've taken pictures like this using drips of water and it's quite fun. But as you can see, the old ice cream is going quickly.


See the difference? No flash, and it looks like regular flowing water. My goal is to take pictures without the flash but achieve the same "freezing" effect. I require a more expensive camera that's on my celebrity wish list for that to take place.


This looks gross, but it was the last remains of the last carton of forgotten ice cream. It was vanilla, caramel swirl with caramel pieces covered in chocolate. It was okay. Would've been better in a small carton.


I had to make cornbread for Thanksgiving dinner. While I don't have trouble making it, I did have trouble with this pan. Sadly, I had to pull off the muffin tops and cut out the bottom stumps, then I put them back together on another pan hoping no one would notice. And yes, people did, and yes we talked about the Seinfeld episode. And yes that's cinnamon (and sugar... and nutmeg) sprinkled on top. It's my signature baking ingredient.


This picture was from my phone and didn't do my Thanksgiving meal justice. Don't look for the turkey, I'm not crazy about it and only had a few pieces the day after. The pink juice is a strange but delicious fruit punch. This was an excellent meal and it was funny that the only thing left on people's plate was my cornbread muffin. Am I hurt? No. I, too, couldn't finish and we all wanted to take a nap.


This is a tiny tiny taste of what I do when I'm not doing my current job, and what will be my main focus next month. I will explain more later. Obviously it's a piece of script from a short film titled The Last Meeting, and I have my friend in New York who already asked to direct it moments after reading the first draft. Hopefully, it's the first of many collaborations with her.


Do I really need to explain this one? This is the first of hopefully more awesome t-shirts I order from the web.

So that's some pictorials from around the workforce. I'll do what I can to be more consistent with them, but no promises. I rely more on my words and gift of imagery more than pictures, but pictures can say so much too. And maybe I will write less. And my photography skills will improve once I take pictures of things worth remembering forever.

Lastly, I know there wasn't a friPod post. Consider that I was on a holiday break. Honestly, there was nothing I was really iPodding that much this week. It was an off week for me at the office. I was feeling rather blah, and my drive to do any work was seriously lacking. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. But nevertheless, I do indubitably have an iPick for this upcoming friPod iPick. I actually "discovered" it on my holiday break. And hey! It's holiday themed! So stay tuned and you'll figure out what it is. In the meantime, I shall reload my camera with more images that are worth talking about about.

we wish you a happy thankgiving (and a happy african american friday)

It's Tuesday once again. What's different about this Tuesday is that to most people, it's like a Wednesday because of the holiday weekend. For me, this is my first 5 day weekend. Last year this time I was still at the Mart dreading African American Friday. I JEST! I jest... Black Friday it's called. Not everything "black" can be politically correct, I guess. So all people of all races celebrate in the same way by rushing out to their local outlets to solidify the commercialism of Christmas, putting those particular retailers in the black, versus the dangerous low sales of red, and in turn see green so they can afford a snow machine for a white Christmas, even though for some stores this will be their last go-round and it makes them very blue, indoob. Yes, 'tis very colorful, magical and bittersweet. I'm not feeling the same anti-commercialism as last year. Still cynical, not as critical. Does that mean I'm a sell out? No. (Not yet.) But nevertheless, just as long as I know what the holiday is all about to me and my loved ones, that's all I really care about this year. Besides, watching the stock market is more fascinating to me, even though the commercialism is directly related to economy. But I won't get into stuff I don't know too much about.

Let's not forget the reason why most people have Friday off. THANKSGIVING! Which is like a big pre-Christmas gathering and meal. It's an official Christmas Season Eve feast. Of course the stores have already started on November 1st, wanting you to get your plastic tree now! You don't want to be the last one and get stuck with a Charlie Brown tree. Actually, I don't think I'd mind it. I'd give it a good home. Then me and some people would gather around it and make it look awesome, then sing up to the sky "Hark! The Herald Angel Sing." (For more fun interesting trees like on the left, check out World's Most Unusual Trees.)


There's no sense in watching those Christmas specials on TV when you have them on DVD already. I'm just saying. I must comment on the brilliance of Stephen Colbert's Christmas Spectacular I watched this weekend. Totally a must if you are a fan of his show and his brand of humor.


It still makes me ask the question, which I still never get a response to, why aren't their Thanksgiving carols? I wrote an article about this for a school paper, and instead of getting answers I gained a following who echoed my question and agreed that Christmas and Halloween overshadow the holiday, as well as the general Autumn or harvest themes absorbing the feasting of turkeys and thanksgivinginess. Even these years later, I've succumbed to society's treatment of the Day to Give Thanks, and consider going to the Mart just to watch madness live and unadulterated. On second though, I'll stay home and sleep and stick to online or middle-of-the-day during the middle-of-the-week shopping when stores are less full. Not that I have much shopping to do, I did a lot of it during the year. I'm good like that, yes yes y'all!


There are pictures and links to new poems on the way, I'm just waiting for a package so I can group that post altogether so we can all see the newness together. Deal?

'tis the season

So I've been having the hardest time writing this particular post, because as most Indoobians know, I go into great detail, painting wordy pictures just to get to a point. And each time I begin writing this one, I go from talking about a lost article/essay I wrote for a high school newspaper, to childhood memories and epiphanies after watching a favorite Christmas-themed film from my youth, to how I've learned to cherish and appreciate my dearest loved ones and the material things I've been blessed with over the years. All and all, the post got seriously mushy and sentimental. Like a movie found on the Hallmark channel. And that is a stone's throw away from Lifetime! [Shudders.] Granted, having some sensitive material isn't harmful and shows that I do have a caring heart from time to time, but I want this blog to put smiles on the faces containing eyes that are reading. So all that stuff isn't bad... I just don't feel like writing that today. Plus I have a reputation to uphold being a lovable sarcastic smart mouthed jerk.

So I'll save my count-your-blessings and APPRECIATE speech for another day (because there are some people who really need to look at their life so far and realize they have nothing to complain about). Instead, I'm going to talk a little bit about charity.

With the festive holidays fast approaching, I don't want people to forget about the less fortunate. I went to the mall, as I usually do every few weeks, just to wander around and my friend noticed what she called "the baby tree." It's got wishes from children (actually children and adults) who are in hospitals, shelters, or being sponsored by foundations or something. These are hanging from the tree like ornaments, and the wishes are what that child wants.

My friend does this kind act every year, picking a boy and girl. I immediately decided to pick one too, so I looked for a wish that wouldn't make me broke... like a PS3 game, and wasn't too general... like "educational toy." I picked an 8-year old boy who wanted a book of all the maps of the world. Simple, specific and convenient. The tree was set up a few feet outside of Borders! So my crew and I went in search for a book, and found one in the kids' section with the help of a tall salesperson who looked like he goes surfing in the summer. Buying the book was a good feeling. Similar to warm and fuzzies. Fortunately it wasn't mold I had eaten this time. After the purchase, I dropped it off at the information desk like instructed on the little card I detached from the tree along with the original wish. The lady there seemed frustrated before I got there about something, but apparently by me giving this gift, it cheered her up tremendously, like I got the book for her or something. Silly lady. It's for the kiddies!

I keep saying this, but I really need to start bringing my camera with me and taking pictures to document these random adventures specifically for Indoobian purposes. Plus this would prove I leave the house and I do have friends.

So to conclude what I attempted to not be a long post: don't be afraid to do a random act of kindness, even when money is involved, and especially around this time of the year. Pay it forward, anyone? More on charity another day. In complete unrelated news, I'll debut a fresh new poem later this week. Maybe poems... maybe.

if you haven't know-ticed...

See that? What I did there with the title? Word play. I love it!


I couldn't wait until Friday so I decided to just post about it now that I did a wee bit of redesigning to my blog. Notice the sidebar (if you are actually looking at the actual page and not reading from a RSS or emailed directly to you, you don't see any change whatsoever and you must immediately check it out... by the way, I love you people who are using the RSS or emailing system, I love you dearly from the basements of my heart.)


Now as I discuss what's on the sidebar, I'm going to go in the order of they are presented as of right now. First, there's the chance to be apart of the Workforce. Or be an Indoober, if you will. I don't really want to use that term, it reminds me of Goober and it makes me think of The Andy Griffith Show. Not a show I really want to be compared with. The pace of that show... How about Indoobians? I like that one. Be an Indoobian in the Workforce and click to be a follower.


Next is the subscribe buttons so you can read my posts and comments via a reader. I have subscribed to a bunch of other blogs this way, although I tend to go directly to their page. I actually forget I have a Google and Yahoo RSS readers.


My Blog List is sort've defines itself. They are my favorite blogs I like reading. And there's a nifty feature that displays the first few lines of said post. So I'm warned what I'm about to get into. I also know when there's a new post. Again, I tend to forget I have RSS programs to tell me that. I'm still a little new with the RSS thing.


I have two polls on my blog right now. Both are serious questions about non-serious things, but I'm curious to know what you, the reader, think, because I care. I want your vote! I apologize, I almost went into a political mode. With all these politicos going on, I can't help but to do the confused doggy head tilt when news networks unveil the latest poll saying who's up and by how many points. Why? For one thing, the numbers aren't always the same when you change the channels. Perhaps they're close... but really... who can you believe? The other reason I try to ignore polls is because I know the technique in how some sources get their answers. WORD PLAY. It's all in the wording of the questions pollsters might ask to get a desired response. Is this the truth all the time? No. Fortunately, lately, they've been asking different questions like "What VP has the best hair?" And the majority says Palin with the next answer being "undecided." Lastly, the other reason I'm so-so on the polls is I don't know who they are asking. Again, sometimes they'll tell you "This survey was conducted on our website" but sometimes, they just throw the numbers out there to watch you react. The main numbers I'm concerned about are the actual votes on Election Day.


I digress. That has nothing to do with my polls. I'm asking questions about Christmas shopping and Seinfeld.


The live traffic feed is something I kinda stole from my friend Jaden over at Screenwriting for Hollywood. First of all, that's a great place for movie information, especially from a screenwriting point of view. And as a young scribe, I can learn a lot from someone who has been in the business and has experience to guide both beginners and professionals alike. I forgot what I was talking about... oh yes, the live traffic feed. There's a nifty little map on the sidebar that shows all the hits from all over the world of visitors to this site. I wanted one too. I know I only get maybe two hits a week, but still, those two hits matter to me. So it wouldn't be exact copying, I decided to choose the option of showing me the flag and where my visitor came from. There are more little things to click on to show you a big map, how long ago they visited, where they clicked from, stuff like that.

The next one is "What's iSaac Doing?" It's all in caps, so I broke it down for you... iSaac is my iPod. 95% of the time, iSaac is wherever I am. Maybe 55% of the time, iSaac is playing something. How these little feature thing works, I have to have iTunes on and running in order for my little gadget to say what iSaac is currently playing, even though iSaac might not be playing anything at all. The POINT is that this shows what iSaac could be playing. Plus, I leave my laptop on all the time. So I decided to let iTunes run all the time so it'll look like there's always some music playing on my blog. Obviously you as a reader can't hear it... that costs money. Someday... The Indoob Workforce Radio with iSaac and DJ sterling silver. And yes, that show would be awesome.

Ya know what else would be awesome? If the official Black American Flag looked like this:

That has nothing to do with my sidebar. I just remember seeing it in a music video and recently in the latest VIBE magazine. I'm really pro-diversity and love for the mixing and mingling of all races and backgrounds... but we all have backgrounds and this flag looks pretty cool to say "Hey, I'm a Black American." Political correctness would have me say African American, but what does that say about Jamaicans and Haitians? Or even black folk in England? Huh? HUH? Just curious. Plus I can say yes if Eddie Izzard asks if I have a flag (watch Dressed to Kill).


The next three parts of my sidebar have been there since I started the blog. My Behance badge, which features my profile and a quick way to read my poetry or any other works. It's a great way for artistic and creative people to get together with one another. MySpace wishes they had it like this. Evidently, this is how I found Melissa's Writing Forward. The next is my "Bio" which I may actually add a bit more to later. But the sentence sums me and this blog up... in a sentence. Heh... Then its the acrive so you can trace me back to the beginning of the blog. Woot!


Unrelated--my last post was about poverty and a charity I like is ONE.org. Check them out, they are doing great things that doesn't get media attention... except their own commercials. Anyway, I forgot to mention another great cause-- FreeRice.com! It's fun, educational and helpful! "Fun and education? I don't believe it!" Believe it sir or ma'am or thing. It started out with a fun word game that everytime you picked the right synonym, they'd donate 20 grains of rice. Then you work your way up the levels. Obviously the higher you go, the harder the words. Words you never hear unless you have a pompous college professor who speaks over your head anyway. I actually cheated from level 30 to level 36 before I switched subjects. There's chemistry (I skipped that), Spanish and other languages, math, and grammar. Math is the easiest with the multiplication... and it's the fastest way to rack up rice points. The 20 grains add up. And I did my bit of charity today by playing the game for an hour. You know how much rice I raised? 10,000 grains. No, it wasn't easy. But I fed a couple wee children. I may have missed out on an hour of work... but one of our systems was down anyway. I say all that to say this: go there. Feel stupid for not knowing words nobody important knows anyway all for a good cause! Special shout out to Kathy who told me about it first.


I don't know how long I'll keep this part: The moon pic of the day. I have a thing for the moon. I'm a nocturnal creature. I don't howl at it (anymore) but I do love to stare up at it. Sometime write poetry in it's majestic bluish light. It's nice. I like it. The pics? They're okay. I just wanted to try something new. Furthermore, if you scroll down (or just hit "End" on your keyboard), you'll see "Woot! Watcher." It won't take you long to figure out why I have this on my blog. If you've read most of my posts, you would know why. If you don't, just read the previous paragraph and you'll find one of my catchphrases. The things featured in the section are sometimes woot-worthy by my standards. But really, I don't care. I check it once in a while. Right now there's a Dyson vacuum. I like their commercials but you have to be outside your mind if you think I'll pay over $300 for a vacuum. Actually it might be $600. I can't remember. It's been that long since I've worked for the Mart, and yes, they would sell them. Somehow.


These are my updates, so now you know. Follow, subscribe, read my friends, vote, vote again, stalk, read what I hear, read stuff I do, read about me, read what my past, and howl at the moon. Woot!

well spent friday

Today I did what I think I was supposed to be doing with all these Friday's off--getting stuff done as well as chillin' out. I got some Christmas shopping done, which is always a load off of some shoulders. Speaking of shoulder loads, I want a crazy awesome solar panel backpack. Why? That's really a question people will someday learn not to ask... unless it's more specific... or the question is "why not?" because then... I don't know. I lost my train of thought. Watching movie trailers on the Speed Racer DVD.

So Christmas shopping, I have my dad and grandmother sort've crossed off the list. For some reason, I always find it difficult for the females in my life. And I don't wanna go for the easy smell-goods or candles that I know they'd be happy with. I want to give one of those gifts that are like "Aww!!! Sterrrrling!!!" And maybe a tear is shed or they are smiling so hard their cheeks are sore or they turn into a human clamp and hug so hard it's difficult to sustain life. I made my dad tear up one year which was a feat all it's own. That's when I bought the church a computer. You see, it's not necessarily the gift, it's the thought and meaning behind it. I'd rather give someone a touching hand written letter that I wrote specifically for that person versus the most expensive latest prettiest thing money can buy. Well, of course if I can afford something someone I care about really wants, then they can count it done!

I had Stuffed Buffalo Bread for lunch which was so-so. Not the best thing in the world, but it was something different. I bought me some new jeans. Hopefully they will take over my favorite pair since those spawned a whole in an unsightly area.

Back at the Mart, I ran into other co-workers telling me how the managers are such people persons. That's sarcasm by the way. Someone needs an angry letter sent to their house. But I probably have a better chance writing a script around it instead.

In other news, I plan on doing some writing later today. I'm not sure which project I'll pick up. I started about 3 or 4 in the past two months. Perhaps I'll write fuller drafts of two very rough drafts I've written on the spur of moments I had in the span of at least an hour. Both of which would be short films, but great stories nonetheless. Perhaps I'll expand on a thought I was inspired by earlier today. Would you like to hear it? Sure you would. And it wouldn't ruin anything I'm planning anyway. "So close but yet so far." Yep, that's what I'm thinking about. I'm going to have that be an underlying theme in a future story.

Speaking of stories, I'm also trying to device a decent mystery plot. I've always wondered how writers came up with those great mysteries that have awesome reveals at the end. I've come to realize that for some stories like that, one has to work backwards. Usually, I just go from beginning to end... or middle to end, then beginning... or middle to beginning to end... or... you get the point. And I think I'm turning into a morning person. I was up at 6:30 this morning out and about and enjoying myself, almost like I was on a mission. Well, sort've... But nothing was definite other than lunch, movies and some light shopping. The writing I hope to get to before midnight. Perhaps I could at least finish a treatment or a prewritten rough draft script.

But all of that after my movie viewing. Oh yeah, and I'm going to sign of for a Spanish class. I love the langauge, the culture, and... the ladies? Good God! But I'm really going to learn it to better myself and my future. But it wouldn't hurt to minlge with the latinas either.