Just like last year, I was asked to film the Riot Squad backstage as they perform at the Wortham Theatre. My gosh, this team is pretty much twice the size they were last year. So much more heads to look after, ha. Those kids sure have great energy and spirit. They did a great job.
On the way back, AN and I were almost hit by a car crossing into the intersection when they were at a red light. Thankfully we evaded that, but still...
Back at the studio, the team had a pizza party and just imagine how much pizza had to be there to feed 30-40 dancing teenagers.
My back was hurting most of the night, but I held up. Must have been the positive energy I was around.
=====02.06.12-02.13.12=====
As a favor to my good friend MP, I agreed to take him to and from work for a week. So I had to get used to waking up early. Each one of those days I did have to take a nap at one point.
=====02.07.12=====
AN and BS are now alternating teaching classes on Tuesdays. For their first day of the new schedule they decided to collaborate and teach together. I went there to watch in support. It killed me to just sit there and not be able to participate, but I wanted to show my support for them.
=====02.10.12=====
Went to the doctor for my check up and mentioned my back. She prescribed a strong dose of Ibuprofen to help with it and also suggested I got x-rays done in case there was a fracture. So I went to get the x-rays done later on. The results (days later) showed that there were no fractures thankfully.
I also started wearing a back brace after getting x-rays.
Went to the Taqueria with MP to catch up with some good friends and their baby and go back to their place to catch up some more. It was great catching up. I ended up borrowing "Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture" on DVD since it had been a long time since I had seen it.
=====02.11.12=====
Late at night around 2AM, I woke up feeling really cold. I put on extra layers of clothing and another blanket, but I was still cold and started violently shaking. I went to see my parents for help as I couldn't stop shaking. They took care of me and I am always thankful for them to help me whenever I have weird ails. Hours later I went back to my room and was able to go back to sleep. No idea what it was,but it was just for that night. I did feel weak the rest of day. Probably because of all the shaking my body did.
=====02.14.12=====
Happy Swaggertine's Day!
=====02.17.12=====
DC came into town and invited some friends to go eat Korean BBQ for dinner. Before that, he and I went to the Houston Camera Exchange since he needed to get something. It was also a good way for us to just catch up with each other on a more serious/personal level compared to later when others will be asking him stuff.
Dinner was nice. I think our side of the table went through 3 or 4 plates of meat. That was a lot. We also had hilarious jokes that revolved around Captain Planet and Captain Pollution, ha. We moved to Star Snow so others could get drinks and so we could continue talking. Afterwards, everyone split. Thanks to DC for driving me.
=====02.19.12=====
ATR had invited friends to have Dim Sum for lunch for her birthday. To everyone's delight, she brought her new baby daughter along. We had to wait an hour, but when we finally got in to eat, we ate a lot.
After Dim Sum, we moved to Nu Cafe so they could have some shaved ice. I got to hold and play with the little baby girl most of the time, aww. I like playing with cute babies.
The group got smaller again and a few of us went to Fit. And then the group shrank one more time and I had an early dinner with LN.
=====02.20.12 To Present Day=====
This will be a big chunk of text. Not much happened in between these dates, but something big did happen. The day before, I had started feeling a strange tingle/numbing sensation in my left arm and neck. I thought it was due to the new medication I was taking for my back. So I stopped taking it just in case because it was a listed side effect. Unfortunately, the numbing sensation turned to a stinging sensation. These sensations also started to take over the left side of my head and was accompanied by headaches. I told my mom (a nurse) about it and she suggested that I stay off the medication for a while until the side effects wore off.
As the days went on, the pains had more of an impact to them my skin was sensitive from my left shoulder up to the left side of my head. Touching or irritating these spots would sting or cause for unbearable pain especially in the head. At times, the pains would just shoot up from out of nowhere causing me to just stop in my tracks and brace myself. Heat packs didn't work. Ice packs did, but as soon as the cold wore off, the pain came back right away with great intensity.
Some bumps had started to crop up around those areas, mostly around my ear and the back of my head, which made it very difficult to sleep. I would try to find a comfortable position (lying on my right side), but I move when I sleep so I'd roll over and be jolted awake in pain by having those bumps touch the pillow/bed. This went on for days and I'd only be able to get 1-2 hours of sleep per night if I were lucky. It puzzled me that most of the pain would come out at night. I could tolerate it during the day, but at night the pain just multiplied.
And after a few days I obviously grew overly exhausted and full of pain, none of which could be quelled. The sensitivity of pain grew so much that I could actually feel my facial hair growing...and it hurt. It hurt to shower. And as you read earlier, it hurt to sleep. I can't stress how sensitive my skin was. The times I did gain a couple hours of sleep, the pain would immediately be there when I awoke. Pain pills only worked for a couple days before having no effect at all. Same with any type of medicines to induce sleep. Nights were full of me fighting to stay awake while gritting my teeth and clutching my pillow to hold back the pain. I'd find myself pacing at times trying to figure out what to do to pass the time. In the end I would always try to watch something that I had seen a million times before, but it got to the point that the pain was too much that I couldn't concentrate on paying attention.
On the 26th, I finally called up my doctor. She wasn't in so I saw the other attending doctor. I didn't care who saw me because I had enough and it was unbearable. My dad drove me and I saw the doctor. After a quick analysis, he said that I had boils brought on by stress (which I couldn't figure if I had any new stresses in life). He recommended I go back to taking my daily heart medication, which I had not taken for months since I was better, as well as a new medication to make the boils recede. At this point, this would be the 8th different kind of medication I had taken this week including different pain medications and sleep medicines.
The new medication did make it easier to sleep thankfully. It didn't actually start taking away any pains until 3 days later. The pains were less frequent and the boils weren't as sensitive, but when there was pain the pain hurt as much as it ever did.
As of writing this (03.01), the boils have mostly receded and are almost not sensitive at all. The pain is still painful though. I'm still taking it easy until it has completely gone away. So much like I the past couple weeks, I'm just staying home. I don't want to be out on the road or some place fun and then have to cringe, curl up, and stop everything to brace the pain. No plans for going out for a while...more so. I also had not made much of a presence online by not Tweeting much or saying much on Facebook. I just felt like being off the radar while I dealt with this. No need for any extra worries as I am recovering. I need some time to regain some strength also. Ever since I injured my back, I haven't exercised. So that's about a month that I haven't exercised and I can feel it. I couldn't do much anything other than sit up, lie down, and watch things during the last couple weeks of February. So once my body is set to go, I'll start exercising again and work on this recovery.
- I really don't know what to say. I was in so much pain during the latter end of February. I couldn't believe what I was going through and how much it hurt. The lack of sleep was just making it worse and I was breaking down.
I did express to my parents that I was just tired and frustrated of all these medical things I've been going through. Ever since I passed out on the plane back in July it has almost been one thing after another. If it wasn't my heart, it was my back. If it wasn't my back, it was boils. And then there were other smaller things that happened in between those like a nagging right shoulder, my pained wrist, an overly sore quad, etc. Dealing with all these things...having to pay for doctor visits...no medical insurance...taking many different types of medications...I just want it to stop and have a break and not worry about my body breaking down for a while.
Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.
If you remember from the last entry, I spent the night at AT(f) and MW's after New Year's Eve. I actually remember waking up early due to noises from outside and I really couldn't get back to sleep. AT(f) eventually came down along with Baxter and we talked for a bit before I headed back home.
I was thrilled to check my work email and find a proposal for a possible wedding gig in the future. Not a bad way to start the new year work-wise.
Got a text from MIM to meet up with her, her fiance, and AD for dinner. I already ate dinner, but still went to meet them at the taqueria. It was a short meeting, but it was nice to see them and finally meet her fiance.
=====01.02.12=====
As mentioned in the last entry, I was going to start vlogging. On this day I filmed the first one and here are the results.
=====01.04.12=====
Oh, such a spazzy time, my copy of SNSD's concert from their first Japan tour arrived. It was such a great concert. I did only have one moment that gave me goosebumps and that was when TaeYeon sang "Devils' Cry." Fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyed this on blu-ray.
I also got my photobook in that I ordered, but...I ordered the wrong one. I ordered their Tokyo photobook again...darn it. That was my fault for impulse buying and not making sure I ordered the correct one. When that newer one is available again, I will order it ASAP.
=====01.08.12=====
Filmed WV 02. Thank you to the 3 that helped film this one. It was fun and I am glad to have you all help. No way I could have done that by myself.
=====01.11.12=====
I finally finished editing the wedding I went/worked in November. Very very proud of it and it makes me smile every time I watch it.
=====01.14.12=====
Got together with a few friends to watch some bad movies...and they were hilarious. My ratings:
"Riki-Oh: The Story of Riki" 5 out of 5
"The Street Fighter" 4 out of 5
=====01.15.12=====
I had been looking forward to this day as I would be doing an interview with my dear friend JW for a work project. The interview went on for about 3 hours and I am looking forward to putting the full edited version together. Thanks, JW.
We also filmed a small bit for what was going to be WV 03. It became WV 04 for reasons to be explained later.
JW and VL invited me to eat dinner with them and a few of their friends and watch a movie. That girl can cook, met some cool people, and as for the movie:
"Ip Man 2" 5 out of 5
=====01.17.12=====
SNSD released their first US album, which is basically their 3rd Korean album with a few of the remixes of "The Boys" from the maxi single. Either way, I was going to get myself a copy and support them. I headed out thinking I wasn't going to find it because I remember not being able to find BoA's US album that I eventually bought online. I also received their repackaged Japanese album "The Boys" on the 10th so a lot of SNSD was happening in a short span of time. Arrived at Best Buy, looked around for about 10 minutes, and found 1 copy. In my head I said "whoa" because I couldn't believe it. Picked it up, took phone photos, and asked a worker if there were more copies. He showed me the inventory list of all the Best Buys in Houston and only 4 of them had 1 copy each. Tweeted out to let my Houston SONE followers know where to find them. Bought my copy and headed home happy.
Then I thought to create an unboxing video. An hour of planning and many more hours filming and editing later...
=====01.20.12=====
Soundbox Studios celebrated their 2nd year of being a studio. I met up with BT and drove him there since we were going to work. It had been a while since I was last there. It was great to see tons of familiar faces and just feel the positive energy of a large group of people doing what they love to do. I'm not always around that type of energy so it just filled me up with tons of emotions.
A few days later I came back to the studio to give the footage I shot to the person who was going to edit videos for them.
=====01.21.12=====
I had been searching for a certain type of lavalier online for a while and finally found it. I didn't buy it right away because I wanted to just think about it before splurging, but I eventually bought it. Awesome.
Met up to do birthday activities for CC1's birthday. The plan was to go ice skating, but when we got there, a hockey game was going on, which meant no public skating. So we all dispersed and went to another mall to go ice skating.
Only 4 of us ended up ice skating. I ended up falling twice. The first one sucked since I did jam my already injured arm. Second fall, not so bad. What did suck was that my ice skate started to dig in on my foot and eventually formed a blister. I tried switching out for a skate size larger, but the blister had been irritated too much that it still hurt. We had already skated for a good hour so that was enough for me.
The latter end of the night consisted of walking around the mall, eating at Fuddruckers, and playing "Quelf."
=====01.22.12=====
Another dinner and movie night with JW and VL and crew. Great food again, good company again, and as for the movie:
"Tucker and Dale VS Evil" 4 out of 5
The next day I "celebrated" the Lunar New Year by watching:
"The Legend Is Born: Ip Man" 4 out of 5
=====01.24.12=====
Purchased a small light kit and a few other things off ThinkGeek. The lights are small and portable so they can come in handy and if anyone needs to borrow the little lighting tent, they can. To this day (02.05.12) I haven't been able to close that tent. It smacked me in the mouth a couple times when I tried, bah.
Met up with LN later that night. I did some shopping (new shirt, new pants, new boxers, new shoes) and we ate at Kona Grill after. Had a good talk and ended up taking the conversation to Cafe 101. CN and her boyfriend showed up and they asked to sit with us. LN left and I stayed to talk to the others since it had been a while since I saw them. That was a good fun night.
=====01.27.12=====
The dead pixel on my new monitor would bother me from time to time, but I couldn't figure something out. If I move my mouse cursor to where it was, it would disappear. So I took my cleaning cloth and pressed a little harder on the monitor...and it disappeared. I touched the area again and it reappeared, but I just pressed against it again to make it go away. A small victory, but I am glad to not see that dead pixel anymore.
Carpooled with friends to meet with others to help set up a surprise party. We were there an hour early and got the hotel room decorated all nice. Then a plan was devised that everyone would hide and I would greet the guest of honor in nothing but a bathrobe before everyone yells surprise. That plan was further embellished on with me putting on bath slippers, us using wine glasses and a bottle of wine as props, adding mood lighting, me wetting my hair, and finally having some Kenny G ready to play.
Fun night that went on for about 5 or so hours. I think I got home around 3AM. Then I stayed up for a couple more hours exporting the video footage from that night.
=====01.28.12=====
Converting 5 hours of footage took 9 hours. Just saying.
Didn't do much this day since until later at night when friends called to join and play some games at their place. Not only did I get to pet Baxter (I need a dog), but we played a couple rounds of "You Don't Know Jack," "Creationary," and "Catch Phrase." "Catch Phrase is so fun. Always have comical moments with that game.
=====01.29.12=====
I was really looking forward to going to Sky High Sports. It's one of those trampoline places that you can just bounce around or play dodgeball on and have fun. Even though I was worried about my nagging shoulder, I still wanted to do this and just have fun jumping around, which I did.
A nice group of us went. I actually did get winded after bouncing around the free zone for a bit, but I was already doing front flips, attempting back flips, and jumping off the walls. We then went to the foam zone where cubes of foam were laid out in a pit that you could jump into. My second jump...I bounced...bounced...bounced off the wall...swan dive...and hurt myself. Basically, I thought I'd land flat like ___. Instead, the foam changed how I landed and I landed more like a V or U...and I don't normally bend backwards that far. I did also hurt my left wrist from the way I was landing when doing back flips, but I kept it to myself and the adrenaline was keeping me going. I had lots of fun especially in the dodgeball zone.
We ended after 2 hours and went to eat at H-Mart. I ordered ddukbokki and the TV playing at that area started to play "Genie," ha. Wish come true, yes. "The Boys" actually started to play when we were eating and I yelled out "Gee Gee" at the appropriate time in the song. We all split after eating. I stayed and hunted for something for a future WV video, but couldn't find it. I'll check again later. And sadly as I left, my Broski sunglasses fell and broke...are you serious, bro?!
I spent the rest of the day...in pain. I also got sick since the rest of the family was passing the flu around...yeah...
=====01.31.12=====
Girls' Generation making their US debut performance on "Late Night With David Letterman." I spazzed. I was so proud of them and their performance.
- "Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3" 5 out of 5
- I know my future proposal will be creative as heck. Don't worry, future wife.
- It was sad to see Diggnation end. Kevin and Alex are 2 great personalities and put on great shows. I wish them the best in their future plans and thank them for entertaining me and tons of other fans.
- Congratulations to my younger cousin for giving birth to her daughter, Leia.
- My health...well, my heart is doing fine. I haven't had to use any of my medications for a while now. I carry them around just in case. I will be seeing my doctor soon just for a check up.
My nagging right shoulder...is still nagging me. I really don't know what it is. A mother had diagnosed me with having carpal tunnel, which could be true. It's just annoying.
My right quad felt like it was going to snap for a couple days after making WV 03. It was because of doing the dance and going down each time I did the dance...which was at least 16 times. That has gone away Thankfully.
My left wrist is fine now as of typing this. During the trampoline fun, when I did back flips I would land oddly and cushion my landings with my wrist. Hard to explain, but it's okay now.
My back...is another thing. That landing into the foam was painful. I did feel a couple of cracks and the immediate impact/compression when it happened. I did lay in the foam a little longer after that jump compared to any other time I jumped before or after. I'm in pain and haven't been able to freely run around or do my normal exercises. Dancing...I tried and I was okay for only a few seconds. Can't even do my normal stretches without it hurting. No regular exercises also means my muscles are disappearing. Can't do my normal sets of sit-ups and push-ups so my glamour muscles are slowly going away, ugh. During my next doctor's appointment, I will ask them to check on my back to see if it's anything serious or if I just need to take it easy a little longer. The pain has decreased ever so slightly, but I just can't over do things and can't be too reckless. I haven't had back pain like this in a long time and I don't welcome it back at all.
- Filming these WingedVoX videos has been fun and I have so many ideas ready to do. But I am disappointed with the lack of support I've received after one month. I really don't want to complain about it (although if you ask me in person, I will), but I just really want more support and want to interact more with those that watch my videos. Support of any kind goes a long way for anyone in anything they do. Please help and support me as well.
- I was very proud to see Girls' Generation on Letterman (and the following day on Kelly). It was just an incredible sight to see a Korean group performing an live national American television. This definitely was something I never thought I would see in my 10+ years of enjoying Korean pop. It might not be the biggest milestone, but it is a milestone nonetheless. They're taking the steps necessary to be a success all over the world. Congratulations, SNSD!
Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.
Going through tweets throughout the month, I've noticed a few things. One, a lot of videos I linked were taken down. Two, I forget what I'm talking about in some of them. And three, I'm able to talk about more days if I wanted, but I think I'll find ways to combine the lesser active days.
=====12.02.11=====
Went over to DW's to hang out and talk. I actually had to leave in the middle of Cesca's radio show because stuff was bothering me. JR showed up (because he lives there) and we ended up talking more about my business frustrations rather than the original thing I wanted to talk about. Although it felt good to vent those frustrations as I don't always try to let it get to me. It also led to me declaring my ventures for 2012 as far as video projects are concerned.
=====12.03.11=====
After BS' hiphop class, AN and I went to the mall. While we were there we ran into YD who was with JP. I ended up buying a new camera bag from the Sony store (my new tripod arrived on the 1st) and then ate and talked with my best guy and girl friend. It didn't hit me right away that that was happening because it doesn't always happen. Yay for talking and expressing ambitions. I also felt out of energy all day.
=====12.04.11=====
Finally beat Skyward Sword late at night (between midnight and 1AM). I made it my goal to have it beaten so I could pick up "Mario Kart 7" and devote gaming time solely to that. Skyward Sword was great, by the way. 5 out of 5.
I spent time wrapping presents. I suck at wrapping gifts so it was good I only had 1 real present to wrap. The rest were prizes for the upcoming Christmas party.
=====12.07.11=====
I got all gold trophies in the new Mario Kart. That was so fun and definitely brought back lots of fun memories of playing past Mario Karts. 5 out of 5.
Gearing up for the Christmas party, I did a few mic tests to try something out. It was successful, but in the end I did not use it. Good to know though.
=====12.08.11=====
I know I was doing something (maybe uploading or something that I had to start and wait for it to finish), but it was taking a long time. So I picked up "Super Mario 3D Land" and took a few hours to complete everything 100%. Definitely a lot of challenging levels in the end of the game.
=====12.10.11=====
Got a text from MIM saying she was coming into town. I invited her to the Christmas Party, but she was unsure about going. At least she let me know she was heading over instead of just showing up last minute, ha. She also brought her dog, Cotton. I'm a sucker for dogs especially active dogs. I was still planning to go to hiphop class so we just talked and caught up with each other before heading out there.
Last hiphop class for the year and it was a fun one. Gave BS her Christmas present and then headed off with MIM and Cotton.
We got ready and headed out for BT's...and got lost. Man, that was a little frustrating especially since night had fallen and signs were tougher to read. She was cussing, I was cussing...it would have been better were we in one car at least. But we finally got there.
Friends were there eating and talking and having fun. MIM left early to head back to Austin. BT set up a Munny drawing contest. All activities were delayed by hours due to people showing up late and food still being cooked and eaten. Not to mention that some activities didn't happen like playing "Quelf." We didn't get to the game show I set up and planned until close to midnight. But it happened and it was fun (except for one thing...).
=====12.11.11=====
Presents were handed out. I got a shirt, an Amazon gift card, and a 5LBS Gummy Bear (more on that later). It was late and we were all cleaning up and getting ready to go home. AC rode with me so I wouldn't be driving alone at night. Dropped her off and was soon home.
I should have just went to sleep, but I started exporting the videos from the game show. I stayed up until...5AM. I finished it later after waking up.
My gift card went to good use right away as I purchased 3 blu-rays. And I was even more productive by securing my first subject for a series of interviews I'm planning on doing in 2012.
=====12.12.11=====
The wedding I attended/worked back in November I let sit for a while.I started work on it and finished it on 12.16. I am actually very proud of this wedding video and it makes me smile every time I watch it. Check it out and congratulations to the new husband and wife.
=====12.15.11=====
Late at night (starting from the night before) I beat "Metroid II - Return of Samus." I found it funny that I was listening to SNSD music while hunting down Metroids in space, ha.
Met up with LN later for dinner at Grand Lux. Talked and caught up. Walked around a bit after and then went to Melody Club for some Salsa dancing. Well, she danced, I watched everyone. They were all so good, I couldn't hang, ha. Took LN back to her car and ended the night.
=====12.16.11=====
Downloaded all 10 free GBA titles thanks to the 3DS Ambassador Program. Haven't played most of the games so I can't wait to go through them in my spare time.
I listened in to Cesca's radio show like normal, but this was the night she was announcing the winner of her "12 Days of Soshi" contest. I submitted an entry and waited for her to announce the winner towards the end of her 4 hour show. And then she announced me as the winner, yay! Not to be cocky, but I just had a feeling I would win when I submitted my entry. You can read my entry at the following link (search for WingedCBAM).
My PC monitor shorted out. It had been acting funny the past month or so, but it reached the point where it just refused to stay on. It had a good 4 year run at least. For the time being I used my TV as my monitor (not that great) and my laptop for internet purposes.
Went with YD to a wedding reception of friends I made earlier in the year. Odd coincidence, the bride is sisters with a former coworker of mine who was there taking photos. It was a nice affair. Good food, met new people, and danced a little with YD. We left to go eat and drink at the Town & Country Citycentre.
Walking towards "Flora & Muse" we heard Salsa music being played outside. They had set up a dance floor and people were Salsa dancing. YD and I danced a few songs (with our limited skills) and had fun dancing outside in the cool weather. I had a nice cup of hot chocolate and YD had coffee and we talked about business stuff. We then headed to "Yardhouse" for a snack, a couple more drinks, and more talking. Took her home and ended the night.
=====12.18.11=====
Got up and picked up MP for PW's wedding. Had to hurry up and leave an hour earlier than anticipated since MP was asked to work the wedding. Met up with MA, who I had not seen since we used to all work together. It was great seeing him. He and MP were working together for the wedding. Saw other former co-workers in attendance and it was nice. Also met PW's mom for the first time. I spent time helping however I could with MP and MA, but I'd quickly stop and go greet former co-workers I had not seen in a while, ha (mostly the dudes since we were all tight). It was a nice ceremony.
Afterwards, I suggested that MP and I go to "Sullivan's." I had a gift certificate that was almost expired and we easily met their dress code. Good meal. We had a nice talk about things before heading back home.
Since my PC monitor was out of commission, I tried using my laptop to watch the TLC PPV. Unfortunately, my laptop caught something and viruses ran amuck. Luckily I had nothing important on it that I couldn't restore. Took 2 hours to reformat the laptop and re-update it to what it once was. That would have sucked so much if it got totally ruined.
=====12.20.11=====
I found a nice replacement monitor online at Sony's site so I went to the Galleria's Sony store to see if they had it in stock. Unfortunately they said it was only sold at their New York store or online. They had my second option, but I did have my mind set to just go out with the bigger and expensive one. I went to 2 different Best Buys to see if they might have them, but they didn't. Went home and immediately ordered it online. I just wanted to pick it up and have it ready to go that day, but oh well.
And...to quote what I posted on my Facebook about this venture...
"To all the retail workers today that purposely avoided my gaze, to the ones that went to another customer farther away even though I was closer and was about to say something, and to the ones that I asked for help and then went on to help someone else instead...have a holly jolly Christmas. To the one sales associate that actually helped me out, thank you very much."
The one that helped me out was at the Sony store. Thanks for your help.
I spent some spare time playing and beating "Wario Land 4." Not bad. 3 out of 5.
I had also been playing "Mario Kart: Super Circuit" on and off and eventually got all gold trophies in that, but I had (surprisingly) played that on the original GBA.
=====12.21.11=====
Woo woo woo, you know it! After months of not being able to order a pair of Broski sunglasses, I was finally able to a few weeks ago and they came in on this day. I actually like them a lot and have since then been using them as my normal pair of sunglasses.
I wore them at night since BT, AT(f), CC2, AC, and WC went to watch "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" at "Studio Movie Grill." It was an alright movie. It earns the R rating it has. 3 out of 5.
Afterwards we made a trek to "Red Mango" and it started to rain. I did an awesome baseball slide on the fake grass since the rain made it slicker. "Red Mango" was closed. We ended up going to "Memorial City Mall" to loiter. I did end up spending $10 on a large crane game in attempts to win a prize. Didn't win, boo. I think we left close to midnight.
=====12.22.11=====
Had a hankering to go back to that Korean place I went to for Thanksgiving. Invited AN, YD, and DS. And...I suck at giving directions. Plus it didn't help that I couldn't remember where the place was exactly. Well, when the eventually got there, they enjoyed their food of course. I really like that place. After lunch, we split.
YD and I met up later on at "Flora & Muse" (yes, again, ha) to talk business. That was fruitful. I always enjoy it when work actually gets done.
=====12.24.11=====
Christmas Eve was spent at a family member's home for a party. I was iffy about going because I was worried about seeing a cousin I'm not too fond of (that person being the reason I don't really like Thanksgiving). That person wasn't there, yay. I spent parts of the night taking photos with my new camera just to give it a thorough test on how well it can take photos.
It was good to see some of the family and catch up. I found it odd that I was drinking a beer with a younger cousin who I used to give milk to, ha. One of my aunts asked me a couple times about a girlfriend. I told her I didn't have one. She asked one more time so I showed her my phone's background photo.
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" and "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children."
I really didn't feel the Christmas mood this year. I think after the annual Christmas party, that was it. I wasn't being a Scrooge or Grinch, I just didn't feel the Christmas spirit this year, which bugged the heck out of me.
=====12.27.11=====
Received an early morning text from JW. He was receiving AIM messages from me and he text me to make sure. There was a sure sign that he knew it wasn't me and that I was hacked; the fact that I don't use acronyms like "LOL," which was used. I don't even get on AIM itself anymore unless it's through Gmail chat. LL text me later on in the day saying she got a strange link from my hacker. Hopefully those were the only 2 people effected that day. If anyone else got a weird message from me via AIM, sorry. I changed my password right away to be sure.
=====12.28.11=====
Once midnight hit, I decided to change New Year's Eve plans. For 10+ years we had family and friends come to our home to celebrate. This year I had about 5 people confirm and 5-10 Maybes and 40 that didn't respond. I can't make plans with a bunch of Maybes (who later were all not joining) so I changed it. Citycentre was having various activities and a fireworks show going on and I wanted to be there for that.
Today was also my Christmas as 2 important packages came in. The first was my prize from winning Cesca's contest earlier in the month. It finally came in a week+ later. The second one was my new monitor.
I set up my monitor first. Cleaned my computer area a little and then put the monitor in it's place. I measured ahead of time to make sure. But it is pretty big. I went from a 17" monitor to a 27" one and it is fantastic. The resolution is great (tried out a few HD videos to make sure) and everything just looks crisper and clearer. There is one tiny dead pixel on the screen, but I won't complain too much about it. This thing is way better than the older monitor (plus video editing is easier on the eyes).
Cesca and I made plans for there to Skype and watch and talk as I unboxed her gift. Before then, I took a good hour+ to plan where I wanted to place video cameras. The original plan was to make an unboxing video (up in the air). Later on at night, Cesca was available to watch and talk as I unboxed everything. First off, it was packaged very well, ha. She baked some macarons and some gingerbread men. She packed a couple of Pepero sticks and candy canes. There was also a container of hot chocolate that I'm saving for a special occasion. Then there was a stocking full of goods. There were a few jingle bells inside and a Batman drawstring bag. But the best thing was a small Dukong toy! It's so cute. I didn't have a permanent place for it at first so I would actually take it with me for a while. That gift made me spazz a little, ha. Other than all those, she wrote a nice card for me, aww. I was so glad to get this prize. It brought my spirit up from a lackluster holiday season. Thanks, Francesca.
=====12.29.11=====
My "Mr. Taxi" repackaged album came in and came with a Tiffany photocard, sweet.
Made plans and met up with AN at "Ruggles." It was a nice day to eat outside and enjoy that delicious cake I ordered. After some time talking, we split.
Met up with DW and JR at Chipotle at night. Casual chat turned into "the night's still young." That turned into plans to go karaoke. We started asking a few people back at DW's and I met RH there. He joined us and we were joined by others as well as LN and her boyfriend.
The waitress actually knew who SNSD were (I was wearing my Girls' Generation hoodie). She asked me a few times about going to Korean concerts and who we liked. LN and I had a bit to drink...and it was fun, ha. She said I got meaner (she gets louder)...but she's a tough grown up and can take it, ha. AN joined us late, which was awesome. We all had good times on the mic. I also saw an ex-girlfriend there. She still doesn't like me for whatever silly reason it may be (let it go already).
People were starting to leave and AN and I went to "House of Pies" to eat. I always forget that their food is good. An hour later, he took me back to my car and that was the end of the night...around 3AM. Fun night.
=====12.30.11=====
Went to "OK Cafe" for some work. Technically, I wasn't there to work, I was there to eat the food that photos were being taken of. MC, AT(m), CC2, YD, and DS were there as well. It took longer than expected due to some miscommunication. I did get to eat some free noodles and have a free drink at least.
Afterwards, we made plans to go to the park (minus CC2). We just walked around for the most part. DS and I talked for a bit while the others threw the frisbee around. Then plans to get Gelato were made.
At "Gelato Cup," I ran into a few of the flash mobbers there and ended up talking to them. One of them bought me gelato, yay. The others left and the flash mobbers wanted to do something. So...I took them to "Dave & Busters."
None of them had ever been there before so they enjoyed themselves. On the way there and taking them home, we had interesting conversations. Gosh, kids these days just know more than they should, ha.
I made it back in time to catch Cesca's show. We agreed earlier in the day that I would go on air with her and talk about the prize. That did happen and I also messed around with her on air rather than messing with her through the shoutbox, ha. Ah...so entertaining.
=====12.31.11=====
"OverBlood 2" Super Replay Episode 01! Yeah!
I actually didn't feel too good throughout the day. I tried to take a 3 hour nap, and got only 25 minutes, blah. So I took my time getting ready and meeting up with friends at "Ra Sushi."
AR, YD, AT(m), MC, MW, and AT(f) were there. Sometime later, CC2 joined. I also reunited with a friend from another highschool's Japanese class (same Sensei). We were so happy to see each other after almost 10 years. We exchanged greetings, numbers, and then I went back to my table out on the patio.
We all had a few drinks, but then we played some rounds of "I Never" for drinks...and I pretty much answered "yes" to almost every single question asked, ha. Yeah...it was fun though, but I drank the most out of everyone that night and it was apparent. Thanks to YD for helping me. AR left at some point and the rest of us went downstairs to the main area where people were dancing.
We ran into LN and her boyfriend as well as SH. I danced and talked with SH a bit before our group decided to head back upstairs since it was very crowded. JP joined us and YD left. Then it was time to countdown and midnight hit. Then there was a 15-minute fireworks display that was enjoyable to watch.
MW and AT(f) offered me to stay at their place for the night since they lived close by. I thank them (especially MW for driving my car there) since I didn't have all my faculties with me. I was aware of what's going on and I'm able to recap all that happened that night, but I'm not stupid to try and drive home in that condition.
Leave comments and leave us feedback, please. Thank you.
=====WingedVoX=====
And now something else to advertise. Some of the business talk I had mentioned throughout this entry pertains to me making videos for YouTube. Most likely this was inspired by people I like watching like Vampy, iJustine, WongFu Productions, etc, but I really need to do this for myself to have a creative outlet. Not only that, but a lot of the videos I made in the past were private since I wasn't allowed to show them. These will all be shown publicly.
I do have a small number of friends that helped push me and support me in this and I thank them a lot. But I've always said the reason I stopped trying and attempting things was due to a lack of support. Either lack of support or just negative reactions towards wanting to do something ("why would you do that," "it's a waste of time," "that's stupid," etc). So all I'm asking for is support from my friends and family.
Thank you. And I know I usually post things like videos the month of, but here is the first video under the WingedVoX name. Enjoy.
=====Final Thoughts=====
- I received a pin set from Club Nintendo. They are awesome.
- Vampy, iJustine...you 2 rock! (especially in this case, iJustine)
- There will be no season 2 of "Miscellaneous Misfits." The little reception I got from the first season killed any motivation I had to keep going. I actually had video ideas ready to do also, but since there wasn't much response to season 1, no season 2. Plus with doing the WingedVoX videos and some other side projects and possible RFM work, there won't be time to do more videos for a select audience who barely watches them.
And if you haven't noticed, this blog is no longer under the "WingedVoX" name, but rather another title called "Forever Graceful Impact."
- I was so happy to see MIM. We did see each other during the summer once with others, but this time there was more one-on-one time to catch up. That's what I like doing; catching up and learning about my friends on a personal level. But it was great to see MIM. I'm glad we're still good friends and that we can talk about our past relationship and be happy for each other in what we're doing.
And her dog Cotton is so fun! Interacting with him solidified that I want to have a pet of my own some day like when I raise a family. I had a dog when I was a child, but I don't remember playing with it. But yeah, I like fun pets I can play with.
- 2011...not one of my better years (maybe that's why I drank a lot New Year's Eve, ha). It wasn't all bad by far, I have some great memories. There were just a lot of things that happened that made it not a great year. The biggest thing to talk of is my health. That derailed A LOT of things. I'm a whole lot better now, but I recently came to the conclusion that I should not ingest a lot of sugar at one time. Funny that I used to eat spoonfuls of sugar and take shots of syrup when I was younger, ha. I guess it all finally caught up to me.
While 2011 wasn't my most stellar year, I made lots of plans to make 2012 better. I've said this quote to a few people already. "No resolutions. Just goals." And that's what my 2012 will be about; me fulfilling goals.
And I totally forgot why I came up with this next quote, but I'll share it anyways. "You don't deserve everything. You deserve only the best things."
But in all seriousness, hello 2012. No resolutions. Just goals.
Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.
Late, I know. It also took a while to recall a few things. Apparently lots happened. I tweeted quite a lot in November... https://twitter.com/#!/ArnellragasA. I'll try and keep some of the days short.
By the way, I know some (few) read this, but remember that is mostly for me to remember what I've been doing. There are times I go back and read old entries. I do thank those that do read this and are interested in what happens in this hero's life.
=====11.01.11=====
Had dinner with LN at Canyon Cafe to catch up. Had been a while since we hung out. Went to Marshall's and then to Cafe 101 to just continue talking.
=====11.02.11=====
Met up with BT at Fadi's so he can eat before heading to Plaza 59 for LD rehearsals. It had been a long time last seeing LD or doing any RFM work for her. BT and I just spent time figuring out where to do camera placement and to know where the dancers were going to be during the show. We had not done that for previous shows, but this has to be more of a regular thing.
=====11.05.11=====
Happy Birthday, BoA!
Today was also LD Dance Company's First Annual Showcase. Got there early to meet BT and set up. This was also a tryout for KO to be a potential photographer for RFM. She couldn't stay the whole time, but it was only a tryout. In the end, her photos turned out well and we'll keep her on as another freelance photographer we can call upon.
The show itself was great. Things went very smoothly for us and the show was actually finished pretty quickly. We weren't aware, but there was another event scheduled afterwards hence the quick flow of the show. BT and I went to eat dinner to celebrate a job well done. Check out the playlist of all the performances at the following link.
Made it a point to shave. I let it grow for 72 days and it was a good time to clean it up. I figured going to a baby shower would be a good reason to shave. Don't want to scare the young kids with extreme facial hair, ha.
It was fun playing with the 2 baby boys. MW and I walked them to a playground and had them play for a bit. Later on in the night I finally saw the new baby girl, so cute.
MW, AT, ATR, and I then spent most of the night playing "Catchphrase." Man...I wish I had recorded those few hours of game play. So many hilarious things were said. The best had to have been "Hermit the Crab." Fun night.
=====11.09.11=====
And more hair is removed off of me as I get a haircut in preparations for a wedding. Took about 3 inches of hair off. My stylist and her sisters joked about when I would get a short short short haircut. Their answer; "when he gets engaged," ha.
Later that night, I went to D&B to meet up with the groom, DO, and the groomsmen/friends for just some game fun before the big day. I did win a blue frog in a crane game waiting for the guys. They had some great heated conversations over various sports. I couldn't jump in, but it was fun to watch. I did get in on some superhero talk at one point.
Played lots of games. I participated in very competitive "Daytona USA" games and almost won the final race, d'oh. My biggest win of the night was winning a huge Care Bear from the huge claw game! I had never won anything from the huge claw game before and was just super hyped. Had a good number of witnesses to that memory.
I think we all parted a little before midnight. We all needed to get our rest for DO's big day the next day.
=====11.10.11=====
Had prepared all my gear the day before. A few days beforehand, I had changed from guest to worker for the wedding. It was my wedding gift to DO because they had no one doing video for them. I only knew a handful of people that were going to be there (including the ones met the night before) so I was okay with being able to run around. One-person wedding gig, I was revved up for it.
Headed out (hour drive) to arrive early to check out the place and figure out where and how I was going to set things up. Met a ton of new people and family members and handed out a few business cards. I did have one little kid follow me around...and it was annoying. Thankfully he'd get distracted by other things and I was relieved of him for a period of time before he'd find me again (darn bright green dress shirt I decided to wear).
The ceremony was held outside. The weather was cool, not super cold. And the sun did set during the ceremony. The bride actually sang a song for the groom, very touching. And a new husband and wife was announced to the audience and we were all happy.
The reception was great surrounded by good food and good people. This was also a colorful wedding. The bride's family is Filipino and the groom's family is Nigerian. Bright colors were worn. It was also cool to see that both cultures had their own type of money dance. Lots of money was picked up off the floor that night.
I made a big impression on the guests. They already knew I was the video guy, but then they found out I was a dancer. There were plenty of times the dance floor was filled, but no one was dancing during "Party Rock Anthem." So...I danced...with a camera attached to a monopod...which I used.
And then...I caught the garter...while filming. I did talk to the girl who caught the bouquet because I knew she had a boyfriend and wanted to make sure who he was. As I was doing that, I didn't realize I had gotten down on one knee. Heard some "whoas" and "oohs" and then just said my leg cramped, ha. I teased putting the garter on her, but eventually got up and brought the boyfriend out to the floor. I pulled up my leg for him to put the garter on and got a laugh, but then just left them to handle their business.
The reception started to wrap up close to midnight. I packed up and said my "byes" and took the hour drive home. I had such a great time. Congratulations to the new husband and wife.
=====11.11.11=====
Did you make your wishes? I did. Made the same wish in the AM and PM except I embellished more on it the second time, ha.
=====11.12.11=====
（/≧▽≦)/
=====11.13.11=====
Thank you, Eddie.
Purchased "Super Mario 3D Land." I only played a little bit of it as other things were in the way or something (can't remember), but I really enjoyed what I was playing. I did beat the game on the 16th and continued doing the extra stages and played through again with Luigi. I did calculate that I could've beaten the main game within one sitting if I really tried. I had a lot of fun with this game and recommend it to anyone with a 3DS.
=====11.15.11=====
Met up with MP and AT for MP's birthday lunch at the Taqueria. That food is still good. Had fun conversations. Wished that they didn't have hour lunch periods so we could have continued on. However, we did throw out the idea of having a birthday dinner also if schedules were free. And we did.
Picked up MP and met AT at Perry's Steakhouse. BT also joined us for the last minute dinner plans. More fun conversations, more great food, good times. MP got tired so we ended the night around 9.
=====11.19.11=====
Did the hiphop thing, took a silly photo, and got ready for YD's birthday. She had friends come over to her apartment to watch "From Beijing With Love." Funny movie, I'd watch it again. Then we had a couple rounds of "Telestrations," which was hilarious. My drawing skills are definitely not up to snuff, but at least people understood what I drew, ha.
Some point after the cake and as the second movie started, I went out with AN to go to Walmart. She needed to get some stuff and I didn't fell like watching another movie. While there, I found a board game called "Quelf" and it seemed interesting so I bought it for YD for a present. We bought our stuff and visited ATR to give her pacifiers for her baby girl. Was great seeing the little girl again. Then it was back to YD's.
Some guests had fallen asleep during the movie, which I was thinking would happen to me. Some loitering around after the movie. Some people left. DS and I started playing odd games of "Jenga." Yeah...you shouldn't be able to play a stable game of "Jenga" the way we did it, ha. Ever try 2 separate towers of "Jenga" that connected and tried to keep that up? Yeah, we tried, ha.
There were only 5 of us left and it was around 3AM. We decided to try out "Quelf" and was that a marvelous time. We had lots of fun and I recommend the game to anyone that likes board games. Too much to explain so here's a simple video. It's just a small sample of the craziness we went through.
=====11.20.11=====
SS+SS day. Went out and bought "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword." Got the last copy of the limited edition version. The box was a little damaged, but...eh. Played a good couple hours of it and was enjoying it as expected. A little boy was actually holding onto the box and I waited around just in case he put it down. He did and I swiped in and took it a minute later, ha.
At night, watched "Survivor Series." Then I got back to Skyward Sword. I knew I needed to invest plenty of hours into it.
=====11.22.11=====
Did some work type things. Dropped off a disc of performances for LD. Since I was out, I figured to go buy some of the Christmas supplies I needed. Thank you, Academy. Found a majority of things I needed in one fell swoop.
The next day, I went to get more Christmas supplies...but I found only a few things I was looking for. Out for 3 hours and I would say 90% of it was a waste of time and gas. At least I got a few key items I needed.
More work related things by doing some video quality tests.
=====11.24.11=====
Met up with BT, CC2, AT, and AC for the Thanksgiving Parade. Lots of people were lined out on the streets by the time we got there. Never had a street view of a live parade so it was great to see. Leaving the parade took a while. We were stuck in the parking garage for about 40 minutes after the parade.
AC and I ended up going to a small Korean restaurant for lunch since we were both hungry. My goodness...best Korean food I ever had! AND I finally had ddukbokki and it was great. The place had sold me on how great they are that I offered them a business card to help further their business. I will definitely go back there.
Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving...my least favorite holiday of the year. So I won't go into why, but I just stayed home and didn't see family. Caught up on playing more Skyward Sword for my Thanksgiving. I ate all the leftover ddukbokki for dinner and that was a pretty darn good dinner.
=====11.26.11=====
Hip hop class!
ヽ(｡◕‿◕。)ﾉ
By the way, "The Muppets" is a great movie. I was smiling throughout most of the movie and marking out on key moments. Go watch it. I'd watch it again.
=====11.27.11=====
Volunteered to film for the Houston Kpop Family members that were participating in a "Wonder Girls Dance Cover Contest." It was nice to see a few of those familiar faces again. I actually sat around for a few hours as the girls were still practicing. I played more Mario on my 3DS until it was time to shoot.
Afterwards, followed KO to pick up extra footage they had taken the days before to add to the video. Spent the rest of the night working on the video. The next day, I did make a few changes the girls asked for. And here's the finished product.
=====11.29.11=====
...didn't enjoy this day.
1. Blu-ray I wanted to buy wasn't at Best Buy.
2. Stools I was looking for wasn't at HK Market.
3. Backed into a woman's car while trying to leave the parking lot.
(I did give some money to a homeless person on the way home)
4. Caught a fly in my hand and let it go and it decided to bite me all night.
5. Was making stupid mistakes in Skyward Sword.
Yeah...it just didn't end, but I was looking forward to the clock striking midnight. I had a feeling I should have stayed home and it's a reminder that I need to always listen to my intuition. It has never driven me wrong before.
=====11.30.11=====
Went to UH to shoot some graduation footage for WC. That really didn't take long at all, but it was interesting walking around UH. It had been a long time since I had been there and quite a few things had changed. Here's the result of the footage shot that day.
On the way home, I picked up the new Stone Cold blu-ray. Watched that for most of the night. I'm sure I played Skyward Sword also.
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We did add a new commercial spot to our portfolio. Check it out. Maybe you know someone that needs commercial work.
=====Miscellaneous Misfits=====
Last 3 videos of Miscellaneous Misfits. Will there be a season 2? I'm leaning towards no.
=====Final Thoughts=====
- I want to say I'm 95% back in good health. There are times I still get winded and out of it, but I do try to push myself and have been. BS' classes still can kick my butt, but it feels great doing it and it feels great being back to almost 100% again.
- I bought a tactile keyboard/case for my iPhone. Tried it out...and I'm just used to a air keyboard now. Plus the keyboard/case was a little too bulky for me.
- I did purchase my 4th video camera. I was shown a great deal on one that had a mysterious $700 discount so I had to get in on that. Although that $700 I saved did go towards necessary accessories I needed; memory stick, battery, tripod, and case. It's all good. The camera is phenomenal (did a few tests) and I can't wait to debut it at the upcoming Christmas party.
- Did a lot of thinking for future video projects for 2012. Some RFM related stuff, some new aspirations, and some that may require me to travel. I'll shed more light on these future endeavors next month.
- Just a video I enjoyed and wanted to share; "Mega Man Classic vs. Mega Man X."
- Entered a contest Vampy held for some Pedo Bear hats. Didn't win, boo.
- My copy of "The Boys" album came in November and I had a TaeYeon card packed in with it. Yeah, was very pleased with my new #3 as the random photocard.
And I really enjoyed the encore performance and all the woo-ing that happened,ha.
- BoA...hi there.
Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.
