June 2011 Entry

A little late, but I've been busy.

=====06.02.11=====

DW had a life-telling story. It was very interesting. I did learn a few things I did not know about him. Felt good bonding with the guy. Plus I do enjoy hanging with his group of friends. Which is why...

=====06.03.11=====

I hung out with some of them this day. It was also CD's birthday. We ate dinner and then tried to make a plan to do something afterwards. We ended up going to watch "X-Men: First Class." So we crammed into a couple of cars and went to the nearest theatre...and they were sold out at the time we wanted. So we drove out to a farther theatre...and they were sold out. So we started to just end the night and be done with CD's birthday. Once we did, CD was all up into doing whatever, ha. So we drove back to the original theatre and got a later time for the movie. CD, DW, another guy (forgot his name), and I went to the bar to get some drinks and talked for a bit waiting for the movie to start. We were all pleased with the movie.

=====06.05.11=====

A Saturday. That means hiphop class with BS. She also invited her students to take a workshop elsewhere with Stuart Bishop and Charlotte Stevens, dancers from London. My first workshop and it was fun. I wish I did better. I could do Chralotte's dance better than Stuart's. I think I was getting tired out and that's why I wasn't getting his stuff that well. Plus I was cramping up a bit in my thighs. It was a great experience though.

Needless to say, my back was killing me later that night. The following day was nothing, but back pains. One of the slower days I could remember.

=====06.11.11=====

DC came back into town and wanted to take our annual fishing-crabbing trip. AC and BT were in and MC joined us for the first time. I actually stayed up all night heading into the trip. Headed out at 2AM.

Almost immediately after we settled on a spot, I caught a small crab. I did well with getting 5-6 of the nine crabs we caught. I didn't catch any fish and we ended up only getting 3. The last one caught by DC was a catfish, great catch. Headed back home around 11AM.

Unfortunately, there was a ton of traffic waiting for the ferry. I'm pretty sure we all fell asleep that hour just waiting. We stopped at a Jack-In-The-Box to eat something before returning back to DC's to split up and head home. I showered and then...went to sleep...for 16 hours. You can call me Ice Prince, ha.

=====06.13.11=====

BT had himself a birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo. It had been a while since I last was there. Good food. Good seeing a few people I had not seen in a while also. CC and WC just returned from Japan and were handing out some souvenirs. They got the USB keys that looked like a miniature camera for RFM people and got some SNSD key chains for those of use that like them.

Ate dinner, laughed, took silly photos, and we split. Well, I walked around a Kroger's with AC because she was slightly buzzed. Walked it off for a bit and then split.

=====06.15.11=====

The 3DS e-shop opened this month and I purchased "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX." I know I'll be buying a few titles for the 3DS Virtual Console since I never owned an original Gameboy and missed out on some good titles...like Link's Awakening. Another great Zelda adventure. It was very darn good for an old Gameboy Color title.

=====06.16.11=====

Helped AC retrieve a couch from a friend and bring it back to her house along with BT and WC. Oh...the fun of bringing a couch down 3 stories. At least we made quick and easy. We were treated to dinner and ended the night.

=====06.19.11=====

Happy Father's Day. Gave dad a hug and some money.

Spent the rest of the day indulging in "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D." It's great reliving one of the greatest Zelda adventures again. Truthfully, I could have beaten the game by now (07.02.11), but I have been busy. I am actually at the end and can fight Ganon, but I'm collecting everything I missed. All I have left are about 20 Skulltulas and then it's time to save Princess Zelda.

=====06.20.11=====

Called up MP at work to see if he wanted to have lunch. I also needed him to print a coupon for me, ha. Had lunch at Lopez, which I love eating at. Dropped him off back at work and made my rounds saying "hi" to everyone and catching up with them. Almost all of them started their conversation with how work sucked, ha.

I also bought some voltage converters.

=====06.21.11=====

I made it a point to stay home because I was expecting a laptop I ordered to come in. Well, it arrived early, really early. MC asked to have lunch so I met him at Kubos.

After lunch, I went to reserve a table for an event happening. Headed to Best Buy to buy a new external harddrive. I wanted to get another one matching the current ones I have, but they no longer sell them in stores, darn. Needed to use the coupon I had MP print out in-store only unfortunately.

=====06.22.11=====

I had recently reconnected with MIM and she mentioned she was heading to Houston. So I just asked to meet up. We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory with some of her friends, a few I had known also. I actually wanted to just talk with her one-on-one to catch up, but this was better than nothing. She seems genuinely happy and I'm glad. The guy she's engaged to is a lucky guy.

=====06.23.11=====

Had lunch with AN. Been a while since I saw him and I had to talk to him about some business stuff. Had a great meal at Macaroni Grill. He then asked me to join him at the studio to help him layout his choreography for his class that day. That was fun. Seeing people I had not seen in a while was good also. I had not been to the studio for almost 2 weeks by this time. I left before his class started.

=====06.25.11=====

Finally back to hiphop class after 2 weeks. Felt great.

Then it was time for the Houston Soshified Meet Up. Dinner was at Tofu Village. There were 14-15 of us there. It was nice to laugh and bond with some new friends. After dinner was karaoke. The married couple left. At the karaoke, not many of them sang, but it was still good fun. Then a group of them left and we ended karaoke. It was only around 11PM and some of us were still wanting to do stuff. We just didn't know what.

So the remaining group of us wandered around the area talking. I was the oldest so I was put in the lead role of what to do. We got a drink for one of the girls and then ended up going to shoot pool at a place I said was deemed "shady." But the windows were no longer spray painted black so I led them up to just check it out. It was actually attached to the lounge/club area and we had to pass through that to play pool. The place was kind of a go-go lounge since they had some girls dressed with not much dancing around. Regardless, we played pool. More of the group left. After the hour, we all headed out and ended the night around...1AM.

=====06.26.11=====

BT and I purchased tickets to a live RAW house show. It was our first house show and first RAW show. Man, it was awesome! I actually saw NH there. He was sitting 2-3 rows behind us with his friends. BT and I were front row. Every time a match was over, we ran to the rail with everyone else to get close to the wrestlers. I actually got to touch and a few of them; Justin Roberts, Eve Torres, Evan Bourne, Vikki Guerrero, and John Cena. It was a very good house show. We're definitely going to another one when ever they came to town again.

We then met up with others to plan out the Austin trip. At the time I was going to go, but I ended up not going due to something I'll explain later. We then went to the East Wall to eat dinner and end the night.

=====06.27.11=====

A few of the out-of-towners from the Soshified Meet Up were still and town. MC had lunch with them at Fogo de Chao and I joined them later after finishing my workout and showering. There was no real plan so we just went around to kill some time before their set plans took place. Took them to Starbucks and then took a trip to The Container Store (all of our first times there). Next was Gallery Furniture and oh...my...gosh...I need Tempurpedic everything. Then it was off to the Galleria to go ice skating...were it the open and available time to skate, which it wasn't. So we played a few quick games of pool nearby instead. Next stop was Ranch 99 to meet another friend and eat crawfish. MC left us before we ate. After eating, we lost one more person and then had to drop another one off with her family. We gained one more when we went karaoke at some small secluded area. It was still fun though. I actually got to sing some rock songs I've always wanted to sing at a karaoke as well as a few old school Japanese songs I knew. The night ended at 1AM.

=====06.30.11=====

AT set up a surprise birthday for MW, whom usually doesn't spend his birthday with friends. It turned out well. Nice to see some old faces and meet some new people. We didn't do anything afterwards.

Glad to hear you were alright, LN.

=====Final Thoughts=====

- Christina Grimmie...I'm glad I follow her. She's such a talented singer. Her first album came out on iTunes earlier this month and I got it. My favorite song off it is "Counting." I also bought some of her gloves. I know that if she ever comes to Houston to perform, I'm going.

You can find tons of her covers on YouTube. The first time I ever heard her was with this duet with Sam Tsui, another great singer.

- I aM mE won America's Best Dance Crew. So proud. I made this tribute video for them as soon as I could. Congratulations.

I aM mE Tribute from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

- Shameless Plug (RFM)

RFM Facebook

RFM Twitter

- Been keeping up well with my workouts. Sometimes I miss a day, but I make up for it. I'm liking my results so far.

- CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk!

- So I found out about a flash mob being done in Houston. It's actually for SMTown. Out of New York, LA, and Houston, whomever does the best job will help influence SM to have their next concert in their town. The organizers were looking for a media crew, so I offered Royal Flush Media. The photos and video taken will be given to SBS Korea to use for a news story on the Hallyu Wave. I also offered to help teach dances. So not only is RFM going to be there, but I'll be teaching and participating in the flash mob. Rehearsals are happening the first week of July (5th and 7th, 12-3) at Soundbox Studios. The actual flash mob is happening on July 9th. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I've been practicing a lot the last couple of weeks and pretty much added it to my workout. But yeah, this has been my big project as of late. Hope it all goes well.

- I touched on the Soshified Field Trip in the last entry. Well, I'm officially going on July 20th. The converters and external harddrive and laptop I bought earlier in the month were for the trip. I still haven't packed. I'll do that at least a week before leaving. Everything else is taken care of. I can't wait to go and actually see SNSD live in concert.

And on that note, I'll leave you with SNSD's latest music video, Echo, from their new DVD set.

Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.

Take care.

May 2011 Entry

And a lot happened that I forgot. I actually almost forgot to type this up. Honestly, a lot did not happen especially in the beginning of the month. I'm sure I did stuff...duh, but nothing popping out as a big thing.

=====05.13.11=====

Celebrated DW's graduation with fun times at Glitter Karaoke. Carpooled with MP and AC and met up with others there. I had a fun time singing and talking with friends there. I also had fun with the waitress who I had keep suggesting me drinks all night. In the end I had 6 different types of shots/drinks and also got a free one from the waitress.

Had MP drive us back. Even though I felt fine, I didn't want to do anything stupid behind the wheel. We actually ended up going to eat at a taqueria (we had a craving for tacos) where it just happened to be karaoke night there, ha. Went from English karaoke to Spanish karaoke. I think we left there around 2AM.

=====05.14.11=====

I offered to film the Riot Squad auditions. It was good for the directors to look back on the footage to help in their decision. Initially I was going to make a video with this, but the footage wasn't as great as I thought. Idea scrapped. It was still cool to see these young kids do their thing.

=====05.15.11=====

Was initially just going to stay in, but I got a call from BT asking if I were free. We ended up going to the park and came up with an idea for a silly video to shoot. We then made a call to get some volunteers. Had to wait for them so I walked the whole park with BT since he had never been there before. We were also brainstorming what to do for the video.

MC, AT, and YD joined us a couple hours later as BT and I were filming the opening shots. To my surprise, things went smoothly. There were a few retakes and moments we had to wait (due to others in the park), but I got what I wanted. I did have to scrap the fight scene I wanted, but came up with a substitute.

We then went to eat at Tofu Village. AC, DS and a friend (forgot name) joined us there. After eating, I suggested we go karaoke for an hour and we did. In the end I told BT "see what happens when I have nothing to do." It was a fun day though and it was also a nice way to celebrate Sunny's birthday.

The following day, I did go through the footage and chose which shots I was going to use. The next day I picked out all the music I wanted as well as SFX and graphics. The video was completed the day after. Pretty good turn around.

A Day At The Park from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

=====05.20.11=====

R.I.P. Macho Man Randy Savage (58). It was sad hearing this news. It's another one of my childhood heroes going away. I spent the day watching a DVD collection I had of him. You will be missed.

=====05.21.11=====

Took hiphop class and left almost ASAP to get ready for my aunt's surprise birthday. It was for her 60th birthday. I asked my cousin if I could film the event and she was cool with it. I had not seen a lot of this family in a long time so it was nice to catch up with them. Dinner was good and the whole night took a good 4-5 hours.

I cranked out the video in one day a few days after.

Alicia Marcelino's 60th Birthday Surprise - 05.21.11 from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

=====05.22.11=====

A few of us gathered to have a sports day. At first it was just AJ, BT, AT, and myself. We played volleyball for a bit. I got hit in the face, yay. No one else showed up so we left to eat some pho for lunch. Came back and one of AJ's friends joined. We started hitting some softballs around, which I enjoyed a lot. YD and DS showed up followed by JW. Another of AJ's friends showed up. The group split with 4 playing basketball and 4 playing tennis. I went back and forth between them and ran around on the playground, ha. Some left and CC joined, but we were winding down with just playing catch. We had been out there for close to 5 hours. Plans were made to meet later.

BT came to my place to chill and watch Wrestlemania XXVII while we were waiting for AJ to join us again. Once he came, we headed out for YD and DS's apartment. They actually weren't there because they were getting food. So we decided to get food also. We ended up buying some food at HEB and rejoined DS, YD, AT, and CC. We ate and then watched "Versus." That was a very...interesting movie. Not the greatest movie in the world, but it was entertaining to me. That was the end of that night.

=====05.25.11=====

AC asked if I was free to go see Asobi Seksu and the White Lies perform. Initially, I wasn't going to go since I didn't know the bands, but I had nothing else to do so why not. I'm glad I went though. Both bands rocked. I wish I knew the songs beforehand, but they were good enough to have me bouncing around, head banging, and screaming/cheering for them. I actually ended up buying an Asobi Seksu shirt that I had the lead singer, Yuki, sign. We also took photos with the group. That was so much fun. I would definitely go see Asobi Seksu again.

=====05.27.11=====

Went to eat at Greatful Taco with AN. It's always good seeing him and the place was great. I'm glad he suggested it. We caught with what's been going on with each other and went to an art supply store nearby. We then split to do our individual things.

I was actually going to just stay in, but then I got an invitation to go karaoke. Met up with MW, AT, BT, MC, CC, and AC for a couple hours of karaoke. The place actually had updated their music list so we were happy with that. We did skip a lot of songs since some of us just put in songs to have songs playing, ha. We ended somewhere between 12-1AM. And then I slept for about 5-6 hours because...

=====05.28.11=====

...MP and I planned to go watch The Hangover Part II early in the morning. Man...what a hilarious (and at times disgusting) movie. I'd watch it again if asked to. MP and I then went to eat some pho and to catch up with each other. Took him back home and rested for about an hour before going to hiphop class.

Hiphop class with BS was fun. When I sweat, I know I'm having a good time, ha. The last couple of classes, I really enjoyed the routines. I just would remember thinking "I got this" and it was so fun. Talked to a few people before leaving to get ready to go out again much like the prior week.

This time I was invited to go to the 429 by DW. I know that's something important to him so I thought I'd check it out. They actually held the event outside next to the church. They had booths with food, basketball courts set up, a karaoke booth (which DW was running), they had a couple people teach beginner's Salsa, and they had a band perform. Of course the sermon took place afterwards. The pastor actually mentioned my watch at one point because we had met earlier during the festivities. I also did meet someone on the way in that remembered me from college and was mutual friends with someone we knew. That was cool. I also met and talked to a lot of interesting people.

There was also a moment where I looked up at the night sky and saw a single star by itself. The wind blew in and just hit me right and I was inspired to do something. It felt great. Unfortunately, I haven't done what I decided to do...yet...

DW and I helped tear things down and then went to eat at Chili's to talk and end the night there.

=====05.29.11=====
Went to go to a Swing social. RC was there because she was going to perform later on. Went there with AC. LN and DW came later during the free lesson. We then gathered together and had our dance times with others during the social. I found this Swing social less intimidating than the Salsa socials I've been to. Might have been the crowd because some of the girls I danced with were just fine with being silly and just moving however we felt like on the dance floor. RC's performance with another dance group was great. She and I talked later on before our crew headed out to eat.

Ate at Grand Lux where JL joined. Good food. DW was asking some silly questions to get conversation started. One question he asked was "if you could be an article of clothing, what would it be and who would it be worn by?" I stupidly shouted out "bra" and that ended that question, ha. DW had a great answer of a coat for his future daughter, aww. Another question he asked was "what would the title of the movie of your life be?" I chose "A Hero's Tale." Anyways, we finished up and then headed out to karaoke.

It was already late, 12:30-ish. We karaoked till 2:30. It was a good round of karaoke, but we were all getting tired. Good thing it was Memorial Day the next day or those guys would have been screwed with having to work.

=====Final Thoughts=====

- I did perform mic tests on my newly acquired camera mics. They worked perfectly. Can't wait to have an actual thing to use them for, ha.

- I recently purchased a reflector for RFM. It's something both our videographers and photographers can use. It should be very helpful.

- Speaking of RFM, our Twitter is now up and running. The man behind it is me. I'll be posting anytime we have work we're doing as well as weekly videos and photos. The weekly promotions will also run on our Facebook. So Follow and Like us. Thanks.

RFM Twitter - click

RFM Facebook - click

- I've been itching to do more sillier videos every since "A Day At The Park." I have one idea, but I don't have a partner willing to do it with. I might have to reach out to others for that. Another one I came up with today, which I might do alone or have a couple other people join in. You'll see those if they happen. The point of these videos is to show that RFM can do those simple videos also and that we don't have to just do big performances and weddings.

- I did crank out the videos from the Formal/Summer Reunion last year and posted them online. Unfortunately, not many have actually watched them. I wouldn't be so blah about it had there not been a few people that had asked to see it and have not even watched it yet. I don't just make these videos for myself. Oh well...

- I've adopted a new way of how to decide whether to go and do things that others suggest or not. The only reason I won't go if I'm actually free to go is because I just don't want to go. Otherwise I have no excuses and should just go because I have nothing going on. So far, so good.

- My goodness, I aM mE is in the finals of ABDC. No doubt they will win it all. They've been performing magnificently the whole time, but their last 2 really did Brain Bang me.

- Jang WooHyuk of HOT fame is back with a new single. And man...I would love to see him collaborate with I aM mE. They just fit together perfectly.

- Soshified has put together a field trip to go to Korea. The trip will last from July 20th though the 26th. The great discount deal includes activities planned for the week, going to music stations to watch shows, and going to see SNSD live in concert. There's probably more, but the itinerary isn't up yet. They're only taking 100 fans out of the thousands on Soshified that could possibly go.

I signed up for this and got accepted. That's right, I'll be going to Korea in July! A long time dream is finally being realized. It hasn't hit me yet since there's more than a month between now and then. I think once I start preparing things more then I'll get more anxious and excited about going. Definitely spazz worthy. I know I'll be taking tons of footage of all we do there. Korea, here I come! SNSD, here I come!

That took a good hour to type up. That does it for the month of May. Let's see what June brings. We know what July will bring, ha.

Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.

April 2011 Entry

One of the lazier months I've had in a while somewhat (was what I thought when originally typing this out, but realized I was wrong towards the end, ha). I'm also going to implement the use naming people by only using their first letter to still keep anonymity. Thinking about some things, it just seems odd to say "friend and another friend" if needed to be said. And just as I start typing, I realize that people share the same first letter...I'll figure out something...anyways...

=====04.02.11=====

Hip hop class with BS, always a good time. I was asked by TT to come to her birthday later and I was considering it while telling her not to be disappointed if I don't show up. So I made some quick plans with others to be out and then leave for TT's party.

The plan was just a few hours of karaoke then I'd leave and go to the party. MC and AC met me at Yes KTV. Unfortunately they were booked. We ended up going to Melody KTV and were very pleased with their song selection. CN and her boyfriend met us there as well. 2 hours later and I was convinced to just chill and eat and drink with who I was with instead of going to the party. Moved to 101 and we ate some snacks and had drinks. We mostly commented on the Korean videos being shown. Apparently we caused more eyes to watch as well because we were talking pretty loud about Kara's butt dance and Rain's ab dance, ha. Fun night.

=====04.03.11=====

Went to watch Wrestlemania 27 with BT. Met up at a BW3 and watched on. Honestly, it wasn't the best Wrestlemania. To me, it felt like a long episode of RAW. At one point, the feed went out and we were "entertained" by a few fans that had a "match." Everyone did pop loud when the feed returned.

=====04.04.11=====

Spent the day with AN. Had some pizza, played some MVC3, and then for some reason we went to the studio to work on a piece of choreography. Went to the studio and went through a few songs before settling on TaeYang's "I Need A Girl." It was fun actually working on something since I can't really recall the last time I thought of any dance steps. DN was there also working on a piece with BS. Got to surprise her and give her a big hug. AN and I then went to the Waterwall and just chill in the good weather in the park. Took him back to the studio, said yo to a few others, and then went home.

=====04.06.11=====

Ended up going to the studio to take AN's class since he was teaching the piece he and I worked on. It was slightly modified, but still fun to learn. Then I took Salsa class after. Got a few more compliments from the LD dancers, which was nice.

Went to CN and her boyfriend's apartment afterwards because I didn't feel like going home...although I should have. After an hour there and with plans to go get dinner, my car was towed. I've parked there before and there were other cars parked in similar marked areas all around...they just happened to choose my car out of the lot. And some guy mentioned that it was literally just taken away a few minutes ago before we got out there. So dinner plans turned into find my car plans. 30 minutes and $203.39 later, I got my car back. I wasn't in the mood for dinner anymore so I went home feeling like crap. I'm over it, but it just sucked when it happened.

=====04.09.11=====

Hip hop class as usual. Afterwards, AN came over to work on a rough cut mix for the Riot Squad. It was for their World of Dance performance piece. Wasn't perfect, but it was just a rough cut. We then met a couple of studio members to have a meal at Nu Cafe. Then we went to AN's to play some MVC3. There were talks of doing something with JH for her birthday. It ended up with going to Taisho. I wasn't going to go at first, but I didn't feel like going home. Had a couple drinks and met an acquaintance who I had not seen for a while. I left probably an hour later to go home since I had plans the next day.

=====04.10.11=====

Japan Festival. Rode with WC there. Unfortunately the person who organized the event couldn't make it. I could swear that I saw my high school Japanese Sensei. I really wasn't sure and i couldn't believe it so I didn't try to stop her. Walked around with WC to just check out what was going around, which was pretty much the usual thing that happens all the time. I did end up buying a shirt where the funds were going to help Japan due to the recent disasters they encountered.

WC and I split up to do whatever. I was texting BS back and forth trying to get her to come out. In the end she couldn't, boo. I ended up walking around the garden area and witnessed a duck fight, ha. I then went looking around for who I thought might have been Sensei...no luck. I then sat out in the with the breeze blowing so nicely. Ended up rejoining WC to watch a Shamisen performance. It was a very good performance. We left after that.

Tried calling a few people to join us at Kubo's for some food. LN was able to join us. Ate, talked, and laughed. We then waited for MC to join us. During that time, LN and I started Salsa dancing in the middle of the parking lot. She turned up the music and I just did what I could/remember. People were watching on, ha. All 3 of us started dancing all silly-like when MC started to drive up towards us. LN split and then we went with MC so he could get something to eat. I don't remember how the topic came up, but we ended up going to Target to buy Nerf stuff. MC bought himself a gun and I bought an axe (too go along with a long sword I bought not too long ago). We split and WC dropped me back home to end the day.

=====04.11.10=====

Honestly, it's good that Edge has to retire. Like he stated, his neck injury from years ago is catching up to him and if he were to continue on, things would turn out for the worse. I'll admit that I teared up. He was my favorite during this generation of wrestlers. The guy got to achieve his dream, live his dream and more, and retire as champion.

I did realize shortly after that Edge and HBK both retired within a year of each other. 2 of all-time favorites are no longer wrestling, but I will remember the careers they've had that entertained me while I was growing up. And out of any wrestlers, the charisma of both of these wrestlers are what resonate within me. Edge, you will be missed. Take care of yourself.

=====04.12.11=====

What started as a plan to get ice cream with AN led to a dead car and making shakes at his place. Talked while drinking our shakes, played some MVC3, and then made plans to go to the mall to look for an outfit he needed for WoD. I saw a jacket I liked, but he convinced me not to get it. Took him to the studio afterwards and then headed home.

Then I received a late night call. If anyone ever calls me late at night crying, I'm there for you.

=====04.13.11=====

Did the Salsa thing and was given an interesting proposal. More on that if it progresses.

Met up with DW and JR. We went karaoke hopping to help DW figure out where to celebrate his upcoming graduation. Funny that he ended up picking the place where he was originally thinking to have it, ha. At least it was fun talking and going around checking out places.

=====04.14.11=====

Hung out with SH. It's been a long time. She came over while I was doing some editing. I gave her an exclusive sneak peak at one of the segments from my birthday last year. That was good for her to know what's been going on with some people she hasn't seen in a while. We were just talking a lot and catching up with each other. Then we made dinner plans. Went to BJs and I gave her a couple of number puzzles to try out, ha. We then went walking around the First Colony town square before going to a Baclava cafe. Yeah, we at a lot. Back home to talk a little more before she left ending our night. Was great catching up with you.

=====04.15.11=====

=====04.16.11=====

Did the hip hop thing. Later at night, MP and MC came over and we discussed some RFM stuff. We got some work done, but we really do need to meet again and smooth out more details.

=====04.17.11=====

Went to have ramen with AN and CE at Kubo's. Then we got some shaved ice at Nu Cafe before we split. I then went to Walmart to hopefully find the Nerf tomahawk since I haven't been able to find that at any Target stores. Luckily they had one left. Picked that up and a few other things before heading home...only to be called be LN to hang out around where I was earlier, ha

Drove back out to meet LN and actually saw SH there with her friends. Met with LN and we caught up while waiting for AC. They got some drinks and snacks. After that, we walked around the plaza area, I got some ice cream, and then I made the suggestion to go karaoke. It was only 7, but who cares. I think we were planning for one hour, but ended up singing for 2 hours. Good times.

=====04.18.11=====

Met with BT for lunch at Tofu Village. I was wanting some dukkboki, but they unfortunately didn't have any. The lunch specials there are good though. Oddly, the waitress thought I was eating there the day before, ha. I was in the area, but didn't even pass by Tofu Village.

Mega Man X was released on Virtual Console. Ran through it and did everything in a few hours. Good times with 16-bits of gaming.

Happy Birthday, Jessica!

=====04.20.11=====

Salsa. Actually, before Salsa I was able to see Riot Squad practice their piece for World of Dance. Those are some talented kids. Salsa was very interesting. I pretty much had a semi-private session (one other guy showed up). And it was a different instructor this time since LD was doing some important show/audition. But the subs were good. The girl said I did very well and the guy said I had potential to be really good. I did enjoy the semi-private lesson. Got to learn and refine more. Before leaving, I watched as Wyldstyl practiced their routine for World of Dance. It was looking very good.

=====04.21.11=====

I had been working on editing the events of last year's Formal/Summer Reunion. On this day I spent most of the day working on the photo room video. I had not worked/completed/produced a video in a long time so this was a nice accomplishment especially getting it done within a day.

Summer Reunion - Photo Room - 07.10.10 from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

=====04.22.11=====

Went to Sonia's since BS wasn't teaching on Saturday due to going to Dallas for World of Dance. Small class, but that's alright. She also taught a tweaked version of the dance we learned last week. Unfortunately there was an annoying couple that was part of the class. They were very much in their own world while there. BS and I talked a little bit about them after class since we were both bothered by them. I gave her my well wishes on her performance at World of Dance before we split.

=====04.23.11=====

Did some cleaning around the room. Later in the day I went to YD's where others were. But YD and MC and I were to go over a flier we're having made done to have for the upcoming Samba Night. It's starting to take shape.

I also received a couple of mics I ordered online and was able to test them out while there. I tried by myself and it really wasn't being effective that way. More on that later.

We all had dinner and chilled for a while. The night ended with us going to the Cheesecake Factory where some of us made late night cheesecake purchases.

And congratulations to Wyldstyl for taking 2nd place at World of Dance. Man...this is one of those times I really wish I went...it would've just been awesome to experience their 2nd place victory along with them. Still, congratulations.

=====04.24.11=====

Happy Bunny Day! Yeah...didn't do anything to celebrate. Usually I'd at least hear of a family gathering, but I heard nothing of the sort. So I just did more cleaning and organizing around the room. I left one corner to take care of another time.

I did do a lot of singing at home. Nothing like rocking out to some CN Blue.

=====04.25.11=====

Picked up my external from MP and talked for a bit.

The dance version of SNSD's Mr. Taxi was released. I really don't know why, but I like bright yellow on girls. It really catches my eye.

And late in the night, MC asked if it was possible I could put a video together from the SNSD fan meeting in January. I would've done it a long time ago had SSF asked me since it was my footage. Anyways, I'm working on it now and stayed up a little late into the night thinking of a concept and editing the music I am using for it. And...

=====04.26.11=====

...that's all I did this whole day; work on the video. Time really flew by. There were a few parts that I constantly redid because I wasn't satisfied with how I arranged photos/videos, but I finally got everything the way I wanted. Pretty much I was done 23 hours after starting the project.

Unfortunately, I ran into issues exporting the video. It glitches at one tiny part every time...and I've tried multiple times. Each export takes 30-35 minutes and I've done it 5 times in a row with the same glitch popping up in the same spot. I'm trying things out and I don't want to change the clip because it's placed there for a reason. Hopefully it will pan out otherwise I'll have to settle...with the glitch...and I don't want to...

=====04.27.11=====

...and I don't have to. Figured a work around and it works. With one minor uploading error, it's finally up and sent to be later posted on Soshified. Originally, I would give a sneak peek here, but I don't want to get in any hot water with the Soshified staff with leaking it early. When it's up, it'll be available on our RFM site and Facebook. And if you don't remember to see it there, it'll be posted here next month.

Did some RFM work also as I went to go start the prints for our first flier with YD. We were there close to closing so seeing a proof of it would have to wait to the next day.

Then I went to do some Salsa. Talked to a few people and was introduced to formally to JPG. Cool guy.

And then...tears...

=====04.28.11=====

Got woken up from a call from the print place that the proof was done. Got ready and went out to see it and thankfully it turned out well. Headed home, bought lunch, and liked the weather outside so I asked AN if he wanted to chill. He had plans, but asked me to join in.

So on to Burger Guys to meet AN, JPG, JH+1, and CE. That was fun. It was cool to learn a few things about those dancers. I received a call from the print place during that time letting me know that the complete flier print outs were finished. Went to pick those up and then chill at the studio. Again, chilled with people, introduced to some new people, worked the desk for a bit, and even threw out a puzzle/riddle for a few students to try out. Ah, always a cool thing seeing reactions to it, ha.

=====04.29.11=====

Did a lot of prepping for Samba Night. Overall a slow day until the actual Samba Night. That was a great show, but I do have my gripes about filming conditions. Not going to rant about it here, but I will say that my main gripe was that my body felt horrible after being crowded and contorted for 3+ hours straight. I'm just hoping the video turns out well because I know we had a lot working against us.

Been a while since I drove home and screamed...

=====04.30.11=====

My body felt better waking up. It was mainly the back that still had pain.

Got to see the wedding photos from Chery's wedding. Looks great and I know she'll love them.

Despite being in pain, I did still go take my weekly hip hop class. They also had a workshop going on at the studio and they did pack it in. Class was fun. Greeted JPG and JH and a few others while people were piling in and out.

And then...suspense, ha.

I had set up an RFM business meeting for that day at 5. So I went to that straight after hip hop class to talk business with MC and MP. Pretty productive. We then took a "business dinner" and enjoyed ourselves very much so. Perry's Steakhouse & Grille is magnificent. The food was great, drinks were great, and the bartender (we sat at the bar) was a very cool dude who definitely deserved the big tip we left him. Good times talking business and being silly.

=====Final Thoughts=====

- RFM's Facebook has only gained less than 5 extra Likes this past month. Please help spread the name around. facebook.com/royalflushmedia

- The WWE Draft was fun.

- iJustine is hot and awesome.

- About the mics mentioned earlier...yeah, I needed to get the mics for my cameras (a wireless and a shotgun mic) after editing my birthday (Forever Graceful Impact XXVIII) and the Formal/Summer Reunion. Both of those events had horrible audio. And I just remembered that I should start editing last Christmas' events. I know I was holding back on touching that because of bad camera angles plus poor lighting. I think the audio would be lower on the list of things to worry about when editing that event. I still want to buy more stuff. I'm looking into a good light mount. Sure we need a light kit, but the light mount is a personal choice.

- I purchased a couple of masks recently. Still waiting for those. I'll be adding them to my sunglasses collection.

- I think I'll need to revisit and relearn some magic tricks. I actually tried one I haven't in a long time and it took a while for me to get it right.

- Thanks go out to DJ Cesca on Soshified. Thank you for the friendly advice. I'll keep you updated and continue to listen to your radio show.

- Season 6 of ABDC has started. I didn't watch the previous 2 seasons because I was starting to lose interest during season 3. But I have a good reason to watch this season. I aM mE is a Houston crew. I've seen all of them before at Soundbox and I've seen them perform live and they are just amazing. Please help with supporting them. The Houston dance scene would sure love to see them go all the way and win.

- And MR. TAXI's full MV was released and here it is with subs provided by Soshified.

And I think that should wrap things up for this month. 8 pages on Word and a good number of videos for you to read and watch this time.

Thanks for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.

Take care.

March 2011 Entry

Either not much happened this month or I just can't remember. No April Fool's joke here.

=====03.05.11=====

So I was asked to come and watch the junior team of Soundbox, Riot Squad, perform at Dance Houston. Then I was able to get in backstage as a "director" and ended up filming all their backstage antics leading up to the show. Have to say that I can see why the main director shows a lot of love for these kids. They are what we could have been 10+ years ago. They're a wild bunch, but at least things were entertaining. I got to know them better and they had taken me into their fold. It actually was nice taking care of them that day.

A week or so after their show, I completed a video for them with help of their director. Needless to say, it stands as one of my favorite videos I've made so far. RIOT SQUAD!

Riot Squad (Dance Houston) - 03.05.11 from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

=====03.08.11=====

Went to another live wrestling show. This time it was a Smackdown taping. My friend and I had good seats (floor row 2). I had my old school Edge & Christian shirt on and my belt of course. Heading to the Toyota Center, a group of guards asked if I was a wrestler because of my belt, ha. And of course the belt was popular amongst kids that were around me and I let them take photos with it.

The show was good. Got to watch the latest NXT episode as well as a Superstars taping. A big surprise was seeing Shelton Benjamin in a dark match. I popped hugely when his music hit. Great to see him back. Smackdown was a good show. Watching the televised show, we got to see quite a few things live that weren't televised, awesome. One of the best parts had to have been when Alberto Del Rio jumped over the rail into the crowd right in front of us. I was in arms' reach of him! So cool!

Called up a friend to join us for a late night dinner. It was then that my friends had noticed my eye was bleeding. Turned out to be a popped blood vessel. Had no idea when it happened because I didn't feel a thing. It was a pretty big blotch and it didn't go away completely until...the end of March.

=====03.12.11=====

Due to odd circumstances, I ended up running Soundbox Studios one day. It actually wasn't a busy day (so boredom set in a few times), but I guess I was relieved that it wasn't. I spoke to one of Lucia's dancers who came super early. Colombians always find it interesting when I tell them I've dated a Colombian girl and actually went to Colombia, ha.

Unfortunately I couldn't take the normal Saturday hip hop class, lame. I did get to help in a few birthday surprises for one of the younger dancers in that class. Hid a huge balloon and cake and helped bring those out when we celebrated.

After the hip hop class and samba practice, there was another set of classes that were on deck. At that time I was supposed to be relieved of duties, but they were still on their way back to town. I ended up closing after those were done and just had the studio to myself for a good hour. Took advantage of that and practiced a few routines I know while trying to figure out between different flocks of friends what I was going to do after leaving. Sadly, nothing emerged from that. And...at one point during that time alone in the studio...from out of nowhere...I had a strange sense of loneliness...and a tear rolled down...

Around 7 one of the co-owners showed up. Good to see him back. We talked for a bit and it was a good thing we did since another group of dancers reserved the space for practice and I had no idea about it. We left things under their control and went to OK Cafe. I ended the day after that as I was out of it. As much as I wanted to do something, I'm glad I didn't.

=====03.13.11=====

Over at Soshified, they do a lot of global projects to help promote and show support to SNSD. This time around was in support of their venture of being spokes models for Intel. They did commercials and other marketing dealing with Intel. They even had a music video and song made to promote it called "Visual Dreams."

Fans around the world were asked to take photos showing off their home cities and emblazon them with Visual Dreams posters that were sent out. So a few of us that were available in Houston got together. It was only 3 of us and one is already a friend. We first taped posters all over the other Houstonian's van. We then rode around certain parts of the city while taking photos of the van driving near them. I was driving as I was not the photographer. So after a few rounds of that and fighting through traffic trying to get to certain areas, the other Houstonian SNSD fan had to leave and we continued taking more photos downtown. That was a lot of walking, but we got some excellent shots out of it. Another friend joined us to help out for the very last bit of it before we went to eat. This adventure started at noon and our last shot was taken around nine. AND this was day light savings so we lost an hour. You can check out fruits of our labor at the following link. All in all, I was very happy with our contribution to this project.

SNSD Visual Dreams Project (Houston) - click

=====03.19.11=====

Finally the day of my cousin Chery's wedding. I did see her and met her then fiancé Michael the day before during the rehearsal and dinner. Had the RFM crew meet at my place to go over the footage at the rehearsal to get a better idea of camera placement, main wedding character placement, etc. We loaded up the SUV (which might end up being the company car for big shoots) and drove out. We arrived an hour early to the Centurion Palace and was told to come back at 4 since they were still doing tours of the place. Understandable. Chic-Fil-A later and we were setting up a few things outside waiting out the last minutes before we could get in.

While things were being set up inside and more guests were arriving, I went out on a quest to find AA batteries along with my younger cousin's boyfriend. Good guy, I approve. Back to the Palace for more setting up and running around. Those hours before the wedding sure did fly by. Won't bore you with all those details.

The ceremony was terrific. I smiled every time a relative came down the aisle. Since I was manning 3 stationary cameras, I did feel odd walking back to the main middle one since eyes would turn to me, ha. There were times I had to man the main mobile camera and I had the headphones on. It was directly linked to the wireless mic we put on Chery and I could hear her cry. That moved me so much. It was great just watching her finally where she wanted to be; married to man that she loves.

Work wasn't over by far as we were taking photos and video outside after the ceremony and then had to rush in and get ready for all the reception activities. The RFM crew knew I needed to stop working once the music hit. Dancing with the family, yes! At one point I did think that my dances were b-beatski infused, awesome.

The RFM crew did have to stop at one point just to eat. Tasted great. Shortly after it was back to work. I did stop again to participate in more dancing and for the garter toss...which I caught. That's right, got sisters' Chery and Lauren's garters from their weddings. While none of my relatives asked if I had a girlfriend or when I was getting married (probably because I was running around all day), this probably made them think about it, ha.

While we were working and there were some problems, at no point did I panic or not have fun. I had a marvelous time and was just loving being around family I don't see regularly. Lots of love was flowing at the Centurion Palace. Congratulations to Chery and Michael on their wedded bliss.

=====03.26.11=====

I was able to get my "little sister" to come and take a hip hop class with me. It was also a good excuse to hang out since we had not done that in a long time. So she got a taste of what the hip hop class was about and got to see the studio for the first time.

After class, I took my "little sister" back and then met her boyfriend. He and I bonded over silly matches of Marvel VS Capcom 3 and then ate a nice shrimp pasta dinner cooked by his girlfriend. Lots of fun.

Left go home and get ready to go karaoke with friends in celebration of a birthday(s). Took a while to figure out how everything worked (in a different language), but I got it down. Just needed reminders of what characters meant what. I only found out towards the end of the karaoke singing that they had more SNSD songs than our usual karaoke joint. They had all the way up to Hoot from what I saw. I was able to play and sing the first verse of Run Devil Run as friends were leaving the room.

I split from the gang and went to go to a midnight opening for the 3DS. Had mine fully paid off and just needed to get in line. I saw a lot of people outside, but was later told those were customers for the food places around them. Turns out that being 30 minutes late after the line started still got me 2nd place in line. For that, I was given a free XL 3DS shirt, ha. It was just myself and the 1st guy in line and the clerk for a good hour talking and playing games until more people started to pile in. It wasn't hectic, maybe 15 inside the store at the most. Those that were there early had their items rung up and just needed their receipt stamped when midnight hit. So 5 minutes after midnight, I had my 3DS.

Took it home and tried it out. I did play a bit too long as my eyes were killing me when I tried to sleep. Apparently I ignored the warning of taking breaks after extended playing periods. I think I played it for a good 2 hours before retiring that night.

=====03.27.11=====

The day of the Juice Tasting Too Long of A Title was this day. I was probably last to choose a juice because I was busy/lazy. I asked my younger cousin Pauline to choose one and she chose Odwalla. Little did I know that I wouldn't be able to find that for a while. A friend came by my place first and we set out to purchase our juices. His was easy to find, but I couldn't find any Odwalla until the 3rd grocery store we hit. So that made us a good 30 minutes late.

The event itself was very quick. I was third to go and I didn't get far as I thought I knew what mine was by the 2nd guess. There was only one correct contestant that day.

That didn't end the day as the group of us went to a Target and bought some Nerf toys to play with. I bought a shield/sword pack. Back to our starting location, we ended up playing with a few kids at the park area. We did want to just play by ourselves, but...eh...kids. At least we got a couple in on our own before wrapping up. We all packed up and went our separate ways.

I ended up eating dinner with a friend and just talking about whatever came up. I just didn't feel like ending the day when we all split.

=====03.29.11=====

Nothing like sharing a hot pot with friends. I honestly never get full from these things, but it's still good food. I did meet a friend who I had not seen in years. She sat at the table next to us with her family. Seeing her reminded me of those HBU VSA days.

=====03.30.11=====

I had not taken one of Lucia's Salsa classes in a long time. This time I was able to drag a friend out who I always try to hang with, but he's just too darn busy. Glad he was able to make it and see (how he put it) how awesome I am at Salsa, ha. I was given a few compliments that day from a few of the others in the class so I felt good.

Then it was back to chill at his place to catch up and whip up some crazy ideas. And it all ended with a round of photo taking with swords and sunglasses. So I deemed this day while typing this out to be "Salsa, Swords, and Sunglasses."

=====Final Thoughts=====

- I am enjoying my 3DS. I do wish their launch lineup was better, but I did purchase Super Street Fighter IV 3D. I never played SFIV before so I had to learn a few things. Most of my online matches have been losses, but oh well. 4 out of 5.

- I also purchased an old DS game that was cheap ($3) called Barnyard Blast. It's old school and scrolls to the side, ha. It's so silly that you can't take it seriously. Just read the what is on the back of the box.

"One Halloween evening, young piglet Cliffy Belmart and his rebellious friends decide to test their bravery by tee-peeing Barnyard Town's Ancient Castle ruled by Darkness. But as soon as the fun begins, horrendouse evil trees sweep them all into the castle. Instantly aware of his son's peril, Robert Belmart equips himself with a slew of weapons and a plan to get Cliffy back. But first, Robert must tackle six different spooky worlds - each with their own tough monsters and dangerous bosses. Is Robert a bad enough dude to rescue his son?"

- Up until Chery's wedding, I've been doing a lot of things related to Royal Flush Media. One thing was order more business cards. My pack of 100 for the wedding came back with tiny markings in the same spot on every card. A small complaint brought forth a free pack of 100 business cards that were in worse condition. Needless to say, we'll go with someone else for business card printing purposes.

Also, "Like" us on Facebook. RFM Facebook - click

- I've been on a small kick of collecting sunglasses. I have at least 10-15 I keep in a bag. These aren't expensive designer brands or anything. More like they're just unique and interesting to me. Silly sunglasses for fun rather than style. Anyone find some interesting ones, let me know.

- Ever since the wedding, I've had less to deal with lately. So I did get some spring cleaning done. Threw out a bunch of boxes, threw out some unneeded items that were taking up space, moved things around, vacuumed, and reorganized a lot of clutter. I could still clean up a bit more, but maybe next time.

- Lately I've been cursed with trouble sleeping. I used to think that around the time it was happening that it was just me being anxious about Chery's wedding, but it's gone on since then. So there have been a few days that you might have seen me only running on 1-3 hours of sleep. And any suggested method to help me fall asleep or things I used to do to when I couldn't sleep have been ineffective. I really don't know what it is.

Fortunately for one of those nights, I decided to go back and look at old Xanga entries. The ones I was looking for in particular were my trip to Colombia and Maria related posts. Good times. I also stumbled on a gem of a story I tried retelling, but of course nothing beats the live story as it was told. "The Penguin VS The Eagle." Ask about it sometime as it is too much to explain online.

- I know that there were probably other things I forgot over the course of the month such as hanging out and doing things with certain people, but if you were there and you remember then it still happened. Refresh me. Besides, I don't talk about everything on here. Sometimes a few moments are just meant to be shared with those select few that were there. That's what makes those precious moments more precious, right? Unless you forget them, ha.

Again, congratulations on your marriage, Chery. Love you, cousin.

Thank you for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.

Take care.

February 2011 Entry

For the shortest month of the year, it felt long to me. At first I had troubles recalling what I had done this month, but it's all coming back. Some were in a cluster of days one after the other and that's probably why I was forgetting. You'll see as you read on.

=====02.05.11=====

Lunar New Year gatherings were happening around town so a few friends and I went to one of them to see what was going on. Dance performances and some singing were going on. This was coming off the coldness of weather we were having for a while which created a frozen fountain...and I punched it. It actually cut me a bit, but not much. Just a little blood rose to the surface of my knuckles.

We then ate lunch. As we left, we were walking along with the dragon/lion dancers who were traveling all around the shopping district. It was just interesting to see them go store to store.

Then I took a friend to her first hip hop class. Always fun going to hip hop class. I do look forward to doing that every week. After class, my friend really wanted to learn the routine we were taught so we went to my place and went over the steps, ha. After doing that, watching videos, and talking a bit, we headed off for dinner where another friend joined us.

We were planning to do karaoke, but our dinner was late and we were just having fun talking. Then we went to the latest friend's home and talked more, played Connect 4, and looked at her vacation photos late into the night. Her cat was a little fussy. It played with the strings from my hoodie and bit me a few times. At least I didn't get all stuffy from the cat. I guess I have selective cat allergies or something, ha.

=====02.06.11=====

The Superbowl was entertaining. I made a silly bet and lost so now I have to eat a Double-Down. I'm cool with that since I like them, but everyone else I know apparently won't eat it.

We then played a few rounds of Indian Poker. First we played for normal/atomic wings. Then we added more players (who were spicy whiners, ha) and then just did rounds of revealing interesting stories/facts if you lost. I think we all enjoyed the stories we heard as well as learned more about each other. Such a fun game.

=====02.07.11=====

I got invited to go bowling with a couple people from Soundbox. First went to the mall to kill time and then went bowling. They just wanted to warm up for a charity event the following, which they ended up getting 2nd place. Congratulatons.

I do feel a little blah about bowling now. This is the 2nd or 3rd bowling alley that has told me that I am not allowed to bowl the way I bowl. My technique: throw the ball strong and fast and make the pins explode. And I would generally use an 8-pound ball, but I'm only allowed to use 10+ from now on. I can still chuck the 10s fast, but not as fast. I understand that I can damage the machinery in the back behind the pins...but that's the only way I can bowl and (possibly) win. Anyways, I'll still bowl. I just don't like that I'm being restricted on how to bowl.

=====02.13.11=====

A friend of mine had invited me a few months ago to be a guest of his at his church. I didn't accept at the time, but I did for this day. Why not? I'm cool with all religions. I've never been to a Christian church before so I was curious. It was different from all the Catholic churches I was used to going to as I was growing up. I did enjoy the environment and the energy that was in the room. The Pastor told some fun and interesting stories also.

Went to California Pizza Kitchen afterwards and had another friend join. A lot of silly banter with some serious ones. Our final awesome conversation was over how one of my friends is a bad wingman, ha. Examples were given and then we wanted to put these to a test. He wussed out, lame. Maybe next time, ha.

So the guys left and I was left with a very nice day outside. so I didn't want to just go home. I ended up going to the Galleria waiting for a friend to join me. Greeted another friend who was working, played a free game of Tekken 4 that someone left (thankfully with Kazuya), made a hair appointment, bought 2 new dress shirts, and then my friend arrived.

Since it was nice outside, we went to the Waterwall just to walk and talk. Then we went to Rice Village to wander to different stores. And darn the Chocolate Bar...having lots of things I want (like everything)...that's why I had been avoiding going there...because I like that place and what it has...a lot. A lot. More wandering around before searching for dinner to end the day.

=====02.14.11=====

Didn't celebrate since I'm single (ladies). I did have a very bad headache and a sore neck all day. So that was lame and very annoying. Would've been nice to have someone take care of my pains (ladies).

=====02.17.11=====

A friend who works at a cafe asked us (RFM) to do some promotional photos/videos for them. So we were at OK Cafe and they brought out different dishes they prepare and we just took shots of them. We were then talking and we needed some customers to film enjoying the dishes. So we called some friends and 5 came to eat a free dinner. Hilarity did ensue when it came to getting a closing shot.

OK Cafe - CHEERS! - 02.17.11 from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

After all that, a few of us went to karaoke for an hour. No treasure hunting...maybe next time, ha.

=====02.18.11=====

A friend was in from San Antonio so he invited a few of us over to play video games. We ended up playing a lot of Boom Blox (all for the first time) and it was great simple fun. We also tried out a hacked version of New Super Mario Bros Wii and....that...was...awesomely-difficult-hilariously-challenging. I wanted to keep trying it (and did a little solo) because I thought it was beatable (at least on my own). We ended with some Rummikub. I actually won a match (2 total out of all the times I played). Friends left and a couple of chilled for a while to talk not too late into the night.

=====02.19.11=====

Went out early in the morning to see b-beatski. I needed to have an energy pill knowing that the rest of the day would be busy and it was. Went to the Centurion Palace to check out where my cousin is getting married next month. Took RFM members that are going to work the wedding to get a look at the place and have ideas of how to shoot things. Had an appointment set up at 3...and didn't get there until 3:40...yeah, we couldn't find the place. I'm so glad we did in the end and that we were still able to get a good look at the place. I love the place and I can't wait for my cousin's wedding.

And a friend was celebrating her birthday and her recent engagement (congratulations) later in the day. It was hot pot at 7...and they didn't seat us until 8. That's fine. At least I was able to build an appetite. Good food followed by a delicious cake made for a great dinner. We then had a silly idea to walk from the hot pot place to Dave & Busters since we were worried about parking. It wasn't a far walk...maybe 5+ minutes.

I have some weird thing going on with D&B. The last 2 times I went I would always win something from the crane game and it would always be something pink (dog and cow). This time I was able to win an ugly angel doll (it sure isn't pretty) and a purple mouse. So I am slowly building a colorful animal collection I suppose. I'll probably give those away at some point (ladies). Had fun playing air hockey and racing games. I also found a gift bag that was left alone and gave it to the birthday girl. Everyone was perplexed by why I had given her a pair of Ralph Lauren Polo socks, ha. Hey, I didn't know what was in it also either.

=====02.21.11=====

An invite to play games was made. So I went over only to find out that his mother got in a car wreck. She's fine, it was only cosmetic damage, but we went over to help her out. We went with her to get a rental car and went browsing around at some of the new cars. I don't remember what they were, but I liked whatever was $45K and $85K. They just felt good sitting in them. I wouldn't mind owning either one (ladies).

After all that was done, it was back to play Marvel VS Capcom 3. That was my first and only time playing it and it was fun. A lot of crazy action was going on and it was definitely good playing against someone on a similar level to myself. He knew a little more and was kicking my butt, ha. I won a few here and there, but I was just trying out every character before forming silly teams. What was most important was that I won the final match; Hulk/Chris Redfield/Arthur VS Ryu/Spider-Man/Morrigan. Maximum Spider!

=====02.23.11=====

Earlier in the month I met with Lucia to hand her the material from her recent Epic Dance show. She then called later in the month about doing a promotional shoot for her company since they're auditioning for America's Got Talent. At first she didn't like the price I wanted to do it for. I had my reasons such as it would be a last minute thing and I would have to push other projects to the side since she needed it ASAP. She called a week later saying she still wants me to do it and that they raised the money for it.

So I went to their practice area and was there from 7 to midnight. They did 7 dance styles and did multiple takes due to mistakes or just to do it better. I enjoyed it, but it did go on longer than I thought it would. I did expect we'd take a few hours though since this was something very important. Good thing I had no plans for later that night otherwise I would've had to cancel them.

=====02.24.11=====

And with the shooting of LD Dance Company completed, it was time to work on the promo video. Had a deadline to meet; the next day. It was actually easier to cut together than I thought it would be. Most of the time was spent syncing the audio correctly and I only had a few times where it took a really long time. Then it was just the matter of swapping takes when someone made a mistake.

I ended up making a 10 minute promo and sent the preview off to be previewed. THAT was the longest part...exporting and uploading. We need a faster internet. In the end, the video was received well with only a few minor changes to be made and a request to make a 2-3 minute version. That was easy. I just basically took 20 seconds from each performance and it was done. Made versions with the RFM logo as well...and then it took long to export...and then those had minor glitches for some reason...so I re-exported them again...and again...and uploaded all of those. Those exporting and upload times were the bulk of the work that made the whole day a work day. The initial 10 minute promo was done by 3 and the final part of uploading everything ended up happening overnight while I slept. One of them didn't even finish. It froze up and I had to send it again the next morning.

Met Lucia and a couple other people I know from her dance company to hand her the materials to send off.

LD Dance Company - AGT Promo (Short Version) from Royal Flush Media on Vimeo.

=====02.26.11=====

So...hip hop class kind of kicked my butt today, not going to lie. I was good for the first half of the routine, but then I got stupid or something and things weren't clicking so well in the end. I was getting frustrated...don't know if anyone in the class could tell, but I was. I was disappointed in myself with that.

Afterwards, had a pow-wow with a friend to "dream" along with him about a future endeavor in which I might be a part of. More on that as it develops.

Went out for lunch with him to meet someone else I've met from the studio. Cool guy. And then went a the first part of a friend's birthday at the mall ice rink. Said "yo" to a friend who was working beforehand. Didn't ice skate since we would've only done it for a short amount of time. A little talking and meeting of new people and then that portion was done and we split as they went to go do part two. Before leaving, we visited another friend who was working (probably embarrassed her, ha) and then ran into those we split from, ha.

=====02.27.11=====

A lot of time on RFM's Facebook. Facebook didn't want to cooperate all the time and I was getting very ticked off. I also had to spend time shortening a couple of videos due to Facebook's 20 minute limit on video. It was just the time of having the old projects be rendered again and exporting the new video that took a lot of time. The uploading to Facebook was actually smooth, but I spent the majority of my day working on this and it was just getting to me. I just wanted to reach the quota of videos I set for myself (spilled beyond 2AM). Apparently the 20 minute limit also means it can't be exactly 20 minutes long...dammit. 19:59 is acceptable. Exactly the limit, no. Also ran into the issue that it can't be exactly 1GB either. 999MB, acceptable. Would be nice if Facebook (and YouTube) just doesn't let you upload from the start rather than telling going through the process and 20+ minutes later you are told it won't work. Vimeo does that. at least. A very lame way to spend a Sunday, but it was for the sake of RFM. Please tag yourself or your friends and family if you're in the videos.

=====02.28.11=====

Edited a revision of a song I cut together for Soundbox's Riot Squad. Spent more time with RFM's Facebook and ran into more video uploading issues...fun. Can't wait until I get all of our videos up.

=====Final Thoughts=====

- I've actually gone back to my old workplace to visit twice this month. The first time was just to see how everyone was. They all wondered what I was up to. I was told I was missed because I was too good at what I did that I raised the bar quite high for the person that took over some of my duties, ha. I also met the new editor they hired. She was only a week in so she didn't have much of opinion of the place yet. The second time I visited was after having lunch with a couple former coworkers. I then dropped by to visit everyone and talked quite a bit with them. I got to know the new editor better and we exchanged business information.

- RFM is gaining recognition. I've been getting a lot of praise from the promo video I did for Lucia. I even had a nice phone conversation with her assistant who highly praised me and thanked me to no end for the work I did. If she was impressed by that, imagine the whole team working together and what we could do. That's another reason I can't wait for my cousin's wedding. Team RFM will be there and we're going to do a damn good job.

We're also in the process of adding photos and videos to RFM's Facebook page (mentioned earlier). So if I know you and have you on Facebook, you'll probably get notifications asking to Like it. Help us out by tagging others you know in them as well.

- I keep adding more game music to my iPod. I had to for one series though. I don't know why, but I never thought to get soundtracks for Space Channel 5. Loved those games. Now I have all of that music to listen to now. Ulala, chu chu chu!

- Ghost Trick (Nintendo DS) - Rated 5 out of 5

Loved Ghost Trick. Can't recommend it enough. As for anything I'm playing now, I've been playing through the 3rd Phoenix Wright game on WiiWare if I have some downtime (like when uploading forever...). March will be grand when I get my 3DS, yum.

- I got the All-Star Superman animated movie. It was pretty good. A little slow for my taste, but with the story they told, it had to be. Highly recommended for Superman fans.

- And speaking of things I bought, I've bought a lot of stuff this month. A watch, a gorilla pod and pivot head, silly sunglasses, hoodie, shirts, SNSD photo book, and probably more that isn't popping into my head. Odd thing is that when I receive one item in the mail, I subconsciously would order something else online. Bad habit forming, indeed.

- Been maintaining a normal workout regimen (ladies) just so I'm not sitting on my butt working on RFM stuff all day. It's just a few minutes with weights and then the rest of an hour doing routines I've learned over the years to the point that I'm dripping with sweat (ladies). Takes me back to when I was at my prime 5-6 years ago the last time I was working out regularly. Back then I could do the same thing except for an extra hour while singing also. I'm tempted to pull out BoA's 2005 or 2007 concert and go along with the whole thing like I used to. Maybe in a month or 2. I definitely could use a good massage (ladies). My muscles and my back have been in pain a little more so than usual.

- During some of my downtime (usually at night) I've started writing a fanfic. Haven't done one in a looooooooong time, but I've had an idea floating around in my head for a while. For those that didn't know, I used to write a lot especially during my time in college. I once wrote a 100 chapter fanfic over my favorite Korean girl group at the time, BabyVoX. All of my fanfics involved me either by name or an alias. This one I'm doing now is based off a Korean variety show called "We Got Married" involving SNSD's Jessica. This is most likely inspired by seeing scenes of SeoHyun's wedding shoot episode of "We Got Married" and my cousin getting married soon. I probably won't share it and just keep it to myself. It just feels good writing again even if it is for a one time deal.

- And I don't know what it is, but I've been having a slew of weird dreams lately. Usually I get those when I drink medicine, but I haven't been sick since last month. They're very much odd and I don't know why certain people are there and why certain things are happening.

That should do it for this month. Onward to March.

Thank you for reading. Be healthy, be thankful, and be loved.

Take care.