I think there are some things I just never want to do in my life. Stuff that I have no ambition for doing or stuff that I think is just plain stupid to do. I mean all for putting your life in danger (keyword there “your”) if you want but not me. I’m smart. I want to survive.
Anyway, here are some of the things I have no ambition or inclination to ever do in my life.
Climbing Mount Everest – I get altitude sickness anyway. I’d suffer. I’m writing a book about it but no aspirations of climbing. I don’t want to climb any other mountain for that matter, either. Neither should anyone who isn’t passionate for the mountains and beauty and all that. But even if, it’s been done.
Running A Marathon – I wanted to with my brother-in-law but then he got pregnant so that ended that. Looking back on it what was I thinking? All that hard work… all those shoes…
Spelunking – Who wants to do this? Get stuck in a cave? Also, I’m claustrophobic. I’ll pass.
Skydiving – Being the deathly afraid of heights woman I am who gets scared just being on two steps of a ladder, I don’t think skydiving is for me. I need to have a beer before I even step foot on a plane, anyway.
Bungee Jumping – See Skydiving. I used to watch this when I stayed with my dad at Circus Circus in Vegas. Never wanted to try it but it was fun to watch at 1 in the morning.
Parasailing – See Skydiving and Bungee Jumping. I did do this once in Ocean City with Bri who wanted me to do it. I was so scared. I didn’t speak to Bri for hours afterwards. My hands clung to the strap so hard they were white and red.
Procreating – I never wanted to procreate or have a kid. I really like the fun part of it but the rest is work. I’ll probably blog more about this later as I’m growing a list of why I’ve never procreated. It will be a lengthy list.
Scuba Diving – Eh, nah. All that breathing. I hate breathing. Except you know, to live.
Restoring A Car – Bri wanted to do this but it’s too much work. My Dad and uncles and Grandfather were into cars so it runs in my blood to like them and appreciate them. I bet I could be good at it though.
Going Camping – Been there, done that. It sucks. I sometimes think when life sucks it could be worse. I could be camping. But glamping or being in a cabin, yes. Just hope for no bugs.
Going Into Space – I love learning about other planets and space and shit but going there isn’t for me. I love the planet I’m on even with all its faults (like humans).
Deep Sea Diving – I don’t care to look at the Titanic through a window three inches wide and thick. There are pictures of shipwrecks and I love shipwrecks but visiting one is out for me. Save this for the billionaires :)
Maybe more later if I think of any other things not to put my life in danger.
I’m weird and I like to rewatch shows. I feel like I learn or observe something new every time I see them. I get more information and see more character development. Also someone like me who doesn’t remember character names until like five episodes in; it helps. I can also see how their character develops throughout a series since I know what happens.
Anyway, I like to rewatch shows even if I’ve seen them a bunch. Just thought I would create a list.
Breaking Bad – Always a classic. I like to rewatch this for the great characters and the great story. I always notice some hidden detail that I missed before.
Better Caul Saul – It’s in the same universe as Breaking Bad and it’s a prequel (even though it was filmed after Breaking Bad). I can always catch something new watching this. I love how we see the same characters from Breaking Bad appear in this show. I wish we could see the “Gene Scenes” without them being black and white. And the only way to watch BCS is by watching all of BB mid season 6.
Frasier – I’ve loved this show since I was a kid. Even though it was a sitcom and you can pretty much watch any episode without knowing anything, it’s still great. I love the Daphne and Niles relationship and watching what happens to everyone. I wasn’t a Cheers fan but I loved Frasier. Frasier also had a great ending (even if it does have more reboot seasons; the original is the best).
Lost – One of those really good shows where so many things tie together. They reference stuff in season 4 that was originally in season 1… everything just went together. Though there were a few loose ends, I thought the final season was pretty good; although sad. I also love the characters and their development and backstory. I recently watched Lost in chronological order and it was amazing. I picked up on so many little things I missed while watching it originally.
Dexter – If there was one show I could rewatch like it was a virgin to me, it would be Dexter. So many twists and turns throughout the season… sooo good. Even if the last four seasons really sucked, the first four were amazing. I did think the books were better. (Isn’t that always the case?)
Shameless – You just love some of the characters and their relentlessness to just “make it.” They really do whatever they can to survive. Even though some of the characters just get in their own way (i.e. Lip), it’s still just great to root for them. I also really enjoyed the final season which had Covid in it. I loved that. So many shows pretended like there wasn’t a pandemic going on. Shameless wrote it in. I also really loved the ending. Very satisfying ending.
Travelers – Even though this show only had three seasons, it’s one of my favorites. It’s sci-fi and mystery and drama… it has a little of everything. Very well written and the stories are amazing. Highly recommend this show… Just wish it had more. The ending sucked but it was understandable.
The Newsroom – Man do I really wish this show lasted more than three seasons! As Americans, we needed this show to continue. Like I would have religiously watched News Night every night. That is how news SHOULD be. And I loved seeing the dynamics around the news room. Having had crushes on some of my coworkers before, I totally dug the relationships and the hesitation and waiting. But loved this show for the politics.
These shows I don’t watch nearly as often as the others but they’re still good to watch.
Scrubs – What a great and funny show. I loved how the relationships change so much over the years of the show. It also gave me a perspective on my life and how much I’ve grown up. The series started a few years before I went to college so I always had it as it was a kinda learning show.
Fringe – I loved how the first few episodes of this series tied into one another. I think they didn’t think it was going to be a success so they didn’t think ahead more than six episodes but it still is a great show. I love the sci-fi and solving the mysteries. I don’t like the unrealistic aspect of how fast they really think they can get from Massachusetts to New York City in like a half hour. Unrealistic. (And yea I know that kind of thing bothers me and not the physics of amber fossilization.)
True Blood – I would probably watch this more than the other ones in this sub list because the characters are so good in it. And deep down it is a good story. Lots of sex!
Big Love – Don’t know why I was so fascinated with this series at one point but it’s worth a few watches… maybe because like any HBO show it has so much sex in it. But there are details you miss unless you watch it at least twice; and it needs to be binge watched.
Some honorable mentions but shows I would probably never watch again: Oz, The Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, House, The Boyz, Bosch, The Lincoln Lawyer, Law & Order: SVU.
I will probably update this post with more shows that are at least worth a watch.
I did another “Dry January” although it was more like a dry April into May. No real journal on this one but I’ll write some random notes down. Let me say that it was my choosing, again, and I did so without force or temptation. It wasn’t a problem for me to give it up cold turkey and no cravings.
I didn’t repeat the same mistakes I made from the Dry January 2024. I didn’t just switch to soda. I mostly stuck with mocktails, tea, water, or towards the end, non-alcoholic beer. I still feel bad for having non-alcoholic beer as I feel like it’s cheating since it does contain some trace alcohol.
I’ve actually lost weight this time! I think it’s because of EMS and all the yoga I’m doing. I’m also eating better and less. The last time I did it I remember eating more. This time I feel like I’m not substituting alcohol for more food.
I’m not sleeping well. At least the last few weeks. Difficult to get to sleep and I wake up during the night at least once or twice. Every morning I feel like I wake up with a hangover. I don’t understand. I thought that was one of the perks of NOT drinking… no hangover? Seems I had this problem the last time too. What is it?
There definitely were some difficulties but nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing I almost broke down on… maybe a few but I never did…
Sam’s birthday with everyone trying to get me to drink
Mexican Train nights are difficult especially with so many fun drinking buddies around like Jaque, Viv, and Larry
First happy hours on Thursdays are actually easy since Glenn hasn’t been drinking either
The first Saturday with our Pinochle group… Marlene brought Sangria… damn it
When all the power in Portugal went out all I wanted was a beer on my balcony; I did settle for non-alcoholic beer but it didn’t do the trick if you know what I mean
Not cheersing at Tivoli happy hours and not ordering anything from there
Not cheersing period (except with non-alcoholic or mocktails)
Ugh, the festival… All that craft beer that I didn’t get to taste… that was tough
After my eye exam I really wanted a beer
After the Portuguese placement test I REALLY wanted a beer
Denying Brandon at the store… damn me
Looking in my fridge and instead of grabbing a beer I had to settle for water
Not having a beer with Sam and her sister
Not having a beer or wine on our game night even though it was easy since Jay doesn’t drink and Petra can’t drink
Seeing Shawn have a beer and not being able to grab one from the fridge and drink with him
Watching shows and movies where people drink to cope or forget or whatever… like that is my thing
I hate having to explain to people why I’m not drinking.
I feel like I’m going to cut back when I continue. I definitely need to take it slow whenever I start again.
Speaking of “starting again” I may go another week. I want to see if I actually do lose weight this time and it’s not a fluke.
If I do go another week, this was the right time to do it. Michael is away and he’s been one of my drinking buddies so that’s one temptation not there. Plus Rene is MIA at the moment.
It is difficult not having alcohol with Sam. I feel awful when she asks, “are you doing one more?” and I say no… I mean I can because it’s non-alcoholic but still. Shit is expensive.
The Marina Bar upped its happy hour prices. This may effect my drinking when I continue.
I do like the recycling bin being not full of empty beer cans and bottles.
Given all the reasons above, I’m proud that I didn’t give into temptations. I also may do this once or twice a year to give my body a cleanse.
Let’s do a quick update to see where I am with getting a BINGO.
B
I
N
G
O
Swim at least once a month
Win more at Dominion (for the moment)
Varnish office entertainment center
Reach out to peeps (only dismiss twice) (on going!)
Learn a new dance
Code Portuguese idea
Blog at least once a month (on going!)
Finish Practice Portuguese (there is some new stuff I need to do)
Create more TikToks
Do something with Millennial Life
Try new recipes (still doing)
Find two hobbies (still need to do)
Spend less time on TikTok (not happening for the moment)
Host at least six online game nights (two down)
Finish O Triunfo Dos Porcos
Be able to do more with my body (on going)
Years Collage updates for me
Travel with Lando & Bri somewhere (went to Spain; want to go somewhere else too)
Host at least two game nights (one down)
Update wardrobe (on going)
Juggle at least once a month (on going)
Practice riding with Lando (not doing)
Surprise Bri with 5 things (I got like 2 things)
Join a Portuguese course (could be happening)
Years Collage timelines
Some of these I could officially mark as “done” but they are more like an on going/life kinda thing. The one crossed out I cannot do anymore as I already failed.
Throughout my years I’ve learned a few things approaching a magical age I dare not speak of (40)… I’ve learned how to avoid the hangovers. And I’ll teach you all this, in 4 easy steps! A course of a lifetime you’ll never forget!
I’ve been doing research for years! I’ve been practicing my ass off! I’ve been training my whole life for this moment, I swear to you. Culminating just to be this well-versed leader before you…
Not to be done in any particular order… however if you decide to eat later, that could be the best.
Drink water & hydrate – Make sure to drink lots of water while drinking (you’re not a pussy). In fact, my rule is for every one beer, drink a half of that of water. Moreso if you continue to drink throughout the night. It’s all about hydration, baby… and soda doesn’t count!
Take a full leak – When you feel the need to go, just go. Go before you start drinking. They do say if you “break the seal” you’ll have to go more so be cognizant of that. But if you do decide to go (and you should “go”) make sure to push and empty it all out. I mean strain yourself… Pretend you have three bladders and you need to empty them all. Get it all out! You won’t have to go to the bathroom so many times later.
Eat a meal – Food is very important to soak up the alcohol. You need food either before, during, or after you drink. Do not drink on an empty stomach or you must be very mindful about the previous tips!
Drink a lot before you sleep – Before you lay your head down in that final resting place for the night (hopefully it’s not a gutter or a toilet) drink lots of water or juice. Drink like it’s going to be your last time ever to drink in your life. Your body needs hydration. No soda!
The next day… Assuming you’ve followed the above advice. (Even if you haven’t, do this anyway.)
Sleep as long as you can – Getting a good sleep is one of the keys. It should be easy to fall asleep.
Hydrate when you wake up – Several times during the night you may need to wake up and go to the bathroom. Drink water or preferably juice (a few gulps of it) during these periods than take a leak. Hopefully you’ll be able to fall asleep after this. Soda doesn’t count!
Get breakfast – Something to hydrate you and give you energy.
Drink juice – Juice is the best. Or Gatorade. Always have some. Juice (natural 100%) works the best though. None of that US 10% juice shit. The real stuff. No soda.
Have a good lunch – If you only eat twice a day (breakfast/brunch and dinner) do three meals this day. Eat a good lunch. I’m usually done any remanence of a hangover by my second meal.
Also try to avoid “hangxiety.” I get it all the time and it sucks but just try to think you’re living your best life. Drunk you has nothing to do with you. The minor mistakes you made while drinking, try not to think about them. It’s difficult (I know) but best to forget them. I’m sure everyone else has.
Best of luck in your next drinking night and SAĆDE!
I thought I would blog about all the cool things that happen in Lagos or around Portugal every year so I know not to plan trips around them. Some of these may very depending on the year so I’ll add the year that they happened. Here’s a list:
December 31/January 1 (New Years) – Fireworks and a concert in the praƧa.
After having watched BCS (Better Call Saul) again I notice how very impulsive Kim is. I feel like she makes decisions too hastily without thinking them through. I feel she quit her job at HHM too soon and she jumped into business with Jimmy instead of heavily considering the job at Schweikart and Cokely. I feel like even after she went back to Schweikart and Cokely and pursued their bank department and took over Mesa Verde there, she quit pretty impulsively. She also was very impulsive in quitting the law altogether at the end of the series.
I consider myself a pretty careful person. Just thinking about Kim and her decisions, I don’t think I’ve made many life decisions like that impulsively. I think I’ve liked the idea of making big changes but I’ve always thought them through.
In fact probably the biggest decision that might have been slightly impulsive is moving to Portugal. I’ve liked the idea for many years about moving out of the country but it never really hit me (the consequences, the process, the life change) until we actually moved here. Now that we have, I’m really glad we did and I’m very happy.
Bri and I went to the states for Arlene’s wedding. It was a crazy trip getting there. Megan and Matt and Bri went to the amazing wedding. I met up with a former coworker and met other cool people. I only stayed four nights total in the states but I made the most of it. After Tampa, we went to Tampa then to New Orleans to hang out with Megan and Matt. It was a lot of fun.
I saw a TikTok where a guy said instead of a list of goals/resolutions, make it a bingo card. Therefore making it more of a motivation to get a bingo by years end. Here’s my 2025 resolutions bingo card.
As it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d throw an update to 2024 Resolutions. In the coming days I’ll be doing 2025 resolutions. Here’s how my 2024 resolutions are going:
Work on Years Collage – I’ve done a lot of enhancements to yearscollage.com over the past year such as adding more fields, more sorting, more security, and a places. I plan on implementing a timeline at some point.
Finish Dad’s Years Collage – I’ve finished this for a while now. I’m proud of it but unfortunately the people that I set it up for don’t really care so it’s just whatever. I still like to look back at my father’s life.
Finish my Years Collage – Not there yet. But I have been adding to it and not slacking.
Build movie organizer – This was a very fun (but fast) project for me. The only thing that was difficult was finding a source but once I was able to get reliable and free JSON, everything was great. It is kind of a pain to add new movies but it’s a process that I have documented and hopefully could figure out should the resource go.
Learn more Portuguese and be able to have a good conversationĀ – I feel like my portuguese has progressed a lot but I still have a lot to learn. I’m good at reading and writing but speaking and listening not so much. I bought Practice Portuguese and do it every day. I’m also going to look into booking classes online since my portuguese class has been on hiatus since September :(
One month soberĀ – Did Dry January. It was a pain in the ass. I’m not doing that again.
More quotesĀ – Not so much. I even put a notice on the quotes site. Maybe next year I’ll do better but I doubt it. It’s just freeing to not have to whip out my phone to record something.
Figure out a shrine for my Dad’s stuffĀ – I put his stuff on two shelves in my office. I like it and look at it every day.
Figure out a place for glasses/shot glassesĀ – This stuff is in a few boxes in the storage. Maybe next year we will figure out something but right now we just don’t have the real estate.
Reach out at least once a month to peopleĀ – I have set alarms in my phone to reach out to people.
Aunt Janet – Not
Sabrina P – I talk to her game nights; I need to do more
Helen E – We talk at least once a month
Becky D – Though I’ve ignored my alarm a few times, I still try to reach out
Matt A – I talk to him on game nights
Megan W – I have an alarm but I have ignored it a few times; we’re seeing them next year!
Billyray M – No alarm but I feel like I keep in contact well; I’m excited about the future!
Dance moreĀ – Not doing much but hope in the new year will bring more of this.
Do something nice for Brian every weekĀ – Ugh I think I definitely dropped the ball on this one. Laziness and ideas… Maybe once a week was too much of a commitment. Maybe once a month next year.
Blog moreĀ – More than once a month wasn’t bad!
Swim at least once every three daysĀ – Nope. I should do this though.
Practice jugglingĀ – Another nope. The juggling balls are right in my office but I’ve been spending so much time with Bri, I don’t think about it.
Have more online game nightsĀ – I had a few this year… The problem is staying up late (I stay up until 2 AM every Monday for Dominion). I should have more though.
I had to go back to the states to sell my car so what better time to visit than Thanksgiving (so I thought)! It was a very VERY busy week. It felt like a month… so jam packed and lots of traveling. But I had a great time and it was amazing seeing so many friends and family and meeting new family.
Kamala Harris made a lot of mistakes. And it screamed of the same mistakes Hillary Clinton made in her failed 2016 run. This time, however, the Democrats don’t have the third party to blame. Jill Stein didn’t even come close to making a difference. The Democrats lost this one on their own.
Here are some key things that Kamala did that really did her injustice:
Kamal Good Cause TRUMP BAD
Bill Maher said it well. She had to come up with something when someone asks her why she’s good. She’s good because “TRUMP BAD.” This isn’t a winning argument. Hillary tried it in 2016 and it failed. I don’t understand why they think this is going to ever win. No matter how much you tell people how bad something is they’re not going to listen. It even looks like this backfired.
Give People Something To Vote FOR, Not Something To Vote AGAINST
Going off of the previous paragraph, every interview I heard with Kamala, she always said something nasty about Trump. Almost every question she answered with a “TRUMP BAD.” People don’t respond to that. They need something more than “vote for me because the other guy is going to do X, Y, and Z.”
Where Was Tim Walz?
I got really excited about Tim Walz. It seemed like he was a progressive (at least a shit ton more progressive than Biden and Harris). But the past few months I haven’t heard anything from him. No sound bites, no interviews, nothing. Granted I am in Portugal but that doesn’t stop me from getting US news on TikTok, YouTube, FB, etc. He was really popular and gave Kamala a boost initially but nothing the past few months. Even in that Kamala Harris interview with CNN, Walz was just there… like he barely spoke. What was the point of him even being there? He basically just listened the whole time.
Touting Republican Endorsements
This was one fast way to lose some of her base… Brag about Dick Cheney. I don’t know about you but I’m disgusted and very put off by Dick and Liz Cheney. Whatever they’re for, I’m usually against and vice versa. There was nothing stopping Kamala from touting their endorsement every chance she got. I believe this was a huge mistake as it further alienated her base (and people like me). You have to be taken aback when one of the people you’re 100% against turns out to endorse your candidate. If that doesn’t make you question them then I don’t know what will. I know the Blue MAGA is strong but you gotta think some progressives and some others would be really hesitant to pull the lever for you knowing you align with the slime that’s Dick Cheney. (And yes maybe she doesn’t “align” with him but he endorsed her… it’s kinda like getting the devil’s endorsement.) I believe she lost more voters bragging about the Cheney endorsement than she gained.
Becoming Too Pro-Business & Going Too Far To The Right
The last few weeks of the campaign it seems she shifted and became more pro-business. (See paragraph above.) I feel she probably alienated more people this way. A majority of her base doesn’t think this way. Why alienate them on the hope of picking up a few republican voters? She got too cozy with Republican ideas (much like Hillary did) and I feel like a lot of people were like, well, if I had my choice between a Republican and a Republican-lite, I’ll go for the authentic (not saying Trump is authentic). It’s like having your choice in name-brand ice cream and an off brand. People would go for the name brand stuff. Either way, I sincerely hope the Democrats have learned their lesson in running to the right after two failed elections.
The Economy ISN’T GOOD
Stop saying the economy is good. I read this on FB a bit today. The indicators are there that the economy is good but to the average person, I don’t think they believe that. I know I don’t. I don’t see prices going down even though inflation is going down. Is my income going up? Nope. Are groceries and gas still expensive? Yup. Can people get by? They’re having a lot of trouble. And if you can’t see that, I don’t know what to tell you. If the economy really were good people wouldn’t want change. And they’re going to get change with Trump. Biden did a lot of good but he also didn’t brag about it and Americans didn’t feel it enough. “IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID.”
Tackling Inflation The Wrong Way
Going off of the previous, I don’t think Biden handled inflation the right way. Inflation was off the hinges because of corporate greed. This was sparked by covid. Businesses had to charge more because of “supply chain issues” and what not. They never lowered prices once the supply chain was fixed. Why would they? They know they can get away with it. Look at basic indicators like the price of a Big Mac. It soared and is continuing to soar. Sure, after years of hiking up the interest rate (the Fed, not Biden) it eventually got it under control. At least the numbers. But to the average consumer, the prices never went down. In fact tackling inflation with the interest rate just made housing prices soar! And they don’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. They never addressed what was really behind the high prices which is (and probably always be) corporate greed.
It Was Very “House Of Cards”
If you’ve watched NetFlix’s “House Of Cards” you might get a sense of what I’m saying. Not a single vote (well, maybe a write-in) was cast for Kamala Harris in the Democratic primary. This is because Joe Biden was the incumbent and instead of actually having a primary, they just decided to make him the nominee without any debates or challenges. If Kamala Harris won, I would hate this for it. It is not Democracy how she was elected. She was chosen. I don’t know if this point counts for why she lost but it definitely didn’t help especially when she went down in flames in the 2020 primaries.
The Media
It’s always the media. They LOVE LOVE LOVE everything that Trump says. He sneezes and it makes the news. It’s very hard to gain attention when your opponent gets so much free airtime. The same thing happened in 2016 as well. When you’re constantly bombarded with things Trump said, Trump sticks out in your mind… Go into the voting booth… There’s a saying like, “there’s no such thing as bad press.” It’s correct.
She Never Hit It Off With Her Demographics
I don’t know what their campaign strategy was besides “we’re not Trump” but I didn’t see much in the way of trying to appeal to her core. And the Dick Cheney endorsement probably didn’t help there. I didn’t see many plans or ideas in terms of trying to help certain communities.
“Nothing Comes To Mind”
I think that comment of her on The View will haunt her. When she was asked if she would have done anything different than Biden she said, “nothing comes to mind.” There are lots of things Biden could have done differently that might have had some positive effects on the populace (let’s face it), but he didn’t. A big issue for a lot of the American people (for some reason) is illegal immigration. If he had done more for the boarders maybe that would have helped; but I don’t know. Kamala just I guess wasn’t ready for that (I think) softball question. She had more to say afterwards when she experienced the backlash. This was a change election and the “nothing comes to mind” doesn’t signify change.
Lack Of Debates & Shying From The Media
The lack of debates isn’t her fault. I’m sure she wanted to have more debates but Trump didn’t. (It’s why we will never get a serious challenger to Nancy Pelosi; she won’t sit down for a debate. How does it feel, Democrats?) If there were more debates it could have helped her because she could have made a stronger case to the American people (and hopefully not just say, “TRUMP BAD”). If she went with the “TRUMP BAD” strategy though, that would not have helped. Also there was a month in there where she made no interviews or tried to do any press. Not a strong look when people are wanting to know you.
Conclusion
I don’t think any of these things by itself caused her to fail but so many years of neoliberal politics, the Democratic party really needs to do some soul searching (which they should have done in 2016 when they lost to Trump the first time). The Democratic party keeps abandoning its base to try to go more towards the center and it’s proven time and time again that this strategy doesn’t work. The right got more extreme and the left stayed where they were. The middle is now further to the right. We needed to combat this by more progressive candidates and people who actually want to get things done. Not these status quo politicians (yes, Kamala is status quo; so is Biden). The Democratic party has decided to silence the voices of the progressive movement instead; not realizing (or maybe being paid not to realize) that the country needs and wants progressives and progressive policies. Not once during this campaign did I even hear free college or Medicare for all. At least with Bernie Sanders in the race in 2016 and 2020 it was at least talked about.
I just finished the fourth and final season of the Umbrella Academy. (Warning: there will be spoilers!)
Overall the series was good but honestly the acting and dialog made it. The actors were phenomenal. The dialog was great. But the plots just weren’t there. They often didn’t make sense and there were a lot of loose ends and things that I just wish they had better explained.
Here are just a few things that I took issue with:
If there were so many women who mysteriously gave birth around the world at the same time, where are the others?
Why did Hargreeves only take seven when he clearly could have gotten more? (He does get another set from season 3 but I’m sure there were more opportunities to get more.)
Why didn’t other children of the women have special powers who weren’t in the Umbrella or Sparrow academies? Coming of age you would think all the people born on that day would exhibit powers at some point in their life.
Probability states that he should have been able to get a lot more chinese girls due to the one child policy. There isn’t even one chinese girl in the series. I would think those children would be the number one of who would be “available” to adopt. Probably more chinese boys too since China is almost 18% of the world population.
I am really glad they tied up almost the whole thing at the end as to why all these apocalypses kept happening but that plot got a little tiring after season two. Glad they were able to sum it up at the end but it still annoyed me throughout the series… like can’t they come up with something else?
Ben dying never made sense in season four. Hargreeves killed Ben. Okay but then we had a flashback during season one on the after mission and them wondering what the hell happened… They should have known… unless Hargreeves altered their minds before they got back home, maybe?
Did Lila and Five really spend seven years in a subway?
I like this plot but seven years is way too long and they didn’t look like they aged during that time. Lila did mention she got a gray hair but I was expecting a lot more aging during this time.
I mean after a week I would have been sick of it. I think it should have been a shorter amount of time.
If they were really stuck for seven years, how would they not have hooked up sooner? They seemed to have only hooked up during year 5 or 6… I would think it would have been more like 2 or 3.
The whole thing with the hotel in season three made no sense. In fact all of season three didn’t.
Why weren’t the Sparrows working their asses off to try to save people from the Kugelblitz apocalypse? Why were they acting like nothing else was going on?
How did Luther and Sloane have time to plan a wedding? Where did that come from?
How was the hotel so accomedating? Where were the other patrons of the hotel?
If the hotel was the last thing standing why wasn’t everyone flocking to there?
And how in the hell was Lila able to eat sushi when pregnant? Seriously. That bugs me. Pregnant women can’t eat sushi. (One of the many reasons why I never wanted to procreate.)
How did Harlen know where Viktor/Vanya was at the beginning? Did he sense her and just up and leave whatever life he had wherever he had to go to New York?
Why on earth would you ever ring the bell??? It didn’t seem like they even needed to anyway since the thing that saves the world was right on the fucking floor.
So Five created the Commission? And if he did, why would it hire assassins to hunt Five?
Luther’s hands were always different. If he was part ape, he should have had consistent hands throughout the series but he does not. Details matter.
There were things that I did enjoy about it despite these glaring, hard-to-overcome plot holes. I liked how it ended. I liked that they were able to rushly explain how everything happened but you would have thought another Five would have thought about doing that at some point. Five was a very smart dude. I loved how Diego was very serious about saving Kennedy in season two. This world would be different if he weren’t assassinated.
There are probably other issues I had with it that I can’t think of right now. There were times when Bri and I just looked at each other and tried to figure out what was happening but we couldn’t. The plot just wasn’t the best. Overall I wouldn’t watch it again.
I think probably everyone has dreamed of having some kind of super power. If they were an X-men or if they took some V (The Boys) and got a power… I’ve always wanted one. If I could chose, these would be my top picks:
The ability to heal people – Putting my hands over them or whatever, I wish I could heal people of illnesses, bullet wounds (that happens a lot in action movies), sickness, whatever. I also wish this could go towards animals as well. I wish I could heal them.
The ability to manipulate plastic – I’ve thought about this since Magneto and how he’s able to mold and manipulate metal; I want the ability to manipulate plastic. I wish I could just take my hands and throw them toward the ocean and scoop up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or something and fling it into space so it could burn up. I wish I could create things with plastic. We’re literally flooding the planet with non-recyclable, unusable plastic. I wish I could do something about it and make things with it… or if anything, concentrate it into a huge mountain or something.
Super smart – I don’t get that Sister Sage in the newest season of The Boys isn’t curing cancer or working on rockets or discovering species or something! WTF? Why is she wasting her abilities trying to help Homelander? If I was that smart, I would be in a lab somewhere trying to do something great for humanity like finding a use for plastics or poop or something. And why aren’t people asking these questions from her? Why are they going along with it in The Boys like she’s actually doing something when she’s doing absolutely nothing. What a waste. I would love to be super smart like that.
Our good friend, Glenn, decided to take a trip to Rome in June to meet his friend. Since he’s going all the way there, might as well do some stuff for a few days and why not invite some friends? Bri and I tagged along. Glenn mostly planned the travel part and I followed.
We took a bus early in the morning to Seville, Spain and explored Seville all afternoon. It was all our first time being in Seville and Bri and my first time being anywhere in Europe besides Portugal. The next day we caught an early morning plane to Rome.
The rest of the trip went great except for the scorching heat! Bri had issues with the heat and it definitely effected what we did. Glenn had changed his plans from our original itinerary and he left Italy for Portugal on Saturday while we left for Seville on Saturday, then another bus to Lagos on Sunday. The extra day in Rome and Seville weren’t worth it but it was still a great trip.
We saw a lot of stuff like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Fountain of Trevoli, and the Vatican (just the outside).
I’ve been I’ll say lightly/moderately discriminated to before multiple times. A few times were in I’ll say “masculine stores.” I was trying to pick up a specific part to a heater and asked for it and they basically said I had no business asking for that part. It’s also happened a few times at the Home Depot when I asked an employee for help and they look at me like I have no idea what I’m talking about.
I’m not saying I know everything but I know how to ask for a part and I know how to ask for where a specific tool or part is in a store. I’m not dumb, I guess.
Those who know me know I like to dress not normal. I like to dress comfortably. I don’t conform to any norms. I wear “men’s” socks, “men’s” shirts, “men’s” pants, “men’s” shorts, etc. But they’re my style. I don’t feel like I’m a cross dresser… it’s just what I’m comfortable in and what I like to wear. I don’t think these clothes have any sex per-se. A t-shirt is a t-shirt. And I feel that way about a lot of other clothes. They have women’s clothes and men’s clothes.
And I just think that’s wrong. Why isn’t a hat just a hat? Why are socks different? Why are gloves different? I guess I get it with things like shirts and pants but come on… at the end of the day isn’t it just what fits and what looks good and what feels good to you?
So when I walk into a shoe store and ask to try on a size of whatever shoe is men’s, why did they point me to the women’s shoes? I look over there and see all pink and rainbows and shit. That’s not me. I don’t feel like that’s a lot of people. Shoes are fucking shoes. Men should be able to wear women’s stuff just the same.
In fact, sometimes men’s products are just better. Take razors. Take any random women and ask her if she thinks men’s razors are better and she’d say yes. Definitely. I don’t really understand how there is a market for women’s razors since they suck.
And I do wear women’s stuff… I wear bras, I wear women’s shirts.
I guess I’m just tired of the stereotyping and whatnot. It’s awkward enough picking out clothes. It’s just fucking clothes. Who cares? Or maybe why should they care? It’s fucking shoes. All feet are fucking different.
I’m soooo looking forward to GTA VI which should (hopefully) come out next year. I’ve always been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series. GTA V has been an absolute blast and my favorite, by far. San Andreas a far second. I never played the entire game all the way through up until a few days ago.
There were some missions that seemed impossible and that I had to skip. Though, I might go back and replay them to see if I can do better. However the one with Michael having to try to save his son on the boat is damn near impossible since you have to drive and shoot which I could never do well. Other hard missions were the Strangers & Freaks with Mary-Ann. The other one that was difficult was when Trevor had to ride a bike on the train. The mission on the dock I also had to skip since the snipper controls are different and I didn’t realize you had to hold in a button in order to zoom. They should really have one set of controls so you always know what to do.
Anyway, after beating the game it’s pretty cool as Dr. Friedlander gives you some notes. Here were mine:
Some thoughts about these notes:
I did try to help people when a random event popped up. But most of the time I would have to kill them for the simple act of stealing someone’s purse or wallet. I don’t believe in capital punishment to begin with; much less for a stupid offense like some burglary. There’s no way to like just shoot the person in the leg then they drop the wallet.
I got Michael laid a lot after his wife cheats on him. And when she and the kids left, he was going to prostitutes every night. So that’s where “voyeuristic” and “feels need to buy sex” comes from. The first time I played GTA V I had Michael be faithful and Trevor and Franklin get the sex… this time it was the opposite. I didn’t want Michael to get back with his wife, honestly. He was more free spirited this time around.
I’m not sure about the “prone to random outbursts of violence” comes from since that would definitely be Trevor 100% but not the way I played him. Trevor when I played him this time around was an honest, nice guy. He loves Patricia… I liked that relationship. I still have him call her. He liked having sex with the realtor’s wife. And it isn’t my fault that I have to play the Rage missions with Trevor. I suck at them anyway.
“Keeps the car stealing to a minimum” was me this time. Whenever I played GTA before I would carjack every time. This time I stole vehicles when they weren’t occupied. And I actively looked for my car around when switching. I was thinking about the trauma a carjacking would be to the victim. Much better to just come out of your house or restaurant and find your car missing.
I tried to pick up and help the random events. While Trevor, if the dude seemed creepy or the one with the dude cheating on his wife, I took them to the cult. Other than that, I did pick them up and help them. I’m kind of disappointed I must have played the one hitchhiker wrong since she could become a girlfriend or at least a “lay.” The other random one was Trevor picking up another criminal which became a contact but I never saw her come up when choosing people for missions.
I totally dig the “avoids strenuous exercise” because that’s totally me anyway. In the missions I preferred to do the easier way instead of guns-a-blazin.
This time I collected all the space ship parts and all the letter scraps. It was a lot of fun finding out where they were and getting them. Thanks to the IGN website with the map! Good luck trying to collect everything without it. It would take you a lifetime. And I love the switching between characters cause it was so easy to get into a weird place, get the piece, then switch to another character without going through the work of getting yourself out of it.
I think everyone probably has “maniac” and “mister.” Honestly, is it realistic to play this game without doing that? And I always restarted the game if I was on my way to somewhere and accidently killed someone while driving. I hated having innocent blood on my hands. Now, when on a mission, all bets are off. Sorry a lot of people (and cops) get killed that way. You just have to.
I’m still going to play around more with GTA V. I’m not on GTA Online nor do I really want to try it. My cousin says it can get really difficult since you’re playing with other people and I know I’m not the best player… I’m actually surprised I was able to beat the game since I hadn’t played video games hardcore since I was a kid and the last time I played anything was GTA V the first time I played it when it first came out like 10 years ago.
I might buy San Andreas and play it again. I’m surprised I was able to finish V so quickly, honestly. I thought it would have taken me at least a few months… I guess that’s the luxury of being retired so I can spend more time on it than just an hour or two every other night :)
I’m re-watching the show Lost since Brian is away visiting family in the states. This is maybe the third or fourth time I’ve seen it. My favorite episode is LaFleur in season 5 when Juliet and Sawyer (along with Jin and Miles and Daniel) join the Dharma Initiative after they stop time traveling. The entire episode jumps around back and forth three years into the future and past. (I really wish it was a linear episode but whatever.)
In the episode Juliet and Sawyer get together sometime in those three years. Sawyer is head of security and Juliet displays her many talents. They’re really happy and it’s so good.
At the end of the episode Kate comes back.
Now, I’ve never been a fan of Kate. It seems like she always wanted her cake and eat it too. It seems like she would just keep jumping from Jack to Sawyer without really choosing. There are other reasons I dislike Kate like the fact that she got the guy she loved killed. It just seems like she’d do anything for herself. While on the island, everyone trusted Kate for some reason.
In season 5 Kate makes the decision to go back to the island with all the rest of the Oceanic Six (besides Aaron). It’s found out later that the main reason Kate went back to the island was to find Claire so she could reunite her with Aaron (whom she took off the island).
It’s funny considering the second she lands, her concern isn’t about Claire anymore.Ā And so at the beginning of the next episode after LaFleur, when Sawyer gives Kate, Hurly, and Jack a choice to join Dharma or camp out, Kate decides to join Dharma. She could have camped out and tried to find Claire. Most likely Claire was there in 1977. The entire rest of the season she doesn’t mention or try to find Claire at all. No plan, no trying to explore the island to find her, nothing.
Then in season 6, she still isn’t concerned about finding Claire. It’s like not even a thought in her mind anymore. She’s more concerned about chasing Sawyer to get him back to the temple.
Sawyer was headed towards the barracks where he lived thirty years ago with Juliet. He digs up a box that had an engagement ring in it. Sawyer was going to propose. He tells this to Kate and she cries.
Doesn’t she get it? Doesn’t she understand? Sawyer didn’t want her anymore. Juliet and Sawyer were happy without Kate and the rest of them. Kate, Jack, and Hurley coming back was one of the reasons why Juliet died. In fact if it wasn’t for Kate getting on the submarine when Sawyer and Juliet were being banished off of the island, Juliet wouldn’t have died! I liked the idea of Sawyer and Juliet buying Microsoft and living happier ever after.
Kate never wanted to rescue Claire to get her back with Aaron. She just wanted to find Sawyer.
I just feel like Kate is a very selfish character and she’ll do whatever she wants to in order to get what she wants. And even once she has it, she isn’t happy.
The other week my friend asked me if I (we, including Brian) had any advice to give her niece who is starting out her career. I thought about it for a bit but there are a few things I would say.
Don’t Give It Your “All”
I gave this advice to a guy I used to work with. He would put in extra hours… when there was a deployment outside business hours he wouldn’t count that as part of his 40 hours. He took PTO for errands and appointments, etc even though he was already giving the company more than 40 hours of his time.
I told him to stop doing that. The company doesn’t care… well, they do but in their own selfish way. They owe you, you don’t owe them. You owe them your best work and your time… 40 hours a week. Anything you give them extra, they don’t appreciate.
And I know a lot of people say this isn’t true but I’ve given three of my four companies this “extra time” of mine and received nothing in return. My first company, as I was leaving, I put in 10+ hours of work every day to get them this certification they were working towards. I didn’t see an extra dime in my final paycheck when everything was calculated (PTO I didn’t spend). My second job I pulled a weekend once for a big deployment and we didn’t get anything extra for it. I would stay extra a few times for my various jobs but never received anything… not even a “thank you” some of the times.
Don’t bust your butt for your employer. Don’t be a slave to them. Work your mandatory 40 hours and go home and enjoy your life.
You Have To Jump
My uncle once joked that I changed jobs more than he did underwear. I changed jobs four times in my 14 year career. (Five if you count the “fuck up.” But I needed that “fuck up” to get a better salary… hence this point…)
In order to get a pay increase, you have to leave. Once you’re with a company, they don’t give big raises. Shit, even if you get a “promotion” it could be months before you see a pay increase. And if you do, it’s probably going to be miniscule.
I know of this from experience and talking with other people. My first pay increase was 5%. I was only making $38,000 a year and I got a 5% increase! I thought that was awesome! But I did the math on that. While 5% is huge, I kept going with that… Even if I got a 5% pay increase every year I’d only make around $62,000 when I got to ten years there. It would take me over 20 years to get into six figures.
One company, I was so close to making six one year. I got a 1.5% increase (not even COL). I didn’t get to six that year but I did the year afterwards. And that 1.5% I got, compared to other people, I did really well! Others I know only got 0.5%! And no bonuses.
The only time I have been able to get pay increases is when I switched jobs. So every three years, no matter what, I started looking. My last job I even threatened to quit in order to get what I deserved. My pay they were giving me wasn’t keeping up with inflation and I called them out on it. I put in a two week resignation notice then they started talking. They met me close to my number so I was happy.
You gotta jump. And keep jumping.
Bonuses Are A Thing Of The Past
There aren’t many companies out there that give bonuses. I was lucky to be with two companies who gave out bonuses. But it was miniscule. It was $500… maybe $1,500. Nothing like that National Lampoon’s movie where the dude was able to take everyone on his family a vacation with his bonus. Nope, that shit doesn’t happen in the real world.
Be Good At What You Want To Do And Do What You’re Good At
Try not to take a job that you don’t have any passion for. You’re not going to be good at it. You’re not going to want to give it the time and practice it takes. You need to have a passion for what you do.
I was very good at what I did. I’ve gotten so many complements throughout my career of how good I am; bosses and coworkers alike.
The best advice I was given was from my uncle (not the underwear uncle, lol). I just got a call back from two companies (for my first career job). One offered me $38,000 and one offered me $32,000. I wanted to go with the $32,000 because it seemed like more career growth even though I would be doing Java which is something I did not enjoy at all. He told me to go with the $38,000 one because you don’t want to be miserable.
You need to have a passion and a drive in what you chose to do. Trust me, it does help.
401k’s Are A Joke
When you need to jump companies so much, and especially with the stock market taking big shits every ten years, 401k’s are a joke. It takes years to become “vested.” And if you need to jump jobs so much,Ā you’re not going to be “vested” so that company can take all what they “gave you” away.
Plus… the fucking stock market crashed four times during my life alone and I’m still a few years from 40!
I don’t know what to do for retirement income. I mean, the stock market is so evil and unpredictable and you could lose all your money if you don’t keep up with it and invest it correctly. Remember, that’s on you. Your company isn’t picking and swapping out the best bonds and stocks. You need to keep up with your own 401k.
There are no pensions anymore, thanks, Boomers!Ā So if you don’t want to do a 401k route, you can save up to buy a rental property. But even there, that could be a shit show. I did it and it didn’t turn out like I’d hoped.
Disclaimer
I know others have had different, wonderful experiences with companies and I’m not one to judge all companies. These just have been my experiences with the four companies that I’ve worked for. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
You just have to be cautious and look out for yourself. Your company usually isn’t.
Again, these are just my opinions and my two cents. I’m sure a lot of people have had a lot of success doing the opposite of what I’ve stated here. But they’re lucky. And you can find really good companies that you want to stay and work for for the rest of your career. I wish I had found one.
As I stated in my 2024 Resolutions post, I’m doing a dry January. I’ll be updating this post throughout the month.
2/5/2024
Well it’s done! And I’ve been drinking every night of February. That will probably break tonight.
I think I slept better but I slept longer. I definitely gained weight but it could also be because I’ve been exercising more (that happens to me). It could also be that instead of drinking, I will eat more when we go out for dinner.
It got a lot easier at the end of the month. And I haven’t gone crazy in February. With Brian gone for two weeks I’m responsible for the pets so there’s reason to not go crazy.
The first sip of beer after January felt like diving into a cool pool on a hot day. Simply refreshing. It was tough when others were drinking and I wasn’t. It kind of changed my relationship with alcohol in a way. I don’t feel the need to go crazy and drink everything. I’m more moderation now… however, that could just be because I have responsibilities until Bri gets back. Or maybe I’m just fooling myself and I’m not being responsible… I don’t know.
I may do dry January again… maybe not.
1/19/2024
More than half way through! It is getting easier. The real challenge has been not cheersing people when we go for a happy hour. I’m ordering orange juice. I’m glad I have friends doing this with me. I’m really proud of my friend, Mark, for hanging in there with me. We met up last night and everyone was not drinking.
I haven’t lost any weight and this morning I woke up and it felt like I had a hangover. It’s also harder to get to sleep. Yesterday wasn’t a good day for my brain. My Portuguese was poor and I’m having a very difficult time in class understanding how to give directions. It’s different than in English.
It’s strange but everything feels fine. I feel normal for the most part… just lower energy and not sleeping. But when I am sleeping, I’m sleeping well. I don’t wake up during the night. I dream more, I think. This has been easy for me but I still want to continue drinking after this month.
1/11/2024
It’s been a tough, slow month so far. I’ve had some challenging days where alcohol would have helped. It’s been 11 days since I last drank alcohol. I know I’ve done longer sprints like this in the past (like when we didn’t have plans for a weekend) so I know I can get through it. In Portugal I drink a lot more than in the states (besides during covid when the only thing to do after work was to drink).
So far I feel okay during the day. However, I feel like they lie when they say you are going to have more energy, sleep less, lose weight, etc by stopping drinking. I’ve had the opposite effects. I’m sleeping 8-9 hours a night (vs when I drank I would get 7-8 hours of sleep). I feel like I’ve gained weight and feel bloated. I also eat a lot more which sucks. I feel like when I drank I wouldn’t eat as much. I feel like I have a lot less energy now. Often I feel like I need to take a nap or feel tired during the day. It sucks.
Alcohol also helps with my portuguese and my overall anxiety. Yesterday I played poker with some people and I felt so nervous and I was shaking. Alcohol helps calm down my nerves and relaxes me but I couldn’t have that.
I’m glad I’m doing this with a friend. Brian is also doing it too. The support from him and my friend helps. I know I’m not the only one going through this hell.
