545 Days Later..

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

Hello there.

It's been a while!

545 Days to be exact.

I did say it wouldn't be two and a half years between posts, so there's that!

I'd say at this point that I'm in a long term relationship with Procrastination.

But of course, it's complicated.

My last two posts were in April of 2020, and December of 2022.

One right at the beginning of Covid, and one right in the middle of it all.

Now we're on the other side.

Now, we're back to "normal", whatever that means these days.

I must admit, the one thing I miss, was the work/life balance.

At the height of everything, I was fortunate enough to stay home from work, but still get paid.

No one was flying.

Technically, next to no one.

My airport went from having anywhere from 10-12,000 people a day.....to less than 200.

That means most of us weren't needed.

Two days on, five days off.

And even on the two days that I was working, I'd always get off early.

It was nice.

I mean sure, everything was either shut down or very limited, so there wasn't anywhere to go do anything.

Good thing I love being a homebody just as much as I like going places and doing things.

I did miss bowling though.

I've really gotten into bowling over the last 5 years.

I always loved bowling, but I never learned how to hook the ball.

I'd just throw it straight at the pins, and hope for the best.

Then one of my good friends started really getting into it.

So naturally, I started really getting into it to.

My friend bowls two handed.

Depending on who you talk to, a lot of "bowling purists" snub their noses at it.

They think it's cheating.

News flash, it's not.

Jason Belmonte, one of the best bowlers to ever do it, is a two handed bowler.

He's not breaking any rules.

Some people just love to hate, it's as simple as that.

So when I started learning how to hook the ball, I was trying to emulate my friend, who was bowling two handed.

He was bowling two handed, because Jason Belmonte became his favorite bowler, and as we know, Mr. Belmonte bowls two handed.

So when you bowl two handed, you don't use your thumb, because you have your other hand to keep the ball stable.

As I was trying to learn to bowl two handed, I would find myself letting go of the ball with my "other hand" much sooner than a traditional two handed bowler would.

Eventually, I became the most comfortable with a one handed release....but without using my thumb.

And that's how I throw the ball to this day, one handed, no thumb!

Also, my friend has his own ball.

He said there was a "night and day" difference between having your own ball instead of just using the "house ball", especially when you're hooking the ball.

It wasn't too long afterwards that I went to my local bowling alley, walked into the pro shop, and with the help of the pro shop owner, I bought my first ball, had it drilled, and proceeded to break a 200 score for the very first time.

To say it makes a world of difference would be an understatement!

Pardon the cheesy pun, but I've been "hooked" ever since.

No more puns, I promise.

My local alley just brought back it's "Summer Pass" after they didn't have it last year.

Each Summer Pass offers two games of bowling per day, including shoe rental.

Of course, at this point I have 5 bowling balls, two bowling bags, and of course, my own bowling shoes.

Even if you're a casual bowler, and you only bowl "every now and then", I'd still recommend that you get your own pair of bowling shoes.

Once you get your own pair, you'll never go back.

No more weird velcro that doesn't stay on.

No more flat feet.

No more having your foot slipping around in a shoe that's been worn my thousands of people.

Plus, they're cheap!

I mean yes, they have expensive pairs as well, but mine were like $30, and they have more than paid for themselves in not having to pay shoe rental fees anymore!

Not to mention, my bowling shoes are straight up athletic sneakers!

Bowling shoes come in ALL STYLES!

It's worth the one time investment, just to never have to pay rental fees again, trust me!

Anyway, I bought two Summer Passes.

That's four games of bowling every time I go, and the Summer Pass goes all the way through Labor Day.

It just started two weeks ago, and I've already used it seven times. 

That's 28 games of bowling.

My Summer Passes have already paid for themselves, so now it's free bowling for the next three months!

Needless to say, I love bowling!

I could keep going on about bowling forever, but I think this is a good point to stop, for now!

I've also started my "Ultimate Photo Album" back up, after a 13 year hiatus.

My goal was to take individual pictures with as many people that i know as possible.

Yes, it's a tall task.

Yes, it may never truly be "complete".

But I'm good with that.

There's always room for more pictures!

For the longest time, my "Album" was just a digital collection.

But now I actually bought a phyiscal photo album, printed out all of the photos, thank you CVS, and now I have an ACTUAL, physical photo album!

I must admit, every time I open the album, and start looking at the pictures, and see some of the photos I've taken over the years, and the people who have taken the time out of their lives to take a photo with ME, I have to pinch myself.

If you told 21 year old me that this "Photo Album Idea" would blossom into what I have right now, (and I'm still lining up more pictures as I write this) I wouldn't have believe you!

All these years later, and here we are.

I have now started asking the people that I've taken pictures with to sign our picture!

Still can't believe it sometimes.

None of these pictures came to ME, I had to put boots on the ground, I had to make the overture, I had to get out there and DO IT.

And being the master procrastinator that I am, it's just.....wow.

Just. Wow.

There's so many people that I asked for a picture, just on a whim, just so I could at least say "At least I tried, at least I asked".

And I wasn't expecting ANY of them to say yes, or heck, to even respond to me asking them for the picture in the first place!

But I had to at least TRY.

That's what I told myself, I have to at least try.

They. All. Said. YES.

All. Of. Them.

And now I have a physical picture with them in my Ultimate Photo Album.

Just doesn't seem real sometimes.

So glad I asked!

So glad I TRIED!

Anyway, that's enough for now!

I still need to ease my way back into this whole "blog" thing, but I'd say this was a good start!

And with this huge novel I just wrote, I'd say I'm doing just fine!

Until next time folks!

Two Years & Eight Months Later....

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

My last blog post was on April 25th, 2020.

I'd say quite a bit has happened since then.

The world has since gone into a panic, then started to come out of it, and now we're somewhere in the middle.

Actually, it has always been like that.

Once again, my procrastination has led to me being gone for over two and a half years.

I'd like to say that I'll finally keep in under control this time.

But that would be a lie.

All I can do, is the best that I can.

With that being said, it feels good to blog again!

It's December 11th, 2022.

The first snowfall of the year is happening as we speak.

Looks like I picked a good week to go on vacation.

Now of course I picked this week back in November of 2021, so there was no foresight involved.

I just like to get paid to not be at work every now and again.

Now as much as I'd like to say that winter is now officially upon us, I live in New England.

If you live in New England, you know what that means.

If you don't like in New England, I'll tell you what that means.

It means that you can experience all four seasons in a single day, and it could happen any day of the year.

Now the calendar says it's officially winter on December 21st, but New England plays by its own set of rules.

With that being said, I like winter.

I like the snow.

I like the cold.

I like the fact that all of the annoying bugs go away.

No more humidity.

Less people on the disc golf course.

These are all good things.

Speaking of disc golf, it has now become one of my new hobbies.

Most of the time, I love it.

Some of the time, I hate it.

Coincidentally, I seem to hate it whenever I hit a tree.

Or a rock.

Or some other hazard on the course.

Or when I want the disc to go one way, and it goes the other way instead.

That's when I hate it.

Otherwise, I love it!

But in all seriousness, I really do enjoy it.

I've been playing for just over a year now.

I still have a long way to go, but I have also made MASSIVE improvements to my game over the last year.

To me, one of the best things about disc golf is how easy it is to get started.

You just needs some discs, and course.

There's plenty of courses all over the place, and most of them are free to play.

Now on the outside looking in, it doesn't look THAT difficult.

You're probably thinking to yourself "It's just throwing a frisbee at a basket, how hard could it be?"

Trust me, I thought the same thing when I first started.

And then I played for the first time.

And I was humbled, quickly.

There's so many little nuances that go into disc golf.

First you need to learn how to throw the disc properly.

No, you don't throw it like you would throw a regular frisbee.

If you throw it like that, it's going to immediately go up, to the left, and then crash down.

If you're a lefty, it's going to do what I just described, except it's going to the right.

That's where your form comes in.

Once you get your form down, then you need to choose the right disc.

There are THOUSANDS of discs.

Every disc has it's own set of stats.

Overstable.

Stable.

Understable.

Weight.

Rim.

Type of plastic.

Let's compare it to regular golf.

In regular golf, you have a bag of golf clubs, and a golf ball.

Depending on what type of shot you need, you select the appropriate club for the situation, and then you swing your club accordingly.

Maybe you need a Driver, or a Pitching Wedge, or a Putter.

With disc golf, the discs themselves are like the golf clubs.

There's Distance Drivers, Fairway Drivers, Mid Range, and Putters.

All of these discs are for different scenarios, just like the different golf clubs are.

But then you also have to take into account how you're going to throw the disc.

Backhand.

Forehand.

Tomahawk.

Thumber.

Grenade.

Hyzer.

Anhyzer.

Flat.

S-Curve.

Flex.

Hyzer Flip.

Those are all different throws, for different situations.

And as I said before, with the THOUSANDS of discs out there, with different weights, and styles, and types of plastic that they are made out of, you could to the SAME THROW with two different discs, and get two COMPLETELY different outcomes.

Discs that are brand new out of the box will fly differently than they will after months of usage.

So many factors to consider, and it's that "mental math" where your trying to make subtle changes on the fly that I love about the game.

The discs hitting the chains for a birdie will never not be a satisfying sound!

So needless to say, I love disc golf!

I also love bowling.

I've been bowling for about 3 and a half years now, and it seems as if I've hit a wall of sorts.

I feel like unless I start taking some lessons, that I've gone as far as I can do just "doing it onw my own"

The bowling alley that I frequent the most has a "Summer Pass" every June that's good until Labor Day.

For a one time fee of $60, you can bowl three free games every single day.

For me, that's an absolute STEAL.

I was bowling 4-5 days a week.

Right now I'm sitting at a 157 average, and that's with 220 games played.

I'm also a bit of an "unconventional bowler", because I don't use my thumb.

When I first got into it, my friend was a two handed bowler, so when I was first learning how to hook the ball, I was throwing like he was.

Two handed bowlers don't use the thumb hole either.

Eventually, my two handed setup evolved into a one handed throw, and it has been that way ever since!

But once I learned to to hook the ball, I was all in.

Now I have my own shoes, three balls, a bag, the cleaning towels, all of it.

I love it.

I'll be bowling and playing disc golf for as long as I possibly can!

As much as I'd like to keep going, I need to ease myself back into these blog posts, but I promise it won't be two and a half years between posts!

Most likely. 

Until next time!

First Blog Of 2020?!

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

Blogs.

Podcasts.

Two passions of mine that I should have pursued much earlier in life.

But as they say, better late than never.

It's catharsis really.

Everyone needs to find an outlet to express themselves.

It could be anything.

Public Speaking.

Dance.

Acting.

Painting.

You name it.

Everyone needs a creative outlet.

My blog and my podcast are two of those creative outlets.

I don't keep up with them as often as I should.

There are plenty of times when I tell myself "I'm going to write a new blog post today!"

And then I don't.

Shocker.

Unfortunately I'm very good at procrastinating.

If I can put it off, I usually will.

It's a bad habit.

One that I may never fully break.

However, with the current situation going on in this world, I have much more times on my hands these days.

Everything is pretty much closed.

Shelter in place.

Stay at home.

My place of employment has given me extra paid days off.

I'm very fortunate in that regard.

I don't take that for granted.

I know plenty of people that have been laid off from their jobs ever since the outbreak.

I can't even imagine having no income for two months.

I just wish that this virus can be eradicated as soon as possible.

People need to be able to get back to work.

Bills don't stop.

Hunger doesn't cease.

Everything still costs money.

But above all else, people need safety.

Nothing else matters if it's unsafe to "return to normal".

And after this is over, I think "normal" will take on a different meaning, forever.

Here we are in April, four months into 2020, and the Australian Wildfires seem like an ancient memory.

They happened this year too.

But everything has now been overshadowed by the coronavirus, for obvious reasons.

It has given me a lot of time to reflect on things.

Things that I definitely took for granted.

Like being able to get in my car and just go wherever I wanted to go.

I remember getting my license when I was a teenager.

It was a level of freedom that I had never experienced before.

No more "needing a ride" somewhere.

Now I could just take myself.

Whenever I wanted to.

The freedom.

I also understand why new drivers have higher insurance rates.

I still remember my first time on the highway by myself.

It was the wild west.

I didn't DARE get out of the right lane.

I was checking the speedometer every 2 seconds.

Now?

It's second nature.

I've been driving for half of my life now.

When you do something long enough, it becomes second nature.

That's why people practice.

That's how you develop muscle memory.

But now the only places I drive to are either my job, the grocery store, or the gas station.

That's it.

No movie theater.

No mall.

No arcade.

No bowling.

No gym.

Np pick up basketball.

No sit down restaurants.

Nothing.

Luckily, I have plenty of things at home.

Like this computer that I'm currently typing this blog with.

Having to stay at home has given me the chance to realize that although going out is nice from time to time, I'm definitely a homebody.

Don't get me wrong, I like going to all of those places that I listed, and a good hangout with a group of friends for a game night is ALWAYS a great time, but still.

I'm can be just as content at home.

Going down the YouTube rabbit hole.

Or binge watching episodes of "How It's Made".

Or trying to improve the quality of my streams on Twitch.

I finally dusted off my XLR microphone that I've had for years now.

Now my Twitch streams should sound better to whoever is watching.

I even bought a water filter that attaches to my kitchen sink faucet.

That's some big boy stuff.

I also bought a carpet sweeper from Ocean State Job Lot.

I didn't even know what a carpet sweeper was until like 6 months ago.

It's perfect for my low pile carpet.

And it's cheaper than a vacuum.

Listen to me right now.

Talking about water filters and carpet sweepers?

This is what staying home can do to you.

You start looking for little projects to do around your dwelling place.

I'm sure home gardeners are having a field day right now.

But it also helps take your mind off the fact that you can't go anywhere.

Anything to help people try to stay positive in these trying times.

Just being able to sit here and type whatever comes to mind is cathartic for me.

Now I know why authors love writing books.

You get to paint the picture on a blank canvas, but with words.

One day I want to write a book of my own, but with my love of "run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points", I'm not sure if I could follow the "guidelines".

But I'll tell you this, I have PLENTY of ideas floating around in this brain of mine.

I don't even know where they come from.

But I'm glad that they decided to swing by and stick around.

Speaking of stick around, I'd like to say thank you to anyone who stuck around long enough to read this post!

Hopefully you were able to set aside any stress that you had going on while you were reading this, if even for only a few minutes!

I promise to make these blog posts much more often from this point forward!

Until next time, stay safe out there!

The Best Movies Of The Decade?!

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

Movies.

We all know them.

We all have our favorites.

As I was thinking of blog topics for this post, I was given a suggestion.

"Best Movies of the last decade!"

So, let's do this!

I'm going to pick 9 Movies from the last decade, and then tell you why each one made the list!

Disclaimer, I'm only picking TWO Marvel movies or they will take up the entire list!

Also, this is just a list of MY personal favorites!

Let's get started!

1) Avengers - Infinity War (2018)

2) The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

3) Creed (2015)

4) Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

5) Inception (2010)

6) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

7) The Raid - Redemption (2011)

8) Ip Man 3 (2015)

9) Avengers - Endgame (2019)

Avengers - Infinity War

This was the one that everyone was waiting for.

This movie is what every Marvel movie since the first Iron Man has been leading up to.

And it delivered IN EVERY WAY!

Josh Brolin as Thanos was a fantastic decision in my opinion.

His voice for Thanos was PERFECT.

Everybody knows what happens in the movie.

Even people who still haven't seen it for some reason still know what happened.

It was a lock for this list.

The Dark Knight Rises

Of all three of the Christopher Nolan "Batman" movies, The Dark Knight with Heath Ledger will ALWAYS be my favorite of the trio, but this one is a close second!

Let's face it, Heath Ledger gave one of the BEST performances EVER by an actor portraying a character.

There is no other Joker that even comes close.

I don't care what anyone says!

When I think of "The Joker", I will ALWAYS think of Heath Ledger's version.

Now with that being said, Tom Hardy's "Bane" was a character that he gave MUCH more depth to than I expected going in.

I had always seen Bane portrayed as nothing more than a "Meat Head".

Someone with muscles, but not very much for brains.

Not this Bane.

This Bane was well spoken.

He was meticulous.

He was methodical.

And he could get away with such a high pitched voice because no one would DARE try to make fun of him for it.

That's where those "muscles" come in.

And he straight up broke Batman's back.

So, there's that too.

In a way, what Heath's Joker told Batman in the interrogation scene from "The Dark Knight" pretty much came to fruition in "The Dark Knight Rises".

Bane had pretty much succeeded where the previous antagonists had always fallen short.

Of course Batman does end up saving the day, but still, it came at a HUGE price!

Creed

I've been a fan of "Rocky" ever since I saw the first movie.

I know people out there who have still never seen "Rocky".

I legit cannot comprehend that.

I mean the movie was added to the "National Film Registry" because it's a NATIONAL TREASURE!!

My personal favorite is Rocky 4 (Ivan Drago), followed by Rocky 3 (Clubber Lang).

However, when i saw the trailer for Creed, it was something I never saw coming.

I don't think anyone did.

Apollo Creed, who died at the hands of Ivan Drago in Rocky 4, had a son.

That son grew up to be a boxer, named Adonis Creed.

He wanted Rocky to train him.

Rocky eventually agreed.

What followed is one of the best movies I've seen in the last 9 years.

It was great to see a spinoff in the "Rocky" universe where Sylvester Stallone is able to take one of the most beloved movie characters of all time, and pass on his knowledge to the son of his greatest rival and best friend!

If you haven't seen it, PLEASE reconsider!

Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens

The last Star Wars before this movie was "Revenge Of The Sith" in 2005.

Let's face it, the prequel trilogy is looked upon very fondly.

Maybe because everyone knew how it was going to end before they even saw it.

Spoiler alert, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader!

Gasp!

It would be a full decade before this movie would arrive.

This is what everyone was waiting for.

We wanted to see what happened AFTER "The Return Of The Jedi" in 1983.

I remember sitting in that theater.

The lights went dark after the previews that lasted for 25 minutes were finally over.

The ICONIC Star Wars intro played.

And then we met some new faces along with some very familiar ones.

Rey.

Finn.

Kylo Ren.

Snoke.

The First Order.

Luke Skywalker.

Han Solo.

Princess Leia.

Chewbacca.

It was a great start to the final trilogy of the "Skywalker Saga".

Inception

Dream control?

You mean like lucid dreaming?

.......Kind of?

But not really?

Was he dreaming at the end of the movie?

To this day you'll get a mixed response to that last question.

But this movie was a wild ride from start to finish!

The legit mind bending special effects were something I still remember to this day.

This also seems to be a polarizing movie.

People either love it or hate it, no middle ground.

Well, I love it!

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

I believe I have already GUSHED about this movie in a previous post, but that doesn't matter.

I. Love. This. MOVIE.

As a lifelong gamer, this movie was a legit dream come true.

The camera cuts.

The music.

The battles.

I love everything about this movie that is a legit video game from start to finish.

They also made a video game on Xbox 360 arcade, which is one of my all time favorite video games, because it's just as awesome as the movie.

I also feel like this movie really appeals to the "gamer audience" like myself more than it would to someone who's not a gamer.

There are some many "Easter Eggs" and video game references that if you weren't looking for them/didn't know what they were, they wouldn't have any significance to you.

But for someone like me?

Kid in a candy store!

The Raid - Redemption

The premise to this movie is simple enough.

Drug Lord runs apartment building.

Police Task Force attempts to raid the building to apprehend Drug Lord.

What happens from there is one of the best martial arts films I have ever seen.

With plenty of plot twists, and PLENTY of action!

This is one of those films that just goes to show that even with a limited budget, and not much when it comes to "different areas", as the WHOLE MOVIE takes place on a few floors of an apartment building, "Substance" will ALWAYS beat "Style".

I saw this movie in a empty theater.

It was a limited release.

If my buddy from work didn't tell me about this movie, I still wouldn't have known about it to this day!

But I legit couldn't believe some of these fight scenes.

It was also my first time seeing the martial art of "Pencak Silat", and I was blown away from start to finish! 

Ip Man 3

I love Donnie Yen.

I love Martial Arts.

I love Donnie Yen as Ip Man.

The "Ip Man" series is not in English.

I watch it with subtitles.

The films have some of the best fights scenes that I've ever seen.

Ever.

Ip Man's "Wing Chun" is truly a sight to behold.

Don't know who "Ip Man" is?

How about.....Bruce Lee?

Ip Man was Bruce Lee's master.

The first two installments of "Ip Man" were fantastic, especially the first one.

But I'm giving the edge to "Ip Man 3" for one reason.

Two words.

Mike. Tyson.

That's correct.

Ip Man faces Mike Tyson in this movie.

It's a "three minute" fight in the movie.

And it's amazing.

If there's anyone out there that's wondering if Mike Tyson "still has it", WATCH THIS MOVIE.

Or better yet, just find the clip of this fight scene, and you'll see what I mean!

I think there might be an "Ip Man 4" in the works, and if that's the case, I'll be there the opening weekend for sure!

Avengers - Endgame

Of course this was going to round out the list.

Of course this was by design.

We all had come this far with all of the characters, and now it was time to see how it all ends.

Iron Man.

Thor.

Captain America.

Hulk.

Black Widow.

Hawkeye.

Ant-Man.

Wasp.

Dr. Strange.

Spider Man.

Loki.

Star Lord.

Black Panther.

War Machine.

Falcon.

Vision.

Scarlet Witch.

Winter Soldier.

Gamora.

Drax the Destroyer.

Rocket Raccoon.

Groot.

Mantis.

Nebula.

The Collector.

Heimdall.

Okoye.

M'Baku.

Pepper Potts.

Wong.

Nick Fury.

Captain Marvel.

Red Skull.

Thanos.

These were all characters that were intertwined in one way or another.

And it all came to a head in one giant battle for the fate of everything.

This is what everything had led to.

This was the Endgame!

I was sad when the movie was over.

So many characters that were never all going to be in the same place again.

It was truly the end of an era!

And there you have it folks, 9 of my personal favorite movies of the last decade!

What are some of yours? 

Do we share any of the same ones?!

I'm thinking of doing another Q&A for my nest blog post, but in order to give answers, I need your questions! Please send me some good questions however you can!

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Text, E-Mail, whatever method you like, ask away!

Until next time!