/mike

I'm not feeling as grouchy as I was earlier. I've brought my PS2 back home and have been playing it on my parents huge tv. My console has been acting up recently so I tried all my games out to see which ones work. Most of them are fine, but my urban planning game, Metropolismania, doesn't read. Anyone have any tips?

I played some Kingdom Hearts, which Cindy got me for christmas. A week or so ago, I was thinking about role playing games. You walk around, explore, gain experience points, and build your talents and skills. It is only role playing, but can't some of those aspects be applied to real life? I'm so much lazier in real life. I should go get some experience points in basketball or something.

Traffic was surprisingly bad on the 110 freeway today. I think there was an accident on the 5 North. I was relieved to find that the ants have given me a day off.

It is very satisfying to be home today. The house is cold and quiet but I'm warm because of the combination of an old blue down feather costco jacket and lit fireplace.

I find that I am trying to implement many of the common sense "proverbs" that my mom tried to instill in us.

Clean up right away.
Chew your food before swallowing.
Drink lots of hot water.

Today I went to a bachelor party. When I got home, I was annoyed to find that ants have invaded the kitchen cupboard. This is the second time that I've come home to an ant trail. Either they have something personal against me or my parents do more than I ever gave them credit for. I hate ants.

I just saw my family off to the airport. I'm not the designated driver; my Mom worked something out with a friend who needed a ride a few weeks ago.

The entire house is mine. Come visit me and keep me from being lonely. It will also help me keep the place clean. When I'm alone, I end up hanging around in my underwear, dancing to loud music. Make sure you call first.

I got home at 4am. The Royal Tenenbaums was on tv and Matt was still packing. I putted around the house as he wrapped up his business. I like staying up with either of my brothers. That's when I get them all to myself.

He took our our copy of Fellowship of the Ring with him to Japan. I thought about how it seems like a lot of my friends repeatedly read that series, and how that contrasted with the series that I spent my time rereading. The Chronicles of Amber is hardly the epic mythology that Lord of the Rings is , but it is a classic fantasy/science fiction series in its own right. Nevertheless, I get the feeling that the themes in LOTRs are much deeper and perhaps a more positive influence over an eager fanboy.

So would I have become a better person if I read those books instead? Or did my compass already prefer Corwin over Frodo? Yeah, I still like Corwin. But there's room for both, I just need to catch up on my LOTR reading.

Who would have known that I can get my neighbor's wireless signal from my room! Expect more blogs.

Matt, my Dad, and I saw Master and Commander last night. As much as I don't want to like the home wrecking crew that is Russell Crowe, I'll concede he is a damn good actor.

This movie was just the testosterone with honor type of movie that I like. It gets my strong recommendation. I'd say the quality is comparable to Glory.

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I'm ordering my tcs tickets today. Come on, lets go!

Merry Christmas!

Last night, I spent a very pleasant and tasty Christmas eve with Cindy's family. Now I'm hanging out at home, inspecting my bounty and enjoying the company of my own family.

I've come to realize that I don't care about receiving gifts anymore - though I very much apprectiate the awesome ones I got. I just mean to say that I no longer think about what I want, or wonder who will get me things. I don't know when the change happened, but I know that it is complete. I used to wonder why my Dad didn't mind if he didn't get a gift. He seemed content just to enjoy the season. I'm exactly the same way now.

That being said, I can't wait to wear my new angels cap, play my new ps2 game, and eat tasty chocolates while throwing a LOTR Risk party. To WAR!

In The Great Divorce, people in hell have the option of living wherever they want. This “freedom” eventually results in people living in complete isolation because they can’t stand each other.

This Christmas, I would very much like to let go of some of the grudges I feel against others. In each case, I am sure I can make a strong argument against the individual I dislike, but I noticed that my list has become longer than I'm comfortable with. Perhaps something within myself needs to be transformed. I concede that while my grievances are real, practically all my grudges don’t hold up in the larger context of the complex nature of people, who they are, and who I am.

Easier written than done, of course. I need more grace in my life. I hope that I would eventually receive some from God as well.

Another life long journey for me is to battle my own self-destructive streak, which is somewhat related to holding grudges. In an indirect way, I am reminded of a high school essays I wrote on hubris in Greek tragedies. Maybe I should go back and read some of those epics. I’ve also been interested in reading Shakespeare after hearing David Allen White talk about the modern (and universal) relevance of Shakespeare’s work.

Usually, the only things that regulate my junk food intake is avaliability and willpower. Today I've reached the point where I've eaten so much sugary, fatty, and fried foods the sight of anything junkfood related makes me sick to the stomach.

Christmastime.

I love that word. I enjoy the season just as much as the actual day. Part of this is getting together with family and friends that I wouldn’t normally see. Who needs snow.

Yesterday, we went to cefc to pass out CDs and see Bud get baptized. By the way, the worship service was a nice tight package. Well done. Drinks for everyone!

Today, I got a call from a friend that I haven’t hung out with in a while. He told me about his research on theology and psychology integration. Now that’s a paper I can get excited about.

i'm burning cds right now so i'm at the computer a lot.

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i went to best buy this morning and even though the parking lot and stores were crowded, most everyone was on their best behavior. merry christmas.

passing by the cds, i happened upon a Doves import. i was listening to a track on my drive home and thought to myself, maybe Doves are my new favorite band. Trash Can Sinatras have held that role for a long time. is it time to move on?

of course, when I got home I find that tcs are doing a show in la. understand this, i dream about those guys all the time. in my dreams, i've attended back stage concerts, drank beer with them, asked them questions about religion, and even joined the band!

so i think my taste in music is aligned with Doves, but i've obviously developed a severely unhealthy attachment to those other guys.

haha

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on a more sober subject, i'm feeling a lot of regret today. i can't help but think about the mistakes i've made. mind you, they are hardly in the life/death category, but i look back and feel like i've walked on the wrong path for so long. there's no going back. it isn't too late to take the bad parts and make them good? how much of my future is determined by my previous decisions? do i even have the strength of will to do different?

i'm betting that it isn't too late. what else can i do?

tcs are also playing a show in los angeles on tuesday, march 16 at the troubadour. advance tickets should be available from ticketmaster beginning december 24, and via fax from the troubadour on january 4. please visit the troubadour website for details.

i was talking to a fairly new friend, "C". he joined with Cindy in making some fun political quips at me. i wanted to respond and have an actual discussion, but he wisely suggested we not talk politics. why break up new friends?

we agreed to talk about it this time next year. if we are still friends, why not?

Yay! Haha. Return of the King is spectacular. The sheer scope of the movie was enough to blow me away. I want to say something intelligent, but I can't put together a good critique. All I can say at the moment is that I had a great time last night. A. Great. Time. I was a kid in a candy store and I'm stuffed to the brim. Granted, Fellowship is still my personal favorite, but not for any lacking quality in this concluding installment.

I also have a confession to make. I say that I’ve read Lord of the Rings, but in reality, it was such a long time ago that I don’t recall key plot points. Whenever people talk to me about text consistency, I just furrow my brow and nod my head. I don't remember anything from the books. This actually may have worked in my favor because a few scenes surprised me. Most of my memories stem from the Lord of the Rings animated movies.

On that comparison, I'll say that Eowyn was a hell of a lot tougher in the cartoon.

I love my new cell phone! Man, the technology has really improved since my last purchase. Woo hoo! Call me! I lost everyone's number when my previous phone broke.

I'm also looking for a hobby. I have plenty of interests, but I want a hobby. If you have any ideas, let me know. I may need to experiment and see what sticks because I can't think of anything appropriate. Besides, Cindy already took all the good hobbies. What will I bring to the table?

I got my tickets for tonight. I'm already regretting it because I have so much to do. I'm going to be beat tired. I've also avoided the flu this far, will I sink my own ship? But it's going to be good right? It will be worth it, right? I just need to get enough rest so I don't fall asleep or feel too tired.

"What are we holding on to, Sam?"

"That there is some good in this world, and that's worth fighting for."

A Charlie Brown Christmas is my favorite holiday show.

There are plenty of standard elements that are in any Peanuts production, but the Christmas special has a little something extra.

The plot has Charlie Brown constantly complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. I almost see it as Charles Schutz's self loathing at making a commercial television special! Cindy even pointed out that at one point, a character suggests that Christmas is owned by an "Eastern Syndicate". But when Charlie Brown is finally fed up with Christmas, Linus tells him the real meaning of Christmas by reading the story of baby Jesus.

"Peace on Earth, and good will to all men."

I'm in the christmas mood. We watched A Charlie Brown Christmas last night, and we caught Saddam this morning!

A few weeks ago, I was presented with a very intriguing offer. It was Cindy’s birthday; We had just spent the day at some of our favorite locations in the west side, when we ran into my cousin and some friends at Curry House – Cindy loves curry and I love gratins. During dinner, I found out that a friend of ours was moving to Hong Kong. She lived in Redondo Beach and needed to find a replacement.

This was my big chance to live under more “normal” circumstances. Currently, I’m simply renting a room from a nice family friend. The arrangement was convenient, but it didn’t feel like a long term solution. I mulled over it for a while, and decided to stay in Torrance.

I’m happy with my decision. I don’t need to make this change. I’d be 15 minutes further from work, rent would double, and I don’t really know the guys living there. I liked the idea behind how the opportunity presented itself; I’m all about taking opportunities as they come. In this case, it just ended up not being what I want. The quiet life ain’t so bad.

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Besides, I think I found my local sushi joint. The two that I've tried so far were either too Korean, or really good but snobby. Kantaro Sushi has a fairly good balance. I think I’ll take some of the more experienced sushi fans (my big brother, etc.) just to confirm.

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I talked to a financial planner a few weeks ago and was embarrassed that most of my savings are stagnant in a money market account. I didn’t even have a ROTH IRA - it is better late than never, so I’m glad that I finally got started yesterday.

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My cell phone broke down. I can still check voice mail but don’t have access to phone numbers (Wendy).

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B A R T O L O C O L O N = happy angels fans = happy mike = 20 game plan

So I feel good today because I bought myself a steel, black, two-drawer, file cabinet. I also got two floor pillows.

Nomar?

NOMAR???

I’m feeling a little superior today so please forgive my snobbery.

After seeing the commercial to The Last Samurai, I thought to myself: I can’t wait to find out what “I WILL find you!” sounds like in Japanese.

And why didn’t they just call it Brave-Samurai or Dances with Samurai.

Thank you very much. I’ll be here all week!

First name? Michael
Your initials? mc
Age? 27
Sign? leo
Time of day you were born? dunno
Nicknames? pig, big time, mikey
What kind of car do you drive? '00 metallic grey (aka purple) honda accord EX 4
What kind of soap do you use? dove
How many pillows are on your bed? 2
What are you wearing right now? Ugh. BR pleated chinos (I thought they were grey, but now they look purple – like my car), striped dress shirt from Structure (gag), Red plaid tie from the Gap ($5 from 1995), black leather bostonian dress shoes.
How many pictures of yourself do you have on your hard drive? 1
How many of them are nude? I have none. I’m so prude there’s only 2 existing bare chested photos of myself.
How many pictures of yourself do you have hanging on the wall? 1
Do you think you are attractive? Most of the time. Today I’m fat.

MUSIC
Favorite Artist? Trash Can Sinatras.
Musical artist you would most like to meet? Bono
A musical artist you can't stand? That scary clown band
First concert you attended? Erasure Wild! Tour
Actor or actress you have met? Karin Cheung
Actor or actress you would most like to meet? Wino Forever
Best movie of 2003 you have seen so far? Capturing the Friedmans was interesting but disturbing as well.
Worst movie of 2003 you have seen so far? This year has been pretty good. Matrix Revolultions was the worst, and I like it.

TELEVISION
Shows you never miss? I miss em all, but I did watch Celebrities Uncensored last night.
A show most of your friends watch that you don't? I can’t think of the one show everyone watches. Alias? 24?
Do you have cable? yeah
Do you watch soaps? Used to watch Days, back in the days Jack looked like Bayliss

Sorry. This stuff isn’t as good when you skip the sex and livejournal questions.

I always tell myself that I hate this age of irony, but Cindy just pointed out that most of the music I've been listening to is "calculatedly ironic". Gasp! I think she's right.

Even so, I have my limits. I prefer Bono over Thom Yorke. That's right. I'll even take Bobby Hill over Bart Simpson.

Two friends got promoted today. One of the positions could have been mine, but I took an earlier promotion to a different department. If I had known what I know now, I probably would not have accepted my new job. Yet I’m glad I am where I am now. I'm satisfied with how I made my decision, and I'm grateful for the way this job has made me a better worker.

In this situation (and another), the consequences of my decisions are not entirely clear. Hindsight is 20/20 but at what point do I look back? If I were to wait too long, too many forks in the road will have passed to point back at one specific moment. In the meantime, I'll keep doing the best I can (which isn't very good) - hoping in God's plan and trusting in His providence.

My pants are tighter today; I'm stuffed like a happy hobbit, except I'm exhausted from lack of proper rest.

Last night I drempt about creepy bite size ghosts who would invade the bedroom of a little girl at night. I stuck around to keep watch for her. As soon as I dozed off, they started coming in through the window and surrounding us. It was unclear whether or not they were threatening.