Day 17: Your High's and Low's of this past year

Okay, so I have to back track a bit.  I'm going to italicize the bad things and make the good things in bold font.  If I checked facebook from the last year until now (checking)...

So last year on Cinco de Mayo, I went down to New Bedford to visit some old college friends and drink.  It was there that I realized that UMass Dartmouth had put up a windmill and was in the midst of building a new building.  As of now, I think they are going to need a lot more renovations to save their admissions if you've been watching the news lately.

I also changed around my living room and didn't have a roommate at this time last year.  I also cleaned out my shed this time last year.  I know this because I can see it happening on Facebook.  I went to see Primus with my friends Jack and Bill at the Boston Opera House (at least I think it's the Opera House).

What's really funny is that this time last year, the Great Gatsby trailer was released and you know what?  The movie is STILL not out yet.  That's how awful I plan for this movie to be.  This movie trailer has been surfaced for more than a year.  It's also showing in 3D, which is now the stamp for "we need to make so much money off this movie it sucks this bad".

My summer of 2012 was pretty fun as well.  I went down the Vineyard to party it up with my friend Travis.  I love the Vineyard in the summertime.  I also had a nice weekend down the cape with the whole family together.  That was a really fun time.  It was nice to see everyone under one roof for the short time that we had.  I started reading George Pelecanos books and haven't got back to them since finishing the first one.  I also spent a couple of weekends during last summer getting "certified" to become a bartender.  I trained with about 25 other people my age to become a bartender, but I have yet to get a job as a bartender.  I know, my fault.

I turned 26 last year, which is a useless birthday to celebrate.  My cell phone also broke and had to use one of the cell phones that my friend Jon had sitting in his desk.  I still have it now and it's a great paper weight.  I ended up bidding for one on Ebay that was identical to mine since I didn't have the money to sign up for a new one and my contract wasn't yet up.

The Olympics happened, which was entertaining.  The Red Sox made a $250 Million dollar trade.  I was still working at the same job I am now and I broke my promise of trying to switch jobs and get the hell out of Bank of America.  I joined a Fantasy Football league in which I made a slew of new friends and went to Mohegan Sun, made week to week bets with other guys and just had a great time overall.  Can't wait for that again this year.  I found a retained a roommate that is still living with me.  I had my wisdom teeth removed, which was nice to take some time off of work, and is documented on my Tumblr.  I learned how to wrap my face in bandages in case there is anything wrong with my jaw.

There was a huge hurricane in New England that flooded most of Quincy.  I was Bane for Halloween, in which I won Scariest Costume at a costume party.  The NFL had their whole Referee dilemma which turned into a real clusterfuck, and then one week in Miami, this happened.  Fast-forwarding through Winter, I learned how to use the snowblower.  I spent New Years Eve in Boston, which was fun for doing something new.  I went to Memphis for work, which was fun for the two weeks I was there.  I ate much barbecue, I would've gained probably 30 pounds if I stayed there more than 2 weeks.  I came home to a huge snowstorm that nearly ruined all of the Northeast.   I found out that after working in Memphis, I think that a life in traveling is very much up my alley.  

I started this website through GoDaddy, called NoMoreGoofs.com.  It started out as a business idea for movie studios that would want to cut down on the number of "Goofs" that occur in movies.  Pretty much a small money idea that would help people clean up some of the mistakes that audiences are quicker to catch.  I haven't really touched it since I started it and it's pretty much been just a domain that I paid $80 dollars for 3 years.

I did get started in my journey to become Debt-Free.  I've paid off 2 of 3 credit cards.  I've been trying to work hard getting more money and cutting back my expenses.  It's a journey and not getting any other bites on jobs has made this hard.  I think getting a part-time job along with a new full-time job is really the next big thing I need to shift into a higher gear.

To summarize my last year, it's been several things up and several things down.  I feel that some of the ups in my life have been related to other things that don't really involve me.  As if my happiness can be quantified by which movies are in theaters.  In terms of relationships, it's been mostly down, but I keep trying to find a new person to meet.  Dating sucks.  I've made probably one female friend out of maybe 5 or 6 that I've gone on a date with.  Maybe I need some outside help that I have yet to seek.  Let's hope that this next year is going on the up and up.

Day 7: Favorite Childhood Toys

I loved toys growing up.  In fact I still love toys.  When I think back to the toys I had, they are many in numbers and when I see them in some collectible form, I get a huge wave of nostalgia.  Now before I get into these, my favorite movie as a child was The Transformers animated movie.  I think I watched that every day when I woke up.  My favorite Transformer was Optimus Prime.  My second favorite was Hot Rod.  (google them for fun).

I loved playing with Transformers.  Every where I went with my mom, I always tried to get a transformer out of it.  The one I remember most is the one in the picture above.  It's the one dead in the center, but the head was different and wasn't as big.  I also had the one that was front row, second to last one on the left.  They were so cool to play with as a kid.

My childhood friend Anthony and I, would play Transformers and Power Rangers and all other cool things.  It was so much fun.  When my older brother Joe went to college, he had ordered the entire series of Transformers on VHS.  I did a similar thing but with DVD's and it was also a DVD-9 which meant it was mostly in Japanese.  But you could figure out a way to play it in English.  By the way, I'm pretty sure that my older brother has said DVD's in his condo at this moment.

Owning a Soundwave toy was troubling because you couldn't fit the tape inside of Soundwave at the same time.  I know talking about this at age 20 years after I did this I am getting so close to going out and buying these over again.  But I think there is a different time and place for that kind of acting out.

Day 6: Zodiac Talk - What it Means and What it Feels like

Being born in August means something.  It means I'm a Leo.  Being a Leo usually means that a person is the king of their domain, much like how a Lion is the King of the Jungle.  I'm going to include a large segment of the information from Astrology.com:

These folks are impossible to miss, since they love being center stage. Making an impression is Job One for Leos, and when you consider their personal magnetism, you see the job is quite easy. Leos are an ambitious lot, and their strength of purpose allows them to accomplish a great deal. The fact that these folks are also creative makes their endeavors fun for them and everyone else. It's quite common to see a Leo on stage or in Hollywood, since these folks never shy away from the limelight. They are also supremely talented and have a flair for the dramatic.  They may ruffle a few feathers along the way, however, since they can also be overbearing and somewhat autocratic. This may be in keeping with the Fixed Quality assigned to this sign -- Lions are indeed opinionated and set in their ways. That said, they are well organized, idealistic and have a knack for inspiring others.  The element associated with Leo is Fire. Everything about the Lion's personality is hot, hot, hot. Those born under this sign are fearless and strong, which may be why Lions plunge in headfirst and let the chips fall where they may. Thankfully, Leos are dignified enough not to commit too many pratfalls(Had to Google this to find out it's falling down on your ass). It's the Lion's unswerving courage that wins so many folks over. If you need someone to lead the charge, call a Leo -- and the bigger the project, the better, since these folks love an expansive stage (and the audience that comes with it). While some would take to calling Lions status-conscious, these folks are truly warmhearted and want everyone to be happy. Hey, it's their kingdom, and happy campers make for a perfect peace. Further, it's the great gift of the Leo-born to be dynamic, forward-thinking and self-confident.  Come play time, Leos are at their best. Lions are also a natural at the gym, where they can show their stuff to a crowd. When the lights are low, the essential Lion comes to the fore, since this beast is 90 percent fun and 100 percent romantic. The Leo lover is devoted, creative and almost too hot to handle!(Yeah We are!) Since Leo rules the heart and back, however, overzealous Lions may have to take a deep breath and slow down a bit. The great strengths of the Leo-born are their creativity, idealism and leadership. Lions don't lack for ambition, either, so they're likely to accomplish a lot -- and have fun while they're at it. 

Now, I can agree with some of this.  For me personally, I don't necessarily think about the idea of making a great first impression, I just hope that the first impression isn't a bad one.  I do feel very creative, but I just don't know in what ways I can express my creativity through the job market.  The jobs that my degree ask for usually are boring as hell and have no real creative nature.

I can definitely relate to being a leader.  When my friends and I go out, they usually wait on my (and my other Leo friends) opinion as to where to go to hang out.  I do believe that I can be ambitious and headstrong.  I just find myself sometimes being a little shy sometimes.   I don't know if being a Leo conflicts with being a sometimes emotionally exhausted middle child.  It might explain a lot and knowing that might help me strive to feel more like a Leo than middle child.

Fearlessness and inspiring are kind of iffy.  I don't know exactly when or at what times I've been inspiring of others, but I can remember some times when I was fearless.  I have been known to offer ideas to many people who ask for help, but some of my friends seldom ask for such things.  It's not enough to a problem solver, I guess you have to time and time again offer to help people more than they realize that you are helping them.

Self-confident, forward thinking, and dynamic.  I would say Yes to the latter two, and iffy on the first one.  I try to find more self-confidence in my life, but I sometimes feel helpless, which is very uncharacteristic of me. I tend to be more of a homebody when it comes to self-confidence.  I am forward-thinking, which makes me think about what I'm about to do when I'm trying to feel self-confident with women.  Dynamic is an absolute feeling I have.  I am always thinking critically about things and trying to accomplish more and more.  I don't always feel that some of my

I do think that there is some truth to being a passionate lover.  It says we are "hot, hot, hot".  I don't think I need to comment on that, but we Leo's are a passionate type.  The overzealous part can pop up every now and then and we can feel the need to shift gears in relationships.  It's not always pleasing with both parties, but we are what we are.

Lastly, I don't think I would want to be a different sign under the Zodiac.  Leo's are very much the kings of their domain, and I wouldn't want to be anything else.

This image below is the star constellation of Leo.  I find things like this very interesting.  Our ancestors what made the zodiac were so observant and seemed much smarter than I think we feel today.

I will be posting again today since I missed out on yesterday's post and I'm running a bit late.  The ab crunch 30 day challenge is coming along swimmingly.  Today is Day 7 for me and I need to do 50 crunches.  Let's hope all these crunches render some slicker abs.

NEW 30 DAY CHALLENGE(S) DECIDED ON!!

So since I had a riveting ZERO messages about what kind of challenge I should do.  I decided to do 3.  The first one is going to be a 30 day challenge of Crunches.  Yes, those things you do on the floor with your abs. I'm hoping that I won't pull any muscles or only work on one section of my abs since it would look pretty damn weird.  The scheduling is the same as before: work 3 days, rest 1, for 30 days.

The second challenge I'm doing is Jumping Jacks.  This one looks ridiculous, because I don't think I've ever even thought of doing more than 100 jumping jacks.  This is will be pretty interesting.  I think I might have to do them outside or somewhere I can jump a lot and not disturb any neighbors.

The third challenge I'm doing is blog related.  I'm going to write for 30 consecutive days about 30 topics that I found on a list on tumblr.  I know that sounds weird, but it looked interesting and it was something that I think would help with my habit of writing more often.  I know that I have been on and off a lot in my life with blogging/writing as well as other habits, but I think if I put my mind to it, I can do it.  The list is below.  I don't know why it's 2 different colors.  See you all tomorrow!