I leave you with this cute picture of my sister's two adorable Dachshunds.I hope 2008 was a good year for you. I hope that 2009 is even better!
Happy New Year everyone!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Goodbye 2008
I leave you with this cute picture of my sister's two adorable Dachshunds.I hope 2008 was a good year for you. I hope that 2009 is even better!
Happy New Year everyone!
Top Ten Things in 2008 aka Year's End
Here's to wishing you all a Happy New Year.
At this time of the year there are endless top ten lists. So here is my top ten list of things for 2008. It was a very good year for me.
10. Rock Band in the New Year - Last year, I spent the New Year's right by rocking out the vocals on Rock Band with my friend Randy and his friends up in SF. It was a blast. My favorite was War Pigs by Black Sabbath.
9. Warhammer Online - I traded my old MMO addiction City Of Heroes for a new addiction Warhammer Online. I'm not generally a big fan of PvP, but the way it is structured is very fun and interesting.
8. Global Economic Crisis - I'm not sure how much of this was self fulfilling prophecy. A rumor can lead to runs on the banks which just exasperates the problems. Despite whatever theory you may have about the cause of the current downturn in the economy, it's definitely going to effect us all. Just remember that this is nowhere near as bad as the great depression where we saw unemployment figures over 20%. I doubt we've seen the worst of it. Most likely we will have at least another 3-4 years of hard times. So just hunker down and prepare to stick it out. Now may be a good time to get rid of expensive habits like Starbucks Lattes, smoking, drinking or gambling.
7. Coachella - Every April I spend three days out in the desert listening to as many bands as possible. Some are great, some are just okay and some suck. But it's okay because there are five different stages. So if one band sucks you can always check out a different one.
6. Promotion - Making the transition from sales support to actually doing the sales was not easy and I had a ton of stuff to learn but it was worth it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, it seems. But I got a nice promotion this year, which I think more accurately reflects my level of experience and ability. There's nothing worse than toiling away at a job you could do with your eyes closed. I am really enjoying the challenge of my new responsibilities. Plus I also enjoy meeting new people and traveling.
5. Milk - Seriously, if you have not seen this movie, I urge you to go see it and to bring along a couple of friends. For some reason, the movie hasn't been released as wide as it should. Some of my friends still haven't been able to see the movie because it isn't playing anywhere near them. Please, Focus and Universal, open this puppy wider. More people need to see it. And it has added poignancy considering the ongoing debacle of prop 8. Which leads me to:
4. Prop 8 - Honestly, I don't know where to begin. Our foes think the fight is over, but it only just began. When you are talking about the civil rights of millions of Americans, you can rest assured that we will keep fighting until we have won. Although, along with many in the LGBT community, I wondered, "Where are our leaders?" The old guard failed us: HRC, GLAAD, LAMBDA Legal, etc. They were too busy throwing parties while ignoring the people on the street. But the good thing is that this loss has spurred a new generation of activists. The people protesting in the streets aren't veteran protesters. They are everyday gay and lesbian people that are sick and tired of being pushed around.
3. Obama - While I am on the subject of politics, let's talk about Barack Obama. Personally, I was always a much bigger supporter of Hilary. And let's face it, Obama is no friend to the gay and lesbian community. Sure he gives us lip service, but his actions speak louder than any speech. Where was he during the prop 8 campaign? And, of course, we have the slap in the face with him invited Rick Warren to the inauguration. This is a man who has said that homosexuality is the same as incest and child molestation. In fact, his church welcomes everyone except for people who are gay. Nevertheless, it's a big step forward for this country to finally have elected its first minority President. Enough about politics, here's some personal moments:
2. Moving - After 8 years of roommates, I figured it was finally time to move into my own place and become an adult. I am enjoying the freedom. Although, since I am a social person, I miss the random conversations with my roommates. It also helps that I moved to an area that is within walking distance of a ton of shops and restaurants.
1. Distribution for 'Coffee' - Finally, the most important moment for me was securing distribution for one of my short films. I had always waited until I got an offer from a company that I trusted. Finally a good offer came along and I took it. I hope it does well and that I make some money back from it. Of course, now I have no excuse not to start making some more short films.
That's it for 2008. Here's to hoping that 2009 is just as good, if not better.
At this time of the year there are endless top ten lists. So here is my top ten list of things for 2008. It was a very good year for me.
10. Rock Band in the New Year - Last year, I spent the New Year's right by rocking out the vocals on Rock Band with my friend Randy and his friends up in SF. It was a blast. My favorite was War Pigs by Black Sabbath.
9. Warhammer Online - I traded my old MMO addiction City Of Heroes for a new addiction Warhammer Online. I'm not generally a big fan of PvP, but the way it is structured is very fun and interesting.
8. Global Economic Crisis - I'm not sure how much of this was self fulfilling prophecy. A rumor can lead to runs on the banks which just exasperates the problems. Despite whatever theory you may have about the cause of the current downturn in the economy, it's definitely going to effect us all. Just remember that this is nowhere near as bad as the great depression where we saw unemployment figures over 20%. I doubt we've seen the worst of it. Most likely we will have at least another 3-4 years of hard times. So just hunker down and prepare to stick it out. Now may be a good time to get rid of expensive habits like Starbucks Lattes, smoking, drinking or gambling.
7. Coachella - Every April I spend three days out in the desert listening to as many bands as possible. Some are great, some are just okay and some suck. But it's okay because there are five different stages. So if one band sucks you can always check out a different one.
6. Promotion - Making the transition from sales support to actually doing the sales was not easy and I had a ton of stuff to learn but it was worth it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, it seems. But I got a nice promotion this year, which I think more accurately reflects my level of experience and ability. There's nothing worse than toiling away at a job you could do with your eyes closed. I am really enjoying the challenge of my new responsibilities. Plus I also enjoy meeting new people and traveling.
5. Milk - Seriously, if you have not seen this movie, I urge you to go see it and to bring along a couple of friends. For some reason, the movie hasn't been released as wide as it should. Some of my friends still haven't been able to see the movie because it isn't playing anywhere near them. Please, Focus and Universal, open this puppy wider. More people need to see it. And it has added poignancy considering the ongoing debacle of prop 8. Which leads me to:
4. Prop 8 - Honestly, I don't know where to begin. Our foes think the fight is over, but it only just began. When you are talking about the civil rights of millions of Americans, you can rest assured that we will keep fighting until we have won. Although, along with many in the LGBT community, I wondered, "Where are our leaders?" The old guard failed us: HRC, GLAAD, LAMBDA Legal, etc. They were too busy throwing parties while ignoring the people on the street. But the good thing is that this loss has spurred a new generation of activists. The people protesting in the streets aren't veteran protesters. They are everyday gay and lesbian people that are sick and tired of being pushed around.
3. Obama - While I am on the subject of politics, let's talk about Barack Obama. Personally, I was always a much bigger supporter of Hilary. And let's face it, Obama is no friend to the gay and lesbian community. Sure he gives us lip service, but his actions speak louder than any speech. Where was he during the prop 8 campaign? And, of course, we have the slap in the face with him invited Rick Warren to the inauguration. This is a man who has said that homosexuality is the same as incest and child molestation. In fact, his church welcomes everyone except for people who are gay. Nevertheless, it's a big step forward for this country to finally have elected its first minority President. Enough about politics, here's some personal moments:
2. Moving - After 8 years of roommates, I figured it was finally time to move into my own place and become an adult. I am enjoying the freedom. Although, since I am a social person, I miss the random conversations with my roommates. It also helps that I moved to an area that is within walking distance of a ton of shops and restaurants.
1. Distribution for 'Coffee' - Finally, the most important moment for me was securing distribution for one of my short films. I had always waited until I got an offer from a company that I trusted. Finally a good offer came along and I took it. I hope it does well and that I make some money back from it. Of course, now I have no excuse not to start making some more short films.
That's it for 2008. Here's to hoping that 2009 is just as good, if not better.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Tangerine Jam
As I write this I am enjoying homemade tangerine jam on top of toast. It's delicious.10 tangerines basically makes enough jam for three jars. I just put some in the fourth jar because I wanted to taste some for myself. The other three jars are Christmas presents.
I'm not normally this into cooking. But I just hate to let things go to waste. Plus, it's not like making jam is all that hard. You just put some tangerines in a saucepan, add some sugar and salt and let it simmer for an hour. Yummy! And it tastes better knowing that I made it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
No time for blogging
I'm too busy enjoying my Christmas present to myself: Rock Band 2. Although I feel a little weird sitting in my apartment singing rock songs by myself. I guess like most other things, it's more fun with more people. Now I need to go out and make two or three more friends.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Lemon Tarts, er, um, Pies
So I decided to try my hand at baking some lemon tarts with a couple of the lemons that I picked from the tree out in Palm Springs. I am also planning on making some Tangerine jam out of the tangerines I picked as well. I didn't have any tart pans and couldn't find any at Smart and Final so they will wind up being Lemon Pies. I'm sure they will be delicious nonetheless. Interesting note, I was going off a recipe I found online and it wound up making enough filling for two pies. So I made two instead of one. Also, I decided not to add the whipped cream because I thought it might be too much. Plus, I don't feel like learning how to pipe cream.Next up: Tangerine Jam
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tweet Tweet
Okay, so I have succumbed to the beast and joined Twitter. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/todfilm. Now you can follow my inane and utterly boring ramblings throughout the day.
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