My Wife’s Birthday and 90 Day Fiancé: Hunt for Love

My wife’s birthday was this week, and we celebrated with a massage, head spa and eating out. The massage and head spa were incredibly relaxing to the point where I just felt totally idle. As a birthday gift to her, I gave her a bag that she has wanted for a long time. I bought it in secret online and had it shipped to my work. I then put it in the trunk of our car. However, we had to stop by a Costco to buy some things, and I opened the trunk hoping everything would fit. However, the box took too much space, and my wife saw the box. I had to admit to my wife that was her birthday present. Thankfully, the part of the box that was visible was blank, so she had no idea what was inside. I then hid the box while she was busy in one of our closets and presented her the gift right when it became midnight of her birthday.

My wife and I are also regular viewers of the reality television series, 90 Day Fiancé, and all their spinoffs. This season had 90 Day Fiancé: Hunt for Love, where previous members of 90 Day Fiancé and their spinoffs along with other people not a part of the franchise are taken to a resort in Tulum, Mexico to try and find someone. It was one of the spicier spinoffs of the 90 Day fiancé franchise, and I could not help but feel good for some characters by the end of it, but also felt bad for others. One person had a full hero-to-villain arc, while other characters had redemption arcs and other things going on with them. The 90 Day Fiancé franchise though really illustrates the differences between men and women, and it really showed with Hunt for Love.

This was a fun week with the last episode of 90 Day Fiancé: Hunt for Love before the Tell All, and my wife’s birthday. Things may not go as planned whether that’s birthday gifts or finding someone, but they ended up turning out to be good at the end of it all.

Freakier Friday and UFC 319

My wife and I watched Freakier Friday, and it was an enjoyable movie. We went to an arthouse theater about a year ago and watched the original Disney Freaky Friday, so we still remembered the story beats, characters and whatnot. Freakier Friday pretty played the same story beats as the original, except with a changed dynamic involving four characters switching bodies instead of two. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis can pretty much play these roles in their sleep at this point. The actresses playing the daughters of the main couple were good enough. There was enough nostalgia in the movie for fans of the original while having its own story for new fans. There was even some Filipino representation in the movie as well, and it had next to no social-political messaging.

I also watched UFC 319: du Plessis vs. Chimaev with friends over the weekend. On the main card, there were two spinning back elbow finishes, which is surprising considering how rare those finishes are. In the main event, challenger Khamzat Chimaev totally dominated Driscus du Plessis, who was the UFC Middleweight Champion at the time of their fight. It was a wrestling-heavy fight with Chimaev just being a wet blanket and du Plessis really having no answer for it. As someone who has been practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for probably over a decade now, it was surprising to me to see du Plessis making some really amateurish mistakes on the ground. Du Plessis went for guillotines and just did not detach his body from Chimaev during takedown exchanges. On the ground, du Plessis was holding onto Chimaev when he should have been trying to create space between them. With fighters like Reiner de Ridder, Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez waiting in the wings at the UFC Middleweight division, there are no shortage of challengers. However, I do find it difficult in seeing any of them having the abilities to really fend off Chimaev’s wrestling and grappling.

There was a lot of good entertainment in movies and combat sports. Some entertainment is lighter and family-friendly, while other forms of entertainment are filled with violence.

Helping Others and Birthday

This week, my wife and I helped out senior friends who were in need. One friend just needed help with moving items, and that is something that I am used to as I moved homes quite a bit within the last six years. Outside of something heavy like a refrigerator (which I did have to move with help from friends and family to my upstairs unit when I lived in Santa Ana) some mattresses are really tricky to move as they are just so awkward. Another friend that we had to help had issues with her legs, and she could not walk under her own power. We have been assisting her when we can, and her family also assists as well. It does demonstrate a cultural difference though in how we treat our elderly. For the most part over here, the elderly have to fend for themselves a lot of times with family helping just on occasion. In other countries and cultures, the elderly would have constant care from family.

My birthday was last week, and a did take the day off that day. For breakfast on my birthday, I went with my wife and parents to Polly’s Pies, which was surprisingly good. We skipped lunch, and my wife and I went with a friend of mine to Korean Barbecue for dinner. It was really good, but granted, it is hard to find a truly bad KBBQ place. This one that we went to though had really good service, and the food quality was also very good. Outside of that, I received a few birthday cards and happy birthday messages via text or social media. As we get older, that is really all we can expect at this point, and that’s fine.

There is satisfaction in helping others and getting older and wiser. People need to lean on others, especially as they get older, so forming bonds with family and friends will make others want to help.

Fantastic Four: First Steps and WWE SummerSlam 2025

My wife and I watched Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the theater, and I thought that it was a solid movie. The theme of family was one that carried throughout the movie, and it actually had a very feel to it. It helped that the movie was just short of two hours and not very difficult to follow. I really liked the look of Galactus and the 1960’s retro-futuristic vibe that it had going on, making it particularly distinct from other Marvel movies. Unfortunately, it appears that it isn’t do too well in the box office, and it is questionable if it will break even. I have to wonder if audiences are burned-out by Marvel, just waiting for it to be on streaming, or if they are wary of Marvel due to some of their movies having a lot of socio-political messaging (which this movie did not have).

My friends and I also watched WWE SummerSlam night 2, and I watched night 1 the day before. Overall, I thought that it was very good. The main events for both night 1 and night 2 delivered. Night 1 had the surprise successful Money in the Bank cash-in from Seth Rollins, and Jellyroll did as good as was expected of him. I figured that something was going to happen after the Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena match, especially with Cena staying in the ring after the match for so long, and the big surprise was the return of Brock Lesnar. It was definitely a controversial move on WWE’s part. The worst matches were probably the Kross vs. Zayn match and the Fatu vs. Sikoa match. Most everything else was “good” at the very least to “excellent.” Rollins and CM Punk look to be continuing their feud, and Cena feuds with Lesnar, but there is a question of where Cody Rhodes goes next.

Overall, it was a fun weekend filled with entertainment. Marvel is moving forward with Avengers: Doomsday as their next offering, and the WWE machine keeps on going. I can only hope that what Is being offered next will be good, fun and enjoyable.

Jessica Kirson and Church Anniversary

My wife and I went to see comedian, Jessica Kirson, and she had a really good show. She started her set with crowd work, and it was some of the best and most funny crowd work that I have seen. Kirson’s background brought in a crowd that we do not usually see, but thankfully, she did not get too political or directly attack one side of the political aisle. As a comedian, Kirson was very crass and vulgar but was funny about her subject matter. Her impressions were good, and the way that she talked about the generational divide was comical. Overall, we enjoyed the show.

This weekend contained our Church’s Anniversary, and my wife and I had to prepare for it as we are officers in our Church. That meant refraining from doing activities that may hinder us, like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. That was tough as I had to miss class the week before due to sickness. We also had to wake up earlier than normal for certain activities and prayers. With work being busy, time went by really fast, and the weekend was already there. The Anniversary worship service and a subsequent picnic went really well, and I am refreshed. I look forward to going back to our usual schedule.

While it was a busy week, it was worth it. Things were not of the norm whether it was our weekly schedule or the audience for a comedy show. However, we adapted and came away feeling good and satisfied.

Pacquiao vs. Barrios and Difficulties

My wife and I watched the Manny Pacquiao versus Mario Barrios. My wife and I have been fans of Manny Pacquiao for a long time, and it should come as no surprise that most Filipinos are fans of his. The story of this fight had mostly to do with Manny Pacquiao coming back to professional boxing at 46-years-old after being gone from the sport for four years. Pacquiao performed very well considering the circumstances, and while he was not the same Manny Pacquiao in his prime, he was still able to fight evenly with a much younger world champion. The fight ended with a majority draw, which is certainly not the worst outcome for Pacquiao, but it was not the ideal outcome either. I have to think that a rematch is in store. In other combat sports, specifically the UFC, Dustin Poirier lost against Max Holloway in Poirier’s retirement fight.

This week has been busy and difficult at times. I was not feeling well on Tuesday, and my wife has been sick this whole week. I have not picked up her symptoms, and besides an occasional stuffy nose here and there, I do not know if I am sick as well. However, as a precautionary measure, I have not gone to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class this week, which is unfortunate as I felt that I was getting some momentum lately having been relatively consistent in going to class until recently. Work for both of us has been very busy where we really do not have any downtime, which is good because time goes by really fast, but with having Church activities, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, exercising and other things to do, it does feel like our time and energy is not always evenly allocated. We are still working on work/life balance.

Life comes with hardships and trials, whether one is the top professional fighter or people that are working a nine to five. Certain outcomes in life are not ideal, but that is just how things turn out, and that is actually just fine.

WWE Evolution 2 and Tragic Situations

I watched WWE Evolution 2 over the weekend, and I thought that it was a solid event. I got to check out some of the matches of WWE’s Saturday Night Main Event, but I missed the AEW All In Texas event. The ending of Evolution 2 was well done with Naomi cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase to ultimately win the Women’s Title. The triple threat to start the show between Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch and Bayley was really strong. Jade Cargill and Stephanie Vaquer won their respective matches and look to be getting gold sooner rather than later. The women’s talent in WWE is quite good, and with them producing more talent through the NXT system, WWE is going to have constant talent for years to come.

This week was also filled with my wife and I visiting friends and acquaintances from our Church who went through tragic and unfortunate circumstances. One had a parent pass away while another had a stroke. Despite the circumstances, there are many lessons to take from this. Forgiveness and understanding of other people’s situations were something that we took from one friend. Gratitude and not taking things for granted was another thing that we took from another friend. Bad things do indeed happen to good people, but how one reacts to those things is very important.

Things happen for a reason, and that applies to scripted entertainment and real life. However, real life can at times be more awe-inspiring and surprising than anything that we see on our screens.

4th of July 2025 and Work/Life Balance

My 4th of July weekend was a much-needed three-day weekend. My wife and I did not go out to see the fireworks and opted to stay home on Independence Day. We got some housework done and were actually supposed to watch the live-action How To Train Your Dragon, but we lost track of time as we were watching the anime, Ya Boy Kongming, at home. We ending up watching it throughout the night and finished it the next day. We also celebrated my father’s birthday that weekend, so we gathered as a family and ate out. It was a good time. Finally, we went on a hike with our dog. She is a bit older, so we had to carry her a few times during the hike. We are going to try to do a hike every weekend if we are able to, especially since it’s an excuse to be outside, and for our dog to be outside and get exercise.

One thing that my wife and I are still trying to figure out is a work/life balance. This three-day weekend was much needed, but we were catching up on things like chores and errands. It is a tough thing to juggle as I pretty much have something after work, whether it is something church related or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class that more or less takes up a majority of my nights. Watching a movie in the theater is pretty much a weekend thing, and that can get difficult to fit into our schedule sometimes. I suppose that it is another reason to try to become a full-time author, as I could pick my own hours to work, and would not necessarily have to work a traditional nine-to-five. For now though, it is all about how to balance my work and personal life.

Independence Day is a good reminder of what is important such as family, friends, duties and whatnot. There is a balancing act being an adult in your work life and personal life, and it can be daunting at times. However, it is something that we all have to just handle and figure out.

Cirque du Soleil – ECHO and UFC 317

My wife and I saw Cirque de Soleil – ECHO at Laguna Hills recently, and it was a fantastic show. We got tickets for the last dates that this show would be available, and I am glad that we dd not miss it. Cirque de Soleil has a show every year at Laguna Hills, and it is now becoming something of a tradition now to attend them, and that’s the same with attending the Orange County Fair. The show itself is quite honestly magical, using stunts, technology and creativity to tell a story. In the show, there was this giant cube that was getting deconstructed at times and reconstructed. People would be inside of it, and there was even a wire act inside of it. However, the most amazing thing was seeing a titan, similar to the ones in Attack on Titan, coming out of it. The performances were top-notch and an amazement of what the human body can do.

My friends and I also watched UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira. It was a very good card with some great fights and great finishes. Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van was a Fight of the Year contender, and Van’s win puts some new blood at the top of the UFC Flyweight division. Alexandre Pantoja just steamrolled Kai Kara-France in the co-main event, winning by submission. However, it was Ilia Topuria’s brutal KO over Charles Oliveira that stood out the most. Topuria is a special talent that may very well be the top star of the current UFC product, which has quite honestly had some trouble creating new stars as of late. For Topuria to knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in succession puts Topuria in that pound for pound status. If Ilia Topuria is headlining a UFC pay-per-view, then I am ordering it, as he is just that good.

The past week, I got to witness amazing performances. Both Cirque du Soleil and the UFC shows what humans are capable of doing, but one is primarily artistic, while the other is a sport built upon violence. It is always amazing though to see what humans can do at the highest levels of skill and creativity.

Leadership Roles and Increasing Followers

This week, I was assigned more leadership roles in my Church. I had to lead a prayer or two, and lead a group in a hike. The hike went well, but I could have been better prepared and cognizant of the time and the amount of people who came. It was a lesson in preparedness. The prayer went well enough with no incidents. My comfort level in praying has gotten better over time, but it is still not too natural. I suppose that some level of responsibility was necessary for me. Granted, I pay my bills, work and whatnot, but to lead is a different thing.

I have also been trying to increase my followers on my Facebook Author’s page and my X (formerly Twitter) account. With the help of my wife, it has actually gone pretty well. Now, it is a matter of making fresh content on my social media on a regular basis. We have a few ideas in mind that I am excited to try out. There is definitely a lot of “putting yourself out there” with trying to reach people. Also, there is a question of how to turn followers into readers/buyers of my books. It is a form of progress though, and with this writing thing, a little progress is better than stagnation.

Taking on leadership roles or trying to gain social media followers all come down to one thing: getting out of your comfort zone. There is a lot of yourself that you are putting out there, strengths and vulnerabilities, all to reach a goal of bettering yourself.

Father’s Day 2025 and Writer’s Groups

My wife spent Father’s Day with my family this year. It is always a good time spending time with family, especially being adults. All of us live busy lives with full-time jobs, and my siblings and their wives have children. I will catch up on things with my brothers whether it be professional wrestling, UFC fights, training in boxing, muay thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and other such topics. It’s also nice just seeing my nieces and nephew, as they are growing fast. Hopefully soon, I will be one of the fathers during Father’s Day, and not just to my dog.

I have been joining different writer’s groups online, mainly on Facebook. It is interesting to see how many authors and potential authors out there, and we are all trying to “make it.” I like reading those who are writing their first books, as they have similar struggles that I had. Making a writing schedule, outlining, note taking, editing and other items to do are not always common with some that are trying to write a book. Not trying to boast, but it is just second-nature for me to write on a daily basis, even when I do not want to, or to outline my stories. I do not get caught up in the minutiae of how a first draft paragraph sounds like, or if certain dialogue sounds good or not, as I now know that a lot of this stuff will be addressed in the editing process, but for these writers who are creating their first book, there is still a lot that they do not know. Granted, I am no expert and still learning a lot myself.

There was a lot to reflect on this week. Father’s Day brings about family, and there is always something going on. With writing, I am getting to know new or established writers that all have their own quirks and their own struggles.

WWE Money in the Bank 2025 and Transitions to Something New

I watched WWE Money in the Bank 2025, and the big news item to come out of the event is the return of R-Truth (Ron Killings). It was reported that R-Truth’s WWE contract would expire without him re-signing, and the fans were not happy about it. They were very vocal about wanting him back, and when he came back in the main event of Money in the Bank, it was a legitimate surprise to everyone. The rest of the show was good too with the actual Money in the Bank ladder matches being fun along with the Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria match being really good.

It has also been a time of transitions. We are quickly going from spring to summer, even though over here in Orange County, it can be hard to tell. I know of a good amount of people that are graduating and transitioning to the next phase of their schooling. My wife just got a new job, and she has been in transition from her old job to this new one, which has had its obstacles and hardships. Thankfully, we got through it. With me, there is this new transition for me where I can actually call myself an author, which has honestly been strange for me. I am still hesitant to call myself an author as I tend to think of one as someone who makes some real money from it, or does it full-time. It is of course the goal to make money from my works and to be a full-time author.

Things are constantly changing, and with that comes transition into those changes. This applies to entertainment like the WWE, or just in life in general. It can be difficult, different or unusual, but it is a part of progression.

Karate Kid: Legends and Lilo & Stitch

My wife and I watched Karate Kid: Legends, and I thought that it was a fun movie. It was a popcorn flick, and I would guess that those who made this movie were going after fans of the Karate Kid franchise, and more specifically, the Cobra Kai series. Besides a brief cameo at the end, this movie shows no real connection to Cobra Kai. I think that most would watch this movie to see Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio teaming up, and they had a few fun scenes together. Unfortunately, the main character, Li Fong, did not particularly stand out, nor did many of the other characters. The villain has very little backstory, so he just comes off as being the bad guy with a terrible attitude because the script demands it. A lot of the scenes are not given time to breathe due to the frenetic pacing. However, there was good action, and it was relatively easy to follow while not being too long.

We also watched the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, which I liked a lot. I know that there were mixed opinions of the ending. However, there was a good family dynamic with Lilo and Stitch starting out as troublemakers. It was very easy at first to be frustrated with them both, as they tended to ruin things for Lilo’s sister, Nani, who was really having a tough time. They slowly get away with that as the movie progresses, and Nani sees some progression as well, especially with her profession and schooling. Most of the “bad guys” were not bad guys at all and befriended the main characters. It stayed true to the original enough while adding its own ideas, and it did not push hard on any sort of social messaging, which I am glad that they did.

It is the summer movie season, and there have been some pretty good movies out lately. Some are just mindless action movies while others are good family movies. It does feel like there has been a drought in even decent movies lately, so this is good that there are fun movies out right now.

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning and Author Groups

My wife and I watched the latest Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning and theaters, and I personally liked it. There are valid criticisms of the movie such as the length of the movie, and that there are so many MacGuffins utilized that they had to recap the overall mission more than once. However, there was an overall feeling of danger throughout the movie with Ethan Hunt barely escaping a lot of tricky situations. The action was good, and of course, Tom Cruise did his trademark intense running. The side cast was good as well, introducing some characters who were memorable.

I joined some Facebook author groups recently and have been ingratiating myself to their communities. Some allow me to advertise and market my works, and I did advertise The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom on some of them. With one group, I did get a few Likes and comments, so that was nice, but it was not some sort of significant number. There are many people who are in the process of writing a book or who are published in the fantasy genre. However, it is not necessarily a competition but just getting a niche audience to like my product. I also feel that I am doing something a bit different than author fantasy books out there, as The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom is closer to a Japanese Light Novel than the fantasy novels that I’ve been seeing.

I do not know if Final Reckoning will be the end of the Mission Impossible franchise, but it looks like it could be, for now. Hopefully, we will see some new works out there that could potentially be big-time franchises. It is all about taking that initial risk, as who knows what the final outcome will be?

Advertising The Mustard Prince and Marketing My Brand

With all my family, friends and acquaintances knowing that The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom is published, and a few having bought the book, it is now time to advertise it to a more general audience. This, quite honestly, is more difficult for me than writing the book itself. I have been joining different author and writing groups on Facebook and have been getting advice. A lot of this advice consists of having a social media presence or an author’s page, which is generally common knowledge. Other advice consists of having the right book cover, but there are some that are clearly trying to advertise some sort of site or service that I just ignore. I also watched YouTube videos in advertising books, and some advice is worthwhile, yet some advice seems like a good idea but is just tedious and time-consuming.

The other thing that I have to do now is to market my brand. I brainstormed a few ideas with my wife, and we have decided on posting some sort of insights and reflections regularly on social media. The other idea that we had was to make a newsletter. I have to get an email list for this, but the idea of a newsletter sounds fun and is also just an extension of what I am already doing here with the blogs. This is all work, but it is a challenge that I want to tackle. Once I get a routine going, then I think that it will not be so daunting of a task.

Being a self-published author means that not only do I have to write books, but build a personal brand and market them as well. I am actually looking forward to trying to implement some of these marketing ideas along with joining these different authors and writers groups. The goal is to be able to become a full-time author as my primary profession, but there are definitely some struggles and challenges along the way.

Brett Cooper, WWE Backlash 2025 and Ron Josol

My wife and I went to the Irvine Improv to see Brett Cooper, a political commentator and actress. She appeals more to Gen Z, and the crowd at the show was full of young people with many being couples. Brett was pregnant but still moved around quite a bit. With her being pregnant, I do not know if she will go on tour again, or at least, anytime soon. For someone so young, she has a surprising amount of life experience. She did her set similar to how a comedian would do a set, citing more cultural happenings that are going on with just a little bit of politics sprinkled in. At the end, she did a Q & A, and overall, it was a very good show and a full house.

My friends and I also watched WWE Backlash 2025 at my place. I thought that overall, it was a solid show with some good matches and some storylines getting furthered. The stuff that WWE is doing with John Cena is getting mixed reviews. His main event Championship matches are already falling into a similar pattern, but this match against Randy Orton was entertaining nonetheless. I do not know where they are going with the John Cena character, but I am curious to know where he will end up by the time that he retires from wrestling at the end of the year.

Finally, my wife and I went to the Brea Improv to see Filipino comedian, Ron Josol. He really leaned into Filipino culture and parenting, and it was really funny. We both could strongly relate to the jokes. However, the real treat of this show was that we got to meet him after the show and take pictures with him and the opening comedians as well. My wife has been following Josol even before we met, so she was particularly exciting to meet him. Even as we were going home, we were still jazzed up from meeting them.

Overall, it was a busy and productive week, but we got to do a lot of fun stuff.

Thunderbolts* and Pirates Dinner Adventure

My wife and I watched Marvel’s Thunderbolts* the other day. I thought that it was decent, but not something that I would particularly recommend someone to see in the theaters. I would recommend someone to watch it when it comes out on streaming though, as just a relatively fun movie. Lewis Pullman as The Sentry really stood out and showed a lot of range from an awkward fish-out-of-water to someone who realized that he is a god. This movie had a lot of good ideas but just were not able to execute them as well as they could whether they were looking into mental health, the consequences of trauma, or some other idea. There was also a problem with tone, where the movie was serious in one scene but goes back to comedy in the next. I thought that Thunderbolts* was a perfectly serviceable movie, but I did not feel that it differentiated itself from other Marvel movies.

We also went to Buena Park to see the Pirates Dinner Adventure with another couple. I have seen this show more than a decade ago, but my wife has not seen it yet. She was surprised that it was a musical, and it was overall just a fun experience. No one goes there for the food, but the show itself, interactivity, and atmosphere made for a good time. We were on the blue team, and the blue pirate was the one who got the princess. Everything is pretty simple but fun, and considering that it was not too much different from when I last saw this show, they definitely have a winning formula here.

Sometimes, sticking with what works and not making big, wholesale changes is just fine. Other times, the status quo is simply not good enough, and changing things up is what is needed. Entertainment is a strange thing, as what works for one thing does not necessarily work for something else.

Coming Back From Vacation and Apocalypse Hotel

My wife and I came back from our mini vacation, and it was admittedly tough to get out of vacation mode. We did not go anywhere far or that required flying, but having not to have any obligations or responsibilities for a few days and having to go back to normal life takes some adjusting. Unpacking is always quite the chore, and going from an idle lifestyle to an active and busy one can bring a certain tiredness when we least expect it. Honestly though, it is more motivation for me to become a full-time author, as I could go on vacation anywhere and at anytime without having to worry about going back to the office.

We have also been watching a new anime, Apocalypse Hotel, that has new episodes airing every Tuesday. The is the synopsis: In an isolated Tokyo hotel, robot manager Yachiyo and staff maintain operations amid societal collapse and nature's takeover, faithfully awaiting guests return to Ginzaro. The anime is more of a comedy than anything, but there is an implicit sadness to it. Humanity is gone from Earth, and these robots are just working at this hotel with no guests. Many of the robot employees have lost operational capability, and the ones left just seemingly are awaiting that same outcome. Thankfully, things start to turn around early in the series, and we look forward to seeing what happens every week.

With things pretty much back to normal, we are just going through the usual grind. We are planning our next vacations, which will be within the year and early next year, so we have some thing to look forward to.

WrestleMania 41 and A Mini Vacation

This weekend was WrestleMania weekend, headlined on Night Two by John Cena versus Cody Rhodes. The event as a whole, Night One and Night Two, was a lot of fun with some really good matches. There was a big twist at the end of Night One. Night Two, overall, in my opinion, was better than Night One, but the main event of Night Two was not particularly strong. The story of Rhodes versus Cena played out similarly to earlier in the night when AJ Styles went up against Logan Paul. Also, The Rock’s absence could really be felt. I watched Night Two with some casual fans, and they were expecting an appearance from The Rock at some point and were disappointed when he did not show up. Travis Scott’s involvement with John Cena, Cody Rhodes and the main event scene is also just very misplaced.

Before WrestleMania Night Two, my wife and I had a mini vacation in San Diego at The Welk. We’ve been there before, but it is always really nice. One of the events that we went to was having a free dinner at Hell’s Kitchen. My wife ordered the Beef Wellington, and I got the Lobster Risotto along with various drinks. It was good, and we also went to a local taco place, which honestly had some of the best tacos that I ever had. We even went to a different locale of our church, which is always nice. We are now planning for our next vacation, which should be in just a few months from now.

Overall, it was a fun weekend. A short, local, mini vacation where we could drive to is something that my wife and I will do occasionally in the future. Thankfully, living in Orange County, San Diego is to our south, Los Angeles is to our north, Palm Springs is to our east, and Las Vegas is a doable drive as well.

Jury Duty for a High-Profile Case and My Love Will Make You Disappear

I had jury duty for two days, and it was interesting yet bothersome at the same time. The timing of this jury duty could not have come at a worse time, as I had so much to do at work along with it being really busy. I have done jury duty before but was never selected to be in a jury, nor did I have any desire to. Getting to the courthouse, I was expecting them to call group numbers to prospective cases, but this time, they called for a certain criterion of individuals. After that was done, there were over one-hundred-twenty of us, and we headed to the eleventh floor for one of the cases. We were then given a two-page form with various questions on it.

The judge told us that this was a high-profile case that reached mainstream news. The case was The People versus Ferguson where Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was accused of shooting his wife. It was a retrial, and it was a case that I read about a year ago. We were told that Ferguson had an alcohol problem. We were each given a number, and they picked twenty-four prospective jurors from the group. They had to sit in the jury box while the rest sat in the gallery. It was a very meticulous process where all those in the jury box had to answers the questions on the form we were given. Then, the plaintiff’s attorney got to ask questions to the jurors in the jury box. Then, the defense attorney got to do the same. Afterwards, the weeded out prospective jurors one-by-one. By the end of the first day, they only picked eight or so individuals, and the judge asked us to return the next day. I was not happy with that, as I knew that I had a lot of work to do that would get even further delayed. The next day, we went through the same process, and I was not selected into the jury box. They picked the remaining jurors along with three extras. I thought that it was over, and then the judge puts us on break and tells us to come back. Back in the courtroom, they choose nine people for our group to be alternates, and I was not selected. Two of them get dismissed, and they called in two more. My anxiety admittedly shot up every time that they were calling numbers. My number was not called, and they ended up picking four from the jury box. They finally dismissed everyone, and the sense of relief with everyone was noticeable. I was in such a good mood that we were dismissed that I held the door for everyone who was leaving. Thinking back on it, if I were retired or in a different job situation, being in the jury for this particular case would have been fine with me. It was legitimately an interesting case, and it has been something of a conversation piece for me.

My wife and I also watched a Filipino movie in the theater, “My Love Will Make You Disappear,” and it was a fun movie. The synopsis for the movie is: Sari, a woman who loses every man she loves, and Jolo, a struggling landlord, cross paths as they strive to save a community from displacement. This was a romantic comedy, which tends to live and die by the leads. Thankfully, the leads played by Paulo Avelino as Jolo and Kim Chiu as Sari delivered. Kim Chiu in particular was very expressive in her acting, and I liked that they played this like a straight romantic comedy with no messaging. Not too long ago, we watched the Filipino movie, “Ex Ex Lovers” that had a lot of social messaging and brought about this idea that being single and alone is free and liberating, which we did not agree with. In “My Love Will Make You Disappear,” it was the exact opposite where being alone was very much a bad thing and not what people should sought out for.

Admittedly, the jury duty made this a really tough week for me, as I had a lot of catching up to do once I returned to work. Also, I always had something to do during the evenings, so I never really felt like I could relax. Once the weekend came, things settled down, and I can say that I am refreshed and recharged for this upcoming week.