Eating Out and Meeting People

This week, my wife and I ate out with friends or family quite a bit for various occasions. Birthday parties, game nights or just having a casual dinner with friends and family were all reasons this week to go. It is always fun to see people, but it really does take a lot of time. Some of the people we ate with were unfamiliar with how my wife and I got together, so we had to go down memory lane and recall how it all happened. Looking back, it is difficult not to see some sort of divine intervention in us getting together, as there were too many coincidences that had to happen all at once for us to have gotten together.

These discussions made us realize that many people along the way will help in achieving something. For example, had I not met a coworker, who would end up being a friend, back when I worked for Williams Lea, I would not have gotten the job that I have now, and subsequently, owning property. With owning property, instead of renting or some other situation, it gave us something of a head start in our marriage. It is interesting how certain things just end up working out for the better.

This coming week, I would like to watch The Boy and The Heron and Godzilla Minus One with my wife along with the plans that we already have. This holiday season looks like it will be busy.

The Book Jewel and The Shift

My wife and I had to drop off our parents in LAX, and we decided to get brunch at The Coffee Company down the street afterwards. On the same street were street stalls and a place called The Book Jewel. We decided to check everything out, going to the bookstore first. It just so happened that an author was having a book reading for her very first book. Her book was about her grandmother which resonated with my wife. She talked to the author, who seemed authentically pleased that her book reached another person. She also revealed to us that she is self-published, which allowed her more freedom. The whole experience made me think of becoming an author. I would like someone to read The Mustard Prince or another one of my works and resonate with the book in some way.

We also watched the movie, The Shift, made by Angel Studios. It was a good movie with many religious overtones, Biblical allegories, but also some science fiction elements as well. I did not know what to expect from it as it was a science fiction tale inspired by the Book of Job. Neal McDonough as the Benefactor was really good as the villain of the story. There is a multiverse, and I do not think that the heavy Judeo-Christian themes and ideas will hit with everyone, but I found it inspirational and thought-provoking.

This week was really busy, but I am glad that we got to watch some movies, attend a storytelling event, eat out and whatnot. It is good that there was a level of inspiration as far as being an author is concerned. We got to see an author put herself out there to promote her self-published book, which in turn just inspires me to get The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom out there.

Thanksgiving 2023 and Napoleon

My wife and I attended Thanksgiving with family. It was my wife’s first Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and it went really well. We prepared a turkey and other food items, while the rest of my family prepared and provided other foods and snacks. Seeing family and mingling during the holidays is always a good thing, and I got to eat my favorite Thanksgiving food, honey baked ham. There is definitely a lot to be thankful for this year especially with getting married. It is no longer the case where I go to family events, and I am the only single guy there while everyone else is married with children. We are planning to one day own a bigger home, either a townhome or a single-family home, and hopefully, we can have Thanksgiving and other family events there.

We also went to see the movie, Napoleon. There was a much higher focus in this movie on Napoleon’s relationship with Josephine. His exploits in battle were there but not the major focus of this movie. It was long, for sure, and the use of comedy and modern dialogue took me out of the movie sometimes. Apparently, there are French historians that questioned its historical accuracy. Overall, I thought that it was decent. There were a few gruesome depictions of violence with beheadings and cannon fire. The acting was fine, and it was interesting.

With the holiday season, it does not look like we are slowing down anytime soon. It has been go, go, go for us, and we generally have something planned every weekend. Thanksgiving is over already, and the last month of 2024, December, is upon us.

Aftermath of Las Vegas and Journey to Bethlehem

Getting home from Las Vegas surprisingly did not have much traffic. We decided to go eat at Golden Corral, as there aren’t any near where we live, but one in Hesperia, CA, and one in San Bernardino, CA. They were on the way home, and it has been about ten years since I ate there, and my wife has never eaten there. We decided to eat at the Golden Corral in San Bernardino, CA, and with it being the weekend of Veteran’s Day, they got a deal. It was just as good as I remembered it, and such a departure from the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip. We were both sleepy the next two days once we got home but have since adjusted back to our normal routine.

We have not watched a movie in theaters for a while despite having Regal Movie Passes, so we decided to check something out. Choices, admittedly, were limited but chose to watch Journey to Bethlehem. It was a musical romantic comedy. If you are looking for a strictly historically accurate adaptation of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, this was not the movie for it, and the creators admitted to taking a few liberties with the story. It was a cute movie though, but it did have many modern-day sensibilities that just would not even be a consideration for that time in history.

We are now looking forward to our first Thanksgiving together here in the U.S. Last year at this time, I was in the Philippines visiting my wife, doing paperwork and whatnot before our wedding. A year later, and here we are, and it came very quickly.

Road Trip and Las Vegas

My wife and I took a three-day vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been over a decade since I had last gone there, and it was my wife’s first time. We decided to rent a car for the trip and drive there. Admittedly, I was apprehensive to do a relatively far drive. However, being with someone in the car and having something on during the drive made it go by pretty fast. The desert and mountains were beautiful, and we stopped by Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner in Yermo, CA and the world’s tallest thermometer in Baker, CA. Peggy Sue’s had a lot of charm to it along with some good food and atmosphere.

We stayed at Caesar’s Palace, and we still did not see what the whole hotel/casino had to offer. The Las Vegas Strip is a sight to behold with gigantic hotels and buildings in a city that never sleeps. We watched Cirque du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island, and it was amazing. The production, stunts, costumes and performances were awesome. I went to a Cirque Du Soleil in Costa Mesa, CA in a giant tent, but this one was far superior. We also went to Madame Tussauds wax museum at The Venetian. It was a lot of fun seeing wax replicas of celebrities that were very well done.

Overall, it was a fun trip, and we will definitely go back to Las Vegas one of these days. The road trip, quite honestly, was a lot of fun, and we only scratched the surface of things to do and see in Las Vegas.

Marriage Panel and Little Tokyo

I was a part of a four-man panel talking about marriage with our church the other day. It was not something that I volunteered for, and my wife was in the audience. It was very informative as the other individuals on the panel had much more experience being married. Their responses to questions had much more insight into them, and they had stories to tell that relates to the questions asked. It shows that there will have a lot more experiences to come in our marriage, and there is so much more to know about each other in the future.

My wife, her cousin and I went to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. I have been there before a little after businesses started opening up after the lockdowns. We surprisingly did not encounter too many homeless individuals, as the last time that I was there with friends, a tent city was nearby right behind a bus stop. New shops opened up, and the influence of anime was highly prevalent with what many shops were selling. It Is always a bit different of an experience going to places with my wife instead of with friends. With friends, we try to fulfill our geekier side, but it is about exploration and fun with my spouse. Hopefully, we will come back there soon.

Speaking of soon, I am hopeful that I can start selling The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom, as we have received necessary artwork for this book. I am anxious to put it out, and it feels like a long time coming.

Friends and Housing

While my wife and I have been hanging out with family more as of late, it is still imperative to hang out with friends. Growing up, I hung out more with friends than family, especially in high school where high school was its own world. It is also something that we just see more in American culture, generally speaking, as opposed to in other cultures where hanging out with cousins and other distant relatives Is more of the norm. As I got older, friends got married, got children and moved away, and the importance of family became more prevalent. However, hanging out with friends has its own benefits. Talking about marriage, spouses, finances, exercising, buying houses, mortgage rates and whatnot are interesting and relevant things to discuss. It is nice knowing that others are in the same boat as me.

One thing that I talk about with friends is buying homes. In south Orange County, pretty much all single-family homes are upwards of one million dollars. I also work in the mortgage industry, and it surprises me that people are able to buy homes at this price and at this high mortgage rate. My wife and I go to open houses, as I like to see what is out there, the generally prices of homes in certain neighborhoods, floor plans and whatnot. My current condo has two master bedrooms/bathrooms, and it is surprisingly difficult to find three-bedroom residences with rooms that are big and with ample closet space. We are just collecting data at the moment, but these open houses are research for the future when we become serious home buyers. From what it looks like, the next step for us housing-wise will most likely be a three-bedroom townhome if we want to stay in south Orange County.

Things are good, and we are always looking towards the future with optimism and motivation. Our current situation is quite good, but we always want to achieve more.

Killers of the Flower Moon and Snow White

My wife and I watched Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and it was good, tragic but long. There was deception, betrayal, twisted family dynamics, greed, discrimination, blatant murder, immortality and other things to this movie. DiCaprio and DeNiro played their roles well as more or less the villains who acted like the good guys. At three and a half hours, it starts out slowly but really picks up as it goes along. With Scorsese being eighty-years-old, it is quite a feat that he could still make a movie of this high of quality, showing why he is such a highly regarded director.

As far as entertainment goes, it is interesting to see that another company, the Daily Wire, is going to make their own version of Snow White. There have had many gripes with Disney as of late regarding their constant remakes and reboots, their messaging, and the quality of their entertainment products. While they have had some hits, between Marvel, Pixar, LucasFilms, and Disney proper, they seemingly have been losing money with a lot of their offerings. It looks like this new Snow White is in response to the one that Disney is currently making, and I am curious to see how the final outcomes will be for both versions.

I am all for seeing the creativity and storytelling that both will put into their versions of Snow White. If one is good, and one is bad, then it is what it is. However, if both are good, then we the audience benefits.

Family Time and Date Nights

Lately, my wife and I have been spending time with family from both our sides of the family. My wife does have family within driving distance near where we live, and I have my own family nearby. For me, growing up, I was more about hanging out with friends than family, especially around high school and past that. It is understandable as the world of high school and college was about going out, exploring the world, trying to fit in and whatnot. As an adult when I was still living a bachelor lifestyle, that was still prevalent. Recently though, that has changed. I still hang out with friends, but not as much as I used to, now that I am married, and some of my friends have moved away. Our parents are now grandparents, our brothers and sisters are married with children, we are now aunts and uncles, and family takes on a different meaning.

Besides family time, date nights have been fun. We recently went to watch a classic movie, The Mummy, at The Frida Cinema, an art house theater. It was nice because it felt more like a communal event than just a bunch of strangers watching a movie in a theater. The Mummy is just a fun movie that was not trying to be anything else but entertaining. Brendan Fraser was a fun protagonist with lots of attitude and fighting ability. It was a bit campy at parts, and the movie asks its audience to suspend their disbelief, but it was great being able to watch it on the big screen.

Around the theater were a lot of places to eat and visit. Despite living in Orange County my whole life, there are still many places that I do not know about. It will be fun for the two of us to find and explore these places.

Double Dating and Overspending

Being married, my wife and I have been double dating with married family members, married friends, and non-married couples who are friends. It is a different mechanic from just hanging out with friends from what we talk about to what we are doing. There is a lot of catching up, vacation talk, future plans and other things that get discussed. We are not sitting at home watching UFC fights, but going to a comedy club, eating brunch, lunch or dinner, watching a ball game or something else.

We are now feeling the consequences of splurging the last month or so. We are not having to go back to when we first started, hardly eating out, not going to events and being very frugal, but we do have to watch our spending moving forward. It was fun having more freedom to spend without having to worry about the next credit card bill. Now that the bill has come, and we got a lot of the want to spend out of our system, it is now time to make a better financial plan. There will still have things that we will want to buy, yet we will have to watch out for what we “need” and what we “want.”

There are many differences in interactions, dating and financials when it comes to marriage. There is a lot more planning involved and carefulness with budget. However, I can see how marriage makes a person grow, from having to think of someone else and not just living for yourself.

Expendables 4 and Financial Liberation

I watched the Expendables 4 the other day, and it quite honestly was not very good. It came out a decade after the last Expendables, and there looked to be a lack of effort overall in making the film. The actors and actresses seemed to be phoning it in, and there was an abundance of CGI that just looked clunky. The plot was terrible with very predicable twists. The action sequences were good but nothing that we have not seen before in other action movies. This was disappointing as a am admittedly a fan of the Expendables franchise. It was the type of movie where you turn your mind off and just watch actors of the past. There was over-the-top action, and it was generally fun. This latest installment was a bit boring, and I doubt that they make another one anytime soon.

Otherwise, things have been good with me and my wife. Now that she has a full-time job, our financial situation has been much better. When it was just me working, we had to be really frugal with our money. We had to eat at home most of the time and not go out to eat even if it were donuts for breakfast or just hamburgers and fries. Now, we do not have to worry about that. There is definitely something liberating about being able to go out or buy things without this worry about finances. However, that is not to say that we do not have to be smart about our spending. We eventually want to buy a townhome or house, and we will have to save a lot and consistently in order to reach that goal. However, we have been so restrained with our money, and with my wife getting her first paycheck, we just had to splurge. We will definitely reign it in though in the near future.

So far, the future is looking bright. We pretty much have something to do every week and especially on weekends. There are events, shows and vacations planned, and it has been a positive to be able to do such things.

Les Misérables and Steve Trevino

My wife and I had a really busy weekend full of various forms of entertainment. We watched “Les Misérables” the musical at the Segerstrom in Costa Mesa, California. It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. This was live performance art and music done at the highest level. The sets were so intricately designed, and I still cannot fathom how they put in and removed some of the set pieces from the stage as it was so seamless. There really was not a dull moment, and the time went by quickly. To say that we were impressed would be an understatement, and a word higher than “amazed” would be more fitting.

The next day, we went to see the comedian, Steve Trevino, at the Irvine Improv. His opening act was just okay, but Trevino was a comedian who put many hours into the road and at shows. He talked about his life, a lot about his wife, his family and just things that people in his generation and married couples could relate to, and it was hilarious. He was definitely of a different generation closer to mine and made that a part of his act.

All of this was great entertainment showing the fruits of professions at the highest level. It is all art and creativity, but on a much different scale. Everyone is trying to tell a story and get certain emotions from the audience in various ways. They make it look easy being on stage, but that is only because of much practice and preparation. Thankfully, we the audience get to see that practice and preparation in its full form.

Classic Anime and Helping Seniors

I watch a lot of anime, but I also make sure to have an anime to watch on YouTube that is “easy.” It’s something to watch that can play in the background that I do not have to pay too much attention to like on a lunch break or some other time where I’m waiting. Right now, I am watching Robin Hood no Daibouken. When I mentioned to my wife that I am almost done with the series, she mentioned watching old anime that she saw as a child like Cedie, My Daddy Long Legs or A Little Princess Sara. Even with Robin Hood, some of the content from classic anime is rather dark or had heavier themes. I suppose that creators back then felt that kids could understand what is going on and not be turned off or offended.

Before I got married, I hardly did any type of volunteering or community service except in a few occasions involving my Church. Being married, my wife has pushed me in that direction, so we are now assisting a senior citizen who has difficulty moving around. We are walking her dog for her, which has been rewarding in its own way. It does exacerbate something about American culture. In American culture, once children become adults, generally speaking, they pretty much leave their senior parents to fend for themselves with just occasional visits here and there. Besides this woman who we walk her dog for, we have a senior neighbor who lives on her own. We do wonder where their children are and why they do not seem to be helping. Going out on your own though to try and make it has historically been the way we do things here though.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 and Simplicity

The other day, my wife watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. My wife loved it, and I thought that it was fun enough. It was the third in the series, so there was definitely diminishing returns. They still played off the Greek family and culture aspect of it all, which is still a strong suit of the Greek Wedding movies. Everything else was entertaining enough with relatively small stakes, making it an “easy” movie. It was definitely for an older audience looking for something fun and simple.

I also want to create something simple with The Mustard Prince series. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel but just write a fun, simple story focused on fun, memorable characters. Entertainment these days have seemingly lost the plot trying to get away from simple, effective storytelling in order to spread some sort of messaging. There is also a laziness to a lot of writing, opting to do away with character progression and making characters having already achieved greatness early.

I have to be careful not to fall into that trap though. There is struggle that characters should overcome that is not easy in order to become stronger.

The Hill and Humanistic Values

My wife and I watched The Hill the other day. It was such an inspirational movie about Rickey Hill, the son of a traveling pastor who overcomes physical obstacles to pursue his dream of playing baseball in the major leagues. These types of inspirational sports stories are quite common, but I still cannot get enough of them. The movie displayed the height of human perseverance and overcoming while displaying the values of family and community. It was definitely a more wholesome movie and something of a throwback to when movies were not heavy on a particular message.

I have said this before, but I want to create stories that are not reinventing the wheel. The Mustard Prince series leans closer to wholesome content with a lot of action though. I do have some stories in the docket that are darker or more adult-themed, but they still contain those humanistic values. I think that a lot of media these days focuses on the negative of mankind, but movies like The Hill bring forth a more positive outlook of man, and what they are capable of.

These days, we are just seeing so much of the negative, especially in our news or other forms of media. Watching something like The Hill with its older values, religion, and underdog story was a nice change of pace. It would not surprise me if we go back to this type of storytelling in the near future.

Jurassic Park and Writing Fantasy

My wife and I watched the original Jurassic Park in the theaters in 3D. It is amazing that it has been thirty years since it came out. The subject matter and the questions that the movie asks are still relevant today, and there was a real moral component to the movie that was immaterial. It did not have a particular ideological message like we see with many movies today but a more universal message that questions science, technology and morality.

I am hesitant writing anything involving hard science simply because I like to write about things that are not totally grounded in reality. Fantasy is fun that way because what I imagine can be put into paper without the burden of the real world. That is not to say that I will not be logical, as a human character, for example, will still have the strengths and weaknesses of humans. Something like magic does not always have to be explained, but just a product of that world without much explanation.

I think that in the future, I can branch out a bit more. Science fiction does sound interesting to me, especially since good science fiction contains social commentary. A humanistic drama could be something to look into as well. For now though, I will still to what I like, which is fantasy and hope that others will like it too.

Blue Beetle and Superhero Movies

My wife and I watched DC’s Blue Beetle, and I thought that it was fun. My wife liked it a lot. There was a big theme of family that was well done, but it did have some subtle and not-so-subtle messaging that I noticed. The theater did not have that many people watching the movie, which is not a good sign for this movie being profitable or having any sequels. DC has not been doing very well lately in the box office, and some level of superhero fatigue is kicking in.

Some genres get in vogue and really popular, but too much of it can be a bad thing. With comic book movies, there is pre-Avengers Endgame and post-Avengers Endgame. Before Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe could do no wrong. Now, the superhero genre has Marvel, DC, and Sony doing their own things, and then, there are the television shows as well. It has been an exercise of quantity over quality which has diminishing returns.

I, of course, hope to create quality stories with more substance over style. My stories are not meant to reinvent the wheel but go back to the basics, which is something that modern entertainment may need to do.

Employment and Shortcomings

My wife finally got a full-time job, and we could not be happier. We have been looking for a while, and for it to finally happen has been something of a godsend. We were applying to jobs every day, and preparation precedes success. This opens the door for many things that we were not able to do like vacations and going to places that we could not go to before due to the need to save money. Also, we can really save but also buy things that we have always wanted but could not afford.

We saw the movie, Shortcomings, the other day. It was about a young Japanese American man who has relationship issues. Als, he has an Asian female friend who is attracted to women but is hiding it from her parents. There was a lot that I liked with this movie, especially the main friendship, but it did come across as if the messaging got in the way of the story a lot of times. It left me confused in some scenes and created undeserved outcomes for certain characters. I think that there are nuanced ways to get certain messages across, but what I have been noticing in modern media is a very explicit way to get a message across.

I just want good storytelling and hope to write good stories. Right now, I am keeping things simple with my stories. I think that many creators have gone so far away from the basics of storytelling that they are getting lost, or they simply do not have the experience or knowledge to tell good stories. I can only learn from others and hope to do better myself.

Birthday 2023 and The Realities of Writing

My birthday just happened, and it felt like it came so quickly. Getting older, some things are apparent such as needing to nap during the day and eating a lot less than when I was in my twenties or early thirties. I do feel wiser but still have a lot to learn. There are still goals that I want to achieve such as having children, owning a house, and of course, becoming a successful author. Even after those goals are reached, I will most likely have more goals after that.

I am once again at the editing stage of one of my works, The Land of the Wooden Statues. I was told the it was originally too short, which I agreed with once I re-read it. I added some chapters, and it went from 50,000 words to 72,000 words. The editing process is very tedious, and not exactly the glamourous ideal of being an author. It is not getting this muse and being strongly inspired to write, but grinding through, being disciplined, and writing when I do not want to.

On top of everything, I write even though I have a full-time job. I do stop and wonder what it would be like just to write novels as a career. Right now, there are no deadlines, and I admittedly have not written for hours on end, so it would be an even more disciplined and high-pressure situation. Nonetheless, I still want to get to that point.

Future Goals and Mentorship

I have made it no secret that one of my goals is to be a successful author. It is still very much something that I am striving towards. I have been doing it myself, and I know “what” I am trying to achieve. However, in retrospect, it would have been much better had I known “how” to get there. There is definitely a big learning process doing things myself, and a lot of trial and error along with just grinding through things. It has not always been easy, and progress is tough to gage as there really are few indicators of improvement.

This motivates e to achieve this goal though, as it has created another goal. If I “make it,” then I can tell others how to get there without having to go through so much trial and error. This happened when I was breakdancing as well. My friends and I were self-taught, just seeing videos or people breakdancing and trying to emulate them. We had no basics or any real base to work off of. However, when I improved and learned things, then I taught some people that were interested in breakdancing. They were doing moves within months of their breakdancing that I learned years into my breakdancing. I instilled the basics to them, and they got better quickly.

Besides creating my own works, I would also like to mentor other creators as well. I think that it is a way of paying it forward if I become successful. It also fills in this gap of understanding where one wants to eventually go, but explains how to get there.