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.

A Working Man, Black Bag and Friends Buying The Mustard Prince

My wife and I saw a few movies this week. We first watched “A Working Man” starring Jason Statham, and it was actually a bit below my expectations. I was hoping for something more like Jason Statham’s previous movie, “The Beekeeper,” where it was just ridiculous, mindless fun and lots of action. “A Working Man” has a some really slow parts, and the pacing is a bit all over the place. One review said that the script has too much skullduggery when it needed more skull smashing, something that Statham excels at.

We also watched the movie, “Black Bag,” and this was a surprisingly good movie. The synopsis is: “When his beloved wife, Kathryn, is suspected of betraying the nation, intelligence agent George Woodhouse faces the ultimate test -- loyalty to his marriage or his country.” We were surprised at the run time, approximately an hour and a half. While the movie did not have much in terms of actions, it had strong dialogue, an intriguing story, and very interesting characters. The movie has an all-star cast including: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett and Pierce Brosnan, among others, and the movie really did live and die by their performances. This is not a movie that anyone is really talking about, but it is one of those good movies that is flying under the radar.

Some friends and acquaintances of mine have shown me pictures of receiving paperback copies of The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom. I am very grateful that they spent their hard-earned money to buy my book. I can only hope that they read it, or maybe their kids read it and enjoy it. It is one thing to write and publish a book, but it is another thing to know if readers enjoy it or not. I can only hope that with some advertising and creativity that a general audience would buy and enjoy my book as well.

There are some things that we come into with different expectations, and those expectations can be met, below or above what we expected. Movies, books and all entertaining work that way. There is a risk in putting something out, as it can have a big audience or a small audience, but that really is the risk that all creative types make.

Royalties and Seeing Old Friends

I received my first royalties for the paperback version of The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom. It was less than twenty dollars, but this is the reality of self-publishing. It is something that I was fully aware of, and I never had the notion that my book would immediately be the next Harry Potter. Advertising and marketing are going to be a necessity, and I am of the mentality that in order to sell books, I will have to “pay to play,” which may entail losing money in order to gain an audience, or the opposite. There are other things that we can do though in order to advertise the book, but there is definitely a lot of work to be done even after writing and publishing the book, especially for self-publishing.

My wife and I also recently met up with some of my old friends, and it was a good time. While we have stayed in contact via social media and text, there is nothing like meeting face-to-face. Also, we met up in a much different stage in our lives being married, some having kids and whatnot. My wife and I particularly liked that we all shared similar viewpoints and values, so to be able to talk about things that we can all relate to was great. While there was some reminiscing going on, what we talk about now as adults is much different than before, which is to be expected.

With the book at this point, everything is a trial-and-error learning experience. I hope to gain an audience, but I will definitely have to work for it. However, seeing how things have turned out so far being adults, we achieve things and future outcomes by working for it.

Severance Season 2 Finale and The Published Paperback

My wife and I watched the season two finale of the television show, Severance. After it was over, I thought that might have been the end of the series, but after checking online, I discovered that it has been renewed for a third season. This series explores various ideas including identity, love, loss, grief, and so many other topics. With this season finale, so many characters had to make difficult choices and having the audience biting their nails seeing what the characters will do. The ending was rather shocking, but not all that surprising in hindsight. It was also neat seeing the main character, Mark Scout, having a conversation with himself in a creative way.

We also finally released the paperback for The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom on Amazon. After seeing preview samples for this book, we finally got it right. So far, I have only given copies to my immediate family and a good friend of mine, but we do have plans to strongly market this book. It Is still a strange thing to see an actual physical book of mine out there, and I really just hope that it gets an audience. I would really like the intended audience, middle grade, reading this book as a form of enjoyment and escapism. The work is far from over, as I have to now advertise and convince people to buy my book.

Certain things end, yet they are not over, whether that is television shows or books. I, along with so many others, are waiting with bated breath for the third season of Severance, just like I am waiting to see who will buy and read my book.

Church Week and Eating Out

My wife is a choir member in our church, and I am a deacon. There was a special event for our church this week, and we had to participate. Preparation took a lot of our time, and in order not to get sick this week, I did not attend Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practice for the week. The day of the event took more than half a Saturday, but it was good. It was the first time for me performing as a deacon, and I did not mess anything up, so that was good. Overall, it was a good experience performing in our church along with my wife.

In the aftermath of the special event, my wife and I ate out a good amount. We had shabu shabu, thai food and ate out at a Hawaiian breakfastplace. It was nice to just relieve any stress and cool down. We definitely lazed about and ate not-so-healthy, but we know that we will have to get back to eating better and exercising regularly. There comes a point where eating out becomes “not special,” so we’ll probably calm that down a bit moving forward, along with just saving money. There are some dishes that my wife can make at home anyways, like the thai food: crying tiger, and it would be a lot less costly.

Working towards something and then relaxing afterwards is a nice feeling. Doing things for church is a good thing, and the rest and relaxation feels more earned than just being idle.

Getting Book Samples and Timeshare

I finally received samples of the paperback for The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom. It was honestly unreal to see the book in printed form for the first time. Before putting out the final version of the paperback, my wife decided for us to see the samples first, and we did find a few things that could be fixed. Self-publishing is very much a trial-and-error endeavor. There was just something different seeing the book in printed form instead of on a screen or monitor, making it more “real” in a sense. It was years in the making, and seeing the nearly finished product in print form was very satisfying.

My wife and I purchased a timeshare not long ago that is usable in many parts of the world and are already discussing different places to vacation in. Hawaii looks to be our first destination, but even places more local like Santa Barbara are on the table. It is pretty exciting as our timeshare includes discounts on air fare along with other privileges. I can imagine using this in vacationing with family as well since we are able to get multiple rooms. I can see my wife and I using this at least once a year, if not more, and it will be fun vacationing around the world.

Things are strongly moving forward with the book and in future vacationing plans. I am looking forward to where The Mustard Prince in the Condiment Kingdom goes and hope that a wide audience will read and enjoy it.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 and Buying Property in Philippines

This year’s WWE Elimination Chamber had one of the best endings that I have seen in a while. John Cena, after years of being a babyface (good guy), turned heel (bad guy). It was a long time coming, and no one expected it until after the Men’s Elimination Chamber match ended. Along with The Rock, who is the Final Boss, this build to Wrestlemania went from zero to one-hundred in a hurry. The lead-up to this year’s Wrestlemania up until Elimination Chamber was just okay – nothing bad, but pales in comparison to last year’s with Cody Rhodes versus The Bloodline storyline. Now, with a heel John Cena versus the top babyface Champion, Cody Rhodes, along with The Rock looming over the proceedings, this Wrestlemania just became highly anticipated.

My parents just came back from the Philippines. They are retired and go there every year around winter time because of the weather. My wife and I will most likely emulate that decades from now, but we can prepare for that day now. We have spoken about buying property in the Philippines as a vacation home, and maybe use it as an AirBNB or other such rental while we are not there. It is motivation to work hard, be frugal, and be patient while working towards a common goal. Ideally, I would like to buy land there and build a home, but that would take a lot of money and time. To start out, a condo would suffice.

Like with what the WWE product is doing right now, we are looking to build towards the future. It takes a lot of time and work, but the payoff should be worth it.

Ex Ex Lovers and the Final Product

My wife and I watched a Filipino movie in theaters, Ex Ex Lovers. My wife was a fan of the cast, and many of these actors and actresses were very popular decades ago, so nostalgia was a selling point. The story centers around two ex-couples reconnecting for their daughter’s wedding, and it started off well enough. However, somewhere around the middle, the movie started to bring about political messaging, and that is where I felt that the movie just fell apart. The messaging that was being brought to the audience negatively affected the story, in my opinion, leaving me confused and making it difficult to suspend disbelief. Crying tears of joy over a marriage annulment after seemingly reconnecting positively with an ex-spouse just came across bizarre and strange, for example.

Otherwise, there has been church stuff and writing stuff that has been taking up a lot of our time this week. Formatting The Mustard Prince to be put out in paperback has been quite the grind, not dissimilar to editing. It goes to show that the final product of anything takes a lot of work before being perfected and put to market. In movies, during the credits, we see so many names and companies, and that is because so much work behind the scenes and off-camera is being done. With a book, a lot of editing, re-writing, proofreading and formatting is being done so that the final product looks its best.

While getting to the final product is tough, there is only so much that can be done so that audiences will like the product. While there is luck in that, I feel that creators also make their own luck through hard work, grinding, perseverance, and perfecting.