Birthday Blow Out

This birthday, September 23, 2011, has by far been the best birthday I've had in a long time. It has become the epicenter of all things great. All thanks should be to JH. He really made it worth it.

JH has been dying to give me something for my birthday all week. I kept telling him to give me on my birthday. Thursday night before my birthday he had to go out and said he was going to be home by bed time. When he got home, we went thru our normal routine we go thru at night. After we finished we were laying around in bed when he asked if he could give me my gift at midnight. I said it's technically my birthday so yes.

When the cable box turned it's last red digit to make Thursday cease and Friday to begin, JH smiled with the brightest smile that could light up a whole room. He then asked me if I could still see ourselves together for the rest of our lives. I said of course. Then he leaned over and took a red box out of the nightstand and proposed. OMG!!!! I do remember if I said yes first, tackled him first or put the ring on first. I know all 3 happened. I was so happy and teary eyed. I ran downstairs to show my brother first.

I came back and hugged and kissed JH so many more times before I called my parents. I decided to call my mom first since she was on my time zone and it was late. I woke her up but my news was by far more important than sleep. After telling her, I tried calling my dad. We played tagged numerous times before we got to connect. When I finally got ahold of him, my mother called JH. I told my dad. After the congrats and I love you's, he asked when is the date. I laughed. I just got the ring we haven't even discussed it yet. JH told me that my mom asked him the same thing.



I was too wired to sleep, but somehow I did fall asleep. I woke up thinking I had the most wonderful dream. To find out it was true was even more wonderful. I unfortunately had to go to work. I sat on the train just staring at my left ring finger. I felt so surreal.

Work went by pretty well. Got lots of birthday wishes and congrats. The office was pretty dead and I could barely concentrate at all. What made it even better, was my boss ducked out early. He was only in the office for 15 mins. I may have to deal with him on Monday. However, JH was picking me up for further birthday fun.

We went to dinner at Monster Sushi since Hana Sushi was closed. Then we made our way to Dylan's Candy Shop and then we caught a movie: Straw Dogs. It definitely was not a birthday movie, but Eric Northman was pretty good in it.

At end of the night, we were both tuckered out. We didn't get home until after midnight, Saturday. I had a blast. I am getting married to the most wonderful man and will be a part of his wonderful family. My family has embraced him as well. I hope he feels that. Everyone I've introduced him to likes him so he's got it made in the shade, literally, lol.

I will keep you posted on details.

Journey Week 2

So I've been doing this WW thing for 2 weeks now. It's going pretty well. I'm learning to pick the proper choices when I eat. I've also been drinking a ton of water. How is it going? Great. I have lost 8 POUNDS!!!!

Yes!!! I'm so happy!!! I lost 5 in first week and 3 this last week. Mind you I haven't started the exercise routine yet!! Hot damn! I'll be my goal weight sooner than later.

How am I liking this program? It's pretty good. It's more like teaching me how to eat better. It's transforming my eating habits. It's a struggle when you put what I like in front of me. It's a battle of self control. It's not like you are denied any food, it's what choices of food you eat.

You are given 29 points a day plus an additional 49 to spend during the week. Points do not roll over. Let's just concentrate on the 29 a day. This is where the decisions lie. You have to decide what will keep you in that point range. It is not good to be under it. If you go over it, then you tap into the 49 extra points. Let's say you are a McDonald's fry addict. Do you know the small takes up 11 points? That's a lot of points that's going to leave you hungry. You only have 18 points left for the day. All the stuff that you love are probably bad for you have high point values. Let's take my soup I had the other day. It was Sweet Corn Chowder. We (my friend and I who are doing the program together) believed this is a pretty healthy choice. We thought wrong. It took 18 points!!! We were just so pissed because we both had used 7 points for breakfast already. Now we only had 5 points left for dinner. The moral here is to make wise choices to what will fill you up for less points. Sometimes you careful decision will not work out for you.

One great thing about this plan is that fruit and vegetables counts as zero (0) points. You can have as much of it as you like. Vegetable like corn does not count as a vegetable though. The next great thing is the extra 49 points a week. If you know you are going out somewhere special during the week, you can save them for that occasion and eat what you like. Another great thing is that if you exercise, you gain back some points you can use daily.

My trick with this program is to drink mostly water. This is where I used to consume most of my fat. I love soda and Arizona Iced Green Tea. I actually miss drinking them. I do have an alternative: diet soda. It comes to 0 points but it tastes.... not so good. I also drink iced tea without sugar. Drinking all this water has me running for the bathroom a lot more than I care to. Sometimes I just hold it because I'm too stubborn to leave my desk. I know I'll damage my bladder and various other issues, but come on? I really can't be leavingy desk frequently just for the bathroom. I feel like I'm a smoker that has to get a nicotine fix.

Anyway, my journey is going well so far. This week I'm saving my excess points for my birthday. This should be fun. I'll give another update in the future.

Ringer - Season Premeire

I am a big fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Been a fan since her start. I don't know why. Maybe in some way I feel a kinship. I was disappointed when Hollywood typecasted her as "Buffy" and then "Horror Queen". So I was excited she was starring in a new show this season called Ringer. It is classified as a noire. I love noire anime, so the show should be good.

The show is about twins who want to get away from their lives because of dangerous situations. One twin is a recovering junkie (Bridget Kelly)and the other is a rich woman (Siobhan Martin). Bridget twin meets up with rich sister in what seems like a stressful situation. Siobhan informs Bridget that her husband and town has no idea that she had a sister much less a twin. Bridget is trying to mend their relationship. Something regarding the death of Siobhan's son. She is running for her life from some big time criminal who got acquitted after her testimony. They go out on a boat then Bridget falls asleep and Siobhan disappears. Bridget wakes up to missing sister and then just assumes her identity.

Bridget is trying to adapt and learn her sister's schedule, family and friends. Police is questioning her about herself. No one realizes that she's not Siobhan. Bridget finds out the hard way that Siobhan was not perfect and has some serious issues. She's sleeping with her best friend's husband. Her marriage is a stressful arrangement. Has a stepdaughter who hates her. To top it off, someone's trying to kill her. So Bridget finds herself in another pickle.

By the end of the episode, we find out that Siobhan is supposed to be pregnant. How is Bridget going to show this when she's not. And we find out Siobhan is really in Paris. With whom? We don't know.

My opinion on this episode is a bit murky. I like the show so far. I can see how it can progress. What I need from the director and team is better transitions. They didn't bother go over the thought process of Bridget assuming Siobhan's life. One moment she's looking at her sister's ring then next she wakes up in her sister's bed. To me that was a very important transition. What was going thru her mind to assume Siobhan's life. Why didn't she report her missing sister? I know the reason, but it could've shown a struggle of conscience. That was lost without the transition. Hopefully the future episodes will have better transitions.

Stay tuned for next episode's review.

In Remembrance

Today is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I am a survivor of these attacks. I was down there that day. What saved me that day was that I was running late. It may saved my life, but I got to dodge bodies and debris, smelled burning flesh and sheer utter terror. I did end up in the hospital that night. Only lasting issue that I have is some nerve damage in my hip. I am lucky that I wasn't burned or disfigured.

I do not like this day and the week that leads up to this day. All e media does is make me re-live this experience. I do not wish to so. They are not pleasant memories. I'd rather move on with my life without my past being repeated. I barely looked at my Facebook page because of all the posts. I don't want to read it. I may sound callous, but put yourself in my shoes. I don't want to see the towers falling again.

We all mourn and get over tragedies differently. Some of us need constant reminder of the pain. Some of us don't. I'm the latter. Please do not discuss 9/11 with me. I will not listen or participate in it. What I will participate in is wishing my BFF Angelique a Happy Birthday.

School 1965 vs 2010

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1965 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2010 - Police called, arrests Johnny and Mark.. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it. Both children go to anger management programs for 3 months. School board hold meeting to impliment bullying prevention programs

Scenario:
Robbie won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1965 - Robbie sent to office and given 6 of the best by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2010 - Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. Robbie's parents get fortnightly disability payments and School gets extra funding from state because Robbie has a disability.

Scenario :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1965 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. 

Scenario :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1965 - Mark gets glass of water from Principal to take aspirin with.

2010 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons. 


Scenario :
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Guy Fawkes, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a bullant nest.

1965 - Ants die.

2010- State Police, Star Force, Federal Police & Anti-terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, Feds investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario :
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary . Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1965 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy. 

This just shows how stupid we have become!

Think about it!

Ah... My New Journey

I have been lazy for the past 4 to 5 months when it came to diet and exercise. I was doing very well for a while with P90. As you can remember from my posts about it, that I lost my mojo for it. It became very redundant. I am not very good at redundancy. I also started up Hip Hop Abs. I didn't give it up though. I went on vacation. I came back ready to start up again, but life got busy trying to catch up. Then I left again. I came back and just never thought about it again.

Well I am the heaviest I've ever been in my life. It is starting to effect me in ways I never noticed. I am attributing my tummy issues, my feet issues and skin issues to this. Plus, I noticed that I'm more winded when my period comes. I also think it's affecting my sexual performance. I can't have that. So I decided I must do something about it. Plus, if I want to carry a baby, I need to be healthy.

What am I doing? I decided to get back into Hip Hop Abs and I've joined Weight Watchers. Today is actually my 1st official day on the program and I'm hungry already!!! Tonight I'm going start my exercise program too. Hopefully, my boyfriend will keep me motivated in the exercise. He says he's going to try the program with me. My employee/friend also joined with me. So we are going to make sure we help each other stick to the diet.

Let's see if this will work. I've heard that WW is great. Look at Jennifer Hudson. It should work for me. That's if I stick with it. I so need to. I need constant encouragement and not lectures. I don't tolerate lectures well. Makes me want to do the opposite. I will post some results here as I go along. Wish me luck on my new journey. I so need it.

Engadget Reader Meet Up 8-25-11

So yesterday by boyfriend, JH, and I attended the Engadget Reeder meet up. It's like a social and informative event with catered food. Tech companies and other tech sites were in attendance. It took place at a venue called Gustavio's in NYC. It's a nice place. I wonder if it's a restaurant or reception/club spot. It is really inside and out.

A little history, Engadget is a tech blog on the web that has become a leading blog in the industustry. They have on other blog on the same level, Gizmodo. They review products in advance. Tech companies invite them to test runs, send hem prototypes to review. They get ahold of stuff, legally, before it is released to the public. They have a podcast and they have a web show that is taped monthly where they interview tech company employees about their new technology. They started in 2004 and was purchased by AOL in 2005. They currently have staff over 70 worldwide. They recently in last year change editors in chief. The previous one had a bit more personality but the new one is okay. Of course with change, some people left with the previous E-I-C. The blog does have a new feel. However, I stopped reading and let JH continue. He will tell me the interesting stuff. I now read other blogs.

Engadget went all out in preparing a nice atmosphere. This is my second meet up event. This one is way nicer than the last. However, like all Engadget functions, you have to wait in line outside to get in. That part is what I don't like. I don't go to clubs because of this. However, the difference between the two is that Engadget only has the venue booked at certain times and they are still preparing until the designated time. Whereas clubs make you wait outside to make the club look cool. It's just an image thing.

This meet up was solely sponsored by AT&T. Normally they are sponsored by Sprint. Me and JH, being techy, we like coming to these events. You get to see products and play with them. You also get Q&A time with Engadget writers and even Editor in Chief. These people were very accessible to all. Well if you can get thru the crowds of die hard geeks. They also introduce staff from other countries so you can get to know them. The best thing at these events where most people go them for, are the free giveaways.

You receive a raffle ticket upon entering the venue. Throughout the evening they raffles off items. With our luck, JH and I, we never win anything. But we do enjoy the food, the ability to check out the tables and get little freebie stuff from them. I managed to get a t-shirt for JH from the Joystiq game. He was handing goods away. We also obtained sunglasses, chapstick and stress balls from various tables.

The following are companies who had tables at the event:

AT&T - We got to play with some of the new phones they have coming out. We actually were able to mess with an HP Veer. That one may just be gone since HP killed WebOS. You can probably hack it and put Android on it like the TouchPad. I also got to play a little Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation phone. The phone isn't bad but it's a little bulky. It runs Android and it's definitely a gamers phone.

Samsung - This table was very crowded. Had to stay there and bully my way to table through the geeks. When I got to table I got a chance to play with AT&T and T-Mobile phones. Couldn't even get to try out their tablet. I did get chapstick and sunglasses from them.

Mororola - The had their latest phones and their tablet, Xoom. This division was recently bought by Google. The phone quality seems done well, but they sure are big. Here we were able to get a stress ball. Of course I couldn't touch a Xoom. Damn those geeks.

Eastern mountain sports - They make solar powered backpacks and accessories. Handy for those who are outside a lot.

Blackberry - Poor Blackberry. Hardly anyone visited their table. They did have a Playbook to play with. I didn't even bother with the table to be honest. I think they do not have anything new to offer.

HTC - They had their own phones there. We only played with the ones that were on our carriers respectively: T-Mobile and AT&T.

UbreakIFix - This was the most interesting table. They fix broken phones and tablets. They fixed some readers phones who were there. There was also a contest where they pulled a guest on stage to break a brand new iPad 2. This guest will get to keep iPad after Ubreakit fixes it. Lucky her. This service seems very handy.

Joystiq - They didn't have a table, but the E-I-C was roaming the meet up. He went up on stage when he was introduced. I happen to find him when I was roamin around myself. I had lost JH at this point. I did get him a T-Shirt that the guy was giving away.

The Unofficial Apple Webblog - They are another tech blog who's primary focus is on Apple. They do review a lot of accessories and hardware that pertain to Apple. They had a table with accessories they have reviewed. I checked out an iPad case that had a keyboard. It retails around $150. It's pretty, but no thank you to that price.

Western digital - I didn't really stop at their table for too long. The had their typical external storage devices. However, they were focusing on a new external device that is digital storage of your DVDs. It can play video back better than typical streaming. We really don't know that unless you try it. We stream movies from a regular external harddrive without too many streaming issues. So it's just another piece of tech that will just serve a limited purpose.

AC Gears - This table was a bunch of cute and retro accessories. They had USB key drives in cool characters. They had the Android robot, an old school boombox and old school Beetle Van.

Sharp - They showed off a 3D tv. Not much interested in 3D tvs. So I didn't stop there.

Cadence Watch Company - This table they had a bunch of their special watches. They had a survey contest going. You must choose which of the 2 watches the guy was holding did you like better. You write your email address and which watch you liked better: A or B.

Boxee - This company I have ignored at other meetups. This time I got caught by one of the guys manning the table. He explained what it is. I didn't know what it is. He was very nice and informative. It's a free service on their hardware and on the iPad. It's pretty cool. I'm thinking of getting the app on the iPad when I get one in September. The service gathers all video on the next and organizes it so you can watch on your tv. On the iPad, it leaves a plugin where it can extract embedded video when you surf the Internet to view later. Pretty cool.

Get-A-Game - Table was for an App for iOS and Android. It's an app that allows you to look for people to do outdoor activities with, like golf, hiking etc. They do not have an app for Windows Phone 7 or Blackberry. Interesting concept.

That was my run down for this meetup. I enjoyed it greatly. I wish I won a cool gadget but I left happy. Hopefully, he next meetup will be just as nice or better.

Who Lives In A House Like This

Imagine who would have such taste and live in such opulence?
An American Billionaire? A Saudi Prince? Louis XIV of France ?

Have a good look at these pictures, then scroll to the bottom of the page to see who owns this mansion.















This mansion is in Harare and belongs to:

The President of Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe -




His people starve and many die for lack of medical help. While the international community is asked to help his people over and over again, he and his family live like this.......
If you send this to everyone you know, they can send it to everyone they know and soon the whole world will know.

The citizens he is supposed to serve live like this:






"For evil to flourish, all that is needed is for good people to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke

Words With Friends Free

Words With Friends is a basic "Scrabble" game. This game is on multiple platforms: iPhone, Android and Facebook. I recently took up the game on iPhone. I can no longer play games on Facebook now that I now use secure browsing. This game does connect to Facebook so you can play the game with your friends. Lordkaosu tried the game on Android, but quickly gave it up. He does not like board games. 
This game is not a standalone game. It requires a data connection and friends to play with. You can't play a game against the computer. You can play with FB friends or you can get a random set up. It's also not a game to play on your commute unless you have full data connection. You also have to wait on your friends to make their move. The games can drag on because of that. 
I chose the free version of the game. I don't mind the ads. If I were constantly on the game I would probably have a different opinion. This is a very casual game. 
Visually the game is pleasing. Game play has little quirks but very manageable. Your finger is too big to see where you are placing the tile. That is all. Like I said, the game is very simple. 
When you start the app for the first time, you get to see the following screen: 
 
Once you played the game you'll get the screens where it lists your moves, your friends' moves or to create new games. 
 
 
Once you choose a game, you get to a very typical Scrabble board. You will see 7 tiles assigned to you. To play, you just drag the tile to the board to the correct location. 
 
After you make your word, you press play. Game will tally your score and give you new tiles to replace the ones you used. This is the point you will receive the most obnoxious ads. 
 
Then you go right back to the Your Move, Their Move section of the main screen. 
I do not know how the game ends since I have 10 games open for more than a week because of waiting for friends to make their move. I assume it ends like a typical Scrabble game. 
There is just so much you can do with this game. It's way too dependent on the social than the gaming. Until they change it up a bit, this game will not be on my must play list. It's lukewarm in my opinion. 
Words With Friends can be found on Facebook Games for free. In the iTunes App store: ad version is free, without ads is $1.99. Lastly on the Android Market for free.

[iOS]

WD Writing Prompt Contest #12

It’s a late Friday evening when Bob finally gets off of work. He had worked some serious overtime getting the company’s financials ready for the audit that was coming Monday morning.

On his way home he gets a call on his cell from his long time pal, Charlie. He’s known Charlie for nearly 20 years. Charlie invites him to a bar for drinks. Bob tries to explain how tired he was, but Charlie would not take no for an answer. Bob conceded and said he’ll meet him inside the bar.

Bob heads to the bar with anticipation. Charlie is known to party really hard and find the most unusual spots to hang out. The last place Charlie took Bob was a tattoo bar. What is a tattoo bar? It’s a breeding place for hepatitis.

He finally arrives at the address and was surprised that the place looked like a normal, everyday, run of the mill bar, from the outside. He sees people seated at the bar talking through the window outside. That was a good sign. He makes up his mind to enter.

He approaches the door when this giant of a man asks for his identification. After he shows his id, the man lets him enter the bar. Once inside, a young woman approaches him and asks him if he was here alone. Bob responds saying that he’s supposed to meet his friend here. She inquires who his friend was. Bob tells her Charlie’s name. She nods in acknowledgement. Then she escorts him to the bar. She explains where the restrooms were, hands him a wine list and then stresses that he is not allowed behind the curtains until his friend arrive. That piqued Bob’s curiosity. He remembers the giant man who checked his id and decided he was not going to test his curiosity.

Bob orders a gin and tonic from the bartender and spun around to people watch as he waited for Charlie. He saw a lot of women go in out of the curtain. Just as he was going to turn back toward the bartender, Charlie arrived at the bar.

“Hey man. What’s up?” Charlie yells and then hugs Bob.

“Nothing much man. Just tired” Bob responds.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long. Maybe 10 minutes or so.”

“So how you like the place?”

“I really can’t say. Just been sitting here waiting. “

“Cool. Cool. Come, follow me. You are going to have a blast!”

Bob gets down off the bar stool he was sitting on and follows Charlie. As they were walking, Charlie was stopped multiple times to greet folks and to shake hands. Charlie finally made his way to the curtains.

“Charlie, what’s going on in there?” Bob asks in a worried tone.

“It’s cool. As long as you stay with me, you’ll be fine.” Charlie states. Then he entered through the curtains.

Bob finally goes through the curtains and had the biggest shock of his life. He walked in and found a fully fledged casino. He couldn’t believe it. The bar was a cover up.

Charlie spots the surprise on Bob’s face, “Time to have some fun!”

“Where did you find this place?” Bob asks.

“Mutual friend.” Charlie responds.

“I never knew these places existed. I’ve seen them in movies, but damn.” Bob says with astonishment.

“Welcome to the big leagues, baby.” Charlie exclaims, grinning.

Charlie walks to a lounge area and sits down on a couch and Bob follows. Just as Bob takes a seat a waitress comes over and asks for their drink orders. Bob gets another gin and tonic and Charlie ordered an apple martini.

“So how’s life been treating you man? Haven’t seen you for a couple of months.” Charlie asks.

“You know me. Working. Chilling. Scoping out couple of ladies” Bob replies.

“Go ahead, man.” Charlie slaps Bob on the back.

Looking around from the couch, “I should invite one of the chicks here with me the next time.”

“Yo! Do not tell anyone about this place unless you trust them completely. You’d get this placed locked down.”

“Alright man, I got you. Mum’s the word. How do I come back if I want?”

“Let me hook you up!” Charlie says beckoning a tall bald man. “Johnny, my boy here wants to become a member. Hook him for me.”

“No problem.” Johnny replied.

“Do I have to sign my life away?” Bob asks with amusement.

“No. Just your soul.” Johnny answers with a smirk.