SammyStorm2's Xanga

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:57:11 GMT

We had to submit our Christmas Card lists at work so the printer has time to prepare all the cards. It felt weird dealing with anything related to the holidays this early (it's not even Halloween!). Fall is my favorite time of year, although it doesn't feel like Fall here nearly as much as it did in Illinois. The trees here don't change color as much, other than Dead Brown, but they still sell pumpkin pie, fake gourds, and orange & brown decorations at the store. I love pumpkin pie, don't you?

p.s. can you hear the music when you come to this page? I totally forgot I had set it up and it surprised me when I logged on!

Let the Right One In

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:40:38 GMT

This film was released last year, but I just got around to renting the DVD.

It's been classified within the "horror" genre, but it's more of a coming-of-age story. I was never really scared when watching the movie, although there are a few shocking scenes. Not at all what I expected. I think it may be one of the most beautiful movies I've seen and some scenes are deeply moving. If I had seen this movie last year, I think it would have topped my "best film of 2008" list. If you haven't seen it I recommend you rent it this weekend.

Public Dancing

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:03:07 GMT

Someday, I'm going to start dancing alone in public and start a dance party like this guy, hahaha.

Dredging up the past

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:34:24 GMT

During the course of surfing Facebook I discovered an old friend who I haven't contacted in years. We were always close and I have no problem with her. However, I haven't added her as a "friend" yet because on her friend list are mutual acquaintances to whom I am hesitant to become exposed again. Some of the names on her list bring up painful memories.

Are we allowed to hide from our past? or should I accept it as a chapter of my life that I must face? I'm sure nothing bad would happen if I were to come into contact with those people again, but it might be awkward. Maybe sufficient time has passed to allow us to move on like adults. Actually, it's one person in particular who I am scared to face. I feel as although I abandoned that person in his greatest time of need. Hopefully, I have grown and matured since that time period, but he might not feel the same way...

Hula Dancer

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:39:59 GMT

Waikiki

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:30:24 GMT

We went on a dinner cruise and here is the view of Waikiki as seen from the ship (stitched together from four pictures):

Star Trek was great

Sun, 10 May 2009 00:07:18 GMT

I saw Star Trek last night.

I give it 4 Sammys out of 5.

This was the best Star Trek film since Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan.

This is, so far, the best film of the year.

Non-stop action.

A little lacking in that feeling of "exploration." Probably because they had to introduce the characters. Hopefully, the sequel will have more of that "adventure" feel instead of just action.

But it was good.

Takes some getting used to the new designs for the ship, uniforms, and some changes to the "canon" of Star Trek.

I'm going to go see it again.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:17:03 GMT

Friday, April 17, 2009

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:36:22 GMT

I've been regularly working out for the last month and a half or so. I joined a gym with my friend and we go about four times a week. We alternate between cardio exercises (treadmill and rowing machine) and weight training (free weights and machines). When I get home I do this ab exercise that I found on Youtube:

My diet is as follows: I eat a granola bar for breakfast, salad for lunch (when I'm good), and one Lean Cuisine microwave meal for dinner. I've lost 12 pounds in the last month and a half or so. My goal is to get rid of the paunch from my stomach, and continue to build up my muscles (which are sadly underdeveloped). Someday, I'd like to have six-pack abs and post them on youtube! hahaha.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:07:03 GMT

In contrast to my last post, here's something uplifting:

I don't know why this is so fun to watch. Maybe because it's an unexpected display of joy and energy in the middle of an otherwise commonplace venue. This was exactly the type of escapist entertainment that I needed to get through a looong month. I think I've already watched this ten times already. I even teared up a little, which shows you what kind of emotional state I'm in right now.

Booyahman's comment in the last post may have been dead-on. I think I drafted the post below during one of my "down" moods. The last day off I had was literally a month ago, and I've been working weekends and late into the night. I didn't even celebrate Easter. Also, I was actually supposed to go on vacation last week with my wife, but I canceled it due to work. She went alone.

I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but I guess I am, hahaha. I think things will get better next week or so. Until then, I'll watch this video again!