Tag: Games

Writing Prompt #18: What Date do you have circled on your calendar? That is, what upcoming date or event are you looking forward to?

Posted on by anele25

As the day of Sunday February 3rd marches on, it is a rainy day here in Northern California and people (including myself) are getting to watch the national holiday that is known as Super bowl Sunday. Yes, it should be a good game and people all around the country will be intrigued by what happens with the Patriots Vs. Rams. We have Brady Vs. Goff, Belichick Vs. McVay, and Gurley and Anderson Vs. a whole Patriots front that is unspectacular in a sense but will get the job done in some way. Just to get this out of the way, my prediction is 34-31 Rams in a close matchup that will feature twists and turns throughout and any super bowl that involves a super team vs. super team matchup will involve plenty of drama. I love football and that is one thing that I enjoy watching in my down time. However, after Football is over, we get a little down time for the major sports (not for myself because Hockey is also one of my favorite sports and is always intriguing especially down the stretch). Two things that I have circled on my calendar during this time of February is I have a baile coming up with my girlfriend IB on the 9th of this month and another with my mom on the 16th of this month.

 

I do have to say for both of these bailes I’m excited because I get to see several of my favorite artists over a period of two weeks and with two of my favorite people in this world. At the first one on the 9th, myself and IB enjoy dancing and at this baile we have the following artists performing: El Fantasma, Voz de Mando, Banda Los Sebastianes, El Potro de Sinaloa, Virlan Garcia, and Kanales. This baile will be taking place at the San Jose Convention which has been host to a number of events over the years. This one I think has the chance to be fun because some of these artists I’m more familiar with than others and others I have heard are amazing in person. El Fantasma is an artist who sings songs about love and tragic ballads that gets our culture going at these bailes and it certainly makes for a good atmosphere. In fact, my aunt has told me in the past that he puts on a good show whenever he visits Texas. I also have seen Voz de Mando two times previously and they also put on good music for the crowd to dance to. As does El Fantasma, they also put on some good music about love and tragic ballads about life. As for the other artists on this list, I have heard one or two songs from each artist and I will be watching videos from them over the next week to get a feel for them and their style. I am writing this down here because I know we (referring to myself and IB) want to commit to this and that is we want to dance the whole night to the music. It will be our first baile of the year as we have not seen a show since we saw Pepe Aguilar in November and we have a plan to make this one unforgettable. Just to add a side note, before I met IB I wasn’t good at dancing and I feel I have improved with her during the time we have been together. I would bumble around and not know which way to go during some steps. But now that we have been together, I have learned a lot more and I hope to get some more dancing down in the coming years. At the second baile we have four more artists performing and that is Bronco, Cuisillos, Conjunto Primavera, and Raza Obrera. This second baile will be taking place at the San Jose Fairgrounds which is somewhere I haven’t been to for years.

 

These artists are rather the older guard of Mexicano Regional Music. I enjoy their music and this one my mom jumped on this opportunity because she is a big fan of Bronco (as am I) and my favorite Banda is Cuisillos so it is a win-win for both of us. I think for myself this will be a different experience because I’ll see what will happen when two different generations of music together. This second baile I feel has more a nostalgia feel with the bands playing with a sense of their biggest hits behind them but they have a huge following with their fans. I like Cuisillos and Bronco in particular because there styles are unique and innovative to their genre of music. When I first heard Bronco, it was music that we refer to as Grupera with a. mix of Norteno and growing up with I got to see the kind of atmosphere it would create at parties or get togethers. I would see people dancing to their music and even having a great time just talking amongst themselves with the music in the background. As opposed to Cuisillos, I first heard them in 2008 and immediately took a following to their music because they sang ballads but also cumbias which could fuel me up for the day that I had ahead. I’ve heard some of Conjunto Primavera’s songs but they are a little past their time and they have not had as much success as the other bands that are part of this spectacle.

 

As outlined above, these are two events I will be looking forward to because it is my first time looking ahead and getting to spend time with my girlfriend and my mom. Music, I believe has the ability to give folks a different vibe and even gives you the opportunity to gain a different outlook on life. I remember growing up with this music and it provides for good moments in my life. I’ll be looking forward to what comes next after these events as I’ll be putting together a video of these events over the next few weeks after the fact. Until then, take care everyone and always remember to stay positive! Oh and I’ve attached some flyers for the upcoming dates I have circled on my calendar.

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The Baile on February 16th 2019
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The Baile on February 9th 2019

 

Searching…

Posted on by anele25
Image result for searching
Searching and how it’s filmed

A few days I had the opportunity to go and view the film Searching starring John Cho and Debra Messing. I saw the trailer a few months back and as soon as I saw it I felt that the film would be an instant classic. I’ve seen films that hook you and this one got me from the beginning. I am not going to do a scene by scene analysis but rather what some of the implications of the film could be. The basic story of the film is that the main character, David Kim, played by John Cho goes on a search for his missing daughter. He starts putting together the pieces of the puzzle together by looking at where she was, who were friends were, and how she spent the majority of her time. The character of Margot, played Michelle La, we see has more behind her than just a computer screen. I want to start with what was an important part of the story and that was the death of Margot’s mother, Pam. She ended up dying of Lymphoma and the process thereafter of her death had a strong impact of the story. For one, we start to see the unraveling of Margot’s character as she starts to exude strange behavior such as not attending her piano lessons and rather chatting with a boy that needs money on a vlog that she has. We also start to see where Margot would go which is actually a lake that is nearby here named Barbosa Lake. One last point that is not emphasized enough is how she starts to lie to her dad about where she is at night time which is another part of the film. This part where she lies becomes an important part of the story just because from there is where everything unravels. We find out that Margot was originally going to a study group but that it would go till late. It turns out that she was covering for the boy that she was talking to through the video chat. She wanted to give him money so that he could treat his mother who was going through cancer. I found this whole story fascinating because it just shows how much our social media can be hiding some facts that may not be known. The film also shows how much we can rely on total strangers that we are communicating with through an internet portal can have our total trust. I myself went social media less for a few years before turning to Instagram. I like Instagram because it’s a photo with a quick description and you can follow as many people as you’d like in that whole process. A tiny detail that is seen in the film is when many of Margot’s friends say that they never really saw her interact with anyone.

 

Her classmates classify her as a loner that never socially interacted with many students. However, we get to a point in the film where one of the classmates (who earlier had said they weren’t really friends), starts to say that they wish they would just find her already. This scene made me realize how much true friends come out and stick out with you till the end and not just when it is convenient for them. As soon as she launches this heart felt crying, I felt the response felt forced and there were almost a million likes for the response itself. There are two instances in the film where we start to see more suspects that point to more and more that they may be the suspects themselves. We see most of the film through a computer screen and we see how David starts the search for his daughter and any help that he can get is much appreciated. But, we also see the backlash from some of the folks that are following the story because we see his support as sort of indicative of how he may be guilty as well. David’s brother, Peter, is also implied as a suspect with Peter providing weed to Margot to get through some of the stress with her mother dying and what not.   Anyway, it turns out that one of the twists of the film is that the detective that is assigned to the case, played by Debra Messing, Rosemary Vick was the one whose son was talking to Margot the whole time. You see how she manipulates the crimes and you can tell somewhat from the beginning that something is up with her because when David starts to get somewhere she is standing in his way. There were two instances where this happened. The first one was when they discover Margot’s car was discovered by Barbosa Lake and they say she has been declared missing. We also see this in another instance when Vick manipulates a murder confession by a man who has just gotten out of prison.

At the end of the film, it is revealed that Vick was responsible for what was responsible throughout most of the film. There is a little hint dropped towards the beginning of the film where her son was mischievous and was a troublemaker but I dismissed it immediately. The twist goes to further reveal that her son Robert, was feeling guilty of the money he had been given and he shoved Margot into the lake that was mentioned earlier. Overall, we start to see to the little intricacies of what the impact of technology is these days. We can go through death and we may not know the impact it has on our children even though it may seem as if they are okay. There is an instance in the film when Margot goes to show the boy in the film pictures of her mom and you start to see that maybe she hasn’t gotten over her death. I also liked the film because you see the characters grow from being central plot points to the story itself rather than the story dictating how the characters motives are seen in the film. John Cho and Debra do an excellent job in having us believe as an audience how real the movie felt. For anyone looking for a movie, to watch definitely a good recommendation.

300 Writing Prompts #11: Complete this thought: “Today I hope…”

Posted on by anele25

Today I woke up from a dream that went for a while and for the life of me I can’t remember what I was dreaming about. Today I hope that dream happens again and again as I get set to go on an adventure. Today I hope for a fun and exciting time for anybody and everybody that goes on a journey for where they want to go. I hope that people can see the good in each other and give more than what they receive for that is what shows true character.

Today I hope I can laugh at silly memes, gifs, and just at people in general. Today I hope that my cousins, brother, aunts, uncles, mom and dad can have a healthy day as they come home from work or school. Today I hope that my friends, wherever they may be can breathe just a little to enjoy what is around them. I hope that my neighbors can put down what is bothering them and give the time that is needed to their loved ones. I hope that others will see that it is okay (along with this writer), that being perfect isn’t the best solution for everything and the imperfect individual is what is normal and extraordinary within each of us. Today I hope that life will bring what is positive in each of us as we embark on these new journeys, adventures, and see new sights. Today I hope that individuals will do good deeds without even realizing it. Today I hope that couples who fight still love each other even after the biggest fight. For this and several other things in this world, I am the biggest believer in hope because without it we would not be getting many places. The weather, the stars, the road, and the food that is be seen today are something that I am also hoping today I can see. Well, have a good day everyone!

300 Writing Prompts #10: Have you ever taken a huge risk? What was it, and was it worth it?

Posted on by anele25

Risks in my life have never been the way to go and nor have they ever been. I once did take a risk however and in the end it was worth it. I was thinking back to three years ago today and today is the anniversary of my graduation. There were events that led up to that that started with one risk that I felt was worth it at the end. I am pretty open about my past and one of the risks I took was transferring Target stores in 2014. At the beginning of the summer in 2014, I met with a friend of mine asking if I had ever thought of transferring stores. The store was closer to my house and it would save me more gas. I also thought about the long term ramifications as if I had left the store I would be not as sentimental about leaving. For example, if I had stayed my full seven years at the same Target store I would have felt the burden of leaving behind all my friends. I worked that summer with the thought in my head that it was time to transfer. I worked closely with my managers to make sure I had a smooth transition.

 

As the date got closer, I really started doubting the decision because now I would leave everyone behind. The friends that I did make there finally became apparent to me afterward. In retail, you make these acquaintances that you may think are your friends but then after you leave you start to see who your real friends are. I left that old Target store with my head held high but I also started getting emotional towards the end of my first night. I thanked everyone for the time they had spent with me and for their mentorship as well. I walked out knowing that I had made something good there and I started crying like a baby as I walked out. I sat in my car for close to 5 minutes thinking about the memories I had made there. I told myself right then and there that everything had been worth it. The hardships, the fun parts, the struggles, and everything in between. I remember driving to Smoke Eaters that night ready to eat something because I said to myself that would be my small meal that I would eat to celebrate this new phase in my life. No longer would I be commuting and struggling to get to work in San Jose and I would be closer to home. I sat at home and wondered about what the future would bring and thankfully I was off for the next 4 days. I started at my new store that Thursday and I realized right away how different everything was compared to my old Target store.

 

Everybody seemed older and there was a mix of younger as well. I started talking to a few team members and started getting my feet wet little by little. I saw this also as a new opportunity to learn with some new team members. I remember being approached if I ever wanted to enter an executive role as well and then I started seeing how everything was constructed and I realized that it was not worth it. The way that Target works is they like to recruit from within and see team members as being ready for that role as well. An executive is in charge of owning their area and making sure their team leaders have their planners up as well as making sure their aisles are full as well. I quickly learned at my new store that staying organized is one of the bigger problems at retail. You also learn to deal with people whether they are old or young. You see the good, bad, and the ugly. That was something that was worth it because you got to serve a completely new audience and a complete new kind of guest as well. No longer, were they the high strung client from Saratoga but now they were the working middle class from Sunnyvale. I had grown up in Sunnyvale so I knew a little about what the people were like there. As the months went by, I started to realize that my time to enter into the real world was rapidly approaching. I was close to being 27 years old and some of my friends at this age already had pretty stable jobs. I was going back and forth wondering what I was going to do next. I was working at Target one day and they implemented this new strategy where they wanted everything full at certain times of the day. One day, it was my turn and by all means it did not look the best. I got berated by one of our executives and it just so happens that is when I said this place may not be for me anymore. I started thinking what can come along or what can I do to change this new environment of mine. I did my best to keep my head up but everything just kept getting worst whether it was hours or the way we were all being treated. One day, I got a call from one of friends telling me about a position opening at Stanford and if you have read some of my previous posts, I ended up leaving Target soon thereafter.

 

In hindsight, this risk I took because my friend had told me about has led me to today. I would not be the same person I am today because I learned that going into new environments can be intimidating but that is what life if all about. Adapting and overcoming those obstacles and seeing what comes out of it. I can say for how my life is that I am grateful for what has happened because the ultimate lesson I learned from my transfer to another Target store was I learned those that stick by you pull through for you in the end. It doesn’t matter whether things are the best in the world or if they are the worst in the world, they will give the skin off their back in order for you to succeed. I saw the good in what happened and now I can look back and say my risk paid off. Yes, I did miss my co-workers but then I saw they are only that: co-workers. I made the analogy the other day with a good friend of mine “when in war, you only talk about war and then everything just ends”. I made my destiny with those changes and now I am looking forward to whatever life brings next.

Writing prompts #3: What is your favorite work of art? What do you love about it?

Posted on by anele25

The 300 writing prompts so far has given be 2 topics so far which have been thought provoking and made me reflect a bit on my past. This next one I see as a challenge because I am not the kind of person to express my words about art. This piece of art properly called “The Scream” is done by Edvard Munch. I’ve seen this piece of art before and I wanted to talk a bit about it. The reason I first like this piece of art is because it gives off the impression about a person (sex not described or indicated), who is in anguish or who has some sort of anxiety running through them. I can remember growing up or even through my adult years where I wasn’t feeling my best mentally because I was worried about something that was going on in my life or someone had just told me some shocking news that I had a hard time holding in.

I also really enjoy the painting because of the background that is in the painting. The skies are red with a blue and sort of black water. You kind of get the feeling from seeing the painting that if anything the colors provoke something within the viewer. When I see red, I think of blood or romance and in this essence it could be that it brings these two together to bring some sort of chaos where nothing is perfect in the world. I also notice that the red is mixed in with green as well and from my interpretation that can also be a sign of the green nature that is in and around our world. Now, to get into the characters within the painting itself. I notice that something I love about the painting is that the person that is screaming has eyes and his mouth open while the two characters in the back have no role. The two people in the background could be seen as observers who do not pay attention to what is going on around them. In fact, something that has been theorized about this painting is that artists were becoming more expressive during this time. Hence, this is why I make the connection to these two characters not being able to pay attention to what is going on around them. I can see what Munch means by his painting here is that artists have become afraid to express their opinions on social issues or the well-being of artists. Sometime back, I also read that art at this time was changing and was giving way for new artists in the field. It would be like today when artists from pop culture are starting to collaborate on projects such as movies, music, or even tv shows. I think back in those times it would seem almost impossible to bring so many artists together because everyone wants to have an input on what it is they do. One other thing I enjoy and love about this painting is that it paints a clearer picture of what else may be going in the background of this picture.

One article I read is that the person in the picture could be screaming at the horror of the slaughterhouse that is nearby. The main character that we see could be shouting at the horror that is going in during the actual proceeding where they are crossing. It goes back to what I said in the beginning, the main character is somewhat worried as to what is happening around him as he crosses the bridge. The artist also originally meant this to be a piece of how his friends had left him behind and he stopped to gaze at what was the red sky. Yet, he somehow stayed behind and he gazed on in fear. One other thing that needs to be pointed out about this piece of work is how Munch takes apart his work by not clearly explaining what gender the person in the work is. This is one of the parts of the painting because we who are viewing the painting could be in this painting. I sometimes think when we are not feeling our best we could be crying out for help. The sounds that is also covering up inside the main character is quite something to view as well because of how we may want to block out everyone else out. We may do this along these lines because we may cover up our ears with earphones when we are on the bus, airplane, on the train, or at our jobs. The idea of sound is also something that we tend to ignore in our lives because sounds can sometimes tell us something that we may or may not want to hear. When we hear directions, cues, or when we see something on a screen we tend to look for sounds that may trigger a certain emotion. I also feel the sounds when I may be reading a book that I really like.

1200px-The_Scream
The Scream

Once again, this idea of how we take sounds may sound far fetched, but sounds make a profound impact on our lives and it is one of the final reasons I really enjoy this piece. I sometimes wonder what one’s perspective may be about slaughterhouses or being near some sort of thing that they may dislike. For example, I am not the world’s biggest fan of people that are having drinking issues being near a bar.

I can imagine having them resist a drink is something that is difficult for them to resist. Anyway, these are just a few reasons I really love this painting because of the amount of effort that is put into the detail. One thing that I think I forgot to mention is that Munch does a fantastic job of expressing with this painting with the bridge that is covering apart of the painting. This was definitely one of the most difficult pieces to write because of how I had never written about a piece of art but I am happy to get this one in because it felt like I was back in school. I’d be curious to get across what this painting maybe meant for other people back in older times but now I will never get that chance because time travel does not exist. Anyway, this does it for this piece. I will continue on with this 300 writing prompts piece until I can no longer write about the awesome prompts in here. Till next time, signing off!

Imagining you are with your old school friends….

Posted on by anele25

“Where do you see yourself in ten years?” is something I would hear often during my high school years and tonight I wanted to sit down and write about a topic that I have hardly thought about. I have had some changes in the past twelve years since High School and I want to reference high school because that was the time when we all transitioned from childhood to High School. A great friend of mine recently gave me a book for Christmas that has 300 writing prompts and I intend to write as many as I can before I die or perhaps before the one day comes that I will lose my passion to write anything (I highly doubt this). One of the topics in the book asks this “Imagine you are at your next high school reunion. How do you think your old school friends would react to the person you are today?” I don’t think anybody is the same person they were five or ten years ago. Experiences, goals, and relationships change us all. High school for me ended on June 8th 2006 and on that day I remember not really waving at anybody or seeming excited that high school was over.

I just looked it at as another phase of life that had ended for me and I was ready to move on with my life. I wasn’t the most popular person or most outgoing person. I wouldn’t go to parties or hang out with the in crowd. I would say if I were to meet my old school friends they would treat me exactly the same but we would be different in our lives. I remember hanging out with one of my friends from high school in 2015 and we did what guys usually do: go hang out and talk about life. One thing I remember noticing about my friend is how much he had changed from being super funny and outgoing to being a former shell of who he is. No longer was he the fun loving guy people would gravitate towards but he had become more serious in the way he acted, the way he thought, and the way he approached people. I felt that when we hung out we had almost reversed roles. I was now in a position where I had gone through certain experiences and was now in control of my emotions. Before I would be irritable, angry, and somewhat moody. Now, I saw my friend in this position and there was no way I could change him because you can’t change anybody’s perspective in life on where he was. However, going back to the original question I would say if my old school friends saw me they would ask how things changed, what do I think was the best way to do this, and would start asking me about my career and where I was. One other thing that has never been steady in my life as well would be my diet and exercise.

Recently, I have started watching my diet because of the surgery that I have undergone (more of this information available in an earlier blog post). I would say they would be shocked because my diet in high school wasn’t particularly great as I would eat like crazy in high school. I also remember I took a strength training class in college and this is when my life was in flux on whether I should continue to work out or not. One of my classmates commented on how good my stamina was because we would take weekly runs on stairs or outside on a track. This is something I would point out to my friends because of how much a statement I like to make with this. I would also say my friends would be surprised because I was never the most athletic in high school and I never played sports either. I also would dare say that people would start asking about the type of motivation I have behind this. I have believed that in the past few years that my motivation is to live as long as possible and the experiences and memories we make are based off of this. I can wake up tomorrow and not be motivated but one thing that gets me is the ability to know that every day is a new opportunity, a new challenge, a new hello, a new morning, a new something to look forward to.

Sure, we all sit in traffic on the way to and from work but this is a part of what life is. I would think if I were to tell this to my friends they would start laughing at me but I truly do believe that this does motivate me to achieve something greater every day. I also sometimes wonder if they would even recognize me because in High School you have your one or two friends that you stick close by with. I remember sitting in a row full of strangers that I had never met in my life. This is something I fear because of how diverse and far the field has gone in terms of how big of a class we were. But, I know I would have my friends that would be there to support me in how I am doing and how I have changed. I also have documented in how I think having a pet of some sorts has made me a nicer person. The dog I had before, Paloma, really made me appreciate life and the many intricacies of how to care for someone that is your own. Before, I didn’t have that somebody or something I could care for. Now, I have Zorro to care for and I also would say people would be surprised that I became a dog owner. Overall, I would say there would be some process for me to let it out because I don’t tell many people about my love for my dog. Once again, I think having a dog is like having a child because you have to make sure he or she is cared for and that he has his regular checkups at the vet or what have you. So there you have it, overall I would say that others would have kids, maybe other people have moved out of the area, and me I’m still the same person in mind but I have made a few adjustments. Change is good for all of us and time tells who will come out in front. To me, I would say I have been pretty successful with my life and where I am financially. I hope it is the same for everyone else and if it’s not hopefully I can have some profound impact on people.Till next time….

Day #254 2/18/12: When you cry at 10 years old…

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My game that came in the mail. Over the past few years, I have started to accumulate my own money and it is worth it when you can reward yourself with a game like Mortal Kombat. When I was ten years old I wanted the 4th game so bad on Playstation and I even cried for it at that age but looking back now it was good years later to see that our parents make many sacrifices for us in order to make us happy. I hope to do the same for them as I get older and I do it at least once a week as I try to buy them food so we can eat at home. I put gas in my car so on the weekends they don’t have to drive just one car and it feels very good.

Day #202 12/28/11: Freestyle with a Baron Davis and Randy Moss mention…

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Technically, my day started at midnight when I saw an old friend of mine who started as a community college student and is now a teacher in Boston where he teaches general topics to his students. The funny thing is, he couldn’t adjust to that lifestyle at first of being a teacher and he only got 4 hours of sleep a night. But now, his sleeping patterns are much better and he even gave me and my buddies a freestyle which was very good in terms of his ebb and flow. After he left, I talked to my brother and our friend about the scenarios the Raiders need in order to get into the playoffs and hearing this I was surprised that they have a better chance as a wildcard than they do as a division winner. In the morning, my dad handled some business around the house such as cleaning the yard and also fixing another problem we have been having with some other appliances. The rest of the day I finally played my PS3 after a long overhaul and it was fun to play some WWE 12 and some Dragon Ball Z Raging blast which is loads of fun.