Tag: Truth

NXT Takeover: Wargames II…

Posted on by anele25

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and one of the things I am thankful for is great wrestling. This past week I have had the opportunity to watch some of the NXT product and it gets me excited to watch wrestling. This year I have also attended two of New Japan’s show, one in Los Angeles and the other in San Francisco. Both shows also reignited something inside me to love wrestling on a different level. The wrestling I grew up with not only gave me characters, funny storylines, and action but they also gave me nostalgia. This product that I am watching now gives me a glimpse into how wrestling is now with storylines that build up to a crescendo with a payoff. The one thing that both the NXT and the New Japan product does is show me how much of a good feeling it gives you to see action in its purist form. The particular show I want to touch on is NXT Takeover: Wargames II. The particular show took place in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. I’ll have a few pictures down below to highlight some of the characters that I will be talking about.

The four matches on the card (well besides the surprise at the beginning of Matt Riddle vs Kassius Ohno which went 6 seconds) were as follows: Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O’ Reilly) vs Rowe and Hanson (War Raiders) Ricochet and Pete Dunne in the classic War Games match. The match itself takes places inside a steel cage that surrounds two wrestling rings. The team with the man advantage (example would be there could be a 2 on 1 advantage or a 3 on 2 advantage) was the Undisputed Era who were the bad guys in the match in this dual until both teams were in the ring with the rules being that if anyone from either team left the steel cage that team would forfeit the match for their team. The only way to win the match would be to submit someone from the opposing team or pin them otherwise. I really liked the match with a devastation of moves from both sides with backbreakers, suplexes, backflips, and use of weapons. The match itself went 47 minutes with some of the highlights including a 650 splash from the top of the cage of sorts from Richochet onto 7 of the competitors in the match. I also enjoyed some of the aspects of the match with using the ‘smaller’ guys in Undisputed to be thrown around by the War Raiders from one ring to the other. I also enjoyed how O’Reilly and Strong worked together in the match to take down Ricochet and the War Raiders with some chops kicks, suplexes, and some backbreakers. This was the 2nd time that the WWE version did their version of the original NWA invention back in the 1980’s. The story was built in and it didn’t have to have too much complication to it. Something I did not mention before hand was that both teams started at one point or another had their team members inside these small cages so that they would not leave before it was there turn to enter the ring (a new member would enter every 3 minutes). One of the other highlights (related to the previous sentence) was waiting for Dunne from the War Raiders and Richochet team was held inside the cell before he would come out and he was locked inside by Bobby Fish of the Undisputed Era. Eventually, some refs came down to free Dunne from the cage with some boltcutters. Honestly, it delivered but probably my only gripe was that it went 12-13 minutes too long and it could have gone a little less time had it not been with the story being played that Dunne was locked inside the cage. The finishing sequence saw Dunne hit his finisher the Bitter End and afterwards Richochet hit Adam Cole with a splash from the top. I would watch this again for my own entertainment.

The second match that went on was Johnny Gargano vs Aleister Black. This to me was tied with the other match that I wanted to review which was Velveteen Dream vs Tomasso Ciampa both matches delivered in their own unique way. I felt the story in the Gargano/Black match was that Gargano had laid out Black a few months before and Black was now out for revenge. The reason he had attacked him was because for most of the year Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa had been fighting over the NXT Championship. Well, Black was inserted into their match at the previous NXT Takeover in New York and now Gargano felt that was rather unfair. He himself saw it as a heroic act but in reality it was selfish of him to do so. Now we were here and boy was it ever a classic. The one thing that may get overlooked in the match is how psychology plays into the match. Both wrestlers had a knack in the match to ask the other wrestler to come at them with their best shot until they realized that they were just messing with them and wanted to just play with their emotions.  They hit their signature dives, suplexes, and slams but what impressed me the most is how well the two gelled in the ring together. I enjoyed how Black kept up with Gargano’s cheap shots by coming back with a fiery comeback one after another. The match from what I can recollect was the first time that they had wrestled each other. We saw how well also Gargano has officially become “Johnny Takeover” by now participating in his 11th Takeover which is now an official record. The match itself did wonders for both because we saw the evil diabolical Gargano got what was coming to him after Black hit the Black Mass. Defintely a classic that I would watch again and who cares if they didn’t sell in the match.

The next match I wanted to talk about was Tomasso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream and my gosh this match was just as awesome as the previous match. I enjoyed how the veteran Ciampa kept giving Dream everything he could in the match. Both men were trying to outdo each other by taunting each other with their poses and what not. Dream kept coming back and the crowd was right behind him every step of the way. He in fact used a figure four leg lock reminiscent of the Ric Flair and Bret Hart days of using a figure four leg lock. He even used a Hulk Hogan Leg Drop that got me jumping me out of my seat. The match itself ended because we saw how overanxious Dream got because he was so close to winning the match itself with his elbow drop and his finish. He worked so that his charisma could shine right through. I remember when the show Tough Enough was still airing and he got cut from the show and somehow I felt that he would become a superstar. Lo and Behold here he was in a prominent spot on one of the biggest shows of the year. I enjoyed how once Dream hit his finish and then his elbow off the top rope that he had it down to a second and he could have won. Once Dream missed his elbow drop again Ciampa got up and his finish the Fairytale Ending. What a Match!

The last match I want to review is Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s championship match which delivered again with some hard hitting moves and on both sides there was interference from Baszler’s side and also Sane’s side as well. The match was 2 out of 3 falls. The 1st fall was won by Baszler and the 2nd by Sane and then lastly by Baszler.  I liked how they kept putting on holds so that the other would not escape. These two whenever they wrestle we know something crazy is going to happen and this was no different. Sane I thought would end up winning but in fact I was wrong because she got help at the end from Io Shirai and Dakota Kai and Baszler was assisted by her friends Jessica M Duke and Marina Shafir which helped the match because the two had had 4 matches previously and we had already seen several matches between them before hand. The match itself was impressive for what it was and this match itself was the opener for the card.

For everything that happened during the card itself, the Takeovers deliver and give you a special feeling whenever they come on because they are built up so well for the audience that is watching. I would recommend this for anyone that is looking for something to watch this weekend. Have a safe and happy thanksgiving everyone take care of your loved ones and give them a tight hug on this very special day that is coming up. Just in general, remember that those few precious hours you have together are good enough just to laugh and take everything in little by little life is too short (p.s. I posted a few pictures below of the Takeover event)

Image result for kairi sane vs shayna baszler nxt takeover wargames

Image result for shayna baszler vs kairi sane takeover

Image result for nxt takeover wargames

Image result for nxt takeover wargames

Image result for nxt takeover wargames

Image result for nxt takeover wargames

Image result for nxt takeover wargames

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: What was the first thing you ever saved up your money to purchase?

Posted on by anele25
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My TA Challenger (aka Dino)!

Per my last blog, I want to write about topic number 2 from 300 writing prompts. This time the topic is something that has been on my mind the past few days which is “what is the first thing you ever saved up your money for”? People save up for little things such as books, toy cars, toys, and crafting materials. In my case, I want to talk about my first ever big purchase that I have made. I have never had the inkling to say “I’m going to save my money to buy X item…” and I think still to this day that I am not that type of person. I do however have the inkling to say that I would save up money to buy two things: a car and a house. A car is needed for going to and from a location and I said to myself this is my dream car. The house is something I would love to own one day and like I tell myself sometimes it is a process. I also said to myself it would be really nice to have something I would be proud to call my own. I saved up my money almost a year ago and purchased (almost a year ago actually) a new Dodge Challenger.

A few months before the actual purchase, I started going over in my head what I needed to do to purchase my car. I said I needed to get rid of certain expenses such as cutting out eating out so much and only focus on saving up money for that final end goal. I also said in order to do this I needed to look at what I was spending my money on. Like any young adult, I usually pay for internet, rent, streaming services, gas, and food. I decided the two most important were gas and food. The gas was simple because of how much gas my car would guzzle throughout the week. I also figured that not eating out as much saved me so much money. As I went along in my process, I started thinking I really want this car because of how cool and niche the product was. As the months started progressing, I started seeing that I was getting close to my original goal of putting down a 7,000 dollar down payment. However, as I was getting close to my goal I realized that something was off. I had a weird feeling the weekend of March 5th as my brother asked me if he could borrow my older Toyota Corolla. I remember him, his wife, and his 3 kids were hauling off in my car as he needed it the next morning to go to work. I clearly remember walking towards Lowe’s as my brother called me and said he was sorry. I started thinking in my head what could have happened? He said he had crashed the car and he wasn’t sure what had happened. The first thing I asked him if he was ok and that’s all I cared about. Once again, he apologized and I said well time to get a new car. I saw what my account looked like and it was enough to cover the down payment (at least for what I wanted). As I started looking through the cars on the Dodge website from Fremont, I said I really wanted a car that will stand out. I remember driving a Yellow Mustang, in Florida and I said let’s go for Yellow. I also enjoy Yellow because it is the color of my favorite Baseball team the Oakland A’s and the color of some of the coolest things is Yellow (bees, leaves, zucchini, flowers, etc.). I saw it and headed down two weeks after to check it out with my family because I knew I wanted them there for that experiences .

I was determined to pick out this car and there were several other options. I also enjoyed this basic model they had of the challenger which was green and SXT but the one I wanted was a Challenger TA which was one of those special edition Challengers. After taking a few test drives, I realized this was the car that I wanted to settle on. Besides the usual paperwork and the talk between all the payments, I started thinking in my head about how much cooler and nicer this car would add to my everyday life. I always wanted to roll around in a sports car and now my life would be this. After a while of thinking about this, I also pictured what my life would be like if I didn’t have this car. I guess in a way I wondered about how the more expensive luxuries in my life would be exempt for a few years. I remember the conclusion to this argument in my head was that this is something I wanted and I worked hard to get the car. I also thought about the times I heard about parents buying their kids cars and how my parents had never sacrificed that kind of money on cars that were given to me. I always find a way to tie this back to my parents but in a sort of humbling way I’m glad I didn’t grow up with a car in the family. We would ask our neighbors or family for rides. If we didn’t have this luxury, we would take the bus to local places. Those experiences of never having to be indebted to a car was something I was very thankful as I grew up and I’ll never forget all those times we rode the bus.

Anyway, the two cars that were given to me as hand me downs were so great that I never forget the moments, memories, and the times I had in those cars. I also won’t forget that those kind of cars made me humble and thankful for what I had in my life. The last thought in my head during the whole purchasing process was that sometimes it’s ok to give yourself a little treat for the blood, sweat, and tears that you had sacrificed. Once I drove off the lot, I said this is new and exciting for you and enjoy this opportunity now. For the last year, that car and myself have taken quite the journey. We have been to Salinas, Watsonville, San Jose, Fresno, and Oakland. I’ve also noted how nice it is not to have to worry about my car breaking down in the middle of the road. The lesson here for me is that saving your money is not the easiest thing to do in the world but if it means that much to you to save up and buy that nice thing you’ve been itching for I feel you should go for it and be patient. I know that now with myself this car (appropriately named Dino), that we will continue to wreck the mean streets of the Bay Area and we still have many more adventures to take throughout the bay area. Till next time to see what I write about on ‘300 writing prompts’.

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….

The Foreigner and Baby Driver a tale of two Films

Posted on by anele25

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One of the few topics I have not had the chance to write about is my love for movies. I’ve in particular been watching Jackie Chan movies since I was younger and he delivers in his films about action. I recently went to watch The Foreigner on Thursday evening with a friend of mine. The film was unexpectedly one of those films that combined family, loyalty, and action all into one. The premise of the film is that Jackie Chan’s character, Quan, is a retired veteran from the Vietnam special forces. His daughter is killed in a bombing by terrorists. Early on, the film touches on family and how much of an importance it is. We learn as the film goes on that Quan’s daughters were murdered by a group of bandits. His wife died while giving birth to his daughter who is eventually murdered in the process of the bombing. We are also introduced to the film’s lead antagonist, Liam, who is one of the politicians linked to the IRA and the former terrorist organization. Quan early on is very distraught by what has happened and he knows he has to go out to find who has done this evil deed. We get scenes of Quan going to authorities and asking who may have done the terrible deed of killing his daughter. The film’s early scenes deal with Quan investigating on his own (including one scene where we see Liam on TV and Quan researching who he is) and eventually we get Quan and Liam coming face to face for the first time. Once again, as we get into the film’s core we learn that Liam is deeply loyal to his maternal family. We also meet Liam’s wife, Mary, and we get the feeling that there is some tension between them because Mary never really forgave Liam for letting her brother die a few years ago in a terrorist bombing as well. This comes into play later on when we learn about Mary and how much that may play a role in their relationship. Quan, after having met Liam is intent on getting the names of the terrorists who killed his daughter.

 

He calls Liam after having set off a bomb and we get an intense scene where Quan demands answers. What really kicks the film into gear is the action scenes between Quan, Liam’s henchmen, and Quan’s ventures into the forest. You may be asking yourself, why is Quan just hanging out in the forest? Well, Liam gets smart and he heads to the farm. Little do we know, Quan is always ahead of the competition and he starts setting traps at Liam’s farm inside and out. There are some pretty unique traps such as leaving bombs inside the horse stall and leaving some traps outside the farm when the henchmen fall on spikes. Quan is eventually wounded and we get a little more into the backstory of Liam and his family. We eventually learn that one of Liam’s comrades, McGrath, knows who ordered the bombings and we get the big reveal that is was Mary, Liam’s wife. Liam is also seen in the film fooling around with Maggie who was (assuming by the connection) hired by Mary to also investigate into how Liam functioned and possibly frame him in the process. McGrath is eventually executed by Liam and we get more scenes where it gets deeper into actually set off the bombing. We are also introduced early onto Liam’s nephew Sean. He plays a critical role in the film because we also see him hunt down Quan when no one else is successful in hunting him down. After Quan gets his comeback against Sean (in an excellent scene where we see Quan practically only use his hands to take down Sean), Sean lets it out that it was a gentleman named Patrick O’Reilly who set the bomb that killed his daughter.

 

Eventually, we also see Maggie (the woman who was fooling around with Liam), sleep with a reporter to plant a bomb inside his laptop so that it can go off inside a plane. We also see her in a previous scene where she sets off a bomb inside a London bus. The film at this point has pretty much wrapped up its main storylines and all that is left is for Quan to go and get his proper revenge. We see him do something rather unique. Quan arrive to where Patrick O’Reilly and Maggie holed up inside their apartment. We also see the authorities trying to get a shot of the group of terrorists. Anyway, back to Quan and his plan. We see him gather up his ‘tools’ and disguise himself as a gas repair man. He is escorted inside the house by the manager of the property and we quickly get an intense scene where we see Quan knock someone out with a TV. Quan eventually takes them all out except Maggie. Maggie is eventually questioned about the attacks and she also confesses that the bomb that is about to go about go off is on the hands of the reporter named Ian Hood. Maggie in this process is killed by the authorities. We see Hood at the airport and he is quietly doing his work on his laptop. Little does he know, the laptop is packed with a bomb. We get a scene where a bomb expert runs as far as he can and he throws the bomb inside a corridor without harming anybody. Quan after all the craziness occurs, leaves with his head held up high and ready for one last task. We get one scene where Sean goes and hands Mary with her death. Quan also comforts Liam one last time and he figures out that Liam is connected to Maggie. Quan, having gotten his justice, is at peace and can return to his normal restaurant life. We get some peace at the end knowing that Quan got his vengeance settled.

 

So there you go, a film I would recommend going out of your way to see. The film’s strengths are that it is logical and there some twists which make sense. The performances by Chan and Brosman deliver as they are two of the actors who can still knock it out of the ballpark. The film’s weaknesses are that the plot about Quan’s past could have been done a little better and we could have gotten a little more emphasis on the subplot of trying to find the terrorists. A sold film. 7/10.

 

Another film I saw recently was Baby Driver. This movie, I must say, is my favorite of 2017. The film’s premise is simple, easy to follow, and understandable from the main character’s perspective. The film deals with Baby, a 20 something year old who from what we know has tinnitus. This is dealt with by him having to wear ear buds constantly so that the ringing in his ears will not be constant.

 

Baby is forced by Doc, a heist man, with a lot of power, to work as a wheel man with different crews to do jobs to rob banks. Doc, we learn, was robbed by Baby early on and Doc tells Baby that he owes him. Once he finishes his debt, they will be even. The first two crews that Baby works with consists of Buddy, Darling, JD, Eddie, Griif, and Bats. What we gather from Baby is that he does these jobs because of the thrill that he gets from driving, the scenes in the film that sold me on how great is are the driving scenes where Baby’s inner character is shown. We can see that his motives are that so he can earn a living but we also see his decisiveness and his music keeps him going. We also get a look into Baby’s real life.

 

We see him communicating with his foster parent, Joe. Joe is deaf so he must communicate with him via sign language. At first, I was confused as to how they were speaking but it made sense after the first exchange. Joe is not aware that Baby leads this kind of life but eventually he catches on. Baby, once he has paid off his debt, starts to notice a girl around town. Her name is Debora and he falls for her when he visits her at the local diner where she is employed. This is where the film starts to get interesting. Baby, knowing that his debt is paid off and he has plenty of money, asks Debora out on a date at the finest local restaurant. What we don’t know is that Doc wants Baby to do one last job.

 

He offers him the job after he finishes his dinner. Doc once again knows that Baby is somewhat of a good look charm for him. Doc gathers his crew of Darling, Buddy, and Bats to do one last job. Doc’s idea is to rob the local post office. One thing I didn’t mention is that the film’s tension is not necessarily built on the scenes where the crew (minus Baby), robs these places but on the fact that Baby is in an uncomfortable position. We can see that and his strengths is being able to drive fast and furious (cheap plug). Anyway, Doc robbing the post office is first put into play when Doc sends Baby (along with Baby’s nephew) to check out how many employees were present, how many cameras, how many armored guards, and what kind of glass was on the location of the post office. The idea behind the robbing of the post office would be to use almost blank checks (close to 250 of them) so that each of the crew could be just a little richer. We also see Baby’s past dealt with as well because his mother used to work as a waitress where Debora is working currently. We also see that Baby’s mom was in an abusive relationship and his mom was a singer as well. Baby’s tinnitus is a result of the crash that happens with his parents passing away. Baby also records some of his conversations, one of which is quite creative where he is told he is slow. Now, what exactly does he do with these recordings? He mixes up the recordings and he makes his own mixtapes. Back to the film, we see Doc set up Bats, Darling, Buddy, and Baby with some arms dealers. Of course, the scene where we see them meet up with the arms dealers turns sideways as a result of Bats going crazy and shooting one of the arms dealers. Eventually, we see the crew of Doc taking out the dealers. Before they can return to Doc’s hiding out spot, we see Debora working and the crew heads to where she works. Because this is a movie, the scene is tense and I was one of the few that believed that something would go down. Baby jokingly says that the place wasn’t very good to eat at and Bats once again loses himself quite a bit. Debora is ironically enough the one serving the table and she tries very hard not to give away the fact that her and Baby have some sort of relationship. The scene ends with Bats walking out and almost shooting Debora but Baby stops him in his tracks. Baby hands Debora a note that says “road trip 2AM”. We see the crew heading back to Doc’s spot and we start to get the idea that Doc wants to drop the whole idea of robbing the post office. This is because now the cops will definitely be after the crew of Buddy, Darling, Baby, and Bats. We also get the scene of Baby eventually getting cold feet and going to get Debora so they can head out of town. Bats and Buddy stop Baby from going out and asking him where he is going. We get some humor here as Baby says he is going to grab some coffee. Bats finds Baby’s audio recorder and asks him to explain himself. Baby, as honest as he can, says that he likes to record conversations.

 

Bats links this to the fact that Baby may be some kind of informant. We see Baby blanking out and we next see Doc with all of Baby’s tapes. Baby is in a tough position here and eventually we have Baby declared innocent because the tapes are his mixes. The heist is the next morning and Baby once again is having his morals go through him. We see Bats kill a security guard and with the rest of the crew inside the car, he rams a rebar into Bats and kills him. We see an intense scene where Buddy, Darling, and Baby run for their lives as Darling is eventually killed. Baby and Buddy get away as we will see them square off one more time. As all this is happening, Baby goes to his house to go pick up his foster parent, Joe. Baby drops off Joe and we see Baby going to get Debora so they may flee town. Buddy is waiting for Baby and once again the scene gets intense where Buddy is willing to take out Debora because Baby is in part responsible for Darling dying. The scene gets to the point where a cop comes by and wonders where the bathroom is. Buddy takes out the cop and eventually Baby is able to take out Buddy to save Debora. Baby, knowing his only resource is Doc, goes to ask him for some help. As the Doc and the gang, some arms dealers from earlier come out and start firing at the crew. Doc eventually handles them but wait did we forget about Buddy? Buddy shows up and takes out Doc. Buddy and Baby have an intense square off where eventually Baby gets the upper hand. As the scene fades away, we get Baby hearing his mother’s voice through one of the mixtapes. Baby and Debora have gotten away and are on their way to freedom where they are stopped by the local authorities for the crimes committed by Baby. Baby is put on trial and everyone that witnessed the crimes he committed (allegedly) says he has a very good character. After 5 years of good behavior, Baby is set free. We do get a happy ending to a satisfying movie.

 

Overall, I would recommend this film based on several things. The performances by Spacey, Elgort, Hamm, and Foxx really sold it for me. You got three world renowned actors and one who got started in the Divergent series really knocking it out of the ballpark. The other things it does well is that scene had a meaning and each character had a purpose behind it. If this doesn’t win some kind of award, I would be shocked because for me that is how good it was. 10/10. That’s all people. Oh here’s a picture of my dinner with my friend from Thursday after the Foreigner

IMG_0551

 

The winds of 2011 until the present:

Posted on by anele25

This blog, Just Another Day, has been on a hiatus for 2+ years now. I didn’t do it on purpose nor have I forgotten that the blog world exists. In fact, the original intent of the blog was to document a personal journey of sorts. Here I am 2 years later, you could say a different person. No longer am I young and rebellious (that is up for debate however). For myself, I could say I have grown more discipline and aware of the fact that I grew because I wanted to help myself. I have several avenues of people and ideals which have helped me along the way. School, well that ship I jumped on and finished with a BA in Psychology. The long tireless hours of writing papers, figuring out formulas, and generally socializing with classmates has come. It’s funny because I wrote a few years about how each year has taught me a lesson. This was back in 2013. jump in 4 years later. School took up a bulk of those years from 2013-2017. Now in the present I am a professional in the research world as a coordinator for a study which focuses on physical activity and nutrition. I asked myself this week, just how in the heck did I go from Sales Floor Team Member at Target to Social Science Research Coordinator at Stanford? I present to you the journey that all started back in 2011. That was a pivotal year in my growth and to this day I don’t know where I would be without it. Here is my story in 2011 and how it led me to today:

 

I was sitting at home one evening in 2011 after coming home from work, exhausted and getting ready to watch Monday Night Raw. This was during the buildup to WWE’s World Series WrestleMania. The Rock dazzling the audience, had just returned saying he was back. I had just finished a shift at Target where I was outside talking to a friend about life at work and life at home. The next day after being super excited from my conversation with my friend and the Rock’s return, I realized something was terribly wrong. The pain in my kidneys had returned and I knew what it was. I had kidney stones from a very early age. I made a doctor’s appointment for the next week and they referred me to a specialist thereafter. The nephrologist (name for a kidney specialist) had broken the news to me that I would need to just watch my diet and focus on exercise. Then she told me I had polycystic kidney disease. That day I learned the lesson that telling the brutal honest truth (even if it is coming from a doctor) to someone can be very heartbreaking and can do wonders for the unknown. This has helped me in my journey because I don’t want to be seen as being dishonest whether it is with a professional colleague, if it was during my time in school, or with any of my friends. Ever since, I have focused on keeping my diet steady and working on my physical activity.

 

I have never been shy also in the idea that I do not like asking for help. That year was also when I looked at myself in the mirror and said I had to bunker down and finish school. I have one or two friends who still to this day say “I want back to school” or “school is too hard”. There is that one famous Fight Club scene where Brad Pitt and Edward Norton go into the liquor store and the clerk says he wanted to become a veterinarian. The guy says there was too much school and Brad Pitt’s character says if he wants to die on his knees in the back of a liquor store. I watched that movie over ten years ago and it still sticks with me. The point is, I had nowhere to go but up. I always afraid of math. I would never ask professors for help. I said to myself all you have to do is ask for help. I talked to counselors, friends, and family on what I should do. That one friend who did end up helping me was Ricardo. I had met him almost 3 years prior. To this day on September 2nd 2017 we still talk. I talked about my decision to step away from school for a semester. I wrote about it in detail in the archives available here. The idea that he helped me is why I am forever grateful to him. I didn’t know where to go and how to do it. I know this isn’t the time or place to say so but I almost felt that him helping me on which classes I should take or where I should take those classes are why I succeeded, was almost like a calling card that this guy was meant to help me. I took the necessary classes at San Jose State all the way down to Mission College. To him, the important lesson I learned that it is ok to ask for help even if you don’t necessarily want it. Will you fail? Yes, and accepting that you tried with every bit of your willpower is what got me through. To this day, I have to remind myself that it is ok to ask for help at work, at home, or even from friends when I don’t want to seem pushy with them. I asked from help from a variety of sources that year and without them I am forever grateful.

 

The one thing that I have failed to mention along this long grueling journey is your friends will be there to support you. Whether they choose to see you and hang out with you is a different story. I had a friend named JB not too long ago. I thought the world of him and I can honestly say he knew several things that I did not. He helped me overcome my shyness and how to not be so unapproachable. We have not spoken in 6 years face to face. I’ll never know why or how it happened. I have reached out to him and I have gotten a lukewarm response of “we’ll see” or “I don’t know if I’m going to be busy”. This goes back to friends will see you if they want to see you. Even during this time frame from 2011-2017, I have gained a few friends back and some that I hadn’t heard from in years. I have two friends in particular who I think the world of. I saw them once or twice within this time frame and I never did see them again after. Friends, whether you like it or not have different priorities. One friend may be low priority or high priority depending on how both sides see it. With that I bring to you a story filled with excitement and joy that was brought about by a different source than usual.

 

I was finishing my senior year at San Jose State and during the week I had gotten a text from a friend of my brother’s. My brother had kept in contact with him from time to time. His name is Aldo and he had texted me about an opportunity to work at Stanford School of Medicine. It would be a temp position as a research assistant. I didn’t think much of it. I texted him back the next day that I would love the opportunity. That same weekend, I got the news that my Grandfather had succumbed to Parkinson’s disease and had passed away. I thought the world of him and I never got the chance to say goodbye. I remember driving to the airport (in Sacramento mind you), and my mind was racing with the idea of something new and fresh. A few months prior, I had transferred stores to another Target. The idea behind it was to first be closer to home and to finish out school easier. I also wanted to be close to a friend as well that had recently transferred there. The school year was coming to a close and my college endeavor as an undergrad was as well. Target does prepare you to deal with guests and personalities only a kindergartner could dream of. I still remember the many guest complaints we would get or the occasional obsessive personalities from one manager which I still admire to this day. However, I digress and say I was excited at having a chance at the idea. I fixed up my resume and filled out my application and sent it to my friend Aldo. I got the news the next week I didn’t get it and someone else had filled the position. I had started going to job fairs at school and said maybe that would be the answer. I couldn’t find anything that excited me (although that Walgreens manager did a really good job at selling me on the idea of being a shift leader). That year started off terrible with me being rejected at Stanford and the death of my Grandpa. But, the will of one never resists temptations to move on up. I got a call from Aldo that said I was being called up and I would need to freshen up my resume for an interview. I fixed that up and it was the first time I realized that it was going to take some courage to do this. I nailed the interview (or so I think) and the one thing that helped me was that how well you get along with others will take you far. You can be the smartest guy in the room and even that can get you some heat. I talked about some of the things that make me a good team player as well as the idea that I would need to be on board to help out. I said yes and off I went home. I didn’t think much of it and I went to my brother’s house. I got the e-mail right away that I got hired. I was elated and surprised at the same time. Two days later, I put in my two weeks at Target. As for the departure from Target, it was an experience that I’ll never forget and everybody (even if it’s for a few hours) should work retail. As a research assistant, I had the chance to recruit participants for a physical activity study on the telephone. It was really all about learning the ins and outs of eligibility. We had certain requirements (activity levels and little to no health issues). I did that for nine months and after I graduated I applied for a full time job with the same lab. I was more nervous for this position because of the added responsibilities and extra work load. However, that was not to be and I went in to interview for the position and I was told that I had gotten it a week and half later. For almost two years, I have been working on this study (with 338 participants) and now with the added knowledge that I have, I feel that it has been fulfilling, exciting, and I have made a few friends out of it. I have also gotten to see that help comes from the unknown sometimes and you may not even realize it. To my friend Aldo, I tell him from time to time that if it weren’t from I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I ultimately did it but help comes from the unexpected. Thank you my friend.

 

As I wind this down, I do want to touch on something that has brought me here from 2011 to 2017. My dog Paloma was also instrumental in helping me get here. Last year in July, she was run over and I could not save her. It was a Saturday night and I had decided to for a walk by the 101 freeway by my house. I had crossed the freeway for cars and I was very close to being hit. I barely dodged the car and I looked behind me to see her bloodied from the car that had just passed. My other dog Zorro was behind me and he thankfully survived. I remember being devastated and one person stopped to help. I did not get her name and for all I know she might have done it out of the goodness of her heart. To her I say thank you because she helped me get Paloma off the road. I vividly remember calling everyone from my mom and dad to my brother. My brother was devastated because he brought her in first to the house. She eventually had her son Zorro and I think I see so much of her in him. After I called everyone letting them know what happened, an ambulance stopped by to let me know that Paloma was no longer breathing. This was the hardest day of my life. My dad buried her the next day and I remember seeing a Paloma in the air that day and Zorro staring at it. RIP girl I miss you every day. If there’s anything that helped me get through that year of 2011 in my decision making it was that dog and her ability to cheer me up when things weren’t looking the brightest because of where my head was in terms of finishing school. She was my motivation to be loving and caring to those around me. It also helped me get outside more as well. I was close to her and I think it does help to have pets in your life. Zorro has carried on her legacy fairly well and I cherish that dog every day. I leave you with this everybody

 

I do want to continue writing on this blog and I just need to get my creative juices flowing again. I want to commit to writing at least once a month on here. Where I am now, I can’t say I am completely satisfied because I still want to travel to other places and also to explore more places. This is something that really gets me on my high horse. This has been a good reflective piece to where I am now. Till next time everyone!

Day #97 9/13/11: You know what I’m tired…

Posted on by anele25

This is mom after she had already cooked for us at home. Earlier in the day, my dog’s ear started bothering her but I massaged it for a few minutes and she let out some cries but she was ok once I got back home as my brother, myself, and my mom all took care of my dog. I hung out with my friend Ricky as he talked about his co-worker who ends up telling many lies and he wants to help him out every which way he can. I told him to go for it but then I thought he might be a pathological liar which consists of someone who creates their own reality. I read off some of the possible characteristics of being this type of person and he agreed. We also had some Little Ceasars which was a very good deal at almost 10 bucks for two people. It was an enjoyable experience that went by very fast at about 4 hours. Good day that ended with me trying to figure out why my laptop was so slow.

Day #13 6/21/11: The truth shall set you free…

Posted on by anele25

This was taken around 1:50 in the morning at 24 hour fitness in San Jose off of Hillsdale which will actually be closing down soon to remodel as this was the beginning of the day for me. I decided to come here for my workout of the night because I hadn’t been there for some time. I felt tired but I felt good after because I know I had done a good job. I thought afterwards that I remembered talking to an old friend of mine right here about some issue that I was having with another friend of mine at the time and how it wasn’t good that I had done that. It was strange because I remembered how much drama that was going on almost 2 years ago. It had been started by me and I was also the one that would continue with it because I felt this friend of mine was a liar, a hypocrite, and also just not flat out not a good friend. I thought later to myself that I had been convinced by other outside sources that this guy was not a good friend and I was listening to them instead of to myself. I ended up making up with this friend of mine not long after this which was almost two weeks later which is when we started having these talks about work, life, other drama which was happening, and those talks really opened my eyes to the world I lived in. I may have thought that the truth shall set you free but this is where at the gym that the truth by my old friend was being told to me about life, problems, and other issues. I believed what I wanted to at the time and this will probably be one of the few times I will head out to the gym because in my case it is too far after to head home. Good memories and good times either way as these were once in a lifetime happenings. I also had the opportunity to BBQ with my family after debating whether to cook inside or not because of how hot it was a week ago. We had chicken, hamburgers, and a little bit of steak which capped off a good night which included me and my mom taking my niece to walk the dog.