Mike's Daily Planet

My anti-workoholic quest

2009-11-07T16:00:00.001-08:00

Usually I am notorious for working all the frickin time. Some think I am just obsessed with working. In actuality, I either can't turn my brain off or I figure I might as well be productive and earn money for my family instead of just sitting around when my wife is at work. Not that sitting around is bad because relaxing is important, but let's be honest, today's economy is tough and I work in the arts so there ain't a lot of money there.

But this isn't about how much I work, it's about me not working and what I'm doing. Today I'm having a lazy day and then I'm going to my first professional hockey game tonight. Last night we were joth pretty tired, but decided on a whim to run up to LA to see a musical (yay for $20 tickets!). Had a fun movie night last week with friends, spent the weekend in Santa Barbara to celebrate our anniversary and attended a fun Halloween party the weekend before that.

This isn't necessarily a play by play of my daily activities, but a renewed commitment to get more out of life than just working. Paying the bills is important, but I don't want to grow older like Adam Sandler in "Click." This is also about me trying to get away from always having the same date with my wife, dinner and a movie.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still work more than I should and more than many other people. But perhaps I'll be able to continue doing more. So hey friends who may read this - what are you doing? Wanna get together?

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New place to live

2009-10-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, I haven't blogged in a while and if I don't write something soon, my friend Ginger will keep giving me a hard time.

So, what is there to talk about? Well Dalisa and I have finally decided we need to find a new place to live. Ideally we'd love to buy a house, but that's not in the cards right now. That leaves us looking for a house to rent or a new apartment. But after years of apartment living, I'm pretty picky. I can't stand apartment complex living anymore. No buildings with 10 apts together! Dishwasher is a must! Need parking for two cars! A/C is a must! Add to that a preference for washer-dryer hookups and pet-friendly, in Orange County, and you've got yourself a hell of a search for something affordable...

We spent hours searching online the other day and came up with a few properties. I called all of them today and we're down to three after eliminating some falsely advertised pricing and undesirable amenities. D and I visited two tonight and really like one of them. Downside - no dogs and no washer-dryer hookups. Plusses - good layout and size, lots of closet space, nice neighborhood (i.e. no tamale ladies!), and it pretty much meets every other criteria. So, do we keep looking or don't look a gifthorse in the mouth?

To be continued...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What a historic event, yeah right!!

2009-01-22T00:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, let me start by saying that I voted for Barack Obama and I am happy that he is our new president. He has a lot of work ahead of him and I truly hope that he can make a dent in the negative situation our country currently resides in.

Now, on to my actual topic. In regards to Obama winning the campaign and becoming our nation's newest president - everyone keeps praising how amazing it is to have elected an African-American president and what a momentous occasion it is - well bull crap!! Americans are kidding themselves if they think that we're so amazing to finally have a non-Caucasian president, when in fact, we're so far behind the ball. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's president, but think about it - it took 100 years after Lincoln abolished slavery for us to even grant African-Americans equal rights, and now it's amazing that 40 years later we have an African-American president?! Come on!!

We're scores behind other developed nations in this regard and it's a big joke to me when Americans claim how much better we are and what world leaders we are. We are a world leader because of our money, not because of our political prowess (at least not recently), and now the economy's faltering too! I digress, I'll stay away from our economy. Our political system is the most ridiculous system; one is often forced to chose between the lesser of two evils because two major parties control the system. Many other developed nations, in Europe for example, have multi-party systems and a much more realistic representation of its citizens, and although corruption is not limited to our system, it's certainly a lot harder to avoid when you only have one other choice!

I, for one, am glad that Obama so eloquently communicated that, "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

Americans whine and complain that they want the government to do more for them, but then complain when taxes are levied to pay for it. They want the government's help when the going gets tough, but then fault the government for getting too involved. Again, look at some of our European friends; there are countries that have national health care, education (primary through university), etc. but they pay 18% tax to pay for it. So, would we rather pay more taxes to have national health care coverage or pay insurance premiums and deductibles on our own? Sorry, I'm getting off topic again...

When are the people of this country going to realize that we need to be realistic about our racism and sexism in every day life? This country was established (Native Americans aside, no offense) as a melting pot, and the promise of the American Dream still prevails today. That means we're always going to have immigrants with different skin colors, cultures, religions, etc., etc., etc.!!! Don't get me wrong, I support legal immigration and deportation of illegal immigrants, but let's get off our high horse about the historic event of finally having an African-American president, and come to grips with embracing the wonderful diversity that makes up our great nation and start having our political system actually mirror the population of this country instead of the rich folk that can get themselves elected!!

The Joys of Marriage

2008-09-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

Now perhaps I am still living in the bliss of "newlywed-ism," but I just have to share how amazing it is to be married to a great person. When I met Dalisa seven years ago, I never had the inclination that we would end up together and I wasn't even sure when we began dating six years ago. We dated for four years before I even proposed, not because I was trying to delay commitment, but because with the high rate of divorce I wanted to make sure that we were not entering into such an important part of our lives lightly.

We have been married for almost three months and I love it! We both have very full schedules and often don't see each other until 10 at night and we only have one full day off together each week. I never quite expected this, but I am so happy we did our pre-marital counseling because it helped us discuss everything before we got married. Now we seem to be on the same page 90% of the time - we both help each other out and take care of each other.

For example, right now we're both sitting in our living room having just finished a spaghetti dinner - she's watching TV and I'm playing on the computer. If we want to hang out with our friends, it's cool, not an issue. I'm just babbling because I don't know if I can accurately express the "amaze-za-zing-ness" of our relationship. I thank God every day that we're together and I know it's only the beginning!

Reality TV & the Lost Art of the Sitcom

2008-09-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I would like to take a moment to discuss the intervention-worthy obsession of reality TV viewers. I don't personally care for reality TV, but in my household several are viewed including Project Runway, Sheer Genius, John & Kate Plus 8, America's Next Top Model, etc., etc. This doesn't include the countless many shows that are not regulars, but nonetheless get screen time in between the others! One of my co-workers swears he watches upwards of TWENTY reality shows!! Considering most are an hour long each, that's 20 hours of reality TV each week!!

I think it's the fact that I don't choose to watch other "real people's" drama on TV. Now, there can be some good moments on reality TV (like Extreme Home Makeover), but let's face it, most of these shows are appealing because they allow viewers to engage in dramatic voyeurism. I'm not sure if viewers feel comforted that they're not the only ones with drama in their lives, if it's a way to escape their own personal drama, or if it's a way to feel better about themselves because after viewing people on TV their own lives don't seem that bad, but it's certainly not appealing to me.

There are too many shows for me to generalize the true nature of the reality show, I guess it boils down to me being a fan of the lost art of sitcom. What is a sitcom you may ask yourself - well, they're those shows that used to be much more popular and made fun of life - hence the term sitcom. Yes, in a way you're still watching "other people's" lives, but it's fake, over-exaggerated and usually funny. Granted, many sitcoms are the same situations being used repeatedly with slight variations and they can get old fast. Good sitcoms are a dime a dozen and I'm sure that's the real reason that reality shows are so popular - there something for everyone; clothing design, intervention, interior design, shopping, cooking, etc.!

I guess television includes many different types of shows along the pendulum's path between reality and fiction - and if reality is liberal and fictional is conservative, then I definitely swing to the right.