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Sunday, May 22, 2016
"Beer Money" apps and programs have provided me with over $200/month in passive income
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Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Stand Your Ground Without Destroying the Ground Others Stand On
The post of ridiculing that which seems ridiculous is literally promoting a negative behavior due to differences in beliefs. Again, I responded to the person who posted this picture. He said that we should ridicule and point out the errors of other peoples beliefs. How else are they going to come to the realization that he is right and they are wrong? I told him it is bullying to make fun of someone in order for them to think they are wrong. There are groups and organizations who abuse the privilege of freedom of speech(KKK, Neo-Nazis, and other actual hateful organizations). They make fun of others beliefs or ways of life because it is different and therefor inferior to their own. I posted two definitions:
According to Wikipedia: Bullying is the use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can include VERBAL HARASSMENT or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed repeatedly towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of class, race, religion, gender, sexuality, appearance, behavior, or ability.
Ridicule: the act of making fun of someone or something in a CRUEL or HARSH WAY: harsh comments made by people who are laughing at someone or something (http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/ridicule[1])
We do not have to harm or offend others in order to be who we are and believe what we want. This country is built to protect our rights as human beings to live how we want, be who we want, and say what we want. It doesn't mean that in order for our rights to be protected, we have to attack those of others.
I have friends who are gay or straight, Jewish or Christian, men and women, different colors, backgrounds, and lifestyles. I love and respect them and their differences. They know my beliefs and lifestyle as well. I disagree on many points with some of them. They disagree with me on many points as well.
These differences should not be dividing lines between anyone. We are all human. We are all imperfect. What good does it to pushing others away and calling them out on their mistakes or your opinion of their alleged ridiculous beliefs? There are actual bad people out there that need to be called out for their actual crimes and not bickering amongst ourselves for things like religion, sexual preference, etc.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Does a double negative make a positive? It does in math!
I have been going through a lot of changes. Employment, places we lived, and figuring myself out. I figured out one of my struggles was not feeling like I could be myself around people out here. I would watch cartoons and read comics behind closed doors. I didn't get to talk much with anyone because I worried about being made fun of. Steph had a hard time trying to be accepting but she had her own interests, which I hypocritically would make fun of. She's a hippie, how can I not make fun of that?
I will say my record stands of never being unemployed for more than two weeks, ever. I lost my job at Sharma-Crawford (immigration law firm), Kiewit (a construction company), quit Shook Hardy & Bacon, and quit Devkota Law Firm. I had stayed employed with the Dream Works. I don't know how, or why, but in attempts to quit, or get fired, they begged me to come back. In all honesty, it is a good company, and they are doing their best to support people with disabilities, special needs, and the elderly.
And as for where we have been living, I struggle because nothing has seemed permanent. I want to buy a house because I can do what I want with it. I love to build, destroy, and build again. I have sketches and plans of the perfect man cave. A man cave so epic, it will be spoken of in legend hundreds of years from now. Until then, it's hard to call any house a home.
But the two struggles I really had were my identity and my employment.
First, my identity is something that had, many times since being married, been put into question. Not from my wife, or anyone else I have come to know, since being married. But from myself. As a husband, can I go out and spend hours at a comic book store? Or go to midnight premiers of movies? Or have alone time?
It wasn't noticeable at first. I loved spending time with my wife. We went to the movies together, we watched shows together, we went to parties and game nights(old people card games...), and we had fun. But almost a year into it, I found myself wanting to have my own time, to watch my shows, read my books, or just relax alone. It was scary at first cause I thought I was losing touch with the marriage I signed up for. But the universe was looking out for me. That same summer, movies like Thor, X-Men First Class, Captain America, Transformers 3, and others, were released. I found myself conversing with people about these movies, about others coming out the following year, what different things in each movie meant, etc. I suddenly found myself not worrying about who I am or what I liked anymore. Even my wife had the patience one day to listen to me explain the backgrounds of each character of the Avengers.
I became an open nerd. It was glorious! I make no comparison to what it must be like for someone with a different internal struggle to come out into the open about it and not sure how people will take it. But I could be myself. I stopped worrying about how others felt. I realized I was really happy. Like a giddy happy that doesn't go away because this is a passion I get to enjoy and be a part of in all aspects of my life. It has also opened up my mind a lot more. Not as much as the effects my death still have on me, but it was significant.
I have been a Superman fan. I have thousands of comics and took great efforts to collect them. Many are rare and valuable and are somewhat hidden gems because they show things about Superman that few people know. There are a lot of amazing lessons to be learned from these fictional characters. Which leads into the second struggle.
Employment. Who isn't struggling? Whether it is struggling with the job you have or the job you are looking for, we all struggle. Losing a job takes a toll on even the most confident man. Doubts sink in so deep, and it affects any future job. Being treated poorly at a job will affect how you look at any future job you have should you be fortunate enough to escape the abusive job. Loving a job and losing it hurts.
I thankfully chose to leave Shook and Devkota law firms. One was full of rumor spreading and politics. The other was unorganized, not being handled like a business, and very unstable. It was hard and scary leaving these jobs because I didn't have a backup plan.
I got a call from a temp agency. I am not a fan because working as a temp, you are treated differently. You aren't a part of the team. You have to fight harder than the rest to even be considered an existing component. But we scheduled an interview. I met with the temp agency first. The lady interviewing me was bubbly and energetic, but she had a look that told me she meant business and would break me down to my core to find out if who I am is worth what they are paying.
I got a second interview. Normal interviews are very cut throat, competitive, straight forward. Normal interview questions are mind games and we all hate them. We lose sleep trying to figure out how to answer them in a way that will make us stick out better than the hundreds of others competing for the same job.
This interview was different. It was special. One I will never forget. One I will hold dear to my heart. It started out serious. Normal series of painful questions. But something happened. At first it was a smirk to one of my answers. Then it grew into talking about a dance off to show who was a bigger nerd in the office. All of a sudden I felt like I had come home. I met the supervising attorney, the team lead, the manager, and the HR manager. All of them have personality, spark, and their own nerdiness and geekiness. It was unbelievable how fun the interview was. It barely qualifies as an interview as much as it was a round table of laughter, discussing the finer points of superheroes, etc. I still doubted if I was going to be hired or not, but I knew I had the best time during that hour with them. I wanted it to happen again.
A few days later I got the call and was hired as a temp. Never had a temp job gone by so fast. Before I knew it, I was a full-time employee with the company. I had been given a different position, not a move up, but a lateral move which at this time, in my opinion, was the a great step towards the possibility of moving up. I love this job. I love showing up early and leaving late so that I can spend more time with the people there.
I was recently nominated as Employee of The Quarter. I haven't been there a year. It amazes me. During team meetings, I have some of the best stats. I keep asking for more work. They are an influence in my life that I can't really explain well. My desk is literally a mini Man Cave. I have Superman and other nerdy stuff hanging up around my desk. During the week of the premiere of Man of Steel, they showed me support and were excited more for me than the movie itself. I got to dress up as Superman the day of the pre-screening and showed off my cape. The look on their faces was a memory I will cherish and hold onto. I felt like I could really fly.
Above all, and what has made my journey worth it, through all the struggles, is finding out I am going to be a father. It's a girl! I think about what I will do with my daughter and how much I will do my best to support my wife and help her during the pregnancy and when our little girl is born. We fight over names and parenting techniques, but this girl is going to be the first to represent what my wife and I are together. I don't even know her name and I love her. I don't know what she will look like, and I love her. I don't know what life she will lead, and I love her. I do know she will be with parents who will do our bests for her, even when we are still figuring out what we are doing.
There are so many stories to tell, and more details that had to be left out so you wouldn't get bored and stop reading. But I will do my best to find the opportunity to tell them. But for now, the math has been in my favor, as much as I didn't like the negatives that got me here.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wizard Con Chicago 2012
So up until 10 months ago or so, I had not read a single comic, bought any collectibles, not been in any meaningful discussions about the complicated issue of if Han Solo shot first or not. In being married, I admit that to a degree, there is a loss of identity. My wife picked out my clothes, fed me her foods, cleaned my messes, did my laundry, washed my dishes, and took it upon herself to take over my desires to work hard.
But something amazing happened. Something so wonderful and exciting, that it shook the very foundations of the life established for Stephanie and I. I got a Man Cave. I had personal space. I had my own messes to clean. I had a place to put my comics for easy access. I had a place to watch my shows. I had a place to spread my wings.
As the Man Cave helped me grow, I began to make friends with people of similar interests and hobbies. Conversations of what the next Star Trek movie will be like, and how DC Comics New 52 Universe has made Superman more of a jerk than a humble farm boy. And let's not forget that I now know how to dress in clothes of my choosing which also seem to be on the approved list my wife has.
That very summer was a huge summer for comic book related movies. Stephanie and I went to most every one of them, even midnight premieres. It was during those movies that she got to see a part of a world I once knew and loved.
A few months ago, Stephanie and I had talked about being ok with our individuality and our differences of interests and hobbies. I finally convinced her to give me permission to start going to comic book stores again. I was having guys nights more. I even started a group on Facebook called Always Nerds, Never Hipsters.
I read different blogs about movies, TV shows, comics, and other assorted things. I have always been into what happens at comic book conventions. San Diego Comic Con was going on and I had been reading all the events and announcements, and even shed a tear watching the two versions of the trailer for Superman: Man of Steel. I had promised myself that I will go to comic book conventions and start enjoying some of the fun events going on.
Roth and I met when Stephanie and her friend, Jamie, wanted to do a double date. He and I talked about WWF, no called WWE for legal reasons, some of the movies we had seen, and other topics that Stephanie and Jamie quickly zoned out of. We decided we would go to Chicago's comic con together.
Day 1 of Wizard Con, as it is sometimes known, was an overwhelming, exciting, and fun time. We met John Cena, a WWE wrestler. We went to all the different booths selling comics, toys, memorabilia, movie props, etc. I bought a kryptonite crystal like the one on the first Superman movie. The one he throws into the ice in the North Pole and it creates the Fortress of Solitude. I also got to meet George Perez, who is a comic book artist that has done cover art for different comics.
I walked around to meet a few other famous people including: Avery Brookes, who played Captain Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Kevin Sorbo, who played Hercules on the same named TV show; Lou Ferrigno, who played the Incredible Hulk in the old TV series of the same name; Kevin Nash, aka Diesel on WWE years ago.
We got to a friends house where we were staying for the weekend. I was so exhausted and didn't realize how much pain my feet were in from all the walking. We went to Mr Beefy's and stuffed ourselves with their fine cuisines!
Day 2: We met and got pictures with William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on the Star Trek original series. He didn't say much but we shook his hand and I said my mom and dad say hi and are extremely jealous of me. He told me to tell them "hi back"; Dean Cain, who played Superman on Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman. We watched him help people to the photo op room and hug people and act like an all around cool guy. He was a lot of fun to talk with. He asked about what kind of Superman shirt I was wearing. I explained the storyline of Blackest Night and how Superman had become a zombie. He said he would like to play that Superman sometime. And we got to meet and get pictures with Stan Lee, one of the biggest creators of the Marvel characters like Spider-man, Iron Man, etc. He didn't say much but we didn't care. We got to meet STAN LEE!!!!!
In between photo ops with them, we went around taking pictures of and with others in amazing costumes, also known as cosplay. It's amazing the details and effort put into some of the cosplay people wore. I bought a few more collectibles as well. A Star Trek phaser from the original series, a few Superman toys, and a Star Trek: The Next Generation combadge pin.
Day 3: We met CM Punk, another WWE wrestler. He looked tired. I didn't care. He was still funny and nice to everyone. He was also helpful with some of the special needs fans. He is also a Chicago native who promotes being awesome without having to do drugs or drink. After the photo op with him, we took it easy, taking a few more pictures with cosplay people and then heading home.
Mom and Dad, I met Captain Kirk and Captain Sisko! Scott Bakula was there, but I don't consider Star Trek Enterprise an actual valid Star Trek series, hence he is not a Star Trek captain.
And so this story ends, I have found my place among the humans. I know more about who I am, and my place in the world. I thank my wife mostly. She doesn't always understand my interests or hobbies, but she does everything she can to support me and make sure I enjoy what I do. Being married to her is the ultimate high of my "nerd" career. What more could a nerd like me ask for than a beautiful, tall, red headed goddess?

Monday, February 7, 2011
The Wonderful World of Wii
We recently adquired a wiifit game. I got it cause the balance board can be used in a bunch of other games. But then I tried the wiifit game itself.
I have never been so amazed as I was that first time at how distracting and fun they make that game. You don't realize you're working out until you step off the board sweating and catching your breath.
Citlali and I have now begun a regimen of working out on that thing daily. I am a lot better at her in hoolahoop and the obstacle course while she womps me on some of the yoga and boxing games. I am put to shame even more when we compare our scores overall.
Little does she know, I am practicing really hard to beat all her high scores before she plays again. Then she will know that I am the champion!!!!!!