Resolution Report! 4th installment

Number 4 in my resolution reports. Am I behind? You bet your ass, but these will come out as they have to come out. Period. It’s been a while and a lot of numbers have changed but cans till make further progress, let’s see if I can keep it up til year’s end. Will probably post midway through the month since it's my birth month and want to do this more than once.

PHYSICAL

Bicep Curls
2,010 / 5,000


Butterfly curls
2,010 / 5,000


Pushups
2,010 / 5,000


Sit-ups
4,400 / 10,000


Jumping Jacks
5,900 / 10,000


Squats
3,375 / 10,000


Miles run/walked
3 / 100

Ran two miles on Monday and basically passed out Tuesday night. Gonna try to run/walk again tomorrow. See if I can’t make a habit out of this.

Yoga classes
N/A


Meditation/Reflection/Goal setting hours
3 / 100

Incredible but true, but I’m only in my third hour of this. But will try and put some hours up for this month. Let’s see if I don’t forget as has happened in other occasions.

PROFESSIONAL


Freelance jobs
5 of 10. It’s been kind of slow to say the least. Kinda sucks for me because I could really use the extra cash, but hey, at least I’m getting time to do my own stuff right? Ummm… yeah… I didn’t think so.


Work proposals
2 of 10 approved

8 more in the pipeline

Small ideas approved, the other 8 I’d mentioned before are still in the pipeline.

Work on portfolio
N/A

Haven’t done anything particular for my portfolio and can’t say I’m yearning to do so either. If it happens, great. If not, no skin off my B-hind.

RECAP:
Freelance has been dead for three months, which sucks. Work proposals just aren’t going through because we’ve been so ridiculously swamped with work. Have to make the best out of the next couple that maybe aren’t as insane.


ACTIVITIES:


Surf Sessions
18 / 50

Had a decent surf Sunday, glad for it because I felt lost without a good session under my wing and the one before was pathetic at best.


Swim / bodysurf / water activities
3 / 10

Still at 3, but I can fix this with a couple of weekends of water activities, or that’s what I keep telling myself.

Local tourism
N/A

No plans yet, but actually have info to remedy this. Let’s see if I stop dicking around.

Concerts
0 / 5

Even if I only have one this year, it’s Pearl Jam, so I’m good. And I actually found about some other concerts I might be able to go if I’m lucky… let’s hope for the best.


Trips
0 / 2

Actually going to Philly to watch Pearl Jam… talk about killing two birds with one stone. Can’t waittttttttttt

Writing with Pen & Paper
The book is coming along and I’m penning countless other ideas on a small notebook so I’m doing pretty good on this front, but wish I were doing better, because that would mean my book would be near complete.


Movies
16 / 40


Paul Blart: Mall Cop – I thought this was going to be a gut busting good time. All that ended up getting busted was my wallet from this middle of the road ho hum movie.

Angels and Demons – I still have a review pending on this one on my other blog, I will sum it up by saying that if you’re looking for a faithful book adaptation, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.

The Wrestler – Aronofsky brilliance strikes again. He has a talent to leave your gut wrenched after the final scene of everyone of his movies, but great storytelling is something he’s REALLY strong at.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Just in case, THIS should have been the movie of the year at the Academy Awards. Yes I enjoyed Slumdog, but it’s no Ben Button. Sorry.

Coraline – One of the most gratifying cinematographic experiences in my life. Words can’t begin to describe how much I absolutely adored this movie and as an animation feature it stands tall and proud among the elite, often times surpassing movies that made five times as much money.

Slumdog Millionaire – Great movie. Predictable at times, but great. Good music (good not great). Interesting cinematography, feel good story. Bollywood has never had such a Hollywood ending or Hollywood has never had such a Bollywood feel. I’m still debating which way is right.

Watchmen – A big blue penis could not take away from the fabulous acting of some of the most memorable comic book characters never to have been to an mutant academy.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – THE definition of a Popcorn movie. Fast pace, rushed storyline, great special effects, good fights, and some plot holes thrown in for good measure. All in all, a good two and half star movie.

Star Trek – holy mama… let’s just sum this up by asking why wasn’t JJ Abrams hired to film the Last 3 Star Wars.

Harry potter and the Half Blood Prince – Slow paced… visually amazing but much more than a movie, it’s a visual companion to the books. Fans will love, casual fans will be confused, haters will keep hating.

Transformers 2 – Rise of the Fallen: WOW… this movie was all over the place and I can’t help but think they wanted to condense three movies into one… and it didn’t work.

Public Enemies – My expectations were so ridiculously high that it’s natural that I felt the movie blew… It’s not a terrible flick… but it just didn’t click with me on any levels and by the end, I was thinking how to pull off a Dillinger Escape while maintaining my dignity intact.

The Hangover – Pure solid screwed up gold. I laughed from start to finish and loved every second of this new reason for not wanting a Bachelor Party.

The Proposal – I was actually surprised I laughed so much in this over par chick flick. Don’t let the nature of the movie fool you, it’s funny, interesting, random and actually quite a lot of fun.

Land of the Lost – Ok so I was the only one in the theater having a super blast… sue me, but I loved this flick for it’s B movie goodness.

Up – Just the movie I wanted to see… very fun, and very beautiful visually and let me soar up as high as five million helium balloons would allow.

Watch DVD’s I’ve bought

Lost Seasons 1-4 (Already on Season 5) – Deliciously addictive.

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life – A true comedy classic showing just how smart stupid can be.

Twin Peaks series (both seasons+pilot) – Weird, campy, odd, interesting and definitely worth a second watch, if only to transcribe the log lady intros.

Pi – So real and weird it’s scary. Aronofsky in Black and white. Brilliant.

Escape from New York – Kurt Russell and John Carpenter can do no wrong… well in the 80’s at least.

Inland Empire – If you don’t like Lynch, there is nothing here for your enjoyment. Turn on the weird and tune out the world.

Growing Up – Concert by Peter Gabriel… simply amazing… as usual. Great music, hell of a stage, wonderful show. Nuff said.

Soda Stereo Unplugged – Hell of a concert movie… Two thumbs wayyyy up

Videogames finished
10 / 20


Zakk and Wikki – Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure – Wii – One of the most enjoyable videogaming experiences in my life. Odd, quirky and one of the games that best makes use of the Wiimote.

Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes – Game Cube – Great game, classic storyline, steep learning curve and just plain fun.

Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty – PS2 – Weirder storyline than the first game but better controls overall.

Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater – PS2 – Best MGS I’ve played and I one of my 3 favorite boss fights ever in gaming. Memorable characters, great score, revamped controls, added features and more MGS fun than you can shake your silenced stick at.

Kingdom Hearts – It took me two years to finally decide to finish this game. Not bad at all, but for some reason I just found it hard to even want to finish the damn thing.

Final Fantasy 1 – Throwback RPG that will try your patience regarding redundant battles and possibly the weakest game ending I’ve ever been exposed to.

Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy – Great platforming is not easy to do and standing out is even harder but Jak’s first installment made an excellent impression on me. Fun gameplay, great graphics and just fun to play through.

Jak 2 – huge world but lack of direction takes away from this title. Much more engrossing and much more serious storyline but still very solid. My main problem was the whole hovercraft torture of the game.

Jak 3 – Takes all the problems from Jak 2 and SOLVES them. Rarely have I seen a sequel be THAT responsible in addressing all issues regarding a previous installment. The best, funniest, tightest and more entertaining Jak in the series.

Final Fantasy IV – CLASSIC RPG that truly made my day to joy. THAT was the throwback RPG I needed to play to get me in the mood of loving games again.

Currently on – Final Fantasy VI

Books read
8/20 – Read some random books, all over the place, but enjoying the reads.


2nd book of The Bartimeus Trilogy – The Golem’s Eye – Good continuation to the story but not as good as the first one.

3rd book of the Bartimeus Trilogy – Ptolemy’s Gate – A hell of an ending and the no holds barred installment of the story. Great character development, interesting twists and an ending that will have you nodding in approval, even if it is anything but Hollywood.

The Wind in the Willows – A book most people should read for the exercise of character development especially in the characters of Badger, Mole and of course, that crazy Toad. Not to forget the Water Rat, but the other characters were very complete and it was amazing to read since this is a kid’s story with all the limitations seen in most children’s book (mainly skipping months in three lines and not having a good grasp on timing).

Fahrenheit 451 – Scary how this reads like it was written yesterday. Brilliant book though the ending drags a bit. One of those books whose brilliance stems from the development much more than the ending.

Angels and Demons – Better movie than Da Vinci, but lesser a book. Some lines and scenes read like something a teenager would write to be honest. If you hate me for saying that, by all means defend the Helicopter jump scene or the last line of the book. I dare you.

Nightwatch – Excellent sci-fi fantasy read. Very different narrative and very fresh ideas from a brilliant mind from Russia.

Joker’s Asylum – Great compilation of tales of the Joker. More fuel to my crazed love for this delightful villain.

Hardy Boys – I needed to finally understand all the jokes I hear from the Hardy Boys. To put it lightly, these books are Scooby-Doo sans dog, munchie desiring hippie, hottie and lesbian. I swear I felt dumber once I read this train wreck.

Currently on – Thus Spake Zarathustra – Nietzche… yeah I’m weird like that. Going from a graphic novel, to Hardy Boys, to Nietzche. This book is brilliant by the way.



Playing guitar

Actually been playing guitar a lot more recently and I’m really happy about that.


ACQUISITIVE:


Get new computer

My comp is up and running, and I’m a cheery bugger. New antivirus and a cleanup means being connected to the world without a super inversion.


Net connection

Loving the DSL, it’s so fast, and sexy. I’d have its children.


Digital recorder

No news on this, might wait to buy a comp for that, but still on my mind. Let’s see what I do.

Digital Camera

Still haven’t bought a cam.. I suck…


MONETARY


Save Money

On my way to my bank account to siphon money into my savings account. Baby steps… baby steps


Payments
Still everything’s on time, but working to further promote that.


Mom’s cakes
Officially need to reestablish my relationship with this project.



Donations
A few bucks here and there but no new contribution. Still up $200 and looking to offer some extra cash to another cause… will keep posted if there’s news on this.


KNOWLEDGE:

Learn / record songs
Have continued writing songs, but haven’t recorded anything… dang…


Learn Random Info
I’d forgotten about this and maybe I’ll use it to reach my quota. I’d said I’d look for random info and make random posts that probably no one will read, but will be a fun write for me.


Read the news
Still reading, learning, and living large.


Retake French
July ended and still no French book.. to be honest, this has definitely taken a back seat… let’s see if I can get my poo poo together.



Dance classes
Still haven’t look into that info… have to see what I do with this.



WRITING:


WAS posts
103 / 200

Past the 100 mark, which is a good sign even if there are only 5 months to go in the year. But hey, I’m sure I can pull it off.


Posts in other blogs
21 +8 / 100

Keeping quite busy in the blog writing sense of the word. This is one of three blogs, the others being Why Advertising Sucks and Laser Eater. I’m always writing on WAS but Laser Eater I have it a bit forgotten, have to change that ASAP but since I can’t write at work, then it becomes a bit harder because I don’t always get home with the urge to rant.

Finish book
Finished chapter 38. Very interesting the twists the book demands from my brain and how I just go along with it. Halfway through Chapter 39, let’s see if we can’t finish up that puppy this week. Having said that now, I probably jinxed myself.


Write short stories
0 / 10
Still at zero… have to switch tactics on myself… any suggestions… oh wait, I forgot that pretty much no one reads this blog lol. Oh well. I like being schizo like this.

Essay project
0 / 20
Zero for 20… nice… sometimes it’s impressive how much I suck.



Draft story arcs
0 / 3
I will quit dicking around with this and will organize myself during the month of August… that is an additional resolution.


WAS Movie
Still pending
Let’s baby step this one ok? There’s just a lot of stuff I really have to focus on.

Progress reports
4/ 12
Because of connection and comp issues, I’ve lazed off quite a bit so I will have to make mid month reports just to be able to accomplish this goal.


Standup piece
N/A – Still haven’t found a place to put this in agenda. Actually want to re-read what I wrote and see if I can’t get inspired and rant a little more and finish the damn thing.


Be more positive
Glimpses of the old self have come around, but for the most part staying positive and making lemonade as often as possible. Some days it gets to be too much and my patience wears thin, but I guess that’s just me being intolerant to an otherwise kick-ass existence.



Forgive people
Actually got to speaking terms with one of the people that had won my scorn. Interesting interaction to be honest, let’s see how long it lasts.


Negative energy
Work has been kind of crazy and the corporate BS has gotten to me on more than one occasion, but with a change of outlook and a little prescription strength fukitol, anything is possible.


Loving my fiancée

I work hard to make her smile and enjoy life. She’s one of the greatest inspirations in my life and I can’t help but be thankful I’m marrying my muse. Love you darling.