What it feels like

I like to give money to those who are less fortunate and every now and then I give some change to a homeless person when they ask for spare change. Lately it seems like I have been asked for spare change every day and it is gotten annoying. Sometimes I do not even feel like a person, I feel like homeless people view me as their own ATM. It is all I am, the world's ATM.

I know home less people do not really think that of people with money but when one is asked for money time and time again it starts to become dehumanizing.

I did not have a shirt so I wore a blanket

About a week ago I was teasing a co-worker about her fashion sense. She was wearing a dress & jeans and was trying to explain to me it was fashionable for women these days. I told her she looked like a crazy homeless person who just robbed an thrift store. After I teased her a bit I told her I would come to work the next day looking as unfashionable as she did.

The next day I work a bright colored African shirt, a blanket over my jeans, and boxers on my head. It was causual Friday so it was okay but I was so out of character everyone in my office noticed. My supervisor repeated asked me if something was wrong. A couple girls came & took pictures with me, I think they posted them on Facebook. It is funny how doing one thing different can throw off so many people and cause them to weird out a bit.

Office people...sometimes you just have to mess with them.

Free Showtime!

Just tonight I caught some ad about Showtime having a week of free programing! I only mention it is I do not have Showtime and it is the channel that has one of my favorite shows...Dexter. Tonight I caught up on the first third of Season 6. Now only if I can finish it & get through Season 7 by the end of this week!

I was planning on enjoying quiet time and working on some writing & reading projects as well as my taxes. Maybe I will get to those this weekend!

Life of Pi & Gangster Squad

Life of Pi
I finally saw the last movie that was nominated for an academy award which was the Life of Pi! It was an original story and done well but I am not sure what to think of it. It had some memorable lines and nice life lessons. The special effects were amazing and the acting was spot on. The ending left me wondering a bit and I am not sure I got the point of the movie let alone what to make of it. It was fun and a nice change of pace so I must recommend it for those qualities & if one is tired of watching typical action, comedy, or drama then try the Life of Pi.

Gangster Squad
The story is great and the charactors were all solid & well sketched out. It starts off great and is easy to follow with good twists. Eventually it does lead to a predictable ending and there is not much new ground covered. The scenes were amazing and how they managed to capture that area is phenomenal so I recommend it for those aspects as well. I was left wanting more from the movie than interesting photage of L.A. from the 1940's and strong performances. I saw it at the cheap theaters and recommend seeing it there.

Giving back to the community

I like to give money to the homeless who sell papers & attend fund raisers when I can. I like giving back to those who are less fortunate and feel it is important. It helps me remember how much I have and how my needs are met. It also gives me a place to gauge my perspective about material possessions.

This weekend a coworker of mine organized a sandwich making event for the homeless. He rented a place and invited over a hundred people. He provided the bread, bags, and organized a trip to the Denver Homeless Shelter so we could give out the food we prepared. I did not have much time that day so I could only show up to make a few sandwichs. I showed up to find an empty hall that could easily hold five to six hundred people filled with small groups of people around tables & making sandwichs and bagging them. Many moms with their children were present and I was able to talk with a few and they were all very down to earth and wanting to impress on their children how much they had & the value of charity. It was a great thing to be a part of and I wish I could have stayed longer.

I like some reality TV shows

I use to watch Bad girls...I won't say any more about the show.

Lately I have been watching a show on Spike called the World's Worst Tenants. The host is a no nonsense, take control guy who was a marine. He is entertaining and is joined by his wife & a coworker who also is former military. I love watching them deal with rowdy tenants who are disrespectful by breaking laws & destroying property. Maybe I like to see people get their just desserts or maybe I like seeing to see tenants behave badly.

I also rent and consider myself a great tenant. Rent is paid on time every month, no parties & I do not have many guests over, I am quiet, I take care of the property owner's plants and clean their house from time to time. Maybe seeing other renters behave badly makes me feel good about how responsible I am?

Maybe...or maybe a camera crew that follows eviction specialists as they deal with & evict problem renters is entertaining.

Being Irish & not celebrating St Patty's day

I don't spend much time thinking about my roots or my ancestors. Not sure if many people do but I do not feel connected to my heritage so I do not dwell on it (maybe if I did think about it or study it more I would feel connected to it and want to know more about it? - I can play devil's advocate with myself). The other day I was talking with a friend about St Patrick's day and how she is going to the parade down town and wanted to go to a bar for a kegs & eggs event with some of her friends. She even had a shirt in honor of St Patrick's day. I asked her if she was Irish and she said no. She just liked to drink and this day was a reason for her to go party.

I did not say much else. I forget if I told her I am Irish. I know that drinking is a part of the Irish heritage or idea of what Irish heritage is about BUT I know there is A LOT more to being Irish than drinking. I never make jokes or light of other people's heritage or culture and never use it as an excuse to party. I have often wondered what it feels like to be of a certain culture and have someone say or do something that is not disrespectful but very naive maybe even ignorant. I now know what that feels like...

The more I think about it I realize two things, the person I was speaking with is not a bad person and was not trying to be disrespectful, she is very young and immature. The more I realize what she did bothers me the more I must admit I do hold a certain loyalty to my heritage, regardless of whether I learn about it or not.

Odd revelations

Why is when I need a flash light because I think it is an emergency I can remember where I hid my flashlight but everytime I misplace my car keys, wallet, cell phone, etc., etc., I search for twenty minutes before finding it? I hate that...

I miss teaching & coaching

I use to be involved in a martial arts class growing up. I stayed in it for years and eventually would be given students to teach and eventually after I advanced in the ranks enough I would even teach classes. I was a stickler about technique, I would have students go over and over a move to make sure they understood how to execute it correctly.

I left that class while in college which was over twelve years ago. From time to time, over the years, I have met boxers & kick boxers who were interested in sparring or sharing techniques. It was fun and a few of the sessions were run like an martial arts school but a few guys felt more comfortable if it was more low key. Nothing formal, no work out, just a couple guys sharing pointers about how to hit & strike someone.

A couple years ago a friend of mine & I starting talking about martial arts and he has a background. He knew I was in a class and took lessons for years so he wanted me to critique him and help him with some of his techniques. After one session of working on his boxing skills he saw immediate results and has come to me for advice & assistance with his class. He teaches classes for a few youth he mentors (he works with youth through sports programs). He invited me to teach with him from time to time and I have worked with his kids off and on for a few months but I lost touch with him and became busy with work. We have reconnected lately and he is excited to have me work with his kids again. Today I went and worked with them and I was able to help one kid with his kicks. After a couple drills he saw immediate improved results. While I was leaving my friend told me he missed having me in class and there is a need for me to help out. I realized it is something I can & am willing to do.

I get to instruct martial arts again!

My new favorite show

One of my favorite comedians is Anthony Jeselnik. I have not seen much of his stand up but I have seen him on a few roasts on comedy central. He has dark & cruel humor which I like. His new show is called The Anthony Jeselnik Offensive and I recommend checking it out IF you like mean, cruel humor where anything is made fun of and picked on.

Discovery while dealing with frustrations

Last night I was reading a book and it talked about taking things personally. Today I realized while working that I personalize the things that frustrate me and by choosing to not take it personally I was able to work through and deal with many things that would normally frustrate me to the point of rage or being out of control. I was amazed at how much easier the stress is to deal with when I do not take things personally.

I have know it is easy to deal with stressful situations and frustrating occurrences when I do not take it personally but it is another thing to practice it while in a stressful situation and see results. I have always thought I was good at not taking things personally but I know I am not great at that and do need to learn to lighten up a bit. It is easy for me to be overly serious or intense. I need to get back to laughing at myself and not taking myself so seriously. Why is it with age & hard work that I loose those wonderful qualities?

Another one...

While taking my shoes off last night I found another Cherrio on my bedroom floor. I am convinced a group of children sneak into my room while I am away and eat cereal! Maybe it is a group of teenagers, or adults, or senior citizens!

On second thought it can not be senior citizens because they would be eating something with fiber and not a Cherrio's. They would also drop more than the piece of cereal, like a pair of dentures.

Cana Wine Bar

I have not always been the type who goes out on a weekend. I am not interested in painting the town red, as they say. I'd rather hangout with a small group of friends, have dinner, work out, or be somewhere a bit more quiet, maybe read or watch a movie. I keep it low key. It may not always be low key....

Friends of mine opened a wine bar on South Broadway Near Harvard & Vassar. If you are in Denver and want to spend time in a small hip place with a great atmosphere for socializing or a date then check out Cana Wine Bar. They serve beer, wine, spirits and hors d'oeuvres as well. I went there one night after work around 6:30 p.m. thinking I would be in for a hour maybe an hour and half. After chatting with people & enjoying a glass of wine, I looked at my watch and realized it was 10 p.m. I did not want to leave but I did not have anything to eat and was tired so it was time to call it a night.

I know it is a good place & great time when I loose track of time. I only hope other patrons who go have the same wonderful experience.

Pandemic

I spent one night this weekend visiting a friend who has a new house in Castle Rock. He had a couple guys over to see the new place, grab some dinner, and play a new board game called Pandemic. The game has four different diseases breaking out all over the globe and the point of the game is to travel the world treating infected cities while finding a cure to the diseases. It is a fun game to play with a group of people. We were planning on playing it twice but ended up playing it four times. At first I thought I would not enjoy it but by the end of the night we would have played a fifth time but it was late and were tired. If are interested in playing a fun game with a gruop of people check out Pandemic.