Binge Watching

When I decided that I wanted to binge watch a TV series, I decided to take on a show that not only was highly touted but would also live up to the height. The first TV show that I decided to binge was Breaking Bad. I had heard so much about it and people would just talk about Walter White, Heisenberg and I had no clue what they were talking about until the last season of Breaking Bad and I decided to take the time and the commitment to watch the show and to my delight, it was everything I expected and more. Great writing, great characters, great acting, it was one hell of a show and so glad I decided to take the time to watch. It took a while simply because I work two jobs, seven days a week and I am also a father of four children. Finding the time to commit to a TV show was a daunting task when you barely had time to shower, eat and get to bed to be back to work the next day. So when I could squeeze in an episode or two, I would and the hard part is this show was not kid friendly, so watching when kids were in bed for school was paramount. Waking up groggy the next day was always a drag because I knew I stayed up watching a TV show when I should have been in bed sleeping or could have used that time to write. Sometimes life is a about sacrifice for petty indulgence, and trying to binge watch a show once I was already hooked was one of my tiny vices. So, again after my injury, I figured it was a sign to take the time to smell the roses, start to write again on the regular and to start a new TV show to binge. This time I picked the biggest one out there now...GAME OF THRONES. I asked advice about the show from a few friends on Facebook and the response was overwhelming...do it. Make the commitment to the show, you will not be disappointed. So after one week and watching two full seasons, I have to say that all my friends are right. This show is fantastic, it got everything you would want a show to have, drama, suspense, honor, dishonor, nobility, war, fighting and above all dragons. Yes, dragons I said and there is also beheading, burning, mysterious creature, dark magic. It's like if Harry Potter and Conan the Barbarian had a love child. The most intriguing thing that I liked about this show is that no matter how many times I tried to predict what would happen as the story line progressed, I would be dead wrong. Someone told before I watched, to not get to attached to the characters and I would think to myself, well they must mean that a lot of the small bit players would die. I mean how can a show carry on if the main characters are dead. Well that is what exactly what the writers did, kill of main characters. That is the beauty of the story now and I get the appeal, you don't know what is coming and you don't know if your favorite person will live or die in the next episode. Now I have only watched two season and have five more season to go but if they are anything like the first two it will be wonderful to watch. The beauty of all of this is that I have time to complete the next five season before the new season begins and I can be caught up to enjoy the madness from week to week just like everyone else who is a fan of the show. So as I wrap up my post for the day, I will have a nice cold drink and my remote and will start the next season. I will update on future post once I have completed a few of the other season. So until tomorrow....this was just a thought.

Cussing

Today's subject is one that is usually very taboo, one that most people will either understand or belittle someone for using this subject in everyday vernacular and that is cussing. Cussing when I grew up was very frowned upon and I can remember as clear as day my father not ever cussing in front of his children. I can remember my mother using foul language but it was always in a conversation on the phone or she would say them in Spanish, which I didn't understand them until later in life. But as I grew older and got into school, I realized how much other parents did cuss in their everyday lives and their children learned what these words were and how to use the proper connotation of these taboo words. Which as I learned them I started to use them in my everyday repertoire of speech. I thought it was so coo;l to cuss because it was the first thing I learned as a form of rebellion. I wanted to be the guy who would cross the line and say these bad things with worry of recourse, I wanted to stray from conformity, be the bad sheep. It was terrible how I used these words, to mock other kids, say bad things about my brother when we would argue and fight as kids. Cussing has become ingrained in my regular speech and it hard to sometimes catch myself when in a situation where it is improper. Like for example when I am at a church, a school or in a place where kids are around. Even though I am sure that many of these kids have already heard and learned what these words are I just for some reason can't cuss in front of them. I think it is simply because I think about my father and how he acted in front of us and
out of respect of how he raised me, I will refrain from using bad words. But that being said, I have been in a situation where I let myself be who I am and say and speak as candidly I would if surrounded by friends in a professional environment. I have shocked co-workers, with things I have said without even thinking if it was offensive. I have cussed in front of my bosses, my teachers when I was in school and I have even cussed at a funeral. It is bad that I say things like shit, damn, hell, fuck, bitch, cunt and so on and so on. I understand it is bad form to see and hear someone who speaks so foul and uses bad language, but does it make me a bad person. I believe it to be so, I think I am a good person and only see the words that are deemed terrible to only be bad because we have morally claimed them to be bad. It is not sinful to use these words, these words were created by man and only carry a ban connotation because we have defined them as such. The only thing I was taught that we do not take the Lord's name in vain because according to his laws and his truth, it is a sin. I don't know how everybody else feels about this topic but I for one do not look down or frown upon a person simply because they say son of bitch, or hell no. So until tomorrow, stay cool, be happy and this was.....just a fucking thought.

Driving

Today's topic is about is something we all have to do survive in this society, and that is driving.
I have been in the delivery transportation industry for going on 25 years, most of those have been
behind the wheel. I have learned defensive driving and have taught some defensive driving classes
to others. Learning to be a proactive driver takes practice and patience. There are certain set of skills
that you learn that really heighten your sense of awareness while driving out on the roadways and
some of these principals have really helped me get of out of sticky situations. I have seen plenty of
bad drivers out there on the roadways. But most of my time I would pay attention to the road and hold
my concentration back to driving. Since my injury, I have had to spend time in the passenger seat,
which almost a totally new experience for me. Especially since as long as I can remember, I have
had to drive everywhere I went, it's very rare that I sat in a car as a passenger. So as I had no choice
but sit in the car as a co-pilot because I cannot drive, I have taken notice of other drivers as never
before and I must I was thoroughly shocked as to how many bad drivers there is in the roads. I come
to realize that most people either don’t know how to drive or don’t give a shit about the rules of the road.
Just watching people drive to with my wife while I ride with her when she goes to pick up my kids is
just at time ridiculous. The impatience that most people have is so utterly disgusting and it's a wonder
that there haven’t been more wrecks or injured children. I watched one person speed out of the school
parking lot while parents and children are walking all around, I saw people running red lights, cut people
off so they didn’t have to wait and people with just a blatant disregard for the law. I often wonder to
myself, how did these people get a fucking license. It’s incredible the dumb things I see people do while
driving, reading, changing clothes, of course playing on their phones, eating. I shouldn’t be surprised
how bad people drive because we put no effort in to training our next generation of drivers. You take an
examination at your local Department of Motor Vehicles, which you only have to pass a certain
percentile of questions to get a learners permit. Practice a few times driving, take the driver test,
which again if you make the minimum number of mistakes that day, you pass and are a licensed
driver. It takes more to get  licensed to ride a motorcycle than it is to drive a car. Which to me makes
no sense at all. Being behind the wheel of a car is privilege and great responsibility that for some people,
they could care less about safety. It’s rush, rush, rush. Rush to work, rush home, rush to the store,
rush to their date, rush to their night out with friends. The main ingredient in so many accidents is speed
and negligence. If people would be more patient with driving, I think we would all commute safer and
have less problems on the road. I never understood why people who are running late rush, I have
always been under the impression that it is better to arrive late than to not arrive at all. But it would be
foolish for me to believe that is going to happen. People are going to continue to rush, and people will
continue to have accidents, it’s just human nature. Because so many selfish people out there that
only their lives matter and rules don’t apply to them. You’ve seen them before, The person driving down
the shoulder in a big traffic jam because they can’t be late to their shift at McDonald’s, the person
speeding down the interstate in the rain because they are immune to hydroplaning because they are in
a big 4 x4 truck with huge tires. The driver cutting across four lanes of high speed traffic because they
don’t want to miss their exit. These type of people are the people I see everyday and these are the
type of people who can’t believe that they were in an accident, go figure. But let them tell you, they
are good drivers,”I have never had an accident.” Doesn’t always constitute you are a good driver
either, it usually means you have been fortunate enough to have stayed out of harm's way. Driving is
a skill and like any skill it has be learned with practice and a good teacher to show the proper course
of action when driving. So for all you readers, please take your time today when out on the street and
be mindful of those around you. Be safe and until tomorrow, this was …..just a thought.

Communication

The subject I am writing about today is communication. The communication between men and women, which for eons has always been a mystery. They say Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. The problem is we as men don't speak Venusian. So needless to say that conversations between the genders can something gets lost in translation. I know that to understand someone that you should listen to what is being said from one person to another but we as men usually have a one track mind. I can remember times when my wife would be talking to me about something and my mind would wonder off on eating. My stomach had more sway over my mind at that point and my wife would look at me and say "Did you hear anything that I just said?" And of course I respond "Yea" in all reality I am scrambling to try to remember what she just said. I mean how hard should it be to listen to someone for just a few minutes, yet as men sometimes our attention span prevent us doing just that, listen. I know it is crude, but I know that sometimes we are just on different level of communicating when it comes to genders. A woman and a man can listen to the same speech from a speaker and if you were to interview them about what they interrupted from the speaker each would give you a different perspective on the same speech. Why is that, I in my opinion, it is become woman are more active listeners. Is that to say then men are inferior in this department, the answer is no. A man can become an active listener but I think that it is just more instinctive for a woman to do what usually is natural for them. And yes I understand that all women are not like this, there are always exceptions to the rule. I think that once someone masters the art of listening, then the act of communicating becomes exceptionally easier. I know that my wife has an easier time understanding my littlest daughter who is learning to speak and her level of communicating. She telling my wife and me the same thing and yet my wife is quicker to understand her. Why is that, It's not that I am not listening to her but my mind is trying to process and interrupt what she is say and what it doesn't understand, it makes assumptions to figure what I want her to be saying. I get that she spends more time with her but lately because of my injury I have had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with my baby girl and yet still don't the level of comprehension that my wife has with my daughter.  I am under reconstruction to try and learn and decipher the language of women. I want to become a better communicator with my wife, my kids, my friend and co-workers. It's been eye opening reading articles online about communicating and learning new ways to become an active listener, its not as easy as one thinks. So as I continue and practice my efforts to communicate better with people. I get to use my blog as means to test how I am coming along in my learning. Hopefully I will be a better talker, a better story teller and better husband and writer once I have a grasp of what it means to be a communicator. Maybe even one day I will be on the level of that of a mother, a wife, a women who just knows how to listen, understand, decipher conversation. So until next time we meet....it was....Just a Thought.

Faith

Faith can be defined different ways. Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

In regards to religious connotation, a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on

spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Either definition is asking for you to but your trust in something

that isn’t tangible. Unlike an apple, per say, it is not something you can hold in your hands but it is

something hold on to with every fabric of your being. I have a strong belief in faith and in a greater

power than anything else that can be seen or touched. I know because I have experienced faith even

though I had no right to believe. I, sometimes don’t deem myself worth of God’s love or grace, but

without skipping beat he grants it to me in so many ways. I have cheated on test, I have lied to friends

and family, I have stolen things, I have taken the God's name in vain. I’ve done just about everything

a person who believe in God should not do and yet I find myself blessed. I seek remorse, ask for

forgiveness and repent. I seem to still find myself falling back into bad habits, living in madness,

knowing I am doing wrong but at times unable to stop myself. I judge people wrongly, I lie to complete

strangers, I consciously say terrible things. I still ask for forgiveness, I still ask to be humbled before the

father. You ask how my confession of wrong doings has to do with faith. Well I still believe that I can

become a good person, I still believe that God loves me, I have faith that he has a plan for me and

will show me the way to follow my dreams. Faith isn't easy, faith isn't without struggle, but faith is

sometimes the only means to keep me going forward. I understand that not everyone believes in faith,

I respect their opinions to believe whatever they want to believe. But I can only hope that they have

faith in a better life, faith in finding happiness and faith in finding the good in people. This injury has

taken my train of thought in directions that I could have never imagined. I see the good in people, the

compassion in helping someone in need. I have complete strangers offering me help because I have

a hard time getting around, extending graciousness without expectation. I have faith that God will

provide for me in my time of need as long as I believe in his love and his truth. I know this sounds

all churchy and stuff and this will turn a lot of people away buy for me, I need this in my life now.

I desperately need it as my crutch in a my walk into righteousness, See people can post scripture,

quote scripture and read the bible everyday but if they don't have faith in what their saying and doing

hat its is just a bad as being a conscience sinner. I have faith that when I wake tomorrow that it will be

a better day because I have faith in mankind and I have faith in God. So I promise that tomorrow's

post will be a bit more lighthearted, I just had to get this off my chest and into the world. Until we

meet again tomorrow, this was…..just a thought.

Romantic Comedy

Today I wanted to write about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. I speak of the Romantic Comedy. I have always love watching movies, action, drama, suspense but my favorite is the romantic comedy. I know what your already thinking, a guy who digs chick flicks. In a sense, yes I love what is commonly referred to as chick flicks but with good reason.The stories always seem to fill with the love, hope and a warm fuzzy feeling that true love will always prevail despite terrible circumstances. As of lately the dominate genre of movies being produced is either horror movies or Super hero movies. Don't get me wrong, I love super hero movies. My brother and I grew up read comic books and seeing some of the people we read about all those years ago is nothing short of exhilarating but I found a special place in my heart for the romantic comedy. Like anything in Hollywood, once a genre becomes popular then every other studio or production company tries to mimic that success. Once something breaks the monotony of a genre and becomes successful, then the cycle begins again and a mad rush to create the next big success begins. Two usually have to be in place for a big change to happen in Hollywood, one is a big profit margin the other is the temperature of society when a movie is created. I have seen that when a cycle of genre is over and writers don't keep up, the next wave will crash leaving a void in genres and a lot of bad movies being produced. The last good romantic comedy that came along and I thought was really good was "The Big Sick." It was a great look at love from the aspect of falling in love in an interracial relationship. Very touching and heartwarming, kind of "While You Were Sleeping", feel to the love story. I really enjoyed the comedy, the humor was pretty spot on and it left me feel good at the end of the story. I think a good Rom-Com should leave you feeling that way. When a movie is too good like "Love Actually", its spurns many copy cats that aren't nearly on par as the original. "Love Actually" was something different and brought a new aspect to how romantic comedies could be made, following four or five different love stories and making them intertwine seamlessly is very hard to pull off. Many various films like "New Years Eve", Valentine's Day" "He's Just Not That into You" all tried to copy that formula but without the success of "Love Actually" In the 90's was the hey day of the Rom-Com., "When Harry Met Sally" started it off. Followed by "Sleepless in Seattle", "Pretty Woman","French Kiss", "Forget Paris", "You've Got Mail", "My Best Friend's Wedding", "While You Were Sleeping" "Notting Hill", " Runaway Bride" and the list can go on and on. As we entered the New millennium things for the Hollywood, the cycle started to change. The Rom-Com was still in being produced but we started to the beginning stage of Horror movies starting to rule the genre and the Rom-Com come toward the end of its box office dominance. I still write this type of genre just because I love the formula it takes to make a good romantic comedy. One, the characters have to be fallible and lovable at the same time. There has to be a existing relationship with one of the main characters. There has to be a deep seeded reason that the main character is still seeking their soulmate. There has to be a comic relief friend that gives bad advice on love and relationships or their has to be a funny situation that causes both main characters to have deal with each other and then there is the degree of difficulty of the finding true love. Then to finish things off the big decision, stay in a dead end relationship or take a chance on true love and the resolution that either leads to happiness or eternal love. The situation or environment cam always change but the fact that true love has to persevere is the main ingredient to making a successful story that people will want to imagine themselves in the story or wanting more...a sequel.  Which that in itself is a whole another topic. So if you don't have anything planned, make some popcorn, curl up under a cover and put on a romantic comedy. So until tomorrow, remember to follow me and share your ideas for a post. Like any good broadcaster with a good sign off, I bid you Adieu and this was.....Just a Thought.