In My Life

Da GudPadder

Part of trying new things is trying old things that for one reason or another one has yet to try. I suppose this has a lot to do with knowing and sticking with what one likes. Personally its more efficient to figure out what you like right away and then to stick to it. Decision is already made not need to waste brain energy making up your mind each and every time, especially if you are gonna pick the same thing every time. Name any restaurant and I'll tell you what I'm most likely going to order. Next time I go shopping I already know what I'm going to look for even thou the next time I go shopping could be next year.

Part of thinking that one knows what one likes is projecting and deciding that one would not like something. So years go by before I tried my first Big Mac, played Pac Man, broccoli, mushrooms... (for the record: good, boring, I love broccoli and mushrooms). I finally tried a Caesar and almost barfed as I figured I would. It was like cold clam chowder. More than the taste I possibly didn't like it because one would expect clam chowder to be warm just like one would expect beer to be cold or food to be hot. A warm beer with left overs straight out the fridge is just plain yuk.

Sometimes someone can tell me for years that something is amazing and for some reason I resist. Perhaps my own instinct predicts the opposite I don't trust another's opinion. Perhaps I figure no matter how amazing something is it just may not be for me. Perhaps I'm so convinced that I know what I like that there's no point even trying. Soon time passes so that it's long forgotten and years go bye and soon it comes up again and you say with a sort of pride, "You know, I've never tried a Big Mack."

This past week I purchased the box set of one of the most iconic series in all of movie history...so I was told. This movie is quoted by other movies. Scenes of these movies are shown in film classes. Yet for some reason I always figured that if I ever watch the GodFather that I'd receive a fatal dose of Italian culture and that I may just barf on the spot. Back in New Jersey I had friends that just slathered themselves and everyone around them in their culture and I found it quite obnoxious when it's screaming in your face. One of the deadly sins is pride baby.

So I finally sat down to watch a movie. All three movies. Wow. Just wow. This is one of those instances which makes me stop and think of why I hadn't watched these movies a long time ago. What surprised me right off the bat was seeing that the original movie was made in 1972. For such a talked about movie I always figured it was much more recent. The second thing that caught my attention was how young everyone was. It was hard to recognize any of the actors because they were so young especially Pacino and Dianne Keaton. Imagine a movie that made so many careers. Brando, Duvall, Caan. I enjoyed the second movie even more than the first, and yet another career was made with De Niro who' performance over powered even Brando in the original. The third movie was just ok. It was interesting because it closed out the trilogy and brought the story full circle, but the story was kinda weak and Garcia looked like a sieve compared to all the other legendary actors attached to the franchise. Andy Garcia is just one of those actors I never liked. Instead of reinventing a character like De Niro did as a young Vito Corleone and spent the whole time mimicking Caan's character Sonny from the first movie. Another let down was with the impressive line of Don's from Vito, to Sonny, to Michael, that the last Don, Vincent was such a wanker. Not going into any spoilers I must just say that you should watch these movies.

Speaking of barfing I finally got around to watching one of those Jack Ass Movies, the most recent one. It was damn funny for the most part, those guys are damn idiots for the most part. I almost barfed a few times, I even tasted the bile gathering in my mouth. That last joke with the fake bomber and the taxi driver was the funniest thing I've seen all year. I was laughing freaking two hours after the movie was over. That Jay Chandraskahar from Broken Lizard played it perfect.

Rhoel.

posted by R @ 4:12 PM Comments: 0

My Way

As the final curtain of '06 came to a close myself along with two others that shall remain nameless decided to form a brotherhood who's mission is 'new beginnings' for the year of our lord two thousand plus seven.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.


during my year I have two points for evaluation. One is my birthday and one is NYE. It works out nicely that I have a review almost every 6 months. When I review I not so much reminisce but more like evaluate and see how I can try to better myself. And what I've found are that for the longest while my evaluation keeps coming up the same and that I haven't been improving myself. The word 'rut' comes to mind, 'stagnant' is another but the real problem I think is deeper. When one is stuck it can be viewed as something is inhibiting progress. Something is holding one back or anchoring one in place. Another way to look at it is that I may be holding on to something and won't let go. As for someone who tries to live life with no regrets, I know I have a tendency to dwell and have a hard time letting go.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,


If one always does what one has always done, one will get what one has always gotten. I think part of being where I am is bustin out of my comfort zone. That's been a problem for a while and I've taken daily steps to rectifying this. I think I'm pretty well out of the woods in this respect. I keep remembering when I was a kid, constantly in new situations living by other ppls rules. I think as we grow up we learn to adjust our surroundings to suit ourselves and if one gets too good at it you end up in a perfect little bubble. And then at some point one realizes that this perfect little bubble no longer suits ones needs but the skills to burst the bubble may be atrophied.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -


So for this years resolutions, instead of the usual ones (My resolutions are the same every year) me and my brotherhood toasted and drank to 'New beginnings!' May this year see me continue down the path I've set before myself and allow myself to fully close one door so I may fully open the next.

Rhoel.

posted by R @ 2:22 PM Comments: 1