Thoughts of my life

Travel Ideas?

2011-05-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to go on a trip to Europe or South America. Most likely I would like to go backpacking and spend my nights in a tent. This way I would save money and get to travel farther and see more for a lot cheaper. Problem is I do not know much about camping in either continent. Wondering if you can pretty much camp anywhere that is not very populated or if you need to pay for a campsite, how easy it is to find places to camp, and if you need to be 21 to rent a camp site. I was also thinking that I would blog about my travels. Just wondering how interested people would be in reading about my travels and if anyone has any tips or ideas for me.

Carpool app

2011-05-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carpool-cost-splitter/id429423079?mt=8&ls=1
This is a link to the new iphone app my friend and I created. It divides the gas price up for each person in the car. It is brand new and very easy to use. Hope you like it!

Review of Dewalt Tool Set

2011-03-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

I think it is good for every guy to have at least a small tool set. If you are going to get a tool set, I would suggest Dewalt.

Keeping a strong relationship

2011-02-22T13:37:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend and I recently had a depressing day together. We did not really fight but we did not talk almost all day and we both felt that the other was treating us poorly. However, by the end of the night we talked to each other and were able to say goodnight to each other without any hostility. Although we avoided a fight by communicating and working things out I did not feel like we reached closure. I still had feelings of being treated unfair and wanted hr to know why I felt that way. I was not upset with her anymore but I felt like we did not completely understand each others side of the story. I ignored these feelings for an entire day but then finally decided I could not hold in how I felt. I explained to her exactly how I felt at the time of the disagreement and exactly how I felt in the following day. Together we took the time to calmly discuss how we felt. Then, we also explained to each other how to better read each others emotions so that we could avoid future aggravations.
The reason I wanted to share this was because I do not think I have ever felt as happy with my relationship as I do after that talk. I know that everyone always says, "Communication is key in a good relationship", but it really is important. The feeling of connection after having a good talk about your feelings is incomparable. It brings a feeling of connection and commitment. It teaches each of you more about the other and it expresses how willing you are to work at the relationship. So please, if you want a strong and healthy relationship learn to communicate in a calm and loving conversation and never let your feelings stay bottled up.

My review of Inception

2011-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

This is an amazing movie! It is action packed with a deep storyline. It is even so deep that some of my friends I went to see it with had some trouble following it but they still enjoyed it greatly. I do not want to go into to much detail because it will spoil the movie but the basic idea is that there are these people who use a machine to go into other peoples dreams and still information from them. I know that does not sound deep but when you see the movie I am sure you will agree with me on how deep it is. Trust me you will not be disappointed in this movie.

Review of The Proposel

2011-02-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

When my girlfriend made me see The Proposal I was only half willing to see it because I expected it to be a corny chick flick. After seeing it I realized it was much more of a romantic comedy than a chick flick. Yes, there are mushy parts but overall it is a very funny movie. Sandra Bullock was great (and hot) as always and Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, and Mary Steenburgen made a great comedy team. The idea behind the movie is that Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullocks character) is the scary boss of Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds character). When she realizes that her visa is up and that she is going to be deported to Canada she agrees to promote Ryan Reynolds if he pretends to be her husband to be. To prove that they are "really a couple" they must go to Ryan Reynolds family home for his grandmothers birthday (Betty White). From then on out the humor is nonstop.

My Review of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World

2011-02-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

This is a great movie! I saw it in theaters with my girlfriend and we could not stop laughing. It is very original because it like a cross between a teenage comedy, a comic book, and a video game. The story line starts with Scott Pilgrim who starts dating this odd girl and finds out that he must fight her evil ex's if he wants to stay with her. I laughed so much that I actually missed a lot of jokes because I was to busy laughing to hear them. It is a great movie for anyone who likes silly, fun, teen humor.

Is The Town a good movie?

2011-02-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

On this one I am actually asking for information. I have never seen The Town and was wondering if it is any good. I have heard some good things about it from a few people but its commercials never really caught my eye. Does anyone have a view of how good it is?

Review of Batman Begins and Dark Night

2011-02-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

Batman Begins is one of the best superhero movies of our time. It starts buy showing how Bruce Wayne gets all of his Batman utilities and fighting skills and makes it seem as realistic as superhero movies can get. Most people would think that a movie showing Batman buy his weapons, learn out to fight, and decide to become Batman would be a slow and boring movie. On the contrary, Batman Begins is full of action, interesting dialogue, and a dark secret society of villains. It is a great movie that I think has an even better sequel. Which is the Dark Night.

The Dark Night is the story of Batman taking on one of his greatest enemies, the Joker. This was Heath Ledgers final part in a movie before he died, and is believed to be part of the reason for his death. His character as the Joker is so evil, sinister, and insane that some people believe he went a little insane as he got too deeply engrossed in the character. This shows through in the movie as I have never seen a more purely evil character in my entire life. It is a great addition to any movie lovers collection.

Frank Thomas Jersey

2011-02-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Jerseys are always a great purchase. Having a jersey of your favorite team or player is always a fun way to show your support. If you are going to buy a jersey for baseball, then you should buy one for the White Sox, like this Frank Thomas jersey. Go White Sox!

My review of Risk 2210 A.D.

2011-02-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Risk 2210 A.D. is one of my favorite boardgames. It is a very strategic game where you must take your armies and conquer the entire world. (There is a faster version than taking over the entire world but is not as much fun.) In this version you get to conquer the moon and water territories. There are also cards and commanders that can drastically change the game. You have to buy all of these with energy chips (money) which you gain for controlling continents.
If you are into playing war board games this is a great one to add to your collection. If you have never played a strategy game like this, it might be smart to start with the original Risk because it is much less complicated. Either way I was surprised when I saw that you could get it for $20 on Amazon. I do not know if there are better prices out there but I know that when I got mine it was more like $30-$40. (I don't remember the exact price since it has been around 8 years since I got it.) I hope that anyone who tries it will get as many good times out of it as me and my friends have!

Boarders Closing

2011-02-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

This has been news for awhile now, but it seems that boarders (a large franchise bookstore) is planning to file for bankruptcy. I am not sure exactly when they are supposed to go completely out of business but I heard that tomorrow (February 17th) is going to be the day when a large group of their stores will be closing. I believe that they are going to keep their website and a few of their stores open, but who knows how long that will last. I love boarders and will be very sad if it really does completely close. I wanted to mention this on here so that anyone else who likes boarders or might have a boarders gift card could quickly get whatever they need or want out of it in case it really does close.

Free Online Classes

2011-02-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

I have recently found out about a great resource for educating yourself. Einztein is a website where real college professors post their entire class for anyone to use for free! The downside is you have no actual deadlines for assignments and the teacher is not there to correct and critique your work. Also, it obviously does not give you any kind of degree or credit for completing the class. But for any knowledge that you might want to learn for your own personal benefit, it is a great place for you to pick up this new information. You could also use it to freshen up on a topic you are having trouble remembering or to get a head start before starting a class you feel might be over your head. No matter what you might want it for, I would suggest trying it. There is no risk at using it because it is completely free (unless you feel like buying the suggested textbooks but this is not necessary) and it is very easy. You simply type in a topic you might want to study and then look through the list of classes that could be associated with your topic. I have only done a few searches but you can usually find at least one class on any given topic.

Chicago Auto Show

2011-02-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

I went to the Chicago Auto Show on February 12th of 2011. It was my second time attending a Chicago Auto Show and I enjoyed it very much. This is saying a lot because I am not really much of a car person and know almost nothing about cars. Although the obvious focus of the auto show is for dealerships to show off their cars, there is plenty to do other than just look at the cars. This can make it a very fun experience for people of all ages. The cars were unbelievable and came in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and features. They could keep you busy for hours on their own.

However, if you are like me and are not as interested in cars as many other people, there seems to be raffles you can enter or prizes you could win just about everywhere you look. The number one prize the booths seemed to want to give away this year was an I-Pad. There were at least three or four booths giving them away as a prize. But there were also a few chances to get a free $10-$50 for just filling out a survey or agreeing to do a test drive at one of the dealerships.

Another fun activity is that many of the dealerships had short tracks that they would drive you on to show you the abilities of the vehicles. One track had a hill that was on the verge of going straight up and down, another had a huge teeter totter for driving over, and some had big rocky terrain to drive over.

Of course if none of these things interest you there is always the beautiful models who hand out fliers and discuss the cars with you. There are also many food booths which have expensive but delicious food. No matter what it is that might interest you about the auto show, I would suggest giving the car show a try. It is both fun and cheap. Tickets are around $7 and if you look hard enough you can probably find a deal with a car dealership or other business to get free tickets, or at least a discount.

Hope that you give it a try. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

My Review of "Star Wars"

2011-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

I happen to be a semi-Star Wars nut. I love the movies, I have read some of the books, and played many of the video games. All six of these movies were great. Some were defiantly better than others but I wont go into detail about them because I assume most people have seen Star Wars and have chosen their own favorites. It is pretty exciting to see the full collection all together, even though I am sure they have had it out that way for awhile. If you have not seen these movies you really should. They have everything including action, politics, battles of inner good vs. inner evil, love stories, aliens, great writing, great acting, and the best special effects of their time. If that is not enough for you then you should at least see them because they have been so famous for so long that they have been entangled into our very culture. Trust me, if you do not see these movies you will at some point be teased when people say, "WHAT! You have never seen Star Wars! You have got to be kidding me!"
I have not bought this collection that I have linked into this post but I am seriously considering it because I would love to have a nice simple collection of the Star Wars movies. However, if you are one of the few out there who have not seen Star Wars, I would suggest renting or borrowing the movies first since this collection is a large amount of money and some people are just not into Star Wars. (They must be crazy not to like it!) :)
If anyone would like me to go into detail about one or all of the movies please let me know I would be happy to.

Valentines Day

2011-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is coming up and I felt I should talk a little about it. First of all, I want to say I have a wonderful girlfriend, who I have been with for over 2 years now. I usually do not get her something for Valentines Day but we usually do something special like go out to eat and see a movie together. All that being said, I think Valentines Day is a joke. Okay, it has been said before but Valentines day is completely set up to make card companies, flower companies, and candy companies lots of money.
The way I see it every day should be Valentines Day if you are in love, so why should one day force you to spend money? If you are in love with someone you should be treating them nice and making them feel special no matter what day it is. However, most girls would not go for this because they are the ones getting gifts on Valentines Day and are not required to buy the guys anything.
Valentines Day can be fixed for you and your loved one if you just talk about it. Discuss it and make it a date night rather than a "she gets lots of gifts night". This should be discussed far before Valentines Day to avoid upsetting that special someone. As you do this you will find that being on a special date with them is much more fun than handing them some overpriced chocolates.
Also, if you really enjoy the whole gift thing try making a gift or writing a card or letter for each other. It can mean a lot more than just wasting your money on something that will be special for a day and gone tomorrow.
Hope you have a happy Valentines Day and I hope you spend it with that special someone.

My Review of "The Blind Side"

2011-02-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

This movie was amazing! This is the best Sandra Bullock has ever been in a movie. The writing is great, the acting is spectacular, and the story line is inspirational. One of the best movies that has come out in a long time. It is emotional but it keeps you happy. Whether you buy it from Amazon, buy it from somewhere else, or rent it. SEE THIS MOVIE!

The Weakest Hero

2011-02-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned earlier I aspire to be a novelist. The Weakest Hero is the book I am currently working on. I recently finished my first draft and am currently working on my second draft. Many people might consider me a superhero/comic book nerd. Although, I am not a genius in that subject I do have my own collection of comics and have learned a decent amount about superheros because of my love for them. So I have embraced nerdyness with this book which is about a superhero. I do not want to go into to much details about it yet since it still has a lot of work to be done. As I work on my book I will try to keep my progress updated on here. If I do get it published I hope that you will be interested and keep a lookout for it.

My review of "Alice in Wonderland"

2011-02-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Alice in wonderland is considered a children's book, but I first read it as a 19 year old. Even at my age I feel that it is a very fun and interesting book. Lewis Carol does a wonderful job of turning everything into complete nonsense. Although the Disney movie of Alice in Wonderland is a very enjoyable and fun movie, it does not do the book justice. The nonsense and witty comments made by the characters are far funnier and almost nonstop in the book. I highly advise reading it. If you are not sure if you would enjoy this type of childish book I suggest checking your local library to see if you could check it out there. Most libraries should carry both Alice in Wonderland and the sequel Through the Looking Glass, which is another great story that is just as funny as the original. However, if you think that you, your kids, or someone you know would enjoy this, then the link to the left will buy you a nice paperback of this classic book that you can keep forever.

My Review of "The Social Network"

2011-02-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

I will be making comments about many different products on this blog for Amazon, but I promise that I will never endorse something that I have never used, do not truly enjoy, and do not trust.

I saw the Social Network in theaters when it first came out. Admittedly I thought it looked like a very interesting movie and was excited to see it. After seeing it I and a few friends all agreed it was a very exceptional movie. If you have not seen it I advise you to. It is not just some boring documentary of Facebook. It is a regular movie that is more about the lives and relationships between the people who created Facebook and how the success of Facebook affected their lives. Buying it from Amazon will give me a small referral payment and would be much appreciated :) But even if you rent it, borrow it, or buy it from someone else I advise you to see it. It is well written, great acting, and keeps you locked in your seat waiting to see how things will turn out. Hope you enjoy it!

Helping those who helped me

2011-02-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

This is a website that has helped me to make my blog easier to search online. If you are interested in making a website and/or blog easier to search use this. http://www.submitexpress.com/free-submission.html Or you can simply click on the title of this post.

Explaining Romeo and Juliet Post

2011-02-08T23:10:00.000-08:00

The number one dream I have for my life is to become a published writer. Even more than that I would give almost anything to have a book become a number one best seller. Because of this I will occasionally be writing short stories on this blog. Most of them are ideas that are in my head but that I do not see as ever making it to full novel stage. My alternate ending to Romeo and Juliet is one of these short stories.

I have always felt that Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is looked at completely wrong by people today. Everyone looks at this story as an amazing love story, showing young teens experiencing such deep love that they were willing to give their lives for it.

However, I feel that Shakespeare had a very different message in Romeo and Juliet. It is my opinion that Shakespeare was showing the foolishness of many teenage lovers. First evidence of this is Romeo's infatuation with Rosaline at the beginning of the play. He expresses that he is deeply in love with her and would do anything for her. In nothing but a few minutes with Juliet this "love" for Rosaline is completely forsaken before he even knows a thing about Juliet except her appearance and her name. In return Juliet is immediately infatuated with Romeo as well. This does not seem to point towards love but rather a lustful infatuation towards each other.

Later, they are married quickly before their parents can find out and as most people know they end up dead. Each feels that they simply can not live without the other. If Romeo had taken a few moments to reason before drinking his poison then he would have found Juliet waking from her fake death. If Juliet would have taken some time to reason things out she would have realized that she did not even know this boy she was ready to kill herself over.

In my view Shakespeare was not telling a love story but rather doing what he normally did, expressing the foolishness and rashness of human emotion. I think that Shakespeare meant for Romeo and Juliet to be laughed at as two teenagers who wasted their young lives because they thought they were in love when in actuality they knew nothing about love. Ironically, I think that the joke Shakespeare was making is funnier than he intended. If I am right about the meaning of Romeo and Juliet then Shakespeare is probably laughing hysterically in his grave that the foolishness and rashness of human emotion is so intense that no one got his joke. Instead, everyone was so intrigued by the "love" of these two teenagers that they never realized that Romeo and Juliet were an ironic example of teenage stupidity.

Alternate Ending to Romeo and Juliet (What Shakespear really meant)

2011-02-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

We catch Romeo on his way to Juliet's tomb where she is in a self induced coma faking to be dead. Romeo, thinking Juliet is dead for real rushes to her, planning to kill himself to prove his undying love for her. As he runs towards the tomb a pair of beautiful eyes distracts him for a moment. These beautiful eyes belong to a beautiful woman. Romeo forgets his mad rush and stops to meet this girl who he has never seen before. "Hello, my name is Romeo who are you?"

Smiling she responded, "I am Aemilia". In a trance Romeo starred at her and asked, "Are you new around here?" "Yes, I just moved here." For a second Romeo thought of Juliet laying lonely in a tomb. "Perhaps I should go to her, but if she is dead what is the use? She would want me to be happy." thought Romeo. "Would you like to go out with me?" asked Romeo. "Sure." Back in the tomb Juliet slowly woke from her coma. Looking around she felt lonely and sad thinking, "What happened to my Romeo?" What if he is hurt or killed!" As she regained her strength she slowly got to her feet. She stumbled out the door of her large family tomb. Looking around she thought of all the horrible things that might have happened to Romeo. She made her way out to the street and wandered around hoping to find what had happened to Romeo. As she wandered she stumbled upon a young boy about her age. "Hi," she said shyly forgetting her worries for a moment. "Hello, my name is Oliver whats yours." "Juliet". "You are breathtakingly beautiful," Juliet blushed heavily. "Would you like to go out with me tonight? I am new in town and don't really know anyone?" Juliet thought back to Romeo for a moment. "He didn't come for me. It must mean he doesn't even care. No use trying to find someone who doesn't care enough to come get me when he is supposed to." "Yes, I would love to." Both Romeo and Juliet lived happily for a few weeks until they found another handsome face. At this point they realized the time they had been wasting with their former partner had been a complete waste of time and their teenage hormones took them on another roller coaster of "love".

coaster of "love".

FIrst Blog Entry

2011-02-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog I have ever done. I hope to make it a fun and interesting blog that many people will enjoy. Most likely it will take me awhile to learn what people really want to read about. I welcome any suggestions that someone might have for me. If there is something that you would like me to blog about I welcome you to comment and I will try and blog about the topic if I feel I know enough about the topic or can find enough information about it.
I do not plan on this being a blog where it is always the same old thing. Some days I plan on writing just some interesting things I had happen to me, other days I might write about an interesting idea or thought I had, and possibly my views about politics, movies, shows, or events that I feel like writing about.
I hope that this blog will be interesting to many of you out there and I hope that you will comment on my blog so that I can keep my blog focused on topics you care to read about. Thanks for reading!