Dreams

Man, I can't believe I've neglected my blog of ten days. 10 days! 

I'd like to say that I've had some interesting moments in my life these past ten days, but the only thing worth writing about would have to be my reading of Flowers for Algernon and my having a date on a Thursday afternoon. I'll probably have to write about these things soon! And I will, what am I saying? 

Moving on, I've been having dreams where I see people of my past as they are now. What is so interesting about this is that I don't interact with these people of my past. They are in the distance, either part of a crowd or walking by. We see each other seemingly in passing, and we never greet each other.

What's really cool and bizarre is that I always seem a person just before I wake up from my sleep. Their face slips my mind, if only for a second, as I piece together the dream. She was holding a bottle of Fireball whiskey; he watched as I was making a police report; and several were customers in my gas station dream (yes, I too think it's lame that I dream of work). Life and dreams, some of the Universe's greatest mysteries.

Until later, Dorks!

Can't Sleep; Clown'll Eat Me...

Today was rough day. I struggled to fall asleep last night, and didn't do so until 0400 hours on Friday, September 4 (pretty much the day of this posting). Just a month ago, I developed a really bad case of insomnia (after the 2015 Anime Expo), where I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. I even tried to distract my mind with reading and guitar and Netflix, which worked, but only temporarily. Then I visited my local Gamestop, and I discovered these nifty puzzle sets.

The one above is from The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker. Despite the colors and variety of the image, it was relatively easy to complete, taking up a mere 5 hours to assemble it all together. I had worked on these types of puzzles as a means to reflect and collect my troubled thoughts on those sleepless nights. The problem was that it wasn't just one thing that bothered and kept me up, it was multiple things: my (seemingly desperate) relationship status; my (lack of) job hunting skills; and even thinking about my mom's imminent surgery. And that's just the beginning of it. The puzzles were therapeutic in allowing me to formulate plans and learn to let go of the things that I don't have control over. 

Obviously, I don't have those restless nights as I did before, but just this night was an outlier in recent events. I should take out the puzzle sets again - they were mighty fun to assemble in those restless nights. Until next time, my Dorkings! (Hmm... better.)

200th Post!!! Have a Drink on Me!

Whoa, 200 man-journal entries... I didn't think I'd write for so long. This all kinda started as a way for me to collect my thoughts and be mindful of my resolutions (which I haven't been doing so lately...), and even think of new (and old) projects to tackle! 

A full bottle of Fireball, before it was all drunk up.

It's hard to believe that it's been over three years since I began this humble blog of my life. I'm quite amazed how much I've grown, what I've had the pleasure (for better and worse) of experiencing, and seeing and reflecting my life here, with you all along the way (in some way, shape, or form).

So, this brings me to the drinks! Since I've moved out, I've been treating myself to new liquors and drinks, with the intention to find new favorites. Don't get me wrong, I'll always have a soft spot for Jägermeister, but I can't always go to it whenever I want a drink - too many people, unfortunately, can't appreciate the drink. So I'm on a quest to find new drinks to enjoy - whiskeys, rums, vodkas, bourbon, scotch, and to much more! So far, I've only bought a bottle of Fireball (a whiskey) and Sailor Jerry (a rum), so I don't have much experience with drinks just yet. Still, I'm having a great time getting to know these drinks with my meals at home. So, a toast: to 200 posts and three years of Life and all it entails (joy, love, disappointment, adventure, heartbreak, and so much more) and to more years of Life to come. 

Until next time, my Dorks (with love, of course - I am the Dorky Hipster after all!)

"The Time Machine is a Microwave."

Lately in my free time, I've been watching anime! First, I watched Cowboy Bebop, followed by Attack on Titan, and now I'm watching Steins;Gate. Soon after, I'll be watching Trigun, Samurai Champloo, and FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

So Steins;Gate... I've seen the anime before, just a few weeks ago, actually. I was quite confused, in honesty, in the beginning, due to Okarin's mad scientist persona. His one-sided conversations with himself really caught me off-guard in the initial episodes. Furthermore, Christina's death in the first episode, and her "resurrection" in the second episode added more to the confusion.

What first got my attention to this particular anime was knowing that the microwave was a time. Intriguing, no? How the microwave's a time machine is different than I what had envisioned, though. I won't say how (mostly because I don't think I'm articulate enough to explain). The first time around, I watched it in English, just for the sake of it. I was recently encouraged to rewatch the series in Japanese. My friend vouched that the actor who voices Okarin really sells the mad scientist bit. So here I am writing about a show that I'm currently watching. Whew, that was a lot to say.

I do know that Steins;Gate is based on a video game! Although, I do not know how much of the source material is borrowed for the anime. If I could find a copy of the game, I'm sure I'll give it a play through once or twice and see what how it's like.

For now, the anime will suffice. 

Until Wednesday, ya Nerds! (Hmm, sounds cool enough).

Flat Tire!

Today was my first attempt to actually go out and get some exercise and fresh air with my sturdy bicycle. I've been wanting to go on daily rides here and there, but I've been making excuses (as always).

Anyhow, I finally got my lazy self to head out and start biking around town to find a path that I can take on a day-to-day basis (not to anywhere in particular, just going around in circles). So there I was, making a good round trip from where I started to finding a good amount of distance to cover. I had finally decided that I had found a good amount of distance, and I had started to make my back. That's when I hit a huge snag. I must have run over glass or something, since I noticed that I had trouble pedaling my bicycle.

Of course, I stop and examine the tire (in a safe location, mind you), and the tire has some small cuts. I don't know how many or where, so I'm gonna have to spend some time with a bowl of water and and an air pump to find where my tire needs patching. Though if the cuts are pretty gnarly, I may just have to buy another inner tube instead. Story of my life - I try to get some exercise and I get a flat tire...

Until next time!

Trying Again

I said I'd try to write on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule last Monday, and well, I failed. Life just keeps bombarding me with...Life! There's work, learning to cook, making time to play music with the guys, making time to play games with the guys, watching new Anime, and even making time to play with my brother's pets (especially his rambunctious labrador, Duke). But I'll try and try again. It's only when I don't try again that I have given up.

Unexpected Changes!

Hey, y'all (Y'all? Does anyone even say this anymore???), happy Monday to you all! Hope you guys are all nice and cool against the summer heat - in my area, it got to over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) over the weekend, so there were several (about 3?) brushfires in my area. I swear you could smell the burning woods/grass.

Anyhow, as I have mentioned, I have made some unexpected changes in my life, namely moving to a new location! I now live with my (slightly younger, by a year) brother in his apartment. He needed a roommate to help him cut costs and rent in order to save up for his wedding (lucky bastard...). SO! I ended up spending all of last week and some of the weekend getting all of my things together and tying up loose ends in my previous place in order for this to happen. All in all, this all happened spontaneously and it's more exciting than frightening to live life without much of a fallback. 

Basically, I missed out on blogging last week. So, yeah, I'm sorry for that. I'm more settled now, so I'm back to my Mon-Wed-Fri schedule of writing.

So far, it's smooth sailing here - the only big challenge I have to tackle is learning to cook. Oh, and job hunting. Yeah, it's still a thing, sadly, and not much progress has been made with this unexpected move. And I'll be sure to write about it soon enough.

So, cooking. No experience. Well, that's an exaggeration - I can prepare cereals, pastas/spaghettis, eggs, salads, quesadillas, and even meat (but that's mostly luck though). So I have some foundation of cooking, right?! But today, on my first day. I wimped out. I bought breakfast and lunch at diners today. I know, I know. Today was a fluke! I'll start to get it right starting tomorrow! Anyhow, that's really the big news I've got for you, and possibly the lame excuse I've got. I'll be living life and moving forward and growing up now! It's an amazing time to be alive! :D

Job Hunting - Day 1

"Good morning, VIETNAM!!!" - such a classic movie.

Seriously, happy Friday to all of you! 

As the title says, today's the first (serious) day of my job hunting. I've tried to job hunt before, but I've been quite lazy and uninterested in said job hunting. With my recent graduation and a grandiose $50k of debt (thank you, high quality college education) hanging over my head, I can't afford to spend any more time lounging about. 

The truth of the matter is, I don't know what I'm doing! Although, that can be said of any recent college graduate, I'm the first in my family to have made it this far. I'm the first with a formal education in my family (whether I'm truly educated or not, that can be debated), and I'm the first to be seeking a career, not a job. It's a bizarre feeling that I'm the first in the family to make a positive impact in my family.

So today, I set up a LinkdIn account, to portray my more professional side(???, I don't know what to say), as well as erasing (well, to the extent of my power) any dubious "events" on my social media (I really don't have any...I think, but I can never be too safe, I suppose). Oh, and I've got a résumé down. And that's all I got.

Not. Very. Productive.

The problem lies with me - "What do I to be? Who do I want to be?" I've been so used to being the busboy, the landscaper, the cashier, or the manufacturer that I don't know what else I could be! I can't see myself being in the upper echelons of the workforce here in the US. I'm too accustomed to being a blue-collar worker that becoming a white-collar worker seems an impossible goal to achieve.

I must reflect on what I want for myself career-wise and go from there. In the mean time, I'll be looking for postings online and nearby and hope to the Good Lord Upstairs that I can find something that I want and can do and can be immensely satisfying. It's such a shame to end today's post on a bummer note, but on the positive side, this also is a good exercise in whittling out what I don't want to do for my career, which is nice. I'll update you guys this upcoming Monday. Until then, fellow readers!

P.S.: I've gotta find a new name for you guys - "Readers" is too generic for my taste. You guys need a cool name or something.

Setbacks and Unfriendings

Ugh. I had been hoping to kickstart the beginnings of August with a running start. I spent so much time in July being so lax/lazy with moving forward in life, that I wanted to change that with the beginnings of this month, August.

What I've gotten to do in the past few day is Spring Cleaning. IN %@#!*^ JULY. All thanks to my family feeling the need to clean up our modest apartment. I don't know why or where this is coming from, but since I'm living with the family for now, I am respectfully helping them out (I was adamant on opposing this). It'll all be over in another day or two and then I can my plans for the month of August.

So for now, I've got to say, it's a bizarre sensation to know I've unfriended so many people. Ninety-five percent (95%), to be more precise. It's nice to see my Facebook and Instagram feeds devoid of such pointless and unoriginal posts (or in FB, sharing lame stories and memes). Surprisingly, I haven't gotten any flack from those who noticed I've unfriended them (Will and Daren, the podcast I mentioned in the previous post, got lots of flack for unfriending the majority of their friends on FB). The next step now is to find more established people to follow - find sources of inspiration that can challenge me to grow and develop, as a person and as content creator. I know I'm not the most creative person out there, but I've learned that I'm capable of doing so. As of now, I don't see myself making any money off of my creative endeavors, but I do like to learn new skills and, more importantly, it's so insanely satisfying to know that I can do these types of things and receive positive feedback.

Well, at least to me, which is why I'm doing this to begin with. But I'm a few days behind. Oh, well, tomorrow's a new day, right? Until next time, fellow readers!

I'm Back!!! (for the Umpteenth Time Now...)

After having two somewhat surprising posts sprinkled in a desolate landscape of nothingness (I'm talking about California Institute of Abnormal Arts and moving to Tumblr), I've decided to kickstart this blog post again, in hopes to become more consistent with this. 

It began with She Didn't Text Back, a podcast in which two friends, Will and Daren, discuss anything and everything that comes to their minds. In one of their more recent episodes, they had talked about how they had to remove all the clutter in their lives in order to make room and make more time for their passions, comedy and music (Will and Daren, respectively). One of the few things they've done was removing just about everyone from their friends list on all social media platforms and instead, replacing those friends by following people that inspire them to do greater.

I have to say, it's a pretty ballsy move, since they definitely got a lot of flack for doing so, but that advice stuck out to me. I want make room and time for my passions too (namely music and writing), and having so many people weigh me down isn't helping. Furthermore, I don't even know over half of these people *personally*!

They are people I don't know at all!

So why am I so caught up on trying to befriend them? At first, I had decided to delete my Facebook. Though after hearing that particular episode of She Didn't Text Back (ep. 9 or 10, I forget), I began to realize, "It's not me, it's them!" And so, as a first measure, I've decided to remove 95% of the people from my social media platforms - these are people that don't do anything to help me, nor do I do anything to help them. Essentially, they are dead relationships and I don't want them in my life anymore. If they want to still be connected (and I don't know why would they, considering our tenuous connections) they can find me here, on Instagram, and Tumblr

Tomorrow, I will write more about what the plan is for the rest of August and more importantly, what I'll be doing next to get my life going forward again.

The California Institute of Abnormal Arts

“Circus. Museum. Nightclub.”

These are the three words in which the owner describes this one-of-a-kind place, but it’s more than just those three words. Above all, it’s an experience. 

Here, you’ll find mummified remains of famous performers of the Orient and the West, as well as items that will perplex and mystify you (many of the items in possession by the owner are rumored to be blessed and cursed). It’s a respectful homage to the the freak shows of the past, where two bits will get you a gander at the bearded lady, or the Siamese twins, or the mysterious (and elusive) Missing Link in our evolutionary chain. Best part of all, the owner, Carl Crew, graced us with private tour for myself and my brother and friend. We were the only people there at the time, and he was ecstatic to present his collection to us. 

We only heard of this place because our dear friend of both my brother and me randomly googled “weird things to do in LA” (yes, that’s what he googled), and this was one of the top hits in his search. What convinced us to go was that the place boasted to have a mummified clown in their possession. After the tour was over, we concluded that was true. And it couldn’t be any cooler. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures (nor did I want to: Crew warned that that those who photograph a certain item are guaranteed to disappear without a trace, never to be hear from again *gulp!*), but here is their Facebook page: CIAbnormalArts. So if you’re in the NoHo (North Hollywood) area, this is a place worth experiencing. 

I'm Back! And I Moved to Tumblr (#SorryNotSorry)

After half a year more or less (I think, I don’t remember anymore - just know it’s been too long) of not blogging, I was recently given inspiration to begin anew. I had a delight blogging about my past adventures, and I wanted to keep going. 

Blogging became a catharsis for me, especially now that I could read and reflect upon my recent past. It was effective and I had truly felt I had grown up wholly as a person. 

So! This brings me to this post: I want start up again (for the fifth time already), and I want to be more consistent with it. I like having to spend an hour or so every few days to think back and reflect what's new and what's different (or not...I have my boring days, too).

As the title suggests, I have a Tumblr account now! It's aDorkyHipster (someone took the same spelling as this one - I was aiming for consistency). Now, for the most part, the posts will be the same content, but the different layouts between both sites mean that posts won't be exactly the same (especially when images and videos are involved). I will need some playtime with Tumblr to figure out how things are done there. Additionally, I'd like to focus more on Tumblr for the time being, so head over there first for the latest posts (the same post will arrive here on Blogger some days later). That being said, I'm back, and it feels so right! Until next time, fellow readers!

Gravity

You were probably thinking of Alfonso Cuaron's film, Gravity, weren't you? Although, Cuaron has directed some fantastic movies, including Children of Men and Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too when translated).

However, the "Gravity" that I am talking about is (of all things) from John Mayer. Hey, I'm surprised myself, considering my taste in music. So yeah, he got on my radar and I decided to check out his music. What the hell, why not?

All in all, he's a bit of a hit-or-miss. Some of his work I find to infectious, especially his more mellow, bluesy sound, like "Gravity" and "Daughters"; but his more arena-rock sound, like "Bigger than My Body", feels like it's missing something. I mean, it's not bad, but it doesn't have the same impact as his bluesy songs. Lately, I've been feeling the need to immerse myself in emotional music - it's not that my tastes in music currently don't meet that need; it's more that I'm looking for something that is different, and somewhat unconventional, to my usual tastes. Something to perhaps  change up my routine in a subtle way through music, specifically from someone like John Mayer in this case, is the best way to invoke that subtle change. All said, maybe, I just need some time to come around to Mayer's music. Give the records a few spins - that's usually how I learn to appreciate music from someone new in my collection.

Interstellar and the Cosmos

"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stirs us: there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a great height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries."
- Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Lately, I've been developing this fascination of science-fiction, astronomy and the stars, and sciences that are outside of my science, Sociology. Cosmos (the book), Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey (hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson), and even the recent Interstellar film have challenged me, to learn and grow and think critically of what I know and what I want to know. 

While I do understand the basics of astronomy and some basic ideas of the complexity that is astrophysics, it's all so beyond me, incomprehensible, and I'm struggling to grasp these ideas. I'm not discouraged at all, but rather remorseful that I didn't develop an interest sooner. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like astronomy, astrophysics, robotics, engineering, with some form of biology (perhaps microbiology?) and chemistry (o-chem?) seem to be associated with one another, as though if you know one, you're bound to know the others. It feels like I missed out on an awesome, intellectual party of sorts. 

I think anything futuristic has my attention at the moment - steampunk in art, industrial/post-industrialism in music, and science-fiction, robotics, and industrialism in literature. It all seems so imaginative, extravagant, and conjure such unique worlds and circumstances that you can't help but want to explore and discover. 

In the end, I want to know as much as I can, so that I can impart my knowledge onto my children, when that time comes. I want to have a relationship with my kids the way Cooper has with his kids in Interstellar: he's not just a parent, but also a teacher, challenging his kids to think critically, learn new skills, and learn as much as humanly possible. It's an inspiration to be that kind of a father figure when the time comes.

"Hell Naw, B*tch, You Got a D*ick in Your Mouth!"

That's really one of the cool aspects of music: an artist can incorporate samples taken from movies (and such) and either incorporate them as part of the song (like Nine Inch Nails does in "The Becoming") or use that sample an element or introduction to a song. Additionally, it's through these songs that I've found some equally interesting and/or boring films that I've seen. Finally, seeing what samples are used kind of give you some idea as to what an artist finds interesting. It's like getting to know them as a person, rather than as a musician.

Here are some songs and the samples used that I've found along the way:

Nine Inch Nails, "The Becoming" (the screaming heard throughout the song, on a loop)
The looped scream comes from a scene in Robot Jox 

(The sampled screams come in at about 20 sec. into the clip)

Rob Zombie, "Hands of Death(Burn Baby Burn)
The shouts of "Hail Satan!" and "God is Dead!" come from the final scenes of Rosemary's Baby

(Crappy Lyrics Video, but listen for the clip from 2:40-2:50)

(Listen to the first few seconds of this clip and from 0:55-0:59 for "God is Dead!")

Rise Against, "Survivor Guilt"

The discussion of America's future come from Catch-22 (as hi-lighted in the lyrics video)

(The first clip is from 1:07-1:25; the second, about 3:20-3:25)

Dr. Dre, "Deez Nuts"

The second intro (after the phone call, starting at :35 seconds) comes from a bit called "Chestnuts" from Rudy Ray Moore.

(The original bit begins at 1:45)

Well, that's all I've got for now. I've know of some others, but if I included them all, it'd be an incredible long and tedious post. All in all, it's really interesting to see how artists really incorporate existing material (whether it's from a film, television, or even a stand up comedy bit) into their music and make something that can be either frightening or humorous. Until the next post, my fellow readers!

"Yesterday, I Woke Up Sucking a Lemon..."

Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place" was their first song I really listened to. I knew about "Creep" because of Rock Band, and I knew of "High and Dry" because of 50/50, but it wasn't until Vanilla Sky that the band caught my ears. The sound is so eclectic and the album, Kid A, as a whole is bizarre, but attractive. That song is what put them on my radar. Eventually, I confessed to my friend that I wanted to really dig into Radiohead's discography. His response? "That's some deep waters there, man." No doubt. 

I decided to begin with Pablo Honey and The Bends, their first two albums and from there, OK Computer, Kid A, and onwards. Some researched yielded that it was with Kid A that Radiohead became to be more artistic and eclectically esoteric with their music. So far though, I'm enjoying their crunchy Alt. Rock vibe and already have found some go-to songs ("Blow Out", "Anyone Can Play Guitar, "Planet Telex", "Just") from both albums. I can't wait to hear their shift from Alt. Rock to Art Rock in Kid A.

Like most of the other bands I listen to, Radiohead's been around for a cool minute, and I've just begun to really digest their music. And I'm fine with that: this is how I come about learning and discovering things at my pace. In some way, it lets me enjoy their on the premise that I want to, rather than giving them attention because they're "what's in" at the moment. I like it that way: I may be late to the party, but I make the most of it nonetheless.