This & That

+I've started a little guest-blogging stint for Zap2it.com - check out my piece "Stamos on Stamos" (more entries forthcoming) for a little taste. Mayhaps my dream for the "Stamos vs. Stamos Reality Show" is closer to becoming a reality. The irony in all this - at least, it's ironic to me - is that I never was really a diehard fan of John Stamos. It's just my nickname. And I happen to share the name with someone quite famous, which has led to a lot of funny posturing and comparisons (from my end, obv).  Thanks to Twitter for confusing everyone...

+In the world of TV and TV-watching, I'm already feeling pretty burnt out. Last night I was going through my DVR and caught at least 6 shows I'm already sufficiently behind in. Thing is, I am totally okay with that. That's the thing about people who work in television - they don't actually have time to watch TV. As long as I watch all the pilots and sort of just stay looped in, I am totally okay with not devoting the hours upon hours required for watching everything. Especially when I'd rather spend my free time Monday night working on my writing.

+Speaking of writing, it's so fun being in a class again - granted, it makes me really long for college days, but it's pretty great walking around the UCLA campus and going to classes.  Even better is this writing class is going to force me to start and make a dent in a new project entirely - I'm looking forward to that.

+I'm still convinced we're having an earthquake every five minutes. Okay, not that often but I swear to God I feel earthquakes all the time.

+I kind of want to learn how to play golf. It was the one country club sport I never learned, mostly because I spent most of my time at the club in the pool or being forced to tennis lessons. I feel like now I might really enjoy golf. I'm going to look into that.

+Why is it that the month following Labor Day is always so packed and stressful? It's as though this is the real start to the year - the real time for resolutions and plans.  Not sure I'm sticking to any of my goals. I think I need to find a better balance for my weekends where I am a little more productive and a little less not-sober. Ha. Or I need to figure out how to survive on less sleep. I once heard that Bill Clinton trained himself to get only 5 hours of sleep a night and it made a world of difference. How can I do that?

Resolution FAIL

Um. Yeah. So I haven't been the best about fulfilling that resolution about, you know, blogging at this here blog every weekday, but good news is I am posting more regularly at HuffPo! I know you are exciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiited.

Have I been going to yoga once a week? No.

How about those hikes? Not yet.

Well... we can't win them all, huh?

I should have included "WATCH MORE TV" as a New Years Resolution. Woulda nailed it.

Happy Happy

Happy 2010 Everyone. And Happy Birthday to Me. Yeah, because if there’s anywhere you can wish yourself a happy birthday it should be your own blog, the hub of all things narcissistic, right?

Anyhoo… I’d like to share some of my New Years Resolutions, because I mean, if you share them then you feel a bit more committed to following through, right? I mean I really did fulfill most of mine from last year. Still working on getting my shit together however...

• Blog every weekday (off to a rip-roaring start!)
• Submit a HuffPo pieces on a more frequent and regular schedule
  
• Watch The Wire (I mean how can I claim to be a TV buff when I haven't even watched what is apparently the best show of the past decade?)
• Do yoga once a week
• Go for a hike once a month
• Create – and stick with – a regular writing routine (for my non-blogging endeavors)
  
• Don’t buy anymore sunglasses (I have a problem)
  
• Travel more
• Save more
• And as always… BE PROFESSIONAL (or something)
  

Still Incapable of Getting My Act Together

Last night I had a panic attack about longstanding hospital bills from July (car accident-related) that I thought my insurance company had handled but hadn't and before falling asleep last night I could remember if it was two digits and then two zeros, or three zeros. Essentially the difference between a paycheck and my year's salary. Panic attack ensued.

Thank Sweet Baby Jesus because it is just two zeros. Totally do-able. And I am going get right ON TOP OF IT. Well not right now. Later today. I have a delicious fruit salad to enjoy first.

These Resolutions Are NOT Going Well

Remember my New Years resolutions? I mean you should, they were only two posts ago... well anyway, I am really struggling with the whole GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER goal. Since Monday, the following things have been said to me:

Boss: You are weird.
Co-worker: You are a boy
Friend: You are a trainwreck.

Hmm.

New Years Resolutions

Have you been worrying that you might not get to hear what my New Year’s resolutions were? Well stop worrying because I am about to ROCK YOUR WORLD.



Actually, I am not, but I am going to enlighten you with my goals for 2009. Get ready for enlightenment:

1. Complete a body of work by year’s end. This can be an essay, a pilot, a screenplay, a book—something other than the blog, and something I might be interested in getting other people to read, so that maybe it will be published/sold/made/mocked/ridiculed/stolen/destroyed/applauded as genius.
2. Drink less alcohol. This is a little vague I realize, so I am thinking I might change this to one night a week. But then I wonder is that feasible? No I can handle that. Yeah. Drink less.
3. Get my shit together. This I have already failed miserably, both in my New Year’s Day all day drinking (to delay hangover—okay so I have failed Resolution #2 as well), and in the fact that I left my computer on the plane Sunday. Oh and also in my inability to properly dress myself. Perhaps my shit will never get together.

Okay so I guess that it’s it. I think #1 is the only real attainable goal, but I think it’s a good one. Maybe?

Goddamn you EW staff writers

I give Entertainment Weekly far too many shout outs...

Anyway, please read this commentary on Celine Dion's concert at MSG last night (that's Madison Square Garden not that weird shit Moms hate in Chinese food) and you will once again be reminded of why she is so AMAZING.

NEW GOAL:
See Celine in concert. So simple. Yet, I have a feeling it might be difficult to accomplish. Why? I have little to no money to spend on such a lavish event. OH but for Celine, I just might forgo a few Lean Cuisines...

Approaching Goal Deadline, Time to Call in a Favor

Okay people. That goal of mine to go to The X-Files premiere, well that date is FAST approaching and things aren't looking up. First of all, word on the street is that invites to the premiere are non transferrable which means I either need to be very good at disguises or someone needs to invite me as their guest. Which means I need help.

OR

I can just go with all the hilarious crazy fans who are going to dress up and see it, not quite the same but still an experience and I can get my tickets for a showing at the Arclight in Hollywood, right? WRONG. I just checked and ALL TIMES ARE SOLD OUT! Whatever is a crazed X-Files fan today? Who well help me in my quest? I'm like Mulder and Scully but instead of the truth, I'm looking for a movie seat. Eh, what will probably happen is I'll just go to the standard AMC down the road with the normal plebians. So be it.

However, if anyone has any ideas how to make my hilarious X-Files goals come anywhere close to true... let me know. I am imagine the truth is out there. (Aren't I hilaaaarious).

Goals

Good morning dudes and dudettes, I've got a new goal to share with you all. This one is especially California of me:

Learn how to surf.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life I got on a surf board. It was fun. Really fun. So much fun, in fact, that I never actually stood up (or came all that close to standing up) but holy smokes did I enjoy myself. My brother's a surfer and while I was out frolicking in the big waves at the beach yesterday he let me get on the board and started to teach me a little bit about how to surf. So now I'm hooked. That's going to be my little summer activity... surfing.

Goals

This isn't an update on previous goals of getting some face time with John Stamos or going to The X-Files premiere (no progress made on either front), but in fact to announce a new goal.

I hate the Lakers. I love the Celtics. I want to go to the playoffs, or at least one of the early games here in Los Angeles. I am fully prepared to be one of a few Celtics fans, among the mass of purple and gold. I will wear my green shirts proudly and trash talk as much as possible without getting myself thrown out. So, who do I have to sleep with to get tickets? No seriously, does anyone have a hook up? Or work for a company where they get lots of tickets to give away? Anyone? Anyone? Who wants to help my dreams come true?

Eureka!

So I was browsing EW.com as I regularly do about nine times a day, and came upon this story, about the New York Comic Convention, which made me laugh with glee (Are, too! D2! Best come back EVER.) And then I was looking at this hilarious photo slideshow and it dawned on me: anyone can go to one of these comic conventions, and while I would love to have to go for something work related (makes me appear to be less of a loser, and I think the people who go to these things far exceed me in any claim to nerdom I have), but why not just go, because at the very least, it would be a hilarious adventure and provide some great writing material, right? RIGHT!

Well, even better... I started asking around the office if anyone had ever been in the past. It turns out one of the managers goes every year. Every year. AND I AM GOING THIS YEAR. I haven't even talked to my boss about this, and it might turn into a Saturday-Sunday thing only, but now I am starting to think that maybe I can somehow make this work related and get a little reimbursement and maybe hang with the freaks and geeks but I would really be there with the managers, agents, press, and movie makers... AND OH MY GOD MAYBE DAVID DUCHOVNY WILL BE THERE. If you can't tell I am totally geeking out right now and having a SERIOUS moment, but this all just sort of came to me... Okay then I just remembered that the premiere of The X-Files: I Want To Believe is July 25 and OMG YOU GUYS it conflicts with Comic Con so what will I do if my BIG GOAL is to go the premiere but then I have this GREAT opportunity to see what sort of freaks this country has to offer at the biggest fan convention EVER.

Okay my shortness of breath is returning, I need my inhaler (for my bronchitis induced bronchial asthma, duh... wow I am not that much of a loser, puhleeze) and then I need to just take a moment to laugh about the fact that just yesterday I was sort of feeling at a miserable crossroads in my career life and then today I decide to go to Comic Con. There's a silver lining to everything, my friends.

P.S. I am realizing now that I talk about my geekiness all the time. I would like to add a little disclaimer that I am generally normal and that this love for weird sci fi pop culture phenomena is just one little facet of my personality. I also love trees (see Earth Day post) and J. Crew and beer and puppies and hippie music festivals.

Goals

Here's the deal. I live in Los Angeles, city of Hollywood dreams--so why not set forth some industry-related goals of my own? And I am not referring to becoming a top executive or an Oscar winning writer (although that would be nice). No, my Hollywood dreams of late are a little more... weird.

Goal #1
Meet John Stamos. I need to meet John Stamos and take a picture with him, merely for the opportunity to take a picture with him and then make it my Facebook profile picture. That may be pathetic and/or lame... or is it really, really cool. Because then I could tell him that I respond to the following names, all because of him, Stamos, John, Uncle Jesse. And I could also tell him I currently winning an online competition that he is unaware of. And then I would probably receive a restraining order.

Goal #2
Go to the new X-Files movie premiere. Strangely, I think this goal might be attainable, more so than the above. And I don't mean I want to hang out with the weird fans who scream and cry as they mob the red carpet, but I want to actually go to the actual premiere--on a list or as a guest. I will have to start working some connections for this one. Fortunately, our company represents a director who worked on well over 50 episodes of the show, so maybe I can angle myself in that way, somehow...

Anyways, those are my new Hollywood goals. I'll give progress reports every now and then. Wait a minute... what if I could meet John Stamos AT the X-Files premiere! I think my little heart my explode!