Gotta Moment?
See what we're up to!
Photography Fridays!
Yes yes, I know I am a bit late :sweat drop emoji: but fear not I have some great pictures of Down Town Los Angeles!!
I had a church event in Los Angeles and since I got there fashionably EARLY, like 1 hour, cause I did not want to deal with 6 pm traffic. But it was so worth!! Just look at the Los Angeles Sky! Super gorgeous with all the shades of pink, purple, and reds!!
There is a certain charm to old buildings among the glowing lights of the newer modern towers. All competing against the beauty of the sky.
The homies looking over the edge at 12 stories up. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but I had to take a shot on my trust em1 mark ii with 17mm F1.8 @ 35mm eqivalent focal length. At the time of the 1-second shot, before their sense of height kicked in, I feel like I should have focused on Mr.Grey sweater, but opted for Mr.HairDo for the depth perspective..now if feel like I should have done the former, what do y’all think?
All the delicious bokeh of the m.zuiko 17mm 1.8!! I absolutely the m4/3 sensor and how this Oly renders color!! Though on a side note, I believe the subject was getting ready to shoot a spitball at the unsuspecting people 12 stories below; I digress. For such a cheap lens it is a steal for anyone using m4/3s with a compacted all metal construction with O
Photography Fridays
Spiders are gross- says everyone
Alright, I get it most people don’t particularly like crickets, spiders, cockroaches, and those big @ss moths that always
I definitely on the same boat when it came to bugs at some point. Although that was short lived when I realized how interesting they were and mostly how amusing the reactions most people have when it comes to bugs or spiders! ( though they’re all the same to some people) and No, I didn’t terrorize people with bugs I was more of the *hears a distant scream* ” There’s a cockroach can you get rid of it for me”!! and I would proceed with a napkin or barehand if nothing is in sight. In fact, there was a pointing time during a Lecture when a big boy of a roach strolled across the front of the room unleashing a series of shrieks and screams. I walked over, picked up the little homie, and put him outside.
For spiders, I usually have a different approach cause my chances of becoming Spider-man from a bite are pretty low so I use the cup and paper method. It kind works out cause usually if I see a cup sitting in the middle of the room upside down there is probably something under it; the mini obstacle of an upside-down cup created as a result of my sister summing up the strength to imprison the visitor. In all honesty, though, I feel like spiders get a bad “wrap”..hehe cause they wrap up their prey!…anyways, they are the ones that eat all the creepy crawlies that could enter your space especially those flies that live forever! I don’t know who says flies live for only 24 hours some of them are buzzing around for days or weeks! I digress, The true beauty of spiders isn’t so much there face, cause lets be honest eight eyes and furry would make everything creepy..well may except Lucas the Spider ( look it up on YouTube, your heart will melt!) Their webs are truly captivating, Take a moment to the glimmering beauty of these webs on the Web..hehe
Hidden Restaurant: Kosuke
Kosuke, a hole in the wall Japanese restaurant, although known mostly for their assortment of Ramen the rest of their menu includes udon, rice bowls, curries, and bento boxes which are also delicious as well. I personally love their curry it is both simple, cheap, and oh so scrumptious!! If you’re familiar with Main Street in Alhambra, CA it is on 618-B W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801 a small and bustling restaurant.
Beware of the Line!! The restaurant is subjected to lines even before it opens at 11:30 am with parking relatively plentiful on the side streets or a short walk away, there is a parking lot, but the line of people obscuring the path usually requires some maneuvering not to mention the tiny parking lot. The plus side is that the portion sizes are great for what you pay for. The Japanese Fried Chicken Curry with a side salad was a cool $9.80 with tax included. An absolutely great deal for juicy, crispy chicken with a subtle heat from the rich and earthy brown curry. Something about they curry brings a sense of nostalgia I can’t explain. The simple chicken curry has the same satisfying sensation of eating homemade food after a long day. The feeling of being completely satisfied, after not eating a 5-star meal at some bougie restaurant, rather something you’re
Within the restaurant, there is no doubt that it is quite small and cozy. Even if you sit at a separate table, without a booth, you’re pretty close to the person next to you and in the booth
The First Photography Friday!!
Such is life…ribbet
Strolling through Descanso I spotted Kermit..er I mean this frog just chilling on the perimeter of the pond.
I figured he could use some glamour shots!
Staring off into space wondering..just wonder why there are so many people surrounding the pond!!
Perfect weather and pumpkins everywhere cause its fall. This little guy is soaking up the warmth before winter.
A Beautiful Mess
Several months ago I started this experiment where every day before I went to bed I would summarize my day with one word that described how I felt and wrote it down on my whiteboard. I did this to help myself better understand why I always felt the way I did. I wondered that maybe the mundane, and horrible things that happen to me and so many other people are actually minuscule in the grand scheme of things. My hope was that once all my feelings were laid out before me then maybe I would be able to fix them.
What I found was something different. I was surprised at how complex and inconsistent my life really is. If you take a look at this board you can see so many words. So many bad, and so many good words all spread across the whiteboard of my life. Each word is
We as humans are indeed a beautiful mess, and if we focus too much on the bad, like the words depressed, sad, and overwhelmed, then we tend to miss the words like happy, blessed, and smitten. If we lose perspective. If we let some words overshadow the others then we miss out on the best life has to offer. Because once you have your emotions laid out in front of you as I do now you begin to realize that those negative words aren’t so big after all.
I just want this to be a message to all those out there that might be struggling or focusing on the bad and tell them that it’s okay and it won’t last forever. Every day is a new day, a new color, a new opportunity for something better. You are a beautiful mess, but we all are, and that’s what it means to be human.
Tech Stock Drop, My Opinion
So far tech industries have been advancing fast in technology with stock prices growing at a fast rate. Companies such as AMD, INTEL, NVIDIA, and QUALCOMM were growing at an astonishing rate. AMD went from about 11$ per share in early January 2018 to over 32$ close to the end of September and INTEL experienced similar growth from about 47$ per share January 2018 to a little over 57$ per share in early June 2018.
The other tech stocks followed a similar trend. Then towards the start of October tech stock dropped hard! It was a reported 5% down due to the Federal Reserve increasing the interest rate by 25 points to 2.25$ up from 2%. AMD dropped about 10% and INTEL close to 8% with NVIDIA being hit hard with 15%. Since the beginning of October, things have stabilized, but this begs the question of how the future economic state of the United States will be.
Yes, we have been recovering from this massive stock drop, but the fact of the matter is that the interest is going to increase quickly by the end of 2018. The United States has been experiencing a high rate of growth with a low-interest rate of under 1% since 2008, with October starting with 2.25% interest and not to mention the tariffs that have been placed by President Trump on imported goods. Chip manufactures that operate primarily in different parts of Asia are going to be hit pretty hard. I sense that a lot of tech stock or others may drop hard sometime in 2020 and will result in an increase in their prices. I mean Apple is beginning to set a trend with 999$ premium smartphone with various increments in between, up from the once normal 650$ price tag.
TLDR; is that with all the events happening in the financial sector are a few
Road To NaNoWriMo
To all of you who don’t know. I (Sal) am a writer. Am I a good one? Well, I suppose that is up for debate, nonetheless, I write because it is my passion! One day I hope to make money off of it, but that is getting ahead of myself. Anyway, if you gotta moment I would like to talk to you about NaNoWriMo and the adventure I and many others are about to undergo.
What is NaNoWriMo?
For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a challenge of sorts, one where during the month of November you must write a 50k word novel! That is roughly 1666 words a day! To some that might not seem like a lot, but consistently writing that many words every single day amidst your busy life can be a lot more difficult than you would imagine. If you are curious about it, you can visit their website nanowrimo.org for more information (side note: they are also a non-profit event so if you would like to donate to help them out that would be awesome.)
Nano and I
Now that all that information is out of the way. I am here to tell you that I am going to be a part of this month-long journey and would like to take you along with me! Starting right here, right now with my before months that I am calling my ROAD TO NANO! Where I am going to be posting some polls, and other fun updates in an effort to prepare myself for my month-long task. Also when it starts, daily updates on my progress. (and hopefully, yours too if you are so inclined to join in!)
It is a tradition that I only ever complete NaNoWriMo every other year and since I successfully completed this monster last year it is my year to fail. Some may say I’m doomed for failure, but I would like to be a bit more optimistic than that! This is the year where I break that vicious cycle, I can feel it! So to keep me motivated I will be here, with you hopefully!
First Step
Let’s get started, shall we? And the first most important thing in my opinion that we need to get started with is figuring out what the heck I’m going to write about. I have some idea, but I would love to hear what you think! So here are some working stories and titles I am thinking about writing this year. Let me know which one you would like me to write, or something you would like to read! Because who knows, maybe one day it will actually become a book.
Skimmer – In a world where magic once flourished throughout the land, our heroes find themselves in a desolate future where magic has been ripped out of the earth and starved of its essence. To survive here, you either fight for the magic, taking down all who get in your way or skim magic from the earth, taking only enough to keep yourself alive. The never ending struggle moves onward, but perhaps there is another way. Perhaps there is a way to bring the magic back into the world.
The Ripper Games – Being the number one Ripper player in the world, Kyle’s life has always been a thrill. Playing a virtual reality battle royal game, making money, having woman fawn over you, traveling the world, what more adventure could he possibly ask for? Well, Kyle is about to find out when a fellow rival and several other competitors end up dead at the end of one of their tournaments, dying in the same way Kyle killed him in the game. When he is thrust into a murder investigation he must decide whether or not he wants to give up his dream or risk letting others die. Who could have done this, and are they coming for Kyle next?
Walk the Blood Moon – Kelley’s life is finally moving forward. She and her newlywed husband Dan have just purchased the most beautiful home in the most wonderful neighborhood. With a new Husband, new job, and new home in a new state Kelly is ready to take the bull by the horns and start her new life, and everything seems perfect until kids in her neighborhood start to go missing an no one seems to notice or care, part that and add the fact that she keeps having these awfully strange dreams and you can safely assume that Kelly’s perfect new life is coming to an end. Something is terribly wrong, and she is going to get to the bottom of it. Kelly never believed in witchcraft before, but now she is not so sure.
The Dominion Project – In the future, where Russia and China are the only remaining superpowers, they struggle in an arms race that could decide the fate of the world. On the one side, Russia is trying to hone in on the latent superhuman abilities some humans seem to possess, while China focuses on cybernetic enhancement. Our story takes place at a school, meant to bridge the gap between these two countries at odds with one another in an attempt at peace between the two nations, but tensions are high and one side always seems to be slightly ahead of the other. What happens when you try to force kids to get along with people they grew up being told they were supposed to hate? Nothing good. That’s what.
3 Reasons you should get into Indie Comics
1. Self-contained stories:
One of the best parts of indie comics is the fact that when you pick up a number one issue you don’t have to wonder if it really is a true starting point, because it is. It’s like picking up a new book. You don’t need to know the history of this story, or character. (Seriously though, if I pick up issue one I shouldn’t need to be reminded to go find out what happened in issue 51 of some other comic to understand what’s going on, yeesh!) Every issue one is a new journey just waiting to be discovered and that’s great!
2. None Superhero stories:
I’ll be the first to say that I love superheroes as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just get a little burnt out on Superman and Captain America that you just need a change of pace. Maybe you are looking for something more grounded in reality, or perhaps you want something a little more dark, more magical, you name it, there is something out there that is perfect for what you are looking for you just have to look for it.
3. Supporting Artists/Writers
I think this goes without saying, but it is not easy working in any art industry. Artist and writers pour their hearts and souls into these comics. They are everything to them and want you so desperately to read their babies, to discover the stories that they are so passionate about creating and buying their comics help tell them that you want more!
So please, go out and buy indie comics. They are little golden nuggets of pure joy yearning to be read! Here is a couple I love personally. If you have more than just a moment I would recommend going out and looking for those hidden gems!
DTLA and Ramen
Downtown Los Angeles or DTLA, like in many other larger cities with “downtowns”, it is a central hub for the chaotic spur of city life. Therefore, the food
I take my journey in the cool night of Southern California to DTLA Ramen, a quaint little ramen shop across from the ACE hotel Theater. It is surrounded by the glow of neon lights, though not as impressive has Hong Kong or even Las Vegas, enough to keep the nightlife mood present. I stumbled into the restaurant close to 8:15 pm where the wait to be seated was none existent, a plus for anyone wanting to grab a quick bite at night. The waiters were “chill” definitely ready to close up shop and enjoy the rest of their night, but not rude in any way. The menu offered its standard affair of ramen with the most expensive for 13.50$ being the Tsukemen, a type of dipping noodle dish that replaces the soup broth for a concentrated soup base on the side allowing the person to dunk their starchy strings to whatever intensity they want. I settled for the Shoyu Ramen, a soy sauce based traditional Ramen. A simple and delicious dish that strikes balance between richness and flavor. As opposed to Tonkatsu Ramen where the soup base is made from simmering pork bone, with tweaks here and there from each restaurant, creating a much heavier and richer taste. The Shoyu Ramen I selected was made with a combination of soy sauce and kelp base creating a smooth umami sensation. It was paired with two “ok” sized slices of Chicken Chashu; although there wasn’t anything Chashu about the chicken, it was tender and “clean” tasting although, it looked more like boiled chicken that had been seared with a blowtorch, still delicious nonetheless. In addition, there is an option to select either a hard or soft-boiled whole egg making it a touch bit better since most ramen shops offer soft-boil and only half the egg for the aesthetic appeal. Such a welcome sight to those who have picky friends. The ramen was delicious a light yet satisfying broth, acceptable protein, and nicely textured noodles with the soft-boiled egg actually being one of the best parts if not the best soft-boiled egg I have ever had! The egg was soft-boiled to perfectly and the taste was absolutely a flavor EXPLOSION! To my surprise
Overall, the experience was perfect for a late night bite and it definitely hit the spot without a food coma. The atmosphere of the restaurant was modern with a slight industrial theme basically less cozy more street life if that makes sense.
Hey Gotta Moment?
Each person has a multitude of things happening in his or her life. Why not take a break and look at what we are up to?! We’re just two nerds that are both opposite and similar at the same time with random hobbies. We wish to inspire and intrigue our readers in our day to day life with a lovable Comic-Connoisseur/Writer and a Master of None! Cheers hope yall enjoy!!