Positivity

I've been trying for the past few years to be a more positive person. I have to say, I do believe I have slowly improved.


It takes a lot of effort for a pessimist like me to start viewing things in a very optimistic way. But that effort is all worth it, as I have seen the results of having a positive outlook on life. It just makes things a lot brighter every day.


And while I still sink into the bottomless depths of negativity once in a while, I do manage to catch myself and force myself to look on the bright side.


Is it all worth it?

Yes.


Out.

Valentine's Dinner

Quick food post.


Last night my wife and I had Valentine's dinner at Thousand Cranes Restaurant in Greenbelt 3. It's a shabu-shabu place that we've been to a few times before.


For those not in the know, shabu-shabu is basically cooking your food in a hot broth. That's it. If you want to know more, google it. Or check wikipedia.


I do love shabu-shabu. I have no idea why, since technically all you're paying for at the restaurant is the ingredients, the use of the cooking facilities, and the place. You don't pay them to cook the food since you cook it yourself. And like a friend of mine once said, "I don't eat in shabu-shabu places because I think it's stupid to pay a restaurant where you have to cook your own food."


I disagree with my friend. Cooking is pretty fun. I enjoy making the food taste the way I want it. I like having to cook without having to prepare the ingredients and wash up after. And I like the fact that if the food tasted bad, it was mostly my fault since I cooked it.


Anyway, my wife and I had a wonderful time. We both got full, we had a nice time together, and it was a blast.


Now excuse me, I have to cook our dinner now.


Out.

Old Man in KFC and Angelo Reyes

Lunch yesterday was weird.

While in line at KFC an old man started talking to me (and everyone else in the line) about what happened to the late Angelo Reyes. For those not in the know, he committed suicide because he  allegedly received a P50 million pabaon after he left the military.

This old man was saying how proud he was to be a Filipino. How honorable Angelo Reyes was when he committed suicide. How it was Reyes' wife's fault, how she was the one behind the corruption. He even told me that Imelda was the cause of Ferdinand Marcos' woes. For proof he asked me how many of Marcos' siblings got rich.

I tried to smile politely while ignoring him. I did not want to argue with an old man during my 1 hour lunch break. But had I decided to let him know what I think, this is what I would have said.

Angelo Reyes is a coward. He took the easy way out by killing himself, and by killing himself I think he just proved that he is guilty of something. He's running away from his problems. And if he were a Roman Catholic he'd be committing a very grave sin against God.

Out.

An Ideal Melo Trade Scenario

We all know the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony will only sign a contract extension if he's traded to the New York Knicks. We also know that a lot of people are turned off from trying to acquire him because of his reluctance to commit long term to any city except New York.


However let's pretend that Melo's not as picky with his teams. Let's pretend he just wants to move to a team with a younger core of players but also at the same time be competitive enough to give him a better chance of winning a championship. Here's a trade I came up with this afternoon at work (I know, what was I doing playing with ESPN's Trade Machine during work hours - but it was a slow day for me).


http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=65sol3h


Here's what happens. Denver trades Carmelo Anthony and Chris Andersen to Milwaukee. The Bucks send Larry Sanders, Michael Redd, Carlos Delfino, and Luc Mbah-a-Moute, and some draft picks to the Nuggets.


Why would Denver do it? Larry Sanders and Mbah-a-Moute are both young promising players. Michael Redd is an expiring contract, and Carlos Delfino has proven to be a versatile wing player with three-point range. Plus if Milwaukee doesn't make the playoff this year there's a chance they can get the lottery pick of Milwaukee. Plus Denver also gets rid of Chris Andersen's long term contract and they gain cap flexibility once Redd's contract expires.


The Bucks would then get the perfect offensive weapon to complement Andrew Bogut. Bogut can focus more on the defensive end, plus he would be more lethal on the low block with a scorer like Melo around. Brandon Jennings would also be able to focus more on his playmaking rather than trying to be the main scorer. I could envision a lineup of Bogut, Ilyasova, Melo, John Salmons, and Brandon Jennings as the starters. Corey Maggette could be the sixth man, with Drew Gooden and Keyon Dooling rounding out a possible eight man rotation. You could even consider Chris Douglas-Roberts for a solid nine man rotation.


There you have it.


No, I am not a Bucks fan. I am a Melo fan. But I am also an NBA fan and I love playing virtual GM.


Out.

Not a Big Fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Let me make one thing clear. I really don't like Neon Genesis Evangelion. I think it's the original series, not the reboot or whatever you call it.


It's probably because I'm too old, but I really think it's an annoying, pretentious anime.


Oh, spoiler alert. I will be mentioning reasons why I don't like Eva (as it is sometimes called) and I will be using examples that can be found in later episodes of the series.


Why do I find it annoying? Let me count the ways.

• Ikari Shinji is an emo kid. He lacks confidence and stays inside his own shell due to some issues he has in life.
• Asuka Langley. When I was in high school, my classmates used to fawn over her. I find her an annoying bitch. Overconfident, cocky, trying to act too mature for her age. Yet when things don't go her way she starts losing her confidence and acting like Shinji. Then near the end you find out the reason why she was acting that way.
• Rei Ayanami. No problems with her, surprisingly. EXCEPT SHE'S A F*CKING CLONE OF SHINJI'S MOM (I did say I'd be giving away some spoilers).
• Shinji's dad. I forgot his name. What a jackass. Abandoning his kid because his wife dies? Yeesh.

Now why do I find it pretentious?

• Well they do use a lot of Christianity based names. I have no idea why. Maybe they thought it would sound cool, the same way Western shows use Japanese terms to make the show sound cool.
• They seem to be trying to put a lot of hidden meanings in the show. Just keep it simple, like Getter Robot or Mazinger Z. Aliens attack and giant robots fight it. It could've gone this way - an alien attacks, the Evas fight it. Along the way they discover the enemy adapts to their attacks and so they have to adapt too.
• The whole "humanity has to evolve" bit.

Maybe I'm just too old. The theme and the side stories didn't suit me well. But I can imagine enjoying this anime had I seen this when I was in high school.

Out.