Just taking a break

My first video blog. Don't laugh.

Phases

Now, we've all gone through phases. You know, things that you thought you would take up because you thought you'd be "The Bomb Shizzz"- either to be cool with your friends, or just for the sake of taking up - we've all done it. Some may have stuck with you over the years while others just seem to fall by the way side. I've had a few, some worth reminiscing and laughing over are:

The rap phase:
Ugh, I still have some really craptastic rap songs on my iTunes playlist that I wished I had never wasted bandwidth on - oh, um, I meant my money on. I usually leave my playlist on shuffle so whenever a random rap song comes up, lets say 50cent's In da club, a sigh usually follows along with a press of the next track button. I remember trying to get into rap music so that I could be cool with my peers. Loser.

The Boy Band phase:
Now, this is going to sound incredibly horrible and embarrassing. But I had this stage in my life where I wanted so badly to be famous in some like, boy band or something. This was back in the mid 90's or so and boy bands then were flavor of the month. I did the whole singing thing, putting so much gel on my hair, practicing the dance moves and all that - I was so convinced I was going to be the sixth member of Five (remember them? Probably not). Or the replacement of the ugly guy from NSync. Thank goodness I grew out of that, I think.

The "I wanna be a tank" phase:
Okay, I fall in and out of this one intermittently - I get these short bursts of "I'm gonna be so healthy and go to the gym everyday until I'm a tank" that generally seems to sizzle out after a few weeks. I was going so well up until last week, when I couldn't be bothered to get up from bed and get my lazy ass to the gym. Why is looking good so hard to obtain? I'm too damn lazy. I don't love myself that much.

The Aquarium phase:
I guess you can call this the 'pet' phase. So I get a fish tank, set it up, and get all the fishies put in. All is well and good until I realise I actually have to maintain it. I get lazy, and so the algae starts to pile up, making the fish rather invisible. You do see them again, however, floating above said algae - albeit upside down. You know what the worse part is? I've gone through this phase like, over ten times. Same result. I never learn.

Anyway, that's just a few. I'm sure you all have some - feel free to let me know. Heck, even blog about it, just let me know where you've posted it.

Cheer up, Emo Kid.

Nothing's ever that bad. Seriously.

Instead of looking what they do have, they seem to just concentrate on what they lack. They in turn have feelings of inadequacies that lead them to a slump that they feel that they can't get out of.

I've heard of really weak excuses of why someone is feeling down - from things like:

"Oh, the work is too hard"
"I hate my job"
"My girlfriend dumped me"
"My life's headed nowhere"

...and so on and so forth.

For goodness sakes, to those people, seriously, get over yourselves. You're still alive, healthy, with a roof over your head, and have family and friends who care about you. You wake up everyday with probably the greatest gift you can ever receive: A brand new day, and yet here you are, moping because of the most trivial things.

I've seen kids cancer ridden with only a chance of survival, and yet that slight chance is enough to fuel their optimism. They have the biggest smile on their faces, even despite being constantly prodded by needles, enduring chemotherapy, and battling constant fatigue.

So to those mopers out there, remember:

Nothing is ever that bad.

For reals.

Americas Most Hated Family

I watched something really, really upsetting a few nights back. It was a documentary created by the BBC called "Americas Most Hated Family". It was a fly-on-the-wall look into the workings of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). These people are best known for picketing the funeral services of fallen military men/women of the United States Armed Forces.

They are best known here in Australia as the people who planned to picket (or did picket - I'm not too sure) Heath Ledgers funeral because of his support and portrayal of a gay character in Brokeback Mountain.

Essentially, these people are the biggest homophobes in the planet. They believe that America is doomed because of their stance on the whole LGBT issue. In short, they believe things like 9/11, fallen soldiers, or pretty much anything bad happening in the USA is caused by God punishing America for their "support" of homosexuals. Sounds crazy right?

What really, really upsets me most is that they use God as a way to enforce their agenda, and in this particular case, hate. "God Hates America", "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "Thank God for 9/11" and "God Hates Fags" are just some of the incredibly creative sayings they have on their signs. Upsetting thing is they use the Bible to back up these statements and goes to show how open ended the Bible is for people to back up their claims. Pretty much, if you have whatever agenda, chances are you can construe some random quote from the Bible to give your agenda some backbone.

This CULT is a prime example of how people can be so deluded by their myopic view of the world. How can someone be so filled with hate that they at any chance they get go and picket any sort of event that condones national pride? I really do hope that these people can take a real good look at themselves and see that they have all been taken for a ride by false pretenses set by their "ring leader", the poor lost soul that he is.

It's a shame that religion these days have taken away the primary focus of it being one's own spiritual belief, or relationship with this greater being called "God". Instead, it has become this huge machine fuelled by agenda and propaganda. Instead of being a cohesive entity within our society, it has forced us to form groups that have socially constructed boundaries, which in turn divide us.

I know it is not all churches that do this, I know a lot that do promote equality and peace to mankind. It's just some of the few, like these people that give it such a bad name.

Please watch this and tell me that this doesn't fire you up:



Sad, huh? There are plenty more on YouTube if you search. The best ones are the backlash protests done by people against the WBC.



"That black scarf doesn't cover your red neck!" Hilarious!

'Sup, You...

I've realised that I'm really, really bad at remembering names.

So I've been working at my new job for a good two weeks now, I feel like I've settled quite well. It's a great bunch of people I'm working with - vibrant, friendly, enthusiastic bunch. Me likes. However, I have failed to remember most of their names, and I feel so horrible about it.

The first day I started, it seemed that everyone knew who I was. Like, everyone knew my name and stuff. They even were starting to do Juan jokes - as in Juan, two, three... or something along those lines. Actually, the following seems pretty much a good example of what happens.

Workmate: JUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAN!
me: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!
(blank stare, trying not to blatantly look at their name tag, then proceed to walk away, puzzled)

Sure, I know some of them already, but I'd say 20% of people who work there I know of their names. I'm terrible.

So, I've set myself a goal for the week - that is to know each and every one of them prior to the end of this week. I will write all their names up on this here blog even, so watch this space.

And That's The End of That Chapter

So after three and a half years of working at the same place, I've now left to do other things. Saturday was my last shift in fact, so it's come and past and I have since started my new job.

What surprised me most on that last day was how un-emotional that day was for me. It was just like another day - started off like one, ended like one. Except only major difference was that I did some hardcore photo whoring after close, which of course I never do usually.

But I leave that job with no ill feelings or regrets, but I do leave with good mates and thats a major bonus.

To those I've worked with : Paul R., Pouya, Nathan, Jay, Tom, Ed, Brad, Little Nathan, Andrew, Kris, Steven, Larry, Dan, Parrish, Jason, Farzan - thank you for the experience.

To those I leave behind: Algie, Enoch, Josh, Kim V., Kim H., Aaron, Nigel - much love. Don't forget, I haven't died or anything so don't forget to invite me to them damn poker/ mafia nights okay? And keep going strong, I'm still here if you guys need anything.




Some guys at work put together this lame ass video of my leaving. It's extremely corny but I appreciate it so much - thank you! This vid is so lame that it's so funny - what's the name of the song? It says "Jesus" in it - is this song one of those christian songs? Geez...



HAHAHAHA

It's too late to apologize, it's too laaaaaaate

See that up there? In the blue shirt, that is I. I went to the Maroon 5/ OneRepublic concert at the Acer on Friday night.

Two words: Fricken Ace.

I had so much fun, I was going hardcore in my seat just dancing and singing rather badly - and no one heard because the music was damn loud. But it was fun!

Maroon 5 were awesome - but I was really excited seeing OneRepublic on stage. I've been following the lead singer, Ryan Tedder for quite some time. His song 'The Look' is one of my favourites.



LOL at the NSync dude. He looks like he wants him. So bad.

Tulibu Dibu Douchoo

Okay, there are two things that I like - singing; and foreigners. Now when you combine them both, you get funny time!



Ken Lee



This song is way too damn catchy. I sing it all the time, even with the made up subtitles. But is way hilarious, so please, respect the caviar. LOL

Be sure to check out some of the other vids made by this 'Buffalax' on youtube - particularly the Indian Bollywood ones. Hilarious!

ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, HEY!

So, something happened to me the other day...

So I applied for a job for Apple about a month ago. Days, weeks and a month or so has passed and began to think that nothing was going to eventuate from it so I let it go.

Now, at my current job, I'm hardly getting enough hours as it is to get by - damn bills and stuff is absolutely killing me. So I consider about getting another casual job to get me by.

So, I get a phone call from a mate that works at an electronic entertainment store close by to my house, and so he tells me that there's a place for me over there and that there are ample hours for me to use up. I tell him that I'll have a think about it and took about two weeks to deliberate.

Sum it up short, I'm now leaving my current job to now work at this other place. Now, I call my friend up on Tuesday, after much deliberation to tell him that I'm accepting the offer. I've also called my current boss to tell him that this is my last week working at that place - which was pretty hard, considering I've been working there for three and a half years.

Soon after this all happens, I get an anonymous call on my mobile. I answer it and of course, it was none other than Apple, well at least the people responsible for recruiting for Apple and they proceed to interview me over the phone. Twenty minutes later, they tell me that I've progressed through to the second round. I felt like one of those people who audition for Idol and get through to Hollywood/Sydney - sans a golden ticket.

I'm way excited, the second round of interviews happen next week. I don't know how far I go, but hopefully I'll get it. Thing is, if I do get it, what the hell do I do with this new job I'm starting next week? I'd feel so bad if I'm like, the guy who stayed there for a few days/weeks and left.

coming soon

I'll be doing something different here real soon - I'm actually quite nervous about it. But hopefully I'll have enough to get me going for some time.

I've been inspired by a lot of things recently - inspired by how some people out there really embrace their talents. From artists, designers, dancers and even people like singers. There are many talented people out there who aren't ashamed to show, and flaunt what they have. I'm jealous of these people. I hate them even.

I've been watching a lot of youtube lately and I've been seeing these people who do one of those singing blog type of things - people singing songs in front of their cameras and upload them. I've seen many, been inspired by many. So that's why I've decided to do some of my own, some of which I will be posting up some time soon. Hopefully, I'm okay - if not, I've got you, the unknown public of the internet, to tell it to me straight. If I suck, then tell me, I so wouldn't mind.

So yeah, check back every now and then, I should have something up and running sometime soon.

Upgrading

Sorry for the rough looking blog. Just currently updating, but still fully functional. Was thinking the old blog was looking a little drab, that's all. So please, feel free to browse around...

I has a pink eye...

You probably can't really notice it in the above pic that much, but my right eye is swollen up and is pink. Worse thing is during mornings, my right eye seems to be covered up in this weird crusty stuff. 'Tis gross. Muy gross. It must have been a dodgy contact lens, saying that, I haven't worn contacts since last week because of it.

10 seconds of fame

Okay, so we (myself Lucy, Ting, Lisa and a few others) went to a filming of So You Think You Can Dance Australia last week. And because we were a such ridiculously good looking bunch, they invited us to watch the show up on the balcony type area above the right hand side of the stage. So yes, we were on TV - as you can see in these shots here:

Trust me, we're there somewhere

Top right, those spotlighted three people Me, Lucy, Ting LOL

Boo-yah

Us during a routine

All up, we accumulated about 10 seconds worth of airtime - possibly a bit more. Still, we're moving on up. This was Ting's first appearance on TV since being shown on the news fainting from the heat. And my first appearance on TV since they showed me on the corner of the screen during a Pope's mass (don't ask).

Oh, I also went to a filming of Gladiators not too long ago too. It hasn't been shown on TV yet, but I'm so keeping an eye out for myself. I wore a bright orange shirt and was doing the robot so I could try to make myself out from the crowd LOL.

Jukebox

Every now and then, there's a song that comes along that's just really great and stays with you for years and years - and when you hear that song again after not listening to it for yonks, all these memories of yesteryear come flooding back like a raging torrent. Here's one of them - I hope it does the same for you.

Welcome back to 1993.



Why oh why don't songs sound like this anymore?

So You Think You Can Dance? No. No, I can't...

As much as I hate to admit - I've been watching this show like crazy. I dunno, to me it's such a visual treat, seeing people do things I can't even dream to do. It's MUCH better than seeing a bunch of fat shits on treadmills, and crying because they're fat - boo fricken hoo.


"I don't know how I got this big..." says one contestant. Um, was it probably because you ate A LOT? Hmm, yes, I think that might be it.

Funny how they put The Biggest Loser on at dinner time on weekdays - it really makes you think about what you're shoving into your mouth. I won't even think about going for seconds...

But anyway, back to dancing - my cousin is taking me to the Sydney Dance Company next week to do some hip hop. I'm so unco it's not funny, it's gonna be interesting to see how it all goes. Hopefully, she'll have her cam or mobile with her, maybe we can upload my unco-ness to youtube for the world to see. Watch this space...

reminiscing

Was just reading past posts just then - in particular a 'to do' list I did back in 2006 regarding things I'd really like to start/get into or complete. Funny thing is, either the years have gone by really, really quick - or I've just been completely lazy the last few months or so, because I haven't really ticked off anything in that list. Worse thing is, I mostly suspect the latter, I have been a lazy arse indeed.

There was another post I did back then, about getting fit and all muscled up by the end of that year (2006). Nup, I'm still the same lump of shit as I was back then, in fact, I suspect even heavier than then - but I blame work for that.

But you know what? I'm pretty sure it's gonna change this year, I feel it. I've told myself to get off my arse and actually do things this year instead of waiting for things to happen.

I've got myself back to the gym and going hardcore (I hurt right now). I've got my first singing "gig" in a while happening in two weeks - okay it's for a wedding, but still. Sure, it ain't really that big but still, wedding now, Madison Square Garden next. Mmm hmm.

As for me, I'm in a good place right now. I've enough time to do the things I want (such as blogging) and some. Ooh, I've been sleeping lots which is really rare for me.

So yay!

VD = Venereal Disease

To all the lovers and couples out there:

Happy Valentines Day





...motherfuckers.

stuff

Okay, so I work selling video games - however, that does NOT mean that whenever you see me all I would want to do with you is talk about video games.


person: Hey Juan
me: Hey
person: Hey, you know, like on PlayStation...
me: Ugh.

An entry about nothing. Oh and a Happy New Year

I know, it's been a while - last blog I remember doing was back in winter last year. First thing, where the hell did last year go? 2007 seemed like it just went through like... something that goes by really fast (sorry, mental block).

But here we go, start of another year. I know I probably said this last year, but I think this year is going to be big - not just for myself, but perhaps the world in general, hopefully for the good.

On a personal level, I have told myself that this is the year I finally stop saying "what if" and actually do. I know, I probably said that last year (or was that the year before?), but this year, it will stick and it must happen. It must. I mean, for goodness sakes, I turn friggin 26 this year. 26! And I ain't getting any younger and I absolutely hate the feeling of regret that I didn't get to do what I wanted to do. So I'm throwing all abandon to the wind and I'm ready to go on to next gear.

I promise to keep you (yes, you two or three people or so) updated with what's going down in Juan's world.

Sing, sing, sing

I don't know if I've mentioned this before on this here blog, but I used to be a singer. I'd have performances every now and then - in bars, in "community musicals", which is better left not to talk about, I've been a wedding singer amongst other stuff as well. I've even been a back up singer for international acts, which was kinda cool.

All up until about over a year or so ago, when I just stopped. I don't know why, but I just didn't feel like doing it (at that particular time).

I'm thinking, maybe I should go back and do it again, just for fun sakes. Who knows what it may lead to?

I saw this photo of me singing with my cousin (I'm on the left, of course). Made me think that maybe singing is something that's in my blood.