Cali-strated

Cali-strations: pictures taken during a day that, upon reflection, illustrate something about my California experience.

Having an amazing camera in your phone, like I do with my Nokia Lumia 920, there are days when I take pictures of things without even thinking about why.  Our devices are so convenient and I constantly use mine to discover and create shareable content, while also forcing myself to view, examine and appreciate my surroundings.

Today was one of those days that I took some pictures and had no idea why or what I would do with them.  When I looked at them later, I made two collages. (FYI – I use two collage apps: PhotoGrid and Phototastic)

Today’s Cali-strated theme is “Pretty on the outside – Weird on the inside”

DalyDose of…Labor Day Kickoff in Pictures

No, I don’t mean the football games.  There are no games until Michigan takes on Alabama today.  Go Blue.  I speak of the Friday that kicks off the long Labor Day weekend, that I get to celebrate regardless of my employment status.  What a great country.

Yesterday, I was prepared to have a Netflix night at home with my microwave popcorn in a lunch bag, made “famous” in this YouTube video.  That thrilling video was put together on another thrilling night in the JDE.  Try not to be too jealous.  Alas, my date with streaming video was cancelled by a better offer.

The offer was so good that I had to give the ‘ole skull a fresh shave.  Here is a representation over time of my preparation of a fresh skull.  It is not always easy being JD…it takes work, but the final product is soooo worth it.

DalyDose of…Total Package

I started the “Insanity” workout today and let me start this posting on a tangent: Even the fit test kicked my butt!

OK, back to our originally scheduled blog.  I started the Insanity workout today because my internal fitness level did not match my external appearance.  I have a supercharged engine in a jalopy frame and it was time to get to the body shop.  When I finished the workout this morning, I thought about some things that I had been talking about with women that I know.  They all have various reasons for justifying why they don’t think a guy will work out.  Some of them claim intuition, some resort to blaming it on “timing” and some just say that they aren’t willing to “settle”, but are uncomfortable discussing what is an unsettling…uh…settling situation.

DalyDose of…10 Single Resolutions

2011 is upon us.  Last year was supposed to be two thousand PERFECT ten, but we’ll make 2011 one better than perfect!

Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the following list of resolutions.  These resolutions are intended for those of us burdened…I mean blessed…with being single men in Los Angeles.  I am certain, however that anyone will be able to take a gem or two and add them to the treasure that is their life.

Yes, I view this list as immeasurably important and those who find their way to it, will possess a wisdom not often found outside of my apartment.  Please note that that I am approximately 10% joking.

DalyDose of…Inner Jerk

“Ladies: you all SAY that you don’t like jerks, but you REWARD jerkish behavior” –JD

Mean JD - "Going Bananas"

I know, this doesn’t seem like news to most men with phrases like “nice guys finish last” and all that.  I intellectually knew that this perception existed, but I didn’t think it could be based on widespread truth.  It couldn’t be, could it???

A few months ago I was bored and frustrated with dating in Los Angeles and decided to put on a little experiment.  I would go down to my local watering hole…yeah, I threw in an outdated term like “watering hole” because let’s face it, I’m doing an dating experiment, so the nerd factor is already off the charts!  I was to go to Barney’s Beanery on two consecutive nights and take on a different persona for each.  Here’s how it went…

DalyDose of…Glamorous Saturday

Ahh, the mystique of the JD Experience.  I hear a couple times a week how my life seems so action packed and exciting.  I think people get this idea from my pictures and postings on Facebook.  I’m usually quick to let them know that it only seems that way because I don’t post the lame and mundane.

I tried to explain this in my previous video posting about popcorn.  Did you see that one?  I’ll wait.

At the risk of ruining both your vision of my glamorous Hollywood existence and the potential for an exciting JD reality project, I will now present to you my Saturday.

DalyDose of…Girls Are Funny 2

In the ongoing saga of JD’s single life ,I have been on the front lines of the male to female interactive experience.  I have concluded from substantive experiential data, that girls are funny.  You might remember the original Girls Are Funny blog entry.

TEXT GATE UPDATE

Well, text-gate has never been resolved.  I  have extended my hand in reconciliatory truce several times.  I have texted, emailed & Facebook messaged, all with no answer.  I guess I’ve learned how quickly and coldly the immature can turn on you.  Thankfully, I reread my own blog and discovered that these people had already showed me who they were.  I guess I’m blindly loyal and thought it was worth an effort to salvage a friendship.  Apparently, I was the only one.

What was the lesson learned? Well, as far as I can tell the only lesson is that when one is textually active one must practice safe text and never group text when dealing with the textually inexperienced.  Now I know. Oh well, read on for happier topics…

DalyDose of…Priorities: Women and Money

I remember being in Chicago and studying improvisation at the Second City Conservatory. Someone told me that learning to let your mind grasp the skill of improvisation will not only help you as a performer, but it will change the way that you view and communicate in life.

This truth presented itself today in a conversation that I had with a friend over IM. In the stream of consciousness that is typical of instant messaging with me, she asked me what’s going on in my life. My response was something like:

Trying to find a woman, as usual. Trying to find money, as usual. Then I stop and realize that I’m in Los Angeles and I should get the money first and the women will find ME!

I cracked myself up over this, but it made me think about the states of both courtship and revenue generation in Los Angeles. They both seem to require a ton of work these days, when it used to be easy.

In dating, it really does seem to be more than a passing joke that women in Los Angeles are looking for men with enviable financial assets. I have plenty of women friends and they will even admit it, if pressed on the subject. This leaves little doubt in my mind that my current fiscal woes correlate perfectly with…physical ones.

I hate to hear people complain about the economy, but we of the self-employed ilk provide a living barometer on the business environment. There was a time when I could count on word of mouth in my computer business and I would get a major job or two each month and a variety of smaller jobs to go along with it. These days, I feel fortunate to get a minor job or two a month. There are times when I get frustrated and ponder leaving Los Angeles for grad school or a “real job” somewhere else. For the time being, I am here and will need to make do and weather the storm.

So, I need to get on the money train.

Question for myself: Am I doing it for the money or am I doing it for “her”?
Question for you: Should I “fake it til I make it” and play the Hollywood game?

DalyDose of….DANGER in L.A.

WARNING:  The following contains the depiction of a scenario that could be downright scary to some.  You’ve been warned.

Last April, I recorded what I called a “blogalogue”.  I just fired up the laptop and used the webcam to record my raw thoughts on a very personal subject.  No fancy HD…no lighting setup…no audio equipment.  It was just me opening up, sharing and telling the story that needed to be told.

I didn’t publicize that video very much.  Maybe it was too personal.  Maybe it was too soon.  Maybe the devastating effects of the events were too much.  Maybe, just maybe, I was protecting you.

I now know that these things need to see the light of day.  The release of this video is not only a warning to you, but it is therapeutic for me.  I’m…sorry, I can’t type anymore and I better just embed the thing and hit publish before I change my mind.

If you have a reaction or a similar story to share, please feel free to comment.

A DalyDose of…SoCal Winter

A clear bonus of living in Southern California is simply January. It so happens that a week long forecast of rain is upon us, but the first half of January was lovely. Here are some pictures from two events that took place this month. One was a hike in Solstice Canyon with my friend Diane and the other was a few days spent on The Strand in Manhattan Beach with my friend Lindsay.