A few days after New Years, Tangela texted me something that almost threw me off the loop. Even though what she texed me was a surprise, we had actually talked about it previously. Her text? We were getting married early. January 21, 2012. We were set to be LAWFULLY married in our town's courthouse. Why so early? Her Passport. Her passport was going to expire this year. So, why not renew her Passport with her new married last name? Renewing it under her maiden name and then renewing it again after we get married is a little redundant. Makes sense right?
We were banking on good weather for the day of our ceremony. It was winter. The month of January was filled with unpredicted snow surprises and you know me and snow...I hate it to high heaven. Mother Nature probably knew how much I hated snow because when the weather reports on television came in, I let loose a big sigh and said "Why am I not surprised?" It was going to snow on the day of our ceremony. Ugh. The thought of waking up early to shovel snow already had me upset. Nevertheless, it had to be done.
Saturday, January 21, 2012 finally arrived. There was about two to three inches of snow on the ground. Not bad but I still had to go out there and shovel that out. The good side: The snow was powder. So it was easy to get it off the sidewalk. The bad side: It was still snowing. After a good hour and a half of cursing at Mother Nature, I finally finished shoveling. I quickly took a shower and got dressed. I looked in the mirror and said to myself "Wow, I'm going to get married today". Was I nervous? A little bit. I mean, who wouldn't be? This was a major step I was going to take. Tangela is the one who I want to be with for the rest of my life. It was time to confirm that.
My parents and I arrived at the courthouse in good time. The courthouse parking lot was literally empty. Maybe because it was STILL snowing. 30 seconds later, Tangela and her family arrived. Our civil ceremony was going to start at 11am. It was already 10:45am.
We entered inside the courthouse. We went up the stairs and walked over to the Mayor's office first. We were instructed to make sure the paperwork was correct. The information on the paperwork was majorly important. The NEW mayor of the town, Jeanne Baratta, stated that there were no "Do Overs" or "strike outs" on the spot. If there were any mistakes, then we would have reschedule the ceremony. Fortunately, everything was correct... I think. HAHA! The episode of "Martin" came into mind when Gina and Pam signed the wrong line on the marriage certificate. Anyways, next stop... the courtroom.
It was exactly 11am. Tangela and I took a few pictures before we started with the ceremony and then, it was the moment of truth. Tangela and I stood in front of the mayor with smiles on our faces. In all honesty, I didn't really hear what the mayor was saying because there were so many things rushing through my mind. Her voice sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher (waa waa waa wa wa waaa). When she was done reciting of whatever it was, I automatically said "I Do". The mayor smiled and she responded "Not to me, to Tangela". All of us laughed. She then recited whatever she was reciting to me, to Tangela. "I Do" responded Tangela. It was time for the placing of the rings.
Placing the ring on Tangela's finger will be a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. Before I placed the ring on her finger, I dropped it on the floor by accident. Yea, I dropped the RING!! I uttered "Oh, shit!!" Everyone laughed. I started to laugh myself. Embarrassed? Extremely. It took me a good 15 seconds to find the ring. My mom found it right next to one of the seats in the courtroom. Whew! HAHAHA!!
After we all had a good laugh, I finally placed the ring on Tangela's finger. I looked into Tangela's eyes and she was happy. She placed the ring on my finger and then, it was official. Tangela and I were finally married.
Since it was short noticed, we coudln't invite everyone we knew. The ceremony literally lasted 5 minutes. We had most of our wedding entourage there for support and a few friends. Our immediate families were there as well. Even though it was snowing, we appreciated those who came and celebrated our civil ceremony with us. If you're wondering, yes, we are STILL having our wedding in June. We are calling it "THE GRAND WEDDING". Four more months to go! Yikes.
Let's get to the heart of the matter. Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather. Both are skilled and is recognized for their speed. One fighter is an EIGHT time world champion who has been dominating every fight for almost 12 years. The other fighter...UNDEFEATED with a record of 42-0. These two "professional" fighters have been the boxing communities "focal point" for FIGHT OF THE CENTURY. So... why haven't they fought yet?
I can discuss many possibilities but I am not going to waste my breath. The fact of the matter is that both fighters WILL NOT fight each other. For four years, we've been waiting to see what could be the best fight that will ever happen in boxing. Okay, I am exaggerating because I was not born yet when Ali fought Frazier and I was not into boxing when Mike Tyson fought...everybody. And that's the thing, back in those days, NO ONE was ducking each other, NO ONE had excuses, and NO ONE didn't care about the title or money...they wanted to see who had the better skill. They wanted to see who can knock who out and at the end, there can only be ONE champion. Wow, I wish those set of rules was still in effect because boxing at this point is straight out poo poo. Yea, poo poo.
You have promoters that try to milk every dollar out of the fighters they represent. I mean, it's their job right? But at what cost? Doesn't the every fighter they represent have a say to who they want to fight instead of the promoters giving them a list of other fighers that they can beat in their sleep? What's going on here? The reason why Tyson was a great fighter back in the days (besides his skills) was because he fought fighters who he AND the people thought he should fight. Tyson fought wars in the ring. Throw him at any opponent and he will dominate.. until he gets knocked the eff out. And you know what? Tyson did get knocked the eff out by Douglas but that didn't mean he was less of a fighter. Same as Ali. When Ali lost to Frazier, that wasn't the end of Ali. 3 to 4 years later, Ali fought Frazier again, THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE, and won. Do you know why these fights were great? Because NO ONE was ducking or hiding or letting their promoter do their deals. You get into the ring, fight your hardest, and hope for the best. Who gives a crap if you have x amount of titles or a winning record, the fighters who test other fighters will RE-define their legacy...both of their legacies...if they have one. But today, that's not happening. Not in this day of age where money and politics rule the world. It seems that the real fights are fought at the negotiation table where the fighters/boxers are no where to be seen.
So what now? This has been the fourth year we've waited to see Pacquiao and Mayweather throw down and NOTHING has happened. More excuses and more ducking by BOTH fighters. Sad but true. Now both are going to use their skills on fighers that are not even on their level. No offense to their opponents but seriously... I mean you're going to pair off one of the best boxers in the welterweight division against a fighter that has a LONG shot to even remotely think of ever winning? Okay, they "may" come close to Manny and Floyd but they aren't. These other fighers deserve to square off with other fighters of their caliber. Do they deserve a shot even though that's true? Of course they do but NOT now. Not until Manny and Floyd fight each other. Because if you put any type of fighter into the ring with either Manny or Floyd, the fighter will be short sided and will be labeled the underdog. It's true. You may say, "yea, I think they can beat Manny or Floyd" but let's be real honest. They can't. Is it fair? No, it's not fair because the powers that be is making money off Manny and Floyd until they are not top of the boxing world anymore. Age comes for us all. Manny andn Floyd is NO exception. Their skill level will soon drop and they will be at the end of their peak. And when that DOES happen, that's when Manny and Floyd will fight. They will fight when NO ONE will care or when there is NO ONE else to fight. Again, sad but true.
My interest in this fight ever happening is slowly growing thin. It's really to the point where I really don't care what happens. This article will be the last time I ever talk about Manny and Floyd ever fighting each other. It's actually getting annoying. There are other great boxers that deserve attention and you know what? I think it's time that we start paying attention to them. Hopefully, they will give us a better fight than Manny and Floyd could ever give us...if it ever happens...which it won't.
BY THE WAY: When Pacquiao was asked if he would fight Mayweather, Manny said "Let's get it on". Mayweather called out Pacquiao in December of 2011. Manny AGREED to fight if they split it 50/50. Mayweather wanted 60/40. BOTH camps could NOT decide on the winning wages. BOTH ducked each other. Get your facts straight before you choose either Manny or Floyd not fighting... again. It's NOT either or ...it's BOTH.
Running. The greatest technique of self-defense. I am not kidding. Listen, we can sit here and debate whether or not you are man enough (or woman enough) to stand your ground and fight your attacker. But what about attackers? Plural. What happens when you're face to face with multiple attackers ranging from four to ten? Tell me, are you man enough (or woman enough) to slug it out with them? Seriously, this is not the movies. Don't elude yourself of being invicible.
Last month, there was a video that I reviewed about one man fighting multiple attackers. I concluded that one must be ready for anything. The whole point of fighting is to survive. Keyword: SURVIVE. You don't fight your attacker for three minutes in the streets. This not UFC. Your attacker is trying to beat you to a bloody pulp or worse... kill you. Fighting is not to show everyone that you can kick ass. If you believe that, then you are missing the point. What's even worse than believing that? Believing you can fighting mulitple attackers with weapons.
Look, if you're by yourself and the odds are against you... run. I don't give a rat's ass if you're a 8th degree black belt in karate...run. Are you being chicken? Are you being a p*ssy? WHO GIVES A F*CK?? Your human instincts is telling you to stay alive and the only way to live, is to get away from harm. Fighting off one person is one thing, maybe fighting two, fighting three is cutting it close, but four to ten people? Do yourself a favor, you can train and train to any fighting situation but also practice the art of RUNNING YOUR ASS OFF.
Now, what if you can't run and you're trapped?
Good question, I'll answer that next time. For now, train yourself to run away as fast as you can.
2012 is finally here. It's been almost a month since I posted a blog. A lot of things have already happened. It all went by so quick. Cherish the days NOW, my peoples. It WILL be gone tomorrow.
Anyways...
Preliminary discussion is now done. Let's get into it..
Oh.. by the way, I am officially married to my darling, Tangela. January 21 was the day of our union. A blog will be posted later on next month. However, just to let everyone know, we had a small civil ceremony and had a great gathering afterwards at the house. Some say, civil weddings do not count if you're having a GRAND wedding later on. Others say if your LEGALLY married, you are married... period. Now, THAT, I agree with. Once that ring goes on your finger, you are LAWFULLY wedded to each other. Simple. I guess I would have to change the titles of my wedding blogs from "On the Road To Marriage" to "Countdown to the GRAND Wedding". Why not? Thanks for those who congratulated me and my WIFE (I have to get used to that) on Twitter and Facebook. Much appreciated.
- THE GRAND WEDDING. I have literally 5 more months to go. I guess the edge has been taken off since Tangela and I are already married. Now we're just coordinating on the things that need get done before the big day arrives. As of now, I am figuring out if I should go with the traditional black and white tux for me and my groomsmen or should I just go all out with different colors? Wife said that it doesn't matter, as long as it looks nice. Word. Planning to get another wedding ring for the Grand Wedding. Not saying the one I have on right now is not great but it's more for everyday wear. The other one I want to get will be for special occasions. Haha, man... the things we go through.
- APARTMENT. Currently, me and the wife are looking for an apartment. We already looked at four different areas which were... okay. The first one we looked at was too small, the second one was okay but will not be available until late March, the third one was tooooooooo much for monthly rent, and the fourth one was already sold before we got there. We were shooting for a first floor apartment but only second floor apartments were available. I don't really care about what floor we are in, my question is... where in the apartment am I going to train and work out? LOL. I am going to admit, whatever apartment we'll get, it will be my first time having a place of my own. Yea, late bloomer. It will be a great experience, I know it.
- JUN FAN JEET KUNE DO. My training keeps evolving. As it should be. All the time I write about JFJKD, I am always fortunate and lucky to be training with the best teacher and his great students. Like always, there are always things to work on. There is no END to JFJKD. Meaning, there is no higher level to reach. Yea, NONE. Like I said before, training never stops. Learning never ends. Bruce Lee once said that he never considered himself as "teacher", he still considers himself as a student. For me, I STILL consider myself as a novice, a beginner. I am definitely okay with that. On a side note, my teacher, Sifu Richard Torres, will be planning something big this coming OCTOBER. Look out for the announcement here on my blogs or on my twitter page. https://twitter.com/thejerseymonk
- VACATION. With the GRAND wedding coming around the corner, the only big planned vacation that I am looking forward to is the HONEYMOON. Bahamas. Yup. Atlantis is our honeymoon destination. I have heard from other people that it... is... BEAUTIFUL. I have not been anywhere tropical in a long long ass time. Hawaii was the last one and that was in 2004... I think. Yea, it is way long over due. It will be great to relax and be with my wife for a couple of days. Anywhere away from work will be the best trip I've ever had. HAHA! Other than our honeymoon, our yearly trip for Memorial Day weekend is still up in the air. I heard Maryland is on the list? Why not? I haven't been there in a long time as well. Yea, I don't go out as much.
- WRITING. I forgot to mention on my last blog that TWO pieces of my writings were PUBLISHED in the Fanzine (Fan Magazine) "Bruce Lee Review". This QUARTERLY Fanzine gets published in the United Kingdom but is sold all over the world. The publisher, John Overall, stumbled upon my review for the "Game of Death" (the movie that Bruce didn't get to finished) on my website and contacted me if he could publish it in his Bruce Lee Fanzine. I said "Of course". Then later, he requested for me to write another review on the New Expanded Edition of the "Tao Of Jeet Kune Do" that came out in October of 2011. I gladly said "yes"... duh. Lol. In December of 2011, two of those articles were published and I have to say, I felt very proud. Thanks to John Overal for the opportunity.
- COOKING. Obviously, soon enough, Tangela and I will be living together. It will be actually BOTH of our responsibility to cook for each other than ourselves. For some reason, I realized that I can cook food in the BREAKFAST realm, if you will. I learned how to make egg whites last year. Yea, it's actually an accomplishment because it's hard separating the yolk. There's a certain type of technique you have to master. Seriously. Other than egg whites, I can make french toast. Mmmm french toast. Since I'm on that health kick, I'm going to learn how to make wheat pancakes this year. Is there such things as wheat waffles? Damn... all this food is making me hungry. Well, at least I got the breakfast part covered. Once I learn how to cook lunch and dinner, and I will be finally domesticated. HAHA!! Chef Monk.
- THE BACHELOR PARTY. Okay, Okay, yea, I am married...ALREADY. But the wife and I agreed to still go to our last days of being..."single?" Haha! No complaint from me here. So, where am I going for mine? LAS VEGAS, yo. Four days, three nights. We are either going to stay at Wynn or MGM Hotel. Whichever, I am going to have fun! Got some of my brother's peoples coming from is bachelor party to mine. Add MY peoples to that list and what do you have? Wu-Tang Clan! Just kidding. Seriously, cannot wait. On a side note, I never walked on The Strip before. Yea, not even at my brother's bachelor party. What did I do for those days I was there at that time? Work out. HAHAHA!! Yup! But this time, I won't so look out for me walking that Strip in Vegas. Can't really speak on it too much so I am going to leave it as that.
Well, that's about it. For the next five months, the only thing that will be going on is the GRAND wedding planning. You'll definitely see blogs about that in the next few months. And yes, my regularly scheduld blogs of nonsense as well. What's going on other than that? Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do training and moving into a new apartment. Things are neutral as of now but I know in four in a half months... it's going to be crazy. Groomzilla? Yea. ROAR!!!
I usually start off my last blog of the year with a reference to a movie that best describes my life so far. Then I realized that this time around, I should stop comparing my life to a movie. I mean, my life is authentic. No one is living my life besides me. I admit, starting my year end blogs is quite difficult. I always want to start off with an inspiring first paragraph before I do the rundown of my 2011. To get some inspiration going, I start to look through my previous end of the year blogs and noticed that ever since I came back from my "sabbatical", my life has been AWESOME. Was my life awesome before my sabbatical? Well, it was another life. It was a life that I wouldn't change for anything. If I did, then I wouldn't be here. My life is happening as its suppose to be happening. I am here because I am suppose to be here. In 2010, I re-established myself within society. The foundation of who I am was being blue printed and built and now in 2011, I have a strong solid base where I can continue to grow and house a life that I always wanted. I've housed many experiences and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.
And now here is the rundown of 2011...
- As always, at the end of every year, I take a few days off from work to relax. This whole week has been great. I've been writing blogs for my website for the last couple of days. I had to catch up since I've missed out on the whole month of November due to "major maintenance repairs". Blah. I had to write enough to end off the year with a good note. I noticed that I wrote more this year than I did last year and you know what? I am proud of everything single thing that I've blogged about. The grammatical errors? Yea, still working on that.
- I cannot write about my rundown of the 2011 without mentioning my fiance, Tangela. This past year, we have been steadily planning our wedding. The long talks of minor and major details we need to follow through and numerous calculations of how much this is and how much that is for other things. Earlier this year, we finally found a venue to hold our ceremony AND reception and didn't hesitate to search for the DJ and the photographers/videographers a few weeks later. We actually got all major stuff done. In June, we had our Engagement party. A month after that, we took our Engagment photos. We took a break from the wedding planning but discussed about what we needed to do in the following months. Saving money was of our immediate priority and we thanked the almighty baby Jesus that we had so much time to plan instead of having no time, being rushed. At times, I remind myself that this time next year, I will be married to the one that I've been waiting for all my life. There are no words to express of how I feel about her. I am just blessed to be with someone who is willing to share their life with me and have a family.
- Oh yea, as of November, I am a proud owner of the iPhone 4s. Yup. I actually wasn't planning on getting one until I was told that my contract expired this past February. My pops informed me that I could get the new iPhone 4s for very low price if I sign up for another 2 year contract with Verizon. I debated for a few days because I really didn't have a problem with my HTC Incredible smart phone I got last year. My brother convinced me (and a couple of people) to get the iPhone because...well.. it's so freaking cool. Very easy to use but still getting the hang of it. The visuals from the iPhone screen is...so...CLEAR! The battery life is unbelievable. I can go a day and a half without charging it. Great phone. I don't know why I didn't get one in the first place. Now, I'm wondering how the iPhone 5 is going to be.
- Boxing? Man, this year has been filled with surprises and upsets. First off, Manny Pacquiao. His fight with Shane Mosely was nothing but a sparring match. Two nice guys fighting each other. Manny managed to knock down Mosely but later on, Manny was thrown to the floor and the ref counted that as a knock down. Manny being pissed, finished up strong and defeated Mosely by unanimous decision. Months later, the third and final fight between Manny Pacquiao and Manuel Juan Marquez, was very close. Marquez countered ferociously but with less attacks while Manny also countered ferociously WITH many attacks. Manny won but was NOT Manny's best fight. Floyd Mayweather Jr. won against Victor Ortiz with a LEGAL cheapshot allowing Floyd to be yet again undefeated. You can say the two best welter-weights of boxing did not have a great year, despite them winning anyway. What really saved boxing by the end of this year was the second fight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. Cotto won in the 10th round by using different strategies. He worked hard for this fight and I commend him for his win and great effort.
- In October, my brother ran the New York Marathon. I was and still am, proud of what he did to challenge himself. Getting into the NY Marathon is difficult. You need to do certain requirements of other marathons to even qualify to be picked to run the race. Fortunately, my brother was picked and he ran the marathon and finished under 4 hours!! The fam and I waited on the side lines, hoping to see my brother run in action...and we did. He looked great and was determined to win. He told me later on, that he was dead tired and once he saw me and the fam, he started to run faster. Us being there, motivated him to keep on pushing. His next goal is to run other major marathons across the US. Why not?
- This past Thanksgiving, the fam and I traveled to San Francisco, Califorina to spend time with my brother and my sister in law. It was a great break from New Jersey. There are times that you need to get away from where you are and just enjoy other places for new experiences. Even though I've been to San Fran many times, my brother always seem to bring me to areas where I have not been to yet. My parents also celebrated their wedding anniversary as well in San Fran. We all went to a great restaurant and had a great time talking. Family has always been important to me and just being there with them, makes me feel whole. I am who I am because of them. They are my life and I am in debt to them always.
- During my visit to San Francisco, I visited my friend, Jeff Chinn, and his famous "Bruce Lee" Room. I met Jeff last year at Bruce Lee's 70th Birthday Event held by the Bruce Lee Foundation. Jeff gave me, my brother, and my sister in law a tour of his Bruce Lee Room and might I add, every story he had about his collection were excellent and very dear to Jeff's heart. Jeff is one of the few to have a piece of garment that Bruce Lee wore in "Enter the Dragon". Yup. Jeff also had Bruce Lee's wife, Linda Lee Cadwell and most of Bruce Lee's students visit the Bruce Lee Room as well. The room's back end was covered with Bruce Lee magazines and shelves with endless Bruce Lee memorabilia. I was just in awe of his collection. I thanked him and his wife for inviting me, my brother, and my sister in law into their home. We had a great experience and had fun at the same time. Thank you, Jeff. Definitely coming back next time!
- Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's Way of the Intercepting Fist has been part of my life for four years and something months now. I cannot believe I have made it this far. It has been a dream come true. I am studying under the best instructor and training with the those who take the art seriously. My training regiment has been constantly changing. I can never stay with the same routine for long. I feel that a change must always be a priority. Constant changing means constant adaptability. I train myself to be ready for anything with anyone. People don't realize that Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do is NOT a sport. It never was and it will NEVER will be. JFJKD is geared toward street fighting. There are no rules, no referee... anything goes. THAT is always the mentality I am under whenever I train. I always make it a point to work on being simple, direct, and non-classical when it comes down to street fighting. Being efficient is a great factor as well. Even if I may never use JFJKD in my life, it's better to know and not have anything happen than not knowing what to do when it does happen. Be ready for whatever may come. There are more things to learn. There are things I know I need to keep working on. Training never stops....ever.
- Speaking of Jeet Kune Do, after Sifu Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's friend and last private student) passed away, there has been some sort of conflict among Ted Wong's students. I am not going to get into much detail but remember this, if you want to train under an instructor that has been CERTIFIED by Ted Wong, ask to SEE credentials. I am not kidding. You have every right to see a certificate of some sort to prove that they are the real deal. What's the real deal? A certificate with Ted Wong's stamp or signature of approval. It's that simple. But beware...Ted Wong had two certificates, one certificate that only had a rank number (meaning they were only students NOT instructors) AND the other certificate that says "Instructor" WITH a rank number. These are the important things you MUST look out for. Remember, you are going to invest your time and effort to train in Jeet Kune Do, especially under an instructor certified by the late Ted Wong. Please choose wisely.
- In August, Sifu Richard Torres held the FIRST Annual Jeet Kune Do Summit in Poughkeepsie, New York. Two days of training under five incredible instructors were; Sifu Richard Torres, Vince Raimondi from New Jersey, George Hajnasr from Conneticuit, Ralph Figueroa from Arizona, and Wing Chun instructor, Tony Santiago who is also from New Jersey. Every teacher had valuable knowledge to share. Different ways of seeing things through another, is always a great way to learn. Even though there has been heavy conflict within the Jeet Kune Do community, all of us put the bullshit aside and just trained. Good 'ol fashion training to wake up the spirit. We also had fun in the process. It was all in the spirit of Jeet Kune Do and Bruce Lee. And since this seminar was a such a successful turn out, there will definitely be a SECOND Jeet Kune Do Summit in 2012.
- What was also a great blessing for my family this year was my god daughter Monica getting engaged with a great guy name Brad. When I heard the news, I was so happy for the both of them. I know that Brad will take good care of my god daughter. Man, where did the time go? Last time I checked, my god daughter was like 5 years old now she's in her 20's about to get married. The Benitez Clan celebrated their engagement with Brad's family and had a great time. Their wedding will be wonderful. I am definitely looking forward to it!
- Met Run of RUN DMC in a bookstore. 'Nuff said.
- This year, I've been socially connecting with great people via Twitter. Yea, Twiter. In the beginning, my @thejerseymonk Twitter account was private. Not sure why but If I wanted to connect with people of my caliber, writers or amateur writers, then Twitter was the only the way to do it. So I went public with my account but didn't connect with people. So, I did what any twitter-er would do... follow EVERYBODY. Well, only people that caught my interest. Slowly but surely, I started to connect with artists, musical artists, photographers, martial art movie fans, martial artists, and just cool people in general. I got a couple of famous people tweeted me back which really made me feel special. Tee hee. All in all, we live in an age of social networking. We are all connected. Twitter and other networks are great to showcase your work...and other stuff.
- I've become a full fledged comic book collector this past September. Yup. Ever since the DC Universe "rebooted", I've finally had the opportunity to finally follow my favorite comic book characters from the beginning. All the titles of the DC Universe started back to issue 1. You know what that means? Get as many number 1 issues bag 'em, seal 'em and wait for the next 50 to 60 for its value to go up. Oh yea, if I can't reap the rewards of the number 1 issues now, then my kids will. However, I've been a comic book lover all my life. I love the drawings AND the stories. I'm surprised that my passion for them never faded out. AND.. I'm also glad that I'm not the only 30 something year old STILL collecting. Nerds over 30? Yea, put me in that age bracket.
- Speaking of comic books, I finally attended my first NEW YORK COMIC CON. It was one of the BEST experiences in my life. Me and the wifey went on a Friday morning and you wouldn't believe how amazed and very impressed I was from all the things we've seen. I'm so glad that I started collecting again because now I recognized comic book artists and writers (through the internet of course) without wondering who they are. There were people who wore costumes (cosplayers) of their favorite superhero, supervillian, etc, etc and one of the best ones I've seen was this dude who dressed up as Archangel from the X-Men. If you don't know, then look it up on google. This dude literally hand made MECHANICAL wings that expanded with the touch of his finger tips. INSANE. I am definitely going to go next year and maybe wear a costume myself (yea right). The NYCC was for four days and we only went to one. Friday AND Saturday were the best days to go. Saturdays is the day when you see sneak previews of superhero movies, television shows, comic books... the list goes on. Man, I love comic books!
CONCLUSION: At the end of every year, I hear people say "For my New Years Resolution...". Why? Why wait until the end of the year or a beginning of a new year to start things you want to do? Why don't you do it now? What's the difference if you start now or January 1st? January 1st is nothing magical. It's just another day. Don't put things off and wait for some fire works display to get you motivated. Everyday you have an opportunity to change your life. You know you can but you decide not to. Then you know what comes after that? Excuses. Then by the time you know it, you just don't care anymore. Then what happens? "This time, I'm really really really going to make this my New Years Resolution...". Full circle, isn't it? All of us (yes, I am including myself because I am guilty as well) need to stop with the excuses and choose. What happens if there is no tomorrow? What then? Can you honestly say that you lived a life you always wanted live?
Today is the day. Not tomorrow, not next week, not for New Years... TODAY.
...and Today will be the first day of your new life.
02-21-2012 
