26. Are you retired or working? What are your plans for retirement?

I am currently working and having this constant dread that I'll probably have to do this until the day that I pass away.

Life has a lot of twist and turns. A lot of restarts and some plans that had not materialized.

So, I’ve moved all my available resources into making sure that my children have everything they need in order to succeed.

25. Is there a special food from your region or heritage that you a particular appreciation for?

I'm in California and there are a lot of different foods in our area that I get to sample. There are two foods that I find to be special and that I make for myself time to time.

The first is hot dogs and beans. I like to class it up a little bit by using lil smoky sausages that I pan fry before adding the Bush’s baked beans. Now, these are both processed foods and probably have the total amount of sugar for a whole week contained in one serving. I shouldn’t admit it but no one is going to read this and respond, but I eat the contents of both the package of sausages and can of beans in one seating.

The family finds out soon enough.

My second food is a pan fried baloney sandwich. There is definitely an overlap when it comes to the meat that I’m eating in this situation and I’m ok with that. I usually get the baloney from my local deli and then place a piece of cheese on top of the baloney.

24. Write a review of your favorite album. What lyrics mean something special to you?

A LOT of people love Michael Jackson's Thriller. It's got a lot of big hits on it and the title track is a halloween dance favorite. My favorite album is the one before it, Off the Wall.

I find myself really enjoying the entire album. It starts off with a bang with “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” that really gets the energy up. I feel that it’s more of an anthem at that point as it tells the listener not to settle.

Although, I do have a confession, I never knew the lyrics to that first song. I just groove with the vibe and I have that feeling about a lot of my favorite music.

The second song, “Rock with You”, starts off with a quick drumbeat and then a steady beat that contains some of my favorite lyrics of “relaxing to the beat”. I think this is a great song in that it highlights how you can be uptempo without having to be full force.

“Workin’ Day and Night” wasn’t a track that I understood until I was much older. It’s not so much of a song about getting out there and working as it is about why we do things in the “real world”.

I feel that “Girlfriend” is the embodiment of what it means to be “the other guy” in a relationship. Well, technically, not really in a relationship. Usually, you see this situation in media as someone feeling betrayed or hurt. In this one, I feel a sense of longing and hurt. If the roles were reversed and placed in a movie, you would hear a line like “oh, he’s just waiting for the right moment to tell his wife”. That hope that you just need to hold on for a little long and that person will be yours.

“Burn This Disco Out” is the last track on the album and it’s somewhat a wake up call to pay attention because after this moment, you’re going to have to start the album over.

23. What words of wisdom would you have appreciated from your younger self?

Sometimes I don't think I've become any wiser in my years. Just a little more patient in some areas and less in others.

But, if I could say something to my younger self it would be that I should be more present with the time that I have with those in my life. I would try to tell him about what things matter and what things don’t.

I would also tell him to buy bitcoin and get a state job as soon as I can.

22. Have you been to a memorable concert? What made it stand out to you?

My first memorable concert was the [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out of Their Shells Tour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles#Concert_tour).

At the time, my school had a reading program where you could get a personal pizza if you read a certain amount of books. As a kid, these were my two favorite things pizza and reading! I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember that PizzaHut had tie in with the Ninja Turtle tour and that you could buy the sound track with the purchase of pizza.

I remember listening to the soundtrack on cassette a lot when I was a kid. I think this is the first time where I would listen to an album and want to skip to the next song. I don’t think I was allowed to do that at that age would have occurred sit through it.

I only remember one song from the cassette called “Tub-in” that I really liked but don’t really remember from the concert. In fact, I don’t remember a lot from the concert except that it was pretty loud and kind of slow in some places. I do remember the Shredder singing a song about hating music. That always stuck with me and I remember sharing a dorm room with someone who said he didn’t like music.

We weren’t roommates the next year.

Coming Out Of Their Shells was a studio album, and subsequent live musical tour that occurred from 1990 to 1991 (in 1992, it toured overseas). The tour was endorsed and sponsored by Pizza Hut. The very first showing of the tour was broadcast live on Pay-Per-View. A VHS recording of the broadcast was made released, as well as a "Making Of" direct to home video. The tour is generally lambasted for its terrible costumes and wafer-thin plot. The band featured Donatello on keys, Leonardo on bass guitar, Michelangelo on guitar/lead vocals & Raphael on drums/percussion/tenor saxophone/vocals. Guest vocalists include Master Splinter, April O'Neil, and The Shredder.

I don't do a lot of hobbies like I used to.

21. What kind of adventures have you had pursuing your hobbies?

I think the closest thing I have in terms of adventures related to hobbies is trying to find hotels or things along the way when we are going on vacation.

You don’t really know what you are going to get as far as quality along the way and driving in America has become more and more… um… aggressive as people speed by in order to get there just 2 minutes faster so that they can wait at the next light or traffic congestion.

At one point, I thought it would be cool to work at a movie rental store.

20. How do you like to watch movies? Are you a theater goer, a streamer, or do you like physical media?

I used to love going to the movies. It was a wonderful time to sit back and enjoy watching something. I still like it occasionally because of the assigned seating removes hassle of trying to get there early to get good seats. Unfortunately, the movies haven’t been a fun recently because I’m usually sent to get food in the middle of the good parts.

I feel that I was an early adopter of streaming and remember the days when Netflix would send you a disk so that you could install the client onto your PlayStation. It felt that having access to everything was inevitable and I could give up looking for things that had fallen off the back of a truck. The last couple of years have proven that online libraries are uncertain to be there and having multiple subscriptions is untenable.

Physical media was the only consistent. I say was because we’re on our fourth dvd player and they are becoming more and more scarce. I’ve been looking into how rip these for the future.

But, back to the question.

I would say I like to watch movies uninterrupted.

I do like talking about food and this one is lighter than yesterday's entry.

19. What is your favorite food? Why do you like it? What is your history with it?

My favorite food is pizza 🍕. I’ve enjoyed it since I was a wee little lad. I do appreciate that there are many styles and combinations in the ways you can make and eat pizza.

For me, I feel the combination of meat, cheese, dough with a nice tomato based sauce is comforting. And for most of my life, I have eaten it with someone else. I know that there is pizza by the slice or personal sized pizzas, but pizza is more of a social experience for me. Collaborating with friends and family as to what toppings are going to be on it and trying to get the size right for possible leftovers is part of the fun.

I didn't expect this kind of question. I feel it is relevant to a lot of things in my life.

18. How do you feel about alcohol? Is it something you enjoy? What do you like? What do you dislike?

The amount of times that I’ve seen alcohol used as a way to relax and have a good time has never come close to the amount of times that I’ve seen it make things worse.

I have addiction on both sides of my family and see the signs in so many people who use it just to get through the day. The problem being that it’s multiple days and multiple drinks.

It’s the magic ingredient in most of the arguments that I’ve had as an adult. Either during the drinking or some time the day afterwards.

I feel it’s the combination of being free of your inhibitions and having the excuse of having your inhibitions loosened that make it tantalizing for some.

I was drunk!

And it’s to number one drug in America.

I feel that it’s probably for the best because of all the regulations that have been placed over it. I’ve heard too many stories about other drugs being laced with unknown substances or prescriptions leading to people turning into zombies.

Ultimately, we should all find a better way to relax and have a good time.

17. What are your favorite books and why?

I think I'm going to say that my favorite genre of book is fantasy.

I think I’m drawn to the genre because most of them have a beginning, middle, and end where the protagonist resolves everything at the end. Not as complicated as real life.

16. What things are easy for you to write about? What things are hard?

The easiest thing for me to write about is about my blog.

I enjoy writing about what changes that I make to the theme and different posting challenges that I’m doing.

After that, it’s different media reviews that I put together. Although, I do find myself spending too much time debating on formate and how long or short a review should be. I don’t see myself doing a 5 paragraph summary on everyone but I do want to put something more into it.

The hardest things to write about are personal stories. I don’t want to overshare on the internet and I do worry that I’m not quite getting my argument in the correct words.

15. Are you an early or late adopter of technology? What makes you that way?

I'm currently a late adopter.

I still get excited by some technology, but I don’t have the enthusiasm I used to have for adopting new things.

I used to think I had all the time in the world to pursue learning and making new things. The glamour of newness was enough to justify the hours of frustration as I tried to make things better or fix what gets broken with point releases or bad patches.

Unfortunately, it comes with an opportunity cost. The time that I spent getting the latest and questionably greatest to work decently hasn’t always paid off. The unknown amount of hours is something I think about. I try not to wonder too much on the what if of it but it does cross my mind.

In addition, I can’t justify the cost of pursuing new technologies these days. We’re no longer in the time where you would see marked improvements on something that justifies regular upgrades.

14. What has your relationship with music been like throughout your life?

Music is one of the things that express my feelings when I can't put it into words. I find that I feel better after listening to music for a while. Either with songs that are old favorites or new songs that I come across.

I find that even when I’m in a bad mood and I listen o something that matches that mood, I’m in a better mood afterwards.

It’s like the music validates how I feel and then I’m able to move past whatever I’m feeling and do something with it.

13. What societal problems is your region known for and do they affect you?

At this moment in time, the problem that I see in the region is homelessness.

I’ve had my them get into my car and and take things out.

12. What hobbies have you had in the past that you no longer have? What happened?

I used to do ballroom dancing when I was in my early 20s. I loved it because I didn't have a lot of natural rhythm and it felt great to get out on the floor and move to the music.

I spent hours figuring out how to be a better dancer.

How to listen and move with the music.

How to be a better dance partner by working with the other person to make something better.

As I’m writing this, I realize that it’s something that I should incorporate in my marriage as well.

I stopped dancing because I didn’t have a lot of time to get better or keep my skills up to date.

After a while, it hurt on two levels.

I couldn’t move that way because I was getting older and out of shape. My knees would ache during, after, and before the dance.

The second level was that when I got on the floor, I would compare myself to what I used to be.

Who knows, I might find myself back on the floor one day.

But right now, I’m going to have to sit this one out.

11. What is your current relationship with technology? Do you enjoy it? Does it cause you anxiety?

There is a funny clip of Homer Simpson where he’s praising beer for being the cause and solution to all of his problems.

I feel that way about technology sometimes. As much joy as it is to write this and have it be available all over the world, I’m also worried about how it’s designed and if my writing is good enough.

I also make my living by working in a technical field and having people getting laid off stresses me out since I’ve also been in that position as well.

10. What’s your relationship with physical labor? Do you enjoy, accept or avoid it?

At this point in my life, I do not do a lot of physical labor.

I’m actually very sedentary and do roughly 5 minutes of exercise a day according to my Apple Watch. Of course, since I’m really out of shape going for a walk to the garbage can outside in 100 degree weather counts as exercise.

Other than some chores around the house, I do volunteer at the school my children go to.

9. Do you have a gratitude practice? Why or why not? What sort of things are you grateful for?

I do have a journal that I write 5 things that I'm grateful for in. I'm inconsistent with writing in my journal but I've come back to it in the last couple of days.

I try to come up with different things from day to day. Although I am grateful for my friends and family, I want to spend some time thinking about things so that I don’t take things for granted.

I was really happy to see this prompt. I really needed a laugh today.

8. What is the funniest book or TV show with which you are familiar?

The funniest TV show that I’m familiar with is The Good Place. It’s a great example of comedy that keeps me laughing over and over again. In fact, I think I might watch an episode tonight.

Yesterday was horrible. Absolutely horrible. That being said, I want to keep this post light.

7. Do you have any unpopular opinions or dislike something that many people like?

I don’t like pineapple on pizza.

6. What is or was your relationship with people from your parent’s generation?

I feel I get along with people of all generations.

When it comes to people of my parent’s generation, I feel that I get along with most of them. A lot of the ones I talk to now seem to want to share their stories and feelings.

This one was pretty easy to write.

5. What is the most memorable job you’ve held?

The most memorable job that I’ve ever held was working at a company called Unify. It was a small company that had a long history of products.

It was during the time that I was working there that I met my wife, got married, and had children.

The company had moments of boom and bust and it was the people there that made me want to stay. Ultimately, we had a bust quarter and I learned the hard way that a business is a business.

I was laid off with a number of other people.

I still feel it sometimes. The loss of identity as a provider for my family - especially at that age - echoes in a lot of the things I do and never in a good way. The friends that I had when I worked there do contact me occasionally, but it’s definitely not the same.

I thought this was going to be a happier post.

This one was pretty easy to write.

4. What woman in your family do you most admire and why?

I admire my wife the most. She is the glue that keeps our family together. When I hit rock bottom, she stuck by with me.

I don’t like to think about where I would be without her.

This one isn't as heavy as the previous two answers.

3. Why do you like your favorite restaurant?

My favorite restaurant is Red Lobster.

It’s not because of the cheddar biscuits or the wonders of what they can do with fried food.

It’s because it’s the restaurant that I introduced my girlfriend-now-wife to my parents.

I had this image that even if things went bad, I would at least have a decent meal.

It went well and every time I drive past the location, I think of it fondly.