Weekly Ketchup 43 - The More They Stay The Same

I've had friends tell me that I'm "masipag" when it comes to maintaining this blog. I tell them it's really not that hard since: a) I stick with a regular schedule as much as posssible; and b) there really isn't all that much to do or think about since this is mainly just a recap of the week's events. Most of the time I just react to or recall seemingly random events and find some connections and commonalities for the sake of cohesion.

There are times, though, when do I let the need to deliver content drive my actions for the week, which mostly results in me sharing the latest book, game, or movie that I'm checking out. I haven't done any of that these recent weeks either because there are more pertinent matters that I felt were better to discuss or because I don't really have anything new on those fronts to share. For example: I'm still playing Zenonia, Age of Wonders 2, and Heroes of Might and Magic Chronicles. I did get started on Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" a few weeks back but I haven't finished it, though I am liking it far better than "American Gods". I haven't seen any new movies in a while and my taste in shows have just merely carried over from the previous shows. I haven't been checking out any of the new shows for fear of them getting cancelled just as I was getting invested. I'll see if the shows I'm interested in make it past December before I dive right in.

All this pretty much highlights what I've known all along: That sometimes I just got to let things plateau and just chill. I started this blog announcing all sorts of changes and challenges, all in the hopes of finding something new and exciting, of pushing myself forward, and all that jazz. Sometimes, I just got to let things stay the same.

I do have to point a couple of things out though:

I saw "Book of Life" last Tuesday and surprise! I actually liked this movie far better than "Frozen". However, I do feel like the story could use some restructuring so that we spend more time in the Land of the Remembered. We seriously didn't need 15 or so minutes establishing their childhood. I also didn't understand why there had to be a framing story with some kids in the museum. But other than that, I thought the film was perfect and really wins in animation and voice direction.

And yeah, this trailer, which I already wrote at length about already, so I'm not gonna bother anymore.

Of things that stay the same, I found myself back in my habit of compulsive spending, which is only notable because of last week's blog. If I've been Instagramming a lot more than usual lately it's because I got myself another cheap-ass droid last week mainly for the mobile Internet and the camera. I also got new more expensive eyeglasses last weekend because the plastic one I've been wearing breaks easily (at least once a year). Here's hoping the investment pays off and it stays with me for at least ten years. Lastly: A quick errand at SM yielded a shirt and new jeans (something that's been known to happen to me A LOT in the past). To be fair, they were on sale and I do need new jeans. Also: A sideline job paid a couple of weeks ago but not enough for a party (yeah, I'm being defensive).

New shirt, jeans, and glasses and taken with a new phone.
I look great, okay!

I'm also back in the habit of unconventional dieting where I would eat a lot in the morning, a little during the day, and nothing but water in the evening. Of course, that also lead to my habit of breaking that diet when geek friend Tobie treated me to his special pasta recipe and milk shake from Ludo last Friday evening. This was his late birthday treat for me, which is just really sweet of him. Of course, Tobie being Tobie, we played some games! I surprisingly won our game of Carcassonne Wheel of Fortune at his place and Ludo co-owner Jay won the two "engine-building" games we played there.

Splendor
Image credit: BoardGameGeek.com

Diet be damned again come Saturday evening because a friend I thought I've lost is back in my life. Beejay and his fiancee Din invited me and Din's friend Karen to dinner. I haven't seen or spoken to Beejay since a spat we had over Facebook messenger early last year so I was surprised to get the call sometime ago (briefly hinted at here) inviting me to be a groomsman at the wedding. I'm also to be a host at the reception, along with Karen, which was what the evening was really about. What I thought would be an awkward dinner turned out to be quite enjoyable - like no time at all has passed (I am disgusted at my own cliche but it is what it is). Even if I feel like I've changed a lot since the last time we saw each other, and he most certainly has, there's still that sense of familiarity and it's wonderful.

From Din's Instagram

I suppose going back to the comfortable and familiar in a sea of change is a good thing every now and then. Yet before I even get to big change I've been planning for myself, I now have a problem: The wedding is in February. I wasn't planning on hanging around these parts by then. What do I do?

Whatever happens, I wanna be able to vote in the 2016 US elections in person. I mailed my absentee ballot for this year's local elections last Thursday and I felt like cheating. Why am I voting when I don't even contribute taxes there (something I feel strongly about the voting populace here)? And, no, this isn't a new experience since I've already voted in absentia back in 2012.