Do You Even Want To Get Married? 

I can't believe that someone asked me that recently.  Someone that at least sort of knows me.  Or maybe they don't know me at all.  "Do I want to get married?"  Ever since sophomore year of college, I would've preferred to just skip the dating process and go straight to marriage.  Do people think I'm a partyer?  Unsettled?  Am I giving off the wrong vibes? 

I think people sometimes get the wrong impression because I'm a doer.  I figured, if I'm not dating, there's no reason to mull around the house, I may as well experience some life.  I haven't seen or done all that I want to do, but if you told me I would never go to another concert or sporting event in my lifetime, I would be okay with that.   I've seen quite a lot in that sense.  Travel?  I still want to travel more.  I still want to try more fine restaurants. 

I don't feel horrible that someone asked me if I even want to get married.  I know that I do, I just hope I'm not giving off the wrong vibes (nor do I want to attract the wrong women).  Thank God I'm not a woman.  If I was a girl and you had asked me that question, I would throw myself over a bridge right now.  Better to be married to death than never married at all.

What's the dumbest or most annoying marriage related question or comment that someone has said to you? 

Yesterday - Good game, good day.   

Dating the Paparazzi 

Outside, on a bench, in front of Shabu Shabu House in Little Tokyo, the girl (Asian) told me that she had never had Shabu Shabu before.  Aside from this shocking news, the night proceeded smoothly.  I learned that she went to the same university that I had attended and was currently pursuing a graduate degree.  She did some tutoring work now, and used to be a writer. 

• Me:  What did you write?
• Her:  I used to be a writer for US Weekly.
• Me:  Really?  Articles?  Or were you one of the people that got the scoops? 
• Her:  The scoops. 

Just my luck.  When I go to events, I document for fun, for the challenge of it.  I'm just a no name person, walking around the streets of LA, taking pictures of what I see, with no real focus or intent, other than to show that nobodies like me and you can see some interesting things if we put our minds to it.  And there I was, sitting in front of a girl who in a twisted sort of way, did the same sort of thing that I did, except our motives were different. 

Right then and there, I wondered if I was looking in a mirror.  Was this girl a "Bizarro" me? (Bizarro is Superman's evil twin, except this girl wasn't evil)   She followed celebs.  She loved sports.  She went to the same school I did.   Trip-pay. 

She wasn't one of those annoying photographers, she was one of those people that provided captions.  You've all seen them.  You know the ones that say, "Britney was spotted partying with Paris at Les Deux" or "Lindsay Lohan, wearing an 'I'm free now' shirt, bought three banana bread slices at Starbucks in West Hollywood on Saturday morning."  The photographers and writers are totally different, rarely do they collaborate together. 

It seemed like a fun job, then as she described it, it soon became like most other jobs, a chore.  First of all, to be hired, you have to have the look and the persona.  That means cute enough or wily enough to get into virtually every club.  In Hollywood, that doesn't mean you have to be the hottest girl, sometimes all it means is that you have dirt about someone that works at the club and that gets you in.  Other times, club owners want these writers in their clubs spotting scandals simply because it's free advertising for the club and instantly gives it street cred as a hot spot.  Yup, you too could easily get your privacy sacrificed by an outside party for a few advertising bucks.   Plus, imagine going clubbing two or three nights a week... for the next year.  Everything starts looking the same. 

During her two years of working for US Weekly, she actually broke one of it's biggest stories for the year.  Remember Ryan Seacrest and Teri Hatcher?  She that reported that first!  She told me she has met and made friends with lots of different people.  

• Her:  Two of my good friends are actresses, Briana Banks and Nadia Styles. 
• Me:  Briana Banks, I don't know what she looks like, but I've heard her name, is she the one that was  AVN Entertainer of the Year before?
• Her:  When I met them, I didn't even know who they were or what they did...

What's AVN?  Hahaha.  Shoot, if you don't know, I ain' tellin'. 

Needless to say, we had plenty to talk about that night.  The Lakers.  The Dodgers.  Sharing our own quirky Courtney Love stories.  It was refreshing to know that even though I'm wasn't a TV genius or tabloid follower, I could hold my own.  Heck, I've even psuedo lived being paparazzi.  As for me and her... I'm not sure.  We get along fine, but would I be dating a mirror image of myself?   Is that a good or a bad thing? 

1. If you found out your date was an opposite sex version of you, would be more intrigued or more freaked out? 
2. You've been on more dates than me.  Who are the two most wildly amusing or scary people that you've dated before?  Was it what they did in life, or what was it about them?  

Joke of the Day

Q:  How do you wake up Lady Gaga?

A:  Poke her face.

So bad, sooo bad.

I disabled two cars in a week to the point of undriveablity.  How's that for a record?  My Toyota is at the dealer because of a variable valve timing actuator.  I regulates the pistons and oil flow, my car was dripping oil everywhere and the I could hear the pistons moving (scary!).  Still under powertrain warranty, so no cost to me.  I dropped the car off on May 6.  MAY 6!  Today is May 21.  The part still hasn't come in yet.  WTF. 

In the interim I was driving a Mercedes 320 CLK that was just sitting around the house.  I park the car at my friend's house one day and it starts but won't shift out of park.  I have to get AAA to tow it back to my house.  I look online to see if I can trouble shoot.  Some forums recommend switching out a $25 brake switch plug that's below the dash.  I pray hard that the cheapest Mercedes part ever made will be the fix.  It takes me exactly 10 minutes to unscrew the panel, pull out the plug, push in the new one.  Easiest fix ever.  I'm almost positive that if I had to take it to the dealer, they would've charged me $200 for labor, part, and running a diagnostic. 

Now I'm driving the dealer provided rental.  I can't believe that it takes over 2 weeks to get a part.  This seems unreasonable.  It's not on my bill (I still have to pay the $10/day insurance on the rental), but I would prefer to be driving my own car. 

What's the longest that it's taken for a dealer to get something fixed for you? 

Just riffin' today.  Haven't done that in a long time.

My Little Analysis On the Economy and My Ebay World

I'm slowly getting my life back.  After working 60 hour weeks for the past four months, the work load is finally dying down.  The extra 20 hours per week were all put in on Ebay.  It was worth it, because it was profitable, but I took some major hits the past month.   That tells me the economy is still slow/slowing down and not close to being right yet.  If there is to be any sort of pick up, I don't think that will happen until the middle of next year.  All this talk of the recession being over at the end of 2009, maybe, but all that means to me is that the economy will stabilize and there won't be more cutbacks.  It doesn't mean that employers will start hiring at the end of 2009.  The bleeding will stop, but the healing and physical therapy sessions will take another six months after that.  Just my unscientific opinion. 

The sales trend of the last two years:

• 2 years ago:  Good. 95% of things sold.
• 1 year ago:   Solid.  85%-90% of things sold, as long as I didn't overstock.
• January-March 2009:  Good acts sold, but only a little profit to be made.  Even if shows were sold out for two months for well-known established bands, people weren't racing to gobble up tickets on the secondary market.  The trick was buying enough, but not overstocking.  A few hot shows still sold like hotcakes (Lady Gaga, Jimmy Eat World reunion, Flight of the Conchords).  Lakers regular season tickets were blazin', the highest they've ever sold for. 
• April-Current 2009:  The market seemed to hit a standstill in April.  I don't know if it was job losses or just people paying their taxes, but sales just stopped cold for about 2 or 3 weeks.  I ate it on a variety of shows in multiple cities.  Even many sold out shows were barely selling for cover price or less than cover or not selling at all.  After the hottest regular season sales ever for Lakers tickets, sales for playoff tickets slowed to a crawl.  Lakers playoff tickets are only moving at cover price or 10%-15% over cover price. 

I don't know if it's just because it did more volume, but the percentage of dumb buyers is up.  Also, there is more supposed credit card fraud (people claiming they didn't make a purchase when they clearly did).  I think it's people wanting to go to something they can't afford, going, then trying to get that money back by filing a credit card chargeback.  I don't experience many real loses this way because I follow shipping documentation procedures so that I'm mostly covered by Paypal. 

A couple of idiot examples are: 

1. People not updating their shipping address after moving, then claiming they didn't get their tickets.  If the tracking number shows delivered to their initial address, then I'm covered.   This happened three or four times.  Not my fault they didn't check their shipping address before paying. 
2. Last Friday I had a buyer send me an offer for tickets on a show on Saturday.  I listed at $110, he offered $80, then messaged and said he could do $90 if that would seal the deal.  I messaged back, "I can do $90.  Just know that it's $90 + $16.99 for overnight shipping."  I'm in Cali, he's in Philly.  Then I send the counter offer, he accepts.  I send invoice and he only pays $90.  I email him and say, "I think you forgot to pay for overnight shipping."  He tells me he thought it was for $90 total including overnight shipping.  That I should refund him and relist.  I tell him I would do that, except a relisting takes sever hours to show up on Ebay, by that time, I wouldn't have a chance at selling the item.  His bid was binding and that that's why I emailed him before purchase to explain the shipping fee to avoid this.  I say I can discount the overnight shipping to $10 for him.  He counters back and will only give me $5.  I tell him overnight shipping was not promised anywhere in my emails or auction page, I'm more than happy to ship it out USPS Priority Mail as promised if he doesn't want overnight shipping.  He tells me $5, take it or leave it. 

A sold out show, tickets were $95 cover, if you wanted to go to a show and you could get them the day before and only pay $10 over cover and have them overnighted to you, wouldn't you be happy?  At some point, this guy who couldn't read English thought his fighting over a $5 difference in shipping fee was more important than him being able to go to the show.  He pissed me off royally, wasted so much of my time that morning so I said, "It's $16.99 for overnight shipping.  If the money is in my account by this time, I'll ship out that way.  If not, I'll ship out via Priority Mail, as promised."  He told me he'd win his case with Paypal and Ebay.  

I'm not trying to piss people off.  I want people to get their tickets on time.  My shipping terms are stated clearly on the auction pages.  There's been a higher occurence of people like this, this year.  Instead of people planning ahead as in past years, in 2009 more people are buying things last minute (sounds like the same trend that the TV and radio advertising is experiencing).  And they expect the tickets to magically appear on their doorstep in time when the show is a day or two away.  For this guy, he didn't understand that Paypal doesn't care when the package gets there, they only care that a package is shipped and trackable.  It blows my mind.  If I wanted to go to a show bad and it was a day before the show and I could get them at near cover price, of course I'd want them overnighted to me.  I didn't ship them overnight.  He didn't get the tickets in time.  He spent $90, didn't get to go to the show, and he's gonna fight a case with Paypal that he won't win.  What a dumb ass.  

Random Thoughts

I get turned on by those Falcon Waterfree Technology urinals in the men's room.  It doesn't flush, has little smell (due to the multi layered bowl?), and it's fun to watch pee droplets pinging around the metal rim like heated electrons.  I would love to have one in my house. 

Stopped by Newport Beach Fashion Island this weekend and it looks ghosty.  Seemed like 25% of the stores were either closed or closing. 

I know it's not rocket science when the market has been beaten down, but my stocks are up 25%-100% in the past two months.  Still not close to even, nevertheless, I'm happier.   

More and more I'm coming to the conclusion that online dating is a waste of time.  It's good to have your "resume" out there, because you never know, but I just don't think the pool of women that are online in SoCal are that quality.  Why is it so hard to find cultured and diverse women that have family values?  And the trend still holds true... it seems like lawyer types, moreso than any other profession, are intrigued by me.   Chinkyz, I know you're disappointed! 

Paley Fest - The Hills (April 21, 2009)

Love it or hate it, you know you're drawn to the Hills! 

Of all the Paley Fest events this year, this was the one I really wanted to check out.  Why, why, why... And I say, "Why not?"    Believe it or not, I haven't even seen one episode of the Hills or Laguna Beach in my life.  I told you I live on Planet Square, but I'm not in Universe Oblivious.  I get free magazines, like US Weekly and every time I open it up I see these girls in there.  Can you stop dominating my checkout aisles?  I want that shelf space back for useful things like Bic lighters that explode in your hand, TV Guide, Chapstick, and Tic Tacs. 

Why am I complaining?  What's to whine about?  Hell yeah I'd rather see the Hills hotties plastered all over the place vs. another tired picture of Angelina, Jennifer Aniston, Paris, Britney, or Lindsay.   Haha, seriously I don't really care.  I rather be reading about fantasy baseball. 

I'm here because it's a very LA thing to do.  How often can you say you were in a room full of tabloid superstars?  Well, in LA or NY, that could be every night.  That's not the point.  The point is the same reason why MTV even makes shows like the Hills.  Because people around the country escape by watching these shows, imagining how glam it is to live in LA.  That is why I'm here, because I can be here, I'm curious, and hey, it's darn fun. 

• Stephanie:  It was like OhMyGawd!
• Lo:  Ohmygawd.  Really, really?
• Stephanie:  OhMyGawd, it was like, ummm, sooo Ohmygawd!  You should of seen them...

That's how I imagined the cast discussion would be like.  Who would've known, that of the three Paley panels that I went to, this one was the funnest.  From left to right:  Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port, Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner, Lo Bosworth, Stephanie Pratt (to the right of Lo, not pictured).

I learned: 

1. MTV films the girls about 4 days a week.  The rest of the time they live their "normal" lives. 
2. The events are not staged.  Say Lauren has some juice to tell Audrina but it's not a filming day.  What usually happens is that Lauren will say, "Audrina, you wouldn't believe what happened yesterday, but we should probably wait until tomorrow (when the cameras are here)."  For the sake of capturing original reactions, sometimes they have to "hold back" their conversations until the camera is live. 
3. MTV actually wanted Lauren to go to Paris.   Lauren said, "Adam (Adam Divello, the executive producer) would call, and say, 'It's Paris, Lauren.  PARIS!' And that would be the conversation.  Every day.  For a month."  Now I'm thinking it's a normal Thursday and the producers call and find out the girls are just gonna stay in and watch a dvd.  "Why not Les Deux tonight?" 
4. If I had posted this in real time, I could've told you that Speidi was getting married last week.  Not to be outscooped, I still have some tidbits for you.  That alleged Lauren Conrad sex tape?  They finally have on tape Spencer confessing that he put the rumor out there. 
5. The best question and answer goes to the person in the audience who asked how Brody just sort of appeared on the show.  Now people know that he was dating Kristin Cavallari.  So how did he get close to the Lauren camp?  Well, back in the Laguna Beach days, there was one night where KC slapped LC upside the head (betcha didn't know that!).   Brody said...

"I used to date Kristin Cavallari [audience gasp!] and that was her like arch-nemesis. One night Kristin was actually really rude to her and came up and slapped her upside the head... And so she did something very rude to Lauren, this is how we first met... and I didn't know Lauren at all. And I left and I came back with my buddy Frankie Delgado and so me and Frankie were there and Frankie was really good friends with Lauren. And I talked to Lauren. I kind of said, 'Hey, that was messed up!' We sat next to each other and I was just talking like, 'Sorry about Kristin, that was messed up of her, blah, blah, blah.' That was the first time we met. And then Spencer and Heidi started to kind of, they started their whole thing. And Heidi was best friends with Lauren at the time so they she kind of introduced us and we became better friends and yadda, yadda, yadda." 

Okay, I admit it, now I want to go back and watch all the episodes of the Hills.  Nothing like some mindless TV to pass the time.  My boss, who's 43 with two kids said, "One day, the kids were playing at a neighbor's house so I had a few hours to do anything I wanted (I never get free time to myself), I went and bought a bagel, then got home turned on the TV, and ended up watching two hours of the Hills.  I can't believe with the free time I never have I ended up watching the Hills!  Ha ha ha..." 

The girls were cool.  Afterwards, they signed autographs.  These Paley signings are a rush job.  You have to be on your game.  You have about 15 minutes to get everyone so you have to move fast and make sure no one takes off before you get to them.  That's why I don't have many pictures of when they are signing. 

We spotted Brody's dad Bruce Jenner on the side.  I went up to talk to him, asked him what's it's like to have a crazy family (Brody + the Kardashians) and asked him some other stuff.  

• Bruce Jenner:  What do you do for a living? 
• Me:  I do accounting for an insurance company, pretty boring job. 
• Bruce Jenner:  Well, we can't all have fun and exciting jobs.  I just do clothing manufacturing. 
• Me:  Hey, are you still involved with the Olympics?  Does the Olympic Committee still ask you do to do stuff?  Is it very political?   
• Bruce Jenner (perplexed look):  Ummm... Ummm...    I think you have me confused with Brody's dad.  I'm Whitney's dad.  I guess now you can throw the picture away.

Dang it.  DANG IT!  DANG IT!  DANG IT!  I messed that up.  I had my chance to impress my future father-in-law (Jeff Port) and botched it royally!  I didn't know what to say afterward except for sorry.   I was so embarrassed, but at the same time I thought it was the funniest thing.  The last time I had a chance to make an impression on someone's father was 3 years ago with Jessica Simpson's dad while we were standing together in the elevator @ Tao in Vegas and I didn't really want none of that Joe Simpson action. 

P.S.  I'm not going to throw away the Whitney's dad photo.  It took me over an hour, but I finally found his email address so I'm going to send him a copy.  It was really tough to find because the companies' names that he's tied to in news articles don't exist and aren't on any clothing manufacturing directories.  The weren't any websites, nothing.  His primary company is a totally different name.  I think it'll be funny, because he seriously thought I'd throw it away.   

I think Whitney's most my style of all the girls.  What do you think?  In person she's tall, my guess about 6 feet tall that night with her heels.  That makes her what... 5'9"?  She's the tallest of the bunch.  Slender, with curves and her skin tone is natural.  Audrina and Lauren might have fake bakes, they are really tan.  All I can say is that Whitney's a stunner (I know, a lot of you guys are diggin' Audrina more). 

Some of the red carpet photos from that night (not taken by me).  The dress that Lauren was wearing that night was designed by 3.1 Phillip Lim.  That's one connection we have.  She's wearing Phillip Lim and Phillip Lim went to my high school (a year older).   Kevin Bacon who?  Me and LC are only one degree of seperated as it is.  =)  

Vivian wanted to get a picture with someone but was sort of afraid to ask.  I said, "Just go up there!  I'll ask him for you."   

Viv and Sir Brodyness.  If any of you were there, I would've done the same for you, so don't be a hater... 

Viv's boyfriend just stood a few feet away and watched this all unfold.  I told him, "I better not here a peep from you or otherwise I'll announce to everyone that you've watched and memorized every single episode." (He actually has watched every friggin' episode!)  He claims he only first watched the Hills because he was new to LA and the Hills was a good place to find out where some of the hot spots around town were.  Riiiight.  =)

So awesome, can you believe it?  I was able to get all these signed...

Got 'em all, this one's just missing Heidi (not present that night).

Audrina Patridge. 

LC aka Lauren Conrad.  Thank you Viv!  I didn't want to make the same mistake that I did with the Eva Longoria "risque" photo so I had Viv get the LC bathing suit shot signed.  LC took a look at the picture, paused, debated, looked at Viv, then signed it.  I think it's a gorgeous shot.  Not because it's a swimsuit shot, I love it because of the background color, smile and hair. 

The whole night was crazy fun.  It's good to know that the girls on the show have the same personalities in person.   I even made friends with a new girl that night... 

Paley Fest - Battlestar Galactica Caprica (April 20, 2009)

No one can accuse me of being a Sci-Fi geek as I've never watched one episode of the new Battlestar Galactica before walking into this room.  The fact is, TV is one of the major things missing in my life.  I watch zero of it.  I really wish I could watch a lot TV but I just always seem to be doing something else.  I feel a little lost at dinner when the topic turns to TV shows.  Lost?  Nope.  Heroes?  Nope.  Family Guy?  Nope.  The Office?  Nope (but I have seen all of the British ones).  Friends?  Nope.  Dancing With the Stars?  Nope.  American Idol?  Nope.  It's sad.  But all is not lost.  Instead, I've watched many series commercial free via DVD, including near complete collections of Seinfeld, Sopranos, 24, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Sex and the City. 

I still think it's fun to go to these things and after seeing the one episode they showed, it really enticed me to see the past three seasons.  For Paley Fest, they screened the Caprica 1 hr and 40 minute premiere episode for the first time in public.  It's a prequel set 58 years back of where the current/just concluded TV series finished.   This panel discussion was a combo event. It was a send off for Cylons "6" and "Boomer" and introduced us to Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, and others from the new series. 

The night's host and moderator was Seth Green.  Sporting a purple rope-like mohawk, Seth exhibited his Battlestar geekiness by asking well thought out questions.  The only problem... they were too well thought out.  Most of his questions were of this type... "I saw the scene and when she walks through the green lit door and looks to the left, does the green signify the next life?  Why does she look to the left?"  We all have what if questions for our favorite shows, but when the moderator asks about 10 of those questions, it becomes overbearing.   He was very funny and lively, but he dominated the discussion, instead of letting the creators and actors talk more.  It wasn't until the audience Q&A time that we got to finally hear from the actors. 

We learned things like...

• Most of the new actors didn't know too much about the Battlestar series. 
• Eric Stoltz was sent a copy of the script by his agent while he was filming something in Provo, Utah.  It sat on his hotel room dresser cabinet unread as it wasn't a priority.  The moment he realized he would be part of something big (not big as in big, but as in it has a cult following) was when his agent called him to ask if he had read the script and he couldn't find it because his cleaning lady had stole it.  She must've mentioned that it was sitting there to someone she knew and they paid her to steal the thing so that they could have the top secret screenplay. 
• Lacy Rand (Magda in the Caprica series) couldn't hold her pee.  She had to run off stage in the middle of discussion for a tinkle break. 
• Seth Green talks too much. 
• Caprica is going to be more of a sci-fi drama.  The executive producers stated that even though it ties into Battlestar, they wanted it to be a stand alone series, where someone who hadn't watched Battlestar before could pick it up and not feel like they needed to have seen the previous Battlestar series. 

Other things I learned...

Tricia Helfer, 6, is stunning in person (she used to be an Elite Model!).  She must be about 5'10" in height.  In her online photos she looks a little makeupy, but in person, she's the real deal, nearly six feet tall with an athletic bod and just naturally and strinkingly beautiful. 

My friend John "Beano" Wang has a crush on Grace Park that I didn't know about.  He's just happy to be in the picture.  Why are they both doing the eyebrow thing?   

The goal of the night was to get this picture signed...

At the end of the night this is what I had...

SCORE!  The IT guys at my office, Battlestar nerds, were beyond jealous. 

And one last picture for you...

Fact of the day:  Grace Park and Tricia Helfer were both Maxim models and are both the same age as me. Tricia Helfer has also appeared in Playboy before.  Unfortunately, I don't subscribe to Playboy.   I know, it's only $12 for an annual subscription.  

What a fun night! 

Paley Fest 2009 - Desperate Housewives (April 18, 2009) 

Trust me, I was not planning on going to this, but this was one of the numerous events that I got stuck with tickets to this past week.  All was not lost, because I figured I could get some of those pictures signed that I got printed up a couple of years ago when I visited the set of Desperate Housewives to see taping and then found out that I wouldn't be seeing any filming, only getting the set visit. 

I have never been to Paley Fest before and I'm guessing you haven't either.  It's a pretty sweet gig.  Every year they have a festival where they assemble casts of about 10 different TV shows and have a panel discussion with them followed by an audience Q&A.  They also show one episode of the TV show, or they show lost footage, or an episode to come, or something of that nature.  Each session lasts about two hours. 

Three of the main girls, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Nicollette Sheridan, were not able to be there but that was fine by me, as the main hotties showed.  Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Dana Delaney, and narrator Brenda Strong, who is gorgeous and statuesque in person (she must be near 6 ft tall). 

The panel discussion was lively, as you could tell that Eva and Teri get along well in real life.  The men looked bored sitting there, as most of the questions were directed towards the creator, Marc Cherry, or the ladies.  When Marc introduced Doug Savant (Mr. Scavo) as the type of husband that many women would kill to have, he replied by saying something like, "Cougars, gotta love 'em.  I love them cougars!"  Then everytime he was asked a question, all he would answer is "Cougars, gotta love 'em.  I love them cougars!" 

So the goal in life is to get the money shot right?  In this case it mean Eva's autograph.  Teri bolted straight off the stage to head to the GLAAD Awards.  Let me spell it out for you:  Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.  Eva was signing fast as she rushed off to the awards also.  I put my picture up and she glanced at it and passed.  I gambled on the slightly risque and lost. 

Then I switched it to this picture and she passed over me again.  Doh!  I got jacked. 

I had the autograph and botched it!   I didn't have pictures of any of the other ladies that were left.  I tried to take one of Dana Delany for you and failed at that too. 

As a friend said to me, "Well, you did capture her Delanies." 

The women are the stars of the show, but they all bolted fast.  The guys all stuck around and took pictures with everyone and signed for everyone.  I wasn't geeked out at all, but I thought that was cool of them.  James Denton is cool.  He's a baseball fan and calls in to sports talk radio every so often. 

My manhood already emasculated for being at this event, I decided to go 110%.  Why else would I get a picture with one Mr. Trey MacDougal?  All I can hear is his nagging mother in the back. 

Just two questions:

1. Was the photo I selected really that scandalous?   I could've picked plenty of other Maxim type shots to print up but didn't.  What do you think? 
2. If you were a model that took commercial or artistic photos as such, would you balk at the sight of them if someone asked you to sign one?  I'm not talking nude boob or playboy shots.  Like if you're a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model, would it bother you if someone had a photo from the shoot?  Isn't that how you're marketing yourself to the public? 

For me, if I was a semi-star, sure, I might regret doing a Playgirl photo shoot (don't get excited, it's not going to happen).  If it was something else, like me playing a sexy cabana boy in a tropical film, or a Pink Cheshire Cat for Halloween, looking back over my illustrious career, it might not have been my favorite role or outfit, but if I accepted the movie role, I don't think I'd have a problem signing a picture of it.  I wanted to be the character then, I got paid good money, people loved me for it, so I should own it and embrace it.  Maybe that's just me. 

I keep on promising to write more, but have not been following through.  Seriously, I think about writing every day but the time always runs out.  My schedule will be hectic for another month or two, but after that I should be almost back to normal. 

For example this week and next:

40 hours of regular job + 15 hours of Ebay work + ....

• Tuesday:  TV on the Radio Concert (Pomona)
• Wednesday:  Didn't sell my Conor Oberst tickets so I had to go to the venue (Pomona) to scalp them for an hour.  First time that I've actively stood in front of a venue with the sole purpose of selling a stash of tickets.  Successfully sold six tickets.
• Thursday:  Nothing.
• Friday:  Nothing.  Hopefully play basketball at the park after work.
• Saturday:  Attending Desperate Housewives Cast/Panel Discussion w/ Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, and Dana Delaney.  Then back to OC for dinner w/ friends.
• Sunday:  Going to 9 a.m. church service, then attending Lakers vs. Jazz playoff game (free t-shirt day!).  Then potential coffee date in the evening.  She's... not Asian...
• Monday:  Nothing, but if I'm stuck w/ Battlestar Galactica Caprica Cast/Panel Discussion tickets, then I'll have to go.  That would mean a date w/ Grace Park, which I'm trying to avoid. 
• Tuesday:  Attending "The Hills" Cast/Panel Discussion.  I've never even seen the show but I'm sort of excited for this one. 
• Wednesday:  Dinner w/ a friend?

It all looks like fun and games, but it's actually a lot of work.  I would've preferred to have sold half of these events and not go.  It's a lot of driving from OC to LA to Pomona.  I know, wah wah wah.  Mix all this in w/ rushing to the post office w/ overnight packages, little exercise, and not enough fruits and veggies...

My goal is to get some fun new pics for you this weekend.  I know, still have to post about Sara Bareilles, Prince, Big Bear, and all that sexy stuff.   

Tip of the Day, for next time:  I scored four field tickets to see U2 in October @ the Rose Bowl.  Should I sell or should I go?  So tempting either way.  They were only $65 each.  My advice if you're a U2 fan and complain about not getting good tickets, pay the $50 and join the fan club.  You can only get 4 tickets total, but scoring floor tickets for $65 is better than paying $280 each to have a seat one level up or pay $65 to sit on the top level of the stadium.  By the time it gets to public sale, there are no more floor tickets available, they've all been allocated out.  Plus you get an exclusive non-released 2 CD set which is worth $25 anyways.