I'm a huge movie guy and love watching movies, so I invested in Netflix a while back which was awesome.  I was right beside a distribution center so turnaround time was 2-3 days tops for my movies.  Since I've been traveling the past few years, I haven't had much of a need to use Netflix but now that I'm in one place for once, I think it's time I invest in Netflix or Blockbuster online.  I haven't used Blockbuster, but it's pretty nice they give you in-store rentals/exchanges as well.  Anyone have any experience with Blockbuster online, good, bad?

For some reason, I get into these cheesy, corny teeny bopper movies. "Drumline" for example.  Had to be some of the worst acting, but I just loved the whole beats and rhythms in the movie.  Another one, "You Got Served" and "Honey" are all movies I must have watched a dozen times.  They're all pretty much the same plot.  Good guy always comes out ahead at the end.  I wish that were true in reality.  That's beside the point though.  Has anyone seen both "Drumline" and "Stomp the Yard"?  If so, were these movies identically the same?? Black kid starts college and is a troublemaker, find his niche, and wins the girl at the end.  The funny thing though is that both involve some sort of competition and both had a tie-breaker at the end where the underdog wins.  Is it me or do they not know how to come up with more unique plots for movie these days??  The only reason I'd watch Stomp the Yard again is to live vicariously through people that actually have some rhythm

I have to say even though the book/movie receives way too much hype (notably so though), some of my favorite movies that I think are some of the most unique movies so far have been the Harry Potter ones.  Did you hear they're even coming out with a Harry Potter theme park?? I must go dressed like a Gryffindor

Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision moving into my new job a few months ago.  I left my comfort zone where I had great travel perks, steady hours, and 3 day weekends every week.  One of my managers at my new place jokes around bout why I left then.  It's been quite the change working 35 some hours a week at my old job to often 60-70 hours a week at my new one.  The pay is much better and the potential to learn more is greater at the new place too.  At some point or another, I'll run my own projects and get thrown in the fire.  It might be this year.  The partner had a discussion with me last week on my expectations for promotion, and he was going to think about it this weekend and give me a decision sometime soon.  I honestly don't think he'll give it to me this year given that I'm fairly new to the firm even though I was eligible for it this year.  It wouldn't kill me to stay at my level for another year.  I'll actually be able to work on a variety of projects and not be pigeonholed into one type of work.  This got me thinking about what I really wanted to do with my career.

I know at some point I won't be able to keep up with the hours at work, and I'll end up crashing.  In fact, I've been somewhat burned out for the past few weeks having to stay till past midnight for work.  Even now, during my long Memorial day weekend, I'm up at 1:30am doing a bit of work.  Even though the pay is better and I'm learning more, my work/life balance is almost non-existent and the little free time I do have I spend at the gym to try to burn off some of this stress building up in me from work.

But then what is more valuable, the money or the work/life balance?  I wish it were true that you could have both and at times you possibly can but not all the time.  I couldn't make the kind of money I do working a 9-5 job, so then I wouldn't be able to have as much discretionary spending as I'd like.  It's nice to not have to worry about money sometimes and just being able to go out and get whatever you want to get, eat at nice restaurants, or take mini vacations whenever the chance came up.  However, I know in the past 6 months since I've been at my current job, I've not been able to see as many of my friends as I would have liked, not have enjoyed some of the free time to explore the new city that I'm in, or really have time to make any new friends at all.  I can't see myself doing a 9-5 job, doing the same shit everyday and watching the clock hit 5 so that I can get the hell out of my workplace.  I can't do that now.  I can't be in a mundane type of job.  I know I want it all when I want the money and not have to work the hours that I do but then would my life be better if I were in a boring job?  I'd be bored 8 hours of the day but then have the nights to do whatever I wanted to but would be limited in what I could do in how much money I'd be making. 

I wake up every morning to check my work email only to thumb through my cell phone figuring out my responses to write once I get into the office an hour later.  After I leave work, I'm always thinking about work too and checking emails/doing work at night once I get back from the gym.  It's almost as if I breath/live work even though I don't have the passion for the work I do.  It's only a means to an end and I don't even know what that end is.  I'm sure many people out there feel the same way that I do now.  They're trudging through the daily grind unwilling to take a chance and leave their comfort zone to do something they'd rather much enjoy for fear of not making money or losing out on benefits.  Most people I'd say are either content at best with their jobs or truly unhappy.  I really haven't met too many people the truly love their jobs.  I wish I could just say fuck it and leave the corporate life and open up my own restaurant.  If it weren't for the money, I'm sure I'd be doing something that I love.  It's tough though, do you pick happiness and satisfaction with your job over having a lot of money? 

EDIT:

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I was at the gym running on the treadmill when all the sudden my calves started cramping up.  Even when you massage the cramp out, there's still this lingering pain.  How annoying.  So as I was walking to catch the metro, I thought to myself, "What's the most annoying bodily pain?"  I came up with a few things, so here's Inky's top 5 bodily pains...

5) Calf cramps
If you're outgoing and active and you get leg cramps, once these hit you they gotta be some of the most pain-in-the-ass things that can happen to you when you're exercising/playing sports.  One time I was running on the treadmill at the gym, and then some severe leg cramps hit me.  All the sudden, there's this loud thud and scream cause I couldn't move my leg and so the treadmill kept going on while I stopped.  I slammed down onto the treadmill and everyone looked at me as if I was stupid enough not to be able to use a treadmill.  Word to the wise....stretching is good.

4) Severe diarrhea
Say you just had an authentic burrito at this shady little cart near work and then you head back to the office only to feel some grumblings in your stomach.  As the day goes on, your stomach isn't feeling to good anymore.  You make a mad dash for the toilet and then you sit there for 30 minutes tearing up the toilet.  15 minutes later you run back to the toilet for part deux of dropping the kids off only to find out the kids must be 300 pound linebackers that want to tear you a new asshole.  What's even worse is that if you eat some bad dinner and then hop onto an hour long metro ride only to find out that 20 minutes into the ride that you really need to take a shit.  What's a guy to do for the rest of the 40 minutes...See #1.

3) Menstrual cramps
So I really don't know how bad these really can be but I knew one person that every month when this time would come around, they'd be bed ridden for a solid 3-4 days and would go through a box of tampons and a bottle of Midol each time.  At least they've come up with a pill that stops the period.  Something though about not having a period that is just unnatural.  I wonder what weird side effects come out of this we don't know about yet.  I can only though imagine that a bleeding vagina every month is about as fun as having to listen to George W. speak about foreign policy.

2) Blue balls
Let me tell you that blue balls does indeed exist.  Now, I don't know about everyone else but it's really not as bad as some guys make it seem to be.  There's this shooting pain that goes up around the scrotum for a few seconds and that's about it.  I think most guys use the blue balls excuse just to get a happy ending some way or another.  It really ain't that pleasant at all and it definitely feels like someone all the sudden just grabbed you by the balls and pounded it with a sledgehammer. 

1) That shooting pain up your ass...
You all know this pain and not because someone decided to shove their whole hand up your ass to do a prostate exam and not because some 300 pound linebacker is trying to Brokeback Mountain your ass but it's that pain when you really got to take a shit from something you ate and then it really does feel like a 300 pound linebacker is trying to play cowboy with your anus.  I think I've become somewhat lactose intolerant over the years as many Asians are so sometimes when I do eat dairy, I get these severe shooting pains in my ass.  I don't know if any of you guys have felt this but let me tell you, if I was gay or a chick, this experience would definitely deter me from ever wanting any anal sex.  Maybe it's some people's favorite sex thing but if that shooting pain is anything of what it feels like, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone even George W.  Well, maybe George W so he can feel what it's like to be a pain in the ass to so many people.

Anyone else have any others to add?

I've been to my fair share of graduations the past few years, and it amazes me what people will do to get that money shot of their kid/loved one/relative getting their diploma.  I was at Georgetown Law School's graduation this past weekend and when they started to announce the individuals, there was this mad rush to get to the front of the stage.  People were literally bulldozing me over to get a better angle.  I even saw one guy climb up top a tree to get a better view.  I even see a whole bunch of dads whipping out the telephoto cameras to zoom in on their kids.  It's like all the sudden every parent learns to become a papparazzi. 

Remember my entry about toilet seat covers?
Well, I was flying through Chicago O'Hare, and that airport implemented
my idea...toilet seat covers that magically appear at the wave of a hand.  A new toilet seat cover appears when you wave your hand in front of this sensor.  What a great invention.  Now someone just needs to come up with an invention that will do my work for me with the wave of a hand. 

Living in Hollywood, you have to have an appreciation for everything being glamorized.  On my way back home, I walked by the Hollywood Hooters down the street from me.  I was wondering why everyone was crowded around the Hooters and then when I got there, they had apparently rolled out a red carpet for some celebs that were coming to eat there.  Red Carpet entrance at Hooters?  Only in Hollywood.

People always seem to be doing interviews outside the Chinese theater, which I have to walk by everyday on my way home.  Tourists gather around camera crews trying to get a glimpse of who's getting interviewed.  Everytime I've seen these interviews, it's always for some crappy network like the G4 network and they're interviewing some random tourists. 

Is it just me or does anyone else think the LA metro is retarded for using an honor system rather than having people swipe their cards to get in?  I've met my share of crazy bums and just last week, there was this one guy that went off on a rant on why Asian girls are the best lays.  Kept telling me over and over about this girl he met in the War and still didn't forget her to this day.  From the looks of it, it seemed like he was talking about World War II, but luckily my stop came up and I hurried away. 

Time for the weekend and time to catch up on Heroes.  I've missed that past few weeks and can't wait to see what happened!

Been in the office past midnight the past couple weeks.  I barely can function right now, and my mind is just jelly.  Who knew I would be grinding these hours at work.  I'm so behind in returning phone calls, emails, and my yelp reviews.  I completely forgot to Tivo Heroes this week too!!! Ugg.  Someone save me.

It's been an exhausting past month with work, so I haven't been able to update lately.  Lots of stuff going on, and I'm just spent after being in NYC last week.  Good to get away from LA for a bit, this weather has been crazy.  This has to be the longest I've spent in one place in the past 4 years.  It was great to be back in the city again and kicking it with friends.  Too bad I didn't get to go out as much as wanted to because of work.  Man, these days I'd just be happy if I could get to bed before midnight.  More to come.