So I went to the doctor’s yesterday and I remembered why I don’t like going to there, among the millions of other reasons I could list off the top of my head. Everywhere you turn you feel like you’re breathing nothing but germs and other yucky stuff. In the elevator. In the tiny little room they put you in. In the waiting room. Nevermind that the people in the waiting room may be as healthy as you…and the hospital’s air filtration system is nothing but top-notch…but it is a hospital, after all, and you can’t help but think that these other people around you are deathly ill and ridden with some sort of contagious disease. And you have to breathe, so you keep breathing in this germ-infested air.

I’m not sure what has driven me to create such dilusions. Perhaps it was when I was a kid…and all the pamphlets at the hospital had pictures of the germs…and the germs had hands, feet, and evil grins on their faces. And they were green.

I am happy to report that I’m feeling a whole lot better than I was the other day. After 30 minutes and a $15 co-pay, I’m not any more enlightened than I was before. Thank you, Doctor, for your advice to keep taking pain meds and applying heat (i.e. things I’m already doing). Your vast knowledge and years of education really helped me figure out this otherwise baffling episode of neck and back pain. Oh, and how could I forget the most significant of your advice…when you told me to take it easy and not do any strenuous work or heavy lifting…why, that was sheer genius if I do say so myself. Why didn’t I think of that?! Oh yeah…that’s right…you have the “M.D.” after your name.

Back when we were kids, we watched this TV show on Nickelodeon called The Secret World of Alex Mack. If you might recall, it starred the lovely Larisa Oleynik from movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and other shows such as Third Rock From The Sun. My little brother had the biggest crush on her. I didn’t.

I had my eye on the girl that played Larisa’s older sister, Annie – Meredith Bishop.

Meredith didn’t get as much play as Larisa did…as Alex Mack’s brainy older sister, Annie, she mostly got her younger sister out of trouble and kept Alex’s secret powers a, well, secret from the rest of the world. But dude, was she cute! Something about smart girls…

Well lately, I have rediscovered Meredith in a bunch of off-the-wall places. I knew I recognized the girl in Taco Bell’s latest string of commercials. Donning a toga and with olive branches adorning her hair, she looks good promoting their new Chicken Caesar Grilled Stuft Burrito. But little did I know that she was also the HOT girl in Geico’s Tiny House commercial (which by the way is one of my favorite commercials). I had absolutely NO IDEA who the hot girl was. Turns out…it was Meredith.

Whether it be insurance, burritos, or saving the world, Meredith Bishop will always be hot in my book.

I’m not sure if my accident has anything to do with it, but my neck and shoulders have really been killing me. What I need is a good massage from a cute girl. :) Any volunteers?

Brian and I were supposed to meet a couple guys we might make a movie for, but that ended up not happening. I had cleared my whole schedule and everything, so when they never called I was left with nothing to do on a Friday night; clearly the most pathetic thing in a young man’s life. We went and grabbed a pizza at Little Caesar’s and then some snacks at Vons, all the while seeing hot 20-somethings from SDSU making booze runs for the late night of partying they had planned.

I bought an Entenmann’s raspberry Danish and some Pringles. Brian bought some salsa. And we both checked out the hot blonde in the liquor aisle with the shirt that was just short enough.

While driving around, I had the bright idea of calling up Melinda…and she and Rachel came over for a little late-night hot tubbing and movie watching. Good times.

I’m tired now, though, since I was up until 5. :) So I’m going to sit around and do nothing. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Well folks, here I am getting ready to get into bed and I thought I would share with you the tragedy that is my car:

I mean, it could have been a lot worse…but I’m thankful that it wasn’t. Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that. Well, not really…I’ve always sort of wondered how people could be sore after little tiny accidents…but I have to admit that I was feeling it about 3 hours or so after the fact. I doubt it will escalate into anything serious, but I thought I would put that out there. Oh, and I missed Taco Tuesday today, so that made my otherwise crappy day even worse. For the love!

Oh, and if things couldn’t get any worse, I log on to my website, where I have been receiving an onslaught of spam comments for like the past several months and today was the last straw…with 420 comments…all spam. I mean, it would be one thing if my faithful, adoring public were commenting on my otherwise useless, but witty prose…but no, it’s all crap. I took drastic measures, even going as far as disabling the email feature. But did that stop the madness?? No. Of course it didn’t. You can ignore it, but that doesn’t make it go away.

So I’ve taken even MORE drastic measures and installed something pretty cool. I will report back to you if it proves to be a good idea.

But today wasn’t a total bust. Seeing Kellie Pickler dressed in yellow and singing Walkin’ After Midnight made my night. :)

I tell you, I’m smitten…and I don’t care who knows it.

Well, just got back in the office from lunch. It’s almost 5.

For those of you who read this and care (if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be reading this), I was in an accident this afternoon. I’ve spent the better part of the day dealing with my insurance company, taking my car to a collision center, securing a rental, scarfing down a burrito. You know, typical everyday occurrences.

I’m not afraid to say it…I’m a little pissed.

At least I’m not hurt, which is more than I can say for my car. And at least the other car wasn’t damaged at all. But still…it’s irritating.

Anyway, I’m back to finish out the day and go home. I’ll post pictures later if I’m feeling up to it. Right now, I’m just feeling pissed.

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Or so they say. At least that’s the case with me. And one of my favorite types of food is Italian. Not sure what it is about Italian food that makes it so yummy, but it just is.

Actually, I can think about one thing that makes Italian food so yummy: Giada De Laurentiis.

I absolutely adore Giada. She is one of my favorite Food Network chefs probably because of that smile of hers. No slam on Emeril, but seriously…Giada is absolutely gorgeous. She has this adorable shyness and playfulness in front of the camera…but it wasn’t always that easy. This past week, the Food Network was celebrating their top chefs in a special series called Chefography and Giada was one of the chefs featured. I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about her fascinating life that I didn’t know before…

Giada grew up in a large family and has really always loved food and cooking. So it’s really no surprise that after graduating from UCLA, she packed her bags and headed for Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris, France. (hmmm, what is it with the girls and Paris anyway?!?) After surviving culinary school, Giada came back to the states and worked in a variety different restaurants…eventually starting her own business.

Again, the thing I LOVE about Giada is this shy, girl-next-door innocence. She never wanted to be in front of the camera…despite her famous family connections in the movie business. As a matter of fact, when she started her first cooking show you could see the apprehension and frustration she had to deal with. Things like never smiling, forgetting what she was doing, not talking to the camera were things she eventually had to overcome. She was a cook first and foremost, so this hosting thing was new for her. But there is no denying that she has this special quality about her…and her beautiful food and her family’s amazing recipes are top-notch.

She’s a seasoned pro now, with top shows on the Food Network including my favorite, Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. And that smile of her still makes me melt every time.

Check out her shows on Food Network and her book:

So I listen to the Cox digital music service once in a blue moon and I came across a young fellow who has a really great sound. His name: Jadon Lavik. His music is pretty good, so I gave a few other tunes a listen and I’ve decided that I have to actually go out and purchase some of his music. Check him out…

Now, I haven’t had a chance to give this a listen yet, but, the new Caedmon’s CD is out as of a couple weeks ago, I think. Knowing Caedmon’s Call, it has to be pretty good. It’s next on my list of tunes to investigate:

Living in Southern California, you learn to roll with the punches…especially weather-wise. About 90% of the time, you can expect temperatures in the 70s and bright, sunny weather. The other 10% is made up of gray, rain, or various other elements. Nothing to dramatic, though.

Washing your car is a tough call…no matter when you do it, a bird poops on it or it rains the next day.

But try washing and waxing your car for two hours and then having it rain seconds after you’re done.

I knew it was going to rain this weekend…but COME ON!

God’s little example of perfect timing. :)

I’m totally convinced that I’m a 150% more productive in jeans. But that’s just my opinion. There isn’t any factual evidence that would suggest this…other than I’ve pretty much been the man all morning.

Also, some of my best ideas are conceived in the john. They should put a laptop and phone in there and just let me work.

I’m off to come up with some ideas…

I have been putting together my photography portfolio for some time now and I put some tweaking time into it last night. I’m really quite proud of the work I’ve done thus far…there are some really great images of really beautiful people. :) I’m hoping to add to it as time goes on.

Please feel free to take a look at it: NGS Media | Photo. I worked on the Dolls section last night and I should be adding more Dudes this evening from our shoot with Heartbreakers a few weeks ago.

If you know anyone who is looking to get into modeling or if you want senior portraits or something like that, let me know. And let me know your thoughts on my work…

You would think that today was Groundhog day…because it was just one of those days that you peer out from under the covers and wish that you could duck back in and hide from the day.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed.

It took me nearly an hour to get to work today. I live like 10 minutes away.

Thanks to my hero, Chrissy Russo, I probably would have never made it to work. But here I am, ready to tackle the day…complete with a huge headache.

Is it five yet?

Had curry for lunch. Don’t really like curry…but I ate it anyway. It wasn’t bad. It was better than curry I’ve had before.

Stood in a long line at the Post Office. I hate lines. I love mail.

Passed my first validation. 100%. I rule.

Leaving early today. It’s sunny outside. Makes me want to break into song with the Brady Bunch.

Well, now that I have had some time to sleep, I’m feeling well-rested and ready to go. Actually been conscious for couple of hours now, organizing and cleaning in my usual manner. But I thought would write down the events of yesterday before I forget them … Read the rest of this entry »

Folks…I had an absolutely amazing day in LA today.

Only catch is I’m too dang exhausted to write about it.

More tomorrow. :) I’m going to sleep!

The “W” is always getting credit and recognition as being one of the best companies…and now my people are lauding and praising the “W” as one of the top companies that give Hispanics opportunities. It’s knocking loud and clear at the “W.” Opportunity, that is.

Read the article in Hispanic Magazine.