The World of Scott Mindeaux

Oh No Mr. Bates and Captain Jack Harkness!

What is it about British television that has me so hooked? Is it their accents or do they produce better television in the UK?

I have been addicted to an iTV series called Downton Abbey.  I have just finished watching the Season 2 finale and I can’t wait for Season 3. Beware there are spoilers for those that haven’t seen this season yet.

Word has it that they are commissioning a third season and will pick up from where they left off this last season. This past season dealt mostly with the war and the effect on Downton Abbey headed up by Lord and Lady Grantham. The story revolves around their three daughters, the heir apparent to the estate (Matthew Crawley) and the minglings of the castle staff. Thomas returns to Downtown as a staff sergeant overseeing the convalescing of soldiers now staying at Downton as they have run out of space in the local town. Mr. Bates and Anna continue thru their struggles for a relationship and Lady Sybil runs off with the Chauffer. We can’t forget Maggie Smith playing Dowager Countess of Grantham as the ever opinionated Matron.

More word on the street is that Amy Nutall who plays Ethel (the former maid who had a baby with a convalescing soldier) will not be returning to the cast. Season 3 will take place after the Armistice and in the 1920s.

A Christams special is scheduled to run in a few weeks and I look forward to that show. Did they do a Christmas special between Season 1 and 2?

The Brits love their Christmas specials. Doctor Who does a Christmas special as well. I wish they did one for Torchwood.

Speaking of Torchwood, do you think it will come back? Did you like the collaboration effort with Starz? Did they take the series in a completely different track and pull away from the “real” Torchwood?

For those not keeping up with Torchwood, it came back for a short series run with Torchwood set in America with Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper crossing over the pond for a Torchwood/CIA operation to investigate the “Miracle Day” mystery. The series starts off where people STOP dying. Even with extreme death, people seem to be staying alive. However, for those who follow the show, we know that Captain Jack Harkness can’t die – but in this twist, he can – the only person on earth who can. They ended the season figuring out the mystery but end it with guest star Mekhi Phifer (playing CIA’s Rex Matheson)absorbing some of Jack’s immortality. Will this lead to another series?

A Week Later…

So the reality of me being laid off is still quite fresh in my mind. It is now a week later and I found myself freaking out yesterday, feeling overwhelmed at how I was going to deal with the mounting medical bills from this past summer, finding a place to live and more importantly finding a new job.

It’s never a “good” time to get laid off, but for me, I happen to be at the end of my lease and I can’t get a new place without proof of income. Furthermore, if I end up getting a new job in another city or state, I still have the problem of securing housing. I have asked my current  place if I can extend my lease a month or two and they were accommodating but want to increase my rent my $500 a month! Yikes!

Yesterday I got a call from the hospital asking how I was going to deal with the balance I had on my account. I informed them that I was just laid off and that if I had anything to give them I would be more than happy to set up a payment plan. I told them that as soon as I get employment, I would contact them to make arrangement for payment. They said they had to send it to a collection agency to handle. Oye.

I have called my parents and left them emails but I haven’t heard from them. I don’t know if they are at the other house where they have no internet connection. The only conniption I have to them is via a MagicJack number. If it’s not plugged in, I can’t get a hold of them.

I need to get my resume out there. I’ve been waiting for a major re-write of my work experience before I start sending it out, but that may be a few more days out.

Keep me in your thoughts and send good wishes my way!

I Want To Be in America… Olé!

I watched last night’s episode of Glee and I have to say that I’m a big fan of the musical West Side Story. Last night they performed a wonderful version of “America” from the Leonard Bernstein creation.

Last night’s episode was a bit shattered in story lines. The main storyline surrounded the “first time” for couples Blaine and Kurt as well s Finn and Rachel. It’s a touchy subject to bring up first time intimacies between teenagers. So let’s take a look at some issues. Let’s be clear that it is my impression that the show’s creators intended the primary audience for this show to be adults. The problem with this is that the show is about being in high school. While it is nice to reminisce about our past, it is probably safe to assume that the next core audience is high school students. Some of the subject matters that Ryan Murphy has touched on in the show are definitely “current” issues, but probably for consumption by an adult audience. I applaud Ryan Murphy in his attempt to bring the issue of not only “first time” sex on Glee but also that he is bringing up the subject with a young male gay couple as well.

I remember my first time and I wish it was in a private, special moment like Blaine and Kurt. Now with that said, I’m not saying that my first time was not private and that it was loud – it just wasn’t “special”. I wanted my first time to be special.

I do want to touch base on one of the side stories and that was one of Karofsky making a return to the school. Blaine and Kurt sneak off to the nearest gay bar in Lima, with bad boy Sebastian from the Warblers. There Kurt is watching Blaine having a good time on the dance floor when a baseball capped dude walks up to the bar and says “you better keep an eye on him…”. It was school bully Karofsky, now in a different high school and dealing with the fact that he is gay himself. A lot of the anger that Karofsky had while at McKinley was frustration over coming out and trying to figure out who and what he was. I recall to moments in my teenage years where I lashed out about things that were way off base and I honestly have to think that it was about not being able to express who I was to anyone. That kind of built up frustration can be very difficult to deal with. Karofsky said he liked coming into the bar cuz he had be comfortable with who he is and that he was accepted there. It was very cute that he made a nod to the bear community in saying that he was a “cub”. Karofsky still has feelings for Kurt. I think he always had and that was driving him crazy. Sitting int he bar, they both exchange words and you can see the look in his eyes that he is happy to see Kurt. Let’s see if something develops between the two later in the season.

So let’s keep with the theme of the bar. Blaine gets wasted (another subject that is facing high school students) and tries to initiate something intimate with Kurt in the back seat of the car. Kurt says no and holds his ground. Blaine gets pissed off and walks home. Probably for his good as it gave him time to re-evaluate what he was doing. We find out later in the episode that he indeed understand what he was doing and that he was truly sorry for what he tried to do. I do find it very weak that in apologizing to Kurt that Kurt decides that is the “moment” he has been waiting for and go back to Blaine’s house. For me personally, I would have waited for something to come along, not an apology from my boyfriend and a kiss. But that is just me.

So I’m going on a complete tangent here and going to touch on the subject of Puerto Rico and “America”. I had to do some research and this is what I found out. Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States in 1898 in the Treaty of Paris where control of the island was turned over to the United States. It was then in 1947 that Puerto Rick gained more autonomy by being able to elect their own Governor. However to this date, the citizens cannot for for the Presidency – while being US citizens. The timeline in the musical for West Side Story takes place in the mid 50s. We have two groups living in a burrough of New York where we have the Puerto Ricans and the “whites” of the neighborhood. This is our modern day Romeo and Juliet. Maria falls in love with Tony both on opposite sides and being in rival gangs. We have the rooftop scene with maria’s sister, Anita leading a discussion about living in America. I have always loved this song from a musical perspective and every time I hear it, my inner dancer takes over and dances.

My last note is about Coach Bieste and her newfound love interest. You go Coach, let him make you feel like a lady and let him pamper you!

I’m part of the 11.9%

Well it is with a heavy heart that I was laid off from my job yesterday. I join the ranks of the unemployed. Here in California the unemployment rate is 11.9%.

I was with Ignite for five and a half years and it was one of the best years ever. It’s almost 24 hours later since I called into the office and I’m still a bit in shock. Sadness did settle in once I got in the car and that erupted into a flow of tears for several hours.

Many of my friends and co-workers started to call and send text messages. I was getting sad reading the texts from everyone. I talked with Lisa, Tim and Heather and I’m really going to miss seeing them on a daily basis. Many have emailed or toted to express sadness and support.

I’m not going to go into any further details about how I feel except to say that I remain positive and will only take this experience and turn it into something good. I have to.

It’s Friday and raining here in Sunny Southern California and it expresses how many feel back at Ignite today. But you know, the sun will eventually come back out and the day will end and will start up again in the morning.

It has been a rewarding and fun time for me professionally and personally. The people I have met are some of the most talented and amazing people I know. I hope that I can keep in touch with everyone and that we can stay in each other’s lives. they have enriched my life and I hope I have touched them in the same way.

Much of my soul was in the walls and hallways at Ignite and I hope that what I leave behind in memories will continue to keep the spirit going.

It’s time to write a new chapter in my life and I turn the page ready to start the first sentence in a chapter that will sure be filled with fun, sadness, growth and be filled with the memories of meeting new people and experiencing their lives. I’m not sure if my future will return to culinary, but most probably I will return to my IT career and pursue what I love.

Another Kickstarter Find: Sensu Brush

I have been on the hunt for various styli (stylus plural) for my iPad and iPhone. I just received my Jot stylus from Adonit (another Kickstarter venture) and will review soon. In the meantime, here is a true brush for the artist in you and your iPad:

You can visit the Kickstarter site for Sensu at:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/797362124/sensu-brush-a-true-painting-experience-on-your-ipa?ref=live

Loss, Random Thoughts and Life Things

LOSS

Weight loss that is!! So as many of you know I have been on a journey the last couple of months dealing with the recovery after my heart attack on Memorial Day weekend. I made large changes to my diet and started working out. I have also been out of work as the doctor put me on disability and have been home since June. Well I am happy to report that I have broken my latest plateau and have finally made it back into my 220′s! Can you believe it??? This is down from my heaviest weight this past spring at 272!

I couldn’t believe it when I looked down at the digital scale. I stepped off, stepped back on and looked again. I started jumping right there! I was so happy! So the hard part will be not to creep back up above 230! I started a slightly (ok, somewhat) modified Paleo diet. This was something I just came across from an online friend. He told me his weightless was attributed to being on the Paleo diet and doing CrossFit. The Paleo diet basically brings eating food like the “Paleos” did. Leafy vegetables, root vegetables and basic meats and fishes – it also means no dairy (milk wasn’t meant to be beyond early breastfeeding during infancy. Large amounts of grains in our diets really didn’t come into play until agriculture came into play. For the most part in “man’s” history, agriculture is fairly a “recent” thing. So I am eating “mostly” Paleo and having grains (steel cut oatmeal) for breakfast only. I’m trying to cut as much bread and rice out. Now, the body needs carbs. A diabetic needs some carbs. Most of my carbs are coming from vegetables.

It has been an amazing last couple of months. While I am enjoying the workouts now, I’m still not seeing any “body” changes. While I have lost weight, I still only see the fat guy in the mirror. I have been working on upper body exercises but have yet to see any changes to my body. Hopefully, as I increase my weight training, I’ll start to see some muscle – eventually.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

So we come to the part of this entry that is about random thoughts. It will be a free flow format, so here we go:

• Ok, the whole “girl in a football jersey wearing daisy dukes and high boots” DOES NOT WORK!
• I am falling in love with various BBC shows like Downton Abbey, Sherlock Holmes and of course, Torchwood and Doctor Who
• Dating still sucks even 45 lbs lighter
• I’m not sure how I feel about “Weldon” on Two and a Half Men (Ashton Kutchner’s new character)
• Buffy is back on television
• Austin on the A-List New York really is an ASS
• I’m having a hard time dealing with bread and rice loss
• I’ve dropped several inches on my pants – that’s AWESOME
• Thanks to my online friends on MyFitnessPals.com for the support – esp GDEZ80, LeftyMac and Peg1999
• I forgot how interesting the show NOVA is
• My mind continues to dream of opening a small cafe/bookstore – even after 10 years
• I want an iPhone 5
• Paul totally deserved to win on Hell’s Kitchen last night
• Top Chef Dallas – can you stand the wait?
• The new host of Sweet Genius on Food Network scares me
• Alton Brown comes to the Cooking Channel
• Chef Jason Quinn of The Lime Truck is totally hot!
• Not sure how I feel about the President’s plan to boost the economy
• I do however, somewhat agree about the recommendation to eliminate Saturday mail service to streamline the USPS
• For some reason I’m not all hung ho about the new season of GLEE
• I found an episode of The West Wing in my iTunes and I really miss that show
• I’m not surprised about Michaela Salahi leaving Tareq

LIFE THOUGHTS

What are life thoughts? I have no idea! I needed a third topic and that’s what I came up with to counter the Loss headline.  So life is kinda good right now. With the strides I have been making on the weight loss I hope that I can keep going. My next goal is to get to 220, then 210, then 200. Wish me luck.

Being out of the office for the last several months has been quite eye-opening. I have had a lot of time to think about many things and I feel so out of touch with what is going on at the office. I’m a little scared about my transition back to the office as I have been gone now for 4 months. I know it will feel different for sure and hope that things will be ok.

My parents are doing well and keeping busy overseas. We’re hoping they are coming for the holidays as it would be great to see them. My sister Lyn and her boyfriend Cory have moved into the house with my other sister Beth as they look for a new place. The school year has started and the kids are back in classes. Dallas is a senior this year and is on the ASB Council, Sade started junior high and Toni is in the 6th grade now. Even Jessica is in school, albeit part time. She is enrolled in a small headstart program to prepare her for kindergarten next fall. My sister Beth is selling entertainment system networking products. Not sure fully what the products are, but she is having to learn networking. She keeps asking me for help, but I told her that she really needs to learn this on her own or she won’t learn it. The best way to learn is to do it herself and not be afraid to make mistakes. To be quite honest, my knowledge of Cisco IOS is somewhat limited!

Well that’s it for this entry. If any of you have questions or whatnot, please don’t hesitate to email me or leave a comment below. Have a great week everyone.