Tofu, Jesus, and Weight Loss, Oh My!

This month, my church has participated in the "Daniel Fast", a 21-day fast comprised of mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, and a few other earthy ingredients. Basically, I've been a vegan for the past few weeks. I've strolled through Whole Foods quite a few times (cliche, I know, but it was the first place I thought of when signing up to participate), I've tried tofu dishes and veggie dishes at restaurants where I usually have fatty, meaty entrees, and I've realized how delicious natural food can be. At first, I thought I wasn't going to make it and honestly expected to cave halfway through but it's been a great experience. The blender has been a good friend of mine lately, I've been blending up a smoothie storm with fruits, nuts, and soy milk. Also, my mom has been participating as well and has come up with a bunch of creative, Daniel-friendly meals. I've even considered going the vegetarian route when the fast is over. I've had my fill of ham and cheese with tofurkey and cheese substitute sandwiches, and there's plenty of vegetarian friendly desserts out there (a luxury I haven't had since early January). I don't know though, I love all food, and while I haven't really missed beef, I do love me some chicken. Also, I love traveling, and I think part of the experience is tasting the local cuisine. We'll see.

Of course, this isn't just about the food. It's spiritual, it's about reconnecting with God. I can't say I've kept a devotional every single day of the fast but on the days I have it's been like a breath of fresh air. My dandy smart phone has come in handy with a bible app and daily reading plans. The other day I loved reading about how there are an eternity's worth of reasons to praise Him. My walk with Jesus used to be a lot stronger but at least this has been a step in the right direction, about getting back to the days when holding his hand  seemed exciting (spiritually speaking, of course, I'm not a crazy holding fake hands and pretending they are His hands). It sounds like I might be talking about a significant other, but that's the way a relationship with Him should be, He is so awesome and so worthy. Also, for any reader who might not be a believer, I would never try to shove my faith/belief down your throat, so don't feel like my posts are for Christian eyes only. I do believe in Jesus and He's the ultimate joy in my life but, as its made apparent from my other posts, I write about anything and everything. I've explained this in the hopes that I do have readers out there :).

A cool thing I've learned about myself with this fast is that I'm stronger than I thought I was. My brother is literally a few feet away from me, chomping on parmesan garlic chicken wings and potato wedges from Buffalo Wild Wings and it's not phasing me. Alright, I've already eaten dinner (some lovely wheat yakisoba noodles with soy meat and squash) and I'm full, it'd probably be a different story if I were writing on an empty stomach. Yes, there were a few times where some foods were mouth-watering and tempting but I held strong. This has showed me I can be stronger in other areas of my life.

Of course there's been weight loss! Yay! I've also been exercising and am determined to make time for running during the week now that the semester has started. The Daniel Fast ends on Thursday and I'm happy to say I participated.

One last thing, I was rummaging through Google, and I found a picture of tofu we can probably use for communion on Sunday.

Horror movies!

I'm a big horror genre fan and here's the year 2012 in horror movies:

Keep in mind this list does not include repeated viewings (for example, I watched Carpenter's Halloween around Halloween and Bob Clark's Black Christmas on Christmas day), only first time viewings.

Also, the year the movie was made is included and my personal rating on a scale of 1 to 10.

And...go!

1) The Devil Inside (2012)- 5/10

2) 13 Ghosts (1960)- 6/10

3) [Rec] (2007)- 8/10

4) Alice Sweet Alice (1976)- 8/10

5) Silent House (2011)- 5/10

6) Event Horizon (1997)- 8/10

7) Fright Night (2011)- 7/10

8) Sorority Row (2009)- 6/10

9) House on Haunted Hill (1959)- 6/10

10) The Woman in Black (2012)- 7/10

11) Prom Night (2008)- 6/10

12) Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)- 6/10

13) Halloween 5 (1989)- 6/10

14) Prom Night (1980)- 6/10

15) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)- 6/10

16) Jennifer's Body (2009)- 7/10

17) Gothika (2003)- 6/10

18) The Final Destination (2009)- 2/10

19) Final Destination 5 (2011)- 7/10

20) Trick 'r Treat (2007)- 8/10

21) Dracula (1931)- 7/10

22) Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)- 5/10

23) Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Meyers (1995)- 6/10

24) The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)- 6/10

25) Grave Encounters (2011)- 5/10

26) Grave Encounters 2 (2012)- 6/10

27) Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998)- 6/10

28) Halloween: Resurrection (2002)- 3/10

29) Blood and Black Lace (1964)- 7/10

30) Halloween (2007)- 6/10

31) Poltergeist (1982)- 7/10

32) Don't Look Now (1973)- 8/10

33) Carnival of Souls (1962)- 7/10

34) The Uninvited (2009)- 7/10

35) Shutter (2008)- 6/10

36) The Thing (2011)- 7/10

37) The Mist (2007)- 8/10

38) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)- 2/10

39) Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)- 2/10

40) Sinister (2012)- 6/10

41) Halloween 2 (2009)- 6/10

42) The Descent: Part 2 (2009)- 7/10

43) The Eye (Jian Gui) (2002)- 7/10

44) The House on Sorority Row (1983)- 5/10

45) Terror Train (1980)- 8/10

46) Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1983)- 5/10

47) 28 Days Later (2002)- 8/10

48) Black Sunday (1960)- 7/10

49) Detention (2011)- 7/10

50) 28 Weeks Later (2007)- 5/10

Insights of a Worship Leader, Part 1

For those of you who don't know, I am a Worship Leader. I sing lead at the church I attend and am in charge of musical direction. Besides it being an awesome spiritual privilege, there's a few specific things I like.

Microphones

I'm a wireless microphone kind of guy! I love and prefer to sing with a wireless. I don't mean to sound like a diva but I don't like mics with cords. This doesn't mean I'd throw a tantrum if a wireless was out of my reach,  it wouldn't be big deal, it's just a preference. Here's a few reasons why:

Reason #1: Cords get tangled

I am somebody who likes to be lively when I lead Worship. That mean I will dance, jump, spin, clap. I love getting into the music because its fun and energetic and I think stiff singers can be kind of boring. Cords can get in the way of that.

I was recently in California, leading Worship at El Rio de Dios in Inglewood (FYI, I attend a Hispanic church and most of my singing is in Spanish), and there was this contagious song where I started doing a spinning motion. Needless to say, this was out of town and I didn't have my dandy, Shure wireless mic, so I used one with a cord, which was fine. Anyway, as I started slowly spinning, the cord started wrapping itself around me and I stopped before I was mummified and casually untangled myself while smiling at one of the singers to the side.

Reason #2: Cords can be stepped on

One time, I was speaking (more like shouting) in between songs and I stepped on the cord as I walked forward. The cord snapped off the mic, leaving me mute and with the unplugged microphone in hand. Jeez! Also, I feel bad stepping on cords, like I'm choking the life out of this piece of equipment meant to help me.

Reason #2.5: Cords can trip people!

This has never happened to me personally (thank God!) but after so many cords on the floor getting jumbled up, tangled up, all sorts of messed up, they start to rise on the floor like vengeful jungle vines ready to attack (that'd be a scary death though, probably like something out of The Ruins but with musical equipment). One of the ladies who sings with me sometimes actually tripped once. We were putting stuff away after a service and amongst the cord ruckus (because back then we didn't use wireless mics) her heel got caught between some cords and she fell down. Luckily, she fell like she was sitting down on the ground but still!

Reason #3: I don't like headset microphones

I don't know why but I just don't. Maybe it's because I feel like an actual diva or maybe I'm used to having something in my hand when I sing but I don't like it.

Reason #4: Microphone Smooching

Okay, this is more of a reason as to why I like my own microphone but I'm throwing it in! When I am really giving myself to a song I tend to make out with my mic. I've noticed it before and my lips and spit are all over that thing. It's a good thing I always put on chapstick before singing (partly so my lips won't stick and partly for the luminous dazzle).

As much as I talk about (and smooch, apparently) my beloved microphone, I feel it should have a name. Maybe the aptly named "Mike", or "Michael" to be more sophisticated.

Tune in next time for more Worship Leader insights!

I'm a Pretty Little Girl

Alright, this week and last week I've been a big girl. Yes, the sex-change process is, no doubt, coming soon.

Just kidding.

About the sex-change process, that is.

Reason #1 as to why I'm a pretty little girl at the moment:

"Pretty Little Liars"

Or should I say I'm a pretty-little-liar-girl? In a plaid pencil skirt, black patterned tights, and stiletto heels, no less!

Yes, I am now officially a fan of the ABC Family show for teens (mostly teen girls). I was just on  Thanksgiving break from school and, in the nick of time, I received a notification from the library over the weekend that an item I had placed on hold way back in early August was ready for me to pick up. Lo and behold, it was the first season of "Pretty Little Liars". Usually I don't bother picking up entire seasons of TV shows during school because I just don't have time to watch them during the busy semester but as fate would have it (or maybe it's been perfectly plotted by A, hmm...), the DVD dropped in my lap the one week I have no school. I was worried that I might not finish all the episodes by the time classes resumed on Monday but I watched the entire season and with time to spare. Can't wait to watch season 2!

The show first caught my attention a few years ago when I heard the Young Adult series by Sara Shepard was getting picked up for television. It's worked for "Gossip Girl" and "The Vampire Diaries" (Vampire Diaries is also on my list of shows to watch, FYI) and it even worked for "Roswell" back in the 90's (I love Roswell!) and it's working for "Pretty Little Liars" just as well. When I heard ABC Family was picking up the show I wondered why the heck a show like this would be handed over to the network that usually has lame teen shows and watered down material but I've been pleasantly surprised. The closest teen show ABC Family has had to this was probably "The Secret Life of the American Teenager", and I didn't care enough to know what that secret was, but even that show seemed like it had an after-school-special vibe to it. The pilot alone on this show shocked me when one of the protagonists (Aria!) was sitting at a pub where a guy approached her and then they're making out in the bathroom! The guy, we find out later in the episode, is Aria's new English teacher (snap!). Then one of the other girls, (Spencer) is kissing her older sister's fiancee (Wren), while Emily is doubting her sexuality with the new neighbor Maya, Hanna is shop lifting and struggling with her image, Ashley (Hanna's mom) is sleeping with a police man to make Hanna's charges disappear and keep their image intact, Jenna's blind but there might be a malicious reason why, and Aria's burdened with knowing her father (also a teacher) was cheating on her mom the previous year with a student! All this, on top of the mystery of Alison's disappearance. Basically, that's what the show's about: A clique of pretty girls drift apart when their leader goes missing. The girl's body is found a year later but the rest keep receiving mysterious messages from somebody named A who knows all their tantalizing secrets and what really happened to Alison.

It's got drama, suspense, an interesting storyline, some cool music, and an amazing eye for detail. When I say detail, I mean there's stylish clothes to admire, lavish wallpapers to pull you in, beautiful houses and art pieces to gawk at, alluring colors, and attractive people to keep your attention. Well done, ABC Family!

Mean Girls meets I Know What You Did Last Summer with great fashion sense and an air for the dramatic. Love it!

Reason #2:

Breaking Dawn: Part 2

Alas, the Twilight Saga has come to an end!

I own all four books by Stephanie Meyer.

And all the movies. *looks behind shoulder*

It's all over though! It was sad when I finished reading Breaking Dawn but it's even sadder now that the films are over. This one an extra long end credits sequence that had me a little misty-eyed. Frankly, Breaking Dawn was my least favorite book (because there's not as much action and I wasn't a fan of the whole Jacob imprinting on Reneesmee, or Reneesmee herself for that matter) but the movies have been well done. I also got a bit teary and sighed dreamily during Bella and Edward's wedding scene in Part 1. These books and movies will definitely be missed.

Here, the Cullens and a bunch of other vamps from around the globe, along with Jacob and his wolfy friends, prepare to fight the Volturi after Irina informs them Bella and Edward are harboring an immortal child (something severely prohibited). Bella must prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is, in fact, a real girl (she's no pinocchio) before they tear them all to shreds. A nice perk in here is that different vampires with different powers are shown. For a split second, I almost expected to see Rogue and Wolverine fighting alongside Bella (who has an interesting power of her own now that she's one of the cold ones).

To part is such sweet sorrow!

Reason #3:

To Selena, With Love

Being a Latino, I've grown up around Selena Quintanilla Perez. I was 5 years old when she was murdered but I still remember the time vividly. I also remember the aftermath of Selena's death and the impact it left on the Hispanic community. There's been statues erected in her honor, the posthumous album Dreaming of You (the title song and "I Could Fall in Love" are still tear-jerkers), annual compilation cds, annual TV specials, the acclaimed film which catapulted Jennifer Lopez into stardom, a museum in Corpus Christi (her hometown), look-alike contests, Selena drag shows, commemorative mailing stamps, and other constant tributes that remind everyone how beloved she was. Earlier this year, her former husband, Chris Perez, released a book called To Selena, With Love where he recounts their love story, the days leading up to Selena's tragic death, and coping with the loss of his wife. Of course, this book is sad! Watching the film Selena always leaves me bummed and reading Perez's story was no different. Selena's death was so tragic and she had such a bright future ahead of her. After reading this book I could only shake my head and wish things had turned out differently.

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom! Cheer up, I don't want to end this on a sad note.

Poor attempt to cheer up:

Why did the chicken cross the playground?

To get to the other slide!

Wow, that joke was lame. But there you have it.

These have been the three feminine reasons why my Y chromosome might no longer be in existence. Snap!

O Fiction Voice, Where Art Thou?

I feel like I'm in a box.

As far as my writing voice goes. Fiction writing, to be more specific.

I've realized I like non-fiction because I feel like I have a good handle on it. I actually like reading over the creative non-fiction pieces I've written in the past. You want to know why? Because it's ME! I can hear my voice, I can read my humor, I can see myself walking through the cobblestone roads in Antigua, Guatemala, or hear the bustling, underground metro system in Washington DC. I wrote a culture piece last semester on the horror genre fan base and I had so much fun with it because I knew what the heck I was talking about (Soon to be posted, by the way).

But when it comes to fiction, I can almost physically feel myself walking into a box where certain rules and structures apply. I noticed this when I turned in a fiction story earlier this week into my Fiction Writing Workshop class and, after reading over what I handed in, I didn't like what I was seeing. I know I can do better, and I have, so why am I putting myself into this box for a plot I can actually see myself writing (A very latino plot involving La Llorona)?

I realize this isn't much of a post but I needed somewhere to whine about my current writing frustration. I guess I have to let go and just be me in fiction. How? Hmm, I guess I'll have to see.

Random Writing-Related Side Note: One night, I was walking in downtown Denver, just exploring the city on foot, and I was looking at a map to see what was interesting nearby. Among restaurants and shops, I noticed there was a place called "Writer Square". I got so excited because I imagined a square just for writers right here in Denver, what a find! I imagined I would enter this magical place where fellow writers would high-five me as I walked in and where shops dedicated exclusively for stationery, different colored inks, and moleskine journals dotted the streets. Perhaps there was a cafe with open mic sessions where poets could read out loud and I would sit down and be breathtaken by someone's delectable words. In addition, there was probably a Writing Workshop I could sign up for and countless resources offered to aspiring writers. I walked to Writer Square excitedly, taking in the city lights and enjoying the crisp night air. I finally got there, only to be majorly disappointed when I saw Writer Square was just another shopping and dining destination around the 16th Street Mall. Nice? Yes. Alluring? Yep. Trendy and fun? Most likely. A writer's destination? A big fat NO. It's just a place that happens to have the word "writer" in its name. I don't know what I was thinking.

Alright, to make this post worth the time of anybody who's not me and/or a writer, I'll leave you with a funny picture.

Kills me every time!

"For the Last Time We'll Pray"

Who said horror music can't be beautiful?

This is probably my favorite track from the soundtrack of one of my favorite horror movies, Carrie (1976).

Carrie by Stephen King (Can you tell I'm an English major with my properly formatted titles?) is an awesome book but the Brian DePalma movie in itself is a gem. I am not exaggerating when I say Carrie is one of the horror genre's best films.

Random Horror Trivia: One of characters in the film who bullies Carrie is named Norma Watson, played by actress PJ Soles, who would later appear in Halloween (1978). In one of Halloween's later sequels, Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998), actress Janet Leigh (who is a horror icon along with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis [Scream Queen!]) played a character named Norma Watson to give a nod to Carrie.

Forget Me Not!

Dear Codex Blog,

Don't worry, I have not abandoned you. It's just that it's hard to find time to write down musings during the school semester. The fall semester feels especially busy with preparations for Hallelujah Night (an awesome Worship event), as the final weeks leading up to the event usually include a combination of very little sleep, long rehearsals, wrapping up details, and just being busy. As for school, a year from now, I'll be preparing to graduate and I will actually have time on my hands for everything. I'm so glad to be almost done with college. In fact, I just registered for my second-to-last semester. Scary, exciting, and relieving!

We shall not let this rift get between us, I will try to visit you every once in a while.

Love,
Hector.

Or Aaron (my middle name which, strangely, gets used more than my first name).

Or Codex Blog guy, whatever you want to call me.

PS: Yes, I am in the middle of homework. Ugh!

PPS: Travel writing seems like an awesome profession. Must look more into that.

PPPS(Is there such a thing?): A picture from Hallelujah Night 2012. Yes, that is me singing in the top left corner.