My Blog: An Apology

Hi, Blog.

I'm sorry I've neglected you, lo these many months. And I'm sorry if I made any mistakes using that turn of phrase. I don't really have an excuse. For either.

You see, I've wrestled with this conflict for a few years now. If something is good enough to be made into a blog, why not make it into a vlog? A YouTube video would get more traffic, it's a more enjoyable experience for someone to watch a vlog, in my opinion, and they're more fun to make.

But time and time again, I find myself linking you, my neglected blog, in the video information. I don't know why I do it, if it's some kind of self-masochism or if I think people still care.

No one really cares about a blog I haven't posted on since January. 

But the problem remains the same. What's worth your time that's not necessary for YouTube? 

I'm still talking directly to you, blog, yes.

I could talk about how Skyfall and Wreck it Ralph were both great and how I'm excited for Lincoln.

I could say how I went on an epic tri-county search for Twinkies last night and I'll be making a video about it soon.

I could talk about my next parody, about the helium shortage, my ideas for my website, or I could just talk about my day.

I still have some stuff to figure out with this blog.

Hopefully the readers will stick along for the ride. :)

Travis

A Chick-fil-Anundrum

So, earlier tonight, I drove over to Chick-fil-A because I had a craving for a regular chicken sandwich and fries. The drive-thru was really busy so I parked my car and went inside.

While I was in the line, a really cute girl (brunette with bright green eyes, cute nose) came in with a friend of hers and both girls got in the line next to me. After a couple glances and smiles, she started talking to me, and it was going really well.

Then, it was my turn to place my order so I did and walked over to the pick-up area to wait for my food. After the girls placed their order, they joined me in the pick-up area. Her friend needed to use the restroom, so then it was just the green-eyed girl and I.

While we were standing there, waiting for our food, the girl asked me if I wanted her number so I could give her a call sometime. I chuckled and said no, right to her face, just as my food was handed to me. I took my food and then walked out to my car.

But now that I'm thinking about it, I feel that was the wrong thing to do entirely. What do you guys think? Should I have ordered the Chick-fil-A nuggets instead of the sandwich?

The Beatles

Originally posted Thursday, June 19, 2008 on Facebook Notes.


Hey Jude, 
Ask me why can't buy me love. Because. Want to know a secret? Everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey. How do you do it? I forgot to remember to forget. I want to tell you. I want to hold your hand. Here there and everywhere. Got to get you into my life. Ask me why. I've got a feeling. You know what to do. You like me too much. You never give me your money. Martha, my child, let it be. Thank you girl, that means a lot. When I get home, you're going to lose that girl. Don't let me down. Goodnight.

Do you get it? It's a moderately logical paragraph composed of 25 Beatles song titles. It took me like seven years. 

Love, Travis.

Archaic Questionnaire from 2009

          This is a questionnaire I filled out using Facebook Notes (remember those??) way back on May 9, 2009 at around 4:00something AM. I never had a LiveJournal or any of those other popular pre-2007 blogging sites. I only used Facebook Notes. But I figured it’d be fun to archive my old notes in this blogger format and help you guys get a glimpse into who I am/was and the kinds of stuff I used to put on the internet before YouTube.

          Unless noted, these notes will be untouched, unedited, and completely copy-paste from the Facebook site. That being said, even I’m confused about some of the things I was typing about, haha. Any questions about anything, just leave a comment!

"Because who needs sleep at 4:30am?"

by Travis on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 4:24am

If your boyfriend or girlfriend was into drugs, would you care?
Yes.

What was the last reason you went to the doctor for?
"Melanoma"

Are you shy?
Eh, not so much.

Do you like being home alone or does it freak you out?
Do I have a computer? I'm cool :)

Would you kiss anyone you've texted today?
Yup :)

Do you have any bruises on you?
I have a scrape on my arm and a bruise on my left shoulder, not sure how either appeared.

Is anything wrong with your eyes?
Nope. I'm told they're pretty amazing.

Have you ever kissed someone who was over seventeen?
Haha most of them were, I promise.

Are you dating the last person you texted?
No.

How has 2009 been for you so far?
A roller coaster of unexpectedness.

Do you love where you live?
It grows on me.

What color are your eyes?
Blue/sometimes green.

Who were you with the last time you went to the movie theater?
Angela, Pat, Meg, Ricky and the gang for Wolverine.

Do you sleep with a fan on?
I hate sleeping with loud noises.

Did you speak to your mother today?
Well, it's 4am, so no, not technically today.

Who was the last person you rode in a vehicle with?
Aric and Sam

Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you?
Mah sister :)

Do you have curly hair?
Noppers.

Do you have secrets that no one knows?
If people knew it wouldn't really be a secret.

Were you single this past summer?
Nope.

Do you believe that love lasts forever?
I believe in true love, yes.

Whose car were you in today?
Mine.

Have you been kissed by someone who' s name starts with a V?
Haha. Yes. Two I believe...

Are your parents religious?
Yea, I guess so.

What's something you really want right now? Be honest.
Yes. To be able to leave for South Carolina sooner.

What time in your life would you like to put on repeat forever?
Honestly? Summers working at the movie theater. I know, lame, right?

How many people of the opposite sex have you cried over?
Oh sheesh, I don't know.

Honesty, if you could go back one month and change something would you?
Yes.

Are you a bad influence?
Ha. Well.

Who else is in the room with you?
My stuffed animals. Don't judge me. :P

Where is your cell phone?
About three inches from my left hand.

Three days from now will you be in a new relationship?
Erm, I kinda hope not?

Last awkward moment?
Accidentally calling a twin by the wrong name...

How many people do you trust?
Depends.

How far is it from your house to Wal-mart?
About 5 minutes. But Meijer's closer.

Have you ever fallen asleep in someone's arms?
Yes.

If you were kicked out of your house, where would you go first?
I don't live in my house, foo!

Is there anyone that will text you and you smile instantly?
Yea, there are about 4 people like that.

Do you wish you could ever hug yourself to see if you're a good hugger?
I loves my hugs.

Do you ever find it hard to tell someone you like them?
Uh huh. Usually I'm still confused on how they'd react.

Are you happy with your relationship status?
Shore :)

In the past 24 hours have you hung out with a girl?
I have. Angela and Mal earlier, Katy at the Union, and then Becks at 80s Night.

Will tomorrow be better than today?
Probably. I work a few hours but I don't have exams.

Who was the last person you took a nap with?
Haha. Sam and I passed out on the couch watching King of the Hill at like 5am a few nights ago. I hope that doesn't count though...

Do you ignore people when you're mad/upset?
Yea, when I realize I need to calm down.

Who was the last person you talked to last night before bed?
Lo

Did the last person who hurt you, ever apologize?
She didn't know I was upset. But we're better now :)

What's bugging you?
That I decided to start this so late at night. And that 80s Night wasn't very good tonight.

Any plans for this weekend?
Party today? Giulio? Huh? Huh? - and then Grad party in South Carolina this weekend!

What are you listening to?
New Found Glory is playing in my head.

Are you a mean person?
You betta wait fo my request!

Have you ever wanted to tell someone something but didn't?
Duh.

Have you ever attempted to count to a million?
No. I know the numbers are there, I don't have to prove it to myself.

If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?
Yes. I will drink the blood of my enemies. And occasionally a raspberry sasparilla.

Do you think more about the past, present, or future?
Present

How long does it take you in the shower?
maybe 10-15 min

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn't do?
Every day.

Ever been called heartless?
How could I be so heartless-heartless-heartless

Do you get distracted easily?
Ha. Yea. Will not download that button for random websites thingy...then ill not download that button for random websites thingy.

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
Kohls cause I'm a BA

Have you ever had your heart broken?
Yes.

Would you ever take someone back if they cheated on you?
Honestly, I'm not sure.

Have you talked about marriage with another person?
Yes.

Do you want children?
Yea but not now.

How many?
2-3

Would you consider adoption?
Yes. I want to adopt American.

Do you enjoy playing hard to get?
Rawr. No.

Do you believe love at first sight exists?
Attraction is usually lust which can become interest but no, not in that instant.
Do you believe that you can change someone?
Nope. People have to want to change themselves.

Who was the last person you were on the phone with?
Becky.

Do you wear your feelings all over your face?
Sometimes.

Have you told anyone you love them today?
Vaguely.

Did you kiss or hug anyone in the last 24 hours?
Yes. Hugged Becky. She gets emotional after drinking....haha

What is the date today?
May 4, 2009

When was the last time you smiled?
Watching Family Guy.

Can you fit into your best friend's shoes?
Don't have one with me. But no, I can't

How have you felt today?
Not bad but the good parts have def been up and down.

What are you afraid of?
Being alone.

Are you wearing something that belongs to someone else?
I was less than an hour ago haha.

When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings?
Today

The Thing (2011) - A Review

 Don't worry. No spoilers.

Here's the trailer for anyone who hasn't seen it.

      

      So, I just got home from seeing "The Thing" and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. The preview makes it look like any other jump-out-at-you scary movie, and it definitely had that creepy vibe where some poor soul is walking around possibly about to be attacked and then RAWR. But aside from that, it also had a creepy psychological feel. You, as a viewer, are making your brain go overtime trying to figure out ways to decide who is who. And it's not always easy-going. There are so many twists and turns in this movie, it's very edge-of-your-seat.

      I heard from a lot of people before going in that the CGI isn't really that great, but considering what they were doing, from tearing people in half to making an alien swallow a human, they did pretty well. There were only a few scenes with obviously digitized computer graphics.

      I really liked how they didn't have any huge A list actors in this movie but that's my own personal preference. When I see an A lister in a scary movie, it takes away from the feeling of the movie and keeps me from feeling emotionally attached to the characters. Although, I did turn to my friend at the beginning and say, "Woah, is that Mr. Eko?" It was.

      For a prequel, it did an incredible job of setting up for the next movie. The last scene in this movie is actually the first scene for the original so the transition is rather seamless. 

I'd give it a solid 8/10.

I am curious as to why an Arctic science research station has all these flamethrowers laying around...

Making "Good" Content

Now, every so often, I have an idea for a video or a blog post.

INORITE?

The blog posts generally happen smoothly because I can type them out exactly how I want, with very conversational writing, and I'm able to add, delete, change, any single word I want until I hit the "publish post" button.

But my videos have to go through quite a ringer in order for them to make it to YouTube.

I have to have the initial idea for the video which, let's face it, isn't too hard. Then, I decide if the idea is good or bad. The blog posts don't have to be "good" or "bad" respectively, because like I said before, I can tweak them to how I want.

Then, I have to make bullet points of the ideas I want to say into the camera. Sometimes, they'll be vague subjects and other times they'll be as direct as lines I want to say exactly. And I need to have an ending by then. The ending is very important. Obviously.

I then go over the notes and rethink the story, making sure I still think it's good enough to film and post online. I think about my audience, the opinions I'll receive, but most importantly, I need it to be good enough for my own seal of approval. I need to love the work I'm going to post.

After my ideas are down on paper or it's a story I feel comfortable telling from memory, I clean up my filming area. I make sure that towels are off of the door, that clothes are out of the way, that there's nothing behind me, and that the lights are on.

Then I film myself. And I say everything I need to say. Or, at least try to.

While filming, I think about how the cuts will be spliced together. Making sure I'm making it so everything will flow and that I'm not leaving anything out. Then after I film, again, I think about if I love the content I'm about to create. Sometimes, at this point I'm hesitant. I just spent time on something that's almost halfway done. Do I want to give up on it now? Maybe I should just trudge through it.

With editing, I travel to campus to load my footage and spend about an hour or so making cuts and splices to fit the story together. Sometimes, I find out that I left an important word out or that I misspoke when I filmed. Sometimes, an edit can fix it. Sometimes, I scrap that sentence of the video.

And sometimes, like today, I write, film, go to campus, get halfway done with editing and realize that I'm not in love with my content.

And it's a bittersweet feeling.

Bitter because I feel cheated with all the work I put in but sweet because I don't want to give you guys anything I'm not completely proud of. You guys mean a lot to me and I appreciate your viewership. Looking back a few hours, I wasn't too in love with it earlier and that should have been a red flag.

So, in an incredibly round-about way, thank you. :)

Also, this story will probably be part of a 2 or 3 part story-vlog I do soon so NOT TO WORRY.

The Minority of My IRL Friends

I want you to think about your IRL friends for a second. Just your IRL friends. Adding your URL friends to this equation will muddle the results.

Nowadays, I'm sure that the number of your IRL friends who have a Facebook far outweigh the people you know who do not have a Facebook. With Twitter, at least in my experience, it's about 30/70, the 30 being IRL friends who have Twitter. As for friends who post on YouTube, the number gets even smaller. I have a few IRL friends who post videos on YouTube but I have more friends who have a Twitter account and even more friends who have a Facebook.

Following me?

Well, since it makes sense self-marketing-wise, it's a pretty good chance that your IRL friends who post on YouTube also have a Twitter and a Facebook. Right off the bat, if you post content to all three, you're in the minority along with me.

If I think REALLY hard, I can only think of a handful of people I know who post to all three. And some of those who post on Twitter have it set up to post the same posting on their Facebook. What's the point, man?

Take into account Blogspot, Dailybooth, my other YouTube channels, my Tumblr, and I don't feel it's unfair to think that I post more content to the Interwebs than the average person. I even have a flavors.me account. I don't know why, but I do.

I originally planned to write a completely different sort of blog post but I needed to get all this out first. The second IRL URL blog is coming soon. :)

http://www.twitter.com/WhatTravisSays

'Transformers' Midnight Show

I just bought my tickets for the midnight show of 'Transformers'. Surprisingly, two of the four showings, including a 3D showing, was sold out. As I was in line, I made a mental note of what I needed.

When I got up to the ticket guy, henceforth know as TICKETEER, he asked if he could help me. I told him, 'Three tickets for the 2D showing of 'Transformers', please.'

'The midnight show?' he asked.
'Yes, please.'

As he handed me the tickets he said, 'Okay, now you're going to want to show up early because midnight showings get pretty packed.'

I took the tickets and smiled. 'This isn't my first rodeo, chief.'

Wham Bam thank ya ma'am.

...okay, well they didn't actually happen. I was less of a jerk about it. I told him, 'I know. I do this a lot.'

Which isn't that baller of an ending.

Ha.

posted from Bloggeroid

The Blu-ray Conundrum

So, I don't know how many of you know, or even care, but the movie 'Red Riding Hood' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday.

Now, I never saw the movie. I know it was a 're-interpretation' but the fact that the director of Twilight also directed this movie, kinda caused most of my disinterest. But that's not what my story is about.

One of my side jobs is taking care of the movies and helping customers down movies when that can't find what they're looking for.

Anyway, this is a phone call I got at work today.

Me: 'Electronics, this is Travis. Can I help you?'

Lady: 'Hi, I was looking for someone in the movies.'

Me: 'I'd be able to help, what do you need?'

Lady: 'Well, I was in there earlier today and I bought the wrong thing.'

Me: 'The wrong movie?'

Lady: 'Well, no. Kinda. *laugh* I paid the $14.99 and accidentally bought 'Red Riding Hood' on Blu-ray and I don't have a Blu-ray player.'

Me: 'And so you'd want to return it and exchange it for the DVD version?'

Lady: 'Yes, that would be wonderful.'

Me: 'Has the movie been opened?'

Lady: 'Um, yes. Is that a problem?'

Me: 'Well, I have good news and bad news.'

Lady: 'Uh oh. What's the bad news?'

Me: 'The bad news is that we can't accept returns on movies that have been opened.'

Lady: 'Oh, no! Well, what's the good news?'

Me: 'You said you paid $14.99 for it?'

Lady: 'Yeah..?'

Me: 'Well we're selling the DVD for $14.99 and the Blu-ray for $21.99.'

Lady: 'So that means..'

Me: '..that you bought the DVD, not the Blu-ray.'

Lady: 'Oh. Well don't I feel sheepish.'

Me: 'Have a good day.'

And not to sound mean or anything, but what made her think that her DVD was a Blu-ray?
I am confuse.

posted from Bloggeroid

Battery Musings

Scene: My place of employment. Electronics section. A man comes up to me, obviously in need of assistance.

Me: 'Is there something I can help you find?'

Man: 'Yes.'

He holds out a piece of paper.

Man: 'I need to find this battery.'

The paper has a square drawn on it with a wiggly line coming from the corner of the square.

Me: 'A battery? Do you know the model number?'

Man: 'It's right here.'

He gestures to the paper.

Man: 'I drew the battery.'

Me: 'Um, well, we have lots of batteries with that shape. If you had-'
Man: 'I have the battery. It's right here!'

Me: 'Sir, this doesn't give me much information. Do you know what phone you have? I could try looking it up.'

Man: 'It's a house phone.'

Me: 'Yes, but do you know the model? The brand?'

Man: 'I've been to Best Buy, Walmart, and Radio Shack looking for this battery and no one has been able to help me.'

Me: 'I'm sorry sir, maybe next time you could bring the dead battery in.'

Man: 'Well, it's not dead.'

Me: '...I'm sorry, what do you need it for then? A replacement?'

Man: 'My dog's electric collar stopped working.'

Me: 'And it uses the same battery?'

Man: 'Well, I don't know. It doesn't look like you have it.'

Man walks away.

I am confuse.

posted from Bloggeroid