Yeah 2007, I said it. You kinda sucked for me. Your technique was poor, you were supposed to be the greatest year of my life, but you were not. But it still felt good and I appreciate the effort. In fact, I thank you for the experience. Please allow me to focus on the positive and veer from the negative.

In 2007, I got the fuck out of the valley and moved back to the West Side. I was able to develop new friendships. My career aspirations are stronger than ever, as is my desire to travel. I learned a lot about myself and the things that make me happy and fulfilled. I was reminded that no matter how willing you (as a person) are to change, you cannot change someone else. You can only hope they want to change (adapt, compromise) with and/or for you. But I was also reminded that there is whole world full of people who you do not have to change for; those are friends. They like you for who you are.

Thank you to all of my friends. I know that I am not a perfect friend, but you are. Thank you for being there for me; thank you for allowing me to be there for you.

What’s up party people. It’s 215 on Saturday morning and I just wanted to write a little post for you. Just got back from the Cozy Inn and I am a bit buzzed. So what do I do at 215am with a healthy buzz – surf some YouTube (amazing video to follow).

Well it’s been a few weeks since I bothered you with news from my life, here’s a recap:

• NAR – Las Vegas
  • Holy crap, that was fun. Have you ever stayed at a 5-Diamond hotel – it will spoil you for all other hotels. We stayed at the Wynn and it was amazing. It was nice, but the service was amazing. No small detail was missed. Room service, maid service, even the wake-up call was top notch. Not to mention that the rooms are very spacious and the views are wonderful. All the restaurants were well run and (again) the service was top notch. To quote Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” The conference was nice too, but the accommodations were fantastic. See some pictures at the photo gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/montez
• Flu – at death’s door
  • Party too much and you have to pay the price. Being at a large conference with people from all over the world means you are going to run into some germs. Couple that with late nights and little sleep and you have end up sicker than an Indian with a Spanish blanket (read your history). So a lot of cool things happened, I discovered NyQuil, that stuff is great and really helps you sleep. I bleed from my eye after a coughing/sneezing fit – the first time I have ever experienced that. I hacked up the LARGEST phlegm ball I’ve ever seen, I almost chocked on it. The immune system is amazing stuff.
• Thanksgiving – food and drinking
  • Dinner was nice, but drinking with Jon and Danielle on Friday really made the weekend. I love the Cozy Inn (Culver City, CA). On Wednesday night (night before turkey day), there was a party at Bregan’s. It was a “Half-way to Easter” party. All things Easter were celebrated, guitar hero, quarters, jello-shots, Jesus posters, and improv. Again, you can see some images at the Michael Montez Photo Gallery.
• Mom and Dad’s “New” house
  • The remodel on my parents house is all but complete. Goodbye carpet, hello tile floors. Ceiling fans and a new kitchen (counters and appliances). Who knew having two boys was so expensive. I have never seen my parents with so much money. Time to ask for a loan.
• Las Vegas travel guide – from your’s truly
  • Coming soon, I will be writing a little guide for the non-local traveler to Las Vegas. If you have to travel on a plane longer than two hours, you should experience Las Vegas in very different ways. I hope to give you some ideas. Again, this is coming soon.
• Birthday Ace – 10 shots and 4 “trips” to the bathroom
  • Holy crap, tonight we went to the Cozy Inn (again) for Ace’s birthday. This mother fucker drank 10 “Cozy Inn” shots tonight. If you haven’t been to the Cozy, these shots are basically double shots. So the fact that he is still alive amazes me. I think he threw up three times while taking the shots, but come on, that shit is impressive.

Well that’s the recap, and for sitting through all that, I now present you with “The Greatest Fight Scene in the History of Cinema”. Please, enjoy!

So I just shipped off all my old iPods to Costco (they have a pretty cool recycle program). In return I will be getting $80 for my old 3G 40gb iPod and $76 for my old 8gb iPod Nano. I will be using these cards to get a new iPod, but what iPod should I get.

Before we start the comparision, let me say that I have ruled out the iPhone because I love my phone and don’t need a new phone with limited phone capabilities.

So that leaves two options, and iPod Classic or the iPod Touch. There are obvious pros and cons for both. The iTouch is a cool device with a very useable interface and a built in web browser and has the potiental for third party apps (the hardest reason for me to resist). However, the web browser does not support flash media. It comes in 8gb or 16gb sizes and cost $399. The iPod Classic is a very familiar interface, cost the same price, but comes with 80gb (and could thus hold my entire music library).

With my Nano, it was cool that it was so small, but I had to build play list to get music on it (because of the large library) so I never had all my music/media with me. When I had my 40gb, I had my whole library and it was really cool. So do I go with future or function? Please help me decide.

Hey podcast fans (both of you) – remember when we had that great show (NIMH)? Well all the intro and outro music was Nintendudes, and now they have a new album. You can download it from their MySpace site.

I enjoyed it and I think you will to.

I have scheduled a departure date of Mid-March 08 for New Zealand. Look for your invitation to the farewell concert (performed using Guitar Hero III). Well I haven’t left L.A. yet so that means that I still get to write about LA.

So the writers of TV shows are on strike. They want a bigger piece of the pie from digital downloads. Of course they do, and they should. Selling shows via the web in a download form should have a much higher profit margin. There is no physical product or packaging, and the shipping is paid by the purchaser (the downloader uses their connection to the internet). So why not kick a few pennies back to the writers, actors, and other who are talanted enough to work it into their contract. We all learned about compound interest – those pennies add up (remember Office Space).

I do have one issue with the strike. The lack of creative slogans and signs. These guys are writer, the slogans should be more dramatic, comedic, or thriller-ish. The writers of Law and Order and CSI should have the most dramatic signs, while The Office and 30 Rock writers should have the picketers ROTFL. If I drive by the picket line of the Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimel, those guys should have new signs every night, and they should be topical.

But the strike is also an opportunity. An opportunity for some web-only programming to shine. Shows like Clark and Michael and…well mostly just Clark and Michael for now, should be pushing their new content. As the daily shows shut down due to lack of content, that writer from the mid-west with a video camera and a dream will write, shoot, and publish to the web. Someone will like it, and they will tell someone else, and so on and so forth. But for now, just watch Clark and Michael and tell me what you think.

I realize the irony of writing about a writers strike and by writing I am proving that I am not a writer nor am I on strike.

So if you chill with me on the West Side, you know that my car has been out of commission. Two weeks ago I got in my car and turned the key – click click click. So I walked to work that day. Well, that was 2 1/2 weeks ago and I really haven’t looked back. I spend all my time at work or at home and not really anywhere in between. I have hitched a ride here and there to a bar or after work event, but for the most part – no big deal.

Well, this week I think I will need to at least try to start the car and take it to Midas (trust the midas touch). We’ll see what the diagnosis is and what I’m gonna do with Blacky.

On the good side, I’ve dropped about 10lbs in the last three weeks from walking everywhere and not having access to late night food.

We have had some good times Los Angeles, and I will always love you; but I think it’s time I moved on. I will miss your mild climate and crazy culture, your clubs and landmarks, and your proximity to Las Vegas. There is so much you have. Los Angeles, it’s not you, it’s me – I promise. I have changed. My life, my priorities, my wants and needs are changing. I want more from this life. I want to live in a city that has less traffic, is affordable, is cleaner, and offers different opportunities.

So it’s time for you and I to make the break. This hurts me more than it hurts you, I promise. But you have a lot of people who still love you, you’ll find someone else. As for me, well I gotta get back in the game, but I’m sure I can find a new place to live. Thank you Los Angeles, I will miss you.