The World of Joel Szerlip

When you work as much as Jenn and I do we don’t always get a lot of opportunities to go out and just relax and enjoy living out in Orange County. So this past weekend we took full advantage of having some time to just R&R and went out and saw two movies and a play. On Friday night along with my brother Jake we went and saw The Other Guys staring Will Ferrell. Saturday morning we went out and saw The Expendables staring every action hero you can imagine, and that evening we went out and saw In The Heights at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

The Other Guys

Both my brother Jake and I are huge Will Ferrell fans. I still can’t stop laughing when I watch Anchorman and Talladega Nights and I have probably watched those each at least two dozen times. So my expectations going into this movie were pretty high and I have to say I was a little let down. One of my main complaints is that a lot of the funnier moments in this movie were seen already in the movies previews. My biggest problem however with The Other Guys was I just never got into it. To me there was just not the right pacing in this comedy that has worked so well in past Will Ferrell movies. Don’t get me wrong its a funny movie but not on the top of the list of Will Ferrell movies in my opinion.

The Expendables

If you have frequented my blog at all you know I am a big Rocky fan. In fact that is my favorite movie/series of all time. I am also a big action movie fan so when I first saw the trailer for what looks to be the reunion of some of the biggest action stars of the last twenty or thirty years who wouldn’t want to see it. And to my surprise and delight I came out of The Expendables pumped up and ready for more. The movie was pretty much a guys dream action movie. It had a little bit of plot, a ton of explosions, and non-stop action from start to finish.What could be bad? Heck even Jenn enjoyed it!

In the Heights (@ Orange County Performing Arts Center)

Jenn and I trying to get out of our comfort zone more and one thing we don’t do enough and we want to do more is going out and see plays/musicals. So our first stop on this quest was at the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the very popular musical In The Heights. Neither Jenn or I would be considered real “musical” fans, but are always open to something new. First off we had great seats, near the middle of the stage and in the second row. But secondly and more importantly the musical was fantastic. It was upbeat, the music was catchy, and the story was really good. Honestly it was one of those perfect date nights that you just hope for.

Jenn and I have almost been married a year now and I cannot believe how time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday I was proposing in St. James park in London and we began planning our wedding. It has truly been the best decision of my life and I look back on September 19, 2009 with nothing but pure joy. Recently we received our wedding book that we had the opportunity to work with a graphic designer on in developing. We spent hours on picking photos, thinking about placement, and ending up make final decisions on what goes where. I have to say the hours we put into the making of this book will not even compare to the hours we spend looking back at this book and this day.

I realize looking back that I never really took the chance to recap the day and all that went on. I remember the night before the wedding hanging out with Chris and Jake. We met Jenn’s parents for drinks/dinner at the St. Regis not knowing that they only invited us so that the bride to be and her brides maids were out toilet papering our hotel room. It was a great laugh when the three of us got to the room and saw the great work the ladies had done. Looking back it actually helped me calm down and just truly look forward to the day. One of the moments of the night before the wedding was walking down to the wedding location. I remember standing there and running through the day to come. I remember standing there and looking out at the golf course and ocean and just feeling like I was literally on top of the world.

When September 19th rolled around I just remember waking up and not feeling nervous. It wasn’t until the rest of my groomsman arrived at the hotel that the butterfly’s started to come. I remember walking walking outside a bit to early but standing around wondering what I was supposed to do. When I finally walked my mom down the isle I couldn’t believe the day had finally come. I remember standing at the alter looking down the isle at what is and will always be the most beautiful bride that has ever graced this earth. Her eyes sparkled, her smile was as contagious as ever, and I saw my wife, the love of my life. Sure I rushed my “I Do” and even missed some of the words on my vows, I was still a bit nervous, but I just remember looking at Jenn and knowing that there was no place on earth I would rather be then right there. The rest of the day flew by, the reception felt like it was only a few minutes long rather then a few hours. It was was truly the best day of my life and having this beautiful wedding book to help remember the day.

As I was rushing around getting as much as I could done before the work week I walked upstairs to our family room to find our TV still on CBS after The Masters, it was 60 minutes. I have never been a big fan of 60 Minutes, in fact I can’t remember the last time I watched it. However last night I caught the last few minutes and saw Andy Rooney talking about how fast life goes by. It was was a subtle yet effective reminder that time goes by far to quick. To me its great to have things to look forward to, but don’t loose sight to our great today is.

I have to admit this past weekend is a bit of a blur. In many ways I am glad it went so fast I have never really “moved” before. When Jenn and I got our first place we had little to nothing to bring with us, and a year later we had a jam packed one bedroom apartment and it took us quite a bit of time to box it up. Speaking of boxing it up, Jenn just so happened to come down with a cold on the week we were moving which left me to pack up 95% of the place. I say it was a bit convenient but hey that’s just me. Before I get into the moving process here is the video of Jenn and I when we got our keys to our town home. You can take a tour of the place before we moved anything in, which honestly now that I look back seems like years ago.

So onto the moving experience. As I have never moved before I hadn’t had any experience with “movers” before so I just went off google reviews and Jenn and I picked Excalibur Moving. They had given us a window of 12pm-6pm for our moving so Jenn and I moved all day Saturday morning (March 27th). So after spending all of Friday night and Saturday morning moving we headed to Islands at around noon to get some lunch. No later then about 5 minutes after we sat down and had already ordered the movers called and said they would be there in a half hour. So we got our food to go, and ran back to the apartment where the movers came right on time.

When we reserved the movers we got a 2 man crew, well wouldn’t you know it four guys showed up. We ended up working out a deal to pay the same amount we would have for 2 with the 4 which did end up getting us moved out of the apartment much quicker. They got the apartment packed up in an hour and unpacked at our townhome in less then an hour. We spent the rest of the weekend unpacking and are continuing to do so throughout the week to get ready for our mini goldendoodle puppy this weekend. What a crazy couple of weeks.

Well Jenn and I are out of here again, this time we are off to Barcelona, Spain for a nice week getaway from the hussle and bussle of Southern California to the cool air of Barcelona, Spain. This is by far the quickest lead up to a trip either Jenn or I have ever experienced, since we only booked the flights and hotels a few weeks back getting some killer deals on British Airways and using some of our credit card points for some of our stay. Now a few weeks later we now see why BA might have been giving such great deals with this pending impending crew strike that thus far has not altered or affected our flight plans.

So what are we planning on doing in Barcelona you may be wondering, well to be quite frank we have no idea. This was one of those “spur of the moment” kind of trips that Jenn loves to do and we plan on winging the trip the same way we have done in the past. The weather looks like it might be a bit hit and miss but we weren’t going for the beach more to take in all of the sights. So off we go again, our flight is at 8:30pm out of LAX on Wednesday and we head back home on March 10th. Expect daily recaps of the trip along with photos and possibly videos will be coming daily after we get back.

“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.” Corita Kent

If there was ever a year where I was going to have difficult time writing a post recapping a year, it would be now. The year of 2009 was one of so many great highs and at the same time some lows. The year didn’t start out all that exciting. I was just getting my feet wet at my new job at Southern California Edison and Jenn was enjoying her last few weeks of freedom before she too started work at SCE on February 1st.

The beginning portions of the year felt like the beginning of yet another transition period for both Jenn and I from students to full time employees, from a dating couple to eventually becoming husband and wife. We started taking our pre-marital classes in early 2009 at The Grove in Riverside. It was a six week class that at times was helpful but for the most part seemed like just yet another hurdle to go over before the big day in September.

Jenn and I spent the majority of the first few months of 2009 really ramping up for what was to become a very up and down 2009. Some of my favorite times in the beginning of 2009 were when I would go pick up Jenn from work on Friday nights in Rosemead so she wouldn’t have to take the train home and we would go on date nights. Often times we would go to furniture stores (my favorite IKEA) and just start to think about getting our own place, furnishing it, and just what life would be like with just the two of us. I remember the drives home talking with her about our future not caring about traffic, or the long drive, but just enjoying the prospect of what was to come.

We ended up taking a mini vacation in March of 2009 to Indian Wells, CA where Jenn scored us a great deal on a 2 bedroom casita. A video we posted on YouTube for that stay actually scored us two more free nights at the hotel that we are going to use in 2010. This was the first mini-vacation that Jenn and I had taken alone, and although we couldn’t make it to the tennis tournament it was a wonderful quick trip.

In late March, Jenn and I decided it was time for us to get a place of our own. We knew the day would come where we would know it was time. Of course then came the decision of where to live. Originally our plan was to move to Orange County but our work locations at SCE really didn’t call for us to move to Orange County. So we decided to look in Chino, kind of in the middle of where Jenn and I were working at the time.

I remember the drive to Chino, Jenn and I were on the edge of our seats, excited for the prospect of our own place. We looked at some really nice communities in Chino and felt like it might have made a good starting spot for us. After we left the community we decided to drive around Chino to see what was around the apartments. We drove around and I remember stopping in a parking lot and looking at Jenn and knowing we both were thinking the same thing. Without really saying anything we drove straight from Chino down to Orange County and the rest is really history. We ended up signing a lease a week or two later at our current place in Newport Beach and haven’t looked back since.

April 2009 was the month where everything seemed to go from calm to crazy. On April 4th we went down to Newport Beach to sign our year lease on our apartment, which was one of the most thrilling and scary things we had ever done. Jenn and I were on top of the world, we spent our weekends moving our stuff from Riverside to our apartment in Newport Beach, and we had started shopping for everything from a paper towel holder to furniture and art work. At the same time we had Jenn’s Mom that only a few weeks after getting the keys to our apartment was diagnosed with cancer.

In May of 2009 I ended up buckling down and got LASIK done at TLC Laser Eye Center in Newport Beach. I have been kind of hot and cold on the idea for the past few years but with SCE paying a good amount of the cost I couldn’t help but go get it done. The procedure was as easy as they come, less then three minutes from start to finish and I never really had any major irritation from it. To this day I am seeing perfect without glasses and loving it.

There was a time during the summer of 2009 that Jenn and I seriously thought about pushing up our wedding to a small ceremony to ensure her Mom concentrated on getting better. But in the end those thoughts passed and we pushed forward with our September 19th wedding date while Jenn’s mom went every few weeks for her chemo treatments.

As summer moved along it seemed like every weekend had something to do with the wedding. Whether it was picking out the flowers, Jenn’s wedding shower, meetings with our Pastor, picking out tuxes, buying the rings or whatever else comes with planning a wedding it seemed like every weekend was something. As September grew closer and closer I think Jenn and I finally had the chance to sit back just for a few moments and finally grow in anticipation for our big day.

When September 19th finally rolled around it so far exceeded my expectations of the day I cannot even begin to describe it. Jenn looked absolutely phenomenal, she was just stunning. The day could not have been any more beautiful. My groomsmen were great and Jenn’s bridesmaids did a great job as well. It truly was the best day of my life. What is funny however is that I had gotten so much wedding advice from everyone leading up to the day and one thing that everyone said was that it goes to fast, and boy does it! From the moment I rushed my “I Do” to the next day sitting at LAX waiting for our plane to London it felt like everything was moving at 1,000 MPH. The wedding and reception were amazing and I wouldn’t have changed a moment of it. Our Honeymoon was spectacular, the weather cooperated from start to finish and the trip itself was both relaxing and enjoyable.

When we got back from our Honeymoon everything seemed to fall into place. Jenn’s latest rotation at SCE put her only 10 miles away from our apartment which let us spend a lot more time together. Jenn and I started to really work out a nice routine and to be honest had an amazing start to our married life. Jenn’s Mom got great news that the cancer that they had found earlier in the year was all but gone. We spent a lot of great weekends with my brother Jake who got us
into Jenn and my latest addiction the TV show “Lost” which we are now on Season 5.

Jenn and I took a great mini-vacation in November up to San Francisco, our first as a married couple. It was the type of mini-vacation that we had talked about wanting to do for years and it finally came to fruition. It was such a surreal experience to just wake up one morning book a hotel and head out. We had a great time up in the bay area and look forward to all of the quick trips we can do in the future.

The final few weeks of the year were fantastic. Jenn and I got to decorate our apartment for the first time, bake cookies that turned out to be some of the worst Christmas cookies on record, and celebrate our first Christmas together. Jenn did an amazing job getting our place ready for the holidays and that mood was set throughout all of December. We had a great Christmas, to some it might even seem a bit crazy, but all in all it was a fantastic first Christmas as a married couple.

The year didn’t end without any slowdown as Jenn’s car a Toytota Celica started to have some mechanical issues. We ended up buying Jenn a White Certified Pre-Owned 2007 BMW 328i and sold her Celica to CarMax. It was actually a great car buying experience and we finally got Jenn a new car, something she has needed for a while. All in all 2009 was an amazingly crazy and exciting year. I got to marry the woman of my dreams and now look forward to spending the rest of my life with her.

Goodbye 2009 what a year you have been, and Hello 2010 I cannot wait to see what you have in store for me!

One of the things on my to do list for 2009 was to go out and by a DSLR. Jenn and I have both been wanting one for our Honeymoon in Scotland. We loved our pictures in Europe last year and thought we better get a nicer camera to even better capture the big upcoming events in our lives. We originally were going to go with the Nikon D60 but after checking out so many different reviews we sided with the Canon Rebel XS. We got a great deal on Amazon and got it a day and a half after we purchased it which was great.

To inaugurate the camera Jenn and I went a few miles from our apartment to the beach and took some shots. Here they are below.

The camera really does great color.

Me trying to act all serious. Jenn having a blast taking pictures!

A great shot of the waves crashing.

Beautiful shot taken of the coast.

A beautiful shot of Jenn on our way back to the car.

There is a lot of concern on the internet about getting LASIK with a lazy eye (Amblyopia), and although I can be no more informative then a simple search on Wikpedia when it comes to what causes a lazy eye, I can at least throw in my two cents on my experience. Let us start at the beginning. So I went in for LASIK on Friday May 15th at 8:00am at the Newport Beach TLC Laser Eye Center. I was immediately taken back to do some final testing. They took some readings on my eyes, did another eye test (like you would for an every day eye exam) and was then given a rundown on the post-operative care I was to carry out. From there they took me off to the relaxation area where I was given a Xanax and a bunch of initial drops for my eyes.

After about 20 minutes of watching Planet Earth on a big LCD and letting the drops and Xanax kick in, Dr. Tooma stepped out and said it was time to go. As i was being brought in for the procedure, I saw Jenn come in to the viewing area. By this point you would think the Xanax would have calmed me down but I was pretty darn nervous. Dr. Tooma first make some markings with a pen on my eye (by this point my eye was completely numb of any feeling) and sat me in the first chair. After that it was just one step after the next until the final point where they say your good to go. There is a point where you are nearly blind moving from one operating chair to the next, but outside of that the procedure is very straight forward and rather easy. I came home took half of a Xanax fell asleep ate lunch and dinner had another half of a Xanax and called it a day.

This picture was taken about 10 seconds after they finished the surgery

I came back for my followup check in the next morning to see my progress and how I was coming along. There was no problems found and the amazing news was that my left eye (my lazy eye) was actually seeing better then my good eye, and both were seeing 20/20. I was told prior to the operation that my best was 20/40 but as of right now I am seeing nearly perfect in both eyes. I am now 3 days post surgery and loving every minute. To this point I see better then I ever did with glasses both in my good eye and lazy eye. And although I was really nervous to get the procedure I would get it all over again if faced with the decision again. All in the ability to wake up and see without having to scramble for my glasses has been amazing. The heavy regment of eye drops can be a bit demanding at times, but with all things being equal it is well worth it for now having 20/20 vision.

This time tomorrow I should be a new man, or at least the same guy with better eyes. I am getting LASIK tomorrow morning at 8am and I figured I better blog before I head under the laser. A few weeks back I decided that I should check into getting LASIK. Jenn and I had talked about it several times in the past and it was always something I wanted to do, but didn’t think with my right eye being a Lazy Eye (known as Amblyopia) that they would reccomend the surgery. Well after my consultation, and pre-operative check up I was deemed a good candidate for the surgery and will be following through on it tomorrow morning at 8:00am.

So I ended up going to TLC Laser Eye Center in Newport Beach, the same group that did Tiger Woods LASIK a few years back. So once I was deemed a good candidate they setup my pre-op exam and then the exam itself. Along with that came four different typesof eye drops and a package of fish oil pills. I have had to take 2 fish oil pills a day, at least 10 drops a day, and warm compresses as well. I have followed there directions to the very last detail in hopes of getting the best results I can from the surgery. So the surgery should take only about 20 minutes, and they say I will be there for only about two hours. I am expecting some serious dry eyes and itch to my eyes this weekend but I am hoping it doesn’t last to long.

I canot tell you how excited I am going to be to get out of there tomorrow glasses free. I am a bit nervous having the lazy eye and getting LASIK but I have been reassured several times that I will see as good if not better with LASIK then I do with glasses right now. So with that I go, and look forward to tomorrow, my first day without glasses!

I always took for granted my schedule when I was in school and working part time. I for the most part had either days at school where I would much rather blog then be paying attention to a lecture or just extra time in general to blog. Since starting to work full time back in December I have found it increasingly more difficult to get to the blog and write interesting posts. I just don’t think people will find my daily grind at work all that interesting to read about, so I choose not to post about work related things.

I have been able to get in a really solid routine to work full time and come home and work on Darkstation, which has worked out well. I get home a good hour or two before Jenn does which gives me time to just make sure I get it done. So far this has been a good system and things seem to be going just as good if not better then before I started working full time. I haven’t had as much time to play video games however as I usually get home work on the site, eat dinner, watch some TV and hit the sack, so most of my gaming is on the weekends or late nights.

I am finding myself enjoying games more now then I have in the past couple of years, mostly because it has become a nice escape from work. When I get home a lot of times I just want to gravitate towards something interactive, enjoyable and fun. I have found myself going for a lot more causal or easy going games rather then the FPS or RTS that I normally would go for.

All in all things are going really good, and my only hope is that I start to make more time for the blog as it still is something I want to keep going for a long time.