And the award goes to...

If there was ever an award handed out for Hottest Actor, I would have no choice but to give it to two lucky recipients! The first one would go to Auckland, New Zealand native Martin Henderson, who has appeared in films like "The Ring," "Torque" and "Smokin' Aces," and in the Britney Spears' video "Toxic" (fast forward it to 02:48 to see his cameo). Boy, am I glad he moved to the States to start his career! He can now be seen as "Dr. McKiwi" (like as in "McDreamy" and "McSteamy")--oops, I meant "Dr. Ben Keeton" in ABC's "Off the Map." Hmmm...I think I have a fever and only Dr. Keeton can cure it! ;) Ok, that was the dorkiest thing I have ever said or written! But a man with an accent is always a good thing in my book!

The second, lucky recipient of the Hottest Actor award goes to Chris Pine, who has appeared in films such as "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," "Bottle Shock," "Star Trek" and "Unstoppable." The UC Berkeley graduate is the son of actor Robert Pine, who played "Sgt. Getraer" in the 1970's show "CHiPs." Chris's baby blues are just so mesmerizing! ;)

A little known fact: both of these actors appeared in the 2006 film "Smokin' Aces." Ok, I must now go watch this film!

Here's a recent interview Martin did on "The View":




And here's the second half of Chris's appearance on the "Jimmy Kimmel Show," Nov. 2010:

The End of an American Family

Photo courtesy of WireImage

I was online this evening when I found out that the last surviving member of one of America's most famous families passed away today. Actor, producer and director David Nelson, son of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and older brother of musician Rick ("Ricky") Nelson, passed away today from colon cancer. He was 74.

When "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" premiered on ABC in 1952 (it ended its run in 1966), it was the first time that a real family portrayed a fictional version of themselves on television. I would like to think that "Ozzie & Harriet" was one of the first reality shows there ever was. The wholesome Nelsons played this idealistic American family of the 1950's. In fact, many storylines revolving around what the real Nelsons were doing in their daily lives were incorporated in to the show. Eventually, Ozzie and Harriet's youngest son, Rick, when on to gain fame as a teen idol.

Sadly, now all four members of the Nelson family are no longer with us. Ozzie passed away from liver cancer in 1975; Rick was killed in a private plane crash on New Year's Eve 1985; and Harriet died of congestive heart failure in 1994. And now with David's passing, the end of an era is gone. A little known fact about the "Ozzie & Harriet" show: it was the longest running sitcom to date, until 2003 when "The Simpsons" cartoon series broke that record.

It's unfortunate that there will never be another show like "Ozzie & Harriet." However, the Nelson legacy will continue to live on. David's niece, Tracy Nelson, is an accomplished actress, who was a regular on "Square Pegs" and on "Father Dowling Mysteries;" Tracy's brothers, twins Matthew and Gunnar, of the 90's rock group Nelson; and younger brother Sam, a record executive and the lead vocalist for the L.A. based indie band H is Orange.

David is survived by his wife Yvonne, four sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.

Here's a funny clip from "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."



And here's a video of David's nephews Matthew, Gunnar and Sam paying tribute to their father, Rick.

Happy New Year!

All good things must come to an end. 2010 started out great, but then towards the end of the year, things turned out a little sour. In January, I continued working and taking classes. Then Cupid's arrow missed his aim again in February. Showers poured in between March and April, which also resulted in me getting laid off from work. And then in May, I took my first trip to Vegas--in which I ended up getting sick about two days after I got home.

Then came the warm days of summer. Between June and July, I took up Zumba for the first time. It was fun until my back when out on me for about a week. Then summer came to an end when I returned to school in August. I really thought I wasn't going to be able to handle all the classes I scheduled myself for, but somehow I managed to. During this time, I met someone and thought we had a mutual attraction, but it was never meant to be because he rejected me a few months later. Between September and November, I wrote a few more articles for my journalism class, which were published. In November, my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents home without my nephew, who is stationed in Oklahoma and couldn't make it home. Finally in December, I enjoyed a much needed break away from school. I'm catching up with tasks that need to be taken care of and I'm taking the time to get together with friends. However, December was also a sad month for me; however, it also gave me a new perspective of what I had to look forward to in the upcoming year.

I just want to say how thankful and blessed I am to have such an amazing family and close friends. I'm anxious to see what positive, new experiences, adventures or opportunities are waiting for me. Also, I'm intending that God grant me and my loved ones with good health, prosperity, wealth and happiness in 2011. Happy New Year!! :)

Happy Holidays

With Christmas quickly approaching, I wanted to take this time to reflect on what I've observed lately.

I recently received a Christmas photo card from someone I've known for about 20 years. In fact, one of her maternal aunts married one of my paternal uncles, so we have cousins in common. Back when I was in high school, we used to work together and we became really close. The last time I saw her was this summer when our aunt had a 60th birthday party. This friend works in town, so the other day I stopped by the store she works at and bought myself lunch before I headed to school. We only chatted for a bit, but she insinuated that her phone number was still the same and that I needed to keep in touch. I gave her a taste of her own medicine and told her that I had been waiting for her to return my call months ago! Anyway, in the brief conversation we had, she told me that she finally met a man seven months ago who is treating her well; however, he is much older than her.

So when I received her card recently, I noticed it had not only her and her two sons, but it also had her new boyfriend and three young children in the photos, which could potentially be his grandchildren. Anyway, I'm really happy she has finally found someone.

What makes me sad is that what I thought would turn out to be a great year for me didn't happen. The two major bad points were that I lost my job and that I got rejected by a crush--again. The good points were that I continued to progress in college and passed with decent grades, I had a few more stories published, my health has been good and I reunited with three childhood friends. The last two weeks haven't been so great. I don't think I've shed a tear since probably Tuesday. I think what I really need right now is for my heart to heal and for me to stop being so emotional.

A friend just asked me if I was ready for Christmas. I told her no. Then I told her that if she was referring to having Christmas spirit, then the answer was still no. I'm really happy that my family and I will be spending Christmas together, with the exception of my nephew, who can't make it home.

My definition of Christmas is that it's all about being together and sharing good memories with your loved ones. I intend that this will be a joyous Christmas and that whatever I'm feeling I'll be able to shake off before 2010 ends.

Unrequited Love

Yet again, cupid has missed his aim! Today I took another risk and finally told my crush I liked him. I mean, I had to know because I've been getting mixed signals within the last two months. To make a very short story even shorter, I got rejected--again. Oh well. Life goes on and I am moving on/forward again.

I will take comfort in the fact that when I finally decide to write a book, I will definitely have enough anecdotes to devote a chapter or two to this subject.

Happy 100th Post!

Happy 100th post to me! Ha, ha! I haven't been around lately because I've been occupied with school and other activities. I just wanted to give my three "fans" a progress report of what has been happening lately.

School is winding down--finally! I have one month left until I start my Christmas vacation. YAY!! I'm going to take advantage of the time off because I have a lot of extra stuff I need to do at home. I also plan on making the most of my time off, which means I intend to do some fun things like meet up with some friends who I haven't been able to visit with because of school.

Today, I had lunch with my crush. To try and make a long story short, I texted him about two or three weeks ago about possibly going out for a drink, coffee or lunch. He replied that he was "totally up for it." So we were supposed to discuss our plans the following day while in class. Well, neither of us took the initiative to discuss it then, so a week went by without us talking about it. Finally one day after class, he was about to leave and he asked to talk with me outside. I told him I'd walk out with him since I had an appointment to get to anyway. So I briefly asked him about something class-related and then I asked if he still wanted to go out to lunch, and he replied 'yes.'

So D-day came and I arrived to class about 30 minutes early and he arrived 15 minutes later. I was talking with a close classmate of mine and was reading the new issue of our college's newspaper when this classmate started cracking jokes--like she always does. I was already starting to feel awkward because only she knew what was happening today. There were two other people in the classroom, but I'm 100% sure they weren't paying attention. Then I got up and asked my crush if he was ready to go and he said 'yes.' I asked where he wanted to go and he couldn't quite decide since he wasn't familiar with the area, so I took him to this sandwich shop near school, which I used to frequent when I worked nearby.

We sat outside and ate our lunch. I told him that I was interested in finding out more about his background with his English degree and if it helped him with the copy editing he does in class. By the way, he's the Copy Editor of the college's newspaper and has no other choice but to read everyone's stories. He answered my questions and talked about his experiences with our school and his other classes. He then asked me a few questions about myself such as what I planned on doing after I completed my classes at the college. I told him that I still had aspirations of moving to Southern California. I mentioned that a friend of mine, who lives down there, recommended I move down there to finish up my Bachelor's degree, saying that I could stay with her. He then mentioned that he would eventually like to move back to Southern California, which is where he graduated from college. During the course of our conversation, we talked about our families and what each of us like to do for fun. Prior to having gone out to lunch with him, I noticed a few things about him in class that made me realize that he could be the male version of me! Then after our lunch date, I realized more that we are very similar! One coincidence is that his birthday is the day after mine. :)

So by this time it was already 1:30 pm and class was starting in about 30 minutes. As we headed back, he asked me if I wanted to go get some coffee. I told him that I thought we should head to class first and then we could go get coffee after class. I asked if he was okay with this and he said he was fine with it. We went to class as scheduled. Shortly thereafter, he asked if I wanted to help him with distribution (the new issue of the paper had just come out today) and I said yes. However, we ended up bringing our closest classmate with us, who was a source of entertainment, just like she always is in class! We ended up at Starbucks where I opted for ordering hot chocolate, which he bought me. As we sat down, we let our classmate do most of the talking, which I didn't mind (and I hope he didn't either). After being there for probably an hour, we finally left and arrived back at school. Just before my crush left, he thanked me for lunch and I thanked him for the hot chocolate. In retrospect, I think it turned out to be a good day.

I really don't know what's going to happen next. Within the last month or so, I've gotten several vibes from him that he could be interested. He's complimented me a few times and has made a few comments or gestures that make me believe that he might like me. It's funny, but I don't seem to get those "butterflies" when I'm around him; however, I do get more quiet when I'm in his presence. I'd like to know for certain if he has mutual feelings for me. Before school ends, which is in a weeks, I need to be upfront and tell him I'm interested in getting to know him better. As I've said many times before, I'm leaving everything in God's hands because only he knows what he has planned for me. Also, everything happens for a reason and if I'm meant to be in a relationship my crush, then I'll be content. But if it's not meant to be, I'll accept it and will move on.

My Heart Skips a Beat...

Late last month, I went out to lunch with my family to celebrate my brother's birthday. When I finished eating, I opened up my fortune cookie, which said: "The one you love is closer than you think." I don't know if there's any truth to this, but it got me thinking of someone who has been on my mind lately. :)

Allow me to introduce you to Mr. University College Graduate (or Mr. UCG, for short)...a nice, smart, humorous, young guy, who I think I'm starting to find myself attracted to. By the way, did I mention that he's young? Oh, and before you start calling me a 'cougar', I do know that he's legal--over 25 and under 30! The only problem I have with this is that he's around the same age as my two nieces! Ugh!

By the way, isn't Jennifer Aniston dating a much younger guy? ;) We'll see what happens.