My dog Ezra

Photo by Erica Chan Photography

This article was mainly inspired by this amazing picture.

It got me thinking about my dog, Ezra. I know it’s not the manliest name in the world but it’s what he’d been called for a year before we got him. This, however, didn’t stop me and my Dad from calling him Hercules for 2 weeks, but it wouldn’t stick, so Ezra it is.

He’s a good man, my dog Ezra. He never fails to put a smile on my face when I walk in the door and see his tail wagging so intensely that his whole backside moves with it. I’ll laugh at something he does at least once a day and often find myself thinking, “I can’t believe this is an animal.” He seems more like a little brother than a pet.

One morning I woke up to a terrible smell, opening my eyes to the pillow next to me and my ‘little brother’ taking a crap right on it! His arss was facing me, but he’d turned his head around to look at me as well, as if he were waiting for my reaction. I couldn’t do anything but laugh. I know I should have been choked, I had a lump of pooh on the pillow next to me but I couldn’t stop laughing. Then the smell began to get a bit intense so I gave him a whack and ran my pillow outside.

He can pretty much get away with anything. If he gets that sad look on his face, with his ears and tail down, he can pretty much get away with murder.

I love the Seinfeld episode where Jerry talks about aliens seeing the earth from space. He says something like, “if they’re looking down on us, they’ve gotta be thinking that the dogs are in charge of the humans. We pick up their poop, they look like they’re taking us on walks. We follow them wherever they go.”

It is kinda weird, picking up someone else’s poop, feeding them, walking them, but in the grand scheme of things that little dog does a whole lot more for me than I do for him.

He can make me forget about a bad day when he brings a toy over followed by that wagging tale. His love is unconditional and genuine, and well worth the $300 me and my sister paid for him.

The Bucket List: Hollywood, Lambo’s, and Family

14. Be in a Hollywood movie.

I mean a real legit movie. Not a small budget one that no one’ll ever see, but a movie that I’d actually enjoy or go to see. I’m really in no position to be picky, I’ve never even been an extra or had any kind of role in a TV show let alone a movie, but why not dream big?

15. Drive a Lambo.

… On a race track …

You know, somewhere I’m not bound by the legal speed limits ;)

16. Be a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

Jimmy’s show is my favorite in the late night line-up. He’s a funny man and he’s got some pretty funny people around him. I’d love to meet uncle Frank, Guillermo, and cousin Sal as well.

17. Live in my dream house.

My idea of a dream house has changed about 100 times in the last few years, but when I have a family, I’d love to be able to get the house of my dreams, with the woman of my dreams; whether that be building our own or buying one that’s already pretty much perfect, it would be an amazing feeling.

Down in the dumps?

What triggers the blues?

Depending on what stage of life you’re in, there are many different things that can be triggering your depression or just the feeling of being down in the dumps as I like to say.

If you’re in your 20’s a lot of the time the triggers are career oriented. You’re wondering if you’re heading in the right direction in life, if you’re going to make enough money or if you’re going to be happy and successful in the coming years.

When you hit your 30’s, your career and money are still triggers of stress, but you may have a family as well who rely on you.

When you hit 40 you might still be caring for your family with the added responsibility of caring for your parents who are getting up there in age, and career and finances may still be giving you stress.

At 50 your kids might be out of the house, you may have the ‘empty nest’ syndrome, the feeling that you’re all alone and you have no idea to do with yourself.

So what are some cures for being down in the dumps? Read the rest of this entry »

Lift more weight, build more muscle

I’ve been at the same gym for about 3 years now, and a lot of the same people are there from when I first started going. And a lot of the guys are lifting pretty much the same weight as they were 3 years ago. They’re a little chubbier, and a lot less muscular.

People talk about progressive overload and like to sound like they’ve got a great training routine going, but they aren’t progressing at all. Their workouts are stagnant, their body’s have become used to what they’re doing in the gym and they haven’t gained a pound of muscle or lost a pound of fat in a decade! Read the rest of this entry »