Personalities; the dollar theater

From Hom cruise

I'm living with my cousin Mark. The picture is Mark with an iguana; it was taken during a Mexican cruise in 2005. Mark is letting me rent his extra bedroom and bathroom.

On the surface, Mark and I might seem very similar. We're both single and over 30. We both like playing video games and board games. We've both watched a lot of TV. We both go to church. Mark was a special ed teacher (he's currently looking for a position), and I want to make educational apps. And we are cousins, of course.

But living with Mark has helped me see how different we really are. If you're familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test, I am an ISTJ. Mark is an ESFP. (If you're not familiar with it, just note that only 1 of the 4 letters (S) is the same; so you could say we're 3/4 different. :)

Also, I read a book about motivation, and it tells you how to determine your "motivational DNA." I am a PSI: I have a drive to Produce, a need for Stability, and I prefer Internal rewards. Mark is a CVI: he has a drive to Connect, a need for Variety, and he also prefers Internal rewards. So, both our drives and our needs are polar opposites. Learning to live together and help each other has been a good growth experience for me.

As an aside, I think that after some time of learning how Mark and I are different, I'll start realizing how similar we really are. Our real DNA is 99.99% the same, after all. :)

From Dollar theater

This week, Mark and I went to a movie, along with Mark's friend Marshall. Mark and I both need to watch our spending; fortunately, the closest theater is a dollar theater! I didn't think that true dollar theaters existed anymore, but sure enough, this theater is $2 normally, and $1 on Tuesdays! Those aren't even matinee prices; it's just cheap all day! They even have movies in 3-D, and it's only $2 more!

The dollar theater has less-recent movies, but they're still big movies. We saw "The Expendables." Also running was "Eat Pray Love," "Toy Story 3," and "Salt." Oooh, and now they're running "Inception." I heard that was good.

A simple life in LA

I have been in LA since September 12. Even though I've had a lot of errands related to moving, my life is simpler now than in Seattle, because I've maintained a low profile.

From Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Before I left Seattle, I saw this car and had to snap a picture. It reminds me of the animated movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."





Everything I brought fit into my car's trunk.

From left to right, there's a bag of clothes, a windbreaker, my suitcase with some books and toiletries, a big box of papers, a small green bag with my laptop and iPad, some snacks, a mini-drawer with office supplies, a Jelly Belly jar with some knickknacks, a mesh bag with some dirty clothes, and a bag with a couple pairs of shoes.

I was really happy to fit my belongings, but it's still too much for me. For example, I can digitize my papers. I hope to be able to move and carry everything with me, like a hitchhiker or an old-fashioned journeyman. In spite of this goal, I have no plans to leave LA.

From Moving back to LA

In Seattle, I spent many days working on my laptop at Panera Bread. So, in LA, one of the first things I did was look for the nearest Panera. Thankfully, I live only 1.5 miles from one! Next door is a Starbucks, so I'm sure there's a healthy competition going on.