Boo

I'm on this blog building journey, so I may be absent from here for a little while.  Or possibly for a long while?  We shall see

Focus Groups

So here I sit on the Blue Line, headed to a focus group near O'Hare. If you've never done a focus group, I'd suggest signing up to various companies. They usually pay you about $100 to sit in a room and answer questions with a group of other people regarding a specific topic. I've probably made a good $1000 of more by now doing these. I posted several links below where I've made good money. If you don't live in Chicago, I'm pretty sure most of these have branches in other cities. Just fill out their application and you'll get emails whenever they have upcoming focus groups.

https://www.adlerweiner.com/ (Adler Weiner Research)

http://www.focuscope.com/ (Focus Scope)

http://www.fieldwork.com/Facility/Home.aspx?FacilityID=12 (Fieldwork O'Hare)

http://www.plazaresearch.com/ (Plaza Research)

The Cosby Show

I have no idea why lately I just started watching episodes of the Cosby Show.  Actually, I do know why.  I just installed the YouTube channel on my Nintendo Wii and it's actually the first time I'm actually getting YouTube working on my TV set.  I know most people probably get it working fine and have been doing so for a while, but I never had a full internet connection attached to my TV, and now that the Wii has introduced the YouTube channel, it's cool that I can get full Cosby Show episodes.  Anyway, that's all for now.  

Pizza Hut vs. Dominos

Oh, I'm just sitting here watching a movie on Netflix (newest Mission Impossible), although I'm not fully paying attention as I'm doing work online at the same time.  My friend is eating a sandwich and watching it.  I'm about to go get some pizza and I can't afford the pizza I'd REALLY like to get (here in Chicago that would be Roots or Apart Pizza); anyway, I guess I've got to get something cheap, which -- when I think of cheap, only two pizza chains come to mind.  Pizza Hut and Dominos are the ones I think of.  Which one's better?  I have no idea.  I'll just see which one has a better deal or coupon or whatever.  Until next time.

The Birth of a Song

You know, I've seen bands and artists do this in different ways, but I do think that the most common way a song ends up being developed is by having strong music first.  In my own experience at least, a song usually starts with music, created on the guitar or piano (those are my two main instruments), and the vocals sort of come to exist from there.  Most times, I won't even know what the lyrics are going to be about, but depending on whatever melody I start humming along with the music, a simple sentence or phrase will come out of my mouth and not make much sense.  But that simple little phrase or sentence could be the skeleton of the song, which the rest of the lyrics end up being built around.  It's very interesting how music comes to be born.  Also, I tend to be a really dark and emotional songwriter, so usually when I pick up my guitar or start playing on the piano, I'm already in some kind of mode.  It's sort of like a possessed state that I can't snap out of.  So, what happens is I just start making music on an instrument and from there, depending on whatever I'm going through in life, the words will just sort of flow out.  The chorus of the song usually is just some repetitive line that sticks in my head and touches my soul for whatever reason.  It's usually just a few words.  I know that's the description of almost any rock song in existence, but I just figured I'd share my point of view as a songwriter.  I'd love to hear other songwriters and bands' perspectives and how they go about writing songs themselves.

IKEA Closet

It's kind of funny when I think about it. I've had this closet in a box sitting in my entranceway for about 6 years. My mom got it for me from IKEA, but I know myself. I will never actually open it to put it together. Well just a few days ago, my friend came over to help me put it together, which turned out to be a huge help; I mean, I actually have a closet in my room now! Prior to this, I had to walk over to the next room to get clothes from the closet, which was just a pain. I didn't even know I had about 15 to 20 pairs of pants/jeans until yesterday. I don't even know what to do with them. I've got way too many shirts too. It's amazing what clothes are left behind when they're all hiding in a closet. IKEA makes some pretty awesome and cheap furniture btw - well it's not always the greatest quality stuff, but still, it'll do. So anyway, I'm trying to figure out these special Wonder Hangers I got from Amazon. But I also want a nap. But 7pm is too late to nap! Ahhhh!!! Stay awake!

Chicago Transit

I just thought to post a blog while riding on the packed Blue Line. It's almost 6pm; yep, that means it's rush hour and the trains are jam packed. I'm actually really surprised I found a seat next to a girl, so I'm able to type comfortably. I do think there's this guy standing next to me who is pissed off that I got the seat before him but you know what? His name wasn't on it. Mine was. Actually, I'm not that big of a jerk; I just saw an open seat and decided to sit down. I get this paranoia when I'm standing and waiting to get to my stop, that someone is gonna secretly unzip my backpack and steal my laptop or iPad. Normally I don't take my laptop with me, but today I had to. As for my iPad, I can't go to class without it. I used to think it was just a toy people would buy because they're just obsessed with anything Apple related but it's a hugely important part of my school life. I take all my notes in it with my stylus in an amazing app called Good Notes. Seriously I couldn't live without that app but I can't go into detail now. I'm almost at my stop. Until next time.

Ted Part 2

Okay, I'm a little pissed off at the iPhone Blogger app right now because I wrote this full blog, closed my app for a brief moment, reopened it, and all the content was gone. It should have been saved here. Anyway, I was just continuing my Ted movie review from several entries ago. To sum it up, the movie is hilarious, clever, and surprisingly has a really good heart for such a raunchy and heavily R rated movie. Key scenes involve Norah Jones talking about her sexual history with Ted, another one with Giovanni Ribsi dancing and thrusting to Tiffany's 'I Think We're Alone Now', and a classic scene with the original Flash Gordon involving lots of drugs and booze at a party. It's rare to find such a great adult comedy, which is why I felt inclined to write this. Anyway, until later folks.

Trader Joe's vs. Whole Foods

Anyone have an opinion on this?  The only major difference I can come up with is that you pretty much need to either be a lawyer, doctor, successful businessman or celebrity to shop at Whole Foods while the ordinary everyday Joe can shop at Trader Joe's.  Okay, I'm just being sarcastic, but seriously, what's with the prices at Whole Foods?  Don't get me wrong.  I totally love that place.  The food is incredibly fresh besides having such a huge variety of all organic products.  I can only afford to shop at Trader Joe's.  I mean, I COULD shop at ALDI, and I do often times, but when it comes to meats, I don't trust their selection.  I try hardest to make sure all cuts of meat I buy are at least grass fed and consisting of no added hormones.  They don't necessarily have to be organic; I just want to know that the majority of the food I'm consuming isn't processed.  Especially now that I'm no longer a teacher (did I not mention that I was a teacher?  I'll have to write up a blog entry on that sometime), it's harder for me to shop with these things in mind.  Believe it or not, I made really good money as a teacher; there seems to be a misconception about teachers' pay and people seem to assume they make no money.  Well, working for Chicago Public Schools pays quite well.  Anyway, this entry is about food and the differences between these two major chains.  I've always been happy shopping at Trader Joe's.  They have a huge selection of all organic products and their meat, for the most part, seems to be as natural as it could possibly be.  

  

Testing Out Blogger iPhone App

So I guess this post is simply me testing out my new iPhone Blogger app. I've noticed it in the App Store in the past but I never downloaded it due to its poor reviews. But just a few days ago, I decided to get it anyway; it's free, so why not? Let's see how easy it is to post a pic below this entry. Sometimes, I do feel people have way too high expectations of apps, but if they're free, I don't think complaining a ton is really going to improve the app at all. While I'm on this topic, I'm guessing many app reviews are paid for, so it's biased anyway. It's amazing how we make decisions to buy products on web sites like Amazon based on other people's reviews, when it's quite possible those reviews are paid for and just some kind of promotion for the company. Let me get back to what this blog entry was initially about. It was about this Blogger iPhone app I'm using right now. And guess what? It's pretty nifty in my opinion. I mean, I'm posting an entry here, which is all I wanted to do anyway. Cool beans.

The Music Industry in 2013

I was just thinking about how cool it is the way the music industry has changed over the past 10 years.  So many people's lives and businesses have flipped upside down due to the simple fact that everything has gone digital.  CD sales are currently at an all time low, record stores are pretty much non-existent; eventually they will go extinct, and record labels don't have the same infrastructure they once did.  It's cool to know that independent artists now have the same opportunity to make it big as major label artists.  One thing I learned recently, which I think is really interesting, is the fact that now the Billboard charts are incorporating YouTube streams into their Billboard Hot 100.  This is going to majorly change the game even further, because if an independent artist makes a really amazing video/song, and it skyrockets in terms of YouTube views, it has the potential break the top 100 Billboard charts, and rank up there with other famous artists/bands.  Speaking of awesome videos, here's a pretty rad one I discovered recently by this Chicago band Pinto and the Bean.  It's just two floating heads doing some random trippy stuff, but I just thought it was incredibly clever and super cool that it was made on an iPhone.  Check it out.

Migraines are Hell

Seriously, they really ARE some kind of Hell.  I intended to post a blog entry last night, but this migraine started up and today was just complete Hell for me.  I know this blog is brand new and probably isn't getting much readership at this point, if any at all, but I'd just like to know what other people's experiences are with migraines, and what they do to stop them, or at least to prevent them from coming on so strongly.  I at least have learned what my trigger is, but it's really depressing to think about it; my trigger is exercise.  Any form of exercise causes a migraine to start up about an hour afterward, and it lasts for about 24 hours.  I went to the chiropractor today and they did quite a few adjustments on me as well as stuck me with needles (acupuncture), but the pain still lasted all the way up until about half hour ago.  I took some Excederin Migraine.  I don't know what the deal is with those pills, but they did the trick.  I'd go into detail explaining how bad these headaches get, but I'm assuming you already know what this feels like if you get migraines yourself.  Like I said, I know this blog is new and has no readers yet, but if anyone out there does read it, please share your migraine experience and what you do to relieve it.  Thanks!

Wicker Park

You know, I'm not a fan of the whole hipster scene; although I live in in the heart of Wicker Park in Chicago, I've never identified with that term.  In fact, Wicker Park is no longer hipsterville as it used to be.  That all moved over to Logan Square.  Now Wicker Park is the new Lincoln Park.  What does that even mean?  Well, this neighborhood has become yuppified.  It's sad to have watched some really cool bars and restaurants that were staples of this neighborhood close down over the years.  I've lived here since 2006.  Sometimes I think about moving to another neighborhood that fits my personality better, but I can't beat the rent that I pay here.  Plus, my band uses my living room as a practice space and studio; nobody complains because I live next door to a school and we practice at night.  Anyway, where am I getting with this?  Not very far.  I have some work to do, so I'll be here again soon.  Until then, have a rockin' Saturday night!

Working From Home

I have to say, I'm enjoying doing work from home and getting paid for it.  It's a venture I've recently embarked on, and although I'm not making a ton of money right now, I can see how people can make a decent income if they put their minds to doing what they need to do from their computers.  I was lucky enough to get hired as a transcriptionist, which I think is pretty cool, but it can also eat away at your brain if you're sitting in front of your computer too long.  I think it's best to break up the work into 2 hour chunks at most.  Transcribing a two hour focus group with not the greatest audio takes a LOT of time and patience listening over and over for inaudible sections of the audio.  Anyway, my brain is fried right now; I should probably get off this computer, but I just thought to randomly post about working from home.  Does this entry even make sense tonight?  Probably not.  Talk soon.

Ted

Okay, so last night I started watching the 2012 cute teddy bear movie called "Ted", and honestly, I wasn't expecting such a funny film.  The last time I remember a comedy I seriously enjoyed with such clever dialogue and adult humor is "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and that was a long time ago.  "Ted" is a SERIOUSLY raunchy movie, but that's partly what made it so enjoyable.  Who would think a movie about a cuddly teddy bear would go in this direction?  The jokes weren't cheap, but they were still dirty as hell.  There's a lot of pot smoking, sex, and well...one of the funniest jokes comes from a pile of crap a hooker left on the living room floor.  Honestly, I can't give more of a review right now because I only watched about 40 minutes of the movie (had to go to bed early to make it to class today), but I definitely plan on finishing it tonight.  A continuation shall be posted soon :-)

Oscars 2013

I was just thinking about how the Oscars may have lost a bit of their magic.  Or is that just me?  I guess I sort of miss when they only had 5 movies to choose from for best picture.  It seems like having 9 or more contenders for best picture sort of cheapens the ceremony in some way.  On the other hand, it can be looked at as a positive thing because at least they've broken out of an old routine and chosen to try something different.  This started just a few years ago from what I can recall.  Unfortunately, my TV channels weren't working this year, and I was desperately trying to find a live feed of the Oscars online, which took a good 45 minutes to an hour to successfully do.  I missed best actor and best supporting actress.  :-/.  Anyway, I'm going to get back to some school work I was doing earlier.

Welcome

I just thought to say hello and introduce myself on my brand new Blog.  My name is Sasha Paul and I'm enjoying my little place here on the internet.  I like to talk about various topics.  I'm passionate about music, movies, and all things artsy I suppose.  It's nice to meet you.