Friday, December 31, 2010

Jeffrey Scott’s – Best of his Blogs 2010

Most of my friends know I maintain two blogs. One dedicated to health and fitness and one for my creativity. I’m proud to say I’ve kept up with both this year. So for those of you only familiar with one of the two, I’ve decided for the first time ever to do a cross-over blog. And why not, I’m a creative person and both illustrate that in various ways.





January
Jeffrey Scott - Will You Miss Me
An interesting poem I wrote. But can you tell what it’s really about?
Carrot Sticks – Biggest Loser (No Motivation)
I began to recognize my fitness was slipping. I wrote a few observations as to why.

February
Jeffrey Scott – Haiku
In 2009 I wrote several Haiku’s. In 2010 I wrote one last one. Follow the links to view more.
Carrot Sticks – Biggest Loser – Top 5 Faults With the Show
I’ve always been a Biggest Loser fan, but at times it can irritate me. Here’s why.

March
Jeffrey Scott – Travel Preparations for London
Two month from the actual trip, I began making lists.
Carrot Sticks – Feed Me Seymore
Random thoughts on how I can do better at what I eat and what my downfalls are.

April
Jeffrey Scott – Loss & Love
For a month, I worked on a short story on Facebook. I reprinted it to my blog.

May
Jeffrey Scott – I’m Nothing
Sometimes a poem hits me. Here is one I wrote this year.
Carrot Sticks – Procrastination vs. Motivation
You can either procrastinate or be motivated. Here are my thoughts.

June
Jeffrey Scott - Fuse CD Review
I discovered a new CD and wrote a review. The artists read it and enjoyed it!
Carrot Sticks – Tracking Disaster
I tried to become more serious about my tracking, but I failed.

July
Tegan – Interview With An Admiral
I had a nice chat with Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars.

August
Tegan – Who is River Song?
I’ve got a firm belief, but this was one farcical theory.

September
Jeffrey Scott – I Tweet Therefore I Am
Another poem, this time based on…. Twitter???
Carrot Sticks – A-Z Fitness (Atmosphere)
In hopes of making myself more accountable, I began a new fitness series.

October
Tegan – Doctor Who (The Early Years)
I give in to my nerdyness and begin writing a Doctor Who themed series.
Carrot Sticks – Jillian Michaels – GoDaddy Commercial
A funny commercial Jillian is now appearing in.

November
Tegan – Time Travel Museum
Can you find your favourite time machine in the time travel museum?
Carrot sticks – Top 9 Way To Tell If You’ve Been Watching Too Much Biggest Loser
With a lot of my posts centered on Biggest Loser, I wondered if I watched too much.

December
Tegan - Jelly Babies
I did a photo shoot with… candy???
Tegan – Saturn Girl Selling Telepathic Telecommunications
I guess I’m a true Legion of Super Hero nerd to come up with this.
Carrot Sticks – Tastes So Good
I wrote a song parody and why junk food tastes so good.

That’s not all I wrote in both logs, but it gives you pretty good idea. If you enjoy both, why not subscribe and follow both? You’re bound to find something you like sooner or later. ;)
Jeffrey Scott

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Mexico - Day 4


With all our bags packed, we had the morning to do last minute shopping and visiting a few places we failed to take pictures at. This was the view immediately outside our room.



At the entrance of the shopping center was familiar face, Speedy Gonzales. Not exactly sure why he was there but I have a few friends who'll be interested in him.



I don't generally spend a lot of time taking pictures of corridors, but I'm not likely to return any time soon and I did find this somewhat interesting.



The night before we went to a dance club with a Star Wars theme. The bar her reminded me somewhat of the cantina bar in Star Wars. There were other items strewn about; a Millennium Falcon, life size Yoda and a few more Stormtroopers.



This time it was my decision to take a picture of the local flora. I've always thought it was a bit artsy to take flowers pictures, so it explains this shot.



There are many sculptures and statutes strewn about the place. One was this gigantic harp. My sister is posing, as if she's playing. Looks pretty convincing to me.



This is a daytime shot of one of the local places we frequented at night for drinks. Depending on the day and time, all the chairs could be filled with guests ordering drinks, associating, meeting new friends, or just checking email with the free wifi provided.



A closer shot of the actual 'bar' area. Yea, I know - another shot of the alcohol. For the most part we ordered our drinks here instead of waiting for someone to take our order. This was where my sister ran into some old friends.



As we said our goodbyes to the many people and places we knew, some of the local wildlife also came to bid us adieu.



As stated before, there was lots of 'atmosphere' via statues and such. This was one prime example. Loved the looks of it, but it seemed it was supposed to be trickling water. I never saw that the entire time I was there.



This wasn't the courtyard of our set of rooms, but it was interesting enough for me to capture it on 'film'.



All good things must come to an end, as did this trip. It was now time for us to make it through the jungle to the clearing where our airplane waited for us. Time to make one last use of the machete I purchased for protection.



Here we are on our way home, as taken from the plane (obviously). I believe if you look close enough you can see the locals waiving goodbye.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Best Thing About Snow

It’s a layer of white
all upon the ground
freshly fallen.

The children run outside
to a winter wonderland
of playfulness.

Snowballs and snowmen,
sleds and toboggans
snowfall fun.

* * * * *

Heavy and gray
the snow remains
to be moved away.

Shovels and snow tires
the bitter cold
any icy street.

What’s special to me
is when Spring arrives;
the snow departs.

J.A.Scott

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Mexico - Day 3


My sister and I actually planned something for our last full day in Mexico. On Saturday we decided to visit Playa del Carmen and do a bit of shopping. As a person who loves to shop and experience new things, I was all in favour of this. Here is our first view of the city, and one we wanted to remember as our bus back was to be from this exact location.



The driver gave the layout of where various things were, so we set out. This appears to be a park/common area of the city. I love the walk-way.



Prime example of why I'm such a nerd. Not only is the first stop a local Wal-Mart, (I love to visit international versions of local stores for comparison) but I take a photo of the Spanish version of Apples to Apples, one of my favourite games.



Turns out our trip to Wal-Mart was just as eventful as anything else that happened. As we were walking around, we noticed the smell of smoke. Suddenly, one of the associate doors flew open and two staff members ran out carrying axes. A fire broke out towards the front of the store. We were horrified to realize the store was not being evacuated. So after we finished our shopping, a picture was taken of the police and fire truck outside.



We spent the rest of the time at the local street shops. Chris was searching for gifts for home, most importantly a hammock for the family.



I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, probably a good thing since I'm not good at negotiating prices and that seemed to be the trick of the trade. Essentially, I went all the way to Mexico and all I got for my kids were those stupid T-shirts.



Lately, it seems Gelato is the next trendy thing. Even the local Metro Market has suddenly started selling it. So once I saw this shop, I decided it was time to give it a try. Of course I opted for the Mango flavour. Problem is, isn't gelato an Italian ice cream? And I had it in Mexico. So what exactly did I eat? Mexican/Italian ice cream?



I saw this place and really wanted to get a coffee, but we decided to save it for later in case we didn't have time. Turns out Chris really wishes we had gone. Once our time in Playa del Carmen was over we headed back. The two of us were the only ones in the bus and it didn't seem to be taking a direct route back to the highway. Also it was going through some really rough parts of town. I got the feeling she thought we were being kidnapped so I talked to the driver to make sure he was heading back to the highway. This broke the ice and Chris started talking to him in partial Spanish and soon we were on the highway, and more importantly back at our resort.



After our ordeal in the city, we decided to relax on the beach for the rest of the day. On our way I decided to stop at the swim-up bar and get a drink. I need to try any new experience, at least once. I believe the drink 'special' of the day was a Bahama Mama.



After the drink, I spotted a bird I was unfamiliar with. In an attempt to bolster my artistic skills with shots of the local flora and fauna, I decided to shoot this bird, with a camera of course.
Update: I believe this is called a 'Purplish-Backed Jay'.



Finally we made it to the beach where we spent the rest of the day, till evening came upon us. It was time for dinner so we went back to the steak place. Afterwards we decided to do as much packing as we could so we'd have the entire next morning to eat breakfast and say goodbye to the resort.

(To be concluded)