The Interpreter

Phil and I saw The Interpreter on Sunday. I rate it 3.5 (out of 5) stars. The story was well written. Nicole Kidman (who will be playing the lead in Bewitched) and Sean Penn played their roles well. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and xXx: State of the Union come out in theaters today. I hope to see both movies next week.

M.I.A.

I will be leaving tonight to go on a full-time Personal Protection assignment. In order to protect the confidentiality of my client I can't say much about where I will be going and what I will be doing but I will try to post as often as I can.

Smallville

Last week I finished watching the 3rd season of Smallville through my subscription to Blockbuster Online. I really like Smallville. The story is well written and it has good actors & actresses. I especially like Kristen Kreuk. She is so beautiful. I'm looking forward to watching season 4 when it comes out on DVD.

Snoop Dogg Concert and After Party

On Friday Theory (a.k.a. Dissaster), Mom (Fate & Theory's mom), Liz, and I went to the Snoop Dogg concert at the E Center. We didn't get there until 9:00 so we didn't see The Game perform. I wasn't too impressed with Snoop Dogg's performance. He didn't really do much besides walk back and forth. I've worked Security at a lot of concerts and his was one of the worst rap concerts I've seen. At 10:30 a lot of people started leaving, so I assumed the concert was over. I suggested we leave so we didn't have to spend half an hour getting out of the parking lot. I found out later, from Phil (he went to the concert with Mike, the owner of Players) that the concert lasted another 15 minutes after we left.

After the concert, we picked Fate up and went to the After Party at Club Manhattan. It was crowded, but it wasn't as packed as I thought it would be. Snoop Dogg didn't show up to the After Party (he went back to his hotel with a bunch of ladies instead). D.J. Jam (Snoop's D.J.) was D.J.ing and there weren't any big fights so it was a decent After Party.

Sahara

John and I saw Sahara on Monday at Jordan Landing Cinemark. It is based on the book by Clive Cussler. I rate it 3 (out of 5) stars. It had a lot of action (which I like) but it was too cheesy and some parts were a little unbelievable. I'm looking forward to seeing The Interpreter.

Sin City

On Sunday Phil and I saw Sin City at Century 16. I rate it 4.5 (out of 5) stars. It was very well written. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (writer and director of El Mariachi, Desperado, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico) did a great job directing this movie that is based on 3 of the 7 Sin City graphic novels (written by Frank Miller). Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Jessica Alba played their roles very well. This movie is very violent (it avoided an NC-17 rating by making most of the blood yellow instead of red). I want to see Sin City and Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior again while they are still at the theaters. I really hope they make a Sin City sequel!

Support Lebanon's Independence

The people at SpiritofAmerica.org are asking for donations to support Lebanon's Independence. Lebanon has been under foreign occupation for more than a generation. But, as the result of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beirut, free elections and independence are now within Lebanon’s reach. The focal point of these demonstrations is a “tent city” where pro-democracy demonstrators representing many different religions and political groups have united to form a permanent presence until Lebanon wins its independence. The tent city demonstrators keep the pressure on for political change, and they maintain world attention on the struggle for Lebanese independence. Your donation will support a new free and democratic Lebanon. You can donate at the Lebanese Independence Project website.

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Last Wednesday, John and I saw Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior at Broadway Centre Cinemas. It is one of the best martial arts movies that I have ever seen! I rate it 4.5 (out of 5) stars. Tony Jaa is amazing. I can't wait to see him in Tom-Yung-Goong! You can buy Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior on DVD. (I've added it to my Amazon.com Wish List if you want to buy it for me).

A Bad Night

Saturday, March 26th, wasn't a good night. It started out pretty normal. When I got there (at 8:10) I set up the V.I.P. Room for Shane ("Big Sexy") and Fate's birthday party. Then I put Reserved signs on some tables (for U-92 and Mountain High Motorsports). I also gave radios to the rest of the security team. For the next couple of hours I roamed around the club. Around 11:00 Phil told me to help the bouncers that were working the front door. Derett was I.D.ing just outside of the door, Martell was searching inside the door, and Tiffany (yes, we have a female bouncer) was stamping people after they gave her a ticket they recieved after paying cover. On Saturdays we have a line outside that comes from the right side of the door (if your facing out). Bree, one of our hostesses, sits outside with Derett and sells memberships. I stood outside the door and controlled the flow of customers into the club. We try to not let more than 5 people into the entrance at one time. This makes it easier for Brandy, the hostess and cashier, to make sure that everyone has a membership (or is sponsored by a member) and pays cover (ladies never have to pay cover at Players). I also controlled the V.I.P. line. The V.I.P. line is for ladies (that don't bring guys with them) and a few V.I.P. customers (people that spend a lot of money and tip well, employees of other clubs, and close friends of Players employees). Everyone, including people in the V.I.P. line, gets I.D.ed by Derett. This ensures that everyone who comes into Players is 21 and over and has their I.D. on them (it's Utah state law that all customers of a Private Club have their I.D. on them).

Before I continue, let me give you some history between Brandon Melendez and I. Brandon is a former M.M.A. student of Phil, my boss and roommate. He has been working as a bouncer at Players longer than anyone else. He is a decent bouncer, but he is very arrogant. He is a professional N.H.B. fighter. The first weekend that I worked at Players, we had an employee get-together on Sunday at Southern Exposure and Green Street. At Green Street I was upstairs and Boogie (one of our bouncers) told me that some guy was talking trash to Brandon. I guess this guy had fought in the Toughman Contest and thought he was pretty tough. I kept an eye on the situation. The guy was bragging about how tough he was. He was trying to get Brandon to argue/fight with him. Brandon was keeping his cool but his cousin wasn't. His cousin was getting aggravated and was arguing that Brandon was a better fighter. Next thing I know, Brandon, his brother (Tyler a.k.a. "Tybone"), and Brandon's cousin are moving towards the guys like they've had enough of his mouth. I moved in between them and told them to calm down. I called for Security. One of the waitresses heard me and told one of the bouncers. He called for back up. Then Brandon's cousin threw a beer mug towards me and the instigator. It hit a big screen T.V. and cracked it. John ("Big John") came running upstairs with some other bouncers. John asked me what happened. I pointed at Brandon's cousin and said, "He threw a drink at this guy." I later told John the full story, but I thought at this point that I should point out who was being more aggressive. I also knew that both groups involved in the fight would get kicked out because I used to work at Green Street and knew their policy. Some words were exchanged and Brandon, Tyler, Brandon's cousin, and the instigator all got kicked out. I tried to make sure that they all left without fighting. Brandon's cousin spit on me when we got outside. I went back inside and told Phil what happened. Phil went outside and got into an argument with Brandon. Phil said that Brandon slapped him and he didn't hit him back. Brandon told him that he wasn't going to work with me. He didn't come to work for a couple of days. The following weekend we finally got to talk, but Brandon still thought I was a "sell-out". He has been argumentative at work and seems to enjoy not getting along with me.

Around 11:30 that Saturday night, Brandon came up to the front door and waved some of his friends up to the front of the line. I already had a few ladies in the V.I.P. line, so I told Brandon that I saw his friends and I would get them in through the V.I.P. line. Brandon ignored me and told his friends to come on in. I told him no. He pushed me out of the doorway (yes, a fellow bouncer pushed me). I said "Don't push me." He said "Or what...?" I wasn't looking for a fight like he was so I let them in. Phil had been standing next to Brandy. He told Martell to tell me to go back inside. I started to explain what happened because I felt like he was punishing me by sending me back inside. Phil got mad at me and said "Clock out and go home." I said "Fine." (Phil is my ride to work because we are roommates and I don't have a car. I knew he didn't expect me to go home.) I clocked out went over to where Pat Clark from U-92 was sitting and asked if he had a U-92 shirt I could wear. He said "Yeah, but it's long-sleeved." I said "That's O.K." He gave me a shirt and I went to the coat check room and changed from my Security shirt to the U-92 shirt. I spent the rest of the night keeping an eye on Fate, Theory (a.k.a Dissaster), and their friends. When I told two of the waitresses, Noc and Gabby, what had happened at the front door and that I though I might be getting fired, they both said "If you're gone, I'm gone because you're the only one that takes care of us."

After the club closed, I sat and talked to Noc and Gabby. Phil was around but we didn't talk. After I didn't see him for a while, I wondered if he had left me so I called him. He said he had already left but he would come back and get me (I think he was just sitting in his S.U.V. outside because as soon as I told everyone goodbye and grabbed my coat, he was already "back"). He wanted me to drive so I did. I tried to explain what had happened again but Phil became angry. He told me that Brandon might have knocked me out. I told him I didn't care. After we argued for a few minutes, he told me to pull over and get out. I slammed on the brakes and got out. I called my friend Cody, who I used to live with in Midvale, and asked if I could sleep at his place. He said yes. He doesn't have a car either so I walked 2 miles to his house. The next day I text-messaged Phil and explained what had happened and how I thought he had treated me really bad. He came and got me and took me to a buffet and a movie. He didn't apologize or even admit that he was wrong. I don't think he has ever apologized or admitted that he is wrong, but I still forgive him.

Brandon didn't show up for work at all last week and he didn't call anyone to let them know he wasn't working. Bags, the manager over security, told me to take him off of the schedule (I do the Security schedule for Phil). I've forgiven him, but I'm not going to miss him.