"You know what we need? More Dean Ambrose shirts!"

After the Money in The Bank PPV and during Monday Night RAW and Smack Down!, Dean Ambrose was seen wearing his wife beater shirts again instead of his "DA" muscle shirt that he's been wearing for the last few months. That was his third shirt from wweshop.com. The first being the ugly "UNSTABLE" text on white and the second being "Dean Unstable Ambrose" as a parental advisory label on black (which is a callback to his indy and FCW designs that read "Explicit Mox/Ambrose Violence"). Anyways, I actually wondered if he was going to be getting a new shirt design. He could've simply chosen not to wear it that week.

And then Sunday night, WWEShop.com suddenly updated their new product listing. Not only did Ambrose get a new shirt design, he got 5 new shirt designs released all at once! And a (badly photoshopped) header image!

wweshop.com just quietly released 5 brand new Dean Ambrose t-shirt designs. What's going on?! #wweshop #deanambrose

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 21, 2015 at 10:21pm PDT

This is BIG deal. Kevin Owens had 3 new shirts released when he signed on the main roster. And Samoa Joe was immediately signed to WWE after they saw how his one and only shirt sold out online on the night of his NXT debut. I remember reading last year that WWEShop.com had record breaking sales over Thanksgiving weekend and that their best-selling item was a Dean Ambrose hoodie. The fact that WWE went and released several new designs for one wrestler WWE Superstar is again, a very big deal. Seth Rollins, the WWE Heavyweight Champion, hasn't had a new shirt released since winning Wrestlemania and his current design is just a rehash of his first "SR" design. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns got another shirt design with a catchphrase he never says (i.e. "One Versus All." "Hit Hard. Hit Often." "I Bring The Fight.") but it still sells well. Either Ambrose is getting another big push or they're just trying to gauge how much money they can make from Ambrose again. He was so much fun to watch during his Bourbon Street instagram tour and he was the poster boy for the Money In the Bank PPV.

Part of me wants to impulsively pre-order one of the new Ambrose shirt designs but what's stopping me is the fact that none of the designs look good to me. I waited a while before buying the "DA" shirt because I liked that more than the "Dean Unstable Ambrose" design. I don't like either of the "Ambrose Stole My Heart/Title" designs because it looks boring. The two "Ambrose Asylum" designs, especially where it just features his crazy eyes and "Unhinged And On The Fringe" on the back, are freaking awful. The "Dirty Deeds" is the only unique looking shirt that isn't black but I'm still not interested in getting it.

Now I'm wondering which shirt would Ambrose would wear tonight O_O

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Looks like I got my answer. Ambrose was seen wearing the "Ambrose Asylum" design with the "Unhinged And On The Fringe" (ugh) back design in the dark match after Monday Night RAW. He didn't wear it during his match with Kane. I'm a bit sad that he didn't have a backstage segment like he did last week so it looks like he'll be midcarding for a while.

No good-byes, just "see ya later"

Vince and I went to South Point for the Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con in the morning. The first thing we did was get in line for our 11 am photo with John Barrowman. Unlike the first LVCC, where we had our picture taken with Stan Lee, I had no option to pay extra for a digital copy or another print. This new photography studio used a very small area for the pictures and the backdrop was neutral and wrinkled. Still, we were pretty happy to see freakin Captain Jack Harkness/Malcolm Merlyn in person. Vince exclaimed, "Oh wow, you're more handsome in person!" as John hugged us pretty tight for the photo.

"You're more handsome in person!" Vince said to John Barrowman. He hugged us pretty tight!

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 20, 2015 at 2:18pm PDT

They said the photo would be ready in an hour, so we decided to hit the exhibit floor. It looked really crowded but it also felt weirdly smaller. There wasn't a lot of good exhibitors out there and artist alley was somewhat disappointing. It was almost on par with the Wizard World Las Vegas Con, where the guests were the big highlights. The only thing I bought was this laser-cut Totoro totem from artist alley. His booth was full of laser-cut jewelry and prints that resembled paper cutouts (sorry, I forgot the artists' name!)

This is the only thing I bought from the Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con: a laser cut Totoro totem.

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 20, 2015 at 7:44pm PDT

I met a few of my coworkers and we also ran into Anthony (who was running the Maximum Comics booth), Christian and Vienna, and Andrew and Joanna. I didn't get to see Erika and Lawrence til an hour later after our meetup time. Turns out we actually missed them on the exhibit floor! We all introduced each other, Erika talked about how Guam is now (which didn't convince Vince), and we took some pics before deciding we were done. Erika and I decided to meet up later in the afternoon at Fashion Show Mall for the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck. Vince was not happy waiting in line in the blistering 100 degree weather with me.

Found the #hellokitty food truck!

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 20, 2015 at 4:04pm PDT

And from the #HelloKittyCafe truck: a t-shirt, the 5-piece macaroon box, and a free button.

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 20, 2015 at 7:53pm PDT

Erika, Lawrence, and her cousin, Lorrie, made it so I had to lead them back to the where the truck was (Vince sat in the couch right outside of the Disney store to cool down). They bought the cakes, donuts, macaroons, and the lemonade and got a free tote bag. They also took a lot of pics in front of the truck! We went inside and talked some more. Erika said she was glad to have met Vince and said he's a keeper. And I said after 11 years, I would think so too. I showed Erika my old Guam ID and driver's license that I found the other night. I told them I couldn't join them for the rest of the night since Vince and I had grocery shopping to do. I asked to have one last photo taken with my phone since I was horrible at taking selfies.

Got to hang out a bit with Erika during the comic con and at hello kitty cafe truck. We haven't seen each other in 13 YEARS!!

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 20, 2015 at 10:01pm PDT

So that was pretty much our weekend. We didn't go out on Sunday because it was freakin' hot. We just cooked Mechado and I made a quick fro-yo run to end our Lazy Sunday.

Thirteen Years

Is this how you do #tbt? Also, holy crap, these Guam pics are 12-14 years old.

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on May 15, 2014 at 6:35pm PDT

On Tuesday, I got to meet one of my best friends, Erika, from Guam. She was one of the few people to see me and my mom off at the airport when we left for Las Vegas nearly 13 years ago.

I met up with her, her husband, Lawrence, and her 2 cousins, Lori and Mark, at the Venetian. Actually, I was in between Venetian and Palazzo, and Erika and I are both on our phones trying to find each other. I saw Erika at the 2nd floor and ran up the escalator to give her the biggest bear hug ever!

We went to Pandora because Erika wanted to get more charms for her expensive charm bracelet (all I have on me is just a hair tie). Then we walked outside to try to get to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, only to find out it was closed. Then we walked over the Linq to see if we can get on the High Roller, which was ridiculously expensive after 7 pm. We stopped by at Sprinkles Cupcake to get some mini cupcakes. We went back to the Venetian to stop by at Carlos' Bakery to get more snacks. For a late dinner, I tagged along with them to go to Hard Rock Cafe, where Erika got major discounts at the gift shop and for the food since she's an Operations Manager for the Hard Rock back on Guam.

Her cousin remarked on how it was amazing that we were still close after 13 years. It's not exactly true; we actually lost contact a few years after I left Guam but thanks FB, we reconnected. Erika said we might not say Happy Birthday to each other every year or comment or like every photos but we still had that bond. As she was talking about the value of friendship, I made an audible groan upon discovering I ate a Jalapeno pepper from the nachos. I assured her that I was reacting to the pepper and not about our friendship and she let out a hearty laugh.

The whole time, Erika talked about how I still looked the same and I was still making funny sounds. Erika, however, has changed so much. She was much confident and talked nonstop about her work and her employees. She was even critical about how the hostess seated us at the cafe. It looks like Erika is considering to move to the states, specifically Vegas, San Francisco, or Seattle. Her husband was so nice and funny and they were SO adorable together.

I won't able to hang out with her until Saturday for the Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, so I'll try to make the best of it before she leaves. She said she'll have some Chamorro Cookies for me :D

WWE Money In The Bank 2015 PPV

This is so weird. I'm still immensely disappointed and frustrated after the PPV.

• Roman Reigns Kofi Kingston Sheamus won the MITB suitcase. Sheamus. Also, Bray Wyatt came out of fucking nowhere to interfere with Roman Reigns as he was about to get the suitcase.
• John Cena defeated Kevin Owens. Vince called it; he had a feeling WWE wouldn't let Owens win a second time. It was a great match, even though no title was on the line. Owens did a apron powerbomb on Cena as he left though!
• Nikki and Brie Bella pulled off the stupid twin magic and retained her Divas Championship title against Paige. ANOTHER DUSTY FINISH!
• The Miz interfered with Ryback and Big Show's match, so Ryback retained his IC title. This was a pointless match really.
• The biggest surprise was Prime Time Players defeating Xavier Woods and Big E of New Day to become the new Tag Team champs.
• Seth Rollins retains his World Heavy Weight Championship title after he and Dean Ambrose both grabbed the belt and fell from the ladder. Rollins was able to hold unto it after they landed

I didn't expect Ambrose to officially win, not even in his home state, Ohio, but the better man (barely) won.  It was a decent blow off match. Rollins came out looking strong without any help from the Authority, so he won clean. Good for Rollins. I still hate the guy but he shouldn't lose the title that soon. With HHH once again standing along his side, Rollins proudly declared, "I TOLD YOU SO!" to a defeated-looking Ambrose.

So, the question is, where does Ambrose go from here? He can't have another shot at the title or feud with Rollins again. His in-ring promo that he cut after the PPV, which was so reminiscent of the late Dusty Rhodes' "Hard Times" promo, seems to indicate that he'll be out for a while. Fix that leg, Ambrose, and come back soon :(

"Jurassic World"

Vince and I watched "Jurassic World" with our friends Andrew and Joanna on Saturday. There's a lot of thing to nitpick with the movie in regards to the characters and story line. Like for the simple fact that after 20 years, NO ONE has learned that anything could go wrong with the dinosaurs and they have no control over them. Especially with a genetically engineered Indominus Rex.

If it weren't for Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and his Raptor pack, I wouldn't have given the movie a chance. I need to find a "Blue" raptor toy :D

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses – Master Quest (Updated)

We're going to The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess - Master Quest concert tonight! #nintendo #legendofzelda

A video posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 10, 2015 at 10:31am PDT

So excited! Vince bought tickets to this quite a few months ago. We haven't been to a video game concert like this since Video Games Live several years ago. I'm wondering if I should bring my camera since we're pretty sure people will be dressed up for this, despite it being at the fancy schmancy Ventian Hotel.

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I left work early so that Vince and I would have more time to get ready and get something to eat when we get to The Venetian. We were already starting to see a small number of Zelda fans as we made our way. Vince went ahead to the box office to get get the tickets while I tried to get a seat at The Grand Lux Cafe. The wait was too long so we settled at eating at the nearby food court. We shared a disappointing $12 burrito bowl from Tacos & 'Ritas, and we'll never eat at that place again. Then we waited a few minutes for the doors to open. The video doesn't do it justice but there was quite a number of people dressed up as Link and almost everyone was wearing every Zelda shirt design you can find and buy online. Vince and I were all dressed up like it's date night.

Here we go! #nintendo #legendofzelda

A video posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 10, 2015 at 7:34pm PDT

The Venetian Theatre was beautiful inside. It felt so regal in there. We had the center floor seats so we were able to see the whole thing. I didn't take that many pics except for a selfie of us, our tickets, and our view of the screen and the orchestra. The theatre discouraged the use of phones and cameras, especially since they were filming the orchestra and the audience.

They played a lot of medleys from the popular titles (in no particular order):

• Majora's Mask
• Ocarina of Time
• A Link To The Past
• A Link Between Worlds
• Twilight Princess
• The Wind Waker
• Skyward Sword

The screen would display cutscenes and gameplay footage and also feature closeups of the individual musicians. They also played video introductions from Shigeru Miyamoto (creator), Eiji Aonuma (producer), and Koji Kondo (composer) as they shared the themes and experience of working on Zelda for nearly 30 years. For the encore (which the conductor teased by leaving and coming back 3 times), they played Dragon Roost Island (YAY!).

Overall, the concert was great, although Vince was slightly disappointed they didn't play songs from Zelda II and the other Zelda DS games. On an amusing note, Vince and I got lost for nearly an hour trying to find the escalators back to the parking lot, only to discover that it was literally right next to the theater when we first arrived. We Mad Max'd it!

And now we wait! #nintendo #legendofzelda

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Jun 10, 2015 at 7:45pm PDT

"Ambrose on Bourbon Street": Monday Night RAW (6/9/15)

This was another "silly fun crap" episode of the go home show before Money in The Bank PPV this Sunday. Just like last week's Raw, Dean Ambrose was largely absent for the show except for the main event at the end. His absence was due to him going on an amusing Instagram tour around Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA, which Raw aired several times as bumpers. Ambrose's shenanigans stemmed from his win (via disqualification) at the Elimination Chamber PPV against Seth Rollins 2 weeks ago. While Rollins was still the champ in title, Ambrose stole kept the belt and declared himself the true champ. This, in turn, set off Rollins as he agreed to another rematch with Ambrose but most importantly, he'll be doing it without the help from The Authority.

The whole episode was quite awkward for Rollins. The main event was Rollins versus his very own J&J Security, which happened after they had a falling out after reaffirming that he didn't need the Authority (though that didn't apply to HHH and Stephanie). This is the undisputed future of WWE, without his WHC belt, floundering and looking desperate. Rollins got pinned by Joey Mercury after being distracted by Ambrose sliding the belt back into the ring. J&J (with a super happy Kane) celebrate their win and Ambrose does the Dirty Deeds on Rollins and takes the belt back.

Rollins ended up looking incredibly weak and pathetic at the end of Raw. And as frustrating as it looks to see the champ being booked like this, there's some development happening here. Rollins showed exactly how he is without the Authority, which is helpless. I don't believe this will carry over to their ladder match on Sunday. If anything, this will be Rollins' chance to prove that he can defeat Ambrose - or anyone else - by himself. I detest Seth Rollins but I can't can deny that he's an incredible and technical wrestler. So if he retains the belt, that's great. However, if Ambrose legit wins the belt, that would be amazing. I get the feeling that WWE doesn't think Ambrose wouldn't be taken seriously as a champ, though we haven't seen anyone since CM Punk having fun with their belt, so it's sort of nice of WWE to entertain the idea for the fans.

And while everyone is focused on their match, no one seems to be giving another thought about Roman Reigns, who's once again rumored to turn heel on Ambrose or Rollins once he wins the Money In The Bank contract and join the Authority. I would hate to see this happen because I don't think it would make any sense for Reigns to joins and there was certainly no build up to it. It was shocking with Rollins the first time; why have Reigns follow that route again? There better be a damn good reason for Reigns wanting to join the Authority. Plus, I don't want to see Team Ambreigns end that soon :(

Personal Post

Hey, something not Dean Ambrose related!

So... I'm going to talk about work.

I'm still working at the robotics company, which still amazes me that I haven't been fired yet. I'm not doing anything wrong to get fired (at least, to my knowledge) but it's a thought that crosses my mind at least once a day. That feeling still lingers after working over 6 years at my previous job at the photography company. That was a job I later grew unhappy with but it was a stable job for me to stay in due to Vince's situation.

Why stay in an unsatisfying job for that long? I stuck with the job because it worked around my school schedule as well as Vince's school schedule when we worked together for a few months. He actually help me get a job at his work, which allowed me to get out of working part-time at the theaters and working as a substitute food service worker for the school district, where I was not getting anywhere due to my limited experience. I worked as a customer service rep and I had to correspond with customers via email and by phone. Fortunately, I rarely had to physically interact with a customer unless it's related to an order. I enjoyed the job because I worked with Vince. Eventually, he found another job shortly after graduating and I stayed behind to get more experience. That's when I started doing other things besides customer service, like being a receptionist, working in shipping, and eventually being an administrative assistant to book photographers and schedule appointments. All the while, I was slowly getting depressed because I wasn't doing anything graphics or art-related, which is that I have a degree on (and yes, I know that that will take me 20 years to pay off). I had to stay with it; Vince was eventually laid off from the job and found himself unemployed.

That was a really tough time for us. I felt like there was nothing I could do to cheer him up. Fortunately, he was able to find a job at a local video game company (who prided themselves for being famous for ONE RTS game). We met great people who would become our dear friends to this day. I stuck with my job though, even though they were having a pay freeze and I was not getting pay raises after employee reviews. I thought about looking for a new job until Vince found himself to be part of a group of people who would be laid off from the video game company. Once again, he was unemployed. And once again, looking for a new job for myself was not an option.

After several months, Vince was able to find a job at an interior design firm, thanks to a former classmate. This place was unbelievably demanding, stressful, and merciless. Vince worked hard but he was always under tremendous pressure and getting little to no appreciation from the higher ups. During this time, I was desperately job hunting and I nearly accepted the first offer I got, which was to be an inventory manager at a small company that sells cell phone accessories. I turned it down because I felt uneasy working in a small retail place. At least my previous job provided me with insurance. A few weeks later, I randomly applied at this robotics company. They were curious at how I applied for a graphic design position when they didn't put out a job posting. I admitted that I did some cyberstalking (I didn't say that exact word); I was browsing local kickstarters, found someone who made prints and t-shirts, looked up her resume and saw the company name listed. I decided to apply at their website but I didn't expect to get a call back!

I was terrified. On one hand, I was able to find another job after 6 years. On the other hand, it means I would have to start over at a new company with little experience and there's no guarantee on how long I would keep that job. 3 months after I started, Vince was able to apply for another job at a gaming company, thanks again to another former classmate. This time, Vince was able to leave a job instead of getting laid off. So basically, both of us started the year with new jobs together! His job was less demanding but it paid way more and I was getting more pay raises than I ever did in the 6 years I worked at the previous job. So it's all great! ... Until Vince got furloughed. 

So that's where we're at right now. He's still with the company but he has no projects lined up, so there's no reason for him to come in to work. Fortunately, it looks like he'll be able to transfer to another department in the company but the paperwork process will take some time to sort out. We're understandably wary about that happening but for now, we're not too worried about it.