iPod Shuffle for 2/27/11

I will admit--I am not one to do the 30 day challenges type posts as I either get bored easily or some of the prompts just do not say anything to me. But then I saw this one on Rasha's journal: Day 12th -- Put your iPod on shuffle and write down the 10 songs that pop up. Music is part of my day as it fuels the setting and pace of it as well as inspires it so lets see what happens when I put my iPod on shuffle!

1: Rumors by Lindsay Lohan
2: Intro to Reality by Anthrax
3: Incredibad by The Lonely Island
4: Beautiful Loser by William Control
5: Cherry Pie by Warrant
6: Bleed it Out by Linkin Park
7: Welcome to the Machine by Motley Crue
8: Down with the Sickness by Disturbed
9: Warning by Queensryche
10: Fully Alive by Flyleaf

If you have an iPod, I would love to see this exercise in your blog!

Things I Love Thursday -- February 24th Edition

What a week! With whirlwind travels to facials to having a weird bump on the back of my neck sending me into a crazed paranoia, this week has been oh so good...so without further adieu this is what I am in love with this week:

~~The pit stop facial at Just Calm Down spa in NYC. Still need to write about it and I will later today!
~~Going to Atlantic City, NJ with David and winning $100 dollars.
~~Having hot showers beat down on the back of my neck to relieve pain.
~~Fresh bananas in the morning for my breakfast.
~~Turning off peoples complaints about EVERYTHING at work.
~~Feeling a sense of renewal with a new class for lunch duty.
~~David finding great tickets for Devils and Nets games.
~~David planning trips and excursions around my favorite pitcher Bronson Arroyo.
~~Heck, DAVID PERIOD!
~~Having a big fluffy pillow for my head.
~~Twinings Citrus Orange tea before bed.
~~Having time to read before my students come in.
~~Anything that is open 24 hours, even if I do not need to go.
~~Having ideals and standards that no one else understands.
~~The sun coming up earlier and earlier each day. Means spring is on its way!
~~Getting a new phone with a touch screen and a keyboard.
~~New clothes that I found on clearance.
~~Old fashioned board games.
~~Getting myself ready for Oscar Night.
~~Tresemme' 24 Hour Body Hair Mousse. My hair is feeling the winter flats a lot and I love my hair to be BIG. Well this did the trick!
~~Tuning out the negativity of people at 8am at work.
~~The new black hipster skinny jeans I got. Now I understand the trend...

What are you in love with this week?

Thought Tuesday #4

"To measure up to all that is demanded of him, a man must overestimate his capacities."--Johanna Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1834

What words or thoughts are fueling your inspiration this week?

Things I Love Thursday -- February 17th Edition

Hey there my fellow followers! Time for another week of TiLT! I am writing this with a bad case of largynitis/sore throat/can not speak for the life of me but still feel the love. Here is what I am so much in love with this week:

~~My new graphic for Things I Love Thursday made by my friend Christine. Love it!
~~Having the ability to watch Betsey Johnson's Fall 2011 Collection online. Thank you Gala!
~~Having two copies of the same book. One was an advanced copy, the other is an autographed one. Love feeling important.
~~Writing a blog about the 100 things I love about myself. Did you get a chance to read it? No? CHECK IT OUT PLEASE!
~~Having two killer heart necklaces and thinking of outfits around them.
~~Scheduling trips for April! April 2nd through April 5th I will be in Atlanta, Georgia and April 16th through 19th I will be in Cincinnati, Ohio! I know not the glamourous of trips but I know I will have fun.
~~Having the ability to wear my Olsenboye boots again.
~~60 degree weather in February!
~~Turning on my fan in my room. That is how lovely the weather is outside.
~~Getting my first facial tomorrow. Thank you to Time Out New York for the great deal!
~~Going away with David this weekend to Atlantic City! Buffets, jacuzzis, gambling....so need it.
~~That the snow is finally melting!
~~Having two of the best dogs ever. Hudson and Sweetums!
~~A nice romantic dinner with David.
~~Enjoying a Natalie Portman double feature weekend. I finally saw Black Swan and No Strings Attached. Both were very good!
~~Playing Multiplication Bingo with my students


What made you swoon this week? Tell me all about it!

100 Ways Of Delicious Dani

First of all Happy Love Day to all my beautiful & amazing blog readers! I hope that all of you had a wonderful day celebrating all the LOVE that is in the world, whether it be love for a person, an animal, or just the world in general. This practice should be done EVERY DAY and not just on February 14th.


I am a firm believer in radical self love. What does this mean? Basically, it means that you should be 100% in love with yourself. Sometime last year for some strange reason I stopped doing this. I became bitchy, self loathing, started petty arguments when I should have just relaxed and let things BE. Now, I am back to taking a bit of time out to love myself. This blog post may be a bit self indulgent, but I'm not backing down. Loving yourself is important. How can I love the world, my friends, my phenomenal David, and my family if I can not ove myself? How can I make the world a happier place if I'm not happy with myself? Change starts with yourself, then your family, then your community, then the world. So make the wise decision to LOVE yourself!

RADICAL SELF LOVE IN THE HOUSE!

Also, if any of you want to write lists of reasons why you love yourself- even if just on Twitter, on Facebook, or your own blogs, please send me a link- I would love to read them! My Twitter just in case you are not on here is http://www.twitter.com/joiseydani and my Facebook is www.facebook.com/joiseydani

So without further ado...

1. I love that I refuse to apologize for who I am.
2. I love that I am a bookworm who devours books like they are food.
3. I love how fantastic I look in crazy headbands
4. I love that I'm an animal activist
5. I love that I don't wear lots of makeup,
but I still look fantastic
6. I love that I place a higher priority on what I know that what I look like
7. I love my knowledge of useless information
8. I love that I have two degrees and two teaching certifications
9. I love that I have the energy and dedication to keep up with writing.
10. I love my wild, crazy, dark brown curly hair.
11. I love that my smile creates these two dimples in the corners of my mouth
12. I love how I can just look at one of my students and they behave.
13. I love my big feet.
14. I love my dark purple with bling glasses.
15. I love that I have the ability to walk.
16. I love that I can identify with my students instead of the adults I work with.
17. I love that I'm an organized person
18. I love that I can make people laugh with a funny voice.
19. I love my sense of humor
20. I love how fast I can type when I text.
21. I love the fact that I am so strong that I can break a
window when I try to open it.
22. I love that I'm not afraid to talk to strangers on the train or bus.
23. I love how tall I am
24. I love how my hands feel after I finish typing a message.
25. I love my golden brown eyes.
26. I love my two front teeth have a little gap in them.
27. I love that I do not care what other people think of me.
28. I love how I look when I walk the streets of New York City.
29. I love that my two big toes look like thumbs.
30. I love that I work hard at work and at play.
31. I love how I feel after I drink a glass of warm lemon water with honey.
32. I love the callusses on my fingers from all of the writing I do.
33. I love the effort I put into all my work, even if it is not appreciated by my peers.
34. I love my ability to remember lines from my favorite movies.
35. I love my purple colored bedroom walls.
36. I how how I can blow a bubble gum bubble the size of my head.
37.
I love how I do not let others influence my style.
38. I love how my voice changes depending upon who I talk to.
39. I love my New Jersey accent.
40. I love my addiction to baby corn.
41. I love that I have the passion to learn French.
42. I love that I speak English correctly.
43. I love all of my flaws.
44. I love that I am a big kid at heart.
45. I love how my knees rub together when I walk.
46. I love my big cheeks when I smile.
47. I love how I can wink without even thinking about it.
48. I love the hair on my arms.
49. I love my button nose.
50. I love that I can only go to sleep with socks on, even during the summer.
51. I love how I can walk with ease in snow or ice.
52. I love that I snort sometimes when I laugh.
53. I love how happy I am in the morning.
54. I love how I think of blog posts throughout the day in my head.
55. I love that I do not let brand names determine my self
worth.
56. I love my willingness to be in arguments
57. I love that I have no problem speaking my mind.
58. I love my fingers.
59. I love that I'm smart enough to get anything I want in life.
60. I love how my dogs make me feel after a long day at work.
61. I love how tech savvy I am.
62. I love how my room is covered with autographs and tickets from various events.
63. I love how I do not become star struck when I see someone famous.
64. I love that I do not pay attention to overhyped television shows and movies.
65. I love how I look in my Olsenboye boots.
66. I love the two moles on my right leg.
67. I love my thick fluffy hair.
68. I love my Italian heritage
69. I love that my Italian heritage has made me stronger.
70. I love that I cut negative things and people from my life.
71. I love that I am always there for my friends.
72. I love that I know how to manage my time with my work duties.

73. I love my number freak status.
74. I love the way dark chocolate makes me feel.
75. I love the smiles and criticisms I get from my writing, even though I act like I do.
76. I love that I was born an Aries and during springtime.
77. I love how my calves look like hearts.
78. I love that I have hearts all around me.
79. I love that I can pick up any instrument and immediately play it without lessons.
80. I love that in 30 minutes I wrote this list with screaming kids behind me.
81. I love how I do not care if people see me pick my nose.
82. I love that I do my job of teaching well.
83. I love that I want to see my students achieve, even if they are not my students directly.
84. I love that I view my glass as half full. 
85. I love spreading various news stories to people.

86. I love that I try to not take anything for granted.
87. I love that I think about the positive thoughts instead of
the negative.
88. I love that I am constantly changing my outlook and transformation.
89. I love that I know dark times and negativity are a way of the past.
90. I love that I have a great relationship with my family.
91. I love how music makes me feel in the morning.
92. I love that I don't feel guilty for doing things I like to do
93. I love that I can make my students laugh.
94. I love that I canh have a conversation of ideas and fandoms and not filled with gossip
95. I love that I can laugh at myself.
96. I love that I have no problem admitting when I am wrong
97. I love how good I am at getting my paperwork done
98. I love how I look in the color red.
99. I love how I think forward instead of backwardBR>100. I LOVE THAT I AM ME!

Thought Tuesday #3

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him."--Aldous Leonard Huxley, 1894-1963

What words or thoughts are fueling your inspiration this week?

Things I Love Thursday -- February 10th Edition

Another week....another list....spreading the love! This week has gone alright except for a huge fight with my brother yesterday that resulted in lots of yelling and crying, but it has been resolved and now we are back to the way we were. With that said, here is what I am jonesing on this week:

~~Hard but happy work with my students
~~Having two coverages right in the beginning of the week
~~Looking up handmade Valentines presents on Etsy
~~The dreamcatcher right above my window
~~That Hudson is gaining some weight back! He is a very picky eater but once I stopped giving him wet dog food and just straight chicken with rice and vegetables, he is happy to eat and his personality is glowing! Yay happy puppy!
~~Wearing hearts and spouting #RADICALSELFLOVE wherever I go.
~~Sampling new music
~~Invigorating alpine air to wake me up as I go to work
~~Getting my hair cut finally!
~~Fresh fruit salad in the morning
~~Sleeping with fuzzy socks on
~~The pre fixe menu at Chinatown Brasserie during NYC Restaurant week...so nummy!
~~Toasted cheese sandwiches
~~Golden Oreo cookies
~~Having time for myself in the morning without drama
~~Getting lots of sleep that makes me feel refreshed!
~~Driveways and sidewalks that are clear of ice/snow
~~Kisses and hugs from my phenomenal as well my dogs
~~Taking myself to an afternoon movie
~~Succumbing to my wonderful bed and taking a nap.
~~Being the #7 link on Gala Darling's TiLT this week.

What are you jonesing with love with this week?

Thought Tuesday #2

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." -- Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983

What words or thoughts are fueling your inspiration this week?

Allison Mack Sheds Chloe Sullivan To Become Edie King in "Apple Cove"

Living in New York City has a lot of benefits. Great food, great atmosphere, great theatre. One of the major benefits in New York City is the ability to get up close and personal with your favorite television stars. Now, I am not a Smallville fan but I always admired Allison Mack's role of Chloe Sullivan on Smallville. The role reminded me of myself--a eager writer who is always there for her close friends, especially if the close friend happens to be attractive but that does not matter to you. When she was in Love, Loss, and What I Wore over the summer David and I jumped at the chance to go even though it was opening night and did not get the chance to really talk to her after the show due to an after party. Well now it was our chance...to see if Allison Mack would not get the typecast roles that other actors involved in the Superman canon would receive.

But first...description of the play.

Apple Cove : When newlyweds Edie and Alan King move into the gated community of Apple Cove, they trust they have found a safe haven from the chaotic world outside. But when lush and forbidden roses start popping up in their garden, they quickly learn that nothing, not even electric gates, can keep nature out. Especially one's own nature.

When the play started, let me say that I was a little bit scared that I would not enjoy the play. It starts off kind of hokey, kind of religious, kind of guarded because that is what Apple Cove is--a place which is considered to be "safe" and a place where the "terrorists and bad things" stay out because life according to Apple Cove residents is just that; safe and guarded.

Allison Mack, who plays Edie King, throughout the play explodes with creativity and talent. One minute she is a tame housewife, tending to her garden, and tending to the needs and wants of everyone in her family EXCEPT hers. Everyone in the community knows her business; even when she screams because she nicked herself gardening. But the primal scream she lets out opens up a world of exploration through the character known as Duke, played by Dion Mucciacito. He talks funny, thinks he is some CIA undercover cop but brings forth a world that Edie wants to explore. Duke would be considered the "forbidden fruit" that people are told to stay away from but no one really follows that advice. Allison then turns into a exploratory mistress who screams to get the attention of Duke and then starts questioning everything about her life, where she lives, and why she should leave Apple Cove. Edie then in turn goes crazy and psycho with abandon and zest of curiousity; trying to get her husband to open up his eyes that life is not about safety--it is about taking risks. She unfortunately fails and her husband works for the firm where Edie's father works. Edie then grabs an ax and starts to destroy her house and opens up the floor where a swamp used to be as well as the roof to let the rain in--a visual of washing herself clean of the safe world and ready to go exploring and take risks.

Allison Mack...you are no longer Chloe Sullivan. As I said in the beginning, she shifts back and forth between tame wife and curious psycho woman. Allison, in my opinion, has opened herself up to numerous theatre and television roles that do not fall in the Superman canon. She is versatile and talented and hopefully the industry will not turn up their nose to her simply because of Smallville, which has been on the air for ten years on the WB Network which then became the CW Network. If you are in New York City between February 6th and March 6th GO SEE THIS PLAY! You will not be disappointed.

Things I Love Thursday -- February 3rd Edition

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! This year in Chinese Astrology is the Year of the Rabbit. I am a Horse in the realm of Chinese Astrology and here is what it says my year will be like: The freedom-loving and passionate Horse in the 2011 year of the white Metal Rabbit will plunge into the ocean of their own passions, and even the most prudent and calm representatives of this sign will experience an overwhelming desire to plunge into all serious ones and go with the flow of love experiences. Do you think Horse will surely fail yielding to emotions? Far from it! It is too strong to give in to circumstances, while emotions and feelings will only fuel his positive desire to create and build. This year will be good for Horses both in the professional and in the love field, though there will still be some difficult situations present there. Horses need to be more prudent and cautious in making decisions: everything that is dictated by emotions and feelings must pass through a cold filter of reason, and then he will not have to make reckless decisions whose consequences will have to be correct for a long time. Since love in the year 2011 of the metal rabbit goes through the life of a Horse like a red thread, he will not rest on one romance, but will leaf through partners like an interesting book, with each page where the story will become more interesting. Well, the strongest is always chosen - and the Horse this year will be as strong as ever - he shines at social events and works for five people having inspired by his hot passion.

At least this year will be better for me than last year! Woohoo!

Other things this week that make my heart swoon:

~~Having a hand lotion that really works
~~Making mix cd's that chronicle my life
~~Books that offer insight and inspiration
~~Scheduling ten Thought Tuesdays blog posts
~~Apples with cinnammon, cream cheese, and raisins on a flatbread. Nummyness!
~~Doing my own 2010 Federal and State taxes and finally getting a refund this year.
~~The rumours and discussion surrounding the possibility of Sting in WWE
~~Scheduling my first ever facial appointment at Just Calm Down Spa 15 days from now! So excited!
~~My phenomenal David for everything he does and is
~~Making new friends on Facebook through the power of Radical Self Love!
~~Finally seeing the sunshine for so long. COME ON VITAMIN D! GIVE ME ALL YOU GOT!

What are you in love with this week?

Radical Self Love Homework #1

Evaluate your acquaintances & surroundings. Who (or what) is misaligned with your RSL mission?

This question took me about two days to mull over. It became very clear to me when I received this message that this person needed to be deleted as he is far misaligned from my Radical Self Love/Radical Self Positivity mission.

As many of you are aware, I broke my foot last year. Yes I know you are probably sick of hearing about it but I fell into such a cabin fever funk that I promised myself that since I am better I am going to get the most out of life somehow.

Since David and I started dating, we made a decision to travel to WWE Wrestlemania every year. The first trip was Detroit, then Orlando, then Houston. Last year was supposed to be Phoenix...but we all know that did not happen. So this year WWE Wrestlemania 27 is in Atlanta; one of my favorite cities since I visited it last August. Then news of my favorite wrestler Sting joining WWE is abound, I am practically jumping out of my skin and counting down the days. All of my friends, online and in real life know my excitement...and then I get this text from the person who will remain nameless as he does not deserve to be dignified:

"I hope you break your other leg so you don't go again."

Complete douchebaggery right there. Instead of saying "Hey I hope you have a great time. I am happy for you." I get that. He then tried to compare me not wanting to hear people talk about Michael Vick to how he does not want to hear people talk about Wrestlemania. That is fine. Say that. Do not wish bodily harm on a person. What kind of a friend or better person is that? A douchebag one, thats who.

My surroundings meaning my work is fine for my RSL/RSP mission since I work with children all day and I love their innocence and vive for exploration. Some of the people I work with though can go to hell so I do not associate with them. All they talk about over and over is shopping, partying, or complaining about work or life. I want to talk with/associate with people that have grand ideas or dreams. I want to talk about the latest books or movies or television shows or music--not materialistic items 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year. As long as I continue on this path of Radical Self Love, I am pretty sure I will achieve this.

Alberto Del Rio = JBL + Tito Santana Knockoff

If there is one thing in professional wrestling that I hate/despise is the constant copying and pasting of past gimmicks that worked for others, but not for new wrestlers. Case in point for myself--Alberto Del Rio.

It seems everyone on the internet, not so much the live audience, has drank the Kool Aid of Alberto Del Rio. For those that are new to my blog: when I write about a wrestler I was give history about him or her. Let me offer some history of Alberto Del Rio.

Alberto Rodríguez (born May 25, 1977) is a Mexican professional wrestler, currently signed onto World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), performing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Alberto Del Rio. He is the 2011 Royal Rumble winner. Before working for WWE, Rodriguez used the name Dos Caras, Jr. as both a mixed martial artist and luchador in mostly Mexico and Japan. He worked in both of Mexico's main wrestling promotions and achieved success in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is a former World Heavyweight Champion.

Son of noted luchador Dos Caras, nephew of Mil Mascaras and Sicodelico, and cousin to Sicodelico, Jr. and Hijo de Sicodelico, Rodríguez is part of one of the most well known Mexican wrestling families. The name Dos Caras translates to Two Faces, referring to the symbol of a double headed eagle on his mask.

Born in San Luis Potosí as the son of luchador Dos Caras. Rodríguez graduated from Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí where he earned a degree in architecture. Growing up in a family of wrestlers Rodríguez decided to take up Greco-Roman wrestling, training under Leonel Kolesni and Juan Fernández. He earned a place on the Mexican national team in Greco-Roman wrestling and while competing on the national team obtained several accomplishments. In 1997, he placed third at the World Junior Championships, in the Czech Republic. He also won the Central American and Caribbean Games in his weight division three times and won a medal at the Pan American Games. Rodríguez was on track to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but due to a lack of funding and support, Mexico did not send a wrestling team that year.

After not competing at the 2000 Olympic games Rodriguez turned to the family business, and trained with his father to become a professional wrestler. Junior made his debut appearance on May 9, 2000 as he ran in during an Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) show to save his father from a beat down from El Texano, Pirata Morgan and Espectro, Jr. After making follow up TV show appearances Caras did not make his in ring debut until September 29 of that year when he teamed with Sangre Chicana, El Alebrije and La Parka, Jr. to defeat Los Consagrados (El Texano, Pirata Morgan, Espectro, Jr. and El Cobarde) at AAA's summer event Verano de Escándalo. After his debut Rodriguez would travel to Japan to compete as well, making his Japanese debut on October 11 by teaming with his father to defeat the team of El Azteca and Chiba. Junior continued his AAA storyline with Los Consagrados, teaming with Octagón, La Parka, Jr. and Hong Kong Lee to defeat Los Consagrados by disqualification. Over the next couple of years Caras would work both in Mexico and Japan to gain experience in the ring. In Mexico he worked exclusively for AAA making appearances at shows such as the 2002 Verano de Escándalo, where he teamed with Gronda and El Hijo del Solitario to defeat the trio of Pirata Morgan, Sangre Chicana and El Brazo.

In 2005, Rodriguez was signed to a contract with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In his first test in the company, Caras competed in the 2005 Copa Jr., but the storyline of the tournament saw him defeated in the semi-final by Dr. Wagner, Jr. Junior's advancement to the semi-final of the cup, mere months after signing with the company was an indicator that the bookers were interested in elevating him up the rankings, this was further supported when he received matches for both the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship inside a three week period. The following year on March 31, 2006 Caras was entered again into the Copa Jr. tournament and earned a return victory over Dr. Wager, Jr. who knocked him out of the tournament the previous year. He also won against Heavy Metal and Apolo Dantes to gain a place in the final, defeating Héctor Garza to win the prize. While working in Japan, Caras had taken to teaming with another second generation wrestler, Lizmark, Jr., and when both found themselves in CMLL they were teamed up once again with the team's famous fathers being the selling point. Over the next year Caras found himself without much direction, he worked storylines with Último Guerrero and Kenzo Suzuki but nothing long term came of it. Caras received two opportunities to challenge Universo 2000 for the CMLL World Heavyweight title but came up short until his third attempt on July 8, 2007 when he became the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. While in wrestling promotions outside of Mexico the Heavyweight title would indicate that he was the top man in the federation, Mexican wrestling promotions tend to put more emphasis on the lower weight divisions over the heavyweights.

Caras's run with the CMLL World Heavyweight championship remained largely uneventful with only four title defenses in the 533 days that he held the championship. After defending against Lizmark, Jr. and former champion Universo 2000 it would be 9 months before his next defense. By the fall of 2008 a story broke that Rodriguez had wrestled a dark match for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and that they had offered him a contract. Over the following months conflicting reports of whether he had signed or not arose but he remained CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. When Caras lost the title to Último Guerrero it was believed that he had indeed signed with WWE, with him being rumored to be a surprise participant in the 2009 Royal Rumble. However, Rodriguez remained with CMLL and stated that he signed a four year deal and chose CMLL because they offered him a better deal than WWE.

Through out his entire career Dos Caras, Jr. had always played a heroic character, known in Mexico as a técnico. However, after the contract dealings with WWE surfaced he began showing signs of becoming a villain, known as a rudo. He would turn his attention away from the matches and instead try to win the approval of the fans, often costing his team the match because he was distracted. Caras himself explained this behavior by stating that he "hurt his shoulder, but bravely stayed in the arena". After hinting at a change for weeks Caras finally cemented his villainous persona on April 11, 2009, the first member of the Rodríguez family to be a heel. After becoming a rudo, he began working a storyline with Shocker.

On June 17, 2009, Rodriguez confirmed that he had signed a three-year contract with WWE, stating that he would not have to go to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental territory, but would go directly to the main roster. Furthermore, he would retain the rights to his name, mask and image but allow the WWE to use it for promotional purposes while he is under contract with them. He agreed to the contract since it addressed the main reasons why he turned down the WWE's offer in January 2009. Despite his claims, he had a match with Kris Logan at FCW wrestling under the name Dos. He later also went on to wrestle under the ring names Dorado and El Dorado. During a segment on the Abraham Washington show at the August 6 taping, Rodriguez revealed a new, unmasked wrestling character named Alberto Banderas . During Raw's WrestleMania Revenge tour of Europe in April 2010, Caras made numerous appearances in untelevised matches for the Raw brand. One night he wrestled as Dos Caras, but he did not wear his mask. He was presented as a villain in a losing effort against Christian. The following month Caras put his mask back on for WWE's tour of Mexico and worked as a hometown hero, prior to returning unmasked during untelevised matches for subsequent Raw and SmackDown shows.

On the June 25, 2010 episode of SmackDown, Rodriguez debuted on a pre-taped promotional video as the unmasked Alberto Del Rio. Thereafter, a vignette aired every week on SmackDown promoting his character as an arrogant rich Mexican aristocrat, espousing his own virtues of honesty, integrity and mental faculties. After two months, he debuted on the August 20 edition of SmackDown by defeating fellow luchadore Rey Mysterio in the main event using his new cross armbar submission. As part of his act, Del Rio makes his entrances in a Rolls-Royce, while he is being introduced by his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez. The following week, Del Rio continued the storyline with Mysterio by attacking him after his match with Kane, giving him a storyline injury by refusing to relinquish his armbar. Two weeks later he defeated Matt Hardy via submission in Hardy's last appearance with the company causing Hardy's friend Christian to challenge Del Rio to a match at Night of Champions. Although he declined the match, on the September 24 edition of SmackDown Del Rio attacked Christian and injured him the same way he did Mysterio the previous month, marking the third successive wrestler Del Rio was scripted to injure. This was done to write Christian off television, as he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle. Mysterio returned on the October 8 SmackDown episode and handed Del Rio his first defeat in the main event match. In October Del Rio defeated Chris Masters to represent the SmackDown brand at Bragging Rights, but during the pay-per-view event he attacked teammate Rey Mysterio, before being eliminated from the match by Team Raw's CM Punk. At Survivor Series, in the traditional five-on-five elimination match, Del Rio captained a team against Rey Mysterio's team. Although Del Rio's team lost he was never technically eliminated, instead Big Show knocked him out with a punch and he was removed from the match. On the November 26 SmackDown, Del Rio defeated Big Show via countout to qualify for the 2010 King of the Ring tournament.In the tournament the next week on Raw, he made United States Champion Daniel Bryan submit in the first round, but would be defeated by John Morrison in the semi-final after being distracted by Mysterio who was inside his car.

On the November 30 episode of WWE NXT, it was announced that Del Rio would be a mentor to Conor O'Brian on the fourth season of NXT, starting the following week. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Del Rio competed in a Fatal-4-Way Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Edge and also included the then champion Kane and Rey Mysterio.On the January 7, 2011, edition of SmackDown, Del Rio defeated Mysterio in a Two Out of Three Falls match, with help from Ricardo Rodriguez to end his long feud with Mysterio. On January 18 Del Rio's NXT rookie Conor O'Brian became the second contestant eliminated from the competition. The following week the rookies competed in a fatal four way match in which the winner would be able to change their pro. Brodus Clay won the match and chose Del Rio as his new pro. On January 30, 2011, Del Rio defeated 39 other participants to win the 2011 Royal Rumble and earned the right to compete for either the World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVII by last eliminating Santino Marella. The following night on Raw, Del Rio chose to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship, which, at the time of his choosing, was held by Edge.

Source: Online World of Wrestling and WWE.com

After reading all of his history and background, I will admit--Alberto Del Rio started to grow on me but not as Alberto Del Rio. He seemed to care more about his style of wrestling, ring psychology, and overall entertainment when he was in AAA and CMLL as well as wearing a mask. Did he fall into the attitude "well I am in WWE now. I really do not have to work."? My answer--YES.

First of all, he takes FOREVER to get to the ring; even though he drives up the ramp ala JBL in a trick out Bentley. Is that for heel heat and the attitude of "you paid to see me, you will wait."? Oh most definitely, but that does not mean it does not piss me off. Then when he gets onto the microphone, his accent is so thick you can hardly understand him; unless you have an Spanish/Latin background. He is using the same promos, the same speech, the same gimmick as JBL. I am all for getting new stars over, for example Bryan Danielson who then became Daniel Bryan, the nerd who attractive women love and arrogant men love to hate as well as Mike Mizanin, who came from reality television to one of the biggest stars in the WWE today. Both Bryan and Mike used their own personalities outside of the ring to make themselves into faces and heels. Alberto Del Rio--if he was writing a document, he just copied and pasted from JBL's playbook.

In the matches that I have seen of his in the WWE, he at most has 10 moves and/or cheats to win. To top it all off, his finisher is a flying armbar. Let me repeat that--A FLYING ARMBAR. A finishing move is supposed to be devastating and powerful. Triple H has the pedigree. CM Punk has the Pepsi Plunge which is a pedigree off the top rope and the GTS. Randy Orton has the RKO as well as a punt kick to the head. What is so devastating and powerful about a FLYING ARMBAR? If you can tell me, I will listen.

Therefore, I do not like Alberto Del Rio. Until he can show me some originality or even go back to his days of CMLL and AAA and use that in WWE (heck CM Punk did it with his straight edge lifestyle, than maybe I will cheer for him.

Thought Tuesday #1

Another feature I would like to start on my blog where I post either an inspirational quote or a thought on Tuesdays. I welcome your input and comments!

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."--Edith Wharton, 1862-1937

What words or thoughts are fueling your inspiration this week?