Muir Woods/Beach with Jenn and Nicole

Picked up Nicole in downtown and drove up to Sausalito for a nice breakfast.

Hiked in Muir Woods with Jenn and Nicole. My body is sore as fuck from climbing what seemed like a three mile climb over a hill over at the beach right after hiking in the woods in which we got lost. Why the hell did we do that. That was painful. We had fun. 

Went to the Catalyst and rocked the dancefloor

Went with Eugene, Ronald, Tracy and her roomate to the Catalyst and ran into Jon and Jamie. It was 80's new wave night, we downed some cocktails and danced, danced and danced like there was no tomorrow. We rocked the dance floor for at least three to four hours straight. It was a good night. 

I just don't have the time to blog the way I used to. I am way too busy these days to bother with this thing. It's a waste of time, but what the hell. I'll blog every now and then. My priorities have changed and time is too precious for me to use it on things like this. Time is a luxury and I just simply don't have it. I don't even give a shit if anyone reads this. But for my own sanity I'll keep posting for the sake of posting, but I don't know how long I can keep this, I might just close the account for I have a lot of things I can think of doing than waste my time on this. I just have waaay too many responsibilities to worry about. But for the moment I'll keep this account open. 

critical mass

I was reading a very funny article about why SF sucks by a blogger who's lived here but has since moved on. One writer commented - too many dorks/hipster/hippies. 

Its true, I see them on my way to work. They clog the streets every last Friday of the month to make a point, what that point is I have no idea, it's called Critical Mass where a HUGE group of cyclist ride en route from downtown market through the mission, they set out this trek to make a point of how unfriendly cities are to bikers, at the expense of causing major traffic jams, over the last few months there had been incidence of violence between bikers and motorists, and from reading some of these articles its the bikers who usually provokes these fights.  

New Year's Eve

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my checklist for tonight

lets see...

the apartment's a mess- check

burnt out from my job- check

been working my ass off- check

being an adult sucks- check

i need a girlfriend- check

tracy and I are concerned about Eugene turning into a yuppie- check

Life is short

Change truly is constant in my everyday life. I like taking risks. I've never backed down from an idea or a thought and I like to stir things up. When I set my mind on something I usually stick to it(80%of the time) A friend of mine once told me that progress don't come in comfort zones. I would also add that comfort zones suck, they spoil and rott the very core of a person.

I hate the idea of becoming comfortable to habit repetition and routine. Thank god thats not me.

I've racked up an ample amount of life-experience in my last 34 years. I have lived in other states and cities and gained new friends along the way. Yes. I've carved up what I would say a rather very interesting life, in that sense I'm a lot closer to my own friends than my family, and in a way my friends are my family. I've learned a lot from them (and thats counting girlfriends-more on that later) about life much more than what a four cornered classroom could ever taught me.

My girlfriends in the past have been an interesting ensemble of feminists -(high school), a jewish punk-rock skinhead, a DJ, a mom, a hippie. Each one of them unique in their own way, funny, intelligent, independent, sometimes weird, but despite of their differences, they each bore a strength that I was lacking within me, but I've benefited immensely from them and I've learned a lot about myself. Oh and yeah the sex was great.

Stacy was fiercely independent and was never shy with giving out her opinion. Elizabeth had a strong sense of sensuality about her, though can be a bit touchy feely at times.

I think Marlo had a lot more in common with Stacy in that she was just as fiercely independent if not much more. She had a great command in the turntables, she knew how to rock a party. Good times... I remember the venues she played, 111 Minna st in SF at an art gallery opening. The Sound Factory. The Attic. The Beauty Bar at the mission. The College Radio Shows she's been in. The Wave (honolulu). And Aunti Pasto the premiere italian restaurant in waikiki.

We both shared a passion for life. I've learned through her that people are key to new opportunities, her skills at networking are unmatched.

Shawnee and Melissa showed great compassion. Both had empathy for an individual's suffering Shawnee would have made a great wife, she possessed maturity and a sense of devotion. Why did I ever let her go...

A recluse life just isn't an option, you can't make friends that way. It's just not healthy. Word of advice, unless you're set on living your life that involves very little human interaction OR- you have some AVOIDANT PERSONALITY DISORDER, stay away from those people for they will only hold you back.

Got some pictures to post during my night with Tracy and Eugene on my later blogs.

Au 'revoir.

Random Thoughts

Found out today my rent just went up. Considering the average rent in San Francisco (ridiculous) compared to how much my friends, who - like me has to grind it out day in and day out to make the rent, it's still not that bad- and...if I ever told them how much I'm paying, I'm pretty sure they'll breed resentment. So lets just keep that a secret okay.

Got to see Teresa and Marc. Tracy called me over last Friday so we could hang out and see them. Marc finally got the job he's been working hard to get. Good for him. Went to an irish pub in the Valencia district -- also known these days as hipsterville as Eugene likes to call it, with all their fucking fixed gear bikes... I mean really, I can't enjoy a nice walk through that street without running into those dreadful things. I can see why he'd get irritated. I mean okay I get it, and just cause you can't gain weight doesn't mean your cool. 

I have stopped wearing vans cause theres just too many of them out here, thanks hipster douchebags. I digress...Before I get off topic, we hung out at this irish pub and got my usual. Newcastle.

After a few hours of avoiding this one drunk girl from puking at us, we finally left and went back to Tracy's for a game of Dominos. Marc kicked our asses, we played up til we all scored 250 pts. Nice. Marc was so eager to show off his digital camera that he actually took pictures of his domino blocks during a game not knowing he just showed us his hand. Haha. Turned out that didn't matter cause he still won. Fucker.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

I guess I'm partial when it comes to 60's French Pop Artist Serge Gainsbourg. I have three of his albums and I enjoy listening to them. It just never gets old. A ladies' man in the same vein as James Bond. He embodied the cheesyness of a flomboyant swinging man, never politically correct, often times controversial. Married to beautiful 60's actress Jane Birkin. She collaborated with him in the album "monsieur gainsbourg", (je t'aime moi non plus).

Anglo-French singer, actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg possesses that same charm as her late father, while having the elegant beauty of her mother Jane Birkin.

"A cinq heures cinquante-cinq" starts out on the first track, 5:55 - which also bears the name of the album. Interestingly though, all but one of the tracks were in English, with "Tel que tu es" a - tribute to her late father. With songs all composed by Air's Jean-Benoit-Dunkel and Nicolas Godin. The next few tracks progresses through a journey-like sequence, often demonstrating penchants for day-dreaming and contemplative moods ending with a remix of the first track.

5:55 ranks as one of my favorite albums of 2007.(The album came out in 2006). It's simple, it's elegant, and subtle.












Top to Bottom: Comic Strip, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Blog site is working, (wohoo) it's bee a while. A lot has changed since my last blog. Going back to blogging again.

After wrestling with the idea that spanned weeks and months of self-debate, I went out last week and got an iPod. The inevitable has happened. While it's true you can survive without one, that notion only applies to those whose never had it, (but i could be wrong). But once you get hooked, it's over, I can't imagine not having one, and I can't imagine how I could have gone on for so long not having one. At some point I tried convincing myself NOT to get one, however, the nagging inner voice of a 10 year old kid always prevails, so from there I shifted my position to that of a person trying to justify forking out $325.00 of my hard earned money for this musical device.

It wasn't that hard for me to think of a few good reasons why I should get one, and as a matter of fact, that decision to get one, turned out to be an easy one to make.

What a difference an iPod makes: Long strolls in SF seemed more pleasant, adding color and excitement. I'm actually enjoying my walks now, since my iPod affords me the luxury to insulate myself away from obnoxious people at work and when I'm on the BART. It's a great way to tune yourself out of irritating situations, fortunately for me I can listen to my iPod all day at work.

Can't wait to walk around the city again tomorrow.

I was actually saving up for an electric guitar. I used to know how to play, but over the years, that interest had been replaced by other distractions, such as relationships, school, and the turntable which I still love...Father taught me some chords when I was young and I learned a few chords on my own, it's been so long, but I've been having this itch to play again. I had an acoustic guitar, but I don't know where that went. A real good electric guitar these days can go starting from as much as $500.00 dollars which isn't bad. I can always get that later.

Mike and his sisters went back to San Diego on Wednesday.

We did the tourist thing. Went to Fisherman's Wharf. Then on to North Beach and China Town. From North Beach we took a Cable Car ride back to downtown Union Square. It was only my second time riding on one. I normally don't do this kind of thing. $5 for a cable car fare? wow. But I had fun.

Funny. I forgot how charming San Francisco can be. I've been so busy moping around and whining about how much its changed, but underneath the surface, SF is still a beautiful city. It still has a lot to offer, it has a vibrant art scene and the Indie music circuit still thrives.

The dot.com bust really kicked San Francisco in the ass, and when the industry imploded, the dot.com nazis began to flee the city. My friends had seen this coming, some have left the city to pursue new things in NYC, some went to Hawaii, others traveled to eastern Europe. Including me and my girlfriend at the time (To Hawaii). We had a hunch that SF was about to get hit, not just economically but culturally too, and it was time to get out of dodge, within a year -- it did, not because we had any solid facts to back it up, but it was more of a gut feeling, and sure enough we were right. Today the city is on a transition. It has survived the dot.com bust, although it may never recapture that same magical aura it once had--(as far as the" scene") like it did from 1998 to 2001, something new and different will come along, it always does.

Sometimes it takes a perspective of an outsider like my friend Mike to help me appreciate my city. He says the city seems to have a lot to offer, and I think he's right about that. It doesn't hurt to stoop to a tourist level to really see that. --Of course this does not mean I'll be making frequent visits to Fisherman's Wharf anytime. I fucking hate that place. I still plan to leave one day. But until then, this is home. It has been for most of my life. I've learned to appreciate this city once more--sans the cynicism.

Theres something very liberating about wanting and liking, and appreciating the things you have in the present moment. I think it's fine to think about the future, but as my old ex had taught me, finding happiness with what you have now is also important.

Having digestive issues today so I'm skipping dinner.
This place looks much better now after taking out the garbage and few of the bottles, took care of the clutter as well. It looked a lot worse earlier. I get irritated at the way I let my place go. I hate the kind of mood clutter can do to my own personal well being, not to mention the distraction it creates. Now I can finally relax. Just a few minor details that needs to be done, but that can wait later. I hate doing the dishes. I don't know how the dishes ends up looking the way it does now, it looks like a landfill. As for the living room, it now looks like --- a living room. I try to find a balance between cleanliness while careful of not becoming so anally retentive about how my place looks. I'm okay as long as it looks habitable.

I spent the evening hanging with Mike and his sisters at Haight Street.

Came home around 8pm and talked to Nichelle on the phone for a little bit. The two of us are going out drinking Wednesday night. She wants to check out the Irish Pubs in the city. But I suggested to Nichelle that we go back to the same German Bar we went to the last time, but she didn't want to. Might had to do with us getting kicked out the last time we went there after a fight involving our group. I thought it'd be funny though if the two of us just showed up and sat on the same stool we sat before and acted as if nothing ever happened. I could still persuade her. But we'll see.

Wheels Of Steel

Mike came up with his sisters Tiffany and Diane to San Francisco. I also got my turntables and Wax back. Been hanging around with them since Sunday night. It's great to see Mike again, we had a lot of catching up to do. We mostly talked about life in general, we talked about Eugene and Jenn back in San Diego while remembering the good times we all had down there.

At home I took some time to examine my old Turntable set. The thing looked so foreign. It was a bit confusing putting the whole thing together. It just looked so foreign. And that's when it hit me: two years have gone by since the last time I've seen them. I couldn't figure out for the life of me which jack went in to where. It took me 45 minutes to make the mixer work right. But patience finally paid off and it worked great. After that it was time to test it out, it didn't take very long for me to get used to the mixing. It was second nature to me, like riding a bike. Now I can blow my money on vinyl again!!!

Sign Of The Times

There is nothing more I hate than fear and the effect it could do to people especially when mass hysteria is involved. Fear is such a powerful force when not put in check.

People have a reason to be cautious, that i understand. It's unfortunate but that's the kind of world we live in today, but fear at the cost of compromising freedom and logic reasoning is something I can't tolerate. Ok. I'll get off my high horse now.

Jennifer and I were riding on BART today and found an unclaimed backpack. I looked at it and started to wonder about it myself. But Jennifer got all excited about it and so did the other passengers. Suddenly people were starting to fear the worse. So I called the call box and reported it to the operator, on the next stop the train stopped and the police came over with his trusty German Sheppard and took the thing away, it turned out to be just some clothing. The whole thing was just stupid to begin with. There's risks in everything we do. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breathe and use your right judgment. I don't know why I did what I did. Don't know if I felt like my life was in great danger or if I just got swept along every one else's hysteria. The whole thing was just ridiculous.

I don't mind working saturdays once a month. 4 hours went by pretty fast. I just got home a minute ago. Checked my voice mail, Nichelle called. Guess I should call her later.

This is frustrating me. i want an ipod. But looking through my finances it's just not a practical idea for me to do this. Fuck. It's gonna take at least two more weeks before i could get one.

This is taking longer than I thought it would take...

lord of the rings

Burger Bistro in downtown SF serves the best burgers in my opinion. I love their burgers and its the only place where I would ever eat one. (screw fast food places whose names are not even worth mentioning).

But on this day, I went for their onion rings. Bad mistake. I came back to work after lunch and I was hurting real bad. My stomach felt like it was going places in all directions. It was the grease. Even after I got home I was still hurting and had to go on a few trips to the bathroom. Those rings kicked my ass. Well, that's the end of that venture. From now on I'm just sticking to their burgers which is still the BEST. I'll take the onion ring fiasco in stride as nothing more than an isolated incident. Gotta watch those from now on.

Cut Chemist

I'm beat. I didn't get home last night until after 10 pm. I went straight from work to a quick dinner then went to amoeba records to see Cut Chemist do a live show. It was great as always. I took some photos of the show. I plan to post them very soon. There was a live drawing on stage from this Artist whose name is Forrest Stearns who was traveling with Cut Chemist. I'm glad I got to see him up close. Cut Chemist is a great artist. I think even better than DJ Shadow even though I have much respect for Shadow's work, even if he gets a bit weird sometimes with his music. After the show I got his new cd and got him to sign his autograph on the front of the disk booklet using a silver maker, he even signed a limited edition Forrest Stearns poster of a Cut Chemist sketch that came with the cd. That's two autographs from Cut Chemist!!! How awesome is that!