baby shower time

it's hip to be a single guy at a baby shower these days. or, so i heard.

ready for vacation

my first *real* vacation starts after close of business today.

you should push the play button to the left of this song, and listen to 'holiday' while you read this post.
holiday (not madonna)

what's a *real* vacation? it's a vacation that doesn't include parents, fighting with siblings, meeting a friend/family member and crashing at their place, or any other trip where i was going regardless if i wanted to or not. i'm about to embark on a vacation where me and my friends plan to put stamps in our passports, spend our own hard earned money (some of us), and contribute to some foreign country's tourism industry.

i'm looking forward to coming back to my computer after this *real* vacation, logging into google reader and seeing (2,000) unread posts. i also expect that i won't receive one single text message, or phone call though i'll be carrying my iphone around in airplane mode (with wifi on of course) but mainly for music and maps.

where am i going? europe! specifically london, amsterdam, and barcelona. personally i've started referring to this trip as the ultimate europe trip, though i'm sure millions of people have 'done' europe in a more ultimate fashion, but it's ultimate to me which is all i freakin' care about.

i've already made a list of my todo's. don't ding me for being under-ambitious, this is a living list and can (but probably won't) change at any time.

- london:
eat fish and chips
see miike snow concert (i've bought tix in advance)
eat indian food
see big ben
ride the 'tube' aka the public transport system
drink a guiness
learn some slang
make a friend

- amsterdam:
ride a bike
ride in the canal
see the red light district (look but no touch, c'mon guys)
heinekin factory tour, or just drink a heinekin
vah gough musem
learn some slang
make a friend

- barcelona:
drink sangria on the beach
eat pallela
touch the mediterranean sea
see something gaudi
learn some slang
make a friend

as you can see, my list is not as prolific as some other europe bound travelers you may have met. but really, i'm not someone else, i'm me. i do plan on accomplishing more than this simple list, but those things can't be planned, they need to happen organically. also, notice that there's a few re-occurring goals on these lists. learn some slang and make a friend appear on all three city lists. those two can go hand in hand, and are loosely worded on purpose. i'm not looking to meet a soulmate, or a bff. but i do want to interact with some of the locals and make a friend or two, i figure at most an email penpal but even that's a bit far fetched for my aspirations.

- imaginary scenario:
me, "yo, you from around here?"
potential international friend "[insert some colo loca slang], ya i am. where you from?"
"i'm from san francisco, you know, in the states. i hate calling it 'the states' for some reason. but yea, i'm on vacat- i mean, holiday."
"[insert another local slang word]! well how long you here for?"
"a few days. wanna be friends?"
"uhh... i don't think so. no."

okay, maybe i'm being overly dramatic. but i've heard that us americans have bad reps overseas.

other than that, i don't know what to expect. i've technically been to europe, but i only went to ibiza. ibiza is the european equivalent of las vegas to the united states. you can't come to the usa, only see las vegas, and say that you've experienced the usa. same with ibiza, but it's nothing like vegas.

i am also hoping that the three other people who i am traveling with continue friendship with me after this vacation. when friends spend too much time together there is always the danger of a friend divorce. i'm pretty confident that nothing of that magnitude will happen this time around, but there's always a chance.

overall i'm feeling pretty good about my first *real* vacation. i've got low expectations, high hopes, and i'm packing extra underwear just because you never know what may happen and i'd rather be with more than less when it comes to underwear.

dragon burgers

turkey burgers with vegetarian chili and all the fixin's


and then we saw little dragon rock out a 1 1/2 hr set.

clean new oil

Easter Sunday

bonus: look who showed up!

looking for a morning bender

a few months ago i saw this video created by yourstruly of the morning benders recording session for the song excuses. i wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but i watched the video a second time and made the decision to research this band a bit more. after a few minutes i had made a decision to see them when/if they made their way to SF. last night that happened.






luckily a friend of mine showed up early enough to stand front and dead center. so i took advantage and used my iphone pano app to capture a few panoramic shots.




the finale song was of course the song excuses. however, after watching a handful of excuses live performances i was anticipating a 4 person rendition of the eye and ear catching video. turns out we were in for a special treat, and the stage quickly filled with faces that i had recognized from the video. with flip camera in hand i recorded the entire thing with one shot.
disclaimer: my video is continuous (aka boring) compared to the high quality edited one previously mentioned on this post. also the audio capture by my peauny flip camera is no match for overlaying a studio recorded/mixed/mastered audio track over edited video.



we even met up with lead singer, chris chu, for a quick chat and a photo.



needless to say i had a fantastic time.

10 things i wear around you (redux)

recently jon blogged about his 10 fashion basics. a few other people noted their fashion basics afterward. so i maintain my role as a sheep, insert band wagon jump.

1.) adidas shoes
shoes have to be adidas. i don't know what my fetish with the three strips is, or where it comes from. but an outfit is not complete unless there's adidas on the feet. i was told once that the first things people notice about you is your haircut, and then your shoes. if you're going to be cheap, don't be cheap with those two things. now, once in a while i'll put on some converse all stars. but only once in a while.

2.) jeans
a friend of 6 years noted to me last night, that he has only seen me wear shorts once. the second time we went camping, emphasis on second. legs are meant to be in jeans as far as i'm concerned -just as feet are meant to be in adidas. up until last month i only wore levi's jeans. the original jean. also, a san francisco based brand. i live in sf, so does levi's, it's meant to be! until i discovered raw denim, and nudie jeans. more on that in approx 6 months. it's an entire blog post in itself.

3.) belt
as i'm writing this it seems that my fashion priority list starts at the floor and works on up. feet, legs, and now waist. i am naked without a belt. some day i will have a huge collection of belts, i love them. to me a belt is a subtle yet impactful addition to any outfit. a belt is something rather personal to me, simply because the focal point is normally the buckle, which is right at your crotch. also, your belt is normally hidden. it takes some out of ordinary action like jumping, dancing, or leaning to expose a belt. i feel as though it's similar to those strategically placed tattoos that are only exposed under certain circumstances with certain clothing choices.

4.) jackets
in socal, a jacket is a tough accessory to wear. normally you wear it because it completes your outfit, or you lack the pockets needed to tote all your junk, not because it's cold and you require another layer. it's hot, and the jacket results in a well put together outfit and a sweaty experience. in sf it's a different story, and i love that about sf. the first thing i notice in almost any clothing store is the jackets. if possible i'd have one for each day of the year. the right jacket makes me feel invincible (mainly to cold) but also to carrying stuff sans-bag.

5.) hats
'i gotta start wearin' more hats' is a quote famous with a few of my friends, taken from larry clark's move kids. i love hats, they are a perfect accessory. the right hat can transform your entire mood, demeanor, even the way you walk. i'm trying to find the style of hat that i can pull off. i think i'm more critical on hats than any other garment i wear, probably because i feel like it governs the outfit the most.

6.) accent colors
i rarely am caught wearing a monochrome outfit. san francisco is grey enough without my help, i'm feel the need to bring in a bit of color. i try to have something with color on every outfit. most of the time this is handled by my shoes or belt, but it doesn't stop there.

7.) graphic tees
not too long ago my wardobe consisted of graphic tees, and cheap 'work shirts' from ross or marshall's. work was work and everything else was a tshirt. as i'm expanding my clothing repertoire, i'm staying true to my graphic tee roots. few things are as awesome as your favorite graphic tee, which may change on a regular basis. most of my favorite graphic tees come to me as hand me downs from my younger brother. hand me ups you may say? but i have to say that it's easy to overuse graphic tees, and that's a balance i'm looking to obtain in 2010.

8.) shaving
a man's beard is just as important as his haircut. fresh shave, 5 o'clock shadow, 2 day stubble. it depends on where you're going and who you're going with. sometimes it takes quite a bit of pre-planning to make sure that your beard is where you want it, at the time you want it there. regardless, when your facial hair is in order, your face is in order and that's important.

9.) bags
i love bags. laptop bags, pouches, backpacks, messenger bags, fanny packs, satchels (like indiana jones uses), and any other bag you can think of. if i had my way i'd have a walk in closet for my extensive collection of shoes, belts, jackets, and bags. upon composing this post i didn't realize just how much i cared about outfit accessories and how little i cared about shirts/pants (which i feel are the bread and butter of a wardrobe).

10.) iphone + iphone headphones
what's that? another accessory? you betcha! i have 4-5 sets of iphone headphones, and am constantly buying more. i have at least 7 pairs of other headphones. i love headphones. over ear, earbud, inear, studio monitor, hifi, with headset mic, etc. you name it, i got it or want to get it. but it's essential to have a pair of earbuds at all times. i use them to talk on the phone or listen to music when walking. i'm also notorious for listening to my iphone while in the kitchen cooking. what do i cook to?

not everything is as magical as it seems
Song: Bassnectar - Magical World feat. Nelly Furtado

[to play song in browser, push play button to the left of the link. right click to save-as]

sno-panos

Aash, cutlet, and tadik

for chahar shambei soori i had some people over to enjoy my aash (bean/herb soup), cutlet (potato+ground beef patties), and loobia polo (rice/green beans/tomato). we jumped over fires and sang the song.

rocky road ice cream cones to finish a perfect tuesday new year celebration!

Rocky

lately i've been doodling to music.

i'm not sure if this track is cheesy or inspiring. i'm somewhat embarrassed that i like this more than i hate it. a quote from the latest rocky movie (where he's like 50 years old) is total cheese. but i felt like writing it down when i heard it. and here's what i got.

i love hearing stallone say "not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, her, or anybody!"

maybe i'm just in need of some inspirational motivational rocky balboa can-win attitude with some redux daft punk and piano. wait. who is ever not in need of that?

rollin' & scratchin' (gonzales rework)

[to play song in browser, push play button to the left of the link. right click to save-as]