Wonton Soup

NYR 2012

Okay, I'm just spitballing these right now, but off the top of my head, here are some New Years Resolutions:

1. Spend less money on alcohol (not to be confused with stop drinking)
2. Go see more live music
3. Save money and use it for traveling
4. Take more pictures (includes being more comfortable taking pictures out in public)
5. Get better at UMvC3 (video games are how I stay home to save money)
6. Talk to my sister more (she's going to be starting high school!)
7. Stay abreast of current events (so I actually have relevant/interesting subject matter to discuss with people)
8. Get better headphones/earbuds (noise canceling > blasting your music, killing your eardrums)
9. Cook more (eating out leads to more drinking and of course it costs more)
10. Get back into resistance training (it's been more difficult since gyms are as accessible/affordable in NY compared to SoCal)
11. Find a job at a company in an industry that I enjoy and relate to
12. Film, edit and post a video beyond random cellphone vids
13. Help a friend find a job

Towards the end of last year, I had intended to make myself into a workaholic.  I'm semi-reconsidering that stance, though at this point it wouldn't be such a bad things to lean towards that end of the spectrum.  I don't want the emptiness of such a life with seemingly no true endpoint, but setting goals and experiencing a sense of accomplishment along the way should set at least a few good things in motion.

Lost in the shuffle of NYR's is the effect of (and almost dependence on) other people.  We don't live in vaccuums and we can't accomplish everything alone - we just have to be more in-control of our interactions and stay cognizant of ourselves through the course of them.  I'm a stern believer that blaming your failures on other people is weak and unproductive.  Own your failures and your successes will be more meaningful.

Happy new year, all!

[Note: I used to never make these things because it seemed hokey/uncool, but there really isn't any harm in them, so why not?  If you're turned off by a pending sense of disappointment due to failing to keep your resolutions, that speaks to the expectations you have of yourself and your general outlook on how you go about your life.  I'm not high-strung or "spiritual", but I would like to have the general opinion that my life is not just a strain on others and a waste of resources over the course of years.  There's a sliding scale for the subjective measure of how we view what it means to live a decent life and I'd like to nudge my placement a little further up from the low end, that's all.]

The Town

Before moving to New York, I lived for a few months in Oakland.  It wasn't a long time, but I had the mindset that it was going to be, i.e. I had already accepted Oakland as my new home.  Thus, I have fond memories and was proud to live there.  I'll definitely visit - I'm working on that.

 

[Pictures in order: Braved the rain for my first A's game, Rooting on the A's as they took down the Giants in a series sweep, MC Hammer bobblehead from the last game I went to, Best Value in America, My "closet", Waiting for the BART at 19th, Lake Merritt]

Quick Update

I live in Brooklyn, NY now. More on this later.

Video Aging

When you're young, you have a lot of free time.  In my generation, we were still playing outside when we could.  As we grew up a little more, cable television was more prevalent in more households, increasing hours of television being watched.  MTV by then had a more diverse selection of music videos (not to mention they actually played music videos) and things got even more interesting when our cable provider finally picked up BET.  There was also The Box for requesting (the usually better) videos.  

Point being, young people are pretty on top of their shit when it comes to music videos and seeing the newest videos as they premiere.  TRL, 106 & Park type shows doing their version of Top 40 type programming made sure people kept abreast of what "should be" the popular videos.  When you're a kid, you get tired of seeing the same damn videos and you're incredulous when the hosts/veejays introduce something like it's new when it's such old hat to you.  You're like "who hasn't seen this yet??"

Well, when you get older and have a (working) life, you're that old fart who gets put on to "new" shit that's old news to younger people.  That's why you might catch someone mention a song/video to someone younger and the younger person will bust out that "yeah...." type response, indicating that it's a dead horse that they don't care to discuss any further, and not with an out-of-touch fogey.  

But then came YouTube, Daily Motion, World Star, general internetting on work computers.  Now, you get put right back into that seat of having new shit brought to your attention.  However, you still get emails from friends with older videos (you can tell by when they're posted) or they'll post them on one of their social media profiles.  The problem this time isn't that they don't have the access to breaking news/entertainment (e.g. not being home to watch MTV's The Grind or BET Spring Bling), but rather there's so much access that the distractions have to compete with each other just to distract you.  People email you, Friends post on Walls, RSS feeds update, Twitter tweets, Tumblr tumbles - there's almost no excuse to not have seen the latest Yung Joc video... except for every other video on the internet.  

Then there's the aspect of not caring to keep up with people increasingly younger than you, but that's another discussion.

 

Play-By-Play

From All-Star Weekend:

 

 

Some pictures:

 

Tight Budget Daycation

While I'm still looking for a 'real' job, the temp gigs haven't been coming in as often as they used to; thus I've been made to live below an even lower means.  I spend a lot of my time searching the latest job postings, applying to postings in area/industries I hadn't before and writing up cover letters for these applications.  It's true what they say: looking for a job is like a full-time job.  And like a full-time job, it can rack your brain - so some time out and semi-away is needed every now and then just to refresh, recharge and breathe in some non-computer-exhaust air.  

One of the benefits of living where I do in SoCal, despite the lack of nightlife options, is the convenience of daytime options.  The main one being close enough to drive to the beach on whim.  Just a few miles and minutes away, I can easily be anywhere from San Clemente/Dana Point to Newport/Huntington Beach.  Usually, I opt for the more chill spots instead of the crowded tourist attractions, so I'll head to Strands or Crescent Bay.  

The other day, it was a chill afternoon for the main beach at Laguna, so I figured I'd just chill there for a bit.  Besides the beach, there's also a Nike store there (225 Forest) that's one of their active sports stores (6.0, Hurley, Converse) and they usually have a pretty dope art piece in the center of the store.  This time around it was the new Dalek piece.  

I'm tempted to just go to the beach all the time, but then how will I ever actually get a job??  With the forecast of rain looming this week, I should have a lot of job search time to put in, so.... great.  I'm definitely thankful for my tax refund (I usually file really early) and FYI for you Conservatives: I'm not on (f)Unemployment, living it up on taxpayer dime.

Here are some pics:

piano for anyone to play

sunset x beach x piano x pch

another sunset shot

On the way back, there was an accident passing by the toll road offramp, so it backed traffic up leaving the beach.  I hit a red light when I got to the intersection where the accident was and busted out  my camera.  This old dude on a motorcycle got hit by some chick in a Civic.  By the time I got there, his motorcycle was laying on the street while he was kicking back on the hood of her car, talking on his cellphone.  If you look closely, you can see her chilling in her driver seat, too.

Cameras Sitting Around

Found these cameras in the garage.  

via eldoggrag.tumblr.com

Blogged a post on my Tumblr featuring some cameras I've been holding onto and haven't used in a long while. Some older ish than you might expect...

Travel Theme #1: W Hotels

So, as I mentally formulate the list(s) of places that I would like to travel to, I have a nagging propensity for putting them together in relation to different themes.  If it doesn't fit a particular theme, then it won't make it onto that specific list - no matter how many recommendations and raving reviews I hear/read.  Of course, it may make another, but then that would require another theme in itself - and not some cop-out theme like "Other" or "Get Around to It".

I'll jot down some of these themes as they come to mind and perhaps edit them as additional locations spring into contention.

My first theme, as the title reveals, is W Hotels.

How can you look at the above image of the W in Barcelona and not want to go there?  If you read a previous entry of mine that included my dream companies to work for, you might have a hint now as to why I listed W Hotels as one of them.  I figure working for a company that has locations in most places I'll ever want to go would be a great benefit for my travel ambitions.

That aside, the hotels themselves are nice.  They aren't those motels you have to crash at when everywhere else is full so you lay the comforter down on the floor because you don't trust the carpet and don't want to walk around in shoes all night.  Their designs and interiors are bolder than the normal neutral/pleasant hotels frequented by business travelers or families.  They have a bit of flair and they're fun.  They're not cheap, but from their pictures alone, they look to be experiences in themselves.  It would definitely be a fun list to check off items on.  Too bad there isn't one in the Philippines; I might even consider trying to work there if it ever opened up.

Here are a few snaps from the Washington DC location I went to:

[Photos taken by me except the Barcelona image (obviously) and the J&G signage, both from the W Hotels site]

New Years Resolutions - 2011

That's right: I'm not too cool for these things.  Here are a few that come to mind:

1. Walk my dog more -- I was really bad at this last year.  It's a little tricky when you have a black dog with a thick coat and it's hot/sunny out - plus I live in a woodsy type area so his paws, legs and underside can get really dirty when walked in the morning (dew/sprinklers).  I need to work this into my schedule like I do with my gym time.
2. Take more interesting pictures -- This resolution is deceptively simply stated, but carries some bigger implications.  Along with this comes traveling more.  I was going through my photos earlier (I got my current computer just about a year ago so it basically has one year's worth of photos on them since I decided to start clean(er) with my files and have more open space on my harddrive) and I noticed my photos in NY, DC and SF were way more interesting than the ones I take normally that are more or less pictures of people I'm eating at places with.  Thus, I need to cut back on eating out so much and going out drinking so that I can save my money and go places.  I'm tempted every day to sell my car and move to NY, but I know that I want to go to the Philippines before I do that - something I know I won't be able to do once I'm out in NY just scraping by.  One more budgeting concern that influences this is going to see shows.  Live music is great and I definitely feel like I miss out when I don't go to certain shows, but those costs can add up pretty quickly.  Tickets can be like $20 (plus service charge maybe), but then you might get a drink or two at the venue.  Most shows will be in LA, so there's gas money spent on the trip.  Parking might cost you a few dollars, if you can't find street parking.  You might decide to grab dinner with friends before the show and maybe get some grub afterwards, even more drinks.  You see where I'm going with this.  Basically, "take more interesting pictures" is a list of New Years resolutions in itself.
3. Work towards getting a job I want at a company/environment that I like.  -- This is a whole blog entry unto itself, so I'll just leave it at that.  Actually, just in case there's any chance this could help (because it can't hurt): My dream companies to work for are Red Bull, Nike (incl. SB, 6.0) and W Hotels.

That's all for now; I'm trying to keep it simple.  Does that count as a resolution?  That's more like a theme...

Feeling Red

 

Skipping through some older entries of my friend Maya's blog, it reminded me of a product sample I recently got around to trying.  A few months or so ago, I received some Shu Uemura Red:juvenus.  I finally tried it out last week and I love it.  It's kind of amazing.  My skin felt clean, clear, not dry - basically vitalized, and we're in the winter months.  Not surprisingly, it's pretty expensive - the "value size" lotion is $80 for 450 ml.  ...Yeah, I know.  Along with great power comes great financial liability.

I don't currently have the luxury to be buying products at that price point regularly, so I haven't re-upped with the normal size bottle, but it is starting to bring back my old penchant for getting into products.  For now, I'm sticking with the Kiehl's and Shiseido that I've been using, though I have to admit those aren't the cheapest of products themselves.  For whatever reason, my skin doesn't react too well to (cheaper) products I used to use regularly only a couple of years ago.  What a luxurious curse to have been afflicted with.

I know it's a little metro-y to even start talking about beauty products, but if you think about it, they kind of represent everything about our society on the whole: they scour nature for plants they can use for bettering our lives, there is an innate focus on looks, products are marketed to appeal to our nature and desires, and the packaging is designed to call on our aesthetic senses and subconscious appreciation.  Most everything that happens out in the world today is reflected in what goes into making and selling beauty products.

Red:juvenus, I miss you.