Day 181: road to somewhere

Hey, remember the foggy road to nowhere I pass by on my daily walks? This is what it's supposed to look like.

Day 180: so tendah, oh so tendah

Considering I'm planning on scaling Half Dome, a steep 8.2 mile hike (that involves cables...so you know it's gotta be intense!) sometime this summer, I figured I should try and up my physical activity level. I started by taking a nice long 4.7 mile bike ride. Now that's not too far when it comes to bike rides, but when you double that and when half of the ride looks like this picture...well, that's a different story.

Day 179: beat(en by) LA

I'm starting to think I'm bad luck. I haven't been to a game that the Giants have won since I watched them play at Wrigley Field in Chicago. To add insult to injury, they had to lose to the Dodgers tonight.

On the plus side, however, a friend did hook me up with suite level tickets. I've never seen a game from a ballin' suite with couches, tv's, and mini fridges before, so at least I got to watch them lose in luxury.

mm2

I tend to listen to music in widely varying phases (I could be into Chuck Mangione one week, Oasis another week, and The Roots the week after), so this flavor of the week is Streetlight Manifesto's "Would You Be Impressed." You've probably never heard of them...but I have, and that's the important thing. It may be too soon to say that these guys are gonna be at the forefront of a resurgence of ska, but hey, at least they have cool music videos.

"Ooh I love this song! Is this the snowpeas?" (I think she meant 'Black Eyed Peas')
-VR

Day 178: walk oakland, bike oakland

Surely you all remember Sunday Streets SF, which is basically a citywide event in which certain streets in different neighborhoods in San Francisco are closed to bikers and walkers in order to promote community involvement by allowing residents to easily get around the urban environment without a vehicle.

Anyways, Oakland, inspired by the popularity of the event that the city across the bay had been hosting, decided to have a "Sunday Streets" of their own. Oaklavia is basically the same concept as Sunday Streets SF, the only difference that it's in Oakland instead. Although the route wasn't as long or as lively as the San Francisco version, I'd have to say that a decent crowd was able to make it out today, considering that the Pride Parade was in full effect today, with Backstreet back alright.

super comments!

Apparently I got a "Super Comments Award" from my friend and fellow blogger, Julie at "Roads are Made by Traveling." Go me. And thanks Julie!

So let's see here...I think the rules are...
1. Thank person who nominated you...check.
2. Copy the award. Paste it in your blog...ah, here we are:

...check.
3. Link to the person who gave me this award...check.
4. Answer the 10 questions that come with the award...getting to that.
5. Nominate of few of your favorite bloggers for the award...ehh, I'm just gonna choose some folks randomly for this "award," though you guys can just ignore the "super comments" part about it, and just re-post this as a "mark called me out in his blog" award.

Kim at "Living Indescribably Forever-Lasting Experiences"...because you need more than 2 posts.
Amanda at "Unfinished" ...because this would be an interesting post for your 2 readers.
Carlos at "the warm thrill of confusion/that space cadet glow" ...because this'll give you something to talk about on your monthly post.
Beverly at "Yacketeeyakking" ...because I know that you're trying to get into writing more thought-provoking entries, and re-posting this probably isn't gonna help with that...but hey, just wanted to say hi!
Joan Rose at "A Cuppa Joan" ...because I'm on a mission now to get you to start blogging again.
And finally Raphael at "A Merankorikku Boy" ...because I know you're going to answer these questions with the same amount of seriousness as I am...which is to say, hardly any.

And now, THE MEME.
1. Why do you blog?
As I mentioned on my inaugural post some 1,028 days ago, this is my 6th blog I've created in the past..nearly 10 years, really. I used to write in these things to vent awkward teenage hormonal imbalances...now I do it mostly as an excuse to take a picture everyday.

2. What are your 3 best memories?
Oh, there's way too many to choose from, and some of my best memories I'd rather not make public. Maybe I'll make a post of them in the future.

3. If you had to change your real name what would you change it to?
Max Power. I saw it on a hair dryer.

4. What are five things you can’t live without?
-a steady and readily available connection to the internet
-good conversation, with or without good wine
-good wine, with or without good conversation
-my imagination, because I'm not entirely sure what else I'd do on my commute to work
-a toothbrush...have you ever tried to go 3 or 4 days without one? It's a harrowing experience

5. What are the 4 best books you’ve ever read?
"Deadeye Dick" by Kurt Vonnegut
"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk
"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Planet Simpson: How A Cartoon Masterpiece Defined A Generation" by Chris Turner
Any of the Wayside Stories books...remember those???

6. Tell me something unique and interesting about yourself.
Sarcasm is second nature, so don't take me too seriously and laugh at all my stupid jokes.

7. What do you love best about yourself?
See above.

8. What is the best movie ever made?
There's a difference between the "best movie" ever made, and my favorite movie. Because I can say that Back to the Future and The Godfather trilogies are some of my favorite movies, but they're probably not the best movies ever made (ok, The Godfather kinda is). And Vertigo and 2001: A Space Odyssey are probably some of the best movies ever made, but they're certainly not my favorites.

9. If you had a “freaky friday” experience who would you trade places with and why?
Some sort of animal, like a dog or a butterfly or an ewok or something. But if I had to choose a human, first, I'd want to trade places with someone who's 10, so I can feel the rush of energetic youth again. Then I'd want to trade places with someone who's 30 or 40 years older than I am, so I have an idea of what I have to look forward to.

10. What’s the best part about being a woman?
I'm not...or should I change the question to better fit me? Naw, too lazy to think of an answer at this point.

"the Haight-Ashbury is a district where Haight Street and Ashbury Street made love and gave birth to hippies"
-BS

Day 177: not that there's anything wrong with that

Visited the Pride Celebration in San Francisco today. Other than being the largest pride celebration in the nation, they're also the longest running of its type in the world (it is 40 and fabulous, after all).

While I came on the 'wrong' day (the Backstreet Boys are playing tomorrow, apparently), there was no shortage of colorfully dressed and sexually ambiguous individuals there (though I probably saw more saggy and old breasts than I had hoped to).

Day 176: it's in the game

For those of you wondering what my justification for purchasing a PS3 was, it mostly stems from my uncle giving me the Xbox 360 that came free with his laptop purchase. Not sure what to do with a system in which I only know of one or two games that exist for it and definitely not wanting it to go to waste, I figured I had an excuse to splurge on something fun for myself and traded it in for a system I at least have some familiarity with.

Turns out I don't have as much familiarity with it as I thought I did. It's been at least 14 years since I've purchased a new video game console for myself (a PS1 and an N64 in 1996, fyi. A friend gave me my PS2, I bought my parents a Wii back in 06, but that technically isn't mine so it doesn't count. Also I bought a DS in 07, but I'm talking about real consoles here, people), and boy, have things changed since the last time I really sat down and owned a state-of-the-art system. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of features that I am able to take advantage of on this thing (downloadable content, an online community, blu ray player...and I'm sure there's much more), so allow me to lock myself in my room and hermit up for the next week or 4, and I'll let you know how much I've discovered about what these kids nowadays are into.

Day 175: weed eats

Seen on my evening walk the other day, but decided to take a picture of it today. I'm tempted to just call the number just to find out what kinds of services I'd be getting from someone who's offering to "weed eat dump run."

Day 174: store room

Here at mS Wineries, we just finished our latest batch, a vintage 2010 Cabernet Franc ice wine. This particular blend of icewine yields aromas of strawberries and rhubarb. It pairs well with cooked or baked fruit courses, and is best contrasted with foods that contain hazelnut and dark chocolate.

Because of the rare and exotic quality of this blend, and the fact that Cabernet Franc ice wine is pretty damn expensive, I only have a limited supply, and probably won't be able to just give these out as easily as I have with my blends from the past.

Anyways, onto the picture. What you see is mS Wineries' current stock (very small at this point, but pretty good considering I've only been doing this for 4 months). So here's what we got:
-Half empty bottle with amber colored liquid inside: Oak-Aged California Whiskey, bottled May 2010
-Gun shaped bottle: Oak-Aged California Whiskey, bottled May 2010
-Dark bottle with mS label: Merlot, Vintage February 2010
-Smaller dark bottles with black seal: Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, Vintage June 2010
-Clear bottle with black seal: Oak-Aged Gerwurtztraminer, Vintage June 2010
-Clear bottles in the back with gold seal: Gerwurtztraminer, Vintage May 2010.

Day 173: road to nowhere

I've made it a point to begin a workout routine (or at least include some sort of physical activity) everyday this week. In the evenings, I try and run/walk up this steep hill by my house (for reference of how steep it is, if you went to UCLA, think the residential hill steep. if you lived in hayward, think Cal State Hayward hill steep...and I think that categorizes all of my readers, really).

South San Francisco being foggy at least 6 out of 10 days, it's normal to see nothing but gray skies once I reach the top of the hill, even in the midst of the second day of summer. It works out in my favor however, since I once famously and drunkenly stated that "I get uncomfortable over 70 degrees."

Day 172: while perusing through...

In my attempt to ensure I don't end up with a vitamin D deficiency, I've made it a point to take a walk in a different direction downtown for at least 15 minutes during my lunch hour everyday. Expect to see alot of these downtown stroll themed picture of the day posts in the next coming weeks or months...I have a feeling it's going to be a quiet and boring summer otherwise.

music monday

Those of you on twitter are well aware of #musicmonday, the weekly ritual where fellow tweeters share links or lyrics or what have you to music they've taken a fancy to and would like to share with the world. A friend of mine (check her out, I've taken a fancy to her random but nonetheless entertaining and usually insightful musings on life from the eyes of an employee of a popular hardware retail chain) partakes in this ritual on her blog, and citing inspiration from her, I'd like to join in too.

So my offering today is Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing. Other than building a song around a unique chord progression and some pretty sick riffs, what I really appreciate about the track is how he incorporated a glockenspiel in the background...like, really really well. (by the way, for those of you who don't know, a glockenspiel is...ah, well you can google it.)

"it's like sexual frustration slowly (and seductively) oozing out of a genie bottle"
-BM

Day 171: car wash!

Haven't had one of these in a while. Ya know, amidst all the dents and scratches, a lack of hubcaps and a non-existent fuel cap, my car actually looks halfway decent when it's clean

Day 170: a live interactive journey

Went to the opening reception of "Elements of Hip Hop: The Art of a Movement" at the African American Art and Culture Complex today. The event featured improvisational artwork (graffiti artists were painting the walls throughout the night), b-boy battles, break dance competitions, and all the old school hip hop and r&b on rotation to make you nostalgic for middle school dances.

One exhibit that stood out was that for SpacEKrafT, an audio-visual experience designed for travel or operation in space beyond the earth's atmosphere or in orbit around the earth. (::shrugs::). These guys are not to be confused with SpaceKraft, the world's leading supplier for liquid semi-bulk packaging, but are rather musical artists in their own right (albeit, the music they produce requires a very acquired taste). What was cool about their little exhibit was how they let all their guests take a part in painting their walls.

Everyone else did all the drawing. The best I could do was color. I mean, check out that sick shading job I did with the gray in that little box.

Okay, I lie. It only did that because the marker was messed up.

Day 169: familiar scenes

Oh nothing special really. Just yet another obligatory picture of the Bay Bridge since I happened to be able to view it from a good angle today.

stuff no one told me

Why can't I ever follow my own advice? (the advice now being 'run, run while you can!')

This guy has got it right.

"paco...that's a terrible name for a human being"
-VS

Day 168: night life

that's a fine lookin' bird, right there

Tonight at the California Academy of Sciences NightLife, I learned that what the Galapagos Flightless Cormorant looked like.

I also learned that someday, I will want a fish tank full of jellyfish to act as the coolest looking lava lamp ever.

Day 167: visual communications

Congrats, you big baby!

Now you finally have the time to help me design a better wine label.

Day 166: strategic developement

Did they misspell "development" on my new ID card?

Yes, yes they did.

watch what happens

There's a certain level of excitement when one becomes an intern in a field that they are genuinely interested in. There's so much hope and doe-eyed curiosity as to what sort of opportunities lie ahead of you as you begin your first new job as an underling/minion to someone who will potentially be your first employer or at least the writer of a recommendation letter that will get the attention of your first employer.

Having spent some time in the real world already and this not being my first internship, the excitement from my new position isn't what it used to be. Maybe it's because of the the major pay cut, the fact that taking this position part-time has put my current breadwinning (read: soul sucking) current job at risk since my boss has taken it as a declaration of my intent to eventually leave so we'll "see what happens" (translation: we're gonna let you go before you decide to leave us) and that all in the end, it's still only a temporary position.

But looking at this from an alternative to the "gotta make that money and pay those bills" perspective that has pervaded my yuppie lifestyle as of late, I realized that this is more about the experience and about setting a foundation towards what may potentially be more exciting and interesting work (and something I may actually be interested in doing). No, the public sector isn't as glamorous as the private sector pays and with the state of the economy at the moment, I really shouldn't give up a job that sustains me and my wine making hobby for an industry that is facing multi-million dollar budget shortfalls.

But honestly, I'm just really really getting tired of staring at bus schedules all day.

"I really need to be paid to be me, it's retarded how amazing I am"
-KF

Day 165: samTrans

So I'm an intern again. While it felt strange to be babied in the workplace again ("Is this your first job?" "Have you ever interned before?"), it was refreshing to meet interesting people and experience a new (and a more exciting...relatively. It's still transit) workplace.

More on this later.

Day 164: commencement

Graduations round 2...

Fight!

Day 163: 8 clap

It's been a while since I've found myself on campus. So much has changed since I finished my tenure there 2 years ago, and watching yet another one of my friends graduate only tugs even more at the nostalgia-strings.

Day 162: westwood bound

This is the first time in years that I've gone to LA in a car other than my own. It feels weird to be a passenger again, but I've forgotten how much easier it is to actually not be driving. Plus, now I get to enjoy the "sights"  on highway 5.

Fun fact: I'm typing this while en route. Man, I gotta be a passenger more often.

Day 161: dance, baby, dance

Visited a Baby's R Us for the first time in lord knows how long (these are much, much less entertaining than Toys R Us). Couldn't help but notice the "Dance Baby Dance" CD that happened to be for sale.

Curious, I went to look this CD online, and my, were the results horrendous. The music was some mutation of nursery rhyme classics such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Old McDonald with a cheap and generic dance "beat" in the background. Ever hear the background music on a Magic Mic and how computerized and dive-lounge-ish it sounds? Or back in the internet's early days when people would embed cheap sounding midi versions of their favorite songs on their custom AngelFire or Tripod webpage? Yeah, it sounds worse than that.


Anyways, if you look closely at what I circled on this picture, you can see from my vantage point what looks like a product named "Lil' Face Butt." No way. Then I looked down and saw that it was actually "Lil' Face Butter." Eh.

Day 160: what I stare at all day

Got one of these fancy schmancy adjustable space age ergonomic keyboard trays installed today.

I must not be using it right cause my back hurt especially more when I got home today. That, or this thing is working correctly, it's just my body isn't used to good posture.

Day 159: free

As if I haven't pitched it enough, the Car Free Challenge Week has finally come to an end. Did I reduce the amount of miles I drove? Yes (if you don't count some things here and there). Am I more aware of the environmental impacts of excessive oil use? Yes. Would I like to support transit advocacy with a donation to TransForm? Probably not for a while, you guys cleaned me out. Did I enjoy the free beer they gave me at the kickoff party and the end of the week happy hour get together? Oh yes.

To show their appreciation to all the participants, TransForm gave away prizes for various reasons, whether you drove the least or if you raised the most money, or whatever. I was a lucky recipient of one of those prizes (a TransForm water bottle!), for being the runner up to the funniest story (if you haven't already read this on my facebook or twitter, you probably don't know me.
BART Operator: "Please stand clear of the doors."

Overzealous passenger who was possibly on drugs: "Yeah! Stand clear of The Doors! 'Cause Jim Morrison will kick your ass!"

There was also a raffle to give a chance to those who didn't have funny stories or were too lazy to raise money to win some prizes. I normally never win raffles, but today, I was lucky enough to win yet another prize...another water bottle. Yay yuh?

Day 158: post

So I think this is a torrey pine.

Ah, I was right, and now I'll always know what a torrey pine looks like thanks to my postcard buddy.

I guess I really should keep up with my postcrossing. Thing is I've been way too busy (read: lazy) to write to my first postcrosser, someone named 'John' from Taiwan who, according to his profile, is 12 and really likes bears.

Day 157: yelp!

Went to my second Yelp event today, Yelp Softball, the first event being another Yelp Softball game. Today, instead of just sitting on my ass, drinking beer and eating meat, I actually played softball in addition to sitting on my ass, drinking beer, and eating meat.

Day 156: graduate records examination

Took the GRE's this morning (at this location, fyi). Considering I completely forgot about taking the test until a couple of days ago when I received an email and had absolutely no studying put in, I think I did pretty well.

If you want an idea of what to expect, think of the SAT, but about half as long and slightly more difficult questions. In fact, the hardest part of the test was when I had to rewrite the agreement statement that pretty much said that I wouldn't share what I saw on the test with any other individuals...in cursive. Phew.

Day 155: pluots

Ya know, I've passed by the farmer's market in downtown Oakland plenty of times and I know it's here every Friday on 9th and Broadway(anyone wanna get lunch with me in the future?)...I'm not sure why I don't come by more often.

blue knights

In relation to last night's post, I wanted to pay tribute to a fallen institution at my old alma mater, Tennyson High School. As I mentioned earlier, instrumental music has been dropped from my high school's budget, and as such, the program will end (though if I recall, the whole instrumental music budget was $50 for all 3 high schools in the district). In a more affluent neighborhood or a private school, something like this wouldn't have been a case...but remember that this is high school that has consistently received low test scores by state standards in one of the most underperforming districts in the country...but that's a whole different discussion.

So first, some history:

Our band teacher, John Orosco, first took the reins of the Tennyson High School Instrumental Music Department in 1999. His second year there, my freshman year, he managed to rebuild the program, revamped the jazz band, and took the group on its first trip in some 20 years, to Disneyland's Annual Magic Music Days Event.

That year spurred a slew of innovations that the instrumental music department had never seen before, such as the creation of a separate jazz small group consisting of the best musicians at Tennyson. This jazz group ended up being the premiere group to play at all the events that required the school band to show up, and even played some small gigs on the sides on the weekends for parents and friends, local city hall events, and even fundraisers at the local Target.

The mayor of the city, having enjoyed listening to this group over the years, decided
to get the Tennyson High School Blue Knights (as they were now called) to play at the World War II Memorial Opening in Washington DC in May 2004. A major fundraising effort was required, and as most musicians do, the group played for money. There was a record 52 gigs that year, much of which required a major time commitment from the already full time students, many of which who were graduating seniors.

The hard work proved successful, enough was raised for the trip, and the group performed on a national stage. So what was next? What else? Hayward happened to have a sister city in Japan, and in celebration of the many years they shared this sisterhood, the group was asked to play in Japan along with performers from other sister cities from China and Denmark, making history as the only performance group from Tennyson to ever travel abroad.

A few years later, the group traveled again to Japan, once again to celebrate the sisterhood of the cities. By this time, much of the core group had graduated already, so the alumni played a large role in keeping this tradition of excellence alive.

It's been 4 years since that last Japan trip, and unfortunately, Tennyson went through a major overhaul after low test scores prompted the state to take over the administration and therefore, the majority of the budget. As such, less emphasis on the arts and less freedom was given to students when it came to choosing classes, as the school was held to strict and at times unattainable test standards. The band program took a major hit, as those talented kids who would've joined the group were denied the chance to play.

Fast forward to 2010, and here we are, with a crippled program at the mercy of the district budget. I always knew we would all be united again someday, but I didn't think it would be on such non-felicitous terms. It was nice to see everyone again last night, and seeing each other again was like a big family reunion. In the years since, there were some who moved on from music as a focus (myself included), and others who decided to continue to pursue their love of performance. Others had different paths, some were still living out their dreams.

The cafeteria and the stage where we performed all our concerts was adorned with pictures of us throughout the past 10 years last night, and at the end of the concert we all got together for one last jam session (and I even managed to get a solo in...thank goodness I remembered the F blues scale). Once again, it was like old times, and it seemed like nothing had changed (except for the fact some of us got a little fatter).


It's a shame to see an era end like this, especially after all that was accomplished this past decade. The school received its most positive publicity during those golden years, and it wouldn't be right to say it was for naught. We left a legacy, if anything, with Tennyson. We took the school to places it had never seen before, never experienced.

My friend said it best last night when she mentioned that there are those who played football in high school or something, but there was never any guarantee that they'd still be playing football years down the line. As for us? Though the people involved may move on with their lives onto bigger and better things, years down the line, no matter what path we're going down, music will always be a part of us, and we've got the memories to prove it.

Plus, these guys were the ones who helped me spawn the Marktrix:


"well, they play pretty good music for a white bar..."
-AR

Day 154: times are a changin'

It's been a long 4 years since I've taken stage with my high school band as an alumni, and even then, 2 years before that since I had really performed music. Tonight was nostalgic, as it was recently announced that our band teacher was finally being let go after 11 years of service due to the canceling of the instrumental music program at my high school.

We shared some fun times together in high school, and we definitely went places (Disneyland, Washington DC, Japan...twice!), so it was nice to all get together again, considering I hadn't even seen some of these people in years (and this was the first time we've all gotten together since we came of age to drink, so...we celebrated that too).

Day 153: like sparks

Streetside Stories is a San Francisco-based literacy arts nonprofit has helped over 14,000 students to share their life stories, connect with the arts, and improve their literacy skills. Tonight was their anthology release party, so students showcased the stories they wrote and the slideshow videos they created that would be featured on their annual book release "Like Sparks Like Water."

Thanks to my cousin the volunteer and my friend the staff member, I was able to get an invite to this event...but ended up not being able to watch in the end. I was finally able to find my way in at the end, just as this kid was talking about how his brother gave him ninja stars, something I could relate to.

Day 152: challenge

I'm sure you all remember last week when I advocated for the Car-Free Challenge I'd be taking a part in. Today was the kick off party, where we discussed public transit issues over wine, beer, cheese, and crackers in the back of a sporting goods store.

Chatting it up with these relatively young (still older than me, but much younger than my coworkers that I've gotten so used to dealing with) and idealistic non-profiteers who are driven less by the need for stability and a steady paycheck and more by their passions and interests has made me realize that they are where I want to be right now. As for me, I'm where I want to be 10-15 years right now, with the nice tv, the happy paycheck, and the stable but incredibly soul-sucking job.

But one thing. Don't tell them I actually drove more than usual yesterday...I did need to get to the event somehow....shhhhhh.