in simpler times, i had a huge imagination

these days, its harder to have have fun without spending money.




i miss it when things were simpler and having fun meant going exploring the backyard using the trashcan as a shield and a twig+dental floss as a bow & arrow. or imagining my lego blocks to be giant robots and i'd build the most kickass space ships. or when climbing up a bunk bed was actually a challenge.

i used to think that if something at the store didnt have a price tag, it was free. and i was convinced that the left/right turn signal arrows on the dashboard were magic and they'd always tell you when to make a turn. i was a very matter-of-fact kid actually. some of my earliest memories were when my mom was driving me down landess avenue and i'd try to impress her with my (false) understanding of why trees were green or why noses bleed. even though most of it was nonsense, my mom always said "my son is so smart!"

i love my mom. i miss her.

i also remember when my sister used to overpower me all the time. the toddler stage is a vulnerable time for any younger brother because until you gain past 40 pounds, your older sister can beat you up. my sister used to pinch me whenever i looked at her copy of the scholastic book-order. those really thin and colorful catalogs where you check-off little squares for the books you want and you put a check in the mail. and then a few weeks later, the teachers pass out all the order in class like its Christmas in April. and then you look around to see what the other kids bought (heathcliff comics, the rainbow fish, goosebumps). and my sister would force me to play sailor moon with her (she had a huge collect of holographic sailor moon cards). i was always queen barrel. wtf! queen barel is a woman! atleast let me be tuxedo mask or moonlight night! but she'd overpower me. haha lillian. i love her.

i hated piano lessons as a kid. and i hated kumon. the homework was freakin relentless. if you fell behind even a day, itd be impossible to catch up. seriously. how do you expect little children to do 100 pages of long division every week? i was only in 2nd grade! so i'd stash my unfinished homework in the closet drawer. but one day, my mom found out. and i got owned.

i guess it'd be wrong for me to not mention my dad. he's the kind of dad that makes you laugh until you cry. back in the day when desktops were huge and monitors were giant boxes, we started playing around with microsoft paint and we just scribble all over the screen with different colors and laugh uncontrollably for no reason. i guess its a kid thing, but my dad always played along.

i remember when pokemon first came out. i was the first one in my elementary school to catch all 150 pokemon! i was once challenged to name all 150 pokemon in the correct order and i did. i was a freaking pokedex. my favorite pokemon was articuno. i remember when i first fought it, i was like "dang. this pokemon is strong. it froze my blastoise..." and then everyone figured out how to do the cinnabar island/rare candy trick plus the cloning trick with the link cable. then pokemon became lame cause you could just catch mewtwos and use infinite rare candies to level them up to level 199. if you know what im talking about, then we could've been good friends in the 4th grade.

i miss kiddy quirks. im gonna have like 10 kids some day and have myself a good vicarious thrill watching them do funny kid stuff.

plans

there are a few things i would like to do this summer:

- write some yelp reviews.
it's not really about writing the reviews, but its all about the feeling of walking into the right scene with a great meal waiting for you :). days have been made perfect in the following order: grabbing a few friends, driving with the window open, walking down sunset la jolla streets at dusk, and enjoying some great food in an atmosphere full of personality. a recent favorite of mine was el pescador! (*if you like a fresh fish cooked marinated just right on top of a warm loaf of bread or over a light salad w/vinagrette, its pure magic. the place is really casual, and its pretty small, so its not great if you're bringing a crowd. expect around to pay around $7-10 bucks for a quality meal ( i recommend the ahi tuna, snapper, and especially the clam chowder)

- mount the fender on the dining wall and put some photos up
ever since i've moved in, i've been trying to take advantage of the freedom of having my own place. one of these things is the look and feel of the space. its kinda stupid, but i just like giving my space some personality and vibes. trying to go for something clean, mod, yet cozy, but we'll see how this works out. still trying to find some good art for the blank on the walls (some black and whites of cityscapes maybe).

- build a lamp using a plastic cylinder, some white christmas lights, and pages from the bible
just an idea i picked up while sitting on the toilet......doin....you know.

- learn the ins and outs of an SLR camera...and work it.
i want to take some super saturated or black and white street shots like from a lomography camera (they're those cameras that are point-and-shoot and wen you develop the film, you get all sorts of neat colors and focus/blurs)

- write some bossa and gig it in a small scene
my high school band teacher recommended jazz music, and i've loved the stuff ever since. it makes me want to play in a band again! for some good bossa, stan getz, jobim, gilberto, sitti navarro, and more to come, but if you're interested in checking out some sweet sounds, check these guys out. they're from another planet


- spend some time in spain
haha probably not going to happen, but its MY blog right? if you ever go ANYwhere in europe, barcelona is the place to be. i heard someone say that people visit paris and italy, but they live for spain. during my limited time in spain, i can say that i loved every single minute of it: the place is such a kickback, agenda-less place filled with art and good vibes. i'd love to have a couple euros, a backback, and my ipod to just walk the city and enjoy the culture. the food is a bit harder to get used to, but its a small price to pay for the crazy art thats everywhere. my favorite spot was park gaudi which was designed by an artist. i wish we had parks designed by artists. they have mosaics everywhere and the long green parkways and benches to sit and enjoy looking at the Mediterranean sea makes it almost too livable. theres old people kickin it smoking some cigars over boules, people playing the lyre outdoors, and cobble stone paths leading to outdoor patios overlooking the entire town (which lights up at night). you have to see it in person to fully enjoy it, so go if you can! france is overrated anyways.

thats all i can think of for now. until my brain itches next time,

good night!

new place

i moved into my new space about 2 weeks ago, and its been pretty hectic. its a lot less sheltered and much more responsibility to pay bills, buy furniture, clean the place, drive around town, buy groceries, etc, but hey, its a new chapter of life right? im kinda enjoying the freedom anyhoo.

the scoop:

THURSDAY: left home and started driving down at around 5am in my 100 horsepower hyundai accent. i love it already! it was struggling uphill on the grapevine, but the trip wasn't as bad as i thought. wish i had someone to talk to on the way though. played amy winehouse, john mayer, no doubt, stan getz, and jimmy eat world on repeat for the next 7 hours til i arrived at ma new place. spent a lonely night on the living room floor by me self in fear of a hockey masked man. moral of the story: do not spend a night alone in an empty building without electricity!

FRIDAY: my housemate jay moves in. he's a cool guy! we chit chat, make plans for sushi, drums, and hitting a bucket at the driving range. i furnished the place with a mod black ikea coffee table. $20, hollaaaaaaa! slept on the floor again. great.

SATURDAY: more moving. it never ends! phillip and andy brought their truck to help move some lofted beds and sofas. im really happy about the look of the place so far. now we need a dining table, some artwork, maybe a plant or two to give the space some life. i still need some more storage. slept on the lofted bed. scariest sleeping experience of my life so far.... its like sleeping on a tub of jello.

SUNDAY: the moving continues! my roommate moves in and our house fam is complete. realized i needed garbage bags. and drain-o. someone left us a surprise in the bathtub drain :-)

MONDAY: school starts. never hated lecture more in my life! 3 hours of econometric glory. one of my professors sounds like ben stein (bueller......bueller.......) on depressants. got buttlock multiple times, its like taking a final exam EVERY DAY. someone save me!

all in all, i'm enjoying the summer. SD is a great kickback place and i love the sunsets. i'm planning on mounting my guitars on the walls, so pictures to come!