what dancing should be...

Simple fact: I love dancing.  I dance at bus stops and on BART platforms while commuting and listening to my headphones.  I often struggle to resist the urge to move when I hear a good beat.  I don't kno exactly what it is about it that brign me so much joy but some of the happiest times in my life took place while I had a private dance party at home: blasting music when no one's around and just rocking out.  My friends and I will often go out and dance just for the sake of dancing....not to feel up on a girl or get some action. 

Dancing is fun.  One needn't be good at dancing...as long as u're loving it and having a good time.  At the same time, if u're truly bad at dancing it can be problematic.  A little while I got into a bit of trouble with a status message relating to how it can be a turnoff when a girl can't dance.  It was based on something specific, but critiquing one's dancing abilities can be a sensitive topic. 

My love of dance is best epitomized by my love of awesome bad dance movies.  They are my favorite genre of movies.  They are my favorite movies.  I hope one day that there will be a random choreographed dance routine in my life.  If so, I will die happy.

Anyway, the video below is what dancing should be all about...innocent fun and having a good time; showing off and respecting the sick moves of others.  Enjoy...

a Rolex i'd actually want...

via uncrate

Altho I respect Rolex as a watch maker, I'm not really a big fan.  Everytime I look at a Rolex I kinda just want to roll my eyes as I think of how so many see Rolex as the pinnacle of watches when it truly isn't.  Companies like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet [among others] make better watches...and a lot of people just don't realize that fact.  In the end, I just feel like Rolexes are kinda silly and overpriced...but that's just me.

But when I came across the Project X limited edition Rolex 'STEALTH' Sumbmariner MK IV [as well as the MK III] I finally came across something I could get down with.  Maybe it's my casual flair and maybe it's my general dislike for the over-the-topness of most Rolexes...but what Project X has done in simplifying and casualizing a Rolex just ends up be dope.  Stylish, classy...and yet at the same time undercover.

Only 28 of each edition [the MK III comes with an anti-reflective satin finish bezel while the MK-IV is the MATT black bezel pictured above] to be made, so hurry up and [try to] get yours here.

mini mini

In 1997 Paul Smith adorned a classic Mini Cooper with his hallmark pattern of stripes.  As I walked around Union Square last nite on my way to dinner I took a look in the Paul Smith store's window display and noticed an assortment of Mini Cooper themed items.  What immediately caught my eye was the die cast model pictured above [and below].  I'm not one for model cars but I immediately fell in love...no doubt in large part because I am a proud MINI Cooper S owner and hope to one day own a classic, old skool Mini [preferably with right-hand drive].

The Paul Smith Mini features 84 pinstripes in 24 different Paul Smith colors.  According to an interview in MINI International, there are probably around 500 Paul Smith Minis out and about.  The boot is lime green as are various parts of the interior.  Paul Smith didn't just design a Mini out of nowhere, he's owned an original one for a long time and also own a new MINI Cooper that he drives around London.  I'd love to get my hands on one of his Minis but I guess this model is the next best [and most realistic] thing.  Check below for a couple more fotos...

And get one here.

takin' it back...

the foood blog keeps getting most of my writing focus lately but after looking thru some old posts on this silly thing i decided last nite to take it back to the days when i posted random things i found interesting or funny or awesome or whatever else.  this blog has often served as an open journal of sorts, getting the most attention and words when something preoccupied my mind.  these days i of course thing about things now and again...but really living in sf is treating me well, mainly because i'm surrounded by so many people i'm super close to.  and so i tend to not have the serious, heavy things on my mind that are often eased by a little bit of writing.

without such topics, the writing here has fallen off a lot.  to try to get things up and running again i'm going somewhat old skool [for purposes of the blog at least] and gonna start posting items of interest like before.  and i'm gonna restart this endeavor with the video for one of my all time favorite song: "Rock Steady" by The Whispers.  straight out of the 80s, this song always makes me happy and the glory that is the video just makes it that much better...

weekend update - Tahoe and the snow

It's been a hot minute since I last wrote a weekend update entry...in part cuz I haven't gotten away for a weekend out of town in a while [aside from a Vegas trip in October that I really don't want to discuss...hahaha].  Anyway, a big part of this blog used to be me writing about weekends up in the Bay that I used and needed as getaways during my time living in LA.  I realize now that those weekends were crucial to me at the time and that they were even more important that I realized.  I left LA and a job behind, a decision I kno some don't fully understand or appreciate [which is fine] and at the time a lot of my talk focused on being unhappy with the job.  But the truth of the matter is, I needed to be back in the 'Sco...it's where I belong.  I needed to be closed to the friends I have here and begin to live the life that was right for me at that time and continues to be right to this day.  I'm not knocking LA or anyone I knew there...I truly enjoyed my time there and am happy about the decision to move there after law school.  I don't have any regrets about it...but it came time to move on and move back to the City that speaks to me.  So as much as the job situation frustrated me and truly did get me down in big ways, it was also important and vital that I get back to living the right life for me and doing what was best for myself.

Enough rambling about feelings re: the move back to the 'Sco and some personal realizations of late...on to the topic at hand:  the weekend.  Actually, back to the past for a second....the reason the trips to City from LA began was very specific and the simple fact was I needed to get away and get my mind of things.  As time wore on and I grew accustomed to changed circumstances, I continued to need to come up to get away from other things and just be close to the largest group of close friends I have in any one place.  Well, it's probably clear from the past few entries on this blog that stuff again weighs on me in life and so I really needed a weekend away.  A few weeks back some good friends of mine and I discussed going snowboarding and they all said this weekend they were free...so I shot out and email and we managed to arrange for 9 of us to meet in Tahoe [with a bunch of us crashing in Ed's awesome cabin] for a weekend of boarding, eating, and hanging out.

It was great to get away from the City and what troubles me for a minute.  Spending time with my friends is probably my favorite thing in the world [along with spending time with family].  It helped to just be away and get my mind off things and to just have a genuinely good time.  There are times in life where you simply have to distract yourself to avoid getting down.  I think my last post indicated I was getting past that point and I really do feel I am...and so it was good to simply and genuinely enjoy time with people I love.

It was also great to get in my second and third days of my boarding career.  Day 1 last February was not particularly amazing on my part but the two days this weekend were a huge improvement.  I'm definitely hooked on boarding and already can't wait to get back up to the mountain.  I'm still not great but it's nice to see some improvement and begin to get a feel for things.  There's some funny video of me boarding out there after this weekend...I'm looking forward to the laughs it will provide.  Now it's time to continue to accumulate the full compliment of gear so I can stop borrowing from peeps.

Boarding was great, the time with friends was fantastic, and it's also nice to be home...especially since I can barely move now and can't wait to just pass out in my own bed for the nite.  On the ride home I was worried that I'd simply come back to what troubles me and that the weekend away was just a temporary respite.  But it's times like this weekend where you get to be with people you love and who love you back and appreciate you that are what life is all about, at least for me.  I'm no island and I'd be lost without the important people in my life...I'm thankful and lucky to have them.  And while what weighs on me is obviously still something that matters to me...well, life's got its good and bad parts.  It's pretty much as simple as that.  Too much fun to be had...

Anyway, as tradition dictates, here are just a few of the highlights from the weekend [far too many good times and laughs were had to recap it all]...

• playing the parent to Ed & Swiyyah
• eating far too many Doritos [as planned]
• "When u're sliding into home and u feel ur butt foam, diarrhea."
• Me: "I will punch u in the face."
• Swiyyah in response: "I will punch YOU in the face."
• farting spiders and "aracnacrap"
• funny Ed
• singing along to Enrique when we didn't kno the words
• the constipated voice
• bunk beds
• Lethal Weapon
• actually riding down the mountain on the first run of the day
• me getting progressively worse throughout the day...at least until lunch
• Julie's words of snowboarding wisdom and actually getting better
• finally leafing
• the possible concussion [we're still not sure, hahaha]
• continually asking John to order more and more foood for us since he was already in line
• a fun post lunch set of runs with Dianna, each of which involved being exhausted riding up the lift and talking about how we could barely do another run and then getting to the bottom of the run and immediately deciding to go again
• hurting basically every part of my body
• the hot tub [AH-mazing!!!]
• tacos tacos tacos!!!
• playing a decent game of pool
• making a comeback against Ed in doing the Soulja Boy dance in Dance Central
• getting skooled by Swiyyah in Dance Central
• homemade ice cream sammiches
• randomly watching a bit of Crank
• waking up to fresh snow and Ed & I deciding we needed to board more
• putting chains on John's car [snowchains still don't make a lot of sense to a kid from Michigan]
• Doritos being the breakfast of champions
• riding on a little bit of powder
• the "Pure Jams" sing-a-long, especially Enrique round 2
• Kaskade
• road trippin' 
• meeting some new people
• all the pics, videos, and laughs
• quality time with some of my best and closest friends

Look for another weekend update in March at the latest as I plan on driving to LA for a good friend's wedding.  I miss that drive and the decompression and thought time it provides.

gettin' back to Lou

a coworker noted this afternoon that i was in a particularly good mood, rather happy and chipper.  it was a bit of surprise to her because as she's gotten to kno me over the last handful of weeks i've been admittedly a little bummed and mentally preoccupied....or as she put it depressed and obsessive, hahaha.  my mind has definitely raced lately and i have felt rather down for more time than i usually ever do.  it was funny because i pointed out to my coworker that i'm usually a rather happy-go-lucky person who really enjoys life and cherishes the good times and good people in it...this news surprised her.

later in the day i met up with one of my best friends from growing up and seeing such a familiar face reminded me that i've spent enough time being down and it's time to get back to being myself and appreciating the good friends in my life.  hard times will come in life and what brought me down is a situation that in no way is any better than before...but it's not worth changing who i am.  obviously it will involve plenty of thinking and other down times...it's just time to get back to being myself because i'm tired of not being me.

i've written about how during college and law school, when studying for exams i'd always reach a point (usually late the nite before or early the morning of an exam) where i just took my pile of notes or outline and plopped it down on my desk and said to myself: i'm over it.  i can't say i'm necessarily at that point now and i am sure i'll fall back into a bummer out state at times but i'm over not being who i am.  so hopefully this is some sort of turning point...all i kno now is i can't wait to get out of town for the weekend with some great friends and go hurt myself snowboarding...haha.

random

i honestly have nothing important to say.  i just feel a silly urge to write here as if to clear my mind tho the thinking of late leaves me in a pretty constant haze and at the same time has resulted in some feeling of clarity and happiness about things...a funny dynamic to say the least. 

i could easily ramble about things i used to ramble about and the various emotions and thoughts some of life's current circumstances bring about.   in the past it was actually somewhat necessary tho also likely equally inappropriate at the same time.  i kinda forget that [a few] people actually read this thing and while i never called anyone out for anything or named names or straight up discussed some of the things bothering me in life, it was pretty clear what was on my mind to anyone who knew me well at all [i.e., the few people who might read these silly ramblings].  And so as much as i might want to say certain things here,  i've learned to refrain...that and to be honest i wouldn't even kno what to say at this point.

i dunno...life's funny.  Lately I've caught myself saying, typing, or thinking that "life happens."  i kinda just threw it out there originally but it's much more apropos than just some phrase tossed around...as much as we may plan our lives out or expect things to be a certain way, sometimes life just happens to u and things change.  It's not always what u might want but it's sometimes what u need, what's best, and i think if u're lucky and open-minded and strong enough, u at the least adjust to it and find your happiness with the aspects of life that happen.  Life's twists and turns are funny and interesting...the number of unexpected things i've experienced that i could detail kinda amazes me and often makes me laugh or at least smile.

But yea...life happens.  i think one of the biggest examples of this is something i discussed with one of my best friends from growing up, Al, a couple weeks back when he was in the 'Sco.  Sometimes people come into your life and just have a crazy impact on u...it's hard to explain, it can be difficult to justify, but it happens.  And sometimes u just end up left there to kinda be like "WTF?"  Haha...u don't expect it, u don't see it coming, and then BOOM!  Life happens in all kinds of other ways, from job things to winning the lotto [my mom so owes me $10 million in 80's money] to friendships to any and everything else.  So I guess while a plan is important, flexibility is key too.

And now is when i reach the point discussed in the last emotion in this article my friend Swiyyah posted on fb.  What the hell am i writing about and why?  i'm far too lazy to go back and edit this goofy ass post...but yea, i'm definitely sitting here wondering just what it is i'm doing and feeling somewhat self-conscious about it all.  But these are my ramblings and here they are for anyone to amuse, entertain, or bore him/herself with...