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What Mike Did Last Night

I picked up the new Meshell Ndegeocello album. It sounds really different than her older work. It's very mellow and piano-based. It is beautifully produced. There are some funky parts, but most of the album sounds sad and slow. Perfect for a rainy day like the one on the cover. I listened to it like 3 times last night. I definitely recommend checking it out.

I also

- Signed up for iTunes Match - Yay!
- Watched Human Cenitpede 2 - Boo! (It's lame.)

Not Resting! (plus Resting!)

Towards the end of my vacation in New York, I got a text message from JP.

"Hey, do you want to go to Universal Studios on Saturday?"

My first thought was no, since I was thinking I needed a weekend of rest after my trip, but a fun group of people were going, and I've been wanting to go, so I was in. It wound up being a really fun day, and since it rained a little, the park was really empty. We saw every attraction we wanted to see by about 4pm, including the Simpsons Ride.

I feel weird about saying this, but I hated that ride. It made me feel sick, and I thought it was way too violent and frantic. I wanted to say, "Yeah…. You're at like a 7 right now. We're going to need you at like a 4…"

By the way, Universal Studios Hollywood has a special deal right now: Buy one day's ticket and get the rest of the year and all of 2012 for free. So I plan on going back some time soon, just because I can.

On Sunday, I specifically wanted to rest, and I sure did. I slept for about 11 hours, then after lunch, JP and I read at the local coffee shop for hours. It was really lovely.

Have a great week, everybody!

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New York City: A Summary

My trip to New York was really, really great. Now, I've done a lot of traveling in my adult years, and I've learned that vacation stories get old fast, so I'll condense my vacation summary in to the top five events of the trip.

1) Spider-man

The original point of my trip to New York was to see the Broadway musical Spider-man: Turn off the Dark. I had heard that it was bad, and it had it's problems during development, but I'm happy to say it was great! Matt and I both had a blast. It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly entertaining.

2) Central Park

Central Park was beautiful. We spent hours walking as much of it as we could. While we were there, we saw several famous spots including places where Hair was filmed. We also ran in to Laura Linney!

3) Broadway and Times Square

What a spectacle! We saw Harry Potter dance his ass off, we cried as Jan Maxwell and Bernadette Peters tore our hearts out in Follies, we visited a Toys R Us with a ferris wheel and we had unbelievable BBQ. All within a few blocks.

4) Bros

I admittedly didn't want to spend too much time hanging out with Matt's friends in New York, but they turned out to be some great folks to meet. Plus, they provided a unique insight in to day-to-day life in New York. Matt's friends Raffy, Shannon and Andy were gracious hosts and fun people to meet. I'm honored to call them my friends, and I can't wait to see them again.

5) The Statue of Liberty

We wound up seeing the Statue of Liberty in the late afternoon on our last full day in New York. It was a gift of an experience. We get some great pictures, and we had a very memorable and beautiful afternoon.

6) Shhhhhh. WHITE CASTLE!!!!!!

Had to sneak this one in. Mid-vacation, I realized that New York has White Castle. I told Matt that if he cared about me at all, he would let me go there. It was his first time, and he liked it. Yes!

---

I need to say an extra thanks to Matt for really making this trip happen. I decided I wanted to go to New York to see Spider-man, and I didn't care who went with me, and I only intended on going to a night or two. Matt turned the trip in to a full-on New York vacation, and I owe him big.

Also, thanks to

chulo_los for suggesting Follies. It was great!

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new york

I'm in New York right now. Plus: Fun with Haircuts?

I'm in New York with

xxtapemakerxx, and we're having a great time.

Here's the view from our room. I gay-gasped.

We've seen two plays so far: How to Succeed in Business and Follies.

But I think one of our favorite memories of the trip will be of getting haircuts. We both forgot to get ones before the trip, and we both felt shaggy. On our way back to the hotel, there was a barber in the subway station. Done!

I heard it rained in San Diego. It's been beautiful here. :)

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halloween

This is my costume.

I wear this shirt every year. I'm actually a little surprised it fits. I guess dieting last week was a good idea after all. :)

Today:

2010:

2009:

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halloween

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween, but it's usually a bust for me. For the last two years, I was out of town. This year, even though the big, annual party that every one goes to was cancelled, we were determined to go out anyway.

I was Hipster Little Mermaid.

"I wanna be where the PBR."
"I used to live in the ocean, but it was too mainstream."

JP was a hipster zom-bear. His make-up was great!

We went to Nightmare on Normal St and had Denny's for dinner. On Halloween, we're going to some friends' house to watch movies and watch them hand out candy.

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movies

A Nightmare on 32nd St

Last night, I treated myself to a little Taco Bell and watched Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. It's about as bad as I remembered it. My favorite is Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors. It's the one where Freddy's victims realize they have powers in the dream world, too, so they fight back. The 4th film is also great; it continues the story from 3.

Speaking of those movies, I still haven't seen the remake from last year. Is it any good?

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music

Do you know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby.

Years ago, I read the autobiography of Slash, the guitar player for Guns n' Roses. I couldn't get enough of it. I was fascinated by his stories about being in one of the most successful bands ever, his drug and alcohol problems/adventures and the rise and fall of the band. After I finished it, I wanted more, so I picked up a biography about Guns n' Roses' lead singer, Axl Rose. Though it wasn't quite as well-written, I loved it, too.

Years ago, Slash and Axl had a falling out and the band essentially broke up. You can still go out and see a band called Guns n' Roses, but they're a sad cover band that happen to have Axl for a lead singer. You can also go out and see Guns n' Roses minus Axl, but they call themselves Velvet Revolver. Without Axl, they are as equally non-compelling as Axl with a cover band. I love reading about all this, and I dream of them all finally getting over themselves and reuniting.

I was stoked to find out that now Duff, the bass player (and *FUN FACT* namesake for Homer Simpson's favorite beer), has written an autobiography of his own. I love it. Just started reading it, and I'm already half-way through.

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music

Gotye

I'm really in to a singer called Gotye. Last weekend,

xxtapemakerxx hipped us all to his music. It's effing brilliant. I think he's a big deal in Australia right now. He certainly is not big in America... YET.

( Click here for some of his music. )

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running

Work it out!

The other day, I posted a picture of myself walking around downtown. When I saw it posted up on Flickr, I thought, "Wow, I've really put on some weight."

Over the past year, I've eaten for lunch and dinner A LOT. And, this summer, I took a lot of breaks from running and exercising.

I'm hoping that this is my big comeback. My plan is to pack small lunches more often and eat at home when I can. I'm also hoping to do more running and going to the gym. None of these things take a ton of effort; I just need to be in the right mindset.

I don't have any fantasies about being skinny and 100% fit, but it sure would be nice if my pants didn't fit so tightly.

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new york

Found it.

I found my leather jacket last night. I may need it for my up-coming trip to New York.

I couldn't believe it, yesterday we were sitting around and

xxtapemakerxx said "We're going to New York in a week and a half."

It's time to start thinking about what I'm going to bring on my trip. I'm thinking I'll bring my jacket, a hoodie and some thin sweaters. The weather may be all over the place, so it's all about layers.

2 concerts, tons of friends and lots of driving

I've been on-the-go lately.

On Wednesday, I drove up to L.A. to see Portishead with Matt. The traffic driving up was horrendous as usual, but it was worth it. Just before Portishead went on, we ran in to our friend Chris, who had just flown in that afternoon from a business trip in Korea. I hadn't seen Chris in about a year, so it was nice seeing him and catching up (and possibly flirting).

Portishead was great. It turns out that I really like music from their third album. Matt likes their other two albums much better.

We spent the next day hanging out at Knott's Berry Farm and watching Prince videos. The next day, I drove back down to San Diego, picked up JP and drove us up to Sherman Oaks where we had all-you-can-eat sushi. On Saturday, we saw Robyn and Royksopp at the Hollywood Bowl.

We took at bus from Cobbie and Jason's house to the show instead of trying to fight concert traffic. It worked out well and was a bargain at $3 for the whole trip. When we got to the show, we unexpectedly saw a bunch of friends from San Diego, LA and even San Francisco. It was JP's first real concert in 20 years, and he had a blast. "Look at the good I do", I said. I was so tired by the end of the night.

This morning, JP and Matt let me sleep in this morning, we had brunch and then JP and I headed home. I had a really great time this past week. This coming week will definitely be all about resting.

Entry tags:

new york

Getting excited about New York

All of a sudden, my trip to New York is about 2 weeks away. Yikes!

I have wanted to go to New York for forever, and now it's really happening.

xxtapemakerxx is doing a great job of planning our events and getting tickets to our plays. Thanks Matt!

This morning, I bought a City Pass. It includes admission to several museums, cruises and tours.

As far as plays go, it looks like we'll be seeing Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark and How to Succeed in Business with Harry Potter. Looks like we're also going to see Coco Peru, star of Girls Will Be Girls. Yay!

I was in San Francisco this weekend...

I was up on San Francisco this weekend to visit a few friends. I had a great time.

One of the highlights was on Saturday, when Kirk and I went to the Walt Disney Museum. Several friends of mine had recommended it, so I figured it was worth it. But it was significantly better than we expected.

The museum was completely state-of-the-art. Kirk got misty-eyed in the last room, which covered the end of Walt Disney's life.

On Sunday, we went to an event called Bears in the Park. It is what it sounds like. Around 100 guys showed up at a small park with an incredible view of the city. I ran in to a bunch of friends from previous visits, online and Coachella. I was super happy to see my good friends

fogbear and

putzmeisterbear.

Just before we left, I met two really fun guys, Mike and Will. I jokingly told Mike to never move to San Diego. We have too many Mikes already. Out of curiosity, I asked Will if I could touch his belly. It felt like a balloon.

Also, Cliffy!

I don't think I ever want to live in SF, but I sure do love visiting!

Up urrrrrrly

When I was booking my flight for today's trip to San Francisco, I was only thinking about when I would arrive. I was aiming for 5pm. Flight booked, I realized I would have to leave work hours early. No problem, just a matter of coming in early. I got a ride to work with Mark who had to work at 6am.

It's spooky downtown this early, and I had trouble getting in to my building. But I made it to my office. I shot a "Hey, I'm here at 6am" email to my bosses and now I'm enjoying a delicious ramen breakfast.

Hey, if you live in the San Francisco area, I'm definitely planning on going to the beer bust at the Lone Star on Sunday. You should show up and high-five me.

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music

In 1993, I was all about Hayoga.

In the late 80's / early 90's, I spent most of my social time with a church youth group. I made some good friends, but they kind of came and went. Towards the end of all that, my brother and I became really good friends with another set of brothers, Min and Dave. Min had fairly bland taste in music. Mostly, he listened to R&B tragedies like Babyface and Pebbles, but one summer he went to Korea for a few months and came back with something unique and interesting.

Musician Seo Taiji, from what I understand, is Korea's Elvis Presley. He was huge. The song below, Hayoga, was one of his biggest hits. It was cutting edge at the time for its use of rap and "heavy metal" guitar sounds.

In 1993, we listened to Seo Taiji incessantly. I don't speak Korean, so I could only guess what the songs were about. Occasionally, the guys would translate for me, and the lyrics were always much less interesting than the ones I imagined.

Even years after I stopped hanging out with Min, I continued to follow Seo Taiji's career. (And this was pre-internet. Imagine going in to a Korean music store asking for "Seo Taiji". The looks I got.) He got bigger and bigger over the years, went through a Cypress Hill-sound-alike phase, went though a Limp Bizkit-sound-alike phase, went through a Blink 182-sound-alike phase, retired, took a long break from music, did a comeback album and tour, and now I think he's on hiatus again.

It's amazing how I was thinking about all that, and within seconds I was watching their Hyoga video on YouTube. It's exactly as I remember it.

I did a little clicking and was happy to see that Seo Taiji is still making videos. This one is quite polished.

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food

Best Burger Ever? Perhaps!

Matt was in San Diego just for the evening. Once I got off of work, we walked around downtown for a bit. We couldn't decide where to have dinner downtown, so we got in my truck and headed towards my neighborhood.

"If you're feeling crazy, we could go here," I suggested. Rocky's Crown Pub.

I had heard that they had the best burgers in town, but I was skeptical. Here in San Diego, we have Ho Dads, In N Out and Crazy Burger. All great. How could those be beat?

Our Rocky's burgers lived up to their reputation. Top notch!

Rocky Crowb Pub burger. Might be the best burger evar.

We each and a burger and a beer, and we split the fries. Our total was about $25. I will definitely be back.

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remodel

I bought a toilet!

I took Saturday off from the world. I really needed a day to sleep in and barely get out of the house. It was great; I feel recharged and refreshed.

But when Sunday started to go the same direction, I decided I wanted to do something constructive with my weekend. So, on Sunday, JP and I hopped in to my truck, went to Home Depot and bought everything else I needed for my bathroom remodel.

Items I bought:

- A toilet with dual-flush and 10 out of 10 flush power. Yeah!
- A new light fixture for above the sink.
- White paint for the ceiling, trim and door.
- A sample of gray paint for the walls. I'll get more if I like it.
- Brushes and pans for the paint.
- A few tiles to replace the ones under the old vanity.
- Grout and tape for plumbing.
- M&Ms.

I'm not going to have any time to work on this for the next few weeks. So, I'm thinking right after New York, the remodel will be in full effect. I'll be sure to post pictures!

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fucked up,
music

Do you wanna go for a curry with me?

I love the band Fucked Up, but their latest release, a fake compilation called David's Town - 11 Original Hits From Byrdesdale Spa, UK!, totally slipped under my radar.

Apparently David's Town, which is a vinyl-exclusive compliment to their mainstream release David Comes to Life, was released on Record Store Day, back in April and is limited to 2,000 copies. My understanding is Fucked Up plays all the music, while lead vocals are provided by various band members and guest vocalists.

I got it in the mail yesterday and copied Side A in to iTunes. It's pretty fun. Check this video out. It's adorable. The guy and girl are Sandy (aka Mustard Gas) and Ben (aka Young Governor) of Fucked Up.

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food

Stone Flats

I couldn't believe it. Normally, when JP and I go to dinner, actually when I go to dinner with just about anyone besides xxtapemakerxx (who always has a place to go), it's very "I don't know. Where do you wanna go? What are you in the mood for?"

But last night, just seconds after I said, "I want to go out tonight," JP pulled up the website for Stone Flats. Stone Flats is sort of a pizza place, but they specialize in personal-sized portions served on flat bread. It's a lot like thin crust pizza, but it's not tied to the standard pasta sauce and mozzarella recipe. Everything is customizable (by filling out a form with checkboxes), or you can opt for pre-designed flatbreads. I had a buffalo chicken flatbread, for example.

Our total was $20-ish and that included my beer, which was $2.13. I'm not mad about that.

We'll definitely be back.