nice news before new years

uh so i just read off my cheat sheet that andrew lloyd webber is putting out phantom of the opera 2. epic, no? i hope so. not sure if the phantom could out-awesome himself with a new anthem though. we'll see. i finished deception point yesterday. it was no angels and demons, but it's still got dan brown swagga with all the scene flipping, super technology, and twists (!) of course. i still reccommend it for a fun, easy read. also, i started ender's game this afternoon and im almost done! im so down with space and anti-gravity. it's cool, but i dont want to judge it til i finish though, so ill get back to that.

wait! so i went to ikea for the first time today. my momma was looking for a sleek new shelving unit for her overflowing closet. but, you dont understand... their shopping carts are the FUNNEST. instead of just the front wheels swiveling, the back wheels spin too! my favorite part of going to the grocery store is drifting around the produce section and in between aisles. with free-spinning back wheels, there's no friction and you can drive in all directions, so you can walk and push the cart forward, spin it 360, catch, and keeping going in stride. and backwards too! i was pulling the SICKEST shopping cart lines at ikea. then my sister and i both had carts and we were walking to the parking lot where there was a spiral ramp. INSAAAAANE. i love ikea carts. my new favorite pastime. and i guess the store was cool. i saw some things that i am going to put into my living box when im done with school.

the other day, my trusty watch's battery finally died. i knew it was coming, but i had to endure a few days with a naked wrist. awkward. but im pleased to announce that mr. nixon has been revived thanks to the gracious watch doctors at the macys repair shop. i look forward to another three years of timeliness and punctuality!

my 08 in short:
-rest in peace efrain sanchez, the best of the best
-humanistic pyschology, hail quinn!
-uh 4/20 weekend, need i say more?
-awesome year C10B5FL1RM5105
-oh, zagg
-what up edmo, black team for life, welcome friends from the east coast
-bartered el skateboardo for el ipodo
-hello fixed gear! i love you.
-driver's license!!! finally
-shout out to the homies of 8304, we do it so right
-i can cook now, kinda
-weezy f baby, lyricist of the year
-donezo with meat, veg it
-e-40 the ball street journal--get it, bump it
-hello accounting 10A friends, im awkward
-academy of sciences during regular hours, wow
-SPLR, new beginnings for old friends summer 09

and i feel it's only appropriate to have a few new year's resolutions:
1) reduce my carbon footprint
2) make some dollas
3) hang out with more homies, regardless of bus schedule
4) read more books and news
5) go to as many shows, concerts, local events as possible
6) put out some raps
7) stop (at least reduce) recreational shopping
8) thank people more often for little things

sounds good. haha, and a stumble picture of the day:hahaha, TRIPPIN.

beef belief

today was the second day when i ate at a table where everyone else had prime rib. uncomfortable, no. awkward, yes. because the question always comes up: why vegetarian? it's hard to convince someone of your beliefs when they are in the act of violating them. but that's not what vegetarianism is about for me. it's about having the information and an educated opinion. i like to engage in the conversation over meat-eating because people just dont know where their food comes from. so i think the better question is why not vegetarian? if you know what i know and still choose to eat meat, then your choice is just as good as mine. but in the same way that i do not respect a blatantly bias argument, i refuse to accept criticism from someone without all the facts. tell me why i should eat meat, and then you can criticize. anyway, just thoughts for consideration.

balled again this morning. it wasnt quite as cold and my left is getting a lot better. but my game still needs work. i shoot funny. nonetheless, i ripped in family knockout today. my little cousins are straight ballers though. theyve got game. swagga too.

better story though. i had a sick dream last night that i went to huf on sutter, but instead of being just three regular huf stores, it was a huf superstore much like sportsbasement or sports authority. it was so sick. it was a really lucid dream too. they had some crazy gear too. everything from skateboards and snowboards to hats and sneakers, they had a playground and even a burrito stand! it might have been the sickest store ive ever been in, and it's not even real! balls. super huf, only in my dreams.

preview: i want to make a best of 2008 list soon

daybreak basketball

i miss wake-n-ball mornings when i can just wake up, grab a hoodie, and walk to the park to shoot around. this morning was perfect. woke up at ten. it was sunny, mid sixties, and the air was still crisp before the day started to warm up. brushed my teeth, put on a shirt, and walked out the door. sure, my shot was terrible. i couldnt even feel my hands yet. but there was there were already kids scootering around the courts and climbing all over the play structure with their onlooking yuppie parents, some still in their workout clothes, and others bundled up in their simple, yet classy outwear. i love morning people. there was a two or three year old boy playing kick ball with his grandma who occasionally lost the ball in my direction. i always kicked it back. other kids journey across the court saying 'basketball!' and just talking randomly, asking their parents funny questions 'why is he playing basketball?' and the parents answer like 'because he likes to!' and they keep walking. the kick ball boy would stop and watch me shoot threes and stuff, then he and his grandma would cheer when i made shots. its so weird when adults are put in that position where theyre unsure whether their kid is getting in the way or if im gonna get mad or something, but the kid is naturally drawn to the ball. it's always fun though, i make it easy for them. the kid even cheered when i missed because he liked the noise of the rim. good sesh (for lack of better term). worked on my steve nash/tony parker close range game. got tired, went home and made myself a veg scramble from last night's leftovers. bomb!

also, i hate this computer. it's slower than slow. i like to think i have a good amount of patience, but this is KILLING me like you dont even know! also, i have no idea how to open this freakin .rar file. so after trying to download wall-e for a week and a half, i finally have it and now i cant open it. AHHHHH. yeah, wall-e, you read it right. i heard it was hella good!

caffeine christmas

friends and followers, merry christmas! i hope everyone's enjoying their holidays, keeping busy, i certainly am. what have i been up to-- let's start with wednesday.

shout out to the newly chartered SPLR crew and RIP to the late great team xtreme. we had a good run... literally. watch out for the newest urban documentary project coming summer 09 (perhaps with a dope soundtrack to go along with the release, ohh i do hope so!) it was nice kickin it with the homies, sharing good times over a solid tofu scramble.

on christmas eve, i had the pleasure of watching phantom of the opera with the fam. the show was incredible! it was the first professional production ive seen and i must say that the years of elementary school plays, high school musicals, and drama field trips to ACT have all been an awesome build-up to the real thing. they did it so right! it was an evening show at the orpheum, a sick architectural venue. the production itself was seamless. my favorite part was that they used the whole stage, front to back, side to side, and even had some special effects and surprises. the phantom is a boss too, his anthem is bomb. they had the live orchestra with the body-rumbling organ solos. man, i wish i learned to appreciate theatre earlier, but im sure ive got plenty of performances ahead of me. this is just the beginning.

my energy levels have been fluctuating a lot lately. all this early morning shopping and coffee jolts make me all groggy in the evening at like just the hour when it's too early to go to sleep (ahem, riles!) and too late to make effective use of a nap. it gives me a chance to get out of the cold and get my read on. ive got some new books to work on. ive decided that im not free reading any books that arent ny times best sellers for a while because i just havent read enough good books to be reading any crappy books, yknow?

christmas day at the wong house began with coffee and fresh-baked cinnamon bread. got hooked up with some new gear-- boxers, calendar, books, and fleece-- couldnt have asked for anything better! saw the curious case of benjamin button. a great film, i highly recommend it. my mom described it as the next forest gump classic film, and just as long too! the fam enjoyed a fat, bloody, juicy prime rib feast (props to pops). not my thang of course! and what better than to end it all with a home screening of a white christmas.


edit:: i just watched Crank, with jason statham. straight ridiculous. not a total thumbs down, but in the same arena as shoot em up, so you have to be in the mood for it. also, i missed all the basketball today, so i have to run downstairs and try to catch sportscenter highlights. peace!

pausch and people

im too old for this! volleyball, that is. aches and pains met my once youthful and conditioned back this morning for one very stiff walk to the bathroom. shampoo, rinse, and repeat strained my stickly arms like the fire of a thousand pushups. and slowly but surely, lactic acid crept into my elderly walking appendages causing limp after limp of shameful strides. oh, the pitifully inactive life i lead!

yet, all exaggerations aside, yesterday's lhs volleyball legacy reunion certainly brought back some awesome memories. thank you everyone, new friends and old. some things change, and some things dont-- that's the beauty of it all. in the end, you remember your team-- the people you shared blood, sweat, and tears with-- not the wins and losses. the 'head fakes' of playing a sport will only appear worthwhile in retrospect.

randy pausch, carnegie mellon virtual reality professor, is most famous for his 'last lecture' speech, which i finally watched last night. the "head fake phenomenon", he describes, is when a teacher can trick students into learning difficult material while having fun. his speech consisted of three parts 1. achieving childhood dreams, 2. enabling the dreams of others, and 3. how you can enrich your everyday life. i really loved his message because it really inspires me to have more fun in everything. but another part of his message is that we all face 'brick walls' or simply, obstacles, that at some point seem immovable. "cherish criticism," he says, "and learn from it." i think that's one thing that i certainly need to improve on. pfft critics, y'all are haters. but at the same time, he says, "when people stop criticizing you, then theyve given up" and then youve really failed. as hard as it may be, so true. i definitely reccommend the vid, youtube it, but ive also stumbled on it, and i think there's a book out too. dreezy, i know you sent it to me before too, so thank you and sorry for waiting so long to watch it. tada!



anyway, went christmas shopping with mother again today. getting my driving in over the holidays fisho. dude, and drivers are straight crazy up in clement street. malls are packed, but i figured that would happen. haha and the shamwow kiosk guy really loves those towels. he gave us the whole soda in carpet presentation almost as well as homie on tv. combined with the oversized rice bean salsa burrito i just ate, holiday shopping has me quite fatigued and a nap would be rather pleasant, if i may say so myself. good day.

picture of the day: currently, i am eating...

super sampling

clarity-- it always seems to swing by at just the right time. whether it's real, or just us tricking ourselves, it inspires us to change directions and envision ourselves on another path. in sports, they say 'picture yourself winning' and in life they say 'picture your success'. because if you cant convince yourself, how will you convince anyone else? self-empowerment and all that jazz, right? i believe! i stumbled on this a little while ago and loved it:
word to your mother! while assembling his dream team, obeezy talked about the future white house basketball court (word!) and about how he plans to have artists and classical musicians performing in the white house because, i paraphrase, 'if young people cant see whats really out there, how will they ever know?' i guess im pretty down with that these days. i mean, that's the reason i went vegetarian. its so true, people just dont know. part of "finding yourself", "knowing yourself" is based so much on your surroundings. people say that once you leave college, you realize that you really dont know anything! and that's not how i want to roll, yknow? obama, doing it so right already.

back to this idea of clarity, i look at myself now and think, what do i really know right now? and the only answer i can put up is 'not enough.' but the great thing about it is that it's within my power and means to learn more, and now is as good a time as ever. so, i want to make it a priority to up my free reading, keep up with the news, and try new things. it's exciting and i feel like i have a new sense of purpose, and whether it's real or im just tricking myself, i mean, it cant hurt, right? so help me out, it's always fun to do new things, and even better with friends! someone recently told me 'step outside of your comfort zone, and you'll soon find that that comfort zone will grow and grow and grow.' that's what i want to do.

yesterday, a friend and i explored the new academy of sciences. insaaaaane (thank you!). planetarium, aquarium, AND rainforest, youve gotta be kidding me! sf is the best, we hold it down so hard. i really liked the carbon footprint exhibit too, spread the knowledge. ive been watching the science channel a lot lately, learning about the universe, future cities, alternative energy sources. its all good! concurrently, i was (just finished) reading angels and demons (read that shit!), and its just so sick that everything is so interconnected. i have high hopes for antimatter technology. check it--zero emissions, unlimited energy source, and lightspeed (space travel!!! ). so down. of course the cons are that we could quite possibly blow up the earth trying to stabilize it, and even after that too. haha i dont know, im probably taking dan brown too seriously for my own good. but still, donezo in 2012, so whats the difference? faith in science. prepare for the mind revolution. yay.

things i want to do in the near future:
learn more about space
martial arts class
road trip... SNOW trip!!
read hella books (looking for recommendations)
put out a cutty rap album
step up my nonexistent photography game

workin on it. this list will grow, for sure. just trying to get a taste of everything!

'shoppin and silly rhymes

a blog is never complete without the perfect header. check it! all the things i love in one collage box. there's potential here, and i see a bright future ahead for this blog.

and with that, i am now pleased to present: silly rhymes, part I

watch on my wrist
forty dollars in a pocket
plaid shirt, new cap
im gonna rock it
steez in my fit
keys on my hip
chapstick on my lip
my jeans never ripped

get some coffee in my system
got shit to do, gonna list em
news for wisdom
each day
start it the same way
grass before class
blasting the bass

the equation of time
manifest in rhyme
constructed to defy
intelligent design
views from a prism
vegetarianism
an orange for later
cuz my lunch aint catered

edit: HAHAHA i stumbled on this guy:his name is Heinz-- president of his local beard club, and winner of the 2003 People's Choice Trophy at the World Beard and Moustache Championships. simply, my idol.

defy destiny

it is always something big, a defining experience, that brings me back to blogging, and that time has once again arrived.

i began, the other day, writing about free and independent thinking. in life, it isnt so much about following the crowd versus following your heart, instead, we strive to find balance-- nature's balance-- in everything. in our world of extremes and opposites, compromise is the only peace we can hope for. yet at some point, we must pick a side. i believe that one's ability to assess the situation, weigh the options, and make educated decisions based on evidence and gut is just as powerful and important as one's ability to modify those views when the scale tips in the other direction. that isn't hypocrisy, it's called learning. and if there's one thing that frustrates me most, it's when people see the evidence, and turn their backs on it; when people attach themselves to ideas and refuse to trust their own ability to think; when the only support for an argument is the majority.

thinking independently is about taking information, interpreting it, and figuring out what it means to you. it is about constant growth and change. leaders see trends and choose to follow them, but followers always follow leaders. thinking independenty allows leaders to stray from the norm when it needs to be done. leaders determine their future and the future of the followers.

circumstance is an excuse for responsibility. destiny is rationalizing failure. and stubbornness is fear of the unknown, fear of change. change is growth, growth is progress, and progress takes us into the future.

let experience help you make decisions, but dont let it hold you back. let everything reflect something on you, and reflect something of yourself in everything.

be deliberate. if you have a problem, dont sidestep it, deal with it. answer the question!

THINK. know yourself and live!