Day 7, 8, & 9: San Francisco

Day 7: Quality Time with Mom and Siblings

I planned to spend the day bringing my mom to places that she wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. We started out by heading to Fisherman’s Wharf to have lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack. I really wanted whole crab from the vendors on the street but it was raining and we both just wanted to sit down and relax away from the rain. She also told me that she always wanted to go to Joe’s so I wanted to make her happy. It was pretty damn good. We got the Steampot for 2. It came with 2 clusters of dungeness crab, 2 clusters of snow crab, 10 pieces of shrimp, new potatoes, and two pieces of corn for $44.99. Not bad for that much crab at a sit down restaurant.

Mom Getting Ready to Grub

Steampot

Joe's Lights

Out Joe's Window

Joe's Chairs

After Joe’s, we went to the newly renovated Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. We got there at about 2PM and the second we stepped on the first step (after the 10 minute walk from the car in the rain) an announcement came on saying that tickets were sold out for the day. This really sucked because it pretty much ended our day. The new Academy of Sciences is supposed to be state of the art. It has a new Planetarium, a living roof, and a multi-story rain forest. The planetarium is supposed to be the best part. I guess I will plan another trip with my mom when I go back for Christmas. I will just buy my tickets online next time.

Later that night, I went back to Dee and Mike’s house to eat, drink, & chill with them and my brother James. But James never ended up coming through, which sucks. Instead Mike’s homies, Lil’ John and Gil came through to kick it. We had ribs and rice for dinner which was pretty satisfying and cost only about $5 to feed everybody. After dinner, we went to the ghetto store (they call it the yellow store because if the sign, but it is really called Quick Pic Market). I tried to get a six pack of Negra Modelo and Anchor Steam and they were charging $23. We decided to just get a twelve pack of Tecate (Budweiser of Mexican Beers). Lil’ John brought his own 40 oz of 2-11. I had a bad experience with a 40 oz of 2-11 back in high school. It involved a pretty girl, a lot of vomit, friends laughing at me, and passing out in the back alley. I guess the shit hit me that hard. When Gil came through later on in the night, we went back to the yellow store to get some real liquor. We picked up 375 mL of Johnnie Walker Black Label. We each had two glasses on the rocks and it wasn’t bad for a cheap whiskey. We also listened to the new San Quinn album that our sister Carol’s boyfriend Dex produced some tracks on. His beats were pretty good and me and Mike decided to try to check out his studio before I headed back to LA.

2-11, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

Johnnie Walker Black Label, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

Mike Having a Taste, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

Gil Drinkin and Chillin, Taken by Dorothy Laughlin

San Quinn Album, Taken by Gil

Lil' John & Mike

On the way home, I tried to get some late night grub at McDonald’s or Taco Bell/KFC by the house but they were closed. The next closest was Jack in the Box on Bayshore in Hunter’s Point but the lines usually get really long over there so I decided to just try to sleep off my hunger.

Day 8: Thanksgiving Day

I woke up this morning feeling dizzy and with a huge headache. I needed to get out quick to go see Mike and his brothers and friends play football. They called their game the Turkey Bowl since it was Thanksgiving. They were playing at Alta Loma Park in San Bruno so I could get some breakfast at Jack in the Box to fill that need from the night before. I felt hella better after getting something in my stomach and I was ready to snap some shots of the game. These guys play football every week and sometimes they play tackle but that was not an option this time around. They ended up playing with a half dozen Polynesians who were huge and were looking to crush some bones. They ended up playing flag football and the yellow team won.

Pre-Game, Filipinos in the Front, Polynesians in the Back

Pre-Game, Mike

Pre-Game, Marvick

After the Snap

Running the Sideline

This Shot Was So Funny, Dude Looked Hella Scared

Capture the Flag

Marvick After the Catch

Head to Head

Wide Receiver

Nice Catch

Moving the Ball

Block and Move

Those are Some Big Dudes Coming at You

Those Polynesians Were Huge

Swatted

Hike

Marvick Getting His Flag Taken

Waiting

After going home and getting ready, my mom and I headed to Marie Calendar’s at Serramonte (Serramanila to all the Filipinos) to get some pies. We tried to get custard and pumpkin but they ran out of custard so we got french apple instead. We headed to Pacifica and picked up a bottle of Crown Royal and a six pack of Newcastle.

We got to the Pacifica family house early and had to eat a little before the meal. When my grandma was dropped off my ready-wheels we put out the ramp that Marshal built so that we could get my grandma in the house. When everyone got there they asked us to take some pictures of the food and with our grandma in front of the food. When we were done taking pictures, my grandma managed to grab a lumpia from the table before she was wheeled away. She hates the food at the nursing home so I guess she couldn’t wait. The lumpias were extra good for some reason too. There was a good mix of Filipino and traditional Thanksgiving food. I pretty much stuck to the Filipino food cause my Tita Lu makes some good ass Filipino food. After dinner, me and my cousins Kris, Jojo, and Ian finished the Newcastles and half of the Crown Royal.

Later, me and my cousins, Kris, Ian, Jojo, Adrienne, Kim, Kelsie, Bianca, and Elanie went to the park next door to throw the football and some frisbees around. I couldn’t really throw the frisbee for shit. I got the hang of it later on though.

After burning off some calories, we headed back into the house and finished the Crown Royal. I was pretty gone at that point and we were going through my laptop to find hip hop samples. We were singing along the new lyrics to the old songs. My cousin Jonathan, who is usually really quiet, got really chatty when it came to talking about music. He is really musical and he plays three instruments (guitar, drums, and something else). I thought he was a straight rocker but he knew about raock, hip hop, old soul/funk, and even electro and B’More. When he was younger, we brought him to some gigs and just let him get on the turntables to move the record back and forth at the end of the night cause the girls thought it was cute. He didn’t know what he was doing but it was still to the beat and you could tell he had the music in him.

At the end of the night, Ian and his mom, Tita Irma, dropped us off on the way back to Oakley.

Deep Fried Turkey from the Chinese Restaurant, Didn't Like It

Lumpias and Some Other Stuff

Day 9: Last Day in San Francisco

This day started off real late and with a huge headache, again. I was hungry so me and my mom walked to Taco Bell/KFC. On the way there we passed by the Cow Palace, which is a indoor event building. It used to be the premier place in San Francisco for events like WWF, Ringling Brothers, car shows, and concerts. The problem was that its entrance was a block from the entrance of the projects with two liquor stores in between. People would make the mistake of parking in the neighborhood instead of the venue and you guys only know what happened next. Nowadays, the Cow Palace doesn’t hold much and is comparable to the Los Angeles Sports Arena. You may have wrestling there but with luchadores, instead of concerts you may see Christian healing events, a bunch of liquidation sales, and motivational speakers.

Before getting to Taco Bell/KFC we passed by a new multi-story apartment building that used to be “El Rancho Market” and was the place we always used to go for groceries. When you look around at all the businesses, they are changing to Chinese establishments. Just in the seven and a half years that I’ve been gone, my neighborhood, Visitacion Valley, changed from predominately Filipino, Black, and Samoan to Chinese and Hispanic. Filipinos and Blacks are moving to Fairfield, Suisun City, Oakley and beyond. Samoans are still there in the same numbers but most of them live in the Sunnydale projects and will be displaced when they are shut down in the next five years. There was a “South Pacific Islands” restaurant next to Taco Bell/KFC that I wanted to try but I didn’t have cash. I will make sure to try it before all the Samoans are gone.

After we ate, I went home and slept for a long time after taking some allergy and headache medicine. I got picked up later by Mike and Dee and we headed to Dee’s mom’s house before heading to Dex’s studio. I had some mongo and rice while I waited for Dee’s mom, Betty, to get home. Mongo is a mix of lentils, meat, bitter melon, and ginger and is really good. When Betty got home the first thing she said to me was “Wow, Paul you gained some weight.” That sucked but she said she liked it and it looked good so I guess that wasn’t a bad thing.

Mongo and Rice

At Dex’s studio, we listened to some unreleased tracks that didn;t make the cut for San Quinn’s new album that were pretty good. There were also some tracks on there with Krondon, CNN, and Killer Mike. The Krondon track was pretty good too. Dex’s workspace was pretty nice. He had a lobby, office, and and recording studio. In the studio, he had a shit load of keyboards, a DJ set up, a sound proof recording booth, and everything else needed to produce beats and record music. His weapon of choice was Sony Acid but he also had Reason and Pro Tools if needed. I got on the turntables (1 Numark cd/turntable hybrid, 1 1200, and a Vestax 06) but didn’t really get to shine that much. The turntables were just not up to par. The needle on the 1200 just wouldn’t hold.

Dex, Mikey, and Carol, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

At Dex's Studio, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

Me on the Turntables at Dex's Studio, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

My Niece/God Daughter Keilani Messing With the Turntables

Mikey at Dex's Studio, Taken by Dorothy Moyrong

After the studio, Mike and Dee dropped me off at the airport and I headed back to LA on Virgin America. Virgin’s planes are dope and you get free cable while you are on your way to your destination. I got back to LA to a hectic arrival area. I got on the 9:30PM LAX flyaway bus to Union Station at 10:00PM. When I got Union Station, my girlfriend Trisha picked me up and we headed home, finally.

Sleep…zZZZZZZ…zZZZZZZZ

Day 4, 5, & 6: San Francisco

Day 4:

I didn’t do much this day. I woke up late and breakfast was already out of the question. My mom and I were gonna go have lunch but we were going to bring my grandma lunch at the nursing home in the Millbrae area. We brought her some Filipino food and chilled with her for about an hour. She is in her early 90s and is in the nursing home because last December she passed out, fell face first, and dislocated her shoulder. There is no one to take care of her at her house in Pacifica so she had to go there. She will be coming home for Thanksgiving though but just for the day and then back to the nursing home.

I kind of hate going to the nursing home because you feel really bad in there. You walk in and almost all the old folks just sit in the hall and they stare at you when you walk by as if you should be coming to see them. Even when we are sitting down with my grandma in her room, old folks come by and just stare at us. It is a little weird but I endure it to see her. She hates it. She hates the food. She hates the help. She hates that other old folks there will steal her food. But mainly she hates that she can’t be with her family as much as she wants to be. We all hate that she is there too but no one can be home all day to make sure she is safe.

After seeing my grandma at the nursing home, my mom and I headed to “The Avenue” in Downtown San Bruno to get some grub. I always want to eat at a place that is not in LA. I stress this to all my family and friends who seem to keep offering places likes BJ’s, TGI Fridays, and Chevy’s as a legitimate place to dine. We ended up going to this Middle Eastern restaurant that was pretty good. The problem was that I got a huge food coma after eating there.

A Bite of Falafel

We left the restaurant and headed to Tanforan Shopping Center so I could pick up some jeans at Old Navy. But I was suffering from the food coma and I had to take a 30 minute nap in the car to try to re-energize. After getting inside the mall, I was like “fuck looking around let’s just get the stuff and go.”

After getting home I thought I was in store for another boring night until my boy Karl (DJ Panik) called me to tell me he was at his parents’ house in SF. This was perfect because their house was a block away from me. I headed over there and we just got in to DJ business talk. He hooked me up with some music videos for the whole VJ thing and we talked about opportunities to get on in SF or the Bay. He offered me his slot for a massive teen party in the East Bay on the Saturday before Christmas. It would be held by the Bayfunction Ent. crew and would expect about 1600 teens. I would be down but I don’t have the leave at work to stay in SF for a whole week again, and I wouldn’t want to anyway as you read in my last post. He then told me about getting a booth for HIN (Hot Import Nights) in the Southern California area. The problem was that it would take promoting and that flyer returns would dictate pay.

Should I?

Later, me and Karl went to Roma Pizza on Mission St. and Amazon St. for a pie and beers. We bought the large house special but could not finish half.

The night was over…

Day 5:

This was probably my most non-vacation day of the week so far. I woke and my mom made me take measurements of the lower level of the house. She recently evicted a tenant who was pretty much mentally disturbed. The lady filed a lawsuit against my mom. My sister was working for a law firm at the time in Honolulu and found old cases where the lady tried to pull the same shit on previous landlords. She always sued for the same amount, had the same statement, and accused the landlords of threats and trespassing. My mom finally got her evicted a few months ago but the damage was done. The lady snitched my mom out about building code violations. My mom has some illegal apartments downstairs (as most houses in San Francisco do) that my dad built to help her make more cash to help pay the bills. Now my mom has to bring a bunch of things up to code and can no longer let one of the rooms be inhabited. It’s crazy cause I grew up in the room they deemed unlivable. Shows how much they know.

My mom also wanted some shots of her and the dog, Daisy, in her new garden area. It was built by her friend Marshal, who lives downstairs in the unlivable room a couple of days out of the week. He only pays my mom about $200 a month to live there and keep his belongings there but he does a lot of handy work for her in the house and backyard. He has also done work for my extended family and has become a family friend. Sometimes it seems like he is the help though. He was even at both my aunt’s and uncle’s funerals last year to help set up the food on the viewing days. Yeah, we eat after the viewing and rosary almost everyday until the funeral.

Mom's Garden Area

Mom and Daisy

After taking dimensions, we drove to my cousin Eric’s house in Pacifica so that my Uncle Mel, who is a civil engineer, could take the dimensions and draft them up professionally. I could have done it myself, but my mom is to impatient to wait for me to get back to LA. I also picked up my Pacquiao shirt but it was too small just like my Upper Playground shirts. I told my cousin Ted to get me a large instead.

Uncle Mel

While at Eric’s house, I enjoyed the view that they had of the deeply vegetated hills of Pacifica. It’s something you don’t really see in metro areas.

Out the Patio Door

Veggie

When I got home from Eric’s house I called my sister Dorothy so I could go hang out at their spot in Colma. I headed over there but I had to make a stop at the ghetto liquor store in the worst neighborhood in Daly City. I bought a six pack of Negra Modelo and a “Cutty Bang” cocktail set. It was funny, they has a whole bunch of ziploc bags that had the ingredients to make single serve cocktails. But most of them are ghetto concoctions that you never heard of like cutty bang, apple jack, go dumb, and a bunch more. You also get a tall styrofoam cup to drink it from (think Lil Wayne). I actually bought it to be part of my white elephant gift at work. I wanted to give a joke gift this year after being the final reciepient of the one last year. I got a huge pair of pink ladies’ underwear, a pack of cigarettes, a $5 gift certificate to McDonanld’s, two cans of malt liquor, and a bunch of scratchers.

Cutty Bang

I got to my sister Dorothy’s (Dee) house and my brother-in-law Mike and his boy Neel were watching the Packers vs. Saints game. I was just talking to Dee, drinking a beer, and taking pictures of the boys Mikey and Marcel (Dee and Mike’s kids). Dorothy is a year older than me and we have the same dad but different mom’s. When Neel left, me and Mike were just catching up while Dee was taking 150 shots on my camera. She did get a really good one on there of her son Marcel though.

My Nephew Marcel

My nephew Mikey, Taken By Dorothy Moyrong

I Like This One of Marcel, Taken By Dorothy Moyrong

Representaz, Taken By Dorothy Moyrong

Night Over…

Day 6:

Today, I was determined to get to Huf and True. I left the house after 11AM and headed to Upper Playground to exchange my shirts for a larger size. I found residential parking but street cleaning was in 10 minutes so I had to get in and out quickly.

Next, I headed to Huf. Good news was that I found parking right on the corner of Hayes St. and Octavia Blvd. Bad News was that the meter cost 25 cents for every 10 minutes, change only. I paid for an hour but when I got to Huf they didn’t have t-shirts or hats anymore, just shoes. I guess they moved all the apparel to the Sutter store downtown. I left quickly and tried to see what else was around, nothing. I ended up eating at Flipper’s Gourmet Burgers to make use of some of my meter time.

I took off and headed to Haight St. I found parking on the corner of Haight St. and Ashbury St. in front of Aardvarks, still 25 cents for 10 minutes. I went to the True shoe store and clothing store but didn’t find anything. They charge way too much for everything (think of Workmen’s on Melrose in LA). They even had the Pacquiao shirt I got for $6 more. I wasn’t fucking with them. They suck. Why do I even go in there every time I go back and almost never buy anything. They would probably try to sell me a $5 bill for $7 if they could. Instead of getting ripped off by True, I ended up buying a Upper Playground shirt at Crossroads for $8.50 and it was in pretty good condition. I also got a pair of Air Max 90s on sale at Shoe Biz for $63.

Later, I went to the downtown Nordstrom with my cousin Joseph so he could pick up some items since he got a 33% employee discount that day. He told me I could look around but I didn’t need to cause I know I can’t afford anything at Nordstrom. I just went along so that me and him could catch up a little. I didn’t know before, but he actually moved in with his girlfriend, Camille at a place in the Sunset district. But when we got back to my house he parked in my driveway, since my mom let’s him, to go stay at his parent’s house for the night, which is two blocks away from my house. Parking is a bitch in SF, you guys already know from the last post.

An hour later I got picked up by my sister Dee and brother-in-law Mike. We met up with my brother Philip, his wife and daughter, Sherril and London, my sister Carol, and her boyfriend Dex. We had dinner at Val’s in Daly City. It’s funny cause we all have passed by this place a million times in our lives but just never ate there. The only reason we ate there was because Dee’s co-worker’s husband owns the place. The food was good, but pricey. I got fried prawns instead of steak because I hate steak. Steak is just not good to me so I never get it. Probably because I like my meat well done.

While Mike was at the ATM

Over dinner we talked about my sister Michelle in Honolulu, my brother Harold who is AWOL since last year, and my sister April who married Phil’s best friend and moved to Dallas with her four kids. We also planned a trip to Vegas in March since me, Dex, Mike, and Phil all have our birthdays that month. London cried a lot during dinner too but Dee told Phil to show her Barney or Elmo on youtube on his iphone and we watched that crying stop quickly. At the end of dinner we actually got free dessert from the owner, but it was just ice cream.

Dee & Phil

London & Sherril

Phil & London

After dinner, Dex and Carol told me to pick up the new San Quinn album because Dex (Dex Beats) produced a few tracks on it. San Quinn is a veteran San Francisco rapper and his been putting out albums since 1995. He is a legend to San Franciscans and is comparable to Joe Montana, if you listen to Bay Area Rap.

After Dinner Scenery

End of night…

For anyone reading this who is confused about my siblings:

Dad: Lawrence Lee Laughlin (Irish)

17 Kids

First 4 children Unknown

Woman: Unknown Mom #1 (Mexican)
Larry
Eva (deceased)
Mike

Woman: Minda (Filipino)
Philip (30 years old)
April (29 years old)

Woman: Katie (my mom-Filipino)
Michelle (28 years old)
Paul (25 years old)

Woman: Betty (Filipino)
James (27 years old)
Dorothy (26 years old)
Carol (25 years old)

Woman: Unknown Mom #2 (Filipino)
Harold (25 years old)

Woman: Rowena (Filipino)
Renz (11-13 years old)
unknown name girl (unknown age)

My dad got a lot of kids and I got a lot of siblings. Michelle is my full blood sister, but the rest are half. Me, Michelle, Phil, April, Dorothy, Carol, James pretty much kept in touch. But now that I live in LA, Michelle lives in Honolulu, and April lives in Dallas it seems harder for us all to get together like we did this night.

My dad may have been a womanizer but he gave me more family which is a good thing to me. For those who might wonder where my dad is now, living like a queen in the Philippines with his wife and youngest kids.

End of Day 2 and All of Day 3 in the Bay: Pacifica to San Francisco

Me and my cousin Kris got our haircuts at Joe’s Barber Shop in Pacifica. The Vietnamese lady does a real good job and a lot of people always go to her. No one ever goes to her husband unless they want a fucked up haircut. I got a 3-2-1 fade and lined up. My cousin Kris got a 2-1 fade and line. I make it a point to always see this lady every time I am in SF. I’ll probably see her on my way out to next Friday.

Fader

Kris and I had dinner at Round Table Pizza at Linda Mar Shopping Center in Pacifica. This isn’t your regular pizza joint. They have a lot of booths for family style dining, a full salad bar, juke box, arcade, and big screens. I remember going there when I was a kid and I loved it. They also had a shit load of 49ers memorabilia all over the wall which brought back even more memories. Me and Kris shared a medium Artisan pizza but I was still hungry after. I had to get a mini meal at McDonald’s after. I also took some pictures around the house when we were just chillin. When I got home, I took some more shots around my mom’s house too.

Old School Shots of My Grandpa

Orchids

Daisy

Quaker Oats Dawg

Day 3 was kind of whack to start off. I woke up pretty late and wanted to get breakfast. I was out before 11AM and I had no plans until 3:30PM. I was headed to this place named Superstar to get Topsilog (Filipino food) for breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any change to feed to meter so I went to Roxie’s, a corner market that makes great sandwiches (especially anything on hot dutch crunch bread). I was trying to parallel park outside and couldn’t manage. In the process I was embarrassing myself in front of entering patrons. I would have to stand in line with them for 5-10 minutes and feel like they were laughing at me on the inside, so I took off. I decided to eat at Joe’s Cable Car. This place is pretty highly regarded by SF residents and visited from people from all over the world. It was a sit down restaurant and I was sitting by myself. I got a Country Burger (with over easy egg), fries, and a soda. It was really good but the bill came out to $22 with tip at the end and I felt like “all that for a burger, fries, and soda?”

Joe's Cable Car

After Joe’s, I headed to Hayes to hopefully pick up some gear at Huf, but I couldn’t seem to find parking. I didn’t want to park in the hood (Fillmore) either, which was a block away. I left and went to Haight and Fillmore to check out Upper Playground. I actually found parking about a block away on Waller and Fillmore within 3 minutes of looking. Upper Playground is dope. They had this new line of shirts that were made up city teams with taboo mascots. There were the Miami Kilos with a razor mascot, San Francisco Panhandlers with a homeless guy with cup mascot, Los Angeles Diablos with a devil mascot, and the New York Pickpockets with two fingers slowly pulling some bills mascot. I ended up buying 3 shirts which came out to about $80. Afterwards I tried to go back to Huf, no luck finding parking again.

Taken from the Car on the Way to Huf

Next, I headed to Market and Portola to get a shot of the San Francisco skyline. After that, I went to check out my old elementary and middle schools which were both just down the block. Then I headed over to Diamond Heights to check out more views of the house lined hills of SF. Later, I ended up at St. Paul’s Cathedral in the Mission Dolores district. The church’s exterior was pretty impressive. Then I headed to McClaren Park to get some shots of Visitacion Valley but none of those really came out that good.

No Parking Here

SF Skyline

Looking East

My Old School Elementary School, Rooftop

Proof

Rooftop Middle School

Sutro Tower from Diamond Heights

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

My time to kill adventure was over, now I was headed to Pacifica to my nephew Kyle’s birthday party at Sea Bowl to see all my cousins, their kids, and my aunt and uncle. I also had to get a digital record pool DVD from my cousin. Two birds with one stone, you know. So, I had to take some shots of my nephew TJ because my family says that he looks like me when I was a baby. I don’t see it but everyone agrees. I also ordered a Pacquiao shirt through my cousin for $20. It has his face on the front and a Filipino flag on the back with some Filipino Pride wording. I may just get my ass beat with this on in LA.

My nephew Kyle Blowing Out the Candles with his Cousins

My nephew TJ

Me in Toddler Form and My Late Uncle Jac (Jacinto)

Rules at Sea Bowl

My Cousin Ted (DJ Tom Solo) Ordering More Pacquiao Shirts for the Family

I left Pacifica to pick up my mom in SF. We were going to a birthday dinner for my Tita (aunt) Lu at Oriental Seafood Restaurant on Noriega, east of Sunset in SF. The food was pretty good and I finally got to taste the inside of the crab (nothing special). The only thing that was weird was how the bathrooms were in the kitchen. I went to the bathroom and saw how filthy thr kitchen was as well as a compost bin in the bathroom. My little cousin Vincent is so hyper that he just couldn’t stop playing the whole time. He even had to blow out the candle on the cake with my aunt.

Name is Right There

My Little Cousin Vincent

Appetizer?

Tea to Neutralize the MSG

For the Soup

My Tita Lu and Cousin Vincent

B-Day Cake

After

After dinner, we went for ice cream at Polly Ann on Noriega, west of Sunset in SF. I got a scoop of Turkish Coffee and Caramel Oreo. They were good, but it seemed that I was full from dinner so I didn’t even finish it. I think I saw an old friend, Freida, there but I didn’t say hello cause it didn’t seem like she recognized me and the last time I approached an old friend I got the “where do we know each other from again?” line. 10 years people.

Polly Ann for Ice Cream

After resting at home, me and my cousin Kris went to Milk Bar on Haight and Ashbury in SF. The party was called Flava of the Month. It was a special tribute party to artists that passed away recently, like Biggie, 2PAC, Left Eye, Big Pun, and Luther Vandross. I really only went to check out the bar that everyone has been telling me about for years and for Shortkut, Apollo, Vinroc, and Swift Rock on the turntables. I only got to see Swift Rock and Shortkut because me and my cousin felt really sick while we were drinking. I think it was the amount of greasy ass MSG heavy Chinese food that we ate plus the ice cream. We both felt like yakking. Milk was fucking dope though. Shorkut killed it with his tribute to fallen artists. You should have seen the whole room go wild when he played Mac Dre – Too Hard for the Fuckin Radio. Everybody was singing along. There were some Latin chicks next to us that kept making eye contact with me and my cousin to ask them to dance and we would have if we were not feeling like we were. My nose was hella running too and I had to go to the bathroom like every 15 minutes to blow it. I usually get major allergies when I come home to SF because my mom has a dog and I am allergic. But back to Milk, it’s fuckin dope. Drinks are average and expensive at the same time. Beers are $5 and hen and coke is $10. You see what I mean when I say average and expensive. I am a little mad that I didn’t get to see Apollo and Vinroc go on but we were feeling like shit. We will try to hit up Milk again, maybe for the reggae club. If not, when I come back to SF.

Flyer Front

Flyer Back

Office Potluck, I-5 Freeway, San Jose, and Pacifica

At work yesterday, my office had a Thanksgiving Potluck, where some people brought dishes from their countries of origin. We had Mexican, Iraqi, and Chinese dishes along with traditional American Thanksgiving food. The best dish was the shrimp ceviche, Sinuhe (my co-worker) Style, which was just shrimp in a lemon/habenero pepper sauce with cut tomatoes, cucumbers, and so on. My second favorite was the Iraqi meat and okra dish which was in a tasty sauce, prepared by my co-worker Muna. Before the shrimp actually got to the serving table, Sinuhe and I had a few to show people that it was okay to eat raw shrimp. Shit was hella good.

Directions:

1. Bite shrimp up to point where headshell ends.
2. If you get legs in your bite, eat them anyway.
3. Suck the juices out of the headshell.
4. Throw the headshell out.
5. Realize what you have been missing in life.

Throughout lunch we made sure that we convinced all the weary to eat the raw shrimp and no one was unhappy with the dish after they tasted it. Some of the girls were even saying that they loved to suck the head, which turned into something a lot nastier, but you know.

Shrimp Before Preparation

Had to Test a Couple to Make Sure it Was Safe to Eat

After You Bite It and Suck the Head

Final Preparation

Manuel Chopping Tamales

Jade Hiding Behind a Semi-Consumed Nacho Chip

Jose Waiting in a Chow Line

James Stole Jade's Spotlight

June Getting Some of That Good Ass Raw Shrimp

I left work at 3:30 yesterday to head up to San Jose with my co-worker Manuel and his boyfriend Leo. We actually took the 2 to the 210 to avoid traffic. We passed by the aftermath of the fires in Sylmar, which humbled us all a little bit when we saw houses burned down to the ground. I was taking shots in the car on the way up but most of them sucked. I liked this one though.

Power Poles from the Car

Even though I am from San Francisco, my friends need to go to Saratoga in the morning so I asked my cousin Kris, who lives in downtown San Jose while he attends San Jose State University, if we could spend the night there. When we got there, Kris and I started fucking with the Hookah as I drank a can of MGD: Charcoal Filtered…yum…sike. We were also blowing some smoke bubbles with the contraption in the “WTF!!” picture below.

Directions:

1. Take a hit of the hookah.
2. Dip the half bottle into the bubble soap.
3. Blow the smoke into the mouth of the half bottle and make a bubble.
4. Twist your wrist and pull the half bottle away.
5. Watch your smoke bubble and be proud of your achievement.
6. Go to the bar and get wasted.

So after smoking the very thick hookah, we decided to go to the bars in Downtown San Jose. The first bar we went to was playing rock music mixed by some unknown DJ. The music was way too loud but the beers were reasonably priced ($5). There was no cover either. The second bar was better but similar because they had no cover and $5 beers. The music and the DJ was better at the second bar. I wish I had names of these bars but I don’t pay attention to that shit. Downtown San Jose is a pretty cool place to party, even on a Thursday night, with a bunch of newer bars and clubs.

Hookah Biiiiiiaaaaaaaattttttttcccccccchhhhhhhh!!! j/p

Have You Ever Seen A Bubble? Have You Ever Seen A Bubble On Weeeeeeed?

WTF??

I decided to take shots in and around my cousin’s apartment. Here are the results.

Proper Storage Protocol & Beer Bottle Recycling

Yeah, its a Iron, And...

10 to Follow. The Eyes are Watching you.

Kris and I went to go have breakfast at this spot across the street from SJSU. I got a huge plate of hash browns, eggs, toast, and sausages for less than $4. It was pretty good too. We then took a little walk through SJSU to a statue of the scene from the 1968 Olympics where Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Panther salute while they received their Gold and Bronze medals, respectively.

At a Restaurant Across the Street from SJSU

Salt & Pepper

Black Power at SJSU

You Heard Me the First Time

After getting back to my cousin’s hometown, I wanted to try to take advantage of the great views offered in Pacifica. I didn’t get much this time but I will be in the Bay Area for a week, so I will have my second chance. I did get to see a castle style house or building that was out of nowhere.

At the Castle in Pacifica

Pacifica Pier from the Castle

I Wish!! Artwork in Pacifica

First two days in the Bay almost done…

SIPA Sessions Are A Must!!

Whoever thought you could learn how to DJ, make beats, and record music for free without being a hot girl or having a Dj in your family or circle of friends. Well people this is your chance to learn it all. Come to SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans) Sessions, where the love for music brings together men and women of many different races, ages, class levels, and religious backgrounds to do one thing, make dope music.

Learn how to DJ from Laurent with opportunities to learn more from seasoned vets like Linotype, Jeffrey.Soulspeak, Phatrick, Waxstyles, and myself, Spingineer. Feed off each other in roundtable type mix and scratch sessions. Making beats your thing? Soulspeak and Phatrick are there too provide priceless knowledge in making beats, recording tracks, and so on. With a good amount of MCs that make their way to SIPA for every session are always down to freestyle with you over some hot beats.

So make your way to SIPA Sessions at the corner of Temple St and Dylon St every Monday and Thursday from 5PM-8PM. This also a great place to network for those DJs, producers, and MCs who already know a little something about the business. I was a DJ for almost 11 years when I first got to SIPA Sessions and the networking opportunities are never ending.

DJs currently affiliated with SIPA:
Linotype
Jeffrey.Soulspeak
Phatrick
Waxstyles
Laurent (Don’t know his alias)
Matt (His either)

MCs/Producers currently affiliated with SIPA:
Budda Baboon
Proda-Gz
Phazze Beats
Queen Herstory

SIPA Sessions Official Flyer

Shots from previous SIPA Sessions:

4x4 Session

Making Beats

More Session

Spotlight on DJ Siik

I met DJ Siik at the May 2008 Come Up party. This San Fernando Valley kid’s mixes was real clean and his music selection was immaculate. His mixes sounded like they were meant to be together.

DJ Siik, Unknown Photographer

Getting to know Siik more I found out that he is still a beginner on turntables and that he never really touched any until that day at The Come Up. That amazed me because he just picked it up real quick and his mixes are hella clean. Later I got to see him mix in some acapellas for a 4×4 set with Mike Deuce and he even had great timing, which can take other DJs years to master. He is a natural and with a few more years on turntables he will become one of the siikest in the business.

Siik also has a blog that is very successful and has a huge following. He got a lot of mixes up there as well as remixes that sometimes seem to be a better fit to the song than the original track. Keep up with DJ Siik at www.siik.org and download his mixes and remixes.

If you are in Honolulu, Hawaii, pick up Siik’s mixtape “In Between” at In4mation.

DJ Siik - In Between at In4mation in Hawaii

Here are some of my favorite DJ Siik mixes and remixes (in no particular order):

Remix: Amerie – One Thing (Siik Remix)

Remix: Aaliyah – If Your Girl Only Knew (Siik Remix)

Remix: Snoop Dogg – Signs (Siik Remix)

Remix: Estelle – American Boy (Siik Remix)

Remix: T-Pain – Can’t Believe It (Siik Remix)

Remix: Robin Thicke – Wanna Love You Girl (Siik Remix)

Michael Jackson – Remember the Time (Siik Remix)

Mix: Siik – In Between

Track listing:
dem franchize boyz – oh i think they like me (remix?)
dan the automator – to catch a thief
the avalanches – tonight
blackalicious – deception
fantastic plastic machine – black dada
nightmares on wax – morse
black sheep – B.B.S.
camp lo – gotcha
cibo matto – moonchild
the roots – you got me
pharcyde – she said(mike caren mix)

Mix: Siik – How’s Your Lady

Track listing:
q-tip – blue girl
pharcyde – passin me by(fly as pie mix)
nightmares on wax-a night’s interlude
a tribe called quest – bonita applebum(hootie mix)
kick the can crew – nounai vacation
the roots – proceed ii
ugly duckling – another samba
nujabes – kumomi
black star – brown skin lady
will i am – lay me down

Mix: Siik – All I Want

Track listing:
lemongrass – lightning fire
kanye west – heard em say (instrumental)
federico aubele – postales
bonobo – ketto
thievery corporation – the supreme illusion
polyrhythm addicts – take me home
gift of gab – evolution
dwele – keep on
one self – over expose
nujabes – reflection eternal
the roots – act too (the love of my life)

Mix: Siik – Bous

Track listing:
kelis – glow
common – love is
glenn lewis – don’t you forget it
brandy – best friend
michael jackson – butterflies
dwele – hold on
cooly’s hot box – what a surprise
laurnea – keep your head up
carmen rodgers – dream
raphael saadiq – be here
lauryn hill – i used to love him
toni braxton – you’re makin me high

Mix: Siik – I Don’t Even Like Coffee

Track listing:
a tribe called quest – i c u doin’ it
the roots – what they do
black eyed peas – fallin’ up
andre 3000 – she lievs in my lap
amerie – why don’t we fall in love (richcraft remix)
kenny dope – horn joint
misia – escape (dj watarai remix)
miho – esperanza
shing02 – luv(sic) instrumental
monday michiru – when i’m with you (dj krush remix)
a tribe called quest – like it like that
yesterday’s new quintet – uno esta
the tribe called quest – like that
outkast – ms jackson
jazzanova – no use

Mix: Siik – Unable to Satisfy

Track listing:
pharcyde – on the dl
gift of gab – to know you
common – faithful
n.e.r.d. – run to the sun
thievery corporation – samba tranquile
dj cam – dieu reconnaitra les siens
gagle – practice and tactix(soljazz mix)
nightmares on wax – 70s 80s
shakkazombie – kokoro warp(4 hero friday nite remix)
tosca – chocolate elvis(boozoo bajou remix)
jaffa – sneakin
ratatat – crips
q-tip – movin with u
prefuse 73 – detchibe

Did I mention that Siik is a siik ass photographer with samples on his blog.

Sample of Siik's photos, Shot in Hawaii

No more sleeping on DJ Siik. Kid is dope…

New Mix Posted: Post-Diggin’ Sunday 11.16.08 Update

So Diggin’ Sunday was fun. The guy who runs the monthly open turntable jam session took a break and let Mike “Waxstyles” and Maya “equanimous1″ run the session. A good amount of people showed up to spin including author Ruben Molina, who laced us with some old soul 45s. Ruben wrote “The Old Barrio Guide to Lowrider Music: 1950-1975″ and “Chicano Soul: Recordings & History of an American Culture.”

Old Barrio Guide to Lowrider Music: 1950-1975 by Ruben Molina

Chicano Soul: Recordings & History of an American Culture by Ruben Molina

The big difference with this Diggin’ Sunday and those of the past was the inclusion of Serato Scrtachlive. Waxstyles decided to bring it along and it was not welcomed with open arms by the regulars but helped me to express myself the best way I knew how without the use of the limited selection of records I have. Don’t get me wrong, I have about 1000 records but I came up as a working DJ and most of the stuff is not fit for Diggin’ Sunday. I wanted to get down like they got down. The “Yes on Serato Scratchlive” speech is coming…But for now, I will try my best to use the records I have at Diggin’ Sunday. It will be a lot of 90s hip hop though…

My Record Collection with matching Ikea Shelf Converted into DJ Table

Here is a mix inspired by the chillin’ on a Sunday afternoon style that you get at Diggin’ Sundays at Tribal Cafe. It is a real loungy/downtempoish sounding mix and I had to pump it out after coming from Diggin’ Sunday last night. Enjoy.

11.16.08 Loungin’ Mix (Click to Download)

1. 7 Samurai – Uptown Rankin
2. 40 Winks – Soulful Sensitivity
3. Dean Zigoris – The Seasons: Barcarolle
4. Bjork – I Miss You (Dobie Sunshine Mix)
5. Everything But The Girl – Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Sole Full Remix)
6. Freddie Cruger – Over the Ocean feat. Desmond Foster
7. Dela – La Bonne Attitude
8. Nujabes – Reflection Eternal
9. Kruder & Dorfmeister – Ocean Beat
10. J Dilla – Sometimes (Instrumental)

Here are pictures from Diggin’ Sunday.

Oooooh, Nice headphones

One Way of Lounging at Diggin' Sunday

Yours Truly on the 1s and 2s, Taken by Matt Nailit

Donald Byrd is Dope. Matt in the Background is as Well.

Ruben Molina Spinning and Discussing Life with Joel

Ruben Molina Spinning

Maya, Equanimous1

Best Weekend in a Long Time

I didn’t plan to do much this weekend as is true of most weekends. But I felt I needed to do more things without my girlfriend (meaning with friends, my girlfriend is always fun to be around), so this weekend I partied it up on my own.

The weekend started off good on Friday night at Foot Work at the Terrace in Pasadena. The Come Up resident DJ Linotype is also a resident DJ at this club. I heard that this club used to pack all guys with nothing but 90s hip hop and was strictly on that head bobbin’ tip. It was totally different when I went. There were a lot of women in there and even though 90s hip hop was played, a lot of danceable music was played too. The crowd was pretty diverse as well, where The Come Up has a mainly Asian following. This party seemed like a place that I would want to spin at and I already expressed my interest to Linotype.

Foot Work, Every 2nd Friday

Linotype, Business As Usual

Footwork Partygoers

Not feeling so good the next morning due to excessive drinking and wasting a morning shopping for clothes that didn’t fit (need to shed some pounds) in Glendale, I attended The Scorpio Party at the Oiwake Restaurant in Little Tokyo. Again, DJ Linotype was spinning along with Waxstyles and The Optimist. The party’s proceeds from the cover charge went directly to the Tuesday Night Cafe Project. The bar was a different story since the fundraiser did not take home a percentage. So instead of spending most of my money at the pricey bar, me, Gabe, and Come Up DJs Dumlao and Mike Deuce decided to swig whisky in the car. It didn’t save me much though. I paid the $5 cover, had a $9 hen and coke, $5 sake bomb, and a 22 oz. Sapporo of unknown value, but I took $40 out of the ATM and had $4 when I left at the end of the night. I tip too much…

The Scorpio Party

Waxstyles is for the People

The Optimist Back From SF

Finally, I woke this morning to another hangover but I was still determined to spin at Diggin’ Sunday at 1PM. I stayed up until 4AM after getting back from the Scorpio Party choosing music for Diggin’ Sunday. So now that I am sitting in Tribal Cafe with my first set done I am a little dissatisfied with my performance. It is real hard to hear the output and the beginning of my set was pretty bad, awful actually. But I am ready to go on again if I can and maybe I’ll play more soulful stuff. I actually just got mad props from one of attendees here who wanted more info on where I spin at and if I got mixtapes.

Diggin' Sunday, Every 3rd Sunday at Tribal Cafe

More pictures to come from Diggin’ Sunday, 11.16.08

More Shots Using the 50mm 1.8 D Lens

Everyday this lens just amazes me more. I still run into issues when I get into new or different lighting situations. I still lose some good shots though because my settings are off or I can’t hold the camera steady because I had way too much to drink. No matter the case, here are some shots that came out that look decent without post-edits.

Under California Plaza

ART at the Neon Art Museum

Neon

Neon

Rear View

Lower Grand

Lower Grand

Number 1 Pigeon Chill Spot

New Mix Posted: Diggin’ Sunday 10.19.08 Mix

This was my first time doing a whole set at Tribal Cafe’s Diggin Sunday which goes down every third Sunday of the month in Historic Filipinotown. Although there are themes for each session, I could not find any current information about what kind of music to play. I created a set with the understanding that the session is on more of a positive vibe. I chose more songs that were soulful and positive. But without Serato my selection is limited. I have almost a thousand records but most of it doesn’t work at Diggin Sunday.

Diggin Sunday Official Flyer

After completing my set I found out that the theme was positive music and that my set worked. The only thing is that there was a little too much bad language in my set and their was a pre-teen girl at the cafe sitting right in front of the speaker doing her homework. But in the end there were no complaints.

I immediately recorded the mix when I got home and here it is for your enjoyment:

10.19.08 Diggin’ Sunday Mix (Click to Download)

Playlist:
1. Common – Reminding Me (Of Sef)
2. Nas – One Love (Remix)
3. Arrested Development – Easy My Mind
4. Kurious – I’m Kurious
5. Common – This Is Me
6. Fugees – Fu-Gee-La (Remix)
7. Hieroglyphics – You Never Knew
8. Reflection Eternal – 2000 Seasons (Instrumental)
9. Spearhead – Hole in the Bucket
10. The Roots – You Got Me

Enjoy. I hope these songs bring you back…