2011 NBA Jam Session

Jam Session was crazy fun.  I went two days and met plenty of players, got autographs, and did all the picture taking booths with my friends. 

Started off with a 10 minute wait for an autograph from Eric Gordon of the Clippers.

Met former Duke Blue Devil and Marina High grad Cherokee Parks. 

LA High School phenom, Jason Hart of Inglewood High and Syracuse University. 

Stopped by Center Court and watched the Laker Girls give a dance clinic to the kids. 

It was cute.  The little girls were having so much fun.  When they announced that the Laker Girls would imitate whatever dance they did, one little five year old black girl was stunned and shocked and just froze up with that jaw drop face that said, “OMG… OMG… OMG!!!”

Learned that that step and clap that the Laker Girls do during timeouts is called the Pony Step and Cross.  So educational!

Half of me…

Vinyl Spin Art.  It’s like what you did when you were a little kid with cardboard, paint, and a spinning machine, except it was with a record. 

If you ever go to one of these, Saturday is the day to go.  So many of the players are there signing or making appearances!  Just from my short walk around the facility, I saw signings or appearances by Dwyane Wade at the T-Mobile booth, Dwight Howard at Farmers Insurance, Kevin Love, Craig Sager at the Time Warner, Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo signing at the Kia Motors exhibit, not to mention seeing Darryl Dawkins and Dikembe Mutumbo just walking around.  Also, Blake Griffin was giving out free autographs on Sunday. 

Even though everyone was promoting Blake Griffin in all their photo giveaways, all the all stars were still in the shadow of Kobe. 

We got there early, at 9:15, waited 15 minutes and got a pic and autograph from Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors!  He wasn’t an All Star this year, but just wait a couple of years, he’s going to be an All Star for years. 

We turned a corner and there he was… Lebron James of 1994… Felipe Lopez.  It’s sort of sad.  He was the baddest cat and projected guaranteed lottery pick.  He was MVP of the McDonald’s All American game and went to St. John’s University.  He was in the show for a few years but his NBA career never really took off. 

“Throw up them dueces!!!”  That’s what Craig Hodges was telling me when I saw him walking the floor.  Him and Larry Bird are the only three time 3 Point Shootout champions.  Not to mention winning a few titles with the Chicago Bulls and now a coach with my Lakers. 

At the Jam Session, one of the booths let us make our own basketball cards.  My friend Annie told me she was going to own me on the court, but it sort of looks like it’s the other way around.  As my boy Snoop Dogg once said, “The West Coast is the Breast Coast!!!”

Next up… pics from the All Star Practice!

This is what they call a tease…

I’m really behind on pics, but I’ve actually been out and about.  I owe you the My Chemical Romance ones, but that’s not all.  Last week I ended up at a tiny pre-grammy party with Lady Antebellum and so many others (holy crap what a show!), and this week I’ll be at the NBA All-Star practice.  I had tickets to the dunk contest but it was too pricey for the seats I had (do you know face was $630 for a pair of the worst upper level seats?) so I sold those off.  I could’ve been in NY, VIP floor for Lady Gaga @ MSG next week but decided to pass on road tripping out there.  I’ve also been lucky, getting floor tickets for the Strokes @ MSG and pit for Katy Perry @ Nassau Coliseum.

Have you seen all the new music that’s releasing?  Oooo… I’m excited.  New albums from Adele, Cut Copy, the Strokes, and Radiohead drops this weekend.  AHHHHHH!!!! 

Tip of the week from All Star Weekend… Blake Griffin will be signing free autographs at NBA Jam Session on Sunday… if he wins the dunk contest and shows up… Jam Session is going to be, OMG, I couldn’t even imagine the madness.

Everything has been hectic except for online dating.  Nothing going on there.  Hahaha.  Oh well, can’t have everything at once…

I was at South Coast Plaza for a Lunar New Year party on Friday, moseyed on into the Adidas store and stumbled upon these. 

I was sort of speechless.  I’m a sneakerhead, but haven’t bought anything major for four years, other than pairs I can actually wear.  I gave up on it because I already have all the first run retro Jordans and all the re-releases of those are shoddy quality.  I bought them because I loved the shoes, not necessarily to make a buck.  My all time fave is the Jordan XI’s, at one point I had 20 pairs of my size in various colors.  I still hold quite a bit of those.  Of all those colors, my heart melts for the all white highs with tinge of columbia blue XI “whites” or back in 1996 they were known as the “all star game” edition. 

Anyhow, the Adidas clerk was clearly excited, telling me how they were already going for gobs of money on ebay and that they only received one pair of each size, how a girl from China was there in the morning and she was a women’s size 6 but they only had men’s 7 1/2 in pink so she bought those.  At 8:30 p.m., they had 5 pairs left and they had my size.  I tried them on and they fit perfectly.  What the hey, I got them in brown.

They also have some glow-in-the-dark wings shoes that make your feet look like Hermes, messenger for Zeus.  Those are pretty dope.  They are sneakers with a wing flap that you can flip up.  The whole sneaker glows in the dark, other than the sole. 

Adidas Jeremy Scott ObyO JS Bears 

I know, they are pretty crazy.  I saw them and my first thought was, “Who the hell would buy those?”  But seconds later the fun side of me was thinking, “They are pretty sweet… why am I still looking and touching them?”   Man… they are sort of growing on me.  They are so crazy that I’m starting to think they’re cool.  The only place I could ever wear them to would be a bad ass Hollywood house party, but I’ve never been invited to one of those, so that means I’d never get to sport them.  I imagine it’s the type of shoe that if I wore them to the mall, all the guys would give me lame looks and all the girls would stop me and comment on them… “Soooo cute!!!” 

What do you think, should I keep or sell them?   Are they rad or stupid?  Be honest.   I hear they are releasing pandas next month!

It’s 2011 and that means more money to use in my Roth IRA… Last year’s money went to Apple.  What company(s) should I invest it in this year?  

A couple of months ago I had some light irritation in my shoulder, probably from sleeping wrong.  This past week, it got irritated and then all my shoulder muscles started knotting and locking up from inadvertently overcompensating.  I went to get a massage and even after that, she was only able to remove half of the tension. 

Saturday I went to the doctor and got prescribed Naxopren and Flexeril.  One is a anti-inflammatory, the other is a muscle relaxant.  The problem is that both drugs may cause drowsiness.  At 10 p.m. I was so woozy that I went to sleep and was conked out for 11 hours.  I woke up Sunday and was still dazed.   

All I could think of was… this what Michael Jackson must’ve felt like… a walking zombie with his pain numbed.  So I decided… If I get pain during the day, I’ll take Naxopren.  Before I go to sleep, I’ll take Flexeril, then hopefully it’ll relax my muscles for the next day.   Long term side effects of Flexeril… drowsiness, hallucinations, mood swings, suicidal thoughts, nightmares.  Hahaha.  Any of you ever had rotator cuff or shoulder pain?  

I wish I had some good dating stories for you, but I haven’t been dating at all.  What’s wrong with me?  The only people hunting me down have been big white girls.  Where are the Asians or the caucasian girl-next-doors?  Why don’t I have any motivation to get out there? 

I haven’t been doing too much of anything recently.  Went to the Lakers vs. Thunder game, that’s about it.   But the next month or two might heat up.  I have tickets to the NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star 3 Point Shootout & Dunk Competition (would prefer to sell them over going), Dierks Bentley & Friends pre-Grammy concert at the Troubadour, OMD in March (yeah, you know them, a cross between Pet Shop Boys & New Order, in the US for the first time in over 20 years), floor tickets to Lady Gaga in NY and LA (obviously I’m not going to the NY show… wait, I could book a flight and go…), and this Wednesday I get to meet My Chemical Romance for an intimate Q&A and signing!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention, I have iCarly tickets for Anaheim House of Blues… any hot mommies want to bring their little girls?   

What new CD’s are you diggin’?  I can’t wait for the new Adele and Cut Copy to drop.  Radiohead, where are you???  I would love to go to Coachella on Day 3… reunion of the Strokes and the sun going down with Kanye West.  Even Duran Duran is playing on Day 3! 

My friend (a high schooler) had unlimited free tickets to the Jay Chou concert in LA and forgot to ask me!  Her uncle is Jay’s agent and since the show wasn’t close to selling out, I could’ve gone gratis (Seriously, who is going to pay $300-$500 for lower level seats in this economy).  Well, at least she hooked me up with the Jay Chou/Kato Green Hornet figure that they’re giving away with kid’s meals at Carl’s Jr.  Who would’ve ever thought the day would come that we could find Jay Chou action figures at our local hamburger joint in America?   

Zhou Jie Lun!  Zhou Jie Lun!  Zhou Jie Lun!

Cheap Ass Meetup

My friend formed a meetup group for Asian-American singles in LA and OC so I joined.  I went to my first event last week.  The dinner was at a French brasserie that had a $10 value menu (like Filet Mignon for $10). 

I sat myself down across from two girls, one of whom was fairly cute.  Before I could decide if she was really cute or just cute from a distance, she got ugly.  She opened her mouth. 

It wasn’t the color of teeth or the smell of her breath.  It was her whining.  She asked the waiter about the $10 menu, but he stated that for parties greater than 8, then $10 menu was not in effect.  He explained that there was a three course prix fixe for $18.  French onion soup, filet mignon, and dessert for $18?  Not a bad deal. 

There’s nothing wrong with asking about the happy hour deals or the daily specials, but if you’re single and at a mixer, would you keep on complaining about saving $5 on a steak or fish dish?  The girl harped on it for the next 20 minutes.  She asked the waiter to ask the manager if we could be the exception group.  After the manager wouldn’t approve, she and her friend started whispering that maybe they should move to their own table since they don’t know anyone at the meetup group table anyways.   Five minutes in, I was already praying that they’d move. 

I’ve never really thought about instant deal breakers but sitting there clarified one for me.  When a girl is in a nicer restaurant and can’t just enjoy the restaurant for what it is, then she doesn’t know how to let go and relax and will always be unsatisfied in life.  You’re career age.  You’re in a group to meet new people.  The first thing you do is advertise your cheapness even though you’re at least in your late 20′s, holding a brown LV bag that your mom or your ex-BF bought you.  Thank God this girl wasn’t one of my online dates. 

What’s worse than being stuck with buying a $15 martini for a girl you have little interest in?  Being stuck with a girl who’s complaining in disbelief about how expensive that martini is.  The one that you bought her.   Anyhow, this Howie is smart and cheap too (he did not buy her drink).  He bought himself a glass of red wine and while the girl whined away.  Last thing I heard, “Where’s the server?  It’s taking him forever to bring us some bread…”    Seriously, STFU. 

December was a blurrrrr to me.  Worked the normal shift that pays with benefits, then worked my ticket broker side project like mad, listing everything I could in hopes that people would buy tickets for gifts.  Lakers?  Taylor Swift in August 2011?  Dierks Bentley?  White Lies?  My Chemical Romance?  Lady Gaga in New York in February?  All sures.  So I did a good month, of course it could’ve been better, but thank the gods of Cobol that it wasn’t bad.  Bad is like this summer, when I lost $3k on Lady Gaga tickets (blame the recession).  And then after all the major online pimping was done, I was sitting having dinner at Mama D’s with the Pixar artist and the former Laker girl and noticed the date… it was December 23rd.  I missed the whole month of Christmas. 

I didn’t write cards to anyone, which I hate myself for, as I’ve written cards for the last twenty years.  Oh well… only two people complained that they weren’t getting a homemade card.  I’m not that missed.  The world goes on. 

My New Year’s was quite royal.  Friday started with a $20.10 prix fixe lunch at Charlie Palmer.  Pear salad with walnuts and gorgonzola, medium rare strip steak with short rib sauce (because they ran out of the short rib) and mashed potatoes, then pumpkin bread pudding with ice cream, add a Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir for $6.  There was the 80s house party, with board games and 80s music rockin’ in the New Year until 3 in the morning.  New Year’s day I had an awesomely seasoned and seared steak and had Jack and Coke while watching others play flip cup at a house they rented in Huntington Beach. 

The day after that was rainy Sunday.  I hate the rain, but it was a near perfect day.  It started off with a botched attempt to get $25 student rush matinee tickets to see West Side Story at the Pantages, a pee stop at the W Hotel across the street (stealing their free coffee), then we strolled through the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, thumbed for CDs at Ameoba Records on Sunset, checked out vintage clothes on Melrose, crashed Mozza with only a 15 minute wait for lunch at 1 p.m., took pictures at the Statue of David house, showed my friend downtown LA and Skid Row (which she really wanted to see because they don’t have places like that in Japan).  Then we picked up her rental car, went to the Japanese market, and then I gave her a 20 minute lesson on how to drive on the right side of the road.  Hot damn the girl did good!   How would you fare if it was dark, pouring rain and I made you drive on a California freeway for the first time in your life?  If you’ve never sat in the driver’s seat on the left side of a car or driven on the right side of the road?  

What I learned last weekend?  Macallan 12 year is smooth, my Generra Hypercolor shirt still works after 20 years, Hollywood Farmer’s Market is a good place to people watch, and 21 year-old Japanese girls are fearless. 

My New Year’s Weekend…

What is LA?  Seeing Norrywood (the house with all the Statue of Davids in front) decked out for Christmas.  Check it out at 3rd and Muirfeld (near 3rd and Beverly).  That’s him, Norwood Young, in front of his house! 

Norwood Young is a singer (of very minor fame) and socialite in the LA area, known for throwing parties.  Now you know. 

Said wassups to my boy John Lennon. 

Walked up to Pizzeria Mozza and only waited 15 minutes for a seat at the counter!  I’ve been waiting two years to try Mozza.  If you want to book a table during normal hours (like not eat at 10:30 p.m.), you have to book it a month in advance!

Above, that’s pineapple and jalepeno pizza, about to be topped off with some proscuitto.  Below, brussel sprouts with proscuitto bread crumbs.  Next to that, the pizza making line.  The pizzas may take 20-30 minutes to get to your table, but trust me, those guys are cranking them out fast.  They were flippin’ dough non-stop. 

Olives al Forno (clay oven roasted). 

Speck Pizza.  Proscuitto, Buffalo Mozzarella, Olive Tapenade, Oregano.   This was very good, not too heavy.  

The Funghi Pizza (mushroom).  Funghi Misti, Fontina, Taleggio, Thyme.  This one was the bomb!  ‘Shrooms everywhere and smothered in truffle oil or something that tasted like it.   This was very flavorful and overpowering compared to the Speck, but it was good that we had both to mix it up.  Don’t want everything heavy, you know? 

Mozza’s crust is perfect, it really is.  Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa can’t compare, because the center of Ortica’s thin crust pizza’s always get soggy.  I still like Ortica, it’s just not Mozza.  At Mozza, the crust is just the right crunchiness and holds up.  The most popular pizzas (from what I saw the chefs making) seemed to be the Funghi, Speck w/ Mozzarella, Speck w/Pineapple and Jalepenos, both Fennel Sausage Pizzas (one has bacon and salami, the other has red onions and scallions), and the Egg, Bacon, and Yukon Gold Potatoes with Bermuda Onions.    

Nancy Silverton’s World-Famous-To-Die-For-Butterscotch-Budino.  I told my friend we could share one.  She said she was very full and would only have a taste.   Then she kept on dipping and couldn’t stop, eating more than half of it!  The sea salt, creme fraiche, and butterscotch all play together perfectly.  

I’ve always wanted to crash the light party at TBN/Trinity Broadcasting Network.  We all know they are evangelizing money grabbers.  Anyone can just drive onto the lot and there’s no one there. 

Spending time with my hero, Baby Jesus. 

Kazumi, hanging out with the Three Wisemen in the rain. 

Turn back the clock… I look hella skinny in this picture!  The darkness is so slimming…. love it.  Ryan Seacrest here I come…

Sufjan Stevens @ The Wiltern – Saturday, October 23, 2010 

Failing on pairs, I scored only a single ticket.  Center pit, will call only, 4th row seat for the Sufjan Stevens show (only the pit seats were will call restricted)!  Get this… $47, including service fees (pit tickets worth about $250 a piece on Stubhub).  Even found free street parking 30 minutes before the show started.  

Opener was bandmate DM Stith. 

View from my seat… heavenly!  Even though it was in the 4th row, there were no seats set up in front of me. 

Main Set Setlist:

1. Seven Swans
2. Too Much 
3. Age of Adz
4. Heirloom
5. I Walked
6. Futile Devices 
7. Vesuvius 
8. Now That I’m Older 
9. Get Real Get Right 
10. Enchanting Ghost 
11. Impossible Soul
12. Chicago

The main set was top heavy, space age/tribal/Aztecan screen graphics featured many drawings by the former electic, recluse artist Royal Robertson (from whom Sufjan got most of his inspiration from for this album).  I was warned by other reviews that there would be a 25 minute song… “Impossible Soul.”  I braced myself for the worst since I hadn’t yet heard his new album “Age of Adz”.   Nothing can be worse than a slow moving 30 minute Franz Schubert classical romantic piece can it? 

Impossible Soul.  WOW.  That song was the bomb.  25 minutes felt like five, as the development of many mini tales led to one big picture masterpiece.   When it was over, we (everyone around me) looked at each other and we all had that look, “Did you witness what I just witnessed?  Holy Sh*t!!!”  Dancing, keyboards, rapping, auto tune, guitar…  WOW.  Totally blown away.  I felt the magic in the air, that magic I only feel once or twice a year, when I’m at a really special performance. 

Encore:

1. Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois 
2. Casimir Pulaski Day
3. The Dress Looks Nice On You 
4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. 

For his previous shows on this tour he pulled out three finishing songs, but for LA (because he loves us so!), he did the four.  If you know his music, those three songs from Illinois are duly heralded masterpieces. ”The Dress Looks Nice On You” had the man next to me, heavily tattoed and wearing a vintage Mickey Mouse shirt, crying.  To close with “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”… so killer.  If you’ve never heard it before, if you’re like me, you’ll think it was one of the most serene songs ever written, until you realize… it’s about a mass murder. 

Sufjan Stevens, awe inspiring, musical genius.  Hands down, best indie/rock concert that I’ve seen all year. 

Epic Fail – Xanga Uploader

One thing that has been a real biter in me putting up picture posts is the now epic fail of Xanga’s Photo Uploader.  I didn’t expect Xanga to have the resources to match and update their code and user interface like Facebook Photos, but the existing uploader was semi-decent and easy enough to use, where I could load 10-15 photos and write the descriptions and tags on them in bulk.  Now the uploader no longer works and there seems to be no communication or response from Xanga on this.  It’s replacement is the embeded picture loader that is cumbersome to use.  To describe your pictures, one must open each picture individually and write and save the descriptions, one by one. 

Did that server migration from two months ago really help?  Or did it just transport Xanga from a company with a few employees to a self-sustaining server with no employees? 

Whiny Me @ Christmas

I did my first Christmassy thing this past weekend when we went walking to see the lights at Naples (Long Beach, not Italy).  I fear I’m missing the season again.   I did have some Peppermint Stick ice cream from Riteaid to go along with my walk. 

Is it even Christmas?  My box hasn’t even filled with picture cards of people’s kids and dogs yet.  So far I count… one, two, three picture cards.   I will not complain anymore because I haven’t sent out any cards.   The usual ratio (outside of co-workers) is sending out like 30 and receiving 10-12, 10 of which are picture cards.  

Amidst all the hype, the Lakers vs. Heat Christmas Day game tickets are not selling well.  I was lucky that someone bought my four set this weekend.  Thank you Mr. Cho from Boston!!!  I still have a pair to dump.  It’s the priciest regular season game in history, but it’s all a farce because people aren’t biting.  Maybe sales will pickup as the game gets closer, but it’s only 10 days away and 15% of the seats in the arena are still available.  If you were looking to get some for your boyfriend, husband, father, buy them the day before, when the prices have sunk like the Exxon Valdez. 

What is Christmas?  Is it gifts?  Is in memories of the past that we hold on to?  Is it the excitement of our current love?  I don’t have a current love, I’m too old to be buying all of my friends gifts, the only gifts I bought were an XBox for myself with NBA 2k11.  My Christmas has sunk to new lows.  Freek… I won’t even be making cards this year.  I feel like such a failure. 

Christmas for myself continued… DVDs I splurged on on Black Friday:  24 (Season 7), Mad Men (Season 3), James Bond 2 Disc Sets for $4-$5 each (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, To Live and Let Die, Octopussy, For Your Eyes Only, Die Another Day), Nick & Norah’s Playlist, 500 Days of Summer, Slumdog Millionaire, Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Platoon, Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  All DVDs were $2-$5 each, except for 24 and Mad Men which were $10.  Did you know I have a crush on Kat Dennings?   Mmmmm Nick and Norah’s Playlist. 

Even the office water cooler has been lacking more than usual.  Boxes of candies, cookies and other snacks that used to be sent by clients and law firms have all disappeared.  It’s the 15th and so far one department that would have received ten boxes of things has only received one box of chocolate.  One can only assume that the marketing and client relations budgets have been suffered huge cutbacks.  The receptionist tells me that we’ve barely gotten any Christmas cards this year. 

Yeah, I’m doing Christmastime lamenting.  Really, I can’t complain, my savings and retirement accounts have more money in them than what I started the year with.  I have a job and I’m happy as to where my investments might be heading in 2011.  As for that house I want to buy… still have a ways to go. 

My Post Christmas Wish List

After I do some research, I’m going to upgrade on some techy items.  Here’s my list of potentials:

1. 15″ Macbook w/ 500 gb harddrive – Even though they no longer actively participate in the event, any chance Apple will announce changes to their lineup around when Macworld 2011 occurs?  I’ll hold off on this purchase as long as I can since I’m always hoping for newer models with more features. 
2. My Passport External Hard Drive – To attach to my Mac of course!
3. 160 gb iPod Classic – I still want the mega library in my hands, sorry you can’t convince me to get a iPod Touch!
4. Photo editing program - Photoshop?  Lightroom?  What do you recommend?
5. Samsung 46″ LED TV 120hz – Anyone have a new Samsung TV?  Any complaints? 
6. Digital SLR – Canon Mark II 5D?  Canon Mark III?  Nikon D7000?  It’s not essential that I get these, but I probably should get one at some point since I do take a fair number of scenic and artsy photos.  What are the pluses and minuses between the various makers of high end cameras? 
7. Hot Wifey – On second thought… this I don’t need.  Just seems like it would be a lot of trouble.  Maybe I do need this… a second income would really come in handy in securing a loan and mortgage for that house I keep on talking about. 

What’s on your wish list? 

I’m still here.  Just been really busy with doing Christmas sales… it’s the busy time of year for me.  Frick, I don’t think I can make Christmas cards this year either.  That would break my four or five year streak!   Ughhhh.  Ehhhh, no one cares about cards right?  It’s not like anyone loves me.  =)

I really want to write, but don’t have too many hot topics to discuss.  Anything you want me to breakdown or talk about?  Submit your questions now! 

I’m off to Seattle for a few days to put some cold in this California boy, see you when I get back next week!