The first weekend in December marked my 3rd trip to SoCal in 2009.  The place is like my second home.  I was accompanied by my cousin and close friend Hazel.  We flew into San Diego, where we spent the first part of the weekend for my cousin/godbrother Randy’s wedding.  It also happens that this is the third wedding in which I’ve particpated as a groomsmen – seems like getting married was the “in” thing to do in 2009.  This was one was extra special because I’m especially close to Randy, and to see him wed someone he truly loves (and someone he didn’t even kiss before the wedding), was a blessing in itself.  The entire family flew out, so it was a great family vacation of sorts.

San Diego is a pretty dope city.  If you’ve never been I highly encourage you to visit.  The weather is perfect 98% of the year, which is probably why you always see people outside running/biking/rollerblading/etc.  The nightlife is fun too – you can think of the historic Gas Lamp District as San Diego’s version of West 6th street in Austin.  You can find cool, trendy bars there without the boogie-ness synonomous with LA clubs.   I like to think of SD as LA’s more laid back sibling.  That applies not only to nighlife, but to daylife as well.  People are just more chill in SD.  If you ever do make it to San Diego I REQUIRE that you go to a joint called Extraordinary Desserts.  More on that later.

Saturday after the wedding we left SD for Los Angeles.  More on that in part 2….

Seems like a lot of my friends have been posting tributes to some of their favorite women.  My good friend Trevor Jones of Humanzee recently posted a tribute to the beautiful Vanessa Minnillo (who, by the way, once held the number one spot in my heart).  Fellow King Paolo Jackson just wrote about some of his favorite (female) news anchors.  If you don’t know Paolo, he’s been on this “hot news anchor” tip for a minute.  I can’t blame him really.  Actually, I should probably thank him for puttin me on (even though my crush on news anchors started at an early age).  I guess it’s only fitting I get mine in.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

I love Sloan.  Anyone who watches Entourage loves Sloan.  But, like, I REALLY love Sloan.  Yes, I know Emmanuelle Chriqui is her “real” name.  But I love Sloan, the character from Entourage, not Emmanuelle.  And that’s not to say I wouldn’t fall in love with Emmanuelle if I ever met her, but the truth is I know nothing about Emmanuelle Chriqui.  I know quite a bit about Sloan, though.  And what Sloan represents embodies is that which I am in love with.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way.  Indeed she’s gorgeous.  And if you know me well then you know her body-type is personally my “ideal”: tan skin, slender body with gentle curves, tall-ish (at least compared to E, who is probably close to my height), features that appear racially mixed (other girls that have had the #1 spot include Vanessa M., as previously mentioned, and J. Alba), yadda yadda yadda.  But Sloan’s beauty is much more than skin deep.  For one, she comes from an affluent family, but she’s not the stereotypical spoiled rich brat.  She’s motivated and career-driven, a true independent woman that works to get hers (have you noticed in season 6 whenever she was talking on the phone with E she was always setting up/working some event?)  She’s not phased or impressed by celebrity.  She’s real – the kind of girl that can be down with the guys to watch the game, and actually enjoy it.  But she’s got class – the kind of girl you take to a company Christmas party or charitable fundraiser and not only will she look drop dead gorgeous in that gown, she will win everyone over with her charm.  And, perhaps most importantly, she makes her man better.  She makes her man WANT to be better.

Does a woman like this actually exist, a beautiful woman with all these amazing qualities?  I mean, it’s hard enough to find “celebrity-status” beauty as we walk in our every day life, so when we actually come across such a creature, what are the chances that she’ll actually be smart, ambitious, charming, “up on e’er thang other hoes ain’t ever on”?  Indeed such a rarity…but I’m convinced she is out there.

I just have to find her…

Today my dad had an outpatient surgical procedure to remove a bone fragment in his spine.  Surgery went well, and he should recover without incidence.  I left work early to visit him at the hospital.  It was kind of weird seeing my dad there, in a hospital gown, still weak from the procedure.  It made me realize a few things…

1.  My pops is getting old.  I actually looked in the mirror of the bathroom, saw myself dressed in my business casual attire, and then looked over at my dad to see him in his hospital gown.  At that exact moment I realized I’m a grown ass man now, going on 25 years of life, and it won’t be long before I’ll have to take care of my parents.  It’s something I won’t mind at all…it’s the least I can do after all they’ve provided for me.  But I guess today it reinforced the fact that I need to make sure I keep my priorities straight at the present time (specifically pertaining to money matters) so that I won’t be in a difficult position in the future.

2.  My parents are in love.  Genuine love.  My mom’s a nurse at Methodist Hospital, where my dad had his procedure.  So she was able to basically nurse my dad while she was at work.  You can see it…the love is real.  For some reason this was the first time I saw them together and looked at them as a “couple” and not my parents.  There was just something different today when I saw them interact.  You could tell they find each other the most important people on this planet (of course me and my sister come a close second and third, respectively haha).  That’s the kind of love I hope to find….

All that being said, if you know me, you know I can never be all serious, all the time.  So while I’m having this moment, with my deep introspective thoughts, I also realize….

3.  There are a lot of beautiful women at Methodist Hospital.  Seriously.  A lot.  My family wanted me to be a doctor growing up, but I think it’s a good thing I didn’t become one.  I would have been surrounded by women all day, I would have had a lot of money, and I’d still be just as good-looking as I am now.  I’ll leave that at that and let you draw your own conclusions.   (Disclaimer: Patients would have been off-limits though…I have morals people!)

Hip-hop is not dead.  You just gotta to know where to look.   And the answer is mixtapes distributed via the internet..  Admittedly, a lot of my friends and rap fans in general have been riding this wave for a minute and I’m a bit late gettin on it…but I haven’t had a computer for two years, so cut me a break.  Anyways, since I copped my new computer, I’ve come across sooo many dope artists and mixtapes.  Below is a mixtape I’ve been jammin real hard lately.  I first came across Curren$y when he was featured on Weezy F. Baby’s “Grown Man”, and since then he’s generated quite a buzz for himself this year releasing 7 well-received mixtapes.  I wasn’t too familiar with Wiz before listening to this mixtape, but he’s gained my respect as a solid rapper (his voice reminds me of Wale, though).  Anyways, without further ado…

Curren$y and Wiz Khalifah – How Fly Mixtape

It’s a bit late, but here’s a quick vid I made to recap the Sneaker Summit that went down at the Meridian on Aug. 2, 2009.

Sorry if the following is corny…but it is indeed true….

I drive a 2002 4-door Altima, and a couple weeks ago my parents got my sister 5 years my junior a 2004 G35 coupe.  Last weekend she needed to borrow my ride so she could start moving her stuff back to Austin, so I got to drive her car around for almost a week.  The more I drove it, the more I wanted it.  That car is sexy as hell.  It purrs when you start it, and growls when punch the gas.  It begs to go faster, and really grips the road on turns.  When you’re driving, you forget about all the things that suck about the car (e.g. the center console is un-ergonomic, the trademark Infiniti clock is much more difficult to read while driving at night than the digital clocks standard in most cars, the gas tank door is truly a mystery to open – I had to call my sister so she could tell me how to open it, and most of all, the racing-inspired seats were HELLA uncomfortable. )  All in all, that car is an inconvenient mess….but it was just a pleasure to drive, and you felt good being seen in it.

So when it came time to return the car to my sis, I was kind of salty.  I really wanted to keep it.  Screw the Altima, why does my younger sister get the cooler car?  Matter fact, she got in a wreck, and thats why my parents had to buy her a new car anyways.  Why should she be rewarded with a newer, more badass ride?  Shit’s not fair.

Temper tantrum aside, my sister and I switched back, and as soon as I sat down in my car I remembered why I fell in love with it in the first place.  For a minute I lusted after the faster, flashier, sexier G35.  But soon as I came back to the Altima i realized that I honestly like my car better.  Not only that, but that car’s been a true soldier for me since senior year in high school.  Through all the road trips, dj gigs, and nights driving to and from 6th street rollin 6-8 deep in the back, that car has really held me down.  Ain’t no way the G35 could’ve done that for me.

Ever notice that’s how so many of us act when we’re in relationships (especially guys)?  We get comfortable in our relationships, when all of a sudden a flashier, sexier thing comes around that seems so much funner to “ride”.  We forget all the little things that made us fall in love with our partner in the first place…and we forget who’s really gonna hold us down when shit gets tough.  They say you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.  Maybe it’s time we start realizing it before it’s too late.

Right now I have about 15 or so newsfeeds in my Google Reader, most of which are about sneakers, street fashion, and music.  I think it’s safe to say that it’s impossible for me to stay updated on everything I’m interested in.  At present, my Highsnobiety feed has 507 unread items.  I don’t see how any person with a “normal” schedule can have enough time to simply stay up on everything they like.  Or maybe I’m trying to keep up with too much.

But it got me thinking…how do you elicit people to follow and stay updated on something you’re trying to put out there, when there’s so much out there?  Whether you’re trying to fundraise for your school orchestra, raise breast cancer awareness, or get the word out about your new clothing brand, how do you get people to care about what you’re doing?  And I think the answer lies in the fact that people usually don’t (but not always) casually hear about things and then take time to research into them.  People seek out information regarding things they already care about.  So if you want people to seek out updates about whatever it is you’re doing, you gotta find a way to make them care.  Simply getting the word out, passing out flyers, and inviting all of your Facebook friends to something won’t do anything unless people care.

So how do you get people to care?  I’ll let you know soon as I figure out a sure-fire answer haha.

Nike’s marketing/advertising has always been on point.  And, being the basketball fan that I am, I’m thinking mostly of their basketball campaigns when I say this, because this is what I’m most familiar with.  Their commercials are actually quality entertainment, the most recent example being the LBJ vs. Kobe commercials.

But let me take you back to a classic MJ commercial, “Frozen Moments”.  It’s so dramatic, so moving.  And then follow that up with a parody of that commercial that Nike made for Penny.  I’m sure if you a hoops/shoe fan, these two vids will definitely bring back some memories.  You’ll also remember the time you fell in love with Tyra.

Damn it’s been a minute since i posted.  Ran across these today reading my Nice Kicks news feed.  Supposedly these will be a quickstrike in the coming months.  A definite cop if I can get my hands on a pair.  The Penny IIs are one of my favorite shoes of all time, and now that I think of it I can’t think of a good reason why i didn’t cop the white/blue GR that dropped several months back.  Oh well, at least I got my 1/2 cents, thanks to Fahad of Motive807.

These are looking real legit my friends!

via NiceKicks.com

Looks like H-town’s getting love from Maxim. I don’t usually visit Maxim’s site (I swear!), but I stumbled upon it via my Complex RSS feed and lo and behold, Houston is being featured in the Hometown Hotties section. I wonder if we know any of these girls….

via Maxim