This is Harder Than It Looks

Keeping up a full-time blog is pretty difficult. This is further exacerbated by the fact that I have a full-time job.

I will do my best to keep this blog entry going...but life is boring. Maybe something will happen soon.....

Oh Wow

It's been over a month since I've posted anything.

You never realize how much time becomes a commodity when you start working full-time.

Hopefully, I will be able to post more regularly now that I've become situated. Keep reading guys, I'll be posting more...very shortly.

Man...

Moving out sucks.

The Reason For My Sparse Updating

For those who frequent my blog and continue to leave with a feeling of disappointment and betrayal, I sincerely apologize for my sporadic and inconsistent updates. I hope to remedy this soon.

One of the major reasons I did not have a chance to update this blog is because I was a little preoccupied with my graduation self-present: a trip to California. As always, I was jetting with my favorite Airline, the good peoples over at JetBlue. I am usually adverse to shamelessly plugging corporations, but I will gladly whore myself to Apple and JetBlue. It's just how it works on occasion... But let's be real here, there are over 40 channels to watch during the flight. There are complimentary drinks and snacks. The seats are soft and there's a fantastic amount of leg room. As long as I am flying domestically, I will be flying JetBlue.

Am I getting a commission for this? I wish.

The Departure

The day I left, it was approximately over 98° with incredibly, unfathomably, and unbearably high humidity. I could not wait to get out of the Northeast. In case you have never been to the Northeast United States, let me tell you something, do not come here during the months of January, February, July or August. You will want to kill yourself. However, if you ever find yourself to be displaying symptoms of bitchassness or softness, come during those months. Our weather will help you build some character.

Anyway, some 6 hours later, I successfully completed my journey from JFK to SFO.

A view from my boy's crib. Shoutouts to Balboa Ave Station.

The Arrival

San Francisco International Airport is very very nice. It's clean, it has a lot of shops, a lot of duty free shops, a lot of exhibits within the airport, a comprehensive lounge and food court. On point, it certainly is. It's probably my 2nd favorite airport behind Hong Kong International Airport. Anyway, upon arriving, I was picked up by my good friend Janice. Big ups for the housing too! I see you ma. Of course, being from New York, the first order of business was In-N-Out. Let me tell you, the burgers are delicious, the ingredients are fresh and the employees are paid well with benefits. Their dry fries aside, In-N-Out is the greatest fast food chain of all-time.

Kanye memes never get old.

The Weather

The weather in The Bay is absolutely fantastic. It's alarmingly comfortable during  the day and refreshingly cold during the night. Additionally, there is no humidity...anywhere. San Francisco was cold. Oakland was cold and Daly City seemed to be even colder. It was mind boggling. But it's not cold in the sense of winter. cold If you live in New York, think of The Bay in July as late October in NYC. Basically, once I had on a pair of shorts and a hoodie (odd combination, I know), it was like I was in Heaven. The weather is perfect. Conversely, San Jose and the South Bay is considerably warmer. Again, there is no humidity. 90° in San Jose is about as uncomfortable as 78° with 95%+ humidity. It's that serious. After experiencing Bay weather in the summer, I am convinced now that my decision/hope/dream to move to San Francisco is the right one.

The Golden Gate Bridge being eaten by #datfog

The Food

Food is California is very very good. This is probably because they grow most of the food we eat. Most importantly, they have quite possibly the most amazing avocados on the planet (thanks Mexico!). In addition to having incredibly fresh ingredients, it just seems like a very "green" state. The food quality is pretty amazing.  The culinary standouts include: San Francisco's famed Mission Street Mexican food, San Jose's Vietnamese sandwiches, San Francisco's brunch spots, In-N-Out (way to beat a dead horse Thomas), and perhaps most life-changing of all, Ike's Place. Ike's sandwiches are so official, they are on par with New York's top Halal Carts. I was so impressed with the food, I even wanted to buy one of their shirts.

Mad good... Hella good, even.

Expenses

The cost of living in The Bay is lower, significantly lower. How is it lower? Well for one, cigarettes are only $5.xx. In New York, cigarettes are $11. I don't smoke cigarettes, but this is already a huge indicator of what you're working with if you move to California. Secondly, gas is not as expensive as you think it might be. It's basically on par with the gas prices in New York. On the flip side, the sales tax is pretty gruesome at a staggering 9.25%. *shiver* Perhaps, the most notable difference in California is the perplexingly cheap retail pricing of oregano. In NY, an 1/8th will run you 50-60. A quarter around 120. In California, an 1/8th is 40 and a quarter 80. Incredible. If I were a consumer of oregano, I would save $1040 if I bought an 1/8th per week, over a period of 52 weeks. For another example of how cheap California is, please continue reading.

Close enough.

The Yankees

No blog post is complete on my part unless there is a mention of the New York Yankees! On July 7, 2010, I went to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to watch the Yankees play the Oakland Athletics. I was able to watch my hometown Yankees go against Janice's hometown Athletics. It was a great time. To my surprise, there were A LOT of Yankees fans at the stadium. If I were to venture a guess, I would say about 40% of the Stadium was filled with my kind. I guess it's true what they say, "The Yankees travel well." Oh by the way, the picture you see below, I was 22 rows behind the Yankees dugout. The ticket only cost $40.

I took this photo. HOLLA.

Things That Are Different From New York That I Did Not Adjust To

Mass Transit: BART is great. The rest of California's mass transit system is rather unimpressive. The biggest travesty...it doesn't operate 24 hours a day.

Radio: I may not be able to articulate this section properly, but California radio stations play music differently from New York radio stations. California seems to play more pop and Top 40 than New York. New York seems to play more traditional Hip-Hop. But on occasion, certain California stations will have old school days. When the Bay does Old School, they do it official. Better than NY does Old School. Another big difference, California Gurls vs Empire State of Mind.

Hella: I could not get used to people saying hella.

---

Final Thoughts

California is an amazing place. In fact, it is so amazing, I want to live there. If you have not gone there, I highly recommend it. My only regrets for this trip is that I did not get the chance to go to Berkeley. Another one of my favorite cities in California. As far as SoCal goes, it's ah-iiiight to me. The Bay is where it's at.

Until next time...deuces.

Hip-Hop Linkaround

During my high school days, I built a fairly solid reputation for discovering remixes to top singles and finding up and coming artists before they became over-saturated media commodities.

With that said, I have fallen off dramatically in my musical crate-digging. With that as my preface and disclaimer, I would like to say that I find Slaughterhouse and Dipset's music to suit my tastes wonderfully (pause).

As far as Slaughterhouse goes, you can't find a better squad of lyricists alive. I'm talkin about a collection of lyrically gifted artists on par with the likes of The Firm and The Commission. For a better idea of what I'm talkin about, please turn your attention to the great guys over at YouTube for allowing me to embed these videos.

Joe Budden

Joell Ortiz

With Dipset, you had a group of artists that weren't gifted with adroit lyricism, but had something that allowed them to reach a wider audience: One of the best ears in the industry. I rarely hear a single that has poor production values or any of their fringe singles with less than stellar beats. I was in high school when Dipset truly was a movement. But all of that changed when Cam went on vacation and Jim Jones was wild'n out.

One of my favorite Dipset tracks (Shoutout to the 5th Floor for puttin me on. If you didn't go to Stuy, you wouldn't know):

There's a video for this song, but it sucks. If Dipset reads this, I'm just kidding guys. =)

To end this quick entry, I will not link you guys to one of my favorite Hip-Hop videos of all time. Enjoy.

It was the end of a Empire!

Blowjobs

I meant to post this entry yesterday, but in my kushed out mental state...I forgot to do so.

This post was inspired by the excellent blog, NoMaas. They came up with this post a few weeks ago and it brought a tear to my eye. In order to avoid the tag of "plagiarist", I instead opted for the tag of "late." 

Regardless, the following image makes me a very happy Yankees fan.

Thomas, I don't get what you're trying to prove.

With the exception of CC Sabathia, what do these guys have in common? WE FUCKIN DEVELOPED THEM IN THE FARM SYSTEM! Also, in Phil Hughes' next start, he will probably take over the team's strikeout leader. Hughes has 2 fewer starts than CC with an 8.53 K/9 ratio to CC's 7.36.

So to all you bitch ass Yankees haters...

Long story short, Yankees haters can S my D. *salutes*

And So It Ends

So my torment has officially ended. The 2009-2010 NBA season has reached its conclusion  and unfortunately, another champion has been crowned.

As a proud, sometimes nauseatingly so, New Yorker, this year's NBA finals was vomit inducing. I don't remember 2008 much because I was contemplating suicide as Yankee after Yankee went down with an injury and Yankee after Yankee underperformed his way to a playoff-less season. Since I was born in 1988, not seeing the Yankees in the playoffs is like a visit to the dentist - numbing with an annoyingly faint and indescribable discomfort. This year, I am not as psychologically and emotionally damaged. Thus allowing me to feel some form of emotion as it relates to this year's playoffs.

No, clearly not in 2008.

First off, I have the worst rooting interests in the history of pro basketball. I am cursed with having an affinity for loose, offensively minded basketball teams. My team this year was a severe disappointment, my Denver Nuggets. So much talent, so little resolve. Did George Karl's health concerns affect the team? Very possibly. *sigh* Such is my life.

Secondly, it is no surprise that I am a Yankees fan. Despite being so, I really do not feel the vitriolic disdain for all things Boston that most of my fellow Yankees fans have. Really, my severe loathing and contempt for Boston is isolated to the Boston Red Sox. So basically, I wasn't exactly rooting against the Celtics because they have 3 players I really like: Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. I like Pierce because he was stabbed 11 times in a club and still played in all 82 games. Gangsta. I also stole his patented step back jumper. Rajon Rondo because he is probably my favorite point guard in the League right now, overtaking Boom Dizzle. Ray Allen because he has the sexiest jump shot form in the world. You don't understand how physiologically perfect and poetic his jump shot is... it's incredible. (Double pause). However, because they were a Boston team, I felt obligated to root for the other team. The only problem is...

I hate this guy and I will take every chance to shit on him I can.

Third, the other team had Kobe Bryant. His existence offends me. I am from Camp Jordan and I will never leave Camp Jordan. Consequently, every mannerism, every fadeaway, every scoff at a teammate is just another failed attempt to be more like Money. Am I a hater? All signs point towards yes. But I don't give a fuck. I hate Kobe Bryant. He's a fraud. He tries to act hard and fails. He tries to keep it hood and fails. He tries to model and he...looks like the picture above.

Fourth, my hatred for Kobe Bryant also got in the way of my New York pride. The Lakers had two guys from my borough.... QUEENS! Shoutouts to Queensbridge and Jamaica. I'm happy for RonRon and The Goods. Two New York kids putting in work for the title.

Fifth, I actually enjoyed watching the Celtics play basketball, further conflicting with my New York pride. They play fantastic team defense and their offense is fairly dynamic for such a defensive minded team. I'm sorry if I offended you New York...but you know I hold it down for you wherever I am.

Sixth, in my mind, I wished the following scenario would have occurred: Prior to Game 7, the Staples Center gets destroyed with nobody in the building. As a result, David Stern is forced to deem the 2009-2010 NBA season to be championless. New York rejoices. Speaking of a happier New York...

Ciara is a bad baaaaad woman. Does she have to do with anything in this post? You decide.

Lastly, today is June 18, 2010. In 13 days, LeBron James will officially become a free agent. This is probably one of the most important offseasons in recent memory for the NBA. More importantly, this is the most important free agent year for New York basketball in recent memory. If the Knicks sign Breezy and someone else (Bosh?) The Knicks look real good on paper. Will they be a playoff contender? If they decide to play defense, I think they can be.

In two weeks, the 2010 NBA season can be salvaged. Here's to hopes and dreams...

The city of New York would be so lucky.