Event Recap:

Over the weekend I had a chance to visit Northern California & at first I was a little bummed because my good friends threw two parties over the weekend down here in southern california, one karaoke & one drinking party but, I have to say Ryan & I had a crazy & tiring weekend.

The ride up:

1) San Luis Reservoir - The moon was shimmering across the whole reservoir on a cloudless night, fucking beautiful.
2) The Stars - Growing up I used to make the ride from Orange County to San Jose & the biggest highlight was always stopping at a rest stop in the middle of the night & laying on the grass to stargaze.

Places I hit up:

1) Ryan's Grandparent's house in Mountain View - Wish they were my grandparents
2) Spring Training Conference @ UC Davis - "Where are the girls at?"
3) Filipino Culture Night @ Berkeley - Very Political & hilarious. Much props to PCN @ CAL. Met someone new, Kelly who's going to NY in the fall
4) Home cooked meal @ Ryan's Grandparent's house - Four words "Baby Spinach, Almonds, Dressing, & Mandarin Oranges"
5) Visited Thida @ the San Francisco Art Institute - You have to walk through her bathroom to get to her room, artists are weird =P
6) Hung out @ Kat & Suzi's place in Berkeley - It was great seeing my old friend Kat (I truly do miss getting to spend time w/ her) & hanging out w/ my new one Suzi
7) Failed drinking kickback @ Dustins, ended up at Alice's apt - Don't always need alcohol to have fun....or seem drunk.
8) Chowder's and watching Seals @ Fisherman's Wharf - OMG clam chowderi n a sourdough bowl......god's gift to man.

Stats:

1,174 - # of Miles I racked up on my trip
15 - Hours on the road
$$$$$$$$ - Way to much money spent
4 - The number of friends I wish came with me to SF - Mikie, Kristine, Stephanie, Liss (there are others, but these four have been part of my core crew the past several weeks)
2 - Times I almost got hit by crazy SF buses

All in all a great weekend, if you haven't been to San Francisco or it's been awhile since you have been, head out there the first free weekend you have. I was up there for a couple of days and fell in love w/ the city all over again.

Event Recap:

Last night Alex, Mikie, Stephanie, Kristine, & I all jumped in our cars and headed out to The Greenway Court Theater, where every Tuesday Da’ Poetry Lounge is held. This particular Tuesday Slam Arena Semi-Finalists were gracing the mic.

This is the third slam contest I've been a part of & I was not disappointed. Just as the first time I went it was a pleasant surprise to find people (black, white, hispanic, & asian) from all over coming together. Even with the diverse crowd & line-up one thing was for sure, and that was the seven poets spitting last night were all just that, poets nothing more nothing less. On this stage they would be judged not by what color their skin is but by what kind of message they had for the crowd, be it happy or sad, funny or serious, or words of love or hate.

All the poets were amazing but my favorite, and last night's winner, was Sekou Tha Misfit, his poem of choice for the final round of the slam, actually started out as a marriage proprosal but grew into this epic poem mostly about sex but funny as hell. People were on their feet laughing & cheering after stepping for just a few minutes into Sekou's mind.

I had a great time last night and I was glad to share it with friends. It will all be going down again in one week's time for the second round of semi-finals, so anyone interested in going?

If someone's knows his name.  100 eprops for you.

Upcoming Event:

Slamarena Semi-Finals
9pm Tonight at Da Poetry Lounge

What is a Slam?
1st of all, slams and open mics are not the same thing.  An open mic is a non judgmental means of expression while slamming, is a battle of lyrical prowess where judges are chosen at random from the audience to score poetry and the poet reading based on creativity and performance.