Espana es el mejor!

photo from: elpais.com

Congratulations to the Spanish national team in their Euro 2008 win yesterday in Vienna against Germany.

V and I and our buddies here in SF went to a bar on Upper Haight to watch the game. I love this team and totally believed they were strong enough to pull it off---for the first time in 44 years!

The winning goal was made by Fernando 'El Nino' Torres. I had my eye on him for a while, and since he's younger, it's made me feel bad. I've since turned to my cutie pie gorilla, Carles Puyol. He's got a sexy back. Me-OW!

As we know, sports and especially, futbol, is more than just some sexy men running around in matching jerseys. If you watched at least one game Spain has played this tournament, you'll immediate notice how very connected this team was. I believed they could go all the way, and I think more importantly, they believed in themselves this time around. The chemistry and mastery of play could not be denied!

Might I say, the best year in sports?! Again, congrats Espana!

Retirement

On Saying Goodbye to Two Very Dear Pairs

I'll admit I do get sentimental about shoes. They are like friends. It's not often you find the right fit or style. I wanted to take the time to say goodbye to two shoes who have been with me since the early 2000s. Onisuka Tigers were purchased in Boston in 2002 while I was visiting N in college. Nike Cortez are an ode to Syracuse and purchased for $20 at Foot Action on a random trip to Carousel Mall with LG.

So many times I buy a pair of shoes and I wear them once and end up tossed in the depths of my closet. Oh, but not these suckers. They went with me everywhere. I've been to Europe, Honduras, East coast and West. They've touched countless sidewalks and roads. Mang, I can still remember the Tigers pinching the sides of my wide ass feet as I broke them in on my walk across Las Ramblas in Barcelona. They were with me all throughout my trip to Scotland and covered my feets as I walked into bars playing 'Songbird' by Oasis.

When they started to deteriorate, I went into denial mode. I thought maybe I should just replace the sneakers for the same pairs. The Tigers were still sold in multiple stores around SF; the Cortezes were proving to be more difficult. At the end, I knew I had to give it up when I was starting to feel the concrete through the soles of the Tigers and when there was a hole in the Cortezes.

Thankfully, the Other M was inspired to find two other sets of sneakers on his eBay perusings. Maybe I'd been overwhelmed at replacing two such good pals so immediately. Maybe I was worried I'd never find something so good again.

Either way, I was taken care of.

Isaac Hayes, Tom Petty, and Stevie Wonder!

Summer has officially began. You can tell because I've seen so many wonderful acts in such a short amount of time.

In one week I saw Isaac Hayes in Prospect Park, Tom Petty at MSG and Stevie Wonder at Jones Beach Theatre.

I've wanted to see Tom Petty since I was in high school. His songs are so timeless. I don't think I've ever met anyone with a negative feeling about his music. He's better than Springsteen in my book. Yeah, I said that.
I wish he had played 'Yer So Bad' though. It's definitely been one I've listened to a lot lately. He closed with 'Running Down a Dream' and 'American Girl.' Can't really complain. Oh! He also did 'Don't Come Around Here No More.' So great live!

Moving on to another great, I saw Stevie Wonder the next night at Jones Beach Theatre. It had been raining like a mother right before start of the show. In fact, they delayed start time so it wouldn't be so heinous for the performers and viewers. Jones Beach is an outdoor arena after all. All the good graces of the music gods aligned so that after about 30 mins of torrential downpours, Stevie was able to play a full set uninterrupted by mother nature. Not gonna lie, it was a little weird to see him live. It was like meeting Harry Potter or Kermit the Frog. So surreal and magical. He played 'Ribbon in the Sky.' Amazing. I think I teared a smidge on that one.
I can't take all the preparation work for these concerts though. The Other M coordinated all the purchases and logistics. SPANKS!