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!

Twice a Bridesmaid!

It is with great pleasure that I announce my second turn as a bridesmaid to my dear friend CG. Congratulations to her and A!

CG and I met in college. We are both natural New Yorkers. I think she really stole my heart when we made a mix cd filled with R. Kelly and other classic New York slow jams after one of our sorority events. Once we graduated college, we shared work woes together and often, our frustration with the New York dating scene.

Serious boy woes stopped about two years ago on her end with the entrance of A. He was the cute co-worker at a gig she didn't exactly love. Thankfully, she found something worthy other than career advancement from that day job!

Wedding date has not been set yet, but I am excited to share in the special day no matter when it is!

LA

Every time I go to LA, it's like a new place. Different things to see and new neighborhoods to explore. The only thing that stays the same in my other west coast urban family. I have some really solid pals out there that are a mix of people I went to kindergarten, high school, and college with. I'm impressed to see my peeps doing well.

Being in LA always makes me think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well. The radio station out there was doing a top 500 Memorial Day countdown and RHCP was all over it. They are the quintessential modern day California band. Anthony has a knack for saying such cute things about the place he grew up.

Blue you sit so pretty west of the 1.
Sparkles light with yellow icing,
just a mirror for the sun.

We hit up some fun bars downtown. My favorite of which was The Edison. It had a 40s inspired theme with bartenders and hostesses dressing the part. It had every detail from the ottomans to the lighting fixtures not to mention a serious Bourbon drink that included ginger ale and peach schnapps, my fave combo lately.

So, here's to LA, a city that reinvents itself for me more times than Madonna.

Bay to Breakers 2008

Calling All Peeps Who Like to Get Naked in Public

The thing about Bay to Breakers is that it revolves around a race that goes from the SF Bay (Embarcadero) to the Pacific Ocean coast. That's wonderful, but I will be writing for all those who prefer the step-child version of the event: dressing up and getting boozed up at 7:30AM to walk alongside the runners.

Sadly, this year I woke up late, didn't get dressed up, and ended up taking pics from the sideline. There were the usual suspects such as Double Dare team and tennis ensembles. A few other groups I liked were "Peep Show" which were chicks in yellow dresses with hoods wearing the Peeps logo, elves inspired by the movie Elf, and some convicts climbing in trees. These are pictured below.

The other issue is the way some people use this event as an excuse to get naked in public. Most notably, Why is it that the men with the smallest penises try to flash their shit around town? I hate it. Gross. Like I ever want to see these lil nubbins in my face that I don't approve of myself. Really. Sick. I'm sparing you those photos in lieu of these:

JUANES, Es Por Ti

Friday night, V and I went to see our fave Latin artist, Juanes, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. We first saw him on his Mi Sangre tour in 2005 at Madison Square Garden in New York. For those of you who don't know, Juanes is from Colombia and is the recipient of 12 (TWELVE!) Latin American Grammys. He's a political motivator and good spirit in the vein of Bono. His music is inspiring and earnest. I'll be shallow for a moment and also mention that I find him incredibly attractive. This was the closest I've been to a singer in a stadium setting. I pretty much screamed throughout the entire show. NV and I sang every song.

I love seeing him in concert because he's so upbeat and really commands the stage. He runs around to every corner and engages the audience at every turn. He also is an expert at pillow talking the ladies in the audience. It's quite incredible. From the pics, you can tell he's having such a good time working it. Here's a pic of his telling us about how lovely women are:

HP Pavilion, May 16, 2008. San Jose, CA.
A Dios Le Pido
No Creo en el Jamas
Mala Gente
Clase de Amor
La Noche
Un Dia Normal
Fotografia
Gotas de Agua Dulce
Bandera de Manos
Bailala
Suenos
Para Tu Amor
Me Enamora
La Paga
La Vida...Es Un Ratico
Minas Piedras
Es Por Ti
La Camisa Negra

ENCORE:
Dificil
Tres
Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor
? (rats, I didn't know the last song!)

Also, let me just say he has the sweetest lyrics. Lately, I've been listening to Un Dia Normal a lot lately. Mostly for this phrase:
No importa en donde estes yo desde aquí te besaré en mis sueños
Mi sangre arderá por ti hasta que se pierda por tu cuerpo
En un día como hoy caminaré más despacio
En un día como hoy defenderé mi verdad
En un día como hoy te amarraré con mis brazos