Things You Can Do This Summer 2013

Check it out... this list contains NOTHING that you HAVE to do, just things you CAN do, because it's summer!

jumping off a rock in Hawaii screaming WU-TANG!!! (2007)

1. See something new - Travel!
One great thing about traveling is, you don't have to travel far. And it doesn't have to cost much money. A Google search can give you access to all the info you need. You can go to another side of town and have a local vacation (called a "staycation", look it up). Walk, skate, bike, or drive to an area of town you haven't been, and see something new. Just be safe!

this was on a staycation in Long Beach @the Grand Prix!

And for the more "monetarily-inclined," another great thing about traveling is, you can travel far!

Traveling to different places will help you understand the world in ways that books and videos cannot. Experience new things, see new communities, meet new people, shop/eat at new places! Shopping and eating at new places might sound funny, but don't take it lightly, because you're actually re-routing your money into another local economy! $400 in America can go quickly, but over in another country, it might help a few families! If you have time off from work or school this summer, then you can travel! Vegas doesn't count!

For more on why traveling is great, see Lena Desmond: Date a Boy (or Girl) Who Travels


2. Learn something new - Practice!
The best things are learned outside of school. How many people do you know would agree with that?

Summer Learning is the BEST learning! Practice something. My best summers are ALL about practicing something new. It's when I learned to swim, and when I learned to break. Summer was the time I had AWAY from school that allowed me to focus on something else and learn something new!

This was what I learned one summer!

If you already found a passion, art, sport, or hobby that you like to do, PRACTICE! Get those 10,000 hours of deliberate practice in, you'll be in good shape!

MOST PEOPLE have wasted summers. I've had it too, the summers where you don't learn anything, and just get really bored! Turn your boredom into fascination. Go find a hero, role model, or competitor/enemy to motivate you to practice something! Have a goal or greater vision in mind!

You don't necessarily have to take a class... just be OPEN to learning. Position yourself to grow and get help from others.

I learned this from a gas station!

I learn stuff all the time just by keeping my eyes and ears open.


3. Help someone new - Teach!
This might be the most inexpensive and meaningful thing to do this summer. But don't teach before you get enough practice or experience.

"Approach tests like a warrior,
And ATTACK each problem!"

Knowledge is powerful, and throughout the years of your life, you might LEARN something that other people don't know. Not only is knowledge powerful, it's useful and beneficial to other people's lives. If you're in a position to teach, give advice, or mentor someone... can be a younger sister, brother, FRIEND, or colleague... then not only will you have a positive impact on someone else's life, but you can also build a great relationship. Help someone new.

Some people combine traveling WITH teaching, as I know a few friends who are on English-Teaching and Mission Trips abroad, doing excellent work that I highly commend! And AT THE SAME TIME, by traveling, they are spending money locally and circulating it back into another country's local economy!


4. Do/Feel/Try something new - Experience!
Hey, if your idea of having fun is climbing a mountain, or going camping, or anything else experimental (but safe), then go for it! I know technically, everything's an experience, but I mean experience something NEW. TRY something new. Step out of your comfort zone.

You might make a mistake... Turn it into a learning experience. You can do something adventurous. Or do something awesome. Just DO something. And enjoy it! Live in the now, take in each precious and unique moment. Appreciate this temporary life.

5. Make something new - Create!
Go do something that no one else can do.
Everything you make will be unique to you.

We all have a unique fingerprint, but no one will see it unless we make a mark. Once you make something, it's yourself forever. Write, sing, record, put something together that you want to be remembered for. Think of the future, you can make something for your kids and grandkids. Think of the present, you can make something for your friends and family.

Current example: This blog post.

Hip hop lyrics that crack me up and make me smile

Got no money and you got no car,
Then you got no woman, and there ya are.

LOL
Young MC!

A romance, with no finance, is a damn nuisance!



Special Ed was also a hilarious MC. Especially the last verse here:
http://rapgenius.com/Special-ed-i-got-it-made-lyrics



"Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
I get more props in stunts than Bruce Willis."

"Take the money never have to run."


More lines that crack me up, in a later post. In the meantime...


One of the best starting lines ever was:


"I seen a rainbow, yesterday, but too many storms."

Left Eye, would be the one on the left.

Lisa Left-Eye Lopez, RIP.



Thanks to Big Daddy Kane, Guru, Nas, KRS, Rakim, CL Smooth, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Black Thought, everyone in Wu-Tang, even Jay-Z, I think their music has had a positive effect on the world overall.

Rap goes much deeper than Tupac and Biggie, and is a topic worth exploring for my generation.

Beyond Rap, which a universe in itself, is Hip Hop Culture (global), which is another universe in a shared dimension. I denote the term "global" because there is another type of Hip Hop Culture (local), which varies and intricates regionally.


Hell, here's the whole verse from Lisa Left-Eye Lopez, she goes hard:

I seen a rainbow yesterday

But too many storms have come and gone

Leavin' a trace of not one God-given ray

Is it because my life is ten shades of gray

I pray all ten fade away

Seldom praise Him for the sunny days

And like His promise is true

Only my faith can undo

The many chances I blew

To bring my life to anew

Clear blue and unconditional skies

Have dried the tears from my eyes

No more lonely cries

My only bleedin' hope

Is for the folk who can't cope

Wit such an endurin' pain

That it keeps 'em in the pourin' rain

Who's to blame

For tootin' caine in your own vein

What a shame

You shoot and aim for someone else's brain

You claim the insane

And name this day in time

For fallin' prey to crime

I say the system got you victim to your own mind

Dreams are hopeless aspirations

In hopes of comin' true

Believe in yourself

The rest is up to me and you

This song is etched in my childhood, and will be there always. Waterfalls yo.....

A thought I just had!

Do things for the good of the people, not to be popular, and you'll be popular anyway. 

Cuz whats the population populated with? People. The words share the same root.

It's that JFK shit, except instead of saying "country," it's replaced with people. 

Don't ask what OTHER people can do for you... ask what you can do for other people.

I was told one time, "The key of living is giving."

That's pretty good, the idea of making a difference.

It's more than having success, it's having significance.

Being a good influence.

Every interaction is energy exchange – what are you doing with yours?

Remember when I wrote...

"I'm trynna be the potent quotient,

Answer to the system's divisions.

Wisdom can be given through visions,

beats, or rhythms, if you can tell the difference.

Listen,

Greater than the Sum of all my rhymes,

I'm just a Product of Mother Earth and Father Time.

When it comes to heart and spirit, I'll give you all of mine"

-2009

Yayy dancing is fun

Discussing the BEST times to dance, and also, the most annoying thing we encounter, as dancers.

Then there's the clip of me at the beach, back in high school.

Life in NOLA been busy, so enjoy!

My First Week in New Orleans

Holy Bovine!

For my best folks on the West Coast....  I love y'all the most.

I'll start off by saying this: One of the best things about moving to a new place is a forced change of routine. Reset!

Cleared this space to do an L-Back, the day I moved in

I. This Place Feels Like Vietnam, Kinda
Life in NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) is quite different from my life in Cali. In a way, it feels like college over here. I'm living in a house with 3 other folks around my age. They're all teachers too and we get along.

The weather feels like Vietnam. The heat and humidity is strong. And the rain can come at anytime.

The similarities to Vietnam don't stop at the weather though... the bikes and motorbikes... the mosquitoes... lots of people in the streets... even the smell... all reminiscent of when I was in Vietnam.

It's no wonder there's a sizable Vietnamese population here.
But then again, the population here is a wonder in itself.

That's one of the reasons I came here: it's a city of Saints.

The community here is not as big as in OC, but there's more poverty here in NOLA.
And Vietnam might have more poverty than both places, but who's counting? Every place has its problems.


- From Santa Ana, to Louisiana,
I rep Saint City, pardon any bad grammar.


II. If Week 1 is Any Indicator of My Upcoming Year.... Holy...!
I wouldn't want to bore you with all the details of my past week, but some highlights are that I:
• Met a Music professor from Tulane
• Sessioned with the local bboy/breaking scene from across the Mississippi River
• Got hired at a High School (Go Patriots!)
• Began training at a phenomenal teacher-training program, with these AMAZING teachers
• Started meeting some rather ingenious people, artists, published scientists, passionate souls, etc... building my network.

After talking to fellow teachers, I'm now really looking forward to making my "unique contribution" to the school and community, as I did at Mendez Fundamental Intermediate\Santa Ana from 2010-2012. Waddup Mustangs! Mr. Nguyen's in full effect. Hungrier than you might expect. Respect the intellect as I keep kids in check. Living life correct, a little freestyle for wreck...


The professor and I have become good contacts. He showed me the most authentic Vietnamese food in the area... and I can support that claim. Kim's Restaurant—Delicious, authentic, and affordable. He's also letting me have his bike because he's too old and injured for it. He is also introducing me to the good people in Tulane's dance department (their equivalent of World Arts and Cultures @UCLA. w00t)

The bboys helped me out with a few rides too, since my car is still in Cali. The people here are SO nice. I seriously owe those guys.

The high school I'll be teaching at, John Ehret, is one of the biggest in the area, and being a high-need school, I figure I'd be able to maximize my impact crater by accepting the job there. It's also got one of the larger Asian populations for schools in the region. After a little research, I found out that Frank Ocean graduated there. Another source for that here.

So far, it's been a positive set-up for my upcoming year.


III. California Though...
After teaching my neighbor about the population centers in California yesterday (LA, LB, OC, SD, IE, SF, SJ), I started to think back there. My heart is still in California. My family, dancing friends, my rapping friends, my activist friends, most of my school friends, my non-dancing friends, my girlfriend... damn yo! CALI!

But it's good over here too, not too worried, not complaining, just gotta keep working and focusing on adding value. I'll tell ya, sales/business/personal development did crazy help for my life. I wish I didn't have so many assignments and stuff, cuz I want to blog and write more. I wrote 16 bars for my students though, it's gonna be dope when they hear it.

At least I'm not waking up super late like back in Cali. My days start earlier over here.
I used to have trouble waking up early consistently back at home. Habitual late-night gym sessions, hanging out with friends, etc.. wasn't as productive. But as I said, it's a forced change of routine over here, and it's helping me big time.

It's the change of scene in New Orleans...
Looking good for 2013.
Hardest part is missing my Queen.

Now (when I wrote most of this back on Wednesday night) I'm kicking back with my roommates, eating pizza, bumping 90s throwback music, and sipping a Mexican brew with a lime in it. It feels like a vacation. This is all after 10 hours of training today. That's life in NOLA!

Fun tips for lowlifes

Here are a few tips for low lives. If you're a bum, or if you don't mind compromising your morals, you can get tons of free stuff.


1. Free pocket-sized stuff
It's pretty easy to get stuff for free, by simply shoplifting. Most stores don't have sensors. I even made an ode to that in a piece, called "Worse Thieves (Pilfering)" to be uploaded in my SoundCloud soon. Black pants and jackets with big pockets are the best clothes to wear for shoplifting. Avoid shirts that make you look like a hoodlum or derelict. If you have glasses, wear them, and you will look less suspicious. If you're gonna by stealing shit, don't look around beforehand like you're doing something shady. Stay calm. Those eyes-in-the-sky cameras can be intimidating, but have no fear... their blind spot is actually DIRECTLY underneath the camera. (thanks to MGS for teaching me this) Pilfering is an art. I don't recommend it.

2. Free toilet paper

In an actually Coffee Bean.

If you can't buy your own toilet paper, then with bookbag/purse in hand, go into your local Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and use their bathroom! Most of them have a cabinet for bathroom supplies... you can load up on toilet paper, paper towels, even spray bottles for your stink loads.

3. Free hand soap
From the $1 section of Target, you can get an empty soap dispenser, and then stock up on soap in ANY public restroom, as mentioned previously. If you don't want to buy a soap dispenser, you can pilfer it, or use a Ziploc bag.

4. Free food/drink
Go to Costco, load up. Trader Joe's has food/drink samples. Albertson's and TotalWine have alcohol samples.

5. Free weed

The lowliest of the low is taking from your own friends, aka, people you know. For normal people, this is out of the question, but for low-lives... it just depends on how low you're feeling. Just ask to take a look at your friend's weed, inspect it, smell it, say "it looks really dank." Comment on the trichomes. When your friend's not looking, just take a small nug. Your friend won't notice, and will most likely by high, and also most likely not remember exactly how many nugs were in his possession.


Again, this is advice for LOW-LIVES and BUMS.
If you're a bum... Godspeed. If you're not, I salute you and your moral integrity.

If you have more tips, let me know.

Reflections on bboying/CSUF jam review

Just got back from a jam at CSUF: Clash of the Titans.

I. Intro
At first, I didn't want to go because it's a school jam... and because there was no prize money/tournament to win. 3 exhibition battles though. Sounded interesting.

My initial reluctance to go was defeated by the promising line-up of Foundation FunKollective DJs, the $3 entry, and because it's a SCHOOL JAM!

^seems like a contradiction since "school jam" was a reason I didn't want to go, but I really just changed my perspective. Plus, if I preach open-mindedness without keeping my own mind open, it would be wack.

School jams are dope, cuz it's dancing students. They get their chance to shine, in a way that they wouldn't in bigger jams like FreestyleSession. So they go hard! You got engineers, scientists, dudes in pre-med, designers, grad students, Internationals, etc.. Basically, a diverse group of cool ass people...who share a love for dance/music/hip hop culture. School jams are tight! Especially LMU jams....tf was I thinking.

On an aside: Hip hop is arguably the greatest culture of our time. As a historically new, yet fundamentally ancient, set of traditions, it is continuing to grow in a "glocalized" way. Glocalized meaning it is global (borderless), but also local (regional distinct). It is owned by no one, yet shared by everyone. Hip hop is both mainstream and underground. It's a culture of contradiction, which is a topic to be discussed in a later post.

II. Back to the jam though... 
It got pretty hyped considering most students are in midterms/finals mode.

Especially the last two exhibition battles! TINacious (CSUF) vs Archer (UCLA) and JC (UCR) vs Bangkok Dangerous (CSUF) - Go UCLA! Music was on-point. Tasteful DJs are so critical to a jam; DJ Abel, DJ Mel, and DJ Dwenz kept the dancers sweatin'—At least I was. Haha. I'm wack as fuck coming back from injury, and I still managed to get down the whole night. It's that Boogie music.


III. Competition Is On The Rise
The cyphers were fun too, but either I'm losing my touch, or these young whippersnappers are just getting fucking good. I've seen cats who started breaking after I did, get better than me! They definitely got some moves that I don't got. I mean, a lot of them still aren't better than me YET, but a good amount are on their way if they stay hungry.

I'm still training and doing my thing though, so if you're coming to get me, do it already. Quit talkin' shit. And don't call me out right after I just battle a cat, you weak ass fuck! You know who you are AHAHAHA.


IV. In Conclusion
Anyway, I'm happy to see more bboys in higher education. I don't think it was like this when I started. I creditz the Internet, TV, and Movies for the exposure. I also credit the dope ass bboys, promoters, movie producers, etc. who inspired a new generation of bboys, as well as the new generation itself that prioritizes dancing AND academics.

What are the implications of having so many bboys/bgirls/dancers in college? I don't know, but it definitely points to a changing landscape for hip hop. And a healthier, cooler generation of adults.

One day, there will be a Bboying Grandpa's tournament. Can't stop the rock.

Continuing that aside: Hip hop can be seen as a social evolution.
"Gangs put down their weapons upon the mutual awareness of their common enemy, and their common struggles. Born out of the urban ghettos of a stagflated economy, the practices of hip hop are sustainable, recession-proof... We session through recession."

^To be continued in a later post.

Last final note: I was extra glad to see people at this jam because I fly out to New Orleans at the end of the month. Damn, dope seeing you all. Community shit.