122707- a mini year recap and a look forward...

Woohoo its my last working day of the calendar year today! Here's a preliminary list of my new years resolutions. Let's revisit them on -010109- and see what was accomplished.

- lose weight, gain muscle [but if you've seen me recently, you can tell that process already started!]

- have the see pee aye sufffix after my name [oh yeah I'm retaking the first part again eeeks]

- upgrade the whip [I had my last straw today as I had to tetris my golf travel bag into my trunk]

- downsize the kicks [since I only wear sneaks on wknds, I rotate about 40-50 pairs, so that's like 100+ pairs that remain untouched]

- stack chips [I've collected cards, starting line-ups, cds, shoes all pretty thoroughly – now I just want to get my paper chase on]

- become a better golfer [it has been determined it's the sport I suck at the least]

- become a better boyfriend/brother/son/friend/coworker [not that anyone has any complaints, but there's always room for improvement]

- become a better photographer [but that would entail getting a camera]

- launch http://ww.reegsta.com [which should just contain my amusing musings, like a more mature reegspeak]

- get out of the country [I haven't been international since '04, since canada doesn't count]

Okay so these are 10 things I would like to do for 2008. Funny thing is that it mirrors my 2007 list!

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Music: The Year in Review

I used to be way more thorough and critical of my music tastes. Since I'm not a backpacker or thug anymore, I'll listen to whatever nowadays. Hip-hop has been disappointing me every year since I don't know when, but I still support my fav artists. So I categorized the albums I've bought here:

Exceeded expectations:

Met expectations: Kanye's Graduation, Jay's American Gangster, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

Below expectations: Common's Finding Forever, Consequence's Don't Quit your Day Job, Talib Kweli's Eardrum

I haven't listen to yet but plan on it: Blu & Exile's Below the Heavens, Little Brother's Getback, Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology 3 [was tempted to just iTune these albums, but for my rap, I like to have the tangible CD]. I guess there was nothing that exceeded my expectations! Basically to me, hip-hop albums and kicks have parallel lives. Like I just wear kicks that I've bought 3-5 years ago, and what I listen to primarily is stuff like pre-2004. Maybe I just really like to lag. As I was perusing lists to inspire my list, I noticed dudes had like top 50 albums of 2007 and such. I didn't even know there were 50 albums to choose from! I'm sure there were, but in '07 I was primarily listening to '06 ish [Roots, Nas, J-Dilla, Gym Class Heroes, Sound Providers]. I think these lists should be made in arrears by like 2 years for albums to settle and stand the test of time, but it would be kinda funny to see like "Top Albums of 2005" at the end of 2007.

5 non-hip-hop songs of 2007 that really lowers my street cred, but I felt them anyway: Ne-Yo's and Kanye's Because of You Remix, Maroon 5's Nothing last Forever, Colbie Caillat's Bubbly, Alicia Keys' No One, and Pink's Who Knew.

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Confessions of a Sneakerhead, the 2007 edition

I used to have posts that gave a lil story about every sneaker I've purchased. For 2007 though, we can consolidate this to one entry. The number of kicks I bought can I counted on one hand: a pair of grey/purple Dunk SBs, a pair of skull pack Air Max 1s, some brown/yellow Air Stabs and some Air Max 360s to run in. That's right – this is probably the first year that I did not purchase one single Air Jordan [but there's 4 days left in the year still, so I can continue the streak hehe]. For someone who says he stopped caring about kicks, he surely talks about them a lot! Oh yeah, like 8 years ago I bought my brother Arvin some black/grey Humaras for Christmas, which I regretted since I wanted them for myself. Then on Christmas I was in his garage and noticed them, all beat and stuff, so I inquired about these semi-grails. And he's like "yeah I was gonna throw those away" and my blood started to race. And so now they're in my possession. I guess there's part of being a sneakerhead that never dies.

I'm off to TX in a few. Have a wonderful and safe New Years all 4 of you! See yall in "oh-sideways-infinity" ['08]
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121907- The wish list...

BOSE QC3 Headphones

Retail: $180
Why I want it: Last time I was on a plane, the dude next to me pulled these out, and I had ear envy. I'm sure his ride was much more pleasurable than mine. And the ubiquitious white Ipod-issued earbuds aren't cutting it anymore.
Why I don't want it: I've been disenchanted with Hip-Hop the past few years, so its not like the content, beats and meanings will change.

CALLAWAY BIG BERTHA 460 DRIVER

CALLAWAY X 3 WOOD

NIKE SLINGSHOT CART BAG

MIZUNO MP-60 IRONS

Retail: $300, $200, $150, $850
Why I want it: The driver just looks big and sexy [that's what she said]. I haven't had a 3 Wood since Jefe broke mine on the range a few years back. I have a carry bag now, but I don't even remember the last time I walked a course. My irons are over 10 years old and are my dad's old set. And I'll pretend that I don't know that G didn't get me the driver already.
Why I don't want it: A carpenter never blames his tools, and its not like new equipment will transform me into a better player. But its a start!

APPLE MACBOOK

Retail: $1500
Why I want it: I'm not saying my laptop is old, but it weighs more than some desktops nowadays. And it has a floppy disk drive.
Why I don't want it: The matte black finish won't match the piano black finish of my Samsung, DS and Jordan XI's.

THE WIRE SEASONS 1-4

Retail: $150
Why I want it: Strictly based on what critics say about this series, The Wire looks to be the best show on television.
Why I don't want it: Why should I buy whole TV run if I nary seen one episode?

CUSTOMIZED TIMBUK2 BACKPACK

Retail: $150
Why I want it: The work issued logo backpack isn't cutting it anymore.
Why I don't want it: I don't even carry anything important or work related, but i need something to transport my mags and DS.

NIKON DIGITAL SLR CAMERA

Retail: $700
Why I want it: If I want to resurrect me eBay career, this would be a start. And it would be lovely for future travels. CNET recommends this one.
Why I don't want it: I already bought G a camera which can do everything above, which is good for now.

PLAID SNOWBOARD PANTS

SALOMON SNOWBOARD BOOTS

Retail: $150, $130
Why I want it: I think I used Jeff's pants more often than him, and I think I used Arvin's boots more often than him too. Yeah I'ma perpetual borrower.
Why I don't want it: I'll probably just go to the snow once more this season, so maybe I'll wait to purchase during the off-season. And who wants pants that look like PJs?

SCANDINAVIAN DESIGNS POLO DRESSERS

Retail: $450 [but I want 2!]
Why I want it: The plastic bins underneath my bed just aren't cutting it anymore.
Why I don't want it: Can't think of a reason actually - maybe they'd be hard to wrap? This will probably be a Q1'08 asset acquisition.

NIKE AIR MAX 90 BACONS

Retail: $90, but street value is $350
Why I want it: The only shoe out there that I really want. Plus the shirt I'm wearing now would match them.
Why I don't want it: They were on my feet when they first dropped and I could've had them for retail. Now they would cost over triple that.

MODERN CEILING FAN LIGHT

Retail: $700 [but only $350 on eBay!]
Why I want it: My current floor lamp is rusting, and its always been kept indoors. And its remote operated!
Why I don't want it: Installing it might require a lil too much wiring, and do I need another remote?

Well this is all I can think of know. Man I feel sorry for my girlfriend haha. Or I should just say screw it to everything above and get a new whip.
With christmas fast approaching, I figured I'd share what's on my list. But of course I'm not gonna get any of it haha. Everything would still be on my list after the 25th too! Darnit I hate being materialistic. Warning: my HTML skillz are way rusty.
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121807- Just a Top 10 list...

After taking the afternoon daily deuce, I was thinking of reasons why its more beneficial to go at work than at home. So here I present you the top 10 reasons:

10. Preserve Resources: I haven't bought TP in about 8 months prior to last week. And with the amount of flushing I do, I know I save on water bills.

09. Seat Covers: When I have guests, they also use the bathroom. Who's to say my guests' derrieres are cleaner than my coworkers? But at least's there's seat covers to protect us. And they also work great for blotting paper.

08. Flush with the Foot: I'm not sure about other people, but I'm not sure when was the last time I used my hand to flush, as I get my Ronaldinho on and just kick it. I only wish I had that option with my toilet at home.

07. Handicap Benefits: I can't park in their spaces or take their seats on the bus, but best believe I go for the handicap stall when its vacant. I have yet to be in a bathroom the same time as someone in a wheelchair.

06. Daily cleaning: I do clean my bathroom frequently, but the toilets here get cleaned ALL THE TIME. If you leave skid marks at home, the next time you use it, they'll still be there. However if you leave the same marks on your work toilet, its almost guaranteed they won't be there again the next time you go.

05. Industrial strength Toilets: How come there's a plunger in every bathroom but you don't see any in public ones? Because they never get clogged! If my toilet here were a vacuum, it would be a Dyson.

04. Multiple TP rolls: I store my TP in a different room than my bathroom. Sometimes when I commence my deuce and see just enough TP, I need to ration it per wipe. However at work, there's 2 sometimes even 3 rolls at your disposal, so you can be as liberal as you'd like.

03. Random reading material: I usually don't read it, but someone often leaves the business section of the NY Times at the stall. It is appreciated.

02. Ultimate Refuge/Sanctuary: If you're working and your stressed, you can go to the bathroom to relieve all the negative chi. It's equivalent to a spiritual cleansing.

01. $$$: If you think about it, you're getting paid while you defecate. Now if this post doesn't inspire you to go drop a deuce, then I'm not sure what can help you.
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121107- Untitled like that D’angelo song...

For some reason I've been inspired to post.

- Ever think of onions? Like why are white, yellow and red all the standard onion shape, but green onions are just long stems? I mean red, green and yellow bell peppers have the same shape, as with different colored grapes. That's totally a wrench in the notion that a chick has an onion booty, because you very well can be talking about a green onion booty.

- Speaking of onion booties, I like Kim Kardashian. Then I had my KK theory, which is this: a chick is hotter if her initials are KK. A few examples are Kim Kardashian, sister Kourtney Kardashian [but not sister Khloe Kardashian], Kira Kener, Kristin Kreuk, Kelly Kapowski, etc. I work with a couple KK's but just have email contact with them and have no idea what they look like, but chances are they're attractive.

- So at work, its self-evaluation time. Doing these self-performance reviews is kinda tricky. If its all positive then they might think yeah right. Then if its bad they might think damn he's wack, he says so himself! I might inflate my ego a bit and go with the former though. Oh yeah during the last two peer reviews I've had, I was rated the highest in my whole group woohoo. I haven't got any raises or promotions, so I guess it doesn't matter haha.

- You know how sale prices are always a certain percentage off? Like I'm staring at a nike coupon that says 20% off your purchase. I wonder if it would have the same effect if you put "pay only 80% of your amount!" Well duh guys, I know it's the same monetary effect, but I'm thinking moreso of the psychological psyche. Like our minds are ingrained to think bigger is better, so if they see the 80% amount, they would be more inclined to use the coupon? When I shop with G and she gets all excited about getting something for say 30% off, and I just say "no you didn't save 30%, you just paid 70% of the price. If you really saved something you'd have more money in your pocket than you did before you bought it." Man I'm such a dream shatterer.

- I had a dream the other day that I scored a 14 on the first part of my exam, which would be totally fine if it was out of 15. But its out of 100, and realistically I think I did slightly better than that. And FYI I'ma only share my score if I pass.

- You are looking at the proud owner of http://www.reegsta.com. Yeah right now its not live [I just pushed the "purchase domain" button mere moments ago], but its about to take over. I mean it has the "consonant-repeating-vowel-G" structure that google has, so don't think it's a coincidence. [FYI it took me like 5 tries to spell consonant correctly.] My ticker symbol can be REEG [that's not taken either]. The more I think about it, this blog area on MySpace is just temporary. I kinda did it backwards, as I had/have my blogspot and now I'm doing it here. Kind of like how Kim Kardashian did her video with Brandy's lil bro [I told myself I can't say his name anymore], then her pictorial spread. Anyway I'm hoping for a launch date of 010108, so that probably means it'll be live sometime next summer.

- So on my Christmas wishlist are golf items, since my clubs and bag are way crusty. That's not the reason I suck though, since a carpenter never blames his tools. I'm tryna revert back to things that I use to enjoy doing, but for some reason or the other just stopped: playing ball, playing golf, blogging, selling crap on ebay, wearing certain shoes, listening to certain artists…just keepin it real reegsta really.

- People generally think I'ma nice dude, but its like I have a different persona at work. You know sometimes when you meet someone, you're all nice initially and they gradually lose points. With me, you'll start at 0 and try to build your way up. Like we had this new cat start today, and I notice he was in a file that I used. I told him to exit, but I didn't really need to. He then emailed a group of us asking if anyone was down for lunch, and I ignored it. I don't know, maybe subconsciously I see new coworkers as my competition, and I just want to annihilate them. Its probably the Starbury in me.

- So it was an experimental weekend in Tahoe, as I snowboarded the blues for the first time! Yeah I'm still very amatuerish [I mean, I wore sunglasses bleh], but it was fun nonetheless. The weather was pretty insane, as the snow was coming down hard and there was like zero visibility, but that made it even better. Plus just the overall weekend chilling in the cabin with the homies is always a fun experience. Can't wait til I go back again!

- My two axioms/adages/maxims that I live by: don't sweat the small stuff and what I eat don't make you [poop].

- Lastly, congrats Eric and Kini on your engagement! I do get an assist because I did introduce them to each other, even though both forgot the time. And another assist for living with Eric at the time when Kini visited me during that one Valentine's day and Eric told her to go to that one spot in K-Town where he used to promote. On and off the court, I rack assists up like Jose Calderon.
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