I think what makes these parties free is the price paid by vendors to sell at the party. A big room on one of the hotel's floors gets filled with products for sale. Most of the items are artistic, unique and eclectic.
Shirts with protruding designs
A trendy, wall mounted tissue case
Let's hear it again for free beer and wine!!
Last night's Halloween at Claska!
Last night Miho, my German roommate Alex, his girlfriend, Asako, his friend, Tim, and I, went to a party at Claska together. It wasn't a costume party at all, but I really felt weird going to a party on October 31st without doing something out of the ordinary so I stole Ryan's western shirt, and wore it with an old had that an elderly man gave him when he was sunburned in a small, coastal town. I then bought the mask for one-hundred yen at the party! Unfortunately, there were probably less than ten people dressed up at the whole party. Oh well, more attention for me!!
At gakugei daigaku station
I was the closest to having a costume on in our group. Alex attempted to dress like a "pimp" by putting on some of Ryan's regular clothes. Asako was dressed in a nice dress, and Miho was business-casual as she went to the party straight from work. Tim ended up in some devil horns, but I'm not sure how he got them.
Alex and Asako at dinner
Miho and I at dinner
Tim on the roof, looking at Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower from the roof
The roof was the last place we hung out before deciding to leave. As we passed by the reception desk I remembered that I forgot my jacket at the first party I ever went to at Claska and asked if they still had it. Luckily for me continued hanging on to it since April! Miho and I made our way to the train and got a reminder of how crazy Saturday night trains are in Tokyo. The cars were full of drunk people, one of which had vomit all over its floor. Miho unexpectedly ended up with Alex's hat on at the end of the night, but as expected she fell asleep in her seat!
My most memorable, and also most scary Halloween was my 2006 experience at San Francisco's last official "Halloween at the Castro." Being an intern for the Golden State Warriors at the time, and thus having to pickup food at Panda Express for my superiors, I came up with the idea that it would be easy, and fun to make a Chinese food take-out box costume. I called around and found a shipping store that sold white boxes for four dollars. Then, I found the mask online and printed it out. I then blew it up at Kinkos, and had it laminated. While doing that, I asked the staff if they had any clip-art of "those tall oriental buildings with multiple roofs." They told me that they are called "pagodas," which was all the info I needed to get my own clip-art for free online. I printed out the clip-art, and had my Chinese roommate tell me how to write "please eat me" in Chinese and printed that out too.
On the streets of The Castro!
I hit the streets with my friend Daniel, aka "Tigger." A strong mixture of vodka and orange juice kept us warm and energetic that night, and helped us fit in with the rest of the wild partygoers.
Both Daniel and I were quite eye-catching and we spent a lot of time being asked to take pictures with people. However, we somehow never got any pictures together!
KTVU estimated that 500,000 people filled the streets, most in some sort of costume. There was a stage with a packed crowd of around one-thousand people dancing to trance beats being mixed live by a local dj. As soon as I reached the fringe of that crowd my costume began to get smashed so we ended up keeping our distance.
Julian, AKA "Frenchy"
Halloween 2006 began a trend of randomly running into people that I know on the streets of SF. Julian was a classmate of mine at SFSU, and he was always trying to explain some sort of bizarre thing in Japanese class in the middle of a lecture, and whenever he was presenting in front of class he would somehow always end up on the floor. Anyway, randomly running into him seemed so awesome at the time. haha
Geisha-In-The-Box
Haha, this picture simply makes me laugh. I don't know who gave her the idea to do that!
Identical Couple
Anyway, the fun carried on until late at night. The last sane moment I remember I was with Daniel, and a few other people and suddenly there were a bunch of popping sounds, followed by a stampede of people. I was quite intoxicated, and without seeing, nor saying anything to my friends I joined the stampede of people and sort of jogged out of the area. I ended up by a Muni subway entrance and decided to just go home. I figured it had to be gunshots, and later found out from my friends that a person right by us was shot in the shoulder, and that they were helping that person out! I had no idea, and in the end nine people were wounded. It's said that there was a conflict between two groups, but innocent bystanders were also wounded.
Overall, it was one of the best parties I have ever been to, and I would go again if given the chance. Last year San Francisco had its first official Halloween party since that incident. It was held at AT&T Park, but didn't have too many people show up. It was a really good time, though!
I last wrote about my adventure-packed September, where I had a blast hanging out with my girlfriend, going to weddings, and so much more.At that time, I was staying in Ukiah even though I was taking classes in San Francisco.In October, though, I finally found a place in San Francisco of which I am still living in.I moved into one of my classmates’ house that had an open bedroom.
Love Fest
One of my favorite events in the world takes place in San Francisco every Fall called Love Fest.Love Fest is a parade of awesomely decorated flat-bed semi-trucks with electronica music DJs and dancers aboard, slowly making their way down Market Street.They continue, slowly, all the way to the large plaza in front of City Hall where their trucks park, and their trailers act as stages for the DJs who all play non-stop until dusk.The contrast of the loud, colorful party and San Francisco’s glorious City Hall is quite a sight to see.
Myself,Aya,Justin,and Hide
The parade aspect of this event, plus how so many people dress up for it, is why I “love” Love Fest.I was with some friends, and their friends, and we all partied in our brightest, flamboyant attire.I had rainbow Slinkies on my arms, and my friend had on neon fur.Some people leave all their clothes at home and just come naked.
Free Bluegrass Festival
October also blessed me with a free Robert Plant (of Led Zepplin) concert.He played outdoors, in Golden GatePark.I went with my friend, Hide, who ended up making the mistake of “taking candy from strangers” at the show and had himself a miserable night with a wild girl that he met.I ended up having to drive out somewhere to go save him, but I was delayed because I was at a bar with my friend Justin when Hide was in need so he had to wait a couple hours for me to sober up.
With an Oil-Worker Member of the Palin Family
Once I moved in October, I had a fairly large amount of free time, and thus I started to ponder what kind of cool Halloween costume I could make this year.I wanted to come up with something original, and so I thought about what kind of current events I might be able to base a costume off of.There was no way I could make myself look like Obama, and San Francisco’s Sarah Palin look-alike drag-queen contest proved that politics were already overused by others.At some point I came across the term “green energy”, like I had many times before in 2008, and thought about how I could apply it to a costume.I figured I could wear green clothes, and top it off with a homemade, CFL light bulb hat powered by a 12 volt battery and an inverter.I made that hat by tinkering with a tin, shop clamp-light so that the bulb would be placed outside of the bowl, instead of inside.
At the City's Halloween Festival
I had a really good time on Halloween night at San Francisco’s city-run party.It took place in one of AT&TPark’s parking lots, and featured lots of free music, including a fun surprise when the singer of the disco hit “It’s Raining Men” put on a very entertaining set.A low point of that night was when I was in an outhouse, suddenly there was a strong banging on the door.I called out so it would be clear that someone was in there, but about a minute later the firm knock returned.I ignored it, and was taking my time because I had to deal with my costume.Finally, when I stepped out of the outhouse two San Francisco Sheriffs were there and one asked me, “Have you been smoking anything tonight?”, as the other was looking at my eyes with a flashlight.I answered, “No.”And as they continued to ask me questions I interrupted and asked, “Am I free to go?”And one of them said, “Of course.”I went back to the main stage where a really fun Latino band was playing and suddenly one of them said, this one is dedicated to the gringo with the bright idea, as he pointed to me.I was stoked, and it helped me forget the cops invading my privacy.
Brandy's Party
The next night I was able to meet up with my friend Brandy for her Halloween party.It was lots of fun, but I had to keep my light turned off because it was too bright for the dim, Halloween atmosphere.The best costumes were definitely the couple who came as the couple in the movie Juno.With the election nearing, two partygoers spent the whole time arguing about all of the predictable conservative verses liberal arguments.I don’t remember their names, but I remember the liberal was the “naughty teacher” and ironically the conservative was “Joe The Plumber.”I am not sure why they chose to waste a perfectly good party whining to each-other about how much they disagree with one-another's opinions.
Though I didn’t waste my social life arguing about politics, I did follow many things very closely, and passionately.I was very hopeful that Obama would be elected, but I had no idea if America was going to vote for him.On Election Day, my roommates and I all watched NBC news together in anticipation.When the news was announced that Obama had won, we were all smiles, and I really felt proud of my country for electing the first African-American president.The idea that not too long ago African-Americans weren’t even able to vote, and that interracial marriages, like the marriage that produced our future president, were also forbidden.The presidential election, overall, made me feel great about my country, and has me looking forward to Obama’s presidency.The thought of "President Palin" really had me worried. The result of Proposition 8, however, made me feel extreme shame in my fellow Californians.I see it as utterly preposterous that a large number of Californian’s dream of marriage was put up for vote.How would you feel if someone voted on your marriage?I went to two beautiful weddings shortly before the 2008 election and I hope that all men and women of this state will be able to have a day as special as that, with the person they want to spend the rest of their life with.I am disgusted that some individuals’ prejudices are now written on our Californian constitution. I am straight, I grew up attracted to women, and am lucky enough to have a wonderful girlfriend. The thought of being romantic with someone of the same sex is not something my mind can comprehend, but I do know what love is, and I would never try to deny that to anyone.
Thanksgiving Season
November also means Thanksgiving, and I am thankful for so many wonderful things in my life.I spent the holiday with my mom and sister in Truckee, and I even was in charge of preparing the turkey!There was no snow in the area yet, so our recreation was limited to an epic hike near the Northstar resort.
I think I will end this here and talk about December another time. Take care!
**By the way, this was written on warm, sunnyOceanBeach in San Francisco.The sun is about to set, and I am thinking about coming back tomorrow for a barbecue.
I have managed to have the best year of my life once again. 2007 brought me so much fortune, friendship, family, love, peace, and adventure. Words can't completely describe the ride I had those magnificent 365 days so I have compiled this photo journal of my year.
2007 started with freezing temperatures, cold drinks, warm-hearted friends, and heated battles on a Nintendo Wii. Friends from Humboldt had rented a house in South Lake Tahoe and my friend Ray visiting from Australia plus my official partner in crime of 2007, Ryan Slater, and I, partied with them. This year Ryan and I did so much together that people at school started calling us "Lenny and Karl" (a reference from the Simpsons). Anyway, that night we block-partied, house-partied, and downright over-partied! I started the New Year off right by delivering a bakers dozen of doughnuts to my drowsy friends at around noon. I am pretty sure I ate at least two for myself. Oh ya, and I got Ryan some chicken strips too.
South Lake Tahoe block party
Snowboarding a couple days later
I toured my Australian friend all around northern California including Tahoe, Humboldt, and the Bay Area. While he was there we both befriended Brandy from Illinois and started a strong friendship that I am fortunate to have. Neither of them had ever seen the Bay Area so we all adventured around and had a good time.
The song "White & Nerdy" was written about us
Australian Ray having a Humboldt moment
My old stomping/slipping grounds
In the month of January my friends and I were always up to fun stuff like going to see music (that sometimes never played), bonfires on the beach, karaoke in Japan Town, and so much more. I had been working on the video crew for the Golden State Warriors since October so I was busy with that as well at the time. School started late in January and thus I became very busy!
Karaoke in Japantown
At a jazz club
Bonfire and BBQ on the beach
Breakfast overlooking the beach at Ryan's place
The weather seemed to be pretty nice through February and because of this I did a lot of outdoor stuff. A bike ride accidentally led Ryan and I to the Painted Sisters, a place in SF that neither of us had seen yet. We often skimboarded on the beach and tossed the football around as well.
Skimboard
The Painted Sisters
BBQ on the Chinese New Year
Valentines day was so much fun. We participated in the "flash-mob" pillow fight in the financial district. John (another good buddy of 2007), Brandy, Ryan, and I made panda masks and took to the streets as a team. The uniqueness and creativity of our masks worked to our disadvantage because people ganged up on us and beat us badly. Still, it is a fond memory and allowed us all to say that on Valentines our head touched the pillow of someone of the opposite sex.
I look dangerous
March was full of school, of course, but there were plenty of fun times and awesome memories made. Ryan and I, always having a blast at the beach, decided to try and get as many people out for a BBQ as possible so we invited dozens of friends with over a weeks notice. The weather was incredible. It was hot, people wanted to swim, and with our fabulous cuisine keeping people's bellies full (we even catered to the vegans), I have to admit this was one of the best days I have ever had in San Francisco. I even got some friends from high school to come from Santa Cruz which was was special because I got to collaborate the close people of my current life with the close people from my past.
That very beach was the location for a fun turn of events a few days later. Ryan and I were studying for a midterm and were so bored so we decided to go throw the frisbee on the beach. Ryan wore his sand-colored sandles and took them off while we played. The problem was that he couldn't find them when we were done so he asked some girls if they would tell us if they saw them. If my memory serves me correct he spoke to them in Japanese and we all got to talking and decided to hang out the rest of their short stay in San Francisco before heading back to school in Seattle. We did lots of fun stuff and became good friends.
Within 2 hours of being strangers on the beach
In late March I began my internship working for the San Francisco Giants. I was really intimidated by this, as this was basically a dream come true for me. For the most part, I filmed for the scoreboard from left field, and eventually pregame ceremonies. I had an incredible experience with the Giants but it was not without its low points. In fact, the very first game of the season, a preseson game against Oakland I was yelled at by the director over the headsets we use for communication. I think it was because I filmed an Oakland flag right when he chose my camera which really made him look bad. He even said "We can't have an intern on that camera." Obviously things got better and I like to think I was a cameraman they could depend on for decent shots.
My name under my camera's image on the director's switchboard
April's glory was in the roadrip Ryan and I took to the Canadian border. We absolutely planned on going into Canada, and even had accomodations arranged, but the Canadian border patrol wasn't in a very good mood and decided to get technical which kept us out of their country. Being that this was just a single day after Ryan bottomed out his SUV on a dirt road to the point where it needed a new transmission in the mountains east of Seattle, we were starting to have our regrets about commiting to such an adventure. We still had our successes, for example we had tons of fun with our friends going to school at the University of Washington. We also went on a very cool bike ride and really enjoyed the sights between San Francisco and Canada.
www.roadtripnation.com sponsored our trip
View of Shasta from a bike trail
May was quite a month. I had finals, the Warriors were in the playoffs, and the Giants regular season was in its second month. The experience I had at the Warriors was quite a memorable one. Two of the three Playoff games that I worked at I was on camera the entirety of the game. The other game I was pulling cable for one of the guys on a handheld camera. The 2006-2007 Warriors season was my first experience ever at an NBA game and as the Warriors suprised everyone by making the playoffs, the games because intense and downright electric. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Jessica Alba, Carlos Santana, and more were in attendance and our scoreboard show was as important as it has ever been. The Warriors eventually lost in the second round which was somewhat of a relief for me because I was being stretched thin with all my responsibilities. Around this time the Sharks were in the playoffs as well so video crews were scarce and I was asked to do my first hired job not as an intern, working on a Fox production of track and field at Stanford University.
Before a playoff game
The weekend before finals I was talked out of studying and talked into having one of the coolest days of my 2007. The Bay to Breakers is a race through San Francisco where people dress up as wildly as possible and travel by foot from the bay downtown, to ocean beach. The fun atmosphere turns the event into more of a moving block-party. It was quite a day.
I had great company (Candice, on the left, is another great friend made in 2007)
My buddy John got my friends and I hooked up for the debut of a play being shown downtown as well as its after party. I really enjoyed the show and getting to meet the actors and staff at the party. It was my first experience seeing live theater in San Francisco.
At the after-party with Brandy
After finals I got to make a quick trip up to Truckee with some friends. We stopped at the Jelly Belly factory in somewhere in the valley and checked it out for a while.
Arnold never looked so yummy
My highlight of that trip was getting to borrow a friend of the family's jet ski and take it to a reservoir. Here is my mom and I just prior to going for a ride.
A few days later I began work in Santa Rosa at the Harmony Festival. I have worked at a lot of Music Festivals but this has to be the best one. The music is so diverse, there is no dust, there are toilets that flush, there is nice grass, and great demonstrations. I highly recommend this show to anyone. Some of the headlining bands were The Beach Boys, The Roots, Common, and Erykah Badu.
Between shoots at the indoor stage
The indoor stage
A stray cat slept in this flypack worth over six figures
Two of the friends I was in Truckee with were on a West Coast tour and had been all around Southern California while I was working in Santa Rosa. They invited me to join them in the Las Vegas and Grand Canyon leg of their trip and I couldn't refuse the offer. They hooked me up with a place to sleep in their Vegas hotel and I hooked them up with all my camping gear and driving abilities for the Grand Canyon.
I had always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but I never could have prepared myself for how much I was going to enjoy it. We drove there early and arrived around 1pm. As soon as we got our camp setup we made our way to the nearest viewpoint. From that point on I was stricken with awe over the majesty of the canyons. I seriously began to shake and my heart rate accelerated as I processed what was before my eyes. It was that great! All it took was a $60 flight to Vegas, a $25 dollar rental car (after the under 25 fee!), and National Park fees and I had one of the coolest trips of my life.
Might as well be flying
Death-defying friends
Shortly after that trip ended it was back to work and this time I was in Boonville for the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. It was work as usual there. My sister Rhea was working there as well so I hung out with her from time to time. At the time I was thinking that this festival was much better than Reggae on the River in Humboldt but this year's show ended up being a whole lot better and it improved its reputation in my opinion.
This black widow and its babies at Rhea's house in June
I still had responsibilities working with the Giants so I was really bouncing around for a while. June ended with work at the stadium and meeting Miho for the first time in the Mission District. From then on we began hanging out regularly through the time she went back to Japan in late August.
Party of three smiling all the way to the beach
Taking a nap on Miho's hostsister Jade
The 4th of July was a really fun day. Miho, John, and I hung out together with plans of going to see the fireworks at Fisherman's Wharf. We changed our minds after realizing there we weren't ready for the crowds and instead we went to the roof of a high rise building of a videogame company that John works for. It was really beautiful up there and we were able to see both the fireworks at the wharf, and Oakland.
Getting involved in video in the Bay Area intermingled me with some really great people. At the Warriors, Giants, and other events my more experienced coworkers were always so generous and taught me so much. Some were even in the position to get me work which is what my friend Hauna did by landing my a position working for the international telecast at the All Star Game. It was six long days of work but it was a great time. It felt so cool to be a part of an event with such a huge, global audience.
Japan versus the USA womens soccer game
After that I was off to Humboldt to house-sit for my dad. It was nice to return home and a change of pace not having anything to do or long distances to travel.
Black Sands Beach
August began, like always, with Reggae on the River (now known as Reggae Rising) taking place on my birthday. The show was a major improvement from 2006 and though I was working, looking at it from a fan's point of view I think it was a great show.
Minutes after Andrew turned 21 on Aug 8
Free time continued in rural Humboldt and I spent most of it at the beach or hanging out with friends.
I had a week of work with NBC Sports in San Jose for a gymnastics event that went well. After that I went to San Francisco and hung out with Miho and her family visiting from Japan. They all returned to Japan together and I headed back to Humboldt.
At the end of the month my entire family gathered at Usal State Park for a campout where we celebrated Sami's birthday. It was a great time and we all had lots of fun.
Goofy people
A great crew
After that September began and I had just ten days before my departure to Tokyo. As the day approached I said bye to everyone and made sure I was ready to leave the USA for 11 months. Things went smooth and I made it here without a hitch.
The last 20 days of September through the first half of October were mainly orientations, welcome parties, and special events.
Halloween
Shinjuku Tokyo
At one of my school's baseball games
Being pretty busy with classes I didn't do a whole lot of exiting things. One notable things was the one-day trip to Nikko that we Californians took as a group. My computer broke so I am missing most of the good photos from September to Halloween.
The California crew plus some locals
It started getting pretty cold in November and December here in Tokyo. I went to Tokyo Disney Sea around Thanksgiving which was a lot of fun. I also got to eat at a military Thanksgiving dinner here in Tokyo.
Christmas was celebrated a little early this year. Miho and I went to a part of the city called Odaiba and had a really good time. We also spent New Years Eve together at Tokyo Tower.
Christmas
New Years at Tokyo Tower
I hope you all have a great 2008. Try and keep to your resolutions and if you don't have one yet how about you vow to keep in touch with your pal in Tokyo a little better! I love hearing from you all. It isn't always easy being so far away from so many friends!
There are a lot of potentially heavily impacting events that may take place for me this year so I am eager to live them out. I recently went to a shrine to make a wish for 2008 and get my fortune and it turns out that according to the charm I received I have to be on the look-out for a potentially bad year. Stay tuned.
All blogs found on this site written before 2009 have been imported from MySpace. Some may not look too pretty, and some of the pictures won't enlarge, but it is a small price to pay to not have to deal with MySpace's primitive blog setup anymore!
I recently graduated San Francisco State University. I majored in Japanese and minored in International Relations, and spent a year studying at Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University. I grew up in a very rural area of Humboldt County California. That remote setting built up a lot of ambition in me to get out and chase my dreams. Thanks for reading!
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