Quickie

so i think im gonna start a "my week in pictures" thing for my blog, i thought i could do a visual of what i do on the weekly, or when random events come up. Yep looks like im gonna turn into a camera "whore" lol any who ill write a 2009 wrap up some time next week, gotta sit and think real hard about 2009

Finals week(s)?!?! no sweat! & a packed december!

Am I wrong for not feeling the same stress everyone seems to feel?, I mean after all stress can impair judgment. Sure finals MAY be a little bit MORE points than regular exams, but my personal opinion is don't stress it. Adding another stress-or in your life isn't worth it, the more you're relaxed the better off you'll be, then again any test/exam setting are stressful enough. Sometimes a change in attitude or outlook on a situation such as "finals week", can work to your benefit. I'm not saying im the best student out there (not by a long shot), but i've learned to change the way i think about such a stressful situation. While everyone else had "finals", i actually didnt have any "real" final, i had group presentations for two classes and 4 regular exams/tests for the 4 classes i took this semester. We're these couple weeks stressful?, yes, but did I stay up and do all nighters? no, didn't have to and hope i never have to. So from here on out, I'm just going to approach finals week just like any other exam.


Well its that time of the year again, when I think everyone is at their happiest. Something about this time of the year i swear, and could probably why it's my favorite time of the year. Anyways, december 2009 marks my 7 year anniversary with my girlfriend kristine! yaaaay lol, it is also her bday on x-mas eve. this month is pretty packed, holiday parties with friends, kristine's friends, kamp, and the homies, that and a WHOLE LOT OF saving to do this month since ill be working 35+ hours untill spring semester kicks off. December has always been a special month to me, i don't know why, but it just has. Everything else i mentioned is just icing on the cake, and with the year coming to an end 2009 was good to me :-). so to everyone out there have a very blessed and happy holidays and may 2010 bring you and yours more blessings! peace

till next time

rawfiki

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

I read an interesting tweet today

"if youre in school, it should be your #1 priority. smh if it isnt. if you think this is about you, something is wrong!"

now, i could have been a dick and said; first of all people will ALWAYS live different lifestyles, who are you to say its wrong if school is NOT number 1 priority. second we have a difference of opinion, personally i've always felt that we can have our cake and eat it. All it is really is balance, thats the key word. and if you think this is about you then something is wrong! lol

im 22 years old, and ever since i changed the way i view life it's been good. We can plan for our futures, and do things now for our future, but if there's anything ive learned the past couple of years it's; life is not guaranteed. I do everything I can NOW so if, god forbid, anything were to happen to me i'd be content with the life i've lived. I've always felt like my generation is trying to grow up TOO fast, i understand some of us want to get into the real world, but slow down please!. If life is the gift god gave us, shouldn't we all be enjoying it every chance we get?!?!, I think so.

life is so beautiful and so precious, i don't understand why so many of us bypass all of that for instant gratification?!?!. I'm trying to enjoy this lifetime, and I feel like im doing that. LIFE is my number 1 priority, FAMILY is number 1 priority, FRIENDS are number 1 priority, when i die i want to be remembered as someone that enjoyed LIFE, would give everything he had for his FAMILY, and loved all of his FRIENDS. I don't want to be remembered as someone that was soo busy he had no time for anything else. you know. LIFE!



LIVE IT, DAMNIT! and have fun doing it
as the title of this post says “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” playon playah, playon playah

till next time!
-raf

winter, the chargers, and stuff

another weekend done and another week closer towards the end of this semester. I really don't know how to feel about this semester, I did do work, but i think because i set my goals too high I may be feeling uneasy about this semester. I feel like I should be pullin C's, which is good, but then again this behavior change is gonna take some time. Next semester will be a good one.

okay now to what I like to think about, haha. THE CHARGERS HAVE WON 6 in a row now which puts them at 8-3. It bothers me that some "fans" wrote the chargers off as contenders, and all i've got to say is, SHAME SHAME SHAME. Why would you write off your team, even IF the chargers' season DID go down the shitter i'd still be a huge fan. It's border line embarrassing when i read "die hard" charger fans statuses that say "fucking chargers, the season is over" well somewhere along those lines. It's disappointing really, and it's these same people that say to me im not being real when im just supporting the team i love, im sorry but i don't half ass my support for my favorite team!. thats enough about that we're in 1st place in the afc west, and its december aaaaand they're peaking at the right time! chargers are scary around this time so all you doubters, keep on doubting coz youre gonna eat your words at seasons end.

I LOVE WINTER!!! or at least december - january, because it truly is "the most wonderful time of the year!." People just seem to be in the best mood around this time, broke or not. I know im definitely happier around this time, i know i know it's awesome right? haha. I also need new holiday music to listen to, every year im listening to the same ol songs.

one more thing:STAY POSITIVE EVERYONE! please i beg you!. only good things will come if you stay positive, there's AWLAYS light at the end of ANY tunnel. remember, god wouldn't put you in a situation you can't handle, so whatever is going on you have the strength to pull through anything. I'm no the most religious person in my circle of friends, hell i don't agree with some of the bible, but god IS good, and god DOES love you! be positive and life will be easier. and remember to laugh every once in a while, it's good for you!

blah blah blah till next time

-raf

blog blog blog im going to blog...instead of doing my self reflection

I just realized i havent blogged in a while, I do most of my stuff on twitter. Then i figured, since no one reads this anyways, ill just use it as a way to vomit my thoughts and concerns or if i think of anything interesting, this is where ill do it, because 140 characters isn't enough to REALLY express myself. I think when i started blogging, i started blogging for the wrong reasons, thinking i was already bloggin to an audience that was non-existent.


bboyed today for the first time in a looooong 3 months. Now my legs are KILLING me, almost forgot how much it work bboying put on my legs (ie knees). Yeah im definitely going to practice again, but ill slowly be easing my way back to it. These new kids are creepin up on me man gotta put back in work.

FINALLY got my new car last month (11-7-09), yes its THE 2010 honda civic si sedan, not that any of you care, or even read this blog anymore lol. the car is awesome, i just dont like it when fuckers try to come up next to me and race. I'm like "wtf dude, how small is your penis that you want to race a brand new car, go fuck yourself you jackass, im not gonna waste my gas fuck face!" im saying this in my head of course.

My 7 years is coming up with kristine. HOLY FUCK 7 YEARS! lol and so is her bday, and christmas. december has been THE busiest months the past 7 years, for other reasons than the ones i just mentioned, but thats a whole different post. more details on her bday/anniversary/christmas later.

"thanksgiving" was cool, always good to spend time with family. I just wish native americans didnt have to die in order for us to celebrate this holiday...SMH and thats all i have to say about thingstaken.


"blog like no one is reading". LOVE that quote, why? because it makes sense to me. If i think no one is reading, then i have less stress on what im blogging about, and therefore my blogs come out more genuine.

STAY POSITIVE

PLEASE! to much negativity going on. I just wish more people took it upon themselves to reflect on things they say or do, and think "is this doing any good to my well being?". so I tend to tweet about being positive. I've always been a firm believer in energy is contagious, really ANY kind of energy is contagious. For me if im positive i can only hope i can pass that on to the next person. LET'S GO!

whew! that was a good one till next time...

hello? (echos)

goodbye summer 2009

Oh summer 2009, you were good, maybe one of the best summers I've had. If you read my "summertime" post you may notice i set out some goals for this past summer, and I did accomplish some of them; even though I didn't get a common in bank account balance i saved up enough money for my books, and a very special bday gift for myself ( this baby right here ) with a 10% discount because homie workin at sports fever was cool enough to do that for my bday. I "safely" turned 22, even though you cant tell I lost weight doing cross fit with friends has me feeling like i have more energy during the day, and i feel like im on the right path to being in good shape this coming school semester (thanks paul). YES! we did get new r/d apparel shirts in and our business cards, YEEE!, and since i set out to make strides in organizing, i did so by stepping up to be the co-lead for mira mesa site (KAMP), trying to change lives here people!! lol, and last but not least, the car thing. Remember I said I'd be gettin that new sexy 2009 civic si..well i lied, sorta, SHIT HAPPENS, MAN! but I am close to gettin a better car than the one i have now, and thats all im gonna say about that because i dont want to jinks myself. For 3 months i feel like i've accomplished internal goals though, like feeling closer to people i care about, seeing life in a new and better light, and changing my laziness to go-get-em-ness haha. To everyone in my life, I hope I inspire you just as much as YOU inspire ME, LETS GO!!!

fall semester started last week (8-24-09) and whole lot more changes are happening in my world, good ones! so stay tuned.

WE THE CHAMPS!

Pac Div finally came out with their latest mixtape, The Church League Champions. It took a long time for them to release the mixtape, but ohhh boooy the wait was well worth it. Pac Div is a hip hop trio from LA, and they're not your typical westcoast act, if youre a backpacker/hip hop head youll like if not love thier stuff. The trio comes off with a lyrical style that can be compared to other westcoast acts like hieroglyphics, and living legends. what were you expecting some G shit?, naw. I could go ON and ON about how dope Pac Div is, but you'll just have to listen for yourself

dl the mixtape here
ill post a playlist later.

the other mixtape they have out is called "sealed for freshness blendtape" dont have a link for that just look for it at your local music store

longest saturday of 2009 so far lol 6-13-09

Im so proud of her, :-)




heres the set up
the day started off at 6:30 AM:
-woke up
-got ready
-left the house by 7:50 AM and got to erwin's house at 8:15 AM
(Kristine's graduation starts at 11 am, but we have to be in irvine between 9 and 10)

fortunately erwin lives in like northern escondido, as in hella boonies, lol, and he lives like an hour away from irvine so we didnt have to really haul ass. On the drive up there, i thought about the past 4 years and how fast they went, i feel like it was just last week i was visiting kristine at her dorm room. being at the ceremony was prolly reality check number 2, i mean assuming kristine doesn't go to grad school (which i think she will), its a beautiful thing to hear kristine's name being called at a COLLEGE graduation. It took a lot of self discipline and self motivation to take 18 units a quarter (fuuuuuuuuck!! lol), which is why im so proud of her, tbh, shes who i look up to :-). with that said, Congratulations kristine!!

part 2:
-we get back to erwin's house at 5:30PM
-get to body rock venue at 6-ish

*sigh* i hated being in the audience, not because i hate being AT shows (coz i dont), but because im used to being the performer and I LOVED IT!!!. Everything about being a performer is awesome, the rush before you go on stage, seeing and hanging out with other dancers/friends from other teams, and the audience's noise, when you're on a good team, and they cheer their ass off for you, ive got to say its prolly better than.... just playin, but its probably like playing a home game at the Q for the chargers. So after the the show i made a mental list of who really stood out to me in different catagories:
best in show (shit that made me go WHAT THE FUCK!!)
-choreo cookies (took first place as well)
-KM legacy
-Boxcuttahs
-so real cru
-SBGM
-the company (took 2nd)

most improved(strictly MY opinion)
-common ground
-formality

surprises
-poreotics
-who cares (Germany)
-meccamee (las vegas)
-kaba modern (took 3rd)
-project EM (bay area)


CONGRATULATIONS TO CHOREOCOOKIES FOR TAKING FIRST PLACE!

summertime

so now that im on summer vacation and all, you'd think id be out hangin out, enjoying my vaca. but im not, instead if im not out of the house by 8pm or 9pm, im pretty much at home browsing the internet and watching late night nbc shows. As lame as it sounds, i think it only makes sense, i work in the morning so the only days i really can hang out are the weekends, and why dont we do more during the weekend beats me, but this is how my summers have been the last couple years. On a lighter note, it's graduation season and Kristine is graduating and moving back to SD, FOREVER!!!!! lol. It amazes me that shes graduating 4 years after we graduated high school, im so proud :-D. Along with Kristine graduating, her younger bro. jay is graduating high school as well, and will be attending UCI in the fall.

so back to my summer vacation, this is usually the time when my friends and i play the most basketball, which is good, because i don't even do any cardio at the gym. I figured play ball 2 - 3 days a week, then lift weights 3 - 4 days of the week (i'm going to need to stick to this if i want to achieve my goal of loosing 10 lbs and replacing that with muscle) trying to get lean before i turn 22, or as lean as i can get lol. and this is where i end this quick post

Random recap / summer goal(s)

since the beginning of 2009 ive blogged about a number of things from my appearance on the super b-beat show to my possible return to the dance scene. In a matter of 6 months a lot has happend, im talking big things, for one r/d apparel finally has a website, we FINALLY have shirts for sale, ive gotten more involved with anakbayan san diego (i've still got a lot of work to do though), and MY LAKERS ARE IN THE NBA FINALS!!! lol. On a serious note though, some things in this past school semester has opened my eyes, and i am more then ever motivated to really get down to business (fuck you if you doubt me). With the first 6 months done, i hope the next 6 months has more in store for me, so on that note here are some of my summer goal(s):

-get a comma in my back account balance
-new r/d shirts
-get to know illustrator
-loose 10 lbs of fat, gain muscle
-turn 22 and do somn awesome!!! lol
-step up on my organizing/activism
-get DOPE with stick shift
-GET NEW WHIP!!

YES!!!!, after further discussion with the 'rents, we are planning on getting me a new car, AND I GET TO CHOOSE WHAT I WANT!!!! so i chose the 2009 civic si coupe
this baby right here, but not this this color




and thats about it for the past 6 motnhs, and what i want to do for the next 6 months. i will keep you all updated, which means this blog will have more activity instead of the monthly blog lol. till next time, peace

-RAWfiki

SUCCESS !!

still coming off of last nights awesome performance, Damn it felt good. No words can describe the rush I get when performing, i miss it. I still cant believe how awesome it was last night. thank you to everyone that came out to support. Who knows this might be the performance that will get me back to dancing.

if you missed it here it is!

familiar jitters

so because dancing was a part of my life for like 5-6 years of my life, that was all i knew, all i did. Performing in front of hundreds, even thousands became second nature to me. Fast forward 2 years and 7 months since my last performance (culture shock san diego shocase), and im nervous as fuck for this “parent show” that mira mesa dance team hosts annually. Why? I don’t want to fuck up, thats why, ive always taken pride in knowing ill pull through and put on a good show and the last time ive felt this nervous was over 2 years ago, yeah its been a while. omg wish me luck tonight hahaha

 

just some things on my mind

I feel like up to this point in my life that I've been blessed, undeserving? maybe?, but mostly blessed.

When I sit back and think about things i have accomplished and working on in my life, its pretty progressive/consistent. I've done things for myself to keep moving forward, or so i think, But I can't help but think about how my disappointing college career has been. As much as I feel blessed to have the things in my life, i feel undeserving because as of right now i feel like im letting people close to me down by not performing the way i know i can in school. Is it because my priorities are loosely organized? maybe, do i spread myself too thin and bite off more than i can chew? possibly, or am i too concentrated on trying to please myself while trying to please others as well? sure. When asked how I'm doing in school I pretty much sugar coat my situation by saying, "it's okay", or "just trying to get by". With my finals coming up i feel more undeserving than ever, it's to the point where i feel like if i really want to succeed in college EVERYTHING needs to go out the door, well not completely, but that's what it feels like, get rid of social life, extracurricular activities (bboyin, basketball, gym), orgs (KAMP, AB, ZULU), basically everything that makes me, ME, like everything im blessed with i feel needs to go out the door just to succeed in college. I'm feeling pressure to succeed, my parents aren't getting any younger, my gf is graduating this year from UCI, most of my friends will be out of college within the year, and here I am struggling to get out of remedial classes (non-transferable classes).*deep breath* What's done is done i just have to do better next time.

testing

Blogging from my g1, test test

5, 6, 7, 8....

So i guess the latest news is starting this friday i will be starting practices with some fellow mira mesa all male alumni for mira mesa dance team's parent show as a special alumni performance. I've missed the past few practices due to some prior engagements but i will be at 8 of the 10 practices left, on paper it doesn't look like i have time to learn the choreography, but i am confident i will come through. At first i was hesitant because of how my schedule has been, but when i checked again it turns out ill be good for the last 8. Maybe this will encourage me to get back into dancing and try out for cssd this coming december, or it could go the other way where i could finally put some closure on dancing and just say im done with it, either way this will be fun not to mention it's a cool way to honor my dancing roots (not bboying, but choreography).

Here is the all male team i was on in 2002 back in high school (guess who does the windmills hahaha)

Patience

Patience-n-(pā-shəns): 1.the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. 2.an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner. 3.quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.


Since the start of the new year, i've been trying to be Patient. Patient with school, patient with my health, patient with friends/family/people in general, and patient with my bboying. 3 months in and i think im somewhat getting the hang of this, i mean i've been trying, trust me, since before the new year, but you know it just took some more growing up to really understand the meaning of being patient. Granted I still get overwhelmed, im not gonna sit here and lie to y'all, but learning how to be patient lets me take a step back, take a deep breath and really analyze situations im in. Aside from being patient, being optimistic helps too, i can see what i want, and where i want to get to, and ill be excited that i have a goal to get to BUT I DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT let myself down by thinking negatively about the obstacles that i have to go through to get to where i want to get to, feel me?. "PROMOB" as my homie Ray puts it, progressive mobbin, basically "stay pushing forward, never moving in reverse".

Patience and Optimism:
- on thing at a time
- do not let yourself get overwhelmed
- step back and take a deep breath
- think rationally and reasonably

this is pretty much where im at right now
peace.

Relax - Pacific Division

Da Bulls

okay so the bulls are currently 22-28, you're probably asking yourself "why the fuck is raf blogging about the bulls?". Honestly, i don't have a concrete reason why, but i can tell you that somewhere deep down in me i want to see the bulls back at the top of the eastern conference. I mean honestly when someone brings up the Bulls, what or who do you think of? I know damn well it isn't Luol Deng or Ben Gordon, instead it's jordan and pippen and the golden years (1990-1998). I honestly believe that the fall of the bulls started when his airness (michael jordan) "retired" from the bulls, the zen master left, and pippen asked to be traded, yes, ASKED TO BE TRADED. Where am i going with this?, in the first three seasons after the departure of MJ the bulls had a combined record of 45 wins and 169 losses, now compare that to the bulls second three-peat from 1995-1998 they had a combined record of 203 wins and 43 losses. THE CURRENT BULLS ARE STILL LIVING IN THE SHADOWS OF THE BULLS OF THE 90's, with the exception of the 2004-2006 seasons when they made playoff appearances, even with that said, they're not generating the buzz they used to.

What I think needs to be done is a uniform change. 3 reasons why i believe there should be a uniform change; 1) with young players on the roster it will give them a sense of identity, 2) i think the fans would probably like it, and 3) the old unis is so reminiscent of the 90's. I'm not saying that a uniform change will put them back at the top of the eastern conference i'm just saying that a little change like that MIGHT spark something over there in chicago, but then again who knows they've had mediocre seasons the last few years and their wins are just on the rise.


cmon bulls change the uniforms i can't help but think of the 90's when i watch y'all

Vick

say what you want, but i want to see vick back in an NFL uniform. Why should he be allowed back into the league? because over the years we have forgiven professional athletes for their mistakes like these:

"...Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who is headed to the Super Bowl, completed anger management and psychological counseling, prompting prosecutors to drop charges against him for slapping his girlfriend.

As Brett Myers helped the Phillies win the World Series last October, it was rarely mentioned that he had once been accused of punching his wife in the face after a game in Boston in 2006 (his wife, Kim, did not want her husband prosecuted and the case was eventually dismissed).

But if Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis (who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice after facing murder charges in 2000), Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones (suspended three weeks for violating the league's substance abuse policy after he was arrested for cocaine possession in July), Ravens running back Jamal Lewis (served four months in federal prison after using a cell phone to set up a cocaine deal in 2000) and Rams defensive end Leonard Little (served 90 days in jail and four years' probation after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a drunk driving accident in 1999) were able to integrate back into the NFL, why shouldn't Vick?"
- Jemele Hill (espn.com)
to read this article click here

now think about that, why the FUCK not? and rumor has it that the 49ers might be interested, and seeing how vick COULD, MAYBE, POSSIBLY be out by the end of the month and serve the rest of his sentence in a halfway house, its not impossible to see him in an NFL uniform, again.

please leave comments, i would really love to read all of your responses.

RE: About me, in photos

Taken from Kristine of not so small talk:

The Rules
01. Answer each of the questions below using the [flickr] search engine.
02. Choose a photo from the first three pages.
03. Copy the URL of your favorite photos [mosaic tool] .
04. Then share with the world.





01. First Name
02. Favorite Food
03. Hometown
04. Favorite Color
05. Celebrity Crush
06. Favorite Drink
07. Dream Holiday
08. Favorite Dessert
09. What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
10. What I Love Most In The World
11. One Word That Describes Me
12. My Blog/Online Name [or something close to it]

SUPER B-BEAT SHOW

Catch me, chibi, jedi, la boogie, rainer, ofacer, and austin on the super b-beat show. The super b-beat show is hosted by my friends 1520 Sedgwick avenue DJs (the grand imperial dj mane 1, cool dj sake, and the everfresh son of jarel). You can catch the other super b-beat show shows HERE. below is the link to the show I'm on.








Super B-Beat Show 1-4-09


if you liked this show, just simply right click and save link as, ENJOY!!

Universal Mind Control

YES! my first music purchase of the year is a good one. I went to best buy to get a case for my psp and said "i might as well get the new common while im here", and you know what, i don't regret it at all. Just listening through this album once i can already say its one of the better albums thats come out this past year. It's kinda like a "feel good" album, common sounds like he had fun putting this album together along with executive producer pharrell williams, my personal favortie track on this album is "make my day" feat. cee-lo

ALBUM PLAYLIST:

'09, BRING IT ON!!

When I think about what kind of year I had in 2008, I never would have thought id be where I'm at right now. within the past 12 months I've joined 2 more non-profit orginizations (KAMP, Anakbayan San Diego ) aside from zulu which helped me grow into a better person, helped me re-identify with my filipino-american self, all thanks to the homie Ray of cool kids, who introduced me to these orgs, made new friends, got closer to old friends, I VOTED, mine and krisitne's relationship has gotten a whole lot stronger, my eyes have been opned up to things i never would have thought of in 2007, and CHANGE for me, for my community and for this country.

It's amazing how much change can happen to one person in the course of 12 months, but with these changes came more challenges. Challenges like finding a new balance in life trying to fit in friends, bboying, organizations, school, family, girlfriend, RE.DEF, yeah 2008 was a BIG year for me. Having to balance all of these helped/forced me to mature a little bit more, which isnt such a bad thing, all this change just means i learned how to write reminders, and made me realized that i need to start using an organizer haha.

A lot of growth happend this past year and much like this blog, it was unstructured, it was more like a "take it and run with it" kinda year, you know?, I didn't even think id be doing things to better my quality of life. Just like the years past one of my biggest goals was to make sure I try to keep my friends close and build on new friendships, and this year was probably the best year for this, not for the purpose of saying "OH YEAH I HAVE THIS MANY FRIENDS BLAH BLAH BLAH", naw , not me, but for the purpose of knowing who my friends REALLY are.

As Great as 2008 was, It did have its low points. One being that the Chargers lost in the AFC championship game against the patriots, ah well. Another is the san diego padres whole season, yeah having 99 looses in one season is never a good thing. There was actually a point and time this past year that i felt like I was just existing not living meaning there were some emotional breakdowns. My grandmother in the PI passed away, but i couldn't go with my family to attend her funeral because school was starting at the same time, and since the first couple weeks of school is so packed and teachers drope students not there on either the first day of class or the first week of class I just couldn't pay for my classes then get dropped :-( . but even with all that said, 2008 was still a great year

some 2008 highlights:
- joining KAMP
- joining Anakbayan SD
- RE.DEF "sample" shirts haha
- attending my first ever charger game (also got to see the great brett favre play)
- turning 21
- VEGAS!
- New wizard member
- saw Q-tip in concert
- Kristine's cocktail party in irvine
- filipino studies course
- got back into playing basketball
- KAMP retreat
- 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

and now my shout outs:
-BnB/sensations
-rock so fresh
-1520 segwick avenue dj's
-swift wizards crew
-cypher city kings
- KAMP
-Anakbayan
- condo/sda
-Kristine

thank you all for such a memorable year!

peace and love