Service ??? We don't need no STINKIN Service!!!

so i called into SBC/AT&T to complain about the fact that I'm consistently only receiving 20% of the download speed i'm paying for. it took me 5 minutes of navigating through the automated system twice to actually get into a queue with muzak in background.

and thanks to the fact that i was calling on my mobile so i could get privacy at work when i actually *got* someone on the phone and that said mobile service is also with AT&T.... i got cut off right after i got through to someone the first time.

so we're back in the queue now 25 minutes later from when i started said process. on hold... they kept offering me service plus. question: Why would i pay more money for service from an organization who so obviously doesn't give a crap about me???!!!!

i know people who have built the infrastructure around these call centers... these companies are purposely cutting corners by not hiring enough folks. you see... if they actually hire enough staff then some of their executives may not be able to get that third yacht they require. life's a b*tch when you're rich & greedy.

sigh. anyway. i've complained. the cost of the amount of time spent on the phone FAR outweighs the amount of a monthly credit that they will undoubtedly offer me.

i say that because at the end of this 40 minute process... the rep told me they would call back in the next 4 - 5 hours on my mobile and i should be ready and keep the phone line free!

awesome! how about that service???!!!!

23 June 2008 on the Big Love Show

I'm happily returning to the Big Love Show with Native Intelligence.

What: The Big Love Show @ KZSU Stanford, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay)

When: 23 June 08
3 PM - 6 PM
4:30 - 6 PM set

Listen Live on the Internet, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay) : http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/audio/kzsu-1-128.m3u

Who: Native Intelligence
      DJ Zenith (Zenomena, Funkentanzen, Stirty Beats)

Ana Mandara

Ana Mandara is absolutely beautiful! Freaking beautiful. And the mini-setup O'Henry brought in was really nice for that space.

I got there late last night... The reason is that this mini-setup only included CDJs and I had to download enough tracks to play a set.

I don't know about you folks, you who also have DSL.... but it seems that I'm only getting about 20% of the download speed that I'm paying for. My coworker has noticed the same thing about her DSL. On a side note, I am going to call SBC today and complain from the office.

Anyway, because this was the first time I've ever purchased DJ music in a download format... It took me way longer than it should have. I was learning the search engines of the different sites also. So set-up time combined with glacial-paced DSL service put me there @ 11:45. Did I mention we were playing until 1 AM??

Anyway, my friends sounded pretty dope and we'll be doing this again soon! Stay tuned.

New Gallery Up

Here's a new gallery from my first full day in Cozumel.

Here's my favourite pic although it's a little blurry due to low light... This is the coolest little coffee house called Rock N Java with dirt cheap internet and good food and awesome staff.

Mexico Galleries Index Pages

So here's a link to the first in a series of mexico photo pages. i will be updating that later today and adding more as i finish going through the pictures and uploading the galleries.

Enjoy.

Here's one of my favourite pics so far:

This Just In!!!! Voila

Computer program... finito! this is the first in a series of Photo Galleries that will be posted regarding my trip to Mexico... Now I just have to run my fancy new finished computer script against all the web galleries... But this first one is ready!

Enjoy.

I'm so stoked to be done with writing this computer program that makes these fancy-pants pages I can't even tell you. and it only took me 15+ hours.

Sigh...

D.W. would be proud...

So I have actually been reading about all the bond measures, etc on the 3 June 2008, primary election... and taking notes and getting ready to vote... i'm so proud of myself... i almost broke my arm patting myself on the back... NO, really :-)

who was it that said, "democracy is the responsibility of every citizen??"

out here in san francisco we have a lot more elections than other states... trust me. i have been surprised...

tsk tsk. i know all this is possible because i'm single and don't have any kidz sucking away all my free time.

i really love being single, foot loose, and fancy free.

i think i'm gonna be a permanent bachelorette... by choice! it's fun. i love doing what i want with my free time... :-)

I Wanna YAK!!!!

Subtitle: Yak!!! City

This 3 year-old blonde boi... heretoafter referenced as Kiddy... just through a temper tantrum @ the local coffee shop. Let's set up the scene.... shall we?

Kiddy had an oat bran muffin from the local jewel of a bakery... Arizmendi.

ok. kiddy is 3 and that's wayyyy more calories than he needs for the WHOLE day. but at first i thought him and mummy were sharing the muffin which would totally have been appropriate.

mummy got bagel with cream cheese. apparently misunderstanding happened as follows. mummy asked kiddy if he wanted last bite of said bagel half. kiddy wasn't paying attention. finally mummy proceeds to finish off the bagel half.

kiddy then proceeded to throw a temper tantrum when he turned around and mummy had eaten the last bite!

good grief!

tough luck... kiddy! you don't like that oat bran muffin in front of you? poor, spoiled kiddy!

i was so bummed. i was thinking: "you're three kid... sometimes things don't go your way. it's better you learn that now."

people... please don't raise spoiled rotten kidz... the world doesn't need anymore of those.

thx for listening.

Fantastic Weekend

Lookout.... I'm making serious progress on that picture software and am almost done... So the pictures are almost up on the internet. I'll be sending an e-mail out shortly.

Yesterday I actually remembered that I'm a girl and had some fantastic girl-bonding with my amiga and local inner sunset hood-rat, CC... an irish-lady by ancestry with that stereo-typical fall on the floor laughing irish charm... it twas fun.

saturday night i had dinner at my favourite indian food restaurant with some other inner sunset hood-rats. that was great.

and mad props go out to Pacific Sound... I was only at the party for a few hours last night but it was awesome. Galen through another fantastic set as did Tasho... mad props... give it up!

Memorial Day

Whether or not you agree with the war, hang your head with me today in a moment of silence to those who have paid with their lives while serving in Iraq. Take a moment to honour those who have served in wars past... to protect this democracy we hold dear.

Veterans... I salute you.

Dujeous: City Limits

Dujeous is a NYC Hip Hop band and I am really their album loving City Limits!



I don't know where I came across Dujeous but when I came across a copy of City Limits in Amoeba I picked it's pretty awesome.

So far my favorite tracks are All MCs and Radio Daze. You should check them out!

Mad props to M.I.A.

An e-mail caught my eye a few weeks before i left for Mexico and i picked up a couple of tickets... I was hoping to get someone to go with me so I got an extra...

It's to G's credit that she said yes with the caveat that she liked the music... i provided her with a copy of Kala. it took her less than 24 hours to decide... i got a late night text.

well... it was SOOOOOOOOO worth it! she's freaking awesome. best $35 (+ f*~@!@#~ service charges... boo) i have spent in some time! it was an all around high-energy performance... great music, dancers... of course the costumes were fly. it was great!

also performing was Hot Tub. they were awesomely talented also!

w00-w00! i fealt like i was being ripped from the womb this AM as i got up for my run and i know i was dragging but life in the fast lane is mighty, mighty nice :-)

try to contain your jealousy ;-)

we are one good looking bunch of folks!!!

i'm up ridiculously early once again... mostly because i'm completely snowed under with things to do and burning the candle at both ends.

i'm going through the wedding photos and we are one good looking bunch of people! i'm doing the hand off to the bride later today with my crops and video edits, etc.

than i put the photos up on the web which includes me re-updating the photo-templating software i lost when my hard drive died in january.

stay tuned! this weekend is bay to breakers which will be eating up a significant period of time but i hope to get this done soon, anyway.

karaoke insanity

I'm wayyyyy behind on getting my pictures up on the web... still... but i *did* get this up on you tube! enjoy... my amigo does bryan adams well... no??? and he has his own dance troupe!

trying to get settled

so i must have been home for a few hours when my wall-mounted book shelves in my walk-in closet decided they were too tired to continue. they promptly fell down. they didn't care that they carried precious cargo: my backup record collection amongst as i'm already sore now (not from running... i was wicked sore before i started my running regimen for the week but i can't figure out why i am sore? maybe walking the five flights of stairs in my building multiple times?? dunno). i will be running both tomorrow and saturday and walking five miles on saturday so you if you're curious you may check this blog next week to see if i actually am still alive. other things....

back up record collection you ask??!!!: those records that are so good and/or from a foreign land so i ordered a copy so that i might never have to face life without a copy of that record in it....

yes, tsk tsk. i'm aware there's several twelve-step programs i qualify for.

well, anywho. so the maintenance guy *just* now fixed the shelves this evening... and i reclaimed some of my apartment floor space.

i've been listening to this as i put my shelves back together and it's muy excellente.

i'm way behind on getting the Mexico pictures up... and to complicate my schedule further: a DJ group/friends of mine are having a website emergency right now and because their site had been down the entire time whilst i was frolicking in Mexico i gave them priority over my photos...

despite the fact that i haven't worked with them for a couple of years now. sigh. it's was just one of those scenarios where i'm the only one who CAN help so out of respect for our shared history and because it's the right thing to do I am doing it. despite the fact that i'm completely snowed under with sh*t to do.

however, i'm hoping to get both my pictures and their site done this weekend but i will be doing a 10-15 mile hike on Sunday so this may not be doable... i'll prolly be dead after the hike on sunday...

at least i got an old version of friend's site up. i'm SO nice that i'm actually going to take that older version of their site and rework it to what i left them with back in early 2005. i know i probably shouldn't have offered to do that but i'm always too nice... it's a mental illness, really. i hear myself mouthing the words to sign myself up for too much stuff to do and somehow i seem to be incapable of not doing it!

which leaves me to the conclusion to this post: i am not really calling people yet so if i haven't returned your phone call yet, i'm sorry... i'm just tired and overwhelmed right now... i have been too tired after work to return phone calls mostly. please forgive me.

First Couple of Pics

When you're a gringa running around Mexico... naturally people want to take pictures of you and then sell them to you... and they are well equipped with ploys such as sticking iguanas on your head or parrots on your shoulder.

well... they got me! twice. once on a picture of some of us getting on a boat trip to yelapa:



and then again five minutes before this when i was wandering in an early morning daze on saturday, 19 april 2008.

Mi Querencia and Downtown Puerto Vallarta

I just got back from downtown Puerto Vallarta... I photographed all the statues by day this time sans touristos.

I just had the best meal i've head in my entire time in Mexico... At a restaurant called Mi Querencia. Muy, muy buena.

Downtown Puerto Vallarta is seriously pretty. I photographed a church named after the virgin mary guadalupe... Curiously, catholicism really took off mid-1500s post the virgin mary guadalupe's emergence... She's their equivalent of the virgin mary. Very curiously indeed...

I did some last-minute peso infusion to the Puerto Vallarta economy... Got a gift for a friend... and now I'm due @ the airport in less than an hour. See you soon!

Downtown Puerto Vallarta

Downtown (old town) Puerto Vallarta has statues every 50 feet or so along the road right along the beach. I asked a waiter and was told it's an Aztec tradition... The current president had them brought in from another place and placed alongside the boardwalk... I photographed them last night before dinner.

It is still the Mexican holiday weekend so there were many tourists. What I noticed was how everyone naturally just got out in, took their picture with a loved one in there, and then got out of the way for someone else to have their turn...

There's an inherent "coolness" in Mexicans... More evidence you ask???!!

I was waiting for the bus last night obviously a gringa... I'm taller than most Mexicans and well... I am not dressing the part, either. I was told to look for a bus that said downtown on it... several buses passed by... every 30 seconds it seemed and I was thinking of just getting on one when this older guy walked by me and said downtown as a bus pulled up... Sure enough it was going downtown despite the fact that it wasn't listed as one of the destinations in the window.

It was really nice of him.

There's a pole along the boardwalk that looks @ least 50 feet in the air... A guy stands atop it and starts blowing his fife and playing the tambourine and shaking his bootay and turning around... the four guys are up there with him... Eventually the guys flip off upside down hanging by ropes while the apparatus begins to rotate the four men counterclockwise...

What's the rope attached to you ask??!! Their cajones of course!! JUST KIDDING.
The ropes get longer and longer while the men get closer and closer to the ground. If you can't picture this... don't worry... I got a video of it... I'll be putting pictures and vidoes up tomorrow from San Francisco. The elongation of the rope/lowering of the men takes over two minutes... I bet their faces are purple @ the bottom... It's amazing they don't pass out.

Something I need to get off of my chest

I've finally had the break I needed so very badly and the time alone that I have come to crave... For whatever reason I've become firey and independent... These days I can count the meaningful conversations I have with people per week outside of the office on two fingers.

Which means when I actually *do* attempt to talk to people I need to be listened to and respected... It's hard for me to try to talk to people anymore... Most people are in a constant stream of non-stop conversations with their kids/significant others/families... I have none of these (and therefore don't do this maintenance shallow conversation so well). I tend to have two conversations per week that last a lot longer than this stream of maintenance conversation others have and spend the rest of my time alone... And I have come to rely on that alone time for my mental health.

Anyway... I got plenty of the needed alone time here in Mexico and then some and should be returning to SF with an ear-to-ear smile, a healthy tan, and a couple of scars from the reef on Cozumel and a trip on the cobblestone streets whilst running. Can you believe the owner of the dive shop asked me if I was always in a good mood??? He said he's never seen someone so happy & smiley...

Contrast that with the idiots who occasionally stop me on the street or elsewhere state-side to ask me why I'm not not happy or tell me not to be so angry. SERIOUSLY! You have to be an absolute MORON to stop a stranger and tell them what to do about the mood you assume they have based on your misread of their facial expression... The appropriate thing to do in case of concern is to ask this person if they are OK or if there's something they need. The latter is the best thing you can do, personally.

Some people's mouth's in their natural state turn down @ the corners... It's not a frown... it's their natural facial expression. The offending individual would know that were they not a complete stranger. Which is why they shouldn't be making assumptions about the root cause of a stranger's facial expression in the first place. SIGH.

The funny part is... If I somone actually *is* unhappy... having a stranger attack them about their facial expression would be the WORST thing for it. Now they would have to worry about their facial expression in addition to whatever the root cause was of the facial expression in the first place...

It's what you call a multi-level moron statement.

However, when I return to SF I will patiently explain this DNA phenomena to those who so obviously are at the lower end of the intelligence pool... It's the big dummies that make me really appreciate the smartey pants people I have the privilege and good fortune of hanging out with most of the time....

Speaking of which... I'll close this post with a see you soon! I do love and miss you all.

Accomodations all fouled up

I had quite an adventure when I got back in Thursday night from Cozumel... The hotel I made reservations said I hadn't paid and I thought I had... It was confusion based on the confirmation page... It seems like a common confusion involving the internet.

But the guy @ the desk proceeded to bully me verbally and nobody bullies me, EVER.

The room was not great either... In fact, some might call it quite a dump. I had questions in my mind as to whether the AC was going to work and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep without it... There were necessary bars on the windows... You get my meaning. So that combined with having the same conversation five times in a row with this guy resulted in my taking my dive gear bag and bandaged/war-zone of a body in search of a new place to stay... at 11 PM.

On a big Mexican holiday weekend... I tried first the place we stayed for the wedding which was probably a bad idea in retrospect... Considering the vigor of the wedding festivities for 1 week solid... I might have asked them to help me further had I felt passionately about staying there.

So I schlepped my gear to the next twice-as-fancy-pants hotel... These guys claimed to not even have a phone book. Enter helpless female... You... yes you reader. Stop your laughing. I pulled it off successfully. With a huge smile and a bandaged hand... I ended up one hotel down @ a nice place for the night and the next day finding a much better place then the original place I started with...

The room I have now is twice as big as anything I've stayed in throughout my time in Mexico for cheaper. This is more evidence of my belief that things happen just as they should... I also met a rapper and vocalist from Vancouver who I have enjoyed hanging out with (Nobody Really & Licorice)....

There's gab about me gigging in Vancouver... I gave them a CD and they enjoyed partying to it last night into the wee hours... I'm going to do what I can to help them out in San Francisco, also... It's all about community after all.

Mostly Healed Now

I'm in Puerto Vallarta right now... I will be heading home on Monday.

I probably could have used those stitches after my dive accident... It will be probably another 12-24 hours before all of the wound has closed over... The reef sliced up in between my ring and pinky fingers on my left hand... That is the part of the wound that is having the hardest part healing over...

It's kind of interesting watching the skin grow over today... It's growing over from the bottom up... Until it's closed I can't run or elevate my heart rate in any serious way... I'm glad I got almost all of my weekly running done in Cozumel... I'm not going to be running again until SF.

I'm completely out of the woods as far as a sinus infection from my diving goes although my ears are still water-logged... I'm hoping that alleviates itself before the plane trip back on Monday.

i'm off

i fly out tomorrow back to puerto vallarta. i will finally rest. as in doing nothing... maybe some sun bathing. i haven't sun-bathed in a week really. i think my skin is happy with me about that.

my only plan is to check out the bungie jumping place in PV. as long as it's not too expensive. and i want to para sail. and get a couple of more runs in. then it's back to SF on cinco de mayo.

see you soon!

love you.

-xoxox

Me

Diver's Log: Day 4

Punta Sur: Devil's Throat

Start Pressure: 3150 psi
End Pressure: 550 psi

120 feet for part of dive up to 80 feet for other part of dive, 35 mins bottom time max

We had to do a quick descent to get in devil's throat. we went through into the sandy-bottomed caverns of devil's throat. it was wicked, wicked cool. we had to go head first... i knew the pressure was going to hurt like hell and it pretty much did.

wilma had done a lot of damage to some of the unique coral formations that jorge wanted to show us. there was a huge french angel fish hanging out next to a sea turtle. i snapped a photo but it probably won't come out. it was an amazing dive.

SI: 1 hour nose bleeds during the surfacing. there was some peacocks hanging out on the shore that i photographed. one of them was happy to show me his plumage... i kept imitating his cooing and he kept cooing right at me. it was fun.

Cedral Wall

Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: ? psi

Current was at least 2 knots. I got a picture of a lobster as i whizzed by it. think leaf in the wind. i was proud of myself for getting down into this reef. i was balanced and snapped a couple of pics of a text book trunkfish, smooth triggerfish, and a pork fish. there was this beautiful 1 foot long parrot fish. right there. and i wanted a picture. so badly.

one of my two cheapo cameras wasn't cooperating so i reached for the other one. that's when the current took charged of my hand and sliced it open on the reef.

gushing blood looks like rust under water. i was a little scared. i knew there's like .0001% chance of a reef or tiger shark being in the area... but still. i musta smelled like lunch.

i found jorge and he helped me out of the water... i was upset because the cut looked like it needed stitches... the boat driver did a great job of bandaging my hand and i've been gimp-typing these posts.

i think it really should have been stitched. i am a member of Diver's Alert Network and have insurance for diving accidents but i don't want to do stitches. the wound reopened in the shower but i bandaged it back up.

i had nose-bleeds after this dive, too.

you know what? i'd do it again in a heart beat. there's three things in my blood... the water, horses, and music... these things make life worth living.

i can't tell you how amazing all this was in spite of the nose-bleeds, the pain, the injuries, what have you.

and a big huge thanks to Jorge, the boat driver, and the crew @ Pepe's Dive shop. They are a first-class outfit.

Diver's Log: Day 3

Columbia Reef

Start Pressure: 3250 psi
End Pressure: 400 psi (not being able to breathe means i'm using the heck out of my air

80 ft max, 45 mins bottom time, 70-80 feet for most of dive. We swam through canyons btwn the reef to start. I got 1 probably not-so-good picture of a lobster. i also saw a crab although it wouldn't come out for me... All i saw was twitchy antennae and legs. After coming out from dive and taking fins/bcd/air/weight belt off i saw a turtle swimming so i jumped back on in amidst some teensy box jelly fish and snapped a few turtle pics... It was definitely a hawk's bill turtle.

Surface Interval (SI): 1 hour Jorge put his dive master skillz to use and took a lighter to my mask to help with the fogging issue. it worked. Muy bueno!

Philipe's Chun Chakab

Start Pressure: 3150 psi
End Pressure: 600 psi

70 feet to start, most of dive @ 50-60 feet max. 45 mins bottom time max.

This was my first wreck dive ever! w00t! Wreck dive, 70 feet to start. Swimming through the boat was tricky and fun... You had to be careful not to get hoses & dive lights caught on anything. Saw a sting ray off in the distance and photographed it. Not sure if it will come out or not. Saw a good-sized mackerel and a gag. Spent some quality time photographing a beautiful, healthy-sized french angel fish.

had nose bleeds when surfacing after this dive.

Night Dive: Paradise Reef

Start Pressure: 3150 psi
End Pressure: 500 psi

45 feet maximum 50 - 60 min bottom time

Night diving is THE BEST!!!! It's a not-so-secret-secret. First thing straight off we saw was a baby nurse shark. i hope my pics came out. everyone was helping each other out by lighting up the critters whilst trying not to shine the lights in their eyes and scare them off/blind them. we all had to stick together tightly to not get lost... it's a hazard of night diving... especially night drift diving.

immediately after bitty baby nurse shark we saw a slipper lobster. it was so cool! there were 3 different crabs... two on adjacent rocks... one of which was not about to allow us to interrupt his dinner. wicked cool. there were 3 squid... two right in front of me that flew off as other divers approached. i could have sworn i heard them say vaminos.

i had a honey-combed cowfish SITTING ON MY HAND!!!! it was wicked. i couldn't believe it. it just sat there. i finally removed my hand because i was worried it was bad to touch it.

there were two stingrays... i took many pictures of the one cuz everytime i looked over he was there again. i think he was running from the other divers behind me. they were either clear-nosed or skate stingrays.

this dive was incredible and truly wonderful!!!!

Pills consumed: 9 benadryl allergy sinus, 2 actifed noche

vicious cycle

this post is back-dated as is the diver's log day 2,3 posts... i was wicked exhausted after the diving... diving will wear you down just because of breathing the air and the pressure changes to your body... i spent a large part of the rest of the day in bed....

i went out for lunch after diving and this waiter thoroughly attempted to rip me off and i was sad... he tried to charge me $11 for two drinks with NO alcohol in them after promising me a free drink if i came back to eat with them...

i still ended up paying 5.50 for one non-alcoholic drink which was the equivalent of strawberries in a blender with ice. the owner came out and told the waiter that the drink should be $4 only but somehow that message didn't get through...

bummer. normally i'm an extraordinary tipper (three years of waitressing in school is still etched in stone in my brain) but i stiffed the guy with no qualms. no more will i go to restaurant Mesaicoz. Mesaicoz is still owned by Jorgini and was the restaurant Bianci & Jorgini mentioned in lonely planet Mexico. it's a shame this happened 'cuz the food was quite good.

there is a tropical depression with 80 km/hr winds making weather overcast so i haven't been doing any sunbathing here... spent day/evening in bed although i didn't let the cold keep me from running before diving in the morning.

it's a vicious cycle... the cold is making diving painful and the diving is prolonging the illness. SIGH. but the diving is so fantastic i'm doing it anyways. i'm taking actifed noche before bed tonight and going for it again tomorrow.

Diver's Log: Day 2

We begin this day by the dive master, Jorge telling me to be careful... he noticed I had a nose bleed after the second dive yesterday (no wonder i was having problems with my ears... from now on i will go no where near a friend with a cold for at least two weeks prior to dive trip... :-()

Since the dosage of 2 benadryl allergy sinus no workie the day before, i had popped 3 pills before this day's dive.



Palancar Gardens

Start Pressure: 3000 psi
End Pressure: 0 psi

Saw a school of Sergeant Majors straight off. We swam through a cavern... It was fabulous although painful because swimming head first with the sinus problems is the most painful thing i can do... like knives in my ears.... We saw a sea turtle pretty immediately off. We saw a female coral crab and a male king crab who was only too happy to flash his pincers @ us (nobody likes a flashy pants mr. crab)

I did a bad thing and instead of coming up with 600 psi as instructed i came up with 0. Yes. Goose egg. De nada. I took a breath from my regulator and nothing came out. I won't do that again.

Surface interval (SI): 45 minutes

Delila

Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: 300 psi

@ 50-60 ft for most of dive

Saw and photographed a barracuda in first 30 seconds of dive. Also saw a nurse shark. I was having a problem with foggy mask or i could have done better with pictures. This was a drift dive with really serious current. Over 2 knots. Jorge, dive master extraordinaire pointed out some goby's for me... they make holes in the sand and pop their bitty heads out... . I saw a huge parrot fish and got a pic.

Diver's Log: Day 1

Today I dove both Cedral Wall and Yucab (starting towards Tormento). Our dive group today was really good about alerting each other to cool stuff... Which is great. This isn't always the case. People were a-clankin' things on their tank and everyone would swim over and take turns at spying stuffs... And taking pictures.

My ears are causing me serious pain on account of this F*(King cold I STILL have but it's worth it. I had an issue on the first dive which caused me to come up briefly... After a discussion with the dive master he decided to help me go for it and that was that... I don't care if my ears split off of my head people... I'm a-diving.

My ears seemed to get better during the second dive but I will be taking the sinus pills I have religiously for the duration of my diving and also the airplane trips both back to Puerto Vallarta and then back to SF when the time comes.

Cedral Wall: This dive we kept @ between 60-80 feet. I saw three lobsters in this dive. Two of them were doing something with each other... I couldn't tell if they liked or hated each other but I surely didn't want to get in the middle of whatever it was they were doing.

I couldn't figure out this cheapo disposable underwater camera for this dive which is sad. I also saw a sea turtle with entourage.... I've noticed that the bigger swimming animals seem to come with entourages... It seems like some fishes like to roll with the big guy on the block or something like that.... I saw a parrot fish and a bunch of queen angel fishes.

Yucab: This dive we ranged mostly between 50-60 feet. This dive was a drift dive as is customary for most of Cozumel diving. We saw two separate spotted moray eels. The first one just wasn't going to pop his head out for me but he was hanging out next to a purple tube sponge with some brittle sea-stars moving around in there. So I hung out there for at least five minutes.... A teensy crab made it's way in & out of the sponge...

Later on the dive master got a teensy crab to crawl on his hand and that was cool. I sorted out the camera situation (off/on... this thing is a pain in the neck) so I was able to snap a couple of good pics of the lobster I saw this dive. I got a pic of a queen parrot fish and several Queen Angelfish and anything else I could photograph along the way. I couldn't get the camera to work when we saw the spotted moray on this dive... But it was cool anyway. He popped his head out and hissed his hello (as is customary)... It sounds pretty neat underwater.

All in all... this was a pretty good day diving... Tomorrow I will be taking one 27 exposure camera for each dive so wish me luck!!!!

Chichen Itza

So Chichen Itza is pretty cool... I thought the trip was overpriced and the tour-guide moved @ what could best be described as a glacial pace... Sadly, I think that was just fine for most folks... But for me... if I take a 3-4 hour bus ride one way up into the jungle I wanna see everything humanly possible.

That having been communicated I took a TON of photographs and purchased some souvenirs from some Mayans. The Mayans were pretty stellar mathematicians as it so happens... The Temple @ Kulkulkan (or El Castillo) is ostensibly the Mayan calendar built out of stone (as well put by the folks who wrote lonely planet mexico). There are 90 steps on each of the north, south, east, and west facing steps and north on this pyramid is magnetic north. For real.

During the spring and autumn equinoxes the north and south facing steps (respectively) appear to have a serpent ascending, descending down them. This happens between 3:30 - 4:45 PM on the dot... By 5 PM it's GONE. How cool is that? When you consider when this temple was built (900 AD) then you realize how truly remarkable it was.

On the way to Chichen Itza we stopped @ one of the 10,000 cenotes (underground rivers) for a jump in and a swim. This specific one is less than 3 kms away from Chichen Itza and is pretty remarkable. I can't wait to put the pictures up on the internet.

special thank you to KD!!!

my best friend from school ran to the airport @ a moment's notice to hang out with me on a layover on the way here to Cozumel... -xoxoxoox

that was definitely another trip highlight!

thanks! i miss you.

-xoxo

Hola from Cozumel

I'm here in Cozumel and finally getting over that horrid cold that got me my last two nights in Puerto Vallarta. I spent the longest travel leg of my journey completely sick... So much so that when my plane was two hours late after midnight in LAX I purchased a blanket and slept on the floor of the terminal...

I have said many times to many folks that I have a gift for sleeping... When it's time to go nightey night... I'm out. And I proved it. The thing is... most of the flight did this... I had to compete for crash space along the terminal windows.

I'm thankful someone woke me up... I awoke to a, "uhh... Excuse me.... Are you getting on that flight???" I sprang up and into action in time to make final boarding while the people who woke me up laughed at my outburst of "Uh Oh!"

I finished that leg of the journey by making it... before my luggage. But my luggage came on the last ferry from Playa Del Carmen and arrived @ my hotel after midnight last night. Which is good... Because the clothes I was wearing after 3 plane rides and a walk into San Miguel de Cozumel had a special kind o' smelly funk to them. So not sexy. Not so much.

My hotel is pretty nice... It's a newer hotel with a swim-up bar and a ladder straight out of the caribbean ocean to the sand with the beach chairs. There's also a hot tub... I know, poor me. So I spent today getting over my cold... Taking dips in the caribbean to cool off.

There was a lot of wind today which meant that snorkelling was pointless... The sea was churned up a bit which is no good if you want the fishies to come hang out.

I was having a heck of a time with the airplane landings yesterday as my ears refused to pop and let go of the pressure... I decided it would be a bad idea to scuba dive. It would have been the pain of the airplane multiplied by a factor of ten... If you have a cold... scuba diving feels like the effect of having knives stabbed into your ears. I've been through that before and decided to opt out of a repeat of that experience.

Tomorrow I will be on the first ferry to playa del Carmen on my way to Chichen Itza. We're stopping in a pool/waterfall for some swimming along the way... I won't be back to the hotel until after 9 PM tomorrow night.

I'll be doing diving Sunday - Wednesday including some night diving... Think, "The freaks come out at night.... the freaks come out at night!"

This paradigm also holds true for the underwater community. And the freaks are muy, muy beautiful. Think shrimp lounging around in neon purple tube sponges.

Highlights of the trip so far include the dinner I just had @ Restaurant de Choza (mentioned in Lonely Planet Mexico), the trip last week to Sayulita (a little surf town on the central pacific coast), the wedding (of course, of course), and some late night ruthless UNO card game action with the wedding party.

-xoxoxo from Mexico!

Greetings from Mexico

I wanted to let everyone know I'm having an extraordinary time. A special shout out for my friends Kim and Mike who are getting married later today. This hotel is going to be rocked off of it's rocker...

I knew we were in trouble Friday night when we had things a-going with brutal card games, music, and dancing and then the knock came on the door. I said, "Crap... I guess we're finally getting in trouble with hotel security..."

But no... the bar had closed but they were still serving us booze and pitchers personally (not me cuz i don't drink but everyone else)... The problem is they needed to keep a hold of the pitchers so they brought a ton of cups so we could empty the contents into the cups, stick them in the fridge, and press.

In a few days time I have had a rather large iguana on my head, a beautiful parrot on my shoulder, danced the macarena across the pacific ocean, jet skiied, snorkeled, ocean kayaked, done a boat trip to yelapa, sun bathed, shopped, well phew....

Anyway. See you in May.

-xoxoxo

Congrats Kim & Mike! We all love you.

not hot

dude... of all reasons to be up all night... doing your freaking taxes is soooo not hot.

ugh.

and to boot, my turbo tax is now refusing to print for me... SUCKA!

i am going to kick this freaking turbo tax in the azz until it does my bidding. no computer EVER gets the better of ME. i AM an IT professional after all...

then i get up in 3 hours and go running and go to work one more day and then...

drum roll please.....

I'M GOING TO MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

On to Mexico

If you are curious to why my Where Page looks frightfully empty right now... I'll tell ya' why. My friend is getting married in lovely Mexico and I am going to participate in the festivities.

Then it's vacation time for me... I'll be gone for 3 weeks and I am frantically getting ready for the trip... Including getting my f*#*(# taxes out the door (sorry folks... paperwork stinks. HUGELY)

but i am SOOOO excited. My general itinerary:

fun
scuba
fun
sun tan
fun
swimming
fun
running
fun
friends
fun
mayan ruins
FUN
FUN
FUN

phew.... woo-woo-freaking-woo-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

big thank you!!

thanks to chris, paul & the boyz of el otro mundo for having me @ the EOM sessions last night...

it was one of those sets... the first bit was rough for me and i finally found my happy space. it means so much more when you got to work for it... i can't wait for tonight @ temple... i am in LOVE with my new rekkidz (i mean this)

but more importantly i am so blessed to have friends like chris, paul, and the usual cohorts of in-studio guests (erik, cesar, stella the wonder dog & charles the feline).

thanks!!!

Tonight @ Temple!!!!!

-------- FUNKENTANZEN @ TEMPLE, 4 APRIL ------------>
Last chance to get on the guest list tonight for Funkentanzen @ Temple!!!!

Hit me back for guest list action.







What: Funkentanzen @ Temple

When: Friday, 4 April 2008
10 PM -> end

Who: DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Stirty Beats, Zenomena)
O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
Native Intelligence (Rock It Science, Sleevin.com)

what the h#c* am I doing up right now??!!!

i'll tell ya' what! practicing. you silly goose.

i'm really proud of myself for finding my second wind and playing my records tonight. at about 10 PM i thought i was a gonner.

i have been suffering from the lingering cold... i am not at full energy right now. i like that i was able to kick myself into motivation after not even getting home from work until 8:15 PM.

i did mandatory chill time until around 10:15 PM and *then* we had the now or never moment. i love nights like this... almost 3 hours of music later.

i'll leave you with the flyer that Temple left for our event Friday night.

Friday, 4 April 08, Funkentanzen @ Temple

-------- FUNKENTANZEN @ TEMPLE, 4 APRIL ------------>

Come join us again @ Temple on Friday, 4 April

Hit me back for guest list action.





What: Funkentanzen @ Temple

When: Friday, 4 April 2008
10 PM -> end

Who: DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Stirty Beats, Zenomena)
O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
Native Intelligence (Rock It Science, Sleevin.com)

Thursday, 3 April 2008 on the EOM Sessions

On Thursday, 3 April 2008 I'll be joining the boys of El Otro Mundo for the second half of the show 8 - 10 PM PDT. You can listen live @ http://deepmixfm.com.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< EOM SESSIONS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Where: Deep Mix FM.com

What: guest DJ w/ residents Chris Leath & Paul Leath (Leath-AL), Stevian

When: 6 - 10 PM PDT,
8 - 10 PM PDT (set time)

Who: DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Zenomena)
EOM DJs (http://www.myspace.com/elotromundo)

Happiness Is....

A nice trail run in Pacifica up to a blue-sky view of the craggy cliffs and surf spray of the Pacific Ocean.

For those of you who live nearby the Pacific Ocean and haven't been there lately... YOU'RE MISSING OUT.

funken flyer

flyer for the next funkentanzen

Let's Play Another Game of Tradeoff Shall We?

I've been living in my place for two years now and my downstairs neighbour has been there for a year now at least... Maybe 1.5 years. One the one hand I'm lucky cuz I've DJed @ 3 AM on Saturdays with no issue.

I gave him my number a long time ago and told him to call me if there was an issue. That's the other hand... On the other hand he's now calling me. For the second time in two weeks.

Last night I came home in a great mood to play my new records... Yes, it was 10 PM on a Monday. He called me round about 11 PM I think.

I think the thing I'm bugged about is how low the volume was. I've played way louder than that in the last couple of years... On a weekend, @ 3 AM, with friends.

I'm hoping it is the late/Monday night factor because it would be really sad if something that makes me so very happy becomes a problem!

The thing to keep in mind is that I don't like the music that loud and am constantly bickering with people about having the music too loud.

Wish me luck on this.

Happy St. Patrick's day

thanks to my running group for the link to you tube below:

happy st. patty's day to my irish girlfriend who had already been fed three drinks by her boss by 10 AM. yes, really.

the muppets are my heroes... here's more of why... them singing oh Danny boy:



and i'll leave you with an article on Wikipedia concerning the Blarney Stone

EOM Sessions on Deep Mix FM

Special Thanks to the Black Mamba and Chris Leath for having me down to the EOM Sessions last night! No, I didn't have records with me but it's always a treat to be there... The Leath's and friends (A., C., Stevian) are quite talented officianados of techno and many things electronic. And the studio they broadcast it out of is just hella dope!

These internet radio shows do a lot for the music scene in the bay area! They get our music out to the rest of the world as well as giving us yet another venue to play our new schtuffs...

Speaking of which I'll be on the EOM Sessions on 3 April 2008 with residents Chris & Paul! You'll be able to catch it on Deep Mix FM.com from 8 - 10 PM.

What: EOM Sessions on Deep Mix FM.com

Who: DJ Zenith & Residents Black Mamba and Chris Leath

When: 3 April 2008, 6 - 10 PM
set time: 8 - 10 PM

a pic from Temple

a friend took this @ Temple recently:



other pictures were taken but it wasn't a good picture night for me... between broken head phones and people in/out of the DJ booth every 30 seconds it was all I could do to be polite and mix... the bummer is that people are saying the most awesome things.... "great set, dope tracks, what have you..." it's just that it's very difficult and distracting regardless!

just FYI... for the same reason you don't go talk to a cellist while she/he is playing with the symphony, you don't talk to your DJ while she/he is mixing. why? cause she can't listen to music and the conversation you are trying to have with her at the same time.

i think i'm getting a sign to wear around my neck that says "DJ @ work".

yes, really.

CD Release: Shall We Move - Live @ KZSU The Big Love Show 11 Feb 08

Shall We Move was recorded live @ the
Big Love Show. This is a house music show that has been running for over 10 years. This set is all dance with no sitting down permitted. This set explores the deep caverns of your favourite night club. I hope you enjoy it! 

This set is available in several formats. This set is available as a zip archive to promote downloading all the tracks in one click at both 320kbps and 128kbps fidelity as well as in one track in both 320 kbps and 128kbps fidelity.

High fidelity [approx. 167.3 megs]: Shall We Move?

Low fidelity [approx. 73.5 megs]: Shall We Move?

Single Track mp3 320kbps [approx. 186.6 megs]: Shall We Move?

Single Track mp3 128kbps [approx. 74.7 megs]: Shall We Move?

new CD is ready and being uploaded to internet

normally i have the new CD on the internet long before i have the hard copies... this isn't the case this time. Shall We Move is available in hard copy right now but "not quite uploaded" to the internet.

the different versions are taking forever to upload and are continuing to upload in the background. further i'm ripping the single track version from CD right now and getting that all hooked up to the web page that i made.

i plan to finish this process and get the e-mail out later today/tonight.

almost there!

please feel free to e-mail me with your address if you would like a hard copy of this CD. i'm mailing these out free of charge.

right this minute

i must say that right now i'm listening to: DJ Adnan on KZSU. No one has ever denied that the man is an amazing DJ.

special supa-big thank you

to my friend in the east bay who accepted delivery on an overnight from a UK record store. much luv. sorry i forgot to put your apartment number on there and you had that what turned out to be a fruitless trip to the fed ex store.

but thank you thank you thank you.

-xoxooxox

me

NEW CD!!!!

new CD, new CD!!! oh my lord a new CD... sliced, and diced, and hopefully you'll find it very niiiiiice.

today i gave a new CD off to my main CD squeeze for reproduction. it's my favourite approximately 80 minutes from my set @ the big love show on KZSU Stanford w/ Mr. DJ O'Henry.

this time slicing n dicing it was painful. more on that later.

oh me oh my at last at last a new CD.

Big Thank You!!!

I want to say thank you thank you thank you to everyone who showed up last night and made it wonderful! I love you.

I want to say I'm sorry to all of you who stood in line and found that unbearable. I'll see about if they have plans to deal with that...

I want to say thanks to my DJ partners!!!! Lil' Chris and O'Henry. Did you know I'm in Stirty Beats now? They are fellow members of Stirty Beats. Things that make you go hmmmm....

-xoxo

Z.

Tonight, Fri (2/22) @ Temple

What: Funkentanzen @ Temple

Who:

Destiny Lounge: O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
Lil Chris (Stirty Beats)
DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Zenomena)

Catacombs: Destro/Tone

Main Room: Dimitris Mykonos/Paul Hemming

Where: Temple
540 Howard Street, SF

22 Feb 2008 @ Temple

Please contact me about guest list: zenomena AT gmail.com

What: Funkentanzen @ Temple

Who:

Destiny Lounge: O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
Lil Chris (Stirty Beats)
DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Zenomena)

Catacombs: Destro/Tone

Main Room: Dimitris Mykonos/Paul Hemming

Where: Temple
540 Howard Street, SF

Today!!!! 11 February 2008 on the Big Love Show, 90.1 FM

I'm happily returning to the Big Love Show with O'Henry

What: The Big Love Show @ KZSU Stanford, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay)

When: 11 Feb 08
3 PM - 6 PM
3 - 4:30 PM set

Listen Live on the Internet, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay) : http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/audio/kzsu-1-128.m3u

Who: O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
      DJ Zenith (Zenomena, Funkentanzen)

Funkentanzen @ Temple, 22 Feb 08

Fri, 8 February @ 222

Tonight, Friday 8 February I will be playing a special happy hour set along side Moe, Brian and a mystery DJ. 222 Hyde features special $5 happy hour pizzas until 9 PM, $2 PBRs, and many other tasty libations

What: DJ Zenith (Funkentanzen, Zenomena) @ 222

Where: 222 Hyde @ Turk

When: 7ish is Hamma' Time!

Cost: FREE FREE, OH FREE YES FREE OH MY GOSH FREE

holy earth quake batman!

so i am up at 0 dark 30 again (military term for f**#!#$!ing early). why you ask??? well i'm a-working to death again these days! i can't seem to stop doing that...

my work has been super stressful lately and i've had to work some nights. as a result... now i'm up working on the flyer for my freaking party.... anywhosit.

that's when i felt the earthquake. and i was curious about what was on the internet about it. what's awesome is i found a plug-in for google earth that put me right to it. and i found this response map. i think it's spectacular that an hour after a tremor there can be so many responses!

11 February 2008 on the Big Love Show, 90.1 FM

I'm happily returning to the Big Love Show with O'Henry

What: The Big Love Show @ KZSU Stanford, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay)

When: 11 Feb 08
3 PM - 6 PM
3 - 4:30 PM set

Listen Live on the Internet, 90.1 FM (Peninsula, South Bay) : http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/audio/kzsu-1-128.m3u

Who: O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
      DJ Zenith (Zenomena, Funkentanzen)

save 22 February for me! (and my friends)

Get it while it's hot!

Friday 22 February @ Temple it will be:

O'Henry (Stirty Beats)
Lil' Chris (Stirty Beats)
DJ Zenith (Zenomena, Funkentanzen)

mad, unbelieveable props

ok, so my friend gave me... just gave me a 250GB USB external hard drive and wireless router. i knew he was cool when we walked into Fry's and he turns to me to ask me... what are we looking for first??? your RAM? well you go all the way down this aisle to the end and turn left and ask the guy at the desk... he'll help you!

ok. holy sh*t. guy's got Fry's memorized.

and he's an awesome cook, too. he feeds me every time he sees me. and he's got two awesome dogs, coal and shadow.

did i mention the mechanical massage chair with hella settings and up to 15 minute intervals? the thing sucked me in for over an hour the other night....

ok people, don't be jealous just cuz my friend's awesome and he's not your friend. don't be jealous!

A... you rock it.

what a stooge!

so john kerry has his revenge on Hillary. She had the nerve to comment on a comment that John Kerry made that was inappropriate.... I'm going to go out on a limb here and weigh in on Hillary's side... What did John Kerry say???

Something to the effect of: "If students don't study hard enough then they can go fight in Iraq."

yeah. you big dummy.

I realize John Kerry is supposed to be some intellect but in people smarts... i give him the two thumbs down. But we have the 2004 election as our proof.

i'm not saying who i'm voting for in the primary.

the only thing i'm saying is that i'd like to offer john kerry a nice big cup o' "shut the f*ck up."

that is all....

party 23 February 2008

plans are in the works for me to be throwing an underground at the end of February. i'm still working out the details but stay tuned...

yee-haw

forewarned is forearmed they say :-)

i love the internet

thanks to this site (i have a different model but still...) and my new $7.99 computer tool kit and some new lap top RAM my new lap top has been upgraded from 512 MB of RAM to a speedy 2 GB (ok... not THAT speedy but much better)

i'm so stoked.

next inline is my studio computer which has more RAM then the lap top but definitely could do with some more RAM....

People Wake Up

i know this is a DJ blog versus a political blog... but it's MY DJ blog. and i'm right there with George McGovern when he says he should impeach President Bush.

Set in 1 Hour: Private Party

If you received an e-mail about a party wishing me Happy Birthday... I'll be there in an hour or so with records....

So

Happy Freaking New YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that is all.

Come Celebrate My B-day With Me!

Happy New Year's Folks! It's my b-day! To Those of You Who have been asking what my plans are:

NYE I will be between two private parties and a couple of clubs. You'll have to text/call me if you want to know what/when/where/with whom...

New Year's Day we'll all be converging upon a fantastic San Francisco tradition: Sunset Stompy. Sometime after 4 PM. Text me before your heading over just to be sure we're there already...

-xoxoxo

Happy New Year!

vindication

a friend once told me that it's a trick to find the appropriate place to vent and to vent in an appropriate manner. i had such an opportunity today.

as i was walking down the 6 flights of stairs to the basement doing laundry cuz someone had held open the elevator due to moving i was annoyed. i held up the elevator to move, too; and i don't mind people using the elevator in this manner when they are actively moving. what i *do* mind is when they aren't there, haven't been there in some time and the elevator is blocked.

on my way up after switching laundry from washer/dryer i passed an elderly woman on the 4th floor asking me about the elevator being out of order. i informed her of the move situation...

as luck would have it, i was short one quarter and had to traverse the stairs an additional time. that's when the guy who had left both his clothes in the dryer and blocked the elevator comes down. i witnessed him apologizing to said elderly woman saying he's moving and telling her that there's nothing he could do.

then he proceeds to tell me, "i wasn't done yet with the dryer".

and here was my appropriate moment to vent.

my reply, "it's a shared resource. you weren't using it. you were merely blocking it. just like the elevator up stairs."

he said, "it's not your concern. stay out of things that don't concern you."

me. "it doesn't concern me? i've been walking up and down six flights of stairs three times now while you block the elevator. i did laundry around you in the dryer. i'd say it concerns me."

him, "there's nothing i can do."

me, "there IS something you can do. plan better. you got the elevator blocked while you're doing laundry. i moved in here and somehow managed to not hold up the elevator as long as you're doing. you're blocking two shared resources, not just one."

him, "you're an as*hole."

me, "but i'm not selfish. you're selfish. you got an elderly woman schlepping four flights of stairs. there's handicapped people living on the second floor who i hope don't come home. and i'm walking up and down six flights of stairs. you're selfish."

him. speechless.

i was shaking when i got home, just from the angst of a confrontation making me nervous. i hate confrontation, even when i'm in the right... i just hate it. it's not that i was yelling... i wasn't. i have a hard time saying something unpleasant to someone, even politely, even knowing i'm right. i don't like saying things unpleasant.

but i'm glad that for once i had the opportunity to enlighten a selfish person about the impact of their behaviour on other human beings.

martin luther king, jr talked about the opposite of self-centered being other-centered behaviour.

as this world becomes more and more densely packed this concept is vital. other-centeredness.

we should all aspire to conduct our affairs in such a manner that it doesn't impact other people. this applies to (but is not limited to):

walking on the sidewalk making room for people to pass us from both behind and in front of us,

not blocking a street,

not blocking the only entrance/exit to a restaurant.

start to finish. we should always aspire to conduct our affairs to not inconvenience others. this is basic human consideration. it's not ALL about us!

if we could all achieve this, the world would be a much, much, much better place.

Benazir Bhutto assassinated

I don't know what to say about Benazir Bhutto's assassination so I will refrain and post this article on Washington Post.com

what a tragic world we live in... as if we needed more proof.

too stoked for words -- but i'll try...

so 4 years ago (almost exactly) i went to a Debian Christmas party @ DNA lounge. At the time Ipods were new and I was an officer at the local chapter of the American Computer Society and ended up being invited for free.

My friend had told me to enter the contest. Well I was the first name out of the hat and won this 20 GB Ipod! It was pretty awesome but unfortunately it broke early.... It was part of that original batch they had the recall on :-( I somehow didn't end up turning mine in for a new one... I think I didn't get the warranty information in time due to a move.

Well last night I ended up winning an 4 GB Ipod Nano! and therefore i'm too stoked for words!

special thanks to Kara

thanks so much for calling me to tell me you liked my CD!

and also, special thanks to everyone who's been calling and e-mailing.

big things coming in 08!

tigerdirect.com (DON'T)

if you are thinking about ordering from them, don't. they screwed up my order royally and four phone calls have yet to yield a full refund.... and this is going on from 30 November.

i gauge a company on how they handle a screwed up order cuz they happen. tigerdirect.com gets an F.

Hamster in the Wheel (not a dj-post)

i'm reading Doris Lessing's the Golden Notebook right now. Doris recently received the Nobel Prize for literature and this work is considered to be her premier work and largely autobiographical. It was way ahead of it's time... It's still super-pertinent to women of all ages.

Her protagonist is a 23-24 year-old at this point (i'm not done yet) and discusses her fears of being trapped by marriage and children against the backdrop of living years ago as a white communist in Rhodesia in a group trying to breed revolution. It speaks to racism and the inherent racism in colonial africa. I'm not going to discuss the racism in this post....

This book has me thinking about my own life... I bring her fears forward to my times where I'm over 30 and trying to balance an IT career and DJing and dating. This fear of being trapped seems really "real" to me. Once you get married and have a kid; then the kid comes first.

And you end up becoming a hamster in the wheel. You're constantly working to pay your mortgage, to keep yourself and your family fed, the kids off to school, soccer practice, etc.

All of the married w/kids lady engineers I know end up not only having their career, but still do a majority of the housework and most of the taking care of the kids. And this seems like a really unfair scenario to me. Especially considering that I've made at least twice as much money as almost every single guy that I have dated.

Why should I be saddled with both a full-time job and housework for myself and others???

When your partner isn't cleaning the house you live in together you have two choices: a) nag him or b) do it yourself. I can't stand nagging (my mum was a horrible nag) so when this happened to me previously I chose answer b) and it made me angry that I had to do this. Of course I tried asking him to pitch in first but he kept promising to do it and had 5000 excuses as to why he never did. And we broke up and I moved out.

If I were to get married and have a kid, I'd have to forget any DJing, screw my 20-miles/week of running, forget my art projects, my hiking, my writing, and anything else I do for myself that I love... Forget BSing with my buddies, forget all the travel I like to do to other countries... I'd basically have to put myself last... 100% of the time.

I wonder how/why many people submit to this so freely? Why do so many people do this? Do they not have any dreams/joys of their own?? Or do they do it because that's what everyone else does and they didn't realize the implications going in?

I say people because I realize that a lot of men get this "hamster in the wheel" feeling also and I know that all men aren't like my ex-boyfriend.

Why? Why are so many people in such a rush to get hitched?!!!! Am I missing something?

Enquiring minds want to know....

sorry folks!

i recently backed out on my NYE engagement. Why? I no longer want to be a part of engagements which will ultimately end up with crappy music through no fault of my own. When people come out to hear you... they don't know about all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes... all they know is whether or not you sound good and whether or not there are other people are there.

They don't know that that mixer is a piece of poo. They don't know that the DJ before you was in a wrong place in the lineup and ran out everyone that was there. All they know is whether or not there are other folks there and how you sound.

I believe strongly in my own abilities and am willing to hold out for what I deserve. So no NYE... But... I am lining things up for the New Year.

coolness

version 2.0 is mos' def mo' better

so i keep yakking about overhauling my website. i've been doing the whole, "one more thing, one more thing, one more thing" to the computer program i'm using to skin or template these files.

you can see the output of my labours in these two sets of picture pages:

Cimetiere Pere La Chaise

Hiking in Hendy Woods

I've also rolled out some templating throughout photos pages 1-6. I'll put more information here and send out a mass e-mail when other stuff is done.

Part of this effort is adding over 1000 new pages to the mix!

NYE 2007

just in case you who are reading haven't been around me in my birthday month... or have somehow forgot how obnoxiously silly i am about it all... the counting down of remaining shopping days... the not-so-suttle hints... well it's *THAT* time of year again!

why spend sh*t loads of money going to some lameo party when you come here some bad-azz music in a phat pad fo' free. awesome music, great vibe, phat venue. but private. hit me up personally for the 4-1-1.

come here my b-day set. w00t!

Peter Garrett appointed by Kevin Rudd

This is awesome! Who's Peter Garrett you say? Kevin Rudd? Tsk Tsk peeps... Tsk Tsk...

Kevin Rudd appointed Peter Garrett environment, heritage and arts minister. Good move, mate.

a flyer i did for a party coming up

what i'm listening to right now...

jay tripwire posted this on my space. It's a new mix. Check it out....

Hiking in Hendy Woods

I stayed with a whole mess of folks up in Mendocino county. Following Thanksgiving, some of us deciding to go hiking while others were involved in a cut-throat game of arse-hole... (yes, *you* know THAT game... i *know* you do).

Anywhosit... I brought my digital camera along with me and here's the end result (linked off of one of the photos pages on my website):

Hiking in Hendy Woods

Here's a teaser of a picture:



Now here's the disclaimers... I'm super stubborn so instead of using a flash, I went without. Low light pics coupled with the delay of a digital camera can make your pics less than crisp.

happy belated thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving! i wanted to say thank you to my wonderful friends/coworkers/dj partners in crime and all people I have the privilege of interacting on a regular basis! this thanksgiving goes down in the books as one of the best ever!

love yah! -xoxox

it's one heck of a b-day time of year!!!

So Happy Birthday to Alvin (i can't believe you bought food for your own b-day! you rawk it. seriously), Helen, and Kimmy! -xooxo Put me down for one supa' order of b-day sushi.

Props

I'm listening to Joey Youngman Live @ Hawt! I'm totally feeling it. You should check it out off of Underground House . net

DJ Zenith v2.0

i'm slaving away on my website overhaul. Finally. I have a computer program for photo galleries that is a maintenance nightmare but super-groovy when working.

But. I'm going to be rolling out pages shortly here and will post the links when finished. You'll see it randomly clicking through my site.

Stay tuned....

Happy B-day Henry, Chris, and Gabriel

Tonight I'm playing the Scorpio B-day bash down in Redwood City with my crew! A big happy b-day to Lil' Chris, Henry, Gabriel, Adrian, and Alex!

What: Scorpio B-day Bash

Where: Pioneer Saloon
Redwood City

When: 10 November 2007 (Saturday)
9 PM - all night folkses (after party in full effect)

DJs: O'Henry (Boom Boom Woods, Stirty Beats)
Lil' Chris (Boom Boom Woods, Joint Sessions, Stirty Beats)
Trev (Boom Boom Woods)
Zenith (Boom Boom Woods, Zenomena)
??? (sorry for those I forget already :-( )

[11/30] in San Francisco

I will be DJing with: Simply Jeff, Mephisto Odyssey, Lil' Chris (Boom Boom Woods), O'Henry (Boom Boom Woods), and 10-da (Boom Boom Woods) just to name a few... stay tuned little campers!

I've Been Around the Block

have you??!!!

Seriously boyz & germz. The new LawnChair Generals CD is awesome! The tracks are all theirs whether it's originals or their bad-azz mixes of other folkses music. Who cares! It's all awesome.

It's rare that top-notch producers have the skillz behind the decks.

Mad props to the LawnChair Generals!!!

Stacked and Packed...

WARNING: I have a whole pile o' rekkidzz on their way in from the UK shortly.

I won't be releasing a new CD any time soon; save for my own amusement. It is freaking mind blowing to hear what's coming out of Europe right now... The production quality is dead on... And some of my favourite US DJ Producer combos are releasing some awesome stuffs on European Labels...

Look out. When I get back from camping I'll be ready to throw down...

Nothing like coming back from the dead...

To make you appreciate life... so to speak. Is it a Tale of Two Cities??? Or is it another Dickens novel that starts... "These are the times that try men's souls...." I feel just like that.

And my real friends have come out of the woodwork. I'm going to sound all new agey, spiritual, mumbo jumbo when I write this... So shoot me already! But...

I put it out the universe that I wanted only real friends anymore and it has come back to me... That always happens. Every time I make up my mind that I want something it manifests itself in my life. And this was the right thing to hope for.

And my coworkers have been spectacular to me as well. And as reward I finally resolved something that has been hanging over all of our heads for a month now. And tomorrow I will begin assisting some other coworkers on something equally as painful.

I'm going to be getting ready to head out of town for some "Tree Therapy" as my buddy puts it next week...

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone whose been so great to me in the last couple of weeks.

Luv' ya! Mwah...

CD Release: Our Great Green Earth [10.5.07]

Our Great Green Earth is a CD created for the new DJ Collective Boom Boom Woods. These tremendously talented DJs have had an impact on my music. You can hear it for yourself. It's driving from the first minute right to the end. This file is available as a compressed zip archive to promote downloading all the tracks in one click.

Tracks - 320kbps [approx. 147.7 megs]: Our Great Green Earth
Tracks - 128kbps [approx. 70.6 megs]: Our Great Green Earth
Single Track mp3 320kbps [approx. 179.6 megs]: Our Great Green Earth
Single Track mp3 128kbps [approx. 73.6 megs]: Our Great Green Earth

site move complete

so we are officially off of my old hosting provider... Many thanks to the folks at PKR Internet. it's been a good two years. they warned me they were low bandwidth when i put my site there but their CEO is my ex's best buddy from high school and so it goes. he also happens to be in my top 3 list of computer gods so there you have it. and it's nice to have the mobile on the guy hosting your site... kinda like the bat phone and such.

the new peeps @ Penguin Web Hosting have really been bending themselves into a pretzel to support me. and i must say they are fast like speedy gonzalez! no lie.

no more 24 hour downloads. yippee. enjoy.

so fast, so fast, supa fast.

this is how we roll in my neighborhood b*Tch

warning

i placed an order recently with my ex's (from university) company. i ordered a couple of smart-allecky coffee mugs (WTF and RTFM) and a uber-geeky (yes, i used the word Uber... get over it :-) ) french-cut Pi shirt.

as i was washing one of said coffee mugs i found two sticker on the bottom that read:

1) Made in China (insert loud gasp here)
2) Prop 65
Warning:
The materials used as colored decorations on the exterior of this product contain lead lead compounds, and/or cadmium, which are chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm.

things that make you go hmmm.....

what else?

well today i have plans all day long which is why i'm up so freaking early, still.

i want to run and enjoy the weather.

i'm fixing a home computer networking problem.

i've uploaded my dj files at the new provider but i have yet to test/verify/and switch the DNS over. i'm doing the .org first and the rest will follow after.

the new CD, Our Great Green Earth, will be up there for download as soon as it's done!!! then we can verify the download speeds and switch all my domains over.

later today I'll be jamming it out with some of my DJ partners.

tomorrow I'm going to the sunset party with my amiga. you should meet me there.

stay tuned!

Meth Coffee

so my coworker stars in this highly warped video. seriously. it's his company with his better half that makes this highly potent substance. by my third cup... i usually find my lips be a-tingly....

i'm back

i'm up ungodly early this AM (for a saturday, especially). Why???

i'm finishing up with my CD. The sheer task of retracking the version mastered by my DJ partner has been a challenge. I tried to track it in T-racks. For some reason t-racks is determined to put markers in a set spot. so even if i clicked at 6:06 seconds... the track was always going in at 6:28 seconds and there wasn't a darned thing i could do to change that.

so i reverted back to cubase. it's been nothing but troubles here. the tracking i can do just fine but somehow the process of importing what my dj partner did and then trying to track it back out is causing me trouble. i'm not processing it or anything like that... it just ends up roughly sounding like shite.

so now i'm reverting back to the original version to see if perhaps normalizing that and tracking that will yield better results.

sigh. so i'm still a chugging. and i'm drinking my meth coffee.

my next post is going to be about meth coffee

CD almost ready

we worked on it last night. There's more to do. I'm still moving my website. It's taking an obscenely long period of time because my upload speed from home is 384 kbps and I'm uploading 8 - 9 Gigs of files.

we're creating the background images & logos for Boom Boom Woods. I'm hopefully going to finish with my mock up of the splash page this weekend.

site move v2.0

so i'm moving one of my domains to another new hosting provider..... searching for more bandwidth so i can host my posse's stuff here, too. sigh. only 13+ hours left on the upload. only. only. so after i go to work tomorrow sometime it will be uploaded. mostly. sigh. sigh. sigh!

stay tuned. patiently.

woo-woo-woo woo w00t!

so i recorded my new CD: Our Great Green Earth Friday night. I finished the cover art for said CD. Additionally, I took a few stabs @ the logo for Boom Boom Woods.

I think tomorrow night I will do cover art for you're a star.

I had a great weekend amongst friends and good music. What more could a girl ask for in terms of creative inspiration??!!

Congratulations R. & La La

i just wanted to say congrats to my friends R. & La La who are getting married in less than month now! Yeah R & La la!

done!

i recorded a set for Boom Boom Woods last night that is by far the best I have ever done! It will be a few more days before I post it on the internet. I will be turning up the volume on it a little and having it professionally labelled with cover art. Stay tuned!