SHORT VACATION -- COMIC CON 2008 PART 2

...after about 6 hours into the drive, we arrived within the Los Angeles city limits. There was a stop that my friend Darren (holding the coffee) and I wanted to drop by. The place is called UNDEFEATED. The stores carry limited and exclusive run of shoes and clothing. They have 3 locations in Los Angeles, 1 in Las Vegas, and 2 in Japan. The next trip to Japan, I will definitely try to stop by the Tokyo location in Shibuya.



After our brief visit to Undefeated, we stopped by Irvine to grab a late lunch and made our way to I-5 torwards San Diego. Alvin and I already made our contribution to driving in the early morning and noon. Darren is now taking the duty of driving. As you can see, Alvin and I improvised and made our seats a little more comfortable for the last leg of our driving destination...


(side note: I was wearing my Nike Hyperdunks which Darren says has not been released yet??) In any case...they were super comfortable for the amount of walking I was due for in the coming days. The next 1.5 hour drive to San Diego became a 2-3 hour long wait in traffic due to an accident of a rollover big rig in the early morning. It caused delays on this stretch of I-5 for 10 hours. 3 of them which we were stuck in. Although I did wake up to see some massive boobs. ....




..nyuk nyuk. They were actually huge Nuclear stacks or domes on the side of I-5 near the coast. I still dont know exactly what they are...but there is 2 of them pointing straight up like a boob with nipples. LOL!

We finally arrived in SD in the late evening. The next morning we wake to grab a small breakfast. I got some Iced Green Tea and Apple Fritter from Starbucks.


....for once..Starbucks finally spelled my name correctly. After breakfast, we made our way to the convention center. Outside was a display of the soldiers from the upcoming movie: MUMMY --CURSE OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR coming out later this summer.




...stay tuned...for coverage inside Comic Con 2008!

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SHORT VACATION -- COMIC CON 2008 PART 1

It has been a long and tiring weekend and I am still recovering from the lack of sleep and large amounts of walking and work. The next few blogs will be in parts...

Well, I finally took some time off to gather with the nerds at the biggest convention of the year. Comic Con 2008 in San Diego, California. My journey started on Thursday, 24th of July at 530 AM. My friends and myself rented a van for the journey down to Southern California.



We made a few stops along the way. First stop was in Los Angeles..... stay tuned.

SNEAKER COLLECTION

Many have asked why I have spent so much on shoes. It all goes back to around grade school where owning the "baddest" "freshest" shoes made you "cool" Yeah...this was 5th grade. Since we all depended on our parent's wallets for our shoes back then, I was fortunate that my parents bought me shoes that I really wanted for that school year.

I would be allowed one pair of "fresh" shoes per school year. I remember my first pair of shoes I was really proud of was the Air Jordan IV Military Blue. My first pair of shoes that were over $70 at the time. (Remember, $70 was A LOT of money back in 1988-89) I'd wear these shoes everyday everywhere. They were the only pairs I had.

The next school season, I would be allowed another pair, and my old pairs would become "P.E." shoes.

Well...skip almost 18 years later, Nike has reached out to all the sneakerheads and brought back all the popular designs from the 80's and 90's since 2001. And what we wanted back then, can be had now. (for a price of course) The street value, the demand, the limited runs and the exclusiveness makes all these shoes we wanted back then hard and expensive to get once again. But we now have a chance to wear and relive our youths again. Now that this is all coming out of my wallet... I finally get to own some shoes I always wanted....

The NIKE iD's were my design, but the other retro's were something I always wanted again. Here is my current roster:

Nike Dunk Low "Jordan Retro 4" (Black White Granite)


Nike iD Dunk Low "WEKSOS.ONE" (Black White Denim FireEngine Red)


Nike HyperDunk (Black Black Anthracite)


Nike iD Air Max 90 "Type-R" (Black Denim FireEngine Red)


Nike iD Air Max 95 (Black Anthracite Varsity Blue)


Nike iD Air Max 95 (Black Anthracite Army Green)


Nike Air Max 95 Retro 2008 edition (Neon)


Air Jordan IV Retro "Military Blue"


Air Jordan V Retro (Green Bean 3M)




And yes.... I've kept my prized possesion from the 6th grade...OG shoes and tag and all with the original Flight Box... :)




Shoes
Cars
Toys


...why do I get into such expensive hobbies....I don't know.

BEER.

Nothing like a few pints of beer to end the week. Since I am allergic to certain alcoholic spirits, I am never allergic to beer. What are my preferences?

-Asahi Black (Japan only) -- I can't find this anywhere but Japan.
-1554 Black Ale - could drink this anyday, everyday.
-Guiness Stout- straight up or pair it with a Pale Ale (Black and Tan)
-Newcastle Brown Ale - good shtuff

Light Beers (I dont like light beers..but I like all Asian beers, which happen to be light)

-Suntory (Japan only) -for good times, make it Suntory time
-Yebisu - Japanese beer, goes good with Sushi.
-Hite Beer - Korean, goes good with Korean BBQ
-Tsing Tao - Chinese, only drink it if at Chinese resturaunt or in Hong Kong.







"For good times...make it Suntory time."



KAMPAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!


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NOSTALGIA

Im on a nostalgic high right now. Not only am I picking up all the retro reissue shoes...Im currently listening to some good ol music from 1988-1993.

New Edition
Keith Sweat
Jody Watley
SWV
TLC
Soul II Soul
Jodeci
Guy
Expose
Cover Girls
The Pharcyde
Black Sheep
Shai
Jade
Sweet Sensation


....just to name a few. All these bring back memories of good ol junior high when tapered pants, Air Jordans, stonewashed jeans and Starter jackets were the thing to have ....hahahah




All I need now is a Flux Capacitor and a DeLorean to relive it all again..... Great Scottttttt.

LOST

Do you believe in fate? Destiny? Lately on my free time or when I've been stuck in traffic, I have been pondering this very question. Are we on a set course that is predetermined for us. Do we meet certain people, make specific decisions because someone/something has already set that path for us to follow?

I always wonder if we do make a decision that is not destined...does life find a way to course correct and put you back on track. Part of me thinks everything happens for a reason, and let it be as it will turn out all right in the end. The other part of me thinks it is a stupid excuse to put blame on the mistakes or bad decisions we make to help us feel better. Who knows. I think I am thinking or pondering too hard in traffic. Or I am watching too much "LOST" as I am catching up on the DVD sets. LOST is actually telling a story about destiny and fate amongst other things. ( I dont want to give out any spoilers in case anybody hasn't seen it and plans to watch it)






I highly recommend the LOST series, it isn't a Gilligan's Island type deal...and is not even close. Anyways.... I think I'm pondering too hard right now. I'm feeling for a nice cold 1554 Black Ale pint of beer right now.

cheers.

NEW KIKS PART TOO

Picked up another 2 pairs of shoes. Gotta watch my spending this month...


Air Jordan V Retro "green bean"




Hyperdunk Black





The Hyperdunks are super light. Felt like I wearing nothing on my feet. Very impressive. However the quality of the shoe isn't as great as the Dunk Lows and Jordans. Still very nice shoe. Wish I had money to burn on some Marty McFly Hyperdunks.

RETRO KIKS!

So I stumbled upon something today. Some old shoes that I had saved from a long time ago:

Check out the size and price of these shoes. I am grateful for my parents to put up with my 6th grade self to buy me these shoes back in 1989. $75 bucks is a lot of money back in 1989.






Old school "Flight Air Jordan" box.







Old School Air Jordan box compared to the new Retro Air Jordan box











Side by side comparison between the OG and the Retro reissue.




6th grade abuse and 18 years of aging.








On the note of retros... Thanks to my good friend Darren, found a pair of Air Max 95 Neon reissue in my size....










....on the note of old kiks and new kiks...Im expecting 2 more pairs tomorrow....stay tuned......

LAST WEEKEND

Last weekend was pretty much drinking my life away.

Friday = shots of Soju, Flavored Soju, and pitcher of HITE beer. Got pretty f'd up.

Saturday = more beer. Guiness. One after the other.

Sunday = rested from drinking. Laundry, cleaning, getting ready for the next week of work. Had some alone time to think how I am going to change and approach life from now on. Gonna take it day by day and make the most of it, or at least try.



I did manage to waste some more money on the car. Got some Japanese spec factory decals from Honda of Japan. Transformation of my car to Japan spec is almost complete. Actually, it might be already complete. I'm done putting money into this car.




I did need new tires though. Got some cheap Korean tires by Kumho. Mostly for commute purposes only, so nothing fancy.

Fancy stuff is on my other sets of wheels :o




Random shot of how it looks now.