November 01, 2007

San Francisco: Smoke Pot on Our Streets, We Don't Care!

For a brief fleeting moment I had visions on what it would be like to live in the city that reminds me so much of Seattle, and it felt ... plausible.

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August 25, 2007

Lounging on Fire Island

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August 22, 2006

Chinatown

I walk out the front door of my apartment, and everywhere there are reflections of my past and visions of my future: little kids with their Gameboys running alongside aging immigrants with their walking sticks. My six-foot frame sticks out among the crowd like a sore thumb, and if I hop into the bakery for some pork buns the ladies there try to converse with me in Cantonese, a language my mother forgot to teach me growing up. Although I was hardly raised in this sort of environment growing up—my parents are very much multicultural—Chinatown feels strangely comforting and homey. I feel as though I am in a Wong Kar-Wai movie.

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July 19, 2006

On the Hooper Cooper Scooper

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May 30, 2006

At The Wynn

At the Wynn now, one of the most luxurious and romantic hotels I've ever had the pleasure of staying in. The bathroom alone is bigger than my entire apartment, and the view from the 36th floor is breathtaking. Las Vegas has always been a strange city to me, and this current visit has not really changed my opinions. There's a weird, transient vibe here. It's like this city is desperately trying to find some sort of self-identity, and attempts to do so by imitating different worldwide landmarks, assuming their personalities and traits (or at least attempting to do so). Las Vegas reminds me of me, when I think about it.

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March 09, 2006

Mata Ne!

I'm off to ride a plane. Cross Country.

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March 04, 2006

Travel Plans

Time to recharge my batteries. Bought the plane tickets; will be all over the West coast next week!

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February 28, 2006

Charging My Batteries

But before I could say anything, she suddenly asked me to hold her.

"Why?" I asked, caught off guard.

"To charge my batteries," she said.

"Charge your batteries?"

"My body has run out of electricity. I haven't been able to sleep for days now. The minute I get to sleep I wake up, and then I can't get back to sleep. I can't think. When I get like that, somebody has to charge my batteries. Otherwise, I can't go on living. It's true."

~Takashi Murakami, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, 1997

Posted by Charlie at 01:05 AM | Comments (2)

January 17, 2006

New York, New York

The first time I ever visited New York was over ten years ago, when I was fourteen. I came over with my parents, sister, and cousin, and we stayed at a hotel near Times Square. Back then Times Square was not yet Disney-fied by Giuliani, and thus our hotel was not one would call ‘luxurious.’ There were cracks in the walls, it stank of smoke, and sometimes we would spy a roach scampering across the floor. Times Square was crowded, even more so than today, and it was grittier: I remember street vendors showcasing fake Rolexes in briefcases, only to quickly disappear within the throng of tourists as soon as a police officer was sighted nearby.

It was a fascinating experience, something totally detached from the relative slow-pace-ness of Seattle, and I loved every moment of it. I wanted to be a part of it.

Well, ten years later I’m back in Times Square, at my cubicle overlooking the chaos of advertisements and tourists, and it still has yet to hit me that I’m here. For some reason I still feel like I am on vacation from Seattle, and that at any time now I’ll soon be on an airplane back home with my clothes and stories. It’s all very detached still, this new experience, and because I still feel very transitory I am not necessarily homesick yet.

I’ve fantasized a lot about what my life would be like in the Big Apple, but I never did idealize what the city itself would be like: I knew coming here I would be making a lot of financial sacrifices, relinquishing any form of personal transportation, and be living in a city where I knew almost no one. New York City is a dirty, stinky, noisy, and violent place, I know that, but at the same time no other city in the US has the abundance of culture, music, art, food, and language that New York City does. For those reasons alone, I love it here.

Posted by Charlie at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2005

The Place To Be Seen

LA was a lot of fun, although it felt a bit like we were dragged from one misadventure to the next at times. For a while I seriously thought that we weren't going to make it back to Seattle in one piece, and now that we're back, I'm already meticulously planning my next impulsive vacation, which will be my two-plus-year stint in New York.

Hmmm... where to begin...

Spent a day exploring the Getty, which is pretty much a graphic designer's dream come true. The architecture of the entire complex is laid out according to a strict grid system, and everything - from the placement of the trees on the hills to the sizes of the travertine squares - is fastidiously laid out. The architectural space was so much more interesting than the pieces of art that it housed that we ended up wandering around the outside complex for much of the day.

Latin Pride took place in LA this weekend, and I of course just HAD to go witness the entire affair. We only stayed for an hour though; Latin Pride in LA kinda reminded me of Sunday nights at Neighbors when they host Spanish karaoke: very much lost in cultural translation. Latino guys are so cute; they haven't (yet) succumbed to the homonormative conventions of beauty, so you have all these couples in oversized t-shirts walking around holding hands. So gangsta, so cute.

I also saw a man with the largest breasts I've ever seen in my life there.

Spotted the cutest guy in Little Tokyo while eating lunch at Curry House... Brian and I were having very in-depth discussions about race relations in the land of racial hierarchy that is America, and I couldn't help but stare at this beautiful specimen obviously trying to pretend like he wasn't listening to our conversation. I caught him several times looking like he wanted to put his two cents in, and my inner stalker told me to take a snapshot of him.

Bryan's car broke down when we were at Griffith Park this one time, and we spent the rest of the afternoon huddled in the shade of the hill, conspicuously avoiding the many guys that were in the area cruising. It was so nasty: this one guy, seeing us in our dire state, parked the car some twenty feet away, and I, thinking that he might be some concerned citizen, forced Brian out of the car to ask the guy for help. Brian came back and reported to me that the guy was in very short-shorts, and was stroking the visible outline of his cock while Brian was soliciting him for help. We got him to drive over, short-shorts and all, and try to start the battery with jumper cables. When that didn't work he left us, drove some twenty feet away, parked, and stayed there for the next thirty minutes while Brian and I started praying for our lives. I don't even want to think what he was doing during that time.

Hmmm... what else did we do... there was the day trip to the beach, which I cut short because I had to get back to the house to spew the contents of the previous night's debaucherious outing; having very politically incorrect conversations with white huskies while feeling very much like the objectified Asian bride; realizing that I was checking out the guys on 18+ night... two nights in a row; eating and drinking and eating and drinking.

I left LA with a different impression than the previous ones that I've had in the past. I feel... I don't know... a little more enlightened in the ways of relationships/friendships between gay men, at least in the LA area. I don't know, maybe it was the crowd that I was hanging out with, but words like 'cocaine,' 'crystal meth,' and 'bathhouse' were commonly sprinkled in the conversations that I experienced. I find it a little sad and cliche knowing that some stereotypes of gay drug addicts are still fresh and true... In a city that elevates sex and beauty, it is not uncommon if you're friends with a porn star, and chances are good you guys have fucked in the past. This culture of being friends/periodical fuck buddies/borderline tweakers is still a little foreign to me, but I know it isn't unique to LA, although a lot of these things came up while I was there.

I guess just being in that hyper-realized environment saturated with gay men and no one else but gay men made me a little bit more desensitized and less romantic about achieving a successful relationship. Some couples I met were clearly in love with each other, but they pretty much had separate sex lives. It's a compromise that is ideal to some, but not all, and definitely not to me.

Anyway.

LA was definitely a lot of fun. I'm still worn out.

Posted by Charlie at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2005

Taking a Breather

My parents are dragging me to their house in Ocean Shores, so I'll be out of touch with civilization for a little while, Saturday at the latest.

Posted by Charlie at 05:08 PM | Comments (1)

May 10, 2005

Home Sweet Home

We're back! After driving through the Cascade Mountains in the rain and fog, in pitch darkness and with one working headlight, I am more than euphoric to see the familiar Seattle skyline over the horizon. Even though it's pouring rain and a dense fog is covering much of the city, Seattle has never looked more beautiful in my eyes. It's good to finally be home.

Work is far from over, however! We have one more event Tuesday, May 10th at the Garfield Community Center, as well as a few more speaking engagements in the Seattle area. We also have an evaluation period with Mavin to hammer out any nicks so we can make potential subsequent Tours be even more successful. Maybe it's just me, but if I had to change one thing about this Tour it would be the opportunity to spend more time in all the cities that we visited.

It's hard for me right now to articulate all that I've learned and shared in the past five weeks, as I still haven't had the time to process all that has happened while embarking on this Tour. Questions about Generation MIX's influences, consequences, and aftereffects still linger in my head, and I don't think they can be answered until weeks, months into the future. I do hope that Generation MIX succeeded in their mission to jumpstart dialogue, in that people who came to our events would go back to their homes, sit around the dinner table, and begin the converation with, "Guess where I was today..." That will be totally worth it, to me.

Posted by Charlie at 01:35 AM | Comments (2)

April 21, 2005

A Photo Gallery

This photo was taken at some bar in West Hollywood. I don't remember too much about this place, seeing as I was pretty lushed, but I do recall go-go dancers in tiny white briefs and whole lotta gay men.

We stopped somewhere in the middle of Texas and had a wonderful discussion with a fellow cross-country traveller, a driver of some really heavy furniture with a lot of interesting stories to tell. He told me of how a fellow coworker of his got killed when the truck he was driving crashed into a tree, trapping his body under the 20 tons of paper that he was transporting. Sick way to die, huh?

New Orleans really is a pretty place, but man, it can stink sometimes.

This guy's my idol. He was playing one of those guitar-shaped synthesizers, playing some electroclash-influenced tune while mumbling something about milk. To top it off, even though you can't see it in this picture, he's standing on a red plastic crate. Awesome.

Posted by Charlie at 07:29 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2005

The Middle of Nowhere

Our RV broke down outside of Montgomery, Alabama yesterday afternoon, and we had to spend the night outside the RV repair shop, using the Mad Max - as we like to call it - as a makeshift house. It really was a fun experience, the five of us enclosed within a small-sized bus, just having random conversations about nothing and everything in general. Even though we were in the middle of nowhere and the thoughts of us getting murdered in our sleeps entered our minds (ever watched Easy Rider?), we were able to stay distracted by watching Mean Girls and goof-off in front of the camera. Good times.

Posted by Charlie at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2005

The Big Easy

I am having a love/hate relationship with New Orleans. Things I love about the Big Easy: beautiful architecture, rich history, and delicious food. One word about the cuisine: succulent! So far I had seafood gumbo, shrimp creole, Cajun fried chicken, red bean rice with sausage, and rabbit jambalaya, po-boy, fried catfish, and beignets. I've never been happier gastronomically. The architecture here is so interesting in that there are three primary influences that came together in a wonderful fusion of art and culture: the West European (French and Spanish), West African, and Native American. As a lover of art history, just knowing the minute differences in the influences between one building to the next is personally intoxicating. We took a tour of the history of Creole culture here, a time in pre-American history where people of many races were able to coexist quite peacefully without much regard to skin color.

Things I don't like about New Orleans. I visited the (in)famous Bourbon Street and I must say, I'm just glad I decided not to drink that night. Nor do I intend to drink anything for a while, especially after witnessing what went on there. First of all, the entire place smelled of vomit, cigar smoke, piss, and alcohol. Second, and even more convincing, is seeing 50 year old woman take off her top in hopes of garnering a few beads while her husband cheers her on. There are drunk people everywhere, stumbling over each other, trampling on horse shit, vomiting in the streets, all in drunken debauchery of the worst kind. I left Bourbon Street with a sour taste in my mouth and my clothes reeking of funk.

But the rich history and food definitely makes New Orleans a place I would want to visit again in the future, when I have more time to do a more thorough exploration of this magical place.

Posted by Charlie at 01:26 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2005

Good Eatin'

Food here in Texas is fantastic. Portions here are HUGE and extremely fattening; I love it! Last night we went to this place in Austin called Polvo’s – that was probably the finest Mexican food I have had in recent memory. You guys should check out that place if you're in the area!

I am constantly surprised by the level of hospitality here in Texas. I must admit before coming to this state I had a few reservations about how I, we would be treated here. My initial impressions have been mainly influenced from what I have seen on the television and read in the magazines, but through interactions with the locals here I've come to see Texas in an entirely different light. The people here are courteous, polite, and seem genuinely interested in what we have to say about mixed race issues. I mean, it's inevitable that we're always going to be approached by strangers drawn by the colorful RV!

One of the best things about going on the Tour is being constantly surprised from these experiences, and how they reshape any preconceived impressions. We are going to be hitting the Deep South in a couple of days, probably the furthest from anything I've experienced in Seattle, and although I don't know too much about the cultures there, I am very much excited to again be wronged by what I experience there.

Posted by Charlie at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

April 14, 2005

Stuck in Texas

I’m not sure when or how this happened, but somehow in between El Paso and Austin the RV was not able to kick into third gear. Even on flat terrain we’re not able to accelerate over 55MPH. After making some phone calls we’ve decided that it would be best to drive to the town we passed back and try to find a mechanic to help fix this monster. I’m a little disappointed seeing as we probably won’t be able to get a full day of exploring Austin. I hear that city is more liberal than your typical Texan city.

My impressions on Texas are slowly changing. People are really nice, especially when asking about the RV, and nodding politely and listening patiently even if they don’t get the message that we’re trying to share with them. I haven't gotten any blatantly racist comments or vibes yet, and I'm not going to not expect it. Texas is a huge state, and so far there’s nothing but flat desert-like terrain everywhere. Strangely shaped mountains litter the horizon, and while the scenery is pretty, I wouldn’t want to live here.

Posted by Charlie at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2005

I Miss LA

Posted by Charlie at 09:56 AM | Comments (1)

March 09, 2005

Eleven Days And Counting

With less than two weeks to go before I head off around the country for five weeks, I've begun making a what-to-bring list. Five weeks on the road is an awfully long time, and while the prospect of taking pictures at Millennium Park in Chicago is exciting, it wouldn't do to leave the battery charger at home. I've pretty much compiled all of the necessities - umbrella, socks, dental floss, etc. - but now I have to think about items to bring in dire situations, for instance, if someone gets a massive case of the runs. Diarrhea medicine aside, I think by the time we finally embark I'll be looking like a bag lady.

Posted by Charlie at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2004

My San Francisco Treat

I miss you already.

It all started with a simple request. I had promised Cynthia that I would get her a dozen or so curried pastries from the city of San Francisco should I ever go back there. The opportunity soon came around Labor Day, when T invited me over to the Bay Area for some R&R, something I really needed and wanted.

One delayed plane flight and four hours later, I landed in the Bay Area. The place hasn't changed since the last time I was here, which is nice.

Berkeley is a wonderful town. It is so quaint and artistic and busy and... I don't know... beautiful. T took me around the Berkeley campus, which was still busling with wide-eyed freshmen even around 9 at night. The campus is much more beautiful at night, and gave me a much better impression than the last time I visited this place, five years ago, when I was considering which undergraduate university to attend. A slight pang of regret hit me as I was eating the wonderful French food that they have down there.

We were both too tired to do anything, so we rented movies and crashed for the night.

T had to host an APC retreat that weekend, so on Saturday I set out on my own to the city to do a little sightseeing - aka - time to give my credit card a little exercise! I wasn't able to check into my hostel until 2PM, so for 4 hours I lugged around my baggage and shopping bags like an old bag lady. I must've spent 2 hours in the Diesel store alone, although I only made out with several of their fannypacks. My love for Diesel is slowly dimming as the impending Seattle store opening draws ever closer.

By noontime I was thoroughly worn out. The sun was beating upon the Bay Area in record highs, and the sheer weight of my shopping excursion was making my body ache. Luckily I was supposed to hang out with my cousins and my sister, so I sat at a coffee shop for however long waiting for them to come pick me up. I haven't seen Siri since her sister's funeral several years ago. Something about California has really calmed her down, made her content. She's really happy here, it seems. We had lunch in Chinatown (a very big mistake) and looked for pastry shops that sold curried buns, but to no avail.

The kids are awesome. Liam and Sarah are so bright and inquisitive. Liam saw the fannypack I was wearing and decided that he should get one as well. *wipes away a solitary tear* I really enjoy being a role model. Siri and Pat want me to move closer to them so I can play a more active role in the kids' lives. If only the job market were more optimistic...

One of my main goals on this trip was to visit the SFMOMA and Asian Art Museum again, but once I checked into the hostel I pretty much crashed and slept for the next four hours. I really should make more friends in the Bay Area; both Jane and Lloyd were out of town so I couldn't hang out with them. Instead, I took a nice long bath and waited for Ryan to get ready so we could hit the bars.

Ryan brought along his friend Jeff, a big fan of prefunking. He brought along a huge jug of Bacardi rum and between the two of them downed maybe like a third of the bottle! And I thought I was a heavy drinker. Nonetheless, both of them were substantially buzzed by the time we hit the streets of Castro. We immediately hit The Bar for some more drinks. I had a Liquid Cocaine and a Tokyo Tea; I couldn't finish the Tokyo Tea, knowing that downing the rest would entail worshipping the porcelain throne for the next few hours. I was so drunk at this point I was offering my Tokyo Tea to complete strangers, asking if they want to finish my drink. Luckily many people were willing to comply.

The rest of the night of quite a blur... I remember going to a very packed Cafe, evidently at a strip night. Whatever. We headed straight for the restroom to take a piss and left the place quickly. Ryan wanted to go to Pendulum to get his clubbin' on... but we were there for only five minutes before he started to get sick. We left the place just in time for Ryan to start vomiting everywhere. Everywhere. I was so drunk at this point I didn't even care that we was vomiting on my shoes and drooling on my pants. I was quite the supportive friend, rubbing his back and encouraging him to let it all out. He was making these terrible retching sounds that could be heard a mile away. The entire spectacle was happening in front of hundreds of bois too, but for some strange reason I didn't feel like I was having a good time, nor did it seem like a chore to take of Ryan.

We decided to call it a night. It wasn't even midnight yet. Even though it hadn't even been an hour since they picked me up we figured it was best to take Ryan home. Jeff, quite sobered up from Ryan's elegant public display of disgorgement, became our designated driver. I held Ryan's head steady in the back seat as he convulsed into a plastic bag. I had vomit and drool on my clothes, but you know what? I was A-OK with that. Because I was drunk. I don't even remember taking these pictures below.

I passed out quite gracefully on my bed in the hostel, and woke up in that state where you're still drunk, but can feel that impending hangover starting to take over. T was to pick me up around noon-ish, and so after I checked out of the hostel I trekked my way to Union Square like a transient and planted myself in front of the Macy's building for the next hour, reliving in my head the wonderfulness and craziness that has happened in the past few days/weeks.

It seemed T had a similar night as mine, taking care of the sick. We had brunch at a wonderful French cafe, but it was so hot I thought I was getting a fever at one point. My hangover lingered on, and so we took it easy. The rest of Sunday was spent recuperating, although we did manage to squeeze in time to check out Japantown and get some dinner at a curry house. No curried buns here, however. And you would think a pastry shop in Japantown would carry some!

Morning Morning. After bidding a fond "see you later" to T, I took the CalTrain down to Sunnyvale for a farewell barbeque with my cousin. I've never been to their new house, which is one of the Eichler buildings that were so popular back in the 1950s. Kind of like a more accessible version of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs, the Modernist design has held up pretty well over the years. The layout is very open with few walls. I like it here.

My appetite had been waning these past few weeks, and somehow being at my cousin's place brought it back in full force. I was chowing down on coconut shrimp, chicken, spanakopita, grilled asparagus, and curry like there was no tomorrow. I miss Siri's cooking.

Kay and Don soon met up with me, and soon we were at the airport waiting for our flight back to Seattle. For some reason I was still hungry, so I ordered a BBQ Chicken Pizza at the airport as a snack before getting on the plane.

So no, no curried buns this time. As the plane began to take off I stared out the window at the land below, pondering the state of this uncertain yet hopeful future.

Posted by Charlie at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2004

Signed & Sealed

I'm in desperate need of a vacation. Desperate. Need. Of a vacation.

Posted by Charlie at 11:33 AM | Comments (1)