Telegraph St.

This is Jen. She's from the West Coast. As you can see, she rep that West Coast (Ok, I told her to throw up the Dubs, but she's from Cali). We both work for TGI Fridays and we's chill people. But I gotta go back a lil' bit. This morning, I woke up and worked out again while Shari was at work doing her spice. After she got off work, we went to Pacheco to the California Grand Casino. Ok, I'm a witness. This was the most un-grand casino I've ever seen in my life. As we pull into the parking lot, we see an altercation in the parking where this wino lady pulls the biggest non-sword blade on a dude in a raiders hat over a briefcase. Wild shit! You know me.....He's a raiders fan...fuck 'em. We pulled off and buddy got away. We decided to go grub before we played poker so we went to Marie Callerder's for a bite. It's one thing to get bad service. This place had the absolute worst service I've ever came across in the country. It was 20 minutes before we got water. A Newcastle was ordered upon arrival at the table. After 20 minutes (like 30seconds before the waters came) our shitty waitress comes back and says "We're out of Newcastle" REALLY, BITCH!?!!?!? IT TOOK YOU THAT LONG TO TELL ME YOU OUT OF THE SHIT I ORDERED 20 MINUTES AGO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

OK, I know I'm a good waiter/server/whatever. I'm not trying to be a snob or and asshole, but come on. I ordered the pot roast, wifey ordered the fish and chips. I promise, if the Boston Celtics/Phoenix Suns game wasn't on, I may have went apeshit in that bitch(Garnett is absolutely insane in Boston. We'll see that dude in the NBA Finals). If I didn't wait tables, we would have stiffed her ass (she got 10%). So we go play poker at the un-grand. The only available game was the 3-6 limit game. This spot wasn't the complete dive I thought it was but it was hella seedy. I saw a great deal of suckouts and long story condensed I dropped over a bill. I didn't stress that shit just 'cause I'm still in Cali. We headed back to the area around the hotel and decided to have some drinks. Here's where the Cali Love comes in and why I'm moving out here soon. It's about 10pm and we go to On The Border, this Mexican spot where we had bomb ass margaritas the other day. Well, they close at 10 and we still wanna drink somethin'. I know one spot that is open til 1AM. Good ol' Fridays!!! We get there and order drinks and talk about the poker game we just played. Enter our West Coast repper, Jen. Being on vaca and being in Fridays was weird, but Jen put us in a comfy place with her personality. And her heavy handed drinks!!! A good bartender I must say. As soon as I said I worked at Fridays in the A, it was love. So while we down our drinks we meet this couple. They were chill and they were locals. They tell us all about Cali and all kinds of shit. The dude tell us that since we're visiting, we should go to Berkeley and visit Telegraph Street.

Skip to the next day, we check out of the Oakland hotel, and head to Berkeley. Being a Cali newbie, all I expected was a college town and some shops to peep out. I was wrong. Telegraph has the illest vibe to it and I LOVE that street. Rasputin Records is what the Lenox Tower Records used to be times 19. What a wonderful place this is. Everything is cheap and good quality. I will be back on Telegraph in the next 2 years with my son in tow. I'm the most vibey person you'll ever come across and Cali got me feeling like a Beach Boy..Good Vibes Everywhere! So we kick it for a minute and bounce to San Fran.

OK, I don't know where to start with Frisco. Fuck it, it's INSANE!!!!!!!! The bridges, the buildings, the people. WOW! I took me a long time to appreciate Atlanta. Here, instant love. It just puts everything into focus if you not from here. I'm pretty laid back...or I thought I was until here. People are fuckin' with me, havin' fun with me like I do at home with other people. I'm not trippin'. I love the A, but I wanna raise my son in Cali suddenly. I'm at home here. Anyway, we check into the Argonaut Hotel on the Wharf. Hands down the best hotel I've ever experienced. There aren't places this elegant in the A. San Francisco put Atlanta in it's proper place in my mind. You good, but dammit you not this good. To Be Continued.......

Today, C-Webb announced his retirement from the NBA. A 5-time all-star and one of the most dominate figures I've seen play in the NCAA while he was at Michigan, it's truly a sad day for me. I'll never forget the first time I saw the "Fab 5" and the swagger they took the court with. I loved basketball so much at the time and had just moved to Georgia from Colorado Springs. The way Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson (He always took long 2's 'cause his foot was always on the line), Jimmy King, and Webber loved each other on the court made me a better player and a better person. I saw what real chemistry was and Webber was the catalyst of those Michigan teams. They never won a NCAA title, but the Fab 5 will go down in history as one of the best college basketball teams ever. Webber was Rookie Of The Year in 93-94, the year he posterized Barkley and flexed as to say "I'm here, bitches!!!" His best ball was played in Sacramento where he was on the brink of the NBA Finals more than once, but couldn't get past the vaunted Lake Show of Phil, Shaq, and Kobe. He's ended his career as he started it, as a Golden State Warrior. Webber conducted his retirement speech as a humble man. No longer able to play on a left knee that serviced him and the teams he played for so well. I've been watching all these pundits and talking heads in the media mention all the bad news about Webber. The infamous T.O. vs UNC in the National Championship Game. The Michigan scandal where they wiped all the Fab 5's W's from the record books. How he's not a Hall Of Famer. Well, I say fuck that shit. Chris Webber may not have any rings and may not have the kudos of some of his peers. I don't care. He changed my life as a young man and I hate to see him go. Fuck the NBA Hall Of Fame. Chris Webber is in mine.
Til next stroke......

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Cali Breeze

It took a while for me to get used to the A when I first moved down here. It was a long time ago, but I finally feel like Atlanta is homebase for me now. My wife travels alot for work and wanted me to come out on her latest adventure to San Francisco. We've all heard the stories about the gay population in San Fran, but this wasn't a concern of mine leading up to the trip. There's been a good deal of drama mixed with some good this year, but I wanted to get away from Atlanta to regain my focus and motivation. Well, the weekend previous to my departure I got about 2 hours of sleep, a few doses of reality, and new understanding of shit around me. I left my chaotic life behind and boarded a plane to L.A. only to have a 3 hour delay due to, get this, too much fuel in the plane!!!! Too much fuel!?!?!? Apparently, there was some miscomunication and now I have to miss my connecting flight to Oakland. Our departure time was 2:40pm and we actually took flight at about 5:30pm. I wasn't upset or anything. Just tired as hell. And I didn't get to see my son like I wanted to. It was a long flight out to L.A. so it gave me the opportunity to listen to a few albums, read a lil bit, even watch a ep of "House Of Payne". I sat next to a lady who had a book about sailing, very nice and non-talkative. Unbelievably, my ghettoPCS phone works in Cali and I was able to call my wife to see what was good with the flight changes and everything. I landed in L.A. at about 7:05pm pacific time. My new flight to San Fran didn't leave until 8:45pm so I had time to kill. I was starving and decided to grab a bite at the Redondo Beach Brewing Co. at L.A.X. I got a Coney Island hot dog and 2 22oz Karl Strass Amber Lagers while watching Virginia Tech destroy UAB in the NIT tourney. Some dude comes in a sits next to me and we start have convo about Cali, Atlanta, and San Fran. He was a Frisco native and I asked him about whole gay thing I'd been hearing for years. He told me that gay men don't mess with straight guys like they would in other places like on some "You do your thing and I'll do mine" type ish. He gave me some places to check out in the city (The Marina, The Triangle, Little Italy, Union Square, etc.) and we finished our beers a few minutes later. After I closed out with my bartender, another really nice lady, I boarded the smallest plane I've ever seen or been on. It was an hour flight, so I ordered a Heineken and bumped some more of the Jay-Z's AG album. Finally, I arrive in San Fran at about 10pm pacific. Wifey met me at baggage claim and we rode to the telly in Oakland, where I'm writing this. I unpacked and crashed for about 15 hours. I woke up and watched the MLB opener which the Red Sox won in extras.

Then I when to workout for a while and begin my focus quest. I've had so much time to think and be by myself that I feel unstoppable. I've always tried to keep people involved in my shit and trust people. No more. Anyone on my team from this moment forward will not be selfish, will not be flaky, and will be a grinder. Period. Another topic I spoke about with dude at the Brewing Co. was how most people in business and in life just are better left alone. So the focus group of 1 has started. Being in San Fran, I'll use one of former 49er QB Steve Young's favorite things to say. "Keep It Buttoned Up" It means be on top of your game and stay focused. California is a hella inspirational place and I'll be better once I get back to homebase.
Til next strokes.........Caltroit, bitches!!!

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Dat Dude Tony.....

I think Tony Kornheiser is one of the best personalities in the media. I found him on ITunes one day surfing the podcasts and have been hooked since then. His radio show is by far the best commentary on everything you can think of. He covers a wide range of topics from sports to american idol (was I supposed to capitalize that?). He's a busy man and during football season, somebody else does his show and it's not as good. Well, the season's over, Tony's back , and I can listen to podcasts again. All he does is want he likes and gets paid a good amount for it. One of his many mottos is "Information for life" and it's the best way to describe his show. He has a supporting cast, call-ins, etc but the best part is to listen to Kornheiser himself. I'd advise everyone to peep him out and enjoy.

P.S. Podcast comin'.....

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The Joy Of Scribin'

I like the process of putting thoughts in flight. Communications is probably my favorite part of my life. I meet alot of different people and it's always a different vibe. Some people are dickheads. Some people are real chill. All of them communicate differently. I've been wanting to speak to people in a new way and decided to re-enter the blogasphere (Is that a word?) and go all out with it. Pics, podcast, etc. I was thinking about other avenues of expressing myself more and the thing I do is write. Thus, we have the Tangent Media Blog. What is the TMB exactly? I have no f**kin' clue yet. Just all out love.

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