Hawaiian Style...

So I have been feeling a little bit lost lately. Not having the ocean lifestyle that I had growing up is starting to eat at my brain and my soul. Being a waterman is part of who I am and not being able to surf, kayak, swim in the ocean really takes its toll on my well-being. One way I have found to get me closer to my roots has nothing to do with being in the ocean though. I just found out, that I can still put my heart and mind into the ocean while playing my ukulele.

I have had a keen interest in the ukulele for a long time. I finally decided that it was time to give it a shot. Within two days I have taught myself a variety of songs and have even been able to play some songs that I never thought I would.

There's something about sitting in my room, closing my eyes, and playing songs by IZ, Jack Johnson, and other hawaiians. So good.

One day, maybe I can rip like this girl.

But...the best in the world is still Jake.

Planning for the best camping trip ever...

Well, its just sorta camping. The final preps are being planned for the 2nd Annual Lake Sonoma Flotilla. we have reached our capacity/goal of 50 people for this trip.
Planning for 50 people, let alone 50 squirly people is a VERY difficult task. Having limited spaces and locations that can accomodate that many people can be a daunting task, but knowing how much fun we are gonna have as a crew is worth every second of it!
I have reserved a private campsite that is located in a Redwood Grove and only accessible by boat. We also have 2 pontoon boats and 1 ski boat with a wakeboard, ski's, and a tube. We will def be able to get our groove on being so secluded on a lake.

I decided to bail out on Vegoose this year. Its too expensive...but the lineup looks incredible. Looks like I only have Hawaii and a possible trip to Phoenix in the plans for the rest of the year.

Haven't had much time to write lately, but its been a drama filled past couple of weeks.
Dont forget...Hasselhoff rules!

Its been a little while...

My life has been in a total uproar! Nothing bad, just craziness all around me. Pyscho ex's showing up in the most random places at the most random times...friends saying and doing crazy things...wierd events happenening around the world...loss of a friend....

Its nuts! Things were really strange for a little while in the land of Gnarlystoke. Seemed like the air was thick, constantly pushing down on me. Finally, something happened. Not a single event that I can point out, but I basically started to pull myself slowly out of the funk. Its still a process that will take time, but I am ready to face those challenges.
I plan to write more tonight, but in the meantime...enjoy!

Another funny one...

I think dance-offs are the best. A friend of mine was at Knotts Berry Farm in SoCal this weekend and witnessed some folks get it on with a dance off at the park. Nothing like impromtu dance offs!

Like this one.

Weekend in review...

Ended up going to Six Flags MarineWorld on Friday night with a good crew of people. Had a blast!
The rollercoasters were so much fun to get on. Sorta felt like the kid in my previous post a couple of times, but for the most part, we had a terrific time. I lost my cellphone though...sucks.
Good thing I had my backup phone in the car and in service by the time we go to the cars at the end of the night. Ha...what a dork I am.

Spent the day yesterday in a limo, and wine tasting through Healdsburg. Needless to say, we got hammered. Our friends J & J, took some of us to 4 wineries, and we got totally wasted. Out of 10 people that were going to the phry last night, only 1 made it out.

Today I helped out with a friend's mom's event in the SOMA area. Spent some time there and met up with some friends. I gotta remind myself to stick around when single woman are around!

Alright, closing this boring review with a funny video from American Pie 3.

Life's too short....

I woke up yesterday a.m., to an posting made by my friend in NYC. I grew up with her in SoCal and knew her family well. She let us know that her brother, a friend of mine, passed away this past Saturday and that the services would be today. Needless to say, I was deeply saddened, in a state of shock, and trying my hardest to find out if this was true.

Since graduating high school, several close childhood friends and kids in the neighborhood have passed. Most people I know can't relate to that, but growing up there has been said to even be a curse on our area high schools because of the number of deaths.

CH was truly a great person and a fantastic human being. He was a police officer for the Inglewood PD, a loving husband, son and brother. I have memories of him walking around in the same jacket all the time, a baseball cap down low on his face, and being a good guy.

Life truly is too short, and once again it takes a tragedy to learn that. Too may young folks I know have passed. It reminds me to enjoy life to the fullest and appreciate every second you have on this planet CH was only 28 when the accident happened. My thoughts are with the family...

I love rollercoasters...

This is why. (courtesy of bh)

I may love my medicine, but this is ri-cock-u-lous....

There is nothing like the love of a mother...fucker!

City by the Bay...

San Francisco is truly one of the great city's in the world. Obviously, there is nothing but New York, but for a lot of people, NYC is just too gnarly. Paris, London, Rome, Tokyo, Seoul...all major hubs around the world, but there is NOTHING like this town.

Where else do a million people (half in drag) get together on the streets, on Halloween to celebrate? Where else can you find the world class skiing/snowboarding within a short car ride, surf the biggest, gnarliest wave in North America, and cross one of the most beautiful bridges...all in one day?

Its always been known to be "liberal" but I think we are more progressive!
Golden Gate Park, Crissy Field, the Presidio, Alcatraz, Transamerica building, Coit Tower, Twin Peaks, the Castro District, Ocean Beach...its all unique.
We also have great restaurants!

SF ROCKS!

Public Pools...

I grew up swimming me entire life. Literally, 4-5 hours a day, for over 13 years, and YES! I pee'd in the pool.

The ultimate funk...

During my times of "funkiness" i have decided to take a second and try to think of some of the great things in my life and things i love(not in any particular order):

1) Lifeguarding
2) my Health
3) delicious wines
4) my friends
5) the beach
6) my wonderful hat collection
7) hawaii
8) pancakes
9) the smell when you get off the plane in hawaii
10) holding someone you love close to you
11) sunsets
12) sunrises
13) moonscreen
14) herb
15) swimming
16) my car...betty
17) diving in the ocean...being underwater
18) durango, co
19) paris, france
20) train stations in europe
21) NYC
22) NASCAR
23) Surfing
24) surfing in hawaii
25) books
26) peace
27) conversation
28) magazines
29) watches
30) cool shoes
31) my ipod
32) boardshorts by TM
33) Fishing
34) camping
35) learning something new everyday
36) pharms
37) cid
38) live music
39) road trips
40) romance
41) beautiful glass pieces
42) museums
43) dolphins
44) sharks
45) jellyfish
46) oysters
47) the grateful dead
48) wilco
49) campfires
50) my guitar

ok...that helped.

One of the best bands ever...

This was shown at the 20th Anniversary show in Boston, 2003.

Loss of a friend...

Eric from Boonville was a good pal. We first met at the Boonville BeerFest, introduced by a dirty wookie. When I first sat down with E, he shared his talents with the entire group. Everybody there was so impressed with how friendly and "kynd" he was right off the bat. He was a big fan of the Boonville AirBand and loved the outdoors.
Last night, Eric fell over. He cracked his head and is no longer with us.
He was a good pal.
E is survived by his little brother, Sean, aka...Pink Lemonade-O.
Eric...you will be missed by all!

The laughing yogi....

I wish I could be this happy.

Crikey! Weekend in review...

Ended up having a pretty good weekend. Went to Lake Nacimiento and ended up spending 80% of our time in the water. The weather was at or above 100 degrees during the day time and freezing at night. No needs to go back to that lake, especially since it was as trashy if not trashier than Clear Lake.

There is something to be said about the "Lake" culture. I realize that most Americans probably live closer to lakes than the ocean, so they gotta take what they can get, but wake boarders (wake spongers!) and lake folks are just sketchy. The second night, a group of younger, tatted up, white boys that were a mix between gangsta and punk camped right next (basically on top) of us. Our campfire was a couple feet away and we can hear everything they were talking about. It was the first time in a long time that I wanted to kick some ass and beat the living shit out of them, but the fact that there was a bunch of woman and some people that didn't know me that well stopped me. These guys had the nerve to make racist comments about Asians right next to me. Looking back, I am glad I didn't let myself get too caught up in their ignorance, but they still deserved to get their asses kicked.

September is already looking to be a fun packed month. May have a friend visit from LA, have a WineGuzzler event on the 21st and Moe. the 22nd. Michael Franti and Spearhead have their annual Power to the Peaceful concert in GGP this weekend, and I want to get to Monterey and Humboldt before the month is over. Also have a quick trip to Las Vegas, via San Diego in a couple of weeks. Then October is filled with some exciting things as well. I am still on the fence about Vegoose, but the Lake Sonoma Flotilla will be incredible. Oh yeah, also just scored some Black Crowes tickets at the Santa Cruz Civic sometime in the next couple of weeks for an unannounced show.

Summer is NOT over!

Lastly, really sucks about the Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Who would have "thunk" that he would die from a stingray of all creatures? Guess it its true what they say...When you play with fire, be ready to get burned. Regardless, its a shame and sad.

The Goose is LOOSE! And Treadmills....

I am still on the fence about Vegoose this year...but I think the lineup looks great! The Roots, Tom Petty, The Black Crowes, Mars Volta, Mike Patton!
Less hippie is ok with me right now.

Check it out!



Also, I will admit that I watched some of the MTV VMA's last night and the band OK GO did a live version of their treadmill video.
Here is the original one more time for you to enjoy!

If only the Grateful Dead or Phish were still playing...

Gosh, the days of touring around the West Coast seeing my favorite bands. Dead back in the early 90's was so fun. Trips to Eugene, Las Vegas, and the always fantastic of a dump, the LA Sports Arena. I remember after Garcia passed, I gave Phish a shot at Compton Terrace, saw them at Santa Monica Civic, Ventura, the Greek in LA, Shoreline, on and on and on.

I just wish I had one of these back then!

Guess I can always use it for NASCAR!

(thanks to (to) for letting me use that wonderful discovery of a link)

Even though...

A bunch of my friends are currently playing in the hot desert sun of Black Rock City!
Honestly, I think the idea of Burning Man is awesome, unique, and pretty much fantastic in its own ways, but a lot of people don't feel the same way. Maybe its ignorance? Naivity?
Regardless, everybody needs a way to express themselves.

So, now that I gave Burning Man its props...I thought this was pretty funny.
You may have to live in San Francisco to truely appreciate it, but its still funny.