YADADADAMEAN

A Dream That'll Never Happen

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:38:50 -0700

Today, I woke up to my normal alarm at 4:20 AM. I got up... and snoozed it, and laid back down.

Wednesdays are funny days because I'm not always sure if I'm going to go to the gym before work like all the other day, simply because I might play basketball after work and I don't want my body (mainly my legs) to be fatigued already when I play. If I feel like the people I play with have been slacking in their effort, I might go gym it up to get my exercise in since I don't think I'll get it later.

Today was one of those days where I didn't go. Not because my belief in my fellow players' efforts is particularly great on this day, but because I think I'm going to play somewhere else with some different people; so I don't wanna be no all day sucka out there with fatigued legs and short shots.

Because of this, I got a little extra sleep this morning. And I had a "huhhh???" dream.

I don't know how or why, but apparently my family + my cousin's family all went to this Disneyland type place together. We went on some rides, we separated into different groups, shopped, walked around... When it was time to leave, the exits were super hard to find. You get the feeling that they didn't want anyone to (know how to) leave. Eventually, we were able to get out by going through a supermarket on the grounds, but not after a clerk gave us wrong directions out of the store.

Then when I was relieved to get out of the store, my dad/parents drop a surprise on me - they booked a hotel room and we're all staying overnight. Oh what!??!? I look around and my cousin's family isn't planning on leaving either. However, my parents take our car to go pick up my other aunt (who isn't even in the country right now!) because they say she's going to go with us somewhere the next day so they'd rather just pick her up tonight instead of rushing tomorrow. So I suggest that they take me home while doing so. They refuse.

Now I've been claustrophobic by this amusement park with no seeming exits and I had not planned on staying overnight anywhere, so I was very anxious to get the heck out of dodge. I actually try to hang on to the car as my parents drive off, but my mom shook me loose from the door. Thanks, mom!

One more thing about the park: there weren't restrooms for men and women. They were unisex bathrooms that looked more like club bathrooms than ones for an amusement park. And there weren't toilets; they had these sink-sized holes in the ground, spread out along the walls. This works okay for guys, but the women were a little embarrassed to use them, especially since other people (i.e. guys!) were in there using them, as well. There weren't any walls either, just a couple mannequins by each hole to act as a sort of cover, like someone standing next to you while you piss off the side of the road.

After my parents drive off, I talk to my aunt who didn't go with them and ask about why we're staying and where we're going the next day. She doesn't know much either, she just says that it's what they (my parents) want to do. At this point, I'm pretty desparate; I hate feeling trapped and ambushed like this. So I ring up a friend to come pick me up, though I don't know how to explain to her exactly how to get to where I am.

After a couple rings, that's when I woke up. I was annoyed with my parents, annoyed with myself (because I always have a suspicion that they'll go off-agenda and come up with something of their own to drag me to if I don't drive myself), but also glad that I wasn't stuck in some (more) twisted version of Disneyland, which FYI happens to only be around 20 or so miles from my house; so it wasn't like I was calling up my friend to drive cross-country to come get me.

Man... that's never going to happen, but... the take-home lesson from all of this: don't skimp on the gym.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Clean

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:12:55 -0700

So, I have this built-in iSight on this iMac that I pretty much hardly ever use. My little sister uses it more than I do, to take retarded Photobooth pictures with my little cousins. Anyway, I decided to give it a go tonight; just a whim, no real reason.

Here's the video I took:

Yo_CleanShave

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Wedding Date Progress: Update No. 1

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:16:46 -0700

Her: tall, lean; runner type. Blonde, kinda young looking; I thought too young at first, but more mature up close.
Somewhat random encounter, as she did not apply for the position.

First time speaking to her (ever), this morning:

Me: “excuse me.”
Her: *turns*
M: “im looking for a date for a wedding, and I was wondering…”
H: “you’re looking for a wedding??”
M: “yeah. So I was seeing if you wanted to go wi-“
H: “I’m actually engaged, so…”
M: “What? Terrible!”
H: “Yeah, sorry.”
M: “Alllriiight..”
Both: *go our merry ways*

A bit obvious as to why she didn't apply now, huh?

And that’s about it. This is right at the base of some stairs by a fountain; she was on her way up and I was heading out. So, in 0.5sec I made a split-second decision to commit and inquire.

On to the next target; we'll just have to wait and see who that is and how it goes! My philosophy about things like this is similar to that of a shooter/scorer in basketball: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

Hope you enjoyed that; I thought it was funny.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Wedding in October

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:04:14 -0700

I have a wedding that I will be attending (in fact, I'll be in the bridal party) in October and I have been allowed a guest to accompany me to this function. Being the single person that I am, I have no default occupant for this position; thus, the reason for this posting: I am now pre-screening applicants for the position as my date for the aforementioned wedding. Below are some, but not all, criteria for applicants:

1) Good skin/complexion - smooth
2) Fashionable - can put an outfit together and not walk out the door looking lazy or a hot mess
3) In shape - exercises
4) Height - keep in mind I am 6'2" or so, but some flexibility could be allowed for the right candidate
5) Location - Orange County (that's CA, not FL) preferred, or within a reasonable distance
6) MOST IMPORTANT - Can take Friday Oct 3rd off from work to be able to actually attend the wedding and reception

Females only, ages 21-35 [ID required]

This wedding will be a classy affair in a nice location, but the crowd will know how to have fun and will not be stuffy. The food will be delicious and the desserts divine (I have already previewed/tasted some of the dishes).

If you know someone that you would like to nominate for this position, contact me directly; and have recent photos of the candidate available for review. Also, provide a few [complete] sentences on why I should choose the candidate being referred.

Thank you and good luck!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Rockin Robin

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:59:51 -0700

So, a convergence of events has finally led me to join Twitter. Let's just say it involved a busy day, a news article showcasing its usefulness (in getting out of jail), and a phase of being somewhat social.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Impending Small World

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:20:22 -0700

You know how sometimes you meet someone and in the course of conversation, you realize that they have a mutual friend as you or they somehow are connected to someone you may know. Then you both pause with the thought "wow, what a small world!" And it is.

A lot of times, this is unexpected and takes you by surprise. You might be out in another state/country and bump into someone you know who just happens to be there at the same time. Or you might be at a birthday party and realize people are there that you did not expect person X to know. "What are you doing here??" "Oh really?? Shut up! I didn't know that! That's craaaaazy~!"

Yeah, you know what? A lot of times, that sort of thing makes me avoid certain places/events. The small world, Kevin Bacon shit isn't always a good thing. No, I don't really have many enemies; I'm just not that into small talk. I guess no small talk = no small world. It's just... banal and inconsequential. I usually have difficulty feigning interest in their lives/perspectives. As I've gotten older, I've gotten a little bit better at being nicer/more positive about it. I give them a validation/approval type reaction to whatever is going on with them and it seems to suffice. "That's cool" seems to be enough for most people, especially if you place the emphasis on "cool" rather than "that".

Sometimes, it genuinely is nice to see old faces that you, one way or another, lost contact with unintentionally. But there are also those that you lost contact with intentionally, mainly by never reaching out to them (against AT&T's previous advise). They might be really attractive/successful now, though. Are you going to shmooz? Be a johnny-come-lately shmoozer? Think twice, with all that success, they might be twice as worse to be around now that they probably also have a more inflated ego to go along with that success. But who knows, maybe they grew up and it's time for you (and I) to grow up, as well. There's no hard and fast rule in play here, but generally it helps to go with the decision that makes you feel less sick afterwards.

Impending small world is an eventuality that we all have to deal with; how we cope with it gives us a clue as to where we are in our lives.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Forever Smell My Cologne, Pimp

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:57:30 -0700

Word to Pimp C. Rest in peace.

So, I went to Nordstrom today to check out some watches. Then, I decided I didn't want to spend money on a watch, but I did want to sample some colognes I've been meaning to check out. Unfortunately, they did not have the first choice of mine to sample, Dior, but I had a few others that they did have on hand.

Contrary to the Pimp C titling of this post, I did not sample the Issey Miyake (his preferred cologne), but I do already know what it smells like. Because I forever smell it.

First up was YSL L'Homme. This one would have to be my choice of the day. Very clean, but still sensual. Next, the saleslady had me sample some Juicy cologne for some reason, without my requesting, and I was not too into it. Besides, even if I was, I couldn' live with myself if someone asked me what cologne I was wearing and had to tell them I was wearing Juicy Couture cologne. WTF??? The new Bvlgari for the summer cologne was actually really good, too. This was a really close second to my YSL first choice. If I had to contemplate longer, this might actually overtake the initial YSL impression. The summer thing might throw me, but I am in SoCal so it's not like it would be ridiculous; it's 80 degrees here in the winter! (Word to Ras Kass.) Lastly, I sampled Terre D'Hermes. It was a lot spicier than I had expected. The saleslady used to word "mature", but yeah... I didn't want to smell like I was a dying old man in a cedar box...

I didn't end up buying anything, especially since I hadn't sampled the Dior fragrance that I had foremost wanted to, but I did get a pretty good idea of what I'm liking right now. I had meant to sample Tom Ford, but after all the samples I went through, I didn't want to overdo it. I read somewhere you're only supposed to smell like 3 or something scents before it starts degrading your sense of smell for the time being. I told this to the lady and she acted like I was a doctor talking about bloodletting, just was not buying it. Well, I didn't like her hat anyway.

I haven't really been wearing a lot of cologne, though when I do I usually just go with my old trusty Opium (YSL). Not everyone is a vanilla fan like myself, but I like it. It is still pleasing to me. It's not the same type of clean as L'Homme, but still sensual. It's a bit softer. Thank god it's not citrus-y like some of the newer Calvin Klein fragrances that have been coming out lately. Yikes!

So, next time you see me out: Ladies, smell me. It's for you, anyway. But watch out - if you get too close, I might bite your neck.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

South Coast (Re)Connects

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:47:31 -0700

So I decided to go to Mitsuwa (Japanese Market) today, and thus swing by South Coast Plaza since I was going to be in the area.

I msgd my buddy Matt yesterday about my decision, so we figured we'd grab lunch. I swung by MAC, where he does Operations, and we headed over the Mitsuwa food court. I got an oyako-don and iced green tea. The egg was cooked perfectly. I can't get over how good it was. Head and shoulders above any other oyako-don I've ever had. We picked up a few items in the grocery and headed back to MAC @ SCP where he hooked me up with a lip balm, since I asked if they had any since I was just about out of my current stick of lip balm. The MAC lip balm has a hint of vanilla and "that shit is delicious". Obviously more expensive than chapstick, but it helps to have a buddy that works there.
After I left, I decided to take a gander at a few stores. Nothing in particular caught my eye.
Stopped by Bally to catch up with Yuki who just got back from SXSW in Austin, TX. The shoes are Bally are really light and look pretty comfortable. Yuki told me about the shows/parties he hit up and how they were.
Steve, an old coworker from Kenneth Cole, was working at YSL. Quick wuddup.
Dropped in to Ted Baker where I found out my friend (since 8th grade) Bermina is working now. She wants to fix me up with her friend that she says is "really pretty". We'll see. What's working in her favour is that she gave me a couple martinis while I was shopping/chatting with her in the store. That's right: free alcoholic beverages served to me in-store while shopping. How great is that?

On my way home, I felt like I had just gone out or something; going to mall turned out to be really social. Tomorrow, I'm having lunch with my friend Christine who is awaiting her results from the Bar. Good luck to her! Then dinner (maybe/probably) with my friends Emil and Matt after their kickboxing class. Then D&B happy hour with John and Mario, because we love Jameson Irish Whiskey, though Wine Wed @ Tu Tu Tango sounds good, too (half off bottles of wine!). We'll see... Am I really this social??? Hahaha...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Busy Weekend

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:58:22 -0700

Relatively busy, for me, that is, anyway...

Friday was a homeboy's birthday, so we headed up to Skinny's Lounge in North Hollywood for some fun and libations. The place was cool. Some people got drunk kind of early. My cousin got her tax refund and bought me a Three Wisemen and said that the tab was on George Bush. He definitely is a party president.
Saturday morning, I checked out the local zoological garden with some friends because one of them is getting married there soon so we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the place. It was pretty awesome. The area for the festivities is on the other side from most of the animals, but it's still pretty awesome to walk around and check them out. I had a tiger give me a friendly growl from maybe 3 feet away from my face. We're buds now: check it out.
Saturday afternoon, my sister had birthday festivities at Dave & Busters then we had family over afterwards. I like green peas. Later in the evening, I headed up to Hollywood again to chill at Jimmy's Lounge (no relation) for Funky Sole with a few folkers, though Busby's in Santa Monica was also an option since there was a birthday happening out there. There were two groups of people I was familiar with at Funky Sole, though I think I split time effectively. Late night, after the club, we hit up IHOP and I finally got those banana pancakes I've been craving for a week or so. My other friends hit up BCD, and I would have preferred soondubu on a cold night, but I'm glad I crushed that banana pancake urge finally.
Sunday, i.e. today, is Tiffiny's birthday. No plans that I know of, but Happy Birthday to Tiffiny!
Tonight, I may go to the bookstore, depending on if there is any more downpour like earlier in the day.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! BTW, Jameson (Irish Whiskey) is the prime choice, by far. It's so damn smooth and delicious, and so perfect for the time! Il Papa, i.e. the Pope, moved St. Paddy's to Saturday this year, I hear, so that it doesn't interfere with Holy Week, so it's kind of like having two SPDs this year. Does McDonald's still have shamrock shakes??
Oh, and we finally got HD boxes for our digital cable, so thankfully we can see television so much clearer now. Amen.
I'm halfway through this series: http://www.crunchyroll.com/series-8596/Ashita-no-Kita-Yoshio.html

How have you been?

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Orange Zombie

nobody@vox.com(Khalid El-Nahmean) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:37:47 -0800

I feel like I need to go somewhere. Get away. I haven't gone anywhere further than LA for quite some time now, at least over a year. At least. What does this do to me? It makes me think less. I'm so used to my routine of my everyday that there isn't really much that I need to think about.

It's like that one writer/journalist who went to some eastern European country and couldn't speak the language. She got so much writing done because all the distractions had been pretty much stripped from her and she was left with nothing but tv she couldn't understand and her own thoughts.

I'm not HDT (Henry David Thoreau) when I travel or anything, but it's definitely refreshing. I guess it's a bigger version of those times when you forget your cellphone at home. At first, you freak out because omg you're missing an appendage, but after a while, you realize how relaxed you've become because you don't have to worry about your personal tethering device. You don't worry about those everyday impositions by whomever wants you to contact them back and you're left with whatever thoughts and feelings you have of how your day is going for you and only you (or whoever you might also be with). It's grand. Guess what, you're actually a person! Not just a couple of thumbs on the other end of a text message.

So yeah, I want to go somewhere. Seattle/Vancouver, I'm looking at you.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend