New Year, New Fire

Well it has been about a year since the last brush fires occurred in California and guess what? Santa Ana winds are back wreaking more havoc. For those of you who are not Californians, the Santa Ana winds are basically hot and dry winds that annually make you feel like shit.

So basically I woke up to a normal bright sunny day. The next thing I knew, everything in sight started changing color. I was amazed how everything in life turned sepia toned, like that option you choose on your camera to make your pictures look old like the wild west except everything in the picture is very modern and there are no guns and horses and liquor and its on your Myspace default. Facebook too i guess. Yeah, losers. I'm just kidding. Seriously though, life changed color and it was due to the thick smoke in the sky.



I did not realize what it was until my cousin told me there were fires. i soon find out that basically two of the fires surround my school, Cal State Fullerton. I even heard that people in the area were evacuated, so that must have been scary for the people I knew living in the dorms. Thank god all my friends were safe and went to play lazer tag at night. Sorry I couldn't go guys!

So basically when Mikey and I were driving in Fullerton, you could smell the smoke in the air and it was pretty much snowing ash. That's pretty intense. My best wishes and prayers goes towards people whose lives have been directly affected by these fires.



My prayers go out to all the families.
Peace, Love, and Unity,
Omson.

Making up for lost time.

Ok time for a major update from my side(Mikey).

This year has been extremely busy for me. Aside from 2 trips to California, a one month stay in Italy, and my current residence in California again, I also went on a nice Vacation with the family. Destination: Sweden / Paris. My oldest brother had an amazing wedding in Sweden, the family did some tourist action, and we spent 3 days in a 16th century apartment, 1 block from Notre Dame.

Let the picture-action Begin!:

Welcome to Sweden! I've grown up by the coast all my life, so this place had my kind of scenery.


Say hello to the mother!! =]


So cute!


HELLA SWEDISH!!!


Ballin' boats...


My Kuya!!!


Swedish Pinoy alliance!


The captain of the ship.


Sisters in law.


Fun with the family.


Check out the ultra creepy trolls... UGHHHHH....


New Yorkers!!! Where's brooklyn at!?!?


WARNING: the next few images are lovey dovey...









Hahaha



Me and my older brothers. Nothing but love!








Lampin on the boat.


My sister as Jack, and me as Rose.


Of course my bad luck kicked in, and I got sick when we got to Sweden. So I had to take a few breaks and warm up in the cabin while everyone enjoyed the fresh air.


I was the 5th wheel....hahah


Family photo time!


Chillin at the Gothenburg apartment.


Who's that?!?


My balls....play sports....


Sister's apartment view. We actually got to stay in an apartment of our own in that building on the left.


Killed this beast!


We watched Deuce Bigalow European Jigalow... one of those awkward-to-watch-with-your-mom-movies... lol


Around Stockholm



Jm had to go and tear his miniscus... spent the whole vacation on crutches!


You know it ain't loaded. The swedes are so peaceful!


Took a picture of myself in this guy's helmet. Can you find me??











Jm in an alleyway in oldtown Stockholm.


Seeeester in law. Welcome to the family!!!!!


There's plenty more pictures, but I am way too lazy to post them.
Next update will be a joint blog by me and Omson, from sunny California. Holla!!!

HELLA TIGHT!

Hey, Omson McAwesome here. Mikey and I used the term Hella in "HellaWicked" to represent California as one of our influences. The truth is, "hella" is more considered as a NorCal (northern California)term, and I'm from the south. So what I'm trying to say is that it is technically incorrect that we use the term "hella." It's all good though, this will be our little secret. SSHHHHH!




Well the trip from Orange County to the Bay Area took us about eight hours. Wow, what a long ass drive. We started off listening to hip hop and ended singing to Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys, damn.


I don't really have much to say so I'll just shower you with a few pictures.



Here is a view of the bay, sort of.





Some flowers above the I-Hotel on Kearny St.


All the overview shots of the city come from a historical building called the International Hotel, also known as the I-Hotel. Sorry i don't have any photos of the hotel itself. I guess you can call this a historical place for Pilipino Americans living in California. Back in the days, many poor people came to live in the rooms offered by the I-Hotel for a very cheap and affordable price. To make this story short, a large company buys out the land, tries to evict these poor people, leaving them with no home. Many people come to protest the eviction and so on. I guess you can call this a Pilipino civil rights movement. Check that out if you are ever in the area.

The sun going down, so sexy.


I think this is a part of Chinatown, located near the area of I-Hotel.


The next day, we just chilled and cruised around the bay area. Here's an image of the Oakland Bridge I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong.


Random street sign in San Fransisco. I don't know where I was, it just looked cool.


We also stopped by the Fisherman's Wharf area. Damn, they have some bomb ass clam chowder. I guess you can say it ranks up with New England's. What they do here and not in New England (or not that i know of) is that they use bread bowl. AWWW, genius.


One of the stickers i slapped around San Fransisco. Just showing some love to some homies over at Crea (www.creaallday.com). They also have a blog at http://creaallday.wordpress.com, so check them out, they're going to do big things soon.


Unfortunately, my camera died out after this point. No more pictures of the wharf and of the bridge. Who goes to San Fransisco without taking pictures of the bridge? What the hell? Oh well, too bad. I had an awesome time and for sure would love to go visit again one day. It is so gorgeous. The city itself is like a compromise to my home in Rhode Island and my new home in the OC. It has aspects of nature with trees combined with the hustle and bustle of a city. I got an "I Heart SF" that is a parody of the classic NY tee, but i really do love San Fransisco.


Until next time. Bye NorCal!

Peace, Love, and Unity,
Omson