C'est formidable!

Hey friends—decided it was time for an update, to fill you in and make you jealous of all the incredibly cool things I have been doing. That’s right, another episode of “Me and My Fabulous Life!” Take it awwaaaaayyy…..Rob!

Two weekends ago, Nicole and I attended a jewel-studded musical event known as the Treasure Island Music Festival. And yes, it took place on….Treasure Island!! The most common access route between the East Bay (Berkely, Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc) and the city is the Bay Bridge, which is actually two crazy suspension bridges. Incidentally, from what I understand they are the highest traffic-use bridges in the world, with an average of 300,000 people passing by daily. Anyways, connecting the two bridges is a man-made island called “Treasure Island”. It was first used after the construction of the bridges to house a giant exposition that drew attention to the bridges and America’s engineering genius. Shortly thereafter, it became a naval base and only recently has it been given back to the City, which is in the process of developing the island as super-futuristic, eco friendly condos and living areas. Cool, huh?

Anyways the festival was pretty crazy, relatively small (meaning we could be as close to the stage as we wanted), and a great lineup—we listened to MIA, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, Honeycut, the Gotan Project, and of course Thievery Corporation, who was headlining. There were also some cool new finds—in particular, I recommend Ghostland Observatory, a crazy dancey rock/synths duo from Austin Texas. Those guys were so fun to watch—the lead singer was super-flamey, with hair in two braids, girls jeans and a baby-t, he screamed out the vocals (actually a really good singer!) and strutted all over the stage, hahaha it ridiculous but entertaining. The other band member was, if possible, even stranger. He had a wispy blond mullet straight out of the 80s (not in a cool way, like someone who was being retro-ironic—like he had actually been torn out of the background of a Duran Duran video). His ears were also huge, close to the size of my hand, and you know the expression “slack-jawed”? Perfectly describes this guy, whose mouth seemed permanently half-opened in a dull sort of leer. Anyways, in spite of (or perhaps because of) all this, they played a bomb-ass set with everyone dancing away like crazy, so hahaha yeah check them out. MIA was just ok…Thievery was just as awesome as you are imagining right now. Yeah, that good ;p

I’ve also been down in LA a couple of times over the last week, once for work and then again this weekend to visit Nicole’s family. I went down on Monday to work in the LA office and do a Corporate Orientation type-thing—uneventful except for a few details. First, I stayed in this really cool little boutique hotel in Beverly Hills called the Maison 140, take a look at the website or pic below, as you can see it was really interesting and beautifully decorated.

I also ventured out into the exclusive LA club scene, a place called “Area” which I checked out with some co-workers and friends. Hahaha I can’t even begin to describe the experience—picture an Edmonton club, like in WEM but scaled down a little and decorated better, subtract most of the “A-Z-Ns” and replace with guys in diesel jeans and blazers (damn so stylish!) and girls who universally must show at least 3ft of legs and 30 square inches of cleavage, or risk being denied entry. Add rumors of Justin Timberlake’s imminent arrival, douse with expensive alcohol, and voila, you have this club. Do you guys remember those commercials that store Paradox ran like 6 or 7 years ago showing “the latest Italian fashion”? Like that, but on drugs ;p We also enjoyed table service, which included two bottles of Grey Goose, a blond to pour us drinks, and a price tag of $1500 hahaha. Ah well—in spite of how corny this all was, I had a good time hanging out and getting to know my co-workers, and it was fun to see the madness ;p Remember, the only thing cooler then being on the scene is hating on it, apparently I qualify for both ;p

Finally, Nicole and I drove down to LA this past weekend to celebrate her brother’s birthday—pretty uneventful trip, had some incredible sushi in little Tokyo on Saturday night and checked out a sweet bar with some solid funk and soul music—bboy heaven, it was like the old Friday nights at Backroom Vodka but way more people, bigger venue and extra helpings of James Brown ;p I def thought about my brothers back home and around the world—hope you guys are still controlling the floor.

Anyways I guess that sums it up for now—another week of work, and some time to chill and get my study on for the GREs. Hope everyone is doing well, staying healthy and happy—would love to see some emails or msgs darkening the doorstep of my inbox. Love to my family!

Peace&Progress

R

Chung, if you read this, I'm going to see the Klaxons this weekend. So there.

Workers of the world...

Hey everyone! As promised, I decided it was time to give you an update on my work situation. Unfortunately, if you are not my Mom or Dad—well, maybe just my Mom—this will doubtless be a somewhat boring entry. Fortunately, the only person other then my parents who will read this account is a dude in Maine who stumbled across my blog while Googling the movie “Cube”. Sorry man, you’ll just have to endure.

I’m now into my second week of work for a Management and HR consulting firm in San Francisco called Towers Perrin. I’m working in the Executive Compensation and Rewards group, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—we provide clients with objective third party analyses of how competitive and appropriate their rewards structure is. It’s been a big change, going from the student life in Edmonton to Corporate America in San Francisco, but things are going really well. My co-workers have been very welcoming and very helpful as I gradually ramp up to the busy schedule that consulting invariably seems to demand. Yes, I’m back in a cubicle once more, but now it’s on the 29th floor of an office tower in the heart of the Financial District in downtown SF. So I guess that means I’ve “moved up” in the world ;) My set of windows looks out over the bay to the south-east—the view is definitely something worth going to work for. When it’s foggy, as it has been most mornings, the tops of the sky scrapers disappear into the clouds above, which is both beautiful and a little eerie at the same time. Down towards the marina, you can watch sailboats as they make their way back and forth across the water.

I won’t go into much detail about the work itself—I’m learning lots, beginning to participate in some client files, and will be heading to Atlanta for some training in August. I’ve been trying to adjust to the tired feeling that hits when I get home, usually between 530 and 600—it’s tough to ignore the voice that begs you just to veg and watch some screen and then fall asleep early every night, but I’m trying to be energized and do other things in the evening. Speaking of which, Monday night I went to a free show at the Mezzanine featuring Chromeo and Flostradamus. It was pretty much one big clap-fest accompanied by some crazy dancing—and all this on a Monday night. Have I mentioned how much I love this city?

Anyways, I guess that’s all for now…I had better return to my current dilemma: whether to re-read some previous Harry Potters to pick up momentum, or to just go out and get the final volume. Ahh, decisions, decisions…

peace&progress

It's all good, from Diego to tha Bay...

Well my friends—it’s been too long since I’ve posted a decent update—and so, in the hopes of correcting this problem, I’ve finally put some of the events of the past few weeks onto paper…err, word processor. Where to begin…

First, a big thank you to everyone who good-naturedly participated in my week of “last nights”…especially Chung, whose surprise each day at my continued presence in Edmonton was matched only by his poorly disguised disappointment. I’m reminded of a Ben Folds Five song…”last week it was funny…but now the joke’s wearing thin…’cause everyone knows now, that EVERY night now will be Steeeveen’s….last night in town…” For those who were unaware, my supposedly brief homecoming—the purpose of which was to re-enter the US, at which time I could get my work visa—stretched into a week-long ordeal fraught with delays, which I choose to blame on a cripplingly slow law firm in New York. Anyways, eventually I got the word that my paperwork was coming in, drove to the FedEx depot to intercept the package before it was “delivered” (read: driven around Edmonton wasting another entire day) to my home, and then headed straight to the airport to try and make a two pm flight.

I won’t go into too much detail about my passage through customs where I made the application for the visa—suffice it to say that but for some very fast talking and a little bit of eyelash batting on my part, I would not have been approved for my working visa. It is scary the degree of arbitrariness and the discretion that a Free Trade Officer is allowed in granting or denying these applications. I was definitely sweating while I made my case. Thank goodness, eventually the officers caved and granted my visa, and just like that, I was on my way to working (legally!) in the US of A.

I’ll also spare you the details on moving—however, a building with four flights of stairs and no elevator makes moving an even more special experience. Which leads me to the more important stuff—my new apartment. Nicole and I now live on the top floor of an old, 1920s style building with 12 units, located right by 14th St and between Valencia and Guerrero. For those of you who don’t know the city, this is right in the heart of the Mission district, where much of the scene in SF is taking place. The Mission is incredible—definitely a little questionable in some parts, but totally multicultural, a million restaurants serving good, cheap food from every corner of the world, and of course, most of the city’s interesting and fun bars ;) The street we live on is a quiet little side street, which affords us safe parking and peace and quiet—however, we are seconds away from the heart of things. We literally are 3 or 4 blocks from anything—Mexican, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Salvadorean, Pizza shops, bars with live music—additionally we are like 4 blocks from a really famous indy movie theatre, a few blocks from any number of bomb-ass produce and grocery spots (3 pounds of plums/peaches for $1 hahaha), 5 blocks from the Mission Dolores Catholic Cathedral, 4 blocks from BART (the train) that gets us anywhere else in the city, 2 blocks from a great gym, 4 from a yoga studio…the list goes on and on. And perhaps best of all, I can get to work in 15 minutes by train, and probably about the same by bike. In other words…our location cannot be beat.

The place itself is, like I said, an old school Victorian style apartment across from one of the original Levi Strauss factories. We’re in a reasonable sized one bedroom, hardwood floors, big kitchen with gas stove, tons of windows and French doors connecting the bedroom and the living room. Because we’re on the top floor, roof access is easy (although probably frowned upon) but we have a cool view of the rooftops of San Francisco. I fully intend on posting some pics of the place really soon—although we have no furniture yet. But a couch, dining table, bed and of course, a flat screen LCD TV are all forthcoming.

What does this mean for you, dear readers? If you’re somewhere OTHER then San Francisco, you need to come visit, that’s what it means! We def have room for guests, and trust, when you see how awesome our place and location is, you won’t regret it ;) Anyways, enough for one day—my next update will hopefully include pictures—also, I will begin telling you about my new job! Anyways, till then I apologize for not being better in touch but just give me a little more time to get settled—to those I owe emails, they’re coming, and to the rest of you, drop me some lines, write on my wall or just give me a phone call! As always, peace and love from the Bay~

PS Transformers = Sweet Mercy.

My Friends...

...still alive, chilling in Florida, very limited internet access but will be able to be in touch soon! Miss you all and updates are coming! Oh and phone still works so can get in touch via my Edmonton number...

Celebrities 101

Hahaha sorry i'm so slow my friends, I guess I'm still getting into the habit of regular recordings. Rest assured that come work time, I'm sure I'll be getting down a LOT more frequently, know what I'm sayin, naamean?

Ok. First. Celebrity sighting. Did I walk by Mos Def? Hmm...yes, yes I did.

In Rob's Mind:
Checking out some wares on La Brea from Union, Stussy and Undftd. Leaving from Union, Nicole and I start to stroll next door to Stussy. Notice a cat in a Kangol with a lady on his arm and a security guard eyeing us down. It's Mos Def. As we pass each other, less then a foot away, I give a cool-as-hell nod, communicating the following message without words: "What's up my man--thanks for making some bomb ass music that has been in my play list for years. I ain't fazed or anything cause of your celebrity status, but just saying peace and respect. Oh and you did a pretty good job in that cop movie with Bruce Willis." To which, Mos replies (also with a nod) "No problem man--thanks for the props, keep doing your thing, and hit me up if you want to kick it--I have some fresh new vinyl we could get down to. And nice kicks!"

In reality:
Leaving Union and headed for Stussy. Totally preoccupied with finding a quality varsity jacket, thinking about what colors I want. Unaware of my surroundings as usual. Vaguely notice some people walking towards us. Nicole freaks out (quietly) like "Oh my God I can't believe it!" Turn my head to the side in confusion. Notice Mos Def like a foot away with a girl and a security guard. Think DAMN he's small, like 5'4"! Mos Def notices Nicole freaking out and sort of smiles at us as he passes. Forget to give really cool nod, still thinking about how short he is. Decide instead of going back to badger him, play it cool and keep walking (stars ain't no thang). Thoughts return to finding a varsity jacket.

Thus passed my first celebrity sighting...and let me tell you, my friends, it was everything I could have hoped and dreamed for...and more.

The name of the game is negotiations

Hey friends--time to get you caught up again on what's happening in the great state of CA. As I sit writing this, I'm snacking on plain organic yogurt, raisins, oats and dried dates all mixed together. No, California hasn't changed me into a crazy, tree-hugging, nature loving health nut (although i do like nature). It's just that the Doritos have been open for two weeks and are getting stale.





So let me see--lots of stuff has happened as usual, so I'll just some fun moments. I'm still closing in on the job decisions, but have managed to negotiate my way into a pretty little signing bonus so you'll know soon when I make my decision. What else...a little while back, Nicole and I went to help out our friend Marcy in taking the kids she teaches on a field trip to the park. Marcy runs a class for an after-school program at an elementry school in east oakland, which is sort of like the Ill Hoods for those of you who need a comparison--generally a little bit ghetto. So picture me in a group of maybe 50 elementry school kids, mostly Mexican and African American, not a single Caucausian in the mix--needless to say, my blue eyes were a big hit ;) Anyways tons of fun, the kids are incredbily cute--one kid, Jose, tried to teach me love poems in Spanish to say to Nicole (Me gustas Pepsi, me gustas Coke, something something something i like the taste of your lips even more...damn i need to learn more Spanish). I ran the basketball station and refereed/participated in some pretty intense games of 3 on 3 ;) Also, while sitting in the bleachers and keeping an eye on Cesar and Maceio, I had a conversation with an elderly man dressed all in black--apparently his son had been killed in that same park a year earlier when he was shot 13 times. Although we went on to discuss the importance of providing mentors for kids at an early age, I was sort of struck by what felt to me like a pretty extreme contrast between what i was used to, and what I was hearing about in Oakland. I'm not sure if it's a Canadian/US thing, or just obviously that I grew up in a good neighborhood, but it made me think...sad to hear about that man's loss, but interesting and a little touching to hear his thoughts on how to help young people get a good start.





What else...oh, went to see Manu Chao last night at the Bill Graham auditorium in SF with Nicole, Prya, Marcy, Nadia and Armando, which was a ton of fun. The whole show was super high energy, way too many hippies dancinc their crazy hippie dances, but aside from that, really awesome. And on the topic of music, got to hear my friend Raul play bass with a little combo at an outdoor pizza joint, which was kinda fun. Definately am missing music and performance a little bit, so I'm hoping to hook up with Raul and do some playing, maybe fool around in the studio a little bit.





Finally, I've made some sweet new purchases! In order to tell their story, I've enclosed something of a photo essay. I hope you enjoy!

















Hmm...what to do with this....

















This also poses a problem...

















Sweet! Kestrel carbon fibre racing bike!

















Sweet! New Court Forces that I got a bomb ass deal on!

















The inevitable conclusion...ah well, at least I can get around now...and look good doin' it ;)

Next stop--LA! Update you guys from there!

The California Chronicles begin

At last, the moment I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for, a sign of life from the front! To my family, friends, and other readers who have stumbled across this missive by accident—what's happening! This post actually represents something of an important historical moment: first, it is evidence that Cubically Inclined, long dormant, has stirred in the depths and will rear it’s ugly head once more. Second, it marks the inaugural address of my new life here in the USA. Third, it serves the more mundane purpose of filling you in on what has transpired in the week or so since I left Canada for a strange and distant land called “Kahliiphjorn-ya” (the ‘j’ is silent, I think).

Where to begin…a fair amount has happened over the last week, so I’ll try to give you some of the highlights. I arrived late on Tuesday night last week after a relatively painless flight. I say relatively painless because upon learning I had no return ticket, the US customs officer promptly diverted me to an "interview" (read-interrogation) with an immigration officer—apparently they were concerned that upon entering the US, I would join the ranks of illegal immigrant laborers in full defiance of domestic law. Having done my best to reassure the officer that yes, I was going to work in the US but not until I re-entered and applied for my work visa, and no, I was not going remain the US indefinitely, and yes, she could trust me not to connect with migrant Mexican laborers, I was allowed through customs and onto the plane. Some hours later, I watched as we descended into a dense fog bank that was blanketing San Francisco—a little unnerving, not being able to see to the end of the wing during the landing, but the pilot managed to set us down safely.

After completing her last final on Thursday, Nicole walked in the first of her two convocation ceremonies, this being her Development Studies major. I met Mr and Mrs. Anand outside the auditorium along with Nicole’s nephew/cousin (don’t ask, I still don’t get it) Arjun. Mr. Anand promptly delegated the responsibility of the filming to me, so I had my hands full trying to capture the ceremony on video. Later that evening, we went to dinner with the families of Nadia and Priya, Nicole’s two close friends who had also just graduated. The highlight of the meal was my entrée, hazelnut encrusted swordfish on a bed of pearl couscous—all I can say is good, fresh seafood is a treat.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Anand took Nicole, Arjun and I car shopping. We looked at a range of vehicles, from the Audi A3 (Mine and Arjun’s favorite) to the Camry (Mr. Anand’s favorite) to the Acura TSX (Nicole’s favorite). No firm decisions have been made yet, although Nicole may end up taking her Mom’s Acura TL—did I mention I test-rode a few bicycles as well? Ball till I fall ;) Anyways, later that night we went to have dinner with some family friends out in Walnut Creek, a suburb north east of Berkeley, and incidentally the location of one of my prospective jobs. Now this is kind of cool—do you guys remember the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire?” You know the scene towards the end, in the restaurant, where they are eating dinner and Robin Williams is changing back and forth between the Dad and Mrs. Doubtfire? We ate at that restaurant! Definitely a fine meal, I had some really good lamb and enjoyed what was possibly the best bottle of wine I’ve tried to date, finishing off with a memorable crème brule.

On Sunday, Nicole walked in her second convocation, for her business degree—her brother Brandon came up from LA, and we sat outside in the Greek amphitheatre with her parents—I got sunburned, of course. Afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Anand took off to drive back down to LA, and Nicole, Brandon and I came back to the apartment to hang out, which has sort of been the M.O. until now. We’ve spent some time with friends, done a fair amount of cooking (including some tasty Palestinian and Thai food), and even went into the city yesterday to do a little shopping. I got a really sweet pair of court forces from Nort (the shoe store underneath Recon) for only sixty bucks! And that brings me to today—Brandon is leaving back for LA, and Nicole and I will start to look at the apartment situation and do some packing and cleaning. We’ll be here in Berkeley until the start of June, when we’ll head down to LA for a couple of weeks, and then it’s off to the south to see Tallahassee, Miami, New Orleans and maybe Atlanta. Oh, and we’re seeing Manu Chao at the end of May which should be awesome too!

So there you have it, that’s what’s been going on with me so far…I know there’s lots more to update you guys on, but remain patient and I’ll start making some regular posts ;) I’d love to get some emails from everyone so feel free to send me a line—until then, take care, stay healthy, peace love and blessings!