I had a great time last weekend in SF for my birthday, thanks to my kick-ass friends for coming out and celebrating. We headed out to Holey Cow and my favorite Thai restaurant, Osha. Though, I don't remember half the night. Good thing for pictures.

*I think I'll update my xanga with photo journals instead of written entries. After all, pictures are worth a thousand words, no?... -- Danny

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Message: In your life, you'll make note of a lot
of people. Ones with whom you shared something
special, ones who will always mean something.
There's the one you first kissed, the one you
first loved, the one you lost your virginity to,
the one you put on a pedestal, the one you're
with...and the one that got away.

Who is the one that got away? I guess it's that
person with who everything was great, everything
was perfect, but the timing was just wrong.
There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in
the chemistry, but the cards just didn't fall
the right way, I suppose.

I believe in the fact that ending up with
someone, finding a longtime partner that is,
does not lie merely in the other person. I can
actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the
greater part, has to do with the matter of
timing. It has to do with you being ready to settle down
and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond
the little niceties of giddy romance.

How often have you gone through it without even
realizing it? When you're not ready to commit in
that mature manner, it doesn't matter who you're
with, it just doesn't work. Small problems
become big; inconsequentials become dealbreakers
simply because you're not ready and it shows.
It's not that you and the person you're with are
no good; it's just that it's not yet right, and
little things become the flashpoint of that
fact.

Then one day you're ready. You really are. And
when this happens you'll be ready to settle down
with someone. He or she may not be the most
perfect, they might not be the brightest star of
romance to ever have burned in your life, but
it'll work because you're ready. It'll work
because it's the right time and you'll make it
work. And it'll make sense, it really will.

So that day comes when you're finally making
sense of things, and you find yourself to be a
different person. Things are different, your
approach is different, you finally understand
who you are and what you want, and you've become
ready because the time has truly arrived. And
mind you, there's no telling when this day will
come . Hopefully you're single but you could be
in a long-term relationship, you could be married
with three kids, it doesn't matter. All you know
is that you've changed, and for some reason, the
one that got away, is the first person you think
about.

You'll think about them because you'll wonder,
"What if they were here today?" You'll wonder,
"What if we were together now, with me as I am
and not as I was?" That's what the one that got
away is. The biggest "What if?" you'll have in
your life.

If you're married, you'll just have to accept
the fact that the one that got away, got away.
Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think
your marriage is, this can happen to the best of
us. But hopefully you're mature enough to
realize that you're already with the one you're with and
this is just another test of your commitment,
one which will just strengthen your marriage
when you get past it.

Sure, you'll think about him/her every so often,
but it's alright. It's never nice to live with a
"might have been," but it happens.

Maybe the one that got away is the one who's
already married. In which case it's the same
thing. You just have to accept and know that
your memories of that person will probably bring a
nice little smile to your lips in the future
when you're old and gray and reminiscing.

But if neither of that is the case, then it's
different. What do you do if it's not yet too
late? Simple...find him, find her. Because the
very existence of a "one that got away" means
that you'll always wonder, what if you got that one?

Ask him out to coffee, ask her out to a movie,
it doesn't matter if you've dropped in from out
of nowhere. You'd be surprised, you just might be
"the one that got away" as well for the person
who is your "the one that got away."

You might drop in from out of nowhere and it
won't make a difference. If the timing is
finally right, it'll all just fall into place somehow
and you know, I'm thinking, it would be a great
feeling, in the end, to be able to say to
someone.
...

"Hey you, you're the one that almost got away."

WEEK IN PHOTO REVIEW:

Wednesday

- our last hip hop class..

- afterwards went to EZ's (sort of like Mel's Diner in SF). Becca popped me and Brandy's cherries.. with our first "Coke floats". I think I'll stick to rootbeer. It's always fun hanging out with them, sad they'll be moving soon.

Thursday

- Verdict: wait for video (comments to come later...)

Friday

- July 4th BBQ @ Jen's, drooled over the Exilim EX-Z3 digicam...

Saturday

- Gone appt shopping with Tony via Mtn Bike

Yesterday, Olga invited me out again with her friends for dinner at Vespaio's, this cool little Italian place on South Congress. I saw Buulinh and Lisa again, and met some more cool folks.. Michelle and Jenny, and Brian and Andrew. The food was pretty good (I opted for pepper-crusted Ahi tuna), but the restaurant was really packed, and we had a hell of a time hearing each other over the loud bustle.

DJ Brian, BootyHop Angie, Boba Olga, and Beneficent Ben

At Vespaio's, I sat next to Michelle and Brian, and found out they're both really really cool. Michelle's really sweet, and down to earth. I had fun talking to her.. and Brian is cool, outgoing, and knows alot about pretty much everything we were talking about. Hahaha, but I think the one who cracked me up the most was friggin' Andrew (as in.. *Dice Clay*).. this guy had the table rolling all night.. my cheeks hurt after a while from his non-stop, no holds barred commentary about sex and.. mmm..  let's just say.. "Love beads"...!?

*bloop*bloop*bloop!! Heheheh

Had a great time meeting these guys... they're really fun to hang out with. Some of them headed out to a Moroccan themed club called Red Fez afterwards. The drinking was good, thanks to Buulinh, a Mistress/Master of the Bar. But, the musix sucked all night. So, I gave up and called it quits early. Tony wasn't home when I got dropped off by Olga, so I waited outside and fell asleep. When I wake up, Crazy Tony's taking pictures of me sprawled out like a bum on the bench outside his appartment complex. What the heck!? Me passed out & picture taking seem to be a reoccuring theme...!?

ROUND TWO...

On Friday, Andrew called me up to invite me to hang out with them again at a Havana bar called Cuba Libre.. where we sipped on Mango Mojitos, I met Ben (who apparently looks hilarious when rolling), and reminisced about e*xperiences. Afterwards, we skipped over to austin's "trendy" SkyLounge bar/club, where we finally got some danceable music we could groove out to. We loaded up on more alcohol, and then that's all she wrote... the drinks kept coming.. and the sweat kept runnin'...

Brian was an unsuspecting victim of my "Booty-rama" spree...!?

Olga realizing THIS Buttery Nipple ain't a drink!!? hahaha

Fun fun time. Finally got to cut loose on the dance floor. We capped off the night at the Tea Room, a hole-in-the-wall place where you can rent Hookah's -- those morrocan bong-looking things... (remember Alice-in-Wonderland?*)

The warm apple flavored smoke was kinda cool/weird to inhale, and it was actually funny watching Andrew smoke it.. he straight up looked like one of those opium addicts you see in chinese historical photos, complete with Dragon Smoke puffing from his nostrils and a glazed-over look in his eyes. What can I say.. the guy's a natural...