Modern Art

If you are into art and history, check this out. It's truly amazing, and it left me speechless.

(10-05-09 - 10-08-09) Diana's Visit to the Bay

I finally had a friend from Vegas visit me, the lovely Miss Diana. When she told me a month ago, I was excited because I haven’t seen her in over a year. When I told everyone I was leaving Vegas, I told them I’ll show them around San Francisco if they ever came to the bay. Well, I should have brushed up on the city because I had no idea where to take Diana and her friends. Even worse, I didn’t know how to get around. The excuse I kept saying was, “I know where the general area is, but no clue how to get there.” Well, I have to say I did pretty well for myself.

Diana, Maria, and Dan (Dawn) arrived last Monday, and I took Bart in the morning to meet them in their hotel. We met with Diana’s other two friends, Lili and Adriana at Starbucks to give us a little more energy, then we headed to the cable cars on Union Square. From there, we went to Pier 39, then the Aquarium, then Alcatraz. I lived in the bay for over 25 years, and this was the first time I ever been to Alcatraz. I have to admit, I freakin’ enjoyed it, and I want to return to take more pictures. After Alcatraz, we headed back to Pier 39 to experience the night life.










I had to meet up with the group on Tuesday night for Lili’s birthday dinner. And after that, we went bar hopping on Polk Street. It was kind of slow since it was a Tuesday night, but it was still fun.







I took Wednesday off with the group because I had to do homework, but I heard they had a blast walking around the city. Diana told me they visited the Victorian house (the scene from the show Full House), which I became very jealous because I still haven’t seen that place.

Thursday was fun as well. I finally had a car to take them around. I picked them up around 8ish and headed off to Lombard Street. Then we went to Coit Tower, then to Rincon Park to see “Cupid’s Arrow.” I think that was Diana’s favorite place because she kept asking me to take her there. Now the best part of the whole week… we went to AT&T park to do a tour. OMG, I actually got to stand on the field and the dugout. That was the highlight of the day for me. Then we went to Palace of Fine Arts/Exploratorium. There was so much to do in the Exploratorium; I felt like a little kid all over again learning new things. After that, I took them to my favorite spot in the city, the Golden Gate Bridge; North and South side. We were heading to Candlestick Park, but we realized we were running out of time, so we headed straight to SFO Airport. I have to admit, I was sad to see Diana and her friends leave. I actually miss Diana, and I’m glad I’ll be seeing her in a couple of weeks.












Well my next post will probably be my trip to Vegas, so keep your eyes peels for that.

(09-19-09) 4th and 5th Tatt!

It’s been a long time since I got my last tattoo; I think I was 21 or 22 years old. When I got my last tatt done, my old roommate came with me to get some ink done too. He got his last name on the side of his ribs. Because he got it, I wanted do the same thing. I wanted to put DAVID on my right side, and SAJONAS on my left. When I told this girl I was dating at the time of my idea, she didn’t seem very pleased because all my ink work is big on my body. Fast forward to earlier this year, I went to visit my cousin in Texas, and she had a friend who has script on her right wrist that says, “Trust in God,” and it got me thinking that is the spot I want to place my new tatts.

Instead of having regular script on my wrist, I wanted Alibata (Baybayin). It’s how my old Filipino ancestors wrote before they entered the modern world. Last Saturday, I had my friend Victor do the work on my wrist. I brought my friend Michelle to take the pictures for me since this will be the most meaningful tatts I will get. On my left wrist, it says Sajonas, my mom’s maiden name; on my right, David, my dad’s last name. Here are the pictures Michelle captured.







The main question I’m getting, “Did it hurt?” The answer is no. I think it’s because I have a very high threshold of pain. Another question I get is, “How many tattoos do you have?” I now have 5 total: Wings on my back, Cross on my left shoulder, Jesus/Crucifixion on my right shoulder, David [Alibata] on my right wrist, and Sajanos [Alibata] on my left wrist. Do I want more? Yes I do, mainly because I'm addicted to them, but I need to keep it under control. I don't want to be covered with tatts.

Here is a picture I came across earlier today. This is one of the sickest tatts I've seen in a long time. It looks so real!

'09 Labor Day (09-07-09)

I don’t know if you’ve been following my blog or reading my status report on Facebook, but in case you didn’t, I’m really disappointed that I had to cancel my camping trip for Labor Day Weekend because of school. I didn’t want to waste the entire weekend, so I attended my friend’s picnic at Clayton Park. Of course there was a BBQ with drinking and some games. I have to admit playing kickball drunk was extremely fun. The way the rules were set, it seemed like every one had to drink for every play; offense and defense. It was freakin’ hilarious to see people attempting to catch the ball because the beer in our hands just splashes all over the place. By end of the game, more than half the people were dripping wet with beer, including myself. Here are some pictures that highlighted the day.

Justin's Party Bus (08-22-09)

What a hectic, yet fun night last night. Since I went back to school for nursing, I’ve noticed my party scene has calmed down. I attended a friend’s party bus, and it was one of the best nights I had during the summer. When I got the invite on facebook, I was contemplating if I should go or not. I actually responded no. When I went out for my cousin’s 21st birthday dinner last week, I asked her and her friends if they are going to this bus. To make a long story short, the decision was up to me. Since they never attended a party bus before, I put away my pride and agreed to go to the event so they can experience the fun that entails in a party bus.

I’m glad I went. I was able to see my friends that I haven’t seen in over 3 months. If I was to rate the night, I would give an 8 out of 10. I have to admit the bus itself was the highlight because everyone got buck wild on the way to the clubs. As for the clubs; it was extremely dead so it was hard for me to get into the vibe.

Well I really need to put the partying aside because school has started. I will be camping in a couple of weeks and be attending a wedding a week later, so I have 2 more events where I can get wild. I can’t wait!!! Here are some pictures that highlighted the night.

REVISED (08-24-09): I forgot to add about the experience on the bus. The party bus was pretty much broken down to the young-ins who were 21 and 22 years old, then the "old" folks who were 25+. You can tell who were who. The younger crowd were in front of the bus, dancing and drinking, while us "old" folks were in the back, sitting down and watching them party it up. There were a few of us who bridge the gap by going over to the young crowd. As for me, I partied it up with both crowds, but I have to say the young ones made the bus fun for me.

At the end of the night, when it was time to clean the bus, I found it funny the young-ins left while us old folks stuck around to clean up. I swear we were like parents/chaperones that night. Oh well, it was still hella fun!!!

The best hostess I had for a party bus... Miss Natalie

The only one who passed out on the bus!

Funeral (08-01-09)

It’s been over a month since I updated my blog. It’s been a busy summer for me. Even though I don’t work and took the summer off for school, I found myself doing projects left and right. My dad and I have been painting the house for the past 3 weeks. It’s taking us so long because my dad only has 2 hours to help me out before he goes to work, and frankly our rooms are too big to do for one person. It takes about 2 days to finish one room. The good thing is that we are almost done; one more room and the kitchen.

Last week my Auntie Rose asked me to do a favor and help her photograph a family friend’s funeral. Without hesitation, I agreed because it’s perfect for the type of photography I like to do; photojournalism (candid shots that capture true emotions). Here are a few pictures I captured. I really wanted to show the people’s faces, but for respect for the family, I chose not to post any/few faces on this blog entry.

(I felt the above picture is the most powerful shot I captured for the day)