Growing and Going So Fast

Obviously, I don't like deaths. I don't like to hear about celebrities in the news that much more. I don't even like hearing about celebrity deaths.

But Paul Walker's death last Saturday was tragic. His life abruptly ended from a car accident at Santa Clarita that he was riding. The worst part was that he was riding shotgun instead of behind the wheel. I do not know him personally and I've never met or seen him in person, yet, that dude was in several well known films, as well as the Fast and Furious franchise for the past 12 years.

I vividly remember the first ever Fast and Furious movie that dropped when I was in 7th grade (going on to 8th grade) back in 2001. I didn't watch it until two years later during my sophomore year in high school. My homeboy Cory was planning to bring a brick of DVDs to class on this one Friday in homeroom when we weren't scheduled to read books on that day. However, there was no DVD player in the classroom, so I volunteered to provide my brother's Playstation 2 to be used as the DVD Player. The following week, just as I disconnected the Playstation 2 to take to school, both of my parents got very heated and started going off about viewing movies in school, especially at the part when I told them that my homeroom teacher wanted me to bring a DVD player since there was none in the classroom. So my parents made me take the DVD player from the big screen TV instead so that my brother's console wouldn't get jacked or something. That shit was heavy.

So I brought the unit to class and Cory selected the first Fast and Furious video to watch in the class. Again, that was my first time watching this film and already, it got me entertained. We only saw the first 20 minutes of it cause that's how long homeroom lasted. After school, I went back to my homeroom to pick up my family's heavy-ass DVD player to take back home. I had to walk home by carrying that shit. I placed the unit and connected it back to the big screen TV as I got home later. Then afterwards that evening, my pops called me and found Cory's Fast and Furious DVD that was left in there. I thought that he was gonna flip when he saw that, but he just gave it to me without saying a thing. I had to wait till Monday to give it back to Cory, so I figured I watch the rest of the movie during the weekend until them. I thought that was a cool ass movie, with alot of street racing action coming from Paul Walker and Vin Diesel's characters in the film.

I didn't think that this film would keep having countless sequels later throughout the forthcoming years. I watched the Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift which was just fucking shit. To me, I kept thinking that the producers should quit making these Fast and Furious films since its showing that Hollywood is out of creative ideas and just turning hit movies into brands and franchises as financial gain. Again, it was very sad to hear about what happened to Paul Walker. They were still in the middle of production and Principal photography for the seventh Fast and Furious film which is scheduled to be released sometime next year. My guess is that they will have to continue production by alternating the script which "writes off" Paul Walker's character from the movie or just re-shoot the entire seventh movie again. From a filmmaker's perspective, that shit is alot of money and time to re-shoot a film. Very emotional to many just from hearing this. Hope the best for Paul Walker's family and the Fast and Furious cast and production crew.

That, along with hearing about motherfuckers getting jumped and ran over for a $75 big screen TV set at various stores during Black Friday, was the only downfall of that Thanksgiving weekend. The rest of that weekend was mostly positive.

During Thanksgiving, I mostly spent it with the family, just the pops and the siblings. I picked up the little brother from LAX, with my step-mom's Benz instead of the Taxicab, since he was visiting for the weekend from his University in the east coast. Haven't seen him since he left back in August. It was great catching up with him again. I was planning on going to my homegirl Amber's house for Thanksgiving again this year, but my pop's wife is out of the country for now, so I stayed home to keep my pops company for Thanksgiving. We had the usual blessing and Thanksgiving dinner in the dining table. Its been forever since we've done that. The next day on Friday, I worked at the airport and it was fucking slow. Spent hours in the taxicab holding lot waiting to be sent to a terminal. I picked up a few trips from LAX that entire Friday which was alright.

On Saturday, I went to the bank, the car wash for the Prius since it rained the previous day, and then to Primitive Shoes and Apparel to pick up some t-shirts. I was there the Saturday before for the release of their collaboration pack that the did with DJ Clark Kent and Nike SB. I originally was gonna pick up some of Primitive's Holiday '13 gear that Saturday, but I figured I'd give it a shot to try out for obtaining those Nike SB's. After standing in line for an hour, I went in only to find out that all the large sizes (I'm a size 12) were sold. The only had a 11.5 left which was the biggest. I tried it on, in which it fits. The disadvantage was that the show was too damn tight and a bit light for my feet. Instead, I just copped a t-shirt and a Primitive X New Era that goes with those shoes. Not to be confused, I got the hat and t-shirt two Saturdays ago, and I was at Primitive the recent Saturday just to some more shirts. I'm always there.

The line from the DJ Clark Kent X Nike SB X Primitive 112 collab release. I showed up late which is why I wasn't able to get my size.

Like I said, instead of those shoes, I picked up a Primitive X New Era fitted with a 3M reflective bill and one of Primitive Apparel's new t-shirts from the Holiday '13 line, featuring the "Paint Splatter" design.

Another Primitive Apparel t-shirt that I purchased two days ago. This is the "Lazy Sunday" t-shirt. I decided to get this in the Sea Foam color since I have several black t-shirts featuring Primitive's sexy models. 

After that I stopped by Mulberry Street Pizzeria to get a quick slice of Pizza and then I drove off to Pacoima to my highschool classmate Marissa's place for her oldest daughter's birthday party. Before I landed there, I stopped at Target to get some coloring books and crayons for her kid, as well as some balloons for the other kids that were gonna attend. This was my second time being there. I was there two months earlier for her other twin daughter's birthday party. But this one for her oldest daughter was great. Had some conversations with Marissa's family members and ate alot of the food they provided. I didn't take too many photos there, but here's one of them:

Marissa getting a pretend glitter tattoo by her daughter during the birthday party. 

Later that night, I went to my friend Natasha's crib, another old high school classmate of mine, at the other side of the Valley. I brought my copy of the Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Blu-Ray video to watch with her since she's never watched it. I also hooked her up with the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie poster that I got from the private World Premiere viewing at the El Capitan Theater a week before it officially came out two years ago and I lent her the DVD version of the film since the video is a Blu-Ray/DVD combination pack. Also in attendance was her boyfriend and her daughter. Its was great catching up with them again. Thank's again Natasha for inviting me.

I'll end this post here. I'll got another tight week ahead of me in this last month of the year. I'll update this blogsite whenever I have some fresh extra time. Thanks for your time reading this.

Primitive Shoes and Apparel's Five Year Anniversary

Where the hell were you five years ago? I tell you where I was.

I was always finding myself in the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood area almost every day that summer, running around with an Olympus E-1 DSLR camera trying to capture a famous celebrity or an infamous personality, so that I can not only earn some quick cash, but to also make my friends jealous on MySpace with these images I got of famous people. I was unemployed that time since the recession got to me a few months prior from working at the Apple Store. They actually let me go, despite my explanation to them about why I have been missing a few days of work and my disinterest of the new teal shirts that all the sales associates had to wear from the start of the second retail quarter. I assume they didn't wanna waste anytime, so they just threw me out and got someone else that can dance and enjoy amusement park rides as much as I did.

It really was a start of a long tough rest of the year. Most of my friends from high school at the time had no time of hanging out that summer, by using the excessive excuse "It's cause of the economy." Somehow, without making a decent income aside from the paparazzi gig, I still had a car and I managed to go to a few parties, but just to only take photos of drunk people grinding into Lil Wayne's The Carter III and semi-thick girls caked out in makeup.

However, I was still into sneakers back then. This was a time when the so-called "shoe game" started to turn around and made some, if not, most of the OG collectors either sell their collection due to the recession or they just stopped collecting period. Nike's Jordan Brand did something different that entire year. Once a month through out 2008, they released a pack of two different pairs of retro Air Jordans entitled "The Countdown Pack" because the 23rd edition of the Air Jordan sneaker was released that year. The part that sucks about the pack was that they went for $310 and no other Jordan retros were released separately that year, aside from the affordable Team Jordan sneakers.

Towards the end of the year and around the time of the election, I heard about professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez opening up a skateshop/sneaker boutique somewhere in Encino called Primitive. I was like "All right, P-Rod owns a sneaker store. Giving back to the community. That's cool.", yet I never had the time to check it out and that was when my earnings were getting smaller and smaller. What interested me about Primitive at the time was that they were one of the few places in the Valley that has a Nike SB account. Previously, I would get my SBs at the Active Ride Shop in Burbank, Val Surf in Valley Village and sometimes Flight Club LA in Fairfax. Before that, I remember getting my first pair of Nike SBs at the Chapter II skateshop in Granada Hills (which was formerly 118 Boardshop) and when the Nike SB line were starting up, that was one of the only places in the Valley were you can get them at the time

Fast forward two years later, and I finally got a chance to check out Primitive after a old friend that I knew told me about it since she worked across from there. I already blogged about my first trip to Primitive a few times in the past, so it's best to read that rather than just re-telling it again. Primitive Two Year anniversary recap . After that, I was hooked into that place and I started going there more frequently. Then my find myself wearing Primitive Apparel like is the only thing I have.

As many of y'all know, I spent my whole entire life in the San Fernando Valley. The place is known for its multiple suburban communities, adult clubs, independent auto dealerships, locations for television and movie scenes, shopping malls, and its extremely hot temperature summers among other things. I'm used to all that for the past 25 years of my life. The guys who run and skate for Primitive have also spent majority of their lives in the Valley as well, and the store represents the lifestyle of the 818, especially the culture of the state of California. They just had their 5th anniversary celebration at the shop last week, and I was there of course.

Actually I was at the shop since 5:30 in the morning to line up for the Air Jordan 3 Retro "Fire Reds" that were dropping that day. I haven't lined up for a pair of Air Jordans since the White/Cement IV retro release last year at the Panorama Mall (which sold out very quickly) and its been forever since I purchased a pair of Jordans in retail price. The campout line experience was actually dope. I talked to several blokes in line, including this one woman who's around my age that's lining up just to get some Nike SB's (Civilist Dunk Hi's were also released that day) for her husband. I asked her why doesn't he get in the line? She then said that he's a doctor with an insane sneaker collection and that he had to be a work since he can't lineup for them. Then I said that's real supportive love and trust right there. Now I thought that I wasn't gonna get a pair, but fortunately I did, and I was like the 10th person in line. Already a week and I still haven't worn them yet, but but these shoes are nice. Those 3's, especially that particular pair, are quite significant to me because Michael wore these at the 1988 Slam Dunk contest, which was less than a month before I was born (birth day is on the fifth of March). Also, the Jumpman logo debuted that year, and it one of the most well know logos in the world.

After I got my pair, I went back home to trim my beard and change into my red Iesha Marie Van Styles/Primitive t-shirt and some Khaki Shorts from American Eagle Outfitters. I could've worn the Fire Red 3's to match, but I rocked the Black Toes Jordan 1's that came out earlier this year, which I purchased at The Holy Grail in downtown Los Angeles earlier this summer. Then I went back to Primitive for the anniversary party. It wasn't as big as the previous anniversary parties cause there weren't too many kids that attended and Paul didn't show up since he was at the X-Games in Downtown that day. But nonetheless, the anniversary was great, probably as great as the other ones. Ran into several people that I haven't seen since the 4 year anniversary party and met some new people as well. Unlike the other anniversary parties, I didn't go crazy with the photography. Hell, I didn't even bring a Nikon SLR with me, yet I did manage to capture some images through my iPhone 5. I think those few pictures I took are just as good as taking 300 pictures of the same event. Here are the photos that I captured on that Saturday.

Taken at 5:30 in the morning, just as the sun was about to set.

Cashier's desk inside the store. 

Ashley in the Air Jordan XIII retro "He Got Game" and Nicky Newcastle in a pair of Vans. 

Tim Middleton throwin' up the dubs in Primitive's dressing room. 

Primitive Apparel co-founder Andy Netkin in the center of attention. 

DJ Butch and 2 Deep 

Irene, Ashley and Nicky.  

Headshot of Tatiana Javosrsky 

Portrait of professional skateboarder Terrell Robinson from the Primitive skate team. 

Primitive Apparel's 5th anniversary t-shirts were given to those who attended. 

Finally got to meet my favorite inspirational photographer, Van Styles. The camera he's using is the Sony Cybershot RX100M2 that he just got that day, and behind him are my favorite models Christine Mendoza, Justene Jaro, Nikki Sotelo, and Dawn Jaro. Here's is his recap of the 5 year anniversary party Visual by Van Styles

Andy Netkin reflecting with his daughter, Bari. 

Elisabetta with her and Andy's daughter, Bari, both wearing the Primitive "Signature Script" shirts. 

Andy with his lady, Elisabetta. 

"First lady of Primitive" Elisabetta conducting the group photo. 

Original Red Cup Crew. 

Closeup of the Primitive 5 year anniversary t-shirts (one in black, the other in navy)

The Air Jordan "Fire Red" IIIs I purchased from there, along with some of the Fall '13 t-shirts and my Primitive 5th Anniversary t-shirts. 

That was one of the greatest days I've had this summer. Looking forward to more anniversary parties at Primitive. Thanks for your time reading this. 

Playing House On Sunday

Alright, this week went by so fuckin' quick.

It felt like I was just at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood 2 days ago to support and photograph my homies William and Ginger Galvez's daughters and other elementary school kids performing there on behalf of the Rockstar Music Education program that was running the event there. Well, it actually took place this past Sunday morning. William and Ginger have been inviting me for the past two years to attend this annual event that being held every June, yet, I was never available during those times. But since they told me that it was their oldest daughter's final performance with the Rockstar Music Education since she's going to middle school in the fall, I had to cancel everything just so that I can finally check it out.

Prior to this, I have never stepped inside the House of Blues. I've passed by there all the time and have heard so much about the venue. So I carpooled with the Galvez family to the place and when we got there, I saw a grip of kids and their families waiting in line and paying admission fees to get inside. I even saw some kids getting their hair sprayed with different colors for that "rock star" appeal. When I got inside (there was a dude at the door rockin' the Google Glass eyewear piece. Looks futuristic) I though the House of Blues was gonna be a large-scale venue with seats, but without disrespect, the place looks like a club to me. It was also packed with parents screaming and cheering on the kids that were performing on House of Blues stage. Majority of them photographing and taking videos of the show with DSLR cameras and their iPads. The theme of the place reminded me of the old Wild Bills venue that used to be in Buena Park back in the 1990's, but without the western stuff.

Watching the little kids performing and covering rock songs that came out back in the day was very awesome to witness. There were no intermissions since there was a different group of kids going up on stage every four to five minutes per set. They had real instruments and several of them can actually play, including the drummers for each set. THESE KIDS CAN PLAY THE DRUMS. They can even sing too. I can assume these youngsters have been on every talent show since birth, or one of them must've been on TV or something. Speaking of which, one of the blokes from the Disney Channel show Shake It Up was one of the three or four guest judges of the event that day. I wouldn't picture this event from a competitive standpoint, it just a bunch of talented young kids having fun on stage and enjoying their parents. I wish I didn't have to miss out on this for the past two years, and as those kids got older, they look back in their lives and tell their kids that they performed at the House Of Blues stage in Hollywood.

After the show, we went to Cabo Cantina on Hollywood Boulevard for lunch and stayed there for a bit. I had their Quesadillas and it was unique cause I ate some Quesos earlier that day for breakfast at the Denny's next to the Burbank Airport. The Quesos at Cabo Cantina were much larger than the ones I had earlier. Then afterwards, we went back to their place and chilled for a few minutes. The homie Ginger even showed me this Hammock they had that came straight from Honduras. I tired it out since I've never been on a Hammock and damn, it was it was comfortable. I wanted to take an instagram photo of myself resting on it, but my phone was out of power by then. I can't wait till I get the Morphie Juice battery pack later on in future, which gives my iPhone more extra power like battery pack on DSLRs. Many thanks again to the Galvez family for making that Sunday like how every Sunday should be. Here's some of the pictures from that day taken from my mobile device.

The Quesos and pancakes I had for breakfast that Sunday at Denny's. 

First time ever at the House Of Blues. Alot of great acts were on that stage: past, present and future. 

One of the many young, talent kids putting on some shows. 

My friend's WIlliam and Ginger's daughter on center stage. Who else do you know that can be at that fortunate position?

Interior of Cabo Cantina in Hollywood. 

The most legit Beer Pong table I've ever seen. 

These Quesadillas are for reals. 

Here are some more random-ass iPhone 5 photos from this past week that you've might've seen on my instagram, but without the filters. (@justforsneaks07)

Brunch at The Habit in Glendale.

My latest purchase of Primitive Apparel's Summer '13 collection (thanks Ashley and Nicky)

One of my customers gave me this as a tip, but he paid the fare though. 

Just like In-N-Out, The Habit also has a truck for events as well. A potential future birthday party idea. 

This channel is meaningless until the Kobe Bryant returns to the court. 

Yesterday's traffic on the 405 freeway at 12PM since the President made an unnanounced visit to Santa Monica for three hours. 

THESE. ARE. EVERYWHERE. 

My life everyday for the past four months, including the Starbucks. 

Anyway, that's it for now. I have a wedding to cover today in Fullerton and Christine Mendoza is making a rare Valley appearance in my town tomorrow. I can't miss that. Thanks for your time reading this. 

That Was Yesterday

Today is almost over, including the month of May heading into June. Since is almost tomorrow as I'm typing this on May 31, I'll talk about what I did yesterday since I feel like sharing it... in one liners.

- that Thursday started with a phone call from one of my good friends as I woke up (thanks Carol)

-I never ever like to discuss about the people I pick up and give lifts to, but I had a interesting talk, with a Jewish doctor that I picked up, about how everything has changed in certain parts of the Valley and some of the businesses that got affected by the recession.

-Took a customer from Sherman Oaks to Santa Ana, which was the most expensive ride I've ever gotten so far in the three months I've been doing this... and the bloke paid in cash.

-Drove a few miles to Newport Beach and had a basic, interesting lunch at the Yardhouse in Fashion Island for the second time since December 2011.

-Went to the Apple Store at the same mall (which has a very high ceiling) and copped me a Belkin anti-glare screen protector and a Nike case for my iPhone 5.

-Cruised on the Pacific Coast Highway (speed limit was 60 MPH) and stopped at one of the beaches in Huntington Beach to take some quick photos.

-took the 710 Freeway straight up to Alhambra from Long Beach with some stop and go traffic every now and then.

-Since I was in that area, I drove up Fair Oaks Ave and decided to check out the Phil Jackson Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success book signing that was taking place at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, which isn't that far.

-Found a open parking space next to the Target on Colorado and Oak Knoll Avenue (which is uncommonly rare in downtown Pasadena) and its just very close to the bookstore

-I though the books were sold out when I got there 30 minutes after Phil Jackson started signing, but the store had several in stock, and I bought one since they said that I can still get it signed.

-The line was long, but that shit moved VERY QUICKLY. The whole experience and meeting the Zen Master was short and fast as he signed my book.

-The store originally prohibited photography of Phil Jackson signing his book, but at the last minute, Vroman's Bookstore management were loose and cool about it, so I took only three photographs of Coach Jackson and left.

-Jetted onto the 210 Freeway back home to find that my sisters came over to spend a few days at my pops' house, which is not bad.

-Had a deep discussion with the siblings and reflected on how far we gotten so far in our lives.

-Made some phone calls to catch up on some of my other homegirls who I haven't heard from in a while to finish up the day.

-and I didn't even have to use an AK.


I wish everyday was like this all the time, but time eventually moves on. Tomorrow, my cousin graduates from Loyola High School, and he is the youngest in my immediate family. I remember when it was at least 5 years ago that him and my other cousins and siblings were starting high school, but they are all now almost half way through with their under graduate college life. Show how fast time has gone through. Another thing tomorrow (or today if you're just reading this after having another overrated hangover from the night before) is that Primitive will be launching not only their Summer '13 collection , but they also have a brand new website with focuses on the Primitive Apparel brand and lifestyle. Going to be interesting to see what surprises that they have this summer, as always. Here's the link Primitive Apparel

Thanks for your time reading this and have a great month of June without the gloom.