First and foremost I would like to wish everyone a belated Happy Turkey Day. I am very thankful to the Lord for everything he given me (the good and bad). I hope everyone enjoyed their day of gluttony. I know i did.

I went back home to Jersey for about a week during the break. I don’t want to reveal too much as I plan on blogging the details of my trip very soon.

Roland, yes the King of the Set moved to SAC. We ALL know he’ll return pretty soon taking that Midnight Meat Train back to SF. Plus, I don’t think he’ll enjoy the moniker of being labeled The King of the SAC……..pause no homo ayo

“Retail is for suckers.” I know the Reegsta can agree with that statement. Lately i’ve really really really been into vintage/thrift shops. I don’t know what it is. Spending $5-$15 on a shirt that was popular many Springs ago appeals to me vs. the same retro shirt at Urban Outfitters for 2x the price. Example: I picked up a vintage New York Knicks track jacket in LA for $15. I wore it to work the other day, and got a few compliments from co-workers, but much hate cuz I was mixing and matching with nike kicks…”Who cares? It’s just fashion!” (hansel, he’s so hot right now, hansel)! Other things i’ve picked up were some plaid clark wallys, bubble vest jacket, g-star button down, and some xtr-ape-tit  long sleeve, totaling no more thatn $70.00. Vintage shops=FTW

Street Fighter 2 has come back into my life. At Rol’s going away party I played SF2 HD Remix. I don’t even think Diddy could’ve remixed this joint any better. Same moves, attacks, etc, but redrawn and played on a plasma = crack. Ask any of my family members what I did from ages 10-12.5. I spent countless hours on my SNES perfecting my craft: Being Cheap. I rarely use fireballs, spin attacks, etc. My style is a short kick followed with a throw. Many friendships have been broken because of this. I think my brother and I got into a fight cuz i was being cheap. What you want me to do, I’m sorry! (jigga)

A post wouldn’t be complete without a mention of my beloved NY Knicks. I’ll really miss Jamal. He seems like a real down to earth dude. Tons of potential, but seemed to be on the Hot/Cold list every other game (word to Beckett). Jamal Crawford blog in the works as well..

BDAY Shout Outs:

Rachel – NJC-WHO….”Rachel’s a herb!”

ML – Go Accounting!

Vi – How now brown cow!

Asaspadez – I miss you (No Aaron Hall, Monifah, Klymaxx, Aaliyah)

DartyMarty –  Please, are you going to send me that angel already!?  (inside joke) SHRN!

Katterfly – Happy bday future cousin in law longinsa breath

That’s it for now.
BTW to if you still have your old SNES x Game Genie – The code to perform all your moves in the air is D1A4-6707. Ken/Ryu’s Sheng long goes on for days! Shaboooooken

Since we last spoke:

Obama became president.  No thanks to me cuz I didn’t vote.  Yes, Guilty as charged.  Bring on the hate.

Knicks have a 6-5 record.  Is it bad to get excited about your team playing .500 ball?

Jenaveve Jolie was on an epsiode of Entourage with Bow Wow?!  Sorry Drama.

SF weather is weird.  Last week it was 80′s out, today was low 50′s.  I’m glad i’m going back to Jersey for some good ole’ fashion mid 30′s weather like November should be!

Dean Karnazes is my new man crush.  Pick up “Ultra Marathon Man – Confessions of an All Night Runner.” Dude ran ultra marathons in Death Valley and the South Pole.  Thanks for the recommendation Drocc.

Picked up a copy of Nastradooomus.  Whack.  Just Old Nas raps over MF Doom beats.  That’s what I get for buying a CD cuz it has a cool cover.

Calling it a night.

One

SOURCE: REALGM.COM

Damn, I posted 2 articles about Houston and Ewing JR., now they’re both cut. I wonder if i blog about Jerome James, Malik Rose, Anthony Roberson, Q Richardson, and Stephon Marbury, the same will hold true.

2 more days till the 2k9 season.

6:15am: I wake up to the sound of my phone alarm clock, that I usually hit the snooze button about 20 times during the work week, but today I get up without hesitation. I start putting on my running gear: No show black socks, grey nike shorts, green nike dry fit shirt that show off my man chesticles, 2006 Fifa limited edition g shock, pearl izumi’s syncropace 2′s that I bought off the salesrack at roadrunner, and my black amphipod fanny pack.

6:40am: After a fresh cup of Texas coffee, I headed out to hail a taxi. The weather was quite nippley, and was debating to run upstairs to grab a long sleeve, but 20 minutes to game time, figured I’ll be ok without it.

6:55am: Taxi drops me off at Union Square and I start to line up with the 20,000 other runners (98% women, no sausage fest) participating in the “Run Like a Girl” Nike Women’s Half/Full Marathon. At the moment of my arrival, I felt many eyes on me. Maybe cuz of my boyish good looks, but I think mainly it was due to the lack of a racer’s bib and racing chip. Yup, I had officially crashed the party. Did not pay for registration, did not raise money, wasn’t running for anyone/cause in particular, today I felt like running for sh.ts and giggles.

7:30am: After all the fast corrals start, the last wave of runners finally cross the start line to begin their race. No chip=me having to rely on my g shock stop watch to be my unofficial way to keep a record of my run. At that point, I played my first song on my running playlist, Take Control – Bobby Brown. I’ve always like this song from Ghostbusters 2. “If you want to get something done, you gotta do it yourself…..YA YA YA KNOW IT!”

8:21am: Chrissy Fields and Fort Mason: Mile 6 thru 7, my first hill. Ouch, shame on me for not expecting hills on this course. It’s san francisco! Luckily I was going with the flow of traffic, very crowded, very little movement. Although it took alot of energy out of me, I was still feeling good.

8:38am: El Camino Del Mar and 26th st. Mile 8: I must say, this was one of the more enjoyable parts of the race. Running through a quiet neighborhood with nice houses tends to take your mind off the pain and enjoy the scenery of it all. Race volunteers (mind you all preteen asian kids) started giving out random stuff. They gave out oranges, which I took and shoved in my mouth and smiled as if I had orange peel for teeth. I did feel guilty taking all these free cups of gatorade, water, jeff luna bars, socks, chocolates, which none of it I paid for, Dah Well!

9:10am:  JFK and Bernice Rodgers Mile 11:  I‘m already thinking to myself “2 more miles and we’ll call it a day.”  Mile 11 officially splits the two races:  ”Stay right for the half marathon, left for the full.”  As I started to veer right, a song played on my ipod.  A song that inspired me.  A song that should be every man’s theme song:  ”Gonna fly now” by Bill Conti ala Rocky Fame. I kid you not, this song really did play on my ipod!  I really was going to attempt to double the amount of the most miles i’ve ever ran.  I was truly Gonna fly now. 

Didn’t give a sh.t am:  Great Highway and Ortega Mile 17:  I stopped running.  My calves were on fire.  It felt like I just did 1,000 reps on the calf raise machine.  2,000 songs on my ipod, not one could motivate me to move another foot.  I was all about done with the race.  I decided to walk for a minute to figure out my way out of this.  After a minute passed, walking became too painful.  For some odd reason, the only thing that could relieve the pain was to keep running.  So I did.

My new strategy  was to walk at every mile marker for a minute, stop at every water/gatorade area, and run to the next mile and repeat the process.

Lake Merced Miles 19-23:  Historically, I never had good runs at Lake Merced, so needless to say, I was not looking forward to this part.  There were  no crowds cheering you on, it seemed very desolate.  The organizers of the race decided to name mile 22 the “Ghiradelli Chocolate Mile”.  Yes, they were giving out chocolate, but I didn’t even have the energy to even chew.  

Great Highway and Sloat Mile 24:  Unlike Lake Merced, I’ve always had success running this route, Sloat to Lincoln.  When I finally reached Mile 24, it felt like I was meeting up with Run Club SF for our normal Saturday run.  I breezed thru this mile relatively quickly.  Surprisingly, there was one person in the crowd that who legitimately rooted for me.  Tim Schiz Zhor!  I heard a “Yeah, Mark Benitez!” and it was him.  I forgot that his gf was running too.  Not sure what her time was.

Great Highway and Pacheco Mile 25:  Running on fumes.  I had nothing left in the tank.  It took the help of a complete stranger to see it thru.  There was this one guy that I basically paced for 15 miles.  I saw him walking at mile 25 and figured “What the hey?”   I told him “Come on man, let’s go!”  We basically had a 10 minute conversation to mile 26.  It took my mind off of the pain.  I think he was lesser prepared than I was as his previous max miles ran was 10 as opposed to my 13.  He told me had raised $8,000 dollars for the race vs. my $0.00 contribution.  I think he was too tired to give me the stone face.

Mile 26.1 Great Highway and Almost Lincoln:  About 20 yards to the finish line, security stopped me and asked me where my bib was.  I told them that I didn’t have one, so they demonstratively told me that I had to step to the crowd and not finish the race.  I thought I was  Olajuwon in 1995 Western Conference Finals vs. the Spurs, cuz i pump faked the sh.t out of this guy.  I sprinted to the finish line like there was no tomorrow.  He chased me down and kicked me out of the finish area.

Mile 26.2  Finish Line:  4 hours and 19 minutes later, I did it.  I ran my first marathon.  Never, ever, did I ever think I would run a marathon.  Ok, maybe once.  When Diddy ran the city back in 2003.
P.Diddy, Will Ferrell !?, George W. had better times than I did, but at least i beat Oprah, AC Slater, and Freddie Prince Jr.

I highly recommend that everyone run a marathon once in your life. This is truly a great platform to showcase to the world and to prove to oneself that the human body can be pushed to its limits. The human spirit was definitely on display for everyone so see.

Congrats to everyone that participated (even the ones that weren’t official), and I can honestly say that I’m glad to have “Run Like a Girl”.

Kram

edit:Goals before I turn 28:

Get married.
Run a full marathon.
Bench 300 lbs (very super unlikely)

“heartless”

“relapse”

“so fly”

ok not really new “gifts”

- Monday is ALWAYS chest, bi’s, and tri’s day. The bench press and Monday go together like white on rice.

- When a song comes on and is location specific (i.e. Where Brooklyn at, where Brookyn at?) i always have to replace it with my hometown (i.e. Where Cliffside at, where Cliffside at?) Cough up a lung where i’m from, Cliffside son it’s pretty nice (jigga). or Meet you at the Cliffside (lloyd ft ashanti). try it!

- I like to say to myself “oh word!?” when I hear random conversations from strangers almost as if i was part of the conversation.

- I make sure i eat all my fries before i even touch my burger

- Every first of the month for the last 13 years, I always think about Bone Thugs and Harmony.

- I wear a white wife beater all the time.

- Always Being a Knicks fan. Being a Knicks fan is like being an abused wife going back to her abusive husband for more abuse hoping things will change.

thats it.

good night

shout out to the 5th dimension.

edit: One last thing. Whenever I feel comfortable anywhere. I take my shoes and my socks off. The socks only come off half way. My entire friends and family can attest that when this happens, its lights out for me.

1. dj quik lets get down
2. e. sermon – music
3. j. holiday – suffocate
4. plies – shawty
5. earth wind and fire – september (not going to lie, i know the line dance to this)

Worked 17 hours yesterday. I really hate quarter close, well any close for that matter. I’m sure my fellow accounting buddies can attest to that.

Congrats and shout outs:

Mos Jeff, welcome to the blog world. I can’t wait to hear the remix to your Sushi Song http://mosjef.blogspot.com/

Shout out to Drocc for completing his first Half Ironman (not quite Tony Starks) but much props. Philly 2k8 Marathon, yeah lets get it. read about Drocc’s big day here: http://dr0cc.blogspot.com/

Many thanks to Kuya Jab for hooking me up with the banner. holla.

Congrats to Gerard, Jeng, and Rachelli for running the Rock and Roll San Jose Half Marathon last weekend:
Gerard – 2hrs 15min
Jeng – 2hrs 40 min
Krachelli – 2hrs 19min
Running through San Jose, helped me “real eyes” that there is more to the city than the birthplace of technology. So San Jo also gets a shout out.

Rest in peace shout out to my 6gb Ipod Mini
Birth: 3/2005 Best Buy Broadway and Houston St, NYC
1st song on dl’d ipod: Just One Thing – Amerie
Death: 6/2008 Apple Store Chestnut and Buchanan, SF
Last song on dl’d ipod: Live Your Life – T.I.

FYI, the Apple store has a recycling program where you turn in your old ipods for a 10% discount on your next ipod purchase.

Happy birhday shout out to myself. 27 years old. For some odd reason, when I think of the number 27, I automatically think of Eddie George. Maybe cuz i rocked his replica titans jersey pretty hard back in the day and I was always impressed with his musculature, pause.

Wikipedia results for the number 27:

Twenty-seven is a perfect cube, being 3³ = 3 × 3 × 3. 27 is therefore the second smallest cube of a prime number. 27 is 3↑↑2 (using Knuth’s up-arrow notation). There are exactly 27 straight lines on a smooth cubic surface. 27 is also a decagonal number.

Wolfgang Mozart was born on January 27, 1756. He completed 27 concerti for piano and orchestra.

In the United States, the number 27 is associated with the East Bay punk scene. (can someone please explain this to me!?)

There are a total of 27 books in the New Testament.

Uranus has 27 moons.

Goals before I turn 28:

Get married.
Run a full marathon.
Bench 300 lbs (very super unlikely)

Good Night

The gym represents so many things to different people. For some, it is a safe haven after a taxing day at work. For others, it is a glorified happy hour to pick up dimes (chicks). But for most, the gym is an ally to fight that never ending war: “The Battle of the Bulge.”
Whether you’re a weekend warrior at Average Joe’s Gym or a meat-headed freak from Globo Gym, there are a few rules of gym etiquette to follow so you don’t end up being “that guy”

The Fashion Show
Loose clothing is optimal. CLEAN shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sneakers will do. Please leave the cutoff jean shorts and pajama pants at home. That’s just poor gym etiquette.

Wipe Me Down
Imagine Patrick Ewing at the foul line in triple overtime. Now imagine Patrick Ewing bench pressing and no ball boys there to wipe up his mess. Kinda gross. Most gyms have brown paper towels for a reason, so use them when needed or bring your own towel.

Starbucks
Do a few reps, drink a cup of coffee, read the New York Times, update your fantasy team, do another set, wait 15 minutes, then repeat. Are you (expletive) serious!? Stop hogging the equipment. Hogging will only irritate other gym patrons who actually give a (expletive) about their workout.

Avoid Bad Form
What good are all those swinging and swaying motions during your barbell curls if you’re not intending to audition for “So You Think You Can Dance?” Using hip thrust momentum to get that weight up does not impress the judges. Those out-of-control, spastic gyrations only invite injury.
Gym goers should use strict form during their workouts. Lifting weights require controlled movements to achieve that “orgasmic” pump as Arnold refers to. The “pump” is a great indication that you are performing the exercise correctly. One more rep!

Beware of B.O.
There is nothing worse than having someone with rank body odor jump on the treadmill next to you during your workout. Yes, it is true that women can smell pheromones, but they don’t want to smell your stank ass.

Eye Candy
At times the gym can be one big meat market. There is nothing wrong with noticing that Jessica Biel booty walking by, but don’t make it a staring contest. Next time, use the mirrors at a 45 degree angle to check out that hottie.

10 Guys and a Bench
Workout partners are great to have on so many levels. A partner to push you to your max is the best supplement a guy could have in his diet. But do you really need 10 guys to spot you? One person lifts, then the next, then the next, etc. It’s like a merry-go-round. This falls into the same category of the Starbucks idea. How many more sets you guys got? “We’ll be here for awhile” is not the answer I want to hear.

Nice Rack
All gyms require you to re-rack your weights when you’re done. It would bother me too if I couldn’t find the matching dumbbell that’s on the other side of the gym.

Man in the Mirror
People fail to realize that the mirror is a great workout tool but not so much for narcissistic purposes. Use the mirror to check if your form is up to par. When you see your muscles being worked, veins start popping out, and you know that it’s working. Seeing is believing. Like equipment, the mirror must be shared with all gym goers. Jumping in front of someone during their seated military press will disrupt their focus and make them go “Hulk Smash” on your head.

I’m sure there are tons of other gym etiquette points I have not touched on. Feel free to leave some of your suggestions in the comments section.