Hell by Squirrel Nut Zippers

It was the summer of 1997, just before my Junior Year abroad in Barcelona.  Ariel C. had come over while I was studying and listening to music.  He said that he hated that I was listening to such depressing music.  Now I could understand if I had been listening to Tori Amos, which I also did quite a bit as I was going through a major breakup that summer.  But I was listening to Squirrel Nut Zippers!  Granted, the song is literally called HELL, but it is totally upbeat and funky and fun.  I never understood why he thought that particular music was depressing, especially since I wasn't feeling that way at that moment.

I was living in Berkeley for the summer because due to some poor planning, I needed to finish up a couple semesters of Spanish in order to study abroad.  So summer school it was!  I found a summer sublet and my mother was horrified and rightly so!  The linoleum in the kitchen was so dirty and worn that it had worn out completely.  The bathroom was covered in mold.  She is magic though so we washed at least my large room from top to bottom and stored everything, down to my dry foods and dishes, in the built in cupboards in the bedroom.  It was a pretty cool room when we were finished and more importantly, all mine to share with no one! 

It was a really great summer and I enjoyed myself immensely, in spite of the breakup.  I loved my Spanish class and classmates.  I also worked 2 jobs - the Cal Annual Fund and Security Monitor at the Unit 3 dorms.  The Security Monitor job was especially fun (and perfect) for me because I got to be very social and friendly.  During the summer, there are tons of international students.  I quickly got to know 3 great guys from Puerto Rico and we spent much of the summer together.  I would finish my shift and head up to Ariel C. and Harry G.'s room where we would be joined by Armando R.  They would crank up the merengue music, pour me a rum and coke (Cuba Libre) and we would dance the night away.  They were so full of life and energy and I found it so exciting and fun.  I am so glad I met them for a variety of reasons, but what I didn't realize until about a month later is how well they prepared me for the nightlife and Spanish lifestyle! 

Under my Thumb by the Rolling Stones

So much of my first trip to Vegas truly falls under the "what stays in Vegas" category, but there are still plenty of anecdotes that I CAN share. Bryan A. invited me to come along as his date to a wedding in September, 2001.  Lucky for him, it was mere days before 9/11/01.  On our way to the airport (in Oakland), he realized he had forgotten his wallet.  Being that this was (just) before 9/11, a game of 20 questions was enough to get him on the plane.  I can't remember exactly how he got the wallet, but I think that someone came by the house and picked it up and brought it to Vegas.  Bryan then somehow lost his boarding pass between the ticket counter and the gate, but again, this was no big deal.  We made it to Vegas in one piece!

Vegas was amazing and I immediately understood why Bryan thought I would enjoy it there so much.  Lights!  Drinking!  Beautiful people!  Nightclubs!  Pools!  Music!  Staying up all night!  No rules!  It truly was the adult version of Disneyland and I had a blast.  The wedding was also 100% Vegas.  The bride walked down the aisle, accompanied by Elvis.  Elvis officiated the wedding and it was still totally sweet and she wore a white dress and had a wedding party and everything.  Elvis serenaded the happy couple with Love Me Tender and it was a lovely service.

The rest of the trip was all about those things I exclaimed about above.  I think my favorite thing we did the entire weekend was a walk down the strip.  We each had a 40 oz, which you can drink, right there on the street, legally (right?).  We walked to each hotel to check out its spectacular features, like the fountains and amazing ceiling at the Bellagio and the Roman columns inside Caesar's Palace.  But my very favorite memory of the entire trip was just a little thing.  Bryan and I were getting ready to meet the group and we were hanging out in our room, listening to the radio.  We were about to leave and Bryan says, "Wait!  I have to listen to this song!"  It was Under my Thumb, admittedly an excellent song.  He sits down on his bed and starts bobbing his head, tapping his toes, and drumming his fingers on his legs.  He might have been singing under his breath.  It was so hilarious and endearing, the cutest thing Bryan had ever done!

Tutti Frutti by Little Richard

Let's head back to Silver Lake.  We're talking way back, back into the 80's.   No trip to Silver Lake was complete without a fully staged production of Saturday Night Live on the last evening of our week long camping adventure.  Back then, I could quote almost anything from Saturday Night Live without actually ever having seen (or been allowed to stay up and watch) Saturday Night Live. It was a much anticipated event with rehearsals going on in secret throughout the week.  As the years went by, Matt pretended that we wouldn't be performing, that he was too cool, but we all knew that by the end of the week, we'd be throwing together a show, often madly improvised at the last minute. 

When I say fully staged, picture a curtain made out of the clothesline and blankets; stagelights (lanterns); and spotlights (our mothers, the sole audience, shining flashlights at appropriate moments).  And you can't forget the props and costumes.  We had wigs, glasses, hats, papier mache guitars, and one year, an Elvis costume (Matt's choir suit from high school.  And no one will forget that he split the pants during a particularly quintessential Elvis hip thrusting maneuver).  So yes, not only did we pack up a week's worth of camping gear, clothing, food, books, and games....we also brought a large costume box.  In fact one year, Matt forgot to bring any jeans and spent the entire week in shorts or sweats! 

There are oh so many SNL stories, but today it is about Aunty Phyllis.  In the 80's, we were treated to perhaps the only performance by the moms.  They surprised us all by appearing on stage in matching perms (it WAS the 80's!), huge sunglasses (with pink embellishments, of course), and jean jackets.  They used pastel flashlights as microphones and danced and lip synced to Tutti Frutti.  It was on the Cocktail soundtrack which was all the rage that year, so I am guessing this would make it 1988.   We cheered and cheered, giving them all the love and appreciation due to them as it was an excellent performance. 

Umbabarauma by Jorge Ben

Mark F. was one of the first people I met at the Monterey Institute.  We were assigned to the same team for a scavenger hunt during orientation week.  We had a lot in common like the fact that we were both living in San Francisco and working for Telco companies before starting MIIS and we both spoke Spanish.  It wasn't until later that I learned that we also both loved making music mix CDs and DJing at parties and get togethers.  Mark is a lot of fun, full of self deprecating humor, and very smart.  Sadly, we didn't work on very many academic teams together, but I always counted on seeing him at any social event. 

It wasn't until the very end of our 2 years at MIIS that I finally got my very own Mark Mix.  In fact, I think we had already graduated and we were all packing up our apartments.  It was an impromptu get together at Mark and Liam's house and he finally gave me the CD.  To be fair, it's not like I had been asking for 2 years.  I am just lamenting not having more of them!  The mix is excellent with a wide variety of styles and even different languages.  This presented a challenge for me as I hate seeing Track 01, Track 02 in iTunes.  Thanks to Google and Shazam I was eventually able to figure them all out.  My favorite song on the CD is the very first one:  Umbabarauma.  It is awesome.  The song starts with this rumbling, low beat and it then escalates into this very exciting song.  I have no idea what Umbabarauma means, but once I figured out it was Brazilian Portuguese I was able to ascertain that the song was about a soccer player.  I put it on my own mix when I worked in soccer marketing and it was a huge hit with the soccer players when I played it during tournaments.  I liked it so much I even put the song on our Wedding Mix.  Thank you Mark for introducing me to such an amazing song. 

Rag Doll by Aerosmith

I am not the greatest driver and I have no problem admitting this.  I got a late start and in general, I do not have the best attention span or attention to detail that driving requires.  I also seem to have a poor sense of spatial awareness and depth.  Add to that the fact that I really do not care about cars and you have a fair driver, at best.  I have never caused a major accident and I get to where I need to go.  I have driven in several of the large cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City (Queens Borough) without incident and even with a fair amount of confidence.  Driving is something I can do, but I don't love it.

My dad purchased a 1967 Mustang for me and my sister when we were in high school with high hopes that we would love tinkering with it.  My sister did, but me, not so much.  I didn't get my license until half way through my Senior year and then it was off to college in Berkeley which did not require a car.  I didn't get a car until 2000 when I moved to Daly City.  I purchased my aunt's Taurus (can't remember the year or even the color) for $2,000.  It was an enormous sedan and the least cool car on the planet.  It lasted for 1 year and then the transmission died.  I bought my very first car in late 2001.  My dad suggested the Hyundai Elantra because of its 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.  I thought that sounded fine and more importantly, it required no thought or research on my part.  I almost let him talk me into a color I didn't like and I did let him talk me out of getting a CD player installed.  I bought the car in about 30 minutes, didn't even try to negotiate price.  My dad had panicked and left at this point because he couldn't believe I could make a $15,000 purchase so quickly.  I felt like a winner though because this was in the days when the sales tax was based on the zip code where you bought it, not where you garaged it, so I saved about $1,000.  I drove off in my brand new, BLACK, 2002 Hyundai Elantra, happy as a clam. 

For a couple years I even took really good care of it.  I religiously changed the oil and got it serviced, right on schedule.  I also kept it looking good and washed it frequently, inside and out.  There was a car wash in Daly City on John Daly Ave that I liked to frequent, but it was often busy.  I would bring a book and crank up the tunes while waiting for the car wash.  Rag Doll was one of the songs I would crank up (in my Discman with adaptor since I didn't get that CD player installed until 2003).  I loved the intro with the thumping bass line.  It made me feel rebellious because I remembered the scandalous music video.  The next time I get a car wash, I'll have to blast it for old times sake. 

La Flaca by Jarabe de Palo

It was my first weekend in Barcelona in late summer, 1997.  I was beyond excited because I was about to take a bus to the Mediterranean.  In fact, I told my dad this very thing when he called the dorm right before we left.  I couldn't get over it.  A short bus ride across town to the Mediterranean.  How cool is that??  My dad responded by quoting skin cancer facts and horrors.  I was so disgusted that I told him I had no intention of wearing sunscreen and I had a bus to catch.  I mean, honestly!  Sunscreen in hand, I headed to the beach with Anhchi L, Christy R, and Lia B. It was everything I hoped for and more.  Topless sunbathing.  Cute boys everywhere.  The beautiful, sparkling Mediterranean.  Vendors with funny songs promoting their snacks (my favorite: Agua!  Coca Cola!  Cerveza Fria!).  We settled in for an afternoon of sun, sand, and fun.

At some point we were joined by some cute Barcelona boys.  I can't remember how we started talking to them.  Anhchi might have joined their soccer game and then they came over and sat with us.  There were 2 of them and they were obsessed with their soccer ball, to which I thought, of course they are!  Spaniards love soccer!  The boys shared some of their music with me since I was listening to music on my Walkman.  Pretty sure it was a Walkman back then.  Some of the music was not to my liking, but then they played La Flaca.  I might have heard it before then.  It was totally the song of the summer in Barcelona definitely (the band is from Barcelona) and possibly all of Spain.  It has a clever beat, the singer's voice is really sexy, the chorus is fun.  I was singing along, but since I didn't know exactly what they were saying, I wasn't singing the correct words, which are:  "Por un beso de la Flaca daria lo que fuera.  Aunque solo uno fuera".  On a nerdy note, this song would be an awesome example of the subjunctive for a lesson in a Spanish class.  Just saying.  The boys corrected me and I later learned precisely what I was saying and I love everything about this song to this date. 

After the beach, we proceeded to follow the boys back into Barcelona.  They kicked the ball the entire time and I am not sure where we thought we were going.  I hoped we were going somewhere fun, perhaps to a bar to grab a drink, but no.  We just walked around aimlessly, watching them kick that stupid ball.  I think we eventually said to heck with this and got back on a bus to our dorm.  And that was my first trip to the Mediterranean!