Shootin the Ishh: Jayme's Rhymes and Ramblings

I bet you read this title and said...WTF?!? has Jayme gone mad? Naw, it's just a recap of some of the stuff I've done over the past few days in no particular order. ;)


Last Thursday I had the pleasure of watching Wicked at the Orpheum in San Francisco. Let me just tell you...the show was off the hook. Something about the power of their voices sent shivers down my spine and goosebumps all over. I cried, I laughed, and I became a lifelong fan. I strongly recommend that you go see it if you haven't already.


The everso lovely Sophia came home to the Bay for a short visit so Bev and I went to meet up her and her bro, Johnny for a little shopping and catching up. Although it was only a short hang out session, each minute is more valuable than none when it comes to the ones you love. Speaking of love, I was able to buy shoes that are two things that I love (neither more than Sophia, of course!): Adidas and Purple. I first saw these in Boston but they were only available in Kids sizes, and have been looking for them ever since. Sounds like fate that I ran into them in SF.

My godson Ryley's school (the same exact school where his mom and I went to and met 26 years ago) had a Crab Feed over the weekend. Was it bad that I was pretty gosh darn excited about going to this? Not to mention...I brought extra Tupperware in my bag so that I have somewhere to stash the extra crab that I planned to smuggle to make crab dip. In any case, I had mad crazy stupid fun spending Saturday night feasting on all-u-can-eat crab plus all the fixins with 11 of my closest homies! Yup, and how lucky am I that my friends aren't the "I'll just have a small salad and water for dinner" type of people. My folks are the kind that know how to get down! Hootie Hoo!


(L-R) Bev scoping the grub || Josh looking hardcore ready to battle the crab buckets || Tuh's famous picture smile


(L-R) Cheryl has her battle gear on || Gily and Tiff right before they witnessed my crab crackin' skills


Ahh, the sight of Kris in a crab bib is all too familiar. Was this the time in Florida? Nah, nah. Ohhh, then this was that time in Boston! Nah, nah, nah. This was in good ole Fremont, CA! Word. HAHA my crab eating partner in crime!


I finished writing and recording 2 songs and am in the middle of getting 2 more done this week, so I'm feeling a bit accomplished in the music department. :) Of the two that are already done, one happens to be for my musical protege and 10 year old niece, Ayshia "AJ" Estores. It's a G-rated song of course...appropriately titled, "Daddy Says". I tell you this little girl rocks my world sometimes. After listening to my recorded version of the song 3 times...why was she already able to get the melody down and sing the lyrics along with track? I could've cried, she blew my mind! Something about hearing someone else sing a song that you created...it's a blessing. She's decided to perform the song next month at her school's talent show so be on the look out for exclusive Socialush video coverage of that performance!

a CONSCIENCE.

And for those who don't have a clue, here's what it means...

con⋅science

   /ˈkɒnʃəns/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kon-shuhns] Show IPA –noun

1.	the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action: to follow the dictates of conscience.

2.	the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.

3.	an inhibiting sense of what is prudent: I'd eat another piece of pie but my conscience would bother me.

The road towards this past weekend was pretty interesting. I witnessed a lot of inconsistency when it came to certain peoples behaviors which caused me to wonder what's really on their minds now a days. With that said, the fact that I had plans to be in Las Vegas for my cousins wedding was definitely an opportunity for me to step out of the box for a while.

The way my weekend started off was so unexpected. The plan was to stay at my Aunt & Uncle's house all weekend but another one of my aunts offered me a room on the strip so that I can be closer to everything. I couldn't say no to that, right? Man, she had pull for sure because I ended up with a suite to enjoy to myself (kinda sucked because my cousins weren't arriving until the next day so I couldn't share). So what did I do? I utilized the handy dandy jacuzzi that I found in my bathroom, kicked back and relaxed in the jets and bubbles while watching American Idol. haha. And yes, I lost track of time and stayed in there for an hour and turned into a raisin. It was definitely "me time" and it was exactly what I needed. Here are some pics from the suite:





After hanging out for another hour or so, I decided it was time for me to make some money. Let's just say, the next 2 and a half hours that I spent at the roulette table PAID off really well. ;) After that, caught some zz's and then back to the roulette table where again...the next 2 hours or so PAID off very nicely.

And then the fun came!...

This was a really special trip to me, being able to reunite with my childhood playmates after so many years of having lost touch with each other...where else would be more perfect than LV to be for this occasion. We have so many memories with each other and it's was so nice how we are all currently at the age where we've gotten passed the age/gender gaps -- for example, when some of us were 16, we would avoid our 8-10 year old cousins because they were too young to go to parties with us while on the flip side our 19-21 year old cousins would do the exact same thing to us. Now it's like whatever!...we've all grown and matured to a point where age gaps were just a thing of the past (however brought up a lot during our "remember when" stories). I joked around with my younger cousin Janelle and told her, "Back then you were trying to kick it with us but you were always way too young...and now we're trying to kick it with you!" In any case, the point I'm trying to make is about my appreciation for this past weekend...and that in my years of growing up, these people were such big parts of my life. Learning together, watching each others back, getting into trouble together, being family together. The fortunate thing is that although some of us lost touch with each other for such long periods of time... as long as 10-12 years...we can still come together and be THAT family again. It's like a lesson for myself really that makes me determined to not take time for granted. I can't automatically assume that the people I love will be here tomorrow and rather than waste time messing around with drama, I'd rather surround myself with whatever really makes me genuinely happy...and topping that list is family. Here are some random shots from my no sleep all fun weekend...

The groom Eric and his wifey Lorena

My cousin/god brother Jonathan and my cousin/sis of groom Grace

My cousin Gary and Grace's girlfriend Melanie

Indoor garden wedding...


Ahh, the girl cousins!

Continuing the party at TAO @ the Venetian

All in all it was an awesome weekend and I look forward to many more like it.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Eric and Lorena Soliven!

Seems like emotions tend to circle back to you...even the ones that you wish would just stay away and never turn back. What can we do? Here's one that I wrote from June of 2008. Although it's one from my past, it's continuing to make appearances in my present.

Tick tock goes the clock
First it was months then turned into weeks followed by days and transitioned into hours
Intervals decreasing to where paranoia takes its toll on me
I've dreaded this moment that I've tried so hard to block out of all life expectancies
Practiced then mastered the art of dodging the notion, the reality I will soon have to accept
At any given point in my life I'd have to confront this demon that I've prayed redemption from
My lasting defense mechanisms have failed me and my power has been taken
Memories now bleed slowly
Each drop of red signifying love that seeps away from my veins
Beating by a different flow from a varied heartbeat
Melodies once originated in me now escaped

Tick tick tick and its getting closer
Although I run I can't run for others
Mind only of its own it chooses premeditated directions
Burning its way through my delicate state
Hitting me while my high faces the floor
No understanding of the timing to which it strikes
It demonstrates the anticipated while vulnerability has no influence
Fragile to say the least and the least is where my tolerance hangs in limbo
I watch the sun and moon exchange positions hoping that each movement will be spared from interruption
Why can't I hold on to the rarity that keeps me sane
Rather I have to watch it disappear slowly by each second its on my mind.

In an effort to brush up on my photography skills, I decided to read through some forums designed to help other D80 users take the best photos possible. Without trying to sound like William Hung from American Idol, I have never had any formal training (in photography)... so I just tend to wing it most of the time. My biggest challenge taking pictures in a club, low light, action setting is that my pictures usually come out with a lot of grain and "noise" which makes the picture look really bad. So after reading through the forums, and changing the camera settings to what had been suggested, I had to try it out. But how would I try it out while i was home by myself? I had to use the timer to take a picture of myself doing some sort of rapid movement while trapped in the dark laundry room. I must say...the new camera settings worked wonders. Exhibit A:

Then the true test came...going to the actual event and seeing if the settings worked. Exhibit B:
Check out the pics I took at LoveTech 2009 @ The Ranch in SF and let me know how you think I did.