Let's Call it "Clean Dancing", because I'm sure he danced to Heaven

Two dancing icons in one year, to quote Wham!, "I don't ever want to dance again, guilty feet ain't got no rhythm." My heart beats with a leaden slowness, Patrick Swayze is dead. While I won't tarnish his memory by claiming that I was as big a fan of his as I was of Micheal Jackson, at one time or another I think we were all a little "Crazy for Swayze." He married his wife in 1975, and they were married for 34 years. That alone tells you he was different from the run of the mill Hollywood crew. Patrick was classically trained in ballet, and his dancing skills, combined with his devil may care good looks opened the door to his acting career and our hearts. While he will always be remembered for Red Dawn, Dirty Dancing, and Ghost, let's not forget his other hits like The Outsiders and Roadhouse. Patrick, you were a dancing man among men. To commemorate his life, I think this picture of when I went as Patrick Swayze for Halloween in 2006 will do the trick. With that being said, I hope we can all take a moment of silence and remember his prophetic words, "Nobody puts baby in the corner."

I Hate Fascism, Despise Communism, but I guess I can live with Tourism

"I'll call you Saint, . . . Saint Francis." "Te llamo San, . . . San Francisco."
Quick note, does anyone remember CandyLand? We played that game so much it literally wore out. That one and Go For It! were some of the best games ever. The racing card game was good too, can anyone remember the name of that one? It was like a French game that had both French and English on the card if I recall. It's on the tip of my tongue. Melbourne maybe?

The real reason for this post is because I have homework that I should do, but I already did my homework that I need to do. The best way to get over that is blogging, here's to hoping this helps anyway.

I just wanted to post a little about what I've been up to the last few weekends. My second year here at Hastings is starting out pretty good. September is the best month to be in Law School. Even in San Francisco the weather is good, you can do outdoor stuff on the weekends, and while I may be putting in 60 or so hours a week at school, I am still free on the weekends (the break was good but I'm here til 9 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week). Anywho, my classes will be pretty manageable, at least until finals because I'll have four finals within two weeks, but on a better note, my negotiation and settlement class is really interesting and my professor really knows what he was doing. He's definitely got his settlement chops too. He was one of the (maybe THE) lead negotiating attorneys for the Delta-Northwest merger, yeah, he's got some good stories.

So school is good, and so was my birthday, I am now 27, and feelin' fine. I got some pots and pans and a Klean Kanteen from Kimmercakes and Byronius, so my eating and drinking situation has vastly improved.

In other news, BYU won the biggest game of my life that I remember (technically I was alive when they won the National Championship in 1984, but I don't remember it so whatev, at least we have one). I was camping the weekend it happened and I was stressing the whole weekend, shouting down all the hatas that told me BYU just got creamed so forget about it. I remember who you all are, and I am personally telling Bronco what you said, that'll learn ya to talk bad 'bout my 'cougs. When I found out I ran screaming out of a gas station to tell the girl (also a BYU grad) who was filling the car. In the process I scared an old lady who was between me and my friend (I explained to her about the game, she didn't care) and probably prompted the cashiers to think I had stolen something (I told them about the game too, they acted like they cared for like a second). All in all an awesome weekend, I have been scouring the Internet to read anything about the Cougars. My love of winning cannot even compare to my hatred of losing.

Besides those happenings we had a Young Single Adult camp-out last weekend. I made a lot of friends on the volleyball court by introducing them to my "Slamma-Jamma" style of play. This involves yelling "SLAMMA-JAMMA" and then proceeding to windmill both by arms through the air like I am spiking volleyballs with both hands. It also involves me saying things on and off the court to my Slamma-Jamma teammates like, Slamma-Jamma is compassion, Slamma-Jamma is teamwork, Slamma-Jamma is Chocolate Jello Pudding, etc. It's more than a team name, it's a life philosophy. As you all probably know, I like to trash-talk quite a bit. Some of the gems from the weekend. "I can smell BLOOD IN THE WATER!", "If you think I'm a poor winner, you should see me lose." "If you can hit this serve you can name it" etc. My roommate Steve, his friend Myrella, and I also went out to Golden Gate and took some pictures. Enjoy.


That bright line in the center is Market street, the part where it is less bright where it meets the city, that is about where my school is. Awesome, I know. Pretty ghetto too though, right in the heart of the Tenderloin, woot!
There is hope, make the call. If you're cute, I'll personally talk you off the ledge. Trust me, I'm in a negotiation class.
I live here, try not to hate me. Please.
I slept on a rock overlooking this lake, it was a good camping trip.
Some of the Slamma-Jamma crew. Slamma-Jamma is photogenic.
Thanks for the gifts. I can't believe I am so adult-like and responsible.
This is a picture that I took from my house, you can see the fog rolling in, awesome.

The Adventures are Over, Except for the Adventures in Law that is.

So this was a pretty good summer, and I think that it is shaping up to be a pretty good year. Yes, I am back in school for my 2L year, and while it is a little scary still and I know that it will be hard, I am actually excited for the year. But before I go discussing the fall, let's wrap up the summer. Actually, I just had the idea that I am going to try to explain what I did this summer in rhyme, or at least see how far I can go this time (it's already started, yay!).

(Unrhyming side note on the glasses below. Not only are they totally awesome looking, but I got them for cheap at Savers. The real kicker, though, is that they are my prescription. I believe the correct term for what I lead is, "A Charmed Life". Yes, I do believe it is.)



I took a trip up the coast,
In my car with the most,
You might call me a liar
But I got stranded in Ukiah.

My car broke down,
but I did not frown,
I just rode my bike around town,
(and payed $400 down)

Now it's fixed and runnin' fine,
and I drove through some pine (trees)
continued up the coast,
till I arrived at a host (of friends and family).




Portland was the first stop,
Saw sisters, nieces, nephews, and at least one cop.
Then to the ocean,
The Williams' had rented a cabin, I ain't jokin'.





It was quite a blast,
we drove the boat fast,
and emptied the bay
of every single crab that day.








We spent time on the beach,
We spent time in the sun,
There wasn't a lot of heat,
But we sure had fun!

To Portland I will surely come back
for family pictures at which I will laugh.
But time is short, and I must fly.
Besides, SF has more than enough fog for this guy!

Finally to Utah I quickly came,
to try and recapture my Disco Skating fame,
Alas, Renee had taken the crown and beaten me out,
But I manged to capture a pregnant Tracy pout.


Now I am back and the books call my name,
Remedies, Wills, Crim Pro it's all the same.
but as fun as the summer was I felt adrift,
back at home at Hastings is where I fit.



However, when the weather turns cold, and the snowflakes fly,
Back to Utah for Christmas and 'boarding will surely go I.

Trippin'

I had a couple of good trips here. I went to L.A. to see my little bro bro Trent, while he was at Kim and Byron's. I tell ya, those Williams really know how to party.

Here is Trent and I, sneaking so as not to wake the sleeping baby while we ate 3a.m. cereal. Mmm, mmm, good.

Kim made the Cafe Rio pork salad recipe Lisa posted on Taste for Taste. The pork and the dressing were right on, I mean right on. It was really good. That is not Byron in the background, that is their friend Brian, who came to eat dinner because his wife was out of town.

Yea for Prunes!

Byron had the awesome idea to go down to Huntington Beach to see the U.S. Open of Surfing, it was sweet. We got to see Kelly Slater surf a sweet curl, perfect 10 baby, history in the making.


Start 'em young, that's what I say. Just kidding, this was not open, he just likes to put his mouth on cold stuff. He will learn to appreciate it for its sublime taste later on.

While I was with the family after Dal's wedding, Renee taught me how to skid out on her fixed gear. I crashed it the first time, but these are badges of honor. Don't get too sad, I got right back on and skidded it a couple more times, but I was feeling it the next day I tell you.

Never Again Land Ranch

This is it, the big post that I'm sure you have all been crazy to read. After this when people mention Michael Jackson you will be able to say that you have a friend/relative that went to Never Land Ranch after Michael Jackson died. I feel like one of those people that they have on the news describing what the tornado sounded like. All that tom-foolery aside though, it was really quite an experience. Now to the actual events.

Lance and I had been visiting our sister Kim, her husband Byron, and their little boy Harrison in L.A. After a week full of fun, sun, and some Zing Zang Zoom! (circus joke, you gotta go see it if you want to get the joke, sorry) Lance and I packed up the old Olds and hit the trail. to be honest with everyone, this trip was a little bit of a joke from the start. We were driving from L.A. to S.F. and it was more or less on the way, so we though we would take a two hour detour or so and have a great story to tell when everyone started bragging about what big M.J. fans they were. However, it turned into more than a joke and I am glad that we went.

[Side Note: Just for the record I was a huge M.J. fan, I owned some of his vinyl and I was only born in '82, even better (or worse depending on your point of view) at a dance party during the height of his trial, after one of his tunes had finished playing and the music was fading there was a small window of relative quiet and I yelled into the lull "HE'S INNOCENT, HE'S INNOCENT". Now, I no longer remember the date of that party, what song they played, or even what I was wearing that night, but I remember one thing. I was laughed to scorn. Acquitted on all charges haters. The best part is, now when I talk about how great he was I know that I stood by him through thick and thin. The rest of you have to die a little inside as your secret shame about how you quit on the King of Pop eats its way like acid through your consciences. Maybe it isn't that bad, I do tend to be a little dramatic. Also, this is only a small example of why I was such a big fan. End of side note.]

The first pictures are from before the trip. We were sad, but we tried to remember Michael for how he was.

We were trying to look like the picture below, nailed it!


Lance and I stopped to eat at Michael's favorite fast food joint. Of course, I'm assuming McDonald's was his favorite, he was American wasn't he?


When we actually got to Never Land Ranch, there was no more fun and games. Lance and I did take one silly picture, but then we felt too bad to take any more. It was actually pretty sad and really brought the reality of it home. There was a guy there crying and after I took a photo for a lady she told me that it felt weird to smile. While these people might be a little weird, they were experiencing real grief. There was not that many people there when Lance and I got there, but there had been. There were parking barriers miles down the road, and posters and flowers all over the place. The one thing that really hit me was that whatever else anyone reads into it, or says that we should not make a big deal, the reality is that a man died. There are family and friends who miss him and people who's lives he affected in large and small ways. I mourn for Michael like we should mourn for all of those that pass through our lives and are never seen again. He left his fingerprints on my life, and yes, they were sequined. I am glad that I made that trip, and although it was not a seminal moment in my life it was a good opportunity for reflection. The pictures below are at the Ranch, except for the last one, that was Lance's and my final goodbye to the man with the magical hips.


You moonwalked your way into our hearts, now moonwalk your way to heaven, Michael.

Va-ca in L.A.!!!!!!

Lance and I had a great time in L.A., and the Williams really showed us a good time. I'm talking beach, food, and even a trip to the circus. Let me just say a word or two about the circus to all of you haters out there. It is not just for kids, we really had a great time. They shot two ladies out of canons, it was pretty sweet. I bet it is coming some place near you this summer and especially if you have kids you better check it out. I know for a fact that it will be in San Fran this August. It only cost us about $13 apiece, and the wonder reflected in your eyes is worth that. I have to apologize for the pictures, I did not really get out my camera until right before we left, and Byron was at work but he was an integral part of the fun while we were there. The only real commentary on the pictures is that Harrison definitely has the Harrison blue eyes. Next post will be about Lance's and my pilgrimage(?) to Never Land Ranch to pay our final respects to the King of Pop.

Red, White, and True-Blooded American