G-OGRAPHY: a southeast asian lady travels...

LA Times writes: "It’s official: Robert Downey Jr. is still the king of Comic-Con. The actor bounded into the San Diego Convention Center's Hall H on Friday morning, his second trip to massive weekend fest. This time, he was here to promote “Sherlock Holmes” and was welcomed with an even more breathless and deafening response than “Twilight’s” own Robert Pattinson. “I love you guys so much,” he told the raucous crowd. "

It was Saturday afternoon and my friend and I were riding down in an elevator from a roof top Comic-Con party. The elevator stops at some floor...the door opens and lo and behold its ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Iron Man...now Sherlock Holmes the King of Comic-Con. You hear a gasp of air from everyone as we look at him trying to contemplate if there was enough space for him in the elevator. Someone says: "It's ok, we can make room for you Sir" and just like that a big space in the middle of the elevator appeared. THE Downey stepped inside with a companion. Some dude was brave enough to mumble some starstruck compliment about how he loved Downey's work as an actor blah blah blah. And THE Downey just smiled because he was cool and he was IRON MAN!!!

It took super strength for me to not say or do anything stupid. I was looking calm and collected but inside my head I was screaming: "Oh my Lord it's Robert Downey Jr. The guy I've had a crush with since god knows when. Is it really him standing before me? It is! Oh sh*t. No way! Should I take a picture? Should I?". Well, I didn't! Biggest mistake ever. I was too paralyzed to act quickly. Instead I take this lousy picture of a piece of the back of his head as he was leaving the hotel.

Kids when you see someone famous that you really like just ask them politely if you can take your picture with them! I can kick myself in the head now...



Close-up

Lately, I noticed a few interesting articles featuring turf wars and tweeting food trucks/stands. I wrote a post about Kogi the Tweeting Korean BBQ Truck not so long ago and I am amazed at how much it has caught on. But what really caught my fascination are the articles NYTimes published on Turf Wars for food trucks/carts (and apparently fruit stands?!). Hmmmmmm...maybe it's just me but it sounds sinister yet humorous at the same time. Like the story wants to be the next Judd Apatow film (VendorMan or Food Fight).

Tweetable Eats: What Street Vendors Can Teach Businesses About Twitter

The Truck Stops Here

Turf War at the Hot Dog Cart

Escalating Fruit Wars

This was me last year at the 2008 Nautica Malibu Triathlon. I was smiling so much because despite of my half-ass training I was able to finish swimming 1/2 mile. Uhu, I did the swim part only since I was in a relay team. It was perfect since I never have been a serious athlete. Granted it took me 30 minutes in a surf wetsuit in the cold ocean water to complete the swim it still felt like an accomplishment.



This year I decided to try the whole thing over at Redondo. So I signed up for the mini-sprint: 1/4 mile swim 3 mile bike 1 mile run. I did prepare and train for it a bit this time =p More importantly I had fun with it!



Minutes away from Start of Race
I met Pam during the Triathlon 101 clinic they had a week before (I like it when I randomly get to connect with cool people). She's awesome coz as a first time triathlete she placed in her division and age group!



Swim
The most dreaded part of the race is always the swim. I love the ocean and I love to swim but I have been struggling to overcome my anxiety over ocean swims. There's just something about the thought of not having walls and floors around you that makes me fear being swept away at sea. However, it was a short swim and fun group so I can truly say that it was my best ocean swim so far! I felt calm and collected...what a breakthrough! This bodes well for future ocean swims. Oh and I bought a real swim wetsuit this time which made a lot of difference! It's a Rocket Science one. I'm so in love with this suit.



Bike
So the guy behind me on this picture crashed into the girl in front of me. He didn't notice the red line on the which requires the athlete to dismount before the transition area. The bike ride was easy except for the uphill part where I suddenly stopped to walk the bike. Hehehe I require more training obviously and a lighter bike!



Run
Gawd. Again a newbie mistake I made was not being able to control my bladder. Seriously how do athletes keep themselves rehydrated without needing to go to restroom? Well that is what I did...the run course was along the pier and I just happened to sneak in the public restroom during the start of my run. I may have also washed my face a bit- the ocean water got to my contacts!! LOL. I know I'm ridiculous.



The Results
Well according to my results I ranked 7 overall in my age group. By the way I am only 30! I guess they round off your age to reflect current year. Surprisingly my swim was the best time! =) Love it. My transitions sucked! I was all over the place and just taking my time. What was I thinking? Oh yeah to finish...good to know my competitive side is still alive. This is good motivation really because I want to do the full triathlon once I become serious with training. It's simply inspiring to see athletes and supporters in this type of event. You hear so many stories and it just makes you want to become better, faster, stronger.

Some of you may recall that I blogged about my
7 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge more than a week ago. I was basically doing bikram yoga everyday for a week which took about 2 hours out of my day. It sounds crazy but it became so addictive. I love how the practice forces me to focus on being still in order to listen to the instructor and to my body. It just makes it easier to hold those 26 poses and encourage the body to do what your brain thinks is impossible. Personally, I feel I am starting to become more aware of my body and the muscles in it. I also noticed a lot of improvement in my endurance, flexibility (no I still can't turn myself into a pretzel) and core strength. I'm not going to lie, it's a kick ass work out but anyone with a right mind set (and who isn't afraid to sweat in places they have never sweat before) can do it. I see people of all shapes and sizes in the class including old women and men!

Also, during those 7 days I made it a point to go to different times and try different instructors. I think they were all consistently good. Also, one has to be aware that everyday your practice is going to be different. You are always going to be in a different place when you start learning bikram yoga. The important thing is to know where you are at that moment and work with it. Of course, it is also vital to have that intention to improve as your strength and flexibility increases.

So after the 7th day, I have decided to continue with Bikram. I will only be doing it 2-3 times a week since I still want to have time for other projects! If you are curious to try it I suggest you read this: http://www.bikramyoga.com/ and this blog post my friend forwarded which I thought was pretty good: How to Have a Better Bikram Yoga Experience

Once you try it let me know what you think about it!!!

If you are an Angeleno you probably know that one of the best things about this city is the Mexican food. However, not known to many is an existing subculture of taco lovers that make a pilgrimage to the streets in order to taste some of the yummiest amalgam of meat, cheese, beans, vegetables and tortilla one can only get from a...taco truck. Yes folks, blogs have even been dedicated to our flourishing taco scene. Check out the brave Bandini's The Great Taco Hunt for the evidence.

But before this turns into a foodie post. I bring ye the social media tale of The Kogi Taco Truck. Here are several lessons I have learned from them that I would like to share:


1. Don't be afraid to be different

The Kogi Taco Truck is different because it uses korean bbq to create a taco. Kogi actually means meat in Korean. Just take a look at their signature taco: The Korean Short Ribs (prntscrn image below).





Ultimately, what makes Kogi unique is the fusion of these ethnic ingredients. In a time where society is more aware of the importance of diversity their product has never been more appealing.

Lesson#1 in Social Media Terms: Get creative. Fuse ideas don't cut and copy.

2. Go flaunt your goods

According to Co-founder Chef Roy Choi, they didn't sell a single taco when they first opened. So they began peddling until the people finally caved in and took their first bite. Unable to resist the yumminess, the people started taking pictures of their taco sending it to friends and uploading it on facebook. This in turn made a lot of other people curious which obviously translated into a lot more sales for the Kogi team.

Now they have a Flickr photostream that makes my stomach grumble every time I look at that glint of grease in the night.



Lesson#2 in Social Media Terms: Spread the word out through pictures. A single jpg can be as powerful as 140 characters.


3. Unleash your inner cuteness

One of my most favorite blog posts on their website has to be Alice Shin's Things To Do WhiLe Waiting For KoGi #1: Romance is in the Air. Best line ever: "Dude, the crowd here is totaLLy different from the SiLverLake crowd. It’s cooL how each location has a different fLavor. Is this your primary KoGi spot?"

If there is anything we have learned from sites such as cuteoverload.com and icanhascheezburger.com is that cute is more than accepted in the web-o-sphere. It is embraced.

Kogi's blog is as cute and as funny. They're not out to impress their reader with fancy shmancy verbiage. They want to talk to the people in their own voice.

Lesson#3 in Social Media Terms: When communicating be yourself. Write as you speak even if you sound like Betty Boop.


4. Learn how to hustle

Aka "innovate"...the Kogi Team saw the power of web 2.0 and ran with it. Now dubbed as "America's First Viral Eatery", these Taco Trucks invaded the streets of the Twitterverse. Aside from tweeting times and places where they would be, they also tweet to tell everyone if they are stuck in traffic. I think that is just darn awesome.



Lesson#4 in Social Media Terms: Why re-invent the wheel when you can just tweak it? Working smart means leveraging on tools.

5. Take it to the streets


Photo credit: astrobuddha

As you can see, people line up for The Kogi. This is the result of their mastery over social media marketing. I Survived The L.A. Kogi Truck Line: Masterful Marketing Meets Meaty Munchies is an excellent blog post about this. Going offline and taking it to the streets is still the best course of action. Online conversations are good but real life conversations are even better. It's all about communicating and building lasting relationships.

Lesson#5 in Social Media Terms: The real world is where the real magic happens. Go out...unplug yourself from the web.

I know! I have been very delinquent with my posts since I have been busy working on several projects and entertaining out of town guests from AZ. I am forgoing my weekly news roundup in order to bring you "intel" from the LA music scene. Loading up some Iphone snapshots in 5...4...3...2...1

AVALAND - Axwell, Steve Angello, Annie Mac



Ja, the Swedes were out in full force that night to support(duh)Swedish DJs Axwell and Angello. This was my first time at the infamous Avalon and while a lot of people were there for the love of music there were a few hooligans present trying to disrupt the peace. Maybe I'm just getting too old for the rave scene...in fact, I didn't even get to see the main act (Steve Angello) because I was simply too exhausted from dancing with four inch heels on. By the way, Annie Mac killed the opening set. Girl Power!




Le Cercle

Not really a good photo but this was taken inside Le Cercle "Super Club" which used to be called Le Prive. It's mostly frequented by Koreans or Asians and is notorious for their booking system (make sure to click the link since it is a must read). I would never have gone to this place if it weren't for my guests although it has to be one of the strangest experiences I've had in a long time. Basically, waiters were pulling ladies from different spots at the bar to introduce to men at other tables. There was also a live dance performance from some crew that was part of that MTV show. Like WTH, right? And oh there were a lot of rude pushy people including the club staff. Boo!



Digital LA's Band Jam at The Mint

I have blogged about Digital LA before here and for this event they featured 3 bands: 1. The Dreamers 2. Ryan Collins and 3. Allensworth- in my opinion they were the best. I think they are opening up for Erykah Badu. Did I mention that before the bands played they had a speed networking event? It's similar to speed dating except you get to talk to "VIP guests" from the music business instead. They were all great and friendly with the exception of this one guy who obviously did not want to be there and talk to the little people. Super boo!



Passport Approved, Marketing Manchester, Raise Up Music Present...
A Taste of Manchester & LA: Featuring: Meiko, The Answering Machine, Casteneda & The Idyllists

My friend and I are big fans of Meiko so we have been stalking her all over LA. She was still awesome that night although she looked so exhausted after her SXSW stint. This gig held at The Viper Room was sponsored by Passport Approved which was my favorite program from the now defunct Indie 103.1 (Imagine tuning into your favorite radio station one morning only to hear mariachi music blaring from your speakers? I thought I was going crazy). The bands they featured were all good. I liked The Answering Machine a lot. Lots of energy and spunk. The biggest question of the night for me was: "How can they fit everything into those ultra skinny pants?"

Save a Life, Make a Pledge.
Click here: http://idek.net/6Gz

On Saturday, May 9th, I will be participating in the 16th Annual Revlon Run/Walk For Women. You can join me in the fight against women's cancers by making a donation on my behalf. Your donation will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women's cancers, prevention, education and support service programs. Every donation will help bring us one step closer to a cure. Until a cure is found and we know that all women are safe, we must continue the fight.

Technology meets Hollywood. That's all I can say. I just came from Digital LA's event over at Area Night Club and it was definitely interesting. The crowd was a mixture of people from the digital media industry mostly online entrepreneurs and employees from the big entertainment companies. They had the place set-up like a movie premiere complete with a paparazzi over at the front door and a photo booth inside the club. The fact that this is a night club frequented by celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and, yes, Lauren Conrad should be enough of a statement. I must admit that I surprisingly had fun. Not the usual run of the mill networking event since it brands itself as an informal one. A lot of gen x and gen y demographic defining their own way of networking with a lot of the dynamics reminiscent of online social networking. I wouldn't mind going to another one of these events. Since the organizer (who currently works for Myspace) is trying to hit up different segments of entertainment a Digital LA Music Band Jam is in the line up. That I am looking forward too since I love music! I will be posting links to tonight's photos soon. For those interested to know more about this group click on this.