Music Recap of 2008

My Top Artists of 2008

Rihanna: I used to love Rihanna when she was all about Dancehall and Reggae inspired songs. I’ll admit that I was hella dreary when she came out with “Umbrella”. I remember I heard that song a couple of months in advance and I was like “What is she thinking with this song?” Little did I know, I’d turn around and really be digging her new sound. I soon got her album on my ipod and I was putting her CD on repeat on the way to work. She’s an artist who might not have the best voice, but her stage presence and hunger for success is what makes her a standout. Favorite 2008 Singles: Disturbia, Take a Bow, Rehab

Leona Lewis: Leona Lewis was all over the UIC cafeteria when I still lived back in the dorms. I remember I’d look at the TV’s and wonder “Who the fuck is this girl?” Finally got around to looking her up on YouTube and shit, the rest is history. Her voice is one of the greatest I’ve heard and I definitely see the comparison to Mariah Carey. Not only is this girl beautiful her talent seems to be limitless. She’s one of the greatest imports from the UK since the Spice Girls. Haha. Favorite 2008 Singles: Bleeding Love, Footprints in the Sand

Beyonce: Where do I start? Sasha Fierce. Her album is sick. It’s fire. I’ve been listening to it on crazy repeat for the last week. I’ve become a huge ass fan of hers because one of my friends helllllllllla loves her. And I guess my friend’s love, rubbed off on me and I find myself listening to Bee anytime I can. I always just liked Beyonce as an artist, but now I find myself wanting to go see her live and catch anytime she performs. I appreciate her hard work and the journey she’s had to endure in order for her dreams to come true. I don’t see many other artists who dance and REALLY sing at the same time. And she dances hard. She’s definitely an artist who will have a long career and she’ll be known for as on the greats. Favorite 2008 Singles: If I Were A Boy, Diva

Britney Spears: Let’s talk about the comeback girl herself. Miss Britney Spears. She’s been through hell the last couple of years: Kids, Divorce, Death Scares and a reemergence on the music scene. I’ve always believed in Britney. I’ve liked her ever since those “Baby One More Time” days and I’m not afraid to admit it either. She’s a girl who was crafted to be multimillion dollar machine, and that obviously had a tremendous impact on the type of adult she’s become. But even at 27, she’s back, healthy and doing her thing. She’s moving in the right direction and I hope that with the success of Blackout and Circus she can move forward and have a more positive life. Favorite 2008 Singles: Break the Ice, Circus

Ne-Yo: Always going to be a fan of this guy. His writing skills are amazing and his voice is just as good. You can hear the emotion in his voice and that’s a main reason why Ne-Yo made my top artists of 2008. Not many artists can have the power to write such great songs, but also have the talent to perform. He’s been on a lot of tracks this year either as a solo or being featured alongside another artist. Either way, he’s still shining on every track he’s on. Favorite 2008 Singles: Closer, Mad, Bust it Baby Pt. 2 (Plies Feat. Ne-Yo), Single (NKOTB Feat. Ne-Yo)

Chris Brown: C-Breezy! I’ve been a Chris Brown fan since he came out when I was back in high school. He’s consistently put out great singles and his CD is great as well. He definitely is an all around artists and on top of everything a great performer. Might I add that his style is dope as hell? Haha. I find myself using him as inspiration when buying new clothes and trying to dress myself. He’s definitely the face of R&B and I expect huge things out of him in the future. Favorite 2008 Singles: Superhuman (Feat. Keri Hilson), Freeze (T-Pain Feat. Chris Brown)

Keri Hilson: One of my top top top favorite artists of 2008. Keri Hilson first made huge strides with her collabo with Timbaland on his track “The Way I Are”. She wrote Britney Spears’ “Gimme More”. She is hella talented and her voice is different. I remember hearing her song with Timbaland and I was wondering who the hell this girl was. I kept up with news on Keri Hilson and made sure I caught her singles and CD information. Unfortunately her album was pushed back to 2009, but she’s definitely made great impact this year. She is one of those artists who’s an individual and who’s distinctive and has immense talent. Her style is so fresh and so is she. Favorite 2008 Singles: Energy, Turn Off (Feat. Lil Wayne)

Craig David: I’ll always be a fan of this British R&B sensation. His smoothness on his tracks and the emotion in his voice is what keeps me a fan. Not only really till last year was when I became a huge fan. I realized he had a follow up to his first album and this year he released his third studio album “Trust Me”. I definitely will always be a fan of his. His music is upbeat and can either start to get you pumped or can help you get through some rough times. I hope he can pull some more momentum back here in the U.S. I think he’s too talented to not be recognized anymore here. Favorite 2008 Singles: 6 of 1 Thing, Insomnia, Let’s Dance

T-Pain: I feel like T-Pain currently has like 12 tracks that he’s featured on or has released on his own. I think I may be right. He’s distinctive cause of his kind of auto tone voice. I feel as in many of his songs, it’s a guaranteed hit. It’s like you collabo with T-Pain and you’re guaranteed a top 10 hit. He makes hip hop translatable to a more pop music crowd. He might not be a conscious rapper, but his material is about having a good time and letting loose and there’s nothing wrong with that. Favorite 2008 Singles: Chopped ‘N’ Screwed, Go Girl (Ciara Feat. T-Pain)

T.I.: One of my favorite rappers. His swag is sick and his material is even sicker. I won’t lie that I haven’t really looked into much of his other non-released material. But I’ve always liked T.I. even before this year. Again his style is dope! Not much else to say, I also expect a lot out of him. He’s too talented to not have a long career. Favorite 2008 Singles: Swagger Like Us, Live Your Life (Feat. Rihanna)

Lil Wayne: Used to a Weezy F Baby Haterrrrr, but now converted thanks to my brother. Enough said. Favorite 2008 Singles: A Milli, Got Money (T-Pain Feat. Lil Wayne)

Honorable Mention: Janet Jackson, Lupe Fiasco, Usher, Jordin Sparks, The Dream, Brandy, John Legend, Keyshia Cole, Common

Who To Look Out for In 2009: Jazmine Sullivan, Karina Paisan, David Archuleta, Jennifer Hudson, Janelle Monae, Colby O'Donis, Kid Sister, Kid Cudi

Who Needs to Stop: Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus

Gettin All Creative and Shitt...

A big thing for me this year was cell phones. I went through 4 this year. I lost my Samsung in the UIC Cafeteria. Then I extended my contract and got the Nokia Music Xpress Phone. Then that phone screen got hella cracked and then I got an old school Motorola Silver Razor V3. Then that phone got messed up, cause I think I left it in the sun while I played tennis...oops. Finally and hopefully for the next 2 years or so I have my Sidekick 2008. One of the main reasons that pulled me into this phone was the ability to have changeable shells. This shells can be personalized to fit your own tastes but also there are tons available at sidekickshells.com. It's definitely a good phone, would be better with an Internet plan but that will soon come. I got hella bored within the last couple months and I've used all my creative juices the right way and created a few shells. Check 'em out and tell me what you think...=]

All these are just kinda inspired by different things. A lot of work but also kinda just going with the flow and making those small changes. As you can tell, I like to incorporate a lot of things that I either like or find important. Philippine Flag Sun, Japanese Naval Ensign, Music, Venus & Serena and the city of Chicago. The Panda one was kinda inspired by Ate Heather and Nate cause I totally remembered they had panda shirts and also Pandas are just pretty sweet. haha. The "Smiley Star" was inspired by a Tee I saw online. Tell me what you think!

Tennis Recap of 2008

Hmmm..tennis. One of the few things in life I truly love and truly give my heart to. That was my escape in the high school. The tennis court. I'd play with Jeff, Nate and my Lil brother. Used to play for as long as the sun was out during the summer. Long long days playing tennis. It was the sport that I felt was mine no one could tell me how to play except for me or my coach. I had control over how I played and who I cheered for. I miss it so much. It's been hard to play lately, mine and Nate's schedules didn't really work all that well and when you're a college kid it's pretty hard to come by ca$h to re-string racquets. What I'll miss the most is, after winter break in high school. We used to start conditioning and then practice in the 40 degree Chicago weather in March. It felt like it would never warm up, but it did and in May was the worst when it was like 80 for a whole. Uhhh...weird right? That's Chicago weather. I'm gonna miss the stress and the competition and all the focus I put into it. Anyway, back to the reason why I'm posting. This year was a GREAT year for my favorite players.

Serena Williams won the Hopman Cup for the U.S. along side Mardy Fish

Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open

Serena went on a tearrrr she won 3 straight tournaments: Pattaya Women's Open, Sony Ericsson Open and Family Circle Cup. Dannnng girl. She was lookin hella fit and her tennis was on point.















Rafael "Rafa" Nadal went on to win his 4th Straight Roland Garros Title (The French Open). He's undefeated there. He's won the entire slam every time he's played there. BEAST!



My oh my, the girl who was in my dreams, Ana Ivanovic won her maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros out toughing Dinara Safina in a very tipsy-turvy final.

Just when I thought Venus was having a hard year, she comes out of no where and beats Serena in the Wimbledon final. Showing her athleticism and her long reach in a greatly contested final. Not only did she win the Ladies Singles Championship, but she won the Ladies Doubles Championship with Serena later that day. It was her 5th Wimbledon title in the last 8 years. (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008).

Guess who out dueled the King of Grass at this year's Wimbledon's Men's Singles Championship? Yup, my boy Rafa Nadal. He out grueled Federer in a match that went to 5 sets and didn't finish until very late that day. This dude is the real deal! Sick play on a surface that really works against his game. But this shows the fight and hard work that pays off.

My girls won another Olympic Gold at Beijing in Doubles.

After a disappointing Roland Garros campaign, Serena showed off her dominating and hard hitting play in her winning her 9th Grandslam of her career at the United States Open. She beat Venus in the Quarters and that stupid Jankovic in the Final.

Venus closed off a shaky beginning of the year with two pretty big titles. The Zurich Open in Zurich, Switzerland and the Sony Ericsson Year End Championships beating Vera Zvonareva.

Last Day of Class

Thank God this semester is officially done. No more class, just final left. Then 4 weeks of winter break. Granted there isn't a huge weight of my shoulders yet cause I still have 2 pretty huge finals next week. Today had my final Anatomy and Physiology lecture exam and damn was that hard. I've been studying like a dog since Sunday and you can see that on my face. YES I LOOK A MESS! lol whatever I hope it paid off. I won't know how I did in this class until next Friday and as an effect of that I won't specifically know how well to do on the final. I NEED A B, FUCKERS! It's gonna suck huge balls if I end up getting a C in a 5 credit class, but what can I really do? Yanno...I've been spreading myself so thin and busting my ass like no other. I really do work hard, whatever I know that. Fuck it, if my parents can't realize it. Anyway this post is just a little something something to relax a little bit and soon get in gear for Finals.

Tomorrow is my brother's 16th Birthday party. Yea...16 years old? Crazy right. And tomorrow is also Manny "Mexicutioner" Pacquiao VS Oscar De La Hoya. I'm pulling for my boy MANNY! It's gonna be a sick fight and I hope the "Pac-Man" can come out on top. Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO

(Look he's already got his game face on...HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLA)

Smiling & Relaxed Jeff is not here...please leave a message

I'm in AARCC right now updating my blog, but I should be in my Calculus discussion but I don't even learn in with my T.A. anyway. =) So it's all good. I need to vent a little bit, I'm HELLA stressed, I feel like this week will not end. It's like a pre-finals week, I love that we have 2 test in Anatomy this week. It's like how can life get any better? I'm already stressed up the ass with finals and I now I have to worry about this stuff? Really? Well I had my last Lab Test (for those you that don't know--the T.A.'s tag cadavers and we have to label the muscles, among other functional questions). Sounds easy right? It's not! The feet and hands of the cadavers are so dried out and the tendons and muscles are so hard to look at. It's just really tough, you need to know the nerves with innervate the muscles, where they attach and so much more. I don't wanna sound like a little bitch complaining about it, cause I know it just comes with the territory of being a Kinesiology major but damn! It's just always so tough around this time of the semester. I just need to weather the storm and stay steady and it's hard when you just wanna give up cause you've tried your hardest. I guess I can suck it up for another week. I might be getting a C in this class, I'm gonna fight till the end and I just hope I can get it there get that B even if its only by a .5. whatever. I need this B I don't wanna have to climb. Well back to studying Anatomy...wish me luck on my test.