Today, I rolled through to Long Beach to shoot my good friend Sunni. First met this dude back in I think my 1st or 2nd year at CSULB when he complimented my sneakers as I stepped off the Student Union escalator. Somehow, we linked up, both as artists, and have been in contact/working together since. Sunni, and his older brother Cobe Obeah, are both songwriters/producers/hip-hop artists. I've had the pleasure of meeting the both of them, and most recently, photos that I took of Sunni a couple months back were featured in a magazine based in the UK, called VIPER magazine, where current acts such as Tinashe are featured in, and where Schoolboy Q graces the cover. So with that being my first print publication, I feel pretty cool lol.

Being said, pretty chill day today. Walked around the neighborhood and took some random shots. It was pretty hot though so it was pretty tiring. Had some intrigued neighborhood folks approach us about what we were doing, and one girl who drove by who was totally enamored by Sunni as he took off his shirt to change in the middle of the street lol. And again, shooting on location with peel apart polaroids is difficult because of the development/drying process. LOL.

For more on Sunni, check out his soundcloud and his tumblr and follow him on instagram: @sunnicolon

What's up everyone? So last friday, October 17th, I turned 27 years old. Fuck...am I that old already? Time has indeed gone by so fast...in fact, my damn 10 year High School Reunion is next year. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you guys about my weekend.

Generally, since after I turned 21 I guess, I don't really care about my birthday anymore. To me, it's just any other day. This is probably only the 2nd time in all my tenure over working at Best Buy that I was actually off on my bday. For the last couple of birthdays, I've done little things with my friends and family for my birthday. No crazy bashes or anything, just pretty much all gathered to get something to eat, and that was that. Then, it just turned to strictly a family thing. I dunno, I guess it's also part of my introversion where I usually don't like going out as much rather than just staying in.

Something kinda changed my mindset about the "DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR BDAY" mentaiity. After DJing my friend Jesse's birthday party a week prior, we just shot the shit for a bit after the party ended. This is the 2nd time I have DJ'd his party, and he was talking about how this might be his last one. That led up to me telling him about how I felt about my own birthday. But what he responded to with next is what kinda woke me up about how I should really think about my special day. He said something along the lines of, "My Birthday is a big deal for me. I mean, it WAS the DAY you were BORN. The day your Mom let you into the world. She could have had an abortion, or other shit, but rather she gave you life..."

So anyways, I do appreciate my bday a bit more now. I told my Mom the same thing pretty much, I was like "Mom, I don't want to go out and eat, but if you want to, I will go, because I think this day is more about you than me, thank you for giving birth to me today..." ...AND SHE JUST FUCKING LAUGHED AT ME....lol. Anyways yeah...

First thing I did was eat Kabuki with my mom for dinner after she got off work. I love sushi! I got some salmon sushi and Baked Scallop rolls. Fucking delicious.

About to enjoy my free Birthday Sundae....

...til this Birthday-Sundae Thief stole it and fiended in the corner. LOL

Then, last minute, my boss hit me up from work and suggested we hit up TGI Fridays later that night to celebrate. That is usually were coworkers and I go and have a drink or two after we get off, usually on paydays. Anyways, a whole ton of people came, so I felt the love. Even a couple of fresh new hires came out too, so thanks everyone who went.

The next day, another friend/coworker Natalia threw her annual Halloween party (which I DJd last year), but this time, I wasn't at the helm, and I got to enjoy the party festivities. Instead, my boss and his son, the duo DJ Spin and DJ Twist took the spotlight. So pretty much more drinking and dancing and acting a fool and such. LOL.

Also, my sister was out of town for my birthday, so today to make it up, she bought us all Thai Food to eat and celebrate at home. I am currently having difficulty breathing since I am hella full. Haha.

All in all, great birthday weekend, did more than I would usually ever think of doing. LOL.

-Don

TGIF...

My Shoot with Sunni Colon

My Birthday Weekend Round-Up