On my way to work I was listening to The Sound of Young America podcast. There was a comic (name forgotten) talking about celebrity/celebutantes being a creation of the US government. Stolen election in Iran? Send in a celebrity to do something gawk-worthy and distract the national consciousness. I laughed at the concept, and then thought, I don’t even follow celebrity gossip.

Hah. A few hours later, the news started to pour in via Facebook and Twitter. Michael Jackson was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center. Can’t you hear the helicopters?

Yeah, there was no mistaking the noise. I clicked refresh a lot of times and talked to my co-worker who had just returned from lunch. He said he saw the ambulance rushing up Westwood Blvd followed by black Escalades. The SUVs were driving wildly, “with no regard for human life,” and almost hit someone. He said, “wow, someone important must be in there.”

I left work a little after the LA Times confirmed TMZ’s statement that he had died. I wasn’t getting any work done anyway. I walked down by the hospital on my way to the bus stop. It seemed that there were as many people with cameras and microphones as those just wanting to talk about their affinity for MJ and his music. I took a few photos and then went home, listening to Bad, Off the Wall and Thriller.

The rest of the day has been reading reactions, listening to his music, watching videos and reflecting.

I remember:

How much I loved Captain EO at Disneyland. It’s much better than what they currently have there.

Being jealous that my brother and cousin both had Beat It t-shirts.

Making my mom play the We Are the World record again and again. I also loved just looking at the cover.

Doing the “Thriller” dance with the UCLA band during our Halloween halftime show at the Rose Bowl in 1998.

The videos. For a brief period we had cable at home. I remember the “Man in the Mirror” video the most.

Most of all though, I think of the fact that my consciousness of pop music began with Michael Jackson (and the Beatles).

RIP, Michael.

A friend told me to update my blog. I hope a bullet point entry is okay.

• I was really happy to see the Lakers win their 15th NBA championship. I’m happy to see two former Bruins, Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar, win a championship. And of course I’m happy for the veterans like Phil “X” Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher (swoon!). For the record, I celebrated peacefully.
• I finally went to my first Dodger game of the season. I tend to avoid Chavez Ravine due to the parking costs. However, during their series against the Oakland A’s (first one since the ’88 World Series), parking is free. I caught a game with my friend Alfred and his family. Now that summer is here, I plan to catch more games. There’s really no better way to spend a summer evening than at the Dodger Stadium (the Hollywood Bowl and bonfires come in a close second and are on the plans for this weekend).
• I wrote my last letter to the UCLA Chancellor a few weeks ago. In it, I included recommendations from my committee — made up of students, staff and faculty — on how to spend a lot of money. I’m pretty sure my term as chair of that committee will be my last student leadership position. It was quite the positive experience and I’m happy I had the opportunity to serve students on that committee.
• Speaking of being a student, I really need to get back on track. I couldn’t sleep a few nights ago as I thought of how I was going to fund my 6th year.
• I went to MEChA’s 40th anniversary dinner and after party a few weeks ago. I got to see old friends and fellow MEChistas. The event was nice and both bittersweet. It really solidified how much things have changed since I graduated seven years ago.
• Speaking of graduations, I celebrated my cousin’s graduations last week. The three sisters timed their graduations perfectly. Valerie graduated from 8th grade with a 4.0 GPA. Vanny graduated with her AA and is currently a student at Cal Poly Pomona (along with my sister). Nancy completed her bachelor’s in social work. I’m proud of my cousins.
• I skipped out on the Education school graduation. I felt bad about missing the event considering some close friends who entered with me (or the year after) were graduating. Still, I think the event would have made feel worse as it would reinforce my own educational “lurch” (read Dr Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and feelings of being left behind.
• Family is starting to tell me I (a) look more like my mom now and (b) look more like my sister. I think the latter is due to the fact that Lori did my makeup that evening.
• My dad recently had knee surgery. He’s hobbling around the house on crutches, but generally doing well.
• When I’m with the boyfriend, I feel quite lucky.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I used to write late at night, now I go to the gym late at night.