Skate Park Portraits

Yellow bike in Long Beach

Gratitude Project

My brother Michael died as a result of a motorcycle accident the day he found out he and his girlfriend were going to have a baby. My niece Micah  was born on Christmas day.  I'm grateful for every moment I get to spend with her, she is so much like her dad.

I live with my brother and his girlfriend, and my nephew. Odin Xavier Fuenzalida was born on January (Friday!!!) the 13th 2012.   Even though he cries and no one gets any sleep, he makes up for it by having an amazing laugh and being happy pretty much all the time.  He's pretty nice to have around.

I got a call from my cousin and heard my great uncle Allen had been in the hospital for weeks from his cancer getting worse.  Allen used to be a pilot for United Airlines.  I drove down to the bay area to see him and when I got there he was already out of the hospital and to my surprise walking around like nothing happened.  He was in good spirits.  I'm glad I got to hang out with him one last time.

This is my great aunt or my "Tia Sonia" who is married to Allen.  I was born in San Mateo, and all through my childhood holidays were spent visiting family.  Sonia always threw parties at her house, because it was big and had a pool.  There was always someone getting thrown in, they were always good parties.  She would always cash out my brothers and I on Christmas too.

My parents were born in Santiago Chile, and their parents brought them to the US when they were kids.  They sought the land of opportunity, and because of that I'm lucky enough to live in the US.  Not just that but in California, where you can go to the ocean and the mountains in one day.  Furthermore, there are a lot of people who would wonder where a picture like this could be taken, and for some, this is where we call home.  This is where my parents brought me when I was very young, away from the fast paced city life, so that I could grow up in this setting you see here.

I was driving when I saw this power box on the side of the road.  Someone who is awesome decided to turn an ordinary power box into a robot with lit up eyes, and a robot dog.  I think most people would agree that it looks better now than it did before.   

I took my buddy Jerry who skates for Blood Wizard skateboards to this spot I found near by off of I-80, which you can see on the far right.  This rock trailer seemed like it would be more useful if it were skated upon than just sitting there in a dirt lot.  Tight space, tricky maneuver, about 10 above the ground.  Jerry and myself were both surprised to walk away from this U-pipe thing unscathed. 

My friend Cody, demonstrating a proper Front-Side Air.  I had skated street for years before I started to skate "transitions," which means bowls and ramps and such.  Basically everything awesome.  I remember about five years ago skating a pool and doing my first Front-Side Air.  It was the best feeling, I just remember thinking "wow, this is what it's like to fly"

Who doesn't love pizza?

My niece Micah was asking me why I go to school once and then asked what a photographer is.  I told her it's someone who shows people things or places that they wouldn't otherwise be able to see.  She looked at me and said "So you're like an explorer," and it made me remember that childhood dream of becoming an explorer or an adventurer, discover new things and going into uncharted territory.  She made me remember why I love what I do.  Adventure.

Another bit of street art that I found, but not some silly scrawling of someone's name or initials or some mundane B.S. like that.  I really like seeing stencil art, it means someone took their time with an idea, it means something to the person that made it, and it carries a message.  As much as people think "graffiti" like this is an eyesore, I think it's one of the greatest forms of expression.  More stencil art!

I'm stoked that there's still people who are down to go to a parking lot at night and skate, even though there isn't a ton of stuff to skate.  Skateboarding comes with a great sense of camaraderie, it doesn't matter that the kid behind me is 16 or our other buddy (not pictured) is 34, we share a common bond, or addiction.  People usually don't understand, they usually ask silly questions.  This is what keeps us sane.

Coffee, such an amazing discovery.  My parents bought a coffee shop when I was in high school and I ended up working there for almost 4 years.  We took our coffee very seriously, now I'm spoiled, now I'm a coffee snob.  Who was it that unassumingly picked a bunch of inedible berries from a coffee plant and then soaked them in water until the husks fell off, then roasted the beans until they were a nice dark brown (not burnt!) and then ground the beans up (not too fine, not too coarse) and poured boiling water over them and through a filter to make the delicious elixir that we refer to as coffee?  Oh the things we take for granted.

We get to witness this absolutely marvelous phenomenon that happens when the sun makes the ocean evaporate, and then it gets high enough in the sky and the temperature gets so low that the ocean evaporate turns from a gas into a crystal, in the air! Ice crystals floating in the air?  Oh those are just clouds. 

What would the world be without Mexican food?

Ok, I know, food.  There's a really good BBQ place in Grass Valley and I discovered the other day that for just a couple bucks more than a sandwich I can get 1/2 pound of meat with two 16oz sides and two biscuits.  The bacon wrapped jalepeno poppers didn't come with it, just seemed like a good addition. 

My momma's birthday was on September 9th, she is 53.  Thanks mom for making me.

Good old garage jams.  Friends and good times.

Friends throwing a free concert at the river, complete with trippy lights and trippy river dwelling folk. 

Technically it was past midnight and we were still partying and making music.  This photo represents friends, and partying. 

I am grateful for safety standards in cars, as well as the airbags which somehow managed to save my face and the rest of me for that matter from getting banged up in my accident.