new orleans – Keane Li

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I’ve enjoyed Paolo Nutini’s 2006 debut, These Streets for some time now but only recently felt compelled to write an entry on it. Overall, a fantastic set of songs, it’s gotten me through many an introspective day with bittersweet tracks like, “Last Request,” “Rewind” and “These Streets.”

As I was going through some old Yelp pictures, I saw a photo I took of my own shoes. I was instantly brought back to that day, what I was feeling and how different things are now. From this inspiration, I’ve revisited a collection of past moments, as told via shoe, to serve as a reminder that it’s about time I grab a new pair…

â˜œ For the past four years, I’ve pretty much only worn Onitsuka Tigers. I still remember the first pair my ex-girlfriend gave me back in (what must have been) 2005. They’re affordable, stylish and really lightweight. They don’t provide adequate cushioning for the avid walker, as I discovered in Boston two years ago, so I enhance them with inserts. A simple adjustment and it feels like I’m walking on clouds. (2 minutes ago)

Some friends of ours are hosting the Pig Eat Fest to benefit the San Francisco Food Bank at Lake Merced. Two giant roasting boxes are filled with large, free range, local, sustainable, organic, et cetera pigs. I eat more meat today than I have in awhile. (07.11.09) â˜ž

â˜ It’s Memorial Day Weekend. My original plan to fly to New York and spend the night wandering before flying back the next morning is foiled by the fact that all my friends there aren’t in town. Instead, my Family Plan sis, Tinna and I drive to Fort Bragg and leave our names (“keaneiscool“) in the sands of Glass Beach. Promptly after, Tinna shows the world that Keane, in fact, is not cool by stomping my name into sandy submission. (05.24.09)

I have to go to work on a Sunday?! Luckily, a couple of friends are coming along. We inadvertently discover the How Weird Street Faire right outside my office. It’s a nice surprise to spend the afternoon dancing in the streets with the slightly less ordinary. (05.10.09) â˜ž

â˜œ This is Truffles, a friend’s dog. We’re at Crissy Field, celebrating a birthday with a sunny view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I walked a long way here, not realizing how far it would be from my place, but was able to snap a lot of great photos along the way. (04.18.09)

Those of us far from home can always find warm comfort in Dolores Park during the holidays. And nothing says, “Happy Easter,” like beer swigging hipsters getting high on a Sunday afternoon. I’m pretty sure there’s a goat here too. There’s always a goat at Dolores Park… (04.12.09) â˜ž

â˜œ It’s February. My Italian friend, Veronica, has~~n’t~~ been to the Museum of Modern Art ~~yet, so~~ we decide to visit today while she is in the city. The special exhibit is one that requires participation. Goggles, gloves, nets and brooms – we try them all. After, I leave with a poster of a lone bird that I decide to hang on my bedroom wall. (02.08.09)

â˜œ I am in Hawaii. It’s just before Christmas and I’m visiting the Honolulu Academy of Art with my mom. It’s quiet and beautiful. I keep myself occupied by capturing photos to bring back as a gift for a friend. They are, to me, both elegantly sweet and sad. It feels like I’m stuck in time, with growing feelings that will eventually consume me for the rest of the following year. (12.20.08)

â˜ž I quit my job at the Federal Reserve Bank a month ago and have been backpacking down the East Coast since. I’ve been to Boston, New York, DC, Virginia Beach and Greensboro. Now I’m in New Orleans, on a ferry between the French Quarter and Algiers. I do not know that I will get an internship with Performer Magazine a month from now. I do not know that I will join The Conversation Group a month later. I do not know that I will get laid off from that same job two years after I start…