You guys know my infatuated feelings I have for Pasadena, the city that I have a boyish crush on, the city that is the quintessential metaphor for a hot babe that is both smart and charming. Yeah I have a crush on Pasadena and I got it bad. But imagine this, you have a crush on this super hot babe and she is just perfect, but then later you find out that she is already married. How would you feel? Well, seems like this perfect girl named Pasadena is married and his name is Mr. Pasadena.
I’ve heard of Mr. Pasadena from some of the business owners, particularly people in the restaurant business. There was this sense of almost mythic legend around Mr. Pasadena. When I started Pasadena Rave, I was advised to meet with Mr. Pasadena. His name kept popping up in conversations, and as a matter of fact, I was following Mr. Pasadena on Twitter. I had to meet this guy.
I finally got the chance to meet with this so called Mr. Pasadena, AKA Michael Calderon. We were sitting at the patio of Jone’s Coffee when Mr. Pasadena strolled in with a big smile. He shook my hands and he began to talk about Pasadena. The more he talked, the more I began to realize that my feelings for Pasadena was nothing compared to the depth of emotion that Mr. Pasadena had for this city. I was in love with Pasadena, but Mr. Pasadena loved Pasadena. Yeah, the distinction of the two is confusing, since I’m a guy, but I could tell that this dude knew Pasadena intimately.
Putting aside my jealousy, the more he shared, I found myself liking the guy. It was a surreal situation. Imagine meeting the husband of the girl that you have a crush on, and then finding the guy charming, likable and just overall awesome. Can you get the conflicting emotions that was going through my head? Mr. Pasadena had this generous, bubbly personality that made me feel guilty for being jealous. He really cared for this city, and his passion for Pasadena oozed out of him effortlessly. God, I envied this guy and at the same time I liked him. Emotions that contradict each other suck!
“Mr. Pasadena” started off as a nick name given to Michael by his friends back in the days, because he kept raving about the city every chance he got. He was like this walking word of mouth advertising for the city. Soon his friends started listening and would visit Pasadena to take in all the wonders of this city and they began to see that Michael wasn’t kidding. Pasadena was a great town!
What is it about Pasadena that you love? “I can go on and on! What it boils down to is that you don’t have to leave the confines of Pasadena to have a great time. This city has everything! We got great gourmet food, great entertainment, we got music, we got dancing, the best movie theaters, we got arts and entertainment, home of Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl... “, yeah he wasn’t kidding when he said he could go on and on, as a matter of fact I was amazed at his super human ability to go on and on without taking a breath. Talk about skills.
Michael is well known in the city for creating successful events that highlight local venues. His recommendations is sought after by businesses because throngs of people show up. And not just any people, people from all over the world shows up.
It is evident that Michael’s relationship with Pasadena is rock solid, he is the type that would never cheat on his wife. Did I have a chance with Pasadena? Could I entice Pasadena to leave him? Or at least have a fling with me? Mr. Pasadena just smiled, and with a twinkle in his eyes said “I'll let you have a dance with her”. Are you kidding me? Just a dance? Fine, whatever. I wonder if Pasadena know how to Tango?
My main goal is to bring you my Pasadena and make it your Pasadena. I love this city and I can’t sing it’s praises loud enough or often enough. If I am not inviting friends and family to come to Pasadena, I am showing friends and family around Pasadena. Because there are so many things to do and places to go here and I know that I (Mr. Pasadena) am the person to bring them to you.