September 30, 2009

I'm such a lazy blogger. (unedited)

Ok, to my defense I had been really busy. But there was definitely times where I wanted to write down something on this blog only to tell myself that I would do it tomorrow. Well that obviously didn't happen. Here is a brief update (hopefully) on everything that has happened since my last post.

May 2009 -
I basically worked on something all month, so I basically didn't really have any time off. I kept really busy as work streamed in at a constant pace and I didn't turn down anything, with the exception of working on Real World DC for 6 month, I did work for them for a week, but I really didn't want to commit to a reality show for that long with so much work coming to town. Real World really doesn't pay that well compare to other project coming to town, and you usually end up doing more than you should. In the end, it ended up being a really good choice.

With that much working, I really didn't do anything else outside of work. I wasn't even home that much since I was working in DC the entire time. And when I wasn't working I was working.

I had decided to do the 48 Hour Film Festival again this year, so I needed to do some pre-production that on my time off. The festival was in June so I needed to do a lot of pre-production and that included audition. I saw over 200 people, and man was that exhausting to do.

The only fun I had, outside of work, was going to a couple Orioles games, including one in DC.

June 2009 -
2 is the total days off I had this month. Yep, two days all month where I didn't do anything. I worked two movies this month which were back to back with no time off. I worked on Salt starring Angelina Jolie which came back to DC from NY to finish off the film. I was on the staff when they were in DC in march, so it was only natural that I would work on this film when it came back. I worked on this film for 13 straight days, without any time off and on my last day I worked 14 hours and drove all the way to Towson to start working on my 48 Hour Film Project. I also got a free mini fridge for working on that show, it was the same one Jolie used.

The 48 Hour Film Project was such a bust. The movie sucked. I was just to tire to really do anything creative and pretty much played it safe, which sucked. And I realize now that as much as I like working with my friends, it probably would be better next time, if I work with someone with similar taste to myself instead of my friends who I get along with but don't necessarily have the same movie taste. This was our criteria. Genre: Holiday film. Prop: Tire. Character: Unemployed musician. Line: "I need to leave in a minute."

I had a day off after the 48 Hour Film Project, but it really didn't feel like it. It would have been to have a day to wind down, but instead a group of us spend all day hanging out and doing fun thing like mini golf, going to the fair, and movie. It was fun, but still tiring.

I went straight to work on the other movie after that. The movie had already started shooting so I was coming in 3 days late. But I work on that for two weeks with only one day off. The movie was called How Do You Know? starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson, but now it doesn't have a title anymore. This really sucks, because the movie only shot in DC for two weeks and went to Philly to finish shooting, but the movie is entirely based in DC. That would have been 3 month worth of work on a big budget movie had it stayed in DC. 3 month worth of work would have been nice. I could always use the money, especially since in the middle of the shoot, my car broke. Luckily my sister doesn't use her car and I was staying with her, so I just took hers. But I do need a new car soon. I fixed my car, but I don't know how much longer it will last. It's a 1990 Honda Accord. I know people who aren't as old as my car.

With the exception of the 48 Hour Film Festival, I wasn't home at all this month. And as you might of guessed, I had no social life whatsoever. I average 4 hours of sleep this entire month.

July 2009 -
After the movie wrapped, I had a few days until I went down to the Florida Keys for vacation. But in the meantime, I had a ton of errands to run since I had been so busy the last 2 month. I also needed to fix my car.

I spent the 4th in Frederick with The Foreman's and Taydus since I really didn't have time to make any plans. It actually was great. We didn't do anything wild or crazy beside light some firework up in the neighborhood, but it was just good catching up with them as I don't see them often. The police eventually told us to stop because someone complained, but they complained about the house next door who had screamers, and we are the one that got caught. No worries, there was no harm done. The Foreman's live on a hill, so at about 9pm we could see about 6 or 7 different firework show from surrounding city, which was really cool.

It was finally time for a much needed vacation. So I finally went home to pack-up and meet with my friends which whom I was going to vacation with in Towson. I would only be home for a day, but I really didn't mind. But then came a shocker.

My stupid roommates, which whom I thought I was friend with stabbed me in the back. They had secretly been looking for a new apartment and found one and then broke our lease early without my knowledge. It's not like I was a bad roommate, I wasn't even home for 2 and half month but I was clean when I was and I payed all my bills on time. This is the last time I room with selfish rich spoiled white guys. You never think it'll happen to you, until it happens to you, but I should have known that it would happen, since one of my two roommates basically did the same thing before. I now had to either find two new roommates to move in or find a new place to leave with new roommates in 3 weeks and I was going on an expansive vacation for a week. Just what I needed. I eventually did find roommates to move in, but when it came down to finalizing the deal, I decided that I didn't want to live in Towson anymore. More on that later.

Despite the misfortune, I didn't let it ruin my vacation though, I had been looking forward to it for 6 month and I had been dying to scuba dive for years. So off to Key Largo I went the next day. I had an absolute awesome time there. I got open water scuba certified. The view under water is amazing. I think I just fell in love with another recreational activity. I freakin' swam with some sharks and barracuda on my very first dive. I got to relax a ton in the sun, in the water, and in the pool. It was definitely very relaxing and exactly what I needed after 4 long month of work and the stress of having to move. Key Largo was very relaxing and slow, it was a bit too slow for my taste, but it was just awesome to relax. And on our last day, we went to Key West which was more my style. I absolutely recommend diving in Key Largo and going to Key West. I had hope to visit Miami a little bit since that was where we landed, but we didn't have the time.

The week went by way too fast and it was time to get back to real life. Something I really wasn't looking forward to. As soon as I got back to MD, I was already back at work. That actually was a bit of a relief, since I had forgotten my phone in MD when I went on vacation. I had forgotten my phone in my car in front of my friends parents house. It took 3 days for them to get my phone out of the car and send it to our hotel room. When I got the phone, I had missed out on three jobs.

By the time the job was done and my car was fixed. I finally went back home, and I only had 2 weeks to find a place in DC to move out to.

I had decided that I didn't want to live in Towson anymore. There are definitely some people in Baltimore that I am going to miss hanging out with on a consistent basis, but I mainly work in DC, so living an hour away doesn't make sense. I actually had been thinking of moving back to DC for sometime, but I wasn't going to do it for at least another 6 month, now I was kinda force to move up my timetable.

Living in the apartment for the last 2 weeks, was awkward. My stupid roommate were completely avoiding me. One of them even decided that he wasn't going to sleep there, while I was there. What cowards! We even went to the same wedding completely separately. Lucky for me, I wasn't home that much either as I was still getting work, ironically the work was in Baltimore. I was also trying to make sure to catch up with all my friend before I left town, so I was out most of the nights.

I didn't have a chance to find a new apartment, but which actually turned out pretty good, because I moved in with my sister where I don't have to pay rent and can now finally buy some of the few things that I've needed for some time. I moved in all my things by myself in two trips, I really don't own much. I don't plan on staying there that long, just until I get some of the things I need to further my career.

August 2009-
This month was all about Gluttony. I did so much eating. Between the three birthday dinner I had and Kelly's wedding in NY, I was completely stuff. But I also went out so much during this month including an all you can eat seafood buffet for my sister buffet. I gain about 15 pounds.

Work is starting to slow down. I'm working but not as much, I've even had to worked for ESPN for Monday Night Football. It's not something I would usually do, since they don't pay much, but I'm not really complaining about working on MNF. I actually have a lot of time on my hand now. And since I've moved, I really don't know what to do with my free time. I usually just go to my sisters bar and hang out there and play some pool.

I am slowly getting adjusted to living back in DC. Also, my other sister has finally gotten engaged.

September 2009 -
I'm still getting adjusted to living in DC. I don't really hang out to much with my old friends, because tell you the truth the reason I moved to Baltimore was that I didn't think hanging out with them was a good thing for me. So I really don't think that hanging out with them now is any different. They are still my friends, but I don't want to hang out with them 24/7.

I haven't worked much. Actually I've only worked on one job this month. I just worked on Big Love this past weekend. Luckily I am working on a photo shoot this week. So that will make it two jobs this month. Winter is coming, I better start saving.

One of the scariest thing happen to me this month also. I was force to go to the emergency room for an intolerable pain. I'll live. The diagnosis was kidney stones. I'm just now starting to feel like myself, but the medicine and illness has really put my body completely out of whack. I have yet to pass the stone.

I think that's it for now.

May 10, 2009

A blog entry five month in the making.

Ok, so I've been meaning to write on this things since new year, but procrastination, laziness, and eventually work and a social life took over and made it harder and harder to sit down and actually write something without spending an hour on it.

Back in December, I was completely frustrated with my employment situation. As a freelancer, you are so at the mercy of the work coming to town, but the winter saw absolutely no work coming. It almost came down to the point where I almost quit the business so that I wouldn't starve.

Today, I am glad that I didn't quit. Work eventually came and it looks like there's a lot more coming. I've been somewhat busy since February, I got on multiple projects and it looks like I'm going to be considered for future upcoming projects, which I'm crossing my fingers for.

I am good at what I do and I stand by my work and work ethic, but I haven't always gotten any recognition working in such a small and often ignored department as location. This past couple month was different. I have been getting a lot of praise, especially after switching from location to production. It feels very good to be acknowledge for your good and hard work. One of the best memorable event to happen to me was when at the end of the shoot, the line producer and production supervisor pulled me aside and told me that I was going to be name the "Key P.A." in the credit because of my excellent work throughout the shoot. They loved my work so much, that they basically told me that I should move to L.A. immediately. The production coordinator basically told me that if I ever moved to L.A. that I would have a job waiting for me.

I went from almost quitting the business to heavily considering moving to L.A. for it in three month. I considered it for a very long time, over a month. I talked to a few friend that I know who have moved out there, I even looked at apartment out there. At the end, however, I decided that I didn't need to move to L.A. just yet to do what I want to do in this business, which is to direct. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but what really tipped it to one side as oppose to the other is the same reason I haven't moved out to L.A. in the past. There are things here on the east coast that I don't know if I could go without. I know it sounds weak but that's the way I feel. To get to where I want to be in the future, I will need to make some more movies and to get recognize from them, just as I've been recognize as a good production assistant. I'm sure the consideration move to L.A. will come up again.

That's work. It's going well so far and has put some money in my pocket so that I don't starve.

Most of the time work takes me away from my friends and family for long period of time, which I really don't mind to much. But once work is over, I want to catch up on what I've missed. So when I'm not working, I'll basically try to catch up with friends that I haven't seen in a long time. That keeps me pretty busy, as I try to catch up with everyone.

My going out has changed dramatically in the past few month.

I've been spending a lot of time with my female friends as of late. For one reason or another, I find that it is just easier to hang out with them as oppose to my regular guy friends, which I find less and less in common with, the truth is I don't think we had that much in common in the first place, I'm just now finding that out. I also find the whole competitive and possessive mentality, especially against me for some odd reason (it makes more sense if you actually know me, no it's not a gay thing), a bit off putting, as well as other more annoying mentality that I wont get into on here.

I've also been hanging out more with friends that I rarely hang out with in the past, new friends that I've made in the past couple month, as well as my sisters and their friends. Now that I can afford gas for my car, I find that I can go home and hang out with my sisters more often.

I don't just go to bars either, which gets boring after awhile. But I've been doing a lot of cool activities, things that I actually would rather do more of. I went rock climbing, which was awesome, I climbed a 5.8. I need to lose some weight, get more flexible, and strengthen my forearm if i want to go any higher, but I'm looking forward to trying. I went to the batting cage for the first time since middle school. I am pretty sure that had I played little league, I would be in the pros right now. It took a short time for me to pick up the speed of the ball, but once I picked it up, I was cracking the ball. I went to the driving range for the first time this year, I think I fixed my slice, time will tell. I went broom balling, which is played on an ice rink without skate. It was really really fun. I was really surprise that after the initial tiredness I played right through it and lasted the whole hour. I guess I'm not as out of shape as I had imagine. I've also been going line dancing on a regular basis, yes that's right, line dancing. It's different and it's something to do, and believe it or not, it does become fun if you know the steps. Maybe, I'll try salsa dancing someday.

That is just a few of the things I did. I was suppose to go hike Great Falls Park, but the trip got rained out. I'm looking forward to this summer as a lot more activity is in the work. The big one right now is going to the keys to get scuba certified. But there are a few other activities in the works. We have more hiking trips plan, as well as some camping trip. Plans are in the work to go white water rafting, atv'ing, paintballing, golfing, gun ranging, touristing, amusement parking, as well as other cool activities that I can't even remember.

Oh! I completely forgot. I finally went to New York City for the first time in my life. It was awesome, freezing cold, but awesome. Plans to go in the summer are in the works. We went to Rockefeller center and the NBC store. We went to MOMA, which I really didn't think was that impressive, but we saw Robert Downey Jr. there. We went to Trump Towers to kinda get out of the cold for a second. It was very...interesting. We went to FOA Schwartz, that was really cool. I think the toys are completely over priced, but it was a pretty cool store nonetheless. We did time square at night which looked very bright. Lot of things to see, lots of people to watch out for. and we finished off the night in Soho at Lombardi's, the first pizzary in NY and also where they shot Goodfellas. Across the street from Lombardi's was a boutique rice pudding store called Rice To Riches, so we tried that for dessert. It was good, but I had rice pudding before, it really isn't anything new for us Asian. It was a very eventful day, which is why we are planning on another trip. Hopefully we'll get to see other monuments and attraction. But it's not cheap.

I've been hanging out with a lot of different people these past couple month, which is a good thing. But there is a major flaw to that. I feel like I don't have a best friend anymore. Someone I can completely relate to, someone that wont judge me when I tell them something. Someone that will help me with any problem that I have. Someone that I can hang out with whenever I call. I have a couple people I can talk to, but really don't have anyone I can call a best friend. I miss that. People I would consider to be best friends are all far away.

Another thing that I miss, is guy camaraderie, I know I hang out with a lot of girls, but it's not like the guys I hang out with will change anything. No offense to the guy friends that I know and hang out with. But I miss playing sports and talking sports with guys that have played sports and know sports with their own opinions and not that of ESPN. I miss the bond that guys have, and I don't feel like I have enough in common with some of the guys that I hang out with to have any type of bond, except for a history bond. I think what I really miss may be related to the above paragraph. I miss having someone that I have a lot of things in common with.

Ok, I think that's it for now. My situation now is a lot better than it was 5 month ago, but like always, there are other things bouncing around in my head that I don't want to get into. Work is good but not great. Social is ok but not good. Future looks promising both work wise and socially.

Oh! I am also kinda sorta talking to someone. I'm taking it extremely slow, which probably will ruin the whole thing. I'm just not entirely sure what her intentions are and that kinda keeps me very guarded. We'll see.

edit: I forgot to add something and I didn't want to start another entry just for it.

Thanks to one of my sister, I have finally switched wireless plan. I'm now on verizon instead of sprint. With that change came a blackberry. I had been avoiding getting a smart phone for the longest time. All I wanted was a simple flip phone with maybe a camera. All I wanted was a phone where I could call and text people with. Instead, I got a blackberry and now I don't know if I can live without it. Crackberry is right. I get all my email, facebook, and twitter updated straight to my phone. I find less and less reason to be on my aging computer now. My sister also gave me her old ipod, which has a bigger hard drive than my aging computer.

After getting the blackberry and ipod, i finally realize how far behind in technology I was. Don't get me wrong, I love gadgets, especially electronic gadgets, just as much as the other guy, but they aren't cheap. I think once I get a new computer (macbook pro) and an HDTV, I might finally be back up to speed with today's technology, then i'll have to get a blueray player, surround sound, a new generation gaming system, DSLR (Nikon D300) or (D80 for the video), new point and shoot camera, etc.... the list goes on.

Yeah, I'm also on twitter now. Not really impress at all with it, but I have friends on there, and I have it setup so that it automatically updates my facebook status, so I'll stay with it for now.

Ok, now I think that's it. I'll try to update more often, but I you never know.

December 30, 2008

Lost but ready to be found in 2009...hopefully

2008 has been a good year to me, a year in which my career progress, a year in which I made new close friends, a year in which saw me out and about for most of it and loving every minute of it. I would definitely consider 2008 to be in my top 5 years of my life. So what's wrong?

The problem is that 2008 started with the high and exhilaration of 2007 and continue to build all the way to the fall, but instead of a continued increase or level one, the enjoyment began to quickly drop as changes in my life occur, followed by a low point that I had thought was never to be seen again.

This past month has been really though, with work slowing down to a crawl, having less people to hang out with, and not having anyone I can even talk with or to. I've been basically doing absolutely nothing, but reading books and watching TV. Due to illness and the weather, I've not even been able to hike. I somehow feel myself getting dumber and I can swear I can feel my muscle going into atrophy. I almost feel like I'm going through a second quarterlife crisis, if that's even possible; the first one was not pretty. I am beyond bored! I feel so lonely! and I feel completely lost in every aspect of my life!

"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible." -Carl Jung

If it wasn't for a couple friends that I've either reconnected with or gotten closer to, as well as some distant friends, I think I might have lost my mind. Talking to someone requires more than having someone to talk to. They have to be able to relate, understand, and listen to you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but there really is a difference between the sexes when it comes to listening. Girls really are just better at it than guys. Being able to talk to someone is a relief I didn't think I needed until it was lost. Another reason I haven't lost my mind is also because of those same friends who's made me feel wanted. You have no idea how good that makes me feel. To be needed makes one feel good, but to be wanted is a completely different high.

I've also seen a lot of people which I hadn't seen in a very long time these past couple weeks, which has been really good for me.

Now that 2009 is pretty much around the corner. I've got some huge decision I have to make. The first and foremost is my career. I absolutely love what I do, but I am completely frustrated with the not knowing. Not knowing when work is coming to town. Not knowing when I'll next work or when I'll next get paid. Not knowing if I'll even get a call when a project is in town. I am a curious individual and the not knowing is killing me. I have to decided which direction I need to follow or even if I have to follow a new path. This is though! When should you give up on your dream? And how do you know if you've done enough to achieve it? This is not going to be an easy decision to make and it will also not be a quick one. I'll definitely be contemplating this decision way past the 1st.

I've got a ton of other decision I need to make, but I won't bore you guys anymore than I have, plus some are personal.

I am really hoping for a good 2009, but I know that if I want 2009 to be good, I have to make it good and not wait for it to become good.

November 20, 2008

A little update.

Originally I was writing my update almost word for word of how it had happened when I realized that I was on page six and I hadn't even gone through half my first weekend. So I saved it and forgot all about it. Now I'm back, I've deleted the previous updated draft and starting from scratch.

I've been working a lot more consistently then usual lately, which I'm definitely not complaining about, because for the first time in quite some years, I'm not that stress about money. I've got enough saved to last for a little bit, but unfortunately, I don't have enough saved to last me the entire down time that the film industry in the D.C./Baltimore area gets during the winter season. So it's probably a 9 to 5 or store hours for me until winter is over. I haven't started looking yet, I'm actually dreading working during the holidays in a customer support position. Hopefully, I can hold off until New Year or find a nice boring office jobs. I was really happy that I got to work on the Washingtonienne because I had been trying to work on it for awhile, but never got any call back from anyone I made contact with.

My weekends also had been more entertaining than my past few ones, well at least the first couple weekends since my last update. Let's see, I went to Atlantic city, Philadelphia during the World Series and saw The Who in concert on my first weekend, which also included going to my very first Sonic. One of my goals is to try to go to every major fast food chain in the U.S. There was of course Halloween at Fells Point and our Halloween party the next day, which was a pretty good success. I was a mummy, but my costume was badly put together so it completely fell apart. Beside Halloween, I really haven't spent much time going out with the usual crew, but it's been ok, since I've managed to convince other friends that I'm cool enough to hang out with. Gas has also been quite low, so with the combination of having money and gas being so low in quite some time, I've even decided to go home home to hang out with my sisters. I kind of feel bad for one of my sister, because she doesn't have anyone to hang out with.

While hanging with my sisters, I ran into one of my friends from elementary school. That's a long time. We were very close back then, all the way to high school, but then I graduated, I was a year older, and kind of lost touch. We would bump into each other every once in awhile, and even played ball at the rec center when we both went to UMD. But after I dropped out, I hadn't heard from him until about a few weeks ago when he found me on what else, Facebook. Uummm!!! first he finds me on facebook, then bump into each other while out, I'm beginning to think that he's stalking me....J/K. It was really good seeing him, like I said we were really close, it's good to see that he's doing well. It's really weird, because when we lost touch, I began hanging out with mutual friends of ours and became really close with them. But at the moment, those two friendships are not looking too well.

I'm currently sick. This is the second time this year, the last time was Jan or Feb. I don't know if it's old age or just because I'm not in that good of shape anymore. But I've gotten a cold for four or five straight winters, I never got sick before with the exception of an annoying cough that wouldn't go away. Now I'm getting colds. Not happy at all with my current situation. I'm trying to sweat it out, but my new apt is really big, so it just doesn't get that hot, even though I have the thermostat at 78. I'm currently wearing sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt. If you really know me, you know how rare that is, if you don't know me, read the blog title.

Oh yeah, something pretty significant happened since my last post....what was it....

Oh yeah, Obama was elected to be the new President of the United States. I actually didn't believe the American public would do the right thing. I know that he was leading all the early polls, but I just assumed that once people had to vote for real, that they would end up voting McCain. I've was ecstatic that I was wrong.

October 28, 2008

Lots of changes but same old Joe.

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't had any real entries in my blog in quite some time by a few people. Well they are absolutely correct. I've been meaning to write something down but I've been putting it off.

Well I'm done putting it off. Prepare yourself for a long one, as I update you all as to what exactly have been going on in my life from work, friends, apt, and...well my life, since September.

Let's start with the biggest change in my life. On the 10th of September, I moved into a new apartment with some new roommates. The apartment is really nice and really spacious. I'm still kinda in shock as to how big this place is. My roommates are some of my closest friend, guys that I would hang out with even if I wasn't living with them.

A great place with great friends. This should be the best situation a guy could ask for. But I had my worries before moving in, and now that I've moved in and lived here for awhile, I still have those same worries and some that I hadn't thought of.

The biggest difference between my last apartment and my new apartment is Fernando and I had so much more in common than Ryan, Josh and I have. Ryan, Josh, and I were just brought up differently and you can definitely notice the difference, especially when it comes to energy consumption. Nando and I were brought up to conserve energy , I'm not talking about not turning on the heat in the winter or the A/C in the summer, but more the little things, like keeping lights on or using the washer/dryer for just one or two sets of clothing. Ryan and Josh doesn't seem to understand the concept that everything adds up, and to tell you the truth, I really don't think they care much either. It seems that their brain of taught is that if they can pay for it then who cares. At least that's my take on it.

I also felt very comfortable talking to Nando about anything and I'm starting to miss having someone to talk to. I don't even try to talk to Ryan or Josh, because I know that they wouldn't understand me. Things I've noticed, Ryan, Josh and I don't think alike. It isn't a problem where friendship could get ruin, but it's something that I worry about. You would hope that you and your roommates had more in common, but I'm finding out that we don't, which is a bit surprising since we are friends.

Beside those worries, my stay here has been great, but a bit lonely. The place is really big and one can feel a bit lonesome when you are the only one in the apartment or when both your roommates stay in their rooms the entire time.

The first month into my new lease, I had actually only stayed for half the time. The other half was spent in D.C. while I had gotten on a show shooting there.

The show was actually pretty interesting. It was a reality show called Blonde Charity Mafia for Lifetime, which is suppose to start airing sometime in November right after Project Runway. I can't tell you anything about the show itself, because I signed a confidential clause. But I can tell you about my experience on it.

Unlike my last gig, this show had a smaller crew than a feature film. To me it was the perfect size, about 15 to 20 not counting producers. Crews that small usually don't get union guys, which is perfect for me, because I can actually get my hands dirty instead of just watching the grips and camera guys haul equipments, part of me feel very guilty whenever that happens because I'm just watching when I feel like I should help. On small crews I get to help out everyone and even better, watch and learn as they work, some guys even try to teach you as they work, which I love. An even better feeling is when after awhile the crew trust you enough to be able to do their job on your own while they go set up something else. All I ever want to do on set is be as helpful as possible and learn as much as I can, and the only way I know how to do that is to actually get my hands dirty.

This is the second time I work with a crew primarily from L.A. I had heard some horror stories about working with L.A. guys, but so far, all the L.A. people that I've worked with have all been great. I've been told that it's because I've been lucky so far and that if I give it some time, I'll get my own horror story about working with an L.A. crew. Funny thing is the guys on this show might all be from L.A. but they moved there from other places such as San Fran, Philly, Boston, and even Baltimore. The Assistant Director actually went to John Hopkins.

The actors/subject were great to be around with also, especially one in particular who was just a doll. I came in half way through production, so clicks were already formed and a bit difficult to infiltrate between crew and actor, but whenever I talked to anyone, I got the utmost respect and friendly demeanor. The actors/subject were obviously all local to the D.C. area.

The end of the show is always difficult. You work so many hours with these guy, and you get to know them pretty well and become really close to them, especially if you are an out of town crew member that has to live together. But at the end of the show, you pretty much all go your own separate ways, sometime never to see each other again. Everyone is hoping the show get picked up for a second season so that we can all work together again.

I think I have an advantage over other assistant. It might just be my imagination, but I've noticed that most producers love to have me around, because I can carry a lot of things. I guess being a muscular assistant does help, as most equipment are pretty heavy. At least that's my suspicion, because that's what I would do, as long as that person knew what they were doing. I just happen to know what I'm doing and I'm a pretty hard and reliable worker also.

The Lifetime show was not my only gig. I just came back from D.C. from another shoot. This was however different from most of my shoots, as it was a photo shoot. As most of you know or should know, I started out in photography then transitioned to film. I still love photography and if I had the money, I would probably try to freelance as a photographer also. So when I was asked if I was available for a photo shoot, I jumped at the chance.

This was quite different then what I was used to. Unlike a film production, this production was extremely slow. Everyone moved as there was all the time in the world. On a film set, everyone moves at lighting speed.

It was very interesting comparing the two, but it was most interesting watching the photographer at work. I would love to do another photo shoot, but photo shoot rarely use production assistant. If they need something, they just ask the photo assistant to do it.

I was put at a very awkward position, during this production. My job is to aid the production in anyway I can, and I usually only have to listen to one person. But for some reason the wardrobe stylist felt that I was also her personal assistant and kept trying to get me to run her personal errand. I was told by a crew member that she was power tripping, which I had already assess five minute after talking to her. The producer told me not to do any of her personal errand, but he never told her not to ask me to do her personal errands, so she kept asking. After 4 hours of her asking me to do this run, the producer finally talked to her about not getting me to do her personal errands, but I don't know what was said, because I eventually ended up having to make her errand. And no she wasn't from L.A. she was from Chicago, although, she did live in L.A. for a bit. The rest of the primary crew was from Tampa. The photo shoot was an advertisement shoot for Marriott Fairfield Inn, Resident Inn, Springhill Inn, and Courtyard.

I learn something everytime I work on a production, but here are some of the weirdest and craziest things that I've learned, not really production related.
  • -There are more cars going into D.C. at 5am then there are cars going into Baltimore at 8am.
  • -People who drive to work at 5am are all in a hurry, all poor driver, and are all scary to be driving around. (no joke)
  • -It is apparently illegal to drive barefoot.
  • -I hate driving in D.C. as it is terribly design. It is so easy to get lost and I know the city pretty well.
I had a lot more things, but because I waited so long, I don't remember what they were. It's also only a coincident that they are all about driving.

Socially, things have also been different. I used to go out all the times and there wasn't a weekend where I wasn't doing something. But lately, that has been the opposite. I was afraid that this would happen when both Nando and Ice were kinda forced to leave the area and move back home. Nando and Ice were the guys that I could count on to do anything. They would go anywhere at anytime, which is probably why my best weekends since August has been when one or both are in town. Ryan was also a person I could count on of at least going out, even if it was always the same thing, but he's been tied down as of late with girlfriend duty. I'm not really asking for much. All I want is to be able to do something Friday and Saturday night outside of the house.

With the usual crew being absent, I've had to find my own things to do . Lucky for me, Jen's obligation has diminished and she's had more time to hang out. It has been great hanging out with her, after what seemed like two years of absence. But beside her, it has been kinda hard trying to find people to hang out with as of late, especially with most of my friend having left the area. It seems like everyone is so busy doing other things, like going out of town or home, or have things already planned. But I guess that's what I get for trying to make plans last minute.

The weirdest thing happened a few weekends ago, and it has been baffling me since it happened. It turns out that [redacted] taught that I wanted to get with his ex because I was..."dancing with her", and he felt the need to give me the O.K. to go for it. I appreciate the ok, but thing is, I wasn't trying to get with her, I was just dancing and having fun with her. This isn't what's baffling. What is baffling is that it isn't the first time one of my friends taught that I was trying to get with a certain female friends of ours.

There are about 5 or 6 females that we, as a group, have been hanging out with consistently. After a few comments by certain guys in our group, I decided to ask other guy friend in our group if they taught the same thing. And my guy friends all think that I'm or was trying to get with them. That's baffling because that's the furthest from the truth. I wasn't and hasn't been trying to get with any of them, half of which have long term boyfriend. Now I have those same suspicion about a few members of our group, i.e. they've verbally said so, but how do all my guy friends think that I was when I'm not. It has gotten me to question an old aged question which I taught I had the answer to. Can men be friend with a women without an ulterior motive? I think they can and that I have that, but I'm questioning it now. I've considered asking my female friends if they think that I'm trying to get to them, but never followed through.


Robert E. Lee Trail

I've been hiking a lot lately, mostly near my house where there is a nice simple trail, about 6 miles supposedly, it doesn't feel like it though. I've been attempting to get back into shape, but my knee is still a big problem, so I try not to exert to much pressure on it, like running or jumping. I love the outdoors, so hiking was a natural fit, but I would rather be playing tennis, soccer, and basketball instead. I've tried playing tennis with a few people, but they really aren't any good, so it doesn't do anything for me. It actually probably hurt my game, more than it helps me. I really want to start playing in tennis tournament sometime next year, so I'll have to end up finding a hitting partner that could challenge me at one point.

For the meantime, hiking will do. I'm actually trying to get into more outdoors activities. I've always been a fan of it, but never really had people to go with, and the people I did go with, never made it enjoyable. I want to hike and backpack a few trails in the area, and I'm working my way into being able to do 13 miles easily. I also want to go camping once the weather warms back up again as well as some rock climbing and kayaking/rafting.

But the main goal is to just be healthier and that means loosing the weight.

Well that's it for now. I'll attempt to update more frequently for all my curious friends, but no promises.

October 27, 2008

The reason for Asia's Over Population.


I saw the trailer to this movie, Mongol, awhile ago. I just recently saw something about it and decided to look further into it, since I want to watch it. Turns out, like most biopic, that the movie isn't entirely accurate. The movie shows Genghis Khan as a devoted husband, but it turns out that Khan wasn't as faithful as the movie makes him out to be. According to an article in The American Journal of American Genetics, roughly 8% of all men in Asia are descendants of Khan. Now that's a lot of fucking.

I still want to see this movie.

October 23, 2008

Crazy divorses.

For some weird reason, I find divorce gone bad stories extremely funny/interesting. I have always thought that most people rushed into weddings and that they would eventually end badly, so I guess part of me is glad that I'm proven right. But lets get this right, I don't wish it on anyone.

That being said, here is another one of those divorce gone bad stories that I've stumbled upon. Probably my last entry on the subject, as I'm sure you'll rather read about me then stupid divorces.

This one is particularly interesting.

A 43 years old Japanese woman has been arrested after she killed her virtual husband. The woman's avatar in Maple Story, a Korean Online game, was married to a 33 year old man's avatar, but she logged on one day only to find out that she was no longer married. She got so angry that she logged onto her virtual ex-husbands account using information that she acquire during their virtual courtship and deleted his avatar.

The man went straight to the police after he found out that his avatar was dead, and now the woman is facing hacking charges. If convicted she could face a prison term of up to 5 years or a fine of up to $5,000.

I really don't know who is crazier in this story. The woman for deleting the man's avatar after being dumped in the virtual world or the man for complaining to the police after his avatar was deleted.