A Return to Normalcy

It has been a day of re-beginnings and good news. I started to train under the supervision of a Sports Medicine trainer today (I have a dual goal of losing some weight and also getting fit enough to be able to fence competitively again) and it went rather well. My ankle didn´t bother me, which is huge progress and the doctor said that I could start basic fencing training within a week if my ankle and fitness proved strong enough. Yay! Mind you, I still have to train with the trainer but I can also start practicing some fencing on the side. Which is awesome awesome awesome. I´m thinking that if all goes well, I might actually be able to compete and place well in the Ecuador Grand Prix that is happening in late July/Early August.
The second good piece of news is that if my health is back up to normal standards, all of my food and drink restrictions are gone and I can lead a normal life again. Weeee!
The third re-beginning is that I´m starting to look for jobs again. My gig at the Ad Production Agency will be up this Thursday and while I have high hopes of being re-hired for another project, I think it is only practical and sensible to start looking for other gigs that might come up. I´m thinking that I might look into other ad agencies maybe and just hire myself out as a freelance 2nd AD for the rest of the summer. Although, again, I´m hopeful my current employer will re-hire me for the next project they have.
Fourth re-beginning is that this morning I secured a spot in Module 5 (Advanced Chinese) at the local Confucius Institute. I´m going to start taking some Saturday lessons to get a bit of a refresher on my Chinese and keep up the practice.
I´ve also been looking into other alternatives of what I can do in the summer or shortly afterwards. One that caught my eye today was a 21-day intense Flight School out in Wichita, Kansas. I think I might seriously consider it since I´ve always wanted to learn how to fly and it seems like a good idea. Plus. It is in Wichita and I would definitely love the chance to go back and visit my birthplace.

Categories: Chinese, health, job, Wichita

Ewww + wtf

Ewwww:

(1) Was sitting on the bus coming up to Quito and found a used condom stuck in between the seats. Thank God there were a bunch of empty seats. Needless to say, I moved.

Wtf?

(2) The post-production guys downstairs must be bored out of their minds because they keep playing a technocumbia version of the Imperial March from Star Wars and singing along to it. It is amazing and hilarious. But also kind of wtf-inducing.

Ha.

Categories: gross things, job, star wars, work

Oreos (which I hate) and Crunch Time (which I´m nervous about)

It has been a bit of a weird day so far and it is only 11:30 am. I woke up, as per usual, at 6 am much to my chagrin. My body has been getting used to early wake-ups but that means that on the days I don´t have to wake up early (like today) it usually means that it still wakes up early. Anyhoo, I dragged myself to my last session of Physical Therapy (yay!) and to my great delight found out that I can now jump without my ankle hating me. This is good mostly because I can now get back to training for fencing and hopefully compete again soon. The Ecuador Grand Prix is coming up in July/August and I want to try to be able to make it there to get a national ranking. It would also be nice to just get back on the strip with an epee in hand. But besides the physical therapy, I came back home and had a bit of a talk with my mom about how I needed more support to make the "I´m leaving in September" thing possible. It isn´t impossible right now, but transportation to and from work has been a huge hassle. Mostly because they´ve been insisting on me taking the bus. I don´t mind the bus to Quito in the morning, but taking the bus in the evening/night really is a safety issue and is really dangerous. Luckily, they´ve come to pick me up, but it does limit my mobility by my parents´free time which isn´t really an optimal situation. We´ve reached a bit of an understanding now though, which is good.
After that, I went to the den for pretzels and got oreos instead. I immediately regretted it because every time I find Oreos I forget that I DON´T LIKE THEM. They´re far too sweet. Even dipped in milk. I can never manage to eat more than one or two before I get really sick of the sugar. I don´t like prepackaged cookies in general though (except for Peppridge Farm ones...you know, Milano and that kinda stuff) but I always forget about hating oreos. What´s more. The ones I ate this morning weren´t normal oreos...they had blue filling for that Rio movie and stuff. Bring back the normal ones!
Oh well.
Then there´s the reason why I´m still at home right now. This is because this afternoon the 1st AD and I have some serious crunch time to do. We have to put together this really hugely complicated keynote presentation for the clients tomorrow morning and so we have to sit around formatting everything and waiting for everyone to send us everything we need. So I´ll be doing my 9 hours of work at odd times today. Hell. I´ll probably be doing more. I´m not too terribly worried. I´ve been warned that a lot of that time is kind of dead anyways and involves a lot of waiting around for people to send you stuff, but still...kinda nervous. Haha. The people at the office made it sound somewhat painful.
The good news is, Friday is a national holiday so we get a bit of a breather before the shoot on Tuesday. Also, hopefully, I´ll be able to jump over to the other project they´re shooting on June 8 and 9. They haven´t assigned a 2nd AD yet so I´m thinking about lobbying my case. The 1st AD has been saying he won´t need one until pre-production, which is two days after my current commercial shoots, so I could definitely make it. I´d love to get a few more gigs! It means more experience and more saved cash for NYC. Both decidedly good things. :D
Another thing is, that I´ve decided, for all intents and purposes, I am a vegetarian who will eat a hamburger on occasion. I´ve noticed that even my chicken intake has been dwindling, so it is just easier to explain being ovo-lacto-pesci-vegetarian than to list off the meats I can´t eat and why I can´t eat ´em. Just saying....

Categories: AD work, foodie, job, NYC, vegetarian, work

Trial By Fire and Anniversaries

I know I´ve been a little absent from my blog for the past week or so. That´s mostly due to the fact that I got hired for a job (as a freelancer for a project). I´m the 2nd AD for an Advertisement Production company and I´m working on a short set of 3 commercials that will be shooting (theoretically) on May 31st. It has been a bit of a trial by fire mostly because the 1st AD hasn´t been able to be around this week which means I´ve been doing two jobs and learning the system at the agency (which is different than film) at the same time. I think I finally got a hold of it on Friday. Even so, it has been really long and very tiring days. Theoretically, the workday goes from 9-6 but the earliest I´ve left the office is 6:30 on Wednesday. It is a lot of work and a lot of fast thinking. I keep being super freaked that I´m going mess up and will be fired (because a single mess-up can get you fired in film/advertising). Advertising itself...well, it isn´t my first pick of work, but it is similar enough to film and I´m happy to be in a similar sort of environment. Also they´re paying me. It was kind of a funny story actually - I went in to interview for an internship and got a job right off the bat instead. They needed a 2nd AD and the Human Resources girl knew me from a previous shoot we did together about two years ago and knew I was a good 2nd AD. It felt good to get the job to be honest - it validates what I already know, which is that if they give me the chance to interview, I think I can nail the job. But to interview I need to be near the jobs...which is why I´m deadset on going to New York in September. Hopefully, I can get a few more advertising gigs at the same place and save up some money or just get the experience. I think it is really valuable experience to have in my CV - especially since the agency I work with has won a ton of awards and is internationally recognized. I´ve also been picking the other 2nd AD´s brain on some post-production tips. He´s worked at some impressive places for some impressive clients so I figured I might as well.
Besides the huge amount of work I´ve been doing lately, I´ve been pondering about the upcoming anniversary of my college graduation which is tomorrow. It feels really weird, to be completely honest, to no longer be able to say I am a recent graduate of Vassar College. It really feels like it puts an end to an age of transition. My stint in Academia seems to go further and further away and that in itself also feels strange since I´ve grown up in academia since I was 2 (my parents, being college Professors, would take me to their campus since I was a baby) and I feel the most at home in a college campus. But even the familiarity of the local university where my parents work at has begun to be compromised - it feels somewhat alien, and full of people that are much younger than I am. Or maybe I just feel old.
It is a strange transition and a strange moment.
At least, I am happy the rapture didn't happen yesterday (not that I thought it would). I was getting sick of all those ads all over the internet. I think we´re safe from any eschatological predictions until late 2012. Which is good.

Categories: AD work, anniversary, eschatology, film, graduation, job, Vassar

Playlist Four

So, I figured I should post one of these because I´ve been listening to a bunch of cool stuff lately.
Here goes:

(1) Someone Like You (Adele) - Yeah. I jumped on the Adele bandwagon too. Can´t deny her voice is amazing. However, while everyone seems to be in love with "Rolling in the Deep" (which is the next item on this list anyways), I prefer "Someone Like You".

(2) Rolling In the Deep (Adele) - Again, echoing what I said before....this one is good but not as good as "Someone Like You".

(3) Codes and Keys (Death Cab for Cutie) - I just discovered tracks from Death Cab´s upcoming album "Codes and Keys" and they´re really good. I think it is a nice return to the tone and feel of "Transatlanticism" which is my favorite album by them.

(4) Home is A Fire (Death Cab for Cutie) - The video is AMAZING. And it features art by the same guy who did Obama´s HOPE poster design. The lyrics are really lovely too.

(5) The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack (Liars) - I´ve had this one on my itunes for a while now. It was actually on the final playlist for Pulsar (now called "Rain After Winter"). It is just a very uplifting song. Helps wonders with crafting emotional arcs for stories!

(6) Nietzsche (The Dandy Warhols) - N recently gave me the 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia. "Nietzche" is definitely my favorite. A little more on the metal side of things and great for driving or waking up in the morning. Or both.

(7) Shakin (The Dandy Warhols) - Again, on the same CD as "Nietzche" but not so metal and kind of weirdly empowering. Also great for driving.

(8) Doors Unlocked and Open (Death Cab for Cutie) - I like the tone of this...idk. Feels like going on a journey of some sort. Definitely must keep in mind for project playlists!

(9) Death is the Road to Awe (comp. Clint Mansell, played by the Kronos Quartet) - From the soundtrack of "The Fountain". I really love this piece in general, but the Kronos Quartet version is simply amazing. I mean, the Kronos Quartet is amazing in itself - I´d LOVE to see them live...maybe playing some Mansell or Glass or even Sigur Ros (they play a beautiful version of Flugufrelsarinn). Currently working on an adaptation for string chamber ensemble!

(10) Gymnopedie III (Comp. Erik Satie, orchestral arr. Debussy) - We played the Gymnopedie I with the string ensemble which got me curious so I poked around YouTube and found a beautiful orchestration of the Gymnopedie III which I like better because of its lovely dark undertones.

Categories: music, playlist, playlist four

Fluid Interfaces

So I was poking around the Fluid Interfaces group at the MIT Media Lab again (Grad school prospects are something I´ve decided to start thinking seriously about considering I will have to apply sometime in the next 2-3 years) and I watched a video for one of their projects Sixth Sense. It is a device that helps us interact with the digital and real world at the same time. I must say it is really cool - inexpensive (the guy says he wants to make the hardware open-source and that you can build your own for $300), environmentally-friendly, and with endless possibilities. The coolest function is the fact that he can just frame something with his fingers and the device will take a picture. Nuts! The possibilities of the mobility for digital photography and film with that sort of technology would be pretty incredible. Fluid Filmmaking! (sort of)
So check it out if you have some time!

Categories: Graduate School, MIT media lab, tech

The First Sentence

"It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful."

Matilda, Roald Dahl

That is the first sentence of the first book I ever read on my own. I was five and a half - nearly a month had gone by since my parents had moved us from the lovely rolling flat lands of wheat farms and airplane hangars of Wichita, Kansas to the depths of the Andes in Quito where the mountains rose like dark giants in the night - when my father brought home Matilda from the bookstore. I insisted on trying to read it on my own. I was old enough, I said, to read a whole book. It took me a week to get through it (at the rate of a chapter per night) and upon finishing it, demanded more books by Roald Dahl. It was a first step, I realize now, in being amazed by writing and storytelling. The Witches, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, The Twits, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox (who could forget Fantastic Mr. Fox?)...they all played like films in my head. But none of them have been as influential on my life as that first one - I wanted to be Matilda. I wanted to read the whole library. To be unapologetic about being smart.
Dahl spoke the language of children - he was an incredibly gifted man. But more than anything, Dahl is probably the best storyteller I´ve ever read or seen. Re-discovering Dahl is always a pleasure, always an experience - as the layers of those children´s books pull back to reveal true storytelling genius.
Part of me still want to keep that promise I made to myself when I finished Matilda - I want to be as good of a storyteller as Dahl was. Someday.
Hopefully....

Categories: books, Roald Dahl, storytelling

A few others of my favorite shorts

My favorite shorts!

Categories: film, short film

A Very Cool Short Animated film

Hey!
So I was reading January´s copy of American Cinematographer (for some reason Ecuadorian customs decided to hold on to my copies of this year´s American Cinematographer and just delivered them to me yesterday) and there was an interesting article about the cinematography and effects done for Ben Lovett´s music video for "Eye of the Storm" and how they were based on a short film called "The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello". I decided to check the short film out because "Eye of the Storm" is actually super cool. Anyways, it is one of the most beautiful and unique short animated films that I´ve seen in a while. The style is steampunk silhouettes and reminds me a lot of Chinese Shadowplay (a form of puppeteering that has had enormous influence on Chinese National Cinema). Basically, if you have 26 minutes to spare, it is well worth watching!

Here is the film:

Categories: animation, film, shadowplay, short film

Gymnopedie

So I just came back from a concert with my string ensemble here. I must say that we were much better this semester than last even though half of our repertoire was cut because they only gave us 30 minutes to play (we were going to play Bartok and Granados and...and...ugh....the issues of playing with a string ensemble in a contemporary music institute...they think we´re boring and old-fashioned or something). I think we sort of bombed our finale, a custom composition that was stupidly hard (just the tempo was kind of ridiculous) that was given to us 3 weeks prior to the concert and is inspired by a mix of Andean rhythms. We did, however, play Erik Satie´s Gymnopedie I to perfection. Seriously, I don´t think I´ve ever played something so well in my life. My part was mostly whole notes harmonizing with the first violin. BUT, that being said, my harmonics really add depth to the piece.
I´m very proud of my performance! :D

Categories: cello, music

Proof that I´m an Incorrigible Nerd

Just spent 3 hours on Wookiepedia. There really is too much information on Star Wars out there...O_o.

i.e. Did you know that Obi-Wan Kenobi was born on the planet Stewjon? Did you know that it is a tuckerization of Jon Stewart´s name? Did you know that Admiral Motti´s (the guy Vader force-chokes in A New Hope) full name is Conan Antonio Motti and was named after Conan O´Brien?
No. You probably don´t.
You probably don´t care either...

See? I think I just reached Nerdvana...*sigh*

Categories: nerdvana, star wars

I have a PLAN

Yes! A plan! I´ve officially decided that come August / September I am getting my ass to NYC somehow. If I can get there sooner, I will. That´s the plan. I have a few loose ends to tie up around here during the summer, but once that is over it is NYC or BUST. Ha.
No. Haven´t gotten a job yet.
Yeah still owe the rents a ton of money for the trip.
BUT job prospects in this side of the world are looking up. WOOT!

Categories: job, NYC