Third and final post of the day. I just want to play catch up and present some points about things that I've done.
-I was very very busy starting in September, it became too much and I had to quit going to the Art Student's League for classes. I really like it there and hope to go back.
-I've gotten more used to my dayjob, I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
-I haven't gotten any more Illustration assignments lately, but I am in the newest issue of Women for Hire Magazine.
-I started freelancing as a Japanese-English translator, I like it a lot.
-My girlfriend has been in Japan since July. It's had its ups and downs and I realize more than even that long distance relationships aren't easy, but we've managed and it's been really good recently.
-I'm going to Japan from Dec.25-Jan. 3rd. I'll be around Fukuoka most of the time and in Osaka for a day or two.
-I'm taking the JLPT level 2 test the first week of December. I've been studying everyday.
-For my girlfriend's birthday I made a video for her. We've been watching Flight of the Conchords since summer and we both love the show so I made a video using there song.
-I got an e-mail on youtube from Jermaine Clement saying that he thought my video was funny. That was pretty cool.
-I'll be in Miami from the 22nd until the 27th.
I think that's about it for now. Here are some sketches and paintings that I've done recently. Most of them are watercolors from my time at the Art Student's League.
So, I had a party on Halloween. It all started a few weeks ago. My roomates and I had settled on watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer much to our suffering, because there really wasn't much else to do. As expected it was a terrible, terrible movie. Not just bad, not awesomely bad like Gymkata, it had no redeeming qualities at all. Not even the lure of seeing an almost naked Jessica Alba (who I don't even really think is that hot) can give this any kind of absolution.
It sucks. Plain and simple.
Anyway, we were watching it, letting our brains shrivel into blackened prune like masses when we heard a strange sound eminating from the window. Looking outside, we saw a band of Mariachi's, all dressed up, seranading a darkened window.
This was a very puzzling moment for me. It was probably 9-10pm in the middle of Washington Heights and here I am overlooking a bunch of Mariachi's mid-serenade. I do live in New York, so I'm not surprised. But in comparison, my neighborhood is a quiet place and nothing to strange happens so I had to kind of process the moment.
Seeing that this probably wasn't going to happen for a while, and starved for entertainment after watching bottomless pit into which all mirth and merriment go, but never return I decided I should record this moment...and put it on youtube.
My roomates went to ahead of me as I scrambled for my camcorder. Moments later I finally arrived and began filming. I didn't stay for long, I didn't care much for the Mariachi's as much as for the experience.
But on the way back, as were heading back into out apartment we caught glimpse of the neighbors who live across from us. He was having a party it seemed.
We had caught each other so it was one of those situations where we had to say something. I don't know if it was because he was drunk or if it was because we were caught in this moment of forced neighborly behavior, but he invited us in.
The party itself was ok. My neighbors are classical musicians, and their friends were birds of the same feather. It was a little awkward to talk to any of his friends or even them because I know next to nothing about that kind of life.
But as we sat there mostly looking around aimlessly and trying to think of things to comment on in our environs it dawned upon us that we could do this. Why haven't we had a party all the time. Well the clear answer is that we're pretty lazy, but also things like previous to this, most of us hadn't yet established ourselves, so we would have no one to invite.
But now was the time.
So, there we go, that was the impetus to the creation of our first party. Halloween was soon approaching, so it became a Halloween party.
When it came down to it, it was a surpring success. I had hope for it, but when the clock started ticking my confidence faded. I was extremely busy the week preceeding because I had a gig doing freelance translation. Because of that I wasn't as prepared and didn't get to do as much as I had planned for the party. I basically felt that none of my friends would come and that it would be a bomb, the antithesis of "the bomb or Da Bomb."
I tried anyway though, I did still have my hope, so I invited who I could and tried to promote.
The day of the party came and I had recieved various phone calls and messages since the day before from my friends...just about all of them were. "Sorry" or "Not sure I can make it," things like that. Now, I shouldn't have been dissapointed because I think I do that too people all the time, and I can't forget that I did do everything a bit last second...but I was.
The party had already started and we sat in our living room marianating on our couches to one of our mixes...and hour or so passed and no one came.
I decided that I need to do something. In my anxiousness I set out to rent a video game for Wii since we only had 2 games. I found nothing...but on the way back from the store I received a call from my friend saying he was in my area.
Great! Finally someone came! But I was still worried that he would probably be the only person there. As I came in another peron was there, so the condition seemed to be improving.
Soon after more and more people came about 13-15 people were in my apartment at one time. We had cake, drinks and Wii. A trifecta of party success. Soon my anxieties were relieved.
Though, the one guy that came at the begining was my only exclusive friend that came... I have to be honest and say that I was dissapointed by that. I do realize it's not a big deal and I don't hold it against anyone who didn't come.
But other than that, a good time was had by all. There were interesting conversations, an "interesting" guest or two, and connections were made. This is what a party is all about. Yes...
Just a quick thing before I go into some more serious writing.
I was looking around on youtube and came across this video. I actually had no idea that "Chonga" was a Miami thing. I mean, I knew of them but hadn't actually heard the word until my roomate had used the word to describe the type of girls that make up the bulk of my neighborhood in New York.
These are a bit old (7 months is old on the intertubes), but now you can get a taste of "Miami."
