6.28.2004
how i spent my summer vacation (part one - nj/ny)
got back from new york today. sarah and i drove to her house in beautiful paramus, new jersey (home to 3 malls, 5 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 highschools, or something like that). in paramus, and other parts of metropolitan new jersey, you can't turn left on the major roads. instead, you take 'slight rights' that redirect you around the intersection so that you actually just go straight instead of turning left. all the roads are highways, and they all change into different highways.
on tuesday i made my way out to scenic kinnelon to visit erik neinstedt. we ate at a diner and watched afi's 100 best songs in films with his brother and his dad (who just got back from a scuffle with a rowdy high school lacrosse team at a pool party). somehow, i made my way back to paramus (unknowingly breaking the no cell phones while driving rule which warrants a $250 fine).
sarah and i spent the next day in 'the city.' we took a bus to the port authority and walked to times square. they were running some type of terrorist attack drill, and the entire nypd was there, assault rifles, riot gear and all. kind of weird. we walked to grand central station and met up with ricardo for lunch. he briefed us on the happenings at the law firm, and explained the pros and cons of his job (pro-money, con-no free time). he also said that coming to work everyday means a three drink minimum.
after lunch we walked up to rockefeller center and checked out some statues that i didnt really recognize (thanks sarah!) and went inside the nbc building to grab a conan tshirt. we took the subway down to ground zero and checked that out. its hard to get a good view of it because there are fences everywhere, but we eventually found a good spot. its weird actually being there. like i needed to actually see it to be sure it happened. i had never seent he wtc in person before it fell, so i definitely didnt have a great concept of exactly what happened, but, needless to say, its some messed up shit. they havent really started to build yet, i think they are still digging. some of the buildings in the immediate area are still being redone. crazy.
we went down to the water. i recognized the railing from the scene at the beginning of 25th hour where edward norton walks his dog. while walking along the railing and thinking about what it must have been like when they were filming there, i started seeing movie equipment and saw that another shoot was going on. the film being shot was called 'the last first kiss.' sarah and i got to see will smith walking around and looking cool, which made her day. i think i was looking more at how the set was working... we took a train back to midtown and went to the empire state building. the line was too long to go to the top, so we just headed up to central park and chilled for a while before heading back to jersey.
sarah's mom cooked a hugggggge seafood dinner for us. we each had a giant lobster, shrimp, a salad, rice, and a few other things that i dont know how to spell. it was all really good and messy. later, we went and saw the terminal. it was okay. then it was the coach house diner and sleep. the next day was spent on the beautiful jersey shore. we both checked out all the chicks, and then passed out in the sun. then we played some skee-ball, some house of the dead 3, and then i got took for 5 bucks on some shitty football carnival game. it was a great day though. dinner was huge once again. sarah's family took me out to a korean bbq place and we ate forever. sarah told me today that her parents were impressed with how much i ate, which is good. i guess i proved to them that i liked the food and wasnt just being polite.
that night was the last night i spent at the chungs, therefore the last night i was going to get to spend with sarah. we just chilled and watched tv while looking at some old pictures. it was tough knowing that tomorrow i had to leave. just a sad situation i guess. hasn't even quite set in yet... guess im not used to/ not good at saying goodbye. after lunch at the mall and a few small modifications to my car, i was set to go the next afternoon. i left the chung home in paramus around 3pm and arrived at the cozza home in buffalo at 9pm.
(part 2 - buffalo coming soon)
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got back from new york today. sarah and i drove to her house in beautiful paramus, new jersey (home to 3 malls, 5 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 highschools, or something like that). in paramus, and other parts of metropolitan new jersey, you can't turn left on the major roads. instead, you take 'slight rights' that redirect you around the intersection so that you actually just go straight instead of turning left. all the roads are highways, and they all change into different highways.
on tuesday i made my way out to scenic kinnelon to visit erik neinstedt. we ate at a diner and watched afi's 100 best songs in films with his brother and his dad (who just got back from a scuffle with a rowdy high school lacrosse team at a pool party). somehow, i made my way back to paramus (unknowingly breaking the no cell phones while driving rule which warrants a $250 fine).
sarah and i spent the next day in 'the city.' we took a bus to the port authority and walked to times square. they were running some type of terrorist attack drill, and the entire nypd was there, assault rifles, riot gear and all. kind of weird. we walked to grand central station and met up with ricardo for lunch. he briefed us on the happenings at the law firm, and explained the pros and cons of his job (pro-money, con-no free time). he also said that coming to work everyday means a three drink minimum.
after lunch we walked up to rockefeller center and checked out some statues that i didnt really recognize (thanks sarah!) and went inside the nbc building to grab a conan tshirt. we took the subway down to ground zero and checked that out. its hard to get a good view of it because there are fences everywhere, but we eventually found a good spot. its weird actually being there. like i needed to actually see it to be sure it happened. i had never seent he wtc in person before it fell, so i definitely didnt have a great concept of exactly what happened, but, needless to say, its some messed up shit. they havent really started to build yet, i think they are still digging. some of the buildings in the immediate area are still being redone. crazy.
we went down to the water. i recognized the railing from the scene at the beginning of 25th hour where edward norton walks his dog. while walking along the railing and thinking about what it must have been like when they were filming there, i started seeing movie equipment and saw that another shoot was going on. the film being shot was called 'the last first kiss.' sarah and i got to see will smith walking around and looking cool, which made her day. i think i was looking more at how the set was working... we took a train back to midtown and went to the empire state building. the line was too long to go to the top, so we just headed up to central park and chilled for a while before heading back to jersey.
sarah's mom cooked a hugggggge seafood dinner for us. we each had a giant lobster, shrimp, a salad, rice, and a few other things that i dont know how to spell. it was all really good and messy. later, we went and saw the terminal. it was okay. then it was the coach house diner and sleep. the next day was spent on the beautiful jersey shore. we both checked out all the chicks, and then passed out in the sun. then we played some skee-ball, some house of the dead 3, and then i got took for 5 bucks on some shitty football carnival game. it was a great day though. dinner was huge once again. sarah's family took me out to a korean bbq place and we ate forever. sarah told me today that her parents were impressed with how much i ate, which is good. i guess i proved to them that i liked the food and wasnt just being polite.
that night was the last night i spent at the chungs, therefore the last night i was going to get to spend with sarah. we just chilled and watched tv while looking at some old pictures. it was tough knowing that tomorrow i had to leave. just a sad situation i guess. hasn't even quite set in yet... guess im not used to/ not good at saying goodbye. after lunch at the mall and a few small modifications to my car, i was set to go the next afternoon. i left the chung home in paramus around 3pm and arrived at the cozza home in buffalo at 9pm.
(part 2 - buffalo coming soon)
a beautiful girl really wants the scrollbar to show up.
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6.22.2004
ooooo the derby!
horses! no! cows!
and the skylark takes the lead!
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horses! no! cows!
and the skylark takes the lead!
6.20.2004
its been a while since ive had a minute to write. i just got back from my grandparents place. i showed them my cinematography project/fathers day present/new shelving unit film. everyone enjoyed it, but people were laughing, which was kind of odd, because theres not much there to be laughed at. my grandpa didnt laugh. it was nice to see everyone, but i was tired from my game. the sunday team lost again. but i scored and had an assist. nilli and erika came to spectate. it was nice to have fans. ive had them for the last two games, and i scored my first goals for both leagues in those games. so, friends, i play on tuesday nights and sunday afternoons, come watch.
last night at blockbuster there were no celebrities, and i rented charlotte sometimes. sarah and i watched it later while eating chicken phillys. its a pretty good movie, but there are lots of shots of people just walking around and the 'mysterious' D'Arcy was kinda manly looking. it turned out to be a great night (minus the phone call that attempted to dampen the mood). this morning we watched the bourne identity, which was a lot better than i thought it would be. i guess ive only heard good things about it though.
yesterday was graduation. nilli, christina and i sat with the gamples at the WCAS convocation or commencement or whatever it was. the speeches by the dean and the teacher sucked. graduation was ok, but we had to sit on bleachers all hunched over, so it kind of sucked. afterwards i took some gay pictures with dave and met sarahs parents. meeting a girl's parents is never fun, but it went pretty well i think. afterwards, we all went out to lunch/dinner at the noodle garden. i got to show off my chopstick skills and get made fun of for being from 'the country.' her mom confided with sarah later that i was 'a cool guy,' so i guess i did alright.
i worked on the wayot commercial and came up with something decent. i guess. its still pretty shitty. ah well. i need to line up some more work, or this rent is gonna put me in the hole. hopefully some good things will come my way. if everything works out, this will be the summer of movies, music, and... 40s.
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last night at blockbuster there were no celebrities, and i rented charlotte sometimes. sarah and i watched it later while eating chicken phillys. its a pretty good movie, but there are lots of shots of people just walking around and the 'mysterious' D'Arcy was kinda manly looking. it turned out to be a great night (minus the phone call that attempted to dampen the mood). this morning we watched the bourne identity, which was a lot better than i thought it would be. i guess ive only heard good things about it though.
yesterday was graduation. nilli, christina and i sat with the gamples at the WCAS convocation or commencement or whatever it was. the speeches by the dean and the teacher sucked. graduation was ok, but we had to sit on bleachers all hunched over, so it kind of sucked. afterwards i took some gay pictures with dave and met sarahs parents. meeting a girl's parents is never fun, but it went pretty well i think. afterwards, we all went out to lunch/dinner at the noodle garden. i got to show off my chopstick skills and get made fun of for being from 'the country.' her mom confided with sarah later that i was 'a cool guy,' so i guess i did alright.
i worked on the wayot commercial and came up with something decent. i guess. its still pretty shitty. ah well. i need to line up some more work, or this rent is gonna put me in the hole. hopefully some good things will come my way. if everything works out, this will be the summer of movies, music, and... 40s.
6.19.2004
i went out last night with dave, his bro, his cousin, christina and her friend joyce. it was an interesting night.
ill make this quick
blockbuster celebs of the night - jon monteverde and his mistress
rental of the night - the bourne identity
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ill make this quick
blockbuster celebs of the night - jon monteverde and his mistress
rental of the night - the bourne identity
6.17.2004
i think our fridge is broken.
fog of war is starting, so ill make this quick. i just rented fog of war and barton fink, free rentals 3 and 4 of the week. should be good.
i spent half the day at louis doing some dvd work and the other half of the day bumming around with syc - went through an odd spell of extreme laziness and ate a lot of food. i dont so much eat at regular times anymore, i just eat often.
i gotta figure out how to cut this commercial for ricardo's brother. i dont have any good source material to work with, but i guess i have to do this because i said i would.
fog of war, lesson #2 - rationality will not save us. after this movie is over im going out to the hundo.
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fog of war is starting, so ill make this quick. i just rented fog of war and barton fink, free rentals 3 and 4 of the week. should be good.
i spent half the day at louis doing some dvd work and the other half of the day bumming around with syc - went through an odd spell of extreme laziness and ate a lot of food. i dont so much eat at regular times anymore, i just eat often.
i gotta figure out how to cut this commercial for ricardo's brother. i dont have any good source material to work with, but i guess i have to do this because i said i would.
fog of war, lesson #2 - rationality will not save us. after this movie is over im going out to the hundo.
6.16.2004
buffalo joes with nilli was good. we stopped by adams afterwards because he is moving to alaska for the summer to work some type of fish market job, or fish industry job. hes going to live in a town of 600 people in a bunkhouse and do manual labor for up to 15 hours of the day, all while his girlfriend is in ecuador. i hope that works out alright for him.
back at the ranch, it seems that since i havent made a beat in so long (ive only made one since october), im kind of struggling. i think i just need to rely on the samples i have for some inspiration and stop trying to straight up make new stuff. my originals tend to turn out pretty bad anyways, cause im not much of a natural musician, or a musician at all for that matter. its a good thing i dont take this serious... id be headed nowhere fast. hopefully i can come up with something tonight, and this day wont be a total waste.
on a positive note, i finally got my check from the center for art and technology work i did, along with my check from mythryn. so all is well on the financial front. i'd say the worst part of the day was downgrading cable and saying goodbye to the digital cable box and fox sports world, along with a host of other discovery channels. we're back to standard cable now, to try to bring the bill down. its not that i watch it that much, but its just nice to have every once in a while. i might end up having to downgrade to basic (only network channels) or no cable depending on how poor i get. we'll see. back to work.
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back at the ranch, it seems that since i havent made a beat in so long (ive only made one since october), im kind of struggling. i think i just need to rely on the samples i have for some inspiration and stop trying to straight up make new stuff. my originals tend to turn out pretty bad anyways, cause im not much of a natural musician, or a musician at all for that matter. its a good thing i dont take this serious... id be headed nowhere fast. hopefully i can come up with something tonight, and this day wont be a total waste.
on a positive note, i finally got my check from the center for art and technology work i did, along with my check from mythryn. so all is well on the financial front. i'd say the worst part of the day was downgrading cable and saying goodbye to the digital cable box and fox sports world, along with a host of other discovery channels. we're back to standard cable now, to try to bring the bill down. its not that i watch it that much, but its just nice to have every once in a while. i might end up having to downgrade to basic (only network channels) or no cable depending on how poor i get. we'll see. back to work.
i just slept for two hours for no reason. i guess it was good in sense that i didnt have anything i was really supposed to be doing (well....), but i had already slept plenty last night. speaking of last night, the whole make another beat thing kind of fell through with the prospects of fun which kind of fell through as well. ...buffalo joes calls...
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soccer was awesome. it was the first real game of mine that sarah has gone to and i scored a hat trick in the first half. those three goals are the first three ive ever scored in that league, so it was a very special hat trick. i chipped the goalie about 5 minutes in to put us up 1-0. then about 5 minutes later i scored on a low shot into the corner from the top of the box to make it 2-0. and then i scored about 20 seconds before halftime on a near post upper 90 rocket. we ended up winning 8-2 i think. in the second half, i got taken down in the box, but i gave the pk to another guy so he could get his name in the paper too.
the other team obviously sucked, but it was still a sweet game. the pistons won too which is good. i guess the only bad thing about the night was this huge accident we saw on the way home with two semis an suv and another car. i just met our subletter, mark. he's working for the kerry campaign in chicago, and seems like a chill guy. now im going to make some soup and work on some beats. i already came up with one new one today. hopefully i can get another done before i pass out.
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the other team obviously sucked, but it was still a sweet game. the pistons won too which is good. i guess the only bad thing about the night was this huge accident we saw on the way home with two semis an suv and another car. i just met our subletter, mark. he's working for the kerry campaign in chicago, and seems like a chill guy. now im going to make some soup and work on some beats. i already came up with one new one today. hopefully i can get another done before i pass out.
6.15.2004
started the day off right with a big breakfast at walker brothers pancake house (my first time there). it was good, the company was better. after that i made some progress on the musical front. i went over to jons, showed him the film and got some samples and his soundblaster live card. we came back here and put it in my comp. so now i have two soundcards, and for some reason, this is exciting. the soundblaster card is strictly for recording from my turntable/mixer/mic, and the turtlebeach is only for output to the speakers. no more left channel only record, no more track in the background bullshit. all my vocs should sound a lot better now. i tried to go to home depot to get some foam, but they didnt have any. this bed is still in the way of my recording booth anyways.
i also made some progress on a new beat in between some work on some old ones. too bad that means that i put off everything else i was supposed to do today. that stuff is all bullshit anyways. gtg to soccer.
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i also made some progress on a new beat in between some work on some old ones. too bad that means that i put off everything else i was supposed to do today. that stuff is all bullshit anyways. gtg to soccer.
6.14.2004
just got back from my first night of work. ill try to do this whenever i work. blockbuster celebrity sitings of the night: jitim young, mohammed hachad, carlos arango, dan truog, lynn from dostoevsky class, stacey lee, and matt tomko. free rentals 1 and 2 out of 7: a mighty wind, red dead revolver (ps2).
i got a meeting with mr. monteverde tomorrow to screen superfluous man and do various music related things. until then, it's time to watch a movie.
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i got a meeting with mr. monteverde tomorrow to screen superfluous man and do various music related things. until then, it's time to watch a movie.
its summer and i like it. theres only one downside, but i wont go into it. i start work at blockbuster today. thats going to be my main source of money/free rentals this summer, with other money coming hopefully from some shoots that hopefully involve traveling. i went on an all expenses paid business trip to conway, arkansas a couple weeks ago, and im pretty sure that they are going to take me to dallas and l.a. with them sometime this summer. more on that as it comes...
i spent the day watching soccer (italy vs. denmark, 0-0, boring game..), getting denied a new phone by cingular, tying up some loose ends here and there, and sampling records. i have a host of editing jobs ahead of me. ill probably have to start them tomorrow. i really just want to chill and make music, but i guess thats what the middle of the night is for.
my rhyming partner may not want to contribute as much anymore, as a result of some changes in his social life (im guessing), but i think i can still get him to come out and do a few tracks, or at least re-record a few that we've already done. actually, just re-record our world. i really wanted this album to be both of us all the way through (cause he's good), or even have the album just be him, with me appearing here and there and making the beats, but it might end up that ill be making another solo album. maybe ill just give all my beats to harrel. i gotta make sure i get him on some tracks too.
other goals include an ambitious music video compositing project and coming up with some good scripts to shoot. i have to figure out something to do with my senior year since both of the obvious options have been made not available to me. hopefully work/laziness doesnt infringe too much on my creative ambitions. an album will be made though. whats summer without music?
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i spent the day watching soccer (italy vs. denmark, 0-0, boring game..), getting denied a new phone by cingular, tying up some loose ends here and there, and sampling records. i have a host of editing jobs ahead of me. ill probably have to start them tomorrow. i really just want to chill and make music, but i guess thats what the middle of the night is for.
my rhyming partner may not want to contribute as much anymore, as a result of some changes in his social life (im guessing), but i think i can still get him to come out and do a few tracks, or at least re-record a few that we've already done. actually, just re-record our world. i really wanted this album to be both of us all the way through (cause he's good), or even have the album just be him, with me appearing here and there and making the beats, but it might end up that ill be making another solo album. maybe ill just give all my beats to harrel. i gotta make sure i get him on some tracks too.
other goals include an ambitious music video compositing project and coming up with some good scripts to shoot. i have to figure out something to do with my senior year since both of the obvious options have been made not available to me. hopefully work/laziness doesnt infringe too much on my creative ambitions. an album will be made though. whats summer without music?
