I'm sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops in the village right now (The West Village) killing time between working Technicolor this morning and working at NY1 this afternoon, drinking mate and charging my phone. Yes, I can do all these things and type a blog. I'm pretty sure I just saw Keri Russell on the street on the way here too. Which is weird because she was in August Rush and one of the films I screened this morning at Technicolor had Freddie Highmore in it who was also in August Rush. Weird coincidence. She had a very floppy hat on to hide her face but I saw it was her.
Speaking of hats, (kick ass segue I just thought up) I've always worn many hats in my professional life. Currently, I'm a projectionist, broadcast media operator, composer, performer and voice recording artist (I used to joke that I was like Tyler Durden from Fight Club because of the multiple jobs and that one of them was a projectionist job). I am all these things to varying degrees. Because I can't be them all at 100% I've recently realized. I was starting to get a little overwhelmed last night in fact, which somewhat prompted me to write this blog. Last night, despite being sleep deprived from the night before and having to switch my sleep schedule around so that I was waking up when I usually get off work, I couldn't sleep. Juggling so many of these things, having a professional career, a side career, music as a hobby and then trying to have a social life as well can be daunting. So, in a moment of clarity, I thought it might be a good idea, instead of tossing and turning, to do a little exercise in compartmentalization. Dividing my life into five categories seemed to be the way to go.
1. Professional Career, i.e. day job.
2. Side Career, i.e. voice over and composition
3. Music as a hobby, i.e. performing with Lacy and singing with the choir, as well as working on my own live music projects
4. Social life, including dating
5. My health.
The reason I put health up here is that it's important to me that I remain healthy and if my focus is taken up by too many of these things my health will suffer, no doubt. Not only from lack of sleep, negative effects of stress could really put a damper on things quickly. It becomes necessary to put all these things in an order of priority then for this exercise to have any real effect on my life. Of course, health is always going to be in slot number 1 or 2 because of how important it is to me to remain healthy. It is also necessary to point out that if one of these "hats" is lower in ranking it doesn't necessarily mean I don't work on it or that I neglect it entirely. It merely means that I work on it next, after I finish working on those things that are higher ranking. Or if there's a day where I have a limited amount of time, items that are lower in ranking just might not get worked on. On any given day (well, day of my work week), my day job will of course be in slot 1 or 2. And all the other things will fall somewhere else on the scale. Health will always waver between 1 and 2, likelier to be in slot 1 on days when I'm not feeling myself.
This system, now that I've worked it out, should keep me slightly more sane, in theory, because I won't be hassling myself if I don't get to work on a particular project on a given day. And I will be making sure that I keep things in perspective. And that alone should reduce stress significantly. Particularly the kind of stress that makes me toss and turn when I know in my mind that I should be tired enough to fall right off to sleep.
At the moment, for example, here is my current ranking: 1. Health, 2. Professional Career 3. Social Life 4. Side Career 5. Music as a hobby. The reasons: health is 1 because I'm feeling a little off today from lack of sleep. Professional Career because first, I'm working extra shifts and freelance at Technicolor this week, and second because I'm job hunting…shhhhhh. Social Life is 3 because I've started seeing someone and I have a few friends that are moving away or leaving town soon. 4. Side Career should be two sub-categories, music and voice over separately. Right now, I've put VO on a small hiatus while I save up for some more seminars and coaching session. I'm figuring out if I want to do a new demo for audio books or commercial work as well. Music is on an even smaller hiatus because Mohammad and I are meeting today to talk about the first bit of music I've submitted to him (sans oud) and then we have to wait until we can finish anything else because, while I have finally come by an oud, it will be a few weeks before it is in my hands. My choir director has to get his oud from his parents' house in NJ. And then I might need to re-string it. 5. Music as a hobby is on a small hiatus because Lacy and I won't rehearse until next week and I'm skipping choir Sunday to help a friend move, a friend that helped me move in back in 2009. A move that involved three very scrawny people heaving a piano up 4 steps and down a short hallway. I think I owe this friend.
Anyway, things may change with that list in a few days, but I like the idea now of having a priority list like that. It means I can more easily tell myself that it's okay that I'm not doing everything. It acknowledges that I simply can't. And I should be okay with that.
Showing posts with label star sightings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label star sightings. Show all posts
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Highline Park and a little star struck...
So after my extreme lie-in this morning, Shannon came and met me at my place. Because of the recent shuffling of train service on my line, I freaked out and thought, after I had told Shannon to take the D, that she wouldn't be able to get here and that she'd be stuck at the station either pondering when the train was coming or how else she would get here. But luckily, the Manhattan-bound D train is occasionally (usually during non-rush hours) running on the N track from Stillwell Av to 36 St. This would not have been a problem for her as she was coming from Bay Ridge and needed to take the R to 36 St and then the Coney Island-bound D down one stop to 9th Av. Coney Island-bound D trains are running normal now. For weeks whenever there was a service change though it was the Coney Island-bound D that was running on the other track.
I can hear some of you saying how glad you are that you don't live here. Though, I always think, whenever I want to complain about the MTA, at least I'm not driving and I don't have to park my car and pay for gasoline, insurance and tolls.
Anyway, Shannon got here around 2:00pm and we strolled to Sunset Park so I could show her my view. However, the mist was far too think for any such activity so she just had to use her imagination. We went back to my place then, grabbed her bag and hit the subway to head into Manhattan because I got a crazy idea while I was waiting for Shannon to get here. I got paid today so I had my excuse to go into work: getting my pay stub...okay so I didn't really need it but it seemed like a good enough excuse to go upstairs and try and glimpse the film set that had taken over the newsroom.
As Shannon and I were crossing 9th Avenue to get to the Chelsea Market we spotted Rachel McAdams crossing the crosswalk (I couldn't help getting a little excited at this point. Apparently they had all of the actors' trailers parked along 16th street between 8th and 9th Aves).
We ate lunch in the Chelsea Market at a place called Bowery Eats. My sandwich had far too much of this offensive wasabe mustard that burned my tongue and at one point came out of my nose.
I had called Luis, my manager, before hand to get an idea of the scene upstairs and if it would be all right if I brought Shannon up with me. He said that if the guard gave me any trouble to let him know. All we had to do was sign Shannon in and then we went in.
The bright daylight simulating lights were pouring in through the windows from the rooftop of the building and the halls were all cluttered with stacks and stacks of film equipment and production assistants (the production assistants were not in stacks, just the equipment). I made my way down the hall, keeping my eyes peeled for activity and making sure not to walk into anything related to the filming. I made it to the room where I usually work and a few people, my manager included, were standing facing the window to the newsroom and gawking at all the activity.
They were shooting a scene where Rachel McAdams, back upstairs now, was walking across the newsroom and trying to open the office door where Harrison Ford was sitting. I don't think they were shooting the office scene just yet so I'm not too sure whether or not Harrison Ford was in there or not. The rest of us who were watching had cameras out and kept trying to get a shot of Rachel as she walked by our window. After a while, I felt like a tool and put my camera away and tried to make my way upstairs to actually get my pay stub. Shannon and I had to squeeze through the back hallway filled with film canisters and a dozen grips and PAs and past the track they had set up for the dolly.
Loads of excitement for one day. In the end, however, the only photo I got that rumored of a film shoot was this one:
After we left the Chelsea Market, I cooked up the idea of going to the riverside, despite the mist, and walking along Riverside Park. Before we could get out there though, I turned and noticed people up on the elevated rail and it hit me, the new Highline Park they've been talking about is open. The old Highline railroad that ran parallel to 10th Avenue was in danger of being demolished and instead they lobbied to make it into a park, preserving most of the old track and allowing wild plants to grow along the length of the park in addition to planted trees. Observe:
And also watch this vid:
And add to all this, I have another friend coming in to town this weekend plus a friend who lives in town got an extra comp ticket to see Coraline tomorrow night in the West Village. I'm excited! I'll let you know how it goes.
I can hear some of you saying how glad you are that you don't live here. Though, I always think, whenever I want to complain about the MTA, at least I'm not driving and I don't have to park my car and pay for gasoline, insurance and tolls.
Anyway, Shannon got here around 2:00pm and we strolled to Sunset Park so I could show her my view. However, the mist was far too think for any such activity so she just had to use her imagination. We went back to my place then, grabbed her bag and hit the subway to head into Manhattan because I got a crazy idea while I was waiting for Shannon to get here. I got paid today so I had my excuse to go into work: getting my pay stub...okay so I didn't really need it but it seemed like a good enough excuse to go upstairs and try and glimpse the film set that had taken over the newsroom.
As Shannon and I were crossing 9th Avenue to get to the Chelsea Market we spotted Rachel McAdams crossing the crosswalk (I couldn't help getting a little excited at this point. Apparently they had all of the actors' trailers parked along 16th street between 8th and 9th Aves).
We ate lunch in the Chelsea Market at a place called Bowery Eats. My sandwich had far too much of this offensive wasabe mustard that burned my tongue and at one point came out of my nose.
I had called Luis, my manager, before hand to get an idea of the scene upstairs and if it would be all right if I brought Shannon up with me. He said that if the guard gave me any trouble to let him know. All we had to do was sign Shannon in and then we went in.
The bright daylight simulating lights were pouring in through the windows from the rooftop of the building and the halls were all cluttered with stacks and stacks of film equipment and production assistants (the production assistants were not in stacks, just the equipment). I made my way down the hall, keeping my eyes peeled for activity and making sure not to walk into anything related to the filming. I made it to the room where I usually work and a few people, my manager included, were standing facing the window to the newsroom and gawking at all the activity.
They were shooting a scene where Rachel McAdams, back upstairs now, was walking across the newsroom and trying to open the office door where Harrison Ford was sitting. I don't think they were shooting the office scene just yet so I'm not too sure whether or not Harrison Ford was in there or not. The rest of us who were watching had cameras out and kept trying to get a shot of Rachel as she walked by our window. After a while, I felt like a tool and put my camera away and tried to make my way upstairs to actually get my pay stub. Shannon and I had to squeeze through the back hallway filled with film canisters and a dozen grips and PAs and past the track they had set up for the dolly.
Loads of excitement for one day. In the end, however, the only photo I got that rumored of a film shoot was this one:
After we left the Chelsea Market, I cooked up the idea of going to the riverside, despite the mist, and walking along Riverside Park. Before we could get out there though, I turned and noticed people up on the elevated rail and it hit me, the new Highline Park they've been talking about is open. The old Highline railroad that ran parallel to 10th Avenue was in danger of being demolished and instead they lobbied to make it into a park, preserving most of the old track and allowing wild plants to grow along the length of the park in addition to planted trees. Observe:
 |
| Highline Park |
And also watch this vid:
And add to all this, I have another friend coming in to town this weekend plus a friend who lives in town got an extra comp ticket to see Coraline tomorrow night in the West Village. I'm excited! I'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
This week...
Strangely, I can't seem to sleep past 8:30 am these days. No matter when I've gone to sleep. This morning I woke up to a distant thunderstorm and the subsequent noise of street construction going on outside. Not that that's what woke me up. I just wake up at 8:30 am like my body says, "All right, that's enough. Get up."
And anyway, who am I to complain? I'm off for three days and I have friends visiting town. I spent the morning, after I typed these first few lines working on an old piece of electronic music that I'm transforming a little along with a couple of others. They're bound for my new facebook music page, which I'll have up as soon as I can...I just have to verify I'm me. They make you upload an ID. No biggie, Karishma has a scanner so I can take care of that this week.
Some interesting news has sprouted up in addition to what else I was going to write about today. I got a rather random email from a clarinetist in Phoenix, Arizona who stumbled on my professional web page by accident while Googling someone with a similar last name to one of my players. He liked the piece Of Slowly Falling Rain and Autumn Chill and was wondering if he could get a pdf copy of it because he frequently programs new music with his orchestra. I'm extremely flattered but want to make sure all of the copyright business is in order as well so that my butt is covered. So that was a nice thing this morning to find out that someone in Phoenix likes my music.
I keep meaning to write about this but I recently stumbled on an article by a fellow composer that is currently changing my life. Alex Shapiro is writing in the article about making an asset out of one's self. The article is chock full of great advice for using the internet to your greatest advantage when promoting your music. Stuff I had never even thought of doing but seem so incredibly obvious now. Like, generating buzz with your website, thinking of your website as a store front and the notion that there has to be someone out there who likes our music and will pay for it. There's an underlying theme of self esteem and knowing what we want to present to the world buried in the article as well. So, it was very uplifting when I read it weeks ago and, occasionally, I even refer back to it when I'm feeling down or I'm just thinking about what to do next and I'm lost.
I even contacted her by email to thank her for sharing such an inspiring article with the Society of Composers, inc. list serv. We corresponded for a bit as well. She was very nice and not the least bit haughty. The scope of her career is quite impressive as she's written contemporary music, pop music and film scores and done well, even garnering acclaim in each area.
Great stuff.
Anyhow, I'm also quite excited this week because:
I have three different out of town friends visiting on different days, throughout the week.
A good friend who lives in Queens has tickets to a show Friday night so we're having dinner and a show after I get off of work.
and speaking of work, they're shooting a film at work called Morning Glory this week (unfortunately the bulk of filming will happen when I'm off work this week) and none other than Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton will be in my studio all week long. (Today, I just talked to my boss, and they're filming a scene out in the newsroom with Jeff Goldblum and Rachel McAdams).
And anyway, who am I to complain? I'm off for three days and I have friends visiting town. I spent the morning, after I typed these first few lines working on an old piece of electronic music that I'm transforming a little along with a couple of others. They're bound for my new facebook music page, which I'll have up as soon as I can...I just have to verify I'm me. They make you upload an ID. No biggie, Karishma has a scanner so I can take care of that this week.
Some interesting news has sprouted up in addition to what else I was going to write about today. I got a rather random email from a clarinetist in Phoenix, Arizona who stumbled on my professional web page by accident while Googling someone with a similar last name to one of my players. He liked the piece Of Slowly Falling Rain and Autumn Chill and was wondering if he could get a pdf copy of it because he frequently programs new music with his orchestra. I'm extremely flattered but want to make sure all of the copyright business is in order as well so that my butt is covered. So that was a nice thing this morning to find out that someone in Phoenix likes my music.
I keep meaning to write about this but I recently stumbled on an article by a fellow composer that is currently changing my life. Alex Shapiro is writing in the article about making an asset out of one's self. The article is chock full of great advice for using the internet to your greatest advantage when promoting your music. Stuff I had never even thought of doing but seem so incredibly obvious now. Like, generating buzz with your website, thinking of your website as a store front and the notion that there has to be someone out there who likes our music and will pay for it. There's an underlying theme of self esteem and knowing what we want to present to the world buried in the article as well. So, it was very uplifting when I read it weeks ago and, occasionally, I even refer back to it when I'm feeling down or I'm just thinking about what to do next and I'm lost.
I even contacted her by email to thank her for sharing such an inspiring article with the Society of Composers, inc. list serv. We corresponded for a bit as well. She was very nice and not the least bit haughty. The scope of her career is quite impressive as she's written contemporary music, pop music and film scores and done well, even garnering acclaim in each area.
Great stuff.
Anyhow, I'm also quite excited this week because:
I have three different out of town friends visiting on different days, throughout the week.
A good friend who lives in Queens has tickets to a show Friday night so we're having dinner and a show after I get off of work.
and speaking of work, they're shooting a film at work called Morning Glory this week (unfortunately the bulk of filming will happen when I'm off work this week) and none other than Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton will be in my studio all week long. (Today, I just talked to my boss, and they're filming a scene out in the newsroom with Jeff Goldblum and Rachel McAdams).
Saturday, June 6, 2009
West Village
My cousin finally got a job. I was so happy because it was a lead I was able to pass on to her from a friend of mine. The job is a marketing assistant position at the American Symphony Orchestra, so, for her, it's a career move and one that is back towards the arts, something she had been considering. Anyway, tonight we were out celebrating with dinner at a Mexican Restaurant called Tortilla Flats in the West Village.
As we were being led to our table, I looked down and realized that the gentleman sitting at the table right in front of us was none other than Zachary Quinto from, not only my favorite television show Heroes, but also from the new Star Trek movie. As it dawned on me who he was I could see a grin forming on his face, as though he could tell he had been recognized and was bracing for an awkward confrontation. I spared him and moved on, immediately leaning toward Katrina to tell her that Sylar was sitting behind us.
He left shortly after and after our meal we went for a walk around the West Village, stopping at Magnolia, a rather famous cupcake shop, and winding up back around Chelsea, where I work and eventually walking to Union Square and catching the subway, each of us in opposite directions.
Incidentally, it was the second time this week I walked from Chelsea to the West Village and I was snapping photos the whole way both times. Thursday night, after a really long shift at work (nine and a half hours), Karishma and I met at a restaurant called Baoguette for some traditional Banh Mi sandwiches (pay particular attention in that article to the bit about head cheese). After chomping down those sandwiches, we walked out past the West Side Highway to a park along the river bank and walked our feet off until we wound up down by the financial district, stopping briefly to sit on one of the piers. Again, snapping photos the whole way.
Check them out:
Those were from both nights. The West Village is one of those neighborhoods that you aspire to live in. It's so nice and it feels like a whole different city, even though there's several avenues plowing right through it. It's below 14th street where all the streets start to slant all over the place so you'll find all kinds of nooks and crannies in there.
I may write some more about the West Village but right now I'm tired so check out this link.
As we were being led to our table, I looked down and realized that the gentleman sitting at the table right in front of us was none other than Zachary Quinto from, not only my favorite television show Heroes, but also from the new Star Trek movie. As it dawned on me who he was I could see a grin forming on his face, as though he could tell he had been recognized and was bracing for an awkward confrontation. I spared him and moved on, immediately leaning toward Katrina to tell her that Sylar was sitting behind us.
He left shortly after and after our meal we went for a walk around the West Village, stopping at Magnolia, a rather famous cupcake shop, and winding up back around Chelsea, where I work and eventually walking to Union Square and catching the subway, each of us in opposite directions.
Incidentally, it was the second time this week I walked from Chelsea to the West Village and I was snapping photos the whole way both times. Thursday night, after a really long shift at work (nine and a half hours), Karishma and I met at a restaurant called Baoguette for some traditional Banh Mi sandwiches (pay particular attention in that article to the bit about head cheese). After chomping down those sandwiches, we walked out past the West Side Highway to a park along the river bank and walked our feet off until we wound up down by the financial district, stopping briefly to sit on one of the piers. Again, snapping photos the whole way.
Check them out:
 |
| West Village June best |
Those were from both nights. The West Village is one of those neighborhoods that you aspire to live in. It's so nice and it feels like a whole different city, even though there's several avenues plowing right through it. It's below 14th street where all the streets start to slant all over the place so you'll find all kinds of nooks and crannies in there.
I may write some more about the West Village but right now I'm tired so check out this link.
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