I'm going to go ahead and skip all the "I've been too busy to blog stuff" and get right to it. Things are great right now. Lots of things floating in the air right now but definitely, there's a lot of potential and I'm choosing to look at it all as positive. In the past few years since I've been living here I've gone from waiting and waiting for fun/good/awesome things to happen that I can write home about to realizing that I can usually tell when I'm on the way to stuff happening that is fun/good/awesome and that that alone is good enough to write home about. Granted, this when I'm looking at this blog as a way to "write home when there's something to write home about."
I digress. Point being, knowing how things ebb and flow, I can be so much more patient when good things are dangled in front of me and not instinctively run at them, knowing that what will come will come. I had a moment this week where I almost ran at the thing and preempted a bunch of stuff that wasn't ready to be preempted. I've often spoke to friends (especially fellow freelance friends), about how, ultimately I would like to be fully freelance, stitching together a living with voice over and film scoring jobs and the occasional TV or film job, here or there. It's pretty much the dream right now. The realistic dream. Not that I don't still dream of being a full time composer. But that's mostly what this blog is about. So you all know that.
In the past few months, I've secured two well playing freelance jobs, one at TruTV and one at CNN. I'm mainly working at CNN and still at NY1, with TruTV promising shifts when people call out sick or take vacation, but the simple thought that between those two other freelance jobs, I could supplement a whole new approach to my income, with voice over and music playing lead roles. It'd really be the perfect scenario. So the setup is there but in the execution is where the problem lies.
I took a few days to think it over. At different points during that time span, certain things occurred to me I hadn't initially realized and by the end of it all, it just didn't seem like the right time to make the leap for a myriad of reasons but it only took a few to really make me see. I was far too eager, for starters. As I have been for the past few years. But also, I was getting too far ahead of myself in terms of what was possible. Without going too far into detail, it really came down to whether I could expect enough work from either freelance job to justify leaving the full time job.
Consensus: it's not time. Oh, how I wanted it to be though. Good thing I have long train rides during which to think these things over. I even thought of a metaphor one night this week. Working at 9am until 1130pm can really make you loathe waiting on the train platform at night. I'm going to preface this by saying that soon, I'm going to start taking cabs home on the company's dime because they reimburse after hours cab fare. But these last few weeks I've been taking sometimes hour long train rides home (including wait time) knowing that I needed to wake up at 730am at the latest. And that's when it gets really really frustrating when you miss that first train or a connection. After I moved to my current neighborhood a few years ago, I suddenly had about 9 different paths I could take to work. So, on the way in, it's a matter, sometimes, of just taking the first train that comes. On the way home though, it's a guessing game as to which train is going to come first and then it's a gamble as to whether either path is going to get me home any sooner. Forget for a minute that we're working with a range of about ten to twenty minutes difference, at most, in commute time. Or maybe don't. My ultimate conclusion, and what calmed my frustration, was that it doesn't matter what path you take sometimes and if it does, it's a difference of a few minutes that really isn't going to translate into a more restful night's sleep. You're really at the mercy of the train schedule and the fact that there really is no train schedule.
Just as in life, sometimes you're at the mercy of what's available to you and have to make the most of the options available to you. So maybe I don't need to rush at anything. Not necessarily arbitrarily choosing my path but realizing that when the time comes, I won't need to. That train will be coming and I can get on it and catch it without having to run down the stairs and risk spraining my ankle. Nobody wants that.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
64 hours...
...a week. How in the world am I going to pull it off? The good news is I had a trial run and working three days out of my week, pulling double shifts between CNN and NY1, did not kill me. I am still alive as I sit typing this. Evidently. Having the actual weekend off is going to make all the difference in this little endeavor. Having that time to recharge. The actual work I'm doing, if I approach it right, is not all that hard and doesn't stress me out all that much. It's a matter of planning for being away from the apartment for extended periods of time. That means taking extra care to make sure the cat has enough food and that I have enough food that I don't have to eat out every day. The other trick is going to be getting enough sleep so that I don't end up so tired by the end of the night. That means not trying to go straight to sleep but giving myself time to unwind. The other night I dropped straight into bed and ended up tossing and turning until 2am and had to be up at 7. Ugh. Next week I do four days of doubles (basically 9am until 1130pm) and then I work noon-8pm Friday. I know I can survive it. And I'm going to make so much extra money!
Today, Lacy and I played National Underground. Which was great fun. And it just goes to show you that even despite the massive amount of hours I'm working between my three jobs (yes, three...I started training at TruTV last week after my vacation), I am still able to do what I love.
And tonight what did I do? I had a burger with my cousin at Korzo, down the street, while simultaneously doing a load of laundry at the laundromat across the street. Seriously, people, learn how to multi task effectively. It'll change your life.
A few weeks ago I was fretting about how the schedule change to having weekends off was going to affect my routine, and now I'm absolutely killin' it. The only thing I've left to figure out is when I'm going to cook my meals so I don't have to eat out all the time. But even that is not that big of a deal. I may try that cooking for the entire month thing someday. That would require some serious strategy though.
But for now, I just need to sleep. I realized that since I plan on doing yoga in the afternoon tomorrow I can do something amazing tomorrow. Sleep in. Just sleep in. I'm talking about not setting an alarm, ignoring the cat, rolling over several times, putting the pillow over my head to block out the sunlight, stretching out, considering getting up, not getting up, grabbing my phone and reading my Facebook feed. Then maybe, just maybe, getting up to go the bathroom and then getting back in bed. You can see I've given this some thought. It's going to be pretty awesome, barring any unforeseen shenanigans from the outside world. Wish me luck!
Today, Lacy and I played National Underground. Which was great fun. And it just goes to show you that even despite the massive amount of hours I'm working between my three jobs (yes, three...I started training at TruTV last week after my vacation), I am still able to do what I love.
And tonight what did I do? I had a burger with my cousin at Korzo, down the street, while simultaneously doing a load of laundry at the laundromat across the street. Seriously, people, learn how to multi task effectively. It'll change your life.
A few weeks ago I was fretting about how the schedule change to having weekends off was going to affect my routine, and now I'm absolutely killin' it. The only thing I've left to figure out is when I'm going to cook my meals so I don't have to eat out all the time. But even that is not that big of a deal. I may try that cooking for the entire month thing someday. That would require some serious strategy though.
But for now, I just need to sleep. I realized that since I plan on doing yoga in the afternoon tomorrow I can do something amazing tomorrow. Sleep in. Just sleep in. I'm talking about not setting an alarm, ignoring the cat, rolling over several times, putting the pillow over my head to block out the sunlight, stretching out, considering getting up, not getting up, grabbing my phone and reading my Facebook feed. Then maybe, just maybe, getting up to go the bathroom and then getting back in bed. You can see I've given this some thought. It's going to be pretty awesome, barring any unforeseen shenanigans from the outside world. Wish me luck!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Back in Action...
Back in action now that I'm back in the Apple. Over the course of a very relaxing few days off, filled with many visits, a few bike rides, some much needed floating in the pool, wine, food, more wine and pollen (unfortunately), I was able to polish off the three voice over demos. Now I have them and my film scoring reel locked and loaded and ready to go. For the next few months, though, I'm going to be working nonstop at two, perhaps three jobs, to make a mound of money before diving back into projects.
As I put it to a certain close friend and musical partner, this is a rare opportunity to get a leg up. I have two freelance jobs in addition to NY1 now: CNN and TruTv. Both of them came out of the blue but were much needed and welcomed. TruTV hired me back in February but, with the bizarre lag in HR operations, it took them until now to pull me in for training and, in that interim period, I got a call back from the very manager at CNN who had passed my resume to TruTV, asking if I could help out in the media department at CNN while one of their staff goes on maternity leave. I started back at CNN at the beginning of this month and now that I'm done training, will be working doubles, mornings at CNN and nights at NY1 three, maybe four nights a week. Luckily, I still will have the weekends off. TruTV promises occasional work on top of all that when any of their staff goes on vacation.
So, my plate is full, and though I probably won't get much done in the way of music and voice over work, I do have my arsenal of demos fully polished and up to date so, what's to say, I can't push forward on finding a voice over agent and scoring that next scoring gig?
Before I dive into all of the above, I do have my birthday celebration tomorrow night to kick it all off. The last weekend of my vacation before diving head first into what could be the busiest two to three months I've experienced in New York City yet. But I'm open to what's ahead. In fact, I'm quite excited about it. Anything could happen. My feet are in the doors. I'll just leave it at that.
Birthday celebration should be a fun time. I have a night in the East Village planned tomorrow and am really looking forward to seeing people and eating some good gluten free food and drinking in one of my favorite bars.
I think it's a really good thing that I took this vacation at this particular point. It wasn't really timed on purpose or anything but I really needed a few days to wrap my brain around the next few weeks and how I'm going to manage it all. My schedule changed a NY1 a few weeks ago and I had just gotten the hang of it. But with all the extra work and everything, prioritizing became really hard all of a sudden and I even almost melted down and freaked out a few days ago when I first landed back in NYC. I knew that it was important for me to take this opportunity for more work and more money but I was worried about not having time for music and voice over. But I think what helped was realizing that the voice over and music careers are both at a point where I can put them on hold for a bit, or at least feel okay devoting a little less time to them. I've hit several milestones in the last few months and am poised for some big moves in the next few months but I don't necessarily need to act on them right now. Plus, Lacy and I should have no problem finding time for shows and rehearsals as I'm still off on weekends (without that I don't know what I'd do).
The only thing I'm slightly bummed about is having less time for yoga. But I think I can manage to do some breathing exercises at work and still pull off yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday. And if it gets a little crazy, without the yoga and the sleep, I can always forfeit a few of the shifts I've signed on for at CNN as long as I give them advance notice. So the next few weeks begins my run of double shifts and then I'll reevaluate. For now, it's good night and tomorrow = fun.
Here are some pics from my vacation in Raleigh.
As I put it to a certain close friend and musical partner, this is a rare opportunity to get a leg up. I have two freelance jobs in addition to NY1 now: CNN and TruTv. Both of them came out of the blue but were much needed and welcomed. TruTV hired me back in February but, with the bizarre lag in HR operations, it took them until now to pull me in for training and, in that interim period, I got a call back from the very manager at CNN who had passed my resume to TruTV, asking if I could help out in the media department at CNN while one of their staff goes on maternity leave. I started back at CNN at the beginning of this month and now that I'm done training, will be working doubles, mornings at CNN and nights at NY1 three, maybe four nights a week. Luckily, I still will have the weekends off. TruTV promises occasional work on top of all that when any of their staff goes on vacation.
So, my plate is full, and though I probably won't get much done in the way of music and voice over work, I do have my arsenal of demos fully polished and up to date so, what's to say, I can't push forward on finding a voice over agent and scoring that next scoring gig?
Before I dive into all of the above, I do have my birthday celebration tomorrow night to kick it all off. The last weekend of my vacation before diving head first into what could be the busiest two to three months I've experienced in New York City yet. But I'm open to what's ahead. In fact, I'm quite excited about it. Anything could happen. My feet are in the doors. I'll just leave it at that.
Birthday celebration should be a fun time. I have a night in the East Village planned tomorrow and am really looking forward to seeing people and eating some good gluten free food and drinking in one of my favorite bars.
I think it's a really good thing that I took this vacation at this particular point. It wasn't really timed on purpose or anything but I really needed a few days to wrap my brain around the next few weeks and how I'm going to manage it all. My schedule changed a NY1 a few weeks ago and I had just gotten the hang of it. But with all the extra work and everything, prioritizing became really hard all of a sudden and I even almost melted down and freaked out a few days ago when I first landed back in NYC. I knew that it was important for me to take this opportunity for more work and more money but I was worried about not having time for music and voice over. But I think what helped was realizing that the voice over and music careers are both at a point where I can put them on hold for a bit, or at least feel okay devoting a little less time to them. I've hit several milestones in the last few months and am poised for some big moves in the next few months but I don't necessarily need to act on them right now. Plus, Lacy and I should have no problem finding time for shows and rehearsals as I'm still off on weekends (without that I don't know what I'd do).
The only thing I'm slightly bummed about is having less time for yoga. But I think I can manage to do some breathing exercises at work and still pull off yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday. And if it gets a little crazy, without the yoga and the sleep, I can always forfeit a few of the shifts I've signed on for at CNN as long as I give them advance notice. So the next few weeks begins my run of double shifts and then I'll reevaluate. For now, it's good night and tomorrow = fun.
Here are some pics from my vacation in Raleigh.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Good things...
I love a good thunderstorm. This was not all that bad but could use some extra oomph. A few rumbles and some rain a thunderstorm does not make. It is nice to listen to the rain through open windows for a change now that the year has taken a turn toward nicer weather. In truth, after this harsh winter that just wouldn't relent, this particular change in the weather comes as so much more of a relief. Sitting outside with my lunch today felt so amazing. Just to bask in the sun and put my feet up on a chair outside in the park on 10th ave and 15th Street was such an amazing feeling. I had forgotten how nice nice weather can be. To be able to spend some time enjoying it made the night spent inside at work that much more bearable. And this is only the beginning. I finally understand why it is that New York summers are something so beautiful. It's the shit we have to put up with in winter time that makes the first sunny 70 degree day so incredible you wanna cry. And the childlike anticipation of what's to come is something that could only be borne of completely shitty weather for 6 straight months.
That said, ironically, as soon as it improves here, I'm flying away to even warmer climes in the south. Touching down in Greensboro for a hot second and then on to Raleigh Saturday night. I had originally bought the ticket for Greensboro when I was planning on spending time in the mountains with my brother... one last bro's weekend before he has a kid this summer. But now, two other friends that are expecting planned a shower for that weekend in Raleigh. The change is all good with me. Just means a slightly longer trip. But there's a pool waiting for me in Raleigh, one filled with 70 degree water according to my dad. I should be so lucky.
On the plane ride down, I plan on working on some edits to my voice over reel. Polishing them all off really. I've wanted to put together a promo demo for quite a long time but have taken the opportunity provided by a lapse in my membership to Voice123.com to really spend some time honing the others as well (narration, documentary and commercial). And I've spent most of my time so far focusing on those three. I think I'm almost done. I just need to come up with some music cues and do some compression and EQ on a few of them. The name of the game is making them sound as professional as possible before I submit them to agents. The promo demo is really the one that needs the most work. But that's just because I only have one actual spot done for it. The rest I have to produce on my own and that includes music and sound effects. A monumental task to be sure. It's going to consist of the promo I did for the novel, "Scarlet" from the Lunar Chronicles and a bunch of "stay tuned for scenes from next week's episode, starts Tuesday 9/8 central, Rated R, In theaters and IMAX this Friday," type tags that I have yet to record.
Everything else though: sounding good. Hopefully I'll get a lot done while I'm in Raleigh. Because that was the other half of the reason I took this vacation I'm taking next week. To get this all done. Now, though, the second freelance job, TruTV, (which was actually the first one I got hired for) will start on Thursday the 18th, one day after I come back to NYC. And I'm working both Thursday and Friday. So there goes that. But this is good money, even better than CNN, though probably not quite as consistent.
I won't say much more about the freelance gigs, except that I have a guaranteed 10 weeks of Monday, Tuesday and Thursday shifts at CNN and who knows what at TruTV. Other than that I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. And in fact, I actually want to sleep. Let's just say though, for now, that I feel there are good things on the horizon. Good things.
That said, ironically, as soon as it improves here, I'm flying away to even warmer climes in the south. Touching down in Greensboro for a hot second and then on to Raleigh Saturday night. I had originally bought the ticket for Greensboro when I was planning on spending time in the mountains with my brother... one last bro's weekend before he has a kid this summer. But now, two other friends that are expecting planned a shower for that weekend in Raleigh. The change is all good with me. Just means a slightly longer trip. But there's a pool waiting for me in Raleigh, one filled with 70 degree water according to my dad. I should be so lucky.
On the plane ride down, I plan on working on some edits to my voice over reel. Polishing them all off really. I've wanted to put together a promo demo for quite a long time but have taken the opportunity provided by a lapse in my membership to Voice123.com to really spend some time honing the others as well (narration, documentary and commercial). And I've spent most of my time so far focusing on those three. I think I'm almost done. I just need to come up with some music cues and do some compression and EQ on a few of them. The name of the game is making them sound as professional as possible before I submit them to agents. The promo demo is really the one that needs the most work. But that's just because I only have one actual spot done for it. The rest I have to produce on my own and that includes music and sound effects. A monumental task to be sure. It's going to consist of the promo I did for the novel, "Scarlet" from the Lunar Chronicles and a bunch of "stay tuned for scenes from next week's episode, starts Tuesday 9/8 central, Rated R, In theaters and IMAX this Friday," type tags that I have yet to record.
Everything else though: sounding good. Hopefully I'll get a lot done while I'm in Raleigh. Because that was the other half of the reason I took this vacation I'm taking next week. To get this all done. Now, though, the second freelance job, TruTV, (which was actually the first one I got hired for) will start on Thursday the 18th, one day after I come back to NYC. And I'm working both Thursday and Friday. So there goes that. But this is good money, even better than CNN, though probably not quite as consistent.
I won't say much more about the freelance gigs, except that I have a guaranteed 10 weeks of Monday, Tuesday and Thursday shifts at CNN and who knows what at TruTV. Other than that I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. And in fact, I actually want to sleep. Let's just say though, for now, that I feel there are good things on the horizon. Good things.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Checking in...
It's been about three weeks on the new schedule now and I can say that I'm adjusting more quickly than I thought I would. Those who read this blog and those who know me well, know how obsessed with time management and saving money I am. Especially time management with the end goal of saving money.
I managed to pull it off again today, gangbusters. I cooked enough food to last me until next Wednesday (in terms of dinners at work) and brought it all here to work to store in the fridge until I need it. But why do I need four meals at my immediate disposal? Why not just cook the food the day I'll be eating it? Well usually I do this stuff to save time and saving myself the weight in my shoulder bag has also been a goal as of late...that and not having to carry one every day. But in this case, my weekly schedule has changed so much that I'm having to really improvise.
Normally I would bring all this food in on the first day of my work week. But, I can't do that anymore. Why you ask? Because I'm starting my work week at a whole other job that I've just landed. Freelancing at CNN again and squeezing shifts in on the morning side before working the 330pm shift at NY1. On those days, I really can't (and kinda don't want to even try to) carry food from one job to the next and I certainly don't want to be eating out the two days of the week that I have shifts at both jobs. So, last weekend, in a pinch because I didn't think of it until Saturday, I cooked my food on Saturday afternoon and rode into the city with the express purpose of storing it in the fridge for the next week. The plan worked great and I only had to eat out once last week.
This week though, I had the foresight to use my Friday morning to cook food, a morning when I can't ever make it to a yoga class on my level that ends in time for work.
Yesterday, I cooked as well as baking bread for the week and doing laundry. So, I'm making it work and with the CNN gig and also the TruTV gig (which starts the week of my vacation right after I get back from NC), I should be making bank by the middle of May. The only thing is that I'm finding minimal time to work on the important things like the voice over and the music so I've gotta figure out when to squeeze that in.
Luckily, at the moment, I don't have any music gigs, even on the horizon, except of course playing shows with Lacy, and the voice over gigs will be deliberately back-burner-ed while I focus on polishing the demos (redoing a few takes, producing the promo demo). I'm at a point right now where I can't afford to renew my subscription to Voice123.com anyway. So, what better time than now to polish things and reposition myself for another attack on the city's voice over agents. I've also reached out to a few filmmakers that I know but haven't worked with yet and I'm waiting on responses from most of them.
By the summer time I hope to have something else going in both of those arenas.
Things could change with the day jobs as well but I won't get too far ahead of myself, as a rule. Just the excitement of having consistent extra work is enough to get me by. After only two days at CNN, I'm finding I really like the crew this time around. There are a ton of people that work there that I've worked with before at other jobs...one of them being a former coworker at NY1 ingest who just started there this past December. She was training me on Monday and Tuesday.
TruTV, like I said starts after my quick trip to NC, for which I leave a week from tomorrow. And I'm really looking forward to getting shown the ropes there. I will fly back to NY on the 17th and work the following two days at TruTV to train and then it's my birthday weekend and I plan to throw a bar party that Saturday night.
Fun things on the horizon then including a much needed vacation.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Fireball...
So, Friday night as I was leaving work I saw the most amazing thing. Like I usually do, when I leave work, I decide which train to take based on which street has the walk signal. 9th Avenue, I cross and head to the A train. 15th Street, I cross, then skip over to the plaza between the Apple Store and the corner Diner, cross the plaza and then stroll down the block heading for the L train entrance at 14th and 8th Avenue.
This particular night, crossing 15th Street seemed like the logical thing to do so I headed down in that direction and, good thing I did because if I had gone any other way home I might have missed this spectacular event. As I normally do, when walking this path, I glanced up at the sky to take in the buildings towering over the open space of the plaza, the bright billboards advertising clothes I'll never wear, and scan the whole scene, breathing in the city.
What I saw as I looked around, though, blew my mind and actually kind of scared the shit out of me. A bright light appeared to streak across the sky, like the most bizarre firework you've ever seen, almost greenish in color. Only there was no report from the explosion and, after flaring up, it fizzled out as it reached the edge of the patch of sky I could see from my vantage point. It seemed very close by due to its brightness but the lack of any sound made me think it had to be something astronomical and far off. During the 10 seconds or so it took to cross the sky and disintegrate (whatever it was), I found myself first ducking, cringing, then looking around for its apparent source. My eyes widened in wonder at what I momentarily thought must have been an meteor skimming the atmosphere and burning up. I'd never seen anything like it but I still wasn't convinced. I remember stupidly looking at the buildings to the west and trying to see if anyone could have shot off a firework from one of the rooftops. I doubted that even more once I thought about it a little more.
I walked on home and almost forgot about it but then I saw this article on Space.com. I freaked and carried my laptop out to the living room to show Katrina (who seemed nonplussed). The excitement of actually knowing what I had seen really was a meteor, coursed through my veins.
So naturally, I've been trying to find more articles and videos on the internet all weekend trying to find out all I can about it. The meteor itself, they've been saying, was probably only about 3 feet in diameter, but traveling around 10 miles per second it basically hit the atmosphere and glowed white hot for about ten seconds until it completely disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. This link shows the supposed trajectory.
Shocking and alarming as it is to see, and a wonder to behold, when you know and understand fully what you are seeing, it's a pretty typical thing. Scientists say somewhere around 100 tons of material strikes the Earth from space every day. It just happens that this particular event occurred over one of the most populated parts of the US at a time when a lot of people were out and about. So many times it happens over the ocean, or during daylight hours or in relatively less populated areas. But even still, I wonder how many people in my general vicinity actually noticed it. So many of us spend a lot of our day looking down or just in our own worlds and not paying attention to our surroundings any more than it takes to walk down the street without running into other people and things.
And that's really what's most remarkable about this event to me. Not that it happened, because it does, and often. But that I was able to see it happen, watch the entire event and then, in an age where everyone can go on the internet and tell about their experiences, verify what I had seen, through other people's accounts. That's pretty cool. It's a combination of being in the right place and the right time and actually putting myself out there. Learning about the amazing astronomical events that happen every day right under our noses (see the Transit of Venus last June), and then just generally being aware of my surroundings in a city notorious for the obnoxious amount of external stimuli that abound here, where most people choose to tune out the noise and walk with their heads down. I feel kind of lucky to witness something so beautiful that I may never see again in my life but I also feel like I was being rewarded for my proclivity to wonder.
This particular night, crossing 15th Street seemed like the logical thing to do so I headed down in that direction and, good thing I did because if I had gone any other way home I might have missed this spectacular event. As I normally do, when walking this path, I glanced up at the sky to take in the buildings towering over the open space of the plaza, the bright billboards advertising clothes I'll never wear, and scan the whole scene, breathing in the city.
What I saw as I looked around, though, blew my mind and actually kind of scared the shit out of me. A bright light appeared to streak across the sky, like the most bizarre firework you've ever seen, almost greenish in color. Only there was no report from the explosion and, after flaring up, it fizzled out as it reached the edge of the patch of sky I could see from my vantage point. It seemed very close by due to its brightness but the lack of any sound made me think it had to be something astronomical and far off. During the 10 seconds or so it took to cross the sky and disintegrate (whatever it was), I found myself first ducking, cringing, then looking around for its apparent source. My eyes widened in wonder at what I momentarily thought must have been an meteor skimming the atmosphere and burning up. I'd never seen anything like it but I still wasn't convinced. I remember stupidly looking at the buildings to the west and trying to see if anyone could have shot off a firework from one of the rooftops. I doubted that even more once I thought about it a little more.
I walked on home and almost forgot about it but then I saw this article on Space.com. I freaked and carried my laptop out to the living room to show Katrina (who seemed nonplussed). The excitement of actually knowing what I had seen really was a meteor, coursed through my veins.
So naturally, I've been trying to find more articles and videos on the internet all weekend trying to find out all I can about it. The meteor itself, they've been saying, was probably only about 3 feet in diameter, but traveling around 10 miles per second it basically hit the atmosphere and glowed white hot for about ten seconds until it completely disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. This link shows the supposed trajectory.
Shocking and alarming as it is to see, and a wonder to behold, when you know and understand fully what you are seeing, it's a pretty typical thing. Scientists say somewhere around 100 tons of material strikes the Earth from space every day. It just happens that this particular event occurred over one of the most populated parts of the US at a time when a lot of people were out and about. So many times it happens over the ocean, or during daylight hours or in relatively less populated areas. But even still, I wonder how many people in my general vicinity actually noticed it. So many of us spend a lot of our day looking down or just in our own worlds and not paying attention to our surroundings any more than it takes to walk down the street without running into other people and things.
And that's really what's most remarkable about this event to me. Not that it happened, because it does, and often. But that I was able to see it happen, watch the entire event and then, in an age where everyone can go on the internet and tell about their experiences, verify what I had seen, through other people's accounts. That's pretty cool. It's a combination of being in the right place and the right time and actually putting myself out there. Learning about the amazing astronomical events that happen every day right under our noses (see the Transit of Venus last June), and then just generally being aware of my surroundings in a city notorious for the obnoxious amount of external stimuli that abound here, where most people choose to tune out the noise and walk with their heads down. I feel kind of lucky to witness something so beautiful that I may never see again in my life but I also feel like I was being rewarded for my proclivity to wonder.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Shows...
It's the weekend and I'm off work. Yes, I know. I've mentioned that. But leaving work last night knowing that I was off for the whole weekend, I breathed this huge sigh of relief. And knowing that I was headed out to see a show, I was able to shrug off what felt like a cold coming on and power through, running on pure adrenaline and excitement.
The show was a band called Minor Arcana, two of the members being guys that played with us in Philly. The venue, The Acheron, was in deepest darkest East Williamsburg at a little hole called The Acheron. The front of it was a bar and the venue was separated so Lacy and I, not knowing that the venue had a bar too, got two drinks and stood there, realizing that we couldn't bring the glasses in the venue. While standing there finishing our drinks, I took in the scene, assuming that the loud hardcore punk rock was being pumped in from the opening band playing next door inside the venue. So, I was expecting the same style from this band and overall the venue was seeming far more punk rock that it actually is. When we finally went in there though, I realized there wasn't even anyone playing yet and Minor Arcana was setting up. I went and said hi to the guys (Ross, I had seen outside already) and ordered another drink.
The band started not long after and I was blown away by their sound. They have two guitars, a bassist, drummer, singing keyboardist and another backup vocalist who played chimes, percussion and keys. The stage was not all that big either. They were very prog rock with multiple time signature and tempo changes during the songs, the first one of which was an instrumental. Or at least had a very long instrumental intro. Ross and Tony who played with us in Philly (Tony also in NYC), are very talented musicians but the rest of the band blew me away and they were all pretty tight as well.
Though, I was increasingly tired and didn't even think I should be out, I was eating it up listening to the sound waves pounding around in there and it baffles me to think sometimes how incredible it is, not only that beings like us evolved out of the soup over millions of years to become the kind of creatures that can make sense of the way the air moves around a room influenced by the striking and plucking of things called instruments, but that we can manipulate that plucking and striking into something so amazingly beautiful that you just stop and forget everything for a minute but what you're hearing, what you're brain is interpreting into something that to someone without the benefit of working ear drums is basically just air molecules bouncing off each other in patterns that he or she may or may not feel. Pretty incredible.
And I don't recall if I mentioned this or not but one of my New Year's Resolutions this year, one that I'm absolutely killing, is to go to more shows. If I include dance, open mics and shows I've played in in that, the number is up to something like 20. Told ya. Killin' it. Some of those were our own open mics where I saw some amazing musicians, some were shows I caught part of at Barbes. I included the four shows Lacy and I have played (including today's show at National Underground and last week's showcase) and a dance festival I went to as well as a few friends' bands and last nights show in Williamsburg. Oh and I just upped the number to 20 before I finish this blog because I forgot about a random show I happened upon at Spike Hill one night a few weeks ago.
As for today's show at National Underground, it went fairly well and we had an okay turnout considering the snow and how short notice it was that we found out we were playing. We will have another one at this showcase on the 27th of April as well. I will be reminding you. :)
For now, I am at home finally just taking it easy. Because my body is telling me that I haven't been doing enough of that lately. And it feels good to just slow down too. I have spent the last few months (probably more than that), thinking I'm not doing enough when in actual fact I've been doing far too much. Haha! I mean, I got 10 voice over gigs in as many months, two film scores back to back last year, and scored a licensing contract with a company that licenses music for film and TV. And on top of that, I just landed not one but two freelance TV gigs on top of NY1. I'm going to be glad I took it easy this weekend in a few weeks when I start I'm sure. Thankfully, I have a vacation coming up in April around my birthday.
Anyway, I should rest up some more. More excitement ahead!
The show was a band called Minor Arcana, two of the members being guys that played with us in Philly. The venue, The Acheron, was in deepest darkest East Williamsburg at a little hole called The Acheron. The front of it was a bar and the venue was separated so Lacy and I, not knowing that the venue had a bar too, got two drinks and stood there, realizing that we couldn't bring the glasses in the venue. While standing there finishing our drinks, I took in the scene, assuming that the loud hardcore punk rock was being pumped in from the opening band playing next door inside the venue. So, I was expecting the same style from this band and overall the venue was seeming far more punk rock that it actually is. When we finally went in there though, I realized there wasn't even anyone playing yet and Minor Arcana was setting up. I went and said hi to the guys (Ross, I had seen outside already) and ordered another drink.
The band started not long after and I was blown away by their sound. They have two guitars, a bassist, drummer, singing keyboardist and another backup vocalist who played chimes, percussion and keys. The stage was not all that big either. They were very prog rock with multiple time signature and tempo changes during the songs, the first one of which was an instrumental. Or at least had a very long instrumental intro. Ross and Tony who played with us in Philly (Tony also in NYC), are very talented musicians but the rest of the band blew me away and they were all pretty tight as well.
Though, I was increasingly tired and didn't even think I should be out, I was eating it up listening to the sound waves pounding around in there and it baffles me to think sometimes how incredible it is, not only that beings like us evolved out of the soup over millions of years to become the kind of creatures that can make sense of the way the air moves around a room influenced by the striking and plucking of things called instruments, but that we can manipulate that plucking and striking into something so amazingly beautiful that you just stop and forget everything for a minute but what you're hearing, what you're brain is interpreting into something that to someone without the benefit of working ear drums is basically just air molecules bouncing off each other in patterns that he or she may or may not feel. Pretty incredible.
And I don't recall if I mentioned this or not but one of my New Year's Resolutions this year, one that I'm absolutely killing, is to go to more shows. If I include dance, open mics and shows I've played in in that, the number is up to something like 20. Told ya. Killin' it. Some of those were our own open mics where I saw some amazing musicians, some were shows I caught part of at Barbes. I included the four shows Lacy and I have played (including today's show at National Underground and last week's showcase) and a dance festival I went to as well as a few friends' bands and last nights show in Williamsburg. Oh and I just upped the number to 20 before I finish this blog because I forgot about a random show I happened upon at Spike Hill one night a few weeks ago.
As for today's show at National Underground, it went fairly well and we had an okay turnout considering the snow and how short notice it was that we found out we were playing. We will have another one at this showcase on the 27th of April as well. I will be reminding you. :)
For now, I am at home finally just taking it easy. Because my body is telling me that I haven't been doing enough of that lately. And it feels good to just slow down too. I have spent the last few months (probably more than that), thinking I'm not doing enough when in actual fact I've been doing far too much. Haha! I mean, I got 10 voice over gigs in as many months, two film scores back to back last year, and scored a licensing contract with a company that licenses music for film and TV. And on top of that, I just landed not one but two freelance TV gigs on top of NY1. I'm going to be glad I took it easy this weekend in a few weeks when I start I'm sure. Thankfully, I have a vacation coming up in April around my birthday.
Anyway, I should rest up some more. More excitement ahead!
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