point a.5

portfolio-worthy tv spot

my old dutch grandfather used to always tell me, "jason, remember, you're no robot. there's more to life than routine living. never get stuck in the cycle of shuttling back and forth points A & B." well, i never really mastered doing the robot quite right anyway and so the past week was all about celebrating point A.5—you know, that oft-neglected yet utterly necessary pit stop. my nonexistent dutch gramps would be proud. i can almost hear him sing, "domo arigato, mr. roboto." except he's dutch obviously so i guess that should be "dank u wel, mr. robotje." but i digress.

first things first. points A & B were very much in order. for a change, the house was squeekingly clean. a filipino friend from ohio was couch-crashing for a week and so things had to be neat and orderly. plus, it did help too that she was a bit anal, so the dishes were clean as soon as they hit the sink. good job.

another fundamtastic project

things too were quite in place in the agency. i found myself immersed in some fun projects. got 2 tv spots approved for air in toronto. one of them i feel portfolio-worthy (but not blog-worthy sorry, lest i get fired for divulging confidential information). the production process was quite an experience. spent an ample time at the editing house and at the recording studio. even met and used the budweiser voice talent for that "dominos" spot. aside from the 2 commercials, another video project of mine was approved. we go into shoot on wednesday. should be another fun project. a martial arts slash matrix blue screen type of shoot, except with a much limited budget. im not complaining though coz it's a nice little assignment that should keep me busy for 2 weeks. oh, those free lunches and ping pong matches at the editing house.

pool & arcade at barcade

NOW, on to point A.5. ok, there were several A.5s that were in the mix throughout the week. enjoyed some nice classic arcade games such as galaga and mrs. pacman, and enjoyed a game of pool as well. of course i lost (and am not gonna say was cheated lest i burst someone's bubble). and since the place wasn't called barcade for nothing, yes, i did have a nice pint of white beer. but shhhh, dont tell my dentist coz i was supposed to stay at least 5 meters away from anything alcoholic. if it's any consolation though, i did pay my dues for it with a terrible terrible case of diarrhea. apparently, the side effect of mixing booze and antibiotics. oops, too much information. ok, neeeext.

long improv comedy show

watched a nice "harold night" improv show at the upright citizen's brigade. the actors were hilarious. unfortunately, one of those things that you had to be there to get it sort of thing. well it is improv comedy after all. but what was amazing about it was how much fun could be had with a certain letting go. a certain speaking out loud brainstorming session. a throwing of ideas to each other like fast balls. except funny like curve balls. ok, im rambling. darn it, i knew it, i shouldve taken that improv class. ok, neeeext.

pratt student show, manhattan center

got an invite from the pratt school to check out this year's showcase of student work. always up to see the next big talent in the art scene, the yes was an easy one to make. ok, i lie. it was the wine and cheese that made it easy. the cheese was good, uhhh, the work i mean, was good. well, a lot of the styles were quite similar but there was one that fused chinese with american that i thought quite interesting. perhaps, had i some wine, i wouldve appreciated much better. but unfortunately, lesson was learned not to mix antibiotics with booze so i played it safe and stayed clear from any drinking. what fun is that?!? neeext.

hearty polish fare at lomzynianka

enjoyed some nice dining experiences as well. of course, nothing beat the pasta i cooked for the group of friends who slept over but that's being biased. nice homestyle polish cooking at lomzynianka, not that i've ever been to a polish home. nice cozy italian garden dinner, especially that i wasn't paying. nice impromptu medieval bar drink, although a bit bitter coz i paid for that one and it was to send off barb back to the lowlands. and a nice taters, bacon & egg breakfast cooked by greek grandpa lou, who seems to be everyone's friendly neighborhood greek grandpa in that part of greenpoint. nice nice but all this talk on food's making me hungry. neeext.

volunteering at free arts

spent saturday morning and early afternoon with some (abused and at-risk) children doing outer space themed arts and crafts projects. haven't been able to volunteer with them for a while now so it was a very much welcomed experience. familiar faces and environment. and thankfully the still familiar feeling of being able to adapt to a kid's world—the sensation of having glue and paint on one's hands and all that gross cool stuff. the sick but fun feeling of pigging out on free cold pizza. the suspension of disbelief as the clown fumbles on a few magic tricks. and the heartwarming feeling of seeing an older brother look after his younger bro's apple juice allergy.

thank god there's no big brother to keep me from enjoying a nice cold bottle of stella now though. oh wait. im done with my antibiotics. enough with this blogging. i need a drink.

see you at point A.5 but before i go, i leave you with some imported dutch tune to get the fun times rolling. music's best enjoyed with a nice bottle of heineken or diet coke or apple juice. whichever works for you.