a happy birthday indeed

birthday greetings from holland

it was a great birthday celebration last wednesday. was woken up with a call from my dad and mom and with a chat with them to kickoff the day, i knew it was going to be a good day. got greetings in all forms–long distance calls, instant messages, text messages, facebook wall messages, emails, and even a t-shirt message. in the office, got treated to breakfast, lunch, coffees, and cake and champagne. and at night, after a much-needed spinning class, had a nice simple dinner, some drinks and a cigar to celebrate.

---

recording VO for a video at the studio

it was a good birthday indeed. and what helped perhaps is that in the usual quick self-scan of where-have-you-been, where-are-you-now and where-are-you-heading, i feel happy and content somehow. work is going well. im happy how involved ive gotten to become with the agency. and also, im definitely learning a whole lot more. it helps i guess that im given the freedom to do the fun stuff—running photo shoots, choosing talent, going on video editing, audio recording, and the occasional presenting to client.

sung's play at a lower east side theater

it helps a whole lot too that i enjoy the company of the people i work with. a week or two back, a group of saw a play written by our executive creative director. i enjoyed it obviously and its great to know that people at work have lives (creative or otherwise) outside of the confines of the office. we had dinner after the show and by the time the eating and drinking was done, it was raining out, and usual crazy me was biking back home with no lights and helmet on and with a bit of a buzz. got home safe though obviously and i deeply enjoyed the wet downhill of the williamsburg bridge.

first saturday workshop of the season at the ADC

outside of work, ive gotten myself involved again with the saturday workshops at the art directors club. i guess its still sort of related with what i do as an art director but in a way its a great way of satisfying the human need of giving back somehow. on the first week, we had around 30+ juniors from in and around the city. stephen kroninger, a MoMA-featured illustrator and a great artist, led the workshop. i run an advertising workshop 2nd week of may and im looking forward to it. i might need to mix things up though since ive done the same sh*t more or less the past 2 seasons.

soundfix: music store in b-burg

when im not satisfying my jesuit brain-washed need for giving back, i usually find myself exploring. of course, its not every day that i get to hike up machu picchu, pet lion cubs in jo'burg or bike the canals of amsterdamn, and so im usually left exploring this little brooklyn neighborhood of mine called williamsburg. thankfully, big corporate america hasnt much touched this lovely place so there's still a lot of cozy cafes and stores with character. a recent find is sound fix, this music store on bedford ave, where i was able to buy an album by the headlights whose new release included a track called "on april 2" which ultimately convinced my usual cheap@ss ways to let go and give way to an impulse buy.

check out this capoeira video

when im not exploring the outside world, im usually left exploring the limits of myself. the most recent adventure is the sunday afternoon capoeira classes ive gotten myself into. im an absolute begginer in the brazilian martial art/dance and i must admit that though im sore all over after the classes, its a great new hobby that id be glad to get good at. there's a whole lot more to learn and im glad this is one of those times ive overcome the usual stubbornness that comes with trying out something new (and the "stage fright" that comes with being in the center of attention). check out the capoeira vid, for an idea of what it is.

"my decision" by cb, up-and-coming dutch painter

on the what's ahead end, i'm definitely looking forward to the end of the month coz the annual free arts auction is happening. not only am i going to be official photographer of the event (being able to capture all the celebrity pics without being shy or apologetic about it), but also i had managed to get coen to donate one of his paintings to the auction so it will be included as one of the pieces up for the event. lucky b@stard. how come he gets his work hanged on the same walls as yoko ono's and chuck close'?!? the dutchman will be flying over though by way of london so that should be good, considering that his birthday falls on the same day as the auction. should be a hell of a celebration. gotta get my liver ready for all the boozing and my lungs healthy for all the cigars.