Video Blog - Day 11,484
Today started like any other. Well, except for the camera pointed at my head, I’ve only had that happen a couple of times. I was really exhausted, and climbing out of bed took way too much effort. I had stayed awake until around 5am last night learning how to work with Adobe Premiere. I’m still not an expert in it, but I definitely think I’ve learned enough to make it through the editing process later tonight.
After finally rising from my slumber and crawling to the shower, I was able to get my breakfast bagel in the toaster and really start my day off. The first few hours passed like they normally do, read the news while eating, then buckle down and begin to write. The past few weeks I’ve been so focused on becoming an intern for BME that my writing has fallen to the wayside. Not to say that I haven’t been writing, I just haven’t been working on the projects I have started. Currently I’m working on several stories, juggling them daily to determine where my focus will be for the day. They’re all various forms of fiction, but as the ideas flow in one tale, I’m struck with an idea for another. The way I write is very stream of consciousness oriented. I’m still in the early stages of these projects, as I’m not sure which one I really want to finish first. I know that once I make that decision the rest will have to wait their turns. Like I mentioned, the BME world tour has been on my mind so much, I haven’t really been able to sit down and focus on my fiction. Instead I dedicate at least an hour daily to some form of writing. What is produced is strictly for me as I use it as a reflective exercise. I talk about what’s happening in my life, what’s on my mind, heck I even talk about the news I just read. Whatever it is, I put it down. So today’s writing was mostly about last night, and my trials and tribulations learning a new piece of software.
I received a phone call from a close friend letting me know that he was available to help me out for my video today. He rushed over as I started editing in the morning clips I had shot. When Trevor arrived, we quickly got to work talking about the plan for the day, how I wanted things to look, etc. After sorting out the video equipment, and giving Trevor a refresher course on how to take the lens cap off, we sat down to have a quick chat to catch up with each other. I told Trevor about the internship, and how excited I am to be a finalist. Now Trevor and I have been friends for about ten years, and in that time we may not have been close all the time, but when chips were down, we knew we could count on each other. I knew that he wasn’t working steady at present, but he had just filmed a commercial (he’s an actor), and had gotten himself a new job close to home. The big news came when he revealed that he was interviewing out of town tomorrow to work at a radio station in Woodstock, Ontario. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always wanted to work in broadcasting. To have the opportunity to finally achieve a dream is something we’d all be lucky to have. So we talked about places for him to live once he got the job.
Checking the time we realized we were burning daylight, so we headed out to begin our day of filming. The first stop, the mall! I know, it’s not very exciting, but it did provide some interesting events. I knew that I needed to pick up a few items; little did I know I would only have the chance to actually get one thing on my list. After filming for a while we were approached by mall security asking why we were walking around with a camcorder. It turns out that one of the stores we went into thought we were taking footage to use against the store or the mall. We were politely asked to leave the mall, and the security guard was kind enough to show us our way out.
Now Trevor had never actually been to the mall, nor had he been to the area around it. So I took the opportunity to take him to a park near where I grew up. To describe the area as a park is a bit of a misnomer. Along the western edge of Toronto runs the Etobicoke creek. This runs from north of the city, all the way down to lake Ontario. The park that we went to is the northern tip of a series of parks connected by a path that follows the creek. This time of year it isn’t much to look at, but when spring and summer arrive, the park is constantly filled with families spending a day walking the wooded trails. I don’t get to come over to this area as much as I used to, as I’m now living in another area of Etobicoke, so it was a treat to be able to wander my old stomping grounds. Growing up so close to a park meant in every season there was something to do. Tobogganing in the winter, baseball in the spring and summer, and biking the trails in the fall. It’s a serene experience no matter what time of year you visit. Although today, because of the sun, the ground had started to melt and wandering off the paved trail put you as risk of losing a shoe to the mud.
After spending some time in the park, we headed back to my place to quickly change discs in the camcorder, grab a bite to eat, and hit the road up to the tattoo studio. While we were in the park my artist, Matt Ellis, called to let me know that he had a cancellation and I could come in early. Seizing the opportunity, Trevor and I ate quickly and hopped in the cars, only to find that the highway was backed up from an accident on the other side of the city. Luckily the accident had been cleared, so we only were in stop and go traffic for an hour. In Toronto gridlock, that’s a lucky break. Needless to say all hopes of getting to Matt early were dashed and we ended up being late.
Thankfully Matt understood, and we quickly got started. Today was a day I had been looking forward to for a while. The C’thulhu themed sleeve that Matt has been doing has been coming along great, but there was a huge section without color: the deep-sea diver. So I sprawled out on the bench, Matt fired up the gun, and Trevor flipped the camera on. Now Trevor had never seen a tattoo being done on someone before so Matt and I got to answer a lot of questions. The obvious, “does that hurt” came up, but we ended up getting into a really good discussion of techniques and styles. Of course I didn’t realize at the time, but Matt was doing something to my arm that I can only describe as incredible. I’ve never seen anything with the color palette and shading that he was able to accomplish with the diver. Unfortunately the discussion had to be cut short as Trevor’s band was rehearsing soon and he needed to get going. We said our goodbyes and Matt got right back to work. Thankfully there was no ditch work to be done today, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
At one point we took a quick 2 minute break to stretch and I grabbed the camcorder to talk for a little bit about the experience. Little did I know that the disc was full, and the spare discs were in my car a few blocks down the street. Not wanting to break the rhythm of the session, we got back to work and finished up the 5 hour session. Following the session Matt and I had a quick talk about the internship and when it would be taking place, so we put off the final appointment until after the tour ends, as we both agreed going on the road with flaking skin might cause some problems.
The drive home was uneventful, except for the burning hatred of cab drivers that was reignited as I drove through the downtown core. Getting home, I unwrapped the gooey mess that was my arm, grabbed a quick snack, and sat down to write this out.
So that was my day. It was an atypical day, but it was definitely an enjoyable one, and I’m lucky to have a video copy to remember the experiences. I’m getting tired and I still have a lot of editing to finish up before I finally submit my final assignment for the contest to Rachel, so I’ll wrap this up. As I mention in the video, I am extremely grateful for all the support I’ve been given over the past few weeks towards the competition. I just hope now I’ll be given the opportunity to show everyone I was worth their support.
Here's a small gallery of some of the pictures I took today: Click Here
-Rob
After finally rising from my slumber and crawling to the shower, I was able to get my breakfast bagel in the toaster and really start my day off. The first few hours passed like they normally do, read the news while eating, then buckle down and begin to write. The past few weeks I’ve been so focused on becoming an intern for BME that my writing has fallen to the wayside. Not to say that I haven’t been writing, I just haven’t been working on the projects I have started. Currently I’m working on several stories, juggling them daily to determine where my focus will be for the day. They’re all various forms of fiction, but as the ideas flow in one tale, I’m struck with an idea for another. The way I write is very stream of consciousness oriented. I’m still in the early stages of these projects, as I’m not sure which one I really want to finish first. I know that once I make that decision the rest will have to wait their turns. Like I mentioned, the BME world tour has been on my mind so much, I haven’t really been able to sit down and focus on my fiction. Instead I dedicate at least an hour daily to some form of writing. What is produced is strictly for me as I use it as a reflective exercise. I talk about what’s happening in my life, what’s on my mind, heck I even talk about the news I just read. Whatever it is, I put it down. So today’s writing was mostly about last night, and my trials and tribulations learning a new piece of software.
I received a phone call from a close friend letting me know that he was available to help me out for my video today. He rushed over as I started editing in the morning clips I had shot. When Trevor arrived, we quickly got to work talking about the plan for the day, how I wanted things to look, etc. After sorting out the video equipment, and giving Trevor a refresher course on how to take the lens cap off, we sat down to have a quick chat to catch up with each other. I told Trevor about the internship, and how excited I am to be a finalist. Now Trevor and I have been friends for about ten years, and in that time we may not have been close all the time, but when chips were down, we knew we could count on each other. I knew that he wasn’t working steady at present, but he had just filmed a commercial (he’s an actor), and had gotten himself a new job close to home. The big news came when he revealed that he was interviewing out of town tomorrow to work at a radio station in Woodstock, Ontario. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always wanted to work in broadcasting. To have the opportunity to finally achieve a dream is something we’d all be lucky to have. So we talked about places for him to live once he got the job.
Checking the time we realized we were burning daylight, so we headed out to begin our day of filming. The first stop, the mall! I know, it’s not very exciting, but it did provide some interesting events. I knew that I needed to pick up a few items; little did I know I would only have the chance to actually get one thing on my list. After filming for a while we were approached by mall security asking why we were walking around with a camcorder. It turns out that one of the stores we went into thought we were taking footage to use against the store or the mall. We were politely asked to leave the mall, and the security guard was kind enough to show us our way out.
Now Trevor had never actually been to the mall, nor had he been to the area around it. So I took the opportunity to take him to a park near where I grew up. To describe the area as a park is a bit of a misnomer. Along the western edge of Toronto runs the Etobicoke creek. This runs from north of the city, all the way down to lake Ontario. The park that we went to is the northern tip of a series of parks connected by a path that follows the creek. This time of year it isn’t much to look at, but when spring and summer arrive, the park is constantly filled with families spending a day walking the wooded trails. I don’t get to come over to this area as much as I used to, as I’m now living in another area of Etobicoke, so it was a treat to be able to wander my old stomping grounds. Growing up so close to a park meant in every season there was something to do. Tobogganing in the winter, baseball in the spring and summer, and biking the trails in the fall. It’s a serene experience no matter what time of year you visit. Although today, because of the sun, the ground had started to melt and wandering off the paved trail put you as risk of losing a shoe to the mud.
After spending some time in the park, we headed back to my place to quickly change discs in the camcorder, grab a bite to eat, and hit the road up to the tattoo studio. While we were in the park my artist, Matt Ellis, called to let me know that he had a cancellation and I could come in early. Seizing the opportunity, Trevor and I ate quickly and hopped in the cars, only to find that the highway was backed up from an accident on the other side of the city. Luckily the accident had been cleared, so we only were in stop and go traffic for an hour. In Toronto gridlock, that’s a lucky break. Needless to say all hopes of getting to Matt early were dashed and we ended up being late.
Thankfully Matt understood, and we quickly got started. Today was a day I had been looking forward to for a while. The C’thulhu themed sleeve that Matt has been doing has been coming along great, but there was a huge section without color: the deep-sea diver. So I sprawled out on the bench, Matt fired up the gun, and Trevor flipped the camera on. Now Trevor had never seen a tattoo being done on someone before so Matt and I got to answer a lot of questions. The obvious, “does that hurt” came up, but we ended up getting into a really good discussion of techniques and styles. Of course I didn’t realize at the time, but Matt was doing something to my arm that I can only describe as incredible. I’ve never seen anything with the color palette and shading that he was able to accomplish with the diver. Unfortunately the discussion had to be cut short as Trevor’s band was rehearsing soon and he needed to get going. We said our goodbyes and Matt got right back to work. Thankfully there was no ditch work to be done today, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
At one point we took a quick 2 minute break to stretch and I grabbed the camcorder to talk for a little bit about the experience. Little did I know that the disc was full, and the spare discs were in my car a few blocks down the street. Not wanting to break the rhythm of the session, we got back to work and finished up the 5 hour session. Following the session Matt and I had a quick talk about the internship and when it would be taking place, so we put off the final appointment until after the tour ends, as we both agreed going on the road with flaking skin might cause some problems.
The drive home was uneventful, except for the burning hatred of cab drivers that was reignited as I drove through the downtown core. Getting home, I unwrapped the gooey mess that was my arm, grabbed a quick snack, and sat down to write this out.
So that was my day. It was an atypical day, but it was definitely an enjoyable one, and I’m lucky to have a video copy to remember the experiences. I’m getting tired and I still have a lot of editing to finish up before I finally submit my final assignment for the contest to Rachel, so I’ll wrap this up. As I mention in the video, I am extremely grateful for all the support I’ve been given over the past few weeks towards the competition. I just hope now I’ll be given the opportunity to show everyone I was worth their support.
Here's a small gallery of some of the pictures I took today: Click Here
-Rob
posted by Rob at
8:06 PM
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