My First Roll of Film

Friday. While working on a high stress project I realized that I needed to blow off some steam. Enter the Nikon F4. The Nikon F4 is a professional photographer's SLR. Heavy, high-tech. Amazing. And it was sitting on the table between me and my officemate.

FYI, the Nikon F4 was loaned to my officemate (okay, to the 3D department) by this director we met at work. He was planning on selling it and was willing to loan it to us so we could test it and maybe buy it.

So my officemate already used it. He said it was amazing but really heavy. I wanted a chance to try it out. So I head out to the nearest Fuji store (right beside my office) and I buy a roll of 24 shots. ASA 100.

Lock, load, shoot. I take pictures inside the 3D room, of three 1:24 scale die cast cars. A Toyota Celica and a Toyota MR-2, both tuned a la 2 Fast 2 Furious and belonging to my officemate, and my red 2005 Ford GT.

The camera had a macro lens. Perfect. Shot every possible angle I could think of. Shot the interior, shot the cars closed, shot them fully open. Nice.

So how did the shoot go? Fine. Finished the roll in an hour or so then had it developed.

What happend? Don't know. The shop had to close so I have to get the prints either tomorrow or Monday.

Working with a Living Legend

Last Thursday at work I met and had a meeting with Hans Bacher. For those of you who don't know him (like me a few days ago) Mr. Bacher worked for Disney, and did a lot of work with Mulan and lots of other stuff. Animation fans will no doubt be familiar with his work. Anyway.

I was actually in a meeting with him, and I was part of the creative discussion for this project we have. Can't say what since it's totally hush-hush. All I can say is that I met a living legend. But it gets better...

Due to time constraints I had to help my officemate create 3d models (which I am not that good at). Mr. Bacher was the one who would check our models since he designed them. In the morning he arrived, saw my officemate's creation and started critiquing it. Lots of revisions. Got me freakin' scared. He's too good. Saw my work-in-progress (WIP). Made a few comments and said he wanted it this way and that. Got me panicking. How would I meet this man's standards? Shet na malagket.

Anyway in the afternoon he came back to the office, saw my officemate's work and started praising it. Good for my officemate, who is an amazing 3d artist/animator. Then he saw my WIP. For some amazing miracle of God, he said he liked it! It was nice. Man, receiving a compliment like that from someone who has worked on major animation projects, wow. Made me one very happy person. And made all the hard work I've put in worth it.

Then reality kicked in and Murphy's Law reared its ugly head - again. But that's another time, another story.

As I Sit Here Working...

Replica armor or figurine?
Originally uploaded by Gani.

It is 10:07pm, April 5, 2005. I'm sitting on my office chair, staring at my office workstation, working on a modeling assignment given to me by my officemate, who's also working on other models.

To stay awake I drink coffee, I browse the web. I stare at my newly purchased 1:24 Dub City Red 2005 Ford GT (shameless brag).

A few days ago Terry Schiavo died after being starved to death. A few days later Pope John Paul II died. A few days before those two, an earthquake hit Sumatra. Anyone with amazing charisma and insatiable greed can now go ahead and predict doomsday, and claim that by donating money to them they can avert this disaster.

Rant, rant, rant. Makes any sense? Nope. Just got to fight the sleep.

By the way, like my replica Predator armor? Its too damn hot inside but this shot was worth it.

Me, yah? I'm Jamaican...

This morning at the DJs of the radio station I regularly listen to had this sort of weird trip going. They were fooling around with faux accents. Don't know if it was Jamaican, Haitian, or Chinese. All I know was that they were CRAP. They sucked, couldn't pull it off straight. One minute the accent was there, the next it wasn't, then it was a DIFFERENT accent. Sheesh. And some out there thought I sounded horrible when I spoke Bicol (or TRIED to speak it).

So what's the point of all this in the morning? Nothing. It's my blog. I can rant and ramble about whatever sh*t I choose. So here I am. Ranting. And rambling.

I miss Zach and Joey in the mornings. That ought to give you a clue as to what radio station I listen to. The new DJs are okay, but no one beat Zach and Joey. Or even Sonny and Benny. Did I get the spelling right?

Anyway I know its a DJ's job to try to liven up the listener's day, but Jesus H. Christ these two DJs are trying too hard.

On a side note, right after I wrote the blog about driving I braved the streets of the Philippines. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, eat your heart out.

Braving the Streets of the Philippines

Most foreigners in the Philippines usually comment that we Filipinos are crazy drivers. That it takes guts to brave the streets of the Philippines since we all zoom past each other, cut each other, disobey all sorts of traffice rules and regulations. And thats just the "learned" drivers.

Taxi drivers, bus drivers, jeepney drivers? Forget about it. They are a league unto their own. And they wonder why most people treat them like scum scraped from the bottom of the shoe. Most of them deserve that treatment since the way they drive wrecklessly endangers the lives of everyone in their path. Plus they cut in front of you to avoid other parked passenger vehicles, then stop instantly to pick up rides. Fuck.

Filipino drivers aren't crazy. Most of them are just plain f*cking stupid. And greedy. They can't get it past their tiny, pea-sized brains that traffic (and their days' earnings) would improve greatly if only they followed the traffic rules and regulations. But oh no. They believe traffic rules and regulations apply to everyone EXCEPT themselves. Bastards.

And the worst part of this is that I'm starting to behave like a typical Filipino driver. Not because I want to, but because I'm being forced to be rude, forced to cut people off.

I guess this is the part where I grab a shotgun and start shooting every idiot driver I meet on the road. But I won't. I'm too sane for that.