Wow, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. It's almost too much to fathom how quickly this year has gone by. When I look back I'm almost overwhelmed at just how intense this year was, and how little by little changes in my life began brimming to the surface. And those changes are still continuing, threatening to make 2008 truly revolutionary. Again, my reflection on the past year will have to wait, right now it's time for a much needed status update and progress report.

Well, the job search continues but with one small glimmer of hope; the company I'd been yearning to work for, Animation Collective, contacted me about two weeks ago and asked me to come in to interview for a job as a production assistant! So I went in, and I think it went well because when it ended the interviewer asked me to email her references from my internship at SNL! Now I hope that's a good sign, but I'll have to wait until January to hear from them because that's when they'll be starting production of three new shows to be aired on Nickelodeon in the fall. So until then, I'll be enjoying the Christmas season; I expect to be getting a multitude of games and anime this year to keep me more than occupied but when I start working, well, things will become a bit tougher to manage. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Went to see I Am Legend with Carmen two nights ago; it was a good, enjoyable thriller. A bit weird at moments, especially in terms of the narrative's direction and the ending seemed a bit forced but I was happy. All my Christmas shopping is finally done so I won't be spending tomorrow in long lines as part of that Christmas Eve rush. Anime-wise, I am completely in love with Death Note and I feel so stupid for ever doubting its greatness; never again will I doubt the hype (well, it depends on the anime but I am certainly more willing to provide the benefit of the doubt). I have yet to finish Zelda Phantom Hourglass and with more games on the way I am in danger of being overwhelmed. But it's OK I guess.

These days I'm oddly content....there have been some instances of mild frustration but I got over it pretty quick...the prospect of a new career in a field that I know I belong is certainly aiding in that emotion. I just have to be patient; good things come to those who wait, after all. I'm not sure what to make of 2008, but if this past year is any indication.....oh brother.

Christmas time again...and as usual I'm in a sentimental mood...
    
                                                                                                                  SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Well it's that time of year once again. You know, that Christmas time . It feels like just yesterday it was Christmas 2006 and I was now experiencing the awesomeness that is the Nintendo Wii. Ah time and it's fleeting nature. With Christmas also comes the conclusion of yet another year and boy was 2007 a big one. Not just in terms of the world but for me, specifically. My thoughts on the year in review will come the closer 2008 draws near.

So these days I've been trying to get into the spirit of things, listening to Christmas music, getting ready for gift shopping. It's going to be a bit of a squeeze this year as it's the first Christmas since 2004 that I don't have a paycheck to look forward to...but I'll make it work. Speaking of which, lately I've been getting interviews at a time where things are usually slow in the employment scene. My most recent seemed to go really well; I was impressed with how I presented myself. Now it's a matter of waiting (as it usually is) to see if I make it to round two.

In other news I've beaten Super Mario Galaxy and what a game it was. There's still a ton for me to do though so it's not like I'm all finished. It's a definite contender for Game of the Year 2007 (though it will face stiff competition from Halo 3...damn). Around this time next week my house should be decorated in time for Christmas. And tomorrow I'll be going to the New York Anime Festival, the first anime convention in NY since 2003. Yay!

I'll admit that there are some things I wish I could change about my life. For the moment nothing can be done about them. But I'm still around and I guess that's reason enough to move on and try to make something of myself in some way. I am indeed tired of staying home doing nothing...and I understand that it's tough getting your first job out of college...but I'm only human, and even my patience has limits. All I can do is keep hope alive. It's Chirstmas time, and I plan on making it count, as I typically do.

                                                                                                           SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Well so much for posting at least twice a week Ah well. Can't say I didn't try.

Well the temp job I had at that production company has ended as of last Wednesday. I was told that if anything changes they'll let me know, so until then I'll be back on the job hunt grind, temping whenever work shows up. It was a good experience and I have a better idea of what to expect in a 9-5 kind of life. As long as it's a job that I love and can grow in, I don't mind the grind. But if I'm just sitting on my ass all day doing nothing of significance then there'll be problems. Thankfully television is a field where there isn't a whole lot of that.

My Thanksgiving was a great one, as opposed to last year's rather solemn affair due to the loss of my grandmother. Nothing extravagant, just a gathering of family at my aunt's house, eating myself silly, talking, laughing (lots of laughing actually...there were some hilarious stories told about certain relatives and their childhood) and more eating. I think I ate so much it hurt. But it was so worth it.

Other than that things have seemed to enter a sense of normalcy again...Mario Galaxy is amazing....anime as usual is great (special mention goes to Death Note). The holiday season has now begun. On black Friday I actually went shopping (around 10 am) to get a sweet deal on a new DVD/VCR player. It was almost worth the loss of sleep (emphasis on 'almost'). Now, it's time to get back to the job hunt and try to find a way to meet everyone's Christmas wish list this year. It'll be rough but I hope I can manage. The end of the year is fast approaching and I already feel overwhelmed by my myriad experiences in 2007. What will 2008 bring? Ah, the perpetual question.

That's it for now, soon I plan on blogging about this concept called "work" and how I've seen it reflected in my life and the lives of others. Until then.

                                                                                                            SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Well now, it certainly has been a while hasn't it xanga? I never thought I'd go this long without blogging, but I suppose as the trail of life continues things change and all of a sudden priorities are shifted. But I'm back, and hopefully I'll be able to post a bit more frequently. Though I may not be as diligent as before, my goal is to blog at the very least, twice a week. Not only that, I'll try to post more than the daily events of my life and try to make this blog more honest-opinion based as topics of interest come up (as they are surely going to). This is all a bit of a transformation effort in my part, in order to keep sharp and make myself a more well-rounded individual.

So when we last left, I was bemoaning my apparent post-college fate of stir-craziness at home, with no luck on the job front. Well that has since changed, albeit (as of this writing) temporarily. Since the beginning of November I've been temping at a fairly new children's television program production company called Word World that is produced for PBS Kids. They're also beginning work on another series, so it's a company with some excellent potential. The program itself is computer animated and educational, focusing on teaching kids literacy through the visual manifestation of words, for example, a duck in the show would be designed out of the letters D-U-C-K, hence, Word World). Check it out here www.wordworld.com if you're interested. My position there is your basic entry-level receptionist. In this industry, that's pretty much where you start, and work your way up depending on what your goals are. So far the experience has been a pleasant, if somewhat dull one due to the fact that the work I'm doing is nothing new and at times I find myself having nothing to do. My status as a temp does not allow me to work in departments other than where I'm assigned so there's no asking others if they need my help. The hours are 9-6 Mon to Fri and so far I'm booked until Thanksgiving (this week). My fate after that is unknown, but I am sure that they know I'm interested in full-time work so if they like me, perhaps it'll become full-time. And since I have nothing else, and its in an industry I want to establish my career (animation) I'll take it. The people there are nice, but I don't have much time for interaction as I'm at a reception desk that's almost isolated from the rest of the office. And sure, it takes some getting used to going to bed early and rising early, but I don't hate it. Because at the end of the week I get a paycheck that's much welcome, regardless of how exorbitantly taxed it is

I've recently purchased Super Mario Galaxy (on release day no less) and it's quite possibly one of the most fun gaming experiences I've had in a long time. Another true Nintendo classic. Anime's been going well; I'm thoroughly enjoying Death Note and Blood+, the usual Bleach and Naruto (the former's opening and ending themes are soon-to-be staples on my Ipod) and Ergo Proxy and Tenjo Tenge are coming to their respective conclusions, to my dismay but what great anime they are. I attended a concert at Madsion Square Garden (my first time at MSG) to see Fall Out Boy and it was amazing. Getting a paycheck really does change things doesn't it?

Now, as for the title of this entry, perhaps you are an anime fan and can catch the reference. You're probably wondering "What halcyon days are you talking about? Seems like it's going OK for you so far?" Well, what I mean is that very soon I'm going to have to say farewell to the glory days of my youth; where I had few cares and worries and must now confront the challenges and responsibilities of the adult, working world. I haven't quite come to terms with it yet, but I hope that as I find more security and stability in my life that'll work itself out. There's a lot I want to accomplish. But it's going to take some growing up on my part to get those things set in reality. In the spirit of the coming Thanksgiving, I guess I'm thankful that I have this gig, no matter how temporary and that I still have good friends I can count on. My favorite time of year's a-coming, and I hope to embrace it, and the coming new year, with a brand new perspective.

                                                                                                    SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Well things have been more of the same....uneventful. I did happen to land a job interview tomorrow (or later today I should say) for a television production company. Finally! Someone got back to me! The only thing about it is that the job is an independent contractor position, which means that if I'm not working, I don't get paid and there are no benefits. Depending on how the interview goes tomorrow I'll decide if the risks are worth it or not. Until then, ja ne!

                                                                                                                         SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Well now, it sure has been a while since I've written anything here. I could go on forever about the reasons why but I don't want to sound like a broken record belting the same excuses everyone knows about. What I will do is say that I'm going to try and settle back into a routine of updating more often, mainly because I need to keep my writing skills sharp. Why that is will be will be talked about later.

So, long story short I'm back from my trip to my homeland of Trinidad and now I'm looking for full-time employment. Which is, for lack of a better expression, a serious pain in the ass. I've lost count of how many resumes I must have sent out in the last month and I haven't heard a thing from 90% of them. The one job I did hear about, a gig as an Assistant on the Tyra Banks show seemed to be going well because not only did I get two interviews, the second one was with none other than Tyra Banks herself. As hard as that might be to swallow you have to believe me; Tyra interviewed me for the job (which makes sense because had I gotten to job I would be working under her, specifically). I think I did well, but there was so much competition for that open slot it's not hard to imagine someone else coming along and impressing Tyra much more than I did. Such is life I guess. At least I have a story to tell. Since then I managed to get a two-day temp assignment doing data entry work for a non-profit organization which went well, and I was certainly grateful for the paychecks, but now it's back to square one. I went to a job fair at my alma mater yesterday (NYU for those who may not know/remember) but that was mostly catered to people looking for jobs in the financial district (JP Morgan and friends...). In other words, not up my alley. I did seem to hit it off with the folks at CNET, and I passed a resume on to them. Next month they plan on contacting those of us who did get resumes in for some dinner or something. I've been doing this long enough to know that I shouldn't hold my breath. But if something happens, well then, great!

I don't know...sometimes I feel as if I wasted my time going to college majoring in Media. Maybe I should have just started somewhere after high school and worked my way up, because this is getting a bit disheartening. I have friends in the same predicament as I am and while that should make me not feel so alone, it doesn't. There are so many things I want to do once I start working, and the fact that I'm not is not making me all that confident in my abilities. Lord knows when was the last time I touched my bass guitar or piano. You hear all the time about people not being able to have time for hobbies after they enter the real world but not me; I plan on making sure I get myself active in music once I start working. Why not do music now? Well it costs money (rehearsal space, instrument repair/replacement etc) and for that I need a job.

I guess all I can really do is carry on and try to find a way to take my mind off of my predicament. Believe me when I say I'm doing all I can, I guess sometimes life decides to deal you a bad hand more often than you'd like. Instead of having "one of those days", it feels like "one of those days again". And again, and again...

                                                                                                           SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

In a few hours from now I'll be home; home in the sense of my birthplace home. I haven't been back since I left on July 11th 1998, and at the moment I'm apprehensive, excited, anxious, and every other conflicting emotion. The big issue plaguing me is the fact that the home I left nine years ago is NOT the home I am going back too. Too many changes. I guess I'm just wondering how I'll react to it all. I'm hoping that I'll love it no matter what. I'm sure there will be things there that won't have changed but those will definitely be in the minority. I just hope that after all is said and done, I can home back to NY knowing that, if I so desire, I can go back home and live happily. That will have to be covered in my update upon my return to the States.

So, here's what happened in the past few weeks since my last update. I watched anime, attended AnimeNext 2007 saw Transformers (great summer flick), participated in a PBR tournament (if you don't know what that is I'm not going to tell you ) hunted for jobs (no luck) and slept a lot. Great postgraduate career eh? Anyway...this trip is the beginning of the end of sorts...it's my last 'vacation' before everyone goes back to school and work, and upon my return I will be 100% committed to finding a fulltime job that I'll hopefully land sometime mid-September. Time will tell though. If I am able to, I will update from Trinidad.

It's going to be a time of great nostalgia, reminiscence and self-evaluation. Hope I make it through.

See you everyone!

                                                                                                             SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

For the past few days I've been keeping myself quite occupied with music. Since last Thursday I've been a volunteer musician at my old high school's senior band, essentially reprising my role as a bassist there. I can't even being to describe the level of nostalgia that came over me. First off, the band room hadn't changed one BIT since I left, aesthetically. The only differences were the band members (all new kids who weren't even at the school when I was there) and the new instruments that were bought over the years. That's it. They even had MY bass, a red Fender Precision that I had pretty much claimed as my own the minute I was promoted to senior band player. It was absolutely amazing. We played only one song that I played during my tenure, "My Girl" by the Temptations. The other songs were great as well, surprisingly it didn't take me that long to find my groove again (this could be due to the fact that I'd been practicing frequently since graduation). The kids were all nice as well, even made friends with a few of them. They weren't at all intimidated by me, unlike the batch from 2004 (that's a different story, you can read about it in a summer entry during that year ). The graduation ceremonies we played went very well; we played at Shell Bank Junior High and of course, Sheepshead's. It was great performing on stage; it's an experience like no other. I had a cousin who was graduating from the old stomping ground so after the ceremony was over me and the family took her for dinner out in Queens.

Yep, all in all the first true summer vacation I've had in years is turning out quite well. Next, I'll be going to Connecticut for a week to visit family. Until then!

                                                                                                        SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

Not a real update persay...I just wanna say that after watching the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex movie "Solid State Society", I am very, VERY happy that I am a fan of anime . And the fact that it was shown on the SciFi channel made it all the more sweeter; it was SciFi after all that allowed me to discover anime and become a devoted fan almost fifteen years ago. Now that the channel is finally showing anime again since 1999, I can honestly say I have come home.

Nostalgia anyone?

Anyhoo...these past few weeks have been purgatory, as I mentioned earlier...still sending out resumes in the hopes of finding a job, and hopefully something will happen soon. So far I've visited friends, family, caught up on some music (playing bass = yay ) and more. I'm trying my best to make the most of my situation. That's all. Sometimes I get upset and frustrated...but I'm only human after all. It's ironic too...now that I have all this free time I'm finding myself overwhelmed with things I want to to but can't possibly accomplish in a single day, or even two. Places I wanna go, people I wanna see...the list never seems to end. Really have to work on time management more than ever...moreso than when I was in college. Strange isn't it?

Hmm...I guess this entry turned out to be more of an entry than I thought. Does this mean I'm back?

                                                                                                           SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...