my first day in new york

<--a vain shot with my camera phone

my stuff is everywhere in my new apartment. i can't find ANYTHING. i would probably have a neurological overload if someone asked me to locate a fresh pair of underwear because right now, everything is a puzzle. and i hate freaking puzzles.

my first few days of living in New York have been really bizarre, but in an incredibly positive way. the feeling of being a tourist still hasn't gone away yet. i can't believe brooklyn is my home and that i get to wake up to the trains passing by everyday. it's really, really strange. i think it will be like this until i finally get all my shit together and move into my room. with all the people involved in terms of moving in and out of the apartment, i have no idea when this is going to happen. mir and i have had maybe two seconds together since our work schedules are totally different and in totally different parts of town.

well, let me begin with my first day in NYC.

i wake up on monday morning feeling incredibly lazy. the day was meant for low-key activity and newbie kinds of things like finding out where the closest coffee shop is and how far i am from the hipster area of w'burg, and finding a buyer for my car. my roommate boris gets up and asks me, "so, what are you doing today?"

"oh, nothing. i have no plans" (i never do). "what are YOU doing today?"

next thing i know i'm a tag-along photographer for a low-budget rap video and i'm sharing butt-cheek space with a japanese film dude named rio on an apple box jammed in the middle of this white van that has all this film equipment in it. four of us, rio, me, roy (who was driving) and boris (passenger seat) are all intimately and strategically seated in the front of this van.

the day is filled with mcdonald's, networking, very bad, unorganized caravan-ing which eats up about 80% of the time.

we drive all the way to far rockaway, into the projects, to get a "real feel" for the video.

we're filming this really short shot, and as we're wrapping up, there's a dispute between the crew and a belligerent local. he wasn't happy about the artist "exploiting the projects," and asked us to leave.

next thing i know....

a gun goes off and four shots are heard. everyone's running, and somehow, my feet take me to hide behind the van. everyone's at a different stage of panic. some people are freaking out, screaming, crying, on the phone calling 911, others are taking off in their vehicles (without everyone else). in my head there's a struggle about reality -- what's happening? were those firecrackers or are we really being shot at? is someone going to get hurt? are they going to shoot again? i end up jumping into a car with a couple of friends and we take off. all of us are thinking, "this isn't worth what i'm getting paid!!!"

the cops end up arriving and rather than really doing anything about it, advised that "we should leave."

the rest of the day, while not going very smoothly, was a lot more enjoyable and a whole lot less dramatic. we ended up in somebody's mansion in long island (a family connected to the artist) and shooting inside and outside the house. i was crippled because i'd misplaced my digital camera back at the apartment so all i had with me was my manual camera. i shot about 50 pictures on set, and just laid back and observed and got to know people. working on film is great! i never knew it could be so fun. especially after the whole "near-death" experience, everyone felt like family after awhile.

boris and i didn't crash back at the apartment til like 5am. and i had to get up in three hours for my new product design job.

and THAT's a whole different story which i'll have to leave for another post. i've discovered a Gold's Gym in brooklyn, and i'm about to jump on the G train to get to it.

happy entrails and don't get SHOT,
v.