Towards the end of October I started over at Image Metrics again for a stint until the end of this month. It's been so much fun! I was doing only at-home freelance work for a few months and it was really starting to be a drag. Sleeping in is always nice, but not having any reason to leave the house for days at a time can start to make anyone get bleh'd out. I was stir crazy and running out of money, so the new job has been a light in many dark places. Getting bills payed, things fixed, being able to eat, etc. It's awesome!
Since the studio is on Main Street, it's a one block walk down to the beach and we've been taking daily surfing breaks during lunch or whenever the tide is good. My old spot down by the Venice Pier is significantly less awesome than this new one for my personal taste. The water is nice and shallow and the larger breaks are quite a ways out so you've got plenty of room for variety in between. My buddy Jonas bought a 6 footer which we've been trying to shred and I've been on my body board until I get the cash for a new board. Ultimate fun though, so happy to be getting out in the water every day.
Halloween was pretty entertaining. We cruised down to Bill's house in Huntington Beach for his annual Halloween bash. He went all out this year with a full on Halloween decor that put Knott's to shame. It was an awesome time. Got to see some old friends and meet new ones, who could ask for more? Emily dressed as Tifa Lockhart from FF7, and I was Luffy again. Almost everyone knew who Emily was right away so that made her happy. =)
I finally beat Final Fantasy XII. It's been sitting at the final battle for like 4 months and I forgot about it until the other night where I plugged in, logged on, and proceeded to hand Vayne his ass in all 3 forms. Good times.
Note: Because of the length, remember to click "Read More" at the bottom to see the entire article!
When I got home from my vacation in Massachusetts I had about 2 days to recover and get myself ready for the next leg of summer. Come Friday, Emily, Dan Edwards, Mike Bahurinsky, and myself all piled into Dan's Civic and began the trek to San Francisco for our Animation Mentor Graduation.
The drive was easy and uneventful, discussions of gaming, cars, music, etc. all took place in the usual fashion and we arrived in Oakland around 1am. A decent hotel room and about 6 later we got up, had some breakfast, dressed up nice and headed on our way to the Berkeley Art Museum where our Graduation was being held.
Last time we were here was for the Animation Mentor Annual Barbecue and the weather was less than awesome. Overcast, a bit chilly with what seemed like impending rain was what we had then, but this time we got lucky! 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect, it was shaping up to be a really awesome day. As soon as we arrived we started seeing people we had spent 2 years in school with yet (in some cases) never met in person. Bill, Cedric, Jerzy, all these guys I talk to ALL the time yet had never met. Instantly cool for sure, but it kept getting better! We had a trial practice run for the ceremony, hung out a while, and were then seated for the ceremony to begin.
Shawn, Carlos, and Bobby are definitely a bunch of amazing dudes. The school that was once an idea being tossed around during lunch and gaming sessions was now alive and changing people's lives, mine most included. As well as great animators, the three of them have an air of charisma and inspiration about them that has definitely played more than a small part in the success of the school. Many thanks to them for everything and for Shawn's great speech.
Glen Mackintosh from ILM was the guest speaker and had some really cool things to say. We also heard from Rick O'Connor, Don Crum, and many others with a boatload of great info.
After the speakers spoke and awards were awarded, we all got in line for our diplomas, handshakes, and pictures. Awesome to the max! The reception following was a great time with many pictures to be taken, wine to be drank, and memories to be made. After it all ended we got a burger, took a deep breath, and headed on home.
Stay tuned for the next update...Siggraph and FJORG!
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