After a night of drinking with Andrew and Steve, Steve & I went back to my apartment to chill.
He told me about this weekly Saturday Night Contest at Theory 11 (this one in particular, for last night) wherein you had to film yourself doing a magic trick with a card magic plot, but without any cards.
Steve had this silly -but brilliant- idea to use cars instead of cards, using the Ambitious Card plot where the card, lost in the middle of the deck, keeps rising to the top of the deck.
We talked about some options (to the head of a line of cars, to the top of a parking garage, etc) but at that time the contest would be over in just over an hour.
Probably it was the resident booze in our system, or just the full-of-laughs night we had had, but we spontaneously went outside, hopped in my car, and moved it to the visitor section, and went to town with the idea.
Steve filmed it on his Droid X at 720 (HD) and we slapped it together and uploaded it to my YouTube acct with plenty of time before the deadline. We didn't win, but then again this really was just a JOKE. Brilliant, hilarious.
Later I spent 20 min and put together a slightly more polished version which I uploaded to my Vimeo account.
Enjoy!
1.30.2011
1.09.2011
Reflection on 2010
At the beginning of the year, instead of making trite New Year's resolutions, I make a list of all the good things that I experienced in the previous year, roughly in month-order.
*Moved into my own, all-by-myself apartment. Cooking and cleaning and taking care of myself, just as my parents had raised me to be well rounded. Cut my commute to <<10 min. =)
*Learned that I enjoy cooking just like I enjoy creating art and building Lego models.
*Expanded my digital painting skill, so that it looks quite painterly
*Started dual monitors for my computer
*Started reading a lot more, now that I have a comfortable place.
*A friend sewed and made me a neat shower curtain (from fabric) to match my Steampunk themed bathroom
*LAN parties at my place!
*Surprise birthday party for turning 29. My cousin Joe super-surprised me by being there, up from NC.
*My sanity survived The Blizzard of 2010 where we got ~50" of snow
*Officially took Lindy Hop lessons and learned the proper way to do many things I had already been doing, plus more
*Bought a 2005 PT Cruiser convertible! Something I've wanted back since the tragic accident which destroyed my PT Cruiser a few years ago now. LOVE IT. Modded it a-plenty, to make it look more retro, more hotrod. =) Lots of topless driving followed...
*Survived tax season while working tech support for a financial institution (yikes).
*Drove to NC at the last minute to join a Lego convention, put on by our friend Joe Meno. It was a success, and Joe (my coz Joe) and I gave 2 of our lectures on how to make stop motion animation videos with Lego
*Bought an iPad. Used it that next weekend while in NC to remote into my PC in MD and email Joe (sitting next to me in NC) the finished PowerPoint presentation of our lecture.
*Received random acts of kindness in online games. ^_^
*An incident made me reflect on the great friends I've had for years and how much I really do appreciate their friendship, even if I don't see them frequently.
*Late night parties at my place, plenty of booze, video games, YouTube vid sharing. Then late night runs to diners.
*The owners of the Chinese restaurant I frequently get take out from totally love me. They call me Mr. Dave. ^_^
*Starcraft II was released. Played it online frequently for a while with friends, learned to use Skype too.
*Topless drive to the beach for a full week with my family! I drove my sister & bro-in-law. This was the 21st annual trip. Even though it rained/was chilly the first days, it was still glorious as always. I had plenty of free time in the evenings to stay up late and sketch on my iPad. I wish I could do that all the time.
*Several trips to Manhattan with Steve. Got to hang out with a magician friend one of those evenings. The first trip kicked off a realization: I need to live in a city and get out of suburbia.
*Got the Droid X phone. After the 1st half hour I couldn't understand how I had lived without it. I find it's better than the i*hone because it's customizable, not locked down to what the creator-company wants. Customization, flexibility, almost flawless voice searches, and all the misc jazz -- good stuff.
*Went back to Illusions a year later.
*Bought a pair of grey jeans which I thought we just normal and slight stylish, and they turn out to be my Grey Jeans of Attractive Power, with +13 to Luck!*Was hit on by a college-age girl, who was acting very cute and very much like a star-stuck schoolgirl (and no, I hadn't done any magic or anything impressive).
*Bought a black Wii on Black Friday. Hack it 3 weeks later to put the HomeBrew channel on it to play old ROMs. >:-]
*Spent Christmas weekend at my parents' -- my sister & bro-in-law are living there for a few weeks before moving into their new, 1st house. Hail, hail, the gang's all here.
*Hung out with Steve at Illusions on New Year's Eve. It was nice to be out, and also nice to be low-key. I was remembered by patrons.
*Made many advancements in my IT career experience (beefed up my resume).
*Made lots of new friends!
*Played lots of WoW, and the 3rd expansion pack was released in Nov.
*Was definitely appreciated, loved, and missed. =)
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss
*Moved into my own, all-by-myself apartment. Cooking and cleaning and taking care of myself, just as my parents had raised me to be well rounded. Cut my commute to <<10 min. =)
*Learned that I enjoy cooking just like I enjoy creating art and building Lego models.
*Expanded my digital painting skill, so that it looks quite painterly
*Started dual monitors for my computer
*Started reading a lot more, now that I have a comfortable place.
*A friend sewed and made me a neat shower curtain (from fabric) to match my Steampunk themed bathroom
*LAN parties at my place!
*Surprise birthday party for turning 29. My cousin Joe super-surprised me by being there, up from NC.
*My sanity survived The Blizzard of 2010 where we got ~50" of snow
*Officially took Lindy Hop lessons and learned the proper way to do many things I had already been doing, plus more
*Bought a 2005 PT Cruiser convertible! Something I've wanted back since the tragic accident which destroyed my PT Cruiser a few years ago now. LOVE IT. Modded it a-plenty, to make it look more retro, more hotrod. =) Lots of topless driving followed...
*Survived tax season while working tech support for a financial institution (yikes).
*Drove to NC at the last minute to join a Lego convention, put on by our friend Joe Meno. It was a success, and Joe (my coz Joe) and I gave 2 of our lectures on how to make stop motion animation videos with Lego
*Bought an iPad. Used it that next weekend while in NC to remote into my PC in MD and email Joe (sitting next to me in NC) the finished PowerPoint presentation of our lecture.
*Received random acts of kindness in online games. ^_^
*An incident made me reflect on the great friends I've had for years and how much I really do appreciate their friendship, even if I don't see them frequently.
*Late night parties at my place, plenty of booze, video games, YouTube vid sharing. Then late night runs to diners.
*The owners of the Chinese restaurant I frequently get take out from totally love me. They call me Mr. Dave. ^_^
*Starcraft II was released. Played it online frequently for a while with friends, learned to use Skype too.
*Topless drive to the beach for a full week with my family! I drove my sister & bro-in-law. This was the 21st annual trip. Even though it rained/was chilly the first days, it was still glorious as always. I had plenty of free time in the evenings to stay up late and sketch on my iPad. I wish I could do that all the time.
*Several trips to Manhattan with Steve. Got to hang out with a magician friend one of those evenings. The first trip kicked off a realization: I need to live in a city and get out of suburbia.
*Got the Droid X phone. After the 1st half hour I couldn't understand how I had lived without it. I find it's better than the i*hone because it's customizable, not locked down to what the creator-company wants. Customization, flexibility, almost flawless voice searches, and all the misc jazz -- good stuff.
*Went back to Illusions a year later.
*Bought a pair of grey jeans which I thought we just normal and slight stylish, and they turn out to be my Grey Jeans of Attractive Power, with +13 to Luck!*Was hit on by a college-age girl, who was acting very cute and very much like a star-stuck schoolgirl (and no, I hadn't done any magic or anything impressive).
*Bought a black Wii on Black Friday. Hack it 3 weeks later to put the HomeBrew channel on it to play old ROMs. >:-]
*Spent Christmas weekend at my parents' -- my sister & bro-in-law are living there for a few weeks before moving into their new, 1st house. Hail, hail, the gang's all here.
*Hung out with Steve at Illusions on New Year's Eve. It was nice to be out, and also nice to be low-key. I was remembered by patrons.
*Made many advancements in my IT career experience (beefed up my resume).
*Made lots of new friends!
*Played lots of WoW, and the 3rd expansion pack was released in Nov.
*Was definitely appreciated, loved, and missed. =)
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss
I told you my reasons for the whole revival / Now I'm going outside to have an ice cold beer in the shade. / Oh, I'm gonna listen to my 45's / Ain't it wonderful to be alive / When the rock 'n' roll plays, yeah / When the memory stays, yeah. / I'm keeping the faith / Yeah yeah yeah yeah keeping the faith. [Billy Joel, "Keeping The Faith"]
1.01.2011
Christmas & New Year's Eve
CHRISTMAS 2010
I worked Christmas Eve -- one of four people on call. It was quiet and relaxing at least; nice to chat with a couple of my coworker friends. We closed at 4.
Then I came home, packed, relaxed, and drove to my parents' house for the weekend. My sister & bro-in-law are living there for a month until they move into their new (first) house in Columbia so it was a lot of fun -- the family all together.
I didn't sleep in my old room or in my old bed -- I preferred the larger space of the pull-out couch in the study upstairs. Very squishy, but comfortable. I'm used to a big bed now. =)
Went to bed Christmas Eve around 11pm -- I was so exhausted from the week and the past couple of days getting up an hour earlier for work than normal. :-/
My sister woke me up at 8:30am on Christmas and we opened our stockings as like every year. Except this year we didn't get to then wake our parents up -- they were already up!
Quick breakfast, unwrapped presents galore. Then showered & dressed & went to church.
After coming home, Mom made us bacon & me eggs. =)
Aunt Alice & Uncle Bill came over in the afternoon and a good time was had by all. Big turkey dinner (Thanksgiving all over again). My uncle & I devised mischief in the form of creating Cesium explosions, creating ball lightning in an old microwave, designing a Vortex Ring gun, and well... other fun dangerous projects. >:-]
The day after Christmas we went to Arundel Mills mall and I got a migraine, as chronicled in the previous post.
NEW YEAR'S EVE 2010
Again I worked all day on New Year's Eve. It was fairly quiet, so it wasn't too bad. Got out at 6 as usual.
Steve met me at my place, and I changed my clothes & shaved and we headed out.
Ate at Chic Fil A (my girl wasn't there) then Steve drove us into Baltimore: Federal Hill.
We spent the evening hanging out at Illusions Magic Bar & Lounge. [Brief recap: our best friend owns Illusions. We helped him build it; run it; and we worked, tended bar, and performed there for a few years.]
That was fun, although we knew it would be busy on NYE so we didn't get any time to just chill & chat with our friend Spencer. Ah well, The Hot Shots will have to get together another night.
We met a guy in the Army Res. who spent the summer in Iraq and learned a few card tricks. He was extremely excited to meet real magicians, and Steve obliged by showing him a couple of tricks with the guy's own deck of cards.
Steve & I left Illusions around 1am and went back to my place. We started drinking and playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii. I popped the requisite Dave-and-Steve-late-at-night-drinking-at-Dave's-place kettle corn popcorn(TM). ^_^ Around 4am I was falling asleep, so I went to bed.
I never feel like midnight between Dec 31st and Jan 1st means anything. It's not until I wake up the next day (Jan 1st) that feel like "Happy New Year!"
At Illusions I got spotted by a few patrons who remembered I used to tend bar there & do magic at my bar -- hell, one gal remembered my name! (And I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half, and only really met a few times!)
I had forgotten how powerful magic can be for a layperson. Especially to people who aren't exposed to it or the performing arts continually. When it's our way of life, we definitely take it for granted.
For a while at Illusions last night Steve & I were sitting at a high-top table in the back, overlooking the whole room. I love being the quiet, semi-mysterious guy in the back corner overseeing the operation. Like the Godfather. Very cool, very old-school. So one girl notices and asks us why we're special and get to sit up higher than everyone else. We just smiled and then she said "You're magicians!" So we spilled the beans, and she begged us to do magic for her. ;-)
Stay tuned for my Reflection on 2010, where I post all the good stuff that's happened in the past year instead of making trite resolutions!
I worked Christmas Eve -- one of four people on call. It was quiet and relaxing at least; nice to chat with a couple of my coworker friends. We closed at 4.
Then I came home, packed, relaxed, and drove to my parents' house for the weekend. My sister & bro-in-law are living there for a month until they move into their new (first) house in Columbia so it was a lot of fun -- the family all together.
I didn't sleep in my old room or in my old bed -- I preferred the larger space of the pull-out couch in the study upstairs. Very squishy, but comfortable. I'm used to a big bed now. =)
Went to bed Christmas Eve around 11pm -- I was so exhausted from the week and the past couple of days getting up an hour earlier for work than normal. :-/
My sister woke me up at 8:30am on Christmas and we opened our stockings as like every year. Except this year we didn't get to then wake our parents up -- they were already up!
Quick breakfast, unwrapped presents galore. Then showered & dressed & went to church.
After coming home, Mom made us bacon & me eggs. =)
Aunt Alice & Uncle Bill came over in the afternoon and a good time was had by all. Big turkey dinner (Thanksgiving all over again). My uncle & I devised mischief in the form of creating Cesium explosions, creating ball lightning in an old microwave, designing a Vortex Ring gun, and well... other fun dangerous projects. >:-]
The day after Christmas we went to Arundel Mills mall and I got a migraine, as chronicled in the previous post.
NEW YEAR'S EVE 2010
Again I worked all day on New Year's Eve. It was fairly quiet, so it wasn't too bad. Got out at 6 as usual.
Steve met me at my place, and I changed my clothes & shaved and we headed out.
Ate at Chic Fil A (my girl wasn't there) then Steve drove us into Baltimore: Federal Hill.
We spent the evening hanging out at Illusions Magic Bar & Lounge. [Brief recap: our best friend owns Illusions. We helped him build it; run it; and we worked, tended bar, and performed there for a few years.]
That was fun, although we knew it would be busy on NYE so we didn't get any time to just chill & chat with our friend Spencer. Ah well, The Hot Shots will have to get together another night.
We met a guy in the Army Res. who spent the summer in Iraq and learned a few card tricks. He was extremely excited to meet real magicians, and Steve obliged by showing him a couple of tricks with the guy's own deck of cards.
Steve & I left Illusions around 1am and went back to my place. We started drinking and playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii. I popped the requisite Dave-and-Steve-late-at-night-drinking-at-Dave's-place kettle corn popcorn(TM). ^_^ Around 4am I was falling asleep, so I went to bed.
I never feel like midnight between Dec 31st and Jan 1st means anything. It's not until I wake up the next day (Jan 1st) that feel like "Happy New Year!"
At Illusions I got spotted by a few patrons who remembered I used to tend bar there & do magic at my bar -- hell, one gal remembered my name! (And I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half, and only really met a few times!)
I had forgotten how powerful magic can be for a layperson. Especially to people who aren't exposed to it or the performing arts continually. When it's our way of life, we definitely take it for granted.
For a while at Illusions last night Steve & I were sitting at a high-top table in the back, overlooking the whole room. I love being the quiet, semi-mysterious guy in the back corner overseeing the operation. Like the Godfather. Very cool, very old-school. So one girl notices and asks us why we're special and get to sit up higher than everyone else. We just smiled and then she said "You're magicians!" So we spilled the beans, and she begged us to do magic for her. ;-)
Stay tuned for my Reflection on 2010, where I post all the good stuff that's happened in the past year instead of making trite resolutions!
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