I arrived at the building this morning around 7:08. The common areas on the way up to our floor were so peaceful in anticipation of the work day throngs. It’s just such a fresh and neat time to transverse the hallways. Always makes me feel good to beat the rush. In the calm before the storm which this week’s workload will surely bring, I wanted to send an update from the Bull pen.

On Saturday, I drove up to The Forum in Salisbury to chat with my old trainer Boyd. I thought I was going for a training session, but as it turned out we just chatted, weighed me (I’ve lost 4lbs) and he wrote out a workout plan I can complete at home with the weights and equipment I had on hand. I don’t know if this was the actual plan or he just hasn’t cleared having a side client actually work out there. It’s really not practical to make a 2 hour round trip drive for a 1 hour workout anyways so I’m fine with the approach of planning it for a home workout anyways. The new treadmill I have put money down on having refurbished by the guys over at Carolina Fitness is really the keystone of my whole fitness plan. I cannot wait to have that beast in my home.

I got the physical copies of my album, “Faster” in my hands on Thursday and have been handing those out like candy ever since. What a milestone to have a “real” album now. The record should show up on iTunes within the new week. Whoo haaaa! It’s been a long time coming.

I stopped by and gave some copies to the man who apart from myself was mostly responsible for this record happening. Eddie turned me onto a new record he knew I’d love. The Wild Feathers debut album. Yes, it’s an amazing record that instantly inspired me. I’ve already been having inspiration for the week having rough demoed yet another tune, this one called, “False Judas.”

I got in some unexpected cinematography practice this weekend on one of my work team mates projects entitled, “Lucky.” Sunday we shot the film at “Off The Square,” on Main street in Albemarle.  That restaurant has one of the most scenic bars I’ve ever laid eyes on and I’ve long wanted to shoot something in there, so when director John Rotramel asked if I knew of any cinematic looking bars, I was quick to recommend it.

At first I was going to be recording audio, but that sort of turned into lighting and cinematography, which was fine by me. It was kind of a loose set, but as it turns out a light hearted and fun one. I wound up spending just over 4 hours setting up, shooting and breaking down and will also be handling the post as it turns out. This film is intended as a submission for project, Green Light and has to be submitted by Friday of this week. It’ll be interesting to turn this around so quickly, but I look forward to the challenge. I shot with me brand new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens and did ever kick butt. The difference between that and my other lens, the one that came with my camera kit is a pretty big one. I shot my Canon 60D and John’s 70D. I have to say, after seeing the difference first hand, I think I’m going to need to upgrade to the 70D. It handles low light much, much better. There are some bells and whistles that they 60D lacks which now, having used, I have to have.

The sole actor was Nathan Rouse and his performance was a pleasant surprise. He came in really well prepared and did a professional job. I’ve had to employ the old 2 angle trick to get actors through any sort of lengthy monologue in the past and it was really refreshing to see a performer who totally had his lines on lock down.

OTS was super accommodating to us and that is much appreciated. Our buddy Steven Tucker was on hand to hang out with his friends from the restaurant the entire length of the shoot, but didn’t lift a finger to help Johnny Brento put up or break down those lights. Shame on you Stevo! He did help me haul a little bit of gear in so all is well. He earned his pay I guess. I just have to bust his chops because when I asked for his help breaking down, he suddenly had to go after sitting there chatting for 4 hours.

Another thing I got to test out was my new gear hauling system. I had every piece of DSLR gear I own along with my laptop for pulling the footage in my Professional All Weather Multi Purpose Photo/ Computer Laptop Backpack for Canon EOS Rebel. That was money well spent. It did take me a little bit to find a few specific pieces in all the pockets so I need to get some sort of system for sorting cables, lenses and attachments. I did manage to use my mono-pod and new macro tubes, though I don’t think those shots will make the cut. It was really kind of neat to have all that stuff on hand.

Last night, I socked in for just a little bit of TV, checking out another episode of Steven Austin’s Broken Skull Ranch and this week’s episode of, “The Strain.” THAT show is kicking some serious butt. I finished book #2 of the trilogy driving in this morning by the way. It’s such a killer story. Actually, this is the first episode where I noticed slight deviations from the book. I mean of course they have to condense things but they added and entirely new character in the female hacker. I’ll write more on that later. I plan to re-watch all of season 1 and do a proper review, so I’m keeping them on my DVR.
Overall, it was a busy and fine weekend. I hope everyone has a great week!