tecgirl [dot] com - I only do this because I'm having fun.

Adieu la vie nocturne

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:40:26 -0800

This weekend marks my last weekend working for Inner Circle Entertainment--aka Ruby Skye & Slide. I started working there in February of 2004. It's been a great time, but one that has to end. What began as a way to support myself through college became a necessity in order to cover my expenses living here in San Francisco. Many of you know, it's not easy. Everything is expensive and even little things like parking add up (I spend over $100 a month on it). The money had its ups and downs. I liken it to gambling. You win some, you lose some. My income would fluctuate as much as 70%...not something you can really set a budget upon. More than anything, I miss spending time with Ford and my family and friends. I miss waking up in the MORNING and having a zillion things done before noon. Taking the time off recently and going to Tahoe really exposed me to what life can be without working on the weekends. I liked it. I really, really liked it.

I will miss my routine of heading backstage at Ruby to the dressing room, putting on my outfit for the evening, chatting with the go-go girls and whatever talent may be in there that night. I will miss the sound of the music as heard backstage. I will miss the view of the Ruby floor from the AV room. I will miss grabbing my camera and walking on stage to shoot. I will miss standing out front, chatting with Reggie and T and the front-of-the-house security and being amused by our lines and the tourists walking by. I will miss Oliver's smile when I pick up my radio. I will miss J-5's smile when I leave. I will miss the heart-to-hearts that I've had with the girls backstage. I will miss pulling girls down from their underwear when they hang off of things they shouldn't be. I will miss the camaraderie of all the employees working together. I will miss the random interactions with the world's best DJs and late night quesadillas (yes, you, Benny Benassi). I will miss the awesome music on a killer sound system. I will miss the random medical calls that kept the night interesting. I will miss the themed parties. I will miss the folks rolling down the Slide laughing like children. I will miss the chats with everyone.

I'm sure I'll be stopping by from time to time for DJs I really like, bringing my camera and having a blast on the other side of the scene.

What I do know is that I busted my ass at school for a very good reason. I am ramping up my freelance work and know that not being dedicated on the weekends will garner me even more work in doing what I love. Maybe I'll even pick up a full-time gig. It will be tough at first, but it will pay off.

Here's my tip of my hat to you, Inner Circle. I will miss you and I thank you for the wild ride. Without you I would not understand how to deal with people and crowds in a way like no other. Without you I would not be the music snob I am today. Without you I would have never made it through college. For all of that, I thank you.

My locker in Ruby Skye's dressing room

Temptasia

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:39:04 -0800

It's that time of year again where we pull out all of our camping gear from underneath the house and lay it all out on the lower deck. Most of it is still dusty from last year. No matter, you'll never fully get the playa off of anything. It lingers. Like herpes. A tolerable herpes.

What in the hell am I talking about? Burning Man. I've been participating since 2001 (I sadly missed last year due to last-second car trouble). I always enjoy the reaction I get when I tell people I attend Burning Man. Many people assume that it's a big drug-laden hippy fest in the desert. Yes, there are hippies. There may be some drugs. But ultimately Burning Man is a city created from nothing by thousands of extremely smart, talented, and dedicated individuals with a common interest in art, interaction, and having a damn good time. You do not have to do drugs to enjoy Burning Man. The energy of everyone around you will keep you high. The amount of experiences and ways to participate are endless.

For instance, this year I'm part of the Black Rock Rangers.

"Rangers are participants who have chosen to volunteer as guardians of the shared values of the Burning Man community. They are empowered by the community and the Burning Man Board to address safety concerns, mediate disputes, and resolve conflicts when they cannot be resolved by the persons involved."

I'm not only Rangering--I'm camping with the Rangers at the Center Camp location (aka Moscow). I'm tremendously excited to be part of the Rangers and to change up my normal routine a bit. I'll still be out on the playa with a bag of cameras when I'm not wearing khaki.

If you're attending this year and it's your first time, I'd like to offer you my 2¢.

First, read the official survival guide. and pay special attention to the "We Strongly Suggest You Bring" and "Things Not to Bring" sections.
Take a gander at my photos from year's past. You can get a hint of what you're in for.
Go buy:
A photocopy of your id/passport and medical insurance card to keep with you.
An open mind and willingness to expect the unexpected and plan to be unplanned.
When you exit I-80 and turn onto the 447, turn off your cell phone and put it away. Disconnect yourself from the outside world and connect with those around you. If you see others on their phones, encourage them to do the same.
Watch this:

I Miss Making Moving Pictures

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:59:03 -0800

I've had the bug recently to start making videos again. I mean, coherent, planned (for the most part) moving pictures. I shoot here and there and upload clips to YouTube, and have half a dozen or so videos that I did mostly five years ago on Vimeo. Now that I think about it, I did more with point-n-shoot, 3CCD, Super-8mm and 16mm than I do now with the FOUR HD options I now have. Is it because it's so damn easy now? Do I miss hours of telecine and logging? Yes and no. I do miss film. Tremendously. I still have two of my Super-8mm cameras and I'm sure some unexposed film. I still have my Super-8 projector and a 16mm projector that belongs to one Taylor Bro (yes man, I still have it). I miss setting up the projectors in my garage and watching reels over and over, and I do miss telecine. It was such a process that really made you think about what you were shooting and the time it would take to capture it all.

In the end, I switched to photography because it was cheaper, and I could tackle it easier on my own or with even a single model. Making videos on my own was fine, but it was always nice having people to play with. After three years of film classes I ended up enrolling at SFAI for photography, only to switch two years later to a Design & Technology degree because-let's face it, it was clear I knew how to run a camera and knew my photo history. What in the hell was I going to do with a photography degree? My passion lied in cinematography, which made me a better photographer, and with it I've shot some awfully fun series.

Then I came across the work of The Masses. Well, fuck me, call me inspired. The Masses is a group of talented directors and artists based primarily in Los Angeles that all share a common interest: music. Each director has their own vision and style, and they all collaborate together to help each other out on their projects. Again, I miss having people to play with. I say The Masses need a San Francisco extension. I'm not in L.A. as much as I used to be. Not that it's hard to get down there, an hour flight on VA and you're good to go.

A couple of weeks ago I did just that. I was invited attend the Summer Film Series held at the Roosevelt Hotel and put together by The Masses and Cinespia. The third film was a screening of Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and I couldn't pass that up. I classic by a female director--count me in! I hopped on a plane and was to the Roosevelt by 8.

As a bonus, I got to hang out with my wicked hot girlfriend Satine and meet the lovely Mara Marini in person (we've been Twitter/Facebook friends for years now). As I looked around I felt at home. Good friends, good music, an assortment of film dorks, and a movie projector. Before the film someone brought a bunch of awesome art-film shorts from the 60's to play on the projector-fueling my longing for actual celluloid even more.

After the movie I went over to meet Matt Amato, who was a total sweetheart. We chatted briefly about San Francisco, filmmaking in general, what it's like to make films on your own, and how nice it is to collaborate with others that each have their own talents. He also thanked me for taking the time to watch his films online which I thought was considerate.

I would have liked to have spent more time picking Matt's brain, but after all, he was one of the hosts of the screening and had lots of socializing to do. I'll be back down for another screening soon, I'm sure. Above all it was so refreshing to be around others that love film as much as I do. I really do miss it. And soon, I hope, I would be honored to collaborate with The Masses.

Bootlegging Bart

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:14:25 -0800

When I was around ten years old, The Simpsons debuted. I was immediately a fan. I had already been a huge fan of Groening's Life In Hell. I came across it in the local News & Review. Not a week went by that I didn't bug my parents to take me to the grocery store to pick up a copy.

At school, I was often called upon to make photocopies for my teachers. I jumped at the chance to a) get out of class and b) use the copier for my own artistic endeavors. Naturally I'd come up with something that capitalized on my new-found obsession.

In pencil, I drew Bart Simpson from a photo I believe I found on the cover of Newsweek¹. I wrote "under-achiever" in a banner above him and "I'm Proud of it man" in a chat bubble beside him. I went over the lines in marker, copied him, and then colored him in with crayons. I must have made 100 copies. I sold as many as I could to my classmates for 0.25 each. I had all the extra lunch money I could ever want.

Looking back, I bootlegged Bart. I knew that my classmates would eat it up. Why come up with my own character? If it worked for Warhol it could work for me. I had the ultimate access to the copy machine, and I used it.

Now, if I could only find my 4th grade laser-portrait in which I'm wearing a long t-shirt with the entire Simpsons family over neon green leggings. Epic.

¹ I have said Newsweek in storage, will have to dig it up to verify.

Productivity...awesome!

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:14:43 -0800

When I graduated last year I did like every other new grad does, I sent out a gazillion resumés. Not one company got back to me. NOT ONE. Good riddance. I'm slowly building up a client base and very stoked to have the flexibility of working for myself. I'm not quite ready to give up the nightlife job yet, but every freelance job I land inches me a bit closer to it. I'm become rather militant about productivity. I probably spent a day setting everything up just so my schedule can benefit from it. In a nutshell, here is my list:

Billings. Hands down the best/easiest way to keep track of your time, expenses, estimates, invoices, and statements. It syncs with the iPhone and generates PDFs and keeps track of it all in a nifty user interface. You can also adjust your time (if you forgot to turn on/off the timer) and if you walk away from the computer, Billings will detect it and you have the option of removing that chunk of time from the log.

Things. Yes, a tad expensive when you spring for the additional $15 for the iPhone sync-able app. I can see right away when things are due, and can organize them into projects. It also syncs with iCal's ToDo list.

Google Calendar CalDAV with iCal. Like IMAP for email, CalDAV syncs your calendar so you don't have to worry about constantly syncing your phone. With color-coding and delegation, I am always in the know of what/where I should be doing.

The last thing on my list doesn't really have to do with productivity, but it does keep me up-to-date and inspired. I use Gruml for my Google Reader feeds. Again, seamless sync-able integration with my iPhone (with MobileRSS). You can create folders to group your feeds, mark them as favorites or simply 'likes' and instantly share to your public feed (which you can import elsewhere). I don't understand why anyone would bother looking at news sites when you can get all the info you need from the feed. And, if you somewhat secretly browse gossip sites, you can feel less guilty about it since you're not technically accessing them.

better me?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:52:56 -0800

give me anonymous feedback

Sad that you still have to register in order for the feedback to be (anonymously) received. A great product nonetheless.

Brothaman got MARRIED!

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:15:19 -0800

It's still a little hard to believe, but my little brother just got married last week. I had the opportunity to meet his fiance, Brittany, while I was in Japan a couple of months ago. She's wonderful, and I couldn't be happier for them. They were married by our father in Sacramento, with our parents, her mother, Ford, and Jeremy to witness. What began as a rainy day turned beautiful just in time for the ceremony. We had the dinner party at Ella's (which was phenomenal) and then drinks at the Back Door.

They flew to Florida on Sunday for the reception at her family's home coming up this weekend and then they head back to Japan. I still get all teary-eyed thinking about it. My lil' bro is all grown up, and now I have a sister!

Digital Analog

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:27:45 -0800

East Levee, Sacramento // Apple iPhone with the Hipstamatic App

I've been having a lot of fun playing with various apps for the iPhone lately, especially Hipstamatic. It features a great interface and plenty of options to mix combinations of effects and borders. Check out the rest of the set on my flickr.

1114 Characters

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:21:57 -0800

The days have been flying by, that's for sure. I've been juggling six projects (photo, film, and design) simultaneously and getting ready to move back in our house. We'd like to be in by the end of the year. I can't WAIT to have a proper office again. My poor little laptop hates me. She's so abused.

Next week Ford and I are giving a lecture to first year design students at SFAI. In an hour or so we plan to cram their heads with all the foundation practices that aren't currently offered to them. The design program is evolving and becoming more 'real world' rather than wrapped up in total fine-art theory. I'm happy to support that.

The Sunday after that I fly to Tokyo to spend Thanksgiving with my brother. It's the first chance I've had to travel outside the country since I went back to school. I am BEYOND excited.

Also, have an iPhone? I've been working on an iPhone compatible version of this site. Simply go to http://tecgirl.com on your phone. I'm still tinkering with the way the blog is handled, not sure if I want to continue just one post at at time, or to have a list of the last 10 posts. Seeing how my posting rate has significantly dropped, one at a time might not be so bad. Save me to your homescreen!

Yes, this blog still exists.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:04:04 -0800

It has obviously been sidetracked by fresher, more gratifying ways to publish things, but all in all, it's this website that started it all for me. Lately I post mainly on Twitter, which forwards to Facebook, and covers pretty much everyone I correspond with. I also started an 'inspiration' photo (and sometimes other media) blog over at Tumblr. I never post on Vox anymore, which for some time was nice to have private posts at. I never look at my stats here so I have no idea if I even remotely garner the traffic that I used to. I also know that I barely look at my friend's sites, so why would they be looking at mine? This is the first time in the eight years I've had this blog that I've skipped a month. And not just a month, TWO months. Geez. Maybe I should rework it to just spurt all my webness out like Friendfeed, since in truth I am still very much participating on the web, just not here.

And Then

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:04:20 -0800

Rewind. Fast Forward.

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:27:03 -0800

Ginevra, Mad Men Season 3 Premiere Party, Canon Elan 7ne

I've been out of class only two weeks and I have a couple of freelance gigs in pre-production and a job offer. My trip to Tokyo has been postponed until November due to my brother receiving new orders so September has just opened up. I've already planned not to attend Burning Man, and since I just found out about Tokyo, I don't think I could make it out if I wanted to. Well, maybe. I'd rather not drive the Disco out there since I've spent all year getting the playa off of it. Hell, I even dropped a grand today replacing the air suspension that had leaks that may or may not have been caused by the alkali building up in the folds of the springs. Then again, I really want to go. All I would really need to do is: buy a ticket, get the weekend covered, find someone to mind Haley, and go over my bike. Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

In other news, I was actually social and attended a season premiere party for Mad Men at our friend Derek's place. Everyone was simply dashing.

Almost

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:32:38 -0800

Courtyard, SFAI, Apple iPhone 3Gs with Autostitch

Almost there, almost, almost, almost. Last day of class is August 6th. I'm losing my mind. In the good way, of course.

I has fans.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:44:44 -0800

Robin Andersen Photography on Facebook

OMG, Sunshine!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:39:48 -0800

After over a year of being invited I finally made it out to the Delta with Solomon and Company. After a very bumpy ride (air suspension failed in the Disco, there's a leak--me driving it's ok, six people put it to the test. note to self: playa not good for airbags) we arrived around noon with some fresh sandwiches and sunscreen. I somewhat embarrassingly confused wakeboarding with wakesurfing--seeing how I hadn't been wakeboarding since around 1997. I'd never seen wakesurfing. It was fantastic! I went for a short bit and had a blast. Keep in mind I've never surfed so I wasn't familiar with the mechanics but I likened it to snowboarding. I'm not ready to let go of the rope yet but I'm determined to get it down next time. There's only so much Delta water that I can swallow. Ech.

Being out in a bikini reminded me how white I've become living in the City--this girl needs a TAN!

There are more videos on YouTube and another on Flickr.