Also this weekend: Wedding Gifts/my first close Female Friend





This weekend i also purchased my first wedding gift ever, something i squirm about most times. But my friend said that would be a great gift for her aner spouse-to-be.

The other thing I did this weekend is pretty self-explanatory. And emjoyed quite a lot. Now i should look up some of Ang Lee's earlier flicks.

My short freelance stint with Essence ends today and tommorrow i begin a new assignment at The Source... ehh

As for my weekend... my stomach was still acting up. I may have to drink something to clean out my system today. I just hope it doesn't cause me to spend more time in the bathroom (TMI). I took my second set of official headshots at Prospect Park in Brooklyn (!).
I am dropping off the film today, and hoping i did things correctly concerning the lighting.

Anyway, I am trying hard to not worry about the future so much, and just enjoy and appreciate the situations at hand. The person that refers to me as Auto Focus said that as have many of my "people". But it always comes down to fear of things that you can't control the outcome of. But ce la vie.

Making Moves with Stevie: The Making of A Short Film Part 1



I have decided, after talking to Steve today (on the left, picture from previous post), that I want to do a short film. He was interested…as a film major should. I said I would write it and gave him one of my premises:

As you all should know, many neighborhoods with working middle-class folks share many of the pitfalls that "maturing" teens face in any other urban center: pregnancy, violence, the urge to hustle, etc. and Hollis, Queens is no different. I see some people I grew up around still doing nothing, but still involved in activities that they participated during their teens.

There was this kid in high school that one of my block mates introduced me to a few years back. I used to see him and sister around while I was growing up, but never spoke to them. But since our introduction, I would bump into him from time to time. At this point I had graduated and was doing my magazine and Internet work (*sniff* miss those days) and was surprised at his interest in what I was doing in my life. Most of the younger Hollis kids were/are enigmas to me and it was probably the same vice versa.

But this promising basketball player, who everyone was pushing to get a scholarship, was speaking to me for options about college and careers. He gave me hope, and I wish I had tried harder to keep in contact with him. It's been maybe two years or so (I think) since I’ve heard from him. I see his younger sister around, who got pregnant really young, and she looks burnt out. I wonder if he made it to college. Last time I spoke to him was his senior year in high school. When I see her I will try to ask her about her brother, even though she may be like who the hell I am.

With that said, you have read the premise of this short I am formulating in my head to write. Wish me lots of inspiration.

Testing Light setups is no fun by Richard Louissaint

If my friend knows that i put this picture, he may kick my ass.

Things I am not sure how to react to:

For me it's death and very sad/tragic situations

When my mother's father died in my grade school years. everyone wanted me to act sad and show some emotion when he passed away.
But i felt nothing. I didn't know him very well my grandmother never spoke highly of him at all, even to this day it's like he ruined her view of sexuality and men.

When a friend confides in me about someone important to them passing or being close to death, I listen but it's like i ma scared to say somethign rational about death (like "it's part of life", etc.). I haven't had to deal with death so close to me yet. My other grandfather i never met, he died when my dad was 19.

Both grandmothers are still alive, and i grew up with one, so that may really give me a jolt, when it comes. The only death that ever thrown me off was when i went to a wake for someone from my church and stumbled upon the wake for a friend and co-worker that i was really cool with. That had me standing still and shaking.

In an attempt to make up for my lack of writing fiction these past few months, I decided to start a random story and have people continue the story. So if u want to, just e-mail me your output to richard@thehomelands.net

Nia opened her door, and it looked like Hiroshima. As she looked around her apartment, she saw nothing but black, crusty remnants of her material goods.

Halfway through her vacation in Amsterdam, she had felt like something very bad had happened, and the "good" weed she had been consuming in large quantities was not helping matters. Now she knew her feelings were not just paranoia.

Nia sighed loudly, sat down in the middle of her floor, which strangely had not one burn mark. She looked around again, and realized that only her furniture and anything not part of the wal or floor showed signs of burning. Even the front door to the studio had nary a sign of fire.

Then a loud knock came from her door. Then the clicking of something. Then a male and female voice saying, "Open the door Nia Lynch!"...

My car troubles continue *sob*
On top of the $850 dollars i have to shell out for the transmission issue, now another $200 must be added cause of my clutch. good gosh.

new blog interface yay!

Yes another road trip this past weekend. But this time it was on the Greyhound bus to Baltimore.
I went...I conquered...I came back home. Tis all.

Wow...i have access. So i'mma put up the things i need/want:
- a guitar lesson
- vocal lesson..to hone my skills
- someone that likes me back without fronting
- a photography lesson..i think i wanna venture
- a good digicam
- a good masseus(sp?)

DAMN MTA TO HECK

For those that don't know what it is click here

Alll because going to Queens from Manhattan on Weekends wil be hell if u take the train. Friday it took me 3 hours to get home. Today, almost as much time because of the abrupt last stop in Queensbridge without any warning from the conductor even. And then waiting for another F train to take everyone to shuttle buses in Forest Hills which woudl drop us off at another stop. Then having to catch the E or F trains again.

Needless to say they have made sure to have cops lingering around with the of crowds of psst commuters.
FYI: The E & F are the only trains that go deep into Queens, where ATCQ, RUN DMC, and LL Cool J are from.

I will be so happy once my car is fixed.

DAMN MTA
DAMN THEM TO HECK
I just got home, and i left Harlem USA close a little after midnight.

I WANNA BE A LONER?

You know what i miss sometimes. Those trips

Read this on a message board:

whenever a girl says you are cute or sweet"
In response to message #5

that means that

1. you aren't gonna get with her

2. your gonna have to work extra hard to get with her

PICTURES FROM MY TRIP TO ATLANTA

The thing is when you are a photographer you tend to be absent from a lot of pictures that you might want to be in (family functions, outings with friends), and you tend to become an invisible entity. With that said, I feel like I have progressed faster than ever in the past few months with this passion of mine. It could be the fact I shoot so much more now and that I am around people like her, who are extremely "hungry."

So I have set out to work more with my film student friend Steve, doing such things as shooting with different light set ups like we did last weekend. I have made more purchases to enhance my photos, from filters to trying out other printing papers (ie. fiber paper) besides my polycontrast.

In other news, I wrote this for my afterschool job's newsletter -- the last one of the year:
"Kids are not bad, they just do bad things." Those are the words I will remember most from the P.S. 110's afterschool program. Then I will remember the amount of times I almost gave up and left throughout the year.

At times, it felt like the kids were against me: the crying and pouting after they got in trouble; siding with my aid and calling her the "good teacher"; blaming me for things gone wrong with their homework or another student. Yet, I stuck it out, because of those moments where one of my kids would smile after figuring out a homework assignment, enjoyed a project and gave us a “can we do this again?”, or went out there way to help us.

As I leave PS 110, a little before the program ends, I will remember all 18 first names (at least for now)-- plus the ones who exited the program early on--, and their small little faces. And I will hope that we all had an impact on them—Luilly, Gabriel, Yuderka, Maranda, Melody, Dominque, Tiffany, Devin, Kevin, Anna, Kaity, Regina, Nelson, TJ, Mandee, Karisa, Marilyn, Giovanna, Anthony, Zachary, and all the many club members.

Sincerely,
Rich L.

Translation: I quit this job (Afterschool Group Leader), and yesterday was my last day. I wish I had a chance to say goodbye to every one of my kids that day. And the nerve for them to yell "yay" when I reminded those who were around that it was my last day. But deep down I know they are going to miss me (well most of them), and vice versa.

The most important thing for me to happen this week was my last day at my temp job of almost two years. Once I had made the decision to leave this "position", I knew I was back on the road to finding my "personal legend".

My Uncle just rang the bell:

me : Hello, she's (my grandmother, his mother) not here
Him: I know, I just came by to use the bathroom. I am getting old.
me: umm, ok ( watches as he runs up the stairs)
Him: (comes back) I'll be back at 1:15 to pick her up
me: ok