Miami is my Homebase

Been back in Miami for about a week. Miss Brazil, can’t believe it came to an end. When you’ve been embedded in a country for 6 months it grows on you and you start to metamorphosis into it. I was turning Brazilian then it came to a crashing halt. It had to happen. Yet, now I’m feeling recharged in the States…ready to get down and tackle new challenges. I’m couch surfing at Richard’s house in Miami Beach, an old friend from my military days. A couple of blocks from his apartment is a park and I was doing my daily exercises there when a woman approached me. We talked about a lot of things without delving into emotional stuff. We may go out again. Also, been visiting ol’ friends from the neighborhood like Neal McEldowney.

Editing Doldrums

I’m been finding it hard to edit. For example I have the footage of a small Brazilian Beach town, Cambury, beautiful footage, but I don’t have the motivation to put it all together. Perhaps it’s because I’m not getting anything in return for the work I put it. I edit, upload then nothing. But I continue. Even if none of my videos take off at least I’m developing my skills and becoming more qualified to acquire a job in the audio/visual arts.

Santos Video

Yet, I did just complete a video about Santos, Brazil. It took me awhile to complete, but I love it, because I have lots of shots of people in addition drone shot of buildings and mother nature. The video is below.

Tampa Bay Days

Been in Tampa/St. Petersburg area visiting Oppie and Thu and having a blast. We watched some Euro Cup Games and the Tampa Lightning games. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup so it’s been been fun going to the bars and cheering them on and drinking and eating good food.

Looking like a biker

I’ve had a difficult time getting started with filming The Road-ents, a story about a biker gang who ride electric scooters that you rent on the street. I even made jackets with the insignia on the back. One day after filming me and Oppie went to a supermarket and I thought twice about entering the store with the jacket on, because it looks like we’re in a real gang. It says “The Road-ents, The 2 Percenters” In the parking lot I took my jacket off. Oppie who still had his jacket on said, ”What? I thought we were going in with our jackets on.” So I casually put mine back on like I that was my original plan and we did our shopping like a couple of biker gang members out of their element. At one point we were at the self check-out line and I didn’t know the code for potatoes and I had to ask for help. People were looking at us and looking at our jackets.

Filming commenced!

We’ve been filming a lot of the Rodents. Damn it feels great to be doing sketch comedy again. It’s been difficult to get back into the game. We filmed in a bar and were in full Road-ents gear and people we’re giving us much attention. I loved the attention. Now I understand why older guys form biker gangs. And me and Oppie are both in our 40’s so we fit the bill. Oppie said, “You gotta know when to turn in your polo for a denim jacket.”

Conclusion:

Just because you see the Matrix doesn’t mean you can perform better in the Matrix than those who don’t see the Matrix.