:: fly me to the moon ::

have you ever try to do something that meant to be done by ten times more resources? but you have to do it for either the sake of time? budget? and passion?

well this might be an example... shot with a single camera with multiple pass, this is my first video testing the my video edit technique for keying soundtrack to match multiple footage. Sorry, not an excellent piano player myself, and I can never sing while I play, or just singing in general... this is a part of a much longer home video I am editing, but for this 58 sec of footage, it took me by far the longest to edit!!! enjoy!

:: Cook [it] Out, one more time! ::

My days in the south are limited now, counting down rapidly, with only two weeks left for my to lounge above the southern soil against the sepia sun.

Within a short burst of time, I had agreed to collaborate on a project in Charlotte; therefore, yesterday, I drove down to Charlotte for a day of photo shoot.

On the way during the one-hour plus mindless cruse toward the Queen City, I kept deciding which diner should I visit for lunch; this would be one of the few chances left allowed me to reminisce the taste of Charlotte that I had been accustomed to in the past five years.

A few locales away from the university area were pretty high up on my list, Price’s Chicken Coop and Phat Burritos, but it would cut my schedule really close to the arranged meeting time.

And so, I kept on brain storming for diners closer to North-East Charlotte; Giacomo's, Wild Wing Café, Flying Saucer, Sushi 101, Cook out. The closer I had gotten to my destination, I realized the clock only permit me to hop in for a quick fast food stop; Cook Out immediately became the default.

“Can I have a strip tray, with slaw and cone dog,” I parked my white Coupe in front of the bright red table and ordered at the walk-up window, “and a diet coke for drink, please.” I should have gone for a fancy shake or float, but the conservative me of the day picked a plain soda.

As soon as sat underneath the red aluminum umbrella, grabbed my $4.60 box of goodies, I realized it wasn’t just the food and the unbeatable value that brought me to this legendary fast food joint, it was the memories infested at every corner among the vicinity of this development.

The mad late night stop on Thursday nights, frustrated time with unresolved studio project spinning inside my head with an empty stomach, a relaxing lunch stop with Emily and Brain, being dd for the red rock, playing with the mysterious power socket behind the order board in extreme intoxication, the people that I was with, the scenes I had observed.

A place that was so simple, and could even define as ghetto, doubtlessly had become a part of my journey in Charlotte.

It was the most emotional and calming strip tray I had ever had at this joint, sitting by myself- alone, reminiscing all those other that I had met and dine here.

It isn’t the food in Charlotte that I am going to miss in the frozen land of up state New York (certainly, it will be part of it), rather it will be the people who make this place vivid, exciting and fun. People whom I shared the sweet and the bitter.

I would like to say thank you to all of you who had supported me and defined me as who I am in this brief, but remarkable, five years.

As the day resume, busy set up and shooting schedule filled the afternoon. After the shot, the crew, and the person who I adored, shard a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the sunset at Wine Vault. Thus for dinner, I spent another hour at Giacomo's for a Tortellini Alfredo and reminisced more (and this time, the few first dates I had at this favorite Italian restaurant of mine). In the end, the day wasn’t just about a fabulous photo shoot and tasting the flavors of Charlotte, but memories that would never diminish.