Return Of The BLOG...
(or How To Stop Writing Without Really Trying...)

Ok, this always seems to be the case with this crazy blog - I get rolling, then BLAMMO - off the radar for a year or two.... NOT THIS TIME BLOG. First, an apology to everyone reading - I have actually been feeling pretty good the last few days, and that in combination with an actual work project deadline TOTALLY derailed all of my best intentions... but I'M BACK!

Let's recap, shall we?

Ok, where were we...

Tuesday was mostly uneventful... I had blood work scheduled at the Nevada Cancer Institute, as part of my routine after-treatment checkup. (They check all of your counts - red/white blood cell, kidney function, etc. etc.) SO I drove myself there - it was QUITE exhilarating to get behind the wheel again (plus I LOVE my car, so that doesn't hurt)... it had been almost THREE WEEKS since I've driven - first with my 'back' hurting, then the surgery, recovery then chemotherapy... let me just say that I really, REALLY enjoyed the 10 minute drive there!

The technician was AWESOME - she knew what she was doing, and even though she took two vials of blood from me, I never felt the needle go in OR out... that's the way to do it. Everyone is SO nice at the Center - if you HAVE to go through what I am, it's a really great place to experience it - brand new facility - and top-notch doctors and staff.

Got my car back from the valet, and headed back home to grab breakfast with Tricia... and then, after too long it seemed - actually back into some real work! Woo HOO! (don't get me wrong, a vacation it wasn't, but it was NICE for perhaps the first time in my professional career to not feel the intense pressures on a daily basis for a while!) Anyone who knows me well knows that I love what I do... and take great pleasure in seeing something come from concept to reality.

My partner Mike and I are working on a really neat project for our company msl productions... it's for one of the largest real estate developers in the country, and it is based in Weehauken, NJ. He is in NYC to do the presentation, and I was handling the video aspect of it here, along with some of the creative. It's a major client for us, and a coup if we land this gig, which knowing his presentation skills, we will.

So, not to bore you with details, but the concept I am doing, which you have probably seen on tv commercials here and there, is a multi-layered photo look, where you travel through still photos as if there were real scenes. It takes a lot (read: A LOT!) of work to do, because there are literally days of prep work to cut out all the elements from each scene, layer them correctly, and paint out whatever is behind them (example - if you have a photo of two people standing against a tree, you cut the people out, put each one of them on a layer, then you have to PAINT IN the part of the tree they were covering... a lot of guesswork and creative expression on this one to say the least) and then actually do the animation of each scene. In this case we were doing a minute video, and I had approximately 10 scenes to do. PLUS - the thing with this job is that the place doesn't actually EXIST. SO there are NO photographs of it! So, I had to do a lot of creative work in Photoshop to mock up what the place would look like before I even got started on any of the layering, etc. Not to mention I couldn't find a decent resolution logo anywhere on the web, so I had to rebuild that from scratch as well! BUT as I like to say, that's what I do - and the challenge is part of what I love about it!

Check it OUT:


Most of the time these days, I'm not always DOING the actual work, so it was nice to get my hands dirty for a bit... as my favorite quote says at the top of the page "Art is never finished, only abandoned"... stands true on this one, as with most of what I do. Deadlines are a bitch, and eventually you have to step back, stop and say 'Good Enough'. Because you're never REALLY done - I tend to be a perfectionist, and as Trish constantly reminds me - no one but me will see the issues I see... so eventually I give in and throw in the towel.

But I was PRETTY happy with the result. So in the end - that's what counts. And if it does what it is supposed to do, then everyone will be happy.

I have another video piece I did before my treatments last week that I have to go back today and tweak a bit... add some more logos, slow down some text... It's for a big Latin Festival that our company is working on at Randall's Island, NY. It's on September 15th, and it's called enVivo. (See http://www.envivoamerica.com) The piece is for an 'email blast' to help sell tickets, etc. Basically one of those things you get in your email, click it and it takes you to another site to watch the video. Have to finish that up this afternoon.

UPDATE: I had my doctor's appointment this morning (Wednesday morning) to be checked out and hear what my blood tests came back as, etc. They don't run the tumor markers again at this point, they'll do that on the 17th before I go back in for treatment again on the 20th. But Dr. Goodman (Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's son) said he was VERY happy with everything - my counts were great, kidney function awesome - sugars were high, but I didn't fast because they didn't want me to, so that was right after I ate. He was pleased with everything and said I did really good for my first round, and expects similar from the rest. He is also trying to land me a new endocrinologist, as my old one is no longer on the new insurance plan. Nice guy, and a good Doctor. So GOOD NEWS...

Tricia went out for a (shorter than usual) Girl's Night Out last night, so it was the Sam-Man and Dad on their own for a few hours. We ordered a smorgasboard of Chinese food and had father-son picnic upstairs as I let my video render away (Mike was in NY, 3 hours ahead waiting for me!). We had crab rangoon (one of Sammy's favorites), dumplings, shrimp with veggies, and schezuan beef. I also ordered some GREAT egg drop (with corn!) soup. Sam was amused that we didn't have to sit at the table, and he must have thanked me 10 times for our 'picnic'.

He and I played (although mostly he) on the computer a bit - he LOVES the nickjr.com site, and can play almost all of the games there ALL BY HIMSELF. He is amazing - he's really got it down. I can only imagine if I was on a computer at 3.5 years old. As it was I got started early, but wow - it's SO cool to watch him do it. He gets a kick out of it too. And then he and I played with a new Muppet figure I got (discount - a steal at $4.00!) the News Anchor man from the Muppet Show. Nothing like introducing your child to all the things you loved as a kid. He is SO my kid When he's not Spider man, that is.

Trish came home around 9ish, and had a good night with the girls. I am glad she is able to do it every once in a while - she needs it, and it's always nice to have some Sammy/Daddy time, especially now that I am feeling better.

I think that's enough run-on for an update - I'll try to be better as we move forward, and do this close to daily, if my schedule permits. I know a lot of people are praying and thinking of me, and believe you me, it means a lot. It's' good to know so many people care.

I've always tried to live my life good and simple - at least that's my philosophy. Treat people how you'd like to be treated. Listen when someone speaks. Make a difference. It all boils down to the concept of karma - and I believe that strongly. So it's nice to feel the love that I have always tried to express through kindness or an extra effort - I'm certainly not one to seek it out or ask for it, but to know it's there makes the journey as illuminating as the destination.

Pittle - OUT!