An Update
what? yes, an update. It's my first day as the new assistant for the Animation department at my school ;) As you can see, I am hard at work.
I haven't been in much of a mood to update lately, as you may have noticed. I figured I at least owed it to those few who still bother to check up now and then to know what country I'm in and such other developments of consequence (check my flickr for more frequent life updates).
First of all, I left Japan. After much research and deliberation I finally decided to bite the bullet and go back to school. This decision in itself took about a month.
The winner: Academy of Arts University in San Francisco.
The program: Master of Fine Arts in Animation and Visual Effects, with an intended focus in storyboarding.
Some other options I was considering:
* Hospitality Internships in Barcelona, Rome, London and Chile
* Working Front of House for Cirque du Soleil
* Cinematography Apprenticeship in LA
* Going back to Catering
* Japan-related/Intna'l Relations Work (about the only thing I'm qualified for now)
I won't get into the "why" of the decision-making progress 'cus it's boring and I have an interview to get to in half an hour. This does mean I will be plummeted even further into student debt and have devoted the next X number of years of my life in my 20s to school that I may not be able to afford. I'll take it in stride.
I bought my tix to SF anticipating living outta a hostel while I searched for apartments. Fortunately last minute I remembered an ol' high school friend who was living here. Thanks to her generosity and couch I only spent one night at a hostel the day I arrived. "The couch" was my residence from Nov 3rd-Nov 24th during which I spent every waking hour perusing craigslist sending out replies and making my downtown apartment rounds.
# of Apartments Viewed: 33
# of Ads Responded to: 100+
What a bitch.
In the end, I didn't even take one of those rooms posted on craigslist (although I came very very close a few times). Instead, a friend of my sister's who I met at the opera in Pittsburgh end of October contacted me saying he had a friend in SF looking for a new place. I contacted her and we met for coffee. She happened to have a friend, who said she had a friend, who was also looking to move to SF. I went and met potential roomie #2 at a lingerie shop in Haight Ashbury 2 days later whereupon we agreed to open up the search to 3-bedroom apartments. Me being the only one in a desperate-need-a-place-asap situation found an affordable 3 BR apartment in our mutual desired neighborhood (the Richmond). This place turned out close to perfect, which meant schmoozing with the landlord a bit, taking pics to send to RM#1 and #2 to get approval, filling out a credit check, calling the other places I was looking to move-in to and saying "Thanks but No Thanks" blah blah etc etc... anyway, within 4 days our names were on the lease.
SO, now I am living with a friend of a friend of my sister's, and a friend of a friend of a friend, of a friend of my sister's....ha.
Oh yeh, forgot to mention that my 2nd week living on "the couch" I got a call from AAU saying my portfolio had been accepted. woot. And yes, I moved to SF not knowing whether or not I'd be accepted. Figured if I was rejected I'd work full time and apply later.
I now live in a fully furnished (thank you family, friends and craigslist) 2nd floor apartment in San Francisco, Richmond District, 30 min walk to a beautiful tourist-free beach, another 30 min walk to some of the best museums in SF in Golden Gate Park, and a huge-ass balcony deck with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh, and a dishwasher and on-site laundry. Awesome.
Now I just need a job to keep it. Did I mention I was a waitress during all that too? Not anymore. I quit. Worst. Job. Ever. Came home wanting to cry every night and not even enough money in my pocket to pay for groceries. The search continues...I've got 2 more weeks until classes start and a few job opps in queue. One being working for the SF 2009 Census Bureau. I have an Employment Exam I'm scheduled to take shortly, which I should be leaving for right about now...
I haven't been in much of a mood to update lately, as you may have noticed. I figured I at least owed it to those few who still bother to check up now and then to know what country I'm in and such other developments of consequence (check my flickr for more frequent life updates).
First of all, I left Japan. After much research and deliberation I finally decided to bite the bullet and go back to school. This decision in itself took about a month.
The winner: Academy of Arts University in San Francisco.
The program: Master of Fine Arts in Animation and Visual Effects, with an intended focus in storyboarding.
Some other options I was considering:
* Hospitality Internships in Barcelona, Rome, London and Chile
* Working Front of House for Cirque du Soleil
* Cinematography Apprenticeship in LA
* Going back to Catering
* Japan-related/Intna'l Relations Work (about the only thing I'm qualified for now)
I won't get into the "why" of the decision-making progress 'cus it's boring and I have an interview to get to in half an hour. This does mean I will be plummeted even further into student debt and have devoted the next X number of years of my life in my 20s to school that I may not be able to afford. I'll take it in stride.
I bought my tix to SF anticipating living outta a hostel while I searched for apartments. Fortunately last minute I remembered an ol' high school friend who was living here. Thanks to her generosity and couch I only spent one night at a hostel the day I arrived. "The couch" was my residence from Nov 3rd-Nov 24th during which I spent every waking hour perusing craigslist sending out replies and making my downtown apartment rounds.
# of Apartments Viewed: 33
# of Ads Responded to: 100+
What a bitch.
In the end, I didn't even take one of those rooms posted on craigslist (although I came very very close a few times). Instead, a friend of my sister's who I met at the opera in Pittsburgh end of October contacted me saying he had a friend in SF looking for a new place. I contacted her and we met for coffee. She happened to have a friend, who said she had a friend, who was also looking to move to SF. I went and met potential roomie #2 at a lingerie shop in Haight Ashbury 2 days later whereupon we agreed to open up the search to 3-bedroom apartments. Me being the only one in a desperate-need-a-place-asap situation found an affordable 3 BR apartment in our mutual desired neighborhood (the Richmond). This place turned out close to perfect, which meant schmoozing with the landlord a bit, taking pics to send to RM#1 and #2 to get approval, filling out a credit check, calling the other places I was looking to move-in to and saying "Thanks but No Thanks" blah blah etc etc... anyway, within 4 days our names were on the lease.
SO, now I am living with a friend of a friend of my sister's, and a friend of a friend of a friend, of a friend of my sister's....ha.
Oh yeh, forgot to mention that my 2nd week living on "the couch" I got a call from AAU saying my portfolio had been accepted. woot. And yes, I moved to SF not knowing whether or not I'd be accepted. Figured if I was rejected I'd work full time and apply later.
I now live in a fully furnished (thank you family, friends and craigslist) 2nd floor apartment in San Francisco, Richmond District, 30 min walk to a beautiful tourist-free beach, another 30 min walk to some of the best museums in SF in Golden Gate Park, and a huge-ass balcony deck with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Oh, and a dishwasher and on-site laundry. Awesome.
Now I just need a job to keep it. Did I mention I was a waitress during all that too? Not anymore. I quit. Worst. Job. Ever. Came home wanting to cry every night and not even enough money in my pocket to pay for groceries. The search continues...I've got 2 more weeks until classes start and a few job opps in queue. One being working for the SF 2009 Census Bureau. I have an Employment Exam I'm scheduled to take shortly, which I should be leaving for right about now...
Comments
Glad to hear things are going good! :D
I might just have to come up and visit you whenever I pass through that half of the state!