Very quickly, I thought I'd talk about what I'm up to now. Lots of people have asked about my plans for the upcoming school year, and I wanted to go ahead and fill everyone in on that, as well, so here goes!
First, let me talk about my school plans. At the start of October, I will be beginning classes at Anthem School of Leadership and Ministry in Medford, Oregon. Anthem focuses on releasing spirit-filled leaders, and while I'm there, I will be discipling with the leadership of the church, attending classes, and taking part in various ministries around the church. If you would like to be sent updates about my year, contact me with your address (via email, phone, or facebook), and I'll be sure to send them to you.
In my last entry, I talked about my job with Pathway Enterprises. Due to some scheduling conflicts, I've recently left my position there and taken a job as a barrista at a little coffee shop called Starbucks. I love my new job. My coworkers are fun to work with, and the work itself is enjoyable. I'll be at Starbucks through my Anthem year to help pay rent and other expenses, so if you ever need a coffee hookup, let me know!
Now, for the self-promoting!
Foxhollow is being aided by a good friend of ours, Tom Boyles, in recording and distributing our album. The recording process is underway, and you can follow our progress two ways. The first would be on our facebook page here. The other is at our website: foxhollowband.com. The website is still very much under construction, but as we continue to make progress on the album, and (God willing) play a few shows, the site will start displaying more and more content, so stay up to date there!
Finally, I have been collaborating for a number of years with my friends Tyler, Gibson, and Hunter on various film projects, mostly short comedy sketches. Our creative ventures can be seen at youtube.com/borqfilms, and for extra content (including a recent photoshoot of the four of us) you can see our facebook page at facebook.com/borqfilms. Please, please, PLEASE, like and subscribe to these two pages. It would be much appreciated.
(One side note: I'm taking a Motorcycle class this weekend, so hopefully I'll have my motorcycle endorsement by next week! If you know of any motorcycles that aren't in use, I may be patrolling for one on the cheap. Let me know if you have any hookups!)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Just an Update
I haven't posted anything on here in quite some time, so I figure I should let people know what all I've been up to for the past couple of months.
Firstly, I got a job. I work for a company called Pathway Enterprises at a group home for people with mental disabilities. I enjoy the job and the people I work with, and if I play my cards right, I should have enough for my Anthem tuition by the end of the summer. The trade off is that I'm working a graveyard shift from midnight to eight in the morning. Obviously this does quite a number on my sleeping patterns, but I'm willing to take it with grace for this season of my life.
Apart from work, I have a few projects going on right now. I'm finally editing the video I took in Haiti (about time!) and I'm doing some video work with a group of friends under the name of Borq Films. You can find any videos that we put up at youtube.com/borqfilms. We're very excited about it.
The BIG deal, though, is what's going on with Foxhollow. For those of you unfamiliar with Foxhollow, it is the band that my brother, Tim, my friend, Evan, and I play for (you can find some demo tracks on facebook if you search for them or go to my profile). Tim and I have been working like mad to get some songs ready to record, and we've finally got a sizable list that we're finishing up. Our goal is to have Foxhollow's first full-length, self-produced album out by this fall, and maybe start playing some shows around our area.
That's about all that's going on with my summer. I'm keeping busy, and doing my very hardest to be productive. I'll keep you all up to date with the progress of these projects as they mature.
(One side note: I'm going to see the Avett Brothers in Salem on July 16th. If you don't know why I'm excited about this, then you must not know who they are, in which case, look them up. NOW. Maybe even watch this video.)
Firstly, I got a job. I work for a company called Pathway Enterprises at a group home for people with mental disabilities. I enjoy the job and the people I work with, and if I play my cards right, I should have enough for my Anthem tuition by the end of the summer. The trade off is that I'm working a graveyard shift from midnight to eight in the morning. Obviously this does quite a number on my sleeping patterns, but I'm willing to take it with grace for this season of my life.
Apart from work, I have a few projects going on right now. I'm finally editing the video I took in Haiti (about time!) and I'm doing some video work with a group of friends under the name of Borq Films. You can find any videos that we put up at youtube.com/borqfilms. We're very excited about it.
The BIG deal, though, is what's going on with Foxhollow. For those of you unfamiliar with Foxhollow, it is the band that my brother, Tim, my friend, Evan, and I play for (you can find some demo tracks on facebook if you search for them or go to my profile). Tim and I have been working like mad to get some songs ready to record, and we've finally got a sizable list that we're finishing up. Our goal is to have Foxhollow's first full-length, self-produced album out by this fall, and maybe start playing some shows around our area.
That's about all that's going on with my summer. I'm keeping busy, and doing my very hardest to be productive. I'll keep you all up to date with the progress of these projects as they mature.
(One side note: I'm going to see the Avett Brothers in Salem on July 16th. If you don't know why I'm excited about this, then you must not know who they are, in which case, look them up. NOW. Maybe even watch this video.)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Silent Film Success!
Now, since I've chronicled my travels, I get to use this blog to talk about more current events. I may still post stories or photos from Haiti if they are requested, but for now, I'll let that be.
Right now, the most exciting bit of news in my life is my involvement, with a group of friends, in a youth silent film competition. In March, we wrote and filmed two separate films for the Youth Silent Film Festival based in Portland. The two films, one a romance and one a thriller, are titled "Being With Her" and "Arise". Both films made it to the finals of the competition, and will be screened in the Hollywood Theater in Portland on May 26th. This is an incredible honor for me, as only 45 of the 74 films that met the competition requirements will be screened.
Prominent members of the film community will judge the finalist's films, and awards will be given out in early June. I'm very excited to see where these films end up! For more information, visit YSFF's website at http://www.makesilentfilm.com/.
Right now, the most exciting bit of news in my life is my involvement, with a group of friends, in a youth silent film competition. In March, we wrote and filmed two separate films for the Youth Silent Film Festival based in Portland. The two films, one a romance and one a thriller, are titled "Being With Her" and "Arise". Both films made it to the finals of the competition, and will be screened in the Hollywood Theater in Portland on May 26th. This is an incredible honor for me, as only 45 of the 74 films that met the competition requirements will be screened.
Prominent members of the film community will judge the finalist's films, and awards will be given out in early June. I'm very excited to see where these films end up! For more information, visit YSFF's website at http://www.makesilentfilm.com/.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Travelling, Travelling, Yeah!
I am tempted to say that leaving Port-au-Prince was a more difficult process than entering it. In the airport there are three security checkpoints. The first, as we entered the door, had a metal detector and a bag scanner. Only after going through this were we allowed to pick up our tickets and check our bags. The next was as we got to the terminals and was the standard airport security station (Metal detector and bag scanner). finally, before we could get into our gate, we had to have our bags scanned one last time. At each of these, and even as large Haitian men checked my passport as I boarded our flight, I couldn't help but think about how terrible it would be if I was turned back for some reason. Not that I wouldn't have enjoyed more time in the country, I just wouldn't have known how to contact the base camp to come back for me.
We spent another terrible night in Miami. I'm convinced that the devil resides there. We waited for an hour for our shuttle to the hotel, had trouble checking in, and Fuddruckers was closed, so we had to find our massive meat-fix elsewhere. In our case, Chili's. It was good, but I was still rather in love with the rice and beans of the previous week.
LA was both incredibly eventful and also not at all eventful. I met two celebrities in Starbucks (Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza from NBC's Parks and Recreation). They told me they were going to Mexico. I'm ninety percent positive that they were lying because they thought I was a deranged fan. apart from that minute of conversation, the rest of the eight hour layover was without incident. Finally, we boarded our flight to Medford. I am convinced that the most polite flight one can make is into Medford. There's a small-town vibe, even on the plane, that makes everything more comfortable. People had no problems giving up their seats so that acquaintances could sit and chat for the duration of the flight.
I arrived home late Sunday night, and fell asleep soundly. I can't wait to see how the work I did changes the lives of people living there, and I am very excited for the next opportunity I get to travel to the beautiful country of Haiti.
We spent another terrible night in Miami. I'm convinced that the devil resides there. We waited for an hour for our shuttle to the hotel, had trouble checking in, and Fuddruckers was closed, so we had to find our massive meat-fix elsewhere. In our case, Chili's. It was good, but I was still rather in love with the rice and beans of the previous week.
LA was both incredibly eventful and also not at all eventful. I met two celebrities in Starbucks (Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza from NBC's Parks and Recreation). They told me they were going to Mexico. I'm ninety percent positive that they were lying because they thought I was a deranged fan. apart from that minute of conversation, the rest of the eight hour layover was without incident. Finally, we boarded our flight to Medford. I am convinced that the most polite flight one can make is into Medford. There's a small-town vibe, even on the plane, that makes everything more comfortable. People had no problems giving up their seats so that acquaintances could sit and chat for the duration of the flight.
I arrived home late Sunday night, and fell asleep soundly. I can't wait to see how the work I did changes the lives of people living there, and I am very excited for the next opportunity I get to travel to the beautiful country of Haiti.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Leaving the Village
Our last night in the village was cold. I had a hard time sleeping, and when morning came, I felt homesick for the first time on the trip. Part of me feels like a real wussy for allowing myself to get homesick that quickly, but I suppose it's normal. We found out that our driver wouldn't be taking us back, which was lucky, because he wasn't going to tell us, originally. If Robinson and Aaron hadn't seen him in town, we would have just waited around all day for our ride. We ate fried chicken for lunch. It was delicious, and made from what I assume to be the chickens from yesterday.
We arrived back at base camp around 8 pm. This, of course, means that we were driving through Port Au Prince at night, which is very dangerous to do. We drove by burning piles of garbage and people, and saw some accidents. When we got into the worst part of the city, we drove fast despite a bumpy road. We were not about to make ourselves more of a target than a van full of white people and a truck full of their luggage already are.
I wanted to shower and go to sleep so that I could wake up in the morning ready to go to the airport and head home, but I was thwarted in both of my endeavors. Adam stole the shower from me while I was getting my shampoo, and all of the lower bunks were taken (lower bunks were cooler due to direct airflow from fans). In addition, the guy beneath me snored very loudly throughout the night.
We arrived back at base camp around 8 pm. This, of course, means that we were driving through Port Au Prince at night, which is very dangerous to do. We drove by burning piles of garbage and people, and saw some accidents. When we got into the worst part of the city, we drove fast despite a bumpy road. We were not about to make ourselves more of a target than a van full of white people and a truck full of their luggage already are.
I wanted to shower and go to sleep so that I could wake up in the morning ready to go to the airport and head home, but I was thwarted in both of my endeavors. Adam stole the shower from me while I was getting my shampoo, and all of the lower bunks were taken (lower bunks were cooler due to direct airflow from fans). In addition, the guy beneath me snored very loudly throughout the night.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Coffee and Chicken
It rained during the night. I didn't wake up, but I'm told by Trevor and Ben that I moaned all through whatever storm happened. I would have had to moan pretty loudly to wake up two guys sleeping with earplugs. I deny that it happened, personally. In the morning we were served some delicious coffee. It tasted unlike any coffee I've ever had before. It was sweet, and didn't need anything to make it better. It was perfect coffee. I've since found out that it was harvested, then roasted with sugar (hence the sweetness), brewed and served. It was beyond words how good this coffee was.
This was our day to work on the houses, so after breakfast we started tearing out the nasty roof in the girls' house. It was dirty, and there were giant spiders scurrying around. It was hard work getting the frames out, and there was some confusion as to whether or not we were trying to save materials (I think the Haitians were trying to, but we realized that none of it was really in good enough condition to be reused). In the field, we macheted down some small plants to make room for plowing to be done. I'm excited to see how this farm will impact the people's lives.
While I was working in the church on electrical work with Aaron (tall) -- He was working. I was mostly standing trying to seem busy -- I looked outside because I heard some kids running around, laughing and yelling. By the time I looked outside, I saw them had a chicken, which they had been chasing, to the pastor's wife, who proceeded to cut its throat and let it flop around on the ground until it died. Then the kids caught another one and she let them kill it. Food was so incredibly fresh there. It was the coolest thing in the world. In the United States, we almost never know the journey of our dinner from start to finish, so I like the idea of getting to see my lunch get killed. On another note, we ate the last of the goat, which was by far the most difficult meal, being the head and skin and digestive system all boiled into a soup.
Overall, I think I started feeling the physical effects of the travel and work on this day. I was tired, and had to start taking my ibuprofen. It was starting to get difficult, which was okay, because we were about to leave the village and head back into the city before going home.
This was our day to work on the houses, so after breakfast we started tearing out the nasty roof in the girls' house. It was dirty, and there were giant spiders scurrying around. It was hard work getting the frames out, and there was some confusion as to whether or not we were trying to save materials (I think the Haitians were trying to, but we realized that none of it was really in good enough condition to be reused). In the field, we macheted down some small plants to make room for plowing to be done. I'm excited to see how this farm will impact the people's lives.
While I was working in the church on electrical work with Aaron (tall) -- He was working. I was mostly standing trying to seem busy -- I looked outside because I heard some kids running around, laughing and yelling. By the time I looked outside, I saw them had a chicken, which they had been chasing, to the pastor's wife, who proceeded to cut its throat and let it flop around on the ground until it died. Then the kids caught another one and she let them kill it. Food was so incredibly fresh there. It was the coolest thing in the world. In the United States, we almost never know the journey of our dinner from start to finish, so I like the idea of getting to see my lunch get killed. On another note, we ate the last of the goat, which was by far the most difficult meal, being the head and skin and digestive system all boiled into a soup.
Overall, I think I started feeling the physical effects of the travel and work on this day. I was tired, and had to start taking my ibuprofen. It was starting to get difficult, which was okay, because we were about to leave the village and head back into the city before going home.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
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