Back again.
I sent out a giant mass e-mail to people the other day.. so I'm posting it here to catch anyone who cares up on things.. followed by a shitty survey. For those of you who already got this.. feel free to skip ahead.
How's it going everyone?
It's been awhile since I've sent out a 'mass update' but felt compelled to do so for some reason.. right now.
I (finally) got an external hard drive about two weeks ago, and in the middle of backing up all my files ever in existence.. my hard drive blew. Long story short, I should be getting in back in a few days.. but I lost all my work, nothing was recoverable. It was either repair it ASAP so I can function in the world again (I'm in my building's business center currently), or send it off to some random company with a one-month turnaround and a potential cost of $1-3k.
Some of you might remember that a little over a year ago (Christmas '05), my PC (which had my work from the beginning of college up until then) was stolen and I lost all of that. So, it was the only truly ironic outcome for me to lose all of my work from then til now by attempting to back it up. It sucks, it's shitty, but it's not something I can't recover from, so.. I'm just waiting to get my computer back so I can start getting back to where I was.
Living in the River North neighborhood of Chicago now in a nice studio.. enjoying the living alone part, mostly. Just didn't realize the liberties of it until finally living that way. It's got a doorman and all that fun stuff, and I'm pretty close to school. It's basically in the Loop too, right by the river, so I have a pretty nice view (especially at night).
School's good.. though I have somehow grown to despise Columbia and everything it pretends to be (no offense, teachers.. but I can't stand the institution as a whole). In retrospect I probably should've accepted USC's admission offer, but meh. School's become less of a learning experience and more of a way of giving myself personal deadlines that actually count towards something. I'm working on a lot of great stuff right now though, and this particular semester is shaping up to be pretty decent in at least the experience department.
I plan on finishing school with their semester in LA program, which I was hoping to do next Spring. However, Columbia is too bootleg to have a legitimate program and of the three semesters offered in 2007, only Summer's session offered the directing concentration. Gay, right? So if they're not offering it in Spring '08, I'll probably finish any remaining credits I need here that Spring and just finish out in LA that summer. Then, obviously, I'd just stay there.
Project-wise, I finally finished my first feature script. I'll be working on rewriting/revising it throughout this semester for one class, writing an entirely new one in another (Hero's Journey story.. still working on what I want to do with it), and developing the Power Rangers fan-film project I've been working on for awhile now. The plan is to shoot that in May and have it prepped for June, but we'll see what happens. I hope to cast and crew up in the next month, before Spring Break.
We tried to do the Ranger project in January of '06, but I seriously underestimated the huge undertaking of it all. So basically, we pushed back production to give ourselves enough time. My good friend Brant is also joining me as a Co-Executive Producer on the project, so between us I think we'll figure everything out. Any of you alumni who feel like making a cameo or anything.. ;) As of now, we'll probably be shooting in/around Chicago mid-May. Our goal is to have something to show at the end of June, so I'll keep you all updated on that.
Hmm.. last thing I think. My film Only Once (b/w, silent short) from Spring/Summer 2005 is a finalist in Columbia's First Annual Queer Film Prize.. whatever that is. The winner goes to represent the school in San Francisco at, I believe, their international queer film fest. So, I mean, if I got anything for it that'd be cool. I just submitted it on a whim, so whatever happens happens. That's coming up next month. I can't double-check on this computer, but I think you should be able to view that particular short here:
http://www.haydenwest.com/movies/OnlyOnce.avi
I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting, but that should pretty much bring you guys up to date with what I've been doing recently. I hope you're all doing well. Definitely shoot me an e-mail back to let me know you got it and to say hi.. I haven't talked to most of you in awhile with everything that's been going on, and I miss ya.
Til then-
Christopher Hayden West.. or whatever I'm calling myself these days.
It's been quite awhile.. so i'll throw in this gem:
1. Explain what ended your last relationship? unrequited love?
2. When was the last time you shaved? yesterday
3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.? sleeping
4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago? emptying the dishwasher
5. Are you any good at math? i guess
6. Your prom night? escaped date
7. Do you have any famous ancestors? no idea
8. Have you had to take a loan out for school? of course
9. Do you know the words to the song on your MySpace profile? yes.. drake bell.. you vengeful bitch.
10. Last thing received in the mail? external hard drive
11. How many different beverages have you had today? water.. and water with ice
12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines? mostly
13. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to? NSYNC
14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach? who wouldn't?
15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had? wisdom teeth. i hit on a nurse. a woman nurse.
16. What is out your back door? trump tower
17. Any plans for Friday night? debauchery
18. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair? no oceans!
19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns? only the carmel part is good
20. Have you ever been to a planetarium? adler planetarium!
21. Do you re-use towels after you shower? a few times.. fresh washcloths always, however.
22. Some things you are excited about? having a computer back; ideas
23. What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O? snack pack!
24. Describe your keychain(s)? climbing clip thing.. i forgot what they're called..
25. Where do you keep your change? giant cup
26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people? last class
27. What kind of winter coat do you own? a giant nike poofy down jacket my police uncle got in a drug bust
28. What was the weather like on your graduation day? from high school? pretty good i think
29. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed? closed and locked
How's it going everyone?
It's been awhile since I've sent out a 'mass update' but felt compelled to do so for some reason.. right now.
I (finally) got an external hard drive about two weeks ago, and in the middle of backing up all my files ever in existence.. my hard drive blew. Long story short, I should be getting in back in a few days.. but I lost all my work, nothing was recoverable. It was either repair it ASAP so I can function in the world again (I'm in my building's business center currently), or send it off to some random company with a one-month turnaround and a potential cost of $1-3k.
Some of you might remember that a little over a year ago (Christmas '05), my PC (which had my work from the beginning of college up until then) was stolen and I lost all of that. So, it was the only truly ironic outcome for me to lose all of my work from then til now by attempting to back it up. It sucks, it's shitty, but it's not something I can't recover from, so.. I'm just waiting to get my computer back so I can start getting back to where I was.
Living in the River North neighborhood of Chicago now in a nice studio.. enjoying the living alone part, mostly. Just didn't realize the liberties of it until finally living that way. It's got a doorman and all that fun stuff, and I'm pretty close to school. It's basically in the Loop too, right by the river, so I have a pretty nice view (especially at night).
School's good.. though I have somehow grown to despise Columbia and everything it pretends to be (no offense, teachers.. but I can't stand the institution as a whole). In retrospect I probably should've accepted USC's admission offer, but meh. School's become less of a learning experience and more of a way of giving myself personal deadlines that actually count towards something. I'm working on a lot of great stuff right now though, and this particular semester is shaping up to be pretty decent in at least the experience department.
I plan on finishing school with their semester in LA program, which I was hoping to do next Spring. However, Columbia is too bootleg to have a legitimate program and of the three semesters offered in 2007, only Summer's session offered the directing concentration. Gay, right? So if they're not offering it in Spring '08, I'll probably finish any remaining credits I need here that Spring and just finish out in LA that summer. Then, obviously, I'd just stay there.
Project-wise, I finally finished my first feature script. I'll be working on rewriting/revising it throughout this semester for one class, writing an entirely new one in another (Hero's Journey story.. still working on what I want to do with it), and developing the Power Rangers fan-film project I've been working on for awhile now. The plan is to shoot that in May and have it prepped for June, but we'll see what happens. I hope to cast and crew up in the next month, before Spring Break.
We tried to do the Ranger project in January of '06, but I seriously underestimated the huge undertaking of it all. So basically, we pushed back production to give ourselves enough time. My good friend Brant is also joining me as a Co-Executive Producer on the project, so between us I think we'll figure everything out. Any of you alumni who feel like making a cameo or anything.. ;) As of now, we'll probably be shooting in/around Chicago mid-May. Our goal is to have something to show at the end of June, so I'll keep you all updated on that.
Hmm.. last thing I think. My film Only Once (b/w, silent short) from Spring/Summer 2005 is a finalist in Columbia's First Annual Queer Film Prize.. whatever that is. The winner goes to represent the school in San Francisco at, I believe, their international queer film fest. So, I mean, if I got anything for it that'd be cool. I just submitted it on a whim, so whatever happens happens. That's coming up next month. I can't double-check on this computer, but I think you should be able to view that particular short here:
http://www.haydenwest.com/movies/OnlyOnce.avi
I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting, but that should pretty much bring you guys up to date with what I've been doing recently. I hope you're all doing well. Definitely shoot me an e-mail back to let me know you got it and to say hi.. I haven't talked to most of you in awhile with everything that's been going on, and I miss ya.
Til then-
Christopher Hayden West.. or whatever I'm calling myself these days.
It's been quite awhile.. so i'll throw in this gem:
1. Explain what ended your last relationship? unrequited love?
2. When was the last time you shaved? yesterday
3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.? sleeping
4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago? emptying the dishwasher
5. Are you any good at math? i guess
6. Your prom night? escaped date
7. Do you have any famous ancestors? no idea
8. Have you had to take a loan out for school? of course
9. Do you know the words to the song on your MySpace profile? yes.. drake bell.. you vengeful bitch.
10. Last thing received in the mail? external hard drive
11. How many different beverages have you had today? water.. and water with ice
12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines? mostly
13. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to? NSYNC
14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach? who wouldn't?
15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had? wisdom teeth. i hit on a nurse. a woman nurse.
16. What is out your back door? trump tower
17. Any plans for Friday night? debauchery
18. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair? no oceans!
19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns? only the carmel part is good
20. Have you ever been to a planetarium? adler planetarium!
21. Do you re-use towels after you shower? a few times.. fresh washcloths always, however.
22. Some things you are excited about? having a computer back; ideas
23. What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O? snack pack!
24. Describe your keychain(s)? climbing clip thing.. i forgot what they're called..
25. Where do you keep your change? giant cup
26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people? last class
27. What kind of winter coat do you own? a giant nike poofy down jacket my police uncle got in a drug bust
28. What was the weather like on your graduation day? from high school? pretty good i think
29. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed? closed and locked