NAB 2014

(written April 9, 2014) 

It's the eve of my return to Atlanta. I'm sitting in total darkness on the couch in my hotel room situated next to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and only the glow from my laptop and the city in the distance are providing light. My view overlooks the pool two floors below me. Beyond the palm trees lining the pool level roof, I can see the lights of The Strip flashing and fading. On the horizon is the Palazzo, to its right the Venetian, then Treasure Island, followed by The Mirage. Right now, I could be down there, spending this time gambling, drinking and experiencing the excess that is "the real Vegas". But where I am right now perfectly suits me. Surrounded by darkness, in my pajamas, lazy and content, up and overlooking the madness, I can appreciate the strangely beautiful chaos that is Vegas. 

I've never been to Las Vegas before this, nor have I travelled for work, so this trip was destined to be an adventure for me. In sum, both have exceeded my expectations. 

First and foremost, I didn't really have an expectations for Vegas. I was so pumped to discover that Las Vegas is so much cleaner than I thought it would be. I understand that's kind of stupid, but honestly, I was expecting Las Vegas to be complete and total trash. Naively, I thought that was part of the allure. However, it's well-kept (even the sketchy strip malls on the outskirts of The Strip are relatively clean!). The streets are pretty clean and the people who work here generally care about the hospitality. It's sad that that came as a surprise to me. 

I must say, this conference has been the best learning experience for me since joining my company. I haven't learned this much in such a concentrated period of time: in four days I've learned about myself, about those around me, about what I should and should not do to be successful, and a little bit about what I want to accomplish while I'm here. I've truly appreciated this experience and I would not have traded it for the world. I can only pray that next year, when NAB rolls around, I can score another spot on our itinerary. 

I made sure that I brought my camera because I knew that on my own dime, this trip wouldn't have happened, and I know it won't be happening on my own dime anytime soon. I wanted to capture the things I wanted to remember most. So, here is Las Vegas and my favorite moments from NAB Show 2014, in picture form. Enjoy. 

Goodbye, Las Vegas. 

Spring Equinox: In memory of the never-ending Winter

In honor of the spring equinox, I've pulled together some of my favorite photos from this "winter". I feel guilty calling what I've experienced "winter", seeing as how there was snow falling in parts of the country yesterday. However, Atlanta did have two major (ha!) snow events, I experienced my first snow days and slipped on the ice and busted my ass, so I feel as though I have earned my whining-rights. Still, I feel like a fool complaining about the length of this winter, which I've spent in Atlanta, Charleston, and Winter Park, Florida, making escapes to the lake and the coast whenever possible.

You can't tell, but I was wearing pants and a sweater while taking all of these photos. Considering my upbringing as a perpetually bathing suit-clad, sand-and-sun-worshipping Floridian, that's a pretty big deal for me.

I'll admit: even though it can suck, winter is pretty and inspiring no matter where you are in the world. Here's some evidence.

January sunset in Charleston.

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”

— Albert Camus

Green finding January sun in Charleston.

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
‘Winter is dead.’ ”

— A.A. Milne

Early January in Isle of Palms.

View fullsize

Justin and antique ironworks.

I'm guessing this is about as private as it gets. 

Spending weekends up in the trees by Lake Lanier.

Lake Lanier at dusk.

Flowers blooming in early March.

Ice holding on in late February, after Atlanta's infamous Snowpocalypse v1.0.

Leaving work, before the first Atlanta Snowpocalypse. It took me three hours to travel 4 miles. 

Hiking by the Chattahoochee in January.

Christmas Day in my family's backyard in Winter Park, Florida. 

On being the least experienced in the room

I am such a happy person when I am constantly learning, no matter what it's about. If I'm taking in anything, and expanding what I know and understand, I feel at home. I love a good challenge. I love creation.

At the end of January, I started a new job. The actual position is exactly what I want to be doing right at this moment. I have daily responsibilities, I have long-term and short-term projects to work on. My bosses are incredibly helpful and want me to grow. The best part is: I'm surrounded by people who are better than me. 

I am, for sure, the least experienced person in the room. Probably at all times. And I could not be happier.

I have all these people with their knowledge as resources for me. Not to mention, everyone in my department wants to teach, and show their skills to other people, so I make a perfect audience. 

Lately, one of my coworkers challenged me to pursue my desire to learn 3D animation. A couple of the guys suggested bypassing re-introducing myself to After Effects and going straight for Cinema4D. So today, I began doing that. 

Thanks to grayscalegorilla.com and the incredible tutorials available, I think my journey to learn Cinema4D will be less daunting than expected. Here's my first 4-second clip animating text using Cineware (the lite version) for After Effects.

Cheers to creating every day!