New coffee shop \ studio

Everyday when Ned go to the gym, I go out, sit in a coffee shop and do some drawings, sometimes it's stuff I later sell at the etsy store, sometimes it's stuff for the sketchbook. I listen to an audio book and focus really hard on drawing, usually, I don't even notice when Ned comes into the shop until he sits next to me or touch me.

In the summer, I usually went to the blackbird parlor, on Bedford street, which though pretty crowded, we eat at quite often, so I didn't feel so bad about hogging a table for 2 hours while only having one cup of coffee, but since it got colder and darker, I can't really sit there after 4:30 or so, it just get too dark and the place, though lovely with it's romantic lighting, isn't really practical for drawings and paintings.

So, I was out to find a new place around the neighborhood where I can work in. And while looking for one, I tried to comply a list of demands from a coffee \ studio space (surprisingly enough, good coffee isn't so far up the list).

1. Need to have good lighting!
2. Need to have more then 3 or 4 tables, or I feel too guilty about taking other paying costumers.
3. I don't like it when the tables are on the way to the counters so that any person passing by can look into my sketchbook - it's a little strange cause I like drawing in public places and I don't mind an occasional look or question - but when it happens all the time I feel too strange.
4. It's great if it's one of those places where other people sit with laptops or work, and then I don't feel so strange about sitting on my own.
   
5. This is a bit of a pet peeve but I'd rather not have to drink from paper cups.
6. Also, counter service is better for working environment then table service - I put all my socializing effort in the beginning and then I feel OK about not talking to anyone else for the rest of the time.
7. If possible - I don't like those huge American coffee mug and rather drink from a smaller cups - it's more a matter of aesthetic then anything else, but still...
8. and last - good coffee is always nice!

So today, giving a new spot a chance - the top 6 things on my list were fulfilled perfectly, I think I've found my new office, I might have to talk to the person in the counter to give me coffee in the cappuccino cups, but it was well lit, full of working people, and even had cool music and nice people, and I met an ex urban rustic waitress that I really like, so I didn't even feel like a stranger.

Also, it's really cool that the name of the place is El Beit - the home in Arabic.

Never Again!

A couple of weeks ago Ned and I saw this ad pasted on a light past in Wiliamsburg. Someone was looking for couples of all ages \ genders \ sexual preferences to kiss to a camera then was going to composite the footage together to make a short film. I'm not quite sure why I answered this ad, maybe because though my acting skills are non existing I still wanted to be in a movie, maybe because the phrasing was so endearing, maybe because it looked like a good promotion to the Ned and Aya enterprise... however, i did wrote back, and the guy who was making the movie wrote back, and we meet last Wednesday to talk about the shoot.



It turned out this was some film students working on a really cool school assignment to which the school gave budget and invested in, he was planning to shoot 5 couples in different spots in Williamsburg and said he had 6 minute of film for each couple. I though that meant about 1/2 hour to an hour and so agreed to take part. It was all exciting and the guy was really sweet.

My first sign of warning should have been the next line "I scheduled you two for 7:00 AM on Saturday. But I didn't yield to the warning and had a very positive feel about the whole thing.

Of Saturday, I looked at the weather report and for the time of the shoot, it said 25F and feels like 13. I wrote the guy to ask him if he still wants to shoot and he said yes. So I said yes, thinking that we'll do it quick then go back to sleep (or go to sleep at all actually, since the only way I'll be up at 7:00 AM is by not going to sleep till then).

Me and Ned got out of the house at 6:40 and were in the playground at 7:50, theres' nobody there. We walked around to keep warm, it's fucking freezing, we go around the block a couple of times, check the other playground, on the other side of the street, there are a few people out, walking around, their breath fuming in the chill. After 20 minutes we walk away, go to Aldo's for breakfast, coffee and defrosting and head back home.

When we get in there are 5 unanswered calls on my phone and as I sit down it's ringing again, it's some girl from the film and she's wondering where we are, so, we dress again, this time I add long underwear and walk, again, to where the shoot it supposed to take place. There are 4 people in, the director who we have meet, a camera guy and 2 other people, everyone's wearing hats coats and gloves and freezing.

As it turned out, 6 minutes of film doesn't mean 6 minutes of consecutive filming, No, the director shoot 2 seconds then stops then change tripod then figure out the light, then we wait for the clouds to go away and shoot again, from a different direction doing something different with the arm. We don't get off the bench cause we need to keep the same place. And it just getting colder and colder. Even with the big dawn jacket, and the long underwear and the motorcycle gloves, I'm getting colder and colder, Ned's even worst off, since he's wearing sneakers and a less warm hat, his lips are turning purple. The whole thing takes about 2 hours, we get some coffee at a strange Spanish chicken restaurant when the crew is changing hte film in the camera.

Eventually they run out of film and we take off.

In bed trying to defrost later, we try to figure out why neither of us said anything or just left. And we can't really understand our reaction, was in because we felt sorry for the crew, or because we didn't want to mess it up, or simply not wanting to be th first pussy to break down. Somehow I assume that just like when we are shooting and take responsibility for the model's comfort and take care of everything, I'll be taken care of when someone's shooting me. I make lists of everything this guy did wrong and how he could have do better, I'm angry with the director but even more then that, angry with myself for not speaking up.

This wasn't just 2 stupid hours, we were asleep all day, woke up for a few hours to eat and meet friends and went back to sleep. Still filling a strange numbness in the tip of my fingers and a strange coldness inside.

What a stupid reason to loose an entire weekend! Never again!