Day 53 (Thursday, August 3)

I got a chance to hang out w/ some really cool people this week. A lot of them have a lot to offer to the world of journalism. They are an inspiration. I feel really lucky to have been chosen as part of this group. Everyone has some amazing story to tell. They are all very unique and have a lot of talent. I am not sure why anyone would consider me as part of this group, but I know that being around them has definitely inspired me to continue working hard and doing what I do, only better.

In hanging out w/ some of the interns, I got a chance to step into their hotel rooms. Every room has the same Brooklyn Bridge photo on the wall. This kind of gave setting to our places to sleep for the last four days.

I looked at the Brooklyn Bridge photo every day. Every time I'd look at it, I'd be reminded that I was in a pretty special place, hanging out w/ some pretty special people.

As I packed my bags ready for this evening's flight back to Chicago, I realized a cool light was reflecting off the picture frame. Somehow, I walked into the light and I was able to see myself. I had to shoot that photo because it was bringing out to life the feeling I had all week long. I AM IN NEW YORK!!!! And since I am being part of the setting here, I guess it's only fitting that I became part of the photo.

I love the way the light reflects only a certain part of my face. Look closely, I am in there somewhere.

It was time to check out of the hotel and I still had about four hours to kill before the driver came to pick me up to take me to the airport. So, I called some of the remaining interns that were still around. Most of the interns hit the road early and they were well on their way back to their bureaus. My flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:35 p.m., so I had a lot of time to kill.

I called up Frankie (Las Vegas) and met up w/ her at Museum Mile. She was out there checking out the Metropolitan. I must say that's one of the most amazing museums I have ever seen. I had a blast there two years ago when I went. This time around I wasn't so much into the museum thing being that I was going to be here for five days, instead of the nine like last time. I did get a chance to check out ICP yesterday and saw Weegee. What else can I ask for?

Frankie and I decided to go get some lunch (breakfast for me) near Museum Mile. We went to Pick a Bagel and I tried a new dish. I had the Baked Salmon Salad. It sounds interesting and it was.

As we were eating lunch, Sonia (Dallas) called us to let us know she would be going to Serendipity 3, a cool restaurant that has been featured in some movies. Sonia had been talking about this place all week long and she finally had a chance to go experience the place. Apparently, this is a place that a lot of artists frequented back in the day. Andy Warhol used to go there a lot. The restaurant is featured in a movie called Serendipity. I've never seen it, but I think I will now since I have this experience under my belt.

Sonia, Frankie and I had to wait for a little while as the place was very full. Luckily, the one-hour wait was shorten to about 20 minutes and we were able to get a table. This place is known for its desserts and being that Frankie and I had already had lunch, we were all over the ice cream dishes. Yum!

Sonia has a sad face because she's a loogie, I mean an aggie. Boooooo!!! I gave her a hard time all week long because I am a Texas fan. Being the two teams have such a historical rivalry, I had to make sure I gave her a hard time. We were getting ready to pay for our meal when I noticed her school ID card. It's too bad she's a loogie because she's such a cool person. Booooooooo!!!! hahaha!

We had to rush out of Serendipity because we had to get back to the hotel and meet up w/ Matt (Columbus). We had a driver come out and take us to the airport and we had a scheduled time for that. Matt's flight was first, so we tried our best in order to get to the airport as soon as possible so that he wouldn't miss his flight. Luckily, we made it in time and it was sad after that because we all went our separate ways.

Hanging out w/ my intern friends was a lot of fun. I got to meet them and see what drives them and what got them to be so dedicated to what they do. Again, I was very inspired.

Above Matt looks over to Manhattan one last time as we ride to the airport. I also got a chance to look one last time. I had that ugly feeling of leaving a place I really want to stay in. I didn't want to leave. I wish I could stay here.

I must have wishing way too hard and my guardian angels must have heard me. Not long after I arrived at the airport, I came to find out my flight was delayed an hour. So, I sat around the terminal for two hours writing some postcards to my friends and family. All of a sudden, I got a pain on my ear. I looked to see what caused it, and it was no other than Sonia's finger flicking my ear. Her flight got delayed as well and since she knew I'd be sitting around for a while, she came over to keep me company.

That's the kind of friendships this internship made. We looked out for one another as we made sure we got home OK from partying every night. There was the night when Ben (San Francisco) woke me up at 3 a.m. thinking that I was still out and he wanted to make sure I was OK. The time when Oskar (L.A.) shared some of his personal plans as he opened up to me during a walk in Manhattan. We all looked out for one another. It was a great thing.

Sonia's company made the two-hour wait more appealing. We talked about the things we got coming up in the near future. I heard more about her summer abroad in Spain that she starts after her internship is over. She heard all about the different worries I have. We gave each other advice and promised to be friends for a long time. Then it was time to get on the plane.

I went through the whole trouble of going through security to get to the terminal. As a photographer, things are pretty tough when going through security. We have lenses, and cameras and laptops and all kinds of little gadgets that make security personal pretty worried. It's usually a long process to get cleared through the security belt.

Once all of that was done, I was ready to get on the plane and go home.

That's when my wishing came true. Somehow my angels were able to make a storm strong enough over the Midwest that forced airlines to cancel their flights to Chicago. There were many flights that got cancelled because of this.

My flight got rescheduled til 11 a.m. the next day. So, I had about 16 more hours in New York. Woohooo!!!!

Of course, I wanted to go home, but staying in New York an extra night doesn't sound bad at all.

I scrambled and was able to get a hotel in the La Guardia Airport area. I showered and called up Omar and the rest of the L.A. crew to see what they were up to.

They were going to a show put on by the Latino Alternative Music Conference.

So, I jumped on a cab, then three trains and found myself back in the Houston Street area ready to enjoy an extra night in New York.

I showed up at the club where the show was going on.

The first thing that caught my eye was the red light in the stairs that lead down to the club. This is exactly how I see New York -- Cool lights.

This reminded me of the first thing I knew about New York City, besides the Statue of Liberty, of course.

The movie Kids was a big influence during my teenage years. That movie gave me such a perception about New York, that I used to think everything in New York was bad. This movie features a bunch of teenagers doing drugs, having sex and partying all night. There's a particular scene in the movie where the kids go to a club. This club has a neon green light feel to it, kind of like the red light feeling you get off the above photo.

This is how I see New York -- Cool Lights.

I had about 10 seconds to shoot the photo because the bouncer started giving me a hard time the minute I paused and started to turn on my camera. Luckily, my camera has become an extension of my hand and I was able to adjust the settings in order to get a nice image soon. It helped that a man walked by the room to give this area a real life feeling. But ten seconds later, or less, the bouncer was tapping me on the shoulder tell me "this is a fire hazard, you HAVE to move."

I walked inside and found Omar and his crew. They were hanging out near the upstairs bar, which had a cool view of the outside. I made some images as I waited for my drink, which was a Brooklyn Lager. That drink was really good. I think I found a new favorite. Maybe I'll finally stop missing Texas' Shiner Bock. Well, that's if I can find Brooklyn in the Midwest.

The show was amazing. A really cool Funk band from Barcelona called The Pinker Tones went on stage and rocked the house. I was able to get some cool photos of them doing their crazy things as they played w/ all kinds of cool electronic instruments.

I've heard of The Pinker Tones before, but I never really had a chance to stop and listen to them. I really enjoyed their music.

This concertgoer was definitely enjoying the beats. He was very focused on the movements and the style by TPT.

Others just danced as the cool red light continued to be a a primary thing in the club.

This is just like I see New York -- Cool Lights!

TPT definitely brought rock to the house. Everyone danced and everyone enjoyed the show. I really enjoyed it considering I caught one of the shirts the band members threw onto the crowd. It's a size small, so it will never fit me. So, if anyone out there is a big TPT fan, is a size small and wants a TPT shirt, email me. I got one just for you here.

The next band was Chetes. They also brought some good beats. I had a good time listening to them. In between the two bands, Omar's girlfriend Alicia introduced me to Judy Jimenez of L.A. Weekly. I was able to pitch my photos to her and I think she will use them during her coverage of the LAMC. Cool!

More red light was seen in the club. This time it gave a cool glow to a band member's hair. It allows it to pop out of his hair in the dark setting. I really like it because I see New York like this -- Cool Lights!

I looked around and Omar was no longer their. Then I saw him heading up the stairs to the exit. He looked back and told me they were going to CBGB just down the street. He invited me and I wasn't going to shut down the opportunity to go to the place where Funk music was born.

During our walk we found a sticker. Being that Omar is very political opinionated, he had to make his stand.

It was past 2 a.m. and CBGB was closed. At least the concert part. Still, Omar decided it would make a nice self portrait for his MySpace account. We got lucky and we were able to go into the CBGB bar that's adjacent to the club. So, we walked in there and hung out for a while.

I walked into the restroom and I saw a lock that wouldn't lock. The most concerning thing was not that the lock wouldn't lock, but that the words True Love were right above it. What kind of symbol does that give you? What does that mean?

A useless lock and True Love. Perhaps that's the symbol right there. There is never true love that will last forever. At least not when you can't do all you can to make sure it locks.

It's discouraging to think about the short life True Love has. It's never long enough. It dies.

Well how could it not die, especially when you need two joining parties working together to make sure there is a tight lock between the two? The more I think about this, the more sense it makes. A lock needs the cooperation and dedication of a complementing clamp. Something it could anchor itself and never break away. W/o the components a lock doesn't work. It's useless. Kind of like true love. One person can have true devotion for the other in true love, but if the true love is not anchored on both sides, then there will never be a successful lock. It will break away, just like anything else.

Wow! All of this thinking and all I wanted to do was pee.

We hung out a little longer at the CBGB bar and headed back to the music venue where another band was about to start playing.

Allison jumped on stage and rocked the house. I felt bad for the band, though, because by the time we got back to the club, nearly half of the attendees were gone. So, Allison played for half the crowd that the other bands played for.

I walked up to the stage and started playing w/ light some more. The glow on the band members body gave a cool feel to it.

I really liked how this red light was prominent throughout the night. New York has something cool -- Cool Lights!

I decided to change it up a little, and just like last night when I shot the sign w/ the Chinese words, I wanted to push the envelop w/ my photos. So, I did a slow shutter frame on the band member and was able to get all kinds of cool blue ambient light on him. The slight blur gives it a fast-moving feel. Not a photo I would turn in during an assignment, but most definitely a photo that pushes the envelop.

Eating late in New York seems to be a common thing. I tagged along w/ the L.A. crew to Joe Rocket Pizza across the street. We had some really good New York style pizza. The above photo is pretty cool. Alicia looked for the best slice of pie. The light glowing on her goes well w/ the words on the top portion of the counter "I YOU CANT SEE..." I thought it was quite fitting.

If you've been paying attention to my photography, you might have noticed that I like to split the screen in the middle w/ either a wall, a door frame, a window or anything that gives the viewer two perspectives. The above photo gives you just that. The inside/outside eating environment at Joe Rocket Pizza is seen through this image.

That type of photography style was most definitely influenced by a cool foreign film I watched w/ Alejandra at the San Diego Latino Film Festival in March of 2004 while we attended a regional SPJ conference. There we saw the first Bolivian film of the millennium. A film called Dependencia Sexual (Sexual Dependency), which takes a look into the lifestyles and problems teenage kids have in Bolivia. The entire film is done on a split-screen style giving the viewer a chance to be visually challenged. It's a true masterpiece. And it has effected the way I shoot photos.

Getting back to the La Guardia Marriott was an adventure. Especially since it was 4 a.m. I first jumped on the J train going south toward Brooklyn Bridge. Then, I jumped out and took the N train north toward Astoria. Once there, I hopped on a cab that dropped me off at the Marriott's door about 90 minutes after starting my journey back to the hotel.

While waiting for the train I encounter one of those famous New York City rats. Standing in front of it was pretty weird. I didn't know whether to scare it off, walk away or what. I walked toward it to get a shot of it and then it jumped away and freaked me out completely. Now, I am not saying I am afraid of rats, it's just that these creatures are very creepy and when they moved, you never know what they might do.

Needless to say, the rat got me to stay on my toes while I waited for the train to arrive. I was pretty paranoid that a rat would come up to me and try to make me the night's meal. So, I guess I was a little bother by it. I definitely wasn't scare of it, but I was just weirded out by it.

Let's just say that "there's a rat in New York who I hate w/ all my guts."

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