Tuesday, March 04, 2008

this would have gone in the 'About Me' box, didn't fit. Sorry.


Me on a good day, like today.

The 'About Me' bit.
Born in Tokyo, raised in Northern California, next to the Pacific, the Six Rivers, mountains, and lots of space to roam. Skateboarding and more skateboarding btn 10 and 30, with some schooling, some working, and some other activities to fill it all out. BA in film w/ an animation emphasis from SFSU.
San Francisco was home for a decade b4 making the move to Tokyo.
I love Northern California, I can breath in and instantly remember the salty coastal fog seeping into my core. Even though my ears still ring from the parties, concerts and clubs I know when a Redwood murmurs to me, that deep-down hum that creeps up on you when you are among The Giants.
The people, the life, the places, the food, the sights and sounds, I wonder why I left sometimes, but in remembering it's the crema and the cream that rises to the top.
On coming to Tokyo; do it if you have a do-or-die attitude about it with a good sense of humility/humor and you are willing to go it alone for an indefinite amount of time. It will take a 200% level of commitment and then some to keep your head above the surface. Even though it provides the essentials for the day to day, it can grind down on you too, the lifestyle, the working hours, the trains, the lack of directness in casual communications. Search out for the things that will make you comfortable because they won't come searching for you. Visiting a place and living in a place are two seperate things so forget what you might have learned from travel books or a visit, they will only be superficial in really getting to know a place like Tokyo. Seven plus years and still get those head-scratching moments just about everyday and in every aspect of life.
Relax and enjoy but be on your toes.
About this blog (might have mentioned it before sometime somewhere so bear with me); Bric-A-Brac Jungle, my comic and story, like a decade plus in the making. All my old characters and half-baked ideas rolled into one.
My immediate ultimate ideal plan would be to drop everything else and get this thing done in one form or another in time for something like the San Diego ComicCon (July23-27), or if I go long, AlternativePressExpo in San Francisco (Nov1-2). The reality is I have a full time job, freelance gigs come knocking, and then the family duties of raising a terribly cute two-year-old, so... With a little stubborn luck it just might happen.
Hope you remember from time to time to drop in and see if there's anything new. I'll drop bits of other stuff that I'm working on or had worked on plus some dirt on what life is like when you are living on Tokyo Time, could be interesting, could all be doo-doos.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"...it can grind down on you too, the lifestyle, the working hours, the trains, the lack of directness in casual communications..." Wow you took the words right out of my mouth!

Been in Tokyo for 2.5 years working as an animation artist. Great work but man... it's a real challenge!

Diego
http://www.linkedin.com/in/diegogarritano