Night at the Vault

Um.. it's 4am, so I definitely belong here! I still want to know what's the dealio with Leah! Call me tomorrow gal. haha

I went to the New Media Vault event last Thursday night and had a great time! The venue use to be a very old bank that converted into a bar. Pretty nice and unique.


Justine and I hanging out at The Vault.

Read more about it on my blog.

Why Am I Up?

I suppose my late night hours are more a result of a wonky schedule than actual insomnia, though that does come into play sometimes. I've always been more of a night person than a day person. Early mornings during my school years were especially brutal, after graduation, my summertime hours just seemed to stick and continue to stick to this day.

It's the best time for me to be creative, thanks to the dark, the quiet, and the lack of distractions (though YouTube can be a killer). Whether it's writing or visual art, my best stuff happens when everyone's sleeping. In recent years, I've been doing a lot of animation for short films. I recently finished a film that took me over 1,300 hours of animating and most, if not all of the animation was done at night.

The schedule's hard to shake though. I'm in between projects, it's currently about 6 AM and here I am, still up. In my creative downtime, the dark hours have become my DVD hours, I'm currently zipping through my Futurama box sets (Oh, that Zoidberg...) and milking Netflix for all it's worth.

My nocturnal ways are working fairly well for me so far, I get my work done and I'm now part of the Insomnisquad! Though, admittedly, I now fear the fiery thing that rules the daytime skies.

Glad to join the insomnisquad

Party with Leah and me

I'm up late tonight too! But I'm very excited to see Leah in a few hours. ;)

If you're in the LA area, come and party with Leah and I at the Crocker Club tonight at 7pm - 11pm. LA Mixers & Tubefilter Present "The New Media Vault" event.

LA Mixers is back and this time we've joined with the wonderful team at Tubefilter and Suicide Window to co-host our best event yet, The New Media Vault. The event is sponsored by Verdouw & Associates, Screen Actors Guild & ExchangeWeb.NET

Come join us Downtown at the beautiful new Crocker Club. Not only does the regal new venue recall the glamour of long ago LA nightspots, the lounge features an honest-to-goodness bank vault amidst its ornately styled rooms.

Join many others from the worlds of TV, Film, New Media, Tech, Advertising and Venture Finance to make new acquaintances and catch up with old connections.

Also, meet online dating expert, Julie Spira, who will be signing copies of her new book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online.

We'll have a business card raffle for prizes that include a 1928 Jewelry gift bag valued at $500, drink specials, and best of all, No Cover! Just RSVP to let us know you're coming.

RSVP Now.

What to eat on day 2 of non sleep

Went out for a drive, just to get away from the computer for a few hours, clear my head and exercise my eyes (there is a way!). Didn't have a destination, I just drove. Finally stopped at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, that have amazing burritos. First time I have had there breakfast burrito, and wow. It is amazing. Nice and big, and full of all the fresh stuff that SHOULD be in a breakfast burrito. Hash browns, Bacon (or ham or sausage), chopped tomato's, green onions, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, even freshly made tortillas made at the place. Best part? 2.99 that could easily go for at least $6 at a fast food place I imagine, and it would be smaller.

Then of course on the way back, I smelled Krispy Kremes, and had to get some. You can't pass up a freshly baked donut.

What do you other insomniacs eat when your awake forever?

attempting to go to bed...

I have a shoot in the morning...I need some beauty rest...first attempt in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Thanks for joining and sharing your thoughts! I'm excited to see this squad grow!!!

In the meantime...can you help your Squad Commander out with some views and ratings on this video for the best job in the world? Click on the link below and feel free to share with others!

Best Job in the World!
http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/z7jD2C2aqc0

Thanks!

Your Squad Commander,
Leah

one of my favorite quotes that I've written

This quote comes from a song I wrote.  It isn't the best thing written, it isn't my favorite overall but it is my favorite thing that I ever penned.  For those insomniacs that are up because of heartbreak:

I tried to hide my emotions, play it off as simple lust

but through it all you are the only one that I can trust

Subconsciously that tears me up inside it makes me want to scream

But I wish I could spend my life sleeping because you are the girl of my dreams

Artwork I didn't do, but like...

Do you ever feel like a giant eyeball?

My Humble Idea

With this new author power o'mine, I'm doing as Leah asked and posting one of my ideas for this site. Since it's after 5 AM, I'm tired, and a bit lazy tonight, I'll just be copying and pasting part of an email I sent her.

"Okay, so I was thinking...I seem to have my best creative thoughts/moments when I'm up really late. The quiet, the lack of sleep, it gets the creative juices flowing. Why not aim to get some participation going with project ideas that keep with the insomnia/sleep/nighttime theme?

For example- EVERYONE has bizarre dreams. Instead of just doing a "share your strange dreams" type thing, go for "SHOW us your strange dreams." That opens a ton of artistic possibilities. People could send in anything from doodles, to Photoshop art, even video reenactments of weird dream moments. It'd be cool because the results would surely be all over the place in regards to both the subject matter and the presentation.
Or it could be flipped around so someone could type up a dream and submit it, then anyone reading could send in their visual interpretation of that person's dream. Like a 'Dream of the Week.'"

Thoughts?

Why I don't sleep.

Well hello everyone!  I wouldn't say I'm an insomniac so much as I just don't sleep much.  When my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light, but I only sleep 4-5 hours a night.  Haha!  I made a rhyme.  Anyhow, the reason that I don't sleep is because I write a lot of code.  Between my day job, my various online projects and my offline clients, I just end up spending a lot of time awake, and I'm always up at this time of night.  Nice to find some fellow peeps who are up this early in the morning/late at night. Tonight I'm pushing new code to Are My Sites Up? and working on an iPhone app that will enable music discovery in a totally different way than any I've seen before.  

As far as what I think we should be posting about? I just found out about this blog a few minutes ago, so I've got to give it some thought.  More later!

Nicknames?

Should we assign ourselves nicknames on this thing? I've been called the Squad Commander and think its hilarious - you don't have to have a nickname if you don't want to, but I think it could be fun...like Cylon #6, but more creative and relative to our squad :)

Thoughts?

Yawn

I'm only up late tonight because I have to work... But I finally finished two websites for two clients, so it's naptime now! Good nite you #nightowls! I'll be up in a few hours.. you'll see on my Twitter. lol

Why I don't sleep by Xavier Magnus

Insomnia has been something I acquired after I watched several zombie movies and read IT by Stephen King. That sick and twisted combo gave a whole new definition of "Can't sleep or the clowns will eat me"  So while my ego fights off the urge to close my eyes I am usually full of philosophical ramblings and interesting quips.  That is what I offer to the Insomnisquad.  I do my deepest thinking at 2am and now you have the unfortunate luck of getting to see it...

Xavier Magnus-XM 

twitter/xaviermagnus xaviermagnus.blogspot.com

New Banner!

Thanks to @jacobdrake for the cool, new banner! What do you all think of it?

It has been awhile...

But I am awake...and can't fall asleep. I want to make this a more interactive blog...what should we do? Share our nightmares? dreams? reasons why we can't sleep?

Please share your ideas....my insomnia is clouding my creative flow...

I've gotten one suggestion from Jacob Drake...lets put a list together and then vote!