full time!

It's been very busy and hectic over here for the last couple of weeks. After filming my first wedding on Thursday i have a lot of footage to edit. On the plus side it's nice to see that the footage has come out very impressive and my first wedding is already looking like a success. I will edit a trailer and post it for you all to see soon.

The weather has been awful recently but in the few minutes of sunshine that i've been able to go for a skate i made sure i got some footage to keep everyone entertained. Just a couple of tricks by Harry Bates, Danny Abel and a separate couple of lines with Evan.

Hopefully dry up on Sunday so we can get out there and film some street!

Santiago.

Two weeks in the sun

I have just got back from a sunny holiday in sweet Cancun, Mexico. The long flight was a killer but our "all inclusive" hotel was absolutely amazing, much was eaten, much was drank. Temeperatures were in the 30's and the beach was beautiful. Didn't really do a lot of exploring the local area as the hotel had everything you could have wanted. It was lovely to get some peace and quiet, and of course a very nice tan :)

Just Chillin'

I did a lot of reading whilst sipping on beers and cocktails. I normally take a very long time to get through a book but in this ocassion i had some really good literature at hand and got through nearly three books in two weeks. I picked up at a copy of Joe Simpson's "Touching The Void" which tells an incredible tale of mountain survival first hand. Another masterpiece i came across was "K2-No Way Down" by Graham Bowley, a journalist from New York City. He wrote a detailed account of what went down on K2 in early August 2008. It is a recent example of how crazy things can get up there on the mountain and describes how 12 lives were lost in just three days high above on the slopes of K2 in Pakistan. Finally i polished off the rest of a book i've been slowly working through for the last few months. This is "The Longest Climb" by Dominic Faulkner, it follows the EVERESTMAX team as they cycle more than 5,000 miles from the lowest point on earth - the dead sea - to the highest peak on the planet - the summit of Mt. Everest. Not only is it an incredible journey but also a superbly written account of what happened during one of the deadliest seasons on the mountain.

That's all for now. I will be going out for a much needed skate tomorrow afterwhich It will be a busy week this one no doubt as i'm shooting my first wedding video on Thursday. I will let you all know how it went but i'm confident it will go well!

0610h the sun rises over the Caribbean.

Thank you for reading!
Santiago.

less is more

A hard day at work today as it always is catching up on the missed hours due to the bank holiday earlier in the week. Nevertheless yesterday i had a pretty active day. I headed down to Evolution for a climbing session, about an hour and a half trying out a couple of new routes and training up the old ones too. I wanted to go running too, i want to really get into shape so i have been trying to cut down on unnecessary binges of food at work and at home. This with a bit more exercise should do me some good. I came home after climbing and went back out again for a 5 mile run, over to Tonbridge and back again there is a nice gradient on the way back. I enjoy running up-hill more for some strange reason, it's more of a challenge i guess.

I also had a new idea for a possible trip. I was going through the books in Cotswold when i found a book about Norway's great outdoors. There is some incredible scenery and the mountains and lakes are just amazing. Maybe i'll head that way for a few days, camp out by a lake and climb a few peaks. It should be a nice drive too!

That's all for now, i have a day off tomorrow in which i plan to maybe go for another run and buy some vinyl. I might head down to Brighton as they have some decent shops in where to buy such things for little money.

"Mexico in 10 days babyy!"

Running

After attempting to a few tricks on my board thing's weren't going very well. In fact i wasn't feeling it at all and ended up getting frustrated. Too tired, maybe. Just loading up some Trance Anthems on my iPod and heading out for a hilly 5 mile run. Just as the sun is descending it looks quite a pleasant evening out there! Apart from last night's lamb balti which was absolutely stunning i have been trying to eat pretty healthy and keeping my portions down. Combined with a bit of regular exercise this might have positive results!

I leave you with some lyrics that stuck to me at work today.

   "The sky is full of dreams, but you don't know how to fly.
 I don't have a simple answer, but i know that i could answer, something better."

The Killers' "This is your Life".

the garden edit

I had a day off on Friday and when my plans to shoot a video with a mate canceled i headed down the skate garden and filmed some tricks with a few of the guys, enough to release this edit.

I've managed to fight off the cold and i'm feeling pretty good again! In 20 days i'll be leaving for Mexico for two weeks. Excited is the right word here and i am going to make the most out of the "all inclusive" facilities at the five star hotel. I hope you enjoy the video!

After a three mile run last night all is good, it appears I'm not that vast out of shape yet! Have a stinking cold though so on the fruit and juice today!

A couple of filming projects coming up soon too so busy busy busy!

April showers

Despite having to repeatedly flee to the car for shelter from the pouring skies, waiting for it to dry, going back out, getting shouted at by retarded grumpy old men who have no idea how to coexists with fellow citizens in a car park, we did eventually manage to film a couple of tricks for the slowly accumulating collection of clips that will one day form part of a bigger piece of work.

On a separate note if you're into climbing my friend Alec Turner is in the Himalayas en route to climbing Lhotse, this being the peak next to mt. everest. He is attempting to summit without the use of supplementary oxygen, an amazing achievement. I have been following his steps on his journey up there and the most exciting part is about to start so check it out on "www. glacierboy.com".

Thinking of going on a short run before work in the morning to kickstart my running habits. I've not done much running since my half marathon in late February and besides it will be nice to wake up doing something different. I shall let you know how that goes. I am probably more likely to snooze and sleep knowing me but it sounds a good idea! Anyway that's it for now I shall leave you with a quote from a book I'm currently trying to read.

"The main street finishes in a dead end, only a rusty piece of corrugated iron and a pile of sandbags marking the end of Nepal. Behind them sat a teenage soldier playing with his helmet, the muzzle of his rifle resting under his chin. The defence of the nation was clearly in safe hands".