The Longest Day of My Life

Where to begin...

Let me first say that if it weren't for my previous adventures on this blog, I really don't how I could have handled what happened to me on Tuesday June 9th - Wednesday June 10th 2009.

I had feared something like this would happen. During my 5 day trip to Austria with my sister, I was not-so-secretly dreading the talk I was going to have with UK immigration. But I was reassured by countless people that everything would be just fine. So I would push that anxiety back down into my stomach and continue enjoying my view of the Southern Austrian countryside. But even if I HAD known what was going to happen, there was nothing I could have done. My fate was sealed as soon as I left the UK.

At 3pm, Hannah and I left my high school friend Ed's apartment in Klagenfurt, Austria. After 5 days of castle-viewing, mountain-climbing and crystal-clear-lake-swimming, we were exausted and looking forward to a few lazy days back in London. The 4:50 Ryanair flight to London Stanstead was OK, save for maybe the screaming kids 2 rows behind us and my iPod dying. But Hannah and I shook it off, both of us looking forward to seeing Jenna again. But then comes UK passport control.

"So what have you been doing the past 5 months?" the stalky, Indian or Pakistani Englishman asks me. I respond in a professional and respectful manner that would make the Queen look like a mumbler. "I'm sorry sir, that's not good enough. I need to enquire further. Please have a seat."

10 minutes later I see the same border guard speaking to what looks like his supervisor behind the desk. I wave to Hannah who's on the other side. "Go to the lost-and-found, (she'd left our toiletries in security on our way to Austria) I'll meet you there" I say. But little did I know, I would never be meeting her there...

Then I see the border guard's supervisor mouth the word "refugee". My stomach shoots into my throat. "Please follow me sir" the squat little man tells me. "We are going to search your bags, take fingerprints and ask some further questions."

The fingerprint people are cool. We talk about my time in England, film school and my girlfriend. They even tell me that I have nothing to worry about. God were they wrong. What they should have said is to prepare yourself for the worst night of your life. Because what's to come is completely devastating.

After several hours of waiting for my interview, I finally get it. But it's the same jerk who didn't believe me in the first place. Even though I speak with Obama-like confidence and argue what I think is a pretty damn good case, he doesn't have any of it. In fact, he barely listens. I sit still and he squirms. I look him in the eye and his dart around the room like someone in R.E.M without their eyelids closed. "What does one do on holiday, sir? They visit. If I went to America, after a couple weeks, what would there be left to do? Nothing. What have you really been doing the past five months?" I answer again. His eyes dart. I make sure he's recording everything I say. But he isn't. He squirms, I sit still. After I feel like I've said all I can, I beg him to consider. But I know he won't. I follow him back into the detainment room. He tells me to wait while they decide what's going to happen to me. "Holy Man" starring Eddie Murphy comes to an end and "There's something about Mary" begins.

I sit in ulcer-inducing anxiety for about 3 hours. "There's something about Mary" is probably the least funny movie I have ever seen. Which sucks cuz I used to like it... Then the guard returns and tells me to stand up. "We've made a decision." But he doesn't even look at me. He even has the gaul to stand there talking to the detainment guards with my paperwork exposed. But I don't look. I wanna hear it from from his mouth. And I want him to look me in the eye.

After a meeting that almost exactly mirrors the tone and dialect of our previous one, he tells me their decision: I have been denied entry into the United Kingdom. But that isn't all. My last month with Jenna is robbed from me, my year-out in Europe is cut short and I am told that it would be wise to not return to the UK for at least a year. Fuck.

I was a refugee for 19 hours. Not only this, but I have no phone credit and I am told that I am not allowed contact with my sister. So to make matters worse, my friends and family are dragged down with me. I have never longed for anyone more than I did for Jenna and Hannah. I could have punched someone, anyone. But I didn't. I say please and thank you and keep my head up.

But don't worry, I'm not a criminal. I just led the officer to believe that I wouldn't be leaving the country on the date I said I would. (I thruthfully told him July 15th) This was because of my extensive (but legal) time spent in the UK, my expressed love for the country and culture, my British girlfriend and because I didn't have substantial proof to show that I was indeed returning to the US to attend film school (a return ticket home and my acceptance letter). Essentially, he told me that I had abused my visitor rights. But how does one know where you cross the line? I worked legally for 6 months, then began another 6 month stint as a tourist. Americans are allowed that. Or so I've read, been told and thought. The reason I was detained and eventually denied was because of one man's suspicion. Nice.

Next they told me that I would be heading back to Austria at 1:30pm the next day. wtf? Yea, Austria. Aparently its procedure to send rejects back to the country they came from. Aparently it's also procedure to send them to a different city. (Linz, not Klagenfurt)

So I had a fun night. Lucky they had a TV, a coffee and tea machine, free sandwiches, a toilet, a telephone, other rejected foreign nationals and pillows. Otherwise it would have sucked. Just kidding, it did way worse than suck. It was the worst night of my life. I slept on a chair with my head on a pillow and toilet paper in my ears to block out the Jeremy Kyle show.

Thank God for my family friends in Belgium and the laid back Austrians. If it weren't for the understanding officer in Linz, I would probably have been put on a plane back to America, I wouldn't see Jenna until September and I would have to pay for all my stuff to be shipped back home. But lucky lucky me. "Enjoy your time in Austria" is the greatest combination of words in the English language. When the Austian guard said this, he not only saved me well over a grand, but he allowed me the chance to see Jenna. As soon as I entered the "Blue Danube Aiport" (yes, named after Austria's much beloved piece by Johann Srauss and a nearby valley), I purchase a ticket to Brussels.

But it wasn't over. Even though I had a ticket to Brussels, I wasn't certain that immigration in each country was going to let me through! But thank God for the European Union. Because of the EU, the only customs I had to pass through was in Austria. But I didn't know this. All I knew was that I now had the stigma of a rejection stamp in my passport. So I wasn't able to breathe a sigh of relief until I saw Lieve's pretty face in the Brussels Airport. After 2 incredibly nerve-wracking flights (Frankfurt, then Brussels) and 40+ hours of travel, I made it. I finally had a bed to sleep in. And I could see Jenna again.

So I write to you now from Mechelen, Belgium. You might remenber it from my travels back in 2006. A lot has changed since then. But not the kindness of my dear Belgian friends. They let me in with arms wide open. Now I'm just waiting for Jenna to come tomorrow to bring some of my things. I can't wait.

Freelance Design

Here's a sample of some of the stuff I've been working on. This is a concept for the direct mailer at Snyder DSS. It's meant to grab interest and keep you there on a whimsical and intriguing level. The front is home to 14 smiling orange faces and one shy purple face. On the inside it says next to big purple: "Still waiting for those pesky braces to come off? (then below) Dr. Snyder understands. That's why Snyder orthodontics offers their fastest treatment ever." Then it goes on to explain why... You get the idea. Here are the faces behind the idea.

David Lynch

Film director David Lynch. Another hero of mine done in the same style.

Hannah visited this weekend. I had a great time showing her around London. Hopefully she can say the same...

Hayao Miyazaki

Here he is, in the pen-and-ink, my hero, Hayao Miyazaki.


(writer/director of 'Spirited Away', 'Princess Mononoke', 'Nausicaa')

Caricatures

Here are a couple [Radiohead] caricatures:

1) Thom Yorke


2) Jonny Greenwood

Museum Visits

Here are a couple of quick sketches from a couple recent museum visits.
Top: The National Gallery - from various paintings
Middle: The Tate Modern - quick sketch of Giacometti sculptures
Bottom: Tate Modern - sculpture and painting

Trip to the V&A

Yesterday I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. Usually I go to museums with the intention of looking and meandering first, then drawing - if time or company permits. But usually I draw. This visit was a little different. This time, I went to the V&A with the sole intention of drawing. Nothing else.

So yesterday, I went, I drew, I left. No funny business. I had work to do, so I couldn't stay long. But I went anyway. And this is what I drew.

let the pencil do the thinking.

Start with the eyes on a character and work your way out from there. No erasing, no going back, make it up as you go. This is a type of drawing I like to do from time to time. It's the type of drawing that tattooed so many of my school notebooks and planners. But recently, I've been deliberately doodling like this in predetermined places - like notebooks! But it's a fun technique to use. By not glancing at a subject and focusing intently on the drawing, I can get to an almost meditative-like state that allows me to "let the pencil do the thinking". You can arrive at some pretty incredible places if you take on this perspective when you draw. I also feel that it is something you can channel into the real world. In an empathic manner, put your entire self into someone else and walk in their shoes/sandals/boots. Drawing can be wonderfully therapeutic.

"Who will put flowers on a flower's grave?" -- Tom Waits

Drawing No. 2

Here's the 2nd drawing for the project. I am currently trying to explore a mixture of caricature and life drawing. This was the first step.

आईटी अल स्टार्ट्स विथ अ स्पार्क

"It all starts with a spark" - the first drawing as part of the project.

The Next Step

Hi all --

It's been months and months, I know. But I'm back. In fact, I've just started this little "art project" thing that involves small artistic explorations here and there all over London. I will be posting these creative burps on here as a way of documenting my progress. So stay tuned.

Many strange things will occur.

-NWS

Goodbye USA - Beginning of Summer 2008

Hi everyone
 
Well, the last time I left you, I had just graduated from college and was looking back on my senior year. Well, now I'm writing from London, England. In fact, I'm using my computer at Bovis Lend Lease where I'm currently doing temporary admin work. Yeah, 3 months after graduation and here I am. In the human resources department of the UK branch of a multinational company doing work in Microsoft excel and improving my "words per minute". Exciting. Well, it sort of is. Let me explain.
 
It all started after graduation...
Unlike 1960's Hollywood graduates played by Dustin Hoffman or even normal graduates, my summer after my final year at college wasn't spent lying in a pool or being seduced by 40 year old women. Instead, I did a couple things...
 
First, there was New York. Since I've been telling myself that I'm applying to NYU and Columbia for grad school for the past 3 years, I decided that it might be smart to visit the schools. So, the week after I moved home, I flew to La Guardia with my mother and spent 3 days in Manhattan. It was a really great couple of days. I able to see both schools and meet with the admissions directions from each. Both were very professional, informative and surprisingly impressive. Columbia is epic. Huge stone pillars, statues, gardens, fountains, basically ancient Rome. Aside from that it has one of the most respect and up-and-coming film programs of the past 20 years. NYU was equally as impressive, but completely different. There is no campus, just a bunch of buildings in the heart of Greenwich Village. And, unlike the warm reception of Columbia where everyone was smiles, NYU was moody, cool and very aware that they have the best film department on the planet. But, I didn't let it get to me... I think. What did I do to combat the onslaught of cool? Well, I sat in their designated reception area, (which was in the middle of everything, allowing any staff or UPS guys to spy on nervous prospective students like myself) got comfortable, took out my leather-bound sketch pad... and drew. It's the first thing I could think of... and the most natural. When nerves take over, reach for the pad and pen. That's what I do. And it worked. The admissions director walked up moments later to inform me that the women I was meant to meet is unavailable and he would be handling me instead. What he didn't tell me is that he was the director of admissions and she was not. SO I got an upgrade without even knowing. The meeting went well. I asked my 3 questions and he went on and on about how my work has to "speak to him" blah blah blah. I pretended that I didn't have a clue... even though I've been on his website enough times to do all the talking. But it was a success. And overall, I felt all the more happy to be applying to these great schools.

During the time that I wasn't seeing the schools, mom and I got to see some really cool areas of New York. We spent the most time in Hell's Kitchen, actually. A really cool area just west of times square with great restaurants, not a lot of tourists and cool cafes. I also met my friend Nick from high school one morning for coffee in that same area. He's an actor and yoga instructor by day, waiter by night... truly living life. I love it. (I guess I'm doing that too... only in an office in London.) But New York was great. It was overwhelming at all. In fact, there were very few moments where I was like "wow this is cool"... The whole experience just sort of felt comfortable.... much like I feel in London. It just fits. And I guess that's what you want, right? To fit. You don't want to be so infatuated by where you live that every day walking to work is being 10 and making that first memorable walk through the gates of Disneyland... You'd go through an awful lot of mickey mouse underwear... 
 
Second, there was home.
Being home was great. In fact, it was too great. Why is it that if you know you're leaving a place in a short while, this place becomes better than it ever has been ever before? Every moment spent there is more enjoyable than any other time you can remember being there and the times you spend with the people there are just perfect... Well, that wasn't the case at all... Just kidding. I joke because it kind of was. Not only was I riding the high of just graduating, having my senior art show and going to New York, but I was showered with attention from family members, friends and even random business associates. I know I know, maybe you all do that anyway and I've just been too blind to see it until now... I know. Or it might be true. Well, whatever the case may be, it was really hard leaving. After spending so many months looking forward to moving back to London.... when the moment arrives, you don't wanna go. Cold feet? Maybe. Or as Elvis would put it, I don't have a wooden heart. Thanks guys.

-Nick

 

Next up: London

Senior Year Short Films

Hi everyone

Here are the films I was talking about in the last post. Enjoy!


Campus Safety Action Force Trailer:



Campus Safety Action Force (10 minute version):



Unlit:



Vingt Quatre Ans:



Dream Tapping:

A Long (mustachio'd) Time Coming

Hi everyone

It's been well over a year since my last post, which makes this a very long time coming. But, basically, I'm here to say that as of today, 'London Calling' is officially back. I have returned. I am alive. I am well. And I am back in London.

I figured that this is the best way to keep everyone up to speed on my life and my work. I think there's been a few people out there who've enjoyed reading about my misadventures... so this is for you!

OK, so here's what's happened since May 2007:

Summer 2007:

I may, I finished Junior year at St. Norbert, Jenna comes out to America in what was initially meant to be a 2-3 week trip... But, thanks to our lucky stars, she was able to spend the entire summer with my and my American family. I introduced her to Chipotle, Taco Bell, (you know, all the good stuff) Wendy's, Diary Queen, yep, that's it. Fast food. Well, not really. She did eat some of that, but not all (thankfully). We had a great summer together... I caricatured a lot... like the summer before. County fairs, little parties, etc... and this summer caricaturing was my only form of income. And it went well too. We took a trip to Chicago, went to the pool and saw the Burnies, saw the lakes of Minneapolis, saw Minnehaha falls, did lots. Then, in august, she went back to England and I went back to DePere for my Senior year in college. Oh, and I decided to not shave certain parts of my face all summer long. I could now appear on the set of the Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and not need a press pass.

Senior Year (2007-2008):

Senior year was great. Really great. I lived in a s***hole campus party house where my room was not really a room, but a converted porch. It had windows on the walls of my room that shown inside the house, it was actually slanted at a 12 degree angle and was unbearably cold in the winter. So in other words... the best college living experience you can possible have! But if weren't for the people I lived with, it would have been bad. But it really wasn't. I had a great year there.

Aside from accommodation, I also did some work during my senior year.
Much like before, I continued making my own short movies on the side. For less than $100, I made 4 short films during my senior year. The first was called "Campus Safety Action Force". It was a 15-minute action comedy about everyone's favorite on-campus authorities. I wrote the script in the summer of 2007, then shot it in the fall for about 7 weekends with a brand new Canon GL2 video camera bought with my college-bound fund (thanks mom and dad!), some old friends and a bunch of new friends. It was a very stressful experience at times, but definitely paid off. I had a lot of fun, we had a successful screening (about 200 people turned up!) and I made some great friends. In addition to the movie, I had an article in the school newspaper and had T-shirts made to raise money for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). On top of all that, I entered the movie into the student juried art show and won 2nd place! I wasn't even expecting that they'd include it in the show, but I guess I was wrong. I think a lot of people responded to the film. And that's why I made it. I wanted to connect with the students of SNC. I made it for them.
During my second semester I made 3 additional short films. These were much shorter than CSAF, but much more focused. They represent the first real step in the direction I want to take film. Character driven, interesting stories, use of symbolism, all that real stuff. I pored everything that I had learned into these 3 experiments. They were made within an independent study that I created with a faculty member that I really admire. The first is called "Unlit". I used two actors from the Basic Acting class I was taking to bring to life this little moment that exists within a much bigger story. It's basically just the climax of an argument that reveals little clues about their history together. For what it's worth, I think it was a big success.
The second is called "Vingt Quatre Ans" ("Twenty Four Years"). It's about a young French woman coming to America for the first time. In this 3 minute piece, she is on her to way to meet someone she has been waiting to meet her whole life. With thanks to the very talented French TA, Marie, the film turned out great. Above all other attempts, this has been the film that has really connected with people the most. For that, I am very proud. I hope to make more like this in the future.
The third and final film is called "Dream Tapping". This was another experiment of mine.... this time in political sci-fi. The idea stems from the government having the ability to tap into our phone lines to monitor our phone lines, prevent safety and uphold the greater good. So I took it a step further... what if the government learned how to tap into our minds, into our dreams? So this story takes places a white room, with all white clothing, representing a dream state that the government has created to make people better Americans by preventing terrorist thoughts. The story involves a young girl who was once a prisoner of this system hacking back in to try and bring it down. With the help of a young psychology student, she explains the system to him and they try to destroy it. I used the same actors as Unlit because I thought they worked well together. In the end, I thought they did a wonderful job and I achieved what I had set out to do: experiment with sci-fi. I'm happy with what I came up with and hope you'll enjoy it as well.

Aside from the short films made during my senior year, I also had a lot of fun, did well in school and continued to date Jenna. It was in some ways, the longest 9 months of my life, but in many other ways, it went way too fast. I spent a lot of time working and looking towards the future, but also seeing people I knew I wouldn't be spending much more time with. It was a delicate balance, but I think I succeeded in making my senior year the best it could have possibly been.

Graduation and Summer 2008:

Graduating was a really cool experience. I got to wear a Union Jack sash on my graduation gown, my family was able to make it and the ceremony wasn't ridiculously long! And I did graduate, which is also good. I was a little worried...
Probably even more memorable than gradua-ma-wating, however, was my senior art show. Being in the last group meant that I had the show just a few weeks before graduation and towards the end of the school year. So a really crazy-busy-stressful-time! But also a great time, because of being able to look back on the entire senior year. It was a great weekend. My family, grandparents, some extended family and some close family friends were able to attend. They took me out to eat, for drinks, for coffee and were altogether very supportive of me. I was very honored and thankful for such a a nice weekend.

So, senior year is over. Done. Gone. I am now an alumnus of St. Norbert College and possess a bachelor's degree. Scary.

Next Few Posts:
Videos!
Post After That:
NYC, home, then the move to London.

First Assignment for New Media

Hey,

Here's a video I made for New Media class as the first assignment. It's the first of three this semester. The last of which will be my 20 minute Film Noir. This one is based on a poem by my friend Graham. So, without further ado, here ya go: