You only live twice

The espresso martini I had during dinner tastes exactly like it sounds— coffee and rust— and it might have made my meeting with the new manager that much worse. I was honest, maybe too honest, but that’s just me. Couldn’t help it.

I shouldn’t have gone with the Japanese old fashioned with Jason in Mission an hour prior. Could’ve walked another ten blocks with him, another loop around Delores park. It was nice, but we were lured by the outdoor seating and live music. The best part was our conversation. Nothing like a good ol’ chat over drinks between two video professionals who have endless adoration for cinema.  We went from the films no one heard of to the films we want to make, from Austin to all over the world and back to San Francisco. 

Send me your script. Let’s do it. “You need to make what you can with whatever you have.” he said. Amen to that. 

That was August. Many things have changed since. 

And I’m back here again. Seeing my high school friend form Taiwan in Cupertino, saying hi to my college friend in San Francisco. And the very last night of my trip in the Bay Area I’m back in Mission meeting Jason and Saboor, the courageous freelancer from Afghanistan, who I worked with in August as his country collapsed into the hands of the Taliban. We drank and laughed then, and we do it all over again tonight. From Burma Love to Zeitgeist, drinking Rye and Japanese whisky. Watching him smoke. We traded war stories — literally making videos under extreme circumstances — not me but the two of them— filming under Taliban’s watch, at Mexican drug cartel’s gunpoint… Will Taiwan be okay? I don’t know. But tell me more about your brutal trip filming in Central America. I’m just a corporate video producer bouncing from one safe airport to another, taking a shower in the lounge before takeoff. Haven’t even lived a day comparing to these legends. 

What’s next? Another adventurous gig? Another doc? Festivals? Features? Where do you want to live outside of America? That list is very long. 

To challenging video shoots. 

We hugged on the corner of Duboce and Valencia, night air made me shiver. I had to head back to my hotel and crash, got an early flight tomorrow morning. 

Let’s do it again. Next time in New York. My place.