Hi everyone, it has been a while.
In very sad news, on February 15th, 2024, my Grandpa, Michael Giammusso, passed away peacefully surrounded by family. He had been in the hospital/rehab since December following a fall. It is so sad but I am so very grateful for all my memories with him. Below are some treasured photos of us together.
And this is a wonderful article my mom wrote about him: https://www.andovertownsman.com/opinion/columns/outstanding-remembering-mr-g-and-his-impact-on-andover/article_6765f99e-d64c-11ee-8309-43eda13eb708.html
I figured since it has been a while, I'd just put below some of the other things that have happened in the past three months so we can catch up.
End of fall semester at Brandeis
In December, after returning from Thanksgiving break, it was time to film the first scene of my new short film! On December 2nd, I headed to the on-campus Dunkin' and purchased a dozen donuts to give to the cast and crew. When I explained to the woman working there why I needed a dozen, she asked if she could be in the movie too and announced to her crew that she was going to be a movie star. I was happy to have her but unfortunately, she had to keep working at her Dunkin' job, oh well.
I met up with my friends Yair (cinematographer), Ethan (sound engineer) and Lili (production assistant). We got the cameras all set and headed over to the spot on campus where we were going to film. My background actors and my main actor Jam arrived and we filmed the scene. It went really well and it was exciting to be starting out on this filming journey.
In December, I also helped film my friend Irina's Nutcracker ballet show and finished editing another dance video for Irina which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ew4Fnsxcv8&feature=youtu.be
At the end of the semester, we had a SIMS (Sound and Image Media Studios where I work) dinner party and I helped cook. We had stuffed peppers and spanakopita. It was nice to get together at a group one more time before the end of the semester.
My friends also did a Secret Santa event with squishmallows stuffed animals. Each of us were randomly assigned someone to get a squishmallow for and it was fun to all hang out before heading home.
We also kept our two year tradition of watching the new animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie when it comes out and this year was no exception. Just like the past years, it wasn't very good and we had to cleanse our palate by watching the live action Rodrick Rules movie.
There were plenty of events that week including felting and a golem making event. After making a golem, I also made a model of the character Mona from the children's show Nanalan which has been trending on social media recently. I've become a major fan!
My cousin Zev came by Brandeis the day before I went home for break. I showed him my suite, introduced him to friends and walked him around SIMS.
Winter Break
During my winter break, in addition to visiting my Grandpa in the hospital, I spent time with my cousins, aunts and uncles. One day we went into Boston with my cousins Kayleigh and Martha and Martha's fiancé Austin. We checked out some stores, walked around the Boston Common, got Chipotle for lunch and went to the the new Friends tv show inspired coffee shop.
At the end of my break, I went on a trip to Florida with my friend Michael to visit our friend Jamie. Michael came over to Concord the day before our trip and we walked around Walden Pond, got lunch at Nashoba Brook Bakery and took the train to Cambridge to play tennis with my grandfather Irwin, my dad and my cousin Yona.
The following morning we had to get up super early and my dad kindly drove us to Logan Airport for our flight to Florida. Upon arrival, we saw lines of people outside the terminal and we knew that wasn't a good sign. The TSA lines were super long! I had TSA pre-check so I got through fine but Michael didn't have it and the timing was incredibly tight... I tried to stall the people at the boarding counter and Michael ran so fast. He made it right as they were about to close the doors. I yelled "There's my friend!", they kept the doors open, we got on, the plane taxied and then we waited for an hour as the plane drove back to the gate to fix something. But at least we made it and were off to Florida!
We had five days in Florida and we did so much! We biked around, went to the beach, visited a train museum, went to stores, watched movies, attended a science fair, painted pottery, took photos of eagles, explored an art museum, swam in the freezing pool, kayaked, and relaxed. But then before I knew it, we were back to college for the final semester.
My Short Film
My main creative project in January was my short film. I had filmed that one scene but the whole script was twelve pages so there was a lot left to do. My major problem was I needed a double dorm room to film in and I don't have any friends with one. After asking around and posting a casting call on social media, I resorted to slipping flyers under doors in the first year residence halls. Amazingly, two different people responded!
We filmed on six different days and had incredible actors, extras and crew. It was so exciting to see my script that I wrote back in October come to life. The film will premiere at Brandeis' Sundeis Film Festival in April!
Classes and Internship
This semester, I'm taking four classes and doing an internship. One class I’m taking is called Communication and Media and it is an anthropology class about how different animals communicate, how to read into the meaning of signs and symbols, how to interpret advertisements and later in the semester, we'll discuss social media. I’m also taking Computer Security, Math for the Natural Sciences and Acting for the Camera. The acting class has been very fun and we have done activities such as acting out funny Yelp reviews and re-enacting scenes from films.
My internship is with Boston Casting. They are an agency that gets hired by film, television, and commercial projects in the area to find actors for roles. I go into Boston on Thursdays to work there, and I work remotely on Fridays.
I also finished applying to grad schools and have already been accepted to three! More news to come - I currently am overwhelmed by the decisions haha!
Fun activities with friends
I’ve also continued to have fun adventures with my friends. In just those first two months back, we’ve gone ice skating, walked to Moody Street in Waltham for the comicbook store, thrift shop and ice-cream, gone to a painting night, went to a movie, attended a stuffed animal stuffing event, played bingo, watched a Broadway musical in Boston and had a 100 Days until graduation party.
The 100 days until graduation party was held in the faculty lounge and it had the vibe of of a college reunion. There were a lot of people there I didn’t even recognize.
In the Party Zone (what we call our suite), we hosted a pirate themed birthday party for our friend and suitemate Ben.
So, I’ve been keeping busy! The weather is starting to get warmer and I’m excited to soak up my last couple months of college. Till next time!
-David
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