"What we're gonna do right here is go way back"
"How far back?" "WAYYYYYY BACK!!!" - N.W.A (1988 - Gangsta Gangsta) I've been away from this page for most of 2017 and I promise to post more entries this year. You can almost say that this is one of my resolutions. I'm not a real fan of labeling it this so I'd be more comfortable calling them "goals". I'm even more comfortable calling them "checkpoints". And it was with comfort that I ended 2017 and emerged into 2018... with comfort. In a literal sense, I ended the countdown wearing a comfortable pair of $5.00 Burger Pyjamas that Paola and I bought out of impulse whilst shopping for shampoo. That says a lot for the events that occurred in 2017. It was a perfect blend of impulse decisions within my pre-planned...plans. Let me run by my 2017 really quick: I started off the year recovering shoulder from a dislocation and an ongoing case of heartburn. So, I decided to cut down on my drinking to help with this. And what a perfect way to keep me focused than to sign up for the annual Auckland Round The Bays run which would mark this as the first time I have ever participated in my life. For the next 3 months, I had cut off the excessive binge sessions and focused on my health and fitness. This journey had me starting at 96kgs and soon dropped to 83kg. Within this time-frame I had given the all clear from my physiotherapist that my shoulder is 100% and even gave the all clear to make my return to basketball. With this mindset and momentum, I came into the run ready to execute and that is exactly what I did. I'm not really a long-distance runner but this set the stage for me to go for the ASB Auckland City Marathon in October. So, my first shout-out would be for the people who trained with me throughout the year and even picked up rock climbing with me. Thank you to those who put up with my constant nagging to come and sweat it out. A month after Round The Bays, I was part of a group show at Monterey Gallery for their first annual small works exhibiton: 40x40 Salon. This exhibition featured two of my paintings that I literally finished a couple days before I sent them in to hang. Regardless of the haste, the opening even was quite a big turnout and I even appeared on the local EASTLIFE Magazine. This experience inspired myself to jump back on the art scene and pursue finding a studio to make more new work. In result, Funny that... I'm typing this up from my new studio actually. I would like to give my next shout-out to Holly Davies and Anne Brewer for giving me the opportunity and the chance for West to meet East. Another month passes and I'm flying solo to Wellington. At this stage, a lot of people asked why I was going. I simply needed a break and wanted to gather some footage for a potential short film I am building towards. Along the way I sat next to make-up artist, Jemma Barclay, on the plane and we exchanged our views and experiences in the creative industry. During my time in Wellington, I was lucky enough to catch the LUX Light Festival that was on display that week and provided me with some sweet footage. I would also like to give a shout out Emily Bundy Sharp who I hadn’t seen in 10 years. Thank you for crushing on my Goku x Tony Jaa looks and glad to see Welly has been treating you pretty well. I would also like to give a shout-out to the late Chris Cornell who passed away just as I left Auckland. For this, I pay tribute via using his track Seasons in my compilation video… I felt this track was quite fitting at this time:
Continuing the momentum of giving recognition to people of fame… I want to give a blast and shout out to the talent that I had the honor of being in the presence of and have met. Firstly, witnessing Pixies live has been an ultimate dream since I first listened to their albums as a young man. I would have them playing in the background as I painted and now, standing front row, having them play in front of my very eyes was absolutely mesmerizing. Not long after this, I was front row for Wolfmother and was in eye level with Kehlani when she performed at ASB Showgrounds. Experiencing a Neil deGrasse Tyson show was literally mind-blowing and was tempted to read Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. I learnt a lot of things which I won’t be able to do justice and articulate the way he did but it really put a lot of things in perspective for me (thank you Danybellz for the hook ups). I would like to mention that I went to UFC Fight Night 110, which was my first ever live UFC even I’ve ever seen with Mark Hunt fighting Derrick Lewis which Hunt won via TKO in the fourth round. At that time, I was hanging around with Cain Velasquez and I didn’t even know it and I got to meet The Venezuelan Vixen, Julianna Peña, and met Tyson Pedro. Speaking of fighters, I’ve slowly got back into my childhood love for the WWE. Ever since watching Wrestlemania 32 the previous year, I was greatly impressed by the triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and my new favorite wrestler, Sasha Banks. I say this because I found out that she was doing a meet and greet in Auckland. I almost missed out as I didn’t find out until the day of but I still managed to be able to line up and meet her. I gave her a rose I had rolled up from a napkin and took a photo with her. She was well fit.
…Oh and I got super wasted and The Weeknd concert and was told off by security on numerous occasions. In November I made my triumphant return to the Gold Coast, braided my hair like Monica did in F.R.I.E.N.D.S and now have a year pass to Movieworld, Seaworld and Wet N’ Wild. This shout-out goes to my cousin Nic Nic, as we are in talks to creating a YouTube thing for you all and for the fun of it. Stay tuned... A lot happened in December and a lot of people to shout-out to close out 2017. First and foremost, Ursh you are dope and a blast to be around with. You were my perfect calm before the upcoming storm that was going to hit my shores and thanks for putting up with my “humor”. I’m excited for when we catch up again and, hopefully, you show me your turf next time round so we can say WOAAHHHHH in awe. Stay wonderful and see you soon. This “storm” I mention is not one of those “shit storms”. This was the road to my grandparents Golden Anniversary. That’s right…. 50th Wedding Anniversary which means that an entire chunk of my family (from all over the world) will be in the same city. So, for my next shout-out, I would like to give thanks to my family. After sharing countless stories with this massive bunch and seeing everyone happy in each other’s company, this really made the reunion feel extra special and made me super proud to be a part of this OHANA (oh I cried at the reception too). I would drop names for this plug, but I don’t think this entry would be big enough to fit the mafia size of this family. So there you have it. A brief-ish summary of my 2017. Stay tuned for more posts in 2018. Teaser plug: Return of the Soul Trips: Rarotonga and Japan… I see you; Studio x Collaborations; April Wedding in October ps. Shout out to Paola for being my golden ticket and for putting up with me and my dad jokes. Also, to TEDx for giving me the opportunity to say small talk to big crowd that one time. Thank you, Dave Chappelle, for fueling my will to keep it real and to Bill Burr for making it acceptable to have fucked up thoughts and for making it okay to get angry at things. Oh.... I'm blonde now.
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Christopher R. Pascualis an artist from Auckland, New Zealand who expresses the weird through writing, photographs, paintings and lifestyle. Archives
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