A Magician's Journal: July 2nd - "Rain"

[Luis Vega]

Before Anything
I really enjoy sharing my stories and mostly my life in this forums...however it´s kinda frustating to spend a lot of time writing this and not getting more than a couple of replies...

I only ask you to comment and give me your opinion and for those who has voiced their opinion...thank you very much...so read and comment!!...now...enjoy!!!

"Rain"
By Luis Vega
Journal Of July 2nd


4:00 pm
My house...

So it´s official...I am an architect...I just got my degree in paper...and I feel this is the ending of an age...

"wow I guess this means you are going to work more in the firm right?" my brother asks me
"I guess so, I really like being an architect"
"what about the magic? are you going to stop performing?"
"never..."

this is great day, but I feel it´s time to think about what I want to do with my life, since I have 24 years and I have finished my career and I have a good job, I suppose at this time I am expected to work some years, get married, have children and live my life like an average joe...

I don´t think so...

I know a lot of my friends that are doing exactly that, friends that had hopes and dreams and now they seem to have forgotten them and just live their normal lifes...it´s kind of sad....

"the moment you stop dreaming...is the moment when your mind gets old" a say of mine...

I feel young, and I want to continue living my dreams...

9:00 pm
my house...my room in front of my computer.

While I post in some magic forums I keep thinking about my life, what have I done and what I want to do, I guess it´s difficult to decide right now..I am gonna have to think about that later...

I just think on other more pleasant thing..Marcela..
"Girl...you got me crazy, I really don´t know what I like more...your eyes or the perfect way you talk" I think while smiling

I should be getting my repertoire and clothes ready and getting a shower, but I think I should take this day off, since I don´t feel completely recovered from the Pharyngitis that hit me last week...

11:00

Ok, it´s oficially late...I debate myself if I should go perform in the Plaza Campestre or stay here like a mushroom...


suddenly my little brother appears in my door
"hey brotha!!! see ya later, I am going to a party"
"ok, have a good one"
"aren´t you going to do some magic tonight?"
"I don´t think so, I don´t want to get sick again, besides it´s raining"
"well, you have your long coat, also you could get some money"

I re-think that...my general rule about buying magic...magic should pay magic, and there are some things I would like to get for this summer.

I get hit by a sudden energy surge in my body and get a quick shower and I dress really quick, I check my repertoire and I am ready to try "Coin Thru Sugar Packet" I remember stealing all those sugar packets in the local coffe shop and just buying a little cup of 5 oz...they should be worth it tonight...

I get in the car and leave, not without saying bye to my dad...

 

[Luis Vega]

11:45
Plaza Campestre


It´s hard to get a parking spot here and It´s also my fault since I am late, then I see a girl leaving and I take her spot...

first I want to say hello to Luca, so I just go to his restaurant...he is not there, sad, well I´ll just go to the other one.

I go to Ana Maria´s place and I find the place full, it´s kind of strange since I feel this restaurant it´s not for everybody and only certain kind of people comes here, it´s good to see all this people anyway. since there´s a lot of people gathered in a very small place I think that the best way to show everybody magic is do a stand-up show, so I take some minutes to prepare it with the things I have, and in some minutes I have prepared:

+One Coin Routine
+sinful
+torn and restored card
+sure? and Dissolution
+Liquid Metal

I think it will be hard to link them, so I start telling them a story about how I learned magic and the different steps I had to take, first I learned some easy magic with everyday objects (One Coin Routine) then used the same principles to do more complex things (Sinful) after that I discovered the great world of card magic (Torn and restored card) and then I started to develop my own material (Sure? and Dissolution).

by this moment everyone is having a great time, I realized that in the first moves of my One coin routine somebody already knew about the french drop, well it doesn´t matter, it´s not like that move is a great secret but I did feel unconfortable about him burning my hands, anyway he is fooled with sinful. then the last trick Liquid Metal...I explain that the last stage on the art of magic is mind over matter and how magicians can sometimes alter matter with just willpower and the I proceed to do the routine, as I go though all the steps I see that it´s great to see their eyes and how they feel they are seing something impossible...and that´s the feeling of why I can´t never stop doing magic.

the show ends and I get a lot of tips around 20 bucks, not bad to start the night, anyway it´s late and I have to visit some more restaurants to get the night done, I think as I say goodbye and leave to El Mural,I enter and I see some changes,as I am greeted by the owner
"hey Luis how are you doing? you like the changes?"
"yes I do like them, so are making more changes or just this ones?"
"no, I am expecting to do some more...so are you here to do some magic?"
"yes...as usual"
"well, as usual you can do as you please and if you are thirsty, the orange drinks it´s on the house for you" he says as I think it´s some of the things I have gained doing magic here and there, I think this as one of the rewards of magic and being a nice guy, I have always follow my credo "I treat the others as I would like them to treat me".

I attend some tables and hand some bussiness cards, I remember myself that I need to change some things about my repertoire, my main goal is to do table-hopping with a set that doesn´t include cards, man!! I need that book that D ICE R told me to buy, I feel it could be the next step into advancing myself to the next step.

I end with this restaurant, and I say bye to the staff and the owner and leave


1:15

Shannon´s Irish Pub


"how are you magician? do you have new tricks on you tonight?" the staff greets me
"well, actually I have a new one" I half lie, since I haven´t create or get a new trick in some months, that doesn´t mean I can´t show them something they haven´t seen before
"here I want you to take this piece of paper and..." I say while I perform stigmata with one of my bussiness cards, it´s a great trick and I feel it hit great, but I made one mistake but I will call it an acceptable lost...I had an spectator behind me at the middle of the trick and he saw what I was doing...this would be a great topic to discuss on the forums, but right now he saw the **** but he didn´t see the other part of the trick, I think that when an spectator sees a part of the trick, the whole trick is ruined, but this time I didn´t have a choice, since he step behind me in the middle of the trick...

I go upstairs to the mezzanine and I see everybody on their bussiness and I stand there just watching, I don´t want to interrupt anybody on their conversation, in my experience I have learned it´s not good, so I do the first thing that comes to my mind...I start flourishing and manipulating cards.

Usually when I flourish it´s like the whole world stops existing for me and is just me, my hands, and my cards, so I start flourshing doing some cuts, aerial moves, sybils, one handed cuts and some fans, it all goes great and then one card falls to the floor

"man, I was doing it so great" I think while I stop and pick up the card, suddenly I realize that there is some silence in the place and I see all the people in the mezzanine staring at me with that look of amaze in their eyes

"ok...how this happened?" I think while I look to everybody and they look back at me expecting to see more, so I flourish a little more pretending to not care about the newly found audience and then I execute a backpalm and then everybody reacts to it, so I decide to do another stand-up show, but this time is different since I wasn´t invited to do one and I don´t think I can be tipped, but I think this could help to my reputation and the light conditions are correct to use the loop in my hand, and this time I don´t have time to setup so I start with Sure? and then with an ACR and finish my card routine with Dissolution (my card to wallet) and everybody applaudes, I feel this is more like busking that actually doing table-hopping, anyway I proceed to do a bill switch with a TT and then I finish with Daniel Garcia´s Life and everybody is cheering and applauding

then some people stand-up from their tables and comes to shake hands and they tip me very well, I think that when you do a great show, the hat line is not neccesary sometimes to get tips.

I say goodbye to everybody and just go and say hello to my friend Abby and she introduces me to her friend, and I must admit she is very attractive and also it´s kind of distracting since obviously she likes to dress light. I say hello very politely

"so, Abby here tells me that you are a great magician, is that true?"
"well I don´t know, what did she told you?"
"that you move the cards like nobody bussiness and make some things move by themselves and that you appear roses from fire...I would love to see that one"
"actually some tricks are more suited for a less caothic environment, but I can show you some things here" I say while I take out my deck and let her pick a card

while she is seeing the card, I keep thinking:

what do you do when someone wants to see a trick that you don´t have at the moment?
how do you respond when somebody ask you if you are a great magician without sounding pretentious?
why the hell is she wearing that?!! is distracting and it´s raining outside!!

I try to respond this questions while performing for Abby and her friend, and everything goes well and I say goodbye and I planned to go to another bar but I realize it´s raining outside and decide to leave for the night...

 

[SleightedMind]

Nice one... You makes me want to learn Liquid Metal
Why don't you blog those entries though ?

 

[Jacob]

I love reading these journals! Great job

 

[praetoritevong]

In life, as in magic - aim high my friend, and don't settle.

 

[Luis Vega]

In life, as in magic - aim high my friend, and don't settle.

thanks!!!

next journal it`s about that...I hope you can read it and tell me what you think...

 

[Nino]

Once again great post Luis. Always like to read your journal almost makes me want to write a journal....

 

[saborfang17]

I say goodbye to everybody and just go and say hello to my friend Abby and she introduces me to her friend, and I must admit she is very attractive and also it´s kind of distracting since obviously she likes to dress light. I say hello very politely

(Insert awkward face here)

 

[JD]

I really enjoy reading these man. Good job Luis