Phillip Retuta's Blog

The Life and Times of a Filipino-American

  • Blog Home
  • Main Site
  • Resume
  • Portfolio
  • Comic
  • Dog
  • Instagram
  • Contact

October 23, 2015 By Phillip Retuta

Pumpkin Carving.

2015-10-24-14.49.17

I had some friends over to carve pumpkins tonight: Scott and Ann Marie brought Sebastian, an old doggy playmate of Nico’s who’s gotten inexplicably plumper. Alex brought Michael, her fiancee who’s gotten explicably more cut. My old roommate Kris brought over himself, a flask, and the determination to turn up.

2015-10-23-23.30.21

2015-10-23-22.28.23-2

Afterwards, I coaxed all of them to be in a Nico video where she fights us and knocks all of us out cold:

A video posted by Nico Doggerton (@nicodoggerton) on Nov 4, 2015 at 10:30am PST

Filed Under: Art, Friends

October 11, 2015 By Phillip Retuta

Breakneck Ridge Hike.

2015-10-11-14.14.14Well, I went on a pretty impromptu trip upstate with my roommates Morgan and Brian, and our mutual friend Brett: we drove a few hours from Brooklyn to go hiking at Breakneck Ridge. I’ve never done a real hiking excursion before, and to be perfectly honest, it was refreshingly exhausting.
We climbed three of the major hills/mountains the Hudson Highlands region of New York has to offer, and I never imagined I had the physical endurance to spend 3+ hours climbing rocks and traversing the rocky ledges without any appropriate gear or experience. By the end of it, I was physically tired and dripping with sweat, but the views, the exercise, and the adventure with three of my closest friends was well worth it. I just didn’t expect that my sedentary and otherwise unhealthy lifestyle allowed my body to even undertake such a physical feat; I guessed I’d collapse of a heart attack while scaling at least the first half of the first ridge.

Afterwards, we drove back home and stopped by Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow for a well-deserved Bubble Tea at a Chinese takeout restaurant — which, by my guess, would be the only “ethnic” restaurant in all of Westchester. When we arrived back in Brooklyn, we ordered a shit-ton of Indian food and played Mario Kart 64 for the remainder of the night. Calves burned from the hike and my mouth was set ablaze as I ate Lamb Vindaloo, and I gladly watched Brett beat all of us on Toad’s Turnpike. In summation, it was a great weekend.

Filed Under: Friends, Photography, Travel

September 5, 2015 By Phillip Retuta

Happy Birthday, Gino.

2015-09-04-20.41.01For my good friend Gino’s birthday, his girlfriend Monica and I decided to cover their entire apartment with those glow-in-the-dark stars we’ve all had as kids. Gino himself is sort of a space/astronaut enthusiast, so it was only fitting that he’d have a space-themed party — coupled with a black light, Gino-centric trivia, and pin the shitty tattoo on Gino’s back.

We even got him a NASA costume helmet for him to wear and played only space-themed music on Spotify (think David Bowie and Spiritualized’s “Ladies and Gentlemen, We’re Floating In Space”).

2015-09-12-18.37.52

Filed Under: Friends

June 12, 2015 By Phillip Retuta

Las Vegas.

2015-04-26-08.27.39

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on my blog. I can give out a shit ton of excuses as to why, with the common justifications being work, other projects, and a social life (all true), but down to the root of the matter, I’ve just been too lazy to write.

So here I am, ready to spill whatever interesting and intimate moments I’ve had in the past month and a half. However, seeing that no one has been knocking on my door or bombarding my email inbox to update, I’ll bide my time to churn out these posts of my recent trips and experiences.

First off, as I had mentioned a while back, I went to Las Vegas for my birthday. Initially it was supposed to be a few of my friends who would accompany me to celebrate my 32nd birthday, but it ended up just being Brett. All in all, it was a good trip: I racked up some mileage points and spent some time with a good friend who I have this weird, “I love you, dude” and “You’re the worst person” relationship with. I did gamble a lot, and I learned how to play roulette. I shot a machine gun. I got some drunk chick’s number. I ate way too much at the buffets, and even when I said, “Fuck this, no more buffets, I’m having a single meal,” the portions were massive and indulgent. My aunt and uncle treated me to the buffet at The Bellagio. I got my 7th tattoo of the number 7 on my birthday-birthday. I even met up with my old classmate Neha, and we caught up with each other’s lives and the lives of our mutual friends in graduate school.

By the end of it all, I left Las Vegas $300 richer — which was great, considering the last time I visited Vegas, I was 19 and could not legally gamble or drink. During my last night alone and walking along The Strip with an open container, I won about $100 on roulette. And as I boarded the plane back to NYC with cash in hand and no hangover, I felt accomplished in the sense that I had self-control in a city of utter temptation.

Now for some pointers if you’re ever going to Las Vegas:

  • Know when you’re ahead and when you’re at a loss; it’s best to gamble with that aforementioned self-control, and if you take a break after losing $20 at a game and later resume, you’ll find yourself at a profit.
  • There’s more the Nevada than Vegas. On my second day, I hiked along the Valley of Fire mountain trails. It was fucking beautiful.
  • If you’re a smoker like me, Vegas is a goddamn paradise. You can puff away at a cigarette, and literally into a crowd of people without being self-conscious.
  • Shooting a gun is scary and unnerving at first, but 15 minutes after firing all your rounds, you get that sense of power that compensates over whatever emotional weaknesses and insecurities you have. No wonder the NRA push for carrying weapons around.
  • If you ask for a salad, you get the entire goddamn salad bar.
  • Old Vegas (aka The Freemont Experience) is full of drunk douchebags. The Strip is full of drunker, douchier douchebags. I liked the Freemont area, just because everything was more accessible.
  • People anywhere outside of New York City are, in fact, nicer and more polite. This includes Vegas.
  • If you have an important work meeting in another coast, be sure to Skype in poolside to leave your coworkers extremely jealous.
  • The airports have slot machines, but god-knows-where you can redeem your winnings.
  • After 1 or 2 days in Vegas, it’s about time to leave. I stayed for 4 days, and it was 3 days too long.

And here are some pictures:

Filed Under: Friends, Travel

April 23, 2015 By Phillip Retuta

Blogging At The Bearded Lady.

I’ve been sitting, alone, at my favorite bar in Brooklyn, nursing a top-shelf whiskey and watching the ice cubes melt into the alcohol. And I’m blogging. On my phone.

It’s been two hours — two hours I don’t necessarily regret being by myself and talking to my bartenders, but on a superficial onset it might seem a little depressing. However, I take full responsibility for where I am and the lackthereof company I’m currently keeping.

I’m waiting for any number of friends to show up for a small birthday celebrstion, and it’s given me time to think. For instance, what if I wrote a bunch of Emojis here? Would they look differently on mobile versus desktop? Let’s find out:

‍‍✊✖️✊

In all seriousness, though, what’s been most pressing on my mind is the relationship I have with any given friend. I’m leaving for Vegas tomorrow, and I just received news that one of my good friends decided not to come the day before we fly. As a result, it’s just me and Brett Harmon (I predicted that my other friends would not come for some reason or another, despite their initial enthusiasm, and a huge part of me — the self-depracative part — is relishing in the fact that I was right).

No, I’m not questioning whether or not I’m a good friend or a good person in general (side note: I am). I’m questioning whether or not any relationship I have would do the same things I do for them. I think my expectations of my friends and family and those close to me are high, and I’m looking for such reciprocation. But here I am, by myself and going on a trip with just one friend. As a result I need to lower these expectations of people. I need to stop acting so selfless and expect the same kind of kindness in return. It’s bordering on narcissism, and it’s totally the behavior of a co-dependent person; I don’t want to be that.

So here’s a birthday wish for my 32nd year of life: I wish to stop caring so much. I wish to stop putting the effort into making other people happy. Let them live their own lives, and I’ll do the same: enjoying a Four Roses at the end of the bar, writing and thinking.

Filed Under: Friends, Ramblings

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Next Page »

    Welcome


Born 1983. UX/UI and Digital Designer. Illustrator. Dog Owner. Coffee Enthusiast. Pizza Lover.

I love over-thinking the simplest of things and making stuff at every waking moment: comics, food, videos, photos... you name it. This blog is a record of my work, my exploits, and my philosophical, political, and psychological ideologies. So enjoy reading my dumb ideas and inane rants that I'd otherwise be ashamed to verbally speak out in public.

    Find Me Elsewhere

GhostPotato
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Vimeo
Flickr
Tumblr

Twitter Twitter

  • Phillip N. Retuta#365 2021.01.24: Have Dog, Will Travel. https://t.co/ns4aJIYl7d, 19 hours ago
  • Phillip N. Retuta#365 2021.01.23: Last Day of Dog Training/Meeting Up with a Co-Worker at Fort Greene Park. https://t.co/y2sVYKkeox, Jan 24 21
  • Phillip N. Retuta#365 2021.01.22: Listening to Records (and Sometimes Dancing) By Myself On Friday Night. https://t.co/906QXa1R9z, Jan 23 21
  • Phillip N. Retutahttps://t.co/PZjdKAIjEf, Jan 22 21
  • Phillip N. Retuta#365 2021.01.21: Doughble Trouble. https://t.co/ci5Q0sd5RW, Jan 22 21

Recent Posts

  • Thoughts on Dying, Death, and the Leftovers.
  • To Be Vaccine and Heard.
  • Nico Calendar 2021.
  • You Were The Best, Marissa Snoddy.
  • Ugly Americans: All Your Base Belongs to Suck.
  • Thoughts on 2020 and New Years Resolutions.
  • Ghosts, Gangsters, Vampires, and Weed: Favorite TV Shows of 2020.
  • Fingers Crossed.
  • My Year in Lists: My Favorite Albums of 2020.
  • Merry Christmas.

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • May 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015

Categories

Copyright Phillip Retuta © 2021 · Log in