Reflections of 2009, and hopes for 2010

So 2009 is almost over, and what a year it has been for me. I have previously talked through my highlights for this year, and I just wanted to reflect on the things that have happened over the last 12 months.

In the space of 365 days I have split from three partners, travelled across the USA, left my permanent job in chase of my dreams, realised that creativity is the corner stone of my left, met new wonderful friends, and generally learned a lot about who I am. In that time I have grown as a person, and come to realise that actually the things that hold value are not the possessions with own or the clothes we wear, but the inner self and the people you surround yourself with. Profound, or not, it has allowed me to see more clearly what I need to do, and that is fully round out my creative passions.

So what for 2010? The first thing is make sure the bills are paid and I get to eat, basic needs, then it is to make Random Acts a true nexus of creativity. I honestly believe that I have to put aside the idea that I can make a living as a professional in the short term, only because it is eating me up the idea that I have to let go of the giving spirit within me. Too soft, maybe, but actually it boils down to the fact that I value the spirit of who I am over other concern.

To answer anyone who knows me, yes I will make a success of getting paid in due course, but this will only come if I am able to give these gifts I have freely, without the fetters of business. I know that it is possible, but until I can commit my heart and soul to the endeavour I just want to enjoy my gifts with others. I love too many passions to ever loose this creative spark, and maybe that is the reason I have struggled for so long to find my place in the world. Now that I have found a small part of it 2010 is going to be epic for me.

To all my friends and family I raise my glass to you, and to all of you who follow me I salute your dedication to me. Here is to 2010, the year we rock this world.

Rachel

New site layout part 2

Hi guys,

As you will have undoubtedly realised I have updated the podcast to reflect a more intergrated look for all the Random Acts sites. O Red, the blog, the home page, and the webzine will now have the same styling, though each will continue to have its own feel.

I intend to use the blog a lot more in 2010 as way of connecting with you, and along with Twitter and Face Book Random Acts is going to have a far bigger web presence in the coming year.

In the mean time I am going to drop the NYE 2009 mix on Thursday evening, so I will post the track list on here and the podcast once it is up.

Rachel

So what is it about creativity that makes me tick?

I pondering this the other day, and I realised that the little dynamo within me that like to whir and spit out all sort of funkiness is the central hub of my life. Weird to say, but all the really cool things about me stem from this creative spark deep down inside.

Indeed, all the wonderful things that flow from me are a result of my inner need to express this side of me, from the gregarious exhubrance of my personality to the fact that I rarely finish anything (which is due to the next super cool thing in my head). All the fab art, photography, writing, and musings that I have produced over the last few years stem from this, and this is why I really want to focus on the creativity and unlock my potential.

So why share this with you? Well part of this spark all wants to inspire people to be creative, to share my gifts and talents with others, and to be honest I really enjoy giving my gifts away to those who need them, hence why I started Random Acts.

Rachel

Overview of 2009

2009 has been a wonderful year for me, both personally and artistically. Though things right this second are up in the air I feel as if this year has been both productive and a major learning curve for me. There are many things which I am proud of, and here is a selection of the high lights for me:

- Firmly establishing Random Acts, and building on the roots we put down in 2008.

- Realising what I want to do with my life, which is to be a creative bunny.

- Meeting so many wonderful people, many of whom I am proud to have kept in contact with.

- Doing new and fab photography. Indeed, 2009 has been the year in which I learnt a fantabulous new skill, and found myself enjoying a new strand on creativity.

- Getting a third of my novel written, and the impetus to get the rest done.

- Realising that Jo is a warm and wonderful person, and I am honoured to call her my best friend.

- Knowing that no matter how bleak life looks, if you keep your chin up then you will find a way through.

- Finding Confident Ladies, and realising that there are like minded people out there.

- Finally, and probably most importantly, getting a huge kick up the arse by the people that matter to me, which has shown me what I need to do.

Random Acts will grow and develop in 2010, and I am sure that by this time next year I will have plenty more things to cheer about. In the mean time I want to say a big thank you to all the people who have given their time, energy, and effort for me, and I hope that in return I have given them something to be proud of as well.

I raise my glass to you all, and say a toast of heartfelt thanks.

Rachel

Christmas 2009

So, this is Christmas day, or 2 hours 1 minute left of it.

I've had a good day, though being newly minted single person does weigh heavy on my heart. Not for me the festive fun, present opening, or large meal. Rather the solitary pleasures of World of Warcraft, and my friends online. Thank you everyone for the last couple of days, it has really meant a lot to me, and with Fi away for the next few days it will give me the peace of mind to think through the New Year.

2010 could be an absolute disaster, or, as I intend, it will build on the confidence I got in 2009, and come this time next year I will have found my unicorn. In many ways I have lost so much this year, yet I feel as if life is right there for the plucking. The tears I shed have cleared to reveal a wonderful life that is rich in is variance, and as I listen to the CD David got me I know in my heart that I will survive the turmoil besetting me at the moment.

So, deep breath, smile on my lips, and a heart laugh in my throat. Let them throw their worst at me, and then I will rise from my knees to roar my defiance into the wind. Love, life, and all things creative - that is my future. Let 2010 be the year I stamp my creativity on the world, and let me be humble enough to know when to ask for help.

Thank you all for being a blessing to me,

Rachel

New site layout

Hi guys,

we are in the process of redesigning the website to meet the needs of the business come the new year. There may be some slight disruption over the next week, but fingers crossed there won't be too many issues.

Rachel

Inspiration, and all the fabulous people

Hi guys,

it has been a while, and I wish I had had the time to post sooner, but the past month has been a blur. Already we are into the 3rd theme of the webzine, and it is a fantastic feeling knowing that we are building upon solid foundations. We have so many fabulous people involved with Inspiration, and it humbles me to realise just want amazing potential we have as a group.

My intentions are to launch the Beta version of the webzine in January, and for the next 10 weeks to play around with the style and feel of the site. We have lots of fantabulous ideas coming up, along with oodles of photographic goodies for you to enjoy.

In the mean time I hope you are all enjoying life,

Rachel

Manchester Pride

Well what a fantastic weekend!

Honestly, it was the best Pride I have been to by a country mile, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself over the three days I was in Manchester. The fact I was not ill helped, but even so big gold stars to the Pride organisers.

I also want to give gold stars to Kat for all the help she gave me over the weekend, and you will be seeing a lot of her work featured once Inspiration launches. On that note I am pleased to advise that the webzine should be launched the weekend of the 23rd September, though as I will let you know by the end of this week exactly what is happening re the launch date.

I am also pleased to advise that I have two further fashion shoots to process, so they will be up by Friday.

Rachel

Amy, Max, and the mobile

Okay, so the last one was not an essential part of this weekend's shoot, but hey, a girl does have to check her F1 religiously. I am an F1 freak and have missed most of this season's races due to RA commitments, so while I was shooting a wonderful model I was busily checking the BBC website on my phone during the make-up breaks. Hey, and Brawn won, so all is good.

The shoot went really well, and all I can say is that everyone involved deserves gold stars for their work. Both Amy and Max were a dream, and I am pleased to say that everything went off without a hitch.

As a side note I am pleased to announce that Max has accepted my offer of becoming the third ad hoc member of the RA family, so I will be shortly posting her profile on the team section. I have worked with her on four shoots now, and honestly can say hand on heart she is a wonder make-up artist, who is a worthy addition to our small, but growing, family.

Rachel

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let everyone that we are going to be working on the site over the weekend, and we have two shoots to post. One with Jaymie, and the other will be a 50's retro shoot.

Rachel

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Ironing out a few wrinkles

Hi guys,

I have ironed out a few wrinkles in the site, so the photography section should work a lot better now.

Cheers,

Rachel

Inspiration info 1

Hi guys,

just to give you a sneak peak at the cutting edge of Random Acts. We are in the process of putting together a new ezine called Inspiration, which will be ready with the Alpha site in the next two weeks. The idea is to fulfil our charter in new and interesting ways, and this is the perfect way of kick starting our grand plans.

There are also five photo shoots on the horizon, and the first of these should be this weekend.

Stay well,

Rachel

O Red week 111 - Star Punked

Mix link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/rejs71/2009-08-14-12-54-20.mp3

Hi guys,

this week's mix is a very cool and relaxed electro, trance, and deep house mix, with a dash of funked punk thrown in for good measure. As you will probably notice from the O Red home page - http://rejs71.libsyn.com - we are currently re branding O Red to fit in with the Random Acts family, and as this process continues you will notice a lot more changes taking place, including a planned relaunch of O Red in October 2009.

One of the immediate things you will notice is that the length of the podcast will remain a constant of around 90 minutes, unless it is the New Years of anniversary mix. This means we can keep the mixes tight, and give you all an idea of what to expect from the podcast.

Another change that will become apparent over the next few weeks is the visual rebranding of O Red, which we intend to complete in the near future. This includes a weekly podcast id image, which will start from week 112, as well as new logos etc.

Finally, and this is probably the biggest change, is that we are going back to our ethos of promoting new artists, music, and DJ's. As many of you who have been with us for the last three years know we began as a podcast with a drive to get the new and innovative out there, and somewhere along the line that changed. Not for the worse, but things changed. Now it is time to get back to those roots, and as part of the Random Acts family our ethos will shift back to the new and fresh. Ultimately we want the podcast to continue as a source of great music, and at no point will we compromise that.

Hope you enjoy the mix, Rachel

Track list:

Something Wrong by Chicane E Keli by Einmusik Superstylin by Groove Armada Restless by Evil Nine Wide Open Space (Perfecto Mix) by Mansun Evacuate The Dancefloor (cahill remix) by Cascada Please Don't Go (Chris Reece Radio Cut) by Dobenbeck feat. Joanna Evangelia by Tritonal Just Browsing by Michael Dow Life Theory by Michael Mystica Vergatron by Heatbeat So High (Martin Roth Remix) by Starchaser feat. Lo-Fi Sugar Different Feeling by Simon Patterson Sirens Of The Sea (Cosmic Gate Remix) by Oceanlab Going Wrong (with Dj Shah feat. Chris Jones) by Armin van Buuren Someday [Kenny Hayes Remix] by Rezonance Q Subraumstimulation by Oliver Lieb Sun [Ambassador Remix] Bourning Bright by Matias Lehtola Feat. Gina J Turn Back Time (Original Mix) by Dj Shah Ft. Jane Kumada

London, my muse

So once again I return with bounty from the fair city that is London town, and I have to say I had an absolute blast. Fun filled frolics all the way. A special thanks must go to all the models I worked with, and I had an absolute blast with you guys.

I will post all the pics in the next few days, so do please go to the model's gallery to check out the images.

Hugs,

Rachel.

P.S.

Only 2 weeks till I am in the USA :)

Models doing a no show

Just to re-itterate our previous policy from Model Mayhem - if a model does a no show without giving us an hours notice then we will never work with that model again, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

This is at our discesion, but so far we have had five models do this to us, and in light of this if you book a shoot with us (especially a TFI one) then you will not get a second chance.

Sorry for being harsh, but that is the way things are.

Rachel

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So what is the future?

Well this is an interesting subject, and will hopefully be laid out by the end of June once I have come back from America. For the short term Random Acts will continue as a photography/digital arts collective, and as we expand to add new elements we will outline these details. At the moment the following are confirmed:

1) More angel and fashion shoots - these will continue as long as people are interested in working with us.

2) Rachel's trip to America - this is a 5 stop 14 days whistle stop tour of the states which will take place between 30.05.09 and 14.06.09. I will outline more details in the next few weeks.

3) Steam punk shoots - these are an ad hoc series which we are using to connect with student designers to help build their portfolios.

4) Heroes and Legends - this is the major project which will result in our first gallery exhibition, and over the next couple of months we will detail what this project entails.

In the mean time if you have any suggestions please leave a comment or email me.

Hugs,

Rachel

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So onto the alpha...

So what does this whole site mean as far as the Random Acts story mean? Well this is the first stage in building the Alpa site for the Hub (more details to follow over the next few months), and also in our aspirations to go pro with the photography and creative design.

Ultimately we want to spend our working lives on Random Acts, and as we develop as photographers and artists we move closer to this goal. Both myself and Joanne are dedicated to making this project a succes, and as will become apparent over the next few months we intend to work our asses off to make it work :)

Hoep you're all having a good weekend,

Rachel

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Welcome to Random Acts 2.0

Hi guys,

Welcome to the first of hopefully many postings on our new blog. With the start of the new website our aim is to make Random Acts a joy to visit, with new content being uploaded each week.

If you have any queries please contact Rachel at rachel@rejs7.com and we will do our best to answer your questions.

Hope you all have a great easter weekend,

Rachel