2013 - A Year in Review - Closing the Gap on the Future

So... how did it all start? That is a good question! Let me see if I can remember!

Not a whole lot happened in the early parts of the year. We had a mediocre, but fun, basketball season with a 50% winning percentage. I started getting a little more into disc golf once the cold of the winter started to take a break. School was pretty normal, nothing fancy or unusual, which basically kept things moving forward in life, as expected.

On a sad note, the world lost a most exceptional person, and friend, to cancer in mid-February. It's always tough to lose a friend. Always tougher when that friend is still so young.

R.I.P. - Nicole Divis

I made my first trip to the N.A.B. conference in Las Vegas in April and wow was that fun! It is the premiere event in the United States, that revolves around the film/video industry technical side of things, and it was quite an eye-opening experience! I look forward to going again next year.

The summer came and went pretty quickly. I got to do a little hiking with some friends but would have liked to do more. The Y.S.A. conference was quite a kick since my band Bes got to play at the main Friday night event to an audience of roughly 600-700 people! It was also cool to meet a lot of new people throughout the weekend as well. Work at UPS was pretty easy made possible by the nice weather and early sunrise. Disc golf also benefitted from the great weather and I definitely played more of that this year than last year. Not sure how much I improved but it was cool to bring a few new friends along on a few rounds too.

I took my first(and thankfully my last) online course at school this summer. Flippin' snot-rockets that was an annoying experience! I am sure online classes are great for some people, and for certain classes, but they are pretty much totally not for me! It felt like pure punishment the entire term. Ha.

I also moved back in with my parents this summer in order to make the last few terms at school much easier to deal with. They are kind enough to keep my rent low which makes it so much easier to get the important things done at school and otherwise.

Rolling into the fall, I took on a second job working at the Dairy Bar at the Washington State Fair. It was my first time ever taking a job at the Fair and what a great time it was! I worked a bazillion hours which a bunch of cool people and made a bunch of money in the process! Plus, now I feel like a swirl cone crafting master! Swoooosh!(<-- that's the sound of making an awesome cone, by the way)

I was lucky enough to get some side work doing audio capture on a small video production, which has been great experience. Halloween was fun as usual, along with Movember and Thanksgiving when that rolled around, which led into this year's crazy "peak" season at UPS("Black Friday" on through Christmas.) When I say crazy, I mean like twice as busy as last year's "peak" season... maybe almost literally. I worked about 25 EXTRA hours a week leading up to Christmas... awesome overtime hours but definitely a drain on the soul. Ha.

At the beginning of November my benefits kicked in at work so that was pretty awesome too! I went to see a doctor for the first time in almost 20 years and it turns out I have a pretty clean bill of health. I also got some dental work done and did some physical therapy for a few various lingering back, shoulder and knee issues. And I've hardly had to pay a thing for any of it! Man, I love's me some benefits!

Christmas was very quiet since my parents went to Utah to visit with my sister and her family. I look forward to the new year as one with many big life changes ahead! I am so thankful to everyone who has supported and encouraged me! I am nothing without all of you in my life and I hope y'all have as great a new year as I plan on having!

Soundcheckin'.

It feels like we are slightly more of a band when we have the opportunity to do an actual soundcheck at a place we will be playing the next day. It isn't some sort of paying gig with high repute or anything but it still has that elevated feeling of importance attached to it anyway. It makes me want to practice my instrument more so I can be more worth the effort... to both my band and the audience!

It is the end of a major life chapter... I am no longer a "young" single adult.

Though, to be honest, I probably have not been considered "young" for several years at least. I know that I AM young, as most of a person's age is really just in the head, but technical details can have real effects on one's life nonetheless. In any case, I must move on... I must move forward. It feels like there is something there in the future but to be honest I really don't get a sense of what it might be. I walk where few people in my circle of life have walked before. I am in a VERY small minority in so many ways.

Yankin' the teeth out.

Today was pretty much consumed by my experience at the dentist this morning. I did a few other things outside of that but, due to the intensity of the experience, little else seems to bubble up when I think about the day. The pain level was somewhat high but nothing unbearable. The people performing the operation where ever so excellent. He really had to yank on my head to get the poor little guy(s) out since the one he wanted was fused to one of my wisdom teeth. It was admittedly a scary feeling on those occasions when I could feel the force pulling the strength of my neck the opposite direction.

The greatest pain afterward pretty much only lasted a few hours. Then the pain medication actually seemed to work and, besides making me fairly dizzy, has kept me feeling well enough to enjoy the peace of the evening with my folks.

The exposed life of Walter Mitty.

I walked into this experience with somewhat high expectations. It looked to have a decent level of ambitious storytelling, both visual and otherwise, and had a fairly blank slate at the same time, as far as my foreknowledge of the short story or its early movie rendition. I was basically starting off with a somewhat anxious and positive perspective as a viewer.

This movie does well in every cinematic element I am critical about. I enjoyed the contextual use of typography, in both the opening sequence as well as sprinkled throughout the movie. I really enjoyed the cinematography and locations(makes me wanna visit Iceland and Greenland even more than I already wanted to.) The music was rad - good orchestration that often utilized more rock/folk kinds of music from time to time, which highlighted one of my favorites - Jose Gonzales. The humor/drama was blended nicely and well done on both accounts. The special effects were good enough to never be distracting at all... which is a big accomplishment in itself under my watchful editing inclinations.

In my curiosity about how it rated critically, I did some digging around on a couple major review sites and came to a couple realizations. 1. This movie seemed to be curiously disconnected from the critics as it mostly fell somewhat flat in the general critical review. 2. Reading their specific reactions led me to realize that critics are often quite disconnected from the general publics response to any given movie considering how much better it was received by the non-paid critical review, which was quite a bit more positive. The idea that critics are likely very good at evaluating the artistic and/or technical merits of a film does not necessarily help them understand what will connect with the audience at large. They essentially lack the more human sensibility of how to review a film, broadly speaking. I hope, as I continue to review films in the future, that I do not slide into this category of reviewer myself(assuming I have not done so already.) I write these with the hope that they will mean something to the normal people I associate with more than the possibility of critical conversation among the critically elite.

Anyway, I really like the movie a lot. A solid 8.5 to 9 Benjamin Buttons out of 10.

One more fog day for good measure.

Well, we almost got back to normal today... if the fog didn't roll in and wipe that notion out like Windex on a dirty window. No worries, though... the paycheck will make it all better. Ha.

Inside the merry Christmas.

I really enjoyed letting the cares of my working life take a rest today. Sleeping in and getting to things at a casual pace is really quite the pleasing thing to do in the middle of the week. I have a yearly update due over the next couple or so days but I don't mind putting it off a little... higher quality is more important than just getting it done.

Solitary holiday.

It seems like it could be a bit on the sad side of things but I actually appreciate having nobody around for a little while. It might kind of beckon back to my past desires of becoming a hermit... as if the hermit-status was something to aspire to. Ha. Anyway, the quite and slow pace of solitude can be quite a blessing if it is appreciated properly.

Dizzy daze.

I suppose when you work something like a  bazillion hours in a very short span of time your senses tend to take a bit of a beating. The mental faculties certainly find a new form of functioning as well... and generally not in a way one would consider beneficial under most circumstances. Though, it can make things kinda fun sometimes, too. Ha.

Like something straight out of a black comedy.

I was literally talking on the phone, to the person I was asked by to watch his bird while he is away, when I discovered that his bird had died and was lying on the ground of the cage on it's back... with it's eyes and mouth slightly open. So sad and equally so crazy! I nearly laugh at the very unrealistic seeming nature of the whole event. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. Ha.

Snowin' all over the place.

Even though it was cold, and certainly inconvenient, I quite enjoyed the snow we experienced at work today. It really made for a different kind of experience and I think the oddity of it was as much fun as it was challenging. Not something I could ever really expect to happen again, since each snow day I might experience in the future will certainly be organized differently, but I look forward to the next one anyway.

Holiday paychecks should be nice.

Especially after such consistently long shifts, regularly rolling into overtime hours, and generally squeezing a pretty high dose of my energy right out of me. It makes for a fantastic nap afterward, though, so that's another one of the benefits, I suppose. Now I just need to make sure I survive the commute there and back tomorrow!

Creativity in conductivity.

Some people mix so well with my creative wave length that my brain gets all buzzy and excited after even hanging out with them... it is an inspiring event that I look forward to running on for a while. Awesome!

I have the time.

I just need to make better use of it. I have a lot of ideas and things to be doing so I certainly don't have time to be bored. That is a pretty rare thing for me anyway. Time is one of the most valuable resources we find in life!

Bundles of things to do.

Today felt a little like an explosion of tasks in my life. All sorts of main-life projects, as well as several side projects, came at me seemingly all day long. It might have only been a couple or so in total but it certainly felt like more. I am a little overwhelmed at the moment but I do feel optimistic about things as a whole... and that's a great way to get things started, I have to say.

Beginning to break off ties.

Knowing that I will soon be leaving the branch I have slowly started informing the most important people of the upcoming changes. I have, in a few or so instances thus far, always been met with supportive, sympathetic responses which further confirm my decision to do so as the correct thing to do. It still is not a very easy thing to do but I am glad for the help and look forward to the mysterious future that will unfold because of it.

Very tired... but the big week is still to come.

I think there are a lot of things I could be doing better in life. Scheduling sleep at a more normal time might be one of the most important things to prioritize... though, I just never seem to be all that motivated. I hope I don't literally start breaking down before I am inspired to change those crummy habits.

More audio production experience.

Audio production is pretty much always tough. Whether it is the acquisition, production, or post-production, I always feel like I am not quite hitting the mark I set for myself... which is, often enough, an already somewhat low mark. Anyway, it is always good practice to say the least and something I enjoy doing from time to time. Plus it's nice to get paid for it.

More fog money.

Today was epic... to the tune of almost 11-hours(almost 6 of them overtime) of paid labor. Somewhat like the way a natural disaster causes a variety of unique life events, this natural non-disaster(the overly foggy morning) offers me a similar experience, though without the pains of actual destruction involved. It was a fun, unique day. I look forward to the paycheck! Ha.

Casting auditions are quite interesting.

Strangely, today was the very first time I participated in a casting audition for a production of any type. It was something that was fairly unlike anything I have been a part of before, despite the many easily comparable elements that are shared with several other situations. I feel like I learned a little about people in general, a little bit about actor direction, a little about the effects of pressure and intensity, and a little about the etiquette of such events. All kinds of good learning!

Back in the action.

I probably say this every time it happens, but I am quite thrilled to get to play table tennis again even though I will not likely be able to make it super regular. I was somewhat rusty tonight but still played fairly well and felt like my game could come back in a couple months or so if I am diligent about it. Plus, I would like to get some new rubber for my paddle and I might be able to justify it if I play a bit more. Ha.

Who's got game?

It turns out that some people who I'm pretty sure have plenty of game, don't think they have game themselves... which, while it is somewhat puzzling, should not really surprise me. The game can be a scary thing to anybody except the ignorant, overly optimistic or the apathetic. None of those people are necessarily wrong, either. It's just the way it is sometimes. And what the heck am I even doing about it? Ha. Ugh.

The unexpected sleep-over.

It doesn't happen all that often but it's kind of nice when it does. I semi-accidentally skip my whole journal process for a night and just crash wherever I happen to be laying down at the time. Certainly not the kind of thing I would like to make a habit of since my journals are quite important to me but small deviations from the pattern add a little bit of interest in some unexpected ways, I think.

Remembering table tennis.

Every time I play the game it seems to be rife with nostalgic recollection. I guess this is the kind of thing that happens when one goes from a high-frequency activity to basic inactivity and eventually revisits said thing from time to time. It gives me a certain appreciation for it all that I guess I didn't realize before.

Slowly putting myself together.

Sometimes it seems that the vast number and variety of things on my plate are quite a bit disjointed and I am simply a figure lost somewhere in the middle, loosely connected to each of them by little more than my intention to fulfill them in whatever fashion the belong. I do my school thing, my church thing, my artistic thing, my music thing, my business thing, my social thing, and each of them branch further into many more specific endeavors of various extent. The more specific and specialized any given project might be, the more disconnected from it I often feel.

Lately I have been seeing more and more moments of more strengthened connections to these projects of mine. It is a sort of feeling like they are somehow more easily accessible and real to me... closer, even. It's a nice feeling. I think life is somehow a bit more cohesive than usual, I suppose.

A funny face is worth something, I guess.

I had an interesting compliment given me today and it might have been, verbatim, this: "Your face is so funny looking!" It could have seemed like something potentially negative but, knowing the context which inspired the compliment, it was more easily recognized for its positive nature and I found it to be quite appreciated. The more interesting part about all of this, though, is that even though I have long thought of myself as a semi-funny guy, I have never really thought of myself as having increased humorous talents based on my visual appearance. I kind of recall somebody complimenting the "interesting facial expressions" I sometimes make(which at the time was totally revelatory) but I was not under the impression is actually added to my comedic delivery as much as it seems that it might. Perhaps I need to do some more legitimate research on the topic to really draw any more substantial conclusions.

Creating for the fun of all!

I think that the closer I get to graduation the more I am starting to see opportunities emerge... which is pretty much exactly how I was hoping it would work, though to be honest, not how I expected it to happen. Some of it is the opportunities afforded me by my newly improved skill set and ambition to use it with or without external support. The rest of it, however, seems to be nicely planted in the soil of actual industry. Score!

Getting to the nitty gritty good times.

Each new class project we are assigned this term seems like a better learning experience than many of the recent ones have been. It might be simply a matter of perspective but I think it has a lot to do with the chemistry of the class mates and teacher. It's a pleasant change of pace despite the expected challenges it presents!

Life changes can be interesting.

Maybe, rather, they are always interesting. Expected or not I am certain the next couple or so months are going to be quite the journey. School will be getting close to finished, work will continue to evolve(pay raise, among other things), and my personal life may or may not start to become somewhat different(no particular ideas about how... just a feeling, really.) Maybe that is just how life always is and I usually just don't notice. Ha.

Crafting a vision.

The process of art is always one that starts in obscurity, seeking clarity, and finding definition to one degree or another. I have always had a pretty clear vision of what I want when it comes to a story I would like to tell through film, but that is actually a somewhat false claim, as I have come to find out, because each time I have tried to do it I have been met with so many unexpected diversions of my intent that it has yet to materialize with any high degree of fidelity at all. In short, art is very hard!