Old friends in basically new places.

I have to say it is pretty much totally awesome to run into enjoyable people from your past when you least expect it. I have no idea why I would have reason to cross just about anybody from my past's path(a very clunky sentence) since my general whereabouts are somewhat far removed from those former days but, if I think long enough about it, I probably shouldn't be too surprised, either. Beyond change being and ever-present constant in life, I would say surprise would be a close second.

Cutting like a mad fool.

Except I'm not mad at all... though, probably still quite foolish. It feels good to get a solid, completed cut finished. It's one of those semi-euphoric experiences that is sadly somewhat rare to repeat. It goes along with any piece of art one sets out to finish. Well, maybe it's more of a rarity in my life. Anyway... I look forward to seeing how it is received.

The crash of economy.

It has now begun to threaten those that I work with. We see the inevitable end looming ever closer and the boots have certainly been rattled. Now we need to work through it somehow or become separated at the seams... not gradually I would expect, but abruptly. We have been here before. "We", being the Flea upon which our work is built. And the changes ever pursue us nonetheless. We can brace and prepare for its imminent impact.

Time to speed up then slow down.

And not just because that's like a normal reaction to gravity. It's more of a statement about the things of my work-life as they are currently planned over the next month or so. I know I have a lot to keep me busy right now, and I think I have a decent amount to pursue shortly thereafter, but I know I have a good amount of digging to do if I am to find an appropriate level of work after that. If I am lucky, my job will pick up another show to start working on. If I am unlucky, I will make my own way through the slump and that doesn't really sound so bad, actually. Challenges like that are valuable learning experiences, after all.

Increased motivation for quality.

The commentary for our recent filmic attempt was pleasant, and not technically negative, but somewhat telling in a way that exposes my shortcomings a bit. And while I don't rail against supportive, positive notions cast our way, I am starting to recognize them a more supportive than impressed. In short, I am far from the filmmaker I would like to be. In medium, experience is the irreplaceable teacher that improves one's quality and skill. In long, paying attention to an audience's response is important(perhaps the most important) way to understand one's place in the process of it all.

48-hours of madness intended.

And such is the way of the hyper-expedited production schedule. But it is quite appreciated and thoroughly challenging and exceptionally memorable all at the same time and I am quite grateful for the awesome crew of folks I was privileged to share this weekend with! I am not entirely sure how far it will go in the realm of things to come but I am proud of it all nonetheless and despite its potential(win or lose.) The product of experience is sometimes strictly better than anything else that could come of it, anyway.

The beginning of the beginning.

It is often the hardest part of a new experience... especially when writing about it. But the excitement tends to help smooth it all out. And, about 9 or so hours into it, we have a good footing on something pretty sweet, I'd say. Our writing session seemed a bit more solid and I think our final product(inasmuch as pre-production can call it final) is fairly compelling. Now to see how our production chops can do in bringing it all to life... or death!

Ten times intense at times.

But we rolled as smooth along the lines of 'hood's proclaim
Through shadow, cross the lights by the bustle and glance
Singing praises long to future chance
Hopping with a heart sublime enchanted brain
Recite a cant from pasting echoes deeper thought
And chain it lightly twixt to and from
As art repeals the function's place before the form

New lines of work.

I am really enjoying the new things I am getting to work on as it relates to my career. I am starting to realize I have some other things I should be working on, however, as it relates to my pudgy belly that I probably won't enjoy so much. Ha. It's not the pudgiest or most annoying thing, generally speaking, but it definitely has to go... somehow... and the pain it will take to get there seems like an annoying path to take. Oh, well. That's just how it always is when the human body is part of the equation.

The professional compliment.

I am quite encouraged by the opinion of a respected professional in my field of expertise. Especially the sincere compliment. It also feels good to realize my efforts are actual contributions to the cause. I know I am fortunate for all the opportunities I am afforded and I hope to make the best of them as often as possible. I also make many obvious statements about obviously good things that happen to me. Ha. I guess it's just another thing I do well.

The trickling momentum.

Things are slowly building up. "Things", meaning work/career stuff. This is a good thing that I appreciate but it would be nice for other areas of my life to pick up some progress, too. It is nice to get back to some athletic endeavors, too, and I'm finally starting to get down on my weight. It'd be nice to lose another 15 or so.

Shadow by day.

Insomniac by night. Well... not really... I'm just a very poorly disciplined sleep-time observer. Anyway, it was pretty awesome getting to shadow my future position a bit today. I certainly feel much more enabled and confident that I can do a good job. This makes me quite happy, indeed!(appropriately exclaimed)

Potentially huge things on the horizon.

And even though it isn't exactly the direction I would plan for the most fun outcome in life, it might be the direction for the most financially-stable(therefore wise) outcome in life. I might have thought the idea of corporate work to be a bit of a turnoff in my younger years(though, I'm not actually sure of that thought), but I am certainly thrilled by the prospect now. Now I just gotta work hard to keep up our level of awesome in every way possible.

The bigger team picture.

I so often run the solo parade that I think I kind of forget how powerful the team-style dynamic usually is. Synergy is such a difficult thing to quantify and qualify. I feel quite blessed to be able to enjoy it incidentally. The opportunities to do as such are not automatic by any means.

Took a day off to work.

I basically worked all night at my job so I didn't really have the time to write in here last night. No worries... I am super zapped from another long day and quite looking forward to playing tomorrow afternoon and evening. The upcoming several days look to be quite exciting and interesting. Work, play, and potential future work all get turns on the battlefield. Fun!

Good friends and laughs a'plenty.

I quite enjoy my time spent with the old friends. Their sense of humor is so familiar, and potent, to me that it is like a fresh breath of air. I am very stabilized by the experience, though, that isn't to say that I am particularly unstable otherwise. And there's always a somewhat intriguing thing about connecting your past to your present.

The reminders of love.

I suppose I haven't gone to too many weddings lately. I suppose "lately" is a very relative term. I suppose weddings are full of relatives. I suppose I relate to the idea of love and weddings even if I haven't been "in love" for several years. I suppose that several years is quite a bit longer than I would have preferred to be ultra-solo-guy. This ultra-solo-guy supposes frequently at the end of the day.

Shooting bands is just about as fun as being in one.

Even if I don't know anybody in the band. It's one of those extremely challenging, high focus events to shoot. All the musical changes, the low-lighting, the continuous movement, the blaring loudness(depending on the band, anyway), and crowd navigation all make for some interesting obstacles. Plus, it actually feels sort of like being in a band when you are working with a crew to do it so that's cool. Ha. Now if I could just figure out how to make money doing it.

Patience = luck?

It is a strange concept, I must admit, but sometimes it seems like the only way to describe some situations. In any case I am quite grateful to be the recipient of good things that I wasn't expecting. Nothing is for sure yet but I am starting to like my odds.

Taking care of business.

Which in today's case meant that I was taking care of my equipment. I did a little repair of my own as well as sending off some gear for warrantee repair. I also made the important calls and sent the important emails and whatnot. Not the most exciting stuff most of the time... but generally the most important stuff. Gotta keep the wheels greased and the tank full, after all!

The grand feeling of importance.

I was hired to help a production today that, even though they reached out to me before it started to get my pricing which ultimately inspired them to give the production a shot without me, after the first day went a bit harder than expected I was asked to come help anyway(this whole sentence is quite unwieldy... sorry about that). Anyway, the whole thing kind of made me feel a bit heroic. Maybe that's one of the reasons I really enjoy steadicam operating... I get to fill a niche very few people really do.

Making costly mistakes.

We made a minor error during our film competition clean-up and it inadvertently caused some real problems at work the next morning. It is a terrible feeling to make a mistake that could have easily been avoided... it is an even worse feeling when it compounds into exponentially more trouble. I am lucky to work for such understanding people, and I did not incur any particular punishment beyond my own emotional self-beating, but I wish I could do something to make it up in some way. Alas, it can not be done, however, and life sort of punches me in the face once again.

Staying busy with business.

I can probably go into work and stay busy doing just about anything pretty much anytime. I suppose it's a nice thing but it can be a bit overwhelming if I get too connected to a project. That personal level of responsibility starts to take over some of the normal self-preservation functions on occasion, sleep being one of the first casualties almost every time. I need to practice better decision making for sure!

Gettin' it done on time.

Which we did... though the cheap flash drive I purchased to deliver this project has another thing to say about that. Technically we were a little late but the organizers were fairly lenient and allowed our entry to stand. I look forward to seeing how it all turns out in a couple weeks!

The many virtues of the "oner".

The challenge of it, the potential beauty of it, but, most delightfully, the efficiency of it in post-production. It is difficult to properly express my appreciation of having the bulk of the work done as soon as the shooting is done. The stress levels simply dive into oblivion. I need to do this sort of thing much more frequently!

Busting into day 1.

We got quite a pretty easy crop of "curveballs" to work with and, even though writing is never an easy process, I think we got that stuff out of the way in a fairly simple stretch tonight. I would have gone a different way, personally, but I will make that attempt another time. In any case, I think we can craft some decent quality over the next 38 or so hours.(I'm sure my math is way off. ha)

Closing in on another sleepless weekend.

Actually, I plan to get some decent sleep on each of the weekend evenings this time around. The workload will be distributed in a fairly unusual way compared to what we have done in the past so I expect it to be a much easier weekend in that way. Certainly the challenges of writing and prepping are going to be more difficult and extensive but I expect it will pay out in the quality of the final product.

It's fun to dive into different genres once in a while.

Mostly because diversity of listening habits improves the experience of each piece by contrast. I tend to get in the habit of overplaying the same playlist, much of it because I still tend to enjoy it fairly thoroughly, but stumbling into a couple unusual beats, mixed with some classic jazz vocals is pretty much always a treat. I'm not sure why I haven't done much exploring in that direction for a while... maybe five years or more. Weird. At least it seems weird to me.