The lifetime commitment to art.

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. Starting as a visual artist, I scribbled out little pictures as a young child with whatever passion a young person can muster, before eventually finding music toward the end of my elementary school days. Somewhere in junior high school I even developed an interest in creative writing, mostly poetic in form, and by the end of high school I added story writing, mechanical drafting, and music writing to the list. And something that doesn't traditionally get recognized as an art, which I am not entirely sure qualifies, would be my inclination for invention and problem solving. It can definitely feel like art so that is what qualifies it to me. And this list certainly isn't exhaustive of my artistic endeavors... each one gaining a greater share of my attention from time to time, I realize that I will basically never let any one of them die completely. Sure the interest might become dormant for an unusually long span of time(mechanical drafting comes to mind here) but I know that if/when the opportunity arises in the future I will be quite enthusiastic to jump right back in for a dose of the fun again. And I will likely do this until the day I die. Because this is who I am. I am an artist.

No such thing as a lazy weekend.

Especially when you pretty much always have multiple projects in the queue at all times. Even more so when they are actually paying gigs. My brain was so wiped out for the first half of the day that I basically forgot all of my responsibilities. Once I caught on, though, I got things back in gear and made some decent progress. Still lots to do, of course, but at least I don't feel like I'm under the gun for now. Maybe by the end of tomorrow, if I move too slowly, I might need another jump start.

Remember the work.

One of my coworkers was collecting footage he had shot today and reminded me of the importance of keeping that kind of record for myself. Everything we shot during the season will be shipped off to the network soon and once it's gone we will not likely have a chance to claim any of it back for pretty much any reason. I'd like to use some of it for my reel but I'd love to keep some of it as a memory of the experience in some way. It was a treasured opportunity that I value as a memory of my past. Memories are the sum of my history when there isn't any physical element to hold on to... and memories always fade over time. Even the best ones.

Holy long daze!

Especially since I only had three hours of sleep last night. I literally worked FIVE times as many hours today. A decent amount of the work was fussing with ornery computers but that doesn't really ruffle my vibe much anymore... I've been through so dang much of it... just rollin' off my back these days.

Losing weight can be incredibly difficult.

It requires a level of self-discipline I am rare to exhibit. I think it mostly has to do with motivation. I am basically fine with all the extra fat just lingering all over my body. It doesn't seem all that bad since I am not very noticeably overweight. Plus, I really am quite addicted to sugar. That's a definite challenge as well. Sugar sugar sugar. Even just saying it three times in a sentence probably triggered a serotonin release in my brain... ugh. Well, at least it isn't 100% evil. It does, after all, provide a little bit of energy from time to time.

Stretching all the skills.

I sometimes enjoy the opportunity to be directly working on every element of a production, from shooting, to writing, to graphics, to editing, to producing, to accounting... and all the little pieces in between. Certainly there are many additional elements I am not a part of but there isn't too much more that even could be done from the outsider's perspective of this particular project. Anyway, even though I generally prefer working in a team, I do sometimes enjoy the super-solo mode once in a while.

One of my new favorite quotes.

"You have to learn to love the effort divorced from the result." - Myke Cole

If I could have more succinctly worded this myself I would have. I know I've tried to explain it multiple times with varying levels of success, I suppose. I really enjoy how efficient, truthful, and profound this little sentence is. It would benefit me to revisit it every once in a while to gauge my own application of it.

A pleasant bridge into the weekend.

Work is moving at a reasonable pace. The weather is interestingly tumultuous. And my bed is callingly comfortable... "over here, dummy" it whispers to me... "sleep is just a collapse away." I trust my bed. He's a very consistent, accurate fellow.

The ever-flowing chain of work.

I go from one thing straight to the next. And due to the immense number of projects currently on my plate I don't expect to see any actual breaks for the foreseeable future. This is a pretty normal state of life for most people, I tend to think, but it certainly becomes a bit more crazy for those of us who run our own business and can quite literally ALWAYS be working on one thing or another. Good thing I really dig my work!

Fantastic friendship.

I was quite delighted for the opportunity to meet up with a couple of old friends of mine today. One is a friend I have known since my early childhood and the other I have known for about 8 years or so. Both were very central figures in my life at one time or another and both exhibited the highest qualities of friendship toward me then and now for which I am most grateful and consider myself lucky for having. I was only able to offer them a small piece of my time today but I certainly hope it was a fair trade for their gifts to me.

Practicing the craft.

Rehearsal is such an incredibly valuable thing to do. It helps work out some kinks one might otherwise have stumbled into and through but more than that it instills a dose of confidence that improves performance generally in every way. Like most sports, the mental side of things(inclusive of the emotional side, in my opinion) is far more critical than the physical side. Get that ally on your team by rehearsing whenever possible!

Holiday weekends are nice.

Which is a very generic statement for a very generically prevalent feeling, I declare with certainty despite any factual evidence to support my assertion. Simple experience, with great consistency and broad reach, has led me to believe this. It applies in my life at the time being, as well. I know when I used to work in the restaurant industry(and maybe some other industries I can't currently think of) I might have thought otherwise... but it has been quite a while since I can remember having any thoughts to the contrary. This has been a nice weekend for me. And now I look forward to a nice week to come.

Hiking is good for the soul.

The physical, social, and artistic activity would be a great combination in any environment. Placing it in nature definitely takes it to a more significant, internally provocative level, however, and my most recent break from such endeavors certainly has emphasized this to me. Not that I've taken some sort of hiking sabbatical that has lasted eons of Aaron-time, or any hyperbolic notion of the sort, but, rather, I think the impact of having hiked today was more felt due to its actual relevance and truth in my life. Simply put, I am always positively impacted by a good hike no matter how recently I have participated in one. They're just good things to do in life.

Too many good ideas.

It is not something that could seem like a bad thing. And I wouldn't even be calling it an actual bad thing... but it might be somewhat of a hinderance to our progress at times. It kind of reminds me of the somewhat inverted problem people have when trying to complete an artistic endeavor... we can often become paralyzed by perfectionistic tendencies. Well, in this case, we can be stunted in our attempts to start if we keep coming up with alternative ideas that are potentially better ones to begin with. Maybe there comes a point when you realize you've hit the limit on the quality meter? Anyway, I really can't complain even a little bit. If this is actually a bad thing, I look forward to having more of them in the future.

Corporate demo reel complete.

This is a significant step in the process of developing our new branch of business as the Flea. It better enables an industry standard approach to finding new clientele and I am excited that we have such a significant body of work to bolster this effort. And all of these benefits, notwithstanding, there are still many other valuable pieces to this complex business puzzle... at least this particular one is very motivational, almost chemically reactive, towards getting things off the ground. An empowering endeavor now another tool in the arsenal.

Swinging upward and onward.

I think of the path to success looking somewhat like a golf shot with a driver. The backswing is the time of learning, the time one compresses and loads the potential energy required for positive ball trajectory. As one is in the backswing it is important to focus on the ball, resisting the urge to look onward down the fairway where the ultimate target lies. Metaphorically, it translates like this: the golfball is two things simultaneously - the challenges one faces after the backswing and the vehicle of our progression once the backswing has resolved at the face of the ball and the challenges have been incurred. The backswing is our past, the time of formative learning and decision making regarding our direction in life. We can focus on the inevitable challenges we will face(the point of contact/the harsh reality of fighting our way into our chosen career/lifestyle) as we coil our potential energy or we can glance off down the fairway before the moment of contact, dramatically limiting how soundly we can attack those challenges. If the ball is struck in the desired manner, we not only conquer our challenges more easily, we carry forward in the vehicle upward, expressing the potential energy of our backswing as the fuel to take us further, better directed, more powerfully and purposefully toward the goal once sought as we started engaging our muscles and mind at the beginning of our backswing. And, when you hit the sweet spot of a well-executed backswing, it feels like nothing else. A release of tension coupled with the immense gratitude for such a unified team effort, all parts collaborating harmoniously for the good of the whole. And I'm sure I could have been quite a bit less heavy-handed and long-winded in my conceptual expression of this whole thing... but I might only be scratching the surface of this analogy, as well. FOUR!!!!

Estimating a job.

It is a complicated aspect of producing. You need to cover all the bases but you don't want the client to feel like they are being nickel-and-dimed to death, either. And production is almost always a nickel-and-dime kind of situation with all the little details that go into it, generally speaking. It's a tricky line to balance on, I suppose. This is probably why I am more attracted to the nut-and-bolts part of production more than the producing part of production. Certainly, the artistry of shooting is naturally closer to my personal inclinations, but I suppose producing can have its good moments from time to time as well.

Finding a little professional validation.

I took the opportunity to pitch one of my currently buzzing ideas to one of the company owners today. It was a fairly brief ten or so minutes where he actually seemed somewhat impressed and potentially interested in exploring the idea. I am generally under the impression that it is his job to shoot every idea down right away now matter how good it might seem(and I don't mean this in a cynical sense, rather more of a very realistic business sense) so getting any sort of positivity from him I am inclined to take as a good sign. The idea is very rough and needs an immense amount of polishing to really craft the proper pitch for it but it seems like I might actually get a little help on this so that is the raddest result of this whole experience. Empowerment, in this case, is more valuable than acceptance.

Nature is rad.

It's, like, superfly. Gots to love them puffy-nice clouds and swoopy-splash waters. The glowy sunsets and freshy breezes peacify my tone and lax the day big-time. Bring it back whenever the scoop is close. Wigglin' in the sweet squeeze for grins!

Hangin' with the cool cats.

I really am not sure I have ever actually babysat an actual child before tonight. I feel like it has happened but I can't think of the situation or remember anything like it if I have... which is probably a strange thing considering my age but whatever. It was fun tonight. The kid is a cool kid and likes to have cool fun. Easy peasy stuff. I am lucky to have good friends with a good kid such as this. I'd go into babysitting as a career if it paid well enough and it was always this kid. Ha.

Good quality cinema.

I ALWAYS enjoy a movie that can move me in emotionally significant ways. Even if it's because of the pains a character is enduring that I emphatically empathize with, I am always appreciative of the experience. Perhaps I enjoy the contrast to my typically mellow style of living. I live at a fairly slow pace with a fairly even-keeled temperament. The cinematic experience tends to compress everything into much faster, sharper peaks and valleys. It's no wonder why I almost always prefer a movie over the book that might have inspired it.

Tons of cleaning to do.

And it's not too far from spring I suppose. I have recently been rummaging through some of my old piles of stuff and it has increased my desire to get rid of most of it. I'd much rather have MUCH less stuff I hardly consider a part of my life even though it technically doesn't really get in my way during the regular-life activities I am commonly involved in. All the stuff, however, does occupy some of my emotional energy somehow and it would really be nice to let that go. It almost feels the same way debt can feel at times. An actual burden unwanted.

The trepidatious move.

I am sad to see one of my favorite teachers retire from his post as one of the most quality teachers in my former program. I am happy to see him move on, however, as I know his greater desires are in the field of his chosen profession as a Director of Cinematography and now expect he will find greater happiness in said pursuit. I know he has the quality needed to achieve success in those endeavors but I know the risks involved as his quality may not be as well-marketed as is necessary to achieve that success. I am optimistic for him. I know he will work hard and long to improve those odds of success and I look forward to seeing where his journey takes him.

Nimble working.

I guess it is most possible to quickly adapt and change the smaller one's business is. My client needed a quick fix on one of the edits and because I was directly capable of dealing with the fix I was able to take care of it about as fast as possible. In a larger company setting it might have had to jump around between a couple people or so in order for a similar level of speed. Perhaps this makes this ideal for this client? In any case, I'm glad to be able to help.

Creative momentum.

I am quite thrilled by the team we have assembled for the Creative Media division at the Flea. We have built great momentum with the ideas we've generated over the last couple months or so and we are getting very close to the point of presentation with some of them. As often happens with the creative process, early ideas, somewhat raw and occasionally volatile in nature, come to gain form, clarity and a power all their own when the time and energy is spent nurturing them in every way possible. Sometimes all they need is time in the first place. Strong ideas tend to move along with their own legs.

Onward to the 39th year.

It was a good year. And it already looks like the next one is shaping up to be even better. I'm sure there will be plenty of challenges but that is ultimately what will represent the climb upward to the more excellent successes along the road. I project the most interesting stories springing out of my business pursuits but, as always, some should definitely come by way of my personal and social life. And, if I am lucky/motivated enough, I might even see a bit of romantic life make an appearance. Ha.