Dental roadmap.

Dental work is almost always a challenge. I can pretty much say it's always fairly painful, too, though I am sure that is entirely my fault more than anything else. Now, at least I have an idea about how much more pain I will need to go through to kind of "reset" my mouth and it doesn't actually seem all that bad. Sure, it will cost a fair amount of skrill but I gotta do what I gotta do to improve my odds in the dating scene, right?! Ha. "What we do for love!"(actual quote from my dentist today)

Experience pays off.

Sometimes more literally than figuratively. In my work with my client over the past couple days I have been able to share my expertise in a variety of areas that it would likely be difficult to find in one person beyond myself. There are plenty of people that might combine one or two of the areas but I was uniquely equipped to handle every area of challenge collectively that my client needed help with, I would say. And I was quite grateful for all those past clients that, individually, provided the opportunities for learning them. It was a delightfully ah ha experience.

Doing the good work.

Any job where I feel like I am actually helping a good cause is good work in my mind. I personally enjoy the opportunities I get across ALL my lines of work these days but some do feel slightly more useful/productive/valuable. I know I have an affinity for teaching so that's always one I am glad for the opportunity to perform. Knowledge is power but knowledge is also valuable and I am always happy to share any of the knowledge I can.

Kids can be so cute sometimes.

I filmed another pre-school play tonight and really found myself missing the kid element in my life. I have been wanting a family for quite some time but seeing so many cute little kids doing cute little kid things really sparked my desire for a family even more. That might not be a good reason for it, and it certainly isn't the only reason I'd like to have a family, but anything to increase my motivation can't be all that bad, really.

Incredible athletics.

It was quite a cool thing to see the titans of the gridiron in person. Bringing them into the realm of reality really changes my sense of the whole experience. And it wasn't something I am immediately addicted to but I am certainly looking forward to making my return some day in the future.

Consulting on a topic totally in my wheel house.

It is one of the times in my life where I feel I couldn't be more perfectly suited to the task. There are elements of my technical knowledge and expertise but there are also elements of teaching and instruction. I seems unlikely to me that there are many more qualified individuals available to assist with this need and even if they don't accept our estimate for the work I appreciate the experience and the perspective, having at least assessed what is needed.

Money sure is something.

I'm sure I had it all screwed up while I was growing up(as if I don't have it screwed up still.) I was basically against money. Probably because I didn't really have any of it but mostly it felt like I was being principled and wise by determining to not care about money. What a false and somewhat destructive way to think! Money is simply an element of life that isn't inherently any different that many other of life's challenges. Mastery of self can be learned in part through master of money. "What a strange thought" my young self would no doubt exclaim.

Doing things all the time.

And hopefully they are "paying" things. I am glad for anythings, really. I like the big and small things. The semi-forgotten things. The project things. I do sometimes fully subscribe to the "life is things" mentality.

Looking forward to a busy week.

Which should be all the fun and excitement I can possibly handle. Ha. It won't be all kinds of lucrative but it will be interesting. I can only be so lucky, I suppose.

Working with a mutant face.

It hasn't really been all that bad, actually. For as much pain as I was in, immediately following my dental visit, I expected my journey through this weekend to be something of a tumultuous one. I know the road to recovery still looms before me a bit but it is seeming more and more like it will be quite a bit shorter than expected. This is all the good kind of news that I didn't expect but am more than grateful has found me.

The pain killers are actually working.

Which is not what I expected after my last trip to the dentist. The pain was incredible during the extraction but the prolonged continuance of said pain, until I was able to get the pain killers, was the most challenging part. I was shaky and weak. Now, I am tired and loopy.

Working through the flaws.

We do our work, share our skills, with the clients and situations of our choosing, always falling short of our best efforts and hoping they will still fit the bill. Generally, despite our shortcomings, they will still provide some semblance of the requested, or required, elements we strive to provide. I think it is taking to the time to recognize said shortcomings, however, which allows us to improve and evolve and increase our future performances quality thereto. It might be simply stated "Never rest on your laurels." Or it might just be a reminder that one is always able to improve at anything.

Work ALL day.

I finished such a huge variety of useful projects today that it almost felt TOO productive. I say TOO productive because I don't think it's reasonable to think I could possibly repeat this level of productivity with any kind of regularity. I do have reasonably high standards for myself but do realize the importance of having realistic goals, too. Goals do need to be achievable, after all.

Budding potential.

I helped film some promotional stuff for a weed-related business venture. It appeared to be an industry-changing sort of product(despite my limited knowledge of said industry) and I wonder how much impact it will actually have over the coming months and years. I can't say much about it now(since it has not hit the market yet) but it seems to have so much potential.

Work can be overwhelming sometimes.

I think it's something I allow to happen more than it pushes into me. Maybe it starts kind of small, in a more subtle intellectual way, and before I know it I'm working late into the morning hours. I suppose it feels good to get things done but what is an acceptable cost? I have a lot of normal life to catch up on, I think. Just relaxing a little to reset the thinker.

Whirlwind weekend.

This was a trip to remember for sure. I'm probably likely to forget most of the people by name(and probably by every other useful way) but the experience was certainly a unique and eye-opening one for sure. There are a lot of people from all around the world who really connect around the topic of film. It is an incredible community of creative and technical people from all walks of life!

The exciting world of film and television.

We have run into this experience headlong and loaded with gusto. The landing pad has been gracious and our opportunities have been enjoyable. It's an interesting thing to meet people from all different places, too, and to see that there is so much common motivation among us is quite inspiring for sure. There will be much to come over the next day or so and I am sure I will have an even further evolved opinion on the whole thing that continues right in line with most of what I have expressed here so far is. At least, that's what I think could happen. Ha.

Slowly pulling it all together.

We are working with a very fickle client, as to what they would like us to do, but I think we are almost buttoned down on what it is we will be shooting for them this coming week. It isn't unusual for this to be the case but adapting like we have had to do was a little tricky at times. It has been a good learning experience for everybody involved and I look forward to seeing what comes out the other end.

It is an interesting thing building a business.

You have to learn about so many different elements. Not only that but the need for almost constant growth and learning is also prevalent. There are some jobs, great jobs even, in life where neither of these things are necessarily true. And maybe we can adapt and learn to knock it out of the park or maybe we don't figure it out and flounder into non-existence. In any case, I am enjoying the ride and really look forward to seeing how the next year shapes up.

Friends are part of my foundation.

So getting the opportunity to see them and socialize with them, even if I haven't seen some of them for quite a while, is an excellent and energizing experience. They inspire and build me simply by being themselves in each person's own way. What a grand and somewhat unexpected experience to catch a dose in the middle of my work week.

Competition is important.

It teaches us how much we can improve to potentially best them. It is an instructive motivating force also driven by the nature of business. Everybody wants the best thing they can get, for the least amount of resources to get it, from any source they can get it from. It might sound trite to put it this way but it feels very relevant after experiencing the losing end of this sort of thing. Maybe it is that, only in loss, can we really understand the important lessons like this. Certainly we had the thought about its apparent truth before having gone through it, however, having a thought and knowing its validity really are two different things. Knowledge tends to present itself without any help once you have it in your head. It doesn't hint or nag... it simply IS.

The ever-lurking presence of competition.

I might dare to say that there is nothing in life with only one source of attention directed it's way... that's a really clunky sentence. Try it from this angle - anything you are attempting to engage with in any way, regardless of how much it might seem like you are the only one doing it, is definitely being engaged by many other sources you may not see or be aware of. This is true in personal relationships, especially regarding any attractive person you might be chasing in one way or another, but is also true of any potential clients. LIFE IS COMPETITION! This is an incredibly easy thing to forget which makes it an incredibly easy mistake to make. But, we must learn from this and move on and always compete for what we want, regardless of how it appears on the surface.

Camping is my friend.

Just about the only thing I don't really like about it is how bright it is in the morning. Even inside my tent it's too bright and I usually have to tuck my head down inside the sleeping bag to get back to sleep. Love everything else, though. And the break from regular life is highly appreciated... and possibly the most important aspect. Just unplug and unwind. Great times, indeed!

The long work week and the delightful weekend after.

I am definitely taking advantage of the opportunity to camp and getaway over the next couple days. Sure, I might head into work when I get back on Sunday night but I am thoroughly anticipating my time until then. Weekend with the music, the river, and the cool people for sure. Sure, I am excited about all the work we have lingering on the horizon at work but I am just as thrilled about the tiny break before it. Long days, long nights, long naps between.

Synergistic business relations.

I think we are quite fortunate to have connected with every client we have connected with through our business thus far. There are some opportunities, however, through connecting to some clients, however, that only occur because of mutually beneficial skill sets that spark together in an almost chemical way. We have recently met a potential client which will motivate and push us to become better at what we do and I believe it can be just the kind of fuel that will propel us much further up the ladder than we might have expected. And all we have to do is comply with the needs of her business as fully as we possibly can. Ha. Small task? No. Important opportunity? Yes.

Another all-nighter?

I did take a few hours worth of naps but basically stayed busy working for the entirety of the last two days. I think I kept up to the necessary pace despite the little road bumps here and there. It probably wasn't "technically" necessary but I felt it deserved the effort anyway. The rest of the week should be a little easier because of it.

The pleasant weekend break.

It is nice to relax once in a while. It isn't just nice, I would call it necessary to relax once in a while. I need to get into a controlled burn with my focus and energy expense in order to make it through the next few months(probably longer) and every little break(not overdone, of course) is a valuable readjustment tool, I'd say. Today was one such day and the coming week should be better for it.