Efficiency in consistency.

When you go two or three days in a row having experienced a reasonably high level of productivity you really start to feel like things are clicking. This is definitely a pleasant thing to experience but it certainly can be the beginning of a subtle internal challenge... the challenge of continuing the attack of productive engagement... the challenge of consistency. It is natural for patterns to rise and fall in waves, and attempting to stretch that wave of productivity(or any wave, for that matter) out certainly defies that convention, which is why it will never be a simple process to change. And why, even though consistency seems like the gold standard of excellence, change might actually be the better standard to follow... change what it is that you are consistently doing and make it better than it was... even more productive than before.

We do what we do.

And it's nice to be working hard even when we aren't necessarily bringing in the dough, so to speak. We are stretching, improving, advancing our skills and gaining meaningful experience. We learn each little step along the way. We establish and build solid working relationships. We hope for more to come... and we expect to meet the challenges that will accompany our opportunities... then, having met them as we have been prepared by our experiences to do so, we will make new mistakes(along with a few old ones) and learn new ways to overcome each one we can identify. I'm not entirely sure how different any of this is from the general concepts of life but, as far as I see it in this moment, they are not actually different at all.

A density of duties.

There is so much to do that it's kinda hard to tell where to start sometimes. Making sure to take a moment to breath and gain a little focus is always a good place to start... or come back to if it isn't the starting point. It's good to enlist whatever help there is once in a while too. I know I can't do it all!

Producing, writing, showing, inspiring.

It is an interesting opportunity to create a production from scratch. There are always a million right and wrong ways to do anything and trying to figure out the best ways is somewhat of an exciting endeavor. It's usually a smart idea to glean as much as is still relevant from past endeavors that closely relate, or originated, the same sort of production. The basics still all apply, regardless of style, and are an important foundation that gives it all the best chance of success in its own way. This is all sorts of obvious to anybody thinking about creating something new but I know it's also very easy to forget when what seems like an original idea starts building its own momentum. Gotta realize that it has ALL been done before, even if it didn't quite look the same before now.

Always learning something new.

Which is one of the most exciting elements to my line of work. Not only does the technology always keep changing but the techniques, methods of presentation and the audiences themselves continue to evolve and expand, further opening all sorts of learning avenues. And anytime I get to explore and challenge my mind, searching and stretching to understand something new, I am generally in my happiest place... a lucky lad in a grand career.

Work and life.

Neither of them ever end, really. Does this make them the same? Maybe. Does this make them equal? Not really. Does this make them identical? In many ways, yes. Relentless are the motions of progress found in both work and life. We always answer to someone or something, wanting to occasionally take a break and never really feeling like we get paid quite enough for all we do. Sometimes, it seems that more than any action of our own doing, it chooses us... whether by design or happenstance, the work and life will always run closely together, friends in their own causes, separate but similar, always reminding us that we can only do anything we do because of them. Thanks, guys. I'm sure you don't hear the gratitude enough.

A break away from broken.

It has been a pleasant day of mostly nothing. I could have kept up my generally intense pace by going into work to do whatever catching up that seems the most useful... but I didn't. I hung out with the family and argued with Pops for way longer than I should have but all in all I quite enjoyed the day. It was a real day. A nice day. A bit of a planning day for tomorrow's mayhem but still a solid day.

Holidays are nice days.

And the days before the holiday days are pretty much the same sometimes. At least that's how tomorrow is shaping up to be. I look forward to the break from all the continuous busy time. Even more, I look forward to sharing the evening with an attractive, cool gal who seems to look forward to sharing the same time with me... cool!

All kinds of potential.

There is definitely so many ways this whole experience can go right and, strangely, not too many ways it can go wrong if we pay attention to the right things and fully understand our expectations going into it. The team seems solid, the idea seems smart, the track record seems well-established enough... I think we would be lucky to engage in such an experience.

Roller coaster fantasy train.

Football day has become a bit of an emotional doozy because of my fantasy obsession, I think. As much as a non-financially invested fantasy player could be, anyway. I have a decent team but when I'm behind in my game until the last few minutes of the last game of the day... sheesh! Fun times! Ha.

First meetings.

They are almost always a bit of a strange experience. The marriage of the digital and physical worlds can be a bit of an emotionally messy transition. Adding a voice, a laugh, the action of a smile, the subtle twinkle... there are few more under-prepared, yet not totally uncommon, situations I have really experienced in life. Today was one of the really good ones. It felt like a merging of presence and optimism. A pleasant emotional exploration. I very much look forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Looking past the Friday.

Because the weekend looks to be exceptionally rad! I have a brunch date with a woman who excites me in all the positive ways. I have a meeting about the possibility of funding and/or working on a feature film. I have an evening party/brief work engagement that should be quite relaxing/fun/entertaining. THEN... on Sunday we got some Seahawks action and possibly a movie and definitely some relaxation. Holy smoly! Time to hit some sack!

Sand bags on my eyelids.

Or whatever it's supposed to be that says I am ZAPPED. Dumb all-nighters and minimal nap incurrence(not a real word, I'm pretty sure) afterward is the formula for the "sandbag eye" I am referring to. It's not particularly painful in a physical sense... mostly in a common sense... sense.

The accidental all-nighter.

So... I thought I would be able to competently complete my recent task much earlier than about an hour ago... but I didn't... so I haven't gone to bed yet. It sorta feels like the night before mid-terms/finals projects are turned in. A nostalgic blah that would have been much better avoided. I suppose the power to choose one's schedule also becomes the curse of it's power over my time when things really need to get done. I'm probably not describing it properly but that is how it seems to be... in my cloudy, unrested mind. Ha.

Still trying to get some stuff done!

I thought I would be finished with the highlight reel last week... but it is still coming together fairly well... just slowly. The website needs to be finished... and be presentably finished. I don't mean it needs to be this colossal achievement with numerous quality pages to behold... just something that shows our presence. We need to appear legit. And when will we make the time to put together our studio?! It might be our most important project at the moment! No answers... only questions... and sighs.

Get onto a scripting track?

I have often thought of writing screenplays for various reasons. I have not done much of any follow up to make that sort of thing happen. I definitely have time on my hands toward the end of each day that I could be turning into productive, creative endeavors. Why not turn it into some screenwriting? Some of it is the simple lack of "already know how to get things started"ness... the rest is just a lack of true passion to give it a stab. Maybe if I DO give it a stab I will find that the passion to actually do it really is there, after all. Probably not... but, maybe?

A possible feature?

It is far from a sure thing but I still feel inclined to mention that I might have the opportunity to work on another feature very soon. I have been informally invited to do the audio engineering for it and think it seems like a pretty fun opportunity. The news is really only hours old and a lot of things need to happen for this to become a reality but I feel confident it can happen if I am just a little diligent about what I need to do.

It has been a decent and unusual kick-off to the week.

A little scatter-brained but functional and productive. I think we have a solid direction where to take things but I definitely need to be more on the ball. Lots of ideas bounce around in my head and my ambition seems well-directed. More self-discipline would be best... perhaps more sleep is the best way to kick that off. Ha.

The loosely decided route.

So... having never actually settled on a specific diet plan, I basically rolled into the "Liquitarian/Pizza-once-a-week" diet in order to enjoy a reward once in a while. I did pizza today, anyway, but it really just stands in proxy of whatever sort of crap food I wanna throw in there, realistically. So, I might be called a Pizzaliquitarian, for short?

Week one as a liquitarian.

I've made it through my first week on the Liquid/Lettuce Diet and accomplished that goal. Doing it wasn't too much of a challenge, however, deciding to continue it is somewhat more of a conundrum. I haven't really lost very much weight, which was the main goal of this strange "crash" diet but maybe that's just a relative opinion. I think I lost around 5lbs but I was hoping to be further down around 9lbs, give or take a pound. I think I might do a mostly liquid diet, maybe add a solid meal once a day or so, this week to see if there are is any further progress. Maybe not, though... maybe I'll just add in more soup. Ha.

Good movies with good laughs.

It seems like a necessary ingredient for the slightly more fringe sorts of experiences. I think of the value it has with comic characters that are lesser known but I think it applies to most other forms of media as well. Comedy is simply an incredible selling tool as well as positive experience generator. Now if I can only figure out how to load up my online dating profiles accordingly. Ha.

Still alive and raising my legs at the usual speed.

It is an interesting battle trying to get something made that truly begins before conception of the thing. Great people fight the battle of completion whereas I tend to think the rest of us fight the battle of simply beginning... and an accompanying angle of said battle that the rest of us face is simply recognizing that we haven't actually started yet. To my mind, to truly start anything you have also committed to finish the battle. Without the commitment combined accompanying it, a start is simply a failed attempt. This begs the question... what have I started... ever.

A bit of an odd feeling.

But I don't actually feel unhealthy. I suppose that never putting any solid edibles in my stomach is probably never going to feel normal anyway. My energy and stamina both seem fine. I played a lot of basketball at close to 100% efficiency, I'd say. I'm not sure I've actually lost much weight between yesterday and today, though, so that's kinda weird. Maybe I'm drinking too many calories or my body just doesn't wanna let any of it go. Oh, well... I'll continue a few more days anyway just in case.

Liquid/lettuce diet.

Don't pronounce the slash in that name or it messes up the alliteration. Now, I did feel like adding in a little lettuce to my otherwise all liquid diet was probably a necessary thing since it seems like roughage is an important part of any diet. But, as I am slowly moving into day four of this weirdo diet, I am actually feeling okay without having eaten anything solid since lunchtime yesterday and I think the fibre can actually come as a part of the liquid anyway. Plus, I like the extremity of going full-on liquid just to see if I can do it... because, hey, why not?(don't answer that. ha)

Back to some sort of grind.

An organ grind? A coffee grind?.. or is it only a ground? Whatever it is, it seems daily. But it's the good grind, I have to say. I love what I do. Even when it's on the mundane side of things. I will actually get to sleep at a decent time tonight, too. That's a big grinding plus in my book!