Evening unwind.

I do a lot of writing and thinking at the end of each day. I usually mix in a lot of random entertainment in one form or another. This all causes me to take much too long to get to sleep. I need to improve my discipline to basically bypass all the distracting entertainment along the way... that would definitely cut the time way down.

Incredible tennis.

I have played very little tennis in my life but I have still thoroughly enjoyed the careers of both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as a somewhat uninformed spectator. Sure, I have a fairly extensive table tennis background which engages my interest as I watch tennis but I, like the common and uncommon sports fan alike, still enjoy the great narrative generated by the lives of the exceptional among us. And it helps when they are such likable people, too, I suppose. Anyway, they played an incredible match last night that still lingers with me a bit today. It is also the reason I missed my entry last night considering the time they were playing sort of ran over it full force(midnight to about 4:30am, after it was all said and done.) I don't regret the miss of a day, in this case, even though that is normally on my emotional plate of things to do after missing a day. I can justify a small break for once-in-a-lifetime entertainment.

I love me some shootin' on the camera.

It's one of my favorite activities and definitely makes for the most drug-like form of work I have ever done. The challenge and opportunity to be technical and artistic is so incredibly addicting to me. I suppose that's why I am so motivated to just do the work whenever possible. Love of one's work is definitely a desirable life element that I am glad/lucky to have found.

The horizon ever brightens.

There seems to be more an more fun/awesome/challenging things appearing in the future of our work. And all of it looks to be quite valuable experience that I think will definitely take our team to the "next" level... whatever that means. Ha. Sure, it's a fairly ambiguous, hard-to-define-or-explain term but it says it clearly enough anyway. And I look forward to every challenging minute to come!

Woeless rejection.

I went to meet up with a gal for a cup of cocoa and for the first time(perhaps in my entire life?) I was stood up by a date. Well... I am not sure I would call it a date - meeting up for cocoa - but in this day and age, I suppose it probably achieves that level, considering the rarity of actual connection in the first place. No worries about the miss tonight, though... I basically lowered my expectations somewhere below ground-level. Not really a great way to do things as it limits how much energy I expend to actually make it all happen but I'd call it a good experience to learn from anyway. And, strangely, she still might be interested in trying again later, I tend to think. And if I'm wrong, what else is new? Ha.

Commercials might be a good way to fill the space.

I think it could be a good thing to do for a couple reasons. One, I have always enjoyed the storytelling medium of commercials - brief, incredibly direct and potentially inspiring stuff(whether it is a call to action asking for a sale or inspiring some form of comedy/drama.) Another reason, which could potentially be more of a lucrative idea, it could be used in preparation for clients/potential clients. I generally think of these writing habits of mine as a positive skill-building exercise but probably overlook the potentially direct monetary benefits I might be able to distill from them. I should be a little more aware of that potential, I have to say. Energy well spent, even lacking specific reward, still could be quite a boon should something like that become attached.

Tying habits together.

I think I've written about this before but maybe not... or maybe it has just been a long while. Anyway, I have to think that there is good technique to utilizing one strong habit to building/creating other habits. For me it started with a consistent daily journal. Once I got good at that I was further enabled, whether by skill or simply confidence, to practice writing with my left hand. This eventually lead me to all sorts of other habits which have essentially just piggybacked the consistency and momentum I have through my journaling. Now, I write a page of script every day. I can't call it a quality page of script yet but the consistency is slowly getting there and once it becomes easy to do daily I can start to turn up the effort on the quality. And it all started with the little daily habit of writing a few sentences down in a book.

Random discovery of new music.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the power of Pandora for quite a few years now. That said, it is still a somewhat rare occurrence when a new band really grabs me. It seems to be about one a year these days/maybe for the last decade or so(which, if you're doing basic rudimentary math in your head equals out to something like 10 new bands in the last 10 years.) This might seem like a small number at first glance but I think it more emphasizes the quality to which I refer about a band that "really grabs me." These are not just high quality musicians and composers. The ones that really "grab" me are almost always ones that offer something somewhat unique to the music listening experience for me, which also means that it must be something somewhat new to me in order to find that unique quality. I have heard an incredible variety of music over the years and finding something new is generally not too common for me. Thus, I am always quite delighted, and somewhat surprised, to discover new music that really grabs me. It really makes my day/week/month/year/decade/score/life!

Miss Communication.

I tend to think single women are difficult to understand and, I think, they tend to take what I say in some sort of strange way. It kind of feels like I got some kind of weird curse on me or something sometimes. It makes me think that I intimidate them unnecessarily. How silly it is considering how harmless I am. Sure, I generally think like an alpha male personality but I definitely temper my behavior into something much calmer and more diffusive. I guess I will never have it easy when it comes to communicating with single women. I suppose I have gotten by in life this way so far so I probably shouldn't start(continue?) complaining about it now. Ha.

Building a story through sketches.

I have undertaken the practice of writing at least one page of a script each day this year. It is a challenging thing to do on a very basic level. It forces me to stretch my imagination in such different ways than I have done in the past. I would like to use it to write a full-length feature, however, and while I think it can definitely serve that purpose I am starting to realize new challenges it creates in the style of how I would normally write a very lengthy script. Namely, that each day is such a rough explosion of ideas(maybe explosion is too generous... mini-burst?) that I wonder how helpful it is to build a story this way. I would normally be inclined to sketch the overall story arc first before building the whole thing up by adding polished pieces onto that story arc skeleton, so to speak. I wonder if this new method will be something that is ultimately more frustrating to the process or more of a blessing? It feels like it kinda has to go one way or the other, strangely.

Stepping off on the right foot.

Being prepared is one of the most important ingredients to establishing a successful project or endeavor. It by no means guarantees any measure of ostensible, productive success... it does guarantee the benefits of practicing to do the best you can to help it achieve that kind of outcome. The guarantee of a possibility isn't half bad, in my book. Purposeful effort goes so much further than incidental/accidental success. Better lucky than good? Not really... what does one actually gain by obtaining that which is not earned?

Starting to meet the new team.

Well, the team that is "new" to me, at least. And it looks to be a solid crew in the small sample size I engaged with today. The ball is a rollin' already but the momentum looks to be gaining speed in the quickly coming weeks ahead. It looks to be a grand and bustling adventure, for sure!

Excellent collaboration.

I am not sure much compares to forming a really good team with some really good people. Learning to communicate each different person's language is sometimes a challenge but always worth the adventure. And building the high-quality products to match is always a splendid end result.

I enjoy writing chaos.

Not that it is particularly useful in any specific way but I like using it to fill space. It is difficult to force creativity. It is less difficult to force creation. Sure, I would prefer to craft something artfully purposeful every time if I could. But I can't, so the chaos is my delightful little scapegoat for creative failure/inconsistency. Filler is better than emptiness when one is attempting to create a habit of effort.

Working for the people who work with the people I work for.

Sometimes an opportunity comes along that grows into different opportunities altogether. Today I did some work that might fall into that category. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but I am still reminded of how that sort of possibility exists at the very least. Time to take advantage of the opportunity I might have as well as create others like it going forward.

Working all day and all night.

And I still feel like there is too much to do. I moved along at a pretty good pace today, even, and expect to continue along the same way for the next few weeks or so. Right now, I am tired and really should have gone to bed hours ago. Whoops!

Projects all over the place.

I have a tendency to load way more projects onto my plate than is probably smart to do. The level of commitment for most of them isn't very high(as in, the amount of time that is committed to each one individually) but the volume of projects makes that add up to what is slightly on the overwhelming side of things. I just keep driving forward, however, and will continue making progress on all of them. I think I need to close the door on picking any new things up at the moment, though, and I suppose that is the lesson of the day for me. The next lesson is learning how to actually close the door. Ha.

The rules of the game.

They are always a somewhat annoying aspect of the game that I love. I don't mind if people play hard or even push the boundaries of legality by their play style... it's the somewhat vague officiating that really gets me annoyed. Some things just don't seem very clear to me and it just makes it difficult for me to figure out how to even play correctly. Luckily, I still enjoy playing hard, playing my best, but without that I might be inclined to avoid the basketball season altogether for lack of enjoyment.

What happens behind so many scenes.

I think one of the more interesting aspects of my work is the occasional opportunity to see into some actual part of life that I really don't know much about. Tonight we filmed an expert panel of I.T. professionals in the medical industry. It was very interesting to hear their thoughts on how their work relates to and is affected by the general public. They all had very interesting, intelligent things to say of their work while at the same time admitting their challenges of keeping up with the changes in the world, whether societal, technological, medical, or otherwise. None of them sounded incompetent or in any way disinterested in actual positive outcomes for all people who engage with healthcare due to health issues everyday people inevitably face. It definitely sounded somewhat different than the narrative some people are fed by the media about their corruption due to money. It was real people wanting to do the work of real people for real people.

Delving into the writing.

Narrative Exploration

Some of my purpose for writing here is the exercise of my creative writing muscles. I occasionally(though, quite rarely for the past several years) write out some prose or poetry here. It usually comes as inspired, an emotional reflection of something from the day. I have been thinking I will start writing some narrative ideas here from time to time now. I've started writing film script pages every day to exercise that creative muscle and I think that adding the narrative practice here will couple well with that practice. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but I look forward to delving into that creative expression. I just thought I'd throw this entry up as a precursor/explanation in preparation to it. It also doubles as the description for the new label I will categorize those entries with.

Motivational speakers are pretty awesome.

Even if that's not specifically their game. I've been enjoying one particular speaker lately that talks about leadership and motivations more than talking about anything specifically motivational. His ideas are so clear and resonant to me that they motivate me by their very nature. His presentation is something I would aspire to emulate in my own way. Some of what I do in my writing here should, if I am doing it even a little bit right, also serve to enlighten/uplift/inspire/encourage in some way or another. Not that everything I write even can serve that purpose... but I do hope that it can serve others in ways similar to how it(whatever concepts I have enjoyed along the way) has served me. I learn and share what I learn openly. I am lucky it is something I enjoy... and, perhaps, luckier that I enjoy the act of communicating(in this case, writing) as much as I do. What good would any of it do anybody other than me if I just kept it all bottled up in my head?

Script writing will be a much more difficult task than expected.

I planned to write one page a day, which in and of itself isn't really that much to write, however, it is definitely a creative stretch from my regular routines. As previously stated, I can allow myself to write crap from time to time but even coming up with what that crap will look/smell like is by no means automatic, much like some of my journal writing is(especially the stuff where I basically record what happens each day.) In an attempt to create something new each time I plan to generate new ideas each day, whether as something entirely new or as something appended to old ideas in furtherance of, or even as improvement/innovation to freshen up existing material. It's all a challenge. It will likely require me to start generating ideas throughout the day that I would utilize at the end of each day. This definitely makes it a worthy challenge. And we'll see how long I can sustain it!

Exploring the importance of leadership.

There are a large variety of qualities that combine to form the aspects of leadership. The one that is potentially the most valuable quality, to my mind, is the ability of a leader to sacrifice his or her time for the people being led. Time also represents the truest reflection of the expression of love from one person to another. So, in a way, the time a good leader sacrifices to those they are leading might also express a level of respect akin to the respect of love. This could also imply that those who are most capable of giving said time/love without expectation of return are truly the best leaders. They are the ones who courageously lead themselves into vulnerability to the benefit of those who are too afraid to. They are the ones building the bonds of culture, society and humanity.

Creating the mundane.

Part of what enables me to even do this writing on a regular basis is my ability to be okay with writing what amounts to be very common, generally unimaginative nonsense most of the time. Even though my quantity is not particularly prolific, I still have taught myself to accept a very basic writing level. It was once put to me by a writer friend of mine - "You have to learn to be okay with writing crap." The context of his statement referred to the somewhat different situation of creating a draft that was intended to later be polished but I think it definitely still applies to what I am doing here. Of the many beneficial reasons that I do this, I essentially write to flex my writing muscle. And even though I would prefer to be a better writer I have basically been training to write at this "basically unimaginative" level just by doing it so much... in a way, I have not only raised the floor level of my capability, I have also brought the ceiling of my potential down... which is kind of sad/annoying... yet... I am still okay with it. As I have undertaken the habit of script writing I have the precedent to continue this level of acceptance in my script generating. At first, I would rather be regularly and consistently writing as the biggest challenge comes in the form of establishing the habit in the first place. I should be careful, however, to diligently increase the level of my effort(and by extension, the level of my self-critical acceptance) to further stretch my skill and improve the upward climb in my quest to become a master of my craft. Mastery can never be obtained incidentally, after all.

Keeping new habits intact.

Sure, it's usually not too tough for the first few days or so, especially when the other normal habits are not particularly disruptive in the first place, but I can imagine the first time I stay the night somewhere else how it will be a test of these habits if they have not already solidified by then. Anything that breaks routine will basically test the mettle of my commitment to the new habits in the first place. A dearth of ideas, a later-than-usual day returning home, an extra early wake-up time the next morning... these are all little deviations that might be disruptive. In some small way, however, identifying some of these possible anti-habits beforehand will help to break through them when they do appear in my life's little battles in the future. Making a plan along those lines further improves those odds. Having a plan at all is a plan to succeed at least a little more than nothing, I always say. Ha.

Hard work never guarantees quality.

This is an under-recognized truth in my industry. So many moving parts and so many areas for problems really almost ensure that a much larger percentage of completed efforts(not to mention the vastly larger number of uncompleted efforts) is just not a very high-quality product. That doesn't make it an unentertaining product, as quality doesn't necessarily denote whether something is good or entertaining or not, but it can kind of carry some of those moments that make you wince for the people involved while you watch it. Either way, I don't mind being a part of it all... the effort is the worthier part and the experience is always my reward.

New alphabets always take some time to learn.

Especially when they have little to no precedent in one's life. The easiest part about it is the fact that it's not actually a foreign language... just a different version of English. As it is such a slow-going process at first, the writing always looks so much more formal at the beginning of the book compared to how it tends to end up by the time I finish the book. Like any form of handwriting, it evolves to adjust to the speed of writing and eventually comes to reflect a mood and style particular to each moment in which the writing belongs to. One of the new challenges for 2017!

2016: A Year of Firsts and Foremosts

As previously stated, this is to be my annual recollection of the year in totallum(<-- not really sure if that's a word.)

The early part of the year was delightfully busy with work for what easily became the largest client of Tiny Box Productions ever. With the help of Marissa and Corey(and a couple other folks as the job demanded) we got some work done and even made a little money along the way. It was a good, crazy, fun, learning time.

Rolling along into the second quarter of the year, we then started serious talks with the Flea about officially forming a business with them to not only be a smart thing for the Flea but to also help Chad in the process of him becoming a US citizen. We plugged in with the Renton Chamber of Commerce, made a few decent business connections through them, as well as setup a few fun, exceptionally challenging, productions with/for them like the golf tournament production. It was the beginning of a very busy mid-year.

Rolling through the Summer saw a solid mixture of Hoarders and Screaming Flea Creative Media work that kept everybody busy like bumble bees. It also ramped up as we helped plan for the 1st annual Renton City Comic Convention which definitely took the "cake of difficulty" as the most challenging, physically demanding, excitingly fun production of the year. Sure, my Hoarders shoots were more challenging on a professional level, with the first one being the most difficult shoot I have ever done, but I wouldn't add the excitingly fun element into that equation. Anyway, it was all kinds of crazy that basically fell off the mountain once it all wrapped up.

Which made for a very slow but very appreciated fourth quarter. Sure we have stayed busy with planning and a few small projects here and there but I would have been lying if I didn't say this fourth quarter was pretty much too easy for my liking. It has been a good holiday season. A nice relaxing time.

Oh, I should probably also mention that I started trying to do some online dating this year, sometime in the Summer I suppose, and have had a very strange, but not altogether bad experience with that. I've met a couple rad women somehow(which basically feels like total luck, considering how few women online even respond or bother to read any of my invitations to chat that I send them), even though it doesn't seem like anything beyond friendship will come of any of it so far. It's a really puzzling experience that I doubt I will ever really understand to a normal level of satisfaction. We'll see what next year brings... or doesn't bring. Ha.

Anyway, I think this was about as good of a snapshot as I was ever really going to conjure for this year's grand experience. I will call it a good one, as far as years go, and definitely look forward to all the new stuff the next year has in store! Best wishes to all who read this and a happy New Year to all of you, as well!