Challenges among friends.

It isn't an easy thing to face the people you like who at the same time directly oppose you in one way or another. Maybe it is one of the greatest challenges, really. How do you decide the correct path through the opposition? My personal example is something only I can speculate internally on but I have to say it is something I am quite unfamiliar with and do not enjoy. I don't believe it is necessarily something inherently bad to deal with, even... just another one of life's challenges... a challenge of a type with a particularly distasteful feeling.

Five months into the yeard.

It's a gnarly, unruly crop just shooting out of my chin in just about every direction. A curly mop of salt and pepper constituting the bulk of my body's follicular population. It hides a portion of my face, warms that same space by the same token, and changes the world's perception of me as a whole... a multi-talented little mess, I suppose. It's a small dose of fun simply reacting to reactions that it generates on occasion. One month away from the half-way point. So far, so good.

The holiday weekend warrior.

I worked all weekend like a fiend without a friend. It was a fun/challenging shoot for 66.6% of the time with a semi-relaxing trip into the office for the last 1/3rd of the time. The weather was awesome, the scenery was reasonably epic and the productivity was solid. Now, after everybody has returned from holiday, the week kicks off fresh with possibility and a good dose of humorosity, I expect. We are the makers of our futures... the crafters of our potentials... the shapers of what's to come in time.

It is great to get ahead of things.

Which might be one of the main reasons for planning. It is also nice to have a variety of safety nets for the predictably unpredictable ways of life. It kind of makes me wonder if the only way to truly prepare for every situation is by becoming the kind of person that always prepares yet always adapts to the unexpected anyway. It seems to have little with trying to control the situation and more to do with controlling one's self... which is probably about the oldest news any monk can think of. Old news isn't necessarily bad news, it seems.

The unfillable void.

It is generally a tragic thing when a person leaves this life unexpectedly. The people of deeper influence tend to leave a crater in their wake, however, something bigger than the sum of their life's parts, in a way. They have woven themselves into the fabric of their communities, stretching the threads of their character and gifts into the greater tapestries influenced by them... each thread an accent among the art they inhabit. An accent color, unique and irreplaceable, wholly indefinable without the context of the person from which they sprung. It is sad to see them go but it is grand to see everyone else rise up as best they can to lend each his or her own fibers and context. Never a complete patch but something beautiful and characteristic in its own way. A loose but valid attempt at closure of any kind.

Wandering back into the color.

I enjoy color grading quite a bit but don't make many opportunities to do it lately. I have a big crop of it ahead of me though and I think after my brief reentry into the fray today I will have quite a time of it soon. It should be a grand old time for sure.

Full on binging.

Maybe getting a Netflix subscription was actually a good thing for me just because it actually inspires me to take a day off. Not the expected effect but not necessarily a bad one... yet. Ha. It's good to dig into my career research, anyway.

Working hard and loving it.

The physical duress of my job can not be understated at times. Sure, it might seem like a fairly basic activity. And, at it's core, the complexity and challenge of it isn't something you'd compare to the exertion a more strenuous career might undertake on a more regular basis - farmer, professional athlete, coal miner, construction worker, etc. The challenge of my work today, I tend to think, could have been put somewhere near that category, however, as I reflect upon the moments of near physical exhaustion I endured at several points during our shoot today. I didn't reach the point of collapse, and the shaking and muscular pain might have only hit a six or a seven on the pain scale, but combine the heat, the strain, the endurance, and the critical mental fatigue and I am inclined to feel quite happy for having gotten through it as well as I did. I would do it again(as I am pretty much always up for a good challenge) but I honestly know I would have to better prepare myself beforehand if I want to expect a better result than what I got today. Actual physical training would be required to improve. How cool is that?! I love my work.

Which television show has been my favorite one to work on?

It's an easy question to answer since I have more experience with one show than any other. But it still leaves me to ponder what might lay in store. I do thoroughly enjoy my work and it shouldn't surprise me that every other show has been nearly my favorite. It's a product of the experience more than the fruits of the labor, I suppose... but still... the fruits do have important meaning. It give me something to think about.

Digging back into the dating apps.

I forgot how annoying it was to be constantly looking for the next potential relationship. I've only been doing it for a day or so and it's already starting to feel like a mentally exhausting waste of time. Note, I said feel because I know it isn't meaningless energy expense but if there is any one thing that I do(or have done) in my life that basically feels like spinning wheels without moving... it's online dating... or maybe just dating in general. Anyway... I can't complain... I just gotta keep at it. Someday I will come across somebody that will finally end the insanity. Ha.

Slowing down to pace.

Or finding a decent pace? I've been working more than I probably should have been for the last several months(half year... longer, even?) and it is definitely not ideal for my desire to be a regular guy. What is a regular guy, you ask? Somebody who gets to enjoy time with family and friends while still getting the important work done. I know the balance is different for everyone but I'd like to swing it back toward the family/friends side of life whenever possible. And I'd especially enjoy finding a woman to share it with. Patience has served me well in so many ways so far but I am not too thrilled about making my life alone, generally speaking. I guess I'll be that much happier about finding the right person when she does come along... and maybe she cooks pies or sings me a song or makes me laugh or something... that'd be pretty awesome. Ha.

The effects of powerful character.

I learned tonight of the loss of a father suffered by one of my dearest friends. I had only met him about 5 or 6 years ago, and spent a relatively brief amount of time with him in any capacity since. And because of his relationship as the father of someone I respect deeply, I am naturally inclined to respect and appreciate him... I would say, however, that because of his incredibly authentic, clear character that I truly feel the loss of this man as someone who influenced me in a real, impactful way. He was one of those people that you meet that makes you hope you can somehow acquire some of the traits he possessed. The focus, the deliberate intention to do good... coupled with the humility to be self-aware... it was a special combination, uniquely his own, emphasized through the reflection it has cast in the lives of his family. He will be missed despite his incredible influence living on in the form of all those whose life he touched.

Rest in peace, good sir.

In memoriam - Jim Harston

Always more to learn.

I think I grew up with a strangely erroneous concept in my head that the advancement of technology wouldn't really get too impressive or unusual or far outside of what I can already imagine. It was a strange, self-imposed comfort level with what I had already experienced and what I expected I could experience based on... contemporary sci-fi? Sure, we had imagined up many things, logically deduced from current technology, that have come to be in the years since... we TOTALLY missed all kinds of things, however, as the collective imagination of humanity FAR transcends the meager mental dabblings of any one person, no matter how bright or imaginative. In short, I am impressed by all that we have discovered but am always interested to learn about what we, as yet, have not. Life is just fun that way sometimes!

A little bit of slowdown.

Today was quite a relaxed pace compared to what I have been working through lately... and it was nice. I still worked about 9 hours, which feels like a short day, but it was at a much more manageable pace for sure. Getting things done. Preparing for the next ones. The rise and fall of optimism... a very natural aspect of life. The weather was beautiful. I consider myself a lucky fellow in so many ways.

Work's long weekend.

Over the weekend, we shot the first story of a pilot we are working on with a show runner from L.A. that we have never worked with before. He was great to work with, and we had a lot of fun working together with him as our team leader, but we definitely burned the long hours a bit longer than usual. Now I can get back to the regular(already lengthy) working lifestyle I usually enjoy. Ha.

The excellent blend of comedy and drama.

This isn't a review of the movie Guardians of the Galaxy as much as it is a comment about my enjoyment of a well-balanced mix of high-quality comedy with potent dramatic fare. Marvel comics movies has, in recent years, done a very good job of striking this balance with fairly solid consistency. And it is a fine line to balance around/on... a fine line that takes incredible patience, practice and skill to achieve... yet... Guardians has done it... and I have enjoyed it... and now(possibly for being quite tired already) I have basically stated the same thing in several different ways... just for practice, I guess. Ha.

The day before a shoot.

Is always so loaded with preparation it sometimes feels like the night before midterms are due. Just packing and organizing and laboring over all the little details of what is needed for the shoot... it can be kind of exhausting in its own way. I think it'll be another fun one, though, and I look forward to seeing the result!

Joining a great team.

Every shoot is a different collection of minds and hearts aligned to the service of one goal... make something great! The trials along the way will be many, a plethora of undiscovered road blocks and patience-testing compromises, but the team always perseveres, a collective heart of iron and fire. We formed a new team today and I am excited to experience all of this with them, once again, even if only for a few short weeks or so.

Working hard... physically.

And I imagine I'll feel it pretty good for another day or so. I really enjoy the blend of athleticism and art and I hope I am called upon more for just this kind of thing. And I am so lucky to love what I do as much as I do!

Doing good work for the people with money.

It is not the most common thing but it is something I am glad to have found recently. I think I am making a good impression and I hope they have lots more work for me in the future.