I neglected to do my 2019 review and almost missed the infamous 2020 review as well... even if it is a little later than preferred. I have the day off and I am going to take advantage of the time to do some personal things. This is one of those things.
2020 might have been touted as "The Year That Never Was" or "The Year That Shocked the World" or "The Year Everything Changed" or "The Year of the Mask." There are a myriad of negative, ill-defining, half-though-out, overly sensationalized statements that have been made about the way the year was effected by this silly microscopic virus but I am generally not one to subscribe to that sort of sentiment(even if I might grab a snack off the table of the bandwagon from time to time.) It was a crazy, unexpected, bizarre, life altering year to be sure but I wouldn't call it negative. I would just call it life.
The year kicked off quite nicely for me. I started by driving out to Austin, Texas for a shoot on a feature that basically filled the bulk of the month. It was a fun, challenging experience(as is typical for a feature film shoot) and I swung through Denver, Colorado on my way home to pick up a case for my big drone and it was a bit on the wintery side with a little snowfall while I was there. It's always cool to get exposed to a bit of the authentic feel of a place, especially since I had never been there before.
I think it was late February when the United States had begun to start recognizing the potential danger of the COVID-19 virus. I flew to Hawaii(also my first time there) for a gig there and the airports were certainly in a heightened state of security. Everyone in public is wearing masks and the luggage is screened thoroughly at this point. A slight sense of paranoia and general concern seems evident. The shoot in Hawaii was a great experience and I think we really got some cool footage for a cool little short. I even had a day or two to explore a bit on the "Big Island" where we were shooting.
In early March I got to help out on a fun music video for a band called Smokey Brights and that was basically the last production I worked on for about three straight months. The production world basically went into total lockdown and I went into full troglodyte mode until the next productions figured out a way to make a come back. I basically caught up on all the Youtube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime shows that could possibly be seen(that I was interested in, that is) and I am certain my excessive inactivity instilled a grander sense of general life apathy and muscle atrophy than I am typically quite averse to experiencing. Being lazier than a sack of potatoes yet lacking all the potassium and vitamin C benefits... not cool.
I think it was somewhere in June that I picked up a day gig or two helping shoot some of the Key Arena rebuild construction. My funds were basically just running out so getting something then was quite the boon, emotionally as well as financially. In July we were able to get Hoarders back in action and I was able to do a couple shoots between July and August. Things weren't totally back in action on the production side but I began to get enough little gigs that I was able to stay afloat without too much trouble. We also started having arm wrestling practices again around that time.
In late August and again in September I was able to help out on a couple music videos for Christian Burghardt, one in eastern Washington and the other in Malibu, California, which were both tons of fun and challenging experiences. I drove to both places and always enjoy road tripping whenever the opportunity presents itself. I got to pull with the Derek Smith club while I was down there which was a cool experience. He is quite the friendly, helpful fellow.
Toward the end of September I was called to help shoot with some real life cowboys doing a cattle roundup in the southern tip of Colorado in the mountains. I got to spend about a week there, living in the wilderness high up in that beautiful environment totally off the grid. They taught me how to ride a horse so I could go out with them and film while they were rounding up cattle in the hills. I slept in a range tent and didn't shower the whole time I was there! Awesome!(almost feral, even)
I also got to pull in a couple tournaments between September and October. One at the John Brzenk Open in Arizona(on the way to Colorado) and the other was the John Brzenk Cup in Utah near my sister's place. I only had a couple or so wins between the two but they were both great learning experiences.
We moved Pops down to my sister's place around that time as well since his health was starting to decline and we were not very well equipped to help him out at the house, especially with me traveling so much for work and whatnot. She did a very good job of really taking the reigns and handling his care.
I got to work on some creative and fun shoots in October, November and December between some short film stuff and the corporate work with Microsoft. I also got to pull in a couple tournaments in December, the Total Armwrestling League #2 in Boise, Idaho and the Washington state championships. I was able to get my first win in an "Open" division at the TAL event as well as meet a ton of awesome high level arm wrestlers, including a couple of my favorites in Monster Michael Todd and Todd "Toddzilla" Hutchings. At the Washington tournament I was able to win my amateur division 205lb division which was also a first. Super cool!
The holidays were a pretty low-key time for us at the house. Just at some food with the room mates and watched tv as usual. It's a little weird not having Pops around and doing things with a larger family group of some kind. Right after Christmas I started making my way to Texas for my first shoot of 2021 on a feature film. I stopped at my sister's to see them and Pops along the way and it was good to see him in a decent mood. His health is still declining but at least he is in good hands.
And here we are at the end of my entry. What is my review of the year like? I will say this: 2020 was definitely a weird year. It was also most definitely a very good year. Trials came in all different forms but the blessings and opportunities came in greater abundance by my count... as if anybody is actually counting. Either way, I know good when I see it and I know that I am quite a lucky fellow.