It's now come to be common knowledge on the island of Oahu that the latest production of Godzilla has been shooting here, mainly because it's been shooting with massive amounts of extras and crew on the beaches of one of the most popular destinations on the island. However, the plot of the movie is still quite secretive. Only pieces of the puzzle are known and obviously destruction of some place was going to have to be a part of of the film. I mean, it's Godzilla!
Lots of people turned up the weekend of the open casting call for extras. Over a thousand! Risking being late for work, I waited out the line to ensure my information got into the system. Glad I did. Of course, everybody may know by now that Godzilla was shooting here but like many productions the shoots will take place under another title to throw off the trail. And only those involved on the production in some way know what it is. And with this, being an extra gives one a little bit of insight into the secret of what's happening.
And on the plus side, extra work in major motion pictures is paid work. Always a bonus.
I was fortunate enough to be called for the first day of shooting on Oahu (but unfortunately didn't get more than one day like some people. Oh well.). Sure, I was only going to be a background extra, but I was going to try and be the best background actor I could be. And yes, you read that change of terminology right. I was excited, rather, ecstatic to finally walk onto a major movie set and watch a major crew work and to my fortune, the director as well!
Really, this was a bonus because the scenes we shot had none of the major cast in them and more often than not directors won't even show up for these kinds of scenes and if they do may show up and leave quickly leaving all the work to the Assistant Directors. But not this time!
I had a fitting a few days before the shoot. I had very little knowledge of what I'd be doing but going to the fitting I understood I would be playing a sailor, modern day from what it sounded like. So I got there and went through everything: paperwork, more paperwork, measurements, before going to get a hair cut (for free!). And then the PA, Yama, came up on the phone. He was talking to the Casting Assistant who had called me in and they had decided to change me to play a 1954 Sailor and I kid you not these words came out of his mouth WHILE he was still on the phone: "because she said you'll look hotter as a 1954 Sailor." Oh, how I chuckled inside but that made my day. Goes to also show how much Hollywood is still about looks, though.
Day of the shoot came. It was Sunday, June 30th. I had a 4:45am call time! I had about four hours of sleep, arriving on set about 4:30am (always making sure I'm not late to a film set)!
I must admit, most of what happens on a film set, unless you're really passionate about getting into film and observant of every little thing, can be pretty boring to the basic person. There's still a good bit of waiting. But there can be A LOT of people on set. So I set out to try and figure out what different people's roles might be just by watching them. Not as easy as it seems when they aren't actually doing their jobs yet. But I was quickly brought in to fill out more paperwork for the days shoot, get a quick trim and makeup, and thrown into costume. All in time to be brought onto set at the very beginning of the day.
We were shooting on the USS Missouri. What happened next I hadn't expected on such a big production. A Hawaiian priest had come to have a blessing over the production (complete with Hawaiian leaves and really old water from a natural spring). It was actually pretty cool and a great way to start the morning, especially seeing the entire crew gathered together at the beginning of the day (only 5 other extras were there as well).
The rest of the day could be considered long but I was too excited the whole time. And really, I didn't do a whole lot. Stood around, sat down for a while, pretended to watch a nuclear blast, mingled around in a scene recreating Bikini Atolls. Best part for me, though, watching a director on a large project work. Sure, Gareth Edwards isn't one of the greats with only one other known project to his name (Monsters) but he's making a multimillion dollar film and it was still interesting to see how he interacted with the crew and the extras. Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to him. About the only time I could have was lunch and he went to watch dailies. Oh, well.
Still, I made a couple connections (Yama the PA and another extra who views things sort of like I do) and observed a lot of work coming together. And I got sun burnt sitting in the sun all day.
Until the next adventure!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Some Reasons to Hate Being in the Army
This list is by no means everything and some people may disagree with some of them. But I'm sure most of them people who have served (especially now) will agree with. This list is also not necessarily in order of importance.
1. You might as well be a child with the way they treat you. Apparently, even if you're almost 30, just because you're not a high enough rank or married (cause that's the exception to every rule in the Army apparently) then you need to have your room monitored constantly and everyone is so stupid that they need to be constantly reminded not to act like a child)
2. No matter how many times leadership says you are all leaders and your ideas are just as important, your rank is still the only thing that matters. Period.
3. Purely incompetent leaderships. Enough said.
4. Waste and usage of paper. Seriously, even when I interned at a film company, they print out all their scripts and I still feel the Army wastes a whole lot more paper, especially since all of that paper at some point just gets thrown away. At least the scripts were saved for reading.
5. You are basically owned by the Army. Pretty much the only thing there is a 100% guarantee of not having to get permission for is eating, sleeping (mostly), and shelter.
6. "Train to standard not to time." Main beef with PT. Rarely the case.
7. We train as we fight. Yeah, not always.
8. POV inspections. All the time. Because people can't maintain their vehicles, apparently.
9. Good luck actually doing your job. Next thing you know, they'll just throw you in an office to do admin. doesn't matter there is a specialized MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) for that.
10. Hooah. I can't stand this word. It makes us all stand stupid.
11. Boards. Mainly promotion boards. Seriously, who thought that having someone sit like a statue and answer random questions about the Army (not even necessarily related to your specific job) was a good idea for figuring out who should get promoted?
12. Mass punishment. It might sort of work in basic training but after that, it just pisses everybody off and doesn't necessarily teach the guy a lesson who caused the problem.
13. Losing paperwork. ALL THE TIME. Seriously, there is a problem when the common thing to say is, "You better make copies because most likely they'll lose your paperwork." UNACCEPTABLE.
14. Change of Command ceremonies. So we can all stand in a block so a bunch of higher ups can watch other higher ups enter a unit.
15. Interpreting regulations however the hell you want. Because there isn't enough restriction already every leader needs to put extra restrictions on those restrictions.
16. Excessive Acronyms. As in, just about everything has an acronym.
17. Oh, you didn't want to be a mechanic? Well, too bad. Suddenly everyone in the Army will be a basic Humvee mechanic.
18. Formation runs (battalion, company, brigade, etc.) If you were good at running before, just wait for a few of these runs at insane slow paces (because they put the slow people in front so everyone can keep up) and your knees will hate you the rest of your life.
19. "Work smarter, not harder." Until they tell you to do it a certain way and there is no way around it. Oh, you thought of a new more inventive way? Isn't that nice?
20. Counselings. Literally, monthly counseling to help you "progress" because in the Army everyone must succeed and nobody should ever be allowed to figure things out on their own. And of course you need to be coached on every single area of life.
21. Yearly training. Mainly because it becomes far more than yearly. Oh, it's twice a year? Let's make it quarterly. Quarterly? Why don't we have this at least once a month. Seriously, I've heard more people comment (which you never know who is truly serious) about wanted to commit suicide by having so much suicide prevention training. I get it's important but beating people over the head with it never helped.
22. When it comes to quality of life the only other branch that doesn't ask "Don't you wish you'd joined (branch)?" is the Marines. Basically, you should have joined the Navy or the Air Force. Meaning, you should have joined the Air Force.
23. APFT - really the only thing that truly matters throughout the entire Army. Basically, if you're physically fit, you can suck at your job and somehow you're still awesome.
24. Micro-managing. Let people think for themselves! They keep SAYING everyone is an adult. How about you treat everyone that way?
25. Sitting around all day with no work only to suddenly get a whole bunch of work right before it's time to go home.
26. Not being allowed to go do anything more productive somewhere else when you have no work because that is your "place of duty."
27. Not being allowed to do anything not Army related that's far more productive than sitting around when you have no work.
28. Stretching training that should take 30 min. into 2 hours because that's the mandated time for training. And because we don't have enough legitimate work to fill a whole day.
29. The Army will only look out for the Army you. They won't look out for the real you.
30. I've never seen SO MANY lazy workers than I have in the Army. I mean, they're always there, but not so abundantly.
31. Logic! What do they teach people these days? Certainly not logic. That has no place in the once organization where people can and are known to die in their job.
32. Pay may be decent when all the incentives are calculated in. But the amount of stress that goes into it isn't worth it.
33. Oh, you have a strange schedule that's not 5 days a week with a sleep schedule that doesn't align with a normal work day? Okay, we're going to call you in in the morning with 5 hours of sleep on half your off days that is basically your weekend when we don't ever call in anybody else on Saturday or Sunday. NO!!!!!!
34. Boasting equality and having completely different standards for everyone.
35. Wasting money and things the Army really doesn't need when there are Soldiers living in Barracks that are on the verge (or already are) considered unsuitable for living in.
1. You might as well be a child with the way they treat you. Apparently, even if you're almost 30, just because you're not a high enough rank or married (cause that's the exception to every rule in the Army apparently) then you need to have your room monitored constantly and everyone is so stupid that they need to be constantly reminded not to act like a child)
2. No matter how many times leadership says you are all leaders and your ideas are just as important, your rank is still the only thing that matters. Period.
3. Purely incompetent leaderships. Enough said.
4. Waste and usage of paper. Seriously, even when I interned at a film company, they print out all their scripts and I still feel the Army wastes a whole lot more paper, especially since all of that paper at some point just gets thrown away. At least the scripts were saved for reading.
5. You are basically owned by the Army. Pretty much the only thing there is a 100% guarantee of not having to get permission for is eating, sleeping (mostly), and shelter.
6. "Train to standard not to time." Main beef with PT. Rarely the case.
7. We train as we fight. Yeah, not always.
8. POV inspections. All the time. Because people can't maintain their vehicles, apparently.
9. Good luck actually doing your job. Next thing you know, they'll just throw you in an office to do admin. doesn't matter there is a specialized MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) for that.
10. Hooah. I can't stand this word. It makes us all stand stupid.
11. Boards. Mainly promotion boards. Seriously, who thought that having someone sit like a statue and answer random questions about the Army (not even necessarily related to your specific job) was a good idea for figuring out who should get promoted?
12. Mass punishment. It might sort of work in basic training but after that, it just pisses everybody off and doesn't necessarily teach the guy a lesson who caused the problem.
13. Losing paperwork. ALL THE TIME. Seriously, there is a problem when the common thing to say is, "You better make copies because most likely they'll lose your paperwork." UNACCEPTABLE.
14. Change of Command ceremonies. So we can all stand in a block so a bunch of higher ups can watch other higher ups enter a unit.
15. Interpreting regulations however the hell you want. Because there isn't enough restriction already every leader needs to put extra restrictions on those restrictions.
16. Excessive Acronyms. As in, just about everything has an acronym.
17. Oh, you didn't want to be a mechanic? Well, too bad. Suddenly everyone in the Army will be a basic Humvee mechanic.
18. Formation runs (battalion, company, brigade, etc.) If you were good at running before, just wait for a few of these runs at insane slow paces (because they put the slow people in front so everyone can keep up) and your knees will hate you the rest of your life.
19. "Work smarter, not harder." Until they tell you to do it a certain way and there is no way around it. Oh, you thought of a new more inventive way? Isn't that nice?
20. Counselings. Literally, monthly counseling to help you "progress" because in the Army everyone must succeed and nobody should ever be allowed to figure things out on their own. And of course you need to be coached on every single area of life.
21. Yearly training. Mainly because it becomes far more than yearly. Oh, it's twice a year? Let's make it quarterly. Quarterly? Why don't we have this at least once a month. Seriously, I've heard more people comment (which you never know who is truly serious) about wanted to commit suicide by having so much suicide prevention training. I get it's important but beating people over the head with it never helped.
22. When it comes to quality of life the only other branch that doesn't ask "Don't you wish you'd joined (branch)?" is the Marines. Basically, you should have joined the Navy or the Air Force. Meaning, you should have joined the Air Force.
23. APFT - really the only thing that truly matters throughout the entire Army. Basically, if you're physically fit, you can suck at your job and somehow you're still awesome.
24. Micro-managing. Let people think for themselves! They keep SAYING everyone is an adult. How about you treat everyone that way?
25. Sitting around all day with no work only to suddenly get a whole bunch of work right before it's time to go home.
26. Not being allowed to go do anything more productive somewhere else when you have no work because that is your "place of duty."
27. Not being allowed to do anything not Army related that's far more productive than sitting around when you have no work.
28. Stretching training that should take 30 min. into 2 hours because that's the mandated time for training. And because we don't have enough legitimate work to fill a whole day.
29. The Army will only look out for the Army you. They won't look out for the real you.
30. I've never seen SO MANY lazy workers than I have in the Army. I mean, they're always there, but not so abundantly.
31. Logic! What do they teach people these days? Certainly not logic. That has no place in the once organization where people can and are known to die in their job.
32. Pay may be decent when all the incentives are calculated in. But the amount of stress that goes into it isn't worth it.
33. Oh, you have a strange schedule that's not 5 days a week with a sleep schedule that doesn't align with a normal work day? Okay, we're going to call you in in the morning with 5 hours of sleep on half your off days that is basically your weekend when we don't ever call in anybody else on Saturday or Sunday. NO!!!!!!
34. Boasting equality and having completely different standards for everyone.
35. Wasting money and things the Army really doesn't need when there are Soldiers living in Barracks that are on the verge (or already are) considered unsuitable for living in.
What was I thinking?
When 2010 came around I had finally officially finished college (with one semester more than intended) and, with a failed attempt at moving to LA and not able to find work in Chicago after school, I found myself moving back home. It was the dreaded fear of college students, having to move back in with your parents. No one really wants to do it and I certainly didn't. At this point I had left home and gotten to the point I was living in apartments instead of dorm rooms. Granted, my parent's house was still nicer than either but I had to start somewhere living on my own. But now I was back home with only a part time job at the movie theater I had worked at off and on at since the end of high school and feeling pretty aimless (especially considering I was still wanting to do film with pretty much no film industry in sight). Had I been in a much better financial situation (and been more determined and disciplined) I would have toughed it out in LA. But alas, I was back in Lawrence, KS.
But as I floundered (and really for not terribly long) a friend of mine was planning on joining the Army. Now, he already had more of an idea than me what he wanted to do (although that even changed a bit due to varying circumstances) and I was talking to him one day and he started talking about the ASVAB. I found myself curious and asked him about it and he explained to me about what is in a sense the Army standardized test for entry into the service. And then he said to me, "You know, you seem interested in what I'm talking about. I have to talk to the recruiter on (such and such day). You should come with me and check it out." So I of course walked into the office that day.
And who have thought, that by walking into that office, I wouldn't be turning back. I was after all, the guy that at the end of high school was determined never to be in the Army even if that meant I move to Canada. I took a practice ASVAB, and pretty quickly I was on my way to trying to get into the Army. Of course, with a degree, I attempted to go the OCS (Officer Candidate School) route first. Being a civilian, this included taking a PT test (no problems there), taking the ASVAB (which I barely met the ASVAB requirements for OCS), and submitting a packet of stuff. At that point, I had an interview with a bunch of Captains. For some reason, I was more nervous than I've ever been in my life. Somehow I passed. But they had to send the packet up to some other board where they don't even see me and I didn't get in.
But I felt this was what I was supposed to do. So I still enlisted. In Intelligence. Having no idea what the job entailed. I knew this. I would go to basic training at Fort Jackson in November. I would go to Advanced Training in February. After that ... spoilers. And even after I enlisted, I nearly got a job as an appliance delivery guy, except I had just joined the Army.
But with a 3 1/2 year contract and almost 3 years in, I can honestly say, I would never recommend this life .... to anyone. Not only is it quite miserable but I have never talked to so many people who's despised a job so much. And really, most of it comes down to dealing with what seem to be a majority of rather incompetent leaders. And of course a ridiculous list of Army mandated regulations that come down that end up making everyone's life miserable.
Even Hawaii can be miserable. Just be in the Army and it becomes worse. The one plus: Hawaii has a film industry. Other stories later.
So in November 2010 I joined the Army. In June 2014 I'm out. Period. The stress has not been worth it and I'd prefer to spend my life actually treated like an adult as an adult.
Next post ... some reasons why I (and certainly others too) hate being in the Army.
But as I floundered (and really for not terribly long) a friend of mine was planning on joining the Army. Now, he already had more of an idea than me what he wanted to do (although that even changed a bit due to varying circumstances) and I was talking to him one day and he started talking about the ASVAB. I found myself curious and asked him about it and he explained to me about what is in a sense the Army standardized test for entry into the service. And then he said to me, "You know, you seem interested in what I'm talking about. I have to talk to the recruiter on (such and such day). You should come with me and check it out." So I of course walked into the office that day.
And who have thought, that by walking into that office, I wouldn't be turning back. I was after all, the guy that at the end of high school was determined never to be in the Army even if that meant I move to Canada. I took a practice ASVAB, and pretty quickly I was on my way to trying to get into the Army. Of course, with a degree, I attempted to go the OCS (Officer Candidate School) route first. Being a civilian, this included taking a PT test (no problems there), taking the ASVAB (which I barely met the ASVAB requirements for OCS), and submitting a packet of stuff. At that point, I had an interview with a bunch of Captains. For some reason, I was more nervous than I've ever been in my life. Somehow I passed. But they had to send the packet up to some other board where they don't even see me and I didn't get in.
But I felt this was what I was supposed to do. So I still enlisted. In Intelligence. Having no idea what the job entailed. I knew this. I would go to basic training at Fort Jackson in November. I would go to Advanced Training in February. After that ... spoilers. And even after I enlisted, I nearly got a job as an appliance delivery guy, except I had just joined the Army.
But with a 3 1/2 year contract and almost 3 years in, I can honestly say, I would never recommend this life .... to anyone. Not only is it quite miserable but I have never talked to so many people who's despised a job so much. And really, most of it comes down to dealing with what seem to be a majority of rather incompetent leaders. And of course a ridiculous list of Army mandated regulations that come down that end up making everyone's life miserable.
Even Hawaii can be miserable. Just be in the Army and it becomes worse. The one plus: Hawaii has a film industry. Other stories later.
So in November 2010 I joined the Army. In June 2014 I'm out. Period. The stress has not been worth it and I'd prefer to spend my life actually treated like an adult as an adult.
Next post ... some reasons why I (and certainly others too) hate being in the Army.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Chicken Interstate Crossing and the Fog of Doom
August 2005 was a strange, exciting, and terrifying time of life. Yes, I'm going back that far. Really, this was the turning point that started all the events that would change who I was and how I viewed life. Before then I had never left home for more than a week without my family and grew up in the same town and same church for almost 20 years. So really, August 2005 was the beginning of the real adventure.
It was time to experience life and figure out who I was on my own. It was time for college.
Now, this was quite a few firsts for me at that point. Let's see:
- First time living away from family for an extended period
- First time moving somewhere I didn't know a soul on earth
- First time in a relationship (for some other post)
- First time driving long distance all on my own
- First time driving through the night
- First time living with people I'd never met
I was very excited about going to college (especially since two of my best friends had already been in college for at least two years) and if anybody has ever had that anxious feeling before going on a trip and can't seem to fall asleep, they know how I felt. Except, there was one difference, I wasn't planning on sleeping.
From what I understood, move-in started at 10am on the day of orientation. I'm pretty sure at that time to me this meant orientation was in the morning (but of course it was actually in the afternoon/early evening). So I decided I would drive through the night and get there early in the morning. I attempted to get a few hours sleep before heading out at midnight for what was calculated to be a 9 1/2 hour drive. With my '88 Honda Accord packed to the ceiling with my mother's help (I'm always still surprised all that stuff fit in my little car every semester) I said a final goodbye to my family and drove out of the city, frightened and excited at the same time.
There were of course a few issues to this whole crazy plan of mine. One, I had never driven more than an hour and a half on my own before. Second, at that time of my life I was notorious for being terrible at navigating. When I went to visit friends at K-State a year before somehow I couldn't find the super obvious exit to the highway. This was before GPS, cell phones (especially smart phones), and anything else you could think of to circumvent horrible navigating skills. All I had was my car, excessive amount of stuff, and an atlas. And of course, one can only look at an atlas so much in the wee hours of the morning.
Somewhere around 3 or 4 in the morning, I was coasting along just fine when I saw something on the side of the interstate (at this point I think I was in Iowa). To the right I saw, of all things, I chicken start to run across the interstate. I don't remember having to avoid it and I'm pretty sure it got across safe. But I couldn't help but wonder why that chicken was by an interstate in the middle of nowhere.
A couple hours later (I think I had filled up with gas once at this point) and a dense fog rolled in. To this day I still haven't finished a thicker fog. I could barely see two car lengths in front of me (not fun when going over 60mph). At first I thought I could tough it out but other cars passed me and it felt like they came out of nowhere. I seriously felt like I could die. Fortunately there was a rest stop not too far off and I pulled off. No more cars speeding by me blindly at 80mph in blinding fog. I still remember the yellow lights shining through it, that strange and eery feeling.
So I slept for an hour (which I needed) to wait out the fog. It had cleared by the time I was awake.
Everything else was pretty easy going, until I got close to Chicago. At this point I was tired and still terrible with navigation. I ended up taking the wrong exit and going the opposite direction of the school. It took half an hour before I turned around. Got to admit, I was kind of freaking out. At some point I finally managed to take the right exit and find the school.
In the end, my 9 1/2 hour drive turned into an almost 11 1/2 hour drive. I'm definitely not as bad at navigating these days. Of course, getting to the school was like setting one foot out the door (I was still very shy back then) and I had all kinds of other worries. But people were welcoming, I settled in, and continued on my way. Met people, did things, learned things, but those are other stories for another time.
It was time to experience life and figure out who I was on my own. It was time for college.
Now, this was quite a few firsts for me at that point. Let's see:
- First time living away from family for an extended period
- First time moving somewhere I didn't know a soul on earth
- First time in a relationship (for some other post)
- First time driving long distance all on my own
- First time driving through the night
- First time living with people I'd never met
I was very excited about going to college (especially since two of my best friends had already been in college for at least two years) and if anybody has ever had that anxious feeling before going on a trip and can't seem to fall asleep, they know how I felt. Except, there was one difference, I wasn't planning on sleeping.
From what I understood, move-in started at 10am on the day of orientation. I'm pretty sure at that time to me this meant orientation was in the morning (but of course it was actually in the afternoon/early evening). So I decided I would drive through the night and get there early in the morning. I attempted to get a few hours sleep before heading out at midnight for what was calculated to be a 9 1/2 hour drive. With my '88 Honda Accord packed to the ceiling with my mother's help (I'm always still surprised all that stuff fit in my little car every semester) I said a final goodbye to my family and drove out of the city, frightened and excited at the same time.
There were of course a few issues to this whole crazy plan of mine. One, I had never driven more than an hour and a half on my own before. Second, at that time of my life I was notorious for being terrible at navigating. When I went to visit friends at K-State a year before somehow I couldn't find the super obvious exit to the highway. This was before GPS, cell phones (especially smart phones), and anything else you could think of to circumvent horrible navigating skills. All I had was my car, excessive amount of stuff, and an atlas. And of course, one can only look at an atlas so much in the wee hours of the morning.
Somewhere around 3 or 4 in the morning, I was coasting along just fine when I saw something on the side of the interstate (at this point I think I was in Iowa). To the right I saw, of all things, I chicken start to run across the interstate. I don't remember having to avoid it and I'm pretty sure it got across safe. But I couldn't help but wonder why that chicken was by an interstate in the middle of nowhere.
A couple hours later (I think I had filled up with gas once at this point) and a dense fog rolled in. To this day I still haven't finished a thicker fog. I could barely see two car lengths in front of me (not fun when going over 60mph). At first I thought I could tough it out but other cars passed me and it felt like they came out of nowhere. I seriously felt like I could die. Fortunately there was a rest stop not too far off and I pulled off. No more cars speeding by me blindly at 80mph in blinding fog. I still remember the yellow lights shining through it, that strange and eery feeling.
So I slept for an hour (which I needed) to wait out the fog. It had cleared by the time I was awake.
Everything else was pretty easy going, until I got close to Chicago. At this point I was tired and still terrible with navigation. I ended up taking the wrong exit and going the opposite direction of the school. It took half an hour before I turned around. Got to admit, I was kind of freaking out. At some point I finally managed to take the right exit and find the school.
In the end, my 9 1/2 hour drive turned into an almost 11 1/2 hour drive. I'm definitely not as bad at navigating these days. Of course, getting to the school was like setting one foot out the door (I was still very shy back then) and I had all kinds of other worries. But people were welcoming, I settled in, and continued on my way. Met people, did things, learned things, but those are other stories for another time.
Looking Back
It's that age old idea that hindsight is 20/20, right?
I've realized it's an old idea because of how relevant it always is. It's so common for us to look back on the things that we do and wish we could have done this or that differently. Of course, we can't. Some of it we get right but more often than not I've noticed (at least for me) I get it very, very wrong. So instead I try to take where I've messed up, see what was actually my fault, and take that and learn from it. Then instead of focusing on the past, I attempt to focus on the present and the future.
Of course I make sure I don't ever forget the past because without that I wouldn't be able to make the adjustments for what I need to do now.
So I've decided I need to, one post at a time, look back on some of the events that have occurred in life to bring me to today. I have a feeling at times this might end up feeling a little like a journal (though hopefully less). But for those who do end up reading, I hope what you get isn't so much a boring set of documents. Rather, I do hope you end up on a journey with me, much like you would a novel. Hopefully it will be more entertaining than boring and something good will come out of it.
Here are some things there's a good chance I'll cover over time:
- College life
- My first time living in LA (and how my thoughts have changed)
- Moving back home
- Joining the Army
- Student film
- Features (primarily my experience working on mine)
- Living in Hawaii
- My experiences on film sets acting or as crew
- Relationships
- Any other fun anecdote I find interesting about life
Obviously, I haven't wrote anything since 2009, and even then very little, so there is a lot to go about. But hopefully I won't throw out too much all at once. If I do, I'll try and keep each post a little shorter and focused for better browsing ability.
Whatever happens, I hope you enjoy learning from my life stories as much as I have!
A Fresh Perspective
I stumbled across this blog again today after four years of it just sitting around in some kind of blog limbo. Granted, looking back from when I first started righting it I don't feel it's a very interesting blog. I shared little information that really didn't provide much insight into, well, anything. Okay, sure, I moved to LA in 2009 (or at least back in the summer), I had trouble finding work, found work then lost it then ....
Yeah, that's kind of how I felt re-reading it.
But of course, now it's July 2013 and it's incredible how much has changed, how much I changed. And so I have decided to begin this blog again for a couple reasons.
1. So anybody who really cares about what happened might read this and know what's happened in my life.
2. Maybe someday somebody will stumble upon this blog and glean something interesting and perhaps helpful (that's happened to me stumbling on other blogs).
So, now from a fresh perspective, I aim to update this blog more often. Slowly I plan to work back from that point I left off (and perhaps even before then) and share my thoughts and lessons from life, people, and projects here for everyone to read, enjoy, hate, and learn.
Yeah, that's kind of how I felt re-reading it.
But of course, now it's July 2013 and it's incredible how much has changed, how much I changed. And so I have decided to begin this blog again for a couple reasons.
1. So anybody who really cares about what happened might read this and know what's happened in my life.
2. Maybe someday somebody will stumble upon this blog and glean something interesting and perhaps helpful (that's happened to me stumbling on other blogs).
So, now from a fresh perspective, I aim to update this blog more often. Slowly I plan to work back from that point I left off (and perhaps even before then) and share my thoughts and lessons from life, people, and projects here for everyone to read, enjoy, hate, and learn.
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