Uptight and Liking It

The next few upcoming days are going to be a true test of my diligence and self-control. My schedule is filled to the brim with everything from feeding myself to socializing. Many things need to be accomplished in a timely manner so that I do not fall extremely behind next week. Hard work now pays off by allowing me to remain in control of my workload. That’s the account executive in me talking.

Today was a crowning example of my resolve. I went to school, studied for the appropriate hours, worked out, cooked, and watched tv all according to my schedule. Even now, I’m blogging as prescribed in my calendar. I like it when my life is in order like this. To an extent, my sobriety is allowing me to accomplish these things. My age also plays a factor in this. In some aspects, to the chagrin of others, I am quite mature for my age.

As for this weekend, I’ll need to keep on track with my studies especially. I’ve chosen to sacrifice some of the social gathering in lieu of snowboarding, but I feel good about cutting extraneous things from my life. I find myself happier when I’m saving money, achieving my goals, and just plain behaving like a Responsible Man.

What Ails Me

Oh? I just realized that I neglected blogging last night. Likely it was due to my sickness.

I feel like I caught an African flu bug from this Nigerian guy in school. It slowly got passed around like a zombie epidemic and everyone started falling off their feet. I exaggerate. Either way, I was bedridden for a large part of yesterday but still forced myself to go to school.

I premised some, went to class some, felt like passing out a lot. Survived nonetheless.

Today was slightly better, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. My goal is just to end up healthy enough for snowboarding this Sunday. I ended up getting a shuttle to go to Northstar. $133 later…yeouch. Furthermore, I’m forsaking Superbowl Sunday for this!! I totally didn’t realize until this afternoon. Oops. I was looking forward to watching some cool ads, but this year, I’ll savor the outdoor exercise I so rarely get.

Timing is horrible though. There’s a lot of work to be done for next week that will have to be crammed into tomorrow and Friday, making my recovery difficult. More difficult still is having guests in town this weekend and having obligations for both Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings. I picked the worst time to indulge in a social life. C’est la vie I suppose. What’s without a little excitement every now and then?

Sliding on the Cheap

I can’t believe I have such a strong desire to snowboard this season. I’m really pushing for going through all the avenues I know how. Although I’m trying to convince myself that it’ll be worth it, the financial toll is going to be pretty great. I’m finding relatively good deals, but relative to spending nothing on extremities, snowboarding has proven to be quite the luxury.

I’m hoping to go to Squaw Valley this weekend ($120). Possibly Sugar Bowl the next ($130). Whistler for sure the week after that ($500). Then for sure to Sierra after that ($150). Estimated grand total of nearly $1000. Jeebus…

I suppose I’m trying to rationale that I only live once. On the other hand, I plan on living a lot longer than the next two years of school, in which time I’ll be able to afford to go snowboarding. It’s probably wisest to take it easy this season.

Unfortunately, Whistler and Sierra are already committed. I’ll just have to forgo Squaw and Sugar Bowl for now. Unless the gods place the opportunity in my lap, I will no longer pursue it. Rather, I should no longer pursue it.

Friday Evening at Home

In the grand scheme of things, I’d much rather stay home and focus on my craft than go out and waste money on booze. I kinda wanna model my life after Brad Goreski, post drug and alcohol abuse, of course.

I Want to Be Great

The more I’m engaged with art and this school, the more I feel the need to step up my game. I’m finding that a lot of what I once thought was cool isn’t so much so… I suppose it could just be that others don’t see my vision. Or it could also be that I’ve got a lot more to learn.

I’m looking at the work of others displayed on the TV screens at school and envy them. I’m also noticing more pieces of artwork as I randomly peruse the internet. My eye is being trained to catch what’s beautiful and why it took a lot of mastery over the medium in order to achieve those results. I envy those artists, and I want to one day put out amazing work like them.

At the moment, I’m frustrated because I can’t match the quality which I know I am definitely capable of. My abilities aren’t catching up with my imagination. Practice makes perfect, I suppose. The best way to advance is to gain experience. I have to remember that all players start off as Lvl 1 Squires. To grow, you have to put in the hours and train your character on the battlefield. That’s really the only way to level up.

Blank Screens Love Writers

It took sitting around for two hours and staring at nothingness but I finally found a sliver of inspiration for my screenwriting class. I was tasked at developing a character (or at least the beginnings of one). I’ll be working with this character for the remainder of the quarter.

I had the hardest time because the assignment was so vague. What world would I want to shape around him? What genre was I hoping to explore? The hardest part was knowing where to start. Be that as it may, I finally found my inspiration by reflecting on my own life. After all people always say, “Write what you know.”

I ended up pulling a piece from this blog, actually. Those who go out of their way to seek fame and association with celebrity have always irked me. So why not start writing a screenplay about them? The protagonist is inherently flawed with those desires, but as he lives out his life pursuing those endeavors, he gains life lessons that improve his character.

I suppose this is written more like a sitcom than a film, but he will go through an epiphany nonetheless. In writing this, I hope not to offend anyone in the process. Or rather, I hope my muses don’t discover my work and become offended by it.

Agitations from the Past

A lot of thing on my mind today. Negative things, in fact.

I feel the need to really separate myself from T.D. Wang. I keep trying to tie in my old life with the present, which is turning out to yield these unsettling emotions within me. The past is the past for a reason. It’s darkness which I have moved away from. I need to keep going forward, toward the light.

Specifically, I was given the runaround on a PR request. It was a slight gesture but nonetheless reminded me of working in that type of unbearable environment not even less than a year ago. I don’t miss it. And like all things you want to be rid of, you should quit it cold turkey lest you invite negativity back in.

I also took another life lesson from this. Once again I need to remind myself not to depend on others. Sure, people say you should ask for help when you need it, but it’s always a challenge to determine the fine line between asking for help and being lazy. I want to be self-dependent. I don’t want to depend on anyone because I’ve been prone to be let down. Let down a lot within the past year, actually. Overall, this advice to myself should be heeded more often. Today was just a grueling reminder.

First nose hair

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,

Today it seems as if a particularly large nose hair has protruded from my nostril to a degree which I have never seen. Although I know that I do posses normal-sized nose hairs, this one is in fact extraordinary to my existing collection. It has been bothering me all day. As of a few minutes ago, I managed to snip it as temporary relief. I know in such actions the hair will only grow back longer and stronger. This is a brand new battle for me, and I felt the need to record it.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Photography is harder than you think

My weekly woes stem from my photography class. Not because I don’t enjoy the subject, it’s just that the practice is a lot harder than I realized. It also seems like I’m the slowest one in the class. Tis a hard pill to swallow.

I was moved into the class a week ago after testing out of inDesign. I was proud to be rid of it, but then again, out of the fire and into the frying pan. Each week looms a feeling of dread for having to learn some new camera technique. It seems like everyone knows about 1) aperture, 2) shutter speed, 3) panning, 4) exposures, etc. etc.

Where the hell did they learn all this from?! How are they all so adept at taking pictures. It doesn’t help that literally 90% of them in there are art directors and not copywriters. I’m definitely the weakest link, and I hate that feeling. Because of this obvious role I’ve been pegged into, others in the classroom look to me like a pariah and avoid talking to me. It’s a very lonely feeling being the only ‘freshman’ in a sea of other talented individuals.

Sigh…given it’s only the second week. There’s still time to move forward. Hopefully putting in the extra effort pays off.

Video evening @ MAS

Here’s a fun little post. We did a video shoot for our self-introductions today. Got to play around with the studio, and I was happy that I navigated the space fully knowing exactly what to do. I felt more in my element than ever. I suppose it’s because I had been in those situations before and was somewhat used to the vibe.

At any rate, today was proof that preparation makes life easier. While most people took quite some time in the studio, I went in with a concept in mind – I executed it – finished. In and out. I like that efficiency.

Here’s a bit of photos from my experience today.