Movie Magic Moving On Up

Here's a look at the first addition to Movie Magic Media since coming to Los Angeles last year! Slow but steady wins the race! This office is shared by Bird and myself and is dedicated to development and production. Moving on up!

My desk. Excited about all the light!

Another look!

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic about having some dedicated space and a desk. I'm also excited about my bunk-mate, Bird. I am ALSO excited about all of the organization, but that's the neurotic in me I suppose.

The New Relationship(s)

re⋅la⋅tion⋅ship

  [ri-ley-shuhn-ship]

–noun

1.	a connection, association, or involvement.

2.	connection between persons by blood or marriage.

3.	an emotional or other connection between people: the relationship between teachers and students.

4.	a sexual involvement; affair.

Over the course of my weekend, this particular word presented itself in a multitude of forms, fashions, and functions. In nearly every sense of the word, I was forced to pry a little deeper into my existing - and subsequently past and forthcoming - relationships as Friday turned into Sunday. What I discovered are two undeniable truths:

1) Fortunately, I learn from experience. Relationships will only get better: the more I learn and experience, the more I grow.

2) Unfortunately, I learn from experience. The past is past and I can't change the relationships I've messed up and the people I've hurt.

Now that being said, I think the former outweighs the latter in a myriad of ways and should be held in a much higher regard. Still, any human with any sort of life experience will tell you that the tiniest drop of 'negative' can poison an ocean of 'positive.'

I found myself examining each definition in the above excerpt, inspecting and defining my interaction and interfacing with....

1) acquaintances, my day to day life, my world

2) my family

3) my friends and colleagues

4) my love life

I think each of these warrant their own entry; however all of them have a few core things in common. I'm realizing on a deeper level the evolution of the new relationships in my life. Whether I met you yesterday or have known you my entire life, there's a new code of conduct that applies to my life and as I function now.

First of all, I'm beyond my "transition" period in Los Angeles. As it's to be expected, any big change requires a certain amount of self-involvement in ones life in order to guard yourself and establish roots and a new identity. Unfortunately, this mechanism of survival leaves many in a the choppy wake of narcism and narrow-mindedness. Like I said, this period of my life (for now) is complete, and I have no excuse to treat any person, family member or loved one with any amount of emotional disregard.

Next, I've was reminded at the sermon this week to always stay invested in my relationships, even when things get bad. I've been a firm believer of this my whole life, but there have been instances in my recent history where I've really neglected this. I've "taken off" from many of my relationships; a few hours can been as detrimental as a few days where this matter is concerned. One minute is enough to destroy even the most established relationship. Ultimately, some occasions will need to end in a departure, but as a rule, I find that the benefit of the doubt and/or a second chance will leave you happier in the long run.

Finally, encourage and value the people you're with. The older I get the easier people seem to turn from one another when they feel their value is treated with disregard. The indescretions we experience in childhood and adolescence, the unsavory actions we permit in those relationships simply do not apply anymore. Whether this is associated with the gradual relief of social pressures or a general wear in patience, I find that special attention must be paid where egos are concerned. At the most basic level, we should lift each other up and support each other. This seemingly simple rule is one often neglected and hard to regularly maintain even in the most earnest friend.

As I see it, the new rules of the relationship will vary from person to person. These are my own assertions, although I do think they hold at least some validity for all. Take what you will. Add what you will. Leave what you will. It's all about experience. It's entirely about you. And it has nothing at all to do with you.

Hungry Man @ MMM: Something to smile about...

I spent today working on a commercial for the City of Las Vegas at Hungry Man Productions and halfway into the morning, the power in the Culver City production office went out. The a/c was not working and ants wriggled all over our production bay. After the 3rd of 4th power outage my production manager sent me on a few errands. Almost immediately after she hit me up with a text that gently read, "Hurry and get back here! We're blowing this popsicle stand. Know of any places to go work?!?!"

I offered her the ever-ready, ever-modest Movie Magic Media office. Last week, Bird worked on clearing out the adjacent room for our production office (AKA The Mark and Bird suite). I told her about the great air conditioning and the free internet. Needless to say, she excitedly obliged to my offer.

So I spent today working from my new desk for the first time! Not the most important post in recent history, but it was definitely something to smile about...

Musicality

Recently, I've found an increasing amount of people in my life that are deeply involved in music. In turn, I've been finding the inspiration to pursue a passion that's been deeply ingrained in my entire life. Unfortunately, I haven't had the money to purchase a piano this past year, so I have no way of melodically penning music. Instead, I've been focusing on lyrical composition and working with those I know have the ability and means to fill in the former.

While I've played the piano since kindergarten or about age 5, I have had little experience in composition. I've always watched others with self-conscious admiration. The ability to construct lines of music, themes, harmonies, complex rhythms etc is something I've envied of the musicians in my life. Growing up, I lacked a formal education in musical theory, so I relied on teaching myself and a few scattered lessons over the years.

Recently, however, I've enjoyed an increasing desire and clear inspiration to pursue my own music. After leaving college, I lost the resources for this creative outlet. I'm thousands of miles away from my piano and voice teachers and I cannot go to a practice room on a whim to tinker around. This loss has become a growing concern of mine and one that I now find I'm ready to actively pursue.

Writing, in general, has become a huge passion for me and I've always seen music as one of the most evocative forms of expression. I'm thankful for those people in my life that have reintroduced this to my life and I'm excited to keep moving forward with music in mind. If anything else, it'll give me a good laugh or two a few years down the line.

Which gut do I follow again?

Don't know if I should....

re-sign my apartment lease for a price break

take that 9-5

be completely honest with a potential source of significant income

let the phone ring rather than hang up after I dial... every time

But how do I....

start down a relatively unexplored, but highly desired career path in doc filmmaking

get to New York in the next month

incorporate music into my life more

keep putting one foot in front of the other

And when that's all done, do I...

feel that I've accomplished what I was supposed to

understand love more than I did a year ago

get to share what I've learned

smile because the harder choice ended up being the right one

What do I do when my gut feeling conflicts with my gut feeling?

Ghosts of Summers Past

What is it about this time of year that changes the rules of engagement for daily life? As the temperature rises, the standards of general human interaction seem to slowly slump. What is it about this weather that justifies our willingness to treat each other differently? For better or for worse, Summer affects our ability to think and act clearly with one another.

What else could explain the statistical increase in road-rage? Mine flares up as I sit in typical traffic or I struggle to find parking in the usual spots. Out of the car, my work decorum quickly fizzles when yet another ego neglects to uphold their end of a bargain. Generally speaking, my temper rises with the temperature.

Conversely, what else could account for the statistical increase in the libido? What percentage of summer romances - whose purpose typically serve us through the lonely winter months and politely fade into oblivion when the earth warms for another likely summer - end unjustly under the guise of autumnal emotions. Worse, what percentage of these get filed under "Growing Experience" or "I Wasn't Ready" and are cast away before they can even ripen?

I find myself indulging in this limitlessness Summer emotive state.

There is a general increase in the heightened state of emotion in my day to day life during these months. I find myself reminiscing more about the past few Summers. Old friends singing old songs, new friends sharing firsts, new experiences in general; I keep thinking about the defining characteristics of my Summer months. I try to recall my state of mind. Every Summer conjures up a singular, definitive experience and/or a particular emotional state.

So, every time I lie in bed and feel the warm air across my face or I smell the warm earth or I taste the salt of my own perspiration, I experience a great love or last picnic in our Fortress of Solitude or a loud Sunday dinner teaming with political satire. I am having great difficulty disassociating these overwhelming memories with my present senses.

I also wouldn't have it any other way.

Listo de Nostalgia

Feeling a little lost in nostalgia of late. I think this is because I've been spending a lot of my time...

1) sifting through my entire iphoto library not just once, but multiple times.

2) doing the same and trying to piece together my old apartments.

3) thinking a great deal about New York and the people living on that island.

4) embracing every moment of spanish conversation - the inability to understand what is going on is kind of comforting.

5) listening to my ipod on shuffle... and clicking next until it's a song I associated with last summer.

6) day dreaming more and more about having Sunday dinner with my family.

7) looking up plane tickets to different cities.

8) trying to justify reasons for purchasing said tickets.

9) damn it.

10) making lists.

Maximum Capacity

I haven't been writing as much as I'd like lately, but I've been filling a little overwhelmed. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way that I'm loosing the ability to juggle work with my personal life. Again, I'm not complaining by any means - especially in this economic environment, especially in freelance production - being busy is a huge blessing.

Since getting back from Spain I have been piggy-backing producing a short film for Tullio Productions with another short for Movie Magic. On top of this, I helped coordinate a documentary spec with Robert Adanto (A Rising Tide) which is continuing in pre-production and I'm sitting in at my old job at HSI. Needless to say, my personal life has gone a bit to the wayside, but I'm sure that will right itself when another production lull slaps me to the ground.

I know I've spoken on the topic many times before, but I can't get over how seamlessly time passes in Los Angeles. I can't believe it's July now. More than a year here and I couldn't tell you summer from winter. I sometimes feel like I'm trapped in a bio-dome. Hermetically sealed away from the rest of the world. Every now and then, a report will come in from Philly or Boston or New York. A breeze from the outside world will follow quickly after. For a brief moment, my nostrils will fill with the air of another world and set in motion a thousand and one thoughts and ideas in my head about the coming year. Luckily, the sweet aroma dissipates quickly and I forget about these things and hunker back into my comfortable, protected zone.

Still, pervasive thoughts of career moves and physical moves creep into my brain throughout the day and I wonder what life is like beyond the safety of my glass walls. The thoughts are quelled during these period of intensity; work drowning out the inevitable over-thinking and over-sharing and over-justification of my own life.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to this Friday; no work and a holiday weekend filled (hopefully) with friends, with eating and with drinking. I can't wait to spend a day at the beach and do nothing but revel in a month well-spent with hard work and satisfying accomplishments. Then, after a few days, I'm sure I'll post something else about how panicked I am over the lack of work and the lack of understanding of my life here.

At least I put that off since returning from Spain. I think I can keep putting it off until I spend at least one day on the beach, not worrying about anything.