Finally! A Good Monday Morning

My dear readers I think this is going to be a good week. No, unfortunately I don't have any job news right now, other than an interview coming up later this week. But regardless I feel this will be a excellent week. Last night before going to bed, I commented that there was an electric buzz in the air. It was the energetic feeling one get when things seem to be in alignment in his area of the world. It's like what you might get on a beautiful summer afternoon or at the end of a college year where everything feels, if even just for a fleeting moment, all right and positive. This was the great mood that I felt at the end of last night and that I went to bed with.

This morning upon waking, I went for a great run. (Editor's note: My foot is feeling better, so I wanted to test it out before my follow-up appointment with the podiatrist today.) I ran my longest distance since moving, just over 9 miles, and while it wasn't my best run, I felt good that I had accomplished the distance. When I returned to my apartment I found someone on my deck doing something I assumed would never happen. Yes the gentleman on my deck right now as I type this for you is painting the previously unpainted deck you have taken so much pleasure in reading about. So there you go, a good run and a painted deck. If that's not an indication that this will be a good week....then I don't know what is! Now if only the phone would ring...... Till Next Time! I will blog with you later.

-Nice Guy SMA-

Things That Annoy Me Vol. 3: Ruda McObnoxsia

This my friends is a special edition of Things That Annoy Me. It is special because this topic hasn't been brewing like my unpainted deck (STILL UNPAINTED!), but rather is about something so obnoxious that it vaulted right into my exclusive minima-list. (Get it....minimal list).

On Saturday when I went to the gym to do a some stationary bike workout. (My foot is still on the road to recovery, so no running for the time being) I heard some loud talking. I had seen a few people in the gym from the window and figured that some friends were there and chatting. This was not the actuality. What I came to find was the most obnoxious lady I have seen in recent memory. (Ms. Ruda McObnoxsia) This lady was in the gym working out while on her hands free device having a full on conversation and conversing at the top of her lungs. While this would have been rude even if she had been by herself, I could have at least excused her act if she was alone. But no, there were about two other people working out while she was there chatting like she had the room to herself. I quickly put on my headphones trying to block her out, but could still hear her for the next 5-10 minutes until she had enough and left.

I could not believe she would do that like no one else was there. It was downright rude and idiotic. The gym is no place to converse at the top of your lungs. I was surprised no one said anything; of course I didn't say anything either, so who knows. I just know that if she tried to do that back East, she would have been thrown out of the gym on her....well...hands free device.

So my dear readers if you ever go to the gym and use that time to have a conversation instead of working up a sweat, be prepared to get dirty looks because you will have just joined the club of the obnoxious.

-A Slightly Annoyed Nice Guy-

A Night in a Real Bed or Land of Confussion: Moving Day Part II

This morning, all of my life possessions arrived safe and sound having made the 2,926 mile journey from New York to California. (Which Google Maps says should only take you 1 day and 19 hours....hmmmmm). Now I am confronted with a new challenge in this moving experience, well, two actually.

1. How to unpack all of this stuff and know where to put everything
2. How to deal with actually having possessions again.
   

I will be honest, while I am very happy for a real bed, I did actually become quite comfortable leaving a very simple life. Yes I had my computer and TV, but that was about it. No need for much furniture, no decorative items, just me and the basics. Now I have so much stuff again and everything seems so cluttered. Of course, that could be because of the 70+ boxes sitting in the middle of the room! While I will get everything away and live once again as a person with items, I must say that I really enjoyed the experience of not having much because it taught me about how little we actually need. The experience allowed me to strip away to the basics for the most part and know that in the future maybe we don't need as many possessions as the consumer culture says that you do. Well that's all for now.....I'm just going to sit back on my couch now and fantasize about my future flat screen TV....KIDDING!!......well....maybe. =)

-Nice Guy-

Wednesday: My Day for C & Cs

In the overall scope of my 28 1/2 years, I am not exactly sure where Wednesday falls in my love of life. I can tell you that Friday is clearly my favorite day of the week (and yes I was born on a Friday) and Tuesdays are hands down my least favorite day of the week. Yes, I dislike Tuesdays even more than Mondays and slightly more than Sundays. At least on Sunday you have the day off, and football and on Mondays you have the external hope of a new week, a new chance, a new you. But Tuesdays.....well....nothing! The best explanation for the Tuesday phenomenon that I ever heard was in college when a friend was reflecting on drinking. Mondays, you drink because it is Monday and you need to get over the agony of the week starting again. Wednesdays you drink because it is hump day and you are now on the downward swing of the week. Thursday is Little Friday, Friday and Saturday are obvious, and Sunday you drink to prepare yourself for another long week. My friend concluded that the only night not to drink is Tuesday because there is not really a reason for a drink, Tuesday just is!

But since moving and being out of work, my love for the different days of the week have shifted. Friday has to a degree become my least favorite day of the week, which I think I addressed in my Two Month Review. Simply because businesses tend not to call and/or interview on Fridays and the majority of my friends still have that work thing going on. Tuesdays aren't really a negative since it feels like every other day of the week and Monday and Thursday just sort of blur together. Aside from weekends, Wednesday now stands out as my favorite and most anticipated day of the week. Why is that? Well it is because Wednesday is my day for C & Cs: Coffee and Comics.

Yes.....I take whatever little joys I can get in this simple life of mine and on Wednesday I have set up a very nice routine in the middle of the afternoon of taking enjoyment in a luxuriously long mid-day coffee. I walk down to Alameda's local grind: Javarama and bring with me a magazine or my laptop and sit, chill out, and relax for an hour or so. (As an editor's note: I must say that Starbucks is replacing Javarama for the next few weeks because of their new Pike's Place coffee, which is realy quite good and more importantly the fact that said coffee is free on Wednesdays for the next month with coupon.)

After chilling out at the coffee house, I walk a few blocks down and pick up whatever newly released comic is on my list. Upon returning home, I break open said comic, and enjoyed a few moments of childhood nonsense. As for comics, I have already admitted that I am a geek, so I can't really receive any more flack, plus the way I look at it, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't gamble, it is my one little vice each week and it makes me feel like an innocent kid again. Plus, supposedly comics are cool again, but I probably would avoid making that argument to the big jock I see in the gym every day.

So there you have it: The simple things in life which give us pleasure. And so in the middle of the week, I find my pleasure in coffee and comics, which when thinking about this afternoon just brings a smile to my face. Till Next Time!

-Nice Guy SMA-

Question of the night: Will I be successful?? (Time 100 or Top Tiger of the Month)

At some point today, the day turned into one of those introspective days that we all get. The days where you start to wonder what the hell you are doing or what your place is in this whole scheme of things. I should of course preface by stating that I have lived a very wonderful, amazing, and fortunate life up till this very moment and beyond. I am married to the most spectacular, caring, loving, and kind person I have ever met. I have friends who believe in me and support me (for the most part), and a family that is right behind me every step of the way. In the practical sense, I have been successful through this point and know that if life continued down the path that it is taking, I will be very happy and confident in the meaningful actualities that I have accomplished.

I guess where my rambling thoughts come from tonight are based more in the superficial. The glamorized, eye-popping version of success. This of course brings forth a very difficult debate as to what the actual definition of superficial success is? It is my belief that true inter-personal and emotional success comes from making an impact on the individual level; friends, family, loves, and self-understanding. But from the superficial, the question is a bit harder to answer. Is success based on fame, money, acknowledgment or publication? Is a tabloid darling more superficially successful because he/she is photographed and paid large sums of money for appearances or is the working person that has actually accomplished something tangible more successful in the scheme of things?

For me: I have always wanted to be known in some capacity. I think this stems from my hidden narcissism which I wrote about a few blogs ago. This relates to why I used to anchor (or co-anchor) my high school's television station, very slightly why I am in this career path of mine (the overall reason is of course because of my love for film) and maybe even to a degree why I am writing this blog. When annual articles come out like the Time 100 I always squirm a little wondering what I can accomplish that will one day make me memorable or even recognized as a neat trivia fact. For example I learned today that the creator of the television series Scrubs is an alumnus of my high school. In the actual concept of true emotional and personal success this is almost meaningless, but it is pretty damn cool none-the-less. And when thinking about the Time 100 for example, 100 people is .00003% of the U.S. population (assuming they are all Americans, which I am sure they are most likely not.) Even if 100 new people are chosen each year and the population doesn't change, that is only .003% of the population over 100 years! The point here is that this is extremely rareified air and one which does not come to the 99.99997% of the American population. Yet there is still that feeling as to why those specific people were able to make the list and what choices they made that allowed them to reach that point and separate themselves from all others.

In certain instances, I use networking sites like Linkedin or even marginally Facebook/Myspace, etc to see what others that I know have been able to accomplish and wonder where our paths will be 10/20/30 years down the line. In the end, who will be the one that will be able to proclaim the most accolades and who in truth will be the happiest. I think at the end of the day, the winner will probably be the person with the happy, healthy, and loving family, but alas that isn't sexy enough for this superficial version of glamorized success.

I guess ultimately, feeling like this is good from the sense that it drives me to do my best and not settle for simply average. Of course it also brings moments like this at the end of the day where I question if I will be able to take that next leap. I should also add that this especially relevant when I am unemployed, heavily searching for my next gig, and left with way too much to think about nonsense like this.

In the end, I know I am very happy with what I have accomplished and what I have in my life currently. I just have that little glowing orb of energy, which I am sure we all do, that wants to break through and accomplish something different, unique, and memorable----even if it is as trivial and worldly-unimportant as creating a TV series. Till that day comes and you read about me from a pen other than my own, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars! (BAM!! Casey Kasem and Coolio shoutouts in back-to-back blogs. Aww Yeah!) Alright then...I will blog with you later.

-Nice Guy-

Two Month Review (Plus Things That Annoy Me: Vol. 2)

Yeah my dates are a little fuzzy, but this is as good a time as any to say it's been two months. I moved out here on the 12th of February, I moved into the apartment on the 22nd, and started life on my own on the 25th. So it's all in the ballpark. As for some quick hits on the top of my mind:

• The weather has been colder/windier than I was expecting for the past month. Not cold per se, not even close. But definitely colder than I would have figured and colder than the first month.
  
• The job search process in the film industry really takes a long time. I'll go into further detail down below, but to give you an idea, a contact and friend of mine told me that when he was searching he was going after a job for six months before he was turned down! Yowzer!
• Not having a job makes it really easy to get to the gym. I don't want to say I'm in the best shape ever....not just yet....but I am definitely getting into great shape.
  
• The Bay Area is a really great place and people are pretty chill. Having gone back to NY since moving out here, I think I can say that as of now I really prefer it out here. I'm not hating NY, we're just going through a rough patch right now.
  
• The Oakland Airport is much nicer than I would have expected. I have only flown out and into it once, but really enjoyed the travel experience.
  
• Lastly, having a subscription to MLB.TV is the coolest thing in the world. (Thanks Adam!) Now I can watch the Yankees whenever I want and the quality is really good as well.

At this two month mark, I am feeling the need to really assess where I am and what the next steps are for this fantastic voyage. Slide slide slippity-slide I do what I do just to survive (Oh yeah Coolio!) As you can tell I am loving it out here and having the best time that I can with all of this time on my hands and my love across the country.

The job search is moving along, I have made ins with all of the major studios in the area, I had my third interview this past week and I should have another coming up next week. Both of my top choice companies are still very much possibilities. One needs to get some work awarded to them and then I should be in. The other just needs to make a decision and from talking with the lead recruiter that should happen at the end of this week and I still seem to be their top choice. I'm not ready yet to make a prediction as to whether I will be working by May 1st or not. I sure hope, but that is still up in the air.

This long job search process however gets me to one of the things that do annoy me. I guess you could call it Volume 2 on my list of things that get under my skin. (By the way---deck---still not painted!) This industry that I am in is very unique and unlike many others. While individual positions may have similar qualities to other industries, the film industry itself and the job search process is very independent of others. Sure jobs are posted on some company websites, but for the most part people are hired based on reputation and contacts. The cliche is really true in that it is whom you know. Each of the interviews I have gotten and all of the contacts I have made have been from networking and getting some help from either someone on the inside or a friend of someone at the company. As I have been in touch with every major studio, and have been interviewing and making potential future contacts, I feel that I am doing a pretty darn good job at this search. So what annoys me is when certain people from other industries ask me whether I am going to start looking for other options or backup plans. I am only two months in and not even close to the 6 months that my friend had to go through. So please, let me do what I am doing and when I am ready to move to plan B, I will blog about it. However, that might not be for a bit.

Ok.....I think I just vented. Could be the affect of the Beer I'm drinking as I write this. (BTW: Black Toad Ale--Damn Good!) As for other things....I will admit that I have reached a point where I am starting to run out of things to do. My Mondays are always busy because I have a full set of networking to do's that are dependent per week as well as a number of household chores. But as the week moves forward I progressively run out of things as I wait for call backs and emails. While most people love Fridays, I will say that they are probably my least favorite day of the week because most companies don't make job calls on a Friday and I have done most of my weekly networking emails. Also, as I am limited on money, I am trying not to go out too often or be too extravagant. However soon I will have my Wii, and then I will be having fun! Aww yeah!

I know last month, I mentioned that I was having trouble with the lack of structure. I feel I have gotten past this. I have been pretty strict about my workouts as well as maintaining a to do list. Of course as mentioned above, I am running out of to do's, but am trying to just stay chill, read a bit more and roll with the free time that won't come again once I do start working. I did go to the meetup.com group, but trying to keep down costs, I haven't been back since. Good group, but for right now I'll stay local and cheap.

Trying to wrap this ramble up, I would say that Month Two has been much more successful than Month One. I feel the job search moving positively, I am adjusting to the slower pace, and my workouts have been great. Since I am a tough grader, I will keep Month Two at a B+, but a much higher B+ than Month One and close to an A-. I'm keeping it a bit lower because that only gives me room to go up from here, and not having a job is a bit of a drag. So there you go....two months down and many more to go. Hopefully this week will bring good news, which of course I will let you know about. Alright, till the next update keep rolling down the street!

-Scott-

P.S. As for a running update: I do have a bunion, which I will need to get treated, but for now am running through it and hitting my best runs ever. I want to get my mileage up a little higher, but need to find some new routes in order to do so. Alright....Rock and Roll!

Moving Day

I have been absent for a week from the blogosphere, so where have I been? Living it up in some exotic locale or under such heavy stress from my non-existent job. No...I traveled this past weekend back to NY/LI for one last trip to see my lovely Mel and to finish her pack up the apartment for moving day.

I got in on Saturday morning taking the "What If I have a Job" Red-Eye and realizing that next time I am just booking a flight that works best for me and not my non-employer. From Saturday through Sunday, Mel and I spent time together and celebrated our Eight Years of being together (That would be today for all you anniversary freaks, myself included!) Originally I was going to go back on Sunday night, but with no job and only a doctor's appointment on my To Do list, I changed my flight to stay through Tuesday. Best thing I could have ever done.

You see, Tuesday was moving day. Now this was my first ever true move. I moved into different campus apartments in college, but they came furnished and all I needed to do was load up the car with my personal effects. When I moved in with Mel, I was just moving my personal stuff for the most part as she had lived in the apartment for about a year and a half prior. This was the first time that I had a major assortment of owned furniture and items to move. I will say that the move went super smoothly and the only reason it did so is because my amazing and wonderful wife spent so much time over the past month and a half packing and getting things ready while I job searched and live a Californian life. Without her, it would have been disastrous and for that I am so grateful.

On Tuesday morning, the movers arrived and began packing all of our life possessions into a frakking huge 18-wheeler. It was very weird seeing everything that you own taken by someone else and packed away. All the memories and experiences just packed up into a truck and shipped off. It was oddly enough a very emotionally draining experience. But now all of our stuff is on the road and by the end of next week, it all should arrive here in Cali. That being said, I have adjusted very well to only having one chair, a foot table, a TV, and an air bed. Now I am going to have to figure how to put everything that we own into this apartment. While I actually think that this place can hold more and is a little more spacious than our place in LI, it will be strange and I have adjusted myself to the simple life I am now living in. That will definitely be an interesting experience.

As you can guess, I am now back out west and very happy to be here. I will go back one more time in three weeks for the wedding of one of my great friends and my sister's graduation. Speaking of which, my sister got into grad school at Columbia and is being awarded with an honor for being the best student in her under-grad program. So that is all wonderful and great news. I tried to convince her to come out west, but maybe for the sake of our sibling relationship, it's best we stay coasts apart!!

In job search news, had another interview this week and all other offers are still potentially on the table. Should hear something next week, but then again I say that every week. But as of now, there haven't been any no's. That my friends is a very good thing.

Alright....so moving day is done and now Cali life begins again in full swing. I will blog again this weekend with a two-month recap and fill you in with some more info. Have a great weekend and I will blog with you soon!

-Nice Guy SMA-

The Return of Optimism Prime

Ok…..I’m a dork. I know that and if you’re reading this blog, you probably already know that too or at the very least are quickly learning that fact.

For many years, I would have considered myself the eternal optimist. I always felt that things would work out for the best and that life would turn in a positive direction. I was a happy child, constantly curious, but also content in the surroundings that I had been given. I knew that the future would be bright and tried my hardest not to worry over the small stuff.

In college, I tried to continue my optimistic trend. I was happy, go lucky, but I was also becoming more aware of the world around me for better and for worse. As my awareness of global politics grew, I began to see the inequities of the world and the issues that people less fortunate than myself faced. This awareness began to seep into my own emotions, but I tried as hard as I mightily could to not let this growing understanding affect my outlook on my own daily issues. Then 9/11 occurred. I don’t want to dwell on this for any longer than I already have, but that day plus my own impeding graduation into the real world definitely had an impact on my daily view.

I became more of a cynic, outwardly proclaiming the failings of the world and seeing little to be positive about. My own political persuasion became more pronounced causing me to decry the current situation and the shining optimism that I once had morphed to a degree. I still felt that things would work out for me, but this belief was now based on my own confidence and arrogance, if you will, than on an optimistic belief that things would simply work out.

After graduating, I also moved to New York City. While I do love the city very much, New York is a very “real” place. That’s what makes it so charming, but also what makes it so tough. The city is not, in my opinion, for dreamers. The city is gritty, the city is honest, the city is realistic. You know who you are, and you know what others think about you immediately. Things in New York work out because you make them work out, not because there is a greater force giving a little push.

While there, I worked for a company where the pertaining wisdom was to assume that everything others did was wrong, and to make sure you do it right. Good advice for someone in production, but definitely a draining way to live life. Every day was hard; it wore on me and wore on my soul. My matrix was removed and I felt my spirit fading to grey. (Who else is a dork and understood that reference!)

Well, now I have moved! It is my goal to use this move to change the way I view my daily life. I understand that there are a lot of problems in the world and in our own society, but I am re-learning how to separate my awareness and my desire for altruistic change from my own personal and internal feelings. I am once again stopping to enjoy a “joyful” moment each day and using that to fill my daily outlook. I find myself smiling again, slowing down to enjoy things, and not worrying if certain specifics aren’t exactly how I would have scripted them. This has especially helped in the job search. I came out here thinking that I would be working by this point. Maybe just a year ago I would have been frustrated about my situation, angry in my actions, and negative in my daily view. Now I am trying hard to find the positive in each situation and know that things will work out for the best. Like the Autobot in Chief, I feel restored and I feel that optimism returning. Some days are easier than others, but ultimately I am remembering that there are many ways we can look at life, and feel that looking at life with a positive mindset helps to keep a smile on the face, and the day moving forward.

In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”

So to all of you, I hope you don’t let each day drag you down, and you keep a positive spirit in all you do. Just my thought, but one, that makes me smile. All my best and I will blog with you later.

-Nice Guy SMA-

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Congratulations Kansas! It was an amazing game including a tying, overtime inducing 3-point shot with 2.1 seconds to go. Then it was all KU in overtime and thus their first championship since 1988. A great game, and a good team winning. My bracket was completely busted weeks ago, so I had no true rooting interest, but I have always liked KU and have a good friend who is an alumnus of Kansas, so it was nice to see. Plus, just to prove how awesome she is, my wife did indeed pick KU as the champion a week or so before the brackets were even announced, so way to go Mel! Alright, blog with you later.

-Nice Guy SMA-

Things That Make Me Laugh: Jack Cafferty is Crazy

It is not my intention to turn this blog into a political blog, I know better than to do that. However I am a politically minded person and I enjoy watching CNN each day. Since I don't have a job and have a lot of time on my hands, I do get watch CNN more than usual. My favorite news program has to be The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, who has the most killer name in all of TV if I do say so myself. But I bring this up because each day that I do turn in to watch The Situation Room, I get the treat of seeing Jack Cafferty. I don't know a whole lot about him, but Jack Cafferty is a commentator that Wolf will go to throughout the broadcast and he offers an Andy Rooneyesque essay for the day/segment/etc. This in itself is nice, and a good portion of the broadcast.

However, it gets better because Jack Cafferty is crazy. There is no other way around it....he is a crotchety older man who is stubborn and loud. Just last week, I watched him tell a viewer who had responded to an email question, that she was wrong and dumb and that most viewers are idiots. It makes for very entertaining television. He just cracks me up and puts a smile on my face. While I couldn't find the said clip, I did find this, which is pretty reflective of why I love Jack Cafferty and all his craziness.

Runner's Lungs -- Achieved!!

Alright so I think I am finally in full running shape. My runs are getting smoother, my times are getting faster, and at the end of a run I still feel like I could keep going. Today I had a great run of about 7 miles and figure that my time was in the 7:30/mile range. It of course helps that this town is completely flat, but I am hitting some of my fastest times and best miles ever. The only issue as of now is a nagging foot injury that seems to be bothering me. I may get in checked out soon, and it hasn't hampered my running too badly, but there is some pain after the fact, especially when driving.

I want to continue to work up to a good 10-11 miler, but am slightly hesitant because of the foot problem. I will keep you updated. Otherwise, all is well, and Running Scott is fully back in business. Till next time.

Things That Annoy Me Vol 1: My Unpainted Deck

Right now as I am in the job search process, my daily routine is fairly simple. I usually wake up around 8:00 in the morning, go to the gym, come back and then get to some job searching. I write some emails to networking contacts, apply for any newly posted jobs, and try to research as best I can. On a good day, I will get a phone call to discuss employment opportunities and on a great day I will have an interview. But on most days, I do the above routine which takes me at most into the very early afternoon and allows me the opportunity to enjoy a luxuriously long mid-day coffee. This is the routine: there is really nothing more that I can write about it. I am enjoying the time off, but alas it does not lead to many a exciting blog entry.

So with my said routine, I am forced to turn to other subject matters to entertain my dear reader. While I can wax philosophical at times, I do not feel like doing such on this very day. So I will turn to another matter, something that has gotten under my skin. And while it is my goal to try and let things not bother me as much as they used to while I was in New York, this one thing does very much annoy me; it is the story of my unpainted deck!

Right after I moved into the apartment in this lovely island town of Alameda, I was informed that renovations would be happening around the complex. Ok....this is good. I like the idea of keeping up the appearance of a place that I am spending good money on. So for the first two weeks I prepared as the work crew fix up my building. They put plastic sheets over each of my windows, wrapped up all of my neighbor's deck furniture (as I do not have any furniture at this point, there was no need to wrap up anything on my part) and began to paint the walls of the buildings and each individual deck.

Upon completion, and the removal of the plastic window covering, not only did I once again receive sunlight in my apartment, but I received the joy of having a beautifully painted deck and building. It really did look better than before and I was happy that I was able to appreciate the comparison of the before and after. Well what happened next is what irks me....what inspires this blog posting.

After completing the painting, the maintenance crew went through each of the buildings and marked off all the pieces of wood that were damaged, unsturdy, or just simply needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, my deck was declared a deviant and had to be completely replaced. So one mid-afternoon, perhaps while I was enjoying my luxurious coffee break, my entire deck was torn apart and replaced with newly sturdy but unpainted pieces of wood. This was about two or three weeks ago. Since that time, no one has come back to paint the deck or even acknowledge whether it will be painted.

Now going back to my daily routine, each morning when I go to the gym or just even want to leave the building in the direction behind my apartment, I look up and see a beautifully painted building and seven beautifully painted and finished decks. And then I notice one that comes straight out of the song, "One of these is not like the other things. One of these things does not belong." Yes that would be my unpainted deck and the reason for my annoyance and this blog post today. May it hopefully be painted soon or may I come to learn and love my unpainted deck. That is all. Blog with you later.

-Nice Guy SMA-