What I've Been Up To
Woo, okay, here's a quick summary of the last 3 or 4 months of my life...with pictures!
So, as I mentioned, I ran the Disney World Marathon in January:
Pretty cool time, eh? It was tough, particularly towards the middle, but I got my second wind around miles 18-23, then did a slow but steady 3 mile finish. Here's a picture my dad snapped of me right before I crossed the finish line. As you can see, I was still doing pretty good:
Notice the colors, I was inspired by Ariel. Green on the bottom, red on the top, purple iPod and earbuds and a blue headband. My dad and I did go to Disney World for two days, and I got to take a picture with Ariel.
So, second semester, I've got Intermediate Screenwriting, Analysis of Video Games, and Directing for Screenwriting. We're actually going to be finishing our screenplays this semester, so my mad scientist thing is well underway (I'm actually in the middle of my third act, I'm on page 115 or so, but of course, this is just a first draft).
Video Games is a cool class, even if I'm not exactly hip to the modern gaming era. I just did my third paper on a treatment for a Green Lantern video game.
Directing for Screenwriters is kind of tough, it's a lot of analysis and looking at every detail. We're preparing our final project now, casting actual actors and shooting scenes we've written. Last week we did auditions, which were fun, but a lot of actors did flake out. Tom ended up auditioning this one guy who was a stunt double for James Franco in the Spider-Man movies.
I don't envy the Production students, since they are shooting their big films for the semester, we're talking two 12 hour days of shooting plus all that editing time. Screenwriters are helping them out, and I was script supervisor for both Mindy and Mike's shoots.
As far as my personal life goes, I mentioned I went to Las Vegas early in the semester, but that was the only big trip I went on. Spring Break was a couple weeks ago, but I didn't go anywhere. This summer I need to go back East a couple times (one for my ten year high school reunion), so it's best I save money now.
I'm a lot better off financially, so I have been hanging out with the guys more, doing the bonding thing, which is fun. I've been hanging out with Susan a bit less, but that's because a lot of factors contributed to it. Not just the fact that early in the semester we had the talk and got it over with.
Susan, even moreso than Jen, the other woman in the program, seems more isolated from the group. Partly because she's female and partly because she just doesn't like to do some of the things we do. I think they make her uncomfortable, and it doesn't help that they pressure her to do things she doesn't want, and when she doesn't, they call her boring. I always defend Susan when it's just us guys, but it sucks because when I talked to Susan about it, she was all "No one asked you to defend me or fix my relationships and you don't know me that well anyway." A lot of February and some of March was her and I on sort of bad terms. I didn't like how she lumped me in with the other guys, despite how close I thought we were as friends, while she instantly bonds with people like Mindy who she thinks the best of despite hardly spending any time with her, just because she's female. We cleared things up, though, and she doesn't think I'm like the guys she's pissed off at anymore.
There was a lot of Chris' Creek level drama, not just with us but with everyone, and maybe I'll get to that someday, but I should probably start concluding this. Things are sort of looking up for me in the romance department since I'm not hung up over Susan anymore. Last weekend, I went to this bar called Moonshadows (the bar Mel Gibson left to go on his drunken rant) with some friends and we met up with some other friends. I ended up talking to another woman for close to 2 hours, and we seemed to hit it off. I ended up asking for her number, but she's sort of in the beginnings of a relationship, so that didn't work out, but I was okay with it.
It's funny because Susan went to the movies with a male friend of hers the same weekend. Her mother, Barbara, was actually here for Spring Break and I met her, nice woman. After that weekend, Susan and I went to a long trip to Chik Fil-A, and I kept saying "Barbara" over and over (and I threw in a few "Kara"s too since the main character in her screenplay is named Kara), and I wasn't sure if I was acting weird out of jealousy or what. I apologized to her, and she said it's okay, it was just like old times.
Of course, I had to follow it up with a quote from Barbara "Just like old times all right." It actually made me pretty content with everything.
Oh, and we also felt that earthquake.
So, as I mentioned, I ran the Disney World Marathon in January:
Pretty cool time, eh? It was tough, particularly towards the middle, but I got my second wind around miles 18-23, then did a slow but steady 3 mile finish. Here's a picture my dad snapped of me right before I crossed the finish line. As you can see, I was still doing pretty good:
Notice the colors, I was inspired by Ariel. Green on the bottom, red on the top, purple iPod and earbuds and a blue headband. My dad and I did go to Disney World for two days, and I got to take a picture with Ariel.
So, second semester, I've got Intermediate Screenwriting, Analysis of Video Games, and Directing for Screenwriting. We're actually going to be finishing our screenplays this semester, so my mad scientist thing is well underway (I'm actually in the middle of my third act, I'm on page 115 or so, but of course, this is just a first draft).
Video Games is a cool class, even if I'm not exactly hip to the modern gaming era. I just did my third paper on a treatment for a Green Lantern video game.
Directing for Screenwriters is kind of tough, it's a lot of analysis and looking at every detail. We're preparing our final project now, casting actual actors and shooting scenes we've written. Last week we did auditions, which were fun, but a lot of actors did flake out. Tom ended up auditioning this one guy who was a stunt double for James Franco in the Spider-Man movies.
I don't envy the Production students, since they are shooting their big films for the semester, we're talking two 12 hour days of shooting plus all that editing time. Screenwriters are helping them out, and I was script supervisor for both Mindy and Mike's shoots.
As far as my personal life goes, I mentioned I went to Las Vegas early in the semester, but that was the only big trip I went on. Spring Break was a couple weeks ago, but I didn't go anywhere. This summer I need to go back East a couple times (one for my ten year high school reunion), so it's best I save money now.
I'm a lot better off financially, so I have been hanging out with the guys more, doing the bonding thing, which is fun. I've been hanging out with Susan a bit less, but that's because a lot of factors contributed to it. Not just the fact that early in the semester we had the talk and got it over with.
Susan, even moreso than Jen, the other woman in the program, seems more isolated from the group. Partly because she's female and partly because she just doesn't like to do some of the things we do. I think they make her uncomfortable, and it doesn't help that they pressure her to do things she doesn't want, and when she doesn't, they call her boring. I always defend Susan when it's just us guys, but it sucks because when I talked to Susan about it, she was all "No one asked you to defend me or fix my relationships and you don't know me that well anyway." A lot of February and some of March was her and I on sort of bad terms. I didn't like how she lumped me in with the other guys, despite how close I thought we were as friends, while she instantly bonds with people like Mindy who she thinks the best of despite hardly spending any time with her, just because she's female. We cleared things up, though, and she doesn't think I'm like the guys she's pissed off at anymore.
There was a lot of Chris' Creek level drama, not just with us but with everyone, and maybe I'll get to that someday, but I should probably start concluding this. Things are sort of looking up for me in the romance department since I'm not hung up over Susan anymore. Last weekend, I went to this bar called Moonshadows (the bar Mel Gibson left to go on his drunken rant) with some friends and we met up with some other friends. I ended up talking to another woman for close to 2 hours, and we seemed to hit it off. I ended up asking for her number, but she's sort of in the beginnings of a relationship, so that didn't work out, but I was okay with it.
It's funny because Susan went to the movies with a male friend of hers the same weekend. Her mother, Barbara, was actually here for Spring Break and I met her, nice woman. After that weekend, Susan and I went to a long trip to Chik Fil-A, and I kept saying "Barbara" over and over (and I threw in a few "Kara"s too since the main character in her screenplay is named Kara), and I wasn't sure if I was acting weird out of jealousy or what. I apologized to her, and she said it's okay, it was just like old times.
Of course, I had to follow it up with a quote from Barbara "Just like old times all right." It actually made me pretty content with everything.
Oh, and we also felt that earthquake.