The View Up Here

It's Leap Day, Year of the Water Dragon! I like mixing my East/West calendars, so what? It's been awhile since my last update. Nothing earth-shattering has gone on here, but I did attend an R.I.T. alumni event last Friday evening that proved to be fun, surreal, and fruitful. I reconnected with people with whom I went to film school, including someone who might be in a position to get me some work at some point down the line, and one of my very first screenwriting students. Now THAT was trippy. I knew he looked familiar to me, and I barely had a chance to talk to him at the end of the evening. He reminded me that he had been a student of mine. I had to ask for his name, and as soon as I heard it, I felt suddenly like I was in a time vortex, spinning around on my axis. I think we call that "full circle." I used to kick myself and bemoan my time at R.I.T. because it wasn't this or it wasn't that, and I did go into a soul-crushing amount of debt to get that MF...

Went back to R.I.T. this afternoon when there were people around, and I was blown away by the School of Film and Animation's presence on the ground floor. It is magnificent. The fourth floor is now all Photo. No wonder it seemed empty and lifeless last night (no offense to any photogs out there). Anyway, the newish digs of the film program are a far cry from when I was there. My friend and colleague Jack, who started teaching there when I did and is now a chair in the program, gave me the tour. Such an amazing space, and the program has grown immensely. Remember I said an MFA in anything other than animation didn't exist? Now there's an MFA in Production and in Screenwriting. Those lucky devils. But I wouldn't trade my days in for anything. Those were golden years, and they are spawning several more golden years. Aside from meeting with the Career Services specialist and hanging out in the SOFA, I went to the Memorial Art Gallery with a dear, old friend and saw th...

This will have to be quick, since I'm in Rochester, didn't get enough sleep and need to get on with my day. Last night's alumni career program at R.I.T. got me thinking about how I market my self. I'll write more about that later after I've processed some things and had time to sleep and get my ideas coherent. Right now, though, I want to focus on what happened after the program. We let out around 7:30, and I stayed for a few minutes to speak to one of the panelists, who was very interesting and had some good insights to share. From there, I walked the short distance under the pine trees to the Gannett building, which houses the School of Film and Animation. This is where I spent 4 years of my life - 3 as an MFA student and 1 as an adjunct professor. I'd heard that the Fourth Floor, which was the center of production and editing back in my day, and still seems to be, has changed a lot. It most certainly has. Gone are the 16 mil flatbed editing rooms and th...

I think I'm headed into a new season (aside from winter, that is). I feel like I'm working toward a more forward-thinking, inspired phase rather than a sad, sentimental longing for what's passed. Because, you know... I have to admit, these warm temps and sunshine really help. I've always known I have a severe sensitivity to the lack of sun and Vit. D. I had started to slump into the bleak, depressed state that always comes over me in late fall (and lasts for six months). Thankfully, this superlative high pressure system with temps in the 50s and 60s and bright sun this week has been the shot in the arm I really needed to remind me of what I'm working towards. Eyes on the prize and all that. I long to be in sunny southern Cali. Imagine never having seasonal depression again! So I'm headed to Rochester this afternoon to attend an alumni networking event at R.I.T. (where I did my MFA in film). I'm going with resumes and business cards in hand, and I'll ...

On January 5th, I'm headed back to L.A. to make dreams come true and further refine my driving skills. I spent two glorious weeks there, couch surfing, doing as much as possible, taking meetings, connecting with fellow R.I.T. SOFA alums, hanging out with Ithaca College's L.A. Pendleton program, hiking up to the Hollywood sign, lounging on Zuma beach, and yes, drinking mai tais in a tiki bar. Folks, I cannot describe the feeling (and I call myself a writer). A sense of belonging as I've never felt it before, at least since my childhood home. A feeling of well-being, of potential, of creative drive and inspiration. I spent a morning on the Warner Bros. lot, and I was moved to tears several times, knowing in the depth of my being that I needed to be a part of that world. I spent an evening at Disney Animation with my new friend TL, who is one of those soul sisters I will treasure throughout my life. There, at Disney, I saw people who engaged in their creative work, and t...