2009 in Review

It's certainly been an interesting year. Let's take a look at some of the more substantial events of the year, shall we?

1. New Year's Eve 2008 - I started off 2009 with a bang... by hosting an amazing party surrounded by amazing people and had an amazing time. 'Nuff said.
2. Job Hunt 2009 - Since I quit my job in December '08, I spent the first three months of 2009 frantically trying to find a job. There were some hopefuls, including a job at Paramount Vantage (which I'm glad didn't work out because they shut down this year), but nothing really panned out. Around the beginning of March, it was serious time... if I didn't find a job in the next couple of weeks I was going to move back to TX.
3. New Age - Shortly before my 26th birthday in March, I was contacted by someone who found my profile on LinkedIn... long story short: interviews were had and I was offered a job! Best. Birthday Present. Ever.
4. New Job - I began my employment at Luma Pictures (where I am still working) and after my three-month probationary period, they hired me on as staff! Hello, benefits!!
5. New Apartment - because of my long commute from Hollywood to Venice (50+ mins each way), I quickly realized the distance wasn't going to work for me if I were hired on as staff. So, I decided to move... and now I live with my amazing friend/new roommate Matt. We get along great, but because of our schedules, hardly see each other. Sadness. I plan on changing this next year.
6. New Hobby - Luma Pictures bought a boat this summer! So the producers decided to get a group together to become SCUBA certified - obviously I was all for it. It is an amazing, amazing thing... and I highly recommend it to everyone. We later took a weekend trip on the boat to Catalina Island to go SCUBA diving... awesome!!! I can't wait to go diving in Hawai'i or Australia.
7. New Friends - I've become quite fond of the people I work with. I know it's cliché, but they are really like a family here, and I'm so happy to be a part of that.
8. Romantic Slate Wiped Clean - On the romance side of things, it's been quite the journey, but I would say that I'm entering 2010 with a clean slate. No baggage. No lingering feelings. Nothing! It feels really great, and now I can go forward and do whatever I want and I will NOT ever look back. Thank. God.
9. Financial Recovery, Part I - This year also marked the beginning of my monetary recovery from Hell. 2008 killed me financially, as many of you know, and it is the main reason I left my previous job. But this year I finally stopped falling back, and was able to get my footing back. I think in 2010 I will actually make some headway in getting back to where I should be. I can't wait.

I think that pretty much covers it! For what started out as a potentially crap-tastic year, I think things turned out pretty well all in all. I hope 2009 brought the same goodness to you that it did to me, and even if it didn't, I hope 2010 is your year for recovery and renewal. Happy New Year!!!

Australia

I really want to dump everything and move to Australia, is that wrong? I mean, let's take some time and evaluate why that would be totally awesome.
Reason #1: Beautiful beaches. The nicest beaches I've ever been to are in Hawai'i, and from what I know that's exactly what Australia is like. ANNDDD how could we possibly forget about the Great Barrier Reef?

Reason #2: Hot people. Aussiebum isn't just a brand... it's a word that means everyone in Australia has a hot ass. And let's be honest... who doesn't like that?

Reason #3: No chance it will fall into the ocean. The whole continent is an island... it's born out of seismic activity. That means, all it will do is continue to grow. Whenever all the ice caps melt, everything else might sink below the water but by God Australia will still be there.

Reason #4: Long live the Queen. I recently discovered that Australia is technically under the rule of the Queen of England. How awesome is that?? I've always wanted a Queen to look up to. Fierce!

Reason #5: Amazing people. Everyone I've ever met from Australia has been one of the nicest, down-to-earth, most amazing people ever. And I really do mean that. Additionally, I could call any of the ones I've met (some of which I've only known for 30 minutes), and they would help me out with anything I needed when it comes to places to see/visit/whatever in Australia... including letting me crash with them if I was visiting their neck of the woods. Woo!

Reason #6: It's Australia. I've always wanted to go there for as long as I can remember. It's always been my number 1 place to visit in the world. Visit OR live. I vote for living there.

Reason #7: Kangaroos and Koalas. Need I say more? I want both as pets.

And now you know my seven reasons for wanting to move to Australia. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can really put into words right now.

Besides all that... I am dying for the new iPhone OS to come out. DYING. And I saw Star Trek for the second time last night. It was fun. Again.

Revelation in the Shower

I came upon a revelation tonight that I believe explains the lack of success in my life thus far. I attended a Q&A panel at SAG on new media, and found myself during and afterward to be somewhat... inspired. The gears in my head were turning, and I was ready to put to paper all the ideas I had been tossing about in my brain but have never done anything about. And now here I am at 1:10 AM with not a single thing to show for it.

Why?

Well, I thought about it during my shower... which is my "revelations and critical thought" time... and came up with an explanation that I decided to blog about. I do this, of course, instead of getting my ideas out. Which brings me to my revelation: I don't finish things. I have these ideas about which I am 100% passionate, then nothing comes to fruition.

Join me for a moment as we take a stroll through Justin's Idea Graveyard: Harbinger, thejustinporter.com, my old blog, Last Run, Frantic, etc, etc, etc. Some of you know what those are, it's better for the rest of you if you stay in the dark. The point is nothing gets finished with me!

Well sirs, I'm am vowing here and now to change things. I've had two very inspiring moments in the month of February thus far. 1.) A birthday party I attended. There was a card-reader there who knew things about the past year of my life that could not have been guessed, and gave me some eerily specific advice about things to come. 2.) The Q&A panel on new media I attended tonight, which inspired me to reanimate a habitant of my idea graveyard: my production company.

A while ago I was discussing with a friend the idea of starting a production company dedicated to online episodics, or webisodes. And of course nothing ever happened with it. Well, the time has come, and it's going to happen, and you will all rue the day!

That is all.

Current Status:
Mood: Inspired!
Food: None, I used fluoride rinse and can't eat or drink for 30 minutes
Song: None. This is quiet time!

Hello, unemployment!

I'm halfway through my second month of being unemployed, which is awesome. For those of you who don't know, I quit my previous job at the end of the year. I had been there for three years... it was time to move on.

But what's really exciting about this whole "no job" thing is the complimentary "no money" thing that goes along with it! I can't tell you how fun it is to be out when someone says "Do you want another drink?" and I get to reply, "No, I can't!" AWE. SOME.

But it's not all bad, it's giving me time to get things in order, re-vamp my resume, figure out what I really want to be doing AND work on small projects that I never could before. For example, right now I'm doing an editor evaluation to be considered to edit a pilot! I definitely wouldn't have been able to do something like that at my last job.

What's great about it is if I get the job, and the show gets picked up, I'll be the editor on the whole series! I'm not holding my breath, I'm just saying it would be cool.

In other matters, I made brownies for a friend's Valentine's Day party last night, and came home with more than half of what I made/took. And now I can't get them out of my head. All I can think about is stuffing them directly into my face, and I blame those jerks at the party that filled up on chicken parmesan and cupcakes (which were delicious) instead of my brownies.

Those that did have a brownie commented on how great they are, and on that note I'm going to take a moment to brag. I... make... amazing... brownies. I don't know why, it's a gift I've possessed for as long as I can remember. They're the perfect ratio of gooey to firm. They don't break apart; they stay together well; they're not so soft you worry about them being undercooked; they're perfect.

And I can achieve that perfection with any kind. Seriously... my store brand brownies will be just as amazingly good as the Betty Crocker ones I make. I don't know why or how... it just happens. It's as if when I was born, the brownie Gods said, "Yes, he's the one... we will give him the gift." But it is also a curse... just as well as I can make delicious brownies, I also want to eat said delicious brownies. Just be glad you know me, and can enjoy the gift without the repercussions of the curse.

Status:
Mood: Nervous!
Food: Brownies!
Song: "Up" -The Saturdays