Here and there...
Hola!
I begin this entry with the Spanish word for "hello" in honor of Ryan Greenberg, whose own blog I have been woefully neglecting until today. Ryan is abroad in South American doing a service program called the Holy Cross Associates. In the highly unlikely event that you are reading this and don't already read (or write) Ryan's blog, you should check it out.
Those of you who pay attention to my "Current location" that I post on the main page will notice that it has been changed to "here and there." As I type this, I am in Los Angeles, CA, but over the past two weeks I have been spotted in New York City, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and now Los Angeles. By next weekend, that list will likely be expanded to include Las Vegas, San Jose and San Francisco. For the curious, I am probably going to Las Vegas this weekend to celebrate a friends birthday. Similarly, another of my friends is having a birthday celebration in San Francisco, which I am hoping to attend. And as long as I'm in the Bay Area, why not swing by San Jose and say hello to long-time family friend Jeanne?
You might be wondering how the apartment hunt is going here in sunny Southern California. Well, it is going well and not so well. There is plenty of availability; however, some of the places are too expensive, some are to far away, some aren't safe enough and some are with strange roommates. Not all of them are bad, though. Last night, for example, I saw a place that would have been phenomenal. But, if you don't already know, I am considering the possibility of leaving Los Angeles and returning to San Francisco. Strange and a sudden departure? Absolutely.
In my most recent entry I indicated that I was feeling a little dissatisfied with the film industry. It isn't at all that I don't really enjoy the industry - I do - it is just that I don't find that it leaves me enough time to enjoy life and do the things that I feel are truly important. It leaves me little to no time for community building or service work, the job itself isn't "important," and I am not challenged by the work.
I do love the industry, but I feel that this is not the way I am called to be a part of it. This is a change. I definitely felt this was what I wanted to do, but after leaving San Francisco I discovered that to me, I think community and service is more important in the long run. While this isn't a final decision by any means, if I do decide to return to San Francisco, I don't intend to fully depart from the industry and never look back. I still feel there are some important things that can be done. For example, in San Francisco, there is a media program for at-risk youth. They are currently looking for people to come in and teach a once-a-week course on digital moviemaking. I feel that something like that combines my love for movies with my passion for service. Will these kids create amazing art that will make a huge impact on the world of film? No, of course not. They'll probably make pretty silly movies with bad acting and poor technique, but at least they're having fun. That's just a thought.