Shout Outs and Thanks For All the Memories

Journal of Clarity – 31 – April 7^th, 2013

Let's do a few shout outs this excellent April 7^th to a long list of people well-deserving of shout outs!

First, shout out to those who passed away this past week. Please offer a moment of silence to these people. First, Roger Ebert, big name in film criticism. His influence is responsible for the jobs of many people I follow online. I may not have always agreed with him, but he will be missed. Muppet co-creator Jane Henson also passed away. Not a fan of muppets myself, I know plenty of people who were and will likely be bummed by this. No other big names I'm familiar with have left us this week, but my most recent ex-girlfriend's aunt passed away this week. I don't know her name, but I know how important family is and I send a shout out that way as well in memory of her and all these people (all three).

Secondly, today is Jackie Chan's B-Day and we have to do a shout out to him. The man is an international treasure capable of making people smile with his silly hybrid of martial arts, gymnastics, and goofy antics. Here's hoping for many more great years of this amazing person.

Next, shout out to everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts yesterday! No names changed because you don't change names for a shout out (that's just rude). So shout outs to: Yoko, Rie, Josh, Alison, Tim, Evan, Jamie, Andie, Amber, Josh (yes, there were two), Magnus, Jon, Grandma, Grandpa, my aunt, Rob, and Ben (aka Kyle). It's a short list, to be sure, but you are all cool people and it was nice to hear from all of you. (Yes, parents too, but that was sort of obvious). Also, shout out to Ubisoft (again) for the 30% off on a game and to Gamestop for the coupon I was sent for... I think 10% off a used game. Not much, sure, but it was cool to get. Also, shout out to Mike (not the roommate) for the Flash comic I got earlier this week. Not only was it a Flash comic, but it had a cameo appearance by CYBORG of the Teen Titans. That just made my day there.

So being another year older and being able to look back at all that's happened, what have I learned and how can I apply it going forward into the next year?

For starters, recently was the first time in practically 3 years when I got into a relationship again. Not only that, I was, essentially, involved in two different relationships within a short amount of time (but, obviously, not the same time). In one way, it was nice to be in that again, but neither relationship worked out for different reasons but having gone through all that, I certainly learned a lot about the kind of girl I want to be with now (or at least refined the idea of that more). I will touch on that in a later entry. But, for now, I'm taking a break from the relationship game because of all the projects coming up nearing the end of school. I want to focus on getting all that done before I consider getting involved with anyone else for the time being. That said, if someone happens to show up that happens to be interesting enough to convince me otherwise, I won't say no. But I'm not going to be actively looking for a little while. Need a break.

I learned within the past few years that the English Major is a major joke. I went into it for creative writing and ended up leaving it without getting much out of the English-portion of the English Major. Hindsight says that at least the business major would have helped me know how to better market the “creative” products I could make. A film major would not only have kept my interest, but also been useful in conjunction with a creative writing focus. A history major... would have been just as useless but at least I wouldn't have hated every second of it.

But more importantly is I have a general idea of what I want to do with my future, which is something I've been struggling to nail down for the past year. I want to get into filmmaking, sort of. I look at what an online production company, like Rooster Teeth, has done and I think to myself, I want to do that! I want to be a part of that! I know I'm not alone, as a job there is a dream job for a plethora of gamers, aspiring filmmakers, programmers, and many more. I won't get my hopes up chasing a job that could be impossible, but I won't just roll over and settle for less. I'm going to at least try to make it. If not that, I'll try starting my own thing and going from there. It won't be easy and I'll have to find a dedicated team of people to back me up because I know I can't do it alone. But if it was going to be easy, it wouldn't be nearly as fun or worthwhile.

I've learned a lot about myself. My limits, my goals, and what I want to do knowing all that I have come to learn and/or understand. So within the next year, I intend to make some changes to make some of that possible.

What are my goals for the next year?

First, I want to get into a stable relationship with someone who actually gets me and doesn't just say they do. Again, I'll go into this in more detail in a few days (if I remember). But I'd like to have found someone within a year who just works with me.

Second, I want to have that job I can be proud of having. Rooster Teeth is a pipe dream, but it's what I'm shooting for. If I can have something similar, something that allows me to work on a team of creative people making content to entertain people, I'd be happy with that because that's what I want to do. I like making film. I like writing stories. I like working on a team of people with the same goal or idea in mind to accomplishing that goal.

Third, in a year, I want to be in better shape. Preferably sooner, but I'll give myself a year to play it safe. I have ideas on how to do this, including running on a treadmill while playing videogames, working out on a punching bag, changing the eating habits, getting back into Tae Kwon Do, and I'm sure I can come up with more.

Fourth, I want to finish at least one book or collection of stories within this year. I have been sitting on plenty of ideas for years. I just need to find a way to express them in a way that makes sense to a wide audience, not just me. So I'm taking a few of my more solid ideas and simplifying them as much as possible until I am comfortable with them, and then adding more layers and complications until it's at the level I feel is worth for publication. We'll see how well that goes.

Fifth, I want to have read all of the Sonic comics produced by Archie Comics. This includes Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Universe. I also want to have read all the Mega Man comics too. And while I want to read them all, I'll just say I want to read more comics from Iron Man and The Flash because I find all these characters fascinating and entertaining. So why not try to read them all, right?

Those are my five goals for the next year. Clearly, there are some that are easier than others. Others require a larger amount of luck than others. But I feel having goals in mind and working towards those is a good way to go from here.

As I go forward with these, I would appreciate any and all help any of you are willing to offer on these. If you want to help me meet people, great. If you want to help with film projects, perhaps helping make our own production company in the process, awesome! If you want to work out with me, nice! (and so on). I'm not asking for help, but I'm open to the idea if any of you feel like stepping in and lending a hand, especially since I know trying to take on all these tasks at once is a tad daunting. But I still want to try anyway.

That's all for today. I'll see you all again soon.