I'm Back (for now, anyway).

I have decided to revive this blog for a little while. I've been unemployed since December 23, 2008, and I'm ready to find a new job. I'm doing what I can to find one, but I think that resurrecting this blog intermittently might accelerate the process. Once I get a new job (or get bored with it again, whatever comes first), I'm done with this blog for good.

Truth be told, I've really enjoyed my year off. It stinks that I have a big gap in my resume (and I have a couple already), but I've had a real opportunity to explore other options and have new experiences. Last August, I traveled to Chicago for a few days. I traveled to Woodstock, New York Twice: Once to meet a potential documentary subject, then to attend the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival. I'm even thinking about making a movie there. In my absence from this blog, I've had a chance to do some serious soul searching.

I gave serious thought to returning to school, thinking about acquiring both either a second bachelor's, a masters, or both. At one point, I was considering getting a Masters In Human Sexuality. (That is, until I found out that the school was not accredited.) While I don't rule out returning to school down the line, I don't believe I'm ready to commit to a degree right now.

Right now, I'm taking a self-directed course in Copy Editing through MediaBistro.com. It's not a great time to be a journalist, but there are plenty of other places to secure copy editing jobs. I also may take another course in Medical Transcription (not offered by MediaBistro) down the line. I really don't want to do Customer Service the rest of my life. If my next job is indeed more customer service, I want to know that I can opt out for something else. I've also been trying to land freelance writing gigs, but that's been tough going. Six weeks ago, I had another reading with a psychic, and she suggested that it is time for me to get out of dodge. I'm looking at a few places, and if I am to leave, I want to confident that I can support myself.

Unfortunately, I'm not attending SXSW this year, which is going on as I post this. If the recently passed unemployment extension does apply to me, I may attend Tribeca this year. I'm also thinking about starting a new blog devoted to the writing process of Independent film.

But more than anything, I'm ready to work on resolving unemployment.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since I have no one special in my life, Valentine's Day is of no relevance, other than maybe giving me an excuse to go off my diet and eat candy.

I have decided to actively seek work as a Production Assistant. I spent my early afternoon today at the library, writing a resume from scratch--something I haven't done since I first graduated from college. I'm going to continue looking for work outside the entertainment industry (office positions, of course), but I want to pursue this option as well.

Rather than go straight to New York City, I've been keeping tabs on The Hudson Valley Film Commission to see if they have anything that pops up. The person I want to do a documentary on lives in Woodstock, so I'm thinking that it might not be a bad place to start looking for production work.

I also spent more time working on the article I want to pitch. I dissected and analyzed articles and pitch letters (from a book on freelance writing).

Finally, that plane crash in Buffalo...just awful. On Friday the 13th of all days. It's bad enough when any plane crashes, but it Buffalo? My heart goes out to everyone who knew someone who was killed.

Past, Present, and Future

I did go to Ithaca on Tuesday, and I took my father with me. We paid a visit to a friend of ours for about an hour. I didn't go to the Workforce office there, but I did do a weekly stop at the office here yesterday. I think it's best to wait and hold off on stopping at that office until I know that the weather will be dry and safe enough to commute back and forth.

Wednesday it snowed like crazy, so I spent a good portion of yesterday morning shoveling. I don't mind it, because it is a good workout.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about future projects, and reflecting on past ideas and projects and why they did or didn't work out. So much has changed for me in the (almost) four years since I made Are You From Bingo?. I realize now it doesn't have to be a crapshoot; I know there's some kind of audience waiting. At this point, it's a matter of committing something to paper.

For awhile, I've thinking about shooting it in Ithaca or Binghamton, but today I've been giving serious thought to shooting it in the Woodstock/Kingston area. I used to love traveling through there when I would travel to New York from Oneonta, and of course, this past fall, I attended the Woodstock Film Festival and since then, I've been looking for an excuse to return. Also, I think it might be easier to get a cast and crew up to that area than further up New York. We'll see.

Earlier this afternoon, I did an interview with Binghamton University's Pipe Dream newspaper, and that went well. Tomorrow night, I'll be going to see Ra Ra Riot at The Smith Opera House. I'm looking forward to it.