It was great, but I'm happy to be home.

We left our hotel room in Tennessee just before daybreak yesterday morning, and drove for an hour before stopping at a Shoney's in Bristol, Virginia, where we ate their breakfast buffet. Afterward, we continued driving north, making many stops along the way for bathroom breaks and snacks. I filled that time shooting video, as well as devouring Filmmaker magazine, which we got in the SXSW Goody Bags for free. It was weird reading an interview with Barry Jenkins just days after speaking with him extensively. For dinner, we stopped at The Country Cupboard for dinner. I had some type of hot roast beef sandwich with onions and melted cheese. The Country Cupboard also has an adjoined store that sells candy, baked goods, and many other things. I bought a smidge of Peanut Butter Oreo fudge and ate it on the way home.

The last piece of video I shot was the sign that read "Welcome to New York". It was very dark, and my battery power was very low. I got back home around 10 O'Clock or so, took a shower, and went back to sleep.

Now that this is all done and over with, I'm more eager than ever to work on the DVD. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can work on everything else. A big priority for me this week is to finalize getting the interviews scheduled. There is one thing that is of concern to me, however.

From the time I first saw Mutual Appreciation, I have wanted to make a narrative feature film. For awhile now, I've kind of set the idea aside because I've been preoccupied with putting together another documentary, and also, I couldn't find anything worth pursuing. Yesterday, somewhere in Virginia, I came up with a perfect idea--or at least one that for me would be worth my time. I don't want to abandon the documentary, but I feel like this idea comes from a much deeper place than anything I've pursued to date. If I'm able to get this one off the ground, it would the type of movie I've wanted to make since I was in college. An idea I had well before Andrew Bujalski and others were on my radar.

Right now, though, I have to go get my father's truck, help him e-mail pictures, and work on a panel for The Film Panel Notetaker.

Parallel Life

There's nothing like having your hands tied. On one hand, I have visions of a more exciting life ahead of me. Yesterday, I published the Ry Russo-Young interview, and next week, I'll be off to Austin for SXSW. Also, I have the Are You From Bingo? DVD project, and the other project I'm working on right now.

Today I was reading a memoir of the person I'm hoping to do a documentary on, where she talks about her experiences with her travels, and her relationships--romantic and friendly. I also peered through a travel guide on Costa Rica in preparation for another interview I'm hoping to do for The Film Panel Notetaker. When I was young, I wanted to travel the world, going this place and that place. Unfortunately, money and circumstance eventually tempered those ambitions, but now I'm entertaining those fantasies again. Costa Rica would be fun, but I'd love to visit Greece, Italy, the South of France, and Bali, among other places.

At the same time, I must contend with my current reality. I continue to look for work the way I always have--sending out resumes, going for interviews. It's never been particularly fun (unless I've gotten a job), but job hunting anywhere is becoming more and more out of place. With that being said, I'll be taking a test tomorrow with the possibility of working on the 2010 census. The job will start in April and last 6-8 weeks. If I get the job, I figured by the time it starts, I'll be ready for another job. It's only temporary, and it doesn't seem too dull, so why not?

Erin's Stimulus Package

The verdict is in. I will be able to collect unemployment. The judge based my decision on me having admitted to making an honest mistake--that when I first applied for unemployment, I put down "discharged" rather than "fired". For most of the weekend, I had flashbacks to the worst parts of my work experience. I didn't really want to know the verdict, since I thought it would be "no" based on my incompetence. I will be conservative with the money and will continue to look for work, but this is a great relief.

Yesterday, I finally got a call from the person I wanted to do a documentary on. She raised a lot of valid concerns, such as what kind of audience this potential movie might have, and clearances I'll have to make in regards to taking a camera into prison. (I'll elaborate eventually.) But she seems to be interested. We told each other that we would stay in touch. Today I went to the library in Ithaca and picked up her memoir. This person isn't a big celebrity, but I'm not ready to disclose who it is, either.

I also interviewed Ry Russo-Young for The Film Panel Notetaker and the zine. My method I used to record the conversation involved holding my shotgun mic to my speakerphone, so some of the audibility is questionable. But I should be able to transcribe most of it.

Can You Tell I'm Anxious?

Tomorrow is the big day. As I mentioned previously, I've been really nervous about my hearing. Mainly because I don't want to have to face those people all over again. Yesterday, though, my mother mentioned to me that there might not be a chance that they'll show up at all, and if that's the case, I WIN! Nonetheless, I have prepared, writing points I want to make, cross examining questions, and a closing argument. But I really hope they don't show up.

Yesterday, I had a phone interview with some customer service company that has an office in Canandaigua. They're supposed to send me something about a "next step" soon, but I really don't want this job, because of the commute, and also, I'd be working until 10:30. This afternoon I have an interview at the hospital for several positions I've applied for. A month ago, I would've been absolutely thrilled about this. To some extent, I still am, but I know what I want to do next as far as projects go. Will this job get in the way?

Speaking of the next project, I've decided to send the letter I sent last week by e-mail, which is the way I should've done it in the first place. I know it's only been a week, but I'm eager to hear one way or the other.

Finally, I started cutting the epilogue for Are You From Bingo? last night, but with all that's happening this week, it's hard to focus on it. Can you tell I'm anxious?

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.

Life Goes On

I continue to send out resumes. Today, I made phone calls to temp agencies to let them know that I'm still looking for work. When my father told my grandmother he was going away, my grandmother opted to make arrangements to stay with my aunt instead.

Next Thursday, I will have my unemployment hearing, and I'm nervous about it. Will I have to face those people again? I had expressed a desire to leave a few times, will they use that against me? I do hope I get unemployment, of course, but I am preparing for the worst.

I finally sent a letter to the person I want to do a documentary on. I could've sent an e-mail, but I think a real letter is more formal.

With all that's going on, I'm trying my best to look forward to SXSW, but with the hearing and looking for work hanging over my head, it's not easy. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the upper 50s, and I plan on taking a walk!

Runnin' Down A Dream

I continue to look for work. Today I filled out an application to work as a "skill builder" part-time with disabled and disturbed kids. I've been looking for a new type of work opportunity.

I've also been giving a lot of thought to future projects. For a long time now, I've been trying to put together another film. I've wanted to do a narrative film, but it's been slow coming. I haven't really found anything I could carry out. Why would this be so difficult? As I've mentioned before, I wrote specs in college and thereafter, but these days, I find it hard to create a story I could put together on a modest budget. It's painful for me to come to this conclusion, but I think to try and cross over into narrative features right now might be overwhelming, considering my circumstances. I've done a lot of research over the past few years, so I know what I'll be able to do with the movie once I'm done.

So I've been giving thought to doing another documentary. I have a subject that I am interested in shooting. It's a person, and I haven't approached them yet, and probably won't until I have a clear angle of where I want to go with this, or have done enough research.

A little later, I'm going to be watching the first part of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. This is the first movie I've gotten from Netflix since I put my subscription on hold last month.

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.

Where is the love?

Writing this new script is a whole new game than it has been in the past. When I wrote specs in college and a bit thereafter, I used to immerse myself in the world of the script and its characters. This time around, I still think about the script when I'm working on it, and immerse myself when I'm writing it, but otherwise, it feels like a seperate reality.

In the past, it felt like, something much more powerful, much greater than myself was guiding me in my writing work. I don't hate what I'm writing now, but I feel like that engine that has driven me in the past isn't there right now.