Seems like lately all Zadi and I have been doing is bitching about things. We bitch about the show, we bitch about business, we bitch about people on the street, you name it. Part of that is stress, part of that is burnout, and part of it is misplaced indignation about things that are not really important.
Tonight we went for a late night jog to clear our heads and get a little exercise. On the cooldown walk back, we started talking and, as usual, bitching about things. Then then strangest thing happened.
A van pulled up next to us and an elderly woman lowered her window. She asked if we could help her by picking up her husband, who had fallen out of his seat inside the van. Zadi and I looked at each other and considered the situation. There was no way we were going near that van without her opening the doors and turning on the lights.
When she slid open the van's side door, there was a little old man crumpled up on the floor. He had fallen off of his motorized chair. It was obviously not a threatening situation, so I stepped inside to see what I could do.
I'm 6'3", about 200 lbs, and this elderly fellow was probably half my size. After considering the best way to lift him without hurting him, I picked him up off the floor and put him back into his seat. He was was clearly humiliated by the situation. Imagine having to ask a perfect stranger, sweaty from jogging, 11:30 at night, to lift him up like a child and help him sit back down in his chair. I got him settled in, told him no thanks were necessary, and they drove off to destinations unknown.
I believe life is really about noticing the small things. There we were, a young couple with everything in the world going for us, and what were we doing? We were complaining, as usual. Well, that was it. If you believe in signs, there was none clearer that this one. Shut our stupid mouths. Our problems are nothing, they are meaningless. Almost anyone would trade positions with us. We felt like fools.
There will always be reasons to bitch about things. Someone not treating you right? Sucks. Bad luck? Man, I feel for you. But you know what? That's about as far as it should go. Because that stuff just circles right back to you and pollutes your thinking.
Tonight really helped me locate my focus. When we got back home a situation we'd been dealing with suddenly came into very clear focus. It is amazing how clear your mind can become when you simply decide to turn off the unnecessary noise.
Before I start blogging about issues related to online video content creation, a moment to reflect. Blogs are, if nothing else, a personal medium. I should do my part to spew forth some stream of consciousness musings about my insignificant little life.
2007 has just begun. I have owned the domain sleeplessnights.com since 1996. This is the 4th incarnation of the site.
Since 1995 I have worked on, in one form or another, 265 websites. No shit. I remember the fucking tag, ok?
I went to school for painting and got invited to join a gallery in Soho (the Chelsea of the 80's and 90's) when I was 20. I turned them down. Don't ask.
Graduated. Started designing websites to pay the bills. Went to work for a non-profit arts organization in NYC. Went to work for a Web 1.0 startup, then left before they went public. Don't ask.
Started freelancing so I could focus on my painting. Got involved in independent film, went to Hollywood and wrote a studio comedy, came back to New York and started developing television projects.
INSERT DOT BOMB HERE, INSERT PERSONAL CRISIS HERE, INSERT 9/11 HERE. Screeching halt.
Learned PHP/MySQL to survive (you could turn over a rock in New York and find a talented designed underneath at that time). Scrounged around for any work I could find. Lived off savings til they were gone, lived off credit cards after that. Joined second tech startup, this time with realistic personal goals.
Continued writing screenplays and traveling to the West Coast for meetings. Worked my way into Creative Director/Technical Director in the day job. Got engaged. Moved to California for a movie gig. Got fired. Screeching halt #2.
Enter videoblogs. I no longer cared about movies or television. I could no longer fathom wasting my time in meetings with nice, intelligent, generally well-intentioned people who could not see that their industry was slipping out of their grasp while we sat there and drank caffe mochas.
JETSET begins (as Jet Set Show). Got married. Found my place in the world.
I wonder what will happen tomorrow...
There. Now that that's out of the way, we can get down to business.
