Day 291

"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln

Day 290

Just picked my childhood best friend up from the airport. She will be gracing Boston with her presence for a week! I've seen her only once in the past 11 years since I moved from San Diego but it feels like we've seen each other every day since. She's amazing! And I think my last single girlfriend. My job for the next 6 days is to convince her to move here. And quit lawyering. And move to Italy with me!

Day 289

Sat next to a girl on the plane today, on my way back to Boston. Think Miley Cirus in a few years, in her first year of law school.

She asked me if I'm in school but I explained that I'm semi-retired and dipping my feet into various...uh...things. WHOA THAT'S SO COOL she exclaimed in a deep raspy excited voice only Billy Ray could appreciate. When I asked her what she did, she told me she's in her first year of law school but it's not going as she planned and she's not sure if that's the career for her.

The expert career changer I've become, I told her that having a law degree doesn't mean you have to practice law. And once she's done, if she gives it a whirl and hates it, then she can just try something new. She said, yeah, you're right. But that would be a waste of time and money. 

Is it?? I kind of disagree. Pursuing one interest can lead to other interests that you didn't know you had. And it could make you more appealing to prospects in a way you hadn't imagined. The wine shop I work at wasn't hiring and I know ZERO anything about wine but she thought my advertising/writing background could be an asset to the store so she hired me. 

So I told Miley not to worry about law being right, but to just keep an open mind about how to use what she learned. 

Then she said, well I do want to make a lot of money, but I'm a babysitter right now and I baby-sit for all these super rich moms that don't work, and don't really watch their kids, because I do that part, and then I think now THAT is awesome. Sometimes I just want to marry someone really rich and be a housewife. But you can't really plan that. It just has to happen. So for now I guess I'll just finish law school.

Day 288

Took my mom, sister and godmutha out to see It's Complicated. Now I want to take a pastry class in Paris and learn how to make chocolate croissants and croque monsieur and MACAROONS!

RENO!!! Let's go! And film the pilot for our cooking around the world show!

Tamales in Cuernavaca

Pasta in Tuscany

Pastries in Paris

Paella in Madrid

Cousous in Morocco

Pierogis in Poland

Etc

Etc

Etc

 

Day 288

Slumber party with the triplets!

Day 287

'Twas the night after Christmas...and my best friend's bachelorette party. Out of 10 women, I was the only one single, and one of the only ones sans kids. But you wouldn't know it by the way they were swinging from the poles, dry humping the ceiling of the party bus, motorboating eachother's boobs, and grinding on unsuspecting club-goers. 

Day 286

Food. Coma. 

Day 285

Played Monopoly until 6 in the morning.

Day 284

Today while helping my grandma prepare for Christmas, she told me she hopes the economy gets better here so I can find a good job at home and come back. I said, Nana, I don't ever want to move back to Michigan, to matter how great the economy is. She said, "I know I know, you just want to see everything. I hope you find a husband who will take you to a new place everyday." Yeah, me too lady!

Day 283

Hmmmmm where am I going to go with my FOURHUNDREDANDTWENTYFIVEDOLLARVOUCHER from US Airways (for volunteering to leave on a later flight)! I spent all afternoon daydreaming at the Philadelphia airport about my next holiday...when I wasn't filming the all the misfits at my gate with my Flip. Holy stuck in 1989. I've never seen so many nylon track suites in my life. 

Day 282

In a nutshell...

Day 281

Cleaning.
Packing.
Organizing.
Watching the snow fall.
Watching bad movies.
Thinking about the people I love.
Thinking about the new year.

Day 280

Just noticed a post on facebook from a guy I went to elementary school with and it read: just increased the house payment for next year; 19 more years and she's all mine.

I made a face when I read that then realized I was making a face THEN realized I have a little too much in common with G. Clooney in Up in the Air. (Sans the not loving people part. I love me some people…most of the time.)

It’s not that I think buying a house is wrong, it’s what you’re “supposed to do”. I like the idea of making memories in a place and having neighbors and a garden and a tree that you watch grow bigger every year. But shoot, when I saw that facebook update, I can’t help thinking it sounds like jail! I can’t imagine staying in one place for 20 years. It’s one thing to end up someplace for 20 years but k n o w i n g exactly what you're going to be doing for the next 20 years scares the bejesus out of me. Does this mean I’m not a grown up? I am 27 and have absolutely zero desire to commit to anything. I didn’t even like signing a 3-year lease for my car. I have trouble committing to plans for the weekend! A menu with too many options, forgettaboutit.

C’est la vie.

Day 279

 Are you nuts?

Day 279

Today one of my old bosses passed away. He was a machine. Intense. The man came to work on the Saturday his sister passed away to work on a new business pitch. I don’t know too much about his life besides that he was a former attorney/litigator and he ran marathons almost every year. I do know he was warmer than he appeared and kinder than most people realized. And I’m thankful to have gotten to see that side of him.

When I first started working at that agency, my first real job after school, I was a bit intimidated by all creative directors and generally anyone with a super long job title. The beauty of entry level and being the bottom of the bottom at a company is you have full access to e v e r y o n e. I had to order their food, collate their photocopies, dial the phone numbers for their calls, wait for them to sign things, bubble wrap their boards for meetings. I did my share of whining about leaving at 3am and 4am and 5am but it was always those nights that I stayed late that I learned the most and had the most fun. At 2 in the morning, people’s true colors start to show. They tell you stories, they talk smack, they complain, they joke, they yell, they laugh. They seem human. And not so scary after all. Three companies later, the intimidation is long gone. My filter---nonexistent. I couldn’t kiss an ass if I tried. I learned you don’t need to to get respect or get ahead. And if I ever do, I’m in the wrong place.

Day 278

Testing Brian's recipes. They good. They real good.

Day 277

Just saw the movie Up In the Air and I'm SO mad! George was brilliant. Not mad at George. But damn Gina, two of the things I knew I wanted for my movie (ok ok my word document on my desktop titled: movie) happened in the first 5 seconds of the film!

Bookmarked this student portfolio over the summer when I first got the idea for the film because I LOVED this title sequence and thought it was perfect for my concept. Now it is the exact treatment used in Up. Then, THEN, to make matters worse, guess what song serenaded the sliding images!!! Oh, just a funky remix of This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land. Did I not JUST say a funky remix of that song must be in my movie. Did they not read my mind before editing that film??? And consider that someday I might need those???

There were no foreigners in the movie. Thank GOD.

Day 276

I want things that are bad for me. 

Day 275

Fondue Party!

Day 274

Today I got a Christmas card in the mail. First, I LOVE getting mail. I really do. I'm beside myself with excitement whenever I see my name printed in handwriting. But I'm not gonna lie, the Christmas card sucked! A generic message signed by (it's a secret). No extra message or update or pictures. It just seemed so impersonal and expected.

I don't blame (it's a secret) for his/her holiday greeting. There's a reason I don't send out Christmas cards, I never find any that I like! Pickings are slim.

So now I have another mission. Next year I'm making my own Christmas cards. And they aren't going to be some Martha Stewart garbage either. They're going to be cool. Be excited.

Day 273

My old student, the anthropologist, wrote today asking me to correct her application letters for a teaching position at one of the universities here in Boston. She is desperately trying to find a job here where her husband, a Brazilian diplomat, is stationed. She has lived in Brazil, Mexico, France, Algeria and now the US. Speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French and is hard on herself for not speaking perfect English after being in America for a year.

Every 3-5 years, her husband relocates to a new country. Each time, she has to learn a new language, acclimate their 3 children to their new environment, then try to find work in the field in which she earned a PhD. By the time she does, they are on their way to the next country and she starts from scratch. Again.

You know me, I hear her story and get stars in my eyes, thinking only about the romantic side of it. Every few years a new country and a new life. New interesting people, new homes, new friends, new experiences. Kids fluent in 4 languages. A long resume including stints in UNESCO, guest lecturing and volunteer work in various poverty stricken communities. A 20-year marriage with man she considers to be her best friend and who shares her passion for travel and improving the lives of others.

But she’s made it clear to me over many coffees that it’s not as glamorous as it all sounds. She got married at 20 and at 40, she feels like she’s lived her whole life for her husband and children, putting a career she is so passionate about on hold to accommodate them and their needs. She has no regrets but at the same time is ready to live for herself. Even if that means divorcing her husband and best friend in the whole world. Her biggest complaint against him: He has become more of a roommate than a romantic partner. (Join the club lady, you sound like 95% of the married woman I know!)

While I felt sad after hearing all this, my visions of this perfect power couple with whirlwind globetrotting lives—shattered, I was reminded once again…no matter what your nationality or culture or religion, or how different our lives may seem, we’re all just people. And when it comes down to it, we all have the same problems and fears and hopes and anxieties.

I think I just accidentally wrote one of the the character descriptions for my movie. Who needs fiction when real life is so interesting!

Day 272

Hi Everyone:

I would like to take a small group to lunch on Thursday to brainstorm some miscellaneous topics regarding our biz – if interested please be one of first six to respond.

Thanks,
[From our CEO]

I'd rather have my wisdom teeth out again. A mouth full of blood would be easier to swallow than your koolaid pal. After not responding at all to this email, I had the pleasure of going to the elevator at the exact same time the chosen 6 and our CEO embarked on their super special lunch date. In fact, even after I said, go ahead, I'll catch the next one, they were nice enough to insist I join them in the already cramped elevator. In the very middle. That was the longest 25 seconds of my life.

Day 271

After wasting 9 solid hours of my life at my real job, I went to work at the wine shop. I usually only work Friday nights now unless we have a special event. Tonight was our Tuscan Abbondanza. To be honest, I didn't feel like going. My jacket was still wet from the devil rain this morning that killed my very last umbrella and so were my socks. I just wanted to go home. But then I get there and I don't know what it is about being behind a counter and shooting the shizz with strangers and acquaintances, but I live for it. Today was especially great. Usually I leave after the tastings, because I'm a dork and always anxious to get home at the end of a long day, but tonight I stayed. Buzzed off Sangiovese and olives, we all sat around finishing the remaining juice from the night talking marinara recipes and roast beast and rock and roll and other stuff that doesn't matter. And I just had one of those weird moments when you realize you got something you really wanted. How many times did I pass by this wine shop on my way to my "real" job wishing I was going to work there instead. How many times did I see the people inside hanging out, drinking wine in the middle of the day in that tiny Italian hole in the wall and wish I could go inside and play. And now I do. And now those people are my friends and the neighborhood feels a little smaller and more personal and my own. For the first time in my post-college career, I work a place I genuinely care about. I'm down to a few hours a week now but those few hours remind me that that is how work should feel. 

Day 270

Went to a pop-up screening of Lemonade tonight. A documentary about people in the ad industry who get laid off and subsequently pursue things they are passionate about.

When I first saw the trailer a while back, I was a bit skeptical. Think the music had a lot to do with it. Seemed a little heavy on the sob story and there's nothing more annoying than listening to people feel sorry for themselves. It gets to the "makin' lemonade" later, but by then I'm already a bit checked out.

That did not stop me from seeing the film. While I was a few minutes late, I did catch the crux of it and I could relate to just about everything each person featured talked about.

Not looking for a job, looking for something interesting to do. 

Realized when you're doing the right thing, things just fall into place. The perfect person comes along, the perfect opportunity, the perfect solution. (To me, that part is less about luck and more about attitude. It's amazing what happens when you keep an open mind, when you put yourself in situations that bring you a step closer to what you want, when you start meeting new people who enlighten your or help you in ways you never would have imagined).

When you start doing things you love, everyday feels like the weekend. And it's true! Not once did I look at the clock at my other jobs, even though I was working more than 40 hours a week. Now that I have a new job I find myself counting the minutes until 5pm on Friday, just like a robot, just like I used to do and I think it's kind of pathetic. It's not because I don't like to work. I actually really love working. I just think 9-5, mon-fri is an antiquated system that is less about efficiency and more about social acceptance. All I know is, if you told people they could leave when they finished their work, or spend time on their own projects, I guarantee it wouldn't take them 9 hours to get the job done. But where's the incentive to be efficient when you can't leave until 5 anyway?

You don't have to lose your job to do the things you love. You just have to make the time and the effort. Which is hard when you don't have time, but not impossible. You just have to keep taking babysteps. Doing little things that bring you closer to what you want.

Getting laid off was the highlight of their career. I've said the exact same thing. The thing about the ad business is we are in the business of communication. And communication is necessary no matter where you go from there or what you do after. In advertising, we learn how to talk to people, how to create, how to think, how others think. We learn about art and we learn about business. Then we learn how to take all of that and use it to communicate an idea. Which means when we go off to start our own business or launch our own projects, we already have an important set of skills under our belts and resources that we never would have had, had we not worked in advertising. So it's not all a waste.

And the comment I agreed with most of all: Getting laid off from advertising is awesome.

This movie didn't make me look at my situation or experience any differently. I didn't need someone to tell me to pursue my passions, or find them. I didn't need a pep talk. I assume a lot of people don't. At the same time, I assume a lot of people do. And for that, I think it's a fantastic film and endeavor. At a time when unemployment is skyrocketing and people are seeing everything they worked for slide through the cracks, it's nice to be reminded that "it's not a pink slip, it's a blank page".

Anyone who finds a way to do what they love is my hero. Still, the people most inspiring to me are the ones who didn't wait for the pink slip. I want to see a movie about people who quit the jobs that left them unfulfilled or kept their jobs but used every moment of their free time to work on their side projects until they manifested. Those stories strike me (and excite me) the most.

Day 269

Worked on Project Cookbook ALL day. Now if BRIAN would get his bum back in the kitchen, we could have a good thing goin. Maybe. Probably.

Day 268

I want to go back in time. 

Day 267

Gym then books and movies all day. I tried to leave my apartment but two blocks in, the mini blizzard brewing outside ate my umbrella. And my spirit. I turned around. Defeated, sopping wet, all covered in giant snowflakes. At least I tried. 

Day 266

Wow I can't concentrate on anything today. Nothing. Feeling all anxious and antsy and BORED. Browsing the Times. Wishing I was this lady and had her closet and chairs and design sense. 

Day 265

I wonder how long I can get away with doin' NOTHIN' at work. Seriously. It's too good to be true.  Spent a good chunk of the day learning about some wines that I poured at a private tasting this evening. A tasting with a bunch of blue hairs pretending to look at art while shoveling shrimp cocktail in their mouth. The waiter was the most interesting person there. Wish I talked to the waiter more. He seemed cool. And foreign. 

Day 264

My 9-5 is more like a 9:30 to 11, really. On most days. And I like it. A lot. Spent most of my grueling work day on something I don't mind grueling over.  My many escape plans. Imagine how much cooler the world would be if everyone got the chance to spend a few of their peak hours on side projects and personal ambitions. I will take advantage of this while I can. I don't want to waste a minute. I've already wasted too many. 

First draft of "Loglines".

The lives of 8 people from 8 different countries and all walks of life loosely intersect in an English as a Second Language class.

Follow the lives of 8 people from 8 different countries and all walks of life as they settle in America and loosely intersect at an English as a Second Language.

Eight people from different countries and all walks of life have at least one thing in common, they're here to learn English.

  

Day 263

Reading about how to write a screenplay.

This book tells you to start by asking these questions:

What is it?
What's it about?
Who's it for?

Oh. I guess it makes sense to have that all figured out before you begin (unsuccessfully) writing scenes at 3am one night. No wonder I haven't opened that document (that left me so overwhelmed) on my desktop since that night. I don't know what my movie is really about. I mean I have an idea and I know who the characters are but I really don't know what it all means right now. So I will start by answering those questions. And see where it leads.

Next I need to be able to describe the story in one sentence. This sentence must all at once summarize the plot, have irony, elicit a good mental picture, pull you in while promising more, demonstrate a timeline and give you an idea of how big a production it will be.

I spent the better half my work day looking up loglines to movies that share something with the story I hope to tell. (Eventually. Even if it takes me 10 years to spit it out.)

An anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 different American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.
Night On Earth

Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened.
Paris, Je T'aime

Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Mystery Train

Follow the lives of 8 very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Love Actually

They came from Paris, Rome, London and Berlin to l'Auberge Espagnole...where a year can change a lifetime.
L'Auberge Espagnole

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginners course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives.
Italian for Beginners