rew | ff

It's October... commence freaking out about baseball in t-minus 10, 9...

Friday, October 1, 2004

It's Friday morning, and for once this week I'm awake before 11am. I really need to go get some coffee, but I'm having trouble getting motivated... maybe the splitting headache that's sure to arrive soon will help. It's amazing how fast I've regressed to lazy bum status... after 7 months of 14 to 16 hour days, suddenly I can't get going before noon. On the bright side, not having to be up at 5am means I can watch the Daily Show again.... and Sportscenter, and Family Guy, and that show that's on at 1am on FX, and.........

Strategery

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Today I realized, in the middle of Costco, that not only were my jeans unzipped, but unbuttoned as well. The only thing holding them up was my belt. I'm having a slight bit of trouble adjusting to my new, lazy-man's schedule, I guess.

Not much has gone on the last couple of days that's worth reporting, at least not in Phoenix. I might end up selling my car this weekend, which would be interesting, but we'll see. The guy who wants to buy it is really nice but seems a little weird, and I'm not sure if he's ever seen my John Kerry sticker. This could be awkward, because I know he was in the military before. Who knows, though... logically, anyone who's ex-military ought to favor Kerry over Bush. But logic, clearly, counts for nothing in American politics.

Speaking of which, I missed the debate because of school, but from what I can gather Kerry at worst came out of it with a draw, and probably actually did better than that. Through the lens of the Daily Show it looked like Bush had at least a few honest moments where his true idiocy shown through. Hopefully it'll only get worse for him the next two times around.

There's actually been some political talk at school the last couple of days because an ambitious Kerry supporter has been hanging out in the parking lot at our dinner break, giving free soda away to kids who register to vote. Unfortunately, a lot of these guys who are registering in Arizona because they're thirsty will be gone by November 2nd, and I doubt they're going to bother to vote absentee. People who say things like "If you don't vote, it counts as a 'no,'" or "I hate Bush because of what he got us into in Iraq, but Kerry wants to take all our guns away," probably aren't going to go to the trouble.

Oh yeah, we did have a kick-ass hack today in tin-foil ball hackysack, which we play at dinner with the foil from Sean's and my sandwiches. Just thought I'd mention that.

Cold feet warmed

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Rare good news from school today. I explained my situation to Cheryl, who is the woman whom both Sean and I have been working with at the graduate employment department of the school. They're the ones who set up interviews with the various programs like the BMW one. Cheryl has for some time been considered by both Sean and me to be the only person at the UTI we could trust. Anyway, I told her what was going on, and she not only said she thought I was doing the smart thing, but that if and when I do finish up at UTI Pennsylvania, my hiatus in the NYC animation industry would not affect me at all in terms of getting into BMW or any other program when I did finally graduate. So basically, I'm not risking anything by doing this. I was feeling pretty good about the decision anyway, but this bit of news thankfully quelled my burgeoning case of cold feet. Check it out, I'm eating cake! And yet somehow additional cake remains for me to posses, as well!

Also, I just bought my one-way ticket to New York from JetBlue, and it was ninety-nine (99!) dollars. That's a deal. And in a rare bit of foresight, I scheduled it for another redeye (OK, it was the only time available), which will prevent me from missing any potential playoff baseball that Saturday. JetBlue's website lets you pick out your exact seat on the plane... that seems like the kind of thing that was promised but seemed ridiculously optimistic back in the "The internet can do anything!" days of the late nineties. I have those same days to thank for my new job, in a creepy, I'd-rather-not-think-about-it kind of way, actually.

It's hot again here in Phoenix, after a briefly tolerable period that actually reminded me of August in Portland. Right after I got back from New York last week it was really pleasantly cool in the mornings, to the point where you actually needed a sweatshirt. Now we're back to hot all the time, though topping out at no more than 100, if that. However, much as we adjusted to the extreme heat, I think we're also sort of adjusting to the less-extreme heat, so while 99 felt pretty good in July, now, not so much. But it seems pointless to complain about, as we'll all be out of here soon, with the possible exception of Dane, who may still opt to stay here for STEP. Hopefully he'll come to his senses and join Bruce in Jersey.

Also, you wouldn't believe the game that the absolutely awful Diamondbacks won tonight. I watched it on TV... ridiculous. They completely blew this game twice, only to have some career minor-leaguer win it with a Hollywood-ending home run. Totally meaningless, but pretty cool to see nonetheless.

Start spreadin' the news...

Monday, September 27, 2004

Well, that's it. I'm heading back to New York to take a job doing what I used to do (video editing). This may seem insane, and maybe it is. But I've decided that basically I'm going to give it a six-month try (the six months that the UTI, as Glenn put it, stole) and, if it all works out, be a happy and moderately successful video editor in New York who's also testing for ASE certifications on his own time as a long-term backup plan. If it isn't working out, I'll head to UTI Pennsylvania and finish up my 5 remaining phases, then either try to get into a less stringent program than BMW (VW, for example), or head home to Portland and try to use my connections with Sean, Dane and Gabe to get a job at the BMW dealer there. But the plan now is that I'll head back to New York the weekend after this one, and start work that Monday. Again, as crazy, irresponsible and ridiculous as this may seem, I'm very excited.

Anyway, that's my big news. This won't really affect Sean or Dane very much, as they're both done in 5 weeks. Sean's heading to Portland immediately after "graduation," and Dane still isn't really sure what he's doing, as he won't know if he got into STEP until right up around the end of October. There's a possibility that Dane could end up at STEP New Jersey (the class that I had hoped to be a part of), which would be cool, because we could hang out and stuff. We'll see how it all shakes out.

Lastly, here's something funny I overheard in class the other day. We were talking about hydrogen and its role as a fuel in future cars. The teacher brought up the encouraging fact that the only emission produced by burning hydrogen is H20 or, as you and I know it, water. The class seemed to grasp this. One kid, who obviously understood that water could, in fact, be a product of combustion, took it the next logical step and declared that water would actually be a far more dangerous emission than hydrocarbons or carbon monoxide because "It'll make the streets slick and cause a lot more accidents." I spoke up and said something to the effect of, "Uh, I'm from Oregon, and...." (trailing off). There wasn't that much else to add.

Zombies!

Sunday, September 26, 2004

Saturday was out of the ordinary, to say the least. I worked until 4, and then Aaron, Bobby, Sean and I got picked up in a limo and driven to the ASU vs. OSU (Oregon State) football game in Tempe. How all this came about would be a long story that I don't know all the angles to. But basically, we had limo service to and from the game, and all the free food we could eat and beer we could drink. For one night, Arizona wasn't all that bad. OSU got absolutely flattened, but I went to U of O, so what do I care? The whole thing was a lot of fun, and completely random. Especially when Bobby got lost and couldn't find his way from the football stadium to the basketball stadium (outside of which was where all the free booze was), which are literally about 100 feet apart. We were trying to talk him in via cellphone, which finally worked, but only after 20 minutes or so. Now that's a bad sense of direction.

Oh yeah, and then on the way back from where the limo dropped us off to our house we ended up jump-starting this guy's SUV for him, which he said wouldn't start because it had "blown a piston." I guess he'd run the battery down because it took so long to fire every time. We finally got it started, and goddamn, I don't think I've ever heard a machine of any kind sound worse. It had an incredible rod knock, which is when one of the pistons becomes partially detached from the crankshaft and is basically being beaten to a pulp inside the engine whenever it's running. Some guy who was watching us started yelling for him to "put some oil in it!" when he heard the noise, as if that were going to fix it. And the best part? The dude whose car it was said he was a mechanic.

Anyway, it's decision time for me on the age-old question, "should I stay or should I go?" Tomorrow I'm going to make a few calls, talk to a few people, and hopefully have a new plan in place by the middle of the day. We shall see.

On that note, thanks to all my friends who have weighed in on my current dilemma. I really appreciate the input... I've got to figure this out for myself, but all of you have been a great help in doing so. My favorite and most succinct quote from the many phone calls I've placed in the last couple of days was probably this: Glenn on the UTI: "They're basically stealing six months of your life, and I'd say go ahead and steal it back."

Anyway, today started off the way every day should, with the Red Sox beating the crap out of the Yankers on national television. In other news, we saw Shaun of the Dead tonight. It was good all the way through, but the first half is particularly hilarious. I'd recommend it. There's some kind of zombie movie revolution going on these days... and I like it.

Also, I feel I should note that I just took the shirt I'm now wearing out of the freezer, where it had been for the last 20 minutes or so. Mmmmm, frozen shirt... feels sooooooo good. And it's not even that hot in here. Weird.

One! Two! Three! Four!

Friday, September 24, 2004

OK, I'm a jerk. Yesterday was totally Springsteen's birthday, and I completely forgot. I'm sorry, Bruce. All you've done for me over the years, and I can't even get myself together enough to send you a card or something. I am such a bastard. I even read that interview you did with Rolling Stone yesterday, but it just didn't occur to me.

It being Springsteen's birthday also means it was three years ago yesterday that I won my 1961 Lincoln Continental in an eBay auction on the computer in the back of my friend Mat's mom's cafe in Vermont. I guess it's not technically "my" Lincoln anymore, as I recently sold it. Another one of my not-too-wise automotive purchases over the years.

I sometimes wonder if I hadn't bought that car, would I have stayed in New York after Sept. 11th? I may well have. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. That may have been the first in the long string of huge missteps I've made in the last couple of years. As cool as that car was, perhaps now that it's moved on to a new home I will have shed some kind of curse. Or maybe I've just been reading too much about the Red Sox lately.

This is weird, being home in the mornings. Up until this week, I haven't had anything less than 13 hour days since March. I really ought to be using this time to figure out my next move, which I sort of am, but it's hard not to just read every newspaper I subscribe to online and listen to music while lounging on the couch. Soon I have to decide if I should be using this time to find a new job, or to pack for a move to New York. I was pretty vague with this prospect in my last post, so here's an elaboration, complete with graphics:

Things at school, and my plan for completing it, have changed greatly since last Friday. First and foremost, no more double-phasing. This applies to me and everyone else at the school. It's simply a case of overcrowding; they've tried to pack so many kids into the school to maximize profits (they also raised tuition by $5000) that there's literally not enough chairs for everyone. Class sizes are in the mid thirties when they're supposed to be in the high twenties. Clearly this is no one's fault but the school's, but the students suffer for it. It's not just people like me who want to double-phase... there are kids who are being denied any class at all and being forced to take a 3-week break. So I can see why they're banning double-phasing. They're trying to work their way out of the mess they've created.

So basically, like I said before, if I stick around I'll be here until a minimum of Jan. 28th. That in itself isn't too bad; it's just an extra couple of months. However, the logistics of completing that couple of months are pretty daunting. It also has a severe effect on how the potential timeline for me going to STEP and BMW Manhattan would work. Perhaps a graph would be of some assistance.

I am a graphic design master

The main problem is making enough money to survive for the time that I'd have left here as well as the time I'd be in STEP. Either way, the time in STEP was going to be a problem. I was always trying not to worry about it, just sort of figuring I'd cross that bridge when I came to it and come up with a solution one way or another. Now I'm not so sure. I'd have to borrow a lot of money, and more debt certainly does not seem like the answer right now. If it was just a couple thousand dollars, that wouldn't be such a big deal, but this would be quite a bit more than that. I'm in so much debt already that I've pretty much sworn off adding more.

Anyway, the wild card in all of this is that a completely different opportunity has come swooping in out of left field. While I was in New York I stopped by my old boss's new company, where a lot of my friends from back then are working. Coincidentally, a job has opened up there that would be a good fit for me. That's the decision I'm trying to make. If I go by simply what I'd like to do, I'd already be packing for New York. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Obviously that would be a huge waste of money and time, as the chances of me ever finishing this program would be incredibly slight (although not impossible). And this job in New York is not exactly the most stable thing in the world, although it certainly could turn into something very good. I'd definitely be happier in New York, but I would likely end up there anyway in the future if the BMW thing worked out. I guess the biggest issue is that I really don't want to borrow more money; I'm not even sure if I can anymore (the 'ol credit has taken a bit of a hit the last couple of years), and there are limits to the degree to which my parents can help (not to mention I'm 27 now and should be leaving them the fuck alone). The New York thing seems like a much faster way to fix my life. But then again, it could be a disaster. As could be staying in Phoenix. Or either one could work out beautifully. Argh.

Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs start in less than two weeks. I really ought to be worrying about that.

Opinions sought

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Well, we have reached an impasse. Or at least I have. Things in Phoenix are winding down for Sean and Dane, who are both about 5 weeks from graduating, and possibly for me, being perhaps about 5 days from dropping out. Lots of new stuff has happened since my last post, so I'll try to catch up here in chronological order.

Last Friday was the end of the phase, so we had all our tests, etc. It was also the day that the double-phasing list was posted, which is always on the last day of the phase, presumably so that those left off the list have as little time as possible to seek a solution. And finally, it was the day I was to fly out for New York and my job interview with BMW of Manhattan. So, when 5 am rolled around and I dragged myself out of bed, I new that it had the potential to be an extreme day in either direction.

The first misstep was during my morning classes end-phase lab. It consisted entirely of degreeing a camshaft, which, once you learn how to do it, is very easy. Apparently because of this, it was set up to be somewhat more difficult. Normally when you degree a cam (a process that you will be glad to know I have no intention of attempting to explain here), you attach a wheel with 360 hash marks on it to the front of the crankshaft, and place a pointer somewhere on the engine. The pointer lines up with the 0 mark on the wheel. Obviously, the closer you can get the pointer to the edge of the wheel, the easier it is to read exactly which hash mark the pointer is lined up with at any moment in the process. Normally we set up our own pointers each time we do a cam. Anyway, long story short, these were set up for us beforehand, with the pointer not only an inch and a half away from the wheel's edge, but with the tips of the pointers bent. We weren't allowed to change them, even though there's no way anyone would ever do this when actually setting up an engine, because it's so needlessly inaccurate. This made degreeing the cam very subjective, as the readings you saw could vary by as many as 4 degrees depending on how you looked at the pointer and which part of its bent tip you considered to be the 0 point. Point being, it was impossible to degree the cam accurately, and most of the class, including me, did poorly on the test. OK, that was pretty boring. Moving on...

I was anxiously awaiting the posting of the double-phasers list, hoping that I'd be on it and save the trouble of having to run around the school barking up various trees until I got my way. Eventually they posted it, and there were only 5 names, mine not being one of them. This sucked. Still, I figured it was only a matter of bitching around for a while, which stresses me out, but has been successful in the past. As my entire plan for graduating and moving on to either STEP or BMW Manhattan depends on getting out on Nov. 19th, I knew I had to work it out somehow. I'll just skip to the end here... I couldn't pull it off. I talked to everyone I could find, going as high up as I could, and each time it was like talking to a brick wall. They simply would not hear me. They have my money, and that's it. We have no leverage as students. The school is so overcrowded thanks to their zeal to collect money from new students, they refuse to add any spots to any of the classes I have left. So this is a major, major problem. I tried to put it out of my mind so as not to ruin my trip to New York, but I knew it would come up in my interview.

On the bright side, getting home from school Sean and I discovered that the Red Sox - Yankees game, which I'd thought had been called due to rain, was still going on. The Sox ended up winning dramatically in the last inning. I watched the rest of the game, did my laundry, packed, and headed to the airport at about 10:30pm. At this point I'd been awake for 17.5 hours.

My plane ride was uneventful until I got stuck in Chicago for 3 hours. Stuck in the airplane on the runway thanks to hurricane Ivan, actually. We didn't leave Chicago until well after the time I was supposed to already be in New York. By the time we did finally get in, it was around noon New York time. I'd been awake for 28 hours. I headed straight to Blondie's, a bar on the upper West side of Manhattan, where I was meeting Mark (Yanks) and Nate (Sox) and some other dudes to watch the Sox - Yanks game. My friend Neil was supposed to be there but got hung up at work. By the time I got there it was already the second inning and the Sox were down 5-0. So much for that.

After the game, Mark, who in spite of being a Yankees fan is a really nice guy, drove me all the way to Park Slope in Brooklyn and dropped me off at Vicky's place. I hung out with Vicky and her roommate Audra for a while, avoiding Morris the cat (who I am apparently not nearly as allergic to as I anticipated). Then Vicky and I headed into Manhattan to meet with my recently domesticated roommates Jake and Glenn at my favorite bar in the entire world, Grassroots on St. Mark's Place in Manhattan. We arrived at right around 7pm EDT, and I'd been awake for almost 36 hours.

I love Grassroots. It was a lot of fun to see Jake and Glenn (and Glenn's fiance Catherine), and we were there until about 10pm or so. At that point Vicky and I bid the dudes farewell and headed to Williamsburg in Brooklyn to the combo birthday party that lots of Hampshire people were supposedly going to be at. This was only after a fruitless attempt to find a Dunkin' Donuts in order to prop me up a bit, as I was definitely starting to feel it after almost 40 hours of continuous awake-ness. We had to settle for Starbucks and then jumped on the L train.

The party was fun. I finally got to see Neil, and ran into more old friends left and right, some whom I hadn't seen in 4 years or so. I managed to hold on until I think about 1am, at which point I almost fell of my barstool in mid-conversation with Vicky, having had a grand total of one beer since Grassroots. Mark again defied his Yankee-fan-ness and drove Vicky and I back to Park Slope, where after about 44 hours I finally crashed out on a couch that's far more comfortable than my usual air mattress. The nightmares that have become typical for me were non-existent and I slept very well, feeling very much at home in New York.

The next day I got myself over to Nate's place in Williamsburg in time to watch the Sox lose again, then back to Vicky's in time for what was possibly the highlight of the weekend for me - a beautiful sun-setting walk around Prospect Park in perfectly cool weather. Tons of people were out playing volleyball, soccer, hitting flies, walking dogs, etc. It was the anti-Phoenix.

Later on we all ended up watching the Emmys (props to the Daily Show for winning a couple), which reminded me that there is, in fact, television that's not the Daily Show or Seinfeld reruns. Everyone had to work the next morning and I had the interview, so that was about it.

The interview. It wasn't all that great. Not terrible, but not great. I sort of got off on the wrong foot because I think several of the people I was sort of shepherded to thought I was applying for a job right now, and were annoyed when they found out I wasn't out of school yet. They were also weirded out by my work history and its distinct lack of auto shops until now, not to mention the surplus of video and design type jobs. When I finally ended up talking to the woman with whom I'd set up the interview, it went better, but not by a whole lot. She sort of outlined a scenario in which I could end up working there some time in the future, but as I feared, the pushing back of my graduation date definitely sort of soured things and put everything in the context of being further ahead in time. So while not entirely discouraging, not so good, either.

So anyway, I saw Kramer and everyone at Animation Collective, and then dropped in on Mark and Neil one more time. I headed uptown to say goodbye to Vicky, and then made my way over to Newark to catch the plane.

Tuesday at school I found out that double-phasing will no longer be allowed for anyone. So that means I'll be here until Jan. 28th if I decide to stick it out. But that's the new thing. I'm not sure I'm up for it anymore. Four more months, and I'd have to get a new job, which might take a while. I'd have to find a new place to live. I'd be pretty much on my own. And the road to BMW Manhattan could, even under the very best circumstances, not be complete until spring of 2006. I'm close to giving up on this, but also hesitant to do so this late in the game.

© Long Shot Films 2004