Got called upstairs today and was informed that the company is laying me off. Apparently, they're trying to cut overhead once again and, of the six of us who were still at the company and survived the cutbacks last year, they decided to let me and our business affairs person go... the only two people at the company with any experience on the business side of the industry. Now they have a development executive, another development executive, an assistant and a receptionist. But no one to cover business and legal affairs, operations, physical production, IT, HR, or accounting.

During the "we love you but we have to let you go" conversation, the boss asked me what I was working on that she and the remaining employees would have to take over. As I started going over my list of responsibilities, she was frantically trying to write them all down and her face became more and more concerned as I kept going. Clearly, she didn't realize exactly how much I actually did for the company (I was the one who took over ALL the responsibilities of the six people they laid off last time). Not to mention that I'm the only person at the company who has a halfway decent understanding of troubleshooting technology, corporate operations, and the overall process of producing a film from beginning to end, in detail.

I'm not one to toot my own horn to puff myself up unnecessarily, but the very real fact of the matter is that I was the linchpin that was holding the company together as it tried (and continued to try) to cut costs and move forward productively. Laying me off is going to be one of those decisions that, in six weeks or two months, when things start to fall apart, everyone says, "Ohhh, he really did take care of a lot. We made a mistake letting him go."

Unfortunately, that realization won't do either of us any good.

I don't know what's worse... the fact that I got laid off today, or the fact that I'm really not all that upset or surprised by it, even when it came unexpectedly on the Friday before Halloween.

On the bright side, more time for NaNoWriMo! Does anybody know if the SMs are looking for an out-of-work Hollywood production executive? Working at WDC would make things sooo much easier.

P.S. - Hey, Ariana ! I think my bosses finally beat your bosses in the all-time WTF department.

 

I just realized that I've been a hypocrite this month. My newsletters for the "Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group"  have been all about preparing for NaNoWriMo. I've featured articles on plot, character development, dialogue, story structure... emphasized the importance of preparedness and encouraged people to spend some time getting everything in order so they can start November 1st on the right foot and crank out words right away... and then realized that I haven't done anything myself.

I've spent so much time on the UENG and organizing the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon"  that I've completely neglected my own writing, including an entry for "A MidSummer Night's Scream"  and the Quotation Inspiration monthly contest.

So I've got the next two days to write two short stories and prep my NaNo novel.

I sure hope nothing important comes up at work, 'cause I got more important things to do...

 

I'm shocked and awed by the response I've received to my "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon"  activity. I was adding it up today and, if my math is right, our generous sponsors have already committed to a whopping 96.6 total GPs per word among our participating writers! That means that if, on average, the writers only get halfway through NaNo, that's still nearly 2.4 million GPs raised for WDC charities. WOW!

Since there are ten beneficiaries of the activity and each gets ten percent of the funds raised, that's almost a quarter-million GPs for each charity!

My hope is that, by additional sponsors, the participating writers pounding out huge word counts, or both, we can raise a lot more. I think we can get it to 5 million GPs all-in and get these worthy groups 500K GPs apiece. If we could double that and get each group a seven figure donation in time for the holidays, I'd be positively giddy.

If you're interested in participating, either as a writer or a sponsor, head on over to the forum and check it out!

ID: 1546312   (Rated: ASR) NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon  A NaNoWriMo fundraiser... compete as a NaNo writer or donate by sponsoring one! by SoCalScribe

Had to take the wife's car in because it was having a hard time starting. Seemed to be some kind of clogged filter, fuel injection obstruction, something-rather. $150 to fix, and the starter is in pretty bad shape, which will be another $300 when the next paycheck comes in.

Whenever these sporadic maintenance needs pop up, we start thinking, "Ugh, maybe it's time for a new car." I mean, one of them is a '95 sedan with 177,000 miles on it, and the other is a '96 SUV with 276,000 miles on it. So these things are bound to happen (more and more often it seems).

Of course, since we own both of our cars outright, we eventually realize that a couple hundred bucks here and there beats a couple hundred bucks every month for a car payment. So dear neighbor with the six-figure, 2009 Mercedes SUV, you keep on giving us those patronizing smiles when we roll up next to your precious ride in the garage ... at the end of the day, we don't pay any money for the privilege of driving our cars, and our annual maintenance costs still don't come close to hitting one of your monthly payments.

And that makes me smile.

 

Apparently, the makers of those little grocery store tubs of fresh fruit (in this case mixed berries) have it out for us. In attempting to get the friggin' container open, the very thin plastic lid sliced my index finger open not once, but twice. Nothing gory or anything, but one of those nagging little grazes, like the kind you get from a piece of paper. You know the ones, where you'd swear it should be gushing blood because it's so painful.

Naturally, today was the day that I was planning on finishing up a couple of contest entries and actually finish some writing early for once. Unfortunately, when I write, I need my fingers to keep up with my thoughts or I lose myself in my writing when my head's going faster than my hands. And a big bandage on my finger isn't exactly helping me keep my WPM up.

Oh well, at least I'm getting caught up on my WDC e-mails and whatnot. Granted, it's only at about 40-50 WPM, but I guess it'll have to do.

 

Since the maintenance debacle of last Monday, my wife and I have been looking for a new place to live. Not just for that, but because we're getting a little older, we're both working full-time now, and we figure that maybe it's time to upgrade from the one-bedroom apartment we've lived in since we needed to survive on one income.

The problem is, our desire for a better place to live doesn't trump our good financial sense, and the Southern California housing apartment is still ridiculously inflated. We got into our current apartment at the height of the housing bubble, and we're paying $1300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment outside of Los Angeles proper. (As my friends back home delight in telling me, that's more than their mortgage payment.) In today's housing market, an apartment comparable to our own - reasonably-sized, small building, etc. - is going for $800-$1100, and two bedrooms are in the $1200-$1400 range.

One would logically think that a nicer two-bedroom apartment - the newer, big building ones that at the height of the housing bubble were going for two grand a month or more - would be subject to the same decline in housing prices as the rest of the world.

Nope.

They want more. Most of them are charging $100-$200 a month more in rent than they were two years ago, and every single one of them cites the reason being that the economy is hurting their business and they have to offset their losses.

I'm sorry, but the economy is affecting everybody, not just businesses. I don't know many people (my wife and I included) who would even think about renting an apartment for $2200 a month in this economy when pink slips and layoffs are always around the corner. And call me crazy, but I don't think it's your tenants' responsibility to pay astronomically inflated rent just to off-set your balance sheet. You have to charge fair market value for your units, not just what you want them to be worth. Maybe that's why your units sit vacant for six months or more at a time.

Besides, how much is a company really hurting when all their leasing agents are driving two year old BMWs and Mercedes?

It seems like the wife and I will be living in college-style comfort for a little longer...

 

First, let me just say that I love music. I have an extensive collection of CDs and iTunes downloads in just about every genre available... it's a remarkable medium. So in many ways, it pains me to say this... but music is a waste of time. At least in regard to my commute. I spend an average of 60-90 minutes each way on my commute, five days a week. That's *shudder* four and a half hours of my life every week spent behind the wheel of a car, just getting myself from home to work and back again. So that's what, an average of about 12 hours a week I spend in the car?

Let's face it, music is great, but song after song after song doesn't leave me feeling like I've made the best use of my time. Morning radio shows are even less helpful, except for the news ones like NPR... but even then I can only listen to idiots espouse their political, religious and academic opinions for so long before I feel like my brain is rotting.

Enter audiobooks. Earlier this year, I picked one up from the Barnes & Noble bargain racks for $5.98 and thought I'd give it a go. I was amazed, not only at how much faster the commute seemed to go when I was wrapped up in a narrative, but how much more accomplished I felt afterward. I didn't spend those long hours of my commute singing along with a song or listening to talk radio... I spent it "reading" a book! At the end of the week, I actually felt like I had done something productive with all that time I spent in the car.

More importantly, I'm reading again. My job subjects me to the same phenomena that is so popular among students... I do so much reading for my job that I have little energy to read for leisure too. On an average day, I read anywhere from one to three full screenplays, a half dozen talent or operational agreements, and budgets and schedules galore. So when I get home, cracking open a book and looking at more words usually isn't my first choice of activity. But I also found myself sorely missing a good story. Not a screenplay or a legal contract... but a story that I could lose myself in and let my imagination run wild.

Normally, I'm lucky to finish two or three novels a year, read on vacations, planes, or whenever I have free time. Thanks to audiobooks, this year I just finished my eighteenth novel today and am getting ready to make my next selection. As an added bonus, the city library that I drive by on my commute has an extensive audiobook section, which I can check out for $1 per week. It takes me a week to finish a book (two if it's Frank Herbert or Robert Ludlum ). So I'm making productive use of my commute time, getting to actually "read" for enjoyment again, AND supporting my local library.

Not a bad deal, eh?

If anybody else has a lengthy commute, I highly recommend audiobooks, especially if you can check them out from your local library. Heck, I might even try nonfiction one of these days and attempt to learn something. But for now, I'm just enjoying getting caught up on all the books I've been meaning to read for years, and all the authors I've heard about and seen on shelves, but never had a chance to read. I've got some new favorites, and can safely cross others off my list.

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

So this season, I had every intention of entering my friend Coolhand 's awesome short story contest, "Invalid Item" . I realized a couple weeks ago that I haven't entered his contest in over a year, since the summer season way back in July of 2008! (It's a good thing Coolhand is, well, such a cool guy... because I've been criminally negligent in submitting entries for his contest). I wrote half of my entry yesterday, planning on finishing it up today and sending it off, as per usual, at the last minute.

Of course, the danger of that strategy is that sometimes you end up with days like today, where the deadline has already passed because you got the dates mixed up.

Coolhand, I'm sorry amigo... I missed your contest again. But at least I'm halfway done with my Winter entry. You WILL get another "Classic Story" from me...
 

For those of you that don't know, my wife (who is a far more altruistic person than I) is a special education teacher, currently teaching 9th grade Language Arts, or what used to be called English before California got all "PC". Anyway, she tells me that her kids are having a hard time dealing with the fact that they have to write a 500-word essay in class this month. One of her more vociferously opposed students is a huge Stephen King fan and my wife asked me how she can motivate this student.

Never one to pass up the opportunity to share my obscure trivia knowledge (or frighten children), I told her to let him know that Stephen King recommends writing 2,000 words a day to become a better writer. That's right... they have a month to write an essay that would take Stephen King less than a quarter of his day to write.

I'm waiting to hear whether she used the tactic and if it succeeded (I'd consider inspiring him to write or scaring him into not complaining anymore equal victories), but it also made me remember back to my high school days in AP English (sorry, Language Arts) when my teacher would give us a three-page article which we had to read, analyze, and write a 500-word essay about in 40 minutes. I suppose I have him to thank for being able to write quickly.

And hey, if the Stephen King factoid doesn't scare him straight, I told her to tell them that her husband is going to write 50,000 words during the month of November. That's right, kids. That's like your essay times 100. Now put your eyeballs back in their sockets.
 

So I normally try not to do this, but it's a particularly unpleasant Monday (and it's only noon!), and I feel the need to gripe and whine for a little while. So feel free to skim, skip or otherwise ignore this post if you wish.

There's been a change in management at our apartment building. The on-site manager has "renegotiated" his arrangement with the owner, which - to make a long story short - essentially means that he now only does some repairs and maintenance work. What that translates into for me is that now, instead of calling the on-site manager and having him come over and fix my backed up garbage disposal the same day (any day), it now takes four days of e-mailing and calling the owner's office in order to schedule a maintenance visit by the on-site manager for business hours only.

So I take the earliest available appointment this morning... 10 AM. That's okay, my job is usually pretty flexible and I'll just stay a little late today. At 10:30 AM the on-site manager comes in, looks at the garbage disposal for a couple seconds and says, "Oh, I don't do those repairs anymore. We outsource that now. I can have the guy out here between 2 PM and 5 PM."

Great. My commute to work is roughly an hour and a half each way, so by the time I got there, I'd pretty much have to turn around and go back. So I e-mail my boss and say that I'll be working from home today, I have my laptop and all my files, I'm just waiting for maintenance men, etc. Basically, I may not be in the office, but I'm still going to be working. Nine times out of ten, this isn't a problem. But today, I get that rare ten percent e-mail that says if I'm out of the office, I have to use a vacation day. Not the news I really wanted to hear, but that's okay... I've got plenty of vacation days saved up, so I take one.

Then I get another work e-mail thirty minutes later about a problem with the phones. They want me to help walk them through fixing it from home. I kindly explained that they forced me to take a vacation day rather than allowing me to work from home, so since I have to use my own personal time, I shouldn't have to be on-call for work issues and I would be happy to resolve it when I'm back in the office tomorrow. Apparently, that's not how it works... I need to take the personal day and deduct it from my paid time off... but I also need to be working from home to fix this problem.

So what am I doing today? I'm sitting at home, waiting for the maintenance guy to come and fix my broken garbage disposal and backed up sink, so I can do the nasty dishes that have been sitting out for four days. While I wait to do that, I'm working just as hard as I usually do (even harder actually, since I'm trying to walk my technologically illiterate colleagues through the steps to fix the problem)... and for all of that, I get the privilege of being docked one vacation day in return.

Happy Monday, everyone. Who's ready for the weekend?
 

My wife and I have decided to get out of the apartment and do something fun for Halloween. It's her first year of teaching full-time, so we haven't quite had the time to plan out costumes and find a party to attend... so instead, we've decided to attend a murder mystery dinner theater/cruise on Halloween night out on the open seas of Southern California.

I attended one mystery dinner theater with my parents when I was much younger and remember it being a lot of fun. Especially since I won the prize for guessing who the murderer was! I'm really looking forward to participating in one again, especially since this one is an interactive dinner where some of the actors are mixed in with the other dinner guests, so nobody knows who's a part of the show and who's just dining.

Anyone else attended one of these events? If so, what did you think of the experience?
 

In the film industry, there's a pretty big controversy over what kind of a screenwriting career is the best to pursue. Should one be a specialist and focus on one particular area of expertise (horror, comedy, action, etc.), or should one be a jack-of-all-trades and have the broadest possible range of experience?

The argument for specialists is that, in this day and age, people want experts to write for them. They don't want the guy who kind of knows how to write horror, they want the guy who has written horror, who's an expert in horror, who's been recognized for his accomplishments in horror. For much the same reason one would want a cardiologist and not a general practitioner to do their heart transplant, people like experts in their field.

Of course, the counterpoint to that argument is that a specialist is, by definition, limiting himself to what jobs he's considered for. A heart surgeon may be very much in demand for heart surgeries, but what about sprained ankles, sore throats and stomach aches? Nobody wants to pay a heart surgeon (or anyone else for that matter) for specialized medical treatment when a general practitioner can, in most cases, treat all of these ailments.

In the world of screenwriting, it's much the same. When a production company wants to produce a horror movie, their obvious preference is for a horror specialist to work on the script. But the problem is, that production company may not choose a horror movie for their next project. Their next film might be a thriller, or a sci-fi epic, or an action movie.

So it is better to be that horror specialist, and be more favorably considered for fewer jobs? Or is it better to be the versatile writer who may not be at the top of the list for any one specific project, but has the breadth of experience necessary to be considered for more job opportunities?

I'm genuinely interested to know your opinion on this issue, loyal readers. It actually seems my professional life has fallen into a similar predicament. In the film business, I have a very broad range of experience, covering everything from business affairs to corporate operations to marketing to physical production. And while that qualifies me for more job opportunities than some of my colleagues, I'm finding that I'm losing out on a lot of those positions (especially in this economy) to those colleagues who have more targeted experience in a particular field.

So what say you all? Is it better (as a writer, or in life) to focus on one specialty, or to get as broad a range of experience as possible?
 

So I've been spending a lot of time lately preparing for NaNoWriMo. Not for myself, per se, but more to motivate everyone to participate in this fun, challenging and satisfying event. I created the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon"  to raise funds for some great WDC groups, and I've been doing weekly installments of writing lessons in my newsletters for the "Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group" . Of course, today I realized that the only problem with all this is that I'm not preparing my own novel; I still have no idea what I want to write about!

I know I'm going to try tackling a crime/mystery novel this year, maybe with a horror slant. I tried an erotica novel last year and feel like doing something a little different this year. But with no idea about the story or the character, I've got a lot of work to do before November 1st, especially if I'm going to make good on my promise of actually preparing something and not writing cold like I did last year. So I think it's time that I follow my own advice and take part in the NaNo exercises I publish for the UEN. Sure I may not be able to win the prize every week... but I should be able to follow my own advice and adequately prepare, right?

Anyone else finding themselves up against the wall as far as their NaNo prep is concerned?
 

Well, I got my NaNoWriMo activity off the ground today "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon" , prepped this week's "Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group"  newsletter, and wrote just over 3,000 words of my entry for Mara ♣ McBain 's "Erotic Tales of Pleasure & Pain~closed! "  contest.

All in all, I'd say that it's been a relatively productive day.
 

I'm shocked, awed... and a little embarrassed today. After years and years and years of trouble, I've finally figured out what's wrong with me! Well, wrong with my feet, anyway.

When I was younger - we're talking a good decade ago - I was quite the recreational athlete. For someone who was never really that into sports since the "Little League Debacle" of my youth, I prided myself on my athleticism, most notably my six years of martial arts (stopping just shy of a black belt)... and my personal best of running a mile in 5 minutes, 30 seconds flat.

Since then, however, I've only ever intermittently exercised, thanks in no small part to an incredible amount of pain I feel in my leg muscles and joints whenever I run for an extended period of time (or even a short time over several days). I've seen three doctors over the past ten years, all of whom gave me the the same advice, more or less. I have weak joints, the stresses of running are too much for my body to handle, etc. etc. etc. My last consult even told me that I shouldn't be doing anything more strenuous than walking. (Keep in mind that although they may be fast-approaching, I still have to reach my 30s).

After one last go at it these past few weeks (with the pain in my legs returning), I was about to give up the idea that I'd ever be able to run again... which pretty much meant saying goodbye to my "bucket list" item of running a marathon at some point in my life.

And then earlier today I was on the internet, doing some research on running just to see what kind of information is out there, and I came across a ton of information on pronation, which is the foot's orientation when you walk, run, step, etc. Apparently there are "normal" pronators, who run perfectly... they land on the heel, then roll through to the toes with the body's weight evenly balanced in the center of the foot. But there are also "over-pronators", who land on the heel, then roll through to the toes with the body's weight on the inside of the foot, putting the body's weight entirely on the big toe side. And lastly, there are "under-pronators", who land on the heel, then roll through to the toes with the body's weight on the outside of the foot, putting the body's weight entirely on the pinky toe side. I'm a pretty severe under-pronator, and with over- or under-pronators, the risk is that the imbalance of weight causes injuries in the form of ankle problems (check), shin strain (check), sore foot ligaments and muscles (check), and joint pain (check). And how does one diagnose this problem? Surely there must be some medical testing or, at the very least, a certified physical trainer to watch the way you run? No, all you really have to do is pick up a pair of old running shoes and look at the wear pattern on the soles. Is one side more worn than the other? Well, then there you go.

So now that I've been diagnosed, what's this miracle cure? The one that I discovered on a blog after three doctors told me I should just give up on trying to run and living a mildly-active lifestyle? NEW SHOES. That's it. I just need to buy better shoes with more cushioning and support, so that the shock of my foot hitting the pavement is absorbed by the foam, gel, air, etc. in the shoe and not transferred up along my foot, ankle and leg.

Which means I may not be able to go for the athletic shoes on sale for $29.95 anymore... but by shelling out an extra fifty bucks or so could make all the difference in the world, and could mean that I can actually run again, pain free, for the first time in more than ten years.

So I'm off... to order some new running shoes and to fire my doctor. I gotta get training for that marathon!
 

I'm currently in the process of wrapping up my latest screenplay that I'm writing with a partner. Naturally, I'm already thinking about what I'm going to write next... I have to figure out my next screenplay, as well as start thinking about my novel for NaNoWriMo 2009. And after thinking about these two endeavors for the past two or three days, I've come to a realization... I HATE this part of the process. Not the "coming up with ideas" stage... but the "deciding what idea to go with" stage.

I'm sure I'm not the only writer who has a million and one ideas rattling around in his head pretty much every day of the week. And knowing that I'll be focusing solely on one idea for three or four months (or, in the case of NaNoWriMo, a few weeks ) always makes me a little anxious. Did I pick the right project? Will this come out as well as I think it will? Do these characters interest me enough?

I don't mind rewriting. I love the rewriting process. I love coming up with story ideas and characters and conflicts that I can muse about all day long. But I hate having to pick which one I have to focus on next, because it means I have to shelve all those other ideas and file them away so I can devote my energies to the one.

Why can't there be a dozen of me, so I can write on all my projects simultaneously? You know, and one to work and pay the bills, of course.
 

So I have my blog preferences set to e-mail me a reminder when it's been more than four days since I last posted a blog. I figured it would help motivate me to at least write something on a semi-regular basis. Lately, however, I've been deleting those reminder e-mails, reasoning that I'll worry about it tomorrow.

And today I hit a milestone, although I'm not sure it's something I'm particularly proud of.

Your blog was last updated 100 Days ago

Yikes!

I guess I've got some catching up to do...
 

Not sure if you all watch tennis, but I've started following it over the past year, and now I'm hopelessly addicted. It's an amazing sport, requiring both finesse and strength, power and accuracy.

I'm just about the furthest thing from what you'd call a "sports guy". Other than tennis, I rarely watch anything other than championships (the World Series, Super Bowl, etc.), and sometimes not even those. But when I do, it's safe to say that I'm a fan of two types of athletes... those that break records, and those that are underdogs.

For those of you who don't watch tennis, the French Open men's final on Sunday made history. Already with dozens of tennis records to his name, Federer became only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open), and tied Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam titles.

Wimbledon starts in three weeks, where Roger Federer (who previously won a record-tying five consecutive Wimbledon titles) will attempt to best Sampras' record by winning once more... and taking the title from his nemesis, Rafael Nadal, who beat him last year in the epic five-set Wimbledon championship, which was widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) tennis match in history.

There's really no point to this post, other than to congratulate Roger on his hard-fought and well-deserved French Open title. You'd be hard pressed to find a more gracious, talented sportsman in any sport... it's undeniable what he's done for tennis, and I'm looking forward to watching him compete for many more years to come.
 

Went to Barnes & Noble tonight. So many books, so little time. Honestly, I don't think I'd have time to read everything I want to read, even in a hundred lifetimes. It always makes me kind of sad, realizing how many remarkable works will slip through the cracks...
 

The other night on the news, I saw a story where a high school teacher is selling ad space to local businesses on his tests, quizzes, handouts, etc. for his classroom. It's interesting that the way the story was presented, it took a, "Can you believe how some people will do anything for a couple extra bucks?" slant... and then later on in the story, there was the slightest of mentions that the teacher (who does teach an economics class) came up with this solution to both teach his students real-world economics... and respond to the school's new policy of not paying for ANY instructional materials for teachers. Teachers in this school are now responsible for paying for all of their own books, photocopying, white board markers, etc.

I'm not even going to get started on a commentary about the U.S. media and their sensationalist tactics (I'll save that for another blog)... but I will say that, as someone who learns best from real world examples, I think it's pretty cool that this teacher found an out of the box method which not only solved the problem of having to pay out of pocket for his own photocopies, but also serves as a valuable instructional tool for the students in his economics classes... AND helps promote local businesses in this tough economic climate.

I say, "good for him!". It's a pity that some media outlets are spinning the story as if the teacher were a morally bankrupt sell out. While rampant greed and unchecked capitalism always make for a good story, it seems to me that in this economic climate, a more worthwhile, useful, and interesting story would be the one that depicts a struggling teacher finding a workaround to our current economic crisis, rather than a corrupt individual trying to make a few extra bucks.

But maybe that's just me.