2013 – My year as it relates to the quality of film

While working on my Top 10 Movies of 2013 list, I mentioned how interesting the year in film was in terms of quality, how the first two thirds was mostly very, very weak, with the summer delivering a seemingly endless stream of disappointments, and only a fair few bright spots here and there. It got to a point where I was just about ready to give up on this year being able to deliver the goods at the theater, but then as summer came to an end, the quality of movies as a whole took a stark and sudden shift for the better, and my feelings on the year in film changed accordingly. And as I thought about that, I couldn't help but notice how that tonal shift in quality pretty much mirrors the past year for me in my personal life as well.

Like the movies, the first part of this year was pretty rough. In one fell swoop, I lost my job and my health insurance, and struggled with finances as I experienced first hand just how terrible the economy had become in my desperate search for new work. And all the while I dealt with a world of personal problems, including probably the worst and longest lasting bout of depression I've lived through. But then, after a certain point, right around the tail end of the summer, things started to shift a little more in my favor.

For one thing, I kind of took a step back and assessed a lot of the various stressors in my life, and pretty much completely restructured my entire social life accordingly. And as a result of these changes, for the first time in a long, long time, I actually feel okay. I haven't had a fit of depression or attack of anxiety since, and while things may not be exactly perfect, overall, I feel fine. And, quite frankly, fine works for me. I'm really okay with fine right now.

And right around the time that this restructuring of mine was beginning to take place, and after a longer search than I ever would have expected, I finally wound up finding a job at the new Whole Foods that opened up in town (where our old indie movie theater used to be, in fact).

It may not be the best job in the world, but it's still pretty decent. I work with some pretty cool people for the most part, and even cooler managers, who really listen and go out of their way to make a schedule that best works around my life. And as a result, I work a relatively stress free job that's not a soul-sucking experience, leaving me with plenty of energy to work on my creative endeavors afterwards. And speaking of those creative endeavors, I actually accomplished quite a bit this year.

Another life long dream of mine came to life this year with the release of my first comic book. Along with my artist, Trevor Tee, we've released the first batch of chapters for the comic book adaptation of Velcro: The Ninja Kat online (check 'em out for yourself here). And after overcoming a few setbacks, we're ready to start releasing new chapters again soon enough.

And in other Ninja Kat news, just this month I finished writing the sequel to the novel, Velcro: The Green Lion, which will be ready for release early next year, so I'm really excited for that!

I also had quite the experience touring around a bit, selling my books at conventions and such throughout the state.

I met a lot of interesting people in my travels, and made quite a few new fans and friends in the process as well, which was a really cool deal, and something I'd love to continue to do in the coming year.

And I also ended up meeting a group of fellow aspiring film makers, and we've been busy working on a number of projects, which will hopefully be coming to fruition sooner rather than later. I've really felt like I've been a bit stagnant on the movie making front after I finished The Red Scarf last year, but finally working behind the camera again really served as a reminder of just how much love and passion I have for film, and how, more than any other creative aspiration, this is really what I want to do in life. And we've got a number of scripts we're working on right now, so I can't wait to get rolling with that!

So yeah, that's kinda been my year in a nutshell. Like the movies, it didn't start off so swell. But, also like my movie going experience, it ended up turning around and being a pretty decent year in the end. And now, as the year fades to black and the credits get ready to roll, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who was there for me and put up with me over the course of the past year, because for a while there, things really weren't easy at all. But more than anything, I need to thank my Mom for all of the help and support that she's provided through my rougher times, and continues to provide to this day. I really don't know how I would've made it through the year without her, so, thank you, Mom!

And here's to an even better next year!