Back at Home/The End

It's sad to say it, however summer is quickly coming to a close and LA is gone. It's hard to describe my emotions as I was heading to the airport. I laughed because I didn't have to deal with LA traffic anymore because I'd be at home, because I'd see my friends again, however I was sad in so many ways. I was sad to leave the mountains, the beach, the city, the crazy situations... Hollywood (believe it or not). It's become quite clear to me that I'm clearly a Hollywood man (despite how much I wish that wasn't true). It'll be damn hard to somehow mold myself into a Doc, when every other moment I can't stop thinking about it. It's really the only thing that gives me butterflies in my stomach, the thing that makes me so excited, and even while this summer was a bit disillusioning (i think if anyone goes to Hollywood and actually works there they will find it disillusioning). So I am going to miss it, even though I'll only be gone nine months. This really was one of the most exciting summers I have had, crazy and spontaneous since its very inception however I wouldn't take it back for the world. Sure there were the bad times, the embarassing moments, the food poisoning, the loneliness, but all in all it was definitaly worth it. I go back to college with new perspective on my future, more courage (once you live all alone, work a real job, and meet real people things in college seem so much more petty), and just a change in how I live. I'm proud of myself for just going with things and ending up in Hollywood.

So here I am back at home, 8 days till I head back to school, back to my fraternity drama, back to the meaningless alcoholism, back to the middle of nowhere, and all the work. But also back to the friends for life, my brothers, the people really care about. So these last few days, as I say goodbye to my hometown for a little while, I watched the sunset and smiled, thinking of how ridiculous this summer really was.

Fade In: Semi-Charmed Life
Roll Credits

Winding down

First I'd like to say it's a little disappointing that Matthew Perry has been reduced for "Made-for-TV" Johnson and Johnson movies. I mean come on man, after The Whole 9 Yards, Fools Rush In? Oh how the great have fallen.

Yesterday was my birthday. It was fun! I went hiking in the beautiful mountains of Malibu (something I hope to make a tradition). I haven't made it to work since monday, even though my class, History of American Cinema, was officially finished on Tuesday. I really enjoyed the class, it was far more interesting than the corresponding piece of shit I would have taken at my own university. In fact, I enjoyed the class so much that I decided to go to the optional class today. We watched Annie Hall and Get Shorty. Two really great movies. I've never actually seen a Woody Allen movie till Annie Hall, and I do enjoy his humor immensely. There's just something about that frantic insecurity and the culturally deep wit that I loved. It really was an intelligent comedy that definitaly appealed to the more educated to truly be enjoyed. The story is simple enough, it's about a man who is deeply in love with a woman, however all his insecurities drive her away from him. It comes highly recommend from this film major.

Allen's style in this movie (and what i'm assuming throughout the rest of his movies) is visually very mundane. There's nothing awe inspiring, visually, about any scene at all, granted there are the basic aspects of including depth, however unlike movies like Memoir's of a Geisha or Brokeback Mountain, with awe inspiring cinematography, these shots let you focus on the humor of every situation (which there is no shortage of). Anyway enough of that.

I've been trying to figure out how to weasel myself into the UCLA film school as an undergrad. I've realized by watching Entourage and my experiences at UCLA that I won't be able to become a director with the knowledge I have. Yes, I know directing is highly intuitive, yes as a director there are an immense amount of technical people behind me ready to figure out anything I need them to, and yes people become directors without schooling, but I still feeling having this technical background will help me immensely if directing is something I intend to continue with.

So the last days of the sweet California are winding down, today is my last night sleeping in the bed at UCLA, within 5 days I will be sleeping in my own bed back home. It's a little depressing, I'm not excited to return to college. Unlike most people, I am surrounded by fake "friends" almost constantly (most in my fraternity). There are few people I would call good friends, and fewer that I would regard in high esteem. It's a damn shame, that out of all the fraternities on campus this was my first choice. It's upsetting that I wouldn't choose one with more genuine people. Don't get me wrong, I have great friends, however, it's just these people that... I can't stand. I'm ready to leave, I'm ready to graduate, I'm ready to move to California. And even though this isn't possible, I can still dream.