Although today's random search on Facebook was pretty interesting. It reminded me of a few things. Some things that I have forgotten. And a reminder that even though I'm at a stand-still in my career, I still accomplished 90% of things I said I was going to do. And how many people can say that?
It might seem like I'm bragging and I'm really not trying to. But I have this tendency to complain even when life is good. I freely admit that I have a "more" mentality. I want more excitement. More fun. More money. More romance. More adventure. More. More. Mo...well you get the idea. I need to find daily reminders to smack me in the face & say "Quit complaining - life is good". Not a physical smack but a mental kick-in-the-pants kind of thing. I had this friend in high school that would remind me of such things in a very blunt, sarcastic way that guys know how to do. But I honestly think he did that because it would riled me up.
Anyhow, today's little reminder came via a random search through Facebook. Since I have been bored all week, I find myself doing random searches on Facebook. I started with my college and didn't find anything. Today, I searched my high school. A dangerous thing, I know, but curiosity got the best of me. Again.
I found a former classmate that always reminded me of a squirrel. Seriously, this guy looked like a squirrel in high school. He had fluffy hair that stood straight up but only in the front. Big vacant eyes and for all the money his parents had, he had gaps in his teeth. My former best friend and I would laugh every time he said "whistle" or "whip" or anything that started with "wh" because there was a slight "lsp" that came from those hideous aligned teeth.
Anyhow, this guy, Will, claimed to know everything there was to know about Hollywood & film making. And I was a bit jealous because I thought he did with the way he would rattled off the winners of the 1972 Academy Awards or how a certain film found its way to the big screen. He knew who produced what, when and with whom. I probably would have not let it get to me except he would rub it my face that he was going to get to Hollywood before me & make it big. This guy was a real jerk about it. Always talking about it. Always trying to provoke me into an argument over what was the greatest film or director. When I wouldn't engage him, he would launch into his speech of what movies he was going to make & who he has going to have play the leads. He would go on about what studios to work for & what ones to stay away. In short, he was a total douche.
I lost touch with all of my high school classmates. It's only recently that I've been adding people from high school as my Facebook friends. Only one of them is a classmate. Two of them are a year younger, so I have no beef with them. And of course, my friend Tom, who's 2 years older. The last one is one of my sister's friends. I don't list my real high school on FB so I don't come up by a high school search. If I want to find someone from high school, I have to search through a friend's list which then leads to me all sorts of places.
Today's random search led me to Will the Squirrel. I couldn't see much on his page since I'm not his friend. But what I did see made me smile and appreciate all that I have. Will does not live or work in Hollywood. He never left the Midwest. He's living in a suburb north of Chicago. He put down "freelance writer" as his career... (pause)....HAHAHAHAHAHA! (Tears of laughter are flowing) HAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't breathe, can't breathe....HAHAHAHAHAHA....wait, wait. I think I've stopped laughing. Think I'm done. HAHAHAHAHAHA! No, I lied. I can't stop laughing. HAHAHAHA!
Ok, I'm serious this time. I've stopped. This guy never left the Midwest. The douche that always had to put me down never made it to Hollywood. And for all I know, he never tried.
All my teenage years, I had people tell me I couldn't do it. I couldn't go to film school. I couldn't make a career in film. I couldn't find a job in film. I would never make it. And yes, it might have not turned out the way I had planned. I'm not the next Jerry Bruckheimer. But that's ok. I've learn to accept that I'm no good at directing. And I'm no good at production work. But what I am good at is distribution. The post production stuff. Everything I said I was going to do - go to film school, move to LA, work for the studios - I did. I had no breaks, no one to open doors for me. I did it by myself with hard work & lots of sacrifices.
Granted, I don't know what Will the Squirrel's circumstances are. Maybe he had a life changing event that turned things around for him. I'll probably never know the reason why he didn't make it out here. But it does provide me with a little sense of sweet revenge and many reasons to be so thankful for everything I have. Even if things seem to be standing still.
