Rage against the dying of the light.

Blogging is a bit of an odd animal to me. I find myself very hesitant to ever get 'too personal' on my blog which on it's face seems a little silly considering it's supposed to be MY blog about ME. Still there's something just wholly unnatural to me about saying 'Hey world here I am at my most open and intimate state. Please do read, enjoy, form opinions and internal unspoken criticisms' See that's... that's just weird. It's certainly not something you'd actually say yet it really does seem to be what we're doing when we publish our personal thoughts for the entire world to see. It seems to fly in the face of everything our society normally tells us and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I haven't yet figured out. Either way I feel compelled to make an exception as what happened last week, though deeply personal, is too important to be omitted from any chronicling of my life.

When I was about six years old we moved in with my grandparents. From that point on my grandfather was essentially my father. He raised me and my brother, going above and beyond anything that was ever expected of him. Last week he passed away, and on the very long plane ride from New Jersey back to California there were many, many thoughts running through my head. I took that time to write them down and have decide to post them below in loving memory of my grandfather.

My grandfather is probably the most ordinary man I’ve ever met, and while this likely doesn’t seem like the grandest way to remember someone to you or me, I can think of no greater honor he would want bestowed upon him. He never got entrapped in fairy tale dreams of fame or fortune, ensared in the artificial aspirations that lesser men are all too tempted to covet. My grandfather was a simple man; he wanted only to work hard, raise a family, and love them all. He was wise enough to know what was actually important in this short life, and because of that he got it. Few men can say at close of night that they have lived their dreams in full. Fewer still can say that these dreams served them well. Of these precious few, he is one. He achieved his dream not in a fleeting moment but with each breath he took over the last eighty years.

Because of him, I have no doubt that love exist. Sixty one years he was with my grandmother and he loved her for even more. I’ve never seen, and likely never will again, a man who is so wholly and selflessly devoted to another human being. He thought of her constantly and her care was his number one concern. Without a moments hesitation he’d walk across the world should it be asked of him. And though he’d likely grumble and complain along the way he’d just as readily do it again come the next day.

He was a man without pretense. Everything he ever said he truly meant. He possessed a sincerity that is as remarkable as it is rare. Maybe that’s why he felt life so powerfully. Because there was strength and intensity to his emotions, which no common man could ever match. When he laughed it was near impossible not to break a smile. When he was angry the whole world knew it and when he was proud you could just see it in his eyes. And he was a proud man, proud of his family and all that they’ve done. And on this day I can honestly say that I am so very proud of him. There is not a better role model I could’ve had growing up. He was a credit to his generation, with a humility, integrity, and honesty that is seldom seen today. John E. Wilson Jr. was a simple man, and would want to be remembered as such. He liked to fish, watch John Wayne, and cheer on the Yankees. He worked hard and loved his wife. He will be deeply missed and forever loved.

I'm Alive!

So it's been over a month of radio silence but I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I have been crazy busy however. The quests were many and they often consumed my time and energies so that the blogging got minimal, by which I mean no, attention. But it would appear that these quests have uniformly come more or less to completion. The first and longest quest was that for a roommate. But after many many craigslist ads, several showings, and more than a couple almost roommates it seems like I finally filled (knock wood) the vacated room in my apartment. Second there was the quest for employment. As my position at work was going to sees to exist when filming wrapped I was anticipating another all out search for a job but luckily an even better position on the production opened up and I got it. As these quests came to a close I got to go on various daytime adventures with my family, as they came to visit on week. But now all seems to have calmed down for this second so it looks like the blogging will resume.... unless it doesn't.

And The Beat Goes On

Life has been pretty consistent. Simple but fun. Work and just spending time with friends. As my night job leaves most my days open however I do believe that I'm going to register to be an extra and probably do that in the day for extra cash. So be prepared to possibly glimpse me in the background of shows. Also one of my roommates has told us he's moving out so finding a new one will likely be the new adventure. I've already gotten a couple... colorful e-mails and a few normal ones too so time will tell.

So that's it for now but I'll leave you with this. Five hundred bonus points if anyone can guess what sentence originated this telephone pictionary drawing.

Confidentially Awesome

My new job is awesome. I can't really say much about it what with the non-disclosure agreement I had to sign, which makes it feel infinitely more awesome. But yeah, I am very pleased just thought that I should acknowledge that here somewhere.

Additionally awesome but not as confidential, recently graduated Bay State alums to be arriving today or within the next few. I forsee television marathons, board games, geocaching, and economical yet awesome adventures in my future.

Better Living Through Retail

Seven years ago I walked into a store and filled out an application that basically asked me in a variety of different ways if I was going to steal from them (The answer they were looking for was no, fyi). After three stores, two degrees, and two internships it appears as if I may finally be done working in the world of retail. I can't say so definitively, but at least for the time being I have a real job. So before making that huge leap into the next stage of my life. I figured I'd take a quiet moment to reflect on what valuable life lessons cashiering has taught me.

*Most people are pleasant, apathetic, and easygoing. Many are total assholes.

*Training videos are hilarious, especially when they don't try to be.

*Regardless of where you are working or what you are doing there will always be people who fail to understand the most simple and upfront directions.

*Children are evil. They are loud, manipulative and most parents haven't the faintest clue how to handle them.

*The lady who delivers the weekly tabloids dresses like an 80's pirate hooker, always wearing one of her many neon bandannas, matching shirt with one shoulder torn, hoop earrings, and very very thick hooker make-up.

*Signs are useless. Customers ignore them, and frequently interpret them erroneously.

*They make their own waffle cones at the Ben & Jerry's in Universal. It is easier than you think.

*The only people who will choose an oatmeal raisin cookie over a chocolate chip are the French.

*Australian tourists are frequently confused by our change.

*There are people who have mini-trapperkeepers full of coupons, divided by product and expiration date. These people typically keep their money in a huge unruly ball at the bottom of their purse.

*Far too many people's pets are on alprazolam.

*Old people are convinced you are typing the price of every product in manually even when they can clearly see the scanner and you don't have a keyboard.

*No matter how repetitive, annoying, or frustrating a job, is if you do it long enough you're bound to be a little nostalgic.

Thesis

I've decided to make a blog. You've likely figured this out because you are reading it. But I figured that I'd state that anyway because... well it seems as good a way as any to start. And truthfully starting is the hardest part. I know because I've meant to start a blog for quite some time, but I just never knew how I'd start. Should I be clever and witty? Should I attempt to explain who I am? You know pour the entirety of my being into a tightly written, acutely self-aware, modest yet complimentary "Bio" paragraph. That seems like a lot of work. So I opted instead for several months of procrastination followed by just typing whatever popped into my head.

So now that I've wasted a good amount of time explaining a thought process you likely didn't care about, I guess I should kind of try and outline my plans/goals for my blog, a blog thesis statement if you will. I figure the whole point of a blog is to focus on yourself so that's mainly what I'll be doing here (with occasional diatribes about politics, religion, and philosophy when I feel particularly self important). I'm going to rewind a bit and talk about my cross-country journey and the first few months of life in L.A. to start things off. After that I can't promise how interesting my life will be. It most likely won't be that interesting and I'll feel the need to talk about TV shows and movies about which most people don't care. I realize that such a thing could become kind of annoying. Which brings me to this... http://nthentherewasblog.blogspot.com/

That would be blog number 2. I've decided to make 2 blogs. One blog, this one, focusing on what I'm actually doing. And a second blog, that one, that deals with my overly passionate opinions about silly pop culture things.

I feel the need to have a zippy blog sign off. But at this moment I've got nothing, and I need to scurry over to blog two and write a similar intro post so I can FINALLY start rambling almost incoherently about LOST. So until then I will leave with simply...

Welcome.