New Year Mindset

In 2016 I only wrote 6 blog posts; one less than the previous year. I really would like to change that this year. Maybe I should start with an easier goal: one blog post every month. That gives me 12 for the whole year, doubling last year. It’s a nice idea for a New Year’s Resolution anyway.

I’ve always enjoyed the beginning of a new year. Everyone does their best to better themselves by making resolutions for the new year. A resolution to work out more, read or write more, or just be a better person. However, most of the time, this only seems to last for a couple weeks, maybe a month at the most. Afterwards, people fall into the same old routines that they vowed to change at the beginning of the year. Why is this?

I believe people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions so early in the year for the same reasons that someone on a diet might eat another piece of cake. “Well, I’ve already messed up my diet today by eating one piece of cake; I might as well eat another one…” It also reminds me of the weeks following a dentist appointment. The dentist tells me to floss every day, so I do for the next four or five days. After that I floss maybe once or twice a week, then I just stop altogether.

It seems that people give up on their resolutions because, having messed up once or twice already, they just figure “Oh well, I’ll try next year…”

This year, I’d like to try something different, and I would invite anyone who reads my blog to join me. This year, treat every day like New Year’s Day. Every day when you wake up, think back to that feeling you had when 2016 was finally over and you had a bright new year about to begin. Try to recall that natural feeling of renewal that comes at the beginning of the new year. 

Even though I haven’t yet read this book, I love this quote from Anne of Green Gables: “isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” The one part of this quote that I always found interesting is the word “yet.” This implies that even though tomorrow is a new day, there will be mistakes; and Anne Shirley is absolutely right. Everybody makes mistakes; what differs is the way people handle their mistakes.

This year, I’d like to have a New Year Mindset every day. I want to remember this feeling of a fresh start, and I want it to last more than just the beginning of January. So maybe instead of focusing on an average New Year’s resolution, my resolution will be to move on and learn from my mistakes, treating every day like the beginning of a new year.

Previously in 2016…

The last life update you heard from me was that I got fired from the newspaper, I started NaNoWriMo, and I was still feeling kind of stuck, but with a passion for something greater burning inside me.

In brief, I got another job! Alas, it was just a seasonal job, meaning I only worked during the Christmas season, which is now over. I was hired by UPS to be a “driver helper,” meaning I was the one who hopped out of the truck and took the package to the front door while the driver was in the back getting the package ready for the next house. In a way, I got to be an elf while the driver got to be Santa. During the week before Christmas the driver wore a Santa hat, and for a couple days I wore elf socks.

It was an interesting job to say the least. It kept me on my toes, which was nice. I didn’t have this much exercise sitting in front of a desk at the newspaper. I wasn’t required to jog from the truck to the front door, but sometimes I would anyway just to keep warm. It got a little chilly sometimes riding in that UPS truck with the door open.

The job also was not without some danger. I got bit by a dog a few weeks ago, about a week before that I almost got my right hand chopped off; plus there were a couple times that the seatbelt (which I was wearing) wouldn’t quite catch all the way when the driver was making a sudden left turn, and I felt like I was going to fall out of the truck. Did I mention I got bit by a dog? UPS wasn’t so happy about that, and I wasn’t too thrilled either.

After attending a brief safety re-orientation, I learned that my first mistake was thinking I could trust the dog that I saw walking up the sidewalk. I hadn’t had any problems with dogs before that, not even dogs that were loose, like this one. The package needed a signature, so I walked up to the front door with the package and the DIAD board. The dog, which I found out later was a pit bull, followed me and began to growl and bark. Mistake number two: not calling out to the driver to honk the horn or distract the dog somehow. I rang the doorbell so I could get the man’s signature, but the dog was still there, standing between me and the truck. I wasn’t moving a muscle, for fear the dog might attack, which it did anyway. It snapped at me, putting a nice hole in the package I was holding, which I had used to block the bite. I rang the doorbell again. The man finally came out to sign for the package. Mistake number three: not informing the owner what the dog had tried to do, and asking him nicely to put the dog away. I would normally have done that, but out of fear, I don’t think I was entirely thinking straight. The man signed on the board, then I handed him my shield. What happened next was kind of a blur. I remember the man saying “He doesn’t bite” and “don’t show any signs of aggression.” There was no way I was going to show any kind of aggression to that dog which was clearly showing signs of aggression towards me. I tried to inch around the dog so I could go back to the truck when the dog jumped at me and bit my right inner thigh. I don’t remember what the dog, the owner, or the driver did after that. I had to go to the back of the truck, take off my pants to inspect the wound. The skin had been broken, but not quite enough that it bled. Mistake number four: not finding out if or when the dog had last been vaccinated. I’m pretty sure it had been, because a few weeks later, and I feel fine. There was a nasty bruise on my leg for a while, which is gone now. I still have a couple teeth marks on my leg which I’m hoping will go away soon; if not though, at least I’ll have a cool scar with a story. On a side note, when I went to the doctor to examine the bite, the doctor said I should have gone to him right away (which was my fifth mistake). He then said that this is my leg, and I shouldn’t rely on anyone for anything. The way he said that made it seem like he had some kind of tragic backstory that caused him to not trust or rely on anyone but himself. It could be an interesting idea for a character for a future story.

Speaking of stories, I unfortunately only hit a little over 4,000 words out of 50,000 for NaNoWriMo. It turns out I am a much slower writer than I thought I was. The hardest part for me was trying to write without editing along the way. Apparently, in order to reach 50,000 words, I am supposed to focus on quantity over quality, which is really hard for me. I never liked having to get an exact amount of words in assigned essays. I like just writing until I’m done with the subject, then moving on. I may try again this year, but I won’t be able to use the story I had started last year.

The story I started to write had only just begun, and now I may never know what will happen next. I may post some, or all of what I wrote someday on here, maybe. I wanted to write a story that was kind of an adventure, horror, mystery. Maybe like a mix between Indiana Jones and Scooby-Doo, with a bit of classic horror movies thrown in. I had started to write a story about a piano tuner sharing a flat with a biologist. The biologist was doing research on a book he was writing on cryptozoology, the study of creatures that have not yet been proven to be real, when he encounters what he believes to be a real werewolf. There was also a house that I randomly decided to burn down, a mysterious piano thrown in for mysterious reasons, and a missing friend who may or may not be behind some evil schemes. That’s about all I had written. I may come back to it another time, just not for NaNoWriMo.

In other life news, starting this year I will be joining A Wish Your Heart Makes, a company that puts on birthday parties and other various events where characters such as Ice Princess, Princess with long hair, and bat-themed superhero come and put on a show. I got a Spider-Man costume for Christmas, so I believe I will be doing some parties as arachnid-themed superhero. I’ve already attended a couple parties just to observe, and it seems pretty fun. The kids also have a blast hanging out with characters, so it’s cool to see their faces light up. Also, it’s a job! However, I’d still like a more permanent job at some point.

Lastly, I should mention a beloved soul that said goodbye in 2016. No, I’m not referring to any of the beloved celebrities we lost in 2016; I’m referring to our dog, Abby. At 12 years old, she had been slowing down tremendously over the past few months. A couple days before we took her to the vet for a humane euthanasia, Abby had moved for the last time when she settled behind the grill. The barked and howled through the night, experiencing pain from her arthritis, as well as some belly pain we didn’t even know about until we got to the vet. The vet explained that Abby was essentially crippled by her arthritis. This was the best thing for her, so that she wouldn’t experience any more pain. She is now with her old mentor Bella, and her best friend Tiger, both of him left Abby while she was still young. She is also now with my grandpa, who called her Floppy, due to her habit of having one ear up, and one ear down; a habit that mysteriously went away right after my grandfather died. Abby leaves behind her friends Polar and Hunny, who are still confused as to why Abby hasn’t come back yet. The picture below I also posted on Facebook, because I believe it captures her personality pretty well. When I took this picture a few months ago, I always kind of thought that I would one day use it for Abby’s obituary, and now so I have.

Rest in peace, Abby <3

The Tenth Man

Before last night, I was about 90% sure that Hilary Clinton would win the election. However, it came as a surprise to seemingly everyone that Donald Trump became President-elect of the United States.

Why was I so sure that Hillary Clinton was going to win? Because almost the entire internet and all TV stations (minus Fox News) were all anti-Trump. I don’t blame them. Trump has been shown to be rude, arrogant, and disrespectful. But what surprised me most about this election was not how much Trump was despised, but just how much the internet and the media was Pro-Hillary. It seemed that nearly everyone on Facebook with a blue celebrity check mark was strongly advocating Hillary. I saw countless videos made by celebrities and common folk alike encouraging everyone to vote, but especially to vote for Hillary. And these videos, most of which seemed to be aimed at millennials, were absolutely teeming with peer pressure, which is why I maintained a careful reluctance towards them.

I don’t like peer pressure. If it seems that nearly everyone is thinking one way, I tend to be wary of that way of thinking. I don’t like to join in just because everyone else is. Of course, this by no means justifies the other way of thinking as right, I’m just saying I generally like to keep a healthy distance from things that are overwhelmingly popular, especially in the media and especially during elections.

Elections are always ugly, but this one seemed particularly nasty. It seemed that supporting Hillary was applauded and encouraged by everyone on the internet, while anyone who remotely supported Trump was seen as a racist bigot. Some of the commentators I was watching explained Trump’s victory was partly due to a large number of secret Trump supporters - people who agree with Trump’s stances on political issues, but are afraid to say so publicly for fear of scorn or embarrassment.

Last night I had completely expected to see pictures on Facebook and Instagram with Hillary and balloons saying things like “We did it!”, akin to Obama’s first victory in 2008. Just like Obama’s historical victory as the first Black President of the United States, she would have made history as the United States’ first female president. Instead, everyone on the internet and the media is posting about how sad or disappointed they are (or about how they now plan to move to Canada).

I guess the main point of this post is to inform readers why I am not posting negative (or positive) reactions to the election: I don’t like to hop on the bandwagon. That may be a lame excuse, but I see reason to it. My way of thinking reminds me of a scene from the 2013 film World War Z. Halfway through the film, UN investigator Gerry Lane travels to Israel to find out why the Israelites built a wall before the zombie apocalypse began. The Israeli government had intercepted an email with the word “zombie”, but Lane was confused as to why such an unbelievable email would spark the prompt building of a wall. The head of Israel’s intelligence agency explained to Gerry that this was due to the concept of The Tenth Man.

“If nine of us look at the same information and arrive at the exact same conclusion, it is the duty of the tenth man to disagree. No matter how improbable it may seem, the tenth man has to start digging on the assumption that the other nine are wrong.”

Though a zombie movie may not be completely relatable to the U.S. Presidential election, this quote gives a pretty good idea of how I feel about peer pressured politics. When I see that everyone is leaning a certain direction, I like to approach it carefully and cautiously.

Now, through all this, I don’t mean to say that I am completely for or against Hillary or Trump. Truth is, I don’t like either candidate very much. But once Trump is inaugurated, I will give him the respect he deserves as the leader of our country. I don’t know what the country will look like a year from now, but I believe that no matter what happens, God is in control.

Hamilton's America, Michael's Dream

While watching Hamilton’s America, a PBS documentary about Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the Broadway hit Hamilton, I sat there thinking the whole time “this is me!” Watching this documentary got me thinking; if Alexander Hamilton, a poor orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean, can rise up to become an essential figure in the foundation of the United States of America, and if Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose first job was at McDonalds, can be the writer and star of two different Broadway hits (the other being In the Heights), then I believe that even though I come from a lower-middle class family, I’m struggling to get a job, and I live in a small town no one has heard of, I can make it. But this documentary rekindled a longing inside of me - I want to be remembered. I want people to think of Exeter as “the place where Michael Newman lived” and Cedarville University as “the place where Michael Newman went to college.” I want not only to help put these places on the map, but I also want to prove to the world that I can make it; that you don’t have to come from a wealthy or famous family to become wealthy or famous. I want to prove all the naysayers wrong. (I also think it would be really cool to have my own Wikipedia page some day.)

In the song “Hurricane,” it is explained that even though a hurricane destroyed Hamilton’s Caribbean town, he was able to use writing to get out of his terrible situation and off to the American colonies. When Lin-Manuel Miranda was talking about this in the documentary, I was thinking “I can do that!” My last blog post, even though it was kind of sad, somehow got almost 100 more views than the previous most viewed post. This is probably because it was a sad story, and people on Facebook seem to be drawn to stories like that, especially if they have a lot of comments. But this sudden rise in readership got me thinking that I have the potential to write my way out of all sorts of situations, maybe even like the no-job situation I have now. I certainly have the zeal to write and achieve and accomplish my dreams, I just don’t currently have the means, the opportunity, or the knowledge of how to get started and where to go.

Sometimes I relate to Hamilton - I feel like writing is my strongest suit, and I will use that to rise higher and higher until I reach my goal. Most of the time, however, I relate to Aaron Burr, who watches everyone else his age become successful at what he wants to do, while he is still waiting for his moment. When listening to Burr’s song “Wait for It”, I feel and relate to his emotions so immensely that I could sing along at the top of my lungs.* (I feel similarly about Burr’s emotions in “The Room Where it Happens”). Sometimes when I’m vacuuming the sanctuary at church for my dad, I’ll plug in my computer to the sound system so I can play music and still hear it over the vacuum. When “Wait for It” comes on, I sing loud and really get into the music. I don’t need to worry about other people listening, because no one else is there, and they wouldn’t be able to hear me over the loud music or the loud vacuum anyway. Maybe this is like my version of singing in the shower.

“I am inimitable, I am an original.” These lyrics from “Wait for It” describe how I feel incredibly accurately. I love being unique, I thrive on being original. This is part of my motivation for buying a purple guitar; I wanted it to stand out. Maybe that’s also why I’m so different from my twin brother. And despite the fact that “Michael Newman” is almost as common a name as “John Smith”, no one else will ever be me.

“I am the one thing in life I can control.” I’ve recently been reading Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell, which has been giving me advice on how to have the right attitude about failing, and how to not let it drag me down. I seem to get discouraged easily, but this book, as well as Hamilton, has taught me that I am in control of my life. A surefire way to not make mistakes is to not try, but If I never tried anything, the world would just run me over. Mistakes are inevitable. But since I am the one thing in life I can control, I am the only one with the power to shape my life how I want it. So what’s stopping me from living my dream? I have no clue. I know that with God all things are possible, so I sometimes wish that He would fast forward me to the exciting part of my life already; the part where I am where I want to be. There are countless actors, writers, editors, and directors who are my age and already making names for themselves. I want to be in the room where it happens. I want to be part of their world. This is making me sound like a Disney princess, but it’s true. I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell.

Another part of the documentary that reawakened a sense of longing in my soul was when Lin-Manuel Miranda was commenting that he got to work on Hamilton in Aaron Burr’s house, as well as the houses of some other founding fathers. I can’t believe that he had such an amazing opportunity like that! It reminds me of a dream that I’ve had for a few years now. Someday I want to spend a semester or two living and writing in C. S. Lewis’ house, The Kilns. I visited there the summer of 2013, and I have been longing to go back ever since. Along with working in the movie industry, this is one of my biggest dreams. And it’s totally possible too. When fellow Cedarville students and I visited The Kilns, there were a couple people staying there as part of a sabbatical program or something like that. Maybe if I’m ever writing an important screenplay for a movie I’ll get to stay there.

As far as what I’m currently writing, I have a couple more blog post ideas which I may write within the next few weeks. I’m also gearing up for NaNoWriMo. This is going to be a huge undertaking. 50,000 words in 30 days - that’s almost 1700 words a day. I have some ideas, but no plot outline or anything right now. I don’t know if I’m supposed to have one or not; I’ve never written anything this long before. Some of the articles I’ve read about NaNoWriMo explained that sometimes in order to reach the word goal, writers have to take quantity over quality; the editing can be done later (which will be hard for me, because I usually edit as I write). I’m excited to try it. Will I make mistakes? Absolutely. Will I reach 50,000 words? I’d like to, but even if I don’t, I will still have written more than I would have if I hadn’t done NaNoWriMo at all. In order to make the deadline I’ll have to channel my inner Hamilton. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Because I’m attempting to write an entire novel in a month.

*Maybe I’m just good at feeling the emotions of others, but I feel the same way about Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” which I initially heard when it was featured in the first trailer for Logan, the final Wolverine movie. Even though I don’t actually relate too much to the lyrics of the song, which seem to deal with getting older and realizing that past accomplishments don’t actually amount to much, I still felt incredibly emotional while playing it on guitar, especially after watching Johnny Cash’s music video for the song. I also love how well that song fits in with Logan’s storyline leading up to his final cinematic appearance (at least the final appearance of Hugh Jackman as the character).

An Unfortunate Job Update

Wednesday morning, September 21, 2016, I walked into work at the newspaper. Said hi to the graphic designer and hi to the editor. The editor’s walled-in office is right next to my desk, with a window right next to me so he can look into the workroom. Before I sat down at my desk the editor called to me through the window asking if I could see him in his office. I wasn’t worried until I saw him close the window, then shut the door after I entered the office.

“Take a seat” he said.

I reluctantly sat down in his chair, not knowing what was coming. Or maybe deep down I knew what he was about to say, but it just didn’t register at the time.

“So today I’m letting you go.”

Oh, so like I get the day off today? You’re letting me go early? I thought. That wasn’t the case.

I’m not sure exactly what he said after that, I could only pick up bits and pieces, but I got the gist. He said something like “It’s not anything you did. You’re a hard worker and a great writer, you’re just not a good fit for this job…”

I tried to ask again if it was something I did, or something I could have done better, but at that point I was not coherent enough to think or form sentences well. I was just trying not to cry in front of him as I handed over my key and press pass.

I grabbed a newspaper on my way out, possibly the last newspaper there to have my name in it, then the editor walked me out.

I shook his hand before we parted ways, because that seemed like something I should do. I thanked him for letting me work there for what little time I was there, then he closed the door, leaving me standing alone outside. I did my best to hold back my tears until I got to the car, and I mostly made it. I waited in the car for a while, waited until I felt able to drive, then headed over to church where my dad was working.

“Hi Mike, everything okay?”

I shook my head no.

“What happened?”

The secretary outside the office might have possibly been within earshot so I answered with a prompt and quiet “I got fired.”

My dad closed the door to his office, then the tears started flowing again.

“What happened? Why did they fire you?”

I tried to answer, but I was unable to form words.

He talked to me for a bit, prayed with me, then got back to work while I sat in silence on the couch.

I then had to go home and tell my sister, then my other sister, then my uncle, then my mom, then my brother. Each time I told them, I tried to say something different, but no matter how it came out, I didn’t like it; I still don’t like it.

I don’t have an answer. I wish I did. I wish I could have gotten more information that morning, but I was too emotionally compromised.

What does “not a good fit” mean? Did they not like me, or my personality? They clearly didn’t want me there anymore for whatever reason.

Should I have asked for a second chance? Should I still ask for that? They shouldn’t fault me for doing things incorrectly; they never really gave me a complete set of instructions in the first place anyway. They just sort-of put me out there and said “good luck.”

I do remember now the editor saying something like “you did the best you could have done at that job.” Did I really? How could I have improved? I like to think I take direction very well, and I know I could have done better if you told me what to work on.

That key for the office I had just put on that keyring. I had just updated my Facebook info to list where I now work. I had just finished reorganizing my desk and closet to make room for all the newspapers I was going to work on. I was just getting settled into a job that I greatly enjoyed, and now I’m back to the beginning, after only a month and 10 days.

So, I have to get a job again now; and I only have about a month and a half to find one before I have to pay another school loan.

I wrote the above paragraphs a couple days after I was fired, but didn’t bring myself to post it until now. I still haven’t found a new job yet, but I haven’t really even started looking yet. I don’t mean to seem lazy, it’s just that I’m feeling beat down, and I’m not sure how I’m going to get back up again. It took so long for me to get this job, and now I’m back to square one.

If I can, I’d like to get a job nearby again, that way I can still live at home and not have to worry about paying for an apartment.

But yeah, I’m just feeling kind of discouraged right now.

In other news, I’ve decided to try NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. Every year, writers are encouraged to write 50,000 words during the month of November, mainly just for fun. I don’t have a title or anything yet, just some ideas. But I can’t start the official writing process until November 1st.

Headlines are the hardest part

In case you didn’t hear, I have a job now! I work for the Foothills Sun-Gazette newspaper as a reporter! I had given them my resume several weeks ago, then checked back with them two or three times to see if they had looked at it yet. Finally, they arranged a day and time for an official job interview. When I came back for the interview, I discovered it was less of an “interview” and more of a “welcome to the Foothills Sun-Gazette” kind of meeting, which I didn’t know about. I came bringing five writing samples and a mind ready to answer whatever questions I might be asked. Instead, I’m handed a manilla folder and told that it is my hiring packet. The editor told me to come in at 1:00 tomorrow to start work, and that was it!

In my first week there I did more re-writing than actual writing. I’ve now done several re-writes of press releases into article form, as well as re-writes of police reports into short paragraph story form, into a section called “Crime-lines.” I also did one over-the-phone interview to get more information about a car show in Porterville, and a face-to-face reporter assignment where I took pictures at a ribbon-cutting (yes, I get to do some photography too!), then interviewed the new business owner (that article can be found here). Though this is only about my third week at this job I’ve found that they are slowly giving me more and more assignments. I guess that was nice of them to sort-of ease me into it, but it’s a little scary to all of a sudden be given responsibility for six stories in the paper, all but one of which need interviews with people either over the phone or in person.

I like one-on-one conversations with people, but one of the scariest parts of this job is making the phone call. Once the conversation has begun, I’m fine; it’s just the idea of me being outgoing and calling contact after contact to get a story. It’s also a little scary when I have to go in-person somewhere all by myself. I find that I am the one who has to go introduce myself to people, then I have to be the one pressing them for answers to questions, or being directive and telling people where I will be taking the picture. This job is forcing me to me more extroverted, which I guess isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's getting me out of my comfort zone.

I also feel like my editor and publisher are either testing me or putting a lot of faith in me. Either way, they are often pushing me out on a limb by myself (in a good way, I guess). For example, yesterday I had go to a sort-of press conference all by myself. I wasn’t told what questions I should ask, so I had to come up with some on the spot. It’s a kind of trial by fire, but I guess it will get me used to reporting very quickly. I’ll be learning from a lot my own mistakes for a while.

The job also has a very fluid schedule. I can clock in and clock out whenever I want, as long as I get all my hours in for the week. This means that if I get all my hours for the week done by Thursday, I can take Friday off - kind of like homeschool. I also find that it’s hard to plan too far ahead, because I never know when I am going to get a last-minute assignment to take pictures of a fire or take notes at a board meeting. This also makes it hard to commit to doing another play or musical. I was asked if I could possibly be in Encore Theater’s production of But Why Bump off Barnaby?, in which I would have played Barnaby, but this fluid schedule really won’t let me commit to something like that right now. Plus I was feeling exhausted after having just finished Oliver! and Beauty and the Beast back-to-back.

One of the perks of this job is that I now have a press pass! Suddenly, I now have access to places many people cannot normally go, and I get to meet with people that many do not get the opportunity to meet. I must be careful not to abuse this power. Like I said in my last post, with this job, “people won't look twice when I want to go somewhere dangerous and start asking questions…” And I must say, it is extremely difficult to not make myself think of Peter Parker or Clark Kent whenever I’m taking pictures or doing an interview. I also have the nerdy glasses that both of them wear. Although when I take them off I don’t become a superhero, my vision just gets slightly blurry. But of course, I have still worn my Superman shirt underneath my dress shirt. Did you really think I wouldn’t?

Another cool part of this job is that I get to write real stories. I get to interview real people in the real world who have stories to tell, and I get to help them make sure their stories are heard. It is also helping me learn how to look for stories and how to ask the right questions that will lead to stories. This is a skill that could help in the future if I ever write for TV or movies. But for now, I'm writing these stories in a form I am not quite familiar with. I’m only really used to writing academic essays, creative writing pieces, or blog posts, so news articles are a new thing to me.

For the most part it’s pretty simple; I put the most important parts at the beginning of the article, starting with a “lead” or “hook” that gets the reader interested. Before that is my new twitter handle @MNewman_SGN (which stands for Sun-Gazette Newspaper), before that is the deck, or sub-headline, and then the very first part is the headline, which seems to be the hardest part. The editor told me that headlines generally should be six words at the most. The headline also has to do the job of catching the reader’s attention and telling the entire story of the article in only a few words.

I like coming up with titles for blog posts - I think I get that from my dad who always says he spends way too much time coming up with sermon titles - but headlines are different. Unlike the title of a blog or a sermon or the chapter of a book, which gives an idea of what the whole thing is like, a headline has to grab the reader’s attention long enough to lead to the deck, then the hook, then the rest of the article. I’ve been told this is where I can be the most creative, but so far that mostly just seems to involve dumb puns. Last week I rewrote a press release about the Kruse foundation which donated a bunch of money to help buy meals for impoverished families. I titled the article “Kruseing to end hunger.”

It's cool to feel like you belong somewhere, and that's a little bit how I feel right now. I just have a good feeling that God wants me in this job right now. The day I gave the newspaper my resume, I was actually heading somewhere else, when the thought randomly came to my head that I should stop by the newspaper and drop off a resume. After I was hired, I found out that the day I dropped off my resume, the editor and publisher were feeling very short-staffed and thinking they would probably have to hire someone else. I’m not sure why God wants me here, how long it’s going to last, or what’s next, but all I know is that I’m here now, and I’m going to do the best I can for His glory. Plus, if my job, salary, and hours stay exactly the same, it is likely I will be able to pay off my school loans entirely in around 3-4 years. This is assuming, of course, that nothing will change - but change is the only thing I can be certain of.

By the way, I never did get a call back from Save Mart, but at this point, I’m fine just working at the newspaper.

Nerdy updates

There is finally an update on the Chronicles of Narnia film series!!! Though the film still seems to be stuck in what is known as “development hell,” The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair now has financing and distributors! The film will be produced by TriStar, eOne Entertainment, The Mark Gordon Company, and the C.S. Lewis Company, and it will be distributed by eOne Entertainment and Sony (the official press release can be found here). The screenplay is being written by David Magee (who wrote the screenplays for Finding Neverland and Life of Pi), but nothing has been announced as far as director, cast, or release date. It is my speculation that the very earliest this film could be released is late 2018, but it’s more likely to come out sometime in 2019 or 2020.

The history of the Chronicles of Narnia film series is a long and complicated one, but a helpful guide to it can be found in an older blog post here. That essay was initially written April 22, 2014, and this is the first real update on the movie since then, more than two years later!

Although, one piece of sort-of new was announced, during a press conference a few months ago. Mark Gordon, one of the producers of the film, said that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair would serve as a reboot to the Narnia film series. This (probably) doesn’t mean that they will be re-making the three movies that have already been released. This very likely means that The Silver Chair will serve as a "re-quel," meaning that it is a sequel to the first three movies, but also will help to "reboot" the series so that more can be made after this. This is a trend among several movie franchises today. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, and Mad Max: Fury Road, are just a few of the many films today that are sequels of movies released a long time ago.

Because of his age, it’s unlikely now that Will Poulter will return to play Eustace Scrubb, which is too bad, because he was one of the best parts of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Also, since this is an entirely new production crew and company as the last three movies, I honestly don’t know if Liam Neeson will return to voice Aslan, but I very much hope he does.

Even though this will be a sort-of reboot to the series, I very much hope they use the same logo, and keep the same musical themes, if only just for the sake of continuity. Assuming pre-production continues on The Silver Chair, it will eventually get released. Then, if it makes enough money, the film series can continue. But which film would be made next? A safe bet would be The Magician’s Nephew, which was almost chosen as the fourth Narnia movie instead of The Silver Chair.

Nerdy update part 2:

Take caution! This contains SPOILERS for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2. Read at your own risk!

I have now finished reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 & 2. It was a very quick read - I probably could have read it all in one day had I not been busy with rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast. Plot-wise, the play was decent, though not quite on par with the rest of the books. But there is one aspect of the story that I had mixed feelings about.

This story seemed to change the Wizarding World’s established rules on time-travel. Near the end of my review of X-Men: Days of Future Past, I went on an extended tangent about the two main types of time-travel used in stories. I wrote that one type of time-travel follows the “whatever happened happened” approach, while the other follows the “time can be re-written” approach.

The “whatever happened happened” approach is the idea that no matter what anyone does regarding time-travel, the past cannot be changed, and the future cannot be re-written. Everything is as it is, and it will always stay that way, no matter how much people mess around with time. This is the approach to time-travel that was taken in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. When Harry and Hermione go back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius, they see themselves. They even interfere with themselves when Hermione throws a rock at Harry’s head. But this was not new. They had already done it; they just weren’t their other selves at that point. When the executioner brings down his axe, it was always a pumpkin - it was never Buckbeak’s neck. And Harry already knew he could produce a powerful patronus to defeat the dementors, because he had sort-of already done it. Everything that happened already happened. No matter what anyone does if they go back in time does not affect the future, because everything has already happened.

The “time can be re-written” approach is self explanatory. Time-travel has a cost. A little change in the past can mean a big change for the future. Going back in time has the potential to create an alternate future, which it almost always does. This is the type used in movies like Star Trek (2009) and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, when Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy go back in time, they come back to find that many things have changed. And when they go back again, the future is changed to a post-apocalyptic-type world where Voldemort is alive and well. The future is saved when they go back in time again to block the spells that had changed the future in the first place.

Though it was kind-of fun reading these alternate futures, especially the one where Cedric Diggory had become a Death-Eater and killed Neville Longbottom, this type of time-travel does not agree with the type presented in Prisoner of Azkaban. Maybe this is due to the fact that J. K. Rowling did not actually write the script for this play; the script was written by Jack Thorne. J. K. Rowling’s name appears on the book only because the play is merely based on a story written by Rowling, Thorne, and John Tiffany. Thorne clearly enjoys playing with time-travel in this play, and it is fun to read, but I can’t help but be a little bit bothered that previous rules concerning time-travel in this universe were seemingly ignored.

Also, the whole idea of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange having a child together was a little weird as well.

Overall, still an enjoyable Harry Potter story, so long as you don’t try to understand the time-travel too much.

The Room Where it Happens

Last time I wrote in this blog was in March, and I was feeling discouraged and stuck. I feel slightly less stuck now, even though not much has changed. In this blog post I will continue to write about my job situation as it relates to the present, the hopeful future, and the unlikely future.

Jobs I May Get Soon

Well, one answer to prayer from my last blog post is that I have a job interview next week for a reporter position at my local newspaper! This job is only part-time they said, but I would be happy with any kind of income right now (as I currently have none, unless I try to sell more things on eBay). They told me I need to bring to the interview some samples of my writing - at least one essay from school and at least one blog post from here. I’m still deciding which ones to bring, though I probably won’t bring them this post, as I’m writing about it right now.

The people at that newspaper are nice, and the lady who works at the front office seems to like me. Each time I go to visit the paper to ask if they’ve seen my resume yet, she encourages me to aggressively pursue this job. Maybe they just really want someone my age to work there; some fresh blood to liven up the paper. Not to say the newspaper has been lacking, but newspapers in general have severely lessened in popularity, due to the steady increase of online news sources.

I think I would enjoy being a reporter for a newspaper. I like writing, I like telling stories, and I like investigating. Plus, it might make me feel a little like Clark Kent :D “I gotta find a job where I can keep my ear to the ground. Where people won't look twice when I want to go somewhere dangerous and start asking questions…” (Superman/Clark Kent, when he decides to become a reporter at the end of Man of Steel).

And while I am preparing for my upcoming interview at the newspaper, I am also awaiting a call back from Savemart (a local grocery store) for an interview there. That job would also only be part-time, but it would be a job nonetheless. The position they are looking for is a “service specialist.” I would be the person who helps puts groceries into paper or plastic bags, then asks if the customer needs any assistance taking them to the car.

A job at Savemart is not exactly what I had in mind when I graduated with an English degree, but there is a potential benefit. If I get a job there, then later decide to move to Los Angeles so I am closer to all the movie industry jobs, my job at the Savemart here might be able to transfer to a Savemart in the Los Angeles area. Of course, a job at the newspaper would also be a good starting ground for a writing position in the movie industry as well…

Jobs I Would Like to Have in the Future

I like visiting movie news websites like Screenrant and reading articles about various movies in production. I recently read an article which gave a script update on the upcoming films Avengers: Infinity War and its newly renamed sequel “Untitled Avengers”, from screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely [by the way, these two are my heroes; they wrote all three Captain America movies, and the first three Narnia movies (someone else is writing the 4th)]. In this update, they explained a what the writing process is sometimes like:

“When we lock ourselves in a room with the Russo brothers and a couple of execs from Marvel, one wall has cards for movie one and the other wall has cards for movie two and another wall has little baseball cards of every character still alive in the Marvel universe… And then we looked at that began to shuffle the cards around.”

I want to be in the room where it happens. I want to be one of those people shuffling cards around, creating stories. I don’t know if I necessarily want to be the one physically writing the scripts, I just want to be part of that group of writers and directors, inserting my ideas and bouncing off the ideas of others. I think I do better with collaborative storytelling than on my own.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I am working on a comic series loosely (like, extremely loosely) based on Kim Possible. These comics began in 2002 and have continued on and off again since then. I am the one who physically writes, draws, and colors everything, but I do most of the writing with my brother (with the occasional input of one or both of my sisters). When it’s just me I can get some of the story done, but if I’m talking through the story with my brother, the ideas come out much faster, and it’s a lot of fun. I like to think of these comics as some kind of practice for the future, whether that be collaborative storytelling, storyboarding, or scriptwriting.

I love stories of every kind, but I’m especially a big fan of movies. My siblings and I could easily quote almost entire scripts of our favorite movies, and many of our responses back and forth to each other are often movie or TV quotes (not always intentionally). Another one of our favorite things to do is to film scenes from movies, sometimes shot-for-shot. Below I’ve posted a video my sister and I made about a year ago. This is an almost shot-for-shot remake of a scene from Spider-Man, centered around the character Norman Osborn:

This was made just for fun and is obviously not meant to be professional. Before filming this video I watched the original scene from the movie a couple times, then made quick sketches of what each shot should look like, labelling each shot. After placing props around the house, my sister and I then walked through where each shot would be filmed, and I showed her where would be the best places to stand so that she would not be seen in the mirror while filming. She also recorded my voice on her phone and played it back while filming the shots where I am talking, but my lips don’t move. This was shot using my iPhone 5S, then edited on Windows Movie Maker.

This is something I love doing; I just wish I could get paid to do it. I want my English major to count for something. Plus I’m too stubborn and proud to work at a fast-food restaurant and prove all the naysayers right that all an English graduate is good for is saying “Would you like fries with that?” I just wish I knew how to get into the movie business! I feel like I’m on the wrong side of the computer screen; I want to be the one writing and directing movies, not the one reacting to them or reading articles about them. I may know a lot about the movie industry from movie news websites and Wikipedia, but I can never fully know or experience the art of professional movie making until I’m in the room where it happens.

Jobs That are Basically Impossible, but Would be Fun

By the way, if you don’t recognize that last line (also the title of this post), then you are not familiar with the musical that has swept the country this past year: Hamilton. This musical marks the first time (at least in recent history) that a Broadway musical has become so popular or gotten so much media attention. In addition to this, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play set 19 years after Deathly Hallows, just opened in West End. The script for this book is now on its way to becoming the best-selling book of 2016. Both of these are helping reignite the public’s interest in both musical theater and drama. Something which is either good news or bad news for me; someone who also has a keen interest in theater.

The bad news is that more and more people will be wanting to participate in professional theater; a field that was already extremely hard to get into, but will now be made even harder by this oncoming surge of newcomers. The good news is, however, that more opportunities will also probably open up as well, to accommodate everyone.

As I said, professional acting of any kind is extremely hard to get into, but that is also something that interests me very much. Since graduating from Cedarville, I have been a part of four theatrical productions, the most recent of which, Theater Arts Alliance’s production of Beauty and the Beast, is actually semi-professional - meaning that I am under contract with them and I will get some financial compensation from the profits the show is sure to make (you can get tickets here).

So, is there a way to say “I think I am a good actor” without sounding vain? Several directors and assistants at Encore theater have told me so. I have to be careful though; comments like that have a bad habit of going to my head easily. I can’t let my imagination get the better of me, and I can’t let a highly unlikely future in acting cloud my thoughts or my better judgement. But even so, I sometimes like to think acting professionally in theater could lead to acting professionally in films, which could lead to writing professionally for films…

Well, back to reality, even though chances are I will never be a professional, I greatly enjoy theater and I’d like to audition for more plays and musicals in the future. Coming up at the end of this month are auditions for the musical White Christmas. I love the movie, and the music is great, but I get the feeling that a musical like this would only be fun if I got a lead part (which is unlikely at this theater, because so many more talented people audition there). Next spring at Encore Theater, they will be putting on the musical Pippin, which unfortunately is not about the character from Lord of the Rings. I don’t know much about this musical, but one of the directors of Oliver! (a musical I was in earlier this summer) told me he would very much like it if my sister and I auditioned. There are many other musicals I would love to be in as well. The Music Man, Les Misérables, West Side Story… I eagerly look forward to the day when the rights for Hamilton are available so that smaller theaters like the ones around here can put it on. I very much want to be in that someday, but I’m willing to wait for it.

Prayer Requests

I don’t always remember to pray, and I often feel bad about it, but then my parents have told me in the past, that God doesn’t love me any less even if I forget. But when I do remember to pray, and if you have time as well, these are the things I need prayer for:

• that my interview at the newspaper would go well, and that I would be able to get that job
• that I would also be able to get the job at Savemart as well
• that God would provide me with money to make my next school loan payment, because right now I have basically no money and no source of income
• that God would guide my future and lead me towards the job that is right for me
• that God would guide my thoughts; that I would think only what is true, honorable, just, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8), and not worry about the future

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying! I’ll try to update my blog more often, especially after I hear back from my job interview.

Stuck

I’m stuck.

What’s keeping me that way?

How do I get from where I am (a nobody from nowhere) to where I would like to go (possibly a person who helps make movies in some way)?

I have also not forgotten my dream of going to England again and possibly doing that program where I get to stay at C.S. Lewis’ house. I left a piece of my heart there, but I don’t know what to do with it now.

I sort-of have a job, but I don’t like it. I don’t like subbing, and I don’t want to go into teaching. I know teaching is an admirable position, and I wouldn’t mind being a tutor of some kind so I could do more one-on-one teaching, but I don’t really have any interest in trying to control a huge class of kids (of any age). I don’t want to get teaching credentials because I would actually like to do something else with my life. Those with English degrees do actually have jobs other than teaching (don’t ask me what, I haven’t figured it out yet).

I feel like I have some kind of story inside me that wants to come out. Maybe multiple stories. I would like to get into a kind of job where I can explore different areas of storytelling so I can figure out exactly what I want to say and how to say it.

Let’s explore the different fields in which I might help produce a story:

Books/Novels: Who knows? I may write a book someday, but I feel like this would have to be after I have done some other kind of writing first. This would definitely not be a starting point.

Storyboarding/Comic books: Since around 2001 (when I was about nine) I’ve been on-and-off working on a comic book series that was originally based on Kim Possible, but has since then evolved into a highly elaborate fan-fiction that I could never publish because I would be breaking hundreds of copyright laws. I like to see these comics as a kind of practice for something I might do in the future. Over the years I’ve become more skilled in quickly drawing out scenes as I envision them in my head. I have figured out where to start and end scenes and where to leave a good cliffhanger.

Screenwriting: This field may be a little easier to enter, though I have no experience writing screenplays. I think I’m more of a person who works with others to discuss what works and what doesn’t work in a story. I’m actually currently helping edit a screenplay that a friend from Encore Theater wrote. Mostly what I’m doing is correcting the grammar, but I’ve also offered suggestions on how to change the story. This person also knows some people in Los Angeles (where all the movie jobs are), so this could turn into something helpful possibly.

Acting?: I’ve now done two shows with Encore Theater in Tulare, and I will likely audition for a third. It’s a small community theater, but they produce great shows (all of which are family-friendly, which is nice). During the last show, one of the directors made a point of telling me how well I was doing. She was amazed at how well I could act two totally different parts in the two plays I had been in. She mentioned that many in the theater board of directors kept coming up to her asking where she had been keeping me all these years. I think this is something I could turn into something as well. Of course, I would be competing with the millions of others who want to make it big with acting just to be famous.

Do I want to be famous? Sure; who wouldn’t? I’d like to show the world that a kid from a lower-middle-class family in a small town who went to a small college can make it. I would just need to make sure my ego does not get in the way. As long as I keep my focus on glorifying God, I should be fine. And with God, all things are possible, right? Even things like being famous or being rich? I realize, of course, that it is no shame to be poor, but it is no great honor either. I also know that being a nobody to the world does not matter, because to God I am worth far more than the riches of the world.

I know that God is everything I will ever need and I know that He will supply my every need. I know that He can do anything and I know that all the answers I ever need are found in Him and His Word. But still, it’s aggravating “knowing” all the answers to my problems while still feeling totally lost in life.

I have so many things I would like to do with my life, and none of them are happening right now. How do things happen? How do I get from point A to point wherever?

I don’t know what’s going on with my life. I don’t know what I’m doing now, and I don’t know how to get where I want to go. I don’t even know where I want to go! My life has been kind of a mess ever since I graduated. I’ve been barely able to pay off my school bills as they’ve been coming, so there’s no way that I could get an unpaid internship somewhere, or live somewhere else apart from home. I’m stuck here. Here where there are no seemingly no ways to get into the kind of job I would like to get, or even ways to get into jobs that would lead into jobs I would like to get. In addition, apart from my family and a couple families from church, I don’t really even have friends in this area; at least, friends my age. I miss Cedarville. Not the work necessarily, but the way of living. Everything there is planned out for me. I know exactly what I’m doing every day and I have clear goals. I also have a group of friends who are like a second family, and I’ve been horrible at keeping in contact with them, despite how sorely I miss them. I would buy a plane ticket and visit but I have almost no money, and when I do get money, I need it to pay bills to the very school I want to visit. Maybe this could all be solved if I made a lot of money getting a job working in the film industry or something like that? But I can’t, remember? I’m stuck.