Well it would appear that I have a running theme going here with posts coming up around the 20-ish days of the month! So to go along with that trend, here's an update on my life as she goes. (You know, for my huge fan base of people reading this hahaha)
So, what has happened since I last posted? Well, to put bluntly? ALOT!
So since my last post I was seeking employment, not just your standard employment. Employment in the field that would be the beginning of the rest of my career in the entertainment industry.
So it was approaching time towards the end of November, I was at the tail end of my cash that I had saved. It was high time I got myself a job, only thing was, I wasn't about to settle. There are jobs out here in the west. Lots of jobs... You can walk around anywhere to any mall, any shop, any section of town, you see help wanted signs everywhere. But none of which I wanted. At this point in my life, I have worked many a job. From cubical jockey to tree planter. The problem with this is, those were all transitional jobs. Jobs that facilitated my life style and the pace of work that I enjoyed at the time.
Transitional jobs for some... can become regular jobs, or jobs that will rob the years away from what you intended to do in life. Sometimes, we'll get comfortable and settle for these transitional jobs, that tend to migrate from the "transition" category to the " lets try and build a retirement off of this" job, but not me.
It's amazing what the power of friends can do, and the people you surround yourself with can give you the power and motivation to do great things. Which is why I'm happy that I've been blessed with good friends, and always welcome good company. If your blessed with the right kind of friends, the ones that encourage you and aspire you to do more and go beyond, while at the same time have ambitious pursuits of their own, it's really motivating. And you'd be amazed and the people you meet and the places you'll go. (I think I'm starting to sound like a Dr.Seuss book)
So, I had worked on those pieces and posted them up here. I also posted them up on my portfolio site. And as I was finishing clean up on one section, I get an MSN from my friend Eric. Eric is a good friend of mine from animation. He had relocated out here for work as well, conveniently for me, in an animation company as well. Mercury Film Works. After he noticed that I updated my blog site, he checked out what I had posted and said that I should come in and that I was ready (Might I add that Eric is also a supervisor at MFW). So I finished up my work ASAP, made it out to a Staples, got a clear case folder, prepped my bag, got my sketch book, put on some nice clothes and out the door I went.
I arrived at the office late due to an address mix-up. But luckly everyone was cool with that. My interview went well... and it's funny that I think about it. For all the work I had put into my resume. To build it up to that point where I had a pretty crazy job list, even though my formal education was... well lets just say thats on hold until further notice.. the only thing that happened with it was. It was sorted into a folder for Human Resources employee reference and personal information. That's it. It was a little bit of, "Wow, I've entered into a work place that doesn't care about my prior job experience, it's all skill of animation." and whole lotta of, " Man that is freakin awesome!"
Needless to say, I've been at MFW for about a month and a week and I love it, it's great. The people are fantastic to work with. The office environment is really nice a refreshing (open concept office place) Everyday I go to work I feel challenged in my tasks and also learn something new everyday. It's great because, I haven't had this feeling of enjoyment from a job in a long time. Another thing thats nice is that it's a tight knit group. We're a pretty small team, and if you scale it against the Ottawa offices (Ottawa - 100 + staff. Vancouver - 30.. maybe), I don't know. It really give you the feeling that you're apart of something special. And too me, all these reasons above are what the defining differences between a job, and a career are all about to me. Something I'm willing to dedicated my life too. Well, not just to animation (thats a big part of it) but to animation and where ever animation will guide me. And I'm thankful that I'm fortunate enough to have that luxury to choose, and I realize that many people don't have that freedom of choice.
Anyway, working pretty much leads up to now, I've been working quite abit these days. Except for maybe Christmas break. Lots of time with the family which is fun and sometimes alittle frustrating at times, but it's family, how can you frustrated with them? I got to spend some quality time with my cousin Phil. Unfortunately, his wife is in the hospital, and has been since Christmas eve... My cousin Phil was very close to my dad, so we get along great, and we've had talks here and there about family which always interest me. It's always nice to learn something new, even if it's not good news about the family. It's engaging.
I hope I didn't gain a belt size or anything, because either way I'll have lots of left overs for a while...
Anyway, I kinda rambled on with this one. But either way, life is good. I hope it stays that way. And for those who I haven't gotten around to saying it too, I wish you a Merry Christmas, or Merry Pagan Holiday! And a Happy New Year to you as well.
I'll probably make a New Years post with declarations of the new year. (Wow, a post in less then 20 days?!) Lets see if this really happens!
