End of a Decade

It's hard to believe that we're upon a new decade already.  It was only yesterday that the 90's were turning into the 00's!  While a lot of things happened this decade that both made and broke me a person, I'm focused on what happened in this year 2009 - one that I consider great and one that I hope will springboard me into a better perch in life.  Already I'm feelin' it...

It was a wild year.  I hardly was ever in once place for very long.  If you told me two years ago that this would be my life, while I wouldn't necessarily not believe you, I would've had a hard time seeing it as well.  When I took that trip in the fall of 2008 to Asia, I had no idea what was in store for me.  It turned out to be the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

Memories/highlights of the year gone by:

JANUARY:

Went to Costa Rica for my friend's wedding.  It was the end of life as I knew it.

FEBRUARY:

While snowboarding in Vail on Valentine's weekend, I found out I was headed to China soon to host a new reality game show called Shanghai Rush, an English language program with ex-pat contestants set in Shanghai.  My travels through Asia in the Fall of '08 gave me the opportunity to meet the team behind this show.

MARCH:

By the first week of March, I was in Shanghai set to start taping the show.  The whole month was a whirlwind getting whisked around the entire city, learning just about every nook and cranny and seeing things I would never otherwise have the opportunity to even if I lived there all my life.

APRIL:

Finished shooting SR but continued to live in Shanghai for post-production reasons.  Really got to soak in the city as my schedule was lighter (no more 16 hour days.)  I made great friends, learned the city, experienced the amazing rate at which the country is growing, and was hooked for life.  Right around here, I fell in love with the idea of living in Asia.  The career opportunities, the general opportunities, and the newness of everything was and still is too exciting.

MAY:

Got to go back to the US for a few weeks.  I stopped over in Hawaii for a week to visit one of my best friends and then I went onto New York, unsure of whether that was the place for me to be anymore.

JUNE:

Returned to Shanghai to finish post-production on SR.  During this time, I also attended the Shanghai International Film Festival.  One of our feature film projects was in the Pitch Program as part of the festival.  It was a whirlwind of a week meeting industry folks, attending parties, and generally building up my network of contacts in Asia.  I also went down to Taipei to attend the Taipei Int'l Film Festival.  Taipei was proving to be a place that I dug a lot too for reasons personal and professional.  The future in Asia got hotter than before.

JULY:

Spent July 4th in Shanghai and then my mother came out to China and spent a week with me.  She was able to see my life and that proved to be cool cause up until then, she wondered exactly what it was I spent my time doing.  She was able to watch the grand finale of SR at our closing party and she met network heads that all helped her gain more insight on the business in general.  I ended the month by going to the Pucheon Fantastic Film Festival in Korea with my friend Ted Chung's script as part of their Pitch Program.  Went back to NYC after Korea.

AUGUST:

Mid month, left again back to Shanghai to shoot a new language show the same network SR was broadcast on hired me for.  That wouldn't prove to be the best fit for either side.  Nevertheless, it was an experience and it allowed me to be out in China again to further develop relationships and in general explore opportunities.

SEPTEMBER:

Back in NYC after Labor Day.  I had a month in NYC and it really showed me how slow things are in general in the US and started to really really plant in my mind the need to be in Asia.

OCTOBER:

Mid October, attended the Hawaii International Film Festival with our feature THE PEOPLE I'VE SLEPT WITH.  We world premiered it there before it went to 5 other festivals in the fall around the world.  Second time in Hawaii this year, who would've thought?  In May, my friend was pregnant and by this time, the baby was out, so that was cool.  Prior to Hawaii, I was in LA for a week, developing a separate feature that I hope to shoot in China eventually with Ted.  I really believe in Ted and we need to get this man's stories on screens around the world.

NOVEMBER:

Mid November, back to Asia.  First Taipei for the Golden Horse Film Festival and then Hong Kong for the HK Int'l Asian Film Fest.  PEOPLE plays in both.  While in HK this trip (I think this was my 3rd time there this year?), I had a solid block of time to meet and greet and and begin to understand the lay of the industry land there.  I love the emerging pool of filmmakers there.  I was able to play a small role on a film my friend Jason Tobin and fimmaker Dax Phelan made called JASMINE.  I met hungry people and I met an agency who started sending me out for a bunch of commercial castings right away.  Maybe it was all just coincidence, but this time in HK really opened my eyes and fed the general Greater China fire of being centered in Asia to be able to work across the different cities in the region.

DECEMBER:

Made my way to Shanghai again for the final time this year.  One more week there essentially cemented my desire to be here more permanently as more meetings with industry people enhanced the need to be present in Asia to collaborate on projects and opportunities.  A side passion project developed (another story for another day) and that would require me being in Shanghai to see it through.

Asia beckons.

I came back to NYC on 12/8/09 and right when I did, I felt like I didn't belong anymore.  NYC seemed so empty.  It's a place I'll always love, but I feel like the writing is on the wall.

I sit here this holiday season in the Bay Area, before the decade winds down, collecting my thoughts.  Some of it is frazzled, but much of it is clear.  This little break from it all is allowing me to regroup and reset.

2010 (and beyond), bring it on.  The future has never been more exciting (and frightening) as it is now.

Happy New Year, all.  May all our choices lead us down the right path.