Holiday Hits

It's been "memorable" holiday season in our house to say the least. I mean, isn't that what we always ask for? A holiday season to never forget? This year, I have learned to be careful of what we ask for...

First, the "hits".. as in "the best of": The holiday gave us many opportunities to celebrate and reflect on the many blessings we do have. Starting out the season was Little Calvin's first local Christmas parade as a cub scout. As one of the leaders from our local pack, I got to help decorate our float for the parade: a large, Christmas light covered flatbed truck that all the scouts could ride on, representing the organization. This alone, helped really bring in the whole "Christmas Spirit" as friends worked together for the good of a bunch of rowdy eight-year-olds, to both give them a memorable experience and bring joy to the parade watchers.

Next, we were able to spend some great times just enjoying each other as a family, doing fun things together. If you are looking for a fun gift idea for future Christmas's, try doing what was done for us: send a gift of money that is to only be used "for family activities only". (Thanks Chuck!) With that little "Christmas bonus" we were able to do an activity-a-day including going to the movies, bowling, swimming, and a visit to Chuck-E-Cheese. It may sound juvenile, but I have to say, spending an afternoon playing all the latest video games with your boys can be a lot of fun.

Add to that the fact the my parent's Christmas gift to they boys was a set of Laser Tag guns each (thus giving us 4 guns all together), we can now have family "shoot outs". We just head to some large, darkened area (the gym at the church works great), establish bases, turn off the lights, light up any obstacles with glow sticks (to avoid injuries and to give it a weird green, glowing, eerie feeling) and we can have a lot of fun!! Just watch out for tables in the corner, Ty...

Add in the family traditions that we share for my wife's birthday (the day before Christmas Eve) Christmas Eve itself, and Christmas Day, and it is really hard to complain.

But.. since this is my blog and is meant to be a reflection of reality (even though it is my "chimerical cosmos") I also have to discuss the other side of the coin:

The "Hits" (as in.. the two-by-fours knocking you upside the head). The biggest came two weeks prior to Christmas at work. Now we all know that the economy is.. struggling to say the least. And throughout my 11 years at my current job, I have always kept in the back of my mind that if anything goes wrong, causing our economy to tighten, one of the FIRST things to go will be people making luxury purchases.. and as predicted, people just aren't buying $400,000 RV's right now. To make things far worse.. we actually have lots of people wanting to buy our products, with money in hand ready to get a great deal. But the banks have completely stopped allowing people to buy RVs (or even the dealers to buy them for that matter) as they have tightened their lending nooses and consider RVs a luxury purchase.. something that doesn't need to happen at this point in time. With the banks refusing to lend money, customers unable to buy our products and our dealers unable to even buy products for their lots.. it's put us in a critical place very quickly.

While we all stressed about the future each day at work, we were all a bit shocked to suddenly hear that the company was shutting down for awhile. And not just our factory as has happened in the past.. but even the office staff. For the next 4 weeks (now extended to 7 weeks) we'd all be unemployed... Merry Christmas! Gone were the days of "Merry Christmas.. here is your large bonus to spend on your families for the holidays" and instead we get to spend a team meeting figuring out how to file for unemployment. Not what I expected for my holidays.

Now let's look at the positive here (as is always my way).. I got to spend some amazing time with my wife and kids during the holidays (see above) and still make magical memories, financial stress notwithstanding. And it's not like I am out of a job.. yet.. (We are all hoping conditions improve so that we can return on February 2nd as planned). I am also finally able to finish up so many video editing projects that have been piling up for so long and perhaps dream up some new ones. I can't think of a single time in my history that I have gotten to kick back, do my own projects, relax for a time.. and have the government throw money at me each week. Granted, it's nothing like my regular salary, but I'll gladly take whatever I can get.

But as we head into 2009, I am taking these "Holiday Hits" as a sign of things to come to try to keep my perspective in the right place. First the "Hits" remind me that regardless of what kind of stress may be going on behind the scenes, I always have my family to have fun with, to de-stress with, and find peace (even if that peace comes from blasting each other with laser beams). And second, the "hits" to force us into a plan to be cost conscious, to not take my job for granted, and to help us make those tough decisions about my career and where we need to be to be stable for the long haul.

2009 could be a challenging year... but as long as I keep my "Holiday Hits" in perspective, I think we may just be better off by the end of it, regardless of what challenges get thrown our way.

So, to all my loyal blog readers (and all those writing me e-mails about not updating for far too long) here's to a fresh start and a great 2009! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Breaking "Being Boring"

Ok.. let's make one thing very clear... I am not having some kind of mental breakdown. This is not a Britney Spears style move to keep me in the news and on the headlines. I am not drunk nor have I been drugged. I have simply come to the realization.. that I am one boring person.

Now, I am not slamming myself here. I think my life is rather interesting and I enjoy living it. I have a wonderful wife, great kids, a job I enjoy and hobbies that.. well.. ok.. I can consume myself with hobbies, but that's been well documented here through many blog posts.

What I mean, is that I am.. the same. I am the kind of person that when I find something that works, I stick with it. Ever since I was young, my preferred wardrobe is jeans and a t-shirt. Once I find a brand.. I stick with it, never venturing away from it, because, as they say.. "If it aint broke, don't fix it" As I kid I used Crest toothpaste, therefore, as an adult I still use it.. I don't go near that Colgate stuff. If I wear out a pair of shoes, I go back to the same store, and by the exact same kind that I had before. It's always the same same same same. I mean, look at our pop stars these days... every other month they have a different hair-do. Meanwhile, I have had the exact same hair style since I left high school. Like I said, I'm incredibly boring. So... I finally decided, it was time to do something different.. to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone and take a chance.

A few months ago I was talking to a friend of mine from college (who will likely get blamed for this) and he had just done something wacky: He shaved his head. According to his logic.. some people just look good bald, but you never know how your head looks, until you try it. Sure, for many baldness is not a choice they get to make, but for others will a full head of hair, until they take the plunge and leave their comfort zone, they'll never know. Plus, if it doesn't work out, it only takes 3 weeks to grow back out, so it's a tiny portion of life that you are sentenced to look wacky.

I thought about this long and hard and finally decided.. this is where I have to start.. to break my normality schedule. Yup.. when the time was right, I would shave my head.. bald. And that time seemed to be: today. Yesterday we took the bi-annual family portrait/christmas card photos, so I didn't have to worry about screwing with that (My wife would have killed me if I was bald in the family portrait). Plus, she is getting ready to leave town for 10 days to visit various family for the Thanksgiving holiday (I have to work), so she'll barely have to see me if I look like a dork, because by the time she gets home, it will have mostly returned. So now was the perfect opportunity to step up to the plate.. to leave my comfort zone of normality and... do something wacky.

Here is the photo journey:

1. Start out with a nice (and getting grayer by the day) head of hair:

2. Convince the lady that cuts my hair that I REALLY do want this and give her the thumbs up to shave it.

3. Cringe in my seat as she finds great joy in giving me a mohawk. (At this point I got a little light headed.. this whole "leaving my comfort zone" bit was suddenly a touch more drastic than I had envisioned)

4. Done.. no more hair.. hope and pray my wife doesn't have a heart attack (No, I didn't tell her about this little venture before hand.. As I look in the mirror it suddenly occurs to me that not mentioning this to her, may have been a very bad idea)

5. Return to work to the gasps of my coworkers as I walk in the door.

So.. now what? Like I said, I am still a bit light headed with this sudden change (maybe that is from not having any more weight up there...). But never fear.. I am sure my hair will be back in no time and I can go back to my same old.. normalcy in life. Until then.. brrrrr... my head is suddenly a bit cold!!!

My Exploding Son

For the last several weeks my life has been volleyball volleyball volleyball. It's been a lot of fun trying to get through the season, but when I spend lots of time filming every game, and then even more time carefully sorting through and editing all that footage, often on a frame by frame basis.. suffice it to say I can get a little bit tired of watching the sport. So it's good to have little breaks once in awhile.

And this season, my break was... more video production. Yeah.. I know.. I'm nuts. As reported on many times throughout the summer, the boys and I have had a goal to make our own Indiana Jones movie. We began filming in mid-July and we continued, filling up spare weekends and evenings here and there, until we finally finished filming a few weeks ago. No, the film is not done. I have edited quite a bit and am pleased with the results so far, but several tricky sequences still need some work. With volleyball having tight deadlines, I have to stay on track, but this whole Indy film has been a nice break.

So while it may be a few weeks still until our little movie is done and released on the web for the world to see, here is a brief look at one of our trickier scenes, where I got to blow my sons head up. Yes, you read that correctly. I got a lot of strange looks from people when they asked "what are your plans for the weekend?" and I got to answer with that. But it was true. Not to give away to much, but in the movie, the villain, played by my son Tyler, gets his head chopped off by a supernatural sword that doesn't seem to like evil baddies. (Apparently supernatural swords only like good guys). To make the movie a little more "Indy like" (and because it sounded cool) we added a little flourish to the scene by having this decapitated head blow up after it hits the ground (blame the sword.. they have tempers after sitting in caves for hundreds of years).

This gave us a challenge... how to film the decapitation (Little Calvin figured out that one) and the head explosion. After some sick, twisted brainstorming, I came up with a plan that might work. And so, with the girls gone for the day (of course) it was time for the boys to pull out our toys.. and in this new YouTube age, document each step of our gross journey.

So.. without further ado... It's time to blow up my son's head:

Spartan Power, Spartan Pride

On a cold, wet and dark Oregon Coast night, it was the perfect sports setup as the 2008 Oregon Volleyball State Championship Tournament began: Marist vs. Siuslaw. Siuslaw was a league champion, first seeded team, playing on their home court with a large and very loud home crowd. The Marist Spartans were a second seeded team.. the underdog, with less fans. One of their key players and hardest hitters had broken her ankle in practice just one week earlier, filling the players with doubts as to if they could continue to win without her on the court. One team wins and gets to move on to the final State tournament for the top 8 teams, one team goes home with their season finished.

On everone's mind was the year previous, when they had been in the exact same spot: on the road in the first round of the state tournament, but falling short, ending their chance with a tough loss. No one wanted to feel that way, to end the season there.

In game 1, Marist was warmed up, on fire, ready to take on their opponent. With the momentum in their favor, they beat Siuslaw, proving they could stay with the tough teams, injuries notwithstanding.

But in games 2 and 3, Siuslaw prevailed, taking over and stealing that momentum. It quickly entered everyone's mind that one more loss and the season was over.

But this is where the Marist Spartan pride took over. They never felt defeated, they knew this was their game, their night. Winning game 4 forced a game 5. One final quick game to 15, both teams now even, both playing at the same level.

And at last, the Spartans proved to their fans, their parents and themselves that when they never give up, they can succeed, winning game 5, and not ending their season. We all knew it was going to be tough, to go to a higher seeded team's gym, to play on their court, with their fans, as the underdog, without our top hitter, but they never gave up and ended the evening victorious.

From my point of view, I think my hair went several shades grayer, watching us lose games 2 and 3, watching that momentum shift away from us and feeling helpless to do anything. But what a night of pride, to see these girls come out of it and never give in. What an awesome victory, what an awesome team, and I count my blessings that I have the unique opportunity to be part of the program, to know the team and to be able to capture the moment for these girls, on film. It was one of those nights that makes a sports documentary filmmaker proud, to capture that emotion and the triumph so they can never forget what it felt like that night. Not that they'll be forgetting anytime soon. Having just finished filming my post game player interviews, everyone on the team talked about the game being a highlight of both the season, and in many cases their volleyball career so far at Marist. So Saturday night will be a VERY long remembered night for this team.

Now... On to the Big Show... Time to take the momentum from last weekend's game into this weekends even tougher run for the state title.

Go Spartans!

Stuck in the Middle

I have been thinking about Peter Jackson a lot this week. Yes, the Peter Jackson who directed the Lord of the Rings movies and the latest version of King Kong. That guy. In one of the "behind the scenes" features that chronicals how his King Kong film was made (I love those, by the way.. often times more so than the actual film, but I'm a film geek) Peter Jackson is shown falling asleep while directing. The production was 2/3 of the way completed. The production crew had done a lot, the light was seen at the end of the tunnel, but there was just so much still to do. So there was Peter Jackson on a day when he was just exhausted.. he had been working too hard, pushing too long and he'd had enough. And the documentary film crew seemed to find great pleasure in catching him asleep in his chair, when he should have been directing scenes.

Now, I am in no way trying to compare myself to a great director like Peter Jackson. I have no idea the pressures of managing a crew of thousands working in multiple studios, or helming a $150 million dollar production... but in my own little small way, I am feeling the weariness of reaching a mid point in production, and just finding myself completely exhausted.

In my little film world, production on my current documentary began 2 months ago. As normal, it starts slowly, then revs into full blown madness by early October. Now, in some ways, it could feel as though I am almost done... there are only 2 league games left in the season to film and by next Tuesday the regular season will be finished. But the team is doing very well, so going to the State tournament (at least the first rounds) is pretty much a given, meaning that production will continue well into November. That puts me about.. two thirds done filming... with the giant task of putting the film together still looming. And so it feels like a giant shrinking box. If I look behind me, I have the huge pile of video shot so far that I need to finish editing. If I look in front of me, I see many more games, interviews, special shots, etc that need to be filmed over the next few weeks, that will all need to be edited down. If I turn to my left, I see footage coming in from multiple cameras that I am not even filming myself, but other people filming for me at events I can't make it to, and if I turn my head to the right, I see the giant calendar on the wall, loaded with deadlines and milestones that I have to make in order to get all this done in time. And with all those walls quickly closing in, it's easy to see why at this very stage, I can really stress out and shut down.

Add to that the physical toll of all this.. I have a regular 8 -5 job, that requires a lot of focus and a high attention to details. Then, take last week for example.. I was out late at night shooting on Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night and all day on Saturday. By Sunday, my brain was total mush. Literally. My body just started to shut down and by Monday I was out sick, just trying to get my body back on track.

So what does this kind of self abuse do to my physical system? Let's take a look at a couple of examples:

First, Sunday night.. Having just woken up from an unexpected 3 hour nap (I fell asleep trying to help Little Calvin update his blog.. just couldn't stay awake and I kept forgetting what I was doing mid-task) I headed to the kitchen to cook dinner for the family. Tonight it was "Chicken Goop", a family favorite recipe that I learned to cook as a kid and now continue to cook on a monthly basis for my own family. I think it's formal name is Chicken Ala King, but who knows.. to us it's just Chicken Goop. Like I said, I have been cooking the stuff every month (sometimes more) for the last.. well, ok it's been awhile since I was a kid, so I know it well. But in my current fried mental state, I got halfway through the gravy portion, bubbling away on the stove, and suddenly I couldn't remember the next ingredient. And it wasn't just short term... Try as I might.. I COULDN'T REMEMBER a thing. It kind of freaked me out. And it wasn't a small ingredient... like a specialized spice or something. Regardless of what inner realms of my brain I searched, nothing was coming. Finally I admitted defeat, swallow my pride, and call my Mom to ask her about the recipe. Yes, the recipe that I cook so often. THAT's what project exhaustion can do for the mind. Oh.. and the missing ingredient that my brain couldn't manage to come up with? Milk. Yes... Milk. Six whole cups of it.

But here's where I really knew I was losing it:

Yesterday, I was driving between work and the next game to film. It had been a busy day trying to make up for being out sick on Monday. I tend to use this car time to transition.. from being a web manager to film producer. In order to do this, the iPod gets plugged in and the volume goes way up as I listen to the same music the girls on the team are using to fire them up for a good game.

So there I am, rocking out to the tunes mentally visualizing various shots I needed to get that night and how they could ultimately be edited to fit various songs in the playlist. Suddenly, I hear a strange noise. I had been hearing something.. odd for a little while, but it finally clicked in that whatever this was.. was not normal.

So I listened.. very carefully, trying to figure out what this was that could be plaguing my car (over the booming sound of the stereo, that is). My ear goes towards the engine, carefully listening.. no, it sounded ok. The ear goes to my door.. no, that sounds ok too. Back seat? Nope.. all clear. FINALLY, I have enough sense to actually turn the volume down on the stereo to try to listen to what may be going on, fearing the worst.

And finally, as I drove down the freeway in silence, do I realize just what this oddball sound was.... It was my horn. Yes.. My HORN. From the way I had my hand positioned on the steering wheel as I was driving, I was holding down the horn as I obliviously blazed down the freeway.. for miles.... All I could do was laugh at myself and my crazy, brain dead state that seemed to be taking over.

So.. just in case I say something wacky, or do something... odd over the next couple of weeks, be forewarned... I am not that mentally with it right now. There is too much going on and I am in "lose my brain" mode. Hey, at least I didn't lock myself in the bathroom this time.. (I'll save that little tale for another blog time). But yeah.. get me tired, stressed and mentally exhausted and who knows what crazy thing I'll do.. or forget to do apparently..

In retrospect, I don't know which scenario is better... Being a director that falls asleep from exhaustion in his directors chair, mid scene, like Peter Jackson, or me, being a mental case, forgetting the basics of life and driving like an idiot... Either way, it signals to me that I need more sleep. I'll work to take my projects one day at a time, edit one game at a time and remember that the light at the end of the tunnel really is in sight, after I survive the next few weeks.

Back to editing!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............................

Now Established: The Holiday Rules

It's been a few months since we have had a "big" holiday. And what I mean by big holiday is one of the slew of holidays that seems to take over your entire existence. Sure, we had the Labor Day just a few weeks ago, but like that counts. That's just a day off work before school starts back up. And the Fourth of July? Sure it's fun lighting off fireworks, being patriotic and having mid summer picnics. But you don't see people putting out their fourth of July decorations in May. What I am talking about here are the biggies: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. The ones just upon us.

But as we approach this festive time of year, we need a few rules. I don't want to sound like a Scrooge, but people in this day and age will grossly take advantage of their festiveness, if not given a few ground rules. You see this a lot, especially as the stores start putting out their next holiday wares the day after the previous holiday. There's nothing as eye rolling to me as going into Target the day after Christmas, only to find shelves full of Valentines candy. Or to walk into Jamba Juice on November first for a nice fruit smoothie only to hear their Christmas music mix blaring out the sound system. If I wasn't craving my Caribbean Passion, I would have turned around and left the store in protest. Even now.. it's September and if I walk into Costco, I have to look at the giant inflatable Santa in the middle of the store.

But I understand that business in business. But individuals can control themselves. And so.. I am officially declaring the "holiday rules". And yes, I expect that by my declaring these right here on my blog, that all Americans will comply and obey, out of respect for... well.. The Holiday Rules. And so America.. here they are:

Calvin's OFFICIAL Holiday Rules:
1. Halloween season officially begins October 1st. Therefor, no halloween decorations may adorn your house prior to this date. Halloween season ends promptly at midnight on November 1st. I do not want to see pumpkins, graveyards, ghosts, etc on your lawn until the official season begins.

2. Thanksgiving season begins November 1st. No, there is no overlap between Halloween and Thanksgiving. They are two different things. Halloween is all about scaring your neighbors and making all the neighborhood kids too scared to come near your house on Halloween night, thus allowing you to keep the large bowl of snickers bars all for yourself. Thanksgiving is all about the dying days of fall, eating yourself silly with turkey and not getting in trouble for having one slice of every pie on the counter. Thanksgiving ends at midnight that day.

3. Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving. That means I don't want to see your house lit up with lights in early November. I don't want to see Santa at the mall, or Christmas tree lots opening up early.You must WAIT until the day after Thanksgiving and THEN.. knock yourself out... do a Chevy Chase to your house (I do). Just not BEFORE.

4. Once a holiday is officially over, get your butt out of the house and take your stuff down and put it away. I don't want to see your lights still hanging up in July. It just tells me your are lazy. I don't need to celebrate Valentines day with your giant inflatable pumpkin still laying there on the lawn, having not been inflated for months. Please, people, take responsibility for your holiday decorating!

As I said, I am not trying to be a Scrooge here. I just want our Holiday time, as fun as it is, to stay pure. I don't want to be sick of Christmas three weeks before the actual holiday. I want to enjoy the whole season start to finish. I want the enjoyment of seeing all the decorations in the right time and right setting. It's like coming to a party too early or staying to late. It's just wrong.

So, take notice America. Calvin has spoken!

Spies, Swords and Spartans

Obviously, it's been awhile since I updated the ol' blog. I know I say that for time to time, but what can I say... things tend to get a bit busy and chaotic at certain times of year. And the end of August forward is certainly our "busy season". Here's a quick rundown of the latest from Calvin's Cosmos.

First and foremost: The family. The end of August brought Little Calvin's eighth birthday, meaning it was time for his church baptism. This once-in-a-lifetime event brought family from both Idaho and Colorado together in our house, for one very full weekend. We had a great trip out to the coast and alot of fun with so many people around that we just don't see very often. Little Calvin's baptism was a special experience for both of us. One of those cool father/son types of things. I think he'll have good memories of the festivities and remember the support of his extended family. (You can read reports here and here, on the family member blogs and see their photos.)

With family all delivered to the airport and safely home, it was time to return to normal hectic life. In additional to all my regular job duties at work (now greatly expanding as the company closes its Indiana offices and plants, making Oregon THE office space for the company) I have had 3 film projects going on simultaneously:

Video 1: RV Spy Guys: Mission 3. Most regular blog readers will remember the nightmare that developed as we created the second episode (here). But this time around, our production seemed to go right on schedule and without any real issues to report. Sure, I think my producer thought I had lost my mind when I turned in my script for this go around. My brain does tend to come up with some weird stuff on occasion. But I assured him that this would be funny (and not overly gross) and that I was still perfectly sane. Hold on..

Back now.. sorry, Abe Lincoln was at the door. A few things to discuss..

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah.. the I'm not crazy part. So... even with the strange looks as I handed over my story ideas, the episode filmed without a hitch, no actors showed up drunk, all the "that's impossible, this will never work" parts did work as I envisioned and things all came together well.

Here's a quick look at our filming day. To think that I get paid for this stuff....

The episode is now out and can be seen at www.rvspyguys.com. I'd just post the video here, but we need the site traffic to justify doing more of these so I have to make you go to the site to watch. Oh and order a t-shirt while you are there! Come on.. all the cool kids have them!

Video 2: The summer Indiana Jones project. Things are coming along nicely on this, although I am now using the typical Hollywood saying: "overtime and over budget". The kids have stayed very gungo-ho and are loving filming this. Just the other day, Little Calvin put in a request that I add some scenes or action sequences to the movie as he's not ready to be done filming yet. He gets such a kick out of donning the Indiana Jones gear and fighting, exploring.. whatever.

The trickiest part was this: When I wrote the script in early July, it included two large sequences that take place in caves. (Of course.. Indy HAS to explore caves in an Indiana Jones movie!!!) I figured it would be easy to find a cave or two around here to film in... Wrong-O! These stupid cave shots have been a thorn in my side all summer. We found some GREAT cave exteriors to set up the shots of the kids going into caves, but with the amount of stuff that happens inside the caves, I thought I was toast. Luckily, a solution presented itself this last Saturday and we were able to get most of the "cave sequences" filmed.

With only 2 scenes left to be shot (meaning 2 more nights of filming) we're heading on the downhill slope. My goal is to have the film done by mid-October when the 4th Indy movie hits DVD, as there is inevitably a large surge of interest in the Indiana Jones character connected to that release, and it would be nice to use that to our benefit.

Video 3: The big Kahoona. The gigantic project: The fall documentary volleyball film. I couldn't believe it was time to start filming already in mid-August, but it came! That means that I am now filming games almost every other night as the season progresses at such a rapid rate. Already, over 10 hours of footage has been shot and I am in the process of keeping up with that footage so that this doesn't turn into another "week-long no sleep fest" of 3 years ago as I struggled to meet editing deadlines. And this year I am starting slow thanks to everything else going on, meaning that even with all the footage shot already, there will be a large sized surge in work come the beginning of October as the team's fate starts to take shape on the court, and the resulting film starts to take shape in my head.

Now.. add all of that to an already busy work schedule, helping with Little Calvin's Cub Scout group each week (or attempting to when not filming), church responsibilities, Amanda starting high school, Tyler starting middle school and helping to support my wife so that she can coach her team without worrying about things off the court.. and it's a miracle I can even get a single blog entry posted. But it's all a matter of scheduling and balance.. and trying to stay out of trouble. Unlike what my brain-children spy guys seem to be doing.

Ok.. back to editing... I still have two idiots stuck in an RV factory, two adventurers seeking an ancient sword, and two volleyball teams winning their way through the league. Oh boy.. Where is that Red Bull 24 pack?