www.jeff-finc.com

Just a quick note to let you know I purchased the domain www.jeff-finc.com. My web index can now be reached at that address. Also, I started working on an upgrade to that page. It will continue to be simple in design, as it was always meant to be, but I hope to add a little more color and sophistication. You may see some changes while I make them, but I'll keep you posted as to when the new page is finished.

The other project I have officially begun (finally) is T & C's wedding video. If T & C happen to be reading this, then I hope they will accept my apology for how long it has taken me to get started. I'll do my best to finish it by their first anniversary : )

For those of you waiting for the finalized "Wrong Number Project," it is next on my list. I've had to hold myself back from editing it with hopes that I would get some last minute submissions, but now I've just about given up. Thank you to everybody who did make a segment. They all look great.

Lastly, I've had some rejuvenated inspiration for my "Alien Vision" movie, which is still in the brainstorming stage. You could say it's quickly becoming more avant-garde. I've decided to use to some "new-to-me" technology that might have a steep learning curve, so it could still be a while before you see this one. I'm really excited to get started, however. I've had it on my to do list for years already.

NYC again

We returned to the city for the day on Sunday to meet up with some vacationing Minnesota friends. We took a new route this time, parking on Staten Island and taking the ferry over to Manhattan. The views of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty were fantastic. We had brunch at a trendy restaurant called Jane, viewed the New York Earth Room, walked through Chinatown, visited the WTC ground zero site, saw the big bronze Bull on Wall Street, and had an all-around good time. The day out was a nice way to break up a Memorial Day weekend otherwise spent painting the interior of our house -- a big job!

Season Finales

Here are a few thoughts on the season finales I caught this year, in order of how well they were received by me:

Lost – This might be my favorite episode of a series full of great episodes. I didn’t think it would be possible to top last year’s finale, but this one was so absolutely riveting that I cannot imagine a better two hours of television. A lot was revealed, but even more questions were posed, as usual. A four-toed foot of a huge statue found along the shore?!? Consider my curiosity stirred.

The Office – The chemistry between the Jim and Pam characters was explosive. Who would have guessed a comedy could contain so much passion… a very funny comedy at that.

Scrubs - This show continues to surprise me. I keep thinking they have to run out of jokes soon (how much comedy can you really find in a hospital anyway?), but it remains fresh with an only an occasional episode off the mark. The finale was consistent with the rest of the fine fifth season. My only complaint is over the tacked on, unnecessary cliffhanger ending. Is J.D. going to be a dad? Probably not since the mother is only a guest star and we can't expect to see her for more than two episodes next season. Happening on a comedy with episodes that usually stand alone, this seems like a bit of a ploy to get us to watch next season, similar to when Elliot quit her job in the fourth season finale leaving us with the question of whether or not she was leaving the show (of course she didn't). Anyway, I'm just glad there's going to be a next season.

Grey’s Anatomy – Like The Office, this episode had some smoldering chemistry between the two denied lovers. I was surprised by how much this series grew on me after not being overly impressed during the first season. It really found its footing.

Desperate Housewives – This show did the opposite of Grey’s Anatomy for me, it went down hill from the first season. I was really starting to lose interest there for a while. Surprisingly, I thought the finale delivered. I like the idea of the new subplot of Zach Young inheriting all kinds of money and becoming a powerful, unstable teenager.

Invasion – This was decent, but I heard it’s not coming back next season, so that kind of negates my love of a cliffhanger ending. That’s a bit of a bummer, but I’m also pretty sure I’ll forget about it soon enough.

Alias – What happened here? This started off as a strong episode, but fell apart completely. I think it was a case of having too much to cover and not enough time. After the first half hour (of a two hour running time), I could tell they were not going to reach a satisfying conclusion to the series. Rather than up the creative ante and try to end it in a more daring way, they actually tried to cram everything in. Obviously, not everything fit and what did was very rushed. I really hope that Lost does not one day suffer the same fate as Alias. I’d rather see it pulled off the air sooner than see it run into the ground this way.

It’s not a season finale, but I made the mistake of watching Stephen King’s Desperation, a made for TV movie that aired recently on ABC. I checked it out because I enjoyed reading the novel a few years ago. What a disaster the movie version was! The plot was meant to be tongue-in-cheek in a pulp, B-movie type of way. Instead, the cast took it way too seriously. The young religious boy was laughable in all the wrong ways. And don’t even get me started on the “ground demon,” with its attempt at menace and the way it broke all of the already non-logical rules that were established. In summary, this was an awful movie.

What in the world I'm doing with all my free time

If somebody were to ask me what in the world I am doing with all my free time (being that I'm currently unemployed), I would probably be annoyed. I might be inclined to ask in return, what free time? Now I don't want you to think this is going to be a whiney post because I'm not trying to be negative. I'm just a little surprised by how quickly a day passes even without spending at least 8 hours of it at a place of employment.

My schedule has not become very routinized yet, but here's a general description of a typical day in my current situation:

I get out of bed at 6:00, eat some breakfast with my wife, and see her off on her day of work. I like to jump right on to my computer at this point, using the time to get caught up on news, message boards, movie reviews, etc. I try to restrict my initial sitting at my computer to an hour because it could stretch out and cover the whole day if I'm not careful. Next, it's time to exercise, although sometimes I move this to 3:00 if I need to be somewhere earlier. We haven't joined a gym in Wilmington yet because I want to wait until I find a job to be able to better (a)afford a gym membership and (b) choose a gym located close to my future office. So lately I have been jogging or biking and also doing some push-ups and pull-ups (using a bar -- a birthday gift from my lovely wife -- I installed in our den's door frame).

Now we're getting into the more variable section of my day. At least three times a week I have been heading over to Right Management Consultants to attend a networking event or take a course in something like self-marketing or interviewing strategies. These sessions usually start at 10:00 and last 90 minutes. Sometimes there's a second session that begins at 1:00. If there's not, then I usually stick around the Right office anyway to do some of the preparatory work for the next class or else take the time to run inevitable errands. Usually I make it home around 3:00 either way. This can be one my favorite parts of the day. Today, I spent the 3 o'clock hour in the backyard reading the script for the movie on which I am the production assistant in June. Most days, however, I find myself back at my desk making phone calls, paying bills, or if I'm lucky, editing. R returns around 4:00. Lately we've been using this pre-dinner period to run off to Target, Home Depot, or furniture stores. These are "new home errands" that should be dying off soon as we continue to settle deeper in.

The rest of the night is about the same as it's always been. We cook, eat, clean up, and watch a little television. I'm looking forward to the television season being done so our nights are freed up a bit (although there's a good chance our regular programming will be replaced by a subscription to Netflix). We're usually in bed at 11:00 if we haven't already fallen asleep on the couch. On occasion, I like to stay up a bit later yet to do some reading, but the early mornings are doing their best to prevent that.

Weekends are, of course, much different schedule-wise. R and I are trying to use them to work on the house and to explore the surrounding areas (see previous blog entry). I must say I feel a lot better about being gone for a whole weekend knowing that I don't need to go to work early the following Monday morning.

Whew. There you have it. As you can see, I'm not exactly on vacation, but this kind of schedule definitely beats one that includes a full-time job. I find the days so much easier to face and much more enjoyable, even if they aren't quite as sparsely filled as I would hope. Those of you who know me probably know I'm not the kind of person who gets bored easily. In all honestly, I would be perfectly fine if I was unable to leave the house for a week; actually, make that the den for a month.

The way I see it, my job is to find a job. I can put as much effort into it as I want, and right now I don't want to put all of my effort into it. This is too good of an opportunity to waste it entirely by looking for a job. This could be the gap year I always wanted... but maybe "gap three months" is a more reasonable idea.

NYC

R. and I were in Manhattan for the weekend. We had a 6 course dinner at a middle eastern restaurant called Mamlouk and spent Friday night at the ultra-swanky, yet (moderately) affordable Gershwin Hotel. On Saturday we visited the Met and also hung out with our friend Ben who rents a cool little place in the East Village and was gracious enough to put us up for the night. It was a nice get-away. I'm glad we live close enough to the city to be able to get there in a reasonable amount of time. For a guy with small town origins like me, visiting New York is always a bewildering and exhilarating experience.

Desperate Househusband

Moving, to a new state especially, is a lot of work. My wife and I recently made the move from Mobile, Alabama to Wilmington, Delaware. After a tumultuous few months of selling, buying, renting, packing, unpacking, closing, opening, quitting, starting, searching, and road tripping, we are finally settling. To say the least, it feels really good to have a home again.

The next thing for me to square away is a job. I've been enrolled in a career transition program with a group called Right Management Consultants (courtesy of my wife's company). They have helped me get my resume in shape and have been a valuable means of networking. It doesn't help, however, that I'm not yet sure of what kind of job I want. My experience is in Information Systems, and although I have been successful in the field and gained some good experience, I have found the work to be unsatisfying and would prefer to do something that involves more creativity.

I do have one thing lined up. In June I will be starting a five-week internship with a filmmaker from the area who is going to be shooting a movie here. It’s not exactly Hollywood, and it’s a no-pay position, but it could lead to something bigger. This looks like a step in a more creative direction for my career. We’ll see if anything comes out of it. In the meantime, I'll try to learn more about myself and what is available out there.

There's also plenty of work to do around the house. We're going to start painting the walls next week for one thing. Add on the usual chores (cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, etc) and that's almost a full time job right there. I will be grateful for any additional free time I can find. I've got a couple of editing projects just begging for attention.