Sat, 24 Oct 2020

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So you may be wondering where I've been hiding myself away these past few months. Well, obviously, in my apartment (only been out three times since March), but surely I can do something online, you say. (I'm assuming you say that - because you're the intended audience for this post. If you didn't say that, move along to some other website.)

Well I've been a busy goat, up to my ears in audio for Shezam, which began its third season this month. As of this writing I am kind of almost two months ahead of schedule for this weekly podcast, and I hope to keep it that way. We've got some really great guests this season, so if you care about performance and what it means to connect with an audience and not alienate them like a monster, do check it out.

I've also been part of the virtual stage crew for Lucy Darling's Zoom shows, which are being hailed as the best out there. The secret? Realizing it's a new medium (sort of a hybrid of live theatre and television) and bringing the language of film to a magic show. I of course had nothing to do with that - I'm just there to mute audience members when they start yelling at their dog in the next room. But it's fun and you should see it.

Things have been pretty quiet with The Residents, which I've come to know over the years means something big and time-consuming is about to land. I'm sure some of you are thinking "oh Chris knows something and he's hinting at it obliquely" and though you still won't believe me I'll repeat that I normally only learn about things about a day before you do, and that's only because I've been told to spread the news. They're mysterious, don't ya get it?

But sometimes... sometimes I get pulled in earlier and am given a job. I feel like that's about to happen. (And, again, NO, I don't know anything right now. I just have a hunch.)

Thu, 14 Jan 2021

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Here's an odd thing about 2020: at the beginning of the year I planned to do a number of things for self-improvement. I subscribed to Masterclass and intended to watch several dozen of their offerings; I purchased an online piano course and intended to learn how to actually play this thing; I wrote out a schedule for books I wanted to read over the year.

Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly I had a lot more time on my hands. My work commute is just about an hour, so already I had two extra hours. Plus I get really tired on my way home (perhaps a combination of walking for 25 minutes, riding a train for 15 minutes, then walking another 20 minutes) so I usually go right to sleep when I get home, losing another... whatever amount of time. So given all the extra time, how did I score on my 2020 goals?

With Masterclass I watched about twelve courses, eight of which were in the last two months of my subscription because I just didn't do it. I did do an hour of the piano thing daily for two weeks, and I got to a place I'm really happy with, but I do want to continue. The book list? I stayed pretty much on schedule until about September, then stopped.

Which is not to say I spent the entire year sleeping (though I did a lot more of that than ever before; I should get a medal or something). Shezam took on a very ambitious production schedule, I joined the stage crew of an online show, and I established relationships in two new social circles. Not a bad thing at all.

So I guess what I'm getting to is: plans are just ideas. It might feel bad to fall short, but there's always something else to fill the time. As long as it never feels wasted in the moment, it's all good.