A Year In Review

As 2007 draws to a close, I felt it necessary for internal reflection. Of all the years that would top my list as the most memorable, I never would have thought that 2007 was going to be the year, at least according to the mind of a young man with his future still ahead of him.

When you're a teenager who's just graduated high school, there are many thoughts that race through your head, but none of them is that it will take you another thirteen years before you find the woman of your dreams and finally marry her. It's amazing how a fantasized future of your life hardly ever ends up compared to how the cards are laid out onto the table. I never would had even imagined that I would have been married and living in the state of Tennessee back in 1994.

When I graduated, I was very interested in pursuing an education and career in accounting. It took all of six weeks to come to the conclusion that business accounting and book keeping were two very different things and I had no interest in either of them by the end of my first semester. After attempting to attend my first "real" accounting class, I had quickly discovered that the flashing lights in my head wasn't a "blue light special" (I was currently employed with Kmart at that time), but rather a career crisis that was slowly growing into an uncontrollable monster that would not be tamed for another decade.

That monster, when it finally reared its ugly head, was a deep-seeded desire to be involved in the filmmaking industry. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, I crammed my second semester full of required curriculum along with a class entitled "History of the Motion Picture." Within a month I was hooked. I found the entire process fascinating, following it from the tiny seed of a story idea and screenplay all the way to a fully-bloomed completely executed motion picture as the end product.

However, those who know me well know that I don't always have the greatest sense of self confidence. Once the monster completely manifested itself before me, I realized that getting my foot into the door of the film industry was going to be just as difficult as getting into a well respected film school. Of course it took several years to fully discover that trying to get into the film industry wasn't exactly the smartest decision someone like myself could make.

I'm even willing to admit that moving halfway across the country was a feeble attempt at the possibility of a film career. Although it did present itself with several additional benefits that were not obtainable while living in southern California, moving out of my parent’s house and living on my own for the first time, in an economy that I could actually afford, were great bonuses.

Things never really ended up the way I wanted them to. For starters, it would have been beneficial for my "budding film career" to complete the application process. After having at least two (although I swear there was three at one time) letters of recommendation, I chickened out and never finished it. I'm not sure what I was really scared of, other than the obvious. Rejection. Thank God I at least had the foresight to secure employment before embarking on a 2,200 mile journey that would plant me in the welcoming arms of Nashville, Tennessee.

Secondly, it was something that I couldn't actually afford. I didn't grow up in a home where my path to education was going to be an easy one, paved with either daddy's credit or a nifty trust fund issued to me that was I could dip into once I reached the age of eighteen. I'm even willing to admit that the "monster" has never truly left me, at least not completely. And I'm pretty sure that it never will. The desire to finish school hasn't left me either, it just won't come anytime soon. There is debt that needs to be paid off. So until that's all gone except for the house, I won't be cracking open any books.

So, where was I? What does all of this have to do with 2007, you might ask? Plenty. When I started racking my brain about how I wanted to approach this post, this was the first thing that had entered my mind. And it's quite appropriate, if I connect all of the dots for you.

I never would have met my wife if I hadn't had the inflated desires to have a career in the film industry. Tennessee was the destination that would eventually change my life. I've come to the conclusion that it's the people around your life that will change it, as long as you take advantage of their friendship. When we first met in May of 2005, neither of us was ready for a relationship. It was obvious that God still needed to straighten a few things out in our lives before we were ready for the final plunge.

Eighteen months came and went. When the fall of 2006 finally arrived, it was divine intervention that brought us back together. She responded to a random email that I had sent out, and through that brought about reconciliation she felt was necessary to resolve between us. By December I was head-over-heels in love with this beautiful woman and there was nothing in the world that was capable of hiding that fact. I acquired an engagement ring back in February and then let it burn a hole in my pocket for three months before I proposed. The rest, as you can say, is history.



Of course there are other events have taken place throughout the year that are also worth mentioning.

After receiving a much-deserved promotion and much-needed transfer with Best Buy back in February, I was approached by a former colleague about coming to work for him. In May I decided to leave Best Buy to fill the position of Inventory Control Manager for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Outside of the commute, I truly enjoy every day that I work at the Food Bank. The people there are wonderful and I can't imagine working anywhere else right now. Everyday, I come home with such a sense of accomplishment, which truly makes me thankful for everything that God has provided, in the past and now.

My cousin and I finally sold our house. Just in the nick of time, I might add. What we made from the sale we split down the middle and that, my dear friends, is what paid for the wedding and honeymoon. I couldn't have imagined spending it on anything more wonderful than that.

Needless to say, it feels as if the world has turned upside down on me (for the good, that is) this year. What a magnificent journey it has been. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

My apologies if I haven't written as much as either you've wanted to read or what I've actually wanted to write in these past twelve months. My plate has been continuously full since the ball dropped in Time Square this past New Year's. It is, however, nice to finally be able to settle down into my new life with my beautiful bride and to start a new chapter in my life.

Anyone who possesses the gift of reason knows that December 25 isn't the exact date of Jesus' birth. It has though, for centuries, been identified as the day we honor and celebrate His birth and a prophecy fulfilled. Please enjoy your time away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life to spend time with family and friends. May your life and family be filled with blessings this year and those yet to come.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

P.S. If you're interested, I've put together a little slideshow on our other site located here.

You've taken your eye off the ball...

Spider-Man 3
Rating: 2 out of 5.

Ever since I started writing movie reviews and posting them for the world to see, I always felt drawn to title my review post with a quote from that picture. This one isn't any different. I did, however, search for a line that seemed appropriate to my personal views towards this film. I feel that this title sums up exactly how I view the third installment in the very profitable Spider-Man franchise.

Before I go any further, I want to point out that there will be spoilers in this review. Now I understand that it's a good chance everyone and their grandmother already saw this movie in the theaters this past summer, but I figured I would at least be considerate to those who have not yet laid theirs eyes upon this CG-laden superhero train wreck.

First off, this film felt as if it was two movies carelessly smashed into one and all of the possible "good" parts were cut out due to time constraints. Peter Parker opens the film with a voice-over narration expressing to us, the audience, that his life as Spider-Man and his relationship with Mary Jane Watson is just going splendidly. We are then introduced to Flint Marko (Thomas Hayden Church), a man who has just escaped from prison. While in hot pursuit, Marko accidentally runs on to some sort of "test site" where he ends up being transformed into the Sandman.

While everything seems just too good to be true in Peter's world, things are actually starting to fall apart all around him. While Peter and Mary Jane casually lounge on a giant spider web holding each other close, a meteor from out of nowhere pops down from the earth's atmosphere and conveniently lands in the same vicinity as our protagonist. As our two love birds are unaware of this astrological phenomenon that has taken place right underneath their noses, a mysterious black ooze makes its way out of the meteor and just in time latches itself onto Peter's scooter before they leave the park.

Peter, overcome with love, goes to his Aunt May's apartment late that very same night and expresses to her that he wants to propose to Mary Jane. After telling a touching story about Uncle Ben and his proposal, Aunt May gives Peter her engagement ring. Then, out of no where, while Peter makes his way back home, he's attacked by Harry Osborne. A very nice choreographed fight sequence in the air ensues. But in the end, Harry gets a nasty bump on the head and ends up with temporary short-term memory loss.

Meanwhile, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), a newly arrived photographer, has Peter competing for a recently opened permanent position at The Daily Bugle. Eddie's photographs seem to be just as good as Peter's and he's willing to do anything to get that spot over Peter.

Now I could keep going on and on, but honestly, I don't have the will nor the stamina. Besides, this is supposed to be a review, not a scene-by-scene account of what happened in this film. So as you can see, there's a lot going on in this movie. So much so, that the film borderlines on two and a half hours running time with piss-poor pacing issues.

The first mistake this film made is that it decided to follow the road most travelled when it came to poorly executed superhero movies: the more villians the merrier. The more villians you introduce, the less screen time they all have, which leads to under developed characters and big plot holes in the storyline.

I found it awefully convenient that the black ooze