Cereal Monogamy
a brief statement regarding Cereal Monogamy: logging and capturing is FINALLY complete. logging began last Sunday and lasted every day except for Wednesday. after a marathon session last night, 6:30PM to 6:00AM, all the footage is now on Hugo Benson’s hard drives. a note for the next short: 10 1-hr takes for a 10 minute (or less) short is NOT recommended.

anyway, the footage is in and we’re gearing up for some fun nights in the editing room. i even treated myself to some assembly as i laid down a few scenes last night. i forgot how fun it was to cut stuff.

The Automobile
in the past 2 weeks, i pretty much spent $3000 on a smog check. brought the vee-dub in because the Check Engine light was on (performing a smog check with this light on results in an automatic FAIL) and to have this weird groaning noise from my right front tire. this turned into about half a dozen new parts and corresponding labor costs. here is a list of things that needed to be replaced:

-timing belt
-water pump
-air filter
-maf sensor
-ect sensor
-spark plugs
-front air pump
-secondary oxygen sensor
-rear disc brake pads
-rotors

it’s funny because none of the above fixed that groaning noise. i have to pay almost $700 to get that taken care of. at least i got my smog check…kind of. i was told my car barely passed the test. this is a 2000 VW Golf GTI – six mutherf’in years old! tell me what 6 year old car fails a smog test. i’ve come to grips w/ the fact that i’ll probably have a new car in 2 years. this ordeal upset me so much i spent an entire work day mapping out the best way to get to work taking public transportation. it’s still an option, actually. but shit, when you spend $3000 on car repairs, how could you NOT drive it, right? GRRRR.

My Education
spending $3000 kind of makes it hard to pay tuition. it’s funny how i just have one more class left – i swear, this degree is STILL trying to elude me. bastard! but fear not, alternate fundage is in the works.

it’s actually a litte strange that i’ll be finishing school. i’ll have a degree and i’ll be able to say i’m a college graduate. but for me, the most important part is having a completed short. i’ll admit that getting the degree is more for my mom than it is for me. apparently, i made a promise to her that i’d finish before a certain age (though i can’t seem to remember when i said that) sure, you’ll get the reward of accomplishing something. but i feel my greatest accomplishments to date have been the creative endeavors: the plays and the shorts i’ve done. don’t get me wrong, i don’t think college degrees are useless – there are certain careers which require a certain level of aptitude that a degree will prove. i just think they’re overrated.