Instead of going to college, I tried a lot of stuff. Oh, the jobs I worked. I’ve volunteered. I’ve slung caffeine across a Starbucks counter. I’ve pushed extended warranties on customers as an electronics salesman. I was the on-again off-again Rental Shop Manager… and you’re asleep already. I’ll move on.
In 2009, I was saved from the purgatory of the service industry. A long-time friend got me a job as a Copy Writer at a local radio station. This was where my passion was re-ignited. Slowly, long-dormant neurons fired as my fingers hit keyboard. I discovered that unique joy of having something I wrote produced and shown to an audience. But radio ads weren’t enough for me – I wanted to tell stories. So at the innocent age of 26, I applied to Vancouver Film School. I was accepted, and that brought me here, to the City of Rain and Lattes.
I spent a year in the Film Production program, learning how to pull an idea from my brain and turn it into pretty moving pictures that told a story. I soon discovered my talents weren’t so much on set as they were on paper. It was an intense year, but I came out of it having learned a lot about story, about the film industry, and about myself. Also, if you touch hot lights, you will burn yourself. It’s just a fact.
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In the summer of 2014, I applied for a job at a very special place full of very special people…McDonald’s. But they turned me down, so I became a Facilities PA at Bardel Entertainment. My plan was to get my legs back under me and find a copy-writing job. Instead, I discovered that Bardel was actually a fun place to work and I became a loyal Bardelian.
Now, I patrol the halls of Bardel by day, keeping our supplies stocked and our studio in working order. By night I type, lit by the glow of my computer screen. And I dress as a bat, for criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot – wait, no, sorry. Recurring daydream about being Batman. happens to everybody, right? Right.
*Listen, if you found your bliss being a plumber, by all means that’s awesome. Please don’t send angry plumber emails. And I hope you washed your hands before you used that keyboard.