My Experiment

I have an experiment I want to try....

Basically what I am asking is that anyone that sees this blog post send me 1 photograph that means a lot to you/is your favorite photograph ever. But please pick only one.

Then I want you to send me this photograph at JasonSElrod@gmail.com.

Simply put, I want to see if I can take all these vast amount of moments in time and create some sort of visual story out of them all.

The rules are simple for the photograph... again, 1 per person (so tell more people about this, your friends and families, this way there are more to incorporate.) and the photo must be taken by you or someone you know (with their approval to use it). This way the photos are even more personal, because they relate to you more closely. Doesn't matter what is in the photograph... a person, a group of people, an animal, a scenery, etc.

If you are confused, ask me... but please send me something! and please please please, tell people about this... that way there is more to incorporate.

(I should add, they don't need to be current photos... maybe your favorite photo is an old family portrait from relatives from way back when!)

Thanks everyone... I'm just excited to play around with this idea. Keep my editing eye sharp...

The Beginnings of a Dream!

Here's an update on my progress here in the City of Angels!

Been here now over a week and am already doing well with learning the area. We've found a lot of the shopping centers, plus a lot of nice hang out spots! I'm doing well with driving around without the use of my GPS, though I still do use it when going to new addresses, but I'm learning the lay of the land and find it easier to navigate without computerized help!

Sarah and I are both still on the job hunt, but I caught a bit of a break the other day when I applied for an internship one morning and that afternoon they called me back! (This was all yesterday actually) They called to talk to me more and asked me to come in that afternoon to meet with them and possibly do some work. So I went in and they put me to work right away working in their editing bays. I'm officially an Editing Intern at Hu-Man Element Productions. It's a small, but busy, production company located in downtown Los Angeles. Their offices are in a building called Studio Center, and as I walked in my first day I found myself walking through numerous production companies and some areas were actual sets! (For movies or tv, I'm unsure... everyone was on break, but the sets were there!) Plus I walked past so many rooms where actors (no one famous...at least not famous yet!) were waiting for auditions.

It was really great, they have me helping with logging and organizing all their footage for a pilot episode of a series. I'm not at liberty to speak further as I'm not sure yet what I can or cannot publicly speak about.

The guys I met were a lot of fun and really good people, and I look forward to working there more! I'll be going in at least twice a week, but hopefully more if I can swing it. The only downside to all of this is that it's an UNPAID internship... which means I still need to find something else that pays so I can pay rent and bills... and buy food to survive. So I'll be applying to something for a part time job and when I'm not working there I'll be at the internship!

I don't know how long I'll be at Hu-Man Element, but hopefully I'll make a lot of good connections and it turn into paying work someday or at least lead to me meeting someone or finding something that is paying!

In the meantime I'll be doing whatever they ask and doing my best to prove my skill and commitment!

Not much else to talk about... Sarah and I have a few parties we are attending this weekend, which means opportunities to meet some people and make more friends! One party is just a social gathering the other is a Superbowl Party tomorrow for the big game! GO STEELERS!

I may be a Redskins fan, but of the two teams in the bowl I want the Black and Yellow to prevail! (Going to school in Pittsburgh really made me enjoy the city's teams!)

I'm not a Penguins fan though, nor a Pirates.... even though the Pirates games were cheap and pretty fun at times. I'm not really a big Steelers fan either, but I'll cheer for them whenever possible! And in this case (the Superbowl) I'll cheer my heart out!

Will keep you all up to date as new things happen!

Check in for Operation Chisel

Well it's been just over a month since I started... and there is a lot of good news with my progress.

Now I'm not 100% positive that this is correct... because it seems like a lot, but according to our new scale, I now weigh 182... whereas in the beginning of January I started off weighing 198. So according to the scale, I've lost 16 pounds! I feel like this is a lot, but I've dropped a belt size... in fact the jeans and belt I bought over christmas are too big now! I need to add a hole in my belt!

But the scale is correct in weighing my dumbbells... so I think it's accurate! HENCE I'VE LOST 16 POUNDS SO FAR!

Here are the rest of my stats according to that site I used (scientificpsychic.com/fitness)

According to all this info I am still slightly over weight...but I am very close to being NORMAL again! I think I undid a little bit of my plan over the last week and a half with the move out and poor eating habits and lack of exercise while sitting in the car for long hours... but I'm back on schedule now!

So here we go for another month!! It's going well so far....

Living Just North of The City of Angels

The title says it all... we're here!

Sorry it's been so long since I posted... the all moving in over the weekend thing was really hectic. But we did it and are now 100% settled in... What's the next step you ask? Learn the area and find a job!

Easier said then done... at least on the job front. I'm already getting a good feel for this town... and honestly, I absolutely love it. Burbank is the perfect mix of everything I want. It's a good mix of suburban and city. It's close enough to the city and freeways, that I can get anywhere I want in Los Angeles quickly (unless traffic strikes!) but it's just far enough away that it is its on little city. It has shopping very close by, a beautiful downtown shopping/walking area... free parking everywhere, bus stops, rail stations, the airport... it's very self sustaining and very friendly. There a parks everywhere and since it's sunny and warm here a lot, it's really perfect.

Sarah and I really like our apartment too... it's not too big, but not too small either. It's very homey now too after we decorated and unpacked everything!

Not too much else to report in terms of the living situation... Sarah has a job interview today, so let's hope it goes well for her! I have a meeting with a contact through a friend of my Dad's, but it could still prove to be very helpful in being pointed in the right direction for work!

A few stories about how experiences moving into the area though... just for the sake of having something to give you all to talk about! I told you in the last post about the fruit that was taken from us as we crossed into California at one of their inspection stations... so I won't go into that. But then there was another story.... it was Friday, the day we arrived to move in. The truck was to be delivered and dropped off that afternoon... then I get a call, "You're truck has been quarantined!" It was a long fiasco that resulted in me having to call the State Agriculture Department, who then told me I could still get my truck, but after I moved in I would have to call the local inspection office and they would come out and inspect some of the things we had in our truck...so I call them after we move in and we talked about a few of their "concern items" and then they decided we were ok and there was no need for an inspector to come out. SOOO, in the end it was a lot of headache for nothing!

The reason for their concern though was over Gypsy Moths. I got a huge lesson about these as I talked to everyone from the Agriculture Departments.... They are Moths that are not native to America... but they now live in a lot of eastern states. The states have been quarantined for these pests... so states that don't have them have inspections for incoming materials, both commercial and residential. The don't want it spreading... I understand all of this, but it was still a big headache that I feel could've been better handled between the trucking company and the state.

But alas, that is all I have! If you want to see photos of our place, you can see them on Sarah's Facebook (you must be friends with her to see them) or you can contact one of us and we'd be happy to show you them! (Or if you have Skype, perhaps we could give you a virtual tour like we did for our parents!)

Until my next post, enjoy the snow East Coast! SUCKERS!