So Long…For Now

March 25, 2022

A little over three years ago, I gathered together with members of my team at work to share some personal news.  On the one hand, I was excited about starting the next step of my life’s journey, but it was also a difficult message I was about to deliver.  I had decided to leave the company I had known for 17 years of my career, having spent the last four years working closely with this group of colleagues who had become like members of my family (me being the old dad, of course). 

Our company had recently been purchased by another company and the bulk of my previous two years had been working on that deal, a rewarding but grueling journey that left me ready to move on to something different.  In my time at this company, I had changed jobs about every two years, being fortunate enough to have had great opportunities come my way.  But I had been in this current position for four years, so I was overdue for a change.  However, when I looked around at the possibilities at the company, I realized that I had accomplished everything I had ever hoped to at that company and nothing else appealed to me.  Not to mention the team I worked with.  At my farewell gathering, I told them that I felt like a football coach who had just won back-to-back Super Bowls with one of the greatest teams of all time.  How could I top that?  After the deal closed, my new boss wanted me to stay on, and I did for a little bit, but when I thought about what I wanted to do next, I had this nagging feeling that it needed to be something dramatically different.  So, I gathered my team together and told them that I was moving on.  And I managed to (barely) keep my emotions in check because of how much I cared about them.

Why all of the reminiscing?  Well, not nearly as big of a deal as walking away from a major company, but I’ve come to a similar realization when it comes to this blog. 

Being a List Guy

When I started this little hobby in the Fall of 2019, I kept a list (shocker, I know) of topics I could write about.  I knew I would do a number of pieces about the current year in film (previews, recaps, top ten lists, etc.), but I also figured I could spotlight some of my favorite directors and actors.  And through this journey, I revisited some of my favorite movies, but also discovered a whole new world of films that I hadn’t experienced.  In the process, I managed to cover some big names in the industry, including David Fincher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Howard, Tom Cruise, Jodie Foster, Amy Adams, Wes Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, and Paul Thomas Anderson, among others.  I also found some creativity when I needed a topic for the week by writing about different genres – high-school comedies, horror movies, movie soundtracks (thanks for the idea Jean!), and actors, musicians, and directors who took risks.  And of course, being a music lover, I had to cover some of my favorites – Springsteen, The Beatles, and Taylor Swift.  So, if this has been so much fun, why hang it up?  Well, a few reasons.

I was recently updating my topic list for the rest of 2021 and early 2022, figuring out where to slot in pieces that I knew I would cover, especially my year-in-review series and my Oscar preview.  As I was updating my spreadsheet (shocker, I know), I realized that I was coming up on 100 posts.  It was kind of a “Holy Shit” moment, but not that hard to do the math – about once a week for a little over two years easily adds up to 100.  But, it kind of made me pause for a minute. 

Granted, I do still have a handful of topics on my list I could write about, including a few of my favorite actors and directors that I haven’t yet covered.  And I could continue to write about the state of the industry (which I find fascinating as it represents an intersection of two of my interests – business and entertainment) and the current year in movies.  But I started to wonder if I wanted to keep going with this little venture, stop it all together, or put the brakes on for a bit and leave the door open to return.  I’ve decided on the latter.  And I think it’s because I came to the same realization when I left my job three years ago – I’ve kind of achieved everything I wanted to with this little hobby.  I set out to do this to scratch a creative itch that I never had the time or energy to do, and to give me an excuse to see new movies and catch up on older ones I never got around to watch.  Here is my origin story in case you never read it.

Things Have Changed

When I started this blog, I knew movies and music would be the bulk of what I would write about, thinking that I might also sprinkle in some of my observations on other things going on in the world, or random life experiences.  That, of course, changed dramatically two years ago.  Not only was my main source of content thrown into turmoil, all of our lives were turned upside down by the pandemic.  Throughout the last two years, I’ve taken a few detours to share my views on topics way outside the world of Hollywood.  I actually found it to be quite cathartic and a good way to channel my feelings into a creative outlet, almost like a journaling exercise, even if it was shared publicly.

Now, things have gotten a lot better since the start of the pandemic and while we will likely have ebbs and flows of concerns going forward, it certainly feels like we have turned a corner toward a more normal way of life.  And with the weather turning to Spring (finally!) in New England, I am looking forward to spending more time outside and on the golf course, and less time behind the keyboard.  I’ve also noticed that my interest in reading has taken a back burner to this project, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my long list of books to read.  That being said, I’ll still be checking out plenty of movies, and some of those may spark an interest to write again.

The deciding factor in putting this blog on pause was the increased level of activity in my volunteer work.  Almost two years ago, I joined an organization that provides free mentoring services to small business owners.  I get to work one on one with clients who are looking for help in getting a new business off the ground, or improving the operations of their existing business.  We also teach workshops and I run our chapter’s workshop program and teach a number of classes as well.  It’s been an amazing experience to stretch myself in a different direction, meet a group of people from all walks of life that I would never have interacted with in my prior career and most importantly, give back to the community.  With my increased activity with this organization, I’ve found less and less time to devote to writing, but that’s ok – in fact, it’s a great thing. 

My favorite part of my career was teaching and mentoring people I worked with.  Yes, I got to attend meetings with senior executives and be involved in important discussions about major topics.  And while that was pretty neat and interesting, it wasn’t my favorite part of the job.  It was helping people work through an issue with their career, teach them something new, or help them advance in their career, taking their own next step in their life’s journey.  And that’s probably why that meeting with my team was so hard because I was not only saying goodbye to them, but also to something I really liked doing.  But, with my new organization, I’ve been able to scratch that itch again.

So, as I wrap up post #100, it’s hard to say what comes next for my writing, except to say I will be on an extended break – timing TBD.  I would put the odds at better than 50/50 that I will get the creative itch again at some point this year – likely to share my thoughts about something fantastic that I’ve seen, a multi-part series on the best films of 2022, or something I haven’t even considered yet.  But that’s down the road.  In the meantime, the site will still be up, so as you catch up on any films on your watch list, you can always visit my Film Index here to find where I wrote about the movie.  And be sure to check out some of the newer films coming out this year – there’s a reason I did this jumbo sized preview last week, as I knew I’d be on an extended break. 

One more thing….

I couldn’t finish this post without one last word about movies.  The Oscars are this Sunday and I know I take the handing out of trophies to celebrities too seriously, but it is still a good reminder of why we love movies.  I’m not sure if the ceremony itself will be good – I’m not wild about the hosts, but I’m going to try to ignore the bad and awkward jokes.  I’m tuning in to watch the celebration of the best performances and creative work of those who bring compelling stories to the big screen.  Having learned so much about the industry the last few years, I’m still fascinated to see how these teams of people pull it off.  When it works, it can truly be magical. 

And with the award season winding down, there has been a recent grassroots campaign for CODA (my favorite film of 2021) as Best Picture.  The acting team won for Best Ensemble at the Screen Actor Guild Awards (resulting in an emotional speech by co-star Marlee Matlin), the film’s writer-director Sian Heder won the Best Adapted Screenplay award at the BAFTA awards (British Oscar equivalent), and the movie just won the Producers’ Guild Award for Best Picture, all signs that there could be a CODA upset at the Oscars Sunday night.  It’s been fun to see so much love for a film that I gushed about 14 months ago when I first watched it. 

Now, by the time you read this, the front-runner The Power of the Dog could be the winning film, but for a few days, I’ve got hope that we see the underdog win it all.  Because, after two incredibly tough years for so many people, wouldn’t it be nice to recognize a heartwarming story of a family overcoming life’s challenges and reminding us all that there’s nothing more important than family and reinforcing why we love movies so much?

Thanks so much for reading all of my crazy observations the last two (plus) years and for the support and feedback.  As I mentioned, I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but you can subscribe here to receive an email when I do.