Wow, it's been awhile (for me at least) so I'll try to be as brief as possible:

I went to an Alias User's Group Meeting (basically 3D geeks) and listened to a presentation by a small studio as well as from Sony Imageworks and their spiel on The Haunted Mansion. Visually, it seems a spectacular movie. Main thing I learned, though, is not that there aren't enough jobs out there (though I think the large studios are going through a lot of down-sizing also), but that that there is more work than jobs out there. Basically, the typical work week of a 3D artist in the middle of a project is 10 to 12 hours a day 6 days a week, and right before a deadline, it's not uncommon for 48-hr work days. Which of course is making me wonder how the heck you fit 48 hrs in a 24-hr day. Anyway, so it's making me wonder. I love this stuff, but do I love it enough? I mean, while I was watching the Primetime special this past Thursday where they went on the set of pick-up shots for Return of the King, I was just going nuts (as you do when you're watching TV by yourself... it's lame, but y'know how some teenage girls go nuts when they see their fave boy band on the TV? I get that way about behind-the-scenes stuff of my favorite movies.) and wishing I could have been a part of it. I mean, it's gotta be passion (or ignorance) to want to be a part of it that much, right?

Anyway, so it was a bit of soul-searching to figure out if I'm willing to take the bad with the good. I asked one of my teachers who used to work at Sony Imageworks (the one who told me about the work schedule) how anybody has a life or sees their family. He looked at me and said, "They don't." Maybe my joking about how I'll never get married will come true.

I'll post my schedule tomorrow. I gotta be working on my project anyway. For the soundtrack, I'm thinking "We'll Build a Bungalow" though I'm not sure what to do about images. Should I get Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel, or do something completely different?

I told the assistant manager not to call me in for work today if it gets busy (like they normally do) just cuz I'm so tired. It worked. Lots of sleep. Though my recent paycheck showed the difference. But I worked enough in the past three months to qualify for stock investment options. Perhaps I'll get something for insurance sometime soon too. Though I wonder if it would be worth it to pay for medical insurance considering how little I used it when I did have it. 'course, I'm not as young and strong as I used to be. I'm even debating about whether dental would be worth it. I'll have to see. I mean, it's not like they've even offered it already.