Guest Blog: The Completism of Extremes

My favorite person in New York City, the lovely Cathlin, picks up the overwhelming slack of this past week for me with a guest post and in the process shows why she is the most awesome person in this crazy city. Thanks, Cath! - Ryan

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”

Our dear friend Kurt Vonnegut, in “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.”

I think this quote quite accurately sums up the experiences of a film student/Sound Guy, as Ryan refers to himself as of late. There’s no shortage of extremes - weather (working outside in 10 degree weather? check), working hours (all night? 24 hour + shoots? 6am post New Years Eve celebration call times? triple check), and so on. We won’t even get into the fact that winter is probably not Ryan’s favorite season. Yet in these extremes is a learning experience like no other, as well as the chance to exercise mind over body control. And let’s not forget the power of keeping one’s sanity in the midst of chaos, which Ryan has done remarkably well.

The shoot that recently wrapped, in Virginia (see below posts for detailed accounts of it), is probably the most fitting example of the extremes. Filming on a holiday! And continuing with the shoot the next day, while likely hungover! Not easy tasks, my friends. I say this with no knowledge of this type of work, as I recovered from my post New Year’s hangover in bed. All day. While Ryan and crew were making movie magic, working through the fuzziness that too much celebration and champagne elicit.

In some ways, the life of a Sound Guy is perfect for Ryan, with his superb ability for introspection, dedication to detail, and ability to sleep in between takes (seriously, these skills seem to be equally important). But above all else, as Vonnegut puts so succinctly, is the ability to be kind. Also, inherent in this statement (I think, at least) is that a person needs to find joy before they can truly be kind.

The ability to find joy in everything you do is basically the holy grail. I don’t know how, but at 23, Ryan has seemed to find this. While at times it may only be a glimmer of happiness, this serves as an elixir so strong that a drop is enough.

So to summarize, I have a few other friends I’d like to quote:

“Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's all right.
Little darling it's been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling it feels like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's all right.”

The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun.” Which reminds me of the fact that a really good break from crazy work weeks is playing Beatles Rock Band with a slightly less overworked, but still stressed, friend. Just a thought.

Signing out,
Cathlin (the Sound Guy’s friend mentioned above)

Check out Cath's blog here! I'll be darned if you're not inspired by it.