It is a clear night, if we’re lucky, and we can see the hazy lights casting from the skyscrapers to my backyard, but that isn’t enough. We’ll drive past the scandalous liquor and lingerie stores that we feared as kids on Ventura Boulevard to Laurel Canyon.  Turning to go into the canyon, the excitement begins.  We are following the glows that are cast from the glamour of the city. Our car comes to a stop as we hit Mulholland Drive.  We make a sudden decision to turn right.  Our car coasts freely around the curvy road that seems to resemble the rebellion and freedom of Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde. 

We pull over to one of the lookout points to fathom the sea of lights and the decades of stories that illuminate them. As the warm wind blows, we light up a smoke and pass it around while listening to the timeless sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and The Beatles.  There is a city of millions below us, but right now we are the only ones that matter. The rush of media, the fractured dreams of inspiring artists, the problems of celebrities that have too much money and the “success” of corporate millionaires are nowhere in sight.  Some say that it is a city of disappointment, but we’re doing just fine. 

After a few minutes, we jump in the car and head down the hill.  We stop to get a midnight snack at Henry’s Tacos and then separate to go home.  We take the 101 to the 405.  Once my brother and I get home, I go out to my porch again and stare at the lights.  For tonight, the lights were enough.  There was no need to go into the city; maybe it would disappoint us.  Maybe the city is not as great as we imagine.  However, we wouldn’t know because we’re separated by the hill.  The glamour that is cast over the mountain is enough to make us hopeful.

We are living our dreams through the illumination over the hill.  The glimpse of glamour is just enough.  The mystery holds our desire.  One day, we’ll explore the other side of the hill.  We’ll see if it is what we want.  It may work out for some of us and won’t for others.  But it is the dream that keeps us so anxious.  The possibility of success is just a few miles away.  If it doesn’t work out, we’ll come back to the valley.  At least we know that we’ll feel comfortable.  We’ll leave the entertainment industry behind and become doctors or lawyers or something.  But for now, it is all about the dream.

I saw a trailer for Josiah’s Angels Undercover documentary this morning.  As many at Warner know (and those that read my blog know,) filming with Josiah turned into a lot more than just a video shoot for me.  The three minute trailer could have quite possibly made every moment, every emotion, every fear and all anxiety that I felt over the last four months TOTALLY worth it.

There is something extremely special and close to heart hitting the masses in early 2009.  I can not wait.

I know that I haven’t updated recently, so I’m making a promise to myself that I’ll add a few more posts this week. I’ve tried to put all my energy into school because jumping into a new school with an entire year of credits already completed means that you need to start your major immediately.

I’ve met some great people so far and I’ve been having a blast. A friend from back home and definitely my best friend at Emerson, Alex, and I had some time to get around the city the other day. We jumped on some walls and took some crazy pictures. The pictures are a bit different then anything else that I’ve taken. I’d love to hear your thoughts – shoot me an e-mail!

It is obvious that I didn’t clean before I took these pictures.

I’ve been in Boston for over a week now and I am finally starting to get the groove down. As orientation came and went, the Emerson freshmen came together as a class. Since I’m a sophomore transfer student, things were a little different. It makes sense that the college would want to cater to the freshmen, but I seem to have been left to figure things out on my own. It did help, however, that my friend Alex from Los Angeles is a freshman – so I attended many of the freshman class activities.

Emerson College is a very specific school in terms of majors and programs. Since the majority of the students came for theatre and film, the class is very determined, excited and flamboyant. (If you know me well, you’d know that I’m attending Emerson for marketing rather than film or photography…) Colored hair and male students in neon skirts seem to be very common. I’m excited to finally be surrounded by extremely passionate and determined students since I didn’t have this in high school. The neon colors are going to take some time to get used to and seem to get in the way of making friends. So Alex and I left the student activities behind and explored the city. (I tend to enjoy exploring and pondering more than bonding…)

We’ve walked and walked – and walked, tore the city apart, built it back up, gave it a piece of mind and complimented it (I know that you’ve heard that before…) We’ve spent countless hours hanging out on the Boston Common playing with beastly – and unafraid – squirrels, listening to crying babies and talking about what we should do next. We’ve let our stomachs call the shots, so we’ve consumed more junk food then I ever imagined that I would in college. In some mysterious fashion, half of my clothing was misplaced in transit so we’ve spent a good portion of our time hunting down Urban Outfitters and American Apparel. We’ve wandered back to the dorms to watch episodes of The Office, as well as Fight Club and American Psycho. We’ve walked the streets of Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway Park, North End, Harvard Square and Allston. One night, we set out on a journey and got stuck in heavy rain. Unfortunately, we had to venture back to campus through huge puddles drenched by water.

It is certainly lonely moving to an unfamiliar city. The sirens don’t stop and the air is hot. It has been kind of difficult getting around and as I get on the T to go to class, it seems that every song on my iPod reminds me of my friends and previous projects back home. This is something that I expected and I’m sure that I’ll continue to be homesick, but I’m still extremely hopeful and excited for the new semester.

I know that this has turned into more of a ramble than a proper entry, but I’ll give you something good later. I haven’t had time to take pictures (my gigantic camera seems to be too much of a hassle to carry around), so I’ll be sure to get some good stills when things calm down.

Hope all is well with everyone. Take care.