Gareth Taylor's Thoughts

New start

2009-04-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's been a month already since I wrote the last post. Sorry for being lazy, or should I say busy... Yes believe it or not I've finally started getting busy. After two awfully slow months, march proved a little better. Our film now has a title: "Puffer Fish" is almost done with post production and we just obtained the rights to two great songs for it. We're very happy. My involvement in it was as the lead actor as I mentioned in my last post. It was fun but I don't know how soon you'll see me stepping in front of the lens again...I was also credited as a producer which is nice and something I can actually throw on my resume. As soon as we have a trailer online I'll post a link here. We'll start submitting it to film festivals shortly.
Aside from "Puffer Fish", I put a lot of time and effort in a project that I am not to disclose any information about (yes I signed a contract). All I can say is that it was a time consuming yet fulfilling experience. As director of photography I had to learn and use a 3D modeling software to design the set and was given a lot of freedom with lighting. So I had a good time and our producers were very happy.
As for these days I'm prepping a feature that I will be chief lighting technician on (sounds way more important than "gaffer"). We start next week so a lot of my time has been put into getting the equipment list together with the DP. I'm also learning about scaffolding as we'll need to have light fixtures 20ft up in front of second floor windows.
I also updated my website with some new pictures and subtle enhancements. This one to the left I took just over a year ago in Lesotho. Probably my favorite one. Such warm and welcoming people. The kids are adorable and so excited to see foreigners. I need to write more about our trip down there. Another thing on my list. In the meantime I'm trying to get caught up with everything else before next week when my life will be stripped away from me for the shoot.
All else is good. Ideas have been brewing in my head lately and I'm getting close to wanting to sit down and start writing again. It's been a long time since I've put a story together. I think I'll approach things differently this time around. I want to take baby steps.
Alright this is about it for now. I'll try to get back here before the start of the shoot. All the best.

Void...

2009-03-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

...of much to say these days. It's march and I wonder why I'm writing on this blog. Is it for me or for whoever (if anyone) reads these sporadic thoughts. Work is practically inexistant in my life. Three days of paid work in february. Only two lined up for this month so far. Where is this going? I'm trying not to think too much about it these days.
This week was quite busy though as me and the good ol' film school crew got together and shot a fun short. It was filmmaking at its barest. Guerilla all the way. One shot scenes. Improv to the max. Working the scene til we got to where we needed to be. An awesome experience. How to make a nice little thing come alive with no money and tons of creativity. Love it. Oh, and I was in front of the camera this time around. Had been years since I did anything acting wise. But definitely the most I did ever. Great times with great friends. That's what it should be about. It's encouraging and inspring to see what we could do with the bare minimum.
Switching gears, I have to mention how disturbed I was walking on State Street in Santa Barbara yesterday. I felt like Travis Bickel contemplating the cocktail of just-out-of-puberty college freshmen and human waste that floods the sidewalks and shops of the area. Did I not pay attention last time I was here or is it that something changed? The students is a given. But the amount of bums and filthy people really surprised and irritated me. From block to block, benches are occupied by homeless ranging from the younger rebel kids to the disabled immigrant playing guitar and mumbling a spanish song to the middle-aged bearded man having a conversation with an imaginary listener. From the tourist hating bum at the beach trying to get "tips" for making a sand castle to a guy up the street holding a fishing poll with a cup at the end of the line, I felt like telling other beggars along the way that they should find another occupation because there's too much competition. Walking out of a clothing store I thought I was entering a freak show. You go to Venice Beach, you expect it and it's part of the culture. But here in "gorgeous up-scale historic" Santa Barbara it doesn't quite pan out the same way. It really feels like people have a good excuse to become drifters and homeless. Being a bum is a job nowadays. And with the economy being in the shitter it almost makes perfectly good sense.
I'll end my cynical journey with a note on the oscars. Hugh Jackman started the show mentioning the tough economical times only to jump into his musical number. In a time of recession you'd think Hollywood would maybe tone things down a little and not put on a show that obviously cost millions of dollars while people out there watching are losing their homes and jobs. It's absolutely disgusting. There's no sense of moral ethics. It's all about money. Hollywood is capitalizing on the economical crisis like no other industry. They recorded the best january and february ticket sales ever. People need movies to escape. Hollywood's hypocrisy is mind blowing. One day they honor the departed by giving Heath Ledger a deserved oscar. At the same time Terry Gilliam can't even find a US distributor for Ledger's last film which also features Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrel. Seriously?!

Trial and error

2009-02-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

As you can see I've not been super inspired to write this month. It's been really hard seeing the days and weeks go by without work showing up. So far this year I've had one day of paid work (last weekend)... A little scary. People are having a rough time all around. The low-budget independent film world is suffering quite heavily form the economical crisis. 3 out 4 jobs on craigslist are for unpaid positions. Some postings are flat out ridiculous. People asking for the world for nothing in return. What to do now? I've been pondering on this for a while. Answers come and go. Right now the urgency is in feeling productive and creative. If I'm not going to get paid for working, I might as well do something that'll satisfy my need for creation. So in the coming weeks I'll be collaborating on a couple little projects with unemployed friends of mine. It'll give us an opportunity to not only do something productive but also work together on a stress free no strings attached project, which should be refreshing. I'm very excited about it. The first project will involve me stepping back in front of the camera, something I haven't done in years. It should be interesting. I look forward to channeling all this energy into a character. Then later I'll jump back behind the camera to create something that'll most likely be shot in the desert. Aside from that I'm always thinking of pushing my photography in different directions. I played with water the other day as you can see on the left. I also spent a couple hours downtown capturing the evening scene. It's a time of many reflections, and while applying for jobs on a daily basis I can only go with the flow and be as productive as I can.

As we advance

2009-02-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, so it's already February! I have no idea where January went. I have nothing to show for it. All I did was spend my time looking for work, going to a few interviews and bitching to my other unemployed peers how damn hard it is to find a gig these days. Oh, sorry, I did win at poker last week. $40! And another $50 I'd won in Vegas a few days before. So I almost made it to a 100 bucks. That's my revenue for the month. An all time record. And guess what, rent is due today...
Anyway, as I mentioned above I was in Vegas about ten days ago. Not to party or drink myself to oblivion, but for a job. Unpaid. To help a friend. But everything was taken care of so I thought a couple days away from LA and my computer wouldn't kill me. It turned out to be a really fun time. I actually got a little taste of VIP treatment. Without going into too many details on how and why, my friend and I ended up getting a lift from Jay Leno. We flew there and back on a private jet, and had a limo to take us from and to the airport. Not too bad. We weren't working for Jay but he had a show in Vegas so it worked out well.
We stayed at the Palms where we had a room comped and were put on the lists to all the clubs in the city. So we took advantage of that and checked out the clubs at the Palms. The following day we shot a show at the Playboy comedy club. It felt really good being in Vegas for a productive purpose and made for a very different experience. And I came back with that extra fifty in my pocket. For the first time I wasn't leaving sin city broke and hungover. On the way back we talked movies and Jay voiced his deep "hatred" for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Needless to say we had some good laughs. After being dropped off at NBC, I hopped in my well dented truck and made my way back home to my job quest. It was a short parenthesis in this month of "cruel disillusions" (for dramatic purpose).
But it has been a rough month work wise. I'm at a point where I would take on an internship if it were at the right place. But even that's hard to come by. I applied for a couple and nothing. So basically I can't even work for free. What the hell! January is notoriously slow though. The threat of a sag strike might also be to blame, as well the economy probably. But it feels different for some reason. Maybe it also has something to do with me. I have high expectations for this year so my patience is probably lesser than it would normally be.
So I'll just go on and scour job listings. Something will pop up sooner or later. I took advantage of my free time to go see "The Dark Knight" on IMAX today and was blown away. Films like this inspire me so much that I walk out of there pumped and ready to move on to great things. It's so energizing. I also have to mention "Frozen River" which I saw yesterday. Really well written, structured and put together. It takes you on an interesting ride. You never know what the characters are going to do. I knew nothing about it and was pleasantly surprised.

We made it!

2009-01-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yes we did!
This morning was an emotional moment watching our new president take oath. His speech was another very inspiring one and it filled me with joy, pride, confidence, and yes, tears. We can now finally look ahead and hope things fall into place sooner than later. It was a crazy year of politics and I'm glad it's over with. All the talking, debating, arguing and discussing were exhausting to me; and I was only here for the last few months of it all!

A year ago to the day I was in South Africa giving my thoughts about the possible outcome of the primaries to very curious locals. Interestingly enough most South Africans and Namibians we ran into throughout our journey thought Hillary would be a better candidate to the presidency and ultimately a better symbol of change.

During the same period Zimbabwe was gearing up for its general election. The people we met from there were all refugees who had fled the oppressive government of Robert Mugabe. Last year their country experienced the highest hyperinflation rise in the history of the world topping 100'000%. Yes, that's one hundred thousand percent! Just to illustrate the consequences, today thirty US dollars will buy you one hundred trillion Zimbabwean dollars (100'000'000'000)... If anyone is ready for change, it's the people of Zimbabwe. So the election took place and amidst high fears of corruption, Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader beat Mugabe at the polls. At last the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) had prevailed. My friends Anthony and his wife Celina, both from Zimbabwe and awaiting to see their five year-old daughter for the first time in two years were incredibly relieved to say the least. It was an emotional experience living through those days with them while awaiting the results.
But wait! T.I.A. (This Is Africa), and to cut the story short, as of today, after another bogus election last summer Mugabe is still in power and shows no sign of giving up what he believes is his "duty". Starving and brutalizing your own people? We obviously don't have the same concept of leadership.

So my point is... you might wonder. Well it's pretty clear. Today we celebrated the result of a fair and stable democratic process and I can only be thankful to be a part of it and have the privilege of living in a country where laws are upheld with respect and dignity. Even if the sight of Bush's helicopter disappearing in the sky over Washington was an image I could only dream of a few years ago, I know the guy (with all his flaws and mistakes) tried his best... in some way. What I'm saying is that even if the outcome of november's election wasn't what he favored, he handed power over with a smile and was willing to help with the transition because he respects the values by which our nation was founded.

Eight years of endless frustration, intense anger and unparalleled embarrassment have finally come to an end, thanks to a process that has been maintained by our leaders and the people for over two hundred years. I can only hope that the people of Zimbabwe and of all nations lead by oppressive regimes will once experience fairness and the satisfaction of believing in their government. This is a great day for Americans and for the rest of the world. Lets hope this new start can spark change in other places and trigger a dynamic movement of renewal around the globe.

As for Anthony and Celina, although they can't call Zimbabwe home anymore, they were reunited with their beautiful daughter Natasha a month after I left them in Cape Town. So when we lack hope, there's always love to fall back onto.

Cheers to Obama, Mr President!!!

2009 - the year of Target, Craigslist and SAG

2009-01-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well I guess it's not too late to wish you a happy new year. It feels very different this time around. Not only for me personally considering I had a completely different experience last year, but everyone seems to be more "tame" and calm about it. I'm sure everyone's happy to bury 2008 but I think we're all a little fearful of this new one not knowing what's in store for us. I feel a mixture of that and excitement. I thrive on the unknown. It's scary but thrilling. It makes me feel alive.
So I haven't posted anything yet this month because aside from settling back into my old apartment (which is so great and convenient), I've spent most of my days browsing Craigslist, Mandy and all the entertainment job listings I could find. There's actually a lot out there these days. Probably the fear of a Screen Actors Guild strike is pushing many people and companies to get as much in the can as possible before the end of the month. So lets hope actors are not foolish enough to start this now. I agree there needs to be restructuring and producers need to be more fair towards performers but this is just the worst possible time for all of us to face a SAG strike.
Thinking of the tough economic times, I mentioned a couple posts back how bewildered I was at the fact that people were out shopping like crazy this holiday season. Well, guess what, it's not over. I was at Target last week getting a few things for the apartment and wholly shit I've never seen such long lines at the counter. A solid ten minute wait. They were evidently under-staffed, but there were still way too many people in there. I couldn't believe it and was almost pissed. First because I hate shopping, and second because I'd made sure to leave a buffer between the post-holiday craze and me venturing to Target. So needless to say you won't see me there anytime soon.
Now excuse me but I must continue my relentless job hunt. I hope we'll all experience great and exciting things this year, work on interesting projects (whether professionally or leisurely), and that Target will hire a few more cashiers.

What Christmas is really about

2008-12-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

So I obviously sounded highly cynical and maybe even bitter in my previous blog but I want to reassure you that I do enjoy Christmas very much and on d-day felt very much in the spirit.
It's about the little things. Giving and getting gifts is a lot of fun of course. I especially love discovering what Santa thought I should have. This year it seems they had an overstock of boxer briefs and pistachios at the North Pole. Christmas was very relaxing, just the way it should be. I spent it playing monopoly and watching TV while sipping eggnog and munching on cookies, crackers, rolls and a delicious artichoke dip among other goodies. That's what Christmas is about. Being with people you love and sharing good times. Looking at decorations and remembering those amazing feelings as a child when it was time to put up the tree and lay garlands and lights on it. Flipping through channels and seeing classic films and cartoons. There's something reassuring about this holiday. The safety of being surrounded by people you care about. The hope for goodness in the world. I remember being always fascinated by the idea that all over the world people were celebrating and doing the same things at the same time. It felt like a communion. I'd stay up watching TV and would come across the midnight mass broadcast from the Vatican. I'm not religious but it always impressed me for some reason.
Christmas reminds me of being worry-free, having no rent to pay, no food to buy, no table to set, no dishes to wash; a time when we could just wait for Santa to drop toys down the chimney. Of course as a kid I couldn't enjoy eggnog and brandy or bourbon soaked macadamia nut ice cream, or throwing in ten bucks at texas hold'em. But I also remember wondering what less fortunate and homeless people were doing at that time. Were they alone or would they get together around a fire to share food they'd found?
Growing up, aside from discovering that the world doesn't come to a stand-still to celebrate Christmas, I realized how lucky I was being brought up in a safe and loving environment. I had gifts, food and warmth.
I guess in the end, however tacky it may sound, Christmas is about being thankful for what we have and thinking of others who aren't as fortunate. If you can read this blog it means you're most likely far better off than 90% of the people on this planet. So lets not complain. I do on my blog a lot. I vent mostly about the American system because it is the structure in which I live in and it has many flaws. However I wouldn't be here if I didn't love this country. Expressing yourself is important. This blog also serves as therapy. I can say what's on my mind without being afraid to bore my girlfriend to death or stem controversy around a dinner table. I realized a few years ago that positive energy will get you much farther in life than anything else. I've been happier and more productive since then. Bitterness and cynicism don't do much for you. So to defend my previous blog, I'll say I was just being realistic, nothing else. There you go. Leave it to me to make an argument for, then an argument against, and then a final judgment. Thanks for your patience. Thanks for reading. Happy end of year and see you in '09!

The Spirit of the Holidays

2008-12-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

So I sent out my annual xmas card and among the responses one person humorously (I hope) replied that every year it was the same message. Yes it probably sounded the same. Duh. Guilty as charged. What can I say, I like the attention... or maybe it's just that every year we celebrate the same things. Sorry to all those I offended. Come on. I know my message was not tailored to every individual person I wanted to wish a happy end of year to, but spending two full days writing emails is not my idea of preparing for xmas.
On that note this year I have the hardest time getting into the spirit. After a year that felt like xmas every day and not working for the last three months, I guess I'm getting a little anxious to get back to creating and getting busy. Plus like every year xmas has been announced since Labour day in stores, on tv and all over. They blast their holiday tunes for months and by the time we get halfway to d-day you're ready to carry around a baseball bat and smash every stereo in every store.
The slogan for these holidays should be: "No matter we're in a recession, come spend whatever you have left."
I may sound cynical, but the bottom line is that even if I know and read of people suffering from financial hardship, it's hard to notice when you're walking through a mall and feel like you're in a meat packing factory the day before meat supplies are to disappear forever. Or is it that people are so disillusioned that they have to buy gifts to feel like they're not broke. Is it naivete or the "great American spirit" (whatever that means). Is it the prospect of a new president giving us confidence in the economical future of this country or simply a pride issue (not wanting others to see that you're struggling).
The media talk about how this is the worst crisis since the great depression. It's bad for sure, but we're light years from anything comparable to the early 30s. So lets not dramatize. Once again, politics of fear prevail. People in Washington wanted all these bailout plans to pass and they succeeded. No matter that no one knows today where are the 700 billion dollars (our tax money) that were unconditionally promised to banks. What's important is that we Americans united during these harsh times to help our economy get back on its feet. Right? We the people... Although I don't remember voting on that... but whatever. I have to trust that the one clown who claims to represent me and millions others knew that it would've been our vote. Trust in this day and age? Are you kidding? Well again I think we need a lot of re-structuring in this capitalist "democracy". The constitution is an old piece of paper written in a different time. Yet we hail it as the one "rule of law" by which we make decisions. Updates please! I get them on my computer every other day. We get them in dictionaries and encyclopedias every year. Everything evolves, science, medicine, economy, etc. School books are updated every other year. Yet the two "literary pillars" through which our country is run, the bible and the constitution are the same unchanged ruling textbooks. How many times can you interpret the same words?! Apparently many millions of times. Which to a normal human being should say: "hey, we can't agree on what this means. There's a problem there. Lets change it." Seriously. What the hell is going on?! Wake up damn it. No matter that everything else around has changed for hundreds and thousands of years, these two manuals apparently are timeless. Wow, then what am I waiting for? I really should get on the bandwagon and follow the undying rules of man and society. Silly me for doubting and questioning the unquestionable. On this Christmas day I should repent from all my sinful thoughts towards our one perfect nation... under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all... Yeah that sounds like it. For sure.

To get back to my initial thought, let me sound redundant in wishing everyone a merry xmas and a happy new year filled with great things.

Back in the jungle

2008-12-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

Upon my return to Los Angeles I was asked numerous times how it felt to be back and if it was different in any way.
I’ve called this town home since I moved here in early 2000 so being away for a year was not all that “shocking”. Time goes by quickly when you’re busy and not paying attention to it. The city, its people and the vibe don’t change. I do however. My eye, perception and sensitivity have evolved greatly in the past 12 months. I come back refreshed, inspired and more energized. I know what I want and everything appears a little clearer. My aspirations, dreams and desires are strengthened and reaffirmed. I have more ideas and the will to pursue what I came out here for more than ever before. My sense of values and priorities has been heightened and bettered. The list goes on as the amount of good that came from taking this time off and seeing other horizons proves incalculable.
So as you probably guessed, I'm really happy to be back. What’s exciting is the feeling of rediscovery. LA’s a very particular place. I’ve always loved it for its diversity and dynamic atmosphere above all. Everything and anything is possible here. It’s a world of its own where extremes set the structure in which people set their lives. Traffic is something I (as all of us here) could really do without and was thrown back into really fast. Spending an hour and a half driving from the westside up to the valley got me thinking yet again of how crazy it is to have all these people on the road at the same time. In just five minutes of driving I had seen more people here than in the prior month spent in Wyoming and South Dakota. Then very quickly you get back into the rhythm, living between rush hours and avoiding the bad stretches as much as possible. The way you plan your day here is different than in any other place. Reconnecting with friends has been the best part of my return. Catching up and seeing where people are in their lives is very exciting. A refreshing feeling of re-energizing relationships. It’s so important.
By the way I finally saw “The Dark Knight” last night and wow, what a rush. Incredibly inspiring filmmaking.

The "end" of an amazing journey

2008-12-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

I don't like to use the term "end" since unless death occurs, the journey of life goes on. It is the end not of the journey but of an extraordinary episode of my life. The journey continues and I am very excited for whatever comes next.
So here I am back in California. I apologize for not posting anything last week but it was a little crazy between Thanksgiving, the return to the west coast and updating my website. I hope everyone spent a nice holiday. Mine was special for many reasons. I was in Salt Lake City where I had seen Coldplay a few days before. What an awesome concert. Such great performers and just there for the love of it. It was my 30th birthday gift from Brooke. Thank you so much!
Thanksgiving was special also because it marked the last day of the amazing journey I set out on a year ago today. How fitting... I have a million things to be thankful for but I'll just mention a few. First and foremost Brooke who went on for the ride without any idea what she was getting herself into and trusted my ideas and judgments along the way (well, most of the time... I was far from always being right). Secondly my parents who have shown so much support over the years and welcomed me back home for a few months over the summer. What a great opportunity to spend all this time with them after leaving the house nearly ten years ago. Finally I want to thank all the people we came across this year and welcomed us into their homes. From South Africa to Switzerland and over to the US, we had the privilege of staying with great friends and family. Their generosity and kindness touched us enormously.
More importantly we found that we are all the same. No matter whether black, white, African, European, native American, democrat, republican, religious, atheist, healthy, sick, redneck, liberal, poor, wealthy, old or young, we all respond to the same emotions. We all love to breath fresh air, see beautiful sights, share experiences, laugh, eat, drink, etc. Where our opinions or tastes may differ, the core of our spirits remains the same throughout. And that's what gives me hope that although this world will never fully come to peace, we are working towards understanding each other a little better every day.

Connect 4

2008-11-19T12:25:00.000-08:00

Yes I re-discovered connect 4 last night and I must say it's a fun game, especially when crown royal is involved. I remember summer camps when I was in my early teens where we'd have connect 4 tournaments. Believe it! Alongside checkers and chess... I think I did fairly well back then. Yup, before video games made board games "obsolete". But who doesn't love spending money wildly at monopoly or drawing stick figures during pictionary? Really.

On another note, this morning I ran my yearly credit check and got really annoyed with the process. Federal law allows everyone to get a free annual credit report, yet the consumer reporting companies require you to enter a credit card number in order to obtain it. You get your free credit report, but if you don't cancel your new membership within a few days they charge your card. Sounds familiar doesn't it... I'm so sick and tired of this crap; companies out to screw people however they can. We're in an awfully rough economic situation where the government, media and all other supposed responsible entities tell us to show solidarity for struggling corporations (banks, auto makers, etc). Why is it always the people who are supposed to make up for mismanaged catastrophes? How about the higher political or corporate worlds act as role models for once?! We have to suffer the consequences and pick up the pieces every time. Remember a few months after the war in Iraq started when Bush told the American people to go spend their money to support the fragile economy? Wow, that sure did a lot of good in the long run, didn't it... And after Katrina rolled in, FEMA was completely incompetent dealing with the problems while Bush took forever to even react. Who ended up paying dearly? The thousands of people who to this day don't have the aid that was promised to them and have had to figure out alternate ways to survive, sometimes relying on others' help and generosity. Gotta give it to the American people for their resilience, courage and solidarity.
Isn't "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people" a common definition of democracy? So based on that, is this country really a democracy? There's way too much hypocrisy in our society. If ideas were actually carried out the way they're sold to us, then consumer reporting companies would be the first ones to encourage people to use their free annual credit report and not try to sneak people's money into their pockets. Times are tough and businesses need to make money to stay afloat and keep offering jobs. I'm fully aware of that. However it does not justify unethical behavior. We're all in it together. There are always those using times like these to make money off of others' miseries. I believe Obama will bring much good to this country but until something is done to tame the overly capitalist nature of this society people will always end up suffering the consequences of big business mismanagement.

But to end on a positive note, my credit report came back real good and I kicked ass at connect 4 last night!

Home travels and ethnic imbalance

2008-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

One thing I was reminded of while traveling is that it’s important to see your own country. In the last few weeks I’ve seen amazing places. From Connecticut to Massachusetts and from South Dakota (The Badlands pictured here) to Wyoming, I was fortunate to see some amazing sights. This country has so much diversity. It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to live here and discover these wonders.
While in South Africa earlier this year I came across travelers from all around the world. I also came across many locals wandering around their own country. To them it made more sense discovering their own backyard than traveling abroad. More than the fact that the South African rand doesn’t get one as far as the American dollar, they are truly interested in getting to know their own heritage, one that has been disputed since the first European settlers disembarked on the southern shores of the African continent. As much as I agree with their philosophy, I do think it’s just as important to see what else this world has to offer, provided you’re fortunate enough to do so. I’m finding out that traveling abroad has made me that much more sensitive to the great things I’m discovering here in the United States.

South Africa has a lot in common with the US but what stands out is an incredible diversity in landscapes and ethnicities. This is a land that has seen much ethnic inequality and injustice. After the end of apartheid the world saw something extraordinary happen in Nelson Mandela becoming the first “man of color” elected to the presidency. An era of oppression had finally come to an end. But the antagonism between blacks and whites did not end there. I found that even if this country has come a long way in less than twenty years, it will be many more decades before any resentment is forgotten and a sense of equality settles in.
In the US we just took a big step in electing a non-white to the presidency for the first time. A wave of hope swept through the world showing how important this election was to more than just the American people. But as we all know the wounds of the past are not quite healed and we still have a long way to go before a real sense of mutual respect sets in. Having experienced this election in a very republican part of the country, I am that much more aware of it. It didn’t take more than a couple days before I started hearing some highly distasteful racial “jokes” on Obama. A lot of people here still use the “n” word and talk about blacks as savages. The civil rights act is more than four decades old yet around here it sometimes feels like that notion is inexistent. As much excitement I get from looking forward to january 20th, I realize that we have a very long way to go, not just to fix the economy but to reach a true sense of equality.

Change

2008-11-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

“I believe in America.”

The opening words of “The Godfather” capture best what I feel today.

I choose this day to start publishing my blog because no other day have I felt so inspired. I have been thinking and wanting to write for quite a while now as this year has been a very special and different one for me. But it is on this day that I find the greatest inspiration to begin recounting the tales of the past months.

Change is what I needed and on dec. 4th of last year I embarked on a journey that I knew was going to be extraordinary without possibly imagining the outcome. Around that same time Barack Obama was speaking to people about change and his vision for a better America in the first stages of the presidential primaries.

Ever since he announced his run for the presidency, I have firmly believed and never doubted he would be our next president. He stole the show at the 2004 democratic national convention and sparked my hopes for something great to happen in this country. At that time of course I was hoping for a different outcome and when John Kerry lost I began losing hope again. Four years prior to that we’d seen a very divided America elect George W. Bush after a process that made me realize that with all its promises, this country isn’t the democracy it claims to be. How a candidate can win more votes than his opponent and still lose blows my mind. The electoral college system needs to be revised. It isn’t fair and I don’t understand how we went through this very controversial 2000 election and didn’t think to ourselves: “lets make some changes.”

On this day I can finally say my hopes are back and I am excited to start believing in this country again. What a good feeling. Because I do love this place so much for so many reasons, but have been so discouraged and frustrated over the years that I caught myself being angry more than anything else. I have spent this past year in many different countries and have heard many bad things about the US. Often times I didn’t feel safe saying I was American and found myself pretending to be from Canada... What a shame. I want to be proud of the passport I carry. And now I can be again as the world now knows that we Americans are ready to head into a new direction and get back on track.

Ironically I spent this election day in Wyoming, a hardcore republican state. I wore my Obama t-shirt proudly even though the dry cold forced me to put some layers over it... The minute CNN was announcing Obama as the president elect on the radio, I was entering a coal mine where I was taken on a night tour and showed the very impressive heavy machinery and coal mining process. I even got to drive a 240 ton capacity 2700 horsepower haul truck! And I thought I was the man when I drove a 600 hp Lamborghini a few years back...

I would’ve preferred being in Chicago or on Times Square of course, but at the same time it was quite an experience to feel completely isolated from the world in a science-fiction setting watching people working as if it was just another day, reminding me that although we have many reasons to celebrate, we also need to keep working hard towards better days.