2021 - The Year of the NDA
Hey Jacob,
Okay so 2021. The year of the NDA. I did some cool stuff this year but can’t talk about it in specifics yet, which is challenging for me because I tend to think about the time that has passed in terms of projects undertaken.
So let’s pop open the Martinelli’s and celebrate what I can talk about.
This year I was able to live independently with a creative career. I started the year as a puzzle designer working on a soon-to-be-released video game, and then halfway through the year transitioned to working full time as a toy designer at Marky Sparky Toys. I learned a bunch about both industries and where I want to see myself in them in the years to come. And I got to design some slammin’ puzzles and toys that should be entertaining the public by the end of 2022.
However, those great opportunities did come at the hidden expense of not being able to develop my own creative brand/creative identity. My design Instagram went all but silent and my personal research and development slowed to a crawl. This year I found working full time to be a lot more creatively draining than being a full-time student in college, and I had to learn how to become a lot more selective about where to put my creative energies in my far more limited spare time.
In short: 2021 was a lot of good things, and it was also a grind of working for other people’s creative endeavors at the expense of some of my own. I don’t regret that in the slightest, I learned and grew far more than I could on my own, but I’m hoping in 2022 to take back a bit of that creative control in my life. I think my creative identity and future are worth a lot more than $x per hour, so I can’t keep selling it for that.
This year was also a big year for me as a writer and comic. One of my goals last year was to write 3 full length plays this year, and though that didn’t quite happen, I did get pretty close. Here’s the final tally:
A full rewrite of Emma and Richie’s Big Viking Funeral! that admittedly turned out a little bit of a hot mess but it’s a full length and I wrote it so we’re counting it
A new attempt at Christmastown turned out really good and I’m excited to keep developing. I started that draft mid-October with the goal of finishing it by Dec 5 (the last day of Hanukkah this year) and I managed to make that happen, so it’s nice to know I’m always at most two and a half months away from a completed draft of a full length play.
Two one acts (A Bigger Slice and Penalty Box) written for a special one act festival. Neither one got selected in the festival but they were a fun challenge to write.
And Webber (from 2020) got picked for a New Works Festival that is going up next week.
And I applied for a couple more writing fellowships and things that I am still waiting to hear back from, but regardless of their decisions it’s nice to be taking writing more seriously and applying for these opportunities.
While on the comic side I developed a couple of stand up comedy acts within the Happy Puppet Hour brand and performed them in San Diego and LA with the new friends made at the Just Tryna Make Friends Show!
And finally, on the personal side I moved out of my parent’s house this year and lived independently with Zane and Isabel which has been so nice. Escondido has been a great transitional hometown to explore this year.
Now for looking ahead!
I am moving to Los Angeles early next year! Ever since the start of the pandemic it’s been my superobjective to get back to LA, and after 2 years it’s finally happening. I’m excited to get back up there. I feel like a part of myself has been on pause ever since I had to abruptly move back home, and I’m ready to start living in the moment again instead of waiting for it to resume.
Though that does raise the question…for almost two years I have been chasing the carrot of returning to LA, what will I do once I get there?
I guess future me will have the answer.
Let’s drop some more goals!
Prioritize friends and family. You’re going to be living alone in LA, so make sure to keep friends and family around you so you don’t fall off the map.
Keep up the exercising! You did a good job the first half of this year, and a not-so-good job the second half. Let’s bring that good job energy back.
Write 3 full-length plays by the end of the year. Your perspective on writing grew a lot this last year, keep it going.
Design/build a physical themed experience. You didn’t get to do this one in 2021, but in 2022 you’ll have the people and resources around you to make it happen.
Alright that’s it for now, Happy New Year and have fun out there.
Jacob