A New York Minute

So I'm standing on a side street in the village and a guy walks past me holding a bottle of wine on his way to spend time with some friends. He's greeted at the railing of a nice brownstone apartment building as he makes his way up the steps. This immediately reminded me of about a dozen different New York based TV shows that I've seen over the years. You know the one, where friends are just hanging out on the steps of their apartment in Brooklyn or SoHo on a beautiful spring afternoon, talking about life in general. It was a great moment, which kind of summed up my visit to New York City.

I was there back in May for a few days which marked only my second visit there, and my first in a very long time. The first time I was there, I did a lot of the tourist-y things like Times Square, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and just about every major museum in the city...(at the risk of sounding like George Costanza, the bathrooms at the Brooklyn Museum were particularly nice.) So this time around, I really didn't have the desire to do all that stuff, besides not really have a lot of time. Instead I, for the most part just wondered around the city, walking as much I possibly could in the two and half days I was there.

I work here in Toronto at Deluxe Post Production, so on the first afternoon in New York I went to visit Deluxe New York over on Hudson and I got a great tour of the brand new facility...(brand new as in not even finished yet). I was anxious to see how the new offices were coming along. They looked great and have an outstanding view of midtown Manhattan. As I was talking to Russ about the progress and all, he started joking about stealing my department from Toronto and bringing over to New York. But instead of being defensive about it, I found myself telling him to "go right ahead. I'll just move here." Of course we were joking around, and I love our facility in Toronto. But given the right circumstances, I'd move there in a second. I especially love that area around Deluxe. The whole Greenwich Village/SoHo/NoHo area is wonderful and is where I spent most of my time. It truly is beautiful.

I've been lucky enough to travel quite a bit in my life and I've seen some amazing cities both here and in Europe. But I have to say that New York is truly my favorite. No city that I've ever seen has more character than New York. Others may have more history, but New York has this wonderful history all it's own that I find difficult to describe. It's more of a post-modern history I suppose. A rich tapestry of colour and mystique that, in my opinion is unrivaled. L.A. has some of that for me as well (especially to someone who works in and loves the film industry.) But I would describe Los Angeles as a whole lot of empty space with certain areas of magic here and there. New York is just replete with it all over. It's in the air, wherever you go.

My visit was of course too short. I didn't do or see everything I wanted to. I already have plans to return in the fall though...probably around October. I'm already looking forward to it.

It's an amazing place. If you haven't been there yet, you need to go.

9 to 5

So I've been using the net since September of 1993 and this is actually my first ever official blog. At least I think it is. 15 years is, after all, a long time. I suppose I was inspired to write one and even if hardly anyone reads it, I don't particularly mind.

Someone once said: "The only thing you have in common with the people you work with is that you share the same piece of carpet everyday, and yet you spend more time with them than with your own family." I think that was Mr. Canterbury out in Slough you said that. I love that line because it really is so true, and I've been at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to jobs. Sure I had the typical ones growing up...newspaper boy, stacking shelves at a supermarket, etc., but I'm talking more about the real 9 to 5 career-type positions, so to speak.

I used to work as a web designer/developer/programmer/this doesn't work, please fix it and make it look nice on the computer. There were parts of that job that I enjoyed, and even miss sometimes, but overall, I hated it. If I'm designing a website for myself, or one of my friends as a favour (which I do on occasion), I do enjoy it, but as a job, it really sucked. That Monday morning when I walked in to my boss' office and told him that I wanted to leave, was probably the best decision I've ever made. I still smile when I think about that day. : )

I did my own thing for a while and then I got a little tired of basically doing the same thing, so I looked for a real change. Long story short, I now work at Deluxe Postproduction in Toronto doing feature-film anti-piracy work. I've been there now for over a year and I love my job. It was a bit of a crazy sequence of events that landed me there, which I may elaborate on one day, but not today. I'm pretty sure that I don't let a day go by without thanking my lucky stars for being there.

I'm finally working in the entertainment industry, which is where I've pretty much always wanted to be and I get to work with movies all day. How cool is that? I occasionally get to meet famous people which I get kick out of, I go to screenings once in a while and I even get cheap movie tickets. The perks are a nice treat, but the main thing is that for the first time in my life, I'm passionate about my work. That's really what's important. Back when I was working in the IT industry, I really couldn't give a shit about what I was doing. I just wanted to get through the day. After 5 years, that wore really thin. Even though the people I worked with where nice enough, I couldn't wait to get out of there once 5:00 hit. So as soon as I realized that my paycheck was the only thing keeping me there, I left.

Now that I actually have a passion for my work, I'm never in a hurry to leave at the end of the day and I'm often even the first to arrive in the morning. There's nothing I feel I can't handle, which is huge. At my old job, I consistently felt overwhelmed. And after 5 years of that, I think I'm still getting used to that feeling simply not being there anymore.

It's a really good feeling.

Lastly, a big part of what makes my job amazing, is the people I work with. I have never worked with such a helpful, intelligent, fun group of guys. I seriously do not have a single bad thing to say about any of them. I see them quite regularly outside of work (something I never did with my co-workers at my old job) and I truly consider them friends. It is really an amazing atmosphere to work in.

The actual facility I work in is a really fun place to be and is easily the...let's say sexiest workplace I've ever been in. Whenever I give tours, people always get a kick out of seeing the mixing theatres, editing suites, ADR stage, and especially the Foley stage. : ) Let's just say that giving tours was not part of where I used to work. I love that.

I truly hope that I will be with Deluxe for many years to come and continue to grow with the company. We have a new facility opening up in New York City soon, and another one in Vancouver, so it's definitely an exciting time to be here.

So it's true that I share the same piece of carpet with co-workers that I see more than my family, but as jobs go, I wouldn't have it any other way.


...and we have a foosball table. :P