Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Orange County: The Magic Kingdom Part 2

Chapter Dos: How Did I Get Here?

When someone graduates college, I assume that they think of their career path. I say I assume because this is certainly not what I was thinking about, almost the opposite really. I had absolutely no desire to pursue a job utilizing my degree. Oh, it was a bachelors of science in Management Information Systems and a minor in Economics from the University of Rhode Island for those of you keeping score at home. All my friends who were graduating were discussing the jobs they were going to be trying to get. Dan was getting a job in the finance department of Verizon, Patrick was getting a job working for a Massachusetts congressman, and Paul was going to work for his father’s company. I could keep going but I know you don’t want to hear about it. Either do I, and that is what’s important. The only friend who wasn’t looking for something in the “real world” was Karim.

We were kicking around the idea of writing screenplays for quite some time now. Now that I was done with school, I could focus on such a task. I say now that I was done with school, because school is the one place that needs major focus yet it is physically impossible to generate any focus what so ever, but that is a whole other story to be told some day. Maybe if you fuckers buy this, then I can tell it. I digress, quite frequently actually, so back to the topic at hand. Karim wanted to finish a screenplay he had started. It was about halfway finished and I really wanted to see if I could ever put together a piece of writing as large as this. The longest thing I had ever written was a 10-page essay in college about the effect of the Internet on Economics. Quite the page-turner I can assure you, yet it lacked the level of fulfillment I was looking for. I kept thinking that my dad can write so why can’t I?

I needed to put together something massive. I started working with Karim on our little project. He did a very large percentage of the writing on this story, but I was involved enough where I developed a taste for it. We finished our screenplay and we couldn’t have been more excited. It was 92 pages long and the best screenplay ever written. It was going to change the movie industry as we know it. It had plot twists, action, humor, and great ending. We submitted it to Project Greenlight 2. We are two guys from Boston just as Matty D. and B-Lo are, how could we lose?

We didn’t make it past the first round of the screenplay portion of the contest. Some of the criticism was a little on the harsh side. “Is this a joke, I couldn’t get past the first 25 pages before I had to just stop reading....” This was not exactly making us feel too good about our work. I must admit though that not all the criticism was terrible. Some offered constructive comments which were very helpful, and I thank those people. However, we had to move on from this disaster. But where should we go? It was time for some magic to happen.

“We’re moving to California.” I remember those words so clearly. Karim wasn’t asking me if I wanted to move he was telling me that I was moving. What choice did I have? I had no career goals at the moment, I had broken up with my girlfriend of 4 years, and I was living at home (with my dad... I know, real smooth) on the east coast. It was clearly time to go.

We packed up and moved to Surf City USA, Huntington Beach. Driving out here was quite an experience, but it is not part of this story so I will spare you for now. We moved into our apartment here in OC on February 5th, 2003, a date that will live in infamy. We had arrived in Huntington Beach but what the hell do we do now. Karim had a job lined up before we left. He simply transferred from the Outback Steakhouse in Medford, MA to the one in Garden Grove, CA. Hey Garden Grove, just like in that Sublime song! It must be a really cool town.
People ask me why I didn’t move into LA if I wanted to be in the film industry. Well, the answer is quiet simple. I just moved from a big town with a lot of tradition and history. Why would I want to move to big town where people don’t give a fuck about you and the only history involves the Lakers or the riots? I would rather move to a town where the people are happy because all they want to do is surf, and when they can’t surf they just want to drink. This fits in perfectly with my views of life. Well not the surfing part because I can’t surf for shit, I should change that to say people are happy to do what they love, or drink when they can’t. I’ll leave both parts in for you to enjoy, kind of like a director’s cut on a DVD.

Orange County: The Magic Kingdom - Part 1

Orange County: The Magic Kingdom

Chapter Uno: INTRO TO ORANGE COUNTY

Welcome to Orange County. Population 3,000,000 and constantly growing. People are moving here from everywhere, much to the chagrin of the current residents. New shipments of bodies arrive everyday. They move here seeking something. That something can be different for each individual, but they are definitely here for something. No one just packs up and moves here without a reason.

Why do they come here? Well I can’t answer that question for everyone, but I think I know why I initially came here. I moved here because I thought I could put a few screenplays together, sell them, and maybe even end up in the films themselves. How hard could it be right? It’s pretty amazing how fast a person losses track of their goals in this place.

Orange County is something of a mythical creature or an urban legend, to those who are from far away destinations such as myself. You hear some stories about this place, but you never actually meet anyone who lives or has lived here. This area is the stolen kidney from the back of the unlucky businessman. It sounds like a real place, but does it actually exist? I’ve even heard they have a castle located at the center of this undiscovered country.

It’s true what they say. About the castle I mean. Disneyland lies at the heart of OC. Oh sorry, OC means Orange County to the layperson. Don’t worry there will be many more things I will have to explain to you later. As I was saying, Disneyland is right smack in the middle of Orange County. Now it may not be located in the geographic center of this fair land, but it is definitely the source of the mystique that swallows this area whole. People think that Disneyland is just a theme park situated in the town of Anaheim. This is not even close to the truth. Disneyland’s borders actually surround the entire county. When you hit San Clemente from the south, Seal Beach from the North, or Brea from the West, you are now in the Magic Kingdom.

This sounds a little crazy, I know. However, if you give me time I will explain this to you. Disneyland is made up of separate towns each with a different theme. Orange County is set up this exact same way; these towns just have real names like Tustin, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, and Westminster. People who live in Orange County know exactly what to expect when they go into these different towns. They know the themes of each area, just as a tourist at Disneyland looks at their map and know that if they go to Tomorrow land they get to see some futuristic shit. This is comparable to me going to Newport Beach and seeing cars that aren’t even available to the public yet or allowed on this continent. I can drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and stop at a light right next to a Qvale Mangusta being driven by an 18-year old girl. I know what you are thinking, what the fuck is a Qvale Mangusta? Well the only reason that I know what a Qvale Mangusta is because I read car magazines from time to time, and I have read an article on said vehicle. If you don’t know what a Qvale Mangusta is don’t worry, this means that you are perfectly normal. I can barely pronounce the damn thing, and I even know what the hell it is. This car would be like strapping yourself into space mountain and blasting off. Your only going to experience this type of shit in the Magic Kingdom
This example is just the tip of the iceberg with the mouse ears carved on top. I’ll try to share with you as many experiences as a good boy from Boston can remember.

Hello and welcome...

This is my 2nd foray into the wonderful world of web-logging.

I will use this space to ramble about everyday things in life and I will also post short-stories or documents that I have written and are working on.

Please provide comments on anything here you would like and I hope you stick around for awhile if what I post is interesting enough... so good luck to both of us I guess