Things change

Went to my uncle Doug's funeral in Edmonton this weekend. He died of a heart attack a week ago. It was sudden and we were all pretty shocked. The good thing about it was it allowed our family to get together. We all hadn't been together for some time; I got to see my cousins, aunts and uncle and my dad and stepmom.

I made a slide show from pictures my dad emailed me. I thought it was something I could do that would be a good tribute to a great guy. My uncle Doug was always in a good mood and it's a shame that I hadn't seen much of him over the last few years.

This is a wake up call for me, I am going to make more of an effort to see my mom and dad. You don't know how many years you have left with the people you love. I've been busy trying to get my film career together but now that I'm going down to two days a week at the hotel I should have some more time to visit them (but not necessarily the cash to do it).

Sometimes I wonder why I left Edmonton but going there for the funeral I realized why. It's so damn cold, you have to stay indoors for 6 months of the year. That can't be good for you. Plus you have to drive everywhere. The city is just wrong. I always thought it was a cruel joke of god being raised there but some good had come out of it.

I'm developing two projects that are based in Edmonton. Enough time has passed that I can finally appreciate what I went through. The eighties were funny and sad especially if you grew up in such isolation. When I saw the Commitments one of the characters says something about Scotland being the shittiest place around. They've never been to Edmonton if they made that remark. When you're stuck in a place like that you have to make something great come from it because when you look around all you see is darkness. That's what these two projects are going to do. Unique lives are what people are looking for when they watch movies and in this northern albertan city I think there are more than enough to satisfy the most discerning film fan.