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12/06/2004: "One of those Mind Racing Days..."

When I was in high school and early in college, I was an undeniable INTP on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Scale. Somewhere in college, I began to drift into ENTP land, effectively making me an XNTP. As I've gotten older, I've discovered that I have a really strong tendency towards a particular trait ascribed to ENTPs.

This is part of a brief description of ENTPs:

ENTPs are visionaries and their perceptive abilities allow them to see possibilities everywhere. They get excited and enthusiastic about their ideas, and are able to spread their enthusiasm to others. However, they are less interested in developing plans of action or making decisions than they are in generating possibilities and ideas. Following through on the implementation of an idea is usually a chore to the ENTP.

This is starting to become my reality, much to my dismay. So I'm going to write about it, in hopes that quantifying my goals will help. Or plummet me into endless despair, from which I shant return.

Random Note: Has anyone ever done a study on correlation between specific personality types and specific types of mental disease? Surely this has been. If not, get to it, people!

The following things are projects that I have begun but need to complete:

• Contract work for Georgia DFCS


• Editing the wedding video of The Greatness' brother (and author nifty DVD)


• Editing my wedding video


• Editing feature film, wowgirl


• Construction work on my rental house/recording studio


• Painting/work on my new house


• Online Photography Store Application for Bryan Redding Photography

That's a lot of work. In fact, enough to keep me busy for a good year, easy. As Kickin' Bird alluded to in previouscomments, wowgirl is coming up on it's 4th anniversary since shooting began and it still isn't finished. So that's a priority, as is the wedding video for The Greatness. These things need my time and attention. But the really sad thing is, I have so many new projects I want to work on already. Obviously, I will begin NONE of these for a while, but here's what I'd like to start on once I complete some of these other things:

• A webcomic. Damn you, Warren Ellis! Brad and I had this idea for a comic called The Roadie a while back, and I think it would be an excellent idea for a webcomic. Might play with this sometime next year, depending upon Brad's time/motivation and my own.


• Spec Teleplays. I've got this idea that the best way to get an agent is to write a spec script for a TV show - I'm thinking Las Vegas or maybe Veronica Mars. Once I get about 3-4 good ideas that can wrap themselves together, this actually shouldn't take very long. Much less time and effort than writing an original screenplay.


• Original Screenplays. Part of me is screaming that's it time to start writing a new one. I've got about 4 decent concepts in various stages of development. This is something I want to work on next year, but I keep telling myself I need to finish wowgirl first. But the voices are starting to get a little louder than they have been.


• An album. About 5 years ago, I promised myself I'd have a completed record by the time I was thirty. For those keeping track, I have a little under a year and half left. It's not the biggest deal if I don't make it by then, but I'll probably be a little dissappointed in myself if I haven't started.

I mentioned getting an agent above. One of the biggest things I've learned about myself this year is that I want to make a serious attempt at moving towards making a living in the creative world. wowgirl may help in this regard, but that remains to be seen, and I'm way too much of a realist to place all my hopes on the obscure indie flick lottery. Writing seems the most likely entrance, since I can do that for free (as opposed to another feature film), and I can do that without having to move to Los Angeles, since neither Wood Nymph nor I would ever seriously consider that (well, except for that one time when we were drunk on the 4th of July, but that's another story). So part of me thinks the best place to start is to sort out a few ideas, scratch out a quick teleplay, edit it, and send out inquiry letters. Guess we'll see how things pan out.

And the most important thing among all of this is spending time with my wife. These projects and things that I want to do would be meaningless without her presence in my life, and while I respect my own desires to accomplish these things, I cherish every second of every minute that I can spend with her. And if that means things get left until later, that's what it means, and it bothers me not one iota. And it would appear that one of the strongest motivating factors for making a move to the creative world (a world not so easy to break into) is so that I can do these things that I love and not subtract from any of the time I have with her.

Well, I'm not sure I've come to any real conclusions, but it's nice to see everything on my mind laid out in some semblance of order. Maybe one of you people can make some sense out of it for me. I've got to get back to programming. I should point out, I included almost nothing from my actual job on this list. Bandwith is limited, you know.

So. What do you guys want to be when you grow up?

Replies: 4 Comments

on Thursday, December 9th, Sarachkah said

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Things that interest me lately are midwifery, nutrition, and wild animals. And yet, I do PR. Go figure.

As for the Meyers-Briggs, I tested XNFX in high school (off the charts NF), and am now, mystifyingly, an ESFJ. I don't know when I lost my N. An ESFJ is known as the "Provider Guardian" and I am supposed to be good at sales. I am great at sales, but I hate it.

on Wednesday, December 8th, juls said

Ah, the inevitable list of projects. I tested as an ENTJ in high school, but have become more INTJ with age. But I have a list too, including learning to play jazz on the piano (and improving my piano skills in general), finally learning to play bass, going to grad school, and learning a bunch of foreign languages.

Oh, I have a screenplay concept for you to work on - I think it's better than the teleporting toilet one (no offense to The Greatness!). Have your people call my people.

on Monday, December 6th, Vampire Elf said

Good advice. Now allow me to jump behind any nearby large object as all my good liberal friends who love Michael Moore and read this blog open fire.

on Monday, December 6th, Kicking Bird said

I always wanted to be taller when I grew up. Since I am not taller, I will not grow up.

I must have laughed for three or four minutes about two sentences into the brief description of ENTPs. I have nothing more to say.

Actually, I do: My mother always said that a man who chases ten rabbits will catch none and go hungry. But the man who chases one will eat...Then again, I always thought that if the rabbit were faster than said man, it really doesn't matter what he does, now does it? I also remind myself that all the fables my mother told me while growing up were meant to make me feel guilty for making her job as "mother" harder on her.

But I digress--Pick a project and channel your energies into completing that and only that project. It is really that simple. Like Nike says, "Git 'er done."

And a little more motivation, from another angle. In the four years since "wowgirl" has been shot and not completed, Michael Moore has put out two award winning "documentaries", and even took home an Oscar. Do any of us here think that guy has more talent than an Elfin Vampire???