Cheers New Years!

I rang in 2012 with good friends, good food, and some much needed optimism.  The new year is always an excuse to take inventory of your life and your future goals.  At this point, I think I've done as much preparation as I could have to set myself up for what's sure to be another ambitious year. 

Although I spent years in Regina going to film school, this was the first time I was ever there for New Years. The drive was actually reminiscent of heading back to school after the Christmas break. The cold weather, the repetitive prairie scenery, and the bumpy roads were vastly improved by the fact that I'm now making the trip in my Jaguar.  It reminded me that four Christmases have gone by since my days in uni.  Things have changed so much in what seems like such a short time.

With Dave gone our group has evolved.  This was my first trip back to Regina since his passing and I think all of us were eager to create some new memories while casually refreshing our nostalgia.  I got into town on the 30th, and my friend Tyler and I headed out to Boston Pizza for dinner and drinks.  



A few schooners in and the conversations came easy.  Feeling that the night was still young we decided to go spend some one on one time with Wendy and Darwin (Dave's girlfriend and son).  It was a great start to the weekend and I took full advantage of my chance to snap some pics of Darwin and I.


For New Year's Eve Tyler, Wendy, Mike, Erin and I all went out for dinner.  We had a reservation at Moxie's, and the food and atmosphere were top notch.  It was a nice precursor to the evening spent back at Wendy's place.

The remaining hours of 2011 were lively and entertaining.  Drinks were had, photos were snapped, laughs were shared, and celebratory cigars were smoked (away from Darwin of course).  It was a small gathering, but a meaningful one.  This is a good sign for the return visits on the horizon and the new plans ahead.

So as everything gets back into swing, Happy New Year! Here's wishing you and yours all the best in 2012! Let's make it a good one!

Editing Luke in 2011

Of all the years in recent memory, 2011 was undoubtedly a challenging one for me.  It felt like a year of uphill battles, where every positive moment was directly followed by a heavier negative one.  Coming off of what was an epic year of successes, I suppose that 2011 had the deck stacked against it to begin with.  However, each year brings a new chapter to the story, and through all of the experiences I felt I discovered a lot more about myself and the people around me.  In retrospect, I did do more than thought.

Here are a few of the things that defined 2011 for me:

January 24, 2011 - In the midst of edits piling up and car troubles, I wrote a post that would seem to echo in the months that followed it.

February 10, 2011 - One of the biggest projects I undertook early in the year was upgrading my edit suite.  I incorporated new hard drives and reorganized all of my files. A few weeks later I went wireless for the sake of Netflix and my new PS3, and by March I was working with new software and wrote about Avid Studio.  That review actually showed up at the top of Google searches and has already been viewed nearly 6000 times.    



April 16, 2011 - One year to the day had passed, and I wrote one of my favorite posts of the year about an experience we had in Singapore.

May 10, 2011 - I added a new laptop to my editing arsenal.

May 18, 2011 - As my blog started gaining more traction, I wrote about why I think filmmakers should blog.

May 31, 2011 - Editing Luke celebrated 4 years.

June 10, 2011 - I launched my brand new blog, Jeeves and the Jaguar.  You can check out my year end recap of that site here and the promo I made in June below.



June 28, 2011 - A family gathering became a memorable event with bubbles. 

June 29, 2011 - I traveled up to Calgary for a Weddingstar photo shoot at the Opera House.  I embraced living like a boss for a day, and showcased my photos on the Weddingstar blog for the release of the new magazine.  The behind the scenes video I shot and edited debuted at the same time.



July 1, 2011 - I was away to Regina for the Canada Day long weekend to celebrate with friends.  I practiced my bonfire penmanship and snapped a bit of Canadiana.  




July 29, 2011 - One of the most memorable trips of the year was a day we spent on the South Saskatchewan River in the pouring rain.  It was so uncomfortable we couldn't help but laugh (more so after the fact though). 

August 5, 2011 - I spent an evening at the old Monarch Theatre with my folks.




August 29, 2011 - Some well intentioned time off resulted in a painful week of bad news. There were a few highlights at the beginning of the week though, like reuniting with friends from university at Daunean and Ian's wedding and seeing Dave and Wendy together before their baby was born.




September 12, 2011 - Without question the most difficult and emotional post I wrote this year was about losing one of my best friends, Dave.  The experience was a total shock, and I was candid about my feelings leading up to the funeral, the process of making a memorial video for him, and what it was like after we said our last goodbyes.  It's still tough to think about, and has changed the way I look at a lot of things.



October 7, 2011 - In keeping with the upgrade trend that started earlier in the year, I was forced to buy a brand new computer when my existing edit suite crapped out.  

October 17, 2011 - As a welcome break from my busy schedule, my sister and I went to see Jerry Seinfeld live.

October 19, 2011 - I cut a new reel for Stream Media.
                         

October 28, 2011 - For the second year in a row, I went out of my way to get a pumpkin purely for the sake of roasting the seeds.  This time I made an effort to document the experience though.

November 7, 2011 - I released a teaser trailer for my project, Searching Salvation about a trip to Salvation Mountain with my friend Dave.



November 29, 2011 - At the end of the month both my Dad and Brother celebrated milestone birthdays, and so our family all traveled to Lethbridge to mark the occasion.

December 16, 2011 - My brand new portfolio site, Fandrix.com went live.  I even designed new business cards to help promote it in the new year.

December 25, 2011 - I made a lot of posts about the holidays this year.  I snapped pictures of my place, of what Christmas looked like downtown, and I uploaded a We Two Kings music video.  We had a great Christmas this year and I shared a collage of highlights that I snapped throughout the weekend.













As 2011 comes to a close I'm anxious about what the new year has in store.  If I've learnt anything this year it's that there's no shortage of surprises, but also that the bright spots are always there if you look hard enough.  I wish you all the best in the coming year ahead!

Scenes from a Holiday Weekend 2011

Our Christmas was decidedly relaxed this year, but wasn't without fun and excitement. Friends and family gathered at my folks place for Christmas eve where we upheld our ritual to eat, drink, and be merry.  We spent hours playing Pictionary, dancing to a game on the PS3, and singing duets on American Idol on the Wii.  A few drinks in and everyone was a world class entertainer.  

Christmas morning came with plenty of presents and new distractions.  What I wanted most that afternoon was a nap.  However, by dinner the house smelt great and we embraced our comfortable surroundings.  It was the first Christmas we had without any of our extended family and although it felt different, everyone was upbeat.  Our traditions will undoubtedly continue to change as we get older and our families grow, but to me Christmas will always be special.   

Scenes from a holiday weekend.

Christmas eve meets family game night.

Pictionary, PS3 dancing, and American Idol on Wii.

Christmas morning with presents galore.

A small feast for Christmas dinner.