2016-07-22 - 12:48 p.m.
All right so it's been another trip around the sun, and for the most part it was a good year (although calendar year 2016 is really not impressing anyone in the areas of people we admire dying and people we hate succeeding at things). So with another birthday down it's time for the annual list of highlights!
1. I walked the length of Manhattan, from the SOuth Ferry to the Bronx Bridge (I did it on sunday too, deliberately so i could get it in for this year).
2. Saw my first Jonathan Coulton concert (great show if you ever get a chance to go)
3. Got a callback to an Equity production of Frost/Nixon in Philadelphia (didn't get cast, but having to make another trip is a good thing)
4. Saw the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia (and i didn't touch it when no one was looking)
5. Played Santa Claus in a comedy video that made it on to the front page of Funny or Die during the holiday season.
6. Saw the Superheroes in NY exhibit at the museum and got to be just a layer of plexiglass away from a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15.
7. Discovered the joy that is the Reading Terminal Market
8. Attended my 18th consecutive formal (i've gone every year since spring 1999 and so this has been an annual thing for literally half my life now)
9. While there, I got to suffer through The Room finally and for the first time, and now I need to think of a way to get revenge on Matt and Sarah
10. Played a small role in a sci-fi film called Ghost Source Zero, which was co-written by comics icon Larry Hama
11. Got to reprise the role of Kolenkov, my first ever paid role, in You Can't Take It With You.
12. Although I did not win game day (haven't won one since Theros block, actually), I designed a deck and lent it to a friend and HE won a game day with it. So that's neat
13. Booked a recurring role in a webseries called Skeleton Crew, appearing in 4 episodes of season 2
14. Really stepped up my hobby of live updating on wrestling PPVs, including expanding to live tweeting. And I'm still surprised how many people enjoy them
15. INcluding total randos on twitter, as I've started getting likes and follows from people I don't know, which is great if you get all your gratification from the attention of others. Which I do.
16. To that end, I'm really stepping up the game in the near future, as i'm currently in the setup stages of cohosting a podcast about wrestling that will be coming soon!
17. capping off a generally good year of trading, I acquired an NM Revised Underground Sea, which is now the jewel of my collection (some of you have no idea what that means and others are impressed)
18. Won or split 1st place in every Shadows over INnistrad draft I played in (sealed I actually was terrible at but I had the draft part down)
19. reconnected with many old friends and faces (and a few new ones) via the magic of social media. Including messaging everyone who sent me a bday wish, which led to some great conversations with people I don't talk to often)
20. Took my first staycation, as I had vacation days at work I had to burn by a certain day but couldn't make arrangements to travel anywhere work out. so 3 days of being home but not having to work. it was surprisingly awesome.
21. Discovered the magic and majesty that is the THrilling Adventure Hour (seriously, check it out)
22. Spent a lovely thanksgiving in Albuquerque with friends and family.
23. completed my Death and Taxes legacy deck. all authentic, no proxies. now to start foiling it out
24. Purged a ton of stuff i didn't need in a yard sale, first one i've had in ages (something about unloading a ton of stuff and having empty shelf space again feels good)
25. after 2 straight runner up finishes, i captured the gold at the Tau Invitational
26. Booked 3 straight gigs in movies and short films only to have them get cancelled last minute. While that doesn't seem awesome, booking is the big part of it, so i feel good about just winning the jobs. also one of them i really wasn't feeling great the day of so having the day again was nice.
27. Did some awesome VO work for a film called High and Tight, playing a motivational speaker at a seminar from the 80s. the sound mixer added reverb, crowd noise, and crackles and pops so it sounds like an audio cassette recording of me speaking at a live event. Technology is amazing
28. THis gig led to that same sound guy hiring me to do VO work at HIS day job, a company that makes e-learning videos, and now I get to do VO work for them every couple weeks.
29. Finished my website! and published it! You can check it out now! kendillon.squarespace.com
30. Wrote some things that aren't these lists and put them out there, which is a rarity for me as the years go by. Felt good to do it, too.
31. Continued my status as the MVP at work, winning awards and even getting to train some new people.
32. DId my first every guerrilla shoot for a friends movie "Mi Sangre" that was shot outside and in secret. and took a big risk by doing it cause i was playing a crazy homeless guy threatening to kill a woman half my size.
33. worked against a greenscreen for the first time in my career for another e-learning company. now i know why ian mckellan got so sad during the hobbit.
34. got mistaken for chris hemsworth by a magazine vendor, although i may have to chalk that up to all white people looking the same to him (although my hair is getting to the right length for it).
35. wrote this on a bus, where i'm currently heading to Pittsburgh to visit some old friends. I've never written on a bus before. I don't like it though. i'm getting carsick.
36. Last but not least, I managed to read more than 40 books off my reading list that I made last year. So i'm open to new suggestions now.
Ok, i need a dramamine.
Love,
Ken
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