Jason Driskill

A single week of job hunting has kicked my ass. I’ve sent out over a hundred resumes and cover-letters to positions for which I feel perfectly qualified. Somehow I haven’t received any responses.  It is frustrating, to say the least.  It also accentuates the feeling of isolation that I have from being in a city with no friends, no job, no familiarities…  It’s amazing how quickly one can lose that invaluable sense of purpose that can take years to build or discover.   I say “amazing” but I really mean “fucked up.”

I baked chocolate chip cookies this evening in an attempt to feel better.  It almost worked.  This past week, in addition to job hunting, I have been watching “Roswell” on YouTube.   Some lovely soul has kindly uploaded every episode in the three-season series.  And now I’ve watched them all.

I’m not a Roswell fan.  I’m homesick.  And the familiarity that I mentioned a few weeks ago hooked me into this continuous (albeit juvenile) series, creating a compulsive urge to see it through to the end.   At one point I thought I woud like to spec script this series, but since it’s so outdated I’m no longer sure.  For the sake of practice I should, since I’ve invested such a thorough research into the entire series.  On the other hand, I don’t know if there’s anything going on among the characters that I want to write for.  They kind of lack layers, which, as I also mentioned in my post a few weeks ago, is what gets people hooked: the ability to have more faith in the unwaveringly familiar personalities of these television characters than in one’s own self, even.  So as embarrassing as a 63 episode marathon of Roswell might be, that observation right there should pop everything into perspective.  Well of course, Jason!  You’re in a new city where you don’t know anyone, and haven’t found a job yet, and are perhaps a little homesick and frustrated with life’s uncertainties and instabilities - overwhelmed with the infinite options that life has to offer.  No wonder you’d get lost in a silly show about alien teenagers struggling to justify their (literal) place in the world.  And I do admit that the entire cast is quite easy on the eyes…

So what have I learned from such a concentrated viewing of this show?  First, it’s really easy to create a compelling mythology with an absurdly simple formula, but consistancy is key.  Second, it’s really easy to ruin a compelling mythology by wavering from consistancy.  I’d actually like to know more about the show’s production history to figure out what forces were responsible for causing it to jump the shark in the beginning of it’s second season.    Third, I really enjoy television and might need to figure out a more practical application of this interest.  And most importantly I’ve learned that it doesn’t take much at all for me to go completely crazy.  A single week of monotonous job sends me reeling in a depressive television binge…?  That’s pitiful.

So fucking pitiful.