TMT: “Live and die on this day.”

This is the next entry in a Theatre… a Movie… and a Time, a series that was begun here. For the new year now upon us, the following memory download inspired by my friend and fellow movie blogger Mark. His Four Frames contribution back in December concerned a film a great number of us (albeit mostly male) connect with. I’d intersect it like the film’s storyline; and as Jules would say, “…you happen to pull this shit while I’m in a transitional period so I don’t wanna kill you, I wanna help you.”

Four Frames – The Grey (2012)

“Dissenting critics have mystifyingly scalded the film for its metaphysical leanings, claiming them to be unnecessary – which is to miss the point entirely. These are presumably the same reviewers who bemoan the lack of depth in today’s bigger budget fare. Roger Ebert, on the other hand, was deeply affected by what he saw, so much so that he had to walk out of another screening (something he had never done before).”

Theatre

Century San Francisco Centre 9:

Movie

Time

January 28, 2012: Work is, at times, life-changing. Just because I was a fairly competent “user” interacting with a number of computer systems at the institution I worked for, somehow qualified me for an unexpected role. As happens, was given the duty to maintain a file server and workstations for the administrative department I found myself in back then. Each only grew in number and importance as we approached Y2K, in subsequent years. A challenge, to put it mildly.

Well, more responsibility than an advancement…and no change in pay…typical of the ’90s.

Simply saluted and carried on as best I could. Meaning, needed to learn on the fly what the Hell I should be doing in this digital realm, on top of the other tasks heaped upon moi. Wasn’t trained for this, that’s for sure. Reminded me of being given the reins of movie projectionist, with a scant week’s instruction, way back when. Not to mention, finding a way to make my bosses’ favorite fruit-flavored platform fit into an organization dumping its mainframe and minicomputer for PC client–server systems.

Simple.

Leastways, my principals saw it as a plus, if I sought out the appropriate seminars, courses, and whatnot needed to make this plan work. Some of which enabled me to travel to tech conferences and thus learn what to avoid. Seemed like my whole world, and reading material, changed overnight. Learned about that 56K modem given me and its dial-up limits¹. Ethernet, eventually², at work and integrating it into our 50-year old home, which drew apt stares from fellow workers and my spouse, respectively.

“Fix it!!!”, echoed many a time during those fateful orbits ’round the sun.

By the start of 2012, the next phase of passage became clear. The platform handed to me back in the closing decade of the 20th century now had enterprise buy-in. Management, likewise, just not by me. Progress, in other words…queue another segue. One of the last times I’d be in San Francisco attending a tech conference in Moscone Center this was. How long had it been? Shifting to another part of my work-life balancing act, now without data center moves or security patches to apply.

Thought about that as I walked toward Century San Francisco Centre 9 following my sessions on this day, and especially after The Grey left its mark upon this wanderer³.

The entire TMT series can be found here. If you’re interested how it’s put together, click here.