"Busy Being Fabulous:" One year on my own

Myself and my coworkers at the 2019 IBA Silverdome Awards,

where they took home an award for Best Commercial Production.

"We were just too busy being fabulous" - The Eagles, "Busy Being Fabulous"

2019 began as a nightmare. I'd rather not get into it. Besides the obvious personal reasons, it's not what I want to focus on for this piece. I've never been one to write motivational blogs, but when life gets in the way, one of the best things to do upon pushing through it is reflect on the event and what you learned from it. I'd rather fill you in on the stuff I did that got me through it.

If there's anything living on my own for the past 14 months has taught me, it's be willing to adapt. A new location means new opportunities in a myriad of ways, from social to professional, and I'm confident I've gone on to make the most of many. The fact I'm three months late with this blog should tell you something.

Myself and several others at the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival.

I've worked to make 2019 into a fairly good rebound of a year, all things considered. From spending a bit less time on movies and more time seeking experiences and building relationships with coworkers, who have quickly become some of my closest friends in life. That's the elephant in the room for some, or at least for me: my lack of reviews when compared to the output of the last nine years. While I still pride myself on being consistent with reviews of most new releases, there's no secret that I'm not writing as many reviews as I used to. For me, it's not a detriment, and no, my interest in film hasn't waned at all. There's simply the inevitability of a full-time job and other ventures that has gotten in the way of that being my undeterred focus. However, they're not going anywhere. Already I'm mapping out several horror films I want to watch this month and coordinating how I plan to hit the biggest releases this year as "Oscar Season" is nigh. There are a plethora of things about the film landscape that still excite me going forward.

I should make clear, however, that I'm no longer writing for Influx Magazine due to external circumstances beyond my control. For six years, I served as the lead film critic for the website, and the freedom and benefits I received from the website were enviable. In addition, my relationships with the site's former proprietor Brian Barsuglia and my primary editor Nav Qateel were fantastic, to say the least. I have no idea what they saw in an amateur writer in high school back in 2013, but evidently, it was enough to reach out to me via IMDB and kickstart something special. Both Brian and Nav have done a bloke like me exceptionally well, have served as references on job applications, and have become people I'm truly proud to have known and will continue to keep in touch with.

It's a little odd not to have ties to a formal film website after six years, but I've been steadily trying to find a new home for my work as opposed to exclusively on my ProBoards. I'm kind of a free agent at this point, looking for the right fit. I have some other important goals I'd like to achieve by next year when it comes to my website and writing reviews. It will all come to fruition in due time, I'm confident.

Myself (top left) and several other DJs walking in the Princeton

Homestead Parade.

When it comes to the radio side of things, life hasn't been better. I'm truly blessed to have many coworkers who enjoy doing things together outside of work. I don't think I'd be as happy so far away from home if I didn't establish such strong bonds with fellow DJs and other people at the company. As much as I loved to go to dinner with people in college, or at least do some gallivanting with a group on the rare occasion, it's been invigorating to be around people who enjoy spending so much time being out and finding new things to do. Whether it's eating at new restaurants or attending a massive, small-town 4th of July celebration, cruising around the streets of rural America in a golf cart, we make our own fun. In a way, it's living the country music I listen to and play on a daily basis on WALLS 102. No better way to do such activities than with a fun-loving group. Looking at you guys, James, Chelsea, Cyle (my big brother figure), Melinda, Bianca, and Sammie.

When I'm not putting paint where it ain't, so to speak, I'm just enjoying the grind and hustle of small-market radio. There's a lovely amount of creative freedom to a lot of things, and the value of knowing your bosses and coworkers is an unbelievable plus. Everything from doing live broadcasts at grocery stores to feeling entrenched in the area, despite not being from it, due to a lot of community service work, feels gratifying.

I think a lot of it comes from the fact that, being over a year removed from school, it's refreshing to get out in the world and make things happen. After spending nearly 20 years in a desk and essentially fretting over the next essay or test I'd have to take, it's rewarding to be a contributing member of society in a way, and feel like your time is spent building on the groundwork it took so many years to lay. High school was a tremendous time for me, for the most part; college as well. But waking up in the morning and subsequently not having to worry about how the forthcoming college algebra test will torpedo my GPA is a feeling I'm still not over.

(Most) of the attendees at the "10 Year Party" in August 2019.

Then came August 3rd, 2019: a party ten years in the making. It was a party hosted at my parents' house ("Pulaski Manor") to commemorate ten years of reviewing films. The official anniversary of when I began writing film reviews is coming up on October 13th, but I knew the importance of having a summer party for a number of reasons. Weather, obviously, but it was also a great time to reunite with many people whom I haven't seen a lot since moving to LaSalle-Peru. The thesis of the party was about me, but it was emphatically dedicated to my peers, whose undying support made so much of this journey possible. A writer is nothing without readers nor friends he can rely on either to keep him in check or to help facilitate ideas.

From left: Snorlax, Buster, Stove, Tommy, and Sludge: "the Squad"

It was a day of a lot of laughs, a ton of food, and great people. The party kicked off around 4pm and went until about 2:30am. The planning and coordinating took a good five months, and a lot of that credit goes to my mother, who made sure the Manor was shipshape while I was trying to manage things from afar. I even blew a bag on some awesome, super exclusive Steve Pulaski T-shirts all partygoers received, which seemed to go over about as well as an act of pretentiousness could (shoutout to Cyle, once more, for designing what became a beautiful piece of artwork). While mingling with everyone — friends I've known since middle school, high school, college, and from my present job — I was reminded frequently of what led me to gravitate towards these people. Their warmth, individuality, and loyalty. It was an overstimulating but incredible day all around.

Lastly, there's 2020 Vision, my forthcoming mixtape set to drop on March 2nd, 2020 (Pulaski Day). I said after my third mixtape, 3 Much, I'd be retiring from music, and I now realize that term was a little misguided. Whenever you do something and have as much fun and freedom with it as I did, at such a young age to boot, to drop it out of nowhere is kind of an awkward and unlikely hill to die on. Especially when you feel there's still gas in the tank.

2020 Vision will have fewer tracks than my last two mixtapes, but it will be filled with some honest tunes, all under the collective title that is about starting a new decade strong, keeping close with those who mean a lot to you in life, and staying on #GoMode. That's always what it's been about and will continue to be about. And a lot of it is thanks to you.

SIX SONGS THAT HAVE SERVED ME WELL OVER THE LAST YEAR:

Dawson Edwards - "Somebody Had To"

Eric Heatherly - "Flowers on the Wall"

Gordon Lightfoot - "Sundown"

HARDY - "Rednecker"

Payroll Giovanni - "Came Up off Work"

Sturgill Simpson - "You Can Have the Crown"