jasonnellis.com

God damn it.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:40:26 -0800

God damn it.

If I am lucky enough to be a professional writer some day, I hope to have a career like...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:37:13 -0800

If I am lucky enough to be a professional writer some day, I hope to have a career like @neilhimself.

Finally sitting down to get caught up on #ificandream. Spent a week working on a project I never get...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:37:13 -0800

Finally sitting down to get caught up on #ificandream. Spent a week working on a project I never get to actually watch until now.

More cuteness from Eli and Tessa, c/o Pa Nellis. This time, a...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:17:02 -0800

More cuteness from Eli and Tessa, c/o Pa Nellis. This time, a shout-out to Max in Afghanistan.

In Which I Discuss Where The Hell I've Been All Week.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:13:24 -0800

In case you’re not aware, for the last several weeks I’ve been working on a project that we recently published called If I Can Dream. The basic premise is that five people in their early twenties are living in a house in the Hollywood Hills. They’re each pursuing various crafts (3 are actors, one is a musician, and one is a model). The post reality portion of the show (still not sure at all what that term means) is that the house is wired with about 60 hi-def cameras streaming almost 24/7. Hulu’s role in all of this is promotion and video-on-demand.

Merits of the concept aside, I’ve had a hell of a time trying to keep up my work on this and manage the rest of my accounts. It’s been a week of good lessons though:

Always have your phone on at night - Twice this week, I’ve been woken up in the wee hours of the morning because of an emergency. Not that I advocate calling someone at 4am, but with the growing pains we’ve been experiencing, it’s been good to be able to respond to problems immediately (especially if they’re big ones).
Don’t assume it’s someone else’s fault - We’ve had a few instances where we keep telling someone that nothing is different, nothing is wrong, and the problem must be on their end. And then it’s ours. Whoops. It’s coming slowly, but I’m learning to dig into problems like these and be able to problem solve.
Most other clients don’t care if you’re busy - though some are understanding. They just all expect you to get their shit done. Generally, this results in a lack of sleep. As does most of life, I suppose.
A drink with coworkers can solve most any problem - even if it’s been a particularly shitty day. Bonus points if you’re having old scotch and you’re still at the office.

Overall, I’m glad the project is up and running. The next challenge is getting it into a rhythm, but we’ll get there. Of course, at some point I’ll have to start paying attention to the ever-growing pile of dirty clothes in my room, or the lack of food in my refrigerator. But that’s for another day, I suppose.

Max doesn’t like getting smacked down in Scrabble. I...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:52:35 -0800

Max doesn’t like getting smacked down in Scrabble. I don’t blame him.

Watch @ificandream on @hulu. Because I just spent my entire day making sure it went live. And it was...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:42:24 -0800

Watch @ificandream on @hulu. Because I just spent my entire day making sure it went live. And it was my birthday. So booyah. :)

A few choice images from my surprise birthday party last evening...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:51:00 -0800

Good food at Chez Priestley

Great scotch is so hard to find

Made from scratch. Never store bought

Best. Cigar Ad. Ever.

Ever the consummate hostess

Such good looking friends

One of about a 1000 pictures like this

Jason and Blondes, Part Deux

So tired. So sad.

Guy love. Don't fight it.

A few choice images from my surprise birthday party last evening (courtesy Megan). Many thanks to Megan, Erika, Shaun, Parker, Emily, Amelia, Nik, Theresa and Josh for a great time.

From an IM conversation:

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:33:43 -0800

(After fixing something for a Hulu partner)
Me: I'll need to show you guys how to do this on your own.
Me: It's pretty easy.
B: Ah yes, instead of reaching for the Jason Nellis Sunday security blanket?
B: We are one giant Linus.

Max just discovered that: A) He can watch some Hulu in...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Max just discovered that:

A) He can watch some Hulu in Afghanistan

B) There are girls on the site in bikinis

C) He loves his brother for pointing this out.

We really are in the future.

Possibly the single greatest webcomic ever devised. Written by a...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:34:32 -0800

Possibly the single greatest webcomic ever devised. Written by a 5 year old. Drawn by his 29 year old brother. www.axecop.com

My brain is melting. Can you tell?

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:57:52 -0800

My brain is melting. Can you tell?

In Which a LOT of Wine is Consumed.

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:54:00 -0800

(Image shamelessly borrowed from Megan, your local food and music expert.)

Things I learned on this most recent trip to Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, California:

Wine tastings, while almost always enjoyable, are not especially good when you are being pitched bland wine and weird palate-cleansing bubbly water (not that it doesn’t work - I just don’t want some former Cal Poly kids telling me how badly I need this).
The best jokes always get the best laugh when you think of the punch line simultaneously.
Tastings should all be done with food. Bonus points if a chocolate fountain with pretzels and nilla wafers are available as well.
One should not try to move an up-standing heater by oneself in a hundred-year-old wooden barn with hay and flammable liquids everywhere.
Check engine lights do not mean your call will explode. Not that day, anyway.
Announcing in a crowded room how you told someone to “get off of me” when you woke up will get stares. Lots and lots of uncomfortable stares.
Olive oil tastings can be fun. Just be wary of old women who try to sell you $50 bottles of balsamic vinegar. You may think they’re kidding when they tell you that price, but you’d be wrong.
Sharing a four course meal paired with extremely well made wines with your best friends (and forty people much, much older than you) makes for a hell of a Saturday night.
New term: “The Don” refers to a curmudgeony, but well intentioned, old man who has good suggestions.
I like port wine. Who knew?

RT @lotus2177: http://twitpic.com/13fw5b - Downward Facing Dog.

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:48:48 -0800

RT @lotus2177: http://twitpic.com/13fw5b - Downward Facing Dog.

For you Monk fans...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:16:29 -0800

Celeb sighting of the day:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Elizondo

Gotta love The Onion. #pickoftheday

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:29:11 -0800

Gotta love The Onion. #pickoftheday

10 years of dirt, cross-country trips, and the occasional minor...

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:18:05 -0800

10 years of dirt, cross-country trips, and the occasional minor fender bender.

Overheard at the DMV

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:47:38 -0800

Grandma: Is this the line for license pictures?
Woman: Yes it is.
Grandma: I wish they'd let us submit our own pictures. I have this damn black eye from the other day.
(Awkward Pause)
Grandma: And no. My husband didn't do this to me. I tripped. Really.

In Which I Discuss My Loathing of DMV's.

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:51:47 -0800

I’m not sure why, but I am actually stressing over going to the DMV tomorrow to get a new driver’s license and registering my car. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories about the California DMV, which requires an individual to make an appointment to get any sort of reasonable service (I’m told). Add to this the inevitability of my soon-to-expire MD driver’s license (on my birthday, no less) and you’ve got an awesome Jason-Stresses-Too-Much sandwich.

I suppose I could rationalize it as an extension of my own natural neurosis. After all, I tend to stress over stupid little things, like impending doctor’s appointments or conference calls where I’m expected to say something moderately useful. And it’s not like I’m known for my stoicism regarding problems (what can I say, I’m a kvetch-er). Still; shouldn’t I be able to say to myself something like “oh hell, you handled chemo, a freaking trip to the DMV shouldn’t be a big deal?” (And no. That wasn’t intended to be another excuse to remind everyone that I had cancer.)

Maybe it’s just part of growing up - facing yet another thing in my life that I now have to handle on my own. After all, I’ve been bitching for ages about how it sucks to grow up. This knot in my gut could just be a combination of desire to ignore the problem of my soon-to-expire license and my dislike of moving further down the road of adulthood.

Then again, maybe I just need to stop bitching about it, go get some sleep, and just deal with it. We’ll see.

When does my life slow down enough for me to enjoy it?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:07:36 -0800

When does my life slow down enough for me to enjoy it?