Hi. I'm Tom.

On this particular day, I was shooting a training video for Polaris snowmobiles on the Canadian border. It was 33 degrees below zero. My camera batteries kept dying. Regardless, I got a few good shots.

Most days, I sit behind a Mac G5 and dwell in the land of Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro. I shoot on Beta-SP, a dying format, and HDV, it's successor. I'm a decent cameraman; I'm better at shooting documentary-style than elaborate lighting setups.

On my lunch breaks, I read Martin Buber and Gabriel Marcel and Vanity Fair and chick lit, like Bridget Jones or Therapy by Brit writer David Lodge. Don't tell anyone. Oh yeah, and Catholic writer, Peter Kreeft. Don't tell my parents. (My dad is a Protestant pastor.)

I used to travel a lot. Actually, I moved a lot. I still travel. I'm trying to cut back on the moving because I've got a gorgeous little girl - Silvi. She gives me a hug everyday when I get home. She tells me she loves me. It breaks my heart. I also have a son, Ian (what a fine Scottish name.) He was born with Down syndrome. I'm excited to see what he has to offer the world. My wife, Anne-Marie, is a potter. Wednesday nights are her nights to escape into the world of clay and glaze and kilns. Other nights, we watch The Amazing Race or American Idol. We walk to our coffee shop. Our bakery. Our bookstore. When it's warm, the lake. We love where we live; it has sidewalks.

I watch a lot of foreign films. Caro Diario is my favorite film. Nanni Moretti is my favorite director. I want to direct films. I make my living directing corporate videos. I want to write a novel. I make my living writing educational media. I don't feel sorry for myself.

Some days I do.

_______________________________

My Goals
(as of November 22, 2007)

(Those are supposed to be thermometers...)

There are just so many things that I want to do with my days that it's overwhelming. Here are the top eight things that I want to get done before I check out of this life.

1. Have my own company: Yes, I do in fact have my own company right now, but it's a very part-time gig and I am tired of working for The Man. I've always wanted a more holistic life, where my life and the things I do intersect and overlap. I want to take the kids with me on a film shoot or research a novel in the art museums of Europe. Best of all, to sit in my underwear as I write the next great American novel.
2. Write my novel: I've got nearly six chapters done in a novel I will never finish because it's too autobiographical and just a tad angry. Like the Incredible Hulk got just a wee bit angry. So I've gone back to my ideas notebook to find a plot, another story that I can put my heart and soul into.
   
3. Write and direct a film: Been wanting to do this for over twenty years. I'm a huge fan of the Italian director Nanni Moretti. I wonder if there is a market for the American version of Caro Diario?
4. Write and direct a documentary: In addition to the educational videos I'm trying to create for my company, I've got a three-part documentary that I want to do on three of my favorite philosophers: Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas and Gabriel Marcel.
5. Lose the spare tires: What can I say?
6. Spend time overseas: I love travel and have gotten to spend a lot of my life in other countries. My dream is to write each winter on the coast of Spain, down in Malaga on the Mediterranean.
   
7. Get back into sports: I used to be pretty good at some sports, like soccer, tennis, volleyball, even scuba diving, if that's considered a sport. These last four years have been spent mostly in the edit suite, putting together training videos and tv commercials. I need to get back out there again. Been wanting to take up boules since seeing it played in Barcelona, but that's not going to help much in the losing weight department. Be fun, though.
8. Own a house: The white picket fence, close to the lakes, a place where I can paint the walls any color I want. Maybe one day.