Blog: Video Clips

I know myself and my past behavior. I realize that at times I can react to a situation in ways that have been called “harsh”, or words to that effect. Yes, I am the guy that broke up with a girl because she played Enya too much. It sounds harsher than it really was, but it illustrates that some seemingly tame situation can potentially be met with irreversible wrath.

I also know myself to be deficient in the human feature that allows one to ask for help. I’m working on upgrading that skill set. Throw that in with my previously documented disdain for online dating and you have the background needed to assist me with crafting an ending to the following story:

Once upon a time, there was a dashing young man called JD, bestowed with charm, aesthetic gifts, intellect and apparently an abundance of self-esteem.   He tried the online dating but had grown to prefer navigating the real world in search of suitable female companionship.

One day an email message leapt from the screen and caught JD’s attention. It was from the online dating site, OK Cupid, where our hero had submitted a profile some months past. JD had been rated a 4 or 5 by some fair maiden, who obviously possessed great taste in men. The curious JD logged on and perused the requisite matches and return rated.  MATCH…the maiden and the hero had cross rated each other.

Communication was started and all seemed well. The timing was inconvenient, as happens. JD had just started pre-production on a short film project. The two talked and were frustrated that there just wasn’t time to meet. The shoot came that weekend, followed by post-production and weekend long birthday celebration the next weekend and then more post until it was finished.

This was no ordinary project for JD.  This is one that he wrote, directed, produced and acted in.  Not only was he responsible for not wasting other people’s time who were gracious enough to participate, but he had invested a little money, but also the invaluable resources of time and energy.  Through the rewrites, rehearsal, securing locations and finding replacement equipment on short notice, JD still managed to find pockets of time to talk with the potential love interest.

She, being a nurse practitioner had a hectic schedule herself. On the release day of “Textually Active”, she was only able to see the film on her cell phone.  Reception issues bogged down the viewing experience and she was only able to catch a bit. I hadn’t requested her feedback, but alas…an incoming text. Was it a text or was it a phone call, or an email? Either way the message regarding my creative passion that had consumed most moments of the short time she had known me was:

“You know, it kind of looked like a porn”

So much for the sensitive, caring, stereotype of nurses, right?  Upon further questioning she said what she thought would make it better:

“I meant just the quality of it

Shoot me now.

My first instinct was to just end it. I mean can one get over such a violation of decorum? Should they even try? Please note that the “porn quality” review was the ONLY feedback ever received.
Now, I’m not one to think that the women I date have to like everything that I like or even the stuff that I make, but this seemed especially insensitive to me.

Inner voice: “No, no…calm down, JD. The good people out there are here to help you.  Go ahead and ask for help.  DO IT!”

OK, please help me figure out what my next move should be. Do you think someone should have a similar sense of humor? In my case, beyond my freakishly good looks, humor is the main ingredient of my charm! Don’t you think someone should respect your work, even if they don’t like it? Finally, do you think there is any, possible, way that the following short film could be mistaken for porn?  I’m not even going to get into wanting to know why she’s such a porn expert.