One thing about relentless archivism is that it allows you to read your entire email inbox from the year 1999, which is something I found myself doing tonight. 1999 is a weird year from our current perspective; not long enough ago to be considered history, it is true that everything is different now.
On this date in 1999, I was boarding a plane to North Carolina so I could attend the wedding of Lindsay and Dana. I was in a long-distance relationship with a wonderful girl named Mary who lived in Chicago (whilst I lived in Los Angeles). I was writing the trailer for the movie Mystery Men, while in pre-production for my first short film "The Rescue of Autumn." Meanwhile, the dot-com I helped create had gone public, and all of my compatriots were holding their stock to see if it would hit 125.
I was also severely depressed. Six months of Prozac was doing nothing but rob me of ability to care about the protagonists of movies. Mary eventually tired of my swooning lack of communication, and "Mystery Men" bombed despite my attempts at breathing life into the ad campaign. "The Rescue of Autumn" was a surprise hit in New York later that year, but largely, I think, due to the amount of bourbon and Japanese sake ingested by the attendees; despite great performances from the actors, it only serves to embarrass me now. Oh, and the dot-com was bought by a gazillionaire and the stock plummeted to the single digits. Lindsay and Dana, however, are still happily married.
I remain an archivist of old emails and old notes, mix tapes, and dinky pieces of random shit – because I think it's important to remember the distinct flavor of the times you've experienced. Some eras are obviously better left unexcavated, but if you're attempting to tell stories with your life, you had better be ready to dive into your own belly button lint with a heartbeat's notice.
I don't write as many lugubrious emails as I used to, nor is my world hinged upon the many affirmations I sought in the virtual world of women. Tessa has relieved me of the latter, and this blog has replaced the former. I wish I could apologize to everyone for my behavior of 1999, but the bandwidth would crash the server; suffice to say being 32 is hard. Just ask Jesus, Mozart and Schubert.
Posted by at March 11, 2003 8:29 PM