I was 29 years old in 2001. I worked for
Kmart online as a technical product manager. I had never taken an art
class, but I dreamed of making movies. I wrote stories before work and on
weekends. I had only confided in one person - my friend Brendan Foley.
So when he invited me to his Oscar party, I went.
Who hasn't fantasized about what they would say
in their Oscar acceptance speech? Who doesn't dream a little during that
show? But that night I felt embarrassed about my dreams. I was an
engineer, sitting on Brendan's couch, eating chips. That was my reality.
Then Steven Soderbergh won his Oscar. He said "I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating." By saying "part of their day" he was including me too. Sitting in the dark, watching TV with my co-workers, I felt my self-consciousness melt away, dissolved by a tiny ember of faith.
