Twenty

Unexpected synchronized moments make me wonder if the universe does indeed pay attention.  Today, leaving a meeting with my agents, I ran into TT, my first boss in Hollywood. Not sure the last time we saw each other, but I'm guessing years.  I was inspired when I recently read in the trades that after nine years one of his passion projects, a film about Alfred Hitchcock, had just wrapped production.  He was one of the most wonderful bosses -- supportive, fun, passionate -- and hired a team of loyal executives whom I still remain close to.  He also knew how to celebrate our victories, resulting in many champagne dinners and late nights in NYC during the upfronts.

Twenty years ago today, I landed at LAX with a suitcase and five thousand dollars in the bank.  I didn't know what would happen to me, or where this journey would lead.  I was hopeful, excited, anxious and bursting at the seams to shake up my life.  By August I had found employment as a television development executive at a studio.  TT was my boss' boss, and two years later after a promotion, he became my direct boss.  In all honesty, I have a hard time believing I've spent two decades in this city, in this industry, in these adult years of my life.  These run-ins are simultaneously jarring and delightful.  Faces marked by time, familiar voices unchanged, and befuddled exchanges about still being in the game.  Twenty years working in Hollywood has resulted in a wonderfully tangled web of relationships and associations.  The longer I'm here the more I reconnect, even if for a brief moment, but always long enough to remind me of the roots I have in this community.  Today's run-in felt like a wink from the universe acknowledging the anniversary of my arrival, the beginning of this strange and beautiful ride.