With Love from Seattle: Holiday Greetings 2018

My cherished professor Hubert Locke passed away this year. He's
pictured here at my 50th birthday party surrounded by adoring
students, grad school friends Chris, Ellen & Suzanne, June 2013

My pal Moey and me in front of miniature tree
at home, Seattle, December 22, 2018

"Imagination is the rearrangement of life as we know it now. It is not about the magical or fantastic. As Pablo Picasso writes, "Everything you can imagine is real." Get it? Real."                          
                            
                                                                                     --Joan Chittister, The Monastic Way

December 20, 2018

Season’s Greetings from the Great Northwest!

Walking to work this morning, feelings of gratitude washed over me. It was a typical December day in Seattle, grey with a light drizzle, and as I crested the hill looking west toward the Space Needle and downtown Seattle memories of arriving here 32 years ago drifted in & out of my mind. While there’s countless more high rises dotting the skyline, there’s still a calm about walking the Seattle sidewalks heading downhill toward this booming metropolis.

The past two years my life has changed in numerous ways. In January 2017 after I parted ways with my church job at St. Joseph Parish, I decided to take a chance on something I’d dreamed about but never had the faith or confidence to pursue. I was enrolled in acting classes at Freehold Theatre, an actor’s training studio. When I told them I lost my job they were willing to hire me as a work study student. 

Pure Joy: Meisner Graduating Class, June 12, 2018

I continued there, through 2017 and into 2018, enrolling in a 9 month Meisner technique class, a method where there is a greater focus on the other actor as opposed to one's internal thoughts or feelings associated with the character.  Last June I completed that class, one of my proud accomplishments the past year. My classmates and I continue to meet to practice, prep for auditions, and encourage one another. While in the Meisner program I found work as a concierge at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle and worked part time while going to school, auditioning for commercial and stage work, and volunteering once a week at a local hospice.

This summer I decided I needed to return to work fulltime. After a 6 month search I was offered a position at University of Washington Medicine as an Admin Assistant in their Compliance Department. It’s only been three weeks, but I feel very much at home here. I like working in a higher education setting. Our office addresses HIPAA/Privacy issues and Conflicts of Interest/Ethics in the medical research area. I manage the schedule, coordinate meetings, and oversee planning for one of the compliance officers, a good humored woman who worked in environmental law before coming to the University.

Summertime Hiking Weekend  Getaway in Canada,
near Whistler, B.C., July 2018

I continue to swim and run with my sporting groups. I’m in the midst of a holiday show called Jingle All the Way with Seattle Men’s Chorus. On December 23^rdI’ll receive my 20 year pin, and I’m tickled at how excited I am. Hard to believe I’ve sung for 20 seasons with this group of talented and caring men. I started in 1998 when both my parents were still alive. The group served as a support during that time of loss in 2000 and 2001.

We Are Family: Grady-Bazur family wedding in
Washington, D.C., June 2018

I experienced other losses this year. My beloved professor Hubert Locke passed away the weekend before my birthday. We kept in touch after my graduation from the U.W. in 1993 up until his death. I spoke with him the week before and shared with him my excitement around my acting studies and opportunities. As I crested the hill I felt this great joy in knowing he’d be so proud of me as I completed this new chapter of my new life and march on to this next one at U.W. I also lost several family members: my cousins Dennis, Rick, and Jim. Those sad happenings were lightened by the family reunion on my father’s side in September in Cleveland. I relished in the laughter and warmth of the Hilovsky clan. And earlier in the summer, found joy on my mother’s side, attending the wedding of cousin John Dylan in Washington, D.C. in June.

Here’s wishing you and yours a blessed and happy season. May 2019 make all your dreams come true!

Love,

Jack

Whale Watching off the coast of the San Juan Islands
with friend Eric Roecks, May 2018