the 2009 year in review, part six

This post is not a number, it is a free man. It also continues my 2009 year in review from part five, and concludes this obscenely long series of posts that I hope was worth the time I put into creating them.

I revealed a fairly major secret, and there was much rejoicing. Yaaay.

About 24 hours later, JJ Abrams called me. It was an entertaining conversation; I couldn't believe he wanted me to do work on his film, and he couldn't believe that I wanted to do it. He asked me if I'd be interested in playing some Romulans, and I think I held my hand over the phone so he couldn't hear me squeal in delight before I calmly told him that, yes, I thought I could do that. I don't recall precisely why, but we agreed that it would be extra cool to keep it a secret until the heat death of the universe, an uncredited bit of awesome that only a handful of people in the world would know about … unless we told them. (In fact, as far as I know, only a dozen people in the world knew about this until some meddling kids and their dog at Viacom found out about it this summer, and said we had to give me credit and stuff.)

I met JJ at an ADR stage a few days later, where he told me the entire plot of the movie (and, for the record, hearing JJ Freakin' Abrams tell you the plot of his Star Trek is even more awesome than you'd expect) and showed me some of the scenes that I'd be dubbing. I ended up providing voices for all the Romulans on Nero's ship, including the guy who tells him that "it's time" at the very beginning of the movie. (Yeah, how cool is that?)

I was distracted for the first 15 or 20 minutes before we started work, because I kept expecting someone to come out from behind a screen with a camera to laugh at me, but when I was given my dialog and recorded my first take, I knew that it was really happening.

I thought it would be really hard to keep my squee under control, but when I stood there in the darkened ADR stage, three pages of dialog in front of me, sitting in the soft glow of a single dim light clipped to a music stand, I was able to put my inner awkward superfan into check long enough to be a professional actor. I mean, I was working for JJ freakin' Abrams on Star frekin' Trek, so maybe I could rise to the occasion, you know?

We recorded dialog for about an hour or so, I guess, and when we were finished, JJ invited me to come with him over to the mixing stage, where he was going to watch a reel of the film.

Um. Okay. Yeah, I think I can do that. I texted Anne something like, "Probably never coming home again. I'm going to stay here with my new best friend JJ Abrams and watch as much of Star Trek as he'll let me."

I celebrated ten years of marriage to my awesome wife.

I wrote a brief history of my life as a Magic: the Gathering player, and played Magic online as part of the Xbox Game With Fame thingy.

I played the game a few times, but it didn't capture my imagination like the board games and RPGs I loved. The mechanics were interesting, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around advanced concepts, like "tapping" and the mysterious "upkeep." (Perhaps I was not the high-level gamer I thought I was.) I went back to that shop a few weeks later (it must have been near a casting office) and ended up talking to the owner about playing Magic. "It's okay," I said, "but I'm just not that into it."

He reached behind the counter and pulled out a long box. "Maybe you'd like the game better if you had access to all the cards."

"That box has one of every card in the whole game?"

"Yes. It's eighty dollars."

"Sorry, dude, there is no way I'm spending eighty dollars on that."

Yes, for those of you wondering, this particular box had a Black Lotus in it, among other things.

Because I was so excited about making things this year, I did my best to help other peopleget excited and make things.

In the old days, creators had to hope that:

1. A store would carry their Thing.

2. Once in the store, their Thing would be in a place where people could see it.

3. People would buy their Thing.

4. People would buy enough of their Thing to get the cycle to start over at step 1.

Oh, and to have any hope of being successful, they have to do this in different stores all over the place, competing for space and attention with huge companies that have massive advertising budgets. It was, to say the very least, daunting.

But look at how much things have changed! Creative people can get excited, make something, and get it to their customers without ever having to go through any of those steps. The financial risk has been almost entirely taken away, so now we can take chances on our really crazy ideas, just because we're excited about them.

In the comments to that post, there are dozens and dozens of links from other WWdN readers who got excited and made things. Dig through if you have some time; there are some treasures buried in there.

One of the things I got excited and made is the Memories of the Futuremug:

My mind ran off like a dog chasing an idea through the forest, returning a few minutes later with something awesome. If I were to create a dialog to dramatically illustrate the way it all came together, it might go something like this:

My Mind: DUDE! OMG! This is going to be so cool!

Me: Okay, I'm listening.

My Mind: We're going to make a mug that goes with Memories of the Future.

Me: Tell me more…

My Mind: On one side, it will have those beautiful space jellyfish that Will designed for the cover.

Me: I love how those look.

My Mind: Everyone does. Will did a great job with them. Now listen, because this is what takes this mug from cool to awesome: On the opposite side of the mug, it says:

Tea,

Earl Grey.

Hot.

Me: Holy crap, My Mind! That's awesome!

My Mind: I know, right?!

Me: High five!

My Neighbor's Kid: Why did Mister Wheaton just slap himself in the head?

My Neighbor: He's a writer, honey. They do weird things like that.

And … scene.

My brother got excited and made some awesome calendars.

As the year drew to a close, I remembered the irrational immortality of youth:

We parked in a mostly-empty lot and walked down toward the water. There was a winter storm on its way, driving powerful waves ahead of it that were so huge, they crashed up against the bottom of the pier and occasionally broke over the end of it. Wrapped up in the irrational immortality that's endemic to 22 year-olds, we walked dangerously close to the end of the shuddering pier, angry waves boiling beneath, and dared the Pacific Ocean to reach up and touch us.

Anne and I went to a big deal Hollywood A-list party at Seth MacFarlane's house:

We saw Seth (who looked every inch the Rat Packer in his white jacket and red carnation) and thanked him for inviting us. At first, he didn't recognize me (on account of my luxurious beard, a theme that would repeat itself again in a moment) but when he did, he got super excited to introduce me to his orchestra's conductor, Ron Jones. Ron scored Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Seth was such a huge TNG fan, he hired him to score Family Guy. When Seth introduced us, Ron smiled warmly and said, "It's so lovely to meet you. I scored your childhood."

It was such a wonderful sentiment, and said with such joy and nostalgia, I looked at Anne and had to blink my eyes several times. Seth got pulled away by one of the hundreds of people who wanted to talk to him, and Anne and I talked with Ron for a little bit before he had to go back to conducting his orchestra.

I'm still trying to convince myself that that actually happened, and that I wasn't invited by mistake.

When I finished the first series of Memories of the Futurecast, I restarted Radio Free Burrito and gave it its own home at RadioFreeBurrito.com. I release a new episode every Monday, children.

For the rest of the month, I pretty much dug into the vault for posts so I could enjoy some vacation time with my family, then I wrote a bunch of posts about what I did all year that I hoped to keep to three, but ended up going to six, because as it turns out … it really was a great year after all.

You know, it's really easy to look back on the year and only see the things I didn't do, the things I didn't finish, the stuff I missed out on, and the things that I failed to accomplish. In fact, it's really hard not to do that. But when I put this whole series of posts together, though, a pretty clear picture emerged: 2009 was an awesome year for me professionally, easily the best year I've had as an actor this decade. As a writer, I didn't do the fiction I wanted to do (again) but I released two books that people seem to like a whole lot, and began work on another. For the first time since I started this stuff, I finally feel – for real – like I can really make a living doing this stuff. I'm not getting rich (and it's not like I'm not trying, guys) but I'm not starving or struggling, either.

Over all, I'm grateful for my friends, my family, my health, my success, and that I get to share all of those things with millions of people (wow, that's weird) who I'll probably never get to meet, but who seem to genuinely care about all that stuff, and give me the wonderful gift of listening to me when I tell them stories about it. You're reading this, so you're probably one of those people, right? Well, thank you. I sincerely mean that.

Yeah, 2009 was a pretty good year, so I'm putting 2010 on notice: you've got some big shoes to fill, buddy. I think you should get on the phone with some people and get to work.

34 thoughts on “the 2009 year in review, part six”

  1. Thanks for the memories – past and future. And thanks for letting us live vicariously through so many very cool moments.
    Happy New Year!

  2. Whew. That was quite the multi-part recap, Wil. It’s sure is something to look back and see just how much of that stuff was just this one year. You’ve had a great 2009, sir. Here’s to another, even better one!

  4. Happy New Year, Wil. I read these (and a bunch of stuff they linked to) today, and I’m glad you’re out there telling stories about (and for) our generation of nerds. Thanks for being awesome.

  5. Happy New Year, Wil – to you and your family. I’m so happy that 2009 was fulfilling and encouraging for your career goals. I hope that 2010 is even more successful, in every way. A toast, to your health and happiness, good sir.

  6. Happy New Year! I was lucky enough to catch your panel at PAX this year, and it was a wonderful highlight to a great weekend. This year has been fairly up and down for me, but your work throughout the year has made me smile when I needed it, and your year end posts have reminded me that all in all, I’m definitely coming out ahead at the moment.
    Have a great 2010!

  7. That was an awesome recap; it’s definitely been quite the year for you. It’s so cool to see you coming into your own. 🙂

  8. I totally overlooked the Futuremug previously and have just rectified that. I shall drink only tea from it, love it, and call it George.
    I will also attempt to not break the handle off putting it into the dishwasher like I did my Aperture Sciences mug, but no promises…

  11. No one wanted to work today so I intoduced your website & podcasts to a couple of unsuspecting co-workers . I know one ordered MOTF from work and both couldn’t wait to get home to add MOTF & RFB to their podcast lists. I laugh & giggle a lot when I have you on so these posts were a really great way to intoduce your fantastic writing to some people who have been wondering about my sanity for some time now.
    It’s been a great year Wil. Thanks for inviting us along and remeber if we ever reach all the goals we set for ourselves, we are aiming too low.
    OMG–did I really just say that….I need my new Despair/ThinkGeek calendar to get here soon. I’m losing my snark!
    Happy New Year to you and yours! And I really do beleive the goal thing no matter how sappy it is 🙂

  13. Happy New Year to you and yours.
    Your blog/podcasts/books have been so uplifting to me. What one person above said is true, thank you for letting us live vicariously through you, you do have an awesome life. I’m hoping to get out to a PAX in the next couple years, and I really do hope you’re there too, for a couple reasons. I want an autograph of MotF and I want to give you a big, warm hug of appreciation/comfort/congratulations/etc (with your permission of course).
    Thank you for being someone so approachable and ‘real’.

  14. Happy New Year, Wil. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your experiences with us. Your one of those authors who inspires me to keep on writing too.

  16. I don’t know if I saw a wonderful portent of the new year this evening, or a bad one. I’m sussing it out. I was at the grocery when an entire five-shelf section of champagne came crashing down on this woman in the liquor isle. She was surrounded by yards of broken glass, but so far as anyone could tell, she’d escaped with only an enourmous run in her stockings and an amazing, earth-shattering scare.
    I’ve got some good reasons to fear the new year, and this one was really really great, like a million snapshots of your favorite vacation, the one you retell over and over again until you bore your grandchildren. Anyway, it’s interesting to read your summary and see what an interesting time you had, to go through your old snapshots.
    But I’m sitting in the den with my family and I’ve got to break out the bottle of sparkling apple juice. I’ll wish everyone a Happy New Year. 🙂

  19. As a recent discoverer of both this blog and your podcasts, this has been a great read, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all.
    I am on year 25 of being married to my best friend who I actually met while playing D&D, and you are correct sir…..being married to your best friend most certainly RULES!! Congratulations and may you have many many more.
    Happy New Year Wil Wheaton – I look forward to more of your work in the coming months, and thank you for putting it out there!!
    MOZ

  20. Hi Wil – late to the party as ever, but I’ve just read through all six recap posts, and realised how much I’d missed or forgotten on your blog this year. Particularly enjoyed some of the links, Garage Band video at PhoenixComiCon and for one looking through all of the Flickr pool.
    Hope 2010 continues to be awesome for you. I look forward to the next volume of Memories of the Future, and both podcasts.

  21. Oh man – I had forgotten what fun it is to visit this place … one of those bookmarks that disappeared with my laptop …
    It’s been a couple of years since I read your blog, and am so pleasantly surprised to see the ‘development’ in your writing. Still as entertaining as ever, but now with even more style!
    I’ll be back!
    Happy New Year to you and Anne from Liverpool UK …

  22. You did ADR for the movie????? I missed this entire section of your postings! I’m going to have to go back to that section again and re-watch it!
    Happy New Year, Wil! May 2010 be even more awesome!!!
    🙂
    Scott

  23. You did ADR for the movie????? I missed this entire section of your postings! I’m going to have to go back to that section again and re-watch it!
    Happy New Year, Wil! May 2010 be even more awesome!!!
    🙂
    Scott

  24. Here’s to 2010, may this year be as bright and vivacious and wonderful to everyone as 2009 was to my little family. 🙂
    I have great respect for you. Thanks for allowing and inviting me to be a part of your life through your incredible writing skills and wonderfully relate-able stories.

  25. Thank you for an awesome year of blogs!
    Completely random question: I just watched Best of Both Worlds Part 1 in which in the poker game in the early bit Wesley folds three Jacks because he falls for Riker’s bluff. I bet you wouldn’t fall for it now but how much did you know about poker at the time? Where you fighting against the script?

  26. What a fantastic series of posts! It was really cool to remember with you all the stuff you’ve gone through over the year, good and bad. As I’ve mentioned many times before I LOVE your writing, in fact I just bought Sunken Treasure World Ed for my Kindle and look forward to reading it. I also bought Memories of the Future and loved it, in fact I’ve read it through a few times (I even bought the futuremug, twice. Long story 🙂
    I emailed you to thank you but I wanted to do it here as well. Thanks for all the inspiration Wil, I hope you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!
    p.s. you might want to update your Lulu.com email message 🙂

  27. hey wil i just got an idea for yeah for the new year. and i would totally go for it. and i am not sure if u have already done this but its an idea none the less. why don’t you write a book with all or the best of ur blog enteries. that would be so cool and i would buy it. even though your books are so hard to find up here in canada. please tell me what u think. and happy new year to you, ur wife and kids.

  30. WARNING!!! LEFT-IST MESSAGE INCOMING!! CONSERVATIVES PLEASE AVOID AT ALL COSTS and PLEASE DEFER TO OTHER REPLIES!!
    A-hem.
    You’ve been warned.
    So. Methinks that Rush Limbaugh suffering serious chest pains was as good a prognostic indicator as any that 2010 is going to be a good year.
    Of course, this presumes that ‘ol Rush actually has a heart which, I maintain, is debatable.
    Now if he were to fall over dead as vials of Percoset spill from his shirt pocket then I know that a). 2010 and the consequent decade are going to really be a blast and b). I need to re-think my views on the possibilities of Divine Intervention.
    Ba-dum-dum.

  33. Wow… I totally got mentioned in the “Year in Review!” Well, OK, not by name, but I did get to play^H^H^H^H beat you in the XBox Game with Fame thing, so I’m gonna go ahead and count that. Anyway, if you remember me (and even in if you don’t), Happy New Year to you and your family, from me (in an undisclosed deployed location in Southwest Asia) and mine (in England).

  34. Wil 2009 has been a very good year for gaining XP in many areas of life. You are the best cheerleader ever! If I had a million dollars I’d build you a brand new Ark for you and all your clones.
    Here’s to more great guest roles (sheldon rematch sheldon rematch sheldon rematch), more memories of the future and al whole lotta people getting excited to make stuff. 2010 will be the awesomest year because we will make it so.
    Thanks.

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