When I was younger, in junior high school, the teachers were passing out sheets of paper with careers listed. We also took tests that determined what we liked and didn’t like (because we knew everything about ourselves at the age of 12).

When I took my test, and I was given a list of careers, I wasn’t satisfied. It was too narrow of a list. I wanted to do what was on my list, and I wanted to do more. Private investigator sounded great. So did interior design. So did scientist and explorer and piano player and acting.

And like Sarah Kay, I was disappointed to learn that I probably wouldn’t be able to do everything I really wanted in one life time. Like her, I turned to writing because it gave me the excuse to explore every career, every type of life I could think of or even make up in my own head.

I think this is why I felt lost at college. I’m having to pick one category to sit myself in, when everything is interesting and nothing is “exactly” what I wanted. Because it felt limited.

And inside I knew that writing was the only way to live all of those lifetimes, or at least imagine doing so.

And sometimes fiction is far more fun than the reality.

Where I rattle on about stuff. And things. And writing.

The webisodes feature Krag, a barbarian hero, who has teamed up with a wizard, a cleric, and a bard and are now off on their first adventure together. They’re still figuring their way around the world, and each other, in order to make it through the day, much less through all the trouble that seems to come to them.

In fact, let’s not talk so much about it, let’s just watch Walking in Circles, the new comedy fantasy fi:

Adam Rady and James Rodehaver began working on Walking in Circles at their home in Ohio, and moved across the country to California in order to find their stars and film the series.

Speaking of these guys, I had the opportunity to ask them some questions about their work.

What was it like to move from Ohio to California in order to pursue Walking in Circles? Did you suffer from culture shock?

Coming to California from Ohio was a giant lesson in patience. One of the hardest things to get used to in this city has been blocking out 4 hours of our day to go down the street to the grocery store. There are just so many people, everywhere, all the time that it seems impossible to get anywhere. In Ohio everything is more spread out and open. The biggest culture shock has been getting used to the idea that English is a second language out here. There are so many times when we try to communicate with someone only to realize they have no idea what we’re saying and vice versa. There’s very little language barrier between anybody in Ohio, whereas out here everyone is from somewhere else.

Did you know any of the actors beforehand or did you meet them along the road? Some of them look pretty sketchy. Are you sure they’re actors?

We didn’t know any of our principal actors before moving out to LA, but our parents played guest starring and background roles. That sort of leads into the answer for question two in that some of the people we worked with were absolutely not actors. However, even those of us with no background in acting did a fantastic job and everyone in front of and behind the camera was perfect for their role.

Did you two ever play Dungeons and Dragons as a kids? By the way, how do you two know each other?

James has been playing Dungeons and Dragons since he was but a wee lad, and he convinced Adam that rolling dice wasn’t nearly as geeky as people make it out to be. Correction, it’s exactly as geeky as people make it out to be, but it’s a lot of fun anyway. James’s dad is responsible for getting him into fantasy and science fiction at a young age.

James and Adam met about 14 years ago when James moved in down the street. At first, James did not get along with Adam at all. Somehow that led to them being best friends and that dynamic is surprisingly unchanged.

What kind of equipment was used? Did you have to work with any new technology?

The camera used was a Canon Rebel T-2i. It had a really excellent quality to price ratio that we couldn’t pass up. We got a really nice boom mic set up that we barely used and instead recorded most of our sound off of a couple a lavalier mics. All of the technology we used was new to us because this is our first project and we have zero experience in the field with any of this stuff. Adam has put together all of our footage in Adobe premier, using after effects for our CGI work.

Were there any surprises along the way? Any thought-provoking moments you’d like to share with would-be directors wanting to do this sort of thing?

Well, one of our locations was flooded the day we showed up to film, so that would definitely count as a surprise. Then one of our other locations turned out to be 12 feet under water at the time of year we filmed. Basically, water hated us. One of the most surprising things though was that no matter what happened we were able to roll with the punches and keep going and produce some amazing footage. There were days where the crap just kept piling up, but no one gave up and at the end of the day we had something we were all proud of that was definitely worth it.

Batman or Superman?

Batman. Superman is more powerful, but all he had to do to gain that power was be born on a different planet. Batman may have had all the resources he needed from his parents, but the training, dedication, and smarts were all him. Not to mention there’s no element of danger with Superman. Oh no, Superman got shot in the face with a bazooka. No big deal because he’s indestructible. Having only one weakness means all the danger to Superman has to be contrived. Batman always needs to be on his A game or he’s toast.

What’s coming in future episodes? Is there more singing? Who writes the songs?

Now now, we can’t tell you all of what’s coming. It will be hilarious though. It will be awesome. And yes, Garand will continue to sing. All of Garand’s songs were improvisation on the spot by Jonah Priour, who is so incredibly talented. We’re fairly certain that that guy is the literal manifestation of Garand in real life.

Like what you see? Check out the video, plus later there’s an exclusive interview with the cast of Walking in Circles. That’s coming up soon. Sqweee!

HELP SUPPORT WALKING IN CIRCLES.

*dies laughing*

I love the “O” part. I can’t believe they did it in one take. Awesome!

I <3 The Guild.

His speech holds a lot of meaning for me, simply because I am someone who never went to college, until now, at 29. I was nervous about going to college, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I felt like I had one shot at going to college. The government would pay for it, and I would have to choose what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Because I didn’t know what I wanted, I never went.

Instead, I looked for what I really wanted to do. I experimented with different types of businesses, some were massive failures. It is through this ‘testing’ phase that I found writing. I found I loved to write fiction. I discovered that while I could write nonfiction, it wasn’t my favorite. However, I learned certain aspects of it that were enjoyable. I learned to focused on what I loved about it. Over 10 years of working in nonfiction, and having perfected it, I did it because it allowed me access to do what I really want to do while working part time at it. Maybe I’m a ‘late bloomer’ but I absolutely love working from home and having the free time that I have to seek out other opportunities.

So this year, as I enter college, I do so with the idea that I’ll be diving into lessons and learning and passions that I can discover all over again. I’m not taking English. Why would I want to learn how to do something that I already do for a living? Instead, I chose physics, a science field, and with full intention of exploring other sciences along the way as well. Chemistry and biology are also of interest to me. I wouldn’t have this opportunity to learn about things that could be very important to me. I wish to find the solutions to problems I’m passionate about. I feel I can only do that through knowing the science behind it, so I can create what I want. I’m a problem solver. I like knowing how to make it, not going over problems.

Imagine if Christopher Columbus had believed in his formal education where everyone around him believed the earth was flat. Pigeonholed into what was tradition, rather than willing to push the boundaries but following his passion, he revolutionized beliefs in his time. In the picture above, he is seen with people weeping at his parting, because they feared he would not return. He must surely fall off the end of the world if he were to go off in his ships.

If you haven’t yet, go listen to Sir Ken Robinson, and then maybe share with me your interpretations.

Elementary school teachers and high school teachers that I had were great, but I really did lack in the math department. It may not be the fault of math teachers. As someone at the TED website posted in the comments, some teachers end up being math teachers and they hated math. They even said so to children.

So when we’ve got math teachers who hate math teaching these skills to kids who also have learned to hate math, you can easily see why science and engineering careers seem like the impossible reach to kids. Many may have the aspiration, but when we make math ‘harder’ on ourselves by trying to memorize formulas instead of building formulas ourselves, it’s a limitation. We get told it may be too hard and to try something else.

What’s your thoughts on math?

What else do we need to say about Felicia Day? She’s just awesome for taking time out to answer questions. So cute!