Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Cloudy and milder

It’s supposed to get up into the thirties today, which is positively balmly compared to the weather we’ve been having lately. But hey, it’s January, and I prefer seasons, so that’s that.

Finished the revision on THE MATILDA MURDERS yesterday and got it off to my producer. Hope she likes it.. I’m having trouble with the logo file, which has delayed sending out the press release for the play that’s running.

Didn’t get much done in the afternoon, because the rewrite wore me out. I need to get a start on CHANNELING JIM MORRISON today and clear off some other business. I caught up on some email and other stuff. I’m kind of hesitant to start CJM because today’s the only day I can work on it until next week, and, for me, the first draft of plays need to be written in one swath. I don’t think I can manage a full-length in one day. I set up some of the stuff for the Jenny Storm name. I’ll put up a page on the DE site at some point next week, and, next week, I’m also doing a photo shoot for the icon connected to that name (the way the coffee cup, books and pen are the DE icon).

February’s site work schedule keeps shifting around. It’s a mess. I need to clone myself to get it all done, and, at the same time, I can’t afford (in every sense of the word) giving up any of these jobs. So I just have to be very, very, very organized.

A BOOK OF ONE’S OWN is wonderfully enjoyable, as always. No matter how often I read it (and I read it about once a year), I always learn something new. That’s what a good book does – it gives you more each time you return.

Yesterday was a tough day in regards to missing my grandmother. I have to remind myself that grief is a process. Unfortunately, we’re supposed to just have the funeral/memorial service/whatever and “move on”, instead of letting the process play out. We have to remember that it takes time and there’s a roller coaster of emotion involved in loss, and honor that.

On top of that, I listened to Saturn Retrograde (and my instincts) in regard to someone with whom I’ve considered working for the past couple of weeks. He pulled a trouble-making stunt yesterday that, while not aimed directly at me, proved to me we are not a good creative match. I’m disappointed, but I’m glad I trusted my instincts and took some “getting to know you” time to find out this is NOT someone with whom I want to work, rather than getting deep into a project and finding out at a point where I might be tempted to grit my teeth and just get through it. This isn’t something that can be negotiated and good middle ground found – we approach work and life from two very different points of view, which could either create a wonderful dynamic or a toxic one. My gut tells me that this would wind up being toxic, and I certainly don’t need to go down that road again. The payoff isn’t worth it. I have no interest in spending a lot of creative time with someone who has such a cruel streak. I don’t find cruelty funny.

I’m delighted that Hillary Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State. Last February, a friend and I were talking about what we thought would be the best of all possibilities. She was a huge Clinton supporter; I hadn’t made up my mind completely between Obama and Clinton, although I leaned towards Obama, and I said I’d love to see Obama as President and Clinton as Secretary of State. I got my wish.

And kudos to NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Not only did he put the screws into AIG when they tried to spend the TARP money on more resorts, he’s forced United Healthcare to cough up for overcharging their customers. I believe Oxford is involved in this as well, and Aetna settled to avoid a thorough investigation. Cuomo and his office are really good at getting things done for the people of New York.

I’ve got another blog post up on the SDR blog. This one’s about the importance of silence. Enjoy.

I’ve got to get back to the page and figure out which pages I need to face today. And then I have to pack for the weekend’s site job. I leave in the morning.

Devon

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Cloudy and cold

Well, yesterday was both exciting and exhausting, wasn’t it? Loved the inauguration speech, and I think most people will take it to heart, roll up their sleeves and get to work. The majority of citizens will take on the responsibility and the work to repair the problems in this country, but we need leadership in order to do so effectively. Now we have it, so let’s get to work. Wall Street, of course, ran scared because now they have to be accountable and can’t just scamper off stealing people’s money, begging Congress for a bail out and then spending it on themselves. And those dodgy last-minute resolutions The Great Pretender tried to push through have been put on hold for review.

Heck, I was exhausted from just watching it all yesterday! But if our new President can get out of bed and attack his workday with enthusiasm after such a long day, I guess I can get some work done, too, right? 😉

So, we’re in the middle of waiting for the parade and someone pounds on the door, scaring the heck out of all of us. It was the exterminator. We’ve been trying to get the Scumbags to bring in the exterminator for nearly two years now and he shows up without an appointment or anything on INAUGURATION DAY? Not exactly what you want prowling around in the middle of a lunch party, but I was so grateful to see the guy that we coped.

I got about a page and a half done on The Lucy Gothic, but that was it. I had the television on most of the day, whether people were here or not, and that’s something I NEVER do. I can’t stand having it on in the background as noise. And one cannot write effectively in front of the television. Trust me, you do it, and you won’t get published, because everything you write picks up the flavor of what’s running in the background. And, after what seemed like umpteen hours, I just couldn’t stand having it on anymore, so I shut it off and read.

I’m re-reading A BOOK OF ONE’S OWN by Thomas Mallon, which is about people and their diaries. If you’re interested in people at all, whether or not you’re interested in writing, this is a book you should read. I first bought it in 1986, and I re-read it at least once a year.

I’m back to tackling THE MATILDA MURDERS, which I need to complete and send to my producer before I leave for my weekend site job on Friday.

So I better get to work.

Devon