Fri. May 26, 2023: I’d Rather Be Reading

image courtesy of  nini kvaratskhelia via pixabay.com

Friday, May 26, 2023

Waxing Moon

Pluto Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Are you ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

I am totally not.

Yet I am.

Today’s serial episode is from Angel Hunt:

Episode 36: Quarry or Guardian?

Is her host a hunter or the hunted?

Angel Hunt serial link.

I forgot to mention that Wednesday night into Thursday night, I had nightmares.

The first was that I was called back to work WICKED, because they were short-handed, only I didn’t have my running notes, and they wouldn’t give me a new set. I pulled myself out of that, totally disgusted with myself because: A) That’s not who they are, they want the show to work, and B) the last time I worked the show was in 2010 and my notes wouldn’t even be relevant anymore.

The second nightmare was that I was back in the Cape house, trying to clean it out and being totally overwhelmed. I pulled myself out of that sense memory stress and reminded myself that I am here NOW. I am in a different reality, and building a different future.

Meditation was cancelled, sadly. I should have just sat on my own, but I went down the Census rabbit hole again. Some Playland information, but also lots of other interesting stuff. There was an author. His English-born wife was an insurance researcher. They had four kids, including twins. Her sister, also an author, lived with them, and they had a lodger who was a librarian. Now, is that a dramedy in the making, or what?

There was the 63-year-old actress living as a “guest” in the house of a laborer at the Amoury, his wife, and their older children. There’s a story there. The teenaged “umbrella boy” at the beach, whose slightly elder brother is an office clerk for a film company, and whose father is a building inspector. The grand opera ballet dancer, born in Switzerland, living with her mother, her stepfather (a gardener at a private estate), her brother (who arrived from Basel, Switzerland and now works as a machine operator at an electric company), her four year old son, and her aunt, who arrived from Paris, and now works as a maid.

There were all the usual stone masons and carpenters and painters and office clerks and bank tellers and barbers and railroad workers. There was an increase in dressmakers and women working in dress factories (mostly Italian), and millinery places, along with more Germans, Poles, and Austrians (getting out before the war), and an uptick in “butcher” as their profession. A German painter and her Polish art dealer husband.  A young artist living with her parents (photographers), and her sister is a stenographer for a soap company. Then there were more unusual professions like gravedigger and religious ornamental salesman and marine pilot.

I heard back from the Archives. They are so excited! They didn’t have the photos I had, but they found photos of the same women , but they’re not named. They’re also pulling payroll books and other administrative records, and are thrilled that someone is trying to put names to these women.

So I need my grant money, so I can get down there and do some research! (Yes, I can use the grant for this stuff).

I also put together a residency proposal for next winter. Finger crossed. I’m using this project as one I’d like to work on in residency. If not, I’ll do it anyway. I worked on next week’s Process Muse post.

I did the social media rounds for Legerdemain, checked on the strike news, and the impending debt default. The fuckers decided the Memorial Day weekend was more important than doing their job. Disgusting. Even more disgusting is that the Democrats CAN fix this without caving to the Republican demands, and they CHOOSE not to. So we are going to default and all the people who actually work for a living, all the seniors, all the veterans, you know the people who actually make things WORK,  get screwed next week. This is unacceptable. The Democrats’ unwillingness to actually get in the trenches and fight is disgusting. All Congressional salaries should be frozen until they reach a deal AND they should be locked into the Capitol building until a clean debt ceiling raise is passed. Nothing else is even faintly acceptable.

In the afternoon, I did two client projects, and something came in for today (no four-day weekend for me). I may work on Monday, if something comes in; or try to just double down on work Tuesday and Wednesday, for this pay period. I’m making my calculations for the worst possible outcome; if I’m wrong and it doesn’t happen, then I can work from there. I’m also seriously exhausted and burned out, and don’t know if I can sustain without a break. However, I may not have the option to rest. We have bills to pay, and they’re not going to pay themselves, and if there’s a default, any owed monies won’t get here, and I have to make up the difference.

This is what happens when you don’t arrest the insurrectionist members of Congress the day they tried not to ratify the election. They continue with the insurrection. This is why you can’t give ANY of these Christo-fascists an inch and EVERY single one of them has to be completely destroyed. We need to stop negotiating with domestic terrorists.

Today’s agenda: upload/schedule the next 8 episodes of Angel Hunt (which will get me into early July). Maybe do some more work on it. Do the social media rounds to promote today’s episode. Go grocery shopping. Pick up my mother’s prescription. Swing by the library, to pick up a few things that came in. Do client work this afternoon.

Over the weekend, I plan to read the next book for review and also read my friend’s book so I can write the blurb and send it off to her next week. I also want to set up at least some of the Enchanted Garden on the back balcony, hang some pictures, and turn over from the winter clothes to summer clothes. And catch up on filing!

Writing-wise, I’ll do some work on Legerdemain, and, hopefully, tackle the memorial scene near the end of FALL FOREVER, so that draft 4 of that script is done. I’ll have to do some episode videos for the serials, too, and maybe some book recommendations. And do a rough draft of the flash fiction for the artist call.

Next week is about keeping up with the serials, getting ahead on The Process Muse, working on the pieces for Llewellyn, and getting back to “Labor Intensive.” I need to sit down and do a short outline on the story. Some of what I have is going too far into subplots that would work if this was a novel, but it’s a short story, so, nope. Keep it focused.

I’d rather spend the weekend in a book fort, but we’ll see.

Have a good holiday weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side.

Tues. Feb. 14, 2023: Back to the Page

image courtesy of Jess Bailey via pixabay.com

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Waning Moon

Valentine’s Day

Partly cloudy and chilly

Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends. You all a part of my heart.

Ready for a catch-up?

Hauled myself out of the house on Friday. Ran into the landlord, and we talked about getting the porch roof redone this spring. That’s a relief.

Did the library run, picked up my mom’s prescription at the pharmacy, did a quick grocery shop (bought more than I planned, as usual), swung by the liquor store. It was raining by the time I got home, so I’m glad I got it all done.

The Midnight City Tarot arrived! I bought the pocket deck (which is smaller than I expected, and perfect for travel. I love it! The artwork is inspired by NYC and the boroughs.

Trying to sort out a spring road trip with some friends, juggling all of our schedules.

Turned around a coverage in the afternoon and started the second one, but didn’t finish it.

Saturday, I did the rounds to post #28Prompts and participate in the Writing Wonders game. I finished the coverage, which was more complicated and detailed than I expected, but I’d been requested, and wanted to be as specific in the notes as possible. Also worked my way through a stack of research books from the library, making the appropriate notes for various projects.

A trio of weird dreams Saturday into Sunday. I have to take some time to figure them out, although general contexts are pretty clear.

Up early on Sunday. Did the rounds for #28Prompts and Writing Wonders. Got dressed in Real People Clothes and makeup and braided my hair to get it out of the way (so looking forward to getting it cut in the next few weeks). Drove to Pittsfield, to the artists talk I’d been invited to by the curator, an artist whom I met through MassMOCA. It was a powerful exhibit, about bodily autonomy, a combination of teen artists in a recovery program and their adult artist mentors. The talk was interesting, and the artists and the attendees were multi-faceted in wonderful ways. It ran long, and I couldn’t stay to chat more after the event. Not everyone was masked, which made me a little uncomfortable, but there was enough ventilation and room to keep a safe distance. I was a little annoyed with a couple of people who started masked and then unmasked over the course of the event. It’s an hour, boo. You can keep your nose covered.

Drove home, had a quick bite, changed, rolled up the yoga mat and headed out for meditation at the local yoga studio. I was early, so I nipped into the indie bookstore next door, and wound up with two Mary Oliver books. Prep for my poetry adventures, right?

The meditation session was excellent. I’ve done metta practices with several different teachers, and it’s always interesting to learn the tweaks different people put on it. I felt excellent by the end of it, and definitely want to go to the studio more regularly. They have solid safety protocols in place.

Home, made turkey meatloaf, read a little. Went to bed pretty early, because all that peopling after so much not peopling was exhausting.

Weird dreams going into Monday, set off by the art exhibit.

Polished this week’s Process Muse and got it uploaded (it goes live tomorrow). Posted a short piece on Small Adjustments over on the Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions site.

Did some research for the residency proposal, and spent most of the day writing it up and getting it into shape so I could submit it. I won’t hear back until May, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. It’s a project – a play on yet another “forgotten historical woman” that can only be done if they grant me the residency because I need access to the archives up there. In Buffalo. I’ve never been to Buffalo, so it would be an adventure. Put together all the preliminary research information and set it into a folder. If it comes to pass, I’ve got it all together, and don’t need to hunt it down. If I don’t get it, it’s backburnered until I can get support for it. Thus the life of a working artist.

It made such a huge difference that I could read through the sections of the application BEFORE I started. It meant I could write and polish each section. Too often, the application doesn’t allow you to read ahead. You have to complete each section before you can see the next one, and that makes for a fragmented, unpolished proposal. When I see that in applications, I’m going to start contacting the organization and suggesting allowing applicants to read the entire application BEFORE starting it.

I ordered the few books I could find on the topic in the CW Mars for background research, just in case. There’s not much in Commonwealth Catalog, so I’d have to go to WorldCat, and then I might as well wait for the residency and do it on site, with the papers in the archives that I need.

Paid some bills, did a library run to drop off the big stack of books I finished, and pick up a smaller stack of books waiting. Even though I did the run later than usual, more books showed up after I left. Because that’s the way it goes. Not a big deal.

Got an email from a place where I was interested in doing a residency. But it’s three weeks in July – in open air shacks. With a “rechargeable electric outlet” and bathrooms and other amenities in another building across the property. No thank you. Let the twenty-year-old aspiring artists do that. I want climate control and comfortable surroundings. I’ve earned them.

Was assigned the next two books for review. Printed off some more judging sheets for the contest and spent some time on those entries. Did the social media rounds for #28Prompts and played the day’s edition of the Writing Wonders game. I need to get a small notebook to use as a mileage log, because I’m getting ready to do writing-related day trips. Keeping a tiny notebook and a pen in the glove compartment is useful for that. Yeah, not happening on an app.

Didn’t do any coverage, and some more scripts came in, which means I’m doing two coverages today and three tomorrow, which is better for this pay period, but I’m still under where I want to be. And they’re like, why aren’t you meeting your earnings goal, and I’m like, because I’m reading as much as ever and you’re paying me half, and that is not sustainable. Because I am not going to “double my volume” to make the same money. I will find other work that pays me better.

It’s these transition months that are a challenge, that’s all.

Started reading M.E. Hilliard’s THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET, her third Greer Hogan mystery. I really enjoyed THE UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS, which I read a few weeks back, and A SHADOW IN THE GLASS, which I read last weekend, so I’m looking forward to this.

The laundry soap and the charcoal filters for the coffee maker showed up, as did this month’s Ipsy bag. I’m not getting them every month anymore (I don’t use that much makeup), so it was fun to go through all the treats and see what kind of looks I can put together.

Soup class was rather chaotic; there was a problem with the Zoom link, and for Jeremy, it was kind of like herding cats from there. But it was fun, and I always learn a lot. I hope I can attend one of his in-person workshops in the coming months.

I had trouble getting to sleep, and then I dreamed I was working in theatre again, and ordering Thai takeout. Which was pretty normal during working in theatre. It wasn’t a stress dream, it was just a busy dream, and I’d put in a whole day’s work by the time I woke up.

I figured out why I was unsettled and had trouble getting to sleep – something that hadn’t been dealt with over the years that a conversation brought up – and now that I know, I can deal with it.

Still feeling a little scattered this morning, mostly because I’m tired. But I will dig down and do some work on Legerdemain, and then work on the article. Yesterday was the cut-off for any responses from poets (and I got more than I expected), so now it’s about building and weaving the material into the article, which is this week’s primary focus, so I can get it out at the end of the week. The article is my priority this week, and everything else has to build around that.

Making some notes on topics I want to explore in poems, and reading as much poetry and as much about poetry as possible.

In spite of the warning that there wouldn’t be any sun until March 1, the sun has come out most days, sometimes for several hours, which has put everyone in a better mood. As usual, around here, when the weather lets up, everyone dashes around doing their errands, before the next storm comes through. When it’s sunny, everyone is cheerful; when it’s dreary, everyone shrugs it off and keeps on.

The next episode of Legerdemain drops today; I hope you enjoy it.

Back to the page.

Fri. Feb. 10, 2023: I Feel Like A Spinning Top That Tipped Over

image courtesy of InspiredImages via pixabay.com

Friday, February 10, 2023

Waning Moon

Cloudy and cool

According to the weather forecast, we won’t see any sun until March 1. Which is discouraging. Gray days for the rest of the month. I hope they are wrong.

Meditation was good, as usual. Charlotte was happy to hang out, too, because, you know, Zoom.

I need to do something better for Instagram, since links in the messages themselves are basically useless. I’m not a fan of Linktree.  Of the other sites I researched, both Campsite and Lnk.Bio look good, and I’m leaning toward the latter. That way, I can have the serials, The Process Muse, the newsletter, the websites, all of it up.

I got a stack of filing done and put away, and that made me feel like I had so much breathing room.

Drafted two episodes of Legerdemain.

Did the social media rounds, promoting Legerdemain and 28 Prompts. Spoutible was clunkier than usual, which was frustrating. The Writing Wonders game is fun on Mastodon; didn’t spend much time on CounterSocial, except to check in.

Twitter’s just depressing. There was a “Twitter Smarter” seminar, on which I checked some posts later in the day (I was busy when it was live). The tips offered made sense about two years ago, but aren’t relevant to Twitter’s current crumbling. There’s still a (fading) chance it will course correct, but I can’t see it happening as long as Yegads Muskrat is in charge.  And I came across a post of someone I’ve interacted with talking about the importance of liking and RTing, which, coming from her, is just total hypocrisy. Trying to hold my patience and not lock the account until March. But my impulse is to do it now.

Worked on the residency proposal. Made some notes for another project for which I will do a proposal later this year, although I probably won’t actually get to work on the project until next year. There are two such proposals I need to write up, and then, when opportunities present themselves, I can apply for the appropriate residencies. Because these definitely have to be done in out-of-house studio spaces. They won’t fit to do them here, and are experiments expanding the way I tell stories.

Had a worthwhile chat with some fellow Kindle Vella authors and readers about number of episodes, lengths of episodes, etc. and it was interesting and helpful to get the different perspectives.

Only turned around one script, because after that, I hit a wall. That means I have two to turn around this afternoon, one short, one long. I’m taking the weekend off from reading, because I’m at the edge of burnout, and need to rest from that type of work for a couple of days. It’s not fair to the writer if I push myself through burnout. Hopefully, scripts will turn up next week, so I can get some more in this pay period. I’m waaaaaay under where I want and need to be, financially, because the scripts that were available paid so little.

The dumpling press arrived. You know what that means? As soon as I clean out the freezer from the leftovers that have taken up recent residence, there will be MANY KINDS OF DUMPLINGS ALL THE TIME. Because I love dumplings, and I have 3 cookbooks devoted to them. And dumplings are made in large batches, like 50 at a time.

Started reading a book for pleasure that lost me by page 13, so that’s going back to the library unfinished. Then started a book I could not put down. It’s MURDER AT THE 42^ND STREET LIBRARY by Con Lehane. Excellent on plot, pace, character, dialogue levels. The plot, in particular, is very well constructed. A lot of it also takes place in my old Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and around the main branch of the 42^nd St. Library. The setting is an additional character, and rendered with both affection and a clear eye. Reading it made me miss New York for the first time since I moved away.

Fortunately, I’m close enough so that a trip down there every now and again is not out of the realm of possibility.

Anyway, loved the book, can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Exhausted last night, more from family stuff than anything else. Caring for an elderly parent, even one in relatively good health, can be exhausting.  Slept fairly well, until Tessa and Charlotte started in on me at 4 AM. I was in the Dreamscape, very busy all night, nothing bad, just busy. I was myself (a younger version, but still me) rather than someone else, which was much more comfortable. I keep feeling there’s something important I need to remember from the dream, and it’s just beyond my grasp.

This morning, it’s off to the library, the pharmacy, the grocery store, the liquor store. I need to get some more of my own work done in the morning, especially on proposals. I need to do the social media rounds for today’s episode of ANGEL HUNT and 28 Prompts. I have to write an submit the book reviews (which I didn’t do yesterday, and one of the reviews is due today). And I have to catch up on the script coverages.

Oh, look! The sun peeked out, for about 30 seconds! Better than nothing, right?

Tomorrow, I will work on proposals and make some notes on the poems I want to work on (possibly in the residency later this year, if that works out). I’ll also do some more work on the article; answers to the interview questions have been coming in, and it’s time to work quotes into the article. Sunday, I’m supposed to go to an artist talk in Pittsfield at noon, and then a meditation session at the local yoga studio at 4. Fingers crossed that it all works out. The risk assessments made it look possible,

Have a good one, my friends, and I’ll see you on the other side of the weekend.

Wed. Feb. 8, 2023: Admin Days

image courtesy of Oliver Menyhart via pixabay.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Waning Moon

Snowy and sleety

Yesterday was another somewhat scattered day.

After the laundry and breakfast, I polished today’s Process Muse post and got that scheduled. I hope to work ahead a few weeks on that this weekend.

I did the social media rounds to promote yesterday’s episode of Legerdemain and 28 Prompts. Some of the Monday prompts didn’t post properly, probably due to issues with Spectrum (the internet provider). So I will repost some of those today, too. My apologies.

I managed to turn around the 5 coverages due. They all paid much less than previous coverages (but little else was available), so I’m way under for this pay period. I did get requested for a coverage, which is on my schedule for Friday, and that has a decent bonus attached. But 5 coverages (of this type) in one day burns me out, especially when the rate is so low. Transitioning to something else takes some time and planning, so I will trudge along the next bit, until that happens.

Worked on ideas for the residency proposal. I think I’m about ready to write it. It’s so helpful when they actually let you see the entire application. Too many of these “application portals” won’t let you read the entire application before starting it, or allow one to move back and forth between pages. If I can read the whole thing BEFORE I start the application, I can write the various sections up and polish them before I apply, and that’s necessary.

Found some submission calls for plays. I sent some off to a friend, because I thought they’d work for her. I’m working through the ones I’m interested in, and I think I’ve figured out which play I’m going to submit to a call I saw last week. I revised one of my short plays, and that’s ready to go. A few months ago, I caved and created an Excel tracking sheet for the plays, which contains page count (which gives me an indication of running time), number of actors, etc. That helps me position the scripts, without having to open each one and remind myself. I’m not sure if the fact I have too many plays to remember the details of all of them is a positive or a negative. I have one for radio plays, too, and I need to do one for screenplays, now that I’m stockpiling enough so that I can submit to contests.

Me. Creating Excel spreadsheets on purpose. Pigs must be flying, and hell must be freezing over.

You do what serves the work.

My mom hadn’t received the information packets for additional supplemental insurance (do NOT get me started on how much of a scam that is). The guy she spoke to on the phone last week dropped off a tote bag full of information yesterday, after she told him she hadn’t received what he sent in the mail. All the way from Springfield. That was so sweet of him, and yes, he’s getting a thank you note.

We have to do that paperwork this morning, I have to do some paperwork on my own insurance (because they sent me a letter that Makes No Sense At All).

I have to sign a contract on a big project and get that in the mail (no electronic signatures allowed for it), and then, in a few weeks, I’ll actually be able to talk about it, which will be nice.

And pay bills. There is a trip to the post office on the agenda for the this morning, no matter what the weather, because some of these have to go out as certified mail.

The SD reader card I ordered arrived yesterday, so I can take the SD cards, download the photos to the computer from the last 15 years or so, sort them, and store them on the external hard drive, since I couldn’t pull anything after 2012 off the Macbook.

The big orders I put in the other day are being shipped piecemeal, with a flurry of packages arriving this week and next. Kind of fun.

The Midnight City Tarot made it to the post office in Springfield, so I might actually get my hands on it in the not-too-distant future.

Soup class was fun. Jeremy is such an uplifting teacher, encouraging us to experiment, and use the recipe as a jumping off point. He wants to do a class where all he does is hand us a list of ingredients, and then we tell him how to create the soup, which sounds scary and fun.

Had some nightmares last night, which is always a warning sign, so I have to pick them apart, figure them out, and heed the warnings.

This morning, I have to put in new printer ink, do a lot of paperwork, and scan some research material that I have to return to the library. I have to do the social media rounds for Process Muse, the new episode of Angel Hunt that drops today, and 28 Prompts. I hope to do some more flash fiction pieces later this week. I have two scripts in today’s queue.

Have a good Wednesday, my friends!