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Christmas is the season of joy, but it's easy to let that joy get buried by to-do lists, exhaustion and financial stress.
Yesterday I re-discovered a sure-fire way to bust that joy back out of the rubble...skipping!
I really have no idea why the notion to skip entered my brain, but there I was on our morning walk, returning from the bend, and something inside of me said SKIP! So I skipped.
Do you remember that scene when little boy Forrest Gump is running from the bullies ("Run, Forrest, run!") and his leg braces come loose and get left in the dust behind him? That's how it felt when I skipped...the to-do lists and the stress and the worries just broke loose and got left behind...once again, I was ten years old. At least for a little while, anyway.
I'm sure anyone looking on would have thought, That is one crazy lady! There I was, this fifty-year old woman skipping along the dirt road, with a guinea fowl and a giant German Shepherd trotting along beside me.
But it was FUN! Joyful! It made the gray sky disappear, made my heart feel lighter and brought a smile to my face! I skipped again this morning and plan to do it every morning from here on out, as long as I am physically able. (It's also great exercise!)
I told Tom he should try it at work when he's feeling frustrated, but he pointed out that it might land him on the "lay-off" list, and I guess he's right. They would think he had flipped. Perhaps there are times when skipping wouldn't help, after all...
Max enjoys my skipping, but I think Frankie's a little annoyed: he doesn't have as much time to snack on our walks anymore (I can move pretty fast!)
I can tell Max still misses Charly, so every morning I linger after he eats to cuddle him. He gives me hugs (he wraps his leg around my leg) and "sweet" kisses...little nibbles on my arm which sometimes result in tiny blood blisters, but he's at least trying to be gentle!
I know he must be lonely - Frankie is a chatterbox, but Max knows he can't even give Frankie "sweet" kisses, much less play with him. I don't see us getting a puppy any time soon, but then, we never know what's going to wander up out of the woods and adopt us. God might have another surprise visitor out there waiting right now for the right time to make an appearance. I'd rather let him pick out our puppy...or whatever...anyway. He always knows just what we need.
The turkey soup landed in the garbage can tonight. I was sad to see it go...it was the first Leftover-Turkey Soup I've ever made, and it was good! But Tom and I can only eat so much...and then only so much of the same thing for just so many days in a row.
That's one of the problems with an Empty Nest - too much food goes in the garbage. Right now we still have leftover pork chops AND chili, and way more oranges, apples, grapes and lunchmeat than Tom and I can eat by ourselves. More Thanksgiving turkey and ham would have gone in the garbage, but it's the only thing Charly would eat. Now it's all gone and he's working on the lunchmeat and white bread.
It seems just about the time I adjust my cooking and shopping to the number of mouths expecting to be fed, the number of kids in the house changes again...either coming home or heading back to school. It takes awhile to adjust my buying and cooking appropriately.
Even though we had the pork chops, I had to make chili Friday night. That's what you make on snow days...even if the snow only falls for 5 minutes and doesn't stick to anything.
We also made it because we had guests that left Houston, where a rare snowfall actually accumulated a few inches, to visit us for the weekend...my niece Christin and her friend Ashley. We couldn't just serve them leftover pork chops, for goodness sakes...not if they left snow to see us!
Christin came bearing movies I hadn't yet seen - we had a Double Feature Movie Night - "August Rush" (what a sweet story - a combination fantasy, musical and love story, rolled into one) AND "Australia" which was good, but long...I admit I took a short nap in the middle of it. I should have known better than to try to watch two movies in a row after a long, emotional week. I'll give it another try later, with a big bowl of popcorn handy!
Saturday was absolutely gorgeous - brilliant sunshine and perfect temperatures. We took the girls and the critters for a walk to the corner. While we searched for fossils, Charly headed off toward some nearby property where there's a dead dog (Daniel had told us about it - he said someone had shot it, which you can imagine made me a little nervous.) I called and called, but the stubborn old dog wouldn't come back, so we had to follow him. When Frankie realized there was a dead dog there, he started squawking and squawking. It took a while for him to calm down, poor bird.
I finally got Charly away from the dead dog; he headed toward the creek and we just let him lead the way. He didn't have a problem going downhill to the creekbed, but going back up on the other side was a different story: I had to carry him up the steep bank, about ten feet. I had to carry him again a little while later when he was determined to continue our walk along the creek across our "dam" neighbor's property - he doesn't understand why we can't walk there anymore, after so many years. I pleaded, begged and tugged on his collar, but finally gave up and just lifted him up - he wagged his tail as I huffed and puffed up to the road.
Next, Christin, Ashley and I jumped in the car and headed downtown to grab Kendall and go shopping. Ah, the mall at Christmas...crazy! But I got my Panda Express Orange Chicken fix and found some good deals on the clearance racks at Macy's.
After dropping Kendall off at her dorm, I took a detour through downtown Austin to show Christin and Ashley the Capitol Building and Congress Avenue all lit up for Christmas. Then I drove down 6th Street so she could say she'd been there...technically speaking...and then zoomed home in time to watch the University of Texas vs. Nebraska game...a real nail-biter but UT pulled it off at the end to win the Big 12 Championship. Whew!
It doesn't seem possible that December is already 1/4 of the way over, does it? This week's agenda: Christmas shopping...Christmas cards...Christmas parties...
Well, okay, I am a little. It just seems that sometimes everything happens at once, doesn't it?
Here's the story...
For months I've been looking forward to this past weekend...my friends Tully and Brad were coming to Austin and a bunch of us were going to meet downtown.
Then came the call from Bob, another friend: "Lisa and I are having a Shake Russell concert IN OUR HOUSE!" Of course, it was scheduled for Friday night of the same weekend. And Bob and Lisa live four hours away, near Houston.
I did some quick calculations. We had offered to host the Red River Shootout party (University of Texas vs. Oklahoma University football game) with our local friends on Saturday. Kick-off was scheduled for 11am, but, even so, I thought we could miss one night with Tully and Brad, run down to Houston to see Shake (and Bob and Lisa, of course!) on Friday, zip back here in time to host the football game party Saturday morning and still get to see Tully and Brad Saturday night. Yes! It could work!
Tom brought me back to reality and I'm glad he did. The weekend was packed as tight as it could get already - I was nuts to think we could fit one more thing in...especially a "thing" that involved eight hours of driving.
We ended up having a fabulous weekend - perfect autumn weather...hours and hours with wonderful friends...good food...pretty cocktails...UT beat OU...and I finally experienced a taste of downtown Austin nightlife and Tully's sipping tequila...
But...Shake Russell was crooning in Bob and Lisa's livingroom Friday night. And I missed it.
Tully, Brad & company Friday and Saturday nights...FUN!
(Mostly) UT dads during halftime of the Red River Shootout...
A You Tube video of Shake singing "You've Got a Lover" (one of my favorites) in Bob and Lisa's livingroom...it's almost like being there. Almost...
It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Texas, the end of an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Perfect temperatures, clear blue skies, flowers blooming, dragonflies buzzing....
I've spent a weekend surrounded by friends, experiencing new places, food and drink...cheering, laughing, hugging. And it hasn't stopped yet...
We snagged Daniel from his apartment late last night - he came home to do his laundry and just hang out at the house with us. I planned to spend this day trying to get caught up on my to-do list and enjoy the sunshine.
But something is calling me and I have to answer - the call of the wild..."Where the Wild Things Are" is playing nearby - one of my all-time favorite children's books. Who better to see it with than one of my own "Max"s (Daniel). We've thoroughly justified the shirking of responsibility in our own minds. I'm not sure if Tom will buy our excuses, but that usually doesn't stop us.
One of my favorite quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird is when Atticus says you should "climb into someone's skin and walk around in it" before judging them. The point is visually driven home in the movie when Scout stands on Boo Radley's porch seeing the world, or at least the neighborhood, from his point of view.
For the last few months, I have been in a crash course on autism. My company (NameStormers) sponsors a nonprofit website called Jobs4Autism.com, and part of my job is promoting and moderating the website, including writing short blog posts, researching autism, and communicating with some individuals on the spectrum through Twitter, email and Facebook. I have to admit it's the most interesting and rewarding part of my job. Every day I learn a little more, and realize that what I know is a drop in the bucket.
In my research I came across this documentary video, "Inside Looking Out" by Nick Simone, a young man with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. Like Scout standing on Boo Radley's porch, watching this video allows us to look at the world from Nick's point-of-view and in doing so, have more understanding for those in the autism spectrum.
The sun came out this afternoon. It drew me out to the porch, where I scratched puppy dogs' ears, admired the blue sky peeking through the oak tree branches, marveled at the greenness around me and at how quickly things had sprouted in our little front yard.
I spend most of my day inside, in front of a computer. Some days my brain feels like it's in its own little drought - but give me a porch swing, sunshine and fresh air, and I can feel little sprouts of thoughts popping up in my head...
"The privilege of a lifetime is to be yourself." (Joseph Campbell)
I've been thinking about this one for awhile. It sounds so simple, and yet, if you toss it around a few times, you see it's a bit more complicated than you first thought. What does it mean to be yourself? Don't we spend a lifetime trying to figure that out?
That reminded me of "Shirley Valentine", a movie Tom and I watched this weekend....my sister Brenda and I don't think alike about everything, but most things we do, so I should have known I'd love the movies she recommended and loaned to me almost a year ago. In my defense, I couldn't get anyone to watch them with me until now, and I had forgotten about them. Tom is the one that pulled Shirley off the shelf this past weekend. It's a perfect movie for me to watch right now, about a woman peeling back layers of life that have accumulated over the years and happily discovering she's still in there. It's funny, sensitive, and surprising.
Brenda had to remind me about "Cinema Paradiso" - oh, I hate that I went so long without seeing this one! It's in Italian, but within minutes, I didn't even notice the subtitles. It's about friendship, how it can pop up in the weirdest places, support you for a lifetime, and inspire you to be yourself. One minute I was laughing and the next I was reaching past Tom for a Kleenex.
Speaking of friendship, we spent Sunday afternoon with our gang of my ex-high school classmates, and even some of their kids in their twenties joined us (not mine, though.) We sang Happy Birthday to Darla's daughter, and to another friend that was celebrating in Houston, but that's not why we got together. It's that friendship thing. They are part of what makes me "me", and I've neglected that part long enough. Life is short.
Patrick Swayze. Although it wasn't unexpected, it makes me sad knowing he's gone. Graceful, macho, sensitive, sexy, talented...
I bet, by the end, he understood what Joseph Campbell meant...
Saturday was getting pretty tight, but with some determination and a little creative packing, Kendall and I managed to squeeze the Basterds in between Target and HEB. It meant some of my Saturday spilled over into Sunday - it was 1 a.m. before I got home from all the shopping and shuttling - but it was worth it getting to spend time with Kendall, grab a hug and kiss from Daniel, and get my movie and popcorn fix.
Now, I'm not a passionate Tarantino fan, but I do recognize his talent and creativity, and I've seen most of his movies. I've enjoyed quite a few of them to a certain extent. But there are two things about his movies that always distract me from the brilliant screenplay and acting: for me, he just goes too far with the violence and blood (I know, I know...it's meant to be over the top, blah, blah, blah...it's a long-running discussion with my kids) and his characters, while being very detailed and interesting...well, I just don't really like a lot of them. As in...I just don't care one way or another about them. They don't have any redeeming values. I like to "feel" during a movie - happy, sad, mad - and if you can't sympathize with something about the character, you're not going to feel very much.
But...I'd heard good things about "Inglourious Basterds," and wanted to see for myself. My verdict? I think it's Tarantino's best movie (of the ones I've seen, anyway.) It's a gutsy, creative story. The screenplay is tight, and the acting is fantastic (all of the actors...not just Brad Pitt.) During the course of the 153 minutes (it sure didn't seem that long) I laughed, cheered, gasped with fear and surprise, and got mad. I didn't cry, but I did feel sad. Tarantino is an expert at using camera angles, lighting, music and flashbacks.
I expected the high level of violence (after all, the whole story is about killing Nazis! It's a war story!), but I still felt there was more gore than necessary (about the same level as "Saving Private Ryan".)
The rest of us have imaginations, too, Quentin. Let us use them!
My friend Darla's daughter finished up two weeks of summer camp in East Texas today. Another friend, Patti, offered to let her spend last night at her lakehouse near the camp so she wouldn't have to make such a long drive first thing this morning. Darla invited me to go along just for fun.
Heck, yes! Road trip!
Never mind that I'm always complaining about not having enough time in the day to get everything done and that I'm quick to use "no time" as an excuse that the laundry is piling up or the refrigerator is empty or my book isn't written. Life's just too short to pass up a chance for a change of scenery...hours yakking with dear friends...sipping margaritas as the sun sets on a beautiful lake...witnessing first hand the reunion between a mother and daughter who have been separated for two weeks...and, to be honest, catching a glimpse of what a real "Parent Trap" camp looks like.
So what if I'm sitting at the end of another "not much accomplished" weekend - I have no regrets at all. For one thing, at the end of last week I zoomed around getting things done just so I could go without too much guilt - I was whooped! I needed a break!
Here's a quick update of the end of last week...
Thursday...our anniversary. We had a wonderful dinner at Outback Steakhouse (free, thanks to a gift card someone special gave us.) And even though my car was supposed to be my our anniversary gift, he surprised me with a Windberg print of an old barn he discovered on Craig's List (I've been a fan for thirty years) and a beautiful, sweet card - a good thing, because of the video he sent me via email earlier in the week, entitled "The Perfect Marriage" (see it below.)
My gift to him? I settled on only one card instead of buying three like I usually do and I'm not taking a class this semester. (I know...pretty lame...but he really is impossible to shop for! And these things really do make him happy!)
Friday...Kendall's last day at work. Our bosses took us both to lunch at a new place in town (new for all of us, anyway.) I'm going to miss having her nearby all day long.
After dinner we shopped - I think we scoured every clearance rack in Kohl's and finished up just before the lights went out - and laughed till we cried listening to comedy channels on my free-for-now XM Radio. It's hard to believe that this time next week she'll be settling into life as a college freshman, and Tom and I will really and truly be empty-nesters!
Below...a taste of lake life with dear friends...a sign from the camp (I want one for my house!)...the "funny" email Tom sent me...
Tom stood in the doorway, bent over, hands on his knees.
"Did you almost faint or something?"
He shook his head, smiling. Or was it a grimace? "My back. Here...help me." He put a hand on my shoulder and pushed until (groaning the whole way) he was standing up straight. He hobbled back over to the bed and, groaning loudly again, stretched out flat. (Sigh of relief.)
Well, so much for our Friday night plans - a birthday party and music in the woods. And all it took was working a screwdriver in just the right "wrong" position a little too long to weaken some important muscle (or disc? Hope not!), and then just the right "wrong" movement a few hours later to throw it into a tizzy.
Poor Tom...this was going to be a weekend to get things done. He always has several projects going at once, plus all the surprise attacks that pop up...the most recent is a search for the least-expensive new carburetor he can find for the Suzuki Samurai so it can pass the emissions inspection. Despite his aching back, he set his alarm to wake him up early this morning, determined to "get things done" (I kept snoozing)...but a few hours sitting at the computer already did him in: he's back in bed. I keep asking what I can do to help - I've even offered to clean the jacuzzi tub for him to soak in for a while to soothe those muscles. He just says leave him alone and quit bothering him. Such a sweetheart. So I'm biting my tongue and leaving him alone to groan in peace and solitude (although I still think soaking in the tub would help.)
I'm having a great weekend so far, though! I've been tackling to-do lists...sticking to my work-outs...catching up with laundry and Facebook. What a surprise to sign on there last night and discover a video of myself as a baby, being held, bounced and kissed by my grandmother and mother (and a glimpse of my thirty-three-year-old dad in the background.) My cousin digitalized her parents' old family movies and is generously sharing clips of them...such priceless memories and images, frozen in time in a way that photographs just can't deliver. Thank you Aunt Mavis and Uncle Charles for recording them, and Charlene for preserving and sharing them! It's given me new incentive to dig out our old VHS tapes and finally transfer them to DVD - a summer project I planned to tackle two summers ago that somehow slipped off of my to-do list (well, more likely got pushed off by more urgent duties!)
Last night I also took advantage of having Daniel home to get my funny movie fix - we watched "Bowfinger" with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy. It's full of talented people and lots of laughs and has probably the funniest movie ending I've ever seen. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it, but it still makes me cry with laughter. Of course, I love silly movies. Keep that in mind...
But now break-time is over...Kendall and I are headed into town to shop for dorm things. Summer is almost over, once again...
...and another reason why I'm glad I live in the country where there's nothing but dirt, rocks and scraggly weeds - apparently rattlers like soft, manicured lawns...
(This is video footage from a local news station last night. Manor is just a hop, skip and slither away from us...)
Frankie's chirps and chattering filtered up through the trees from the direction of the pond this morning...but he never goes down to the pond without one of us, so I was a little concerned, thinking about coyotes, raccoons, and other creatures that might consider guinea a delicacy.
The dogs were no where to be seen, but when I called, Max came galloping through the trees from that direction, with Frankie trotting right behind him like some misshapen shadow. What a relief! I should have known after all this time that he's too smart to wander far without a bodyguard. I wish I'd had my camera...
Charly was a minute or so behind them - no galloping or trotting up the hill for him anymore...but he did pick up his pace on the road when Max took off after a rabbit or something. And there went Frankie, tagging right along with them into the woods.
I wished for my camera again a little further down the road when I heard Frankie chirping fast and loud, almost squealing. He was attacking a huge grasshopper - clamping it in his beak, tossing it, grabbing it again and repeating the sequence, all the while making all of this noise. Have you ever watched a Bruce Lee movie? Remember how noisy he is when he fights...all his grunts, chirps, and squeals? I think he learned from a guinea.
I didn't have my camera, but watch this and imagine Bruce with a tall orange hat, a sharp hooked nose, beady black eyes and loose red..jowls...and the bad guys with long green legs, and you've got a picture of Frankie fighting that grasshopper this morning...chirping and squealing and protecting me from certain death, I'm sure.
A new week starts tomorrow - a week that is going to keep me running from 5 am Monday morning until 4:30 Friday afternoon. Not only do I have the normal weekly challenges, but we're going to go computer shopping (Kendall) and car shopping (me!) And on top of that, I've got the weekend's overflow to contend with...things I should have gotten done this weekend, but didn't because I was too busy having fun.
It was a weekend of reunions...Friday night Tom's old boss Al had an open house at his office. For Tom it was comparable to a high school reunion. Al was one of three owners of a small engineering company - Tom's first job in Austin. It was a tight-knit bunch. For reasons I won't go into here, the group has for the most part moved on to new jobs, but thanks to Al, every six months or so they come together. One of the old bunch is a member of a band - Relentless Jones - that has performed at the last two open houses. And they rock! We stayed WAY too late - another late Friday that got me off to a late start Saturday.
But Saturday night we had another reunion - with my high school friends...a 50th birthday celebration for our friend Leslie (it was actually in June, but we couldn't pin her down to celebrate with her until now!) at the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse - a perfect place to be on a hot Texas night...first a fabulous dinner in a cold dining room, watching the sunset, and then listening to live music under the stars on a hill overlooking the Texas hill country, soothed by a constant breeze at just the right temperature. It was hard to leave, but I was determined to get enough sleep before my alarm went off for church this morning.
This afternoon we had another reunion...with Tommy! He had swooped in from Dallas Friday night while we were gone and snatched his little sister up for a weekend of fun in Austin and San Antonio. He's such a great big brother! (He asked Daniel, too, but he couldn't take off work.) He brought her back home early this afternoon and stuck around long enough to watch a movie with me and Tom (the Ed Norton version of "The Hulk" - actually a good movie!) and walk down to see the latest devastation at the dam with Tom: the "erosion control" blanket of grass is sliding down the hill, along with a lot of the dirt. I guess I'll be contacting authorities again this week...just another item for my "to-do" list!
But right now I still feel too "up" from the weekend to feel down about it. I'll deal with that later...
When I was writing my last post, I wanted to link to video footage of my brother-in-law coaxing a confession from the murderer on the program "First 48." I searched and searched without luck on the program's website. Silly me..why didn't I think of checking "You Tube"? My nieces and nephews had to tell me it was there.
This is a very condensed version of the case, and John's part is minimized considerably. But you still get a sense of the amazing job he did - he understands the Mexican culture because of his wife and he understands the concept that "you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar" because of his mom (he says this on the full version.)
The whole clip takes 10 minutes and it's very interesting. But if you don't have 10 minutes, at least skip to minute 8:38 and watch my awesome, compassionate brother-in-law in action...
Something fun for a Saturday morning - dedicated to all of those Craig-Listers, especially Darla and my sweet Tom, who might be headed out to gather up new treasure...
Like any job, mine can get tedious - coming up with fresh new names can strain anyone's creativity and then staring at a computer screen for hours and hours, screening the potential new names for trademark hits, puts a definite strain on your eyes and your "sitting" muscles.
But learning something new is always exciting to me, and I've had the opportunity to learn something new almost every day since October, when I started this gig.
However, one of the real perks has been working with creative people like Ricky Russ, who built the new NameStormers website and edited the videos that either he or I filmed. This one for Pizza Cravers by Doritos (a name NameStormers came up with) is brand-spanking new and definitely my favorite video to date. He gets all the credit and my thanks for making me laugh!
I was attacked by a Chroma-Pop Green Screen at work today - it popped me in the eye! It hurt enough that I applied ice, worried about walking into Kendall's graduation tomorrow night with a black eye.
I was trying to fold it up to put it away in its neat little carrying case. According to the video on the website, this is a very simple procedure and only takes seconds. Two or three moves, and this 7' x 5' rectangle becomes a compact circle that slips right in to the bag.
I've done it before, but it took more than a few seconds or a few moves...it took a lot of patience and calm, cool, confident determination. I was all out of patience and calm today, and somehow this screen sensed it - somehow it knew that my chi was off balance. It made its move while I was weak.
It soothes my pride a little to know I'm not the only one out there who has struggled to fold these. Just watch this video to get an idea of my morning...
According to Mystery Man on Film, 32 years ago today, Star Wars was released in only 32 theaters. I don't remember the exact date of my first viewing - what I do remember is my brother Donnie telling me I HAD to see this movie. I think Donnie has only told me I HAD to do something twice in my life: see Star Wars and read The Lord of the Rings.
Boy, does he know me! I ended up seeing Star Wars six or seven times that summer, first with Donnie, then dragging my boyfriend, my friend Ann, and who ever else I could get into the theater with me, and I've read The Lord of the Rings two or three times.
What I didn't realize until I read Mystery's Man's blog post today is that when the first version of the Star Wars script emerged three years before the movie was released, it barely resembled what we saw on the screen. In fact, (and I'm quoting Mystery Man here) "The early drafts were so stunningly awful and so unlike the finished film, it's such a great reminder that any bad script has the potential to reach great heights like Star Wars."
Oh! Those words are music to my ears! I am pumped up to get back to my screenplay...just as soon as Kendall's graduation is over, anyway.
Chasing dreams, making them come true...Sacrificing your time, traveling to another country to make a real difference in someone's life...That's what two of my fellow 50-year-olds are doing right now. Me, on the other hand...well, I'm living vicariously through them thanks to Facebook and blog pictures and postings because I've spent way too many days this past month sitting in doctors' offices, filling out pages and pages of forms, being poked, prodded, scanned and dilated from one end to the other, some routinely and some not. It's just a vicious coincidence that my headaches and shingles appeared right in the middle of all of my regularly scheduled (way in advance) appointments and check-ups.
Today I sat in a darkened "dilation" area (a dead-end hallway lined with comfortable chairs on one side and a flat-screen TV on the other), waiting for the ophthalmologist to determine whether or not the shingles had damaged my retina, and thinking about how doctors seem to be getting younger, how all of the waiting rooms, stacks of magazines and polite receptionists are blurring together, and how grateful I am that there is nothing seriously wrong with me - I realize there are people who deal with this on a daily basis for months, even years.
My diagnoses so far include: excellent, normal, and A-Typical. My headaches are still a bit of a mystery, but the physical therapist and I are both convinced they are related to the shingles, which seem to be packing up their bags, preparing to move out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we're right. Goodbye, good riddance, and PLEASE don't come back!
Now, back to the 50-year-olds who are accomplishing more than filling out tons of paperwork about their families' medical histories...
Richard, one of my screenplay classmates, is in Cannes, France. Even as I type this, he is over there hobnobbing with distributors and other movie-type people, trying to sell four films to foreign markets, while learning as much as he can in preparation for selling his own screenplay (Saving The Farm.) I knew I should have gotten his autograph before our last class!
Meanwhile, Scott, a friend from high school, just arrived in Bayaha, Haiti as part of group of volunteers donating their time to help the poverty-stricken village. Scott even attended a water drilling school a few weeks ago run by Living Water International, an organization that helps bring water to villages in third world countries.
This is what 50 should be about - dreams, sacrifice, helping others, discovering talents and gifts and passions, using them wisely, being the best you can be, inspiring others along the way. I guess we just have to learn to do all of that in between doctor's visits.
Now watch this to learn more about the Bayaha, Haiti Project...
Wouldn't you know...I go months without having to go to the doctor, and just when a pandemic is sweeping the world and the news, I get a headache that won't go away and hurts enough for me to go sit in a waiting room full of sick people? Thank goodness no one was coughing. But when I asked the doctor if they'd had any cases of swine flu, he said, Actually, yes. It's not officially confirmed yet, but no one gets the flu in May.
Great.
Of course, it's not like I've been wearing a mask and holing myself in the house. Saturday night we celebrated yet another 50th birthday! This time my friend Larry got serenaded on stage by the Rhythm Dawgs. His party was at the Alligator Grill in south Austin - the restaurant featured in the movie Office Space. So cool! Unlike Jennifer Aniston's character, the wait staff don't wear tons of 'flair,' but there is a HUGE alligator on the roof!
There's that old saying..."an uncluttered desk is an uncluttered mind"...or something like that. It must be true because last night I stayed up late sorting through the pyramids of paper on my desk and serving bar (that's where the mail and all the extra stuff I pull out of my purse and work bag lands), sorting and tossing accordingly, and whaddaya know, at 4:15 AM (sipping my morning coffee after four hours of sleep), a lightbulb finally illuminated the maze I've been stumbling through for months as I've tried to figure out which direction my screenplay was headed. After dozens of false starts and confusing leads, it has finally clicked. Yeah, I know I've said it before, but I really believe it this time! It's like I'm standing above the maze looking down, finally seeing the path I have to take, thinking "I can't believe you couldn't figure your way out of this before!"
It's not a moment too soon, either. The sand in my screenwriting hourglass is getting dangerously low. I've come up with a new strategy to give me more quality time for writing - work more hours Monday through Thursday (at WORK, that is) so I have at least one big chunk of day home alone to focus on the screenplay. It's so hard to sit down at the computer each morning and start settling in with the story again, only to run out of time just when I'm getting comfy. It takes a while for me to step in and wrap my head around the story and the characters, see where I've been and remember where I was headed. I never make much progress - many days I end up just erasing what was done the day before.
Tom thinks I just try to do too much every day - specifically he thinks I should just quit blogging and checking Facebook or email. (Funny, he never says anything about laundry or grocery shopping or feeding the dogs or paying bills...To his credit, he helps me out with all of those and half of the cooking, too...)
I figure it would only save me about...hmmm, an hour a day, sometimes two, if I ignored my social media addiction. Still not enough - especially since that hour is spread out into fifteen minutes increments throughout the day. Just filler time. And what he doesn't realize is that my mind is much like my desk - crap piles up and I have to sort through it, get organized, before I can focus on writing.
Of course, what it boils down to is I don't want to give them up. For years when the kids were small, I didn't have time for friends or writing the way I do now. My screenplay and my class are VERY important to me, but so are my friends, my extended family (I'm in better touch with them now, too), my 'journaling' and photography. If you've seen that email about the professor lecturing the students about priorities - "put the big rocks in the jar first (family, etc.) because if you fill it up with the small stuff, you won't have any room left" - imagine that some of my big rocks have gotten smaller, making room for these other big, pretty rocks I've rediscovered.
Two other big rocks I'm hanging onto are my morning work-outs and my prayer walk with the dogs and Frankie - you gotta take care of yourself, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
I have reluctantly let some things go from my routine to make way for more writing time. I gave up reading for fun ages ago, settling for boxes of books and dreams of warm afternoons, lying in the hammock on the front porch, lost in the pages of one someday. And my drums...well, I won't even claim to dust them off much anymore, much less play them.
Recently, I resorted to watching the silly episode recaps of "Lost" on Facebook - they're annoying, but faster than watching the whole episode on the computer (I discovered the timer on our DVR doesn't work and no one is home to start it recording.) I've totally given up on "The Office" and "Desperate Housewives" (unless I time the laundry just right to fold during that time.) I'll just catch up on those this summer.
So as difficult as it will be, and at the risk of annoying Tom, I'm determined to write this screenplay and STILL (sort of) keep up with this blog and my friends' lives on Facebook. I'm going to spend this coming weekend celebrating my birthday (again) with dozens of friends - some I haven't seen in twenty years or so. I'm going to keep working out and walking the dogs and putting in more hours at my job and avoiding late charges on our bills and emailing friends and commenting on Facebook. I probably won't post any new pictures - well, maybe new ones, but not old ones that I have to scan in first. I'm going to watch movies and read for my class. I'm going to spend time with Kendall, watch all of her soccer games, gather old photos for the senior power point presentation for her graduation (and probably cry over them.) And somehow I'm going to find time to sleep. I can do it!
"Never give up! Never surrender!" (from "Galaxy Quest" - great movie!)
It's been a long time since I smelled that smell - "new car." The first thing I did was climb into the passenger seat of Tommy's new Hyundai Elantra and breathe in deeply.
I'm so happy for him - up until now he's only driven used cars...dented, peeling paint, rattling, often no air-conditioning or radio. He never complained, even in high school when the parking lot was dotted with Hummers and brand new sports cars. We had a tough time even now talking him into getting a new one. He took his time, researched his options, and I know it was still hard for him to justify spending that much money. A car is just a car, after all.
But I feel better knowing he's in a new car when he's stuck in Dallas traffic, or heading up to Lubbock to see Kirby, to Houston to his grandparents, or here to see us.
(Daniel came home this weekend, too, so he could see Tommy. We had fun catching up on movies, and shooting the rifle and shotgun in the clearing across the pond in our junk yard/fire pit/basketball court/gun range clearing. I didn't realize what a kick that shotgun had, though. It hurt my shoulder! By the way, the trashy blue car is one that was totaled twice but Tom thinks would make a good dune buggy/go-cart - project #3,327! And the horizontal metal structure is a vintage Texas windmill we plan to reconstruct...some day. )
...my screenplay will either withstand the ripping critiques and emerge an award-winner, or crawl away to the 'to-be-shredded' basket. The few pages I submitted are still way down the line on the reading list, but as they get closer and closer to the front, I'm getting a feeling similar to what it might feel like in front of a firing squad. I'll have to remember to wear a really thick skin when my turn comes and keep in mind that the criticism I receive will just make my screenplay better. But I'm tellin' ya, there is no mercy in that room. I found myself squirming last night, and it wasn't even my screenplay under the microscope.
At least the comments and critiques are coming from some voices of experience (there's CC Stinson, Amory Casto, and Tom Booker to name a few - I googled them because...well, I'm just really nosy!) I realize more and more how lucky I am to be in this class - like a screenwriting gold mine! (see a short starring Amory here and more Tom below - see if you remember any of these commercials...)
It was a beautiful day, and I had a million other things I needed to do, but I knew I wouldn't get another chance anytime soon...so I tossed all responsibility aside and went to the movies. I expected to go alone - Tom doesn't do movie theaters, all my friends were busy, and Kendall and Daniel weren't enthusiastic about this one. But I showed them the trailer and they changed their mind.
Since I still have those million things to do, I don't have much time for this, but I wanted to sing some praises for this movie. It has most of the qualities I love - it's original...it's entertaining...it has real characters that I cared about...flawed characters that you still like, that redeem themselves in some way...it opens a window to a world and culture I knew nothing about...it had moments that broke my heart (not that I love to have my heart broken, but I do want to have strong emotions - I want to care)...ah, I'd write more, but it would be giving the movie away. Suffice it to say, I really, really liked this movie. And judging from the applause at the end of it, in a full theater that normally shows limited run/artsy movies, everyone else liked it, too.
Here's the trailer in case, like many, you haven't even heard of it...
I've procrastinated registering for the spring semester, and this is why: the advanced screenwriting class (which I should take so these first few pages don't just turn into dust, untouched and neglected) is an actual physical class, on a campus with traffic issues, parking issues, desks, as well as a teacher and classmates with faces.
Well, that in itself isn't a problem. Despite the lack of flexibility and extra time required for traveling, I like the feel of a classroom...the camaraderie, the discipline, carrying my books and taking notes. I know. I'm weird.
The problem is the class meets one night a week, and that night is Wednesday.
Wednesdays = "Lost"
And therein lies my dilemma. It's really pretty sad, isn't it? No WONDER I haven't had anything published in a while.
Of course, now that I've confessed, I recognize that the scales aren't really evenly balanced - this isn't a decision crisis after all. Watching all the "Lost" episodes isn't on my list of personal goals, but finishing this screenplay is, so NATCH!...for the next few months, Wednesdays = screenplay class, not "Lost."
How quickly resolutions can dissolve once the real world - like work - makes its appearance. I won't go through a boring list of what I did or didn't get done today. Let's just say it's a good thing I resolved to be flexible and not stress about it...too much, anyway. Work is both a necessity and a blessing, so I'm not about to whine or complain about it...
Kendall was watching "Schindler's List" when I got home, and I sat and watched a little of it with her. It illustrates both ends of the human spectrum - that we're capable of so much evil AND so much good. I love the end of it, when the actual people whose lives Schindler saved honor his memory by placing stones on his grave - such a great image of the impact his actions had on so many lives.
Good news, though...if you're feeling depressed because you've already broken your New Year's Resolutions, eat a banana! Seriously! Among other benefits, they are supposed to help you think happier thoughts, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz of Real Age. Read about the happy banana here.
Ah, tomorrow is Saturday...I have a long to-do list which includes a trip to the grocery store, packing up the Christmas colors, and registering for the spring semester. And Kendall wants to get started on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) - UGH! It's something I tend to put at the top of my procrastination list, despite its importance, so I'm glad she's full of zeal about it. I just wish she could do it by herself!
Tommy's back in Dallas. He drove Tom's little Capris. While he was here, we ate and ate and ate some more - Tom smoked a turkey, and I made a double batch of cyclops cookies. They're already gone!
Santa paid a special return visit and filled our stockings. One of my gifts was the movie "In Bruges" that I had read about on Mystery Man's blog - some readers had commented that it was the best film of the year, and I hate to admit it, but I hadn't even heard of it. I have to agree that it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time - overall it's a tragedy and there are some graphic scenes, but it's also a little funny, and very touching. The characters are rounded out and original, all of the parts add to the story, no cliche's...anyway, I recommend it.
Last night the house was filled with laughter. Two of Tommy's best friends since elementary school - Graham and Jordi - came by and they were downstairs watching something that elicited crying laughter - I could hear the tears in the guffaws and hoots and gasps for air. It's hard to believe they're adults now - where has the time gone? - but Graham graduated from Texas A&M Galveston with a degree in Marine Engineering Technology and a Third Assistant Engineer License in the U.S. Merchant Marine this past May (on the same day and at the same time as Tommy was graduting from the University of North Texas!) and he's been working as an engineer on ships since then. He was heading out this morning for another cruise.
And Jordi also graduated in May from Stanford with a BA in "Psychology with a Specialization in International Political Economy" and an extra BA in International Relations. (During spring break of their freshman year, Tommy, Graham and a few other friends visited Jordi at Stanford, taking a train to San Francisco, and a side trip to the Emergency Room after Tommy cut his shin open "jumping a fountain." I didn't even know about it until he was back home. Kids!)
I'm so glad they've kept their friendships alive, despite being at different colleges and moving in different directions. I have lots of friendships from my school days - some that I've held on to this whole time. Others have been rediscovered, especially since our last high school reunion. But a few have slipped out of reach, and I'm not sure why. It seems that sometimes even those you've held on to for decades aren't safe. I've read that friendships have to be tended like a garden, and I know during those years when my kids were young, I wasn't always a very good gardener. Now I feel like Mary in The Secret Garden, trying to dig around and find the plants that are still alive and nurture them back to health. It's sad when you find those that are too far gone to revive.
I hope Tommy, Graham, Jordi, and the others he was close to don't allow that to happen to them.
Tommy with Jordi and Graham, high school graduation...
Christmas Day around here was lazy - centered around family and food. LOTS of food! We always have a traditional, heart-attack-waiting-to-happen breakfast on Christmas morning - bacon, fried eggs, and buttered toast. I ate so much that I still wasn't very hungry when Christmas dinner rolled around: non-traditional smoked brisket, chicken, and sausage. Of course, that might have been due to the chocolate chip cookies I baked (and ate) before dinner. Those were mainly for Kendall, because after dinner I made cyclops cookies - the ones the rest of us are addicted to but she can't eat because of the peanut butter. Our kitchen island was already laden with gift cookies from friends, and some gingerbread people I couldn't pass up at the store earlier this week (that's another odd thing I blame on menopause...until this year I wouldn't have looked twice at store-bought gingerbread - this year I couldn't resist them!)
We spent a lot of time on the phone talking to family - understandable considering Tommy couldn't be here and Tom has eight brothers, scattered around the country. I was on the phone two or three times with my family alone! Here's a picture of my three kids "together" on Christmas day - Kendall's talking to Tommy...
Tom and I took a walk to work off some of the food. Santa brought me the zoom lens I wanted, so we played around with it. I finally captured Max's goofiness and Tom took some of me (hopefully not looking QUITE as goofy as Max. It looks more like summer than Christmas day, doesn't it?)
In the afternoon, Daniel and I watched a very differentSanta Claus movie from around 1959. Brenda had remembered taking me to the Capitan just before Christmas for several years to watch it, and this summer she found it online by googling "Santa, devil, and Merlin" and ordered it for me. It didn't ring a bell when she first told me about it, but while I watched it, suddenly some parts were VERY familiar - the memories had been hidden in some recess of my mind, buried under all kinds of other odds and ends. It was fun digging them out and brushing them off after so many years. And I realize even more how lucky I am to have a sister like Brenda...she must have really loved me to sit through that movie every year! She was old enough to realize how corny it was!
Later, Tom and I watched "A Christmas Story". I don't think that one needs any explaining, but just in case..."You'll shoot your eye out!"
I ran today while watching "Mama Mia". I couldn't get anyone in my family to watch it with me! We watched "The Dark Knight" again recently, and I've finally decided...I prefer "Mama Mia" - it just makes me smile so much!
Tom is in Dallas right now, fetching Tommy and his car. They've got it on the trailer and are preparing to pull out. I'll be praying a lot in the next few hours. I think I'll go finish watching "Mama Mia" - maybe it'll keep my mind off of them.
Tomorrow (well, maybe Sunday), tune in for "Christmas Celebration Part 2: Tommy's Home"...
It's done. As of 9pm tonight, I completed twenty pages of my first screenplay ever. Next time you go see a movie, never EVER think writing it would be easy. I know, after this semester, I'll never see a movie with the same eyes as I did before.
Writing this screenplay is something I've dreamed of since I first read my great-great grandfather's memoir years ago. And yet here I was, procrastinating once again. Is there no hope for me?
I'm still not finished with the class, however. I have to deliver my portfolio, consisting of a hard copy of these precious twenty pages, a complete outline of my screenplay, and a 300 word reflective essay on what I learned this semester ("I learned not to put it off to the last week..." - but would that be completely honest? I'm starting to wonder if I'll EVER learn not to procrastinate!) to my teacher's mailbox downtown Friday morning. I would do it tomorrow, but I'm just not up to writing that essay tonight! (ah, still procrastinating...see?)
Next semester I'm SERIOUSLY considering taking Advanced Screenwriting. That might seem like a 'duh' statement, but the glitch is it's not an online course. I'd actually have to drive into Austin to one of the campuses, sit in a classroom for several hours, etc...I've gotten so spoiled with these online courses. This semester the online course is Poetry, which I'd love to take. Another class I'm thinking of is photography, but it's another actual "roll call" class, so it's lower on the list than the other two. I'm afraid that if I don't take the next screenwriting class, I'll NEVER have more than twenty completed pages. It will sit in my computer, symbolically gathering dust, like all of my other long writing projects (and even some short ones!)
I really need to finish SOMETHING! And I would love for this to be that something.
Well, I made progress...not as much as I would have liked, but I have a teensy idea of an outline - the scene I should start with and how it will all work out. The problem is there is SO MUCH MATERIAL!! Now I'm thinking it would have been best to turn this into a novel first, but that doesn't really matter right now. What matters is pulling it all into a screenplay in the next couple of days - or at least a part of it - dividing it into three acts, pinpointing the turning points, mid-point, barriers, reversals, climax, resolution, etc. It's easier for me to think of this process of writing it in those terms - first act: outlining; second act: writing it; third act: turning it in (in just a few days!) Some of the barriers: work, family, sleep, laundry, food.
Okay, also keeping up with this blog, watching "The Office" and "Desperate Housewives", shopping...And then tonight is the church adult Christmas party - since we're Catholic, that means eating, drinking, and dancing, so I'll be too worn out to write when I get home, I'm sure.
But at least I'm through the first act - the outline. I think the turning point of this second act will be producing the FIRST page! That will DEFINITELY take place today (right after I write this, and eat lunch. I will ignore the overflowing hampers, the bare Christmas tree, and boxes of Christmas decorations stacked around me.)
Yesterday I took a walk with Tom and the dogs to clear my brain. It was a gorgeous day. Frankie opted to stay home and guard the house, but he walked with us as far as the 'parking lot.'
We walked up a nearby hill to check on progress of our neighborhood mystery house. It's built high on the hill but doesn't appear to be built in a way to admire the view - a telephone pole was put right in the way. Rumor has it it's going to be completely underground and have a shooting gallery inside somewhere, but we can't figure out where it would go. There's been no work done on it in awhile - I guess the recession shut it down.
When we got home, Tom left the door open for me, but Frankie got in first and scurried around, checking everything out. He started down the stairs, but I coaxed him back up and out the door. No poop, thank goodness! Hmmm...are there such things as house guineas?
It's time to get serious. (Well, passed time, but it's too late to dwell on past mistakes.) This weekend I'm writing at least twenty pages of screenplay, come hell or high water. I have to - they're due this week and it's obvious I don't have enough self-discipline time during the week to work on it.
I've already warned Kendall and Tom that I'm not doing anything else, except eating, going to church, and POSSIBLY showering. In just a few minutes, I'm heading into the guest room/junk room/future library, and clearing out a space for Tom to set up a makeshift desk (a door supported by sawhorses) so I can spread all of my stuff out - notecards, the memoir, genealogy notes, Civil War books, etc. - and just leave them there till I finish. I've also claimed first dibs on the computer, which is just outside the "library" door. (Maybe Santa will bring me a laptop so I can REALLY lock myself away in there to write.)
That being said, I won't actually get crackin' on it until tomorrow morning. Tonight I'm going up to the high school to watch the drama department's Fall Production. I subbed for those classes and it's always fun to see how the kids pull it together by performance time.
When I get home, I'll probably watch a movie with Tom - but of course, if you think about it, that's really just a warm-up exercise for my actual writing tomorrow - a review of what I've learned this semester. Not another distraction or procrastination or anything.
Wish me luck (and self-discipline and inspiration.) OBVIOUSLY I'm going to need it.
Imagine rich, red velvet draperies and settees...gold and gilt...paintings and statues. That was the Capitan Theater - the place to be on Saturday mornings. It's where I fell in love with Elvis singing Viva Las Vegas and where the original Children of the Corn chased me into the lobby. I was too young to make out with a boyfriend in the cryroom in the back corner of the balcony, but old enough to know it was going on.
The Capitan couldn't compete with the new theaters popping up in town - it shut its doors before I hit junior high, but then opened briefly again in the 70's with this neon green paint. I watched "Frogs, Frogs, Frogs" from the balcony, but couldn't help noticing the threadbare seats and sticky floors. It closed again soon afterwards.
Rumors of re-invention have flown over the years - it was going to open as a disco...a dinner theater...but I don't think any of them panned out. Now it sits alone, looking much the same from the outside (definitely not the inside, though) as it does in my memory, but who knows for how long? So while I was back in Pasadena for Thanksgiving, Daddy and I drove over to take some pictures. I hope someday someone cares enough - and has enough money - to fix it up to its former glamorous glory...but I know it's more likely to be torn down. At least I'll have these photos...and my memories.
If I ever get rich, I'll give a lot to charity, but I'll just have to spend a little on El Capitan...if it's not too late.
I couldn't help taking this one of Daddy - I've always been able to count on him to go with me on my crazy whims - it's fun to share them with him. This time, I think it was mostly to make sure I wasn't arrested for taking pictures of my old chemical plant (I wasn't...those photos will come later...)
Last Saturday, I slept until 11am and got nothing else done. That was okay. But this week my to-do lists are weighing heavier and heavier on my shoulders. I'm sinking...DROWNING...
So this Saturday I'm kicking into high gear, pencil out, ready to start scratching things off and burning the lists. Heck, I'm so pumped, I didn't even wait until today. I skipped job #2 yesterday and got started early. This feeling doesn't come around that often (for the mundane little details that start filling in space on my lists...those things that don't have deadlines and so keep getting shuffled from one list to the next until I feel that if I have to write them one more time I'm going to SCREAM...) so I have to take advantage of it when it hits. I had been trying to decide whether to drive to Florence for the high school football game - the band got to dress in their costumes - or go to a friend's Halloween party/bonfire. I was leaning toward the party, but Tom came home wiped out and went to bed. So I just kept working on my list...
I was so energized, I even tried watching Matewan again last night (I need to return it to Netflix before they send a cop around,) armed with a big bowl of popcorn to keep me awake. But...once the popcorn was gone, that foggy feeling hit me and I gave up.
This morning I feel revved up again about attacking the list. It helped that Kendall had to be up early to take the SAT Math Subject test. Now it's not even 10 am and my list is already considerably shorter. Some of these things don't really take very long to do...it's the getting started part that's tough for me.
Today is it, though. Looking at the calendar, it will be awhile before I have another big chunk of empty, unscheduled time. Tonight I get to go with Kendall's History Club on the Austin Ghost Tour! I'm SO excited about that! I love history...especially odd, personal history that I'm sure we'll hear about tonight. Maybe even something I can use in my screenplay.
Tomorrow morning I'll be back downtown bright and early for the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure - a VERY good cause, but I wish it wasn't so early in the morning. I hate missing church.
Then, fingers crossed, back downtown AGAIN in the afternoon for the Texas Book Festival.
Next weekend is another History Club field trip to Houston for the Renaissance Festival, and, I'm hoping, a visit to my parents (just us, not the whole History Club. My parents aren't THAT old!) Then the next weekend is Kendall's CAYSA tournament - two full days of soccer. Then Thanksgiving, Tommy's birthday, Christmas, New Years's...WHOA, SLOW DOWN! I'm not ready for 2009. I still have too much to do in 2008.
Okay, I can't help it. I still think Tommy and Kirby as Mr. and Mrs. Smith (aka Branjelina) a couple of years ago is one of my all-time favorite couple-costumes. I just had to share the photos....
It's only Wednesday, but these last few days have been so long and hectic that Sunday seems like years ago. That's when I took my own advice about slowing down... I spent a few hours with Daniel doing nothing but laugh at his new Flight of the Conchords Season 1 DVD (his birthday present) and eat ice cream cake (which should be named Extreme Cookies and Cream because there's not really any cake involved - just neopolitan ice cream, Oreos, chocolate syrup, and Cool Whip.)
Okay, that's not exactly true...the part about doing nothing else, anyway (the cake part is true)...we'd watch an episode, then I'd get up and "accomplish" something...laundry, cleaning off my desk, or something...then we'd watch another one. It's the closest I can come to being a couch potato. But we watched six or seven episodes over the weekend, and by the last one Sunday night, I knew I'd be going through withdrawals...they are so funny! It makes me wish I had HBO. I'm going to miss Bret and Jermaine.
Last week I fell asleep watching "To Kill a Mockingbird." This week our assignment was "Rear Window" and "The Graduate." I had "Rear Window" on VHS - Wednesday night I finished up my chores and settled down to watch it at 9pm. At 10pm, Tom was shaking me awake.
I ordered "The Graduate" from Amazon, but it hasn't come in yet. I've seen it before, though. My sister took me and my brother Donnie to see it at the LaPorte Drive-In when I was in third grade. Give her a break - she was only about seventeen at the time - she didn't know any better. Tom and I watched it again a few years ago and I couldn't believe I'd seen it when I was just nine! But it is a good movie.
I signed up for Netflix and ordered "Matewan," the movie made of gold. Tom and I watched it tonight. I thought I'd be able to stay awake because I'd never seen it, but from the opening credits I knew I was doomed - my kids performed in the play "Fire in the Hole" which is very much like this movie - right down to lines and characters and plots. Sure enough, before too long Tom was shaking me..."Are you asleep?!"
Now I've got twenty minutes to turn in my assignment. That's what I get for dropping out thirty years ago, but at least I'm trying now! I just wish I could stay awake...
I fell asleep last night doing my homework - I was watching "To Kill a Mockingbird." I love that movie - it's one of my top three favorites (along with Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail" and "Mary Poppins" - what a combo, right?) I only fell asleep because I'm exhausted from trying to get everything done so I can run off to the coast this weekend to relax. Hmmm...
Anyway, back to Mockingbird...I first watched it in third grade when I was a tomboy and had a haircut just like Scout's and a big brother just like Jem, except mine didn't let me tag along like Jem does Scout. I envied her that, as well as her front porch, porch swing, tire swing, and tree house. I loved the idea of a mysterious guardian watching over me, prepared to save my life and leaving me trinkets in the knothole of a tree. In fact, I filled a cigar box with trinkets much like theirs, but who knows where I gathered them up from.
Even when I was little, I loved the messages of nonviolence and tolerance in the movie, that you shouldn't judge someone, that you should try to imagine what it's like walking around in their skin or seeing the world from their front porch. Atticus Finch made a big impression on me. I'm surprised I never wanted to be a lawyer.
I "had" to watch Harrison Ford in "Witness" this weekend, and I "had" to order some other movies from Amazon - required viewing, you see. This screenwriting class doesn't feel like school at all, except for the deadlines. It's just giving me a good excuse to buy and watch movies, research more about my great-great grandfather's life and times, and start fleshing out the memoir he wrote back in 1901 that I want to turn into a screenplay...things I enjoy doing and have been wanting to devote more time to for years, but let that GUILT thing stop me. Now, I have to do it. It's school.
One of the things I've learned from this class is that there exists an elusive movie, apparently made of gold, that I had never heard of before: "Matewan." You won't find it in any ordinary video store - only artsy ones, the kind with weird names that are near college campuses miles from your home. Amazon has it, but for what it costs, you could get ten other movies or a very nice pair of shoes, and the ones for sale on Ebay come from Australia and won't play in a normal USA DVD player. Figures. I'll continue searching for it. Wish me luck. It must be really good!
Tom and I finally got around to watching "The Bucket List" Saturday night. Yeah, I know we're a little behind the times, but that's nothing new.
I thought the movie was a tad contrived, predictable, and corny in places, but the overall theme is a good one to set you thinking about what you would like to do before you "kick the bucket."
A season or two ago Ellen DeGeneres promoted "life lists" - more or less the same thing, but with an optimistic spin to it that I like ("life" versus "kick the bucket" - don't you agree?) She inspired me to jot a few things down; I had forgotten about my list until I watched this movie, and had to dig through several folders on my computer to find it.
I was actually able to scratch a few things off! What a great feeling because day after day I feel like I'm running as fast as I can without getting anywhere. Seeing a handful crossed out makes me hopeful that I can cross off a few more before I kick the bucket in my lifetime.
So here's my list...I've added a few things to it; I don't include things like "laugh till I cry", "make a difference in someone's life," or "witness something spectacular" like the list in the movie - those are daily goals for me, not life goals...
Wish me luck, and good luck on your own list!
start back to college
get a set of drums (Happy Anniversary from Tom a few years ago)
learn to play the drums
have varicose vein surgery (a birthday present to myself)
get my Bachelor's degree
visit Stonehenge
go back to Venice and ride in a gondola
visit Ireland, England, and Germany with Tom (where the Shallue's came from, where Tom was born, and where he lived until he was about seven)
go to Disneyworld (I'm one of only a handful of adults who have never been!)
trace each family line out of America and write their stories
finish writing my book Winston and have it published
see the Giant Redwood Forest
visit New York City (I've been in London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Innsbruck and Madrid...but not NYC!)
help each of our kids get through college (Tommy, Daniel, Kendall)
finish our house
visit a pyramid
go to Hawaii
visit Kodiak, Alaska (and the rest of it while we're there) with Tom (he was stationed there in the Coast Guard in the late '70's)
Six hours munching popcorn, laughing, crying, gripping my armrail. What a way to spend a hot summer evening, a flashback to watching "The Cowboys" with John Wayne twice in a row with Gina Clark - we wanted to drool over the badboy Cimarron (played by actor A. Marinez - we watched for the credits) one more time.
I loved "Mama Mia." I thought it would be a fun movie, but it was hilarious at times and had me wiping tears off my cheeks at others. But I'm no movie critic...I realize I connected to this movie because it's about women my age having fun and acting crazy, who feel like they are still eighteen on the inside and wonder what the hell happened to them on the outside. It's about friendship and motherhood, specifically, children (specifically daughters) growing up and preparing to leave home. And it didn't hurt that in this movie Meryl Streep looked just like my friend Cheryl, from her long blonde hair to the silver pinkie rings and dangly bracelets.
"The Dark Knight" wasn't like night and day to "Mama Mia" like I thought it would be. It, too, was about love, friendship, and the good side of human nature...it was just intermingled with huge explosions and lots of people dying rather than the music of ABBA and dancing. It broke my heart seeing Heath Ledger, but he did such a great job playing the Joker that I kept hoping they would kill him - the ultimate bad guy.
I recommend them both, especially if you are a middle-aged woman who still feels like eighteen on the inside, have older kids, like huge explosions and believe in the goodness of human nature. If you like really artsy or depressing movies, don't see either one.
At 4:40 this afternoon I'll be seeing "Mama Mia" with Mary Kay and Conni; at 7:20 I'll see "The Dark Knight" with Daniel and Kendall - they'll meet me there. Same theater. I'm looking forward to seeing both movies. What does that say about my personality?
