24/7

I'll admit- watching Dateline and 48 Hours (any court tv show, to be honest) makes me feel so much better about my life. I've never stolen millions, killed for insurance money, stolen identities and other newsworthy atrocities. These shows keep me grounded, I guess. But if I ever go off the deep-end I'll sure know how to do it...

Today has been bittersweet. It's the 2 year anniversary of my friend losing her husband in a mining accident. I logged onto Facebook to see if she'd posted anything or updates her status to clue her friends in on how she was coping. In the process I learned (via FB) that one of my former classmates lost her husband today- still not sure what happened but there was enough information posted through other people's sympathies to draw conclusions. Very sad.

I'm trying to rethink one of my stories and I'm hung up on my heroine's voice. The original drafts reflected a darker humor, more tongue in cheek but rather unlikeable characters- the latter drafts were a more honest, dramatic portrait of a family going thru a major life change. I'd like to merge the dark humor into the latter draft. I'm toying around with the idea of my character being portrayed in the more honest light with an inner dialogue that is more pessimistic and we see her change more on the inside vs. the outer. BUT- I don't know which narrative style is going to serve the story best- First person is easy. Third person would allow me a lot more flexibility to explore all the characters... I'd like my first person narrative to also explain and tell the stories of the other characters- almost like the story is being told in hindsight. Oh, I don't know what I want. I just need to make it work.

Moving along to other items... I'll start my draft of Brett's script soon. I need to take a look at the story we have and how we're going to weave the backstory in. The adaptation is moving along slowly, the webisodes are on hold until I get feedback/direction..., and who knows what else. Thursday I'm back to waiting tables "full-time" and still on-call with the casting company. Now I just need a winning lotto ticket. That would solve everything.

I did go to Portland State today to drop some papers off for Brett. That campus has come along way. When I went there (94-99) it was the most uninviting pitstop set amidst a beautiful park. Now the trolly runs through campus, the campus is expanded- takes up half of downtown it seems, and the student age is younger. Sigh. I wanted to go back to school this Fall and pursue a more user-friendly degree. Business Admin, Computer Science, you get the picture. Unfortunately, it's $50 admission fee- $50 that I don't have and need for things like fuel, water bills, life in general... Maybe another time, right?