Master Cleansing (of the soul)

Today is Day 1 of the Master Cleanse. A couple reasons why I chose to do this... 1. It's good to clear the toxins and get a clean start every so often, and 2. No one has had the heart to tell me how much weight I've gained over the summer (10 pounds to be exact) and I'm hoping this jump starts my weight loss.

What's especially troubling is that I eat relatively healthy and get exercise. And the fact that I'm unemployed, I have more than enough time on my hands to work out. Also troubling is that a lot of this is brought on by writer's block. I've already organized my shoes, wardrobe and office several times all summer. Here is yet another distraction to keep me from sitting down and facing the blank page.

Back to the cleanse- so, Day 1. I'm drinking the lemon/maple syrup/cayenne concoction for the next 10 days. I'll continue to exercise at night- I refuse to be one of those half-assed runners gasping for air you see as you drive to work. No one wants to see that. At least I can hide my pained and tortured looks and sweat-soaked clothes in the dark. So far the most important thing I've learned about this fast is this: WHEN MEASURING CAYENNE PEPPER DO NOT EYEBALL OR GUESSTIMATE THE QUANTITY. They invented measuring spoons for a reason. I'm breathing fire as we speak- but I kinda like it.

I've got my favorite pair of jeans hanging up in my office staring me down, a reminder of days gone by (that would be June of this year) and I also have a picture of a chocolate bunny on the refrigerator with the quote "The enemy will often disguise himself as a friend." Weight loss and detox is definitely comparable to The Art of War.

Meanwhile, I do have some reading to do, phone calls to make... and then writing. Wait- I have some cleaning to do and some errands to run as well. Stay tuned for Day 2...

My So-Called Subjective Reality

I'm able to see things for what they are. Some call me a pessimist or Little Miss Bad Attitude- I prefer to introduce myself as a realist. I knew the job search would be tough, would take awhile, but expected to land a job within a couple weeks. Hmm. Maybe the correct statement would be: I see things the way I want to see them. I see myself as employable. I am a delightful person everyone wants to spend time with but I'm always too busy to make time... See where I'm going with this? Get the idea what type of day I'm having? Grrrr.

Yes, unemployment has become a burden. Love the idea of all this "extra" time on my hands to tackle my writing projects. Got to get a jump-start on some projects we've been trying to develop for some time now. Played housewife- that was fun for awhile, too. But reality always pulls the trump card. Money talks. That and a little structure goes a long way.

Here's what's been going on the past two months in no particular order: Still working on the script adaptation, still working on the web series although I'm in a little bit of a holding pattern. Brett and I've grown our stock photography library by too many files to count. Go figure the moment we really focus on this our downloads almost come to a complete stop along with the cash-flow. We've got our next project figured out and have been chipping away on the story all summer. Three of Brett's films aired on OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) last night. Included were "The Leeward Tide", "The Cowboy Way", and "Mood:Reflective". We had friends over for a little party- can't get too wild on a Monday night. (Actually, I don't have a job to get up for so I guess I can.) There's always discussion about picking up and moving away, staying here, traveling here and there. These plans are always TBD. Went to McKee's Story Seminar in July, almost caught on fire 4th of July and the AC went out in my Cabrio when the temps hit 107 here in Portland.

That's the recap. Here are links to watch "The Cowboy Way" and "Mood:Reflective" and "The Leeward Tide."

What would I like to figure out before the end of summer? Learn Flash, figure out whether or not I'm going back to school, finish what I've started. Sounds easy. We'll see.

The Birthday Girl

Today is my birthday- 33 years and counting.

First and foremost, I have a camping report to detail... Secondly, I have birthday extravaganzanessism to share. That's right, extravagenessismismism.

But that will come tomorrow. Today has been way too much for me. I can't remember ever having a birthday with such beautiful weather (sunny, 80 F, blue skies yielding to a warm evening...) and so many e-mails and phone calls to wish me a happy birthday. Thank you, everyone! And thank you, Facebook, for being my connection to everyone in the cyber world.

Good nite, I'll get you caught up tomorrow...

Here comes summer...

I've been absolutely buried in work- yet I love what I do so it's kinda like drowning in chocolate. My dark comedy has taken a very dramatic turn, the web series on working on is gaining momentum, the author I'm co-writing the adaptation with is really on track and going awesome... and I've been back in the casting office more which I love- I'm a people person and love getting to chat with the actors as they come and go.

Our trip to western land was amazing- granted we didn't get all the interviews we wanted (mainly because I had limited- that means "no" internet access) but it worked out.

In no particular order here are a few photos from the trip. They include me and the turtle I saved from the highway that was about to become a pancake via semi-truck and me and a yellow bellied marmot...




Brett did finish his cowboy movie- for the time being... It's a short as of now buy still fun and effective. He also made a little movie about making a sandwich last night. Here they are:



And The Cowboy Way...

Last but not least here's my new haircut. I cut off ten inches and donated it...



On a side note, I'm still eating vegetarian-style. I haven't tried the full vegan diet yet only because I'm still exploring all my food options. And I love cheese too much! I've been caffeine-free just as long and had my first cup of (decaf) coffee today- I definitely miss the taste, that's for sure.

The only other thing I'm thinking about is applying to NBC's writer's program but the deadline is the end of the month and I'd need a spec script to submit and I don't have anything handy. I'd really have to get my butt in gear to pursue that one but I'm game... the worst that can happen is get rejected.