sunnyside up!

(leave your worries on the doorstep)

back to work!

Geez, I’m really not finding all the free time I thought I would have to blog.  Been quite busy finishing up a short freelance web job for a psychotherapist, helping out the New York Writers Coalition with a site overhaul, and getting ready to go back to work — in film production!

I decided to accept GS’s offer to come work on her doc.  The timing seems serendipitous.  Plus: I’m getting tired of not hearing back from HR people.  You get a nibble, then a phone interview — then nothing.  In two cases I was promised interviews with the hiring or senior manager — then not even a call to let me know what’s going on, whether they had filled the job or decided I wasn’t a good candidate after all.  And no response to my emails — rude!  I sought a little advice from my friend N who pointed out that the downside of continuing to look for a job is that I might become discouraged.   That certainly seems to prove truer with each passing day.

So, there’s that.  Plus, the idea of working on something REAL and TANGIBLE and LASTING has me so excited I can barely sit still.  I can’t remember the last time I felt like I really wanted to invest myself to the degree I am expecting to with this work.  Already, with my first assignment to review various sources of funding and come up with strategies for approaching each has me feeling heady and totally engaged.

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CB had me over for lunch yesterday.  He had the day off and was working on his website, but still took time to fix us a delicious chicken ceasar salad.  Did I tell you how happy I am that CB is back in my neighborhood and my life?  He’s a great role model for me with his clean living (I’m trying!) and he’s just so knowledgeable on so many topics and so interested in so many things!  One thing we both love is “Grey Gardens” (although I have only seen the movie and not the musical stage production).   Chris showed me a strange video clip of two Beale-like women, i.e., crazy and ranting, lounging on a bed in a cramped, cluttered room, and related to each other somehow — in this case they appear to be sisters.  The clip was posted on one of CB’s FB friend’s profile pages, so I can’t access it yet — but as soon as I have it I will post.  We couldn’t decide whether it was real or a put-on (I think the latter).  You will have to decide.  Check back soon.

juggling joblets

Haven’t posted here in the past few days.  I was off on the North Fork of Long Island visiting with GS, who is working on a very interesting film and said she could use a little help in the form of an associate producer.  I hadn’t actually expected the trip to turn into a work thing, but since I don’t have enough work and have been looking for something more meaningful and creative to devote myself to, G’s offer was a welcome one.

For those of you who don’t know G, you can read about her work here on the re-launched Jezebel website (courtesy yours truly).

I have done this type of work before — it’s challenging and exciting.  Mostly it’s pitching the film — writing and talking to people — two things I love to do.  The question is whether I can continue to live on the nickles and dimes the small web jobs bring in while trying to come up production financing.  While a large part of me LOVES being independent again, a small part of me is missing the income and benefits that come with a full-time position in white collar America.

Of course, I’ve been looking for that full-time position for a couple of months now and there’s no reason for me to believe that I will find one anytime soon.

All things to be considered…

weekend recap

An eventful weekend, beginning with Saturday morning’s rush to catch up with preparations for dinner as I did not get to the ragout as intended on Friday.  I spent too much time trying to fix my cake, which came out perfectly (thank you Duncan Hines) and left me feeling hopefully about my baking skills — until I tried to frost it with cream that I hadn’t whipped up stiff enough.

I kept hearing that song, “MacArthur Park” in my head — the Richard Harris version, not the Donna Summer, although I love that, too — the part about someone having left the cake out in the rain.  (Truly, there never was a more bizarre pop song.)

Anyway, the cake tasted great (I sandwiched more strawberries and sliced bananas between the layers) and was a hit with my guys.

This Saturday, “my guys” included AZ, who is always great company and is very non-judgmental when it comes to things like cake aesthetics and being misinformed about the quantity and quality of beer we had on hand.  Good thing he picked up some Jenlain at the Superior Market on Queens Blvd on his way over.  They are truly superior when it comes to beer selection.

On Sunday, a trip up to Pleasantville to see our young friends, FOB & WW.  The invite came about after I filled in a Facebook meme, “25 Random Things About Me,” and noted that I like hiking and don’t get out of the City enough.  FOB read that, and although I wouldn’t generally describe her as “angelic,” her invitation to join them for brunch and then a “winter walk in the woods, weather permitting” was certainly sent by the cosmos.  It fed so many neglected personal hungers — the need for exercise, for fresh air — and fresh faces and ideas!

FOB & WW have made a really lovely home in a quirky old house (cir. 1850) on a woodsy hillside.   You can feel the love and warmth in that place the minute you step through the door.  FOB served us coffee and yummy muffins (clearly NOT Duncan Hines)  and a perfect veggie fritatta, and caught us up on all the news of her sprawling family.  WW spoke mostly of emergency response plans to various disaster scenarios — a favorite topic, touched off by a comment on the disocvery of the source of the maple syrup smell plauging New Yorkers in recent months.  Then we moved on to public health and food safety issues, which led to a less worrisome conversation about locally grown produce.  The couple struck a deal with a local farm whereby they receive a box of fresh vegetables every other week.  I benefitted from FOB’s not liking onions and took home a bag full of lovely yellow and red onions and a handful of cipollini.

After brunch, as promised, a not-too-strenous walk in Rockefeller State Park Preserve.  We hiked the Eagle Hill trail, spotting families of deer foraging in the melting snow, up to the highest point from where you have a view of Pocantico Lake.  It’s been a week since I smoked my last cigarette and drawing a deep breathe of that crisp/clean air was my first reward to myself.  Thanks a million, FOB & WW, for the your gracious hospitality.  Therapeutic — and great fun.