a catch-up!

good grief. i knew time had passed since my last post, but i didn't realize THIS MUCH time had passed. i actually have a long blog entry that i wrote a couple of weeks ago but, for assorted reasons, i haven't yet posted it.

so, instead, a quick catch-up on stuff that's going on at present:

* i have been trying to stick to the hour-a-day-of-writing plan i posted way back when. it's been mostly successful, but i find i drop the ball on weekends when i'm typically not at home as much. it's a lot easier to sit down for an hour when i'm in my condo for 98% of the day.

* happily, i finished one screenplay outline. yay! but feel that the story is lacking something. it's fine, but not great, and it could use some more drama. as in: more intensity. more gasp-worthy moments. something to make people sit up and go, "oh, i didn't see THAT coming! i wonder what happens next!" right now, it feels a little middle-of-the-road and flat. so, i'm letting it percolate for a bit before i start the screenwriting component.

* while outline #1 percolates, i've moved over to outline #2. it's still in its infancy, but is very fun to write. it's a horror-fantasy-comedy, so there really are no rules in terms of what characters can do or how situations can unfold. i'm trying to push my boundaries and to stop stopping myself — i need to let my imagination go NUTS and conjure up the most insane scenarios or bits of dialogue or plot twists. right now, i feel like i'm still playing it too safe.

* also, in the spirit of willing something into existence, i'm designing a movie poster for outline #2, complete with my dream cast.

* about two weeks ago, i and a couple of other condo-board members removed our board president from his position. (we can't remove him from the board, but we can strip him of his title.) it was a long time coming, and is the best thing for the board and the building. but, man, the fit he pitched when we voted him out. it just reaffirmed that we made exactly the right decision. you'd think an adult's reaction to being told he's dismissive, argumentative and rude wouldn't be to immediately (and angrily) dismiss the claims, argue that he's right and we're wrong, and then call us names.

* as a result of the above chaos, i was super-rattled for a couple of weeks (before and after the ousting). i eventually became so fed up with feeling anxious that started investigating coping mechanisms for anxiety and stress, and actually started reading about crystals and spirit guides and the like. i know, i know, it all sounds woo-woo and loopy, but just researching those topics actually calmed my nerves. over the past week, i've been meditating more, taking Natural Calm (instead of my usual magnesium supplement) in the evenings and, thankfully, have finally been sleeping a bit better. it's all made me feel much better, too.

* corollary: when i'm stressed, gracie gets stressed. during the few weeks that i was a walking stressball due to the condo-board stuff, she was also "off." she wasn't eating properly, threw up a couple of times and started licking her back to the point that she's actually "mowed" a big patch of hair off. that, in turn, stressed me out more... which stressed her out more. and so on. now that i'm on a more even keel, her appetite and energy have returned, and i'm not stressed about her. if i can somehow get her to STOP licking her back (so that the hair can grow back), we'll be set. though, i suspect the licking is due to itchy skin, which is likely due to an allergy of some sort. but allergy testing is not in the cards in the near future.

* YB's birthday, on the other hand, *is* in the near future. it's on thursday and, once i finish this blog entry, i'll be starting phase 3 of her birthday-confection treat: homemade turtles. the caramel has been made, the pecans halves have been toasted, so next i'll wrap individual pecan halves in caramel and then put them in the freezer to firm up. after that, i'll melt some milk chocolate, then dip each caramel/pecan mound in to coat it. FYI: this batch of caramel might be the best i've ever made, so i'm upping the caramel-to-pecan ratio to create big gooey globs of tastiness.

* in just under a week, blogger's new interface becomes permanent. i still haven't upgraded my OS (and, thus, my web browser), so i fear i may not be able to post new content after the 23rd, and until such time as my computer and i join the year 2016 ('cause it's too old to upgrade to the OS of 2020).