Back on the couch

I have returned from Korea, which you know if you've followed my lame-ass blogging attempts on Adventures of the Jade Monkey. I'm still posting photos of my trip there, so keep checking back.

Today (Sunday) I'm catching up on electronic media consumption and production. This means blogging, organizing photos, and catching up Doctor Who and Mad Men. Re: Doctor Who: OH. MY. GOD. Absolutely stunning. Re: Mad Men: That is some awesome writing. Don Draper is so twisted and pathetic that he's somehow almost sexy. Rodger Sterling is hilarious because he represents a pre-P.C. sense of humor. Still to come: Leverage and the last few eps of Night Gallery that I haven't seen. Bizarro and I started watching the entire series back in the winter/early spring. We're planning to do presentations at the next Rod Serling Conference about Night Gallery, so right now we're watching and re-watching eps for research (and for fun).

Tomorrow I will start attending to business as usual... slowly. One thing at a time, beginning with finances and figuring out who I need to call and what I need to put on the agenda for the week. Writing is #1, of course. I have 2 weeks before I have to return to work, so I'm making the most of the time.

I still have some unpacking to do, still laundry to do, and of course I have to have my ankle looked at (I sprained it AGAIN my last week in Korea). Processing my notes and thoughts will be essential before work starts and my brain becomes too filled with other people's work and concerns to develop my own. I did some work on the film while in Korea, which was really wonderful. Now I'm in a better place to start editing once I get a tutorial in Final Cut Pro. A very simple thing I realized: part of my procrastination has been my discomfort with the tech end of it. What a silly thing! I've got a filmmaker friend and colleague who's going to help me with that end of things.

I'm still dealing with some jet lag, though today I'm feeling much better than yesterday. Hopefully tonight I won't wake up at 3:00 a.m. in a cold sweat, totally disoriented, like I have the last 2 nights. It's all good - just a mild transition, that's all. I prepped myself for getting through jet lag via EFT before I even got on the plane. Nothing like pre-emptive EFT!

I'm uploading more photos to Adventures of the Jade Monkey now, so why not head over there and check them out?

An off-beat day. Not sure why. Looking forward to Yoga tonight, then I really must go grocery shopping so there's something to eat around here.

I've been trying to get a vacation organized and haven't been able to decide where to stay. North Shore or South Shore? Quantity or quality? What do I want to get out of my time? Money is of course tight, especially since I worked out how little I will actually be getting paid for the summer course I'm teaching. I may well have to do some tutoring on the side to pay for my trip, which is also fine.

I've thought about going with Priceline.com to book a hotel, but I'm afraid of this kind of thing happening:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Summer Lovin'

I've landed a summer teaching gig at the community college next door to City on the Edge of Forever. It's a great schedule (MWF 10:30 - 12:30) and runs June 15 - Aug 7. It's not Boston, but I wasn't getting any real solid leads in Boston, and this was a job offer that I feel good about. I'm so glad I held out for a better situation than the first job offer from them for the summer (the one that started earlier in June and would have me in the classroom 5 days a week.) This way I can make some money, teach academic writing, and still have time and energy to make my film and write my scripts.

I will take a vacation to Boston in early June (just after my Mass peeps are here for the burial of the cremains), and may also head back out there in August for surfing lessons at Nantasket.

Feeling a lot less stressed out right now. Money will still be tight for a few weeks but I'm used to that in summer. The only thing that that will really suck is owing the Feds taxes (grrrrrr). Hopefully I can make an arrangement that won't involve signing my name in blood, donating my ears, or bashing anyone's knees in with a lead pipe a la Tanya Harding.

Bliss

We have returned after our blissful weekend at a lovely B&B, The Log Country Inn. It was a bit of a drive but well worth it, and worth every penny we spent on the room and the hour-long massages. The owner, Wanda, is a fabulous cook and a very lovely woman who knows how to make her guests feel at home. Her family lives on the premises, and we met her daughter and her husband, who is an award-winning documentary producer. Small world, indeed; I'd heard of Slawomir years ago when a friend of mine was an editing assistant for one of his productions. I had no idea when I reserved our room that Wanda was his wife.

The massage therapist who came to do our amazing massages is also a chiropractor and yoga teacher. I've already set up an appointment for an adjustment and to get orthotics (my right arch is fallen, and as I've been told before, I need inserts to get my spine in order). The difference is the orthotics she's selling are $50 as opposed to the $250 fuckerz I bought ten years ago. I stopped using the old ones because they weren't very comfortable and didn't seem to do much. I had had a pair before those that did make a difference, but they eventually wore out, as they do.

I will also be joining her yoga class. I've been wanting to start up yoga again but was overwhelmed at the variety of classes and teachers in the area. Now I have a personal connection with someone who I think has a great energy about her, and I'm excited to add yoga to my pursuit of mind-body health.

Anyway, it was a most restful, relaxing weekend. The sulpher spring-fed jacuzzi was incredible for the skin and the mind. We spent as much time in the bath as possible!

Coming home was delightful; we eased back into reality with a log nap and then we finished up our decadent victuals (bris, crackers, grapes, etc.) and the last of the wine. Ahhhhh...

This is what vacation should be. We have each benefited from this sorely needed respite, and I believe we will be doing it a couple times a year, if at all possible. It was good for Bizarro to feel what a real vacation is like, rather than visiting family, which is usually how we spend breaks and vacation time. From now on, we will tend to our own needs as well as the needs of our families.

It's 9:00 p.m. I will settle down with a book and then try to get to bed at a decent hour. Tomorrow's another day, and I'm ready to take it on!