Wednesday, March 16, 2005

• Alex had her 6th grade concert last night. I surprised her with a new skirt and a blue shirt to go with it. She plays the clarinet, as do about 85 others in the band. Each section stood up to play during one song, and there were about four times as many clarinets than any other instrument.

  I was very annoyed at the concert. Everything was annoying me and I'm not usually like that. But there were kids who were old enough to know better running up and down the bleachers, people next to me talking, people who couldn't find seats that decided to pull up their chairs right behind the band. When one of the band kids got up to announce a song, this one lady would stand up and move closer to the kid so she could hear. It was strange. There's no reason this should have annoyed me, but it did. By the end of it, I was just a big ball of pissed off.

  I like those band things, even though they go on too long sometimes. It's nothing short of amazing how much those kids learn. This concert was for the entire sixth grade, so choir and orchestra were also represented. The band was the best, and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

  Anne Lamott is doing a reading at Powell's tomorrow night and I can't decide if I want to go. I do, sort of, but maybe not enough to actually drive there and try to find parking, sit in a hot room and listen to her, etc. But maybe...her new book sounds like something I should read. madmomwriter, wanna go? I don't really want to, but I could be convinced.

  Sometime I'll have to tell you all about the night I met Anne Lamott, Grace Paley, and Ursula K. LeGuin. Maybe I've already told you.

  I'm trying to make some decisions about taking classes. I was thinking about taking screenwriting vie the Internet from our local community college. It costs $80 or something like that. Then, there's a tennis class I want to take that also costs $80. And I really only have one $80 to spend. I could wait and do screenwriting next time (they have a new one starting every month) or I could wait and do tennis the next time (they also have a new one starting every month). I could sign up for a year at Writer's Village University and take unlimited classes for a year for $100 or something like that, but I don't know how good those classes are, and they don't offer screenwriting, which is what I specifically want to take. I think I'm going to go for the tennis, because I have another project ahead of the screenplay that I would like to finish, and I'm too distractible as it is.

  I need to become one of those people who get up at 4 a.m. to write. Just until this project is done. And maybe the screenplay.

  My goal for next Friday the 25th is to have completed the essays I'm working on and sent them off. They are all in various stages of completion, and I'm not sure if they'll all pan out, but I want to get them off my list. And I need to finish the next dog article by Friday also.

  Tonight we're having grilled chicken with macaroni and cheese and green beans. But I might make rolls or something instead of mac & cheese. But mac & cheese sounds really good.

  My wireless network went down yesterday for the first time. I'm not really a networking person, but I did manage to set this up and get my laptop and my TiVo talking to it (and each other). I  was afraid it would take me days to solve the problem, but it only took about an hour. I did all the rebooting & etc. and then eventually replaced a cable I suspected might be the problem, and that did the trick.

  Oh, it rained today. In Portland. Can you imagine? I'm a little sad because this is the first day of rain since they started building the house. They have all three floors framed now...things are coming together in a hurry. I'll try to take a pic of it with my camera phone on the way home tonight, but I think it's too dark out now.

  And now, I have the OK to leave for the day...I was sitting around here writing this while waiting for the OK to leave.

  Currently Reading Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith By Anne Lamott see related

  • 7:44 PM
  • 1 view
  • 30 eprops
  • 17 comments