Focusing in! and Out...

I realize that, for the past 6 months, this blog has been mostly focused on all the changes going on in my personal life. While a useful tool for keeping everyone up to date, that wasn't my original reason for starting BTTLG. Sometimes, one gets so consumed with their current circumstances, one loses track and just goes where the winds of change seem to be blowing them. Now that I have dropped anchor, and while I'm in a sort of getting-things-together limbo, I'd like to refocus my thoughts here and get back to what BTTLG is all about...

And what is that? What are the reasons I started writing in this way? Hmmm...

1 - Because I love discovering new things and sharing those dicoveries with others.
2 - Because there are wonderful people doing things out in the world who should be recognized for their efforts in the smallest of ways we can recognize them.
3 - It will be an account I can keep and pass down through the family.
4 - Because I love making "favorites" lists.
5 - I love having a place for people to find me and participate in a conversation even if they are miles away.

I realize that the content bounds from subject to subject, but so does my life, just as a child bounds from one game to the next. I have never been one to stay in one context for very long, and I tend to, as Henry David Thoreau puts so well, "live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign [myself] to the influences of each." It is those "influences" I like writing about. There are so many seasons, fragrances, drinks, and fruits to experience! This blog, ultimately, is an exercize in "play." I have a feeling, as I settle into my new circumstances, I will be a lot more playful than I have been in years!

So, in the coming days, I am going to reformulate a format that encompasses all of the above, giving myself the liberties of expansiveness and miscellany. I hope I continue to engage those of you who read, knowing that I can't please all of you all the time. If you are bored by knitting, for instance, an abiding hobby of mine, skip that entry and look to others. I'll try to organize by labels so you can find what you want to find. Also, in the next post, I'll give a synopsis of some likely recurring subjects. A "mind-map", if you will. And, if I die having never written well-structured and focused content, having never entertained as I strive to entertain, having no readers but myself and my "captured audience" - (friends and family), at least my decendants will have the babblings of an eccentric ancestor to puzzle over... which makes the whole passtime worth it in the end.

Sluggish seas.

I haven't been able to work on my apartment hardly at all! ARGH!

It seems I am having what one could call "abundance issues". They are really the best issues to have if one must have issues, but they are issues nonetheless. Since I moved in, I have gotten 3 jobs, all with friends of mine and all fairly fun and stress-free.

So, my theme of the year is still alive and kicking! Even when I wish it would take a short break so I can get my apartment painted, my things unpacked, and my housewarming party planned. *sigh* Luckily, all of this work will allow me to get those numerous things I need for civilized living. (Bed, coffee maker, trifle dish... just kidding on the trifle dish, mom... no, I don't need one for Christmas.)

I also haven't had time to take a single picture yet, but that is on my list of things to do soon. I have limited dsl access until I settle into a weekly studio schedule, so keep checking in when you can and I'll pop in more often when I settle into the shallows.

Dropping anchor!

Yippee...

I have finally moved into my new place! Sheesh. I have had a crazy couple of weeks trying to get approved and moved, so I have a lengthy update to cover all that time! (So, this will be a long one!)

My new apartment is in Astoria, 3 blocks down from Leese, and just big enough for me and my two cats. I would show you pictures, but I am going to be painting the whole place and would rather unveil the space when all the work is done.

At the moment, I am living without quite a few important things:

1. A bed. (I'm using Leese's airbed).
2. A coffeemaker. Yes, I heard you gasp in disbelief. How can this be so! Don't worry... it's the first item on my list of things to buy.
3. An iron. I have to steam things out in the bathroom by turning on the hot water and closing the door.
4. A couch. Using fold-up chairs for now.
5. A TV. Thank god for Netflix, the internet, and good friends who let you borrow their DVD players.
   
6. The internet. Sheesh. This one is really hard. I'm going to have to live without it, though, until I get my financial situation solidified.
7. A microwave. Guess I'll just have to wait 45 minutes for my Amy's frozen dinners to heat up in that old-fashioned oven.

Hmmm... those are the big things. There are a million other small things that I'll have to get one day, but can do without for a while.

Once the place is clean and painted, it will be wonderful. I am already loving the solitude! I kept my promise to myself and waited until I moved to read Harry Potter. I started it the first night I slept there by myself. There's nothing like a little brilliant fantasy to take one's mind off the fact that the person they have slept beside for the past 5 years is no longer warming that particular side of the bed.

Speaking of that whole development, I promised to post pictures of the Image Campaign I did for First Wives World. Joe and his crew have done a magnificent job editing the footage and I can't wait until they launch with the new FWW website! These photos just don't do the campaign justice, but here they are anyway.
...
Me looking not-so-bad against an orange background.
...
On set . Since I am friends with some of the crew, they decided to use me as the guinea pig to get the ball rolling. I don't mind being a guinea pig, really, as long as it's not for the trial run of a new amusement park roller-coaster or an (ahem) reformulated feminine product.
... Joe and Julie make a great team. I can't wait to see them in action on a feature.
...
This a me with some of the other major FWW players: (from left to right) Joe, the image campaign Director; Jonas, an invaluable producer; Akillah, another "First Wife"; and Danielle, producer/art department head.

Like I said, I can't wait for you to see the actual image campaign spots. They really give you a sense of the amazing women who are out there and their wildly different experiences with divorce. I'll post the links as soon as they are available.

I am also doing a "vlog" or video-blog that will document all the highs and lows of the process. That will be coming out with the new-site launch as well. More on that later...

*** *** *** ***

In other exciting news, another wonderful site has launched and I am very proud to have been a small part of the production team for the video element.

It is called Panwapa.

It is a website that was constructed to help kids gain awareness of the wider world and all of the worlds rich cultures. The website is set up like a social network. Kids can join, design an online "avatar", build their own Panwapa house, and contact kids from other countries. Panwapa, itself, is a floating island with it's own inhabitants who navigate all the issues of cross-cultural relationships. If you clink on the TV on the home page, you will see segments of a muppet-styled show much like Sesame Street with different characters. As a matter of fact, Sesame Workshop created the site as part of their award-winning outreach effort to educate all the world's children.

I have already created my own avatar! If you visit the site look for USA1058. That's me!

Thanks to C. Boyd for bringing me on as the Art Director. She is the one behind the lovely production design of the island world in the videos and she also designed most of the icons you'll see in the "flags" section.

Let me know what you think of the site if you happen to visit.

OK - that's all for now. I'll try to track down another internet connection for another post soon. I have a feeling you'll be seeing much more of me now that I'm settled!