Got in just fine to…

Got in just fine to Jed's on Wednesday night, stayed up too late talking, then didn't sleep so well and woke early. Ah well. Had a quiet day Thursday, so it wasn't a big deal. David came down for lunch and gave me a guitar lesson; I was pleased that I mostly remembered six-seven chords, though my transitions between them are awful. Need much practice. Did I mention that I signed up for guitar lessons, starting in September? I miss music; it seemed like it was time to have more of it in my life...

In the afternoon/evening, ordered Thai food and worked on Rasaka stuff, reading scripts for them. None of them seemed like good choices for production, and I learned a lot just thinking about scripts that way, considering why I wouldn't want to produce any of those plays. A variety of reasons, from:

• too short
• too long
• not enough tension
• too vague a conflict
• clunky, cliched dialogue
• tedious polemics and political speeches
• confusing number of characters on stage

There were probably other reasons I'm not remembering. All things to keep in mind when I try to write plays, which I'd still like to do. So much to learn. Tomorrow, I may spend a few hours revising The Tin Cup, now that I have what not to do freshly in mind. :-) Mostly, it needs a fair bit more dialogue, I think, and more of what's now in monologue should move to scene.

Today I churned through work for Roosevelt; I think I'm pretty caught up on admin work, which is good, since it means Janet should hopefully be able to take over again smoothly. It's been interesting, administering the program in a minimal, caretaker sort of way over the summer. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a creative writing program -- mostly answering lots and lots of repetitive student questions. The organization freak in me wants to respond by drawing up long FAQ's...which probably no one would ever read. :-)

Other than that, I've been re-reading Time Enough for Love, which is just as charming and sweet and sexist as I remembered. Ah, Heinlein. And also cooking; a few folks are coming over for dinner tonight. Pireeni and Colm, Kam, Sarah and Simon. Should be pleasant. I made curries -- chicken and potato, tamarind tilapia, leeks, lemon-masala mushrooms, coconut sambol, saffron rice. Pleasant cooking, dishes I've made so often I can do them without thinking at all.

The weather's gorgeous here, a welcome break from the miserable heat in Chicago, and while I miss Kevin, other than that, life is very good. Happy weekend, everyone.