Where the heck is the sun the forecast promised us? I need to mow my jungle.
So I'm still not quite up to par. Kayleigh went back to school today, and Tyler walked her to the bus stop - and he took the garbage out on his way. He's still claiming too sick to go to school, and he may have given up, seeing as how there's one more week. But still, I thought it was nice that he's making an effort at peace here at home.
I'm still in my sweats, looking like (as Raechelle put it) the Unibomber. Had a productive cough this morning, which has died down to a random huff every now and again. I could probably push through and go to the screening tonight, but honestly nobody likes the guy hacking up a lung in the back of the theater. Dan has told me to stay home and rest, and I probably should. I really want to be better so I can go to lunch tomorrow (so Raechelle can meet my mom & stepdad).
Gonna grab a nice hot shower, get back in my sweats and sleep away the afternoon. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're sick. Have a great screening, Mr. Heinrich. You know I love ya.
Showing posts with label STIFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STIFF. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What's That Like?
I may have mentioned in a comment over on Raechelle's blog that I've spent so long being a caregiver that I've really forgotten what it was like to be taken care of myself. I'm normally stoic out of necessity, because like any single parent, the buck stops with me. If I get sick, I just have to weather it myself. Sometimes one of the kids will bring me something, but in general I muddle through alone.
There was one time in the whirlwind relationship with Jamie when I was knocked flat by a migraine and she came over to help the kids clean the kitchen.
But aside from that and the rare maternal moment from Sam before she was diagnosed, I've not had the kind of healing energy I really crave from a partner.
So it was truly momentous, surreal and altogether wonderful when Raechelle took some extra time at lunch and brought us a stockpile of soup, 7-up and cough medicine. I know this is what she's about - she's a natural nurturer, and that's one of the things I find attractive about her. But I've been giving so long I'm not used to receiving. What is to her a simple gesture is to me a pretty big deal, and given time, I'll probably get used to it more - but I don't think I could ever take a quality like this for granted. After a short visit, she headed back to work. I made sure she knew she was appreciated.
Passed out most of the afternoon on the sofa and awoke to the UPS guy knocking on the door. Found a big box on the porch. From Randy. An Atari Flashback 2. How cool is that?? Dude... PONG!
And then Kayleigh made dinner, which was like a triple bonus! I mean, if you gotta be sick... right?
Hopefully I'll be over this crud tomorrow so we can have a decent screening of Behind Closed Doors.
There was one time in the whirlwind relationship with Jamie when I was knocked flat by a migraine and she came over to help the kids clean the kitchen.
But aside from that and the rare maternal moment from Sam before she was diagnosed, I've not had the kind of healing energy I really crave from a partner.
So it was truly momentous, surreal and altogether wonderful when Raechelle took some extra time at lunch and brought us a stockpile of soup, 7-up and cough medicine. I know this is what she's about - she's a natural nurturer, and that's one of the things I find attractive about her. But I've been giving so long I'm not used to receiving. What is to her a simple gesture is to me a pretty big deal, and given time, I'll probably get used to it more - but I don't think I could ever take a quality like this for granted. After a short visit, she headed back to work. I made sure she knew she was appreciated.
Passed out most of the afternoon on the sofa and awoke to the UPS guy knocking on the door. Found a big box on the porch. From Randy. An Atari Flashback 2. How cool is that?? Dude... PONG!
And then Kayleigh made dinner, which was like a triple bonus! I mean, if you gotta be sick... right?
Hopefully I'll be over this crud tomorrow so we can have a decent screening of Behind Closed Doors.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Big Weekend
As explained previously, this weekend was big in a lot of ways. It was busy, it was packed, and it was a real test of proximity for Raechelle and me. The good news is, we're not sick of each other. The bad news is, it was hard for her to go home tonight. I think that bodes well.
Raechelle was a big hit with both Doug and Ann - major question mark resolved! We headed home to relieve Katherine from childcare duty, and Raechelle and I had some tea and chatted well into the night. It's becoming more and more difficult to separate at the end of an evening.
Saturday brought with it the first STIFF screenings for our crowd. Raechelle came back out to the house, this time prepared with (gasp!) an overnight bag. Here was the logic: it made more sense to use my place as the base of operations, as the venue (in Belltown) is a bit closer to West Seattle; we had a packed schedule of screenings; and we cleared it with the kids beforehand so it wasn't a surprise (in fact, they were giddy). So yeah, Raechelle spent the night on Saturday. Backing up a bit, we headed out to drop the kids at Gavin's place, and Raechelle was a hit with my little bro. Big surprise there. Then we headed over to the Rendezvous/Jewel Box, where we met up with Dan and Valentina Humphrey (of Rectify fame), hung out a bit, then sat in on the first block, which included (among other films) Shawn Telford's Gimme Music, Gimme Shelter (a very charming and well-made short). Took a break for some dinner, then returned to screen Dan & Val's Rectify. Came home and watched Run Ronnie Run over a bottle of Coppola Malbec. Raechelle got goodnight hugs from both kids!
In the morning, Kayleigh climbed onto the bed with a bunch of fun facts from her Discovery Kids magazine. Then Raechelle made French toast for everyone - another big hit. And the kids were *on*. They were performing something fierce for their house guest, and it was hilarious and really endearing to see. Somehow having this sort of alpha female energy in the house balances out the alpha male from me, and she is able to draw Tyler out of his shell.
Edit: I would like to add here that on Friday as Tyler was heading off to bed, he came into the family room to give me a hug, then he smiled at Raechelle and said, "I guess I can give you a hug too." And he did.
Back to Sunday. Gavin picked the kids up at 11, and Raechelle and I got ready to go to STIFF day 2 (for us). We got a superb parking spot right in front of the Rendezvous (free parking Sunday!), and bummed around a bit, grabbing a coffee and then some Thai for lunch before meeting Dan & Trish and Jesse in front of the Rendezvous just prior to opening. Once inside, my peeps kept arriving in droves. Dan Humphrey, Ron, Natasha (with mom in tow), Dennis, Marcio, Aaron, and Katherine's brother Luther and his wife (and their boy). Darlene snuck in there too, as did Steve Miller from Rotten Tomatoes, and my old housemate Erica, who had acted in one of my earlier local TV productions back in the '90s. I won't offer any personal opinions on the other films in the block with OA, except to say that my friend Beth would have been horrified at Jack the Vomiter. There was a Q&A afterwards with the three filmmakers in the block, and I got some "celebrity director" time. Each time I looked out into the audience, I caught a glimpse of Raechelle with a big grin on her face.
We headed over to Mama's Mexican cafe afterwards for some early dinner and conversation. It was good schmooze time, good postmortem discussion on the Gigi project, and yet more opportunity for Raechelle to get a glimpse of my world, and she told me on the way home how much she loved the experience of hanging out with my film cronies all weekend and watching me interact in that world. In fact, she likes my friends universally, calling them "good people", without exception.
(That's two very tired, very happy people.)
And, as explained above, the end of the day arrived and neither one of us wanted her to have to go home. But go home she did, amidst more plans for next weekend, a Wednesday night screening of Behind Closed Doors, and possible Thursday lunch with my mom and stepdad (who will be in town for Bob's surgical follow-up at UW). We're screening Control here on Friday night, and Raechelle has offered to help me organize the remaining fire salvage boxes on Saturday. I know it's shocking, but there will probably be one or two more overnights in there. I figure if we spent a whole weekend together without running away in opposite directions, and actually feel sad at the prospect of being apart, it feels entirely natural to have her stay here now and again. The kids love it, I love it, she loves it... 'nuff said, really.
So yeah, good weekend. Very good weekend indeed. And it's primed us for some really good times to come.
Friday afternoon arrived and so did Raechelle, with her change of clothes for the dinner/comedy show evening. We headed downtown in pouring rain, met Doug & Ann and a few of Ann's work friends at Il Fornaio. Had some good food and good wine. Then we walked over to the Paramount and had a blast at Marty Reimer's :20 Festival. Greg Behrendt was especially good. Megan Mooney was my second favorite. Greg Geraldo was funny, but came off looking stoned (or drunk). And there were cookies!
Raechelle was a big hit with both Doug and Ann - major question mark resolved! We headed home to relieve Katherine from childcare duty, and Raechelle and I had some tea and chatted well into the night. It's becoming more and more difficult to separate at the end of an evening.
Saturday brought with it the first STIFF screenings for our crowd. Raechelle came back out to the house, this time prepared with (gasp!) an overnight bag. Here was the logic: it made more sense to use my place as the base of operations, as the venue (in Belltown) is a bit closer to West Seattle; we had a packed schedule of screenings; and we cleared it with the kids beforehand so it wasn't a surprise (in fact, they were giddy). So yeah, Raechelle spent the night on Saturday. Backing up a bit, we headed out to drop the kids at Gavin's place, and Raechelle was a hit with my little bro. Big surprise there. Then we headed over to the Rendezvous/Jewel Box, where we met up with Dan and Valentina Humphrey (of Rectify fame), hung out a bit, then sat in on the first block, which included (among other films) Shawn Telford's Gimme Music, Gimme Shelter (a very charming and well-made short). Took a break for some dinner, then returned to screen Dan & Val's Rectify. Came home and watched Run Ronnie Run over a bottle of Coppola Malbec. Raechelle got goodnight hugs from both kids!
In the morning, Kayleigh climbed onto the bed with a bunch of fun facts from her Discovery Kids magazine. Then Raechelle made French toast for everyone - another big hit. And the kids were *on*. They were performing something fierce for their house guest, and it was hilarious and really endearing to see. Somehow having this sort of alpha female energy in the house balances out the alpha male from me, and she is able to draw Tyler out of his shell.
Edit: I would like to add here that on Friday as Tyler was heading off to bed, he came into the family room to give me a hug, then he smiled at Raechelle and said, "I guess I can give you a hug too." And he did.
Back to Sunday. Gavin picked the kids up at 11, and Raechelle and I got ready to go to STIFF day 2 (for us). We got a superb parking spot right in front of the Rendezvous (free parking Sunday!), and bummed around a bit, grabbing a coffee and then some Thai for lunch before meeting Dan & Trish and Jesse in front of the Rendezvous just prior to opening. Once inside, my peeps kept arriving in droves. Dan Humphrey, Ron, Natasha (with mom in tow), Dennis, Marcio, Aaron, and Katherine's brother Luther and his wife (and their boy). Darlene snuck in there too, as did Steve Miller from Rotten Tomatoes, and my old housemate Erica, who had acted in one of my earlier local TV productions back in the '90s. I won't offer any personal opinions on the other films in the block with OA, except to say that my friend Beth would have been horrified at Jack the Vomiter. There was a Q&A afterwards with the three filmmakers in the block, and I got some "celebrity director" time. Each time I looked out into the audience, I caught a glimpse of Raechelle with a big grin on her face.
We headed over to Mama's Mexican cafe afterwards for some early dinner and conversation. It was good schmooze time, good postmortem discussion on the Gigi project, and yet more opportunity for Raechelle to get a glimpse of my world, and she told me on the way home how much she loved the experience of hanging out with my film cronies all weekend and watching me interact in that world. In fact, she likes my friends universally, calling them "good people", without exception.(That's two very tired, very happy people.)And, as explained above, the end of the day arrived and neither one of us wanted her to have to go home. But go home she did, amidst more plans for next weekend, a Wednesday night screening of Behind Closed Doors, and possible Thursday lunch with my mom and stepdad (who will be in town for Bob's surgical follow-up at UW). We're screening Control here on Friday night, and Raechelle has offered to help me organize the remaining fire salvage boxes on Saturday. I know it's shocking, but there will probably be one or two more overnights in there. I figure if we spent a whole weekend together without running away in opposite directions, and actually feel sad at the prospect of being apart, it feels entirely natural to have her stay here now and again. The kids love it, I love it, she loves it... 'nuff said, really.
So yeah, good weekend. Very good weekend indeed. And it's primed us for some really good times to come.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Radio Silence, Maybe
As "my woman" just said in her last blog post, this is a busy weekend for us. I may or may not be able to post for the next couple days, depending. So no promises, except there will be a full download come Monday.
Kayleigh gets back from her camping trip today, and Katherine is coming over to chill with the kiddos while Raechelle and I go on our dinner/comedy concert thing. Last night, Tyler and I had male bonding time in the form of Cup o' Noodles (which Tyler pronounces "noobles") and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, which is probably the world's most expensive 104-minute dick & fart joke. And it's even an *in* joke at that. But we're in the *in*, so it's hilarious to us. Plus there's a monkey. God bless you, Kevin Smith.
I finished the Duo poster (at least the pre-pitch marketing version). It's weird seeing Eric Riedmann and Devielle Johnson standing on the comic page in place of JD & Steve, respectively. But Dan dug the heck out of it, and that bodes well. I like it too - and I'm excited as hell to make this film. After walking so long in the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy, it's really nice to step outside of that and do a romantic comedy. Dan and I already have a John Hughes-esque coming-of-age period piece in mind for later down the line, and I may have mentioned another romantic comedy concept to Raechelle, too. Of course, after the Duo, the next project to pursue is the OA series. I'm thinking screening films at STIFF this weekend will rekindle some gumption to work on the OA series pilot.
Can gumption be un-kindled in the first place? And why does the word "gumption" make me think of a denture adhesive? "Trouble eating that corn on the cob? Try new and improved GUMPTION! For superior long-lasting hold, that's GUMPTION!"
Also, my friend Shawn Telford's film, Gimme Music, Gimme Shelter, is playing at STIFF in the block before Dan Humphrey's Rectify. So we may have to step in a bit earlier on Saturday. Darn.
If Raechelle isn't completely sick of me by the end of the weekend, I daresay that's a good sign.
Have a great weekend, all. Onward.
Kayleigh gets back from her camping trip today, and Katherine is coming over to chill with the kiddos while Raechelle and I go on our dinner/comedy concert thing. Last night, Tyler and I had male bonding time in the form of Cup o' Noodles (which Tyler pronounces "noobles") and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, which is probably the world's most expensive 104-minute dick & fart joke. And it's even an *in* joke at that. But we're in the *in*, so it's hilarious to us. Plus there's a monkey. God bless you, Kevin Smith.
I finished the Duo poster (at least the pre-pitch marketing version). It's weird seeing Eric Riedmann and Devielle Johnson standing on the comic page in place of JD & Steve, respectively. But Dan dug the heck out of it, and that bodes well. I like it too - and I'm excited as hell to make this film. After walking so long in the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy, it's really nice to step outside of that and do a romantic comedy. Dan and I already have a John Hughes-esque coming-of-age period piece in mind for later down the line, and I may have mentioned another romantic comedy concept to Raechelle, too. Of course, after the Duo, the next project to pursue is the OA series. I'm thinking screening films at STIFF this weekend will rekindle some gumption to work on the OA series pilot.
Can gumption be un-kindled in the first place? And why does the word "gumption" make me think of a denture adhesive? "Trouble eating that corn on the cob? Try new and improved GUMPTION! For superior long-lasting hold, that's GUMPTION!"
Also, my friend Shawn Telford's film, Gimme Music, Gimme Shelter, is playing at STIFF in the block before Dan Humphrey's Rectify. So we may have to step in a bit earlier on Saturday. Darn.
If Raechelle isn't completely sick of me by the end of the weekend, I daresay that's a good sign.
Have a great weekend, all. Onward.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Gurg.
Looks like I picked up the same blahs as Raechelle had yesterday. For whatever reason, 3 hours of sleep was all I was allowed last night. Really dragging today...
BUT!
I got the Nobody Knows script (formerly the top secret Gigi project) more or less finished, pending a couple clarifications from Gigi. I'm a little nervous that the script is now almost twice what it started out. I guess we'll find out how doable it will be when we do the shot list.
[mushy alert]
I love that Raechelle is a "planner". I love that we can plan stuff out through the week and look forward to it. Makes the workdays when we can't see each other far more tolerable. For instance, on Friday we are joining Sam's brother and his girlfriend for dinner and a comedy showcase at the Paramount. Then Saturday, we have a block of STIFF films in the evening, then Sunday afternoon we have the Seattle OA premiere. I'm really looking forward to: a) introducing her to my film friends, and b) having this gorgeous woman on my arm all weekend. I'm not used to having a gorgeous woman on my arm all weekend (hasn't happened in a long time)... but it sure feels good to think about, and I'm sure I'll love having it happen for real.
So yeah. This "couple" thing. I like it. It's where I thrive. It's where I'm at the top of my game. The mutual support and nurturing. The give and take, the exchange of ideas and laughter - holy crap, the laughter!
It's good. It's real good.
[end mushy alert]
BUT!
I got the Nobody Knows script (formerly the top secret Gigi project) more or less finished, pending a couple clarifications from Gigi. I'm a little nervous that the script is now almost twice what it started out. I guess we'll find out how doable it will be when we do the shot list.
[mushy alert]
I love that Raechelle is a "planner". I love that we can plan stuff out through the week and look forward to it. Makes the workdays when we can't see each other far more tolerable. For instance, on Friday we are joining Sam's brother and his girlfriend for dinner and a comedy showcase at the Paramount. Then Saturday, we have a block of STIFF films in the evening, then Sunday afternoon we have the Seattle OA premiere. I'm really looking forward to: a) introducing her to my film friends, and b) having this gorgeous woman on my arm all weekend. I'm not used to having a gorgeous woman on my arm all weekend (hasn't happened in a long time)... but it sure feels good to think about, and I'm sure I'll love having it happen for real.
So yeah. This "couple" thing. I like it. It's where I thrive. It's where I'm at the top of my game. The mutual support and nurturing. The give and take, the exchange of ideas and laughter - holy crap, the laughter!
It's good. It's real good.
[end mushy alert]
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