Hiya'
Mild vent earlier today. Now on the brighter side.
On my way home from the chiropractor in Issaquah last night I had a relaxing ride, heading up to Woodinville to pick up my share of last week's veggies. More gazpacho. I was feeling good, the remnants of rush hour traffic only making me slow enough to enjoy the sights. No hurry, though I did zoom some corners nicely when there were no cars in front of me.
I was waiting at the light at the end of Lake Sammamish when I noticed the occupants of the car behind me. A couple, the fellow probably five or ten years older than I, the woman about my age maybe five years younger. The man was having an intense, and it looked like a yelling, argument on the phone. The woman looked well practiced with the situation. Stony faced, looking out the window to the side away from her companion.
Sitting there I thought to myself, I should gesture to the lady, offering her a ride on the motorcycle. I didn't. But I couldn't help but think to myself, what a great way to begin a movie. I guess all I need is the rest of the story. And there could be 100's of great stories. That would be a fun project, especially if my bike and I could star! That was going through my mind as I was musing over the different experiences the three of us had. One a man making himself angrier, putting himself in a foul mood he'd be sharing with everyone near him. The woman trying to tune out the same old screaming, knowing she'd soon be trying to calm or deflect his anger. The guy on the motorbike, delighting in waving at children and young teens when they look at the guy on the rumbling pretty red and cream motorcycle.
People traveling the same way, probably for not dissimilar reasons, and widely different experiences. How often have I been the foul person shitting upon those around me? Been there, done that, tired of that there way. I certainly like being the jolly fellow waving at kids (and their moms) a lot more. Today has been trying at work and I'm going to have a nice ride home, have fun with my monologue homework and watch a fun movie. And think about the woman in the car with the jerk. Should I have made the gesture, and risked watching her man stroke out in the seat next to her? Probably not. Should I add it to my writer's toolbox for that distant day when I start writing again? Definitely.
I was thinking about my second Bachelor of Science. Aside from a history and a political science credit I needed to graduate from Armstrong, which is in the same system as Georgia Tech, all I needed were the mathematics and computer science courses. I decided I'd CLEP the history and political science (these are tests which can exempt you from classes if you demonstrate the necessary knowledge). The preparation packages were terribly overpriced and vague, so I figured I'd take the test so I would really know what to study. That cost about $60, as opposed to $1000 to get packages for both tests. In the back of my mind was the possibility I'd pass by the skin of my teeth. I did embarrassingly well taking the tests cold. Not for me, but for the state of education. Even the A- and B+ (or was it B- and C+ ?) didn't matter since the grades didn't count. I was excited, because that meant I wouldn't have take the things again to maintain the Summa Cum Laude level I was so proud of at the time. My first degree was with honors (Cum Laude) but I wasn't particularly proud of that because I was a slacker a decade ahead of time. The second degree interested me, and I worked for it.
Back to my thought. I have the same feeling right now. I may do fine on Sunday and get accepted into the Ensemble Training Intensive. If not, it will have been a very good prep, and free. The stakes are still high for me, but knowing it is also prep for other things or the next ETI creates a healthy perspective for me. It prevents me from terrifying myself out of doing my best. Does this make sense to anyone? Or am I the only person who constantly cons myself?
Those are some of my prep tools. Put the stakes in perspective so I don't blow it off or blow myself up. Choose to be in good spirits, and wave at children and their parents. The other types of prep are, I hope, pretty standard for the craft.
On my way home from the chiropractor in Issaquah last night I had a relaxing ride, heading up to Woodinville to pick up my share of last week's veggies. More gazpacho. I was feeling good, the remnants of rush hour traffic only making me slow enough to enjoy the sights. No hurry, though I did zoom some corners nicely when there were no cars in front of me.
I was waiting at the light at the end of Lake Sammamish when I noticed the occupants of the car behind me. A couple, the fellow probably five or ten years older than I, the woman about my age maybe five years younger. The man was having an intense, and it looked like a yelling, argument on the phone. The woman looked well practiced with the situation. Stony faced, looking out the window to the side away from her companion.
Sitting there I thought to myself, I should gesture to the lady, offering her a ride on the motorcycle. I didn't. But I couldn't help but think to myself, what a great way to begin a movie. I guess all I need is the rest of the story. And there could be 100's of great stories. That would be a fun project, especially if my bike and I could star! That was going through my mind as I was musing over the different experiences the three of us had. One a man making himself angrier, putting himself in a foul mood he'd be sharing with everyone near him. The woman trying to tune out the same old screaming, knowing she'd soon be trying to calm or deflect his anger. The guy on the motorbike, delighting in waving at children and young teens when they look at the guy on the rumbling pretty red and cream motorcycle.
People traveling the same way, probably for not dissimilar reasons, and widely different experiences. How often have I been the foul person shitting upon those around me? Been there, done that, tired of that there way. I certainly like being the jolly fellow waving at kids (and their moms) a lot more. Today has been trying at work and I'm going to have a nice ride home, have fun with my monologue homework and watch a fun movie. And think about the woman in the car with the jerk. Should I have made the gesture, and risked watching her man stroke out in the seat next to her? Probably not. Should I add it to my writer's toolbox for that distant day when I start writing again? Definitely.
I was thinking about my second Bachelor of Science. Aside from a history and a political science credit I needed to graduate from Armstrong, which is in the same system as Georgia Tech, all I needed were the mathematics and computer science courses. I decided I'd CLEP the history and political science (these are tests which can exempt you from classes if you demonstrate the necessary knowledge). The preparation packages were terribly overpriced and vague, so I figured I'd take the test so I would really know what to study. That cost about $60, as opposed to $1000 to get packages for both tests. In the back of my mind was the possibility I'd pass by the skin of my teeth. I did embarrassingly well taking the tests cold. Not for me, but for the state of education. Even the A- and B+ (or was it B- and C+ ?) didn't matter since the grades didn't count. I was excited, because that meant I wouldn't have take the things again to maintain the Summa Cum Laude level I was so proud of at the time. My first degree was with honors (Cum Laude) but I wasn't particularly proud of that because I was a slacker a decade ahead of time. The second degree interested me, and I worked for it.
Back to my thought. I have the same feeling right now. I may do fine on Sunday and get accepted into the Ensemble Training Intensive. If not, it will have been a very good prep, and free. The stakes are still high for me, but knowing it is also prep for other things or the next ETI creates a healthy perspective for me. It prevents me from terrifying myself out of doing my best. Does this make sense to anyone? Or am I the only person who constantly cons myself?
Those are some of my prep tools. Put the stakes in perspective so I don't blow it off or blow myself up. Choose to be in good spirits, and wave at children and their parents. The other types of prep are, I hope, pretty standard for the craft.
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