Travels with Judy

Nose to the grindstone

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I spent my holiday weekend doing a lot of eating, reading, and watching movies. It was a much needed rest before the flurry of the holiday season.

Yesterday I finally got into the editing lab to start reviewing my footage, and I have to say I'm feeling very good about what we captured. It was sort of sad and a tad painful to watch the footage of the first Roxie breaking down again, but not as painful as it was the first time. I think I must be on the mend regarding that particular loss.

And so, the holiday looneyness starts. This year will be particularly crazy because I'm pushing myself to do at least some editing every night between now and the end of the year because I'm still hoping to make a funding application deadline in early February. I may not make it, but I'll at least be a lot closer than if I don't push myself right now.

I'll be hopefully adding more photos in the next week sometime to keep this place interesting during my self-imposed solitary confinement in the editing lab.

Be jolly! 'Tis the season, you know.

More photos in album!

Today I added 5 more photos to the album. I'm going to try to do this religiously every weekend, but I ain't promisin'.

Enjoy!

New things to READ!

I finally got the transcript of my interview with Faith Middleton of WNPR up in the READ section! It was done while I was on the road and I was really tired, but I think I didn't embarrass myself too much (although I did call myself a weenie on national radio, oh well.)

I hope to have the article from the Connecticut Post up soon, too.

As for the film, I finally got my tutorial on the editing software, and I must say I'm very impressed with the things that can be done on a Mac these days. I'm going to start reviewing all the footage in the next couple of days and hopefully will be able to piece together a rough outline by the year. We'll see. There's a lot of footage to go over. Oy.

Have a great weekend!

Photo Album is up!!

Please check the link at the bottom left. There are only 5 photos right now, but I will be adding more every few days or so. Enjoy!

What a difference a day makes.

Roxie II is now officially gone. She's back in VT from whence she came, and I'm now the proud owner of a newer Jeep Wrangler that promises to get me through the next few years in joy and comfort.

It was a rather profound day yesterday as I retraced my route up to VT. I found myself feeling rather emotional as I returned to the scene of the original Roxie's demise. I passed the two RV dealerships in Northampton and felt extremely sad. Then, a bit further down the road, my old Jeep's rear windows blew out (as old ragtop Jeep's windows have a tendency to do) and I had to exit the freeway to tie them down again. As I approached the next exit, I realized it was the exact same exit I took when Roxie first threw an engine bearing! I started laughing and pulled into the exact same spot where Roxie blew off her oil cap and we ended up sitting for a couple of hours waiting for the tow truck. It was too ironic for words. This time, however, I managed to continue on to Vermont without any further incident where I said my final goodbyes to Roxie II. It was quite touching, actually. It was like the trip had finally ended.

On the way back, I decided to stop at the Holy Smokes BBQ in Hatfield, MA. Again, I was a tad more emotional about visiting the place that had marked the main high point of what was otherwise a very unpleasant couple of days. This time, however, instead of having a sense of fear and dread overhanging my journey, I had a sense of fear and buyer's remorse--having left the dealership with my new Jeep only a half hour before. Once again, that fabulous restaurant in a converted church served as a place to ponder yet another turning point in my  life. It made me wonder if maybe you really can't deconsecrate a church? It certainly still holds some residual spiritual power--at least for me.

This morning I woke up to the sound of bagpipes. The local fire department was holding a ceremony in the cemetery across the street. It was lovely. This morning I also tried my first attempt at creating an online photo album. It took me quite a while to get the five photos online, so I will be slowly adding more photos as I get time. Treden should have the photo album available for viewing soon, so please take a look at it and let me know  your thoughts!

Dark days of winter (er...fall)

Boy, I'm sure not getting nearly enough done this week. I had big plans, none of which have transpired. I still haven't gotten rid of Roxie yet, but I've been told I have a deal with the Auto Mall in Brattleboro, VT, who sold her to me. I just have to get there, and since it's a good 2-hour drive away, that's going to happen tomorrow morning. I just hope this all gets resolved tomorrow, because, quite honestly, I'm more than ready to put the responsibilities of the trip behind me and start focusing on the editing.

The editing is going slower than planned as well. Life is taking my week in a different direction than I had planned, so I still haven't gotten my training on the software yet. However, I suspect today may be the beginning of the end of that problem. Of course, I've thought that for the past 4 days as well, so who knows?

Basically, since I've accomplished nothing I planned to this week, my mood is down. I also think my lack of energy and achievements may have something to do with the time change. I'm starting to feel the lack of sunlight, and as happens every year, I'm sliding into a bit of a funk. It's time I started exercising again! That always helps lift my spirits--as I'm sure as closing the car issue, and starting the editing process will as well.

Here's hoping that by this time next week things will be brighter. After all, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and boy, howdy, do I LOVE Thanksgiving!!

Another Monday

I haven't added many blogs lately because there hasn't been much news. However, this weekend I did get some coverage in the Connecticut Post complete with a photo of Judy and me! I plan to have the CT Post article, and the transcript of my interview with Faith Middleton of WNPR online this week, so please keep checking back. (I planned to do that this weekend, but the time just sort of slipped by too fast.)

This weekend turned out to be super busy. It started on Friday night when I went into NYC to see Martin Zellar. I hadn't seen him perform in about a decade, and I'm happy to report that he's sounding as great as ever! I chatted with him after the show, and I'm pleased to report that it's very possible that some of his music will be in the film. I'm very excited! Please check out his web page: www.martinzellar.com.

My previous post said I would be getting rid of Roxie this past weekend, but that has proved to be a tad more difficult than I thought. Hopefully, tonight I will have taken care of this one last piece of business left over from the trip part of this project, so tomorrow I can start focusing on the editing part of the process. I'm anxious to start assembling the story.

For now, it's Monday morning, and I need to get to work. My evenings this week promise to be a tad slower than the previous few have been, so I think I may actually start getting back into my beloved rut for the first time in months. I may finally have time to catch up on so many of the projects that have taken a backseat to my post-trip readjustment period. I think I will finally be able to start spending my evenings updating the web page, starting the film editing, resume querying agents, etc. You know you had a long enough vacation when a rut starts sounding like a good thing again.

Happy Monday!

A new beginning...again.

Tonight is the last night of Roxie II.

After all I went through with her, it's sad, but I need to trade her in tomorrow. She was quite the trooper, and is a lovely vehicle, but she's just too big and expensive for me right now. My "real" vehicle (a 1992 Jeep Wrangler) is also on its last legs, too, so tomorrow I need to trade them both in for something newer than my Jeep, and smaller than Roxie. Yes, it's time I started getting practical again.

Don't fret none, though. There should be plenty of footage of her in the film!

Speaking of the film, once I get my car situation under control, I'm ready to start editing next week. I have my first editing room appointment on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what I've got now that I've had time to sort of decompress from the journey. It's time to start out on the next leg of this whole adventure!

Please stay tuned!

'Twas the night before the election...

And all through my house, several creatures were stirring, some chewing a stuffed mouse... OK, the rhythm is off, but who really cares?

Other than to say the tired yet still fun cliche, "Vote early and vote often," I just want to stress the importance in life of realizing how lucky we are to be able to do so. Tonight I saw a play at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven called, "Mrs. Farsworth" by A.R. Gurney, and starring Sigourney Weaver. It was a special "O'Neill at Yale" event, and the playwright was in attendance (A.R. Gurney--not Eugene O'Neill.) It was hilarious!! Surprisingly, it was also an ironic and ingenious subtly heavy-handed (is that possible?) left-wing play, and yet was also extremely thought-provoking. It's being shown at The Flea Theater in New York for a few more days, and if you can catch it, please do. You'll be amazed.

And so, politics enters my now-semi-daily blog. On this eve of the election of the century (so far) I'm leaning toward the romantic. Tomorrow history will be made. It boggles the mind sometimes to look at the big picture, but with all the brouhaha since the past election, tomorrow's election will truly be a test and, I'm hoping, a testament to our electoral process. Although the last election ended very unsatisfactorily for both sides (I believe the Democrats would have liked to see the winner of the popular vote actually be sworn into office, and I believe the Republicans would have liked to see the election win be much more obvious,) I think tomorrow there will be a clear winner. I honestly don't think it will be as close as the last time, and personally, I'm hoping my candidate wins.

However (and here's the romantic part,) even if my candidate winds up clearly the loser (and let's hope the tally is clear this time), I will accept the election results...reluctantly...but I will accept it. And that's the beauty of the whole thing. We're a nation that is able to agree to disagree. How amazing is that? A peaceful negotiation and transition--or not--of power. In this day and age of extremism, how incredible is that? Maybe that's because we know the choice is only temporary...or could it be because this country is actually based on some basic human ideals that are stronger than the trends of the ages? Personally, I think it's both. Politics may be perennial, but it's also fickle. Flexible stability. What's more beautifully ironic than that?

Happy November!

Judy seems to be on the mend these days, whilst I seem to have picked up a bit of a cold. Figures.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Roxie II got egged on Saturday night, but no serious damage was done. My neighbor thanked me for having Roxie parked on the street because she was a bigger and better target than his truck. Ha ha.

I keep meaning to upload more photos here, and to add a transcript of my interview with Faith Middleton, but time just keeps slipping away from me. I guess it takes a while to get back into a routine. At the moment, I'm still catching up with friends and people I haven't seen since my return, and figuring out a schedule to work on the editing of the film. I suspect I should have things a little more under control in another week or two--just in time for the holidays to start creeping up on me. Well, at least I'm not bored.

Off to work! Have a productive day and achieve lots!