January Resolutions: Cross one off the list!

                                   

January is in full swing and there a BIG item on my list of resolutions that I can cross off.  That's right - on Sunday, I finished my very FIRST script.  Granted, it's only the first draft and my red pen and I went to town on it last night with tons of revisions and formatting notes but still - I fucking finished it.

Why is this such a huge deal?  Because, like I've said before, I have NEVER finished a story...EVER.  It's too final!  It's too absolute!  One thing that plowed me forward on this was a great roundtable discussion my writing mentor sent me.  It's an hour long and I'm only able to get through the first 15 minutes before I get interrupted but those first 15 minutes are intense and so full of knowledge!  And remnants of this article from Hello Wordsmith kept moving me forward, too.  I can tell when I read that because my attitude changes mid-script.  It doesn't take away from the story or anything but you can feel the determination in my writing, that's for sure!

There are a lot of cosmetic things I need to do with it before I can start pitching it - like formatting, adding scene headings where they need to go, some name changes, and adding a few extra scenes so that it flows a little better but I'm determined to get it to a good place by the end of the month.

As I read through it last night, I was really proud of myself for actually finishing it.  And I think it's a good story.  One of the things I took away from the roundtable video (all 15 minutes of it) was that every writer / artist thinks their story / art is great (so true) but not everyone is going to like it (also true) but you just have to believe in yourself and write / make what's true to you.  That is my one biggest takeaway.  My mentor said it and I've heard it time and time again for ANY creative project.  This story is very important to me (so much so that I had a bit of a breakdown when I finished it) and I want to make sure I get it done the right way - which my mentor and I have to talk about.  We talked about it briefly before but now that the first draft is done and I have recruited my bestest best friend to help me edit (because he's a far more excellent writer than I am), I need to talk about how we're going to get this damn thing MADE.  In my Master List journal AND my Unraveling 2014 Workbook, I put in there that I would like to start pre-production for this film in Novemeber 2014 at the LATEST.  Lofty, yes, but I really want to get this done...like, NOW!

Short Update

Month 3 is almost over on my weight loss journey (!!) and I'm still sticking to it.  Well...kinda sorta.  In Asheville, I didn't exactly keep up with my calorie counts via Lose It like I normally do but because I had started that new habit, both the old man and I were way more aware of how much we were eating - which helped us make way better decisions.  But since we were on vacation, there were a few exceptions (of course!).
Like this:


That's right, I had the Juicy Lucy milkshake of the month and I HAD to have it with a burger that complimented the bacon flavor, right? Of course. I didn't really count it as "cheating" because I was plateauing and I felt like this could maybe break up my routine. Nah, who am I kidding - I just really wanted it. But you know what? I hardly gained anything while we were gone but I think all of our climbing and walking helped.  And honestly, the more I think about it, I think regularly breaking up the same old routine with things like hamburgers and onion rings (The Varsity's please!) helps keep my body from plateauing.

Seriously.  My weight loss has been slow and steady and I'm enjoying it!  I've lost...wait for it...
25 POUNDS already!!  I'm so pleased with myself because I've made it this far and I'm sticking with it!  And on top of all that - I need new clothes.  This is a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing about that is that I get to go shopping at places I couldn't shop at before.  Hooray!  The bad thing is that I have a lot of articles that I LOVE and I don't think the hoarder in me can get rid of them so easily.  And I don't exactly have tons of money to be throwing at new clothes right about now but NOTHING fits.  My bras, my jeans, my shirts...NOTHING fits.  The plus will be that the things that I can and will part with will be going to the Goodwill.  I wouldn't throw all that stuff away!

Anyway - I hope you guys are having a good week.  I'm still all sad panda about the MCR breakup but there's something sweet on the horizon: The new Wavves album!  I pre-ordered it (with the hopes of getting the limited edition vinyl!!) and it should be arriving any day now!  AND Mr. Williams and Co. will be performing here in about 2 weeks!  Can't wait!!  It's been way too long!

Weight Loss Goals - Challenge Accepted!

In my last post, I talked about my resolution to lose weight.  Why is it so important to me?
Well, a few years ago, my Dad took me out to a nice lunch and proceeded to tell me that he would help me find a weight loss program to be on while he was away in Iraq.  It sounds mean and I took it the wrong way, as I would, and even though we worked it out and I ended up on a diet program that didn't really work for me, mentally and emotionally, I did it for 3 months before deciding to stop it.
It was taking an emotional toll on me.  I know that sounds like an excuse or something but it really did take a toll on me.  I was hungry all the time and I wasn't exactly advertising that I was on a diet at work because I feared extreme judgement from my coworkers.  They can't be that cruel - but they do make jokes about 114lbs being "huge".  Ouch.
I felt withdrawn.  It was almost like I was grounded.  I felt like a bad kid constantly being in trouble and it was awful.  Yes, I was losing weight but I felt miserable emotionally.  I hated feeling that way and after pleading with my Dad in very emotional emails, we cancelled it.
There were a few upsides to it, though.  I learned how to eat healthier and I thought I was making better choices.  I also learned what I like and don't like as far as cooking goes.
But I was still gaining weight.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream.  I dreamt that I received a wedding invitation to a wedding in Montana.  There was a note inside from the bride-to-be telling me to get down to a size 10 by March.  How specific.  And you would think that I would be upset by this in the dream and waking up but, surprisingly, I was very calm.  In the dream, I achieved my goal by getting down to a size 8 - what what! - and everyone was impressed.  When I woke up, I had a very Barney Stinson moment



And I proceeded to tell my friend (and coworker) my goal - just for the sake of getting out into the Universe.  I'm hoping that even though I'm feeling discouraged because of my weight GAIN, I don't lose momentum.  In fact, I have made another deal with myself - which will remain secret because it's very personal - and I'm hoping I can make good on it very, very soon.

Onward and upward!