So I had this whole plan about this retreat I was going to take on this cruise ship that my friend Susan had done. I was feeling kind of hesitant about it. But I decided to take the plunge and just sign up for it. I was nervous about being on my own. I was nervous about the ship being a "floating Dennys" as Susan had described it. Nothing about that description sounded great. Plus being among the great unwashed was kind of not thrilling me either. But it was an isolated place to write, so it felt like the exact thing I should be doing.
Until I called and they told me that I couldn't do a single occupant room. All rooms were for two people, so I'd have to pay double. No way.
Okay, so there goes that plan. Then I figured I'd go to Palm Springs for a few days. I found a room at a hotel I like for $57 a night. That seemed all right.
But I had also decided to see if any of my Facebook friends wanted to chime in with any suggestions on a good getaway.
And while in the mountains with the boyfriend, I got a message from my friend Molly who mentioned that I should come up to Monterey (where she lives) and get away.
I sent her a text: "If you're serious, I'm game."
She wrote back: "I'm completely serious! I'm going to be gone Mother's Day weekend, so you could have the place to yourself."
Me: "When would I be able to come up?"
Molly: "Anytime you want!"
Me: "Would it be too crazy to come up tomorrow or Tuesday and stay through the weekend while you're gone?"
Molly: "I would LOVE that!!!"
Me: "Seriously, I can get in the car tomorrow. I am speechless. You're too good a friend."
Molly: "What are you waiting for, beautiful? Come on up!"
And now I'm in Santa Barbara at a Panera Bread on State Street on a Monday morning at 8:06 AM. I'm stopping here on my way up to get a few things done and to space out my trip a little bit. I don't want to show up in Monterey at 10 AM. I left LA at 6 AM because of traffic. So I'm going to camp out here in Santa Barbara for a couple of hours and then I'm going to continue my way up slowly and make it to Molly for lunchtime.
So this worked out even better than I had planned. I'm going to be in Monterey for the week, instead of just a few days at sea. I can spend my money on gas and my friend. And we're both going to be motivating each other, because she's got a deadline to write four papers in nine days. That sounds about right for me. I've got three things I need to be working on for the month of May. And two of those things have hard deadlines for May 15th.
But I'm missing out on Mother's Day and on a week with my man. But both my Mom and my boyfriend know how important it is to get all of this stuff done.
I have a pilot to rewrite. This pilot is what I'm turning into the Sundance Episodic Story Lab. It's what I will be using when I get to the next stage of the Humanitas. It's what I will use as my second sample for the ABC writers fellowship which has just started requiring an original pilot. It's what I will use for the Hispanics in Media Coalition application. It's also what I want to be writing right now. It's the story of a Latin man going through a crisis of consciousness in very expected and unexpected ways.
Being on the beach in Monterey will allow me to reflect on my own life and how it is reflected in this story.
I have a play to rewrite, which I'm having a reading for in less than two weeks. That's a story about a person who has lost his trust in the metaphysical because of personal disappointment. Both stories speak to each other without being the same story. This is what I will be using to submit to all of the development opportunities for theatre in the Fall. I will be submitting this play to New Harmony, the O'Neill, JAW, Playwrights Foundation, Marin Theatre Company, Ojai, and a bunch of other places. It's also a play I am going to try and get produced. It's a strong idea. It's compelling to me and my life and it's based on someone I love and have real true respect for.
Both of these projects really speak to each other because they are about two men who are searching for deeper meaning in their lives at a time in their own personal history where they are at a crossroads. I think both stories also have a unique way to tell their respective stories. And that's what also interests me. Both stories also allow me to think about the changes that have happened for me in my own recent history. The pilot has a lot to do with fathers and sons and the desire to live the life that's the exact opposite of the one that your culture and your family expects you to uphold. To me, that's an exciting reason to write something: to explore your own recent personal history.
This retreat is immediately going to have more resonance for me because I won't be alone. I thought the important part of this retreat for me would be to be alone. I am going to be with a friend who needs my help as much as I need hers. I am going to be reflecting on my recent life story. My Dad's death and how it has changed me. Both stories are about my Dad's death and how it has changed me. The play deals directly with that loss. So it's significant that I am working on both projects at the same time because I need to be in the same mind set to work on both. And both will benefit from it. I also need to be in a place where I can be emotionally exhausted at the end of the day and not have to be a good boyfriend or son.
That's an important thing. Sometimes as a creative person, you have to be in that space that completely exhausts you and tires you out. You have to be there, unapologetically. And it's easier to do that away where you won't feel bad if you don't want to talk or just sit in silence. That's freedom. And that makes me feel like I can write and do anything. The freedom just to be fully myself as I need to be.
I am grateful for my friend Molly and her hospitality.
I am grateful for a car that I spent a $1000 on doing repairs.
I am grateful for the energy to be up at 6 AM to hit the road.
I am grateful for safe drivers.
I am grateful for good friends and their support.
I am grateful for a boyfriend who knows how important it is that I do this.
I am grateful for the beauty of the California coast.
No comments:
Post a Comment