Q3 in Progress

A few years ago, I started dividing my life in terms of fiscal quarters. I set these short term measurements of time to evaluate where things are at in my life. Now we're in the second half of the year. The first half was about work - whether it was teaching or being on the show. My time on the show seems so far away now. I was hoping to be on another show this quarter - I met on something that would have taken me through October. But I'm learning to embrace where I'm at. The great thing is that I do have a gig I'm starting in about ten days. That will keep me busy. But I've got to find balance between teaching and writing.

The third quarter started July 1st. I wrote what ended up being the final draft of a pilot I had been working on for a long time. Then I ended up meeting on a show early this month. That gig didn't happen. So I've started really working on my syllabi for the three classes I'm teaching this Fall. This month has been about taking time to think about this new pilot. I am still knee deep in the thinking phase. I know what the show is generally. I went to Portland to research, which in this case was about going to Portland to live for two weeks. I walked around the neighborhoods. I lived. I ate. I drank. I really got the city in my bones for a couple of weeks.

Now I'm back and I've got a little bit of time before school starts. The plan is to continue to brainstorm and get more thoughts down in the journal I've created for the pilot. My two syllabi are done. I've got a grad level course I'm teaching that I'm still putting together. I think I know what I'm doing.

Then I'm in San Diego for most of September. I'm going to stay down there and work on this pilot while I'm in the first few weeks of the semester. I'm teaching things I've taught before and the first half of the semester is going to be a lot of planning and talking. So we'll ease into things a lot. I've never taught three classes before. This feels like a lot and they're all writing courses. So I've got a lot on my plate.

But the time in San Diego will be good to reset my head, much like Portland did for me. Being out of LA for a little bit I think will be a good thing. I don't really want to go back and forth too much, but it looks like some things will be bringing me back to LA on the weekends. At least I can drive up on Saturday mornings and go back on Sunday afternoons. Being down in San Diego, having a social life, seeing friends, will be a really good thing for me. I've got a bunch of people I want to catch up with. I want to get more involved with theatre down there. I want to see my friend Jen and my friends Stewart and Justin, who I haven't seen much of. I want to see my friend Bryan and go out to gay bars and have a social life. I think it will be good to have some time away.

I've got a guy I have my eye on and another friend I spend a lot of time with. But maybe I need to inch a little closer to dating. I can do that in San Diego safely without feeling like I need to jump into something. Having a medium-distance boyfriend might actually be a good thing. Someone who's close enough and who I can see during the week. But not someone who lives in LA and who I have to  jump into something serious with. Baby steps.

I know that Q3's a bit of a transition. Q4 will be really busy with some workshops we're doing with the theatre company and working on pre-production for my play that we're producing next year. I don't have a shortage of things to do, which is terrific.

My intention is to keep going.
My intention is stillness.
My intention is positivity.
My intention is growth.

I am grateful for the time away.
I am grateful for the three classes I'm teaching.
I'm grateful for the stuff I need to do.
I am grateful for the breaths I take.