The Visible Woman...October 27, 2003

I fancy myself a writer. Even though all I write is this journal and I know dozens if not hundreds of journals that contain better writing. I know that writing is a matter of talent plus inspiration plus practice, though. I'm just going to do some!

I'm going to write a column as a guest in Forrest's slot about a woman in my water aerobics class. I have the interview later in the week but I already knocked out the requisite 'how I found this person' human interest part that marks FFP's efforts. I have done a little research and listening to the woman and her friends. I can produce this piece easily, I think.

I also started a treatment for the semi-documentary movie that I want to produce. Why 'semi?' you ask. Because it will consist of interviews with backup from still pictures, old home movies, artifacts of the last half century, but it will also give some or all of the interviewees an opportunity to direct a little piece of fictional movie-making, showing how they wish things could be different now or could have been different during their lives.

I am also working on another column idea. This column will be about gift-giving. To many of my friends, this will seem to be a joke. I have a reputation as a poor shopper. A well-earned reputation, I might add. In spite of this, I think I'm a pretty good gift consultant. No, really.

Dad, the farmer "The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn't require any." Russell Baker	just a little writing I fancy myself a writer. Even though all I write is this journal and I know dozens if not hundreds of journals that contain better writing. I know that writing is a matter of talent plus inspiration plus practice, though. I'm just going to do some! I'm going to write a column as a guest in Forrest's slot about a woman in my water aerobics class. I have the interview later in the week but I already knocked out the requisite 'how I found this person' human interest part that marks FFP's efforts. I have done a little research and listening to the woman and her friends. I can produce this piece easily, I think. I also started a treatment for the semi-documentary movie that I want to produce. Why 'semi?' you ask. Because it will consist of interviews with backup from still pictures, old home movies, artifacts of the last half century, but it will also give some or all of the interviewees an opportunity to direct a little piece of fictional movie-making, showing how they wish things could be different now or could have been different during their lives. I am also working on another column idea. This column will be about gift-giving. To many of my friends, this will seem to be a joke. I have a reputation as a poor shopper. A well-earned reputation, I might add. In spite of this, I think I'm a pretty good gift consultant. No, really.
JUST TYPING Writing. A word. A sentence. A paragraph. A life.
		Food Diary. *breakfast* nothing *lunch* banana about two ounces cheddar cheese a few (very few, really, tortilla chips) a boiled egg a small can of tomato juice *snacks* chips, cheese, green onions *dinner* some frozen Indian chicken marsala thing (350 calories, I think) and a salad with mixed greens, green onions, tomatoes and Marie's Bleu Cheese Viniagrette Today I didn't - drink. [I only bring this up because of the calories. I think it's pretty clear (to me anyway) that I don't have a drinking problem. Which reminds me of a quote from a movie we saw in the Austin Film Festival called Happy Hour. "I'm a drinker with a writing problem. Good but grueling treatment of talent, love and alcoholism.
		Time flies.... Boy...it still seemed early when I got up. What about that extra hour? Dad called when he got up to be sure of the water aerobics time. He was confused, too. "I woke up in a whole new world today," he said. When I got home from the club (over two hours after I went there), I thought I'd get lots of organization done but it went slower than I thought it would because I took out time to work on writing some stuff. But, um, I've been wanting to do that, too. The contractor came by in the evening and we discussed changes and picking cultured marble, tile, fixtures, etc. We discussed how we will proceed, where we'll put the dumpster, how we will move things in and out of the house. FFP called our yard guy to dig up some bushes and our sprinkler guy to take out some sprinklers. Build it up, tear it down. It's the way of the world. FFP worked during the evening. I continued my orgnaization efforts. In the process I found a book FFP had been looking for and one I thought Dad would enjoy reading. I disposed of some of the newspaper piles and I watched a little TV including that documentary Born Rich. by an heir to Johnson & Johnson money. It was really pretty good and it really shows that the rich aren't like you and me. Of course, I know that I am rich by some measures. But born rich by no means.

		Reading. Read some papers. Read I.F. Stone's A Nonconformist History of our Times: The War Years 1939-1945 at the gym.
		Worked on a treatment for my movie (as if I knew what a treatment was) and took some notes for a column for my guest spot in West Austin News.
		Exercise one hour water aerobics thirty-two minutes on bike some ab exercises
	.	124/74 71 digestion good
	It's a Tangled Web we weave...these days of our lives.	One year ago "I am rethinking my relationship with the newspapers. I'd like to branch out and spend more reading time on books and magazines. Maybe actually write something besides this journal." In the 'things never change department!'. I Had this Idea I thought that I could get better organized if I packed away some things that I don't need close at hand and made room for reference books, photos, tools, etc. So I packed up three boxes of books. I made sure they were in my book database while doing it. I thought there might be advice on the WEB for organizing. Heck, we all know (well I do anyway) that I've foolishly thought I could write a book on 'Traveling Light' about not only travel but controlling the chaos. This fly lady person seems to have made a business of it. But if the best she can do is tell you to clean your sink, well then. The sink in our house is always pretty tidy. It's the piles of newspapers, magazines, files, books and computer equipment and electronics that are swallowing us. I'll bet there are a dozen remote controls in this house that no one knows what they are meant to work with.