End of September

Today is the last day of September, and there's lots to do in the month to come.

Over the weekend, I caught up with some necessary chores, theater-going and sanity. I washed some dishes, did laundry, cleaned up and watered my poor, neglected garden. I saw a couple plays, both great! Speech & Debate was at the Blank -- an absolutely delightful play about three teenagers in Salem, Oregon who begin a speech and debate team, which helps them deal with their problems. Did I love it because it was a great play, or because it was an exact re-creation of my own geeky teenage years? Hard to say. But I think it was pretty awesome, and well-directed by Daniel Henning and well-acted by his troupe of actors. In a total change of pace, I saw Long Day's Journey into Night at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon on Saturday night with Michael S., Stephanie and Cece. We picnicked beforehand, then sat outside with the crickets and a big audience for the show. It's an amazing play about a family that loves each other and tears each other apart in equal measures. It was directed by Heidi Helen Davis, who is directing Song of Extinction, and I appreciated seeing her great work with a great play. Saturday morning, I hit the Santa Monica Farmers' Market and the used bookstore run by the Friends of the Santa Monica Library. Melons and books and coffee! A lovely way to spend a morning.

I'm heading to bed now. Must get up early for work, as our entire division is having our quarterly breakfast meeting together. Being there between 8am when they start serving and 9am when they start talking is my goal. Oy vey. Mornings have not been easy lately, and I've been feeling a little under the weather, which makes it tougher to rise up and charge into the day.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. There's a ton of stuff to do this week, before I leave on Sunday for a week in Ashland for the Ashland New Plays Festival. I am really, really looking forward to that -- a week to concentrate on my play (Song of Extinction), hang out with other playwrights, and have the added bonus of seeing my whole, wonderful family, who are all (it looks like) going to be there. How lucky am I? Perhaps while the Powers That Be are talking in the morning, I can work on my to-do list under the table...