Monday, November 14, 2011

MORE WONDER OF TECHNOLOGY

    by Gina Sestak

Good morning, all.  You may notice I'm posting a little later than usual today.

I would like to blame it on technology.  In fact, I titled this post with that in mind.  You know about the wonder of technology, right?  You always wonder why it never works.

It isn't that electronics have been working around here.  I've lost internet and telephone service both repeatedly in the past month.  [Comcast.  Enough said?]  I could have easily blamed today's late start on something breaking down.

But I decided to come clean.  I've been racking my brains, trying to think of what to write about this time.  Nothing much is happening in my personal life.  The new roommate is settled in.  Everything seems to be going fine on that front and, as I've said before, the cat likes her.

I'm not overly fond of the cat right now.  She has developed a habit of yowling at me in the morning, when she's not trying to trip me on the stairs.  I've mentioned before that, due to my Bollywood obsession and desire to minimize reliance on subtitles, I've been trying to learn Hindi.  I get up at 5:00 a.m. and spend 30 minutes on a Pimsleur lesson every morning.  Kala sits on the floor out of reach and meows, apparently trying to drown out the speakers on the CD.   I don't know why.  I feed her before the lesson starts, make sure she has everything she needs.  This morning she bolted her food, then threw it up on the rug right in the middle of the lesson.  Yecchh.  I had to stop and clean it up.  The lessons are still focusing on teaching me to say things like "I like tea" and "We want to buy some gasoline."  No mention yet of cats or mundane crises.

I have today and tomorrow off work so I tried to get into One Shot as an extra.  I'm on Nancy Mosser's mailing list, but when I got the email late last week and called in, the man who answered said they already had everyone they need.  I'm supposedly on the back-up list, in case the people scheduled fail to show.   Nobody has called.  I feel rejected.

I'm happy to be working part-time though.  Two days a week is great - I'm earning enough to live on (since both house and car are paid off) and I have free time to do the things I like: writing and taking classes.

Classes first.  I'm auditing an undergrad film class at Pitt - Bollywood, of course - and have been taking a short class through Pitt's Osher Lifetime Learning Institute on August Wilson.  That man really had a way with language.

Writing.  Well.  I'm trying to gear up to write a short screenplay for this year's Steeltown contest.  Hobart Writers is talking about writing one as a group project again this year - see my post Screenwriting With Cake for more information about last year's effort.  I'm still working on a detailed treatment of another film project with Alcyone Pictures, meeting once or twice a week and writing on the off-days.  Then there's the manuscript I've been revising.  Another writing exercise in futility, I fear.

And this post, which seems to be a stream of consciousness ramble.

What else.  What else.

I lead a dull and boring life.

I haven't folk danced much for a few months due to pain in my left leg.  Chiropractic treatment and a week of steroids have been helping some, but it still hurts.

I haven't gone anywhere.  A few movies, both Indian.  Ra.One, a wonderfully entertaining super hero/ special effects extravaganza, and Sthaniya Sambaad, an award-winning serious film.  One of the Sthaniya Sambaad filmmakers, Moinak Biswak, spoke after the screening but the cousin I went with had to leave early, so I missed most of what he had to say.

Here's a short clip from Ra.One:



Back to writing.  Does it count that I am writing this????

2 comments:

Ramona said...

This feels like we've had a little catch-up visit, Gina.

Gina said...

Ramona -
Maybe I should print this out and enclose it with my Christmas cards?