Wow. Well an awful lot has gone on since my last actual post. So much that makes even the trip to Shakey's pale into insignificance.

First let me say that an incredible schedule at school has been the main reason for the lack of updates. Last week was about an 80-hour week at school, and that is no exaggeration. This is not a complaint. Far from it. It is genuinely an exhilirating, if hugely demanding and challenging, experience. Honestly, I have not had to push myself so hard to be good at something, ever. And I am enjoying the effort.

However, it leaves little time for catching up with folks, or even for sleeping, let alone exercising, running errands, etc. This afternoon I hav a little window of time so I thought I would get a post in -- it will in no way do justice to everything that has been going on. I am going to revert to audio posts for a while, which are easier for me to get to when I have a few minutes on campus.

Obviously the big news is that G is pregnant. This comes as a surprise tyo us every bit as much as anyone. A pleasant one to be sure -- but an overwhelming one as well. In the space of two months, so much chanmged it is incredible. We moved 2000 miles to a place we barely knew, I started this truly life-changing and gigantically demanding program at school, G found herself a new job, we bought a car, and then, hello! Baby on the way!

The night we tested for pregnancy, I will never forget. We went through 2 tests, and were so sure that there had to be some mistake that I actually drove to the store for more tests, all of which confirmed the initial test. When we regained consciousness and stopped hyperventilating, you can imagine how our minds were racing. Still, it seemed a kind of vague concept until we went to the doctor's office and actually saw the tiny little heart beating. The doctor played th heartbeat for us. "It sounds like Pac-Man!" I instantly exclaimed. The Doc was nonplussed by my reaction, can't imagine why. ("So we're going to laugh our way through this, are we?" he asked Genevieve later.) We like our Doc -- he is no bullshit, nice enough but not too nice, too touchy-feely about anything, and also highly recommended by others.

So I posted the pic below, of our first ultrasound. When I first saw this on the screen, this little tadpole wriggling about with a teeny little heart beating, I mean, it took me five minutes fo find my eyes on the floor and screw them back into my head. That's when it really became something real and solid to both of us, I think.

So, things are progressing. Blessedly, G has not had much in the way of sickness, a touch of tummyache now and again, although she has been feeling very tired. She is getting along fine though, and we are both very excited. G starts her new job on Monday next, which I think will be good for her -- I have been at school most nights until 11 and I have been leaving the house usually before she has gotten out of bed, so we've seen little of each other, and she's been home alone an awful lot. It will be tough as she gets through the end of this first trimester to adapt to work but if anyone can do it, she can.

Meanwhile, at school, my God, the enormous download of knowledge regarding Avid systems and editing in general has been profound. I have never had to learn so much, so quickly, and enjoyed it. Well, msotly. Yesterday I had a very tough day in the editing room and really was kind of hard on myself. Didn't really relax until quite late at night. There are two sides to this work; one is heavily technical and involves knowing an awful lot about a very powerful system. The other is aesthetic, and sometimes it has been really, really hard to apply aesthetics to the practice projects we have been given when learning to master the systems is such a challenge. However, repetition is the master of skill, and soon enough the technical aspects will seem like old hat and the aesthetics will come to the fore. Sometimes at the moment it feels like I'm in a tizzy, and I do not react well to being in a tizzy. The mosvaluable lessons in a craft education involve identifying bad habits that inhibit, and I have found two major, major bad habits in the last two projects. It is time to come to grips with them: this week, we deal with out first actual footage from our projects. The year breaks down into three production cycles; the class is broken into 15 groups along disciplinary lines (producers, directors, editors and so on) and every group makes a short film. There are half as many editors as directors, so we cut two pictures per "cycle." This week is "boot camp," a kind of practice for our first cycle, using a scene each from the first cycle projects. My Friday and Staurday will be full days of editing these scenes, one picture's one day and the other's the next. I am going to apply the lessons I have learned in our classroom and lab practice with an eye toward overcoming my bad habits. (In fact, as soon as I post this I am organizing my notes and cheat sheets to give me a clearer set of guidelines than the frantic scribbles in my notebook). Wish me luck!

Hvane't seen too many pictures; haven't had the time. Saw a screening of Sky Captain at school before it opened, with the producer, Jon Avnet, on hand to answer our questions; a week later Michael Mann brought Collateral to our campus and had a Q&A as well. It is most cool to be able to talk to these filmmakers in a small group setting. So far they have been excellent, even if I wasn't that crazy about the flicks. (Sky Captain was a disappointment for me -- the visuals are great, there is a lot to like about it, but the pacing betrays the wafer-thin story to a fault.)

Did go to a ball game at Dodger Stadium. Had a great time watching an exciting victory by the Dodgers who have a hell of a team. The stadium is cool, definitely old school in a kind of neat, retro-futuristic kind of way. Something seemed starge about it and I couldn't nail it down until I realized -- it is entirely outdoors, even the concourses. A much different feel from Wrigley or Fenway.

So in short, the baby factor is huge, G is hanging tough and in good spirits, starts work Monday, & I am insanely busy with school and also loving it insanely -- far exceeding my expectations. I will try to update more often -- I will have a slightly more sane schedule next week and also will go back to doing more audio posts. If you want to know about anything in particular or want to see pics of something, let me know.