Backtracking . . .

Wednesday was a fairly good day. Got a little irritated with myself for sleeping late, but my film cutting starts today and that is the last day I will have to sleep in for a while. Christpher Guest was our seminar participant Wednesday afternoon and was savagely, drily funny, especially acerbic on the attitude of some films students who have "no sense of humor about what they're doing." About a quarter of the audience laughed and the rest kind of looked at each other as if to say, does he mean us?

Thursday, let's see . . . well, Thursday was the kind of day that is payback for Tuesday, which was a nearly perfect day. On Tuesday, the weather was pleasant, I woke early and felt fine, exercised, worked at my own pace to catch up on things and do some work, gently, got many things done and felt very good about my day. Thursday, slept too late, it was gloomy and rainy, and it was one of those days when every little thing poses difficulties. The days where there are big crises are somehow easier to manage -- because your system, swing into overdrive/survival mode and you get through it somehow, relaxing with a feeling of real accomlishment later on. The days when the little things, one after another, don't work -- either through random chance or because you're just not all there and screw things up bit by bit -- where one aggravation stacks atop another -- well those days are far worse. Stymied, pissed off and exhausted, you feel like you have accomplished nothing! Well, Thursday was one of those days. Went to my new doctor who instantly became my ex-doctor. I felt like I was in 1960's Poland in this guy's office. Got a needed prescription, mumbled some agreements to show up later for a blood test, and fled. I instantly swore to get a new doctor. Then I was going to drive to Burbanl to return a computer part, but the traffic was abominable, so I settled for getting a much-needed haircut in Larchmont, a lovely area where we hope to find a place to live (among others) this summer after Jack arrives.

Friday on the other hand was a rather good day. Kind of wasted my morning but managed to turn the day around in a big way at school. Had a fruitful meeting with the Dean and all the editors, and then a one-on-one with my area's dean where we discussed many issues from the personal (what happens if a baby crisis emerges?) to the academic (the recent tuition increase at school). Felt very positive about things. Went out for a nice tapas/paella dinner with the lovely wife, returned home and watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, newly arrived from Netflix and much aniticpated, which is just a great piece of filmmaking, an incredible job of transitioning a great and complex novel faithfully to the screen, and possibly the best TV miniseries ever. Stayed up way too late watching three episodes, then to bed. Had the good news via email before going to sleep at like 3:30 in the morning that I am more or less definitely teamed with one of the two groups I need to work with in our third production cycle (to allow me to work and be around for the baby), this after a grousing rant about the teaming process to a pal from school earlier.

Exercised 4 times this week for half an hour -- 3 walks in the canyon, a grueling uphill trek, each one a little further than the last, and one stationary bike ride on the day it rained. Short of my target of five but rather good.

Overall, the reminder this week was: things run in cycles, up and down, up and down. Best just to feel where one' s place is in the cycle and just let it be rather than struggling against it.

Slept very late this morning, and was eventually needled into rising by my oh so dear little wife. We went for a walk in the canyon where the grim realities of uphill treks while pregnant were made known to her. Came home, and now I am going to shower and depart for Burbank and my computer part return, stopping for brunch along the way. Later it's off to school to begin setting up my project, which I begin actually editing tomorrow.