My 50th Post! And More Prague Adventures!

Welcome to my 50th post! I’ve been waiting to hit this milestone for a while. I read somewhere that you have to write 50 articles before you can start writing good ones, and now that I’ve gotten all that crap out of the way, this blog might actually become readable.

I also have a couple of geek-related posts up at the Galactic Watercooler blog. One’s about Glee and The Music Man, and the other’s about Sunshine and the acting of Mr. Chris Evans. Catch ‘em here:

GWC – Stroogie

This here is a picture Roger took on the day after they started work on our cafe remodel. It looks a lot better now.

In Barista news, our cafe remodeling is finished, and it’s beautiful. The old store was shabby and cramped, and the new place looks like we set up in an old pub. Lots of dark wood and iron work—very classy.

Not sure if it was worth it working out of a tent for 10 days during an August heat wave, but it’s a relief now that it’s done. We worked till the wee hours last night to put it all back together, and our district manager was on the scene to help out. This panned out well for me, because she saw me working my butt off, and is now eager to help me transfer to a store in LA when it’s time.

And now, for the reason you’re probably here: to hear from Laura. We recorded our second episode today, and once again, I was groggy (I got home from the cafe about 3am last night, and I’ve been busy all day).

I had to do a little editing on this one, because we’re far enough apart now that there’s a bit of a delay, and we talked over each other a lot. Be aware of that if any of you want to make a Skype call to Dave and Laura in the future.

There were also some Internet issues, as well as roommates chatting and making lunch in the background. I’m gonna buy a Skype headset and find a quieter place to record in next time–and a better Internet connect–so I don’t have to make excuses for the quality of the ‘cast before you listen to it.

Aside from that, I’m sure you’ll enjoy catching up with Laura and Dave as she tells stories of their Dublin detour, Prague graffiti, meat and potatoes, and bar games involving nails and alcohol. Download it here:

Prague 02 – Nailing It

Or listen to it here:

And check out Dave and Laura’s blog here:

Dave and Laura’s Prague Adventures

And afterwards, leave questions and greetings for Dave and Laura in the comments below, and we may read them on the next show!

 

Back In The Games

(My Internet connection at home has been dodgy lately, so I haven’t made a Skype call to Laura for another podcast. When I do, we’ll record and post, but for now be assured that things are going swimmingly in Prague.)

What with the PitchFest and my roommate’s wedding, I haven’t been around The Improv Trick much this past month. But I gotta clock in my intern hours, so I picked up a camera and attended the weekly longform show at Lemmon’s. We badly needed new photos for the website and such, and I picked up some good ones.

Han and Mark show off their “toothy spleens.”

One roommate taunts another over the boundaries of their dorm room.

Steven and Aaron float thru space.

Audience volunteer Stephanie ponders who to eliminate next with her Nerf gun.

The “Wizards of Improv” show is tonight and tomorrow at Westport, and I’ll be taking more pictures. In August, I hope to actually join the show. Stay bookmarked.

 

Movin’ Right Along

9 years, 4 months, and 25 days. That’s how long my fellow barista Lisa has been living the Barista Life. This Sunday is her last day. She’s going back to school for her Masters and starting a job at the university.

(And she’s missing all the hassle of our store’s remodel—everything stored in a POD across the street while we serve drinks out of a tent for 10 days).

____

Laura’s in Dublin with Husband-Dave right now. They missed their connecting flight and have to wait till Saturday. Rough luck that, getting stuck in Ireland for the weekend. After that, though, they start their new life in Prague.

 

Laura Quits Her Job

Dave & Laura’s Empty Apartment, via Skype

Next week Wednesday, my twin sister Laura and her husband Dave take off for Prague. This week, she had her last day at work. We had a Skype talk about it and recorded a short podcast. It’s our plan to continue the ‘cast so friends and family can keep up with her and Dave. Check out our first episode below!

I’m not gonna lie—this is our first shot at this, so the audio’s not great. Actually, Laura sounds okay, but I sound terrible. I guess that’s all right because she’s the one with the story to tell. Also, I’d just given blood, so I was kinda groggy.

Anyway, I promise I’m going to get better at this, and eventually we hope to get an iTunes feed up. For now, just click on the link below:

Dave & Laura’s Prague Adventures, Ep. 01: “Laura Quits Her Job”

Or listen here:

And find Dave & Laura’s blog here.

 

Weekend News: Working Hiatus

If you didn’t notice by the lack of Randomness and News, I’m taking a bit of a break from the blog. The PitchFest is less than two weeks away, and I want to be sure to have my script in solid form before I go. So all my writing time is going to that.

I did watch The Princess Bride this weekend, and it was even better than I’d remembered from the past, and I’d love to write about it as soon as I’m back. With all the remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, and revived sequels going around these days, I think my generation is going through a massive bout of nostalgia. Looking back at a classic like Bride would make for good reflection on that topic.

And then there’s Toy Story 3 coming out soon! Gotta see that. Winter’s Bone, too, was released in New York and L.A. this past weekend, and I need to check for when it’s released nationwide. The Creative Screenwriting podcast interview with director Debra Granik from the Kansas City FilmFest just came out, and I’m holding myself back from listening to it until I see the film.

So, plenty of movies to talk about when I get back, plus a full report from the PitchFest!

(BTW, if anyone knows anybody in L.A. who lives near the Marriott Burbank Hotel and wouldn’t mind a friendly stranger crashing on their couch for the weekend of June 25-28th, drop me a line.)

original image © Gina Smith – Fotolia.com

 

Weekend News: End of An Hair-a

Me and My Pigtail Buddy Nicole at work

I postponed my usual Friday News post to wait until after I got my hair cut yesterday.

On Friday, I wore my hair in pigtails, because…well, I could. It was my last full day with long hair, and I thought it would be fun. Strangely, very few people aside from my co-workers commented on it, but perhaps the fact that I noticed this means I just wanted attention (I am blogging, after all).

On Saturday, in the middle of a packed day that included digging a ditch in my friend’s backyard, attending a promising job interview/workshop, celebrating my niece’s 2nd birthday, closing the cafe for the night, and playing Wii Bowling with my co-workers afterwards, I got my hair cut.

I gotta thank Mel, my hairstylist for the day, and Shawna and David, at Studio Altius, the masterminds behind the event—especially David, who took my picture afterward. I don’t have exact numbers, but when I left, they’d collected about 13 feet of hair for Locks of Love. From my head they pulled four ponytails of 11″ each. My baby sister Chrissy even got into the act (I don’t have her picture here, but she looks great).

My new Short-Haired Headshot over here to the right is a picture of a picture, until I buy the digital negative, but I bought a nice print-out for my folks to hang in their hallway and replace the shot of me in my Tony Stark Halloween costume.

Meanwhile…I bought my pass to the Great American Pitch Fest! I’m Bronze Level, which was all I could afford, but I threw in a couple of classes, too—one with Pilar Alessandra and one with Karl Iglesias. I still have to buy my plane tickets—that happens tomorrow after I get my tips from work—and find a place to crash for that weekend (anyone reading this in L.A. who lives near the Marriott Burbank Hotel?).

But other than that, I’m all spiffed up and ready to go.

Oh yeah, gotta finish that rewrite (I’m over halfway, and feeling good about it)!

Catch you tomorrow with thoughts on the movie Legion.

Yes, Legion.

 

Friday News: A Year Reviewed

This week I had my one year review at work.

It went fine, no worries. I’m hoping to promote to shift supervisor in the near future, just in case everything else I’m doing completely falls apart, and it looks like I’m well on my way. (To the shift supervisor position, not to things falling apart. I’m hoping.)

I thought back to when I first got hired here, when a long, fruitless job hunt ended with a text message from a friend: “Get over to my Sbux right now!”

“Why?” I texted back. “Did somebody get fired?”

“Yes!”

Two hours later, I was being interviewed, and the week after, I started. I hadn’t been a barista for a while, not at an “Sbux” anyway, but I picked it up again. And now, here I am, one more long-haired aspiring screenwriter schlepping coffee by day and working on his scripts by night.

Earlier this year, my arts group at church, Fusion, presented a project where we drew names of books of the Bible out of a jar and tackled the challenge of creating front-cover like images for them. I represented the book of Numbers, in which the children of Israel journeyed for 40 years in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. In my drawing, God’s hand holds out care and provision for them, but also sifts the children of Israel to remove the faithless from the faithful.

Over the past year, a lot has happened that makes me furious at God. He’s denied my dreams, broken my stuff, tripped me up. He’s held my face to things I don’t want to confront. I’ve felt buried and confounded. Sometimes I can’t decide if it’s Him working on me or an impersonal universe playing cruel tricks.

 

Friday News: A Strangely Turning Weekend

Our Fearless Improv Leader, Bill Chott

The Cyberspace Open results for Round 1 finally appeared on Wednesday this week. Sadly, I missed the cut-off by two points. My scene, “The Librarian’s Apprentice” was scored a 91. Really, not that bad. The feedback was encouraging, and I’m still proud of the piece. You can read it here if you like.

The Librarian’s Apprentice

Here’s the official feedback:

Structure: 22

Dialogue: 23

Style: 23

Originality: 23

Total Score: 91

This library scene has a nice sense of tension, and the mention of the approaching villains is a great way to keep the intensity up.  The dynamic between Missy and Mrs. Travides is interesting, though it seems a little unclear at the end.  The scene would probably benefit from a little more practical exposition about who these thugs are, what this treasure map is all about, and why Missy replacing Mrs. Travides will be an effective way to save Leonard’s life.  Also, giving more description of the atmosphere the storm provides could help intensify the drama a bit.  Overall, it’s an interesting scene with some unique characters.  Good work!

Since I wasn’t sure whether I’d be in the contest this weekend or not, I already asked off work just to be safe (oh, um, don’t tell my manager).

I wasn’t sure what I’d do with the extra free time, aside from prepare for the LOST finale. But then in improv class this week, I was invited to play in a show this Saturday! The Improv Trick is playing at Soundstage Productions this Saturday at 7:30pm and 10pm. The Facebook event is here:

*Wizards of Improv*

The show is in Crestwood Center, a nearly abandoned shopping mall in South County that’s mostly been turned over to art groups seeking space. I’ve never been, and I’m excited to see what it looks like. In another life, I used to work across the street at the Barnes & Noble as a barista for five years, so it feels very much like a full circle kind of thing.

The show is a benefit to raise money for scholarships for kids to take improv classes this summer who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. So if you’ve got $10 and need something cool to do this weekend, come see me. Laugh at all my stuff, and they might invite me to play next weekend, too!

 

Friday News: See David Play

I love Waterdeep. Whereas many Christian bands and musicians create songs that sound like prom songs to God, these cats play around with musical styles and create songs that lodge in your heart and trip from your tongue. They attend my twin sister’s church in KC, but tonight they’re playing at my church here in St. Louis.

Honestly, after an exhausting week, I was planning on staying in tonight for some recharge writing or movie-watching. But my roommates have the TV for the baseball game, so I think I’m gonna go hop on my bike and ride over to The Journey Tower Grove for the concert.

Never fear, I won’t be a shut-in all weekend.

 

Friday News: Waiting for Take-Off

The Pitch Fest is in less than two months, and I found a deal for tickets to L.A. But I gotta pounce on it by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the rewrite’s going like sludge.

I’m reading a graphic novel called Logicomix, about the life and work of Bertrand Russell. In it, the legendary philosopher, mathematician, and logician struggles to find the ultimate expression of logic. He constantly fears madness in his quest, until he realizes that he was imposing the language of his trade on every aspect of his life.

I tend to examine life as if it were a story. Helps me figure out if I’m at the start of a project (catalyst), in a temporary rough spot (end of act two), or at a point where I have to try something dramatically new to hit the finish line (um…the end). There’s something true about the struggles of life that good old-fashioned story structure mirrors (I recommend reading Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years to get a more thorough, poetic description of this idea).

But of course, like analyzing life too logically, squeezing everyday events into script format doesn’t always fit.

So maybe this is a bump before a turning point. Maybe I just need to figure out my rewrite process. Maybe I just have to face my lack of commitment.

Or maybe I’m just a little depressed this week about Sun and Jin.

“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.  How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?  For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone.  That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.”
- Vita Sackville-West (Thank you, Creative Screenwriting.)

Plane image © James Thew, Fotolia.com