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5:25 PM - FRI 5.19.23
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Headed Full-Speed Into A Brick Wall

So what's been going on...?

Well, I had a birthday a couple days back.

While I'm not nuts about the whole "heading full-speed towards a brick wall" aspect of birthdays, my 62nd birthday was a pleasant, low-key affair - I went to my regular drawing class at GenSpace, then later in the afternoon, met up with my buddy Josh for ice cream.

In addition, I received a Super-Skrull action figure from Mike M., fun birthday parcels from Jane R. and Mark & Jane Z., and am having a belated birthday lunch with Cary on Sunday.

So I got all the "birthday" I needed and more than I really deserve.

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On...Wednesday, was it? I went with Josh to picket Disney, in support of the Writers Guild.

We stayed for a couple hours, which was a long time to picket when you're as overweight and out-of-shape as I am. But I was glad Josh suggested it - I would never have had the wherewithal to go on my own (And if I had, it wouldn't have been much fun).

And it made me feel good, to be even a small part of something that matters (If not for writers, what would I be doing out here? Mime? It feels like our fates are very much linked, writers and actors). I can't claim to understand the ins and outs of all the issues involved, but to me it boils down to simple fairness - If you're literally in the storytelling business, the actual storytellers shouldn't be second-class citizens.

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Yesterday I got some bad news, then some worse news.

The bad news? After I attended a painting class at GenSpace - My first - I got a call from them saying that I'd left my bag there (My cross-shoulder bag from DocUtah, which has become my default backpack).

Happily, I didn't have anything too critical inside - A book, a Moleskine journal, some drawing stuff - because I won't be able to pick it up till Monday (They're only open Monday-Thursday).

The worse news was afterward, when I picked up my car from the shop (It had been making a quietly unhappy noise for a couple weeks, from before I went to Santa Fe) - $650-and-change to fix some brake thing.

(As you might imagine, I can think of many other ways I'd rather spend $650-and-change.)

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Earlier today, I had a Zoom appointment with a sleep Doctor, to address my untreated sleep apnea.

It's been eight years since my last attempt to address the issue and, not surprisingly, I have not experienced spontaneous healing.

On the contrary, the problem has gotten worse - I've graduated from "mild" to "moderate" sleep apnea (I apparently have doubled my number of "episodes", from 12 per hour "back in the day" to 24 per hour now).

I'm gun-shy about CPAP since I've tried it a number of times before and not been able to deal.

But a technology I am enthused about is something called Inspire - Basically, it's an implant (That goes just under your collarbone), which sends a little electric signal to your throat any time it starts to close up at night that says, "Hey! Don't DO that!".

But in order to be a candidate for Inspire, I have to have a certain BMI, which I to be certain do not have at present (While I'm not at the maximum density I hit during the peak of COVID, I'm not a hell of a lot lighter).

So, wish me luck...I'd really like to see what it feels like to be awake before I die.

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Since I last wrote, Acting Like Nothing Is Wrong won "Best Feature Documentary" at the Boomtown Film Festival (In Beaumont, TX), and screened, the day after my birthday, in Philadelphia (Which was the first day of the festival, so we don't know yet if it's going to win anything there).

(I know the award-winning streak is going to be broken at some point, but it's been quite a lovely surprise to have the film be awarded as much as it has.)

The film festival in Vero Beach, FL is fast approaching. Gregg called today to talk about possible lodgings (He's in real estate, and made me aware of something that's basically a time-share you can do for a short period of time, which can be way cheaper than a hotel. There's also the possibility of getting a day or two of free lodging via the film festival, which would be nice - time on the "time-share" would run out a day or two before the festival's over).

I expect it to be fun - They all have been so far, to a greater or lesser extent - and I am trying to be "glass half-full" about the writer's strike in that regard (It'll take away the stress I feel when I'm out of town if there's nothing going on to be in town for).

Well, I could write more, but I told myself I was going to Jane's place today - and maybe to Target before that - and I'm 90 minutes past when I wanted to be headed out the door.

Till next time...!



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