Day 2: Thursday, 20 August 2009 - Bug ride

My morning is not really worth writing about - just the regular chores, reading and writing that I do, a game or two with X... but the afternoon has been something else.

It's amazing how much you can shove into a VW Bug. My wife and I both own black VW Bugs. Hers is a 2002 with black leather interior, a sunroof, and turbo power under the hood. Mine is a '98 with tan cloth interior, a nicer stereo and heated seats. We didn't set out to get his and hers cars, it just sort of worked out that way. We both liked the Bug, there were two available and the price was right. Anyway, since the air conditioner bit the dust on my most recent roadtrip and today promised to scrape temperatures in the triple digits, we decided to pile into hers. There were the various bags, water and snacks. Oh yeah, and our two newfoundland mix hounds.

They aren't true newfs - they're too small for that. Maggie is about 50 pounds and maybe the size of a border collie. Earl breaks 75 pounds, but is still much smaller than what one might expect of a newf. Earl is dopey and sweet, while Maggie is quiet and somewhat nervous. Both are good sports and were anxious to join us on our five hour journey west. It took little more than opening the door and they both clambered into the back and took up positions next to X. I filled the co-pilot seat and we strained out of the driveway under all the weight, and clawed our way forward down the road.

As it turns out, Burns, Oregon is far from everywhere. We spent the first two hours just getting to Bend, Oregon. We cruised across oceans of sagebrush and juniper, and what used to be an ancient prehistoric shallow sea. There are birds of prey, the occasional pronghorn and, of course, cows. Lots of cows. Maggie and Earl focused most of their attention on the air conditioning and ignored the cows.

About thirty or forty miles east of Bend, we could see the outlines of the Three Sisters. Then Mt. Bachelor. Then Mt. Jefferson and all the smaller peaks that surround them. The change in scenery helps make the last part of the drive into Bend go a little more quickly and before long, we were joining all the locals on the road as they got off work. Bend and Redmond entertained the dogs what with all the cars and activity, and a stop for quick nourishment intrigued them further. But it didn't last. Soon, we were on our way again, hugging the eastern edge of the cascades, and the dogs settled in.

We crossed the Cascade range at Government Camp. Prior to leaving for Alaska, this was our old stomping grounds. It was also the first home that Maggie and Earl knew, and I wondered as we sped through whether they remembered romping through those woods, tearing down the crosstown trail, or hunting squirrels. I didn't see any indication of such memories, but I think they were happy with the 74 degree weather - a drop of over 25 degrees from the beginning of our trip.

They came to life as we pressed on through Gresham, then Portland and across the 205 bridge into Vancouver and the state of Washington, our final destination. I cut the A/C and rolled down the window to let in the air. Maggie and Earl filled their noses and lungs with the air and they truly recognized the neighborhood. Amazing.

Sighs of relief when we at last rolled into the driveway. Even from the dogs. It was a good ride. But we're all glad to be out of the car.

Day 1: Wednesday, 19 August 09 - Taking up the gauntlet

I have a friend that I’ve never met before. She’s a filmmaker polyglot living in New York with her dog. She likes music and reading and traveling the world. She looks sad in her photos, or fiercely introspective, except for that one where she is lit up and sitting in a director’s chair. She loved the movie ‘Julia and Julia’ and is busy writing a novel and screenplays and what not.

I’ve collected other friends like this on Facebook. People with whom I’ve networked because of a shared interest in something in particular or because we both know someone and it just seems to make sense that we should stay in touch. It is one of the things I love about Facebook - meeting people. From people I learn, I am inspired, I am entertained, and I am amused. And occasionally, I am challenged.

My New York friend with the dog up and decided today that she is going to do 365 days of writing (something she loves) and wrote ‘Join me’, which I took to be a challenge. In fact, it was an invitation, but that’s not really important. She wrote in her first blog entry, “So here I vow to write at least 500 words EVERY DAY for the next 365 days. That means I should be able to complete at least three new feature scripts. Not bad! Don't you love goals? I love goals!”

I know the question was rhetorical, but I must reply with an enthusiastic ‘Yes! Yes! I too love goals!’ Many times in the past I’ve sat at my desk and carefully figured out that if I could write x number of words each day I could finish x number of scripts each year. And I’m with her when she writes, “After all if I can practice Yoga every day than I can write every day.” Replace ‘Yoga’ with whatever and the logic stands. In my case, ‘Yoga’ might become ‘walking the dogs’ or ‘drinking my coffee’ or ‘making odd faces at myself in the mirror’. So I’d like to set the same goal for myself and blog each day at 500 words.

500 words should be easy. I Twitter or Facebook WELL in excess of 500 words each day. And my goal has always been to journal each day. I spent hundreds of dollars flying to Los Angeles last fall to attend the Creative Screenwriting conference so that I can be (hold on to your hat) a writer. So this is great inspiration and I’m going to go for it... Thanks to my big city friend on the east coast.

Today has been an interesting day. I started out in a bit of a funk, mostly due to feeling completely overwhelmed by the number of tasks I need to carry out to get my martial arts business off the ground, the work involved with my photography and the writing I need to do for my next short film (which I plan to shoot in Alaska this winter) and for my first feature attempt (which I will shoot in the Spring - God willing). I am also juggling a number of other items and it’s weighing on me. I’d also posted a quote from a former minister of health in the United Kingdom that generated a huge comment thread and the response, while fascinating, also wore on me. I wrote that the poem best expressing my mood today was Whitman’s ‘When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer’.

But a road run, some writing and reading, work on my future gym and good conversation helped turn things around. I also watched a documentary film by Antony Thomas called ‘Inside the Koran’. It’s a fairly comprehensive look at the Koran and at Islam in general - and it was fascinating. I recommend it. It helped me put much of what is happening in the world in context for me and it gave me a deeper appreciation for faith.

And now I close out the day by writing - thanks to some inspiration from the big apple - as it should be.

الله أَكْبَر