notes & things | 5/23/2025
Spring seems to be in and out depending on the day. One day, its blowing and snowing and the next a mild 50 or above. I have been able to venture out without tights for the first time in months a couple of times of late, so that's something. Today, however, is colder and grayer despite yesterday's abundant sun. I have been continuing my usual business of articles, proofing chapbooks, and playing with poem drafts. Also, wedding planning, which is starting to come together in terms of seeing the big picture. We were able to secure our night before hotel stay in Woodstock and little mini moon hotel plans downtown afterwards. While we will likely languish at the hotel the remainder of the weekend through Monday, we did get tickets to see The Color Purple musical at Goodman Sunday night, which we were planning on seeing regardless, but that's just a couple blocks walk from the hotel. I have been getting final details in line for centerpieces and other things like the guest book (which will actually be the vintage image postcards above in a pretty box and much less a book.) Doing a more budget-friendly DIY wedding is of course a far more do-able alternative, but still costly nevertheless, so we are constantly adjusting and readjusting the planned budget.
Yesterday, we went out to Skokie to see a production of Guys & Dolls with J's mom and I was laughing the entire time over the wholesomeness of it as an old-school musical vs. the more moody and existential ones I gravitate toward lately (American Psycho, Groundhog Day, Waitress, Beetlejuice, even & Juliet.) Their productions are always really good, though there was a scary moment where one of the actor's collapsed and recovered on stage after a big number. This, combined with some mic problems in Beetlejuice have reminded me of the unpredictable nature of live performances and made me once again grateful I am in the audience and not backstage or on it. I was always good at the project management element of stage managing shows, but it stressed me out to no end--the fact that anything could wrong. Luckily, most were minor when I was doing it in the 90s...missed lines that led to cue confusion as light & sound operator, an unraveling sequin dress I was fixing on the actress as she walked onstage as wardrobe mistress. An anacronistic power drill that got left out on top of a set piece not visible backstage when I was stage managing. The number of things that can and most likely will go wrong. Writing and art are much less stressful. I was sick all the time in college those years in a way I've never been since, and maybe early morning and tiredness were part of it, but also maybe just that I was constantly stressed out and run down.
This week brings some more work on the new manuscript. I think maybe I will aim for a late summer release, after the chaos of the wedding in June, and there is certainly no hurry. The collection is ordered pretty well all ready, its more just pesky line edits and then the design aspects remaining. This book feels a little feral and unruly I am loving it. Last night, we finally caught up on Yellowjackets this season (I've spent the last month introducing J to the first two seasons. ) I must admit it's probably influenced me, as one of my favorite shows, in my writing, especially the last section I wrote for it, the woods, which was spawned by my advent series of collages but turned into something much larger. This book is also a strange juxtaposition to the other book in progress, which is more contained and structured and I suppose, has a bit more narrative in each section. That one still needs a lot more work.
It is somehow just shy of April, which means another birthday, which doesn't seem possible because hey, I just had one like 5 minutes ago. It falls on a Friday this year, but since J has a gig that night, we'll be celebrating over the weekend afterwards. The drive-in sadly doesn't seem to be doing its Halfway to Halloween event this year we'd hoped to make a yearly standard. Nevertheless, April has much on tap, including touring performances of Moulin Rouge and a stage version of The Three Musketeers mid- month. This coming week, the last gasps of March include a screening of Lynch's Lost Highway at Alamo, a tattoo appointment (the patchwork sleeve is close to being fully done and may well be by the end of summer), and then Circus Quixote at Lookingglass Theater. J also got tickets for Penn & Teller in Hammond over the weekend.
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