there's more to life than this

I had to return to work tonight, so I took along something to scan in for my new template -- but alas, something has gone awry with the scanning software on my work machine. I will reinstall it tomorrow so that I can start working on the new "look" tomorrow evening.

In yesterday's mail I received three issues of the daily Variety. I had completely forgotten about the subscription, a strange gift from my father who won several magazine subscriptions in some internet auction a couple of months ago. He also got me a subscription to Nature Conservancy. Hmmmm. I am both horrified and somewhat intrigued by the Variety subscription. I often try to forget that I live in Southern California, notorious for the glittery Hollywood facade we residents are all subjected to in some form or another. Watching the "news" in SoCal is painful, as we are bounced between stories of high speed chases, the latest fashion trends, celebrity gossip and yes, even stories about TV shows to air later that evening. As I paged through huge Academy Award nomination ads I started to think about how in various ways my own family is tied to the entertainment "industry". Stretching back to my great-grandparents, who were traveling vaudevillians (in his later years my great grandfather also had a small role in "Monsieur Verdoux", one of Chaplin's later films), to my grandmother (the one who recent passed away) who did commercials, bit parts and stand-in work for 20 years. My grandfather (her husband) was a casting agent. My mother has written screenplays and is a voracious movie watcher and critic. My brother works for CBS. My cousin (the only cousin on my mother's side of the family) is a makeup artist and lives under the Hollywood sign with her out-of-work actor/director/producer husband. Me? I've been plugging away at a small but proud college radio station for the past decade, and in the past few years started advising the video club and cable TV station. There's just no escaping entertainment media in this town, even when you live on the fringes of it. That said, unless you are really involved in the industry, reading the Daily Variety is like hooking yourself up to an IV of the oozing black liquid evil that keeps LA lubricated. I don't know about you, but finding out that "Air Bud 4: Seventh Inning Fetch" is in the can is just way too much information. The only thing I can guess is that my father sent Variety to me because he really gets off on getting things for free --and because he's already receiving more magazine subscriptions than his mail carrier can handle.

Otherwise, things are going pretty well. I have not had the pain in my side (knock on wood) since Sunday. I went to yoga classes yesterday and this evening and I am starting to get my energy back. A couple of weeks ago I had to miss my Wednesday class because of the sickypoo thing, and D. brought home a present from my yoga teacher -- he had taken a copy of Yogi Bare to his teaching intensive with Richard Freeman and had it autographed for me. He also inscribed it himself. It was the nicest, coolest thing.

So now that we are over hump day, I am looking forward to getting out and about in the world this weekend -- I'm planning on hangin' with A. on Saturday, and then meeting up with D. for fun and spending too much at Hennessey and Ingalls and Midnight Special. So many books, so little time.