Projects and Insurrection

Free write at the Greek bakery with the three, after failing yet again (and with a tinge of irony) at Cafe Esperanza, leaving notes for each other on the door. The task: video experiments in cool. Plugging Zoe's addition (a microphone) into my camera, we pick up cafe sounds, small Dust Bowl faces complaining, and our improvisational dialogue. This, to flesh out in a scenario; the goal, to work with dialogue in a new way, to inspire us to write it naturally. I'm trying to be a doer, not a sayer. I used to be quiet. Now I spout about projects that I never see to fruition. But this week I've rearranged my attitude, spun it differently, sent myself running.

I tweaked with the dialogue project in an editorial (but not writerly) sense for several hours during the weekend. This inspired me to drag out some long lost footage of family vacations--a mini-documentary I've been meaning to produce for several years. I've been making use of the dead time (which is most of the time) at the office, by using their equipment and rewatching the cassettes. Things are happening.

Things did happen. Yesterday was a day for hell raising, which turned into a creative adventure (aka, how to complain in French, or how the lowly intern discovered that honest descriptions of a work place to an organization's cofounder can have positive consequences). I met once again with J, this time at his house; his daughter participated by screaming out "la politique! la politique!" and attempting to feed her bottle to her father. When I tell J that I'm frustrated, unmotivated, and generally disappointed with my internship, he asks me what projects I'd proposed to my boss, and then gave me the task of "solidifying the network." Included is the opportunity to travel around Quebec and Canada, meeting with our various cells, exchanging compilations, getting updates on their activities and their needs.

Today I'm feeling optimistic, creative, driven, and lucky to be surrounded by such unique individuals.