A (Praise) Chorus of Random Thoughts

Wow, what a difference some positive reaffirmation can make.

Yesterday I was a mess, trying to write a play for fifth graders with a far lesser reading level. Today, they really seemed to get into it and enjoy it, and it turns out my understanding of their comprehension level isn't too far off. I'm still not looking forward to the work, per se, but I feel a lot better about my chances of actually pulling this off.

Then...oh, saving grace, I got to work with my 9th/10th graders at Beit Sahour. In the space of an hour, we went from the outlines of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and cranked out a decent plot outline of a brand new farce, merging the two. It's not, shall I say, Shakespeare, but it's really quite exciting. Sophmoric, but we must consider our sources. I'm actually looking forward to this part of my job here, which is a blessing.

Part of it is the students I have; they're excited to do the work; that, and if the little I saw in auditions holds true, there are at least two of them that should prove to be decent actors, the kind where I really, really wish I could see them work in their own language, without the barrier.

------

It's never gonna be quite what you want
Even at 25, you gotta start sometime..

That particular line is starting to depress me.. maybe that's too harsh, but it rings differently now that I'm past 25. Before, it was a gentle reminder that 22 wasn't the end-all for figuring life out, now, even my lyrical benchmark is behind me.

Part of it is that nagging feeling I have that, even now that I'm done with grad school and argueably "doing" my life's work, I still feel every now and then that I'm not being true to myself..that if I really did just get up and do what I wanted, I would leave this all behind, convince Laura, Ryan and Pokey to quit their jobs and make a go at it. And I think we could make it, honestly enough, through no fault of my own -- I've been listening to a lot of Stewart Copeland lately, and it just shames me..shame, I say -- but because of the songwriting and style that they've created. I just want to be in a band and travel around the world and not have to worry about anything else, damnit. Is that so much to ask?

Do not answer that.

-----

Anyway. Things to do tonight.... write a play for tomorrow's 6th-10th group. Start writing the five or six plays for Wednesday's 6th graders..finish writing 3 more plays for the 5th graders.

Also, tonight, I think I'm going to try making french fries, on my hotplate. I think it's hot enough to heat oil..we'll see. Else I'll just have some really raw french fries.

One of my fondest memories growing up is eating dad's homemade french fries. They're not that difficult as far as food goes, but they were one of the things that proved to me the difference between things that took time and caring and things that didn't. Eating homemade french fries teaches you just what you miss when you go to McDonald's. There's a sappy novel-turned-Oscar-potential-movie in here somewhere, I just know it.

------

Speaking of the finer things, I have one back in the States that should just be waking up. It's still strange to me that I can wake up, get ready, go to work and be home all in the same hours that Beth is asleep. I remember how peaceful she looks, how soft her features are when she's asleep. It's something very much missed.

------

Apparently, I am supposed to go play pool tomorrow with the brother of George, the guy who runs the shop where I get my daily sundries at the end of my block. I'm still not quite sure what this all entails.

------

And now, to go and try to not burn myself with hot oil. Film at eleven.