Yes, I know it’s been a while.  But it’s been quite a week.

First and foremost, K got a 4-month contract with a company located downtown, so she doesn’t have to drive anymore.  And hopes are high she will be taken on full-time when the contract is up.  Or even before.  Fingers crossed.

As for me, I’m not sure if it could be considered a rude awakening, but I got a lesson of sorts from Manager Guy.  I haven’t had any contact with him since the last week of May.  I sent him an email around 3 weeks ago and heard nothing.  Another one sent last Monday; still nothing.  I had gone from annoyed to just plain pissed.  I kept thinking he better have a good reason for being incommunicado for so long.  Then on Friday I ratcheted it up a step – I called.  Of course, it went into voicemail.  I was starting to get desperate.  I even considered calling the studios he sent the script to to find out if there had been any word (fortunately, K said that was not a good idea).  Now it was just a matter of waiting.

Then it came.  Saturday morning.  As I was getting ready to go to work, I checked my email.  The subject line was “Your voicemail”.  The content was a whopping seven words: “Got your message. No news to report.”

Excuse me?  That’s it?  5 weeks of nothing, and that’s his response?  I was not happy.  I’m still not.  What exactly has he been doing during this time?  Obviosuly not anything on my part.  If it weren’t so hard to get a manager, I’d drop him in a second.  But for all I know, this is standard operating procedure.  How incredibly annoying.

On a positive note, a management firm who had originally asked to see the script, and then forgot to get back to me and asked for it again, I sent the guy an email on Monday asking for his feedback.  I also added that the script had been optioned by Manager Guy, but I would still like his feedback.

He responded today with a very nice note saying “Congrats on the option. Certainly can’t say I’m surprised. Please keep me in the loop on future projects.”  Wow.  That is…so cool.  The first sentence is standard. The second sentence is a huge confidence-booster.  He must have liked it!  Wow again.  And the last sentence – WOW.  That is like…mega-cool!  I do wonder if when the current script is ready, if it would be something he’d still be interested in.  Don’t know.  It is something to think about.

But in the meantime, I’ve come to accept that Manager Guy is busy and probably can’t get back to me when I want him to.  But he could least try to.

Speaking of the outline, I’m almost done with the latest draft.  The story feels stronger, and I still need a killer last scene.  For some reason, my hero still needs a long-term goal.  I’ve got a few ideas, but think I should finish this draft first.  When that’s done, I can look into inserting that subplot and see how it fits.

Lucky for me, I’m working the midday tomorrow, so I’ll try to work on that last scene, then on the aforementioned subplot.

And while all of this is going on, I’ve been thinking about the next script after this one.  And the one after that.

Darn my creative genius-ness.

I’ve been working a killer schedule the past few weeks, which is why I haven’t been able to post anything.

Recap:

-Been on my own since Tuesday night, when K & V went back to visit the in-laws.  Things have quiet and busy – see above item about crazy hours.  K comes home tomorrow – YAY!  V comes home with K’s sister on Thursday – YAY!

-STILL NOTHING from Manager Guy.  Slightly pissed at him.

-Due to the work thing, the outline is taking way too long to get done. Ugh.

-Saw STAR TREK. Meh.  B-Minus. I liked how they intro’d the characters, but hated the whole Future Spock thing.  And the bad guy didn’t do much for me.

-Watched 5 movies while K & V have been away.  WONDER WOMAN (not bad), NIM’S ISLAND (fun but a little corny), THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (not too bad anime), SPEED RACER (as bright, colorful and nutritious as pre-packaged neon cotton candy) and A BRIDGE TOO FAR (star-studded so-so WWII).

-Went for a bike ride on the Golden Gate this morning.  It was fun, even with the came-across-as-snobbish cyclists in their racing spandex.

Objective for the week – the outline!

This is different.  The sun is actually shining outside.  I usually post at night, but I’ve been doing a lot of split shifts lately, so by the time K & V pick me up, we eat dinner and attempt to put V to bed, it’s almost time for me to crash as well.  I just haven’t had the consciousness to post.

So it’s the middle of the day, and this works better.

As I’ve said before, sometimes I do my best work AT work.  And that’s been the case for the past couple of days.  I managed to put together an improved Act One, with my sights set on venturing into Act Two.  That should be interesting.

My writing group used to meet every other Tuesday evening, but the other guy is in a show through July, so we haven’t seen him in a while.  He tries to get pages done when he can – don’t know how that’s coming along.  So now it’s just myself and the other original member of the group.  We met at Starbucks on Tuesday and had a good meeting.  We read through some of her pages, I gave her my feedback.  She read my Act One outline and liked it.  We may keep up the daytime meeting thing because it does make things easier, and try to include the other guy to help keep him active.

I finished the last of my casual reading books yesterday, so now I have no excuse to NOT work on Act Two.

It’s interesting seeing how the whole thing is changing as I go through each draft.  Certain storylines and subplots have come and gone, but the concept remains the same.  It’s all in the execution, I suppose.  As long as it’s funny.

Getting the story to work comes first, then the insertion of comedy.  Not as easy as one would think.  I’ll do my best and see what happens.

STILL no word from Manager Guy.  He’ll get a note on Monday, which means I’ll get a response around…Thursday.  With a timestamp of about 2AM.  Why IS he up so late?

I took the plunge and sent the script to that other manager/prodco last week.  I figured it was better than doing nothing.  I really wonder if they’ll call back.

I’m also not holding out much hope from the Big Agency.  It took them 3 months to ask for the script.  Now that they have it, I seriously doubt I’ll hear back from them.  It’s been about a month since I sent it, and haven’t heard diddly.  Which I’ll interpret as ‘thanks but no thanks’.  And still I soldier on…

In a non-writing note, I’m still a bit bothered by my run-in with the law Wednesday morning.  For the first time in 7 months, I took a different route to work.  It involved stopping at a major intersection, where the light was red and a car was waiting to cross with me.  I stopped, looked left – nothing.  Looked right – nothing.  Okay.  Good to go.  I pedal across and the police car on the other side of the street hits the lights and pulls me over.  A big grouchy-looking guy steps out and asks if I know why he pulled me over.  “Because I went through the light?” I say.  I don’t deny it, but it’s 4:30 in the morning, it’s not exactly the safest neighborhood and there’s nobody but me and the other car.  And the officer, of course.

He asks for ID.  I hand over my license.  While he’s checking my record, another unit rolls up.  In case he can’t handle this no-good lawbreaking cyclist, no doubt.  He emerges and gives me some story about another cyclist who did NOT stop at the red light and got plowed by a drunk driver.  He says something about there being a point on my license and hands it back.  But NO TICKET.  I climb back on the bike and ride off to work.

Can you get a point against your license for something that occurs on a bike AND if you don’t get an actual ticket?  General consensus among my peers regarding both is NO.

What did I learn from this?  Well, I already stop at red lights and look both ways, so not that.   Probably to stay on the street I’ve been taking.

Oh yeah.  Almost forgot.  Three years of biking to work. That’s a lot of radio shows, sweat-soaked shirts and flat tires.  Maybe I’ll even get fenders before the next rainy season.  That would be cool.

I promise.

Hang in there.

Longer post tomorrow.  Too tired now.

Summary:

-Better version of Act One.  Journey into Act Two about to begin

-Still no word from Manager Guy.  Will send a note next week.

-Pulled over by a cop this morning whilst cycling for crossing against the light. Won’t be going that way again.

Again, more tomorrow. Off to bed…