March 21, 2005
This morning I attended a workshop on Stress Reduction and Hypnosis at at Senior Citizen’s Center in Burbank, as part of laying the groundwork for my friend Andrea’s “Golden Hour” Project. There were about 8 senior attendees, and the facilitator was very interesting, finishing up by leading us through an stress-reduction exercise. I may hire him to help me quit smoking.
On the way out we ran into the Director, of sorts, of the Center, and she was immediately enthused about “The Golden Hour,” particularly about the prospect of me holding writing workshops there. I intend to draw up a syllabus and make a flyer and plan a weekly course there. I am jazzed at the idea of “giving back” (it is all volunteer). I have a commitment or two in AA, but they are really designed to get you to go to meetings when you don’t feel like it, and I never don’t feel like it. This is an opportunity to do some real good, using skills which I have honed over the years but not shared except intermittently.
If it works well I may apply for a grant to do it elsewhere, maybe create a job for myself.
Tomorrow I won’t blog till late, as I am spending the day in a lawyer’s office, being paid to watch over a friend’s ex-wife as she pores through a conference room desk’s worth of legal documents involved in the bitter divorce of my friend. It seems she is rather on the “inky-binky” side, in the words of my friend, and prone to haranguing monologues. It should prove interesting, and an opportunity for me to make some cash as well as perhaps capture a character for a short story.
Yesterday I had a lovely lunch at my friend Ileana’s in her historic house (shared) near USC. Afterwards we watched a wonderful French film, “Bon Voyage.” I shared later at a meeting about a scene in which the main character, who gets drunk, literally throws himself against a huge wooden door, trying to gain access to his loved one, (the incomparable Isabel Adjani). Finally, he gives up, in frustration, and then gets an idea. He tries the knob, and the door opens effortlessly.
If ever there was a good metaphor about getting sober… (In the meeting I added turning on the light inside, which jibed well with the spiritual aspect of the program.)
So far, Mercury doesn’t feel so much in retrograde at all, but today’s facilitator shared an article he read (although he’s not into astrology—and I take it all with a grain of salt, more fun than belief system) that advised that it should just be taken as an opportunity to slow down. By getting conscious about communication, one can avoid the pitfalls that crop up when it is done without due attention.
So slow down, people. (Ironically, I gotta run).
MCO 2005
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