Hello 2011! Christmas break in Utah was good and I enjoyed being with family, but I have to give a shout out to California Januarys (I'm not sure how to spell the plural of that). Typically I have always labeled January as the worst month of the year. Absolutely hate it. But being back in California for it has definitely taken the edge off. Running on the beach in shorts, waking up to sunny days, even occasionally turning on the AC button. It's a beautiful thing. I even love California's version of the snowman (which also doubled as the great pumpkin on halloween when a neighbor down the street threw a festive blanket over it.) And this snowman will never melt. That's quite comforting. I also have to say what a satisfying thing it is to go outside and pick your breakfast off the tree. The orange tree in the backyard is in full bloom and after a morning run I usually pick one off the tree and have it for breakfast. Joy in the simple things, that's what I'm going for these days.
Having said that I can move on to the not-so-joyous things (at least at the moment). Class started up again at UCLA last week and we brought in the first acts of our screenplays to receive feedback. It felt like a slaughter. I'm sill trying to revive my spirits. Why?...I guess so I can go to battle again next week. This prescribed process of writing has just been a challenge for me and I must admit I'm finding it difficult to hear my own voice amidst all these others telling me what they think I should do. I've finally decided that all I can really do is just keep working at it. Even if I feel like a hack that will never be good at anything, I just have to keep my head down and keep working, keep trying. That is the only meaning I feel right now. That's all I'll say about that for now.
Other than that, I worked 3 very long days at the bakery restaurant this week, feeding the masses, making cappucinos, scraping obscene amounts of food into the garbage, trying to avoid some of the unsettling leers from the cooks, and secretly envying all the people going out to lunch (since going out to lunch is actually one of my favorite things to do.) Needless to say, the last 3 days have been exhausting. I never thought I'd be back to food service. But on the plus side it's interesting to have surprised even myself. So I'm getting back in the swing of things, trying to pack as much as I can into this school year, and watching a lot of movies. Speaking of which, did anyone else get on itunes and buy that song "Pocketful of Sunshine" after watching the movie "Easy A"? Ben and I watched it my last night in Utah and both of us randomly bought the song the next day. I played it for my little nieces over New Year's, too, and we practiced some good dance moves. I know the song came out a couple of years ago but, sadly, it is new to me. So here's to 2011...may it be another year of adventure with many and varied pockets full of sunshine.
