playing catch-up

I realize I've cheated you. A lot has happened between January 10th and May 30th and we need to do some catching up:

Jim and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in January. Couldn't be happier.

I got my hair cut. It's short. I liked it a lot, but now I think I'm bored with it and want to try something new again.

Wonton was fixed and was a grumpy conehead for a while. But then in April we celebrated his first birthday with a party at The LoftyDog's new space at the Barker Block. Good times. Most recently, he underwent eye surgery to kill off the hairs that were growing inside his eye and poking his eyeballs. Post-surgery he looked like he'd been punched in both eyes, but it was successful and he's recovering nicely.

I finished that screenplay that I had been working on since Jim and I were first engaged, and now I'm halfway through another. I've got a July 1st deadline on this one and then I start outlining the next screenplay, which is based in present-day downtown Los Angeles. Are you ready for your close-up, Historic Core?

I'm taking a film financing/producing class at UCLA Extension on Wednesday nights. My producer is teaching the class and he's amazing. Last semester his class was filled with entertainment attorneys (a partner from my attorney's firm took the class), this semester, not so much. But the case studies and his insights are incredibly helpful. I think I learn more when he veers off-topic.

Jim and I had both been volunteering a lot of our time to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, but we've really stepped back from that. We both put in a lot of time, a lot of energy, and because of the leadership we didn't feel like it was a good use of our time to continue. You can read a little bit more in the comments section of this blogdowntown post. It's quite the kerfluffle. I'll continue to support worthwhile activities and volunteer for specific projects, but mostly I hope that the upcoming elections bring about a drastic change in the leadership so that we can remain involved and active in our community.

You've probably heard about Raw Materials and Winstead Adams Projects, our new venture with my brother-in-law James. That's been keeping me very busy, but I'm amazed at how much I'm digging the work. Maybe because I'm spending more time talking to artists than I thought I would. Have you come to see any of our shows? We'll be open for this month's Downtown Art Walk (we're a sponsor!), which is this Thursday. Stop by and say hi if you're in the neighborhood, and take a look at some amazing works of art.

I know I'm leaving out a lot of stuff, but I'll probably blog about stuff as I remember. And I promise I won't let that much time go between posts again.

last weekend started on wednesday

This is how far behind I am, the pic above was from the Bloggers & Beer event at the Library Bar - not last week, but the week before. I know, I suck. Anyway, we started by attending the DLANC Board Meeting at the Palace Theater. I almost forgot how funny downtown booster Hal Bastian is. He was such a riot, he added a shot of comedy to an already hilarious meeting. We ate pizza, discussed stuff, and then Dave projected his downtown filming notifications map on a large screen. If you'll notice, I placed a permanent link to it on my sidebar, for easy access. Hal also announced a community event for downtown Los Angeles dogs of all faiths (and their humans), comprehensively called "Downtown Dog Day Afternoon at the Cathedral". Sadly, I don't think my Wonton will be old enough to attend.

Afterwards, Dave, Penelope, Jim and I walked over to the Library Bar to check out the Bloggers & Beer thing. I was hoping to finally meet Mondo Rick-o, but I don't think he showed up. I also realized that most of the pics on his blog are of him sans shirt, which would make it difficult to recognize him since he'd most likely be wearing a shirt. It was a fun event and I'll probably go back to the Library Bar when it isn't lousy with bloggers (not that there's anything wrong with bloggers).