breakinglight11 | Entries tagged with to do list

It's that time of year that I think making a list of all my projects, in the order in which they are should be prioritized, would be a solid idea. Plus I like to let people know all the cool stuff I'm working on. They are organized by which month's ending I need to have them done:

July

Editing the Mrs. Hawking pilot. In a very good meeting with my producer contact, she gave us some solid critiques for the next version. They actually were easier to incorporate than we feared they'd be. We're aiming to have the next version done by the end of the month to send back to her. It's almost done, it just needs one more pass or so to make sure all the changes are smoothly incorporated.

Treatment for Vivat Regina. This is basically a special kind of summary for how this story would work as an episode. This will get sent in along with the edited pilot and be appended to the Mrs. Hawking show bible.

Treatment for Base Instruments. Basically the same deal; write it up as if it were an episode of the series.

August

Finishing the Hood pilot. This is the new piece we're going to send along. Currently it's about half-drafted, and we're shooting to have it finished to get feedback from a reading dinner early next month. This is the biggest project in the package, so we may get the first three completed and sent before we're done with this, so we don't keep her waiting too long.

Finalizing my Freshman Comp syllabus. This is basically done. I just need to add in the page numbers from the new version of the textbook, which I'll be receiving later this week.

Finalizing my Essentials of English syllabus. Also basically done, requiring only the addition of page numbers.

Finalizing my Business Writing syllabus. This one needs more work, as I've never taught business writing before and am new to designing a class for it. I'm trying to chip away at it a little at a time, but it needs to be done by the end of August.

September

Put together Peggy's Properties. This is the ten-minute play I am directing for the Shorts Festival Chameleon's Dish Theatre is holding at the Democracy Center on September 23rd and 24th.

Finalized Base Instruments script for performance. We will begin rehearsals in late October, but I'd like to have the script all edited and ready in advance. I know some the actors would appreciate the advance look.

Blocking Base Instruments. Again, we start rehearsing in October, but it's important for me to be as prepared as possible going into the process. The more I can get done in advance, the less I have to worry about while I'm also teaching three classes and getting all the other aspects of production in order.

Having finished a major writing project in a very short span of time, I'm a bit burnt out. I've got a quiet night at home tonight, which would be a good time to write, but I'm really feeling it. Unfortunately I still have a ton of projects yet to do, listed here for my reference:

I need to edit that piece, and if possible add a subplot. But I need a touch of distance before I can manage that.

I need to outline the plot of the new musical I'm going to be writing with a gentleman I met while modeling.

I need to write more horde characters for Her Majesty's Privy Council larp to be running at Intercon N.

I want to write more of Sundan, the play after the tone and style of Shakespeare I've been working on off and on.

I need to write that new all-roleplay story-based oneshot tabletop RPG I've been planning. I had so much fun with the Bloom of May that I want to do another one like it, probably also set in the Tailor universe.

And probably some other stuff. But that's enough already. We'll see if I can muster any focus for the job.

Thanks so much to everyone who offered supportive words the other day, I'm really grateful to everyone for reaching out. I'm still feeling discouraged about my thesis, but I'm taking a little mental break from it to see if I can buck myself up. Still, always plenty of writing-related chores.

Besides my thesis, which I will return to in some form shortly, I also have to outline my seminar. It's about taking the practical concerns of theatrical production in mind when you're writing a play, or, in other words, being aware that actors can't change clothes in zero seconds and if somebody carries a prop on, somebody's going to have to carry it off again if you don't want it to stay onstage. These things are less obvious than you might think if you're not thinking too hard about it while writing.

I need to finish the character sheets for the two new PCs in Break a Leg. Also I need to add in references to those characters in the other sheets. Then they need to get sent out. Castings and costuming hints have already gone out, so people have plenty of time to prepare, but sheets need to get done too.

I'm also going to be helping run The Prince Comes of Age at Festival, so I'm reading the sheets to familiarize myself with the game. I've gotten through a few, and they are fun to read, but I've got a lot left.

I've also scheduled the second run of The Bloom of May. I've got to cast it and get the sheets out for that too. Shouldn't be too hard with only five players and just using my best judgment rather than questionnaires. I also want to write out a complete GM's guide for this at some point, but of course there's no rush on that so it's not a big priority.

After a fun but intensely packed weekend, my six homework-free weeks have officially begun! What do I plan to do with this glorious time, do you ask?

What ALL THE THINGS do I intend to DO, you ask?

- WRITE! There are three things that I want to focus on now. I want to noodle a bit on Break a Leg, my short funny metatheatrical larp. I want to work on back-engineering the work I did for the Tailor screenplay to finish the audio drama version. And I want to make a little headway on Mrs. Hawking. Next semester I'll be doing playwrighting again and I think that is what I would like to work on then. If I make a little headway on it now, maybe I can have enough of it done to submit pieces for my workshop manuscript for the residency.

- GARDEN! I want to plant the three daylilies we took home as favors from Nat and Vik's gorgeous wedding. I've never grown plants myself before, but my dad is an avid vegetable gardener and keeps lots of decorative flowers and trees in the yard, so I'm sure he could instruct me on how to raise a few pretty lilies. I'm not sure what color they are; orange is my favorite, but the yellow and the burgundy-red kinds are beautiful as well. I need to buy a planter and some potting soil.

- READ! I read constantly for entertainment, but it's mostly been blogs and the Internet and stuff. The books I've gotten to read for school, such as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances, have reminded me how much I'm missing out on. Bernie lent me Mistborn, so I guess I'll start with that, but I want to read at least one, maybe two real books this month.

- EXERCISE! I've been doing about one really hard workout a week, plus going to the Tuesday night ballet class that my rehearsal doesn't conflict with, but that's not enough. Now that I can spare the time, and I am going to get as much exercise as I can before I get busy again. I keep saying I'm going to do this, but I need to actually get off my ass when I don't have an excuse not to!

- DANCE! Going along with the exercise thing, I want to practice ballet. Also my INSANE GEEKY STUPID IDEA is that I want to choreograph an Avengers-themed dance piece to the movie soundtrack, and even if that never goes anywhere, it's powerfully in my head right now and working on it at the very least will get me dancing and exercising! As

lediva* wisely said, you always feel better going with that feeling of inspiration than you do regretting that you never went for it.

- SEW! I want to finish my Gertie crinoline 2.0 and the plaid skirt I drafted a while ago.

morethings5* has gotten going with his sewing blog Gathering Pins and it's inspired me. The only way to progress is to practice, and I know I have the chunks of time necessary to really dig into my projects.

This may all be too much for just six weeks of free afternoons (my evenings are still pretty booked up) but I'd rather shoot for the moon and see how much I accomplish!

YAY THINGS!

All that remains before I can lose my brain to larp:

- Get cash to give to Shannon for dead dog
- Buy edible contribution to con suite
- Prepare edible contribution to con suite
- Shower so as to render myself inoffensive to other con goers
- Lay out my costumes
- Make up the couches and spare mattress for crashers

Just twenty minutes till I can get started.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Bleh. Had a lovely break at home, spending quality time with the family, but now I am back and this morning I felt pretty lousy. Slammed with work, my homework due date looming, couldn't find my goddamn wallet, and on top of it all, I developed a bad sore throat. I haven't been sick in a while, I guess I'm due. I was pretty freaked about it all this morning, but fortunately I kept my head, worked through my stuff, found my wallet and even finished my assignment for school. Good thing, too. The next two weeks are going to be packed with obligations and responsibilities, and the way I'm feeling right now I'm really not feeling up to them. But I'm pulling myself together and going to buckle down. I may lose it when I get stressed for a bit, but I always work through it in the end.

So. Screenwriting assignment number three is done. Got to do my third sci fi and fantasy assignment. Got to print and pack The Stand. Going to get together with my co-GMs to print and pack Paranoia. Got ballet and two days of rehearsal. Busy. Good things, but demanding, and not so easy when you're sick.

I was a productive little worker Bee over the last few days. I set several goals for myself to accomplish this weekend and I believe I managed every one of them. What I have done includes:

- Finishing my first assignment for screenwriting
- Writing an additional scene for Tailor
- Incorporating ten thousand steps of walking into my routine
- Making headway into my sewing text
- Starting the first Hipster Feminist plot line
- Cleaning my room

I have also consumed several gallons of apple cider in an effort to stave off my chronic dehydration, but that's probably not an accomplishment so much.

Still that leaves a number of things. First and foremost, I need to do my first assignment for science fiction and fantasy. Unfortunately I put this off a lot in favor of the screenwriting assignment, so I don't have a ton of time left for this. I'll chunk this out better for the second round of assignments.

I also really have to edit that additional scene for Tailor. In my desire to just get it done, I broke with my usual pattern of tweaking as I go and instead just banged out the scene from start to finish. Jared and Kindness were the first to read it, and they both gave the extremely spot-on criticism that there isn't enough conflict in the scene. There needs to be more of a struggle for the information to come out, as it is information Kenneth would want to conceal. Plus, conflict raises tension, always necessary for drama. Kenneth is the character Jared is playing, and in the course of developing his performance he tends to internalize a very well-defined idea of who his character is, and Kenneth just spilling his guts wasn't in the conception he'd gotten of the man. Kindness is a man of excellent artistic taste, who I thank for being Palamon-like enough to give it to me straight, both on the positives and the negatives of what he sees in my pieces. I was lucky they were my first responders to the scene, because now I know what I have to do to fix it.

Now that I've taken the plunge and begun the first-ever tweet chain plot for Hipster Feminist, I need to be on top of where the action's going. I am now two tweets in, so there's no going back. ;-) I haven't done as much working out of the storyline or the tweets illustrating thereof as I would have liked, so I have to get on it. They tend to come out funnier when I come up with them in advance and I can tweak them into optimum shape.

I hope everyone has as lovely a Christmas as I have had here at my parents' place in Allentown, Pennsylvania. To Mom and Dad's delight, I was lucky enough to get to work from home all this week, so as long as I attend to my computer I am permitted to spend more time with the family. It's very special that we get to spend so much time together, as we rarely have that long a period available. We have had a wonderful holiday so far, cooking wonderful meals and spending quality time together. I'm also planning to use this vacation, the largest chunk of unstructured time I've had or will have for ages, to work on projects and just do the things I want to do. I hope to practice some sewing under my mom's tutelage, exercise every day, play the copy of Skyward Sword Bernie so sweetly gave me, and do as much work as possible on the script for Tailor of Riddling Way. So far I've not done much other than the workouts, but that's because our Christmas celebration has taken up all the time. For the rest of my break I should be able to get to my list of things to do.

Brain is kind of racing today. I have been ridiculously busy over the last few days, and the time devoted to that stuff has made it so I haven't had the time to do a lot of other stuff that also needs doing. After I get off of work today I will be running over to Jared's house to help him move to Rule 34 in Somerville. It shouldn't be too hard, we will be a crew of four and all we have to room is the contents of a bedroom and a couple boxes of kosher cookware. But there's so much more to do, and stuff that needs to be done now rather than later. I have to cast Oz for its run on the 25th, I have to finish my homework for the upcoming due date, I have to remember to schedule an appointment to renew my prescriptions... and none of it can be put off.

I am going to be the proverbial headless chicken this weekend. So much for enjoying Labor Day.

Have been feeling blah and dissatisfied with myself lately, so I have made a list of things I want to do because I think they will be good for me, or least advantageous.

- Get my homework assignment done for next week. This is very important.

- Stick to my biweekly theater writing challenge.

- Work out six days a week. I found out when I was at home exactly how much weight I've gained and I thought I was going to faint. It's been my decreased activity level that's causing this, and that cannot stand.

- Overhaul my diet. I know it's not the real problem here, but my once-impeccable habits are slipping.

- Go back to doing my skincare routine every night before bed. I've broken out pretty badly.

- Touch up the white trim in my bedroom.

- Get my kitchen knives and scissors sharpened.

- Reexamine my budget and make sure I know where everything's going

- Put together Steph's apron. It's all cut out and pinned together, it just needs to be assembled for real.

- Make Jared an apron. It is also cut out, but I think I should buy some interfacing for it to make it sturdier.

- Plan grocery shopping trips for the whole week ahead of time. I'm slipping back into the habit of shopping for dinner only, which is not an efficient or economical habit.

- Work on being nicer to people. I am letting feeling annoyed/sick/angry/lousy/generally awful affect how I treat others, and I need to see that stop.

Though yesterday was not as productive as I hoped it would be-- I ended up taking a long nap, which I needed, but it ate up more time than I would have liked --still I have accomplished a lot lately. I finished brushing up my old cut of Othello, a play so long it simply does not do to perform it unedited anymore, and passed it along to Jane and Emily for them to work on over winter break. I am making lots of progress on The Stand, a game I am trying a new style of work on, that of holding off writing character sheets until I have totally hammered out the plot. Normally I just write as it occurs to me, and the sheets end up taking forever. I think this method may make the process go more smoothly once I finally get down to it. I've gotten one out of three characters done for the next Resonance meeting. I have kept up with my every-other-weekday posting schedule for my Examiner.com articles. And, in a department that has frustrated and demoralized me a lot recently, I finally got back on the horse and gave another shot. I won't say any more about it in case it doesn't turn out, but failure and not trying have the same end result, so I figure the only way to have a better outcome than that is to give it another shot. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Still, there is a lot to go. Those two other Resonance characters have to be done by the meeting this coming Sunday. I need to get to the point where I actually can start breezing through those Stand character sheets like I hope I will. And over the next month, the script for Merely Players needs to be finished. That's not a small amount of work right there. But I am pleased with the projects I'm working on; I'm proud to be part of them and though sometimes I just want to lay in a lump and whine, "I don't waaaaaaaaaant to write anything!" it is always worth pushing myself in the end. ;-)

Today is for getting things done. I have a number of writing projects that I need to buckle down on, and the good start I got yesterday makes me all the more keen to make a dent in them. I finished my Resonance characters and brought them to the meeting, and today I was struck with an idea for another that I can do for the next meeting. I wrote it just now, and I can cross off one of my three. Yay! Heh, I have a funny tendnecy to write one of my assignments immediately after the previous meeting and forget to do my other assignments until the day before the next one. *eye roll*

But now I shall move on to other things. I have a lot of stuff on my list right now, because idle hands are the devil's blah blah blah. My plan is to go home, cook myself a big tasty pot of cream of broccoli soup, and munch this warming brew all day while getting my writing done. My list as it currently stands:

- Work on The Stand
- Write at least 2 more sheets for Resonance by the next meeting on 12/12
- Finish going over my cut of Othello to give to aurora_knight so that if her proposal goes through she can work with it over the break
- Work on putting together a script for a cabaret-style Shakespeare revue performance put on by a fictional Shakespeare troupe, because HTP seems interested in doing another side project this coming semester

Since I'm feeling pretty good right now, I am settling my brain onto the various things I feel like I should work on in the near future.

I think it's time to get serious about looking for a different job. The one I've got now is perfectly pleasant and all, and they've been very nice to me here, but it's not really what I want to be doing and while the pay isn't bad, they don't give me as many hours as would take some of the pressure off the old budget. So I think it's time to try and find something more to my interest that pays a little better. I know it's a tough market out there, but I have recently just reached one full solid year of real work experience, and I know that it's usually easier to find a job once you have one and prove you could hold it down. So I'm a little hopeful. Ideally I'd like something in writing, editing, or publishing, so that's where I'm concentrating my search. I am not relishing the whole searching and applying process, but I've gotten a few applications out there and I am resolved to buckle down on this.

I really need to get writing again. It's been a while since I really did serious writing-- there was The Labor Wars, but that is finished now and I should keep myself busy. I certainly need to get cracking on my Intercon K bid, The Stand. I've actually made some progress on it recently that I'm very pleased with, but I don't want to lose momentum. Also, I should really work on some non-gaming stuff, something that I could actually maybe possibly someday take to a publisher and take a shot at the the hopeless pipe dream I'd really like to go after, being a professional writer. I have a lot of stuff started that has languished due to being busy with life, school, work, gaming, and stress, and a lot of it really wasn't half-bad. I am resolved to work on The Stand as well as a piece of literature that maybe I could someday get published.

Also, I want to continue the progress I've made on actually taking care of my health. I am not working out every day like I wanted to, but I am working out more frequently now than I was before. I have not been perfect about my skin care routine, but my acne is greatly reduced and my face looks clearer than it has in ages. I've also been drinking a lot more water. Since Jared's parents gave me this really nice metal water bottle, I've been carrying it around and actually drinking from it. The only downside is my body is still accustomed to being chronically on the edge of dehydration that it doesn't know what to do with all the extra water, and so I'm sent running to the bathroom every fifteen minutes. My eating habits are mostly okay, though this past week or so they were all thrown to hell. I'll have to get back on track with that. I've also decided that I'm going to have at least one day a week where I don't eat or buy any meat. This is more for environmental and pocketbook reasons than health, but I think it's a good small change to make.

The last thing is, I've been something of a recluse lately. My being extremely busy (between work, chores, and rehearsal, my life was gone) and feeling a bit low has kept me from doing much of anything with friends. I mean to rectify this. In the weeks to come, I want to have social events and do fun things with friends again. I know I certainly didn't have nearly as many dinner parties as I meant to this summer. Please don't think I have forgotten you all, it's just my way to withdraw when the stress mounts. But if I'm managing it better and working on improving the situations that cause it in other parts of my life, I should be able to get back to my old self again.

With all the stress I've felt lately, I think having some positive efforts to focus on will help me keep steady and eventually improve. The change will do me good.

Feeling overwhelmed. I am so behind on the responsibilities of life and work that I feel like all I do is run from one thing to the next and never make any headway. My to do list seems a mile long, and I have no idea where to begin. On top of that, my body seems to be rebelling in every way possible; I feel like someone should hang a biohazard sign around my neck. I am, needless to say, not at the top of my game right now.

I had forgotten until Thursday night that there were two all-day rehearsals for Love's Labor's Lost this weekend. I'm sure they'll go fine, but I really could have used the time to try and get other things done. I also want to go to

oakenguy's show tonight; I've always wanted to see him act, and the fact that the show is Shakespeare-themed I'm even more excited. I arranged for two tickets, but in my distracted state I forgot to invite anyone to come with me. If anyone wants to attend an 8PM at the Unity Church of God, 6 William St., Somerville (Davis Square), give me a call and let me know. See www.theatreatfirst.com if you'd like more information.

Finally Kindness's long-awaited post-bac show has come to fruition. We did our performance in front of his magnificent and meticulously-constructed environment involving suspended tree branches, flowers, nails, hooks, domestic items, and various accoutrements reflecting the life of a little girl. i think he was pleased with it; I had fun doing it, and it was certainly a unique experience for me as an actor and an interesting addition to my creative resume. I've done art before, but I've never been art before. :-) His installation will be in the Dreitzer Gallery in Spingold for the rest of the week if you missed last night. I, sadly, being living art, will not be.

*Yawn* I've gone to bed at a ridiculously early hour (10PM on Monday, 10PM on Tuesday, 9PM yesterday) every night so far this week, and yet I don't feel recharged or well enough rested for having slept so long. I don't feel sick, but I wonder if something's up. I'm hoping the excitement of Festival this weekend will cancel out my early-evening heaviness so I'm not a drag the next couple of nights.

I'd like to go to BSCF tonight and hang with people, but I have to prioritize my chores in preparation for the weekend. I have most of the sheets printed, but none of the cards, and nothing's packed yet. I may even have to buy a few new sets of supplies, like folders and playing cards. I need to put clean sheets on the guest bed for Seamus Reynolds who will be crashing at Elsinore for the weekend. And I have to finish reading the materials for LXHS. I'll only go to BSCF if I've accomplished enough of all of that by the time seven rolls around, but I doubt I will be able to afford it.

I could try to get a bit of work done on my next character sheet assignment for Labor Wars, as we have a meeting next Tuesday. But I won't be working on Monday next due to the need to work a monstrously long day on the following Thursday, so I should at least have all of that day to finish up the sheet. It'll be nice to have a day to recover after what promises to be a packed and possibly sleep-deprived three days.

The long-awaited conclusion to the infiltration of the undergound boxing ring will finally happen in tonight's session of Burn Notice. I think I'm finally feeling confident in what I've got planned. I have a decent storyline in mind, and I actually think I've planned the combat portions to the point where I can capably run them, or at least fake it convincingly enough. :-) That's always been my problem, that the rules are so opaque to me that I'm afraid if I even try to make things up as I go, it'll be so transparently wrong and off that it just won't work. But I've done my homework for this and I think I can swing it. We'll see how it goes.

Organizing this session is a pretty significant accomplishment off my to-do list. I feel like accomplishing more things. I want to finish at least one more item today. Let's go see what that shall be.

The weariness is now setting in. The last week and a half has been a mile a minute, and I'm sure you all know by now how much I hate it when I don't have time to myself due to the packed nature of my schedule.

Bernie has this theory that "recharge time," as he calls it, is different for you depending on whether or not you're an introvert or an extrovert. Extroverts recharge by hanging out with people; the socialization relaxes them and makes them feel better about things. Introverts recharge by being alone; they relax by not having the outside stimulation of other people. I am very much the latter, and I know that when I don't get my alone time for a while, I just start to wear down. It's been days since I had any time to myself, or time when I wasn't committed to something. Don't get me wrong, most of my commitments were voluntary and many of them were a lot of fun, it's just that after a while I get so burnt out on socialization and scheduling that I just want to crawl into my room and hide in the quiet for a while.

It's not over yet. I've conquered a large chunk of it, but there's still miles to go before I sleep. My current to do list is no longer relevant, so it's time for a new one. The most pressing thing on the table is getting ready for SFS Live Action Weekend. Oz is almost completely ready, just requires some printing and packing yet. Paranoia we finished editing the sheets for last night, so they should be going out this morning. There are only a few more writing tasks left in that game, but we can probably start printing before that's finished. Once those are ready, that's a big burden off my shoulders. Of course, I still have to costume for the two games I'm playing, Bard of Avalon and Chateau Ennui. I think I've got everything I need for Chateau, but I'm cross-cast in Bard and the theme is Elizabethan-fairy, so I'll probably have to raid the Hold Thy Peace storeroom for period guy clothes.

One thing at a time, I tell myself. And the next free evening I have I think will be spent locked away in my room, recharging with some much-needed alone time.

I have done little else besides work since I got home for this break. Good thing, too, as I have a ton to do-- printing games, writing games, writing for my internship, memorizing my lines, and studying. I'm actually quite pleased by how productive I've been, but there's still a lot to go. Alice is mostly printed, I've memorized two scenes, I've got a good start on Intercon costumes, and I'm currently working on my internship assignment for tomorrow night's call. I'd better keep going; can't let myself start slacking now.

~~Write paper for Faulkner class for 8/23~~
~~Study for Latin quiz for 8/27~~
~~Write paper for theatrical literature class for 8/28~~
~~Memorize Cordelia's lines for scene 1.1~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 1.4~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 1.5~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 2.4~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 3.2~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 3.4~~
~~Memorize Fool's lines for scene 3.6~~
~~Memorize Cordelia's lines for scene 4.3~~
~~Memorize Cordelia's lines for scene 4.5~~
~~Memorize Cordelia's lines for scene 5.3~~
~~Clean house~~
~~Deposit paychecks~~

To Do List:

Not let Morrowind eat EVERY day
Wake up at reasonable hour
Work out every day, alternating running with weight routine
Take care of horrendous acne by using full acne regime twice daily
Drink enough water to not be chronically dehydrated
Work on one-shot, hopefully finishing before returning to Waltham
Work on steampunk game

Let's see how I do.

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All Eyes on Me

"Do you know why heroes boast? Because it makes them brave."

Entries tagged with to do list

Projects for the next three months

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Six homework-free weeks to DO ALL THE THINGS!

Final to do list before Festival

Working through it all

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Christmas vacation

So much to do

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The current state of my to-do list

Current to do list