At the office

Woke up to a smattering of snow and black ice on the streets -- so naturally the entire Portland public school system (K12) shut down. Folks here from the midwest and east think we're terrified of weather, and they may be right. But the university is open at normal schedule, so here I am.

A terrific surprise in my mailbox! The coursepack to a course at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia deliciously called "Cold Case: Mystery and History in the Theatre," in which they look at such theatrical puzzles as who killed Marlowe, who was Shakespeare, and -- and here's where I come in -- did Moliere marry his own daughter? For the latter, they are studying my play Sad Laughter, which addresses this issue. I gave the prof. permission earlier, of course -- but I love it when my work is used in a classroom, which happens from time to time. This class sounds like one I'd love to sit in on.

This morning, before leaving, I got more work done on the new screenplay, and I'm not about ten pages from the end, I think. One last big fight on the plane, the safe landing, and the end. I may finish today. I need to go get a bowl of warm soup before office hours begin but otherwise my time appears to be free.

This is a great time in my life. I still am lost in Sally but I have faith I can find my way out of the mess of the draft. And, of course, I'm curious to see the contract from the agent, there are so many fluxuations in the market, all of them against the interests of the writer. At this point in my career, I see an agent as a convenience, not a necessity, since my "public" ambitions are so low (not quite non-existent, but I'm getting there).

I am really eager to return to piano lessons tomorrow. And oh yes, the stolen van is repaired and ready to pick up, which we'll do after my lessons tomorrow.