Rae Roy's Blog, page 44

Make-It Monday – Energy

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This weekend I went to Montreal to spend time with friends while practicing martial arts.

I struggled a little as the seminar was Muso Shinden Ryu and we practice Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. Some things are subtly different like how we block when doing Ukenagashi. Ours is more angled and we use the edge rather than the flat part to block with, for example. If you don’t know the differences, you may go back to your own dojo and do things incorrectly. Hopefully that doesn’t happen to me tomorrow.

At the start of the weekend, my energy was all wrong. I felt pretty depleted from school and tired of most things. Especially social media.

But also, my surroundings haven’t been how I would like them to be and I think that has been disrupting my energy. And it’s not just that I need to get rid of more stuff. That’s part of it, but I realized that I was surrounded by a wall colour I chose five years ago partly because my ex never let me do such a thing. It was like it was more about doing something to spite him than it was about doing something good for me.

So, I’m repainting my walls. I’ve chosen a blue because blue has always been my favourite colour. It’s a light blue-grey called sea spray that is very calming while being energizing. Depending on the time of day, it looks different and I like that. It’s like it’s more than one colour at once. My car is like that too. So are my glasses. I guess I’m drawn to things like that…

While the old paint is still bleeding through the new after one coat, it feels way better than it did. I can’t stop looking at it. Here’s a teaser:

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With a six-hour wait time between coats, it’s going to take a while to complete, but I think it’ll be well worth the effort.

I also feel better after spending time with good friends enjoying sushi, sake, chocolate, and conversation.

I think I’ll take tonight off and get back at the homework tomorrow. I’m going to try and get three things done during this break: a play review (mostly written because of the notes I took while watching it), a book review (still reading it, but making notes as I go along), and a hefty chunk of reading/analyzing of a movie for a presentation that’s coming up. If I get all that done, I’ll start writing my One Act Play and continue with my feature film. After all that is more work on the original TV show.

I got a little stressed thinking about all that, but then I looked at my walls and I felt calm again.

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

 

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Thoughtful Thursday – Burnt

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I’m feeling a little burnt out this week. The recommended treatment for that is human connection, according to the internet.

It’s a good thing next week is reading week and I’m off to hang with friends and engross myself in martial arts.

I need a breather.

First, I need to see if I have any laundry that needs to be done. I also need to clean out my car, pack, and charge my booster pack.

I should also try to get some homework done, but I asked for an extension. It’s not something I do ever, but I really need to have a moment. I worked my butt off throughout the strike, but I’m just having trouble this week.

Maybe I’ll be okay once I get some sleep.

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

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Warrior Wednesday – Love

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Love is a complicated thing that often seems as though it should be far simpler.

Tonight, I saw a play whose main theme was love. It’s called Little Boxes and it’s playing at Arts Court as part of The Undercurrents Festival. We were fortunate to see the actors afterwards and learn about the writing of it.

For me, it was cathartic. The play features a co-dependent and abusive relationship. I’m glad I read about it before I saw it because there were some parts that hit a little close to home.

So why was it cathartic? Well, in my teen years, I was a theatre kid. In fact, I was working as stage crew in my spare time when I wasn’t acting or crewing a school production. I even did summer theatre. Then it wasn’t long before I stopped doing theatre altogether and busied myself with a boyfriend who later became my husband.

Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of my divorce. Sitting in that theatre tonight, I realized just how much I’ve missed it. I also realized that I’ve come full circle and am finally living the life I was always meant to live.

I’m looking forward to my short play being performed later this year. I’m excited to see what happens with my longer play as well.

I’m enjoying writing my film and have a couple of leads on where to send it when it’s done.

I also got over my fear of The Rideau Centre tonight!

This weekend, I’m off to visit friends and train hard at a 2-day iaido seminar. I’m really looking forward to it and it’s reading week when I return.

I’m feeling pretty blessed right now

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

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Make It Monday – Frustration

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I’ve been really frustrated the last few days. What has me frustrated? Just about everything.

Music

Yesterday, I tried to play a song on guitar along with the music. It was a song we learned when I took guitar lessons. I couldn’t do it as I didn’t have the right strum pattern for it and it’s actually in 3/4 time with the downward strum on the first and third beats, but then the sheets I have often show a chord change on a second beat when there isn’t supposed to be strumming! I’m thinking something is messed up there somewhere. So I tried another. That one, our music didn’t have the lead in stuff before the chords come in, so I had no idea when I was supposed to play what. I ended up having to go to a super rudimentary song that has two chords and only down strums on each beat in a 4/4 song. At least I was playing along with a song at the speed it’s supposed to be played at, but I felt so far from anything that I want to be playing. I want to make an album someday, so I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Writing

I have so many things I want to write and not enough time to write it in. I want to get my novel done. I want to write songs. I have so many ideas for stories in a variety of mediums that I want to get out into the world. I’m now understanding the meaning of the quote, “The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” -Philip Roth

I think I’ll feel better once I get just about anything done, but most of our projects are in bits and pieces and won’t be finished until the end of the school year.

Weather

It’s cold and damp in Ottawa today and it has my ankles upset, which is making walking anywhere unpleasant. I’m yearning to live somewhere warmer.

Placement

Placement has been a bit challenging in the social sense. My supervisor was too busy most of the days I’d been there and conversation seemed to be more difficult than I think it should have been. It was better this past Friday though. What it has reinforced to me is that I’m really not wanting a typical 9 to 5 office worker lifestyle these days. I think freelancing is more my thing at this time in my life unless I get on staff for a TV show. I find it annoying to go out to write when I can do it from anywhere.

Home

I’m slowly getting rid of things I don’t want or need, but there is still so much junk to go through. When did I get all this stuff?

I have this urge to paint my connected living room, dining room, and hall/entrance. I’m hating my surroundings, basically. I want a neutral wall colour, but when will I have time to paint? I suppose I might during reading week in between homework. It’s the cheapest home reno one can do and I want my place in a sell-able state just in case.

School

I want to knock anything off that I can without group partners, so I can concentrate on the things that will be important for my portfolio. Also, just to feel like I’m accomplishing ANYTHING.

One of the things I’m working on getting off my plate is a book review. I’m reading Write Screenplays That Sell the Ackerman Way by Hal Ackerman. In it he says, “Your aspirations will nearly always be out of the reach of your ability to attain them, but this is the irritation in the oyster that creates the pearl.” – Hal Ackerman

I’m hoping all this frustration is leading somewhere good. Right now, so much of my future is still murky and it’s a little unsettling.

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

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Thoughtful Thursday – Healthy Ways to Reduce Stress

[image error]One of the reasons I’m able to get so much done in a week without losing my mind is that I make time for some self-care.

If, like me, you’re feeling like there is a ton of stuff to manage in your life right now, there are many things you can do for even just 10 minutes that will help you recharge and give you that extra bit you need to tackle it all.

Here is a list of 20 healthy ways to cope with stress:

1. Yoga and/or meditation

2. Stress balls

3. Exercise/Working out (running, jogging, tennis, CrossFit, dancing, etc)

4. Martial arts

5. Human Contact (Hugs, Sex)

6. Reading

7. Sipping tea

8. Massage (whether professional or trading with a friend)

9. Laughing and Breathing

10. Knitting

11. Listening to music

12. Church

13. Hanging with a friend

14. Journaling

15. Playing with pets (toddlers can work too)

16. Creating something (painting, writing, carving, sewing, etc)

17. Taking a hot bath

18. A nature walk

19. Having an action plan

20. Getting help from a counselor

My top seven are in bold.

Martial arts puts me in a different place where I have to focus on my surroundings and forget about the stresses of the day.

Reading can transport you to another world while disconnecting you from technology. That matters because you won’t have notifications or social media drama in your face adding to the mountain of stress.

Laughing and breathing are such simple things. If you take a deep breath in and hold it for 6 seconds before letting it go and repeat that 3 or more times, you’ll start feeling better.

Music speaks to my soul in a way that nothing else does. The right music can change everything.

Journaling helps even if the reason you’re stressed is because you have a crap ton of things to write. Why? It lets you get some of those other thoughts out of your head, so you can focus on the things you need to get done.

I love going on nature walks in warmer weather. There is something soothing about getting away from walls, technology, and other man-made things.

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

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Warrior Wednesday – Intermittent Fasting

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Each person’s connection to food is different. I have friends who are vegan because meat makes them ill. I have a lot of friends who are gluten free whether Celiac, IBS, or wheat allergy. Most of my friends can eat whatever they want, but choose to restrict themselves for health reasons or weight-loss.

I’ve been researching Intermittent Fasting for awhile now and I think I’m going to give it a whirl. Not because I feel I need to lose a ton of weight, but because I think it would be beneficial for me for a number of reasons. I’m often too pressed for time in the mornings to eat breakfast and it’s really not bad to eat a little less when you have IBS.

If you’ve never heard of Intermittent Fasting before, basically you restrict your eating to part of the day. There are a couple of methods. One of them is where you have an 8 hour period where you can eat and the rest is fasted. Like from noon to 8pm. Another method is to severely restrict on 2 days of the week. Another is to do a 24-hour fast once or twice a week.

The benefits go far beyond losing weight to reducing risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. It is also supposed to reduce overall inflammation and improve your cognitive function. Well, as long as you don’t binge like a fool during your eating window anyway.

Between busyness and the ever present need to reduce inflammation along with a little extra on my tummy, I think it might be a good idea.

I suspect that I’ll experience some hanger early on, but I hear that should also go away.

More on Intermittent Fasting.

And that’s how life’s river flows today.

R~

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Make It Monday – Swamped But Surviving

[image error]In the last week I have done the following:

Completed and submitted a scene where two people try to convince another of something.
Completed and submitted an optional short film pitch to be eligible to pitch it on our trip.
Peer reviewed the first act of a classmate’s feature film.
Had my first fight with my TV partner. We figured it out and we’re good.
My partner and I completed a 1-pager for our TV show and submitted it.
Went to martial arts.
Completed a creative approach for placement and submitted it.
Met with the comedy group in prep for the show.
Completed and submitted my career plan.
Went to placement where I worked on a script for described video.
Went to rehearsal for the comedy show.
Did the comedy show.
Wrote the other eight pages for my feature film and submitted it.
Completed the synopsis for my one-act play to be submitted today.
Began the pitch document for our TV show to be finished today and presented tomorrow.
Began the assignment due on Thursday.
Began reading a book for the book review we have to do.
Fallen asleep numerous times from exhaustion.

The day of the comedy show was a frustrating one. It started with me waking from a dream that involved a boy from high school. I had a crush on this boy many years ago and one particular friend used to meet up with me nearly every day to buy food from the chip stand he worked at. It wasn’t until the end of the summer that I got up the courage to ask him out. By then he had just started dating something else.

That friend then messaged me to tell me her mother passed away

Warrior Wednesday – The Etiquette of Commas

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I meant to post yesterday, but I crashed out of exhaustion. Then I went and swung my sword around for a bit.

I had this thought today about writing screenplays and martial arts and came to, what I think is, a decent conclusion.

We often hear about how important having the scene headers correct and using proper grammar is. There are teachers that refuse to read further if you have errors like comma splices. Sometimes, it can feel like they’re just mean-spirited. The thing is that there are many people like that in the industry. I don’t want my work passed over because it was painful to read.

As I think about this more, I see the link to martial arts. Budo is life and life is budo after all.

What’s the link?

Commas and whatnot are like etiquette. Sometimes it feels silly to place so much importance on something that seems so small. But small things add up to big things. In iaido, we spend a lot of time trying to perfect the handling of our sageo (sword cord). It’s partly about showing respect for our equipment, but it’s also about mastery. If we keep our cord, a rather floppy object, in check at all times, it means we can ensure we’ll transfer that level of care into bigger areas and be able to stay alive or land that writing gig a lot easier. It shows respect for our teachers and our craft.

Last night, we practiced the Oku standing set. I’m not sure how much sunk into my brain as there has been a lot of homework lately and my mind feels drunk with knowledge that I don’t quite know how to use yet. It was a good workout though and I enjoyed seeing my dojo mates.

Tomorrow I have to add 6 to 10 pages to my feature film as I may be hungover on Saturday after Friday’s comedy show fund-raiser. I’m hoping it doesn’t take 2.5 hours to get home like it did today. That was… Annoying.

And that’s how the river of life flows today.

R~

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Make-It Monday – Embracing Changes

[image error]Okay, so last week I finished a skit for our fund-raiser and I had my first day of placement, which was decent. I also completed Act One of my feature film script and peer reviewed a friend’s Act One.

We once had groups based on genre that we counted on to review our work. Then the teacher realized a bunch of people no longer wanted to write features, so they were given the option to write two short films instead. Well, that caused a bit of a problem because the people writing shorts preferred to review shorts and the people writing features were left in the lurch. I was one such person left with no one to review my stuff. I asked my teacher what would happen if there was no one to review my work. She told me I wasn’t the only one and she regrouped us.

I was scared with who I might end up grouped with, but my new group is amazing! We’re all good workers and I think we’re really going to help each other elevate our writing to a new level

Symphonic Saturday – Dulcet Tones

[image error]After finishing the writing of Act 1 of my feature film, I decided to squawk out a very poor rendition of Any Dream Will Do on my gunmetal trumpet I’ve dubbed Blunderbuss.

It was a little complicated for where I’m at currently, but fun. Oh, my Trumcor Super Stealth mute lets me play in the condo without torturing everyone else.

I’ve had Blunderbuss for quite some time. Since 2010 in fact. I got him when I visited Montreal in 2010. In Montreal, there is a Steve’s Music that is like an unending music store. One section leads to another and there was an entire brass section. I was in heaven. This Jupiter beauty wasn’t expensive, but it was quite the step up from the banged up one I got from e-Bay several years before.

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I’m rusty on everything trumpet. I used to be fairly good back in high school. I was part of the brass ensemble. Our band leader wanted us to get into marching, but we didn’t want to go full band geek and refused. We did play at graduations, in the lobby at Christmas, and did some other things like played for the elementary school kids. A lot of what we played was Canadian Brass music and things like O’Canada for some games.

Anyway, I pretty much need to start from scratch. I remember some notes and I can get almost musically sounding noises to come out, but it’s really rough. I’d like to get better than I have ever been at it and see where that could lead.

I think the only way to get better at guitar right now without a budget for lessons is to play along with a song until I get it down path. Then slowly move to another song. Plus regularly practice scales and patterns, of course.

And that’s how the river of life flows today.

R~

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