Thursday, June 04, 2009

Crossing the streams


Ack it's true there has been a significant amount of slackness in the House of Ova (sudden image, eek sorry) but that's because there has been a significant amount of tension. 

I remember in the eighties, early eighties, when people used to talk about 'biorhythms' and there were three lines representing your health, your...god I don't know, two other Important Things, but these three lines went up and down like waves and it was something about when the three lines met then kachow! 

Either that or I'm thinking of Ghostbusters and how you DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS! 

Deadlines large and small to be met (or not), Stuff to be researched and written, conversations to be had, toddlers to be bathed. This last should have its own post except it's part of the Hellacious Triumvirate of dinner, bath and bed. I whined about just this to Screenwriting Mummy about this the other day and she said...yes I remember that phase, it goes for quite a while. 

Cruel words but then her own toddler boy, previously an utter angel, is entering the shout and hurl phase himself. Great screaming tantrum in the bath can only be a few short weeks away. Surely. At least it's stopped me drinking wine at dinner. There is nothing more horrendous then winding down with a nice glass of crisp white to be almost immediately wound up again by a Screaming Tomato.

It has been a strangely disturbing time these past couple of weeks and I include swine flu and the horrific disappearance of that Air France plane. Maybe strangely disturbing things happen all the time, of course they do, I know they do, but for some reason my wobbly consciousness is stringing them all together. 

So friends and loved ones have dropped their bundle or been under attack at work or had cancer scares and tasks seem difficult and stodgy and I feel fat and unhealthy. 

And some of the writing and research I'm doing, murder scenes and mug shots from Sydney's inglorious past. Baddies, like the guy above. And page after page of broken bodies and bloodstains. It's disturbing and unsettling and slightly haunting. The playwrights' group I'm in (7-ON) is doing a 2 week workshop with the Sydney Theatre Company in a couple of weeks time and the photographs are prompting the writing which will in turn become a show. 

And that's great, that's tops, but the other thing that's happened is that I've won a playwright's prize which will see me doing a two week workshop with Edward Albee here in Sydney and also at some point jetting (!) off to Los Angeles. (!!)

And that's great, that's tops but the two week STC workshop and the two week Edward Albee workshop are THE SAME TWO FUCKING WEEKS. 

And that's a little, you know. Poor.

Anyway, that's how I've felt a bit this past couple of weeks. Ultimately I'm good, I'm happy. I'm lucky. But it's just all this Stuff swirling around that I'm noticing and collating and examining and feeling affected by. Which is not the same as feeling infected.

More like, someone, somewhere, crossed the streams.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree. I have nothing profound to say, but I agree. Everything lately feels topsy-turvy and slightly out of hand and dangerous. I feel like someone in the movies who just walked into the Bad Hotel, but doesn't know it yet because the music is just slightly eerie and not all SHRIEK SHRIEK SHRIEK yet.

Honestly. A plane down? These days? Is that even possible?

But this: "a two week workshop with Edward Albee"

AIEEEEE! Fabulous!

Much love to yourself and the adorable Mr. Tomato Head. Hang in there. I'm just going to take a shower while leaving the front door unlocked.

SHRIEK SHRIEK SHRIEK

Krissy Poopyhands

Maggie May said...

It seems we are bombarded with bad news, some how. The plane & the 'flu..... yes, they do affect us all. If we are human that is.
The terrible twos are not easy, either and sometimes it goes onto threes.
Congratulations on the playwright prize. Too bad about the clash in the dates. Sod's law or what?

Rebecca said...

Thought provoking as ever Vanessa. Hang in there with Tricky, these things come and go. Deep breaths. I thought Sebastian was past the worst but he's just now entered a new grumpy and demanding phase. This too will pass. Congrats on your prize - fantastic news! Shame about the timing. Sod's law.

Betty Flocken said...

Oh it's awful that they're both the same week. In L.A. You'd be on the same continent as ME.. within 400 miles. I understand about the photos - I stay away from the "dark side" these days. Photos and movies like that do seem to haunt me. I'm sorry about the bath time. I never experienced that. My kids loved their baths. Hope everything comes together soon.
I've moved from blogger http://www.bettyjf1.typepad.com/ I had too many problems with Blogger.

Cass said...

I hear you. Completely.

But also, LA? Really? Because if you come you'll be within reasonable distance of yours truly. (San Diego is not, as some think, a suburb of LA, but it's not all that far. Esp. when two of the grandparents live up there. I'm just sayin'...

Nico said...

Crossing the streams, indeed. You crack me up! Congrats on the prize.

I hate to say it, but many many people have said to me that age three is much worse than two. I think we're about to find out!

Anonymous said...

Hi V. I've moved my blog again from TypePad to Word Press. Hope you stop by Take Care, Hope all is going well.
http://bettyjf1.wordpress.com/

Betty M said...

I think I would go with Albee myself.

I have a 5 year old screaming harpy at present - i sympathise.

Grit said...

the triple mantra of *teeth, wee, bed* goes on here hour after hour. hasn't worked yet.

and good news on prizes! bravo!