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| At A-Frame, a hot spot in our neighborhood. See Below. |
It's been a while since the last blog.
Part of the reason why is my crazy life. Part of the reason is I
wanted to make sure everyone read the last one:
http://dlwarner.blogspot.com/2013/02/recipe-fusion-collard-pot-liquor.html
. I'm happy to say that it's the most widely read one I've had! But I
am crazy busy. I have to have a schedule once again. I haven't had
once since I was on chemotherapy. Then, I had at least two major
medical appointments a week along with a few minor procedures or
administrative things. I still have a date book for the sprinkling of
appointments I have now. But it isn't nearly as filled up and
complicated as it was years ago.
Now, I am juggling a lot of projects
with various deadlines and different time lines that are part of
building my career. On top of that, there are things that I'd like to
do or need to do for reasons other than money like cooking and
learning Japanese and recently drawing. I find that if I set up a
schedule that I will make a real effort to get something significant
done in a given day in each category. The schedule is brand spanking
new, but I'm already feeling better about what I am or am not getting
done. What does that mean? I would often feel crestfallen at the end
of a day, because I had not accomplished one goal. Somehow, I would
ignore all the things that I had managed to do in the same amount of
time. It's silly, I know. It seems like a big pile demanding
attention. Anyway, the schedule forces me to note what has been done
and where I am in the overall time line. Having a handle on the big
picture makes me relax about the days when I just have to veg and
just read (the reading is now on the schedule). I'm still having some
physical.
Unscheduled Break
I was sidelined from the blog and a lot
of what I was trying to get done yesterday by a whole lot of
unexpected pain. It's called break trough pain in that it breaks
trough the regular meds. This felt worse than a typical break
through. I did not have a good Wednesday. Thursday found me
considering a trip to the closest ER. That was horribly depressing. A
few calls to the various specialist that interact with me found an
answer. I felt well enough to make a big leap in progress with the
Secret Cancer Documentary today. I even got a few things on my
schedule done. It was a bit more distressing than a hiccup in my
life, but I managed to shove things back on track. So, I do believe
that I'll be able to finish a good bit of what was on my plate for
this week. That said, I know I won't get any more of this blog
written before the weekend. Note: It is now Sunday, so that
prediction was really on the money.
Measuring Progress
The biggest thing I needed to get done
this week was the proof of concept trailer for The Secret Cancer. I
filmed it in November. Admittedly, that was not a great time of year.
I had one major convention behind me and another one ahead. I had a
pile of manga to edit. Then, there were the holidays and all the
baking and general craziness. It seems that I blinked and it was
February. We had been working on the video here and there. We had a
major audio problem. The entire audio file was corrupted and thus
useless. The camera sound had a lot of pops and other noises in it. I
debated for a long time about how to salvage everything. Jon
processed the camera sound until it was much more useable. I decided
to cut the interview down to just the story about Audrey Hepburn's
diagnosis and the aftermath. It was so powerful in that quiet,
cultured voice. I used some images from the book about Ms Hepburn's
life and her passing, Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit. I plan to
use more with the family's permission. Here is the rough cut. If you
comment, please keep in mind that we are almost painfully aware of
the technical difficulties. http://youtu.be/VLygvc5Flpg
The next thing I needed to make
progress on that had been bothering me for months was the wall I had
hit on my current Soldiers book, A Soldier's Destiny. It wasn't even
anything like a writer's block. I was just getting busier and busier
with other kinds of creative work. There were and are essays and
short stories and editing. There is the blogging and writing reviews.
I don't regret any of the extra activity, but I missed my Soldiers,
and there were and are readers waiting for it. Thus, my number one
must do on each day of my new schedule is work on that Solder's book.
I am not only six pages from where I was, the spark of life in the
characters has returned. They made me laugh the other day. I was so
happy to have found my way back to those characters. I really
appreciate the very patient fans who have hung in there and
occasionally prodded me along.
Food Geek Out
I don't know if you all look at my food
reviews on Yelp.com, but this was a mini blog of sorts about a famous
restaurant in our neighborhood. The chef is not only famous, he is an
author on Anthony Bourdain's new imprint. And now, for reasons I do
not understand, we are friends on the internet. I don't just mean I
follow his posts. He follows mine and has corresponded with me!!!
Check out Roy Choi:
http://www.foodandwine.com/best_new_chefs/roy-choi
Here's my crazy review of his
restaurant : A-Frame:
I am lucky enough to be a neighbor of
this restaurant. I literally pass it once a week running errands. I
finally had a chance to stop in to celebrate with a friend. I was
immediately impressed by the stripped down but stylish decor. The bar
was filled with bottles of fresh squeezed juices. The bartender was
shaking two drinks at once. How could I not have a fancy cocktail?
The Southern sour was delicious and not too strong or heavy. We all
went for the buttermilk fried chicken and the table pickles. The
first time super hot chef, Roy Choi, popped over to our table,
I thought he knew I was back engineering the incredibly crunchy and
savory crust on that super moist chicken. The second time, I think he
knew I was also trying to figure out what was in the dipping sauce
for those insanely good pickles. How can lightly pickled veggies
taste that good? I was having a foodie geek out, because I so admire
Choi for his fusion of food cultures that I had begun making my own
high fusion concept recipes. Could it be that he knew of my blog
about collard pot liquor soup dumplings? My lunch partners brought me
down to earth quickly with an eye roll and a sigh. The place was
slammed. He was likely just making sure everyone was happy with the
food and service. Then, I got all jazzed about that as well. I
thought the hot, happening chef caring about his guests enough to
check on them himself was the stuff of food TV. The upshot is that
the food and cocktails and beer were everything I had been told
they'd be, and the service was stellar.
I am so getting that recipe blog to
him!
Stay tuned!
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