April in General

In general, the month of April has been wonderful. Today is the birthday of one of my dear friends, Mr. Braverman Associate Professor, and yesterday, the love of my life turned 38, or as I like to call it, THIRTY GREAT. Two of my favorite people with birthdays within 2 days? Wow.

End of April also marks the near and dear end of a fantastic but long semester at Point Park, where I taught two back to back sections - 8 am - 11 am then 11:20 - 2:20 pm - Mon and Fri - of Production I, on the post-production end of the cinematic spectrum. In case you don't know, Point Park has an amazing Cinema and Digital Arts program that I have had the pleasure of teaching classes at for THREE semesters now! This semester, as the P1 Post instructor (I taught P1 in Spring of last year, but I taught on the Production end of the instructing team) I covered Final Cut Pro from the basic but vitally important areas like media management (which I beat into their heads!) to some simple but creative techniques found in the software, to audio editing and building a "soundscape." I taught with Jeremy and John, who covered Production, and I believe we had some incredible films this semester from up-and-coming freshmen who truly grew and developed not only their technical execution, but narrative storytelling, aesthetic, style and form. There's always a few stinkers, always, who hate your guts or just don't get it, but isn't that the way with everything? We had our final screening tonight and I also loved the P1 films that screened from the 2 other sections. Our final screening tonight was comprised of 12 films from my 2 plus the other 2 sections of P1, all 4 minutes or under - and it's a student-voted showcase of the semesters "best." And yes, it really was impressive! While some of my personal favs from my 2 sections didn't make the very small screening cut, so many students show so much promise and I truly believe in them. This is a proud (sin) moment for me -- and while I take no credit for their work per se I am proud to call them my students and to be their professor. I look forward to seeing where they will go not only in the program, but in life!

And spring is finally-sort-of here! Tim and I opened the Veranda and while some nights we might still need the heat, we decided NO WAY! Fuck you gas company in April! Maybe it's because despite the off and on chilliness, our neighborhood is beautiful this time of year and we are seduced by thoughts of spring. Daffodils and tulips, budding hastas and budding trees, green grass and the promise of warmth - enough to make you take your clothes off! I'm dying to run with Wilson in Frick Park, but we've had a lot of rain the past 3 weeks, my back is finally on the mend and I just invested in my dogs beauty - I got him (expensively and wildly rasta leg necessarily) groomed! So, I'm selfishly hiding out for more potentially clean dog park days, holding off on letting him splash, dig and frolick in the mud puddles, which stain his fur and feet and it stinks, and from letting him roll in what I presume to be dead animals in the grossest depths of the woods until tomorrow, off-leash, until Sunday - the first day of May.

Finally, the end April means I can officially count off the days, pretending I have six fingers on each hand RIGHT NOW, (this reminds of an old SNL commercial sketch) until I reconnect with my future husband - you may know him as Klaus Von Klaus. Rendezvous destination? NO, not Gdansk, or Prague, or Belarus...we're going to rendezvous in L.A. I'll send you a postcard with the details of our misadventures.

First Day of School

I love teaching film and video production. Period. I f'n LOVE it. Especially the Intro courses, where there's limits and parameters and wide-eyed freshmen and sophomores who hang on to every word and actually listen to you.

I started my first day of teaching Production I at Point Park University in downtown Pittsburgh today and it was awesome. Working once again in a truly dedicated and equipped filmmaking program is a breath of fresh air. Not that I hated working over in Mass Comm/Broadcast Journalism at VCU, but it was like hanging out with the not as handsome cousin of my true love interest.

This is the reason I pursued this pesky terminal degree, this PhD, this (as my friend Sascha hilariously refers to it) Doctor of Nothing. For in the end, it's a full time faculty position in a film and media arts program that I want and desire. It is my goal, my career dream, as the protagonist of my own flawed life. It is my controlling idea, my driving force. The PhD and all the hoops to jump through are merely simpleton antagonists standing in the way, but not for long, of achieving these goals. Make no mistake, I haven't been in college for 14 years because I love research...I don't. I love cinema. I love cameras. I love story. I love sharing what I know with eager minds and open hearts.

Best part, the folks I work with are friendly, helpful and cheery! My co-Instructor (yes, I team teach the class plus we have a TA!) has been wonderful in showing me the ropes and making sure all the bases are covered. And, he's Hungarian! I know every school and program has it's quirks and undersides, but I'm optimistic as usual that this is going to be a really rewarding and perhaps long-term place for me. I feel comfortable and relaxed here, the atmosphere is serious but fun. Kind of like me!

And the building where the Cinema and Digital Arts program lives is absolutely stunning. There's no way, no matter how foul your mood is in the morning or how hungover or tired you might be, that you can't feel a sense of being surrounded by beauty when you walk into this place and simply feel good. The building used to be an old bank, so it's opulent, spacious, covered in columns and huge windows and marble. Ornate and detailed, there's even a vault converted into a little lounge in the basement. Working right downtown is fantastic too...as if I needed one more excuse to let myself get lost in the city.

Sometimes I want to cry because for the first time in years I am happy. I feel real happiness, peace and calm in my busy, hectic, crazy, silly life. Then I cut that out and laugh and smile because I did this, I made this happiness happen. No one did it for me. But for those of you that supported, helped or believed in me along the way, I thank you. This happy, smiling, crying, laughing teacher and almost doctor, thanks you.