Go Deeper

I realized why I have been having such a hard time working on this rewrite.

I need to go deeper.

I plotted out the story of this new draft.  And while all of those things need to happen and all of those scenes move the action forward, I can't write to the story.

I have to know where they need to go, but I need to let them go there.  I have to LET THEM GO.  That phrase keeps repeating in my life.  Just let it go.

I have to not use any of the previous stuff I had before, even though a part of me loves some of that dialogue and it would be easier.  But I'm not the person I was when I sat down to write the play over a year ago.  My relationship is deeper.  The questions I'm asking are deeper.  I need to be more honest.

All of these life events happen that seem ordinary, but what happens to these particular people...

I had a conversation with someone today at the spa.  He was saying that he loves songs from the American Songbook.  He said that those songs can be sung over and over again the same way, but they don't mean anything unless you bring something to them.  You have to interpret them.

Things happen to these characters that have happened to people over the past several centuries over and over again.  People meet.  They marry.  They want to have kids.  They argue about their sex lives.  They break up.  They stay together.  None of that is new.  But the interpretation makes it fresh.  What these individuals bring to these universal rites of passage is what makes it seem fresh.

So while I didn't get a ton of writing done...I attempted.  And that's when I realized it didn't work.  But I accomplished something significant.  In this conversation, I had this epiphany.  The American Songbook still moves us because it's so universal.  But those songs continue to touch us because they are interpreted through our experiences, our contemporary time and our emotions.  That's what makes a great version of a song we've heard before like At Last, The Very Thought of You, Night and Day and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes the Universe speaks to us in ways that are unexpected.  It's the "God works in mysterious ways" concept.  I was having a feeling I needed a day away to just write and hole up.  I ran into this guy, Marc, who I had met the last time I was here.  Randomly.  We chatted up and had this conversation about the American Songbook.  We were talking about songs and he mentioned The Very Thought of You, which is the song I was thinking about.  Weird.  And I got the gift of having this epiphany and realization through this conversation.  So that was meant to be.

I like being available to what the Universe is trying to tell me.  You have to quiet things down in order to hear what you're meant to know.

Go Deeper.

Meet Nude

In Romantic Comedy Films, when two characters meet in a charming, adorable, totally unrealistic fashion, it’s said that they “meet cute.” Well, today I had a “meet nude” at the Korean Spa.

My bosses had given me a gift certificate to the Korean Spa I go to. I decided to go and get a massage and relax in the steam room and sauna. The massage was intense. When asked, I told the masseuse to go for it and give me tons of pressure. Ouch. It ended up being great, but five minutes into the massage I was regretting my instructions.

Afterwards, I relaxed in the steam room where this cute guy sat next to me. At first, I thought it might be the Return of New Haven. This guy looks exactly like him. It’s kind of scary. And since it was the spa, all of the bits and goodies were fully exposed. He hopped out of the steam room because it was getting a bit too steamy…in every regard.

I went to the patio to cool off and he was sitting there. I said hi and he said hi. There was a lot of silence. Some hesitation. Maybe some nerves. And there it was staring at me…his privates. And of course, me being me, I had to comment on the fact that I could see his penis. But he admitted to being comfortable naked. I like that quality in a man. He mentioned that he had to be at a meeting at 7:30. Then he quickly corrected himself: “I didn’t mean AA. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I have plenty of friends who are in AA and it’s good that they’re there.”

There’s one person in my life who I wish was in AA, but I didn’t think it was an appropriate time to mention that. So I agreed that I had friends who had benefitted greatly from AA. He did say that a lot of friends had asked him if he was going to AA lately. This raised eyebrows.

“Are you a heavy drinker?” I asked with some trepidation, but also to just put the kibosh on this interaction right now if that’s where it’s headed. He said that he wasn’t. As is my tradition, I had proposed a little short-term pleasure, and he mentioned that he’s a bigger fan of something that’s a bit less anonymous. So I asked him if we could exchange numbers to grab a drink some time. And he said he’d like that.

I just asked someone out. And this person happened to be naked and fully exposed when I did. I’m okay with that. It was nice to meet someone to have a conversation with. Naked. But a solid conversation none the less. And he was a bit shy, which is a nice change of pace. But he seemed to have personality. So who knows? I called his phone to leave him my number and he texted me back after I got out of my friend Padraic’s play. I like a quick responder. I do have a concern or two that he reminds me New Haven, who’s a friend who reminds me of my ex. And he fits the profile for guys that I have dated in the past.

I’m deciding not to put any expectations on any of it. And my concerns will be there if it’s of any consequence and I’ll deal with them then. So I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the week finishing the latest draft of this new play, getting ready to see my theatre friends and my high school friends this weekend. There’s plenty going on and if I end up having a drink with this guy, that’ll be nice. But not a priority.

It’s nice being flirted with, however.