busy bee

That's the moniker bestowed upon me by one of my fabulous former sister-in-laws after she saw my status update in facebook this past weekend. She's right, of course, and I didn't even list ALL that I was scheduled to do. If she had only known, she probably would have wondered what drugs I was taking to keep up with all of it!
Seriously, this time of year DOES get pretty hectic for me. September started it, with Dragon*Con and teaching and my day job. Then, there are the weekends with my singing bird, in addition to other events, such as the Savannah Jazz Festival, the O'Jays concert in Charleston, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. This was all followed by a five-day trip to Orlando for Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and more walking on concrete than a body oughta do. Thank God for swimming pools and hot tubs! Then back to Savannah in time for the second-ever Innovation Awards and the first-ever LGBT Film Festival (I wonder if anyone thought to invite Mr. Redford?), featuring a total of fourteen films and two drag shows in just under thirty hours. Sunday was "Mowgli and Moses" and Shalom Y'all Jewish Food Festival with the Carolina Klezmer Project, aka "Jewish Jazz." Oh, yes, and I even was able to fit Reel Savannah's Sunday night film ("Revange", a wonderfully layered foreign treat!) into my already packed weekend. Whew!
The pace isn't yet to abate, though. I have a Halloween party on Friday, which should be much fun! I haven't been to a Halloween party in YEARS! Before she moved, one of my friends used to throw these fabulous parties in her A-frame house, with costumes everywhere and even live bands. I've also volunteered to help Saturday morning, perhaps longer, with the set construction for the upcoming "Diary of Ann Frank" production. This particular piece resonates with me: my stepdad was in the plane she writes about going down. Incredible!
This coming weekend also begins the Savannah Film Festival, which is eight days of films and shorts and classes and interviews and award presentations... Oh, my! Woody Harrelson and Emmy Rossum are the stars I'll be on the look-out for, so if you see them first, please tell 'em I said hi! I have tickets for the 9:30pm shows on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, as well as the Directors' Choice at 7pm on Thursday, but I want to be sure to catch some of the morning and afternoon selections. I've even saved some vacation days for that very purpose, just as I did last year and the year before. I just wish I could have taken Mama with me for some of the films I've seen: she would have loved being there when Ellen Burstyn was given her award and for the interview with Malcolm McDowell last year. Just like Hollywood, but better!
Ah! Time to go and dream of the fun times ahead!