what's going on

1. I graduated. I now officially have an MFA. Well...sort of. Turns out the "diplomas" we were handed for the graduation photo op were friggin' props, with a little IOU inside saying something like "You will receive your actual diploma in 4-6 weeks." Which seems somehow oddly appropriate.

The commencement speaker for the film school ceremony was Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks, which certainly sounds impressive. But let's just say when it comes to graduation speeches, he is no JK Rowling.

2. I First-Pitched. It went okay. I got a couple of script requests for my thesis script, which haven't led to anything so far, but I'm kind of okay with that, mostly because...

3. I have a writing assignment. It pays money. Okay, not very much, but I think anything more than zero is a step in the right direction at this point. I can't really say much about the project (Hollywood is all secret like that) but it's with a great female director who just made her first feature, and it's a story I'm really excited about.

There is also a chance I may be working on a second project that pays no money (at the moment) but is based on an amazing true story that's perfect for me and would involve some subsidized travel for research to somewhere I've never been that would be very, very cool. Nothing is confirmed with that project yet but if it happens I'll be stoked. Which leads me to...

4. Travel and/or the rest of my life. This much I know for sure: I'll be in LA until the end of June, since that's when my lease is up. I'm also thrilled to report that I'll be back in PALESTINE (inshallah) July 24-August 6, traveling to the West Bank and '48 [Israel] with Interfaith Peace-Builders (and blogging up a storm per usual, of course). I'll also be spending a few days in Jordan on my own at the end of the trip, returning to the US on August 12.

Baltimore is a strong possibility for the 3 weeks between the end of June and my departure for the Middle East. After August 12...who knows????? I still really want to move back to NYC, but that sort of requires employment, which, you may be aware, is not such an easy thing to come by these days.

But in the meantime, some other things I'm excited about:

1. Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. I'm going to a play! In Los Angeles! They do exist!! Of course the day I'm going, I have learned, is also the day of some giant bike race that's going to cause street closings, oh, pretty much all the way from my house to the theater. Of course.

2. Winter's Bone at LACMA with Q&A with Debra Granik. The more I hear about this film, the awesomer it sounds. Can't. Wait.