Category Archives: Screenwriting

Big News & Life Updates

Hey hey hey!!!

So… it’s been a while since I last made an update. (Oops.)
A lot has happened in the past 7 months!

First off, the big, main thing that happened is… Steve and I got married!!!! ๐Ÿ˜€
We married in early April. <3

It was a pretty last minute decision. I was nearing the end up my allowed visit to the US and would have had to leave no later than April 9th. I hadn’t intended on using up my 6-month allotment all in one continual visit, but neither of us wanted me to go away again. In the past, we had talked on and off about the idea of someday marrying, but usually Steve would waffle on the idea and ultimately decide that, no, he didn’t want to marry; and so we would by default continue our long distance relationship with me going back and forth, or with us meeting up in either Canada or other countries. And this would go on for years…!

I thought this same pattern was to be repeated yet again… but then Steve had a shift in his attitude towards the idea of remarrying. He definitely didn’t want me going away again and wanted me to stay. And the feeling was mutual! But the only way it would be possible for me to stay long term would be if we were to get married. Since there was no doubt that he wanted to continue to be together (for potentially the rest our lives), we decided to get hitched!

We had a very simple ceremony. It was just us two, the officiant, and a friend to act as our witness. We both dressed nicely, picked out some simple but nice (and matching) wedding bands, and exchanged rings and vows. Admittedly, I got teary saying my vows. (What can I say, I can be quite the sap at times. ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) It was a happy day. Afterwards, we went out for a simple meal at a nearby vegan restaurant.

Here’s a picture of us on our wedding day. ๐Ÿ™‚

We got married!

So… what have I / we been up to for the last 5 months? I feel like I’ve been really busy, even though I don’t have a “job”! At least not officially, although I have been helping Steve out a fair bit with his website and business!

It took a long time, but with the help of a designer we were able to create a new logo for our online Conscious Growth Club! I also help moderate our CGC forums and assist with our coaching calls.

Steve and I have taken some small trips as well. We’ve been to Disneyland a couple times (we have annual passes, so we kinda go there a fair bit since it’s only about a four hour drive from Vegas); we’ve been to Park City and Durango (Steve attended mastermind meetings there, and I came along for socialization and fun that takes place outside the meetings); and I helped out with a LOT of ebook editing and assisting with daily videos for the Deep Abundance Integration program that Steve created just last month. (DAI is going to create a lot of work for me over the next several months as I create all of the content from the videos and put it into ebook form.)

I also did a fun challenge/deep dive of my own, where I recorded and published a video to YouTube every day in the month of June. (If you’re interested, you can check that out here.)

Aaaaand… the newest piece of news is that Steve and I had my immigration interview just earlier this week! Steve and I, not to mention the immigration interviewer as well, were rather surprised that we landed our interview so “soon” after submitting our immigration papers after getting married. I believe 5-ish months used to be considered normal timeframe, but for the current US governmental administration, what used to be standard wait times are now often tripled (and sometimes even more than that)! We were expecting to get our interview within 11-17 months or longer, according to the current listed processing times. (Some centers even have processing times close to 2 years!) So to have our interview now over and done with is quite serendipitous!

I was a bit nervous for the interview, even though logically I know I had no reason to be. The immigration officer who conducted the interview was very friendly, and we didn’t encounter any difficulties. He congratulated us and said I should expect to receive my green card sometime in the next 30 days. So YAY!!!

Steve and I have been longing to do some international travel, but haven’t been able to due to my lack of a travel permit or green card. I haven’t even been able to visit Canada! But once I get my green card, we’ll be able to travel together outside of the US once again. I’m really looking forward to that. I miss Europe, and I’d love to visit new places too, like Australia, Asia, South America, etc.

So… that’s my update!

I’ve procrastinated big time on writing a screenplay. I definitely still want to do that, and I’d still like to try doing that screenplay writing challenge I mentioned in a previous blog post, too! With the ebook editing (i.e. video to ebook conversion) project on my plate, plus planned travel in November (and then the subsequent holidays), I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance to squeeze in that screenplay. BUT, I do know that I’d like to get on sometime soon. Although, time is relative, I suppose.

Oh, time…

“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”
โ€“ Bruce Lee โ€“

(^^ A note to self.)

<3

Finding Balance: Creative Life, Writing, Art, Vision & Focus

Okay, so…

In my last post, I announced an ambitious creative goal to write the first draft of a full-length screenplay in a week.

When I made that goal, it was under certain presumed circumstances, mainly being that my boyfriend/partner (whatever word one would use for a longterm non-married couple… “boyfriend” seems so flippant, whereas “partner” sounds like a business agreement) was simultaneously going to be very busy and consumed in his own creative/business project, thus being the perfect time for me to be absorbed and consumed by my own creative endeavor.

But! (There’s always a but…) His plans changed. And thus, so did mine.

For anyone reading my humble little blog who doesn’t already know me or my partner in some way, let me fill you in. We’ve been together for (at the time of this writing)ย just over eight years now. Woo hoo! It’s been a fun and crazy ride. ๐Ÿ™‚

…BUT! (…there it is again…) All this time we’ve been in a long distance relationship. Why? Well, I’m Canadian and he’s American. He doesn’t have a desire to move to Canada since he owns a nice house in the U.S., and right now the only viable way for me to move to the U.S. is if we were to get married.

I find the differences between Canadian and American laws in this regard to be rather fascinating. If he were to move to Canada as my partner, Canadian law doesn’t demand that we get married as it recognizes the validity of longterm conjugal relationships of at least two years. American law, on the other hand, only recognizes a marriage certificate.

“So why not just get married?” Ugh, marriage. I don’t think marriage is inherently bad or anything like that. I think a marriage has the potential to be a great thing, depending on those involved and their reasons for choosing to marry, etc. That said, doesn’t marriage simultaneously seem like an outdated relationship model? I mean, legally, one can either be married or single (or perhaps widowed or divorced, which are just other words for being single but previously married), with no in between. Divorce rates are sky high. Isn’t it time for a new approach to marriage or other forms long-term committed relationships as recognized by government and law? Either way, it’s seems kind of creepy to me that there isn’t room for an in-between in a country that supposedly values Freedom to the extent that the U.S. claims it does. …But I digress.

Steve was previously married for something like eleven years. Their divorce process was very long, I believe going on six years to get everything settled and finalized… yikes! Since marrying again has the inherent possibility of divorce tied in with it, I can understand his reluctance or hesitation to want to avoid another potential divorce.

So, for the past eight years, I’ve been spending my time between Canada, visiting Steve in the US, and occasional travel to Europe. And honestly, I’ve been finding it rather difficult to focus on creative projects while being on the move so often.

It’s also for this reason that when Steve decides he’s going to have some downtime before diving into a big project and says that he would like to spend quality time with me, I’m not particularly inclined to say, “Sorry hon — I’ve just committed myself to an intense week of creative writing time while I try to hash out a full length screenplay in a week (or less).” I value the time we get to spend together since we have to spend a huge chunk of each year apart.

Anyway, with the recent down time and a short road trip behind us, we’re now both ready to focus on our own respective projects before I leave the U.S. again for a little while.ย And so, I’m taking up my original challenge to write a full-length screenplay in a week or less, starting tomorrow (Monday, February 5ย 19, 2018)ย …TBD. (<— More on this re-dating later! …Oh, Life!!!) ๐Ÿ™‚

In terms of fostering good creative and writing habits that yield flow and focus, I really need to figure things out there. I feel like I’ve been floundering for the better part of these last 8 (if not more) years of my life, and I think a big part of that has to do with my difficulty to focus on in-depth, long-term projects when I’m moving all the time and so focused on making sacrifices for the present-moment enjoyment of relationships and life. It’s definitely a balancing act, and I’ve been sucking at it. I really need to find a way to balance these things — these various aspects of one’s life… love, work, vision, and art — more harmoniously.

I want to devote a big part of this year to figuring that all out. I hope you’ll join me on my journey and hopefully we can figure out a number of things together. <3

But first, let’s write a screenplay… shall we? ๐Ÿ˜‰

p.s. Consequently, in order to narrow my focus and avoid diluting my creative will power and energy, I’ve decided that my impending video/vlog challenge will be put on hold until once I’ve completed this 1st draft of my screenplay. ๐Ÿ™‚