Flavor of Love, I Vitelloni, bus tour

I feel so ashamed. Why did I watch that train wreck of a finale instead of reading a script? Why is Miss New York's weave so jacked up? I read in the NYTs there is going to be a Flavorette with her own show looking for Mr. Right. God help us all.

I watched Fellini's I VITELLONI b/w 1956. Great movie about a group of directionless young men living in a boring seaside village. It's probably the most accessible Fellini movie I have seen. The movie is gorgeous and moving. I can see how this movie influenced so many filmmakers.

Speaking of films I am so behind on my movies. There are four movies playing now I really want to see.

I was on a League bus tour all day Saturday. I had to be at the Venice Boys and Girls Club at 7:30 a.m. This is the tour we do for our new members to show them some of the non-profits we work with. This is such a large provisional class, we needed four buses.

After Venice we drove to the Downtown Women Center. Once the DWC exec director spoke, she introduced one of the women who lives there. This lady had been living on the streets three months ago. As she spoke about what she liked about the Center, I and some of the women in my group started tearing up. The League has an eight week workshop that meets on Saturdays. The League committe chair spoke as well. One of the girls asked if it was safe (we were not far from Skid Row) and I had to chuckle to myself as the chair said yes. She was wearing a pair of diamond earrings the size of a nickel.

I spent time on the bus talking to the other advisors. One (a former agent) has been dating her man for three years, one at 26, just had a baby and the other is expecting her first child. I am still trying to work out this whole funk about being this age and not having a family. It was good to spend time with women who do have babies and hear about their joys and struggles. The expectant mom, is no longer working (her husband is a banker) and she can barely find time in the day to get anything done. How on earth could I have a baby as a single parent? Even if I could afford to adopt, my work is so unstable. If the production company I work for shut down, there is no other income. Sooner or later I will feel better about all this and just look forward to be a very cool Auntie.

We stopped by the Hollywood Boys and Girls club where I volunteered last year. I saw three women from that committee who are still working with the club. One just got married in Tuscany. It was like a little reunion. I also saw my former committee chair from Chrysalis (a group that helps homeless people enter back into the work force) who is doing Boys and Girl club this year.

Last time I saw three of these women, we were sitting on the 18th floor terrace at one of their homes after a Jr. League meeting. We were drinking wine and they were trying to give me advice on dating. It was hilarious. All of them were engaged. I don't think they could relate to my situation but I appreicated the effort.

File under sometimes it's better to pay more:

My face has looked horrible (to me) since I got back from the Caribbean. I thought it was only stress and that is why I was getting really dry patches. In an effort to save money, I have been cutting back on some expenses. I still spend money on bath gel but thought why use Kiehl's when the Neutrogena foaming face cleanser at Target is one-third the price? I happened to be at the Aveda store yesterday. I decided to break down and spent $20 on the face cleasner. I used it last night before bed. This morning I was shocked. My skin looks so much better already.

I think the other cleanser was too harsh. I use Aveda shampoos because they are gentle and full of natural incredients. I have always spent decent on money on face cleanser, using either Origins, Kiehl's, Aveada or Prescriptives. Not sure why at this age (when you really need to pay attention) I decided to skimp on my face. There are certain brands that are all about hype and marketing and others that are worth the extra money. I still love some of Neutrogena's other products (like the sun block) but will hold off on the foaming face cleanser for now.

I'm excited to write today. Received some excellent feedback yesterday from two readers who read an earlier draft. They noticed a big improvement. This made me feel better after getting lukewarm feedback earlier in the week from someone who read it for the first time. I thought I had thicker skin, but I found myself getting very defensive. It's hard to be on this side of notes. I have to give notes all the time for work and I try to be careful with how I express my issues with a script. The goal is to make the script better not make the writer more depressed.

I not sure how one knows when they are "finished". I'm sure I could work on this for years and always find things that I don't like about the book. The structure, plot and characters are there. I am really going to zero in on dialogue and description during this next rewrite. The second best tool for me (the first are the notes) is to continue reading books.