Journal Update
School and Many Projects
Wednesday, October 10, 2012: Oakland, CA
Good grief, I have been so remiss in updating my journal entries. My last one was made in 2011, and here we are at nearly the end of 2012. Julia and I have both been very absorbed by school and other projects; this is my only and best excuse.
Julia began her PhD at UC San Francisco in mid-2011. This, as you can imagine, has been keeping her extremely busy. She has been working seven days a week, often ten-hour days, since she started. She did have a small break when her dad and Jean came out from England to visit with us. They all went to Lake Tahoe and hiked uphill and down dale. Jean had a fall while out hiking and was hurt, but she is fully recovered now.
Video of John and Jean's Visit with Us
Julia injured her knee in early 2011, and the hiking trip to Lake Tahoe made it much worse. It got so bad that she had knee surgery last month.
Here Is a Video of Julia's Knee Surgery
She is doing really well now and on her way to a full recovery.
I started film school late in 2011 and completed the first year of their accelerated program, then left in July. I got on the Dean's list three times and was awarded a scholarship, so I guess I was doing well. But I just could not afford the time required to stay in the program as I have so many projects I am working on. So I dropped out, only the second time I have dropped out of school; oh, maybe the third time.
Julia and I finished our first documentary film and have just released it. Knowland is about the Oakland Zoo's expansion into the irreplaceable and eco-sensitive lands of Knowland Park. We are very happy about our first effort in documentary film. The project was enlightening on so many fronts for both of us. We have plans for several other films to come.
Here Is the Knowland Website
I started a short narrative film called Table Talk when I commenced film school and have just completed it. It is a short romantic comedy. It was great fun writing and directing this film. I learned how much fun it is to work with actors and a film crew; and how odd it is to have other people reading your lines out loud; a very strange experience.
Here Is the Table Talk Website