Things I’ve discovered while being on a media diet the past week:

1. I really like to discover neighborhoods and get places on foot.
   
   

So, since I wouldn’t allow myself to just mindlessly turn on the tv last week, I instead went walking every day, either to get somewhere or just for the hell of it. Twice I went on walks specifically to take photographs. Besides just killing time, I achieved: getting exercise, soaking up much-needed vitamin D, using less gas, and finding lots of interesting and beautiful things to photograph. I also made friends with a few cats along the way.

1. Facebook kinda makes me feel bad.
   
   

I only allowed myself to hop on once a day, during the fast, just to check private messages. Today, I woke up at around 4:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep…so I broke the media diet by checking into my news feed. It wasn’t three or four status updates before I started to feel bad about myself. While I love FB for being able to keep abreast of the goings-on of nears and dears that are far away, and it is definitely a necessary evil for project promotion, I can also count on it to feel like I’m not good enough: not doing enough, or that people don’t like me, or that I am being excluded from this or that. I didn’t feel that way all last week, and that is telling.

1. I need to start reading novels again.
   
   

I’ve gotten into this habit of spending my pre-falling asleep time, which used to be reserved for reading books going on Pinterest and pinning stuff. While I have no intention of giving up Pinterest (see #5), I need to read books again. So, as of tonight, I’m reinstituting the reading novels before bed thing.

1. I love going to the movies.
   
   

Movies were exempt from the media diet, and I went to two of them the past week, which is more than I think I’ve been to ALL YEAR thus far. I love going with people and I love going alone. I miss going more often, and I’ll have to figure out how to build it back in without breaking the bank (Crest Cinema Center, HERE I COME!).

1. I love taking photographs.
   
   

I spent 2013 taking a photo a day for a year, joined Instagram and have really enjoyed photography. I took a bit of a break after I finished the yearlong project, but my recent trip to Portland as well as the media diet refreshed my love for the medium, and so easy to do since I bring my iPhone everywhere. Things are interesting. Life is interesting, and visually capturing it is fun, creative and doesn’t cost anything anymore, is a great creative outlet that doesn’t have to be MY LIFE – can just be an outlet. I used to love taking photos of people – now I love taking photos of inanimate objects and plants.

1. I don’t mind not being up to the minute on current events.
   
   

While it was a bit disconcerting to abruptly find out about Maya Angelou’s death in passing from an acquaintance who assumed it was common knowledge, it was kinda nice to be blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world for a week. I don’t want to be completely ignorant of what’s going on in the world, but I wonder if there is a happy medium between that and the constant infostream.

1. I still love Pinterest.
   
   

I replaced it with photoediting on Instagram, but I missed it. Can’t wait to get back to it. I would give up all social media for Pinterest. It actually makes me feel good when I’m on, and creating image banks and having a recipe bank is productive without being stressful. I just need to figure out how to give equal time to reading fiction again.

1. I still love TV.
   
   

I cut back to only an hour per day, and I missed it. A LOT. BUT, I don’t need to watch as much mindless tv as I have in the past, and certainly don’t need to have the tv on for background noise. Most of the shows I follow are scripted, and I feel like they actually enhance my life and are a good way to wind down…but the mindless, plop down in front of the tv because I’m procrastinating or feeling lazy doesn’t need to happen anymore.

1. I love hanging out with friends. For FUN.
   
   

I feel like most of the time now, I do artistic projects with friends instead of just having non-project fun. I stopped by a friend’s house on the way back from a project meeting last Friday and we just chatted about this and that for a couple hours. It was nice to catch up and even nicer to realize, I can actually hang out with my Seattle-based friends, rather than just looking at their social media feeds to see what they’re up to.

All in all, though it was challenging, it was a positive and somewhat enlightening week for me…what it comes down to is, do I want to be a constant consumer of other people’s images/words/ideas, or do I want to be primarily a producer of my own?

It is possible that I am in a constant state of being too busy. Highly possible. Because, as I am coming down off feeling really incredibly stressed out and being able to cross a couple things off my list, I realize my plate is still pretty full.

First you add the perpetual stuff: day job, boyfriend, cat, house upkeep.

Then sprinkle in extracurriculars, which at the moment include: a class at Freehold, volunteer PR Coordinator for eSe Teatro, rehearsals for Studio Series Project, Slash Artists Collective prep/planning/workshops, yoga classes, going to the gym, remembering to take daily photographs for my 365 photography/writing project, and  of course, filming/rehearsing season one of Causality. Oh, and keeping up with the ridiculous number of television programs on my agenda.

Now add a good dash of actual stuff coming down the pipes as well as theoretical stuff to prepare for: applying for Bumbershoot and possibly more than one Fringe Festival. Upcoming readings of Don Quixote. Graphic design work for eSe and other clients. Trip to Mexico! eSe Taller workshop with Myra Platt. Developing/rehearsing another long-term theatre project with one of my good friends.

And of course, I must continue to nurture my family and friendships, because they have always been my lifeline, via email/social media or preferably in person. I hate the phone.

Somehow, I manage it all, though not necessarly always well. Things slip. I used to keep it all in my head, but now have to put it into a calendar, and thank goodness for that! I guess I will sleep when I'm dead.

So...it begins again: the daily hawking and harrassment of all my friends, colleagues and acquaintances via Facebook, Twitter and email to pledge to this latest worthy campaign. The opening of the campaign page on Kickstarter to see where we're at and the disappointment as it slogs through sluggish slowness or elation when it begins to pick up momentum. And that wonderful, joyful feeling in the center of my chest when people pledge, which signifies not just a dollar amount (which in and of itself is important and the goal and all that) but something even bigger and more significant: this person believes and supports what I'm doing as an artist and human being.

Kickstarter is an interesting and fabulous animal - it works something like this, in the case of artists: you (or your group) creates an online fundraising campaign for a particular project. You must have a goal in mind, and there is a deadline. If you do not reach your goal by the deadline, you don't get ANY of the money. This is great, actually - it raises the stakes and creates a sense of urgency. And the beauty, for would-be backers is that you can pretty much donate any amount of money you want to, as little as a BUCK, or as much as you want. I, personally, am pretty strapped for cash at the moment, barely have two sticks to rub together, but somehow, have still been able to back projects in a small way...I like to call it "microphilanthropy".

Also, it works through word-of-mouth, via social media, email, newsletters and your actual MOUTH! The more people involved, the more people there are to get the word out, and if their people tell people and those people tell people...well, you get the idea. It has the potential to be very wide-reaching, and it can spread like wildfire when the momentum hits.

In running a Kickstarter, however, you have to be a little mindful. More than one per year and people get Kickstarter burnout. Didn't you just ask me for money for that other thing? My first two were two years apart. I worry now that my 2nd and third are not far apart enough, and perhaps my people are all experiencing the aforementioned burnout, despite the fact that it's for a completely different theatre company.

(On a side note (and this is MY blog, so I can rant if I want to), I always find it interesting that most extended family members are always right there when it comes to shelling out $$ for wedding gifts, or a child's birthday or what not, but when it comes to something like this, it's like crickets.  It's more the principle of the thing, really, since I'm not the greatest when it comes to sending out gifts/thank you's etc - mostly has to do with being broke. I tried the handmade gift thing for awhile, but am never sure if those are appreciated, though they actually take more time, thought and effort than going to the store and plunking down a credit card. But whatever. I'm fairly certain that even if I was someone who sent out cards and presents to everyone's birthdays and weddings, these Kickstarters would still be overlooked by most of my family. It's just my weird art thing I do. They don't understand that each project is actually like one of my children, because that's just ABSURD. How could art be as important to someone as a CHILD or getting MARRIED for heaven's sake? Anyway. Rant over.)

This is the third campaign I've been directly involved with promoting. The first one, for Stings Like Acid by New Amerikan Theatre (of which I was one of the writers/produers) was an amazing, eye-opening experience that garnered us several hundred dollars beyond our original goal. The 2nd, for the Double XX Festival at Stone Soup Theatre started out similarly, had tremendous momentum behind it...and then I got fired over it - mostly due to a difference of opinion about how it was to be used (BAD, EVIL Carolynne for wanting to give each of the productions a little $$). Since a number of my personal friends had backed the project, many of them pulled their money after this occurred, and I saw the campaign lose momentum. It floundered and floundered...and then got "rescued" in the final week.

So now I'm helping run a campaign for eSe Teatro for the upcoming Oedipus El Rey at ACT's Eulalie Scanduzzi space in December. It started somewhat sluggishly, but now is beginning to build a little steam. The first few days were a little disappointing, and I felt personally responsible, but I guess this particular rollercoaster just started out with a straight and only slightly curvy track instead of a scary, upwards climb. It's only the beginning...