Summer Swelter

Summer is not my favorite season here in Southern California. When the temperatures climb into the 90s (and especially when subtropical moisture slips over Mexico from the Gulf), things are hot and, at times muggy. Can't complain too much about the last few weeks, though: I've only fired up the air conditioner two days so far. There's still August and September and October to go, though, and those are usually the hottest months.

I've been very diligent about taking care of the plants on the patio this summer, and the result is they are actually doing really well. I'm keeping everything watered and actually have a schedule for feeding them, rather than relying on sickly looking leaves to prompt me. The fountain is also responding to attention, and for the first time in a couple years, all five of the spouts on the front of the fountain are issuing water simultaneously.

Last week I finally had a face-to-face meeting with Martha, the publisher at American Cinematographer magazine, who has been sending me all the lovely work on the redesign of the American Society of Cinematographers' handbooks. Their offices are on the same lot as the Academy's Mary Pickford Film Archives buildings: It's all very austere and monumental except for the magazine's offices, which are housed in a sprawling old '30s bungalow. It's not as imposing as the monolithic quality of the archives, but much, much more homey.

Martha is a delightful woman and is in the same general age range as myself, so we had a lot in common, careerwise. The upshot is that there's a lot more work left to do on the handbooks than I had thought, and I have a feeling this work is going to be a part of my professional activities for at least the next month or so.

And, of course, last Sunday was my birthday. Turning 59 is a nonevent of sorts. Steve took me out to McCormick & Schmick's for dinner, and I had some really nice stuffed shrimp and their deadly good chocolate brioche pudding. My present from him was a really beautiful Murano Glass vase (pictured here), which has yet to find its permanent place in the house.

Our fourth wedding anniversary is coming up on Aug. 8, and we've agreed that we're not going to get anniversary presents for each other, but merely to remember and commemorate the day in some other way. Steve's birthday is in June and mine in July, so August seems like awfully quick turnaround, gift-giving-wise. As Steve said, "The birthdays and Christmas are six months apart, and that enough gift-giving for the year." Also in August, I should hear whether or not my bid was accepted by the Chamber of Commerce to design and layout their Business Directory and Community Guide, which would be another nice big job to come my way. I'm sure all the designers in the chamber are bidding on it, though, so it depends on how cheap someone is willing to go in order to get the job.

So we keep on keeping on. I'm still no better at doing marketing for the business. I need to work on creating focus on it, and working toward that "aha" moment when the next move will be clear to me.