What I Want To Do

New year, new napkin. This is what I want to do in 2008:

1) redo web page. It's been up for two years, and it's time to upgrade. Make it graphically more sophisticated, more content-rich, more interactive. Maybe hang my blog and email off of it. Use .pdfs instead of links for my clips. Sell something on it, or give something away. Draw more people to it. Lots of people read my blog; hardly anyone goes to my web site. I've learned a lot in the past two years; now I want to put some of that knowledge to use.

2) Venice. If I travel in 2008, I'd like to see la Serenissima before she is completely underwater. Also, I'd like to score an all-expenses-paid super-luxe press trip during Carnevale at some future point, but I don't want that to be my first visit. So this will be a preview.

3) Paris Green. Finish my screenplay. I had sort of painted myself into a corner, but my old friend Bob Chamberlain brainstormed me out of it in about 20 minutes the other day. Also advised me to write alternate endings--said mine was too downbeat, and people in troubled times like happily ever after. But if I get to the end of one ending, I'll consider my resolution accomplished.

4) screen door. I've been talking about getting screen/storm doors for about three years now. My front door has to be the biggest source of heat loss in my whole house, and these would help insulate. I'd like to have them made by the woodworking school in Easthampton. The owner is supposed to stop by one day soon to discuss the project.

5) paint bathroom. I've got some insulating paint additive I'm dying to try out. Any one of the bathrooms is an easy project because they're all sheetrocked, with lower ceilings than the rest of the rooms.

6) rejoin Y. For obvious reasons. I'm going to be doing some grantwriting for them, in addition to the newspaper column I write. Maybe they'd roll in a membership with my contract?

7) roadtrip. This is a creative project I've been contemplating. Too complicated to go into here.

8) Rigoletto. I've had "La donna è mobile" running through my head for weeks now. Maybe seeing the opera performed will exorcise it. Prague has a good production of it this spring! Or maybe just watch Ponnelle's version with Pavarotti as the Duke.

9) opera. Jazz is out; opera is in.