Save a Horse, Ride the Cowboy?

Okay, that song is just playing on the radio, but what I really need to do is save my script! In order to save my script as we come towards the end, my protagonist has got to redeem himself (gettting there), stop his girl from getting on a flight (he may not, but she'll come back in the end... what can I say, I'm a sap for happy endings), get back her pendant (check), save the shelter (check) and stop his father from shipping X amount of jobs overseas! DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DE-DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DAA-DAAAAA DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DE-DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DAA-DAA-DAA-DAA-DAAAA!

Yes, whole lotta love...err...saving going on! And that is where I am stuck - how to stop the jobs from being shipped overseas. My main character Seth (light romantic comedy) has just gone through quite the ordeal and in doing so has come to realize what his girlfriend has been saying and why she is leaving. Along this journey of self-discovery, he also got some unexpected insight into his father's pharmaceutical company and met a former employee (now homeless)who was laid off during the first round of job cuts. So as I'm wrapping up everything, I know I have to stop the new batch of job cuts and get this guy his job back- but I don't know how.

Part of Seth's problem with his girlfriend (and inability to take life serious)is because he's an uptown boy and she's a downtown girl (sorry Billy) so they have differing views on those less fortunate. Also, his father has always been controlling and never gave Seth any real responsibility. The movie opens with a company meeting about the jobs being shipped out and Seth makes a joke and his father responds in turn with another joke. So now I realize this is my opportunity to go back and rewrite the scene to where Seth is trying to contribute something insightful (maybe) but instead his father brushes off his idea. And it can be this idea that comes to fruit in the end.

So if anyone has any ideas on what can save a large (made-up) pharmaceutical company from shifting jobs overseas (to save money)... I'd love to hear them! Now I'm going to turn off the radio before I get tempted to make a Margarita (take me away Jimmy!)while I rework a couple scenes.

Recycle, Reduce and Reuse!

What a great day off from work! I managed to clean out my shed (by which I really mean reorganized and crammed in more stuff like the patio chairs, grill, etc) and in doing so I also took out all the bagged returnable bottles and cans which have been accumulating in an ever growing pile! So yes, I finally brought them into the redemption center which not only gave me a few bucks but also got me thinking about the whole recycling thing -which is good and not so good. Okay - it also got me wondering how the guy was able to talk with his buddies without losing track of the number of returnables I brought in...

But back to the recycling... I mean, I take the time to recycle returnable beverage containers and I also recycle glass, aluminum, plastic and paper because we have curb side recycling in town -which is a great thing. But I also have to wonder about all it involves. First we have these extra trucks coming by every week stopping at each house to collect and sort the materials. So right there is fuel use and pollution added into the environment. Then the stuff gets brought to the center where machines (also using power and causing pollution) breaks down the materials into re-usable materials. I try to weigh it all out in my mind. It provides jobs... but it also takes job from the makers of the original products; but it saves on limited resources and helps save trees and... well whatever stuff is used to make plastic, aluminum and glass... okay so I didn't say I researched this... just got me thinking. I also suppose there is less waste in the landfills which is definitely a good thing.

Of course I will continue to recycle because it feels like the right thing to do - even if I'm not completely convinced on how much of a difference it makes. I guess when you hear the three-part slogan "recycle, reduce, reuse" that "reduce" really trumps the other two, with "reuse" as second best, and then what you don't eliminate or reuse, you should recycle. Okay - I really have no idea how that stinky sock (was that mold?) ended up with my bottles but I don't think I want to reuse or recycle it!

Continuing the good verses not so good mind trip I'm currently on - I refrain from using paper products and plastic but when you don't use paper plates, for example a kid's birthday party, then think about all the extra water you're using to clean the glass plates? And aren't we suppose to be mindful of water usage? And of course I'm totally guilty of buying lots of products that I just can not recycle because my town limits the types of plastics it recycles - but I really need certain hair products (and it's not up for debate).

We say we want to make a difference and we do a few little things and feel good about ourselves, but sometimes it feels fake. I know they say that ignorance is bliss -which is why I looked away when the guy at the redemption center opened a bag of rather sticky and not so clean bottles - but mostly I don't want to be ignorant. Despite the fact that I am using plastic bags that are getting thrown away to bring in the returnable plastic beverage containers! Yet I trust that someone out there has done the research and I am totally on board with the "reduce" and "reuse" and will just have to trust that "recycling" is a good thing too!