adaptation

One of my favorite movies is "Adaptation," the crazy Charlie Kauffman-Spike Jonze tale of a neurotic writer, his (possibly imaginary) twin brother, an orchid thief, a journalist, and the act of writing itself. I don't know if I would like the film as much as I do if I weren't a writer. There are some scenes where I identify so greatly with the protagonist (like when he can't sit down to write because he keeps thinking he needs a muffin) that it's creepy. One of the things I love best about the movie is how it plays with the idea of adaptation--both in the sense of evolution(thus the orchids), adapting a movie into a screenplay, and just adapting, adjusting to change in general.

I think humans are amazingly adaptive animals. That's a line I've just written into the new book I'm working on. I'm thinking a lot about change and adjustment now that I've finally moved into my own place. I posted over the summer about my search for an apartment. And now here I am! I found a lovely light-filled studio on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It's not my favorite neighborhood, but a lot of close friends live nearby, and most importantly, the space feels big and airy, with enough room for my mammoth desk, my bookshelves, my shoe collection, and hopefully, for the dinner parties I plan to have! And it's mine. Eek. It's still very odd to come home to an empty apartment, to not have to listen for a roommate's key in the door. It's both wonderful and strange, freeing and a little lonely. On the one hand, I can sprawl out on the couch wearing whatever as I watch THE HILLS. I can be up at all hours typing in my bed without fear of waking someone. On the other hand, when there's that story I just HAVE to tell someone right away, or a purchase I'm bursting to show someone (I just bought the cutest lamp at Pottery Barn...) it's not quite as satisfying to do so over the phone. I know it's just an adjustment process, though. It takes a while before anyplace starts to feel like home. And a home you can write in...well, that's almost a whole other story.