dog house

I’m trying to not freak out too much tonight but I’ve had a bit of a scare this morning. My dog, seventeen and senile as hell, gets up at 7AM and if he’s not let out within one minute he will pee and probably poop on the floor. But I can’t just let him out. I don’t have a secured yard. I can’t just leave him tied up in the garden in the front. He’ll howl, bark, freak out in general. I have to walk him. D was doing this but he complained about it so much and so resented the dog for waking him up so early that I just started doing it. It was unwise but I started doing it. I’m not blaming D but I didn’t want him to have to do it anymore because it was making him miserable.
So I walked the dog this morning, he made a mad dash for some hobo vomit in the alley and yanked me forward. I felt my muscles in my back tense up, fresh out of bed in the cold morning air. My back hurts. I feel weird. I’m hoping, praying that I haven’t injured myself. That I haven’t set myself back.
Last week my physical therapist said I was about a month away from discharge. I don’t know if that’s still true. I’ll know more in the morning after I’ve slept and my muscles do whatever they do. Every time I’ve injured myself it wasn’t until after I rested that I knew for sure I’d been injured. I was feeling so much better. I don’t feel horrible right now, just a little stiff. Of course each twinge sends me into a bit of a freak out. I’m hyperaware of every little thing.
Work-wise things are going well. Lots of interesting projects. Not lots of interesting money but there we are. School starts next week though I’ve hardly been away from my students. I’ve had two movie nights and had meetings with all of them over the break. I’m reworking the treatment for the long overdue Paramount project. I’m collaborating with a director I went to AFI with on this one. We sold it to Paramount in 2008 and he’s just premiering his new film at Sundance and wants to get this one ready as a follow up. We’ve both had an epiphany about the long dormant idea that I think makes it much cooler. I’ve also been approached by my favorite producer about doing a cable half hour that is sort of a "Glee meets Mad Men in the 1980’s." It’s about a music video producer and the coked up world of MTV circa 1985. At it’s best it will have the outrageousness of AbFab but with a good deal of heart and lots of big hair.
I’ve been chit-chatting with my close personal friend Lisa Kudrow. She’s coming to speak at my class at AFI. I always use the phrase "close personal friend" to describe celebrities with whom I have a passing acquaintance. Like my close personal friend David Duchovny or my close personal friend, Boston Red Sox owner Tom Werner. The main reason I’ve been chit chatting with Lisa is because of the series I’m developing at Warner Brothers with Tom Werner. We’re trying to attach talent and since I shot off my big mouth about "knowing Lisa" (i.e. having her email address) I was recruited to reach out to her — even though my agent and Tom are far more influential. It’s that strange thing where a personal connection means more. Anyhow, she had me send the script to her agent so maybe, maybe fingers crossed, she’ll read it.
Okay, I’m going to try to get some sleep and hope that my back’s not effed up in the morning.