Erin's Stimulus Package

The verdict is in. I will be able to collect unemployment. The judge based my decision on me having admitted to making an honest mistake--that when I first applied for unemployment, I put down "discharged" rather than "fired". For most of the weekend, I had flashbacks to the worst parts of my work experience. I didn't really want to know the verdict, since I thought it would be "no" based on my incompetence. I will be conservative with the money and will continue to look for work, but this is a great relief.

Yesterday, I finally got a call from the person I wanted to do a documentary on. She raised a lot of valid concerns, such as what kind of audience this potential movie might have, and clearances I'll have to make in regards to taking a camera into prison. (I'll elaborate eventually.) But she seems to be interested. We told each other that we would stay in touch. Today I went to the library in Ithaca and picked up her memoir. This person isn't a big celebrity, but I'm not ready to disclose who it is, either.

I also interviewed Ry Russo-Young for The Film Panel Notetaker and the zine. My method I used to record the conversation involved holding my shotgun mic to my speakerphone, so some of the audibility is questionable. But I should be able to transcribe most of it.