An Ego booster!

My friend Radio Man is doing a short film. The director wanted to do a little rehearsal, but one of the actors is coming but of California for the shoot, and thus, isn't available before hand. RM asked me if I would come out with him and be his reading partner for rehearsal.

Sure, why not.

We were a little early by mistake, and waited while we watched a couple of scenes worked on their feet with a little pre-blocking.

Then another actor came in to play a transient for a couple of scenes. I was playing Jack, a middle aged, worn our number cruncher giving a stranger a lift from a local diner. RM was the stranger, I will call Hal since I can't remember his real name. Jack and Hal exit the gas station to find the bum peeing on Jack's car.

The actor playing the bum was, how shall I put it, committed. He was ready to pull down his pants, "pee" with a saline bottle, and even vomit on cue. I reminded him that I was only a stand in. Please don't vomit on me.

So, as we finished up that scene, and RM thought it was a table session and not memorized on anything, we moved on to that. This helped keep the bum actor from dropping trou, but it was all anyone could do to prevent a vomiting demonstration.

Finally, bum was done and we moved on to the Jack/Hal scenes.

After working through those, two other actors came in for their work, but they could not find a Jack to fill in, so I agreed to stay and work with them for a bit too.

When we were done the director asked if I would be interested in doing the film should something happen to the Cal. actor. That's not likely to happen, I am sure, and since RM and I work together on a schedule that has been prepared to allow him the time to do the movie, I don't know that I could do it, but it was real fun to get a request like that just out of the blue!

And his impression came back to me through other mutual channels. I have spent all these years trying to impress stage directors. Maybe I oughta be in pictures!

It just feels nice to get positive reinforcement when least expected.

IT

When you are a performer, one of the biggest variables is the "It Factor." Do you have IT? That is the question.

I often wonder if I have it and would like to think I do. When I perform, if I have the opportunity to greet the audience afterwards, I usually get good feedback on my performance. Many times the size of my role does not limit the audience from complimenting me on my work. When they see me, they clearly see it.

On the flip side, when I audition, getting a job often seems like a struggle. Some directors, including one or two whom I consider close personal friends, don't seem to see it. Some shows I am cast in with out hesitation. Clearly they saw it. Others, I can't seem to break in. They don't see it.

So I must have it, just not everyone can see it. That someone in the audience sees it keeps me pounding away at a career on the boards. Of course, if the director doesn't see it, it doesn't put money in the bank.

And now I have an audition at a theatre I haven't tried for in a couple of years. I three person musical that will very likely have a highly competitive list. They show is cute, I think I have the notes, I think I have the skills, I know I will have the audience and I think I have it. I just hope it isn't left at home that day ...

Yet Another Survey

Does any of this surprise you?

W H O . W A S . T H E . L A S T . P E R S O N . T H A T?
1. You hung out with? Debs
2. Rode in a car with? Debs
3. Went to the movies with? Karen
4. You went to the mall with? I shop alone
6. You talked on the phone to? Debs
7. Made you laugh? Dave

W O U L D . Y O U . R A T H E R?
1. Pierce your nose or tongue? Nose
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny
3. Drink whole or skim milk? Skim
4. Die in a fire or drown? Eek! Fire? Hopefully the smoke will knock me out.
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents

A N S W E R . T R U T H F U L L Y.
1. Do you like anyone? Yes

D O . Y O U . P R E F E R.
1. Sun or moon? Moon
2. Winter or Fall? Fall, especially if there are leaves to turn. Pretty!
3. left or right? Left
4. 10 acquaintances or two best friends? 2 best friends
5. Sunny or rainy? Sunny
6. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream? Coffee!

A B O U T . Y O U.
1. What time is it? 8:03am
1. First Name? Andrew
3. What do you want to do? Get out of debt!
4. Where do you wanna live? NYC
5. How many kids do you want? Maybe
6. You want to get married? Eventually, in a manner
8. Are you double jointed? No
10. Can you cross your eyes? Yes
11. Do you make your bed daily? No

R A N D O M.
1. Which shoe goes on first? Left
2. Ever thrown a shoe at someone? No
3. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
2. Have you ever eaten Spam? No!
3. Favorite ice cream? Coffee (see inadequate choices above!)
4. How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet? Zero
5. Do you cook? Sometimes
6. Current mood? Tired and blue.

IN . THE. LAST. 48 HOURS. HAVE. YOU.
1. Bought something? No
2. Sang? Yes
3. Been hugged? Yes
4. Felt stupid? Yes
5. Missed someone? Yes
6. Danced Crazy? Yes
7. Gotten your hair cut? No
8. Cried? Not really, but close
9. mad? No
10. been kissed? No (see crying above)

. S T U F F .
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Yes
2. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With someone
3. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

I am Lost!

Take the quiz:
Which LOST character are you?

Charlie
You are Charlie You are an ex-rocker trying to kick a drug habit. While on the island you have met a very nice girl Claire.

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


In the summary, it showed I scored a 3 on Charlie. Kind of hoping for Jack, but only scored a 1. I suppose all guys want to be Jack ...

No more goody goody two shoes ...

Things have just been crazy this week. Work all day, work all night. Thursday was especially bad.

Things were crazy in the office. The phone was ringing off the hook with all kinds of "difficult" customers. Some were rude, others just has difficult orders to fill, and it just kept coming.

So this started me kind of down when I got to rehearsal, and it was a long, gotta get through it, exhausting night.

During the show, I bum a cigarette off another character. This cigarette happened to come home with me. One unexpected thought I had all evening was I wanted to smoke that thing. I got home, got out the ashtray I save for my mother, and I smoked that thing.

I got smoke in my eyes and a scratchy, wooly, burning feeling at the back of my throat, but I smoked it, right down to the filter. No apparent physical affects, so I am still not sure why people do it on a daily basis. Only a strange sense of accomplishment. I have no idea what I accomplished, but there you have it.

Keeping up with the Joneses

One thing I can not seem to get the hang of is keeping a calendar. I can keep up with a date book for about a week until I start leaving it at home or work or the car.

I tried using Outlook on my lap top since half my appts. are work related, but even then I wasn't doing well to go straight to it.

Now, after some praises from Radio Man, I am giving Yahoo! Calendar a try. I moved to that instead of reaffirming Outlook because Outlook is only available on my lap top, while Yahoo! is available on any computer. As long as I can get to a computer, I can check my schedule and I can print it out if I need to bring a hard copy to a meeting. Well, at least at work. I don't have a printer at home. Haven't in years, but I don't need one really now, since I go to work first things most days and can always print something there.

It has been working pretty well. My default reminders are 1 day and 6 hours before, and I get an e-mail about that. Any day with a schedule also gets an e-mail sent outlining the day. Of course, today, I deleted a reminder/itinerary without looking at it. I knew what it was for, but still that will be a bad habit to get into. That will be like leaving it in the car or on the desk. Assuming I "know" my schedule is what gets me in trouble.

... now wait a G** damned minute!

I realized after going to bed last night that I made a mistake. I was accused of being as bad of a whiner as the people I was railing against in my last blog.

I responded by basically agreeing, and blaming it on 5 years of saved up whining. But having reconsidered, I have to strongly disagree.

I was ranting. I was raving. I was being ridiculously unfair to a situation where I only knew just a few of the facts. I was NOT whining. Whiners sit around and complain with no plan to move forward otherwise. I had private complaints about my situation, but I never stopped planning how I was going to get to the next day. For 1 month I slept on a couch which doesn't come with a power bill. Compassion paid my power bill for 2 months. Rent covered my power bill for 3 months. After 6 months, I was paying my own bills again. FEMA never paid for my power bill.

As for compassion? I had compassion. A year ago, a whole population went through a hell that was unimaginable until it was witnessed. They needed help. They needed support.

I am still sorry about how their lives were dramatically changed, but in a year, you need to be responsible for your electricity. Since when is electricity an unalienable right?

I call them sniveling, leaching, cry babies

[we interrupt this program to bring you the following very biased and bitter rant]

This morning on the local news they repeated a piece on the Katrina evacuees who were having their electricity shut off. You see, FEMA was only paying for electricity for a year and that year is up. The relocated resident is now responsible for paying the deposit to the electric company and transferring responsibility of payment to themselves.

So the news shows us heart-breaking interviews with put upon Katrina victims. What a travesty this is. Why won't the government help them? Why are they being so cruel? My fish in my tank won't live if the filters don't work!

You have a f***ing fish tank?!

Well, all I have to say to that is boo f****ing hoo! It has been a year. You can't find a job to pay for your deposit and bill in a year? Why do you have a fish tank? Shouldn't you be saving your pennies to pay for the electricity deposit?

You might say, but their homes are gone, their lives up turned, have mercy. I say, where was the mercy of the government when my life was washed away in 2001? Why didn't I get to live on the government's dime for a year?

My home was destroyed by Tropical Storm Allison. But since I am a single, male, renter, there was nothing anyone wanted to do for me. Homeowners got money. Families got money. Guys like me got crap.

I got what FEMA called two months rent for my area. It wasn't even close, and even if it was, I was supposed to be back on my feet in two months, not twelve. These people have been on assistance for a f***ing year.

The State gave me $1000 to replace the $6000 in damages I had. Yeah, that really covered it.

Insurance gave me nothing because renter's insurance didn't cover it. Floods are only covered by flood insurance. That was a hard lesson learned.

I spent most of June sleeping on a neighbor's couch. My FEMA rent money went to off set rent for a friend that let me apartment/pet sit for her while she was in LA for July and August. FEMA didn't even cover one month. Ouisie's Mom is a saint! I was back on the couch in September until I acquired a garage apartment to carry me through December, when my home was finally ready to move back in.

Keep in mind, this whole time, 6 months, while I was basically living out of my suitcase, I kept my job. I worked hard, but living out of your suitcase, a couch here, a hotel there, and an apartment there, is not cheap. Recovery wasn't cheap either.

And there is nothing you can tell me that will convince me that you could not get a job in 12 months. What that tells me is either A) you didn't want a job and felt you deserved to live off of my tax money or B) you could have gotten a job, but you were picky about it.

Guess what people, it is desperate times. If the job you get is flipping burgers, then flip the damn burgers. My meager debt load that was incurring while in graduate school (did I mention I was working AND keeping up with an MFA program those 6 months?) doubled after Allison. I may have to quit my job soon, the job I love that is in my field, in order to get a higher paying job I hate so I can get out of this debt. I don't see any FEMA people helping me take care of that.

I am sorry, but if a deadline was looming, you should have been saving for the deposit months ago. You should have found the crappy job that would keep your bills paid and THEN you should have gotten a fish tank. After all, flipping burgers is a mindless job, giving you plenty of time to think how you can get the job you want.

[biased, bitter rant over. we now return you to your regularly scheduled program]

And maybe a view?

As many of you know (well, there are three, four of you?) I tend to watch an inordinate amount of TV. Not as much as our noble QOTD, but more than my fair share. This week Fox started rolling out its Fall shows. Most notably "Vanished."

I really liked this show. The thing I like most, I think, is that whether it is season long or not, the story arc is long. Not like CSIs (also favorites) where there is a different story every week with the characters we love, but the story plays out over many episodes. The mystery of this woman's "disappearance" is going to take a while to solve.

The cast, so far, is very appealing. Ming Na is the only one whose work I know (from ER, Joy Luck Club and Mulan), and she is a definite plus. The leading FBI agent, Gale Howard, is very watchable, and his back story gives him a great brooding depth.

John Allen Nelson, as Senator Collins, is also very watchable. He is one of those B ring actors that work all the time in one shot roles, so you will certainly recognize him. He was faboo as the duped Presidential Aide in 24. He gets a very different role here as the duped husband. Wait ... maybe not so different.

Finally, there is Rebecca Gayheart. I almost forgot about her. She is always fun to watch. She is one of those rare few who work like a B ring actor, but seems more like an A ring star.

A ring? B ring? Maybe I should explain my code. A ring actors are the ones that one usually thinks of as a STAR. If not a big time star, they are the star of show after show. Keiffer Sutherland is A ring. Michael J. Fox is A ring. Actors whose names you know.

B ring are the actors with just as much skill and talent as the A ring, but for whatever reason, are the ones you only know on sight and you rarely know their name. They work all the time as guest shots on various shows, show up in supporting roles in films. Always make an impression, but since they are never the star, you almost never remember who they are unless you mean to. Basically, they are the people who you see early on in L&O, who you know are guilty for no other reason than you recognize them. Sure enough, after a brief interview in act 1, they show up again in act 3 as the focus. I would name names, but, well, you get my point.

Anyway, if your life has room and you are looking for a good mystery drama, Vanished just might be for you!

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!

People take a lot of quizzes on My Space!

You Are Wolverine

Small but fierce, you're a great fighter. Watch out! You are often you're own greatest enemy. Powers: Adamantium claws, keen senses, the ability to heal quickly

Which of the X-Men Are You?

And I said Cyclops was the sexiest. Hmm....

Tale as old as time ...

You scored as The Beast. Your alter ego is The Beast! But that is only a name... you are kind hearted and sweet, people just misunderstand you. The Beast 88% Peter Pan 81% Ariel 75% Goofy 69% Sleeping Beauty 63% Donald Duck 63% Cinderella 56% Snow White 56% Cruella De Ville 50% Pinocchio 31% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

My Space!

So, in an effort to be hip and cool, and try to figure out how a theatrical organization can utilize certain internet tools, I have joined My Space.

Click here to check it out!

I have been checking out other theaters My Space pages, and yet to find out how they are using them to an advantage. The Water Tower Theater seems to have a good blog going. I love the before and after/rehearsal and performance shots.

Otherwise, life is moving forward. That is about as positive as I can be these days. My moods are shifting rapidly as I settle into this new stage. In all deference to 3B2B, who I raz about referring to age on his blog, I am feeling like too much of life has slipped by me. Gary may have over used the word, but there are days when I feel down right pathetic. Those are the blusiest days of all. If it wasn't for TLC and Bravo, I might not even get out of bed those days.

Who am I?

This has come to me in an e-mail a couple of times, and I thought it would make a good MEME.

Four Things about me - Things you may or may not have known about me in no particular order.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Supernumerary, New York City Opera Co.
2. Waiter
3 Docent, French Legation Museum
4. Actor/Singer (as each and both)

B) Four movies I would watch over and over (and do!):
1. Horatio Hornblower
2. Rent
3. White Christmas
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

C) Four places I have lived (in order):
1. Houston, TX
2. Williamstown, MA
3. Austin, TX
4. Houston, TX

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The Amazing Race
2. Lost
3. 24
4. Project Runway

E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. New York, NY
2. Los Angeles. CA
3. Spain, Costa del Sol to Madrid
4. Bloomington, IN

F) Websites I visit daily:
1. Playbill.com
2. Lemming's Progress
3. Chase Bank
4. Google Personal Home Page for Quote of the Day

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Fried Chicken
2. Coffee Ice Cream
3. French Fries
4. Sweet and Sour Chicken with Steamed Rice

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. London, England
2. New York, NY
3. Scotland
4. Wherever there may be friends and/or family in attendance

The Ghost in the Machine will kill us all!

With the dawn of the debit/Visa card, I have become one of those people who never carry cash unless I know I am going to need it. I actually developed the habit in college when it was easier to pass by the homeless on the Drag when I could honestly say I had no money on me. The result was I rarely had money when I needed it and visited the ATM all the time. Sometimes fees yes, sometimes no, sometimes extra because it wasn't your bank, ah the headache!

But with the new age, you don't need it. Target takes Visa/debit. Korger takes it. Taco Bell takes it. Starbuck's takes it. What more does one need in life?

Well, this weekend in the hamlet (where I work), the phone lines are mysteriously down. No phones means no credit card machines. So, when I went to my favorite deli to get lunch, which was this day's first meal, no cash, no deal! AH!

Fortunately I had a check handy, and I was saved from a fate of starvation and dehydration or worse.

I suppose, since terrorists can't apply for Mastercard or Visa (surely their credit scores are too low) they don't know how we have come to rely on it. Don't bomb our centers of business, or symbols of freedom or capatilism. Just cut our stupid phones lines. America would probably just shut down.

Throw in the cables lines and most of us would probably wish for a good bomb attack!

The Runway at its best!

I am not ashamed to admit it. I am totally addicted to Project Runway. The fashion, the challenges, the personalities! I love it all.

I watch it every week, and then if it is on again during a channel surf, I will watch it again. I can't help it.

Last night was a particularly good one. I can't believe Bradley actually survived it all. I am glad he did, but what a dodge. He was hopelessly lost up until the last second, threw something on the model in an act of desperation and ended up in the top three.

And it was his birthday. Happy Birthday to Bradley!

Take a Pill!

So, the biggest news item of the week? Pres. Bush said the S word and embarrassed the country.

Are you kidding me? He says sh*t in a private moment and it's embarrassing? It's news?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan, but so what? He is a person, and though he was miked, he thought he was not miked. And that aside, he wasn't being broadcast at the time, just recorded.

I kind of agree with whatever late night pundit pointed it out. How he was chomping on that roll was more embarrassing than what he said.

Geesh!

Yes, because in America, we're perfect!

So I am listening to my regular morning show, the Today show, and Matt Lauer is in St. Petersburg, Russia. In a piece on the city, he asked two separate men (neither actually Russian!) what the Russian people thought about their country becoming "less" democratic. Did they have a problem with it? The answers where pretty much the same. As long as civil and personal liberties were not affected, they didn't have a problem with it.

Why? Why!? Why does everyone have to follow our model exactly? The narrow views of Americans can just get to me. It may surprise some of you that we do not have a perfect government! Why would anyone else model theirs after ours exactly? I wouldn't.

A similar thing happened on my favorite reality program, The Amazing Race. The teams were traveling through a very lush and beautiful part of Ethiopia that also didn't have many modern luxuries. A very naive model wondered how the people could live like that! Um ... flushing toilets and running hot and cold are not givens world wide just because you can't live with out it. As a matter of fact, most of the world lived with out those very things quite nicely. Yes, these people lived in huts with dirt floors, but is how they live! Just because you find it too rustic, doesn't mean they are in misery.

Not that I would want to give up hot and cold running water, but it isn't exactly the gold standard.

God bless Russia! May its government find a better way then ours!

Quote of the Day

"No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." - Thomas Mann

Say it ain't so Jo!

I just got off of a much needed long conversation with the Queen Mother, may God keep her safe, and she suggested that a good blogger blog at least once a week. And since it has been two week's since my last confession, I thought maybe I should say something.

So, I have a busted washer. It has been weeks and weeks. Because of my show schedule, it has been tough getting Sears in to look at it, but earlier last week, I got the man in.

He listened to it and said that to start it was $475, and it could be more once he got in there and worked on it, being that it was a very cheap appliance with about a life of 5 years, and low and behold, it was 5 years old.

To complete the estimate, he needed wireless access, which he wasn't picking up in the apartment. While he was waiting for me to get some shoes on to go out and find a signal, he looked at my bookcase and said, "So, did you hear that she might actually kill Harry Potter in the last book?"

beat ... beat ...

"Um, yeah. I saw that interview this morning. She actually made no allusions as to who it might be, only that two major characters would die."

"I don't really think she would kill Harry Potter off, you think?"

beat .. beat ...

"Um, I would hope not, but you never know."

"Yeah, she said she wrote the last chapter first. Very interesting."

Inside Voice: "Am I really having this conversation with the repair man?"

"Me too. Can't wait for that last book."

And out we went. See? How can anyone say Harry Potter is a bad thing. Even grown men who, through stereotype, probably haven't read a book since their last day in school are captivated by this wizard and the world Jo Rowling has created. Maybe this guy is an anomaly of his class and is a prolific reader, but it still is pretty amazing that a bohemian like me and a maintenance repair man like him can talk about something like Harry Potter.

In the mean time, the new washer came, I am doing laundry at home (and not work) and the buzzer on the dryer almost made me wet myself. I forgot it could make that kind of noise!

Hello world!

So, I just got advertised on a friendly blog and I feel like I should have something to say today.

My good friend Radio Man is evil. E-V-I-L! Thanks to him, I have re-entered the world of fantasy role play computers games. I have gotten totally re-obsessed. What's more, the game only works on my lap top (no DVD drive in tower) which means when I crash in the late afternoon, it is way to easy to escape into the world of Neverwinter Nights.

Evil! EVIL!

And what's more, the game can be played over the internet with other people so Radio Man and I, and sometimes player Ghetto Guy, can play together.

You will also notice I like to make up names for friends. Radio Man and Ghetto Guy are new. Ghetto Gy might not stick though...

Fix It Your Own Damn Self

Why do I have to fix everyone else's problems? I got problems of my own you know.

I don't care if the room is too cold, I don't care if you don't like your seats, I don't care that someone took off with your bobby pins.

Who is going to fix my problems? That is what I want to know!

My life is turning topsy turvy! Screw your damn bobby pins!

The Days of Wine and Roses

Okay, so the summer isn't going to suck so much after all. It is still going to be a weird and strange season, but at least I don't want to "end it all" by quitting the world and living under a bridge or running off to live on an island.

My current production opened this week. It opened come hell or high water, and we had a little bit of both. But the audience enjoyed it and we are waiting on the critics.

I was even given particular praise from certain unexpected individuals, so that helped in putting aside the bitter taste of a miserable life that was the last couple of weeks.

Three more weeks to go and then I will try and enjoy July as much as possible. I have a cousin getting married in far off regions that I should probably go see. The Queen of Florida and the Queen Mother live in a kingdom near by, so I could also take a visit there and update them on my life. I could call, but there are some significant updates. We shall see ...

I Was Right

Have you ever done something you thought you were good at? Something that you have done for like 30 years? Something that you thought you did pretty well? And then someone comes along and tells you that you aren't doing so well and they might ask you to stop.

Ever have that happen?

Yeah, well, it sucks when it does. It really, really, REALLY sucks.

This summer is going to really suck ... Excuse me while I go roll up into a ball and wail for a bit.

Those Long Dog Days ...

The summer of 2006 is not going to be fun. I can just tell. It is going to be long and trying and stressful.

Why?

There is just too much trouble a brewing in too many lives that touch mine. First, of course, there is my own personal journey that just jumped tracks. And I am not talking train tracks or race tracks. I am talking roller-coaster tracks. Life was on the little kiddy coaster and now it is on the super duper loop coaster.

My friend Lemming is having diss. woes. My friend Brain is having his own crisis. The Queen of the Dweebs is a bit adrift and Carol, the Ancient Yuletide Troll, had her own smack upside the head recently.

Sometimes it is just too much. If only I could think about it all at Tara. Everyone needs a Tara, don't you think? Where the hell is my Tara?!

Those long long days ...

I am bored. I am bored and tired. I am bored and tired and going a little crazy.

That is the day I am having. Which only leaves you to wonder a bit. Am I really doing what I should be? Yes, though I wish there was more performing and less admin. Still, the idea of building an audience for my core theater is kind of exciting. We have 100 seats. We do 18 performances a run. Surely there are 1800 people out there for each show! Even 1440 would be nice. I mean, Houston is a huge city. Where are those 1440?

Lemming questioned about what she was doing with the rest of her life. I sometimes wonder what I have been doing with my life so far. Why I made the detours I did away from a life in the arts. Why I didn't make or understand other personal decisions earlier, like 6 or 10 years ago.

I don't know if there is an answer to any of that. Most times I see where the roads in life have brought me, think about the friends and family that surround me and then think what would probably not be there had I done things differently at any given time. When you see those things of value gone and it is hard to imagine what value may or may not replace it, it kind of makes you think it all just works out. Maybe not for the best, as they say, but it all just works out.

If a Tree Falls in the Woods ...

If a blogger blogs, but no one reads it, are they a blogger?

I don't think anyone reads my blog anymore. Not surprising really. I joined the blogsphere last year some time, and posted for a while, but found the things I wanted to blog about would be fleeting when I was at a computer, even if they were witty and abundant while, say, stuck in traffic.

At that time, I know I had a few readers. The Queen Mother for one, and Lemming would comment every so often.

Then I fell of the tracks.

I came back to the blogsphere just after my birthday. I had an odd need to be a part of the whole thing. I also had a big epiphany about my life, and needed some kind of outlet to talk about it. Which I did in metaphor, but pretty obvious, blatant metaphors.

I added my blog to sig lines in e-mail and started posting on other blogs to help announce my return, but have received no comments here. Not on the blog and not directly. No Lemming. No Queen Mother or Queen of the Dweebs. No Carol, the Yuletide Troll. Though Carol and QOTD probably didn't read before.

I suppose some of those folks are reading, know what I am talking about and are waiting for me to say something before they do themselves. So if they are, I hope they realize it is a big something to say out loud and are patient with me.

It may seem silly that it is so hard to say. Some will tell me it was painfully obvious, which makes me feel much like a fool, but there you have it and there it is.

Who are we really?

So, I was working with The Brain yesterday, as in Pinky and the Brain (I am Pinky), and he said to me, "Do you ever wake up and wonder who the hell you thought you were and who the hell are you now that you aren't who you thought you were."

"Why yes Brain, I have done that. Not too long ago, but no one believes me when I say I am Celopatra, Queen of the Nile."

Well, I didn't quite say that, but I did say that this has happened to me and none to recently. I really did think I knew who I was, who I was gonna be, and who I was expected to be.

Then 10 years ago I meet someone who didn't believe I was who I said, thought and expected to be. Of course they were wrong and I was right, and the mental tail spin of confusion they created was poppy cock.

But then, one day earlier this year, as the vortex of confusion and doubt was restarted by the presence of a new person in my life, I made myself face the reality that I am not exactly who I said, thought or expected to be.

Now I just have to get used to who I am ...

You Made Your Bed, Now Sleep In It

I have recently gotten into the habit of making my bed every morning. Not only when I change the sheets. Not half way when I need a good place to fold laundry. Every day.

The thing is, the room looks so much nicer when you come home and look into the room with a made bed. Some people will tell you, "Why make it, you are only going to mess it up later!", but don't listen. Your mother was right. Make your bed. Somehow life seems better.

Of course it means taking that extra bit of time in the A.M. as you are rushing out the door for work. I have found taking that moment to stop and make the bed is a bit zen. Your one moment to take a breath and not be running like an idiot gathering your day together.

So make your bed each morning and enjoy how your home looks when you come back from the long day. It's worth it!

Speak, BarlowGirl, Speak

'Cause I'm about to let go
And live what I believe
I can't do a thing now
But trust that You'll catch me
When I let go
When I let go

The Flowers the Bloom in the Spring, Tra la!

I have taken a few days mostly off to do some spring-cleaning. It is slow going but the results have been very satisfactory.

I started with the closet. I didn’t “clean out” the closet per se, but did get rid of the trash, organize the areas that could be better stored and got most of my Christmas stuff together and out to storage. There is still one mini trip where that is concerned.

Next has been the bedroom; all those areas that have not been dusted, places behind things that haven’t seen a vacuum in a few years, and the like. When an area is done, it looks so clean and proper. You would think that would be incentive to keep that way. Maybe this time …

The one thing I am glad to finally accomplish is level the two beside bookcases. In my apartment, anything against the wall slopes one way or the other because of the thick carpet pad. I was especially eager to attend to this project as I got a new lamp for the bedside that was tall and slim. This accentuated the backwards slope. I felt like a lived in the Joker’s lair!

I solved the problem with my hall bookcases by placing furniture sliders under the front legs. This made it almost perfectly level!

So this weekend I got new sliders, this time for the back corners of the bookcases. Again, near perfect fix

So, the rest of today, before I have appointments, will be for the front part of the bedroom, hall and maybe into the living room. If not, the living room tomorrow before I go back to work!

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime...

For those of you who do not work in theatrical customer service, you don't know what you are missing!

What is it with subscribers? I just had one track me down this weekend. He always asks for me as if I am the only one who can help him. Any of the people who work for me can handle exchanges and do so with successful regularity. But no, he has to have me, and if one isn't paying attention, he usually gets me.

Of course, I know what he wants. He wants me to exchange his tickets without having to pay the requisite upgrade. I am not going to that. We need the money, and he subscribed at the lowest level and wants to switch to the highest level for free.

What, are you high?

Moo with Me...

So, I am spending the day working on some personal home projects. To pass the time I have thrown in the DVD player RENT.

I am at the part when Maureen is doing her protest. The moment in the film is what it is, but the memory of the play is what makes this part of the movie kind of thrilling. At the end of the protest, Maureen asks the audience to, “Moo with me!” After some encouragement, they do and shortly after the protest is broken up by the cops.

As silly as it seems, this was one of the great moments in the play. On screen, the audience is the main characters and a bunch of extras. But in the theater, the audience is THE audience. Even on tour in Houston, where I saw the show, it doesn’t take long for Maureen to get one person to moo, then another and so on until the whole theater is playfully mooing. I am sure even some of those older, stodgier Broadway Series subscribers were mutedly mooing under their breath.

So now, when I see the scene in the movie, I get a little thrill because I remember the experience in the theater. A moment that was truly theatrical. A moment when performer and spectator worked as one and everyone was part of the experience, not just witnesses.

RENT, the movie, has its high and low points, yet it still is able to remind me why theater is so important and why it can’t just be a sideline or a hobby. It is truly a part of who I am.

Good Night and Good Luck...

I thought I had some pithy thoughts today, but nothing comes to mind now.

Good night Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are!

Some People Got No Reason ...

Can someone please tell me how is it that Bucky Covington is still on American Idol and Mandisa was just voted off?

Is there no justice on reality TV!

Please sir? Can I have some more?

In an effort to save money AND lose weight, I made an effort to organize myself, go to the store, and stock up on stuff for lunch and snacks. I have totally wasted my funds on buying lunch at work, and that just needs to stop.

So, I packed a nice little lunch with a couple of snacks. Now it is all gone and I am starving!!!!! I really want to go get something from like Starbucks or the like, but I really need not too. Not only should I NOT spend the money, I don't need the calories.

What I DO need is to save money and lose 10 pounds!

Come Spirit, Come Charm ...

I visited the grave of a dear friend today. It was the first time I ever went on my own I think. At least at a time that wasn’t marking his death. I went in hopes of drawing some inspiration from his life and the relationship that we had.

My friend died in 1998, almost seven and a half years ago. It is amazing to think that he has been gone that long. As I thought about it, I realized that I had only met him about ten and a half years ago.

The result of this is that this man became an important part of my life, a dear friend and colleague, in just about three years. It is sometimes amazing to think how quickly human attachments can be made.

I only visited him for a few moments, bringing him to my thoughts, trying to imagine his answers to my questions. I have made a lot of self discovery in the past few weeks around my most recent birthday, and here was a friend who very clearly saw to the heart of me and knew me better than I did.

I wonder what life would be like now if I had listened to him and asked these questions seven and a half years ago...

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

So, I haven't really gotten the hang of this blog thing. I so want to be a part of it though, it is just by the time I get to my computer, all the pithy toughts have morphed into the mundane. What is a blog worth if it doesn't provide some kind of entertainment?

Franklin Covey says the best way to get used to using a date book is to take it everywhere you go. So I am going to try and blog every day for a while, even if I don't have anything to say. What the hell, I babble on answering machines, why not the 'net.

I picked this quiz up from tommyspoon.
Muahahahaha!

You Are 46% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Speaking in tounges

Did you ever think that you were right about something, and believed it with everything you had, only to find out that you were wrong?

Like, you knew the world was flat, and told everyone the world was flat, even when they said it was round, and finally they let you believe it was flat.

I think the world might actually be round...

The Pain of Martyrdom

So, I haven't really gotten the hang of this blog thing, but I had to post this.

The theater I work for is playing Ouroboros and last night a small group leaves at intermission. Now, we get this every night. It is actually a good thing that we are pissing a few people off.

So, as the second act is starting, the house manager tells this group the second act is about to start. The kind of sniff and then say, "We aren't staying to see a person get martyred, even if they are a homosexual and deserve it!", and then promptly left.

The kicker is they then called the theater today and complained that it was the worst thing they ever saw, it was filthy and disgusting and pornographic.

Ha! And they didn't even stay for the most "shocking" part of the show.

So, Houston people, come see the show that Brenda Jackson calls, "Filthy! Disgusting and Pornographic!" Now at Main Street Theater!

Go 'Stros part 2

So, the White Sox won the World Series, and they won it in 4 games. That is a little disappointing. It would have been nice if the Astos could have won at least one game.

Even though it was a 4 game win, it was a hard fought series, yes? Let us not forget the one game that went until 2am! And it was longer than the 18 inning game in the penant race!

One thing I was glad to see is the amount of fans, who, in the end, were still proud that we were in the World Series. This is a new age of Houston fans. In the past, losing would have made the team persona no grata. Houston fans used to be so fickle. Our fans are maturing I suppose and truly developing team loyalty over the we love 'em when they win but despise 'em when they loose mentality.

Better luck and a closed roof next year!!!

Go 'Stros!

I was born in Houston and lived the first 9 years of my life there (and the last 13). That makes me an Astros fan. Even at 9 when I moved to Western Mass. and had my choice of Boston and NYC teams to support, I stayed loyal to the Astros. That is just the kind of fan I am.

I am not a big follower of sports. I am alwasy interested in how the home town team is doing, and start to follow closely as things get big. This does not make me a fair weather fan though. I don't abandon them in my thoughts when they lose. I feel sad and hope for better things in the future.

Well my friends, the future is now! We are in the World Series! Yippie ki yi yay m*&%*# f#*&@!

Now my friend Hugh is a Chicago fan. I think his primary interests belong to the Cubs, so I don't know what he thinks about the Sox.

Now it's time for a little smack talk . . .
The Sox suck man! They gonna looooooose! Go 'Stros!

Annoying Republicans

By request of Eva--

When my latest neighbor moved in on my living room wall, I introduced myself. Because I have bad ears, I sometimes have to turn the TV up a bit more than most would and told her to just let me know if it ever was a problem.

Then, one night I was watching the extended version of LOTR:TFOTR and the sound effects are MUCH louder than the dialogue. This was especially true during the battle in the Mines of Moria. I kept adjusting the volume as the sound spiked, but dang it, I wanted to know what they were saying!

The next day I had a note on my door that seemed a little pissy. After I got over sending a pissy note back, I wrote a very nice note of apology and asked her to call me any time it was a problem again, and gave her my number.

Not heard a peep from her since, though she is less than friendly if we do happen to pass in the parking lot.

Even though I had my needs, I was feeling empathetic until I noticed on her small SUV a W sticker.

I am not much for drawing lines in the sand when it comes to politics, but with everything else, she seemed the perfect target for my liberal, independent disdain.

Of course, this Friday, I was pretty sure she was gone and watched the film with full surround sound glory!

Hail to the Cheifs

I know only two or three people read this blog, but I have something that I want to say.

I want to thank the city leaders of the East Texas coast for the absolutely stellar job they did during Hurricance Rita. I know a lot of people are going to start complaining about this and that, especially the traffic problems with evacuation.

Yes, there were problems, but this is the first time that such an evacuation was attemepted. Don't forget that A) there was a plan and B) when things got problematic, the state and cities responded as quickly as possible.

Most important, buses were provided for those with out transportation ahead of the storm, and pets were not treated as chattel, but as part of the family which they are.

Thank you Mayor White and the team in Houston and Harris County. Thank you Lyda Ann Thomas and the team in Gavleston.

I think I love you Lyda Ann ...

I do have gas!

For those of you that might be worried, I do have plenty of gas. I happened to need gas on Monday evening. A full tank will last me 10 - 14 days of normal use. Right now I have about 3/4 of a tank.

What this means is I won't have to wait in long gas lines at one of the few stations that have gas. This also means that no one will wave a gun in my face to make me let them in ahead of everyone else!

And you thought Road Warrior was just a movie!

There's Got to Be a Morning After

It is now just after 8am. Overnight I don't know that I got a lot of rain, but apparently enough wind to blow down a small, decorative, tropical fruit tree. This tree always bothered me a little any way. They have popped up around the property and they seemed to come out of nowhere. The "fruit" is pod like. Almost like real chubby, oversized bananas. Who is to say they aren't alien in origin, waiting to snatch our bodeis and take our places?

I still have power, which you think may be obvious from my posting. Of course, my laptop is fully charged, so I could be using that, but I am not. Tower computer is on.

I had cable until about 7am when it went out just before a local press conference. I pulled out the rabbit ears and now have Channel 11, the CBS affiliate. All affiliates in Houston are dim chicken littles, but 11 is the worst. Oh well ...

Blow High! Blow Low!

Who new Carousel would have such apt song lyrics!

Thankfully, for now, Rita has turned more to the east and the center of Houston is currently not in the cone of probability. I think this means tropical storm conditions, and from the clean side of the storm too. This is good. I pray for the people who now are getting the storm as well as continue to pray that where ever it lands, it lessens before landfall, lessens quickly when it does and keeps moving through. No stalling! Stalling and turnarounds created the conditions where I flooded.

I will spend the day checking on the weather and watching Lost on DVD. I will move on to a LOTR marathon at some point. With the annoying republican who doesn't like loud movies gone, I can enjoy the surround sound!!

Should the winds get bad and scary, I am pretty prepped. I have plenty of water. I have a couple of used bottles refilled and in the freezer as well as stock piling ice.

One radio that plugs in and one radio that has batteries. Flashlights in the living room and bathroom and a yellow flashlight by my bed that was sent to me by the Queen of Florida. I also have candles in each location.

Before I go to bed I will try to fill the tub. There is a worry that if we lose power, water won't flow. I only just learned that the water in the tub was for toilet flushing!

When you walk through a storm hold your head up high!

I can not believe that I just taped my windows. I JUST TAPED MY WINDOWS!

I never thought I would do that.

Another problem of a theological one. How do you pray that the hurricane will continue east with out wishing harm on those who live there? I suppose you can't.

So, I just pray that where ever hurricane Rita goes, anyone in its path is kept safe and that whatever blows over my head, I am kept safe as well.

I am riding the storm out. Some neighbors are here as well. I had an offer to go to my brother's and ride it out with them as well as to College Stataion, which is farther inland.

I don't think I get to College Station any time soon. Plus, I really do feel safer in Houston right now. All my needs, assuming availability, are in walking distance. Hospital, food stores and pharmacies. Plus, if I do have to make a run for it, I know how to get out from here. I would be totally lost at my brother's.

Wish me luck and safety as we go!

What sign are you?

Everyone knows their sun sign, but what is your rising sign?

Your Rising Sign is Cancer

You are compassionate and kind - and the one who gives security. And while you sometimes tire of it, people always turn to you for advice. Emotions are your domain, and you use tend to use them for good. But you've also been know to be very manipulative when you need to be. You're quite loyal to those you love most - friends and family. For everyone else, you tend take time to build up trust.

What is Your Rising Sign?

This might explain some things about the relationship with my best friend the Queen Mother.

Over Eating

An Empty Plate will leave you satisfied
By Lee Williams

Published: Thursday, September 15, 2005

Michael Hollinger's An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf, now running at Main Street Theater, is a most unusual comedy. Wildly ambitious, this play, set in Paris in 1961, invokes some of American literature's most familiar images. Ernest Hemingway, a Parisian cafe, a lonely suicide, a bloody bullfight, impotence and existential angst all play a part in this 100-minute one-act about a man who wrestles his psychological demons during one long and lonely night in Paris. But revered as they may be, many of the motifs running throughout this script feel oddly out of place. They come off as over-the-top melodrama, seeming almost quaint against the backdrop of our current consumer-driven world. On the other hand, there's so much wonderful clowning by this story's collection of quirky characters -- who come to dazzlingly hysterical life with the help of director Rebecca Greene Udden's wonderfully capable cast -- that it's hard not to come away from this peculiar play feeling strangely satisfied.

The premise spins around an expatriate American newspaperman named Victor (Charles Tanner), who shows up at a cafe one night with a most unusual request. He wants simply to tell his life story while he slowly starves himself to death. "I've lost my appetite," he announces. "I've decided to not eat till I die." Over time, we learn that he actually owns the cafe and that he bought it with his inherited millions so that he can be its sole patron. There is no menu, as the cafe is always ready to serve its only customer whenever and whatever his heart desires. To that end, Victor has employed a staff of clowns who live to serve him. They are deeply disturbed by their patron's last desire.

There's Gaston (Robert Leeds), the chef, whose genius in the kitchen is surpassed by only his knowledge of the ghastly effects of starving oneself to death: "It makes your eyes start to jiggle in your head!" Lovely Mimi (Celeste Roberts), dressed in black-and-white waitress attire, thrills when she gets near "Monsieur" and gushes over his stories about his travels. Mimi flusters about trying to make Monsieur change his mind about starving, only to be enraged by her husband, Claude (played with fabulously scene-stealing gusto by James Belcher), the cafe's manager, who barks orders to everyone in the place. While insisting that Monsieur must eat, Claude is trying to teach a young and bumbling trainee named Antoine (Andrew Ruthven) Table Waiting 101. But Victor ignores Claude and instead turns to Antoine, who fails at everything until he starts taking down Victor's story in careful dictation on his waiter's pad.

It's unclear exactly what has gone wrong in Victor's life, what has gotten him so down that he wants nothing more than to end it all. But we do know that he's got an unhealthy attachment to the suicidal Hemingway. Victor is constantly quoting the granddaddy of modern American literature. And we know that "Mademoiselle," a mysterious woman who always accompanies Victor, is strangely absent this night.

Nothing his staff says will change Victor's mind about not eating. But he does acquiesce to one strange request: He'll let them tempt him with a make-believe dinner. They bring out empty plate after empty plate, describing the dishes they wish they were serving in so succulent a verbiage, it's impossible not to come out of this show hungry as a bear. It's "a feast of adjectives and adverbs," as one character says. From soup to salad (eaten last in this cafe), the dinner of rabbit soup, vodka-tomato sorbet and roasted pheasant is talked about in deliciously sensuous poetry. The tomatoes are "buxom," the oil "virginal."

As head waiter, Belcher enjoys every minute he spends curving his lips around syllables as though each were a bite of manna. He leads the terrific cast of foppish staff members as it comes to light that they're every bit as troubled as Victor. Love has run amok in this place. Everyone is in the throes of unrequited lust. One has thought long and hard about his own suicide. A gun appears, as do other means of death. And it all crescendos into a re-enactment of a bloody bullfight, red cape and all.

Frankly, Victor and his troubles sound narcissistic when held up next to those of his sadder and funnier staff, which undermines some of the possibilities of Hollinger's tale. It's hard to feel much sympathy for a man who's so rich he can pay four people to do nothing but listen to him whine about his sorry life all night long. And Tanner's slow and measured line delivery doesn't add much urgency to Victor's conflict. But to be fair, Tanner doesn't have much to work with, even at the bitter end, when Victor finds out that things aren't what he thinks.

It's the staff who has the real problems. Happily, their struggles get as much time on stage as Victor's, and they make for a sinfully tasty treat.

Empty Plate a bountiful feast

Empty Plate a bountiful feast
By EVERETT EVANS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The empty plates dictated by its intriguing premise notwithstanding, An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf serves up a feast of fine theater.

In Main Street Theater's well-done Houston premiere of Michael Hollinger's "tragic comedy in seven courses," director Rebecca Greene Udden and her able cast savor the delicate flavors of Hollinger's literate, witty and ingeniously plotted script, with its rich undertones of ironic humor and rueful philosophizing.

Set in Paris on a summer evening in 1961, Empty Plate takes place at an unusual restaurant. The owner, a wealthy expatriate American publishing magnate, is the sole customer. The establishment is always open, the staff ever ready to prepare for "Monsieur" (as they've been directed to call their boss) anything he desires.

Yet on this night, Monsieur arrives from the bullfights in Madrid disheveled and morose. He demands the one thing the staff never anticipated — that he be allowed to starve to death at his table. Despite his promise that he has provided for them in his will, they are distraught. Serving him has become their sole purpose. The headwaiter proposes that they prepare a seven-course dinner — but leave the food in the kitchen, serving only the empty plates and descriptions of the dishes. Monsieur agrees to just that, though the staff members clearly hope they can ultimately tempt him into accepting more than just descriptions.

As the "dinner" progresses, Monsieur reveals the circumstances both long-past and recent that robbed him of his appetite for food (and life). One factor is the suicide of Ernest Hemingway, whom Monsieur idolized and regularly quotes. Another is the absence of Monsieur's mistress, who usually accompanies him. But what has happened to her? That is just one of the mysteries tantalizing the staff.

Hollinger balances his key ingredients of nonchalant absurdism, zany comedy and serious reflection on desire and apathy. He seasons his plot with the often volatile interplay of the staff, particularly the marital hostilities of headwaiter Claude and his dissatisfied wife, Mimi. He injects much clever wordplay, despite one or two moments when he strains a bit for effect.

Naturally, he has fun with the culinary descriptions, the "winsome shallots" and "buxom tomatoes." But there's ample food for thought, as well. The ending is satisfying, hinging on a surprise worthy of Guy de Maupassant or O. Henry.

Besides bringing a light touch to the material, Udden has cast the play felicitously. As Monsieur, MST veteran Charles Tanner exudes world weariness and the ashen gentility of burnt-out passions. Yet he remains aptly enigmatic.

James Belcher manages the neat trick of making headwaiter Claude aggressively servile with Monsieur, and just overbearingly bossy with everyone else. Celeste Roberts is even better than usual here — bringing an ideal blend of poise and passion to the fiery, frustrated Mimi, with islands of understanding amid her seas of tempestuousness. And she looks great in her "I'm leaving you" suit.

Bob Leeds likewise rises to the occasion as eccentric chef Gaston, amusingly miffed at being squelched by Claude, beaming with pride at his culinary creations, with a peculiar way of making bizarre non sequiturs sound reasonable.

As Antoine, the stammering new waiter, Andrew Ruthven is innocent and docile as a lamb. Leslie Maness brings grace and warmth to a role best left undescribed; she's part of the set of surprises that end the play so effectively.

If you're hungry for fresh, sophisticated theater, this Empty Plate delivers.

AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF

• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 16. Additional show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. No show on Sept. 16

• Where: Main Street Theater, 2540 Times Blvd.

• Tickets: $20-$30; 713-524-6706

When idiots have a point

A friend of mine sent me this article with along with the copy of the tirade she sent him. Article

With all due respect to my New Orleans Resident friend, this man does make one or two points and
asks one or two good questions. Then he follows each one with the most
moronic jaw dropping comments.

First of all, if you are writing this article now, you are not pitching in
and helping.

Second, you can't compare New Orleans and Katrina to 9/11, NYC and
Washington. I would be horribly shocked if people in say, Washington
Heights started looting after the Towers feel. Or Houston for that matter.

If Katrina blew through and ONLY took out the Superdome turned shelter, then
you might be able to compare.

Those of us outside of these events may feel the same shock and sadness, but
the person who lived through the dust storm of the collapsed towers and the
person who lived through the flooding of New Orleans after Katrina blew
through are feeling things very differently. They are not the same thing.
You can't even compare Pataki and Blanco's reactions. It's just not the
same thing.

And his comment about building below sea level is laughable. I suppose from
now on, all cities should be built on a hill, all buildings should be one
story and all communities should be self reliant. That would be utopia I
suppose. But then Bush would live in that city on the hill. I will live in
the unsafe, pestilent valley thank you.

The levees were "century-old". That is bad? Then most of this country
should be raiazed and rebuilt. How old should they be? Well, the Towers
were only a few decades old, so let's start there. Rebuild NYC, Boston and
Washington DC. Hey, aren't parts of these cities' subway systems below sea
level? Who's idea was that? My abode is more than 15 years old. Maybe
they should tear that down and build the new crap they are building now all
over Houston.

All right. I am now madder than when I started what was supposed to be a
short note of valid points lost in a morass of idiocy.

Take care and God bless New Orleans.

After all, tomorrow is another day ...

So, an electrician was able to come and asses the damage today. He was positive and said he thought we could be up and running by the end of the week. That maybe wishful thinking, but even if he is overly optimistic, it must mean that we aren't looking at lots of lost time!

Keep those lovely thoughts a comin'!

The Show Must Go On!

It is Saturday night and An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf is beginning its first preview for the first show of Main Street Theater's 30th Anniversary Season!

The show is sold out, happy patrons are sitting in the audience amusing themselves with trying to pronouncee the name.

Finally, the lights go down, cell phones are dutifully turned off and the play begins. After a few baubles with lines, the cast gets into a groove. I, having taken up the Baritone Horn for the role, get through my first playing of Lady of Spain respectably. The first big dramatic moment in the play happens, and then it all goes to pot.

Lights start flashing, horrible popping and zapping noises can be heard from the booth. "Oh, great!", I think, "One of the light circuits is shorting out."

The director comes out on stage, stops the show and asks every to step outside. The actors all progress to the dressing room. The audience applaudes.

I, thinking shutting off the dimmer pack will arrest the situation, go into the booth to do so. While completing this feat, I see that it is not the dimmers or circuits that are sparking and smoking, but the meter box where the power enters the building!

SNAP! I shut off power to the stage lights. Still sparks and noise. BEAT IT! I turn and exit the back of the building.

That is when you hear that the horrible noise has also joined you outside the theater. You see over the roof of the one story building, flashes, hear snaps and pops and booms as one transformer blows. The people at the front of the building in the lobby are all of a sudden at the back of the building. Then another transformer blows.

No one is panicked. All is calm. I turn into the Company Manager and great people as the come out, warning then of the step off as they reach the property line and enter the parking lot for Buffalo Wild Wings.

"We are so disappointed!", they say.
"Me too!" I say.

"You were doing a great job!"
"Thank you so much!"

"We hope we can come back and see the rest of it!"
"So do I!"

In due time, firemen and power company personnel show up and do their jobs. The theater is cleared of smoke, the building is disconnected from the power grid, and a dark lonely theater is locked up. Everyone got out safely. No real damage other than the electrical juntion occurred that could be seen that night. We don't live in the Astrodome. These are blessings.

The fate of the theater and show are unsure. Today's preview is cancelled. An electircian was called and hopefully will asses the situation today. We have some room to push the show back. We also can possibly move the show to our other location, and perform on a disguised version of the set for Alexander Who's Not, Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move. Not my first choice, but you do what you have to do.

Keep Main Street Theater, Houston Texas in your happy, positive, thoughts today!

As Seen on TV ...

So, last week sometime I see a report on The Today Show. They are doing a feature about this Terri woman and something she calls the Grocery Game.

Terri is this woman who developed a system of time management to match up store coupons with in store specials, maximizing her savings at the store. She took this obsessive/compulsive, but highly thrifty skill, and spun it into a web site called The Grocery Game. Now, for $10 every two months, you can get a copy of her list making these matches.

As I watched the report, Terri and some went volunteer shopping and she was able to take a $450 shopping bill and knock it down to $50! Amazing, yes?

Now, I know this woman was buying for a family, and she probably stock piled certain items I would never buy, but I still thought, "Dang!"

So I checked out Terri's site and signed up for the $1-4 week trial. I also bought a Sunday paper and clipped coupons I thought I would use and matched things to the list.

I must say the list was handy. Much easier to read then a store circular, being just a list of items, and it clearly showed what regular price was, the sale price and what, if any coupons, could be used. Finally it showed what you ulitmately would pay.

So, with its help, I made a list, gathered some coupons together and went to the store. After careful comparision, I went to the check out and rang up $41 and change. Just like TV, I ran my store discount card. That saved me $6.47 which included a peanut butter stock pile I knew was on special becuase of the list. I wouldn't have gotten PB otherwise.

Then I ran my coupons for another $4.50 in savings. I saved nearly $11! And I have to say, it was fun to see that price go down! Now, $11 isn't $400, but in this day and age with gas what it is and everything else, $11 is $11.

Some of my bigger savings:
Two tubes of Aquafresh $5.98-$2.00 in store sale-$2.50 coupon=$1.48 or $.74 each.
Bottle of Fructis Shampoo 2-1 $3.29-$.79 in store-$1.00 coupon=$1.50
20 ct. Advil $6.39-$2.40 in store-$1.00 coupon=$2.99

Now, I haven't found a shampoo that is "perfect" so know loyalty there and I have decided to give up brand loyalty on tooth paste (come on, 75 cents!) but hey, you gots to do what you gots to do. And those savings were from only one week's coupons. I have some to carry over and more every week!

I see it as this, the paper costs $1.75 on Sunday. The Grocery Game is about $1.30 every week. If I only save $10 a week, that is still a net savings of 6.95. That's a lunch I can buy out instead of making it. And I don't have to buy toothpaste or peanut butter for while ...

Anyhoo, I know there are friends and family that might REALLY benefit from this, so check out The Grocery Game. If you clip coupons and can remember to turn it off before the 4 weeks are up, what do you have to lose?

If you wanna drive me car ...

So, I was all ready to get on Hugh's case about Hummer's and Michigan, when I double checked his blog and it was a lack of Hummer's in Wisconsin that he lauded in June.

So, here I am in Houston, TX, when I pull up behind a Hummer with Michigan plates. I was, "A ha! A Michigan Hummer! I have to blog about this and get on Hugh's case!"

In retrospect, I suppose people in Michigan are obligated to buy what ever Detroit puts out, but Hummers really just don't make sense. Especially now!

In the mean time, I will be on the lookout for a Wisconsin Hummer so I can be all, "A ha! A Wisconsin Hummer! ..."

Until then ...

All were children like your own ...

I have been on vacation the last few days. I started the trip in New York City. One of the best cities in the world. To quote the ad campaign, I love New York!

Anyway, I visited ground zero yesterday. They still refer to it as the World Trade Center on the subway train that took me there.

It was very moving and mind boggling to see the site. In the many years that I have visited NYC, I have never been further south than 34th street. It just blew my mind to not only see the vast open space that is left, but also to try and imagine what awesome buildings once stood there. Buildings I never saw in person but from a distance. A lump stuck in my throat the entire walk around the site and Deborah Boily's voice singing Jacques Brel's "Sons of ..." rang in my head.

But sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies
Sons of true love or sons of regret
All of the sons you cannot forget
Some built the roads, some wrote the poems
Some went to war, some never came home
Sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies...
So long ago: long, long, ago

...Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own...
Like your own, like your own

The path lead me through the World Financial center, so I went out on to the Esplanade in Battery Park to take a gander at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. As I walked around to Broadway and worked my way back up to St. Paul's Chapel, I took a close look at the buildings still standing in the area. What was it like for the people looking out of those windows? What was it like for the person cutting up to this alley that lead to a Starbuck's? To witness this, to see the fall, to hear it, feel it, live it?

Of course the answers to those questions are incomprehensible for someone like me. I was only a witness thanks to live mass media. I lived it at arms length. They lived it as it swept around them.

I kind of felt a little cheesy deciding to go down to the WTC. Someone was complaining today on TV that it had become a thing for tourists to gawk at. I would have to disagree. It was a profound experience to go down there, witness the area myself and think back on that day. Too think, it wasn't so long ago that we thought only Dec. 7th, 1941 would be the only day that would live in our history in infamy.

To sleep, perchance to dream ...

I had a sudden onset of insomnia last night. I woke up about 1:30am and could not get back to sleep. It was terribly frustrating.

To make matters odder, all I could think about was high school. Who were my teachers, where were my lockers, why didn't we hang out in the courtyard off of the band room more in the spring and fall?

After about an hour, I decided to search out my school on the web to see if they had a web site. Sure enough, Mt. Greylock RHS has a site. It did answer some of my questions. I couldn't remember the names of two of my English teachers. Mr. Dodds and Mr. Norton. Every time I tried Dodds, Dailey popped in, and that was Mrs. Dailey my AP US History teacher. For some reason, I though Mr. Norton started with a W. Also, because of a stained glass project, there was a map, and everything was pretty much exactly where I remembered it.

Oddly enough, I knew better about where my junior high lockers were more than senior. 10th, 11th and 12th are a blur. I know one was just outside the cafeteria though. That I do remember.

Before 4am rolled around, I did remember all my teachers but two. Mr. Stovall was either 9th or 10th grade history. Can't remember who the other might have been. In 8th grade, I had one teacher who was homeroom, English and Social Studies. You would think I could remember her name! I do know it wasn't Linda Terrel, one teacher who knew me well from the winter musicals yet never taught me in a class.

Please release me, let me go

Do you ever just leave the TV on for background when you are toddling around the house?

On the weekends I tend to leave TLC playing. I am a sucker for most of the shows they repeat at that time. Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, and Clean Sweep. And then there is the occasional What Not To Wear.

Clean Sweep sometimes can be the most fascinating. I get a bit cluttery at times. Not as bad as the people featured on the show, but I do certainly understand how they got that way. It is amazing what we as people can hold on to with out really thinking about it. . .

Somewhere in my youth or childhood ...

So, as physical maturity begins to settle in (the only form a maturity one can not resist), I find myself playing RPG games again!

Why such a regression. Well first of all, why not? Second, my good friend the Queen of the Dweebs has become an ultimate Star Wars fan and wanted to take a foray into the RPG world. I don't know how long it will last, but being that all of us playing are experienced theatre people, it should be a blast.

I have created a new blog, Daxter's Datalog to create a chronicle of this experiment. We created characters at our last meeting and this weekend we begin our adventure. Woo-hoo!

RPG holds a special place in my memory. The Queen Mother (no direct relation to dweeb royalty) is my closest and most trusted friend. There was a time in history, not quite 30 years ago, when we were bitter enemies, arch-nemeses, not worth the grubby snow on the bottom of each others goulashes. But theatre and Dungeons and Dragons changed all that. And because of that I have a special relationship with the Queen of Florida. (Who I still owe a fantastic belated birthday present. Where does the time go!)

When you read this, you may think, "Gee, he sure has a lot of Queens in his life!" When I think about it, you have NO idea!

Oh the places you'll go!

Go this from Hugh's Blog. Looked like fun!

States in which I have lived:

1. Texas (birth to 9, 9 years)
2. Massachusetts (9 to 18, 9 years)
3. Texas (18 - present, 19 years (you do the math!)).

Countries in which I have lived (save the US):

Zip!

States in which I have spent significant time:

1. North Carolina (many a summer)
2. New York (many a visit to that great CITY)

States that I have visited:

1. Louisiana
2. Mississippi
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee
7. South Carolina
8. Virginia
9. Maryland
10. Vermont
11. Hew Hampshire
12. Maine
13. Connecticut
14. Ohio
15. Illinois
16. Arkansas
17. California
18. Missouri
19. New Jersey
20. Pennsylvania
21. Indiana

Districts and Territories
22. Puerto Rico
23. Washington D.C.

Everything Old is New Again

One of the newsy bits (and I use the term "newsy" loosely) on the Today Show this morning was a commentary piece about how the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes affair could have helped the opening of Batman Begins. They then went back to last weekend and threw Brad and Angelina and their film into the pattern.

They do know this isn't new right? They do know this kind of hoopla, real or imagined, is old school publicity, right?

Um ... does anyone remember the studio system? Long before actors were working for themselves and 10% for their agents, they worked for the movie studio. And the studio made you work for it.

It was not uncommon for the studio to set its stars up on dates to go out and "be seen" to promote an upcoming film. You belonged to the studio. You did the movies they told you too and you were constantly made to be seen out and about in an attempt to bolster ticket sales.

This control was infamous. Studios would trade and lend actors like professional sports players. One famous power play was MGM's "Wizard of Oz". MGM wanted Shirley Temple, who, at the time was most appropriate in age for the character of Dorothy. 20th Centruy Fox wouldn't give her up. So MGM went with one of their stars even though she was too old for the character. In the end, MGM won out with Garland, but she was the understudy who wins hearts on opening night thanks to the studio system.

What you believe or don't believe about Tom and Katie isn't important. Are they really in love? Is he really gay and it's all fake? Don't matter. The use of this kind of relationship, real or manufactured, is nothing new. Its just now you have actors who are independant players. They don't have the studio bankrolling their movie star assent. They have to make themselves and maintain themselves as stars. It seems this May/September romance (he is not quite December yet Ms. Today show reporter) certainly keeps them in the news.

I got it!

You are now looking at the proud new owner of a Toyota Matrix, and it is totally awesome!

I got a great deal I think, but I let them make a little money on me in financing.

First, I was told that the Matrix (along with other Corolla based vehicles) are among the top 10 stolen, so I got Lowjack. The good news is I got a great insurance discount because of that, and over the term of the loan, Lowjack will pay for itself!

I also did an extension of my warranty that covers labor costs on various repairs. I know this usually is a rip off, but I with my experience with my Saturn in Houston traffic and weather, I think it will be worth it. I totally burned through my A/C in less than 5 years, and alternators went quickly too.

And Cosmic Blue is totally awesome. I was a little scared about getting a light blue, but it rocks!

Zoom - Zoom - Zoom!

Nice work if you can get it

Blogging is tough work. I only follow two or three blogs, and I just spent an inordinate amount of time catching up with them. I posted like crazy on ThreeBedTwoBath. Such charged topics!

Anywhoo, I have been doing a children's show for almost 5 weeks now, and we are going into the home stretch! Woo-hoo! I am pooped, and who knew doing three shows a day six days a week would be SO stressful! It is making us all a bit grumpy and some a bit emotional. One rollercoaster ride.

It is a fabulous job to have, but I am defintely looking forward to the break from the stage over the summer. Plenty of managerial work to do at the theater. Plus, we are doing at least two fundraisers this summer. Each have a performance aspect. I would hope I would be involved with at least one. But I am not going to be needy or greedy about it. Save that for later ...

An Awfully Big Adventure

So, I saw the farewell tour of Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan this week. My friend the Wendy-lady had seen a previous leg and highly recommended it. Since she is the expert and I had free tickets, how could I say no?

I had seen Rigby play the part years ago but had no specific memory of her performance. Then I watched some of the A&E special when they taped a "stage" production. It was absolutely horrid. I was forced to turn it off half way through the nursery scene. Michael and John were still asleep! Thus, I went to the current production with great trepidation.

I was pleasently surprised. Rigby was as good as my friend said. She embodied the soul of a pre-pubescent boy quite well. It may not have been a landmark performance, but certainly capable. And the pirates were quite enjoyable. There seemed to be one pirate from every corner of the world, including one in a kilt. How could you not enjoy a pirate in a dress?

Finally, Rigby's curtain call, which involved her flying out over the audience and practically landing in the Gallery above, was worth it all. What a magical moment. Yes, you know she is on a wire, and you can even see the guy in the pit yanking on the rig set up on the outside of the proscenium, but you just don't care. Peter Pan was flying through the house sprinkling fairy dust over everyone. Who couldn't believe in that?

I do believe in fairies! I do! I do! I do!

Spring Cleaning

I did a little spring cleaning this AM. Cleared off two chests in the bedroom, gave them a much needed dusting and freshened them up with a little orange oil.

Then, only put back that which should live there. The challenge is, of course, to only put the proper inhabitants of the chests on top of the chests. To be avoided are lunch receipts, coffee receipts, any receipts of any kind actually that are not reimbursable. And let us not forget assorted pocket dwellers that get dumped every day.

I give it a week ...

I did it!

Well, I did it! I put a deposit down on a new car! Toyota Matrix CUV base model. Cosmic blue in color.

It won't be in for a couple of weeks, so I still suffer in good old Bartholomew. Poor thing, he is almost 12 years old!

To be honest, I don't really know what I paid for it though. By the end of negotiation, we were talking deposit and monthly payment. Since I got both that I can afford, I am not going to worry to much about it, but I do think I got them to knock off about a $1000, which probably included the $400 recent grad incentive.

Oh, and I caved a bit on power. They were really pushing it, and keyless entry was just too cool! Again, I go back to getting what I could ultimately afford.

Zoom - Zoom - Zoom!

(Okay that is Mazda, but who cares!)

Book Meme

You are stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book would you be?
I must admit I have never read this book, but I know what the title refers too, and I think I know the basic premise based on Lemming's answer.

I thought about this long and hard. I decided to go with Little Women. It is one of my all time favorites. And it has just about everything for everybody. My second choice was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. That is my favorite HP book (thus far), mainly for the development between Harry and his Godfather. I am a sucker for family.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. I originally fell in love with her in the Canadian mini-series, but then read several of the books. Windy Poplars is told through letters to Gilbert Blythe, her intended. I would imagine they were written to me at times.

What is the last book you bought?
The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone.
Fun new children's book series. Not quite Lemony Snickett, but fun, and quick reads too!

What are you currently reading?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I am actually only "reading" it for the second time. I have listened to Jim Dale read it on tape two or three times, but I thought I would do the work myself this time.

Also Superfudge. Research believe it or not.

Just finished The Da Vinci Code and 3rd Degree (by James Patterson). Lots of fun.

Five books you would take to a deserted island
I always dread this question. So many to choose from and I have the same Harry Potter problem!
Not considering that and the fact that Lord of the Rings has been published in a single volume...

LOTR Single Volume
Little Women (even if I do have it memorized!)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or maybe The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul)
HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I hate to copy, but I would have to go with Swiss Family Robinson too. I have a very old copy my grandmother gave me. You really can't read it anymore it is so fragile, but methinks I should get a cheap version and revisit the island!

And now I throw this out to Karen, Bob and Natalie. For those not bloggers, you can do your answer via comments to mine I suppose, or maybe an e-mail list? I don't know meme rules ...

To her Royal Highness

And while I am on the mountain top of the internet, I don't think I ever truly thanked the Queen of Florida for her lovely birthday gift of entertainment. And also to the Queen Mother for her gift of nourishment. Most appreciated!

Thank you, your Majesty, and say hello to the dolphins for me when you see them next!

:)

The Plea of a Heartless Boy

I am a horrible person! I should be flogged, drawn and quartered, tarred and feathered and rode out of town on a rail.

A very good friend of mine, known as the Wendy-lady, was more than kind enough to remember my birthday, and sent a thoughtful and interesting gift. I picked up said gift from the office just after my birthday, which happened to be Easter Sunday this year.

Now, I have been meaning to thank the Wendy-lady almost everyday since then for her thoughtfullness, but unfortunately, I have been habitually absentminded when I am home, and have failed to send off a missive to her thanking her for said gift.

Dear Wendy-lady, I am so sorry to have been so negligent! I am a sloven. There isn't much of an excuse. You are yet another victim of the blankness that covers my mind when I walk in the door. Yes I am tired, working hard and fast, but I am plenty clear headed while enduring the city traffic. Thanking you, dear Wendy-lady, is usually on my mind when I am winding my way homeward at the end of any given day of varying lengths. But do I plop myself down and do it when I get home? No! My mind just fades away, nothing gets done, including a very belated thank you.

So, here I stand, as it were, open to the world, expressing my thanks and begging forgiveness for being the heartless boy it is so easy to be.

Your very on Pan

Spring Cleaning

I am a horrible house keeper. That is one big thing I am VERY lazy about. Fortunately I am not a particularly messy person, but time eventually takes care of even that.

Today, I did a home chore! I was cited ... sited? ... no cited for having an untidy patio the other day ... week? ... no month. Today I finally took care of it. Of course, it now looks tons better.

You would think accomplishing a thing like this would make one want to keep up with it and tidy up other areas. Mentally it does, but I usually don't accomplish much in that end. Ultimately, I am still a lazy home body. A curse that must be lifted with a spell of will power. Ha ha ha ha ha!

But I am inspired to plant the freshly cleaned flower boxes.

Your opinions

I am in the market for a new car! I am leaning heavily towards the TOYOTA MATRIX in cosmic blue.

So, I have some questions for you.

1) To power or not to power? I avoided a power package (windows, locks, etc.) in the past because if they DO break, they are expensive to fix. But then, I think how nice it will be to roll down all the windows when the weather is nice to save on A/C and gas. And yes, I know the car is less aerodynamic, but in the city, I would bet there is gas savings there as opposed to the highway.

2) Does anyone know what the difference between speed control and cruise control is? Vladimir, the Russian Toyota Sales Guy, said they were the same thing, but the price indicates they are not. Obviously speed control is missing something that makes it cheaper. But what?

Thanks!

Gurgle Gurgle!

So I get a message about this terrible thing happening. A local actor that is fairly well known loses just about everything in a house fire. He was not home, but pretty much only has the clothes on his back.

People have organized to give him a benefit to help "rebuild."

Um ... I don' t mean to belittle his lose or sound bitter or anything, but where the hell was my benefit? I was a struggling artist and grad student when Tropical Storm Allison flooded my apartment. Where was my help? Where was my benefit? Why am I up to debt waist deep that I have worked hard to get lower this year only to have my car totalled and all but putting the pay off at a stand still?

Mmmmm?

Happy Birthday to me!

Today I am 37. When the hell did I get so old??!

Geesh, three years to 40! Well, being 40 doesn't really bother me. By the time I get to the big numbers I seem to have dealt with the issue, or at least locked it away somewhere that it can be ignored.

But 37 is tough. For some reason, late 30s sounds old. Mid 30s did not. Early 30s most certainly not, but LATE.

As an actor of my general type, and being male, age doesn't scare me. I am too short to be a typical leading man and too tall to be a typical character man. BUT, once my look starts to catch up with my age, I will be just about right for husbands and fathers. Older brothers too. I should have been rife for younger brothers, but they have been few and far between and someone else always gets them. Damn them!

Oh, and being an actor with a relatively young look helps me with the whole locking away thing. I am still reading, knock on wood, 10 years younger. Of course it was only two years ago that was 15 years younger. At that rate, I might look 40 when I get there!

Cheers from a near future Ingé-not-so-nue!

Wake me when its over!

What a horrible couple of weeks I have had! Nothing real pithy to say either.

1) Crew come and go so quickly here!

The theater I work for has a show opening this week. Last week was tech. Getting crew for the show as been a farce. Sound Borad ops have been a revolving door, which ends up with me doing it. AH! Well, I can use the money for a down payment ... a small down payment on a car ... teeny tiny, but a payment none the less.

2) Stoppard by any other name wouldn't smell like Stoppard.

I auditioned for a Stoppard piece this last week too. I didn't get cast. Usually I take a day, MAYbe two, to mope about that and move on. This one hit me hard and made me go through the serveral stages of actor denial. The director is a fool, the other actors suck, I suck, why put myself through this, I should quit, oh look, something shiny! (i.e another play I can audition for!)

I think the main reasons were, A) I was just exhusted. I dosed through Robots on Sunday. I never sleep in movies. B) Ever since I saw Arcadia, I have wanted to do a Stoppard. Any Stoppard. I would be good in it, I know!

Anyway, that week is over and life moves on. I am not so depressed and unhappy as I was, though recovery on this one is slow, but I am getting some sleep and working a children's show. And, a dear and necessary co-worker, whom I shall refer to as The Brain, is returning next week from a sojurn up North. 4 weeks, and she has been missed!!

The Brain? Well, I sometimes think of her as the Brain to my Pinky. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Cruel tricks!

So, you are a multi-millionaire who is determined to fly around the world non-stop.

You build a special plane, curl yourself up into it and are stuck in this position for days and days until you accomplish your goal.

The real trick, uncurl yourself from this stationary, near fetal position and balance yourself on the top of a tiny step ladder.

Now, tell me, do you think that is fair?

What's a meme?

As a new blogger I am discovering these fun things called MEMEs. I guess because they are little things you do that are all about me. Me!

I have done many road trips to and from Texas and Massachusetts, so I took care to only include the states that I specifically stopped in, like the Reebok outlet in Pidgeon Forge, TN. This as opposed to Pennsylvania which I have only ever driven through to get somewhere else, food stops not withstanding.

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're currently living in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Ten things that I've done that you probably haven't

Inspired by Lemming and Three Bed, here is my list of 10 things:

1. Waited table on Christopher Reeve

2. Ran into Stephanie Zimbalist and her dog while hiking with my best friend.

3. Toured US and Europe in a chorus, singing in St. Patrick’s and Notre Dame in the same month.

4. Created my first iPod play list with Wicked (OBC), Green Day, Avenue Q (OBC) and Kelly Clarkson.

5. Played the part of 11 year-old Peter Warren Hatcher at age 37.

6. Worked a short New Year’s Eve wait shift and made more money in tips than the very perturbed staff that had been there all night.

7. Directed and choreographed a workshop musical about Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov.

8. Locked a suite mate in the bathroom hall between the rooms freshman year. Silently unlocked his side and “disappeared.”

9. Drove from Massachusetts to Texas non-stop with an Icelandic citizen.

10. Explained to a Waffle House waitress in Alabama that Iceland wasn’t in a state, but an actual country between the USA and Norway. You know, Norway? Europe? Very far a way in the Atlantic.