Don't Play for the Laugh

And she gets in with minutes to spare! Last night was so much fun, the most nervous I've been which actually, isn't saying a lot since I'm usually hardly nervous at all. But Stacey, Bobbe, and Sheri were out in that audience. After the show, I met up with them, (Stacey gave me a half dozen roses!), and we went out for beer. They told me they hooted when I came out and then tried to suppress themselves which I suspect didn't go very well. They loved seeing me in my role and I loved playing it. They don't know this, well, they will after they read this, but there is a slight unnoticed horizontal slit looking out to the lobby from our dressing room kitchen, probably just above a quarter of an inch, and during intermission, I snuck over there and was seeing what I could see. I saw a little bit of sweater with Sheri's voice ordering wine, (should have predicted that one), and then I spotted Stacey. Usually, I can spot her because of her blond ringlets, but last night I recognized her purse/backpack. I think someone asked Stacy why she was there because I heard her say my name. I know, curiosity killed the cat but I don't play a cat, I play a woman of the night. Thank you guys for coming, it meant a lot to me that you did and even more so that you loved it.

Tonight while I was backstage waiting to go on, one of the other actors and I were having a grand time playing around with some of the movements in the play by using my necklace and his tie, I leave this to your imagination, we were cracking up the Stage Manager, who is also in the cast, and she couldn't laugh out loud because you have to be quiet backstage. It was really funny. Before that, we had been talking with another actor in the dressing room and I managed to stop the conversation in it's tracks because I quipped something of a sexual nature and the first actor was so surprised I was the one who had said it. The second actor and I exchanged a high five while the first recovered. This is why I have the nickname of Sassy. You think I'm sweet until I get comfortable... then comes those comments that make people laugh. I love to make people laugh. I know "you don't play for the laugh", but I had a hard time keeping a straight face tonight with the audience hee-hawing around me.

365-09 #30

Happy Birthday Megan!

Good Evening. I'm setting the record straight. I will still be posting on my blog as much as I can on a daily basis while my computer is in the shop. There is a computer lab here at our apartment complex and Katie often brings home her laptop as well. I have been considering sending the laptop to a shop here in Salem instead. By the time I pay for all the packaging and shipping, I think the one in Salem may be cheaper than North Carolina. And there is that whole buy local thing too. If they have to, the shop will send it somewhere to be fixed for no extra charge. This last day, I have been tempted to just leave it as it seems to be behaving itself if I don't move the computer. However, I have a publishing deadline for church coming up and I am thinking better to get it fixed now so I can work on getting the document ready in time.


The car I got has a window issue and distractedly, I pushed the wrong button today. Oops. So in the morning, the car is going to a shop to get the power window on that door disabled. Another cost I don't want but probably one I need to do and same thing, better to do it now than later.

So now I'm off to go get ready to head out to the theatre for our evening performance. I am really excited about this one as my friends Stacey, Bobbe, and Sheri in addition to others from our dance troupe are coming. I hope they love what they see. I believe in this show. Should be a good night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister, Megan! She is 24 today. I love you! (She is the one in the middle in the first picture and on the right in the 2nd.)

#365-09 #29

Playing Catch-Up

Okay. Here is a catch up for those following my story. My computer's internal power plug is having issues. Frankly, I've been too afraid to set it up on my desk to see if I leave it alone, it will work. But that needs to get done and I need to back my files up. If it doesn't work, then I will be making an appointment at NW Computers in Portland to have them look at it. It could be anywhere from $150 to $350 or up depending on what is connected to what. As expensive as this is, fixing the computer is preferable to buying a new one which I can't afford now anyway. Besides, I have my computer set up just how I like it and remember all to well how long it takes to transfer all the programs over and how expensive THAT can be. Without it being fixed, the only energy my computer has is the partial charge in my battery. I am hoping that is enough to back up my files but until it's fixed, no more energy is getting into the computer. Sigh.

Job wise, I am going to a training with the school district for classified substituting tomorrow. Normally, I wouldn't have to go through it again since I've already been, but they can't find me in the records. (NW Computers can't either) but I was able to rattle off a list of schools I substituted at last Spring so to the training I go. That should bring in some hours, I'm not sure how many with this economy, but it is something I am even already experienced at while I look for something longer term.

As for transportation, Monday night my dad delivered my car!!! Woohoo!!! My grandfather doesn't drive anymore and so he sold me his car. It's a 1992 Mercury Marquee with low mileage. My dad went up to Washington on Sunday to go pick it up for me while I was performing in a matinee'. While figuring out what was wrong with my car, I bought a new battery that was then not needed as the car was done. What do you think this car needed? Yup, a new battery. So I am thrilled to be back on the road again, driving myself around to where I want to go. It's a relief to me, let me tell you. Though I still have a lot on my hands to deal with between the computer and job and finding what to do with my old car, I feel I can work on handling those things now that I can get around.

The play is going fantastically well. The cast has had the last two days off which I have enjoyed. We are back at it tonight and tomorrow, I have several friends coming from our tap troupe. I am excited for them to see it and to hear what they think. Yesterday I got complemented by a friend who hasn't seen me in a while on my makeup. I was just wearing lipstick and a little blush. Next time I see her, I'll show her a picture of me in costume. I do my own makeup every night and it's a full face of it, let me tell you. I thought it was funny. I have learned a lot about makeup, walking, flirting, and theatre during this show.

365-09 #28

Hmmm

Tonight I went to tap dancing. I haven't realized how much this show has taken out of me. Though the part is not big, night after night is demanding. I need to work on getting myself up at a better hour in the morning.

365-09 #27

Yuck

Computer issues. Yuck.

365-09 #26

Standing Ovations

This afternoon we had another standing ovation at curtain call. We as a cast feel we have a terrific show, truly terrific. I understand a woman cried steadily throughout the last forty-five minutes of the show. Woohoo!

The more we perform it, the more I realize it may be a drama upstairs, but it is a comedy downstairs. How I wish I could videotape people in the dressing room waiting to go on. We have so much fun down there. You would love to see it and I would love to show it.

Still waiting to announce the "transportation" news. I am waiting until I have something solid in my hands until I post. But I can tell you Gene, it is not a Schwinn, though that is my brand of bike.

365-09 #25

Opening Night

Something on the transportation front might actually be breaking but as it's still in progress, I won't fully write about it until it goes through. Still, it's an amount of release which I have badly needed. I hope it works out and soon.

Opening night was fantastic. It was fun and as some of the actors told the "Loman family", they are really cooking. Our director is pleased and proud and so was the woman who directed the show over twenty years ago. We even got a standing ovation at the curtain call. Every opening night the Pentacle Theatre hosts a catered party for the audience and cast. One of the first women I talked to told me her name was Forsythe, the same name as my character. I was so pleased, we took a picture together. I told her I hoped I was doing the name honor. Another surprise was given by my friends Deborah and Jessie who hadn't told me they were coming. They even brought me a bouquet of red tulips which I held in my arms for the rest of the night. We have another show tonight, a matinee tomorrow, then I have two days off which sounds good after going for eight days straight. "Hi diddle a dee, an actor's life for me!"

365-09 #24

Pressure Cooker

I feel like a pressure cooker that's temperature was just turned up another couple of notches. The power plug in my laptop is loose which means expense and time when I can afford neither. It may not sound like a big deal but with the way laptops are built, apparently it is. It also means my laptop is the in the critically ill unit while I am lying in the bed next to it, unable to really help when I desperately need it to work. I try not to think about everything going on too much because even with this much, I'm in tears. My life has taken on a "You've got to be kidding me" kind of tone. I don't know what to do. It's one of those times when I need someone with a level head and financial savvy to sit down with me and discuss my options. I'm getting close to a complete break down because frankly, I can't go on much longer this way and I no longer have the energy to hide it. Something has got to break. (And I didn't mean my laptop.) Some how, some of the pressure has got to be let out but I don't yet see how.

On a different note, opening night is this evening at the theatre. There is a catered party afterwards which I am looking forward to. I'm also really looking forward to seeing the program as some of my pictures are published in it. I love being there around the people while we tell a great story. Joe and I have decided we are going to play Phase 10, a card game, during Act 1 to keep ourselves entertained. Life is certainly testing my talent as an actress having to be happy and sensual while dealing with all of this but what I portray on the stage is as real as anything else going on. Though I am not the only one in the cast dealing with many of the issues Willy deals with in the play so the story is that much more real for us as a cast. In that, it's nice to know I'm not alone.

365-09 #23

Computer Issues

The third shoe drop fell today. Thus, a late post.

365-09 #22

Mechthild of Magdeburg

My computer is having issues charging. I don't understand it but I understand it enough to frustrate me. Things like cars and computers are great until they stop working. I would really like my computer to keep working. A non-working computer is one of the last things I need right now.

This afternoon I was working on type-setting my church's Faith and Practice and I needed some text as a place holder for the introduction. I pulled up my research paper on Mechthild of Magdeburg to use, one of my absolute favorite mystics, and read some of what I wrote. What she said touched me all over again and gratefulness for the relationship God and I have had and continue to have washed over me like a cascading river. She is one of my spiritual ammas. (I will explain that as tomorrow's post.) Here is one of her quotes that I used in my paper. It's so beautiful.

"Then she knelt and thanked him for his favors and, taking her crown from his head, put it on the rose-colored scars on his feet and begged that she might come closer to him. He took her in his divine arms and laid his fatherly hand on her breast and looked her in the face. Well, was she kissed at all? In the kiss she was drawn up to the most sublime heights above all the angel choirs. The least truth that I saw and heard and understood there was incomparably more than the loftiest wisdom ever uttered here on earth. I saw there things never heard before, my confessors tell me, for I am ignorant of reading or writing. And now I fear God if I keep silent, but I fear uncomprehending people if I write. Dear people, what can I do about it that this happens to me and that it has often happened? In humble simplicity, in lonely poverty, and in demeaning shame did God show me his wonders."

365-09 #21

Inaugeration Day!

This morning I woke up and turned on the television to watch Obama take his oath and give a good speech. I admit, I had tears rolling down my cheeks for nearly the whole broadcast, I was so happy to see him there and to know he is in charge and making choices. My poetic heart loved all the symbolism. My trust is in God but I will sleep easier knowing this particular son of God is sleeping under a white roof in Washington DC.

I am also so excited tonight for another reason. I just received an e-mail letting me know there are 53 registrants for the Quaker Weaving Sacred Wholeness Conference taking place in early March. South Carolina, here I come! I applied for and was awarded a full scholarship to attend but with the current economy, the planners were not sure it was actually going to happen. But it is definitely on!!! (Happy dance!) How much fun will that be? I can tell you right now, I am going to plan my itinerary to not have to stop in Chicago. I got stuck there last April and don't care to repeat the experience.

I am looking forward to a day at home tomorrow looking for a job and working vehicle. I've had to run various errands the last two days with an overnight trip before that so a day at home sounds heavenly before going to the theatre in the evening for our very first public performance. It's a community night for those who are in group homes or things like that, they will be our most honest audience, for good or ill. I am looking forward to it. It will be so fun to hear people's reactions besides those of the cast and crew. I'm also excited to see the program and to see the pictures I took published in it. "Well, that is nice isn't it!"

365-09 #20

Death of a Salesman Article

Here is the article in the local paper about the play I'm in: "Death of a Salesman".

Tonight's Rehearsal

As I write this, I am listening to a song from Evita. It's the one where she meets Peron and seduces him. At first I thought of going to the next song then realized it's what I am spending much of my time doing these days, seducing the men around me. So now I am playing the song over and over and listening to the flavor- like moving chocolate around my mouth, tasting every nuance and mood.

Tonight I added some body movements to my role. I need to continue to work on confidence while doing them, truly becoming the high class whore I want to portray. I wish I could just take away every inhibition I have and "chair dance the shit out of that role". That is the point I am hoping to get to. Every rehearsal gets better. As I sat with beer in hand talking to two of my fellow cast members at a bar after rehearsal tonight, I wondered how far our director will let me take it. I have a feeling, it's pretty damn far. Much farther than I am going now. It is like putting on my makeup for the show. My place at the long dressing table is between the actors playing Linda and Bernard. Bernard has a minor in stage makeup so he has been teaching me about color and application. I was working on applying blush and makeup to my eyes and he told me to keep putting it on. It feels good to finally have a reason to go all out and to really layer it on. Stage makeup I am discovering, is really fun. I think the sexuality in this role is a lot like that. I really need to put myself all out there and to deeply revel in it and enjoy it. I am excited to get there. You can bet I'll be working on this tomorrow.

365-09 #19

I'm Back!

I wanted to blog last night but my computer cord was missing a piece and I had no power so my friend ran me out to Batteries Plus this afternoon to replace it. I like those guys. They gave me a new part, glued it where it needs to go and set things to right, all for free. What a relief.

We are now in our final days of rehearsal before opening night, which I understand entails a catered party with the audience. Kathy, who plays Linda, suggested I wear a nice outfit to the theatre that night. Last night was our first full costume rehearsal. When I was finished getting ready, Jason, who plays Happy, saw me and simply said. "Wow..." That says it all. Seeing myself in the mirror, realizing how beautiful I really am, (that's another post), certainly is helping me step into the role. Once we get my hat finished, (the man who does my hair and our costumer want to add to the hat) and get my makeup finalized, I'll have someone in the cast take a few pictures of me to post. For now, I need to get something to eat before leaving for rehearsal. I'll write more tonight when I get home from the theatre.

365-09 #18

Gone

Gone to celebrate Christmas with family in Washington.

365-09 #17

Middle Class Like Me

Today I spent time on the local transit system thinking about class structure. Though I am admittedly, without a job and a working vehicle, I am blatantly middle class. My clothes, my style of carrying myself, of speaking, the ipod often in my ears, all give me away as a member of the middle class in our society. Though you can never really judge a person by their looks, I think I am fairly safe in saying most of the people who ride the bus, especially during the day when many are at work at 8-5 jobs, are lower class. They are the mentally and physically handicapped, the homeless, and the downright poor. I have already been invited to move in to a man's house rent free and invited to lunch by another man. Needless to say, I did not take up either one of these offers, you wouldn't have either, but it does make one aware of social structure. It also makes one very aware of boundaries, or the lack of boundaries, of plumbers who want to talk to you when you are trying to listen to your ipod. You also have the older generations riding the bus, they are actually the nicest ones. They smile politely at you, maybe make a remark or two and then they slip into thoughts of their own while you slip into yours. It's my crash course in street smarts and learning to be a bit rude to fend off the men who see a pretty young woman and want to take her home. I have also become very aware of the difficulties many people have with the bus system. For example, with my car, it would have taken me an hour and a half to get around to where I needed to go today. Instead, with the bus, it took me over five. I miss my working car. I really, really miss my working car.

365-09 #16

Football Distractions

I spent last night not blogging but instead, keeping ice on my eye while I watched a good movie. We were tossing the football downstairs in the dressing room during Act 1. Nathan is a great thrower, I still need to work on my catching. The eye is fine, little sore, and the glasses got bent back today at Binyons. I would challenge him to a rematch when we rehearse on Sunday but there is a new rule now in effect at the theatre: No playing with the props.

#365-09 #15

Another Look

When I made my first exit tonight, Geri came up to me backstage and emphatically said how much she liked the "stole flip" and how good a job I did with it. I could have kissed her! It's amazing how good encouragement can feel after spending so much time on something. Tonight I watched some of the play from the theatre seats and I still see something new every time. Perhaps I should take a second, third, and forth look at other things in my life as well. Who knows what I may see?



365-09 #14

Productivity

I felt that today was pretty productive. I kicked off my morning at the Blue Pepper Coffee Shop working on editing for the publication, "Western Friend", sent some quilt designs to a client for review, and finished updating my resume. Idle hands bring despair I am told. I am finding this to be true, I feel better when I've accomplished something, all the better if it's something I am good at. It's one of the many reasons I am glad I am in this play, it gives me something fun and challenging to focus on. Tonight a reporter was at rehearsal to review the play. I really hope she liked what she saw. They are sending a photographer in the next day or two so our director wants us to start rehearsing in costume. There are only eight more days until our first public performance. (Yikes!) I am working on making my "stole flip" one fluid movement. You'll have to come see the show to see what I'm talking about. I will be practicing it at home. I wish I had more in depth or poetic thoughts for you tonight but between play rehearsal and dealing with an overflowing washer, I am ready for bed. I will be poetic tomorrow. Here is a photo to remind myself to keep a larger perspective.

365-09 #13

There are Better Days

Today was a hard day. Tigers don't like hard days. Here is a photo to remind me there are better days.
365-09 #12

Painting

Today was a long day at the theatre. (Though I think I may have taken some good pictures!) My friend Ben is doing the lights. We went to high school together and it is nice to see him again. I have tomorrow off which will be a nice break. Our first public performance is next week. I'm excited but yikes!

I came home tonight and pulled out my acrylic paints and watercolor pencils. I haven't done that for a long time and it felt really good. I love bringing something creatively to life. It touches the divine in me.

365-09 #11

Painting the Post with Questions

Today was a much better day than it has been. After dance class this morning where I got to tap dance in glittering red high heeled tap shoes, (Stacey thought it would be good practice for the play), I spent the rest of the day happily at the theatre building and painting the set. I came home and told Katie as I pointed to different paint splats on my body, "This is the boy's room, here is the kitchen, there is the floor, and here is the typical theatre black paint." It was so much fun to further invest myself in the show and to really get to know the set, not to mention learning how one is put together. I think people would be rather surprised if they knew, I was a bit myself. Most people never think about everything that goes into putting on a play from all the rehearsals, to the program, photography, costumes, lighting, sound, set building, and concessions. But you really aren't supposed to. A play is supposed to be so well put together that all those things fade into the background so the story can be told. However, I have revelled in learning how a show is put together. The theatre is an environment I have longed to be a part of and now I get to be. The ups, the downs, the long rehearsals, the laughs, it's a good place and I'm happy to be there.

On an entirely different note, I was reading a devotional book this morning my mom gave me for graduation from seminary and there were some great passages that hit directly home. I would like to share them with you. I'm not giving any of the answers, just asking the questions.

"What has God asked you to do that you are afraid to do? What little thing has God been nudging you about?"

"God knows far more about your future than you ever could. He allows roadblocks so that you will not be diverted from His best. Instead of giving in to self-pity, consider why God has prevented you from continuing. You will come to a deeper understanding of how He heals, protects, and directs you. And you will learn that He is truly trustworthy."

"Sometimes the reason circumstances become more complicated is because the simplest answers are challenging to the heart. Even though you really do know what to do, the decision would take a great deal of courage and commitment. As you wait to find a solution that caters to the whims of your heart, answers become increasingly difficult to find."

365-09 #10

A Different Perspective

Tonight my head is in poetic clouds, just where it should be. I hope it stays there. Tomorrow after dance class I am working along with some of the cast on the set. It will be nice to be building something fun and good.

When I saw my first Pentacle Show three and a half years ago from that central seat in the picture, I never thought that one day I would have a different view. Sometimes that's all we need in life- a different perspective.

365-09 #9

A Larger View

I realized when I woke up this morning I had forgotten to post last night. Thus, I am using my loophole of posting late but still posting.

I was walking home yesterday with adult responsibility laying heavy on my shoulders. Searching for a way to stay on my feet by taking on things I would have rather avoided but still making those hard choices, I looked to my right and saw a beautiful soft golden sky with green grass and boulders near my feet. It was a holy moment when I felt God come near to me and say, "There is still beauty in this world and it's worth fighting for!" Being given a glimpse of that extraordinary beauty above the fray of daily life, a beauty that always surrounds us, that I seek out in the mountains and the ocean, raised my heart above my life for a deep breath of clean air.
It was the larger view of God I have so needed in recent weeks.

365-09 #8

Theatre, Football, and Quakers, Oh My!

The wind has been doing it's best to push the trees over in my apartment complex tonight. It has been quite a day between my job search, vehicle search, dance class, and play rehearsal. I also went and worked out, it felt pretty good. Shocker I know. Then tonight I learned how to throw a football out on the deck at the Pentacle. (Didn't you always wonder what actors do at rehearsals?) The set is amazing, I got to see it for the first time tonight. It will be really cool when it's all finished. The play will be great. It's fascinating to see what goes into producing one though. Quite an interesting adventure. I'll never be able to look at that theatre the same way again, or any theatre for that matter. Tonight I was remembering the first time I ever saw a play there. Stacey took me to see one on a summer's night. I'll never forget it. I didn't know then I would be acting in one myself down the road. Tomorrow I am going to sit in a different place in the theatre to get a different view with my camera. I'm having trouble getting it to focus without a flash. (I don't want to disturb those on stage.)

This afternoon I was talking with my friend Shari about religious backgrounds. I told her how as I've gotten older, I realize more and more how much the faith I grew up with directs my life now. I have read Quaker blogs and comments on facebook about how people decide how to conduct their lives based on Quaker values and ideals. While I appreciate many of the values Quakers stand for such as simplicity and listening directly to God, my upbringing in the Nazarene church trumps nearly everything Quaker. This greatly pleases my rebellious tendencies. But even if it didn't, I am still more than happy what I learned then influences me so much now. In the words of "Death of a Salesman", I know who I am . What I learned at seminary is the second largest influence in my spiritual life, another thing I would not change. What I learned there opened my eyes to a much larger world. It will be interesting to see what the Quakers add to the mix in the coming years.

365-09 #7

Optimism Anywhere?

I just finished reading the headlines on our local paper and now have a bleak outlook so I am going to read for a while about the "Troubles" in Ireland, realize I really do have quite a lot, and then I'm going to sleep. I'll look for a job in the morning.

365-09 #6

Tap Shoes and High Heels

This afternoon I attended Stacey's Monday afternoon tap dancing class. It was very refreshing and fun, a great confidence booster. I love the theatre but being relatively new at it, it was nice to trade the high heels in for tap shoes I've been wearing for three and a half years. Ironically, practicing in those high heels so often made a night and day difference balancing in my tap shoes. I hope it also works the other way around.

I told Stacey what has been going on. She was so supportive. It makes an immense difference when your family and friends see who you are and remind you of that, people who give you love and grace in the tough times.

As I write, I'm sitting in the rehearsal hall for "Death of a Salesman". The main character in the play deals with some of the same issues I am, along with several of the cast members in real life, but "Willy" sees his job as his identity and when that is taken away, there is nothing left. One of the things I hold to and that Stacey and others remind me of is who I am cannot be touched by any worldly thing. I am eternal and have greater intrinsic value than anyone can pass judgement on. I am a beautiful soul no matter what storms may come and I always will be. It's nice to remember.

Here are some sneak peak photos I took at rehearsal last night.

365-09 #5

Get Moving!

People keep asking me if I'm writing more poetry. Not even the polite questions of "I know you enjoy it" but are more along the insisitent lines of "I love reading it, why aren't you writing it? Get moving!" God has been saying the same exact thing, "I love reading it, why aren't you writing it? Get moving!" This should tell me something. Now if I could just figure out what that is...

365-09 #4

Update On the Car

My brother and Dad tested the pressure in the valves of my car this afternoon. The lack of pressure did turn out to be the problem but it also meant my motor is pretty much gone. So now I am in the market for a used car. If anyone knows of any possibilities, leave a comment and I'll contact you. As for me, I am taking every day as it comes. It's much easier to get through one day than to look weeks and months ahead and despair. Day by day God and I can handle. The rest I'm leaving in His very capeable hands.

Costume Fittings

This morning we had costume fittings at the theatre. Thus far, I have only been to the lobby and as an audience member watching a show. I had little to no idea what was behind it all. Ed, who has been graciously giving me rides, and I saw Geri go up a side door and followed her up a staircase just past the box office. What I saw when I got to the top took my breath away. Imagine the costumes of a theatre thirty years old with around ten shows a year and a good size cast for most of those shows storing all their costumes and accesories in the top wings above the stage. There is a whole room lined with shelves of women's shoes and long rooms with floor to ceiling racks on top of racks of clothes from every kind of time period you can imagine. There were piles of hats, purses, coats, and my favorite, the wig room. While Ed tried on suits I found my way into a back hallway behind another room overlooking the stage and tried on black and red ringlets. Ed tried on the pink bunny slippers and stepped into his role with his lines making the rest of us errupt into fits of laughter. Who knew costume fittings could be so much fun!

365-09 #3

Charm School

In late spring, early summer of 2008, a hairdresser told me my haircut did not match my personality at all. Short and spikey apparently fit me better. Shortly thereafter, I met Emily and hired her to stick a needle through my nose for a nose ring. Encouraged by my success thus far, I let Melanie at my now favorite hair salon, Evolve, do WHATEVER she wanted with my hair. Shortier, spikier, and part blond was her artistic creation of choice. I understand I am lucky she let me walk out with my hair intact instead of keeping me there at the salon to show off. Now thoroughly into this process of matching my looks to my personality, I got a makeup lesson from Shantel and have been getting better at applying it every day.

People who haven't seen me in a while and who see all these changes at once are surprised to say the least and they all really like it. I am very happy with it all for I finally feel like who I am on the inside matches who I look like on the outside. But tonight, I took things to a whole new level. As I've already posted, I am in rehearsals for a play opening later this month. (January 23rd to February 14th for those who would like to know.) Tonight, I spent most of the Act 1 rehearsal period walking around with a heavy book on my head and high heels on my feet. Geri worked with me on some of the finer points of the scene and helped me with the delivery of my lines. I felt like I was in charm school. I pretty much was. I learned how to glide, to sit, to act coy and sensual, and show off my best features. It was really fun!

The test came during Act 2 when I made my entrance. It was the first time I felt like I stepped out of myself and into my character. I even got the other members of the cast watching to laugh at just the right moment. Ed, who plays Willy Loman, says I am going to be very good in this. That was a big encouragement to me. I love being in this show. I'm off to bed, costume fitting in the morning.

365-09 #2

Happy New Years! 365-9 #1

A friend of mine decided to challenge herself by blogging every day for all of 2009, even if it's just one word. The "365-09 Challenge". Intrigued, I have decided to joing the challenge along with my friend Harriet in England. We will see how it goes.

Not to be cliche', but I do have a few New Year's resolutions.
1. Use the exercise room at my apartment complex in an effort to be more active and physically fit. I figure without a job and without a working car, I will have lots of time to do this.
2. Write poetry. It ain't going to write itself and anyway, my rants sound so much better in rhyme.
3.Have an optimistic outlook and take one day at a time.
4. Go on a few dates. Any takers out there?

I've been watching a lot of Joan of Arcadia episodes lately and the last episode I watched had this in it. I really like it and I think it sets a great tone for the next year.

"This scroll, there are no easy answers in here. It’s basically a book of questions. Something that makes us keep searching for a way to make sense of this mess. And just dealing with a lot of questions, that takes a lot of guts when there’s no guarantee that there will be answers. And I just hope I’m up for it."

This is what God says later in the show: "See, it’s not about answers, it’s about asking the right questions."