A Little Progress

Maxie started the exciting head-butting game at 4:30 (!!) this morning. I eventually got up to give them wet food and went back to sleep until 9:30AM. I am not sure what his problem is, but it's got to stop. My body is tired from a-dancin' and I just don't pop up with that vim and vigor that early.

I cooked a mediocre breakfast and then after dilly-dallying online for WAY too long, I got dressed and went to do my laundry. I threw my 3 loads in and then went to the car wash and the Co-Op. I saw the creepy attendant at the laundry so once I put my stuff in the dryer, I grabbed the nigiri from the Co-Op and found a bench in front of the Ace Hardware. I forgot chopsticks so I had to eat with my fingers. Eel sauce and soy all over my hands. Now, that's hot.

When I got back the dryers were done, but I had been spotted by the attendant. I asked to use the sink to wash my hands and he pointed at me and said, "Hope?" This is the same dude that got me putting more money in the machines than was needed a few months ago because he was talking at me. He also came to see Fate & Spinoza and wrote me a letter. When I got it in my school mailbox it took me a while to figure out who the heck it was from. The last 2 times I was there I didn't see him so I figured he didn't work there anymore. For the last 2 laundry sessions, I went to Tony's apartment complex, but it wound up costing more money and the place smelled.

Anyway, as I folded my laundry John sat on the other folding table telling me about all of the papers he wrote and how Fate & Spinoza affected him. He also added some other stories about hiking and this 70 year old friend he has. I would love to know what the other older gentleman that was doing his laundry next to me thought about all of this. But enough about that and more about me.

Because...

You Are Occasionally a Narcissist

While you have healthy self esteem, you're really not that full of yourself. Compared to most people, you're quite humble! Though occasionally, you can't help and reflect on how great you are. There's nothing wrong with being proud of yourself - as long as you don't let it go to your head!

Are You a Narcissist?

The Return of the Regular Blog

I woke up this morning for the second time this week not able to hear out of one ear. Both times it was the left ear. Okay, last Monday it was both ears, so I am doing better, right? It's amazing how much a little hum can distract you from your duties. That and the fact that my neighbor has had the TV on for 48 hours straight that has completely affected my sleeping.

I had been knocking on so much wood during the run of Fate & Spinoza that it's only about time that I am sick. The weather is also completely screwy that my congestion should not be a surprise.

The sun is shining and it's all windy, but's colder than expected and I still have a sink, and table and counter FULL of dirty dishes from my dinner party on Friday night. I have managed to grow this pre-theatre dinner tradition with each production. It started with Tony and me at Noises Off and we then added Christine for THIRDeYE, Randy for Shadow/Light and then Tim for Nights at the Circus, the final show of the Winter quarter.

I have to say that I was very excited about Nights at the Circus and was truly disappointed with the result. The unevenness of the talent pool here is overwhelming. I don't think that it was my 2 glasses of wine and 2 shots of tequila that made the story line hard to follow. The costumes were great, but the acting was all over the place and much too complicated for what it needed to be.

The basic story is about this winged orphan girl who is found at a whore house. They take her in and she winds up as the star of a burlesque act. It takes place in London, so for the dinner I served bubble & squeak and yes, you guessed it chicken wings. I also dipped into my CSA box and made a fresh salad and found some frozen little spinach & artichoke "purses" to compliment our sparkling wine at the start of the meal.

After the show we abandoned even going the department party in the Arena and returned to my house. Melanie joined us from the theatre and Randy's girlfriend, Kati completed the group after she got off work. Tony grabbed some more Negro Modelo at the Fast & Easy mart and before I knew it the wine and the bottle of vodka in my freezer were tapped. I reheated the left over chicken wings and kept refilling the pistachio bowl. A good time was had by all.

I woke up the following morning with my Dad calling to talk about the tornado in Atlanta. Um, what??!!! I have somehow managed to return to my complete lack of keeping up with the "real world" while in school. I do get a daily email from The New York Times, but I rarely read it. Sad.

Anyway, the tornado went through downtown Atlanta and I have a few friends that live close by. I got an update from Angela yesterday afternoon on my way to Sacramento to see The 25th Annual Putnam Valley Spelling Bee. Destruction was great and at least 14 people in her loft complex were injured. The buildings were evacuated and Angela and Chris are now staying with their friend Tracy. I did a bit of online research last night after seeing Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who with Kristin -- and Angela and Chris' complex was mentioned in a CNN story. So sad. I need to call Celeste Miller to see how her place weathered the storm. I'm sure the clean up is going hard and strong.

I will add it to my list of today's duties of washing more dishes, doing some more grading for my DRA 10 class, perhaps taking a noon core fitness class and hopefully ending my day with a mani/pedi.

Mama also needs a little clean up.

A Free Day?!! No way.

Actually, yes way. Wow, do I feel like I'm back in grade school.

I have pretty much been living day to day here in Davis. This makes keeping up with assignments on the difficult side, but as we approach the end of the quarter and the second weekend of Fate & Spinoza, that's about all I can do. That and the fact that I am knocking on every piece of wood in sight to keep my sore throat from jumping ship and running into my chest or head. Now, that would be bad.

Against better judgement I got in my car and met Tony, Tim, Randy, Kati and one of their friends out at Sudwerk's after the show last night. Christine drove me home from the theater and unlike the night before I did put my jacket back on and went out for a beer. It was a nice detox full of laughs, venting and stares at some of the scantily clad co-eds at a party in the back of the restaurant. We ended the evening with the plan to gather today, eat pancakes and watch movies.

I got up this morning at 6:30AM to feed the cats and quickly got back in bed. My throat was worse than the day before. I finally got up around 11AM and equally dreaded and anticipated Randy's phone call to plan today. While a day of lounging with others would have been great, I cannot tell you how great it was to hang in bed checking email, sit outside on the patio grading papers and make a big pot of lima bean soup.

When my parents visited last weekend we also bought a few plants at the farmer's market. I finally planted them today. Here's a bit of before and after.

Gosh, doesn't my back yard look depressing?  At least I got to open the screen door for the day. And the make over begins!

Ah, the sad "before" bed.  The pansies have long since died.  And the weeds are back!

And of course, Maxie had to get into the act.  Waiting by the screen door.

And after.  One of the flowering plants with the sad-looking cilantro behind it.  I'm sure it will perk up now that it's finally been watered.

Here's the main bed.  I supplemented the red plant in the middle with two other flowering plants on either side.

And here's the back patio from my side looking towards my neighbor's side.  He came out while I was grading papers to play darts and kick the soccer ball around for a few minutes before heading back inside.

I can't wait to share the pics from the dinner party I have planned for the opening of Nights at the Circus on Friday. Alfresco, baby!  The play is a gritty one about a winged woman who leaves the brothel she was raised in to join the circus.  It follows her and the men that pursue her.  Maybe we'll all show some skin...

Tee hee your epiduris is showing.

Stuck in the Middle

So I love devised theatre. The magic of being involved in the making. However, this sucker is really tedious.

Sitting in the audience of the Main Theatre. From left to right is Matt Moore who plays Spinoza and the 3 ladies who play this very funny teenage girl scene -- Anna Schumacher, my buddy Christine and Rebecca David.

Rinde chats with Carrie (MFA scenic and lighting designer) about design elements. Background includes Bryan Pham, Victor Toman, Sebastian Lagos and Matt Moore.

The others -- just like me -- who sit in the house. Keeping busy. Wait, isn't the stage manager WITH them? Um. Okay.

My Brain is Swimming

We just started the new quarter just over a week ago.  I am finishing up advising the undergraduate play festival, THIRDeYE that I worked on last quarter, but for the most part everything else is new.  New classes, new schedule, new ideas and new challenges.

Needless to say, my brain is full.  Well, not full, but a mass of material. Do I talk about the homoerotic physical work of Lloyd Newson or the movement we are doing in Fate & Spinoza?  Or do I keep things more personal as I contemplate my devised Self Portrait that I must present in CORE next week or the fact that the dude from match.com decided to go snow boarding instead of call me to postpone our first date?

As I sit here smelling the curried vegetables I roast for dinner from the latest veggie box, I relax my lower jaw and raise the tip of my tongue against the back of my upper teeth.  And I blow.

That my friends is a TH.  If you move the tongue out of the mouth and keep blowing you begin to make more of a fricative sound.  To quote the funny looking Carol Channing in the movie, Thoroughly Modern Millie...

RASBERRIES!

It must be Fate

This quarter I am doing a devised work under the direction of Rinde Eckert. Someone had the brilliant idea to make us audition during our last week of classes. So on top of all the reading, projects and grading, I had to focus on getting someone to like me and want to work with me.

We auditioned on a Wednesday, had callbacks on Thursday and once the cast list went up, we were called for a short "rehearsal" on Friday night. This was kind of a rehearsal, but more of a lecture. After introductions and a presentation from the scenic and lighting designer, Rinde basically talk at us for 2 hours. I did appreciate him saying that he needed to gain our trust with this project as he gets it out of his brain and into our hands. I hoped that came sooner than later.

The play is called Fate and Spinoza and it deals with optics and philosophy. Mathematics and human relations. Our buddy Rinde was slated to play David Spinoza Cornell (a combination of David Hume and Baruch Spinoza) and the rest of the company play his Fates, as well as the rest of the people around him.

All I kept thinking at first was, "oh great, I get to be a puppet! I have no idea what is going on and just have to do things based on the musings of this Pulitzer Prize nominated guy. Fantastic." I eventually calmed down and realized that I liked not knowing what my roles would be. I was very content just flowing with the wind and enjoyed just playing.

At rehearsal on Thursday he called just the women. We did a very cool exercise where we had to write about a girl at 5 years old sitting on her stoop. A short paragraph that explained what she was wearing and what she was looking at. We then moved on to 10 years old, 15, 20, 30 and then 45. By this time she had a name. Rinde mentioned that our woman was standing outside of a hotel with another woman and asked who the other woman was, how old she was and what they were waiting for.

With this information we became the characters and then interviewed each other. Fascinating. After another short exercise, we finally read parts of the script. Rinde did not read Spinoza, but we each took turns reading him and the other roles -- male and female.

During one of his discussions he slipped in that Spinoza was now a woman. If you took a breath you would have missed it. A few moments later he asked to see me after rehearsal. Once all the actors left the room, he stared straight ahead with me sitting next to him. He mentioned the name April Spinoza and said that I would play her. I was flabbergasted. And that doesn't happen too much.