Fuddy Meers in pictures

"Good morning, Huckleberry!"

"Yeah, well... I've got a gun in my face!"

"Look at all the carnage!"

"I was a nurse??"

"Mom, don't go to sleep yet."

mixed emotions

The show ended yesterday. Happily, it ended with a bang. We really gave our all and made it a great last show! The cast party was wonderful and we all talked about our favorite moments, and our biggest challenges. We exchanged phone numbers, signed each other's publicity posters, and promised we would stay in touch. It will be easier to stay in touch with some of them than others, because they are involved in activities with the theatre that I'm going to be involved in too, like the script reading committee and the board of directors. I'll see another at ballroom dancing classes when I start doing that, and yet another is probably going to become my regular hairdresser because I trust him completely and I know he will do a fantastic job with my hair! I feel like a few of us really became friends throughout the two months that we have worked on this show, and they are friendships I want to keep.

I made a point not to say goodbye when everyone left the cast party last night. I said "see you later" instead. And I know that will be the case, although we will never all be in the same place at the same time like we were for this show.

At the same time, I'm glad to have some free time again. The Fundraiser is tomorrow, so as soon as that's over, I will be able to relax for a little while. I am looking forward to reading and writing especially, not to mention knitting and spending time with my sister's kids. I've missed them!!!

So I'm dealing with some mixed emotions right now, which is pretty normal for me, even in everyday life! (lol)

I'll post some pictures from the show tonight. I've been holding out because I didn't want anyone who might have come to the show to see what I looked like in the show. Now that it's over, I can show the world! (it's a little scary, so be prepared!)

welcome, new visitors!

I've noticed a jump in traffic to this blog in the last few days so I wanted to do a special welcome post to all my new visitors! I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures in writing, knitting, and community theatre, as well as the occasional rant about work and other parts of my life.

To my regular readers, thanks for continuing to come back and for commenting! You are great and I love all of you!

To my new visitors, I love discovering new blogs and Web sites, so leave me a comment and I'll come visit yours!

stormy weather

Well, it's a dreary day in Alabama, but I'm not going to let it get me down. Last night's show was great! The audience was very responsive. We got laughs in places we haven't before, and some of my favorite lines in the show were finally appreciated for their humor. After the show, a few of us went out for about an hour. It was a lot of fun. I can't believe there are only 4 more shows left. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself after it's over! I do actually have a few people coming to see the play. Chris is coming Saturday and my parents and Marcus are coming on Sunday. It'll be nice to know I have people out in the audience! I still haven't heard from Rhea about it. I'm disappointed but it's okay. I have other friends who are coming to see me!

The Fundraiser is still going well. We're down to the last minutes of it and all major components are prepared. We're just doing final details now. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of final details and we are still not finished, but we are getting there. When it is finally over, I will be able to breathe again. I plan to take a couple of days off right after, and do you know what I'm going to do with those days? I am going to read, write, and knit. I think I might also go to the doctor because of some problems I've been having. Nothing serious, but something I should see about at some point.

I'm so excited that I get to see Chris this weekend! He's coming down to see the play, but that's not the big reason I'm excited to see him. I just want my Chris hug! We haven't been able to have any quality alone time lately, so I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Create A Connection questions

1. If you could have any magical power for only one hour, what would it be and why?

Any magical power? I think I'd want the power to turn things into something else. I'd go around turning garbage into money so that I could pay off all my bills, give money to everyone I know, and then donate it to worthy charities. I'm sure I'd save enough to buy a house too, lol!

2. You've won a pair of round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the world. Where would you go, with whom, and why?

I'd go to Paris with Chris. I've always wanted to experience that particular city with him, because he loves it so much!

3. You are stranded in a library or bookstore for 24 hours. In what section do you spend the most time? Why?

Fiction, of course! I would spend a lot of time making a list of the books that sound good, and then I'd pick one out and find a comfy place to read!

4. If you were to be on a reality TV show, which one would it be? Why would you be a good fit for that particular show?

I hate all reality TV, but if I had to be on one, it would be American Idol. I would be a great fit for Idol because I have an excellent singing voice. (unfair advantage, having taken lots of voice lessons, though!)

5. What did you most recently dream or daydream about?

Last night I had a nightmare that the Fundraiser didn't go well. Today at lunch I daydreamed about going to the beach.

Journal Swap!

I had a wonderful time participating in my first swap over at Create A Connection! This month it was a journal swap, and could not be more thrilled about my brand new journal! Judy got my name, and she promptly emailed me asking me about colors and other things I like. I mentioned blues and greens, and also said that I had a fascination for symbols, especially Celtic ones, so she made me this amazing journal cover and put a journal in it! I love this wonderful journal, and have already written in it. In fact, I wrote in it immediately! And here's the great part, she actually dyed the material herself, so this was truly a handmade gift that I will treasure forever, because even when I fill up the journal inside, I can just buy another journal and put the cover on it. So I can use it over and over and over!

Thanks again, Judy, for the beautiful and thoughtful journal! it is truly the perfect journal for me!

Only five shows left

This is sad, I'm already feeling the depression I get when a show is over. We have only five shows left and I'm already feeling a little sad. I'll be happy to get a little more time to relax, but I would happily give up that time to continue doing this show with these people. Today's show was great, much better than last night's. Every show is different, of course.

Okay, so remember about a month ago I said there might be a guy? Well, there's not. He's not really who I thought he was, so there's nothing happening there. So I'm back where I started, which is fine, I suppose. It just gets old, you know? Being single? It was made glaringly clear this weekend just how single I am. Everyone in the play had a significant other in the audience sometime this weekend except me. Everyone had someone to go out with after at least one of the performances except me. It begins to feel pathetic at some point. I don't know... maybe I'm just feeling sorry for myself a little. I just feel like I'm running out of time, you know?

Okay, so this has been a downer post and I'm sorry about that. The next one will be better!

First weekend

So far, the first weekend of the play has gone well. Last night's show wasn't as awesome as opening night, but it was still great. We had a strange audience last night, they didn't respond as well as the opening night audience did. It affected everyone's performance a little, but we still brought everything to the table and worked hard. Today's show is an afternoon performance, so maybe the audience will have more energy. I'm going to get a massive cup of coffee before the show, so I will have more energy!

Work went pretty well last week. We've hit the coasting point in the fundraiser. We've done most of the work and now it's time to complete the details and enjoy the event! It's going to be great. And to be honest, I'm looking forward to the day after the event, when I can take some time off and relax a little. Having the play end two days before my big fundraiser means all my big commitments will be over after the fundraiser. I will happily spend a few weeks not being busy! Then I'll get bored and get involved in something else!

I can't audition for the next play because I'm going to be out of town on opening weekend, but I'm going to offer to help gather props or costumes or something, just to stay involved. I do plan to audition for Hamlet later this year, though. And I'm hoping to be on the board of directors for the theatre next year.

There may be some news about work soon. It's an exciting time and I can't wait to see what happens...

Taking a moment to say something

I just want to take a moment to say one thing. It is not only the enjoyment of the play itself that is making me so happy with the experience, it is the people. In fact, it is mostly the people! The cast, the crew, the director, the stage manager... these people are so great! It's just so great to meet new people, and to get to know them. it has been wonderful working with them and when this play is over, I will miss each and every one of them and will hope we will be able to meet again in another play.

Opening night rocked!

We killed. I mean, we really did! I've never had such a rush, never experienced anything like that before. There was laughter, there were gasps, there may have even been some tears.

I had forgotten how much fun it was to be in front of an audience. I had forgotten how much I loved it.

You know, I've been thinking about it alot. I've realized something. Things I loved when I was young were abandoned when I got married and then divorced. I abandoned them because, in the course of the marriage, I changed into a completely different person who didn't really want to be in front of people. I lost the confidence that you need to do something like theatre. Professionally, I've gotten a lot of that confidence back, but personal confidence has been very difficult to get back. I think this experience has helped me retrieve some of that enthusiasm and confidence I used to have. It's a long road, but I feel like I'm on the right path. This is so good for me and I'm glad I did it.

And so it begins...

Tonight was our invited dress rehearsal, which means we had an audience for the first time. It was great! They had no idea what to think at first, which I totally get, but they got into it after about the first 5 minutes and really just went along for the ride. We got laughs in places we never expected them, and some places we thought would get laughs didn't, but all in all, I'd say it was a success. Tomorrow is our official "opening night," but since we have already done this thing in front of an audience, I'm not nearly as nervous.

I'll post an update after tomorrow night's performance.

One more rehearsal!

Tomorrow night is our last rehearsal! Thursday is an invited dress rehearsal, so that means it'll be the first time we have an audience. I am so excited about this! Now that I've got the character down so well, I'm looking forward to the show opening. A few weeks ago, I was dreading it because I felt like I'd never get the character. I just knew I was going to suck onstage. But I don't know what happened, something really clicked. The last three nights have been great! Now that it's been three nights I can feel comfortable with it, knowing it's not a fluke or something.

So anyway, I'm really, really excited about the invited dress rehearsal and about opening night! I don't know if anyone is coming to see me, but that doesn't matter. I invited some people, but several of them are going to be out of town, one lives out of town, so it might be hard for him to get down here, and I'm fairly certain that Rhea isn't coming, since we haven't spoken in about two months. Some of my coworkers said they might come, but I think that was just them being nice, you know? My sister might come, which I think would be really great, but who knows if she will. But I don't care if anyone comes to see me. I'm just happy to be doing it, just happy to be back on a stage, doing something I've always loved.

Speaking of things I love, work is currently going great! I love when work is good, it makes life better. The Fundraiser is now sold out! I have a sold out event! Well, okay, not exactly sold out. I have some general admission tickets left, but I sold our last available table today. It's great knowing I don't have to worry about selling tables anymore! We have two weeks until the event and all I have to do is push the general admission tickets.

Okay, that's all for now. Bedtime!

Rehearsal was great!!!!

It was long, but so awesome! We started at 4 and ended at 10 with a 30 minute break at about 7. So yeah, it was a long rehearsal! The first two hours, we decided who would do what during the scene changes. For just choreographing it tonight, it worked great when we did the run-through later in the evening. At least, nobody ran into anyone else and nobody got hurt. So that's positive!

Another really positive thing happened when we gathered around for notes. It seems all my work at home has really paid off because the director really liked some of the new things I incorporated into my performance. I finally feel good about the character, which is a good thing, considering we'll have an audience in only a few days! Thursday, to be exact! Yikes! I feel like we're going to be ready, though. I really do.

Big tech rehearsal today!

We will start our extremely long, extremely exciting tech rehearsal today at 4 p.m. I'm having a hard time thinking of ways to occupy my mind until then because I'm so anxious to see what everything is going to look like with all the lights and the sound and complete costumes! I hope they found my holster, because I know I'm going to have to practice getting the gun out of it!

Because the person who was going to be assistant stage manager flaked out on us, the actors are going to help the stage manager set the stage between scenes. I have no problem with this. I'm actually really glad we get to do it. I've been thinking about volunteering to be stage manager for an upcoming production, and what better way to get a taste of it than to act as a helper during this play? I won't be able to do it for the next play, because I'll be out of town during the last week of rehearsal and the first part of the run, but maybe if I don't get a part in Hamlet I can help out backstage. If only I knew how to sew, I could help with costumes. But alas, I don't. Maybe I can learn by August? Then again, maybe not! So anyway, since we are going to help set the stage, we are going to spend some time today choreographing who does what and where things are supposed to go so that we won't be running into each other in the dark trying to do the same things! Unfortunately, I can't help until after I have appeared onstage for the first time, so I won't be able to do anything until after scene 4. But I can help with props backstage before I go on, so I plan to do as much of that as I can. Our poor stage manager can't do it all on her own. It's a lot of work for one person!

I spent some time knitting yesterday and it was great! In fact, it was just what I needed. I put on my DVDs of Alias, poured a glass of lovely wine, and worked on a mitered square. I'm about halfway finished with this particular square, and will post a picture as soon as I'm finished. It's the third portion of the raspberry/shades of blue square and it looks really nice, although the colors are a bit dark. I'm hoping the lighter shades will help brighten it up a bit. My squares are not nearly as awesome as Cara's are, but they are mine, and I'm proud of them!

Photo Hunters Theme: Hobby

Geocaching!

These pictures are of my parents engaging in what has become a new family hobby: geocaching! Just after the second picture was taken, my dad found the cache hidden behind a metal pole. I had already seen it, but was pretending I hadn't so that my mom could find it. Alas, she still didn't, because my dad beat her to the punch! Oh well...

If you want to learn more about geocaching, go to www.geocaching.com and read their beginner's guide. It's a great way to get out into nature and a fun way to spend time with family and/or friends!

yet another new thing

You may have noticed something a little different on one of my sidebars. There is a new section called "My Shop" and it is the only advertising I will ever do on this blog. I found this place online called Zazzle which sounds like a great concept. Tonight I used it to make some greeting cards from my collection of photographs. I really enjoy shooting sunsets and flowers. I know, I know... those are the most common things to photograph, but I just really enjoy those particular subjects.

I haven't tried any products from Zazzle, but I plan to order a few of my cards just to make sure they look right. I don't have any delusions that I'm going to get rich off my greeting cards, but it's just a fun little thing to do, and I can order them for myself, to send to my soldiers! Oh, and the site is having an Earth Day contest, so just for fun I made a designed and entered it. I think I'll even order a shirt with that design on it, because I like it so much. That's it for now. More tomorrow...

Believing Mirrors: Dialog Day at CaC

ArtsyMama posted about believing mirrors over at Create A Connection. Here is part of her post:

*Creativity is an act of faith. Believing mirrors give us faith in our faith.*
Julia Cameron writes about “believing mirrors” in her book Finding
Water. These are people in your life that are gifted, interesting, and
generous. They are sincere and optimistic and bring optimism and hope to you.

So who are your believing mirrors? Who are you a believer in?

Of course, you would expect a mother to be encouraging to her daughter, but my relationship with my mom is something else. It's more of a friendship now than a mother/daughter relationship, and it's nice to know I have that person in my life to talk to and spend time with. She has seen my best and worst, and still loves me. It's nice to have that.

My friend Chris is a constant source of encouragement, positive energy, and generosity. Just hearing his voice or seeing his name in my inbox brings a smile to my face. We are truly soul mates, not in the romantic sense of the word, but in an even better way. Chris knows me and he is fully aware that I have a tendency to embrace a project and let it consume me. He also knows that I will do everything I can to finish that project, but that I will always begin several others while still working on the first one. He is always so positive about my (sometimes) crazy projects, and even says he admires my adventurous spirit. By believing in me so completely, he helps me to believe in myself.

Another constant source of encouragement is Marcus, who always makes me laugh. I can be having the worst day ever, and then I'll get an IM from him or my phone will ring and I will be laughing in less than a minute. We work for the same company, so if I'm having problems in that arena, he always knows about it and can always offer advice. He is a cheerleader for my professional abilities. On the rare days when I feel like I have no more expertise than someone who has never even heard of public relations, he reminds me that I'm good at my job. Even when I don't need advice or encouragement, he's great to talk to, and always provides lots of reasons to laugh!

I have a few online friends like this as well, and one in particular should not be left out of this! Devon and I started communicating because of NaNoWriMo, and we have continued to read each other's blogs and comment on them. With my writing especially, Devon has been a great source of encouragement and a huge influence. I have learned so much from her blog and her comments on my blog, and I will always be grateful that she takes time out of an incredibly busy schedule to mentor me as a writer. I love reading about her life and her writing. It makes me want to write more and really encourages me to look at my writing as more than just a hobby. She knows so much about such a wide variety of topics and can comment on pretty much everything! I have no idea why such an amazing and accomplished person is reading my blog and commenting on it, but everytime I get a message from her, I am happy to read it and I always take what she says to heart. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to Devon because she has really been an inspiration to me!

The second question is a little more difficult. It is natural for me to believe in people. It's part of my personality. I believe in all the people listed above, that their talents and abilities are wonderful, and that they will continue to do great things with their lives. Someone not listed above, but who is a person I truly believe in with all my heart is Rhea. We have known each other for about 20 years now, and have been best friends for about 15 of those years. We have our ups and downs as friends, but I know that she is aware that I consider more a sister than a friend. I believe in her talents and her abilities. I believe in her intelligence and her creativity. I know that she can accomplish anything she wants to accomplish, as long as she decides it is worth going after with her whole heart and mind. I believe great things are in store for her, and that she will overcome all obstacles and win out in the end. She is a strong, beautiful, intelligent person who will not just survive, but will thrive. If only she would believe it, too.

Those questions were great! They really made me think about my relationships with people. I can't wait to read what the others have written!

quickie post.. then bed!

I just had to do a very short post tonight before going to bed. I had to say this: I didn't have to call for lines at all tonight!!! Actually, I didn't miss any lines, nor did I screw any lines up! We were not supposed to call for lines at all, but some of the people had to get a little help. Of course, they have more lines than I do, so I certainly don't wonder why they needed a little prompting. Hopefully this weekend everyone will learn their lines completely and we will be ready for our first audience on Wednesday! I can't even believe it's this coming Wednesday! I haven't been on a real stage in 12 years and it's going to happen this coming Wednesday! Okay, obviously I'm a little excited and a tiny bit nervous about the whole thing. I love this!

Work was really great today. It started out with me being a little frustrated with my computer. I think it wanted to call in sick, but since computers don't accrue sick time, it couldn't do that. (lol, yes I know that's a cheesy joke but I don't care) Anyway, it was being rather sluggish. I have no idea how I managed to fix it, but somehow I did because by about 10 a.m. (only 2 hours after I got to work) it started working the way it's supposed to work. I got so much done after that! I had to send tickets out, which is a huge job, and I got everything ready to send sponsorship packages out to all our sponsors. They get tickets too, so I have to make sure they get the right amount and everything. It's such a complex event.

That's about it for today. Oh! I got Chinese food tonight on my way to rehearsal and my fortune was this: "Grasp opportunities to create the future." I like that a lot. It's going on my list of sayings and quotes that are important to me.

exhausted.. but it was a good day

I've been having good days a little more frequently now. I think my attitude adjustment did the trick. I was letting the stress get to me for awhile there, and now I'm not. I just decided that it wasn't worth making myself sick and I wasn't going to let it happen anymore. That decision happened as a result of the advice from a few good friends, but also from personal experience. I know that I tend to get overly stressed about things, and I know that when I get to that point, I just have to step back and evaluate everything, and then I have to make the decison not to let it get to me. It always works when I do it, I just have to remember to do it!

Rehearsal was tough tonight. Everyone seemed a little unfocused and things just didn't fit together the way they should. I'm hoping tomorrow night's run will be better.

Work was good today. I had a lot of variety today, so that was nice. It's good to break up the fundraiser planning with other things, and that's what today was for me... a break from the fundraiser. Tomorrow I'll be working on it again, but today's activities were a nice change.

Getting to Know You Day - Create A Connection

Today is Getting to Know You Day at Create A Connection, so I thought I would go ahead and post my answers. So here they are! I'll be visiting the other participants later tonight (after play rehearsal) and commenting on their answers. But for now, my answers are...

1. If you had to change your first name, what would you choose as your new name?

I'd actually use my middle name, Elisabeth. Or I would go with Anne because of how much I love Anne of Green Gables.

2. What is your favorite saying, quote, or expression?

My favorite quote is currently: "Be the change you want to see in the world." - Gandhi

3. If you could buy any rare collection in the world, which would you choose? Why?

I am crazy about antique books, so I would find a collection of antique books to buy.

4. If you could fly in a hot-air balloon over any city in the world, what city would you choose? Why that city? Have you visited there before?

Just one city? Can't I choose more than one? There are so many I'd like to fly over in a hot air balloon.

5. What is an item you own that has a minimal monetary value but has such sentimental value that you would not sell it for $5,000?

I have some pins that my grandmother used to wear. They were inexpensive Avon pins that she bought from a lady in her church who sold Avon. They have very little value, but when I look at them I feel close to her and it's almost like she's here with me.

On top of the world!

Yesterday, everything was great!

I had a meeting for the Fundraiser, and apart from some logistics and a fairly serious parking problem, things are going very well. Because of the Other Event at the same place on the same night (which has reached over 5,000 people already) we are struggling to find solutions for parking. I swear, Mobile thinks it's a big city, but it's really just a small town. I'll give the city credit, though, they are trying to work out solutions. It looks like they are going to divert traffic going out of the city and use one of the tunnels to just go into the city rather than in and out. It's going to be a huge mess, but so many people are coming from the other side of the bay for the Other Event that they have to figure something out. Also, they are using a larger parking lot that is further away from the venue and running busses to and from the venue to get people there. It's going to be crazy, but at least we won't have thousands of people looking for a place to park!

Rehearsal was great yesterday too. I got a lovely comment from the director that she was really seeing the character and that I'm adding texture to my performance every night. That was good to hear, since I'm still a little unsure. I'm feeling better about the character, though, and better about some of the things I'm trying to do with the lines and gestures and everything. I'm really trying hard to bring her to life. I have a couple of habitual gestures that I have to stop doing. They are things I do in real life and they really don't go with the character at all, so I'm working on keeping them out of the performance. And here's something funny... I was speaking too quickly, and then I slowed it down too much, and last night I went back to speaking too quickly! It's time to find that happy medium. Hopefully that will come tonight. Tonight should be fun. We're doing publicity shots for a local newspaper and our in-house photographer is going to be there to take pictures as well. We're going to run a few scenes to clean them up and then run the show. I can't wait to see what happens tonight. Every night seems to get better and better.

That's about it... for now...

Crazy poster!

This is a picture of the poster for our play. (I'm the one in the middle, not looking at the camera!) Anyway, I snapped this today because I'm going to find somewhere to hang it and advertise the show. It's a funny looking cast, isn't it? I love the way they shot us from above and then distorted the image so that it looked a little like a funhouse mirror. It really works for the show. Anyway, I just had to post this. It makes everything so much more real, now that we have publicity posters. Opening night is just days away!!

late nights...

It's still today for about 10 minutes, so I'm going to make this quick. Today was great! Really great. You know how you have really down times and then right after, it seems like everything just works out? That's what today was for me. I feel great about progress on the fundraiser (only 9 tables left to sell and then it's a SOLD OUT EVENT!!!) and I feel great about rehearsal tonight. I'm really starting to feel comfortable on the stage and with my fellow actors. Some of us went out after rehearsal and it was good to talk about who we are as people and how we see our characters. I loved it!

Things really seem to be coming together. This weekend, I'm going to solidify my lines, just to make sure I know them really well and don't have to call for them anymore. I also have to do dress rehearsal for my church's Easter production, which means I have to set up the video equipment and make sure the video I made for the production works properly. I love editing video, and this one was really a lot of fun to do. The choir hasn't seen the video yet, so the dress rehearsal will be their first and only opportunity to see what the audience is going to see while they are singing the songs. I think they'll like it. I spent a lot of time putting it together. The dress rehearsal is Saturday, right after the church-wide Easter egg hunt, and then the musical is Sunday morning.

Tomorrow after work I'm going back to Lane Bryant to see if they have something I can wear for Easter Sunday. I love buying a new Easter outfit! There's something on their Web site that I absolutely love and I really hope they have it in my local store. If they don't, I'll be so upset with myself for not ordering it weeks ago when I first saw it. I kind of hate that I have to shop there, but right now I do. However, if I keep dropping weight like I've been doing recently, I might not have to do it much longer! Oh right, I haven't mentioned that yet... I've lost about 15 pounds since the start of the play! It's all those rehearsal nights... I go straight to rehearsal after work and don't have dinner, and then when I get home it's too late to even think about eating, so I just skip it. I know, I know... not the most healthy way to lose weight, but it seems to be working...

And just to add to the mundane nature of this post, I'm considering getting my hair cut this weekend. Nothing drastic, because we still haven't decided what we're going to do with it for the play, but a trim or something. I really need a trim... I'm beginning to look like The Shaggy Dog or something.

Well it's officially tomorrow now... time for bed...

things are looking up

I think things at work are getting better. In fact, I know they are. I'm going to stay positive about it, anyway. That'll help.

Rehearsal was good tonight too. I really feel like I'm getting to know my character more and more each time I work through the scenes, whether it's at rehearsal or at home. I'm going to spend a lot of time this weekend really looking at the character and the lines and concentrate on making her more of a real person. One thing this experience has taught me is that it's been a really long time since I've done this! Another thing I've learned is that I have A LOT to learn! But what's the fun in knowing everything? I like learning and I love new experiences, so this is perfect!

Oh, I'm going to start going to ballroom dancing lessons after the play is over. I've always wanted to learn how to dance. I'm sure these lessons will produce a ton of funny stories for this blog!

no book... no brain...

Okay, so it wasn't that bad. Tonight was our first off-book rehearsal, and I have to say, it could have been worse. I did have to call for lines a few times, but I certainly wasn't the only one in the cast who did. In fact, there wasn't a single cast member who didn't. That actually made me feel better, even though opening night is the 20th of this month! Yes, I said the 20th of this month! It's coming up really quickly. One thing that always happens after I get rid of the book is that I finally start to truly get a sense of my character. I believe I'm beginning to see glimpses of that now. It's not an easy character, by any means, so I'm having to work harder than I ever have before. It's pretty obvious I haven't done this in a long time... lol...

But all in all, it was a great rehearsal and a wonderful experience because I really needed to get rid of the script. Once that happens, once you get rid of that security blanket, it's so much better, so much easier to really become that person.

I'm still getting to know the other cast members and there isn't a single one that I dislike. They really are a great group of people. We might go out after rehearsal on Thursday. I hope we do. It's always great to get to know someone outside the environment you usually encounter them in, and as much as I'm enjoying getting to know them in the context of the play and their characters, I want to get to know them outside that environment too.

I want to be completely honest about this, so here goes. I didn't write today. I didn't write yesterday, except in my journal. I need to get back to some of my novel projects, and there's one I'd like to start but am putting on hold because of the insane number of unfinished novels I have sitting there, waiting for some attention. Maybe this idea would be fun for NaNoWriMo... It does seem like the kind of novel that would work for that month. I think that's what I'll do with it... put it on the shelf until October, when I will dust it off and make an outline for November. Yes, that's what I think I'll do. In the meantime, I'm getting back to Deadly Council and Under the Magnolia Tree. After the Storm has stopped for the time being and I'm not in a hurry to pick it back up any time soon. Hurricane season is looming once again, and just thinking about that book makes me dread June 1. I really, really hope we don't get a storm this year.

I haven't said anything about work yet, and there's a reason for that. My mother always said if you can't say something nice, don't say anything. Since I currently can't say anything nice about work, I'm just keeping my mouth shut. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Maybe things will get better soon. Maybe after the Fundraiser is over. I can't even express how much I'm looking forward to my vacation week. I am going to enjoy that time off more than anything in the world! Seeing new places... traveling across the country... it's going to be great! I wish it could be next week. :)

Trouble Me

This song means a lot to me and my friends. Chris reminded me of it this weekend, and I used it tonight while talking to another friend. I'm posting it here to remind them.. and me.. that someone is there to listen.

Trouble Me

Trouble me, disturb me with all your cares and your worries.
Trouble me on the days when you feel spent.
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden when my back is sturdy and strong?
Trouble me.

Speak to me, don't mislead me, the calm I feel means a storm is swelling; there's no telling where it starts or how it ends.
Speak to me, why are you building this thick brick wall to defend me when your silence is my greatest fear?
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burdenwhen my back is sturdy and strong?
Speak to me.

Let me have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning.
Please don't hide them just because of tears.
Let me send you off to sleep with a "There, there, now stop your turning and tossing."
Let me know where the hurt is and how to heal.
Spare me? Don't spare me anything troubling.

Trouble me, disturb me with all your cares and you worries.
Speak to me and let our words build a shelter from the storm.
Lastly, let me know what I can mend.
There's more, honestly, than my sweet friend, you can see.
Trust is what I'm offering if you trouble me.