“I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.” — Theodore I. Rubin, MD

Spent the evening with the Ringo Clan last night. Gert, Mr. Big Hill, MGirl and myself joined B and Scottyringo and Little Hawk for a night of hanging out and chilling. We ordered pizza, drank some cold beer, watched some basketball, laughed a ridiculous amount and tried to catch up on each others lives.

it’s possibly one of my favorite evenings spent in a long long time. It was my last free night before we open and when I crawled into bed about 1 this morning, my final thought was, “I am so blessed to have these people in my life”

Everyone is going thru some crazy stuff these last few months, but last night it just became fuel for the laughter! When I got off work yesterday, I really didn’t think I was going to be able to go. . . to even make it. I’m worn out beyond belief. And thank GOD the last few days have been busy ones at work, we finished out this pay period with a bang yesterday, but DAMN GINA! Girl is worn out. so I took a quick little power nap, during which my body rested, buy my mind ran lines like a meth addict.

Today is our first tech rehearsal. I hope it goes well….I’m sure I’ll let you know! Happy Sunday.

I love George Clooney.

I have to tell you right off…the brain juice that I have available for an informative post is minimal. I’m dead on my feet. in my chair.

Last night, rehearsal was a train wreck. I’ll go more into details this weekend…We open a week from tonight. At this point, I’m worried about my scene partner. I think she’s just so scared. Downright scared. And when she’s at ease, she’s fine. When she isn’t, she forgets, she jumps, she’s all over the place. I just have no trust in her at this point. I’m going to walk in faith, and think that over the next 5 rehearsals, this will all come together. . . but I was in serious BLEAGH when I got home last night.

My bright spot?

Oh Dr. Ross….Oh DOCTOR ROSS. and that last scene? with the bare skin spooning in the bed? I almost packed my house up at midnight and moved to Seattle IMMEDIATLY. It was a delicious episode that made me long for the olden days. I’d like to buy a few seasons of that show, now…or have a machine that I can watch eps on Hulu…someday.

I get facetime with Gert tomorrow. Words cannot express how excited I am for that. On a sad note, our high school friend Darci, lost her daddy this week. The funeral is this morning but I have appointments that I couldn’t move. Losing our parents…too young. way too young.

I have more to say, but little time. I will make mental notes and get back to you. I hope you Normals, have a fabulous Friday the 13th!

Holy crap, we’re closing in on the week, yes?

last night’s rehearsal was good. GOOD! We got onto the stage and it felt as if our arms had been reattached. nice. There are a few who are really spending a lot of brain juice on lines, and that doesn’t release them to feel and try new things within the scene yet…but it’ll happen. felt good.

I believe I am officially off book. There are a few starchy places but not enough to feel crazed about.

Today I do have a few appointments today, so that’s good. Let’s hope for more…it’s the last few days of the pay period so we’re workin on that commission!

I think that may be all I have today…

oh wait. waitwaitwaitwaitwait…..one more thing:

The Wonderboy turned 7 today,officially. There was a winning thing on the radio my sister said. He got to take his bff to Chuck E Cheese after school. All in all a grand day. MUAH to the kiddo!!! he’s getting so big, so fast.

well after about a for a 4 1/2 hour rehearsal…I feel better about lines. The other girl is still struggling, and spends so much energy spitting and sputtering when she forgets one, that it sends her into another tail spin and there’s no coming back from it. Oy. The last scene is my bitch, but I shall overcome that one tonight! Speaking of tonight, we get to move upstairs on the real stage! halakaleem!!!

I got home last night, really tired. The caffene cycle that I’m on is killing me. so much during the day to keep me up thru rehearsal, then not much good sleep. However I got some sleep stuff when I was at mom’s this weekend and took one when I got home. I zonked right out. That was the good news. The bad news was I woke up TWICE, crying my eyes out. I dreamed that Mom had died…and now I don’t remember details but I woke myself up once with the crying and kind of tried to shake it off…then went back to sleep and started the whole thing over again!!! GAH. Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

I’m excited for two things…three things this week. My re-fi guy is working away on my stuff. I got a call yesterday with a few last questions and we’re hopefully going to set a date to close at the end of the month. Let’s pray hard for an interest rate that will make this whole deal worth the trouble and money.

This weekend is sure to bring some facetime with Gert. She’s been holed up in Batshitcrazytown, packing her life away….again. That in itself is a painful experience, but with her, the girl saves everything. Every ticket stub, every card, every tootsie roll wrapper…(ok maybe not that, but she saves a lot of stuff!) and moving, this move, is a whopper. But all good. We’ll look back on this in no time at all, with her in her Chef’s hat, cooking up a storm and think, man. That went by fast. But I haven’t seen her in eons. Her life is busy. My life belongs to the theatre. So hopefully this weekend. She’s going to come back on the weekends to do some shifts at the war bar, so maybe we’ll get some factime, maybe she’ll catch a show and then I’ll head down after the show closes.

The final bit of glorious news I have to share with you????

Geroge Clooney returns to the E.R. tomorrow night.
Yep. My DVR is ALREADY set.

It’s been a whirlwind visit…Wonderboy had a great birthday party yesterday. Bowling was fun…he had five friends and they began “using the Force” on all of our bowling balls. Apparently I got a smaller dose because my sis whipped up on me. The cake, as always, was made with great love by Bonusmom. This year it was a bowling ally with loads of pins at the end of each lane. The kids, natch, all wanted some cake with one of the pins!

I got here Saturday about 9:30 and was just bleary. Seriously. But crashed and got up yesterday and did mom and sis’s hair, cut and color, then we all husteled to the party then back here. Brother in law’s family decided to come over and perch, and they are perhaps the most intrusive people I know. I just kind of kept to myself, worked lines, grabbed a wee nap. They look at me like I’m an anomoly. “how’s your love life?”—-It’s interesting to me that they think the topic is up for discussion with THEM. Eyeroll. Eyerolls so hard and so often, my eyeballs are suffering form a slight sprain.

The Wonderbaby and I have been having some good snuggle time. He’s got that big ole bald head and likes to throw it around. Aaaaaaaaaaand flop. Nuzzle nuzzle. So sweet and funny.

We had some Wii time. Some Wii hula hoop-ing and Call of Duty shooting and all around general fun. I did bring all my dirty laundry and have been doing it here, so all I have to do is put it up when I get home, and work lines. I feel much better about them. I know I woke up once running them in my sleep. yawn. The redhead’s voice recorder has saved my life, I think. That’s what I’m doing on the trip home this morning. . . after I get the last loads of clothes folded.

Ok kids. That’s all I’ve got. We have rehearsal tonight. Publicity photos, which are always fun…have a great Monday. I’m going to play with the Nannerpuss a bit before I have to leave…he loves him some bananas and the squishing and the smashing. whatever get’s ya through the day, right?

So this is my friend, a new friend that I’ve made this year. I think his voice is fabulous. he’s very sharp, and really smart. He’s just started up blogging again…this post was too good to share!

Go, have a little morning read!

I’ve been meeting myself coming and going this week. I’ve been remiss about posting because if I am in front of the computer I have only enough brain juice to sit and drool on facebook for a few minutes before I pass out.

Work has picked up the last part of the week, which is great! Rehearsal was good Thursday night, and quite possibly a train wreck last night. I realize Friday night rehearsals are sometimes wonky. everyone is tired. Most everyone gets to sleep in today. Whatever. The actor opposite me, in all my scenes…that looks at my forehead. GAH!!!! it’s rough guys. The director was about to lose his mind last night. Learn the lines. stick to the blocking. quit making excuses for everything that isn’t right. “you didn’t tell me to move there. You told me, you didn’t tell me….” that kind of thing. The girl is so intent on adding emotional arbitrary noises that she doesnt do the lines. There is a moment in our second scene that calls for a big meltdown on my part. Sally Field-esque. It calls for her to hand me one thing then stand there until I’m finished and then help me off the stage. No words. no nothing. I was about three seconds from opening that emotional window last night when she starts with the patting and the it’s okay’s and the i’ll be alright’s….and I hadn’t even given her anything to motivate that yet!!!

SLAM!!

there goes the window. and it smooth pissed me off. and I said something to her off stage, “you cannot talk to me during that scene. you can NOT talk to me in that moment. once the window is opened, I dont care if you recite the gettysburg address, but keep it quiet until then.”

She just looked at me like I was a stupid bitch and made a commment about how the character WOULD certainly react like that and basically said, I could lump it.

STEAM! anger,combined with exhaustion combined with a SEVERELY low level of gin in my diet these last weeks…oh lawd it was a miracle I got thru it.

We went out for drinks after. The director and stage mgr and artistic director, myself and two of the “kid” actors. I really am enjoying getting to know them. The girl that plays my daughter is sweet, and she’s having the same problems with her acting partner. Slow cues. Paraphrasing. GAK!!!!! It was nice to vent and know that our director sees that issue as well and to know that we will WORK IT next week.

We had a big ole salon meeting yesterday. “THEY” are really working on making our company a team. Really working to figure out that missing ingredient in ourselves, in our salon, in our company, that is keeping us from blowing the top off of this market. I respect that. In this economy, our owners haven’t had a paycheck in some months. it’s tight. and scary. But our salon gets new clients daily. NEW ones. And they, for some reason, aren’t being kept. or we’re losing our regular ones. I know I’ve lost about a handfull of clients since things got tight. I can give you names, faces, jobs, their husbands jobs…and I know it’s because of the money. People are going longer and longer w/o a visit. I think that by the time we see this economy change for the better, there’s going to be a lot of LONG hair walking around out there. Anyways, one of the ways the company is changing is by setting up a system, according to the time we’ve been an employee, to how many new clients we get a month. average. Some girls, who are new, still fresh, trying to build a business, are getting 10 a month. Some girls, who’ve been there 5, 6, 7 years already, are getting 2 or 3. I’m slated to get 4. I think it’s totally fair. It’ll average out differently, as any plans do, but if I get and KEEP four new clients a month….that’s good. It’s also up to me to get really energized about getting referrals. I have referral cards that give 10 dollars off to not only the new client, but to the person who sent them. yes, that comes out of my paycheck, but I think it’s worth it if I get new business.

We’re also all reading this book by John Maxwell, WINNING WITH PEOPLE. We’ve got set meeting times to discuss and work thru whatever the plan is within this book and work to apply it to ourselves and to our business. this is right up my ally. Yeah, the meeting times are sometimes at 8am and that totally sucks. But I read a lot and at the end of the day, if this makes us better? Bravo, then. Everyone at the table last night oooh’d and ahhhhh’d about this guy. They knew him and just went on and on and on. We will see. I prolly won’t be reading much of squat till I get this play opened…

today is a full day. After work, I must to the game store and buy Wonderboy his birthday Wii gun, then home to feed the livestock, gather clothing (which will prolly be dirty and have to be washed at my sisser’s house!) fill up Bella, and get on the road to Arkansas. I don’t know if I’m doing hair, can’t imagine them not needing it, so will bring supplies for the visit. Hair tonight, Party tomorrow, home monday morning. must get my own laundry done. I have rehearsal monday night…did i tell you the redhead loaned me a voice recorder so I taped last nights scenes and plan on listening to them on the drive. it’ll help get the lines in my brain.

There’s a lot going on. With everyone. B and ScottyRingo have had some drama and some body parts removed since I’ve seen them. Joe is being swollowed by the movie, which means he’s ass deep in happy. Gert is working on getting packed for her big move. I’m desperate for face time with these folks. MGirl is about two weeks into the no smoking thing and doing perfectly! I think…I think I could sleep for a hundred years if I could just go back to the bed.

Happy Saturday kids! Enjoy yours and I’ll see ya back here whenever. may try to get Wonderboy off the computer and post while there but chances of me parting the Red Sea are more likely.

Man, I’m sleepy. I snoozed thru my alarm, so the coffee time is less this morning. Rehearsals are going well. We were off book for act 1 last night, and while it wasn’t a smooth seemless ride, it wasn’t the Titanic either. This is good. Act 2…eh. that’s the focus today and tomorrow.

The best part of last night? The costumer brought in three of mine for to try on…remember kids. This show BEGINS in 1964 and proceeds to the early 90’s. I have some BEAUTIFUL double knit polyester ensembles. and I had forgotten how streachy that stuff is! Really, quite comfortable!!! My wigs aren’t in yet, but I get to be a redhead. AND ALL THE ANGLES SING….

so things are cookin right along.

My car is ready today! this afternoon actually, so MGirl and I are going to take back my rental this morning, then I have to work (thank goodness) and I’ll hopefully have someone run me by after work to pick up Bella. Scratch free, new windshielded Bella! Woo Hoo!!!

It’s going to be in the 80’s here today. I’m thinking it’s a flip flop/t-shirt/pit-tail kind of day. Yep yep!

what kind of day is it for you?