Thankful For...

-  My Job.  It's not glorious.  In the grand scheme of things it won't matter much at all but it's a job.  I've met many great and interesting people, established friendships and have a butt-load of funny stories to tell.  It isn't a career but let's face it I don't appear to be a career-oriented person, do I?  The best thing about the job is that it allows me to provide for my family... for now.
- A New Reliable Car.  Several months ago we bought a used Honda Accord.  It's quite a relief to have a dependable car.  I still do not enjoy being a car owner, and all of the headaches that go along with being one but I am happy to have made a solid purchase.
-  My Family.  Sara, and I are expecting another child this Spring and Evie Sue couldn't be more excited about becoming a big sister.  This time around the pregnancy is less mysterious and overwhelming but, rather, more familiar and fun.  Adding to our immediate family, of course, adds enormous stress to our lives but the way I figure it everyone has stress in their life.  The trick is in how you manage the stress.  I'm trying to get better at the stress management.
So as the Holidays continue, I originally intended this to be a Thanksgiving post, I will try to keep everything in perspective.  The year of 2014 is drawing to a close and I am not sure how much longer I will continue to post on this blog; it just isn't a priority anymore.  Things change.  Life marches ever onward and who knows what is next?  (Possibly, I will repost this entry with some pics soon... or maybe not.)

Long Live Queen!

This past Sunday Sara and I went to our first concert at Meriweather Post Pavilion; a great outdoor venue that has been around forever.  We had lawn seats and met some friends of ours at the show.  It was a beautiful evening and we were ready to be entertained.  I haven't mention who was performing, have I?

Queen!

One of my all time favorite bands!  Queen is one of those bands that I say is part of the soundtrack of my life.  My aunt still tells stories of her young nephew singing We Will Rock You ad nauseam.  Flash Gordon was one of my favorite movies as a kid and the soundtrack was by Queen!  My dad had several Queen albums on vinyl and 8 track that I listened to all the time as a youth.  Sara and I danced to Don't Stop Me Now at our wedding!  I have been a lifelong Queen fan!

'But Freddie Mercury is dead, buddy.'

Yes, I know.  Regrettably, he was unavailable for the concert. ( What would I have given to have seen Queen play Wembley Stadium?)  So Queen took the stage with Adam Lambert, of American Idol fame, fronting the band.  He was great!  I never need to hear his original work or buy a Xmas album from him but give the boy his props - He did a helluva job! 

They opened with You're My Best Friend, and proceeded to play many, many of their hits:  Fat Bottomed Girls, Another Bites The Dust, I Want It All, Bohemian Rhapsody, and many more.  They turned Crazy Little Thing Called Love, not one of my favorites, into a jam piece lasting nearly 10 minutes.  Radio Gaga was so cool with the audiences' hands in the air clapping to the beat.  The energy was amazing and the music unbelievable.  The encore was, of course, We Will Rock You, and We Are The Champions!  Amazing!

This will go down as one of the best concerts I have ever been to, I believe.  Freddie Mercury, you were missed but we had a great time!

Five Years Later...

I blinked and here we are.  Today is my Mom's Birthday.  Five Years ago today we had her memorial service. Five Years!  Today I will celebrate her birthday by completing & submitting a script for a grant.  Later I will sit on my patio with a gin & tonic while listening to Otis Redding.

Happy Birthday, Ma! We all miss you. 

And Another One Bites The Dust!

I have the worst luck with cars!  In the past 8 years I've had 5 cars... and in a few weeks that number will be SIX cars!  Snowflake, our Subaru, is dead.  As I type I am awaiting a call from a company who has promised to pick up my 1992 Subaru Legacy, tow it away and give me some money for the lifeless hulk.  We purchased the car 2 Decembers ago for relatively cheap, and managed to squeeze over a year and a half of life out of her but last week she breathed her last breath.  I broke down on the side of the rode twice, and was told that the engine is dead.  So now we move on.  The money I get today (Hopefully) will go towards our final car payment on our Taurus, The Raffeloff, and then we can start to figure out how to buy another car.  Being a single car family is challenging in this day and age.

In other news, I have completed a rough draft of the script I was working on, and have moved on to revising said script.  It is a full length stage play that I have worked on for a few years now, but this latest incarnation of the script seems to be going pretty well.  I hope to be able to submit it later in the month.

Work is work and the weeks just fly by.  I have been back at the Annapolis store for almost 4 months now.  It's hard to believe.  I miss some of my old work friends, and am sad that people I used to see everyday are not really a part of my day to day.  On the flip side of that coin it is great to reconnect with old friends, customers, and acquaintances that I now get to see more often.  It's fun how people come and go and come again into your life. 

Research and Remembrances

I'm writing again.  I've picked up a long neglected script, dusted off the keyboard and started working.  I've completed a rough draft of the play, and hope to do a revision or two in the next week or so.  The goal is to submit the play for a writing grant from the Maryland Arts Council.  It's been a while since my last production or even since I last really focused on writing that this surge of renewed interest and creativity feels invigorating.

I also realized that I needed to do a little research for this project which deals with an aspiring stand up comic.  So I've been going through how to books, books about comedy in the 70s, and watching a few informative documentaries.  Among my research I came across a film called Why We Laugh: Funny Women.  This documentary talks about the ins and outs of stand up comedy as it relates to being a woman.  There are many insightful interviews and appearances by comediennes such as Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, Paula Poundstone, Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard and Aisha Tyler - to name a few.

Let me tell you a story about Lily Tomlin.  Now Lily Tomlin is an incredibly creative and funny woman but isn't credited with being a great stand up.  She's a movie star, and her solo performances are wonderful.  When I was twelve years old or so I got the opportunity through a Summer workshop I was doing to see Lily Tomlin Live in her one woman show The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.  It was amazing.  She transformed from character to character seamlessly.  She was funny!  She was brilliant!  She started coughing... It was bad.  It got so bad that she had to stop the show, get a glass of water and take a break on stage!  She had the audience in the palm of her hand and she slammed on the breaks.  She chit-chatted with the audience as she soothed her sore throat and then after a few minutes finished her drink.  The lights went back down, and she jumped right back into the show!  I was Awestruck!  (I don't think this was a bit.  I think she really needed a glass of water.  To this day I have not read or seen another production of the show because I want to keep the original impression and awe that her performance gave me.)

My Kinda Woman!

Oh, and speaking of funny women Aisha Tyler is so funny in her interviews.  Now my wife would tell you that Aisha Tyler is one of my celebrity crushes... she'd be right!  I loved her on The Soup!  She's so funny on Archer!  She's the only reason to watch the Talk!  She definitely is on my LIST!

 

 

Waiter! Oh, Waiter!

I have developed a bad habit.  I have become a waiter, when I have always wanted to become a do-er.  I'm not sure when this began.  I feel like used to be good about going out and getting things done.  I need to change this.

Ah, but there is the pitfall.  If I focus too much on trying to get things done I won't, or might not be able to stop and appreciate all of the things that may be happening around me.  Yet if I spend to much time waiting for things to happen then I might miss some golden opportunities.  Also, I need to acknowledge the fact that I have done some things recently, seized some opportunities, and tried to make things better.

Hmmm, I guess I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.  What's new?

Today - my day off - I was listening to music as I worked on a script for submission.  (See I'm doing things.)  I was listening to music, as I often do when I write.  Sometimes the songs go unheard and other times they pop out and snag my attention.  Today as I was working on this script, this long term project (See?  What am I waiting for?) several songs were worth stopping for.  The 1st song was Tom Petty's 'Walls'.  It's a good song.  Later on 'Runaround' by Van Halen came on.  Another good song.  And finally, the song 'Burn To Shine' by Ben Harper played.  All 3 songs are good songs.  (All 3 of these songs are easy enough to find online if you care to listen.)  I cannot say what made these songs stand out - I had music playing most of the day - but these stayed with me and were worth mentioning for the way the made me smile, or shrug my shoulders, or stare away from the computer screen  and take a momentary break from the writing before forging ahead.

The script isn't completed but it's coming along...  Wait and see.

The Final Steps!

Two weeks of a three week run have flown by.  The audiences seem to be appreciating our efforts and the critics have had nothing but good things to say about The 39 Steps.  It has been a wild ride!

This is the 1st full length theatrical production I have worked on since Evie Sue was born, and it has been challenging.  An erratic rehearsal schedule, a full time job, and trying to spend quality time with loved ones has been stretching me a bit thin.  I can honestly say I am looking forward to the curtain falling on this production not because I am not enjoying myself but, rather, because I need to find a new normal.

When I stepped down, changed positions, at work a few months ago I already was in rehearsals for this show.  I changed stores, work schedules, commutes and everything whilst rehearsing the play.   Once the play ends it will just be the job, and the family for the 1st time since making the decision to step down.  I have no plans to work on another theatrical production in the coming months.  It'll be interesting to come up with a new regular-ish work schedule going into the summer.

There will be trips to see family.  There will be cookouts.  Visits to the park.  Day-trips into the city and hopefully a ballgame or two.

Here is a Hans Christian Andersen quote I used in my bio for this show's program.  "Just living is not is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."  That's about where I am in my life right now.

  

How Goes It?

Shorter commute, shorter shifts, and less responsibility.  I will say that it's a bittersweet change though.  I feel like I might have been a different type of manager, and maybe more motivated in a more supportive environment.  My last boss was not my favorite person, and had a very self-serving agenda.  Things are what they have become so we'll just roll with the punches.

I did recently visit the old store.  It was good to see my old co-workers/friends, show off Evie and reconnect.  I genuinely miss working with that crew.  It's weird to think about how little I see of them now.

Rehearsals continue, work goes on and eventually things will even out and we'll find a new normal...

Abandon Ship

The bell tolls for me.  3 times and then fades into silence.  It's time for a change.

Today will be my 1st day back in the Annapolis location of the National Chain of Neighborhood Grocery Stores that I work for.  For almost the last 2 years I had been commuting up to Towson to work in the store up there.  I was not enjoying myself - not the job anyway.  The nautical sounding title under which I toiled for that time was, for the most part, not fulfilling and a total pain in the ass!  My higher ranking 'officers' did not inspire confidence, and often times made the job more difficult.

Twice I actively sought a transfer.  Twice I was ignored by the powers that be.  A transfer would have meant a shorter commute, less gas money, more availability to see my family, and also a chance to try and see if maybe my doubts and negative feelings about the job were true or merely biased by my particular assignment.  Who's to say what would have been had I worked in another store?  I felt as if I was spinning my wheels; exiled, and let me tell you the view from Siberia is bleak.

So I have stepped down.  What does this mean?  It means I have surrendered my keys, and Hawaiian shirt.  I no longer have a nautical sounding title or any of the stress or BS that goes with it.  I am a worker bee once again, and I get a transfer.  (Shorter commute, less gas money, etc)

A recent meeting with my boss to discuss scheduling concerns, and issues I was having in general turned into me laying out all out on the line.  2 years ago when I accepted the promotion/transfer I was wearily optimistic.  Hopefully the opportunity would provide some financial stability, and make things better for my family.  It really has not done those things.  I had hoped to put in some time in Towson and then get a transfer to a store closer to home.  That did not happen either.  The ultimate goal for someone with my title is supposed to be taking command and getting your own store.  Early on I realized I didn't have that aspiration.  The powers that be decided that if I didn't want the prize at the end of the maze then I shouldn't be running in the rat race at all.  I couldn't agree more.

So today I go back to my original store.  Time has passed, things have changed and we'll see what comes of this new development.  I am being compensated for my time on the front lines, and hope that my clean performance serves me well.

On a more personal note, I am leaving Towson with many good memories.  I have met and worked with many excellent people in that store.  I connected with co-workers, and customers up there.  I formed some good relationships and met some truly wonderful people that I might not ever had met if I had if I'd not been promoted.  I once told a friend that I believe people come into your lives with a purpose.  Sometimes they're little, seemingly insignificant things but other times people really make an impact on your life.  My life has been significantly affected by people I have met during my tour in Towson and I count myself lucky to know those people.  I am notoriously bad about keeping in touch, but I hope to actively maintain those friendships.  A change of scenery will be nice but I will miss seeing those people everyday.  :(

The Steps Ahead

A few weeks back, I went to my 1st audition in a few years. Ever since Evie was born, and I've been working to support the family I haven't had much time to indulge in my writing or acting endeavours.  It's just how it is.  I don't have the time, outside of work, to commit to a theatrical production.  Or do I?

I auditioned just to audition.  The director emailed me asking me to come out, it's a script I love, a company I respect, and what could it hurt?  Dust off a few cobwebs, get up on my feet, read a few sides and see some friends.  So I auditioned, and got cast as the lead even though I am unsure I can commit the time needed for rehearsals and performances.  The director said, "Just say yes and we'll figure it out.  Just say yes and we'll make it work."

So I did.  This May I will be appearing as Richard Hannay in Dignity Players'production of The 39 Steps!  

So why now?  Why have I turned down auditioned for other shows?  Why do I feel like I can make this one work with my hectic schedule?  Because I really want to try.  My job is just a job, is not the end all be all of who I am.  I need to do something that I can enjoy, and something that might inspire... groceries do not fulfill this need.  They just can't.

Procrastination Used To Be My Problem

Now with a small child being exposed to countless germs and such in daycare I just can't seem to find enough time to get things done.  Picked Evie up, looks like pink eye, and there go all of my plans... such is life.

Bad Average?

So today we went to Carmax.  We test drove several cars.  Sara's car is probably not gonna last much longer so we need to find a replacement.  We have a less than stellar track record with our automobile purchases from private owners and then it hits me... we bought a car last year and the year before.  In the last 2 years we have purchased 2 cars and now, in the 3rd year, we will be buying another car.  Did I mention I hate buying cars?

Civic Duty... Again

Here I sit, once again, in a courthouse waiting to see if I will be selected for jury duty.  This is the 3rd time in the last decade that I have had to answer a jury summons.  Doesn't that seem a little excessive.  I sat on a jury in Chicago, sat through a selection panel in Baltimore less than 2 years ago, and now I'm sitting here for a 2nd day of selection here in Annapolis.

It's my day off and I would rather be out and about enjoying the day.