job. job. job!

hi!

So, it's officially unofficial.  I didn't get the job I thought I was going to get that would have started in April.

I was totally bummed last night. So bummed, that I put on my slipper socks and pj bottoms at 6 so I could be more comfy before my show.

But, then, I bitched, looked for two minutes at jobs on the internet and then decided F it!  I'm still going to LA!  I'm still going to Florida to visit my parents!  And I'm going to try to do the things I love and maybe get some money out of it.

I've never really been into corporate improv (I mean, yes, you are getting paid to do what you love but do you really LOVE those shows?) and preferred to do day job stuff.

But now, I am prepared to do anything (almost) to make some $.  And see what comes of it.

I might even *gasp* try to get a day job that I could love.

Wish me luck!

And, I'm reluctantly going to go see Avatar.  I don't know...I think I'm going to hate it.  But, it's like, you have to see it.

Do any of you have  a job that you really like?  I only know one person who really likes their job here in Chicago that's a non-acting job.  But I bet there are more!

Ohhhhhio!

Faithful readers--

I am posting at the earliest time I have ever posted.  I would like this blog to have a timestamp so I get some major credit for how early this is.

I turn down jobs because they are too early.

I sleep until I HAVE to get up, not because it's morning time.

I blame it years ago embracing a drinking late at night lifestyle that was WAY over the top for me.

It is currently 6:21 and I am almost done with breakfast, dressed, hair done and packed to go.

UGH!

But, it'll be a nice drive and if I bust my ass, I may even see the sunrise on the skyway.

I'm heading to family to drop off a shipment of calico bonnets, tomahawks and fake prairie props.

Sad as it is to say, I don't think Little House (a play I co-wrote with friends Amy and Andy) will ever see the light of day again.   There's another musical that's "official" and we believe will succeed at touring the country.  I don't think it'll ever hit broadway, because it sounds really earnest, which sounds kind of boring...but it's already having a great deal of success.

Sometimes it makes me sad---our Little House on the Parody was very fun, very loving, and a bit tongue-in-cheek.  For me, it struck the perfect tone between the sincerity of the tv show and Laura's wicked sense of humor that you can easily see in her later writing, and definitely shows up in the classic 7 original books.

But, I'm biased.

It was certainly a hit here in Chicago, and I LOVED LOVED LOVED that show.  I'm a little teary-eyed right now thinking of some of those songs and when Amy and I were packing up the props, I laughed out loud at the store shelf we fashioned for Mr. Oleson (it was a piece of plywood, attached to rope that went around his neck, with items on the plywood...a take on the cigarette girl selling method), on Doc Baker's Black Doctor Bag (a black bowling ball bag) and a ball we made (an old nerf football wrapped in burlap).  

We made all those props late one night in the basement of the old Playground theatre on Lincoln Avenue.  Amy and I were down there, rigging up some crazy outfits for Mrs Oleson out of a donated pink piece of cheap chiffon and swatting at the bats that were attacking us.

Lordy lordy, that show was fun to do with the live olde-tyme band and a full house each night.

Am I remembering it through rose-colored glasses?

Anyway, off to Ohio now to get rid of those props, to listen to hours of NPR (those poor people in Haiti) and get a quick family visit in.

O! H!

Monday at last

This week was pretty busy...but also really productive.

I opened a show on Friday night, and then slept and slept and slept on Saturday and Sunday.

And Sunday, I snapped into work horse mode and organized the SHIT out of our storage space. I'm driving home to Ohio to permanently store our Little House on the Parody props, and hoping to relocate all the Band Geeks props to a more amenable storage space.

Amy and I did it together and it felt so great to throw out a bunch of calico, neon fabric and outdated wig spray.

We did a good job of it, too.

Now, does anyone have storage we can rent from them?

Today I'm going to the gym with Dori (GYM DATE!), paying condo bills, applying for jobs and working on some new scenes.

But what I really want to do is just go watch Precious at the MOVIES!

It's bitter cold out there people. 

If you live in LA or are on a cruise, now is the time to be thankful!

Oh!  So far, all the produce from Aldi is just the same.  And I saved buckets of money.

I wonder if Aldi would sponsor this blog?

Does anyone know what's in the top tower of the Trib building on Michigan Avenue?

500 days of Summer was an excellent movie.

Andy is enjoying Coconut Milk Creamer and I am enjoying Hazelnut.

Time to go get ready for Dori.

This blog reflects my thoughts, and is not edited.

Happy week.

storm's a brewin'!!!

12 inches!  

Get your mind out of the gutter, Chicago, it's 12 inches of expected snow.

By the lake...which is near to where I live.

YIKES!  

Thankfully, I've stocked up for the storm at my new favorite store, Aldi.

I went this morning to get many items...Fit and Active, which is their generic diet brand, has lots of salty snacks.  Man, those salty snacks just really kill me.  For the most part, I eat "real" food with minimal processing...but give me a puffed rice crisp or a cheddar baked cheetos and I am one happy camper.  The other fake thing I really dig is fake sugar...sweet n' low in my coffee and then sugar-free Jello, Hot Chocolate, etc.

Otherwise, it's pretty much all real food.

Anyway, over at the Aldi, you can count on the following general items:

Veggies (fresh, frozen and canned)

Some fresh fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit)

Salty Snacks

Snack-size candy bars

Break and bake cookie dough (I got a bargain on holiday shaped ones!)

Chicken Salad (it's really good)

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Eggs

Milk

Items I have not had good luck with:

Strawberries

Berries in general 

Yogurt

Dairy products (havarti dill is not the same as other places)

You can also expect to feel really fancy there---Aldi is where poor people shop for cheap shit---lots of ramen noodles, etc

Door ringing--must go!

Happy New Year!

Oh my, it's been a delightful holiday season.  I was home in Ohio with my famfam.  So nice to see everyone---we went to the zoo in cleveland, went to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland and hung out.  

I deleted my pics off my memory card---or else I would prove to all of you how much fun I had.  Alas, the evidence will have to be with my words.  

For New Years, I would have happily stayed in and watch more P&P, but I did manage to get out and go to dinner at the little neighborhood tapas place (yum to the yum) and have drinks.  I rang in the New Year at Town Hall which was nice and then promptly deposited myself in a cab. I got lots of New Years hugs and smooches---all innocent but sweet nonetheless.

Here's to 2010!  A year in which I may do the following:

--Work a job

--Write  a new play

--Put up more Montgomery and Cooke stuff

--Move some stuff out of storage

--Stop being so mad at those fake Band Geeks people in NY, and get our Band Geeks out into the world

--Pack up xmas decorations

--Organize some book shelves

--Cook Julia Child recipes with friends

--Keep working out

--Travel to exciting London!  Italy!  Texas!  Florida!  Pennsylvania!

--Enjoy myself

--Fall in love?

Happy New Year friends!