weekend round-up

So we got our first true taste of summer in Tampa this weekend. Temps in the high 80's with a dewpoint of at least 70. Let's just say hot and reeeaaaallllly humid. I found myself retreating into the air conditioning as much as possible. But it also meant I got caught up on some much needed housework, but also a lot of other indoor type activities. So here are my reviews...

READING

(finished) The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall... highly recommend. Quick tease... Eric was in a terrible accident. Since then he keeps having blank spots appear in his memory. He finds letters written by himself that help him piece together his memory... only to have the holes reappear. It is filled with literary references and allusions, so book geeks will get a kick out of it. Great story... okay writing. But definitely kept me turning the pages.

(started) Blood Sucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore... if you've never read Christopher Moore, go flush yourself. My personal favorite of his so far is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. His books are twisted, witty and provoking. Very Carl Hiaasen or Dave Berry. Plot... Jody works in an office and wakes up one morning behind a dumpster and a vampire. She is helped out by a beatnik author from Indiana who works nights at Safeway. I'm only about 1/2 way in, but very fun.

MUSIC

Third by Portishead. Okay... you're either into Portishead or you're not. But this one is AMAZING!!!! The guys put together some mend bending compositions and Beth Gibbons once again hurts you in a good way with her vocals.

MOVIES

I'm a loser... I didn't see these until this weekend. Now I'm peeved that I waited so long

X-Men
X2: X-Men United
X-Men: The Last Stand

Now, I don't think you have to be a comic geek to enjoy these movies. Fun plots, amazing characters and a great combination of real actors and special effects. Real humans are used for a vast majority of the stunts and whatnot instead of just being CGI'd in. Wow. Imagine that. And talk about some heavy hitting actors: Patrick Stewert & Ian McKellan of Royal Shakespeare Co fame, Alan Cummings from Broadway.... and even though I don't find Hugh Jackman to be the most attractive man in film, you give him that crazy spikey Wolverine hair and take his shirt off a couple of times per film... SOLD!

I also indulged in....

Secret Window. Not bad. Kept me entertained. Johnny Depp was his normal, brilliant self... and it was only at the end that I realized it was based on a short story by Stephen King !

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the Earth. Eye candy... between the period costumes, ships on the high seas and Russell Crowe. The plot was fun and engaging, but I think I wasn't in the mood for that one. Maybe I'll try it again.

Basically, it was one of those great weekends that leaves you wanting more. It isn't often that I get the opportunity to do nothing. And I think I needed it.

For mother's day....

I have 2 moms.... and I love them both. They have put up with untold amounts of my craziness... and that aint easy. Since watching my sister-in-law become a mother... and watching the other near her time, I think I've figured out why moms are so special. It's that absence of ego.... they celebrate the successes and failures of their children with them. Of course they take pride and feel disappoinment, but not because it makes them look bad, but because they only want the best.

It's kind of neat to see.

Now, I'm not a mom, and I honestly don't see myself as one. Actors are pretty much the physical embodiment of ego. True, I have my furkids.... and I adore them. But I've heard that children require more work for a longer period of time than a puppy. And I've done puppy. That took almost all my patience and restraint. But it also didn't require self-sacrifice.

I find it very freeing to understand that about myself. I have friends who are childless because of circumstance or situation, but they want to be a mother. I'm happy watching those who deserve to be moms have their wish. And they do a great job. It makes me all warm and fuzzy to see that mutual "face brightening" when mothers are with their children.

The Good, the Bad & the Hairy

So I will not be onstage in the Rocky Horror Show this fall. I was asked to do the costume design for the show and if I wanted, to be in the chorus. I have a meeting next week to discuss the design, but I politely declined the chorus role. Long rehearsals, lots of performances, for zero pay.... no thanks. Actually, the director will be playing the role she suggested I look at. Funny how things fall out.

The good news is that frees me up to work on shows for my company (which I'd rather be doing anyway). So... perform onstage with Jobsite and design costumes for a visually nifty piece like Rocky? Best of both worlds.

Would I cut all my hair off for a show? Like go totally boy cut/pixie do? That question was asked of me yesterday. And I had to stop and think. Hmmmm.... would I? Honestly, the huge mass o' reddish stuff growing from my head is a "signature" thang about me. Now, I have only ever had short hair once in my life (and all those pictures should be burned, BTW), but I've always wondered. So I told the director that if he wanted me, I'd do it. There are many other factors at play here... but it just really got me wondering... would I be like Samson and lose all my strength? Dunno.... interesting. I had a similar response last year when I was auditioning for a role that required full nudity. Hey, if the director thinks that is best for the show, then whatever. Now, I don't trust all directors everywhere to make those "best for the production" decisions, but there are a couple... and that's kinda nice.

And speaking of cute redheads.... here's a picture of my happy, smiley red dog Pugsley

Y'know... it's hard to be anything but amused when confronted with that face

Almost one year later...

My friend Eileen finally sent this to me...

Wow... I have lots o' hair!

May day

The last week was spent playing catch up and realizing I have no more excuses for not getting things done. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern closed last Sunday, so no more laundry, curtain speeches and wardrobe duty. Therefore I should have plenty of time to clean my house, do some yard work, and engage in other productive pursuits....

but i don't wanna!

Being involved daily in a show was the perfect hideaway! I've been doing it since the end of January! Now I have to once again be practical and responsible.

I hate being a grown-up. People expect too much of you when you're a grown-up. You're supposed to do your "chores" and eat your vegetables and pay bills on time and blah blah blah.

Blah blah blah is right.

But I do have to sprinkle in some fun stuff with all the domestic duties I must perform this weekend... I need to whip out some costume sketches for Dream Play, continue embroidering a quilt for my soon to be neice/nephew, and curl up with The Raw Shark Text (recommended by my boss).

So that should help get me through the dog washing, epileptic cat drugging, dish scrubing, flooring mopping, and the inevitable dust bunny slaughter that marks the true end of another show.

Wow. Reality is entirely too surreal for me.