Take Five (Part 15)

"So.  How've you been?"

"Um, fine?" Laura replied, blushing as her answer came out sounding like a question.  "How've you been doing?"

"Doin' good," Blake said, grinning at Laura's discomfort.  He was definitely having an effect on women today.  "What are you up to?"

"Working?" Laura answered, her blush deepening.  Why did she always act like a star-struck schoolgirl when he talked to her?  "I'm, uh, just waiting right now, actually, until either Ric- Mr. Jarvis calls places or Sophia needs something."

Blake did not miss Laura's slip-up, but he kept his face straight.  "Is this your first time working on a film set?" he asked, keeping his tone conversational.

"Um, no, actually.  I've done a lot of extra work before."  Laura paused, but Blake stayed silent, looking at her as if he expected more.  "But it's my first time on set as a personal assistant."

"Ahh..." he said slowly.  "How did you go from extra to assistant?"

"Well, um, I spent a lot of time doing community theatre -"

"Right, because community theatre has a lot of personal assistants," Blake said, raising an eyebrow.

"I did a lot of community theatre and," Laura repeated, ignoring Blake's comment, "I realized that I don't really like being an actor, but I like working behind the scenes."

"Oh." Blake didn't have a smart comment about that.  "Is this the first time you've worked with Mr. Jarvis?"

"Umm...." Laura stalled, trying to remember the story she had concocted, in case something like this ever came up.

An Alexander Day

When I was a kid, one of my favourite stories was "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."  I don't think my family actually owned a copy of the book -  I think it was one of those books recommended by Reading Rainbow that we checked out of the library (I remember writing down every book at the end of every show!).  In any case, I loved the story.  A few years ago, I special-ordered a copy of it, and now I have it for myself, and it's still awesome.  Every once in a while, when I'm having a bad day, I sit down and read it, because Alexander knows how I feel.  

Today was mostly an Alexander day.  This morning actually was not too bad.  I got to work almost on time (2 minutes earlier than usual, but still technically a minute late).  I got out for lunch on time.  I had a nice lunch with a friend.  After lunch, it all went downhill.  A word of advice to those of you out there who are getting older (aka everyone who is not dead yet): when you are 91 years old, and your eyes feel tired and weak, it's probably because YOU ARE 91 YEARS OLD!  Trust me, there's nothing that the ophthalmologist can do to make you NOT 91.  Also, if you suddenly lose vision in one of your eyes, GET YOUR ASS TO THE DOCTOR NOW!  Don't wait two hours, or three days, because "it might pass."  If you can't see, it's NOT A GOOD THING!  The longer you wait, the less your chances of ever getting your vision back!  Did I mention I had to work late today?  Also, my dog puked in my bed at four a.m.  And tonight was the first time that we actually ran through the full second act of the show that opens NEXT FRIDAY!  Oh.  And my internet has taken almost an hour to get a connection stable enough for me to copy and paste this post.  Lovin' it.

Ahem.  My stress levels are a little on the high side tonight.  I'm going to go and have a drink of chocolate chip cookie liqueur, then go to bed.  If you need me before noon tomorrow, tough shit.

Take Five (Part 14)

Laura had started towards the actress's trailer when Ricardo called for a break, but she had turned around in time to catch the exchange between the two actors.  Laura made a point of looking away, though, when Sophia started walking towards her trailer.  Between the bad start to the day and this latest exchange with her co-star, Laura was certain that Sophia was not going to be in a good mood.

Her prediction was not far off.  Sophia did not acknowledge anyone between the set and her trailer.  Laura had the door open as Sophia walked up  the steps, and the actress paused at the top step before going inside.  "Knock twice when Ricardo calls for me," Sophia instructed, then closed the door.

Laura blinked.  Maybe Blake had said something... nice?  Sophia certain seemed much less irritable than Laura had expected.  Of course, it didn't take much to change the actress's mood, so Laura resolved to stay on her toes.  She debated going off to grab a coffee, but decided against it - she wasn't sure how long of a break Ricardo planned to take, and Laura didn't want to be far, in case Sophia decided that she needed something.

"You look thirsty."

Laura whirled around, almost hitting Blake as she did so.  "What?" she asked, certain that she had misheard him.

"I said, 'You look thirsty'," Blank repeated, laughing lightly.  "I brought you some coffee.  It's got cream and sugar - you look like a cream-and-sugar sort of girl."  He held out a styrofoam cup towards her.

"Uh, thanks," Laura said, accepting the cup.  She didn't really like regular coffee - she was more of a smothered-in-caramel-and-chocolate sort of girl than a cream-and-sugar sort of girl - but she thought it was a sweet gesture.  She smiled at him awkwardly and took a sip.

"Mmm, hot," she said, wincing.

"Fresh," Blake corrected, taking a sip of his own coffee.  "So.   How've you been?"

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

When it rains, my internet goes away.  I'm planning to have this fixed by actually getting my own internet connection next month, but until then, when it rains, my internet goes away.  Hence the early post - I'm between showers, and making the most of it.

Today is my puppy's first birthday!  It feels like a really big milestone to me, but she doesn't seem to care.  I wanted to post some pictures of her today, in celebration, but, well, the internet is being quirky, and I don't have the power cord for my camera, so I can't upload anything yet.  *le sigh*  But I promise, as soon as the cord comes back from Canada, I will have puppy pictures!

I was trying to find some way to celebrate for her, but, well, I can't really come up with anything.  I'm thinking of going online (later, of course) and finding a recipe for a cake for dogs, and making one this weekend.  If I do that, I'll totally photograph the whole thing, even if I have to go old-school and use *gulp* film!  For today, she's allowed to have a Ziggy, one of the treats made to go in the Kong.  Normally, she only gets those as a bribe on days when she's going to be stuck in the kitchen while I'm cleaning or doing other stuff where I can't have her underfoot.  She was a little suspicious, I think, but has been dragging it around since I got home, and seems pretty happy about it.  Yay!

I'm hoping to have more fiction up soon... it looks like it might be foggy again, and that seems to be a big inspiration lately.  I really need to work out just what kind of a creature Mel is!

Can't get it out of my head!

As you may or may not know, I'm the stage manager for a local theatre production of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."  For the last two shows I've stage managed, the director didn't need me to come in until just before the tech rehearsals started.  With this show, I've been to almost all of the rehearsals, with the exceptions of the ones where he's just teaching the music.  It's been... different.  But not bad.

This means that I've heard the songs almost as much as the cast.  Unfortunately, this means that they're stuck in my head.  However, my brain is apparently bored with the actual arrangement of songs, and has decided to mix up the lyrics from several numbers and play them over and over and over.  I've had to blast Britney Spears in the car, just to get the music out of my head for a few minutes at a time.

Tonight, I'll leave you with a few clips from my brain (and "The Great American Trailer Park Musical").

Just feel that late summer fire/burning up the sky

It makes time stand still/and your brain start to fry

'Cause it's the Great American TV Show

We're in your living room

Pour some java/stir in some sweet 'n' low

You shouldn'ta couldn'ta wouldn'ta oughta done it

You shouldn'ta couldn'ta wouldn'ta oughta seen that tramp no

You shouldn'ta couldn'ta wouldn'ta oughta done it

In this period of your life she's a major cramp!

Hmmm... that seems to have quieted the songs, at least for the moment... yay!

They're trying to kill me!

I swear, big, white pickup trucks have it out for me!  THREE times today - THREE! - I nearly got crushed by a big, white pickup truck.

Granted, I've got a small car.  I drive a Volkswagon Beetle.  But it's RED!  It doesn't blend in with the grass or the highway or the sky... you should be able to see it!

The first time, I was on the interstate, and this truck changed lanes without signalling, and I had to slam on  my brakes to keep from hitting it.  And I wasn't going that fast, and it wasn't going that slow - it was just that close to me!

The exact same thing happened again about a half hour later!

The third time, I was on my way to the theatre, driving under an overpass, and the truck to my left started drifting into my lane!  I slowed down, because on my right was a freaking wall!

I'm going to be very wary of big, white pickup trucks.  Unless it's Mitzi.  I don't think she has it out for me... I hope...

Yay! More accomplishing!

Another one bites the dust!

I've finished another project!  Woot!  So far, this year, I've finished the yellow baby blanket (that was going to be for Charlotte Rae, but now is not because I've seen the nursery and decided on a different pattern), a blue and white striped scarf (with 8 awesome pompoms, made with my pompom maker), and a brown and gold shrug (which should have been done this time last year).  Having finished two projects, I let myself start on another, so I'm working on the new baby blanket for Charlotte Rae, and I'm happy with it so far.  It's my first attempt at using a grid pattern, so it's a learning project, but I'm liking it.  That should be done soon, and then I'll have finished another two, and can start on another project!  The next one in line is a pair of wristwarmers for my sister, since she requested them a few months ago.  In the lineup of things to finish: a toque for James, a yellow and white baby blanket, a white speckled baby blanket, a blue and navy baby blanket, a blue sweater for myself, a purple/white/pink afghan, and a pink and white granny square afghan.  

Eventually, the list will be empty... of all of those projects, only the wristwarmers are not currently a work in progress.  The others are all in various stages of progress, hence the resolution to finish two before starting one.  I'm very proud of myself for sticking to that!  The only exceptions are the afghans, because they're so large.  They're harder to take with me, and they're just long-term projects.  But the rest... yeesh.  And once I'm done all of those, I'll make some more plot bunnies!

Have I mentioned that I like making stuff?

I've also made several necklaces and earrings.  I make greeting cards, too... I need to stop finding new hobbies.  It's awfully tempting to take up spinning so I can make my own yarn.  Or quilting, because my grandma and grandpa do that.  Must... not... learn... new... crafts...

Oh yes.  I also cleaned the burners on my stove today.  Very productive!

A good day

Today was a very productive day, writing-wise. I managed to get out 1400 words of my current major WIP, and I’m very satisfied with that. Plus, my heroine just realized that she’s found her love interest, which is exciting. I get to write more about that tomorrow.

Also a productive crafting day! I am now on the finishing stage of the brown shrug that I started about a year ago. I was going to wear it with the bridesmaid dress for my cousin’s wedding, but I didn’t start it early enough.I put it away for months, and then pulled it out last week, in accordance with my “finish two before starting one” goal. If all goes well tomorrow and Sunday, I should have it done by the end of the weekend. Yay!

I am happy with my progress today.

Story idea

The details aren't worked out, but this is a story that I think I need to write...

We were out at dinner tonight, talking about a D20 modern/Cthullu campaign that Shane is running, and how one of the players really wants to be armed, but that in that setting, weapons are really not going to do you a lot of good.  Then we started talking about how people should react if the sort of stuff that you see in D&D started showing up in real life.

I'm going to write a story about a group of gamers who end up having D&D-type stuff start showing up in real life!  I think it will start with the group gaming around a table, and suddenly, a fireball goes off outside.  The initial assumption will be that there's been a gas leak/explosion, or arson, or a small plane crash, or something equally odd but plausible.  Then other things will start to happen - someone will quote something Latin, and a spell will go off.  I'm not sure what else yet... I'll have to go through some books.

But I think that the D&D players have a better chance of surviving that sort of supernatural crap (once they realize that it's really happening) than non-gamers.  And I think it would be kind of cool.  So I'm going to go sleep on this idea, and maybe have a better outline of it in the morning.  Yay for fun ideas!

Rant ahead

If someone asks you a question with two possible answers, will you respond with one of the choices, or with something else entirely?  (Boy, I can only imagine the comments that's going to generate!)

If you don't already know, I work for eye doctors.  I spend my day checking people's vision and eye pressure and generally doing all the stuff that the doctor wants done before he goes into see them.  As part of that, I give that eye exam where you get asked, "Which is better, one or two?"

What I don't understand is why people can't manage to have this exam without breaking me.  If I ask you which one is better, one or two, I really do want you to tell me which of those two options looks better!  I don't want you to say, "That's blurry."  I realize it's blurry.  I told you that it was going to be blurry.  I want to know which one is better.  And if I ask you which is better, three or four, please don't tell me that two was better!  Two is not one of your options!

And what is a rant about work without the same thing that breaks my brain every day?  2 is not a letter!!!  8 is not a letter!!  Go and watch Sesame Street for pete's sake!  Even Elisabeth, my friend's 3-year-old, can tell me that 2 is a number, not a letter!!

I hate my job sometimes.

The Little Ball of Yarn Who Wanted to be a Sweater

Once upon a time, there was a little ball of yarn.  This little ball of yarn wanted, more than anything in the world, to become a sweater.  So it sat up as proudly as it could on the shelf at the yarn store, trying to look soft, and warm, and sweater-y.  

Finally, one day, a woman walked into the yarn store and picked up the little ball of yarn.  "This one is perfect!" she said, and she bought the little ball of yarn and took it home with her.  She got out her knitting needles and started to knit.  She knit row after row after row, and slowly, the little ball of yarn began to become a sweater!  It was happier than it had ever imagined it could be. 

Every night, the woman and the little ball of yarn sat together, working on the sweater.  Then, one day, the woman came home with a new ball of yarn.  It was pink, and fluffy, and not very sweater-y.  That night, the woman sat down with her new ball of yarn.  The little ball of yarn was left in the basket, half-sweater, half-ball, abandoned.  But it still sat up tall, looking as soft and as warm and as sweater-y as it could, waiting for the woman to come back and finish that last sleeve.

**This was written as an entry for the International Moleskine Exchange on Ravelry**

Must learn to blog earlier...

I really need to learn to blog earlier in the day.

Unfortunately, I've gotten into the habit of blogging just before I go to bed.  That means that, on days like today - when I've worked all day, then had rehearsal all night, and I get home at 10:30 and have to wake up for 6:30 the next morning - I really don't have the energy to do a fancy, creative, awesome blog post.

However, I also have no desire or, well, level of creativity, earlier in the day.  I've tried pre-blogging (writing my entry earlier, like on my lunch break), but they never really work out for me.  The only one that sort of works for is the Take Five series, because I'm writing it longhand in a moleskine first, then typing it out here.  

I find Moleskines very inspiring... But I've always been a notebook-oriented person.  I've got 22 notebooks sitting on my shelf right now, and two in my purse, and one on the table downstairs.  Each of them has a different story going on, and I love it.  Some of them have been finished in the notebook, some have been switched over to computer, and one or two are works-in-progress, but each is special.  And there are very few of those notebooks that are the same.  I have one set of four identical books, and then I've got five that are the same style (Blueline), but different colours, and there are the two Moleskines (one red, one black) that live in my purse.  Oh, and there's the Moleskine that's on the counter downstairs, but it's not technically mine - it's part of the exchange.  And when I get my camera charger back from Canada, I'll post photos of the contribution I made to it!

Say, this hasn't been too bad for a tired post!

I swear, I had a great idea!

Another one of those days where I should have blogged earlier in the day, when I had the brilliant idea...  I swear, it was going to be an awesome blog, about something that was pertinent to my daily life, but something that was a bit quirky, and not entirely ordinary.

But I can't remember it now.

So I'll just give you my good news:

The resolutions are going well! 

- I've blogged every day

- I finished a yellow baby blanket, and I'm almost done the blue and white scarf, which means I can start Charlotte Rae's baby blanket soon!  And while it's great that I've finished projects, the most important part is that I haven't started anything new yet, even though I can taste the end of the second one.  Go willpower!

- I've lost about a pound so far, which is good, but more importantly, I've been getting at least a little bit of activity in every day, either on the Wii or walking around while shopping (I like window shopping).  

- I've read one book, and I've grabbed another to start tomorrow at lunch. 

All in all, a successful year, so far.

The Internet hates me

Why??  Why does the Internet hate my computer?  Why can’t they just play nicely?  After spending most of my computer time trying to get online tonight, the blog post is simply perfunctory… mostly because I’m afraid I’ll get disconnected again before I can hit “Publish Post”!  I shall try again tomorrow, and perhaps the Internet will like my computer more…

Take Five (Part 13)

"I'm Zach," Blake said, extending his hand towards Sophia.

"Kat," she replied, shaking his hand.  "Um, I'm sorry... should I know you?"

"Not really," he replied.  "But I've seen you around."

Sophia smiled.  "Here in the park, right?" she asked.  "I thought you looked familiar.  Do you live nearby?"

"No," he replied, "but I work around the corner.  I like to take a walk through this park after work to relax."

"But it's Saturday," Sophia said, looking confused.  She shifted her position on the bench, turning so that there was room beside her.

"Yeah... well, I decided to take a chance that you might be here today," he said, stepping closer to the bench, but not sitting down yet.

"Really?" Sophia asked, blushing.

The scene continued beautifully - the first time that had happened during the shoot so far.  Ricardo kept the cameras rolling, letting the actors run through the whole scene before finally stopping.

"Beautiful!" Ricardo called out as the action stopped.  "That was amazing, folks.  I want you to take a break, then we'll come back and get a few more angles, okay?  Good."  Ricardo turned to the equipment beside him to review the film,  hoping to get a fairly short list of shots to re-do.

As Sophia rose from the bench, Blake reached out and touched her arm lightly.  She paused and looked at him, ready to spit out some acidic comeback at whatever teasing remark he was about to make.

He surprised her,  however.  "That felt really good, Sophia," he told her.

She blinked, uncertain of what to say.  "Thanks," she finally responded.  "It did."

Blake grinned at her, then turned and headed over to the craft services table, pleased with the way both the scene had gone, and with the way he had managed to put his co-star at a loss for words.

Sophia watched as he walked off, still unsure of how she should have reacted to his comment.  She shook her head, trying to regain her composure, then started towards her trailer.

Mixed blessing

I found my iPod!

 

I thought I had lost it at some point after coming home from Canada… I remember listening to it on the plane, then sticking it in my pocket, but I didn’t remember doing anything with it after that.  Three days later, I went to grab it to play on the way to work, but I couldn’t find it.

 

It didn’t help that we’d had a New Year’s Eve party at my place, which meant I ‘cleaned’ everything.  I spent a week and a half looking for it, but no luck.

 

Tonight, I was making a dessert, and I moved a bag of sugar, and there it was!  Hiding behind stuff in the kitchen… not even the last place I would think to look for an iPod. 

 

So part of me is thrilled, because I’ve realized just how much I use the thing, and I’ve been feeling kind of lost without it.  But another part of me is just a little bit disappointed, because I was planning to save up for a bigger, better version, and now I have no excuse to get one.

 

But I have an iPod again!  Yay!

Moving on

Tamblyn looked around the almost-empty room and sighed.  For two years, this had been her home.  She had spent her evenings studying at the desk, slept on the bed, sat in the chair… and now it was over. 

She was relieved, in a sense.  It had been hard work, trying to earn her Journeyman status.  She had not had any sort of social life that didn’t involve her classmates, that much was certain.  Somehow, though, it hadn’t really mattered.  The people she was with, day in and day out, they had become her family.  Now, though, they would all be scattered away, like leaves on the wind.

“Tam?” Elinora asked from the doorway.  “Are you ready?”

“Not even close,” Tamblyn murmured, hefting her rucksack over her shoulder.  Reluctantly, she turned away, not quite prepared to face her new life.

Wii are tired!

Hooked up the WiiFit tonight, and WOW!  I love it!  I never thought I'd have a video game tell me that I'm overweight, though... *sigh*  And back to the resolution list - lose weight!

On a mildly related note, Happy New Year!  Ukrainian Christmas was last week, and now it's New Year's!  So I'm going to add one more resolution - drink more water.  I read somewhere that you should drink one 8-ounce glass of water for every 20 lb of body weight, so I'm trying to stick to that.  Yet another reason to lose weight - 8 ounces less a day!

Have I mentioned that I hooked up the WiiFit?  I'm freaking exhausted!

Puppy-related delays

When I resolved to blog every night, I assumed things like being tired, or having no internet, or being out at rehearsals would be the reasons that I would have short, sucky entries.

It turns out, having a dog sitting on my arm is another reason.

Mia has decided that she wants to put her butt on my left arm, and her head on my right shoulder.  She’s not a big dog, only about 8 lbs, but that’s enough to be uncomfortable.

So tonight, I’m going to have a short blog, then go lay in my bed and knit, because when I’m laying in bed, she prefers to be under the blankets (and out of the way of the knitting).  Tomorrow, I think I’ll give her a Kong before I blog.  Tonight, she’s just too cuddly.

Blargh.

Ick.  

That's all I have to say about last night's post.  Ick.

I was trying to write a first-person account of a D&D session, but it just turned out badly.  I think that it's because I'm really not into the character that I'm playing.  We've only had two sessions, and not a lot of RP, so I suppose it's not that bad, but, well, that story attempt sucked.

So instead of sucking at more story attempts tonight, I spent the evening cooking.  I made perogies.  From scratch.  And they are AWESOME!!  I must have finally hit the right combination of onion and cheese and salt and pepper, because the filling tasted the way it's supposed to.  Last time, they were a bit on the bland side.

For future reference for myself... used 1 potful of potatoes, mashed in one block of Kroger brand medium cheddar cheese, used 1/2 onion (sauteed), about 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt.  Yay!

Now I must go call Matt and tell him that I have perogies.  He has been waiting and begging for them for almost a year.

Some gates should stay closed.

Sometimes, you make a bad decision.  Things like walking through a gate that magically opens as you approach.  These are lessons that are often learned the hard way...

We had a simple mission - find a guy.  His wife was worried that he hadn't come home, and all she wanted was for us to either bring him, or proof of his death, back to her.  Piece of cake, right?  Right....

There were four of us, and we were a decent crew... except for the bard.  He was irritating, and pompous, and well, none of the rest of us really felt too bad when we had to cut off his head.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The four of us - Merrick, the bard, the ranger, and myself - were headed down the road towards the town.  As we got closer, the fog started.  At first, it wasn't bad, but soon, it got so thick, we could barely see the trees on either side of the road.  We tried to be careful.  Well, most of us tried.  The ranger headed up ahead of us, hiding along the side of the road, to see if there was any danger.  The bard, on the other hand, simply rode up.  Luckily, the big dark thing in the road wasn't the monster that it appeared to be - it was a fallen tree.  However, that gives you an idea of how cautious our friend the bard is not.

Through the fog, we eventually saw the gates.  They were rather tall, not the kind you could easily climb, but there was no wall.  Two large statues, without heads, stood at either end of it.  It was closed, but as I approached, the gate opened.  Cautiously, we made our way through.  Looking back, I suppose we should have simply turned around.  Once we were through, the gate closed again, and would not open.  The chill I felt then was not simply from the cold, damp fog surrounding us.

Not in the mood...

I'm just not in a writing kind of mood tonight.  I've got stories in my head that want to be told, but I'm not in the mood to write them down.  I think I'll let them percolate overnight... and then, once I've done my laundry and my dishes tomorrow (and searched for my missing iPod), I have all day to write them.

Sorry if you were expecting better... I'm only human.  Sometimes, I suck.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Ukranian Christmas!  Today, my family celebrated with perogies and kielbasa and holobchi.  I, unfortunately, missed out.  But I do plan to make perogies very soon, and I will celebrate belatedly.  The best part of my Ukranian heritage is the food!  And that's probably a good thing, because the Norwegian heritage only offers lutefisk, and that's really not at all appealing...

I was going to write fiction today...

Instead, I had my creativity drained with a vaccination at lunch.  I'm hoping it comes back tomorrow, since there is NO WAY I'll be going for another vaccination.  Have I mentioned that I HATE needles?  The last time I had blood drawn, it took them a good 20 minutes to find a vein, and they ended up using the back of my hand... By the time they actually got any blood, I was close to passing out from all of the prodding, so I had to lay down.  (And I really do mean 'they' - there were three different nurses trying!)  The vaccination was not quite as bad - it's a lot easier to find my shoulder than to find a vein, thankfully.  And the guy was really good, too, which helped.  But my arm hurts and I feel sucky and un-creative today, so fiction will wait until I'm feeling better. 

Feeling Random

For Christmas, I got the complete series of Friends on DVD, so, of course, that's all I've been watching.  (Have I mentioned that I don't have cable?)

In any case, I just watched the episode where Rachel tells Chandler that she had a raunchy dream about him.  Ross reacts badly to this, and Chandler apologizes with, "I'm sorry, it will never happen again.  I was very drunk and it was someone else's subconscious."  (I LOVE that line!)  This got me  to thinking... is it wise to tell someone that you've had an erotic dream about him/her?  I think, in some cases, it can go fairly well - the someone is amused and teases you mercilessly until something new comes along.  In other cases, well, it might result in this awkward tension between you and the someone, and cause all sorts of unpleasant moments.  I don't think I've ever told anyone about a dirty dream I've had about them... I've told other people, because it amuses me that most of the men who show up in my raunchy dreams turn out to be gay, but I've never told any of the ones who were actually IN the dream.  Has anyone out there tried this?

In unrelated randomness, I tried writing my blog this evening, around 6, and it just didn't happen.  Nothing came out.  I stared at the screen.  It sucked.  Apparently, I can't write before 9pm, unless I'm sneaking in writing time during work hours.  Strange.  When I become a world-famous author, I think I'll end up staying up all night, and sleeping all day, just so that I can always be awake during peak writing time.

And in another unrelated random thought, one of the gals at work almost convinced me to buy another puppy today.  But then I thought of Mia, and as much as I would like for her to have a friend to play with, I'm not ready for another puppy, and she's not ready to share my attention.  So I stayed strong!  Barely...

Finally, I've had a link open in my computer all week for this site that sells bookplates, because I love having bookplates in my books, and I've finally found a company that sells the bookplates that I got years ago when I joined the SFBC (Science Fiction Book Club - like Columbia House for SciFi/Fantasy).  But I haven't purchased them yet, because I keep forgetting to bring my credit card upstairs.

Tomorrow,  I think I shall produce fiction!

A new sort of style

I'm playing Stage Manager again, but I think my role is going to be very different this time.

The last two productions that I've been SM for, I've come in about two weeks before opening night, and most of my responsibilities started then.  For this show, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, I've already started, and tonight was just the first night of auditions!

Byron, the director, seems to want me to take a more traditional role in the production, including attending almost every rehearsal.  This is going to be... interesting, to say the least.  It's a very short turn-around time, though.  Opening night is exactly one month from tomorrow.  The schedule is intense, but I'm certain that I'll be able to keep blogging!  I may have to fudge a few minutes on the post time, since rehearsals will run until nearly 11 (by the time I close up and go home), but as long as I don't go to bed, it's still today, right?

At least we still have our friend working on the house and staying at my place - the poor puppy won't be alone all night.  Speaking of which, she's being awfully cute right now.  She's half-standing on my lap so that she can lay her head on my shoulder, but she keeps drooping down as she dozes off, then catching herself and sticking her head back on my shoulder.

Finally, in this rather rambling entry, thanks for reading my stuff!  I really liked writing the last two fog posts, and I'm considering using them as a basis for something larger.  There are a couple of writing contests coming up, and I think I could expand them into an appropriately sized entry.  If I do submit it, but it doesn't win/place/get published, I'll definitely include the full-sized story on my blog at some point, so I'll keep you posted on that.

I've been trying to think about the sorts of things that I want to include in this blog, because I want to have some sort of focus, rather than just writing about what's going on in my life.  I want to include short stories (like that last one), and I want to keep on with Take Five (I think that's going to end up being a soap opera!).  I think I'll keep on writing about the interesting bits of the theatre, because, well, they're interesting.  If there's anything else you particularly want to see, or any sort of story prompt, please, feel free to ask!

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

Have I mentioned that I LOVE SingStar?

For Christmas, I got two new SingStar games for the PS2 - Legends and Country.  We broke them in at the New Year's Party, and we had much drunken singing all night.  It was awesome.  Unfortunately, I suck at Country, because my range is just a bit too high, but I love the songs anyways.

Today, I got what may be the best SingStar for my voice - SingStar ABBA!

I go through phases with ABBA.  Sometimes I love them, sometimes I can't stand to hear them at all.  I seem to be in a 'love them' phase at the moment.  However, regardless of how I feel about the group, I know their music, and I can sing their songs.  Tonight, on my first attempt, I got over 8900 points!  Without having heard the song in... months, if not years.  So SingStar ABBA is my new favourite game.  Until I go back and play FFXII again.

New Year, new plans...

Yes, it's time to make resolutions. I suck at resolutions. Either I choose something so easy that I accomplish it two days after the year starts, or I choose something so impossible that I don't follow through.  However, despite my poor track record, I'm making resolutions again!  And to help keep myself on track, I'm writing them down here, and I'm going to keep tabs on how they're going throughout the year.

This year, I resolve to:

- Blog every day.  And on the days that I don't have internet access, I will write offline and publish as soon as I get access again, even if it means saving to a thumb drive and stealing a spot at a computer at work on my lunch hour.

- Finish at least two craft projects before I start on a new one.  Once I'm caught up with everything but the two large afghans I'm working on, I can start one new project at a time.

- Lose 20 lb.  I'm not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not fitting into my pants as comfortably as I was this time last year.

- Get in better shape.  This goes hand in hand with the previous one, but it's more about lifestyle than size.  I need to feel more fit, and I need to be more active.

- Read more.  I've signed up for a group whose goal is to have all the members read 52 books this year (about a book a week, but you can average it out as needed).  I miss reading.  I need to read more.

I think that's good enough, actually.  Four of the five are long-term, but definitely do-able.  The other might be short term, or it might be long-term, depending on how quickly I can get myself in gear... 20 lb, at 2 lb/week, should be about a 2-3 month venture.  I hope.

So that's my plan for the new year!  Already, I'm doing well, I think.  I got two new books for Christmas, and I've waited to dive into them, but I read three books on my 10-day holiday.  I finished Karen's scarf, and I'm about 2/3 done a baby blanket, and I've picked out my sweater to be my next to-finish project.   And hey, I've already blogged every day this year!