Don't get your teeth in the way of my boot, you ass.

Hi! I'm alive, I've been busy, though not in the ways I would like. Been doing a lot of last-minute jobs. And need to plan the handing-out of several beatings.

Synopsis:
-Am taking a CAD class, specifically Chief Architect. It's for home/landscaping design, but works like AutoCAD or MiniCAD with trainingwheels. Helpful.
-Still frantically seeking one of those full-time job things.
-My GP doc is a twit.
-My GP's NP is teh awesomesauce.
-Agenceis (governmental, temp/employment, and insurance types) suck the Big Sweaty One.
-Am still working MadScience gigs; lots of last-minute-ness. Mostly enjoyable.
-Have made some new friends recently who are just the best.
-All friends are helping me stay sane, or offereing to buy me ammo, or asking to join me on the clocktower. All are equally awesome.

And you?

Tags: update

The weekend started off not so bad, what with the good weather. Saturday was pretty lazy at my place, but I helped clean up the party place for D's bash rather well. Turns out the people who own the space had a big'ol kegger the night before. I got there AFTER an hour of cleaning had taken place.

There aren't enough Es for the "eew" I need to spell, people.

Cleared bottles, cups, cans, and general trash. Swept. Vacuumed. J, bless her, mopped. Put fresh throw-covers on furniture. Got the lights working right. I volunteered to clean the bathroom, and my mom would have been proud. Set up tables, cleaned tables, helped set out food and drinks. Finally, the party! Had a REALLY good time, re-connected with some people and got to meet some more. Turned into a pumpkin around midnight, when the kind-of-a-maybe-sore-throat became a oh-boy-tomorrow-I'm-gonna-wake-up-dead feeling.

Sunday: Woke up mostly dead. So did Isaac. So instead of going out to Marlboro to help my sister and her hubby pack and clean, we spent the day mostly dead. I took a brief time-out to venture forth for such neccessities as tissues, flu medicine, orange juice, and bread.

Monday: Another mostly dead day, though Isaac was a little more dead than me. Managed grocery shopping, which wiped me out. Isaac managed laundry and dishes, which wiped him out.

Today: I'm feeling aboout 75%, Isaac is at about 50%. Better, but still with the sniffles and getting wiped out by little effort. I did manage to make dinner this evening.

Tomorrow: More work searching for me, hopefully actually getting to work for the hubby.

And now, a think a cup of tea is in order.

QotD is from TWITTER:
lundegaard: Alistair Crowley loved ice cream so much that he used to finish decrees w/ "So ala mode it be." History is just lactose intolerant.
sylliebee: hey @lundegaard : Alistair Crowley kept that ice cream in a Cthuler. He also kept his frozen Yogsothothurt inside.

Tags: quote, update

Only good stuff:

-J & J are now happily the parents of another J, born on July 29, big and strong and healthy! I am a psuedo-auntie again! Can't wait to taste those soft tender baby cheeks...

-I won tickets! ART here in Boston ran a contest to pick the new name of their "club" space, which will be christened with a production of "The Donkey Show". I was one of the people who picked the name that won, and I won tickets! Woo-hoo! It'll be a week-ish late, but it will make a fab anniversary evening for me and the hubby.

-Saturday night I will be hanging out with people I see far too infrequently, indulging in practices decidedly not approved by the Harper Valley PTA.

-Sunday I get to see my Grandma-in-law up in NH, along with my brother and sister in law, and possibly cousin-in-law. Lots of in-laws. But I like these people a bunch, and Isaac's cousin S is a theater geek like me, so yay!

-Next week I have some steady work, teaching another MadScience camp. I'm told I will have more than 8 students this time. We'll see what happens.

And because I NEED to share the madness:

EIN! ZWIE! DIE!

Tags: good stuff, update, video

Well, a number of you have asked:

Yes, my head feels lighter and cooler. I was on the couch the other night and wndered why I felt so chilly...I no longer had a big blanket keeping all the heat in over my back (which, along with your head, is where your body disspates a great amount of heat). I'll have some pics from the front as soon as I feel more human again (more on that in a bit). It's actually cut into a slightly angled bob- longer in the front. My hair curls more toward the front, so it ends up looking even unless it's brushed and straightened out. My hairdresser is just plain old awesome. (After 40+ years, he ought to be). I suppose if I ever decided to flat iron and blow-dry and what not, I'd look mighty stylish. The cut also allows the bottom curl to face in or out, depending on how you brush it. Did I mention his awesomeness?

Anyhow, it's still long enough to pull back into a pony-tail (well, a pony-nub at least). I'm still getting used to not having it to play with - winding my hair into a coil has been a boredom habit of mine for ages, and I only notice it when I don't have enough hair to do it. But I like it - if nothing else, it makes turning my head in me sleep 20x easier. Don't have to get woken up by sleeping on it and getting caught wound around my arm... just turn over.

Now about not feeling human:
I spent this past week teaching a MadScience summer camp program, 1/2 days. My students were all awesome, but they were all 8-9 year old kids. Plus I ran a birthday party for kids the same age. Which means cooties. Which means I have a throat infection of some kind, concentrated on the right side, including swollen glands and soft-pallet, coughing that tastes like copper, a puffy tonsil, a stuffy itchy sore ringing ear, and almost no voice. Oh, and a cyclical fever that never gets too high (99.4 was the peak yesterday), but makes my eyeball feel hot and watery. My Doc's office has a weekend answering service, but will be open for calls again tomorrow at 8:15am. You can bet I will be calling for an appointment ASAP, because this is definitely an infection and not allergies. While my throat is not severely spotted, it is mottled with red and white, and I've had both strep and thrush before, and I won't go into the more disgusting details but they add up to being one of those. So joy. Luckily, my boss is understanding and found a replacement to teach my class tomorrow.
The good thing is, if I say the magic word "Strep", my docs office WILL get me in ASAP. I learned that a long time ago: You have a sore throat, you're pretty sure you're sick but not sure what it is? Tell them you are afraid you might have strep. Contagious things like that must be contained. Plus, strep left unchecked can lead to scarlet fever (which I have had and would wish on NO ONE), and can also trigger shingles (if you are an adult who had chicekn pox when you were a kid). There is your helpful hint of the day. Even if it ISN'T strep, you'll be in the office and they can diagnose what it is, instead of telling you to drink lots of OJ and chicken soup for 3 days and call them back if you still feel like ass.

Your Quote of the Day comes from my darling hubby, about a really bad movie on the SyFy channel this morning:
"The movie is definitely crappy. It's being sponsored by Fiber One."

*sigh* This is why I luuuuuuurrrrrvvveee him.

Tags: couch hack wheeze, quote, update

*ahem*

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you before:





And, after:



Total cut off: about 16-17".
No, I did not donate it to anything/one. My hair was far too processed and damaged to be usable.

Why?
It was time.
Note: This is the shortest my hair has been since the summer of my 16th birthday.

Tags: pics, update

Recent recap:

SATURDAY
Slept in, did nothing much, and went to a little birthday shindig that was full of of pretty snazzy people.

SUNDAY
Morning email brought me news that BlueMan Las Vegas wants my references! (I applied to the props dept on a whim). List was created and emailed, and potential references contacted to remind them that they love me. Then ventured out to Auburn for Jessie's baby shower, much girly fun was had.

MONDAY
Morning interview for APM position; the job may or may not exist, and may or may not be part time/temporary, and there is no nailed-down pay rate yet. The good side is my PM is awesome, she seemed to think I was cool, and the interview was a good mix of 'formal' interview stuff and just swapping war stories.
Got out of interview to voicemail from Boston Casting asking if I could extra for a day. So I did. The film, or TV show, is either called "Joanna Trollope's World", or "Two Sisters", though it would actually be called whatever the equivalent would be in German, since it was a German show/movie. I stood on steps, and walked up and down steps, and spent time getting to know some fellow extras. *ping* to pamlin, I ran into Lara yesterday at this gig. It took us a couple of hours, be we realized we knew eachother because of you.

TODAY:
Received notification that I made the 'short list' for a wardrobe position on an international tour (this was yet another whim application). I'm one of 5 (out of a large bunch, I was informed) who made the list, which now goes on to the Big Cheese (the guy I've been talking to is the resume weeder/tour manager) And even better: since the emails I've sent him (the TM) have been snarky but honest and well written, he's decided he likes me and asked if I'd be interested in crewing for him. He's based in GA but works all over the place...this is a good thing.
Today I also made lemon bars, which are nearly perfectly chilled in the fridge.
Also cleaned the bathroom VERY thoroughly, and even managed to make some extra storage room. I tweaked the position of the TP holder, thus allowing me to nudge over the free-standing shelf unit, and leaving enough space to add in a small rolling drawer stack. Go me!
Isaac was having a very slow day at work, so we went for lunch at Kebab Corner. Indian Buffet.
And we completed grocery shopping after he got out of work.

Such an accomplished kind of day!

And now, since I did work so hard today and my back is letting me know it, a tasty sammich and some ibuprofen.

Quotes of the Day:

"Where do you come up with this stuff? I just need to start a dictionary of your phrases!" -Jessie, to me...I don't recall why

"It has to be a German goat, or it just won't work." -Lara, concerning a sacrifice to appease the weather gods

Tags: job, quotes, update

Had to get up early for a gig today, and turned on the local news channel to catch weather and traffic. Instead, I go Obama's address in Cairo. I watched it.

Now, most of you know that I haven't been able to watch/listen to a presidential address/speech/presentation since...well, ever. That whole thing I have against listening to the same 12 platitudes repeated in various forms for 45 minutes. But after about 15 seconds, I decided NOT to change the channel. I WANTED to listen to this man. Not only do I remember the gist of his speech, I can even QUOTE parts of it.

I'm pretty sure that neither President Obama, nor any of his aides, secretaries, interns, advisors, and/or other cohorts will ever read this. But I would like whomever DOES read this to know that I thank him for being bold enough to make actual statements, formed in paragraphs and not soundbites. For MEANING what he says. For putting actual intent behind his words and plans. For speaking and actually saying something.
And I cannot thank him enough for repeating The Golden Rule (and its variant forms). There's a reason they teach that in Kindergarten classes: It's supposed to be the basis of everything else we learn (socially speaking). We all need that reminder from time to time.

Anywhat, the work call was easy and only lasted a couple of hours. I also managed to get some laundry done, shuffle some paperwork, and send out some more please-for-the-love-of-the-FSM-hire-me-already letters.

Your Quotes of the Day are some recent brainworms:
"Clubbing Baby Seals" - little fur seals in fantastic make-up dancing with glow-sticks

"Go With God" - a church sanctioned laxative (Isaac helped with that one)

And finally, would giving a priest money for new ceremonial robes be good in-vestments?

Tags: politics, quote, update

So, as most of you know, I am 90% unemployed (I'm still freelancing and MadSciencing). This means I am NOT constantly checking my dayplanner (old school, analogue, paper model). Which means at 7:45 tonight I got a call from my producer asking me if I was caught in traffic...because I was supposed to be performing at 8pm.

Now, I had been trying to trade this date to another performer, but not because I didn't want it, I was just hoping to be out of town this weekend. It didn't work out for a number of reasons and I gave my boss every assurance that I would be there and excited to perform, since I haven't done the show in months.

And then this friggin' happens.

Seeing as how the shoe was at Kowloon, there was NO WAY IN HELL I stood any chance of getting up Rt. 1 in 15 minutes, in costume and make-up no less.

I am SO not happy about this. I am SUPREMELY pissed at myself.

And the thing of it is, I even looked at my planner this afternoon during my MadSci meeting, since I was jotting down notes on a potential gig I might be doing.

But somehow, it didn't register.

Dammitall.

In happier news, tomorrow we travel a bit west for birthday japes and tomfoolery (and semi-drunken couch snuggling, which is practically a competitive sport with this group).
And today I actually received a personal email from a potential employer...the gist was "I've got responses up to my nose, so once I sort out the chaff I'll let you know where you fell" kind of thing, but he DID say the magic words "I enjoyed your cover letter".

Your quote of the day is a phrase Lars came up with for Snipe:

Vogon Chewtoy

Essentially, Snipe fell asleep with her D20 necklace on, resulting in a bruise she inferred to resemble a Vogon hickey. Lars, being the man he is...

wench18? I think this might require the creation of a pin for Snipey...

Tags: acting, grumble, quote, update

Right.

Between the very soon to be wedding and my help in prepping it, and the theater job, and the once-in-a-while freelance work, and the MadScince gig, and looking for work, and trying to occationally do something social, I have not been around here much at all since...um...March? Holy crap.

Monday, though I probably SHOULD have spent it being more productive, I took the day off to go visit Big Brother and Kat and Alle (and meet Rosie, the basset/shepherd mix who has joined them). I helped with a bit of yard work, we ran some errands, we shot the shit and Alle decided I was cool enough to play with for a little while, and I really REALLY needed that.

Yesterday to make up for my semi-slovenness, I completed the veil, wrote my toast, finished the spare lobster comb, and caught up on a crapload of phone calls and emails. Then had to do work stuff, like shopping for expendables, running expense reports, and then running the show.

Today I've done my notes and prep for my MadScience class tomorrow, completed the prop I need for the toast, completed my detailed list of "What To Pack" for the wedding, and started putting the packing together.

Soon I have to leave to get to the theater early and take care of some small repairs.

Tomorrow:
MORNING - Shop for the few things I still need for the trip.
NOON - Teach class
AFTERNOON - Pack
EVENING - Shop for expendables, run the show

Friday:
Let the wedding madness commence!

Your quote of the day:
"It's like trying to sell bootleg copies of Wayne Newton in Harlem!" -Molly

Tags: quote, update

Can't come up with a more creative title, sorry.

In Things That Are True Make But May Make Little Sense Out Of Context news:
-The beaded lobster combs are done
-The shower was, I assume, a success - though I do owe Jess several recipes
-The lace is off the hem but still needs cleaning (and a veil)
-It has been decided that I will stay on crew until the end of 2Men, THEN go to Miracle, so I get to skip tech...not sure if that is good or bad
-I have 2 classes tomorrow in Westwood, highly activity driven, so I'm more confident than the last two
-I might be slinging paint for pay once more, at least for a little while
-The circus decided to hire someone else
-Tribes STILL isn't on
-My new self-pay healthcare begins on April 1st. I can almost afford it. Kinda.
-I need to visit Pandemonium and get some new books.

And now, to make dinner, even though I won't be eating it until 11pm.

Your quote of the day:
"Oooooh, what do we need those dozen lines anyhow?" -Pat

Tags: list, quote, update

Or something.

This week has been busy:
Saturday I attended the REPA job fair. It was free. It was worth every penny.
Sunday I did domestic things like vacuuming and grocery shopping, and worked on my notes for my classes. Also practiced making cotton candy. You know, for science. And I need to work on my 'Carny' skills...but that's another post.
Monday I worked for Boston Lyric Opera, lugging things into the rehearsal space. Also worked on the invites for J's shower.
Tuesday I taught my first session as a Mad Scientist: Electricity! The kids were only mildy rambunctious, and I only had to put the fear of (insert diety of choice) into them once. The kids were a pretty brad age range, but there were less than 20 of them, so it was pretty easy to keep them corralled. VERY enthusiastic class...though the fact that they kept wanting to see what would happen if we broke things was a little disturbing.
Wednesday I taught a leeson on Heat to a bunch of Girl Scouts...who were AWESOME and I want to go play with them again! I hate to be stereotypical, but girls want to impress Teacher with how polite they are. They were even understanding when a couple of the demos (which worked FINE for me at home) failed to work. Plus, I made them cotton candy, so really, anything I screwed up was promptly forgiven.
Today I did girly things: completed and mailed the shower invites, had another round of emails with the bridal party about shower and bachelorette parties, and got my bridemaid's dress fitted. I was rather nervous...new seamstress. But she was very skilled, very fast, and very reasonable on price. And I only need to wait 2 weeks before picking it up (making sure it fits properly first, of course). Also dropped off my Mad Science gear, and in the course of conversation outed myself as a good repairer-of-fiddley-things. So I might be getting some shop hours out of that. And in a few hours I need to head to LMA to load out Wizard of Oz.

Tomorrow begins my work at the Huntington. We'll see how that goes.

Your quote of the day: "     “This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you got a moment, it's a twelve-story crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour portage, and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'. " -Blackadder Goes Forth

Tags: quote, update

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your help with the submitted names. After much debating, and going for Keep It Simple, may I now introduce myself as *insert drumroll*

Professor Bee

I LOVED all the suggestions, but when submitted to the Higher-Ups today, Professor Bee won. I'm fine with that. My assignments next week are playing with electricity, and playing with heat - which involves making cotton candy. Yet another Carny skill to add to my repertoire.

Also accomplished today:
-tooled up, printed, and got copies made of various resumes for REPA tomorrow
-cleared out one of my Vaults Of Old Shit, which netted me about 2/3 crap and 1/3 stuff I'm really glad I found (some poetry and writing, some letters, and some quotes!)
-picked up supplies to make the invites for J's wedding shower

Still to do:
-vacuum
-check contents of kits for next week's gigs
-get finalized location and time info for REPA
-figure out dinner

Quotes, from the VoOS:
ME: Dude, how do you fit through the door without greasing your head in the morning?
ROB: [jaw hits floor, glares]
NAT: [laughing] Oh, Dick of the Band, I think she just took your title!

"Do you REEEEEEEALLY wanna piss me off? Cuz then you'd have to find another pyro. Who you'd have to PAY." -me

"I had to come up with a new word to describe her - you take the word 'skank' and the word 'wench'; you put'em together: SKENCH!" -Rob

K: I grew some balls!
J'S MOM: Good! Now grow a penis, we'll go out!

"Katy, be complacent, it will get you much, MUCH further." -Katy's aunt Kathy

S: This is a DAMN good looking bunch of people.
D: You're right.
S: And you know what the BEST part of this is?
D: What?
S: I get to go HOME with this tonight!

"We'll show THEM 'theatrical'!" -DDG collective

G: You are SO in trouble!
S: No I'm not.
G: Yes, you are.
S: Nuh-uh! YOU've been here a week already - I'm the NEW toy!

"Oooh, he's soooooooooooo dreeeeeeamy>!!!! [pause] Isn't that what we're supposed to say now?" -Jenni

Tags: quotes, update

Sinuses have mostly cleared for me, and Isaac seems to be over the worst of Headcold From Hell as well. Today I have accomplished finding a low-back strapless bra to wear under my bridesmaid dress, transferring my schedule for the Huntington into my planner, and sketching out some creative ideas I have for a future project. Also stopped by my cousin's shop to say hello. We have a tentative lunch scheduled for next week.

Yesterday, Jess called to tell me that the MadScience people called her for a reference. When they asked her if she knew me to have any experience with children, she replied "Well, I've seen her deal with actors on numerous occasions, and that's really the same thing. She's good at that." She said they seemed positive about me...mental fingers are still crossed.

Need to make a couple more phone calls and send some emails related to work-type things.

Last night I completed my Valentine's gifty-type project for my hubby.

Tomorrow will be spent snuggled up with eachother, potentailly taking a nice afternoon stroll, and possibly there will be some take-out food.

Your quotes of the day:

"All your ass are belong to me!" -Isaac

And from the film "Gypsy 83"
CLIVE: So, Zachariah...you running from something?
ZACH: Conformity. Boredom. And cows.

Tags: holiday, quote, update

The longer version ( back here )

Tags: quote, travel, update

Well, 2008, you were an interesting mix. I enjoyed some prosperity, some wonderful happenings, some great travels, and plenty of laughs. I found some new friends, re-connected with some old ones, got more writing done, sent a lot of good karma out and received a giant share in return, and got to enjoy a full year living with my hubby. Who is made of a lot of awesome.

You also picked some crappy health issues to chuck at me, and forced me once again into looking for work.

The weather has been a mixed blessing.

NYE was pretty tame for us. I worked during the day...such work as it was. Several meetings, but we now have clear-cut plans for how to close down the RIGHT way. Made my way home in the afternoon, and even with some semi-dangerous travel, I got home faster than ususal since there was so little traffic. I made nummy ribs, and we watched part of the "True Blood" marathon, up until the ball drop. We had a toast and a kiss, I chatted with Jess, shared a number of Happy New Year wishes, and eventually got to bed for snuggles with my honey.

Today so far we have taken down the tree, vacuumed, put away the holiday decor, and basically tried to start the year off right.

Though very sunny, it is EXTREMELY cold out...including wind chill it's staying in the single digits. I think I may just stay in today. Plus, there is a marathon of ACTUAL Bugs Bunny cartoons on Cartoon Network. What more do I need?

A Very Merry Happy Joyful New Year to you all.

Tags: update