pearlescentgeek

What we do on Christmas . . .(aka where my head & mp3 player are at)

2007-12-25T17:33:58Z

[spoken:]
ever hear the right wing crazies talk about the jewish conspiracy. and how the jews run the media, and they have all the money, and they pretty much dominate the world. no, well i've heard of it and that would pretty much leave one day of the year when no one else is around to have a whole year of planning of world domination, and that's christmas. merry christmas buddies!

[sung (sort of):]
it's christmas eve and you know i am hardly sleeping.
but there are no presents waiting for me on the floor.
it's the one day of the year when i use what my super jewish powers are for. (HEY!)

got introduced to the network at my bar mitzvah.
got my code name and number it's #16761.
while you were sitting aroudn the tree and that knockoff menorah,
you're idle, we work. justice is done.

princess di, we killed her. el nino, we made it. reggie white, is stupid. bilyl joel, let's trade him.

if the neo-nazis know we're part of the conspiracy,
and if it's as strong as they think, you think they'd be nicer to me.
still mad about what happened to your pal jesus?
well, if he didn't die for your sins, you'd be going to hell with the rest of us.

princess di, we killed her. el nino, we made it.
reggie white, is stupid. bilyl joel, let's trade him.

wouldn't you like to know what we do on christmas?
you think we're sitting around polishing our horns?
making soup with the blood of the christian born?
you think i'm being rude?
we go to the movies and eat chinese food

[spoken:]
This is the disclaimer. My name is Atom. I'm a Jewish boy. I'm very neurotic that people are going to get mad at me. I like Jews. I like Christian people. There should be no problem. It's really not that funny. (laughter)

Lyrics from What We Do On Christmas by Atom and His Package

invitation to actually see me

2007-11-29T16:50:39Z

I think I owe most of y'all a phone call or something. I've been just nuts lately with so much stuff going on. Today I was invited to lunch w/ Jess and I finally had to say no. This is the first decent block of time I've had to myself in a while. I've been waking up between 6:30-7:30am and going until like midnight - 2a most days . . . .

I saved this cause Lylly called and she needed me to cover a few hrs at the store. I'm writing from Wild Iris. I've skipped class and am totally multitasking a little too much. If you want to see me/have fun/whatever, we are having a concert tonight at 7pm that should be really good AND tomorrow (Friday) we are having Steph Taylor in concert/the artwalk/the GRAND OPENING OF WILD WORDS CAFE all in one night from 7p - 10p It should be great and crazy and boy, do I miss sleep. I'll be working Sat from noon -6p and Mon from 11 - 7 so if you just want to see me, you know where I live.

Ok, back to work on the CD, potluck recipe and about 100 other things.

National Coming Out (of Hogwarts) Day

2007-10-20T14:03:57Z

Hee hee. National Coming Out Day is Oct 11. J.K. was just a few days late for outing Dumbledore. I'm super amused . . . and seriously need to start heading to work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071020/ap_en_ot/books_harry_potter_10;_ylt=AhOqMFPlkR2gWvj9r_6xxOpnhVID

after the concert

2007-10-20T07:42:03Z

So from a financial standpoint, the concert was a failure . . . but I'm ok with that.  There are so many ways to improve that I'm not worried. Also, the sound guy recorded everything so if it sounds decent, we are going to make a cd and sell it for like $5. That should cover a lot of our costs.

It's 3:35am. I've been home for 10 min. I got soaked while mopping the floor (don't ask) so I just tore off all my wet clothes, put on some dry PJs and came out here to unwind w/ the chair massager and type before catching a nap and heading back to work. I seriously think if Amy were here or the dogs weren't, I might have just slept at the store.

So, I wanted to share the highlight of my night and then something I'm thinking.

Highlight: During redboy's set, I was laying on my stomach in between Jess and Ro (we were all on the floor but they were sitting) and Ro was playing with my hair while I listened to Meredith sing.

My thought:  I love music. Every time I see a live performance I just desparately want to do something that involves music. I keep asking myself the same question. What do I want for ME out of MY life? I'll let you know if I come to any conclusions.

and so it goes . . .

2007-10-09T13:18:59Z

Well, the Yanks have been defeated in the American League Division Series.  We are out of the playoffs. More importantly, manager Joe Torre may be out of a job. I guess there's nothing to do but wait and see.

I guess I'll have to find another way to entertain myself until April.

Oh, and for those curious, the playoffs are as follows:

ALCS: Red Sox vs Indians.
                     My guess is that the Sox will sweep the Indians and go to the World Series.
NLCS: Diamondbacks vs Rockies
                     My hope is that the Rockies will win this one and go to the Series. Partly cause I think Rockies short stop Troy Tulowitzki is pretty cool. He's only 23 and It's only his second year in the MLB but he comes off like a veteran. Actually he acts like a captain. Reminds me of another short stop I know. Heck, they are both even #2. Go figure.  Oh, and he went to Fremont High School in SUNNYVALE, CA. That name still amuses the crap out of me.
                     The other reason I'm rooting for the Rockies is that I hate the Diamondbacks.
                     I'm making no guesses however.

World Series: My best guess (although I wish it was otherwise) is that whomever wins the NLCS will be pounded into the ground and sent back home w/ a Red Sox logo branded on their foreheads. Probably in a sweep but who knows, maybe Wakefield or Schilling will have a bad day and it will take 5 games instead. :-P

flooring update

2007-10-08T19:05:03Z

So, all the furniture in my house except my room and Amy's room is in either the garage, porch or Amy's room. The oven is in the garage too. The fridge is where tech dork central normally is. When I left at 10:30a, all the carpets had been ripped out and they were leveling out the floor. Later in the week they are going to move the stuff out of my room and Amy's and do those rooms while I live in the spare room. I just need to figure out how the dogs factor into all of this. (Oh, and I got a whole hour of sleep last night. Woo hoo! Course, can't blame anyone but myself for waiting til the last minute.)

Side note: I'm selling raffle tickets to raise money for my friend Wilma to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-day. She needs to raise $2200 by the 19th. The tickets are $1 a piece and you can win some good stuff like lunch at Book Inc or Na'Guara, a $25 gift certificate to Target and $5 at a local ice cream shop. Let me know if you want to buy one or twenty or more or if you know people that might want. :-) Also, if you know any local business that might want to donate to the raffle, please let me know.

hard promises to keep

2007-10-08T05:52:01Z

I got home this evening around 10:30p and the house is still a total disaster. (No, nobody is surprised by this, least of all me.) I've been talking to Andrew on and off throughout the evening and icing my back every hour. During those ice breaks I've been getting off the phone.

So, I cleared off a lot of the spare room bed to have the ice break and there were a stack of cards from Grandpa's dresser. Since the top few were from Allen and Dad, I figured they were all silly and would be fun to look at and sort while I was flat on my back.

Before Grandma died, she told me that there were a lot of letters she sent Grandpa. Some during the war. Love poems and such. She said I was in charge of finding them all and making sure they were thrown away. She also made me promise not to read them. They were between Grandma and Grandpa and should remain that way. I promised but while I was lying on my back going through cards, I found one that was from G-ma to G-pa on their first anniversary after Allen died. Curiosity got the better of me so I read some of it. The card was this huge poem on both sides of the inside of the card and the back. I only read half of the first page. It was so poigniant and moving. I wanted to read it more but I also knew that this was the stuff that Grandma didn't want anyone, even me, to read. It's theirs. I went through a few more cards and found one I'm pretty sure is from Grandpa to Grandma. I just had to read a little. This one was so intense. It wasn't a poem or anything but it was so real and full of mixed emotions. It was well after when Allen died but there was mention of painful memories and getting through hard times. This isn't how I remember Grandpa expressing himself. But I think that is the point. There was a side of himself he only showed her. It's beautiful and painful and I desparately want to go and read every anniversary card in that stack. There's got to be 100 of them or more given that they each sent a card and they were married for 59 years. But I won't. I was the one Grandma could count on. It's a simple as that. I could see why she couldn't bare to throw these letters out herself but that doesn't mean I don't have to respect her wishes now that she's gone.

It's just a side of them I don't know that well and really want to see. I've been getting more and more convinced lately that I'll never fall in love. That I'll always be alone. That love is just a big lie anyway perpetrated on us by Hallmark. These letters . . . . they really loved each other.

And I really love Grandma so I'm going to turn off the back massager and walk into the spare room and throw out each and every one of those letters . . .

and cry.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

2007-10-06T02:15:53Z

If you have a problem with profanity, don't click this

G-d damn, son of a bitch. Pettite holds a 1 run lead for 7 innings. Hands the ball to Joba Chamberlin who throws a fucking wild pitch that Posada can't catch and the fucking G-d damn Indians tie up the game. After 11 innings, the Indians win the G-d damn game 2 to 1. We are now down 2 games to 0 in a best of 5 series. And Clemens is scheduled to pitch the next game but he's been injured and erratic. I mean, fuck me. We can't win with Wang on the mound cause he imploded. Then we can't win with Pettite on the mound cause we can't swing the fucking bat. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. We have to win the next fucking three games straight or we are out of the fucking playoffs and done til 2008. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

:-(

2007-10-05T02:54:08Z

First game of the playoffs. Yankees 3 Indians 12

Maybe tomorrow will be happier.

Amy is a genius (alt subject line: garbage can update)

2007-10-01T17:45:52Z

So I just called Waste Management to get a replacement garbage can. When I told her I got home from work and the can was gone, she said "The truck probably ate it." Apparently that happens way more often that anyone realises. They turn the darn thing upside down over the truck, it shakes loose and gets crushed. LOL. Since this was Amy's theory, which never would have even occurred to me, I just thought I should give her credit while giving everyone else a laugh.

Oy.

Groan

2007-09-28T22:32:38Z

I'm so tired I'm just gonna cut n paste my away message.

In Gainesville you have to get a garbage can from the city. The size of the can is how they figure out what to put on your annual property tax for waste disposal. This morning was garbage pickup. Now we are missing our garbage can. I'm soooo not dealing with this until morning.

Fun post

2007-09-18T03:54:04Z

About time I had a fun post, don't you think?

Two things.

First, some benevolent wacky genius named Mark Ecko paid $752,467 in an auction of the ball that Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record with. If you haven't heard any of my diatribes regarding Barry Bonds, consider yourself fortunate. Regardless, I would be revolted by that price if not for what Mr. Ecko is doing with it. He has set up a website for the public to vote on the fate of the ball. A. Send it to the hall of fame as is. B. Brand it with an asterisk and then send it to Cooperstown (aka hall of fame). OR C. Send it off into space, never to be heard from again. He claims he wants a nice public debate. I can actually see this that way. A. We live in an innocent until proven guilty society and nothing was ever *proven* so he broke it fair and square. B. Everyone knows he used performance enhancing drugs. Nobody bulks up that much that fast without help. This is a dark spot on a game we love and should acknowledge the shame and move on. C. Everyone cheats, especially in the days of billion dollar contracts. We should have real heroes, not baseball players. Let's just be done with the whole damn thing (or stick our heads in the sand as the case may be.) I'm, of course, leaning toward B. If you want to vote, the site is http://www.vote756.com/marcecko/. Voting closes on Sept 25. If you want to read more about it, here is an article: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bonds-756ball&prov=ap&type=lgns. Side note: Ecko identifies as a Yankees fan. :-D

Second, my work just got a little more interesting. We are now carrying vibrators at Wild Iris. The website for them is http://www.natural-contours.com/. I'm sorry to say that I can't personally vouch for them as we just got them in today and I decided buying the Buffy Omnibus Vol. 1 was a higher priority. As customer feedback filters in though, I'd be happy to share it.

K, well I'm going to go take more advil and lay down. At least I can still be amused this sore and broken.

Anyone want a Rott/Sharpei mix and/or a Chow mix?

2007-09-15T02:12:59Z

Chi and Annie had a disagreement over who got to lick Muttley's plate and China's face is bleeding again. Fortunately, this time is doesn't look like she needs stitches.

I just fucking quit. I know that nobody is going to see this until at least Sunday but if anyone wants to do something, please call.

update from O-town

2007-09-14T02:46:04Z

So I just spent the past six hours cleaning out Grandma's house. It was storming outside. I ended up with a lot of stuff to deal with but it will make Dad's life easier. And it's not like I'm the one w/ a grown up job in this situation.

I'm sleeping . . . well, I'm staying at Andrew's tonight. Whether I'll sleep or not is yet to be seen. I was going to sleep at Grandma's but both And and Dad strongly discouraged me from staying there overnight completely alone. I'll go over there early in the morning and Dad will help me pack up everything and I'll leave. There's a FoWI meeting at 11am I should be at. There's a synagogue I should probably be at. There's also all the practicing that I haven't done for Saturday. And all I want is for some friend to call me and invite me anywhere and cheer me up . . . except I don't think I can be cheered up right now and I'm not a big fan of setting up the people I care about for exercises in futility. Or forcing them to be around me this miserable. The funny thing is, I don't think y'all are that sick of my misery. I think the only one giving me a hard time over how long this is taking is me.

The nice thing about spending the night here is that there is no fucking way I'm going to cry myself to sleep (or cry at all for that matter) in front of Andrew. I didn't cry at G-ma's either. Dad has that effect worse than Andrew.

Last Goodbye by The Gufs

We stood all alone
Waiting for this day to come
And I held you close
But I couldn't feel your pain

I didn't know
This would be the last time
This would be the last kiss
This was our goodbye

If you were letting go
I should've been the one you told
I never heard you say goodbye

And I'm sorry isn't good enough
Because lately I've been giving up
And I'm sorry isn't good enough
And your last goodbye
Made me realize
I'll be alright

How could you laugh?
How could you lie to me?
You held me close
But I couldn't feel your pain
I should've known
This couldn't last forever
The last thing I remember
Was standing all alone

If you were letting go
I should've been the one you told
I never heard you say goodbye

And I'm sorry isn't good enough
Because lately I've been giving up
And I'm sorry isn't good enough
And your last goodbye
Made me realize I'll be alright

And so suddenly
I've stopped falling down
I believe in me one more time
And I'm sorry
And I'm sorry isn't good enough
Sorry
I'm sorry
And I'm sorry isn't good enough
I'm sorry isn't good enough
I'm sorry
I'm sorry

decision making w/ cookie dough

2007-09-13T03:36:33Z

Jess & Ro gave me cookie dough and I'm having some while I contemplate my options. I've already had apples and challah and honey. (And so have Amy, Annie, China and Muttley . . . we all could use a sweet new year, darn it!)

Anywhooo, I realised that I could leave on Tuesday after therapy and either return Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. I just needed to call Nancy, Lucy's mom (dog I might be babysitting on Wed), to see if she was still going on her vacation and if so, when I needed to be home. But then I talked to Andrew and found out that Dad has been pitching things left and right and garbage day is Fri so if there's something missing that I want and I don't go down tomorrow, I won't see it.

(Oh, side note. After Andrew went to Dad's house, Dad called me and said not to come to tomorrow. When I quesitoned him, he said he didn't want to interrupt my holiday. I informed him that there probably wasn't a day next week I"m free and left it at that. Later I thanked Andrew cause there was just no way Dad was coming up with that on his own. I asked And what he said to Dad. Apparently he accused Dad of being more concerned with rushing through this than his kids' wellbeing. That he had told us both we had time then got a wild hair up his ass and expected everyone else to accomidate him. That religion was my support especially since obviously our family isn't being very helpful and now he was getting in the way of that. Basically, Andrew "Yes, I was a national level debater" Pearl ripped Dad a new one. I like that kid.)

While contemplating my options, I went to the Farmers' Market. I ended up getting a little container of honey cause if I end up in O-town, I need my own apples, challah and honey. While I was there I ran into one friend from the dog park that I haven't seen in over a year. I also ran into another friend who I haven't seen in a long time who has forgiven me for being a colossal schmuck (must say, I'm glad that happened before Yom Kippur). Good stuff was happening and I was totally miserable.

I got to Bnai early so I called Nancy from the car. When I told her I was just trying to figure out details so I could go down to Orlando and help w/ Grandma's estate, she said, "Oh, your grandmother died?' Me: "Yup, a few months ago." Nancy: "Oh, I'm so sorry. I saw that your grandmother's dog was there and just thought she was visiting." Me: "Nope, that's my dog now." I got off the phone rather quickly after that and went into shul. (Side note: We babysat Lucy last week briefly and Nancy picked her up when Amy was here and I was in O-town.)

Long story slightly shorter, I spent more time either outside or in Erin's office crying my eyes out and shaking uncontrollably than I did in the sanctuary. (Erin = executive director + quickly becoming my friend). I was such a wreck anyway (especially after mourner's kaddish) I'm thinking I may as well just go to O-town and skip services. My heart wasn't in it anyway. And since Amy's babysitting, I can go spend a few hours w/ G-ma and G-pa at the cemetary w/out worrying my dog will die from the heat.

So, I don't know what I"m doing tomorrow. I'm going to go in the hot tub now and try to work a few knots out of my back. Then I'll go to sleep and decide in the morning.

The universe is kicking my ass in honor of Rosh Hashanah

2007-09-12T16:17:46Z

So, my phone rang again from Grandma's house. shiver

The house is on the market and Dad wants everything out of the house. I'm probably going to go down instead of shul. Figure I didn't schedule anything anyway cause of the holiday.

Sigh.

Update after talking to Shosh: I *think* the plan is to go to shul tonight and tomorrow morning and leave straight from shul. That way I'll at least get a little time in synagogue. Course, this all depends on my babysitter's availability.

Highly disturbing

2007-09-11T19:43:10Z

So I was meeting w/ the flooring guy to work out the details. He went back to run my credit card but before that he asked a scheduling question so my phone was on the counter (ringer off, vibrate on). It starts ringing so I look at the caller ID. It was Grandma. Well, Grandma's house. My stomache lurched. I answered it tenuously, concerned that maybe I was in one of my nightmares and hadn't really woken up or something. (I've been having plenty of dreams about the flooring so it was possible.) It was Dad asking a question cause he was over there with the realtor.

I was just thinking that I needed to call Dad tonight and tell him I charged the floor to his card, like he told me to, but I wasn't expecting him to call me first, ever. Let alone from Grandma's. It took him a sec to realise why I sounded so disturbed but once he did, he said, "Oh yeah, you can see who's calling. Sorry." I might be making up the sorry.

Regardless I'm just gonna sit quietly for a bit. No point going running errands shaking like this.

sore and tired

2007-09-10T13:45:11Z

I woke up Sat and Sun at 7:30a to go to practice. I was planning to do the same today. My body refused so I reset the alarm for 9a instead. Since I'm working at Wild Iris from 11a - 7p today, I'm not making it to the YMCA today but I think that is ok. I really really hurt. It's good for me, no doubt. But ow. Besides, I at least need to practice some today so that will be some movement. And I'm sure the furbags wouldn't mind being walked. I guess I'll have to wait and see how I'm doing.

Oh, and for those I haven't spoken with, practice is really cool. I'm without a doubt the slowest learner in class but I'm cool with that. There's a learning curve and I just need a lot more practice than most people. It's kind of like dancing and I'm not good at that either. But who knows? Depending on how much I learn and how well I do in these 6 weeks, I might be in a fight or two. Probably just a melee at the end of a chessboard or something. Although it was mentioned that scripts get very re-written for the Friday faire cause so many people can't get out of work and unless my life changes a lot, I'll be free. Watch me end up a chessboard piece after all. Oy.

Related side note: I don't think I'm joining the LARPers on Friday night cause I don't think I'm socializing on Fri or Sat nights for a while. 7:30a is early. I need sleep. Ah well.

humorous exchange from Orlando

2007-09-08T01:58:11Z

So folks, I could tell you all about my quick trip to Orlando but since it was mostly a long visit to a cemetary and a lot of time spent going through the estate I'll spare you the depressing details. Instead I will share an exchange between myself and my brother this afternoon. Keep in mind, he came over to help me pack up stuff and has been really supportive. He was just being a little brother and I thought it was a stitch.

Me: I'm forgetting my peace offering.
And: Huh?
Me: (gestures to the coffee maker) You don't need it, do you?
And: Nope
me: Good. Ours died.
And: So the peace offering is to Amy?
Me: I've kind of been a bitch lately.
And: Only for 30 years .

I love my brother. :-P

Oh, and I know most of the people who read this don't eat dead mammal or bird but I just brought home lots of kosher of both so if anyone wants to come over for a very not vegetarian dinner, let me know.

It's time for a change . . . .

2007-09-05T02:22:55Z

So even with the fantasticness that is the Thieves' Guilde, my nightmares haven't let up. I'm sleeping like shit. I've been sleeping badly since Grandma died with a one week exception thanks to sleeping pills. Time isn't improving it. I'm becoming someone I really don't like. Something has got to change and both Amy and I suspect that I need to go to Orlando and spend a few days in Grandma's empty house to do it. Well, at least to start the process.

I'm taking China with me. Just China. I need space in the car for all of the stuff I'm taking from Grandma's so I can't really bring everyone but I also will not sleep a wink if I'm in that big empty house completely alone. I need China to protect me . . . course, she hasn't been much help against the nightmares so far but at least I won't think there is an intruder breaking into the house or something. Fortunately Amy has agreed to babysit our other two as well as Lucy.

So basically I will be incommunicado til probably Saturday night. I might post since I have my Verizon card but don't bank on it. I definitely won't be answering the phone. Hopefully I'll come back a little better.

Why I'm going straight to hell . . .

2007-09-03T17:35:20Z

No, this has nothing to do with my seemingly perpetual state of nightmares (which have now taken a "how I failed Grandma" turn) or the fact that I've been a total self-absorbed, thoughtless jerk lately (don't argue this one with me, I know I'm right whether you do or not) or that I've missed the gym 3 days in a row (darn aching back) or even that the Yankees somehow lost 2 out of 3 games played against the Devil Rays (ie the worst team in baseball.) No, folks. The latest sign that y'all may as well start forwarding my mail now is that I just spent the past 15 minutes admiring a customer while occasionally paying attention to what I'm adding price tags to. Now, the objectification of women issue notwithstanding, I was relatively ok with this. Pleasant distraction from the horribleness that is the inside of my head. Until I rang up her purchase. The credit card said "See ID" so I did. She was 10 YEARS my junior.

That's the problem with this damn college town. Makes me feel like a pedophile.

Shiver.

Why Muttley wins

2007-08-31T07:14:07Z

So it is 3 am. A thunderstorm just started. China woke me up (although I was already 1/2 awake). I push her off when I hear Annie literally throw herself into my door. Since we started locking China in w/ me, I've taken to just wearing my boxers to bed so I found a shirt and let Annie in. I put Muttley in bed too since I figured what difference does it make at this point? So I get Annie to come into bed and lay back down. Except after the next thunderclap, Annie jumps out of bed and starts scratching on a door. Now, I don't know if it was Amy's door or if the puppy in the spare room was making noise that Annie was scratching at. (side note: Amy's Dad, Jerry, came in for the evening and brought the dog and the cat. The poor cat is out in the truck in this. Ah well, nothing I can do for her.) So, no matter what, Special Needs Annie was going to wake someone else up. I call her back. She ignores me and keeps scratching. I turn on the light, she comes in and lets me pet her. It sounds like the storm is settling some but I think I'm going to lock everyone in w/ me. Either way, I was thirsty so I came out into the kitchen to get a drink and decided to take 15min to post. I mean, how often to I get to say I prefer Muttley to Annie and China. He doesn't give a damn about the thunderstorm. Somehow his walnut brain has figured out that the house keeps him safe but this eludes China and Annie. Sigh.

Update: So Special Needs Annie started scratching on the door and wouldn't knock it off when I locked her in. Now I'm debating trying to sleep on the couch or just accepting there will be no sleep til Brooklyn . . . er, I mean, til the storm stops.

So, I'm thinking the Thieves Guilde didn't accept me for my sharp mind . . . .

2007-08-27T19:38:53Z

Um, yeah. So when Scooter said I was on the grey side, I didn't ask for clarification because I didn't want to look stupid. Now I get to look stupid in front of y'all instead.

So, while looking at a spiffy "grey pride" shirt on the guilde site, I read the description and everything was clear . . . .including the fact that I'm a little dim.

There are 2 colors on a chess board. Black and White. That's it.

Sooooooo, what color would you use for the neutral people that are on the SIDE of the board?

Um, yeah.

Well, maybe I'm not evil. I probably could still get the Sherriff or at least one of his men to kick your ass . . . I'd just have to pay him.

Ok, I'm off to change and then to the gym.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

2007-08-27T03:43:12Z

Ok, that has to continue a little more.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Ok, much better.

So, I'm at Jess's place hanging out with her and Rotem. One of the things I'm here for is to keep me distracted because if I got a part, the Thieves' Guilde would either call or e-mail tonight. Ro and I were debating whether I wanted to check my e-mail (for unrelated reasons) because there might be a "sorry, we don't like you" e-mail. Just then (9:14pm EST) the phone rang its "We don't know this number Simple Plan - Shut Up!" ring. I literally jumped over and across the bed (think bellyflop) to answer it because my cell was on the floor next to the bed on the other side.

I answered and said "Hi Scooter." At that point Jess & Ro started going nuts and it only got louder and worse from there. You see Scooter said, "I'm calling to offer you a part in the 2008 Hoggetowne Medieval Faire". My response, "Really?" (Jess and Ro start going a little more nuts.) Scooter: "Yes, really" while laughing a little at me. So then I said, "What part?" (Ro and Jess were really nuts then, patting me and getting louder and taking photos.) Scooter: "A part on the grey (I'm 99% sure grey is evil) side of June the Janitor." Me: "Yes, yes, yes, definitely yes" (Just picture the R & J escalation from here.) Scooter (laughing a little): "So I take it you accept?" Me (pseudo pulling myself together): "I'll have to think about it. Yes. Yes, I accept." Scooter: "Ok, then one question. What took you so long?" Me: "Sorry, I've just been really busy these past 11 years." (At this point Ro and Jess can't contain themselves and get louder and louder. I even tell Scooter that my friends are going crazy laughing at me.) We discuss a few details and then I wish him a good night.

At that point I get tackled by two beautiful, Jewish, and tragically straight women. We are sooooo loud that everyone in the apartment knows to come in and congratulate me. Jess starts taking photos of us. It's nuts. Then I realized I needed to call Amy. I get her machine but R & J are sooo loud that I think Amy will only know what happened based on context. I then call the answering machines of And, Nat & Shosh. At that point I just accept that no one is going to answer their fucking phone and I should just stop fucking calling people. (I even said it like that and said I could curse and be as mean as I want cause I'm on the evil side.) Andrew did call me back and we talked a bit. He is refusing to come for the faire but he has some quasi-legitimate reasons. And whatever. I'm not letting him or the practical details like how the hell am I getting out of work for rehearsal bring me down yet.

So we are going to head to ice cream soon. And tomorrow I start at the gym. If I'm gonna be running on and off the field getting weapons, I need to be in a lot better shape!

Oh, and here are some fun Jen quotes from this evening:
"And I'm not Mother Superior, Baruch Hashem."
"I have the most important job in all of Hoggetown."
"Have you ever tried to play on a dirty chess board? People tripping over weapons everywhere. It's awful."
"It's not like the chessboard is going to clean itself."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Oh, and you are all coming to see me at the faire in February or I'll have the Sherriff of Nottingham come to your door and kick your ass! (It's good to be evil.)

Update from the return home: After jumping around Ben & Jerrys and yelling way too much my knees and throat hurt. I really need to practice and go to the gym if I'm gonna be able to hold up for Hoggetowne.

Ok, that was just fucking wierd

2007-08-26T19:36:24Z

Um yeah, so I just got back from day 2 of Thieves' Guild tryouts. Yesterday before I left this girl Megan convinced me to go up to the director and say something. I told him I felt I didn't do very well and would like another shot. He said to come back today if I wanted. I said ok.

Well, today I got there at 7:50am. Doors technically open at 8am w/ tryouts starting at 9:15a. What can I say? I was anxious.   I also wanted to read over the characters and put down the ones I thought I could actually do. Part of yesterday's problem was that I had no idea how to do the character I was assigned. I asked if I could have my paper back so I could actually specify characters. So, I looked over the posted characters and actually decided I'd really like this minor part called Judy the Janitor. She basically picks up the weapons that are thrown on the field during the chess match. I thought it would be fun. I was talking to some people with the director in earshot, although I really wasn't thinking about that, saying how much fun it would be to be Judy. I could walk around and tell patrons that I was the most important person at the faire. I kept the chessboard clean. Stuff like that.

So in order of preference, I put down Judy then Patch, who is the medic's apprentice (basically i give water to the chess players) and Dawn (just a minor role. She washes the Merry Men's clothes.).

I also talked to the woman I gave my paper back to. She is in charge of costumes, something else and is the director's wife. I told her that I really am ok with not getting a part but if I don't, I'd like something in the production. I'll never learn how to do this unless I'm exposed. She mentioned that they are considering expanding the Stumble Inn and there might be something there. I told her that would be fantastic.

Then I went in, talked to a few other production people, reiterating my plan for anything in production so I can at least learn. It was wierd that all the production people looked at me and said Welcome Back. I guess maybe they thought I wouldn't. It was then that I talked about what I would do w/ Judy.

So then Megan got there and eventually we found seats. (Side note: Megan is the new friend I made at tryouts yesterday who totally wouldn't let me give up and has at this point stopped asking and has moved on to telling me that I'm joining her LARPing (Live action role play) group.) Half the day was auditioning for people that couldn't make it yesterday and second attempts for those that came back and wanted another shot. The other half was dedicated to call-backs . . . people that were asked yesterday and after today to come back for extra (aka they know they want them, they just aren't 100% sure yet).   The people that weren't there yesterday had to tell a joke. Those of us that were there yesterday were just supposed to introduce ourselves and say something interesting about ourselves and if we wanted tell a joke. I got the impression that Scooter (director) didn't really want us telling more jokes cause it just took longer. Some did, some didn't. I was next to the last person called up. I introduced myself and . . . . actually this will make more sense if I just write what I said, "Hi. I'm Jen. My Freshman year of college I went to the Ren Faire and just loved it. For those of you that were there, y'all were amazing. I thought to myself, 'Wow. They are so great. I have to work up the nerve and try out for that.' and now, 11 years later, here I am."

They laughed. We went through the first half. Megan and I agreed that this was worth it just for the free entertainment. It was hysterical. So the first half ended . . . and I was never called up to do anything. I thought maybe the joking around I did before was enough or maybe they already decided against me.   I shrugged it off. There was a lunch break and then the people for call-backs were supposed to return at 1pm. Scooter said that those that weren't called back were also allowed to return if they really wanted. So Megan and I went to Rolly Polly for lunch. She didn't know where it was so we went in the same car. She said she would drive and I must have been overwhelmed by the not being called to do anything or something because I agreed. Boy, did I not feel great when we got back. I did eat and that settled my stomach some. I even took off my little sticker with my number on it cause I was not doing anything more. I was just going to enjoy more of the show. Well, the way this works is that Scooter calls up a few people, tells them what roles they will be doing, sends them off for less than 5 min to prepare and then they perform. That's how it went for all the improv stuff. Well, an hour or so into call-backs, Scooter says "Jen". I looked at him completely confused and pointed to myself.   He said, "You did want another chance, right?"   I said, "Well, yeah. I just thought I was here for the free lunchtime entertainment."   He also brought up this guy Dale, who is awesome.   He assigns Dale Friar Tuck and me Mother Superior. I'm like, What?!?!   We are supposed to have a confrontation of some sort.   Dale pretty much scripted it for us. He wished me luck or something and I laughed and said that I was probably going to end up being the one that carries the equipment. He laughed. I wasn't great but I wasn't horrible either. Most importantly I didn't faint.  I sat down and a few groups later I get called up again. To do Mother Superior again. Whatever. I was a little more solid this time. Again, not fantastic but I showed obvious improvement and didn't faint. I sat down. They did like 2 more skits and sent us off.

( I just realized on the re-reading that it looks like yesterday I fainted. Yesterday I did not faint. I just sucked. Big time. I was in a group of 4 and the other three actors just ran all over me. I was dreadful. )

Now, I'm not sure why Scooter had me come up. Maybe he was just being nice. Maybe he is considering me for Judy or Patch and just needed me to come up and do something. I mean, Judy really doesn't have a foil to work with. Maybe he is really considering me for Mother Superior (I'm soooooo go figure on that one for soooo many reasons.) Regardless, I'm feeling really good about the whole thing. I mean, I came back. I tried my best and I didn't give up. I'm betting the fact that I kept coming back is what made the impression. Who knows?

They are going to either call or e-mail this evening. I haven't decided if I want to leave my phone on or not.   I guess I'll decide later.

Wierdness.   Just wierdness.