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Dear Live Journal,
You've been replaced.
I am now having fun on Facebook.
I have 389 friends and the list is growing!
Hooray!!
I've been quite the busy little Leave It To Beaver
Was doing temp work for the AIDS Foundation Houston up until Tuesday.
Now I am jobsearching again, but that doesn't bother me one bit.
Who knows what adventure is waiting at my next job/position, right?
My acting career is hitting its highs these days... can it get any better? YES!
I am starring in the title role of Larry Shue's The Nerd at Company OnStage through December 19th.
A fabulous role... a fabulous character - I seem to do best when I'm in a character role like this...
and... best of all... two GREAT reviews in the paper!!!
Check out the reviews in the Houston Chronicle and Houston Press!!
Mike and I are doing well... our families are fine.. they all have drama, but they are fine...
I am writing to say what an excellent product you have! I've used it all of my married life, as my Mom always told me it was the best. Now that I am in my fifties I find it even better!
In fact, about a month ago, I spilled some red wine on my new white blouse. My inconsiderate and uncaring husband started to belittle me about how clumsy I was, and generally started becoming a pain in the neck. One thing led to another and somehow I ended up with his blood on my new white blouse! I grabbed my bottle of Tide with bleach alternative, and to my surprise and satisfaction, all of the stains came out!
In fact, the stains came out so well the detectives who came by yesterday told me that the DNA tests on my blouse were negative and then my attorney called and said that I was no longer considered a suspect in the disappearance of my husband. What a relief!
Going through menopause is bad enough without being a murder suspect! I thank you, once again, for having a great product.
Well, gotta go, have to write to the Hefty bag people.
The jackass penguin (also called the African penguin or Blackfooted penguin) is a flightless seabird, and it is found nowhere in the world except off the coast of southern Africa.
Named after a donkey because of the loud, braying noise it makes, the Jackass penguin is no fool. It has so far survived many oil spills, poachers and predatory fishermen who have depleted its food stocks.
and too busy to write it down
God bless everything and
everyone in my life...
still plugging along at AFH (my new job)
i've been here 6 or 7 weeks now and liking the job a lot
making new friends here, too... and it's all good
sang in 2 fund raising events recently....
both benefitting the PWA Holiday Charities (note: PWA = People With AIDS)
both events were a lot of fun and we kicked butt!!
my last acting gig was received well... i was in the frenetic fringe festival at freneticore...
whew! that's a mouthfull right? hahaha
mike is a blessing as always... supportive, loving, strength for my weakness, comfort....
I love BooBoo!
Today is Friday!
T.G.I.F.!!!
Coming to the end of week one at my new job....
And, I'm kinda tired... working all week makes me weak... *grins*
Rightfully so, as I'm accustomed to taking a mid-afternoon nap... say 'round 2 or 3 o'clock....
Now, I'm working 9-5 with one hour lunch - but that is to eat - and NO afternoon nap....
I'll get used to it...
I've brought my own fan to work, plus some other items to make life/body more comfortable...
Seat cushion, Pinkie the Pig (he's a little guy that I received as a gift during Natural Disasters),
cool Ikea-looking work light (which I got at Homo Depot), and some other stuff.....
Life is GOOD
Thanks B 2 God
- Music:The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
started the new job monday
it's 'different' to be working again
especially after being a recluse for 5 months
*grins*
started rehearsals for the new show on monday
well, we had the read-through last week, but now we are in full swing...
blocking and all that stuff... even conflicting egos or communication problems... and of course no calendar...
i absolutely can't stand "flying by the seat of your pants" calendars.... arrgggg
i already need a major break! hahaha
i went crazy last night after rehearsals ... but I'm good now...
GOD HELP ME TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNO
AND TO THINK TWICE BEFORE I MURDER THE PEOPLE THAT PISS ME OFF...
ROFL!!!
great performances - great tributes
favorite MJ songs:
Scream, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean
RIP 'King of Pop'
What impressed me the most was the multitude of people who showed for the Memorial Service.
And the wonderful words expressed by the people who gave eloquent speeches....
These are people who truly loved Michael... and will truly miss him...
I, too, will miss him... his music will live on forever!
turn out the lights...
the party's over
last night was closing night for us
a very small crowd of 18 showed
but we went out with a firecracker of a show
my good friend heather and her husband, jeff were there. she and i were in the reluctant dragon and santa's magic timepiece together; she is the "quilt lady" and the woman who sang "new again" with me at bethel ucc for easter...
mike and our mutual friend mike aka TOM (The Other Mike - who is also from Heights Antiques on Yale) were there, too. TOM invited heather and me to sing at the white linen sale on August 1st; granted our schedules will permit... mine will - i await to hear form heather if hers will... she is presently in rehearsals for INTO THE WOODS...
and kevan - former co-star from Go Back For Murder - drove down from Brenham (!!) to see the show and offer his support - WOW!! he said i do a "texan" accent very well, and this role was much different than my previous role as a British Solicitor! he said i did a good job - yay!
today was set demolition for Natural Disasters and construction for Dirty Deals In Dixie - the next show which happens to be a mellerdrama! mom and dad and my brother larry and i are all going opening night, july 24th
mike helped with today's activities and then we went to mom & dad's house to celebrate my new job - which i start tomorrow! i'll be working in the finance department with the AIDS Foundation. i'm excited!
what a great weekend this has been!
thanks be to GOD
- Music:On & On & On - Abbacadabra
Though she looked a little worried and weak
She tried to pretend he wasn't drinking again
But Daddy'd left the proof on her cheek
I was only 8 years old that summer
I always used to "be in the way"
So I took myself down to the fair in town
On Independence Day
Well, word gets around in a small, small town
They said he was a "dangerous man"
But Momma was proud and she stood her ground
She knew she was on the losin' end
Some folks whispered, some folks talked
But everybody looked the other way
And when time ran out, there was no one about
on Independence Day
Let freedom ring - Let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today - Is a day of reckoning
Let the weak be strong - Let the right be wrong - Roll the stone away
Let the guilty pay - it's Independence Day...
Well, she lit up the sky that fourth of July - by the time that the fireman come
They just put out the flames and took down some names
And sent me to the County Home ....
Now, I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong - but maybe it's the only way
Talk about you Revolution - It's Independence Day.
One of my all-time favorite songs ... very deep, powerful lyrics about spouse abuse and, in this case, what one woman decided to do about it ... great video ... martina is awesome! Happy July 4th Everyone!
- Music:Independence Day - Martina McBride, Pat Benatar, Carrie Underwood, Me
another door opens
as one life ends
another begins...
natural disasters will close on july 4th with a bang! it has been a damn good run and i have thoroughly enjoyed my role as roy. roy is a good ol' boy who, like me, works very hard and has very strong family ties. he believes in some of the things i believe in, but interestingly enough: pours out his whole life to make betty happy, which turns out to be "not enough". that too rings some bells in my life. am i short-sighted like roy? or are there those people who will step on you no matter what because it's "all about them"? and then, they pretend that i don't exist? my ex brent was like that. and my ex stephen was selfish to the point that it cost him his life. why can't people be satisfied with what they have... why do they always need more?
i am satisfied. my co-star is damned good and we made a very believable pair. that's hard work, but it also takes a lot of professionalism to communicate, go over things that are/aren't working... fix what needs to be fixed... leave alone what doesn't need to be fixed... i like pointing out what got a good laugh, what got a tear and work hard to make sure the laugh comes again in the same spot, the hanky is pulled out for the tears... mom said lots of ladies were crying last sunday when she came back for the matinee... said she looked up and sawa sea of kleenex... the men don't cry as much... they might get "choked up" a bit... anyway, some great memories of this dynamite show... are all coming to a close... i'm truly going to miss this one! like some other roles (al in baby dance; versati in steve martin's the underpants) this one is going into my top ten favorite roles! it's a great piece. a hard piece. it's a 2 person show... my first 2 person show... and i did it very well, according to the many people who saw it and waited to shake my hand... i had one guy last weekend tell me he had never shook the hand of a star... i blushed... and said a hearty THANK YOU
next on my plate: nearing velocity... this is written by the same author that wrote 'match.cripple' which i was in last year in the frenetic fringe festival at theatreLaB... remember, we won last year? best show for that weekend... which is why the author is back and why she has chosen the same director and me to co-star! nice! eh? it's a different role than i had last year. last year, i was the gay friend of liz, the woman who was in the accident (both in real life and in the play), trying to persuade her to get back into the dating world... we were a smash hit! *grins* but, this time i am "boyd" a married man who has a secret... he represents a lot of married men who suppress their real self for whatever: maybe the straight corporate world... gotta have 2.5 children and a wife and an all-american family and hot dogs on july 4th.... bullshit! anyway... he (i) has two great monologues in this 20 minute piece... once again, we will be performing for the frentic fringe festival... this time in their own space!!! at freneticore!!! yay!! we had our first read-thru last night... i love working with edith (the director) and liz (play's author)... we had so much fun last time, i was thrilled and honored to be asked to come back this time... mind you, i didn't audition this time or last time... last time, edith saw my performance of david in 'stop, traveler' at a reading... yes, a reading... and stopped me at intermission and said i'd like you to work for me... well, how can i say no to that?!?!? *grins* and the rest...as they say... is history
i'm a very lucky man... i've got my truck, my home, my town, a little bit of money - tons of friends, a very loving family - especially Mom (the agent), and most importantly: two very special beings watching after me: Mike does it from earth; GOD does it from the heavens.... i'm SO thankful, so appreciative, so loved.... so, next time i'm feeling down, i think i'll look at this entry to remind myself of everything i truly have in my life... and how i should be so grateful for them all....
peace!
- Music:live to praise - twila paris
they liked me (i think) and i liked them
we covered a lot of ground in one hour
i was not afraid... i was relaxed and professional
now comes the references part...
that means a good thing in my boat
i gave them 4 to call: my pastor (he's known me for over 20 years), my best friend and former colleague (he's known me 8 years and i was his best man at his wedding), my former supervisor (knows of my hard work for 7+ years), and a stage director who is a recent friend, but knows of two of my pieces of work (one she directed, one she did not) and how detail oriented and hard working i am ... and how well i take direction - that's important!
so now i must wait....
be patient....
arrg!
- Music:the waiting - linda ronstadt
finally saw the motion picture
mike mom dad and me saw the musical years ago
i thought the movie version was okay...
better in some ways (cinematopgraphy),
but hokey like the musical in a lot of ways...
grrrr - i'm a big ABBA fan and was not comfortable with the cute-sie/ hokie way they did stuff in both the musical and the motion picture. sure, they have to weave almost 20 ABBA songs into a script. that's hard. they did a good job with most. but the delivery of the songs was kinda lame in some cases. and who told pierce he could sing??? arrrggg! talk about lame. but, meryl did a fine job as well as amanda and christine... i wasn't too thrilled with julie. the other 2 guys (colin and that aussie dude) did a good job and the young man was HOT HOT HOT.... and, he had a good voice.
should've known that the entire production of this movie would be a notch or two higher since Benny Andersson (of ABBA) produced the music and led the band (a lot of them were from ABBA's band, too). and the chorus was awesome as well.
best parts:
meryl's "the winner takes it all"
christine's "does your mother know" especially the hot ending
meryl's "slipping through my fingers"
chorus "voulez vous" and "gimme gimme gimme"
ladies "dancing queen" especially the ending off the pier
men "our last summer"
duet "lay all your love on me"
overall: B+
- Music:voulez vous - cast of mamma mia
11 lbs, 2 oz!! named Micah...
very cool name and very healthy baby
at 2 days old, he's already in 3-6 months clothes
sounds a lot like me when i was born... i was 10 lbs 12 oz... they had to start adding rcie formula to my bottle on day two and by the third day, they had cut off the tips of the rubber nipples on the bottles because i was not getting food fast enough... haha
why is it that:
1) i do some really fine work and half the people i want to come see me cant?
2) i interview and really "kick ass" but then get a rejection letter?
3) no matter how hard i try - the end result is: NO
4) i hang on to negative far longer than the positive?
i'm really bored at home... i've tried getting out of the house "just because"... but it is so damn hot, i cant stand it... so, i'm a hermit... i stay inside and listen to music OR watch movies OR jobsearch till i'm blue in the face
never mind about the other entry - i was experimenting
i feel like writing or doing something creative
this hot summer aint been a piece of cake
but i'm brown!
- Music:Runaway - Kim Carnes
we've all heard it
over & over again
no one will watch out for "you"
better than yourself....
i'm working on that
returning to "me"
watching out for "me"
helps me be more considerate towards others
for i get bored watching out for just myself and start watching out for others *grins*
that's what God wants... helping others when you have the ability to do so...
don't think, DO...
man, i'm looking forward to some snuggle time with Mike....
some weeks seem longer than others or longer than usual
this has been one of them
- Music:trip around the sun - jimmy buffett
mom and dad came to the show
it was an awesome perfromance!
kathryn and i were in good form
we make a great pair you know *grins*
but only in a friend/colleague theatrical way - tee hee
she's very proifessional and constantly reviews her notes and lines...
i do too... one can get set in a certain way which could have been memorized incorrectly
i think it's always good to review review review until the show is over...
who knows - you may come up with a better way of saying/ doing something
i wanna sleep now... got a performance tonight and one on sunday....
i'm going to be exhausted!
- Music:fantasy love affair - peter brown
what happened to my last post?
twice i have tried to post......
both times it "saves" but disappears!!
and i cannot cut n paste from MS Word...
Bummer!!
monday went to a memorial service... really hard because it brought back painful memories when i lost my first partner, stephen, back in 1994...
jobsearching continues ... actually went on an interview wednesday... we'll see how that goes... i should get an answer on monday...
last weekend, my director friend edith showed up at my present show... got to see dee bee in action in a different type role than she's seen me do... she liked it a lot... and even offered me a part in an upcoming show she's directing in august... yay! it's another one weekend gig like last year when i was in match.cripple for the frenetic fringe festival at theatreLaB... this one will be featured in this year's FFF and will be directed by the same difrector and written by the same playwright as last year... i'm excited... it's great exposure and also good that it'll be over after that one weekend... because...
i've also been asked to do Into the Woods... which will open one week after the FFF gig... perfect timing, eh? YES! thank you God... i've not met with the ITW director and don't know for sure if that's a go, but the main contact for the board of directors for this show has been e-mailing me... asking if i'd PLEASE do it... she's terribly sweet! how can i say no? the only thing is that BOTH shows will be in rehearsal at the same time... that's the "bad" news... the "good" news is that my part is small enough in both where I could juggle the two and do them both... they do not conflict with each other on performances, so why not??
i'm getting BROWN! i've been kicking ass and taking names on my garden and front yard landscaping! it looks MIGHTY awesome! i've gotten so many compliments from my neighbors and friends... and MIKE! yay! today, i volunteered my strength and mowed/ weed eatered/ and trimmed bushes for my friend Dan... who is unable to work on his yard himself... he always appreciates my help and will most likely take me to dinner or breakfast soon... =) i'm thankful to God for friends
i'm trying my best to keep my spirits up while being unemployed... june 5 was the 4 month marker.... and it continues... sometimes i feel anxiety, but trust He is watching over His sheep... He's blessed me so much lately, and in a lifetime, that I just wait for His direction... I know it'll come... I just need to learn to be patient some more....
My present show is doing well... getting nice things said about my work... some even have said it's my finest work... wow... i don't know about that, but it feels so damn good out there on stage that it must be looking good to the patrons... and, its ending is a sad one which i seem to be pulling off well enough to make people cry with me... that's a good feeling in a odd way... we did a snippet of the show for KPFT 90.5 radio last weekend... i got NICE things said about my work from the 2 people who work there at the radio who have both seen the show...
thanks be to God... Higher Power... and always: special thanks to my Boo for putting up with me and my rollercoaster of emotions... that seems to never change... haha
- Music:live to praise - twila paris
i seemed to have forgotten to mention
my friend Heather made me a king sized quilt
it looks absolutely beautiful and is now on my bed
i gave her an old singer sewing machine for a nice trade
she really worked very hard and it shows - it is fabulous!
i usually don't use that word... *grins*... it's so "stereotypical" haha
but the quilt is wonderfully crafted and fits me to a T!
side one:
large blue and white squares with various Dutch pictures in the middle square
i.e. the kissing couple, a cow, a vase of flowers, windmills, and blue stars...
i went with a blue & white theme because of my love for blue & white porcelain
there's also hydrengea (sp?) flowers with a slight hint of purple in the pattern
and, cleverly done: a blue stars and slight purple border around the entire quilt
NICE!
side two:
more blue stars border with patches of blue & white plus...
a penguin pattern to DIE for!! hundreds of cute penguins with orange feet...
the background for the penguins is blue, and their feet are orange, so....
there are squares of orange all over and a few blue squares as well...
and more white squares... it is AWESOME!!
plus, the extra nice thing is that the quilt is quite warm when i sleep!
it keeps my body warm and my back & i feel "rested" the next morning (usually)
this is not the case always... depending on how hard i've worked... but,
one cannot expect a quilt to do miracles.....
however, it DOES bring me much joy
all those penguins....
oh man!
thanks you, Heather!
- Music:heart to heart - shanandoo
Southern, Texan, British, German, French and...
I can also impersonate Willie Nelson singing, Tim Curry (spoken or singing), Dustin Hoffman's "Tootsie," and a few others... Does that count? *Grins*
- Music:missing - everything but the girl
spent the night with mike saturday night
my back was killing me from set construction,
but... we had a nice time snuggling to sleep!
i'm vowing for more nights like that one
and for many years to come down the road!
auditioned for the odd couple on sunday afternoon for upstage theatre
i felt pretty good until i started hearing others read... that's always the case
i read for felix, oscar and vinnie ... actual auditions are tonight and tomorrow...
i'll know one way or the other by wednesday... i'm good with any role actually...
would prefer to be felix, but we'll see how things go with auditions...
it was really nice for them to offer to hear me read when they found out i wouldn't be able to make auditions tonight and tomorrow bvecause of tech week on my current show... they did this for a few others as well, too and it was a lot of fun yesterday... that's a super nice gesture on their part and therefore i'm looking forward to any role.
my "country sings disney" CDs both came in the mail recently... now, i have all sorts of new music to listen to (they make a rather nice addition to my huge collection) *grins*
- Music:real gone - billy ray cyrus
thursday: run-thru
friday: run-thru
saturday:
morning: set construction;
evening: OPEN!
sunday:
morning: set construction (if needed)
evening: auditions for the odd couple!
(i'm going to try my hand at auditioning for the part of felix unger)
if i'm lucky enough to get a role: this will be at the same theatre where i did "the reluctant dragon " and "catch me if you can," upstage theatre. *crosses fingers*
- Music:ride - martina mcbride
