Christmas Traditions

My mom is the WORST out of the entire family about Christmas presents. Not buying them, opening them. She wants to open them ASAP. She's worse than my (younger) cousins. The most they do is case the Christmas tree on an hourly basis. Mom, on the other hand, will pick up the presents and feel them and look for tears in the wrapper ("since it's torn, I might as well open it"). If there are no tears, she will create them. Ok, she personally won't create the tears. She enlists "help". In past years, she used our dog. She would set the present down in front of the dog and let him sniff it. He would then be overwhelmed by curiosity and start pawing at it and start to tear it open. This year, my mom has upgraded. She used her granddaughter. She didn't even have to tempt her. Unopened presents are temptation enough for Munchkin. Munchkin knows her Lola can't refuse her anything, so anytime she wants something, she immediately runs to her. Munchkin wanted to open the Christmas presents NOW. She doesn't really care too much who the present belongs to, she just wanted to open them. So Lola decided to appease her need to open presents. It seems, however, that the presents she handed to Munchkin weren't presents for Munchkin - they were my mom's presents. How convenient. My brother and I stopped the Dynamic Duo halfway through present number 2. Folks, they were attempting to open their Christmas presents TWO DAYS EARLY. It's getting worse and worse with every year.

Music Junkies, Check This Out!!!

My co-worker just introduced me to this website:

http://www.pandora.com

Set up by the Music Genome Project, the website builds radio stations based on your music choices. Here's how Pandora works: you enter a song or artist and based on the entry's music characteristics & attributes, Pandora goes through it's MASSIVE library and compiles your radio station. It's so cool!!! The day my co-worker introduced me to this fabulous site, we spent about 2 hours plugging in different songs / artists and seeing what songs Pandora pulled. (That was a productive day at work.) So if you're stuck in a musical rut, go check it out!!!

Your 15 Minutes Of Fame

Ok, as suggested by a comment on Nemesis' blog, I've decided I'd release my cast list for the movie of my life (pre-productions pending). I haven't quite decided if it's going to be a tragedy or tragi-comedy. (It varies from day to day.) The problem is that the last time I had a definitive cast list was a few years ago. Since then, some of the characters have been dropped and some have been added. If you have any suggestions who you'd like to play you or if you have suggestions as to who should play someone else, please comment. (This also gives me a chance to see which 5 or so people actually read this blog.) Come on, this is your chance to be immortalized!

Aggies 12, t-sips 7

Aggies 12, t-sips 7!!!
(Just in case you didn't notice the score in the blog title.)
Yeah, it was a good Thanksgiving weekend!

I went up to D-FW to spend Thanksgiving with family. I think it was the larger family gatherings (from Dad's side) that we've had in a while. I stayed with my brother, sister-in-law and Munchkin in Dallas and we trouped over to Ft. Worth for dinners at my cousin's place. He, his wife and their twins were housing my parents & my other cousin who was visiting from Oregon (some state waaaay up northwest where it gets cold). And yes, I did say "dinners" (plural). That was not a typo. We had the pre-Thanksgiving dinner, the Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and the real Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. My brother & his family had to miss Thursday's dinner, so it was decided to have the "real" one on Friday when they could join us. The end result being that I waddled out of the D-FW area on Saturday.

It was great being on vacation and seeing them. I brought my dog up and the kids LOVED him. He's a Golden Retriever and he's almost as tall as my niece and my cousin's twins. They hugged on him, loved on him and (in the case of my niece) sat on him. Every once in awhile, I took pity on him and let him into the backyard to give him a break from the little people.

Munchkin (aka my niece). She's now 2 1/2 and speaks in full sentences. In fact, she rarely stops speaking. My first morning in Dallas, I woke up to the dog licking me and Munchkin talking to the dog. She'll talk to just about anyone or anything ("hi house!", "I miss you Bear-Bear", "play in my room, Jock"). Another morning, I woke up to see her talking on my cel phone just "like Daddy". (BTW - Bear-Bear is her favorite Beanie Bear and Jock is my dog.) She's such a funny little person.

The Saturday I came back, I met up with Nemesis & D who was in from San Francisco. We had a great time catching up and she taught us great variation on Scrabble called Speed Scrabble. I'm hooked! (Thanks, D!)

Oh yeah, and the Aggies won against t.u. 12-7!!!

Election Updates

The blogging came to a screeching halt due to the elections. That was an exhausting, interesting experience. We had a flurry of final rounds of fundraising events. Then I spent the last 2 weeks working out of one of our client's headquarters. She lost, but we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. She was a Democrat running in a VERY Republican district. (That's ok, we took the Hill, so it all balances out.) Anyways...

I was working the polls for early vote and on election day pushing cards for her. So yes, I was one of those people who would run up to you and remind you who my candidate is and what she was running for. I had a few interesting responses. One guy strong-armed me (you know, that football blocking move when they stick out their hand to push you off). Another guy literally sprinted to the poll. He got out of his car and ran to the poll then ran back to his car after he was done voting. Then I had a guy ask if my candidate was pro-life. Not an unusual question. I got a number of those working the polls. I told him she was pro-choice, then he proceeded to preach to me for about 10 minutes. I just nodded my head when I really wanted to say "the poll is that way and you're lucky you're voting in the morning, not during the last 10 minutes before the polls close". I definitely didn't engage him in a debate, because my coffee hadn't kicked in yet and I'd probably still be there debating with him. It was already going to be a long day and I didn't want him to make it any longer. It was election day and I worked the polls from 7am to 7pm with about 2 hours for lunch. Election day ended back at headquarters with the beer and everyone glued to the computers and TVs. Needless to say, as soon as we saw our numbers falling and we knew we couldn't win, the party started to dissipate.

This election cycle was definitely an interesting experience as I was slowly sucked further into the political world. Oh, and it's not over. We have a December election for a contested race and we're already crunching numbers for future elections.

Sick Days

I've been sick for a week. I'm in tech week for the current show I'm working on, so my schedule has been crazy. Any time I get sick it is always during tech. It's been miserable. Between the day job and rehearsals that do end till 11p, I haven't had any time to rest. So my boss (for the day job) made me take today off and it was glorious. Almost. I wish I could say I did the whole "lady of leisure" routine today, but since I was feeling miserable for half the day (when the drugs kicked it), it wasn't as productive as I wanted it to be. On the other hand, I did get to sleep in till 2p (I got up to eat, take my drugs and move to the TV) and run some essential errands, like get some new windshield wipers (since it's been raining) and getting my hair done. I was excited about that. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop, casually and calmly sipping my coffee instead of gulping it in the car and waiting to leave for rehearsal. I know, very boring stuff, but it's been a delicious, slow-paced day. I haven't had one of those in a long while. Now I feel ready to attack the rest of today.

Taking Care Of Some Overdue Blogs...

N: So what's between a bear and a twink?

Me: A straight guy.

One of the boys complaining about the current dating prospects as we were commiserating over coffee.
(If the terms are confusing you, go ask your trusted gay pal.)

My current work/rehearsal is crazy - even crazier than usual. I'm working on a new show - Jean Sarte's No Exit (Huit Clos). This show is at Rice University. It's an interesting experience. They're all young, inexperienced actors and I have to keep reminding myself that they're baby actors. I can't assume anything with this group - like I said, they're inexperienced actors & students to boot. So aside from working on the show, we're trying to train them in routines & habits that we in the professional world take for granted - warm-ups, checking with the stage manager, line notes, blocking, etc. (One of the positives is that it's an opportunity to instill in this young, impressionable group a sense of fear and blind obedience to the Stage Manager! Muwah-ha-ha-ha!!!) What's been really intriguing is watching these kids move from the cerebral to the physical. Let me explain. These are Rice students (the nerds & geeks that most of collegiate Texas makes fun of), so there's lots of analysis of the symbolic, the philosophical, political & social influences, etc. They ate up the tablework. Getting them to transition from table to stage has been another matter. One of the most commonly heard phrases during the first couple of weeks of rehearsal was "you're over-thinking". We've forced them to distill the 2 paragraph explanation down to a 3 to 5 word sentence that starts with "I want" or "I need".

I digress.

Regardless of whether they turn out to be great actors or just ok, they're a good group of kids. Another upside to working at Rice is that I'm 2 buildings away from really cheap beer. I mean REAL cheap! Shiner for $0.95. Oh yeah!

Hello Kitty Meets Darth Vader

'Nuff said.

Survey Courtesy Of Nemesis

W H O . W A S . T H E . L A S T . P E R S O N . T H A T?

1. You hung out with? Merida
2. Rode in a car with? Merida
3. Went to the movies with?: Joel
4. You went to the mall with? Mom
6. You talked on the phone to?: Joel
7. Made you laugh? Merida

W O U L D . Y O U . R A T H E R?
1. Pierce your nose or tongue?: Nose
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny
3. Drink whole or skim milk?: Whole
4. Die in a fire or drown?: Drown - I have a low threshold of pain
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies?: Parents

A N S W E R . T R U T H F U L L Y.

1. Do you like anyone?: Yes

D O . Y O U . P R E F E R.
1. Sun or moon? Moon

2. Winter or Fall? Fall - I get to wear the fabulous fall/winter shoes, but not have to suffer through the cold

3. left or right? Right

4. 10 acquaintances or two best friends?: 2 best friends

5. Sunny or rainy?: Sunny

6. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream?: CHOCOLATE

A B O U T . Y O U.
1. What time is it? 1:17am

1. First Name?: Janel
3. What do you want to do? SHOPPING!!!
4. Where do you wanna live? Paris
5. How many kids do you want?: None at the moment
6. You want to get married? Eventually
8. Are you double jointed? Nope
10. Can you cross your eyes? Yes
11. Do you make your bed daily? Nope

R A N D O M.
1. Which shoe goes on first?: Right
2. Ever thrown a shoe at someone? And ruin my shoes???
3. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl
2. Have you ever eaten Spam?: Ahh, Spam!
3. Favorite ice cream?: Cookies & Cream
4. How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet? None
5. Do you cook? When I have time.
6. Current mood? Kinda iffy.

IN . THE. LAST. 48 HOURS. HAVE. YOU.

1. Bought something: SHOES!
2. Sang? No
3. Been hugged: Yes
4. Felt stupid: No
5. Missed someone: Yes
6. Danced Crazy: No
7. Gotten your hair cut? No
8. Cried: Do tears from laughing so hard count?
9. mad: No
10. been kissed: Grrrrr...No

. S T U F F .
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? No
2. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With someone
3. Do you believe in ghosts? Not really.

How Do You Start Your Morning?

Last night, I was the emergency bailout call for a longtime friend of mine who was on a date in SF. At least, I attempted to be the emergency bailout call (D, you need to be able to hear the phone for me to bail you out). Afterwards, during our post-date analysis (as we women are wont to do), D asked me, "after you check your email in the morning, what websites or blogs do you read?". So I pose that question to you - what do you read? (I'm on the hunt for interesting blogs and websites.)

I'll Play Along...

I know this has been going around for awhile, but I've been swamped. Just humor me.

Four Things about me - Things you may or may not have known about me in no particular order.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Stage Manager
2. Sound Designer
3. Office Manager & Researcher for a consulting firm
4. Educator for a museum

B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Whale Rider
2. Mary Poppins
3. Steel Magnolias
4. Star Wars - A New Hope

C) Four places I have lived (in order):
1. Houston, TX
2. College Station, TX
3. Ellenville, NY
4. Houston, TX

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. West Wing
2. Stargate SG-1
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. MASH

E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Boracay, Philippines
2. Paris, France
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Montreal, Canada

F) Websites I visit daily:
1. NY Times
2. Houston Chronicle
3. Manolo's Shoe Blog
4. Gizmodo (pretty electronics!)

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Chocolate - in any form
2. Chicken Fried Steak
3. Paella
4. Pho

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Barcelona, Spain
2. New York, NY
3. Shoe Shopping
4. An undisclosed private island with white sand, blue waters and a few cabana boys

Titus Andronicus - Shakespeare's Unintentional Comedy

L: While this is not the WORST show HSF has done, this belongs in the pantheon. This definitely goes on the demo reel.

(Observation made during intermission - that's right, we were only at the halfway mark!)

M: Could you hear us cackling up on the hill?
Me: No, because we were too busy giggling.

(Comment made after the show.)

Nemesis: Look! It's Topsie from Uncle Tom's Cabin!

(Comment made in the first 5 minutes of the show.)

Last night, Nemesis and I attended the Houston Shakespeare Festival's production of Titus Andronicus. For those not familiar with this play, this is possibly the goriest tragedy Will Shakes wrote. Blood, severed limbs, unintentional cannibalism, murder - a definite tragedy. Nemesis and I spent a good chunk of the show giggling and snickering. It was BAD. On so many levels.

I don't think the costume designer liked any of the actors. It seemed like she went out of her way to make the actors look bad. Lavinia (the girl who loses both her hands and her tongue) looked like Topsie from Uncle Tom's Cabin. She was wearing a hoop skirt & black, sausage-curled wig that looked like it was made out of a yarn mop. The chorus looked like they were from Colonial India complete with turbans. Titus' sons and the rest of Roman tribunal wore these hats that must have been swiped from Marvin the Martian. Tamora wore this headpiece that looked like it was borrowed from Nefertiti's wardrobe. Altogether visually disturbing.

The blood. Or lack thereof. All of the murders were indicated (as opposed to weapons actually making contact with the actors) and at the same time, the chorus would parallel that murder with some symbolic action representing the blood being spilt. Like unfurling a red banner above the spot where one of the characters was killed. Or drizzling blood over the newly murdered character (like you would drizzle glaze over a cake). Or dropping an axe on a slab of raw steak (a la Gallagher - just minus the watermelon). But I think my favorite is the murder indicated by the big red ball. Yes, a big red rubber ball. The chorus tossed it around like a game of hot potato and the last chorus member tossed it to the character as his adversary killed him. Nemesis and I were giggling as the emperor's brother caught and collapsed over the big red rubber ball and then tumbled into the pit.

It's shows like this that make me weep for my profession.

This Day In Music

What Was The #1 Song On Your Birthday

The day I was born:
My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings

Sweet Sixteen:
Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler

18th Birthday:
Rush Rush - Paula Abdul

21st Birthday:
I Swear - All-4-One

27th Birthday (first time):
Maria Maria - Santana

27th Birthday (4th time):
21 Questions - 50 Cent

You Must Check This Out!!!

I recently discovered this blog courtesy of Laine. (Thanks!) Here's the warning she posted along with a link:

Warning: You’re going to laugh out loud so don’t read this on a full bladder or you’ll definitely pee in your pants.

She's right!!! Nemesis and I just looked through this blog and we were crying. Here it is, but before you click on the link below, you may want to use the bathroom first.

What Not To Crochet

You Can't Have Your Cake & Eat It, Too

So it's been awhile since the last update. I've been knee-deep in work and rehearsals. We finally opened last week, and the day after we opened, I was sick. I skipped work this past Monday and Tuesday due to my being ill. Not my ideal way of spending days off from work. Tuesday night, I felt the need to bake. I'm not sure whether to attribute this urge to a fever-induced delirium or just the fact that I haven't cooked/baked in a long while (I've been real busy), but I decided I decided I was well enough to stand upright and bake. I baked a lemon pound cake with lemon glaze. It's yummy! It's almost gone. This cake was baked in a 9x5 loaf pan. On Tuesday night. In fact, it came out of the oven about 11:30p on Tuesday night. It's now very, very early Saturday morning. There is about 1.25 inches left from 9 inch cake. I (the one who baked the cake) have consumed about 1.25 inches of this cake since its emergence from the oven late Tuesday night. Apparently, there are gremlins who've been eating the cake in secret because the other 2 (very real) residents in this house have accused me of eating up all of the cake and they've barely had any of this cake. The accusitory tone of their voices would lead one to believe that they have only crumbs. Hardly enough for their taste buds to register anything.

Riiiight...

The last time gremlins resided in this house, they were fighting for space with the bogeyman, the sandman, the scaly green monster and other traditional tenents who take up residence under the bed of a preschooler.

Gems From The 70's!

One of my colleagues found this little gem. We were howling throughout the entire video! An extreme example of why straight white guys shouldn't be allowed to dance in public.

Chicken

I was told (actually, I overheard) that there was to be a game of San Juan today. (For lack of a better explanation, San Juan is a role-playing card game. It's set in one of the Spanish colonial territories and your job is to build up this city from nothing but the natural resources.) My suspicion is that "some" of the other players are too CHICKEN of a little competition and "forgot" to call me.

You know who you are. And so do I.

In the meantime, I'm at Agora - a little cafe owned by a couple of Greeks. This is important, because we are not only in the midst of the World Cup, we are in the elimination round of the World Cup. These Greeks (like most of the rest of the world) are soccer-mad. Both the TV's are tuned to the Portugal-Netherlands game and there are a number of people watching it - the Netherlands fans upstairs and the Portuguese fans downstairs. It's starting to get quite noisy now. Portugal is ahead 1-0 and the people upstairs are on pins & needles.

More On Sleep (Or Lack Thereof)

1) Venus, the Bright Morning Star
2) Breakfast
3) Sunrise

What do all these things have in common? These are all things that should be experienced at the END of the day, not the START. Unfortunately, I had the displeasure of experiencing all three as the start of my Friday.

Nemesis needed a ride to the airport and I obliged. In return, I get to borrow his remote-controlled Matchbox car for the weekend (my car is in the shop and in need of a new engine). The problem was that we needed to leave for the airport at 5:00 am. That's Five in the Morning. That translates to me waking up before the sun rises. Ugh!!!

On the way to the airport, we stop by Shipley's for breakfast. As we're driving along the freeway, Nemesis points ahead and says "I think that's Venus". At the same time, I look east and I say "it's getting light over there. I think the sun's rising". I then remark that while I'm not adverse to seeing Venus, eating breakfast and observing a sunrise, these are all things that should be experienced in their proper timeslots. Breakfast should be eaten as the last meal of the day (that time between the close of the club and bedtime). Both Venus & the sun rising should be viewed on the way home to bed. See, everything in its proper place and time.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

The Japanese seem to be at least 2 years ahead of the US in many ways (most notably electronics). Here's another example of how they're ahead of us. Check out this article in the Washington Post

Happy Birthday To You...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Felyn...
Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!!

Sorry about the Oilers, but maybe they can deliver a better birthday gift next year.

In the meantime, have a great birthday!!!

I'm Tired

Let me just say it's been an awful couple of weeks. Work has been piling up in the day job. I'm doing sound design for a musical and it's turned into a much large design than I think anyone has realized. We won't discuss the fact that NO ONE has heard the show all the way through from beginning to end. We won't even mention the fact that neither the music director or I have heard the show sung at performance volume (therefore we can't adjust our levels). Socially, my world has turned upside down. To top it all off, my car died on me. On the way to Texas City. Do you know how expensive it is to tow a car back into town? Let me tell you, it's not cheap.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do for my birthday, but I'm too tired to plan anything. Sometimes I think I just want to turn off my cell, find a rock, and crawl under for awhile. Or find an island with a stretch of white sand, blue waters, a hammock and a few cabana boys to serve me drinks.

In Hindsight...

I realize that the previous post was rather preachy, but I feel strongly about the lack of attention paid the internment of Japanese-Americans and their involvement in WWII. I also feel strongly about supporting Asian-Americans in the arts. Support your local Asian-American artists! (I need new shoes!!!)

Significant Changes Afoot

I haven't blogged about my show lately because it was postponed due to lack of funds. It's still going forward, though. There will be some significant changes that will be happening this week (cross your fingers). I'll be updating when they happen and when they can be public.

The playwright of my play was in town this past weekend. Lane Nishikawa, along with 2 of his actors and his producer, were in town to screen his newest film, Only The Brave. The film is about the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and their mission to rescue the 141st Infantry Regiment, who were surround by German forces near Bruyeres, France during WWII. The 442nd was comprised of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii and internment camps scattered throughout the interior of the US. It is a war film, but it's a war film that talks about an under-recognized battalion and their valor and loyalty to a country that imprisoned them & their families just because of their ethnicity. It's a period of US history that continually fails to make it in the history books and is rarely taught.

On an artistic end, I thought they did a good job by focusing on the on the individual soldiers as opposed to showcasing epic battle scenes. This was due in part to the limited budget. It allowed us to learn more about the individual soldiers and the families they left behind. The film is not without it's problems, but overall, it was a very good movie. If you get a chance to attend a screening, go!!!

http://www.onlythebravemovie.com/

Just Waiting for Nemesis To Comment...

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??

Nemesis
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$50 for WHAT???

Dad: Do you have $50 for your niece?

Me: $50 for what?

Dad: She needs a stroller.

Me: Another stroller?

Dad: Not for her. For her dolls.


I've noticed that the word "no" seems to disappear from my parents' vocabular when it comes to my niece. "No" has and is prominent when talking to my brother and I ("Daddy, could you get me this pair of shoes? It's only $350.00." "NO!"). When it come to my niece (aka. The Carry-On, Munchkin, their Only Grandchild), it miraculously disappears. So Munchkin has informed her grandparents that 3 of her dollies NEEDS a stroller. The stroller has already been ID'ed and my parents didn't flinch at the price tag. Apparently, this stroller is NOT $50. That's just my share of the cost. I asked my dad if this stroller came with gold-plated rims or anything special like that. He only laughed and merely informed me that hauling 3 dolls across the house is quite a task and she NEEDS the stroller for her dolls.

Please note 2 exceptional points:
1) Needs. Not wants, but needs. This word came out of both my mom & dad's mouths. (Want = item that's nice to have, as long as someone else is footing the bill. Need = item that is necessary for life to go on.)

2) My father is, while not a cheapskate, fairly tight with his money. Except when it comes to his only grandchild. Not only has he not batted an eye at the price tag of some of his gifts to her, he has actually gone shopping for her! Sometimes of his own accord and sometimes by himself! And unless it's electronics (for himself) or sports equipment (for himself), he HATES shopping! I have seen him go shopping for clothes for his grandchild, by himself!!! He never goes clothes shopping for himself until my mom drags him out.

I think these are some of the signs listed in Revelations forcasting the end of the world.

Where's My Gun???

A friend and I always joke about the stage management gun. This theoretical gun and a number of bullets would be issued to the stage managers, one bullet per cast & crew member plus 2 per director and designer. Now I'm wondering if there needs to be one issued to each designer. I'm currently doing sound design for a comedy. This is not a hard show to run - or as I told a friend of mine, this is not the theatrical version of rocket science. In fact, this is about as easy a show (from a lights and sound end) as possible. Instead, we're having "operator issues" (ie. the stage manager is not calling the show correctly). The lighting designer, stage manager and myself have now had 3 cue-to-cue rehearsals. For the theatrical outsider, cue-to-cues are rehearsals where we go from one sound/light cue to the next, in order, without all of the acting in between. For this show, this means going from the very beginning when the audience files in, to the curtain speech where they tell you to turn off all audible electrical devices, to when the actors first enter the stage. After that, we go to 2 sound effects in the middle of act 1, then intermission. After intermission comes the actors entering the stage for act 2, 6 sound effects, then curtain call. Not that difficult. Did I mention we held 3 cue-to-cues for the benefit of the stage manager? The last 2 were held right before shows with an audience. It's very disheartening to get there early for a hand-holding, private coaching session with the stage manager only to not see and hear any of the fixes during a real show. At this point, it's not a difficulty issue, it's a competency (or lack thereof) issue. This person should not be in the position of stage manager. Heaven forbid this person work on a show that's actually difficult. I think it would drive this person to a sanatorium!

On a different note, I judged a kareoke contest last Sunday (see my Nemesis' blog). I noticed he failed to mention me in his blog. (Ahem, ahem, cough, cough.) Judging the finals (thankfully) meant that I was judging the good singers. It was a tough competition, and as I predicted, I was the Simon of the judging panel. We had each finalist sing 2 songs (one fast, one ballad) and after their second song, we each gave our comments. I thought I was going to be lynched or at the very least, have my tires slashed. Yes, I was very critical (this was the finals, after all), but all of my criticisms were constructive. Let's just say I was not very popular with many of the cheering sections that attended that night. My life and my tires, however, remained intact and I was able to leave in relative safety, if not a little less popular.

Some Of The Greatest Words In The English Language

Open Bar Reception

If one has to commit matrimony, that's the way to go.

Did Y'all Know That PST Is 2 Hours Behind CST?

Monday, 11:30am

Nemesis: What are you doing for lunch?

Me: I have to work through lunch since I'm late.

Few minutes later after I explain to nemesis that I'm waiting for the guy behind me to open the garage gate.

Nemesis: (rolls off his seat with laughter) I thought you got in late. I didn't realize you just got to work!!!

I flew in from LA late last night. (I was in LA for my cousin's wedding - topic for another blog.) Knowing that I would have to get up early the following day for work, I set the alarm on my phone. (My alarm clock needs to be replaced and I haven't bothered to replace it yet.) In fact, I set the alarm and double-checked it while on the airport shuttle back to the car. The one thing I DIDN'T do was set my phone back to CST. For some reason, my phone doesn't automatically update the time. When I woke up this morning, I saw that I had missed a call from my boss. My phone said it was 8:10a, so I couldn't figure out why my boss was calling me so early. I then looked at the clock in the kitchen and it said it was 10:10a and I realized I didn't set my phone ahead!

Yeah, it's gonna be a productive day today!

Munchkin Duty

I took off today because I had Munchkin duty today. My niece (aka Munchkin, The Carry-On) is staying with us till Tuesday because her mom and dad have a wedding to attend. She's at the fun stage now. She can chat up a storm, too. It was a very busy day today. We watched Veggie Tales (for those of you not in the know, Veggie Tales is a show featuring computer-animated vegetables), colored, cooked with her cooking set and wooden fruit & vegetables, hunted down the cat that was trying to avoid her and tried to get the dog to stop licking her. After naptime, we played on the swing and played in the sandbox. I was talking to my friend while we were playing outside (my first conversation with an adult for the day) and he was laughing at me and he kept saying I'd make a good mother. I don't think I can do the stay-at-home thing.

FYI - Calls to England are MUCH cheaper than calls to Saudi!!!

Tomorrow's A Whole New Game!

Tom DeLay's dropping out of the Congressional race!

It's gonna be a busy day at the office tomorrow!!!

I've Got A Question...

Here's my question: why do guys like long hair?

I just got my hair cut. Chopped, actually. The shortest lock that was lopped off was at least 3 inches. My hair went from about 2 inches past my shoulder to chin length. I told a male friend how short my hair is now and his response was "I don't think I like what I'm hearing".

Long hair can be a pain to take care of. My hair is very wavy. I live in Houston (high humidity). Summer is around the corner (the season of high humidity). All this equals frizzy, unruly hair. I will spend 30 minutes straightening it, step outside and have all my hard work kink up in less than 5 minutes. Long hair looks plain and boring on lots of girls. Yet guys seem to have this infatuation with long hair. Why?

As One's Getting Out Of The Pot, The Other's Getting In

Bro: I'm getting out of politics right when you're getting in. You're just getting in with the other side.

I've been telling my brother about my new job. Unlike my mother, his reaction is not one of incredulity or even resignation. He thinks it's neat that I'm hopping into the political pot. We had to laugh at the timing, though. He officially got out about 1 month before I got in. Of course, he got a great kick out of mom's response. My mother's justifying my job by focusing on the fact that I'm getting a paycheck.

Yo Momma Don't Work Here!

It's 6:30p on a Saturday and where am I? At the office. Cleaning up after these boys. I like to call it my stint in the frat house. Let me explain. This office is currently occupied by 5 people (including yours truly) and out of the 5, 4 are boys. Messy boys. Messy boys who can't clean up after themselves, put things away or replace things. It's like stepping into a frat house. I finally realized enough is enough when 3 of us were fighting over a ballpoint pen because that was the only one that could be found in this mess we call an office. I'm not a neat-freak, but I do like some order in my life. Besides, when the fight is over the only known writing utensil in existence, something's going to give. I'd like to take a blowtorch and incinerate everything to ashes. It would be easier starting over than trying to deal with this chaos.

Speaking of chaos, it's a mess downstairs in the lobby. It's NBA All-Star Weekend and all sorts of big names are in town. There have been VIP parties going on in the ballroom downstairs and security has been crazy. You'd have thought the Economic Summit was being conducted downstairs with all of the uniformed and plain-clothed security they have downstairs. At least it's just for the weekend.

Moving Forward With Great Speed!

I landed yet another job! I am now an associate director for a non-profit cultural organization. It's a grandiose title for administrative assistant. So it's everything I've been doing for my friend, but now it has an official title and a paycheck. (Yay, paychecks!) It'll be a lot of fun and I'm excited.

Yesterday, we had a fund-raising kick-off for my show and the responses were great! We had some major players in the cultural charity scene and in the community there including the Consulate General from Japan and the Vice-Chair for the DNC who was there as a favor to my producer. I had 2 guys do a staged reading of one of the scenes in the play. The reading went very well (I think the audience was hooked) and then the congressman spoke. Originally, my producer asked if he could just speak briefly on his family's experiences in the Japanese-American internment camps. I was sitting there listening to him and he starts off talking a bit about the play. I figured he would comment a bit on the show based on my description and the scene we performed and then launch into the camps. He just kept talking about the show and as he was talking, I was thinking, "he's talking like he's seen the show. Wait! He HAS seen the show!". One of the playwrights used to live in his district and the congressman saw the show about 5 years ago and was deeply moved and impressed with the story. He kept commenting on what an impressive story it was, how this was a story that needed to be told and the people there needed to fully support this production because it would make such an impact on the Asian/Pacific-American and Jewish-American communities here. It was the best endorsement we could have asked for and we had no idea he was even going to fully endorse the play like he did! We didn't even know he had seen the show before!

After the meeting, my producer and I met back at the office to celebrate and then met with the congressman's staffer who accompanied him and continued celebrating. The congressman called later and invited all of us up to his suite to hang out with him. He is such a laid-back, personable, down-to-earth guy - he was just cool! We finally called it a night 4 bottles of wine later. Definately a productive day!

New Job!!!

Responses from others (upon hearing about my new job):
1) SH: So what's the new job?

Me: For all intents and purposes, I'm an executive assistant.

pause

SH: WHAT?!?!?! How did you get that???


2) Mom: (after about 10 seconds of silence)
That's not nice. I don't think that's nice. Have you told you father?

(He is one of the leading Democratic political consultants in town, in the state, actually. My parents are hard-line Republicans.)

3) Me: I'm not working at Rice. I am, however, downtown working out of The Rice.

(The Rice was one of Houston's grand, landmark hotels.)

SM: I thought The Rice was a classier hotel than that.

(I'll give you a minute to figure that one out.)

4) (After telling some friends about my mother's reaction.)
Me: She had that tone of voice that made it sound like I was only a step above being a hooker.

C: Now, maybe if you were a Republican hooker...


I just landed a new job working as an assistant for one of the leading political consultants here in town. This job just fell into my lap. I was helping out a friend (in dire need of an assistant, but doesn't have a enough of a budget for one at the moment) and I was telling him I was looking for a day job. He tells me the guy whose office he uses needs an assistant. It's mostly administrative stuff. Anyway, 30 minutes later, I find myself in a new job. Yay!!!

For All You Mockers

For all of y'all who mockingly call me princess...

Why, yes, I am.

DONE!!!

My show is DONE! I finished my work 4 hours ago and it's OVER!!!!!! No more fixes, tweaks or additions. I've handed the show over to my stage manager and sound board operator. I'M DONE!!!!

P.S.

It's nice to know that someone misses you.

All The World's A Stage

I just realized it's been almost a month since my last post. My friend finally made it to Saudi Arabia and we've been IMing each other on a regular basis. I've been working on a new show as the sound designer. I've also secured a venue for the show I'm planning to direct this summer.

This show that I'm sound designing is such an emotional rollercoaster! It's a play that's written by a local actor and it deals with a couple and their child who's in neonatal ICU. It's loosely based on the experiences the playwright went through when his daughter was born. It's a good show, but this definitely not a fuzzy, feel-good comedy. I've now seen it at least 10 times and I still boo-hoo through the show. This show has definitely not been the easiest, but it's been the most fulfilling show I've designed in awhile. I actually got to work as a designer as opposed to working as just a sound editor. Let me explain. The past few shows I've worked on as a sound designer has been mostly taking the music the director has picked and burning them in order onto 1 or 2 CD's. At most, it's been hunting down instrumental music from the period. Easy (most of the time) and very little creativity going on. This show, however, is about an hour of background sounds - no music until the very end. 1 hour of beeping hospital monitors and hospital hallway noises. That's means building it all from scratch. While the monitors weren't as hard as I thought they'd be, the hospital bustle has been eating my lunch. They can't sound too sparse, too noisy, too jarring, too quiet, and I have to keep it from sounding like white noise. It has to sound like we're in a nurse's unit in a hospital. That means that my sounds have to have some sort of logic to them. Phones that ring need to be answered, so the footsteps have to sound like they're going to the phones, other footsteps need to sound like they're passing through the hallway, etc. I know that's a long, overly detailed way of saying that I actually get to design on this show. It's been a lot of work (many days that would start at 9am and end at 4am) but a great experience and it's a show I'm proud to have my name attached to. Not to mention working with a great director, cast and crew.

And now you know more than you'd every want to know about my life as a sound designer. Wait till I start directing.

Not Goodbye, But See You Later.

A very dear friend of mine is leaving to go work abroad for about 18 months. It didn't really hit me till last night that he was leaving in less than 48 hours and that would probably be the last time I see him for awhile. I've had friends leave before, but this particular departure is a little rough for me. He's a very talented and intelligent person who has become a close and trusted friend. I wish him good luck, godspeed and safe travels. I'll see you soon.