Days of Reflection: Day Seven

I thought I would just take the night off and not post something today, but then I realized that it would mean that I was to fail this little challenge/goal that I have set for myself. It seems to be a pattern with me. As soon as I feel like I got the hang of something or that I have finally gotten into the swing of things, I let things slide. Today, it would have been just this itty bitty post. Then tomorrow, it would be like not reading up on all the gardening stuff that I have to still learn. I figured that by completing this, I could see that “hey ya knucklehead, sticking with it ain’t so hard.” I am a little hesitant to admit this, but early on in my theatre endeavors, I would really dread going to rehearsals. I would say to myself “I don’t want to have to sing that same stupid song again” or “practice a dance again that I already knew” while my non-theatre friends were doing other stuff. So I would skip out on rehearsals to be part of the fun that my friends were having. Happily, I don’t do that anymore and I have found that yes, sometimes, the idea of rehearsal is not as exciting as something else, once I get to practice I realize that I am so glad that I went.

Day Seven: Four turn offs

Another reason that I wanted to skip today was because I couldn’t come up with four turn offs. I just have one really big turn off. But just for the sake of having something, this is what I present to you:

4. Talking with your mouth full of food. More specifically, food that has ranch or bleu cheese dressing or mayo. Basically anything creamy looking. I just get queasy seeing that. YUCK!!!

3. A couple of my friends are a little gross. They like to look at zits or other puss filled things and seem to be fascinated by it. I, on the other hand, am not.

2. Rude people – My friend told me a little saying that goes “Manners are free, use them often.”

1. Hatred. Everyone has things that they dislike. I dislike beets. Bleh! But when it comes to people? Yeah, I have a hard time tolerating certain people, like numbers 2 and 3. But I do. I used to wish that I was a vigilante that would throw lit cigarettes back into people’s cars that had thrown them out the window. But back on the subject. I don’t understand why people have to spread such toxic and terrible behaviors and attitudes. Nothing in the world can get better until the people of the world get better. Can we please start now?

What turns you “off”? What is it that gets your nerves in a tingle? Maybe we can come up with solutions on how to best expel those things that bother us together.

I was actually getting ready to throw that strawberry stem in the sink, which is cropped out. Also, cropped out my BFF telling me “Hold that pose” and giggling while this picture gets snapped. In a weird, way. I don’t seem to mind this picture. Yes, the blue eyeshadow has a story, but it’s a little late for me to get all long winded about it, so maybe another time also, I doubt I can recall how it all came about. I just can’t remember if this was before or after I got the rug burn on my forehead. I bet I got your attention now!!!

I think I might actually be getting something out of this find a picture and don’t turn away in disgust project. That’s good, right?

Day of Reflection: Day Six

While I’ve been hunting down auditions for myself, I kept coming across the same sort of post. It went something like: Such and such production company is looking for actors for a future low budget/feature film/indie picture. Looking to cast: Leading Man – 20-30’s Caucasian; Secondary Character – 20-30’s Caucasian…That is just a generic wording of the dozens of disheartening casting calls that I found. Then I got to thinking “well it’s no wonder that so many people are now taking control of their own careers by making vehicles specifically for themselves.” So I got to thinking about all the little projects that I had at one time or another began working on and then just lost track of what I was doing. So that lead me to a theme for podcast 16.

Day Six: Five people who mean a lot

It’s really hard to only pick five people when there are so many people that I care about. Especially all the people that have taught me so much and so much about myself. I think I have to cheat this one just a little bit and cluster it up just a bit. I hope you don’t mind.

5. Karaoke friends!! You guys have given me so many great laughs in the short time we’ve been meeting up. I look forward to them because it just helps to laugh off all the worries of life for just a few hours. Thank you for that.

4. My blood family because without them, I wouldn’t have such snappy comebacks for people.

3. Tommy O and Holypigeon, for being absolutely amazing people to learn a million things from.

2. Notblue and Hubby for being absolutely amazing people to watch grow and to grow with.

1. My munster because you’re my munster!

If I truly had to pick my five, here are four of them.

I can’t tell you how much fun this trip to Napa was! I would eventually love to go back again with these same people. We shared this amazing apartment style suite and spent two days there. I wish I didn’t smile so big. I think that’s what makes it look fake. I should probably take a cue from my friend at NotBlueAtAll.com and practice smiling in a mirror. I just can’t stand looking at mirrors either. Aside from looking at myself, one of the other reasons is that I freak myself out and think that the mirror me will move when the real me didn’t. If that didn’t happen, I would be afraid that someone would pop up behind me; as in ghosts or something. Or if it’s at night, the power would go out and when it came back up, something else would be looking at me. Creepy. Man, I think I really gotta lay off the horror movies. Speaking of which, is anyone else interested in seeing Anthony Hopkins in “The Rite”? Opening Day is January 28. Wait, does this make me a glutton for punishment?

Who are your five important people? Do you have so many people that you need to cluster them up too? And do you wanna go see “The Rite” at the end of the month?

Days of Reflection: Day Five

I just read that this weekend in LA there will be auditions for a “new” show called Thriller Live! OF COURSE, IT’S WHAT YOU THINK IT IS…A live show based on the music of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Here’s why I called it “new”. Apparently, since 2007, it has been a well received show in London (surprise, surprise! Why do the Brits always get the jump on shows?) that played to over a million people. The casting is for the 2011 Worldwide Tour and to step into the West End production. The weird thing was that the cattle call is for NON union members. The best thing about this ad is that the very end reads: “Please prepare two contrasting Michael Jackson songs, that show your full range, bring a picture/resume, and be prepared to wait.” As if one would expect to just show up and waltz right in and leave. I couldn’t help but to chuckle lightly to myself.

Day Five: Six things you wish you’d never done.

Goodness, that would imply that I have regrets. I can’t say that I have any, but let’s just say that it’s six things that I didn’t enjoy doing.

6. A while back while I worked for Structure (Express Men before the name change) I won a trip to a resort down in Palm Springs. One of the three activities that I had chosen was to go shopping on the main drag in town. I wish that I had chosen something more interesting. While I loved the shops and just hanging out, I think I would have gotten more out of the trip had I opted for something more like my other two activities which were a major Spa treatment and a balloon ride. The balloon ride was pretty damn awesome, except for the forced picture taking.

5. I wish I would have focused on something in school instead of just a mass of classes.

4. I didn’t enjoy having a root canal, but it was kinda important.

3. Oh, I wish I’d never jumped over the fence to get in to a club back when I was 16. It led to meeting someone who made me greatly dislike the circus.

2. I wish I never wasted my time watching the movie “Open Water” even though it was free!

1. This one was a doozey!! And it’s over-share, but maybe you will learn from my mistake. I wish I never took a probiotic, drank a large coffee, and had a fiber filled breakfast. That’s all I’m sayin’!

Ron, Blaze, Mark, forgive me cuz I don't remember his name, and me

These guys were so cool to work with that I was comfortable enough to fall asleep on this guy’s arm. it’s bugging me that I don’t remember his name. Someone, HELP!! Do you know his name? Let me know, so I can change the caption. When does big hair go away? I always look like I have some sort of pompadour. I hate it. Is it so wrong to wish for flat hair? Is it?

Day of Reflection: Day Four

*Sigh*

I just realized that rehearsals for “Bless Me, Ultima” don’t begin until the beginning of February. Boo. The other day, I got an email saying that I’ll be playing other roles as well, and one of them is a dancer! I can’t recall seeing any mention of musical-ness in the script so I am intrigued by that. I guess I have to begin my character work for those other bits as well, since there’s lines that are attached to them. That’s a pretty cool silver lining.

Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.

Jeez, there’s a ton of things that cross my mind all the time. This one should have been worded, seven things that cause you stress or high blood pressure. I would imagine they are very similar to most people in the country, and maybe even the world. Let me know if I am close…

7. Will I be able to pay all my bills this month?

6. If not, will I need to begin the job search process all over again?

5. Can I go back to school, and still do the shows I want, AND work?

4. What song should I use for auditions?

3. I think I am gonna have Alzheimer’s.

2. I need medical benefits.

1. When will I win the lotto?

Those are my 7 things. Yeah, they are pretty specific, but that is what I actually think about when I am not fully engaged in a moment. There’s plenty more where that came from, but those seem to have a recurring role. Do they match any of your 7 things? Let me know, maybe we can figure out a way to cure that thought.

There aren’t many pictures of me from either time I went to New York and I do regret that a lot. Especially since I know that it will be a while before I am able to return. I was so excited that I went to Mood. I even bought a good hunk of fabric there that I have yet to do anything with. That golden painted corridor with it’s yellow lights did nothing for my oily skin! I remember being a little warm in that store, but refusing to take off the jacket so I didn’t have to carry it. Wow, I guess I am still pretty stubborn.

Days of Reflection: Day Three

Day Three: Eight ways to win your heart.

Hrmm…I don’t know if there are eight ways! I hate this one the most. This one is a toughy. If I had to take a guess on how I would break it down, I would have to go something like this…

8. Struggle – There’s something about overcoming personal struggles that build a kind of humility I find incredibly fascinating. When you work in retail, you can tell who has and who hasn’t.

7. Food – It’s okay to NOT obsess about eating this or that because it’s got sugar or fats. Don’t be afraid of the food. In moderation, everything is fine.

6. Interesting – I believe that I suffer from a mild form of ADD, so if a person can remain interesting, well then you are 95% of the way there.

5. Manners – That gets high marks. It doesn’t take much longer than being rude, so why foul the atmosphere?

4. Compassion – When you can, you donate to people who are less fortunate than you are.

3. Emotionally Secure – You aren’t afraid to let your emotions take you for a ride.

2. Playful – You can’t take yourself too seriously.

THE NEXT TWO GO HAND IN HAND

Humor – Laughter is wonderful. While the occasional fart joke is okay, I prefer well thought out humor which ties to…

Intelligence – I love people that I can learn from.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Getting my Titanic on with Melissa Jones (now Jones-Chamness)

Here I am on the Tahoe Queen. We were celebrating Perry’s mom’s birthday on a little cruise around Tahoe. It was a good dinner, great music, and a lot of nutty pictures of his mom! That particular moment in time was so freeing. As though there were no worries. It’s fun to get swept up in someone else’s energy and have fun without restraint. It’s from people like her that I remind myself you have to keep trying stuff that you don’t normally do. Because were I not with her, I doubt this moment would have even happened.