My neck, my back…

Never think a simple thing like a bike ride doesn’t need preparation. Just sayin’.

As I am currently a little under the weather, due to back muscle soreness, I am faced with the saddest thing that I can think of: I am not as young as I used to be. However, as every day passes, that is true for all of us. So when I thought about it that way, I felt a lot better about getting older.

Have you ever had muscles so sore that you just want to cry? Or walked or ran for so long that the next few days your first steps were identical to those of a baby giraffe? That hurts! Not only that, it hurts extra when you don’t know what exactly is hurting or why. Oh, and why does it always seem to be worse the second day after the incident? Ugh! For me it was a double whammy.

On Sunday, I thought I was going to be fun and ride my bike to work. Now, I haven’t ridden a bike in 25 years, easily. That is, if you don’t count the 5 minutes of being on a stationary bike at the gym. I’ve never truly owned a bike but I used to ride my friend’s bike often. Silly me, I bought into the whole “it’s like riding a bike” mentality, and thought I would just zoom down the expressway like I do in my car. HA!

Here I am pedaling and pedaling and feeling like I would be making the same traveling time if I were walking. I am beginning to get a little warm even though it’s 7:45 in the morning. I can feel the work out I am getting in my legs and I am okay with that. What I don’t realize is that this posture and the shock that my body is absorbing from the occasional bump is taking a toll on me without my even suspecting. I don’t know if it’s because I have bigger things to think about; such as why is my front wheel no longer aligned with my handle bars?; why has it taken me 20 minutes to get a mile and a half?; and why aren’t the gears shifting at all?

With this being my first bike ride in 20+ years, I was super tense about the trip already. What is one of the things that happen when you are tense? Well, when you are gripping or grabbing something, your strength is multiplied and your shoulders creep up closer to your ears. So thanks to that tenseness, I had my arms locked and instead of letting my arms bend to ease the shock, I let it all go into my shoulders. Also, as I have yet to master the “stand up on your pedals when you hit a bump”, (Ouch!) and I let my lower back take a beating by absorbing all the road to sidewalk transitions I rode through.

So the lesson here is to be sure to stretch before you do that bit of exercise regardless of how simple you think it may be. I failed to do so, and I have been paying for it these last two days. Thank Alieve for getting me through work on Monday. I felt like I was going to be sick when the pain waves hit me.

After stretching for a bit and always doing a little throughout the day things seem to be getting back to normal. We’ll see what tomorrow holds. Take care of yourselves my friends!

Have you forgotten to stretch before doing something that had this same result, like dancing all night at the club? Let me know. How did you handle it? Or maybe I am just being a big baby? What do you think?

♫ It’s the end of the world as we know it ♪

And I feel fine!

A few weeks ago I had a dream.

I LOVE scary movies. It doesn’t matter that I live in a constant state of fear, self induced of course. I am drawn to them like a moth is drawn to light. There’s something about getting scared that I find exciting. I know, I’m a weirdo.

Anyway, I have seen SO many scary movies, and some of them have been absolutely horrid, I’ll admit. But I love them and I am always in search of the next good scare. Now that you know that little tidbit of info, I shall continue with the story.

I dreamt that I was watching a movie with my favorite peeps, and it was a scary movie. I remember very distinctly my heart racing. Here’s the thing. This was like nothing that I have ever seen before. It wasn’t familiar in any way that I can recognize other than genre. It was SO scary that I told my friends to shut off the movie. I didn’t just say it once or twice, I kept repeating it over and over in a panic. It was as though I was in hysterics to get them to turn off the flick. I can’t recall any details of the movie itself, but I woke up terrified.

This incident brings me to the last two nights. I had more dreams these last two nights. In both dreams, I had in my hands scripts and several people who were excited about what we were looking at. I don’t remember what the pages said, but I remember seeing the page and it had the same format as one would see when reading a script for a musical.

I don’t have any clue what this is supposed to mean, but I have a nagging feeling that my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

What is the weirdest thing you’ve dreamt about? How did you interpret it?

If tomorrow is truly the end of the world, then I’ll be a bit disappointed that I didn’t do what I wanted to do. I would like to take a second and thank you all for taking the time to read this little blogity blog and if it’s all over tomorrow, see you on the flip side. On the other hand, if everything is business as usual as I am sure it will be, it’s a good thing I’ve still got some time left.

What do you want to complete before you’re out of time? Have you started on it yet? Well, you better get crackin’. If you’d like I will try and keep you motivated. Just let me know.

FINALLY…Broadway hits TV!! Sort of…

In light of the phenomenon that Glee has become, NBC decided that it should strike back with it’s own non-reality singing TV show.

SMASH (I think the title is shite) is dramedy about what it takes to make a Broadway show. It features some heavy hitters not only from television, but also from Broadway. People like the amazing Debra Messing (Will and Grace), the adorable Christian Borle (Emmet from Legally Blonde), Brian d’Arcy James (Burrs from Lippa’s Wild Party as well as Shrek), the gorgeous Anjelica Huston, and Jack Davenport, who I’ve been a fan of since BBC’s Coupling!

It features American Idol’s Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty as the two girls who are up for the role of playing the Icon Marilyn Monroe. I haven’t watched AI truly since the very first season, but I heard a lot of things about McPhee and some of them weren’t so good, but it seems that in this role she is going to shine. I was really impressed with the trailer and gleefully clapped my hands as I recognized the people mentioned above.

Here’s the trailer:

Here’s the downer: This is supposed to be a midseason replacement, sooooooo there’s going to be a big wait until this actually hits the small screen. HOWEVER, I do hope that all of you theatre buffs and Gleeks support this show with the same fervor that you reserve for watching Glee. It’s important to show the big networks that our community should be represented on television.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Success Formula…

H [I(O + C) (F + P)] + T + K= S

Opportunities and Chances are only part of how one creates Success.

One may argue that Opportunity and Chances are one and the same. I think they are slightly different. The best way I can explain why I think they are different is like this: A Chance is like an audition. You are going into this with the same likelihood of success as the next person. So, let’s say you now have the part. You have to take advantage of this Opportunity to grow it into another either Chance or Opportunity.

This must be coupled by Fearlessness and Passion so strong that they complement each other rather than get in each other’s way.

The ability to be vulnerable is where Fearlessness comes into play. In theatre, being able to be completely open and honest requires that one must shed all their “normal” defense behaviors and habits that one has acquired in order to develop the thick skin they need for this business. When you combine Passion to Fearlessness, it definitely makes becoming vulnerable so much easier. When you are so Passionate about what you do, you are willing to do anything you need to do in order to increase your Success rate. But note, there is a fine line with Passion and the chance of overstepping is high. Take care that you treat everyone with integrity and respect.

Now, once you multiply those factors together you have to take Inspiration and magnify those figures which then creates Confidence.

I can’t stress how important it is that when the feeling of Inspiration strikes, you should honor it and create something. It doesn’t matter what it is. I created this post after watching the video above. Something about Lady Gaga just makes me want to either write or sew. Or sing. Since writing requires less set up and material, I chose it over sewing and I sing along with whatever is playing. But like I said it doesn’t really matter. It could be a quick sketch on a napkin. I have a beautiful inked one that I bought for a dollar while at a karaoke bar. See?

0514111302 — If you do something like this, have the Artist sign it!

Once you have your confidence number, multiply that with Heart.

No is a word that artistic people hear all the time. It’s incredibly hard to constantly be judged in order to make your dreams come true. Heart is the thing that is going to keep you driven. Just like your heart is the organ that is vital in sustaining life in your body, your Heart is going to keep you fighting to obtain your dreams. So when your tired of being shot down for not being/believing/looking/loving like the mainstream thinks you should, let your Heart help you to keep going and reaching down even when you think you have scraped the bottom of your resources. This will also be the way to judge what is wrong and right for you.

Next, you take your answer and add Talent to the mix. Now Talent comes in varying degrees as does all things, but if you are lacking in one area, you can make up for it in O, C, F, or P. Clearly, not everyone out there is that successful is Talented. For good measure, make sure you do your homework, Knowledge, and learn as much about your vocation of choice as you can since it will only help you. All of this equals Success.

And I wish you much Success!!

Revenge of the 5th…Goodbye to a legend

It’s a sad, sad day on Broadway and the in the theatre community.

The Tony Award winning director and writer, the legend Arthur Laurents has passed away at 93 years young at heart. He died while sleeping.

He is the author of such great works as Gypsy and West Side Story. In light of his revival of WSS still selling great houses, he is featured in a magazine interview. Just over a year ago, Out Magazine had an interview with this amazing man and you can read it HERE. He is brutally honest, and actually quite funny in that honesty.

I was so happy when his latest production of “Gypsy” took home so many Tony’s especially when it came to the actors.

I was stunned to know that he was as old as he was. He was incredibly active and was still producing some fantastic work.

Dear Mr. Laurents,

In a world that is plagued by hatred and greed and corporations and bad politics, you were able to be yourself for nearly the 100 years you’ve walked the Earth. You were incredibly blessed that you found love, true love in a time when it was forbidden. I only hope that I will be able to stay in love for 52 years like you and Mr. Hatcher. I am so relieved that somewhere in the world two men were able to hold their home together for so long while the world went on.

Forever your fan,

Jery.