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mrdreamjeansMost of the company is headed out to a night of bowling, but I’ve cozied up in my room, had a bowl of chicken soup and a piece of pie and am watching a Golden Girls episode for the upteenth time. I like bowling from time to time, but I’m sure it will be smokey in the Bowling Alley, a late night and I may have to find a dentist early in the morning.
At lunch today in a local eatery, I was being good and having the soup and salad bar. I decided to have a cup of chili which was quite tasty... tasty that is, until what I thought was a chunk of beef, turned out to be a stone in chili seasonings. I bit into it, yelped, pulled it out of my mouth and stared at it in amazement. My fellow cast mate Chris was with me and was shocked. The stone was pea-sized with several sharp edges. The waitress brought the chef to the table.
Chef Janice explained that she makes the chili with dried beans and sometimes rocks get into the bag that the beans come in. She checks carefully for random pebbles, but sometimes one or two make it into a batch. She laughingly said, “I guess I missed one.” It wasn’t so funny to me, as I ran my tongue over the slightly jagged edge left on the back side of one of my front teeth. Nothing cracked or broken, but I think I should get it checked. The restaurant manager has offered to pay for a visit to a dentist and if I leave here before doing so, it might be more difficult to get the owners to pay once I leave Appleton. (ps.....I’ve kept the rock for a souvenir... :)
My Secret Santa gave me a fun gift tonight. It’s a figurine of a bear from a company called Bad Taste Bears. The bear is sitting on a vacuum cleaner with the nozzle attached to his...um...nether regions... well, you get the picture. I think I’ll call him Herbie Hoover:) The only gift I’ve seen so far that’s been funnier is a Jesus action figure one of the guys received from his Secret Santa last night. LOL!
We got a bad review from the local paper here. Most of the criticism was about our sound. Unfortunately, I think it was deserved. For about three weeks, Bradley (Che), Kathy (Eva) and many members of the ensemble have been complaining about the balance between the singers and the orchestra. The sound is so broad, the mix in our monitors is odd and not what the audience hears and sometimes, the synthesizers are overwhelming. It's hard to sing over and around all of that; lesser voices would be pitchy (not on pitch)! The review here flatly said that the sound was terrible on opening night.
The review, several emails and a few phone calls to the producers and artistic staff have served as a catalyst for change. The sound on stage took a quantum leap forward tonight. The audience was out of its seats and on its feet immediately, which is often a good indication that the audience understood the lyrics and enjoyed the show. Fingers crossed that the problems are being correctly identified and will be fixed before we leave here. In fairness to the sound guy, each theater has very different acoustics and I personally believe that a tour should never be reviewed the first night in a new city. It just makes sense. There are too many variables and sound is the last element of the production to get set up during a load-in.
I got a couple of wonderful letters in the mail tonight, both from friends in Seattle. One was a sadly unique holiday greeting. My friend David Earl lost his Mom on November 19. The greeting includes an original poem and a picture of David with his head on his Mom’s shoulder. It was obviously taken during her last days. The tenderness in the picture brought tears to my eyes. David is the friend I stayed with after I left the LJ Convergence Picnic on 9/11 and flew to the Emerald City.
The second letter may be my favorite gift for this holiday. My young friend Matt, who calls me his “Big Gay Uncle”, wrote me a hand-written four-page letter. It means so much to me that he took the time to write it. It’s full of his aspirations, his shyness in coming to terms with coming out of the closet at the age of 22 and the comfort and reassurance he gains from our friendship and my mentoring. One question stumps me. He asked me how one goes about finding a boyfriend. I’m not sure that I’m the best choice to answer his question. It's been awhile:) Bottom line - His words are loving and hopeful. What a wonderful present at Christmas time!
Tomorrow is a day to hit the ground running. If I need to see a dentist, I’ve got to do it early. I’ve got presents to mail off. I want to get in a few photos outside, though it’s to be 8 degrees as a high temperature for the day. I’m going to lunch with Mary and Phillip, the two other union deputies. We’re going to sit down with our company manager DeAnn and visit about how the tour’s going in terms of the management following union regulations and the terms of our contract. We’ll identify any areas of concern and/or improvements necessary. We’ll look at any issues that might come up from both perspectives while dining in an informal setting. If I have time afterward, I’m going to hit the Houdini museum ... at least in a museum, there won’t be a rock in my chili:) I hope!
At lunch today in a local eatery, I was being good and having the soup and salad bar. I decided to have a cup of chili which was quite tasty... tasty that is, until what I thought was a chunk of beef, turned out to be a stone in chili seasonings. I bit into it, yelped, pulled it out of my mouth and stared at it in amazement. My fellow cast mate Chris was with me and was shocked. The stone was pea-sized with several sharp edges. The waitress brought the chef to the table.
Chef Janice explained that she makes the chili with dried beans and sometimes rocks get into the bag that the beans come in. She checks carefully for random pebbles, but sometimes one or two make it into a batch. She laughingly said, “I guess I missed one.” It wasn’t so funny to me, as I ran my tongue over the slightly jagged edge left on the back side of one of my front teeth. Nothing cracked or broken, but I think I should get it checked. The restaurant manager has offered to pay for a visit to a dentist and if I leave here before doing so, it might be more difficult to get the owners to pay once I leave Appleton. (ps.....I’ve kept the rock for a souvenir... :)
My Secret Santa gave me a fun gift tonight. It’s a figurine of a bear from a company called Bad Taste Bears. The bear is sitting on a vacuum cleaner with the nozzle attached to his...um...nether regions... well, you get the picture. I think I’ll call him Herbie Hoover:) The only gift I’ve seen so far that’s been funnier is a Jesus action figure one of the guys received from his Secret Santa last night. LOL!
We got a bad review from the local paper here. Most of the criticism was about our sound. Unfortunately, I think it was deserved. For about three weeks, Bradley (Che), Kathy (Eva) and many members of the ensemble have been complaining about the balance between the singers and the orchestra. The sound is so broad, the mix in our monitors is odd and not what the audience hears and sometimes, the synthesizers are overwhelming. It's hard to sing over and around all of that; lesser voices would be pitchy (not on pitch)! The review here flatly said that the sound was terrible on opening night.
The review, several emails and a few phone calls to the producers and artistic staff have served as a catalyst for change. The sound on stage took a quantum leap forward tonight. The audience was out of its seats and on its feet immediately, which is often a good indication that the audience understood the lyrics and enjoyed the show. Fingers crossed that the problems are being correctly identified and will be fixed before we leave here. In fairness to the sound guy, each theater has very different acoustics and I personally believe that a tour should never be reviewed the first night in a new city. It just makes sense. There are too many variables and sound is the last element of the production to get set up during a load-in.
I got a couple of wonderful letters in the mail tonight, both from friends in Seattle. One was a sadly unique holiday greeting. My friend David Earl lost his Mom on November 19. The greeting includes an original poem and a picture of David with his head on his Mom’s shoulder. It was obviously taken during her last days. The tenderness in the picture brought tears to my eyes. David is the friend I stayed with after I left the LJ Convergence Picnic on 9/11 and flew to the Emerald City.
The second letter may be my favorite gift for this holiday. My young friend Matt, who calls me his “Big Gay Uncle”, wrote me a hand-written four-page letter. It means so much to me that he took the time to write it. It’s full of his aspirations, his shyness in coming to terms with coming out of the closet at the age of 22 and the comfort and reassurance he gains from our friendship and my mentoring. One question stumps me. He asked me how one goes about finding a boyfriend. I’m not sure that I’m the best choice to answer his question. It's been awhile:) Bottom line - His words are loving and hopeful. What a wonderful present at Christmas time!
Tomorrow is a day to hit the ground running. If I need to see a dentist, I’ve got to do it early. I’ve got presents to mail off. I want to get in a few photos outside, though it’s to be 8 degrees as a high temperature for the day. I’m going to lunch with Mary and Phillip, the two other union deputies. We’re going to sit down with our company manager DeAnn and visit about how the tour’s going in terms of the management following union regulations and the terms of our contract. We’ll identify any areas of concern and/or improvements necessary. We’ll look at any issues that might come up from both perspectives while dining in an informal setting. If I have time afterward, I’m going to hit the Houdini museum ... at least in a museum, there won’t be a rock in my chili:) I hope!
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Date: 2004-12-16 10:43 pm (UTC)My dad used to say to us boys "you're a hoover, you know why?? cause you suck!!!" He didn't know how close to the truth he really was.
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Date: 2004-12-16 11:31 pm (UTC)The secret Santa gift is hillarious, and cute.
Keep posting and we'll live vicariously through you! :-)
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Date: 2004-12-17 04:54 am (UTC)The boyfriend question??? I'm waiting for mine to find me. I've talked to a couple of guys who are actually desparate and depressed about being alone. I think one needs to find a happy medium. I think I have.