Christmas Eve Saga

As we all know, yesterday was Christmas Eve. Granted, I didn't hundred dollar bills would be falling from the sky or anything like that but I wasn't expecting the day to be quite so challenging.

It starts out well enough: a little breakfast, getting my gym and work clothes together, stuff like that. I was meeting Michelle at the gym so we could exchange gifts and have a little Christmas Eve cardio blast. I made Michelle her gift, some cranberry and orange infused vodka that I had put in a lovely glass jar, taped and wrapped in foil in order to prepare for the ride midtown (I didn't know if it would leak but certainly didn't want to find out). I get on the subway and I'm like a pack-mule: giant backpack, big purse, shopping bag with the aforementioned vodka inside. I put the shopping bag on the train floor so I can take off my backpack, the subway starts and the bag tips over. "Aaaaahhhhhhh!" is what's running through my head, so I pick it up quickly and decide not to worry about it since there's nothing I can do on the subway anyway. I get off the train (and did I mention it was raining?) and finally get to the gym. And that's when I notice the saggy bottom of the shopping bag. Luckily, I was at the gym and was able to clean it up, but the vodka had indeed spilled (not too much, but enough to be very messy and require a 15 minute clean-up job).

Fast forward, oh, two hours. I have now acquired a shopping bag that has my lunch inside. A salad. I have to go to my friend's house on the Upper East Side because I am house/cat/fish sitting for him. He has a persnickety lock on his apartment door, one that has to be cajoled gently in order to work. So, there I am, all my bags, etc. (luckily it's not raining anymore, so one less thing in my hands) cajoling the lock, when the tumbler comes out with the key, falls to the floor and breaks into ten pieces. Yipes! I start to worry about the cat and the fish (and wonder if the fish will be there when I can finally get into the apartment). I call my friend and tell him what's happening, and he instructs me to go the management office and they'll take care of it. I go to the management office and he's turning the broken tumbler over in his hands and asks me if I can stay until he fixes the lock. Nope, I inform him. I have to leave for work in twenty minutes. So, I leave my information with him, etc. This is a problem that will have to be fixed today.

Like I mentioned I was in a bit of a hurry because I had to go to work. So, I hop on the train and ride all the way downtown and get to work when, surprise! The door is locked. Insert Scooby sound here. I call the manager and she tells me, "Oh, it's a private event. You don't have to be there until 9:00." I check my watch. 6:00. I am downtown, 180 blocks from home. It's Christmas Eve. Even the crazy Meatpacking District where I work is starting to look a little sparse in terms of people. I find a Starbucks that is open until 8:00 (after two attempts), and sit there for two hours, then find a bar for another hour where I drink soda and bitters (I'm sure the bartender was THRILLED with me, but whatever. I left her ten bucks for a $3 drink), and then went to work, which was finally open.

Checking coats is thrilling. Honestly. You sit in a dim room and make fun of REALLY drunk people. Like last night, a girl fell. Like literally, just fell right on her butt in the hall. So, anyway, a guy comes to pick up his coat and his ticket number is 735, and he said, "Those are my lucky numbers!" "Good numbers, too, I say, 3, 5, and 7 are sequential and prime, too. That's pretty good." And I hear him say to his friend, "I'm surprised a coat check girl knows what prime numbers are." And as I'm handing his his coat, I say, "Yeah, and I know lots of big words, too."

I got off work at 4:00, that is a.m. I splurged on a cab ride home and as he was driving (does anyway remember that video game, Crazy Cab? That's what this ride was like), I was considering the messages of love I received yesterday from friends and family, the fact that though my day was indeed frustrating, I am blessed. I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas.

And now I have to get dressed to check in on the lock/cat/fish situation. Wish me luck!

Merry merry!

Thankfully Tom and Shane have a Christmas tree and all the trimmings. So, for fun, a friend and I put up the tree the other night (and truthfully, I needed his long limbs to get all the stuff out of the storage area). It was a fun night! I know it's no big deal compared to your big trees and years of accumulated decorations, but I think it's pretty darn cute and just the right size. And for those of you who don't know, I will not be heading to Utah for Christmas. I've decided to stay in town and earn money to pay bills. So send your well wishes to NYC! Hope you are all enjoying your holiday season!

A preemptive Thanksgiving gratitude check

I know the big day is still a couple of days away, but the next few weeks are going to be very busy for me, so I thought that I would acknowledge this day by posting the things that I am grateful for today. As some of you may know, I keep a gratitude journal. I write in it every day. So some of this is what I write every day, and some of it is not.

HIATT'S ANNUAL "WHAT I'M GRATEFUL FOR" LIST (in no particular order):

• My beautiful, loving family. Never will you find a mosaic made of so many different kinds of glass. And yet it makes a sparkling image, all of our colors contributing to the whole.
• My astoundingly talented, creative friends. I am so blessed to be surrounded with people that inspire me to be a better person, to strive to be more than the sum of my parts.
• Every struggle behind me and every obstacle in my path. I see you and I will overcome you.
• My jobs, though at times I hate them.
• Health, safety, a warm apartment, coats, food, umbrellas, rubber bands for my hair, my gym membership, gloves, hats, scarves.
• BOOTS!!!
• Books. I am grateful for the time it passes, the lessons they teach, the different worlds within my view, if even for the duration of my subway ride.

And as we all contemplate moving into the holiday season, as we partake of food lovingly prepared for us by our families, or by workers, I am trying to remind myself that I do not sleep on a subway grate. I have more food than I could really ever need. My problems, though at times I feel that they will consume me, are the problems of the few.

So, as I eat my pumpkin pie (which is really the only thing I want on Thanksgiving, and minus the crust, of course, because really, the crust ruins a perfectly good pie) I will think of all of you that I am not seeing, and I want you to know that I am grateful for you because you have composed a part of me.

Happy day!

Timshel

I have been inspired by my siblings lately to put my thoughts in coherent order. On the one hand is Juli, whose opinions are well-researched and surprisingly diverse. On the other hand is Jarrod, who is navigating by instinct which is not a bad thing. Instincts are good to have for they act in our own perceived needs for self-preservation and also color our outlook on the world. Politics are interesting in that they seem to bring our passions and convictions to the surface, and I for one am grateful to use this blog as a forum to teach each other.

Perhaps you are wondering what the title of this blog means. It is from the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck, a book that contemplates the ramifications that our personal actions make. Read it, by the way, if you never have. Though the Grapes of Wrath is more popular, I believe this book has more to say about the human spirit, which brings us back to the word above, Timshel. In the book it means "Thou Mayest." This is what Jarrod wrote in my comment space (and please, this is not meant as an offense to me, but merely acted as a catalyst).

"If Obama is the one that inspires you and holds your best interests in mind than you seriously should consider different interests. He associates with known terrorists, he has defended a group that has participated in voter fraud, his pastor and "mentor" for more than 20 years has called America the U.S of KKK A. His wife has said that she has never been proud of America until now."

I could argue contrarily about this in a million different ways, but I won't because I believe ultimately in Timshel, or "Thou Mayest." In the novel, Lee, the Chinese servant and sage, and Samuel Hamilton, the man who never ceases to be curious and question the reasons for life are arguing about different translations of the bible. Instead of "Thou Shalt," which of course means "you must," the Hebrew word is Timshel. "Thou Mayest." It is much more powerful, and it goes back to the notion of free agency, or free will. This word is extremely powerful. It leaves our choice to do good or evil up to us. It allows us the leeway to explore both the dark and enlightened corners of our souls.

In a political season highlighted by misinformation, media saturation and candidate overexposure, I am going to exercise Timshel and allow people I disagree with to do that, too. We believe, we love, we hate for reasons that will never be explicable to someone other than us, and perhaps not even then.

So Timshel, friends, and exercise your free will, because that is our univeral gift.

Why I feel sorry for John McCain

From dictionary.com I pasted the following definition:
hu·man·ist

1.	a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.

2.	a person devoted to or versed in the humanities.

3.	a student of human nature or affairs.

4.	a classical scholar.

5.	(sometimes initial capital letter) any one of the scholars of the Renaissance who pursued and disseminated the study and understanding of the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece, and emphasized secular, individualistic, and critical thought.

6.	(sometimes initial capital letter) a person who follows a form of scientific or philosophical humanism.

The reasons I feel sorry for John McCain are mostly related to definition #1. After watching the debate tonight, I feel that John McCain has lost his dignity. Granted, it was slipping out of his grasp weeks ago, and he likely has Karl Rove-like minions prying it from his fists. I feel that John McCain is an honorable man, one who has served his country amazingly and was put through five years of what could only be worse than hell. I feel, however, that his time in the Hanoi Hilton changed him. Formed him. Drives him. My BA in acting has taught me a few things about how humans operate, and we all know the meaning of text vs. subtext. The text is, of course, the words that you say. The subtext of course, is what drives the meaning of the words. When someone asks you if you're okay and you say in that short, exasperated or forlorn way "Nothing," then we know that something is wrong. We all do it, every day. McCain really, really wants you to like him. He said as much in his concluding statement this evening. Of course, I am paraphrasing, but "my friends, I'm from a long line of McCain's who have served this country and I've been here a long time and I want to do it some more," is not enough to make me consider his policies. In fact, it is the very thing that made me sad for him. Here was the subtext for me (and this is the great thing about art, because all of it is subjective. We likely saw some very different debates tonight simply because we saw them through different eyes): I was shot down in Vietnam and spent five years as a POW. I have earned my way, through my military, familial, and financial connections. I have been a Maverick because I never really thought that I would actually get nominated for president, and now that I am, I have to do what the Republican architects tell me to do. I have sold my authenticity in the hopes that you'll buy me.

The fact of the matter is, at one point in my existence, albeit many years ago, I actually admired John McCain, rabble-rouser from AZ. Back when the Straight Talk Express seemed like a political beacon, before he was being groomed for the presidency. It's like someone has smothered him. The grimace, the calculated laugh through clenched teeth, the skin cancer surgery scars running longwise down his face; all of this concerns me. Sarah Palin, should John McCain win and pass away in office, would be the U.S.'s greatest mistake and go down as our greatest folly, even surpassing Dick Cheney and Rummy.

Now to be fair, I feel sorry for Hillary Clinton, too. She and McCain are in the same boat. Both have been in politics for decades, with long careers, many successes and failures, more experience than Bushie 2, Obama, and Palin combined. Hillary REALLY wanted you to like her, too. She is the not-so-pretty girl who wants to be the prom queen. Oh, and guess who is? That's right...my favorite, Sarah Palin. The classic story of the girl who really deserves it being bested by the skinny girl with better hair. By the way, The New York Times the other day posted side by side statistics of presidential races and those who won or lost based upon, of all things, their height. Something like 8 of 10 times the taller candidate won. So I suppose we could posit the same theory for women, since women generally value beauty the way men value height. Sarah wins (even though she really does need new hair).

I would like to give my parents great credit for not requiring us to lean one way or another politically. Dad is saying, election after election, "I don't like either one of them." But here's the difference for me this year, a difference that was highlighted by the lackluster performances of John Kerry and Al Gore: Barack Obama inspires me. His words make me think about volunteering, about teaching, about doing my part for my community. When John McCain talks, I find myself staring rudely at his gesticulating arms. All I can think about is how that poor guy will never be able to raise his arms above his shoulders because he broke both his arms being shot down and they never healed properly. That's why I know that his wounds, his isolation in prison are the things that drive him. I don't want a man mired in the nightmare of his past laying the groundwork for my future.

Mad. Madmadmadmadmadmad!!!!!!!!!!

As most of you know, the study of science has never been my strong suit. I am fascinated by it, but I do not understand how it works. So in tenth grade I decided to take what I thought would be the easy road and take Environmental Science. I would like to thank Mr. Richins for my current fascination and worry with global warming, acid rain, recycling, the extinction of the Polar Bear, the percentage of landfills taken up by disposable diapers, the National Geographic Channel, etc.

I had the opportunity to visit an aquarium, dumpy though it was, in Manhattan Beach, CA. They had on their wall a display of several different types of containers: Plastic, styrofoam, tin cans, aluminum cans, and plastic bags. A quick double check on Wiki lists the biodegradable time of the following items: Tin cans at 50-100 years, aluminum cans at 200-500 years, plastic bottles at 70-450 years, and styrofoam will never leave this planet. Ever. So I don't think any of you will find it difficult to imagine me pulling my hair out when Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice President poked some vitriolic fun at the Obama campaign by saying "after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet" he will raise your taxes (I think is how that sentence was concluded). This was followed by the largely white and obese crowd yelling "Drill, baby drill." My other favorite barb of the night had to do with the people at the DNC "hauling back their environmentally safe styrofoam to some Hollywood studio." This insult is, of course, two fold. The first part of the jab is belittling people who are interested in "environmentally safe styrofoam." The second part is, of course, the same old Elephant wail to hate everyone in Hollywood.

I dislike Sarah Palin for several reasons, the least of which is barb-filled environmentally obtuse speech. I take that back. In a sense I feel sorry for her. She came into this nomination so late and so unexpectedly that she probably didn't get to offer up any of her own opinions and got to recite a speech written for her by Bushie 2's former speech writer. But back to why I am so upset by her and her stances:

• She is a proponent of abstinence only sex education. Her 17 year old daughter is pregnant out of wedlock. She vetoed money in her state that would help single mothers. If Obama's daughter was pregnant, the Evangelicals would be all over that, claiming immoral family values, and the dangers of teaching valid sex-ed, because knowledge is power. If you understand sex you'll want to do it all the time! It is the epitome of so-called "moral" hypocrisy.
  
• She has a four month old son named Trig who has Down's Syndrome. I am all for working mothers. It is nearly impossible for any family now to make it on anything less than two incomes. As one Evangelical woman said in an interview in the New York Times, "Sarah Palin is running for Vice President with a pregnant daughter and a four month old son with Down's Syndrome. Not my set of values." Another example of conservative hypocrisy at work. Thank heaven, though, that if Sarah Palin wins she will have a team of nannies, tutors, cooks, etc. to raise her children while she is out looking for new places to drill. Meanwhile, you and I go to work as waitresses, teachers, laborers and try to scrounge up money to pay a babysitter so we can go to a Friday night movie.
  
• I am upset by the pro-life wing singing the praises of Sarah Palin for not aborting her son when she discovered while still in vitro that he had Down's Syndrome. Because, as we all know, every woman who is pro-choice and becomes pregnant with a special needs baby aborts it immediately.
• Her energy plans are preposterous. "Yes," she exclaims, "There's plenty of energy on the North Slope of Alaska!" Let's extract it, drill it, thump it, drain it completely dry. The "alternative methods" of energy were practically an afterthought in her speech. Wind, solar, biothermal, water. We need them all. We ABSOLUTELY need to end our dependence on foreign oil. But we can't do it by drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. It will not sate our appetites but for a moment. We must learn to do without it. It's like french fries, people. They're a treat, not a food group. And as we all know from our spiraling obesity rates, Americans love French fries.

I believe in morality of all kinds. We should be good people; we should honor our families, our loved ones, our land, our bodies. And I will not be told that I am an immoral person for believing that a woman should have a choice about her unborn baby, for believing that the Federal Minimum Wage of $6.55 is woefully inadequate, for believing that thumper trucks should not be allowed to search for oil on soil that takes 300 years to regenerate, for poisioning our food supply with insecticides.

And after this rant, I can absolutely promise you this: I recycle to the best of my ability. I eat organic, unprocessed foods. I drive fuel-effecient cars when I do drive. I do not judge you if you don't, because I understand that life is complicated, busy, and hard. Some cities do not even offer recycling. The self-interests of corporations make it hard to do the right thing. But let's not continue to promulgate this cycle of waste and pollution by putting people like McCain and Palin in the White House. Let's take a chance on someone who can get us back to the Kyoto Protocol, who can hopefully build the U.S. image in a positive light for the rest of the world to behold. Because they do look up to us, whether they want to or not, they do.

M and D on the right coast (as in east, not incorrect)

As you all know, I took a trip down to MD to see the parental units. I got there in the later part of the evening, just in time to wish Mom a Happy Birthday, watch some Shark Week, and then go to bed. It was a fun trip. Too short for me, but fun. I did make B take me for a hike, which was lovely. And I got some good pics of Em and the rents. My favorite part of the trip was sitting on the front steps with E in the relative cool of the evening. We read together; she Nancy Drew, me National Geographic. She is an excellent reader and I think we must have looked straight out of Norman Rockwell or some other terribly domestic picket fency kind of mag. Very fun.

Big fat nothing

I am sad to report that nothing exciting is going on, especially on the career front. Well, on second thought I guess that's not entirely true. My good friend Q from my Southern Utah days dragged me onto Facebook. I don't know if you all know this story, but my sophomore year at SUU I lived in a house with seven other girls. We became known in the theatre community as the PMS house because you women know the story; we all dragged each other onto one another's cycles, therefore, in theory, we would all be PMSing at the same time. Since we were all clever, we decided that we would call ourselves Pi Mu Sigma, thereby creating our own little sorority. It has been such a ridiculous pleasure to be in touch with all of these women again, most of whom I haven't seen since leaving Cedar City in 1993.

I have been crazy busy at work. One of the girls quit, so last week and this week have been in overtime territory. I am also caring for a friend's cat and taking his job as a personal assistant for a couple of weeks while he makes the western rounds (an old friend of mine from WSU, hitting Vegas, Layton, and Jackson Hole, poor guy). I have no time.

I do have some things to look forward to: I am headed down to MD to visit Mom, Dad, Bry, Starr, and Emmy for a couple of days. I also got to take a very quick trip to Philly to see a friend of mine (again, fellow Utahn, representing!) in the national tour of Mamma Mia. He was great! He plays Sky and is the best part of the show. Go see it if it ends up in your neck of the woods. You will especially enjoy the mega-mix at the end. I love me a good mega-mix. I am undeniably biased, but I really enjoyed his performance (shout-out to GH, you know you're a rock star).

That's about it. No auditions happening, just cat petting, laundry doing, and reservation taking. Fun.

4th of July

This past July 4th was the first 4th I've had in years where I wasn't working or doing a show. My friend Michelle has a cute little apartment in Jersey just on the other side of the Hudson with great Manhattan views. They also have a cute little backyard and two adorable doggies, who were wearing their dress-up outfits when we arrived for the BBQ. Victor went all out (and he is a graduate of the American Culinary Institute so he does NOT mess around) and they had a great turn-out. We had a great time. The fireworks however, were a little anticlimatic. We could see across the river to the shows in Manhattan, but it was rainy, sticky, and therefore, not thrilling. But here are some pics.
This is Michelle, me and Rachel. We are book club buddies. And below is what was happening as the fireworks were going on. As you can see, raining. I hope you all had a great 4th!

Prayers for people who lose things

Sometimes we lose things: People, love, pets, our favorite necklace, wedding rings down bathroom drains. I remember one time dropping my wedding ring down the bathroom drain accidentally and the sense of panic and the onset of complete nausea as I watched something precious disappear. It was palpable, a tinny taste in my throat and mouth.

It's no secret that we are all going to die. We don't know when or how, yet we know that it will happen. Sometimes I wonder if it's a blessing of sorts to be diagnosed with something like terminal cancer. You and your family know that the day is soon. You set your house in order, tell everyone you know that they are loved and held so esteemed. And we, the people who get to watch the dying learn compassion, faith, hope. We get to decide ahead of time how we are going to handle someone we love leaving this sphere and being in the hereafter, whatever that may be for you.

So I would like to acknowledge the people who have passed who may be precious to me or precious to people I know. I cannot empathize with your suffering and anguish but I hope that you can teach me compassion.

Ruben O., who lost his 8 year old daughter to cancer. Wade-o, who moved to Canada to be close to his father as he fights Multiple Myeloma. My roomie Tom who lost a friend to Leukemia. Sweet baby sis Boo, who lost her MIL just yesterday to cancer. Her husband loses his mother, her FIL his wife, his true love, we hope. My roomie Shane lost his brother Scott to a car accident as he was driving to pick up his first date. I have two friends suffering HIV. My friend S has a friend who lost both of her sons; one to murder and the other to cancer. A theatre associate and friend of mine overdosed on morphine. He was 20. I sang a song from Peter Pan at his funeral. It's a song about a boy who will never grow old. My friend Shannon, all of 20, died in a head-on collision with a semi-truck in rural Wyoming. The kicker: she was on her way home after traveling to see me in a show.

These are the things that are on the top of my head. I could think of more if I dug further into my past, but none of this will bring them back to us. I just want to know, somehow, that there is method to this madness. Stock religious answers don't satisfy me. So I will try to comfort myself with the thought that I have right here, right now to love people. I KNOW beyond a doubt that I am flawed in this and every other aspect of my life. But I am learning. I hope that I always continue to learn.

Should I ever wear a wedding band again and if that thing should go down the drain, I will remember that it is just a thing; a symbol but still a thing. Instead of panicking, I will grab that man, hold him tight and know that losing the symbol does not make our love any less real.

Ode to Pops

Since I'm here in the NYC and can't be there for Father's Day, I thought that I would type a top-ten list for the old guy. You know, the Dad top 10. So here are my top-ten favorite things about Dad, in no particular order:

1. Dad, you are inseparable from that damn lawn mower. It cracks me up to no end.
2. You can't fault a man for liking malt balls and Dr. Pepper.
3. You did buy me chocolate soda and proved, once and for all, that I will not drink just anything with caffeine in it.
4. You took time out of your day to walk sweet Yeti when Wade and I were unable to.
5. You wouldn't come see Dracula because you were too scared. Awwww...kinda sweet.
6. You helped me research all those airplanes when I did A Place in the Sky. Remember those days at the Air Force Museum and library?
7. You always squint one eye when you brush your hair. The left one, I think.
8. You are one stubborn son of a bitch.
9. You are partially made of metal.
10. You were my soccer coach and you let us dump water on your head all the time. That's nice.

Now, so Mom won't feel left out and since I didn't think of this until today, thereby completely missing Mother's Day, I better put one up for Mom, too.

1. Remember back in the day when you used to buy me underwear? Very sweet.
2. You always fold laundry into perfect little piles.
3. You make your shoes shiny white so they'll always look pretty and new.
4. You take care of all the little babies; your grandkids and others.
5. Your nostrils flare when you laugh really hard (an oldie, but a goodie).
6. You are fighting age like a warrior. I love it!
7. You don't wear old lady clothes.
8. You let dad ride around on his lawn mower all day.
9. When I didn't get into the special choir in 9th grade, you let me check out of school, come home and cry.
10. You wouldn't let me dye my hair black.

And here's what I admire the most about Mom and Dad as a twosome: They love eachother. Fiercely, adamantly. They don't judge anybody. They love their family as much as their hearts can pour out. So Happy Father's Day, Pops, and Happy Belated Mother's Day, Mom. Enjoy your grilling!

Birthday party fun!

So last night was my birthday party! It ended being kind of strange because the party was combined with Ariel from Mermaid. And that's me above with Michelle, the only Mermaid that counts. But there were a ton of people there, only some of whom I knew, but my half of the rented area was the cool kid half, and we had a great time!
These are my good friends Kraig and Jeremy. Two of the most talented men you will ever meet. Jeremy is currently in Phantom on the Bway and Kraig has won two Barrymore Awards, a very prestigious theatre award.

My sweet roomies, Tom and Shane. Shane is the Associate Choreographer for The Grinch on Bway and is likely headed back to Bway as an actor in an upcoming production. Tom has created classes and workshops for Vassar and is a very successful actor as well. He is headed to grad school in the fall. I will miss him.
These are three of my Producer boys who came out for the fun! From left to right: Leo Bloom, the lead tenor who sang Springtime for Hitler, and Carmen Ghia. All ridiculously talented men and good friends.
And this is me; laughing! I had such an amazing time and felt so blessed to have so many people come to celebrate my birthday!

Fun in NYC

I got to do something fun yesterday! If you go all the way downtown, you can walk across the Brooklyn Bridge! It's actually pretty cool, beautiful views of midtown and the east river. You can even see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
And this picture is at this really cute park right by City Hall, which is very cool as well.
My big birthday party is tomorrow night. I have a lot of friends coming and the party is going to be accidentally combined with Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Lots of bway peeps at this shindig, but I will post pics of that as well!

Hiking to do!

I didn't get a chance to head south as I had hoped, so I decided to spend my week between dental treatments soaking in the SLC sun. As it happened, this has been the nicest and warmest weather since my late March arrival (and truthfully, with my show and rehearsal schedule, I couldn't quite find the energy to hike as I would have liked). So, I have spent several days in Millcreek Canyon and one in Mueller Park. There has been so much snow that there's also some lovely waterfalls, especially in Millcreek.


And now it's back to NYC and no..."hiking" in Central Park DOES NOT COUNT! Who thought that it could? Those elitist easterners who pronounce Alta as "All-tah." What a bunch of posers. And that's from the people who have actually skied it. Or so they say.
And my dental work is almost complete. I have one last trip to the dentist tomorrow to discuss this whole crown business. I heard something about having to file my tooth down to a nub and get fitted, etc. I have to leave town on Tuesday and I don't want to have my tooth filed down in a cannibal-like fashion. We shall see. I'm skeptical...

Car for sell!

I am selling my car! 2005 Nissan Sentra. Really cute, clean, excellent condition inside and out! Great gas mileage (cheers to 31 mpg around town). Cheap to insure, keyless entry, A/C that I never use since I'm one of those damn hippies ("I like the free, fresh wind in my hair, life without care..." Can anyone name that song?). Please buy it from me so I cannot have anxiety thinking about my car parked in my parent's driveway while I take the NYC subway. If you are interested or know anyone that is interested, post a comment!

Wow! Really?

For those of you who have hesitated to get your dental work done, let me give you this piece of advice: DON'T!!! Some of you know this story, but for those of you who don't, it's loads of fun.

Last week I had a bit of a toothache. Not too bad, just a little pressure. Over the days, however, it grew progressively worse. Like, bad. Like, "I cannot chew, my cheek is going to explode, I hate my life" kind of pain. I woke up last Monday and it looked like I had a golf ball in my cheek. Fortunately, I had just purchased one of those discount dental plans, anticipating that I would have to get some dental work done. However, the plan would not be activated until May 1st. Serious panic sets in as I think about that Discovery Channel show that did a mummy autopsy. They discovered that the mummy had died from an abscessed tooth! Aaaaaaahhhhhh! So I called a dentist who was in my network. The company, dental select, was kind enough to backdate my plan to April 1st so I could see the dentist before May 1st. So, he numbs me up and does a pulpotomy, which is basically digging all the crap out and making me ache free. I still have to finish the root canal and then get a crown. It is going to cost me over $1000 out of pocket. Sigh.

But there have been many good things, one of which included a stint on The Radio from Hell Show. For those of you who listen to x96 (96.3 on the F.M. dial), I spent last Wednesday as a member of the extremely popular morning show. I had a blast! Kevin also came in for the first hour and got to meet the DJ's. Very fun. You can go to x96.com and listen to the April 30th podcast. You can hear me talking with them and basically having a good time.
That's us above. They said that when I come into town to call them, so hopefully I'll be able to go back on again. Thanks to all of you who listened!

Little old Lady Land

I'm not avoiding any of you, I promise. I am in rehearsal so I may as well be out of the country. For those of you know the Producers, there is this number in the show where a bunch of little old ladies come out and do a dance with walkers, and I promise you, no little old lady could do it. It's pretty demanding, actually. Anyway, today we were learning the number, and we were all on the ground learning this domino-like fall (which eventually got cut). I was sitting on the ground but the gentleman next to me, the dance captain, was standing up. He grabbed his walker, turned around, and BAM! Smashed me right in the nose with the leg of his walker. I covered my face like Marcia Brady when she gets hit in the nose with the football, exhaled, and started crying like a little girl. Waaaahhhh. But they are all over it there. Stage management had an ice pack out and Ibufrofin ready to go in about ten seconds flat. I looked up and the choreographer, director, and stage manager were circled around me. I felt very taken care of, which is great.

We open on April 25th, so try to come and see the show. I really think you all would laugh (although it's not for the young. JSYK).

I love to work out, but...

This past Tuesday and Wednesday I spent basically two full days doing nothing but exercising. I love to work out, but for two days...needless to say, my legs aren't as young as they used to be. But it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot about the fitness industry and the production of fitness DVD's. It was a very eye-opening experience. Here is a picture of us with the host of the DVD and the spokeswoman for the Idaho Potato, Denise Austin.

And the picture below is with us (Denise's "dance team") and the choreographer Lisa. She is a Reebok Master Trainer and has danced with many dance companies. She is not playing around, and I promise you, this DVD never would have happened without her.

And here is me in the make-up chair. Everyone on the production was wonderful, from the make-up, hair, and stylists, to the beautiful and talented women that were on the production with me. The big bonus: Paid at the end of the day!
They said it will be released in September or October, so let's all get together and eat pizza and popcorn while we watch it!

Worst day ever

Pertinent points:

1. If you accidentally leave your bank card at Kinko's and some loser butthole discovers it, they will completely drain your bank account.
2. Your bank (Wamu) will have absolutely no sympathy and tell you "sorry, Charlie."
3. You will live in the nethermost regions of Manhattan, where the train runs sporadically on the weekends due to construction, and you will spend 3 1/2 hours of your day on various modes of transportation with the crazy homeless guy who kicks garbage cans, smells of urine, and then, OF COURSE, sits next to you on the train.
4. You will take every wrong train possible and end up in Spanish Harlem.
5. You will consider very seriously taking a cab until you realize that your bank account is completely empty thanks to #1 and that the coat check money you earned tonight is your ONLY source of income.

On the upside:
1. Kinko's seemed pretty nice and said they would refund my money.
2. One of the cooks at work sent out an "all raw" dinner for me because he knew I'd had a bad day.
3. I shoot my DVD on Tuesday and Wednesday and meet with some commercial casting directors tomorrow, so that's good.

Sigh.

Hazzah!

Here's some good news: I booked a fitness DVD! You will see me exercising on DVD sometime in the near future. And it pays pretty well, so there you go. A little bit of good news for the folks back home. Who knew that all this working out would pay off? Literally?

Why I heart NY

Okay, there are many reasons why NYC is cooler than LA (which I don't really have to iterate for those of you who have any common sense or taste).

My top ten list:
1. Two days ago I saw a man walking down 8th Avenue at 57th street (very busy) with a cat perched atop his head. All four little paws, just sitting there.
2. Yesterday in Barnes and Noble at 66th Street and Columbus (just across the street from the Mormon Temple) I had two youngish people ask me if I wanted to take a survey about the concept of a Heavenly Mother. I pointed to the church across the street and said, "Why don't you go over there and ask them."
3. Everyone here knows me. At auditions all the casting people say to me, "Don't I know you?" I'm always like, "um...yeah!"
4. The men who work out at my gym who look so 'roided out that they should go before the committee investigating steroid abuse instead of Roger Clemens.
5. I went into a coffee shop to purchase a beverage and realized too late that they didn't accept debit. Just cash. The gentleman asked me if I was frequently in the neighborhood and when I told him yes said that I could just pay for it next time.
6. A lady prevented me from getting on a subway car because she said that there was a crazy man in there who was making the women very uncomfortable. I missed the train but didn't get harrassed. Nice trade-off.
7. My book club, currently reading Lolita and Reading Lolita in Tehran.
8. The eighth floor of the Marriott Marquis, where they have a Starbucks and plenty of room to take a load off. Mighty thanks for the tip to GH, rock star.
9. Lookadoo and the words "nut sack" and "merms."
10. My boss at work who sings all the songs from Sunday in the Park with George.

Things are looking up.....

Anyone know what musical that song is from? It's a Gershwin tune, I'll give you that much of a hint, and since the same Gershwin songs have a tendency to be in a bunch of their musicals, your chances of guessing are pretty good....Bueller? Bueller?

So, there's good news since I've been in the NYC. I got in touch with an agency I did some print for before I left for LA. I emailed her some of Keli's pics, and "of course I want to work with you! Bring pictures to my office and we'll get you working!" So that's great. And I finally saw the trailer for my film, National Lampoon's Bag Boy. Not to be sent straight to DVD, it opens in theatres on February 29th. I am in the trailer, albeit very briefly, but you can see a flash of red hair. I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie. Go to bagboythemovie.com and you can see the trailer.

And I have been working like a dog. Seriously. My restaurant loves me. I've only been there a couple of weeks, but they had me training a new girl (talk about the blind leading the blind. I seriously couldn't remember anything....that poor girl). But they've got me working pretty much full-time and I'm grateful for the dough.

I signed up for a soap class this weekend. It's like a workshop, where you work with copy and do scenes from soaps overseen by the casting director of a very famous soap opera. He gives critique of your skills and your marketability in the soap world. So I am planning on showing up to this thing ready to work! I wanna book me a soap, so keep me in your thoughts this weekend as I try to impress the soap opera gods.

What else did I want to tell you? I booked The Producers at PTC, so I am headed back west at the end of March. If you want to see me as a showgirl wearing a giant sausage, this is your chance.

Oh, and Happy VD...one of my least favorite holidays, right underneath "pull my fingernails off slowly day."

I promised

I promised Keli that I would apologize to all of you who saw the pictures below in their un-photoshopped states. I think they look beautiful, but I'm no photog, and apparently I was wrong about their loveliness. The photo above has been photoshopped, and it is even lovelier than the original. So, thank you Keli, for taking the time to make this picture even more fabulous. Check out some photoshopped versions of the photos at www.photographybykeli.blogspot.com.

Shameless plug

As the title above suggests, this is a shameless plug for my sister Keli and her business, photography by Keli. She does a great job. I've picked some of my favorites, and none of these have been photoshopped. So, if you happen to stop by this blog and need a photog, check out her website, photoraphybykeli.com. She's awesome! Thank you, Keli, for a fun and productive day!

HIGHLARIOUS!

I know that's not how you spell hilarious, but since the following is definitely heightened, I wanted to give extra emphasis to the HIGH part. My sister S put together this picture CD of everyone with millions of pics on it, most of which (at least of me) I wish had never happened.

But to show you all that I actually do have a sense of humor, I have decided to post the most humiliating pictures, because I figure if they make me laugh out loud, then if you are feeling sad and blue, you can check out my page and say, "Oh my, the 80's were mean."

This is me, as a wee little babe. Mom probably didn't know, but lavender is considered THEE Gemini color. That and yellow.

This is, by far, the worst picture I've ever taken. It was the one occasion the whole time I wore braces that I actually smiled for a picture. This is reason enough to not succumb to peer pressure. Or lame ass photographer pressure. Yikes.

And this, my friends, is why I call this posting HIGHLARIOUS!!! See, that hair? Do you know how many bottles of Rave extra stiff were used to create that wave? I'm pretty sure I wore this to the Depeche Mode concert in 1987, opening act was OMD. "If you leave, don't leave now, please don't take my heart away." Aaaahhh, good times.

And this picture was taken about 1 1 1/2 years ago. See, there is hope, I guess, although I can't seem to escape the suit jacket theme...and I don't have a white hankie sticking out and a grandma brooch. Did all of you know that in junior high I was voted most likely to become the next Molly Ringwald? Pretty dubious distinction, especially considering that she really is a horrible actress. But she does speak french beautifully, and she guest starred on Medium somewhat recently, and hell yeah...I'd have one of those!