Spice, Proof and an unfortunate Germ or two...

This weekend was to be a little holiday for me.  My sister came to town on Friday so I took the day off work to go get her from the airport and get some visiting in.  Of course, the weather has been crap so a normally 45 minutes drive to the airport took an hour and a half.  I left plenty early so that was alright and the drive back meant for more visiting so that was all cool. I had, however, woken up with a scratchy throat and low-grade headache which did not bode well for the weekend... Good thing my husband is a pharmacist.  I medicated and hoped adrenalin and positivity would carry me through the weekend!

We took in Wannabe (Spice Girls Tribute Band) at the Citadel Club that night which was so much ridiculous fun.  We were joined by friends Kim and Cliff and enjoyed much chair dancing and singing a long to the tunes we guiltily knew all the lyrics to.  Cliff provided the biggest moment of entertainment however when he and a couple of other guys jumped onstage during the encore and he recreated the splash moment from Flashdance.  It was hysterical!  A fun night and my medicine managed to carry me through it alright. It was also great to see the house so packed.  The Club is a fabulous space for shows and I am so looking forward to Hawksley Workman in January for The God That Comes. 

Saturday I was supposed to do some shopping but instead I slept in and left my sister to go off shopping with my mom and brother.  I think I needed the sleep and that night we had dinner with more family before the Closing Night of Proof. It was nice to have our biggest house for the Close and share the play with so many friends and family.  Everyone seemed really impressed with the show so I was gratified that the hard work paid off.  We then had a relatively quick strike of set and theatre clean and then a nice potluck party where we enjoyed no-pasta pasta and square root vegetables and other yummy treats.  My ongoing sickness meant I wasn't going to be able to stay too late, but it was a nice wrap up to a wonderful theatrical journey.  I was so pleased with everyone on the team and in the cast.  I hope to be able to work with them all again!

Sunday the cold kicked into high gear.  I missed breakfast with the family and slept quite late.  I also missed a baby shower for a good friend but sent the gift on without me and my germs.  You do not bring germs to an 8 month pregnant lady.  You just don't...

And the cold continues... I missed work on Monday - did some work from home (was actually impressed with how much I could do from home - this Internet thing is pretty cool!), but slept a lot and medicated a lot.  I made it in today because the low grade headache seemed to be abated, but still left a little early when the productivity seemed to drop off.  I am hoping for even better tomorrow.  I have a long day tomorrow as it is Christmas Concert time for Gibson at his school.  I'm trying to get caught up with Christmas prep - a little baking, a little cleaning, bought a turkey, did some of my cards and some of my shopping - but I have a ways to go and if I don't get back to 100% soon, I am not going to be ready! Wish me luck and good health, please!

Anyhow, there are a few great theatre opportunities for you all this holiday season - The Snow Globe Festival is in it's third year, A Christmas Carol at the Citadel has a week left in it's run, With Bells On at Theatre Network is on, The Best Little Newfoundland Christmas Pageant Ever is at the Varscona and Grindstone Theatre is a having a special Christmas 11 O'clock Number. So there is a lot to see this week.  It seems to quiet down over the actual holiday, but this week is packed with things to do and see!

Illness Strikes... Not Fun...

I am sick.  Gibson is sick.  It is not fun.  I am hoping that I am over the worst of it by tomorrow because I have some stuff I want to do - Fringe related stuff. I do not want to be sitting in a Medicentre for a couple of hours so hopefully this clears up for the both of us. One can hope.

All I can say is that I am glad I am not in a Fringe show.  I cannot imagine dealing with this flu/cold thing and be going through tech.  I hope all the Fringe participants are healthy and not achy like me and Gibson!

What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?

The last few weeks have felt very strange to me. I have been sick, that hasn't helped, but I have also been in a weird kind of funk about what my focus is right now. Because the last two years I had a purpose and artistic vision through Walterdale, now that my term as AD is complete I am realizing I need to find that same kind of purpose for my own life, but I am not sure how. I know I need to really focus on my writing, but I am not spending the time I should on that. There are other personal things I need to be doing with regards to my health, but I am not spending the time I should on that, either (being sick has not helped there). I feel stretched thin with my kids - trying to encourage them and help them and get them to practices and the like, but I feel like I am not doing that well. I must admit a bit of regret for the basketball because its irregularity upsets my sense of planning and scheduling, but I see it's potential for good things for both my boys. I do regret that I haven't found a way to fit in piano yet...

I know I need to sit down with myself and figure this out. A few more weeks feeling like this and I am going to lose it. I am looking forward to Playworks Ink and hoping that weekend time will provide some clarity for me. I even bought a few more colours of highlighters to help me organize my day timer in case that is what I need. I am worried, because there have been a few opportunities come my way that I had to pass on because they didn't feel right, but I worry that I will stop getting offers if I keep saying no. On the one hand, I do not want to be volunteering my time for something I do not want to do 100%, but on the other hand I do not want to miss out on fabulous experiences. I wish I could just roll a die and make my choices that way...

In Case This is Serious...

So today I woke up and when I got out of bed I had this sudden dizzy burst in my brain and I almost fell. I caught myself by shifting my weight towards the bed instead of the floor. It was very weird and I got up slowly after that and seemed fine. I was fine for most of the day until around 6:30 when I lay down to read and whammo it was like bed spins in my head. Since then my head feels a bit fuzzy on top and although I haven't had anymore dizzy spells, I do not feel really good in the brain. So, in case it's serious I just wanted to say I love you all. I have Tech Rehearsal for Fringe tomorrow morning first thing so I cannot be ill. That is all.

Feeling Better... not 100%

This week was far more productive than last week. First of all I am feeling better so that helped. I still am a little froggy, but nothing like what was hitting my head last week so that's all good. Oliver's birthday meant that I had to get moving Monday to be ready for Tuesday. I also had to get some of my work done for Fringe (Pieces) since I had neglected to get it done the week before. I did Toys R Us and picked up the Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake and made up loot bags for Oliver's Drama Camp. That handled the birthday. I offered to have a party earlier in the month but Oliver said all his friends are away on holidays so I just took the two boys to Chuckie Cheese for game playing and pizza. They were fine with that. I know that Oliver might think about the fact he doesn't get the boat-load of toys that other kids do because his summer birthday has meant very few birthday parties, but I know my kids have a lot of stuff. They don't need much more and he seemed quite happy with what he got. I'd rather that than too much stuff!

I tackled the media stuff for Fringe. Brent finished the poster and I love it. I hope you do too! The media kit is massive - so massive that it won't send via email. So I made a decision just to send the Media Release and we will have hard copies of the Kit at the Fringe Media Launch on Tuesday. No use clogging up the in-boxes of all those reporters. I figure most of the information they need is in the release as well. It must be hard with all these shows for the media folk to sift through it all. I cannot imagine. The program is almost done. We are waiting on a section from the Alzheimer's Association. That will come in on Tuesday. I am out of my comfort zone with this stuff, but if you aren't stressed, you probably aren't learning, right? I also balanced this with painting on the sunny days. I have some more to do, but I am hoping tomorrow or Sunday will be sunny so I can finish. I have Wed and Thursday next week as well. I have a few little prop things to find and then we are good. We had a great meeting for tech with myself, Erin (Sound) and Kim (SM) and with those two I feel so relaxed about the tech, that it's all good there!

Now, let this all begin! Oh, and come see the show!!!!

The Tale of My Illness...

So I put the kids in camp last week so that I could have a bit of time to get some stuff done, however, illness struck and I spent a lot of time actually medicating and sleeping to try and kick whatever foul bug infected my system. I realized that I had not gotten much on my To Do List done, so on Thursday I registered them for camp this week as well. I am still sick, but I only have a limited amount of time to get these things done for Fringe (FinallySauces presents Pieces) so I worked on the media release, painting my set piece and some other general Fringe housekeeping today. I also painted the Romeo and Juliet signs for Walterdale's bathrooms. They actually turned out quite well, so I will not be embarrassed for people to know I painted them. Whew! I wish the sickness would leave. The cashier at Safeway pretty much described what I have and said it hung around for 3 weeks for her. I hope I am luckier and can be better sooner than that!! I need to get better so I don't infect my cast when we resume on Monday!!!

So, tomorrow, I need to finish working on the Set Painting. It looks better now, but I can tell it is not finished. It is a bit too rusty looking and darker than I want. I will experiment tomorrow to lighten it up a bit. I also need to adjust some costumes and meet with my SM and Sound Designer this week and get on my poster designer's case (he's working on it, but I want the artwork for the media package so if I could just get that by Wednesday night....). All those little things to do! Oh, and get healthy!

Sidelined by a Mysterious Illness...

Something crept up on my system this week. It's not achy head or sore throat, but more really tired and a yucky tummy. It hit me Friday afternoon in a whirlwind and I thought Saturday would by the turn-around day but it didn't. I did, however, go to bed at 7:30 p.m. and slept until 8:30 a.m. and I think that helped. I obviously needed it (even though I missed SYTYCDC and the Opera). Anyhow, I am still feeling fuzzy, but my stomach has settled down so I will be making my way to FTA tonight to see Any Night.

I have parked myself at the kitchen table - my official crafting site. I am working on the props for Much Ado at Walterdale. Right now my fingers are covered in sparkles. I have to find my glue gun to finish, however, and I am debating making back-ups but I really just hope the actors treat the masks with respect so I don't have to. I do like the sparkles!

Friday was my midterm - maybe I was stressed about that and the stress crept into my system. I think I did okay on it. I was prepared to write the whole thing (there were 3 questions) and then I was overjoyed to find out we just had to answer one of them. Yay! I just hope I picked the right scenes. I think I wrote enough. Who knows.

Still waiting to hear about the audition. I know I am not called back, but I got the scoop that the only female parts called back were Cinderella and Red Riding Hood. I don't know if I am happy or sad about that. Relieved that I am not totally out of the game, but feeling insecure that I was not allowed the opportunity to sing for one of the two parts I wanted. It will be alright if I get one of them, but if I didn't get one of them I will be disappointed. That's all I know on that front. I'll keep you posted.

Pain in the Neck...

My seized neck is putting a real cramp in my style. I have been functioning pretty good with it - getting the things done that I needed to get done, but oh it hurts. Luckily I have been able to find positions where I can sleep, but if I shift too suddenly in the night it isn't fun. Leads to me sleeping in a very tense state. I will continue to medicate and hopefully the muscle will relax soon.

Last night I had a great blocking session for Whorehouse. It is picky work fitting together the bits and pieces of the opening sequence, but we got it mapped out and when we revisit it we will add more characterization and colour and choreography to give it more zing! The cast sounds wonderful. I went on Sunday to the music rehearsal just to hear them and they sound so good and it isn't even the whole bunch of them. We will definitely have a great sound - yee haw! It's nice to have a show where all the soloists can sing well and all the ensemble can sing well (indeed, pretty much anyone in this cast could handle a solo and sound terrific). You don't have any weak spots that way! The schedule it almost done and it ain't perfect but it will get the show done and has room for fixing and tweaking. I think we shall be good with it.

Still Sick - Trying to Pretend I am Not

If I am still sick tomorrow it will be a week of this. There have been ups and downs and I really thought 2 days ago that I was going to be done with this, but I am not. So, other than cancelling some volunteer commitments at the school, I decided to get some stuff done regardless of how I felt. The worst is in the morning, so I did do some major sleeping in (it seems to help), but during the days I kicked it into gear and got some of my errands done. Last night I put away 4 overflowing baskets of laundry and washed and dried a couple more. I ran around delivering things to Mark that he had forgotten and went and bought a shirt he might be able to use for his show because he was stressing about costumes. He's a big guy. He cannot just go to Value Village and find something that will fit because he is above the 99% in size. After the laundry I tidied our bedroom a bit (still needs work - but it is much better). Today I dropped off two big bags at Goodwill (get rid of clutter - yay!), dropped off dry cleaning, went to Kingsway and picked up a few things I needed there (and a few I probably didn't but I wanted), and I washed my car (just the outside - I will get to the inside later). Despite being ill, I feel better for accomplishing things. That has been the most frustrating thing about this cold - the shutting down and feeling even more behind. I can't stand that!

Next on my list - T4s - I have put them off for far too long!

Tomorrow Night - Annie at Festival Place. It's Opening Night! Yay Mark!

I'm Sick, Again - It sucks...

But on the upside, I deleted Cafe World from my Facebook Profile and I imagine this might mean 1-2 hours of extra time every day... I am hopeful. Luckily we have plenty o' medication. Not so luckily it means I will not get to see Tight Rope at New Works in all it's glory. This is making me heart sick as well as body sick.

A positive thing to being sick is that I lay on the couch in my snuggie and watched the Opening Ceremonies last night. I am not that into the Olympics but the show was amazing. I saw so many things that I want to steal for future productions. I cried (Rick Hansen, Betty Fox, K.D. Lang). I laughed (that Slam Poet - must look up his name). I was in awe (flying across the prairie, skiing and snowboarding down the mountain, K. D. Lang). I wouldn't have seen it if I wasn't curled up on the couch in misery...

The Body Hurts

All this week I have had this *pain* in my throat. It was mild, and stronger in the morning and at night. Tuesday I thought I had defeated it with hot tea and honey but when I woke up Wednesday it was back. It was fine in the day and then around 9:30 p.m. it started coming back. This morning I woke up and went back to sleep because I was not well. I am still not well and my right shoulder is slightly seized. It feels connected. After Oliver got home from school, I fed the boys and then had a nap. I managed to sleep in until 10 a.m. and then nap for 2.5 hours in the afternoon and if it wasn't because I thought I should feed the boys more I would still be asleep. I have a busy weekend so I plan to get to bed early - hopefully I will be able to go to sleep - and pray for a healthier morning!

Got the Donor Voted Show Event on Saturday Night. All Walterdale members are invited - doors open to the general membership at 7:00 p.m. The Donors are invited at 6:00 p.m. for a wine and cheese thing. The readings start at 7:30 p.m. Which play will they pick? I have my favorite but I won't say anything because I don't want to skew the voting!

Home Again... Head Hurts...

We got back from Olds yesterday late afternoon. I caught some sort of Christmas Cold so my sinuses hurt and I have a bit of a sore throat. I also needed sleep. So, instead of sleeping, Mark and I watched the 2 movies I got him for Christmas - Terminator: Salvation and Inglourious Basterds. Awful lot of violence for the holidays! I liked the Terminator movie, but it felt thin. I wonder what someone unfamiliar with the other three movies would think of it, because I don't think it would stand up on its own. Inglourious Basterds was definitely a Tarantino movie. I don't know why I was surprised by the blood and the guts and the gore. I had to avert my eyes many times. It was a good movie, but I am still thinking about what he was trying to say. It would say something quite different without the blood and the violence. Think about it.

Anyhow, I slept in a bit this morning. The boys Wii'd and fought and played other stuff and we did more gingerbread men. The living room, which was tidy last night, is a complete mess again. I begged off a meeting due to my head hurting and my intense desire to where a grungy t-shirt and sweatpants all day and I will reschedule that for later in the week. I will have to get in gear soon. Hopefully my head will feel better sooner rather than later!

Ouch...

My throat hurts. It felt a little hoarse yesterday, but I thought that was just 2 very late nights at Walterdale (Friday - getting ready for the Open House and AGM, and Saturday - the actual Open House and AGM). I wasn't worried until this morning. Now, just after supper and I am in quite a bit of pain. I am supposed to rehearse Sweeney and my number for the Sweeney Fundraiser tomorrow. I will dose myself with Tylenol and Ibuprofen and hope for the best. The song I am doing is a big sing, and tomorrow may be the only chance I get to rehearse before the Fundraiser so I do not want to waste it.

The Open House and AGM went really well. We estimated 100-200 people through the Open House. I don't know who counted, but someone threw those numbers out. I think we were closer to the 100 figure, but it was quite busy between 12:30 and 2:30 so who knows? We handed out many, many season brochures and Jimmy Dean Flyers so hopefully the personal touch sells a few tickets. I was pleased with the AGM. The Musical Season Announcement went over very well and from my perspective everything ran very smoothly. A couple of tense questions from the floor but we answered. The questions were tense because they implied 'the Board' is not doing much for the theatre and I really don't know how I could work much harder without neglecting my children and business. I am invested in Walterdale, so when someone questions my dedication I kind of get my back up. It was likely not personal, but even as a group I know that we work hard. That kind of attitude of ingratitude is what makes people quit. When you know you have been working really hard and someone come sup and just lists all the things you haven't done and the mistakes you've made, it kind of makes you feel like 'what is the point?'. Anyhow, it was a good evening and I know what is going on and what I am doing, so I am going to just enjoy the success of the day.

I Guess I'm Not Dying....

Around Tuesday, I started to feel human again. Only my right hand continued to ache. By Friday, even the hand felt better. Yay! I am so glad I am not dying...

This week has been crazy with my workshop (see more details on On Writing) for Zachary and the Storytelling Stones. Suffice it to say I have written around 7 drafts of the script in one week. Whew!

I did manage to squeeze in (and I mean squeeze) Hamlet (at Walterdale) and Anne of Green Gables (Sherard at Festival Place).

Anne of Green Gables has never been one of my favorite shows. It is a musical based on a very well-known and well-loved book, so it really has to hit the highlights of the book. As a result the story arc is not as finessed as other shows. You can't mess too much with L.M. Montgomery. That being said, I was tentative about seeing it. I have heard that Sherard shows are often uneven with compromised production values that detract from the show. However, I knew several of the cast and felt I should go. I was pleasantly surprised by the show. It was quite nice. Anne was lovely. Not the strongest singer, but she certainly was channelling Meagan Follows and she was a lovely actress and obviously a dancer who could organically incorporate her movement into her performance. The other girls were lovely too. Josie Pye was played by the younger sister of a boy I taught in Fort McMurray. She was very strong. I was also pleased with Judy's performance as Marilla. Judy is a good friend of mine and this was the strongest performance I have ever seen from her. She and Gary (as Matthew) were very strong. The ensemble was earnest, if not even, and everyone contributed to a nice show. Some trouble with the buttons of numbers and the actual ending was thrown away, but it was Opening Night and that may be strengthened over the course of the run.

Why am I still sick?

That's really all I wanted to say. If you track back you will find that I have been sick for quite a while. I think I am going on 3 weeks. I have little peaks and deep valleys in the illness journey. I should probably go see someone, but the time investment is precious and I do not know when I would be able to go... Wednesday? maybe... I wish those little white blood cells would get their act together!

Germ Soup...

Thus ends a week of illness. I am still not at 100% but I am getting there. Tuesday was the worst day. I actually 'called in sick' for class and after dropping Oliver at the bus stop I went home and slept 5 hours. I still felt tired when I woke up. That evening I had orientation for Artstart and a rehearsal for Black Hearts so it was good I got the rest. I figure if I didn't have so many things on the go it would be a lot more easy to get well again. Or maybe, if I wasn't so busy, being sick wouldn't be so hard to cope with. Each night I go to sleep with the hope that I will feel 100% upon waking. I haven't gotten there yet and I grab little naps when I can and I am married to a Pharmacist so I medicate a bit to ease my way through... Maybe by my birthday...

Gibson turned 4 yesterday. A nice little birthday morning and hot dogs for supper (a supper I knew he would like... he's a little young to pick dinner so I picked for him). I am avoiding the whole birthday party concept for my children. I figure I will have to have a few over the years, but I don't want it to be an assumed thing. For one thing, they get enough stuff without the party from us and relatives. Also, I think the whole party thing gets to be too much and for them to expect it would bother me. I want them to appreciate things, not take them for granted. It is hard to know how to do this.

It Figures....

3/4 of my household is sick. That would be me and the 2 boys. All I planned to get done while Ollie and Gib were at Daycamp is not going to get done, because they are not at daycamp. They are at home in bed and I don't feel up to much. Although I did have some toast for breakfast. The only upside to being sick like this... I have finally lost a little weight this summer.

Aside - Yesterday was the media call for Fringe. We were interviewed by Graham Neal of CFRN and we had a photo done by the Edmonton Journal. 'Tis good. Hopefully some of that will appear over the next few weeks.

And After the holidays....

Well, the week was a whirlwind as I knew it would be. It would have been nice to have had that last day before Christmas Eve to do any last minute shopping and make sure I had everything I needed, but I didn't have it, so I dealt with my missing items by phoning Mom to bring them. It all worked out, but I knew it could've been better. The trip itself wasn't so bad, but there was little in it that enriched my life. No one asked about me, despite my asking about them. It was good for the boys, but a little too good in the presents department and I worry about that. As it is, only one of Gibson's 3 big trucks has been opened and played with and I don't think Oliver has picked up the Spiderman helicopter since being home. The kids get so much stuff. We may hide some of it away for a while and bring it out later when a "new" thing is needed. Christmas Eve was less chaotic than usual. The kids are a little older and better able to negotiate with each other. I was pleased with the books and clothes that came on that day. It wasn't all a big toy fest. And Christmas went well. I did have to call for a few items (milk, onion, cranberry sauce) but whatever wasn't there we did without. My sugar cookies didn't work so we didn't have them. Maybe people ate less sweets because of that. Through it all I was sick, doped up on Tylenol Cold, but that actually helped because I just wanted to get it done and be there. We had a few games in the evening and it was all good fun with none of the usual brother-sister badgering (strange that).

Those Back to School Germs...

Gibson is sick, again. I am hoping that as he gets older, his immune system will toughen up a bit. Went to the Medi-centre, one hour+ wait, prescription for Ventolin, but no anti-biotic this time. We were told to come back if he doesn't' get better but that it was most likely a virus. Knowing Gibson's "history", I am putting 3-1 odds on us going back by the end of the week. I hope I am wrong.

Last night I did the "Test the Nation - Language" test that was on CBC. I got 58/70 which wasn't too bad. There were a few of the ones that I could narrow down to 2 and then I picked the wrong choice and there was 1 answer I continue to disagree with. I also got some word origin and regional answers wrong. Most of the ones I got wrong were ones I was unsure of. It was fun to do and I know I beat the average! Mark and I did the IQ test when that was on. Is there anyone else out there who likes to sit and watch TV and take silly tests? Maybe we're just geeks!

Little Microscopic Bugs...

You gotta hate germs. I do. I know they are a fact of life and all that, but when they crawl into your system for a weekend they can really mess you up. I started feeling a little out of it on Friday night. I thought it might have just been a bit of vocal strain from working on my stuff for El Muchacho, but when I woke up on Saturday I knew I was SICK. Sore throat, headache, achy body, and a general feeling of being "out of it". The worst is not having the opportunity to really get better. WHY? Because it was the long weekend and we were heading off Saturday afternoon to a family reunion for Mark's side of the family. He offered to let me stay home and he would take the boys alone, but I said I would dope myself up and cope. I didn't think it fair to have him set off alone. Anyhow, I endured a regimen of Tylenol and Ibuprofen and I napped when i could and it was all survivable. I felt guilty because I couldn't really mingle much because I wasn't completely present. I am still not better and this bugs me because today I have slept so much and it is not gone. Mark is going to go tot he store to work and he has promised me drugs to make me better. I am hoping this is curable with OTC medication because otherwise I am going to a medicentre tomorrow with Gibson in tow (oh joy!).