A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Louisiana...

I has a great evening last night. It was surreal some of the time, but I really enjoyed the show. The casting and choices were very different from the production that I was in, that I was able to see them uniquely and I could appreciate each for what they were. It is so very cool to see this show with a different but totally legitimate ensemble work, but work in ways different from how my show worked. It was also fun to sit outside the action and laugh at the things I couldn't before. The changes surprised and delighted me. It was well-paced and honest and that is what you need to do to bring that show to life.

A funny thing happened in the second act that totally caught me off guard. After the 3rd scene I suddenly went to the head space I was in while doing the show. I guess the patterns of dialogue and situation sent me back there and before the lights came up on the 4th scene I was crying and emotionally distraught. I am sure the people on either side of me couldn't figure out what was up because let's face it, we didn't even know that Shelby had died yet. For that entire scene I rode those familiar achy emotions from 3 years ago. After the show I was glad to get out and decompress a little because it was weird.

After the show we struck the set (very smooth and very quick) and headed to Chez Marsh for festivities. Usually I don't go to cast parties for shows I am not involved in but I felt right at home. It was nice to see the gang from Sky and others that I have worked with in the past. A really fun evening, and a very late night!

Deja Vu

Tonight I am going to see Steel Magnolias in Spruce Grove at Horizon Stage. It is the closing night of a three show run and they have been sold out or close to that for all the shows. It was directed by my bf AM and I know most of the cast. It is going to be weird. I am hoping that I can separate my experience from being in the show a few years ago from the experience of watching this new production. I will do my best to do so, but don't hate me if I am not able to! I am sure I will enjoy the evening, it's just going to be weird because I know ALL the words!

Where did the week go?

Okay, I did stuff this week, but I didn't get everything done and that makes me feel like it just flew by. I had some interpersonal angst at the beginning of the week and that caused a lot of unnecessary stress that sucked up oodles of my mental time and brought up all the stress from a month ago that I thought I had pushed into the void. Oliver was sick and stayed home Tuesday, so that day was a write-off. On Thursday, I touched base at the theatre and Theatre Alberta on Thursday and ran into people I hadn't seen for a while so I spent a few hours that day just talking to people. I can't even remember what I did on Wednesday. Oh, where does the time go?

And Now For Something Completely Different...

A discussion on a friend's blog lead to this blog post:

http://skepticalob.blogspot.com/2009/06/sex-discrimination-feminists-can.html

The idea that this happens really bothers me. It makes me think that maybe we shouldn't tell if this is what people are going to do with the information. A baby is a baby and to use gender/sex as determinate for it's validity is horrific to me. I have always had trouble with pro-choice, pro-life - trouble with both sides. They both seem so extreme. One justifies abortion in all cases and one does not recognise that there are situations where that is the best course of action. I am a moderate on this and am glad that I never had to face the decision. I hope I never have to and I hope that if any of my friends come to me for comfort and advice facing that kind of decision that I can be a good friend and give them the support they need regardless of the outcome.

Cat Update #2

I got a phone call from the vet today. Smeep's lump was benign and with the type of tumor it was excision is curative. Yay! So we should keep an eye (or hand) out for future lumps, but she is fine for now. In a week the stitches should come out and then it is just wait for her next shot. I am quite relieved.

No Tinsel, No Lights, No Tree for Me... Not Until December

I have read several updates on Facebook this week about people decorating for Christmas already. I am not there. It shakes me when there are Christmas things in the stores before Halloween is done. Decorating this early for a festival that occurs on December 24th/25th seems ridiculous to me. I know, some of you out there might decorate this early. That's your prerogative. But this is the nature of our society of excess. We take a 12 day Festival that is supposed to START on Dec 25 (I Believe - possibly the 24th, but Christmas kicks off the 12 days of Christmas, not ends it) and then we start the festival atmosphere on November 15th or earlier and then we lose the specialness of the actual holiday. What makes Christmas special if we celebrate it for a month and a half? I can see the coordinated holiday parties occurring prior to the day, but I just think that we live such spoiled lives in our society as it is, that to demand the lengthening of the Christmas holiday just 'cause we can seems self-indulgent and kind of misses the point. I don't want to be a scrooge, 'cause that's not what is motivating this. I love the holidays, especially Christmas, I just think that all this early decorating and celebrating dilutes it and it loses it's meaning (whatever that is for you).

Cat Update

Smeep is home. She seems to be doing well and we will find out in a week or so about the results from the lab. She is leaving the sutures alone and is a bit clingy, but that is expected. Hopefully all will be well.

It strikes me as strange compared to how we dealt with our pets as children. I am pretty sure we did not take any of our cats for yearly shots. We let them run around outside and the only time they went to the vet was to get fixed or if they were visibly injured. If the repair cost a significant amount of money I am pretty sure that my parents went the way of euthanasia. But Smeep is a part of our family. She's been here longer than the boys have. I couldn't see not getting the lump removed and tested, although I was relieved that it cost less than the $500 the doctor originally quoted. Who knows, down the line it may cost more.

When I was picking her up there was an elderly gentlemen leaving the back room alone who looked quite shook up as though he'd been crying. The vet came out and said "sorry for your loss" and it struck me how gentle all the staff was with him. He looked like a weathered farmer type of guy. I really liked the way the staff was behaving and it made me feel that we have a good doctor for our Smeep.