Virtual Hyperbole

LOTSA CHANGES! (You get a super special secret kiss if you can name or describe that BFL show and/or sketch.) Oh, by the by ... I've given up theatre again. You can see my past reflections on this subject (in chrono order): here (in which I break up with acting) , here (in which acting & I patch things up) , and here (in which I continue to question my relationship with acting) . I haven't spilled much about my experience with The Women at ACT Theatre. As long as I live, I will think of that production as a gift. An incredibly unique, wonderful and truly special experience. I really have nothing bad to say about it. I loved every minute. And yet, ironically, it was during the production that I realized that my previous semi-facetious disavowal of acting was perhaps actually my prescient subconsciousness prepping me for future action. During the show's process, I looked at the actors around me (in and out of the show). They mainly fall into 3 categories. They ...

For the first time in weeks, today I drank as much water as I should. In related news, I also peed like 100 times, but who cares? I know from experience that it regulates as soon as my body's flushed some of its toxins. I'm also trying to cut back on my diet cola consumption. At one point, I'd quit it altogether, but then I quit quitting. Now I'm going to quit quit quitting. I'll have to find new ways to get my caffeine. Maybe I'll just start taking speed. I'm joking. DON'T DO DRUGS. I am finding that it's not the lack of desire to workout that keeps me from it; nor is it the lack of time anymore now that the holidays are over. It's simply that sometimes I get distracted and I forget. Yesterday, for instance - I wanted to workout, but I also wanted to get this project done. * I planned to work on the first half of the project, take a break & workout, and then finish up the project. Well, I forgot to workout. So thoroughly, in f...

I am glorying in newfound web vanity . In other news, although I never quite recovered from STAYING UP UNTIL FOUR IN THE MORNING, I had nary a sign of hangover. Which is either a true miracle or a freak oversight of nature that I'm sure I will pay for imminently. In the meantime - HEY! you guys that own whoever makes Emergence-C ... I have no right to feel as good as I do, and I thank you.

I'm kidding. Kind of. Seriously, though - that shit is HARD. TODAY: 45 minutes of beginner's yoga Prior to: Felt rushed; was worried about how much time I had (or rather didn't have) before I had to leave for the 14/48 meeting. During: Felt good - the stretches in particular. The woman on the DVD I have does an excellent job of getting me to visualize various muscle activations & grounding, and also describing how it might feel. This helps me a lot, since I don't have a personal coach in the room to monitor me. After: Glad I fit it in; I really needed the stretching. Yoga's a bit sneaky -- at the time, I felt like maybe I should have done more, but now (a few hours later), my body feels even the little that I did. Tomorrow, I have the same time crunch issue with work & 14/48. I will try to make it home in between the two and bike for at least 1/2-hr. (stationary bike).

So. Turns out that fitness is still one of the first things out the window when I get busy. Not a surprise to me, truly. At least it wasn't the very first thing I threw out the window. And I kept my weight steady throughout the holiday season, even though my habits slipped. I can only guess that some of my base level habits have changed for the better, and I'm actually getting more activity & eating better all around, even though it hasn't been at the forefront of my mind. 2008 is a brand new year full of promise, and I intend to participate in an August triathlon in Seattle. 1/2-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3-mile run (or thereabouts, depending on the final route). I was persuaded (quite easily) to do it by a friend who was going to do it again only if she could round up some other gals to commit. So I'm in, as well as some other lady friends of ours (it's a female-only event). The most exciting development is that my mom's going to fly out to do it wit...

What is your favorite holiday song? Mine: O Holy Night. I am not at all religious, and it still makes me cry. Just read this as if for the first time: A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices; for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. I just cried a little typing it. What do we need more than anything if not a new and glorious morn to break? Least favorite? Mine: I don't even want to tell you, because it'll get stuck in my head. Maybe I can sneak up on it; let's see. ... Little Drummer Boy. Quick! Sing something else to banish it before it takes root!

Where've you been? KIDDING! I'm know it's me who's been gone so long. C'mon baby - don't be like that. The Women at ACT Theatre closes this weekend. From Sept. 11 to Dec. 16. I think it's like 80-85 performances total. 8x/week in addition to holding down my day job (p/t job, but still). I can count on one hand the number of pure days off I've had in that entire 3 month period, and most of those have been in the last 2 weeks. Not complaining, mind you, BUT! It'll be nice to have my regular life back starting next week. Quick health & fitness update: =>My weight has stabilized at 144/145 lbs. I'd like to drop another 5 or so. =>My workout routine is solidly out the window and has been for 3 weeks now. Zilch. I've been a very bad girl. I have many theories & reasons, many of which I hope to amuse you with as soon as I can get some goddam sleep. =>In January, I will begin training for an August triathalon. That should kick ...

Where've you been? KIDDING! I'm know it's me who's been gone so long. C'mon baby - don't be like that. The Women at ACT Theatre closes this weekend. From Sept. 11 to Dec. 16. I think it's like 80-85 performances total. 8x/week in addition to holding down my day job (p/t job, but still). I can count on one hand the number of pure days off I've had in that entire 3 month period, and most of those have been in the last 2 weeks. Not complaining, mind you, BUT! It'll be nice to have my regular life back starting next week. I have so much to spill about the experience, but you have to be patient just a little while longer. (As if you're on the edge of your seat, right?) I'm at my day job right now, and I mainly stopped by to let you know about a new DIY venture of mine ... check out my new-found craftiness at www.hardwearables.com . I love you. I really do. Seriously! Come back here!!!

I am the most tired I remember ever being while simultaneously being in an incredibly good mood. An incredibly good mood does not necessarily equal patience with others when I'm this tired. It wasn't until we were up & running fully after opening night that I realized ... I'm not in this play very much at all. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's just interesting that the rehearsals were deceiving. Time spent in the rehearsal room did not equate to onstage time. It did, however, correlate to time spent changing my costumes & wigs When I'm tired, I pretty much eat anything I crave. I've finally passed some magic threshhold -- I feel way worse when I don't work out than when I do. Riding the bus is actually easier than driving & parking. I miss you all terribly. I am sad to miss you, but I'm having a ball.

Ego is a funny thing, isn't it? It comes on unbidden, to the best and worst of us. It has many flavors. Sometimes it's called self-esteem , and it reminds us that we actually are pretty great. Go a little further down that road and you run into self-importance , which makes others want to punch you. Keep going until dawn and you enter megalomania ... a hateful land where nobody will come visit. Backtrack and head the other direction and pretty soon you'll find pride , which is a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there. And make sure you don't take a wrong turn into self-righeousness ! Winding through the entire land is the river of insecurity . I loved mixed metaphors. Oh shit, I forgot I had a point. Don't go yet! I have a very small part in this play. So small that even though I play 3 parts, it's still small. I'm just about 37 years old (years young , rather - YEAH!). I've been around this town for almost 15 years, an...

The facts, in cold hard numbers. Numbers do not lie, my friends. 11 = days I've belonged to a mainstream membership gym. 8 = days I've worked out at the gym since joining. 3 = days I didn't feel like working out, but did anyway. 1 = days I didn't feel like working out, and went home instead. Not freakin' bad, if I do say so myself. Oh, and I do -- as often as possible. I miss Cody terribly, of course. It's a lot easier when there's someone there pushing you and expecting things from you. But I'm proud thus far that I've stuck with it all on my own.

The facts, in cold hard numbers. Numbers do not lie, my friends. 11 = days I've belonged to a mainstream membership gym. 8 = days I've worked out at the gym since joining. 3 = days I didn't feel like working out, but did anyway. 1 = days I really didn't feel like working out, and went home instead. Not freakin' bad, if I do say so myself. Oh, and I do -- as often as possible. I miss working out with Cody terribly, of course. It's a lot easier when there's someone there pushing me and expecting things from me. He's there in spirit, though. Some days what gets me into the gym is the fact that I don't want to have to tell him that I slacked off. Also, what would all that money and hard work have been for if I'm just going to dump it? I make deals with myself: "I don't want to go work out." "I know, but you'll feel better." "Not today, I won't. I really think I should take the day off." "Alrig...

FACT: There are more female actors than male. FACT: There aren't as many parts written for women as men. FACT: The pecentage of "quality" roles narrows down the field even farther in comparison. Every actress in every city in every format in every genre knows this line up & down. Most of the time, we (actresses) know each other through auditions - and, of course, almost always reading for the same roles. Can you imagine the company meeting the first day? There was about 100 people in the room, introducing themselves and what they do. "Peggy Gannon, actress." 16 of us out of 100, "So-and-so, actress." Not an "actor" to be found. I cannot tell you how thrilling it was ... you don't know you've been missing it until you get it. And in spades, baby! Sixteen beautiful, talented women, most of whom I've watched and admired for countless years. I've been very lucky in this regard - I've been in several all-female shows in th...

Cody and I are taking a break. I know, right? Don't cry. Actually, I just started rehearsals for a professional theatre show in addition to holding down my day job (with the blessings and help of an incredibly accommodating job-share partner). The fact is, no matter how much I adore working out with Cody, I simply do not have one day free until mid-October. In a lot of ways, the timing of this has worked out brilliantly. I was starting to feel like I needed to stumble out of the nest to see if I'd fly on my own. Not whether I can fly, mind you, I know I can. But would I? Or would I rather just choose to land on my couch with a bucket of cheese ? Well, now I guess I get to find out. Sink or swim, baby! Sink or swim. * *I can preliminarily report that I'm actually more like treading water right now than sinking or swimming. Not bad, but I gotta step up my groove. I got big plans. More soon.

I started rehearsals Tuesday for my first professional show in ages. Saying this, naturally, makes me want to tangentially debate myself regarding the use of the word "professional" when applied to the theater, but I will leave that for the bar -- presumably after a few drinks. For simplicity's sake, I mean a decent wage-earning acting contract at a large Equity theater. Obviously, I've given up giving up acting . Well, who can blame me ... how else am I going to get rich and famous? Anyway, it's The Women , at ACT Theatre . It's a huge play, and it's going to be all kinds of Gorgeous. It's also going to be a technical mule. But other people who are really good at what they do get paid to worry about that, so I just get to enjoy the acting process. Or not enjoy it, as may be on some days. I adore first rehearsals -- the same way I adored the first day of school. There's often food, and a company meet'n'greet , and paperwork to wrap up, and ...

1. Now that we're not kids anymore, is there an adult alternative to the terms "boyfriend" and "girlfriend"? Partner = too clinical. Significant other = blech. Lover = ew. Sweetheart = it's what I currently use, but it's cutesy. 2. What's with drooling in my sleep on a regular basis? It's new, and I don't approve. 3. Am I the only women left who bikini waxes but doesn't want the "landing strip" look? Just clean up the natural "V" please.

A friend just reminded me of one my favorite TV show quotes; it's from The Drew Carey Show * : "Oh, so you don't like your job? Why didn't you TELL me?! There's a support group for that! It's called EVERYBODY and they meet at the bar." *I want to carry that show around on a keychain, I think it's so adorable.

On an almost cellular level, I sincerely abhor the new catch-all catch-phrase when someone thinks they're making a clever point: "I'm just saying." Or - even worse - without the pronoun: "Just saying." Oh, really ? Is *that* what you're just doing? Saying? Well, I'm just punching you in the nose, you self-satisfied fuckwad. I despise it. It has this air of undeserved smug finality, as if god itself has made this person the mouthpiece of the final say in the matter. Always with the implied silence of an ellipsis, as if daring you to disagree with their obviously airtight summation. Oh, I see! If it's you that's saying, well - that's it, then! Case closed, everybody! He just said! Please don't just say, "Just saying." It's rude. Say what you want to say, and then, if it's a spirited discussion, maybe back it up with a few well-reasoned points. Then let others say. It totally works.

Hang with me through this post - I promise I'm making a point here about my fitness (albeit perhaps obliquely). As I progressed through my acting training in college, I was taught - and encouraged to employ - a wide variety of styles and methods. We started with basics in Fundamentals of Acting (the title of our majors' intro course): text & character. This was followed very closely by - practically simultaneously with - objectives (goals) & intention (how you achieve them). As I and my peers progressed, the scope was widened, and we learned other techniques to supplement and enhance the basics (breath patterns, emotional recall, alexander technique, lessac vs. linklater , bippity boppity boo). We would learn and practice these techniques in isolation, which is necessarily the way of teaching (although not the way of acting or of life, really), but the idea was that they were all building blocks for a well-rounded actor. (I now prefer to think of it as a road-map, b...

Remember - back in the 80s - when I gave up acting ? Well, the truth is that I apparently can't keep my hands off acting. We fought for awhile, but now I guess we're back on. On again, off again. Just like a high school love affair. But that's not exactly apt, because acting is legion. It's not just one boyfriend that I keep falling out with, but a whole bunch of different boys who are kinda sorta different, but end up eventually bugging the shit out of me for the same reasons. Therefore, just like life, I need to make better choices. I will only date acting when it's really worth it, and not just when I'm lonely and need a cuddle. I have boys for that.