The Rundown
MISFITS TRIVIA CONTEST
Thought it went pretty well. We certainly have areas to improve on. I liked being a judge, but as a consequence of being in the thick of the contest, I don't have quite as many memories of the contest as a whole. I've lost my position as an outside observer. But honestly, I don't mind losing that position. I feel much more involved with the contest, and I like that.
ACTING
I'm somewhat regretting auditioning for Bedlam Theatre's Ten Minute Play Festival. It's taking up way more of my time that I would have imagined. Lost of short rehearsals scheduled at awkward times, pretty much sewing up the whole day or evening. Given how many people are involved in the festival, that's unavoidable. On the other hand, I get to play a regular guy. I never get to play regular guys. It's refreshing.
It also looks good that I'll be involved with the Vilification Tennis show in June. Presumably not in drag this time.
IMPROV
Enjoying the BNW class. Lauren Anderson is pretty much what I needed in an instructor. I've spent way too much time in improv trying to be clever, trying to explain everything, and Lauren is forcing me to inject more genuineness and emotion into what I do. I'm slowly rediscovering how I used to do improv, back in my college and Stevie Ray's days.
The performance track students get to audition for Six Ring Circus next Tuesday. I'm Level One. It'd be unusual for a Level One student to get into a Six Ring team, but I'm a weird case, what with all the improv I've done outside of the BNW. I'm going to audition, and I think my chances are pretty good.
MONEY
It was not a good month for money. I'm slowly paying my parents back for my car. And I fucked up my taxes. Somehow, I managed the grade-A dumbshit move of confusing my payment with a refund. So, yeah, no refund, and I had to cut a check to the IRS. Compared to the IRS problems of other people I know, this was pretty darn minor (penalties amounted to less than two bucks), but it wasn't exactly an expense I was expecting.
Also, my phone died. After charging it up, it wouldn't turn on. So I went and got a used phone, the exact same model as my old one. More moolah I didn't want to spend. The new old phone works fine, but for some reason the time is off on it. Need to check the manual about that.
Trying not to think about all the stuff I need to buy. A lot of my clothes are getting pretty worn out. My glasses are all scratched up. Etc. Etc. Etc.
HOME
Mowed my lawn for the first time this year. It was pretty overdue. I always forget to reincorporate that task into my schedule. Also planted some grass seed in one of the bare patches. It should germinate around a week from now.
So many things I need to do around here, and I have so little money or skill to accomplish them. Painting is the simplest thing to do, so I'll probably be doing that. But I suspect I'm just ignoring the big crucial stuff, like the electrical and the plumbing and the stairs and... I'm just going to stop there.
HEALTH
The other day, I realized this was the first winter in memory in which I never got sick once. Fantastic! For that, I credit the bag of oranges I got from my brother's place in Florida.
Other than that... eh. My neck and back have been hurting a lot, kind of a constant low-grade thing. A massage would be good. Caffeine consumption has spiked. My pants are getting tighter, so I must be getting fatter. After not drinking soda for months, I started up again. Plus a lot of desserts, usually soft serve ice cream of some kind. No real reason for that. When I indulge like that, it's often due to mood. I feel bad, and I try to cheer myself up with cheap sugar. But my mood has been pretty good lately. I don't know why I fell off the sugar wagon this time. Maybe it's just laziness. Whatever. I'm back to replacing soda with unsweetened iced tea and avoiding dessert. (Although when I met Mom and Dad for Mother's Day lunch, Mom surprised me with cake and cookies. Argh!)
And exercise has not happened in many months. That has to change too. I need to look for a weight bench on Craigslist or where ever.
WORK
The summer slow down is about to happen, and I'm not exactly unhappy about that.
However, we did get a surprise visit from the boss. There's pressure to move us back to the Woodbury location. The higher ups don't like that we aren't supervised on a day-to-day basis, and there is a belief that we are slacking and playing hooky, because outside circumstances forced my co-workers into irregular hours for a while. I've been through these office politics of perception before, and they are never fun. I really don't want to commute to Woodbury again, and my co-workers really really don't want to commute to Woodbury (it's a two-hour drive for them!)
On the other hand, my boss emailed me and said I was blameless, the perceptual problems are with my co-workers. The higher ups love me, I guess because nothing has blown up in my life. Mixed feelings about that.
MOVIES
I liked Monsters Vs. Aliens, at least while it was on screen. The 3D was awesome, it had a great sense of scale. But when I started thinking about it, I could see a lot of cracks. It was disposable fun.
And I don't think Star Trek was the second coming or anything like that but it was way, way better than the ritalin-addled trailers made it look like. I've said it before and I'll say it again: trailers are bullshit. Ignore them. I loved the film, and I have no qualms about the direction the franchise is taking.
SUMMATION
I've been busy and lazy and have had things on my mind, but I'm doing okay.