Update on the State of the Matt
Been a busy few weeks, about an equal mixture of good & bad.
An executive summary for the interested:
- My son is setting off on his life journey, and will be moving out (and then in with a roomie whom I like) to take on the world. Knowing how tough the world can be, I have very mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is time, and I have confidence in his abilities. On the other hand, he has chosen the most uphill of paths to take, and I fear for what he has to face. He’s 19, and technically an adult, but he’s still my kid. I remember very well how ill-equipped I was at that age for the slings, arrows and trebuchets of outrageous fortune. So I worry. A lot.
- Plumbing problems at the house. Long (and costly) story short: Don’t use Circle E plumbers. Their manager did his best to make things right, but the fact is billing someone 4.5 hours labor when you actually work 3 hours is fraud. I’m lucky that the kiddo was in the house (unbeknownst to the plumber) and was able to verify exactly what time they finished up. If he hadn’t been, I’d have paid the full bill not knowing I’d been had. This pisses me off greatly.
- Screams - Managing the Pirate House again (yay!). Had our first managers meeting, and will be having others, along with Job Fair, walkthroughs etc. The best thing about Screams is that I get to hang with the SAPA crew (especially this year - several more are coming over to the Dark Side!) for longer than just in the springtime.
- Fight Club - Just had our first one since Scarby, and learned the very cool (but pretzel-like) Italian style. I plan on incorporating a few of the moves into this year’s fights, which should be fun. Oh, and the Fight Director and the Duke of Suffolk want to be my fight partners. I’m flattered and nervous at the same time. Should be interesting indeed.
- Lots of changes next season for Faire, in both performing company and characters. I’m getting better about accepting the inevitable, but still feel twinges of regret that some favorite people and characters won’t be sharing the joy with me.
- Work has been a rollercoaster of ups and (lots of) downs, but at least it has been stable. I know a lot of good folks out there are in dire need of a job, and am grateful for mine. Soul-sucking at times, yes, but the bills get paid, and there’s enough left over to deal with the inevitable financial crises - like plumbers. And car repairs. And medical bills. And…yeah. Sigh.
Overall, though, I’m hanging in there. Stressed, distracted, and even more absent-minded than usual - but I’m dealing.