Friday, March 30, 2007


I feel so drained and blah today- don't know why. Could be 'that time of the month', could be a wicked pot hangover- we smoked some fairly strong weed last night. Could just be the blahs. I'm tired and low energy and SAD. But, but, but... I DID manage to drag myself to the gym, so that's something, I guess. We'll see how I do now that I have a job lined up for this month!
Yes, a j-o-b. Terry & Savannah of Vancouver Moving Theatre were looking for an ASM for their current show, a shadow puppet piece about addiction called "We're All In This Together". So I emailed them my resume and poof! got hired the next day. Wasn't going to say yes to it, but the pay is better than I'd hoped for, which means that if summer jobs don't pan out, I can still breathe easy for a while. The Enderby show is a go as well, so I have work lined up until May 23. I have a bit of a first-day-of-school feeling about starting the ASM job tomorrow: I hope I can be organised and 'with it' enough to be an ASM! My mom did a big show for VMT a few years ago- they use a lot of downtown eastside community members so it's stressful- as it always is working with non-professionals, plus they're from the poorest neighbourhood in Canada so they're often pretty messed up people. So it could be a gong show. gulp.
Jon has got a few days of work moving things for the Playhouse, so he hasn't had to go back to the warehouse yet.
Um, what else? I don't feel like writing more, I'm tired and grumpy. Time to switch off this addictive screen for a while...

Sunday, March 25, 2007

spring is here!


JT & I went to Strathcona park to play with his new camera this afternoon.
Luckily for us there was a lot to film- the East Van Bike Wars were on! Events included: Bike Jousting, Bike Lacrosse, and of course, a naked bike race, where competitors stripped as they lapped.

It made me remember what I love about East Van: the pockets of zanyness and beauty in the midst of the grey humdrum.


Saturday, March 24, 2007

at last, sun!


Looking across the city from our balcony I can actually see blue skies! So exciting after days of greyness and pouring rain. Today I was crossing Commercial Drive thinking 'I'd so much rather be ANYWHERE than here'...but Vancouver always knows when to reel me back with glimpses of blue skies and sunshine when I'm getting claustrophobic from those low-hanging rain clouds.
Some very exciting news- JT got a brand-new HD camera! Thanks to his dad, he is the proud new owner of a Canon XHA1. (Frank bought it, and Jon is going to pay him back, rather than have to pay high interest.) So I've lost him to a (very thick and complex) manual for the evening. But I don't care- it's a dream come true for him. Maybe he can get enough jobs as a cameraman and editor to keep him away from the warehouse...
In other, less-exciting-unless-you're-me news, I joined a website called Sparkpeople, which has all kinds of resources dedicated to helping people maintain a healthy lifestyle. So I'm spending ages every day entering in what I eat and how much I'm exercising! It'll get easier and faster as I get used to navigating the site- it's rather time-consuming right now, but I think it will help me lose a few pounds and that would be wonderful. We'll see how it goes...

Thursday, March 22, 2007

the good, the bad and the ugly


Home again after what feels like a month away, though it was only 2 weeks. Hard to believe. I rode the Big Grey Dog (as Stephen King calls the Greyhound) with the usual assortment of white trash and, as a bonus, a vomiting child! Sorry to sound snobby, but those buses are full of really sad people. Had one night at home, then J and I took the ferry to Sechelt to visit our friends Sean & Michelle. Their little Josie turned 2 yesterday. Such big blue eyes and a very serious manner. She likes us to read to her, but she's quite shy right now and doesn't know how to handle us just yet. I look forward to a long acquaintance with her over the years... They had a little party for her (and to wakeup Mother Earth as it was the 1st day of Spring), and I joked that it was MY kind of kids' party- 8 adults and only 2 kids!

Backing up- I had a mixed few last days up in Kelowna. The gang left Sunday morning, leaving me in charge of the beach retreat. Dad & June came to get me and we had a relaxing afternoon and tasty dinner. I always feel like such a kid up there somehow, partly because I don't drive I guess but also because our lives are so different...at least we all get along, even if they don't always understand my choices.
On Monday June drove me back to the beach house and I spent the day lolling around the house, reading. Until Dad called from Vancouver with some terrible news. June's CT scan, which she'd had Monday morning after dropping me off, showed cancer in a lung, an ovary, and her abdomen. They won't operate, as it's too widespread. Agressive chemo sounds like the only recourse, but it sounds as if it may be paliative at best. June's being very brave, trying to go on with life although she's reeling. At least she's not in any pain yet, and indeed that's why she (and all of us) are so shocked by the results. She has a test in Vancouver in about a month, so until then she wants to travel to Ottawa to see her daughter and the grandkids, and live life as normally as possible. I worry about Dad- he's not good at dealing with this sort of stress. But then- who is? We've been a very lucky family until now- all the grandparents still alive (except Mom's dad, but he died when she was 19), strong and fit as horses. Even when Auntie Ollie's partner died of cancer they were in England, so although I had met M, and was very fond of him, it felt very remote. We are all so unprepared for this.
Anyway, it feels self-indulgent to go on about this right now. I'm very fond of June, but she and I are arms' length- we've never had a row so we've never bropken down those last barriers. So I don't want to claim her tragedy as mine to get sympathy. But she IS very much family, and I can't imagine her this ill. All I can do is phone in and send healing thoughts, at least for now.

Friday, March 16, 2007

sicky


Our last couple of shows in Kelowna are upon us already! I wish I could say that all the healthy living and eating have paid off but unfortunately I am very congested and sleepy right now and would like nothing better than to collapse into bed for 2 days or so. I blame some of it on the dry dustyness of this town, which must be a shock to my system after wet old Vancouver. It'll be interesting to see how fast this clears up once I am home. That won't be for a few days yet because I'm going to stay up here and visit with Dad and June on Sunday, and then have a lazy day to myself on Monday before bussing back alone on Tuesday afternoon. Jon wants to get back home earlier than me so I'll be solo for a few days. After living as a group for the last 10 days this will be restful, although we've been a very harmonious group for the most part. The shows have been going well and last night we had a big crowd and our first standing ovation since the Fringe. Cathy Stubington from Runaway Moon Theatre in Grindrod and her eldest daughter Rosa came to see it last night. I remember Rosa as a 6-year-old from when I did "Anoushka and Rosa Go To Find The Sun" with Cathy and Lois Anderson. Now she's a teenager. She looks exactly the same though- Cathy's kids never change, they just get bigger! I really hope Runaway Moon will have the money and the inclination to invite me to be a part of their spring puppet show but I'm not going to hold my breath in case nothing comes of it. I will have to sort out the rest of my life once I get back to the city, probably part of the reason I'm in no rush to return yet...

Monday, March 12, 2007

full heart


Winding down the day in front of the tv, watching "Romancing the Stone" Sarah May and Jon. Woke up after a restless night with a cold, but was determined not to let it ruin my one day off. So despite the howling, gale-force winds blowing whitecaps across the lake, Sarah May and I set off to climb Knox Mountain. Luckily the sun was as strong as the wind and I was in my tank top by the time we reached the top, an hour later. Brown grass, straggly pines, and a view to die for! The walk down was a welcome relief after so much climbing, and we were home only a couple of hours later with gigantic appetites. My ham-and-cheese omelette tasted amazing.



Spent the afternoon at the mall with JT, Tacey and SM, buying MORE clothes. Our week up here has been a bit of a shopfest among us girls, and between the mall and all the secondhand clothing stores we've racked up, well, I'VE racked up quite a few expenses. But I have to say it's been worth it, especially the haircut I had on opening night- I hadn't realized how bad I was feeling about myself until I had my haircut and couldn't stop smiling! Now it's short and spiky again, and I don't even mind the grey hairs above my ears.
The shows have been going very well so far- my dad and June came with 8 friends on Saturday night and loved it. I've been exercising every day and eating super well, so this trip feels like a bit of a cleanse so far.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

brain fry.

Kelowna:
Wow. Just had some great steak at the Keg with the BKRP cast. After a full day of rehearsing it felt rreeeally good to retire to the Keg and scarf down some meaty goodness! Plus a couple of drinks. My brain is reeling from being a stage manager all day- I don't really dig the responsibility of having to be the responsible one all the time but as gigs go, this is a pretty easy one. At least the cast knows their blocking and their jobs, better than I do. So I just had to call cues and keep things on schedule. Not so bad, but I hope my next gig involves showing up and just doing what I'm told!
On the bright side, the royalty cheques from the Arts Club tour were way bigger than we originally expected. And Tracey and I had a great drive up here yesterday (as did the cast today). Lots of rain near Van, but nice and sunny in the mountains, and no ice on the roads.
Urg- I'm too fried to write more tonight. I'll cruise around and take some pictures once we've opened...

Monday, March 5, 2007

road trip.


Well, I'm off to Kelowna tomorrow! I'm packing- well, I'm pretty much done by now. Tracey & I will be taking the set up tomorrow and the rest of the cast follows on Tuesday. This is my first stage managing gig in about 10 years- gulp. I'm a lot bossier and with-it than when I last tried it, but it's still a hard and a thankless task and I'm interested to see how it will go. My Mom, who's touring with Axis Theatre doing "The Emperor's New Threads", has hurt her back pretty badly hauling set pieces around and is limping around on painkillers- that's the glamour of stage managing, folks.
J and I had a little party last night to celebrate his 37th birthday (which was last Wednesday). I wasn't expecting much because not many people RSVP'd, but it turned out to be a lovely time. About 10 people turned up and it was just one of those nice parties where everyone gels really well- of course, it was almost all theatre people who knew each other anyway, but it was just a great combination of people. Good food, good friends- we have to do more entertaining. The only downside is that our building has no buzzer, so we have to keep running down to let people in! Still, it burns calories...
Speaking of which, I joined a gym on Thursday (!) and have resolved to go at least 3 times a week. Might as well do something with all the free time I'm gonna have after this Kelowna gig. It's a Curves, actually, which I always thought was for fat housewives, but the main thing is it's really close to our place, and they have branches everywhere, so I can go while we're in Kelowna. And it's always practically empty when I go, which I REALLY like. So we'll see if they can help with my ongoing bulge battle... I'm also trying to run regularly, but with the weather still being so crappy, it's hard to get motivated to go outside. Had a nice run tonight, though, and I know that Kelowna has some nice running routes.
And lastly, it sort of keeps lurking in the back of my mind- my stepmom, June, has had a reoccurrence of her cancer. They don't know how bad or where it is yet, so she and my dad are dealing with all this uncertainty and fear right now. They live in Kelowna, so I'm really glad I can be with them these next two weeks. I say it keeps lurking because I don't think about it all the time but then I'll remember and get this prickle of fear. I don't know what will happen, but it makes any minor mishaps in the Back Kitchen seem like a very small deal...
Wish me luck in Kelowna- I'll try to write!

Friday, March 2, 2007

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Welcome!

Some of my friends have blogs on this site so I thought I'd give it a try. Welcome to my life! I'm having a lazy morning today, sitting in front of the computer in my pj's.
Tonight, JT and I are going to the Playhouse opening of "Moonlight & Magnolias". Should be fun. Having worked at the Playhouse last season, we now both get comps to all the shows, which is most generous, I think. The Arts Club only gives you comps when you're under contract. And tomorrow we're going to see another play: "A Delicate Balance". I swear I've seen more plays this year so far than I have in the last 2 combined! It's wonderful to see so many (and most of them have been free, too), but I can't help but wish that I had some work coming up. This is the first time in ages that Jon and I have not got contracts lined up- we've been spoiled this year. Working freelance is scary- I've always had the bookstore jobs to go back to, but my regular one of the last few years, Tanglewood Books, has reduced its size to one store, so there's no more work for me there. Both liberating (no more day job!) and terrifying at the same time. It'll be interesting to see what happens to us in the next few months. At least we have one more gig, in Kelowna, before true poverty sets in! We're off to K-town on Monday, and I'll be stage managing "The Back Kitchen Release Party" up there. This is a bit nerve-racking, as I'm usually a music director, not an SM. So we'll see what happens...
I'll try to remember to take pictures so this blog will start looking more interesting...
Cheers,
AJ