Ugh.

And then there are days like today.

Stage Management

So I know Wednesday is usually Hot Link Wednesday, but I'm gonna save Hot Link day for a day when I really don't have anything to write.  Maybe tomorrow, or Friday.  Anyway - we had rehearsal tonight - the first solid tech-thru since cue-to-cue on Sunday.  

I was recently bitching to someone about how I feel like I haven't really been giving my all to this play that I'm stage managing, and how I felt bad about that.  Stage management can be a very thankless job, and I think I was sort of feeling that before it was even happening.  But. 

But tonight was an awesome night.  I forgot.  I forgot how awesome it is to put up a show, and to hang out with like-minded people who love to create theater, and who like to stay after rehearsal and shoot the shit and talk about nothing...and everything...

I forgot.  I forgot how much fun it is to give line notes in the presence of the playwright, who totally appreciates that you are making sure that the actors are saying the lines that are supposed to be said, the lines that she put herself into when she was writing them on the page. 

I forgot.  I forgot the camaraderie that develops in the booth between the designers and the stage manager, as I try to turn their vision into each set change, each lingering moment of letting the actors and the scene "breathe" for just the right amount of time before pulling the audience into the next scene.  

I forgot all of this because I was looking at it as a job, a task that needed to be done, and not a joy.  A lifestyle choice.  A hobby, and a dream come true. 

So I'm posting this in the hopes that next time I am going into tech week feeling like an unmoored boat, I remember that it really all does come together, and that it's fun, and that that's why I do this in my spare time, when I could be sleeping or watching bad television or reading a book.  Because I love it.  

90210

These girls seriously need to eat a sandwich. 

This show is so bad, and yet I can't stop watching.  Oy. 

Which Came First, the Turkey or the Turkey?

I'm not sure why the question popped into my head. 

All I know is, I was driving to my improv class this evening, and I wondered - how do countries get their names?  Oh - I know where it came from - on NPR, they were talking about Rwanda.  So I wondered how Rwanda got its name.  And then I wondered how Italy got its name...and so on, and so on.  And then I started thinking about how people possibly answered questions like this before we had the internet.  If you had a random question like this before the age of "googling," you'd be completely screwed.  I can't even wrap my mind around the possibility.  If you really wanted to know the answer, I suppose you could go to the library and look for history books, and check the indexes for name origin, or something...for every country...I'm exhausted just thinking about it. 

So I got home, and googled it.  

And for the first time I think EVER, google failed me.  I googled the simple phrase "how countries get named."  And the best answer (and by best, I mean the one that made me laugh the hardest) was from WikiAnswers, in response to the question "How did the country Turkey get its name?"  The answer:

becuse somone saw a turkey running around the place and thus it got's it's name

Below that on the SERP (search engine results page, for those of you who aren't "in the know") was a link to the following, also about Turkey: The Straight Dope.  I quite like the idea and motto of this website - "Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (It's taking longer than we thought.)"  I will be poking around it further once I finish this post. 

Okay, let's try Rwanda, the source of the original query - typing in "how Rwanda got its name."  This is happening in real time, people.  I have no idea what the result will be.  Let's see.  

Got it - also from WikiAnswers:

Rwanda got it's name by Mason Gibson, a really big loser

Did the same guy who answered the Turkey question answer the Rwanda question?  Is he just going around WikiAnswers making up nonsensical answers to questions?  So now - the dilemma - do I google Mason Gibson, or just try "how Italy got its name" and see if I have more luck?  This is like a choose your own adventure book.  And I choose...to google "Mason Gibson Rwanda."  Here goes.  

And...nothing.  Just the same WikiAnswers post again.  

Okay - Italy.  Googling...

And now, from Yahoo Answers:

The name italy comes from the word Italia.  This was the name of a rebellious area of the Roman Empire in what is now central Italy.  Italia, in turn was named after the people living there, called the Italics. 

But how did the Italics get their name?  This could go on forever!  But wait - there's a Wikipedia entry claiming that Italy got its name from Italus, legendary king of the Sicels.  And here's another different answer:  Did you know that Italy got its name from the ancient Romans?  They called the southern part of the peninsula Italia, which means "land of oxen" or "grazing land."  ???!!!!???

I now see why teachers discourage using random internet pages as sources for information.  There are a million whackjobs out there...making...shit...up.  And who knows what is true?  I'm starting to doubt all the information I get from the internets.   

Maybe I'll try the library. 

Tired

Just had a 12-hour rehearsal.  I was standing the whole time 'cause I'm too short to see through the window when I'm sitting down.  Going to bed now.

Sunshine on My Shoulders Makes Me Happy

I am in a good, but tired, mood, and therefore feel like doing a post in list form.  This is a list of things that make me happy...in no particular order (and this is by no means a complete list):

1. raspberries

2. lupita (my cat)

3. hearing from an old friend

4. the sound of rain

5. rocking out alone in my car

6. my tattoos

7. checking off things on a checklist

8. good theater

9. laughter

10. the smell of just-washed laundry

11. taking a bath

12. arranging flowers

13. tea and backgammon

14. Boont Amber

15. frisbee in the park

16. thrift stores

17. dinner parties

18. The Party with Peter Sellers

19. the "Hang In There" poster with a cat on a branch

20. good coffee

21. baking the perfect pie crust

What's on your list?

Willpower

Just resisted In-N-Out.  Very proud of self. 

That is all.