From "The Circle Project"

From "The Circle Project". Go to the website and read more.  I'm thinking about how I don't need to be fixed. :)

What? End of August? Impossible

I don't honestly know where the time goes. The world seems to be spinning faster and faster. I'm not a fan of spinning fast.

Squirmy Questions

What am I doing with my life?
What do I need to do differently? What is working?
Who do I need in my life? (or out of my life?)
Where do I see myself in 5 years? 10 years?
What are my personal goals? professional?
How can I achieve my goals? Start in chewable bits.

One of the things I decided to do was to take a class of some kind this fall. I think I'm going to start with something I want to take, as opposed to an academic class, but I am definitely working my way there. I found a bunch of classes I'm interested in taking. I just have to sit down with my calendar and figure out what might work. The whole "Shrek" thing being a different month might actually work in my favor - this way, if the class starts in September after the show, I don't have to miss anything in October. A plus, for sure.

I'm kind of excited. Just to do something new, something different. Meet some people, it's a good thing.

In My Spare Time...

Okay, so this Pinterest thing is addicting. I saw some funny quotes about it, things like, "I love Pinterest because it makes me feel artistic even though I just spent 2 hours on my computer."  Aside from the giant time-suck, what I like about it is that you definitely create a sense of your personality on your boards...

Here is a screen capture of my home page...I didn't capture all the boards, but you get the idea.

My Pinterest page is here.

Anyway, this has taken up the creative energies I haven't been putting in my journals. I don't like trying to create stuff when the fan is blowing all my papers all around. When it is hot, it is definitely harder to do art.  This has been a fun substitute and I have found some good ideas out there, as well.

Childhood Memory: "Captain America"

Here is my memory of "Captain America" from my childhood:


The lyrics:

When Captain America throws his mighty shield,

All those who chose oppose his shield must yield.

If he's lead to a fight and a duel is due,

Then the red and white and the blue'll come through.

When Captain America throws his mighty shield.

When we moved to Germany, I was six years old - a time when kids are most likely to like cartoons, especially on Saturday mornings. In the U.S., we watched "Bugs Bunny" and the other Warner Brothers cartoons. We watched "Scooby Doo" and other Saturday fare from that time. In Germany, they had the "Armed Forces" television channel (one channel, no commercials, shows from all the major network channels mixed together, black and white). The channel had a single hour of cartoons on Saturday morning, I think from 9:00am - 10:00am. They alternated weeks - one week an episode of "Captain America" and "Thor" and one week more "girl-oriented" cartoons (they had "The Little Matchgirl" and some other thing...I don't think they had a "regular" girl cartoon they showed.)

Anyway, when I heard that they were making "Captain America" into a movie, I was practically the only person I know who even REMEMBERS the cartoon. I was hoping they would have the song in it, but they didn't.

I'm going to stop going to see any comic book movies - they are too one-dimensional for me, and frankly, most of them are boring. So far, the best series has been "Iron Man". If they do "Wonder Woman", I will see that, but I'm done with "Spiderman", "Superman", "Batman", etc. I don't go to the movies often enough for this to be worth it. I know I'm not the "target" demographic for these movies, so I just accept that they aren't my thing.

Glee-Ful Surprise

I have been hearing the "Umbrella/Singing in the Rain" mashup from "Glee" in my head for a week now. Gwenyth Paltrow's singing grows on me.  I love the song and I can't wait to listen to it tomorrow - I'm planning to play my jukebox DVDs for a little while and do some art journaling or something creative.

Originally, I really preferred the music from the first season. I have been listening to more of the second season of late, thinking that I would grudgingly give it another chance. What I realized is that I didn't always like the stories that were being told on the show, but I love the musical numbers for most of it. I wasn't that fond of the "Rocky Horror" Episode, but that's because "Rocky Horror" isn't really my thing.

Anyway, it is a strange thing to be listening to ABBA songs for the show while "Glee" music is in my head. Weird.  I'm such a dork when it comes to music. I don't care - I love what I love. I just think sometimes the combinations are a little strange.

Two Down, One to Go...?

So, somehow, I flipped the dates of two of the shows we are doing this season. All this time, I have been thinking, "I just have to get through "Mamma Mia" in August and then I will have a month off..."Shrek: The Musical" isn't until mid-October. Turns out, "Blue Man Group" is in October and "Shrek" is in approximately 3 weeks. Oy.

I think I might need a quick overnighter at the coast to tide me over until I can take some vacation time...like a week...

"Mamma Mia" went pretty well tonight, but my back is sore. Gonna trot off to bed and hope that the soreness is gone in the morning.

Where Did it All Begin? -KITB

Where Did It All Begin?
Everything has a beginning. A shiny moment when ideas and opportunities click, and something is started. Then, sometimes, a little ways down the road, we forget the why and the how of the thing that started it all. The thing gets a little tarnished and we lose the energy that made it fun at the start.

As you sit here, mojo nowhere in sight, tell us, where did it all begin? How did the shiny idea start?

When I decided to write about this, I was thinking about how I got involved in theatrical interpreting, but I think I have already written about that here...I worry that I keep saying the same things over and over and even I will be bored with myself. :)

I started this blog a little while after someone at work shared their blog with me. I was fascinated with the idea and hadn't really explored the blogosphere AT ALL at that point. I didn't have a camera except in my sidekick phone, I hadn't done anything really artistic in a long time (I painted some tiles at Ceramica about 7 or 8 or 9 years ago...).  I had pretty much given up on writing anything but emails at work.  I had played around with Homestead trying to make a website to honor Roby and I really liked playing with images and trying to put something together that was visually interesting. I had put together Signplay.com to advertise interpreted theatrical performances in Oregon but I felt limited by my own lack of skill, so I thought maybe a blog would help me figure out how to do something more.

I started with this blog and then I realized I wasn't really sure what I was doing so I started looking for something else. I did my Pink blog that I still have up but I don't mess with too much - it was the first place I did Nablopomo as a test. It was a failure in naming conventions, first of all. I hadn't figured that part out yet. I think I was looking for more anonymity but then I was like, "Um, duh, it is on the internet. It isn't anonymous." I'm good with that now. :)

I started it a couple of days before the anniversary of Roby's death and I think it started as a repository for Roby stories and thoughts that I just needed to get out and then it grew into something so much more than that, even though that is a big thing in itself.

Sometimes I think about stopping - or only blogging when I have something REALLY IMPORTANT to say. Then I thought - what if I don't have anything "really important" to say - just my ordinary self and my ordinary thoughts. That is worth something. I like ordinary. I like no-drama. I like the little glimpses we get into people's lives through blogs.   I have taken classes, met authors, gone to workshops, made new friends, done crazy art, learned about photography, and I have made a commitment to blog here for whatever it is worth.

It's a crazy thing, but I am so happy that I started.

The information in italics is from Kick In the Blog: Kickintheblog.com is the brainchild of Jessica Rosenberg ~ It's my life...
Come back often for new prompts to kick you out of your blogging rut!

The Truth?

I feel lost today. I have been feeling that way for a little while now and I can't shake it. It will be okay - I just have to work through it. It is probably one of those "every ten years" things you have to go through.  Just feeling like a stranger in a strange land most of the time. Thinking about stuff - decisions, choices, blocks, courage.

I think it is the heat and the lack of sleep that hit me today. It was really humid overnight and I had the first "can't sleep" nights of the summer. I felt lucky on the one hand that I have only had one night like that and it is nearing the end of August. Most summers, I feel pretty sleep deprived.  I need some decompression time.  One of my friends on Facebook from my telecourse a couple of years ago went on a 5 Day Silent retreat - and not the American Sign Language kind. Totally silent. I love the idea of that. I'm thinking I might create one for myself. Intriguing thought.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner...?

I'm sporadically doing the Nablopomo prompts for this month because my brain is fried in terms of thinking of something to write about.  This month's theme is FICTION, so I have been having fun with some of the prompts.  Today's prompt is: What character would you want to have over for dinner and what would you cook?

 I have never stopped to think about a question like this...a lot of things came to mind - Dumbledore, Atticus Finch, Kunta Kinte...but the name that seemed right when I thought of it is the one I will choose - Idgie Threadgoode. I would make her macaroni and tomato sauce (my family's comfort food), graham cracker pie, and some barbeques, West Virginia style.  Makes me want to go back and read "Fried Green Tomatoes".  Seems like rereading books always spurs me back into a reading period. Maybe this is what I need to read right now.

Escaping - KITB

Where Do You Go When It's Time For Escape?
"When I was small and easily wounded, books were my carapace. If I were recalled to my hurts in the middle of a book, they somehow mattered less. My corporeal life was slight; the dazzling one in my head was what really mattered." ~ Lauren Groff The Monsters of Templeton
Books have always been my means of escape. When life gets to be too much to swallow I either slip on my sneakers and go for a run or I grab a book and fly away. For hours I dive into another person's life and live vicariously through them. When I emerge I feel a bit more able to deal with my own life.


How do you escape your reality? What gives you reprieve from your life when it gets to be too much?

I think this is my biggest problem right now - I haven't been doing much to escape my reality, so I don't always feel like I'm getting a reprieve from my life.  I don't always feel it, but sometimes it creeps up on me.

I guess if I had to choose something, I would say that I use the internet for escaping now more than books. I really want to stop doing that, though. I know that the escape I find in books is much more satisfying and REAL. The other way that I sort of escape reality is through working in my art journals. I love doing it, but I often get to a stuck place because I don't always know how to do certain techniques and I'm not very artful sometimes. I find that having to take things out and set up and take it down again is often a deterrent, so I am planning to work on making my extra closet a mini-office space where I can keep my art stuff out sometimes.

I'm frustrated with myself about the reading situation, though. I don't really understand how my reading habits changed so radically. I think it might have something to do with staring at a computer all day long...my eyes definitely feel it. At the same time, I long for a good story to spirit me away.



The information in italics is from Kick In the Blog: Kickintheblog.com is the brainchild of Jessica Rosenberg ~ It's my life...
Come back often for new prompts to kick you out of your blogging rut!

Summer Weather and "Glee"

I know this will be sacrilege to many of my friends, but today is TOO HOT. I think this has been a perfect summer in the Northwest, especially taking into account the weather in other locations, say Texas or Chicago.  Texas has had more than 50 consecutive days with 100 degrees or more. Nightmare. We, on the other hand, have had lots of days in the 80s and most of the weekends have been beautiful. Even the cooler days since July 4th have pretty much been cloudy in the morning and then sunny later in the day. Today, 96 degrees and no cooling off in the evening. Yuck.

I love the "Glee Jukebox" on the DVD sets.  I like to put the DVD in and listen to it like a CD. I just wish they had all the performances. And I wish they would put out the whole season in a set instead of two sets where the second half of the season takes FOREVER to come out.  Right now, on the second season, part one disc, I'm enjoying the songs from the "Substitute" episode, the "Duets" episode and the "Furt" episode. I don't know the names of the songs...One is a mash-up of "Singing in the Rain" and from Duets, Kurt and Rachel sing the duet that Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland sang back in the 1960s. The "Furt" episode is when Kurt's dad gets married and there are several songs I'm enjoying, but most especially the song at the end of the episode that Finn sings to Kurt.  I wish I could articulate how this music makes me feel - I guess in a word, good.

What was the last book you read?

Well, there is the problem. Honestly, the last book I read from cover to cover wasn't even memorable enough to write down. My problem is that I haven't been reading that much and I really want to. I haven't made the time - spend too much of my spare time in front of the computer.  I'm working on that.

I'm in the middle of re-reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", started "The Help" and I have a couple of books I'm reading in my Kindle although I can't bring them to mind because you don't see the cover when you are in the middle of the book...weird. I just realized that is another DING on eReaders.  One of the ways we reinforce our thoughts and memory of the book we are reading is by seeing the cover and the colors of the book every time we open or close it. When it is already on the page when you turn the eReader on, you don't have the same relationship with all the visual things that probably made you pick up the book in the first place.

I need about 4 more hours a day. NOT to be used for work or anything electronic and in the shape of a box.

Favorite Book Store

"Talk about your favorite bookstore."

Um...hi. I live in Portland. The only REAL bookstore in Portland (or anywhere for that matter) at this point is Powell's City of Books, of course. I could live at Powell's if I didn't have to work. :)   I don't go to Powell's as often as I used to, but I go on my annual BookFest book buying spree with Kevin.

I love Barnes and Noble and Borders (sad to see them go - great magazine section and I loved getting my theatre CDs from them) for new, non-fiction and for periodicals, for "other" stuff - miscellaneous stuff like calendars and pens and weird cards. But for serious book-buying, it has to be Powell's.

The firs time I went to Powell's was in the eighth grade on a field trip with the "Book Club".  We were as geeky as it sounds, but we had a great time. We rode the bus downtown on a Saturday and went to Cameron's books on 2nd and to Powell's where I discovered the beauty of used books.

If you have never been to Powell's and you visit the city, make sure you save a day for it. An entire city block filled with books! Imagine that!  It is fantastic!

Favorite place to Read?

I'm doing some of the Nablopomo questions (out of order, of course).  Today, I am answering "What is your favorite place to read?"

Well, that's an easy question to answer:  My favorite place to read in my regular life is cuddled down in bed on a cold winter Saturday morning.  My favorite place to read *special* is on the balcony at the condo at the beach. Very relaxing, very calming.  I haven't been in a LONG time. I'm hoping to go soon and read some good books.

Page in Progress

Here's the page I worked on this weekend:

I wanted to try some layering and some colorful pieces with the black and white focal image, plus the white grid paper for journaling. I don't love it yet, but I'm not done yet.

Books: Own or Borrow?

Do you prefer to own books or borrow them from a friend or the library?

This is the eternal book question really. When it comes down to it, you can add eBook to the mix. The trouble with Kindle (for me) is a similar problem to borrowing books from people or the library.  To me, books carry energy. There is something about picking up a beloved book you have read over and over again. There is an energy, a touch memory - something visceral, something I can feel.  For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to keep THE book that I read.

When I was in middle school, I read my way through the library. Eventually, they gave me "preview books" and I wrote recommendations for the librarian about purchasing the books I was reading.  My biggest problem was that any time I read a book or even borrowed an album (vinyl) (cough* "Annie" Soundtrack), I wanted to check it out forever, but at the same time, it limited how many books I could check out next.

When I checked out "The NeverEnding Story" from the public library, the book was printed in red and green ink, depending on which part of the story was being told. It took everything I had to take that book back and I'm pretty sure that was after I had it checked out 2-3 times.  I finally found a copy of the book with the ink alternation, but it didn't have the energy of discover in it from my reading of it.  That was kind of when I realized that I really liked having the book I read.

Along came Kindle. I can honestly say that I don't think I have completed a single book in the Kindle and I have had mine a while. Part of the reason is that I think I buy a different type of book on Kindle than I buy regularly - I have a couple of non-fiction, a couple of books on Deafness, etc.  There's just something weird about it. I like that I can change the font. I like that I can read whjle I'm eating lunch. I don't like the electronic part of it - no pages, no texture, no cover to look at. No page numbers.  I'm sure it is wave of the future, but I sure do love me some actual books.

Hi, My Name is Jean...

Can't. stop. pinning...

Wanna see most of my weekend? Click here.

Saturday, Birthday, Pinterest

I was planning on doing some art journaling today but a bunch of stuff intervened so I am hoping to be able to do some tomorrow.  Had a birthday party that was decided last minute, so lots of running around to have cards and gifts ready.

Playing with Pinterest today again - I want to put a button here so you can pop over and visit stuff, but I don't think they have one, so I might have to make it. I have seen some pretty incredible photos over there. It is fascinating. I totally don't need another way to kill time on the internet, so I think I will have to make some rules for myself.

TGIF and Pinterest

I'm so glad it is Friday. I feel a little like someone beat me with a bat today, so it was a relief to come home and put my feet up for a while. I think the humidity and the weather changes this week just wreaked havoc on my system or something. I'm not quite sure exactly, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, Pinterest. I love the idea of sort of "bookmarking" websites and stuff you like all in one place. I tried setting up an account and got a couple of "pins" in, but then, I couldn't get the PINS part to show up on my browser again. I think my computer is too old or I have too old of an IE browser set up. I tried messing with it but I got frustrated and quit for the evening. I need another online distraction like I need a hole in the head, but I thought MAYBE, just maybe, I would do that instead of putting everything in FAVORITES and making the lists like 8,000 miles long.  I will keep you all posted. :)

In Lieu of a Thoughtful Post

A friend of mine is doing a 30 Day Film Challenge on Facebook. I don't really want to do it on Facebook but I thought it might be a fun exercise. My brain is apparently on vacation this week and all I really want to do is some art journaling stuff, but I have had work and rehearsals and just haven't gotten around to it this week.

 

So, I decided to do the Film Challenge in several parts here.  Today, I am doing the first 10 questions:

1. Your Favorite film from your childhood - "The Wizard of Oz"
2. Your favorite film from the past year - "Despicable Me" - "It's so FLUFFY!!"
3. A rotten film starring your favorite actor/actress - I don't really have a favorite actor or actress...I like a lot of them...  
4. A terrific film starring an actor/actress you despise - I couldn't think of any film I would call "terrific" that had someone that I dislike intensely. I would say that the most effective movie with an actor/actress I don't like is "Chicago" from a few years ago. Not a Catherine Zeta-Jones fan. But I didn't LOVE the movie or think it was "terrific".
5. A film infinitely better than its remake - "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", "Fame" (I'm sure this list could go on and on...) 
6. A remake better than the original - "Hairspray", "Little Shop of Horrors"
7. The most pretentious (re: boring) film you ever saw. - "Never Say Never Again"
8. A film that put you on the edge of your seat. - "Speed"
9. Your favorite Academy Award winning Best Picture. "Schindler's List"
10. A film that should've won the Oscar, but didn't. - "The Color Purple"

It's funny, these memes seem so easy when I am thinking about doing it and then when I really sit down to do it, it is a lot harder than I would have thought. Anyway,  it was fun and now you know a little more about my movie habits.

Dog Days of Summer?

I should go back in the blog and read some of my "end-of-summer" posts and see if I am afflicted in the same way every year.  I'm just feeling unsettled, unfocused. I miss interpreting, but I have lost some confidence since I don't interpret daily. I have been thinking of setting up some kind of practice and at the same time, that feels sort of artificial.

I have been thinking about when I can go to the beach, but we have another show right around the corner, so there is no rest until at least after August 25.  I just want a couple of days at the beach - to reset my inner self. There is just something about the rhythms of the ocean that relax me so deeply.

I have been wanting to also re-enter my reading world - I have STACKS of books that I want to read and my ability to attend to a book is greatly diminished. I just need to stop allowing myself to be distracted by everything. 30 minutes a day is not that hard. I want to get back to that.

Anyway, these are just some of the thoughts I have been having. And art journals, cleaning out the car, how will the downgrade affect the economy, getting up earlier, doing the laundry, etc.  My brain is all over the place lately. It will be fine - it's just a little chaotic right now, but it will settle down.

For now, I will just think beach-y thoughts. :)

Too Pooped to Ponder

I worked and then had rehearsal tonight, so I'm pooped. I thought about trying to find a good topic but I just can't.  More tomorrow.



 (I hit DRAFT last night instead of SAVE. Ugh. Obviously a good choice to give it up and go to bed.)

J.O.Y. From the Weekend

Here are some of the pages I did over the weekend:

I'm not done with the last three pages - but I have been away from it all for a while, so I wanted to post the progress.

Visiting My Tribe

I had an opportunity to visit with some of my friends tonight - some of them, I see pretty regularly, some I see occasionally and some rarely. These are the people I share my history with, my profession, my gaffes, my missteps and my stories. They are my tribe - or at least the core of it.  We have blown to different areas, living our lives, but still a strong thread holds us in formation and a slight pull moves us all toward the middle for brief periods.

I realized tonight that storytelling is like using a foreign language - you lose your fluency if you don't do it very often. I felt rusty tonight. Rusty like my interpreting feels sometimes.  I'm hoping to change that in both arenas - I just need to practice both more often.

It was a good evening.

August Nablopomo Theme: Fiction

What is your favorite book?

This is a hard question...I have a list...I'm sure there are more. Each one is a favorite for different reasons. But there is no way for me to choose one book...

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Roots
3. Night
4. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe
5. Hearts in Atlantis
6. And the Band Played On (Hard to call this "favorite" but one of the most important books I've read)
7. The Harry Potter series - all of them
8. The NeverEnding Story
9. Where the Red Fern Grows
10.  Sudie

Hopefully, some art journal photos tomorrow. I have been working in the new book, just no photos yet.

Back to J.O.Y.

Even though I keep telling myself that I should go back and do the pen work and writing in the J.O.Y. journals (The Journey of You) from my Kelly Kilmer class, I made a new journal today. I think sometimes, if I'm not feeling particularly artful, it is easier to do that - I feel like I'm doing something related to art and creativity.

I love the size and flexibility of these journals.  If you want to explore more, they are very inexpensive classes - click on the link above to find out more.

I took half a down day today to just lay low and recuperate from the adrenaline rush of last night. It felt good although I didn't really accomplish anything today.  I hope to have some pages done tomorrow or Sunday and will post when I can.

And Your Definition of "Limited View" seating is?

We interpreted the show tonight and overall, it went pretty well. There were a couple of glitchy moments, translation-wise, but I thought it went very well.  The interpreter's light burned out within the first seven minutes of the show, so they had to jury-rig something for the first act. By the second act, they had a new lamp in our usual light and all was well.

The real issue - which always comes up when there is an "add-on" show that isn't filled with regular subscribers - was that *some* of the people didn't really think that their $27 limited view ticket meant that someone/something would actually block their view. This is somewhat ironic because the person who complained the most a) sat in a seat where the only thing the interpreters were blocking were the gigantic black speakers and b) he fell asleep for most of the show.

If I'm being gracious, I would say that sleeping is a natural reaction to listening to beautiful, relaxing music and I hope he had a restful sleep.  This happens to me in the symphony, but I don't generally sic the ushers on the conductor for not having more to look at.  Mr. Snooze had one of the ushers come and CALL MY TEAM OFF THE PLATFORM DURING THE SHOW to ask us to move. Pardon my shouting, but it was a better option than swearing. Um. We're kinda busy up here, in case you hadn't noticed.  I don't really know what people are thinking. Do they actually think that we just jumped up there, started signing and then someone thought, "Hey, let's turn a light on those cool folks who are signing down front!"  It doesn't really work that way.

Once this happened, we spent all our extra energy (there wasn't a lot - we were interpreting "Les Miserables", after all - 3 hours, 85 degree day, packed house) trying to figure out when we could move off the platform to accommodate the people in the audience who were sending hate-rays** in our general direction. That's all fine and good until the end of the first act, when I didn't see that the platform was not butted up against the pit wall and my foot went in between. Thank goodness, I didn't do more than a minor twist - it hurt for a minute, but more than anything I just realized that it is really kind of dangerous to be jumping up and down off the platform in the dark while trying to make sure our timing is correct, etc.  At intermission, we moved the platform so that my team was standing on it and I was on the floor. It is a compromise for the Deaf audience - we level the heights off - I am as tall as my team when I'm on the floor and she's on the platform. It just felt safer and smarter.

Standing on a wooden platform is easier than standing on the cement floor, in case you were wondering. My feet hurt.

Anyway, I felt good that we tried to be as accommodating as we could while still meeting our obligations as interpreters. I know folks were upset.  My advice to any one thinking of buying "limited view" tickets is to ask for a definition. "When you say 'limited view', what do you mean for this show?"  They will tell you.  Sometimes limited view seats are outstanding and much less expensive for basically the same view as anyone else. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

**I must include the fact that some of the folks were incredibly gracious and kind. They knew that we were doing our best to give them a better view and at the same time, were aware that even if they were frustrated, we were just doing our jobs.

No Tangible Art

It is interesting to go from "30 Days of Get Your Art On" to zero tangible art.  It wasn't purposeful, but just the nature of rehearsing for a show and having a full time job and other commitments.  I managed to waste time in other ways, but I haven't produced any art journal pages or written in my journal or ANYTHING tangible.  I'm not upset about it, but it is strange. I feel a little like I forgot to do something and then I realize that it is just that I'm used to getting a little glue on my hands every day.

Tomorrow is the show, so wish me luck or "break a leg" or "break a finger", as it were. I'm excited to interpret and nervous - shows that I love are always a blessing and a curse - blessing to do a show I know and love, but a curse because I'm always extra nervous.  It will be a good show - I just want our audience to have a good time and understand the story.

Anyway, back to rehearse some more.

I Heart "Les Miserables"

This music still has the power to bring me to tears, to move me beyond words. Tonight was an experience - to see the 25th Anniversary tour show - updated in some ways, changed, clipped, reinvented, and at the same time, triggered in memory. Seeing the show for the first time in 1988 in NYC in the Broadway theatre with Roby, interpreting it the first time, seeing it with my friends and family, seeing the 10th anniversary version, singing it in the car with Roby, seeing the 25th Anniversary concert in the movie theatre. I just felt awash with memories and love for the show.

Watching "Les Miserables" is like going home.

Show Week

Moving into a week of prep for "Les Miz". We see the show tomorrow night and I can't wait. I'm a little nervous because I know they have changed some of it. We've already established that I'm resistant to change, so these anxieties should not be surprising to anyone.

Review of the show tomorrow.