Glee-session

I love GLEE.  It is such a great blend of music and theatre and some fun...

KITB: What Do You Love To Do?

Prompt from Kick in the Blog:
"What Do You Love to Do?"

At the last blog conference I attended the delightful Patti Digh challenged us to change things up when we're out and about. "Instead of asking people what they do, ask them what they love to do."
So, I'm asking you.
My response:
I don't think that any of my answers will be a surprise to anyone who spends any time here, but I think it is a good exercise to think about all the goodness we have in our lives - even when we aren't necessarily DOING those things actively.
I love going to see musical theatre. I love listening to music and particularly musical theatre. I love doing my art journal and I love playing Pictionary. I love going to the beach and I love the water. I love going to the movies. I love reading. I love snuggling down in a warm bed to read an old favorite. I love laughing with my friends. I love when we all get together and tell the same old stories we have told a million times and laugh until our sides and cheeks ache. I love interpreting. I love interpreting shows - but mostly the part where we get to play around with language and meaning and try to figure out how to make it all come together. I love blogging and I love the people I have met and the things I am loving doing BECAUSE of blogging.
I think I could go on for a long time about things I love - I'm basically pretty happy. I love having FUN.

Reverb 10 - Day 3 MOMENT

December 3 – Moment.

Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

The first thing I thought of when I read this was a strange moment to choose and I spent some time tonight trying to choose a "better" moment, but I couldn't get it out of my head, so I'm going to go with it.

It was a gloomy, rainy Friday afternoon in February. I left the office early to go to a medical appointment. As I was navigating the freeway, my phone started ringing. Having subscribed to the whole "No talking while driving" thing, I did not answer. Then the AIMs started ringing and a text message from my boss. "Call the conference bridge. NOW." Irritated that I couldn't just have an extra hour off to go to a medical appointment without having to work, I called in.

Within a few minutes, parked in the lot of my doctor's office, I sat, stunned. We were not sure if we would be in business the next month.

I went into the doctor's office. My mind was reeling with what I needed to do, how I was going to talk to my staff. Then, they took my blood pressure. SKY HIGH. Concerned, they asked, "What's going on?" I can't even remember what my BP was but it was terrible. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, I was trembling. I started to cry. I told them I would be fine, and I knew that I would be, but I couldn't stop crying - reaction crying. I kept telling the doctor and nurse that I was fine - I was just sort of in shock.

I ended up having to have an EKG done and got a referral to a specialist. They made it sound like I was going to die right there - they called and got me an appointment for Monday morning. I was in shock - here I was, in this moment where almost the worst possible thing was happening at work and now, a health scare.

I walked out to my car and got in. A sense of calm came over me. I drove back to work to make sure that the folks who were working were okay. I was there for a few hours and then I went home. Over the weekend, it never occurred to me to send food to work or plan a farewell party as I heard some of the other call center managers did. It NEVER, ever struck me that way. I KNEW we would be okay and that the best thing to do was to go business-as-usual.

I guess it took these two moments crashing into each other for me to remember what was really important. My focus changed and I felt a sense of strength and confidence I haven't felt in a long time. It is weird to think that something like this makes you feel alive, but it did. It made me realize that staying that way was THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. More important than work, more important than my fears or perfectionism, more important than anything else and I decided to focus my attention on it. It changed everything for me. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but I can still feel it stirring inside me.

The only other moment that came to mind is an entirely different kind of ALIVENESS. The other moment was a moment when I was watching the "25th Anniversary Les Miserables In Concert" at the movies last month. When Jean Valjean sang, "But why did I allow that man to touch my soul and teach me love", I felt this intense love for this show, for Roby, for my life. I can't really explain the joy that this show lifts in me - it is like breathing fresh, clean air or drinking cold, clear water after being parched. My heart swelled in my chest and for the next 2+ hours, I lived in a beautiful, musical place that was so comforting and familiar and yet new again. I loved every minute. It renewed my love of theatre in such an intense way. When I am done interpreting "Hair" at the end of the month, my treat to myself is to start listening to this version on CD.

Theatre Memories

I was browsing some of my favorite blogs today when I got home from work to wind down after the week. I saw the title of Jamie Ridler's post "Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned from Theatre" and I was immediately jetted back to my high school theatre days. Her list is fantastic and I thought I should come up with my own list. I must say that I agree - everything I needed to know, I learned from theatre, too.

I was a pretty theatrical child (ask my family) and I did some stuff when I was younger - in grammar school. The summer before junior high, my family left the place I felt most at home and like myself and moved to Portland, Oregon. I was an outsider in a place where outsiders did not belong. Every place I had ever lived before was a town or base where other air force kids lived. Kids moved to town and left regularly and everyone knew how to open the door to newcomers and wish people well when the left. Here, some of the people I met had never even been out of the state. They were suspicious of people who moved here from somewhere else.

In high school, I thought I found my niche in journalism. That was the world where I felt most comfortable. When I was a junior in high school, I was sent to the drama department to do a feature story about a play that was written by one of the students. We had to go to school on a SATURDAY! to get our interviews - I didn't even know that EXISTED IN THE UNIVERSE. Honestly, that day changed my life. I met friends I am still in touch with today, I met Roby, I found theatre, I found myself. BRILLIANT.

I'm not sure I can bullet point the things I learned in the theatre...they are so ingrained in me.

• We can do anything when given the right support
• The curtain opens whether we are ready or not
• The back row folks paid for their seats, too. Make sure they can hear it
• The only one who doubts you can do it is you
• Smoke and mirrors looks pretty damn good with bangles sewn on
• There is nothing like building something from the ground up with people you care about
• Laughter gets you through all the hard stuff
• Sometimes make-believe is necessary
• Don't lose the keys!
• Everyone has talent, they just have to find it
• Show tunes cure what ails you 

I'm sure there are a million more things...I thought I could come up with a nice list of meaningful items, but the visions and memories are blocking the writing. Maybe I will be able to find them, but for now, I am just going to enjoy the nostalgia.