The Monkey's Paw

Tonight is full dress rehearsal for a very scattered cast and crew. I've got directors coming from every which way and tomorrow is thee day!

I am at the point to where I'm not too sure about the whole thing. It seems this poor play was cursed from the very get go and nothing seems to be working for us still.

Our little actors have memorized until they are blue in the face. I've had committed actors memorizing the script but never showing up for practice, yet of all the rehearsals that we have had, they seem to be pulling it off when they do show, but are now throwing the other actors off because the others just got used to them not being there....sigh. Did I mention the cast before this one buggared off to do Rocky!!??

I've got one actor whispering lines to everyone and late for her own, I've got the lights man telling me which chair the main actor should sit in, I've got my props lady coming over to me and pointing out to me that the actors are not following the stage directions that are in the book! AARRGGGHHHH...too many directors and not enough actors. Oh, did I mention that the little high school student who was supposed to run lights, never did show up and when he did, he wanted me to sign the paper to his teacher saying he WAS there for all the rehearsals!! That didn't happen! I'm hoping he failed!

I am now doing sound, prompting, set construction and making damn good and sure there is a double caesar waiting for me in the wings when its all over!!!

I am praying that they will have a great run tonight.

Rehearsal

Well, after cancelling out for festival, I think we finally have our group of 8.

We were trying to gather the 8 people who committed to doing The Paw for festival in November. Then Rocky Horror pops up and I went frio 8 to ZERO!

I had to phone head office to cancel out of Festival, got a talking to from the E.D. who rubs me the wrong way on a good day and barked back at her only to realized that not only can I not go to festival but the play is advertised in the season brochure AND, found out that the schools here were taking it in their reading curriculum and selling the house for a 10:30 AM performance out while STILL I had Zero actors.

Slowly, I gathered up 4 out of 5 actors. I still needed a dad. I found him last week. I was giving myself until the end of September to do this play.

I'm pissed at myself for losing sleep over the damn thing, I am pissed that many went over to RHPS and couldn't "DO" both....there are no lines to learn in Rocky and pissed that there is another sub group of the Players doing a show for the seniors at the same time of The Paw.

So...in the meantime, I have had a get together with all the Players and sorted this fiasco out. We have all agreed, because we went from 9 to 35 people overnight basically, that we need more communication....ya think?

This spring we are in the works for "See How They Run"...which thankfully will not be diirected by me...Im soured and need a break. I may however, take a roll in it. I think it could be awfully fun!

But in the meantime, rehearsal last night went great and we have come a long way baby!!

Fast as lightning!

I helped Buster's aunt yesterday. My second job is helping her cater. It was about a 240 seater and all the Ukrainian fixings were on the table. YUM!

There were cabbage rolls, head cheese, three types of salads, buns with cheese inside them and dill sauce spilled over top! There were pickles, fried chicken, and little potatoes with a dill cream sauce ontop as well as baked beet leaves! Man oh Man was it a feast!

As I was standing there at the end of the table a man walked up to me and asked me for....ketchup!

I said "Ketchup?!" My eyebrows were raised and my mouth open. Are you joking? "Ketchup, with what", I asked?

I of course said no! No Ketchup!! WTF?

So I sauntered in to the kitchen and asked the cook....is there any ketchup? In an Ukrainian accent you could hear to the post office was the reply..."Ketchup! Who's putting ketchup on my food!"

That was all I needed. Nope. No Ketchup!

I was also standing there when I heard a woman asking another woman where she was from. The woman replied that she lived in Lloydminster. The other woman asked if she lived on the Alberta side or the Saskatchewan side. Alberta was the reply. And with that there was some verbal exchange and before I knew it, the woman sidled up to me and asked where I was from.

"I live in Vegreville" was my answer....I knew what was coming.
"Oh, I have never seen you there before, are you new?" she asked
"Yes, I am an import.", thinking that I don't even know you what do you care...but I played along.

"Where are you from?" the woman said.
I said, "The Saskatchewan/Manitoba Border."

There was a slight moment of silence...and one word puked out of her mouth..."oh!"

Then she said, "Oh, that's too bad." "Your on the right side now!"

I said, "You know, its attitudes like yours that make me proud to be from Saskatchewan."

She took a quick intake of breath and walked away.

I just smiled.

Brain song

My Brain Song today is sung by Ralph the Dog.

With dance/music festival this song comes to mind....I hope that someting better comes along.
I have had women waiting for me to clean up after their children. Your kid throws up in the hallway...you clean it!
You can't get here on time for rehearsal....change your clock to run ten minutes ahead of time.
You forget your things back stage and want to go on stage to go cback stage to get your things and its pitch black up there....go around...everyone else has to.
You come and ask us for bobby pins, safety pins and hair spray...think again!

It has been an interesting last few days and we finally went to the calendar for answers...yup. Full moon.

Nuff said.

This weekend Buster came home and I do believe will be home for the next two weeks to seed. I asked him just what all he seeds, his answer can't be written. I laughed and he then replied, Canola - formerly known as rape, Barley - also known as the beer maker and Wheat which everyone needs at the supper table....which reminds me....

Not sure what it is called everywhere else in the world, but the standing debate/joke at the office is that I am redneck....I beg to differ, because I refer to the evening meal, the meal after work , the main meal you eat before bedtime as "supper".

In my world, there is breakfast, brunch, dinner, lunch, supper and snack....then bed.
Being raised ont he farm, where I hung out with my grama, who made the meals for the men winter or summer, spring or fall. There was a schedule you followed...and the above listed is it for me and my family

I always get corrected.

Eventhough, I work with "former" farm kids who are now "citified"....please! (Snort)
They continue to tell me that it is breakfast, morning snack, lunch, snack, dinner and bed.

When I say I am going for dinner, they look at me funny as I walk out the door. Really I would be going for lunch according to them....it all makes me giggle and I continue to argue and yank their chain.

Why? Cuz I can.

I finally got my belated birthday prezzies from Buster....he did good. I think I'll keep him a little while longer. I have been wanting some nice hoop earrings...he came through...he also knows I like sparkly costume jewelry....he came through....

Yup. He is a keeper!

1/2 mile high club

Last night was once again a school Christmas concert. All learning lessons and all different from the one previous.

Once I got home though, I turned on the boob tube and promptly dialed Buster to "check in". Of course I woke him up and wondered once I hung up if he would remember the conversation, and how many times could I get away with talking to him during sleep if I could ask for anything I wanted in the future....this morning he remembered talking to me so there goes that out the window! No sparkly trinkets for me!

After I hung up from Buster, I turned on the computer and headed over to facebook. I discovered that Wilma was on, so she then called me and we drooled together over the hotel room...scratch that...suite, a-hem a 750 square foot suite that we are staying in when we jet to Las Vegas!

I think we will be joining the 1/2 mile high club when we get there.

We giggled and exchanged stories, ok, gossip and are ready for the trip.

Hmmmm, I wonder what kind of trouble we will all get into when we are there?

TPB

Last week we were graced with the presence of Julian, Bubbles and Ricky.

Not impressed. The show was great...the actors themselves...meh, not so much.

I am a people person and I have been at this job now for two years. Two people have stuck out in my mind so far as the nicest most down to earth people - we're talking "celebrity status" here. They are Jason Blaine and Kalan Porter...honourable mentions go to Johnny Reid and Patrick Roach and John Dunsworth. Now if you don't know who the last two are, well, they are Randy and Lahey from TPB.

I'm not out to be their best friend, I have many. I do, however have to work with them. It is my job to make sure everything is running smoothly, any beefs or bouquets come to me. Although, there were no bouquets from the three, there were no beefs either. I asked Mike and Rob if they needed anything and though they shook my hand and introduced themselves to me, you could tell they were "of higher status"....are they joking!?

I laughed as I exited the room.

I can't be bothered.....

Dance moms

Dance moms are a NIGHTMARE!

My mom was a dance mom, but she was never and in-your-face nutball dance mom. I find the Dance moms here living their dream through their kids. Something they didn't have the chance to do when they were young...which, are all about my age! Yikes!

The kids are fantastic. The are polite, happy, courteous, I really have nothing bad to say about them. When they are in the back getting ready to go on stage, there is never any tom foolery. They are lined up and ready to go.

The dance moms....WHOLE nother story!

They are pushy, demanding, RUDE, and never have a smile on their face. They yell, holler, and scream. This is only my second dance season here at work.

My mom was always in the audience. She never HAD to be up front so I could see her. I knew she was there! She never meddled with the back stage people who helped us get into our costumes, and get our hair in place. She may have had my tap shoes a time or two and we had to get them from her, but she was NEVER, NEVER, rude.

I took 13 years of dance. Both Tap and Jazz and only two years of Ballet. Ballet was not my thing, nor was my body willowy and fragile!!

But in the 13 years I took dance, I was able to get my teaching certificate for level 1, which meant I could teach ther little gaffers. I didn't like the little kids, so I never taught.

I enjoyed my years of dance up until the time I was 16 when my teacher lied to me about rehearsals. She was changing dance times behind my back with the other kids in my group and secretly taking them to competition.....without me. One of the girls in my group thought that was wrong of my teacher to do and she called my mom. My mom was wild. I was very badly hurt and disappointed so mom yanked me out of year end review screwing up the dance numbers I was in and made that old bitch of a teacher have to redo the dance numbers.

I never spoke to that woman again.


But from what I have witnessed for far.......................
Dance moms.....they are crazy!

Vacation time - fish frying.

Mental P Mama was talking about vacations....

Seeing as how this is the Year of Being Me, and seeing how I was forbidden to go on vacation with Bubbles. I put my foot down the other day as well.

When I first started dating Legs', we were leaving from a shopping day from Edmonton and decided to stop in to see his friend and her husband, but thought he should call first to let them know we were coming....now Legs' has his cell volume turned up pretty high, so I can hear the conversation of the other person, not just him. (He didn't know this at the time). He called Shelly-welly to let her know we would be there shortly....all I heard from her on the phone was attitude about me to him. I just knew where the conversation was going....down hill.

She quizzed him on me with attitutde. Asking him, if he thought he ws doing the right thing, he should be more cautious and when Legs said to her, that she would like me because we have horse showing in common, then the crap really hit. I showed Appys rather than the precious QH!...Well, I heard every word, I heard tone, I heard judgement and that was it! Don't judge me! You don't even know me!

It has been three years that Legs and I have been seeing each other....were building a house for Gawd sake and she still won't have anything to do with me.....until the other day.

Legs came to me and said he was talking to Shelly-welly and they (her, her husband and Legs), thought it would be a good idea to go to Vegas for a few days.....I say what? WHAT?! No Mexico for me but Vegas fo YOU!! I. Don't. Think so!

I put my foot down. There was no way, shape or form was I going to be stuck with someone who refuses to meet me from only two hours away to being stuck with her for 4-5 days in Vegas!! Were they on crack?! The woman has made it quite clear that she has a bug up her butt about something. We have called many times to see if we could stop by and always it's been a no. So, needless to say, no vacation for me to Mexico, No vacation for Legs to Vegas!

I have been finding that alot with Legs' little "girlfriends", they are meddlesome and immature and quite frankly I've had it. You can't act your age then frig off man! I've got bigger fish to fry!

The hell job

Well, I worked this weekend at the hell job. It went really well.

This is how it works.

I get paid by the hour PLUS commission. I hate it. The girls get snarly if you go out of turn and us oldsters nab up the customers that the new girls forget they have. We can handle 2-3 customers and they don't have the knack for it yet. It is dog eat dog! We have warned the new girls many times. You forget you have a customer and take on too many, if one of your many customer comes to us with a question or help...they are ours.

I know it is mean. But shit happens! It teaches them to be aware or their surroundings, and to get your butt in gear and learn how to work!

We have a high turnover at the hell job for a few reasons.
1). Our boss is a nut.
2). Our District Manager is very young and has no idea that you don't go drinking with the staff regularly or you end up getting no respect because you are now considered a friend.
3). Our nutty boss only hires 16-18 year olds so she can intimidate them, and then they either quit or go to school.
4). She doesn't hire oldsters like us because we don't put up with her crap.

We also have a high turnover because there is no work ethic with the younger generation.

At the hell job, this particular western wear store is so cheap that we have to do our own
cleaning there...yup! No cleaning staff is hired for this company! We not only have to sell on commission but we have to clean windows, wipe down racks, and vacuum. So while we are doing all the chores, we lose sales, which means we get no commission.

Ahh haaa...the commission.
The store has a set $ plan. If the store makes its monthly plan you get 4% of your sales...and thats only if you make your own personal plan! If the store does not make it you only get 3% and that's if you make your own personal plan too. If you do not make your own personal plan...you get 1%! And let me tell ya, that 1-3% is quite a difference! When I worked full time at the hell job I only ever got 3% twice...that was an extra 5-700 dollars. Most times I only ever made 1% which meant 100.00 extra.

Commission sucks.

So yes...the hell job is truly the hell job.

Why do I stay there?

While employed there, I have made a few true blue friends. Ones who still work there, and so it is kinda nice to be able to hide behind a rack for a few minutes just say hi and to make arrangements to go for drinks after work, and the others who have graced the doors of the western wear store and said "this woman is crazy", have left and gone on to bigger and better, like Home Depot!! We still get togther. And I have made a few horsey friends too....plus, I get a good discount.

Strong winds

Since my divorce, I have grown in many ways. Being married at 19 and divorcing at 33 makes a person dependant on the other...which is not always a good thing!

I have learned how to pay my bills. I have had the strength to go to a movie on my own. I know that I can survive a thunderstorm alone. I am able to drive in an unknown city by myself and only get a little bit lost but still come out okay. I have found friends who like me for me and not because of my ex-husband's profession. I can stand up to people who are disrespectful to me and walk away knowing I did the right thing. I can live on my own and in my own place. I am accountable for all of my actions. I am aware of my selfishness, my controlling ways, my grudge-holding and my anger issues. I am able (for the most part) to keep it all in check. But, I am only human and every once in a while I slip.

A person goes through many things in their life, good and bad...

There are a few quotes that have made things a little better for me:

"If you love something, set it free,

If it comes back, it is yours,

If it doesn't it never was."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

and my personal favourite....

"You can't change others, you can only change yourself."

I am a little sad today, as I have read a new friends blog, and she is having trouble. I wish I could help take her trouble away. I hope she doesn't stop blogging completely and I hope she finds peace in what she is looking for. I know that there are many of her blogging friends who are in support of her and she can only decide for herself what to do. I do know that she inspires me everyday and I always enjoy and look forward in comments from her. Whatever her decision is, I support her and she will always be on my mind and in my heart.

Friday...

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.

By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.Dr Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.'

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.

Stifler's Mom

Well, now that Stifler's Mom is single...and on the hunt! Those Cougars!!!

Her criteria is the following:
Must have all teeth and pearly white
Must be at least 5'9" or taller
Must have secure job
Must be settled, Must commit
Must be kind & generous
Must have own vehicle

She is fine if he is divorced, she is fine if he has children from a previous marriage.

Me thinks that these are not alot to ask. Neither does she.

Being new to the Border Town she has no idea where the good places to scope these kinda things are, so last night we went to a little bar to have beer and wings. Personally my idea is not to use the bar as a pick up joint if you are seriously looking and she agrees. The beer was wet and the wings were good. We had an enjoyable evening and are thinking about doing it again sometime.

I went over to her place afterwards for a cup of tea and we discussed our options.

There weren't many.

In the meantime though, we have put on our thinking caps and will wait.

The tea was most satisfying!

Big mouth will travel!

I am happy to say that yesterday went well. No trickery, no April Fool's whatsoever. The office folk were thinking of pulling something on me but decided that maybe it would not be such a good idea. I had a rough enough week last week.

Today is another day and all is well here.
I found a quote this early morning and thought it was a good one.

Albert Einstein professed: I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.

He is right.

This is also true for what goes around eventually comes around....hence...the future!
One of my beloved relations is finding that out right now. Once again, her mouth has gotten her into trouble. So much so, that some bigwigs came down from head office and gave her and her class a lecture on behavior and respect for others. Some down right name calling was happening...the thing that makes me laugh is that they are all in their 30-40's! What a scream!
They are health care workers who just can't get along with one another. Now I ask you...would you want a bunch of "children" looking after your loved ones in a nursing home/hospital while they are all fighting? Not this cowboy! I would be afraid that they would take it to work (which....ah hemmm...they have!) and give the wrong meds to a patient. Oh girls!

Anyway, my relation was told she had a bad attitude and was given an assignment and was told she was getting another few weeks added to her program so they could monitor the situation!

What a gong show.
I guess that's what you get for choosing to use your big mouth, rather than shutting up and just listening.

Exercising...

I went out to the farm this weekend. I miss the farm so much. I miss the animals, the peace and quiet AND exercise!!! I mean for instance, this weight bet that I am in with Wilma and Bruno, well, I have to exercise. I HATE going to the gym or to exercise!! Period!! To me, it is a great waste of time. You walk on the tread and go nowhere! You pump iron and for what? People look at each other, there eyes darting left and right. There is etiquette and protocol. Whatever!!

Now, if you are at the farm, you are exercising and don't even know it. If you walk from the house to the barn which is several hundred feet from each other, you are exercising. If you pick up a 5 gallon pail of chop, water, or oats and walk with it from the grain bin to the feeders, you are exercising and lifting weights! PLUS you have a ton of clothing on which is also hard to maneuver in. You are bending under wire. You are climbing to get over the gate! Pitching hay over the fence. Kicking straw around for the cows to lay in. Who needs kick boxing class!! I lost 2 pounds over the weekend and am toning up. It's great.

So who says the gym is the place to be! You wanna lose weight? Go to the closest farm or ranch. I don't know of one farmer or rancher that would turn down farm help! They may be crazy but they ain't stupid!!

Course, I may be a little biased being a farm girl and all!!

Torn

Well, I have been searching for a new hairstyle for awhile now and I think I finally found it! Stifler's Mom came over the other night and brought with her a Danielle Steele movie called "Safe Harbour." As we were watching and chatting, a new character came ontp the scene and that was it. The light bulb popped and there it was. My new hairstyle/cut. Now, I am torn if I should go that short or not. The actresses name is Rebecca Staab and I LOVE her haircut and style. Now I have the task of finding a hairdresser to cut and style it properly....now, finding a hairstylist..... that is another blog all on it's own!!!

Sigh...

CAME to work this morning...well rested, good mood, the boss however, was not in a good mood. Maybe he had cheese dreams last night...I don't know.

I do know that I should have stayed home. My mind reading is a little rusty and I am in need of it today. But this too shall pass....

All bets...ON!

Well, yesterday I weighed in with the rest of the pack. I think for the being the heaviest of the three, I am doing pretty good. With this, I had to buy a scale. I have never owned a scale til now and quite frankly, I think I am starting to become obsessed with it! I just HAVE to step on it. I guess it is because I am losing weight and I am kinda pumped about that. Heaven help me when I fall!!

Anyway I have lost a whopping 3.4 pounds this week. I'm ok with that but I realize that is gonna slow down once I get this flab off of me!!

Flab...blech...