reasons why I should keep a calendar, #546

There it was, Thursday afternoon, and I'd just returned from my lunch catching up with Bea, looking forward to a little time before I had to run down to Dr. Crafton's office for my follow up appointment. I checked my email, as I always do, and found one from Ted at Falcon Theatre. They're producing The Boys Next Door this fall and hadn't cast all their roles during the first round of auditions and were having a second round that night and wanted to know if I was interested. Now I had heard they were doing Boys while doing The House of Blue Leaves, but didn't see any audition information until right before they occured - and they were happening the day I was having my surgery, so I wrote them off. So I emailed Ted, asked him when auditions were and made plans to go down, see what would happen.

Unfortunately, my doctor's appointment ran late (4:30 appointment - in to see the doctor at 5:40, out around 6:00), which left me no time to prepare or change clothes like I had hoped. So I headed down to Monmouth and waited for auditions to begin. Only a handful of men were there, some who probably had already been cast, others called in to fill the remaining roles. I knew a little bit about the play, but not much and looking at the script it looked like a great time would be had by all involved. Ted had mentioned they were still looking for a Norman, which is the role I came in to read for (we'll save psychological barriers to auditioning for the "fat guy" role for some other time). I didn't nail the audition, but felt pretty good about it, considering the late notice and the lack of prep time, and knew I had a good chance of getting the part.

Since I'm rarely in Newport (and I had been cleared by my doctor to eat anything again), I decided to grab a steak hoagie. While I waited, I called the 'rents - dad had been released from the hospital and was home. While we chatted about his recovery and such, I told them about the auditions and as we talked, it finally struck me - the show would go up weekends in October, 10-25. The back of my brain began to tingle...something was going on then. And I then realized what it was - Grandma Allen's 80th birthday party would take place on closing night. Devastation. I'd just done something I despise - auditioning for a role I could not play. I thought about contacting the director that night, but realized I had no contact information for him. I suppose I could have emailed Ted, but no guarantee I'd catch him before the director called me.

So I decided to think about it overnight, hoping beyond hope I'd find some solution, but knowing I was just going to have to tell him I couldn't do it when he called. Having directed before, I know how hard casting is and how frustrating it is when you think you have everything figured out only to have it come tumbling down. But better now, at the beginning, than once rehearsals started. Was tough talking to him, my guilt in overdrive, but I explained the situation and apologized profusely. I know I can justify all this - last minute notice about auditions, family obligations, etc. - but I still feel bad. Leaves them in a bind and me looking unprofessional.

The moral of the story: I need a calendar. That I use.

Off to see X-Files this afternoon with Julie. Reviews have been less than glowing, but it will be good to see Mulder and Scully again. We're driving to Florence since they're the only theater still showing matinées. A little more nostalgia for my summer - will remind me of Sunday evenings in Lansing when we'd watch new episodes, what, ten years ago now.

I need to stop having thoughts like this - makes denial much harder.

Off to see King's X/Extreme tomorrow. Sounds like we may have a good crowd, though I've yet to hear from my out-of-towners - looks like I might need to make a phone call find out what's going on. Then Monday I'm off to Canton/Stow/Kent/Cuyahoga Falls to see the gang and participate in the first of several interviews for someone's masters (doctoral?) thesis. We'll see how it goes. Then it's time to start thinking about the "S" word again. Bleah. Not quite there mentally yet. Better come soon - only a week left. Æ

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Now playing: Rhett Miller - Meteor Shower
via FoxyTunes

idle hands and all that

Today I had nothing planned. I woke up at the usual 7:10AM, walked down to St. E's for morning prayers, walked back to my house and then didn't leave the house again until I went to evening prayers at 9:00. So what happened in the 13 hours between? Very, very little. Watched TV. Uploaded some pics to Facebook. Sent an email or two. Fixed lunch. Read. Took a nap. Fixed dinner. Nice to have a day to do nothing, though too many of them would drive me crazy.

Tomorrow will more than make up for it - prayers, Half-Price Books grand re-opening (I'm hoping to score a free tote bag), lunch with Bea at Panera, doctor's appointment, flash fiction. Feast or famine I suppose.

Dad's back to eating solid food and will probably get out of the hospital on Friday. He won't be able to drive for a while, so either Jen or I will have to drive mom up to the reunion in a couple of weeks. I wasn't sure I was going to make it - it's the weekend before school starts and I have an important meeting on Sunday afternoon, but the reunion itself is on Saturday and we can probably do an up and back, though we're talking 9+ hours in the car. Zoinks!

Doing nothing all day has left me brain dead. Enough trying to find stuff to write about. I'm bored just writing it. Æ

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Now playing: Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen
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do you believe in coincidence?

This morning I watched an episode of The West Wing and it ended with a montage over Ryan Adams "Desire." Then as I got out of the shower this morning, "Desire" was playing on my iTunes, which I leave on random. I have 14,801 songs on my iTunes - any math wizards out there able to tell me the possibility that that song would just happen to play? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Am hating the rain. Hope it doesn't cancel Jake Speed and the Freddies. But I'll go down anyway, just in case. At least I know my tire's fixed.
Æ

here is what I don't understand

I really don't want to belabor this point, but here it is, nearly one in the morning and I am more awake now than I am in the middle of the day. I took no nap today, I had no caffeine, yet once again I sit here knowing I should be heading to the land of slumber, but not particularly excited about staring into the darkness for another hour or so. Machines haven't helped, neither have drugs, neither has advice. And in two weeks' time it becomes vital I'm in bed before 11:00. I'm not giving up hope yet, but I am getting a little....tired of this.

Last day of self-imposed recovery. No more lying around doing little tomorrow (he says, knowing full well he'll probably do plenty of lying around tomorrow). Up early for prayers, off to Tire Discounters to get my tire looked at and my brakes checked and anything else they can help me with. Hoping if I get there early I won't have to wait too long, but we'll see. Need to be out by 11 so I can go hear Jake Speed down at Piatt Park. Free show. How could I not go? Then to the store to pick up salad for house church and home to clean up before the gang gets here. And I need to try and get details together for this weekend's King's X/Extreme excursion so I can e-mail everyone that expressed interest. Sometime soon I probably should think about cleaning up the downed limbs in my back yard from the storm we had while I was in Colorado.

Sometimes I think I blog just so I have a list of things to do the next day.

Drove up to Dayton Sunday to see dad in the hospital - he'd been experiencing some pain in his stomach while I was in Colorado and then was home when I returned, then went back into the hospital Friday and they did surgery on Saturday. I'll probably screw this up, but had something to do with a hernia and his lower intestine and some petrified vegetable matter clogging up the works. So they went in, fixed the hernia, took out the affected area and reattached the intestine. Sounds fun, no? He had a fever Sunday morning, but by the time I got there, it had gone down and he was doing well. He was a bit on the grumpy side and I can definitely see where I get my aversion to visitors when I'm sick. He'll be in for a few more days, until they're sure everything is flowing smoothly. Was supposed to start fruit juice today, but I guess he wasn't ready, so it will be tomorrow. Doctor said nothing was normal inside - my mom said she could have told them that without opening him up. My mom, the comedian.

Pop culture watch: I tried watching Mad Men tonight since everyone's been raving. None too impressed with the season premiere. Have another episode DVR'd, but not sure it's my kind of show. Am now through season six of The West Wing - I stopped watching during its initial run in season five once Sorkin left. Been fun catching up. I've decided I'm Toby, without the hot ex-wife. I worried a bit it was going to end up over-dramatic like ER with Wells taking over, but while there is some of that (how miserable can we make our favorite characters?), the writing hasn't been too bad. Not Sorkin, for sure, but at times Sorkinesque. Not sure I'll get through season seven by the time school starts and not sure I should. Summer's almost over and I should be outside. But it was good to have them while I recuperated from surgery. And much better than the real-life politics going on nowadays.

Oh yeah, the surgery went well, by the way, other than some minor weeping around one of the constellation of incisions on my midsection. Little bit of panic following surgery when the doctor asked who would be staying with me overnight. I kind of lied and told him Andy, who picked me up, would be with me. See, this seems to be something you should tell someone before surgery, not after. Not all of us live in normal households with other human beings. But all went well with no complications at all. My follow up with the doctor is on Thursday afternoon, so hopefully this will end my organ donation for quite a while. I did get more pics - Leah suggested I should post them for all to see. Or maybe I could frame them and hang them on my walls, kind of like people do with their kids.

I worry about me sometimes.

Gee, so much for typing making me tired enough to sleep. And I don't even have anything to rant and rave about this time. I did post the stuff I wrote on my trip, so you can go back and see what randomness went through my head on my vacation. No pics - that will have to come later. Maybe with my gall bladder shots. You can barely contain your excitement, I'm sure.

Time to at least try to sleep. Maybe reading will help me fall asleep - in the middle of Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, recommended by Jenna to go along with my adventures in organ "donation." Such a clever girl that one. To bed, to bed, to bed.
Æ

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Now playing: The Black Crowes - Jealous Again
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