Dot Dwyer Updates

Dollywood Part I

2011-06-04T21:24:00.003-04:00

I have wanted to go to Dollywood ever since I heard about it. I seem to remember Dolly on the tonight show with Johnny Carson and the way she described it just stuck with me all these years. I wanted to go for the roller coasters. It sounded like they had some awesome ones there. Now that I have been there, I can validate that , yes, this is indeed true.
A few years ago I broached the subject with my best friend for us to celebrate a milestone birthday in grand fashion. Before I could finish the complete sentence she said "Yes ! How can we not go there ?!". Her sister was all in, too. We had started to make plans when I realized I couldn't go anywhere because Mum was sick and there was no one to take of her while I was gone. Mum passed in August, so, we started picking dates for this spring. Due to scheduling conflicts , my friend's sister couldn't go . It was just us, we travel well together, so the game was on !
She did all the arrangements. We got Airfare, car rental, Dollywood Tickets and Dixieland Stampede tickets -including the Dixieland Stampede boot mug for about $500 each. The way the particular packaging worked out we had to fly into Atlanta and drive to Tennessee, which took about 4 hours. In the future , I think we will both lobby for Knoxville airport because it's only about a half hour away. Though I enjoyed the ride, I was damn near hyper -ventilating to get to Dollywood. My only fear was that I would die of excitement before I got to set foot on the hallowed ground known as Dollywood.

Hello 2011

2011-01-07T08:42:00.002-05:00

New Years Eve, I walked a dog and had chinese food with my friend Ju-Ju. I was actually still awake at midnight. I can't tell you how glad I am to start a new year !
New Years day , I got up early , washed the kitchen floor, vaccumed the hall, did some dishes, changed my bed sheets, made brownies and a lasagna. My cousins came over for a visit. We gather on New Years day instead of xmas, when the pressure is off. My cousins brought a lovely cheese and crackers plate and their own sodas. I had made dip and got the Ruffles. We sat around for about 3 hours shooting the breeze. My brother in Colorado called while they we here. We had a lovely time.
I forgot about the brownines and the lasagna. I sent them home with half the brownies. I brought half the lasagna in to work on Sunday and I am still working on the last of it today.
After they left, I went to my dear friend Mary Martha's for an open house. Her and our friend Susan had made a bunch of hardy soups. The invitation requested that we bring only a bowl, which I did. Some people brought big bowls, really too big for soup and I brought a cereal bowl which accomodated a ladel of each perfectly. I had a ladel of about 8 different soups-minestrone, onion, curry something,vegetarian chili, vegetarian sausage -I know I'm forgetting something. Maybe it was only 6 but it was all delightful. I saw some old friends and talked to some people I had never met.I stayed after to help Mary put some things back into place. I was rewarded with a couple of Susan's vegan cup cakes and Mary's oatmeal raisin cookies.They actually made it until Tuesday !
I was home by 7PM . It was a good way to kick off the new year. I haven't had a Saturday off where I didn't have to attend a wedding in years ! I spent it with family and then old friends. I got up and out into the world and it was a beautiful day. I think it was in the 50's. I am glad to start a new year fresh !

Bye Mum

2011-01-07T08:17:00.004-05:00

Sorry ,it's been a while since I posted. My brother returned from war, my other brother reconciled with us and then my Mother passed away. It was a tough year and a wonderful year. I had been caring for my Mother for the last year. She passed almost exactly a year later from when I had sort of started taking care of her. Her decline was steady and undeniable. Sometimes she knew who I was and sometimes she wanted to know if I had met her daughter. She wasn't always sure who I was or what I was doing to her over the last year of her life. I made her doctors appointments, took her to them, learned to check her blood sugar and give her insulin shots twice a day. I shopped for her, cooked for her and cleaned for her. The last 6 weeks of her life, she was in and out of the hospital. I visited her every day except one , when I was out of town on a trip I had planned 4 years ago. I hoped my brother would take up the slack.
I consider myself lucky that I was in a position to do all these things. It was never a question to me that I would do what I did. I watched her do the same , as best she could, for her own Mother. She had kids to take care of at the same time, I did not.
I was with her when she passed.She had been unconscious for about 11 days. I could tell her breathing had changed. I got up and bent over her and whispered a Hail Mary and an Our Father into her ear and told her I was with her. Maybe a minute passed, I sat back down and then got back up . I couldn't tell if she was breathing. I woke one brother up to come down and see if Mum was still here. He couldn't tell, he woke up the other brother and he said she was gone. Her color had changed. She passed about 10 minutes to 9. At a very reasonable hour. Just like my Mother, she didn't want to bother anybody by dying in the middle of the night or the day. Because we had done hospice, we called our hospice nurse and about an hour later she came and pronounced Mum and then we called the funeral home.Our Mother passed on our fathers birthday and our nurse's mother's birthday. She was carried away in a house dress my friend Margaret had gotten for her. They zipped her into a garment bag and rolled her away.
I will write more about the actual services and such. I haven't been able to write about this until now. I miss her so much. I miss her laugh the most. She had a great sense of humor and was a kind and gentle person. She was shy and had a great fear of speaking in public. I know everyone goes through this sooner or later and no one is really ready for it. I thought I'd get another year with her. I am greatful for what I did get.

Sweat Pants Report

2010-06-26T23:44:00.002-04:00

Ahhhhhh, another Saturday night and here I sit in my sweat pants. I made dinner, did some laundry , dishes are in the dish washer getting washed. Worked a convention today, going back again tomorrow. Tired but not quite ready to sleep. I don't really have anything to say. I wish I had gotten something more accomplished tonight. Ah well. . . . that's all I got

Good Bye -2009

2010-01-01T14:19:00.002-05:00

AH , the new year is upon me and already I feel so far behind. I didn't really accomplish much in 2009. I made less money, I didn't save anything, I didn't go anywhere. How does a person work 7 days a week and still end up earning less ? Between March and July I gained an additional 10 pounds. Since July , I've lost 22. Still, 8 more to reach my goal weight by May 2010. Nothing significant about May, it just seemed like a reasonable length of time.
I found out my family & I will step up and do the right thing to the best of our abilities. There is help from governmental agencies, nothing happens fast but it will, eventually, happen .
I didn't learn Spanish better or write anything that makes me happy. I did very little stand-up -just too exhausted and uninspired.
I don't know what 2010 will be about. I hope I can be better in thoughts, words & deeds. Getting stuff done every day, I guess that's a good plan. Aiming to be compassionate and kind and understanding (even behind the wheel of my car). Stay out of trouble and gossip. Be a good Friend, a good worker, a good sister & daughter.
Those are fine goals. That's all I got.

Husband Fantasy

2009-12-20T15:57:00.002-05:00

It's finished snowing here on the east coast. It was a certified blizzard. It is truly beautiful to look at. The snow is very light and fluffy. It is still overcast out there. The sky is gray.Though it is much warmer than it was all last week. It has to be warm enough to snow . This blizzard was part of a weather front that came up the coast. I guess DC & NYC got hit really bad. The weather was so bad, work told me not to come in. That's saying soemthing the Sunday before XMas.
So, as I shovelled the walk and the driveway for the third time.Had to shovel it before it freezes. I was thinking , wouldn't it be nice to have a husband to shovel this ? I look at the neighbors across the street and a couple of houses down . All the shovelling and snow blowing done by the husbands. Though, the lady next door, has a small snow blower, she does it herself. She hasn't done it yet, but she will eventually.
Shovelling is when I wish I had a husband. Then , after some reflection, I realize I probably wouldn't have gotten a snow shovelling husband. I would probably get a snow plow husband who gets paid to shovel other people out . Or a Sunday , football watching, beer drinking , watching the game is more important than shovelling the walk kind of husband. Marrying someone for their snow shovelling abilities is probably not a good reason to get married in the first place .. .Guess I'm lucky.

Random Thoughts

2009-12-17T19:13:00.002-05:00

I think I have psoriasis of the eyes.
I ache to read certain books. I have at least 20 at home that I ached to own when I acquired them. You would think I would have read more of them instead of wanting more stuff. . . but you'd be wrong.
It is really cold here in Boston. This is late January, Mid February cold. It's cold !
I dread Christmas.
I suggest you go see the installation at the List Visual Arts Center in Kendall Square. It is a really big beautiful structure made of Styrofoam blocks. The art installation , not the building. It's just really impressive to see.
I had more pizza on Tuesday of this week than I have eaten in the last 6 months combined.
I am wearing textured tights that I really like but remind me of the kind of tights I used to wear with my uniform in grammar school.
I am going to miss Mike Lowell.
I wish I had some Brigham's chocolate chip ice cream.
I now know how to make devilled eggs.
So, not a well thought out blog, but some sort of an entry.

Making the Turkey -Part 2

2009-11-26T18:34:00.002-05:00

1:30 First time basting the turkey, all the juice was dried up. Probably should have started basting sooner.I think maybe putting that chicken stock in probably wasn't a good idea. Added 4 cups of water.
2:00 Basted again. I think it's going to work. Kept basting every 20 minutes.
3:40 Took aluminum foil off. Put meat thermometer in Bird.
3:45 Realize I forgot to put the lifting chain under the bird. It's a chain with handles and when it's time to take the turkey out of the pan you can lift it up like it's handles on a tote bag. Not this year, I'm going to have to lift it out by the rack under the bird.
4:25 Realize turkey will be done soon. Start making the potatoes & squash and gravy. One of the burners is out so I have to light it but I can't turn it off without having to relight it. I make the gravy in the roasting pan. I add water, flour, salt, pepper and this time I added the giblet juice. I boiled up the neck and giblets and saved that and threw it in with the rest of the stuff to make the gravy.
5:00 Dinner ready , on table. I took pictures of the turkey & the casserole pan of stuffing. If I can figure out how to post a picture from my phone, I will.
SO, in conclusion, the meal was very good. The turkey came out great . Mum & I only each had a piece about the size of a slice of bread-off a 12 pound turkey. The stuffing was even better than I thought possible. The gravy. .. was okay. I bought a pie from Petsis , which was also great but I should have let it get to room temperature first. The meal was just my Mother and I . I proved to myself that I could cook a turkey. I really enjoyed doing it. I was glad I was by myself and not having a house full of people. Maybe I'll do it again next year. I think I'm just going to get a ham for Christmas . . . . .

Making the Turkey-Part 1

2009-11-26T13:12:00.002-05:00

So, Around 9 AM, I started dicing the carrots, onions, celery & mushrooms. I sauteed them in a stick & half of butter. I had to do it in two parts because it wouldn't all fit in the skillet. I did not saute the carrots but I did dice them up pretty small.
By 10AM, I decided to toast up some bread heels I had accumulated and added them to the mix.I had purchased the Bells New England Style Stuffing mix to stuff a 20 pound turkey. When I emptied the contents I realized there were cranberries in it (Ewwww!)so I plucked most of them out of the mixture. I also threw in a box of stove top stuffing (that should have been used by last July). I finished combining it all by10:20 and put it aside.
10:30-SNAG- Turkey wasn't completely thawed. I had started the thaw process early Tuesday morning so it could be done in time. Apparently , that wasn't enough time. What to do ? I had to call somebody that knew how to cook & didn't have kids . My friend Sue is a really good cook, so I took a chance. She was home and said to bathe it in cold water, changing the water every 20 minutes or so. Should be ready in about an hour. Actually, she told me to just put it in the sink , but I didn't have time to clean the sink, so I just put the roasting pan and all into the sink and kept running the cold water every 20 minutes.
By 11:10, it was thawed enough to remove the neck.
By 11:30 Bird was thawed enough to stuff. I stuffed the stuffing loosely and massaged the bird with butter. As a result of a conversation I had with a co-worker and because it sounded like a good idea, I put a can of chicken stock in the bottom the roasting pan. My idea is that it will keep the bird moist. Time will tell ! I loosely covered it with tin foil and by 11:35 it was in the oven.
11:45 I put the loaf pan of stuffing into the oven.
12:30 Stuffing loaf was done.Surprisingly delicious !
That's how my day has gone so far. After this posts, I will go down and baste the turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who is around to follow this !

Rememberances of Things Fast

2009-11-25T22:12:00.002-05:00

Today, for some reason, I was thinking about the 2 speeding tickets I got about 10 years ago. I had never had a speeding ticket before or since. I got them within 6 months of each other.
The first one-It was a warm , spring like day , in February. The windows were down, I was driving a 1989 Dodge Ram Van. It was on Commonwealth Avenue, in Boston. Coming from Arlington Street heading toward Kenmore Square. Half way to Kenmore , there is an underpass. It's a somewhat steep dip. If you are driving at a regular pace, not much of a rush, but , if you're going even 5 miles above the speed limit, you can recreate the sensation of being on a roller coaster. Because of the weather , I was feeling giddy and daring. I sped up to enjoy the dip. It felt just like a roller coaster. When I came up on the other side, there was a motorcycle cop pulling people over. Apparently, on a warm balmy day, they catch a lot of speeders that way. I didn't think the cop would understand if my reason for speeding was "the dip". . . .
The second- I was driving back from a gig. At that time, I was doing a lot of school shows for a company that specialized in History themed shows. I think I got the job because I had a van and the set would fit in my vehicle. I was heading back to where we had to return the set. I was driving through Hyde Park. There is a long flat stretch of road over there. It's like a boulevard. A wide street , unlike most Boston streets. It was another beautiful balmy day. There was a car in front of me. She was driving slowly enough to make me want to pass her yet fast enough that I couldn't pass her. Maybe she was married to a cabbie ? They regularly drive like that in front of me. Lexus's drive like that in front of me, as well.Don't get me started on Mercedes drivers. .. . but I digress. . . . It was a Buick in front of me. For a fair bit, we did this little cat and mouse pacing. Until , finally, I made a break for it trying to pass her. Which made her speed up to keep me from passing her. SO we're both speeding, almost drag racing down this boulevard, and , eventually, there was another motor cycle cop pulling people over . With just a little flick of the finger he pulled us both over. "Trying to pass her and she kept speeding up " was not a satisfactory response to the cop.
Moral of the story ? . . . . .don't speed in good weather.
You're welcome.

Minor Progress

2009-11-22T23:25:00.002-05:00

Some progress is progress. My war against technology is whipping my ass. I am not a technophobe, but I seem to think everything will be a lot easier than it turns out to be. After all my anxiety about the connector cable from the monitor to the computer-my purchase from Dell and their unwillingness to accept the return and my consequent purchase from Staples for even more cable connectedy-things -turns out the monitor will connect to the computer after all. Connected, no problem.
Now, I am apparently not connected to the internet. I'm pretty sure it's something fairly simple, like not inserting tab A into slot B, or making sure the power chord was connected to a power source (which happened in this most recent go-around). I know it's something simple, but I'm at a loss to figure out what it is . I am going to sleep on it and maybe wake up with the solution.
No snarky comments from you MAC users. I agree, it's a superior product, and when I have the money, I'm getting one of them efficient gadgets. But I'm not there yet.
I feel pretty good about the actual progress I have made. Or, at least , I percieve the actions of this evening as progress. Now I am tired. I worked all day, made dinner for Mum & me, did some laundry and worked on my computer problem. I haev earned my night of rest .

Railing Against the Wind

2009-11-20T22:54:00.007-05:00

I stand on the mountain top shaking my fists at the sky and screaming my protest against the trials of it all. The beurauracracy, my stupidity, my lack of forethought. I am drizzling my nickels & dimes. I will never get out from under this heavy rock . My tiny heart is pinched. I will hunt down the president of Dell and fart in his general direction. I will kick the insurance covered pets of Comcast employees . I will pee on every meter in the city of Boston. Aaarrrrgggghhhh !!!!
There is no recourse for the little rank & file ant customer againt the cog-churning behomouths that run everything. I have to get off the grid. I need to be self -sufficient, learn how to survive in the wild . Just me, a down sleeping bag, a knife and a trusty uninsured mutt. Just me and books in a cave in the woods. . . .And Cheetoes. I will not go gently into that good night without snacks. . .

How Things Have Changed

2009-11-13T22:01:00.003-05:00

Due to a domestic situation, I am spending a lot more time at home cooking & cleaning. Yes, that is not a typo-cooking & cleaning. In the last couple of months I have become adept at making scrambled eggs, pea soup from scratch & fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches. I can make a complete dinner -Salad, mashed potatoes, meat entree and dessert in under an hour. However, what has prompted my writing tonight was that I bought a turkey during this week's grocery shopping . I got an almost 12 pound turkey for $6.50. It was on sale for .49 a pound. It's frozen and I'm going to have to start defrosting it 3 days before Thanksgiving. . .. but . . . .dammit. . .I have a turkey.
No, I have never cooked a turkey before. However, if I was going to completely trash a turkey in the learning process, $6.50 seems like a more than reasonable price to pay for the experience. I am excited. I got a bargain. An edible bargain. I have attempted to cook a turkey twice before and was unable to carry through with the effort. Let's just say I was shot and was unable to finish the battle. It being a holiday with the family, "battle"seems like an appropriate word to use.
When I am done cooking said bargain turkey, I will make turkey soup. No, I have never made turkey soup from scratch either. This is the year. I am old enough and I am brave enough. There ! So, I will let you know how it goes.

Computer Woes

2009-06-23T16:08:00.002-04:00

I did a de-frag (incorrectly ) on my home computer. It is fried. However, I found the original discs that came with the computer , so, I might be able to restore it. You know, I've had the same computer since 2001. I really only use it for email, internet and this blog (occassionally). It's been slow for a while.The de-frag did speed it up but now I can pretty much ONLY do email. I am blogging to you from my company laptop. I went to my phone company and they "Tethered" my laptop to my cellphone. So, instead of getting an internet card, I can use my cellphone to connect to the the internet. It's about the same price as an internet card, $60.00 a month. I won't have this for more than a month. I can blog from my laptop. Mostly, I'm just excited I found the original discs and I am hopeful that I can restore my computer. Also, I'm pretty impressed that I figured out how to tether my laptop. I can't believe I've been able to do this without crying !!!! I'm close to it, from fatigue, but not computer frustration. ..

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

2009-05-13T22:04:00.003-04:00

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

2009-05-13T22:04:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been so long but it's a combination of being really busy and my computer crapping out when I try to get to this site. My friend Marina has given me a recipe to de-frag the thing, so, I am going to try that right after I post this.
I've just been busy working. I am glad to have a job but it does wear me out . I worked a convention yesterday & today and I had some time before I went in to work yesterday and I got a project I had started but not finished , finished yesterday. I felt so good all day long. It was just changing my file drawers over from 2008 to 2009. I had started it, but I have been avoiding it , successfully, for more than 2 months now. It was always there in the back of my head. My room looks like a bomb hit it or a mini cyclone came through and the original person who lived here was still in emergency housing somewhere. I reclaimed some ground and it felt good.
I finished reading Walter Moseley's most recent book "the Long Fall".I received it for my birthday. Next week, I am working on a movie shooting here in Boston. I've got 6 days on it. I'm just an extra , but it's cool. It should be a good chunk of money when the checks start rolling in. I can't tell you who the star of the movie is, until I 've worked on it. My last day will be May 26, so I'll try to post after that .
Really, that's all I have to report.

A Snatch I Overheard

2009-03-26T21:17:00.002-04:00

I haven't written because, frankly, I haven't had much to share. There was a naked guy in the bathroom today and the Ranger had to get him out. However, upon further investigation, the guy was naked in the stall . So-the guy who reported the naked guy had to have been pearing into the closed stall to determine that the guy in there was naked. Which later led to a discussion where someone's kids can only move their bowels while completly naked. It was cute when they were little toddlers, but they're now 8 & 10. These kids are going to grow up and not be able to move their bowels in a public rest room. See .. . . I got "shit" to talk about. . .
However, I heard this little snatch of conversation on a street downtown recently. ..
I was walking by a father and his young son. The son was about 4 and he was making a loud a flapping noise with his feet as he walked. As I passed, I overheard the father saying " . . . Well maybe your feet wouldn't hurt so much if you walked more quietly. . . . . "
Check and Mate . ..

Lucky Me

2009-02-21T20:28:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm an hour away from the end of my shift. Today, I'm working from 10 am to 9 pm. It was a lot busier today. Last night, I was hired to be an extra in a Boston Bruins commercial. There were 7 of us. I had to be there at 5PM and they released us at 12:30 AM. It was a long day to just be sitting around , but it's going to pay pretty well. I look forward to that check. I am also looking forward to this check I got coming up. I'm very lucky to be so tired from all this work I've been getting. I haven't done my grocery shopping, so my cubbard is bare. Oh Im rambling. . .but I'm feel very greatful.

At It Again

2009-02-19T15:20:00.002-05:00

Here I am , the old rockpile. I'm working 12-9 again today. It's a little busier. I am trying to make eye contact, smile and nod. There are a lot of little kids running for all they're worth because there is a lot of open space and rug. They run and giggle.Just the simple act of running can cause a kid to laugh uproariously. If I run like that , I get short of breath and wonder if this is the start of the inevitable heart attack that I am expecting because I don't take that good care of myself. I don't drink or smoke , I drink green tea but there is no accumulation of exercise and vegetables. I have been whittling a little bit. I've been eating a thing called "breakfast"; apparently it's pretty big with the kids these days. Anyway . . . .I eat one of these "Breakfasts" and I don't feel the urge to eat for quite a few hours. Consequently, I was able to zip my skirt up all the way to the top today, instead of an inch from the top , which is what I usually do.
I brought a 2 liter bottle of water , my lunch and some healthy snacks-carrots, apple, granola bar. I even went for a walk along the building to get some fresh air & exercise. Probably too little , too late. . . . .

A Long Day

2009-02-18T20:30:00.002-05:00

I'm working a convention today. I worked it yesterday I'm working it tomorrow and this weekend. This is a well paying aspect of my job. I don't get these assignments often. Someone got a latteral promotion and that means that I've moved up one rung on the ladder. Though I didn't really get a promotion, it feels like I did. My friend Kiki was so excited for me , she went out and bought a bunch of outfits so I can look nicer at work. However, she got them all on sale. I mean the clearance rack, but it's all great looking stuff. She had to have gotten $1000.00 worth of outfits for about $100.00. Today I am wearing a lovely boiled wool jacket. It really fits me well and it looks fantastic.
It has been very slow here. We have not had a lot of interaction with the attendees.
That is all.

Speeding Bullet

2009-02-02T11:15:00.002-05:00

Ahh, last week was another busy week. Monday, Kiki & I went to our favorite restaurant in Bedford, the Great Wall, for the Chinese buffet and then we went to see the "Wrestler" at the Lexington Cinema.
Tuesday, I was not needed at the engineering company and attended a business lunch/event at Morton's with my friend Steve. It was a lovely event and it took up a substantial part of my day. They had a buffet of fusilli primavera,mini crab cakes, mashed potatoes, chicken "christopher" and little slider cheeseburgers. I never even got near the carving station. It was lovely and we were "representin" for our job. Afterward, Steve & I went to Marshall's , he to look at jackets on sale , and me to find a dress for the event we were to attend on Saturday night. I got a nice little black dress for $25.00. A dress that I will be able to wear for a while, whether I gain or lose another 10 pounds ( lost 2.5 since last Monday). I talked Steve into purchasing a jacket that I thought fit him perfectly , but when he got home, he did the "arm" test and found that it was too tight. That night Kiki and I did a double header. We saw "Mall Cop" & "Notorious". Frankly , they were both better than either of us thought they would be . Of course, neither is great cinema, but I can better understand why Mall Cop has been #1 in the country for the last month.A pleasant film and Kevin James did an excellent job.
Now I have to apologize, because I have run out of time and need to get ready to go to work. I'll finish the week , later. Have a great day !

Hullo, Life is a Cabaret

2009-01-26T11:08:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I have trouble with my computer freezing up and it's too much work to wait around for it to boot up again. I have already booted this up once, today, so lets see if I can get some ink down.
My friend Alicia is visiting from Australia, she is here working , and I have been hanging around with her. It's such a treat to be seeing her on a regular basis. Saturday , I got us tickets to go see Cabaret at the New Rep.It stars John Kuntz, I have worked with him in the past and she went to school with him. He is an enormous talent and he always surprises me with something new. I wanted to take her to dinner at Pedro's , an Argentinian restaurant that my friend Keith turned me on to many years ago. Unfortunately, by the time we got a table there was only enough time to order appetizers and still get to the theater. I have to say , for a meal of appetizers, it was quite good. We got arepas, quesadillas and fried calamari. Dee-lish-eee-oh-so !
Friday, my friend Scott was visiting from New York. We had been in a couple of comedy groups together over the years and we share many funny memories together. When he moved to New York all those years ago, I brought his furniture in my famous van. He took me to dinner at Vinnys in Somerville. We had a great meal , also inclding calamari.
Thursday, I started taking a Spanish class at the Boston Cneter for Adult Education. I am taking it with my boss. We both think having a better understanding of the language will come come in handy. I think it will be a good class. The teacher is half Mexican & half Cuban. She has sufficient Spanish street cred.
Tuesday , Kiki and I went to see Frost/Nixon in Newton. We both thought it was a really good film. And , of course, there was the inauguration. I unexpectedly was home to watch the festivities. It was a great spectacle. My best friend was there and sent me a picture from where she was on the mall.
Monday , after shoveling for an hour, I called in to work to say I would be late and they said to not bother, it wasn't busy. So I went back out and chopped ice for another 45 minutes. I did stand-up that night at the All Asia.It was a small but appreciative crowd. I felt good about my set. I was home early.
So , when I say I'm not really doing anything, the above description of last week is what I mean when I say "Not really doing much".

Belated Happy New Year

2009-01-09T11:02:00.002-05:00

I am late with the New Year Greetings. A couple of days after Christmas , I came down with a wicked cough. Every time I coughed , it felt like someone had kicked me in the chest. Also, my chest was burning, which was a new sensation for me. I went to the doctor. She said I had a cold and that I should call back if anything changed. Like if I experienced dizziness, developed a fever or produced green phlegm. New Year's Day , I got the productive green stuff. But they are closed, so I had to wait until Friday . I got a script for an antibiotic and I was feeling so much better by Saturday. I missed 3 days of work because of it. I didn't attend a New Year's Eve dinner because if there was any chance that I was contagious, I didn't want to infect my dinner mates. Plus, the coughs were just really difficult to listen to at a dinner table. Truthfully, you wouldn't want to be near that cough on a train or in a plane. I am just now starting to feel better , but I'm still not a 100%.
So, that's what I was doing for New Year's. I hope yours was better.

Happy Belated Boxing Day

2008-12-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas is past and onward to the New Year. Yesterday, Boxing Day, I took the day off work to spend time with my best friend & her family for an adult traditon. They go to the Museum of Fine Arts , here in Boston. My friend's husband and sister belong to the museum. I had a ticket for the Assyrian show which ends on January 4 .The ticket gets me into the whole museum. There were 6 of us. We were an art themed gang.
They had to buy timed tickets for the Assyrians, my ticket would get me any time. For you curious types, I got the ticket from work over a month ago. Essentially, so I could go see the show and make recommendations. So .. . I can make recommendations for another week. They also had a Karsh photograph exhibit and another photographic exhibit. It was great to see the photographs of Hemingway and Churchill, among other luminaries of the last 100 years.I separated from the group to look for the Mummies . I seemed to remember there were more mummies. I only found one. I also wandered through the Winslow Homer room.
The Assyrian exhibit was interesting. It's really amazing that these artifacts were thousands of years old. A lot of pictoraphs of the King going out of the castle to hunt animals. I thought it was interesting that modern kings have other people do their hunting. Whereas, in ancient times, you earned your reputation to be a king by actually protecting your people on the battle field.
I 'm almost ashamed to admit that my favorite art was in a room of German stuff-paintings , furniture and curios. There was a lucite box filled with silver and gold little statues and clocks. There were all about 500-600 years old. There was a little silver statue of the goddess Diana astride a Stag with full horns pulling a cart. It was amazing craftsmanship. Then I read the decription and it was a wind-up like toy . It would be wound up and it would ride around the table and wherever it stopped , the person it stopped in front of , would have to remove the stag's head and take a drink. It was an elaborate instrument for a plain old drinking game. Those wacky Germans !
And that's how I celebrated Boxing Day.

It's Still Snowing !

2008-12-19T22:59:00.002-05:00

Here in Beantown , it's snowing. It's been snowing since noon. It's just 11 PM now. It's lovely to look at but I'm already tired of shoveling the stuff. It's not too bitterly cold and the white stuff is pretty fluffy. It's but a crimp in my planned appointed shopping rounds. I hope the stuff I wanted to get tonight will still be available tomorrow when I get out of work. .. . providing I can GET to work ! I worked at the drug store today instead of the place in Andover. I think it's probably better that I wasn't trying to negotiate the northern roads.
I bought a new shovel today , because there was a crack in the other one I've been using for about 7 years now. We have an ice breaker at my house and I know where it is in case I have to use it. I have unattractive, but very practical, waterproof boots which helps a lot.
Well, that's what I'm thinking about . Nothing terribly descriptive or exciting. I just keep on , keepin' on . . . .

Faking It til I be "Makin' It"

2008-12-15T09:36:00.005-05:00

Aahhhhh. . the Christmas season is upon us and I am having a hard time rustling up the spirit.When I was younger, I would so look forward to the parties and the gifts -both buying and receiving. I would regularly start my shopping in August and be almost completed by October. That lost its allure for me . I would get so torqued up about the gifts I was giving that no one could possibly respond with nearly enough enthusiasm. I finally figured out I was setting myself up for a fall. SO, now I really don't start until after Thanksgiving.

On Saturday, I put the Christmas window up at the record store. I know it's kind of late but I really couldn't get myself to do it before then. I had planned on doing it the rpevious Saturday , but it was so busy, I was just too exhausted to stick around at the end of the day to do it. So , I went in about an hour early and started decorating the window. I got about half of it done before we opened and finished the rest of it in fits and starts throughout the day. It came out pretty good ! I will try and take a picutre with my phone and post it here (but don't get your hopes up !). My friend , Angelynn, who is a graphic designer, said she thought it was a good use of the merchandise. I made little vignettes in the wooden boxes we have for sale that are in the window. I arranged the display around the product. My boss said it was good . He said there was a lot of stuff to look at . Essentially, if people stop to look at all the little arrangements, they will linger a while, and perhaps enter the store to make a purchase. Support your local business ! I felt good that it was finally done.

I went to a Christmas party of a co-worker on Saturday night. I made my famous dip. It was a lovely place. However, one room contained all his co-workers from where we work together and the other room contained all the people from his other work and then there were a couple of people who didn't work with the host sort of floating between the rooms. Though I had a nice time, I didn't really make any new aquaintances.

I wore what I had worn to work that day. In an effort to get my "Christmas" up, I wore a green sweater, a geen t-shirt with Santa on it and my kitty-cat Santa earrings . Sometimes getting dressed in a festive mood helps me. I also put some mardi gras beads in my hair. I may have looked a little creepy. Oh well. .

Tonight is the record store party. We all look forward to it.It's nothing fancy, just everybody who doesn't work together regularly- gets to see each other. I've been there for over 25 years now. It's turned into quite a tradition for us. I have yet to make the dip and I have some gifts I still have to wrap. I look forward to it. I will go over after work tonight.

Maybe I just need to listen to some festive music ? Boy, my heart just ain't in it. .. . .

Moving Forward

2008-12-09T11:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm fully dressed. I need lipstick and to make my lunch. I am a little behind my hoped for schedule for the day .However, no one is expecting me anywhere at a specific time. I have to run a couple of errands before I head up to the rockpike in Andover. I am armed with a sufficient amount of quarters for the meters. I am a half pound lighter than I was at this time yesterday. Don't know how that happened, but I'm glad it did. Makes my shirt feel like it fits better.
It snowed Sunday but it didn't acculmulate too much around here. It's been really cold. I have a hand-me -down down jacket that's been keeping me fairly warm.
I am working at a different location than my usual job tomorrow. I will be working in a fancy office and won't have to wear a uniform. That always makes me feel like a grown-up . However, there are no windows and thus no natural light during the working hours. I will be answering phones. I have to attend a work-related dinner after work and I am looking forward to that.
Okay, that's about all I got . I'm trying to post here. My life is pretty boring. I am not complaining. I am greatful to have work.

High School Hangover

2008-12-05T10:37:00.002-05:00

Hmmmm, I'm still thinking about my reunion from last week. Today , I was remembering how many conversations I was privy to about their kids hockey games. I am a Hockey Mom Generation person. I don't have any kids. I wonder if I should have talked to the people I had no interest in talking with ? I am still thinking about one guy that took me most of the night to remember who he was. He realy looked like crap at the 5 & 10 but he looked pretty good last week. He was a real cutie in high school. Me, nope, I looked better at the 10th.
Of course, these thoughts inevitably lead to my current situation and whether or not I went "wrong" or "right". My life has been what it is and I've pretty much enjoyed most of it. I worked with a good friend yesterday . He's married and has a house and a dog. He and his partner have a a great life. We were both kind of lamenting our lack of performing. Me, because I am pretty much only interested in doing original stuff and he because he really likes being in his house. I got a great idea for a story 2 weeks ago. I think about it every day. However, I haven't written anything more than the idea down. These days, my greatest , and most satisfying , accomplishment is doing laundry and paying bills without getting overdrawn. No mean fete, frankly.
I am trying to resist panicking about the economic woes of this country. The good thing about being this low on the economic totem pole is, I don't have anything to lose. I got nothing.
Okay. I've written a couple of paragraphs. I think that's pretty good.

High School Reunion

2008-11-29T00:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight was my High School reunion. I went with my best friend from high school , Barbara. She left her husband at home and I drove. It was a trip . I felt old and fat going in, but now I feel pretty much at pace with my peers. Most of us had acquired a couple of pounds. Two of the female classmates were even more petite than they had been in school. Most of us had married and many of us had divorced. Many of us had kids. I would say this was one of the few times in my life that I wished I could say I was married or had kids. There was one other woman that I talked with who had never married. There were a couple of guys who were hard to recognize. They looked like they had been through the ringer a few years ago and were just getting back on their feet. My high school crush was there with his wife. She was absolutely charming and I am happy for him that he found such a wonderful woman to share his life with. There was another guy who had aged so much we thought he was one of our teachers. One of the girls was married to a guy that looked like David Walsh will look in 20 years. 5 or 6 of the women looked almost exactly as they had when we were in high school.
3 of us had passed away . One had stomach cancer, another had a heart problem and had died a few years after college and I never did find out what the third one succumbed to . I hung out with one friend who was mostly excited about going to the public school reunion tomorrow night. The people she hung out with after school all went to the public high. One classmate, who is a doctor now and is married to a doctor, came all the way from Seattle for this event.
I was surprised how many remembered that I was a perfomer and more than one promised to rent Mona Lisa Smile or In Dreams to check for the scenes I was in . It was actually nice to see everybody after all this time. Some people got really trashed. A couple arrived completely drunk- I don't know how they got home.
I don't regret the life I live or the choices I made in it ,but I really thought I would have a different life than what I have. I really thought I would have been married and had kids. A couple of people even said I was better off for never marrying. I'll take their word for it.
Anyhow, I'm glad I went. I look forward to the next one in 10 years.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:09:00.002-05:00

Okay, sorry, it's been about a month since I last posted. Partly because I just didn't make the time to write and partly because I have nothing to say. I work 7 days a week and when I get home, I veg in front of basic cable tv. Often, it's stuff I've seen already because the new stuff seems to appear infrequently. Tonight , the holiday , it's all reruns or stuff I have no interest in. Rosie O'Donnell apparently had a variety show on tv where Life should have been. I don't care if her and Barbra Walters are still feuding . They both make way more money than me and don't make me want to watch them.
Today , my family did our usual thing. Mum made the turkey, my brother made the stuffing and I made the mashed potatoes, gravy and squash. I have to say , the gravy came out really good this year. The meal took about 5 hours to prepare and it took us about 20 minutes to consume our fill. It was fine in a way that being with my family is on a holiday like this.
I had the day off. I did a load of laundry early and I finished the last 2 issues of Vogue that I hadn't gotten around to reading. I'll recycle them to a co-worker on Sunday. Tomorrow, I have off as well. Things are slow at the Friday rockpile, there have been layoffs, though I still seem to have a job . However, if there isn't business generated for other departments, then there is nothing for me to file. Hence, an unexpected day off.
I hope to do more laundry and reading and maybe some puttering. Maybe something will strike me to write about and I will post it .
I'm glad to be alive and I am thankful for the health of my friends and family.I am also thankful for magazines, washing machines and Zen Party snack mix at Target.

A Dead Body, A Free Sandwich & Some Pastries

2008-10-27T08:48:00.000-04:00

Last week, My co-worker entered the building saying "there's a DB at the fountain". "A "D.B." ? "Yeah. A D.B." "What's a "DB"? " "A Dead Body". Now, I watch a lot of the C.S.I. shows but I wouldn't have figured out the "DB" without a little more context in the sentence.
Apparentlty, some poor soul passed away . He was sitting upright holding a beer. I later heard he was 45 and had a Vermont Drivers license on his person. A parks worker found him. Who knows how long he had been there? I'm sure joggers had been passing by him since sunrise. I still haven't heard the cause of death. My guess is some combination of drugs, alcohol and exposure.
I wonder if this was a sentimental location for him ? Maybe he was one of the 2 guys that was having sex in public at the fountain from a few years ago. Ah, the children . ..
The free sandwich came from a new restaurant down the street. They came in and gave our manager some free coupons. It's in a location of a previous restaurant and it was almost the same stuff that the old restaurant used to sell . It also had the calorie content of the sandwiches. I couldn't believe that a tabulleh wrap was 200 more calories than a bacon cheeseburger ! I had the bacon cheeseburger. It was good.
The pastries came from some greatful visitors. This couple was from Louisianna and they had never been to Boston before. They were asking about a good place to get something to eat. The girl waiting on her really only knew the places she goes to for lunch or when her Aunts takes her some place to eat. Her Aunt likes to go to the same places. I jumped in to the conversation, which is called "poaching" by my crew. We got to talking & I recommneded a couple of different places, including some place I had just visited and sent them on their way. A couple of hours later, they came back from lunch to take a guided walking tour and brought me a slection of pastries from the restaurant they had gone to on my recommendation. That was really sweet. My boss saw it and she said she was going to include the incident on her next report to our big boss.
Sorry I haven't been blogging. I've really just been working and if my computer acts up , I just give up trying to get to this blog site. The events of last week seemed emminently blog-worthy. I'll try to blog on the movies I've seen in the last month, soon.

Vote For Me

2008-09-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

There was a local election here in my neck of the woods this week. Mostly people running unopposed . Including a guy who was caught stealing from the copy and soda machines at whatever government building he is employed at. He was still on the ballot. I asked the local voting official what he was doing on the ballot, didn't he resign because he was caught stealing at work ? They had to refer me to the Precinct Warden. I said I thought he had resigned. She said he had not. Well, what would happen if I left that one blank ? He would get my vote by default . Well, what can I do to keep him from getting my vote ? She told me "Write your own name in there". So, I did. I voted for myself. That scumbag has a cushy government job probably paying 3 times what I make (and I work 4 jobs 7 days a week) and he's got the nerve to be stealing from the copy machine ? He's running unopposed, so he's going to get re-elected ?Maybe I would have re-elcted Curley while he was in jail, but not this guy. I searched the papers trying to track down the results. I saw nothing about this guy, good or bad. That kind of stuff outrages me. Our complacency is why our sons and daughters and countless innocent victims are being killed in this senselees war. Why can we bail out these huge corporations and not the little guy who's late a couple days on his mortgage ? What the hell is going on ? . .. Okay I just deleted a bunch of rant. You get the picture. Get out there and VOTE !!!!

Slug

2008-09-02T12:33:00.003-04:00

Oh , I had the day off yesterday. I was going to go to Crane's Beach with my friend, but she had a family situation come up. Then, I thought I might get motivated and go myself , just to watch the sun set. No such luck. I read a whole book , almost finished the big Autumn Vogue and did 2 loads of laundry. Though I got something done, I really didn't get much done. Today, I'm moving pretty slow as well. I seem to be particularly unmotivated to do anything. Pay a bill, take a walk , brush the cat. Nuh-unh. Nothing. I am dressed and have part of my make-up process started but I'm at least 10 minutes away from starting the final part. Slug. That's me.

Sir ?

2008-08-25T10:01:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while , this happens. . . . .. At work in Thursday I saw a man try to walk into the ladies room . Usually , it's some homeless guy calling his homeless girlfriend out because they are late for some important appointment. Last week, I even saw a woman stand at the mens room door , holding the door open , impatiently calling her man out while other men were in there using the urinals. So, I thought I was being helpful when I called out to the older man with plaid polyesther jack and khaki pants that he was going into the wrong rest room. I called out twice, once in an inquiring tone and the second more urgently "Sir? That's the ladies room!". He jerked his head back out the door, looked me right in the eye and yelled "I am a lady !" and continued on with her business.
I was embarrassed and felt bad. I wasn't questioning her sexuality. She was dressed in an ambiguous way. Her hair was gray and cut short. She had asexual silver horn rimmed glasses and she wore no make-up. Hardy Yankee ladies really let themselves go.
Fortunately, I was on my way to lunch, so I didn't have to deal with her exit.

Not Mastering the Technology

2008-08-18T11:53:00.002-04:00

Hmmmm, I was hoping to post a blog from my new phone but I still can't figure out how to use the web on the thing. I can see if I have emails waiting in my mailbox , but I can't open them. Ah well, I'm sure I'm going to figure it out.
I am doing stand-up tonight at the All Asia in Central Square and my college friend Tracy is visiting from California and I am going to hook up with some of those friends later at a bar down the street. It's going to be a long night. . . Tracy and I went to Europe after college. We were working on a show and we were all at a bar afterward and one of the guys was telling us about running with the bulls in Spain. That sounded pretty good to us and we made a bar bet to got to Europe , and we did . She stayed much longer than I did. I started having dreams that my house was burning down about 4 weeks in and I decided to come home. Turned out my family was fine, but the Improv group I belonged to was failing apart and there was a bit of a coup going on in my absence. I got back to the states in time to attend an Improv convention in Chicago with 3 of the remaining 4 group members. That's pretty much the short version.
It was the first time I witnessed a coup but it would not be the last coup I would be involved with. Fortunately , my life seems a lot less dramatic than it used to be. I have very little use for drama queens these days.
Don't know where this little blog came from, just stuff I'm thinking about at this moment. Have great day !

Nana Gets a New Phone

2008-08-16T21:26:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been looking at this one new phone since before Christmas. I had heard about it last October and I figured, when it was time to upgrade, I would get that phone. I checked it out at the store near one of my jobs. It was $250.00, with a $50.00 rebate. Hmmmmm, okay , I'll think about it.
I called my carrier a couple of times checking on different features. I wanted something that I could check my email from. Frankly, I could have done it from the phone I already had, but I didn't like the keypad . My buddy, Chris Oake, had a nice little phone and the price was only $99.00. He can check his email from movie sets. He can also send stuff from his nifty little gadget. My best friend and her husband got each other Iphones for Xmas this year and my buddy Denise had gotten an Iphone when they were first launched. Yes, she stood in line and waited for the little darlin's to go on sale. She was very happy with her thingy as well. I had a little bit of Iphone envy but I absolutely detest the carrier for the Iphone. I would rather carry tin cans and string with me than have to deal with that company again. But , yes, I wanted what they had. It's not envy just interest. An awareness that things in my life could be a little more convenient . Really, there's nothing worse than being on a movie set for 12 hours and having no access to email. Most of us carry our phones. So. . .. I should get email on my phone.
Today and tomorrow, here in Massachusetts, there is a sales tax free day. Any purcheses besides a car or a boat and no food are tax free today & tomorrah. So today , after working a convention, I went to the store for my phone service carrier (please note that I am not actually saying the name of the carrier because I don't want them to spambot me. .. or whatever kind of monitoring devices big brother employs , I ' d rather not draw any attention to myself). SO, I figured today was the day. The price for the phone came down last week. It was now $99.00. And apparently , because I was re-upping, I got some kind of credit and combined with the $50.00 the final cost of the phone, with the accessories, will end up being about $50.00. I have to fill out a couple of forms, but that's going to be okay for me. The young man who helped was very nice. He showed me how to place a call, get to the internet and take a picture.Then he sent me on my way.
In the parking lot , my first call went to my best friend Margaret and my intention was to send an email from my phone to my friend Denise. I had to wait until I got home to send her that email, but she was the first. I've been reading the instruction manual and I'm having a hard time figuring it out. I can get to Gmail & MSN and I can open my accounts but I can't get the email open. I'll check with the kids at work, I'm sure they can help me get it fired up. It may also be that I'm just too tired from the day to concentrate on the instructions. I've already done way more with this phone in the last couple of hours than I did with other phone over the last couple of years. It was quite convenient to check the interent from my bed. Yes, I have a laptop but this is much cuter and it fits in the palm of my hand. Actually , it fits in my 2 hands.
I can't believe I'm particpating in all this new technology. I remember driving down the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York when it struck me that I was communicating with someone like they used to communicate with those little devices on Star Trek. It was a nifty little phone . At that moment I was in "The Future" they had envisioned. I can't wait until teleportation becomes a reality . Think of all the money we will save on gas !
I changed my momthly minutes and added a data plan. So, it won't cost me too much more a month to get this thing going. It defeats the prupose to put myself in debt for something I want "NOW". I feel pretty good about this. As soon as I get it going, I'm going to feel even happier.

$4.00

2008-08-12T12:20:00.002-04:00

Sunday was another deluge of people and rain. Though some of the missing people had found replacements, we still could have used a couple more people. I was late and I don't like to be late. I got there at 5 of and I was still the first one in. And the computer wasn't working. Which actually is good because all the facebook surfers couldn't surf so, it made them appear more present. But it made it difficult to get the business part of the day rolling. Ah well. .
So, I had this Irish family- they were very nice but I really didn't treat them any better than any of the other visitors. I anwered their questions and offered information I knew they would need later. It was a nice typical exchange. What wasn't typical was that the guy tipped me $4.00. No , that's not a lot of money . He didn't need to do that . But it totally changed my mood. It was a little gesture but it really made me feel better about working on another Sunday.
I

A Matter of Perception

2008-08-09T22:54:00.000-04:00

I suck.
I suckety-suck.
You hear that sound ?
That's me sucking.
Bad.
Atmospheric sucking emanating from my pitiful existance.
No. . . . I don't really believe that about myself. I possess many admirable qualities. I bathe daily. I pay my bills on time . I laugh at your jokes.
But yesterday, I had an audition for a small film. I did everything that was possible for me to do. I printed and memorized the sides, I printed my resume on the back of my headshot . I selected appropriate clothing for the character. I even went and bought a hair net because I was auditioning for the role of a caferteria worker. I showed up on time. I did everything within my power to prepare ahead of time for this audition- to present myself as professionally as possible.
No, it's not a big block buster but it would be a speaking role in a nice little film with a couple of name stars. Any movie role is a good movie role in my book.
SO , as the woman from the casting company escorted me into the audition room, I find out I'm actually auditioning for the director & producer. Usually, they just videotape you .I usually do pretty good in person. I wish I had known a little sooner than 10 steps from the door.Also, the woman escorting me kept hammering me with " Now remember! No Boston accent . You remember I told you that ? No Boston accent ! And , "Natural"! I know you do stand-up and you've done a lot of improv but they're looking for natural. Don't overact ! Got it ? Okay" and she swings the door open.
Yes. I am a little rattled and I have lost complete control over my thoughts. My soul is leaving my body and I can only hope I remember the lines I've been working on all day. I get a little confused and don't know who's hand to shake first. So, it's kind of three hands shaking at once and then I shake their hands individually. Did I mention I'm wearing a hairnet? I slate my name. They say action and I start the scene. I do the whole scene but it's turns out I have memorized the name "Dan" instead of the characters name "Don". They think it's funny and we have a laugh, usually a good sign.We do it 2 more times. They give me direction. I think I've incorporated their instructions. There's really nothing I can do because I am not in my body and my mind is going a 100 miles an hour and the only way I can calm down is to go to sleep.But you have to be in your body to go to sleep and I am no where near it.
They thank me for coming in. I have no idea what the casting lady thinks of me.I have no idea how I did and I have no idea how I lost control of what I thought was going on . I think I looked calm enough. I hope the laugh caused by my flub gets me a call back.
No, it's not the end of the world if I don't get a call back. I am greatful that they even thought to call me in to audition. I think I could do that character really well. It's when I was alone in the car, on the way to the grocery store, that I was overwhelmed by my suckitude. I don't suck. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. I felt fine today. I didn't really think about it at all , until I thought about blogging something. Then the sucking just washed over me again.
I'm fine. I just wish I could have stayed present. Oh well, another lesson learned. I think. . . .

Still Awake

2008-08-07T20:54:00.002-04:00

I got some sleep and then went in and worked a full day . We were slamming again ! There was a cruise ship in town. We had a full staff and a new guy. He was picking stuff up pretty fast. He's very knowledgeable about the city. If he's not scared off by today, he's going to be a great asset.
So, I slept for about 2 1/2 hours. That's what I'm working off of. My mental capacity is not at full function as is exemplefied by me blogging instead of going to sleep. I can , you know, go to sleep. I'm not supposed to be anywhere and no one is expecting me. I've had dinner and there is nothing on tv.
Yup. I could go right to sleep. . .... . and yet. ... .I don't.

Dirty Jeans & Cake

2008-08-07T03:03:00.002-04:00

It's 3 AM here. I just got home from working as a stand-in on the same film I worked on a month ago. Since I was standing in for the same actress and the same scene, I wore the same clothes I had worn last time. However, this time, they were dirty . I had to pull them out of the laundry pile. My call time was 4 PM. They didn't bring me to set until after 11 PM. They didn't use me until after 12:30. And now , here I am at home. I am concerned that I am not going to be able to fall alseep now . I have to be up again in a couple of hours to go to work.
Today , at work, we had a little ice cream & cake party for a couple of the girls who are finishing up their summer with us. Nutritionally, I don't need either cake or ice cream. Yet . .. I ate both . Then tonight , at the movie, for dinner, they had a big sheet cake for dessert because it was somebody's birthday. Yes, I had more cake.
Now, I generally subscribe to the theory that life is too short not to eat cake. And I proved my belief to the world. But , really . . . . . How much cake does dear old Dottie need ?

Jesus is Coughing

2008-08-04T22:26:00.002-04:00

SO, yesterday at the booth was a mad house. We were short the manager and 2 regulars. We could have used a couple more people. Some lady got into it with one of my co-workers and she wanted to speak to a manager. Ha-ha ! Come back tomorrow ! It was one about one of the trolley companies. She was going to let the "Ritz Carltin" (sic)know about her disatisfaction. Knock yourself out lady. Earlier in the week we had a lady mad at us because we didn't have tickets for the same trolley company. "I'm in customer service and I am not satisfied ! You need to get on your game !". Clearly, if she did work in customer service, she would have known that was no way to treat people at our level. Surely, she would realize that that would become a sarcastic rallying cry to the more cynical of us (ie-ME).I kept accusing my co-workers of not "Being on their game " for teh rest of the day. We are innocent victims of the companies who advertise and then don't provide us with the necessary materials. I fuckin' hate people . . . .
So, besides it being crazy-crazy yesterday there was also severe thunder storms . The rain just came down all at once . It was just pure water. It was angry water. Thunder and lightning was loud and beautiful. SO, once it began raining, everybody rushed into the center. WE were packed. Many were just standing looking out the windows, some bought plastic ponchos. There was a family with little children and the children got scared because of the lightning and I heard the Mother (maybe she was an aunt ? ) "Oh, that's just Jesus coughing ! Hear it ? " So the next time the thunder happened she coughed. "See? Jesus coughing !". I tried not to make eye contact so I wouldn't have to get involved with soothing the children or perpetuating more lies about what God & Jesus are all about. I am not an official spokesperson or an authority on the subject. Granted , I have my opinions and I think they are right ,but the kids seemed too young to understand the reality or the abstract of the situation.
It was a tough day. .. it was especially tough because Jesus was coughing all over me and he wasn't covering his mouth . . . . .

It's a Tough Job, But Somebody Has To Do It

2008-07-21T10:50:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't written, but I've been busy. . .
Last week, I worked on a commercial as an extra. It is under a contract called an "Extra Buyout". It pays more than just being an extra but you do don't get residuals because it is a commercial. It is set to air during the Olympics.
I worked all day at my regular job and then I drove out to Lancaster Massachusetts , to the fair grounds, where half a fair was set up . In the parking lot , my old friend Michelle Proud had just pulled in , so we were able to walk to set together. She had actually worked on it the night before. Because I was a little early , my call time was 7PM and I left Boston at 5:10, we where there about 6:40. They wouldn't sign us in a minute sooner. The food was pretty good . It wasn't "breakfast" in the usual sense of the word. There was something called "bermuda clam Chowder" almost like a Manhattan clam chowder. I asked the woman what the difference was and she said it was the type of clam they used. It was delicious. They also had chicken and green salad and fruit salad . I think there was some other entre, but I didn't have any . I didn't have any dessert , either. And then we waited. My buddy Jimmy Saya was working on this one , too. It was nice to see him and hang around with him.
We were out in the middle of a field. A typical fairgrounds situation. We were under some sort of animal shelter. There were 3 next to each other . I guess you would call it a paddock. I don't know, just someplace to keep the animals(actors) from getting rained on or burned by the sun. There was hay on the ground. They had done a pretty good job of spraying the place so the bugs weren't too bad. After dinner ( breakfast) they checked us for wardrobe. They asked us to bring 2 sets of clothes. I tried , but I ended up bringing more options than I really needed. It was warm early in the evening but you would want something that would keep you warmer when it got chillier. I wore a pair of jeans I got from my friend Julie Perkin's sister, a gray t-shirt, a shirt I got from my friend Betsey's Mom's beach house when she was going through her divorce. Anything that had bleonged to him was fair game and I got a great Neiman Marcus sort of plaid shirt. It 's the right combination of blue, gray & brown. Colorful but not too showy. I've worn that on a number of movies and it gets used a lot . Then over those 2 shirts I put on a green cradigan sweater with brown leaves apliqued onto it. Again, colorful, but stil the right level of muted. And then I was good to go for the evening. Shortly after my wardrobe approval, we went to set.
It was like any travelling fair I would have rushed to when I was a kid. There was a Ferris wheel , bumper cars, scrambler ride, tilt-a-whirl, tea cups, swing ride and a carousel. I ended up on the carousel for the first part of the evening. I was on my little pony for about 3 hours. I got saddle sores, it was just like being on a horse. We went around and around and around. Even when they would shout "Back to one" (meaning to the original place where you started when they started filming) there was nothing I could do because it would take too long to shut it down and start it up again, so it kept going. It was really quite fun except for the saddle sores. I had a bit where I would wave to everybody standing by the ride. Jimmy and Michelle where pared up , so I would wave to them like they were my parents and Forey Buckmisnter was there and he would slap me 5 when I swung by. I have no idea what was going on in front of the camera, I was so far away . There is no way you'll be able to tell it's me in the background. I'm pretty sure I'm not even going to be able to tell where I am in the shot. The primary action seemed to be happening on the bumper car ride.
There was action happening at the balloon game. You know where you throw a dart at the balloons to win prizes. So, I was watching that. The main guy had long hair and droopy mustache. A real carny looking guy. I would watch their action. At first , the carny was replacing the balloons when they got hit. Eventually, they just kep throwing the darts in the same spot where all the balloons had already been hit.
Then we broke for lunch . There were hamburgerss and hot dogs and macaroni salad and baked macaroni and cheese. It was real good. I expect something a little fancier on these types of shoots, but it was really good , none the less.
Then we were back in . Because of union rules they had to release everybody under 18 by 1 AM. So those little bastards got to leave ! The second half of the shoot they asked for volunteers to go on different rides. They asked for volunteers for the swing ride and my arm shot right up . I wasn't really thinking. I just knew I wanted to go on the swing ride. We sat there, motionless, while they set up the shot. It felt like we were sitting there for an hour. Then when the ride started going, it didn't stop for an hour. Everytime they would stop and shout "back to one" I was , once again helpless to do anything. I was laughing and giggling the whole time. Some people on the ride were getting a little sick. Not me, I was laughing the whole time. It was like some wish I made as a 10 year old had come true and I was appreciating it for what it was. What better way to spend a beautiful summer evening ? Oh, and the moon was full. It was so great to just be going around and around, head thrown back , cackling at the moon. I loved it . I can't believe I'm gonna get paid for that !
They still had some shots left , so they released everybody who wasn't union and then asked for union people if they would volunteer to leave becasue they only needed like 10 more people. We'd all still get the same pay , even if you left volunarily, but I thought there might still be another ride I could get on. No way was I going to miss out on that ! No dice- we did walking behind the primary action . My buddy Jimmy got picked to go inside the food truck like he was selling food to the principals. Unfortunately, it did not get him an upgrade. It just got him closer to the center of the action. Michelle and I were at the candy apple stand in the background trying to decide which kind of apple to get .
They wrapped us at 4. I got lost on the way home, but I was still able to get home and take a little nap and a shower and then went back into town to open the booth. The boss had a dentist appointment and I promised her I would be there. I was. She let me go home after lunches, around 1 PM.
All in all, it was a great way to make a buck. I had a great time.

Suit Up

2008-07-01T22:44:00.003-04:00

So, I 'm driving between jobs today-I'm going from the engineering firm to the drug store-and I check my messages. There's a call on there checking my availability to do stand-in work tomorrow on the Bruce Willis film that is here. I have to pull over, because I want to be able to think straight. I missed the call by 10 minutes. I know I have to act fast because they're going to call somebody else soon. I call the place I'm working tomorrow, the boss is at a meeting. Dang ! What am I gonna do ?
I call the casting company back and tell them I can do it- without talking to my boss. We'll work it out somehow. It's in Hopedale. No. I don't know where Hopedale is, but I will find out by tomorrow. I ask the girl if it's a man or a woman I will be standing in for -I'm pretty big these days. I'm "movie" big , but if you saw me on the street you might think I could lose a few pounds. I'm standing in for a woman. I don't know who. I'll find out tomorrow.
I like doing stand-in work because you get to be up real close and see the action. But, you don't have to hang around with the rest of the extras. What I really mean is . . . I am not available to any crazy person who thinks I'm interested in hearing why it's only a short matter of time before they become a star. Me? I'm working for scale and I 'm pretty happy to do it.
For no reason in particular, I think it's going to be a short day.
In the meantime, I was able to connect with my boss and she couldn't have been nicer about it. God Bless her for understanding a middle-aged woman who still dreams of shooting for the stars. No, I don't have a lot of dreamy thoughts about being a huge star, but I'd be pretty happy just to be a regular working actress.

Crisis Averted

2008-06-25T22:07:00.002-04:00

Oh, today at work was a busy one. We had 8 people behind the counter. It started as soon as we opened the doors and kept up heavy until around 1 PM. I had a lady with a school group with 53 kids looking for their 10 o'clock tour at 10:15 am. She didn't know the name of the company that she had booked it with .She just had a woman's name and a phone number. I called the company that I thought had booked the tour, they didn't have her. So , I went out to talk with the other tour guide that it could possibly be with. He recognized the name & number that the woman had but he didn't have a school group booked.
The lady started to hyperventilate. She was insistant that she had indeed booked the tour-even though she didn't know the name of the company that she had booked it with. She was really upset and I thought she was going to cry . I assured her that this happens from time to time and not to worry , we would work something out. She just shouldn't let the kids see her get upset. They have no way of knowing something is wrong, they can just amuse themselves until this gets resolved. I was worried I might have to run a tour, and I am not prepared to do that.
The guy who works for the company that she thought she had booked it with started making phone calls. He had no one on staff to come in. So, rather than disappoint the kids, he called his rival tour company and they sent somebody over. In the meantime, I'm talking to the ladies' sister who is lost down near the Aquarium. She can't seem to get into , or stay , in the left lane to get to where we are, where her sister and niece are. I know driving is tough in Boston , but she's from New Hampshire, a left hand turn is still just a left hand turn. I'm talking her in to where we are. Then ,when she finally gets to the Common, she needs to know where to park. It's a right and a right from where we are. I tell her this information 4 times. She does not believe me. After getting her unlost, she still doesn't trust me. I'm from Boston after all and inherently evil.
One of the chaperones who has witnessed my extraordinary feat of customer service comes into the center and says "I saw what you did. This is for you . After all that , she didn't even say thank you !" and she handed me a $10.00 tip. Honestly, I didn't do it for the tip. The lady and her sister were in crisis mode and I knew I could get them through this .
It's amazing the little dramas that unfold all around us. My manager wondered where I was, but she knew I was helping a customer. It was a crazy day.

Life Is A Parade

2008-06-19T22:11:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you've heard, but the Boston Celtics, my hometown major league basketball team won the championship . They had a "rolling rally" here in Boston. It's really a parade without the marching bands. A Sea of green, like St. Patrick's Day, but without the gay controversies. And , it just so happens, said rolling rally rolled right by my job. We closed for a couple of hours because we are not big enough to accomodate the plumbing needs of the thousands of young drunkards innundating our little tourist center. There were 20 porta-johns right next to our building. They could spew their puke in there. No , it's not pretty but neither is our little place of business awash in 2 inches of puke mixed with urine seasoned to taste with feces. No sir-ree, you can use the out houses, until the time is right.
My co-workers went out into the multitudes while I held down the fort inside. I opened a window and stood on a bench to watch the Celts go by. I made a couple of calls . I answered the phone. The weekend manager called in to check the progress of the the rally, because I assume he was trying to get to Copley Square before the team did. My big boss called wanting to know how things were going and a co-worker called to say she could see me at the window of the center on tv, where she was watching the festivities from home.
There were thousands of people out there. There was a SWAT Team truck set up near the street . There were cops on horses, bicycles and feet. There were Transit cops, Boston Police and Rangers. There were even a couple of Inspectional Services Cops on duty. There were tons of kids dressed in varying shades of green. Even the historical guides were wearing green and trying to conduct their tours. Pretty difficult , because you couldn't cross the street for a couple of hours. I never really thought about how most of the Freedom Trail is actually across the street . . .
It was very energetic and , fortunately , not too dangerous. Every one seemed to be on the same page, celebrating wise. We had a few tourists who had no idea what was going on and couldn't quite get their heads around the need for a parade for a basketball team. Some of them were pissed, but most were pretty good-natured about the whole thing.
There was a time , long time ago , when giants walked the earth. When guys named Bird, McCale, Chief and DJ showed the world how it was done. That 's the time in my life when I used to go to basketball games and followed what was going on . I was peripherally aware of this season's team. I knew that "Big Baby" was making a big difference to the Celts. Yes , I watched some of the final games , and I was pretty proud and impressed by the play.
I was at the last parade they had for the Celtics. I went with my friend Susan who was a really big fan. I even have pictures somewhere. Ohhh, it was long ago and so many pounds before this . .

Feeling Normal

2008-06-16T11:50:00.002-04:00

Well , I feel like I'm getting closer to normal. I've almost repaid my sleep deficit. I went right home after work on Saturday and Sunday. My laundry is done. I've puttered. I could putter some more. Yesterday, it rained pretty hard until noontime and then it was overcast for the rest of the day. It's overcast today, but it the temperature is cool. Great sleeping weather. Honestly, I could go back to bed and sleep the rest of the day and not feel guilty at all. However, I have work to do.
Yesterday, I was pretty grumpy for the first part of the day. People being late drives me crazy. When we opened , it was just me and the weekend manager. He's pretty laid -back but it drives me crazy that week after week the same people are late just about the same time from week to week. There seems to be no interest in changing behaviour. I don't mind being the first in , but I can't open the center if there isn't someone else there. I think I'm just exhausted and I don't have enough "quiet time". That lack translates into cranky , crazy , lady. I need to get some stuff done, but the fatigue slows me down.
I'm ranting. I'm really pretty happy . I'm paying my bills, I've got clean clothes. I've got people who love me who I love . Can't complain. . . . . but that doesn't stop me !!!!

Hard-Working "Actress"

2008-06-13T21:07:00.000-04:00

So , I worked on the film starring Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames for the last 2 days. I am really tired and I have gone from exhausted , past second wind into slightly delireous/ possibly crazy. . . . No way do I want to get into bed. I'm gonna wander around the house and get nothing done, molest the cat and probably curl up into a ball and start crying & rocking for no reason in the corner of the dining room. I should get into bed, but I won't! I don't know why.
SO . ... yesterday , my call time was 5:30AM. Yeah. 5:30. A.M. I had to get up at 3:30 in order to leave by 4:30 to arrive on time. They were going alphabetically . There were poor souls who had to get there earlier than me ! There were about 300 of us. Most of us had a costume fitting last week and then , when we got there yesterday,they said there had been a change of plans and they needed different outfits. Fortunately for me, I had added a t-shirt under the jacket they had selected and I automatically brought extra shoes and a pair of socks. They gave me a crocheted vest and I was good to go . I had a lovely breakfast of 2 eggs over easy, bacon and wheat toast. My buddy Steve was there and a woman I have hung out with on movie sets before named Maureen. The 3 of us hung out most of the day. We didn't actually get onto to set until around 12:30 and then we broke for lunch.
Then , after lunch , we got a little more action , but really, we were just standing around all day. We got to see both lead actors, from a distance, but they were there. I got to hang out a bit with a comic named Chris Oake. He's always great to hang out with because he always has something funny to say about what we're witnessing. By the time I got to hanging out with Chris, my eye had started to run. It was killing me and it looked like I had snot goming out of that eye. It was so painful. It was allergies and I was not the only one to have that reaction. They wrapped us for the evening at 8PM. I gave a friend a ride to Cambridge, we got stuck behind an accident in the tunnel and I didn't get home until 9:30PM. I was tired and in pain and I couldn't go to bed until I checked my email to get my call time for today. I missed a great party at the Comedy Studio last night, but I was really in pain.
My call time for today was 7:30 AM. Not so bad. Getting up at 5:30 felt like I was sleeping in !I wore the other outfit they had selected at my fitting. I brought yesterday's outfit as well, just in case. I had a breakfast sandwich for my "Non-Deductible Breakfast". Today, there were only 52 of us. Much more manageable. The atmosphere was a lot different , too. Much more laid-back. Of course, today, we went right to set and they started using us right away. We were pretty active right up until lunch. My eyes were much more cooperative today.
I had been applying suncreen liberally all day. Of course, I forgot to apply any to my neck today. Don't know why I did it yesterday and not today, but I didn't. It's not such a good idea to get your neck sunburned at my age , but that 's what happened. We weren't used that much in the afternoon. Our holding area was a bus, they are air conditioned for our comfort but I found my bus to be very cold so, I got off the bus, and I sat on a chair in the shade. People are atrange. I was sitting by myself and before I knew it , there were 3 20 somethings hanging around me . It's like they figured I was the only person they hadn't talked with and it was now my turn. I was a little awed by how smart they were, MIT types, seriously , the girl had a degree in mechanical engineering. But ,of course, it devolved into a conversation about prematurely gray haired people , in depth and not very interesting and the Red Hat society. Don't know why they chose those topics, but , there you have it. It wasn't unpleasant, but it felt wierd. On a movie set , you can't get away from those kind of people.
They wrapped us at 7. Not such a bad day. I got home a little after 8. And . .. here I am . . . not sleeping.
I'm glad I was able to work on the film. Even just as a background performer, I love working on a movie and seeing how things get done (and , also, how some things don't get done ! ). Okay, now Im ready to lay down. Sleeping until 7 tomorrow morning is going to feel terribly decadent !

A Planned Day Off

2008-06-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

Since I worked last week, and gave up the Memorial Day Holiday to work in a parking lot in Walpole, my boss let me take today off. You know what I did ? Nothing- a load of laundry , read some magazines , napped , watched a little tv, but , basically , nothing. I didn't even shower. I may brush my teeth. I'm thinking about going downstairs and having that diet Mountain Dew I've had chilling in the fridge. But , nothing and it feels wonderful ! I don't feel guilty or anything.I never have a day off. Unfortunately , when I do have a day off, I don't want to do anything. I toyed with the idea of going for a walk , but decided against it.
Last weekend , I worked an event at the last minute . There was a major collegiate sporting event happening and I was stationed in a parking lot making sure everybody found their way to the shuttle buses. Even though I was sitting in my car most of the day, I got sun burned on my neck and one side of my face.
I went down to Marshfield and did stand-up on Thursday. Since it's usually the same cast of characters,it's a good place to do new material. I forgot most of it. It probably wasn't the best use of my time and gas. I'm glad I went but I really need to focus. Ah well . . .

The Weather

2008-05-21T22:41:00.000-04:00

Well , it was mostly a glorious day , weatherwise, here in Boston . Most of the day , the sky was a bright blue with white puffy clouds. It was about 60 degrees and breezy. I walked around during lunch and it was just beautiful.
On our walk home, it started to rain and I just happened to have 2 umberellas with me. SO, my boss and I got kind of wet. My clothes are getting loose, I've lost about 12 pounds from all the walking. It's enough for me to feel it but it's not really enough for someone to notice . However, I feel like I'm walking around with a secret. A Secret except that I keep pulling my baggy pants up . .

Yesterday & Today

2008-05-18T23:44:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, for no particular reason, I awoke at 6 AM. I was wide awake and willing to get up and do something. I did a load of laundry, balanced my check book and did some recycling all before I really had to get up to go to work. I started the day with a real feeling of accomplishment. I got to work early , too. The day started slow and then got busy near the end . I did the door at the Comedy Studio , came home and was asleep before Steve Carel could say " Live From New York, It's Saturday Night !". It was a good day , but most of the big stuff was done by 8AM.
Today, I didn't awake nearly as bright eyed and bushy tailed. . . . .I fell into somem kind of time wormhole and left the house 10 minutes later than I thought I would. Though I got a late start , I was still the first one in to work and the next one in got there just as the church bells chimed the hour. It was pretty busy from the get- go and my mood turned fowl pretty fast. Nothing I could put my finger on, I just didn't want to be there. After I work a lot of weeks without a break, my little brain refuses to clear and it seems like I have a brain clogged with thoughts that should have been flushed already. A giant hair ball stuffing the drain to civility. At lunch , I asked the ranger to shoot me. He laughed. . ... that's just not nice. Then , after I had eaten my string cheese and started eating my sandwich , I got a call that they were short-staffed at one of teh convention centers and I was the only one available to cover the shift. Salvation ! Though I was wearing my uniform and I felt like a rag-a-muffin, I hoped my professional attitude would trump the cheesy polyester duds. I think I passed the muster.
Afterward, I headed over to the All Asia for "Cormier's Comedy Madness". It was pretty good, I did a couple of new ideas I had thought about in the last week. One was better than the other, if for no other reason , than it was more developed- but still not really a joke, but it's close and some days, that's got to be good enough. Britton Baugher was on the show, a guy that I've known for almost 20 years now. He used to be the door man at Catch a Rising Star in Harvard Square. He's also a pretty funny guy and he did stand-up tonight . It was nice seeing him.
So . ... .that's what 's happened recently. I'm tired and would love a couple of days off. I don't like feeling the bile backing up in my system. However , yesterday morning made me feel really good about myself. The upcoming week is going to be pretty busy. I'm just going to take it one day at a time as it comes. .. . and hope I don't stab anyone .. . ..

Catching Up Stuff

2008-05-05T10:44:00.002-04:00

Palette of Putty
As most of you who read this know, I do "Extra" work on movies. Lately, thanks to our state's legislature, we have a lot of movies in production here in Massachusetts. Last year , I worked four times on movies. So far, I have worked on 4 movies in the last 3 months. When you work as a "Background Artist" you need to have a wardrobe that has a lot of muted colors;grays, browns blues, stuff that will get absorbed into the back ground. Next time you're watching a movie, look behind Kate Winslett at the mall and see if anybody pops out to you wearing yellow or neon green. You're probably not going to see it. I worked on the Ricky Gervais film last week and I never got "established", meaning I was too far in the background before they moved me to put a light where I was standing. I was wearing a brown jacket, brown pants , brown shoes and a muted purple (almost gray) shirt. I was on set 2 days and they never used me. Oh well, I'll always have putty. . . .
Closing Up Titty Park
Last week, I was working the booth and we were pretty busy all day. Near the end of the day I had a couple from Arkansas asking me questions. They were about my age, well dressed, maybe affluent or retired. They were asking questions and not really giving me enough time to respond to the one question before they started asking the next question. It was a getting a little hectic , they were good natured but it got a little hectic. They wanted to know about the Red Sox and the Celtics. I think there may have been a playoff game that night . The Celts play at TD BankNorth Garden. The Sox play at Fenway Park. There was a lot of banter. There was a Park Ranger standing behind because a Ranger needs to spend some part of the day visible in the canter, so , that's why he was there. Anyhow, one thing led to another and the husband asked me "What time does Titty park close ? " I'm Like "Excuse me ?" " How do I get to Titty park ? What time does it close ?" Me " I'm sorry sir ? What are you asking me ? " I can hear the Ranger behind me trying not to laugh. His eyes were popping out of his head from the strain. The husband was getting a little exasperated with me , thinking I'm making fun of his Arkansas accent "Titty Park ? Where the Celtics play ? Can I go there before the game ? " "Ohhhhh ! TD BankNorth Garden !!!! Yes, sir, you can ." They left and we laughed. The Ranger had to go and finish his rounds , but he didn't want to close "Titty Park".
A Night at the ER
Last Thursday, I was supposed to go see a play with my best friend and her husband. I went to the half-price ticket booth on my lunch hour. We were going to meet for dinner before the play. On the way to meet them, I got a message , the phone didn't ring , it just signaled that I had a message. It was my Mother " Dottie, I fell and there is a lot of blood can you come get me ? Oh , she's not answering the phone" and then she hung up . I called back , no answer. I called my brother and left a message for him. I'm a little panicky because she hasn't indicated where she is . I don't know who she was complaining about me to. Mostly , I don't know where she is or what happened. I called her back and left another message "Mum, I don't know where you are. Are you ok ? Call me back please." I called my brother again and told him Mum wasn't answering her cell phone. I got to the meeting place and waited. I waited for Mum to call me back and I waited for my friend and her husband to get there and I was also waiting to hear from my Brother. It was only about 5 or 10 minutes but it seemed like a long time. My Mother finally called me back. Her client's daughter had driven her home but that someone had to get her car and she wanted to go to the hospital to get checked out anyway. They got a new cat and Mum had picked up the cat . The cat didn't want to be picked up and she jumped out of Mum's arms and that threw Mum's balance and she fell onto the threshold and hit her head and her bum. She never lost consiousness she was just worried about the blood . She was shook up .
My friend showed up , I handed off the tickets. My brother called and I got him up to date and I headed home. My brother got home right before me. My Mother had an ice pack on her head and she was sitting up . She had a lot of blood on her head and some blood on her shirt. We went up to the hospital . We no longer have a hospital in the town of Arlington, I had to take her 2 towns over to Burlington. It's really only about a 15 minute ride. We got there around 7:45. We left there at 1:30 in the morning. Everybody was very nice and professional but nothing can happen in a linear fashion. Some one takes your information and then you go sit in the waiting room for 45 mintes. Then someone else does an intake and you wait another 45 minutes. She had a CAT scan and a pelvic X-Ray. She saw 2 doctors and 3 different nurses who all examined her. She's okay, but it was a long night. When the doctor said she could go home , we had her dressed in 5 minutes flat but we had to wait for somebody to give us discharge orders, that was another 45 minutes. She was laying on the hospital bed fully dressed with her bloody hat, shoes jacket and clutching her purse to her chest , waiting. We got the papers but we were so tired, we didn't read them until last night. I was supposed to wake her every 2 hours to make sure she was coherent. Too late ! She seems to be okay now. It was a long night.
In Conclusion
So . ... that's what's been going on. I was pretty busy all of last week. I did the door at the Comedy Studio Friday & Saturday night. The Walsh Brothers and James Patterson are in town. I worked at the booth yesterday and then finished the day working at one of the Convention Centers, yesterday was a long and tough day . I think I have "CFM" Chronic Floating Mysanthropy. I'm still tired and I would love to take the day off. I've done 2 loads of laundry so far today. I need to get the day staretd, but I wanted to get the blog updated. I hope you have a good day today. See ya

Strange Desires

2008-04-26T00:18:00.002-04:00

Oh, how I wish, what words to follow would entail a pantless young hunk or satin sheets in a sky high hotel (motel?) room. I wish my desire del dia revolved around bondage devices and champaigne foot soaks . Alas, the one expressing desire is me and this one revolves around food. Nothing kinky, nothing "exotic" even. Nothing costing more than $3.00 retail. On my way to the hair salon this morning I was seized by a nearly unquenchable desire for a chicken salad sandwich. I had breakfast before I left the house. I shouldn't be so specifically hungry. I was on Newbury Street, but I couldn't figure out where to get a "good" chicken salad sandwich. While in the chair, the craving subsided for a bit. However, once I got out into the sunshine , it roared back into focus. I had made my lunch , when I got back to the car, I ate it. It was slightly satisfying for while. I drank some water, I had a couple of Mentos. Where could I get a good chicken salad sandwich in Andover ? Nowhere.
Shortly before I left work, my little obsession was twined with an equal desire for a balony and cheese sandwich. Yeah, I said it, "Baloney" and "Cheese". I was doing my weekly grocery shopping after work, maybe I would find some solace at the great DeMoula's. I found teh elusive chicken salad sandwich and the cold cut fixin's. I ate a chicken salad sandwich in the car in the parking lot before heading home. It was completely satisfying. I can't believe my whole day was haunted by the spectre of party food. ( Okay , maybe it's been a while since I've been to a party where baloney & cheese sandwiches were passed around on trays, but you get the drift. Maybe you 've been to a cold cut buffet and you made a baloney & cheese sandwich ? Hmm ? Not even once ? Okay, it's just me then.) When I got home , I made that baloney & cheese sandwich and it , too , was equally satisfying.
This is probably why I have never married ... . .. .

A Good Birthday

2008-04-16T23:31:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a pretty good day . I got my taxes done. Of course , one would think since the due date for taxes is the same date as my own birth, I would remember ahead of time when the taxes are going to be due and plan accordingly. One would be wrong. Pretty much every year I wait until almost the last minute and it compromises my enjoyment of any festivities. However, I got it done by midday. That starts a good birthday for me.
I got some phone calls from friends singing me Happy Birthday. I got some emails from some other friends. My best friend and her husband took me to dinner. The waiter gave me my slice of cherry pie for free and when we went to pay for the meal , the guy gave me a free t-shirt. Kind of silly but really fun and enjoyable for me. My friend, among a lot of stuff, gave me a sort of gag gift of a gold charm Liberty Bell. It's real gold and I'm going to wear it and it made me laugh until I had tears in my eyes. When I got home , I returned a call to my friend Dee-Rob and we laughed so hard on the phone. I laughed a lot on my birthday this year.
Today , at work, they had a card and a cake for me. I had two pieces and it was delicious ! I did walk the 4.8 miles to Harvard Square tonight and I'm pretty achey right now. It was a nice birthday.

9.6 Miles

2008-04-11T08:53:00.002-04:00

So , A few weeks back, I went to see a physician mandated Nutritionist. Among the nasty things the tiny lady told me, was that I would need to implement an excercise program. Specifically, 45 minutes of an aerobic activity 4 times a week. That's a tall order for a person like me. I could squeeze in 20 or 30 minutes every so often, but 45 FOUR times a week ? I have no idea how to implement that.
SO, I had mentioned to the manager at the booth that I needed to do this thing and I didn't know how I was going to do it. I had also told her in the past that when I walk from the Common to Harvard Square , it takes about 1 1/2 hours. SO, she had the bright idea that we should do that this week. Last week, we walked to an event to kill time after work. The route we took was about an hour, we didn't walk directly. We had precedent for the walking bit. It would only be an additional half hour over our previous hike. And so, we walked to Harvard Square, by way of the Esplanade on Wed. and yesterday we walked up the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, to over the Massachusetts Ave. bridge and then down along Memorial Drive to Harvard Square. Both trips took almost exactly 1 1/2 hours. I am in pain today and I was alseep by 10 last night but we did it ! We looked at he distance on google and it's 4.8 miles from the Commmon to the Square. 4.8 x 2 = 9.6 miles. In 2 days, I was able to fulfill the 45 minutes 4 times a week .
The walk wasn't that bad and both nights were really pretty . Last night , the weather was really warm, I was a little overdressed. Frankly , I was ready to give up around 45 minutes into last nights jaunt. I didn't say anything. No one likes a quitter ! It's beautiful walking along the Charles. We saw a bunch of swans last night. It was like they were a little homeless camp of swans. There were about 20 of them just hanging around in a wooded area near the water.
We were slightly annoying to the regular users of the paths. There were a lot of runners and bikers that had to move around us. I didn't feel any hostility from anybody.
Long story short, I made the effort. I made the sweaty , hour and a half effort. It's a start.

Star Car

2008-04-03T10:44:00.002-04:00

Yeah, my car is a star ! An aging, dangerous , rickety star. I am talking about it's recent appearance in the movie "21". I , too, appear in the film. Near the beginning of the movie, which was actually shot close to the end of filming here in Boston, I appear. On the left side of the screen, I am a waitress and I am carrying a couple of beers , I walk toward the camera and then to the right and out of frame and then I walk on up the aisle on the other side presumably to take someone's order. I am wearing a gray Doyle's t-shirt and my hair is in a curly pile on top of my head. I am facing the camera because I am walking toward it , but I don't look into the camera. If you know me, you'll recognize me. Don't blink ! It's that fast.
The scene after the restaurant is the lead and his "mother" (with an atrocious Boston accent) are walking back to her car. In the background behind them is my little brown SAAB . It, too, is facing the camera.
Also, there is a scene , later in the film, where the leads are running through the back of the casino and kitchens. FYI, those scenes were shot at none other than the Boston Convention center on Summer Street.
Today , I am on my way up to the Burlington Mall to work as an extra on yet another film. My call time is 12:30 and I will probably still be there at 1 AM tomorrow.
Yeah, I'm using my degree . . . . . .

Angry White Woman

2008-03-30T22:35:00.002-04:00

Some people are born bad . I woke up "bad" today. Though I awoke from my sleep in plenty of time , I started loosing ground right off the bat. While I was in the shower, the weekend manager texted me to say that he wouldn't be in because he was working a convention. I was already late, that wasn't going to light a fire under my feet. Plus , he had to have known he was going to be working a convention for the last 2 weeks. He could have sent me an email earlier in the week or called me at the booth. He didn't. He texted me so he wouldn't have to talk with me. Well. . . . talk wasn't going to matter today. . . I was already behind the gun.
I figured somebody else would be there before me. . . . . .No. I didn't really believe anybody else would show on time. I got to the booth just as the church bells were chiming 9 o'clock. There actually was another co-worker there waiting. She didn't have a key , but she was on time. I felt bad that she had to wait for me. I really didn't expect anyone else to be there.
We got in and started getting stuff going . Another co-worker showed up 5 minutes later and we finally opened at 9:15. Usually , I have a little more concern about these types of things. Not today. There were already 30 people clamoring to get into the booth. The first couple of questions were about some event that was happening on the Common. None of us knew what thay were talking about. It was that kind of day . Lots of questions that we didn't have the answers to. Lot of slow people. People who ask a question and don't listen to the answer and then you have to answer the same question again. I try to change the pitch of my voice , raise or lower it a couple of octaves, in case it's the sound of my voice that they can't comprehend.
I wasn't mean or rude, I just wasn't enjoying the parade so much today. Someone dropped , what appeared to be, a carton of chocolate milk all over the floor in front of the ladies Room. The culprit didn't bother to own up to it. Oh, and the cleaning lady was nowhere to be found. No one else behind the counter got up to clean it. So, I had to clean it. I was swearing under my breath. Some lady in line said, trying to be helpful, "Sometimes the job's hard" and I shot back "This is not my job ! ". It wasn't my job. Someone else is paid to make sure chocolate milk on the floor , or shit in the urinal or puke on the counter gets cleaned up. However, if that "someone" cannot be found then "someone else" has to clean it up . Today , I was that "someone else" and I was none too happy about it.
This job is not brain surgery. No one is going to die if I tell them to take a left when they really should have gone right. All I have to do is be pleasant and give directions. How hard can that be ? Well .. . . .today it was pretty hard for me.

Days of Reckoning

2008-03-27T22:43:00.002-04:00

Hooo-Boy, It sucks to get old. . . . .On Monday, I met with the Nutritionist that my primary care physician wanted me to see. A basically nice, petite little woman. She was legit because I saw her degree on the wall. Though I 'm sure she's good at what she does, I doubt she's ever really had a weight problem.She probably just gets off on dealing with fatties and feeling superior to us lesser folk. She laid it out for me. I showed her my food diary, she read about a weeks worth and said I was eating too much starch. She had plastic food laid out in plates on her desk- "salmon", "chicken", "vegetables" and "pasta" in appropriate portion sizes.We didn't start off too good, she made me get on the scale and I had gained three pounds since my checkup, less than a month ago. She gave me a 2 page hand out about what I can and cannot eat. I have to institute some kind of an exercise program-at least 45 minutes , 4 times a week. She asked me what I thought about all this and said I thought I should kill myself. She doesn't have a sense of humor.
When I quit smoking, I didn't want to . I don't want to change things, but I know I have to. I might as well choose while I still CAN choose. I'm trying to make that my mantra-"I will choose while it is still my choice to make". I've upped my vegetable intake. It's killing me ! I really don't enjoy eating all these vegetables.
Long story short, I have to chnage the way I live my life. I am not in crisis. If I make the appropriate changes now, I can save myself , and those who care about me, a fair amount of heartache further down the line. The spectre of diabetes and heart disease looms in the genetic distance. All I gotta do is put down the eclair . . . and waddle away . . . .

Comedy, Comedy, Comedy

2008-03-25T11:36:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's right. I performed comedy 3 nights , in a row ! Only one of them was planned. On Thursday , I went down to Rafferty's in Marshfield hosted by the lovely and talented Chrissy Kelleher. It's a small room , sometimes referred to as "The Comedy Coffin" , it's that small and enclosed. We had 7 civilian audience members and that mostly filled it. They are regulars. Beautiful, loving , regulars. Thank God they are there because you can get a little bit of a gauge about how you are doing. The other comics were in the back watching the Celtics pummel someone. I sat in the audience finishing off my cheese burger. I drove a couple of comics, Mike & Joe. We got there a half hour early becuase I thought the show started at 8. My bad. I was looking forward to Thursday because I had 4 new jokes/bits I wanted to try . Two were dirty , or "dirty" for me and 2 were useable in other venues. I went second. I took my notebook onstage with me , in case I forgot something, which happens a lot to me. The 2 dirty bits went okay. They don't seem to be complete, but they are pretty far along. The other two , "clean" bits went pretty good. Again, one of them isn't all the way there, but is useable as is. It was a worthwhile trip to the South Shore. The other two guys I gave a ride to , seemed glad they went as well.
On Friday , I was doing the door at the Comedy Studio. The show was being hosted by the delightful Renata Tutko. I love this little girl. Both for her comedy and her personality. She's just a great person. Any how, I jokingly said to her, "If somebody doesn't show up , I'm ready to go on ! I got time ready to go . I'm just saying, if you need me , I'll be available.". She said she'd keep it in mind. So, I'm doing the door , getting ready to see Renata host. There's some new faces and some regular people on the show. All in all, an evening where anything could happen. Shortly before the show started, Rick came over and said " I'll cover the door while you take the bullet" ("taking the bullet" means you go first). He felt he needed to surprise me so I couldn't have time to get nervous. Touche Monsieur Jenkins ! Yay ! I was getting stage time and I was actually ready to go on. I quickly listed a set and put it in my pocket. Trying out new material the previous evening made me more focused on the task at hand. I was pretty excited and I think that carried over to the audience. I even threw in 2 of the clean bits from the night before.Unfortunatley , the dvd recorder wasn't working. I would have loved to have seen a tape of it . It just went really well. It was a great evening for me.
I was doing the door at the Studio on Saturday as well. Since I got to take the bullet the night before, there was no way I was going to get stage time again so soon. I didn't even consider it a possibility. It was going to be a busy night , all the seats that could be pre-sold, were . Which means that we'll sell out the unsold seats fast and then it'll be standing room only by the time the show starts. That is exactly what happened. I was really just concentrating on the task at hand. Trying to be nice to the people who want the unoccupied but paid-for seats and other door type customer hassles. Shortly before the show was to begin , Doug Chagnon came over and said "Rick told me to do the door while you take the bullet". Wow ! 2 nights in a row ! Interestingly, I was less prepared because I totally hadn't considered that I would go up . I really scribbled a set list, less comprehensive than the previous evening. I also didn't feel that I was dressed as well as the previous evening. So, I started and it was going pretty good. I forgot a couple of tings but I jumped to something else until I could get back to where I wanted to be. I think I lost them a little bit but I had them by the end. The primary difference this time was when I lost my place I didn't say out loud "I forgot what I was going to say!" I just kept going. Near the end, I could see something going on on the booth. I hadn't gotten the light but Tom Morello was definitely doing something with the light. I kind of panicked because I thought I had gone over my time and that Rick would think I was thoughtless. Turns out , someone had unscrewed the blue light and Tom was screwing it back in, that is what I was seeing. I asked Tom if I had gone over and he said I did my time , I went over by 30 seconds , which was acceptable , given the circumstances.
SO, it was an exciting couple of days for me. My sets felt strong and I think I was able to provide a fun time for the audiences. It was really good and I was really happy with everything. I'm finally at the point where I can put something good together with short notice. It was nice to learn that about myself. Yay !

Hopes & Dreams

2008-03-19T20:26:00.000-04:00

So, I have a voice-over audition tomorrow. I would like to get it. It's good for the resume. I haven't memorized the script yet and I may not be able to do it because I'm not paid up with the union that governs that type of a job. Sometimes, it's between paying the phone bill or paying my dues. Phone bill has to be paid. They shut me off a couple of years ago and I don't feel like I've fully recovered , business-wise. Also,I have a huge grudge left over for my phone company. I have paired my services down as low as I can go. I should just cancel the whole thing. . . . I digress. . .
My current manager is thinking about going back to school to get an advanced degree. She's married with a kid and she's thinkng about her family's future. A better degree will help her get a better job. At the very least , it will give her the confindance to ask for a raise simply because she knows the work she's put into it.We were brain storming ideas. I think she should finish up her undergrad and that will put her closer to going for a Masters. I don't know where she would find the time between the job and her family, but she's determined to go for it. Me ? I wanted to get some laundry done tonight and make some phone calls.In that respect , I am very successful ! I did 2 loads of laundry , made my bed and made the phone calls. I had dinner , too. Now I'm blogging.
What I'm tryin to get at is. . . . I don't think I have a "Big Picture" view. With all this free time not taken up with a relationship or real estate, I should be finishing up my screenplays and the two plays I started. I should be learning Spanish and French. Maybe a little action on my little used Orbitrak.I should have an organized bureau . I could put punchlines to my "interesting " premises for my comedy. Aahhh welllll. . . tomorrow is another day

What The Heck ?

2008-03-14T10:06:00.003-04:00

I get electronic deposit for one of my jobs. It's great , I wake up on an alternate Friday morning and there is fresh money in my account to pay my bills. I earned it, I know it's coming. It's just nice that it is there when I wake up and I don't have to go to retrieve the check or wait for the mail to arrive and then go to the bank. It's convenient. However, every once in a while , I don't keep a daily balance and I total every thing up when the checks go in. Well .. .. today I did that and basically I'm at a zero balance. I'm not overdrawn, it's just that everything that went out was equal to the amount that came in this week. I just don't understand how I did that . Nor do I have a master plan to get a leg up over the next week. I'm scratching my head and wondering "What the heck" ?

Stand-Up -Yay !

2008-03-10T09:34:00.002-04:00

Last night I did stand-up in my friend Janet Cormier's show at the All Asia in Central Square. We had a really good size audience . There was an improv group and a new stand-up , so, there were a lot of people there. Also , Bob Gautreau was there , I love seeing him. I've known Bob for a long time and I will always love him for making me spaghetti all those years ago. . . . But I digress. .. ..
Janet asked me to do that show a couple of weeks ago. I was really looking forward to it. I was hoping that I was going to have something new from the subway stuff I am secretly working on. And by "secretly" I mean nothing is really funny yet and so I will keep it to myself until there is something funny or , at the very least , performance worthy. I also figured there would be several opportunities prior to the gig for me to at least practice a kick -ass set. I scheduled some down time last week to work on it. However, little did I guess that I would be practically blind with itchy eyes for most of last week. The only relief was when I closed my eyes. If this keeps up much longer, I will surely go mad. By Saturday, I had finished my course of treatment and was starting to feel preety good. However, by sunset of last night , my left eye was already twitching and itchy. Both eyes were really red by the time I went to bed and I woke up with really puffy eyelids. Again, I digress . ...
SO, I get to the show and I can tell this is going to be a good audience. I am relieved of the pressure to do really new and shiny stuff. I am going to do what I consider my "primo" stuff and throw innovation out the window . Most of these people hadn't seen my stuff. Really, there were only 5 people who had seen me before, including the bar tender. This is an opportunity. Though I hadn't actually rehearsed my set , before I left the house, I brought a fist full of set lists and jokes. Little scraps of paper that I stuff in my pockets. Like Edgar Cacy , who used to learn things by sleeping with a book under his pillow, I stuff the little slips of paper into my back pockets. By osmosis, I am going to remember my best stuff. It worked ! I had a great set ! Janet said I could do 10 minutes and I think I did 11. Not bad. Though my eye was very itchy, I made it through my set and stayed for the rest of the show. It was a really good reason to leave the house, doing that show. I feel really good about my set . In honor of International Womens' Month, which the show was supposed to be dedicated to, I started off with an impression. .. of me. . . .driving. .. ."What the fuck Lady ! The light is green ! Go !!!!!" Thank you . I thought that lent a certain amount of energy and I thought about it on the way to the show, because the traffic was stupid slow. Then I just launched into my usual stuff. I rearranged some stuff and brought out a couple of old jokes. I didn't stammer or stumble . It flowed the way I would hope it would always flow. I had energy and enthusiasm. I was having fun and I think it looked like I was having fun and , really that's what it should always be about.
In conclusion, I feel good. The end.

Mike Pincus!

2008-03-07T09:18:00.002-05:00

Mike Pincus is a comic. I had mentioned him in a blog about a year ago. He was really just starting out. When I mentioned him, it may have only been his 2nd or 3rd time on stage. To his credit, he had a couple of friends in the audience. I didn't like his set. I thought he was kinda mean . I don't remember what I actually wrote. I didn't like that he was drinkng a beer onstage and I didn't see how it contributed to his material. In short, I dissed Mike in my blog of that evening's show. Not becuase I had anything against him personally, I just didn't like his set. I was recording what I thought about the shows.
Back then, I would make sure I had the names and the show order down and I would write my impressions of people's set. I'm generally pretty benign, I'm no Simon Cowell. Also, I don't see myself as an arbiter of comedy. I am a fan . I like it. I do it , not very well, but I do it. I would critique the shows for people who couldn't get to that show because they were performing somewhere else or just wanted to know what had happened that night. Just a little report for the community. I am not a mean spirited person. People who know me well, know that I would never be overtly mean to someone unless I was ready and willing to burn that bridge. If I'm ready to burn a bridge, that person is already dead to me. I'm just shovelling the last little bits of dirt onto the grave.
I took a writing class with Mike and found him to be a much nicer, funnier person , in person. Also, he makes his living as a writer. He gets paid for doing it. He doesn't work 5 jobs to pay the rent. Nor does a free blog really count as writing to him, whereas blogging is about all I consider to be real writing for me these days. AND I'm not very consistent with it, either ! Unless someone smears poop on a wall at my job , I have no inspiration.
Also, lately, I've been doing the door at the Comedy Studio. I feel like I am helping to maintain a clubhouse. I feel like I am participating in the community . Also, I get to see some great shows. The line-up can change from what is printed on the weekly schedule and that always lends an air of excitement to the evening for me. It' s cool to see people coming up the stairs to hang out. It's just an intereseting vantage point. I am applying my skill at making change to be in comedy. In short , I've been able to see some really kick -ass shows lately. I did the door both nights for DJ Hazard's recent appearances, I asked if I could do it . I did the door for the wonderful Mike Birbiglia . Those are just the recent big names. I've also had the chance to see some kick -ass shows by some hardworking professional and open-mike comics.
For example, last Saturday night, it was standing room only. I had to turn people away. Some people , I told them they could come in, but they would probably have to stand. They were willing to do it. It was a good local line-up . Lamont Price was on the bill , I really like him. Dan Sally was readying himself for his Letterman audition. Alex Folskie, who is a mime, had them screaming ! And also on the bill was Mike Pincus. He was also on fire. He had the kind of set that would keep me from falling asleep that night if it had been me. I don't think any of the material was the same stuff he had done before. He had the audience with him the whole way. It was a great set and I was happy for him.
You see, one night Mike googled himself and he found his way to what I had written about him in my blog. He found it a long time after I had written it and after I got to know him as a decent human being. That's how a lot of people find their way to my little creative outlet. He was annoyed and felt my review of his performance was unfair. I stand by my original impression but I also stand by the fact that I observe that he has worked very hard at the craft and has gotten really better. Both his stage presence and writing are way better than they were. You'd be glad if you caught his set. I was glad I caught his set. I look forward to seeing him perform again sometime soon.
Mike is not the only person to have googled himself during a quiet moment and found their way to my blog. I even had a woman contact me about a comic I had mentioned who was on a show with me. People have thanked me for things I wrote about them , wrote with no intention of them ever reading my stuff. So , I feel weird about this phenomenon. I'm not trying to screw with anyone or ingratiate myself with the "Cool kids". I like comedy. Good comedy makes me laugh (Uh, duh). I like being surprised by people. I like talking about a good show or a good joke. . . I thought Mike did a good job on Saturday night. So did Lamont, and Dan and Alex.
This blog is an extentsion of my desire to communicate about comedy . . . . and poop.

New Poop and Itchy Eye Balls

2008-03-06T08:39:00.002-05:00

I missed a renegade Mad Pooper. Apparently, on Tuesday , when I wasn't there, a Mad Pooper struck in the Ladies room, this time. Our cleaning lady was pissed. Apparently this pooper smeared the walls in a stall whereas the male version smears the longer wall , thus, creating a bigger "effect". The cleaning lady had to go over it 2 or 3 times. I guess lady poop has more staying power ! . .. . . Of course I am assuming it was an actual woman and not a man , sneaking in undercover, smearing the poop. Perhaps someone who consumed sticky rice and Tootsie Rolls to create the proper consistency.
I had another itchy eyeball attack on Sunday. This time it was much worse and I had trouble keeping my eye open to see while driving . It was so bad, I went to the Doctor on Monday and she gave me perscription for an ointment to insert under my eyelid 3 times a day. It is helping some and I am almost through the 5 day regimen. My eyes are still intermittently itchy but it's not as bad as it had been. The worse part is I can't wear eye make-up and the oinment kind of hangs out around my eyes and oozes ever so slowly out of my eyes. Creating the effect that I have been violently crying and only now stopped in your presence and I haven't had a chance to dab the moisture from my eyes. It kind of looks like I've dunked the top part of my face in Vaseline. The good news is that my eyes aren't nearly as red rimmed as they had been. I think I must have looked liked I was doing spliffs every 15 minutes. Big blunts of primo material. Nope, just really itchy eyes. The tough part is , I have taken time off from work. However, I can't keep my eyes open long enough to read. I can't really watch tv, I more listen to it. I find it's really helpful to close my eyes, it makes the medicine more effective .. . . . I hope.

"People Are Stupid"

2008-02-15T10:45:00.002-05:00

Okay, I commute by train to one of my jobs a couple of days a week. My inbound trip is easier than the return trip because I get on at the first stop at my end. If you time it right , you can have your pick of seats. I prefer a corner seat because they have slightly more room on one side. If possible , I like to be seated on the side that faces the Back Bay over the Charles River when it emerges from the tunnel at Kendall Square. That is my favorite veiw of Boston and I never get tired of seeing it. I always feel like the kid I was; next to my Grandmother kneeling on my knees looking out the window. But this blog isn't about warm and fuzzy memories or the glories of Boston.

This is about people. This is about people who don't care about the other humans around them and fear of being singled out or expressing an opinion. The commute home from work was typical. When I get to the platform , it's crowded, which means there hasn't been a train for a while. And by " while" I mean the trains should be running between 7 -10 minutes during heavy commuting times. So, there hadn't been a train for at least 7 minutes by the time I got there and I waited at least 5 minutes. Yeah, go ahead , snicker "5 Minutes" you say "As long as 5 minutes ? " Go ahead snicker, at least I'm taking a train. You probably have to drive everywhere because you don't have as good public transportation as we do here in Boston. Again, this is not a showcase for the glories of Boston . . . but I do think we are blessed.

So, the next train pulls in , it's pretty crowded. You have to let people off the train first but there is always some yuppy little girl with an IPOd stuck in her ears or some old lady who thinks she's going to get a seat if she gets on there before everybody else (No, I am not referring to myself) blocking the exit of the passengers. It only makes the whole off/on process longer and less efficient. So, I've waited for the people getting off the car, and the people ahead of me getting on. We are shuffling because you can't stride. Also , the people inside the train don't move into the middle of the train so we're all scrunched up in the area in front of the doors so you can't get past them. The people who won't move into the middle of the train are no more comfortable than the people who just got on, it's stubborness, ignorance and stupidity. I've just gotten one foot into the train when this lady with a baby carriage (she's also listening to an Ipod) shoves my ankle and yells (probably because the music in her head is so loud) "Get out of the way ! I have to get on the train ! ". To which I retort, loudly, "Excuse me ! I didn't see you BECAUSE YOU WERE BEHIND ME "and then I muttered the "C" word out loud and then shut up. For all I know there wasn't really even a baby in that carriage, I couldn't see it. I hadn't actually even seen her on teh platform. She had to have come off the elevator. Anyway , I'm steaming. I am ready for a fight. She doesn't say anything more and probably could care less who she ran over , she was on the train, screw everybody else.

So, I'm looking around. Nobody is daring to look in my direction. I probably look a little Homeless/crazy. I am wearing my friend's brother's hand me down coat and it is somewhat tattered looking by now. The back of the coat is torn and I've been meaning to get a new coat, but I'm really attached to the rag. So, I've extablished myself as crazy by my loud response to the lady and I look unstable, I'm also carrying a couple of stuffed bags. I look over to the other side of the car and notice that everybody is standing and that there are about 5 seats next to each other empty. Usually , if no one is sitting down, there is probably puke or Starbucks latte all over the seats. I look more closely , and there is a guy laying down on the 5 seats , sleeping ! He is sleeping on the train during rush hour and no one has said anything to him ! A homeless guy is sleeping on the train and people are standing , after working all day , so the drunk homeless guy can get some much deserved shut eye ! I am incensed !!!! I say out loud , to no one in particular"Is that guy sleeping ?!!!!! And no one has said anything to him ?!!!!" No one says anything to me. Everybody is avoiding eye contact with me, I can't blame them, but it's still not right. To which the "Sleeping " guys responds, from his sleeping position, "I'll get up . Nobody said anything to me. You want me to get up ? I'll get up " But he doesn't he just stays in that prone postition. Now I'm disgusted by the people around me for not saying anything " NO, you stay there. You need your sleep. I can't believe no one has said anything to this guy ! " To which the sleeping guy responds "I'll get up . No one said anything. I'll get up " And he slowly starts to rearrange himself into a sitting position. "Come on ! Sit down . I'm up " Of course no one sits ., So , I go over and sit right next to him and he starts talking to me. "No one said anything. If someone said something , I would have gotten up "Though he smells of something -maybe alcohol and crack-he doesn't appear to be homeless. He's wearing current fashion and it is clean. His backpack is clean, so are his hands and face. He's cleaner looking than me. He starts talking with me saying over and over "Nobody said anything to me. I would have got up , if I thought it mattered to anybody. Nobody said anything to me. You know why nobody said anything ? Because people are stupid. If they said something , I woulda got up . Nobody said anything. Why ? Because people are stupid. And you know what ? The next stop is my stop." I wished him a Happy Valentine Day and he said " No Valentine for me " and said "Well, have a good evening then." Then we came to his stop , he staggered through the crowd and off the train.
And there you have it. Obviously, he knew he was taking up too much space which is why he was talking with me. Apparently , my speaking up somehow breached his own code of ethics. "UM, I'm gonna go to sleep here unless someone says something, then I'll get up ". No one said anything.
I know I should keep my mouth shut. But that lady rolling over my ankle with her "baby" carriage really set my nose out of joint. Why didn't anyone say anything to this guy ? If someone has their precious bag on a seat , I'll start to sit on it. Seats are for people , not luggage. I don't care what your SAT's are. Conversely, I've given my seat up to plenty of old ladies and pregnant women when the strapping young man on his way to the gym wouldn't give his seat up .
What is wrong with people ?

. . Pull Up to the Bumper Baaaaby !

2008-02-12T23:18:00.002-05:00

. . .In a long black limousine. . . . . I wish I could remember the rest of the lyrics. Anyhow. . . When I got to the parking facility I use to take the train, when I got out of the car, I noticed that my front bumper was pulled out. Like . . . I had been in an accident .. .. or someone else's bumoer had hooked onto mine during a bad parallel parking job. . .. or maybe some neighborhood Visigoths had jumped up and down on it until it came apart. It was not attached in the most efficient manner to the rest of mine car and I didn't know how it had gotten detached. I stood there in the parking garage staring at it. Motionless, slack jawed & bewildered... thus losing whatever time I had gained in my morning commute. What could have possibly happened ? AND it had happened without my knowledge or involvement ? I was low grade pissed for most of the morning. I got the job done at work, but how did this happen?
On the way back to the car, I finally figured out that I hadn't missed anything when I got home last night or this morning when I got in the car to leave home, I had probably done it on the way out of the driveway. Sometimes, depending on how fast I go in reverse, I will sometimes bump between the sidewalk and the street. A little bump, I 've probably done it hundreds of times.. .. and today . . . it was just one time too many. My little SAAB hadn't been assaulted by anything more menacing than cumulative daily wear and tear.
I took it to my mechanic and they fixed it. The bumper is now secured to the car.
The end.

A Stick In The Eye

2008-02-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

So, I had a meeting at my union headquarters tonight . There were a lot if working actors there, including the voice of Nova. You know, that show on PBS ? That deep set voice that narrates the episodes. . ." An then Noreiga surrendered under what could only be described as suprising conditions" . . .or . . ."Next week on Nova. . . " he's like the universal voice of authority. He was there, sitting across the table from me. Making suggestions and presenting really good opinions. I'm sitting across from him in my Anne Klein business suit , because I came from work , and my left eye starts bothering me. It feels like there's something under my eyelid. It 's sharp. It sorta feels like an eyelash has twisted itself under the lid while still in it's root. It's not the kind of thing that can be relieved by scratching it. I keep putting a finger to my lid , pressing it to the ball to see if it could straighten itself out. My eye starts leaking. Almost like I've got a runny eyeball instead of a runny nose. I am having trouble concentrating on the topic. It's like I've gotta kernel of popcorn rolling around under there. Like I have a little sliver of safety glass or road salt under there. I go to the ladies room and it's red and leaking. There is nothing on the surface. No eyelash, no shmutz, no eye gunk. It's just really red and streaming. I put some hot water in my hand and try to wash the eyelid. I get some relief, but I have no idea what's wrong with me. I head back into the meeting. The voice of Nova is a really nice guy but I just felt a little weird being there in the meeting with pink eye.
In hindsight, I think I may have been allergic to someone's perfume. The girl next to me smelled like a French perfume named Norell.It might have been Fracas, which is not a cheap perfume. My eye didn't bother me while I was on the train. It had to have been something in that room. What I can't figure out is why was it only in one eye and not the other ? Oh well . . .

Bad Door Girl !!!!

2008-02-09T23:16:00.000-05:00

I have made a decision to try and help out at the Comedy Studio by doing the door. The primary qualifications are the ability to show up on time and to make change. I did the door last week, and I 've committed to do the door next Friday & Saturday night and I offered to do the door tonight. But I didn't get a confirmation ahead of time so, I called to check that I was indeed doing the door. Suffice it to say , I should have called earlier in the day. I was running a little late. I like to get there between 7:15 and 7:30. I got there around 7:35. There was line down the stairs. I had to claw my way up the stairs . People thought I was cutting for cutting's sake. We were sold out and it was Standing Room Only. I take my commitment seriously , I was so disappointed in myself that I wasn' there earlier.
It was a good show. Everybody brought something really great to the table. Of course, Tony Moschetto is always great . There is a new kid, Zack Sherman who does stuff I've never seen before. He was different the last time I saw him and he did all new material tonight. He does a lot of stuff with an old school boom box.Jessica Sutich, a young kid, I've seen her a couple of times now, always good. There was a kid, Meyer, he brought a lot of people. I couldn't hear a lot of his stuff because of where I was sitting , in the hall, but the audience laughed pretty heartily.Chris Coxen was doing a character. I couldn't hear a lot of his stuff, again the audience seemed to like it. Chris Oake closed the show. Every time I see him , I think he's doing all new material. I talk to him afterward and he tells me which ones were the new ones. That's quite a trick, to make familiar material sound like new. Shane Webb was in from New York. I had to do something during her set, so I didn't get to hear all of it. She has a loopy delivery and I like the way she delivers her jokes. . . or maybe they aren't jokes , that's just how she is ? I realize that for those of you who haven't seen these comics, this doesn't really describe why I think they are funny. But, I don't want to give any of their jokes or material away because I don't want any internet "lifters" stealing anybody's material because of me. I got principles, ya know ? Bottom line, it was a great show and it was a strong level , the whole way through. I was sorry I was late, but I was glad I was there.
It's been snowing on and off all day long. It really started to come down on my way home . It looks really pretty . All the trees are coated in snow. There is just enough snow for coverage but it hasn't really accumulated enough to cause a difficulty in driving or necessitate shoveling.
I am going to bed now. I have to work tomorrow.

Poopers- Parts 1 & 2

2008-02-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

Part 1- Some of you may remember my mention of a person I refer to as "The Mad Pooper". The evedince that the Mad Pooper has made an appearance is usually left in the Mens' room. Usually, the Mad Pooper will poop directly on the floor , or just the the toilet seat and on more than one occassion , the Mad pooper has actually smeared poop on the walls and the door handle. This happens once or twice a year. So, it's not an every day occurance but after being at the visitiors center for a couple of years now, something I am familiar with. Last Thursday, our cleaning lady found poop on the bench inside the visitors center. Yes, inside in front of us. It wasn't very busy . We would have seen someone if they had dropped trough and pooped right there. It would have been "Right There" and it would have been in front of us. Ahhhhh, the "Mad Pooper" is indeed a crafty devil !
About an hour after the discovery, there were police cars and fire engines pulling up to the fast food restaurant across the street. After all the fire engines and police had left , our cleaning lady went to lunch across the street and when she came back, she told us that the Mad Pooper had been there and that he had smeared feces on the tables and counters and they couldn't get him to stop and they called the police. At least they know what he looks like ! We still don't know who he is.

Part 2- Yesterday , we opened the center . When the manager counted the drawer it was short and at 9:15 none of our co-workers had shown up yet. So, the day did not start too great for the weekend manager. Eventually , the staff stared to show up . It was a slow day for tourists. Mostly it's just people coming in to use the bath room . And by "People" I mean men. Around 9:45 , a guy comes out of the bath room and says that someone has shit in the urinal and that he thought someone should know. My manager thanks the elderly gentleman, the gentleman leaves and my manager goes into the bathroom and checks. Sure enough, someone has shit in the urinal. My manager goes beserk. "Who would do such a thing ? !!!! If I knew who did it , I'd rub the guys nose in it like a dog !" on and on and stuff like that there.He's mad and his sensibilities are offended. There's a guy sitting on the bench who pipes in saying stuff like " I grew up on a farm. Stuff like that doesn't bother me. I'm used to it . I used to clean grease traps and those things are disgusting ! I know how you feel buddy !". Then a guy comes out of the bath room , and he's the friend of the guy sitting on the bench. He comes over to the manager and says " I pooped in the urinal . The guy in the stall was taking too long. I couldn't wait . What was I supposed to do ? I really had to go. But I cleaned it up . I'm sorry , but I really had to go" and he holds up a plastic bag filled with his own feces. Like you would pick up a dogs poop from the sidewalk and tied it tightly. "I'm sorry" Then he turned and he and his friend sitting on the bench left the center.
My manager was still beside himself . He was outraged at this version of humanity. He was so appoplectic that the staff was getting a little scared and uncomfortable. As for the rest us ? We though he was a pretty stand-up guy for admitting he shit in the urinal and that he had cleaned up his mess.
That was how my day at work started yesterday . It was pretty slow the rest of the day . I went home and watched the Super Bowl - What a game ! I'm glad I was at home and didn't have to drive anywhere after the Pats lost. Still, it was pretty tough game.

Cankar Sore

2008-01-30T21:39:00.000-05:00

Today was an uneventful day . We were short staffed at the visitor information center but it was really slow. Our unilingual cleaning lady (Spanish -Solamente) was trying to teach my bi-lingiual co-worker (her language of origin is Japanese, but she's pretty good at English) Spanish and I was the interpretor. A co-worker once described my command of Spanish as sort of like listening to the Lone Ranger speaking to Tonto. . . no transitive verbs. "You-Go -Here. Red Line -Freedon. 2 and a half mile. 3 hours" That 's me telling someone about the Freedom Trail in a language not my own. My enterprising co-worker started typing up the Spanish into English words. Pretty impressive , if you ask me. Of course you didn't . . . . but you're reading this blog. Shall I continue ? . . . . .
Our manager came in late and had to leave early because of meetings. We held it down. It was raining most of the day and then the sun come out for about an hour and then it got really freakin' windy and cold.
During the course of the day , I broke the hot water handle on the water machine. And I have a cankar sore. I used to get them from eating tomatoes and oranges when I was a kid. I can't remember the last time I had one.
It was a pretty low-key day. I had a salad for dinner and did some laundry and some filing. Everything seems to be under control . That is all. Carry on . ..

2 Tires

2008-01-29T23:28:00.001-05:00

It snowed on Sunday. It wasn't a big accumulation , but it was a lot more than the tv guys said we were going to have. It was beautiful to look at in the Common. I wasn't worried about driving home in it. It was still snowing when I left work. By the time I got near my exit , I was following behind a sand truck. Not because I thought it offered protection from the ice but because the truck was going just fast enough to be in front of me but not slow enough for me to pass without missing my exit. Consequently, my little SAAB looked like it had been dunked in a salt cellar. I didn't realize how bad it looked until I got to work yesterday and one of the guys I work with wanted to know if I had been up north skiing or down the Cape where they got a foot of snow. No, I was just driving too closely behind a sanding truck.
So, my number one goal today was to take it to a car wash. Which I did . I don't think I was hooked into the conveyor belt correctly because when I got out of the car wash my left rear tire was flat . Dead flat. I don't think it was like that when I went in. It was undriveable. It was clean, but I couldn't drive it. Coincidentally, there is a garage a half a block away from said car wash.Oh, and surprise, they happened to have my correct tire size in stock. No, I couldn't use the spare because the spare is flat from the last time I got a flat tire. Actually, that tire was ripped from driving on it. They also noticed that one of the other tires was bald. I prefer my men bald, not the tires. So, I replaced that tire, too. $202.18 later, paid half n' half- atm and post dated check, my car was once again driveable. Clean and driveable. Fixed too late to get to the first job of the day .
It probably wasn't just the car wash, the tired needed replacing sooner rather than later, and I suppose I should be greatful that it happened near a garage and not on the highway . Or if I was going 65 miles an hour on the highway and it blew out . I'm trying to look on the bright side . .. . .

The Open Call

2008-01-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

So . . . I went to he open call for the next Scorsese film that will be filming here in Boston. It was a fairly typical , widley advertised, open call. When I got there , there had to have been at least 2,000 people in line ahead of me. I knew that there was a SAG line somewhere, very far away from where I was standing. I kept scanning the line for people I knew to be in the union. Generally , I focused on people going up or down the stairs parrallel to the vast unwashed on the other side of the stairs. Sure enough, my buddy Steve, went purposefully by me. I called his name and he knew what the SAG people needed to do . We breezed up the staircase and promptly got into a shorter line off to the side , composed of card carrying union members. Of course, here, I started to recognize faces.
We had to fill out a form and then we waited. Steve went to the bath room and when he came back , I went to the bathroom. When I came back , the good looking guy behind me went to the bath room. We waited some more, I'd say we waited for about a half hour.
We were waiting to be led into a hall that was set up with about 500 hundred chairs. The union people got led in first and got to sit in the first couple of rows and then every body else could come in until all the seats were filled. We got a little opening speech from the owner of the casting company and then his assistant explained what they were looking for and then the owner spoke to us again and told us that he would also be casting the extras for a couple of other films that are coming in the future. Though he seemed like a nice man , I couldn't help but wonder if he had muscled out the local casting companies. My buddy Steve told me that apparently , the local companies didn't want the job. Okay then, I feel better . Nobody local is getting screwed by some slick willy.
After the little speeches, we lined up and got polaroided and handed in our headshots. The actual business of the event didn't take very long . The waiting was for the processing of the non-union people from the previous group. Honestly , I wouldn't have gone that early in the day , but my boss wanted me back for the afternoon. It would have been a whole lot quicker if I could have gone in the middle of the process. By then they would have gotten through the bulk of the people and gotten into a groove of processing.
I heard from the good looking guys standing behind me that Scorsese was in town actually doing call-backs at some hotel. So, while we were lined up to hopefully be chosen. Somewhere across town, some local kids were possibly get a break at the big time. What a great time to be living in Boston !!!!
After work on Saturday , I went to my friend Angelynn's house and we scanned my headshot into the computer and on to my website. It's a horrible picture, but it's all I've got right now. So, go look at it . Remember . . . .. it's not pretty .

Cul-Chah

2008-01-25T10:10:00.000-05:00

Those of you who have spent time on the east coast and are familiar with the indigenous peoples (2nd and 3rd generation Boston Irish) that's how the word "Culture" sounds when it is spoken after someone's cousin has gone to the Musuen of Fine Arts and it wasn't on a school field trip. For the purposes of this blog , that would be me. Since I haven't been in class in a few years now, except for the occasional acting class, I'm all graduated. However, I went to the MFA last night to view the last of the Napoleon exhibit. Yeah . . .. I had a free ticket. I've had that ticket since it opened a couple of months ago. I even have a second ticket that someone I work with couldn't use and gave to me .So, if you know me and think you want to go between now and Sunday , when it closes, let me know. I have it in my wallet. Come get it, it's yours for the taking. . .. the ticket that is.
So, I fit it in after work. I hopped on the Green line and made it there in 15 minutes. I'm not a Francophile, but I love seeing fine craftsmanship in all it's varying forms. Man, Napolen knew how to live ! He had a lot of rugs and furniture and gigantic paintings of himself. These paintings had to have been at least twice his size ! He adopted a lot of Roman imagery . He had a lot of bees and the letter "N" woven into his fabric and carved on his furniture. He was married twice ( I didn't know that !). His sister was "Flirty" ( I think maybe a polite word for "Slutty"). There was a cup that was shaped like her breast . You could buy a copy of it for a couple thousand dollars. No lie, it was available for sale in the gift store where the exhibit dumps you out.
The womens fashions were simple, embroidered and floor length. They even had some stuff from the beheaded monarchs-Louis 14 and Marie Antoinette. There were a lot of plates and cups and beautifully carved gold, silver and brass. It was a lovely and brief exhibit. In the corridors going to and from the special exhibit rooms are other pieces of art including shoes. Famous shoes. I was particularly fascinated by a pair of shoes worn by Marilyn Munroe. She had small feet , for those of you wondering at home . There were also a pair of Manolo Blanik Mary Janes, beautiful shoes, for those of you who could care less.
Also in my week of culture, I saw 3 movies. I saw Cassandras Dream- a Woody Allen film starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrel. Ahhh, it was okay , but it didn't really do it for me. I finally saw all of Charlie Wilson's War, very good , glad I saw the whole thing. Phillip Seymour Hoffman did a great job in that role and totally deserves that nomination. On Wed. a group of people from work went to see Cloverfield, the latest bid from J.J. Abrams. I think it was a great idea, a sort of Godzilla invades New York/Blair Witch project in a post 911 world. Though I did genuinely scream a couple of times , I didn't think it was all that great . I think it 's a good teenager first date type of film . My friends liked it , but , it was cheesey . If you know it's cheesey going into it, you'll have a fine time . Get pop corn.
SO , that's the latest from me. It's been cold here. The Patriots won their division and going on to the Super Bowl. I 'm going to an open call for the next Martin Scorsese film that's going to be shooting in Boston. I hope I got what it takes to be an extra on that film. That's it. See ya.

Snowing

2008-01-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

It started snowing last night around midnight. It kept snowing until aroun 2 o'clock this afternoon. I'd say we got a bout a foot of snow. Because there was a snow emergency in the town I would have worked in today, they told me not to bother coming in. Yee-Hah !!! I got a day off !
Of course, I spent most of the day glued to the tv watching the reports about the snow falling in different parts of my state. Yes, it was truly beautiful to look at out the window, but I wanted to hear about the conditions in neighboring towns. Nothing of real consequence was reported. There are power outages in the southern part of the state. Basically , it was traditional Nor'Easter. Windy and constant snow. Also, there was some thunder. Unusual for a typical New England snow storm.
I did get out about 3 times to shovel. I got the front walk and the driveway shoveled. It's not dry to the concrete, but it's not piled up. I also sanded the sidewalk and the garage.
The type of snow would have made it great to go sledding. We still have a taboggen in the cellar that my Dad got for us one Christmas. However, I wouldn't go sledding by myself lest I scare the children and I don't tink any of my housebound neighbors would appreciate the novelty. When I was a kid there were tons of people I could have called to action. Today , it was just me.
I would have thought I would have got a lot more done on an unexpected day off. Nope, I finished a Vogue and I'm halfway through the December Vanity Fair. It took me until now to even turn on the computer. I did take a nap and I've been in my sweats all day.
And that's what I did on my snow day.

Waiting

2008-01-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

I'm still waiting for the last paychecks from my work on that movie. I called ny union office to find out what was going on . You know what it was ? They were closed for the holiday. That's why it's taking almost a month for me to get paid. Not a real good excuse for me , since when I don't work , I don't get paid. Apparently even when I do work I don't get paid. Ahhh . .. fudge.
The weather here is downright balmy. It's 50 degrees out ! IN january !
I 'm really not getting anywhere fast today. I have 2 jobs to get to and I still haven't made my lunch yet. Boy, I lead an exciting life.
I did get some reading done. I finished "I Killed" about comics on the road. It's really just a collection of war stories, mostly from the 80's (Back when I was touring). I really enjoyed it . Also, I finished Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up", I really enjoyed that . Though he doesn't really get into his personal life - but I did enjoy him talking about the early days and how his act evolved and how he felt about it. It's a short book , but it's a good read.
Okay, this is not great writing. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. Warm up my digits and get this Motha' going !

Head. . It's Not What You Think

2008-01-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted but I have been very busy and sleep has been my default energy mode. I worked on a movie filming in Boston and one of the stars was Christopher Walken and through a weird twist of fate , I ended up holding his head in my hands. He looked up at me and said "Watch the hair". It was only a couple of days later that I realized he was joking with me . I thought he was telling me not to mess his hair.

"Killer" Dot

2007-12-16T23:12:00.001-05:00

Oh dear,where do I begin ? I worked on the movie all of last week. Effectively abolishing all social life. Since I have to be there at 6 or 7 in the morning, I am dead tired to do anything but go home and crash. By Wed. , one of the assistant directors gave me a cool on-set knick-name "killer Dot" because he thinks I look like the lead singer for the Killers. I'm not familiar with the band, but I will look it up when I get a chance.
I couldn't really plan my week because when I would ask if I would be needed for the next day , they couldn't tell me. On Monday , "Frank" called to check my availability and that someone would call me back with a time for Tuesday morning. When I hadn't heard by 11, I went to bed. At 7 :10 on Tuesday morning, I got a call from some lady named "Gerry" wanting to know where I was . I told her I didn't get my call time, she said "Can you come ?" I said yes. While I was talking to her , Frank called to say bascially all the same things she said. At the end of Tuesday, I was definitely booked for Wed., but I couldn't get my call time when I was wrapped. Wed. I was supposed to go to see Blue Man Group with work and I couldn't go because I worked on the movie until 8:45 and the show started at 8. That's kind of how the week went. They called me yesterday to check my availability for Monday and called with my call time for tomorrow while I was shopping. I probably should get to bed soon.
Thursday, there was a paralyzing winter storm. They let me go early from the movie . A half hour ride took 2 and a quarter hours to get home. Thank goodness I had enough gas in the car. I even called my friend Dee in California, to let her know she made the right choice going to California. I shoveled a couple of feet of snow when I got home and I had to shovel again when I was finished. My brother used the snow blower when he got home and there was still snow on the ground when I got up to go to the movie the next day.
I know that it snows every year. It has snowed every year since I can remember. I just don't understand my weather amnesia. It snowed again last night. I didn't even try to get the car out to go to work at the Common. My brother gave me a ride to the train station. We did a 180 turn at one point because the road was not sufficiently plowed. It was hard pack. I made it to work in plenty of time. My co-workers started calling me while I was on the train to make sure we were open. We were. . .. and then we closed. SO, I slogged all the way home and shoveled the car again . Only this time , I couldn't get it out of the driveway. I took my brother's car because I had some shopping I had to had to do. I got it done. Came home. Shoveled the driveway some more and put some sand down so maybe I can get the car out to go do the movie again tomorrow. I have to be there at 7 am . Wish me luck !
Last night, I did stand up at the Studio. It was a packed house. Myq Kaplan was recording a CD. I thought I did okay. Except that I forgot my material and started laughing while I was onstage. Though it was somewhat charming (I hope ) and it would certainly indicate that I was relaxed.For some reason ,when the 6 minute light came on , I just couldn't remember anything. None of my better , more recent jokes. People whose opinions I trust, said it was really funny . However, I think it was a little unprofessional. However, if my goal is to be funny and provide a good time for the audience , then I achieved my goal. I didn't have my set list in my pocket, I had a Christmas list in my pocket.
I'll be glad to get back to a regular schedule. .. .

Just A Working Girl

2007-12-06T16:25:00.000-05:00

So let's see, where was I ? On Monday, I worked on the movie again. They were shooting in Worcester at the Worcester Art Museum. It's actually a museum I have been wanting to go to , but I digress. . .. .On Monday we were at the tail end of the first snow storm of the winter. It had started on Sunday night and driving was a bitch. It stopped and then it started again after midnight and kept on until morning. The call time was 9 am, my directions said it would take 55 minutes, I added an extra half hour to the commute. It took me almost 2 hours to get there. I was 15 minutes late. It's not good to show up late at a movie set. I know I'm just an extra, but I'm still a profesional.
I got there, got my voucher and got into costume. There was a table of food set up but it wasn't a breakfast . It had muffins and such but there was a canteen truck set up somewhere out of sight. I would have loved a breakfast sandwich, but it would have been strictly recreational. I ate breakfast before I left the house.
There were a lot of extras that I hadn't seen before. Well, it turned out they actually worked at the Museum . I thought it was pretty cool. They were from all different departments. There was a janitor and the lady that runs the cafe and another woman who works in the art school . There were also a lot of other museum employees standing in front of the larger art pieces, making sure no one accidentally brushed up against any of the anitquities. That would be a real disaster if someone broke one of the big Greek floor tiles ! I mean , it's over 2 thousand years old. If it was mine, I'd have someone standing guard over it , too !
We were brought to set after about a half hour. We were shooting in one of the main entrances, so it was a big open setting. I had a variety of actions. On"Action" I would walk behind the actors and then walk up a set of stairs. We did that about 6 times. Then , another take, on "Action" I would walk behind the actors, across the lobby and out of sight. We did that about 1o times. Another setup, I was on the second level, standing in front of a door. The Second AD told me they could only see me from the knees down. The action in that scene was Christopher Walken walking down a set of stairs. Then we broke for lunch. Some of the entrees were lasagna, sausage and lobster ravioli. I had ceasar salad and fruit salad. I also had the zucchini.
After lunch , they set me up on the other side of where the actors were having their scene. On action, I was to mime talking about the piece of art I was standing in front of to a "vistitor" who was one of the people that worked there. When Walken got to the bottom step, I needed to cue the lady and she would turn and walk off camera. Then I paced in front of the ancient mosaic and then another museum worker came and relieved me for break. We did that one about 10 times, too. The they took us back to holding and after about 45 minutes they wrapped the real museum workers and brought me and a couple of guys to set and left us sitting on a bench out of the line of shooting, for a long time. At the end of the day, they used me in a scene where I am moving a piece of art to be crated. We were upstairs in a gallery with very expensive art. So , we had to be careful. I was wrapped around 8:30. I got home a little before 10 PM. Boy , was I tired.
Yesterday, they called to check my availability for today. Unfortunately, I had promised my friend that I would cover for her at MIT. I couldn't get out of it. Essentially, today is the only day I couldn't do it. The rumor on set Monday was that they wouldn't use us until next week. Of course, they were only checking availability. That doesn't mean they actually shot any scenes with the featured extras. I'm still hoping I'll get a call for next week. Though I am bummed. I like working on a movie.

13 Hours Later. . . . .

2007-12-01T23:25:00.000-05:00

I worked as a movie extra again today . Our call time was 8 am and we were wrapped at 9 pm. It was a long cold day. We were filming at the delivery docks under our State House. The delivery docks look very good . The color is a uniform gray( maybe more putty ?) and there is just the right amount of room for 4 vans and a couple of major cameras. Because we were at wardrobe, we missed breakfast. Probably not a big thing in the grand scheme of things, but these things matter when you're on a set. Standing around waiting to take some action forces one's mind to think only of food and desire nothing in particular, "but SOMETHING", with laser-like precision.
For some reason , they kept marching us out into open areas in the ocld and then leaving us there without explanation for thirty minutes at a time. If I had been aware, I would have worn long underwear. Of course, if I had, they would have been shooting all day inside the toasty warm state house.
Our action was a continuation of what we were doing on the set earlier this week. We were rolling the art crates out onto the dock , down the ramp and into awaiting vans. Not rocket science, but really difficult in the freezing cold. My fingers were so numb, I was afraid I would lose my crate and it would go racing down the ramp and crash into the van across the garage.
Of course, the best part of the day was the fact that they didn't feed us on time and we ended up accruing 5 meal penalties. Which will add up to about an extra $60.00 on the paycheck. As my friend Margaret always says- " You ain't makin money as an extra , until you are in pain" . So .. cold and hunger qualify.

Double Duty

2007-11-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

At the moment, I am at the second job of the day, the fifth of the 5 jobs I currently have in rotation. This morning I worked at the booth and now I am at MIT. They have changed the gallery hours, so I am here from noon to 8 PM. A long day , but a "Double-Dip" day. So far, it has been very quiet.
I did get a call from The casting company checking my availability for tomorrow. Originally , I scheduled tomorrow for extra work but they were checking everybody's availability for Saturday on Tuesday. Maybe I'll get to work both days. Who knows ? I got one of my friends from the record store ready in the wings in case I need coverage for Saturday. Though I know she would rather have the day off, she would cover for me. She's a good friend.
This is a pretty novel experience for me , blogging from my own laptop at work. Though I blogged from my trip to Scotland, I rarely have my computer with me at work . It's pretty cool. I don't have to get off the computer so someone can look something up . I can look at whatever I want and I don't have to worry about incovneniencing anyone. Oh this modern age is a wonder !
The only drawback to a long day like today is I'll get home so late. It'll take me a while to wind down and I probably won't get much useful puttering accomplished. I need to do laundry. . . . . .

Working In The Movies

2007-11-27T22:45:00.002-05:00

Yesterday and today I got to work on a movie. It was the one that I had the call-back on and that my friend Steve got cast in. I am called a "Featured Extra" , though there is no real definition or pay bump in the union handbook for a "Featured Extra". I am a "Museum Volunteer". There are about 8 of us. We wear matching maroon blazers, gray pants, white shirts and ties. I bought the shoes to go with this outfit last week. We have a scene that includes the movie principals. Today, I was one person away from Morgan Freeman. Christopher Walken and William H. Macy are in the scene as well.. It was really cool and a little unbelievable.
The "Featured Extras" were hand picked by the director, just like Clint Eastwood does. You want to know why I know that ? Because the director remembered my name. He called me by my name yesterday and today we had a little conversation and he was almost apologizing for casting me as an extra. I let him know I was just happy to be on a movie set. Yes, it'd be great if I wangle an upgrade somehow.
But , seriously, I'm just happy to be on a movie set. . . . working.

2007-11-27T22:45:00.001-05:00

Tricking Myself

2007-11-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

Tonight was my friend's Birthday party. I've known Chully almost 20 years now. He has it every year and I have been invited to his party since he's been in this place. Of the last 9 years , I've managed to attend 7. That's a pretty good track record for me. Sometime in the last decade I have lost my will to attend parties. Social events , in general, fill me with dread and the mere thought fatigues me. I'm a great one for offering to bring something or promising a host that I'll definitely be there and then. . . . . it's midnight and I accept to myself that I'm not going. I'll spend hours of what should be either a relaxing evening alone or a fun time at a party fretting over what I should do or what I feel like doing. Usually, I'll just fall alseep , fully dressed and made up , only to wake around midnight swearing to myself for missing something again.
So, if I am going to attend a party , I have to trick myself into not losing momentum by going home , or taking my pantyhose off or catching up on my reading . Any of those activities will lead me to bed and , thus, staying home. So , in order to attend tonight's festivities, I went shopping after work to stock up on a couple of necessaries : you know toothpaste , make-up , cotton balls, geeting cards. While I was there I tried to cruise around to get some Christmas present ideas. When I had spent an appropriate length of time, I went to the supermarket to pick up some stuff they didn't have at the store I went to yesterday. Then I headed home, didn't sit down, freshened up my make-up and headed out to the party. Basically, I tricked myself into getting out of the house to attend this party. Chully was glad to see me, I recognized a lot of faces but couldn't remember names. I sat with my friend Jack and his girlfriend, had some nice food. Chully makes a good lobster salad. I stayed for about 2 hours. Plenty of time to appear social . I will take credit for making the effort .
I'm sorry it requires so much effort. But it does.

It's A Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

We had a nice little family Thanksgiving. My brother got a turkey from his union. He made his fantastic stuffing. Mum cooked the turkey, squash and green beans. I made the mashed potatoes, sweet potaotes and gravy. My brother had gone out to visit friends and he started calling every half hour when he thought the bird should be done. When the dinner was finally ready , my mother called him and he promised he'd be home in a half an hour. Ten minutes later, Mum was like " Oh , he's never coming home. He's probably drunk somewhere. I can' t wait ! Let's just start without him ! " and I told her it'd only been ten minutes, if he wasn't here in 15 , then I thought we could start without him but that we should at least give him a chance to make it. She didn't believe it had only been about ten minutes. She started putting her coat on , she was going to deliver a plate to a friend. Just as she was going out the door , my brother pulled up in front and pulled her car out of the garage so it would be ready for her after dinner.
The meal was really good. There were some lumps in my potatoes, It think it's because I did up a whole 5 pound bag . Can't always get to everything in the pan. Also , I thought my gravy was a tad thin . There hadn't been much juices and clumps on the bottom of the pan. It was slim meat fixin's for the gravy . All in all, it was a meal that took all day to make and about 15 minutes to consume. Still, it was terrific !
It was so nice to have a day off. I called and text messaged a couple of friends . I got to talk to a couple and one friend texted me back. I puttered most of the day , did a couple of loads of laundry , finished a book I started in July and had put down , meaning to pick it back up . I found a book I had misplaced that I recieved as a Christmas present last year from my friend's husband. I had been looking for it and had even asked my friend if I had loaned it to her. She had no recollection of it. I spent a good part of the day checking the Ghost Hunters marathon on othe Sci-Fi channel. In my book ? A thoroughly enjoyable day.
Last night, I did the Comedy Studio, and , if I do say so myself , it went really well. I tried a couple of new things , inlcuding a couple of news tags onto a solid bit that usually works really well every time. I was loose and it worked to my advantage. Peter Bowers was on the show and I thouhgt he really got them going . It was great to go on after him. Tony Moschetto closed the show . Ellen Moschetto, Maggie McDonald and Tommy Morello were on the show . They were all doing new stuff, and it was really great to be on a show with them and that we all seemed to have the same approach to our sets last night. New stuff around the stuff you know usually works. I felt really good after I was done. Because I didn't have to work today , I was able to hang out for a while.
Yesterday , I worked at the booth and then I had a costume fitting for my uniform for the movie that I will be a freatured extra in . I had to get black lace up shoes to go with the uniform. I didn't want to pay 80 bucks , I had more in mind 20-30. I tried the army/navy store first . All I saw on the shelves were hundred doller Doc Martens and Harley Davidson stuff. I went up to one of the store guys and told him what I wanted and what I wanted to spend. He said "I think I have exactly what you want, what size are you ?" Ladies size 9 1/2 but a men's size 8. He brought me to 6 shoe boxes, all black lace-up shoes , all mens size 8 , for $24.50. It was easey-peasey. I did this on my lunch hour.
Also , I got my car back. You know what was wrong ? A bolt had worked itself loose from the thing that holds the alternator steady. No, they didn't charge me but they had my car for 5 days . Frankly , that's the kind of deal you get going when you pay in installments. They know they're going to get their money , but not right away. I understand you have to take the money up-front jobs , and that's why it took 5 days to get my car back. I'm very greatful, I was afraid this was it for the little SAAB. It's going to die for good soon, just not this week. I hope.
And now. . . . .to bed. I have to work 2 jobs tomorrow.

This Ain't Writing. . . . .

2007-11-21T00:11:00.000-05:00

It's past midnight. I just saw "No Country for Old Men" for the second time in one week. I have to be up around 6 am.
I still don't have my car. Don't know when I 'm getting it back.
My best friend from high school's dad passed away. Mum and I went to the wake and the funeral. It was beautiful service. He was a fun guy and he will be missed.
I worked as an extra in a film that's being shot here in Boston starring Caneron Diaz. Technically, we were in a scene together but she was so far away from me , I could only hear her voice being played through the monitors.
I worked a convention on Saturday . It was really busy but we got a lot of pens out of the deal.
I'm doing the Comedy Studio tomorrow night.
That is all. I haven't had much time to write. When I do have time to write my friggin' computer decides it doesn't want to accept my words. The old Blogger was on the fritz.
Hopefully, I will have time to write on Thursday.
Done.

Man Plans & God Laughs

2007-11-17T21:52:00.000-05:00

Ohhhhhhh. . . . Booyyyyyy. . . .. So, I've agreed to work as a movie extra tomorrow. My call time is 6:30 am. My car died in Andover on Friday and my garage cain't look at it until Monday. I ahd an audition on Friday and my car died on the way to the audition. Fortunately , I was able to get to the audition on time and I think I did a pretty good job. It's for a principal part in a movie. Today, I landed a convention job and was going to take the bus in and my brother, SURPRISE !, offered to drive me in to the convention center. I got there about 20 minutes early ! It's working out , but not without a lot of sweat . . . . . . That's it . It's almost 10 now and I have to get to sleep asap because I have to get up so early tomorrow.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving , just to get the day off. That's something to be thankful for !

I've Been Busy. . .. .

2007-11-12T02:10:00.000-05:00

I really have. It's 2 am on Veteran's Day. I worked the booth , then met my friend and her husband who was visiting from California and then I went to work a party for the band "the Police" . Yes, I was at the same party as Sting was. I was working as a "waitress' who gets gradually more and more intrusive. My friend got me the gig. I only found out about it on Wed. I did not worry about it too much. I think I did okay, but I think I was too believable as a waiter and then I had no where to go. But I think it went fine. I did what I was supposed to do .
Yesterday, I worked a convention until 7 PM and then I drove out to Townsend to do an open-mike /audition at the VFW up there. It was a small but appreciative audience. No money , but the idea would be to get seen to maybe get some paying gigs. It was an hour up and an hour back. It went much better than my last foray into the stix. The thing that impressed me the most was that they still allow smoking up there inside the building. I thought that was awesome. No, I don't smoke, I just thought it was very Retro. Friday , I worked a convention and got home around 9:30. I pretty much just collapsed into bed.
Thursday, I worked at the booth and then did a murder-mystery show for a plumbers organization. It was a brand-new show and the girl who usually works with them wasn't available. Little did I realize, it was the first time they had ever done the show. No rehearsal. I really had to be off book, and , surprise, I was . The plumbers and their wives were very feisty and randy but they seemed to have a good time . Though, I thought it was a lot of time to do a show like that . Our pick-up was 5:30 and I didn't roll through the front door of my home until 12:30.
Last week, I had an audition for a role in a movie that's going to be shooting in Boston. Early this week, I had a call-back. That's pretty good. I didn't get the part , but they've been calling me looking for SAG card #'s and measurements and availability. Though no one has said what they want me for , either way. It appears that they may use me as a "Featured Extra" which means I'll be on the set for at least 5 days if not more. As far as I am concerned, every day I am on set is another opportunity for me to possibly get an upgrade.
So, now I'm tired. I haven't written anything because I haven't been around to write anything. I will keep you posted.

Breathing and Other Stuff

2007-11-03T21:12:00.000-04:00

I finally started nostral breathing on the way home last Friday. I am aware and enjoying breathing through my nostrils at this very moment. I have continued to take the Airborne and the Tussin DM. I'm not sure how much longer I should continue. Tuesday , it will be two weeks since this cold started. Fortunately, it's a cold and not bronchitis. At least, I think it's just a cold.
On Thursday, the Mad Pooper made another appearance. And by "Made Another appearance" I mean some guy shit on the flooor in the Mens room again and the other men who used the rest room , stepped in it and tracked it through the center. We couldn't find the cleaning lady (surprise) so they just had to close the Mens room until she reappeared. Then , about an hour later, one of the urinals started running and wouldn't stop running. By the time we were alerted, there was a puddle all over the floor. Last week, one of the faucets in the Ladies room wouldn't stop running. When we closed the center at the end of the day , it was still running and they found it running when they arrived the next morning.
Also on Thursady,a lady came in in tears, her boyfriend had their child and he had been gone for 2 hours. She had to go to the Registry and she said they were supposed to meet at the playground on the Common. He was a no-show. The last I heard, the ranger had to direct to her the BPD. I guess it turned out all right because I didn't hear about any Amber Alerts.
Speaking of the Rangers, one of the Rangers was on Jeopardy Thursday night, and some of us gathered to watch it air together. We went to the Bean Town Pub. He didn't win, but it was cool to see him on the show. He didn't wear his Ranger uniform on the show, I think he should have. Before the Jeopardy show, I met some of my co-workers at Emmet's and it was crowded, but I ended up getting a seat at the bar. They had curry chips ! I was so happy. It was no Gora-Pakora like in Scotland , but it was close.
Tuesday, Kiki and I went to see "Gone , Baby , Gone". I thought it was good, but I felt like there was a lot left out from the book. Both of us have read all of Denis Lehanes books. However, we couldn't exactly figure out what exactly was missing . We both thought Casey Affleck did a good job. I also saw my boss, the guy I work for in Andover, featured prominently in one scene. He was an extra , but he had a lot of screen time.
Thursday, November 1 was the first anniversary of me not drinking coffee. It was on a 5 hour road trip to Scowhegan Maine that I got so sick and basically threw up coffee for 3 days. After all this time, I still can't stand the smell of coffee, let alone drink it.
Sooooo. . . .that's about it. I didn't really have anything to blog about . I look forward to having an extra hour of sleep tomorrow, what with daylight savings time and all.That's about it . I'm working the booth tomorrow and then I'm doing stand-up at the All Asia in Cambridge at 6:30.

Super Glue

2007-10-25T22:09:00.000-04:00

I feel like I have super glue in my sinuses. I have been hacking and sneezing and coughing all day. I went through a half box of Kleenex and a pocket pack and a half of tissues. Empyting my pockets was like watching a clown car emptying , except it was soiled damp tissues I was pulling out of pockets and bags. My nostrils and the area between my upper lip and nose are rubbed red . It will go from solid as a block of concrete to dripping like there's a hole in the ziploc bag of lemon cool-aid. Without warning, a little puddle of snot will ooze out of my nose. Not attractive, especially when dealing with customers. I'm am taking the Airborne and the Tussin DM. I am applying hot comprsses to my cheeks. I am drinking as much water as I can stand. Oh Dear, this is annoying.

Big Pants

2007-10-24T19:11:00.000-04:00

I had to pick up a few things at Target after I got my car inspected. You know, shower curtains, vitamins , just a couple of things. While I was there, I saw some pants on sale that were really cheap and looked like they would fit me and were appropriate to wear to the booth. Since I didn't have a lot of time , I eye-balled them . They said they were a half size bigger than I usually wear, but I've been putting on a couple of pounds, they should fit. Essentially , they did fit , I tried them on when I got home and , today , I wore them to work. Well .. .. that little half size was more significant than I had expected. They kept sliding down when I walked around. I didn't have a belt and they just kept sliding. Not down to me knees, just a little shrugging down my hips. It just made me uncomfortable and made me look kinda hinky. I just had to keep hitching them up, like a kid wearing hand me downs.
Also, I'm coming down with a cold , or something. My Mother has bronchitis and one of the women I work with came to work last week with a terrible cold. She was coughing and could barely talk. Yes, she was working very hard, but man, maybe should have waited a day before coming to work . I've been chugging Airborne and Robitussin DM. If I can't head it off, maybe I can diminsh the symptoms or longevity. Seriously, I can't afford to get sick. I'm coughing and I have a sore throat. My chest hurts a little bit, too.
Yeah, I'm going to live but it's just so unattractive. ..

At The Internet Cafe

2007-10-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

I'm killing time at an internet cafe in downtown Boston. I am taking a writing class that doesn't start until 6:30 and I have almost an hour to kill before it starts. Last week, I went to dinner by myself and had an overpriced crab cake with lousy service. I'm going to find a more constructive way to spend my time which doesn't involve spending money with vapid bartenders. Granted, I have a laptop but it's a pain to carry around with all my everyday stuff and I would be crestfallen if it got lost or stolen. It's not expensive, but it works.
SO, I had lunch with my friend Emily today and she is looking to sart a new career . She was picking my brains about my industry or, more specifically , the job I work today. She seemed to be interested in my views on the topic, but what I am more impressed by is the amount of research she is putting into the next phase of her working life. She's really researching what she wants to do next and seems to be examining everything she can think of. I wish I had that kind of gumption. I'm pretty much just glad if the check clears, that's good enough for me.
We went to a restaurant that I had been wanting to go to for a long time. I had real baked macaroni and cheese. It was delicious.
Monday night , Kiki and I went to see "We Own The Night " starring Robert Duval, Mark Wahlberg & Jouaquim Phoenix. Given the talent involved, I thought it would be a much better film. It takes place in New York in the 80's, people do drugs, have sex and get killed. Some people cry. It should have been better . I pretty much see everything Wahlberg is in. This was a little disappointing. Last night , we tried to go see "Michael Clayton" at the Harvard Square theater, but the light in the projector broke and they cancelled the showing. We got our money back , but I would have thought they would have also given us a free pass or something.
Ahhhh, what else ? Nothing. I got nothing.

Fighting City Hall

2007-10-16T22:31:00.001-04:00

This happened last week and I'm just getting around to blogging about it . . . .
Sometime in August , I got a parking ticket and a second one issued 3 minutes after the first. Now, I admit that the meter had run out but I can't imagine what my car did without me to garner a second ticket so soon after the first. Did it roll itslef into a Handicap spot ? Did it swear at a traffic officer (it is MY car after all) The first was a hand-written ticket and the second was computer generated. WTF ?
I knew I was going to need to fight this one. When I lived in Somerville, I once parked on the wrong side of the street during a snow storm. I got two tickets within 20 minutes of each other. I admit I was in the wrong, but I couldn't imagine what could go even more illegal in just 2o minutes. So ,this time, when I got the overdue payment or fight notice, I knew I was going to fight City Hall.
I got up early , dressed in a nice black suit with a pink shirt. I had all my paperwork with me and I was ready to defend myself. My court time was 11:11 am. I got there early , in case I needed to find the room. I had trouble finding a parking place because all the legal spaces were taken up with temporary "No Parking" signs or city vehicles. I ended up parking about 4 blocks away. I got a meter and I had enough change.
I went to the address on my hearing notice, found the window and then was directed down the hall to knock on a door in a darkened hallway. It was really just at the end of the transaction windows but it seemed like it was a lot further away. I handed the casually dressed woman my paperwork and she asked why I was there and I explained my situation. She looked me up on the computer and said "You really pay your parking tickets". She decide that the second ticket was a mistake and she also waved the late fee for the first ticket. I thanked her and told her that most of my interactions with City Hall have been very pleasant and thanked her for her time.
When I went to the window to pay my ticket, the guy looked me up and said I had a credit from a ticket I paid twice in 2004 and after this ticket , I still had a $10.00 credit. It was a surprising day dealing with a beaurocracy.
You can fight City Hall. I did.

I Coulda Cried

2007-10-08T09:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday ,Sunday, was a crazy-busy day. It is a Holiday weekend and we were short-staffed. The manager wasn't coming in until 11 and he was leaving at 3. A second guy was told to leave at 3 and one of the girls wasn't scheduled to come in until 11:30. The tourists ? They were scheduled for 9:01 and they kept coming until 5:05 (we close at 5). There was a Columbus day parade in another part of town , but it did affect us. The trolley companies couldn't make their stops at #2,#3 & #4 because of the parade. Also, one of the trolley companies was closing at 3. None of the trolley companies called to tell us this. I started calling a little after 9 because the previous day's manager had removed all the trolley materials from that part of the counter but didn't leave us a note to tell us why. I called her and she didn't answer her phone. She did call back 2 hours later, to her credit, by then I had figured out what was going on.
Then , around noon, the trolley companies started calling us to tell us to stop selling tickets. They were passing by groups of people waiting . Which means . . . .there will be groups of tourists tramping back to get refunds. Oh, and. .. .they're probably going to be pissed. And . .. .SURPRISE !!!!!. . .they were. Fortunately, the weekend manager had left already , so we had to handle the refunds. Everything went okay until one of the computers froze up and we couldn't get the screen unstuck. Also, I don't know how my co-worker was processing the refund, I had never done it that way before , so , I couldn't help and then the lady's friend started yelling like that was going to help. I said to her "We're doing everything we can. Yelling isn't going to help resolve this situation" and then I called the manager on his cell and said "Dave, we've got a problem, talk to Rosie " and then handed the phone to my co-worker. He was able to appease the customer over the phone. My inability to trouble-shoot just contributed to my overwhelming sense of helplessness in this sea of human visiting machines.
The day was non-stop. I was talking to a comic friend, whose day job is as a teacher , and I likened it it the first day of school. Everybody is excited to be someplace they've never been before and they have a lot of questions and comments and they all want to be heard. "teach me !!!!" they demand . That's a lot of energy to handle. It requires a lot of energy to stay balanced and maintain an unbiased perspective. I like my job and I think I'm good at it but sometimes the volume just sucks the marrow right out of me. On the way home, I wished I could cry because I thought it would make me feel better. I couldn't cry, because it was more physical exhaustion rather than emotional. Nothing can immediately remove the weight of the day . It can only be dissolved by guite and solitude and I wasn't getting any of that tonight.
Before I left the Common, I almost got knocked down by a running Ranger who was heading into the station. Off in the distance, I could see about 5 rangers standing around a body lying on the ground. From where I was standing, I could see it was a man and he was turning blue. Most likely , he was a homeless person having an overdose. They can't get a job or find housing but they sure can keep up a steady stream of drugs. I could hear the approaching sirens in the distance. A BPD car came onto the park and I stood there with my left arm up pointing in the direction of where they all were. I stood and watched for a while. The guy loooked pretty dead. Within 20 feet of the commotion ,were other homeless people huddled under blankets watching the scene like they were kids listening to ghost stories. I felt bad for the Rangers. By 5 o'clock, they are usually leaving. This event will require they all have to stay for at least another hour.
I got home and made a salad and a couple of phone calls and watched the Red Sox win the division. Then I headed out to Marshfield to do some stand-up . It is hosted by Chrissy Kelleher, the aforementioned comic/teacher. She had to listen to my day while she was tryng to put together her setlist and greet the arriving comics. I was 4rth. The comic ahead of me did almost 15 minutes, a no-no for any open mike. I don't think he did it deliberatley , I don't think he was timing himself or taping himself . He's a ncie guy but he needs to work on his time and grouping of his jokes. He's got some good stuff, but he should have quit after 7. It made the hosts and my job all the more daunting. She got 'em back and then I went on.
I've been working on the arrangement of the set. In the last couple of weeks , I've added a couple of tags that are working really well. Also, I'm trying to make it sound more new and spontaneous (that's the acting part . That's me using my college degree). It actually worked ! I heard a guy say , kinda loud to his buddy, "I think this really happened !" I replied "It's true!". As Rick Jenkins has said to me "Go out there and have fun !". At the end of the day , comedy should be fun for both the audience and the practioner. Frankly , I struggle with that. I had fun and I think the audience had fun. There were about 8 civilians in the audience (who had never seen me before) and 8 comics who have seen me too many times to recall. I did a tight 5. We all had a good time and I completely forgot about the day of work I had. The host seemed happy with what I did, and that's always good.
I have to work today at the drug store. I wish I had the day off. I have the morning off and that's just going to have to be good enough.
Soory this was so long, but I was inspired.

Saturday Night

2007-10-06T21:22:00.000-04:00

I've been going night and day for the last week. I worked today at the record store and then I went out to dinner with my friend and her husband. We went to "Tu y Yo" in Powderhouse Square. It is a Mexican restaurant and the food was really good. I am tired .
I saw "The Kingdom" earlier in the week. It was good. I really like Jamie Foxx and Jennfier Gardner. On Tuesday, I went out to Worcester with My friend, her husband and her her sister to see Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. Elvis performed alone on stage with just his guitar and he was amazing. It was like he had a 10 piece band onstage with him . It was amazing how he could fill up the auditorium with his voice . He was really inspiring. Bob Dylan had a great back-up band but his voice was really unrecognizable. It was like a raspy whisper. It was like I was listening to someone speak French- I understand some of the words , but most of it is unintelligible.
Wed. night was a work related open house . It was held at Summer Shack in Cambridge and it was really terrific. I had oysters, scallops wrapped in bacon, little corn dogs, swordfish on a stick and crab salad rolls. I hung out with a couple of girls from work and our new and the former managers. Though I was home by 9 PM, it was still a long day.
Yesterday, I worked a convention and then I just came home and crashed. I hate being this fatigued. Now , it's a Saturday night about 9:45 PM and I am ready for bed. Maybe I should start taking speed . . . . .

Doing The Door and Stand-up

2007-09-30T00:13:00.000-04:00

I did the door at the Comedy Studio tonight. It was a Saturday night show. The audience was there to have a good time. They were laid back , they seemed to have good time. Sean Bedgood is the Comic in Residence for one more show. I thought he did a good job. Then it was Chris Oake , who I hadn't seen in a while. He had some really funny stuff. Maggie MacDonld was next , she had changed the wording of some of her jokes. I thought they were perfect already and she just made them even more perfect. Then Billy Bob Neck, I was doing something with the door , so I missed some of his set. I was talking to him before his set and I laughed at the new premise. A poll/petition website. Matt McArthur was next , I had seen him before. He has some really fresh stuff and he has a good delivery.
Then it was my turn. Rick said before the show "Have fun out there ! " . Though that should always be the goal, I sometimes fall short of that ideal. I was focusing on making it look and feel new. I had come up with a tag for a joke that I used to do all the time, but I have been focusing on other sections and I came up with a tag on the way home from work , that I thought would work. Sometimes having a new little bit in the middle can help make it feel new again. It did. I thought the ending of my set was a little weak, but I still felt good and didn't lose energy. I was very glad I got to perform after thinking about that new tag today.
After me was John Garrison, he's originally from Kansas City. He's a good writer, he reminds me a little bit of Bill Braudis. Erin Judge closed the show. Always consistent.
I hung out after the show a little longer than I had anticipated. I have to work tomorrow. I ended up with Chris Oake and Rick Jenkins just talking about movies. Frankly , I was a little jazzed from the set and I may have difficulty sleeping. When I feel like I did a good job, it's always harder to unwind.
I have another set at the Studio tomorrow night. Let's see how that goes . . .

It's Hawt Heyah

2007-09-26T23:26:00.000-04:00

Oh Man ! So much for a traditional New Englad Fall. It's in the 90's. I'm dripping flop sweat like Albert Brooks in Network, no, it wasn't Network. Crap ! What 's the title of that film anyway ? It starred William Hurt and Holly Hunter. "Broadcast News"? Ah . . never mind, you get the picture.
It's really , unseasonably hot here.
Saturday night, I did the Studio. I had a good start and acceptable ending but the middle part dragged. Don't know why, it just did. Though, I felt very good about what I did. Brian Longwell was on the show and he was terrific. I had planned on posting the line-up but I can't remember what everybody did. I thought it went well.
Monday night , Kiki and I went to see Eastern Promises. Very violent but very good. I reccommend it. Today was a long day. I am ready to go to bed.
Yeah, I know, this isn't particularly interesting writing. Frankly , I don't have anything really interesting to say . I worked and now I'm home.

It's 3 AM and I'm Wide Awake

2007-09-23T02:59:00.000-04:00

I did the Comedy Studio tonight. I did the door and I got some stage time. I went out after the show with Rick Jenkins and Chance Langton. Originally, Brain Longwell, Paul Day & Andy Ofiesch were with us. We left the Studio becuase it was too loud and headed over to the Cellar. It , too , was loud and crowded. Andy, Brian and Paul decided to call it a night. We went over to Ryle's and hung out with my favorite bartender, Rick Bogaert. Jenkins, Chance and I know him from the long ago Catch a Rising Star days. I don't have to work tomorrow , so I can stay up all night if I want to ! I don't want to , but I'm not ready to go to bed. It's so weird to be this awake at the this hour , but I have no motivation to do anything short of watching tv or surfing the net. I wish I had a plate of nachoes. I wish I could concentrate to read.
There was a band playing at Ryle's.It was "Mr. Nick and the Blues Mafia" . They broke up yesterday and this was their last show. They were really good. I was surprised I was awake and alert for so long. I wish I had the energy to go out and walk around my neighborhood, but that's probably not a great idea, simply because it'll probably be boring.
Awwwww, I'm just going to go and lay down. I bet I'll be asleep in no time . ..

Extra Working Extra

2007-09-19T20:08:00.000-04:00

I did some more extra work yesterday on one of the films being shot here in Boston. It stars Steve Martin and Jean Renau, a French actor of some heft. It was being shot at the Boston Convention and Exhibition center and it was supposed to be an airport , and it sure did look like one. When the girl from the casting company called me, she said to wear sophisticated clothing. To look like a French traveller, they don't wear jeans and sweats and stuff to travel. They get dressed up . Oh, and it had to be in muted colors-grays and browns. Nothing says sexy and sophisticated like nutral colors. I wore what I think is very classy , my gray pantsuit with my brown silk blouse, and, of course, with a good piece of foundation garmentation underneath.

A lot of being an extra is waiting -in lines, for direction, for vans to take you to the parking lot . Stuff like that there. I had to wait in line to report for work and get checked off and then I had to wait in a line to have my hair approved and then the next line was to have my make-up approved and when all those approvals have happened, I can get my wardrobe approved. So, I get in the wardrobe line with my nifty wheeling Samsonite luggage that my best friend gave me for Christmas last year and I wait to get my outfit approved or to have it rejected. When you get near the top of the line , you open your suitcase or garment bag and show the wardrobe guy/girl what you got. Just when I was about to get to the top of the line some Russian chick cut in to get her second approval and then some other chick had to get her belt chosen (yeah, these are just the extras !) and then the guy got a phone call from someone named Richard. From what I overheard, it did seem to be about business for this movie, but I still had to wait a long time. When he finally hung up, he wanted to know what else I had. He chose a blouse and skirt that I just bought at Kohl's last week (with money I don't have yet) and the same gray jacket from my suit. I was a little pissed about it but , you know , when I was all changed I looked really good. I actually got compliments on the outfit from other actors !
During this whole process, I'm hanging out with my friend Heidi. Heidi and I enjoy each other's company when on the sets. We amuse ourselves and create an impenetrable force field so that we don't have to deal with other extras and their boring character flaws. It's boring enough already,do I really need to listen to your college days in Vermont and the one traffic light in town that you went back to recently and found that they still just have the one traffic light in town ? (true story) Hmmmm ? No, I don't need to hear it. Nor do I need to listen to some old coot who's not paying attention and trying to get us to laugh. That's what his wife is for . Go home and bore her ! Heidi and I can simultaneously carry on a conversation in a barely audible tone and keep our ears peeled for direction. Years of practice, that.
Our main direction was to stand and look at the arrivals board. We got to stay in postition for the whole scene. We were the point of reference for the other extras who are hurriedly trying to catch planes to the far -flung destinations. Heidi and I were rooted to the spot trying to figure when our flight to Istanbul was arriving and/or leaving. We had worked out a subplot where she thought I had the tickets and I thought she had the tickets and then we decide we're just going to hang out in the lounge and pick up pilots. Over the course of our stay in front of the arrival/departure board, which , by the way, was a plywood board painted black, we had further evolved the story to include us having escaped from a mental institution and how retarded people must think we are for standing in front of this board for so long. People must think there is something horribly wrong or stupid about us. We would check our watches , we would look at each other's watches to see if the time was insynche. We were desperately trying not to acknowledge the mother -daughter team placed beside us. They kept inching closer to us as if we knew we were on camera and they wanted to make sure they were in the shot. We had no idea if we were or not, though, frankly , we were pretty sure we were in the shot.
We were close enough to see first postition for Steve Martin and Jean Renau. They were both very profesional . I was impressed to see the consistency and also the slight variations, which was from the director, on each take. They really couldn't talk to the extras. It's an expensive enterprise to produce a film, they don't want to slow things down by yacking with the Extras. One of Jean Renau's assistants, as she was walking away, said "Merde" over her shoulder to him as he was about to film his scene. "Merde" is French for shit. It is also the French equivalent of "Break a Leg".
Lunch was fried catfish, summer squash, eggplant, roasted potatoes, flank steak and chicken breast. On another table was a seaweed and scallop entree, it sounds disgusting but it was really good ! The desserts weren't that great -chocolate chip cookies, melted Friendly's ice cream and some pies. I really liked the catfish. My friend Carol didn't finish hers, so I did !
It wasn't a terribly long day. It was 9 hours. It was tough standing for so long in my heels. The shoes looked great but they're not really designed to be worn for more than 4 hours at a time. I have blisters on the back of my ankles. I drove my friend Heidi to the train station and got lost doing so ! But I got her to her train on time.
I was glad I got to do it. Any day on a movie set is a good day for me.

Aaahhhh. . .Work !

2007-09-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

I am working a convention today. It is the last day of the convention and a lot of people are leaving. People have been leaving since 10 AM. I have to stay here until 2PM. Just in case someone needs a reservation to a restaurant. The pants portion of my pantsuit doesn't zip all the way up. I am watching people walking by with convention food, cracker jacks, snapples, pop corn, donuts , croissants. There was a sports theme to this event so, there are a lot of people wearing uniforms and identical outifuts- colored polo shirts and khaki pants. Some "Models" -tiny women with bleached blonde hair and fake boobies. The light in here is flourescent so there is a yellow caste to everything here. By the end of the day yesterday, my eyelids were twitching.

Stand-Up at the Studio

2007-09-14T20:53:00.001-04:00

I did stand-up at the Comedy Studio on Wed. night. I also did the door, because it was packed !!!! There were a couple of new guys on the show and, God Bless 'em, they all tried to bring as many people as possible. While I was doing the door, we kept running out of ones and fives. Everybody was paying with twenties ! Emerson, the bartender, was getting annoyed with me, he was nice about it , but I know I was a nuisance. Also, he had to wait on the tables because there was no waitress.
Okay, because I was doing the door, I didn't completely get to see the aforementioned "new guys" , I could hear them , but I was really concentrating on doing the door. I got the show order off the wall , so here goes. . .
Shaun Bedgood is the Comic in Residence this month. He had some good new jokes, but the audience seemed a bit cool. Frankly, it's their loss. Then John Lincoln, they balked at a couple of the early jokes but he had them at the end. Then Me . . .. .I , also, had a hard time "Getting" them . However, I didn't give up . I kept going and I told them I would do so. My new Amy Winehouse joke didn't go over that well ( I think Amy Winehouse's next recording should be "isn't it Ironic") nope. . . they didn't like it. Maybe because I was making fun of someone who is in rehab even though her hit was making fun of people in rehab .. . . but I digress. The more recent stuff I have reworked is going really well, it's consistent. Basically, it was tough at the beginning and the end, but the middle was Damn Spanky ! I did have a set order and I did everything on it. I felt pretty good about it when I was done.
After me was Ed Kopesky. He's an MIT guy and he writes a really good joke, They seemed to like him (Of course I warmed them up for him !) (just kidding) Then it was Todd Gorrell then Fran Joyce, it was really busy at the door so I only got to see and hear a couple of their bits . I could hear the audience's reaction and they seemed to really like those two guys, probably because they brought half of the audience ! Regardless of the F & R audience , what I heard them do was good and original and not derivative. I look forward to actually seeing them perform sometime. Then , poor Pincus. Poor Pincus was new and his "comedy" was a little mean, without being terribly clever. He also has a very low-key delivery which could be confused for nerves . Then Jimmy Igoe, new guy, second time on stage. He has no jokes. I could see where he might be funny hanging around with him , but he really needs to organize himself . He may have been drunk (or high).
Then it was Peter Bowers, I thought he was wonderful ! He had a lot of new stuff that I hadn't seen before. He just gets better and better-both his material and his stage presence. What a treat ! I got to see most of his set, followed by Tony Moschetto who was terrific ! He reworked a couple of concepts I had seen him do before. In all honesty, I don't think I 've ever seen Tony not do a great job, even when he was screwing around up at Lew's Place, he was always professional and fresh. He's also entered in the San Fracnsico Comedy Festival, he's leaving for it next Tuesday. San Francisco is a prestigious and respected festival. Bon Chance Moschetto !
The closer was a Harvard kid who brought the other half of the audience. Literally, they were all on one side of the club and the latecomers were a little pocket closer to the door. The kid's name is Just Rerira and he had some good jokes , but he had to earn the audience , even though he brought 'em. He got them by the end, again , even though they were mostly his friends. When he walked in , I told him "These are your people". He thought I was joking.
SO , that was the show. It was a pretty good show. Especially because it was packed ! I was so glad I was doing the door ! This the first chance I've had to blog about it. I have to work a convention tomorrow and Sunday. I need to be there early, so I have to go to bed early tonight. Wow ! That's boring . . . . See ya.

More Car Woes

2007-09-10T23:34:00.000-04:00

Yup. My car died in between jobs on Saturday. It was so hot and I was dripping wet and I needed to be someplace in a half hour looking really good and all I could manage was a reasonable facimile of wilted chard. I still do not have my car. My mother is going to let me borrow her car to get to the first job tomorrow.
Today , I took the bus to the job. It was okay until the last hour of the day when my boss became possessed and felt I was not doing the job I was hired to do. This is , in fact , true , as I didn't finish sending the billing out last month because she said she would do it . And so we find ourselves here at the next month's billing and she yelled at me for a solid hour about why I did it wrong and I never do what she asks me to do. In the end , everything was to be done as usual. The only thing different from every other billing period is that ,this month, she yelled at me for a solid hour . If I had thought I had done something wrong or if I thought I had made a mistake , I might have gotten uspet. I know I did every thing I was supposed to do. I was not going to engage the drama. There is no point and I don't know how long the rest of might life will be, I ain't going to get upset about something I couldn't mind read. I see the "Big" picture and it's not the same angle as hers.