batting cleanup
I love Thanksgiving. It's my first one as a diabetic, and I can't say I've done really well, but it hasn't been too bad either. Dinner was perfect, and shared with good friends whose company makes me happy. I did some cooking, and a little more on Friday, when I had a Leftover Get-together at a friend's house. I'd jumped a few hoops to get an organic, free-range, anti-biotic-free, all vegetarian fed, fairy dust turkey, and I felt compelled to use it to the fullest. I even made a soup stock yesterday, which I have to say is one of the more disgusting turkey-related enterprises I've ever willingly participated in. Saturday night was the 22nd anniversary of Mark's and my Very Fi

Ivan
With everything else that was going on, I forgot to mention that the Young Storytellers Foundation mentoring program that I volunteered for came to an end on the 19th, with The Big Show. My kid, Ivan Ramirez, was a doll, and so excited about the Big Show that he confessed to not having been able to sleep the night before. They all got to see their screenplays acted out, and it was, as usual, a wonderful experience. The kids spend some time before the show working on their Movie Posters, and Ivan went to town on his. He's a good artist and I would say his was the best, not that I'm biased in the least. When he was finishing

aaaannnd, we're done
Oof. Show? Done. Happy? That it's done, yes. And overall I have to say I'm happy with the whole thing. I learned some very good lessons for the next time, which are invaluable, and I think will make whatever this eventually becomes better as a result. I'm wont to kick myself, so I'm doing a fair share of that, but like I said last time, I'm trying to be compassionate with myself. I'm glad that when I look at this year and the plans I made for it, that this thing got done. And I was enormously flattered and gratified by the audience response. I think in the end it was about saying things I wasn't necessarily ready to say. But that's ok. It will all inform the next incarnation.

that happened
OK, so. Did the show. Um. What to say about that? I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses and I also don't want to sound like it didn't go well. It went fine, and people seemed to like it. But I had hoped for better and was a little disappointed in myself. At the same time, I'm trying to be compassionate with myself, something I'm not very good at, and understand that there was a lot going on here. That said, I think I have a decent show here, and it's been suggested that part of the problem is that I have much more to say - imagine that? I do have lots of ideas for the next incarnation, and I have always considered this to be a work-in-progress. (I just didn't think i

the show goes on....on Saturday
Goodness, feels like I just got back, and here it is over a week since the last post. My solo show opens this Saturday and closes the next. I am hopeful it will be worth bringing back in the new year. I'm doing okay on the prep, but it's a stressful week. Still, I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to get to talk for 30 minutes, so that will be fun for me, if nothing else! I love my dress, and I'm acquiring accoutrements. A little rehearsal in costume the other day made very clear that I'll be quite limited as to range of movement. It gave me some great ideas for yet another (longer) incarnation of this show, but I have more immediate concerns about making it visually interesting e