Yanked from my beautiful friend, Kris!

While we were visiting up in Utah, my step-dad and I were talking about the fact that he fixes stuff when he comes to visit. 
"How's your dryer?" he asks, as that is one of the repairs he made when he visited us in Tennessee, probably 5 or 6 years ago.  It had developed the Squeak of Death and I felt like my ears were being gouged with an icepick every time the drum turned over (ie, about every 3 seconds).
"Fine, still works great!"  I said.
"great, that's great." he said.

Apparently this was enough to jinx my dryer, because the first time I turned it on when we got back, the Squeak of Death had returned.

Hubby took apart the dryer on Sunday, figured out what to replace, picked up the part on Monday (a project requiring one trip! to one store! does this ever happen?) and had it fixed before I got home from work.

Yay!  I am knocking on wood that all of our troubles are so quickly fixable.

I hate that LJ calls its list of folks I read a "friends list". It implies friendship (or lack thereof) based on who is or isn't on the list. For what it's worth, I consider it a reading list -- it's the folks whose LJs I read. I can be friends with you and not read your LJ, and by the same token, we don't need to be BFFs to read one another's LJs.

I've just gone through and removed a number of journals that I had on my reading list (and that had been there for some time) who had not reciprocated by adding me to theirs. I post personal stuff about myself, my job, and my family, and am not comfortable allowing others access to that if they don't reciprocate. There is no drama, there are no hurt feelings, and this is in no way a personal slight; I just like to keep things locked down and I am not comfortable trusting people who don't trust me in return.

If I cut you from the list and you would like to be back on it, either comment (comments on this entry are screened) or email me (there's an address in my userinfo) and we can add one another.

Today was Jonah's first day at camp. He's going to day camp all this week, so between 8 and 6
(it's an hour away) he's out of the house. I've learned a few things today:

1) I like Jonah and I miss him when he's gone. Srsly.

2) Ruthie really does talk all. day. long. If Jonah's not here, guess who gets the talking?

3) When Jonah goes to school, Ruthie will as well. See revelation #2 for the explanation to this one. I know my limitations and homeschooling Ruthie without someone to direct her talking to all day is beyond mine.

4) Ben gets all discombobulated when we're missing someone. It was really pretty sweet.

and best of all,

5) Jonah does fine when he's on his own. Really. No need for me to worry. Really.

And I'm sure I'll stop anytime now.



Really.

First off, this afternoon I went back to the Hudson Backstage to see Nick's show - "Dog Sees God". And not only was the show as wonderful as I remembered it, but there were a few understudies going on as the leads and I ALWAYS love seeing different interpretations of the characters when I see multiple viewings of shows.

Andrea Bowen was not in so I had the pleasure of seeing her understudy, Megan McNulty in the role of CB's sister (since this is a "Peanuts" type take-off, the "Sally" character). In the first act, I wasn't too sure about Megan's interpretation - she seemed a bit too strong and manic at times... but in the second act, when her character had to be more sensitive and sympathetic, she totally hit it out of the ballpark - she was INCREDIBLE! In fact, I think I liked her performance in the 2nd act MUCH more than Andrea's.

The role usually played by Megan, was played this performance by Rayne Marcus who gave the "Lucy" character a lot of heart and who I enjoyed A LOT in the role. She had a tough, but very vulnerable side that I liked a lot and thought worked really well with the character.

Joe Porter was amazing, as always, as CB and, like the time I'd seen it before had me in tears at the end. It was funny because I knew it was coming and I knew what would happen, but seeing Joe at the end sobbing with the letter in his hand and reading the final words, made me bawl like a baby, in spite of myself.

It was also amazing to see the show with sound. :) If you remember my last trip, the sound system crashed right before showtime and we all viewed the first act with no sound at all. I later told Nick that I had NO idea the last time I'd seen it with no sound, that the song that CB and Beethoven were playing before they kissed was "chopsticks" and that made the moment all the more cute and endearing. :)

And seeing Nick there at the show was probably the highlight of the day for me! I SOOOO adore the man!! Not only am I the biggest fan of his amazing talent (seriously, he is SO talented it's almost ridiculous!!), but as a person, he is just the sweetest, most lovely man you could ever meet! I think I have a serious fan-girly crush on him! :) He gives the greatest hugs (he doesn't let go - and hell... that's hot!) and the entire time we talked he held onto my hand - he has to be the warmest person I have ever met - I can't say enough how much I ADORE him!!

Looped

This evening I went to the Pasadena Playhouse to see "Looped" - I had heard NOTHING about this show going in so I had very little expectations - which I think worked to its advantage. All I knew was that Chad Allen was in the cast, and heck if I was going to give up the opportunity to see Chad Allen perform live in a show...

The show was about a recording (or looping) session in Hollywood. Chad played Danny, a film editor who must work with Tallulah Bankhead to dub A SINGLE line of her movie. Bankhead (played exquisitely by Valerie Harper) takes the entire course of the show to dub her one line and in the process, reveals secrets about herself, and gets Danny to reveal secrets and open up to her. VERY opposed in their ways of thinking and living, they both grow to realize that they aren't that different and end up forming a surprising friendship of sorts - that's both touching and emotional.

I LOVED IT! It was funny, touching, and SOOOO incredibly acted. Valerie Harper was EXCEPTIONAL in the role, and was SO funny that the audience was literally rolling in the seats from laughter. This had to be one of the greatest straight play performances by a female that I have seen all year - and heck, perhaps ever... I'm so glad I decided to see this show!!!

So it was another AMAZING theatre weekend - all the shows that I saw were great! I'm a bit sad that it seems like my LA theatre travels might be cut down considerably in the coming year (with no Kevin or Bets around...) I will, however, still try to fly out as much as I can to see Nick's shows,... because I can't miss those!!

I go home tomorrow evening and then it's back to work on Tuesday... :P It's been a great weekend to unwind - thank you all so much for putting up with all of my theatre babble again! :) HUGS!!

but I've been on vacation.

Netflix has decided to keep profiles! Yay!

However, when we stopped for some supplies in Flagstaff, I saw the store had a redbox.  There are some here in town, but the nearest one is at the Circle K a whole six miles away from us.  If they expand their selection and put one in our backyard, I wonder if that might be better for us...or not.

Today I saw two shows in Hollywood - this afternoon I headed back to the Ricardo Montalban Theatre to see "The Who's Tommy" for the second time.

Before the show, I spotted Brian and we chatted for a bit - he said to be prepared to see some changes since I'd last seen the show... Which I love - I love to see differing variations of the same show...

The first scene that young 4 year old Tommy is in was changed (last weekend, Tommy and his Mom were playing "patty-cake" before her lover enters, but not this week) And I don't think that young Tommy ever spoke in the other version and he was FACING the action when his mother's lover is killed. In today's version he was sent upstairs, but came down when the fighting began and had his back to the action and saw everything through the mirror. I liked it better this way - seemed to fit the story better...

Also, I don't remember the druggies in the end of the first act being so outrageously morbid in the version I saw a couple weeks ago, but they were writhing on the ground and really freaky as hell today. Gave the Acid Queen scene a real sense of nastiness. Also, I noticed a few people who were added to the cast (who didn't appear in the playbill so I don't know who they are...) Two dancers - one who I know I've seen in other shows before, but I can't place and with no bio info, it's been driving me nuts since I left the show... :P The other was tall with light curly hair and who was a GREAT dancer - too bad no bio...

After the show, I happened to run into David Burnham. I ran into him outside and usually I'll never go up to someone who I've only met once to speak with them if it isn't their show I'm there to see... But, I literally almost ran INTO him, so I said, "I know you don't remember meeting me..." To my surprise he said that he did. We spoke for a while and he told me he just got back to town. I told him I knew he was doing a concert next weekend and he said, "The 11th and 12th!" He's always been SUCH a nice guy - it was really great seeing him. :)

Songs from an Unmade Bed

Tonight I headed to the Celebration Theatre to see "Songs from an Unmade Bed." I'd heard good things about it and I've always wanted to see a show at CT. :) "Songs" is a one man show about the heartaches and heartbreaks of a gay man living in NYC. The songs were alternately funny, touching, and heartbreaking. I'd wanted to see Dave Barrus in the role, because I'd heard so much about his performance, but when we walked into the theatre, I saw Dave walk in and sit in the seat in front of me... That confused me to no end and I almost asked him what he was doing there and not getting ready to go onstage... it's a good thing I didn't. ;)

The show began and they announced the understudy, Frank Lawson, would be performing in place of Dave that night. I was initially disappointed, but Frank Lawson was great, had a lovely voice, and an engaging nature. As we left the theatre, I got the chance to speak with Dave - I told him, "I was wondering why you were sitting in the audience with us." :) When I asked him if he was going on tomorrow, he told me that unfortunately he wasn't performing the entire weekend. He was VERY nice and it was great speaking with him. :)

So, I know cahwyguy is seeing this show tomorrow - so I wanted to let him know that he'll be seeing Frank Lawson - who was great in the role - but played it VERY differently from Dave. Also, I wasn't sure if he knew, but the show itself is not very child or teen friendly. Some of the subjects were a bit mature in nature...

The show itself was wonderful, though and had Dave Barrus said he was going to be in tomorrow night, I would've gone back to see him in it. And I love the Celebration Theatre and there's no doubt I'll be back there to see another show soon. :)

Tomorrow I'm seeing "Dog Sees God" again and then heading to Pasadena to see "Looped" so it should be another really busy theatre day! :) I'm off again to catch up on all of your entries and get some sleep. HUGS!!

While I was roaming around an old message board I used to post on, I actually stumbled across the VERY first website I ever created! It's still up on the net and I have NO IDEA how to access the ftp to take it down... :P It was created on a free server and I was using some sort of silly web program back then, the design is just awful and the backgrounds are really disgusting... :P

It does have photos of my 2000 NYC trip to the Guiding Light Fan Club Weekend on there, some photos I thought I'd never see again from my Jaycee days, and some pages for my Lucky & Liz fan obsession... Just weird.

It's pretty hysterical to see how awful I was back then,... :P

http://lavender.fortunecity.com/spinaltap/1049/Home_Page_1st/Page_1x.html

Off to hide and work on some REAL websites. :)

So, I'm in LA again and just encountered some pretty frustrating car rental issues (which I will admit, I should have been more observant and discovered earlier). I discovered after I left the lot (and was already on the 405N) that the car that I was assigned only had like a 1/4 tank worth of gas left - How could I NOT notice that before I left? That's what absolutely no sleep the night before and renting cars almost weekly will do to you - I don't even bother to check anymore...

So I called Alamo because I had to pay $45 or so fill the tank, just to begin my trip, which I thought was unfair... But because it was the 4th, and so busy at the LAX rental center, they were unable to connect me to anyone there - live. I'm calling back tomorrow to see if anything can be done... :P I'm more angry with myself for not noticing, but still - they shouldn't give out a car that isn't properly prepped.

But onto the happier parts of my trip...

A Chorus Line

So... after 25 years I finally went back to see the show that first got me into musicals... A Chorus Line. I was only 13 years old when I first saw it, but I already knew back then, after seeing it that I was addicted to musical theatre! :) It was almost surreal to see it, nearly 25 years later and funny that I remembered much more than I thought I would of the show.

Saw the tour cast which featured, among others - Michael Gruber as Zach and Nikki Snelson as Cassie... I would've LOVED to have seen the Broadway revival... This cast was good, but there were a few people in the Broadway revival that I would've loved to have seen (among them Ali Porter, Brad Anderson, Chryssie Whitehead, and Tyler Hanes.)

The show is much the same as I remembered it, though I think they took out Connie's line "Connie Wong - always Wong, never white." Maybe it was deemed a bit too offensive to keep in (?) Who knows, I liked it. I remember being a bit more shocked by "Dance 10; Looks 3" back then - but then again, I was only 13 and a song about "tits and ass" wasn't something I heard a lot of before.

There were some outstanding performances in this tour cast - among them Kevin Santos (who played Paul - but its no surprise since the strength of the Paul really makes or breaks the show, for me anyway...) I think the same is true for the Diana (who was played by Gabrielle Ruiz - who was very good). Another performer who stood out to me was Jay Armstrong Johnson - who played Mark (not a character who stands out too much - but who needs to be an exceptionally strong dancer - and that he was! The "Larry" is supposed to be the strongest dancer in the show, but I couldn't help looking at Jay throughout the dance numbers - he was absolutely breathtaking...)

Seeing ACL tonight reminded me exactly what it was about the show that left me a fan of musical theatre for life... I'll admit not having that "Jersey Boys" excitement and awe that I did after seeing the JB tour cast for the first time at the Ahmanson, but this was special, and sentimental and I'm so glad that I got to see it.

Tomorrow I am hitting the malls (woo!) and then catching the matinee of "The Who's Tommy" (yes, again - I found a free ticket so why not?) and then I'm seeing "Songs from an Unmade Bed" at Celebration Theatre. So it should be another fabulous theatre day. :) I'm off to catch up on all of your entries. :) Big HUGS and hope everyone had a lovely 4th!!

So the AC is up and running, it seems. Hooray!!!

I'm just waiting for the hubby to finish showering and we'll finally be able to make our way out of the house to go have some fun. Happy, happy!!

Work-safe slide show. Yet another way to do our part.

Jamie really, really amazes me sometimes. He's so interested in space. I went into the bedroom to fold clothes a few minutes ago and found this (amazingly detailed) drawing on the floor. Notice how Uranus' rings are even going the correct way! He's a pretty awesome kid. :)


In case you're not sure, the labels are Sun (with solar flares!), M(ercury), V(enus), E(arth), M(ars), A(steroid Belt), J(upiter), S(aturn), U(ranus), N(eptune), P(luto), K(uiper Belt).

My sister is back in the hospital after a night of vomiting.  I guess that was enough to convince her not to fight this particular battle.  She is still picking her battles to fight, though.  They wanted her to take off her shirt and she refused because it was too cold.  Didn't I just say that she's acting like our mom?  Yeah.  That's something she would do.

The hospital will arrange for her radiation as long as she's there.

Aside from the fact that I don't know if either Van or Jake will be attending the BC/EFA flea market, the other parts of the trip seem to be coming together quite nicely. :) (And really, though I'd love to see Van and Jake at the flea market - the flea market itself is always something I had wanted to attend so that in itself is a lovely thing!) :)

And I guess the GL fan club weekend is the following weekend in NYC and there's a bowling event that Van went to one year, but I did attend this bowling event waaaaaay back in 1999 or so when I was a Paul Anthony Stewart fan (hence the use of my once a year only PAS icon) ;) and it was fun... the stars bowl and you can watch and take photos, there's an auction, but it's SOOOOO crowded it was really hard to see anyone. I did get to take a great picture of Nancy St. Albin at that event (and it made me less averse to her taking over for Joie, but that's a different post altogether...) ;)

I'd much rather go to the flea market only because there are so many more people I'd want to see... I adore Van and Jake, but they're really the only daytime actors I'd be excited to see... I mean there's ALL sorts of people I'd love to meet at the flea market from the current casts of broadway shows,... I can't even tell you. And if "A Tale of Two Cities" had their own booth, forget it!! I'm SOOO there!

This is what my NYC schedule looks like, tentatively, of course...

Thursday (Sept 18th): Not sure... I don't want Robin to have to drive out two nights - so maybe I'll see a show solo - awaiting possible Xanadu discount codes... or if Robin doesn't mind the drive - perhaps In The Heights - which because of their Tony wins no longer have discount codes... :(
Friday (Sept 19th): The Marvelous Wonderettes (with Robin)
Saturday (Sept 20th - mat): A Tale of Two Cities (possibly)
Saturday (Sept 20th - eve): A Tale of Two Cities (with Jessica and Nicole)
Sunday (Sept 21st - mat): Nothing - because I'll be at the flea market!
Sunday (Sept 21st - eve): [title of show] - I actually purchased tickets already because they were discounted at $47 - how could I pass that up??

Now, my LA trip this weekend, is a little less certain and not as well planned out...

Friday (July 4th): A Chorus Line at The Ahmanson
Saturday (July 5th - mat): Possibly Tommy again at Ricardo Montalban Theatre
Saturday (July 5th - eve): Possibly Dog Sees God or maybe Looped at PP...
Sunday (July 6th - mat): Dog Sees God at the Hudson Backstage
Sunday (July 6th - eve): Not sure...

Well, if anyone can suggest a show for me to see this weekend in LA, I'm all ears! :) Hope you're all having a nice week, I'm off to catch up on all of your entries. :) HUGS!!