In trying to get last minute additions to our set, I was trying to decorate some torch holders with the lion from the Crest of Henry II.   Very intricate lion for me to cut out.  I’ve never had good sissors skills.   To top it off, I’m trying to make it about  5.5 to 7 inches long.  Hmm that’s not going to work for me.

So what did I do?  I passed this project on to my youngest daughter.  She must have passed the scissors portion of art in Kindergarten.  Since I never went to Kindergarten, I missed that class entirely.

Final projects, line and character touch ups, clean up for the theather are all things we do the week before the play begins.   We need a few additions to our costumes (shoes).  Maybe an addtional knife or two (yes, sharp, pointy, dangerous things).  And of course a heavy helping of vitamins,  cold remedies and anything else you can think of so that the cast remains healthy and able for the entire production.

Chrunch week is here, and all I want to know is:  “Where are my lions?”

GO TO A SHOW!!!

I’m not sure how it started out, it was still dark when I arrived at work.  I’m not sure how the day look all day, I have no windows where I work.  But the day was gray anyway.

For this reason or that.  Human error and computer malfunction played havoc on the day today.  All morning seemed to be a rush to get nothing accomplished.  Everytime something was tried it, for some reason, failed.  The day was gray.

This type of day is very draining.

But even with all of that, there was humor in the day.  That little bit of silver lining, perhaps?

Coffee just wasn’t doing it this morning.  Even though I enjoy my cup of joe in the morning, it just didn’t hit the spot like normal.  When this occurs, as it does from time to time, I go to a cup of tea or two.  After heating my water, I went back to my desk for a nice cup.  A few minutes later, I was drinking my brew thinking it was very weak.   Then I noticed, the dry teabag was still sitting next to the cup.  I was drinking a cup of hot water.  Now at that point, I knew the day was going all wrong.  I’m lucky it got better in the afternoon.

So, how was your day?

I received an email from my college roomate.  It has been 28 years since we graduated from college, and we still try to stay in touch.  He was a religion and history major in school with an avid interest in music, theater and comic books.  I was a Math/Computer major with an interest in girls and role playing games.   How the two of us ever got along is a mystery to me.  I was on stage once and vowed never to do it again.

Today, I’m a computer nerd (yes, I get paid for that), father and theater geek.  He is a minister in Chicago and hasn’t been on stage since College.   I’ve been in many shows since 1997, and I’m involved in another as I write this.  The email from my roommate today was a surprise for me.  He tried out for a local Chicago production of Cinderella.    He got the role of the King.  He always had a wonderful singing voice and good acting skills.   I may just have to make the trip to Chicago to watch it.

Anyone up for a roadtrip?

What was that game?  The one I liked?  I remember what it was about, sort of.  No that wasn’t the game, but it was like that one.  I think this is it, but I don’t remember that rule.   

Ok, has that happened to you?  No?  I guess you don’t play any of the large variety of trivia/knowledge games available.  I’ve noticed that there are so many of these types of games, it is very possible to confuse which one you played last month, or even last week.

I bring this up because  my friends and I play a large number of games.   A good percentage of those games are the trivia/knowledge games.  There are some that are very fun, and other not as much.  Some even have a few of the same questions as other games, but the rules make a difference.    I think what makes the game fun is when giving the wrong answer is as much fun as getting the right answer.  

But then again the fun of games is that we get to enjoy time with others.  Ways to relax, have fun and enjoy the company of others is very important for our mental well being.  This week I have two opportunities to share time with family and friends.  I’m looking forward to it.

jamaihsh, I found some guacamole pringles….

There usually is a point during show rehearsals when the cast and directors know they have a show. Sometimes that point doesn’t come until the last dress rehearsal, and there are times it never comes. The show I’m in now had that point twice. Because of our extensive scene changes (they are getting better, and we got more help), we split the show into two nights to work on both acts. Both acts came together this week.

On Sunday, I wasn’t sure if the show was going to be there. There was a problem or two that just had things feeling wrong. The hows and the whys are unimportant, but that was a bad feeling for the show. I’m glad things came together this week. Since our show starts in a little over a week, it is nice to feel good about the whole thing.

I’m actually looking forward to our double tech Sunday. For those not in the know, it is the day we work out most of the last kinks. Technical kinks, wardrobe kinks, and even the acting kinks. We run through the complete show twice. It makes for a very long day, but when the show is going well, it goes by quickly.

First audience will be Wednesday (some school kids I think), and Opening next week Friday. All signs are pointing to an enjoyable show. I hope some of my readers can make it to a show. Check the side bars for the link to the playhouse.

Yesterday was a long and tiring rehearsal. New scene changes, missing actor, multiple acts run again. It was not the best rehearsal.

I was due to be with friends watching the Academy Awards last night. I wasn’t in the mood for any sort of gathering. All I wanted was food, relaxation and then sleep. I was grumpy, crabby, tired and hungry by the end of rehearsal. I was sure I wouldn’t have been the best company while watching an award show. It was actually hard skipping the party, but my body almost demanded it.

After a quick bite to eat with my daughter, we went home and I started a fire in the fireplace. For just I bit I sat down near the fire, and stared at the flames. It had a very calming influence. I went to bed early and actually missed the award show.

Today, I felt a bit bad about not showing up. My grumpy, crabby self was well relaxed and ready to go. I’m sure I would have had fun at the gathering, but I’m also sure I would have paid for it today. Sometimes, I guess, I just need to listen to what my body is telling me. Food, rest and then sleep was definitely called for.

I hope everyone had fun at the party. I had a relaxing evening after a trying afternoon.

I did have a post about Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio a while ago, but tonight I spent my time in Bryan Ohio. First at our theater’s new Weekenders productions. I would recommend these to anyone. It was a fun night. This was my first visit to something that has been going on for a little over a month. It could be comedy, singing or a little acting, but if they are all like tonight, it is a whole lot of fun.

Then a little impromptu visit to a local establishment across from the little theater. Had fun visiting with friends. I’m not one for the bar scene, but we almost had the place to ourselves. Quiet night in Bryan. If it hadn’t been for all the snow, I think the sidewalks would have been rolled up. 😉

For those readers who aren’t regulars of the WCCT, check out the link on this page. A lot of fun things are happening in either Bryan or Montpelier.

Two week count down to opening night for “The Lion in Winter”. I would love to see you there (really).

More Weekenders will be scheduled. More great shows coming up.

Wow, three posts in one day!

I’ve been working on a very old laptop (Compaq Armada), and installing Ubuntu Linux on it. This little machine has just been collecting dust for the past few months, patiently waiting for me to install a working operating system.

With an old wireless card, I am now able to use this computer to access the internet anywhere in my house.

Why in the world would I want to do that? Well, I’m looking forward to download updates to this machine. Of course, I’m enough of a geeky nerd to like playing with a different OS. And finally, I really like giving this old machine new life for at least a while.

The machine is much too slow for any serious work, but it will give me a chance to work with something different. I may start converting some of my other old boxes to linux of one flavor or another. If I can find good video and picture software, this may replace windows on one of my everyday computers. Still too early to tell on that.

So far so good. I was able to post on my blog, and read email. Maybe with additional memory, this things wouldn’t be that slow either…. Nope, the processor is very slow.

If I average around two posts a day from now until the last week of March, I may end up with around 1 post per day when I reach my 1 year anniversary of blogging. I’m not sure that will happen, since I do have a few other things going on between now and then. Today is a fluke because I have a little bit of time to blog a bit, while I’m waiting for some things to download. I just noticed, with my last post on fish sandwiches that I only needed 1 more to hit 300. Then only 65 more for the 1 post per day average by the end of March.

Unless I really want that distinction, it ain’t gonna happen..

I’m only adding more words, since on one of my other ‘century’ posts, I was given a bit of a rough time for the length of it. I do believe the comments on the post were longer than the post itself.

There are 6 national Fast Food Restaurants that serve a Hot Fish sandwich at least during or around Lent. Yes, Subway exists and does server a tuna fish sandwich, but that is an entirely different animal. As I try them, I will give a short review.

McDonalds Fillet-o-Fish Served all year
The Fillet-o-Fish has been my perennial favorite. I’m sure this has something to do with eating so many growing up in a Catholic family, and of course spending lots of time hanging out in McDonalds. For those who don’t know, this sandwich is a square fish stick on a bun, smothered in Tartar Sauce and a slice of melted American Cheese. This sandwich, as was usual with most McDonalds products is the same year after year, sandwich after sandwich. Even though my tastes have grown up a bit, I will still get one of these on occasion. I don’t eliminate the meat from my diet during lent, or on Fridays, so the desire for fish has to out weigh my desire for beef. It happens, but the Fillet-O-Fish is not the comfort food that a cheeseburger is. 😉 These used to be a cheap sandwich at McDonalds, but the price has gone up in the past few years. There should be a two-fer sale in the next few weeks to coincide with the Lenten season. Not a bad sandwich, and it is my scale for all other fast food fish sandwiches… so it is a 7 on scale of 1 – 10

Burger King BK-fish Served all year
Been a few months since I’ve had one of these sandwiches. Always, and I do mean always overcooked. Doesn’t matter what BK I go to. I’ll stick to their Angus burger. Score 3.  I may try this one again.  I was told they got better, and it is Lenten fish sale time.

Arbys Fish during Lent
Decent fish sandwich, A large fillet with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. When I last had it, no cheese was offered. Since I was used to the McDs sandwich I felt it was missing. They are usually only offered in the spring, with some sales during lent. I think last year it was during the entire period, but sometimes the sale is only on Fridays. With a sale price this is a very good value, not so good if not on sale. I’ll choose it over the McDs sandwich when on sale.   Give this one an 8 when on sale, 6 when not….

Wendy’s Fish During Lent
I just had this sandwich a couple of weeks ago. I will have to try it again. On my first sandwich the fish was overcooked, but not served piping hot. Must have been sitting around a while. To give it a fair review, I will need to go back when they are busy on a Friday to make sure I get a fresh sandwich. Served with lettuce, tomato and Tartar Sauce with cheese as an option. So far the score on this sandwich is a 3.

Dairy Queen Fish Fillet sandwich (all year?)
I had the DQ Crispy Fish Fillet sandwich this week.  What can I say?  The onion rings were tasty.   As for the fish, I would almost complain of some false advertising.  It wasn’t very crispy.  That being said, it was a niced sized piece of fish.  The sandwich also contained tartar sauce and lettuce.  The bun was very fresh.  Nothing really special, but not too bad either.  I’m thinking a score of 6 fits this sandwich.

A&W/KFC Fish snackers during Lent

99 cent mini fish sandwiches. No frills, just Tartar Sauce, fish and a bun. I like these little sandwiches a lot. If our local KFC had better service, I would get it more often. Just not worth the time spent waiting to get them, unless I really want a draft Root Beer too. Interesting combination of KFC and A&W in our town, but I think that confuses the servers. Score 8

Your Favorite?

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