25 June, 2005

Mass Exodus

A funny and unexpected moment in my Escape from TAMU Mountain happened this morning as I asked my co-worker, Monica, to be a reference for me. She agreed, provide d that I agreed to be a reference for her!
this is an audio post - click to play

In jail, again...

Well, not IN jail, but from the waiting room, during Max's visitation time this Saturday, I took some time to reflect on this place. Since dealing with this stuff is completely new to me, I want to remember what it looks and feels like (I'm not so interested in remembering what it smells like, though ;-).
this is an audio post - click to play

19 June, 2005

Dilemma: Eyes versus Ears

I run into an unexpected moral dilemma as I try to order a new book from Amazon.com
this is an audio post - click to play

17 June, 2005

Recipe for a country & western song...

On my way to a massage, I contemplate today's weirdness: the death of a friend and the imprisonment of another.
this is an audio post - click to play

Rest in Peace, my friend

Here's an article about Gwen from The Eagle:

http://www.theeagle.com/region/localregional/061605localactressdeath.php


Local actress dies



A local real estate professional who served community theater both on and off stage has died.

Gwynneth Edwards, 48, passed away Sunday at St. Joseph Regional Health Center. Her career included work in television, movies and radio, and she was involved locally with the Theatre Company.

“ Gwynne was really effervescent and excited about everything she was involved in,” said Randy Wilson, artistic director of the Theatre Company. “She was a delight to be around. She was always upbeat and kept the company together.”

Born June 30, 1956, in Pinner, England, Edwards had worked as a property manager for McCrory Investments in Bryan and College Station since 1988. Her responsibilities included storage units, a car wash and home and apartment rentals. She used her contacts to help the Theatre Company when it moved from downtown Bryan to Manor East Mall (now the Tejas Center).

“ She was on our board, and she did a lot to get the new facility usable,” Wilson said. “She had friends help with the air-conditioning and plumbing, and she paid for a lot of it.”

Edwards’ stage credits included Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet for the Theatre Company.

“ She taught the actors how to fence,” Wilson said. “And she also painted the sets.”

While in England, Edwards worked in the Drama Script Unit for BBC Television and on the Dr. Who television program.

Edwards was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and served as a double for Sissy Spacek in Marie: A True Story (1985) and as a stand-in for Cheryl Ladd in The Fulfillment of Mary Gray (1988).

From 1988 to 1993, Edwards was commercial program director and an on-air personality at KTSR radio and co-hosted a morning radio show with Randy Davis.

Edwards is survived by her parents, Anna and Thomas Macauley of Hillingdon, England, and her former husband, Patrick Howe Edwards of College Station. She was a member of Alexander United Methodist Church in Tabor.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Alexander United Methodist Church with the Rev. Donald Fields officiating. Burial will be in Alexander Cemetery.

When it rains...

I'm in a bit of a funk today because of two things:
1) Yesterday, when I came home for lunch, Max and Casey and Crystal were at my place. We had a fun time visiting, and I enlisted Max and Casey to help load my riding lawn mower - which I'd arranged to sell to John Greene (Gigi's boy/man-friend) - into my truck to transport to its new home. So, we loaded it in, and prepared to go on our way - Casey, Crystal and Max in Casey's truck and me in mine. Or so I thought.

I left the driveway and headed down the street to the corner and waited for the other guys to follow. In my rear-view mirror, I watched as Casey's truck sat in my driveway and was not backing out. Casey called my cell phone and said that Max was going to be going with me (not surprising: Casey's truck is a small, regular-cab one, and only comfortably seats two. So, I turned around and headed back.

On my way back I could see that two guys had confronted Max in my driveway and arrested him in the cul-de-sac. I pulled into the driveway and walked over to where Max and one of the guys (a plainclothes cop) were. The cop warned me to stay clear.

"How far away is clear?" I said.

"You'd best go back to your driveway."

So I did.

The other guy was Chris Boyett, son of a local, nasty judge and head of the drug task force. He's the guy that's been looking for Max for the last three weeks. During that time Max stayed at my place and at Crystal's, and this guy knew it. He questioned Casey and me about this. Warned me that, though I was on the bottom of his list of priorities, I could be responsible for housing a felon, or some such thing. Oh yeah,

"I know you use marijuana," he said.

I just continued to stare at him, saying nothing.

Well, they hauled Max off, and Casey and I delivered the lawn mower.

Yesterday afternoon I got a couple calls from Max and am helping him by making phone calls to let folks know what's going on.

Ok. That sucks enough, but I still haven't gotten to number two.

2) The night before, on Wednesday, 15 June, I got an email from Amy Eoff who'd found an obituary in The Eagle online for Gwen Edwards. She forwarded the obit to me an other theatre friends.

I know Gwen from when we did "Romeo and Juliet" at The Theatre Company. Gwen played a fantastic nurse! With her high voice, curly blonde hair and british accent, she made that role hers. I think I played Lord Montague, with Carolyn Cobb as Lady M. (We still call each other 'wife' and 'husband' whenever we see each other.) Gwen is such a bubbly and lovable character! Whenever I'd see her around town, she was always "up." We'd even talked about her starting voice lessons with me.

The last time I saw her was in the grocery store while Rob and I were shopping. We all chatted a bit, and then Rob went off to do more shopping while Gwen and I continued chatting. She had hoped that Rob was my boyfriend... . According to Gigi, Gwen wanted everyone to be blissfully hitched - it was her favorite thing.

Well, Gwen was only 48 years old, according to the obit. I will certainly miss her.

Her funeral is at 2 p.m. today at a funeral home and I've been wrestling with the decision of whether or not to go. Joe helped me this morning by reminding me that funerals are designed for the living. I remembered that I much prefer a memorial service to a funeral. I also thought back to Joe Folse's funeral (a prof who collaborated with the guys I worked with back in the Biosystems days) which was at a local funeral home. This place, Calloway-Jones funeral home, was a classic design for such a place from the '50s or '60s: dark, low, cheesy organ, depressing. I hated being there. When I think back now, I tend to remember that funeral rather than the other things about Prof. Folse. I really don't want to do that with Gwen.

I felt a big relief when I gave myself the permission not to go.

So, today while sitting here in my office, I'm in a funk, but thoughts of the future help to keep me going. Soon. Very soon. [In fact, there's another person looking at my house right now!]

12 June, 2005

Before the last performance...

A pre-show musing.


Onward and Upward!

this is an audio post - click to play

10 June, 2005

The Board Meeting

Reporting, again, from back stage on Friday night, I recall a few ditties from this past Wednesday's board meeting - including my announcement to them that I will be leaving for Chicago soon.
this is an audio post - click to play

Friday night, backstage...

From the green room during our Friday night performance of "The Music Man." The show's going well and I feel all right. This show has exhausted me a whole lot more than I expected. I have found my legs aching, my throat sore, my whole body just wanting to lay down for a few minutes. I realized that I do a whole lot of standing in this show - both on stage and off; not to mention The Big Chase Scene where the whole cast is runing around, shouting, trying to find That Spellbinder, Hill. A few of us also make a quick run out the back of the theatre, through the lobby, through the green room ("GANG WAY!!!! RAMP! RAMP!"), along the backstage hallway, and into the stage-left wing to shout "Yeah! Down by the creek! Let's get him!" Chaz and I make it there with about five seconds to spare. WHEW!


Good times...

this is an audio post - click to play

"Ohhh there's something half-way..."

At the 'half-way' point of the run of "The Music Man," I have a few memories of the first weekend of performances.
this is an audio post - click to play

UnBusted

Well, it looks like my problem has been one of communication. I found the new audio blog phone number!
this is an audio post - click to play

6:20

[the voice interface to the blog is still busted]
I'd been wanting to put an entry in here about a Boss Event that happened last week. I've been waiting for the audio blog to get fixed, but it's been long enough, and I want to get this down while I still remember it.

Last week, on a morning where I was running late in getting to work, I got to work one day at about 9:20 a.m - when I was 'supposed' to be there at 9:00. I walked to my office, not having seen the boss, logged into the computer, grabbed my coffee cup, and then walked to the coffee pot. When I returned to the office, there was The Boss, sitting in Joe's chair (Joe was elsewhere), waiting...

"Greeeeeeg, it's 9:20, and you just got here, and I had no phone call."

"Oh, I must have lost track of the time." Riiiight.

"Soooooooo, are you going to stay here until 6:20 tonight?"

This was Thursday - preview night for "The Music Man" - and I had to be at the theatre at 6:20, at the latest. And he knew it.

"No, I'll just make it up next week." nonchalontly.

"Ohh OHkay"

I think there may have been some talk about the show, next. I really don't remember. Of course, what I do remember is the Assholeness Of The Boss. He just has to control something.

08 June, 2005

BUSTED!!!!!

No, it's not what you think, baby.

For the last week, or maybe two, the dial-in interface for audio blogging here has, seemingly, been busted. I can't connect from my cell phone or from a landline. Neither could Joe Barron. So there have been some items that I would like to have posted about here, but haven't. Well, I hope to get them typed in today.

It's Time for Me To Flyeeeeyyy

Yesterday, while out to lunch with Joe, I had what might end up being another wee milestone on this journey out. Here's an excerpt from an email that I just sent off to Michael Stevenson, a good friend and TTVN student worker who is in Russia for the summer:

    Things here proceed toward their ultimate ends, as usual =]. I've finally listed my house on the market about a week ago. So, as soon as that biotch sells, I'll be out of here! No 'bites' yet, but it's too early expect that, really. I've also been contemplating just when to give my two-weeks notice here. Just yesterday, Joe and I were talking about it when he said something like, "...and sometimes you have just had enough, and have to get out at all costs." As I thought about that, I began to lean towards making my last day of work to be the last day of this month. THAT means that this coming Thursday is the day that I'd give notice. And THAT is just a bit freaky to think about! Of course, I'm hesitant to officially cut off my main source of income without knowing that I have someone lined up to buy the house. So, that's making me lean back in the other direction.
I just looked at the work calendar and noticed that Rod and Wayne will be out travelling all next week, except for Friday. I'd been thinking, recently, of letting a lot of co-workers know that I'm going before I make it Official with Ken. But if I want to do that, I either have to do it via email (a bad idea... leaving 'physical' evidence) or postpone resigning by a few days. Not that postponing is a big deal - especially since the earlier I do this, the more I'm putting myself out on a limb.

So, the saga sags on...

01 June, 2005

Listo. Listing. Listed.

Another milestone... This would have been an audible entry, but I can't get through to the Audio Blog phone number. I'll get to that later.

I met with Janette Hopper, my realtor, again today. This time, to Do The Deed. I felt that I'd gotten the house to enough of a "ready state" that it was time to list it on the real estate market. We met at 12:30 at the house and I signed a bunch of papers; and initialled still more papers. And, after talking about how this was all going to work, a "For Sale" sign was staked into my front yard! It's there right now. I will post a picture of it soon.

Janette described the market, at present, as really. REALLY good. Recently, she listed a house and had a buyer's contract in her hands just a few days later! She is still very optimistic (as am I) about how quickly my house should sell. I chose to list it at $125,000 - Janette agreed that that was a good price, too. The plan now is to have Max (he's been staying at my place the last couple of nights - there's much, MUCH more to that story!) mow the front yard and trim the front tree today. When he's done, Janette will return to take a picture of the house which will accompany its listing. Later, I will make the kitchen look presentable, and she'll return to take some interior pictures. Then, on Tuesday, 7 June, she'll have a party at the house with other realtors to kick-off its listing.

Before returning to work (where I am, at the moment) Max and I celebrated a bit by Taking a Break. That put me in the proper mood for the moment. I looked at the clock and noticed that another Extended Lunch had taken place ... without having notified the Boss. I began to envision the happy and blissful face I would wear when he asks me, "So.... are you going to make up that time today?"

I feel one notch freer now. One notch lighter. One notch closer to my goals. One notch closer to Chicago. One notch closer to saying all of my Good-Byes.

An intoxicating combination of Stuff.