The View from the Top

That last post was quite long for a blogkin. I assure you they won't be that long in the future.

Anyway, this is the view I get when I come over the hill on my way home:


Looking back:


Not bad, eh? The pictures don't do it justice, though.

My Main Street Is Better Than Your Main Street

After the economic fallout (aka the Not-So-Great Depression) and before the election, I had a mind to write a very poignant and eloquent blog about Main Street and the economy in my town. With all the talk of Real America™ and specifically Real Virginia™, I thought it might be interesting to see the real issues from a small town perspective. In this tourist town, economic hardships are not rare, and staying afloat means changing with the times, or moving on. Since I never got around to it I won't write the whole piece. Instead, I'm posting links to my current favorite spots in town and pictures that demonstrate the diversity that small towns in Real America™ have in this day and age. Enjoy!

The Town Clock
Toward one of the many antiques stores
The Catholic Bookstore
The Warren County Democratic Headquarters
Soul Mountain (restaurant)
The town gazebo. What? Your town doesn't have one?
Stokes General Store (Red Wings sold here!)
Closer to the antiques store

The Wine and Duck
Vino E Formaggio
Lucky Star Lounge
D&B's Chocolates and Confections
County Seat Pub

Discover Front Royal dot com

You Know You Spend Too Much Time . . .

. . . on the internet when you see a sign at Curves for a holiday promotion, and you want to click on the highlighted words as if they were links. Coincidentally, today was the day the owner finally destroyed the back-up floppy discs which stored all the member information. The times, they are a changin'.

Back at the Birchmere

Gawd I love the Birchmere so much. The venue is fantastic, and the acts are so diverse, you could never not find SOMETHING you'd love to see. Or whatever.

Anyway, on 9 Sep, we went to see Mike Doughty, former frontman of Soul Coughing. He is brilliant as always. I'd never seen him live, so this was a treat for me, a birthday aperitif, if you will. I was surprised by the number of Soul Coughing songs he sang. Surprised, but very very pleased. Oh, and he did this really cool thing where he had a bowl and papers on the stage before the show on which fans wrote questions that he answered throughout the set. Fantastic. I didn't ask any, but I thought it was pretty nifty. He's such a clever fellow. And very kind, he signed my CD with birthday wishes after the show. I hope he returns again soon. It was pretty fantastic.

Last Friday, 19 Sep, we saw Yard Dogs Road Show featuring Rachel Brice and The Indigo Belly Dance. If you think the title of the show is a mouthful, you should've seen the sword swallower. Buh duh bum ching. This was a spectacular show, entertaining through it's entirety! I suggest very very strongly that you see these self-proclaimed "hobohemians" if you ever have the opportunity. Fo rillz. I can't gush enough about the musical, dance-ical, and comedic talent that abounds in this beautiful burlesque troupe. Boffo. More than boffo. Words cannot describe . . . it's like going to the Circus McGurkus for adults. There. That works. Absolutely brilliant.

Anyway, that's all for now. My lovely husband is taking me to see Kathy Griffin on Friday for an extended birthday extravaganza. It should be good good times.

Quitting Smoking Updates

I'm not going to blog the ups and downs here, but I need all the support I can get. Here's a link to my blog on BecomeanEX.org. This is all very personal stuff so please be gentle. There are some of my posts that can only be viewed by my "friends", so if you'd like to see them all, feel free to sign up. Everyone in our community could use extra encouragement.

Thank you, friends.

-M

(here's the feed)

Here's To My Health... er something

It's 2:00 am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning . . . this is the first day of our non-smoking lives. By us. . . er, our . . . I mean hubby and me . . . er, I . . . er, his and mine. Anyway . . .

This will be interesting. Of course, I've quit before, during both my pregnancies, but I somehow managed to start up again . . . and again.

I realize this is a short blog, but it IS 2am, and I feel I should preempt any saucy or snarky or even rude remarks I might make in future blogs by this disclaimer . . .

Catch you on the flipside.

Et Voilà: Molière's Last Play

Last week I had the opportunity to see Imaginary Invalid for the second time. It was not disappointing. In fact, it was just as hysterical as it had been the first time.

Originally, I'd seen it with hubby as part of our Shakespeare Theater Season Pass Ritual. I love going to the theater with hubby. It's always nice to enjoy kid-free time with some cultural exposure. :D I invited a NY friend the second time, André, whom I'd had met back in April—he was in Deb's production of the Elephant Man. He is also a big René Auberjonios fan. Of course, who isn't? The man is a genius character actor.

There were several things about this production that made it spectacular, not the least of which was René's stellar performance. He was so animated in his portrayal of Argan, it was like watching a living cartoon. Of course, as usual, the main characters are nothing without the supporting cast, which in this case was equally vivacious. The costumes and set were fantastic as well.

After seeing the play twice, I decided to do more research since this is only the second Molière play I've seen (Don Juan being the first). I came across many reviews and articles that mentioned many differences between American versions of this play and others. The main distinction is the absence of the interludes containing singing and dancing, which in the beginning and end are tributes to King Louis XIV. I couldn't figure out why these would be deleted specifically in American translations, but what do I know. I guess we just get bored easily or something. Anyhoo...

Another fact I discovered is that this particular Molière play is not generally well received by US audiences. Perhaps it's because there's not enough singing and dancing. ;) Or, perhaps it's because many theater goers are doctors, and this play most decidedly does not contain a pro-doctor message. In fact, all the doctors in the play are Quacks™ who continue to relieve Argan of his finances while offering him a few dozen enemas. Typical. And not at all surprising that our country, in it's current state of Health Care Fuckery, would be a little displeased watching a poor old hypochondriac getting screwed like the rest of us schmucks. Still, we should stop being so sensitive and learn to enjoy teh funnies.

I hope this production makes its way to NY. If it does, I encourage all New Yorkers to see it. And love it. That would be splendid.

Turkish Delight In A New York Minute

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE NYC?! Well, lots and lots, that's how.

Hubby and I were lucky enough to be able to visit NY this past weekend. We had hoped to visit in June to see Deb's production of Love! That 4-Letter Word, but alas, we couldn't make it. Hopefully the show will manifest itself with more funding in the near future. Yeah, that'd be boffo!

Anyway, we finally made it up just in time for Tripod's one night stand. These fellows are absolutely hilarious! Google that shit and watch their YouTube clips. You won't be disappointed. Their chemistry is brilliant, and despite the jet lag, their timing was perfect. I especially enjoyed when Scod gazed lovingly into my eyes, and then hubby's. ;) The set was entirely too short, only 45 minutes. This was because of the venue, which runs shows back to back. We didn't get a chance to chat with them afterward either, as they were hustled out of the building posthaste and we were expressly forbidden to linger on the sidewalk. Le sigh. Oh well. They assured us they'd like to return, "legally", to do a full length show. Brill!

We (me, hubby, Deb, and John) had met up with another Umbie forumite, Gayle, and her lovely family. I'd met Gayle in spring 2007 when we saw the Umbies in Hampton, VA. Also joining our group was CAT, a friend of Deb's I'd met in November. So the eight of us traversed the streets (specifically, along 8th Ave near 26th), and found a lovely Irish pub/restaurant, The Molly Wee. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was very nice. We spent a few hours there just chatting and having fun. It was Good Times.

The next day, hubby and I traveled to The City to visit museums. Now, if you don't know me well, you don't know what a museum whore I am. I could spend days, literally, DAYS in a museum. I love them! We knew of a Superheros exhibit at The Met, and though the exhibit itself wasn't as impressive as we'd hoped, the Met is spectacular. Hubby and I both kept getting distracted by all the Really Cool Stuff we saw there. (Seriously, DAYS!) I'll have to put a lot of time aside to hang out there when my lovely Rainy comes to visit from Spain. She'll dig it. We'd also learned of a Dalí: Painting and Film exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I'm very sad that the exhibit won't be there when Rainy comes, because It. Was. Brilliant. And she LOVES Dalí. Oh well, she'll still have fun, and I'm very glad we got to see it.

We also visited the Museum of Sex. It's pretty much what you'd expect, and if you "enjoy" porn and have a good idea of the "goings on" in alternative sexual vice, you'll probably be a bit nonplussed. Not worth the $14.50 admission. Too bad hubby left the $3 off coupons on his desk. At least we can say, "Been there, done that". Having said that, though, the Sex in Film exhibit aka Censorship was pretty cool. The set up was nice, and it was actually (gasp!) educational. Plus, any time Cary Grant is involved in anything sexual, it gets my panties in a whirl. ;) (That was the Overtly Subliminal section of the exhibit, or something along those lines, I don't remember the actual name.)

By then, our feet were in a seriously hurty way, so we took the train back to Terrytown. We met up with Deb and John. Tagging along, to our great pleasure, were Kim and Tom™. They are a fantastic couple. Deb had met Kim through the theater, and Tom is (OMG!) a tech geek just like hubby and John. It couldn't have been a more perfect sextuple. Hubby found a Turkish restaurant, Turkois Grille, via google maps located deep in the heart of an Hasidic community. Weird, right? Perhaps they had just found zen. ;) Anyway, hubby chose this restaurant based on the fact they have live belly dancing on Saturday nights. Dinner and a show! She (we never got her name) was very good. She'd performed a basic dance in the beginning, and then a basic taxim sword dance. Then, she danced through the crowd pulling diners out of their chairs to join her. It was so much fun. At our table, she chose hubby first, then Kim, then me. Kim's been watching belly dancing instructional videos, so she wasn't half bad (plus, she probably just has "the moves"). I think the dancer was somewhat surprised by how I kept up with her moves, even though she was clearly more graceful. I'm still a novice, after all. Although, I will be reporting this to my belly dancing instructor. She'll be proud of my public appearance, and I'm quite proud of myself since I haven't danced publicly in a good 15 years.

It was so fun. And I haven't even mentioned the food yet! Divine, is the only word I can think of. Granted I haven't had much experience with Turkish cuisine, but I know what I like, and THAT was it! The meat was so tender, the rice cooked perfectly, and don't get me started on the dessert plate and Turkish coffee. Perfecto!

I love visiting NY, and I'm looking forward to next time, whenever that may be. For now, NY, I say adieu, and save some ornery for me!

Happy Birthday, America!

Yay for the 4th of July being on a Friday! This means all Americans have a three day weekend, including yours truly. Fab! We went to hubby's high school friend's birthday party on Friday — her 30th, I can feel it looming! It was good times, burgers, hot dogs, all the fixin's. The kids had a blast and made some new friends. Boffo.

After that we headed to the folks' house and had some Dirty John's Style™ hot dogs and homemade raspberry ice cream. Then we ditched the kids there. Mwahahahaha.

I really like hanging out with my husband. I know it sounds cliché , but he's my best friend. Any time we get to spend alone is Time Well Spent. We imbibed (Cuba Libre is his current favorite cocktail) and fell asleep watching Blazing Saddles. I will neither confirm nor deny the presence of Gary as the reason for our movie choice.

On Saturday, we slept in. I tend to snore in the morning, so I slept later than hubby. We had coffee on the back porch and watched the Yankees/Red Sox game. Then we headed to a fancy bistro in town, Element (Thanks Helen!), which is an annex of Apartment 2G. Great food, great service and a fantastic atmosphere. It's sort of an oddity in this town, but I like odd. ;) Then it was home again for drinking and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I love that movie and I hadn't watched it since I'd gotten it two Xmas' ago. Great stuff.

So today, we're chillin' on the porch listening to some Fresh Tunes, awaiting the return of the children. It was good to have a break, but somehow I always (eventually) miss the noise. It's weird, right? :)

I Love Dick!

Richard Cheese, that is.

We were graced with this genius' presence/presents in DC on Wednesday night at the 9:30 Club. It's part of his United We Lounge tour and It. Was. Glorious! When I say "we" I mean Me, My Beau, My Jennie, and her fabulous brother Jared, who has now been thoroughly Corrupted™. We started the evening at the local Tapas Bar, Jaleo. If you ever get a chance to visit DC, you absolutely MUST eat there. ¡MUY DELICIOSO!

For those of you not familiar with Richard Cheese, what the fuck is wrong with you?! You MUST buy his CDs and go to his shows. Shower him with your money and boobies! His shows are incredible, complete with Saucy Digs, Wild Tuxedo Changes, Lesbians, and Singing Amongst the Audience. Oh, and then there were the Bubble Bottles he threw into the crowd to complete the ambiance during his rendition of the Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song. The show was, in a word, BOFFO!

Great Caesar's Ghost!: The Roman Repertory

We have been in and out of DC quite frequently in the past few weeks. The Shakespeare Theater Company has been running a "Roman Repertory", and we've had the opportunity to see two outstanding plays over as many weeks: Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

As always, I was quite impressed with the set they used for both plays. With just a few tweaks here and there, they were able to take the audience from Egypt to Rome and back again during the performance of A&C. The actors were brilliant! Kurt Rhoads (Antony, understudy) and Suzanne Burtish (Cleopatra) had a magnificent chemistry on stage, which is the ONLY way, in my opinion, to make this utterly dysfunctional couple likable. Indeed, they were LOVEable. I hadn't realized until the performance of JC that Mr. Rhoads had been the understudy for the part. I hoped he was going to play the role in JC as well, which he did, much to my delight.

Julius Caesar was just as bloody and spectacular as I had anticipated, this being the first time I'd seen the play live. There were more elaborate set changes for this production (ie, the staircase collapsed to form a wall, and the "podium" became elongated for Antony's infamous speech to the "friends, Romans, countrymen"). Dan Kremer portrayed an almost sage and likable Julius Caesar, albeit (albehe?), decadent. Tom Hammond played Brutus as a deliciously level-headed hero for the people. Spot on! All in all, a very visually stunning interpretation of Classic Shakespeare™.

The odd twist to all of this is that unlike the Greek Repertory (Tambourlaine, and Argonotica) earlier in the season, these plays were running simultaneously. But as with the Greek Repertory, there were different directors for each play, (the incomparable) Michael Kahn for A&C, and David Muse for JC. However, using the same set, and actors for both plays really helped tie the two together nicely. Also, I can't gush enough about the supporting cast. They. Were. Brilliant! And as my husband would point out, many of the Egyptian ladies-in-waiting had excellent racks. That may not be politically correct when writing a review of a Classic Shakespearean Play™, but it doesn't hurt the visual. ;)

Next up at the Lansburgh Theater: The Imaginary Invalid, which I have neither seen nor read. I'm positive I won't be disappointed.

Overwhelmed

Lately we've been dealing with health related issues involving Newcastle, our beloved dog. About two weeks ago, he had a couple of lumps removed that turned out to be cancerous. The next day, he managed to pull out some sutures in the wound on his shoulder, so we headed to the doggie ER. Not a fun bill to pay, but it needed to be fixed. So far, he's been doing fine with the exception of pulling out the other sutures yesterday. Luckily, he's healed enough that it was a superficial thing.

Unfortunately however, last night I found another lump on his rib cage. The vet had explained the biopsy to me thusly: the rate of growth (mitosis) of the lumps they removed could potentially give him about 4-5 years if left untreated. He's 7 now, so 4-5 years added to that is a sufficient life span for a dog his size. However, I've seen the way cancer effects people and animals alike, and I wonder what kind of quality of life he might have living with cancer. Dealing with the thought of losing him so soon is heart wrenching. Some difficult decisions are in our near future.

Also yesterday, my POS car decided it was going to start overheating. I was concerned that it would explode or something catastrophic when I was on my way home from picking up the girl from school. It's in the shop right now, and we're waiting to hear back from them. Consequently, I had to walk to the bus stop to pick up the boy and a friend of his. We're only a half mile from the bus stop, but it's a very hilly half mile. And it's far more difficult walking back up the hill. At least I got a fairly decent workout, though I think I pulled a calf muscle. We'll see how that plays out tonight at my belly dancing class.

In addition to those current events, my house is a disaster area. The clutter is almost too much to deal with. I'd like Jennie to come over and help me work on it, but I think for today, I'll just work on the kitchen. Baby steps. Hopefully that will give me a sense of accomplishment and maybe the rest of the fam can help me out. We'll see.

Anyway, it could be worse, and I know that. Right now though, I feel like I'm slipping and that's not good. *breathe* This too shall pass...


*photo: Empty Space by JR Blackwell

Holy Crap! I'm a Geek!

I have officially crossed the line... I AM A GEEK. Not an ubergeek, but a geek nonetheless. I am a participant in an online RPG. For those non-geeks out there, RPG = Role Playing Game...

The scary thing is, I really really like it. I had attempted this level of geekery before. After all, I'm married to a geek, so it's par for the course. I could never wrap my head around the actual role playing aspect. But this time, perhaps because of the group involved, I'm really getting into it. So far, however, we've been gaming online, so this Saturday I'll find out if I have it in me to stick to my character in person. ;)

I'm very excited about the idea of this particular campaign. It's a dungeon crawl, which means we're all stuck in a dungeon (of course), and we go from room to room fighting enemies, making friends, and of late, getting our asses kicked. When our characters finally emerge (which could literally take years), they will be at level 20. That's a lot, y'all. Boffo.

I'm still trying to get a handle on the details like when to roll, what to roll, how to keep track of inventory and hit points, etc. Luckily, we have a seasoned and wise Dungeon Master™, so Jennie and I (aka, the noobs) are in good hands.

I'll update more as the map unfolds. *giggle-snort* Did I seriously just say that? *facepalm*

New York, New York!

I wanted to summarize our trip to the Big Apple, but I'll link to my husband's blog instead. He's compiled all of our Tweets into a nice post. Also, his flickr feed has pictures, which we all know are worth 1,000 words each. (Conversely, Twitter only allows 140 characters per post) ;)

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!

Sunday was arguably the patriotic high of my life. A Yankees game AT YANKEE STADIUM! Not only is it cool because it's the Yankees, but this is the last season of the stadium itself. Also, I got to go with my favorite fella, a hardcore baseball fan.

We took the train to Harlem from Tarrytown, and the subway into The Bronx. As soon as we stepped out of the station, the excitement rushed over the game-going crowd. We entered the park just like you'd enter any stadium, but knowing it was The House That Ruth Built™ made it magical. I remember wondering about all the people who'd been there in those halls and seats, to see a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon just like that one. I thought of the fathers and sons who'd been going to games for generations. It pained me to see one father/son duo in the section next to us whose former half kept leaving the boy to buy souvenirs. I could tell the kid just wanted to spend time with his dad at a game. On the one hand, I was sad. On the other, I felt so lucky to be married to man who I knew would recognize that excitement in his children. He was in fact, at that moment, enjoying this simple game as if it were his first.

We ate hot dogs, peanuts, and yes even Cracker Jacks™. It was a bona fide baseball going experience. After the game, we headed down the street to grab a genuine slice of New York style pizza. Boffo!

It wasn't an historical game. Aside from the two run homer Hideki Matsui hit in the 4th inning, and the brilliant double play by Derek Jeter later on, it was fairly run-of-the-mill. However, we'll remember it for the rest of our lives.

He Does It With Just One Hand...

On Friday night, we had the tremendous privilege of attending Elephant Man, directed by Deb Failla. That's right, MY Deb! And she is a true artist!

I'd never seen a live production of EM before, but I'm glad my first was Deb's show. Of course, all the rest will pale by comparison, but what the hell? It was brilliant! I could go into a synopsis of the play, but I'd rather share the experience. The Elmwood Playhouse is small (it seats 99), and instead of theater-in-the-round, it's got an ally way of sorts. The seating ascends on either side of a big, open gap in the middle of the room. A creative director, like Deb, knows exactly how to use this to her advantage. I'm not sure how to describe the magic, but every emotion was mirrored across the theater, either by the characters or the audience members on the opposite side.

Additionally, the actors were spectacular. And a really nice group of people to boot! When Rick Apicella, who played the lead, "transformed" into John Merrick, the entire audience was transfixed. It was so brilliant, if Deb had gone the make-up route (which she wouldn't have because she's too clever), the entire scene, and consequently the rest of the play, would've lost its marvel. Rick was utterly and brilliantly convincing as Merrick. The rest of the cast was equally talented. In the scene when Mrs. Kendal sees John for the first time, Tiffany M. Card stood perfectly still, EXCEPT for the vibrating feather in her hair. I couldn't see her face, but I knew her expression. Absolutely phenomenal!!!

So many other details added up to a truly unequaled experience in community theater. I wonder why this show isn't Off-Broadway™. :S However, having said that, perhaps it IS comparable to my first theater experiences at Hale Center Theater in, of all places, Orem, Utah. I remember being so astounded by the brilliance of the plays I saw, I was baffled by their presence in my tiny community. They should have been on Broadway, I thought. That was the place for such talent.

And it still should be. However, big names have taken the place of good talent. And while I enjoyed Legally Blond the movie, I sure as hell don't want to see a musical about it. Clay Aiken in Spamelot? No thanks.

I encourage all of you who appreciate the theater to check out a local venue. You never know what magnificent talent you'll find there. Unfortunately, you only get Deb's unique touch in New York. ;)

Tim Minchin Is So F**king Rock!

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I Less than Three New York!

This weekend in New York has been BOFFO! We'd been planning it for months so we could coordinate schedules with friends and shows and the like, and everything was perfect.

I'd come up to New York last November to see the amazingly talented Australian musical comedian, Tim Minchin. When I discovered he was coming to the US again, this time Off-Broadway, I knew I had to come back. For this trip, however, I had much more time to plan. I wanted to take the ol' man and meet up with Deb. Lovely Lexa from Pasadena flew in from CA, and Julie, my Kentucky Woman, joined us as well. With the ample time frame, we were all able to make arrangements for the kids, jobs, etc. More importantly, we could schedule the trip as a triple header: Elephant Man (directed by the incredible Debaser) on Friday, Tim on Saturday, and a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. I know. Fucking BOFFO!

Because of all the fantastic fun we were having, I've decided to split the experience into several posts. I'll be working on gathering my thoughts on the three main events. We travel back to Dixie tomorrow, so I'll have everything up within the next few days. Stay tuned...

Also, I was twittering while I was in NY, so you can check out little snippets on my Twitter feed.

Nausea, Hartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea

That's not an ad. Those are the symptoms of whatever our clan has had for the past two weeks. Not fun.

Originally, I thought we'd all gotten sick because of some bio-hazardous material we found in the girl's room. It was moldy cottage cheese, if anyone's wondering. Disgusting, I know. You may be thinking, "What kind of parent lets their kids have cottage cheese in their room long enough for it to spoil?" Well, the kind who doesn't know it's in there because of all the clothes and dolls and stuffed animals constantly covering the floor. And now you may ask, "What kind parent doesn't make their kids clean their rooms, or do it for them?" My response would be, the kind who doesn't want to be a warden or a maid. Both my husband an I have tried to get the kids to be more tidy. We've tried bribing, punishing, rewarding for periods of cleanliness, and even a few unorthodox methods. Nothing. Our kids are slobs. They'll either grow out of it, or, well, I'm not sure what the alternative is. And frankly, I don't want to think about it.

At any rate, it turns out this illness has been going around, and it's not directly related to the putrid finding. The idea that it could have been, however, disturbs me and I believe it may be time to take some drastic measures. In the meantime, we've been drinking lots and lots of water and eating relatively bland foods. This too shall pass...

Updates on our stratagem will be posted in future blogs.

*note: As I was typing this, my husband was taking out the trash (to the dump, we live in the woods). He'd asked the boy to put new liners in the garbage drums. Instead, and I shit you not, both kids decided to climb into them and put the lids on. Oy vey.

It's Been St. Patrick's Day For Hours...

...and I'm still not drunk yet! Although I did have a Guinness with lunch at Ned Devine's in Herndon.

There's only a small percentage of my bloodline that's Irish, yet the German in me accepts any reason to drink beer. Or is it the American in me? I find that a lot of Americans use holidays, especially those with traditions tied to "the old country", to get snockered. Perhaps this is because we're party people. Or, perhaps it's just a way to celebrate our shared American heritage. The U.S. is, after all, a melting pot. And while we've developed our own unique culture in the world, there will always be a throw-back to our roots.

I recently read an article about a bar in NYC whose Irish owner has banned "Danny Boy" from being sung throughout the month of March. (I won't go into the details of his decision, just click on the link if you want to know more.) To that I say, "Lighten Up!!" So what if it's not Irish tradition? We've made it our own tradition, and it happens to coincide with a holiday that originates in a different country. I mean, it's his bar, and he can do whatever he wants, but COME ON!

Whether it's Irish-American, African-American, German-American, Asian-American, Rasta-American, Mexican-American, or Hillbilly-American tradition, it's still American. Nothing makes my heart swell with patriotic pride like fucking up a perfectly good traditional holiday and slapping the suffix American on it. It's just our way of giving props to our forebears while we celebrate our current position as a heterogeneous society. Hell, sometimes we just make them up to show we're still proud of our ancestry, like with Kwanzaa and Columbus Day.

Whatever holiday(s) you prefer to celebrate every year, or however you decide to celebrate is just aces with me. I, like many true blue Americans, prefer alcohol. So drink up! Everyone's Irish-American today!!

Change in all things is sweet*

In about a week, I'm dread-locking my hair. Well, strictly speaking, my husband and my niece will be locking it. There's a lot of it, and it will take several hours. It's definitely at least a two man job. At any rate, it's a big change, and one I'm very much looking forward to. (Forward to which I am looking? Meh, whatever.)

I am a supporter of change. (Not in a politiciany kind of way. I'm not running for office. Ever.) Implementing change in my everyday life is apparently something I do often, and fairly well, I think. I hadn't really noticed the frequency of these alterations until my husband pointed it out yesterday when I made my hair decision. I also hadn't really noticed that these things generally manifest themselves in the form of hair styles. About three years ago, I had my hair bleached and dyed pink, and quite often after I've grown my hair out very long, I get a very short hair cut. I guess it's a safety net, of sorts, since it will grow back to it's previous magnificence eventually. Hur hur. I suppose I'm just not suited for monotony. I'm a happy person in general, but I find I only possess the ability to challenge myself when life throws me a curve ball. However, I can't just sit around waiting for the pitcher, I've got to fire up the pitching machine every now and then. I heart baseball analogies.

This frame of mind probably stems from my childhood experiences (don't they all?). I was quite young when my father was diagnosed with cancer and had his leg amputated, resulting in his inability to support our family the only way he ever knew how (he had been a butcher since he was 15). Unfortunately (as if cancer isn't unfortunate enough to deal with), my mother was so set on returning our lives to "normalcy", she became incapable of making adjustments to start a new life. At the time, of course, we all wanted things to be the way they were. However, over time her obsession made it difficult to acclimate to anything. Even when I moved out in college (which is not necessarily unusual for adult children to do), it seemed to cripple her. I had decided before that, but confirmed at the time, that I would never let the status quo decide what I do with my life. It was scary at first, with no guidance, but I was triumphant. And it was all due to the little changes I made on a daily basis.

I realize that change is not an easy thing to embrace. It is, however, inevitable. And whether you force it or not, change can be a wonderfully exciting thing. It doesn't have to be big or traumatic or even profound, but if you let change into your life, you might just learn a thing or two about who you are and who you're meant to be.

Quotes on change:

There is nothing permanent except change. - Heraclitus

Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found. - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

It is never too late to become what you might have been. - George Eliot

He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. ~Harold Wilson

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory. ~W. Edwards Deming

When you are through changing, you are through. ~Bruce Barton

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. ~Confucius

We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves. ~Lynn Hall



*Aristotle

Money, Gunpowder, And The Salvation Army

Hubby and I have season tickets to The Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, DC. Last night, we had the pleasure of seeing George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara. It was brilliant!

Previously at the Sydney Harman Hall Theater, we had experienced complete and utter discomfort. However, we've been personally assured by Michael Kahn, the Artistic Director, that the poor seating problem will be solved in the near future. Meanwhile, we've been moved to the first row of the mezzanine. Boffo. Also, the set was magnificent. I found the use of optical illusion on an already large stage quite remarkable. I also really liked the subtleties, like the red buckets outside the armory sheds (where you're supposed to relinquish any incendiaries) looked astoundingly similar to those the Salvation Army uses for money collection on the street. The following is my review of the play itself, summarized by the roles of the three main characters....

Major Barbara takes place in early 20th century, London, England. Specifically, the play opens "after dinner on a January night in the library at Wilton Crescent." However, for my purposes, that really doesn't matter. I'm not writing a synopsis, I'm blogging about my impressions of the play. Besides, if you get a chance to see it, you should.

Admittedly, I don't know much about Shaw. According to the playbill and Wikipedia, he was a socialist (ah, college!), which seemed odd to me considering his most eloquent and convincing character is an ardent capitalist. Not only is Andrew Undershaft a capitalist, he's a producer of Weapons of Mass Destruction™ and the estranged father of Major Barbara Undershaft, a soldier in the Salvation Army. Often referred to as a silver-tongued devil or Mephistopheles, Mr. Undershaft has the ability to persuade other characters (eventually) and certainly the audience of the importance of war and capital gain in the history of humanity. Salvation, to Undershaft, is in wealth and political power that surpasses all governments. Sin is found in monetary poverty.

Major Barbara Undershaft, on the other hand, has relinquished her comfortable income in order to micromanage the West Ham Shelter for The Salvation Army. Jesus' Army: "Saving souls one piece of bread at a time." In addition to her adamant belief in God and Salvation™, idealism makes her blind to the real social ills of humanity and the recognition of her own exploitation of the financially poor.

Barbara's fiancee, Adolphus Cusins' views represent the middle ground of sorts. Adolphus (Dollie) seems to know right from wrong on a social level, but when it comes to religion and salvation, he has a relativist morality. His participation in the Salvation Army is purely out of love for Barbara, and he is much more inclined to quote Greek philosophy than linger on anything that links his Soul™ to God and Salvation™. He also believes that if One *must* control the world through waging war, at least One can make sure the good guys win.

The catalyst -- in the form of Andrew Undershaft's generous donation to the Salvation Army -- causes Barbara much dismay as she vehemently despises the means by which it was earned. It is enough to send her into a soul searching spiral of self doubt. Of course, that is generally how the catalyst works. Her thirst for saving souls, in the end, outweighs her moral scruples with her father's business, and she agrees to marry Dollie and run the company by his side. This by no means deters her from her higher purpose. On the contrary, Barbara is determined that she will be tested more deeply by saving souls who are physically well fed and spiritually starved.

Conclusion: War happens, people fall on hard times, evangelicals MUST save souls, and morality is relative.

One hundred years later, this play, in my opinion, still has clout. GB Shaw has been immortalized by his spot on observations of humanity and his profound wit. I recommend seeing this play, and particularly this production. Unfortunately it doesn't run for much longer, so see it soon.

I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it!

Credits for Major Barbara:
Directed by Ethan McSweeny
Set Designer, James Noone
Costume Designer, Robert Perdziola
Stage Manager, James Latus

Major Barbara Undershaft, Vivienne Benesch
Adolphus Cusins, Karl Kenzler
Andrew Undershaft, Ted van Griethuysen
... and many others

This Weekend Rocked My Ass!

This weekend, hubby and I were lucky enough to be kid free. Can you guess what we did? We sat around watching TV.

This seems to be a trend with us. Even though there are plenty of times when we have something planned that requires a kid free period of time, when given the opportunity to randomly do something when the kids are gone, we opt to loaf. Or veg. Or whatever other food groups the situation warrants.

I'm not really sure if that makes us "old" or lazy. Perhaps it's just how it is when you're a parent. Once all the energy required to properly rear a child has been depleted, and the environment is suddenly quiet and zen(ish), it's natural to sit around and do "nothing". Bringing order to chaos is a taxing job, so relentless it feels like a reward to lounge in your favorite chair, and maybe even take a nap. GASP!

There is one thing that bothers me about lazing around while the kids are gone. I feel like I should be taking advantage of the time by reorganizing the disaster the shorties inevitably leave in their wake. Let me explain further. I don't feel this way because I give a shit about repairing the state of, well, disrepair. It's because so many other parents (moms mostly, and furthermore, MY mom) think that, as a parent, your work is never done. They believe this so much, they actually implement peer pressure to make themselves feel justified. More on that in future blog posts.

In the meantime, I say "FUCK THAT!" The ol' man and I wanted to sit around watching TV, then eat, then drink beer, then watch more TV, then fuck, then go to bed. And that is exactly what we did.

Dirty Jobs...

...are not for the fainthearted. And Mike Rowe is a dirty, dirty man.

I've just jumped on this fandwagon recently, and I must admit I had no idea how many dirty, filthy, and very necessary jobs there are that make our lives easier. I've been to farms, I've worked in nasty restaurants, and I've had two kids, but Mike Rowe really knows how to find the dirtiest of the dirty. This is largely--Mike would say entirely--due to fan suggestions.

In this television clusterfuck of reality TV idiocy, Dirty Jobs is a ray of sunshine. The handsome host thing has been done to death, but Mike Rowe really gets into his job. He's artificially inseminated pigs, changed a giant pump in a sewer treatment facility, salvaged a toilet flooded basement, and has even wrestled an alligator. He only does each job for one day, but it's all him. On-the-job training has a new meaning. Especially considering a vast number of the people he works with have gotten degrees to do what they do, and the rest have been doing it since they were just tots. (That's a potato farmer joke, for those who haven't seen the show.)

From a viewer's perspective, Mike Rowe's snarky comments and earnest interest in the jobs he "slows down" are refreshingly entertaining. He makes his crew as much a part of the show as the workers he highlights. After all, they're "in it" with him. He enjoys himself (mostly, I'm sure, because he only has to do each job for one day), and sincerely appreciates meeting and working with the people he meets.

His father was a pig farmer, and as an actor who was often in between jobs, Mike started this show as a tribute to him. His resume is quite impressive. Especially now that he's been doing this "gig" for three seasons.

Ranging from bug breeding, to exterminator, and abalone feeder to fish farmer, Mike Rowe has done it all. Or so you'd think. He still insists at the end of each episode that he'll soon be out of a job (dirty or otherwise) if his fans don't keep sending in suggestions. From what I've seen, there's no shortage of dirty jobs, at least not in the near future. Not for nothing, but if Mike Rowe wants dirty, he can watch my kids for a weekend. They're not even in diapers anymore. ;)

Bus Stop Adventures

So even though my blog is new, I have written a few rants in the form of emails to my friends. (Sorry, friends). Also, really things like this don't happen to me very often re: "events that warrant ranting emails", so I've dug this gem out of my archive:

Subject: Crazy Bitch

Some crazy woman yelled at me today at the school bus stop. What would provoke such a thing, you ask? Well, here is my story of terror and awe:

You see, there's only enough room for two cars in the lot right outside our "gate" at the bottom of the hill. This woman decided to take up as much room as she could without looking like a total douche when she saw that I was going to park next to her. (Of course, she WAS a douche, but that's farther along in the story.)

A few minutes after my son, and the other young boy I pick up, got to the car, they noticed a bug on the inside of the window. My son carefully opened the door so as NOT to hit the SUV, and I watched him stand between the SUV and the door while he swatted the bug away. Just after that, the woman moved her vehicle (finally) further away from my car.

OK, here it comes....

As soon as the high school bus showed up, she got out of her car and huffed over to my window. She started yelling about how my son had "FLUNG the door open" and hit her car. Whatev. She went on and on about how she paid for her car, and "I don't know, I guess you didn't pay for yours since you clearly don't care about damaging it!" WHAT?! I thought about the pod that had landed in my backyard and how my car had sprung from within it, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that that's REALLY where cars come from. Clearly, she's a hard working individual and must be acknowledged for her accomplishments. So I reminded her that there was a sign that I was parked right up next to which prevented me from parking further away from her. Her response, "I don't care! You could have parked up the hill!" To which I responded, "So could you." Then, and you're never gonna believe this, she says: "I WAS HERE (.59 seconds) BEFORE YOU!!!" FIRSTIES! She called FIRSTIES! Can you believe it?! No, that's something you do on the playground, or MAYBE when you only have 2 items in the checkout line at the grocery store and the person next to you has two cartfuls.

Anyway, I managed to snap a picture of her before I had to roll up my window from all the spittle. Tomorrow, I WILL CALL FIRSTIES! And if I'm lucky, KING OF THE HILL!!

Crazy beeyoch!

My first blog ever..... re: Jonathan Coulton @ The Birchmere

As the title suggests, this is my first blog. It's been many moon cycles since I've even so much as kept a journal. I often find my writing pretentious, but, ya know, whatever. At least it's there.

I digress. The subject of my first shiny new blog (also found in the title) is a brief review of the magnificent show I had the privilege of attending last eve: Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. Here goes:

O.....M.....F......G......Z!!!!! The show was amazing! I laughed so hard!

There was a point during Paul and Storm's set where I shouted out "EDDIE PRAEGER!" (because The Ballad of Eddie Praeger is my favorite song of theirs). So Paul sez, "Eddie Praeger?" And I said, "Yeah! You didn't play it last time!" And he said, "OH, ok...... MOM!" And they totally played it! They're totally my bitches! (I know, I'm such a huge nerd!) Also, it's tradition to throw panties up on to the stage during their performance of Opening Band, and the pair we threw (with a $5 bill stuck on by a lovely P&S pin) wound up in Paul's pants. Hilarious!!

And of course, JoCo was awesome, and funny, and handsome! He played a few more of his new songs (not Beige Bear, though we gave him a beige bear anyway), but there were many classics as well. The encore included The First of May and...... wait for it.... Sweet Caroline! He had done that song as a joke the last time he was at the Birchmere and everyone on the rest of the tour started requesting it. It comes 'round full circle. He also did a similar cover tangent during his performance of Soft Rocked By Me, including such soft rock hits from the 70s as songs-that-I-always-recognize-but-never-know-the-names-of. Sorry. It would have been better if I was taking notes on the lyrics. I was just having too much fun!

Seriously people, if you have the privilege of seeing JoCo (and hopefully Paul and Storm as well) in your town, DO IT!