All That Jiggles

Don't know when it happened, but I noticed that I jiggled.  Not the normal jiggle that we all have.  I mean, the does-anyone-see-that? jiggle.


I can't help but blame Wichita for my increase in alcohol consumption which lead to my sweet potato fries consumption increase,  which has, I'm sure, added to my weight increase.  Although, I'm not above blaming the earthquake for that.


So, fortified with SoCal weather, I girded the girls in a jog bra, strapped on the iPod, dug the iFit into my sneaker and headed to the park. Of course, this had to be the little league day from hell when all the parents on cell phones, grandparents on walkers, and dogs on leashes were out.  That's ok.  It all adds to the workout, right?  Who wants to just run in the park, looking at birds and listening to an updated workout playlist?  Don't knock grandma over, don't run into Mom yelling into the phone, and don't trip over fido's leash that's stretched across the width of the jog path.   You burn more calories.  Really.  Right?


Did I mention that it was also churro / hotdog / kettle corn day at the park?  Aw come on!!!


I did pretty well today despite the above. I ran an extra mile although my iFit seems to have forgotten this fact...  


I have to admit, having the right playlist makes all the difference.  I decided to update it last night and am totally stoked I did! Who can't kick ass to Joan Jett??  She is a badass and makes you feel like a badass while you listen to her. I'm sure I almost looked like a badass.


Early Michael Jackson doesn't hurt, mixed in with some Bee Gees: who can't run to "Jive Talkin"?  Disco folks.  Disco is key to shakin' your ass.  Shake Shake Shake your booty.  You know it.


Finally, having the right song for your POWER song is huge:  today I switched things up to "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machines.   There's NO way you can't power that last lap around the park with your arms in the air Rocky style with that in your ears.  Not that I did the arm thing, but I thought about it.


After the park, I came home, closed the blinds and danced around with my weights.  People do that, don't they?


SONGS OF THE DAY:
Bits and Pieces - Joan Jett
Touch - Joan Jett
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machines
Working Day and Night - Michael Jackson
Jive Talking - Bee Gees


Speaking of jiggles, I bought a shake weight.  What?  Is that wrong?  Shake Shake Shake...

Down Time

Got some time on my hands for the next couple of weeks when my next opera starts.  I'm generally enjoying my detox from my last gig.  I've been able to see friends, see movies, go out for dinner, see shows.  It's been almost like a real life.  

I even got to go skiing. 

 

I'm so kicking myself for not taking advantage of how close Big Bear Mountain is to me.  A mere 2 hour drive and you're skiing on sun kissed slopes.  

  

 

I am now the proud owner a ski parka, a ski helmet, ski goggles, and a pair of genuine ski socks.    

I did manage to get my butt stuck on a chairlift, only being able to wiggle off after the chair had started to swing around for the trip back down the mountain.  Dropped off 2 feet to the ground, lurched forward, managed to cross my skis and somehow hook the wrist strap of my ski pole around my ski tip.  Once my forward momentum stopped i.e. I hit a bench, I did hear a smattering of glove muffled applause.

I defy any of you to do this on purpose.

After 6 hours skiing, my roommate and I agreed that it was better to quit before we got so exhausted we really injured ourselves.  We headed back down the mountain and into the southern California traffic, er, I mean, sunset.

Not in Kansas Anymore

You may have seen recent my FaceBook or Twitter posts, or maybe even heard the screams of frustration winding through the corn fields...

My time with the Wichita Grand Opera was not what I would call enjoyable.  While I left the company with accolades from my employers and colleagues, the daily grind of existing within that company was exhausting.  I won't go into details as I'm just too tired.  Suffice to say, there was no art, no passion, no compassion, no support, no fun and no collaboration.  

Stand by disfunction, and disfunction.....go!

So, I've been gone for 8 weeks. 

The drive home was long - drove through major, and mean MAJOR wind storms, which really take it out of you when you have to fight to keep your truck on the road for hours on end.   I went through 1/2 a tank of gas and only managed 100 miles... 

and when the signs say, "Last Services for 100 Miles" they aren't kidding.

I really put my "E" 

to the test.  And it's true, if you lean to the left and look at your fuel gage, you add another 10 miles to the tank. Even so, I think I really pushed my luck this time around.  I leaned really far to the left.

Devil Duck leading the way, I made my way across Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. When the wind wasn't blowing, the sky was surreal.

I always enjoy these states.  Well, not Kansas.

On with the return home:  I get home, got the perfect parking space out front (SWEET!) and started the unhappy task of unloading my truck.  I get the first load upstairs, open my door and tumble in.  At first glance the place looks good.  I poke into the kitchen and notice that pictures and posters are not hung on the walls.  I do know that the landlord had my place painted a couple of weeks ago.  I was a little shocked that my roommate didn't rehang the things that the painters took down...the painters didn't put anything back up because the paint wasn't dry.

So, I hang up my "Amoroso" painting in the kitchen and notice water on the floor.  I track the water to the side of the fridge where it has pooled.   It also happens to be the place where 2 of my paintings and posters have been stuffed.  So, now my posters are marinating in 1/4 of water, ruined. Turns out my roommate bought me some whole wheat muffins and simply tossed them in the freezer and didn't bother to check to see if the freezer door actually closed.  That was two days ago. So, my freezer has been open for 2 days.

After I called my roommate in tears about my posters I noticed that my ceramic bird that I purchased in Mexico while on a trip with my brother is missing it's tail.

Unable to cope with more disappointment, I go back to unloading my truck.  After 8 trips down and up the stairs, I'm finished with the haul.   I went back to the kitchen to look for the missing tail.  Lo and behold, it's under the stove.  Of course.  Wouldn't you be?

The painters not only broke my bird, lost the tail and used my coffee maker, they left me with a solid layer of paint dust on the kitchen floor.  This is what lead me to find the tail.  I was sweeping.  It took me 2 days of mopping, sweeping and wiping to finally get the floor clean.  Awesome!

The finale:  I get in the shower to get the drive and unpacking off me. Literally as I wet my hair, the power goes out.  It didn't just go out, it WENT OUT.  I could hear the boom of the transformer on the power pole outside blowing.  

What does one do when dropped into absolute darkness while in the shower?  "Hello?"  "Helloooo...?"   

Since there was no answering theme to Psycho, I finished my shower, donned some comfy pajamas, lit candles around the apartment, poured a hearty glass of wine, glued the tail back on my bird, and finally curled up on the floor with my multitude of pillows and dug into the latest Janet Evanovich novel. Day is done. 

Scarecrow, I'll miss you most of all.

Ever Wanted to Take Their Place?

Having just closed "Madama Butterfly" for the Wichita Grand Opera, I'm forced to say, once again, "It shouldn't be this hard."  MB is not a difficult opera production-wise.  It should have been pain-free.  But somehow, this company managed to get 2 people to quit in the span of 2 weeks.


Have you ever wanted to take their place?

An indication of what I was in for came in loud and clear when I asked for ground plans so I could tape out the rehearsal space.  No ground plans, but I was given a hand sketch from which I was told to tape.  No dimensions, no measurements, no indication of height.   I hate to admit it, but I kind of liked "free taping".  Too bad singers need to know how big their playing space actually is...


The level of disfunction, anger, micro-managing, neurotic paranoia was truly staggering.  Any misstep by myself or others was seen as a personal attack on the administration.  We ended rehearsal early one evening (New Years Eve) after deciding to work through the dinner break.  But because we didn't ask permission to do so, we (the director and I) were subjected to a 30 minute long passive aggressive phone lecture on how disappointed the administration was in our actions, and on how much money we had cost the company by not working the singers for the full call.


Another particularly fun aspect of working here is the design team.  None of them speak a word of English except for "Ok" and "Yes".  These two words have gotten me into a bit of trouble.   


Example: ME: "Do we have permission to do this?"   
               THEM:  "Yes."


Example: ME: "This step is broken.  It needs to be fixed."
                 THEM:  "Ok."


Example: ME: "Stand by House-to-half"
                THEM: "ok"
                ME: "House-to-half, GO"
               THEM: "ok"
               ME: "did the house go to half?"
               THEM: "yes"
                ME:  "Really?  I don't see it."
               THEM: "Ok"


You get the picture.  I won't go into hand gestures, but I can proudly say that I can now mime how to put on geisha make up in Bulgarian.


Wish me luck for The Merry Widow...

To the snow!!

I have packed the 'ole new truck again and have headed off to the tundra...at least I feel it's the tundra compared to the 77degrees that I left behind in L.A.  


I hit the road on a foggy morning,   








      pushed on through sunrise, 

made some good time, 
        






and headed then up through the mountains of Utah to my friend Heather's house in the Colorado mountain town of Avon.

We snowshoed, I  fell,                  

                                      we skied, I fell.
  

But, MAN!  WAS IT PRETTY!

After a too short visit, I made a brave face and turned my non-4 wheel drive truck into the Vail pass...there are no photos of this, as you would have had to pry each of my fingers from the death grip I had on the steering wheel.  It's always humbling when an 18 wheeler which recently passed you, passes you again, only this time sliding backwards back down the pass...


I stopped for the night in Nebraska, leaving only a 6 hour drive to Wisconsin for the next day.


Weeeeeell.....


The drive took me 10 hours.   I wasn't able to get above 35mph across the entire state of Iowa and into Wisconsin.  Who knew that driving in 6-8 inches of snow would slow me down so much...

(this was when the roads were clear)

So, after 10 slow and frightening hours, I slid into my sister's driveway in Wisconsin, and blew out the biggest, frosted sigh of relief.  

Can't wait till Christmas.  

Is it time yet?  Is it, is it time yet?

Thanksgiving 2010

Oddly enough, even after 10 years of the Annual Pajama Thanksgiving, I still have no group photos of us brave attendees in our jammers.  Next year maybe.


Almost every year since 2000 I've journeyed north to the San Francisco area, either Alameda or now, Oakland.  My best friend and I hit the stores in search of new pajamas for us, the kids, the husband and the husband's best friend.


Armed with warm new pajamas, the day of feasting begins:  Coffees, bagels and shmears galore followed by lunch of homemade soups, followed by adult beverages 





until the grand turkey dinner, followed by your choice of apple pie, pumpkin pie, rhubarb pie, apple / cranberry crumble pie, pie pie pie..  followed by more adult beverages and picking...if you're wearing stretchy pajamas.

After pie I had to go lay down since my fullness was so full...a mistake, of course, since laying down is apparently a cue for all the little people in the house to sit on you as if you were the couch...

All in all - nothing but a warm fuzzy fabulous Thanksgiving with friends who are friends through the good and bad.

People pajama pictures next time, I promise.

Trip Home

Yes, another late entry blog.

So, did I tell you that I successfully lost and kept off 25 pounds?  Even furniture is big on me...heh.

While I've been home in L.A. for about 2 months now, I do feel the need to post photos from my cross country trip back home.


I stopped in Wisconsin and had a totally fantastic visit with my sister, niece and nephew.  We went to a pumpkin patch where we got to play in a corn box...a sand box with kernel corn instead of sand...

Played with goats...                                Successfully hunted pumpkins..

And closed out the day with a nice violin concert.

After my all-too-short visit in Wisconsin, I headed on down to Colorado to see my friend Heather.  Lucky for me, the leaves were still changing...something I often miss in California.



Heather showed me around to some of her favorite spots:


THE SKI FENCE                         BEAVER DIVERS, dive shop                   VAIL CENTRAL

           

THE SKIER

So, now back home in sunny California, I'm gearing up for another cross country trip.  Ah, the life of the freelancer.


Next entry: Thanksgiving.   I'm catching up, I swear.

I suck, I know

I haven't blogged.  I suck, I know.  I also spent a month in Hawaii this summer.   I suck.  I know. (I was working most of the time if that makes a difference).

I'm going to indulge in a little checklist checking off which seems to be the blog rage these days. Hopefully this will make me suck less.


CHECKLIST of what I wanted to do while in Hawaii:
 Swim with turtles

Jump around the islands

Learn to Stand Up Paddle

Swim in a waterfall

Bonfire and Sleep on the beach

Hike the Canyons

 

Canoe

Indulge a little

Pose, just a bit 

Manage to relax...just a little

I had other accomplishments, but they didn't translate that well into a photo montage.  You know how it goes.


Aloha!  More blog to come!