I meant to post about this earlier, but I saw a performance of Hamlet and the movie Changing Lanes on successive days last week. The former had nice stage combat, the latter had Samuel L. Jackson and Benn Affleck. Otherwise, not much to report on either.

Last weekend was boring, really. Kathy and I stayed in and she rested up from her busy semester. This should be an interesting weekend though. She goes to Knoxville on Friday, and I head to Richmond Saturday to audition for Theatre IV. I just hope I don't embarrass myself too much.

More later (I hope).

Live from my office, it's Friday...

1. What are your hobbies? Photography, collecting state quarters, that's about it at the moment.

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? See above answer. I am also in the process of collecting the set of Pearl Jam recordings from the 2000 tour (an ideal birthday/Christmas/Arbor Day/hey-Clint-I-think-you're-a-swell-guy present! :D

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? Not really. I suppose I'd be interested in stamp collecting, if I had a little more time. Pretty dull, eh?

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? Well, I did make some money taking pics for a friend's wedding once, but that's about it.

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? None, really. Just don't have the time in RL.

Next update: my night at the theatre and my next night at the movies. See ya!

Finally saw The Osbournes last night. Verrrrry interesting.

Kathy got in touch with Western Carolina today, and they told her that they had two candidates for interviewing in mind and that she wasn't one of them. One down, one to go. This is also affecting my possible acceptance of a part in Lees Mcrae summer theatre.

Some words on Kathy and I, at the request of someone close to me.

Things are going well for the two of us, or at least well enough. It appears that Lila's (her step mom) offer to front the cost of our wedding has put some of the financial onus off of our backs. I'm glad, mostly because it's one less thing for Kathy to have to worry about. She has enough on her overloaded dinner plate, what with her course overload this semester and worries over her career future and the fact that we have two humans, three cats and a dog crammed into a single-wide trailer, etc.

In any case, we've had some good conversations in the past few days, and I've especially enjoyed her company. I know that we'll have more arguements soon, but I can only hope that we can resolve our differences as mature adults. One point that Kathy made the other day was the realization that we were still behaving like two single (as in "living alone") people and not as a couple. And she is right.

I've been so used to living as a lone adult with no one else to care for that I'm still in the mindset of "what's good for me?". I have to start thinking of what's good for the both of us. We both do. I just hope that we can both find the strength to do this.

I don't think I've ever really put down in words just what attracted me to Kathy in the first place, or what keeps me close to her. I was originally attracted to her because here was this woman who seemed to share an interest with me (theatre, or at least performing), who was my age, unmarried, who had a good sense of humor, and was not your average Jane Doe.

Why do I stick around? Well, it's all of those reasons, plus I've found that she is someone who genuinely cares for me, cares about my well-being, my future, and my present. She may tease me sometimes, but she does it with love and a sense of humor. She has great compassion for animals, and she and I share many of the same core beliefs. I can't imagine being without her in my life, and I wonder what took me so long to bring her into it. She is my jewel, and my trreasure, and I will love her even until the end of the world.

Thank you. Barf bags will be provided at the exit, and thank you for visiting "Clintster's Tunnel of Mushy Love". :D

A couple of more notes regarding Layne Staley's death...

I saw AIC back in 1993 on the Lollapalooza tour of that year. I saw it in Charlotte with my friend Ray. AIC was playing second from last on the bill, to be followed by Primus. I had spent part of the day passed out from heat exhaustion, and was wandering around the grounds during Dinosaur Jr.'s set. As I was walking around, I saw a kinda smallish, blond guy with shades walking around with a Rottweiler. I knew it was Layne Staley, and I froze for a second.

I thought about going up to him and saying "hello"; I wanted to tell him how much I thought their album "Dirt" was a great, dark meditation on drug addiction and the perils therein. Instead, I just looked at him as he passed, trying hard not to look like some kind of obsessive freak. He and his dog and the bodyguard trailing them walked on to the port-a-potties.

I think now that maybe I should have gone up to him, but then I think he probably would have thought I was some kind of heroin-induced hallucination. I have that effect on people.

Granted this isn't a great brush "with greatness." My friend Ombra could tell you tales of seeing Nirvana just before they became famous, or how she told Michael Stipe to jump up her butt (in not so many words), but this is all I have, at least for now.

I live tomorrow, you I'll not follow

as you wallow in a sea of sorrow

-Sea of Sorrow, Alice in Chains

Layne Staley 1967-2002

Oklahoma closed last night. I was a little saddened by it, but then again I get sad when a TV show gets cancelled. Whaddaya gonna do? Kathy and her mom came to see it and they both enjoyed it. After the show, Kathy informed me that her step mother and her father have offered to pay for our wedding as long as we keep it a simple affair. :) She also brought me a yellow rose, which was the first time that someone has brought me flowers for a show. Unfortunately, someone stole it before I could move it out of the dressing room with the rest of my stuff.

Kathy's recital was this evening. Well, it wasn't her recital per se, but it might as well have been. It was an ensemble recital for her Collegium Musicum course, and she sang a couple of arias from Purcell's The Faerie Queen. She wore a lavender dress and miniature silk roses in her hair. She looked the part if I may say so myself.

Back to something approaching normalcy tomorrow, as I get back with App Chorale to prepare for Act II and III of Handel's Messiah.

It's Friday...

1. What's your favorite TV show and why? Gotta say it's "The Daily Show". It's a way for me to keep up with the news and have a laugh at the same time. Not that I rely on it for my information fix, but it's good to laugh once in a while. As far as reruns go, I've becoime more and more fascinated with Xena: Warrior Princess.

2. Who is your favorite television star? I'm not sure that I have a strict "favorite", but I am fascinated by the talent of Kelsey Grammer.

3. What was your favorite TV show as a child? The Dukes of Hazzard. *ducks rotten tomatoes*

4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now? The Practice.

5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season? Not really sure. I thought Once and Again was a pretty good show, based on the one episode I saw. However, it's already been pulled, so I guess there's no sense whining about it.

The first night of Oklahoma went well, or well enough considering the curtain didn't go up on the second act until the first verse of The Farmer and the Cowman", and I almost killed the guy playing Curly while carrying him around the stage.

Oklahoma opens tonight! I'm kinda excited about it, even though I've done the show before. But the big news is this: Kathy has an interview in Knoxville May 3rd with the University of Tennessee. We're both hoping it leads to a job; she can finish her degree at UT and I can pursue an MFA as well. There is also at least one professional rep company there.

Weird link of the Day: If any of you remember the MTV Half-Hour Comedy Hour back in the nineties, you may remember this comedian seemingly being on every damn episode. He has a website, and I suggest you check it out, if only to remember one of the forgotten catch phrases of the last part of the 20th century:

www.onastick.com

Things are better, at least for the time being. I'm back home in Boone. Maybe I'll post the story of this when we can all laugh about it.

Anyway, here's the Friday Five!

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why? At this point in time, I gotta say it's Manhattan's, an Italian restaurant in Banner Elk. I've ordered a calzone from them three different times, and every time I've had to take half of it (at least) home with me! Good stuff, Good Stuff!!

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to? When I want it fast and hot... no, wait, that didn't come out right. When I want fast food, I usually do a Wendy's run. When it comes to breakfast, though, I've chosen biscuits from Hardee's in the past, although I had a bad incident there a couple of weeks ago.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping? As a waiter/server/food bringer person, I usually endeavour to tip my server at least 20% when I go out. No hard and fast rules, except if they totally suck, but even then I'll probably rationalize that they had a bad day. The only exception to this is buffet "servers" who only bring you drinks and refills. I usually cut it down to 15% then.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert? I usually am more prone to ordering apps than desserts, for some reason. However, I find as I grow older that I don't order either nearly as often.

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant? Sweet tea, the house wine of the South! Whooo-eee!!

Kathy asked me to move out (temporarily) yesterday. I won't go into details here, but suffice it to say there are issues.

I am finally back on the air, and in a new spot, too! Whoopee! Special thanks to Cali and Sandy for their assistance, without which none of you would be reading these words.

I have been promoted in Oklahoma. Turns out that man who was playing Carnes has a VERY sick wife (note to self: Pray for Robin Austin and family), so the director moved the guy playing Ike Skidmore into his role and me into Ike's. Only ten days until the show goes up, but I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Things progress apace at Storie Street as well. Every day I worked last week, I made no less than $50 at lunch, and I even hit $80 one day. If I don't end up finding something else first, this could be a verrrry nice summer job indeed.

Other things to write about, but I will wait until next time. Toodles!!

hehehehe..it worked! go me! go me! lol...now, to work on the archives ;)

cali

Checking the new site posting stuff... Hang loose.

Testing...testing...is this thing still on?