Not my play, not my problem....

It is the 27th...
Auditions in four days.
WOW.
I realized yesterday that I could now use one hand to countdown the days...
fantastic stuff....

I went to check on the box office earlier, around 8 pm.
They were rehearsing, so I peeped in to see how the show was faring, and whether it had improved from last week.
...
...
...
Um...
Yeah.
I, once again, left the theatre, chanting, "Not my play, not my problem.. Not my play, not my problem..."
It didn't help.
My biggest problem is this...
The first scene I saw involved a group of kids, mostly girls, from ages 6 to.... 9 maybe.
They were playing bellboys at a hotel.
And they were doing a stellar job, a harsh juxtaposition to that of the adults in the scene.
There is also a group of older girls, 8th-11th graders, who were doing an equally fabulous job at their parts, thus outshining the adults.
I'm not saying this out of bias for the kids.
I love the majority of the folks in the play.
I'm saying this because it angered me because these kids put their hearts and souls into whatever production with which they are involved, and I know it won't matter a hill of beans because the adults kept messing up.
Depsite my personal opnions, I honestly pray that a miracle takes place before Friday...
Two days.
Because not one child had a script in his or her hand, but several adults held scripts and paper onstage, or just didn't know their lines and blocking.
It's very disheartening especially since some of the kids involved are brand new to RTP, and theatre itself.
This being their first exposure to theatre makes it even more sickening to me....
Those kids are the future of our theatre community.
Whatever rules and example we instill in them now will be carried for years to come.
I just would hate to see this play become yet another black spot to mar RTP's reputation in our small community, what with the drama of GREASE last year...
No wonder no one wants to do a musical...
What a mess.

But, as I said...
I'm praying for a miracle.

I told you so

We've all had this moment.
The moment where you realize, " I was RIGHT."
"I WAS RIGHT!"
It is truly an awesome moment.
We've also had those moments that some times follow where we get to share our joy in the "I told you so" state.
I truly had one of those moments today.
I recently gave a friend advice.
Relationship advice.
And it was good advice.
Right on the nose.
Unfortunately, what they wanted to do did not line up with what I was advising them to do.
After so many agonizing minutes of trying to help and lead them into the right direction, I finally gave up and told them to "Follow their gut."
I gave this final statement knowing full well the consequences.
And I waited.
I waited for a week.
Then, today, I received the information that they had indeed gone with their gut.
They went ahead with their original plan.
AND FAILED.
Miserably, it seems.
I sat at the Table and raised my hands in triumph after hearing the news.
"I was right." I said, over and over again.
I was right.
Whadya know...
Now should come the "I told you so" moment, right?
No.
Nope.
Because I can be nice.
And kicking a dog when he's down isn't my bag.
Unless I hate the dog...
And the dog is only a metaphor for a human.
(Because I'd never actually kick a dog....
But I would kick another person....
What was I talking about?
Oh yea.............)
NOW, will this moment come?
I dunno.
I've gone through several scenarios, ranging from me patting my friend on the back and saying, "Well, I tried to warn you" to me being frustrated and haggardly spitting out "You know what? I told you! I told you what would happen, and it did!"
(I tend to overdramatize things sometimes.)
SO, who knows what will happen.

But I so told them.
HA!

Junia: a prime example of how guys totally suck

My little sister Junia is a fabulous young woman.
At 17 years old, she is amazingly mature and talented beyond her years.
She is an amazing singer, aspiring to become an opera star....
She is also a very pretty girl.
And she's a really great person, sweet, funny, and compassionate.
As far as being a younger sister, she's pretty cool.
We have our moments, of course, but overall Junia is a great person.
SO, for the life of me, I cannot understand two things when it comes to her...
1.) Why she dates these guys one can only label as F*&%tards
2.) Why do they always break up with her and break her heart
Last week her boyfriend Chris was supposed to come over a couple of times to practice with her and prepare for a little singing gig we were doing at the Table.
He canceled and, at the last minute, bailed on us, saying he had a sore throat.
WAIT.
He didn't bail.
His mom called and told us he wasn't coming.
THAT'S it.
Then, this evening, she was out with her friend Cortney, Christmas shopping, when she received a phone call from Chris.
As I wasn't there, I don't know the full details of the conversation they had.
All I know is that it resulted in a phone call to our mother, who came into the living room, phone on her ear, and told me that Chris dumped Junia.
On the phone.
THREE days before Christmas.
Oh, but he told her he still loved her, she later told me as she sobbed and shook...
....
....
....
Now, I'm that kind of sister where I'M allowed to be a punk to Junia.
I've earned that right as older sister.
BUT, when she comes home in tears for whatever reason, my phazers are set to KILL.
I already have anger issues.
I already get angry at the drop of a hat for the most absurd reasons.
This kind of stuff sets my anger into overdrive.
I offered several times over the weekend to call Chris and tell him what I really thought about him...
Junia turned me down everytime, of course....
Because she loves him.
ARGH.
I guess it's a good thing he did it before Christmas...
She and dad are in the process of MAKING an electric guitar for the gormless prat.
When I say making, I mean making.
Dad has already crafted two guitars that he wields onstage from time to time, so this wasn't a problem.
And it would've been a fantastic gift for Chris, being a musician and all.
He's NEVER gonna see that guitar now.
The whole situation really sucks bollocks.
I just don't get it.
Junia is a fantastic person.
A great girlfriend, NOT that I know from experience...
Just observation.
One flaw is that she chooses guys who are emotionally unstable and/or just retards.
She's made of stronger stuff, though...
I know she'll get through it...
Eventually.

Victory! or My search for a musical....

Have you ever had a moment where you know you've just won a small victory, or the word "BOOYAH!" goes through your head as you walk away from a situation, feeling highly triumphant???
I've had a couple this week, and I gotta tell ya, it feels gooooooooooood.
If you're like, lacking in patience, these small spurts of VICTORY can help tide you over til the real triumph occurs.
AH....
I love it.

In other news, I've been looking at musicals.
For the High school gig.
Not that I've gotten it yet....
Just preparing...
You know...
Jane mentioned "Godspell" tonight, which I know little to nothing about.
I just came acrossed "Bye Bye Birdie."
lol
I love Ann-Margaret.
But I hate High School Musical.
I swear.
Everytime I google any combination of the words High, school, and musical, THAT is what pops up.
ARGH!
I've done "musicals for high school students" and "musicals for high school performances."
ARGH.
Danielle suggested Grease.
HA!
That's gonna be a bitter tasting word for way too many of these kids....
And it'll probably be that way for a year or two...
But I digress.
I wonder how hard the Music Man would be.....
Meh...
I should just suggest Rocky Horror Picture Show and be done with it.
lol.
Yeah.
That'll get me the job....

Tonight was the last of my classes for 2008.
Ah....
A month without musical Theatre...
What will I do with myself????
HA!
Plenty, I'm sure...

Our play opens tomorrow.
Should be interesting.
Rehearsal was special tonight.
But, I guess a crappy Dress Rehearsal makes for a great performance, right?
At least, that's the hope.........

My poetry=you

I walk the lonely street
to my car
wandering home
from the crowded bar
I wish I knew how to love you
without leaving the scars
I'll find out when my time is up
But I'm still trying to fight
and trying to find my path
in the dark night
Struggling with your reality
and all that you mean to me
wondering if you still see
or if your power has become you
If vanity transformed your truth...
This pain holds me captive
and it hurts to breath
It keeps me in its nightmares...
I cry out in the smile of strangers
I sing along with their silent melody
working towards the light that I can't see
I hold it close to my broken heart
That has begun to fall apart
I keep it in the empty hole
left behind by my lonely soul....
Now I wonder if you're worth the pain
or if love exists to gain
I realize my poetry
will now become you and who you are to me....

So, my face now looks as if someone started to brand the osu logo on my right cheek but didn't finished the job.

Yeah.

I've scrubbed the outline of the freaking tattoo onto my face.

I'm a scabby fanatic....

YAY.

I laid out all of my Treasure Island stuff and started working on it some more and realized something.

Okay, I personally don't write my blocking in the script.

I can remember it.

Not that hard.

With Lear, I did write my exits and entrances because it was slightly confusing at time, not dealing with an actual stage and all.

That and the fact that Shakespeare really didn't write out stage blockin in his scripts.

Otherwise, I just highlight my lines and I'm good.

I just don't like doing it and I don't need to do it.

SO, you can imagine my perturbation when I realized I had to actually write the blocking for ALL the characters in my script.
ARGH.

I was highly irritated.

When I told mom about it, she said, "Well, you need to. You aren't going to be able to remember what you want the kids to do in when you start next year."
"Yes I will." said I.

"The blocking... for all of them?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think so."
ARGH.

I started doing it last night despite my... despite for it.

And I realized I need to start working on the schedule as well.

ARGH.
SOOOOO many things still left to do.

ARGH.

Now, I have to get ready for practice....

ARGH.

Not so much grey as it is scarlet...

Yesterday, as you may know, was the infamous Ohio State vs. Michigian game.
Every year, dad's family gathers around the television, all donned in scarlet and grey, to watch the game.
Oh, and there's always a smorgasborg of food.
That goes without saying.
So, yesterday morning, us Maynards got up and prepared for the day.
We cooked and dressed like mad fiends.
I myself decided to apply a temporary tattoo of the OSU symbol along with my buckeyes shirt.
After arriving at my cousin's, there was much hooplah and harried chaos as the game began.
Of course, the buckeyes won, 42-7.
GLORIOUS.
In a celebratory fashion, mom and I wore our Buckeye garb to the local pizza joint to see a family band play.
Then I went out to visit with some friends at the restaurant.
When I got home, and decided to prepare for bed, I began my nightly ritual of brushing teeth and washing face.
Ah, that darn tattoo.
I had almost forgotten about until I saw it on my reflection in the mirror.
Some soap.
A washcloth.
No problem.
Some scrubbing......
UHM...
Some scrubbing....
Huh...
It's still there.
Only tiny bits had come off.
SO, some more scrubbing, a bit more vigorous this time.
After a few minutes of scrubbing, my cheek now lacked the tattoo, but donned a new bright red mark as if I had been slapped.
Hhhmmm...
Oh well, thought I, it'll go away.
Ha.
This morning, I woke up to find my cheek slightly stinging.
I went down the bathroom and gasped at my reflection.
My cheek now looked as if I had been in a fight with either a really cruel carpet or a small fire.
Great.
Not that I'm doing anything of importance today, such as play practice and a meeting at work, meaning I have to see people who are going to question what that huge red mark is on the side of my freaking face.
Not at all...
ARGH.
After being questioned by my horrified mother, I put neosporin on it and trudged to this computer to look up remedies.
Not sure how to search for what this was, I simply put rug burn treatments.
ARGH.
Then, out of spite, I looked up how to remove a temporary tattoo....
This I found to be hilarious.
Among other means of removal which would've been much more sensible and less painful, I found these two...

Grab a paper towel or a cloth and rub the tattoo vigorously until it is removed. Continue to add oil as needed
Take hand soap, dish soap, body wash, etc. and scrub, not too hard, but vigorously, until gone.

HAH!
These were the others...
-Take some cooking oil, preferably olive oil, and apply it to your tattoo.
-Apply a reasonable amount of rubbing alcohol to a cloth or cotton ball. Rub until gone, also can use water with it.
-Take some clear Scotch tape, apply over the tattoo, and rip off. Don't worry, Scotch tape isn't sticky enough to hurt- only sticky enough to remove temporary tattoos!
-You can also put a little baby oil on it before you go to bed, and when you wake up, it will be gone.

Much more sensible than waking up looking like Tommy Lee Jones when he played Two Face in Batman and Robin.....
ARGH.
Now I have to memorize the rest of my lines and figure out the perfect sob story for all the insightful questions I know I shall receive once I step foot out of this house........



Three Rug Burn Home Remedies

Do you have more than one child running around the house? Do your children's friends come over to play? Do you have rugs or carpets? If so, you've probably had to deal with rug burns or another. A child getting dragged across the floor by a friend or sibling seems like an inevitable part of playing and roughhousing. And, if they are dragged across a rug, it can leave a minor, but painful, rug burn behind. People often don't think of treating rug burns, figuring the only thing you can do is leave them be and let them heal on their own. But there are home remedies you can use to treat these minor injuries, and keep them from turning into something worse.

Apply Cold Water to the Rug Burn
You can treat a rug burn the same way you'd treat other first degree burns. The first step to treating a rug burn is to hold the injured area under cool, running water for about ten or even twenty minutes.Do not place ice directly on a rug burn. This could actually cause more damage to the injured area.

Keep the Rug Burn Dry
After removing the injured area from the water, gently but thoroughly dry the area with something soft and gentle, like a cotton ball.You want to keep a rug burn dry at all times. So, after baths and showers, give make sure the rug burn is thoroughly dry.

Clothes Can Irritate a Rug Burn
When fabric rubs against a rug burn, it can cause pain an irritation. It can also slow down the healing process, something you definitely don't want.So, if possible, try to wear clothes that won't rub against a rug burn. For example, if the rug burn is on your leg, wear skirts or shorts whenever possible. If the rug burn is on your arm, wear short sleeved shirts instead of long sleeved shirts. Making minor changes in the way you dress while your rug burn heals can make a world of difference.
What Not to Put on a Rug Burn
There are some things you definitely don't want to put on a rug burn, because they'd cause more harm than good. Some things you should avoid putting on the area are butter, lotions, powders (like baby powder), perfumes, sunscreen, alcohol, and baby oil. All of these things could cause irritation, and make the rug burn worse, and make it take longer to heal.

Give me a clue and take a hint!

I'm gonna be the angsty young female for a minute here...
Bear with me.
Why-
what is it about guys?
I mean, what?
I try so hard to get into their heads, and when I think I've finally figured them out, SURPRISE! another curve ball.
It's like a freaking rubix cube.
One will be friends with you and you think that's it.
Just friends.
Then, all of the sudden, you find out that he finds you attractive.
You give him a couple of beers, and he's inviting you back to his place.
Another tells you he wants to talk, so you offer to come over.
NOOOOOOOO, he's busy with a project.
Then he's doing whatever else he wants to do.
SO you go home.
Those are just two examples...
Seriously, what is up?
*SIGH*
I just don't get it.

I'm so flustered I can't even write a poem about how flustered I am, or utilize it in a creative way.
ARGH!

Play practice is going really well.
Still don't have my lines memorized, but it will get there.
I have faith.
I have to, since we have about 6 rehearsals left.
Yeah.

No rest for the wicked...

So, I'm on the computer right now.
Obviously.
I'm here because I was in the living room, attempting to enjoy myself despite the fact I've been ill all day, but I had to vacate the living room.
I had to leave because Junia came home and brought her boyfriend with her.
And because I was on the couch and I knew she would bitch about me being on the couch, the one piece of furniture that would comfortably accomodate her and Chris.
And because I know they want to watch "Polar Express."
Well, mom wants to watch it, but was waiting til they came home.
And, as it is not Christmas time, I have no desire to sit through Polar Express.
And I have no desire to do anything involving Junia and Chris.

It's always awkward when someone you're close to and usually like dates someone you can't stand.
I have found myself leaving the room a lot faster.
Actually, I've been more likely to find refuge over at Tyler's pad, where I know they can't get me.
*SIGH*
It really grinds my gears anymore...
I can't stand that guy...

It was payneful...

Mom and I recently went to see a movie together.
Being the ever typical women we are, we were split between "Max Payne" and " the Haunting of Molly Bartley."
Max Payne won.
In a manner of speaking.
First of all, mom and I, for some reason or another, were under the impression that this Max Payne was a comic book character.
Secondly, knowing nothing about the story and having to rely only on the previews on the TV, we were under the impression the story had to do with spiritual warfare, i.e. angels, demons, heaven, hell.
Kind of a spin off on Constantine.
That is clearly the vibe you get from the previews, where you see huge black, winged creatures flying around, and you hear a man's voice saying, "The Devil is building his army.... Max Payne is looking for something Heaven doesn't want to be found..."
Then the movie opens up with Mark Walberg's voice saying, "I don't believe in heaven...."
SO.
Imagine our surprise when we find out the movie is about drugs and government cover ups.
Oh, keep in mind how much we dislike Mark Walberg because of his inability to act.
Or entertain.
I was actually writing this blog in my head as I was watching the movie, if that tells you anything....
Ooh, Max Payne is all hard and wears a black leather coat.
OOh, he's a vigilante of sorts.
OOh, he takes the law in his own hands.
Ooh, his wife and child were killed and the bad guy got away? No way!
OOh, his ex-partner was played by a funny man from a sitcom.
Ooh, he has personal conflict with his old partner and that's why they are together anymore.
Ooh, he buries himself in his work....
Ooh, He never smiles the entire movie, except to a flashback where he smiles like he's mentally disabled.... That is until he realizes some broke in and killed his wife and child... Then he's hard like the streets.
Ooh, his wife was killed because of a government cover up.
Ooh, the person he trusted the most was the one who killed his wife and child...
Oh, and Beau Bridges.
LOL.
Beau Bridges' lines were hilarious.
When he wasn't asking Max "Where are you going?" he was saying cheesy lines like "He's my old partner's kid. He's family. Take care of him..."
BLEH.
The only thing about this movie that surprised me was the fact that Max Payne was trying to drown himself in either alcohol or sex.
Good Freaking Grief.
When the movie finally ended (Let me just say the last scene just epitomized the entire movie in its hilarity) I laughed.
I annoyed the tar out of mom because I laughed out of the theatre, into the restroom and out into the car.
I laughed.
It was ridiculous.
I will say that I was surprised to see Mila Kuniz doing a serious role.
Not bad, Mila.
Not bad at all.
Oh, and some rapper.... Ludacriz or something like that played this detective.
When I read that, I turned to mom and said, "Oh, that explains it."
Bad acting....
Ugh.
Bad Hollywood.
Deceiving us like that.
Bad.
Bad.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Now go stand in the corner, you naughty, naughty form of entertainment...

And it kills me that I need you more

Now I know
you'll never lose me.
You need my inspiration
to feel free.
You need me close
to feel miles away.
I'll never be
your Fairweather friend.
You will always need me
to feel the satisfaction
of self worth.
You will always need me
to fill the empty void
others leave behind.
You need me to gratify
that you aren't alone.
I am the drug
That helps you fly.
You need me....