Getting a Bang Out of Life

What's a new year all about, huh? Making resolutions?  Nope, don't think I ever kept a one. Turning over new leaves? Sorry, I'm comfortable in my own skin, thank you very much. Picking up where you left off last year after all the holiday madness? Ding, ding, ding, ding. Congratulations, you won the combination washer/dryer.

I am such a Grinch, but excepting for one or two days, like when we all went out to see A Child's Christmas in Wales and had dinner afterward, or the day my kids all came over for dinner and stayed over because of the Blizzard of 2010 (what blizzard?--I saw somewhere that someone said, a blizzard in Boston is your typical day in Syracuse), you could have kept the whole business. I always keep a stack or two of books nearby, and by stack I mean stack--a veritable Leaning Tower of Pisa of books on the floor, a Great Wall of China of books across the width of the coffee table. I am so lacking, or rather, I feel I am so lacking in literature and drama, that every time one of my professors or fellow students evens alludes to a play or novel or writer that I haven't read or haven't read in a while, I go to the library and take out everything I can find.

But it is hard to get back into a real groove, when there is so much to do and the holidays were kind of harrowing, emotionally speaking, of course.  But that's what I'm doing today. Now starts that long, long dark, cold trip to June, when I think there's what?--one holiday in there? Frankly, I like everyday life, the way I've made it, over any kind of holiday. I usually have more fun in my regular every day life. I like my everyday life. Who wouldn't? It's steeped in loved ones and books and theater and the outdoors and all the things I get a bang out of in life.

Life's little ups and downs

It's been a while since I've consistently blogged. A couple of people have mentioned it to me now, and say they enjoy reading this. It would have been a lot of the same old, same old. Being unemployed sucks. It still sucks, but like everything in life--or at least the way I experience it--it's always a roller coaster ride with continual ups and downs every day.

Yesterday I woke really bummed. It all came crashing down on me. And today? I was called in for an audition for a viral video, which I think is really cool to begin with, and I know I nailed the audition. Whether or not I'll get the part remains to be seen, but it's nice to know that I can actually do the work.

Just like I know I can write. I haven't been blogging because, along with looking for work and a job, I've been submitting to Trazzler. They've accepted a few of my stories, and hopefully some of those "user stories" will turn into Trazzler stories. (BTW, become a friend of mine on Trazzler. I think it will help my odds of getting freelance from them.) That's the plan, anyway. I honestly believe there are things in this world that make it better. Actually make the world a better place. And I think travel is one of those things. And if I can use my promotional writing talents and skills to induce people to go travel, then I don't think I'm doing such a bad thing. Someday--and hopefully that someday is sooner than later--Sue and I hope to travel around the world. Big dreams? I don't know. What's wrong with big dreams. If you shoot high, you may miss, but you'll still probably hit higher than if you aimed low.

And Sue and I are leaving for southern Spain and north Africa in three weeks. I was laying on our bed in our guest room, where you can look out the window and see the planes coming and out of Logan, and I thought to myself, what the heck are you doing lying here? Get moving. Decisions sometimes are made quick, and Sue and I can't wait. The economy can go to hell. I found a cheap flight out of JFK. We're taking the Fung Wah bus out of South Station to Chinatown. The subway to JFK. And I can live on fifty cent burritos. I know I can. I've done it.

And one more thing about Sue. God love her. Easter is Sunday. Some of her family is scheduled to come. It's still up in the air. My Kathryn is coming in tonight. I came home from my audition to find Sue here at the apartment on her lunch hour, vacuuming. She said she wanted the place nice for Kathryn. Now, we have a really crummy vacuum cleaner. So I told her if I got this part, we'll buy a new vacuum cleaner. One that works. Her response? She said, I'd rather have an amp. You gotta love a woman like that.

A morning person once again

When Sue first met me she thought I was a "morning person" because I would wake up between 5:30 and 6:00, even on weekends. That's when I was freelancing, but when I got the job at the agency I started sleeping in.

Well guess what? It's a Saturday morning and I've been up since around 5:45. I woke up, thinking about everything that I have to get done, and so rather than just lay there in bed and stew about things, I got up, made a pot of coffee, and got cracking.

Dumb stuff. Checking the time the local Staples open because our printer is down and HP thinks the problem is the USB cable, and I need it for a myriad of things, including printing out a resume and samples for a meeting on Monday. There are bills to pay, which I can't get behind on because if I miss one payment the greedy banks will jack up the interest rate from nothing to loan shark levels. I swear there is a special spot in hell for bankers and lawyers. At least I hope so.

Then there are scripts to read and memorize, dry cleaning to pick up, a haircut to get, and the apartment needs picking up a bit because I'm meeting a good friend after rehearsal today at Wally's and then he's coming over for dinner afterward. All of this has to get done before a four-hour rehearsal this afternoon.

It doesn't sound like much, does it. And it's all so trivial. But they're the things that gnaw at your brain, and sometimes it's best just to address them.

But while I've been busy here, on the couch with a cup of coffee on the coffee table next to where I have my feet propped, I've seen the eastern sky go from dark to moody to bright. I've heard the squirrels that live between the floors of this house wake and start their morning ramble. I've heard Bob wake, seen him shamble out of the bedroom to see what the heck I was doing, yawn, and go back to sleep. I can hear his heavy breathing right now, which always gives me comfort. When I lived alone and would wake in the middle of the night, feeling lonely, I'd hear that goofy dog breathing as loudly and strongly as any person, and because of that I'd be able to slip back to sleep.