Jam Packed Weekend

I squeazed so much into the weekend I'm surprised I didn't burst.

After work on Friday I had my class and it was very productive. The kids have finally gotten past the "Why are we doing this, it's hard" phase to "This is fun." Some of the ideas I've been trying to impart to them are finally starting to click so the creativity is starting to flow. I figure in two weeks they will be confident enough with the new stuff I've shown them that they will start getting brave and experimenting with it. (I can't believe I never ever considered being a teacher.... it's really rewarding)

From class straight to rehearsal. Rehearsals are going really well. I really enjoy Stephen's style of directing. This is the first time I've been directed by him. In contrast with Bob... when Bob wants something specific out of you he will come right out and show you what he wants (Which is great... I love being directed by Bob too)... When Stephen wants something specific out of you he will start asking questions and making you think about what it is the character is doing, why they are doing it, what the line means in the overall context of the play... until you discover what he wants on your own. He will show you the path, but he won't take your hand and drag you down it, you have to go down by yourself. It's nice to be directed by lots of different people because you learn something new about the process each time.

After rehearsal a lot of the cast went to the Blue Olive to see Kizzy play with OPA. I stopped in breifly for a quick bite and a beer then headed home. I was super exhausted from a really long week.

I slept in Saturday, then got up and started working on my Aquarium Canopy. I got a lot done. With the exception of the molding, everything is cut and much of it is glued together.

At noon it was rehearsal time once again and it went very well. The show is really starting to come together. I tried doing the run wearing my costume vest to get a feel for being nearly topless throughout..... it felt fine, I wish I had more time to burn more fat from my stomach, but nothing I can do to change that now. It's very hard to eat properly when you're schedule is as full as it has been... and since eating properly is the only way to actually burn that layer of fat off... I have to make due. Besides the vest covers most of it anyway.

After rehearsal it was back to work on the canopy, then around 9:30 or 10 we got cleaned up and headed over to Scott and Alison's for Cinco de Mayo. It was a really really good time with lots and people and food and drinks. It was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while and do a little catching up. We didn't stay too late, we were home by about 1:30. I only drank 3 beer, but still had a mild hangover the next morning (I'm getting so old and broing). Thanks for a great party guys!!!!

We got up fairly early (so I was tired all day long) and drove up to Moncton to have a look at the aquarium store up there and check out Pet's Unlimited. The Aquarium store had some really beautiful corals in their tanks and a gorgeous yellow tang(that wasn't for sale), but their fish supply was fairly sparce. The owner was on vacation and a new order hadn't been placed yet. They young guy there told us some stuff about the inhabitants we had planned to put in the tank and we may have to rethink our plans. All the compatibility charts say that the fish we want should be compatible, but as he pointed out they are all predators.. and eventually one of them will weaken and be killed by the others until ultimately there is only one left.... now at $90- $130 dollars a pop... that's worth reconsidering. I think we inadvertantly made the decision anyway... when we got to Pets Unlimited (Both Fredericton and Moncton have salt water sections... Saint John doesn't....yet... but it's coming) we ended up buying two clown fish. I think we are going to abandon the other idea and go for a very peaceful tank with some colourful non aggressive fish and some corals. Darrell is still mindset on that eel, but I don't think it's going to happen. He wants to believe that if he just gets a little baby one, it will be fine and give us time to set up another tank in the future for it to move to. As it is, by the time we finish paying for everything with this tank and get it populated...we probably could've got ourselves a hottub. In fact I think I'm going to get a little name plate engraved that says "our Hottub" and attach it to the stand.

It was a very rushed trip to Moncton as I had another rehearsal, this one scheduled for 5. This was our first sit down with the band, and unlike other musicals I've been in, was really good. The guys in the band really had their stuff down and we basically went through the songs in order one after the other. We only had to stop a couple of times to go over a couple things again... it was super productive, and the songs sounded so good with the music... I think it supercharged everyone a little for the coming week. That first time you hear the musical as a big full musical you get an extra burst of energy and renewed vigor for the show....at least I do. I was out of there by 6:22 (I remember checking the time on my cell phone when I called home)and back home to get some more work done on my canopy. At nine O'clock I flopped down on the couch and watched the Amazing Race finale... The only team out of the final three I didn't want to win won, so it was a little disapointing. After that it was a new episode of Desperate Housewives followed by a new Brothers & Sisters... then off to bed

Talk about a lot packed into one weekend.