May 26th: Grouse Grind Opening!

Saturday was the day that the Grouse grind opened.  For those who aren't familiar with the Grouse Grind, it's essentially a 3 km hike entirely uphill on Grouse Mountain.  It starts off pretty decent and then it seems the farther up you go the steeper it gets.  They close the grind in the winter time because of all the snow and slush.  In the summer time it becomes a favourite thing to do for Vancouver's athletes, hikers, and heath-conscious folks.  And it opened on Saturday.  So what did I do on Saturday?  Well, I made it to the top of Grouse Mountain!

Did I hike up?  Heck no!  But I got up there, and enjoyed the view of the city on an extremely beautiful and clear Vancouver day.  And of course I sang to congratulate the climbers on their trek.  For the first time in my history of being a part of the VOC Sweet Soul Gospel Choir, we sang on top of the Mountain in the summer time.  And it was just as awesome as all of the times in the winter!  The grizzlies aren't hibernating anymore so you can see them in their 'natural habitat', and there's the birds of prey show, along with the lumberjack show.  It's just generally a fun time.

I wasn't able to stick around for all of those fun activities, but later this summer I will do the grind again and I will check out those activities once I've deserved it.  First, I need to do some prepping for it.  I don't know if my fitness level is quite ready for it yet.

May 25th: Show Tune Numbers!

I was generally a pretty decent math student.  I have never really had an issue with numbers.  We've always gotten along.  We seem to understand each other pretty well and through that comes a lot of respect.  That being said, when I have to spend a full day dealing with numbers I tend to get pretty exhausted by the end of it.  Nothing against 'em.  It's just that my brain can only handle so much. What's awesome is discovering a cure to help them be a little less exhausting.  The cure: SHOW TUNES!!!

As soon as I started on the number work the exhaustion started to kick-in.  So I put on my music, hoping that might help. Eventually a song from Hairspray came on, and my mood immediately lifted.  Dealing with numbers all of a sudden became fun!  So I listened to the rest of album.  Then Rent.  Then 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee.  All the while, dealing with calculations, spreadsheets, and countless digits.

Sure it was still a bit tiring, but I'll blame that on the solitude in the office and trying to multitask while spending a day on numbers.  Otherwise, I'd say numbers and I are on our way to becoming best buds ... so long as we're accompanied by show tunes!

May 24th: Let Snoring Dogs Lie!

I love dogsitting.  I love dogs, so of course I love watching one for a weekend.  What's amazing is how much just a weekend of dogsitting makes me realize how I really shouldn't have a dog right now.  Taking care of a dog takes sacrifices and if I'm noticing those sacrifices in just one weekend of looking after a dog, then I really shouldn't have one full time.

That being said, I'm quite thrilled to be here with an adorable little shih tsu.  She's just so darn cute and fun.  She also belongs to my boss, so I better not screw up.  We will NOT be having any skunking incidents this weekend.  We will be having fun, and long walks, and treats, and cuddly times, and we'll just leave it at that.

She's awfully cute.  Some day I'm sure I'll look at her and want to take her home with me, but I know that this is not the time for that.  Instead I'll just smile pleasantly while I listen to her snore, and then when she needs me I'll be there for her.  At least for the next few days!  Sleep tight Chloe.  We've got a weekend ahead of us!

May 23rd: Hopped up on Marvel!

After spending last night being impressed with the movie Thor, and blown away by Captain America (helloooooooo Chris Evans), it was finally time for the big event: The Avengers.  I never knew too much about The Avengers.  My brothers definitely read comics growing up, but I don't recall The Avengers being one of the regulars in their collection.  And now that I've seen the movie, I wonder if that was a mistake.

The movie was so freaking good!  Maybe it's just the actors, and the director, and the special effects, but the movie was just plain awesome.  Everything about it was epic, and the comedy ... oh, the comedy!  I was worried that no one would be able to keep up with the comedy exuded by Robert Downey Jr.  Oh, how wrong I was!  I'm almost glad that it had been several years since any Hulk movie, because it gave enough time for people to forget about them and maybe even convince themselves that the Hulk would be a lesser character in the movie.  Also the fact that he was the only Avenger being played by an actor who did not play the character in a previous movie.  Well thank you Mark Ruffalo for turning things around and doing things right!

It's now technically Friday and I feel like I'm still on this Marvel high.  I really REALLY want to go out and see this movie again as soon as I get the chance.  Is that weird?  .... Who cares?  Who wants to go see The Avengers with me?

May 22nd BONUS: Doing Research!

I had a lot of work to do Tuesday night.  I had a big night planned for Wednesday and I needed to do some research to prepare for it.  I actually started the research several years ago, but it was time to finally catch up, so catch up I did.  I sat back and studied hard until the wee hours of the morning.  It was actually pretty fun.  A lot more fun than expected.  Even the fun parts I was expecting ended up being waaaaaay more fun than I thought, to the point where I had to send a very late night text message to Luke to let him know just how awesome the research was.

Wouldn't you just love to know what I was researching for? .... wait for it ...

May 22nd: Big Burly Giddy Men!

I don't know how it happened, but somehow another year with the Jessies has passed and another Nominations Party took place.  I still can't believe that we're already at this stage in the game.  The nominees have been announced and I couldn't be happier for them.  And one nominee in particular!

Pacific Theatre received a total of 9 nominations for shows that occurred in our season.  But it was the nomination for Aleks Paunovic that absolutely thrilled me.  Aleks played the title role in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, which I raved about a few months ago.  Aleks is a film and tv actor generally speaking who gave up a significant role in one of the new Canadian TV series in order to do the part.  It was his first significant stage gig, and yet (and derservedly so) it was enough to get him a nomination.  AWESOME!

What's more awesome is just how excited Aleks was to get the nomination.  First - let's put things into perspective.  Aleks is a very tall (6'5"), very strong, very athletic man. I mean, just check out his IMDB page.  Now imagine him being boyishly giddy!  Awesome, right?  Oh so very awesome!  Not only is he a brilliant performer, but he's seriously one of the nicest people anyone will ever meet.  I couldn't be happier for him.  

Congratulations to Aleks and all of the nominees!  Can't wait to see you at the big event on June 25th!

May 21st: A Kind of Day Off

Having just recently spent a good amount of time out of the office I had originally intended to spend the entire holiday Monday in the office.  Come Monday morning, I changed my mind.  I decided it was waaaaaaay more fun to sleep in an at least enjoy a morning off.  Sleeping in is way more fun on a Holiday.  Especially when you know that no one else is going to be in the office.

So I still went into work on a Monday.  At least it wasn't the full day, and at least Luke was there to have lunch with me.  And to top things off the evening was spent with my boss hosting a dinner for me, and playing some Catan which was long overdue.

Not a bad holiday if I do say so myself.  AWESOME!

May 20th: Mindblowing Exercises!

Every Sunday for improv we start the workshop with warmups.  These are the exercises that get us in the right mind frame for improv.  These are usually high energy games, games to get our mind going, games to get us to connect to one another, and then games to get us to focus.  This Sunday was VERY different.

So those same guys that had the awesome show on Friday night also have a very different style to how they do their warm-ups.  I'm used to warm-ups like word-at-a-time story, or even word association, but apparently those warm-ups aren't quite good enough in Germany or Slovenia.

Try this: Pair up with someone.  Designate one of you as A and the other as B. Person A will be telling a one word at a time story, with B repeating the words ... but one word behind.  It ends up looking like this:

A - Fishing
A - is
B - Fishing
A - so
B - is
A - much
B - so
A - fun.
B - much (... and so on and so forth)

Seriously - try it.  WAY harder than you think.  But really good at paying attention and listening.
You think that was hard?  Now try this.  As a group, form a circle.  Start things off easy with a basic word association.  Someone start with ANY word, and tell it to the person on your right.  That person will then associate off the last word.  Pretty simple.  For instance it could look like this (in let's say a group of four people designated A, B, C, and D positioned counter clockwise.)

A - Shark
then B - Tooth
then C - Ache
then D - Pain
then A - Killers
etc.

NOW, let's try what we did on Sunday.  Instead of going one at a time in circle, the entire group is word associating at the exact same time.  Meaning that you are listening for a word at the exact same time that you are giving a word.  Confused?  I don't blame you.  So were we.  The key thing is that the entire group starts with the same word, and then you go from there.  Let's go back to that circle with A, B, C and D and see if I can explain how it happens.

All together: A - Shark, B - Shark, C - Shark, D - Shark
then All Together: A - Ocean, B - Tooth, C - Fin, D - Sea
then All Together: A - Saw, B - Blue, C - Ache, D - Land
then All Together: A - Earth, B - Cut, C - Yellow, D - Pain

Did you get that?  Yeah - MINDBLOWING!  And Awesome!  Yes, it's difficult.  But once you get into a rhythm and shut your mind off to the negativity of thinking you can't do it, then it actually start happening.  It's amazing what your brain can do when you actually give it the chance.

May 19th: A Night of Drag!

It's always pretty awesome when Luke comes to take part in things that I'm really passionate about, like theatre shows.  It's also really awesome when I'm able to take part in the things that he's really passionate about.  Like a night full of drag ... racing!

As I've mentioned before, Luke really loves cars.  I think they're neat and cute sometimes, particularly when they're jellybean shaped. Rarely do I think too much about what's beneath that casing.  And everything underneath that casing is all the stuff the Luke loves most about cars.  I learned a bunch about it at the Autoshow, but it was at the Street Legal Drag Race that I began to understand the reasoning for all of it.

Did you know there's a lot involved in getting a vehicle from a stationary position to up to over 140 mph in a quarter mile?  Yup - LOTS!  Weight of the vehicle, traction of the tires, aerodynamics, some proper shifting, maybe a turbo charger here or there, a whole lot of guts, and sometimes stretching the limits of what is "street legal".  Not being a car person at all, I have to say that I was really fascinated to see these cars in action.  There was a Mazda RX7 that did not exactly fit into the "street legal" category, but it was amazing to see it do the quarter mile in less than 9 seconds.  There was also a 70 year old man on his motorcycle (I totally forget the make and model) doing runs in 9.3 seconds.  If that's not awesome then I don't know what is.  But really what's more awesome then seeing a friend of yours go down the track on his bike in only 10.35 seconds!  Maybe going back to the tracks to watch him crush that record?  Hmmm ... perhaps we'll have to try that out.

On top of the racing it was really cool to see some pretty awesome cars.  Nissan GTR, an old vintage Ford (which did the quarter mile in just over 13 seconds as I recall), some epically painted old trucks, and classy Edsel (not racing, which I suppose is understandable since the thing is a beast) and lots and lots of muscle cars!

Who knew that vehicles and the stuff could be so awesome!  I'm really looking forward to our next trip to the track.  I think I'm ready for my drag racing 102 lesson!

May 18th: Improv Scientists

After a great show on Friday night, I stuck around to catch the late-night long-form show done by Graham Myers, and two Germans and a Slovenians.  BEST DECISION EVER!  Not only was the show hilarious, but these improvisers were among the most inspirational and talented folks I've had the pleasure to watch perform.

Ben was one of the German performers who had his own idea of how to start the show.  They were going to do a classic harold, of getting a single suggestion and then just riffing off of it.  But there was no ask-for.  Instead Ben decided that he was just going to start having a conversation with the audience and then from that conversation they would be inspired to start the show and then things would just go from there.  It was amazing just how brilliant the show was.  What was even more amazing was realizing just how brilliant the improvisers were.  And not just on stage!

After the show we went for the usual drinks at the local pub, where we got to learn more about our new friends.  In turns out that the ridiculously hilarious and brilliant Ben also happens to be a scientist.  Specifically he's a geneticist - researching the impact of the environment on the genes of plant life.  ... Fascinating ... and not intimidating in the least!

It is AWESOME to get to meet these extraordinary people who just completely blow your mind.  Just knowing that people like Ben exist makes me smile.  It's folks like him that remind me that the world is a pretty darn awesome place filled with some pretty darn awesome people!

May 17th: Paying It Forward

So despite the long while since I've posted, I want to make it known that I absolutely did stick to my commitment of paying my good deed forward.  I didn't do anything particularly special, but I definitely helped out my fellow man.  And it was almost like people knew that I had made a commitment to pay the good deeds forward because it seemed like they opened the doors of opportunity for me, and all I had to do was walk through.

First - not special and not really paying it forward I got up and offered my seat on the bus to someone who needed it more than I.  Not so much a good deed as common consideration, but still worth noting.

Then, while on the bus I noticed someone needing help figuring out where to go.  It seemed that they had gotten on the right bus, but going in the wrong direction.  I quickly chimed in to let them know that they should be getting of and let them know where they could catch the right bus.  It wasn't exactly the best news or the kindest thing I could do, but it was still received with much appreciation.

And finally on my way back to work I walked across one of those pedestrian controlled crosswalks on a very busy and found a car waiting patiently for space to open up in the traffic.  I had already intended on pushing the button to help them out, but I guess the noticed my willingness to help out and asked politely if I would push the button once I got across the street to which I replied with my friendly eager smile "Absolutely!"

It's funny thinking of this stuff as 'paying it forward'.  As I said before it's really just common consideration for others.  Taking the time to slip into someone else's shoes and realizing that there are tiny things you can do to help them out on their way.  So simple, so awesome, yet so rarely done!  So I'm going to enjoy the awesome of dedicating a day to making sure I did this.  Yay humanity!

May 16th: Good Samaritans!

Yes - leave it to me to spend a full 15 hours out of the house on my first day back in Vancouver.  The day was filled with a busy day at work, a committee meeting, and then an opening night.  It was great to get right back into the rhythm of things, but being back in Vancouver I'm back on transit as opposed to driving around whenever I want.

The issue with late night transit is that it runs less frequently, and because so few are using it, it doesn't need to make quite as many stops which means it often arrives early.  As I was on my way up the Granville hill thinking I should still have more than enough time to catch my bus, I see it go by in front of me.  So then I start running.  I rarely run for buses, but knowing that it would be 30 minutes for the next one to come by, I kick it into high gear while still obeying all traffic laws.

Really - I shouldn't have made it.  But as I was running up, one of the gentlemen who just got off the bus noticed me, so made it his responsibility to run back to the bus to notify the driver that I was only seconds away.  I kept running, but I made sure to make eye contact with this kind gentleman and thank him for his kindness, and of course I thanked the bus driver as well as I stepped onto the bus.

I know it's such a small thing, but it really meant a lot to me.  The man didn't have to do anything, but in that brief second he saw me, knew what he would want done if he were running, and then went ahead and did it.  It really doesn't take a lot of effort to make someone's day.  I want to buy that guy a coffee, but obviously I didn't have the time to take down contact information.  So I am claiming at this very moment that on May 17th, I will pay the good deed forward!  I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

May 15th: Caring so much!

I really hope that crying publicly in an airport is socially acceptable, because if it isn't than I owe a number of people an apology.  After spending some last moments of my Ontario visit with my Mom, brother, sister-in-law, niece, and brand-new nephew I spent the remainder of the day moping about having to leave.  I think I was ready to leave Ancaster and head back to work, but saying good-bye to the family was something else all together.  It's very clear to me at this point, that it will never get easier.

So what's so awesome about feeling so sad?  Well, to answer that I have to reference something which might disappoint a few of my readers - SOUTH PARK.  I wish I could say that this reference is shameful, except that I am well aware of just how brilliant Trey Parker and Matt Stone can be, and this example is no different.  In the episode when Wendy breaks up with Stan, he goes into this intense emotional state which he can't get out of.  In this same episode Butters gets into a relationship that dramatically ends, leaving Butters crushed as well.  The now uberly depressed goth Stan sees Butters crying on the side of the street about his failed relationship and tries to make things better by recruiting him to be one of the bitter goth kids, which Butters declines.  He declines because even though he's upset about the break-up he's actually really happy that he was fortunate enough to care about something so much that the loss of it could make him so upset.  ... And thus turns Stans life around too.

Love in all its forms is both great and challenging.  As I've said a million times, it doesn't matter how far away I am from my family, the distance will never change just how much I love them.  What it will do is continuously create this pain anytime I have to say good-bye to them.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely!  So much so that this pain has just affirmed my need to see them again in August.  I look forward to the wonderful times to come, as well as the imminent tears upon the farewell!

May 14th: Pseudo Vacation in my own backyard!

Even though I was in Ontario for 10 days, I would hardly call it a vacation.  Since my first weekend away was spent working on spreadsheets for our strategic plan, followed by a week of attending conference sessions and dealing with work and Jessie emails.  Trust me, I'm not complaining.  I enjoyed every moment, but the fact is that it was all work.  That was until Monday.

Monday was probably the first quiet day I had.  I slept in after a busy Mother's Day.  I checked some emails and handled some smaller things, but otherwise it was a nice quiet day of enjoying the beautiful Ontario weather, the scent of lilac in the backyard and a fun trip to the grocery store and garden nursery with Mom.

I almost forgot how nice it is to have a backyard, and what it's like to sit back and enjoy it.  Taking the time to do nothing but sit back, read, and enjoy the view and the wildlife.  Being in the city, I never see the birds that I used to see and wake up to when I grew up.  The number of times I saw Woodpeckers, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Orioles - I could have drafted a baseball team.  And then of course there are the squirrels, the adorable chipmunks, and the occasional bunny (real ones - not those domesticated bunnies on the loose in Richmond).  The only thing that could have made the relaxing day better would be a deer sighting.  But I was happy to settle with one last visit with Leah!

This is what a visit home should be like.  Remembering the simple life and the importance of the people around you.  I don't know how long I could take the quiet for, but it was great to have it at least for a little while.

May 13th: A Mother's Day with Moms!

I've been thinking and doing the math and as far as I can tell I have not spent a Mother's Day with my own mother for at least 6 years!  That's ridiculous!  I have called her and maybe even sent some flowers, but I haven't actually been able to be with her to let her know how much I love her in person.  Fortunately this year I was able to spend the day with her - and what a day.

It started off with a Mother's Day brunch at the yacht club, compliments of Papa John (thanks Dad)! It was a three course breakfast that was absolutely delicious.  Just Mom, Mike, and myself.  As per usual, Michael and I acted like children at breakfast, because it just wouldn't be a family brunch without some immaturity. And as usual, Mom shook her head in embarrassment and dare I say pride in knowing we can might be older, but we're still as much fun as always.  I think it was the perfect reminder to our Mom as to the kind of family she raised.

After brunch I immediately went to my next meal to hang out with high school friends.  It wasn't a long lunch but it was necessary.  I miss these ladies so much!!!  Then it was back home to spend time with the rest of the family - by which I mean, Gramma, my Aunt, cousins and their families.

There a lot of mothers in my life who really inspire me, and I think I spent the day with the majority of them.  These women are all amazing and have raised spectacular families.  I think the fact that we are all still so close goes to show how much these mothers have instilled family values on everyone. I can only hope that whenever the day comes that I become a mother that I can remember all of the things that these women have taught me.  These women deserve more than just one day a year, but I'm glad that I could be at least be there with them on the one day that was meant for them!

To Moms everywhere - THANK YOU!  You're awesome!

May 12th: Jack William!

Last day of the conference!  I've had a blast and I wish I could spend more time with everyone, except that while the conference was going on the last few days I've been a little distracted with wanting to get home as soon as possible.  I had someone I needed to meet, and as much as I love a good hoe down - I love my family a whole lot more and upon hearing I had a new nephew to meet I left as soon as the AGM concluded.

I probably pushed my luck with some of the speed limits, but I got home with good timing to make my way over to big brother Jamie's house to meet his new son, Jack William.  I'm not going to lie - I was a little perturbed when I found out his name was Jack.  I'm glad he's a Jack, quite frankly, but it was one of those names that I had on my short list especially with it being a family name.  But I think this little guy suits it really well (and I still have others on the list).

It was really surreal seeing new baby Jack and big sister Isla together then looking up at Jamie and his beautiful wife in their gorgeous home and realizing that my big brother is now living the life that our parents went through when they first had us. Being in Vancouver I feel really far removed from what is going on with my family.  I know what's happening at home and with my brothers, but it's not until I see it first hand that it hits me just how much we've grown up.  Jamie has a family!  That's AWESOME!  And I'm missing out on it.  Not so awesome.  But I think the life I've created for myself in Vancouver is kind of awesome.  Is it worth missing out on my niece and nephews upbringing?  ... I honestly don't know.  But I'm willing to bet that if I asked my brother if I should give up the life I currently have to be a bit closer to them, he'd discourage me from doing so.

I might not be around all the time, but it certainly does not mean that I love these kids or my family any less.  What it means is that when I am home to spend time with them, I treasure every last moment with them!  Welcome to the family Jack!  I hope you're ready for a whole lot of love, because it's coming your way whether you like it or not.

May 11th: Beach and Bon Fires!

Another great day at the conference.  Lots learned yet again, but instead of going on and on about every little thing that I learned I'm going to indulge in the off times off the conference.

In addition to be excited about coming back to Ontario for the conference and getting the ability to visit with family, I was really REALLY excited to spend a bit of time on the beach in Grand Bend.  Up until Friday I had not made it to the beach, but finally the sun was up and I had a bit of spare day time when I wasn't filling my head full of information, and I decided to take a walk to the beach.  I don't think I realized just how much I missed the Great Lakes.  This is the water I grew up with.  I love the ocean, but these huge bodies of fresh water are absolutely amazing and gorgeous.  After dinner I even managed to catch the sunset which was stunning with those beautiful red tones.  Definitely a sailor's delight kind of night.

As if that wasn't enough I headed back for a bit more information then made the way to the bon fire.  To be honest it wasn't much of a bon fire.  When I hear 'bon fire' I think of this massive campfire.  This was a slightly larger than usual fire pit, with lots of seating around it.  Fortunately there were two campfires.  One with no remaining seating around it, and one that was a wee bit neglected.  So a few of us formed the working group fire and brought it back to life, and stayed up talking well past when we thought we would.

I cannot express enough just how much I love these conferences and the people who attend them.  Such a great time!

May 10th: Long Day after a Late Night

I generally don't enjoy being contacted at 2:30 in the morning but last night it was flipping awesome.  Sure it meant that I tossed and turned for most of the night before a long day of conferencing, but it was totally worth it.  All I can say is that I'm really looking forward to getting back to Ancaster as soon as I get the chance.

As for the conference - yet another great day.  Having a car out here is turning out to be more of an asset than I ever expected.  Instead of needing to worry about shuttles to and from the venue, I was able to take myself over there in no time - allowing myself just a little bit more sleep without missing out on anything.

Big day today! Keynote Speaker address, professional development sessions, beginning of the AGM, open space session about the future of Canadian Theatre, dinner conversations about start-up theatre companies, and a great discussion about Diversity - cultural or otherwise.  I've been coming to these conferences for a few years now and I've progressively become more brave in being a part of the conversations.  By no means would I declare myself a shy person, but for some reason in these professional settings I really like to start off as an observer and learner, but not really an active participant in conversations.  This year that has apparently changed.  Both yesterday and today I feel like I've been speaking up a lot more.  I guess I finally feel like I have things to add to the conversations rather than just reiterating previous thoughts.

By no means is this the first time I've ever contributed to a conversation here at PACT before, but it is the first time that I feel like those pedestals I have put people on have either disappeared or at least have diminished in size.  All of the respect is still there, I've just added a bit more to myself I guess.  It feels good to finally see myself as an equal. ... No, wait ... it feels AWESOME!

May 9th: Grand Bend!

And so begins the purpose of my trip home.  Fortunately I have a very supportive and generous mother who was able to lend me the car meaning I could spend as much time with family as possible and still make it to Grand Bend on time for the theatre conference.  So I woke up bright and early packed my bags and drove off to Lake Huron.

I cannot express enough how nice it was to be back behind the wheel of the car.  As soon as I realize that I haven't driven in nearly a year (save for this brief moment when I was learning how to drive standard) I get a little panicked that maybe I have forgotten how to do it.  But as soon as I backed out of the driveway I immediately felt great.  I was apprehensive about not really knowing where I was going, but I had my directions with me and I was ready for the adventure that laid before me.  I made great timing and got in just in time for the tail end of the first-timers breakfast and then it was off to the Board meeting and the beginning of a very eventful day.

It's great to be back here with so many great people who are all fighting for the same cause.  It's only once a year that we all get together, but it's such a treat when we do.  Not only do I get to catching up on what's happening in the industry, but I get to catch up on what's happening with the individuals.  And that's pretty darn awesome!  I'm so happy to be here in Grand Bend with these fine folks.

May 8th: Beautiful Hamilton Harbour

Hey - did you know that Hamilton is beautiful?  It totally is.  Other lifelong best bud Brittany took me there today for some 'Kid Size' ice cream and a good catch-up session along Bayfront Park this evening, and once again she reminded me of how stunning this city can be sometimes.  More elaboration of the awesomeness of the 8th to come!

My apologies in advance for not bringing a camera with me.  I shant make the same mistake when I head to Grand Bend.

May 7th: Mother/Daughter Besties

I had the fortune of spending my evening with 3 amazing women: my Mom, my best friend Leah, and her Mom.  I'm spoiled rotten because I grew up with two close friends who I have known almost my whole life and I am still great friends with to this day. What's so special about Leah is that I can legitimately say that I have known her for HER entire life, because our friendship grew out of the fact that our mothers were best friends.  So it's only natural that it ran in the family.  

Growing up, one of the things I always looked forward to was our back-to-school shopping trip, when Leah, Darlene, my Mom and I would go to the mall, get some school fashions and enjoy a nice lunch out together.  I don't recall when this tradition ended, but I'm pretty sure it was around the time I went off to Montreal for University ... but maybe it even went beyond that.  All I know is that since I've been living in Vancouver I have really missed hanging out with these women.  Every time we get together I have so much fun and my heart becomes filled with joy.  Unfortunately I don't get to see them very often.  But much to my delight (and dismay) next year is a big year in all of our lives, so you know what that means? ... VACATION!

Oh - it's going to happen.  I don't know when yet.  I'm likely going to have to take some time off during the season which I do my best to avoid - but this is just unavoidable.  These women raised me and inspired me to be who I am.  I cannot be more thrilled to have them in my life and celebrate these landmarks with a vacation away together.  It's about time!  I cannot wait.  

But that's a whole year away.  Fortunately I'll see them all well before that.  Like in a week.  Have I mentioned yet how awesome it is to be visiting friends and family right now?  Because it really REALLY is!  Love you ladies!

Me and the lovely Leah.  And yes, I totally stole this picture from Leah's Blog.

May 6th: 3 Hours Difference.

When I first moved to Vancouver I never thought that a 3 hour time difference would be such a big deal.  But then I started developing a lifestyle when I was out late most nights, or if I was lucky I would have a night off when I'd leave work and get home around 6:30.  I'd usually take a half hour to relax and settle in to home life when I'd realize that I should call my Mom and acknowledge that it was then 10pm where she was and therefore likely in bed.

In my world getting in at 10pm is often an early night.  If I'm out, it's usually because I'm seeing a show which means it's usually running until 10pm, and then I have to transit home meaning that I'm usually walking through my door around 11pm or after.  So if I were to get a call late at night, it wouldn't be bothersome for me.  But I've already confirmed with my parents that my life and schedule is crazy and apparently not the norm.  So now that I'm home and everyone's off and heading to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour (10 or 11pm), I'm still ready to keep going.  So, what do I do?  Well I go on my computer of course.

My computer, unlike my phone, does not update its time automatically when it changes time zones.  So as I type this I'm reading 9:19pm.  Makes sense to me.  That's what it feels like.  It's still early enough for me to call people in Vancouver and I know they'll likely be available.  I can scope out all of my other favourite websites and not feel bad because it's still early.  But then I remember that it's actually past midnight where I am, and I am planning on getting up for an early breakfast with the parents.  So maybe this is one of those times when I should acknowledge that New Year's Resolution I made and get some sleep.

The awesome part is that when I close my laptop I'll be thinking that I'll have gone to bed before 9:30 and therefore be convinced that I'm getting a great night's sleep!  I don't know if placebos actually work when it comes to sleeping - but I'll find out when I wake up.    

May 5th: Let the mockery begin!

Here I am lying in bed typing at 1am on what is technically May 6th in Ontario, because in my mind it's only 10pm.  But that's not going to stop the family from going to bed early.  Fortunately I got a little bit of time in before everyone hit the hay.  And it was just enough time to through in some teasing and mockery to remind me that I'm home.

I've been realizing more and more lately that I really don't know what the word 'home' means anymore.  Any time I head back to Ontario, I think to myself and probably even say out loud that I'm 'heading home'.  Which is true.  Except that Ontario really is not home anymore.  Vancouver is! I know that because after I've been in Ontario for too long, I really start missing 'home'.  Similarly when I haven't been to Ontario in a long time, I say the exact same thing.

But I think I know now what the source of the confusion is.  I think I define 'home' by where I can go to make fun and be made fun of.  That sounds extremely unhealthy, but hear me out.  Home to me is where I can go and be with the people I love dearly who I can make fun of and who can make fun of me, without affecting the love that we have for one another.  Obviously through any teasing feelings can get hurt now and then and we might like each other less for brief moments in time.  But the love is still there, and that love is what I think is home.

When I have these extreme emotional breakdowns of really missing my family and my brothers specifically, it's really that teasing and playfulness I miss.  The simultaneous loving, supporting, and mocking.  I get that with my friends in Vancouver which is why I feel so at home there (that plus the fact that I absolutely love my job), but sometimes it's the being with the family and the acknowledging how silly we all can be, and remembering how and why we came to be that way that I really really miss.

This is why it's so good to be 'home' right now!  Home with the family and getting back to my roots and comedic foundation.  ... I should remember to carry some paper and a pen around with me.  There could be some good material here.

May 4th: Being the Bearer of Good News!

I know I should not be surprised by how quickly time seems to fly by, but I really am.  I seriously cannot believe that we are already at the point in the season when we open our last show before heading into summer holidays.  But here we are! The opening night of 100 Saints You Should Know.

As with all of our opening nights we give our artists a little gift to show our appreciation and to wish them a great performance a great run.  But unlike most other openings, I was able to tack on an extra special gift to our artists this time around.  It's funny because I often get to be the bearer of good news in my job when I give our artists a call to ask them to work for us, but that is often followed up by my having to tell others that they didn't get roles - which really just balances everything out again.  But this time being able to just give the good news without having to dish out any bad, was just awesome.  

I think I will forever have the reactions from my announcement imprinted in my mind.  I think if you tell anyone that they will be making more money than they had originally expected, you'll get a pretty fantastic reaction.  But tell that to an artist and you get pure elation!  

What a great way to open our final show of the season!  Final main stage show at least.  There's still lots more to come before vacation time.

 

May 3rd: Adapting to the Idiocy

Sometimes I can be a total idiot!  Yes - I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.  You'd think I would have a grasp of this scheduling thing by now, but somehow I managed to double-book myself on a night when I had scheduled myself to work.

I don't know why I didn't make a note of the fact that I was working.  I also don't know why I would schedule myself to work an evening shift on the already busy week before I was leaving for Ontario.   But I did.  And therefore I had to show up. After all - who would cover for me otherwise?

So I adapted to my own idiocy and sucked it up and got ready for an even longer day.  And I am so glad I did.  It was great to be there for the first public performance of the show.  Also it was nice to be the one in the box office dealing with the stupid issues of the pay-what-you-can performance.  I am kind of glad that I was such an idiot.  And because I was on so much adrenaline after the show I was able to stay up a bit to do the packing I still needed to do.

It's probably a good thing that I know how to adapt to my own idiocy.  Because I know that it's not going to go away any time soon.

May 2nd: Perfect Timing!

Those who take transit probably know that perfect feeling of when your bus connections line up perfectly.   I was on my way home after the last of the Jessie voting meetings (also awesome) and as I was heading to catch the bus, I get to my stop to turn around and low and behold - there's my bus pulling up just for me.  Amazing.  

But that was only the beginning.  Because after that bus ride I had to transfer to the bus that would take me home.  And wouldn't you know it but after I got off the one bus I doddled over to my next stop and in the distance I could the bus rounding the curve making it's way.

I love those random awesome moments.  I was able to make it home much earlier than expected which allowed for me to do some of the preparing for Ontario that I had neglected for a while.  So great!

May 1st: An Exquisite Evening!

I have admitted many a time of how I'm not a big fan of plans changing.  What I haven't mentioned is how awesome it is when plans go exactly as I wanted them to.  I've booked a pretty tight schedule for this week with essential work that needs to be done, combined with social events I have been eager to attend.  Having missed the 2010 Fringe production of The Exquisite Hour, I was eager to see it remounted.  I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to check it out or not, as I had another meeting planned that easily could have gone longer than projected.  Fortunately it wrapped up exactly when I had hoped it would which meant that I was able to arrive at the theatre precisely at the time I had wanted to.  And I am so glad I did!

There's a reason why the show received such great reviews while it was on at the Fringe.  There are also reasons why it was picked up by the Playhouse and then again by the Arts Club upon hearing news of the Playhouse closure.  The show gives you exactly what you'd expect.  It's all right there in the title! 60 minutes of charm, playfulness, hilarity, and heartwarming moments.  Yes, I would say that the hour was Exquisite.  I would also it was awesome! Congratulations you Relephants for a fantastic production.  I'm so glad that I was finally able to see what everyone was talking about!  I hope you have a great and successful run.  You absolutely deserve it.

Apr. 30th: Reasons to Smile

Who would have thought that tax day would come with so many reasons to smile?  Taxes done (by myself for the first time ever, with a pretty little return coming my way), a surprise visit from a friend which included the delivery of delicious muffins, an extremely efficient meeting that was expected to last much longer.  But my favourite and most awesome thing from Monday was an incident that totally blew my mind.

I have to be careful here as I want to remain respectful to all parties, so I'm going to intentionally skip on the details and just sum things up with the following:

You know those people in your life who you come across and they blow you away with just how amazing they are.  You hold them up with such admiration that you begin to feel inferior not because of a loss of self esteem, but because you've determined that their level of awesomeness is so beyond your own.  Now imagine the feeling when that person who you've got placed on that pedestal comes right out of no where to tell you that they think you're awesome!

Yup - that was my Monday!  Not just awesome.  MINDBLOWING!!!  I'm still kind of in a state of disbelief, but it's a welcomed feeling.  Unexpected messages of admiration should be sent more often!

Apr. 29th: Walk to End MS

So big news.  I did the fundraising Walk to End MS in the tricities area this past Sunday.  Why didn't you hear about it?  Because I'm a flake and didn't register until the last minute and then got busy with other things and never really did a whole lot of fundraising for it.  But don't worry.  If you still want to donate to the cause, there's still time.  Follow the link here and donate!

This past Sunday instead of doing our usual morning improv workshop the Sudden Death cast laced up for our fellow cast member to help fight MS.  It was a 5 km walk in Port Moody along a beautiful trail hanging out with some awesome people all doing our part to support a great cause and help out a friend.  What's especially awesome is that our team made our goal of $4000, thanks to Jef and all of her fundraising efforts, and of course Second Storey Theatre for donating the profits of all the late night Saturday shows to the walk.

What an awesome accomplishment!  I only wish I had done more to help out with the fundraising aspect.  So - if you do want to help out, then please click on the photo and select "Pledge My Team Online".  And remember the fundraising mantra: Every little bit helps!

Apr. 28th: Meeting half way.

It's really nice to return a favour.  And by really nice, what I mean to say is awesome.  Back in the day when I was visiting Luke on the island, he was always really great about taking buses downtown with me so that he could say his good-byes while I got on the bus to the ferry.  This might not seem like a big deal, but considering that it was at least an hour out of his way it always felt like a big deal to me.  Especially since I knew he could just say his good-byes at his place and not even have to step on a bus.

Generally anytime he came to see me, I never had the time or really took the time to do the same sort of trip for him.  Maybe it had something to do with the halfway point between my place and ferries is in the middle of nowhere, whereas his halfway point was downtown Victoria, but probably not.  All I know is, I had never put in the same transit times when saying good-bye as he did.  Well finally the tables turned.

Luke was making his way to the island this weekend and it just so happened that I had some time to spare.  So the first time in I don't even know how long, I took transit with him to Bridgeport to see him off as he got on the bus to the ferries.  I know it's not much but it was nice to at least make that much of an effort.  I even waited until he was settled in his seat before I started making my way back up the escalator (making sure not to watch as the bus drove out of sight - some superstitions die hard).

I know I still owe him a few more of these trips, but I'm working to diminish this debt.  For now I'll enjoy this small accomplishment.

Apr. 27th: Winging It!

It's kind of awesome when a group of improvisers have to deal with a change to a situation and are pretty well forced to ... well ... improvise.

So apparently Second Storey did a great job in promoting the Saturday night show this past weekend.  A little too good perhaps because it meant that there wasn't really much audience left for Friday.  But we weren't going to let that stop us.  We still had the partners of the players ready for a show so we put one on for them.  But it wasn't the usual Sudden Death Format.  Instead we just did 40 minutes of long form.

Hey - did I mention that I've never really done a long form show?  Basically what we did was get one suggestion from the audience and then improved based on that suggestion for 40 minutes, with a bunch of different scenes and transitions. Having never done it in a show before I was quite nervous and was concerned that I didn't really know what I was doing, but I realized that I just had to wing it.  I was definitely in my head the whole time, so I'll be honest and say it wasn't my best show.  But I did it.  And I had a great time doing it.  And I learned a whole heck of a lot in the process.

I might not always know exactly how to handle situations, but it sure is an awesome to just suck it up and improvise my way through it.  Great night!