Not TV Thursday

Tonight I had rehearsal for the Christmas show. I was asked to be an understudy in a short scene, which is both terrifying and exciting. It's been a long while since I've acted in anything (Christmas 2003, actually), and it's not like I'm uber fantastic or anything, and the other people in the show are very talented and experienced and, well, it was a scary thing.

I only have to say five lines, and believe me, I have been running those five little snippets of dialogue in my head for about a week now. I'm not even sure if I'm actually performing in the show or not, but I am going to try my best not to mess up if I am.

The actual rehearsal went by rather quickly. I think it went okay. And of course, in my typical fashion, I have spent the last several hours reliving every minute of the rehearsal in my head, trying to figure out if I'm doing okay, and what I can improve for next time.

That means that while Michelle was helping me pick out a top for my staff Christmas party, I was replaying my blocking for the scene in my head. And while we sat through August Rush (a contrived, mostly predictable mess), I was trying to remember everyone else's dialogue, and figuring out how to keep myself in the moment at all times.

Jeepers, I could never do this full time. I would worry myself to death. And yet, even though my stomach is in knots right now, they're good knots, because I'm having a lot of fun.

Sniff.

These are desperate times indeed, my friends. My doctor is away until December 17th. I filled the antibiotic prescription she gave to me last time I visited her. I bought a super duper nasal rinse system. I bought pills with bacteria in them so I don't throw my intestinal flora out of whack. I shall conquer this.

Suckiness.

Sinus pain sucks.

I'm sitting here watching the Dancing with the Stars finale, willing myself to get better. I cannot be sick. I have choir practice tomorrow night, play practice on Thursday, a staff Christmas party on Saturday, and play practice and a choir concert on Sunday. And then next week I'm going to Chicago for a few days. There is no time to be sick.

Carotid artery!

Carotid artery! Holy frickety-frack!

And, not to be nitpicky (Moi? Nitpick Greys?), but isn't the anaesthesiologist a doctor, and wasn't he white? So really, why did George have to be there? And really, haven't we all learned now that flirting with one's patient is a slippery slope on the way to disaster, like cutting an LVAD wire or having the two women you're sleeping with in the same room at the same time?

That being said, I really enjoyed Seth Green, and I hope that even though his carotid artery exploded, perhaps he's not doomed.

Mind mush.

Note to self: while reading is good for the soul, spending the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. finishing The Amber Spyglass is not the best use of prime sleeping time. It makes getting to work for 8:00 a.m. very difficult, and it also leads to lack of coherent thought for most of the day.

Me? Productive?

I had the whole day off today, since I worked last Friday, which was supposed to be my flex day. I had a surprisingly productive day. I ran errands, I went for a run, I went out for dinner, I got groceries. I actually accomplished my major goals for the day. Weird.

I came home from dinner to find very exciting news in my email inbox. Exciting play-related news. Details to follow!!

Christmas catastrophe

I came back from church this evening to discover a note from my supers under my door -

"Please note that there are no real Christmas trees permitted in the building. [...] Should you wish to have a tree, artificial trees are allowed."

I seriously almost feel as if my Christmas has been ruined. Just yesterday I was anticipating buying my tree from the Shriners in the parking lot of the Superstore and having it secured into the trunk of my car. I couldn't wait to saw off the bottom of the trunk and plunk the tree into my tree stand and try to keep it upright. And the smell of fresh tree is so delightful! And it's not like I'm going to get a chance to pick a tree for my mom's house, because I'm not going to be home until Christmas Eve.

This is very distressing. Yes, I know there are worse things to be upset about, but this is something that is very important to me.

What am I going to do?

Woot!

Today I ran for 20 minutes in a row. And I survived.

And I went to see American Gangsters with Michelle. The movie was surprisingly satisfying. I hear that it has Oscar potential, so we're trying to make sure we catch all potential Best Picture nominees. It wouldn't be my favourite for Best Picture, but since it's unlikely to be out on DVD before Oscar time, I'm glad we saw it all the same.

Ice ice baby

I spent several hours Up The River today, first at the new hospital for some orientation to our department (on my day off, no less), and then to the high school to see their annual musical.

And then I had to drive back on wet, icy roads. It took me quite a long time, and I'm totally wiped and heading to bed, but just so you know, I made it safely. Phew.

Go to bed now.

It was a very long day at work today. It started at 8:00 am, and it ended at 5:45 pm. No lunch.

That's long.

I did, however, manage to drag myself out into the unseasonably warm evening and go for a run. I've been steadily progressing through the couch to 5K program again, and I'm almost done of Week 5. Week 5 is a bit of a landmark week, because at the end of it (this Saturday for me), you run for 20 minutes straight. I think I can do it. I'm ready for it.

Re: Grey's - This episode wasn't bad, except for the oh-so-obvious comparisons between "adulthood" and high school. A little subtlety can go a long way, you know. Anyway, I'm more worried about next week's "event", because we all know how much I loved last year's ferry crash/Meredith "dies" fiasco.

Studded

I finally got myself together enough to get my new winter tires put on today. And, *gasp*, everyhing went smoothly! As in, I went to the tire place, and they put the tires on.

Just like that.

Real fast.

While I was in the waiting room, I picked up the May issue of Canadian Living, and before you know it, I was weeping over a story about a daughter whose mom died. Thank goodness the manly tire store guys didn't stumble upon me as I was blowing my nose and wiping my tears away.

My new studded tires have transformed my car into the Noisiest Car Ever. I feel like I am personally responsible for tearing up pavement with all the sharp, pointy metal thingies on the tires. Oh well, as long as I stay out of the ditch, it's all good.

Before choir practice tonight, I was asked if I wanted to do a solo in one of our songs. Which would have been fabulous and so exciting if I didn't have to miss one of our concerts because of my Chicago trip! So I had to decline, which was fine, since it went to two people who are vastly more talented than me, and who will do a wonderful job of it. And it was very, very nice to hear that finally someone thinks I can sing. I'll hang onto the that lovely thought all week long.

Losing my grip

It snowed this morning!! Beautiful white snow!

I would have taken a picture, but my body was in shock because I had to wake up so early. Call it a post-weekend sleep hangover. I was lucky I made it out the door with my clothes on the right way.

The snow did make for a treacherous 20-minute commute to work today, instead of my typical 6-minute zippy trip up the road. It also made me wish I had already put my new studded tires on my car. However, I did make it to work in one piece. It's amazing how driving 30 kph keeps you on the road.

This evening I went for a walk on some very icy sidewalks, which makes me want to go out and buy something grippy for my shoes ASAP. I did however quite enjoy listening to some happy new tunes I put on my iPod, so it wasn't a total loss. I got the hang of walking on the sidewalk after a bit. All it takes is hold your arms out to the sides and a careful penguin-like waddle.

12 of 12 - November 2007

Ah, 12 of 12 Day! Or, if you like, "The day I made bread and watched tv".


10:32 a.m. I didn't have to work today, since Remembrance Day is a stat holiday for us hospital minions, and since it fell on a Sunday this year, I had Monday off instead. So I slept in.

10:45 a.m. The first thing I did when I got up was check on my bread. I started my no-knead bread yesterday, and when I looked at it today, it was all bubbly and sticky.

11:10 a.m. Then I made some hot chocolate and settled into the couch for a day of catching up on my PVRing.

11:50 a.m. First up, last night's episode of Amazing Race. Watching Grandpa's attempts to pole-vault over a ditch in his underwear totally cracked me up.

1:16 p.m. Bread break!

3:15 p.m. More bread break! My apartment smelled so good!

3:17 p.m. Next up on the PVR: the 1940's version of Pride and Prejudice with Laurence Olivier as Mr. Darcy. I must say I was quite impressed with the casting and the acting in this film, but I found the non-Regency costumes quite distracting.

3:45 p.m. More bread! The crust was awesome, but the bread itself was a little spongy. Next time I'll use less water.

6:58 p.m. Out for a run in the dark with my new shiny arm bands.

7:32 p.m. I had a really really good run, but I noticed my feet were a little sore afterwards. Maybe it's time to get new shoes. These ones look a little worn.

7:42 p.m. FYI - Shopper's has 2L bottles of Pepsi on sale this week for 88 cents plus deposit. Michelle and I stocked up last night, but now I'm trying to find room for all my bottles.
10:55 p.m. Michelle and I went grocery shopping, as per our usual Monday night routine, and then we settled in to watch Heroes. It took until the end of the episode, but Shirtless!Peter made his appearance yet again!

I remember.

I didn't wake up in time to get down to the Remembrance Day ceremony today. Instead, I watched it on tv. Afterwards, as I hurried to get to church. I was slowed considerably by the waves of rememberers leaving the ceremony. I was late.

I wasn't too sad to miss the ceremony, since I lost my poppy at the movies yesterday. Michelle lent me her poppy pin to compensate, but I still felt like a horrible person without one. And I don't know if you know this, but it's Very Hard to find a poppy the day before Remembrance Day. They seem to mysteriously disappear from their usual distribution locations. I've tried to be poppified appropriately in the last few weeks, but I must have let my guard down yesterday. It was my fourth poppy, too. And it's not like I don't appreciate Remembrance Day without one, but it makes me feel better to have a visual reminder. But, I did find one on the ground after church, so I'm taking very good care of it for the rest of the day.

And for all those of you who were waiting with bated breath to see if I got an acting part in my Christmas show - I didn't. And even though I knew I was wrong for the role I tried out for, and even though I knew I wasn't going to get a part, I feel utterly rejected and disappointed. Oh I'll get over it, but it's hard not to wallow in my failure for a while.

And for today's happy news: I'm making no-knead bread. It's a dead easy recipe: flour, yeast, salt, and water all mixed in a bowl. It has to rise for 12 to 18 hours, so it won't be ready until tomorrow (which is the 12th, BTW). Cross your fingers for me. I hope it turns out!

Social utility.

Gah.

It's been one of those weeks. I know life is full of ups and downs, but jeepers, hopefully I'm done with the downs for now.

I did decide this week to try and be more positive, so here goes...

1. It's a three-day weekend.
2. I had perogies for supper tonight and they were yummy.
3. I finally got my laundry done today.
4. I bought shiny material to wear when I'm running so I won't get run over.
5. I dragged myself out for a run today.
6. My apartment is in a semi-clean state.
7. There's a free preview weekend for the Movie Network.
8. I bought the soundtrack to Dan in Real Life.
9. I had a really good sleep last night.
10. I get to go singing tomorrow.

You really don't need to hear about the negative stuff, so I'll avoid writing about it.

11. Avoidance is one of my favourite things. ;)

Why is everything so purple?

Today was my last day working at the old hospital in Woodstock. I must admit I was quite sentimental about the whole thing. I'm going to miss my tiny department in the basement.

BTW, anyone see Heroes tonight? Anyone??? All I have to say is, I put my faith in the writers, because the whole "Hiro in ancient Japan" thing has paid off. So I will forgive them for making Mohinder wear a silly nose brace. I'm sure they have their reasons.

Specs and Speckles

Okay, that's the last time I try and host dinner and paint a wall in the same weekend. What was I thinking? It wasn't the dinner that did me in, it was actually the cleaning required to make my apartment presentable. Does that mean I'm a messy person?

Anyway, I managed to get two coats of paint on my wall. Here's a before shot:


And an after shot:


I even managed to paint while the post-tropical storm made its presence known. Thank goodness the power didn't go out!

I'm also in dire need of new glasses. I find myself sitting on the floor to see the television, and I'm squinting a lot. Here are the finalists for my new frames:

number 1: okay, so clearly self-portraits are not my forte.

number 2: why is my skin so wrinkly?

Your opinions are greatly appreciated, because I need to get the new specs ASAP. Either that or move all my furniture two feet closer to the tv.