A Blythe Epiphany

...now with more curry

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Light at the end of the tunnel

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, the busy time at work will be over by Thursday, so I've already begun to dream about what I can do with some free time. I know I'm counting my chickens, but the thought of being able to do whatever I want for whole hours in a day, for days in a row is just too difficult to resist thinking about.

Things I could do: Read, catch up on tv, sew, shop for Christmas presents, wrap presents, clean apartment, decorate, write Christmas cards, send Christmas cards, clean out my car, do laundry, organize shelves and drawers, ...and the list goes on.

I wonder if I'll do more than read and watch tv?

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Music from Another Room

I love not having to rush.

Lately, I've been pretty much caught up on all my to do lists at work, and can afford to take just a little bit of 'me' time at work. I do this from time to time, tracking things down online that I don't have the patience to search for on my dialup at home. Usually, I'm just curious about something, so I look it up, then find something about that something that I want to look up, etc, and I just follow that thread until it runs out, starts repeating itself, I get bored, or I have to get back to work. Sometimes, it truly does feel like surfing. And it's lovely.

But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.

I want to just take a moment to appreciate those moments when you hear a bit of music, and you're immediately pulled out of whatever it is you were doing, and sucked into the sound. I've been trying to put my finger on it for a while now, to describe the sensation perfectly, and I've come to realize that it's not something that words can do justice to. Words can't touch it. Colors can't touch it (but they can come closer than words, in my opinion). But when it's sound, and it hits you just right, it's the only thing that can reach that part of you.

And you can remember those times, can't you? You can remember that time, back in school, when you were driving home from the movies, and you heard your new favorite song on the radio. Or, when a friend put a cd on, and started singing along and you thought, "how can this be, that I'm just now hearing this for the first time, while not only have they heard it before me, but they've known about it long enough to learn the words?" Or, as was the case with me the other night, you're watching a movie, and a piece of music begins to play softly in the background. Suddenly one part of your brain is paying attention to the story, but another part of your brain is completely distracted (in a good way) by the music.

It's good stuff.



By the way, in case you were wondering, I was listening to Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op.23, performed by Emanuel Ax.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

I blame Halloween

Everybody talks about how it's so hard to stay on a diet over the holidays, with all of the homemade goodies and rich foods so readily available. But as I sit here, eating Skittles left over from Halloween, I realize:

Those little trick-or-treaters are the root of it all.
.
If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have all of this candy. And if it weren't for all of this candy, I wouldn't be snacking every chance I get. And if it weren't for all of the snacking, I'd stay on my regular eating schedule with no problem. But no, here I sit, finishing up the skittles, and looking around for something else lying around near my desk that I can eat.

it's gonna be a long holiday eating season.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Diary of an addict

I wasn't going to even try for another part in another show 'til summer. I was going to concentrate on work, and getting the little bits and pieces of my life back in order. Things like making sure each bill actually gets paid, instead of stuffed into the bottom of my purse. Things like returning phone calls. Things like shopping for groceries, and then eating the stuff I bought before it goes bad in the fridge because I chose a frozen dinner over a fresh salad because it's easier to prepare. I was so going to do all of this.

But the thing is, I had time off. I had a few weeks of time in the evenings. Not every evening, but more than a few. I read. Books, not just articles. I grocery shopped, and cooked. And froze the excess for later. shazam! I'm not saying I lined up all of the ducks, but I think it's safe to say that they're at least swimming in the same pond now. I was making progress.

And it drove me crazy. I had such an excess of creative energy that I couldn't concentrate at work. I was sketching costume ideas. I was designing posters. I was reading books on theatrical special effects and designing on a budget. I had all these ideas for things, but no one to talk to about them.

So I auditioned and got a part (or maybe parts) in a show for Christmastime. We meet tomorrow to discuss scheduling and get the script and parts. It's an ensemble piece, with some actors playing several parts. And it's for a company I really respect, but have never worked with. And I think they perform in the bigger space (seats about 10x more people), which I have only worked in a couple of times.

I can do this. Clearly, the trick is to stay on top of things, learn the lines early, etc. You know, just to keep the beast at bay. The beast that demands that I do something creative with my time here on earth.

I can quit anytime.