Well, dear readers, I must say there are times I am baffled, oh, yes, there are times I am baffled. For example, this is a time when I am baffled. You are looking at a baffled BK, and it is not a pretty sight, unlike haineshisway.com which IS a pretty site. Actually, I am baffled by a whole plethora of things, especially during the last few days. I shall get over my bafflement, but for know I remain baffled. Said bafflement comes from several directions, especially from the south and the east. People are baffling me, traffic is baffling me, and more importantly, my hair is baffling me. That’s a lot of baffling, if you ask me. Speaking of baffled, yesterday was a long day of doing many things. I got up early and was immediately baffled as to why I was getting up so early. I then did a bunch of early errands and couldn’t quite catch up with all the things I had to do. I finally had to shave and shower and then go to my afternoon rehearsal with Mr. Spirtas and Miss Purl. What fun it was – they’d done some basic staging for Two Lost Souls (they’re using my arrangement of the song from Haines His Way, as orchestrated by David Siegel). The only thing they hadn’t figured out was the opening verse, and I staged that very quickly, then cleaned up some of the other staging, and also fixed the patter they’d done in the middle of the song. It’s really adorable and they work beautifully together. I then quickly staged You’re Just In Love (also my arrangement, this time from the Christiane Noll album, A Broadway Love Story, also orchestrated by Mr. Siegel). We had a great time, and then I was on my way to Anaheim, and on the freeway by four to avoid the horrid traffic I’d had when I’d gotten on the freeway at five a couple of weeks ago. Well, the traffic was WORSE. I could not believe it, actually, and yes, Virginia, I was baffled. I mean it was horrendous until I passed downtown, then it was suddenly as if the hundreds of cars in front of me had fallen into an abyss because suddenly there were simply no cars and I was zooming along – until I got on the I5, at which point it became horrendous again. And it would be horrendous for ten minutes, then we’d be zooming along again, then horrendous, then zooming. I am sorry, but this is baffling and there isn’t any way around the fact that it is baffling. In fact, it’s insanity personified. How can you be bumper-to-bumper one minute, going about five miles an hour, then the next minute be zooming along at sixty or seventy miles an hour? It makes no bloody sense, but that’s the way it was all the way to the 91 (Riverside freeway), and then the 91 was the same. So, a drive that took thirty-seven minutes in the rain on Sunday, took about an hour and ten minutes yesterday.
I went to Panera, where I connected to the Internet on Ye Olde Laptop. I had a yummilicious club sandwich, a fruit cup, and a half of a Caesar salad. I could have lived without the Caesar and from now on will only have the sandwich. I didn’t have all that much time to kill, and then I toddled over to the Chance Theater for our first night of Brain auditions. The auditions were not only for our show, but for the show we run in rep with, which is a non-musical. So about half the folks there were only there for the other show. For me, the turnout was a bit disappointing, and I’m hoping for better tonight and especially tomorrow night. I think that all our potential ensemble people are coming tomorrow night, and the theater company’s folks come tomorrow night, as well as a few of the Assassins cast members, so I know we’ll be seeing some good folks. As it was, one of the gals we saw tonight is a very strong candidate for Donna, the daughter. And we saw a couple of other strong singers, and we’ll see how they read. But we were sorely lacking for a couple of roles, and now I have to seriously wrap my mind around having a new person playing Zubrick, since Mr. Murphy won’t be doing this production. We shall see what we shall see.
After that, I came home (while I made good time, there were a shocking number of cars on the freeway at ten at night – who are these people – and yes, it baffled me), got a sandwich from Gelson’s, and then sat on my chair like so much fish.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because frankly, I’m baffled.
Today, I have a lot to do, which is baffling, frankly. I have to get up early and go to storage to try and find a chart from the Burt Bacharach album that I’m donating the use of to this year’s STAGE benefit. Then I have to put yet more gas in the motor car and also have a smog check. I will finish proofing Ye Olde New Book and then I will head out to the Chance Theater for evening two of our auditions. We really do need excellent vibes and xylophones for the remainder of the auditions.
Tomorrow or Thursday I’ll be having an important lunch, and there will be a lot of other things to attend to. I’m not at all certain about what’s happening on the weekend, but the following Monday we officially begin rehearsals, although as of now our musical director is not available that entire week, so unless they get someone to fill in and teach the music, we won’t actually start till the week after. Maybe Pogue should get his butt cheeks out here and play General Mills.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, find a chart, get a smog check, finish proofing and then have evening two of our auditions. Today’s topic of discussion: I want you theories about traffic patterns – scientific, well thought out discourse on the whys of insane traffic, the kind of which I’ve been speaking about. What is the worst traffic you’ve ever been in and why was it the worst? But mostly I’m talking about traffic where there are no accidents or things to distract. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I try to get over my extreme bafflement.