Well, dear readers, once again it is late and the notes are late and I am late and hence I must hurry through the notes, get them posted, and then I need to get some shut-eye because I’ve had too much open-eye and not enough shut-eye lately. I now get home so late every evening that I have no time to unwind and one simply must unwind if one is to not be wound and one cannot be wound because then one is tense and uptight and it is very hard to right these here notes when wound. So, I take a few minutes to unwind and then what happens? It is late and the notes are late and I am late and hence I must hurry through the notes, get them posted, and then I need to get some shut-eye because I’ve had too much open-eye and not enough shut-eye lately. Didn’t I already say that? Now I’m being repetitious and all because I don’t have the proper amount of unwind time. The proper amount of unwind time is exactly twenty-six minutes and thirty-eight seconds and I only got eighteen minutes and three seconds. I don’t know what the HELL I’m talking about but that’s not going to stop me, no siree Bob. Speaking of no siree Bob, yesterday was a pretty nice day, all things considered. For example, I got up after an almost decent night’s sleep, did some work at the piano and the computer, then noticed that the electricity in the den was out. The electricity in the guest bathroom and one wall of the den (not affecting the TV or other electronics) had been out for two weeks, and now the rest of the den was dark. I called Mr. Handy Man and he came by at noon. It took him about forty minutes to fix the bathroom and one wall of the den issue – corrosion to one of the breakers. But he couldn’t find the other part of the den problem – he spent about two hours doing this and that and also that and this, to no avail. So, he has to come back on Saturday with a helper, but until then I cannot watch anything in the den. Hopefully, he’ll be able to find the problem and do something about it without too much trouble. By the time all that was at an end, it was time to get ready to go to dinner and rehearsal. The drive was pretty good, and we got off the 57 at a new place where there’s a whole slew of new restaurants for us to try. Last night, we tried a restaurant called Claim Jumper. I’d been to one of these last year in a different area. It’s one of those places where the portions are so huge you can’t possibly finish them or if you can finish them it just means you’ve got endless room in your stomach. We ordered garlic cheese toast and onion rings for the table – we finished the toast (very good), but made hardly a dent in the onion rings. I had a small wedge salad with ranch dressing (excellent) and I had the fried double chicken breast, mashed potatoes and gravy and two huge biscuits. I couldn’t finish the chicken breast, ate only a few bites of the potatoes, and could only manage one half of one of the biscuits. They were all quite yummilicious. Other food served at our table included ribs (apparently excellent, according to the eater), fries, chicken pot pie (apparently excellent, according to the eater), and some fruit. I’m sure we’ll be returning, but I can’t do meals like this every day, so we’ll try somewhere new tonight, and hopefully smaller portions. If we return to Claim Jumper, I think what I’d order is a bowl of clam chowder and the wedge salad. That would do me just fine. After dinner, we headed over to the theater – I almost missed the off-ramp because I was so logey.
Last night, we had a rehearsal. We spent the first hour going over music. Then we began at the top of the show and ran what we could, with me making little adjustments as we went. Some very interesting and good things happened, but we did have to skip a bunch of stuff due to the absence of two of our leading players. The blocking is starting to look sharp, and our ensemble is doing a terrific job doing the scene shifts and the newscasters and newspaper people. All in all, a very good rehearsal. I think I was more patient than usual, and I even caught myself as I was about to be more impatient than I wanted to be.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have not had all my unwind time hence I am still wound and I must finish unwinding and then get my beauty sleep.
Today, I must hope for what I was promised in a nice e-mail of yesterday, i.e. an even nicer e-mail today. If it comes, I’m hoping the day will be wonderful. I do have a few errands and whatnot to do, and then, of course, tonight we have another meal and then a rehearsal with the full company. I’m going to try to run the entire show, because we then begin our choreography sessions and won’t be able to do a full run until next Tuesday.
Tomorrow is my day off, and I’ll be relaxing and smelling the roses or the coffee or the nutbread. And then I’ll be going to the Ahmanson Theater to see our very own Miss Judy Kaye in Sweeney Todd. I’ll dine down there pre-show and I hope to go backstage after the show to say hello to Judy.
Saturday is going to require some logistical machinations. She of the Evil Eye is scheduled to come, and I have to call her and tell her she either has to get here promptly at eight, or, if she can’t, I’ll tell her how to get in. She also has to make sure the Handy Man can get in later in the afternoon, as I won’t be home before eight.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, hopefully get a nice e-mail, and then I must attend a rehearsal after eating a meal. Today’s topic of discussion: We’ve done it before, but not for a long time – salads. What is your all-time favorite salad that you’ve had from a restaurant? When did you first have it, is the restaurant still in existence, and does the salad still hold its allure? Also, what is your favorite salad dressing and do you make your own – and what is your favorite bottled or packet dressing? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as I now try to finish unwinding so that I can be at one with my bed.