Well, dear readers, for the third time in three years one of my credit cards was compromised. The most nauseating thing about it is the card was about to expire. Luckily it was my Paypal debit card and they send an e-mail for every purchase you make. When I got home from my late lunch at Hugo’s, I checked my e-mail and immediately saw two charges that weren’t mine, both for about $250 both in Northern California. I called Paypal immediately and they stopped the card. The tricky part is we now have to wait for the merchant to complete the “pending” transaction – then they can credit back the five hundred bucks to my account. I never understand why, if a transaction is pending, Paypal can just deny it and be done with it. It makes no sense to me and no one can explain it to me. So, the victim of this nauseating fraud has to shut down the card and wait ten days for a new one (that’s not a problem this time as I’d be getting a new card anyway), but it will have a different number and therefore I have to remember all my auto pays with that card and go in and add it, which is a pain in the butt cheeks. And then the victim of the nauseating fraud also gets the pleasure of being without his money until the transaction completes and then STILL has to wait up to forty-eight hours for that money to be put back into the account. Contrast that with the cretin crooks who used a bogus card – they use it, they’ll have the merchandise they stole, they’re probably on a surveillance camera and the store, Paypal, and the police will do – NOTHING. So, let me start here: It is my simple August wish that these disgusting, venal, loathsome thieves, those who took advantage of the bogus card and those who harvested its number should suffer every day a little death – yes death – and death as painful as possible. Sorry, but that is what I wish them because they make a mockery and a misery of people’s lives and they DO NOT GIVE A CRAP. Needless to say, it made me furious. And will continue to do so until my money is back in my account and I have my new card. The only good part of it is, thanks to the Paypal suggestion, I’d gotten a second card just in case this happened, so I do have a Paypal card that works. That one expires, too, in a month, and I assume they’ll send me a replacement for it, too.
Prior to that, I’d had another weird night of sleep – three hours, up at five-thirty, back to sleep around six-thirty, and up again at eleven-thirty. So, I count eight hours all told, but when it’s erratic like that it just doesn’t feel like eight hours. Once up, I answered e-mails, worked on my new song and did a jog in 103-degree heat. Then at three, I went to see the fruits of Sami and Cheryl Baxter’s labours and it’s going to be a really good number now. Sami’s learning about her upper body stuff when she taps and that’s as important as the feet and hands. She’s working really hard on it, and I know she’ll practice and practice until she’s got it down cold. Cheryl will come back a little closer to tech and see how it’s all coming together. After that, I went to Hugo’s and had a small Caesar and my beloved pasta papa. Haven’t had it in a while and it was great. Then I came home to the debit card disaster and that kind of colored my evening.
I had a mostly unpleasant conversation with my lighting designer, but I think we worked through things and she’ll be doing the show. She had three little issues with things in the script, but she came on so strong and so accusatory that I just could not not respond in kind and boy did I. By the end of the conversation, I think she understood my intentions in the writing and how things in the playing might mitigate the little things that are making her uncomfortable. As I explained to her, I don’t really need people to tell me if something is wrong – I see it at some point, I always do. And I’m not sure anything is wrong, frankly. But if in rehearsal or previews I see that something is not as it should be, believe me no one will change it faster than I. She’s really only talking about three brief lines, but I believe when you don’t know intentions and you don’t have an actor playing them, that reading words typed on a page can be severely misinterpreted or push buttons. But buttons being pushed is a personal thing and has nothing to do with me and I can’t be swayed by what may make one person uncomfortable for whatever reason. Ultimately I told her it was her decision completely – she either had to trust that I know what I’m doing or not. She thought about it and said she’d do the show, and then the only thing I said after that was I was glad she was on board, but that I could not have any negativity in the rehearsal process, so if something was bothering her then she could see me privately. It was a long conversation.
After that, I just needed to jog again, to throw all of that stuff off me, so I did another jog and it did the trick. Then I saw the booklet for the next Kritzerland release and it’s very nice. By that time, it was already too late to begin a movie, so I just listened to music and worked on the computer. I also heard from the New York producer that the beginning of November will work to bring Welcome to My World off-Broadway for a very brief three to five performance run, basically to see if we can get any interest in a longer run, and to show it to some licensing people – and also get some casting people and producers in to see Sami. We’re very excited about it, and we will hope to see all our East Coast dear readers in attendance.
Today, I have a ten o’clock breakfast meeting with our costume designer and stage manager. I already know I’m having eggs benedict. Then I’ll come home, jog, relax, and then at seven I have another meeting with our costume designer and a nice fellow who knows how to build quick change dresses – we have two in the show.
Tomorrow we begin rehearsals for Welcome to My World. I can’t believe how fast this has come up. Prior to rehearsal I have a LOT of stuff to do, including checking on Paypal – they said I can call as soon as the pending charges go through and if I call they can put the money right back in the account then and there. Tuesday and Wednesday are also rehearsals and we have a production meeting Wednesday after rehearsal. Thursday I have to catch up on stuff, Friday we have a pre-rehearsal for the Kritzerland show – just the people in the What If – the number is really complicated musically and I also want to do a little staging. Saturday we have a six-hour rehearsal and we also have one on Sunday.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Wah-Watusi for today is the birthday of our very own dear reader Vixmom. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader Vixmom. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER VIXMOM!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a breakfast meeting, do things, and have an early evening meeting. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, while I hope that my simple August wish that the crooked, venal, disgusting thieves get what’s coming to them karma-wise – every day a little death.