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Friday, 23 July 2004
My dog
Okay. So this entry will consist of discussing my dog. I'm sure not everyone likes dogs, but, oh well.
I have a 6 year old, sable colored, German Shepherd named Brooke. When my ex and I were together, we were subletting an acreage just southeast of the city from some friends of his. When the friends came back, they decided to let us take over the lease, but needed a place to whelp a litter. When the litter was born, they gave me Brooke as a thank you for letting them use the property. So, I guess you could say that I've had her since birth.
All dogs have their own quirky little habits. Much the same way that people do. It's these little things that make them so endearing.
On the acreage, the landlord kept a hobby farm. He had goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, and bees. All things that Brooke loves to chase. However, the only thing that she'd ever kill was the bees. As far as everything else was concerned, she was content to run back and forth in front of the fence and "play tag".
On several occasions, the sheep would find a way out of the fence and wind up grazing by the road. So, out I come with Brooke in her tracking harness and herd them back in. She was really good at herding especially since she'd never been trained in it.
Normally, Shepherds are slough hounds anyway. But most dogs don't like being sprayed with water. Brooke, on the other hand, loves it.
When she was a puppy, I didn't want her to be afraid of anything. One day we were outside and I was watering the garden. I decided to take the spray nozzle and make a game out of her chasing the water. Hey, cats will chase a light on the floor why wouldn't the same thing apply to dogs?
I started out with quick little burst of water in front of her until I knew that she found this to be kind of fun. Then, I moved up to small little serpentines and then full scale ones. This worked really well. A little too well. After a while, I couldn't pick up the hose without her barking at me. She kept wanting me to spray her in the face. When you finally would, she'd try to bite the water. I dropped the hose, she'd go over, pick it up, and drag the nozzle over to me.
This gets tiring after a while. So now she has her own sprinkler. I picked up a cheap one at the dollar store. She loves to run through it and will occasionally stop to "bite" the water that comes out. When she's not doing that, she's wading in her pool.
Okay. I know most of you are thinking that I'm nuts. Which is true. But, if you saw her doing all of this, you'd laugh your ass off. The only thing that gets to be annoying is that now I can't even shovel snow with her around. She tries to jump up and catch it.
She also has this thing about flying insects. Bees, wasps, hornets, and flies in particular. Maybe it's the sound that they make, but she feels the need to not only chase them away but bark at them. I'm not a fan of bees, having been stung many times. So, she takes care of them for me.
Usually we get a period in the summer that is really bad for flies. This one evening, I had left on the outside light at the front door. Of course, this attracted all the bugs in the area. When I opened the door to let Brooke out, about 30 big flies came rushing in. I then spent the next hour as the Great White Fly Hunter just so I could get some sleep. I knew that if even one survived, she'd go nuts all night trying to catch it.
She's got alot of other things to her personality. She's the only dog that I have ever seen climb a chain link fence. She has allergies (which most people never believe). She's also spoiled rotten.
I've never been married and I don't have any kids. So she's kind of like my little girl. She has her own seat belt for long trips. Which is a good idea anyway. You buckle yourself up, why not your pet. Due to her allergies, she sometimes breaks out in hives and literally chews off some of her fur when she's itchy. It's for that reason that she has her own snowsuit for the wintertime.
One day, I'd like to get a motorcycle with a sidecar just for Brooke. She loves car rides as it is, so why not a motorcycle. Then I'll have to buy her the W.W. 1 flying ace helmet and goggles. Not to mention the leather jacket with "Biker Bitch" written on the back. I'll buckle her in and we'll head off for wherever.
B
Monday, 26 July 2004 - 6:50 AM MDT
Name:
Gigglepriest
Hello!
Just like you I'm new to the world of blogs and have only lately discovered how many people are having them. Anyway, I just found your blog (via Sass' blog) and thought I'd tell you that I enjoy your writing.
If you have the time I would very much like to know about your directorial debut that is coming up: What kind of show are you going to stage and when will it premiere?
Also, if it is OK I wouldn't mind reading some more of your "philosophical" writing. I don't know how old you are but I feel that I can totally relate as I just turned 35 (July 1st) and for every day I'm getting closer to what could be a really bad midlife crisis. (Also single and don't expect that to change anytime soon. ;-) )
Wishing you well!
Monday, 26 July 2004 - 8:54 AM MDT
Name:
Brookside
Welcome to blogs! I'm slowly starting to discover that this is a GREAT venue for doing and saying whatever you need to. It's very liberating, as I'm sure you're discovering.
As far as my directorial debut, it's not Broadway or anything. It's more like down the street, around the corner, across the bridge, over the hill, past the park, and out in left field Broadway. It's community theatre. Dinner theatre to be more exact. But the nice thing about it is that our show is a travelling show. We don't travel very far. It's all within about an hour driving distance. We have, I think, 16 dates booked so far.
I love being part of this theatre group. It's so much fun. I've met some really wonderful and talented people. If being a real working actor is like this, I don't think I'd want to do anything else. I wouldn't even consider it work. It's like a grown up version of make-believe. For a couple of hours every night I can be someone else.
I'd better stop or I'll go on forever.
I'll give you a little info on the play. The play is a wonderful comedy called the Amorous Ambassador by Michael Parker. The new American Ambassador to Great Britain tells his family he is going to Scotland to play golf. His wife Lois and daughter Debbie announce weekend plans of their own. Lois is going to a spa (aka: fat farm) and Debbie wants to visit a girlfriend. Their newly hired butler, Perkins, watches as each leaves and secretly returns for a romantic rendezvous in the empty house. As Harry, a sexy neighbour, Debbie and her boyfriend strive to remain undiscovered, Harry's secretary and Captain South of Marine Corps Embassy Security arrive in the wake of a bomb threat. The embassy is then sealed off. The accident-prone secretary spreads chaos and Captain South is repeatedly rendered unconscious in his search for the mad bomber. Even Perkins is drawn into sexual shenanigans when Lois returns for her own assignation.
I've discovered that it's impossible to be prepared (in a panicked sort of way) when you're constantly being told, "Don't worry about it. We'll take care of that." I'm anxious. I want to start all of this yesterday. I was ready to go a month ago. Got all of the blocking done. Know what types I'm looking for. Everything. I even wrote out what I want to say at the auditions. I don't know if there's ever such a thing as being over-prepared, but I think I am.
I'll be posting a philosophical blog soon.
Later.
B
Friday, 30 July 2004 - 7:37 AM MDT
Name:
Gigglepriest
Hello B!
Thank you for your kind reply. I feel bad that I haven?t answered until now. My only excuse is that now and then I need to get some work done in between all the internet surfing? ;-)
It was very interesting to read what you had to say about your experience with the theatre and how much you love it. I have never tried it myself and wouldn?t mind hearing some more about it when you have the time.
You seem to be a down-to-earth sort of person who knows her way around a toolbox and I am a bit intrigued as to how you happened upon the theatre in the first place?
The play you are going to stage sounds funny and clever and I wish you good luck with it! And, no, I don?t think it is possible to be over-prepared. If one is properly prepared for a task it makes it easier to improvise when something unexpected happens. (And don?t you just know that the people who now tell you not to worry will come to you and suddenly expect you to be able to answer all kinds of questions about the work process?!)
Hope you have a great weekend!
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