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Monday, 2 August 2004
Long weekends...a good time to get nothing done
This weekend was the long weekend. Of course, as with any long weekend, I have all of these great plans for things that need to get done. In the end, I accomplish very little.
I'm still trying to figure out why. I know that half of the things I have planned involve working outside. Unfortunately, it's been so rainy lately that you can't do anything outside. And if the rain doesn't get you, the mosquitos will. When I let Brooke outside last night to do her thing, she got swarmed. These stupid things were coming out of everything. The grass especially because of all of the rain lately.
We did have some sunshine this weekend, but didn't accomplish nearly what my brother and I had planned.
Most of my weekend was spent rearranging everything. When you move from a house to a trailer, there's bound to be a shortage of space. Especially considering I have alot of books, movies, music, etc. Trying to find a space for everything is tough. Sacrifices have to be made. And items either get thrown out or are relegated to the shed. I'm still working on it and it'll probably take me a while yet. I only hope I'm done before Aug. 15 (that's when I start auditions for my play).
I'm going to cut it REALLY short today. Weekends are supposed to be a person's chance to catch up on sleep. I didn't. So I'm a little catatonic right now. Need caffeine.
B
Posted by brookside10 at 6:01 PM MDT
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Updated: Tuesday, 3 August 2004 2:17 PM MDT
Friday, 30 July 2004
We're all a little different from what others would expect
Recently, someone asked me why I got involved in the theatre. So I'll try to explain.
I've always believed in being a well-rounded person. Knowing as much as I can, or enough to get by, in a number of various things. I believe that not only does it make you a better-informed person, but also you're able to deal with various situations more effectively if you have even a small grasp on what's happening. At least you're not completely in the dark.
There are some things that I know a great deal about and some that I'm only still learning. But that's the great thing about life. You never stop learning. And I constantly want to challenge myself.
But with all of these interests comes a love of the arts. More specifically, acting.
I have taken up a number of different interests. Most of them have centered on performing. Figure Skating, Martial Arts, Ballroom/Latin Dancing, Canine Training, Home Construction, Finishing Carpentry, Furniture Restoration and Construction, Gardening, Poetry, Sketching, Calligraphy, Rapier, Singing, and so on, and so on.
But, I can remember being a kid and wanting to be an actress, a dancer, and a singer. I loved the idea of it. But, I was incredibly shy and was always labeled a dreamer. For a kid, there's nothing better than being a dreamer. Our dreams and imagination are what drive us. Unfortunately, I didn't listen to myself and put performing not only on the back burner, but took it off the stove entirely.
I was about 20 years old, I guess, when I decided that I wanted to take dancing. So, I enrolled at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Once I finally started to let go and relax a little, I knew that being in front of an audience was all I wanted.
Then one day, I saw an ad in the paper calling for instructors at another studio. I quickly applied and began a career as a Ballroom/Latin Dance Instructor. Not only did I get the chance to dance (and get paid for it), but also we did 2 variety shows a year. This meant that I also got to sing and act. After a while, my partner and I got the opportunity to do actual shows. What a blast!
Unfortunately, teaching was barely paying the bills. I didn't have a car for about 2 years because I couldn't afford it. And I was living in a not so nice area of town in a cockroach infested building. There's nothing like seeing the police run by your window at least once or twice a week trying to chase down a bad guy. So, for the time being, I got out of dancing and performing.
It's been a few years now and it's time that I do something for myself. We all seem to have so many other things that take over our lives. Our jobs. Our families. Other financial commitments. I realized that I couldn't keep saying no to all of the things that I enjoy about life. All of the things that I love doing and being involved in. There comes a time when you have to do something for yourself and be happy.
I don't love the job that I do right now. It pays the bills and that's it. But I love being on stage. In front of the audience. There is no greater feeling than to know that someone has enjoyed your performance.
One character that I played was E.K. Hornbeck in Inherit the Wind. The character is traditionally a man, but the director decided to change things up a little for me. It was a great role. Hornbeck is a news reporter from the late 20's. Well educated. Very outspoken. And very opinionated. So opinionated that every word has a note of sarcasm in it, but also a lot of truth. Basically, a no bullshit, get right to the point, no sugar coating kind of character. After each performance, the cast did a meet and greet with the audience. People felt such dislike for my character that they would either walk about 10 feet away and wave at me or would approach me to tell me how much they enjoyed hating my character. I told one of the other actors I felt truly accomplished. If people hated me, then my job was done. I found it hard to play a character that was always snide and confrontational. Especially when I'm not like that myself. But I'm still learning.
I took Drama in high school, and it's been a few years. So, I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to take a few classes. I took some scene study and character development classes. And I'm also reading whatever information I can. I try to keep up with what's going on in the acting world. And watch as many behind the scenes kind of show as I can so that I can get a better understanding of what goes on. I also collect movies. I have about 500 now and my collection is growing. I've collected everything from Dramas to Psychological Thrillers and big budget to independent films. I try to take scenes from different movies and break them down into audio and visual communication. There's so much that you can learn just from a person's face.
All in all, I guess I'm just a kid at heart. Still wanting to play make-believe with my friends.
B
Thursday, 29 July 2004
Politics...a taboo subject around my family
My family, more precisely my Dad, is extremely passionate about politics. I'm forever telling my Dad that if he wants to enact some of the changes that he has in mind that he should run for office. I think that would be a much better way to spend his time instead of complaining about the state of our country. I don't usually like to talk politics with people. It's something that most people are very passionate about. And sometimes my opinions come across as a little to the point. Hence the reason why I don't like to talk about it much. Alot of times I like to say it like it is and some people don't know how to handle that. I've become better at sugar coating things a little, but I don't always feel as if I'm being as honest as I should. It's like talking about religion. Everyone has their own beliefs and that's great. I have my own beliefs and can appreciate the thoughts of others on the subject of religion. But some are unwilling to see the viewpoint of another. But politics is a sore spot with my Dad. Once you get him started, be prepared for an evening of, well, basically yelling and swearing. During the last election, I read up on the parties and their platforms. Watched the debates, visited the Party websites, and tried to find out as much information as I could so that I could make an informed choice. You see, I vote for whomever I feel will do the best job. Not just for the party's political platform. People are always frustrated by politics and it's not something that you can usually have a calm discussion about. Especially around my Dad. Well, enough said on that topic. For now, I'll leave it at this. B
Posted by brookside10 at 8:30 AM MDT
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Updated: Sunday, 14 June 2015 6:49 PM MDT
Wednesday, 28 July 2004
Brothers - Part One
I have one brother. He's a good kid, really. He's actually only about 15 months younger than I am. I call him a kid because mentally he's really only about 12 or 13 years old.
When he was born, the umbilical cord was around his neck. As a result, there was an oxygen depletion to the brain. He's not stupid, he just has trouble with comprehension sometimes and with learning. All in all, though, he's a really good person.
All of us in the family are greatful that he doesn't have any bad influences in his life. He's pretty impressionable. I remember that I was living in Calgary when my dad told me that he moved out. I was so scared that I started to cry.
My brother and I had always been there for each other. I could tell what he was thinking from the expression on his face. I had always looked after him.
When I was about 5, my parents bought a travel trailer. We spent our first of many summers at a lake only about 30 minutes away. My brother and I were swimming and I remember another kid came up and splashed water in his face. Of course, my brother being 4, started crying.
He used to have these huge cheeks and big, dark brown eyes. When he cried, it just broke your heart because these crocodile sized tears would be streaming down his face.
Anyway, me being the big sister got revenge. I splashed water in the other kid's face. I then put my arm around my brother and led him to shore. Not before telling the other kid, "No one splashes my baby brother!".
Kind of cute, huh? Well, what can I say.
I'm going to leave you with that thought while I prepare for part two.
B
Tuesday, 27 July 2004
Something fun
So, I'm sitting here thinking to myself. Which is a good thing to do when you're at work. I probably shouldn't be spending my "valuable" time in this way, but, technically, I'm on a break so it's okay.
How many times have you just wondered, how is it that people actually survive past 5 years old? You see it every day. These are what the world has come to know as the "Darwin Award Recipients".
Like this one: A guy was driving down the road in his Winnebago. For those of you who aren't rednecks and don't know what a Winnebago is, it's a recreational motorhome. Anyway, he's driving down the road and suddenly gets hungry. So, he goes into the back to make a sandwich. While he's eating, his Winnebago goes into a ditch and rolls over. Well, what Einstein did was instead of pulling over to a stop at the side of the road, he put it into "cruise control". By his estimation, the vehicle was on a straight road and would follow the road as long as he engaged the cruise control. The company that makes the Winnebago was forced to pay him a settlement and buy him a new R.V. On top of this, they had to include in the owner's manual that cruise control doesn't mean automatic pilot.
You read about crap like that every day. The papers are full of it. So is my family.
My dad is basically our Tool Man Tim. Except for the fact that he actually knows how to build and what he's taking about. He's just really clumsy. It's not to the point that he seriously maims himself. It's basically just enough to cause injury. I'm hoping that the clumsiness will diminish through the generations. My great-grandchildren might be normal. Anyway, here's a couple of bonehead things that he's done.
One year, my dad had a thing with water. Every time he went near it, something happened. Dad and I had drawn up a set of plans for finishing off the basement. All of the frames were up and the electrical, plumbing, and heating was also done. So, now came time to drywall. One of the smallest areas was in the shower. This was a task that dad decided he didn't need help with. He cut the drywall into shape, fit it in, and began putting it up. Only, he either wasn't paying attention or something because all of a sudden water started pouring out. Behind this nice, soggy piece of drywall was the water pipe for the shower.
This same year, he was trying to plumb in the taps for the sink (once again in the basement). My job, of course, was to hold the light. Which I never, as I was told several times, held right anyway. I get tired of this and head up to the bathroom. I'm sitting there and it feels rather warm. Which is kind of unusual in a bathroom. My dad had somehow mixed the pipes up and there was now hot water coming into the toilet. I think it was about 1 a.m. before we got everything hooked back up again.
Then, we're out at the lake. We weren't one of those kinds of families who could afford a cabin. We had a travel trailer. A fairly modest one. No phone. No tv. Just a trailer. In Canada, winterizing is a must. Now, you can either go to your local RV service dealer or, if you know how, you can do it yourself. Most newer trailers aren't that difficult, but ours was built in 1975.
Setting up the trailer went as usual. However, when it came to lighting the pilot on the stove, it wouldn't work. After much debate (I told dad to check and see if the gas lines were plugged), he solicited the advice of a neighbouring camper. The first idea was that maybe the regulator had gone. So, the next morning we drove for an hour to get into town and buy an new gas regulator. Nothing. Still not working. This time, our friendly neighbour had another sugggetion. Basically the same one that I had given him the day before. So, the idea was that he would blow through the lines as I stood in the "kitchen" area and reported my findings. All of a sudden, anti-freeze started to come out of the stove. What he had done, so well I might add, was to not only winterize the water lines, but the gas lines. At least it cleaned them out a little.
At the lake, again. When hooking up the services, dad always liked to bury the water hose. This way, someone would be less likely to trip on it or cut it with an axe. Well, one day some unknown person decided to pull the hose out of the ground. My dad, after swearing profusely, grabs the shovel and begins to dig. However, the spot that he happened to choose was where the water main came in for the entire camp ground. My skills were once again relegated to "holding the light" (which I failed at miserably once again). All of the water was shut down at 11 pm until a clamp could be obtained from the hardware store 1 hour away the next day.
Fun stuff. And suprising to say that it all happened in one year. I'm going to let it go for now. But I'll have to tell you about the day he drank poison...on purpose.
B
Monday, 26 July 2004
Okay...take a pill or something
Now that I've thoroughly depressed everyone with my last posting (I'm sure that it sounded as if I was on a really bad acid trip or something), on to "cheerier" things.
I am terrified of being caught in a tornado. The fact that I live in a trailer MIGHT have something to do with that. And to those who might be entertaining trailer trash comments, I don't think so.
Used to be that tornadoes in Alberta occurred once every 50 years. Now they happen all the time. My ex and I rented an acreage that had been hit during the 1988 tornado. Took out a ton of trees, a barn and half the roof off the house.
But, I'm all prepared. I've got all of my stuff packed in the car. Not that a car would be a safe haven, either. It's just better than being in a tornado magnet (aka: trailer). I've got it packed with a portable tv, water, non-perishable food (crackers and chips), a blanket and pillow, as well as things like first aid supplies and stuff for my dog.
We've been hit with some really wicked storms lately. All of which have been good breeding grounds for tornadoes.
Okay. I'm paranoid. But with my luck, my place would be the only one hit. And, amazingly enough, I would probably be inside at the time but not be hurt.
Sometimes I think that there's some weird sort of voodoo curse that's been cast over me and my family. Things will happen. It'll just be bad enough to really PISS you off, but not terrible enough to be disasterous.
Maybe I'm karmically challenged. In some former life I was probably an executioner or something and must now pay the price for the next millenium. With that price comes a life where every decision is met with incredibly moronic results.
I know. It sounds like I'm about a half a second away from being one of those weirdos who stand on the street with a sandwich board strapped to their chests that say, "The End Is Near". Well, maybe not that far gone at least. Although, if one day I show up at work and start to run naked through the building with a baton in one hand and a dead chicken in the other, I think someone will know that my cheese has finally slipped off the cracker.
But there's something to be said for a little insanity now and again. Some of the best things happen when we throw caution to the wind and just do what we feel we need to do. So, here's to sanity. May it never be too close for comfort.
B
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
Thursday, 22 July 2004
Awnings and wind DON'T mix
I sometimes get frustrated when a task or job doesn't go my way. Not always. But it's usually when doing a very simple task. I chalk this up to genetics. My dad is a prime example.
I don't know where it comes from, but whenever my dad is doing something there's usually difficulty and injury involved. He used to bang the same spot on his head on the same side of the barn every day until he dug out the pen a little. And every single time, he swear, yell, and scream and threaten to take a chainsaw to the roof.
Fortunately for me, I've learned to control my temper much better than he ever will. However, it still gets away from me sometimes. Like when you're setting up an awning in the wind. By yourself. Awnings and wind don't mix. Especially when you're by yourself. At least for me they don't.
I was having a squad party at my place one day. Because it was fairly sunny and the yard wasn't really shaded, I thought it would be a good idea to set up the awning. I had purchase it at Zeller's for about $100. Not a bad deal. It's one of those one's that has a stand and is about 10' wide and 14' long. Once set up, there's about 12' of clearance underneath.
So, here I am. Beautiful, sunny day with a slight breeze. My dog and I are outside and I decide that I can set this thing up myself. It's not really difficult (join pole A and pole B, etc.). Wrong! The STUPID wind kept catching everything. Finally, I got the frame set up. Then came the task of putting the canvas on. Should be simple considering the frame is done, right? OF COURSE NOT!!! Why would it be simple?!
It's been about 2 hours. The awning takes a grand total of about 20 minutes to set up under NORMAL conditions. I'm so frustrated at this point, I'm swearing and yelling at the awning (Wonderful thought, yelling at an inanimate object. Like I'm going to hurt it's feelings.). But my stubborn streak will not allow me to give in. I must conquer the awning or die trying.
After another 30 minutes of swearing, I've had it. I'm so fed up at this point that I start launching poles through the air. My poor dog, in the meantime, figured I'd lost it and went to hide in the kennels. Poles, canvas, rope, and pegs went all over the yard.
I went into the house, had a beer and tried to calm down. It took me about 30 minutes before I would go outside to pick up the mess that I had made. Since then, I never set up the awning on my own. Too hazardous for the awning and my sanity.
B
Monday, 19 July 2004
Trust your local weatherman (or person), if you dare
As you know, we've been experiencing some really unusual weather up here in Alberta.
I remember when I was a kid that tornadoes in Alberta only occurred maybe once every 50 years. Now it's a regular occurence.
It snows from October to at least the end of April. And the summer usually isn't something that one would call warm. Basically, if hell froze over, we'd be right at home.
But the last several years, we've been having really strange heatwaves and rain storms. For about 2 or 3 weeks, it was really hot up here. Around 30 degrees C. (not sure what that is in F.). Then we had rain for about 2 1/2 weeks straight. My garden was completely flooded over. And then just this last weekend, we had a really bad rain/hail storm. Of course everyone has heard about the flooding of West Edmonton Mall. Parts of the roof collapsed.
Then, just this morning, they were taking about the rain in the east. There was one house where the water was 8 feet high in the basement. Beats the hell out of anyone up here.
So, with all of this going on, they ask the experts. The guys who study all of this stuff. Their brilliant answer: I don't know. Beats the heck out of me.
In my world, things run much more smoothly (This is based on the assumption that I would be able to control the weather). It's nice during the day...sunny, slight breeze. That kind of stuff. Then between about 1:00 am and 3:00 am, there's a really good, hard rain. Just enough to water everything. Perfect as far as I'm concerned.
Well, lots more planned in my world. Fill you in on how I would deal with people who illegally park later. There's fire involved, so it's kind of neat!
B
Posted by brookside10 at 6:01 PM MDT
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Updated: Tuesday, 20 July 2004 8:34 AM MDT
Ahhhh...the land of dreams
What would I do if I came into a gazillion dollars? Obviously apart from the usual stuff, what about the rest of my time?
Well, if I wanted to completely check out of reality, I think I would have a French Shallop built. Then sail around the "Spanish Main" with a crew of well-meaning misfits and play pirate all day. Not actually DO anything. Just hang out and do whatever. And it would be cool 'cause I'd get to have a sword (hee, hee).
Another option would be to buy a nice, quiet little piece of the Caribbean. There'd be no tv, no phone, nothing. Just peace and quiet as I lay in a hammock with a cold fruity pina colada while being fanned by a tall, dark, and handsome non-English speaking "cabana boy". You know. The kind who would feed me peeled grapes and what-not.
As you can tell, a lot of thought has gone into both of these propositions.
Well, back to the land of dreams.
This weekend, I've decided it's about time to get off my lazy butt and finish the yard. My brother and I bought a place in December and, being winter, we weren't able to do anything to the yard until Spring. We discovered, after the snow melted, that the back steps weren't attached to the house. This became quite apparent to me as I stepped on the top step and slid down the side of the house.
Anyhow, we finally built a deck and managed to get one coat of stain on it before it started to rain for 3 weeks.
So now I have all of this yard work that I've made for myself, plus various other building projects. Ever notice how one project turns into twenty very quickly?
For instance, I have a cabinet that I built for all of my tools. Yeah, I have tools. When you're raised by your father, you learn about that kind of stuff.
Anyway, when I moved, I left the cabinet at my old place because there was nowhere to put it. A few weeks ago, my brother and I picked it up and brought it home. Instead of just setting it up, I decided that the best way to level it was take it apart. I had built it in 2 sections for easier moving.
We dug out an area in the grass and put down a cement sidewalk block so that it wouldn't be sitting on the bare ground. Of course, it has to be level. Then, I took the cabinet apart, washed it, put it back together and nailed a couple of skids on the bottom. Then, I sealed all of the joints. Of course, we had to re-adjust the hasp on the front so we could lock it.
After all of that, which took us about 3 hours, I decided that I wanted to put a roof on it. This thing is about 7 feet tall, 4 feet deep and 3 feet wide. So it's fairly large. Currently, it has a flat roof which means the rain sits on the top. I started building and ran out of nails. GREAT! JUST #$?/* GREAT!!!! So now I need nails. It's also been sitting in the sun for a couple of years, so it needs a new paint job. More paint to buy. Then, it started raining. Well, screw it. I was pooped anyway. We also built the deck that day.
Basically, a project that should have taken me 15 minutes is lasting a life time. It's like the time that I decided to refinish my parents old dining room table set. It took me 5 months. Next time, I'll have someone else do it.
Unfortunately, it was so hot out that all I did was cut the grass. I ended up spending the rest of the weekend sitting in front of the fan trying to stop from melting. So much for a productive weekend.
B
Posted by brookside10 at 4:01 AM MDT
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Updated: Monday, 19 July 2004 9:37 AM MDT
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