I'm sorry that I haven't been posting as often. Things have been rather hectic with our rehearsals and last minute costume buying. Each year, because of the number of children in our show....that grow....costumes need to be replaced. Because I am the only wife without children, I am the Merry Shopper. I think it is also because I happen to know where to buy things and find random things around town.
Today we had our one and only full run through of the show and it was a bit...umm, stressful? There are still costumes that need to be made and purchased and we open in less than 24 hours. Hmmmm should be interesting. To top things off, I have been struck down with some sort of cold. Oh yay. Gotta love it!
I will try and post pictures from the show as soon as I can. We had some Trick or Treaters in our family tonight but I didn't have my camera on me. I'll see if someone else in the family did. I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Stress !!!
I am starting to stress out a tad. Out here in Branson, Christmas starts November 1st. This means that our theatre and our show completely change. Normally I am fine with the show. Perhaps a little bit of nervousness for the first few shows...but other than that, no big deal. This year is going to be a little different though.
Due to my motorcycle accident, I am the "gimp" out of the wives. I normally will dance the opening number and nothing else. I used to do the other dance numbers but my knee swelled up after dancing the first year so I decided to cut back a little. Cortisone shots were not something I wanted to rely on. This year I am adding in a few more dances. Two of them are ones that I have done before...but it has been 5 years since I last did them. The memory isn't quite what it used to be. Actually, forget memory, the muscles aren't what they used to be.
There is also a song that I normally do with Adam, Cindy and Marty. Just singing and then minimal dancing. Well, this year things are changing. It's a brand new song with all of the couples that sounds great vocally. It's the dancing that is stressing me out. We just had our first rehearsal yesterday and we aren't even done with the choreography. The show opens in literally ONE week! AHHHHH. Aside from the very short time...I have never danced a Viennese Waltz before. Hello??? Not the easiest thing for me to pick up. We probably only have another day or two of rehearsals to learn it. Yep! Color me stressed!
Due to my motorcycle accident, I am the "gimp" out of the wives. I normally will dance the opening number and nothing else. I used to do the other dance numbers but my knee swelled up after dancing the first year so I decided to cut back a little. Cortisone shots were not something I wanted to rely on. This year I am adding in a few more dances. Two of them are ones that I have done before...but it has been 5 years since I last did them. The memory isn't quite what it used to be. Actually, forget memory, the muscles aren't what they used to be.
There is also a song that I normally do with Adam, Cindy and Marty. Just singing and then minimal dancing. Well, this year things are changing. It's a brand new song with all of the couples that sounds great vocally. It's the dancing that is stressing me out. We just had our first rehearsal yesterday and we aren't even done with the choreography. The show opens in literally ONE week! AHHHHH. Aside from the very short time...I have never danced a Viennese Waltz before. Hello??? Not the easiest thing for me to pick up. We probably only have another day or two of rehearsals to learn it. Yep! Color me stressed!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Ran out of gas today...
Yep, that's right. I ran out of gas on the way to the theatre this morning. I'm 35 and this has never happened to me before. My dad trained me early on to never let my tank get below a quarter tank. Apparently that lesson has been forgotten.
This morning started off so well, aside from it being only 45 degrees outside when I woke up. Because we have rehearsals after the morning show this morning, I decided to pack lunches for Adam and me. Turkey, Muenster cheese, sprouts and sliced cucumbers on homemade whole wheat bread, grapes, chips and a yummy veggie salsa that I make every year. I'll have to post that recipe some time. Anyway, I was prepared. It was going to be a great day.
At the moment I have bills on my steering wheel console thing/dashboard, thus blocking the gas gauge. I decided to stop at the gas station near my house because I knew I was getting low. I normally pay with my debit card but accidentally put in a credit card and it wanted me to go inside to pay. It was already 9:45 AM (our show starts at 10 AM) so I thought I didn't have enough time and would just go to the station near the theatre. Silly me. So, I'm on the way to the theatre and I notice my car starting to stall a bit. I have a Subaru Forester, automatic...my first automatic car. I'm all about manual cars because I detest having to wait for the car to kick into gear. I like being able to control the gears on hills. I also like the fact that you can push start the car. Anyway, the car didn't seem to want to kick into gear...then I noticed the gas gauge. The bar was way below the empty mark. Oops. I was about half way there and there was bumper to bumper traffic and a slight hill. I decided to turn back around and go back to the first gas station because it was mostly downhill and I figured I would have a better chance driving in neutral and coasting to it. Uh, I forgot that there is a slight uphill curve about 1/2 mile from the station. As soon as I hit the hill the car died. Foot to the floor...nothing! I was running out of "speed" and turned left down a driveway just as I lost the last of my "speed". Yes, I had to almost cut off a car. I had turned down a gravel driveway to a used car lot. Of course I ran into one of the 22 Mexican people that lives in Branson. No, I'm not being racist AT ALL. Just factual. I grew up in Southern California,which is a melting pot of cultures, so....no racism here. I am 1 of 2 Chinese people who live out here (unless you count the cast of the Chinese Acrobats. That would bring the total to about 18). Needless to say, it's a predominantly white town out here in the Ozarks. It took me a little time telling him what was wrong because my Spanish/Mexican is a tad rusty. I also kept coming up with Italian words now that I am trying to learn that. I only had a $20 bill so I paid him that to get a about a gallon of gas. SO WORTH IT.
After that I made it to the gas station and through the awful traffic. I got to the theatre around 10:25 AM and still had plenty of time to get on stage. I don't go on until about 10:30 or so.
Hopefully the remainder of the day will be less eventful.
This morning started off so well, aside from it being only 45 degrees outside when I woke up. Because we have rehearsals after the morning show this morning, I decided to pack lunches for Adam and me. Turkey, Muenster cheese, sprouts and sliced cucumbers on homemade whole wheat bread, grapes, chips and a yummy veggie salsa that I make every year. I'll have to post that recipe some time. Anyway, I was prepared. It was going to be a great day.
At the moment I have bills on my steering wheel console thing/dashboard, thus blocking the gas gauge. I decided to stop at the gas station near my house because I knew I was getting low. I normally pay with my debit card but accidentally put in a credit card and it wanted me to go inside to pay. It was already 9:45 AM (our show starts at 10 AM) so I thought I didn't have enough time and would just go to the station near the theatre. Silly me. So, I'm on the way to the theatre and I notice my car starting to stall a bit. I have a Subaru Forester, automatic...my first automatic car. I'm all about manual cars because I detest having to wait for the car to kick into gear. I like being able to control the gears on hills. I also like the fact that you can push start the car. Anyway, the car didn't seem to want to kick into gear...then I noticed the gas gauge. The bar was way below the empty mark. Oops. I was about half way there and there was bumper to bumper traffic and a slight hill. I decided to turn back around and go back to the first gas station because it was mostly downhill and I figured I would have a better chance driving in neutral and coasting to it. Uh, I forgot that there is a slight uphill curve about 1/2 mile from the station. As soon as I hit the hill the car died. Foot to the floor...nothing! I was running out of "speed" and turned left down a driveway just as I lost the last of my "speed". Yes, I had to almost cut off a car. I had turned down a gravel driveway to a used car lot. Of course I ran into one of the 22 Mexican people that lives in Branson. No, I'm not being racist AT ALL. Just factual. I grew up in Southern California,which is a melting pot of cultures, so....no racism here. I am 1 of 2 Chinese people who live out here (unless you count the cast of the Chinese Acrobats. That would bring the total to about 18). Needless to say, it's a predominantly white town out here in the Ozarks. It took me a little time telling him what was wrong because my Spanish/Mexican is a tad rusty. I also kept coming up with Italian words now that I am trying to learn that. I only had a $20 bill so I paid him that to get a about a gallon of gas. SO WORTH IT.
After that I made it to the gas station and through the awful traffic. I got to the theatre around 10:25 AM and still had plenty of time to get on stage. I don't go on until about 10:30 or so.
Hopefully the remainder of the day will be less eventful.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Ugh, the negative side of Facebook
Most of you out there are familiar with Facebook I imagine. It's a great social network that allows you to keep in touch with your present friends, as well as ones from the past. For the most part I have loved it. It has been fun getting to re-connect with friends from high school and college. I have even found a few people from intermediate and grade school. I mainly only add people that know I because I keep my personal information on my page. Oh yeah, I also like Facebook because you can choose whether to "accept" a friend or not. You have the option of letting people view your page or not. If I have met you in person, feel free to add me.
Facebook also has fun procrastination tools. You can literally waste several days away on there. It's actually a little bit frightening the amount of time you can waste. You can play online poker, Scrabble, Boggle, have Pillow Fights, and play other addicting games ( Packrat). OH, and you can meet people from all over the world on the poker application. Note to self, must find Italian people to communicate with...
So...with all of these wonderful things, where is the negative?
Pictures....many, many pictures from the past. Eek. It's a lot of fun being able to post pictures on your page and seeing pictures of friends on their pages. You can also post comments under the pictures. However, some of those pictures are from high school.....in the 80s.....with really really big hair.....and lace...Need I say more? Ugh...embarrassing pictures for all of your friends to see. Pictures that you thought were long forgotten and that should not be introduced to the non-suspecting eyes. They didn't know they existed...why show them now? UGH
Facebook also has fun procrastination tools. You can literally waste several days away on there. It's actually a little bit frightening the amount of time you can waste. You can play online poker, Scrabble, Boggle, have Pillow Fights, and play other addicting games ( Packrat). OH, and you can meet people from all over the world on the poker application. Note to self, must find Italian people to communicate with...
So...with all of these wonderful things, where is the negative?
Pictures....many, many pictures from the past. Eek. It's a lot of fun being able to post pictures on your page and seeing pictures of friends on their pages. You can also post comments under the pictures. However, some of those pictures are from high school.....in the 80s.....with really really big hair.....and lace...Need I say more? Ugh...embarrassing pictures for all of your friends to see. Pictures that you thought were long forgotten and that should not be introduced to the non-suspecting eyes. They didn't know they existed...why show them now? UGH
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tour of Missouri Rankings article
I just came across an article on uscyclingreport.com and thought I would paste part of it here:
After only two years of operations the Tour of Missouri was recently promoted to international cycling’s big leagues. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that next year’s week-long, 600-mile race across the Show Me state will be run under the sport’s highest rating, 2HC, which awards premium international competition points to winners.
“For the Tour of Missouri to become HC category means it has attained the highest ranking it can get in the U.S.,” said Andy Lee, a spokesman for the European-based UCI’s American affiliate USA Cycling.
Lee said the upgrade should attract more attention from fans, the international media and top international competitors.
“Missouri has made a name for itself,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Atlanta-based Medalist Sports the Missouri race owner that also owns the top rated Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia which are the only other 2HC-rated races among 39 sanctioned events scheduled through 2009 in the Western Hemisphere.
After only two years of operations the Tour of Missouri was recently promoted to international cycling’s big leagues. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that next year’s week-long, 600-mile race across the Show Me state will be run under the sport’s highest rating, 2HC, which awards premium international competition points to winners.
“For the Tour of Missouri to become HC category means it has attained the highest ranking it can get in the U.S.,” said Andy Lee, a spokesman for the European-based UCI’s American affiliate USA Cycling.
Lee said the upgrade should attract more attention from fans, the international media and top international competitors.
“Missouri has made a name for itself,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Atlanta-based Medalist Sports the Missouri race owner that also owns the top rated Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia which are the only other 2HC-rated races among 39 sanctioned events scheduled through 2009 in the Western Hemisphere.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Learning a new language
The latest thing that I am challenging myself with is learning Italian. I know, random right? Since finishing up 8 years of college, back in 2002, I haven't taken any classes and it feels like my brain is slowing down. I miss being able to learn new things and decided that learning languages might be fun.
Growing up in the US, of course I learned how to speak American/English. My parents are Chinese so I also picked up Mandarin. Granted, I only understand it now and can't really speak it that well. I have an embarrassingly awful American accent when I attempt to speak. It's actually a little fun because most people assume I don't understand Chinese so I get to eavesdrop. Heh heh. I took a total of about 10 years of Spanish and was fairly fluent at one time. However, because I never use it, it has mostly left my brain. Again, I understand more than I can speak. It's easier for me to translate things as opposed to coming up with the words. Make sense?
SO, about a year ago I tried to pick up Turkish. Now, the problem with trying to learn Turkish when you live in the Ozarks is.....there is no one to speak with. I had to try and pick it up from friends online and a few websites. I really tried learning for about 3 months but had to give up. The problem was, I knew how to write the words but had no idea how they sounded. That tends to be a problem. LOL SO, I could write to friends but couldn't speak to someone if I ran into a random Turkish person in Branson.
I have decided to challenge myself to learn another language and stick with it this time. I'm attempting Italian because it's similar to Spanish. Hopefully that will make it a little easier for me. After watching cycling for so many years I have always wanted to learn either French or Italian, so.....Italian it is. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to pick up enough by next year's Tour of Missouri if it comes through town again. This time I'm going to use one of those programs that teaches you to speak and write. As of yet I've been listening to a few podcasts and learning how to speak. So far I have run into one problem. The 2 podcasts have taught me different ways to say the same word so....I guess I'll have to research a little online to see which is more widely used. A friend of mine is also giving me a few Italian programs that he has. Hopefully one of them will work. Keep your fingers crossed!
Growing up in the US, of course I learned how to speak American/English. My parents are Chinese so I also picked up Mandarin. Granted, I only understand it now and can't really speak it that well. I have an embarrassingly awful American accent when I attempt to speak. It's actually a little fun because most people assume I don't understand Chinese so I get to eavesdrop. Heh heh. I took a total of about 10 years of Spanish and was fairly fluent at one time. However, because I never use it, it has mostly left my brain. Again, I understand more than I can speak. It's easier for me to translate things as opposed to coming up with the words. Make sense?
SO, about a year ago I tried to pick up Turkish. Now, the problem with trying to learn Turkish when you live in the Ozarks is.....there is no one to speak with. I had to try and pick it up from friends online and a few websites. I really tried learning for about 3 months but had to give up. The problem was, I knew how to write the words but had no idea how they sounded. That tends to be a problem. LOL SO, I could write to friends but couldn't speak to someone if I ran into a random Turkish person in Branson.
I have decided to challenge myself to learn another language and stick with it this time. I'm attempting Italian because it's similar to Spanish. Hopefully that will make it a little easier for me. After watching cycling for so many years I have always wanted to learn either French or Italian, so.....Italian it is. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to pick up enough by next year's Tour of Missouri if it comes through town again. This time I'm going to use one of those programs that teaches you to speak and write. As of yet I've been listening to a few podcasts and learning how to speak. So far I have run into one problem. The 2 podcasts have taught me different ways to say the same word so....I guess I'll have to research a little online to see which is more widely used. A friend of mine is also giving me a few Italian programs that he has. Hopefully one of them will work. Keep your fingers crossed!
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