a date! and a song!
in Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings, video
as baby bunny, Charis, day, drew, Esther, hugs not drugs, Jason, Larry, life, need of prayer, Ollie, slip and slides, song, time, tonight, vietnamese food, Xerxes
My life is rich.
I mean, look at him.
We went on a date tonight. I agreed to drive since he’s underage and all and when I picked him up he had a lovely yellow sparkly card for me. Yellow. Of course. And inside the card, he thanked me for taking him on a date and told me that he loves me.
Like I said, my life is rich.
He also informed me that he wanted to get me flowers, but unfortunately ran out of time. Understandable. He had a very busy day of slip and slides and play-making, from what I heard over dinner tonight. And really, it’s the thought that counts. Well, at least in this case, anyway.
We went to Ollie’s favorite restaurant and had some amazing Vietnamese food. And then had some ice cream at Friendly’s, which is always perfect, if you ask me. We also saw a baby bunny eating some grass outside and how hilarious this sentence would be if I swopped out eating for smoking.
But hugs, not drugs, baby bunny!
It was an altogether adorable night and I think I might love one-on-one time with people I love more than anything else.
And yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with a man named Larry on the phone about buying a certain bedroom set that I never do want to see again. We were talking about addresses and what his ETA might be to pick it up when all of the sudden he started talking me through it. What? I know, that’s how I felt too. He was telling me that he had been divorced, too. TOO. You know, me and Larry. So much in common. And that he had gotten through it. And then he told me that he’d pray for me and that’s real nice, it really is, but it’s bad enough getting random Larrys out and about buying your bed, but when they start praying for you too…Well, let’s just say that’s when you’re like, yep. this is my life. take a nice inhalation because this is what it smells like–larry praying for you.
And nope, I am not an ounce above Larry’s prayers.
But seven months ago my life didn’t look quite so much like it was in such obvious need of prayer by total strangers who are buying my bed. Not a complaint, though; just an observation. And I am not crying or anything; I actually think it’s kind of funny.
Oh, and tonight I got home to a quiet and dark house. This might sound creepy, but I kind of like it. Because there was the piano, all begging to be played and it was like, you spend all day with kids and they make you necklaces out of gimp and you wear them! and yet you’re gonna just walk on by…?
So I was like, You’re right, piano. And if you made me a necklace out of gimp, I’d wear it too.
So I sat down and played and then I decided to play a ballad that I wrote for the play my brother wrote that he asked me to turn into a musical by way of adding tunes. And if you are an editor, please, have yourself a field day with that terrible sentence.
And there was one song in particular that strikes a chord with me. Jason emailed me, asking me if I would have a very hard time writing a sad song for Esther to sing; that this song should be something about how Xerxes (which happens to be Drew’s screen name for just about everything, ironically enough) falls very short of his role as husband and how Esther is a woman of worth, despite how she is treated by him.
Do you think you could handle writing something like that? he asked, more than a little tongue in cheek.
So I sat down and wrote it in just a few minutes, it felt. Bam. Here’s a little bit of what’s happened to me, a little bit of my childhood, and a little bit of hope anyway.
It’s called You’ll Know Him. And my niece Charis sure did knock it out of the park when she sang it on stage, by the way.
oh, man.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as american idioms, brother jonathan, chicken, cut, Delaware, dress rehearsal, Esther, fancy footwork, head, Henry VIII, jonathan, king henry viii, Pat, rehearsal, Shane, Tim Gunn, week
One time I overheard my mom trying to use that old expression, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”
And I know. It’s not the most poetic of our American idioms.
But my mom failed to mention the chicken, and so she simply told someone that she was “running around with HER head cut off.”
Which she wasn’t, thankfully.
And considering the fact that she never did marry King Henry VIII, that’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon.
But the thing is, I’ve been feeling like that chicken lately. The one with its head cut off, I mean.
And it’s funny how when it rains, it seems to pour.
( Yes, let’s see just how many cliches I can fit in this one post!).
Because I, along with my brother Jonathan, have been busy putting a musical–The Story of Esther–on its feet, and well, it’s the day of the show, y’all (which sadly, is NOT a cliche, but it is a quote from Waiting for Guffman so should count for something, right?)! But all this to say that this week has been tech week.
No problem.
Except that this week is also when a casting company has decided they want to see me.
Every day since Wednesday.
Now both are awesome–Esther and getting seen by this casting company–but together?
Let’s see what kind of fancy footwork can be done to make it work (as Tim Gunn would say!).
So wednesday I drove to NYC and drove back for rehearsal. Then I recorded with Shane. And “recording with Shane” meant that I plopped down on a pillow and fell asleep while Shane and Pat worked hard.
When I asked Shane if I could hear the tracks later he asked me if I knew the story of the Little Red Hen. He was teasing, but still. Good point.
Thursday I drove back to the city, danced to the point where I could have maybe thrown up, had I been the kind that does that, which I don’t, and then drove back to Delaware. I stopped to sing three songs with Shane at a concert and then made it to help run a cue to cue tech rehearsal into a dress rehearsal.
And then today.
I HAVE to be back by seven. I accompany this show and nobody else even knows the music remotely. So I got myself a real nice little Amtrak ticket and man, does it feel luxurious to be all relaxed and not having to pay attention or worry that I’ll get stuck in traffic or even sit up cause, girl! you’re driving! that ain’t no joke!
Instead, I’m all relaxed on the train. And I’m On my way back from NYC and it takes not even an hour and a half to get there, compliments of the speedy Acela Express.
And I’ll make the show tonight.
And tomorrow I don’t have to get up and go to NYC, which sort of feels like a day off, by this point.
So yes, this chicken has found her head once again.
you betta work, akismet.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as blog, cupcake party, Esther, God, going to have a party, Haiti, irish creme, logical conclusion, right, Shane, something, song, stage, tooth fairy
So, this is a random thought and somebody who wrote the book on how to blog probably said not to ever start a post with a random thought. I’m sure of it, now; it was in chapter three, right after the chapter about keeping your blog posts short and sweet and goodness me, never over [...]
yellow underwear (yes, I just said underwear. scandalous.)
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as brother jason, Canada, easter musical, Esther, extreme tiredness, Haiti, Jason, Joe, Kentucky, pair, pennsylvania, skin, small comforts, tonight, underwear, underwear drawer, world
I have so much homework to do right now. And some of it is spelled T-A-X-E-S. And some of it is spelled D-I-V-O-R-C-E. And some of it is even spelled E-S-T-H-E-R. Um, lest you think that Esther is some chick that I need to do, let me explain. I am referring to the rest of [...]
My name is Jessica and this is a nice, quiet space that I like to cram with words.
