Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Mid-week Tuesday
I took it pretty easy last night. A short nap, dropping off Anthony's birthday gift, hanging out with Colin. It's quiet at work again today. Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot done.
Posted by Dre at 9:40 AM
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Monday, December 29, 2003
Belated Friday Five
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
I started my own business, studioDRE.
2. What was your biggest disappointment?
I haven't managed to get out of debt yet.
3. What do you hope the new year brings?
Hopefully it'll be another good year. The addition of a financial windfall might be a nice treat. ;-)
4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
No, I don't believe in making New Years resolutions. I just try to do the best I can with each day as it comes along.
5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
I'm going to spend the evening up river with Colin, Shannon, Cliff, Bill, Dawn, all the pets, and whoever else will be there. I'm looking forward to it!
Posted by Dre at 3:35 PM
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Christmas Holidays
Here's what I've been up to since Monday December 22nd:
Monday evening Scott dropped over with a Wonder Woman Pez dispenser and a book for me. Thanks, Scott! Then, Colin and I spent a quiet evening in.
Tuesday was a beautiful day. After a late start, I managed to pack up Christmas gifts and my laundry and drove to Halifax. I picked mom up from work on my way into town. We had a quick supper of turkey loaf and then mom and I went to visit Sue and Jed and Jesse. What a cute kid! Tiny, and very squeaky! Then it was back home to start some laundry. Yippie.
Wednesday was Christmas Eve. Dad and I braved the crowds at the liquor stores in the morning, as we tried to find a decent bottle of scotch for their neighbor. Then I settled in to wrap gifts for a couple of hours. It was much easier to wrap everything there, and not have to worry about crushed bows and paper in transit from Saint John. Mid-afternoon, mom and I headed to Spring Garden Road so I could shop for some MAC cosmetics. Love their stuff! I also picked up some great lipgloss from Cargo and The Balm. After shopping and after supper, we headed next door to John and Carol's annual Christmas Eve gathering. I only stayed a short while before going out to visit Renny and Harry. I watched Harry struggle to wrap gifts for a while, and then offered to help. Renny gave me some fancy margarita glasses and Harry gave me a Matchbox 20 t-shirt.
Thursday/Christmas Day: I woke the folks up around 9:30 by turning the stereo on and turning the base up. We opened gifts. My haul included fancy garbage cans, a calendar, a fictional day calendar (with items of things that happened on each day in literature and movies), some chocolate brandy beans (lactose-free), some socks with sparkles, Amaretto (Disaronno), a couple of tasty salad dressings, 4 Sherbet fountains, some fancy napkins with a houndstooth pattern, and a surround sound home theatre system. After opening gifts, mom and I worked on one of her smaller puzzles which she'd gotten for Christmas. My aunt Barb and uncle Bob came over and stayed for supper. Then, that evening. mom and I started a second puzzle.
Friday/Boxing Day. It still amazes me that everything is closed on Boxing Day in the Maritimes. Oh well, I wasn't up for shopping anyway. I finally got around to finishing my laundry, and mom and I took apart the T-shirt that Harry had given me, and we remade it into a fitted woman's T. It's wearable now. Mid-afternoon Alden stopped by and we chatted and caught up for a couple of hours. Then I had a quick dinner of leftovers before Renny picked me up to go see Stuck on You. I thought it was cute - just what I needed. We stopped in at Cheers after the movie and had a pop. It was pretty dead in there. They've decided to close off the access to the rest of the Liquor Dome. Don't know what they're thinking there - I don't imagine it'll be good for business.
I got up early Satuday morning and packed things up and drove back to Saint John. I unpacked and got ready for Anthony's birthday party, but I guess it'd been cancelled. So I spent the evening playing SSX 3 instead. I hadn't gamed in 6 weeks - it was a nice treat!
Sunday morning I met Colin for breakfast at Reggie's. Mid-afternoon, we headed upriver for some good company and relaxation. We chatted, I learned Othello, we tried out Colin's new game Quoridor, had a tasty soup that Shannon had made for supper, and spent a bit of time in the hot tub under the stars. I drove home feeling relaxed and with prune-fingers.
I am back at work today. I have a ton to do! I was thinking about possibly taking Friday (the 2nd) off, but that'll depend on what I can accomplish.
Posted by Dre at 10:39 AM
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Monday, December 22, 2003
Oooooh! Cool!
Aragorn's Fellowship Long Coat
Posted by Dre at 12:12 PM
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Weekend update
Friday night I still wasn't feeling all that well so I didn't do much of anything. Colin popped by for a bit. We got 1/2 way through watching Minority Report and I had to hit the hay.
Auditions for Proof were Saturday afternoon. After that, I went home annd napped. That evening, Colin and I had supper at Ming's and then went to a house party at Mike Alexander's. At that point, Colin was starting to come down with the cold I'm still trying to get rid of, and I still wasn't feeling so hot, so we left early - around 10:30 and called it a night.
Sunday I dropped Lisa's birthday gift off to her (Happy 24th, Lisa!). I gave her some Karaoke CDs - I know they'll come in handy! Lisa and Anthony gave me my Christmas gift - a Bratz doll (Jade) and an extra dressy outfit for her. She's pretty nifty. They never had toys like that when I was a kid. I can always count on Lisa and Anthony getting toys for me! Then, Colin and I exchanged Christmas gifts. We figured it was a good time to do that - since neither of us were rushed. I gave Colin a Roots top, a flask, and a pocket-sized daily calendar. Colin gave me a gift certificate to a one hour massage (I can't wait to go get that), tickets for us to see Les Ballet Jazz de Montréal in January, a funky snowman Christmas ornament, a merino wool neckwarmer, and a beautiful pair of silver earrings (from Handworks). After the gift exchange, we had leftovers from Ming's and watched a bit of TV, then headed over to Shannon and Cliff's and enjoyed good company and a bit of fine Port. Unfortunately, somewhere betweeen my apartment and there I lost one of my new earrings. How frustrating! Colin and I did a search for it, but couldn't find it. At least we'll be able to get a replacement at Handworks!
I'm at work today. I have a half day to work and more than a half day's worth of work to try and get done, so I should get cracking!
Posted by Dre at 9:19 AM
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Friday, December 19, 2003
Friday Five
1. List your five favorite beverages.
1) Pink Grapefruit Juice
2) Ginger Ale
3) Cranberry Juice
4) Perrier
5) Water
2. List your five favorite websites.
1) TheOneRing.net
2) McSweeney's
3) For Better or For Worse
4) Style.com
5) Apple Movie Trailers
3. List your five favorite snack foods.
1) All-Dressed chips
2) tortilla chips with salsa
3) popcorn
4) salted licorice
5) fresh veggies
4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.
1) Scrabble
2) Cribbage
3) Rummoli/Michigan Rummy
4) Clue
5) Hearts
5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.
1) SSX 3 (PS2)
2) Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
3) Diablo (Macintosh)
4) Myst (Macintosh)
5) Halo (Xbox)
Posted by Dre at 2:47 PM
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101º
That was my temperature yesterday evening. I left work early and went home and slept. I woke up and watched a bit of TV. Colin dropped off some chicken soup and orange juice (Thank you, Colin!). I went over my scene a couple of times, watched a bit more TV, and then went to bed early. I missed "Carol-oke" last night, which sounded like it would have been fun. Oh well.
I still have a bit of a temperature this morning, but I was feeling better, so I came into work. I had my Year-End Review with my manager this morning, it went well and I'm pretty excited about next year!
Tonight will be quiet - more recouperatin time. Yippie. Tomorrow afternoon are the callbacks for auditions for Proof. I'm looking forward to it!
Posted by Dre at 11:16 AM
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Thursday, December 18, 2003
Yarr
Saw LOTR:ROTK yesterday and loved it.
Picked up script at Rickey's for Proof callbacks on Saturday.
Went to Churchills with Colin and met up with Cliff, Shannon and Jennica and had a beer and a tasty burger.
Went home and read script a few times and thought about "Claire", then went to bed.
Woke up with worse cold this morning. Yarr.
Posted by Dre at 10:19 AM
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Wednesday, December 17, 2003
My World
Dilbert
Posted by Dre at 1:27 PM
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LOTR: ROTK today!
Last night went well. I tidied my apartment and the Doomsday Clock cast came over for our first cast meeting. It's going to be a fun play to work on! After that, Colin came over and we watched Office Space, which Anthony had lent to me.
I got up bright and early this morning and moved my car out of the snow ban lot before 7 AM. So I made it into work nice and early. This works out well, because I plan to leave early to see the 4:15 showing of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Posted by Dre at 8:17 AM
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Early morning
So last night I spent a bit of time hanging out uptown with Colin. After clearing our cars off and moving them to the other side of the street at 6 PM, he went back home to do a bit of work while I stopped in to visit Lisa and Anthony for a bit. Their 11-foot tree looks lovely (and didn't seem to sway at all as their cat, Zed, got into it)! I then went home and did a bit of tidying. Colin popped over for a while and we watched Allegria, then I went to bed early - by 10:30, because I still felt like I had a bit of a cold. Well - I woke up at 4 AM coughing. Then I started stressing about work and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I may as well just get up and make productive use of the time that I am awake. I finished my christmas cards. Well, mostly. There are a few people who's addresses I am still missing (I'm trying to track them down today). I did fall back asleep at 6:30 and got another hour and a half in.
Posted by Dre at 9:50 AM
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Monday, December 15, 2003
Make-a-Flake
Make-a-Flake - A snowflake maker in case you don't have real paper and scizzors handy!
Posted by Dre at 3:28 PM
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Weekend Update
Friday evening was quiet. After a 3-hour nap, I got up and got ready to meet Colin for a late supper. We wound up going to the Irving on the highway, since we were probably too late to have dinner anywhere else.
Saturday morning Colin and I met up with a couple of his friends - Michelle, Simon, and their baby Lauren. We had a tasty breakfast at Reggies. I thought I'd try and get christmas cards done that afternoon, but I wound up falling asleep on the couch instead. Saturday evening was spent at Scott's play reading and Swayze christmas party. The play was pretty funny - it essentially made fun of soap operas. The character I read was Sierra - a psychic fashion designer. I wasn't feeling so great as the evening wore on, so as soon as the movie was over, Colin drove me home. Seems like I was coming down with a bit of a cold.
Sunday I tried to write a few Christmas cards, and spent part of my day napping. That afternoon, Colin and I had decided to go see Stuck On You at Exhibition Cinemas. We sat down in the theatre only to notice that it was absolutely FREEZING. Colin went to ask about the heat, and it turns out that the heat wasn't working in that theatre due to construction. I was pretty pissed off. It was too cold to sit through a movie for 2 hours. Maybe if I'd work my insulated boots, and brought my toque, and a warmer pair of mittens, but there's no way I could stand it. We tried to see if there was anything else on at that time that we'd like to see but there was nothing that we were interested in, so we got our money back for the movie and took our still full overpriced pops and popcorn with us. We rented Braveheart from Blockbuster instead. Great movie! Sunday evening was quiet - watching the Survivor finale and trying to write a few more Christmas cards.
It's another snowy Monday morning. I've re-scheduled my chiropractic appointment for later this week, since the roads are so bad. Things are pretty quiet here at the office as most people haven't made it in yet. The roads are awfully slippery, and only a couple of the sidewalks uptown have been cleared, which means walking to work was even a bit of a challenge. Yippie.
Posted by Dre at 9:34 AM
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Friday, December 12, 2003
The Racquet Zapper
OK. When I was in Saskatchewan this summer, the hornets were fond of using the hummingbird feeders, so we used one of these to kill the bugs. Is was a blast. Also addictive. If I lived in an area that had a lot of bugs, I'd get one of my very own!
Posted by Dre at 12:05 PM
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One Fell Swoop
I did almost all of my Christmas shopping in one fell swoop last night. All I have left to pick up is something for Colin - not something I could really do while he was keeping me company on my shopping spree. I also managed to write Christmas cards to my friends who live in the States. If you're mailing letters by air mail to the US and you want it to arrive by Christmas, today's your last day to send them. Now, hopefully, I'll be able to get the rest of the cards done this weekend.
Posted by Dre at 11:18 AM
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Friday Five
1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?
I don't ever enjoy cold weather. I don't mind some of the stuff that comes with it - like skiing, for example. Snow? Yes - it's nice to have snow during the holidays. But that's because that's how I've always had it.
2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?
To be around friends and family, and find some time to relax. Why - that's pretty much what I do now!
3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?
I like to try to get my Christmas decorations up around December 1st, and take them down by New Years.
4. Do you do anything to help the needy?
Most years I'll donate food to the food drives.
5. What one gift would you like for yourself?
I'd love an iPod, but I need to get out of debt first.
Posted by Dre at 9:02 AM
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Thursday, December 11, 2003
'Tis the Season to be Jolly
Last night was great. Colin and I headed over to Vaka's Christmas party, and I got to meet a few of Colin's friends, who are all very nice. The guacamole was very tasty, but it wasn't enough to fill me up, so we decided on Ming's for supper. Unfortunately they were closing when we got there, so we settled for Subway takeout (mmm - sweet onion chicken terryaki). Our intention was to watch a movie, but we were too tired.
There are only 2 weeks left until Christmas. Tonight I'm going to try to do a bit of shopping for gifts. I hope it's not too busy out - I'm not fond of crowds.
Posted by Dre at 11:24 AM
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Funny
DORK TOWER is pretty funny today...
Posted by Dre at 9:16 AM
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Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Ack!!
I went to the main stage auditions last night. I'm guessing there were about 20 people there. I wasn't nervous - but I was anxious. This process stresses me out. I am looking forward to it being over and done with. Nevertheless, I had a good time. I enjoy reading in a setting like that (despite the pressure), and it was great to see some folks I haven't seen in a while. It does makes sense to do it the way it's being done. Now we get to wait to hear back about call backs for each of the plays individually.
In the mean time, I need to get started on Christmas stuff. I haven't written any cards of done any shopping yet. Yikes! At least I've got a good idea of what I'm getting people. For the most part. There isn't enough time to make gifts for people this year like I'd hoped. Oh well. Perhaps next year...
Posted by Dre at 10:44 AM
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Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Fun With Faces
Mr. Picassohead
and
Your Mama
Posted by Dre at 11:12 AM
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Snowban
I was up earlier than usual this morning so I could move my car in compliance with the city's snow ban. (*Yawn*) They did a decent job clearing the streets. There are actually places to park now. Ugh. I need a coffee.
Let's see... yesterday was fairly quiet. I spent some time going over Streetcar, Scott dropped by and fixed my printer for me (thanks, Scott!) and I ran copies of Doomsday Clock out to the cast.
I think I've figured out what to get everyone for Christmas. I won't have time to make gifts this year, as I would have liked. Hmm... and I still need to do my Christmas cards up and send them out. At least I have my list done. That's a start. 40 cards to send. I'll have to make a point of getting to that next weekend.
Tonight I'm going to the main stage auditions for Proof and A Streetcar Named Desire. I have to admit I'm a bit nervous. I know there's a lot of competition for the parts. The best I can do is try to do a good job. I'll be so glad when this part of process is over with, so I can relax.
Posted by Dre at 8:23 AM
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Monday, December 08, 2003
Weekend Update
Friday evening was nice. Colin and I had supper out - at Billy's Seafood. We both had the Plank Salmon, which was delicious! We then picked Tom up and headed to my work christmas party at the RKYC. It was a much better venue than we've had in previous years. There are quite a few people that I work with that Colin knows, and they were all pretty surprised to see us together. It was quite amusing to see their reactions. We wound up leaving as soon as the music got turned up and people started dancing.
Saturday was productive. I ran a few errands, despite the fact that the mall was busier than I can usually handle. I managed to squeeze in a bit of a nap and a small amount of time reading Streetcar. then it was off to see the early showing of The Last Samurai with Colin. Definately worth seeing. It didn't start off so well - with Tom Cruise being a drunk, disenchanted cival war hero, and some bad computer graphics effects on the boat on his way to Japan. But then the rest of the movie quickly got better. It's epic, and touching, and serves as a good reminder of honour, values and traditions. After that, Colin picked up Ronin on DVD for me, and we went back to my place and watched it. Great movie - great car chases and a fun, twisting plot.
It started to snow Saturday evening, just as we were leaving the theatre. Our first snowfall of the year. It continued to snow right through Sunday - I think we got 22 cm. (I'm just glad I'm not in Moncton, which got 53 cm of snow.) It was windy and quite chilly as well, so it wasn't the best day to be outside. Colin and I went to see Claire's choral recital at a church uptown. It was very good. I only recognized a few of the Christmas carols. It was nice to see Claire and her family, and Chris London and his family as well. Haven't seen any of them in a long time. I then decided it was a perfect evening to be lazy and hibernate. Colin came over for supper and then we watched Inside the Actor's Studio (Ethan Hawke), Cirque de Soleil "Solstrom", and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. After that, I did a bit more reading of Streetcar, and tried to hit the hay a bit early.
Posted by Dre at 10:02 AM
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Friday, December 05, 2003
Please Do Not Litter
Now that I've got that out of my system, on to the update...
Last night was our final acting workshop. We presented the scenes we've been working on to friends, family and a few folks from the SJTC. There was a pretty good turnout. It was great to see the marked improvements of everybody in the class. I think we all learned a lot (I know I did). I think the scene Martine and I worked on went pretty well - it certainly felt great to get it over and done with (so I could stop worrying about it)! After the performances, a very large group of us went to Mexi's, which was a nice way to unwind.
Colin came out for the fun last night. After Mexi's, we glued ourselves to the TV for an hour to watch ABC's special on The Lord of the Rings. It was good. There was some new behind-the-scenes stuff, and a couple of glimpses of ROTK scenes in the show, as well as a small clip of a new ROTK scene between Elrond and Arwen. 12 days and counting 'till LOTR: ROTK!
Tonight is my work Christmas Party. It'll be at the RKYC (Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club) this year, which is a much nicer venue than upstairs at Tapps (where we've had our Christmas parties in the past). I'm looking forward to it. I still have no idea what I'll wear. There's no dress code for tonight, but I'd still like to get dressed up a bit. It's not as though there are many opportunities to get dressed up in Saint John.
The last Samurai comes out this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Otherwise it'll be a fairly quiet weekend, with some time spent preparing for next week's main stage auditions (for Proof and A Streetcar Named Desire). And maybe a bit of time writing Christmas cards and figuring out if I can make a few Christmas gifts for friends. Hmmm... I have a sinking suspicion my weekend is going to be full now. I've also heard that there's supposed to be a weird weather system this weekend that may cause some super-heavy snow to Nova Scotia and possibly New Brunswick. I hope not. Sue and Jed, I'm sorry I won't be at your baby shower, but I will see you in a few short weeks - and I'll be talking to you between now and then!
Posted by Dre at 9:18 AM
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Thursday, December 04, 2003
I'm a happy camper/director!
So as I've mentioned, the auditions went well. It was easy to pick the folks in my cast. They did very very good reads, and I think they "fit" the characters. I got in touch with them today and they've all accepted the roles and seem to be pretty hyped about it! Yay! So here is the cast list: "Trish"=Kristi Neilsen, "Charlie"=Tim O'Brien, "Alexis"= Lisa Flower. Congrats you guys! I'm looking forward to working with you!!
Posted by Dre at 2:34 PM
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Cold enough for ya?
It's cold enough here to make sure I wear a winter hat. Brr. We even got a dusting of snow yesterday. Thankfully, it wasn't a lot of snow, so I don't have to pull out the winter boots yet.
So last night was out second and last night of auditions. Not too many people showed up. More guys than gals too, which is a bit unusual. All went well, and we were able to get our top choices for cast members without having to fight over them. I think it helps that our plays are all so different. I mean, it's not as though Bet and Doug would have had any conflicts at all. (Bet is directing a play that she wrote that has an entirely female cast, and Doug is directing Sportsdesk.) So yeah, it turns out none of us had conflicts, so it made things pretty easy. I'll have to contact the folks on my list today. I'm pretty excited about it! The folks I've picked were smokin' in their auditions and will fit the parts well. Yay!
Tonight is our final workshop class. I've been looking forward to it. I've had a bit of time to work on my scene on my own, and Martine and I are going to get together for a final pre-run-through or two before we get going tonight. Now that my back is getting better, that should help things as well. I just need to remember to avoid all the plastic chairs in the loft - and stick to the nice, sturdy black and metal ones.
Posted by Dre at 11:07 AM
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Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Update
Well, the week seems to be flying by. I guess that happens when you're busy. Today is one of those days when I'm not sure what to post on this blog. I'm generally pretty private - so I find it odd to write about what's going on in my life, but then it is nice to have something here so that friends and relatives can "check in" and see how I've been doing. (It also helps to remind me about what I've been up to - in case I've forgotten.) A friend of mine suggested that I keep a seperate, "private" online journal where I can post what I want without having to edit myself. But I think if I wanted to keep a private journal I'd keep it in a notebook at home, not online. And besides, I don't even want to do that.
So last night was the first night of auditions for the One-Act Plays. We had I think abut 13 people come out and there are 15 parts to be had in the 4 plays. I am hoping more people come out tonight. We decided that we wanted seperate "stations" where people could come and audition for our individual plays. There have been second stage auditions that I've gone to in the past that have been more of a group setting. But our plays are so different from each other, I don't think it'd be as useful to hear them read for another play, and besides, it would make the evening run that much longer. This is my first time directing a play. It should prove to be interesting. I guess after the auditions tonight, I'll have to "duke it out" with the other directors for cast members....
Posted by Dre at 9:43 AM
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Tuesday, December 02, 2003
A Wee Bit O' Pressure Is Good For Ya...
I finally got around to cleaning my apartment last night. It's been bothering me for a while. I also managed to get most of my Christmas decorations up. There are still some ornaments to be put on the tree - perhaps I can get to them this evening.
So tonight is the first night of auditions for the One-Act plays. Boy, does time fly. I've picked out a few small portions of the play that can be used for the audition process. I hope we get a good turnout tonight. I hope I can spend some time after the auditions working on my scene for our last workshop class, which is Thursday night.
Posted by Dre at 10:04 AM
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Monday, December 01, 2003
Weekend Update
On Friday evening, with Colins help, my Christmas tree is now up and the 500 or so lights are on. I still haven't finished decorating it. Maybe tonight I'll get around to that.
Saturday was super windy and somewhat rainy. Lisa and I were on our way to McAllister Place and took a bit of a detour to Mispec and Cape Spencer to check out the totally awesome waves! We eventually got to the mall, which was jam-packed. Ugh. I'm not fond of crowds. That evening, Colin and I went for supper at Tapps, then to St. Mac's to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It was good - what we saw of it. The 2 main actors were doing a fabulous job. It was 2.5 hours long and the seats were pretty painful and I think we were both getting pretty tired, so we left at the second intermission.
Sunday, Colin and I went to the Festival of Trees. It was OK this year. nothing too special. Lots of tacky trees and a few nice ones. I'm slightly baffled by the concept of putting a ribbon from the top of the tree and hanging straight down. I don't think it looks very good. Also, it would have been nice to see some more traditional trees. The birch bark trees were an interesting concept. As was the all-metal one. After checking that out, Colin and I headed upriver to visit some of his friends. I had a fabulous time up there. I can see why he likes to spend his Sundays there. Great folks - very welcoming!
Congrats to Sue and Jed: Sue and Jed had their baby at 2:50 AM Saturday morning!! A little baby boy, named Jesse, weighing ony 5lbs 10oz. Congrats to Sue and Jed!! I can't wait to see him! The shower has been moved to next weekend. I'm not sure if I'm going to go to it, seeing as I'll see them in a few weeks anyway. It's such a busy time of year.
Posted by Dre at 5:34 PM
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