Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday Feast #162
Appetizer
How are you today?
Good. Tired. It has been a busy and full week that has flown by.
Soup
Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.
Heroes & Grey's Anatomy are the only shows I actually am starting to tune into. I don't normally watch TV, unless I rent a previous season of something and watch it at my leisure.
Salad
What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
Been a little close for liking to some twisters on the prairies.
Main Course
If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?
Scotland. Or England. Oooh - maybe France. Or Spain. Or Italy! Ooh! Or New Zealand. So many options....
Dessert
What do you usually wear to sleep?
Well, that seems like an awfully personal question. I think I'll decline to answer.
Posted by Dre at 6:43 PM
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
Opening Night for Opera NB's "La Traviata"
I love the energy of a show on opening night. They had a great house and things went smoothly on all fronts. I watched a bit of the show from backstage and what I saw looked fantastic. I will try to catch the entire thing on Saturday night! That'll be the next show. Opera is every second night so the singers can rest their voices in between...
Posted by Dre at 11:40 PM
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Opera Week
I like to be prepared and organized. I get stressed out if I'm not, so the week started of with a bit of a stressful start as I got the opera makeup kit pretty much right before the tech dress rehearsal. I had about half of what I needed to work with and wound up putting in an order and doing a bit of shopping on Tuesday. Also, by Tuesday, I had even more help (thanks to a great crew of gals) and more supplies to work with so things went a lot more smoothly.
Tonight was a night off before the opening night, and I worked a bit late and was about to head out to pick up a few last supplies for the show when Colleen called and wanted to know if I was up for meeting up with her and Doug for a quick drink. It was great to catch up with them! After that, it was off to run my errands.
I'm watching the new Bionic Woman on TV at the moment and it's not too bad, if perhaps a little mellowdramatic. I think it'll be an early night....
Posted by Dre at 10:37 PM
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Weekend Update, Belated
It's been one busy week and I haven't had a chance to update, so I will try to remember how the weekend went....
Friday I spent a bit of time trying to track down the Opera makeup kit, and went to see the early show of Resident Evil: Extinction. I'm not usually a fan of horro-type films, but I enjoyed the series, and found the third one to be rather amusing.
Saturday was errand day, I think. That evening was Jay M's b-day dinner at the Ale House. A few of us went out after to see Eastern Promises which was great. After the movie I stopped in at the Blue Olive to hang with Kizzy and listen to Bruce Guthro, who was performing. I wound up sticking around and hanging out afterwards and enjoying some stories and beverages and tunes, finally arriving home at around 6 AM.
Sunday was a rehearsal for Shakespeare, They had a full run so I went to check it out and pick up the makeup kit. After that I napped and then grabbed a bite to eat and then headed out to Jay & Lisa's for a bit.
Posted by Dre at 9:18 PM
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Friday, September 21, 2007
Friday's Feast #161
Appetizer
What is your favorite type of art?
I find that I'm quite fond of portraits, or at least images of people.
Soup
When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?
I'll be getting one today. My old team that I used to work with is treating me to a farewell lunch at the Ale House.
Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?
Maybe a 6 or 7.
Main Course
Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?
That's a pretty tough tihing to estimate since it's an activity that's scattered through my entire day between work and home. I guess it can range from 5 minutes to a couple of hours.
Dessert
To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?
I don't have a thermostat - I just have hot water radiators.
Posted by Dre at 7:26 AM
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Thursday, September 20, 2007
Stage Makeup for La Traviata
Opera NB's production of La Traviata is next week at the Imperial theatre and I'd offered to help with costumes - sorting, quick changes, etc...
I'd had a couple of friend ask me if I was going to do stage makeup for them again (two years ago I was head of makeup for Tosca), but I hadn't been asked so I assumed they had someone doing it for them. Turns out, they do need me for makeup after all, so I'll be helping with that instead of costumes. I'm really looking forward to the show - from what I've seen of the costumes, and what I know of the performers, it's going to be fantastic!
Posted by Dre at 7:37 AM
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
And so ends my break from theatre...
I took a bit of a break from theatre over the summer as I focused my energies on finding a new job. Now that I'm settling in to my new job, I'm once again feeling a lot more energetic and creative. It's a good thing, because I am just starting to get back into theatrical commitments. I have volunteered to help out with costumes for Opera NB's upcoming performances of La Traviata, which is September 27, 29, and October 1 at the Imperial Theatre.
I'm also once again helping out the Saint John Shakespeare Society and will be heading up the makeup crew for The Tempest. That'll be at St. Mac's October 17th - 20th. (If anyone is interested in helping out on the makeup crew for this, please let me know! It's a great group of folks to work with and it's a lot of fun - and only a week's commitment!)
I didn't try out for SJTC's Dracula, which will be at the Imperial November 15th - 17th, but I'm really looking forward to seeing it because it looks like they've got a great group of folks working on it. Perhaps I'll lend a hand some way once I wrap thigs up with The Tempest... :-)
Posted by Dre at 7:38 AM
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Consuming Great Media
Reading:
I just finished reading Game of Thrones: Book One of A Song Of Ice And Fire by George RR Martin. It's the first in a series of books that revolve around political intrigue set in a fantasy realm. The nice thing about this story is that it's gritty and realistic, and I don't think you have to be a fan of fantasy novels to enjoy it. Each chapter is written from a character's point-of-view and each chapter moves the story forward. The chapters aren't long, so it keeps things moving at a good clip, and makes it easy to pick up and read even if you only have a few minutes to spare. Four of the novels are already published, and it looks like there may be 6 or 7 in the series. I'm ready to start the next one, A Clash of Kings... if only I had more time to read!
Watching:
I recently purchased the DVD set of Season 1 of Heroes. I'd heard great things about it and never got a chance to watch it last year. Now that I've finished watching it, I can understand why so many of my friends were fans of it. Extra bonus is that I don't have long to wait until season 2 starts: next Monday!
Playing:
I got so sucked into BioShock last week and was glad to have finished it so I could get on to other things in my life. Great design and story with wonderful atmosphere adn music and voice-acting. I'm not normally a fan of 1st person shooters but I really enjoyed this.
Posted by Dre at 7:55 PM
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Weekend Update
Friday evening was a really nice little gathering of a few friends at Stephen and Snadra's to wish Kristi a happy 30th birthday. It was good to see a few friends that I hadn't seen in a long while.
Saturday was a blissful day of hibernation. I was feeling a bit run down and really wanted to catch up on some rest and wasn't in the mood to socialize or even leave the house. I did, however, manage to finish BioShock (the happy ending) and season 1 of Heroes. I probably should have done some of the Freelance logo work that I need to get done. It'd be nice to get that out of the way. With all of the design I've been doing at work, I really haven't felt like doing any extra design outside of it. This may very well be the last bit of freelance for a while. But I digress....
Sunday turned out to be a full day... I found a new winter coat and a nice autumn trenchcoat, each for a good price, got a few groceries, cleaned my apartment and had Matt and Keith over for dinner (grilled chicken, asparagus, and roasted potatoes and root vegetables) and played a bit of BioSphere with them before we headed out to the late show to see Shoot 'Em Up, which was very entertaining!
Posted by Dre at 8:26 PM
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Inspiring Talent
I just went to see Loreena McKennitt at the Immperial and once again I was blown away by the quality of the entire production. I'd seen her in Halifax at the Rebecca Cohn auditorium over 10 years ago, and she was just as fabulous last night. Besides the fact that hearing her spectacular voice live sends shivers down my spine, the talent of the remaining 9 members of the musical ensemble was notable. She is self-produced and travels with her own sound and lighting people and I have to say that I was really impressed with the technical quality of the show - especally the sound. The atmosphere was wonderful and I felt transported to another time.
Posted by Dre at 11:00 PM
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
BioShock Reviewed
I recently picked up the game BioShock for the xbox 360 and I've been enjoying it. I'm not normally fond of first-person shooters but this one is keeping me pretty entertained. The other day, my friend Hans sent me a link of a review of BioShock by Ben Croshaw that sums up the experience in a hilarious and very creative way:
Zero Punctuation review of BioShock by Ben Croshaw for Escapist Magazine
Posted by Dre at 12:44 PM
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"Old" is a Relative Concept
I gave my mother a call at lunch to wish her a happy birthday. She's turning 60. It's hard to believe, because she doesn't seem to be old. She had mentioned that she used to think 60 was really old, but now that she'd there, she still feels young. She said that she's found that she considers 15 years older than her current age to be old...(wow - I can't believe that I'll be 50 in only 15 years!)
I think age is a pretty relative thing. I think the concept of being "old" also depends on the state of one's attitudes. I know peope who are well into their 80's who don't seem old. But then I also know folks in their 30's who do.
Anyway - Happy Birthday to my mum, who will always be ageless to me!
Posted by Dre at 12:33 PM
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
House-Cleaning of the Blog Variety
Every now and then I like to go through my links and update them. If you haven't published in a while, I'll remove the link. If it's a site that I no longer visit, I'll remove the link. My list of links allows me to easily access some favorite sites, and lets me share them with you. So every now and then, I add something new. Also, every now and then, someone lets me know that they are updating their site again, after a hiatus. This is just what happened with Laurel Mills. A while back I was surfing the Blogosphere (and yes, I still find that to be a bit of an odd term, but I digress) and I stumbled across It is What it Is and really enjoyed it. It was a nice surprise to hear from Laurel and I'm looking forward to catching up with her blog.
Posted by Dre at 7:27 AM
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Monday, September 10, 2007
A Busy September Weekend Highights
- caught up with friends.
- saw 3:10 to Yuma
- went for a run
- went to Terry & Kelly's wedding & got a kick out of the music that Terry picked
- walked trails at the Nature Park
- did a week's worth of dishes
- picked up Bioshock for the xbox 360 and got sucked into it
Posted by Dre at 7:20 PM
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Friday, September 07, 2007
Friday's Feast #159
Appetizer
Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?
Impatient.
Soup
What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?
The smells.
Salad
Have you ever had any bad experiences online?
Not yet.
Main Course
Name three things that make you happy daily.
My home, my cats and my friends.
Dessert
What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?
Soap.
Posted by Dre at 7:22 AM
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Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Labor Day Weekend
Last week flew by in the blink of an eye. I've been pretty busy both at work and outside of it. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was looking forward to a bit of relaxing, and I was thankful that I hadn't made any plans to go away.
Friday night was a nice little get-together at Scott and Alison's as a few of us hung out with Sabine one last time before she headed back to Vienna for a couple of months. As usual, Scott's cooking was fantastic. And their new kitchen and rennovations are beautiful!
Saturday was a blissfully quiet day, I got a few groceries and hung out with Lisa F. That evening, we went to see "The Nanny Diaries" with Colleen and then later, Lisa and Anthony and I went out for a drink.
Sunday I did a bit of reading (Game of Thrones by George RR Martin) and then went to the early show of Cirque de Soleil at Harbour Station. I'd picked up a singel ticket at the last minute and was I ever glad I did! I was 3rd row from the front, on the side on the floor and it was a great spot to be. Talk about a fun and inspiring show. the set and costumes and makeup and music were awesome - and the talent of the performers was fantastic! I was pretty wowed by most of the stunts. It is really worth seeing in person!
After Cirque, I caught up with Harry, who was in town to do tear-down for the show. We had enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before he had to head to work and I headed to the valley to play D&D. It was a fun game where we got to do a bit of role-playing.
Late Monday morning, I went for a brisk walk around the outer trail of the nature park with Matt. It felt good to get out and do something active. Perfect weather for it too. I headed out to Jay & Lisa'a for a 2 PM viewing of Resident Evil 1 & 2. I think they were especially entertaining to watch thanks to the running commentary from Keith and Anthony. :-) I stuck around for a BBQ'd burger dinner and caught up a bit with Jay and Lisa, then I headed home to start watching Heroes. You see, I hadn't seen any of season 1 yet and I'd like to watch it before season 2 starts. I watched the first 3 episodes and was totally hooked and had to force myself to go to bed. :-)
So all-in-all it was a great weekend and I feel refreshed and ready for a short week. I have a feeling this week is going to fly by as well!
Posted by Dre at 7:37 AM
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