Everything and Nothing

Sorry so long since my last post. It's been that weird combination of both very busy but nothing really new going on. ETA: I've actually had this post written since Saturday and have been waiting for pictures. I took the pictures Sunday before work, transferred them to my computer today (Monday), and promptly deleted them by accident. Now the camera battery is dead and I'm tired of waiting, so just imagine pictures and I'll eventually get around to taking new ones and adding them in.


Let's see...first off with the fibery stuff, since this IS a knitting blog. I finished my beret (again). It's still not quite as deep as I'd like it, but as I'm already thisclose to running out of yarn, I'll have to live with it. It's pretty cute, though. Now I'm working on the second of my Wendelin Socks (getting ready to turn the heel), and I'm doing another attempt to teach myself crochet. The circular chevron baby blanket (which I did get to give to the intended recipient while I was in Illinois) didn't take nearly as much yarn as I'd expected, so I'm using the leftovers to do a log cabin in a half-double stitch. It started a little wonky, but I think I've got the hang of it now. I'm thining I may switch to crochet for things like full-size afghans, because they do seem to go faster that way, mostly because a crochet stitch is much larger than a knit stitch. I think I still prefer knitting for clothing pieces, though.


Let's see. My black belt test is Friday, and I'm terrified. Okay, I'm not TERRIFIED. I know I know the material and we did a mandatory workout Saturday morning which incorporated all of the PT we're going to have to do, and while it wasn't a stroll in the park, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd expected. But I'm still nervous. For one thing, it's the first time in, like, a year that I've tested in front of an audience, which is daunting. For another, it's for a Black Belt. I know that we're going to be graded evenly in every category (form, sparring, board breaks, PT, and self-defense), so one or two mistakes won't completely kill me. But what after all this - all the classes, the training, the fun - I do something stupid and screw it up? How disappointing would that be? For everyone - me, my instructors, my friends there...Yikes! I know the odds of that are actually pretty low, but pride goeth before a fall and all that. I've never really been nervous about a test before, but I'll be glad when this one is over! Sir told me tonight to just relax. I told him I wouldn't be able to relax until after Friday and he just started laughing. My teachers are so mean sometimes =)

We've opened Ragtime, and I have to admit, it's...gorgeous. I'm really really really REALLY glad it's not my headache show - it literally came down to the wire whether or not the show would open on time, due to the power outages and just the sheer size and scope of it - but it IS a fantastic show and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. I'm very proud of my coworkers on this one! Everyone has totally outdone themselves on this one and, frankly, it deserves a Regional Tony, even though we aren't really big enough to get nominated. It makes me cry every time, though, and I've seen it several times throughout the process. Godspell has three more performances in Solvang. I still really like that show and we still have fun with it, but with the rep schedule now, it kind of feels like the interruption to the regular schedule. Plus, with over 50 performances already, and the cast and crew's brains mostly on Ragtime and, now, Hot Mikado, it's like the show is that one other thing we have to get done before we can go to bed. Oh yeah, Hot Mikado is in rehearsal, so I'm back in the rehearsal room in the afternoons now. From July 15-July 27, we officially have all five summer shows going in some stage of production at the same time. Mikado and The Imaginary Invalid are in rehearsal, Ragtime is performing in the Marian, and Godspell and The Heart's Desire are repping in Solvang. It doesn't help that Ragtime's understudy rehearsals are still going on, too, but tomorrow should be the last time we have to deal with that three shows in one day nonsense - Ragtime understudy rehearsal in the morning, Hot Mikado regular rehearsal in the afternoon, and a Godspell performance that night, with mostly the same casts. Yay!

Not sure what is going on with Cute Guy right now. We'll go for weeks with only the most necessary professional contact and communication (I'll try to get an outside conversation started but it doesn't work), get to the point where I'll get myself steeled to the "Okay, he's just not interested anymore" idea, and then he'll suddenly call or stop by the office out of the blue "just to say hi" or to see how I'm doing. Confusing! Argh! Meh! Boys! Anyway, I'm definitely not going to worry about him this week - the focus is going to be on the black blelt! Maybe I'll let work sneak in sometimes, but I want that belt and I want everyone to know that I deserve to wear it!