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Archive for January, 2007

I use to be able to multi-task…

31 Jan

… a lot better than I do now. Really, I used to have about half a dozen pans in the fire all at once and would shift from one to the other like a circus performer on crack. Now I find that when I’m deep into one task… and if concentration is broken… it takes me a couple of hours before I am able to shift back into gear. It’s not that I get distracted from the task at hand… (the task is always on my mind) it’s just sliding back into the groove just takes a little more to rev up to.

For instance, today I was working on graphics. At 11:30 I get a call reminding me of a meeting that is taking place close by. I go to the meeting which takes all of an hour. I get back to the computer to continue working. It takes me forever to get going again and all the time I’m sitting looking at the work on the screen with in a funky daze. I know what needs to be done… and I’m thinking about it the entire time… but getting it going only happens an hour and a half later. Use to be zip… zip… kaboom! Being aware of that… I’ve actually consciously veered clear of any distractions of late… especially TV.

EDIT: 10:34 AM
Boy does blogger suck ass today. I’m so glad I moved mine to my own server. Yeah,… OK… you caught me. Yes, this IS a blatant commercial for Jungle Webs. Really, your own domain and hosting for under $5.60 a month!

And on to other news… I just got called for a photoshoot with the local paper. Yet, another distraction… because I have to make myself pruty instead of looking like death warmed over… shit, that takes hours! Plus, I have to get Kien’s room ready. Looks like graphics work will go well into the night.

 
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Posted in work

 

Yeah, we’ve been talking about touring…

31 Jan

… the show in the Summer of 2008. It’s too late to apply for any of the fringe festivals this year. (We missed applications to the SF Fringe by about a week.) Still, a year and a half will give us time to fund raise for it. At the moment, Toronto and San Francisco are on the talking board between the cast, crew and I. (excerpt from the post on the TJ site today.)

Not entirely sure what is on the menu today. I’m sure I’ll be able to rustle up something… so, no pictures of food for today.

My friend Kien arrives tomorrow. This gives me a day to get his room ready. His annual visits to perform at the Rogue are always fun… like having family around. Though if we were brothers by birth it would be debatable as to which one of us would claim the title of prodigal son. LOL! We spent our youth together… lost touch for 20 years and reconnected 6 years ago to resume as if those years were just yesterday. Of course, both of us had changed on our different life paths… (and perhaps even grown a little) but essentially the essence of who we were remained. I love the fact that he has carved his own niche here just from his annual visits. (Yeah, the man has groupies.)

Now to hit the graphics trail again. It’s really taking longer this year that usual due to deadlines missed… but I am resolute to do the best job possible on it as I can.

So, for now… enjoy the hump of the week.

Cheers!

 
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Posted in food, friends, life, work

 

it’s 2 AM…

30 Jan

… think I’ll leave a post for later in the day. It may be more lucid than if I attempt to leave one now… just beat from working on graphics. For now… here’s hoping your Tuesday starts well.

EDIT: 10:59 AM
Breakfast for Mum… check! Dishes washed… check! Lunch completed… check! Coffee brewed… check! Now it’s time for yet more graphics! But not before a post first. (Oops… laundry still needs to be done.)

Those have been my days for the last few months (except substitute graphics work for playwriting for a month and a half.)… and will be for a while. Still, that is my daily routine. Now that it’s become more of a routine… I quite enjoy it. It’s definitely a shift from the life I used to live but life shifts all the time. This one too will shift eventually.

There are certain little things I take pleasure with now that I never did before. Having lunch with Mum being just one. It’s not an everyday occurrence (depends on if she is napping or not) but sharing a mid-day meal together happens at least 5 times a week. I was always too busy before… working, etc… to be able to do this. And frankly… it wasn’t something I really cared to do in the past. But that too has shifted over the past 6 months. (The added bonus is that she always compliments me on my cooking… this is particularly gratifying from someone who knows how the dish should actually taste.)

BTW…. on the menu today is (double pot) steamed chicken soup (Chinese style) with garlic, ginger and mushrooms served with garlic rice.

 
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Posted in food, life, mum, work

 

I gave myself the day off…

28 Jan

… even though I have a crap load of graphic work still to do. I may get cracking on it later tonight… today I allowed myself the down time. Yeah, I was basking in the afterglow of the previews. (Ya got to allow yourself that once in a while.)

Plus it was a rainy morning and cozying up in bed just seemed too good to pass up. It’s something I hadn’t done in a while… just loll and enjoy the stillness as the pitter-patter of the rain falls outside. My thoughts… they were private. Some memories… some of the present… mostly warm floaty images.

Tonight and probably most of tomorrow is work. Work that I want off my hands with completion. Then it will be more work but at a less frenzied pace.

I was thinking about something I said a couple of times last night. “If I should die… the show goes on.” It’s curious. I have always been aware of my mortality and it is not something that I shy away from. If nothing else… I embrace it. Heck, it’s going to happen sometime… why worry about it? Make the time I have count… and I’ve tried to do that daily. Not out of a sense of legacy but because there are wonderful opportunities at every instant… why not grab them and enjoy what is?

Which brings us back to my lazy morning. There was a time I would have looked upon that as a “useless inactivity”… it’s only of late that I have learned to savour the silence and enjoy the moments of stillness that life affords us. Sometimes we have to allow the impact of our efforts to sink in… and enjoy that for a bit.

 
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Posted in life

 

16 seats!

27 Jan

And people invited… don’t turn up. (Personal invitations at that!) Gee thanks! Yeah… we got a good crowd… but 8 fucking seats could have been given to others who actually gave a damn! No call no email … nothing! Look, I’m not fucking Shakespeare… but common courtesy… heard of that? Don’t expect it if you don’t give it.

Other than that, we had a great time. Really, we had a a wonderful time… and you fucking missed it. HAH! Now you get to pay to see it. For those who took the effort to turn up… a mighty big Thank You! You made all the difference in the world.

EDIT: Yes, the same post would have been written even if I was stone cold sober at the time of writing. BTW don’t you just love how I can cuss like a sailor when I’ve tipped a couple. LOL!

 
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Posted in theatre, work

 

The first preview…

27 Jan

… went well. Those who know my work were a little taken aback. We also had non-theatre goers in the crowd… and they seemed to have been sucked in as well. There are pics on the TJ Site. One more to go tonight with close to a full house expected. We will open with Suicide Lounge and wabblings of the mutant frog.

 
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Posted in theatre, work

 

Da Count – my cast and crew

25 Jan


dacount

Oodles to count… but this week it’s my cast and crew. They have been riding this beast with me (and continue to) and I couldn’t ask for a better group of folk who have given in time, effort and talent like they have given to this trifle. You have eased my re-entry back into the theatre world to being a joyous experience… something that I didn’t think I would find again.

All I can say is… Terima Kasih… you have made it all count for me once more.

If you want to find out what Da Count is all about… click the flashing sign.

 
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Posted in Da Count, theatre, work

 

Shameless & Blatant does work.

25 Jan

We got an article in Fresno Famous… not written by me… plus a picture and all! There was a real reporter involved this time. He came over for rehearsals on Tuesday night. Yeah, go ahead… click the link and read it. I’ll wait. (BTW… don’t you think the pic posted has some nasty connotations? LOL!)

::toe tapping:: Done? Good.

Last night’s Suicide Lounge rehearsal went quite well. We actually started by sharing a meal together over at a Vietnamese noodle place. It’s something we hadn’t done together in a while. I sort of miss that aspect of those days when we would all go out for meals and commiserate. Just doesn’t happen that much anymore. But when it does… it’s so very special.

Then there was a beer run and back to my garage to rehearse the songs we will be doing for the preview this weekend. We ran through the songs a few times and was accompanied at instances by backup vocals from my dogs. A pleasant evening all in all.

Tonight we rehearse for Tale End. Today… I’m swamped with graphics work. Tomorrow I prep for the previews this weekend.

 
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Posted in fun, life, theatre, work

 

No Tale End rehearsals tonight…

24 Jan

… but us boys are meeting for Suicide Lounge. And there is still a shit load of graphic work to accomplish before 6 PM.

Tale End will meet again tomorrow for a final rehearsal before our previews this weekend. Yeah, there are a couple more pictures over on the TJ Blog… and stuff to read as well.

Oh, I do have to mention that I am the guest interviewer on that lovely Ms. Bees Knees blog. If you haven’t visited her site yet… you should. Though be forewarned… she is a paid killer… and she’s known to do it for free… just for the pleasure of it.

Other than that… not a whole lot to report at the moment. Hope all of you are have a grand hump this Wednesday.

 
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Posted in fun, killer, life, theatre, work

 

not sure what is on the menu today…

23 Jan

… as there are leftovers from yesterday that we are still stuffing our faces with… and glad we are for that too. I just finished off a plate and am quite content as I sit here and write. The flavors are still delighting my senses and triggering images nostalgic of distant times. Food does that for me… taste and smell just evoke time and place.

I was thinking about this last night when Zonthar dropped in for rehearsals. (BTW…it was a doozy and featured the presence of one Mr. Murphy… CLICK HERE to read Solitaire’s account of it. LOL.) Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Zonthar and I were waxing a little nostalgic about performances and shows past that we worked on together. Yes, I have memories of my life back in Malaysia… and there are memories that I have of my life here as well. They are all rich with detail and experiences that I have appreciated having lived through. Even the not so pleasant ones have yielded lessons that have hopefully made me better.

It’s funny how as we are in the moment we may not appreciate what we are experiencing… but in hindsight they seem pretty amazing. Even what may seem mundane at the time would take on a whole different spectrum… especially if the mundane then is not the mundane we deal with now.

Take for instance the fact that I am living an “expat” life now (and have been for the last 25 odd years). It is a little strange to think of myself as an expat because the conventional perception mostly involves those of European heritage living in places other than their countries of birth. Yet, I am one by the very definition of the word. And I do see the present world I live in now with different eyes. But it goes further than that. With some of the natural assimilation here that occurs over time… if I did visit the country of my birth… I would also see it through expat eyes. Not with the judgemental absolutes of good or bad or right or wrong… but just different.

Perhaps that’s why I sometimes feel that I’ve squeezed so many lifetimes into this one.

 
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Posted in culture, life, me, perception

 
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