You know how long it's been...

...when you have to log into blog again. (Agin? Ageen?)

Bah. Man of La Mancha has been brought down, much like the Hindenburg. And this on the heels of Les Mis, which one might liken to the Titanic, were one so inclined. And so now (drumroll please)...Kiss Me, Kate...and may that be an end on it! Aie-yi-yi! Remind me of the autonomy that will eventually be mine in years to come - regained autonomy, may I add. Actually, my contact over at HDAA is absolutely charming, and I've got a few ideas that should spark up that musical and make it run more smoothly, and certainly the ability to do "the best of Shrew" has its perks and I do comedy well...but I must admit some disappointment and frustration. Most of all because I had invested quite a bit of thought into the other two productions already. *sigh* But it's good to learn how to deal with this situation as well. My other produced-by-someone-else gigs have come with play already well in hand. As in: "We're putting on this and looking for a director," as opposed to what I have in part created which is: "We're desperate for a director; what do you want to do? (So long as it is what our kids want to do.)" Blaughdiddyblaugh. Ah ca. Und now ve tanz! Lord love GM!

Lessee...been busy. When it is not? But I'm technically on vacation this week - alleluia! Last two days were full of the NCEA Convention, which yielded three good sessions, one "let's-tow-the-line" session and one hideous session about which the Archbishop's office will receive a report. But I must admit that, despite having a wicked bad cold and so using up the better part of TWO WHOLE BOXES of tissues, it was jolly fun to be on one's own in the Hynes' Convention Center, driving in to the Prudential and feeling very chic. I had wanted to stop by and see if I could snag tickets for Tosca, but I found that I was feeling rather too ill to make a serious attempt, and that more significantly the parking was ridiculously high, precluding the purchase of said tickets. In recompense, I discovered the Chapel of St. Francis run by the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin Mary (!!!:) just to the right of the convention center, who have Eucharistic Adoration ever afternoon before 4:45 mass! WOO-HOO! Oh, two glorious days of marvellous true devotion! Oh, wonderful daily mass said with reverence and holiness! Oh, marvellous to hear holy mass said without all the pretentions of a production but rather with a thoughtfulness and faith that rivals - alas - so much of what we find back home. I missed Steubie-U very much while I was at those masses. But even more, I was so grateful for God's providence.

These past few days I've also been able to catch up on reading, which has been a great relief. I've been trying to slog my way through Stealing the Elf-King's Roses which isn't badly written but lacks...hmmm, I'm not sure...a certain conviction? Yes, the author can't seem to quite suspend her own disbelief enough for me to do so as well. It's a competent novel, but simply without fervor. Which is unfortunate because it has an interesting parallel world set-up. Which only goes to show ya that worldbuilding ain't everything.

So, instead I've splurged and bought books two and three of the Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde, whose first book, The Eyre Affair was a clever alternate reality jaunt that I thoroughly enjoyed, although I did have issues with some of the pervasive language (not a lot, but enough to get lodged in my brain - rather the difficulty of most modern novels), but even more the lack of explanation for his key conceit: that the world is simply literature mad. (It's a great premise - I wish it were real - but it needed explanation of where in history this obsession stems from socially. Worldbuilding ain't everything but it's still pretty darn significant.) Fortunately his recent two entries, Lost in a Good Book and The Well of Lost Plots deepen his worldbuilding and his characters while providing the promise of a very interesting multi-book plotspan/mystery. Goodie! TWoLP dragged a little more than LiaGB, mainly because Fforde spent most of his time touring the reader around the BookWorld (that is, the world that actually exists within and between every book - fascinating stuff: I can't switch a chapter now without wondering if the characters are off on a coffee-break) with a vague plot to hold the whole together. Regardless, very worthwhile.

Finally, I'm devouring the library-borrowed The Devil Wears Prada, which I've seen bandied about so much that I thought, well - I'm getting sick of generic fantasy, my favorite authors haven't come out with anything new...why not give this a try? I'm loving it. Again, some of the language bothers me a bit and the morals don't agree with my own (although by some standards they're fairly tame), however the world that Weisberger presents is...utterly unreal and yet completely factual. It's NYC "highlife" of which my own humble stints in cubicleworld were but a shadow of a shadow, and which mirrors in full the ridiculous court of Hollywood, with which I had a brief and wretched stint. What fascinates me most on a personal level is: "Ugh. People live like this?" followed by: "Oh, Lord...is this going to be something with which I will have to contend?" completed with: "Huh, good plot question: a woman is thrown into 'high society' and the question becomes 'Can anyone within the maelstrom of debauchery withstand such pressure?'" Upon reflection, that last is somewhat covered in the Paladin novel (upandcoming at some point), since the Paladin novel isn't really about THAT question, so much as a Macbeth-y quest for domination leading to ruination rather than Hamlet/Lear/RichardIIesque environs leading to ruination, I think that the question itself deserves its own novel. The immediate solution is that it's set at the fall of the Second Khlaov, however it may sneak into the Yvonne/Medina story...except that Yvonne isn't really debauched - nor do I think she could be. Which is her ruination: that in a world of debauchery, the one who clings to true beauty (and who is, ironically, their ivory goddess) falls through her inability to protect herself from treachery - rather an inditement of blinded optimism, if anything. Or a lament. Anywho....

I wrote what looks like a promising two sentences for chapter one in the middle of one of the speeches yesterday. Ch. One for Gavron I mean. And here's to many more! The prologue can stay as is, with only a sentence change, perhaps, to the last paragraph - although that sentence/reference might do just as well in the christening scene. Oh - but here's to writing! Wallace's Will (or whatever the blasted name will end up being) came along swimmingly at the conference on Wednesday, particularly through the Horrid Presentation. Watching Jeeves and Wooster that evening yielded a few more sentences on Thursday, and a general feeling of "Yes! It can be done-ness!" to the whole endeavor. A few weeks ago I had purchased "The Best Tango Album Ever! (As Seen On TV)" which, despite it's inauspicious title, could boast two albums for the same price as one. I finally opened it tonight and YES! It really is the best tango album ever (whether or not it's ever been seen on TV). I danced to about three songs and decided that the music is a) SOOOOO going to be pre-inter-and-post-show music for Kiss Me, Kate (oh, please, let us settle on a show!), and b) certainly going to be used as background for WW. Perhaps even a dance number in it, a la The Music Man. Oh, for a partner! I must see about taking actual dance lessons. *sniffle*

Hrm.... What else? A few more days (school days) with the seniors, alleluia. Chivalry week coming up. Room half decorated. Need to finish decoration. Need to remember to bring in supplies for decoration this week. Silly Emily. Went to cousin's wedding shower where I won pink roses - FWAH! They lived and wilted on my desk, leaving me with a watering can that's calling out for me to fill it with daisies, I think. After vacation, naturally. Saw Ella Enchanted - silly movie, charming in spots but overall extremely frustrating because they hacked to bits the novel. They didn't just do an artistic take or deepening of sections - they HACKED it. Gah. The best part of the whole thing was Hugh Dancy, who played the prince, and who I want in half the movies I'm going to make. The up-and-coming 12 British Actor was also in Daniel Derando (is that it?), part two of which I have yet to see, but have on tape (yippee!). Saw Cheaper by the Dozen on DVD the other night, which was better than I expected. Took a long, long walk with Jules and Ch. down by the gristmill - had to be pulled away from watching the waterfall thundering down. What else? Easter good, despite being in the choir with very little voice - so grateful to my voice teacher for instructing me in proper breathing habits and posture so that I could get out the notes regardless. However, I consequently lost my voice for the subsequent two days and actually resorted to sign language for the entirety of period two on Tuesday. (Who knew?) Oh! And I also got my super-duper memory back-up thingy working on an external USB 2.0 so that everything is connected rightly now and video plays back in real time, and I also splurged and bought Ulead VideoPro 7, which looks to do wonderful things that my demo/old Ulead(s) don't. So, here's to a week of editing! Hurrah! However, I am determined to spend this week also finally catching up with friends, etc. and maybe remembering that I have neglected life outside of work/work/work/work/work...oh, and more work.

Mood: My hip aches. But my room is cleaner. Good things can come of one's brothers showing up with little warning to take some of his possessions again.
Music: None at the moment. But Merry's CD is going back on soon.
Thought: Life is very, very good.