odellio

Game addict

There you have it. I've said it, I've admitted it and I have no intention of changing it. I love video games. I always have. I had an Atari when I was younger and ever since then I have always had some sort of active gaming system in my possession. Atari to Nintendo to Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 to Playstation 2 to Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Not to mention World of Warcraft, City of Heroes and City of Villains that I sometimes play on the PC. Oh - and the Sims. I love those.

As much as I love gaming, I've always been somewhat on the down-low about it. For some reason I get this feeling that people may think I'm a nerd or a geek or partially brain dead. Video games do, after all, rot your mind, contribute to violence in society and make us fat, right?

Today I take the time to come out of the gaming closet and profess my love for sitting on the couch and playing hours of "Gears of War 2", "Bioshock", "Fable", "Guitar Hero", "Left 4 Dead" or "Little Big Planet" - and I am proud of it. It doesn't make me stupid, or a recluse nor does it make me anti-social. I keep myself PLENTY busy with extra-curricular activities/volunteer work and socializing with friends. I still read plenty of books, listen to plenty of music, see plenty of movies, knit a plethora of garments and talk on the phone. Gaming is just an added little skill/guilty pleasure I possess and one I will possess for a long time. So there you have it. If you need me, I'll be killing some zombies. Should a zombie infestation ever happen, I shall be prepared to attack and defend.

My weekend

I did a whole lotta nothin. Well, I did a few things but it was nice to just chill and not have to be anywhere. Friday I went to dinner at TGI Fridays with Erin, Holland and Brandon. We hadn't been to Friday's in years. We used to go to the one by CPH before and/or after every rehearsal and any other time we could get over there. It was our "joint". Then they tore it down and our lives were never the same. Afterwards, Holland and Brandon came over. Brandon played PS3 a while and I attempted teaching Holland how to knit. We then watched some of "Batman Begins". They left about 11:00.

Saturday morning I woke up and went to Wal-Mart and bought "Breaking Dawn", and some Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, got some gas then went home to make said cinnamon rolls and talked to Jessica on the phone. I meant to go see "The Dark Knight" but ended up falling asleep. When I woke up I was too lazy and just laid around and read most of the day.

Yesterday was housework, theatre stuff and more reading. I'm kind of excited about Edouard. I wonder if they'll give us a day off work. Hmm....

Ouch

I decided I was going to spend a nice relaxing day at home yesterday. I got up around 10 and started some laundry, loaded the dishwasher and played with Izabel a bit. Around 2:00 I decided I needed to go out and water my flowers. I walk over and grab the hose and turn it on and all of the sudden I felt something hit me in the back on my left shoulder blade. It felt like someone had shoved a burning cigarette on my shoulder. Then I heard buzzing and saw this big red wasp. It stung me again on my ear (yeah...that felt even better). I started spraying at it with the hose and went into the hose. My ear and my shoulder were burning. I immediately took 2 Benadryl because I never know what I might be allergic to and I didn't want to risk anaphylaxis. I then washed off both stings and rubbed some ice on them then some neosporin. About an hour later the Benadryl kicked in and I was out. It seriously put me in a comatose state. I slept from 3:00 until 7:00. So much for spending a day reading a book and having a Sex & the City marathon.

Seriously?

I am back at work today after a week off. I have TONS to do and it feels like I didn't even have a vacation. I pretty much lived at the theatre all last week.

My show opened Friday. It went fairly well, except the mics weren't working right in Act 1 and the guitar was too loud. We got the guitarist to turn down his amp for Act 2 and tweaked the mics a bit so it went much better. Saturday's show went SOOOO much better. The band was at a perfect level and you could hear everyone in the cast perfectly.

Saturday afternoon a group of people came in from New Orleans to see the show. I took some pictures with them and gave them a "behind the scenes" tour of the set. They were so excited. Their energy and their obsession with the show reminded me of how I was when I first heard the score for "bare". I guess I became numb to it during rehearsals. I saw it and listened to it every day and it became mechanical. Their excitement renewed MY excitement and I saw the show differently Saturday night. We have a group coming in from Colorado this Friday. It's so weird to get this kind of excitement. I am so proud of my cast. I am glad the show is open and I have some down time, but it is going to be tough to let this one go.

Wii fit

Yesterday I bought one of the new Wii fit things for (what else?) my Wii. It was released yesterday and I decided that since I wanted to get one (and really need one because I HAVE to lose some weight and this would be a fun way to jump start it) I should get it now because there will probably be a shortage. Sure enough, I walked in to GameStop and asked for one and got met with a resounding "Did you pre-order?" Of course I hadn't. I didn't even know it was already out until yesterday morning when I got an email from Nintendo saying it was released. The girl behind the counter said "Well, we had a couple of extra's so I'll just go ahead and let you buy one of those". I wanted to say "As opposed to just letting it sit there and collect dust? Wow, what a trooper you are nerdy girl. Quite a novel concept to sell someone something that you have in stock."

Anyway, I bought it along with a rechargeable battery pack and was on my way. I took it out of my car after rehearsal last night and of course I had to plug it in and at least get it set up. I stripped down to my underwear (not pretty - I promise) hooked it up, turned on the Wii and selected my Mii and then it was time for the assessment. I stood on the board, hoping that it didn't scream "get off of me fat ass!" - it didn't - so all was good. It first assesses my center of balance. I learned that I am centered when I stand but tend to lean back. It coached me into finding my center (which felt really weird but my back felt better). It then asked me for my birthday, sex and height. It then weighs you and posts your BMI. Now here is where I got the giggles. I know I am a fat ass. I know I need to lose about 50 pounds. So as it weighs me and I watch the BMI go from Normal, to Overweight to Obese (yes - I am Obese and proud of it) it stops, gives me my BMI and then my Mii (for those of you not in the know with Wii, you create these little Avatars that represent you. It is basically a Cartoon character you create) all of the sudden lifts up and expands. Yes, the Mii represents me all over now. Short and fat. It seriously took my measurements and made a scaled down little me. Fat and all. Then it shifts the menu so you can set your fitness goals and my little Mii comes running up and I lost it. If I look like that when I run I could make the world a happy place. Seriously - it was hysterical. So, I set my fitness goal then went to bed. (Hey - it was late and I had to get up early. I'll use it after my show closes). Oh - I also found out what my "Wii Fit" age is (kind of like your "Brain Age" on those DS games). Let's just say that I am much older in Wii fit years than I am in normal years.

Master

I forgot to write that I have completed 98 hours of education in Business Analysis. I now have a Master's Certificate in Business Analysis and can now use the title, MCBA. Honestly, I knew more than I learned from these classes, and driving to Clear Lake was a pain, but it is done. I have the certification which makes me more marketable and worth more money. Can't complain about that!

Wiped out

So, I am exhausted. I had a LONG weekend. We rehearsed Friday - we ran Act 2 a couple of times. That act went very well. Act one (on Thursday) wasn't quite so good. But, all things considered, they had been away from it for 2 weeks AND we had a "fill in" pianist who didn't know the music that well. Still, it was a good refresher of the basic blocking for everyone. Luke is back this week and we are working each act again. This is when we will "spice" up some of the numbers and solidify the blocking and such in others. Saturday we run the whole show for the first time at 11 AM. We go until 2:00 then we have to fix costumes, take some "yearbook shots" for the call board and finish putting up the set. We have all of the platforms legged and the structure of the confessional put together. We just need to build a couple of stair units, attach all of the stairs to the platforms and put the coffin on some casters, face the platforms and paint. We should be able to get a majority of it finished this weekend. Man I am tired.

My weekend

So, I had a pretty nice weekend. I worked box office (nothing special about that). On Friday I watched "The Office", "Samantha Who?" and "Grey's Anatomy" from last week. On Saturday I got my inspection done (YAY ME!), and  played a whole lot of Mario Kart on the Wii (I totally suck but it cracks me up). Today I cleaned the hell out of my house, played with Izabel, gave her a bath, shaved my head, took a nap, read my book, watched "Desperate Housewives" and am about to read some more.

So, yeah, I am reading "Twilight". It's not bad. I know there is this whole cult following of the book. I really don't get that, but hey, who am I to say what people can obsess over? I obsessed over the "Harry Potter" series for years and I dealt with many people laughing about it. The book is good, it just hasn't grabbed me and sucked me in like I thought it might. Maybe it is all the hype. I was expecting something spectacular. I have read about 200 pages and not much has happened. There seems to be a lot of set up. Still, it's not a bad book and I am enjoying reading it. I do love vampire stories and this seems to be a new take on vampirism, so that should be fun. I bought all three books and will read all of them. A new obsession to replace Harry Potter? No. A new enjoyable series? Sure.

Tomorrow it is back to work. I also have my final class in Clear Lake this Thursday and Friday. I will be so glad to be done with those! My weeks are going to be way busy from here until my show opens. This weekend starts set building weekends. Now it's a rush to get the set up, the costumes gathered, publicity out and the show put together. We've learned all the songs and staged all of Act 1. This week is Act 2 then we cement it. My cast is great. I hope this puppy sells out. I HAVE to prove our board wrong. They think people only want to see recycled tosh over and over again. I have to show them I was right.....I am right.....

Ahhh the weekend

I am so happy that it is Friday. You have no idea. Tonight I have box office then I am going home to chill. I'll be watching "The Office", "Samantha Who", "Grey's Anatomy", "Lost" and "Moonlight". Well, ok not ALL of them tonight but at least the first 3 mentioned. I also plan to read my book. Tomorrow I HAVE to get up EARLY and get my inspection done. I know - I have been saying that for a couple of weeks now, but after tomorrow it is officially over due. I'll then come home, clean, play with Izzy then go do box office. Sunday is laundry day, finish cleaning day, finish my book day and finish everything on TiVo day, Desperate Housewives day and...Mother's day - so I will ned to call my mom. This is officially my last weekend where I can have some down time. Next weekend we start building set, hanging lights and some weekend rehearsals. I'll be running on empty for about 4 weeks....then we open. Wow, I just got a little nervous there.....

Allergies galore

My allergies are driving me crazy this morning. My left nostril is completely plugged and the right is almost there. On top of that my eyes are puffy and my nose is running. Oh happy day.

Rehearsal went well last night AND quick. I should have scheduled more songs for last night. I was home by 8:40. I took Izabel (my 3-month-old Goldendoodle) with me last night. I want her to be well socialized so she is used to lots of people being around and doesn't jump and bark. She did really well. She is a "pee greeter", though. Richard came in and came up to pet her and she squated and peed a big old puddle (on the concrete thank heavens). I mopped that up and took her outside just in time for her to meet Nathan and Jacob then Luke. She tinkled when they all pet her as well. She then tinkled a bit more when we left. I heard (and I hope) this goes away. Other than that I had no problems with her. She rode in the back seat and didn't make a peep. She occasionally put her front paws on the arm rest and gave me kisses on my cheek as I drove and during rehearsal she crawled up on my lap and listened to the boys sing then got down and laid on the floor until it was time to go. She was much better than Boudreaux was when I used to take him to the theatre at that age.

Anyway, since I got out early, my plan was to be asleep by 9:30. I showered and then fast-forwarded to the end of American Idol to see who went home. I don't know why I bother with this show. It really doesn't interest me. I always watch it in the beginning then I get bored and contestants start to get on my nerves. I then typically tune in for the last episode to see who wins. I am excited about So You Think You Can Dance. I used to only watch that occasionally, but this year I'm going to watch it weekly. That is a REAL talent competition. Anyway....I watched the end of AI then played America's Next Top Model and watched Dominique's ass FINALLY go home. It is down to Whitney, Fatima and Anya. Anya bugs the hell out of me. She takes gorgeous pictures but she should never speak. Fatima is beautiful but something about her annoys me. Whitney is my favorite. I hope she wins (I doubt she does unless she stops being so forced). I'd love to have a "plus-sized model" win this cycle. Fatties unite!

I read my book as I watched ANTM, then after it was over I read some more and ended up not going to bed until 11:00 which is my typical bedtime lately. Oh well. I'm enjoying the book. It's a good read.