Mood Remedy - Thanksgiving Dinner

Today was not a good day. There was no good reason why today was not a good day but mostly likely rather a combination of small things - a bit under the weather, stress at work, etc. Regardless, in hopes of shaking the blues I thought I would upload photos from our Thanksgiving dinner celebrated yesterday (yes, on Sunday).

My nephews had just watched the orginial Star Wars trilogy (episodes 4-6) the day before and were enamored with Return of the Jedi. So we put it on again. Now, somehow, I only have these movies on VHS. Needless to say they are a bit grainy on a big screen television. The boys don't seem to mind. But I got a cool shot of Brandon standing in front of the TV with Darth Vader behind him.

Halfway through the movie, it was time for eating. Mom makes the best turkey dinner - turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, Jello, mashed potatoes, rolls - its a carb overload & SO very yummy. I had way too much but I think of it as I don't get the leftovers at my house so I have to eat as much as I can while I can :) Brandon had a simple meal of turkey, Jello, and a roll. Shane attempted Jello but really only played with it & a roll. They'll grow to like it!

After the meal, it was back to Return of the Jedi. We all loaded up onto the couch to finish the movie. It was great fun. It is so much fun experiencing a movie I have such fond memories for with the brand new eyes of my nephews. It exciting all over again. I'm thankful I have a wonderful, supportive, loving family - made even better by being in the same location!

P.S. The mood is better :)

Thanksgiving @ Disneyland

Since I was able to sign in my family on the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to play at Disneyland & save turkey dinner for Sunday. We had a lot of fun, especially now that the boys are tall enough for more "big kid" rides! Shane rode the Matterhorn for the first time and said "Whee" duirng the ride! p.s. - he's only 3 1/2! Of course, both boys participated in the Jedi Training Academy - they both dueled Darth Vader & Brandon was chosen to demonstrate the "force push" on the Stormtroopers. We saw the Christimas Fantasy Parade & Santa Claus. We took pictures in front of the festive Sleeping Beauty Castle. Then Karen & the boys went home while my parents & I stuck around to view Fantasmic! It was the first time they'd seen the new elements introduced this past summer. Overall, a wonderful day was had by all! Follow this link for the entire gallery of pictures from our Thanksgiving day at Disneyland - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=976348557211%3A282489240

Random thoughts on work & friendships

It's always amazing to me after all these years of working shows & events, that I am still surprised at the rollercoaster of emotions I experience throughout the process. This past week of work on the 20+ Service Awards at Disneyland was no exception. This truly is one of my favorite events I've been a part of for the past four years. We spend a week in rehearsals with 8 singers, a narrator, then 15 (ish) Disney Characters join for 3 days and a 12 piece band for the final 2 days. Add a terrific technical crew for the tech/dress rehearsals and event - it's a GREAT bunch of people involved. Over the course of the week, I'm happy, excited, cranky, overworked, underworked, tired, silly, and so on. I (and many others) work our butts off to put together a wonderful show for the Disneyland Cast Members who've worked 20 or more years with the resort. The time comes for the show & all the hard work pays off & everyone loves it and had a terrific time. And then all of a sudden its over. Everyone goes back to what they were doing before - sometimes I see those I've worked with & sometimes not again until the event the following year. There is a feeling of sadness now. A time in my life is over, again. The euphoria and satification of a job well done are gone. The day seems just a little bit empty.

It's the one thing I don't like about my ever-changing job as a stage manager. Inevitably, the job always ends. The people you've come to think of as a small family disperse. And even if you see them in another capacity, it's just not quite the same. You can never reclaim that feeling. I've made a lot of "friends" throughout the years but they are always in my life for a short while. I don't claim to have many life friends, those who are or will be around longer than my current job/show. It's a double edged sword - I get to meet & know so many great people; it's just usually for a short time only.

I don't know if there was a point to all of this but it was on my mind so I shared. I am thankful for the friends in my life & those who've touched it, if only briefly. I do believe certain people are involved in our lives at certain times for a reason. And once that reason has passed, perhaps we no longer need them quite the same. I suppose, if we kept all the people in our lives that we've ever met, we wouldn't have the time to get anything done! :)

Dreams...

This past week I've been working on the 20+ Service Awards event for Disneyland... lots of singing & Characters - it's one of my favorite events to work each year. Randomly, one of the lyrics caught my thoughts today - from Cinderella, "A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep; in dreams you will lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for you keep".

Now most of my dreams are about work - I can't say this is exactly what my heart is wishing for - more work! And sometimes the dreams cause heartache rather than allowing me to lose them. So then I thought perhaps the problem is me. Perhaps, I need to better mentally prepare myself for dreams so that I might do as the lyric suggests. So that's my goal tonight, to think on losing my heartaches & keeping the things my heart wishes for whilst fast asleep.

Wish me luck!

Moving

I got word today that pending an unforeseen breakup, my current roommate will be moving in with her boyfriend when our lease is up May 1, 2010. That means it's moving time for me again this coming April. Which is about on par for my time at an apartment (apx 3 years). However, this is the first time in a very long time that I currently don't have a plan - no planned new roommate, no new apartment in mind, nothing. Granted it's still many months away but with the holidays fast approaching, meaning lots of work & little personal time, moving day will be upon me sooner than I realize or anticipate.

In many ways, I hate moving - the sorting, the packing, the schlepping, the unpacking, the sorting. I am such a pack rat that it takes me months to get everything together & ready to go. However, it is also a time for clearing out - getting rid of all the crap that I don't use/need/want anymore. It is a fresh start in a new place with new challenges and new memories. That's what I have to keep telling myself - because in reality, change scares the living pieces out of me & stresses me out to no end. Eventually I get over myself and embrace it but getting to that point takes a lot out of me. I've got lots of time to begin to adjust - in fact, I think I will try to start packing at the first of the new year; all the stuff that just sits around looking pretty can be boxed & ready to go. I can sort through the clothes I don't wear & give them to Good Will.

Now I just need to find a roommate & an apartment willing to take me, my bad credit, and my washer & dryer. No worries - easy!