this and that

Hmmm this has been a good week. I managed to keep on my running schedule, help organize a joint theatre initiative in Rochester, made some progress at work, got complimented during my martial arts class, and managed to get my mom a gift for Mother’s day. Woo hoo. Of course I’ve totally fallen off contacting friends and I still need to get a birthday present for Jenny. Oh well, I guess I can’t squeeze everything into a week.

This weekend I’ve got lots of stuff going on. On Saturday I’ll be at a martial arts seminar with Francis Fong, one of the best Wing Chun instructors in the US. It’s always great to study with him. Plus we usually get to see a number of old friends from out of town who come in to train. I’m also going to finish evaluating MiniDV cameras. I’ve been wnting to get one for a while and Cindy’s wedding is the perfect excuse. Finally I’ll be cleaning my apartment and catching up on e-mail. I’m also hoping to get out with folks for the first time in a while.

Return of the friday five

1. What shampoo do you use? What ever is on sale at Wegmans. I think it’s Wegman’s brand this week. Once a week I’ll use a good shampoo (usually an Aevida product) to keep my hair in shape.

2. Do you use conditioner? See above. During the winter I’ll occasionally use a tinted conditioner to keep up the red-ish highlights my hair has.

3. When was the last time you got your hair cut? About a month ago. I’ll be going next week for a cut. Right now I’m in a high maintenance hair mode (something my stylist loves). My hair grows rather fast and I’m trying to keep it kinda short.

4. What styling products do you use? A dab of pomade. Not Dapper Dan though. Rather some hemp based stuff I’ve had for years. I didn’t buy it because it was hemp based. Though I do like the idea that my hair is more stoked on a daily basis than I’ve ever been.

5. What’s your worst hair-related experience? Hmmm, probably the haircut I gave myself at the age of 2 or so. My mother often tortures me with those pictures. Oh and the one time I got blond highlights put in. BIG MISTAKE. I don’t think I’ve heard the end of that one from my family yet. Hmmm, all things considered my family probably hasn’t been too good for my self esteem.

too many balls

how’s that for an eye grabbing title? But rest assured gentle reader I’m not referring to any abnormal physical conditions. Rather, I’ve allowed myself to get too busy. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to set down anythings at the moment. It’s like I’m juggling and more balls keep getting added. If that wasn’t bad enough, the ones in the air are getting bigger and heavier. On the plus side I’m feeling more productive than I have been in quite a while. Unfortunately it also means that I’ve been having real problems keeping in touch with people. As of late when I’ve been getting home I’ve either been to tired to call or write or it’s just too late (which I guess is another way of saying I’m too tired).

pounding the pavement

I’ve started to run in the morning. Not every morning, but at least three times a week (usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). This started after the Shootfighting test. I think I sorta surprised myself that night. I didn’t realize how high my endurance levels have become. Actually, the other catalyst for these runs was an act of stupidity. Two Fridays ago I locked my keys in the car. It was about 9.00pm and I had to meet people at 9.30pm. I had stopped to get a pizza at Cobbs Hill Pizza on Park Ave. In the middle of a cell phone call I got distracted and left my keys sitting on the passenger seat. Of course I didn’t realize any of this until I got back to the car. It was at that same moment I realized I only had a house key in my wallet (I used to carry both a house and a car key). To add further insult to injury, I had also locked my palm pilot and my cell phone in the car. Oy. So I ran home. Literally. It wasn’t more than a mile and half there and back (if that much). But I suddenly discovered, about half way through the run, that I was kinda enjoying it. Which is weird because I normally hate running. With a passion. Strangely though these two things event have combined to keep me running! Well that and I’d really like to drop five pounds (or more preferably convert it to muscle). I’ve also found that a morning run gets me focused far more than caffeine and with half the jitters (so now I’m back to my normal somewhat shaky self, as opposed to when the play was on and I was one step away from being able to vibrate through solid objects).

doodles and thoughts

I made this sketch of Tony in an all morning meeting. Some people have incorrectly assumed that the “nachos and beans” reference was some thinly valed comment about flatulence. It wasn’t. I just thought the phrase “fine nachos and beans” sounded funny. Ahhh comedy.

This has been an intense week. First the all day Washington trip. While I was in DC, the summer play was being cast. So I kept calling back to find out how call backs were going. I’m really excited and scared at the same time. Genet is a tough playwright and I hope we’re all up to the task. I’ll have a better idea Monday night when we have our first read through.

Then on Wednesday night I had the shootfighting test. Three hours! You hear me??!! THREE HOURS!!!!! It was grueling! The first hour was just warm ups! 15 minutes of jumping rope, 10 minutes of jogging, 25 over under drill (which in my mind were designed by Satan himself), 200 jumping jacks, and it just goes on. For the next two or so hour we threw over 1000 punches and at least 750 kicks. Then came the sparring. After that the collapsing. But everyone supported each other and we all passed. I’m still hurting from the test, but its a wonderful feeling to know that you have pushed yourself to your limits and beyond while successfully achieving your goal.

Then last night I found out that a good friend unexpectedly lost his job. And that’s thrown me for a big loop. I’ve known lots of people who have been “downsized” over the last few years, but this was totally unexpected. I can’t help thinking about what I would do if that happened. I know I would find something, but it’s still a scary thought. But I think Aaron will turn lemons into lemonade. He’s mentioned recently that he needed a good kick in the pants to do something new and I think this will be it for him. I’ll see him tomorrow so I’ll have the chance to talk more about it then.