Friday night.
After work Forest and I decided it would be a good plan to relax a bit and get in some grownup time before picking Kirstin up from camp in the morning. For some reason I was feeling out of sorts; I was cranky for no reason, and just feeling irritable. I explained this to Forest right off the bat, apologized for it, and tried to get over it for the rest of the night. It's rather unlike me to feel just plain crabby for no reason. We met at the pool and swam for a while, then to the mall, where we wandered, ate, and visited Darcy. For the first time since we met, Forest actually bought some new clothes; he was badly in need of them, but I still had to twist his arm. He feels like clothes are a waste of money. I actually enjoy bargain hunting, and we wound up being foully tempted to blow more money than we could afford to. In the end we behaved ourselves... but I've been having unfortunate thoughts about the lovely silk jacket I tried on while we were there. It was very nicely cut and lined, a gorgeous shade of green, fit perfectly, and was very flattering. I will be good. I will not buy it. (I keep chanting to myself.) Yes, it's a good deal; it was originally $375, but it's marked down to $116. Even so, I can't afford to spend $116 on a jacket, even if it's one I would wear to work.
By the time I'd spent a few hours with Forest, swum, eaten, and generally relaxed, I felt less crabby, and mostly just a bit tired. We met up with Darcy and Josh to see the Xmen again, which was just as much fun as the first time. Afterward we all went to Steak N Shake in South Lansing, which I definitely don't recommend. Our waitress was incredibly bad. Rude, even. It shocks me when someone who works for tips actually behaves like that. Yes, I know waiting tables is hell; but there's really no excuse for glaring at the customers, omitting part of the order and then ignoring requests for it to be filled, dropping off the food and never checking back, never refilling anything, and tossing our plates down with visible contempt. I usually tip EVERYONE, at least 8-10 percent, no matter how bad the service. In this case we were all basically offended, and didn't even tip that much. It's my first time ever doing that, and I don't regret it at all. That server needs an attitude adjustment.
Forest and I went home after that, determined that we would get into bed and to sleep reasonably early, since we had to pick Kirstin up from camp early the next day. Other than our cats trying to kill us (Eilonwy) and drown us in shedding fur (Leeloo) we were smashingly successful in our quest for sleep.
Saturday.
In my eagerness to pick Kirstin up from camp, we actually left home earlier than we needed to, and arrived at the camp about 20 minutes early. There's a first time for everything, right? The kids were nowhere to be seen, and we picked out a spot to spread our blanket with the other parents, and waited. I would rather have enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time in those beautiful natural surroundings, but someone blasted modern christian rock at us instead. Forest and I tried not to cringe, and quietly waited for that to stop. They turned it down finally when the kids came out for their presentation.
It was pretty neat, really. The whole camp sang together (90 kids and about 25 adults), and were all in tune and together, and able to sing in harmony. After going to concerts at Kirstin's school, I know what a nice thing that is. Kirstin looked tired, but knew all the things she was supposed to know, and rang hand chimes very nicely! She also participated in a dance bit that was a little over her head, but she smiled and got through it, which made me proud.
After the little show, the kids were dismissed by cabin, and Forest and I hiked up the hill to sign her out. The first words out of her hugely smiling mouth were, "Can I come back next year?" I couldn't believe how grown up she looked to me. She actually put on a bit of muscle during her week away, I'm not kidding. She swam for a couple of hours daily, and had to climb a long staircase up a steep hill to her cabin many times each day. I was suprised that a little exercise had fleshed her out so suddenly. She seems to have fit in just fine, despite being the 2nd smallest and 2nd youngest kid in the whole camp.
My mom, who is the first to find fault with anything, couldn't say a single negative thing at the end of camp. Instead she informed me that Kirstin had participated like a champ, eaten the food, been a good sport about new challenges, and seemed to have enjoyed herself immensely. I guess my mom enjoyed watching it happen for her.
When I asked Kirstin what her favorite part of camp was, she said, "Rest period, because that's when I got to read and write my mail." She was really glad to get letters from people, and folks at camp also sent her nice encouragement all week long. For her birthday I think I'm going to collect all of that stuff, along with the photos I took, and put it in a scrapbook for her. I think she'd like that.
After leaving camp, less than 5 minutes down the road both Forest and Kirstin were asleep. You would think they were related, since they share such an amazing ability. I think they even snored in time with each other.
Kirstin spent the rest of the day (after waking up) visiting with her dad, Kathy, Allyn and Lacey (cousin next door), so that next weekend I can take her camping. It was good she was busy, because I went in and closed the Store with Forest. We were pretty busy, and I was glad to be earning a little spare pocket money. It just makes things that much easier, and it's not that difficult. The worst part of working at the Store is sore feet, and I can definitely handle that. I don't mind the customers, and I don't mind making ice cream into interesting concoctions, cooking the occasional hot dog, and keeping things stocked and clean. When it's busy, there isn't time to think, and the day flies by. When it's slow, everything is done early, and I'm allowed to stand there and read my book, as long as I'm alert for customers. Definitely an agreeable arrangement, not to mention that Forest's there. Depending on his mood we display varying levels of affection at work, but we're always comfortable, and it's not strange for me to work with him. Saturday he wasn't in the greatest of moods; stressing about the resume he has to write, so I spent the non-busy parts of the night with my nose buried in Doomsday Book. It's still one of the best sci-fi fantasy books I've read. I love Connie Willis.
I digress. After work, Forest and I went out and rented Cutthroat Island (silly Geena Davis pirate movie from a few years back) and dropped in on a party being hosted by Josh and Darcy. Josh's friends are pretty cool, and I wouldn't have minded staying, but we had to be up in the morning, and wanted to go home and cuddle, so we went home around midnight.
Forest at this point is really down on himself about where he is in his life. He doesn't like that he's the last of his friends still working nights and weekends, and having to leave everyone behind on a Saturday night so he could be at the Store early in the morning only made that worse. He's also sweating that resume, because he feels like he ought to be a lot more accomplished by now. I think that's silly. I hardly know any 23-year-olds who are well-established in their careers, finished with college, and happy with their lives; but there's really no convincing him when he doesn't feel like he lives up to his own expectations. All I can do is try to help with some perspective, and support him if he wants to make great leaps and bounds forward. I'd be happy and right behind him if he wanted to start at MSU, or change to a M-F full-time job. It's all up to him.
Sunday.
Forest was up early and went to the Store to work, and sweetly encouraged me to get a little extra sleep, and then meet him for breakfast. I lounged around, happily devouring my book and snoozing until it was time to go, and then had the most fun I've had at breakfast in ages. We went to IHOP in East Lansing, where Forest's friend Mary works during the summer. She is a stitch, and we have a lot in common, so I like to talk to her. She's a theatre nut worse than I am, no kidding. We also met up with Darcy & Josh, and our friends Angie and Carrie while we were there. They are all fun, witty people with all sorts of humor, and I enjoyed their company very much, despite how long it took us to finally be fed. I don't recommend IHOP on Sunday mornings. It's pretty crowded. Mary's nice, though!
After a big breakfast, I shook off the foggy notion of going home and back to bed, and picked Kirstin up en route to Bath for The Dining Room auditions.
What a turnout! Many of Bath's best alumni actors were there; Gary Riggs, Jack & Emma Dowd, Daryl, Carol Ray, Bridgette, and Patti Smith (whom I haven't seen since The Nerd!) were all there. It's really great for Kevin, since he's a new director, to have such a nice turnout of experienced actors for his first night of auditions. I know that at least one other good person will be coming out tonight, probably more.
Then again, it's sort of too bad that BCTG didn't attract any new actors for this audition. The newest of these actors is Bridgette, but I think she dates back to 1996. Come on, new people! (What am I saying. Go away, all of you. I want the parts all for mySELF! *cackle*.)
I think my audition went alright, but I was in the unusual position of enjoying the performances of the others so much that I didn't take much time to pay attention to how well I was doing. I got to be an elderly woman (quite distracted), a youngish wife, a 5-year-old party guest, a maid, and a few other types of people. I think I had good contrasts between them, but I would need some direction and coaching to make sure there was good clarity. Still, I had practiced for the audition, and prepared well, so I think I did as well as I could have.
It was fun just being at auditions with all those cool people, who also happen to be friends. Dominick was also there. During one of Bridgette's auditions, he went running right up to her, yelling repeatedly but adorably (as only he could) "mom, look!" He seemed to want to persist, but Bridgette kept reading determinedly. In the end, I monkey-crawled up there, and enticed him away. He's such a good kid, he just gave me a golden smile, and settled for my attention instead of his mom's.
Afterward, I was even more tired, and stopped by the Store to tell Forest how it went on my way home. He's been very kind and supportive about the whole idea of my auditioning, and has offered to help bus Kirstin about while I'm rehearsing, which I very much appreciate. He makes it possible for me to do theatre without dragging Kirstin all over kingdom come on school nights. Wow.
At the Store, I fixed Kirstin a grilled chicken sandwich (she has recently decided I CAN cook, but only at the Store) and waited while she ate, feeling tireder and more sore all the time. I'm still not sure exactly what's wrong with me, but I ended up going home and getting into bed before I started to be a crying mess. I had a stomachache, and felt nauseous, and had a constant ache in my lower back, on each side. It was awful. Forest thinks it's stress-related; because I'm still having to run around all the time trying to get refinanced, and because I'm auditioning for the first time in forever, and working more than I'm used to doing. I have no idea if he's right or not. A couple of hours of sleep sure helped, though.
Sunday night by the time Forest got home, Kirstin was in bed, and I was feeling better. I had promised him that I'd help write that resume that's been stressing him out so much. He has to turn one in to Master Kim so it can be on file with the college where he's already teaching. It started out pretty badly, but in the end we were both slap-happy and laughing at nothing because we were so tired, and I think it came out pretty well. He was really nice about thanking me for helping him out. In the end, I don't think he really needed my help, just a little support. It's hard to write a resume when you aren't proud of what you have to write there.
We fell into bed in a heap of tickling and 'I love yous', and fell asleep holding each other as always. Sometimes I think one of the best things about Forest is his resilience. He can have a tough day, and feel really down, but a few minutes later turn things around, and still smile at me and sincerely tell me how much he loves me. That's wonderful.
