I know it seems strange, but this is the end of the year for me at work. Our fiscal year ends at the end of September for some strange reason; or no reason at all, who knows? Anyway, this means it's a very crazy time at work. Each grant expires at the end of this month, and any money left unspent in them has to go back to its grantor through a very tortuous and audit-filled process. Hence we try to spend every dime of our granted funds. In a way, it's nice, because it's like a big shopping spree. I'm getting a really nice new computer, with positively sinful things inside. I never thought I'd contemplate putting 256 MB of RAM in anything less than a server, but that's what I'm getting for my desktop machine! Wheee. To go along with that will be a new keyboard, to replace the one I've about worn out, and a new keyboard tray, because I hate bonking my knees on this one every day. I think I'm also getting a table for my office, so I can move my extra computers from my desk into a 'work' area. That will be nice. My department is even buying a minivan. Wow.
Heck, today I even got to go to Barnes and Noble for the annual book-buying binge. I pick them out by ISBN number, and then order them from Amazon, who in turn always sends me neato presents because I spend gratuitous amounts of money at once. I love to shop with my project's money. It doesn't leave me with an empty pocketbook later.
Last night's dress rehearsal/semi-performance went really well. I think our show will be well received, if there's anyone there to see it. Last night we had a reception and invited all of the faculty of the Bath schools to be there. In total, we had 2 faculty members, a few students, and an elderly couple, who I think were friends of a cast member's parents. That was it. It's better than having no one at all; they were warm, they laughed, and they helped with comic timing. Still, I always worry about Bath shows' low attendance. This sort of thing happens a lot. We invited about 150 people in the faculty for a FREE showing with food and everything, and only 2 showed up.
I'm not sure what the problem could be. We advertise in the paper just like the other theatres. We are 15 minutes from downtown Lansing, but I guess a lot of people probably don't realize that. This weekend we're going up against Riverwalk Theatre's 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (Daryl plays Mortimer) and an MSU football game, along with a high school dance. The next weekend we'll be competing with LCP's 'Proposals' (which Andy and Jeff are in), Riverwalk's second weekend of 'Arsenic', and who knows what else.
Oh, well. As I tell myself before all of my Bath performances, it's not who sees it, it's what I produce that matters. I'm happy with my work. Besides, my mom and Sam are coming tonight, Kirstin's already seen it, and Forest's coming Saturday. Those are important people, not to be undervalued!
Strange things are happening at work this week. I've been exchanging professional email with a private software developer, who is using one of my servers for FTP'ing his work. At the end of our last exchange, he asked how old I was.
???
I replied, "Why?"
He replied, "From your cavalier attitude I assumed correctly that you are a young buckaroo."
???
I've never been called cavalier or a buckaroo before. What a bizarre milestone; I should mark it! Today I was called a cavalier buckaroo. Maybe I'll frame that and put it on my wall.
Forest is finally getting a little downtime today. He's not answering the phone (unless it's me), and is at home playing Final Fantasy and really chilling out. I'm so glad for him! He hasn't been home alone without anyplace to go for at least a month, except at bedtime. He needed it. He'll be there for Kirstin when she gets out of school, and then will drive her to town to meet me at the Store for dinner. He will be working tonight during my show, but he can see it tomorrow night, that's no big deal.
It actually works out especially well. Kirstin can sit with my mom and Sam tonight, and either sit with Forest tomorrow, or hang out with my mom, who will be at my house to watch the MSU game on my TV. That's the last performance night that Kirstin will have to deal with. Next weekend she'll be at her dad's.
It's been really nice since we've switched her schedule to monthly instead of weekly. Kirstin used to move from my house to Bill and Kathy's each week. Now she moves once a month, except for every other week when she visits away. I really think she is a lot happier than before, and she seems more settled. Little things have pointed this out to me; for instance, we got a new easy chair back in March, but Kirstin didn't sit in it *once* until her August birthday. Then, this September, it has become her favorite after-school spot for relaxing with a book. I honestly don't think she had a spot like that at my house where she was comfortable before this. Am I making sense? I guess I perceive that she's happy when she really starts making the place her own a bit. It's nice.
Tomorrow I'm going to be adventuresome and install handrails on the stairways in my house. Forest's dad's friend Greg did the outdoor ones today, and while I haven't seen them, Forest says they turned out nicely. I only hope too much of my garden didn't have to die for the poles to sink in. Still, getting this dumb mortgage taken care of is more than worth the hassle. Today was supposed to be the payment date for our previous one, but we have a five-day grace period, and are hoping to still make the payoff before that's over. I hope we can make it. I really don't need to be losing another thousand dollars in this grand debacle of errors.
Hm. Sorry for the mini-rant; back to the handrails. It doesn't sound difficult, but actually, it is. The stairway into our basement is the main problem. It's a narrow, rickety wooden stair, too steep for modern architects, but okay for our purposes. On one side there's a two-inch gap, then the 6-foot-thick, damp stone foundation, to which it is impossible to affix a railing. On the other side is a drop to the floor, which is mud, and has a fern growing in it. (That's right, there are plants growing in my basement. So sue me.) I don't think the mud provides a very stable anchoring point for a handrail. I may have to actually sink a bucket of cement and do it that way. Joy of joys.
What really bites is that the handrail will narrow the stairway even more, making it difficult to get laundry baskets up and down the steps. Oh, well. You get what you pay for, and in this case I'm losing money, so something has to give, right? Heh heh.
Today I'm going to censor myself. I had just typed a rather long paragraph here with too many details about Kirstin's schedule and so on. When I realized what I had done, I quickly deleted it all, before FTP-ing it up. That's the one place I draw the line. I don't worry about the regular readers, but I do worry about the big bad wolf out there in Bad Monkey-land, who might find out too much about my munchkin's routine and decide to take advantage. I wouldn't mention it at all except that it feels very strange to omit something like that. I've been proud of my openness and honesty in these pages; and it feels strange to limit that in any way. Still, I think it's the right thing to do. What a world this is!
The best part of my day today is anticipation of tonight. After the play, I'm going straight home, and Forest will already be there. We're going to snuggle up on the couch and watch Erin Brokavich, or possibly American Beauty, depending on the mood. We've been trying to get time to do this for a month. I've rented Erin twice before, and American Beauty three times; but we haven't been home enough to actually see either one. Isn't that awful? I miss being around my sweety, and I miss being home, and I actually like my new-found role as his 'cuddle-monkey'. (Don't get me wrong, we were always cuddly, but that's my new title, oft-murmurred by my nearly-sleeping 'sweetness'. Aren't we icky?)
It's sunshiny and beautiful outside, and all I can think about it getting out of this office for the day. I think my scatterbrainiest moments of the day are at the end, and when I write journal entries late in the day like this, it shows. My brain wants to scramble from one thing to another; anything but what's been surrounding it since 8:30 this morning. For instance, a moment ago, after thinging what a nice day it was to take a walk, I decided that for the poomse competition a week from Saturday I will probably perform Palgwe Chil Jang, because it has that great sidekick right at the top. Those can be flattering to my form; well, unless my feet stick to the floor and I about fall down. *sigh*
That's enough meandering for me today. Have a good weekend!
