Benefits of Tour

Benefits of Tour

One of the most interesting things about touring is how separated you become from the "stuff." And shopping. When you have to ask, "do I want to carry this around for the next two months?" it keeps the urge to buy at a minimum.

I've been packing back up, and other than the mail that got out of control for the month I'm here (ads that expired before Christmas, and catalogues for clothes I can't afford crept into every drawer and crevice) I didn't bring a lot with me, and didn't buy things once I got here. There is something nice about knowing exactly how much in life you really need, and what are luxuries. On tour, luxuries are scented lotion, ear plugs, a sleeping mask, and a good pair of chenille socks. A portable CD player can change from luxury to necessity depending on the day, and how much you need to pretend there's no one else around for a minute.

We've all figured out by now that stuff doesn't make you happy, and those that have everything are miserable (and if you haven't, come work here and get first hand experience).

Of course, saying this, I have a storage unit of stuff in Texas that ONE of these days I'm going to have to drive down and move to wherever I decide to settle....

Weather

Some weather we're having.

The creek right outside my door rose eight feet in the last three days. What was completely dry before Christmas is now suitable for white-water rafting, and another day of rain will having me sandbagging my door and building an ark. Another wave of this storm will be arriving shortly, though we had blue skies for twenty minutes today.

Thailand, however, was the main focus of the weather channel yesterday in the bar. For the best, most up to date information, search for Thailand blog. The news covered the story and said that the best place to look for up to date pictures, information, and places to donate to relief organization are in our own blogshpere. Pretty cool, isn't it? One of my sponsor kids is in Thailand, but I think she's further inland. My next stop is at Compassion International to see if they've sent me an update on her condition and whereabouts. Serious stuff going on these days.

On a less serious note, California surfers are dashing to the coast in droves to hit some post-tsunami waves.

And so it begins

So here comes Christmas...

I have three consecutive days of work. Which will be nice. I like my managers and other employees, and it's always fun to laugh at the people who come and their unmerited pretentions.

Tomorrow I'm doing Christmas lunch with Grandma and Ken and exchanging presents. They are going out of town for a few days, and then moving into their new house the day after Christmas.

And then six days to kill until I have to leave town again. It goes so fast....well, this afternoon won't. I'm having my teeth cleaned.

Le vacance

So this vacation has not turned out like I'd thought. It isn't as endless and lonely as I'd expected, except when it is, and I'm not working as much as I'd hoped, except when I am -- Christmas day I'm working twelve hours. Ten more days and I'll be back on the road, packing my suitcase, driving a thousand miles, depositing stuff places, and heading back on tour. It will be nice...

The only bummer is the hobbying that I've been able to do. No bringing my new scrapbook rolly case on tour I suppose. How much do I really need clothes?

Return of the King

I've been haunting blockbuster all week waiting for Return of the King Extended Version to come back, and yesterday it paid off.

YAY!!!!!

And since I can take out three movies at a time, I think the time has come for a complete extended version viewing of the trilogy. Goodness knows I have enough quilting to do to justify it.

And the scenes they cut were so good! I was a little shocked at Saruman's untimely end -- I thought it was something they'd invented. But then I went back and read the rebuilding of the shire, which I usually skip over a bit. But, no, that's pretty much how he died -- minus falling off the tower and getting impaled. And his throat was slit by Grima, he wasn't stabbed in the back. And a three hobbit arrows got Grima wormtongue, not Legolas. But, since they didn't have the rebuilding of the shire, even in the extended version, all the changes make sense.

Eomer and Eowyn got more screen time - with an especially beautiful scene when he finds her lying prone on the battlefield. I wish they'd kept it in. It was only a few more seconds. And the Faramir - Eowyn love story was explored.

The Man who Cried

The Man who Cried

Stop me if you've heard that one. A Russian Jewish man and his daughter are walking through the forest towards a small village in the late 1920's. Skip ahead a few years. A Jewish girl, a Gypsy, a Russian, and a fascist Italian opera singer are living in Paris in the last 1930's. Any guesses how that movie is going to turn out?

Really, though, go and rent it. It was beautifully done acted and directed. It is not a concentration camp movie, though it does show the occupation. And Cate Blanchett is doing another linguistic chameleon act. She's amazing. And Johnny Depp does play a gypsy so well, better than in Chocolate, though he talks less.

A good part of the sountrack is operatic arias and choruses. And the costumes are beautiful, at least Cate Blanchett's.

Not working quite enough

Still on the movie kick. Tonight its "The boy who Cried" with Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, Christina Ricci. Should be good, and I hope it's not depressing. Either way I have Emma (both versions) to watch, and Princess Diaries 2, which wasn't as good as the first one, but cute anyway. What was up with the Raven cameo? Back to quilting, and spending my last $12 on tunafish and saltines to last until monday.

Payday! Finally...

Oban Scotch Whisky

498 AD was the fateful year when Fergus, Angus, and Loarn, sons of King Erc of the Scotti mounted an eastern expedition from the Glens of Antrim to invade and colonise the Oban shores, naming their little kingdom "Calriada." Fergus Mac Erc became the first monarch, his seat the great fortress of 'Dunaad." Angus and Loarn help the lands to the North and South to which the latter Loarn gave his name. The monarch moved north to the ancient Pictish fortress of Dun A Mhonaidh near Oban. The Scotti brought with them the sacred block of time worn red sandstone known as 'Lia Fail' the symbolic "Stone of Destiny."

The coastland of the Gaelic people known as "Earra Gael" fell to the dreaded Viking overlorship in the middle of the eighth century when their rule was at its harshest. It was then that the warrior King Somerled mac Gillibride became foremost in Oban history. Part Viking, part Celt, he rallied his oppressed and despairing countrymen leading them towards a new and lasting freedom from their oppressors. His spirit is said to live upon the precipitous crag of Dun Ollaigh which for centuries has been the home for descendents of his son and heir Dougall mac Somhairlie, the founder of the great "Clan MacDougall."

This moment in history is brought to you from the side of a bottle of Oban Single-malt Scotch Whiskey. Who says bartending isn't an intellectual profession?

Countdown

My new phone has a countdown feature. So I put 10am, January 10th on it. By the way, 25D 20H 18M left until we're back in rehersals.

Audrey and Grant

I've been on a movie-watching binge this month, since I'm trying to get a rather large quilt finished. Having something on in the background makes life happier. Unfortunately, I'm not getting on very fast because I keep picking out movies I haven't seen before. Last night it was Ocean's Eleven, and I didn't even get my quota done (one flower a night quilted).

My current favorite is Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. One of my friends in high school used to be into old movies, but I never acquired a taste for them. I'm on an Audrey Hepburn kick right now. Last night I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Cary Grant is amazing. I'm going to watch, maybe, if I can find a box of kleenex, It Happened One Night. No doubt the most depressing movie ever -- well, I'd put Schindler's List and The Diary of Anne Frank up there somewhere. My favorite scene in Charade was him showering in his suit, because washing a suit on the body "maintains its shape." And Audrey Hepburn in the only woman alive who can look sophisticated with her mouth hanging open, as she frequently does in emotional scenes.

I read a quote by her that says anybody can have her style by putting on a little sleeveless dress. I think being 5'7" and having a 20" waist have SOMETHING to do with it...