The Fitting Bookend

The Fitting Bookend to Spring Break

Today was it. We woke at the crack of dawn, ok, 6:30, to pack, clean and be out by the time the maid arrived in "The Upper Rooms." And we took the Pacific Coast Highway - six of us squashed in the truck - to Manhattan beach.

It was a lovely drive. The sun has come out after two months of rain. Other than debris littered beaches and extraordinarily green hills there's no sign of the clouds that have covered the entire state for most of tour. The bouganvilia which hasn't bloomed yet in Santa Barbara County was out in full force by Malibu. And we found a one bedroom apartment. For Rent. $3,000 a month. I suppose if you worked two jobs and had a roommate you might have time to ... Listen to the ocean crash on the jetty (what is a jetty anyway?) on the way to your second shift.

Much rejoicing occurred upon the reuniting of the team. Thank God the other seven are back with us. One with much altered hair. Another with a new shiny ring on her finger, winning the best quote of the tour award ("Yessssss!!"In response to Bret's "Will you marry me?"). And we have our guys back! Oh the balance! Oh the logic! Oh the standing by and rolling their eyes as the girls one by one heard the engagement news and deafened overhead seagulls with the shrieks.

And then we got on the road again. The I-5. At 4pm. Bad planning, that. Four hours later we were forty miles down the road.

Minus a trailer. Because the brakes went out again. Which nicely puts us right back where we were before the break.

Old Shadows

Old Shadows

Chris: "The Ichaw Bird is massaging Chalingguy."

Aaron: "It's frightening, yet strangely comfortable."



Signpost: "Don't be a crab. Eat one."



Austen: "I like tanning. I like being brown. It gets me closer to black. Which helps when I rap."



Rachel: "I don't think this is a one-way street."

Julie: "I think you may be correct."



Rachel: "Mermaid Sushi. Does that sound sick to you?"

Aaron: "Is that like 'kind of' cannibalism?"

Rachel: "Depends. Top half or bottom."



Sam Myers (The coolest homestay ever. Builds windmills): "I don't like soy sauce. They's grasshoppers in Oklahoma. They's spit look like soy sauce."



Vicky: "There aren't enough words in the alphabet."



Vicky: "I have trust issues with people. I don't trust them."



Aaron: "Adam, they need your foo-foos."



Adam: "Half castle. Half mansion. It's a cansion."



Torrie: "I'm sorry I'm such a prayer monopolizer. I just love talking to you Jesus."



Vicky: "I turned pinker than a red thing."



Vicky: "My family is the funniest one I've ever had."



Rachel: "Vicky, you need to stop talking. You're monopolizing the quote book."

Thai

Partial Day Off

Thai food with Wendy, lining up options for summer jobs, and then off to work.

Last night we watched Sleeping with the Enemy and tried not to wake the entire household with screaming in the scary parts (7 girls you know - we feed off each other). Good movie. Puts me in mind of What Lies Beneath. Similar ending in a way.

I'm off to work.

P.S. Tucson may have cheap rent, but it's blasted hot in the summer.

Spring Break

Spring Break

We're in Solvang for the week. Finances prompted my calling the Alisal and asking if I could work. They're in the throws of Easter with their off-season staff, so they gave me six shifts this week. Part of me was a little disappointed that I won't get a break this week. Part of me really is relieved at a change of scene. It's been raining all week, and we've been indoors a good deal. The noise level keeps on rising...

For now there's seven of us in town. All the guys and two girls have gone off to various places. The "married couple" are back home putting their things into storage. Several hooked up with friends and family in California. And one flew home. So, I go to work, and the other six of us bum around doing touristy things. While I'm checking email and blogging, they're thrift shopping. I bought a Solvang patch the other day to add to my tourist jeans.

Yesterday was a torrential downpour, and I found myself bartending the golf lounge. No one was golfing, so I got paid to sit by the fire and read for the last three hours of my shift. Alone. And Quiet. It was lovely. I've read three Francine Rivers books I found at the church library (And the Shofar Blew, Redeeming Love, and Unashamed), and I'm working my way today back through Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers. It was the first Lord Peter book I read, and I'm enjoying the re-read.

Laughing until we Pee

Laughing Fit to Pee

Yesterday was the first official day of the Dinner Theater's Spring Break! Hurrah! We Drove from Lake Isabella to Solvang, (some of us by way of LAX) and then to Grandma and Ken's place for dinner with the purpose driven life group. I ran to the Alisal, talked to my managers, and picked up my uniform to work this evening. I'm not thrilled about working, but a woman has to do what she has to do. So tonight, I'm back to cocktail waitressing.

And I surprised the heck out of Wendy. I'd hoped to catch her at her house, but she walked in to pick up her silverware while I was talking with Ramiro. She screamed, then swore. I guess that means she's happy to see me... We're supposed to go for coffee today.

After dinner we went to the house that's hosting us. Unloaded. Tasha and I bought groceries. And then we played a zillion rounds of Phase 10. I won. Which was lovely because the last time I played I was stuck on phase 2 for 17 rounds.

And we watched a surf video of some guys 100 miles off the California coast surfing 66 foot swells in open water. Quote of the movie: "There's like a million seals out here. It's like a shark snack bar."

Just where I'd like to be paddling about imitating marine life.

And right before bed, when everything dissolved into the tired jollies, we had a pillow fight. The guys won. As usual.

Not Dead, but Almost

Confessions Abounding

I'm not dead. Almost though. Funny story that.

We took highway 155 to Lake Isabella. It's the scenic route. And a 13 degree grade on the downward side. First our brakes burned up on the trailer, then on the suburban hauling it, then the parking brake. And we were hurtling around hairpin curves in both lanes gaining speed.

The five of us in the sub checked our buckles and grabbed on. Under my breath, I began the confession from the Book of Common Prayer. Jonathan asked forgiveness for "that last corona." And then it was quiet. I was amazed, even then, that we weren't panicking. At all.

We don't know what stopped us. But we stopped. Somehow.

It was very sobering.

Staying alone

Staying Alone

Sometimes the best homestays are ones where you stay alone, and both the hosts work all day. What did I do with my Monday? Watched TV and crocheted. What TV do you ask? Mostly old sitcoms, Mission Impossible, and some HGTV thrown in. I did the Sysco order, tried again (unsuccessfully) to track down my missing purse, and then went to a Yoga class with my homestay when she got off work. Then, after dinner, more TV. I haven't watched television (maybe once) since Christmas!

One of Those Days

One of Those Days

Yesterday was the technical show from hades. Mics didn't come on, some of us forgot to turn them on, light cues were all over the place, Liz was so worried about sound that some other things fell through the cracks. My lines can be summed up by: "pththththtb." Everyone seemed happy with the show, and tear down went 15 minutes faster than usual, but at the end of the show, all we could do was shrug.

Apology

Apology

To all those who offered to pray for me this term:

Sorry you've had so little direct contact from me. My funds have been so limited, combined with a check card that was cancelled and reordered in January (Which arrived two days ago) and a purse lost a few weeks ago, my money is limited and access to it almost non-existant. All this to say, I can't afford to buy stamps. So, if you would mind letting me blog these, because I could use some prayer for a few things:

1. My eyes are still infected, I've been through a rather costly prescription to get rid of it, and it didn't work. Two days ago my glands started swelling. So, I'm not feeling so hot, and I'm getting tired of being onstage blind every night because I can't put my contacts in. Not only might I fall off the stage, and I can't see what anyone else is doing, so I'm reacting every night to nothing.

2. After tour I'm praying about taking another year off to finish paying off my debts. That was a huge goal of mine before coming on tour, and God has allowed me to keep up with most of it, but I've reached the end of my savings and need to take a break and finish. So far I'm feeling at peace about quitting for now, but I want to make sure it isn't just me making this decision.

3. Money while on tour. Wycliffe gives us an expense allowance, but it doesn't go very far. Our paychecks haven't been very regular (the last one was three weeks late due to confusion at the church office, and arrived the day before two automatic deposits came out of my account).

4. And the usual, patience and grace for my team working under me. Pray that I would "encourage the timid, help the weak, warn the idle, be patient with all..."

And then for the Junior High

One Time Youth Ministers

Last night the team, minus a couple, went to a Junior High youth group and spoke. First though, we had to play water balloon basketball, ending with the balloon getting caught in the net, Torrie climbing on Austen's shoulders to get it, and the balloon bursting all over both of them.

We introduced ourselves, and what we do on tour. The we led them in a few of our warm up exercizes, and a game of Zip Zap Zop. Torrie won the championship round. We demonstrated 'What are you Doing?' but didn't have time to play with the kids. Then Tasha modified her speech from the missions conference about the importance of drama ministry, plus a bit of the talk from the last school we talked at about the unreached people groups in the world. (It all fits on one hand. Spell thumb. T=tribal, H=Hindu, U=Unreligious, M=Muslim, B=Buddhist) Vanessa and I did a scene from the show about the difficulties of bible translation cross culturally. And then we ended with a bit of Q and A. I got to answer the question about who Wycliffe was, and where the current day Wycliffe started.

All in all the kids were really responsive. Squirly, but attentive. I'm glad we went.