Today wasn’t too bad at work. I was busy all morning, getting together all the materials for this guy in Dallas who has a meeting in China next week. It took me a few hours, but I got it all together and gave it to another guy to ship to Beijing. For those of you who know what the hell I'm talking about, I had to prepare materials and a PowerPoint presentation on Fixed Income, and another on Equities. Huh? Wha? Heh? It's all Greek to me!
When that was done I read a few of the inspirational stories in my new book, A STRING OF PEARLS. It’s really a very sweet book and each story is just about 10 pages, so I can read one, then do some work, read another, read some emails, etc.
Since my boss told me that the woman I’m sitting in for isn’t coming back, and they’re posting her job, I thought it would be a good idea to clean out her desk and send her all her personal items. I wrote to my “mentor” who is good friends with the woman, and told her I thought I should do that, and she thought it was a great idea, too. So, I spent an hour or two this afternoon packing up toys, books, CDs, clothes, and other personal items into three boxes and a shopping bag. There were lots of things to throw away (like cans of COKE from 2004) and now the desk is ready for the person who will have this job. It's so sad that this woman is dying, and it makes me appreciate every single day of my life, because she's only 40 and it's too soon. Much too soon.
I thought it would be easier for me to do now, when I can actually send the stuff to her, than for someone to do it afterwards, when she’s gone and they have to just get rid of it all. I would have sent it to her months ago, but they were really hoping she was coming back. The desk definitely looks emptier now, without her little penguin collection, her cute mugs, and a few personal photos, but I think it will make her happy to get these boxes and get to look through all the stuff and even use some of it.
I couldn’t wait for the day to end, because I’m so excited about the two craft shows this weekend. When I got home I just relaxed and watched TV, knowing I would fall asleep. Eric woke me at 8:00pm and I made us both NUTRISYSTEM ravioli. Eric’s is in a meat sauce, mine in plain tomato sauce. Then, we had the last of the gelato for dessert. You can see how small our portions are, because we made it last from Monday to Friday (and I’m pretty sure Eric sneaks some in during the day, too!).
I packed up all the stuff I was going to sell tomorrow and even a few things I might hold back. I only had 7 items left in the apartment after I packed everything. “What if you sell it all tomorrow?” he asked. That really scared me, because then I’d look pretty stupid on Sunday with 7 things and a 6 foot table, but I don’t REALLY think I have to worry about it, and I won’t put everything out unless all the items sell. The table is relatively small, so I’ll just put out about 10 items and then, if they all sell, I can keep adding and adding.
Eric got me some singles, $5s and $10s, so I can make change. All my merchandise fit into one box and one shopping bag, and I have another shopping bag full of bags, and other supplies. I also have to bring the card table, the tablecloth, and one chair.
Sunday I don’t have to bring the table or chair, but I do have to bring the 3-panel screen, the pearl lamp (which is in a tall lamp box from the movers), the lampshade, the Victorian File Box, and the big round mirror with all the clip-on and screw-on earrings,so I have more big things to bring.
It’s kind of great that I have the show tomorrow, because it’s like a “dress rehearsal” before the big day on Sunday. This show is a much smaller event, and probably won’t get as many people as the one on Sunday, considering there will be things going on for blocks and blocks. Sunday, there’s just one big room, but there will be 60 vendors, bands, coffee, food, beer and wine, a fashion show, and craft demos. There will definitely be a lot of foot traffic. The bad thing is, it’s supposed to rain on Sunday. It hasn’t rained for weeks, and now it’s going to rain on Sunday and that’s not good.
I’ll be bringing my camera to both events, so you can be sure I will document everything!
I recorded GODSPELL the other day on TV. It was unedited with no commercial interruption and I haven’t seen that movie in so many years. I watched a little bit of it tonight, and it brought back SO many memories. First of all, Victor Garber, who played Jesus, is now starring on one of my new favorite shows – Eli Stone. It’s amazing how long and varied his career has been. He was just a kid when he starred in this movie in 1973. The beautiful thing is that he's still singing! There are a few musical numbers in every episode of the show (which are Eli's hallucinations) and Victor sings as beautifully as he did back in 1973!
GODSPELL takes place in all different locations in New York, including the World Trade Center, which was still under construction when the film was made.
Eric and I watched the first half hour and I got to see DAY BY DAY and TURN BACK, the two numbers I sang when I did the show. I first did GODSPELL at QUEENS COLLEGE in 1976, so it was just a few years after the movie of the play came out. I sang DAY BY DAY. Then, I did it again a year or two later with a community theatre group and sang TURN BACK, which is SUCH a great song. GODSPELL is one of those plays with a small cast that really becomes a family, because everyone is in every scene. You really never leave the stage, once the play starts. There is a lot of improvisation involved in rehearsing and bringing the stories to life, and the skits are updated every time it’s done, so that it’s very timely.
I don’t know how often the show is done anymore, and whether it still has the same impact it did 30 years ago, but it’s always been a favorite of mine. Sometimes it’s hard to believe I had this whole other life. Things have changed so much for me -- my focus, my passion, my direction in life. If you had told me when I was 25 that I would have my own shop and that I would be an artist, I would have thought you were insane. It just shows that you NEVER know where your life will lead you, and you have to just go with the flow and see what happens.
I thought I would be singing and dancing until the day I died, and I would still love to do it, but it’s not that important to me anymore. I always say, if someone walked up to me and said they wanted me to star in a show, I’d drop everything and do it. But I’m not willing to go to auditions, or do all the work necessary to build a show, like I did in the ‘90s when I was performing in nightclubs and cabarets.
Singing and dancing is something I was born to do, I really believe that, and I always wished that I could have made a living doing it (and never really did – I usually had another job). Still, I did it – successfully, I think – for many years, and don’t regret a moment of it. There’s something about being up there in front of an audience, making them laugh, feeling the energy coming from the crowd, performing with your friends – the timing of a joke, the beauty of great choreography, hearing the applause. There’s nothing like it in the whole, wide world.
Crafting is so different. When you’re in a show, it’s temporary (even if it’s recorded). The only people who experience it are the people who are there – live and in person. When it’s over, it’s over. You can do the same show 100 times and there will be 100 different performances. It’s never exactly the same twice. It’s a temporary thing. My art is forever. I feel like when someone buys one of my pieces, they’ll look at it every day, enjoy it, and other people may admire it, and it will (I hope) bring pleasure and happiness for years to come. It’s much longer lasting, but I don’t get to be there for any of it. No one ever claps when they see my work (that would be nice, wouldn’t it?). They show their appreciation in a very different way – they buy it!
It amazed me when people first started paying for my work. I never thought it would happen and, when it did, I was surprised and thrilled. I usually made a few pieces a month, so they would be spread out among the thousands of items I had on consignment in my shop. Tomorrow and Sunday will be the first time that I will have a big display of JUST my work – only the things I’ve created. It will be exciting to see the reaction. Very exciting.
Well, I must get a good night’s sleep. I have all morning to relax tomorrow, since I don’t have to be at the WHISTLE STOP BAR until 2:30pm. Eric will drop me off, so I don’t have to worry about parking the car (parking is miserable in South Park AND North Park, so he’ll be dropping me off on Sunday, too!). I know it will be a really fun day and I can’t wait!