Catching Up

Edmonton/Winnipeg via Minneapolis/Chicago

I have some serious catching up to do with you all. I spent a very long and busy week in northern Canada with basically no internet access, and as such, I’m more than a little behind on the updates here. My sincere apologies to you all for dropping the ball. One would think that I would manage to record my thoughts better, I had a bit of free time to do so, and there sure as hell wasn’t much else to do, but I didn’t. I got lazy…

When I last left you I was in Vancouver, just a stone’s throw from Portland. Ah, that Edmonton was the same. We have been putting the miles on the last week. It was a 14+ hour drive to Edmonton, and I’m pleased to announce that I managed to sleep through half of it. This alone is an accomplishment. We must have passed the exciting stuff while I was watching the inside of my eyelids, because when I got out of my bunk, all I saw for the next 7 hours was flat prairie. Let me say that again, flat prairie.

There must be something in Edmonton that keeps people living there; I must have missed it. I don’t see the draw personally. It snowed (twice) while we were in town, so I got to see the first snow of my season. Those of you who know me will know just how thrilled I was by that. No accumulation, but snow never-the-less.
Oh the inhumanity! Our wardrobe room in Edmonton was a tiny black box with what appeared to be asbestos sprayed all over the ceiling. We couldn’t even fit half of our cases in the room, much less all the racks required for prep. Of course, we just sucked it up and kept on rolling, but it wasn’t an easy venue for us. First of all, it was damn dark, even with additional lighting it was hard to see what we were up too. We made it all work, and the crew… was… marginally helpful. I’m no longer going to rant about skills or the lack thereof. They were ok, just ok. There were a few hair raising moments but nothing was completely damaged, and the show was presentable when it needed to be. I would have preferred to not do a second show but I’m not the manager and just do what we are told… hehehe

Did I mention that it was cold? I said it was snowing, but it was also WINDY and very very temperate. Just walking two blocks to the ghetto mall beside the hotel took my breath away, slicing right through multiple layers of leather and fleece, and blowing the tears right off my face. ‘Nuff said, right?!

This Imp didn’t care for Edmonton.

Nor did he care for the 15+ hour haul from Edmonton to Winnipeg, where it was even colder upon our arrival. You just know something is amiss when I begin to miss the old USA. The whole change of time zones and weather was making me want to curl up somewhere dark and warm and hibernate. The lack of sunshine can get downright depressing at times. Even STAR light only goes so far with me…

Alright! Winnipeg. We finally got a decent wardrobe room again in the Peg. Decent lighting, enough space to work (creatively) in. I’m going to refrain from commenting too much about our crew, but will say again, I was not looking forward to two shows. Perhaps I’m just too jaded, but I prefer to have the professionals working for me on something this large, instead of feeling like a teacher and having to educate the next generation. It was a tense city for all of my department; I wasn’t the only one. I will give many many points to Roxanne though, who came in on the second day to replace a person who didn’t show up for work. She was bright, intuitive, eager and professional. She made my day and my show.

All things considered I got a lot of work done in the Peg. Shannon, I owe you a couple of drinks for doing the alterations on that first red dress back in the city. The second dress was handed off to a ‘stitcher’ in Portland, and I’ve spent the last 3 cities trying to undo the damage and get it presentable and wearable. I think perhaps, after one more city of work, I’ll have the damn thing done…
Let’s just say that the show set changed a little in the Peg. Herself wasn’t feeling great. She still put on an amazing show but it was different and we all had to change our muscle memory around a bit to adhere to the new set list.
I saw the Dr(s) walking down the hall the second day at the Peg…

Now I sit in Minneapolis with my bus call approaching. Many of you Minneapolis peeps will know by now that the show scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled for February. That is right kids, we postponed one. MaMa needs her rest and so we head off to the Windy City a day earlier than planned, knowing we will be hitting the Mark in February. A few of my friends were attending the show here, and I hope to see them again when we are back in town.

The good news is, we all now have almost a week off. Time for us all to rest. Our next show in Chicago isn’t until the 4th, which allows us all to get our rest and to relax a little. The only thing that is standing between me and a great mini holiday is today’s 7 hour bus ride.

It’s all good though, I have a new episode of SGA downloaded, so that is 44 minutes of entertainment in the 7 hours, and I also finally managed to find the book I was searching for… so I have reading to keep me entertained the rest of the way.

The highlight of Minneapolis was seeing my dear friend Trina!!!! I once again took my girl out to lunch and then shopping (for dinner items) and then got the tour of the new house!!! I’m very glad we got the chance to spend the day together. We worked/lived together for many years in Omaha, and it’s always good to see her. She’s VERY pregnant, and I’m glad the child didn’t appear during our day together. She’s due on November 5th, that’s how Very close she is… we had a great time catching up and then making dinner together. I also got to see her fantastic husband when he got home from work, and we all had dinner together before he dropped me back the hotel!!

All in all, a very pleasant and easy stay in Minneapolis. I am looking forward to our return in February.

Now I must get off this machine and get my new purchases packed, repack, and get showered and downstairs. It’s time to head for Chicago!! Happy Halloween to you all… I get to enjoy a full 24 hours with my female BFF (without her precious daughter) in Chicago. Time for scrabble games and card games and a bottle of something…. It’s going to be so good to catch up with her again.

I just saw that a lot of snow is falling on the east coast… are you peeps there buried under it yet? I mean, 25 inches? WOW!!!!

Miles to go before I sleep….

Love and Light!