Just got back from our whirlwind tour of the South! At work this morning, so a more full update sure to come later on while the roomful of holiday pooches are taking their naps around noon. Meanwhile, I'm gonna do my best to forget that I got home two hours ago.

Happy birthday Miss Melissa!

Halloween in Salem has begun! Saw the first Jack Sparrow a week ago, which is much like the first robin of spring in that it heralds the coming of many more.

Tonight is the first night of Eerie Evenings at the Witch House, where Lara and I are performing (not really 'telling') ghost stories. hopefully, the jitters will go away before we start. I'm always nervous right before a show, then pretty much fine for the whole run, but that first jittery night drives me crazy. Maybe the fact that I'm expecting to do this about 30 times tonight... Started working at Thirteen Ghosts again last Saturday. I picked it back up without missing a beat, I'm happy to say, although it's easy when all you have to do is jump out at someone!

The house still feels empty without Godsteve, but Marco has really come into his own as the 'cat of the house'. Steve was always jealous of any attention we gave Marco and would swat at him for approaching us. Now, Marco has become much braver and more outgoing, even though he's still terrified of everything. His constant desire for affection certainly helps salve the wounds of losing our little guy, not to mention that Marco has picked up many of Godsteve's endearing endearing qualities... as well as some of his not-so-charming traits :-)

Making weekly trips to Westbrook in preparation of filming "Falkyr". Trying to revive my couple-of-years-since-used sword skills ('Demonslayers' being the exception, but I was only throwing punches) is proving interesting, and since my character is supposed to be "the" sword-master; it'll be necessary to scrape off all rust on my sword-arm, pronto. I may be switching through several sword styles in a single fight, which I'm looking forward to! Really, I'm looking forward to everything!

In the Halloween spirit, I've been rewriting some of my scarier-themed plays in an attempt to put them out (or maybe up) for next Halloween. We'll just have to see!

Lara and I attended the "10th Anniversary of WWE Smackdown!" show at the TD Bank Garden, which was unfortunately not as cool we were hoping. Nothing really special about the matches and all the special guests were pre-recorded. The only really cool spot was a pre-taped segment with Duane Johnson where he slowly morphed back into his "The Rock" character. Even though it was pre-taped, it was absolutely "electrifying" and it felt completely natural to be "chanting The Rock's name...!"

That's all for me...

So, the Universalist church down the street from me has a board on which they usually put quotes from Scripture like a "Bible Thought of the Day". Recently, they put up a quote from a Harry Potter book. This somehow seems wrong to me. I won't put up the quote, because it's really the premise of it that bothers me. I'm not a religious person and know nothing about Universalists, it might make perfect sense to members of the faith.It's not "upsetting" to me, it's just kind of a "Hm". .. anyone have two cents to put in on this?

Godsteve passed away Thursday morning at sunrise after a long battle with bone marrow cancer and FIV. We were lucky enough to be with him for his final moments. He was at home and took his last breaths while cradled in Lara's loving arms. He was a wonderful friend and a loving companion who I will never forget and will love forever.

So yeah, it's been a pretty long time since I posted anything substantial here. I've been trying to check LJ every day to keep up with everyone while I plug away my regular overtime at work. So, here's a few things in the news...
* Still at Dogtopia, working five days and two doubles a week in addition to working at the Witch House when needed. You'd think all this working would somehow get me ahead in my bills, but you'd be wrong. A new plan should certainly be thought up now...
* Godsteve is still recovering from the ridiculousness he had to endure. ( For those who don't know what he's gone through )
* Marco, on the other hand, has really progressed since having ten (yes 10!) teeth removed. He's now become a lot more friendly and active, so it's a good thing to see! He's still afraid of everything, but now he more 'slinks away' than 'runs in a blind panic'.
* Lara and I have been spending a lot of time playing our "new" Xbox 360, which we bought from someone I work with, immersing ourselves in Fable 2 and Dynasty Warriors (who'd have thought ancient Chinese history was so much fun?). Lara has begun itching for "Bioshock" and "Batman: Arkham Asylum" while I just picked up a copy of "Tomb Raider: Underworld" (thanks, Amazon gift card!), a game that I hope will redeem me for getting so frustrated playing Tomber Raider 2 that I gave up during the first level.
* Speaking of frustration; writing plays is hard. I assume selling them will be harder, considering my work tends to be a little, um, different? ;-) Perhaps my plays will reach dramatic success once I'm dead and they become public domain.
* We attended an indie wrestling show in Webster, MA where Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall made a guest appearance. It was a very informal deal, so Lara managed to meet him after the show. With Roddy Piper, this marks two old-time wrestlers she likes that have hit on her. Should I be concerned?

Saw this on Twitter.com from WWE female wrestler Maryse:

maryse0uellet - i broke one of my new nails last night in my match thats terrible have no words!

I wonder if Killer Kowalski ever had that problem...

Happy Birthday Messier bulrogue!

I'm not the world's biggest Barack Obama fan, but I heard this story on the radio and thought it was just great ;-)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/06/11/obama_writes_fourth_grader_a_m.html?wprss=44

( Backlash aftermatch for my WWE-oriented friends or anyone who cares how it went )

 All right, a few minutes at the keyboard soit's time for a post!

Had my 30th birthday on the 15th. You know it's one of those milestone bdays when your parents get you 'ha-ha you're old' cards. Spent said day lounging about at home and visiting my favorite Salem establishments. The next night, Lara's mom had gotten us tickets for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in Springfield. It was my first time seeing or hearing the show, which was a nice experience. The star was Ted Neeley, who played the role in the 1970's film. I admit to not being blown away by the performances, except for Neeley whose vocals were stunning, for a 67 year old man no less!

My grandfather was admitted to the hospital over a month ago and had us very scared. However, he powered through rehab and came home in time for Easter... then managed to fall and break his hip a few days ago. He's had a hip replacement now and is actually is very good spirits. He'll be back home soon, but the road to recovery is a hard one, especially at 76! 

I've being doing a bit of overtime at work, which is handy since I've been hard-up for finding a part-time job. Considering my day is spent surrounded by playing dogs, it's not exactly bad. It's exhausting work sometimes, though. Ever had a big, rambuctious dog? Ever had twenty? 

This Sunday is my big present from Lara; she got us tickets for WWE Backlash in Providence. As it turns out, one of the matches will feature old-school star Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat! (aka meowmoto 's lost twin) who I haven't seen live since I was 12 (Steamboat, not Charlie).

Hard at work re-writing the Wizard of Elderwood, a show I produced/workshopped in 2006 that many kind folks reading this attended and performed in. It has changed profoundly thus far, and I think for the better. I can't wait to finish this new draft and will most definitely be asking for volunteer readers once it's done.

No luck finding acting lately. Community theatre and non-paying gigs unfortunately are out since I can't spare the overtime just yet. Phooey on that. Keeping my eyes open. I hate getting rusty (and so do my swords!)