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!)

An ashamed-ly late happy birthday to Mr. Superrob!

Trying to sleep in the wee hours of the night, but needing to pour another chapter out of my brain before it can rest... here i am making a post!

Lara's off in Florida this week, so i've been trying to keep busy with work and writing. I completed the long-put-off task of going through the boxes at my mother's house and pulling out all the stuff I've been wanting to bring here, as well as condensing the space (down to three bins!) I also dropped by to see my old friend Mike and his dad. Some folks just never change, but that can be a good thing. I caught up with them and met their cute new kittens.  I also learned that one of my oldest friends was just arrested for being an idiot (not the official charge, but I don't feel like explaining it). Some folks never change, and that can be a bad thing. 

Had dinner with my mom and sister tonight at Victoria Station and learned that my habit of trying the clam chowder at every place I go to may have been inherited from my grandfather. He says it's only good if the spoon stands up on its own, and I agree.

New hours at work mean that I now have my evenings free! Hooray for the new potential of doing a rehearsal schedule! Such a thing was unthinkable for the past few months...years, actually... but now there is at least the potential for it.

Tomorrow (or today, i guess) and Saturday, I expect to be doing some mega-cleaning around the house in preparation for Lara's return home on Sunday. It's been a laundry-filled week and the effects have ben far-reaching. I've informed her that while she was away, I was in the company of many beautiful young ladies who indulged themselves in sitting in my lap, licking my face and pooping on the floor. At 6:30 am I go to do it all again.

With the soon-to-be snow weather outside, Dogtopia is closed for the day and I'm left with time to post something!
Well, after a short-but-fun trip to Maine, Lara and I have brought home our own little Christmas gift: a three year old Maine coon cat named Marco! He was living at an old bookstore in Camden that was closing up for the winter and he was in need of a home. He immediately took to Lara, and his temper is perfect for getting along with Godsteve (ie very private, non-confrontational and chill). We told the folks at the store we'd be happy to take him and made plans to go up the next week.

On Sunday, we went to the Ipswich Inn to see the delightful JT Turner in his one-man "Christmas Carol", which was fantastic as before. JT's skill for storytelling is wonderful, and he did such a great job even while sick!

Monday, we went back up to Maine to claim the Marquis de Marco (one of many nicknames he can expect to have). He gave us a merry chase, as his three years in the bookstore were spent finding all the hiding places. He managed to hide behind some of the most apt books, including "The Merry Marco" and "Emotional Behavior in Humans and Animals".  At last, we caught him and into the crate he went. He's been here less than a week and Godsteve is slowly beginning to tolerate his presence. They haven't fought or behaved aggressively at all (so far!) but Steve was not shy about letting us know he was unhappy. Marco, meanwhile, has been cautiously friendly with Steve and is warming up to Lara and I much more.He's found several favorite hiding places already. It's still a project cleaning years of bookstore dirt off him, but he seems to like it when Lara cleans him.

With today off, hopefully we can put the last of the holiday shopping to bed. I always enjoy going Christmas shopping, I just wish there weren't so many other people doing it too! ;-)

Whew!

Dropped Lara off at 5am for her pilot in Boston! Hopefully she'll be able to stay awake as we only got a few hours of sleep last night coming home from Survivor Series! ( Cut for wrestling stuff )

Two of the biggest crowd reactions of the night weren't even for wrestling things. The Smackdown Your Vote video was played; which showed John McCain's promo, for which he got booed as if the video had shown him kicking a puppy, and Barack Obama's promo in which he asks "Do you smell what Barack is cookin'?" This got a cheer as if the guy was handing out hundred dollar bills and a free kitten.
All in all, a good time had :-)

I have today off and will hopefully be able to get the car in to have some work done on it this morning.

On another note, Lara amd I went on a video game shopping spree and have been playing Lord of the Rings: the Third Age, which is a Final Fantasy-esque co-op game. We've also been playing WWE Smakcdown vs. RAW 2009, a franchise that seems determined to cut out the best things about the past versions in favor of flashier, less fun stuff. Oh WWE, does your desire to make us stop caring ever end? Lara has also been replaying the Kingdom Hearts games between gigs, reminding us just how much fun Disney can be. We also played through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battlenexus, which has the coolest unlockable feature ever; a console version of the TMNT arcade game from the 1990s!

Hades: "How dare you get a happy ending?! How DARE you?!"

This time last year, I would stay late at work at year-end to finish putting a case through issue and begging unhelpful people to do their jobs. Today, I stay late at work trying to try and get a dog to poop. Oddly enough, I like that better. :-)

There is a small terrier mix named Howie that I'd adopt in three seconds if we had a bigger apartment. If you're looking for a  a small, sweet dog to adopt; let me know! He's at Dogtopia as part of our shelter dog program and needs a loving home! You can also go to the website at www.dogdaycare.com/danvers. There are also webcams so you can watch puppies at play all day long! 

Tomorrow's the night! Lara and I splurged and got each other early Xmas gifts, 5th row seats for the WWE Survivor Series! It promises to be a lot of fun with John Cena's return against Chris Jericho, a casket match between Undertaker and the Big Show and Jeff Hardy's big chance for the world title in a Triple Threat match! By the way, if you're not a wrestling fan; all that is very exciting. ;-) We'll be having our traditional pre-show dinner at The Fours by the TD Banknorth Garden if anyone is interested in joining us! You can let us know to meet up, or just go there and look for the couple dressed as the Hardy Boyz ;-)

The Godsteve does not believe in Saturday sleeping-in. So, time for me to actually post something here!

I am now settling into my new job at Dogtopia, a doggie daycare in Danvers that is probably the most fun job ever :-) I spend my day keeping law and order amongst a group of playful dogs of varying temperments; it's not unlike a rehearsal. :-) it feels great to let go of all the stress of not having a full-time gig. We'll see where things go from here!

Spent October working at my first haunt in Thirteen Ghosts in Salem, a 3D haunted house that was a blast. Met some cool people and scared a few others. If you've never seen it, Thirteen Ghosts is a product of haunted house specialists Boneyard Productions (who helped design Spookyworld) and is as much a 3D art gallery as it is a spookshow. Check it out next year!

Halloween was a real treat this year! After Lara finished catting, we got dolled up in our traditional wrestler costumes, Lara as Rowdy Roddy Piper and me as Bret Hitman Hart. Lara managed to run into a guy dressed as Mr.T, which made great silliness ensure. We checked out the Abominable Dr. Vitka's Freak Show at the Fool's Mansion (yes, that Vitka) which was...informative... Did you know that few people can turn down the prospect of stapling a $20 bill to a man's head? We also ran into my sister (dressed as Elmo) and her husband (dressed as an i have no idea) which was funny and unexpected.

by the way, final count: 33 Heath Ledger Jokers, 6 Heath Ledger Jokers Dressed As A Nurse
only one Mark Hamill Joker, good on him! He even had Harley Quinn.

I've been working on writing, re-writing and re-re-writing some of my plays to start sending them out. I think I have a few potential contenders. Some plays, like 'Demonslayers' I picture being a hard sell because it's nontraditional  (big cast and you better know fightstuff) but we shall see. Perhaps some folks are looking for a whiff of fresh scare ;-) Now that I won't be spending all my free time at the computer on the job hunt, perhaps I can spend that time finishing some of my short stories and the like.

Tomorrow, it's off to casa de Pam & Rob, hope to see you there!