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Catching up....
Apr. 3rd, 2010 11:25 amI'm so behind on everything....
But the show opened last night (yay!) and I experienced a second occurrence that I really hope does not turn into a tradition. I was rear-ended in traffic. Luckily, it was incredibly minor (at least on my end). It was one of those bumper-to-bumper situations where traffic ahead of me started, but the car *directly* in front of me didn't go right away. But the person *behind* me thought we were going, so she tapped her accelerator. So, 5 MPH, maybe? Her BMW was much more messed up than my SUV bumper - I mean, I don't even know if there's anything (other than paint) to fix. Though that said, if there is anything, I will get it fixed because hello, I don't want rust. She was really, really upset at the time (which was way disproportionate to the accident, so lucky for me I was completely calm), and she called me this morning (at 8:15, UGH!) to find out if I'm okay and apologize for falling apart, and to make sure that I had all her information.
I figure - hey, I've been at fault in accidents before, ones with much more extensive (though never injurious) damage, and I was fortunate that at least once, when I was really upset about it, the other driver was calm, collected, and not wanting to rip me a new one for fucking up his car. Even when I was hit on the way to "Steppin' Out," the worst part wasn't the trunk damage (which wasn't dramatic, but was enough to stop the trunk from opening easily for the rest of the life of the car), it was that I was on my way to the performance and I was worried I'd be late. And I think I was pretty calm with that woman, too. Point being, I've been there myself, and I know how it feels to want the last five seconds back.
Then I witnessed another almost-accident on the way home... at 1:30 AM... after going out drinking after the show (which was a whole 'nother story. We tried to go to the 99 and it was closed, so we all tried to go to TGI Friday's before they closed, got in JUST before last call, but just as they finally brought our drinks and food, a Framingham cop started going round to everyone saying, 'You've got 5 minutes before they close up.' And everyone got really pissed, because, dude, we'd JUST got our stuff. If we weren't going to have time to sit and enjoy, they shouldn't have served us at all). So I'm in Waltham and I turned up the side street to bypass all the lights on 20, and there's a monster truck two cars ahead and a little VW Passat behind him. The truck swings wide to the left, clearly about to turn right but with NO SIGNAL, and the Passat tries to slip in front of the truck...on the right. They came within an inch of hitting.
I hung back while the guys got out and checked their cars. There was a little discussion but no exchange of info - and no violence, which was good. Because honestly, could have gone that way, and if I'd had to be a witness, I'd've been obligated to say they were both boneheads.
Anyway....
So, this coming week marks four months of unemployment. It's the longest I have *ever* gone without working. Even during my previous worksearches, I was temping and getting money coming in within a few weeks of my layoff. But with this worksearch, I dunno, it's hard to find temp jobs that are "worth" doing compared to collecting unemployment. But on the other hand, there's a strain to being out of the workforce for so long, losing touch, losing routine, etc. I haven't been nearly as productive as I aspired to be - though since the weather has improved (well, not early this week!), I've been walking more and really focusing on trying to get back in shape.
(Speaking of which, Champion now has a low-cost version of the ultra-high-tech Sketchers that improve your butt while you walk, which is itself a US version of MBT shoes, which have been around in the UK for a few years already. Anyway, Champion sells through Payless, and the shoes are $30 instead of $100. I knew it was just a matter of time.)
But back to the "no work" thing. Well, I did get a call yesterday about a possible contract position. It's an AA, but they're specifically looking for someone with project management experience (which is interesting), and the pay is fairly good, though it's apparently somewhere west (I think she said Westwood? It wasn't Westboro, but I didn't hear the name of the town clearly). I said I'd at least be interested in talking to them. Why not?
And so many reports and blogs and newsletters are saying that contract work and other new models are becoming the norm, much more than direct hires. Which makes sense - it was trending that way even before the economy slipped - but it makes for a career of constant change. I don't mind that mindset when it's *theatre*, but I really prefer a little more stability in the rest of my life.
So, the dilemma facing me is whether I should go back to that career coach and say, "yeah, okay, my way is totally not working. Let's plunk down some cash and start networking" or whether I lower standards and go back to Admin work just to get back in the game.
Something else to do, especially now that I'm into the show and out of rehearsals, is refocus on the other projects - recording and such. And I have to finish "spring cleaning" which also now includes reorganizing the basement storage.
And there's still more theatre. I just bit the bullet and joined "StageSource" in order to put in for their auditions in June. (The deadline is in just over a week.) Which means I have until June to get my hair cut decently again, get a good headshot, and get ready to audition.
And I have to start really working on learning lines for "Medea" and "The Final Battle" - but that's been on the burner for a while.
Meanwhile, Target is having a HUGE DVD sale including lots of TV. So I got Burn Notice S2, How I Met Your Mother S4, and Weeds S5 for just over $50 (for all three). Which blows the entertainment budget for a good while (sigh), but I couldn't stop myself. Honest.
In other entertainment news, I've been working through my birthday present from Amy. It's a BBC series called "The Last Detective" with Peter Davison as the maligned "Dangerous Davies" - the "last detective" anyone would want working a case. Except he's really a good detective. He's just a very unlucky one.
And I'm two ep's behind on SPN, Chuck, probably a few others. I still haven't seen the White Collar season finale from a few weeks back (though I'm not worried about it), and I'm WAY behind on The Closer and others. But I did finish the first season of "Lost" via Netflix and it's okay. I'll probably move on to season 2 at some point.
And now I need fooooood.
But the show opened last night (yay!) and I experienced a second occurrence that I really hope does not turn into a tradition. I was rear-ended in traffic. Luckily, it was incredibly minor (at least on my end). It was one of those bumper-to-bumper situations where traffic ahead of me started, but the car *directly* in front of me didn't go right away. But the person *behind* me thought we were going, so she tapped her accelerator. So, 5 MPH, maybe? Her BMW was much more messed up than my SUV bumper - I mean, I don't even know if there's anything (other than paint) to fix. Though that said, if there is anything, I will get it fixed because hello, I don't want rust. She was really, really upset at the time (which was way disproportionate to the accident, so lucky for me I was completely calm), and she called me this morning (at 8:15, UGH!) to find out if I'm okay and apologize for falling apart, and to make sure that I had all her information.
I figure - hey, I've been at fault in accidents before, ones with much more extensive (though never injurious) damage, and I was fortunate that at least once, when I was really upset about it, the other driver was calm, collected, and not wanting to rip me a new one for fucking up his car. Even when I was hit on the way to "Steppin' Out," the worst part wasn't the trunk damage (which wasn't dramatic, but was enough to stop the trunk from opening easily for the rest of the life of the car), it was that I was on my way to the performance and I was worried I'd be late. And I think I was pretty calm with that woman, too. Point being, I've been there myself, and I know how it feels to want the last five seconds back.
Then I witnessed another almost-accident on the way home... at 1:30 AM... after going out drinking after the show (which was a whole 'nother story. We tried to go to the 99 and it was closed, so we all tried to go to TGI Friday's before they closed, got in JUST before last call, but just as they finally brought our drinks and food, a Framingham cop started going round to everyone saying, 'You've got 5 minutes before they close up.' And everyone got really pissed, because, dude, we'd JUST got our stuff. If we weren't going to have time to sit and enjoy, they shouldn't have served us at all). So I'm in Waltham and I turned up the side street to bypass all the lights on 20, and there's a monster truck two cars ahead and a little VW Passat behind him. The truck swings wide to the left, clearly about to turn right but with NO SIGNAL, and the Passat tries to slip in front of the truck...on the right. They came within an inch of hitting.
I hung back while the guys got out and checked their cars. There was a little discussion but no exchange of info - and no violence, which was good. Because honestly, could have gone that way, and if I'd had to be a witness, I'd've been obligated to say they were both boneheads.
Anyway....
So, this coming week marks four months of unemployment. It's the longest I have *ever* gone without working. Even during my previous worksearches, I was temping and getting money coming in within a few weeks of my layoff. But with this worksearch, I dunno, it's hard to find temp jobs that are "worth" doing compared to collecting unemployment. But on the other hand, there's a strain to being out of the workforce for so long, losing touch, losing routine, etc. I haven't been nearly as productive as I aspired to be - though since the weather has improved (well, not early this week!), I've been walking more and really focusing on trying to get back in shape.
(Speaking of which, Champion now has a low-cost version of the ultra-high-tech Sketchers that improve your butt while you walk, which is itself a US version of MBT shoes, which have been around in the UK for a few years already. Anyway, Champion sells through Payless, and the shoes are $30 instead of $100. I knew it was just a matter of time.)
But back to the "no work" thing. Well, I did get a call yesterday about a possible contract position. It's an AA, but they're specifically looking for someone with project management experience (which is interesting), and the pay is fairly good, though it's apparently somewhere west (I think she said Westwood? It wasn't Westboro, but I didn't hear the name of the town clearly). I said I'd at least be interested in talking to them. Why not?
And so many reports and blogs and newsletters are saying that contract work and other new models are becoming the norm, much more than direct hires. Which makes sense - it was trending that way even before the economy slipped - but it makes for a career of constant change. I don't mind that mindset when it's *theatre*, but I really prefer a little more stability in the rest of my life.
So, the dilemma facing me is whether I should go back to that career coach and say, "yeah, okay, my way is totally not working. Let's plunk down some cash and start networking" or whether I lower standards and go back to Admin work just to get back in the game.
Something else to do, especially now that I'm into the show and out of rehearsals, is refocus on the other projects - recording and such. And I have to finish "spring cleaning" which also now includes reorganizing the basement storage.
And there's still more theatre. I just bit the bullet and joined "StageSource" in order to put in for their auditions in June. (The deadline is in just over a week.) Which means I have until June to get my hair cut decently again, get a good headshot, and get ready to audition.
And I have to start really working on learning lines for "Medea" and "The Final Battle" - but that's been on the burner for a while.
Meanwhile, Target is having a HUGE DVD sale including lots of TV. So I got Burn Notice S2, How I Met Your Mother S4, and Weeds S5 for just over $50 (for all three). Which blows the entertainment budget for a good while (sigh), but I couldn't stop myself. Honest.
In other entertainment news, I've been working through my birthday present from Amy. It's a BBC series called "The Last Detective" with Peter Davison as the maligned "Dangerous Davies" - the "last detective" anyone would want working a case. Except he's really a good detective. He's just a very unlucky one.
And I'm two ep's behind on SPN, Chuck, probably a few others. I still haven't seen the White Collar season finale from a few weeks back (though I'm not worried about it), and I'm WAY behind on The Closer and others. But I did finish the first season of "Lost" via Netflix and it's okay. I'll probably move on to season 2 at some point.
And now I need fooooood.
