BO2009 Challenge!

Ooh ooh! The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge!

This is The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. A challenge to get you reflecting on your year. 31 days, 31 prompts for writing. Starting December 1st.

How to participate:

1. Write on one or all thirty-one of the prompts for the month of December.

2. A post can be a sentence, photo or 3,000 word essay.

3. Link up your blog.

4. Tag your posts and photos #best09 on Twitter (click to view aggregate). Follow others sharing their stories from the year.

December 1st, 2009
Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

A: Easy Peasy, Greece!Black Sand Beach, Santorini, Hellas

The food was delicious, the beaches gorgeous and wine country rivaled Napa.

12 sumo wrestlers maybe....

So Thanksgiving generally brings upon the rest of the family a kind of stupor (food coma combined with tryptophan sleepiness) - so about four of the cousins bombed out in front of the tv - where we managed to witness THIS

A horror of a recipe straight from the OG herself, Martha Stewart. Now, I've grown to love eggnog over the years, generally savoring the taste of the slightly custardy and tangy drink with nutmeg. Like a melted milkshake, I drink it straight from the store, sans alcohol. Or I get it in my latte at Starbucks. Apparently that is not how Martha Stewart rolls.
Why, yes Virginia, that IS 3 cups of Maker's Mark. Plus half a cup of light rum. Plus two cups of cognac. That she blends together with a giant pimped out whisk.

That she serves out of the world's biggest pimp cup that she got from an "antiques" sale.
And you wondered why Snoop would ever hang out with Martha. (you KNOW she was thinking, "I should have Snoop over for drinkizzles!")

Click the video to play

(ps. it's supposed to serve 12 - 12 sumo wrestlers maybe Martha!)
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Go big or go home - this article by Tim Feriss expounds on the idea of being strong and opinionated with a purpose. Something I've been thinking more about lately. Not being obnoxious or surly just to have an attitude, but not keeping my mouth shut just to keep the peace anymore.

Recently had an almost head on collision with another car in a really busy part of the city; while I was trying to catch my breath and slow my heart beat in reconciliation with almost having KILLED someone - (at this I fully accept responsibility, it was MY fault) the guys in the other car, leaned out of their window to flip me the double bird and scream the "f" word. Which I would have expected and even - to some extent - seen as a fair trade for nearly ending their lives. But after twenty seconds of screaming, the guys couldn't let it go. They stopped their car in the middle of a busy street in SF, blocking an additional lane of traffic and the turn path, to yell at me. Having already reversed my car into the street behind me; there really wasn't anywhere for me to go. So I did the only thing I could do: scream back.

Was it smart? Nope.
Was it the right thing to do? Hell no.
Did it feel good to release built up tension; scared, adrenaline pumped and on edge? YOU BET.

And believe me, nothing says, "Man, this is going to F*&$ up my night." like a 5'4" Asian banshee, with the wild eyes, going batshit crazy screaming obscenities and flipping you the double bird out of her 15 year old car and telling you to "JUST DRIVE MUTHAF&$#ERS!"

The article also quotes Colin Powell:

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It’s inevitable, if you’re honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset.

Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally “nicely” regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only people you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization. (full presentation here)

The Benefits of Pissing People Off

So as much as I extoll the virtues and value of being kind - let us also remember to protect ourselves against the vices of human nature that tend to crop up under duress.

making pie

"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."

Grabbed this via Yes&Yes and Little Reminders of Love

have a wonderful day. I'll be thinking of you.

third wheel

Can we chat about something friends?

I don't like threesomes.

Incendiary as that statement is; seriously? I hate hanging out in groups of three. It always feel like someone feels they owe me face time, but don't really want to spend it with me. And it always seems that when I hang out in a group of three - there is always someone who is insistent on monopolizing all the time and attention. (usually not me) So it's not really a mutual exchange of time and affection, but really just another audience for them to engage.

Threes are really hard to accommodate; you can't really walk down the sidewalk in a trio, in a car - there's always one person stuck in the back. At a table; crowding three people into a table meant for two is hard - but putting them at a table meant for four leaves a lot of conspicuous space. When you see two men and a woman or two women and a guy - you're always wondering what the couple ratio is and who is the loser. It's easier for two people to walk down the same path and for that third person to find themselves left out.

To put it simply; in a trio - one person always finds themselves holding the short end of the stick.

Two people, by themselves, are naturally compelled (call it forced if you want to) to engage with one another. In a trio, it would be easy to ignore one person or pile the exclusive attention of two people on another. Why am I b*&%hing about this?

I asked Cher, who is not only a sweetiepie of a friend - but also a style maven (seriously, she should be on the Style Network 24-7) to help me pick out outfits for a upcoming headshot photo shoot. She's got a great eye and I love hanging out with her. It's also a good opportunity to pass on her belated birthday gift. And she just asked me if a mutual friend of ours could come along to the style session. The problem? Well, quite honestly, I only wanted to hang out with my friend. That's what it boils down to. Nothing against the mutual friend - but forreals? Just because Mutual knows me too doesn't mean she's automatically invited.

I don't know. Seems so high school - which has been a theme with me lately.

When hope was high and life worth living.

Here's a question: can you ever make a conscious decision to be less serious?

And where do we find the line between living life passionately and living life enjoying it? What's been driving me the last few weeks has been the intricate dance of decision and follow through that's come with being a producer. (stuff like: does this person get a free beer? how do we get rid of the fire chief? who died?!) Passion almost doesn't describe it. But putting my full intention and weight behind a show this good? Easy peasy. Encouraging people to see this show was like breathing; it seeped out of every pore and made its way into every conversation.

Sorry if you were annoyed. But not really.

More people needed to see Tommy. About two weeks before we opened, we sent letters with comps (that's right, FREE TICKETS) to artistic directors and casting agents and managing directors around the Bay Area - inviting them to come. This was my crazy brainchild; if even one of those people came, it would have been a success. But my reasons were clear and laid out - OPEN ARTISTIC DIALOGUE...let's all talk about how to make theater better.

What makes me happiest? Having two directors, three producer friends and a slew of other technical people all step forward and make it known that they wanted to take part in the next Ray of Light Show. THAT makes me excited; people always want to be a part of something good. People who want to come back - people who normally get a paycheck. Because this show was something no short of wonderful. The dancing, singing and acting, quite honestly, beats anything in the Bay Area I've seen lately. (to be fair, I haven't seen American Idiot yet) And this isn't just me, it was every reviewer and patron who came to see this show.

Cause, as cheesy as it sounds. I have a dream.

That people in the Bay Area will STOP HOLDING BACK. Stop letting themselves have limitations. Stop turning in a mediocre product and then wondering why they're 1 million dollars in the hole or have to lose a theater space. Stop letting go of wonderful actors to try to meet the bottom line. Cause what you have to understand is that your people ARE your bottom line. If you're doing your best to serve your artistic community (both performer and audience), then you're doing a good thing.

But I realized, yesterday while chatting with our Dance Captain at the cast party, that it was neither the time nor place to have this conversation. She's a snarky, snappy, cutie patootie of a babe that is more interested in partying than having a conversation about the future of the company.

But it's still what I dream.

Tryin' to get back in the groove

(photo credit: yes and yes)

Ahhh good morning, welcome to my walk of shame.

Ok...so it's not so much a walk of shame as much as the I-ate-2-and-1/2-slices-of-pizza-and-passed-out-in-a-leopard-snuggie-watching-the-Pixies-on-Conan-last-night-at-Jobear-and-Xxxmas'-apartment-after-the-show morning wake up call.

I think I've blogged about this before, but as I was walking to work the other morning from the coffee shop, feeling rather cute myself (deigned to put myself together - teal tights, knee high boots, grey dress, purple cardigan, gray fuzzy hat), I passed about 4 different women, including the woman who owns and runs the coffee shop - who were all EXTRAORDINARILY put together.

And I always need to remind myself; women do this constantly. Women are these wonderfully gorgeous creatures who always take the time NOT to look like shlebs. It's incredible. The world COULD be such an ugly place and women are the ones reminding us that it doesn't have to be. The coffee shop woman who always takes time to curl her hair (she's Asian, her hair don't do that nat'rally), put on makeup and has a teeny tiny waist accentuated by her super cute lime green cardigan and apron. She puts together a mean sandwich and is always incredibly friendly. Or the girl with the curly, crazy afro crossing the street; wearing jeans a blue top or the other woman toting her cup of coffee, huge black and white houndstooth coat and patent boots.

I think about my friend Cher; who is styling a photoshoot for me in two weeks - who always looks gorgeous in clothes from H&M and Target. Or GeishaGirl who just walks into the room in her hippie skirts and curly, curly locks and stops traffic. These are the people that exist in the world and they make it so visually interesting!

And it was just sort of weirdly amazing. On a greyish day in Portrero Hill; the ladies are like flowers. They're all so pretty! And so different! No wonder we give men a hard time, there's just a lot of shit to look at.

How could any one of us ever think that we weren't born to be fabulous?

It boggles the mind.

So wrong, but SO cute.

Gaaaahhhhhh! How friggin' cute is this baby?! I don't ever think you should eat your children, but AHHHHH!! So cute! I want to EAT YOU! (which is probably why your parents dressed you up as a delicious crustacean and put you into a stock pot)

so cute. must eat. (via MissionMission blog)
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Amidst all the insanity of running the show and catching an evil case of H1N1 (yes really - someone in my office had it and my entire cast had it, I have a feeling that it's what I had) I scored myself a FULL TIME JOB!

Yay! So I'm back to full time and I couldn't be happier with the circumstances. Especially since I'm working with fellow actors. I think perhaps the only thing I'm going to miss about partial funemployement is how many comfy afternoons I got to spend with Kat and my long long walks on the beach in the middle of the day.

Even though I'm eternally grateful about the work (and accompanying health benefits), I hope I remember to take all of my lessons from this, admitedly, scary time. That cutting back and being honest about how much I make did more for my soul than spending. Material things don't mean as much as friends and spending time with others. Survival is incredibly easy, and my idea of comfort isn't a high end item, expensive dinner or fancy show - but it's a cup of tea and a good book, a movie or working, tirelessly on putting together a fantastic show.

Speaking of, we've been getting AMAZING reviews. I'm so proud of this show - and it just goes to show, the things in life that have meaning are beyond material comprehension. Whether they're completing a marathon, getting married or moving to a new city; the real, important parts of our lives don't involve a brand or a logo - they just involve you.

And to that end, I promise to start blogging more.