Christmas Shopping

I ventured out today to try to do a little Christmas shopping. "Try" is the operative word, here. I have two gifts to show from my efforts. And the days are counting down. Many gifts to ship, too little time.

To be continued . . .

Hiccups

I hate the hiccups. They are to me, a painful experience. I've had many people try to give me remedies for my hiccups. Eating sugar, standing on my head, drinking water upside-down, a complicated math problem, looking at a bright light - oh wait, that's sneezing. But nothing seems to work. I remain stymied in my attempt to resolve my hiccup woes.

Help?

Shopping Madness

So I heard a rumor, or maybe it wasn't, that someone actually DIED in a stampede at a Wal-Mart out east. And that a pregnant woman miscarried due to the crowd.

WOW.

Are material goods really worth that? It actually makes me physically sick. Where are the days of celebrating holidays by being able to spend quality time with family and friends? I refuse to participate in "Black Friday" madness.

OK, I'm not saying that I don't love to shop - I do. In fact sometimes I think I might have a bit of an addiction. But I refuse to participate in the frenzy that is known as Black Friday. I love giving gifts. But they are gifts from the heart, not from the pocketbook.

Yuck.

Thanksgiving in L.A.

It occurred to me today that holidays can be very lonely in L.A. . . . if you let them. My Thanksgiving was spent by myself. But it was glorious. I slept in, went for a good run (in shorts and a tank-top no less), went to Blockbuster and was in bed by 9:00 p.m. (on a side note, I've decided that being awake is highly overrated).

It could have been a very lonely day. But it wasn't. I think one has to realize one's own survival skills when it comes to celebrating holidays alone.

Well, Christmas might be a different story . . . but then I will be in MN so I won't have to worry about that. Yet.

Not My Kind of Drama, Mama.

I am tired. It's been a long run of the play, and the after-glow wasn't exactly what I expected . . . or enjoyed. We ended our 5 week run this past Sunday with a double performance on Sunday (matinee at 3:00; evening performance at 7:00) followed by striking the set. Amidst drama that eventually involved calling the police. There was a lot of yelling and screaming, and some physical altercation. At one point I wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. Yup, not used to confrontation!

Then there was the 17-page long "explanation" by the person causing the drama. Which confused me even more.

I am tired.

Pin-Up Girls

Well, I survived opening night of my show, "Pin-Up Girls." It actually went very well, despite a somewhat rocky dress rehearsal last night. Tonight was our second night, and aside from the less-than-vocal audience, all went well. The "after show" went well also. For those of you who don't know, on Saturday nights there is a fundraiser "Burlesque Show" where all the girls in the show do a dance. A Burlesque-style dance. Where we take our clothes off. In front of complete strangers. Good times! The only hiccups were a stray pastie during rehearsal and a less-than-perfect stick pony dance in the number. If you're interested, check it out every Saturday night until Nov. 22.

Trust . . . Who can you?

So I'm not completely naive. I know that stuff happens . . . murders, theft, deceit. I guess I just never thought it would happen to me.

Last Saturday, October 11, 2008, while Mercury was in its retrograde or whatever, I was parked at the golf course/country club parking lot where I've been parking for two whole years to do my Saturday run. The trail is the same as what I usually run, but from a different angle. That's why I choose to drive there on Saturdays. When I returned from my run, I discovered that my passenger window had been smashed and that whoever had done that had stolen my purse . . . and everything in it. Credit cards, cash, driver's license, passport, phone, digital camera, apartment keys, lipstick . . . everything. I was a bit upset to say the least.

The last week I have been trying to get my life back in order. It isn't easy. It's a vicious circle. I can't get an ID without a birth certificate. I can't get a birth certificate without notarizing a form and paying money. My bank requires a form of ID other than a MN driver's license (i.e. a passport or CA DL) but I can't get a passport without a former passport or birth certificate. I can't get a CA ID without either a passport or birth certificate.

Basically, I'm screwed. I've finally started to get replacement credit cards in the mail, but at some places I can't use them without a picture ID. Ha.

Lesson learned, but not completely understood.