Playing Catch Up: Part V of V

Posting from the country. It's cold. Actually colder than that. My hands are here and my fingers can find the keys, but it would be nice if things in this old church were just a little warmer.

The cast and crew giggle innocently at their fellow actor who steals a bite of his dinner in this pre-rehearsal mini-tech. Three weeks out... maybe four... and they're working in some lighting tonight. Very cool.

I walked in to the end of a fight choreography session. Not really a fight, but a slap. But in theatre, everything is acting. Even the violence. It looks very real and it's only their first lesson. Looking forward to seeing how far they take this moment by opening night.

The water froze. Random I know. But we're out here, in the land that lies beyond the horizon of the city; the cold, empty, deer-filled countryside. This is where pipes freeze no matter what you do.

And wow — a picture just popped up on my internal slide slow (that little window in my Vista that randomly shows pictures), and it was one that a buddy of mine really does not want me showing people. I will have to shift it into another folder.

Right now actually. Once Gigi slides away from my side. She need not see this photo either (at least not on my computer).

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So for this post, I'm keeping it real and rather than continuing that Monday moment as if I were still there at the theater, I will jump us to the now.

Friday. Wow. Already. I'm pretty sure it was just last week and this one went by in a blur and well, by the time I get to wrapping this, it'll be Saturday. It just will be.

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And so it is. The Blackbird is doing a wonderful job for me right, sitting on a table in the middle of CIAO. Why is that such a grand achievement? It's not. I'm just a little tickled that I'm not connected to a power cable. For now. I've been flying without a net for most of the day, so the power is actually being squeezed out to make things churn so that I can work on this post.

To update — the photos that shouldn't be seen are now more hidden and moved, so no worries there for my buddy.

Okay, back to whatever thought is racing through my head. I think I'm supposed to be playing catch up again... part V it is. But I sit here listening to a quick jazz number as the scent of recently extinguished candles wafts over from another table. Been sitting here with Keaton for quite some time, lounging over dinner and chatting with the owner of this great little restaurant. If you're near central Ohio, I recommend CIAO for dinner, dessert, or just if you feel like a beer. I don't usually do endorsements, but I've never had a bad experience at this place and they have wonderful food, wi-fi, and play great music on the jukebox. So there's my commercial for the night.

The past few weeks have been busier than I expected. But then I'm still supposed to be catching us up on January. As my thoughts solidify, I will say that some of the best parts of January came in the form of seeing good friends who I don't often see in person.

Those friends who live in other states like Snowflake and Panda. And Lady Panda. And Liesle. And of course the ever enchanting Paros. How fortuitous that as I typed her moniker, her photo popped up on that little slide show that is omnipresent. That was nicely serendipitous. And I think I just typed an oxymoron because I do not think there are bad serendipitous things. Hmm... regardless...

I must pause as I consider my current agenda. And maybe power down as the Blackbird is running on bingo fuel.

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It is the blog that never ends. Yes it goes on and on my friends. I started blogging this not knowing what it was. And I'll continue blogging it for no reason just because...

I guess I keep coming back to this post... part V of V, because I am hoping that a muse will descend and I'll be able to fill the entry with something more than just random observations and the poorly strung together events of my past few days.

But nothing is there. No muse is near. Perhaps they dislike 'Star Wars'? Or just Episode III? One massive fight sequence interlaced with poorly scripted "acting" by very talented people. Sorry, I'm not a huge fan of the new ones. Too much animation. Maybe in 20 years, they'll be "classic" too. Maybe.

It's crossing over to Monday now. It seems like forever since I've stayed awake long enough to see that. Seems like forever since many things.

Been a solid week since I began this post. Tossed in part IV in the middle. Saw the coming and going of an over-hyped, commercialized holiday, and still haven't really figured out this post. This thought.

Was driving home from the theater today, riding shotgun with Keaton at the wheel, and mention was made of times gone by and the glory days. As we're old enough to yet have glory days. those are still in front of us I will wager. But say we did — say that we now live in the shadows. Shadows of what? It's like a TV show that has hit its last season and it's just not the same any more.

That's kinda how it feels. Like things have, like things are changing. This past week only reminded me a bit more about the direction my world is heading.

Don't get me wrong, I like the direction. It just makes the last year or few seem so very far away indeed. Having the epiphany that I've been living here with Kirby and Zubov for two years. Lots of lightning strikes like that this year. A year that's already seven weeks down.

They keep moving faster don't they? The days. The weeks. The months. And the ongoing theme of this massive series has been recapping and also looking forward. And lamenting, as I'm apt to do, about roads not taken and the journey and all that. And I keep saying how I need to eat healthier. I need to hit the gym. I need to buckle down.

And yet I just sat on my ass tonight and ate pizza. And hung out with friends, but that doesn't balance anything. And tomorrow — now today — I claim that I will take my first painful steps back into a gym that I used to see everyday. Back in one of the forever times ago. "Tomorrow" I'll write that screenplay. "Tomorrow" I'll buy myself healthy eats. "Tomorrow" I will walk at least one mile on the treadmill.

"You wait your whole life for a single moment and then suddenly it's tomorrow."

I always loved that quote. And while it verges on the dramatic in this instance, it's nonetheless the mindset I sort of have at the moment. It comes back to the choices we make. Those moments that seem innocuous, but aren't. How many more tomorrows can there be? Not enough to keep pushing things back further and further. There just aren't.

So thus ends the retrospective. And here begins something hopefully a little more than a blog about tomorrow.