Stability Balls and Answered Prayers

So this year I jumped on the “get in shape” bandwagon and my New Year’s Resolution was a healthier lifestyle (which, by the way, I’m totally rockin the casa on). So I bought one of those big rubber stability balls to help me get in shape.

First of all, I would like to note for the record that these so-called “stability balls” can truly be described only as “fall on your giant-out-of-shape-butt" balls. If you have ever used one of these things, you would agree that these suckers are anything but “stable”. My first exercise was to sit on top of the thing and do a sit up. Seems easy enough. So I sit on top, cross my arms over my chest, start to lean back, and before I know it, I’m upside down on the floor and the ball is chasing Duncan across the living room. But I am determined to get in shape, so I try again. Second try, I manage not to fall off (score one!), however I discover my true wimpiness (strike two!)...I can’t even do a full sit up! My muscles simply don’t work, and I only make it like half way up. But I am determined, so I do as much as I can.
So the next exercise is push ups. These are the same as regular push ups except that your hands are on either side of the ball instead of the floor. I quickly find my push up arms more resemble that of a newborn horse just learning to walk than actual push ups. And once again, before I know it, the ball has quickly rolled our from under me and I’m munching on linoleum. I swear I hear that dang ball giggle as it rolls away. But nothing can stop me and my quest for health!
And this seems to be the theme of my work out plan…make feeble attempts at what I think is probably cake for most anyone else, and end up backwards and upside down, but getting up and trying again every time.
I discovered that less than a week later, I’m easily doing 40-50 crunches and pushups and all kinds of other little exercises on that sucker! Now I am supremely impressed with my extreme physical prowess, as all should be, and I don’t intend on quitting!

On a totally unrelated note (but watch me tie them together!) I was recently offered a job at the church, which is a totally answered prayer as I’ve been unemployed for the last 3 months, applying to everything I can find, wondering what exactly my next career step should be. I looked for theatre jobs as well as corporate jobs here in Texas, wondering if God was calling me to a new field. I looked in New York too, wondering if it was time for me to finally move, a step I’ve dreamed of my whole life. I wondered if God was asking me to give things up…and if so, would it be my dream of moving to New York, or the things I love in Texas...the best church and the best friends I’ve ever known.
It’s funny…for the last 2+ years, I’ve known I would leave this church and my friends and family and move to New York eventually. And for the last 2+ years, I wondered how I would ever say goodbye to the people who mean more to me than anything else. Well it turns out I got my answer…I can’t. At least not yet, and I accepted the job at Fellowship Church! Turns out that my God is a faithful God, one who knows me better than I know myself and knows where I will be happiest. And right now, it’s right here! Turns out that my God has a plan for my life that I can’t analyze or try to predict, but rather roll with and find out small pieces of his plan when the time is right. I hope that New York is not totally out of the picture, but just on a later page in the scrapbook. But what I do know already is that this job is the perfect place for me now and I am so stinkin excited to get started!!

What does this have to do with stability balls, you ask yourself. Well, get ready for this...just when you think your on top of your game, just when you think you’re on top of your world with everything figured out, just when you think everything in front of you is cake and you’ve got it in the bag, suddenly and before you know it, everything is pulled out from under you and you’re on the floor, upside down and backwards and you never even knew it was coming. But here’s the important part… if you’re going to accomplish what you set out to do, you have to have the strength to get back up and try again. You have to have the courage to look that dadgum stability ball in the eye and say it’s you or me sucker and I ain’t losing! And you have to have the faith in yourself that you can do it, and trust in the faithful God that will come thru just like he said he would.
And that, my friend, is all you need to know about stability balls and answered prayers.

Why I love...girlfriends!

Welcome to installment number two of "Why I love..." Today, I love my girlfriends. Yes, that statement just came from the lips...er, fingers...of Crys McDonald.
A little over two years ago I barely even had girlfriends, finding myself much more at home in a construction shop surrounded by the "prove your worth" machismo of boys...sorry, men. I loved being able to hold my own among them, being challenged every day because there was always someone who didn't think I could hack it, and then surprising the heck out of them when I did! And they would show their acceptance of me by being comfortable enough to grab themselves in my presence or by holding me to the same expectations of every other guy. They had cool nicknames for me like "Queen Bee", and I'm sure some less appropriate ones that I never heard. And while they often had physical advantages over me in that environment, every now and then the fact that I was the smallest and lightest would come in handy, or a project would come along that just needed a softer, more intricate touch. The fact that I was the same as them yet stood out as someone totally different excited and motivated me.
But I've also learned to love being around girlfriends just as much, if not more. They unquestioningly accept me for who I am without needing to prove it, and understand me like no other guy ever could. They challenge me in different ways, but because of them I've grown more than I ever could without them. And I still enjoy proving myself to people and surprising them with the things I know or can do. But with my girlfriends, if I fail to meet a challenge or "prove" myself, that doesn't change their opinion or acceptance of me. They don't know me for what I can do, but who I am according to what's in my heart. They aren't comfortable enough around me to grab themselves...but instead they are comfortable enough to cry in front of me and share their own heart. They don't hold me to the same expectations as everyone else...but instead to what they know I am capable of even when I don't believe it myself. But strangely enough, just like the guys, they see that I am the same as them, yet I stand out as someone totally different, and they embrace both unquestioningly and without judgement.

I was reminded of these things this weekend at Amanda Johnson's wedding reception. I was riding home with Kara and Sara and we had been ridiculously goofy all night. Building wedding cake sculptures, lip-synching into water bottles, and taking silly pictures with the disposable cameras at the table! On the way home while we were giggling and singing terribly at the top of our lungs to whatever song came on the radio, I stopped for a second to realize how much fun I was having. Which sounds weird...stop having fun to realize how much fun your having...but for just a moment I reflected on how lucky I am to have such incredible friends, but most of all such incredible girlfriends that know me so well and are just as ridiculously dorky as I am! So to all my girlfriends, this blog's for you!

The Labors of Unemployment

My my, I have been a slacker, haven't I. It seems that since leaving my job at Casa Manana, I'm just not much of a blogger. One would think that with all this extra free time on my hands, I'd be just a blogging away! But truth be told, there just isn't much happening that's blog-worthy. But it seems that my fans are hungry for more, so in good blogger form, I shall regale you with the tales of my days...

Yesterday morning I was very busy ensuring that the mattress on my bed was not too overstuffed, and that the small valley that exists where I sleep in the same place every night was properly proportioned to my body. I also needed to make sure my blankets were the proper temperture. It's a well known fact that it's very bad for blankets to spend too much time being chilly and should be warmed regularly.
Afterwards, I thought it necessary to rid the world of a few cups of coffee. Everyone should do their part or else coffee beans will soon take over the world. Then I realized I should really be sure that my refrigerator is not overstocked. So I alleviated some of the fridge-pressure by sacrificing my own body fat index for the good of the fridge. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
That afternoon I was very busy making sure the couch cushions and pillows were all properly stuffed. This is very important for when company comes over. That's right, I'm doing this for you, people. I also made sure all the channels on my tv were working properly, and that the tv was functioning correctly in conjuction with the dvd and vcr.
It was also important to make sure my telephone, laptop computer, and ipod were all working up to par. Next I found that my clothes were strangely devoid of cat hair, so I thought it best to take a nap on the couch with Duncan to ensure proper cat-hair coverage.
Later that night I realized my friends must be going thru withdrawl symptoms by not seeing me in a full two days, so I thought it best to grace them with my presence and help them rid the world of a few more cups of coffee.
Finally I return home, after a long day's work, only to find that my mattress is once again in need of squishing. So, in a gesture of self-sacrifice, I find myself returning to the arduous task of mattress-overstuffing-prevention and blanket-warming.
Ah, what a long and busy day, only to wake up the next morning to do it all over again...will the cycle never end??

I Wonder...

I wonder if Liberace ever had a sister. I wonder if her name was Mary. If so, I wonder if she prefered Marriache music instead of opera. Something to think about.

Katie Clarke to play Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza

So I can't say I ever knew this girl very well, but I did go to college with her and she was in one of the last shows I stage managed before graduating. I think she was a sophomore when I was a senior. Anyways, she's now taking over the lead in a major Broadway play just seconds after graduating herself! Way to go Katie! Someone from college said when she auditioned, she already had the entire play memorized. Talk about preparation. And for all of you non theatre nerds and non drama queens, The Light in the Piazza was one of the major Broadway powerhouses last season (2005). It won 6 Tony awards (Best Leading Actress, Best Original Score, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Orchestration), the most out of any other musical or show that season. It also won 5 Drama Desk awards and 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards. You don't have to pretend to know what those are. This is supposed to be a beautiful show, although I haven't seen it myself (gimme a break...it was hard enough just to get Jason and Michael to go see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when we were in NYC...!) So here's the article about Broadway's new leading lady!!

Katie Clarke to play Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza
Katie Clarke will assume the role of Clara Johnson in the The Light In The Piazza from the 16 Dec 2005.
Kelli O'Hara, who originated the role of Clara will play her final performance on the 4 Dec 2005. Jennifer Hughes, who understudies the role, will perform the role of Clara the 6 - 15 Dec 2005.
Katie Clarke, who will be making her New York stage debut in The Light In The Piazza, has appeared in her native Texas in Anything Goes at Houston's Theater Under The Stars and in The Exonerated, Ragtime, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Anything Goes and The Sound of Music at Sam Houston State University, where she'll graduate with a BFA in Musical Theatre next month. In 2004 she was a featured soloist in Tony Award winning choreographer Ann Reinking's Broadway Theatre Project.
The Light In The Piazza is currently booking to the 26 Mar 2006 at the Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The show opened on the 18 Apr 2005, following previews from the 17 Mar2005.
The Light In The Piazza has music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, with book by Craig Lucas.
The Light In The Piazza based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, is set in the summer of 1953 and tells the story of a mother and daughter traveling through Italy, and the daughter's romance with a handsome, high-spirited Florentine. They fall in love. As their relationship develops, the girl's mother must reveal the truth that will surely test that love.
The cast, directed by Bartlett Sher, includes Glenn Seven Allen, Michael Berresse, Sarah Uriarte Berry, David Bonanno, David Burnham, Victoria Clark, Patti Cohenour, Beau Gravitte, Laura Griffith, Chris Sarandon, Prudence Wright Holmes, Jennifer Hughes, Felicity LaFortune, Catherine LaValle, Michel Moinot, Aaron Lazar, Peter Samuel, Joseph Siravo, Diane Sutherland.
The Light In The Piazza has set design by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Christopher Akerlind and sund by ACME Sound Partners.
The show opened to average notices from the popular press, Michael Kuchwara of the Assoiciated Press said "A show of considerable beauty — more melodically, emotionally and visually satisfying than any other musical this," while Ben Brentley of the New York Times wrote "Encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled new show."
newyorktheatreguide.com's reviewer, Polly Wittenberg, wrote of Victoria Clark's performance as being "exceptionally warm, subtle and powerful... She clearly deserves billing above the title." and went on to say "I can’t say enough good things about the lovely set by Michael Yeargan, the handsome costumes by Catherine Zuber, and the mystical lighting by Christopher Akerlind except that they made me want to go and book a room overlooking the Arno immediately."