Halloween approacheth!

Last Halloween we were doing store set and working everyday for 21 straight days from 7 am to 10 pm, so Halloween slipped by completely unnoticed last year. I think someone knocked on our door once that night, but it was rather late, so no way did we answer it!

This year, I've made a southern belle costume. No one has mentioned throwing any Halloween parties, so as long as my petticoats arrive in time (thanks for mailing them, Mom!), I'll be answering the door for trick-or-treaters this year. I'll buy a huge bag of candy. (Make that two: one for the kids, one for me!) Perhaps I'll wear the costume to work, unless I'm working in receiving that day as it is not practical to wear when slinging boxes of product around!

I got a pumpkin, too. The ones here in Alaska are HUGE! The one I picked out was one of the smaller ones, and it was large by California standards. Must be all that sun during the summertime. I bought one of those pumpkin carving kits with stencils for making neat pictures.

I chose a cat with a crescent moon. I added a few stars because I had all this space on the pumpkin that needed embellishment. In one area, a small chunk broke off because it was too narrow, so I took a darning needle and stuck it back together. (I didn't have any Superglue or toothpicks.)

Here are a couple of pictures:



All lit up:




This one turned out kinda neat looking!



I know for sure now that my dog will try to eat anything. When my back was turned, he bit off the chunk that I had put back together with the needle! He was nibbling on the pumpkin piece when I caught him. I freaked out because he could have swallowed the needle, and I put the pumpkin higher up so he couldn't reach it.

In other news, I've auditioned for the Spitfire Grill here in town and the results are supposed to be posted on the website possibly by Friday. It's only Tuesday and I've checked three times today! I'm so excited, I think I'll bust wide open.

These auditions were different from all the ones I've been to before. Usually the singing is done first (maybe because everyone comes in warmed up to sing?) and then cold readings from the script, learning a few of the songs from the show, that kind of thing.

This one was all individual improv. I'm surprised we didn't do any readings from the script with other people because you can get an idea of how people look together in certain roles and chemistry between actors, etc. Ah, well. It was tons of fun this way.

The first one was pantomime. The first day I did one of a teenage girl who drops her books at school and rips her pants when trying to pick them up. At one point I threw myself against a nearby counter, shimmied along it, then picked up a trash can and held it in front of me.

The second day (when I was there for the whole thing), my pantomime was to be an overweight person trying to pull on a very tight pair of jeans. So I did a lot of rolling around on the floor and hopping up and down, on my feet and my knees!

Then we did interviews. We were to pretend we were at an interview talking about ourselves. We could talk for real or make things up, whatever. But we were given an emotion or state of being to portray. You know, stuff like timid, mean, angry, sexy.

I got "weird". So I said to the director, "Your kind of weird or my kind of weird?"

Anyway, I started doing lots of "weird" stuff, like sitting on the table in the director's face, playing with the assistant director's hair, picking up the chair and offering to fix it, discussing the aliens that abducted me, laughing like a loon and saying, "I'm not insane! THEY are."

When my time was called, I was shaking like a leaf.

We also did conversation. We held a one sided conversation with someone in a given situation. Mine was telling my boyfriend I'm pregnant. So I started telling "him" about this stick that sometimes shows a plus sign and sometimes shows a negative sign. I held it out and after a beat I said, "No, no, see the bar that goes this way, and the other one goes that way, like a plus sign." That got a laugh, the dumb blonde explaining a positive pregnancy test.

We sang last. No one volunteered to go first, so I stepped up. I was going to go last because I don't like forcing people to sing after me and I had no idea what kind of talent there was in this group. They were all marvelous actors. (There were about 10 of us, I think. Two guys, the rest women. A third guy cut and ran in the middle, so we think he changed his mind.)

I chose to sing the last couple of verses of "It's a Privelege to Pee" from Urinetown the Musical. I figured this might be my only opportunity since we were singing a capella and there were no kids present. I gave a bit of the storyline first, since it's not as well known as other musicals. I got a few laughs, but I got my laugh when I hit the final note. There's a chorus that sings along and hits a big "Ahhhhhhh!" at the end. So I hit the top note, way up there, and really loud, too.

Several people were so startled, I saw them jump out of the corner of my eye.

There were no really bad singers here. Everyone could carry a tune pretty well. The older gentleman had a fantastic voice. The younger one had a great voice, too, but he forgot the words part way through. Actually, most people forgot or hesitated somewhere in their song. I helped him out by singing a few words until he caught on and kept going himself. I ran into him at the store after the auditions and he thanked me. I was worried he'd be upset. Some people don't like to be helped! He was a nice guy. I hope I'll get to meet him again.

So now I wait. And wait. And try NOT to bite my nails! As usual, I think it'll come down to who they put in the guy's parts. That's what determines if I get a role at all most of the time. It's been a constant problem. At TED, I was too young because most of the guys were middle aged. When I got old enough for them, suddenly I was too old because the guys were teenagers! I couldn't win!

Well, that's all the news in Heather World. I'm going to go check the theatre website one more time...

Here comes the snow again... and criticism, to boot!

Yes, ladies and germs, it has officially started snowing here in Wasilla. I wonder if we'll have a white Halloween. That just sounds so wrong. You won't be able to see anyone's costumes because they will be covered in snowsuits and "Fargo" hats.

Now that the weather report is over, we'll now turn to our reporter in the field ready to start whingeing.

Yes, I'm going to whine. Because Logan doesn't really want to hear it and because everyone else I know is probably asleep by now.

I joined Fanstory, a cool website where you can post your writings and get any number of reviews on it. It's more competitive than Critique Circle because you can "purchase" things to help promote your work to make it more visible and get more reviews, possibly even being reviewed by a panel of published authors and professional writers. You are also ranked by how popular your work is (a very complicated system that I haven't figured out yet). Unfortunately, it's not free. You can only read and review others' writing if you have the free membership. You have to pay to post things yourself, but I think it's a reasonable price if you purchase a year or two-year membership.

Anyway, one of the things I like about the website is that they warn you what the purpose of the site is. I say warn because warning is certainly needed. This is NOT a support group or a bunch of people who will only say good things about your writing, even if they have to make stuff up just to be nice. This is not a "white lies" type place. Much as I love the karaoke website Singsnap, no one can ever say anything bad on it or they'll get blasted; the ratings are a joke because no one ever gives less than five stars, if they even bother rating at all.

Fanstory is all about getting criticism to improve your writing. You need to have a thick skin and remember that people are expressing their opinions on what they think will help you improve your writing. People on this site are working towards selling their work and getting published. People are on this site because their friends and family all love their work and now they need to see what the real world thinks.

So I've been reviewing a few stories and gotten the customary "Thanks for the review" response. I have something of my own posted and so far have received a string of good reviews and people were not afraid to point out a few things that needed fixing.

But I got one response to my review where she numerated every single thing I suggested and ripped into me about how wrong I was and justified everything she wrote. And then she bitched at me for giving her a low rating.

I admit, I'm not familiar with how things work on this site yet. I didn't think the rating I gave was all that low, but maybe that's how it turned out. And no one ever said she had to take any of my suggestions. That's all they are: suggestions.

I sent a diplomatic response, I'm sorry you were disappointed in my review, blah, blah, blah. I refrained from reminding her that it even says right there in the reply box that it's not for retaliation or for defending your work, but to say thanks for your time.

The hardest part was not sending an extremely sarcastic response. This was what I WANTED to write:

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your story is perfect and that you posted it on this site to show the world how perfect it is."

Sigh. You can't help some people.

Okay, rant over. Now I'm going to sit at my window and watch the snowflakes come down...

Ah, who needs Autumn!

Apparently, Alaska has decided to bypass Autumn (or at least cram it all into a couple of weeks) and head straight into winter. I saw snow on cars coming out from Point McKenzie this morning. My car was frozen solid. I had to break out the scraper for the first time.

It hasn't snowed here yet, but it was trying to in the middle of the day a couple of days ago. There has been frost on the bottom of the staircase to our apartment. I've had to reel Bruno in close to me to make sure he didn't yank on me while trying to walk!

When I walked him this morning, I made it past the staircase just fine, but I didn't realize that there was a frozen wet spot next to the where I cross the parking lot. Had my first skating experience of the season! Thank Goddess I didn't land on my @$$!

Well, I've gone from the bum of the store I work at to the Band-aid of the store. Things are looking up! (NOT!) I'm glad to help out where I can, but why must it always be in the front end? I guess I'll be helping to train the NEXT office manager and be her assistant for a while, at least until the position in receiving that I THOUGHT I had opens up at the end of the month.

Gods, this is worse than being between jobs, I swear. I'm not really sure what I can and cannot be doing because people still ask me if I can do managerial things, even the managers! It will be interesting to see how things turn out.

I'm counting the days until the auditions for the Spitfire Grill at the Valley Performing Arts Theatre. They are this Saturday and Sunday and I have a good feeling about getting into it. There are only two parts I would accept, but ALL the roles have to be filled by solo quality singers and I wonder just how many of those there are here in the Valley!

The downside is that since I'm subbing for classes most of the rest of this month, I won't be able to visit friends and family in California until February. We're supposed to get a week off for Christmas from rehearsals, but if I'm still working at the store, I may not have the time off to go. I'm so totally bummed it's not even funny.

Ah, well, if the weather is any indication, the time until then will simply fly by, especially with the show to occupy me.

One taco short of a grande...

That would describe a lot of the people around here.

Logan walked over to the office of our apartment building because when I went to take a shower, the water trickled, then disappeared.

We've been here nearly a year and this is the first time we've not had water. Reminded me of all those times at my parents' house when we'd run out of water because Grandma liked watering the side of the barn. (Sorry, Grammy, you know I love you!)

Anyway, Logan went over to find out what happened to the water and drop off our rent check. He found out that one of the tenants pulled a gun on the landlady and was now moving out. Don't know why he did it, but she indicated: "He wasn't right... in the head..." (Name that movie!)

We've noticed that the mental capacities of many individuals in this area are, well, not all there. I think the children are the most normal people around here. When I heard about how uncommonly friendly the people are in this state, I hadn't realized they were talking about the kids. Little kids strike up conversations with me all the time. I was at Fred Meyer a few days ago and a boy around 6 started showing me all the costumes he'd like to wear for Halloween (his mom was in the next aisle).

The adults, however, are somewhat f@%ked up!

Hippo birdie 2 ewe!

Happy birthday to my bestest buddy in the whole wide world, the Queen of Hearts aka Mellybean aka Mac to my Tosh, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera! I hope you had a wonderful day! I also hope your first year in your 30s was kind! >wicked grin<

I can see, it's a miracle!

After a year of wearing my glasses every day, I decided to go back to contacts. I didn't really start missing them until the last couple of months, especially when I started teaching.

I'm used to old school teaching. You know, using my theater projection to reach all the ears in the room. But now I'm teaching at a fitness club that has all the fancy technology. Not the most up to date tech, but still more than I'm used to.

I have a headset mic to make it easier to project my voice with the music. Unfortunately, it fits over my ears where my glasses rest. So either the mic sits awkwardly or my glasses get knocked askew, especially if I snag the cord.

So today I went to the eye doctor in the Fred Meyer store and got my first set of contacts in over a year. I'd been wearing them since I was 14, so I'm an old hand. I was glad that I didn't have any trouble getting my new ones in. It was like I'd never stopped wearing them.

The double takes at work have stopped now that everyone is used to seeing me there in the dark green employee shirts rather than the light tan manager shirts. Now they'll start again as they try to figure out why I look different!

Oh, yeah. Did I mention I went back to work at the store where I was the office manager? It's been almost three months since I quit and I was getting bored sitting at home all the time. So when my former boss offered me a position in the receiving department as a regular hourly employee at a VERY decent pay per hour, with the plus of having whatever schedule I want or working in any department I choose (except hunting), how could I say no? I still teach, too. And receiving is much more relaxing than management. I don't think I'll ever want to be a manager again.

But now I'm suspicious. Apparently the lady who replaced me as office manager is, well, let's say she's not enjoying it anymore. I think she's about to quit. I hope my boss doesn't think he'll get me back in that position. He'd make all kinds of promises to me about it, but I know Corporate won't even consider paying me what I'd demand. They'd just tell him to find someone else. Ah, well. Not my problem.

On a chillier note, the snow has started to fall on the mountains that surround the Mat-Su Valley. It was such a blustery day last Thursday that one of my coworkers and I peeked out the receiving door to see what was making the rollup door bang. We caught sight of the mountains and could tell by the blur that it was snowing. By the end of the day the tops were white.

I wonder how long it will be until it snows here. If I remember correctly, it didn't snow until November last year. But this summer was so drizzly and cool, maybe it'll start snowing earlier. The weather is getting colder. I had to turn up my thermostat a smidge yesterday. (The nice thing about a lot of apartment complexes here in Alaska is that they pay for heating. Thank the gods for that! I try not to abuse it, though.)

I can't wait until Bruno sees the snow. He'll go nuts!

Less than a month until auditions for the Spitfire Grill here in Wasilla. I'm so excited I can't sit still!

And the Christmas Show at the Olde Coloma Theatre in Coloma, California was written by me and my best friend! If you live in that area, go see it! Go see the Halloween show, too, also written by my best friend! (Not me, but I was in the first one a couple of years ago. It's good stuff.) If you have a video cam, record these shows and send them to me so I can see them, too!

Teaching in Alaska... Fall is near

I taught my first group fitness class here in Alaska today. All the people who have been involved in getting me ready for this have been supportive and have complemented me so much, it might give one an ego.

Well, if I had an ego, it was deflated today.

Only one person came to the class.

And that one person was one of the office people that works at the club. He had taken the training weekend for this particular group fitness class, too, so it was like preaching to the choir.

Bummed as I was about that, at least it gave me a chance to practice using my iPod for the music and setting up the head mic. I got to feel what it was like to move with that thing and I've discovered that I prefer the old school way: Military voice, like I used in teaching martial arts. Still, I'm just not used to it. As soon as I am, I'll probably appreciate it more.

And now for something completely different...

I can feel the change in the air today. There is a colder, stronger wind blowing. Last night we were shivering, so we closed the windows and put on sweaters. While the fall colors are not evident here yet, they've already started farther north in Fairbanks. Autumn is on its way

And in entertainment news...

My best friend has had some struggles with the theatre she works at. They're in need of new material for melodramas, so I've decided to help them out and put my extra time to some productive use. In this, my best friend and I are very compatible; she has little time to write and many ideas, while I have tons of time and can usually write well as long as I have an idea to begin with. That's always the hardest part for me, coming up with ideas.

So now I need an idea of what to write for National Novel Writers Month in November.