coaching — Page 23

Countdown

September 26, 2018 at 9:57 am by Claudia

Oh my heavens, yesterday was a pain in the tush! We had torrential rain ALL day long, both here and in NYC. I left the house around 7:15 am and didn’t return until 9 pm. Walking anywhere in the city – and I had to walk 12 blocks to rehearsal – was treacherous. Puddles everywhere, umbrellas banging into each other, me constantly hiking my handbag and a tote bag with my script in it back onto my shoulder while juggling an umbrella. Then doing it all again at a fast clip as I made my way back to the bus station. The bus ride home was much longer than usual because of the rain.

As Don said, “Our routine is off!” And it was.

I’m happy to be home and I’m really tuckered out. I seem to go from peaceful daily living to, suddenly, a day packed full of exhausting activity, then back to normal.

Speaking of Don, I took this picture of him the other day:

Pretty dreamy. My crush continues.

And here’s a photo of my other guy:

Mr. Henry. I love that boy.

We’re are suddenly panicked because we’re leaving for our trip in a week and a half, and we have a lot to do before then! How can it be only a week and a half away? So we spent the morning with this little book:

It’s pocket-sized and will definitely be accompanying us on our trip.

We’re supposed to get even more rain and thunderstorms this afternoon. I am so over rain. It seems like we’ve had nothing but rain this summer and fall. One of my readers mentioned that she had read that morning glories don’t like too much water. I think that’s why they haven’t bloomed. That’s the one difference this year from every other year. Way too much rain. Dang it!

Anyway, have to go pay some bills and practice French and start making lists of everything I have to get done, including buying some good walking shoes and a fall jacket/coat.

Happy Wednesday.

Storms (of Different Varieties)

May 19, 2017 at 8:16 am by Claudia

This is a Martha Washington geranium that I purchased the other day. I repotted it and placed it on the bench on the Funky Patio.

Last night, we had a rip-roaring thunder storm with high winds. I was reading in bed and the wind kept hitting the windows in the bedroom, so I got up to see what was going on. Opening the window nearly knocked me over! So, I guess it wasn’t much of a surprise when I went outside this morning and saw the geranium and another plant on the ground. The wind was too much. So there I was, in my pajamas, no garden gloves on, shoveling potting soil from the ground back into the pot. I’ll have to add some more later. Then I checked out the porch and the calibrachoa had tipped over as well, but it had remained on the table, so that wasn’t so bad.

Yikes. I’m just glad there wasn’t more damage. No tree branches down, thank goodness.

The grass is very wet, so I may have to table mowing until tomorrow.

The fight against the ‘glamping’ developer continues. My neighbor went to a Planning Board meeting the other day and she was alarmed by how gung-ho they seemed to be about the project. Last night I went to the zoning board meeting (we’re appealing a decision to classify it as a lodge and trying to get it classified as a camp – because that’s what it really is. As one guy said, no one is going to stay there in the winter.) We were instructed at the last meeting to send any letters in support of our plea to the zoning board, with a deadline of May 12th. So, when the head of the board read just three letters last night, our hands shot up. It turns out many, many of us sent letters that they never saw because of a glitch in the email address. The town’s website has an email address listed that the zoning board is apparently not using anymore.

Don’t get me started.

So, we’re resending our letters/emails, which have a time stamp, of course, proving that we sent them by the deadline, and the meeting adjourned early and the next time we meet will be next month. As it was extremely hot in the room (no a/c) I was quite happy to leave.

I figure the more delays, the better.

Then there’s the story about a possible coaching job that I was in negotiations for. My day rate was okayed, I asked to see the script before I made the final decision, and then I found out (the next day) that while the person I was in contact with was sending me the email saying they’d agreed to the rate, they hired someone else because of a ‘time crunch’ they had never once mentioned to me.

I was not happy and I let them know that. Completely unprofessional. It wasn’t a big job, in fact, it was only a couple of days, so it’s okay in the long run, but it certainly has given me pause. I don’t think I’d welcome any future offers from this company. And I’ve worked with them before. (And no, it wasn’t Hartford Stage. Never!)

Happy Friday.

Potpourri on a Friday

December 30, 2016 at 9:25 am by Claudia

• Thank goodness for alstroemeria – they stay fresh for at least two weeks, usually three weeks. I bought another bunch of them on Wednesday and that vase is currently on the kitchen counter.

• Tomorrow is the day that the Company Manager is going to exchange my current sofa for another one, as tonight is closing night for A Christmas Carol and the actors in that show will be moving out of their apartments tomorrow. That will allow the actors that are in The Comedy of Errors and currently staying in the hotel to finally move into an apartment. Musical apartments. Somewhere in there, they’re going to try to change out the sofa. My request: something firm, but comfy – which may be a pipe dream considering everything is used/donated. But nothing can be as uncomfortable and unusable as my current sofa. Cross your fingers for me. The chairs are fine but not made to lounge in, so I can never really relax. Much better than the sofa, though, so I’m not complaining.

• I have a long day today – Darko is starting to run chunks of the show and I need to be there to listen and take notes and do what I call “coaching on the fly.” That means that I grab the actors when I can and verbally give them a note or two. It that isn’t possible, I’ll write them up. This is a very short rehearsal period and it’s a production full of complicated blocking and music and dance, so a lot has to be accomplished in a short time.

• Gosh, this little travel-sized printer is a gem! You can’t really tell from this picture but it’s about 12 inches by 6 inches. Once I got the USB cord and set the whole thing up, it worked beautifully. It’s meant for small jobs, of course, but it does the trick for me on the road. I can copy information for the actors, I can type up notes, and I can print out the daily crossword puzzle from the New York Times! Huzzah! I love doing the puzzle. I go into a sort of Zen state. It’s very relaxing.

• I ordered something for me. Well, for us, but I’m the one who will be using it the most:

photo from Pier One

This chair. It will replace my ‘blogging chair’ in the den.

I’m in love with it. And it was on sale. I’ve always been crazy about roll-arm sofas and chairs. I think the lines are so elegant. In fact, I’d love a roll-arm sofa some day. In the meantime, I’m treating myself to this beauty.

My current blogging chair is vintage, probably from the forties, and I love it, but it desperately needs to be reupholstered. The fabric under the slip cover is – I’m not kidding – patched together with duck tape. Everywhere. No one can see that, of course, but I know it’s there. It deserves to be restored. I’m not sure where I’m going to put it in the meantime – maybe in the office. I have to find a good upholsterer and research fabrics and I don’t have time for any of that at the moment.

This chair has a somewhat smaller footprint and I think it will work nicely in the den. It should be here within a week or so.

Have to go. Rehearsal starts soon.

Happy Friday.

Countdown

Storms (of Different Varieties)

Potpourri on a Friday

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives