On The Road — Page 54

Day Two in the City

October 5, 2015 at 7:32 am by Claudia

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It’s early morning and I’m doing my best to get this post up and head on into the city for another day of coaching. This will be a long one, as I have to have individual sessions with all ten actors in the show. It’s the kind of thing I can’t think about too much or it will be overwhelming. I just have to breathe and take one session at a time. I’m grateful, of course, for the chance to do some work and get paid for it and for the chance to be of service.

It’s a talented group of actors. The musical is called Songbird and it’s an adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull set in modern-day Nashville. The idea is an interesting one and it really works well. It has great country music sung by very talented performers. They also play their own instruments. I really liked it. As is almost always the case, I walked in the door and recognized someone I knew. The musical director worked on Kiss Me Kate, the show I did earlier this year.

I’m tempted, but only tempted, to go to John Connolly’s book signing at The Mysterious Bookshop tonight. Since the day off in theater is usually a Monday, I never even entertained the possibility that I might be in the city. But I will be.

We’ll see. I might be too tired at that point in the day. When you add in 3+ hours of travel, it makes for a long, long day. But I’ll keep it rolling around in my brain as a possibility.

Don’s box of shiny new CDs should arrive today. He is very excited. Hopefully, he should have them available and on a web site by sometime next week. (I wish I could be here when he opens the box!)

How are you? What are you up to today?

Quick little post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Monday.

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Home Again

August 27, 2015 at 8:53 am by Claudia

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I’m home.

A day earlier than I had originally planned.

I got on the road about 8 am yesterday, crossed over into North Carolina, and by the time late afternoon rolled around, I knew I was close enough to keep going. It seemed foolish to spend more money on a motel if I could get home that day – even if it was late in the evening. I called Don and told him I was going to go for it and I rolled in around 9 pm.

Thoughts about the trip: Driving through the greater Washington DC area is a nightmare. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my trusty GPS and even with it’s help, I can’t tell you how many times I had to cross 3 lanes of traffic in order to exit at the very last minute. And sometimes the directions given by the GPS were unclear, so I had to take a chance and hope I was right. Somehow, I managed to get through that crazy spider web of roads and too many people driving too many cars.

Once you drive north of DC you start to hit toll roads. Most of the states had modest tolls, but Maryland? A state I was in and out of very quickly? $12. Come on, Maryland, that’s just plain ridiculous.

The car drove beautifully and I like it a whole bunch. I either listened to CDs or the radio. I’m not a book on tape sort of person because I like the narrator’s voice to be in my imagination. I want to set the pace, if you know what I mean. Meredith sent one along with me, just in case, but I went for the music and NPR instead.

Happy to be home. Scout is having a hard time of it – she’s falling a lot. So I’m glad I’m here to help with my girl.

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I’ll write more about Little Z on another day. He’s my hero, that boy. I miss him so much it hurts.

Grateful to be home safely. Grateful to my dad for his generous gift. Grateful to my sister and her family for a great visit. Grateful to Don for holding down the fort while I was gone.

Happy Thursday.

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Postcard From The Road

August 26, 2015 at 7:17 am by Claudia

Greetings from somewhere in South Carolina. My goal was to reach North Carolina, but I was just too tired when dinner time rolled around, so I stopped for the night.

Maybe I was tired because I mistakenly drank decaf yesterday at my sister’s house! I couldn’t believe how tired I was when I was driving yesterday – in fact, I told my brother-in-law that I was really ‘foggy’ when I was getting ready to leave. The same thing had happened the day before. When I called them last night to tell them where I was, my brother-in-law informed me that I’d been drinking decaf. (They have a Keurig and I put the wrong pods in there!)

No wonder!

My last day in Florida was an emotional one.

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We ended up here. Little Z was not feeling well when he woke up on Monday. He was crying and vomiting. As the morning went on, Meredith grew more and more concerned. Little Z has a shunt and his symptoms were the same ones that can happen with a shunt malfunction. She took him to his doctor. Meanwhile, I was preparing to visit my dad. Then I got a message that she was taking him to the hospital, as recommended by the doctor. I heard the panic in her voice, so I got the address of the hospital and put it in the GPS and followed her there.

By the time I arrived, he’d been given something for his nausea and he was perking up.

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Here he is on my lap.

After a few hours, he had some tests and was given the all clear.

Then I drove back and headed to my dad’s place to spend some time with him and say goodbye.

Very emotional – it was hard to leave him.

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And hard to leave this boy.

I miss being near my family and when I get a taste of it, like I did on this trip, I realize just how friggin’ hard it is being so far from them. My sister, my BIL, my nephews, my dad….I miss them so much.

And Little Z? I fear I’m addicted to that little boy.

By the way, my sister is the most incredible mom. I stand in awe of her.

Okay. Have to get ready to get on the road.

More later.

Happy Wednesday.

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Day Two in the City

Home Again

Postcard From The Road

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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