The temperatures dropped over 20 degrees overnight and today will be in the sixties. Then, back up to the seventies – maybe we’ll get a week or two of actual spring weather?
I’m in a bit of a quandary at the moment. I’d planned to go to Hartford on Thursday to watch a final dress rehearsal with the orchestra in the afternoon. Then one more visit on Sunday afternoon to watch a preview. Everything was planned and written in my calendar. Then in the mid-afternoon, Don read an email to me that said he’d been cast in an episode of a new series that would be filming on…Thursday. (He will also be in two more episodes that will film in the coming weeks.) Good news, yes, but you see, we have one car. And we have a dog who needs one of us around most, but not all, of the time.
Don has to have the car on Thursday. I, therefore, cannot go to Hartford. Should I go today, when there really won’t be run-through? If I go tonight, I have to drive home late at night because Don needs the car early tomorrow morning. I don’t want to be making a two hour drive home at 11:00. So, do I go this afternoon and hang around for part of the evening? Or, do I go on Saturday, for example, watch the evening preview, stay the night, and then catch another preview on Sunday?
I sent off a flurry of emails (too many) to the Stage Manager and her response today was what I knew it would be and should be: It is up to me.
Most of the time, having one fourteen-year-old car is fine. But at times like these, it’s a pain in the tush. I comfort myself by acknowledging that even if we had two cars, both of us could not be away for a long period of time on Thursday. No can do. Little Scout needs one of us around.
Sometimes making a decision like this one is extremely difficult for me. How do I do my job to the best of my ability? I owe them two more days of work. How should I handle it? How can I best serve the actors? And then my head starts spinning.
I remind myself: in the end, it’s not an earth shattering decision.
I’ll probably go hang out there today.
Or maybe not.
On top of that, I had to look at timetables, etc., and figure out if I wanted to take the train or a plane to and from Chautauqua. I did both last year and each has its advantages. The train trip is five hours long and arrives in Buffalo and then there is an hour and a half trip from there to Chautauqua. Some planes arrive in Buffalo, some in Erie. If the flight goes to Erie, the commute to Chautauqua is much shorter. But all plane trips involve connecting flights which total about five hours flight time and, let’s face it, flying is a hassle, plain and simple.
I went with the train.
One decision down, one to go.
And then Don has to sweat whether he can take the bus into Manhattan on Thursday or whether he will have a very early call and have to drive into the city.
When you freelance at our age, you’re faced with lots of days of ‘leisure’ and then you’re suddenly thrown into a whirlwind of activity and decisions that have to be made and you’re driving or flying here and there and you’re worrying about how many hours you are away from Scout and you work hard and then…it’s back to slothdom.
Sigh.
Happy Wednesday.
Ugh, decisions can be so hard! Congrats to Don….hope the series is very successful.
We’ll see. So far, he has 3 episodes, so that’s a very good thing indeed!
What are the red blossoms? They’re beautiful!
They are flowering quince, Shanna.
Sudden changes are hard and to rearrange everything is stressful, but you will figure it out. Congrats to Don!! I know at this stage of Scout’s life she must have someone with her most of the time. You will manage as you always do. Still….
hugs,
Linda
So far, we’ve managed. More on that on Thursday’s post!
Oh my! I think I would be in the same quandary you are fighting! Not the best options anywhere. I hope some wonderful solution presents itself.
In the end, I went yesterday. More on Thursday’s post.
You’ll get to the decision, Claudia, and it will be right for all of you. I can’t leave my cat for long either. No more overnights at my parents’ involving the entire family, since we can’t leave too much food out for the kitty. She’ll gorge on it and we’d come home to a throw-up mess. She’s older and has a digestive disorder, but it’s manageable if we feed her a little at a time. I don’t mind the extra work though. After all, she repays me more than enough with companionship (she follows me around so much my girls think she’s part canine) and affection.
I totally agree. Just as we did with Riley, we are more than ready to devote ourselves to her care. She has been our companion for 16 years and she deserves it.
Situations like that, decisions to be made, are definitely not my strong point! Now I can’t wait until you’re able to tell us the show Don will be appearing in. Are there more flowers on the quince (sp??) this year? It sure is beautiful.
The flowering quince seems to have more flowers than ever this year, Debbie. Just like the lilac. Maybe all that snow and cold we had paid off in a beautiful bloom!
Last minute changes are the hardest to do. Which ever decision you come to, I will be sending traveling prayers for both you and Don. Kiss Me Kate is one of my favorites and I would love to see it in person someday. Thanks for all of the flower pictures. A world with flowers cannot be all bad. I do love lilacs! I have ever since I read The Mystery At Lilac Inn when I was probably 9 or 10. Nancy Drew was my heroine!
Hugs to all of you,
Deb
Mine too. I remember that particular book very well!
First off…congrats to Don! Exciting news! Secondly, you always make the right decisions…trust in that. Cool here…but sunny….glad I covered up my plants last night…we had frost! What is that red bush/tree? Beautiful! ;)
That’s the flowering quince, Donnamae, which I have to say is spectacular this year!
Decisions, decisions and more decisions! I know how much you both enjoy your work but what a crazy schedule you have to work with. I know you will get it figured out – you always do and do what is best for Scout!
Travel safe both of you!
Judy
Thank you, Judy. Travel was easy and safe yesterday – it was a gorgeous day. Don leaves this morning – but not too early – so all is well.
“Back to slothdom” , now THAT could be the name of a TV series!! Love it. Whenever things seem to merrily roll along is when we should all sit up and take notice as it is surely time for the unexpected to knock.
I am thinking you possibly decided to go today since I don’t see any of your comment responses as usual. If you did go, hope your day is productive.
Oh, and “yay” for Don!!!!
It WOULD be a good name for a series! Or a book. Hmmm. I did go yesterday – not a very productive day, more on that on Thursday’s post.
But isn’t it wonderful to be wanted and feel useful.? I used to have a responsible job. (I was Editor of 4 newspapers) but now I’m retired (and have MS) it seems as though I’m not needed for anything. Enjoy your work while you can. I miss my ‘real’ life so much. luv and Blessings
I’m sorry, Lesley. I know you must miss your work. Dealing with MS must be quite a challenge. Sending you a big hug! You’re right. It is good to feel wanted, though both of us remark on how long we sometimes have to go between jobs. That part isn’t easy.
My head is spinning just reading your post. How I hate to make those kinds of decisions myself because there seems to be no “right” answer. The very good thing is you both have some work. But it surely does mess up your regular schedule. Good luck.
Good to have work. I suppose these challenges keep our minds sharp!
Oh boy, When it rains, it pours – huh? Either nothing’s going on, or too damn much. Congrats to Don on his new role – can’t wait to hear about it! Between the two of you, I know you’ll figure out what to do this week.
PS Claudia, have you ever looked into leasing a car? I always bought new cars, then kept each one til the wheels fell off & I was forced to replace it [had my last one for 14 years too]. Then my supervisor at work told me about leasing, which for years I had mistakenly thought was only for people with bad credit who couldn’t get a standard auto loan. But the exact opposite is the case, I’ve been leasing ever since & the payments are more than 50% less than they’d be if I purchased the vehicle, Plus bonus – you get great piece of mind from repairs & reliability issues. It might be just the solution for you guys. And if I’ve mentioned this before, pay me no never mind – and enjoy the cooler weather. Back to Spring!
The car we have was leased. I leased it when we were just about to move from California to New York. In the end, once the lease was up, we bought it. So I’m familiar with leasing. We just don’t want to deal with any extra monthly payments right now, since our monthly health insurance bill is very expensive (at least, to us.)
I would suggest looking for a pet sitter for the future, one who comes to your house to be with Scout. I know it’s an extra cost but might alleviate some of your worry. Check with your vet, they probably have some names of reputable people.
We’ve had many pet sitters over the years, both here and in San Diego. However, at this point in Scout’s life, there are so many things a sitter would have to know about her particular situation, that we feel we are the best caregivers – barring an emergency, of course.
Next time you go to Chautauqua fly to Cleveland. I will pick you up and drive you there! We will have to stop at the miniature store and a few other neat places along the way though. : )
What a nice offer, Kim! The miniature store is right outside Chautauqua. You can bet I’ll be going there again on this trip.
I get exactly what you’re saying about last minute decisions and conflicting schedules.
While we don’t have slothdom – because of the kiddos– we do have lots of stay home days due to being the sole care takers for our Littles while our grown kids work.
So any appointments that pop- for doctors, real-estate, banking etc. — well we have scheduled that need shuffling!
Glad you both have work coming in-
Hope you’re able to come to an arrangement with the car– and accommodate Dame Scout.
She needs you both!
She does indeed. I really miss her when I’m gone for a whole day! It was so good to see her last night.
No one can accuse either of you of “Slothdom,” if anything you are the opposite, both always out there Hustleing I mean that in the most legal and complimentary form of the word (that’s why I left the e on the end). I just Love when you go to Chautauqua, because I feel like I am visiting there,(vicariously). You make it so interesting all the time.
Things (like Transportation and doggies) always have a way of working out. Good Luck to all three of you! Good interesting Post today! Thank You,-Judy A-
It seems to have all worked out, Judy, though yesterday ended up being a day where I couldn’t do much at rehearsal. Ah, well.
Well, I totally understand what you’re going thru because my husband and I are in your age group and he still freelances in the biz you’re in but also has a ‘day job.’ So, when he wants to freelance, he has to squeeze it in, which usually means a lot of flurry and chaos because he can’t leave the permanent job in a mess just to take the freelance gig. In fact, he’s on a freelance job right now in another state, just coming off the heels of a jam-packed week where we moved a lot of stuff out of our house to storage…we did it ourselves with a U-Haul, forgetting we’re not age 20 anymore; it was a lot of packing, loading and unloading prior to summer remodeling (it just about killed us)…and, in the middle of this I had to have a root canal which didn’t go well, then 3 hrs of sleep (or less) for both of us (too amped) before he took off in the wee hrs for LAX with too much gear to carry for the shoot. He wasn’t able to sleep on the plane, then only got two hours of sleep before set-up today…in pouring rain. He’s getting back to LAX just about now and then has to go to work (his regular job…the day job often becomes a night one) and won’t get home til 11pm. Then, up tomorrow at 6am for a full day’s work. I told him, THIS IS IT. Freelance for us, unless it’s local, is OVER. It does not lead to a calm and serene life and our bodies at this age need more rest and less stress. I found myself so punchy yesterday that I couldn’t do simple math on paper and it really scared me. My dog isn’t old like Scout, but she’s a very neurotic shepherd and knows when Daddy’s leaving by the packed bags so is wigged out even before he departs. She slept by the front door last night and growled til 4am. I haven’t even done the hard work my husband has, but I’m exhausted. Freelance work can be lucrative, but it also can be tough and it was formerly, at times, our sole income. It can be gratifying, but self-employment definitely has pitfalls along with the rewards. I just personally find that as I’ve aged, I don’t do well with spontaneity. I need a regular pace; a solid, expected routine to everyday living.
Freelancing is hard. I always craved the security of a full-time job and I had that for many years. That balanced out Don’s being an actor, which is by nature freelance. But then we moved out here and I started to freelance and now we BOTH freelance. It’s very hard at times, especially in terms of money coming in and trying to budget. But, that’s our situation and I think I’ve adapted fairly well to it.
Well Claudia..I guess you decided to go today as I see you haven’t answered your comments yet..best of luck to both of you and Don..I can’t wait to see you on TV again..
I did go. Don leaves this morning, but thankfully has a later call.
I’ll weigh in with the idea of a pet sitter. It might be the answer when these rare occasions pop up. Since I am somewhat new to your blog, I didn’t know Don had been on TV. It would be fun to know when and which shows he was on. National or local?
We’ve had many pet sitters in the past, but she requires someone here all the time, or at least most of the time. If we need someone to come let her out, thankfully we have neighbors who will help us out. They’ve done that in the past.
Don’s been working in television, film and theater for 40 years. The list of TV series he’s been on is sort of staggering! Here’s his link on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636811/
I’d say rent a car. The expense of the car can probably be written off on taxes??