Catching up...

I didn't realize how much time has passed since my last post. My apologies.

I'm currently in rehearsals with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival. I will be playing Lady Montegue in Romeo and Juliet and Dionyza / chorus in Pericles. What's that you say... you never read Pericles...don't worry, neither had I before this production. I'll give a quickie synopsis below bu let me preface it by saying the script we are using is from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and has been modified from what you might read in say A Riverside edition. It has music and movement and a fully robed / masked greek chorus in lieu of the character "Gower" As for Lady Montegue... I have 2 lines in the first scene, 1 silent appearance in the middle and I am (as we say in Comedy Sportz) [clap clap] outta here. A WHOLE lot of sitting int he green room for me. None the less, it has been a lot of fun working on something NOT improvised and NOT comedy.

Pericles Quickie synopsis -- think soap opera with lots of time and location jumps --

We start with Pericles trying to win a bride by solving a rival king's riddle" If he solves it he is supposed to win the hand of the princess. THE CATCH -- the lovely princess is having an incestuous affair with her father which is the meaning of the riddle. Most can't solve the riddle and those who don't are killed but Pericles is a smartypants and figures it out the king is embarrassed and plots to Have P. killed. P. makes a hasty get away back home.

THEN P. realizes his escape may have been a bit too easy surely the king will try and have him killed so P. leaves home again and heads with ship loads of wheat to another neighboring island that has fallen on hard times and where the people are dying of hunger

P. meets Dionyza (that's me) and her husband King Cleon gives them wheat we all rejoice then P. needs to leave again --pesky bounty hunters!

P. is shipwrecked on yet another island where he competes for the hand of yet another Princess...they marry, she gets pregnant...bounty hunters again... P. and his wife Thaisa decided to return to Pericles home land...by boat

At sea there is a tempest and P.'s wife seems to die in childbirth. The baby, Marina, is ok but the sailors insist on dumping Thaisa's body overboard to calm the storm. P. is not happy but agrees and slips a note about who she is and some money in her coffin then heads back to Dionyza and Cleon to leave them to raise Marina until he can get back

Meanwhile Thaisa is NOT dead...she washes up on an island where there is a temple devoted to the goddess Diana. She stays to become a votress of Diana

BIG TIME JUMP

Dionyza grows jealous of P.'s daughter and plots to have her killed --sort of like that mother of the cheerleader did in Texas a few years back...

P. returns to get his daughter only to discover she is "dead"

Only Marina isn't dead...pirates interrupt the murder...kidnap her and sell her to brothel.

Mariana talks her way out of being a prostitute by talking to the potential clients about their better qualities/hopes/dreams. And it works. Word spreads of this prostitute who wouldn't be

MEANWHILE

Since learning of M.'s death Pericles has taken a vow of silence and just sails around the Mediterranean sea waiting to die. His adviser thinks it might be good for him to meet this weird prostitute as she can cheer anyone up.

They bring Marina on board and without too much dialog Pericles discovers this is his daughter -- hooray! And to celebrate they head off to the temple of Diana where...OMG! there is Thaisa!!! double hooray!

Happy ending.


In Basenji news:

It has been COLD and windy here. Loki won't walk in the wind. She gets spooked by things blowing around. Since last year we've been trying some of the Dog Whisperer techniques with her and they have worked pretty well but it is something you have to do EVERY time. At least in my experience..just doing the techniques until she got it then assuming we didn't need to drill every day resulted in a slow but steady relapse of bad habits for both human and dog. But I have to say she really thrives on the dominant pack leader thing. Sure she challenges for a status upgrade but once we settle those issues she's a happy pup. Oh, and I'm on a private campaign to stop folks from using rock slat and other chemicals on sidewalks and streets...INSTEAD SAFE PAW and other products like it are JUST AS EFFECTIVE, won't damage your sidewalks, lawn and more importantly won't BURN THE PADS OFF MY DOG's FEET. Thanks!

In Bike news

The Hercules remains untouched. I don't have time to work on it yet but I will, I will.

Diane and I are looking to buy an indoor trainer that I can use over the winter for exercise as well as to practice with my new clip less pedals. I'm hoping to spend under $100 but would MAYBE consider $150 if the thing were just fabulous. Let's remeber I'm a recreational rider with a now chronic bad knee. I'm not racing, I'm probably not even going to do any charity rides this summer...I ride for the sheer joy of riding, in my mind though, I'm a racing tour de force.

State of Mind

I've decided I want to be happy. I know that sounds weird, who doesn't. But I'm really tired of being unhappy. I have a lot to be unhappy about so I'm not trying to go all Pollyanna. When I catch myself feeling unhappy I'm trying to consider whether it is worth the time or if it's something best forgotten until later or consider if I'm overreacting. When I find myself in a group of people who bring me down I try and leave or change the conversation or just tune out until it seems 'safe.' Much like training Loki this is a full time job -- but like training Loki it's worth it when it's working.

On that note,

Much happiness to you!