in other news

In other news, I’ve got a busy, busy week ahead. Two fantasy football drafts. A dress rehearsal and then performance for a top secret corporate gig I’ve booked. (The gig isn’t so secret but I had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose the client. Which seems a little silly considering how big of a public presence this event has taken on, but whatever.)

I’ve got another little secret brewing for Wednesday morning. Not writing about that here unless and until there’s something very newsworthy to share.

My work schedule is swinging into high gear again. We’re dark this week then we open the last show of the season. Which means next season will be publicly announced and I’ll have a season preview reception to plan. Also I’ve begun the planning process for our annual fundraiser. Not till March but it’s an enormous project. In fact, I’ve already booked comp time because of it. I spent part of the afternoon today in a meeting. Oh, and I have an online fund-raiser that I’m conducting through out the month.

And I have to pack. Because on Friday night I’m catching the red-eye to go see Aaron for 11 days. And a dinner or two with Tri while I’m there. I did laundry today. I’ve been making a list of outfits. Trying to cover an array of dress codes while minimizing necessary shoes. Because I’m trying not to drag a whole bunch of crap I don’t need. I am a notorious over-packer. Aaron has already been teasing me about the fact that I haven’t started shipping things in advance of my arrival. He knows me all too well.

So there’s a lot in the hopper. And when I return I’ll have to hit the ground running and not stop until Christmas. But don’t mistake this for bitching, I’m happiest when I have a million things to keep me busy. Otherwise you get the round and round and the crying and all that nonsense. Busy is good for me.

high holy days

Today is one of the high holy days in my house. Superbowl Sunday.

I am not like other chicks you may know. The ones that look forward to the sales that occur on Superbowl Sunday. The sales that entice the womenfolk out of the house while the men pound their chests. I am not like the chicks that go to Superbowl parties so they can hang in the kitchen and talk and be social.  Yes, I know there are boys that don’t dig football but I’m sticking to my generalizations for this post.

Football is in my blood. In part because I’m a chick from the south. We’re bred to like it. Football is discussed by men and women alike in country clubs and junior league functions all across the south. Some of my favorite memories of my grandmother are Saturday afternoons spent watching college ball. When LH and I were buying a house I stood in every kitchen to see if I’d be able to see the TV. Because I cook up a storm on Thanksgiving but didn’t want to miss my Cowboys. My dad is a high school football coach and I am my daddy’s girl. My wedding was planned around the University of Michigan schedule in the year they won their last championship.

I used to watch the FOX pre-game stuff on my Sunday mornings. Back when it was JB, Howie, Terry, and Chris. Before Jimmy Kimmel had his own show. The FOX format is designed for women and others who don’t know much about football. It is user friendly and stat light. Somewhere along the line I began to favor ESPN. I love Chris Berman. I like getting more stats. I mourn the fact that I don’t have cable here and can’t watch ESPN.

In truth I prefer college ball to the NFL. Because there is more heart. There are more true upsets. The pace and vibe are completely different. The NFL is slicker, faster, and more commercial. When you strip everything away the difference in talent between teams is not really that great. But I digress.

Today the Superbowl has arrived. I love it. I love all the pre-game specials. NFL Films make me go all weak in the knees. I love the commercials. The commercials that come during the game, although they are not as great as they once were, but also the commercials that pepper the pre-game specials. The ones clearly targeted to the football fans.

So I have two separate party invites today. One where I know the host but no one else. The host is a football fan. Another party where I don’t know the host but I’ll know folks attending. I don’t know how many in attendance are real football fans. So I’m still deciding which to attend. Because I like to actually watch the game. With people that like to watch the game.

I’m not overly invested in the outcome this year. I’m a Cowboys fan. If the Cowboys aren’t in the game, then I cheer for the NFC. Because that’s what you do. You stick with your own. There’s a part of me that would like the Pats to win. Because I’ve liked Brady since he was at Michigan. Because of the novelty of an undefeated team. It just feels a little weird to think about cheering for an AFC team. And say what you want about spygate, that doesn’t phase me. The Pats are just the ones that got caught. They are not the only ones out there doing it. Doesn’t make it right, just saying.

I’ll most likely cheer for the Giants. It should be a good game. It was a good game when these two teams met in the regular season. I’m not feeling Tom Petty as the half time entertainment, but whatever. I love the Superbowl.

oh bittersweet football

My fantasy football season came to a close over the weekend. I almost didn’t play this year at all. I did not feel prepared to draft but I decided at the last minute that I would miss it if I didn’t play so I scrounged up two free leagues, threw caution to the wind, pre-ranked some players, and let the computer draft for me. I hate computer drafts.

I prefer playing in leagues with folks that I know. It’s just more fun. I lost a great league in my divorce. It was a keeper league, live auction draft, free agency auctions, salary cap, super competitive, and big pay outs. That league is comprised of a group of guys spread out over Europe and the States. All military or ex-military and connected through one particular base. I was the first (and only) girl to break into that little boys club. Happy to say I held my own with the big dogs and the smack talk for two seasons.

BOF and I co-managed a team for the second year in a row. Which can be interesting sometimes since he is a Niners fan and I’m a Cowboys fan and those two fan bases do not generally mix. He and I could not buy a win this year. I felt like that team was the stronger of my two in terms of depth but we just kept getting beat. We ended the season 4-9 but won out the losers bracket. That’s a bittersweet way to go. I’d much rather have had those wins during the regular season. Alas.

The team I managed on my own was a different story. I dominated the league. I went into the playoffs at 10-3. I won the Superbowl by 50 points. This is my 8th season playing fantasy football (the last several years I’ve put up multiple teams, as many as 3 but usually just 2). This was my 3rd Superbowl and 2nd Championship. Per usual, I was the only chick in the league. Which, to be perfectly honest, makes the winning that much more fun.

I also play a pick-em game. I suck at predicting spreads so I play the simpler head to head things. Run down the list of match-ups for the week and pick who you think will win. I finished the season with an 85% accuracy rate. Not too shabby. Pick-ems are just a throw away thing for me. Just another little bit of fun but I don’t stress about it.

My Sooners played in the Fiesta Bowl tonight. I’d rather not talk about that. Big Game Bob usually does a great job of prepping his teams for big games. WTF was that? I wasn’t expecting a walk in the park, but West Virginia? A shellacking? Seriously? This is the part where I remind myself how much more it sucked during the sanction years and to be grateful we’re finally back to being a program on the national radar at all. The only other thing I shall say about college football is that if this year’s long list of crazy upsets doesn’t make the strongest case ever for a playoff system (not a BCS fan, at all) then I don’t know what will.

So now I’m left with my Dallas Cowboys. Who have not been stellar of late, but have a pretty fantastic record overall. I’m crossing my fingers that they make it all the way to the big game. Whoever the NFC puts up will most likely be playing the Patriots and we’ll just see how all that turns out, but I’m enjoying the Cowboy ride at the moment.

are you ready?

For some football?

Yes please.

Oh how my heart is all aflutter. My Sooners are off to a thrilling start. My fantasy teams have been drafted. Line ups are set. My picks for week one are submitted.

The pregame show just ended and the kickoff is imminent.

I’m a victim of regional coverage. Too far away from Dallas to watch my boys play every week. But for the first game I’ll be watching one of my fantasy QBs play one of my favorite QBs. McNabb and the Favre. I have an huge soft spot in my heart for Brett Favre. I will be a sad girl when he finally retires.

Football season is my favorite time of year.

down time

It was a long week.  Well, technically it was a short week since Monday was a holiday, but it still managed to be a long week.

Professionally this week has been a mess. I’m so swamped with work I can hardly think straight. I’ve tried to prioritize all the things I’ve been tasked with but they all seem to have equal import. Because of the nature of my job I get requests from every department, not just my own. This should have been a slower week since the theater was dark. Fortunately next week is a dark week as well. I’d stroke out if I had to start all my daily show related duties again next week. I need the extra week to handle everything that is on my plate right now.

I’ve got a new boss and although I like him I’m not sure yet about him as a boss. There’s a lot of posturing going on in my department. Everyone wanting to get in good with the new guy. I don’t play those games. I keep my head down and do good work. I’ve got a large personality without trying. I’m not afraid to work a connection. But I find that I’m more successful at a soft sell. It just requires more patience.

I’m struggling a little with my position though. Since the arrival of the new boss. I’ve always been on a management track everywhere I’ve been. I’m a natural leader. I excel at those positions. I’m good at project management. I’m good at keeping people motivated and on track. I knew when I took this position that it would be different. I thought that would be ok. I wanted to make a leap from civic theater to professional theater and I’ve done that. I wanted to go some place where I could just work for a bit while I got back on my feet financially. I wanted a transitional position on my road to grad school. This job fits all of those things. I know that I’m valued. I know that I make a difference. I just find myself missing that sense of upward mobility. I’m trying to dig in my heels and create a niche. A learning place for myself. In a way that will serve me now and in the future.

I guess I’m just realizing how much I miss being the one leading things. I enjoy what I’m doing, its not that. I’m not looking for a new job. I’m not unhappy. I’m just affirming for myself that this is only temporary. I look at other people and think, but they seem happy. There’s nothing wrong with being a cog in a wheel. You need cogs. Otherwise it doesn’t work. I’m just ambitious. I don’t want to be a cog forever.

Personally there were good things. I saw a production of Sweeney Todd on Tuesday. One of my all time favorite musicals. Who wouldn’t love a musical about a vengeful barber who has a partner in crime that bakes his victims into pies. He does it for love! His wife was done wrong and he’s out to make people pay. It also has my favorite love song ever from a musical. Sondheim is a genius. Sigh. Anyway, it was also a staging I’ve been dying to see. One where the actors are also the orchestra. That takes some talent. It lived up.

Had my first rehearsal for the full season with the symphony chorus. Only about 50 of us sang in the Boheme chorus. This was the full 120. So I met lots of new folks. We jumped right in to the Verdi Requiem which is exquisite. Although singing the Dies Irae on a headache is something I wouldn’t recommend.

Thursday I had planned on a nice evening at home. Catching up on some blog reading. Emails to return. Writing. Playing the piano. But instead I lost power. One of CA’s lovely rolling black outs. So instead I took a long bubble bath by candlelight. A forced stillness. Which in truth I know I needed.  I’ve let my daily meditations slip lately. It felt good to be alone in the dark with my thoughts.

Dinner with a friend last night. Nice and low key. Then we went to her house and watched movies and drank.

I was supposed to go out to the theater tonight. Some new show that was developed here. But I woke up sick as a dog. With spewage and fever and headache. I managed to sleep a lot. I did catch most of my beloved Sooners shellacking the Canes. So I’m in tonight. Some down time.

Because Monday will be a rough day at work. I know already. The whole week could be long again. So wish me luck.  At least I already have a party to look forward to on Friday eve.