Exit Stage Left

When I was younger my grandmother owed property where she grew patch upon patch of blueberries that she washed and froze and then distributed to the entire family. As a consequence I was basically force fed blueberry pancakes and waffles a good share of my childhood--a sure-fire way to insure avoidance as an adult. Basically, I've never been much of a fan of breakfast foods. I like bacon, sausage is okay and I've recently even developed a slight taste for eggs, but I still detest french toast, waffles and pancakes and am nauseated by even the odor of maple, so syrup's out all-together.

About a month ago I got a craving for pancakes with strawberry syrup from Village Inn. An almost unrealistic thought that I can't explain, but I couldn't stop obsessing about them. Rather than sitting in a sub-standard restaurant by myself I decided to buy my own syrup and make my own at home. Since that Saturday morning a month ago I have made pancakes no less than four times--all due to an insatibale craving. I still can't really say that I like pancakes, but I don't see an end to the cravings anytime soon. It could be worse, blueberries could be in season.

Several months ago I decided to title all my posts with just one word. And while I doubt that anyone has noticed it's been fun and sometimes even challenging. However, when I decided to do this I also didn't want to use the same word as a title more than once. I wanted to use "spontaneous" as the title for tonight's post, but a quick "find" through old posts told me that I used that title already back in November. The thesaurus didn't really give me any good ideas, so I decided to leave it blank.

This was a three day weekend for me, and while I was technically supposed to work on Sunday for a few hours I coaxed a co-worker into CMA so I could be spontaneous and fly off to California to see some friends (Mike and Mary, thanks again--and still--for giving me the greatest gift ever!). I got into San Francisco on Saturday afternoon and after a small debacle picking up the rental car was on my way to Modesto to see my old friends, Jen and Edwina. I met Jen and "Nini" at Starbucks back when I was in college. Jen was hired about two weeks after me and Edwina came in as our manager after I'd been there for about a year. We were very close "back in the day" and over time and happenstance we lost touch, but reconnected last summer thanks to the beauty that is MySpace. I'd been wanting to go see them for several months, but the timing never really worked out, so you can imagine my surprise when I called them at 11:00 on Friday night to see what they were doing over the weekend....the rest is history.

While we didn't do anything particularly exciting it is such fun to make plans and do things on the fly. Being adventurous doesn't come particularly naturally for me, but I feel like I'm making great strides in being able to do spontaneous things on ocassion. If I could just finagle more days off it would be so much easier.

Talia posted this the other day in tribute to my new favorite blog and I thought my readers might find it "interesting" as well. Enjoy!

1. My favorite movie is The American President
2. I was once diagnosed borderline OCD
3. I love box wine.
4. I hate beer.
5. I love sleeping in.
6. I love getting up early.
7. I have had my big toenails removed three times.
8. I Tivo three shows every day: The View, Oprah, and Countdown
9. My middle name is Christine.
10. I am a self-confessed know-it-all.
11. I have two cats: Millie and Linus (both named after characters from musicals) whom I love unconditionally.
12. I will only own cars with a manual transmission.
13. I talk---a lot. Often uncontrolably.
14. Someday I will live in New York.
15. I clip my nails obsessively.
16. My parents divorced when I was two.
17. I worry that my house smells like cat.
18. I work too much.
19. I love my job.
20. I know "insider secrets" and am able to keep them.
21. I will never eat celery.
22. I have two and a half sisters and one brother.
23. I watch "Meet the Press" every Sunday morning.
24. I am more attracted to one's brain than their braun.
25. I am a planner.
26. I am a prude.
27. Peanut butter is my favorite food.
28. I sleep with socks on.
29. I wear a size 34DD bra.
30. I always wear one ring on my right ring finger.
31. I'm not sure I want kids.
32. I worry about what will happen to me when I'm old if I don't have kids.
33. I am a non-practicing Catholic.
34. I hate George Bush--yeah, both of 'em.
35. I have always been a registered Democrat.
36. I might be clinically addicted to the Internet.
37. I wait at stage doors.
38. I will probably never own a home.
39. I am addicted to buying office supplies.
40. I type 80 words a minute.
41. I see every movie nominated for an Oscar--every year.
42. I broke my foot when I was 15.
43. "The West Wing" is the best show ever produced.
44. I will stay up until the middle of the night no matter how tired I am.
45. I drink a gallon of water a day.
46. I hate wearing dresses and skirts.
47. War movies are my favorite.
48. I understand not the fascination with: Lost or 24.
49. I have naturally curly hair.
50. I normally keep my thermostat at 66 degrees.
51. I have never done any illegal drugs.
52. I think/fear I might be single forever.
53. I wink a lot; sometimes without even thinking about it.
54. I have green eyes.
55. I have washed my face every night since I was 15.
56. "Sports Night" is the perfect sitcom.
57. I never make plans on Sunday night.
58. I kick-ass at Trivial Pursuit.
59. I love stripes, checks and plaids!
60. I have never had braces.
61. I've worn glasses since I was 8.
62. I want to work for Disney.
63. Romance is lost on me.
64. I hate Shakespeare.
65. I think Grease is the worst show EVER!
66. I hate being bare footed.
67. I hate Boulder, CO
68. I have every episode of "The West Wing" recorded from TV.
69. I vow to throw away every episode of "The West Wing" I have recorded from TV since I now own them on DVD.
70. You will never see me dance--EVER!
71. Diet Dr. Pepper--'nough said.
72. I prefer short hair to long hair.
73. I love bubble gum and chew it every day.
74. I have never dyed my hair--even though it's going gray.
75. I use my work schedule as an excuse for being anti-social.
76. I am a stickler for proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.
77. I have a ridiculously high pain tolerance.
78. I want to open my own sandwich shop when I grow up.
79. I was a drum major in my high school marching band.
80. Playbill.com is my home page.
81. I am a kiss-ass.
82. I listen to Bill O'Reilly and Dr. Laura on the radio.
83. I am cheap.
84. I have lived in six states and D.C.
85. I have friends who are only online friends.
86. I hate summertime.
87. I miss working at Starbucks.
88. My heart hurts when I think about my niece.
89. I have bouts of extreme vertigo.
90. I am in a book club.
91. I never use black ink when writing.
92. I hate sand.
93. I love the smell of new crayons.
94. I have a very strong smell memory.
95. I do not consider myself to be creative.
96. I am highly organized.
97. I rarely get sick.
98. I love Billy Joel.
99. I am a sports fan.
100. I always wear two shirts, at least.

As it turns out I was scared, lost sleep and even shed a few "nervous tears" (okay, not really) over absolutely NOTHING. Linda Evans is the most adorable, nice, dear woman. She's real and normal and absolutely delightful. She opened her own car door, graciously offered to take photos with anyone who would ask, skirted around the tough questions like a pro and elegantly and enthusiastically told her story. She was genuinely interested in anything I had to say, asked meaningful questions and even jabbed with a few quick-witted jokes ("remember this when you're old Molly, lighting really is everything."). All in all today was a lovely day and I hope I get to interact with her again as it was truly a good experience. Maybe I'll check out those "Dynasty" DVD's afterall.

One of the reasons I ditched the idea of being a publicist long ago was because of my inability to interact with "the talent." While I was at the Kennedy Center I nearly threw up on the shoes of Lynn Redgrave and swallowed my tongue when I had to deliver lunch to Stephen Sondheim. I just get too nervous to deal with it. Even being in on an interview with a nobody journalist freaked me out. And while I generally handle myself reasonably well, it's just not worth the ulcers it causes, so I do my best to avoid it as best I can.

So, all that said, part of my current job is to assist our two publicists with interviews as warranted. This rarely happens, unless there are "stars" involved, because of the demands on their time, as well as their requirements for the interviews. We have a show opening tonight called Legends! starring Joan Collins and Linda Evans, of "Dynasty" fame. Since I was just three when the show began airing I can honestly--and proudly--say that I've never seen it, nor do I have an inclination to Netflix the series on DVD. Joan is now in her early 70's, Linda in her late 60's, too old to be my Mom, too young to be my Grandmother and so I'm sitting here this afternoon, not working on one of the eight shows we currently have on-sale, but wondering what ever I will say to Linda Evans when I go to pick her up at her hotel tomorrow and bring her back to the theatre for interviews. And, perhaps more importantly, I'm trying to avoid eating so that I will not be tempted to throw up all over a bona fide television star while riding in a limousine.

No, I haven't forgotten about my blog it's just that we're in the thick of it, as they say, at work right now. Today was my first day off in two weeks. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that when I work 14 hours a day I don't really feel like coming home and attempting to be witty. After next weekend things should return to relative normalness and hopefully I'll be able to return to my regularly scheduled blog-time.

Among the things you can look forward to: We have a show with Joan Collins and Linda Evans opening this week, I'll let you know how that goes; I hear they're quite...um, interesting?