Still in shock

Hmmm. I have this sneaking suspicion that just about everyone already knows the big news - but it has taken me a while to process the information enough so that I can actually blog about it (to those of you who didn't already know... sorry!)

Basically, the long and the short of it is that two weeks ago (has it really been two weeks?!?) I was sleeping. After a long night of not sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about my lack of a job, who I should apply to next, my microscopic account balance and whether or not I should return to my plasma-prostitute life... I was finally asleep. At least, I was, until 8 o'clock in the morning when my cell phone started screaming at me. (Do you know how hard it is to find a cell phone when you are so confused that you couldn't ID yourself if your life depended on it?)

Good thing I hid the phone so well (it was on the charger) because by the time I found it, I actually knew my name again - and the guy on the other end of the line only kinda thought he might have woken me up.

I woke up plenty fast once he started talking though.

It was a familiar voice - offering me a job as an Associate Interpreter. In New York. Rochester, to be exact - at The Rochester Institute of Technology and The National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Somehow I was able to express my pleasure, and I managed sound fairly normal through out the rest of the conversation, I even took some notes. (Impressive!)

My real reaction was more along these lines - over, and over again.

Needless to say, there was no more sleep that day. And not much since then. I have given up all thoughts of selling my bodily fluids, and exchanged them for a whole new set of anxieties to keep me up at night.

They say that a life worth living will take you out of your comfort zone time and time again - that the only way to grow is to scare yourself now and again. (That makes me wonder why I am still only 5' tall. I should have shot up at least an inch in the last two weeks - talk about being freaked out!) Alas, the only growing I have been doing lately is in width. Chocolate ice cream is my weakness - and it serves as a wonderful feel-good remedy!

So now I am packing. And filling boxes. And hauling them (tiny loads at a time - have you seen my car?) to my parents place for storage. My poor trailer is so empty. It just looks lonely. And taking a Sunday afternoon nap isn't nearly as comfortable when the only cool place to sleep is on the floor. Another two weeks, and I will be on my way New York - ready to start tormenting a whole new group of victims people (I'm practicing my Evil Laugh.)

So Much Fun

There was so much fun to be had last weekend ( the 10th and 11th) - and I made sure to get in on as much of it as I could.

Sunday was the World Cup final in South Africa, where Spain and the Netherlands faced off to see who would win the World Cup. I decided that for this game, I would break my "no sports on Sunday" rule and indulge (hey, once every four years isn't TOO bad). Also, since the internet streaming sites I had been using just weren't going to cut it this time (they worked, but Arabic is not my language of choice) I messaged another soccer-freak friend of mine, and plead to be included in her game watching party. So, it was me and three other couples (all coaches and wives) gathering around with plates of yummy food and watching together as we learned/observed some interesting things.

1. Spain plays a pretty darn good game whenever they're not rolling on the pitch in 'agony' (can we say flop?)

2. The difference between great teams and very good teams is the ability to finish at the goal, and defend; a lot of teams look pretty similar when the ball's at midfield.

3. The biggest new star to arise from these games was an octopus that outperformed the pro's at picking the winners.

4. Yeah, the ref's called a tight game (14 yellow cards and a send off is a record for the final) but the Netherlands were playing a pretty brutal game.

5. Man of the Match (for me) is Spain's keeper, who took some REAL hits, and kept playing for his team.

6. Humans can adapt to almost anything - including vuvuzelas.

And in the end, Spain became the 8th team to ever win a world cup, the first ever team to win the final after losing their opening game, and the first European team to win a World Cup hosted outside of a European nation. But the real winner here (in my opinion) is South Africa. Why? Read this. If I tried to explain it, I would end up plagiarizing it anyhow, and that wouldn't be good.

But, even better than the World Cup was the day I had BEFORE the World Cup.

After taking my mum to that AMAZING play at the end of June, I wanted nothing more than to be able to share it with the rest of my family too. It killed me that tickets were so gall-durn expensive (cheapest were $100). Even worse, when my mum and I were there, there were empty seats scattered all throughout the audience, 3 right in front of us! How could people let these seats sit empty??

So last Wednesday, after checking and finding that Saturday's matinée still had 100+ empty seats, I called the theater in desperate hopes that I might be able to finangle a discount of sorts and take my da and sister to experience the magic. (Sadly, my brother didn't come visit till the next weekend, or I would have made him come too!) Come to find out, any tickets that remain unsold an hour before the performance starts become standby tickets, and are then sold for $25. So I did some calling, twisted some arms and freed up schedules for Dad and 'nae and arranged to meet for the Saturday matinée.

I wanted to get there a few hours early because I figured the line might get long later on. Da and I drove down together, and unfortunately wound up getting stuck in traffic, :( I was right. People started lining up for that show at 8 in the morning, and when I arrived, there were only 47 tickets left, and I was ~48th in line. Talk about tragedy and lots of almost-tears! That was a long hot drive and a lot of cancelled plans, all for naught!

I was on the verge of walking into the box office and buying two tickets at full price in order to make SURE that they got in at least - I had already seen it, and could kill time elsewhere - when lo and behold! a really nice girl (wearing the blue shirt) walked up to me with an offer I couldn't refuse. She had heard me mention that we had driven all the way down from Idaho and felt terrible that we wouldn't get tickets. Turns out some of her friends weren't going to be able to make it, and I could have their place in line if I liked. That jumped me from 48th to 5th, and miracle of miracles, we got our three tickets.

Again, of course, it was a fantastic performance. It was the second to last performance featuring Audra McDonald and Will Swenson - and it was so amazing to be able to share it with those I love.

The Beautiful Game

Excitement is in the air, and it sounds like a swarm of angry bees. As annoying as the African vuvuzela can be - it has certainly added a unique flavor to the world cup games over the last few weeks.

Sunday's World Cup final should be a great game, I haven't been able to see the Netherlands in action, but I have seen Spain play a few times, and from what I have seen, I have been really impressed with their ball handling and ability to play a strong possession game - their control of the ball, and thus the game - has been impressive to watch. I can't wait to see how the Netherlands plan to counter Spain's short, quick passes.

They are the two greatest soccer nations that have never won the world cup, and everything will be on the line for 90 (or 120) minutes this Sunday. One team will return home, the Kings of the World, the other will quickly be forgotten. The Netherlands is the only team that has won all of its games in this World Cup (Spain lost to Switzerland) while many are saying that Spain has been one of the best teams in the world for the last two years. In any case, these are two teams that belong in the final, and Sunday night an eighth country will be added to the short list of seven that have been able to call themseleves World Cup champions. Only seven nations have won the 18 World Cup finals: Brazil (5), Italy (4), Germany (3), Argentina (2), Uruguay (2), England and France. France remains the only new winner (1998) since Argentina in 1978.

Which team will win this Sunday? I don't know. And I am pretty neutral really. But I think it is safe to say that football will win on Sunday. Football, futbol, futebol, calcio, soccer, fusball... whatever you call it - two great teams are coming head to head, uniting the world for a few short hours with their love for the Beautiful Game.

Even the USA is getting in on some of the action - it wasn't too long ago that soccer was a fringe sport here in the states. The fervor has slowly been growing - spreading across the country, for the most part unnoticed. And while the group of soccer fanatics may still be a fringe group, we are a much larger fringe group than we were in the past :) Look at all the excitement generated by a game winning goal for the USA a few weeks ago -

And, just for kicks and giggles, some classic footage - just to show how awesome this sport really is.

Wow. I love it!

Still speechless...

Anybody got a spatula? I think I need a bit of help picking my jaw up off the floor. Last night's performance of "110 in the Shade" was honestly the most astoundingly beautiful and powerful show I have ever seen. And while I may not be the most active theater patron out there - there just aren't that many opportunities in rural Idaho - I have seen some incredible shows in my time. This one pretty much blew the rest out of the water.

The combination of a fantastic story, some astonishing talent and an incredibly intimate setting combined to make June 30th a night that will not easily be forgotten. I love the story of the play itself, it is so sweet and good - and it hits so close to my heart that I would even enjoy going to a high school production of it, just because. And Audra McDonald and Will Swenson are both fantastically talented performers - it is easy to see how Audra won four Tony's and why Will has been nominated for one. The real surprise to me was the impressive talent of the rest of the cast. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that! And the small theater... well, that was something all by itself.

I have to admit - my first sight of the Hale Center Theater had me laughing in disbelief. Had we not been looking for it we would have driven right past it and thought nothing of it. It really looks more like a local hair salon, or even a dog-grooming parlor. Certainly not a theater! Once inside, I had to keep giggling, because the place was just SO small! It reminded me very strongly of the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone - small, kinda run down, and home to the local amateur theater group.

However, in spite of the low budget feel the place had upon first entering, as soon as the show started, the entire theater just seemed to melt away, and it was as if it was just you and them. You became part of the performance without making a move - being at most 20 feet away from the action at any moment. The intimacy that so small a space provided changed a Broadway caliber show into something else entirely - the same way an enclosed space transforms a bit of gunpowder from a flammable noisemaker to a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, because they will NEVER remember me, after the play I had to take on the role of anonymous fan and go get my picture with both Audra and Will (and naturally get them to sign my playbill too.) It felt kind of awkward doing that, it goes totally against my grain - I would usually rather just leave people alone, because really, they just did some very hard work and I am sure that the last thing they want to do is spend their time making inane small talk with clueless fans.

But - I figured what the hey, this is a once in lifetime chance anyhow - I'm not gonna let it pass. Naturally, it took me a while to work my way up, basically letting almost everyone else go first (I hate being pushy) and it was really fun to just sit back and listen to them chat with people - so pleasant, kind and friendly though obviously tired.

And so, here I am with the incredibly talented, Tony nominated Will Swensen, who is in large part responsible for all the nonsense tonight - his brother owns the theater (I think) and since he has worked with Audra in the past, he got her to agree to come down to perform here, for free. :)

And best of all - me and 4 time Tony winner Audra McDonald.

I want to go back! Anyone want to go with me and try for some of the $25 'lottery' tickets?