Potpourri

tyunglebower ♦ November 7, 2013 ♦ Leave a comment

General thoughts and recent adventures.

-I am sore for a second straight day, for multiple reasons. The first and main reason is that a few days ago, I engaged in some aerobics. Actually I engaged in exactly one half of the first, baby steps training lesson on a DVD of aerobic exercises. My attempt to lose some weight continues, and as per suggestions from various people, I’m trying to mix it up a bit, instead of just walking.

I will keep mixing, but I don’t know if I will keep doing this tape. If I was wheezing and exhausted only halfway through the first lesson, and sore to the point of not being able to walk much after two days, I don’t think I’ve found the answer to my exercise situation. The whole thing made me feel as though I was not in any way shape or form in shape. This, in stark contrast to, (when I’ve been going a few days) being able to walk 3-5 miles at a brisk pace without a lot of trouble.

Yes I know aerobics are faster, but I didn’t think there were going to present such a huge difference in how I felt. No pain no gain, I know, but if it’s so much pain you can’t do anything else with your day, there’s a problem, right? (And why, of all things, does my mouth and jaw hurt when I overexert??)

So I hobble around a bit lately.

-I didn’t hobble too much to go to town and get a flu shot at my mother’s work yesterday, however. Last year was the first time I ever got one. I don’t get flu every year, but I decided last year it was worth the pain to up my stakes against said flu. Last year it didn’t hurt. This year it sting a bit, and my arm is a little sorer a day later than it was last year.

One good thing about all the soreness lately is that by force I have to slow down. And when I slow down, sometimes I feel better, mentally. One of the few good things about non-stomach related short-term sickness is that I don’t have the energy to devoted to being restless or worried as much. So I sometimes, in a twisted way, find the slightest relief when I am bedridden a few days. But, in the end I’d rather be well, so I got the shot.

-Went to a Nanowrimo write-in earlier this week. I will talk in detail about that on Monday, during my normal Nano update post.

-I have began to assume responsibilities as a facilities manager, (as well as publicity person) for the Black Box Arts Center in Shepherdstown, West, Virginia. This building is the former home of the now defunct Full Circle Theater Company, of which I was a part for several years as an actor. I look forward to my new responsibilities as a more disciplined, focused regime takes control of the space, and welcomes the community to make use of same.

I will probably talk more about that specifically over on my other blog, Always Off Book. That blog celebrated eight years in October, though sadly, this is the least active year for it thus far. Mainly that is because I’ve not been in a play for over a year and a half, which is sickening and makes me somewhat depressed. So I’ve reposted some of my actor’s advice columns from a previous writing gig, but I hope to start posting more theater related content soon. My new responsibilities may provide a good chance to open up my old blog a bit, and discuss more theatre-oriented topics, not merely my experiences in any given show. I could also post a few more links there, and respond to others articles. Stay tuned there, if you haven’t already. I want to give it some new life.

-I’m also almost done reading a pretty old and, as far as I know, obscure book about teaching an acting class. Kind of. Sometimes it reads like a textbook, and sometimes it reads like a teacher’s course guide. It looks to be from the early 1980’s. Frankly I think it leans towards flaky Stanislavsky fetishism at times, but it’s got some good ideas for both actors and those teaching/directing actors. Part of the used book blowout I went to a few weeks ago. I may write more about that over on Always Off Book as well.

-The TV music station on my cable plan switched to Christmas music the other day. I confess I’ve left it on here and there for either a pick-me-up or a relaxation thing. But I still, in the deepest part of my mind, don’t truly feel Christmas has started until after Thanksgiving. But to each his own.

-I’ve been thinking about having a regular feature here on the blog for a a while. “Open Letters”, wherein once or twice a month I write an open letter to someone I encountered or knew or loved at some point in the past. Both for closure, (they say writing letters that never get sent can help), but also it will allow me to work on some creative non-fiction writing. I haven’t has as much of a chance to do that lately.

-Take a look at this post, The 11 Differences Between Dating a Girl vs. Dating a Woman. I know, not usually my bag here on my blog, but I’m unpredictable. I was going to write a post about this, actually, but I opted to just provide a link to it, mention that I think it’s a pretty well written piece, and that there is much about it with which I agree.

– I recently read Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics. I’d been meaning to for a while, but found it disappointing. The link is to my Goodreads review of it. If you’ve read it, let me know what you thought, I’d like to know.

-I’ll need to get a haircut again soon, which I hate.