JamesX

I really am getting slack with the updates. Truth is between being busy working on the play and other things, I really haven’t had any time to post anything worthwhile. I need to feel inspirational to make a post and when I’m completely exhausted (as most people who were working with me can tell you) it’s tough to motivate yourself to do anything. But hey, I’m still alive - although that’s probably because of all the coffee I drink.

Maybe it’ll be a while before I get back into the swing of making a post a day I just don’t know. But I will say I’m working on another site at the moment. It’s like a blog but involves less writing (wow, doesn’t leave many options does it!). So stay tuned for that one.

2006! Happy New Year!

It’s time once again to look back upon the year that was 2005…

January
Work started early on in January in preperation for the new school year and it wasn’t long before the heatwave hit Melbourne. January saw the least blogging by people and it was time for me to rant about it. It was also the month when I finally managed to get my eBay blue star, we celebrated Marc’s 20th birthday, and that horrible deer roadkill was unleashed upon the world. We continued to slug through the mountain of boxes at work and it’s also the same week that the RodentJet was born.

February
By February, uni was starting to appear on my radar and the timetabling gods seemed to be on my side. Either way, it didn’t phase me much as before long, the great South Pacific adventure had begun. It was one of the best, if not the best, holiday I’ve been on and by the end of it, I had taken almost 1,100 photos! The AFL footy tipping season was about to begin, Richard finally cracked the RMIT wireless problem and a new game was on the horizon…

March
Yes March is where it all began, World of Warcraft was taking centre stage at it began to occupy more than a little of everyone’s time. Our family friend Jean was over from England visiting and in between all of this, work and uni were plodding along nicely. As if it wasn’t already enough, No Worries, the latest play at work was a huge success.

April
It was a time for new things when April came around the picotux, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the list of 200 things, “never have I ever”, and the release of Tiger (although I didn’t get it until later) were enough to keep me busy. I also got to celebrate Oscar’s birthday and I uncovered the mystery behind the Graphinc Calculator application.

May
May Day was when Tiger arrived on my Powerbook and brought with it a host of new features to help convert those who still believe Windows is a better OS. Hitchhikers hit the movies, and a day later it was Andrew’s birthday. Then came Remember Ronald Ryan and the fifth season of Big Brother began in earnest. It was also the time to launch the new backend on the site. It would still be some time before it all tied together, but having grandma away for 7 weeks was sure to help.

June
It was semester one exam season around the time that my relations were visiting from England. I took them to the football and showed them around Melbourne - including Phillip Island. June was also the month that GigManX was born. It had been a long while since my last gadget purchase and it was time for something new. FOXTEL iQ entered the household and it hasn’t stopped recording since! Exams were over and reports were printed just in time to finish the month with dinner at Han’s.

So that’s the first half of 2005. The second half can be found in Part 2.

Last night was the production meeting for Little Shop of Horrors. Pardon the pun but the meeting was very productive and I think we all have a clear vision about where things should be heading. The biggest challenge for this show is going to be the set and the plant (Audrey 2). It’s a new show for me so I’ve got a copy of the video of Steven Bowler’s 1993 production to get an idea of the story. I’m still waiting to get a copy of the script to get a true understanding of the show.

There are a lot of choices as far as casting goes, and there aren’t all that many parts to fill. The most sought after part being that of the dentist. We know who we want to play the role but it’s always a question of availablility. Rehearsals start on Sunday so things are already moving ahead quite quickly. It’s not surprising though because the show isn’t really that far away, there’s only about 12 weeks until the season opens.

But I can’t give away too many secrets yet. You will have to wait and see!

Last night the curtain fell on my 40th production and I’m happy that it’s all finally over. I’m also really tired from the big party last night after the show. It’s not all that often when you work with people on a production that you can have the opportunity to get together and talk about things that aren’t related to what’s happening in the show. The pressies this year were great, thanks to the cast and Stewart, I got wine and champagne for my efforts.

I’m having a really lazy day today since I slept in until 5.30pm and I’ll probably get back into bed again soon and watch TV for the rest of the day. But hey, I think I deserve it! Of course, now that the show is out of the way, it means it’s time to start work on the next production, Little Shop of Horrors, which opens mid August. The production meeting is next week so there’s not much of a break between shows.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

During the play last night Dale and I played that game where one person writes a line of a story then folds the page over, leaving only a couple of words for the next person to write from. The resulting story was really good and so I’m posting it on here for everyone to enjoy. :)

And then the cow managed to jump off the moon … into a slimy pool of fresh water eels on their way to … Earth so that they could live their lives out just like the cow who managed to make it back to … their bedroom on the faraway planet of Sodexia. … Where all the little Toko’s are squashed by the big prices of cow produce. But because they are so … possesed with the fiery demons od Satan’s underground lair where the Berry family call home. … But then couldn’t call through to the sane people back on Earth becuase the operators of Sodexia didn’t speak the … secret language of the ancients. Their story begins in … a different language of course. So they were stuck all along with no contact home.

Interesting isn’t it. :)

Last night was opening night for Remember Ronald Ryan and everything went off without a hitch! The show was great and is, hopefully, a sign that the great gods of theatre will look upon the rest of the season with open arms.

The long days are going to start to get to me, even if the emotions of the show don’t. I seem to be really emotionally attached to this show, there’s something about it that’s just too real. Of course being the one who actually has to hang Ronald sends a shiver down my spine every time and it pains me to have to feel every movement in the rope as he struggles to his eventual, agonising death. I honestly don’t know how Dan keeps his composure playing that part, it’s a serious challenge.

I’ll let you all know how the other nights go in due course. It’s VIP night tomorrow.

Anyway, back to work for me, but not before saying happy birthday to Chris! (And for clarity, that’s Chris S, not Chris A, Chris D or Chris T!)