Weekly Update

Health-I was having a great week. Doing my cardio AND pilates, feeling fabulous. Friday night, I'm sitting reading a book and notice the back of my left arm starts to itch. Uh oh, I think. I know what this is. Yes, folks, I have shingles. AGAIN. For the THIRD time. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's basically the chicken pox virus. It lies dormant in your spine after your first brush with the pox as a youngster, then rears it's ugly head during times of great stress or when your immune system is weakened. For a grander synopsis of the disease and all it's beauty, click here. It starts out with a nasty itch, just like the chicken pox when you're a kid. After the blisters break open, the itch becomes just about the worst pain you will ever feel. Because this is a nervous system ailment, it travels down your nerves and hits a singular spot on your body. Mine always picks the back of my left arm. I'm lucky- most people get it on their backs or somewhere on the midsection. Right now, I'm in the healing blister/screaming pain section of the virus. It basically feels like my entire arm is on fire right now. Advil or Tylenol takes care of some of the pain, but at this second, the pain is shooting into my hand/fingers and makes it nearly impossible to do much else except whisper FUCK under my breath. After it runs it's course, the pain usually sticks around for about 6-8 weeks, just to torment me. It's great fun. Being the third time, I know the protocol by now. Take it easy. Don't wear anything with sleeves- the slightest breeze or touch sends shooting pain through my arm. Take something for the pain. Put calamine lotion on to take the itch away. Stay away from kids or anyone whose never had chicken pox before for a few days.
To completely gross you out, here's a picture of my arm. Sweet.


Friends and such- Last night, a group of us went to see Urinetown, put on by the Showbiz Players. I really enjoyed the show! It was well-acted, and beautifully sung. It helped that Bunny and Tom cast a super group of people. We all had a super time before, having drinks and a bite at Arthur's in Hyde Park. Beers on the patio, a beautiful night, great company. Couldn't ask for a more lovely evening.


Performing- Despite the shingles, I performed Saturday at Summerfair. It's going on it's 40th year or something like this. What a great event! Artists from all over the country come to sell and display works of art. Painting, glass, woodworking, fabrics. It was great to see such an array of beautiful pieces of art. And the gathering of so many different people from all walks of life. It was a gorgeous day- 75 and sunny with a slight breeze. Rob and I performed for a half hour, all musical theatre, jazz and cabaret stuff. We had a great crowd of close to 50 people, I'd say. Everyone had such great things to say, and a dude from a jazz orchestra in Northern Ohio chatted with me about coming to do a guest artist gig with his band! Very cool.
Everyone keeps asking me what my next show/gig is going to be. So let me just put it out there- I HAVE NO IDEA. I would like to enjoy my summer this year. Every summer since 2001, something has been cooking. 2002- move to Cincinnati. 2003- Planning wedding. 2004- Side Show. 2005- Kimberly Akimbo, directing The Second Beam and chair of the Sunday in the Park with George gala. I'm ready for a summer off, people! I know my adoring public wants to see me on stage again, but I'm taking some time off. There are two shows I'm thinking of auditioning for coming up in the fall. That's the first thing I'm thinking of for now. Plus there is a lot of work I need to be doing for me. My soul needs a little taking care of first. Then I'll be ready to dive back in.

X-men 3- Now I'm no X-men fan or anything, but I'm a huge geek about the movies. Rob and I saw The Last Stand on Friday. Bryan Singer, of course, directed the first two, which catapulted the man to stardom and elite A-status in the action/adventure realm of movie-making. The man is a genius. As a side note, his Superman Returns, coming out soon, looks amazing. The trailer looks like you're watching a comic book come to life. Brett Ratner took over the spot as director when, coincidently, his directing of Superman Returns starting going sour (too bad Singer couldn't direct both). Although Last Stand was quite good, it didn't have the heart and soul of the first two movies. The editing was choppy, the dialogue was awkward, and the actors looked as though they were thinking "I'm just here for the big-ass paycheck". The plot was entertaining enough, but you could tell there was a lot of backstory to many of the new characters we didn't get to see. Such as Ben Foster as Angel, Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Ellen Page as Shadowcat. However, I'm a fool for anything where Hugh Jackman as Wolverine always somehow manages to lose a shirt and looks that rugged. Woof.