Week in Review

Well I have to say, it sure has been a lovely week. It took us a few days to get unpacked, but we were done by Monday afternoon. By Wednesday, I believe that the last month or so finally caught up to me, as I could barely walk I was so tired. I honestly thought something was very wrong with me. I could hardly keep my eyes open, I couldn't breathe correctly. Something wasn't right. So Rob put me back to bed after lunch, and I slept for two hours. When I awoke, I felt somewhat better, but was still a little dizzy and drowsy. I ended up laying in bed for another three hours reading Deathly Hallows. By Thursday morning, I was right as rain. I came to understand that maybe, just maybe, I needed to slow down and get some rest, and to listen to my body. I've been taking it easy ever since, reading my book, hanging out with Maddy, watching TV. It is so indulgent, which is a luxury I never afford myself, but it has been wonderful.

On Monday, the cable man came and hooked everything up, as well as the piano movers. It was a breath of fresh air when they brought the ol' girl back to us. She is in desperate need of tuning, but she looks and sounds good, and we are glad to have her back.


It's also a good thing she is back because now I have ample time to practice and get "The Ladies" back in shape. The ol' chords haven't worked much since May, which is quite unfortunate. But I worked yesterday and they seem to be in pretty good shape: they just need a little exercise is all. And now I have an excuse. My dear old friends at New Stage Collective in Cincinnati are in a bit of a bind and called to ask if I would come sing a one-night only concert performance of Jason Robert Brown's, The Last Five Years.


This is one of my absolute favorite contemporary musicals about a young couple telling the tale of their relationship that has gone bad. Cathy tells the story backward, and Jamie, telling it forward. I was quite honored to be asked, and thought it would be a super way to reconnect with old friends, as well as learn the role! I'm quite excited to participate, as I will be singing with my dear friend Michael Shawn Starks, who it seems I'm always singing opposite. Which is wonderful, becuase MS and I are close friends with a sizzling on-stage chemistry.

(Michael Shawn and I, Chess 2006)

This morning Rob and I had the pleasure of strolling a few of the Farmer's Markets, picking up our weekly produce as well as some beautiful Midwestern flowers. The weather has been sunny, warm and humid, and I will never, for as long as I live, complain about the humidity of the Midwest. It is welcome after a year of 58 and partly cloudy.

The Odyssey

"We're on the Road to Nowhere... Come on inside."


When I was young, I was like most teenagers. Filled with wanderlust, I desperately tried to get as far from my home town as possible. I was starry-eyed, knowing that I was to take the world as my own. I would be famous, talented beyond recognition, and that would make all the childish people I went to high school with ridiculously jealous and wish they had always been kind to me.

As I have grown older, I realized that I didn't need anyone to tell me what it was that was going to make me happy. It was hidden deep within all along. And that all the emotional bullshit I lived through while residing here the first time was something I needed to get past. It didn't matter if I lived here or Cincinnati or California or wherever. I wasn't ready for what was about to happen to me, but I began to understand that going home, coming full circle, I could come to terms with who and what I had become. And that, despite what I had thought previously, I had really lived.

Enjoy the account of our odyssey home!

Monday, July 16
We commenced our five-day trip back to the Quad Cities. As usual, it was a rainy, cloudy day in Humboldt County. We did not weep at our ascent into the Trinity Mountains, where the fog lifted and we saw the sun for the first time in close to 4 weeks.

(First day in the car)


We drove along the 299, enjoying the beautiful green hills of California, and were happy to know this was the last time we would ever see it.



We arrived in Redding, where we would hop onto I-5 south toward Sacramento, at around noon. A few hours later, we were getting onto I-80 East. This was an exciting moment, just knowing this was the road that would take us home.



The drive through the Sierras is sort of scary, but the view of the Lake Tahoe area was just beautiful. It was sunny and warm.



My little munchkin was sedated the first four days of the trip. Look at those droopy eyes!



We arrived in Reno, our first stop, after about 9 hours in the car. We were quite tired, but still wanted to see the exciting city. We showered and headed downtown, leaving Mrs. Sleepyton at the La Quinta. Also, the dry, desert air was a welcome relief after all the damp humidity we suffered through for a year in Eureka.



Our first stop was at the ElDorado All-you-can-eat Buffet. We dined on crab legs, roast beef, taters. All kinds of stuff! And this was Vegas-style, baby. It was great quality, so we stuffed ourselves silly before heading out to the casino.

(Rob and his full belly)






We walked down to Circus Circus, where we saw a magic show and played Time Crisis at the arcade before heading to the slots. We won $10 and called it a night.





Tuesday, July 17

We hit the road at 9am for Salt Lake City, Utah. This was to be a long day, as it was the most mileage we would put on our vehicles in one stretch. I wasn't looking forward to it, as we would be driving through the Bonneville Salt Flats again. However, my dear friend Kevin called to help pass the time. We chatted for close to two hours (thank you, my love!!). On the drive through Nevada, we drove through a tunnel in a mountain. Before heading inside, I told Kev this is what it must be like to be born- coming out a hole and seeing the light at the other end. I commented, however, on how this was a man-made vagina, and Kevin coined the forever-remembered term "Ma-gina".


The big news of the day was all the brush fires Nevada was suffering from. It was extraordinarily hot and dry this summer, and half of Nevada was on fire while we were driving through. We were stopped at one point, for about 20 minutes, while the road crews made sure it was safe. We got through, but heard on the radio that about an hour after we passed through Elko, NV, I-80 was closed indefinately because the fire had reached the highway, burned across the interstate, and was burning the desert on the opposite side. We thanked our lucky stars we got through when we did.

(Driving through brush fire smoke in NV)


We hit Utah sometime in the afternoon, and drove through those annoying flats yet again.



(Sweet Jesus, not again)


When we were just outside Salt Lake, we hit a horrible storm. However, the sun still shone, and we saw close to 8-9 rainbows driving into the city. It was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen.





After we got settled in, I called my friend Matt Timion, who lives in town, and he picked us up for a late dinner. I hadn't seen Matt since 1995, just after my graduation from high school. It was definately a great night, drinking Sapporo, eating great sushi, and chatting it up about our youth.

(Matt and I)


(Matt, Rob and I, and the fat sumo guy at the sushi place)


Wednesday, July 18



It was to be a pretty short day driving to Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was another beautiful, sunny day, driving through the state. Wyoming is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Only 500,000 people in Wyoming, there is more space than there are people. And I was priveleged to have my dear friend Thurman call while driving across the Utah border. Thanks for calling, Thurm!

(The beautiful hills of Utah, and Rob in front of me)


In the summer of 2000, I met a wonderfully kind man named Matt Nicol. I had joined the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, and being a great lover of blues himself, we met at a bar where a local blues band was playing (the Quad Cities is a blues-heavy town, being so close to Chicago and all). I will admit that I always had this lusty crush on Matt, with him even being 18 years my senior. He's a hottie, no doubt about it. During that same summer, I met his daughter Jess, who is also the same age as me. We had a group of us girls that always would go out together, and Matt would often be at those bars, too, listening to those local blues bands. Matt moved to Cheyenne a few years back for his job, and loves the area very much. We were quite honored to spend the evening with him when we were in town. He took us out to the Lucky 7 Steakhouse for an amazing dinner.


Afterward, Matt took us to the Golf Club he belongs to and introduced us to his friends. What a group these people were. A bunch of characters, they took us in as their own, and we had a wonderful time drinking and laughing it up. Thanks Matt!


Thursday, July 19

That next morning, it was onto Nebraska.



Nebraska is extremely boring. It's very flat, long, and there is NOTHING to look at. I recommend highly you avoid Nebraska at all costs when traveling West. Just don't do it. Although because it's so flat and long, Nebraska, like Nevada, Utah and Wyoming before it, has a 75 MPH speed limit. I like driving fast.


We got to Omaha around 5pm. We were so exhausted we got some take-out and ordered the movie Waitress on our hotel TV. If you haven't seen this movie, you must. Keri Russell is brilliant. I won't spoil it, but you do get what you want in the end, just not in the way you expect it. Go see it!


Friday, July 20

Our last day, a short one. We only spent 5 hours in the car that day, from Omaha to home. It was relatively uneventful. We didn't sedate Maddy that day, and she was happy to be alert and awake!



You always know you're close to home when you get to Walcott, and the World's Largest Truckstop.


Almost home!



We arrived at my folks house at 1pm, exhausted, testy, smelly, and ready to be out of the car. We celebrated with Mom and Bert that night at Governor's, eating on the patio.



After dinner, Rob and I decided it was time to have some Whitey's Ice Cream, food of the Gods.






Well friends, everything is unpacked. The phone is working, the internet and cable is hooked up, and the piano arrived today. Nothing else left to report except that I am exhausted. I need a vacation. But I am so damned happy to be home.

One Year: A Retrospect

What is the price of clarity? What would you pay to, lets say, uncover your true self? To wonderfully and completely understand, down to your very core, who you are? To feel comfortable in your skin, to accept each and every part of your being you never thought you could live with? To love yourself, and your mate, unconditionally? What might you do, to finally understand?

A year ago, I drove away from Cincinnati. What was my life there came to an abrupt halt. After 3 years, I had finally found a place that I belonged to. I belonged to Chuck, Mark, Keith, Charlie, a group of individuals who loved and accepted me despite my flighty-ness, quirks, insane need for emotional connection and love. I didn't need to be anything less than who I was. I had a comfortable life as a voice teacher and a fun little place in local theatre. But what came next? I had finally come to terms with what was holding me back in my relationship with my husband, and realized, all along, I had what I wanted and needed within the confines of my marriage. But after starting work on that, what was left? When Rob was offered the job in California, I asked myself that very question. "What comes next, Al? Yes, you have some amazing friends who mean the world to you (which was almost reason enough for me to stay), but your studio could be fuller. You could start your theatre company in a town where they are a dime a dozen, where everyone else does the shows you want to do... and badly. You could take a few paltry roles, or fight the two Cincinnati Aging Crones (I won't mention any names, but those reading this should know exactly who I'm talking about) for the really good ones."

And I realized, I didn't want to fight the CA Crones for roles I could care less about. I didn't want to try like hell to make a studio fuller when Paul, Pat and Carl have the market cornered (as well they should, because they are all amazing teachers). I didn't want to start my theatre company in Cincinnati. A little too post-mod for my tastes. So what was next? Dare I leave my comfortable life for something a little less... warm?

When we came to California, I was frightened. Never had I lived so far from family. Never had I been so disconnected from the world I knew. In this place, I felt myself wither away. I had no students. I had no theatre. I had no voice, no emotional connection to anyone but Rob. The quiet was maddening. I found myself in a dark place, where I couldn't understand if the weather made me sad, or my lack of passion, or both.

Suddenly, I realized the quiet was there for a reason. Sometimes, you need the silence so you can hear what you've been trying to tell yourself for so long. And it hit me, this moment of clarity, where I understood why I had come here. Of course I came to support my husband, and in turn, we got something so incredibly wonderful, fate must have stepped in. But one afternoon, I was driving on the highway, and the sun was finally shining, and I felt elated. I had come to California to get away from all the distractions my little life held in Cincinnati. I look back on my life there, and I see so many happy times. But I also see so many heart-breaking, confusing, muddled times where I just felt as if I was thrown into a blender and someone hit Puree. And I take responsibility for each and every one of those moments with pride. While here, on the edge of the Earth, where the sun never shines and people are always high, I began to know who I was. I became one with what it was that I wanted and needed to make myself happy. To thrive in my relationship with my husband. To fulfill the wants and needs of my career. So how in the world could I ever pass something like that up?

I guess to answer my own question, the price of clarity is simply... priceless. Ask yourself what you might pay for something like this. Would you give up a year of your life, just as I? I hated each and every moment I spent here. I will never, ever look back and regret leaving. But I'll tell you this: I would do it all over again just to feel like I feel right now. Not driving away. Now, I'm driving toward.

On the Road again

More Jack Kerouac than Willie Nelson. Which I think makes me sound much more cool.

We picked up the truck this morning, who we have deemed "Bess". She is a good truck, much better than last years. Plus this year, we have a car carrier instead of a tow dolly, which mean all four wheels are off the ground. However, disengaging the carrier was a beast, as it does weigh 1900 pounds... yes friends, an entire ton. Try getting that bitch back on. Although, I am sort of a badass, so we got it taken care of. Tomorrow morning, we board Maddy for the evening, pack up Bess, load the car onto the carrier, clean the apartment. Monday morning, we pick up Ms. Thang, and out of town we go. Many of you have been wondering the driving plan. As I've stated, we'll be taking the drive in 5 days, rather than 3 like last year. Since Augustana has so graciously supplied us with moving expenses, we decided not to kill ourselves this year. I will not be liveblogging the trip, but rather writing a big long entry when we return to the QC and get settled. Prepare yourselves. I'm sure there will be many pics and stories.

Here is the itinerary-

Monday- drive to and stop for the night in Reno, NV. Play slots and gorge at All-you-can-eat Lobster Buffet. Hope for celebrity sighting.

Tuesday- drive to and stop for the night in Salt Lake City, UT. Be glad we will never have to see the Bonneville Salt Flats again. See my long lost high school friend Matt Timion, who I haven't seen since 1994!

Wednesday- drive to and stop for the night in Cheyenne, WY. Be happy the mountains are no longer in my rearview, dinner and drinks with our friend Matt Nicol, who we haven't seen since our wedding.

Thursday- drive to and stop for the night in Omaha, NE. Being in the beef capital of the world, must find steakhouse.

Friday- finish up the last four hours to the QC, where we will be welcomed with lots of drinks on the patio at Govenor's, the best outdoor bar/eatery in the QC. Hope to finish with Whitey's Ice Cream.

Week in Review

Well friends, only 8 more days. 8 days until we take off on our 5 day odyssey to happiness. Do I feel a bit like Odysseus? Sure. Except there was no Trojan War, fall of Troy or evil bad dudes to fight off once we return there. I think we fought off enough evil baddies here to last a lifetime.

Almost everything is packed. We're eating off paper plates with plastic utensils, and it has never felt better. Just now doing last minute things like getting my eyebrows/bikini waxed tomorrow, picking up the dogs "Doggie Downers" from the vet, and visiting with a family that was in my Music Explorers class this past Spring. Life is good. Here's hoping that the trip goes smoothly.

Rob and I had a day off together yesterday. Yes friends, an entire day together. We walked around the mall, had lunch out, then went to see Pixar's new flick, Ratatouille.
I'm sure all of you know the plot behind this new picture, but for those of you who don't, it's about an adorable rat named Remy who realizes he has a culinary gift, that his family isn't too apt to agree with. The family gets seperated, and Remy finds himself in the City of Lights, directly under the restaurant of famous chef Auguste Gusteau, his hero who penned the Julia Child-esqe books "Anyone can cook!". He meets a young garbage boy working at the restaurant, who dreams of a better life, and the two agree to help each other out- Remy will get to cook, and the boy will, in turn, catch the eyes of the cities elite. It is a wonderful story with a stellar ending you won't see coming. I myself am a huge Pixar fan. While I love all of them, The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. still remain my favorites, but I'm pretty sure Ratatouille will be added as a third favorite. And Peter O'Toole turns in an amazing performance as Anton Ego, the Paris food critic who panned Gusteaus restaurant many years before. He is a man you love to hate, who warms your heart in the end. The music is spot on, composed by The Incredibles and Alias musician Michael Giacchino, and there are moments, like in all Pixar films, you cannot believe this is computer generated. The characters, the Paris skyline, food looks so real, it's impossible that it isn't. Of course the genius behind this and many other Pixar movies is Brad Bird. Sure the Toy Story movies were good, but once this guy came to Pixar, these movies just kept getting better and better. Now, Rob and I are kicking ourselves for NOT getting pictures and autographs when we saw three stars of this new picture in the San Francisco airport on our trip back home, Janeane Garofalo as Collette, Patton Oswalt as Remy, and Bird himself. I'm sure, however, they wouldn't be so apt to do so, as it was 5:30 in the morning. Anyway, I highly recommend. Go see it now!!

Mid-week report

Hello all.

Nothing much to report that is new. Just a few tidbits.
Like how in 11 days I will be out of here! Yahoo!!

Also, keeping my friend Tracy in my thoughts. She found a lump in her breast a few days ago at a routine doctors visit. Hoping it's nothing serious as she anxiously awaits to schedule a mammogram. Thinking of you, girl!

In other news, congrats to Les and Corey on their new house!!! They close August 1, and this is such a wonderful thing for them. Secretly, I'm excited to bring over Maddy so she can play with Gracie and Booda in that new backyard. Congrats, loves!!

All for now, kiddies.