Time for a bit of shameless self-promotion. I know my thousands... er ok, hundreds... tens of readers?.. ...ok two (happy?) the two people who read my blog are probably not dying to know but well, I'm just going to press on anyway and talk about my show that goes up the Friday after this.

Here's the official description on the Masquers website.

Having fallen for a glamorous movie starlet, the Earl of Marshwood brings his fiancée to the ancestral home to the absolute horror of his mother and servants. This glittering comedy set in the early 1950's highlights a delightful collision between starry Hollywood and stiff-upper-lip England. In the very best Coward tradition, chaos escalates from one farcical turn to another, spurring delicious dialogue, skillful asides and hilarious repartee.

Director Robert Taylor chose the play after seeing the movie version made in 2000 with Julie Andrews and Colin Firth. “The dialogue and plot got my attention and I began to think it would make a wonderful piece for the Masquers stage. I was thrilled when the theater felt the same way.”

Things have been going well of late. We hit a few bumps in the road but we'll pull it together in the end. Most of my work on the show will not be seen (Stage Manager), but I'm also a star-struck maid in a few scenes. The show is very cute and just fun.

So if you happen to stumble on my blog and happen to live in the San Franciso Bay Area, come on by!

"Why don't things ever go smooth?"

I'm stealing a line from one of my all-time favorite television shows, "Firefly".

I'm not really going to write much other than a feeling-sorry-for-myself ode because I have too much going on, and so much of it going badly.

For the second year in a row my Vehicle Registration renewal didn't come in the mail. So I've had to jump through hoops to get that done. Frickin DMV! This included getting a smog check (for the first time) on my vehicle. Grrr! Of course it passed it's only 5 years old and a Toyota! So there's $50 down the hole.

My car needs new tires. My tires on the left hand side need topping off about every two weeks. Since the leak is so slow I'm putting it off.

Chase (my former credit card company) decided to raise my annual rate to 30%, OUT OF THE BLUE! I've never missed a payment and they've made a butt-load of money off me over the years. Not only that bullsh*t but they did it in the most underhanded manner. A few months before this increase they raised my credit limit, again, out of the blue. Gee, perhaps they wanted me to get deeper in debt before they screwed me? You be the judge. On Valentine's Day I get this little pamphlet in the mail, which totally looked like junk mail, I just by chance didn't throw it away. In it, they describe in VERY COMPLICATED language that they are going to raise my rate unless I contact them IN WRITING by February 20th (six f*cking days). What bullsh*t is this? F*CK THEM! I'm sure most of the lucky selected saps they did this to will only discover it at the end of the month when they get their statement. Not only that but then they send me this ridiculous offer that if I book travel and accommodations, they'll give me one lousy free ticket to Disneyland. Hmmm, maybe they want me to spend more money before I discover they jacked the price up on me? I am forced to believe this since I've never, ever received such an offer from Chase before. So I got a new credit card with my current bank at a much more reasonable rate.

But who needs this crap?! So I had to go around and stop the automatic recurrent payments that go on this card (you're not allowed to do this over the phone), just adding to my busyness and annoyance and anger. Not to mention I just found out one of the payments that I bothered to go out and change didn't take, as the charge ended up on the wrong card anyway.

My cat had worms! I had to go get him de-wormed. Aargh and eewww!

Let's see what else? The play I'm working on has been hindered at every turn. We've got a great group of people but we've had two actors drop out for personal reasons, difficulty in replacing them, set problems, and difficulty in having rehearsals where everyone can attend. The show is opening in two weeks and we're just not where we need to be. I have a small part and I'm the stage manager. More aggravation and nervousness and also fatigue as we rehearse several weeknights every week until about 10pm. I know we'll work it out in the end, somehow, it's just aggravating.

I am now a Notary Public but I had to do quite a lot in order to complete the transaction, including ordering supplies, purchasing a bond, getting reimbursement (this is for work), going down to the County offices to file my bond and taking my oath of office. Busy! But at least that's done with.

Our office flooded again, (from the sewer line, feh!) putting back getting new carpet installed indefinitely. I'm walking around on concrete and carpet glue (like I have been for the last 3 months) and it's driving me crazy!

What else can I complain about?

Eh, I'm out of steam. Well, this was kind of cathartic actually.

"I sleep now!" (stealing another line, this time from "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra")

Sigh

I shouldn't really be writing a post but I just have to say this little thing. I'm sick of everyone being so f*cking sensitive. I often find that my mode of expression ends up getting me in hot water. First off, I'm no marketing person. I like to call things what they are. If I like an expression I use it. Usually it's an expression that's strong and actually mean something.

If someone is acting irritable, I'll say they are being pissy. I like that word. Don't you? The connotation is clear. I mean, irritable is so bland. So I'll use pissy and people get upset. I mean I sort of get it but then I really don't.

I don't know where I'm going with this I'm just tired of people taking things personally, not putting them into perspective as to how much they should take something personally, and sweating the small stuff!!!

Has your life ever felt like this?

This little speech from My Cousin Vinny has popped into my head a couple of times this week because of TOO MUCH CRAP going on in mine. Maybe I'll explain, but in the meantime I'm borrowing from the movie...

I don't need this. I swear to God, I do not need this right now, okay? I've got a judge that's just aching to throw me in jail. An idiot who wants to fight me for two hundred dollars. Slaughtered pigs. Giant loud whistles. I ain't slept in five days. I got no money, a dress code problem, AND a little murder case which, in the balance, holds the lives of two innocent kids. Not to mention your [taps his foot] BIOLOGICAL CLOCK - my career, your life, our marriage, and let me see, what else can we pile on? Is there any more SHIT we can pile on to the top of the outcome of this case? Is it possible?

Say it ain't so!

Aw crap, so it was true about Don Knotts!? My clock radio went off a few mornings ago with the presenters talking about what sounded like someone from The Andy Griffith Show had died, but it was the tail end of it and sounded rather vague and ended up sounding like a plug for a DVD set.

I had the Today Show on while I got dressed (which I don't normally do) foolishly believing that if someone like Don Knotts had died, they'd mention it or do a tribute or something. Nothing!

When I got to work, I flipped onto the Yahoo entertainment news web page to see if there was anything there because SURELY if someone like Don Knotts died, there'd be something on it. I didn't see anything. So I dismissed it. I found out this morning from my sister in an email.

I'M SERIOUSLY BUMMED!

I think in tribute we should all nip something in the bud.