Last Chance for Fun!

Updated!

For those of you that don't know - one of my best friends (Dustin McClain) is getting married this summer to Katie Winebarger. When he proposed, he also asked me to be his best man. Now we all know what the best man's REAL job is.

To throw a killer bachelor party!

Well, due to mine and Dustin's nature... we're not really into the traditional bachelor party fare (aka - vomitting from being sloshed and strippers). So I figured out a really awesome idea to make it an awesome party. Next weekend, 6 guys are headed off to Gatlinburg, TN, to live it up for one last weekend of fun (before Dustin's not allowed to have anymore). We rented a cabin and a van, and are headed down Friday morning, and won't return until Monday afternoon/evening.

Less than 7 days to go! (at time of posting - 6 days: 23 hours: 28 seconds)

Update:
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Oh yeah, if you want to check out the cabin we're staying at and it's amenities, click here.

Housekeeping

Did a bit of housekeeping on the ole' blog tonight. Got rid of a few links where people rarely (if ever) updated them. Also added a new one.

Update! Update! Update!!

My Design Portfolio has been updated. Go check it out.

Quick! Hurry!

Comments. Questions?

Today, I switched to Blogger's Comments from CommentThis. The cool thing is... all the previous comments will still be there, just the posts from now on will have the new comment style. The reason I did this was due to the CommentThis servers being down for a few days. This way it'll be an all or nothing kind of deal. I've enjoyed CommentThis, and who knows... may go back to them eventually, but they've had problems in the past, so I'm going to try my luck with the Blogger comments. Hope you all enjoy!

-spg

Free Time

Okay, so I've got 18 days until I leave again for Jenny Wiley. Here's a few possibilities for my free time. I'm either going to be:

a) productive
b) lazy
c) counter-productive
d) counter-lazy
e) a small ethiopian child
f) none of the above
g) all the above
h) 30 mph
i) a rock
j) paper
k) scissors
l) or a combination of some of the above, but not others

Somebody Hates Me

Lyrics by Reel Big Fish (from "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" album)

did you misunderstand something that i did
or was there one of my jokes that you didn't get
or do you think you've got the way i think all figured out.
what did i say, to make you feel i'm not cool now?

i know,
no matter what no matter who no matter what i do,
somebody hates me, and i hate somebody too.
i know its wrong, but i do it too
and i guess i should say,
don't let it get to you

Seussical - Part Two

SOLD OUT

[no rhyming this time... not even for a dime] (D'oh)

Seussical - Opening Night

What a great performance by such a talented group of young adults. The show went off without a hitch, and the singers were all on pitch. The audience raised a loud noise, and the cast was greeted with great joys.

Mark Smith and crew put on one heck of a show. And it feels great to be open, don't you know.

So from Georgia to Who to Solla Salloo, have a great night, and I'll see all my friends soon.

Atlanta, revisited

Well, down in Atlanta... yes, again. We had our final dress rehearsal tonight for 'Seussical'... and we open tomorrow night. I still have a few polishing up items to take care of... but it's a phenomincal show. This is kind of a school play on crack kind of deal. It's a school show, but with professional scenic, lighting, and sound design. And Mark Smith (director) is a supremely talented and accomplished director. With such high production value going on, you might think, "yeah, but it's still a cheesey school production." Well, you'd be wrong. While not ALL the actors/singers are Broadway material... there are a few stand out performers in the bunch - Nia (The Cat in the Hat) & Katie (JoJo) are two such performers. Great stage presence, wonderful timing, talented voices, and absolutely sweet people.

If you happen to be around the Atlanta area this weekend and want to take in a great show... gimme a call, I'll get you in touch with the right people and we'll get you some tickets.

Oh, and of course, later, you'll be able to catch a few moments from the show in my design portfolio gallery.

Signing off - spg

Home... ?

Hey Gang. I'm home from my 2 week stint as Stage Manager and Props Master at Jenny Wiley Theatre. It was a good time, lots of work, lots of fun, and lots of friendly familiar faces. Here's a quick run-down:

Worked
Ate
Slept
Drank (some)
Geeked out a bit
Worked
Was invited to dinner by a local cast member
Watched Smallville Season 3 DVDs
Watched a few of Buffy Season 3 (4?) DVDs
Hung out with friends around a fire
Cooked food on said fire (hobo burgers)

Good times, yeah, I know. Well, now I'm off to Atlanta Georgia for another gig. I'm designing lights for a show called 'Seussical' for one of my good friends, Mark Smith. I'm down there for a week... and I'm not sure if I'll have internet access or not. Just know that I'm doing well, and if any of you gets the bug and wants to drop me a quick call... feel free to do so! Hearing a friendly voice in a sea of strange faces is an uplifting feeling.

Now... i'm off.

Worth

Do you ever have those days when you just feel like you're not worth anything to anybody?

I have them sometimes. I've had a couple of those days kind of recently and it pretty much blows huge chunks. I'm talking about one of those days where nothing goes right. You feel pretty useless at work, you don't feel like that good of a friend, and just generally a waste of oxygen.

But on the other end... there are those awesome days... the days when every friend you know calls you - or in my case, both of them ;) - and you have great advice, or just a really fun and light conversation with them. And at work... the ideas won't STOP coming... and you have this uncanny 8th sense about how the best and quickest way to accomplish your tasks is. I haven't really had any of these days... well, not in a while, anyway. But I've come close to them before. I've had a couple of days close to that recently, too. Those are much better than the other ones.

Now - Naked Shaven Mud-Wrestling Grizzly Bears!

Forecast

:UPDATED:
Weather forecast for Wednesday, April 6, 2005.

Dark Skies. Cloudy. With a good chance of thunderstorms.

Also be on the lookout for floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and tornados.


[note: not an actual weather forecast]

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update: 8:26pm
No actual storms or anything. Clouds are mostly gone... but the sky doesn't seem quite as blue as it did yesterday.

Back to Work

Well, I'm down in Prestonsburg, KY, again. I'm here Stage Managing 'Babe, the Sheep-Pig', a play based on the hit box-office record breaker 'Babe'. Yeah, the one with the talking pig... and NO we're not having an actual pig on stage.

All's well, and pretty much how it was at the end of my last job here. The office staff is super cool and fun as always... like a big family. The crew are a couple of guys I worked with last summer, and a lot of fun to hang around... yeah, they're good workers, too. The cast ... well, mostly kids... and I know about half of them from previous gigs. There's only 4 people in the adult cast, all of whom I've worked with before, and are great people.

Not sure how often I'll post while I'm here... so in the words of Jim Carrey in "The Truman Show" - "... If I don't see ya'... good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"

... Happily Ever After

Just got home from my cousin Jenny (Glascock) Anderson's wedding. What a beautiful ceremony! And what a fun reception!!

This wedding had all the classic ingredients - beautiful ceremony, beautiful bride, crying relatives (happy tears), the cute kids on the dance floor, the weird drunk old guy, hot single women, dancing, a great band, and at least one gay guy who can really dance and show all us "movers" up.

It really was a blast though. I got to see three of my cousins, whom I have not seen in well over 13 years. Jenny (the bride), Tom, and Jill. These are all cousins on my dad's side. And it was SO nice to see them all again, and they seemed really happy to see me too.

I miss getting to see that side of my family as much, but it's tough that Jill and Jenny live in Atlanta. I don't really have much of an excuse not to see my aunt Jane or Tommy... my aunt lives in Winchester (30 minutes away?), and Tommy lives around Cinci, OH... which is on my way to my mom's house.

To me it was a family reunion of sorts. It really was a great time, I just hope it doesn't have to be another 13 years before I see all of them again. In fact, it's my goal to make sure it's not another 13 years.

I have some pictures to post - I'll dump 'em on here when I get home.

Okay, if I ramble on too much longer, all the alcohol is going to get to me and I'm going to start whining. And I know you don't want that.

More to come... (?)

Swank

Down in Atlanta, GA, right now. My mom and I are down here for my cousin Jenny's wedding. She's one of the few cousins I have on my dad's side, and I haven't seen any of them in something like 10 - 13 years. Two of them (Jill and Jenny) live in/around Atlanta, the other one (Tommy) lives around Cinci. I'm super excited to see all of them - we actually just had lunch with my Aunt Jane and Tommy in the Hotel Restaurant... which brings me to the original point of this post.

Swank.

We're staying at the Marriott Suites in Mid-town Atlanta. This room is uber-nice. It's actually a suite - has a king size bed, a pull out sofa-bed, a bathroom with a shower and separate tub, two TV's, a mini-fridge, High Speed Internet Access, and a really neat view of Midtown. We found out that this room normally rents for over $300.00 a night!!! Since we're with the wedding group, we're staying here for $90.00 a night... how awesome is that!?!!??

The REALLY awesome part that I'm fascinated with is how helpful and friendly the whole staff is. I've never stayed at a nice hotel before where there was a concierge, "bellhops", doormen, and such hospitality. Everyone that sees you tells you to have a nice day, asks if you need anything, and we're using the Valet Service for the car... that's really nice to just hand your keys off and let someone else park the car, and when you want it, just call down and ask for it.

I'm taking pictures and I'll post some when I get home (I don't have the means to get them onto my computer til then). I'll probably post later tonight after the wedding.

I know - you guys are all on the edge of your seats, aren't you?