My Toosdee

So I'm sitting here at my computer, finally having a day where I can get some of my massage work done. Yay!

The show went up this weekend. For all of you who haven't seen the link, here is the show information: http://whitecatproductions.org/#CurrentShow

Opening went well. The show got mixed reviews that ran the gamut. The talkback was very interesting, the show definitely brings up issues for many people. Come check it out if you can. Had a nice little run-in with the sidewalk opening night. It came up and bit my ankle. Who knows if the vodka had anything to do with it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, it's feeling much better now. Saturdays shows just a little more swagger from Ruth than normal. It became a "drunk thing".

Saw Ly's show again last night, and it re-affirmed everything I'd thought. He made me cry again. It's truly a great role for him.

Sunday was spent lounging, watching movies, adjusting my attitude, and getting some exercise in many senses of the word. I had been around women all week, it was time for some batter up action. Oh we also saw Howl's Moving Castle. Oh my God! I highly recommend it to everyone. I am becoming such a Miyazaki fan. Ly cooked jerk chicken on a bed of greens and sweet potatoes. Le yum! And for the most fattening delightful finish, we had Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mudslide with half and half drizzled over it.

Tap, tap, tap...is this thing on?

Pardon me while I dust off the keyboard. Lately, life has been a series of flashes passing me by while I drive by at 80 mph.

My mother and I actually had a conversation the other day about how I'm getting older, and "don't you think you need to give yourself more time...you do too much..." Uhm yeah, thanks mom, learned from the best. Who loves ya babe? Seriously, it was good to talk to the madre. She's a nutball, but damn I love her.

Massage world has been completely and utterly rewarding lately. I have had some of the most intense, killer sessions with people lately. I have been very, very lucky to receive these people in my practice. Without going into tons of detail, I have a new client who was badly burned in a car wreck many years ago. Most of this person's(who I will call "X") upper body is covered in pretty intense scar tissue: fingers are missing, there was actual muscle loss in the chest, extensive nerve damage throughout. Suffice it to say, this body is pulled very tight with scar tissue and fascial binding. With nerve damage, if there is no feeling in any given area, one cannot do much massage. If there is some feeling, one can do very gentle fascial stretching, and some cranial work. After our first session, X came back a few weeks later for the 2nd session. I talked X into allowing me to work the chest and abdomen where most of the really bad scar tissue resides. X obviously had issues surrounding people seeing it, let alone touching it. As I did some gentle fascial work, I listened for the cranial rhythm. With many people, a practitioner can feel the rhythm within a few minutes, at most. I had to listen very intently with X, because the rhythm seemed to be deeper, more hidden if you will. I was almost in tears during this whole session. Not because I felt sorry for X, but because I kept thinking of what a gift it was (and I don't mean to sound like a bumper sticker) to be allowed to experience this part of X. I thought to myself, if I can give X one moment, one hour of freedom from their life, increased range of motion, increased relaxation and peace, what a fantastic and amazing thing that would be. X and I talked about perspective, and how injuries, burns, car wrecks, etc. can do a lot to help one gain perspective. This is one of the biggest benefits of my bodywork practice.

I have also had many people who have had some really nice emotional releases, and been very brave and forthright in dealing with the energy that we release from their cells. I have also been able to do a lot more cranialsacral in my practice lately, and I'm loving it. I have made a determination to take the cranial certification this year. I will constantly be fascinated, and awed by the power of the body and the mind.

So in other news, my show. It's no secret, I've been stressed as hell about it. I LOVE the women, and men I'm working with. I love the director of the play, she's wonderful. The story is one that I think needs to be told, and the characters are interesting and ready to be developed. The lines just feel impossible to memorize. I almost typed, "the lines ARE impossible to memorize...", but I can't even think that way or it won't happen. There are specifics as to why I feel this way, but I don't feel comfortable typing them online. If anyone is curious, and hasn't already heard me talk about it, send me an email. I've been losing sleep over this show, and as my mother already told me, I'm too old to have that happen anymore. Thanks mom. Moral of the story, read the script before saying yes to doing a show. Anyway, we are heading into tech week, here's to the cast rocking the party, and getting really, really good at improvising. They are some tough fierce bitches I'm working with.

Meanwhile, I am trying to squeeze any sort of billing in between massaging so much, rehearsing, and having my script stapled to my abdomen for easy reference. I will be excited to get this show going so I can get back to focusing on my business. As the Hound mentioned on his blog though, we finally got our taxes off. Here's to hoping Turbo Tax hooked us up. I think things are kosher, but one's never sure when one does one's taxes by oneself. Moral of this story, make enough money to hire an accountant, AND a biller.

And to echo what Beige said about The Swan, the lovely little ditty my Hound is acting in, I have never in my life been moved by a performance like my husband moved me in this show. He made me cry. He accessed vulnerabilities that I haven't seen him access on stage yet, and I've seen him in many, many plays. His physicality, his control of his body, and vocal patterns are unprecedented. He has truly found a role that is perfect for him. And the fact that he was prancing around buck naked on stage for a few pages didn't hurt either. I saw it opening night, and I was like, "uhm yeah...that's mine...and it is GUD!"

There were other things I wanted to say, but they escape me now, and my hands are very tired from working all day and then rehearsing. I hope to be back sooner than later. I WILL be more active in blog world, starting next Monday. The show opens on Friday.

And until then, I leave you with a line from my show...

"The vagina has muscles that are crucial to pleasing a man."