Steamin' hot cup of Hoffee

Watch this and laugh your arse off . . . !!!! Small print I have to include: That's right, it's Hofficial... your favourite cult icon wants to take you home! The one and only David Hasselhoff of "Bay Watch" and "Knight Rider" fame returns with a cover of the 1975 classic 'Jump In My Car' and its a doozy. Recorded in Sydney last year with the legendary Harry Vanda (AC/DC, The Angels), the Ted Mulry Gang tune has been re-vamped with full Hoff gusto and this music video promises to rock the socks off all his Hofficial fans. Watch it, enjoy it, share it on Google Video, courtesy of Sony BMG Australia. Want more? Buy the buy the track on iTunes Australia by clicking here: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=155871591&s=143460

48 hours

I am - once again - in that odd place of wired and tired poat-show, but I think I'll be able to sleep in an hour. yay!

4 shows in 48 hours...that is a crazy schedule. After Friday night's show, a handful of us headed out to the St. Regis (conveniently across the street from the theater) for a drink and some laughs (and little wasabi peanuts!). Tonight, though, after two shows...I think we were all wiped and just went home. But tomorrow...post matinee, AH there is a cast party! I'm hoping to go to dinner with my parents and then go to the party.

I'm so grateful that they came out to see the show, along with my aunt. I feel bad because I've barely seen them at all this weekend (and AF leaves tomorrow afternoon), but there wasn't any way around that. Mom's coming in the morning to cook brunch(!) I'm so happy!

For some reason, something made me think about my grandmother earlier tonight backstage (Nana, mom and AF's mother). There are times when I really miss her. I think she would've loved Ruddygore. . . she knew how have a good laugh, that one...

yawn...........

neck is doing better, thank goodness. went to the chiropractor for some adjustments which helped a ton. that and frozen peas.

i am exhausted. i'm still in ''performance'' mode (read: 1am bedtime) despite the fact that I have to get up to work every morning. so, tonight i'm going to attempt to sleep at a reasonable hour, and I think I just might actually be able to do so.

my folks and aunt come in late tomorrow to see the show this weekend. i am so looking forward to performing again this weekend that I get all fluttery inside just thinking about it. it's been a long time since i've felt like this about singing, i think.

i've also done about 5 crosswords today...the SF chronicle and then about 4 nyt's online. (I subscribed to the crossword puzzles for a year, and am working my way through some archived puzzles). I'm working my way up through this weeks, but then have been doing Monday and Tuesday archived puzzles...you know, getting my chops up slowly to start working on Sunday puzzles.

i'm a dork, i know. but it's SO fun...it's some of the only time i have to myself, it seems. which is nice.

oh...we did get a review by SFCV. I'm not personally mentioned (doh!), but it was a very nice review indeed! I am yheppy :)

okay - time to change the laundry.

*

I am sitting on my couch - heating pad on my neck (sore from passing out dead-tired last night and sleeping on it crooked) - I am *just* about off my post-performance adrenaline high. It pretty much takes a solid two-hours to come down off that high. I've been averaging 1am bed time this week.

All that to say -

I am having SO much freaking fun. Working with this company has been such a blessing in many ways - it really is a big family. Amazing director, conductor, A/D, stage manager, cast, crew...I mean, it really does seem a case of the "trickle down" theory: integrity at the top flowing all the way down the chain of command, and into the cast.

I have learned (and am still learning) so much each time we go on. I get to share the stage with people who have been acting and performing for years together, and I feel like a giant sponge soaking it all up.

And, there are the little things, too, like seeing our big poster at the YBCA and getting to go in the "stage door". I feel special! But one of the best things? In the program there is a little asterisk *, denoting my debut! It's such a tiny thing, but it's cool :)

And, I love that we go out in the lobby - still in costume - to greet the audience afterwards...it's a neat tradition.

ah. well, i should get to bed soon, if I can. For tomorrow is a matinee!

crazy

it's been a crazy month. any of you living within a 5 mile radius of me know that!

things, though, are starting to settle down, a little.

we were 5 people in our apartment, which just meant bodies and stuff everywhere. however, one moved out last week, one moved this week, and - we think - the last will move by August 1. If he finds a place. then, sibling can move IN to a room, and off the couch, and we will be able to create some semblance of order.

Ruddygore opens this week. I am SO excited. Click the link and buy tickets for SF or Walnut Creek - it's a freakin' hilarious show. We had our tech rehearsal tonight (first time at the Yerba Buena Center theater) and oooohhh I can't wait!

my name is on the dressing room door (albeit on construction paper) and everything!!!!!! V. exciting. my only concern is the wig situation - haven't quite decided if they want to wig me or not. ack. i'm trying not to 'wig' out about it...hahahahhahahahaaha. ha. well, i hate putting those things off until the last minute.

so. three weekends of shows.

work - we moved. there are still things wrong. pieces of molding hung upside down; no switch to control the garbage disposal; lack of electricty to some outlets. you know. those things which should've been done weeks ago. argh.

on turning 27 last week - hmm. well, i don't really feel all that much different from 26, so far. i'm having an extended birthday month, i think. i don't quite know what that entails, yet. probably dancing of some sort! thanks to all the kind bday calls/emails and such...they were very much appreciated :)

anywho...now i am tired. i think i'll go to bed now - i'm finally winding down enough, i think, to do so.

ciao...

a.h.

I have fallen off the blogosphere as of late....probably because I've not known quite what to do with myself. I've gone from the depths of despair to the thrills of triumph in 24 hours and back and forth again and again.

It is an odd thing when someone you work with dies. I spend most of my time with my coworkers (as probably do 90% of anyone who works). I see them more often than my family, more often than some friends, and certainly more often then my roommates (!). And yet, it is an odd combination of impersonal and personal worlds. I saw AH everyday, we would chat, discuss music or art or weekend plans. I knew the sound of her footfalls, what she liked to drink in the mornings, how she answered the phone or dealt with a sudden crisis. And yet . . . I never met her husband, didn't know what her college major was, or even her favorite color. But still, I feel uprooted and helpless and insignificant - unable to change the past, I try to focus on the present - and that leaves me tender and raw of soul. Feelings of selfishness creep in . . . who am I to feel thusly grieved? I am not a family member, not a close friend or confidante. But I still feel. I feel for her husband, her family. They were trying to start a family of their own, and now that opportunity will never be had. I feel for her friends and students - the people on whom she had so much impact during her brief terrestial stay. Hundreds of lives touched and changed because of her time here. And for that, I am thankful.

Allez les bleus....

Imagine my surprised pleasure when I realised this morning that Il Fornaio (just around the corner) is indeed showing the world cup matches at their bar....(!)

I will go there and watch the second half of France vs. Spain (it is tied up 1-1 at the half).



I am totallllllly obsessed. But I've mentioned that........

Forza Azzurri!

oooh!!!! I went to North Beach this morning to catch the first half of the Italy-Australia match...it was exciting!! Most of the caffes were buzzing with fans. I sat outside at Panta Rei - they have a huge flatscreen set up, so that you can sit on the sidewalk and see it through their glass front! To be there with everyone, cheering for gli Azzurri (with the exception of a handful of yellow aussie fans)....the first half was scoreless, and then I had to leave for work (!) BUT, praise the Lord for internet, because I was able to track the game from work.

Italy won in the very last minute with a penalty kick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

France plays Spain at noon tomorrow....I'm going to try and watch part of that game at Cafe de la Presse again...that was too much fun last week!!!!

I. am. totally. addicted.!!!!!!!!!!!

Interview from AZ

THE QUESTIONS:
1. Is there a book that personifies your life? I recently read The Alchemist, and that really resonated with me. I don't know that it 'personifies' my life, so to speak, but I felt that book deep down.

2. If you were offered an amazing singing opportunity with a vibrant music community in France would you take it, knowing your friends and family would be in the U.S.?
Yes. I think I would. My only hesitancy is that I don't think the style of French living would be condusive for me to be a great singer (wine, late nights, smoke) etc....it would be REAL easy for me to just live there, though!

3. Which opera character do you think would be the hardest to play?
hmmm hardest to play? technically speaking, so many people say Adalgisa from norma--that it's just a killer role to sing. For me, from a characterization/acting standpoint.... right now it would be Dahlila from 'samson et dahlila." I'm so used to being the comic relief, or the old maid aunt/maid/nurse, that to play a character so overtly sensual and seductive would be a challenging shift. But MAN i love her arias and would love to sing her one day.

4. Do you consider yourself more of a risk-taker or someone who plays it safe? oooh. hmmm. I tend to be more cautious - but, as I age, I've found that i take a few more risks than i did while growing up, because I don't really care as much what people think of me. I'm still learning, though, to take more risks on stage as an actor/singer - which then carries over some into real life and vice versa.

5. What do you hope your life looks like in 10 years? Be specific.
In 10 years, I would be almost 37...hmmmmm.
I hope to be singing in some capacity - but not stressed out by all the political crap surrounding the singing world
I hope to be married
I hope to have lived abroad (again) for some significant length of time
I hope to still have both my parents around
I hope to have paid off my student loans (!)
I hope to speak more languages
I hope to have learned how to play some percussive instruments

--Maybe what I should be hoping for is *focus* lolll...the above list is kinda all over the place...***
--------------------

THE GUIDELINES: 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." However, If that is all you leave in your comment I will completely ignore you when it comes to interview time. 2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. 3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. 4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

been a long time.....

been a long time been a long time been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time.......

(sorry, had one of my 'human jukebox' moments...name that tune anyone?)


what i WAS thinking was, it's been a while since the last post. i've been busy. had a show (went really well) and mom was visiting and now i have a scant few minutes.

i owe az my interview post - that is forthcoming.

i miss salsa - anyone up for dancing??

i read an article (well, okay, i skimmed it) in the chronicle today about how TB is spread. Apparently, it is still alive and kicking in SF. It is can be spread by: sneezing, coughing, spitting, and SINGING.

I never thought about that singing one before, but it makes sense. And, music dork that i am....
it gives a whole new meaning to the end of La Traviata. Violetta is dying of TB, but apparently gets well enough to sing a glorious high C....and then *Splat* she falls over dead. magnificent.

tomorrow: USA vs. Italy. Call me a bad American, but I'll be cheering for gli azzurri....

whirlwind

the last month has been a whirlwind of activity.

i went from a peformance weekend

to a wedding weekend (in minnesota)

to memorial day weekend (in colorado)

and back to sf, finally.

it's been a wonderful time, though. I got to reconnect with some dear women from college - this particular group of the four of us had not all been together since we graduated in 2001. BB got married and both mer and reagan were there to celebrate the occaison. It was a beautiful weekend, somewhat tinged with tears (both BB and Mer's fathers have passed away), but full of love and joy, as well. It made my heart glad to spend time with these folks, as we are now spread out all over the country.

this weekend, memorial day, my brother and i both went home for dad's 60th birthday. it was a tremendous occasion! mom and aunt f had enough food in the house to feed an army - and we did - for three days. We were all up in Grand Lake, CO, and there were at least 20 folks over at the house eating at any given time. As for the actual event (Saturday afternoon and evening), we probably had 60 people! Family and close friends all came up to wish my dad (and his twin sister!) happy birthday. this was more time spent with special people, whom I don't see very often.

I'll post up pictures of the "chocolate decadence" (the bday theme...)

the great streaky wonder

so, in an attempt to give myself a nice fake tan thanks to neutrogena last night, this morning i woke up to a few steaky places (of course)...but in reality, not so bad! just comical right now.

that will all be fixed, though. am going to the bay club (we get free passes!) for a spray tan...yay. i forgot that had that there until i showed allison my streaky arm today and she fell out laughing and asked me 'why the hell didn't you just go downstairs to the bay club?' ummm....

now i won't look like a total striped-freak at bb's wedding :P

speaking of weddings, i got an invitation in the mail for yet ANOTHER wedding...you smu-er's out there: Cindy lou is tying the knot in June.

*another one bites the dust*
heee :)

cyclical

I think last nights' performance went well. There was a rumor that there were reviewers there on Friday night, so who knows? Maybe someone will have something good to say about my singing about the productions.

After the show last night, there was a cast party (only until 12:30 - our hosts had to get up early this morning). I was one of the first to arrive at the party, but I accidentally went to the neighbors house first. With all of my stage make-up on, and my hair all wacky from the pin curls. He was like "You are at the WRONG house". whoops!

I only stayed until 12, then came home and crashed until 10 this morning. I have two rehearsals today, one each for my coming gigs. May is going to be a crazy month! I'm going to Minnesota on Friday, get home Sunday; then leave the following Thursday for Colorado for 6 days.

Crazy times, but fun!

Sister Christian

Greetings! Oh, this is just a preview of the nunsense to come . . . 

twist my arm, whay don'tcha

AZ and I are going to cruise the Greek Isles in September, in celebration of AZ's 30th bday this year! I am soooooooo excited.

We depart from Trieste, Italy and our ports of call include Ancona (It.); Myconos; Santorini; Corfu; Athens; Dubrovnic (Croatia) and return to Trieste.

I get a phone call yesterday saying that, unfortunately, due to a change in schedule, Costa Cruises cannot get us on a flight back to SFO the day we arrive back in Italy at the end of our cruise. However, Costa is pleased to provide hotel accomodations and transportation for an extra night's stay. In Venice. If that is not a problem for us, of course.

so, what you're saying is we get an extra night of our vacation. for free. in one of the most beautiful cities in the world???

!!!!!!!!!!!! um, YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Sign of the apocalypse

(I meant to post this two days ago, but was interrupted by The Rant)

Heard on the radio Monday Morning:

"Kelsey Grammer to appear as THE ANGEL OF DEATH on Nbc's show The Medium."


wha...?


Does that strike anyone else as just being hilariously wrong??!

ARGH rant alert

i need to go to bed, i'm exhausted, but i just need to vent first. i'm soooo freaking pissed off..well, more like just highly annoyed and frustrated (yeah well, probably combined with pms..NOT a good thing)

ack ac afj uifew ;ofjk,uiher ;owh;03

REHERASAL TONIGHT
was just fine and ducky except for the fact that
a) our director is completely nuts
b) because she wants us ALL to like, magically get new shoes? what? i don't think so...not the WEEK of the performance...try giving us a month leeway eh?

ALSO what the HELL are you doing charging freaking 70 bucks a ticket to get in? dude. your company is NOT an alist company...you can't charge that much, especially for two shows which aren't really well known, and are a 'hard sell'......you wonder why you've only sold 25% of the house (25% of 2,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!) baaaad news bears.

not that i really care, except for the fact that i do have a signed contract. and, no, i did not get into opera for the paycheck...lmao. that's hilarious. but, it's the principle of it all.

DON'T call your leads in for an extra, random staging rehearsal and then turn it into voice lessons. i'm sorry...but helllll no. that is SO unprofessional. i'm not an ego maniac about my voice, but, believe you me i am quite aware of what I can and cannot do at this point in my vocal life. this might feed *your* ego to tweak us and give out little quick crutches, but it ultimately does nothing, but make your singers feel insecure and shitty. IF you're concerned about voices carrying in a large hall, hire singers with better technique, NOT 'chorus' singers. duh.


ugly ugly ugly post is what this is, but i just cannot help it, i am almost at my breaking point with these people. and, they are all actually quite nice people, they just have NO idea what the *&#$! they are doing. ack ack akc akc akc alk fjlkj

a couple of you can appreciate

that I am reading this book, Duende, and on one of the first few pages is this:

"Don't worry, be khappy."


Spelled. Just. Like. That.


Me gusta!

je ne chanterai jamais charlotte, mais......

bon..j'ai promis a moi-meme et aussi a lui que je n'ecrirai pas ici sur les choses qui sont pasees entre nous. alors...je dis seulement, (et bien en francias, il ny'en a pas bcp de gens que lisent ce blog qui le parle..donc...ca va ....)
mais comme j'etais entrain de dire...ouais je suis triste..mais surtout parce que avant cette heure,,,,vraiment je n'avias pas eu temps de reflechir sur tous ces choses. la journee, je travaille, et le soir je fais des repetitions. et, hier...ctait horrible, bien sur....tres dur de faire tous que je devais faire. et maintenant, jsuis seule dans ma chambre...il nya pas de bruit...tout est tranquille....et je me trouve la...pour la premiere fois les pleures se tombent. et je sais que tout se passera, mais a ce moment ... c necessaire...et, comme example..les fameux mots de Charlotte, dans l'opera Werther: "va! laisse couler mes larmes....elles font du bien, ma cherie. les larmes qu'on ne pleure pas, dans notre ame retombent, toute. et de leurs patientes goutes, martelent le coeur, triste et las. sa resistance, enfin s'epuise. le coeur se creuse et s'affaiblit. il est trop grand, rien ne s'emplit...et trop fragile tout le brise....tout le brise."

mais. heureusement je n'ai pas de repetitions ce weekend. je peux seulement "etre". toute seule....mais, pas vraiment toute seule. il ya toujours Dieu qui m'aider...Dieu qui me reponds, qui m'embracer, qui comprends tout ce qu'il est necessaire. et bien. tout se passera.....

.......13

Praise the Lord - I am not 13 anymore. Too much drama.

And yet, being an adult sucks sometimes, you know?

That is all. Talk amoungst yourselves...