More Of The Same
2006-04-24, 16:29

Egad. It is so very Monday today. If only the way I'm feeling today could have been from a hangover.

But no, it was instead from a one-two punch of Double Tech for the show and a baby who decided that screaming for an hour and a half was the best option for 1130pm. Rehearsal started at 1pm and went until 9pm, with only about a 45-minute break between runthroughs. Considering how badly we all have this show down and how little we've practiced with the band, it actually went smoother than I expected. We all kept each other laughing to stem off the potential breakdowns that arise from this particular kind of stress.

During the first runthrough, while I was not part of the main action, I was musing about how strange a thing a stage performance is. All these people, gathered together, stressing themselves out, spending their evenings away from their families, worrying themselves giddy, and for what? A show that the audience underappreciates or overappreciates for all the wrong reasons, and half the people involved end up sick. But I still love it. Being up on stage, singing with a 7-piece 'jazz ensemble' (that's what they're calling it as of yesterday), having the song you've only been hearing plucked out poorly on piano to that point; there's nothing like it. It's like solving a puzzle, or opening the door that you always wondered what it concealed. Things just suddenly click into place and the world makes sense.

I really should sing more.

So yeah, the baby. She couldn't have picked a worse time for Extreme Teething, assuming that's what it is. The signs are there, and nights like this have certainly happened before. She'd had a tough day all around. Everyone else in the fam went to Mentor to see my father-in-law and his lady for belated Easter (he was out of the state last week). Apparently she did a whole lot of crying, and was missing the daddy person for a fair chunk of it. H called me at home while I was getting ready to go to rehearsal, so the baby could talk to me. She did her "da-da-da-da-da-da" cry, and I did my best to soothe her, talked her down and sang a couple of songs. It broke my heart to be away from them, and, while I wouldn't have passed on the call for anything, it didn't set a great tone for the day. But the call did her some good, and she seemed to calm down a good deal afterward, according to H. At least I could help, even if I wasn't there. Just like I'm not going to be there for the vast majority of this week. Suck, it will. Mucho sucko. Alas.

-- End Transmission --