One Pill Makes You Smaller...

PART TWO:

Previously, on Mermaid Twang: 

Of course, the best fries in the Twin Cities are the one step back for my two steps forward, but they're SO "DAM" GOOD.  (See what I did there?)  Anyway, it's working.  

______________________________________________________

The main reason I quit my day job was to act more.  Yep.  I did that thing they all say not to do.  Well, those people just don't want the competition, IMHO (they are the ones that don't realize there's room at the top.  And the top is wherever you want it to be).  I have opened up my days for auditions and gigs and limited my nights of performance.  Kind of.  But this is good.  I feel it is promoting focus and discipline.  I’ve lived many years without either of those, so this may take a while.  But the proverbial ball has begun to roll. 

The awesome thing is, I’ve had three auditions in the past month and a half.  It’s not a lot, but after being called for three things in the past year before, it’s a step in the right direction.  

I also realized the other day that I have virtually no time to see my Mon-Fri 9-5 friends now.  It’s bittersweet.  I love those friends, some are my besties, but as a creative who has to create and an extrovert that wants to... extrovate?  Well, my louder, more obnoxious side is a bully.  And often shows up in my creative side’s output anyway. My free nights are taken currently by voiceover class or rehearsal.* So, I don’t have a lot of time for those friends now.  That’s the bitter. 

*(Rehearsal for WHAT you ask?  Why, for this:)

click the pic for all the lovey dovey wovey details.  

The sweet is that I have time to see the other friends I have missed because of day job/night creativity.  And that there are less of those friends, so I have more creative time.  And I’m totally a daytime creative person; I can rehearse and perform at night, of course, but writing and crafting happen with sun.  I love my friends, but my soul fuel contains a slightly greater percentage of making art.  Luckily, I get both consistently. Not as frequently as I should, but leisure time is a close third anyway.  

So here’s the gross part (but possibly "scandalous" confessional part):  I am infinitely happier.  A light has switched on inside. The me of yore that loved life and performing and writing and sharing has ceased scratching at the surface and is now poking her beak through the egg.  This is in no small part related to my change in money-making strategy.  I know making the job transition was integral to this, pun intended, bitch-flip.  

But another big part of it?  

Pills.

to be continued...

My performing and creating "hiatus" is officially officially officially OVER.  Some of you may be asking, "You were on hiatus?"  To which I would respond, "YES.  And it was HORRIBLE."  Sometimes I get overwhelmed by having so much stuff to do. This is usually a result of my lack of planning ahead.  You know that saying, "If it weren't for the last minute, I'd get nothing done?"  I hate that saying, but it's kinda my M.O.  TILL NOW.

I've been pretty good within the past couple of months at looking ahead at least a month and planning my Twin Cities world domination... which is how I completely pwned the Rockstar Storyteller Sexy Fun-Time Romance N Stuff show last night.  I had been making my lists and checking them 19 times (because I forget I've already checked them 18 times).  I made sure I had almost all the ducks (the pretty ones) in a row by Saturday night so that I could go enjoy some improv at Huge.  And on Sunday morning, I woke up with just a few finishing touches for that evening's show and accomplished them with plenty of time to work with one of the Annas from CMC&TDC on a recording of a song we'll be releasing at the end of this month.   And the whole process of setting up the show at the theater was so relaxing.  I also had our magic tech on my side, who never fails to be an expert professional.   We had five amazing storytellers on the show*, Me & The Curls played 4 songs including the killer "Safe Words" (How will I ever top this???), The Leading Man** and a few others provided hilarious or poignant videos for breaks in the live action, and we raffled off three books donated generously to us by The Smitten Kitten.

There's no drama in this post, just ass-kicking.  We had a great show.  An overflowing handful of people approached to congratulate me on a job well-done.  Everything felt great.  And then someone gave us tape in the dressing room:

The two Annas and me, photo by Tom Reed, courtesy of Anna W.


* Joseph Scrimshaw, David Mann, Rob Callahan, Laura Bidgood, and Tom Reed!
** the nickname for my current boyfriend, who is also my ex-boyfriend from college, who moved from California to Minnesota to be with me.  Just like in a romantic comedy.  Hence... The Leading Man.

Minneapolis' First Encyclopedia Show

This Sunday, my buddies Mike Fotis & Allison Broeren are hosting the first Encyclopedia Show in this part of the country.  They have asked me to play "The Gummi Bears" theme song... you know the one:



I also wrote a song about Bears.  As in... Gay Bears:

I Think I’m In Love With A Bear
lyrics & music © Courtney McLean 2012

V1
When I was 17, I had this fantasy
Someday I’d lay a man much heftier than me
Then you came along, you came along

I dreamt ‘bout this big stud ‘n’ me
1 part Hell’s Angel, 2 parts Cuddly
But you said, “Girl, You got me all wrong.”

BRIDGE
“Girl, I know what’s on your horny mind.
And I’m flattered - no really, you are too kind.
But this face ain’t got no room
For a beard like you”

CHORUS
Oh then, I’m going home, I’m gettin’ surly
Cuz now it’s clear he’s way too girly
He’s hairy, big, and burly,
I’d’ve never guessed his name was Curly

Where was my gadar before I overshared?   
I think I’m in love with a bear.

I Guess That's Why They Call It The "Zone"

Yesterday, I was about to pull the glove onto my right hand when I noticed little red splotches, like paint, all over my palm. I was on my way over to get a fabulous manicure from Jen and see the surrogate nephew for the last time before my trip home to California for the holidays when I spotted the, erm, spots. Because I couldn't wrap my head around what possibly could have caused it, I decided not to worry about it.

About a half hour later at Jen's, she instructed me to wash my hands in preparation for my mani (which she would be administering! What an amazing gift, eh? A friend doing you a luxury service. I love it). When I looked at my splattered hand, I noticed that there were more spatters and smears near my ring and middle fingers. It was clearly blood and upon closer inspection, it was coming from a scrape near my ring fingernail.



So, I wagered I had scraped a little bit of skin off my finger within the past hour, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how. I washed my hands and got on with my day.

Then, this evening, I picked up my banjo to practice my songs in preparation for a recording session I'm doing with my brother in California next week (squeeeee!) and I noticed...



... red splatters. Almost like paint. Wow. I had been practicing so hard yesterday, I did not notice that I was lightly bloodying up my finger. Sometimes playing hurts, but you push through it and get your practice done! It's a little injury, but I love that I have this evidence that I literally bled over getting my work done. And now I have an awesome blood splatter stain on Ernie to prove it. Which also leads me to point out Ernie's worn out spot from where my hand hits during claw hammering, and the dirt that has been ground into the drum. And he's less than a year old. Awesome.