Friday, November 30th, 2007, 4:12 am
Last night partner and I went to a small theatre in town to watch a semi-professional adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. I love Wilde's work and feel for him so terribly about how he was incarcerated in prison for loving someone.
Mind you I think he treated his wife pretty shabbily.......
I find Wilde to be generally witty and clever (always qualities I admire in a writer) even though sometimes, his wit seems a little too contrived and a little TOO clever. Sadly some of his ideas are now quite dated, but dressed in period costume; the cast ensured that they were well set for the time.
This production was well staged and produced and some of the actors, superb! Little touches like HOT (visibly steaming) tea did not go amiss and the aristocratic accents were excellently portrayed by all but one cast member. I think the chap playing Jack Worthing however was a little out of his league......
Partner and I don't go out as often as we should I think, generally preferring to stay at home and vegetate in front of the PC or TV, so I am particularly pleased that we have been out 3 times (YES THREE!) in the last week alone. Good heavens I think that might be a record for us.
Tags:
wilde, theatre, enjoyment, wit, going out
(0)
comments
Leave a Comment
Rate It:
Currently 0/5 Stars.
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007, 4:23 am
Isn't it funny that even when you get bad news that you know could come at any time, it's still a shock? It still affects you and makes you feel uncomfortable and anxious - and for me it seems, still causes insomnia.
Partner had some very bad news on Monday. Despite multiple assurances to the contrary over the last 10 months he has been made redundant. His last day is on December 21st and I am really quite upset. Apart from the financial implications of neither of us working, I had got to know his colleagues (and even a couple of their wives) and liked them. It seems I will have no choice about going back to work in January now, eve though in my heart of hearts, I don't feel well enough.
It's such a shame for him, as he was pretty well liked by the staff and management. He did a good job there and had been told by the manager that it would be a matter of paperwork before he was taken on as a permanent salaried member of staff (with all the added perks that gives) rather than the contractor he currently is. Sadly over the last few weeks, the organisation has undergone a major re-structure with an outsourced company taking over the business of his department. From that day I can see now that the writing was pretty much on the wall.
I had however spent may conversations telling him, not to hold out too much hope of being taken on and until it was a done deal that the worst could still happen but it is really painful to have been proved right. It's like it has confirmed all the worst excesses of my negative automatic thoughts. Therapists have been telling me for months during cognitive behaviour therapy not to assume the worst, as it NEVER happens - and now it has. What irony.
What worries me most is that before he has this job he went 2 years without finding one and had to resort to stacking shelves in a supermarket. It's also pretty crappy timing with Christmas coming up as well. Not surprising that the insomnia was back last night, even though the play which was the thing previously causing me a little anxiety, was over and done with.
Tags:
negative thoughts, insmonia, redundancy, anxiety
(2)
comments
Leave a Comment
Rate It:
Currently 0/5 Stars.
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007, 10:24 am
Wow, I'm so glad it's over with, and so pleased I agreed to take part. No one forgot their lines, everyone remembered their cues, and no props were lost during the staging of the production!
The audience were appreciative and interacted well with the players when asked to do so! The play was well received and the feedback was extremely positive. We also earned a valuable financial contribution to the charity funding the project . All in all I'm very pleased I was part of this project and am glad I can now go back to sleeping nights!
Tags:
fun, happy, drama group, success
(0)
comments
Leave a Comment
Rate It:
Currently 0/5 Stars.
Monday, November 26th, 2007, 4:37 am
My goal weight is so close now, I can almost taste it. Having shifted another 2lbs this week, I have now only 2 lbs to go to get to my full Weight Watchers goal of 10 stone.
Having also pledged to get there by the end of our MSN group challenge, I should also be OK for that unless I do anything really stupid in the next 2 weeks. You never know, I might even manage it next week if I can get some exercise in this week.
Sadly though, I've come down with my first cold in about a year, and I am struggling to have the energy to do any excercise at all. Compared to the 30 accumulated exercise points of the previous week, last week I did 8 and a half, but I'm not going to be too hard on myself.
The other thing I wanted to blog about this morning was the drama production I have agreed to be in. As you may already know, I am a member of a charity-funded VIDEO drama group, where the emphasis is on filmed output rather than theatre. No pressure, plenty of opportunity for multiple takes and generally a fun atmosphere. Its "sister" group, the drama group which runs on a yearly cycle, creating and performing their production, has now finished meeting up for the year and won't be staring again until Feb, so a lot of the drama group members come along to the video group as well.
The DRAMA group are however taking this year's production on tour tomorrow, with a repeat performance of the production in town, and one of the cast members has become unwell. The producer asked me if I wanted to take over her part last week, when her illness became apparent. I agreed, as much of the dialogue can be read from carefully disguised script pages on set, or cue cards so there is minimal line-learning to be done. I thought I wouldn't get too anxious about it, but blow me if the first cold i have had for a year has just hit me - AND HIT ME HARD.
Now, colds for me are usually a 2-week affair, with guaranteed secondary throat infection thrown in. I usually lose my voice, and of course am currently feeling crap and not sleeping (whether the insomnia is as a result of my illness or my anxiety is not clear at this point). What is pretty obvious is that I have a 24/7 headache - all my muscles ache and I can barely speak. Not exactly oscar-winning conditions, but the show must go on, as they say. Wish me luck and if I can get a good night's sleep tonight, that's half the battle I think.
Tags:
cold, weight watchers, drama, video, ill
(0)
comments
Leave a Comment
Rate It:
Currently 0/5 Stars.
Sunday, November 25th, 2007, 8:21 am
The jolly old insomnia is back with a vengeance.
For the last two nights (or should I say mornings) I have woken up at approximately 3 a.m. and been unable to get back to sleep, without turning on the TV and trying to get my brain to switch off for a couple of hours. I do get back to sleep eventually, but it's usually not till 6.a.m. or so, so I usually wake up late or tired.
I know why it is (which is something I suppose). I went out Friday night (usually an anxious experience for me anyway) and rather than being careful about what I said or did, I relaxed completely and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Sadly the usual effect of that is that I'm either boring to be with, or end up not being interested enough in what the other person has to say, so my anxiety is that I wasn't good enough company, because I wasn't concentrating on being nice! (Trust me. That can and does happen!)
Secondly, for the first time in nearly a year, I have actually come down with a full-blown cold. My echinacea is doing its best, but sadly this time wasn't enough to overcome the biting temperatures of Friday when I was standing around for hours in minus temperatures, while filming on location. My throat is sore, my nose is runny and I'm having trouble breathing. Still, once a year is a huge improvement on the usual 4-6 colds a year that I normally get, so I'm not complaining!
The final reason has to do with a forthcoming drama production which I have (foolishly it now seems) agreed to be in a VERY short notice. I'll blog a bit more about it tomorrow when my brain is working better and I can explain what happened. Hopefully I'll have had a good night's sleep and won't be struggling to breathe.
I will say however that the moonlight of the last 2 nights has been quite beautiful. We've has a full moon and NO cloud cover outside (so it's been really cold). The moonlight at 3 a.m. has been so bright from the West, that it cast a house-shaped shadow across the lawn. The quality of light at that time reminded me so much of the last partial solar eclipse I witnessed on 11th Aug 1999. It was bright enough to shine through the windows and illuminate the interior of the house. Funny what you notice when you can't sleep in the middle of the night!
Tags:
insomnia, cold, moonlight, drama
(0)
comments
Leave a Comment
Rate It:
Currently 0/5 Stars.
