I'm actually looking forward to the show again. The cast is (as far as I know) completely different, which is good news for both myself and any truck we may be driving. Our Production Manager, Jodi, is also going to be stage manager on this tour. I guess this is what one would call swinging the pendulum from one extreme to another, if one were inclined to call things as they see them. But I have a feeling this whole experience is going to be a lot more mellow, at least as far as I am concerned, since a) I can't imagine we'll end up with the kind of lousy attitudes we ended up with last tour and b) whatever personality conflicts I have with Jodi, she doesn't strike me as the type who tries to pal around with the actors offstage, so I won't have to deal with her for much of the tour. Hooray and Huzzah!
So Christmas and New Year's were very enjoyable. I spent Christmas Eve with Marta's family, where we observed 3 ancient Polish Christmas rituals--eating styrofoam, drinking Jagerbombs, and throwing Christmas cards into a laundry basket for money. Okay, okay, to be fair to my wife and her heritage, the styrofoam is actually something that translates to "angel bread". I believe it's called that because one you eat it you start praying to God that whatever you eat next tastes better. I'm not quite sure what it actually IS, but it looks, feels and (most importantly) tastes like styrofoam. Thankfully you eat it with honey. You also eat it while wandering around the room hugging people. Which, after partaking in the ancient Polish tradition of Jagerbombs, seems pretty natural. And once again, to be fair, the Jagerbombs were only partook in by myself and one of her brothers. And they weren't really Jagerbombs, just glasses filled with Jagermeister that were shown a picture of a can of Red Bull. That's what "myrrh" actually translates to. Now you know why nobody at Jesus' birth cared that they were in a stable. And as for the throwing the cards, every year, Marta's brother comes up with a new game for the family to play which results in the kids in the family winning varying amounts of money. This year was tossing greeting cards into a basket. Once before it was reaching your hand into a mason jar full of coins and seeing who could pull out the greatest monetary amount. I had dearly hoped the mason's jar was built along the lines of those monkey traps you hear tell of, where the empty paw fits, but the closed paw doesn't. Alas, no such luck for my evil and twisted amusement. Christmas day with my family was.....loud. And boisterous. And loud. And crowded, with all the siblings and the nieces and nephews and better halves and such there. And did I mention LOUD? That's a Pond family gathering for you. There was also a Nerf gun involved. And it wasn't being used by the nieces and nephews. Also, a lot of running around and yelling. (Again, NOT the nieces and nephews) I'm actually truly surprised that all the siblings are now paired up, either through marriage or sin, because when you get all of us together, we're not an easy family to take all at once. Respect the spouses and girlfriends of the Ponds, my gentle readers, for they are brave people who risk much.
New Year's was nice--we spent it with friends of Marta's. They do wine tastings for fun. Sadly, that means I don't remember much else. I made it to 2009, and that's all that matters.
Anyway, do keep checking back, my friends, for I shall once again be regaling you with tales of the road. (Hopefully this time here'll be less rage...and come to think of it, less rash.) Thanks for reading, because believe me--I don't want to do this alone!
3 comments:
Baby, you're the greatest!
I met two guys who auditioned for chamber at another audition and not only were they both really cute, they were really nice. so, fingers crossed...
Where's the little link for me to "follow" this blog? How can I be expected to remember to check back here to see if you've posted or not? Sheesh.
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