What a month!
I recently saw the Brad Pitt opus,�TROY... wow! What a great film. I think this story has legs, this whole Troy story, someone should write it down. I bet it sticks around for a few years.
I adored the portrayal of Achilles... I will certainly own the DVD when it comes out. Some of the quotes in the show were wonderful, inspiring... including one I mis-heard. More on that in a minute.
I really loved how Pitt looked, and I saw some of his promotional interviews... He tells of spending six hours a day in the gym, for most of a year to get that build... having just turned forty (Brad, not me) he mentioned that having sculpted himself like that was certainly going to make his impending Mid-life crisis easier. I am amazed at how Brad Pitt comes across in interviews, arguably one of the most talented and attractive actors of all time, and he carries himself, (as Brad, not Achilles) as if he doesn�t know.
I am no Brad Pitt.
I have to try and step outside myself to keep things in perspective. I compare myself at 39, to Brad... physically; accomplishment, talent... and I certainly come up short. But I also have to remember what I do have, what I have accomplished.
I wear tights for a living... and I tell girls when I start to date them that I have all the disadvantages of dating a super-model. My diet is weird, and a constant pain-in-the-ass. I love going to the gym (as well as hate it.) and a typical gym trip is three hours. I am insecure about my weight... just a bundle of neuroses.
I have to step back sometimes... and really look at myself. I am no Brad Pitt, but you know, there are so many people out there that would instantly trade what they have for what I have. And despite his looks, talent, money... and the fact that he is banging Jennifer Anniston, I wouldn�t want to�be�Brad Pitt. Besides, I find Courtney Cox to be the hotter�Friend.
Maybe there is a lesson here. Maybe I can use this as a mirror for us all. Do you know what you are? Do you appreciate what you have?
Let me give you an example; the reason why I brought up Troy was this; my birthday May 14th, fell this year on a Friday. Since I had a relatively tame birthday last year, I decided to make-up for it this year. I had a date with three lovely girls for my birthday.
Angel, Laura, Sarah, and myself went to my favourite restaurant chain, (Carrabba�s), and then to see�TROY�at the local AMC bunch-o-plex.
The bunch of us at Carrabba's
The bunch of us at Carrabba's
The lovely Angel, Laura, and Sarah
The lovely Angel, Laura, and Sarah
In Troy, I misheard one of Achilles� quotes; he said, "I want what all men want, but I want it more."
Nice.
But what I heard was: "I want what all men want, I want more". Much more Ronn-like.
Yes Kiddies, I had these three girls for my birthday.
Sort of.
Everyone should have moments like I have in my life.
I won�t give you exact details, but again...
"I want what all men want, I want more".
That even goes to having TWO birthday celebrations... I had a second one with my family, (Riki, Jef & Sharon) on Saturday, along with other friends and Laura as my date again. Those members from the MOSI show might know Laura as the naughty girl-kissing fairy from our last Beer show...
"I want what all men want, I want more".
Also in attendance was our friend Christian, Riki�s "Not-girlfriend" (don�t ask) Chenoa. I got great loot, good food, and crappy service. I read Riki and Jef�s journals... Jef seems to think I didn�t appreciate his and Sharon�s gifts as much...(I do! I really do!) But I AM absolutely crazy about�Penn & Teller�s Bullshit. Besides, I had better appreciate my gifts from Riki, Jef and Sharon... My mother is very lax in getting me presents, In April; I just got the combined birthday Christmas gift from LAST year. My best friend John and I chose not to exchange gifts this year, (though I am flying out to his wedding...Best man don�t you know, in June. And am sending he and his new wife on a really great trip for their wedding gift). Laura made me a GREAT gift, (thanks Honey) and Angel got me this GREAT "bud vase"... heheheh!
"I want what all men want, I want more".
If you guys are feeling sorry for me (and dear god do not, do you not see how good I have it?) I will always accept�Best Buy Gift cards; write me for an address to send them.
The point I was trying to make was this though...
I guess I am a celebrity, a tiny minor celebrity to be sure... and though there are many people who envy me, or some aspect they perceive in me... I am flawed in my own eyes, and have people I envy, or some aspect of them. But I am smart enough to appreciate what I do have... you should be too.
I wrote briefly about a girl I was taking a shine to last journal... and annoyingly enough the weekend of my birthday, SHE was out of town helping her sister get married. In some ways it was good... I think the separation helped both of us see each other a little more... and it DID allow me to have these three babes on my birthday... I really missed her! (uh-oh!) And she called me (well actually we called each other about every day) on my birthday and read me a poem she wrote. More on her later.
Things are going really well now with this girl; I will go more into that next entry.
Her name is Melissa, she was my date (with her young son even) for the Funky Formal. I was originally gonna include photos, but that will also have to wait.
I cannot go ... No, I will not go into too many details on this next piece, sorry... but I also got into a little spot of trouble on the day before my birthday. In the great Chaos of life there is both good and bad screaming down the pipe at you. What can you learn from it? One of the things I learned is that Laura, the merest beginning of a friend, (okay let�s face it she was just a groupie okay?) is actually a really wonderful, loyal, person. She helped me out of a particularly difficult spot, when she barely knew me. "I want what all men want, I want more". But I am certainly smart enough to know when I have so much already.
I am now completely contemptuous of a small city on the outskirts of Atlanta called Peachtree City... I will go into the reasons, maybe as soon as the next journal, but right now... just know that I have shot myself in the foot, and have learned a very valuable lesson.
More!
Angel and her new beau
Angel and her new beau
Interesting developments post my birthday; Angel, who has been a friend (and more) for a year has gotten another boyfriend. I actually really LIKE this one, she can keep him if he keeps treating her this way, here they are at the Funky Formal, (more on that later). His name is Trevor, and Angel the poor dear, doesn�t remember being so drunk she had to have Trevor carry her out... but I do, more points for that boy.
Sarah and I have had a falling-out... which is just as well. She is a remarkably intelligent woman with NO common sense, social skills, empathy, or nearly enough self-esteem. I rarely regard what things �look� like to other people, but when Riki and Jef pull me aside and tell me that the situation between Sarah and I, is making both of us look bad, it is enough for me. (Especially considering I already knew it.)
Laura I get to see in Florida... again she has proven to be quite more than she could have been, and an amazing artist as well... It was my original intention to take her, Angel and Trevor to Disney... but scheduling is preventing this... sigh.
Georgia.
Now in amongst all of this brou-ha-ha, we have been performing at the�GA renaissance festival. I have to tell you I am kind of torn. This is undeniably my least favorite festival. I HATE the weather. (Constantly Muggy, Frequently rained-out... muddy, hot.) I work in Florida for fuck�s sake... and the weather is better there! I hate the stages we are on (designed to look impressive, and work none-to-well!) I like the entertainment director, (my immediate boss) I like the life, on site during the week: On Fridays there is a dinner at Sky chairs, on Saturday nights there is a potluck with the amazing Steve Turner of Giving Tree rhythms (they make drums). Sunday, there is a nice dinner at the Teahouse, and a huge drunken get-together at a local restaurant... The camping is fine, though the sketchy electric is a pain. The crowds have even started to find us, and many of our friends from both Florida and Charlotte also come out. I love this fair, during the week.
We twins have a concept that guides our decision-making process when it comes to contracts. We will gladly work for a less well-paying faire, if the crowds, and conditions are great.�Arizona�is by no means our best paying fair. The Paycheck is good, but the tips, and staging are only adequate. But the fans like us, the conditions are wonderful and the show is a fun time for us all.�Quality of Life�is what makes Az so fun for us.
The�QOL�at Georgia is really low. It is getting higher, at least we don�t have to spend fifteen minutes before each show begging folks to come see us... the audiences are there for us when we start now (yay!) but we have a pretty good chance to go to LA during the same time period next year... what would you do? Hotter, but no humidity, I hear the Hats are much better... but we are walking away from a four year investment. Still... LA... We are in negotiations, so stand by.
I had originally planned on including a lot more photos this journal. But I stupidly left all of my photos on my home computer, not here on my laptop!
I am staying with Jef and Sharon, at their lovely house (which they are revamping and preparing to rent) my trailer, Computer, Truck and all are back in a storage lot in Georgia.
My next entry will include: Melissa, More photos, A travel log to and from, Iowa (complete with the storm that wiped us out!) and maybe some stuff from John�s wedding.
I have more crazy trips coming up in the next few weeks, (wed/thur. we are going to Ft Lauderdale, Monday I fly to Atlanta for a day, the following Thursday I fly to DC for John�s wedding, and then that Monday we begin our trek to Ohio).
I hate being away from home; London is uncomfortable as well, but adapting. There are more journal entries to come; there will be more photos as well. Also, I have been working hard on getting my Travel journal from the trip to Berlin done.
I wonder what else you guys want to see and read.
Hey here is one final question; I am thinking about turning over the maintenance of the normal site, turning over DUPE, to some one else, maybe a fan? If there is anyone out there who would be interested in taking over, let me know.
Okay, I guess this will have to be enough for now, more to follow soon.
