The Past Seven Days...

I guess I really should say the last eight days, but seven sounds better. I would like to be posting more often but I am so tired after work that I don't even have the energy to put up pictures and form coherent thoughts in a way that is enjoyable to you the readers. So here I am, summarizing anything exciting that has happened since the last time I posted.

The first thing happened last Saturday. That thing was Oysterfest. A few people in town put it on every year and it's a pretty big shindig. Molly and I went but we got there a little late because we had to work and we missed the oysters, which was a bummer. But there was still a lot of good food and people and games and a fire. I had a great time but I ended up getting pretty tired and zoning out in front of the fire so I called it a night around 11.

It was overcast most of the day and some rain started blowing in from the mountains during the party, but thankfully it didn't last too long. The wind did though, which made for a very cold evening. Thank goodness for the warm fire.

Everyone got a free cup to commemorate the occasion.

The next day was our fajita cookout at the shop, which was a great success. The way Bohb tells it, the cookouts are for the shop crew but the whole company is invited and this time around there was a big turnout. And people brought food, which was really nice, especially because we ran out pretty fast. Everything was very delicious. It is definitely a good way to end the tiresome work week. Today was a big rehearsal day so we didn't have a cookout but I think it will be revived next week.

I suppose those are the most exciting things that have happened. Monday we had breakfast for dinner at Biz, Bohb, and Pauli's house, which was also delicious. We had biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns, pancakes, eggs and sausage. We had to make them in courses because there was so much food we wanted to spread it out a little so we could eat it all. Yummy! It was a good, relaxing time on our day off.

A little later in the week we had a pretty good snowstorm. It snowed most of the morning, it seemed like winter. But it had melted by the end of the day. I wanted to get a picture of the signboard in front of the Chamber of Commerce but when I went by today it had changed. For a while on one side it just said Spring!? I thought it was funny and a good way to describe our weather lately because it is spring with an exclamation point but then we have snowy days and it seems like winter isn't quite finished yet, hence the question mark. I am definitely ready for full on spring to be here. Sunny days and warm weather are long overdue in my opinion. Hopefully June will bring what we need.

I wish I had more pictures and good stories to share but it has been a busy work week and I tend to keep it pretty low key when I get home. Wednesday was the first open mic night at Tommy's, which Molly and I had been looking forward to for some time, but neither of us were really into it and I ended up leaving early because I was too tired. There was a band last night, though, and we went and danced and had a good time. Today was our day off so I got to sleep in, which I haven't been able to do in a while, so that was rather magnificent. We stayed pretty chill for most of the day. Molly and I mad pad thai and egg rolls for lunch and watched a movie and then went for a walk and ended up at Biz, Bohb and Pauli's house to play some Rock Band and just hang out. We're back to work tomorrow, which always seems way too soon, but that's the way it goes. And because we took today off and Monday's are usually our day off, we'll be working seven days in a row, with maybe a half day after opening night. But then next Monday is the company rafting trip, so that will give us all something to look forward to while we're working our butts off this week. There will also be things going on for the holiday weekend next weekend so I'm sure I will have plenty to post about next time you hear from me. Ok that's it. Phew!

"Dreams come true here, just like in Disney Land"

As I mentioned in my previous post, last night was our company potluck. Almost everyone is here at this point, so there were a lot of new faces. The idea of the potluck--besides eating-- is to get everyone together to meet each other and to be welcomed to the theatre and to Creede. There is a lot of talking and a lot of introductions and some stories from various people who have either been here for a long time or are fairly new to Creede but have had an experience worth sharing. One of the people who talked last night was Renee who is the Education Director and has been here for ten years this season. She is a wonderful person with a very contagious spirit and said a lot of really great things about Creede and why she is here, including the quote that is the title of this post. I wish I could remember everything that was said because there were a lot of great and profound statements about this place that I love that express it in ways that I have a hard time doing.

Another person who spoke was Mandy Patinkin, whose name may or may not be familiar to many of you. If it is not, perhaps this will refresh your memory: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die." Yes, Inigo from The Princess Bride. Of course, he has done many things since then but nothing as memorable as that. He also happens to be Creede's big claim to fame. He was an actor here in the 70's and he and his wife still come to visit on a regular basis. He also said some great things about Creede including the fact that this is his favorite place he has ever acted. Coming from someone who has done as much as he has, that shows just what kind of affect this place has on people.

As much as I have been happy to be here, it multiplies that feeling by a lot being in a room full of people who love this place as much if not more than I do. It's hard to explain the feeling to people who can't have the experience of being welcomed so warmly and emotionally by people that you work with at a job that only lasts about four months. But we are all such a tight family of people from all over the country who come to this tiny place to make theatre together, it is hard not to feel strongly about it all. Not to mention, it's not every job orientation where they have to explain the dangers of bears and mountain lions and getting stranded on a cliffside or getting caught in a lightning storm on a mountain. My love for this place grows every day and I'm so glad for another summer to fall even more in love and make more friends and build my anticipation even more to come back next summer. I can only hope that these posts give you all even a small idea of how fantastic this place is and how happy it makes me to be here. And maybe some day some of you can even come and see the magic for yourselves! It's an open invitation to anyone who wants to come visit me!

To conclude....Even though I've been working already for about a month, now that everyone has arrived the season is getting into full swing and things will really start getting crazy and fun and busy and exciting and all those conflicting emotions that come with living in a place where it is so easy to have enough fun to make up for all the hard work you're doing.

Shop BBQ

Yesterday was a good day. We had a short work day so that we could have a cook out at the shop. It was done in honor of the awesome shop crew and we invited all the company members who were in town or just arriving. It was a good turn out and I certainly was full of good food by the end.

The manly men at the barbecue again.

This is our break area. We got a little carried away with the decorations but it looked good. We had a lot of trees with twinkle lights that we lit up and we found some fake cacti in storage that we put out because why not?

Spruced-up shop for party time.

Lots of mingling of old and new faces.

It was a fun time and according to Bohb it is going to be a regular Sunday occasion, which I think is a grand idea. The weather was beautiful, though it got chilly and windy as the evening wore on. And of course since today is my day off, it is cold and SNOWING. Such is the weather cycle of Creede.

Tonight is the company potluck where we get to eat good food and meet all the company members who have been trickling in the past few days. I still haven't decided what to make, but I'll come up with something. It's exciting to have everyone arriving, it seems like it's going to be a good crowd this summer. I know I'll have a great time no matter what. I hope you all are enjoying my posts and I'm sure now that people are arriving and things are picking up and hopefully the weather will start improving, I will have even more stories to share. Stay tuned!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I realize by the time you all read this it will be May 6 but it's still the 5th for me now and I'm just getting around to posting, so that's just the way it is. So, this week two new people arrived. One was Biz who is the paint charge which means she is in charge of painting the sets--makes sense, right? I know her from last year and she is great. The other person was Heather, who is the carpenter intern. We didn't have one last year but now we do and she's cool and it's definitely good to have another set of hands in the shop. In light of our new arrivals we had a cook out last night, which was great. We had hamburgers and delicious chicken and other snack food. It was good to all hang out and unwind after a good day's work.

Bohb, (Joe) Pauli, Biz, Ryan. Heather is off to the right and Ryan's wife Jess was there and Molly.

The "manly men" at the barbecue.

This is Jess and Ryan's dog Duncan. He's adorable but he got a little nervous around all the people and in a new place.

Today is Cinco de Mayo which means Kip's Grill opened, which is a good sign that summer is coming. Bohb let us have a long lunch break and even treated us to delicious margaritas...the one and only time he will let us have a drink during the work day. I had the Spicy Shrimp Tacos, pictured here:

Oh man were they delicious! I love Kip's, especially on warm sunny days like today. It was a little tough going back to work after having a long break and such delicious food, and with it being so sunny and beautiful out. Thankfully there will be plenty more gorgeous days and it will only get warmer and warmer. Needless to say, I still have three glorious months ahead of me and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures I'll have. Whatever they might be I'll be sure to share them with you all.

Meanwhile, a lot more of the company is arriving this weekend and next week so a lot will be happening around here. There is never any shortage of good times to be had, so hopefully I'll have something good to share soon. So, until next time...

Isn't it summer yet?

It started snowing yesterday late afternoon and hasn't really stopped since then. It's only a light snow but it is accumulating. We have a few inches and it is still coming down. I can't really complain because it makes for a nice day off to just hang around and stay warm inside. I might track down Bohb later to make snowmen since a Texan like him is not used to this amount of "white stuff" as he calls it (roughly). Otherwise I mostly plan on staying warm inside and watching a movie or reading.



It's funny because I talked to someone on Friday about floating in his boat on the river today. That's obviously not happening, which is unfortunate, it would have been fun. I do hope the weather improves soon though. I am ready for summertime!