10/31 It continues....

Got a lot of "sorting" done this morning. Have to fax some documents to DC, so while I'm out, thought I'd check my email.

Tonight is my night with some friends. My last Open Improv class, and last trip to the New Yorker for karaoke. Looking forward to it.

My contact with the moving company came by today. He dropped off some more boxes and some packing paper. So I have plenty of boxes for when friends come over Wednesday and Thursday to help.

Spoke to Hunter for a moment this morning, and Jill for a little longer than a moment. I've been very nostalgic. Don't know about the rest of you, but when I move I cannot stop myself from looking through things--photos, letters, cards, drawings from kids. And it makes me miss my family all the more.

Rob and Beata are trying to talk me into living in NC instead of just visiting for a few months. The offer is tempting, but NC takes me even further away from the rest of the family. Quincy is in between both my kids and should make traveling to them easier.

Who knows what will happen? Heck, Beata is even lining up men for me...thinking that if I fall in love then I'll stay in NC. She's a kupka, she is. But I sure love her. Have been talking to her a lot lately.

The movers are coming next Wednesday. I'll be out of town this Friday through Monday, so I really do have to get things done really quickly....

10/30 Starting to panic

I have so much to do and am way too lazy for my own good. Got some stuff thrown away this morning, and just finished having lunch with my friend Bill. I'm really going to miss him. But he travels so much that we're sure to meet somewhere along the way. The beauty of email is that you can always stay in touch so easily, no matter what.

Having some iced tea at Panera's and catching up on email, then home to get busy again.

Tomorrow morning Nancy is coming by to help me, and tomorrow night I have my last Open Improv, followed by karaoke at the New Yorker. That's a great memory for me to take with me. Comedians are pretty damn funny at karaoke.

I guess it was a rotten Open House on Sunday--not one person came through. Sigh. No comment on that. Of course, no one in Wisconsin would go to an Open House while the Packers were playing. Maybe we should only hold one when the Pack has a bye....

10/29 Panera, anyone?

Just finished a wonderful cheese, egg, spinach, and artichoke breakfast souffle. It's superb and only $2.95. Can't believe how cheap it is. Coffee was $1.05 and I can keep filling it up, so I've had a bargain breakfast. Sure it would have been cheaper to eat peanut butter toast at home, but I worked hard on the condo, and didn't want to have to clean up anything else.

In a little while I'll go to my friend Nancy's house to visit while the Open House is going on.

Then to Barnes and Noble to finish some work. At 2 I'll be at CSz for the last time (this go-around anyway). My team has a bye but I'm going to support my friends who are performing. Some time this week I'll have to turn in my CSz keys, as I won't be able to work anymore before I leave.

I got up at 5:45 (felt like 6:45...). Watched Rocky Horror Picture Show (which I'd taped). Funny watching that while cleaning, but it really made the time go by quickly. Love that show.

10/28 Back to working...

I've been at Panera for two hours so I guess it's time to go home and get busy. Will probably sign on later tonight a the McDonald's near my place.

I decided to go with the local Mayflower company for moving. He's coming by Tuesday with some extra boxes, and packing paper, and I'll sign the contract then. Then I'll move the following week.

Since I'll be gone November 3-6, that means I have to get everything done from Monday through Thursday of next week. Yikes. I've been throwing things away but can't really pack until after the open house tomorrow.

Okay, I need to get off this computer and work, instead of just talking about it. See ya!

10/27 Lake Forest

Lake Forest, IL is a beautiful town. About an hour and twenty minutes from where I live. And where I had to go to see a bank person face to face. Yep. I have Bank of America and there are no ATMs or banks in Milwaukee. There are two ATMs nearly an hour north of here, but they don't take deposits anyway.

And I didn't want to mail in my deposit because it's a big one--some of my 401 K. This bit of money is what I have to live on until I start getting a paycheck. Yes, it's stupid, but don't lecture me because I won't listen. I have my fingers in my ears--la la la la la la la la la la.

Are you done? Good.

I finished wrapping all the Christmas presents and will ship the ones to California this afternoon when I'm finished here. I still have about 8 more presents to buy, but it's no big deal. Everything is working out great. I have to get the place in tip-top shape again for the open house, but I'm getting used to that. Then Monday I start packing for real.

Quit nagging me--I said I know it's stupid to take money out of my 401K, okay? lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal.....

10/26 Spam is not only meat byproducts

I just got more than 160 spammed comments on my blog. So while I'm deleting them, I also had to finally turn on "word verification." When you write a comment you'll need to verify you're a human by typing a word that's listed. I know it will be hard for my brothers, but the rest of you shouldn't have a problem with it.

This stops the robot spammers from attacking. Many of my friends have word verification on their blog, and I hoped I wouldn't have to do it. Sorry.

10/26 What happened to yesterday?

Can't believe I didn't post. Was at Panera Bread and worked on the computer, but completely forgot about my blog.

Tuesday I had lunch with Nancy and it was awesome--like 10 years had absolutely disappeared. We were such close friends when I lived in Milwaukee in the 90s. Then she got married and they went to do missionary work in the Dominican Republic for two years. We stayed in touch sporadically. They've been back here for about three years or so. While in the DR they adopted a beautiful Dominican girl named Maria. She's five now. So Nancy is so busy with family and especially a young, vibrant child. We've just not gotten together. And Tuesday was magical. And I laughed so hard. Loved it. I'm going to go visit Nancy and Hank (and Maria) on Sunday while my open house is going on.

Tuesday night I went to Open Improv at Bucketworks. It was awesome. A new teacher (and pal of mine), Adam, really is giving us lots of new stuff to work on.

Yesterday I had lunch with Tony, and it was super too. He's a writer friend of mine, although we met in 2002 in a CSz class. We've stayed friends and have lunch every now and then. We were also in a writing group together for a while. Anyway, lunch brought a lot more laughter, and I dared him to visit me in NC. He's as thoughtful as I am impulsive. So we'll see if the dare takes root. Oh, he volunteers with the red cross too, so we have that in common. He's 20 years younger than I am, but we have such fun together. Nice guy.

Today I got my hair cut and am sad to be leaving Stacy. She's cut my hair for 10 years. And also listened to my stories. She knows my family as well as close friends do. I always tip her well for being such an attentive listener. :) And she always laughs at the right places. Great gal.

Got my car yesterday and instead of costing $1100 it cost $450. Boy, was that ever good news!

And I got another estimate from a moving company. Will make my decision this afternoon. Now I'm in Barnes and Noble enjoying a cup of decaf Americano. Will have to go home soon and get busy though. Am wrapping Christmas presents so I can ship some to LA, and leave the Quincy ones there when I drive through. Because there's an open house on Sunday I can't do too much regular packing anyway. Monday I begin SERIOUS packing! Wednesday and Thursday evenings Tony and Megan are coming to help me. Because of my back injury I asked Tony if he'd help lift some boxes for me. Can't afford to re-injure it.

So much going on and I still haven't done a lot of work. Too busy saying goodbye to friends, I guess. I'm really going to miss Milwaukee, but I can't wait to be with my family.

10/24 Another open house

My realtor is scheduling another open house for Sunday. Last week's only brought one person out of the woodwork and he was a developer from out of town. I knew that one wasn't going to be productive--don't know why, I just knew. But I do feel better about this next one. We'll see.

I worked on throwing away junk and sorting stuff for Shawn's yard sale yesterday. Plus I finished the interview and sent it to my old boss. AND I talked to AT&T and got everything straightened out. So I'll be able to sign on from McDonald's which is just a mile from my house.

Right now I'm on AT&T WiFi at Barnes and Noble about 20 minutes from home. That's because I had to drop off my car near here. I'm in a rental--a really cheap one that doesn't have automatic locks or windows and I hate it. Well, I can tolerate it for a day and a half. My car will cost around a thousand dollars--worse case scenario. Best case will be around 400 or so.

Lots to do. I feel overwhelmed. Wish I had relatives nearby to help me. But at least some friends will do so. I'm going to force money on two of them, because I know they need it even more than I do.

Today my friend Nancy is going to meet me for coffee in a few hours, so I'll stay here and work until then. Or maybe browse the stacks to get some books for my trip. I love booksores...the smell, the excitement of finding a new author, the people... I spoke to a retired guy earlier who was fascinating. He was looking at an atlas, and it was opened to a map of Germany. I asked if he was going there, and he said no, although he'd been there many times. He was having a discussion with a friend, and was trying to settle an arguement. We then compared notes about places we've been, and it was a lovely conversation. I love these serendipitous moments of life.

10/23 Interesting day!

Today is Jim and Karen's 13th anniversary, Mom and Dad's anniversary (would be 60 years), and Grandma and Grandpa Kuhlman's anniversary (gosh, would have been about a million years I estimate). It's a great day for weddings, that's for sure. Happy anniversary, Jim and Karen! I still smile when I recall the reception. Wow, what a party! And Robbie looked so cute holding the bouquet outside your house.

I packed up some other stuff for my friend Shawn's yard sale. She's going to get a lot more stuff from me too. Wow, I accumulate a lot of stuff (euphemism for junk).

Talked to Mary Jo today. She wondered if I'd be interested in performing with BroadMinded one last time before I leave. I had to decline. There's so much going on right now that I need to take care of, that carving out rehearsal time would be difficult. Plus I plan to leave right after the movers do, just so I'll have another day in Quincy. Leaving on Saturday the 11th would cut short my weekend there.

Also, they gave me the perfect send off after we performed a few weeks ago. I still get teary-eyed thinking about it. It was such an awesome show, and the sentiments were heartfelt. I'll carry that with me.

The first mover came today and I'll get the estimate tomorrow. Then the second guy comes on Wednesday. I'll be glad to get this settled.

Talked to Tony today too, and we'll have lunch on Wednesday. It'll definitely be fun, but hard to say good-bye.

Enough boredom for now? Want to come help me pack?

(Editing to add: Today I'm officially an employee of the American Red Cross.)

10/22 Let's get this done!

Seems like time is dragging. But I do have a few fun things to do prior to leaving. Lunch with Tony, coffee with Nancy, drinks with Maria (and maybe others), and of course my trip to NY the first weekend in November. Then I can move....

I'm writing from Bucketworks--free wireless for members. A very cool benefit.

I've been up since 7, straightening up the condo for the Open House. Today it was from 11-12:30 so should just be getting done. I'll call to find out how it went. I don't have high expectations. It'll sell at some point. It's not overpriced and is a great place.

Went to Alterra at 10 for coffee and to work on an interview I still owe my old job. It's an hour long and is taking me forever. I'll have to finish it tonight and email it tomorrow.

At 2 I have a rec league match at CSz with Brainstorm. Unless I can find a legal sub, however, we're going to forfeit. MJ and Stacy can't make it. This is our last match of the season.

Guess that's it for now. Tomorrow afternoon the first mover comes to give me an estimate.

Will sign on tomorrow from somewhere. And I hope to have the AT&T thing straightened out tomorrow too.

10/21 Damn damn double damn

Just had an exhausting go-around with AT&T. I had my home phone disconnected as of 10/13 which automatically disconnected my DSL. Purchased dial-up so I could keep my email address active for the 2 months or so before I have a place of my own to have DSL again. I specifically asked if this would affect my AT&T WiFi. No, I was distinctly told. That's a separate service.

All I can say is, "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

Talked to 8 different people today because I went to a McDonald's where I was supposed to have free WiFi according to my plan, and it didn't work. "Authentication Failed," the screen rudely proclaimed.

1. Sorry, but you have no home phone. You must have a phone line to have WiFi. WHAT?

2. Sorry, you don't have DSL any longer, you can't have WiFi unless you have DSL. WHAT?

3. What do you want me to do? I can't do anything about it. WHAT?

4. Ma'am, I'm sorry for our error, but there's nothing I can do about it. Thanks for using AT&T. WHAT?

Finally, person number 7 in India was such a sweetie--Doni. She connected me with someone at dial-up who told me that normally I'd have to go to WiFi, but evidently I'd already been there and everywhere else. Wish I had her name, she was a sweetie too. She said a second level supervisor would make an exception for me, but unfortunately that office was only opened Monday through Friday. I'd gotten so angry with number 3 above and had started crying instead of calling her filthy names. Everyone else was nice, but I was so frustrated.

I'll call that office on Monday to get my Wi-Fi reinstated. In the meantime I drove 15 minutes to a new Panera Bread. It has free Wi-Fi for everyone. Everyone--go to Panera Bread and spend money. They're great PLUS the food is wonderful.

End of commercial.

So the class ended yesterday and I really enjoyed it, plus met some super Red Cross folks, and as I said earlier I ran into people I already knew.

On the way home I stopped at a Cracker Barrel (didn't know there was one only 7 miles from my house). Jane, tell Pete there's a Cabela's just 10 miles away. It's new and HUGE. Cracker Barrel was having a porch sale where everything was 80% off. It's going on today and tomorrow too. I bought tons of Christmas present. 10 presents for $30. And every one of them are things I would like, so I'm fairly confident that people will like them.

Enough for now. I need to check some more sites and catch up with my email. More tomorrow. I'll stop back here again when the Open House is going on.

10/19 Supervision in Disaster

This two-day class I wanted (Supervision in Disaster) was full and so I had to pick others. I was resigned, but at the last moment decided to see if I could get in the class after all. And the answer was "yes."

Part of the class was boring, and part was interesting. The worst part is all the homework I had to do. Still haven't finished it, but took a break for dinner. I ate in the U cafeteria and sat with Carlos who teaches criminal law at University of Madison. Very cool.

And in the class I'm sitting next to Pete who I worked with at the Kenosha fire. Across the aisle is Mary who was at Hurricane Wilma with me. And another mental health person--a retired psychiatrist, Joyce--is sitting nearby too. We're the only mental health folks in the class.

I'm learning so much and am very pleased I'm here.

Saturday morning early though, my friend Shawn is coming over to help me pack a bit. She wanted to start at 7 but I'm not getting in until Friday night so we compromised on 8 AM. I have to figure out where to stack the boxes because there's an open house on Sunday.

While that's happening I have to finish a project from my old job. I promised I would have it done.

I'm so beat and can't wait for my vacation in North Carolina. Hope my condo sells soon.

Monday my new job starts but I doubt I'll be called right away. Also Monday my car goes in the shop for two days. Tuesday morning I'm going to sleep until noon. I promise.

10/18 Done with one, time for others

We completed the Supervisor Essentials today. Out of the 5 exams we took, I got 85 on the first one and 100 on the rest. Pretty darn good for this old cookie.

Tonight I'm reading and writing, and will relax. Tomorrow morning starts the disaster classes. No one from my previous class remained for this, so I'll have to start getting to know people all over again.

I'll be glad to get home Friday night....

10/17 Tired but still going strong

The class remains interesting, and Ryan is a good teacher. The group contains neat people and I'm learning a lot. For some reason though I'm just plain tired.

Tomorrow is the last day of supervisor essentials though. Thursday and Friday I'll be taking disaster courses, so that will be even more interesting. As for now, I'm going to read a while and then hit the sack.

Cindy Lou and I went to Tumbleweed for dinner. It was really good but I ate too much.

I told her that every time I see her name tag I think of my sister Jan, who does a great impersonation of Cindy Lou Who from Doctor Seuss, and it makes me laugh when I think of it.

10/16 More pics

10/16 Pictures from BroadMinded

Thanks to MJ's husband, Tom, we have tons of pictures. Here are a few:

10/16 Day one of training

A really good day. I woke up before the alarm, went to the communal shower, and met the first person from my class. Funny that we met at the showers.

Anyway, the first three days I'm taking Supervision Essentials, and there are nine of us in the class--from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan. Two people were at Hurricane Wilma with me but we hadn't met.

The course is actually interesting. We have to take an exam after each section--five of them. Today the instructor asked if we wanted to look over the material before we took the exam, but I just wanted to get it over with so I didn't read the material. We needed 72% to pass and I got an 85%. So I was satisfied.

I'm eating hot bean curd left over from my Chinese meal last night. Plus I have a sandwich left over from our lunch today. I'm saving the Red Cross money. :)

For a while, I'm actually forgetting about everything I have to do before I leave for NC. Okay, I'm thinking about it now because I'm writing about it. But last night I actually read a book (no TV, remember?). And tonight I'll do the same. Relaxing? I'm tellin' ya it is....

10/15 Blogging from the north

I'm in Oshkosh, WI--at University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. The rooms at the conference center are old dorm rooms. I have a refrigerator, microwave, and high speed internet access, but no towels. There are sheets and blankets, but no towels. And no hangers in the closet. Interesting.

But no complaints--high speed internet access makes me happy, especially because there's no television. Five nights with no TV. Think I'll make it.

This afternoon Brainstorm played against County Clare Clowns in the Rec League. We lost--except we really won. They earned more points, but they had to forfeit for not having enough players. They used a pro on their team. So at least they got to play and it was fun. Our team didn't have much energy today--at least I didn't. And Chris had a broken toe. Poor guy.

Training starts tomorrow. In the meantime, I have to find a towel.

Note: went down to the registration desk and bought a "towel set"--two washcloths, two towels, and two bars of soap for $3. I kid you not.

10/14 Yesterday was quite a day!

I cried most of the day at work. Crazy, huh? I know I'm doing the right thing, but that doesn't stop me from feeling the loss of CPI. I received more presents, and more kindness from everyone. It was such a bittersweet day. Someone said, "How do you feel?" And I said, "Ambivalent." And that was true. But now I no longer feel that way. I just feel good! And those tears are spent and gone.

Last night's show was such an amazing experience. We were all there and ready to go when the audience was let in at 9:45. The house was about half full and we felt great about that.

Every single sketch was well received--the audience was super. They laughed everywhere they were supposed to, and several places that surprised us. Some of my friends attended--many were friends-in-common with the rest of the troupe, but the ones who came just for me warmed my heart. Tony, Nancy, Judith, Christopher, Catherine, and a few more that I'm blocking on right now. Many other comedians were there, and it was so gratifying to hear their compliments.

Afterward, we all celebrated in the bar at ComedySportz. The rest of BroadMinded gave me a polyester rose (it'll never die, Mel said) and a lovely card that made me cry. Stacy brought a great cake from Dairy Queen, and she jumped on the bar and proposed a toast to me. Gosh, I cry a lot, don't I? Cause I cried again at that.

Boy, was it ever fun! We received compliment after compliment. Some favorite parts (according to the audience): Mel's song that opened the show--It's Hard to Be a Republican; Anne's Sally Ann Petrosky, the nerdy (and loveable) high schooler; Megan and Stacy in the Hunters--as drunken hunters dancing to Paris Hilton; Maria as Doris Stone from Ready, Set, Hair; Mary Jo as Jasmine; and the favorite character I portrayed was Charity Blossom--the 80-year-old whore. But that's not all certainly. Others gave us kudos on other characters. I'm not trying to brag, but am still so high on those emotions from yesterday.

I'm going to miss BroadMinded so very much. The performing and the fun, sure, but mostly the women. I've grown to love each of them--individually and collectively. There will never be another night like last night for us, because the composition of the group will be different.

MJ's husband, Tom, took lots of pictures. I can't wait to see them, and will post them. Plus a friend videotaped the whole thing, and that will be fun to see as well.

I got home at 2 AM, and slept from 3 to 11 AM today. That felt good.

Now it's time to work on the condo. Time marches on....

10/13 Lots of miscellany

The flowers are austermaria. Someone here at the office knew the name.

My car is in the shop getting serviced for the big trip. I hope it's done by 3 so I can pick it up and fill it with boxes from my office.

Would like to take a nap after work and before the show. We rehearsed until midnight, so I didn't get to sleep until one and then got up at 6:30. I'm too old for that. But I'm so excited.

Tonight should be a lot of fun. I hope Jim and Karen are still coming. Guess I'll email and find out for sure. I'll have some friends from work, and a few other friends from the community. I flubbed a few lines last night at dress rehearsal, but we recovered quickly from them.

Today is weird. I'm so happy to leave and I'm so sad to leave. My flowers are more beautiful than they were yesterday. I received two presents today...a lovely frog plaque, that will fit in perfectly with my decor (when I finally find a place of my own again), and a $25 gift card from Starbucks from one of my "reality show" buddies. Pam and I debrief all the time about the shows we have in common. I'll miss her a lot.

I have my Exit Interview at 11 AM. I'm actually looking forward to it because I have a ton of good things to say about CPI and only one not-so-good. That's a good record.

More later.

10/12 What kind of flower?

Can anyone help me with the name of this flower? All I know is they are beautiful.

10/12 I cried again

Today I received a gorgeous, GORGEOUS bunch of flowers. I don't even know what they are, but they're white, and red (magenta), yellow, and they're buds so will open into something even more beautiful. They're from my friend Bill and his partner. Bill is about my best friend at work, and I've known him for years. He felt bad that he's out on the road (in Seattle) and wouldn't make it back for my last day.

Of course the way he and I travel, we'll be sure to meet on the road somewhere. If I can get a picture of the flowers, I will.

Must mention last night...on the way home from rehearsal at 10 PM, I drove through a snowstorm. Not just the snow showers we were supposed to get, but an actual snow storm. Of course none of it stuck, but it was still glorious to drive through. I'm not ready for winter yet, but it was magical.

10/12 The cake and Jer...

The cake, featuring a big frog in the upper left corner. It was yummy. So, DF, have I put enough food pictures here for you?

10/12 Not even all the food...

10/11 Try again

10/11 More pictures

I've posted several pictures but only one is showing up. Drat that Blogger! If the other ones are in picture limbo, they'll come back at some point.

Now there's a beautiful cake in the lunchroom, with a cute frog on it. I'm trying to post a picture of it, will try again later. In the meantime, I'm running to Starbucks for another cup of coffee to go with my cake.

The lunch I brought is in the fridge and I'll have it for dinner.

10/11 WOWEEEEEE!

When I walked into work this morning, the Accounting Manager said, "Friday's your last day, right?" Then she patted me on the shoulder and gave me a sad look. I thought, I bet I'll bawl like a baby on Friday.

Then I turned the corner and saw my office. I loudly said, "Oh, my!" Yeah, not exactly the kind of words I usually say, but that's what came out. See the pictures to see how beautifully decorated the outside of my office was. I have these huge windows facing out to the hall and I can barely see out of them, they are so covered with crepe paper. I started crying, and couldn't stop. Thank God it wasn't loud boo-hooing, but still I cried.

The two posters were made by one of our graphic artists that I work with daily. I especially like the frog on the alligator....

The food is unbelievable and I've been snacking since I got here. The cards (four of them) made me cry even more, although they were funny as well. (Right now I'm eating double chocolate zucchini cake, omigod.)

My boss gave me a wonderful card with a note that was heartwarming. And she gave me this awesome plaque that says, "just take it one, gigantic, earth shattering crisis at a time." That fits the job we do here, and also fits my new job. I just love it.

(I'm sorry the pictures are blurry. Took them with my phone. And I uploaded five but only a few are showing up. Maybe they're in picture limbo.)

10/10 Orientation in DC

My week-long orientation takes place in Washington the first full week of December. Since I'll probably still be at R&B's, I'll just fly from NC to DC. Should be quite interesting. I'll get my employee ID, credit card, and a ton of rules.

Since I officially start with them on October 23 though, I need to contact someone to see if they'll deploy me prior to orientation. Hope so, or I'll be even more broke than I'd planned.

10/9 Open house info

My realtor, Patty Wysocki, told me four people came through. Two of them were neighbors--hmm, I wonder who they were. One was a builder/remodeler of condos elsewhere, and the last one was a possibility. She was really interested in a two-bedroom. So was I, but there were none available at the time. And when I saw how big this one was, I jumped on it. I'm glad I did, because I really didn't need a two bedroom, I just wanted one. Big difference in price too. Of course, it would have been nice to have a space for my home office, but my bedroom is huge, and the desk fit nicely there.

I feel better now. Even though there was only one real prospect, at least some people came. And who knows, maybe my neighbors will tell someone they know.

Thanks, Patty.

10/9 My last week

It's my last week at work, and there's so much to do. So not much time to write, even though I'm doing this on my lunch break. I'll write more later.

Sorry not interesting.

Tonight am rehearsing from 6-10. We're able to use the CSz stage tonight, so we're doing a full dress rehearsal tonight (and Thursday as well). It should be fun.

10/08 Open House

Got up at 7 AM and worked until 10. Then left for breakfast. Now I'm at work and the Open House is going on now. The worst possible thing will be if no one shows up. That's what I fear is happening. I'll find out later, I guess.

Right now I'm packing up some of the stuff in my office. Can't believe how much junk I have in this relatively small space. I'm such a pack rat. Moving is good for me--it forces me to throw stuff away. Stuff that I know I can't live without but haven't used in years. Of course as soon as I get rid of it, I'll need it.

I have BroadMinded rehearsal at 6 PM, so there will be time for a short time in between the Open House and rehearsal. I'm absolutely knackered, and I know it's a result of stress and not lack of sleep. I feel like I haven't slept enough in years--yet I've been getting 7 or 8 hours every night, just like usual.

Just need to get through the next few weeks...and I can relax. Sounds like a foreign word--relax...wonder what it means.

10/7 Cleaning/packing

Spent the day getting ready for the Open House tomorrow. The place still isn't ready, but I have a bunch of "stuff" to put in my car for the day, in order to make the place look less cluttered. Maybe I should do that all the time--carry crap in my car all the time so my place is always ready for company.

10/7 Upcoming Show

10/06 What I'll miss

What I'll miss about Wisconsin (Part 1):

The beautiful geese that are everywhere. Two days ago there were 20 in my driveway. Yesterday there were 30 and today there were 40. Exactly. Don't know how they travel in multiples of tens, but that's the way it appears.

What I won't miss about Wisconsin (Part 1):

Goose shit.

10/5 Blogworthy

Here's how it works. I write a blog--whether boring, exciting, self-centered, about someone else, doesn't matter at all. No matter what it's about, I write it, and my brother Joe makes fun of it in his blog.

After I complained yesterday and begged him to tease someone else, he said he would stay away from making fun of my blog for 3 days. I don't think he can do it. He'll make fun of my blog--or me--before the three days are over. Why am I so confident? Because I offer him such an easy target.

My blogs are mundane, unless I'm traveling. Then they become more interesting.

Yesterday I thought about the old guy I met in Miami last November when I was working with people impacted by Hurricane Wilma. He'd volunteered in 1993 in my home town. It really moved me to see him in the position he was in.

As I went back to the archives to find the post on Ernie, I ended up reading all the entries of my Red Cross experience. It just cemented my decision.

10/4 Yeah, I'm fat

Just got back from my "bye-bye" visit with my doc. I've gained 10 pounds since June, 2005. It's time to get serious again.

The great news is that my cholesterol is good now. In fact, she was jumping up and down at two of the numbers.

Blood pressure 102/70 and that's when I'm stressed out. Don't know why, but I'm so frakking proud of my blood pressure--as if I had anything to do with it.

And I just spilled some salsa all over my shirt. Yay--the dork strikes again.

After today I only have seven more working days. Then poverty descends. (I just said that to torment my brother.)

Finally some pictures of my condo are online. So I hope that the open house on Sunday will be successful--I'll be somewhere sucking down caffeine, writing, and praying.

Tonight we have rehearsal. The show is getting so close. Starting with Saturday we have practice every night until the show on Friday. I'm very excited about the show, but it will be bittesweet--leaving the troupe will be harder than leaving my home. Odd, but true.

10/3 Picture of the sisters

No time to edit the picture to change my red eyes back to blue. But other than that, I just love this picture. From left to right--Jer, Jan, Jane. And by the way, I didn't wear a white dress to someone's wedding. It's just a blouse. I'd taken off my jacket because I was hot (as always).

10/3 More on Storms...

One of my (much) younger brothers posted a comment on yesterday's blog entry. He used it as a metaphor of course, but he basically said we go through storms all the time. How we handle them is what's important. He also said that he didn't know if what I was doing was right, but he and my sister-in-law have decided to support me. Other sibs have said basically the same thing.

Normally I love thunderstorms, what bugged me the other night was that they were so loud I couldn't sleep. But storms themselves hold no fear. I'm fascinated by the power and majesty that nature (God) exhibits for us.

Yet, I respect storms. I won't be outside holding a golf club daring God to hit me. I will go on the porch however, to get a bit closer to the excitement.

The storm I'm going through right now is one of my own making, and although I'm a bit scared about all the work I have to do to make this happen, I'm not fearful of my choice. This is the right thing to do. Our country is selfish as a whole. And I certainly am. As an actor and/or comedian, I'm also self-aware enough to know how narcissistic I am.

I want, I need to think about the well-being of others instead of just myself. Sure, I can do that within the confines of my "normal" life, but for me it's not enough. At my job today I'm dealing with all the news reports of school shootings dating back to 1997. Now I just received a news alert that a commercial airliner has been hijacked in Greek airspace. And of course we could list tons of other examples of how some humans behave.

How can we influence that? Prayer, certainly. Action, too. Sitting alone in my little condo, I know that I can do my small part to make the world better. To some, it may seem dramatic. But I'm alone. My children are established and happy and need nothing from me, except my love and support. (And even though they may not totally understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, they are so WONDERFUL!) I have no fear about my choice.

I thank those who love me who are worried about me. Please do your best not to worry. I've been divorced since 1983 and I've made plenty of stupid and dangerous choices in my life. This is not one of them.

I love you all!

10/2 Your birthday calculator

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Andrea. This is a cool birthday calculator that tells you lots of fun information about you and your birthday.

10/2 Thunderstorms

Have been up most of the night. Every line of thunderstorms in the nation decided to pass over my bedroom. Normally I love storms, but not when they shake the room. Maybe I'm exaggerating the tiniest bit, but the thunder is so loud and the lightning so bright that sleep is impossible. Finally got out of bed at four, and will try to get some work done before I go into the office.

This will be a hell of a long day--work 8-5, then rehearse 7-9. I hate being this tired.

10/1 A good day

Got up early and got some stuff done. My back feels okay today, which is great.

Performed in the Brawl. My team was third out of eight, so I feel pretty good about that.

Then we had an hour of BroadMinded rehearsal. We went over some of the stuff we did at the Milwaukee Sketch Festival. It's coming back to me. :) Will go over the new material tomorrow night. Anothr crazy busy week, when I really need to be home packing. Nothing I can do about it. I'm the one who set the timeline, so I can't blame anyone else. Well, maybe I can blame the Red Cross, they didn't want me to start in November, said they needed me as soon as possible. So let's blame the new employer, okay?

Just kidding. I'm glad they want me asap. Just wish I could bilocate for a while. Being in two places at one time would come in mighty handy right now.