Troubled waters

What a week. WHAT. A. WEEK. It's been a while since I've had a week as eventful as this week. Aaaaand I don't exactly mean that in a good way.

Highlights include:
-Dealing with the cops Sunday morning due to some "malicious mischief"
-Losing my phone and wallet on Tuesday night
-Ruining my hardwood floors Thursday/Friday courtesy of my water heater losing its mind

My phone ended up being in my roommate's coworker's car, so it only took about 12 hours to track that down. My wallet ended up being in the grass at the amphitheater after the Jimmy Buffett concert. It took me way longer than it should have to realize my wallet was missing, but an amphitheater employee called me and I went to retrieve it. Everything looks to be intact, with the exception of someone stealing my cash. Oh well, mo' money, mo' problems.

That's the perfect segue into the fact that I spent almost $800 yesterday on home repairs. I had to get a new water heater and the accessories required to install that, so that totaled almost $300. My mom gave me a card for $25 off a purchase of $250+, so I went and got that cost adjusted today. I also had to pay the $500 deductible for the water mitigation and water damage.

Right now my living room is missing about one-third of its hardwood floor and probably six square feet of sheet rock. My utility closet is missing all of its floor and probably 12 square feet of sheet rock. And, finally, my kitchen is missing the hardwood floor bordering two of the walls. The fans and dehumidifiers are so loud that I'm starting to get a headache. However, they're like a whisper compared to that jackhammer that was tearing up the floor today. RIP you jerk of a water heater.

Let's try to move on to more positive things... I ate Yogli Mogli with my mom today! I worked out yesterday and today, which majorly helped in the destressing department. I also got a check in the mail from my mortgage company, so that was a welcomed surprise in the aftermath of Spendfest Friday. Hooray!

I can't believe it's a holiday weekend. I missed improv rehearsal on Wednesday because I felt like I was getting sick, although I'm pretty sure it was stress bogging me down. In retrospect, it's a major positive that I'm not performing this weekend (except for a festival tomorrow) because it would have been so hectic trying to manage that with all of the home repairs. The weekend has felt insane enough without any obligations. It's pretty ironic because, on Thursday before the water incident, I was running my mouth about how I hadn't had such a lengthy stint without an obligation in as long as I can remember. Enter: water.

Well, I'm gonna try to enjoy the rest of my Saturday night. I think it's about time to take some headache medicine. The Braves are in extra innings right now, and I really think I need to give them some attention.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

WHY AM I AWAKE?!

To answer my question, I'm upgrading the software on my phone and it is taking forever. I'm pretty annoyed because I started to doze off as the software was updating and, when I flinched, I hit a button and inadvertently canceled it. Now I'm having to repeat steps. Argh!

Well, it's been a pretty crazy week. Tuesday's CFF benefit show was amazing. I was so pleased with the turnout, but I was also so relieved for it to be over. There were probably about 80 or 90 people there, and we raised a pretty big chunk of change. AWESOME! I played Sit Stand Lean Oscar, Musical Styles, Emo Spot, and ABC Buzzer. I had so much fun and felt so supported!

Wednesday was eventful because I got promoted from the apprentice cast to the main stage cast. I have to say that I was pretty stinkin' shocked; I'm not sure that I've really digested the information yet, but Thursday night was my final apprentice hurrah! I played Emo Spot, Phones, Musical Styles, ABC Buzzer Beatnik Poetry, and Helping Hands Oscar. It was a really fun show! Tonight I performed, too, and I played Blind Scene, Meet the Experts, Conducted Rap, and Confessions. In the past, I've been naming games thinking that it would give me an idea of who casts me in what games, what my specialties appear to be, etc. Now, though, I can probably put the analyzing to rest. CRAZY!

I'm perturbed right now because this download is taking forever and I wish I hadn't jumped and hit a button. It's almost back to the halfway point, which is about where I was before the incident.

Gosh, I have nothing valuable to say because I am so tired that it's unreal. Come on, phone/computer. Get your acts together.

I'm just going to publish this post because I can't possibly pretend to focus right now.

Testing, testing

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging on my phone. Okay, that was a fabrication. I downloaded the Blogger app a few minutes ago, so this is my first time blogging with the app. I did write a tiny blog once logged into the Blogger website. Why am I telling you stuff you don't care about at all? Good question.

I just got home from a friend's (LG) birthday party. I wasn't feeling great today, so I almost didn't go. Then I started wondering if I was giving into the "illness" too easily, so I went regardless of whether or not it was a good idea. Only time will tell.

I'm currently in bed thinking about how I need to be over at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. to fulfill my role as a Patient Family Advisor. Whew. I realize once a month is a very small time commitment, but when it's that early on a day when I'd normally be telecommuting, it's gigantic.

I had steak nachos at Willy's today, so that was what I'd call success. Other than that, the day was kind of rough. At least I wore a new cardigan.

Now that I've wasted your time, I'll go to sleep so tomorrow might yield more worthwhile things.

Slacker

Hey! I've been a major slacker since...well...a while ago. My fancy phone has been the primary culprit considering I spend significantly less time on the Internet when I'm at home. I really only blog from home, and now there are days when I don't open my laptop at all. Enough of my making excuses, but I really do aspire (fun word!) to write in here more frequently. I enjoy it. It looks like I better download a Blogger app. Yep, I just said that.

So, I'm going to say random bullets about my cruise:
-The population was mainly comprised of senior citizens (love it!) and rednecks (amused by it!).
-It doesn't get much better than watching toothless karaoke.
-I held an alligator!
-Spinning out in a boat is an incredibly exhilarating feeling.
-Cottage cheese is good.
-Tanning on a beach and seeing snow in a 36-hour period isn't normal.
-Consider getting a second opinion when asking someone the time; the bus will leave without you.
-Hold onto your balloon hat when you go to the top of the boat, even when docked.
-Kayaking through mangroves is like something out of a movie.
-Cruises re-program how often you think you need to eat.

All in all, I had a blast on the cruise! I have one observation that I noticed on the last cruise, and then reconfirmed this cruise: Time seems like it's passing slowly for the first day or two -- like, you really think you have all the time in the world -- and then it just speeds up and you feel like it all happened in the blink of an eye. I need to go on a 4352342-day cruise next time.

This week was a pretty stressful one since it was mass email week AND I was already backlogged. I survived it, but it definitely wasn't easy. I performed on Thursday night, so that was fun. I played Conducted Rap, Sounds Like A Song, Foreign-Dubbed Soap Opera, Sit Stand Lean Oscar, Dating Game, and Musical Styles. It was a pretty big crowd for a Thursday night, so that was cool. Yippee!

Oh man! Guess what! One of my friends (MV) gave me a baseball "To Drew" from John Smoltz! I literally couldn't believe it. I am sooooo ready for the season to begin.

Well, I've been taking it easy this weekend. I was so delirious by yesterday evening that I was barely functioning. I seriously reached into the oven without a mitt on my hand. That's not a metaphor; that's the truth. Thankfully I caught myself before I grabbed the tray, but I think that speaks for itself. I'm hoping next week will be slightly more relaxed, but you never know!

It's time to read a little bit and sleep for another 10 or 12 hours. I started to feel like I could be getting sick, but I'm thinking it was just the stress from the workweek.

Happy weekend, all!

P.S. I won a trophy and medal on the cruise -- gotta keep representin' for the Dotson household. There was some kind of brain teaser trivia and I pretty much dominated. I guess that makes me a total nerd, but I have a trophy and medal to prove it.

Yen

Hi!

Well, I am all Cortisoned up since the last time I wrote. The injection went well; it was much easier than last time. It was the exact same procedure, but last time I had no idea what was going to happen. This time, though, I was mentally prepared to feel like my chest was collapsing, so I wasn't concerned when it happened. The soreness seems to be better this time, too, or maybe it's just that I was expecting it... Hopefully it will stop hurting in about 24 hours!

Umm, my friend AM is in town. Awesome! We have kept it pretty low-key, but we did go out to Willy's for lunch and had sushi for dinner with JM. It was like a Dominican Republic reunion. I love dinners with friends!

I'm exhausted because we stayed up really late after her arrival last night (or I guess technically today). We have agreed to sleep in tomorrow... big time!

My new phone is still making me really happy. I learn new tricks all day long!

We haven't figured out yet what we'll do tomorrow night, but I'm sure it will be fun. Cheers to a wonderful 2011, y'all! It's resolution time!

ROAR ROAR ROAR

It seems like I just wrote, but what gives...

Right now I'm perturbed because I just opened a ridiculous medical bill...and I don't use the term 'ridiculous' lightly. It's amazing that health procedures cost so much money, especially when they're things that I don't even want. I guess it would be one thing if I behaved in a way that brought on tons of medical expenses, but it's sort of lame that something genetic could cost so much money. Normally I don't have a 'why me' attitude and that's not what I'm trying to convey; I'm just saying that it's a shame that all of this money pays for things I'd rather not have. In case it wasn't obvious, opening that envelope was not a good end to my day. But oh well...all of my complaining isn't going to give me a discount, so I should probably stop.

What else? I'm tired. I just finished working lights at the theatre. I am going to sleep like a baby. I guarantee you that.

I'm getting my Cortisone injection tomorrow. PUT IT ON MY TAB. (Side note: I can't really be too bitter about that one because the cornhole injury was an unfortunate accident directly related to my behavior.) Pitiful.

I had a nice Christmas and have had an enjoyable week so far. Aside from the Falcons' loss on Monday and my long complaint-ridden paragraph to start this blog, I really don't have anything to complain about. :-)

My phone is CRAZY!

Sweet dreams. You are awesome.

Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo

That title was me being Santa from A Christmas Story. We're in the throes of the 24-hour marathon (or whatever it is nowadays!), and I always find myself repeating Santa's angry "Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo" before he stomps on Ralphie's fingers.

Anyway, mentioning A Christmas Story is the perfect segue into last night's improv show since we did what we liked to call A Christmas Improv. It was a fun show and I had a lot of friends and family members supporting me. A mainstager who's in school in LA was home for the holidays, so he performed with us (Damien). I played Questions and Advice, Narration Switch, and Emo Interview (changing). Cheers to my last show in 2010!

I'm very tired, but I felt like writing anyway. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. This year was unbelievably long, but incredibly short at the same time. It always baffles me how I can feel that way. You know what I'm talking about, though...

Today I got a new phone, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's fancy! I'm enjoying it because I had lost all patience with the pitiful phone I was using as a replacement. This phone is doing crazy-cool things so far and I realize I have probably only seen 1% of what it has to offer. High five for technology!

I really wrote this post to tell everyone happy holidays. This is always a thought-provoking time of year, and there are many things that make me grateful. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year wonderful!

DD phone home

My silly phone isn't cooperating with me. Yesterday I couldn't hear anyone that called. The same thing happened today, and then some key buttons quit working. After growing increasingly impatient today, I decided to use this back-up that I promise is from the early 2000s. Now I just hooked up this Zack Morris style cell phone and will give it a whirl tomorrow, I guess.

I just got home from rehearsal. The roads were icy, so me and KW got there late. Then, rehearsal went a little longer than expected because we were working on something. Add the ice into the drive home and here it is after 11:00 p.m. I'm about to go to sleep!

Anyway, I just thought I'd document here that my phone is acting a fool.

Sweet dreams!