Day 152 – Getting High

Today, the Fringe was officially launched.  Tickets are now on sale for performances running from June 17th to the 27th.  Forgive me if this sounds like an advertisement.  It’s not meant to be.

…though business-Natalie can’t help but spread the word as much as possible…

I’ve been shaking all day.  The excitement was almost unbearable.  This sounds so cliché, but it was true for me today.  I was so proud of the people I work with.  I was elated at the audience response.  I was exhausted from the prep work.

I was high.

Over 8 hours later, I’m just now coming down.

I’m going to make sure I enjoy this high over the next 27 days, because it will all be over much too soon.

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Day 151 – Decisions, decisions… (a.k.a. choose my outfit for me!)

The longer I work for the Ottawa Fringe, the more I realise how decision-heavy my job is. I don’t do much of the work, but I do make plenty of decisions on what work needs to be done. And I’m also pretty good at deciding if I like something or not.

My brain has been so overloaded that I’m finding making the simplest daily decisions such a hurdle. What should I cook for dinner? Shower or bath? Lip gloss or lipstick? Seriously, these are the things that clutter my brain.

I did realise today that I am very lucky, because I have choices. Some people don’t eat three meals a day. Some people don’t have clean water. Some people don’t own beauty products, let alone many of them to choose from.

Still, I have a decision to make and I’m having difficulty. My whole Ottawa Fringe media launch outfit will be based on shoes. Help me pick the shoes, and the outfit will fall into place.

Day 140 – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I’ve said it many times before that a huge part of a theatre director’s job is casting.  If it’s good, then the show is usually good too.  Well I’m finally getting a taste of what that’s like in the business world too.

I don’t want to jinx myself, though I’m afraid I probably already have, but I must say that I am super impressed with the Ottawa Fringe staff.  I’m still working three jobs right now, on top of being a mom and wife, but I’m not worried.  I’m not worried because I can trust my staff.  They respect me and I give them room to play in return.

Is everything perfect and exactly as I’d like it to be?  No.  Do I feel confident enough to leave for a day to take my kid to the doctor’s and know that the train will keep moving forward without me.  YES.  Which means I can breathe.  And breathing is a good thing.

Day 113-114 – They Grow up so Fast!

Day 113 – Post-its and folders and stickers… oh my!

I’ve had the amazing fortune of being hired to teach stage management at the University of Ottawa this term.  The entire class has been an exercise not only in gaining a better understanding of what it is to be a stage manager, but also in understanding my style as a professor.

I think I’ve done a pretty good job, based on the feedback I’ve received so far.  I’m also super impressed with the students themselves.  For obvious reasons, I can’t go into large amounts of detail.  I can say that the final exam was a take home project which involved creating a full prompt book, complete with blocking notation for a scene I recorded, rehearsal schedule and documentation up the wazoo.   The first few samples I’ve seen of the work my students have done is exceptional.   In full geek-mode, I ooh-ed and ahh-ed at every perfectly drawn line, every color coordinated cue and contact list printed on fancy paper.

Organisation gets me hot!

Day 114 – Bubbles

There was a time where I wouldn’t let my kids near bubbles.  Taking them out always resulted in tears.  Either one of them would try to drink the bubble solution or lick the wand or fight over who gets to blow.  Luckily though, AJ has shown “maturity” when it comes to bubbles.  Today, I relaxed and let her hold the bottle with one hand and the bubble wand in the other.  She was a pro.  There was the occasional spill, but there was no use crying over spilled soapy/watery liquid.  AJ even came up to me, held the wand in front of my face and said: “Your turn mommy.”  At the sight of the floating spheres in the sky she smiled and said: “Good bubbles blowing mommy…nice!”  She was praising me.

The tables had turned, even if just for a moment.

Day 106 – My Titles

I play many roles in my life… sometimes too many to count.  Sometimes in my daze of going through the motions, I forget who I am.

Today I overheard the Fringe administrator talking to a friend on the phone and the words that stood out were “My Boss“.  For a second, I didn’t know who she was talking about and then I realised: “Hey!  I’m the boss!”

There are days when I pick up my little ladies from daycare and have to look behind me when they come running towards me saying “Mommy!”  They can’t be talking to me, but they are.  I am “Mommy”.

I am many things and all of my titles are beautiful.

(Though I’m not always be a fan of the job descriptions!)

Day 77 and 78 – Facets of my Jobs

I am learning to embrace uncertainty, confusion and precedence. I am learning to take my time to look at decisions from all angles even if it means deciding to go a different direction.

I am confident in my abilities. I embrace not always having the answers. I enjoy the rush I get watching the results of what I’ve done. I accept that sometimes I will make mistakes, knowing that at least I made it in grand style.

Day 50 through 53 – Beautiful but Busy

Woah! Where has the time gone?  So much beauty has passed by and I haven’t had time to write about it all.  So here goes… my last four days of beautiful discoveries.

Day 50 – I had a moment when I was at work, when last week’s job-related tasks flashed before my eyes…

• Meetings with creative minded people
• Meetings with business minded people
• Brainstorming
• Planning
• Emailing
• Creative writing
• Dreaming
• Calculating
• Nurturing
• Interviewing
• Socialising
• Organising
• Deciding

… and I realised, Wow, I am a Lucky Girl!  I have a beautiful job.  It’s difficult, tiring, sometimes boring and sometimes frustrating.  But it’s amazing.

Day 51 – A year ago on this day, after almost 12 hours of intense pain, I helped bring one of the most beautiful beings ever into this world.  Ok, I’m biased, but I’m supposed to.  Happy Birthday Beatrice Beckette Winnifred.

Day 52 – I saw a show on Saturday, but my thoughts only really collected themselves on the Sunday.  I won’t go into great detail about the entire show, but I will talk about one particular performance.

I saw someone I’ve known for 30 years completely transformed themselves on stage.  This is a person I’ve been through ups and downs with…known socially… worked with… directed.  We know each other really well.   But what I saw on stage that night was completely unrecognisable.  It was amazing.

This person is my Dad.  A Franco-Ontarian building supply company co-owner from a small village.  He played Tevye in a community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof.  And he was amazing.  My Dad.

Day 53 – I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I have always had a giddy, school-girl love of drivethru car washes.  I love the sound of the jets spraying the car and the foam that completely envelops everything.  Well, the other day, I waited (im)patiently for 30 minutes to get my car cleaned.  But boy was it worth it.  Much to my surprise, having paid the extra few $$$ to get the “fancy” wash with magic protective potions brought a whole new level of excitement.  Near the end of the wash, the car was sprayed with a multicolored foam that made the entire vehicle look like it was tye-dyed.  I tried to grab my camera as fast as I could, but I could only get a shot of it as it was being rinsed off.    It was awesome.  I was a kid again.