Saturday, March 10, 2001
Is it possible to fall in love with a bunch of kids in one short week? I think so. Davon kept telling me he wasn't going to show up, but sure enough there he was, one of the first to arrive. Then he said he was going to leave before the show, but he stayed. Funny thing was that his grandmother was there because he had invited her. Yeah right, he didn't want to perform...hehe. He was marvelous onstage and even pulled me in line when i flubbed helping his group perform Napoleon by Miroslav Holub. Finally all his attention grabbing antics were focused on doing something right! Whitney, Mokia, LaCressa, and Chantel all gave me more hugs than i could count and were all able to shine like the stars they are today performing Ogden Nash's The Termite, Sunshine by Rose Flint, and Fog by Carl Sandburg respectively. Macy, Darian, and Maranda did me proud by their flawless performance of one of my favorite childhood poems, Sick by Shel Silverstein. The list goes on and on. I'm suprised at how many names and faces stick so well in my head since it often becomes a blur by the end. They were all so welcoming and fun and open i couldn't help but grow to love them all. My only regret is that the week is over and i don't know if i will ever see them again. Sister Mary Lou asked me when i was coming back to stay for a year. I didn't have an answer, but i'm not ruling it out as a possibility.
Well i tried to putter my way out the door, but ciro reminded me that we had a 5 hour drive through questionable weather ahead. The weather was only super slick and snowy in a couple of patches and went relatively smooth considering we narrowly avoided a very long wait on the freeway. I-80 was completely shut down at exit 18 in Pennsylvania due to a serious accident. Fortunately for us we came to a halt only a mile past exit 17 and a few hundred yards from a cross-over easily reached by driving up the shoulder. It took us an hour to detour around about 10 miles of freeway, but considering the line of semi-trucks doing the same thing both in both directions we figured we were better off. I swear the whole town of Clearview (or at least all of the volunteer firemen and police) were out directing traffic. I doubt they often have miles of big trucks filing down their narrow streets. It turned out to be worth the time though since the highway was a barren wasteland when we got back on at exit 19. The traffic on the other side consisted of rows of semis at a standstill trying to get off the next couple of exits and when we stopped further on for a bathroom the travel center was overflowing with trucks that had given up and parked until there was news that it cleared. We never could find on the news what happened, but i imagine it wasn't good and i'm glad we didn't end up in the middle of it ourselves. It's lucky we didn't leave a little sooner, or a little later, but just when we did. Timing is everything.~w
wendi's 12:50 AM ravings
Friday, March 09, 2001
It's been a long day and my computer is grumpy so this will probably be short.
We performed for teachers-to-be at a local college today and showed them how our standard workshop works so they can take it with them into their classrooms-to-be. They seemed to really have some fun with us. Then we played with the kids at Neighborhood Art House again this afternoon. We had a couple groups arguing over who got to play which part in the poems, but other than that it went rather smoothly. Tomorrow they perform for the rest of the kids there. We started to see some nerves set in, but other than that they will do marvelously.
I made my first mix CD today. It seems to have turned out okay with only one major glitch. Oh well, when it's in the computer player i can skip the glitch and it doesn't sound too bad. It was a fun way to re-familiarize myself with all the cds i've been toting around the country and barely listening to. Now i'm missing the rest of my collection though which is safely at home. I've decided that mixing cds is definitely not my specialty though. I like tapes where you can fix your goofs or just start the whole thing over if necessary. I suppose that coupled with slow hotel phone lines is why i never got hooked on napster like a few people i know. I suppose that's good since i'd probably be suffering major withdrawal as they shut it down this week.
Well, i don't have to get up early tomorrow, but i do need to check out of the hotel, so i suppose that's enough for now. I'll have more to write about once the kids do their show tomorrow.~w
wendi's 2:06 AM ravings
Wednesday, March 07, 2001
I worked out today!! I've been lazy lately, but i finally got my butt in gear today. This hotel happens to have a particularly nice Nautilus setup in their fitness room. It makes working out fairly easy. Basically by the time i finish playing with all the toys i've worked out my whole body. Pretty neat, but it's only that exciting the first day. I'll have to see if i can convince myself to do it again now. Funny, i never thought i'd miss working in an office in downtown Seattle, but with a 15 minute walk/run down to work (always late) and a 20 minute brisk hike home up the hill, i never had to worry about getting enough exercise. With all this sitting in the car and hotel rooms 2-1/2 hours of shows each day (despite the fact that they can be physically exhausting) just doesn't seem to keep me in the same shape. It could also be that my stress level in general was higher when i was trying to work enough to pay bills and still have time to write and perform poetry and help run a weekly show. Hmm, maybe i need a few more projects to stress me out...nah.
Today we played with kids again and it was oodles of fun. They are a very creative and happy bunch who seem to really appreciate what we have to offer them. Wheeeee! It's so much fun! Marissa and i were on the local news last night, but i missed it because ciro and i were eating dinner at the time. Our contact person for tomorrow morning's show saw it though, which is kinda cool. I must say that local CBS stations have been good for poetry and kids. This is the third time i've been on one of them now. Not to bad for a rag tag poet.
Oooh! I found out that one of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, has a blogger devoted to his new novel. But it's not just him raving about the book, it includes all that nitty gritty dirt about prepping a novel for publishing. A real first hand look at how writers write when they've finished writing...
color me a sunset in crayon
purple sun and red clouds
or give me yellow sun
behind black rain
with happy orange people
holding multi-colored lollipops
maybe just swirls of greenbluered
that tell each eye it sees something new
then listen to the children laugh
and remember that you're special
for seeing the world as you do
I think more restaurants should have tables you can draw on with crayon, no matter your age.~w
wendi's 10:26 PM ravings
Tuesday, March 06, 2001
We had so much fun today! Granted it was only 3 hours of play with the kids, but they were bright, creative and enthusiastic. Booking hotels isn't nearly so much fun. I keep avoiding it instead. It's gotta be done though.
I feel like doing nothing much but sleeping. The past few weeks have just run me down and i'm happy to have a few days when i can sleep in late. My back hurts and i'm craving chocolate. What does that mean? No, it's not PMS so rule that out. Maybe i just need someone to give me a backrub and a box of chocolate so i can feel loved. Is that too much to ask? It's been years since i've had a boyfriend who'd rub my back. I guess there is a reason people put up with relationships afterall.~w
wendi's 11:04 PM ravings
Monday, March 05, 2001
Question of the day...how do you do a performance with audience participation when the audience is watching you on their tv screens in their classrooms? We're so used to having a bunch of shining faces out there in front of us it will be strange to do a whole show live in front of cameras. That's a task for next week though so we have some time to think about it. Eeekers. As if that wasn't enough, another call for later next week has a woman explaining to me how her school burnt down and they lost all the paperwork. Yikes! I guess life just can't be simple today.
The show/workshop today went splendidly though. We are working at the Neighborhood Art House in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Art House is run by some very nice nuns and offers free music, dance, pottery, art, poetry, and tutoring to students afterschool. It's a whole world of fun! I want one! Hmmm, i wonder if Asheville has anything like it... We're looking forward to a great week of playing with poetry with these kids. Ah, some days i do love my job!!
now it's time to jump
1,2,3,4
let your body soar
5,6,7,8
bouncing make you feel great
Okay, not much of a poem, but i did think watching the kids warm up for dance class by jumping was very entertaining.~w
wendi's 11:29 PM ravings
Ack it's late. Good thing i slept for about 3 hours in the car. We drove through a Pennsylvania snow storm tonight to arrive in Erie at about 10:30pm. The storm was gorgeous to look at if you weren't driving. We found the hotel and then went out for dinner so it was about midnight by the time i got my bags dragged up to my room. Ugh. So, here i am ready for the next week. In addition to my nap i had a very good conversation with ciro today and we seemed to finally sort out some of the recent frustrations. Whew!
I don't have much else to say since i'm thinking about bed. This weekend was very healing for me, but i still have to recover from my allergic reaction to visiting my cat. Decongestants and sleep are in order for a fully functioning poetry peforming wendi tomorrow.~w
wendi's 2:26 AM ravings
Sunday, March 04, 2001
I can't tell you exactly how it happened, but it started with Prince Charming. My friend Darlene told me way back in junior high that i shouldn't worry about finding the right guy, because my Prince Charming was out there somewhere looking for me. While part of me hoped it was true i immediately responded with "No, mine's been killed by a dragon. Didn't you hear the news?" Time went by, and Darlene came back with a drawing of a knight that had be knocked out by a dragon. "Look," she said, "he's not dead, he'd just been knocked out temporarily." Not to be outdone i drew my own picture of a girl in a tower crying over a pile of ashes with a useless shield and sword nearby, and just for good measure, a snout peeking in the corner spewing a last bit of flame. "See," i said, "he's definitely dead." Probably not the best outlook on love to start off with, but i think i used it as a defense mechanism for all the times when it seemed like it could be right, but then it turned out to be very wrong. It's nice to have something to blame it all on besides my own ineptitude or just bad relationship dynamics. Over the years the dragon has evolved. After i read On a Pale Horse he was granted the name Mortis. It seemed fitting that the cause of death for love in my life should have the same name as the grim reaper's steed (of course in the book i'm reading now death's horse is named Binky, but his apprentice is named Mort, so i think i'll stick with Mortis). Later it became a protector. I think that happened sometime after i read The Neverending Story and realized that dragons could be friendly on occasion. Within that book lies the story of what happens when you dream your own world. So i guess that, in part, is how i look at my life. Dream what i will become and let Mortis protect me from all the false princes out there who are trying to be charming. Now, i'm not sure if there is a real prince charming out there, but if there is, i think that Mortis would probably leave him alone. I guess the older i get the more i let hope seep into my world.
Today was a busy body day. Not that my body was very busy, but i got the chores done of laundry and paperwork. I also got to see an artist in the middle of his work. Between the art and the artist and the conversation i found myself tickled into letting go of some of my dreary doldrums. Some 10 hours of conversation over the past two days has me shaking after so much silence on the road.
Now i'm watching Cider House Rules. I finally got around to it, even though i could have seen it in the play version years ago with a friend of mine in the cast. Ah well, i'm seeing it now at least and it seems well worth it. It's hard to pass any sort of judgement until it is over, but i'd say it's one of the better movies i've watched recently. Figures though that i'd pick a movie with some tough issues in it. Just what i need, something else on my mind.~w
wendi's 3:07 AM ravings
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