Friday, June 01, 2001
So, this morning ciro, rodney and i did two shows and a workshop splitting the poems up so that the same show could include a third performer. It was kinda fun and different, but i'm glad we don't do it that way all the time. I find i enjoy being onstage more than being backstage, so the more words i have to say the better i feel. Literally. My allergies to the northeast had me wheezing before and after the show, but magically during the performances i felt great. I wish i could bottle some of that and take it home.
I've spent the afternoon being a recluse (notice the new graphic stuff i've been messing with on this page). I also tried catching up with unread email and stuff. I wanted to be working on the Poetry Alive! site, but the server is down as the host company was just swallowed by another host company who doesn't have everything working yet. Grrrr. So instead i started reading email from the Slam Listserve.
What is the Slam Listserve? At times informative and at times inflammatory, sometimes interesting it is an email list for the Poetry Slam community that is always verbose. I'm not sure when the numbering started (a year ago, or two?) but the most recent post is number 14,389. I haven't read them all and probably never will. However, one or two got me thinking today about why people like me get tired of all things slam after a while even though we poured our heart and soul into it for many years. I think mostly it has to do with reaching a personal plateau. There is only so much you can get from competing with poetry week after week. After a while you stop listening to the words and focus only on the audience in relation to your own work. With Poetry Alive! i get to perform every week and focus on how people react to someone elses words and through them discover more reasons why those specific pieces are truly powerful. I could keep doing this for years to come if i didn't have to travel so much, but again i've reached a plateau. When going home becomes more important than going to the next town it's time for a change to spur myself to the next level. It is easy to become comfortable. It is much more difficult to follow your heart and try to live out your potential. However, in the end it's the risk takers who are able to create the change that so many poets write about these days. There comes a time when it's necessary to live up to your word.~w
wendi's 11:49 PM ravings
Thursday, May 31, 2001
We finished up our 8th grade workshops today with sleepy morning students. A short drive brought us to Hartford, CT where we'll be for 3 days. The hotel our boss put us up in is more like a apartment complex with a country club. In fact the rooms are about as big as some of the apartments ciro's been looking at renting in Houston. Mostly i just did personal paperwork this afternoon to catch up with myself. I kinda just feel like wandering around in circles since i have so much space. I haven't really seen much of Hartford. We went out for lunch at a little Vietnamese Restaurant that was good and cheap and then dinner was actually served in the hotel lobby. I feel like the afternoon sort of slipped through my fingers. Already it's late and i'm thinking about bed. However, that will have to wait. Our boss is at dinner right now, but when he gets back we need to figure out what we're going to do tomorrow for our three person show. It's kind of a strange gig here that basically requires that he participate in some fashion. I guess that just means less work for us, though i'd rather be crawling into bed rather than getting ready to rehearse. Shouldn't take long though. Okay that's enough random spittering for now.~w
wendi's 9:12 PM ravings
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
More workshops with 8th grade students today. The last group was especially fun and silly. Then it was time to change the oil in the car and run errands.
My allergies are migrating to my chest and making me miserable tonight though. I just want to breath freely again without being doped up on benadryl or wired on sudafed. Why is it that everything marketed as "cold medicine" or "allergy medicine" makes you feel goofy instead of better. Maybe it's because the best cure for a cold would be to stay home and rest instead of trying to work a regular day. Why is it that so many americans are allergic to spring? I noticed that the first class we worked with today was sniffling, coughing and more doped up on medicine than either ciro or i. Actually i think they were just half asleep because of the time of day, but they certainly sounded sick and several trips were made to the teacher's tissue box. At least i wasn't alone.~w
p.s. a friend sent me an email recently reminding me that every click helps...The Breast Cancer Site : Donate Mammograms for Free
wendi's 9:15 PM ravings
Tuesday, May 29, 2001
Show and workshops went smoothly today. I nearly spent as much time booking hotels and making phone calls for next week as i did working with students today though. That makes for a rather long day. Fortunately we don't have to drive anywhere until Thursday. I think i blew a fuse though. My head is all stuffed up again this evening and i can't seem to put more than a few words together at a time. burble...~w
wendi's 11:13 PM ravings
Monday, May 28, 2001
So we've arrived in Westboro, MA where we get to stay for 3 whole nights. Maybe i can catch up with myself here. On the way we read the first three stories out of Sherman Alexie's Toughest Indian in the World. Strange, sad, poignant, and wonderful all at the same time. It's not something that can be read quickly since each story needs to be savored separately.
The weekend flew by in a blur for me. I got to hear poetry from some of my favorite local divas. Patricia Johnson had a lovely feature on the mainstage, opening for Odetta Sunday afternoon. Kim Holzer and Vera Gomez appeared on Saturday to compete in the LEAF slam. Amid all the music dance food arts and crafts us Poetry Alive! folks were running around doing shows sort of on the fly gathering crowds at various locations. For our effort we were treated to food and drink all weekend in addition to the entertainment that we could catch. We also held our end of tour meeting where the goofy awards were given. Ciro and i received the Road Warrior trophies again for most miles driven in the year. I was also awarded the "been there, done that" award for most useful tips on the company voice mail for other teams traveling to places i'd been. Hmm, that almost makes me feel old...
Mostly i took in the sunshine and heavily pollinated air (accounting for my stuffed head all weekend). I avoided being beaned by the amateur jugglers, watched a monkey eat a taco for lunch, and caught a bit of the rave on the beach. Kids swung down from the treetops all weekend long on pulleys that landed them in the lake. I was tempted to do it myself, but i didn't think i would make a good impression on stage all soggy.
Well tomorrow morning it's back to business as usual for a few more weeks. Sort of anyway. It's always a little odd at this time of year.~w
wendi's 9:51 PM ravings
We made it to Winchester, VA (not WV as i previously mis-mentioned). I wandered about the LEAF a bit more today and we did a spur of the moment show for some kids that was a fun swap off between four of us. My head is less stuffed this evening now that i'm away from tree pollen and cat hair. My sinuses just weren't ready for the North Carolina mountains yet. I did get a cranialsacral/energy alignment thingy at the festival. It seems to have helped clear my mental head too, but i'm tired and fuzzy now. More soon with better details i promise...~w
wendi's 12:53 AM ravings
Sunday, May 27, 2001
I spent all of yesterday at the festival. I especially enjoyed listening to Odetta. I'm exhausted today though even after a good night's sleep. Ciro and i did a show in the poetry tent last night, and today we'll go back to watch a couple of other teams do shows. Then we'll drive to Winchester, WV for the night as we make our way up to Massachusettes for shows next week.
I suppose i should write something more interesting about the whole experience, but i'm running late and need to finish packing before ciro gets here to pick me up...~w
wendi's 11:20 AM ravings
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