maggies meanderings and shameless plugs

so much for my musical taste wearing off on him....

2009-11-26T20:25:00.002-06:00

RTO: oh good, now I can see what goofy person is singing this.

MK: It's Mahalia Jackson.

RTO:

MK:

RTO: people think that sounds good?

MK: IT'S A CLASSIC!!

RTO: she can't pronounce things correctly.

MK:

RTO: "Christ the savior is bore"?

MK: I'm blogging this.

What have I been doing the last week?

2009-11-25T18:29:00.002-06:00

not much, which, I guess, is why I haven't posted anything. I feel like I'm forgetting something today. I'd made a list of things to get done today and well, of course, they are taking longer than I thought they would.

Laundry, Christmas cards, ....??? cupcakes, but then I just remembered I was going to make RTO make the "pumpkin pie spice" for the cupcakes. And now he called and he's going to be late.

It's funny, I went to bed rather early (for me) last night, so then I was wide awake at 2 a.m. I read for about an hour and then conked out again. so the lesson here is, "don't go to bed before midnight"

Have I mentioned I "volunteered" to be treasurer for a state senate campaign? I did and it's quite the learning experience. RTO is helping out with social networking and some other online things. I suppose that's been taking up a lot of my time.

and dog walking. I think we're going to take Roxie with us to the farm tomorrow. because we can. and it will be a chance for her to socialize with some more dogs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

trade-in time

2009-11-19T16:21:00.001-06:00

Happyfeet brought this to my attention.

Cats for Gold!

but I've never really worn gold, so I doubt I have enough to get a kitty.

when did I do this?

2009-11-19T08:35:00.002-06:00

This started a week or so ago. At first they just said I had shown an interest in jerky. yesterday it was "meat snacks" and today they've added pepperoni. which, I guess I do like, but I don't remember ever looking at them on Amazon.

I think maybe they're spying on me and know I've been drooling over the Jerky Outlet billboard on I-30. (I looked for a website, but they don't seem to have one. However, this lady claims to have been there, so I know I'm not smoking crack.)

just to get it out of my system

2009-11-16T01:48:00.002-06:00

so maybe I'll sleep. I'm stressing about tomorrow. There were all these things I was gonna do and then today I had an audition and got called back, but it's tomorrow night so now I'm panicking and trying to decide what I can do tomorrow and what I should leave for another day.

probably the errands. but I was so planning on doing them tomorrow. Then I remembered I have a dentist appointment as well.

silly things, I know, but I usually have my days at least planned out in my head a couple days before. and having to change them at the last minute stresses me.

on the plus side, I got some organizing/decluttering done this weekend. I think RTO is a little annoyed about it because the mood strikes me at odd times, like before we were going to watch a movie. (but I was standing there waiting for the disc fixer to do it's thing and the drawer that's right there has been driving me nuts for a while. so I pulled everything out of it and sorted it and there's much more space in there now that most of the defunct phone chargers are gone. and the cookie cutters found a new home.)

But then I'm also not getting all the odd little things done that I thought I would. like reading. and I think Christmas ornaments are going to be postponed to next year. I made one over the weekend and well, it takes too much time (at least seven Red Eyes plus a couple Next Iron chefs)to be able to do many in a timely fashion. so, um, I've got a head start on next year.

hilariousness

2009-11-15T02:19:00.001-06:00

if our house burns down, you'll know why...

2009-11-14T11:04:00.003-06:00

MK: oh, hey, there was something I was going to ask you about... but I've forgotten what it was...

RTO: must have been very important.

MK:

RTO: or a lie.

MK: oh yeah!

RTO:

MK: no, no, it's not that. you see. um... Where does the dryer vent go?

RTO: um. that's a good question.

MK: it's just I've seen a couple things lately about cleaning that out or risking all the fluff exploding into flame eventually. and then I think, I don't know where it is outside.

RTO: dunno

Veteran's Day Aaaaawwwww

2009-11-11T13:51:00.001-06:00

dogs welcoming home soldiers at mental_floss.

in his dreams...

2009-11-11T00:42:00.002-06:00

RTO:

MK: what?

RTO:

MK: what is it?

RTO: you don't notice anything different?

MK: um...

RTO: *points at face*

MK: oh, you got new glasses?

RTO: yeah!

MK: they don't look that different.

RTO: they're totally different.

MK:

RTO: see, the sides are black instead of silver.

MK:

RTO: now I have sexy rimless glasses just like Jeff.

MK: but there's stuff at the top of yours....

RTO: so, um, they're still rimless, there's nothing on the bottom.

MK: whatevs.

let the boredom.... begin!!!

2009-11-08T00:09:00.006-06:00

had the final show tonight. It went well. Have to go help strike the set tomorrow. but otherwise, I have not much to do for a while.

here's a few projects I finished up lately....

It looks kinda scary, but it does it's job well (holding my iphone while I walk Roxie). I think I may need one more patch to cover the top flap thing where I sewed the snap on. maybe some tiny letters for my name too.

One of the smaller cross-stitch projects I've been working on.

I always make RTO do the finishing bits, like the hanger on this one.

well, okay, I haven't made him do this one yet. which is why it looks like a choo-choo wreck.

There's one other cross-stitch thing I'm working on that will hopefully get done tomorrow and then maybe I'll start on some ornaments.... duhn duhn DUUUUUHN!

remember when Friday used to be cat bloggin day?

2009-11-06T17:14:00.003-06:00

Iz helping!

This year's Halloween cupcakes....

2009-11-05T11:38:00.003-06:00

RTO made the frosting orange.

I already have plans/ideas for Thanksgiving ones... just need to know where they'll be going.

starting to wonder if they're just testing the sirens....

2009-11-04T13:06:00.001-06:00

they started at 1:01.

Couldn't get Roxie to howl, though. It's so cute, but she generally won't make any noise in the house and she didn't want to stay outside.

last accounting post for a while... I hope....

2009-11-04T01:24:00.004-06:00

Here's an example of the questions that kept confusing me....

for some reason it made me think of mom. ;D

oh, the study mode just means I could see if I got it right or not right away and see what the correct answer should have been.

seems like most of the final had these kinds of questions. I hate them.

yeah, that last one was all stupid questions.. didn't ask how to make an entry or anything, just "Why is this a good idea?"

anyhoo, tomorrow I will go to one last class at the placement co. and then be put on hold for a month and get one week in December. I plan to finally enjoy my funemployment, I just have one last weekend of performances and then my days and evenings are mostly free. (Roxie starts Intermediate training Tuesday)

another day another accounting course....

2009-11-02T23:23:00.004-06:00

W007! Accrual Accounting Procedures!

I was hoping to get more done today, but then I got distracted with looking at job postings. *sigh* May try to push through the last three and test tomorrow. But, I have to go vote at some point and get some kitty litter.

update: another one down... one to go....

I'm totally kidding about that payroll thing. I think they simplified a lot of it.

update 2: ALL COURSE WORK IS FINISHED!!! now, to try the final exam. heh.

I'm noticing I don't do well on the Lesson Overviews. I showed some of the questions to RTO and we've decided I over-think things. The Overview questions are usually along the lines of "If I account for Merchandise Inventory _______" fill in the blank with one or several of their choices and they're always nebulous things like, "The company will have an accurate financial picture" "The Company will make money" "Everyone will be more efficient"

I don't care about all the reasons why I'm doing this stuff. I just do it.

Didn't know it was so dangerous....

2009-11-01T01:31:00.002-06:00

RTO and I were taking Roxie for a walk last weekend and these two kids were coming down the street. The boy on the bike asked if we knew the way to the park. "but not the snake place" um. "The one with lakes" hmmmm. that's where we're headed. but there is a playground at one end that's separated from the lakes by some soccer fields. Anyway, RTO told him how to get there and we continued on our way to the "snake place"

Now I think of that every time we're there. I've seen snakes a few times, but not enough to dub it "the snake place" so, maybe his parents just didn't want him going that far. who knows?

um, so I haven't had to use accounting fundementals for a while now....

2009-10-29T12:35:00.005-06:00

Decided to take some Skillsoft courses to stretch my accounting brain again and debated about whether I really needed to start at the beginning. um, yeah. Here's my pre-test result:

now, a couple questions I missed because I didn't format the numbers correctly, I had the right number but forgot the dollar sign. still. kinda sad.

update: I completed the course tonight and mostly improved.... I like how the General Ledger score actually got worse. and I also hate cash flow statements. on the plus side, I don't plan on having a job where I ever have to make financials from scratch. or do the General Ledger by hand. (I think that's what got me, they insist you learn their order for making an entry by hand and I kept forgetting when the Post Reference was supposed to be done. not like it matters so long as it gets done, but there you are.)

so now I'm panicking because I just realized I have until Wednesday to take the rest of the courses for Accounting 101. It looks like most of them are shorter than this one. I guess we'll see how motivated I am.

National Cat Day!

2009-10-29T11:06:00.003-06:00

Who knew?

Charlene Butterbean of the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee for one. Probably because she fosters a lot of shelter kittens.

I don't have to actually do anything do I?

now I totally know what I'm getting everyone in my family for Christmas....

2009-10-28T23:50:00.004-06:00

It's Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken! although... the Palm Beach Barbie Caftan was very tempting.

via SarahW on twitter.

since it's nice, I'll post it....

2009-10-28T10:39:00.002-06:00

I think eventually, it will be posted on their website, but for now, I'll just post the whole thing.

THE BUTLER DID IT By Tim Kelly
Mesquite Community Theatre

*REVIEWED 10/24/09

REVIEWED BY Matt Gunther
ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

_______________________THE BUTLER DID IT______________________

Do the words `Detective Mystery' and ` Butler ' evoke any kind of immediate response in your mind? Did you perhaps think of Ellery Queen, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or maybe Peter Falk wearing his shabby trench coat as Columbo? If you had you wouldn't have come within a thousand miles of the true nature of the show `The Butler Did It' playing at the Mesquite Community Theatre, mainly because there was no detective and no butler, but that doesn't stop it from being a pretty entertaining show.

Don't get me wrong, it does take place during a stormy night on a mysterious island with a group of people that all seem to have something from their past to hide, and a number of figurines on a fireplace mantle that drop one by one, signifying… Well, I'll leave the rest for you to find out on your own. Suffice it to say that the story, albeit thin, is enjoyable and a murder does take place – in the show, not in the audience, so you can relax about going – but this show is not meant to be serious or mysterious, but rather a comedy and the laughs are plenty.

The story revolves around a select group of detective novelists, all dressed and in character as their fictional detectives, invited to spend a weekend on Turkey Island , off the coast of San Francisco . The old adage that says, `Those that can't do – teach' applies directly to this group of characters except in the form of `Those that can't do – write', because this bunch of yahoos wouldn't know detective work if it hit them on the head with a ten foot magnifying glass. The characters these writers play are larger than life and they play their cliché parts well.

Laura Warner is excellent as the commanding and stylishly sly hostess of Ravenswood Manor, Miss Maple. My initial reaction to Miss Maple was game show host on a soap opera. But Ms. Warner infuses her with a modicum of vulnerability as well. She presents a powerful presence with her booming voice and sophisticated air and leaves no doubt about who is in charge, although the hired help, Haversham (Rachel Hall) might have something to say about that.

Ms. Hall takes casual grossness to a new level as she picks her nose and her teeth—sometimes in the same moment—sneezes, blows, and hacks her way through her required duties. It would be easy for these antics to upstage everything else, but her timing is wonderful and so it fits.

Jennifer White plays Miss Maple's stoic assistant Rita with just the right amount of emotional detachment to draw suspicion upon her character throughout the show as she carries around her mysterious hatbox.

The voice of reason in this cadre of simpletons is Peter Flimsey (Steve Iwanski). His straight shooting sophistication is played wonderfully by Mr. Iwanski with an understated English accent. Of all the novelists, he seemed like he could actually think his way out of a paper bag. Think Jeremy Irons mixed with Alex Trebek. I like his thoughtfulness, his style, his movement, and his timing.

Then there's tough guy Chandler Marlow and tough girl Charity Hayes, played admirably by Jim Jensen and Kimberly Anne Cooper respectively. Marlow is comfortable standing on the outskirts of the action, dressed in black, and rattling off a slew of hard nosed detective chatter, while Charity descends upon the group in full Lara Croft leather and pistols ready to lay down some lead and deal with the body count later.

I loved Louie Fan (Jeff Stachowski) with his fake Fu-Manchu mustache and barely passable Asian accent. He spouted one-liner Confucianisms like a bad comedian at a geriatric convention. Mr. Stachowski was great in capturing Louie Fan's ineptitude as he constantly misreads who the killer is, to the point where, in an interplay between him and Peter Flimsey, I thought my wife was going to lose it and pee her pants.

One of the things I like about this piece is that it is filled with characters who are pretending to be real detectives, so it all comes down to the choices the actors make for the choices their detective novelists would make for their detective characters. So if a character flops on stage, is it because the actor didn't give those strong motivations leading to strong character choices, or is it that their characters stunk at playing someone else?

For instance, Father White (Greg Williams) is an Irish priest, but his accent is so thin that it doesn't work well. Mr. Williams plays it well. Does it work? It's hard to say. The novelist's depiction of Father White was just okay.

Jeff Cummings' set design was excellent. Except for a few items where it looked like he may have exhausted his budget, it felt like I could have been looking into a finely apportioned manor sitting room. He paid attention to detail, from the pictures hanging on the walls (well most of them), to the lion statuettes marking the corners of the room, to the little figurines placed in various locations throughout. Plus his use of reds and golds added elegance to the setting. Add a fine staircase and the hidden passageway and this was a visually engaging set.

Costume design (Emily Hunt) was great. I loved the orange and yellow for Louie Fan and that stupid fake mustache. Miss Maple was beautiful and Rita plain, creating a nice contrast.

The director (Byron Holder) is correct when he says in the program, `…the script of this show probably won't win any awards…', but that doesn't matter because he's put together a show that is a lot of fun to watch. Take the time. Spend an evening in Ravenswood Manor. You won't be disappointed.

REVIEWED by Matt Gunther
ASSOCIATE THEATRE CRITIC for John Garcia's THE COLUMN

______________________________

____________________________

THE BUTLER DID IT
Mesquite Community Theatre, 1527 N Galloway Ave, Mesquite , TX 75149

Now Through November 7th.

(972) 216-8126 / http://www.mctweb.org

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays – 8:00, Sundays – 2:30, $8-12

update: different site, same review.

second week of no work...

2009-10-27T21:25:00.003-06:00

only two days in and I feel just as far behind as ever. stupid appointments. Met with the consultant today to talk about what my plans are. And she's all "why don't you do something with you're music degree?" no, I need the accounting work to pay for that. heh.

Anyhoo, she tried to finagle things so I can stretch out my month o' time to close to when I really want to star looking for a job. but she can only put me on hold for a month. In the mean time, I'm supposed to take advantage of their career resource site. I can take a few accounting courses online to refresh my memory. but mostly it looks like I'll be doing the temp thing again and she agrees that's probably the best route for me.

Never got a chance to meet him in person....

2009-10-27T01:33:00.001-06:00

but Mel will be missed.

The Butler Did It... in pictures...

2009-10-25T21:38:00.002-06:00

you can find some pictures from the show I'm in here. A friend of one of the cast members took them, and they're really good.

so as usual, things not as bad as I imagine they will be....

2009-10-21T23:50:00.003-06:00

I learned a lot about recent trends in resumes today and also how this company will help with job searching. Funny (to me) part was when we went around the room answering the "What is one of your weaknesses" question and I froze by the time they got to me because I'd been thinking of really amusing (to me) answers. The instructor talked about how when you answer that question you want to be able to also say how you address that problem. Usually when I've been asked that I just say that sometimes I work too fast and either make more mistakes than usual or I'm not able to explain exactly why I did something if someone else asks and it's not always the most efficient method after all.

so, here, in no particular order are things I came up with:

"Lately, I have a hard time staying focused at work, but I have drugs for that"

"I hate answering stupid questions. NEXT!"

"I don't like talking to people on the phone, and if I do my job right, I shouldn't have to. ever."

"I don't do more than one thing at a time. It's an introvert thing, it's not changing anytime soon"

(for mom) "You call it lazy, I call it efficient"

Not what I want to hear today, Horoscope!

2009-10-21T10:06:00.000-06:00

Here is your horoscope for
Wednesday, October 21: You may have a hard time getting your point across today, especially if your boss or an important client is involved. Authority figures think they know best and just can't be told otherwise.