Leave Your Drama At Home

Oh boy, lately there's just been hella drama going on in the work place. Orders have been screwed up; money has been spent haphazardly; fingers are being pointed every which way. Yeah, it's like that.

I gotta say though that I'm proud of how I'm dealing with it all - like water off a duck's back. Don't ask, don't tell. Curiosity killed the cat. I got a million of these. Basically, I'm doing the dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge move from Dodgeball. By avoiding involvement, I keep my sanity. Y'all know how nuts my "new" co-worker is, and yes, people are still calling this chick new after a full year. Where in the hell does on-the-job training last a year? Oh wait, apparently at my work place.

The most honest-to-goodness, inspiring and truthful quote I heard recently was: Be careful of stupid people. They can really kill your business. OMG, this quote has a living, breathing example of itself and she works with me! I really thought I had a handle on what stupid was, but oh how wrong I was. I never knew stupid till now.

The most annoying part is that I don't think she even knows she's stupid. She doesn't realize that stupid things are coming out every time she opens her mouth. She has no self-awareness at all. Even when people joke about her lack of common sense, it goes right over her head.

At least if she were a conniving bitch, who twisted things around to get her way, I could respect her for her ambition. But I think the girl is too stupid for even that. She plays all helpless and hopeless and people respond. This kills me! They either pity her a crap ton and do her job for her; think she's a retard and do her job for her; or are simply efficient human beings and can't wait for her to do it so they do her job for her. Unreal man. Unreal.

Manuscript Update: 2011 Fall ETA

I got a call from my publisher's VP of Creative and was told that they found an illustrator. I won't say who it is though, because who the hell knows if it's for real this time. We all remember what happened last time.

Anyway, they wanted to confirm that I was still interested in publishing my kids book with them. As I mentioned before, my contract ends at the end of the year so they need to update it (again). Once I agreed to this, they were going to contact the illustrator to confirm.

God, I hope this is happening because I've waited over three years now. I know exactly how long it takes to produce a book and it's not three years. But whatever . . . if I've waited this long, then fall 2011 isn't that far off. Yes, apparently it'll take another year to publish and get it out on the market. By then I will probably be in New Zealand having the time of my life. I'll need the extra cash influx so maybe this is working out for the best.

My fingers are crossed for this illustrator. I think this illustrator does some amazing stuff and will add so much to the story. This illustrator was, and still is, my first choice. Let's hope for the best.

Beauty and the Beast

I was lucky enough to get some free tickets to the performance of Beauty and the Beast at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. It was an excellent show, even if there were some awfully cheesy parts.

All the main actors had really wonderful singing voices. Belle's voice was crystal clear. She wore some gorgeous costumes too. The beast was pretty well outfitted too, and the transformation from beast to prince was pretty cool. However, his constant roaring was a bit much for me. I kinda sat there like, "Really? That's what you're going to do?" The actor playing Gaston was so good.

What stole the show were the large set pieces that involved the entire cast. My favorite number was "Be Our Guest." The choreography was great; costumes just sparkled. Even the set for this number was amazing.

Speaking of sets, I sat there in awe of all the things they could do. I cannot even remember how many times the set decorations changed. It was cool how a slight change in lighting or a twist of a house could create an entirely new environment. So cool!

I definitely recommend this show, especially if you have kids. I didn't really notice an overwhelming number of them at my show. But, a lot of the slapstick humor and comedy routines were definitely targeted at them.

My friends and I found parking on the road (score!) so I didn't have to drop any dough on parking. While the auditorium was fairly full, I did see many empty seats. I went midweek though, so I'm sure the weekend showings are packed.