Back On The Treadmill

Hey folks

Just have a few minutes this morning to update you all on what's been happening... it's funny, the first part of the year started out a bit slow. Well, not slow, per se, but the pace was measured and regular. There was plenty of time for everything, and lots of moments to stop chill before embarking on the next project.

Then, all of a sudden, it seems the universe has shifted a bit and I'm back on the run again. The astrologically inclined among you will nod knowingly and say "Well, Mercury is in retrograde..." and I suppose that's as good an explanation as any. It doesn't keep me from sitting back in wonder, though, at the cyclical nature of my life... slow one week then raging-busy the next.

I could tell the winds were shifting last week when things started heating up in the day-job realm... projects started coming due at the same time, clients started having strange and hard-to-explain issues with their computers... you know, the stuff I'm usually there to fix anyway - but this was one of those time periods when the wierd stuff all happend at the same time.

Added to that were preparations for my weekend shoot with Rebecca Rodriguez and Drink Me Pictures for their video series to be shown at March's OEN Conference.

And re-writing the patient profile I'll be using for my corporate role-playing gig with OHSU/OrNode... I'm meant to be playing a meth addict who's been placed into treatment, but the case I'm using was actually written for the meth addict's abused wife. So, there was a lot of re-thinking and re-writing of the case... and then research into meth addict behavior and the physical effects of the drug.

And then there was our next-to-the-last weekend of Dead of Winter at Performance Works Northwest (the audiences keep building, even in the face of a less than stellar review in the Willamette Week - if you want to come see the show before it closes next Saturday, be sure to head to http://www.theblustockings.com/ and make a reservation; it's not inconceivable that we'll sell out).

This weekends shoot went wonderfully... Rebecca and her producing partner Steve Herring are a blast to work with, and they have a firm idea of what they want while still giving their performers the freedom to bring their own ideas to the table. I think the videos are going to bring a lot of laughs; Rebecca has found a way to make the process of "pitching" investors for venture capital funny.

Between Dead of Winter's evening shows and the shoot's early call times, though, I was pretty tired when Sunday rolled around... and looking at the week ahead, I'm feeling more weary already. This week I have to:

• Finish the OEN shoot today
• Start the run of intake interviews for the OHSU/OrNode job
• Get my car re-registered (sigh... that time of year again)
• Meet with my tax preparer on Friday (double-sigh... see above :) )
• Memorize three characters in seven scripts for an indy audition I have on Sunday

Plus, you know... try to have something approximating a home life with Trish :) Oh, and finish a bunch of web projects for the day-job. Oh, and make office calls during the day when people have computer problems. Oh, and sleep :)

But here's the really wacky part of it all... I'm not complaining! Not one bit; in fact, I'm loving the craziness of the schedule and the challenge of fitting it all in and doing well at my assorted tasks. Maybe it's the mix of my type-A father and my mother's Quaker upbringing... maybe I'm just a loon... but I'm happier with my time filled than I am with it empty, and I wouldn't trade the life I live for any other. Besides, look at what's keeping me so busy - I'm not running all over for "the man" like the proverbial chicken-with-my-head-cut-off... I'm balancing all these projects for myself, doing what I want to do FOR myself. That's the trade-off to being self-employed (both in the acting and day-job fields); it's a "beast and famine" kind of life.

I'm just really thankful for my Treo to help me keep everything straight.

Maybe Mercury and I just get along really well together...

Hope you all have a good week. I may wave as I run past :)

-Harold