Yikes. The last time I updated was just before my massage – which turned out to be an emotionally disturbing experience. Vince is amazing, and definitely the absolute best masseuse I have ever been to… However, I definitely left in tears. I had heard about this happening to people before with deep tissue massage – usually Rolfing – but I never thought I was susceptible. Apparently it is a byproduct of 22 years of not letting myself exhale emotionally, so all my junk emotion gets stored in my muscles. It was like therapy. I left feeling too aware of my insecurities and my fears in life, but physically cured of almost all my chronic stature and pain issues. It was so incredibly weird.
Now, a week later, I am feeling much better, mostly for the following two reasons: 1) a lot of my confusion/freak out came because I felt so vulnerable having opened up so much to Vince, a guy who I’ve met only a handful of times for Monica’s rehearsals. In hind-sight, though, (which mom nailed exquisitely,) he is just one of those people who knows what to say, and how to say it to you. He was so generous with his time and his advice and his listening. I hope the next time I see him (in about a week,) I won’t feel so sheepish that I can look him in the eye and really, really thank him. (What a weird outcome for a massage, huh?) … and 2) After I was feeling so disjointed and unhinged I was struck again by what great family and friends I have. Mom stayed on the phone with me just because I’m a nutcase and Becca completely invited me to her plans without a second thought cause she could tell I just didn’t want to be alone, without my having to say it. That was the second time Becca has been an absolute angel to me (the first time being when she dropped everything when I was so sick a few weeks ago, and came over and spent the day with me watching TV.) I’m so glad we’ve become such good friends. Diavolo is so far the most amazing experience, and 99.99% of it has been the people. And we haven’t even left on tour yet.
So anyways… The next day, Sunday, Becca called me up early to see if I wanted to join her and her beau, Pete, for a trip to Manhattan Beach. Sad as it is, I have never ever been to the beach down here for the actual act of going to the beach. As in, I have gone to eat In and Out there and walk barefoot with mom, or Mark and Kris, but never have I gone in a bikini and with suntan lotion in hand to lay out for the express purpose of just being at a beach.
I had so much fun, I can’t even believe it. Part of it was that I felt like a different person: the normal Melinda hisses at the sun and reads whenever there isn’t a TV on… but that day all I did was lay out and play in the waves (another thing I have never, ever done in my whole life.) It was the best!!
After beaching myself (haha) I had dinner with Kris at California Pizza Kitchen, securing myself quality Kris time and leftovers that I could have for lunch for the following two days: quite the deal.
Monday thru Thursday rehearsal was what rehearsal always is: exhausting, and too hot and long. We finished Trajectoire and the pieces of Dreamcatcher that we’re bringing to Vegas for the Honda Industrial. We also re-learned D2R A (which we did for Denver) and which is going to be the alternate piece we do in the venues at which we can’t hang from the ceiling (ie- for when we can’t do hanging duet or Atom.)
Monday night after rehearsal Becca and I went to Westside Pavillion – an awesome mall by her place in Palms off of Overland and Pico – to buy our stage makeup for the year. Knowing that we didn’t want to break out or sweat off our makeup we totally did the whole have-a-sales-guy-help-you-pick-out-every-part-of-it thing. I left $350 poorer, but with a full face of designer makeup that is the BEST you can buy and lasts because you use less. Also, it means that I won’t need to tap into my personal/fun stuff and use it all up on tour.
The biggest part of the investment was about $150 worth of brushes and brush cleaner. I have always been a use-your-finger kind of gal, but apparently that is bad for your face, the makeup, and how long it lasts. Becca already had a killer set of brushes so she didn’t need to buy any. She has had her MAC brushes for about eight years and they are still perfect, so I don’t feel so bad having “invested” in a good set. The whole experience was also super, super fun having someone pick out all your colors and teach you how to apply it all so it looks amazing. It was fun to spoil myself and throw my budget to the wind for a night. It will last far longer than just this season (most of it anyway – the foundation is the only thing that I might need to restock.)
Wednesday night, back at Diavolo, was our annual donor’s gala-show/season kick off. It’s when we perform for everyone who gives us money to survive. The day was so long I couldn’t form complete sentences by the end of it. But the event was catered and I got to tons of fresh fruit: a highlight for me simply because it’s been too long: my apartment is too hot to buy fruit – it ripens waaaay too fast, or not at all if I leave it in the Fridge.) I would have also drowned myself in the ridiculously expensive French wine, just because it was soooo expensive and I when else would I have that opportunity, had I not been the driver that day. It was fun to meet the Board of Directors and get to kick it with the company outside of rehearsal while wearing things other than sweats and actual sweat.
Thursday after rehearsal, too, I got to do just this. After Paige, Becca and I went to a costume fitting (in what I still maintain is the creepiest – like haunted-wise, not dangerous-wise – building in all of LA, off of West Pico and La Brea) we decided to get cocktails at an English pub on Sunset in Hollywood called the Cat and Fiddle. I felt oh-so-grown-up to go “have cocktails,” and this was definitely part of the allure that kept me from instead going home and passing out for the night.
What started out as us three girls turned into most of the company. We all got burgers… great, massive, wonderful burgers and fried vegetables. It was great being around them and not feeling like I was the gross one eating crap. I also found a new drink that I actually enjoy drinking and don’t just tolerate: Vanilla vodka and Ginger Ale. Who knew? It was very sweet, though. Paige let me try her vodka tonic, and I like that too: it was like 7up but more alcohol-y. Looks like my silly quest to find drinks that I actually like has had a sudden kick-start. And just in time for Vegas! Awesome!
Dinner was tons of fun. Afterwards, Becca and I went to the Hustler store – yes, like Huster magazine – to buy her brother a birthday present: he had asked for one of their trademark tees. It was actually not a bad experience. I was sure I was going to feel terribly uncomfortable and hate the place, but instead I found that it was more like a Hard Rock Café: all logo gear and gag gifts, not raunchy or overt at all. There were, of course, sections that had gross “lingere” and books about things I didn’t care to browse, but I was pleased to leave and not feel sick to my stomach or like I was gross. I even bought a shirt for Jerry. It is brown and has a skeleton with guns crossing his chest and doesn’t have one single reference to sex on it anywhere. I therefore have no idea why they were selling it, but whatever. He’ll love it.
Friday I spent the day in Orange County with Wesley, my long-time-no-see most favorite guy friend ever, who has been in China for the past two years. We went and got Boba and then watched MTV and caught up for hours. I’ve missed him so much! He definitely has the best laugh ever and always makes me feel loved. We met up with his friends at night and went to a Street fair in the orange “district” – he swears it’s not a city, or a neighborhood, so by default we’ll call it that – of Tustin. It was amazing. The whole thing is divided into nations/countries. So, as you’re walking in one area it is all Mexican food and crafts and drinks, and then you cross a walkway and enter into Swiss everything. They had Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Danish, Italian, all-american, german, French… and a ton of delineations I couldn’t have imagined warranted their own area, but there they were.
We ended the night at a friend of his parent’s restaurant called Jalapeno’s. There was a very drunk and very hot-tempered Mexican guy there who tried to start a brawl because Wes put his beer on the edge of the table connected to his to give his friend a hug. It was scary for about two seconds and then it was just hilarious. The guy was an idiot and was doing that whole “whose got a problem here?!” puff your chest and glare thing. I made it worse by laughing directly at him (it was a reaction, not an attempt to exacerbate the situation – the guy was just that retarded, I almost did that spit out your soda laugh thing.) Oh well.
Wow, my posts are always so long when I take too long in between each one.
I’ll finish with today: I got up, and immediately called Mark and asked him to go get Rubio’s with me. We ended up seeing the 40-year-old Virgin after lunch, and it was amazing. So good. Go see it. Now.
Since then I’ve been paying bills, cleaning my room, and half-assedly packing for Vegas. I leave on Monday. Tomorrow we have our last rehearsal and load out of the Dreamcatcher set – which is going to take forever: it’s effing huge. I made rice and beans and an olive and cheese quesidilla (no idea how to spell that…) for dinner, and I am enjoying writing and eating and watching yet more of Sex and the City. (I’m on Season Three now. It’s an addicting show!)
Jerry is at the gorge seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I miss the Gorge and Seattle Summer. I can’t believe summer is over… I had a panic attack when I found out LMU started last Monday. I gave myself the summer to settle into pretending to be grown-up and it’s laboring for me to realize my grace period has ended. I miss college and I miss Seattle. But hey, I’m about to go all over the country and the world doing what I love, so, I can’t really complain now can I?