Day 242: Progress

Uneventful flight through which I slept almost continuously. Just the way I like it! Then to my surprise and delight, free WiFi on the NJ Transit train from Newark Airport to Trenton (where my cousin picked me up). Free WiFi. On the commuter train. Now that made me happy. And seeing family. For an entire weekend.

Miss my Stockholm Assassins family though...break a leg you guys on your final performances.

Day 241: Travel eve

My flight leaves at 06:50 AM tomorrow so tonight is travel eve. That time when it becomes essential to get everything done you've put off for weeks. So the place is now clean, the fridge is emptied, trash disposed of, recycling recycled, bills paid, e-mails written and dishes washed.

All that's left is laundry...doubtful as the laundry room was booked all day and evening...and packing. Fortunately, I am staying with relatives the first few days so, worst case scenario, I can pack dirty clothes and do a load of wash there :-)

Will stay up late, late, late tonight so I can sleep, sleep, sleep on the plane. Great feeling, climbing on board; whatever could not get done by then is simply left behind. Until I return home.

"Leaving on a jet plane..."

Day 240: Crossing t's and dotting i's

A calm, luxurious day of bookkeeping, packing, laundry, food and planning details of my upcoming trip to the U.S. A little TV. A little Rummikub. A little FB.

And grateful for a) the e-mail reminder from the travel site and b) myself for actually reading it! Otherwise I would have traveled to the wrong airport on Friday. THAT would not have been fun. Now for a book and a nap.

Until tomorrow then...be well one and all.

Day 239: Dishwashing

Have I mentioned how much I love my dishwasher. OK, perhaps love is a bit strong...but only a bit. The pleasure I get from running the thing is palpable. People have left and in just a few minutes the place is more or less back to normal. Not only are the dishes "out of sight, out of mind," they are also getting clean in the process.

And I get to sleep in tomorrow and wake up to a clean kitchen.

:-)

Day 238: Separation Anxiety

Stephen Sondheim as I first remember him

Every good production requires a dress rehearsal. Tomorrow will be mine. Tomorrow I revert to Jane Q. Public, just a regular theater goer with a passion for musicals in general, and Sondheim in particular. No longer production manager for Assassins, I will be an audience member tomorrow night along with a group of former colleagues. Then, although the show plays through Saturday night, I will retain my civilian status and head toward the U.S. for a wedding followed by a nice visit in NY to reconnect with friends and family.

What an adventure it's been. What excellent work we've done. And how much I've learned. About the production process. About the creative process. About the business end of show business. And, not least, about myself. Moments of intense pleasure and joy, pride in the work and my contributions, a long hard look in the mirror, blemishes and all. An opportunity to forgive myself. And to appreciate the lessons the journey has taught me.

More Sondheim to the people. Mr. Sondheim, to whom I'm ever so grateful for the many ways in which he has enriched my life over the many decades that our paths have overlapped.

Day 237: Flow

One of those days where things just fell into place one after the other. When I woke up this morning, I thought that I'd planned way too many things for this one day. Instead of panicking though, I just started putting one foot in front of the other. Soon, the place was neat and tidy and off I went to the theater where we were to rebuild the set and move costumes and props back into the actors' dressing rooms. On my way, I stopped to recycle the (many) cans and bottles that had accumulated over the past week of performances and pick up fruit and milk.

Once at the theater, everything went smoothly and we were done in less than two hours. Back home then to await the gathering of fellow board game enthusiasts who were also coming to see this evening's performance of Assassins. We played two games I got as Chanukkah presents from my Sweeties, both of which turned out to be quite fun.

Then off to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant that turns out to have a eat two for the price of one special on Sundays. And the food was yummy. Icing on the cake? Everyone loved the show.

What more can a person ask? :-)