One weekend down, one still to come! Admittedly, three days of shows in a row following a week of long rehearsals was challenging. By Sunday’s 4:20 showing, the cast was looking pretty rough. (The guy who plays Jack got hit in the eye with a garden hoe during the fight scene the night before; it was so swollen and discolored we had to cover it with an eye patch – needless to say, he was looking even rougher than the rest).

Reefer proved overwhelmingly popular. Thanks to word-of-mouth from the first full house, we played to a sold out audience Saturday night and another brimful one Sunday. Besides the one black eye, all three shows went off without too much in the way of hitches (although we’ve had more than a couple people bit it on the stairs coming off stage, just nothing visible to the crowd). Jesus finally got his flight on by Saturday night (although there were reports that if you sat in the front row your view of his descent was maybe a little TOO good). Myself, I forgot my mic once and really had to belt it for a scene, but that’s the worst (and by saying that I probably just insured some kind of onstage embarrassment during the last two shows…).

Now that months of rehearsal and performing are about to wrap, I’m already looking (out of necessity, mostly) toward the next big thing: namely, the move. But also, a minor detour we’ll be making in the midst of that move to be present at J’s little sister’s high school graduation.

In London.

I hadn’t expected to be able to join J on this little trip, due to cost and logistics (my current lack of passport? my lack of job? my dog??). But let’s just say the flight is no longer an issue, and now I just have to get that passport and find a babysitter or boarding kennel for the Gabe monster and off we’ll go. A little crazy to jump on a plane overseas in the middle of your out-of-state move? Perhaps. But when will I have the opportunity to visit a country I’ve been aching to see for years (ever since my sister and I hashed out a plan to study abroad and live in a little flat together that never came to fruition)? J’s parents live there, so we’ll have a place to stay, and his little sister knows the city back and forth. They’re all moving back to the States this summer, so it’s now or never.

It can be done. I intend to prove it.

But it will require more organization than I’ve possibly ever mustered in the past, some sacrifice (ok, a lot of sacrifice, but with a prize like that, giving up a few things will never have been easier) and the occasional glass of wine (Ahem… make that a PBR. We’re sacrificing, remember?).

The first steps? Drop some excess baggage (in the way of a futon, some clothing, CD’s and otherwise hock-able items) while creating some extra funds. Visit the post office to apply for my passport AND fill out change of address forms. Make dinner at home tonight, in what will be the first in a long series meals that will A) Spare the expense of dining out, and B) Possibly teach me how to cook something other than “Macaroni and Peas” or “Thai Stew Surprise” (my current, sad repertoire).

So we’re off and running… one adventure nipping on the heals of the last. But that’s life, and we run with it, and it’s that much better for it.

~a