transportaion.

This summer has been great.
I started riding my bike a lot more than ever. Using it instead of the car to go to the grocery store or hardware store or to the theatre. Then I started having trouble with the rear derailleur and so took it in to get it checked out. Ended up having to replace the cassette, get a new chain, a new derailleur and a full tune up.
Great.
Everything is working fine now.
And then, wouldn't you know it? The CAR has issues.
I waited to take the car in cause I knew it was gonna cost money but lo and behold I get a flat tire. What was particularly annoying about this flat tire though was that I had a spare but no jack. So I had to get one of those fix-a-flat cans that you spray into your tire to give it just enough to hobble over to a gas station to put some more air in it. What a mess.
So I finally take the car in and they replace the tire and it's gonna cost an arm (no leg, just an arm) to have the front alignment fixed so that it'll stop having these issues.
During all this I realize my CTA card is cracked and doesn't work properly so I need a new card for taking public transportation.

AND

the sole of my boot is coming off.

So, to sum up... all the way around (Car, Bike, Public Transport, Feet) it has been a challenging summer as far as transportation goes.

But seriously, this summer has been great.

hmmuh?

ahh crap. i fell asleep. what day is it?

you mean i went a whole week without posting?!? Again?!?

HAMSMELL!!!!!!!!

so sorry for the gap. i'm really trying to get better.
no, really.

anywho...here's the haps. we did some really great work on the show over the weekend. breaking down some of the scenes and putting them back together. but this time...faster. stronger. this show is truly shaping up to be a lean mean comedy machine that kicks you in the groin and i can't wait to start playing on the set that anders and judy are cooking up. it's gonna be a lot of fun. yeah, like a whole lot.





on the flip side, i got the three way switches for the basement stairs installed so you can turn on the light at the top and the bottom which makes things a lot easier when it's dark and scary down there.





we were going to go see inglorious basterds but decided to watch the bears preseason instead. they are looking good. i'm excited about this culter fella. and iglesias had a nice catch. actually there were quite a few nice catches. ooooo...now i'm getting excited for some football.


last thing...then i'll go.

kyle's basement is now Variety Underground. going to have some new faces playing and it's going to be great. october 17th. put it on your calendars.

checkya.

and now for something completely different.

a moose once bit my sister.

Accent.

i'm lost.

first, i was taking a tour. then, i was centralized. next, i went north but i'm not sure that is working out.

i just want to arrive so i can get on with it already.

here's the thing.

that last post didn't get posted til after the rehearsal that i was talking about because blogger was all messed up.
so, the read through with full cast was great. enjoyed hearing the many talented voices that are contributing to this project.

before we read the play, kevin played us a song that was pretty intense. i didn't get the artist.

also, found out that i'm going to be wearing a leather sweater type of garment. gonna be hot. no, i mean, lit-trilly...hawt.

here's a question. what does it take to inspire someone?

update: the song is called ARES by the group BLOC PARTY

it's a new dawn, it's a new day...

and i'm feelin' good.

ahhh, nina. so maybe just a little about the house. we got the recessed lighting installed in the basement it's nice to have a well lit basement for the first time ever. it's been a challenge (nightmare) but at least that part is done.

rehearsals are smashing. tonight we get to read through the play with the entire cast. for the first time!

i've been telling people this play is like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead but for Henry V, instead of Hamlet. and with a Monty Python sensibility.

i'm trying to attach pics but "thebloggers" is not being nice so that's not happening. as soon as it does happen...then you can see them. and you'll like them.

in the meantime, remember...the french blew it.

on another note.

shannon started rehearsal for BOOM at NEXT last night. Can't wait to see her rock it out! Boom!
off to replace a light fixture in the furnace room. hopefully no "boom" will happen.

St. Crispin’s Day rehearsals

 

Well, we’re off. 1st rehearsal was Saturday and here it is tuesday and i’m just getting to blogging about it.

i’m hoping the rehearsal process will give me some material to blog about. i’ve been buried doing work on my house and would love to blog about something else. so…

Did you know that in the Battle of Agincourt, it wasn’t that the English won. Oh, no. The French just really, really lost. They blew it. They just really blew it. I’ll put up some links later but for now, just know that the French really blew it.

double whammy for facebook folks!

25 Things About Me. by Shannon Hoag-Hamman-Hoag

1. I am the wife of a wonderful man. His name is Kyle and he is my soulmate, best friend, love of my life and nemesis all in one. We met while rehearsing a show almost seven years ago. Our life together is not a show but is very dramatic. He loves banana laffy taffy. I most certainly do not. I told you it was dramatic.

2. I suffer from delusions of cleanliness. I like to imagine my house to be a palace of all things neat and orderly. I crave an entire room of my home devoted to the proper cataloging and storage of holiday decorations and various assundry bric-a-brac. Then I look at the reality of my hectic life and I wince at the improbability of it all. Order is for the birds. Seriously, just look how they migrate South. Orderly.

3. I love Sunday Spaghetti Dinner. This is how I knew Number 1 was NUMBER ONE. I want to have Sunday Spaghetti Dinner**with him for at least fifty years.

4. I love $20 dresses*. A dress, in my opinion, is the economic garment of the future. It is one piece, one look, not a bunch of separates. If you’re smart, you can pair several $20 dresses with one simple pair of black pumps. If you hate the dress next season, oh well, it was only $20.

5. I love Christmas Movies. Get over it. My favorite is Albert Finney in “Scrooge”- a 1970’s musical retelling of ‘A Christmas Carol’- Also starring Sir Alec Guinness and Dame Edith Evans. This is from my Father.

6. Along with Number 1, we have a goal of seeing all 50 states together. In our seven years as a couple we have seen 19 states.

7. I am working on turning my black thumbs into green thumbs. I love to grow basil every Spring. I always plant that and then go on a planting rampage when I go into my annual ‘I AM Mother Earth’ manic episode. Then I usually start rehearsal for a play in late summer resulting in total twisted-up, dried-out vegetation carnage in early November.

8. I love Nina Simone. I was lucky enough to see her perform once before she passed. I love Nina Simone.

9. I have no favorite play. I am an actor and I feel guilty about this. I am a bit of an experience junky, therefore every play I am in turns into my favorite play. Until the next one…

10. I love to cook for my family and friends. I love it. I love to experiment and whip stuff up. It strangely relaxes me.

11. I love Brussells Sprouts and I don’t care who knows it.

12. My Grandpa Lee is the biggest influence on my life.

13. Favorite Pizza= Green Olives and Mushrooms

14. My Favorite Books are The Dud Avocado by, Elaine Dundy and Middlesex by, Jeffrey Eugenides

15. I love sliced tomatoes with Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper. * See Simple Pleasures in Life. **See also Sunday Spaghetti Dinner.

16. I am an Olfactory person. I love the sense of smell. The smell of Cover Girl Pressed Powder and Estee Lauder Bright Red Lipstick are my favorite smells of Comfort. This is from my Grandma Betty. I recently smelled a perfume that was Grapefruit and Vanilla and this smelled like infant spit-up. I still love the sense of smell.

17. My favorite piece of music in the whole world in ‘The Swan’ by, Saint Saens, played on Cello.

18. I am a Sigma Kappa. My Mother, Aunt Debbie and I were all Sigma Kappas at Illinois Wesleyan University.

19. I am full of hope. It is party because of this year as a voting adult. It has a good deal to do with our new administration, but also has a great deal to with my recent adoption of a No More Excuses mindset. I need to be hopeful- the alternative is terrible.

20. My First Wedding Dance (with Number 1) - ‘Night and Day’ written by, Cole Porter-sung by, Ella Fitzgerald. This was a nod to our lives in the theatre- paycheck jobs by day- rehearsals or performances at night.

21. I want to go to Paris. Now.

22. I love the Rocky Mountains. I went there almost every summer as a kid and continue to envy the landscape to this day. I am jealous of people that live there. How do you have any problems? Look outside.

23. My brother Matt is the nicest person that I have ever met. He is and you should meet him.

24. I am somewhat embracing the experience of my own thoughts and ideas surging throughout my mind and then hearing my Mother’s voice coming out of my mouth. This was bound to happen.

25. I am a member of Strawdog Theatre Company. Become a fan on our Facebook page!