The First Time Is Always The Hardest

OK, so after resisting the idea of a blog for a long time, here I am. I resisted because I thought, "Why on earth would anyone want to read the weird stuff that I would write about if I had a blog?" It seemed pretty self-serving to me. I mean, I find it amusing, but would anybody else? Then I showed some of my writing to a small group of people (mostly people I was pretty sure wouldn't laugh at me). They liked it. Some even said I had talent.

All my life I've suffered from the creative impulse. My first plan was to be an actor. I got voice lessons, a theatre degree, studied at ACT and received improv training from a Second City alum. I got headshots, signed up with casting agents, and went on auditions. I even made it to a Les Miz cattle call and a real Hollywood movie set. ("Flubber" - with Robin Williams. My one and only paycheck from a real movie studio.) While on this set, I met someone who ushered in the next stage of my life.

I am a Scorpio. I love being a Scorpio. If I had to choose which astrological sign to be, Scorpio would be it. Most people know the symbol of Scorpio is the scorpion. What most people do not know is that another symbol associated with Scorpio is the phoenix. This is because Scorpios are constantly reinventing themselves. In my case, I've noticed a pattern: my life changes every ten or twelve years or so, beginning in high school. I can mark the year of the first significant change after high school: 1996, the year of Flubber.

While working on this set, for a grand total of five days (hey! A job's a job!), I met a lady who worked at the Renaissance Faire in Novato as an actor. She liked me and invited me to join her troupe. I did, and spent my first Ren Faire season as an improv street performer. Then, I found my real calling: dancing. I saw some people dancing in the street and they were having a blast. I thought, "I want to do that!" So, I did, and I've being doing it ever since. End of Stage One.

Entering Stage Two. I've been writing for a while, mostly for my own amusement. I spent my high school years painstakingly typing screenplays. My college professors were treated to long essays on subjects that often had nothing to do with the class curriculum. My favorite part of acting was building the character, creating a life from an idea. Writing the biography.

So here I am. My mind is full of useless trivia taking up valuable brain space. I cannot remember dates, historical events, my name, because of all the junk in there - like the lyrics to all the songs in Grease 2. Seriously. I'll lose a milion dollars on Jeopardy because of Michelle Pfeiffer and Adrian Zmed. So I am sweeping out the brain attic and dumping it all into this blog. My creative impulse needs expression. Believe me, when you are a secretary, you need a creative outlet. But don't say I didn't warn you.