Picking Up Where We Left Off...So, going back to two weeks ago, after the acting class ended, I rushed to pick Susan up and we drove to Santa Fe for a fabulous afternoon at Ten Thousand Waves Japanese Spa. We got there very early so we found a nice spot to relax a bit in the Santa Fe National Forest and hiked around a short distance, until it was time for our reservations at the spa. The next two hours were absolutely glorious. First we had a private soak in their nicest tub room, the Imperial Ofuro, which had a dry sauna, a private shower and a matress (wink.wink!), then had an extremely relaxing couples massage. It started raining during our hot tub soak, and they made everyone get out of the tubs when lightning started happening. Luckily we only had a couple minutes left on our soak time when they did this. The massage was wonderful, and was performed by two female therapists. Of course, I got the more "masculine" of the two, whose name was "Fish," but she had the kung fu grip happening and basically beat the crap out of any tension I had in me, especially in my back and neck. The whole experience was extremely romantic, ultra relaxing and we left feeling like a couple o' wet noodles.

Last weekend I finally got my opportunity to perform improv in front of a live audience. It was the final "assignment" of my improv class to do a short-form improv performance. Lani, Steve, and DJ, my classmates, had done some previous performances because they were on the earlier student team, but this was my first "official" stage performance. In the past I would be very keyed up and obsess about my performance all week, but thanks to a lot of meditation, and some good advice from Dr. Wayne Dyer and Kelly Williams from Gorilla Tango, I was strangely calm and confident going into the show. I also had my "harem" of lady friends in attendance rooting me on; Susan, Joan, Sue, Wendy, Vivian and Barbara. This was a huge help, and they laughed a lot. The show flew by quickly, I had a really fun time, made no awful blunders, and felt great about the whole experience. Also got many congratulations from the GT regular performers and much encouragement. It was a blast!

I needed that encouragement, because less than 12 hours later, I was back at Gorilla Tango for the latest round of auditions for the student team. Seven people showed up, and unlike the previous audition there was no panel of judges. There were also fewer games to do. We had about 8 games listed, but they stopped us after 6 and announced that ALL of us made the team!!!! HOORAY!!! I have been visualizing this for 4 months and IT HAPPENED! The folks who made the team are all cool and I know I will enjoy performing with them. Our student team classes start May 15th and will end with at least one performance. I am also moving on to class 5, which is another long form class, which will also end with a student performance.

Right after the audition, I sped over to the church where the singles group met to carpool up to Tent Rocks, near Cochiti Lake for a hike. Wow, what an awesome place! The hike was just over a mle long, but felt much longer, because there was a 600 foot rise in elevation along the trail. If you haven't been there, Tent Rocks is an area of eroded rock formations that look like a series of tents, teepees, pagodas or african huts, depending on your imagination. Some dirty minded ladies on the trip also felt some looked like a certain erect male body part, but I won't go there. Much of the terrian looked other-worldly. This is really something to see, and I highly recommend it. I am going to attempt to post some pictures of the area here, but I have to figure out how to do that first.

Since Our Last Episode....It's been two weeks since my last post. Not like I've been busy or anything.
The O'Jays were awesome, singing the old Philly tunes in their suave red suits with no shirts and white shoes. Great music, great choreography and amazing energy from guys who are probably 15-20 years older than I am. Also, the main O'Jay provided me with my new catch phrase: "Gonna love ya 'til your hair get wet!"
Deepak Chopra didn't wear a suave red disco suit. He was more conservatively attired and didn't dance either. However, his appearance at the Kiva was a two and a half hour version of "Deepak Philosophy 101." Very enlightening and inspiring, but dude, if you are going to speak in a monotone for that long, lose the fountain with the relaxing water noises. The hypnotic combo of the voice and fountain made me so relaxed I kept teetering toward sleep. The awesome and filling meal Susan and I had beforehand at the yummy Thai Crystal contributed to my comfort for sure.
That Thai meal was eclipsed by the wonderful vegetarian Thai dish Susan made for me the following week, from mushrooms, asparagus, coconut milk and other goodies. Surprisingly this dish came out of the South Beach Diet Cookbook, too! Gotta love that girl!
I countered Friday with another vegetarian dish, mushroom enchiladas, which turned out to be the single tastiest thing I ever cooked, and Susan agreed.
Saturday the 16th unfortunately saw the end of my Albuquerque Little Theatre acting class. We did cold readings from upcoming ALT productions. I got to do a scene from Neil Simon's Rumors, which was a wonderfully funny manic bit I think would be well suited for. When auditions come up, I think I'll give it a try. Speaking of cold readings, every Tuesday at Golden West, there is a writing group that gets together and has cold readings of various material. Next week they're reading a western screenplay.

Workin' for the Weekend. Can't wait for the weekend. Susan and I have a full plate planned. Friday is The O'Jays at Isleta Casino, then Saturday is the Deepak Chopra appearance at the Kiva auditorium, plus the World Wellness Weekend stuff that accompanies it. Can't wait to see my angel again after the amazing time we had together last weekend.
Last Saturday's monologue for acting class went much better than expected, save for the fact that the contact lens in my right eye slipped off my iris after the second line. I don't think anyone noticed, plus I got some good comments from my fellow students. Now the next two weeks of class will seem anti-climatic.
That night Susan and I went to The Melting Pot for dinner. Yow! She had a gift certificate, so it didn't cost us much, but be prepared to spend some money. I wasn't expect expecting much from fondue, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious; we had the main course with the lobster, and the service was great. Also a nice cozy romantic atmosphere.
Doctor, Doctor! Tuesday I came home from Improv class, already bummed due to Devin's constant yelling at me, only to re-develop an annoying hacking cough and extreme tightness in the chest. . I've had enough of this cough in the last month, so I went to the doctor yesterday. She thinks it's some kind of respitory issue, so I'm on an inhaler now. She also gave me some stuff to get the muck out of my throat. Both things seem to be working so far, as I am feeling much better.
You are a winner! Damn straight I am! Not only do I have a spectacular girlfriend, a loving father, great friends, a beautiful house, two fantastic dogs and my own business, but I also won an internet contest! It ain't a that big a deal, but I won a contest held by Hard Case Crime for an advance copy of the book Dutch Uncle by Peter Pavia. I've read a few pages of it, and it is definately in the classic hardboiled mode. Looks like fun.