Improvables: Layton High School Drama

Earlier tonight, Jamie, Lorin, Richard, and I had the great opportunity to take the stage with 10 talented students from Layton High School's Drama Dept. for our Saturday night show at the Clearfield Community Arts Center. It was a fun evening filled with . . . well, unexpected, spontaneous theater, which is what makes improv such a phenomenal thing to take part in.

There was also some college football game being played at the same time at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake. But I didn't miss much . . . did I?

Point of No Return

How do you know you're getting old? You have another birthday. Or you just take a look at your digital watch, if you still have one of those antiquated devices from the 20th century. Watch the seconds tick on it. As each second passes, you're getting a second older.

You're getting older as you read these very words. No need to thank me!

There's another, more direct way to realize just you how old you're getting: Go and see your doctor, and he or she will tell you why all of your aches and pains mean you're aging much faster than you might think.

I recently visited my gastroenterologist, aka the tummy doctor, because I've had stomach and digestive issues nearly non-stop since living and working in South America for two years. If you catch my drift.

The good doc mentioned some dirty words, including: the "C" word ("colonoscopy") and the "F" word ("fiber").

Growing up, I would see commercials that mentioned nasty terms like these on TV, and they usually appeared in connection with products aimed at those who were old. Like old old.

Over age 30, at the time, is what I thought old was and would be, but that day was at least seven or eight decades away, even though mathematically it wasn't. Summers also lasted a lot longer then, too.

Was this anything like childhood for you?

Anyhow, the aforementioned doctor counseled me to make both fiber and probiotics a part of my daily diet. So, I've been doing that for a while now, and admittedly it has helped things a great deal. It has also helped me realize one important fact:

I've passed the point of no return.

"Come what may and love it," taught Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. You mean, even getting older?

Yes, I think he meant that, too. Especially that.

Dearth of a Salesman

The job that seemed too good to be true, believe it or not, actually turned out to be too good to be true. Go figure.

So, throughout the month, I've been back in the old, familiar, grueling, messy task of applying for, following up on, and interviewing for several job opportunities. As I write this, nothing has yet panned out, though I'm waiting to hear back from a few different places.

I loathe this whole process. I abhor it mainly because I feel like I am forced to sell myself to the employer in my interview, and I detest sales.

When I'm in an interview with a potential new boss, I feel like there is a secret word, much like the secret word on "Pee-wee's Playhouse," that they're wanting to hear, and I have to make my best guess as to what that word may be. ("Passport"?) It's like I'm playing a game of "The $25,000 Pyramid," and I'm losing. No matter how impressive your résumé might be, you just don't qualify if you don't say that magic word.

Also, I am almost to the point at which I feel like I have to make up tall tales about myself and my previous work experience in order to land the sale. Making a sale is basically my least-favorite assignment at any job. Some of you are great at it, and pats on the back to you. But there are times when I do not feel like I could sell a life preserver to a drowning man.

It's all very frustrating. Yet it's a necessary evil.

The worst part about it is that no matter what you do, achieving success is completely out of your hands, in spite of your best efforts.

It almost reminds me of, dare I say it . . . dating.

Improvables: Sasquatch Cowboy

Prior to last Friday, I had been given the opportunity to perform improv with many of Utah's troupes. On Friday night, three performers from Sasquatch Cowboy, based in Ogden, came into town, and it was a pleasure both to meet them and to take the stage with them for the first time.

Erica, Parker, and Tanner rounded out the cast for the evening.

Snozzberries

For those of you living under a rock, actor and comedian Gene Wilder passed away today at age 83.

We're all Gene Wilder fans today. And well we should be. Let me tell you about my favorite moment of his as Willy Wonka in the "good" (nay, great)/non-Tim Burton version of the film.

Willy Wonka, introducing the kids to lickable wallpaper: "The strawberries taste like strawberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries."
Veruca Salt: "Snozzberries? Who ever heard of a snozzberry?"
Willy Wonka (grabbing her mouth and pinching it a bit to hold it open): "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams."

What I learned as a kid from this upon multiple viewings of the film (on the Disney Channel, I believe) was that it was OK to be my weird self, to be different, to create, to do things, and to try things. There would always be those like Veruca Salt who would naysay and criticize your creativity; there always have been, and there always will be. But make music and dream dreams regardless.

Through the years, and with myriad results, I've drawn comic books and art; learned foreign languages; written articles, stories, blogs, and books; sung, played, and created music; made my own movies and acted in TV commercials; and performed live theater, both rehearsed and improvised.

I'd rather lick the snozzberries every time.

Improvables: Sidekicks, Kids' Edition

It's now been a couple of weeks (since when am I ever current in my posting?), but I recently had the opportunity to team-teach a beginning improv class for kids (ages 9 to 14, with a few exceptions) at the Clearfield Community Arts Center, with the much-needed and much-appreciated assistance of Erica, Jon, Liz, Melissa, and Richard. We had an enjoyable four days together and learned a lot from the experience.

The ability of kids these ages to let go, have fun, and try new things will never cease to amaze me.

Danny's Other First Birthday Party

Today was Daniel's actual first birthday, so in addition to the family party we held for him a couple of weeks ago, Summer arranged an additional gathering at the nearby North Foxboro park, adjacent to the splash pad.

It was a pleasant evening for an outdoor gathering, as far as summer nights go. We enjoyed cupcakes, but mostly we enjoyed each other's company.