Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Last Tango in Los Angeles: Into the Wilds.

Last Tango in Los Angeles: Into the Wilds.: "We finished what I think was a very good opening weekend for this new play I'm doing, The Interlopers. Lots of laughs early, turning to sni..."

Into the Wilds.

We finished what I think was a very good opening weekend for this new play I'm doing, The Interlopers. Lots of laughs early, turning to sniffles later in the evening. I'm assuming, although no one told me this, there was press in the audience. So...we'll see what we shall see this week as the ink dribbles in.

Although I have a relatively small role in the play, I was still there for all of the marathon techs and dress rehearsals and previews, etc. So I didn't have any time for the writing projects on my plate. And I've learned through the years the longer I put off the writing the larger it becomes in my own mind until it seems overwhelming. That's probably a fairly good metaphor for life as well.

The producer for the 'German' project (a new screenplay) is in town now for further discussions and rewrites on the script. We met yesterday and went through a large portion of it line by line, scene by scene, and although we're happy with the overall shape and feel of the thing, there are some changes he'd like. Which is fine. In this business one rarely hits it out of the park on the first swing.

While waiting for the meeting and the inevitable rewrites, I started working on my long-overdue website. I think it safe to say I'm not a technical kind of guy when it comes to computer stuff. Yes, I know a bit, a little bit, but I've never bitten off this much before, this website thingee. Surprisingly, I've been having a ball doing it. I found a program that allows me to use a rough template and then fill in the blanks. This particular site allows one to add a whole assortment of bells and whistles to the website. My wife has had to constantly remind me that it's for information purposes only. Once I got started with it, I was having fun making it look quite snazzy. She's right, of course, so I had to go back and take out all the 'bling.' It really should be quite cut and dried...'here's what he looks like, here's what he's done, here's how to contact his representatives'. That's pretty much all that should be there. Very drab.

The good thing is I now know how to do it. Today I'll purchase the domain name and plug it in. I'll link it to this site once it gets up.

We have re-doubled our diabetes regime as of late. I finally broke down and bought a blood glucose level tester, or whatever the hell it's called. Once I started taking regular readings the more bamboozled I got. It seemed no matter how stringent my diet was it didn't seem to be making a lot of difference. So we decided perhaps I wasn't getting enough exercise, which is no one's fault but my own. As it happens, we live just minutes from some beautiful hiking trails up and around the small mountains in Griffith Park. I have been negligent in making use of them. I wish I had a great excuse but the truth is I've simply been inordinately lazy. Plus when we do take out for a long walk up in the hills, Angie suddenly becomes Jim Thorpe and treats the whole thing like an exodus from the Holy Land. One gets the idea she's being pursued by the Canonites. She's quite the devoted 'hiker.' I, on the other hand, prefer to stroll aimlessly, stopping here and there to take in the sights, occasionally lying down amidst the wildflowers, and generally acting like Winnie the Poo. Of course, this is completely counter-productive. The whole point is to get the heart rate up and actually exercise. I start out with the best intentions but then at some juncture slow down and just sort of amble. All the while my wife is leaping and running like Bambi's mom in the fire.

We'll give it another shot today. The cool thing is taking our dogs, Franny and Zooey, along with us. They are in puppy heaven when we take these long walks. They're both undeniably house dogs and the notion of being out in the 'wilds' makes them indescribably happy. Franny immediately adopts the persona of Buck in 'Call of the Wild' and Zooey smells everything so thoroughly I'm sure she's on sensory overload.

So the new routine has been two long walks a day. I go back to see the doctor in July and we'll see if it's helping any.

My nutritionist tried to warn me about this damned 'glucose checker.' She told me I would run the risk of becoming a slave to it, obssessive, constantly poking my fingers to see if there's any improvement. She said, "It will lessen your quality of life." I should've listened. But we had to do something to monitor it because I was becoming so easily fatigued and, although I certainly feel better than I did a year ago overall, I'm sure it's not normal to take six or seven naps a day and spend an hour or so every night fantasizing about eating pudding. My fantasies used to be a great deal more risque.

I love routines. Change has always seemed to me so unnecessary. Lots of reasons for that, none of which I'll go into at this time. But I also know change is the only constant in life. So the routines have to change sometimes. I've always thought for someone who abhors change so much I've chosen an odd profession. On the other hand, having been raised in the very definition of 'dysfunctional family' I was uniquely qualified to become an actor. The theatre is the greatest dysfunctional family in the world. It positively overflows with dysfunction. And I found myself well-equipped for it, strangely.

So it's off to the badlands this morning, the treacherous trails of Griffith Park. I tell my dogs solemnly every time, "Oh, sure, lots of puppies go up in them there hills. But not too many come back." They seem less than impressed.

See you tomorrow.