Back To Work

So the time finally came for us to stop having days off and start dishin' out some WONKA again.
We had 2 school shows this morning, and I'm going to be honest. They were ugly. I can't quite put my finger on it. It could've been everyone being a little lethargic from 3 days off. It could've been the audiences who were NOT having it. It could've been any number of things.
What I know is this: Everything seemed a little off with the shows. During the second show, I was having serious microphone problems, so everytime I left the stage, Chris and Emily were backstage trying to help me get it going. (Read that as: I would come off stage and Chris and/or Emily would stick their hands down the back of my pants and YANK my microphone out to try and test the connection. Hot, right?) We all felt like things were just a little....off. But we survived.
The other element that played on our day was the audiences. I think the problem across the board was that the kids were just too old. I think the kids were a little on the older side, and you could tell they were bored. And just when I had talked myself out of the thought that they hated it, I ended up talking to a couple of them. Here is the story: After our last show at any venue, one of my jobs is to get changed and then go out to the lobby and get our Equity name card from the lobby. Today, as I was walking out, I was following the last class of students leaving the auditorium. The end of the line was 4 young men who were 12-13 years old. One of them saw me, and turned and whispered to his friends, "Hey look." So they turn and see me, and I smile and say, "Hi guys. How you doing?" The one closest in proximity to me gave me the head nod and said, "Good thanks." Then I said, "Are you guys excited to be going back to school?" And without missing a beat, the kid said, "It's better than THIS." (Motioning with his head towards the stage.) His friends were FLOORED, and laughed. I laughed too, and said, "Well there you go." His friends were DYING - and said, "DUDE! I can't believe you said that!" And the spokesman said, "Well, he asked." So yeah, I think there was a negative energy coming from the angry middle schoolers.
But to be fair - we did meet about 10 little kids (3-7 years old) in the parking lot after the show who were thrilled with it! So that's good.
We packed up and headed South(ish) to Charlotte. We had the rest of the afternoon off, and everyone did their own thing. I think EVERYONE was most excited to get into town and into our hotel - because we are staying right downtown Charlotte at the Omni Hotel. And it is an AMAZING hotel stop for us! No complaints! PLUS - our venue is connected to the hotel...so how can it get any better than that?
My afternoon was fun and totally unplanned! Eric and I decided to head out to see what was around, and we ended up going to the Discovery Place here in Charlotte - because they are having an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls! THAT'S RIGHT! Who knew they were here? And there really were some of the actual scrolls in the exhibit. It was cool - and one of those crazy 'tour experiences'. I think my favorite part of the tour was when we got in, and there was a case with 2 of the pots that the scrolls were found in. The recorded tour guide said, "In the case, you will see 2 of the pots that the scrolls were found in. They are called....Scroll Pots." It tickled me....maybe you had to be there.

Eric and I both try our hand at stealing a Scroll Pot. Unfortunately, they are NOT easy to walk off with.

The rest of the Discovery Place was fun, too.

L: Eric peeks out of the heart in Discovery Place. R: Um...so this was on some random wall at the same place. No signs - no exhibits - just shadows showing their reproductive systems, holding tennis raquets. Um...what?

And then, on the recommendation of my friend, Shanna Doak, we headed DIRECTLY across the street to a restaurant called Fox & Hound - with the promise that it was delicious. WELL SHANNA - you're lucky. It was a very delicious stop - and guess what? The FEATURED DESSERT OF THE MONTH? Cheesecake Fritters! What a dream come true! And of course we got them, and of course we got pictures.

Here it is! The Dessert of the Month! CHEESECAKE FRITTERS! Quite a delightful little presentation. The outter layer was kind of like a cereal-type layer...deep-fried, of course. The strawberries were fresh and the strawberry drizzle over the top was just the right amount. I DO think they were fried a LITTLE too long - because the outter shell was a bit tough. I would give it a high 7 on the MASE - with the possibility of a high 8, if they were fried a little less...

TOMORROW? More exploring of Charlotte...and another recommended restaurant from my friend, Mabeo, who lives here in Charlotte. Mert's Heart and Soul - for some real Southern cookin'!

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNRELATED: I don't know if any of you have seen the commercials for the 'Take Me Fishing' campaign (the website is takemefishing.org), but for some reason, they are EVERYWHERE I TURN! And they are ridiculous. I mean, I guess I understand what they are trying to say with all the sentimentality, but is there a fishing organization somewhere that suddenly panicked that our numbers of people fishing in this country is dropping at an alarming rate? And if so, what is the end result of our fishing numbers dropping? I just don't GET what the whole push behind it is. And I REALLY don't get the little girl who says, 'Take me fishing...because my wedding will be sooner than you think.' I don't know - I just don't get it. If anyone out there has any insight into WHY someone would drop the money to fund this campaign...some reason that I might be missing...please let me know. And please don't read this to say that I'm AGAINST fishing. I just don't get the full-out AD CAMPAIGN to 'save' fishing.
I guess it COULD'VE come in handy for the students after my show today...the boy could've said to his mom or dad or teacher, 'Take me fishing...because it beats THIS!" And the campaign would've been worth the money....

Gnite.
G



So these ACTION SHOTS kill me. At the Discovery Place, we found this blue-screen technology game thingy...so I snapped some shots of Eric playing the SOCCER game. You can see the digital display of him in the background.

And here is the display of Eric guarding the goal. Pretty funny stuff. You should've seen him SNOWBOARD!