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Something good, every day.

Walterdale Wisdom

Someone from Walterdale Theatre once told me, “every performance is an audition for your next show.”

It’s always stuck with me. It’s simple and obvious and maybe that makes it feel profound.

I don’t remember who said it; I know that I’ve repeated it to others. Perhaps it’s one of those self-propagating truisms that doesn’t really need attribution, but it feels right to credit the wonderful Walterdale Community.

Well, today I have evidence of the truth that I always believed it to be.

I received an email from a woman I’ve never met who saw the railroad show I did in the fall. She said she really enjoyed my performance and reached out to one of my fellow cast members for my contact information to inquire whether I might be interested in taking on a role in the one-act play she has written for the new works festival this summer.

Do your best in all things. You never know who might be watching!

Easy Vegan Gravy

This gravy is super easy to whip up and tastes incredibly delicious. Which is amazing because it has no oil and no animal products!

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup Whole Wheat or Spelt Flour
  • 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • ½ tsp Garlic Powder
  • ½ tsp Thyme
  • ¼ tsp Fresh Black Pepper
  • 2 cups Vegetable Broth
  • 2 Tbs Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard

Instructions

  1. Toast dry ingredients over low heat until aromatic.
  2. Slowly add veggie broth, whisking to remove any clumps.
  3. Add soy sauce and mustard, stir to combine.
  4. Simmer on med-low heat until bubbly and thickened.

Seriously, that’s it. This gravy is so good. Even Murray likes it (my dad)!

Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for a week or so, but it’s so easy to make you might as well eat it all!

To make gravy even easier I will often pre-mix a few batches of the dry ingredients in advance, so that when it’s gravy time I’m ready to go. Homemade pre-packing!

Original Recipe

Ukulele and a Microphone

Wow. That was… exhilarating!

My first time will not be my last.

It didn’t go as well as I hoped, but who cares! It was SO MUCH FUN.

I ended up going 8th/last (insert long story about how I wanted to make sure Aldon would be able to make it on time).

I had so much nervous energy, I felt like I was going to blast off through the roof. But it felt amazing, not scary.

I fucked up each song in it’s own way, getting worse and worse as my tempo sped up and up and up (BLAST OFF)! I lost my place, forgot the lyrics, rambled on and… it was not good musicianship, but maybe it also wasn’t a terrible performance.

And I learned so much from that 10 minutes of doing-a-thing-I-had-never-done-before.

Not just about the feeling of doing-a-thing-I-had-never-done-before, but about doing that particular thing. Do I need a list? Probably not, but why the hell not.

Lessons I learned last night about playing at an open mic:

1. Slow the fuck down.

Nerves lead to energy and an increased heart rate and I need to slow down (i.e. keep the tempo) if I’m going to be able to play the right chords and sing the right lyrics at the right time. Timing is huge! Can I hear it for percussion?! And breathe, dammit! Allowing little moments of silence and stillness will serve me well.

2. Crutches are there to support you.

Yeah, so when I first came up with this challenge to myself it was: play a 3 song set at open mic with 100% memorization. Well, that’s all fine and good, but maybe not for your first ever performance in public. It was a lot to ask. Yes, I know those 3 songs 100%, but when I’m in a very particular environment: i.e. at home, alone. Next time I will not be so stubborn. I will allow myself to bring so-called cheat sheets. It’s not cheating!

3. Practice smart.

I practice a lot. It builds my confidence, it makes me better and it’s fun! But next time I’m practicing to perform at a different time and place, with varying environmental factors, I will consider the effects each of these things might have, and try to include/account for them in practice. I never play uke with a pick. But I did last night my first time playing in front of strangers! See #2 above.

4. I really love performing.

It’s probably a good idea to find more opportunities to do so, and keep practicing so I can get better. I’m not looking to be a professional musician (or actor or anything else), but that doesn’t mean I can’t put time and effort toward it.

5. It’s scary, and that’s why it’s awesome.

Push, push, push those boundaries. Keep searching for that thing you haven’t found yet. Maybe it’s out there, maybe it’s in here, maybe it doesn’t even exist, but keep looking. It’s not the finding that matters, it’s the seeking.

Curious about the set? I played:

  1. Ain’t No Reason – Brett Dennen.
  2. Bad Moon Rising – CCR
  3. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows (to be fair I messed this up so bad I don’t know if I can count it, but I tried)!

The Evidence

Courtesy of my friend, SM ❤️. The view from the couch!

The Mic is Open

I’ve been to a few open mics, but I’ve never performed at one before. Tonight is going to be my debut!

I got my little ukulele about a year ago and I am just now finally ready to get up on a (small) stage and play and sing in front of strangers.

I’m really worried that I’m going to get that nervous heart pounding, knees shaking thing that always happens when I stand up in front of people to sing. It’s not the same when I’m acting on stage. Sure, I get nervous, but my body doesn’t usually betray me like it does when I get up to sing.

I did a LOT of karaoke in my 20s and 30s. We used to go out to drink and sing almost every Thursday night in University. And I had serious relationships with not one, but two karaoke hosts. And even thought I did it often, there was something about getting up to sing that first song that made my heart pound and my legs shake. It was almost comical!

And yes, the alcohol definitely helped, and I know I can sing with a few drinks under my belt, but I’ve never had to worry about playing an instrument AND remembering the words while singing, so I don’t want too much liquid courage.

It’s been a long time since karaoke. I think the last karaoke I did was with the Nervous Flirts (karaoke with a live band!) a few years ago when Bee was their host. Which, now that I think of it, technically makes him the third host I’ve loved. What’s up with that?!

Anyway, so I’m facing my fear and worries and I’m just going to do it. It’s time. I’ve practiced. I’m good enough. I think it will be fun and exhilarating once I get over the terror.

I let you know how it goes tomorrow.

P.S. One of my super talented photographer friends took this photo in the summer of 2005. I can’t remember if it was Wade or Raffaella!

Get Out

I’ve got to get out of the house more often!

Between winter weather, Bee commuting in the car and me working from home, I really need to start finding some compelling reasons to go outside and get some fresh air.

Benched

Sometimes it seems to me that you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Coach.

Personal coach, Life coach, career coach, whatever, you know what I’m talking about. For some reason people are willing to trust that anyone who has gone out and achieved something for themselves can teach them how to do it.

Sure, charisma goes a long way here too, and the field is full of outgoing, well spoken, intelligent and attractive people, which makes sense because these folks are already at an advantage for traditional success.

I know it may sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m mostly just observing. Maybe complaining a bit.

I don’t have a problem with someone choosing to pay another person to help them get better at something. It’s your time and money, spend it how you choose.

And I don’t even have a problem with self-proclaimed “experts” declaring themselves coaches in order to sell their brand of advice.

Maybe I’m just a DIYer at heart. Or stubborn?

Either way, I’ve been looking around at other people my whole life, trying to figure it out. And I’m pretty sure no one really knows.

So I’m just going to keep fumbling around, trying out new things until something clicks. Or doesn’t. I have this suspicion that the secret might be hidden in the trying, the experimentation, the testing, wondering, wandering.

And no, that is not meant as advice.

Sunday Sick Day

It’s winter and I’ve been making soup. I’ve never thought of myself as a soup person, but I’ve been really into soup lately.

My love is sick. He’s been fighting something off for a few days, but it hit him pretty hard today.

So, I made us some chickpea noodle soup, and it turned out really good!

It was my first time making this recipe, and I try to follow the recipe the first time I make something new, but next time I will definitely be adding some garlic and ginger. But for a basic soup recipe, this is quite hearty and yummy.