Sometimes You Just Gotta Get a Little Drunk...

Sometimes you just gotta get a little drunk with a friend to find a little perspective, to remember your dreams.  In vino veritas.

Now, I'm not saying y'all should go out there and drink your sorrows away, but sometimes you gotta dig yourself a hole to climb out of.  And if you have the right friend, it can be fun doing it.
I choose to drink with Faith.  And by Faith, I don't mean religion.  Faith is an actual person.  She ain' Jesus, but sometimes she's just as effective.

Faith is a 5'2" african american spitfire of a woman who's life goal is to be the next Oprah/Martha Stewart.  And she'll do it, too.  She has a little poodle dog mix named Marilyn (named after Marilyn Monroe) who is a gluttonous hussy that goes back and forth from begging to be pet to taking luxurious naps on her back with her legs spread eagle. 
When you are in Faith's home, it's like entering the very epitome of Life.  Even during her current rocky transition/remodeling, you walk in and are instantly set at ease.  It is a place of welcome.  A place to put your feet up and exhale.  She is a gift.

SIDENOTE:  I am writing this blog entry whilst on the subway at the 157th street station.  We are being held here due to a police investigation.  Apparently somebody just got his butt whooped and they've halted all trains on the Red Line.  Welcome to NYC.  Where everyone is shouting obscenities about how they are being inconvenienced at 11pm on a Sunday and no one is concerned about the poor fool who got his ass handed to him.  Most notably, there is a dominican woman who is shouting at the conductor (though it isn't his fault) and setting an excellent example for her 5year old son.  Now we see where they learn it.  Social etiquette begins on the subway.

Anyway.  Back to the drinking.

I had just finished my stage management gig today which went very well.  I lucked out and got an extremely nice group of students.  Afterwards I decided it was time to call Faith to see what she was up to.  As of late I've been excessively mercurial (ooooh, check me out and my fancy adjectives) and Faith always manages to inspire me and remind me that anything's possible.  Everyone should have a Faith. And a bottle of wine.  I hope you all get to be so lucky.

I trekked my way up to Faith's place in Wash Heights and four hours later, I am revived.  Was it the wine?  Maybe.  Partly.
But mostly it's the company you keep.  It is so very important (like we're talking popsicles in summer important) to find a true friend in this world that you believe in and one that believes in you.  When you look at your "friends," when you leave their presence, how do you feel?  That's a question I ask myself a lot lately.  Many a time in the past I noticed that I'd leave a meeting or coffee date and I'd feel completely drained.  Like that person sucked the energy right out of me.  And guess what?  That's bad.
Most people seem to want to be loved by many, but in truth, all you really need is a handful of friends to tell you the truth when you need it, believe in you when you don't have the strength to believe in yourself, to tell you when you are being stupid, and to drink you under the table when you need to forget your troubles for a hot second.  Then you pick yourself up, and keep it moving.

I'm very lucky in that I have that handful of friends.  And one of those people is Faith.  She has an "ism" for almost any situation.
If someone is being shady at work, she'd say,  "somethin' in the milk ain' clean."
Some guy is toying with your emotions? she'd say, "Serve your love with a long handled spoon."
If someone tries to run your life, she'd say, "opinions are like assholes- everyone has one."

And while these are gems, what I love most is that I can voice any dream or scheme I may have and she'll think it's as common as breathing.  "Of course you will get it.  Consider it done."

We have a mutual generosity that in the end we nod at each other and think, "we are going to rule the world. Just give us time."

So, I've given myself a few days of blah but as Faith says, what have I done to spin the blah into those Yes's of progress?

I've scheduled a monologue workshop for next monday.
I've pulled two more monologues to learn.
I've pulled four songs to get taped and workshop.
I've scheduled an interview for catering (job #5)
I'm sitting down tomorrow to make a plan of attack for auditions
I'm toying with the idea of producing a 1940s play and having a reading.
And i've written 18 pages of a novel.

Never seems like enough but we do what we can.  And I'm feeling some good YES's coming on.  Just give me time.