From the Inside Out

Why must Mondays be so bad? Wouldn’t it be nice if they slowly eased us back into the work environment instead of slapping us in the face with it? Slow and easy never seems to happen, though, because most Mondays are brutal. Today was no different.

I woke up with a headache that refused to go away no matter what I did. It was a painful reminder that today was a Monday. My first thought (after grumbling about how much I hate Mondays) was, “I hope I’m not getting sick.” It seems like everywhere I turn, there’s someone with a cold, strep throat, or some other type of infection. I almost feel like I should be donning a mask to block out the germs…haha!

I managed to make it through the day somehow. Work was tough — I struggled to concentrate, so I tried to focus on menial tasks that didn’t require much thinking. Work on strategic projects was postponed in faith that I’d feel better tomorrow.

Next up was rehearsal for Saturday Night Life. I put on my “acting” face and tried to not to show how bad I felt. I think I was moderately successful. Rehearsals are coming along nicely. We still have much work to do, but the basic blocking is in place, and we will be moving to the next stage — memorization and characterization — during the next rehearsal.

I was extremely glad when I got home tonight. Finally, I was able to rest and relax. The only good thing about a Monday is when it’s over!

We filmed three videos for Saturday Night Life today — a commercial, digital short, and the opening cast video. It was a long day, but I’m very pleased with the footage we obtained. We captured some funny moments…can’t wait to see the first edit!

If you want to see the finished product, be sure to join us for the show on Oct. 9 and 10 at 7:30 pm. It’ll be great!

For a few “behind the scenes” pictures from the video shoot today, check out the following:

Killing time in between tapings

Infomercial shoot

Getting prepped

Fun with zombies

Wait…look behind you!

Hanging with the zombies waiting for the next take

RAWWRRRR!

Pooped!

Hate those random sales calls during dinner or on Saturday morning when you are trying to sleep? Do you wish you could stomp them out forever? Well, new rules going into effect on September 1 could pave the way to eliminate those annoying phone calls for good.

The new Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) will ban all automated phone calls selling products or services. Now these calls will be illegal unless the telemarketer has received written permission from consumers who express interest in receiving offers by phone.

Telemarketers who violate the TSR are subject to fines of up to $16,000 per call. Even if you’ve done business with a company, they can’t add you to their automated call list unless you have specifically agreed to receive calls. The down side to the new rule is that it only applies to “robocalls.” Calls placed by humans aren’t banned. However, you can still protect yourself from these intrusive sales pitches by adding your phone numbers to the federal Do Not Call registry.

Like the Do Not Call registry, the TSR excludes debt collectors, local charities, politicians, banks and telephone companies which means you can’t expect the phone to stop ringing completely. But, maybe the TSR brings us one step closer to making that dream a reality.

Until that day comes, if you are being harassed by automated calls, you can report them to the federal trade commission online or at (877) 382-4357 (877-FTC-HELP).

When I think of canoeing and kayaking trips, I usually think of the Guadalupe River in San Marcos, but it seems that those in North Texas now have another option, the Trinity River. Yes, you read that right. The not so lovely, mostly muddy, Trinity River offers 100 river miles of canoeing “pleasure.”

Trinity River Expeditions hosts the tours. According to their website, the “wooded and open natural areas of the Trinity River floodplains shelter a variety of native plants and animal life and contain many other features like historic bridges and river crossings. ” Along the banks you can see birds such as Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Red Tailed Hawks. Other critters can also make appearances during the trip including spotted beavers, turtles, and Alligator Gar, a species of large fish that thrives in the river. Archaeological sites including an old Native American campsite can also be found — and don’t forget the trash. The Trinity isn’t known for it’s pristine cleanliness.

There are three options for the canoe trips:

• lm Fork - Flows south of Lake Lewisville, trips 4 to 10 miles long
• Main Stem - Flows past downtown Dallas into the Great Trinity Forest, trips 5 to 10 miles long
• West Fork - Flows from Ft. Worth to Dallas, trips 5 to 9 miles long

Trinity River Expeditions provides the equipment, transportation, and information to set up your own river trip. The also provide guided trips on the 2nd Saturday of every month.

The Trinity wouldn’t be my first choice for canoeing, but if you’re up for an interesting adventure in Dallas, you might want to check it out. For more information, click here.

Those of you who know me well know that I loathe baby showers. I can only take so many “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” before I want to start ripping out my hair. And since I don’t have children, I find shopping for baby stuff terribly annoying. The stores are crowded with crying infants. I have no idea what to buy, and the long laundry list of items provided on the registry doesn’t help either. I don’t have a clue what most of the items are and why they are important. It’s a best guess effort every time…until now.

I found a “heelarious” gift for baby girls, leopard print heels. Yes, that’s right…heels. Heelarious.com offers soft crib booties for babies designed to look like high heels. They are extremely cute and funny at the same time.

The shoes — in sizes 0 to six months — are designed purely for entertainment purposes. They are completely safe because the soft stilettos collapse when weight is put on them. The novelty pumps come in six colors - leopard satin print, hot pink patent, black satin, zebra satin, black patent, and hot pink satin.

Now if heels aren’t your thing, you can choose to buy the new baby girl her first pair of boots instead. Heelarious also has baby boots complete with spurs. They come in black or two-toned red and pink.

Check ‘em out. And if you buy these for a shower, check with me first to make sure we don’t show up with the same gift…haha!