From the Inside Out

The weekend is coming to an end. In fact, it’s almost 2 am, which means it’s Monday and the weekend is officially over. As I sit here avoiding sleep in a vain attempt to delay the start of the week, I feel gloomy. The fun of the weekend is over, and it will be five long days before I get another break, another chance to sleep in and have some fun. I really wish we could have three-day weekends and four-day work weeks. That would go a long way towards improving my work/life balance. Seriously, who came up with a 5-day work week anyway?

Honestly, I shouldn’t be complaining. Gary worked every day this weekend and is planning to work all of next week too — that’s 12 days straight without a break, ugh! Whenever I want to whine, it seems that someone always has it worse off than me. So, I’ll stop the pity party now and try to convince myself that I should look forward to the coming week.

After all, a new week brings new opportunities. Maybe…just maybe…I’ll climb a new mountain, learn something novel, help a friend, conquer fears, or have an opportunity to change a life by sharing God with someone who doesn’t know Him. Yes, the week ahead could be brighter than I think.

Somehow Monday doesn’t seem quite as daunting as it did before. I think I’ll go to bed now and get a few hours of sleep before the sun rises. Gotta get a good start on this brand new day.

New Week. New Opportunities. New Attitude.

In the ’60s, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a song titled, “With a Little Help from My Friends.” A well-known song with easily recognizable lyrics, it appears in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” Most people can immediately recite the words, “I get by with a little help from my friends. Gonna try with a little help from my friends.” They are simple words, but nonetheless true. It’s amazing how friends can help you “get by” in good times and bad times.

Even in the normal, mundane activities of our lives, friends enhance the experience. They laugh with you, listen to your stories, provide advice, and motivate you. I find it interesting that even the things you dread can become fun in the presence of a friend. My good friends know that one of the things I hate are baby showers. Those events try my patience, so I usually bring a companion to share the torture with me. Having someone there who is willing to discuss topics other than babies and the birthing experience somehow makes the event bearable.

Working out is another activity that is always goes better with friends. I met one of my best friends at the gym for a workout tonight, and it was great. The boredom of walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike was replaced with laughter and conversation about interesting topics.

A 60-minute workout feels like forever when you are alone, but it passes in a heartbeat with a friend. People who exercise with a friend are more likely to stay motivated longer. After all, It’s harder to bail on a friend who is waiting for you at the gym. Friends also push you further, challenge your weaknesses, and boost your confidence.

Thank God for friends and the little bit of help they bring our way!

Israel! Yes, I will be visiting the Holy Land, the place of our Lord’s birth, later this year! I am so freakishly excited. Our church is sponsoring a 9-day trip in the Fall of 2010. The tour will start in Tel Aviv and end in Jerusalem. Highlights include:

• Mediterranean Sea and Joppa, where Jonah took his famous sea voyage
• Mt. Carmel, where Elijah had his contest with the prophets of Baal
• Sea of Galilee and Mt. of Beatitudes
• Baptisms at the Jordon river
• Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle
• The plain of Armageddon
• Nazareth
• Jerusalem, including Mt. Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Old City, Wailing Wall, the Upper Room, and Garden Tomb
• Bethlehem, including the church of the nativity and the cave stable of Jesus’ birth
• The Dead Sea

It will be so amazing to walk in the land that I’ve heard about my entire life. The land where Jesus lived, died, and rose again! The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I can’t wait!! Jerusalem has been on my list of “must visit” places for a long time (see my previous “My Top 5; Places To Visit” blog post), but because of safety concerns, I’ve always been reluctant to travel there.

I don’t think the risk will be any less in 2010, but I do believe there is safety in numbers and safety in going with an experienced tour company that has been successfully hosting visitors in the Holy Land for a number of years. Plus, if you have to travel with a group, what better group to go with than your church family? It’s much better than a group of strangers.

Normally, I’m not a fan of organized travel. I usually avoid it like the plague because I relish my freedom while on vacation. I want to choose where to stay, when and where to eat, and I don’t like having a pre-planned agenda every day. However, I’m hoping the benefits of group travel will outweigh those annoyances for this trip, especially considering the fact that I probably would never travel there on my own.

So, I’m overlooking my disgust for organized travel and focusing on the incredible opportunity that it offers me: the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, the opportunity to visit the most historic sites from the Bible, and the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream.

Did I mention I was excited? Oh yeah, I can’t wait!!

After a couple of months off, I decided to audition for another play. On Saturday, Gary and I received a call from one of the producers at McKinney Repertory Theater (MRT) encouraging us to audition for their upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite. Since we had a great experience with MRT last summer, we decided to do it.

We met with the director tonight and went through the audition process consisting mostly of cold readings with characters from the first and second act of the play. After a few readings with just me and Gary, the director introduced us to a couple of other actors who were also auditioning for parts. We read with them, and then took a small break.

At the end of the night, we found out that both of us had been cast in the play! We will be playing the roles of the two featured characters in Act II–a Hollywood producer and his ex-girlfriend. It should be fun!

Plaza Suite was first performed in New York City in 1968. It is a comedy in three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City’s famous Plaza Hotel. Each act has a unique story and focuses primarily on 2 lead characters. The McKinney Repertory Theatre version of the play will be performed on March 5, 6, 12, 13, and 14.

Rehearsals start tomorrow…can’t wait!

Since I don’t have any brilliant insights to share tonight, it seems like it might be a good time for a “weekend in review” blog post. The weekend was packed, so without further adieu, here we go:

• Book of Eli: If you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t give any of the plot points away. The movie was slow-moving and not what I expected, but it was entertaining. I think “really strange and surprising” was the consensus from those of us who watched it.
• Nunchucks: As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting, we’re doing Taekwondo again. This week we learned some new weapons with our training–Nunchucks. Friday night after the movie, Gary and I came home and worked on the basic patterns. It’s lots of fun, but also a little painful when you hit yourself with them, especially in the elbow! Ouch!
• Shopping, Singing, and Simon: Saturday morning started out with a bit of shopping, but not the kind you’d expect. We had to pick up some additional gear for our Taekwondo training so we went shopping at one of the local martial arts stores. I am SO ready to go sparring now! Okay, maybe not entirely ready, but at least I’ll be better protected than I was this past week. After shopping and lunch, we headed to the church for praise team and band practice. We learned a few new songs and then were on our way again. On Saturday night, we did a little research for an upcoming audition. One of the producers from McKinney Rep called to let us know that they were doing a Neil Simon play in March and encouraged us to audition for a couple of the roles. We’ll be going on Monday night, so wish us luck…or more appropriately, tell us to break a leg!
• Sunday highlights and lowlights: Sunday morning started with church at ALC. I went to the early service since the Cowboys were playing a noon game today. And that leads me to the lowlight for the day. After our strong win against the Eagles last week I was hopeful for another playoff win today. Alas, the Cowboys were outmatched, outwitted, and outplayed in a game where the final score was 34-3. Pitiful! The silver lining in the cloud was that we watched the game with some great friends so at least we enjoyed good company while the Cowboys were slaughtered! Another highlight was the “unscripted” worship experience tonight at church. It was a great evening and 5 people were baptized…gotta love that! It’s even better than a Cowboys win..hahaha!

Finally, for those 24 fans out there, Jack Bauer is back! The new season of 24 premiered tonight, and it’s off to a great start. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Oh, and one more thing. Tomorrow is MLK day, and it’s a holiday for me! Waahoo!

Have a great week, everyone.