Hiya Bloggy!
Ok, this is just a quickie to check in. I've been meaning to update Bloggy for the last couple of days, but it's been a rough couple of days. Dr. Gill, reminded me that the last couple of chemo sessions could be the roughest as the chemo accumulates in my body. Yikes!! She was not kidding! Since Wed night it has been really rough and not something one wants to live through on an ongoing basis. I have two more chemo sessions to get through, which will take up the month of September. If you don't hear from me too much in September, you will know this is what I'm going through.
Tomorrow, if I'm not too dizzy or queazy, I'll be going out for brunch with my friend, Amanda. Keep your fingers crossed!
On Tuesday, I am going to be going to an Aveda Hair Salon to see if they can put some natural colour product in my hair to cover the dullness an mousy gray. A girl just can't live with this dull colour, even though one isn't allowed to colour their hair with chemical products while on chemo. I'll leave it to the experts to perk me and my hair colour up :)
Well, I have a few pictures and chit chat to add, but for some reason, blogspot is soooooo slow, it's taking me forever to type this. Talk about a delay from what I type and when it hits the screen!
So, I'm going to call it a night... and hopefully blogspot will speed up another day :)
Ciao!
Cheryl
PS: Anyone who is on Facebook.com, look me up and add me to your friends list! I hang out there to keep track of everyone :)
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26th, 2007 - trying to catch up
Hiya Bloggy,
Ok, I did say I would come back and fill in the blanks for the past week or so but alas, it is now 1am so I guess I don't have much time to catch up... let alone remember! LOL! I have chemo tomorrow so I really should get my butt to bed. First I have to have the blood work done at 10:30am, then the chemo will start at 12:30pm. So sometime between the blood work and the chemo, I am going to go off and get something to eat, otherwise it will be a long, long day on an empty stomach! Not only that, I think I am showing a few signs of dehydration and since I won't be able to drink anything cold or cool for the next 10 days or so, well, let's just say I'll be keeping an eye on my hydration levels.
But, where were we? The last actual entry was put in the week before we closed the season of Grease and Oklahoma! Waaaaaaaaah! I really, really miss TUTS and all the people down there. I can't believe how much fun I had there and what a fabulous distraction it was for the last 2 chemo sessions!
Closing night was both sad and a lot of fun! Sad because it is over for another year (although some of us will be working and meeting throughout the winter for next season, so it's not really over) and fun because we all had fun at the wrap party. There were also the Awards Ceremony and I was surprised to find I won the "Most Outstanding Volunteer" award...
Hehehe... notice how much colour I have here? I was SOOOO hot! I'm surprised the camera didn't pick up that my hair was soaking. All because it was a Chemo week and I was in an enclosed area (restaurant). Even standing under the air conditioning didn't seem to help ;)
Then there were the lovely flowers!! I was so spoilt... so is it any wonder I miss being down there every day? I had missed coming in on the Monday because it was a Chemo Monday, so the gang covered for me. On the Tuesday, I arrived at the office and there was the most gorgeous bouquet of 18 long-stemmed roses from the TUTS Board of Directors. They gave them to me because they all were so impressed with how I'm coping with the chemo treatments and not letting them interfere with my life and what I enjoy doing...
Aren't they beautiful? They are two-toned and I have not seen them in this particular colour before. They made me feel very special.
Then, on the actual closing day, it was a fun day all day. We all knew it was the last performance so even getting the tickets ready for Grease's last performance had a special feeling to it because it was closing and we had all been through so much together over the summer. Well, you could imagine my surprise when I got to the office and there was this huge bouquet of pink flowers. This was from James Pollard (General Manager), his wife and his daughter, Emma (who helped all summer in the box office) as a thank you for being an inspiration to their family. I love these people!
Aren't they so pretty? Like I say, this theatre group has been the best for my ego and as a distraction for all the chemo and various treatments I have to put myself through.
Speaking of Emma and her dad, James, here is a great picture of the two of them...
I don't envy James his job... being in charge of everything there is to putting on two productions at the same time, as well a the whole site and all the departments. Us department heads report to him... what a job he has! Meanwhile, Emma was great in the box office and there to cover for me if I wasn't feeling well or had to take the day off for chemo.
Speaking of chemo, here's, what I think is a cute picture of Emma and I. The only thing I wish was missing was that I'm hooked up to my chemo pump, so the contraption just under my collarbone is the catheter going into the portacath... the pump, I wear on a belt...
Are we not cute or what??? (grin)
Oh, and what's a blog entry without mentioning something about the little box office diva? In this picture, it was an Oklahoma! night. On those nights, a lot of the staff would wear Stetsons since Oklahoma! is all about cowboys and farm hands. Here's a picture of Naveen and Bridget...
Isn't she just the cutest? She pretty much put up with whatever was thrown her way, although when she had enough, she'd just curl up in her little bed and go to sleep, no matter who was around :)
So, I know there's more and I'll see if I can find some more of the pictures. After closing, there was a birthday party the next day for Pat Waldron, so a whole other gang of theatre folk. Then on the Monday, it was Shel's birthday, so about 12 of us went out for dinner. But I'll have to dig out those pictures later because it's now after 1:30am and I really must get some zzzzzz's before tomorrow's session. If I'm feeling ok after it, then Jo and I will be going to Janet's for dinner, have a girls' chit chat evening and also watch Canadian Idol :)
So, hopefully in the next couple of days I'll have some more pictures ready and will be caught up with the blog entries :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Ok, I did say I would come back and fill in the blanks for the past week or so but alas, it is now 1am so I guess I don't have much time to catch up... let alone remember! LOL! I have chemo tomorrow so I really should get my butt to bed. First I have to have the blood work done at 10:30am, then the chemo will start at 12:30pm. So sometime between the blood work and the chemo, I am going to go off and get something to eat, otherwise it will be a long, long day on an empty stomach! Not only that, I think I am showing a few signs of dehydration and since I won't be able to drink anything cold or cool for the next 10 days or so, well, let's just say I'll be keeping an eye on my hydration levels.
But, where were we? The last actual entry was put in the week before we closed the season of Grease and Oklahoma! Waaaaaaaaah! I really, really miss TUTS and all the people down there. I can't believe how much fun I had there and what a fabulous distraction it was for the last 2 chemo sessions!
Closing night was both sad and a lot of fun! Sad because it is over for another year (although some of us will be working and meeting throughout the winter for next season, so it's not really over) and fun because we all had fun at the wrap party. There were also the Awards Ceremony and I was surprised to find I won the "Most Outstanding Volunteer" award...
Hehehe... notice how much colour I have here? I was SOOOO hot! I'm surprised the camera didn't pick up that my hair was soaking. All because it was a Chemo week and I was in an enclosed area (restaurant). Even standing under the air conditioning didn't seem to help ;)Then there were the lovely flowers!! I was so spoilt... so is it any wonder I miss being down there every day? I had missed coming in on the Monday because it was a Chemo Monday, so the gang covered for me. On the Tuesday, I arrived at the office and there was the most gorgeous bouquet of 18 long-stemmed roses from the TUTS Board of Directors. They gave them to me because they all were so impressed with how I'm coping with the chemo treatments and not letting them interfere with my life and what I enjoy doing...
Aren't they beautiful? They are two-toned and I have not seen them in this particular colour before. They made me feel very special.Then, on the actual closing day, it was a fun day all day. We all knew it was the last performance so even getting the tickets ready for Grease's last performance had a special feeling to it because it was closing and we had all been through so much together over the summer. Well, you could imagine my surprise when I got to the office and there was this huge bouquet of pink flowers. This was from James Pollard (General Manager), his wife and his daughter, Emma (who helped all summer in the box office) as a thank you for being an inspiration to their family. I love these people!
Aren't they so pretty? Like I say, this theatre group has been the best for my ego and as a distraction for all the chemo and various treatments I have to put myself through.Speaking of Emma and her dad, James, here is a great picture of the two of them...
I don't envy James his job... being in charge of everything there is to putting on two productions at the same time, as well a the whole site and all the departments. Us department heads report to him... what a job he has! Meanwhile, Emma was great in the box office and there to cover for me if I wasn't feeling well or had to take the day off for chemo.Speaking of chemo, here's, what I think is a cute picture of Emma and I. The only thing I wish was missing was that I'm hooked up to my chemo pump, so the contraption just under my collarbone is the catheter going into the portacath... the pump, I wear on a belt...
Are we not cute or what??? (grin)Oh, and what's a blog entry without mentioning something about the little box office diva? In this picture, it was an Oklahoma! night. On those nights, a lot of the staff would wear Stetsons since Oklahoma! is all about cowboys and farm hands. Here's a picture of Naveen and Bridget...
Isn't she just the cutest? She pretty much put up with whatever was thrown her way, although when she had enough, she'd just curl up in her little bed and go to sleep, no matter who was around :)So, I know there's more and I'll see if I can find some more of the pictures. After closing, there was a birthday party the next day for Pat Waldron, so a whole other gang of theatre folk. Then on the Monday, it was Shel's birthday, so about 12 of us went out for dinner. But I'll have to dig out those pictures later because it's now after 1:30am and I really must get some zzzzzz's before tomorrow's session. If I'm feeling ok after it, then Jo and I will be going to Janet's for dinner, have a girls' chit chat evening and also watch Canadian Idol :)
So, hopefully in the next couple of days I'll have some more pictures ready and will be caught up with the blog entries :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Dear Bloggy,
I'm not really putting an entry in here tonight... well, only an itty bitty entry. I have soooooo much to catch up on, it's probably going to take me an hour or more just to remember what all has happened since the last entry, then upload pictures, etc. I have had such a wonderful last week of TUTS, then the closing Saturday night was phenomenal. This past week since closing has been busy, although I've really had to watch myself because the fatigue was starting to hit me. Gee... I made it through the whole TUTS season, but the fatigue held off until after it was over? Pretty darn decent of it, if I do say so myself!! HAHAHAHA!
Anywho... I can feel I'm tiring easily again, so I'm going to have to make sure I don't overdo anything for this next while. This coming Monday is Chemo Session #7, which could have a lot to do with why the chemo fatigue is showing up a lot more often. Not to mention the chemo muscle pain and nerve damage...this could be contributing to the tiring factor ;)
But... tonight is Saturday night and it is going on 11pm. I think I'm going to call it an early evening (grin). I have various computer projects I have got to get completed... such as updating the Metro Theatre website, completing the Metro Community Theatre Newsletter (which I haven't even started yet) and updating this blog. Hahahaha.. we won't even talk about the backlog of email in my inbox... but if you are one of the 400 expecting a reply... it may be a little while yet (chuckle).
Oooh... and if any of you are on Facebook... then do add me as a friend! That darn Facebook is just too addicting!!! :)
Ok, I'll be back tomorrow with updates and pictures.
Ciao!
Cheryl
I'm not really putting an entry in here tonight... well, only an itty bitty entry. I have soooooo much to catch up on, it's probably going to take me an hour or more just to remember what all has happened since the last entry, then upload pictures, etc. I have had such a wonderful last week of TUTS, then the closing Saturday night was phenomenal. This past week since closing has been busy, although I've really had to watch myself because the fatigue was starting to hit me. Gee... I made it through the whole TUTS season, but the fatigue held off until after it was over? Pretty darn decent of it, if I do say so myself!! HAHAHAHA!
Anywho... I can feel I'm tiring easily again, so I'm going to have to make sure I don't overdo anything for this next while. This coming Monday is Chemo Session #7, which could have a lot to do with why the chemo fatigue is showing up a lot more often. Not to mention the chemo muscle pain and nerve damage...this could be contributing to the tiring factor ;)
But... tonight is Saturday night and it is going on 11pm. I think I'm going to call it an early evening (grin). I have various computer projects I have got to get completed... such as updating the Metro Theatre website, completing the Metro Community Theatre Newsletter (which I haven't even started yet) and updating this blog. Hahahaha.. we won't even talk about the backlog of email in my inbox... but if you are one of the 400 expecting a reply... it may be a little while yet (chuckle).
Oooh... and if any of you are on Facebook... then do add me as a friend! That darn Facebook is just too addicting!!! :)
Ok, I'll be back tomorrow with updates and pictures.
Ciao!
Cheryl
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, August 13th, 2007 - The Craziness Continues!
Dear Bloggy,
It has been 10 days since I last wrote in here... where does the time go? Ok, I don't think it's the usual summer whizzing by. I think, in my case, I can blame it all on Theatre Under The Stars. My whole life right now revolves around the two shows, Grease and Oklahoma! We are in countdown mode now with this coming Saturday being the big closing of the season... and closing night for Grease. But this past week has seen me spending morning until night at the office and theatre... and I'm not complaining because I'm loving every minute of it. We have an incredible group of volunteers/staff in all departments, and all the department heads are fantastic... all headed up by James Pollard who is the General Manager. You don't get them any better than James! We even have Board Members pitching in and being there every night... which is pretty much unheard of in other theatre groups. Definitely a feel of one big happy family and EVERYONE is putting in long hours to ensure this year's startup season is as successful as it can be! This has always been one of my dreams... to volunteer/work for a theatre group that has this kind of involvement by everyone and not just a couple of hard workers.
So, where did I leave off?? A few of you have written to me and asked how CB, my little cockatiel is doing, after the scare where it was looking like we might have to put her down a couple of weeks ago. But she is a little fighter and is still with us! She has been back and forth to see Dr. MacDonald, who has drained her cyst again and given her oxygen and vitamin shots... and she is doing much better. She still has the cyst, as well as a lot of her other oddity problems, but she is happy, content and in comfort... so onwards we go! She will be going back for another followup appt either this week or next week. I'll probably put it off until next week since this week is pure craziness...even though Mimi would take her if I end up with an appt. this week.
Last week, I did take Tuesday off from the theatre to go visit family friends from waaaaay back when I was growing up. Julia and Doug Keller lived two houses down from us when we were very young (I was 5, Doug would have been 7 and Julia would have been 10)... and we all grew up together. Obviously, as the years went on and we got older, we all went on our ways. I have not seen Julia for possibly 35 years! I have seen Doug because, for the last 18 years we have lived across the street from each other (grin). But Julia, her husband, her daughter and 5 of her grandchildren were vacationing in Pt. Roberts for this last two weeks. And here I am at the theatre for the whole time! So I purposely took Tuesday off and Doug and I went out to join them for the afternoon/evening. What a great time we had! I really had no idea that it was going to be that much fun. I am not used to being around young children for any length of time... nor is Bridget. I figured if Bridget didn't take well to the children, I could always put her in her bed in the car. She is soooo tired from her "Meet and Greet" job at the Box Offie, I knew she would be perfectly happy to just sleep in the car. But, surprise, surprise... she was great with the kids! Even when they all wanted to take turns taking her for a walk in the back yard on her leash.. she put up with it. Then stayed in the bedroom and watched TV with the kids. Here are two pictures of her with the oldest (10 years) in the evening, which I thought was just priceless:
Then last Saturday night was the finale of the Fireworks competition. What a disappointment!! The fireworks were great but none of us could believe that Canada won the competition!! As far as we were concerned, Canada was the lamest of the three countries (Spain, Canada, China). China should have won and we wouldn't have argued if Spain won... but Canada should not even have been in the running in our opinons!
But, we had fun anyways! Last weekend was Pride weekend, so there were parties all over the place on the Saturday, then the Fireworks at night, and the Pride Parade on Sunday which went down the street in front of our building. Since I am having trouble with my feet because of the nerve damage from the chemo, we all watched the Fireworks and then the Parade from the roof of our building (oops, I got too much sun on the Sunday watching the parade... and I know better than to do that while in treatments!). We had a bit of a slumber party where Greg and Jo stayed over at my place, then Robyn and Graie got back from their Alaska cruise Sunday morning so came straight over to my place... just in time for me to make Sunday breakfast. We had croissants, scrambled egg with mushroom, onion and cheese, ham and a variety of sweets. Robyn and Graie also did a Starbucks run, so we had various Starbucks coffee drinks :)
Oh, and Greg, bless his heart, gave both Jo and I a trim and flat-ironed our hair :) Here are a few pictures from that night/day:
Jo and Cheryl... friends forever (both with flat ironed hair) :)
Greg and Jo. We were trying to figure it out and we think the three of us have known each other for about 28 years.
My hair has pretty much grown out from the last colour I had... and is now a colour I never knew I had. Notice a lot of the gray in the mousey whatever colour that is. Chemo drugs do weird things to hair colour!
Slumber party... and Bridget is not going to miss out on a campout.. even if it is just on the floor of her home!
Well, it is getting late and the memory is foggy. Today was a chemo day so it does tend to play tricks with the mind. I know I was going to report lots of catch up news from the past 10 days but do you think I can remember what that news was? Even though my memory doesn't work well with some things, it does seem to be doing ok with my Box Office Manager duties, for the most part. It was hard at first, but I'm not pretty much holding my own (with the help of everyone around me). So I forget what I was going to say about the following pictures, but I may as well share them all with you, and you'll just have to realize there is a story behind them (grin):
We call this the Bonkamayer, named after Dustin Bonkamayer who worked on putting this "gateway to the theatre" together for his Eagle's badge as a scout. This was pretty amazing... a group of Mormons, the Bonkamayers being a family involved, got together to to something for Theatre Under the Stars because they liked the way we support family entertainment... and did they ever do a fabulous job putting this together!
Here's a picture of the Bonkemayer, closer up, after the show had started. The Box Office Dog is still on duty, waiting for Mom to come and cash out ;)
The Bonkamayer view from the back. These two sections are where we sell Starbucks Coffee/Tea/Hot chocolate from one section and Beer/Wine from the other.
Not the best picture of me, but one that shows Bridget loves her pink bed/basket. As long as she has it, she is one happy girl. The basket has seen better days, but there's no way I can replace it!
And this is Bridget after a full day at the theatre! All that fresh air and then all the people stopping to pat and touch her... well, a girl gets tired!
So this is my entry for now. The rest of this week is going to be super busy, what with us selling out houses of 1700+. It means we have to process all these people before the show...and we've been doing it! So chances are the next update to the blog won't be until next Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have any rough reactions to the chemo this week. I don't have time to be sick and this weekend will be the big closing night party, so I can't miss that! But I see it is going on 2am now which could explain why I'm starting to feel tired (grin). Since I will be going into the office tomorrow by noon, I better go get some shut eye. My oncologist has filled out the application for me to get one of the Handicapped Parking passes, but I just sent it in today so I won't get it in time to be able to use in the park. So far, I have been lucky to get parking very close to the theatre, but sometimes I have to park in the back lot. This means I have to walk (read hobble) to the office, then someone goes and gets my car at night and brings it around to me (or drives me to my car).
Ciao for now and we'll be back with an entry when I'm at home long enough to do it!
Cheryl
It has been 10 days since I last wrote in here... where does the time go? Ok, I don't think it's the usual summer whizzing by. I think, in my case, I can blame it all on Theatre Under The Stars. My whole life right now revolves around the two shows, Grease and Oklahoma! We are in countdown mode now with this coming Saturday being the big closing of the season... and closing night for Grease. But this past week has seen me spending morning until night at the office and theatre... and I'm not complaining because I'm loving every minute of it. We have an incredible group of volunteers/staff in all departments, and all the department heads are fantastic... all headed up by James Pollard who is the General Manager. You don't get them any better than James! We even have Board Members pitching in and being there every night... which is pretty much unheard of in other theatre groups. Definitely a feel of one big happy family and EVERYONE is putting in long hours to ensure this year's startup season is as successful as it can be! This has always been one of my dreams... to volunteer/work for a theatre group that has this kind of involvement by everyone and not just a couple of hard workers.
So, where did I leave off?? A few of you have written to me and asked how CB, my little cockatiel is doing, after the scare where it was looking like we might have to put her down a couple of weeks ago. But she is a little fighter and is still with us! She has been back and forth to see Dr. MacDonald, who has drained her cyst again and given her oxygen and vitamin shots... and she is doing much better. She still has the cyst, as well as a lot of her other oddity problems, but she is happy, content and in comfort... so onwards we go! She will be going back for another followup appt either this week or next week. I'll probably put it off until next week since this week is pure craziness...even though Mimi would take her if I end up with an appt. this week.
Last week, I did take Tuesday off from the theatre to go visit family friends from waaaaay back when I was growing up. Julia and Doug Keller lived two houses down from us when we were very young (I was 5, Doug would have been 7 and Julia would have been 10)... and we all grew up together. Obviously, as the years went on and we got older, we all went on our ways. I have not seen Julia for possibly 35 years! I have seen Doug because, for the last 18 years we have lived across the street from each other (grin). But Julia, her husband, her daughter and 5 of her grandchildren were vacationing in Pt. Roberts for this last two weeks. And here I am at the theatre for the whole time! So I purposely took Tuesday off and Doug and I went out to join them for the afternoon/evening. What a great time we had! I really had no idea that it was going to be that much fun. I am not used to being around young children for any length of time... nor is Bridget. I figured if Bridget didn't take well to the children, I could always put her in her bed in the car. She is soooo tired from her "Meet and Greet" job at the Box Offie, I knew she would be perfectly happy to just sleep in the car. But, surprise, surprise... she was great with the kids! Even when they all wanted to take turns taking her for a walk in the back yard on her leash.. she put up with it. Then stayed in the bedroom and watched TV with the kids. Here are two pictures of her with the oldest (10 years) in the evening, which I thought was just priceless:
Then last Saturday night was the finale of the Fireworks competition. What a disappointment!! The fireworks were great but none of us could believe that Canada won the competition!! As far as we were concerned, Canada was the lamest of the three countries (Spain, Canada, China). China should have won and we wouldn't have argued if Spain won... but Canada should not even have been in the running in our opinons!
But, we had fun anyways! Last weekend was Pride weekend, so there were parties all over the place on the Saturday, then the Fireworks at night, and the Pride Parade on Sunday which went down the street in front of our building. Since I am having trouble with my feet because of the nerve damage from the chemo, we all watched the Fireworks and then the Parade from the roof of our building (oops, I got too much sun on the Sunday watching the parade... and I know better than to do that while in treatments!). We had a bit of a slumber party where Greg and Jo stayed over at my place, then Robyn and Graie got back from their Alaska cruise Sunday morning so came straight over to my place... just in time for me to make Sunday breakfast. We had croissants, scrambled egg with mushroom, onion and cheese, ham and a variety of sweets. Robyn and Graie also did a Starbucks run, so we had various Starbucks coffee drinks :)
Oh, and Greg, bless his heart, gave both Jo and I a trim and flat-ironed our hair :) Here are a few pictures from that night/day:
Jo and Cheryl... friends forever (both with flat ironed hair) :)
Greg and Jo. We were trying to figure it out and we think the three of us have known each other for about 28 years.
My hair has pretty much grown out from the last colour I had... and is now a colour I never knew I had. Notice a lot of the gray in the mousey whatever colour that is. Chemo drugs do weird things to hair colour!
Slumber party... and Bridget is not going to miss out on a campout.. even if it is just on the floor of her home!Well, it is getting late and the memory is foggy. Today was a chemo day so it does tend to play tricks with the mind. I know I was going to report lots of catch up news from the past 10 days but do you think I can remember what that news was? Even though my memory doesn't work well with some things, it does seem to be doing ok with my Box Office Manager duties, for the most part. It was hard at first, but I'm not pretty much holding my own (with the help of everyone around me). So I forget what I was going to say about the following pictures, but I may as well share them all with you, and you'll just have to realize there is a story behind them (grin):
We call this the Bonkamayer, named after Dustin Bonkamayer who worked on putting this "gateway to the theatre" together for his Eagle's badge as a scout. This was pretty amazing... a group of Mormons, the Bonkamayers being a family involved, got together to to something for Theatre Under the Stars because they liked the way we support family entertainment... and did they ever do a fabulous job putting this together!
Here's a picture of the Bonkemayer, closer up, after the show had started. The Box Office Dog is still on duty, waiting for Mom to come and cash out ;)
The Bonkamayer view from the back. These two sections are where we sell Starbucks Coffee/Tea/Hot chocolate from one section and Beer/Wine from the other.
Not the best picture of me, but one that shows Bridget loves her pink bed/basket. As long as she has it, she is one happy girl. The basket has seen better days, but there's no way I can replace it!
And this is Bridget after a full day at the theatre! All that fresh air and then all the people stopping to pat and touch her... well, a girl gets tired!So this is my entry for now. The rest of this week is going to be super busy, what with us selling out houses of 1700+. It means we have to process all these people before the show...and we've been doing it! So chances are the next update to the blog won't be until next Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have any rough reactions to the chemo this week. I don't have time to be sick and this weekend will be the big closing night party, so I can't miss that! But I see it is going on 2am now which could explain why I'm starting to feel tired (grin). Since I will be going into the office tomorrow by noon, I better go get some shut eye. My oncologist has filled out the application for me to get one of the Handicapped Parking passes, but I just sent it in today so I won't get it in time to be able to use in the park. So far, I have been lucky to get parking very close to the theatre, but sometimes I have to park in the back lot. This means I have to walk (read hobble) to the office, then someone goes and gets my car at night and brings it around to me (or drives me to my car).
Ciao for now and we'll be back with an entry when I'm at home long enough to do it!
Cheryl
Friday, August 3, 2007
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Summer Fun!
Hello all you Bloggy readers!
I've gotten a few notes from some of you this week wondering how things are going since I haven't been able to get back to the Blog, even though I did say I would try to write more often. I swear, once summer is over, I may have more time to keep it up to date, especially when the weather turns cooler. Until then, it's going to be a real patchwork style of writing ;)
Hmmm... I'm not even sure where to start since last week. I probably need more than one entry to catch up. But, I will try and just hit the highlights and throw in some pictures along the way.
This week was a Chemo week. Rats! The last chemo session went really well and, other than my chemo feet, I didn't seem to have any side affects that were worth complaining about. Blood work was good before the session and then after I had the session, I was able to keep doing my Theatre volunteering and seemed to have no problem with energy levels or with the high sensitivity to cold. I figured that's because we are now into summer weather so there's no cold to be sensitive to... wrong!! :)
This week, after my 4 hours in the chemo chair, I decided to stop off at Safeway on the way home to pick up a few groceries. Ha! I went into the store and within minutes my whole body (feet, legs, back, arms and face) went into pins and needles mode... the reaction I get to cold. The cold being the air conditioning in the store. So, I didn't get to do much in the way of shopping.. I had to get out of there pretty quickly. It is darn uncomfortable to have your whole body being attacked by pins and needles!
I had parked across the street so when I got outside, the warmth of the sun greeted me. Yayaya! Only problem, my body thermometer now thought I was baking... so I broke into a streaming, dripping sweat. I still had the pins and needles from the cold and now the sweating from the heat. Luckily the car was literally across the street. With my chemo feet and now the cold/hot reactions, there's no way I could have walked the 1 1/2 blocks home. When I got home, I closed the drapes/curtains to keep the direct sunlight out and turned on the fans so there was air circulating. Bridget and I ended up lying down for a 3 hour nap. So, it just goes to show... I do have to still be careful after a chemo session regarding reactions.
Last night (Thurs), we had a sold out house of the performance "Grease". This is great for the theatre, but talk about a work out in the box office! We processed 1685 tickets last night! Yikes!! But what totally amazes me is how some of the public has the worst attitudes and do not stop to think. One gal had bought 2 tickets with reserved seats for her and her daughter because it was her daughter's birthday. After the fact, she decided to order a third ticket for her fiance. The only problem being, she couldn't get a reserved seat for him because by the time she ordered this third ticket (a few days later), there were no more reserved seats to be had... only festival seating. She bought one anyways. Then, when they get to theatre, both he and she throw a complete fit because the three of them aren't sitting together. She went on and on about how it was her daughter's birthday and how could we NOT sit them together? I explained (what she already knew) is that she bought 2 reserved tickets and 1 general admission ticket, so what made her think that the three would be together? If you buy for a sports event in two different sales transactions the chances of you getting all seats together are remote... if you buy 2 different categories of tickets, it's a guarantee you won't be sitting together. I can't believe these two so called adults would behave in such a childish, immature manner, but, you see this all the time when dealing with the public. And somehow it's all our fault that they bought their tickets this way.
Anywho, after last night, my eagle-eye friends who are also working the theatre noticed that I looked exhausted and the heat/humidity was getting to me (I was very flushed and sweaty). Considering before all these treatments I was a sun goddess and the heat never bothered me, this was obviously part and parcel of my ongoing treatments. So, I wasn't allowed to do any after show prep work for today. I was to pack up the dog and head home. Hahaha... and no room for argument... Jo, Jill and James insisted I go home and weren't budging until I did. That is one of the nice things about working with friends... even when I think I may be doing ok, they will be the first to notice if I don't look up to scruff and they put their feet down and send me on my way. Not only that, I'm taking this afternoon off to rest.
But, the week hasn't been all that bad. Busy, but not bad. This is also the week of the fireworks... our annual Celebration of Light competition. The countries involved this year are Spain, Canada and China. We have seen all three of their performances and without a doubt, China was superb! These are the fireworks that are at English Bay and just happen to be across the street from where I live. It turns into quite the festive circus around here with up to 150,000 people out on the streets/beach watching every night. Here are some pictures... a couple from web cams in the neighbourhood and a couple that I took:
They are very pretty and at times quite exciting, but I have to admit, I sure am glad that I live here and don't have to drive or travel to get here to see them! They close the roads to vehicle traffic at 7pm, so even if you are a resident, it's impossible to get back into the area. Residents are allowed back in but the traffic outside the area becomes a gridlock, so getting near the residents' entry points is crazy! That is why, every year on fireworks nights, I park my car at home in the morning and it doesn't move all day. Well, I used to do that, then I'd walk to work or wherever I was going. Now, with my chemo feet, I use the car in the morning to do any errands or picking up anything, then it gets parked in the afternoon and I don't leave the building other than to take Bridget out.
Speaking of Bridget... she is so used to being Box Office dog again that she surprises everyone with how well behaved she can be when we are all going crazy with getting the audience in. Thank goodness she is otherwise, I would have to keep her up at the pavilion where our office is and not have her down on the site with me when we are working with the audience. Here she is just after we got the show in last night. Jo was working with me on the Will Call counter and Greg/Emily were working the door sales. Bridget works whatever counter I'm working... and as you can see, she is such a hyper worker (grin)...
Oh, and I don't think I showed this one in an earlier entry. She was soooo tired when we got back to the office at the Pavilion one night, somehow she managed to get herself caught in some toilet paper and didn't even notice as she went to bed...
And then, this just cracked me up. We had just got the audience into last night's show and the performance had just begun. Because it was such a full house, the Beer/Wine bar had already sold out of their supply of wine/beer BEFORE the show, so it meant stocking up for intermission (again). This meant hauling down wine and beer from our dry storage at the pavilion. So here is Naveen using a wheelbarrow to bring loads of the stuff down. Naveen is the theatre's Treasurer and a very, very funny guy... constantly cracking me up! But here he is being a beer hauler with a wheelbarrow (grin).
Now, I know there's lots more that I've forgotten to write down and chances are there are a ton more pictures I've meant to post. But this entry is definitely long enough. Tomorrow, Greg will be coming over to cut Nathan and my hair, then Jo will join us. We will have a small group of folk tomorrow night to watch the Fireworks, then Jo, Greg and I will have a slumber party at my place. Only to get up in the morning to have breakfast, then watch the Pride parade. This is always a busy long weekend what with the finale of the Fireworks and then it's Pride weekend. Unfortunately, this year I won't be able to participate in all the festivities because I can't walk on my chemo feet... but that's ok. We can do the fireworks from up on our roof and then will take chairs down to the road to watch the parade.
Sooooo.. ta ta for now! More bloggy news later!
Cheryl
I've gotten a few notes from some of you this week wondering how things are going since I haven't been able to get back to the Blog, even though I did say I would try to write more often. I swear, once summer is over, I may have more time to keep it up to date, especially when the weather turns cooler. Until then, it's going to be a real patchwork style of writing ;)
Hmmm... I'm not even sure where to start since last week. I probably need more than one entry to catch up. But, I will try and just hit the highlights and throw in some pictures along the way.
This week was a Chemo week. Rats! The last chemo session went really well and, other than my chemo feet, I didn't seem to have any side affects that were worth complaining about. Blood work was good before the session and then after I had the session, I was able to keep doing my Theatre volunteering and seemed to have no problem with energy levels or with the high sensitivity to cold. I figured that's because we are now into summer weather so there's no cold to be sensitive to... wrong!! :)
This week, after my 4 hours in the chemo chair, I decided to stop off at Safeway on the way home to pick up a few groceries. Ha! I went into the store and within minutes my whole body (feet, legs, back, arms and face) went into pins and needles mode... the reaction I get to cold. The cold being the air conditioning in the store. So, I didn't get to do much in the way of shopping.. I had to get out of there pretty quickly. It is darn uncomfortable to have your whole body being attacked by pins and needles!
I had parked across the street so when I got outside, the warmth of the sun greeted me. Yayaya! Only problem, my body thermometer now thought I was baking... so I broke into a streaming, dripping sweat. I still had the pins and needles from the cold and now the sweating from the heat. Luckily the car was literally across the street. With my chemo feet and now the cold/hot reactions, there's no way I could have walked the 1 1/2 blocks home. When I got home, I closed the drapes/curtains to keep the direct sunlight out and turned on the fans so there was air circulating. Bridget and I ended up lying down for a 3 hour nap. So, it just goes to show... I do have to still be careful after a chemo session regarding reactions.
Last night (Thurs), we had a sold out house of the performance "Grease". This is great for the theatre, but talk about a work out in the box office! We processed 1685 tickets last night! Yikes!! But what totally amazes me is how some of the public has the worst attitudes and do not stop to think. One gal had bought 2 tickets with reserved seats for her and her daughter because it was her daughter's birthday. After the fact, she decided to order a third ticket for her fiance. The only problem being, she couldn't get a reserved seat for him because by the time she ordered this third ticket (a few days later), there were no more reserved seats to be had... only festival seating. She bought one anyways. Then, when they get to theatre, both he and she throw a complete fit because the three of them aren't sitting together. She went on and on about how it was her daughter's birthday and how could we NOT sit them together? I explained (what she already knew) is that she bought 2 reserved tickets and 1 general admission ticket, so what made her think that the three would be together? If you buy for a sports event in two different sales transactions the chances of you getting all seats together are remote... if you buy 2 different categories of tickets, it's a guarantee you won't be sitting together. I can't believe these two so called adults would behave in such a childish, immature manner, but, you see this all the time when dealing with the public. And somehow it's all our fault that they bought their tickets this way.
Anywho, after last night, my eagle-eye friends who are also working the theatre noticed that I looked exhausted and the heat/humidity was getting to me (I was very flushed and sweaty). Considering before all these treatments I was a sun goddess and the heat never bothered me, this was obviously part and parcel of my ongoing treatments. So, I wasn't allowed to do any after show prep work for today. I was to pack up the dog and head home. Hahaha... and no room for argument... Jo, Jill and James insisted I go home and weren't budging until I did. That is one of the nice things about working with friends... even when I think I may be doing ok, they will be the first to notice if I don't look up to scruff and they put their feet down and send me on my way. Not only that, I'm taking this afternoon off to rest.
But, the week hasn't been all that bad. Busy, but not bad. This is also the week of the fireworks... our annual Celebration of Light competition. The countries involved this year are Spain, Canada and China. We have seen all three of their performances and without a doubt, China was superb! These are the fireworks that are at English Bay and just happen to be across the street from where I live. It turns into quite the festive circus around here with up to 150,000 people out on the streets/beach watching every night. Here are some pictures... a couple from web cams in the neighbourhood and a couple that I took:
They are very pretty and at times quite exciting, but I have to admit, I sure am glad that I live here and don't have to drive or travel to get here to see them! They close the roads to vehicle traffic at 7pm, so even if you are a resident, it's impossible to get back into the area. Residents are allowed back in but the traffic outside the area becomes a gridlock, so getting near the residents' entry points is crazy! That is why, every year on fireworks nights, I park my car at home in the morning and it doesn't move all day. Well, I used to do that, then I'd walk to work or wherever I was going. Now, with my chemo feet, I use the car in the morning to do any errands or picking up anything, then it gets parked in the afternoon and I don't leave the building other than to take Bridget out.
Speaking of Bridget... she is so used to being Box Office dog again that she surprises everyone with how well behaved she can be when we are all going crazy with getting the audience in. Thank goodness she is otherwise, I would have to keep her up at the pavilion where our office is and not have her down on the site with me when we are working with the audience. Here she is just after we got the show in last night. Jo was working with me on the Will Call counter and Greg/Emily were working the door sales. Bridget works whatever counter I'm working... and as you can see, she is such a hyper worker (grin)...
Oh, and I don't think I showed this one in an earlier entry. She was soooo tired when we got back to the office at the Pavilion one night, somehow she managed to get herself caught in some toilet paper and didn't even notice as she went to bed...
And then, this just cracked me up. We had just got the audience into last night's show and the performance had just begun. Because it was such a full house, the Beer/Wine bar had already sold out of their supply of wine/beer BEFORE the show, so it meant stocking up for intermission (again). This meant hauling down wine and beer from our dry storage at the pavilion. So here is Naveen using a wheelbarrow to bring loads of the stuff down. Naveen is the theatre's Treasurer and a very, very funny guy... constantly cracking me up! But here he is being a beer hauler with a wheelbarrow (grin).
Now, I know there's lots more that I've forgotten to write down and chances are there are a ton more pictures I've meant to post. But this entry is definitely long enough. Tomorrow, Greg will be coming over to cut Nathan and my hair, then Jo will join us. We will have a small group of folk tomorrow night to watch the Fireworks, then Jo, Greg and I will have a slumber party at my place. Only to get up in the morning to have breakfast, then watch the Pride parade. This is always a busy long weekend what with the finale of the Fireworks and then it's Pride weekend. Unfortunately, this year I won't be able to participate in all the festivities because I can't walk on my chemo feet... but that's ok. We can do the fireworks from up on our roof and then will take chairs down to the road to watch the parade.
Sooooo.. ta ta for now! More bloggy news later!
Cheryl
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007 -- Long, Long overdue!
Hello Bloggy!
Ok, ok... don't anyone say a word! Yes, I KNOW Bloggy is very much out of date! I didn't even look at the last entry because I know it was a long time ago. Back when it was sunny and we were getting ready to open the 2007 Theatre Under The Stars season. Well, we are now open... we've been running for just over a week now... and already (grrrrrrr) we have had to cancel two shows due to heavy rain. Actually 3 shows were officially called, but last night, the cast of Oklahoma! decided they wanted to perform for the 200 or so hearty souls that came out in the monsoons to watch the show. It's very disappointing to both casts when a performance has to be cancelled... not to mention to the audience who have tickets and the tourists who are only in town for a short time. Oh sure, we honour all rained out tickets and they can come to any other performance during the run, but it still is disappointing... and yes, costs lost revenue!!
Anywho... I have been thrilled to be involved with the gang this year. For a couple of reasons. The first being that I love musical comedy and always miss it when I'm not involved. The second, the fact I get to spend this time with some very dear friends who I have known in our theatre circles going back 30 years... that's pretty special to still be together this many years later. Also, considering I am still going through my chemo treatments, although I have to do a balancing act so I don't overtire myself, it is a great support system. The whole gang down there act like mother hens (grin), so IF I am doing a little more than maybe I should, it doesn't take long for someone to jump on top of things and get me to stop :)
Soooo... I am happy to be occupied this summer with two musical productions, which both happen to be a lot of fun and of a good standard.
I also have started up my two aggressive chemo treatments again. This first session was this past Monday. I'm actually very pleased with myself... it has gone pretty darn good! Mild nausea, but nothing that the anti-nausea meds couldn't take care of. Yes, I have been tired, but not super fatigued, so is the tired from the chemo or just because I'm stimulating my chemo brain with box office procedures?
The only major complaint I have right now are my chemo feet :/ OWWWWWWW!!! The pain is kind of hard to describe. It's all internal and feels like one is walking on a dozen or more tacks in each heel. It may start off ok, but then within a block or so, the pain sets in... and the walking turns into a shuffle... then a slow shuffle... meanwhile the feet are in pain the whole time. Gone are the days where Bridget and I could just go walking. Heck, that was going to be one of our plans to walk from our place to the theatre in the park, which is about a 1 1/2 mile walk from door to door. Not a chance I can do that now. It is quite the challenge just to get Bridget out and around one block in the mornings. Another bonus of being down at the Park during the day/evening... there are plenty of the gang who are thrilled to take Bridget for a walkie in the park.
Sooooo... the chemo feet are probably going to take some time to heal (and heal they better!!). It could be a matter of starting to heal after we stop the chemo, or it may be a gradual return to painfree feet over the course of a year or so :/
Speaking of chemo... the plan after the radiation sessions was to have a 3 week break and then we'd do 4 chemo sessions (consisting of 4 hours of the one aggressive chemo and 46 hours of the second aggressive one), then repeat every two weeks. This would take me until the middle of September. Dr. Gill (oncologist) and I had an appt. a week ago and she said that she would like me to do 6 more sessions if my system and blood cells could handle it. She said that if we did the two extra sessions, it would be beneficial to me. Hey? Who am I to argue?? The whole purpose of this aggressive treatment is so I survive this whole ordeal! Survival is definitely important in my books :)
My blood work that was done before Monday's chemo was excellent! She was super impressed and pleased with how healthy my bone marrow is and how quickly it is replenishing the blood cells that the chemo kills off. It's almost replenishing them at the same rate of speed :) So, this is a good thing... as long as that blood work remains good, then we can continue on with the treatments plus the extra treatments :)
Now, some not so happy news :( My dear little bird, C.B. is not doing well. I noticed yesterday that she seemed to be breathing heavy. I thought it might be because it is very humid these days, what with the mild temperatures and all the rain we've been getting. She is a special needs bird, after all. But then, one shouldn't really see a bird breathing, it shouldn't be laboured. So, I made an appt. for her to see the Bird Doc, Dr. MacDonald this afternoon. Mimi took her in since I had to be at the theatre to get tickets ready for the show tonight.
Not good news. CB's abdomen appears to be full of fluid and an ultrasound showed that it could be a cyst of some sort. Not sure if it is benign or not. So, I talked to the Dr. on the phone and asked what we could do, if anything. She doesn't think it looks too good since CB does have her share of health issues. Dr. M. was going to drain the fluid out and see if that will make her more comfortable and give her a better quality of life. If that doesn't work, we may be looking at putting CB down. Mimi is very upset and I'm just taking it as it comes. My main concern is that she does NOT suffer. She has so much character and has always been a little fighter. She has come through a lot in her 18 years. If she still has fight left in her, then I'll do whatever it takes to make her comfortable through her fight... but if it means she will spend the rest of her little life suffering, then I'll have to make the decision us pet owners hate to make. I'll know more in the morning when I call the birdy hospital.
Sooooo...that's it for now! I WILL try to update a little more often and hopefully get some more pictures going. But it's kind of a crazy, insane time these days! I don't have my datebook handy but I know I have also scheduled "rest days" (grin) and maybe I can catch up on a rest day :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Ok, ok... don't anyone say a word! Yes, I KNOW Bloggy is very much out of date! I didn't even look at the last entry because I know it was a long time ago. Back when it was sunny and we were getting ready to open the 2007 Theatre Under The Stars season. Well, we are now open... we've been running for just over a week now... and already (grrrrrrr) we have had to cancel two shows due to heavy rain. Actually 3 shows were officially called, but last night, the cast of Oklahoma! decided they wanted to perform for the 200 or so hearty souls that came out in the monsoons to watch the show. It's very disappointing to both casts when a performance has to be cancelled... not to mention to the audience who have tickets and the tourists who are only in town for a short time. Oh sure, we honour all rained out tickets and they can come to any other performance during the run, but it still is disappointing... and yes, costs lost revenue!!
Anywho... I have been thrilled to be involved with the gang this year. For a couple of reasons. The first being that I love musical comedy and always miss it when I'm not involved. The second, the fact I get to spend this time with some very dear friends who I have known in our theatre circles going back 30 years... that's pretty special to still be together this many years later. Also, considering I am still going through my chemo treatments, although I have to do a balancing act so I don't overtire myself, it is a great support system. The whole gang down there act like mother hens (grin), so IF I am doing a little more than maybe I should, it doesn't take long for someone to jump on top of things and get me to stop :)
Soooo... I am happy to be occupied this summer with two musical productions, which both happen to be a lot of fun and of a good standard.
I also have started up my two aggressive chemo treatments again. This first session was this past Monday. I'm actually very pleased with myself... it has gone pretty darn good! Mild nausea, but nothing that the anti-nausea meds couldn't take care of. Yes, I have been tired, but not super fatigued, so is the tired from the chemo or just because I'm stimulating my chemo brain with box office procedures?
The only major complaint I have right now are my chemo feet :/ OWWWWWWW!!! The pain is kind of hard to describe. It's all internal and feels like one is walking on a dozen or more tacks in each heel. It may start off ok, but then within a block or so, the pain sets in... and the walking turns into a shuffle... then a slow shuffle... meanwhile the feet are in pain the whole time. Gone are the days where Bridget and I could just go walking. Heck, that was going to be one of our plans to walk from our place to the theatre in the park, which is about a 1 1/2 mile walk from door to door. Not a chance I can do that now. It is quite the challenge just to get Bridget out and around one block in the mornings. Another bonus of being down at the Park during the day/evening... there are plenty of the gang who are thrilled to take Bridget for a walkie in the park.
Sooooo... the chemo feet are probably going to take some time to heal (and heal they better!!). It could be a matter of starting to heal after we stop the chemo, or it may be a gradual return to painfree feet over the course of a year or so :/
Speaking of chemo... the plan after the radiation sessions was to have a 3 week break and then we'd do 4 chemo sessions (consisting of 4 hours of the one aggressive chemo and 46 hours of the second aggressive one), then repeat every two weeks. This would take me until the middle of September. Dr. Gill (oncologist) and I had an appt. a week ago and she said that she would like me to do 6 more sessions if my system and blood cells could handle it. She said that if we did the two extra sessions, it would be beneficial to me. Hey? Who am I to argue?? The whole purpose of this aggressive treatment is so I survive this whole ordeal! Survival is definitely important in my books :)
My blood work that was done before Monday's chemo was excellent! She was super impressed and pleased with how healthy my bone marrow is and how quickly it is replenishing the blood cells that the chemo kills off. It's almost replenishing them at the same rate of speed :) So, this is a good thing... as long as that blood work remains good, then we can continue on with the treatments plus the extra treatments :)
Now, some not so happy news :( My dear little bird, C.B. is not doing well. I noticed yesterday that she seemed to be breathing heavy. I thought it might be because it is very humid these days, what with the mild temperatures and all the rain we've been getting. She is a special needs bird, after all. But then, one shouldn't really see a bird breathing, it shouldn't be laboured. So, I made an appt. for her to see the Bird Doc, Dr. MacDonald this afternoon. Mimi took her in since I had to be at the theatre to get tickets ready for the show tonight.
Not good news. CB's abdomen appears to be full of fluid and an ultrasound showed that it could be a cyst of some sort. Not sure if it is benign or not. So, I talked to the Dr. on the phone and asked what we could do, if anything. She doesn't think it looks too good since CB does have her share of health issues. Dr. M. was going to drain the fluid out and see if that will make her more comfortable and give her a better quality of life. If that doesn't work, we may be looking at putting CB down. Mimi is very upset and I'm just taking it as it comes. My main concern is that she does NOT suffer. She has so much character and has always been a little fighter. She has come through a lot in her 18 years. If she still has fight left in her, then I'll do whatever it takes to make her comfortable through her fight... but if it means she will spend the rest of her little life suffering, then I'll have to make the decision us pet owners hate to make. I'll know more in the morning when I call the birdy hospital.
Sooooo...that's it for now! I WILL try to update a little more often and hopefully get some more pictures going. But it's kind of a crazy, insane time these days! I don't have my datebook handy but I know I have also scheduled "rest days" (grin) and maybe I can catch up on a rest day :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Saturday, July 7th, 2007 - At the theatre
Dear Bloggy,
Well, there's not a lot of variety in news to report. For the most part, I've spent my time down at the park, working in the office as we gear up for the opening of Grease and Oklahoma. This is the week before opening and everything is happening at once. Very chaotic... but at the same time, it is probably one of the most calmest "Tech Weeks" I've every experienced... and this is with putting up TWO shows, not just one!
Since it is 11pm and I'm a little tired, I think I'll just put up a bunch of pictures which will sort of explain my week... and you can see for yourselves how gorgeous Vancouver is when the weather co-operates :)
This was an exciting point this week... the breaking of ground where they are building our new Gateway structure. This structure will hold the outdoor box office, the outdoor coffee bar and the outdoor Beer/Wine bar as patrons arrive to the theatre.
The start of building our Gateway. Here is James Cronk (in tie), the theatre's new President and James Pollard, the General Manager.
This picture cracks me up! Here we all are in the office working on our own depts... and everyone has their own laptop and are lost in their own little world (grin)
And here we have another supervisor... surveying her domain!
"Ok, when does this show start?? I'm getting impatient!!"
"Hey, Mom... this ride is pretty lame. It's ok, but it's no roller coaster!"
By the end of the day, they now have the structured beams up... we still need the roof and the flooring.. and then the drop down fabric for the temporary walls. The structure will come down after the season is over in August... and put back up again next year.
This kid is amazing!! He's a boy scout who is working on his "Eagle Badge" (?). He's the one who has headed up getting the gateway built. He met with engineers, electricians, carpenters, etc. and basically has been the Project Manager. He has gotten some help from our techies, but this has been his project to work on to get his badge.
Bridget and I take breaks from being in the office and we go for little walks (ok, in my case, little hobbles since feet and legs are now weak points for me). Here is one of the trails we went on to check out the rose gardens.
Back to the theatre to check how the move-in is coming along. In this picture, they had just moved all the set pieces for Oklahoma in.
Bridget was also interested in what was going on on the stage, although, in all honesty she was more interested in the people that were around. She loves to run up and yodel at anyone who pays attention to her... which is most everyone.
Later at night... here is a rehearsal shot of Oklahoma.
Here's another rehearsal shot of Oklahoma. By this time I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in the grass. Gotta get some mosquito spray!
Ahhh... yes... so much fresh air, people, chaos, activity... the box office dog has had enough and just curls up in her little pink bed and is oblivious to everyone and everything around her.
Ok... I'm going to stop now. Time for me to head to bed.
Nighty-night all!
Cheryl
Well, there's not a lot of variety in news to report. For the most part, I've spent my time down at the park, working in the office as we gear up for the opening of Grease and Oklahoma. This is the week before opening and everything is happening at once. Very chaotic... but at the same time, it is probably one of the most calmest "Tech Weeks" I've every experienced... and this is with putting up TWO shows, not just one!
Since it is 11pm and I'm a little tired, I think I'll just put up a bunch of pictures which will sort of explain my week... and you can see for yourselves how gorgeous Vancouver is when the weather co-operates :)
This was an exciting point this week... the breaking of ground where they are building our new Gateway structure. This structure will hold the outdoor box office, the outdoor coffee bar and the outdoor Beer/Wine bar as patrons arrive to the theatre.
The start of building our Gateway. Here is James Cronk (in tie), the theatre's new President and James Pollard, the General Manager.
This picture cracks me up! Here we all are in the office working on our own depts... and everyone has their own laptop and are lost in their own little world (grin)
And here we have another supervisor... surveying her domain!
"Ok, when does this show start?? I'm getting impatient!!"
"Hey, Mom... this ride is pretty lame. It's ok, but it's no roller coaster!"
By the end of the day, they now have the structured beams up... we still need the roof and the flooring.. and then the drop down fabric for the temporary walls. The structure will come down after the season is over in August... and put back up again next year.
This kid is amazing!! He's a boy scout who is working on his "Eagle Badge" (?). He's the one who has headed up getting the gateway built. He met with engineers, electricians, carpenters, etc. and basically has been the Project Manager. He has gotten some help from our techies, but this has been his project to work on to get his badge.
Bridget and I take breaks from being in the office and we go for little walks (ok, in my case, little hobbles since feet and legs are now weak points for me). Here is one of the trails we went on to check out the rose gardens.
Back to the theatre to check how the move-in is coming along. In this picture, they had just moved all the set pieces for Oklahoma in.
Bridget was also interested in what was going on on the stage, although, in all honesty she was more interested in the people that were around. She loves to run up and yodel at anyone who pays attention to her... which is most everyone.
Later at night... here is a rehearsal shot of Oklahoma.
Here's another rehearsal shot of Oklahoma. By this time I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in the grass. Gotta get some mosquito spray!
Ahhh... yes... so much fresh air, people, chaos, activity... the box office dog has had enough and just curls up in her little pink bed and is oblivious to everyone and everything around her.Ok... I'm going to stop now. Time for me to head to bed.
Nighty-night all!
Cheryl
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