I kicked all sorts of ass at work today. That is, if you define "ass" as "Macromedia Captivate" and "all sorts of" as "what I'm paid for." But I did a lot of it, without looking up for hours on end. I set up a meeting with Jan to show her the completed tutorials on Wednesday (we want to have them ready by the time we both go on vacation next week), and while that's right on-schedule with what I was doing, I wanted to make sure I got in every bell and whistle I could before showing the completed project to her.

Whenever I get into a good groove, of course, whatever I'm working on decides to be tempermental. I recorded long tasks, and Captivate would hang, or crash, or do something that was kind of inbetween hanging and crashing. Still, I got a lot of it done, and I should have everything ready by the end of tomorrow. It'll be nice to stop paying attention to that particular database for awhile.

There are six other databases that need tutorials, but I'm not going to think about that until after vacation.

Because I was sick last week, I missed the rehearsal where the whole cast of The Odd Couple would be, so I have to make up for it with two rehearsals this week.

Tonight, I grabbed my measuring tape and got measurements for Felix and the Pigeon Sisters. Before I manhandled them, I got to sit in on a rehearsal. Oscar wasn't available, so his lines were being read offstage, but the show is going to be really funny from what I could see. I really like the way that Felix is being played.

I hadn't met either of the actresses playing the Pigeon Sisters, but they were very nice and very accomodating. They're tiny little things, so costuming them is going to be pretty straightforward. I think there'll be a good bit of sewing involved, but my current plan is to find outfits that I can cut down into two separate outfits that share matching patterns.

Next Monday, I'll get measurements for Oscar and the poker buddies, and then it's time to go shopping. Theater is such hard work.

Speaking of theater, I'm supposed to go see a rehearsal of my short play Ten Proms in two days.

The play is going to be included in a festival to open a new theater company in Lowell, MA. The artistic director of the theater has selected a number of my plays for festivals he did in past years, and he specifically asked for this show. I was more than happy to let him produce it, though I didn't want to direct it myself again.

I like the play, but it involves eleven actors and nine prom dresses, and that's just too much prep work for a ten-minute piece. When I wrote it, it was kind of a joke, to see how many characters I could get onstage, and how difficult I could make it, costume-wise. The joke was on me when it was accepted and I had to find the actors and the dresses. I was bailed out by a lovely reader who sent me a box of her old prom dresses from the same era (mid-80s) I needed.

This time, it's someone else's problem. I'm going to the rehearsal just to see how it's being done this time. I'm not going to give any input, since I'm a firm believer in giving the plays over to the people who are producing and performing them.

I have a list of places to submit to in about another month (summer is pretty quiet, submissions-wise), and I have a couple of new short pieces to try out in those venues, but really, the focus is on the one-man piece and the "Will/Mike Play", which I haven't worked on in far too long.

There's one more Mtv show on my list of things to watch when I'm up far too late: Trailer Fabulous. It's a home makeover show that takes place in trailer parks. It's a little too self-consciously wacky, but seems to have a good heart.

My favorite character is Johnny, the interior designer. He looks like a 70s porn star who's been out of the business for about 10 years. Long hair, a big moustache, and really outrageous clothes and accessories. His decorating style is pretty wild, but since the people being made over are kids who watch Mtv, it's pretty perfect.

I watch far too much television. There are books lined up by my bed and DVDs still in their Netflix envelopes, just waiting for me to pay attention. Or I could do something really crazy and get out of the house once in awhile.