Ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah.

Who am I kidding, I’m fighting something.

I hate feeling sick, being exhausted. If I look at it rationally, of course I’m tired and sick. The last week of November was the end of basically a month and half without my having a proper day off. Throw in 2 time zone changes and this Daylight Savings B.S. and then top it off with a steady stream of bad news and half of L.A. being on fire and you’ve got yourself somebody ripe for illness.

It doesn’t help that I beat myself up for not being able to do more when I get home from work either. Sure, I don’t work 8-hour days but I’m also not at a desk. I’m up, I’m moving around, I’m performing. If you do the math, I’m actively occupying the body of upbeat, positive foreigner for nearly 3 hours. And just being in the break room is a performance in itself. Thank god I’m not doing Grinchmas this year. At least my face and voice are getting a break.

I’m hoping a week or 2 of a consistent schedule and limiting my outside work life to eating, sleeping and blogging will get me back on track.

Man, I hope so.

Today was a recovery day and I’m totally ready for bed but, because I don’t want to break the chain, I’ve spent the past hour or two trying to come up with something to blog. I’ve got a few things I’d like to write about but they all involve a lot more work than my brain and energy levels are ready for. Plus, they also involve a little bit of research but, every time I’ve opened up a web browser this evening, I seem to do everything but research.

So, considering all the negative stuff going on in the world lately, I’m just going to share something that, no matter how long it’s been or how many times I’ve seen it, never fails to make me smile. I hope it does the same for you.

Long day. Long week. Not sure what to blog about so I’m just going wing it, bullet-point style!

• I had a good long talk with my friend (the possible addict) this evening. I didn’t confront him directly about the situation but I listened and was supportive and managed to get him to agree to see a therapist soon. I really hope he does.
• Thank god I’ve got tomorrow off. I was recently promoted to the top of my roster at work and, while I worked very hard for the position and am super excited at the potential, I’m surprised at how many times its being thrown back in my face by coworkers and management. Kinda sucks. I don’t want to be more guarded backstage at work but it seems to be a necessity.
• One of the benefits of being top-rostered is that I essentially get to choose my schedule. I’d been torn for months over whether I should continue to work 5 days a week (which is truly exhausting and pushes my sanity to its limits) or 4 days a week (which gives me recovery time and creative time and, all in all, makes me a happier and healthier person… who, unfortunately, makes one less day of pay a week). Weeks like this make me glad I decided on only doing 4 days. Also, I’m trying not to think of it in terms of “the money I’m missing out on” and more “that’s money I’m investing in my sanity and creativity”.
• I found out tonight that the director of my favorite movie and the director of my very first theme park job are both predatory pedophiles. In fact, the latter seems to have raped Goose from Top Gun when he was only 12.  I describe the situation that way not to be insensitive but because that’s literally how my brain is interpreting the news. The guy who trained me at Poseidon’s Fury sexually abused a 12-year-old Gilbert from “Revenge of the Nerds”. What is wrong with the world?
• Speaking of which, I can’t believe the wildfires are still going on.
• In more positive news, it was my dad’s birthday today. I love my dad. When he was younger, he pounded my initials into the hull of a ship he was building. He’s a good guy and I admire him in so many ways. I’m glad we had a chance to talk on the phone today.
• I need more sleep. Time to hit the hay. Good night, gang.

A week ago, I didn’t know how the Santa Ana winds worked. What caused them, what direction they went, or why they increased the risk of brush fires.

I didn’t know what constituted a fire hazard zone much less if I lived in one.

I didn’t know how our CERT responded to natural disasters.

In addition to the above, I didn’t know the best way to approach a loved one who may be addicted to drugs nor what rehab options are available.

But, thanks to FOUR major brush fires blanketing the areas surrounding where I live as well as the terrible news that someone I care about may be an addict, I now know these things.

At the start of this year, one of our cats got really sick. Before this happened, the extent of my kitty care knowledge was limited to filling a bowl and scooping a litter box. I’d never given an injection in my life. But, as one bad conditioned dominoed into another (and another), and it looked as if our cat might not survive, I found I had to learn.

By the time our kitty pulled through months later, I knew how to give pills to a cat, administer subcutaneous fluids via an IV, do an insulin injection as well as blend and inject food via either a neck tube or stomach tube.

None of this is stuff I had ever planned on learning but, because of crisis situations, I had to become a bit of an expert on each.

All of which makes me wonder if, perhaps, the key to becoming an expert in anything is to be truly scared of what might happen if you don’t.

 

The temperature in Los Angeles has started dropping and it finally got cold enough the night before last that the A/C never kicked on which means…

Hell yeah! So, last night, I grabbed my lighter, relit the hearth pilot light and then me and the kitties had a nice snuggle in front of our gas fireplace (which has all the ambiance of a fake log in front of toppled propane grill but hey, warm.)

Sadly, since it’s a gas fireplace, it doesn’t have that wonderful campfire smell one associates with fireplaces so, last winter, I bought some wood-scented incense to make the whole experience a bit more authentic and they do a pretty good job.

Anyway, this morning, I awoke to find the living room actually smelled like a fireplace! Which was odd because I hadn’t used the incense the night before. “Aww,” I thought, “everyone in the neighborhood must’ve used their real fireplaces last night! Who says LA can’t have a proper Christmas?”

Then I opened the blinds to find, towering over our place, a gigantic pillar of smoke coming from just northeast of us.

Oh, well THAT explains the smell. A massive brush fire.

No, not the 50,000 acre one. I know that started last night but that’s over in Ventura county.

The Rye Fire in Santa Clarita? Close, but no cigar. (Or anything else flammable, for the love of god!)

The Creek Fire near Sylmar? Yep, that’s the one!

The column of smoke looked like somebody was growing a thunderstorm. The pieces of ash – burnt remains of trees and homes – floated through the air like snowflakes, coated our pool like ice and made tiny piles on our patio furniture and hummingbird feeder.

Despite the horror of it all, it almost felt… festive.

So, c’mon kids! Santa (Ana) is on his way! Grab your stockings and let’s go hang them on the chimney!

Because, really, that’s all we’ve got left…