Photo Limbo

For the past three years, I've been paying $25 per year for three years for photo storage and hosting from Flickr.com.  Now I've decided that instead of $25 once a year forever, I'd rather spend $100 of my money on an external hard drive once.  And free online back-up storage once.  Well, twice, just in case.  And free image hosting, though that's proven a little harder to find.  At any rate, as a result, some of my old photo links may be broken until I find a new image host.  When I do, my plan is to update the links.  In the meantime, thanks for your understanding!

More Househunting Hysteria

So after the Model Home was foreclosed upon, it was back to the drawing board located at square one in the salt mines.  We jumped right back into househunting and it didn't take us long to find another specimen.  The Pot 'o Gold (so named by Eric because the current owner chose to paint every wall in the house a bold shade of goldenrod) is a 1900-square-foot, 10-year-old 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house a few miles away from our current neighborhood.  The place is in incredible condition with lots of upgrades, and it's just over the county line where property taxes are a bit lower.  The sellers accepted our offer--$1000 more than we would have paid for the smaller, older model home--so now we're just waiting to see if the bank will take $165,000 less than the home's most recent purchase price.  Fingers crossed!

My Hero

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, professional wrestler and actor, recreational photobomber

My second favorite part of this photo is the one lady's epic Christmas sweater.  My third favorite part is that the other lady is holding a pair of maracas.  Feliz Navidad.

Back to Square One

Well, the sellers foreclosed on the house we wanted.  Not sure why they would want to do that when they had an interested buyer already in the process.  We're bummed, but we're moving on quickly to find a suitable replacement.  To lighten the mood, here's a reminder of where we are in the form of a blast from my past as a PBS-devoted child.

Everyday Adventures

Even if we don't have anything big and exciting coming up, we still have little adventures around here every day.  Take last Friday, for instance, when I ran out of gas on the highway coming home from rehearsal.  Of course I had forgotten my phone that day, so I scaled Overpass Mountain, trekked hundreds of feet, and stirred the natives of Longhorn Steakhouse to procure a phone.  Eric is wrestling the demonic curse of the root canal, writhing in pain at every possible chance.  His ailment left me to explore and observe the culture of Xanadu at the Bob Carr flying solo.

Coming up in a few weeks, just after Joseph closes, we'll be blazing a trail to Miami for a mini-vacation to celebrate our anniversary.  Also, the newest development in our acquisition of the Indian Oaks Trail Territory has unfolded.  Over two months after putting in our offer in mid-February, the villainous bank to whom the owners' balance is owed decided the purchase was worth $9,000 more than the original asking price.  After some prospecting, we've agreed to accept their counteroffer with the stipulation that we will close in time to qualify for the first-time home buyers' tax bounty before it expires at the end of June.  If all works according to plan, we'll be starting a new adventure at a new address before summer's end!

Keepin' It Real

Not much new has happened lately around here, but we're both keeping very busy with our new responsibilities. Joseph opens at the Garden Theatre in less than two weeks and it's been incredible to watch it all come together!  I'm very excited to share that the role of Potiphar, my on-stage spouse, will be played by a local celebrity each night.  The list of names is shaping up to be very impressive from what I hear, so I'll post as soon as everything is nailed down, and I'll have ticket information too.  I'm also playing a gig at the downtown branch of the Orange County Library again this year to celebrate National Music Week.  If you're free around 11:30 on Monday, May 3, come on by to hear a song or two!

I had an amazing opportunity during the Easter season.  A friend of mine, to whom I am very grateful, recommended me to fill in with the eight-piece professional choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe for their Holy Week services.  Performing with such an illustrious and talented group was a very fulfilling experience for me, and I hope I get the chance to go back and sing with them every once in a while. 

Eric is adjusting very well to his new surroundings.  He's closing tonight for the first time in this role, so I'm holding down the fort here at home, just bloggin' and having a relaxing night in to prepare for the intense rehearsal process resuming Monday evening.  It's gonna be a great show!

Eric's Big Move

Yesterday was Eric's last day at Saratoga Springs Resort.  A few weeks ago he was invited for a meet-and-greet with the leadership team another Disney resort.  It went very well and the result of the meeting was his being asked to take a position on their team!  He will have the same title he had at Saratoga, just at a new place.  He's very excited about the move but it was hard for him to leave his team at DSSR.  They made a major fuss about his going away--a big potluck party, a beautiful scrapbook, a plaque for his new office, and a lovely print of the resort that the cast had all signed.  The whole tizzy just reaffirmed what I already knew--that Eric is respected and looked up to because he is excellent at what he does.  One cast member even wrote a sweet poem for him:

Today I write this poem for you,

As our ways do part, a fond "Adieu"

Is what your family wants to state

For a brand new role is on your plate...

New York's the state from which you came

In the town of Herkimer you made your fame

Spent days with residents, supporting their need

You helped them develop, showed rules they should heed.

In the Resource Center is where you worked

Did training and supervising, your job never shirked.

One day you decided to leave all the snow

And move here to Florida joining our show.

In June of '07 at Boardwalk did start

Your Disney career in a concierge part,

You were also a trainer, gave yours and did Ops,

Then Saratoga Springs begame one of your stops...

An "Emerging Leader"--you were our first

Excellent guest service is alays your thirst.

I asked for some input from all of your Cast

Here's some comments they made, from the first to the last:

"You're a positive role model," and "Certainly cute,"

"You're a flashy dresser, in a colorful suit."

"Professional-looking," and "Giving's your knack,"

"He'd give you the shirt right off his back."

"You're a quiet guy" and "You look the part

Of a thoughtful soul with a caring heart."

Your black hair is spiked--you've got brown eyes,

"Your eyebrows are perfect," "You're helpful and wise."

We heard you're in Encore, you sang with Celine,

In a Candlelight robe in the choir you were seen.

You're married to Katie, your wife and your pal,

She's a talented hostess and Kimonos gal.

She plays the music up on Swan's stage,

Where karaoke songs are still the rage...

Someone told me, which must really stink

Is that you didn't have a kitchen sink?!!

Don't know if that's true, but I heard it four ties

So as part of my poem, made it one of my rhymes...

You've been our fine leader for more than two years

You're a wonderful asset to all of your peers.

Now you're heading to Yacht and Beach,

You'll be a Manager, the Basics teach,

Not just by words, but by actions, deeds,

You'll charm new Cast and meet Guests' needs.

It's a perfect fit in a leadership role

'Cause "moving forward" is your Disney goal.

Consensus of opinion..."We think you've been aces!"

That's obvious to see by the look on our faces.

The rev of your Honda as you leave us tonight

Will sadden our hearts as you leave from our sigh.

We'll miss you lots as you leave from our home

But we wish you the best as from us you do roam.

So farewell, Eric Brown, we hope that you're blessed,

From your family at Saratoga and at Old Key West.

What's New with You?

The Time and Music Cabaret, a fund-raiser for Encore, was a major success last weekend.  I got to sing "To Keep My Love Alive," a darkly humorous Rodgers and Hart tune which was an audience favorite.  You may also remember from a previous post that I was cast in a production of Joseph... at the Garden Theatre.  Yesterday at our first rehearsal, I was promoted to the role of Potiphar's Wife!  I will still be singing with the ensemble, but I'll also be featured in the Potiphar scene in addition to my chorus duties. 

As for the house hunt, we decided to put in an offer on the Model Home.  We really liked it and feel it fits our needs best.  The offer has been approved by the seller, but since it's a short sale, we're still waiting on approval from the sellers' bank, which could take up to 90 days.  If we're approved, then we would have 45 days to get our loan and then hopefully we would close! 

Carmen has Carmen gone

Last weekend we opened (and closed) the collaborative production of Carmen with the Orlando Philharmonic and Mad Cow Theatre.  It was a wonderful experience!  My first time visiting the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center was as a performer on the stage--I got a major kick out of that.  It ended up being a really fun venue to perform in.  Exploring the backstage area was a total adventure.  Stage stars had autographed the walls when their shows came through town so I lingered quite a bit gawking at our heroes' signatures. 

The show itself seemed a success and the house looked full on Sunday afternoon and Friday night.  My folks--the very educated and cultured parental unit of three professional musicians--have sat through a lot of boring musical performances in their lifetimes, but they both geniunely enjoyed every moment of a three-plus-hour evening at the opera, even the parts where their kid wasn't onstage.  And the Orlando Sentinel's theatre critic even noticed that we received a pretty lengthy round of applause at the end of the night (read the review).  That could have been the result of the lengthy, non-underscored curtain call, but who knows?  I can say that between my first rehearsal three weeks before opening night and the interminable final bows, I made some invaluable memories, contacts, and friends.

Exciting Stuff, That Opera

Le ciel ouvert, la vie errante,

pour pays, l'univers;

et pour loi, sa volonté,

et surtout la chose enivrante:

La liberté! La liberté!

The open sky, the roaming life,

For a country, the universe;

And for law, one's own free will,

And above all, the intoxicating thing:

Liberty! Liberty!

So go the final sentiments before Carmen's intermission: La liberté!--which we as Americans, in the words of our director, "know a little bit about."  You can bet what I'll be thinking when I sing these words this Friday and Sunday at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre in my professional theatre debut.  (Seriously, you can buy your seats on Ticketmaster and everything!)