Sunday, December 12, 2010

I Need a Vacation

I wanted to share my schedule last week. I have to check my Blackberry as memory is fading fast.

Sunday, Dec. 5
10AM-11:30PM: Acting class at the Rockaway Theatre Company
Race home for a bite and head back at 12:45 to prep for my third Odd Couple performance at 2pm.
Show ends at 4:30. They tell us it was the best one so far and also my best. Survived another one.
Watch zombie stuff on AMC all evening, followed by Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's."

Monday, Dec. 6
Hot yoga, 9-10:30AM.
Spend rest of day and eve recovering.
Eat and drink while wife heads to city for lit course at NYU.
Evening - watch Jets get killed. Impact more intensive than hot yoga.

Tuesday, Dec. 7
AM:  go to gym, walk on treadmill for an hour
GEM meeting at 5. Get in early at 4. leave at 7:15
Forget to wish one of my best friends a Happy Birthday.

Weds, Dec. 8
2:30 Meeting with former 6th grade student from class of '74 who is out of prison for a year - after 27 years for murder. Says he is clean and out of trouble. Keep fingers crossed. He's 50 years old. Oy!
3:30 Meet up with someone connected with the Joel Klein admin - social meeting but we chat about lots of great stuff. We probably agree on 80%.
5PM Attend Teachers Unite event on UFT. Lots to talk about here but in a follow-up post.
7:30- Brushup rehearsal for Odd Couple. Enticement: Director Mike Wotypra brings sandwiches and cheese fries from Roll and Rooster.

Thurs, Dec. 9
10:30 AM - Tape Press conf on Black lawsuit in State Senate Conf room at 250 Broadway (Hope to get to J&R after but it goes on too long.) Took subway.
1:30 - get home and start processing tape, eat lunch and leave at 2:20
3:30 - 5 - Attend chapter meeting at Lehman HS with other GEMers. Fairly new CL has invited us and officials from UFT. School is on danger list. Great discussion and though I am critical of UFT we all leave as friends.
6PM - conf call for robotics - ooops. missed it.
7pm - drink so much wine, fall asleep till 12am.
12-3am- work on announcement for GEM to attend PEP. Don't finish. People will be mad.

Friday, Dec. 10
9am Pick up almost 93 year old dad to take to dentist - today is the day to pull most of his teeth for dentures. I'm worried about complications - I have a performance of Odd Couple in eve and if something goes wrong ....and so it does.

11:45 - still waiting over an hour late. Finally- meet oral surgeon. 11 upper teeth have to come out. At first not sure if he will take all - but then dad won't get a denture. Decides to go for it.
2PM. Dad still bleeding They put on denture and tell him not to take it off for 24 hours - pressure will stop bleeding.
3PM - still bleeding. I go back to dentist to ask what to do - they give me gauze - take out denture and tell him to press down hard.
Woman from next door stays with him and I go home.
5PM - still bleeding. Call emergency dentist number. Head honcho calls back from Puerto Rico - great.
Worst case - take him to Maimonides. I have to leave for theater and wife is out playing marjong. Finally reach her - she comes home and will monitor.
(Finally remember to call and leave my friend a HappyB message)
7-10:30 - act in play without trying to be distracted. Text wife between acts. She doesn't know how to text - calls - she is in emergency room with dad- they are having trouble stopping bleeding.
11:30PM - still bleeding. Wife has gone beyond call of duty. I head over to take her place.
1:30am - they send him home - 95% of bleeding is stopped.
He has no problems with any of this. Can I get a "calm" transplant?
Home by 2:30am

Sat. Dec. 11
7-8AM _ get ready to leave for film shoot.
Dentist calls again from Puerto Rico - Check in with dad -  all seems well. He can't wait for his new teeth so I can take him to Peter Luger for a celebratory steak. I think it will be a few months.
9AM - 2:30PM Meet Julie C, Brian Jones and Darren in Williamsburg for Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman film shoot. Fabulous day at various locations - then back to Darren's place to download video to his computer - we head out to eat pizza.
3:30 - home, nap, ready for bunch of company going to see Odd Couple tonight, process more Press conf video.
5:30-6 - head over to theater with my friend Mark and my cousin Danny to set up camera for Mark to tape tonight's show. Cousin Shari and Mark's wife Peggy are also coming. They all go off to dinner while I eat a crummy sandwich as I prepare for the show. This acting business is hard work.
7:45 - sold out house - 250 seats.
Meet Mark to review film procedures and head backstage to keep practicing lines - which I flub in line reads with other actors.
8:15-11 - Survive another show. Only flubbed once (or twice - who's counting?)
Pack up camera. Find out the Dec. 7 Birthday gal, one of my oldest friends who I met as a new teacher at my school in 1979 when she was 24, came to the show with her boyfriend who is an Assist principal at one of the DOE target schools - first time I met him as her BF (though we once were at a meeting together re: robotics.) Pleasant surprise to see her.

Sunday, Dec. 12
8AM Keep processing press conf video, work on PEP announcement leaflet for GEM - they are going to kill me.
10AM - Skip acting class. Maybe make it to gym.
11:45PM - oh well, skip gym. Wife calling me for breakfast. I owe her BIG for Friday.
Twenty four year old cousin Rachel is bringing her new boyfriend to the show this afternoon, then out to dinner with them. And the Priscos are coming too see the show too.
Better start practicing lines.

12PM - ell wife to book trip to Florida.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Norm,
I read your schedule. Got exhausted by 12/9 and by 12/12 I took a long nap.

Smellington G. Worthington III said...

I say, you need a staff.

The Perimeter Primate said...

Re your former student. My public defender husband says most crime is a young man's game (16-25 y/o). As people get older, they get too tired to want to do it anymore -- with the general exception of child molesters.

NY_I said...

God bless your dad.
A medical facility sends your 93-old father home from a medical procedure involving (albeit prior) hours of bleeding at 1:30 AM?
And this isn't bottom-line-minded rationing of medical care.
All the best to your dad.

Ira said...

It's hard work being retired - that's why you get a pension.

Ira

ed notes online said...

NY1
Actually the emergency room doctor was fabulous and didn't release him till he was sure. He even got another ENT doc to check him out and she wasn't worried.

My wife who worked in the hospital for over 30 years always advises not to be admitted if at all possible - always possibilities of infection, etc. and before she left she told me to make sure to take him home. Even when I had a double hernia op years ago and they considered giving me a general vs. local anesthetic with the former forcing me to stay overnight she adamantly refused to accept that and I ended up with an epidural - my back hurt for 7 months after that.

So follow her rule - admission is only if absolutely necessary.