Did I do that?!

If you did not just read this post title in Steve Urkel's voice, then I am not sure that we can be friends.

But really, I did do something tonight that left me shaking my head afterward. I do that quite a lot, but not usually on this scale.

Three of us are theatre buffs (the other two will have no parts of it.) We've been a regular part of our local-ish theatre group for so long now that I was even invited to join the Board of Directors. And so, with auditions for a small show happening earlier this evening, I headed over to help man the sign-in table.

The show is The Odd Couple: Female Version - with which, I'll admit, I'm only vaguely familiar. Although I knew that it was a comedy and would likely be hilarious, I didn't consider auditioning since a) there are no parts for children (and I'd feel really guilty for doing a show without my girls) and b) a potential show for one of the kids would prevent me from taking part in this one anyway. But help? Sure, I can help.

So I sat at the table, pen in hand, and signed in the first auditionee that arrived. And waited for the next. And waited. And waited.

Finally, the audition time had come and gone, and still, no one else had appeared.

(This is not in any way a reflection on our theatre group. In fact, the very same thing happened with the first show in our current season, Winnie the Pooh Kids. Only one lonely little auditionee on the first nights, and the MASSES descended on the next night. Hopefully the same will happen for this show.)

Anyway, it's really hard to do an audition that consists of reading from the script if you don't have anyone to read with. So I volunteered to read with her. After all, I do enjoy being on the stage, especially when I can be funny.

But, then...the wheels started turning. Could I actually audition? After all, I was there, and they could sure use another body (at least, for now.) We actually feel at home in that auditorium, and the people are just like our second family. The directors are wonderful - and hilarious, which I love. Hmmm. Hmmm.

And the next thing I knew, I was on stage reading parts and filling out my audition forms.

Rachael jumped at the opportunity to work backstage rather than audition for the other show that she had in mind...and just like that, my schedule was rearranged so that I could indeed swing this show.

But now I faced the biggest obstacle of all: confessing to my husband.

See, we've just done three shows in a row (Shrek, Winnie the Pooh Kids, and The Homecoming), and had planned to skip this show before auditioning for The Addams Family in April. And we don't exactly live nearby - it's about a 40 minute drive each way for us to auditions/rehearsals/etc. While Gene doesn't mind (SO much) the time that it takes away from home, he does get rather grumpy about the spike in my gas usage during a show. And now I had accidentally auditioned for this one too.

"How do you ACCIDENTALLY audition?!," he asked...I'm not altogether sure he bought my explanation. I really didn't mean to. It just happened.

And it was so much fun that I'm glad that it did.

Now to cross my fingers and wait impatiently for the cast list on Thursday...

Speaking of things are that not much like me? If you know me at all, you probably won't believe what I did *after* I 'fessed up to Gene!

I went to the gym...and walked a mile and a half on the treadmill...and rode 3.5 miles on the bike...and did all of the weight machines. This is a feat for me in itself, but even more so since I didn't actually get to the gym until 10 p.m.

I joined Planet Fitness at the end of the December and have been five times this year...averaging every other day isn't too shabby, considering that I have to work around Gene's nutso swing shift schedule. Being a night owl so that I can go late doesn't hurt either. I'm really liking it so far, and although this will probably sound terrible, it's mostly because no one bothers me while I'm there. The staff rarely even speaks, which is kind of rude...but yeah, if I'm going to go sweat, I'd much rather fly completely under the radar, thanks.

If you've been considering a gym membership and have a Planet Fitness nearby, stop in and check it out. With rows of televisions in front of the treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals, the time actually passes pretty quickly. And while I haven't seen a difference after only five visits, it's not torturous engaging enough that I actually look forward to going back. At $10 per month, the price is hard to beat two. That's only $2 per visit so far, and I fully intend to cut that in half in the next week or so!