Recent --- Aaaaaah! we did see Cirque du Soleil, and it was most excellent



I have a bit of a problem: I'm attending to most of my duties, but I must recognize that I have more on my plate than I can quite handle.


On the one hand, all is going very very well, especially because there is so much majesty and success in so all of the things I'm involved with. For instance, in the last day or so, we took a trip to Baltimore to see Cirque du Soleil: Varekai, with five people from Richmond; stopped at a cafe to eat and have a discussion of the experience, particularly with regards to "The Rose Knight" (which I am producing); we stopped in Cockeysville to visit with some friends at the "Youth Night" they were holding; had a reading of the first act of "The Rose Knight" with the passengers on the van ride back; I tutored a Ruhi Book 6 at 9AM (first one in the Richmond Cluster) through noon; attended a workshop preparing the performers in "The Rose Knight"; made a ton of phone calls all over the place to prepare these events; attended a dinner for Farther's Day, a graduation, a couple of birthdays, etc.; participated in our HUMMUS meeting (a monthly gathering of artists inspired by Baha'i and other texts and sources).


Because of such a schedule, however, I am two days late in posting on this weblo (I kind have a promise that I'll post at least once per week), and I am a couple of weeks behind in my personal e-mail (I kind have a promise that I'll respond to personal e-mails within one month). There's not much else I'm falling behind on, but I feel my commitments are a little compromised. But hey! this very compromise is serving to fulfill one of my duties right now! Funny how I don't really like talking about this concern, but I don't mind posting it to the public eye, isn't it?


And while I'm on things I don't like to talk about - I'm not sleeping enough. At all. I'm trying, but there's just so much I want to do all the time. I know that I don't really _have_ to do any of it. The world will be fine if I drop out here and there - or even everywhere. I definitely do get fully engaged in these endeavors, though, and it's nearly impossible for me to conceive of dropping something... Because of this, I'm very much looking forward to life in the Far East as an English teacher. I plan to make a specific point of living a slower-paced life for a year or so. It may be difficult at first, but I know I can be a very happy non-super-active man.



That said, I'm going to bed.

Complete --- I have a



I am currently laying in my bed, my Lysithea (my new laptop) infront of me, and I am totally connected to the internet via my new wireless router! Is this joy or happiness?!?


I'm taking the evening to catch up with a whole plethora of wonderful weblos out there on the net!



I was just feeling how I am somehow not validating my future enough... hard to explain... it's something that's really come to my attention recently about a lot of things. There are all sort of longings I seem to have in my heart, but I keep failing to validate them!


I wrote a poem several months ago called "Everything is Everything". I thought it would be the ultimate vindication of this wisdom I had acquired... now it appears it was rather a consolidated beginning for a quest to express this truth. I seem to have integrated this truth sufficiently into my life that the longing is satiated, or rather satisfactorily nourished.


So this type of longing has hit me in various forms of late, and I feel like I have a dam building up inside of me, and I'm not letting enough through. The strongest example was when I recently kind of fell in love (and those who know me know I never really fall out). I was overwhelmed, trying to figure things out, doing this and that, here and there, between talking to friends, writing poetry, planning ways to express this love, etc. It caught up to me out of nowhere, though, until I almost bursted into terrible flames! I ended up having to do something! I did. And then I was okay. In retrospect, I might have been able to recognize the signs leading up to my near insanity.


So here I am with all these new longings! Tonight I'm back on my longing for the next three major steps in my life: I can't _wait_ to really start working on the play that I'm directing; I can't _wait_ to move in with my sister to strengthen the family, reconnect, care for my niece and nephew, continue my Performance Studies research, etc.; I can't _wait_ to be in the Far East teaching English, learning how strange my whole life has really been, slowing down, etc. I need to figure out how to validate this impatience - just like I need to validate my love for certain people, my passion for performance, and others. The latter is definitely an issue - I'm desperately pining for a means/venue to express my soul through performance...


I heard two really great things on this recently, actually. A fellow Baha'i artist confirmed that the dam-building process inevitably leads to a creative outburst that I can actually look forward to - and I do! Also, a woman who pioneered for the Baha'i Faith in China said that any Baha'i (anyone?) who goes pioneering _will_ have opportunities to use their talents. Both of these statements reassured me, but I still need to figure out some more, especially if one of my outlets is shaking and dancing and singing and screaming and tensing in my car... whoa danio!



I am so very very in love with Cirque du Soleil. I just can't stop listening to their soundtracks over the last several days! I can't _wait_ to go see Cirque du Soleil: Varekai next week with my friends!



We have our first workshop for the play tomorrow. two more this month, and then rehearsals start July 1.

Close --- I've actually been doing a reasonable job making notes of my adventures, especially journaling my travels through New York, Ohio and Illinois, but I have been sorely remiss in my duty to this weblo... alas!


I will soon post these adventures up.



Right now, though, spotlight on "The Rose Knight"! It's going rather well, with a few theatre workshops coming up this month to ease the performers into their roles. On another note, I've been communicating with several artists, like fire-ball wielders, Africans dancers and composers, who have shown interest in participating. Therefore, I would like to invite any reader who might be interested in contributing something to the project, such as a song, painting, etc. to e-mail me! We're looking for a rich experience in this project! (If you don't have my address, post a reply, including your name, and I will receive an e-mail notification).



I saw Episode III of Star Wars in the theatres, and managed to watch Episode II as well, in preparation for the former. I really enjoyed them! I especially see a clear representation of the condition of the world today, and appreciate how it came full circle back to Episode IV in a mostly fluid manner.