I find myself contemplating as I write this; knowing full well that it has been over a month since I've rambled. How is it, that we move on in life? What is it that sets those wheels turning, and moves us further towards those inner goals that we all have. I must admit that for everyone they must always be turning. It is only when you look at others, sometimes you can't see whether you're stuck in gear.
I don't like having too much time off work, because when I do, this type of contemplation starts consuming my life! Perhaps I have a small phobia of not achieving enough in my life. Surely though, that means I am trying to see the end game to my life, and judge for myself now, whether I have achieved enough? I don't let it get me down. I just find it an interesting thing to ponder. I find motivation a very hard thing on some days. Life - in this day and age - has far too many distractions to offer to someone, whose only too willing to succumb to them. One only has to suggest 'swimming' or 'lets play' and I'm on it like a shot.
Having just taken a break from writing my blog, I come back afresh. I know that I am just being sentimental and melodramatic with this post, but I think it bodes well to constantly try and refresh the light on ones life. Life is certainly for the taking, and you must take it with as many body parts as you can muster. I have still, yet to discover a way to manage my projects in a coherent order. I think this is wherein lies my problem. So my job for this week, is to work on projects one at a time.... lets see how long I last!
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Monday 1 February 2010
Love, Life and Laughter
I think that the title of this blog speaks in volumes. These are the main three components that I think can comprise an interesting, and highly adventurous life. Yet, there are those who feel that love can come across as an unecessary pre-requisite, or something that can interfere with how you run your life. I know that this just boils down to how you interpret and deal with the idea of love. Is it that love is something that grows over time, or does it just suddenly hit you like a bullet. There are those that believe in love at first sight, and those that would say to dream such a dream is foolish. I can never know in my heart which one of these statements I would wholeheartedly endorse, if either.
It is possible to live life and laugh without the need for love, but then love is a nice accompaniment to both of those activities. I have pondered these things whilst travelling through the beautiful cities of Germany. I have been on my travels since January, and have only now had time to get onto the internet and take stock of it all. I have started off in Soest, a lovely little city, quite close to Dortmund. We took a walk last week along the old wall that surrounds the city. It's so lovely to see that its still intact for the most part, and yet people walk past it without marvelling at its beauty. I find it so interesting at what we all take for granted in this world - the little marvellous things that pass us by in our day to day lives. Sometimes I think that we all walk round with our eyes half closed to things that are right in front of us. This is because we class them as 'what we know' and just accept them for what they are after years of looking at them. It was only in recent years that I was able to appreciate the beauty of my own home city of Liverpool. I spent the summers of 2005/6 walking around the city and taking stock of the beautiful architecture, strolling the streets looking for random passageways that I'd not yet discovered, staring wildly at the history that was right in front of my eyes. I forget what a wealth of knowledge there is right at the edge of my fingertips.
Today we finally arrived in at our second stop in Germany - Xanten. It's the only town in Germany that begins with the letter 'X' if you were interested to know. I have been doing some research on the internet and there are lots of old ruins here. There are palace ruins, and an amphitheatre - both well worth a visit. I think there will be a lot more reflective entries in this place. I find a certain amount of calmness in the surroundings that I find myself in. Were staying in an old house that's got flat conversions in it. We are in the middle of nowhere. It feels like were in the middle of a field because to get to it we had to drive down a snow covered track, that was level with an equally snow-covered field! We had to completely rely on our sat-nav to keep us from falling into the ditches that were inevitably at either side of the road.
It is now coming up to 12:30am and I think my ramblings have gone on quite enough for one day. I'll be back soon though. I have no doubts about that.
It is possible to live life and laugh without the need for love, but then love is a nice accompaniment to both of those activities. I have pondered these things whilst travelling through the beautiful cities of Germany. I have been on my travels since January, and have only now had time to get onto the internet and take stock of it all. I have started off in Soest, a lovely little city, quite close to Dortmund. We took a walk last week along the old wall that surrounds the city. It's so lovely to see that its still intact for the most part, and yet people walk past it without marvelling at its beauty. I find it so interesting at what we all take for granted in this world - the little marvellous things that pass us by in our day to day lives. Sometimes I think that we all walk round with our eyes half closed to things that are right in front of us. This is because we class them as 'what we know' and just accept them for what they are after years of looking at them. It was only in recent years that I was able to appreciate the beauty of my own home city of Liverpool. I spent the summers of 2005/6 walking around the city and taking stock of the beautiful architecture, strolling the streets looking for random passageways that I'd not yet discovered, staring wildly at the history that was right in front of my eyes. I forget what a wealth of knowledge there is right at the edge of my fingertips.
Today we finally arrived in at our second stop in Germany - Xanten. It's the only town in Germany that begins with the letter 'X' if you were interested to know. I have been doing some research on the internet and there are lots of old ruins here. There are palace ruins, and an amphitheatre - both well worth a visit. I think there will be a lot more reflective entries in this place. I find a certain amount of calmness in the surroundings that I find myself in. Were staying in an old house that's got flat conversions in it. We are in the middle of nowhere. It feels like were in the middle of a field because to get to it we had to drive down a snow covered track, that was level with an equally snow-covered field! We had to completely rely on our sat-nav to keep us from falling into the ditches that were inevitably at either side of the road.
It is now coming up to 12:30am and I think my ramblings have gone on quite enough for one day. I'll be back soon though. I have no doubts about that.
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Fitting In!
I entitled this blog as such because I am now in Germany. For those of you that do not know about my antics, I am currently just about to embark on a six month tour of Germany with two plays that are aimed at children learning English as a second language. I'm thoroughly enjoyed to be undertaking this work, and getting to know my tour buddy Eva Sampson.
Having landed in Dortmund and being presented with a particularly white winter wonderland, the adventures got underway! We got off the plane no problem, although I of course had problems finding my passport! We were greeted by our coach driver and the rest of our group. We had met the rest of the group in the airport in Luton. It's so random how small the theatre world is. One of the girls that I spoke to actually knows Anton from my MA class. She lives in Detroit, Michigan and actually knows Anton and indeed her sister went to school with him. There was another guy called Andy who I also recognised but could not lay my finger on where I knew him from. I eventually realised that I had been in a play with him 7 years prior when I had been at school and we had been used in a production of "Forty Years On".
I find the idea interesting that there is a maximum of "six degrees of separation" between you and anyone else in the world. I think in the acting world this could even be condensed into four degrees of separation. It's like a tight-knit family where even if you don't know someone closely, you know of them. This idea is probably why actors usually adapt to each others company really well. I mean, who else would be on a plane that's been delayed for an hour demanding Champagne and playing charades in the aisles. Charades actually turned out to be a lot of fun and we did continue it for most of the flight - in between seat hopping! The plane was fairly empty so we were able to continue mingling with each other.
So we have been in Germany now and admired the landscape on the drive to the base where we will be rehearsing for the next three weeks. It really is quite beautiful here. It reminds me slightly of england, but with a vaster expanse of countryside (from what we could see at any rate). So tonight we are going to be having a celebratory meal and the going out dancing/clubbing. I have officially registered for residency in Germany now for whilst I'm here on tour. I have also opened a German bank account and now we are just waiting to find our accomodation, which apparently is the luxury one - so everyone else is slightly jealous haha.
Having landed in Dortmund and being presented with a particularly white winter wonderland, the adventures got underway! We got off the plane no problem, although I of course had problems finding my passport! We were greeted by our coach driver and the rest of our group. We had met the rest of the group in the airport in Luton. It's so random how small the theatre world is. One of the girls that I spoke to actually knows Anton from my MA class. She lives in Detroit, Michigan and actually knows Anton and indeed her sister went to school with him. There was another guy called Andy who I also recognised but could not lay my finger on where I knew him from. I eventually realised that I had been in a play with him 7 years prior when I had been at school and we had been used in a production of "Forty Years On".
I find the idea interesting that there is a maximum of "six degrees of separation" between you and anyone else in the world. I think in the acting world this could even be condensed into four degrees of separation. It's like a tight-knit family where even if you don't know someone closely, you know of them. This idea is probably why actors usually adapt to each others company really well. I mean, who else would be on a plane that's been delayed for an hour demanding Champagne and playing charades in the aisles. Charades actually turned out to be a lot of fun and we did continue it for most of the flight - in between seat hopping! The plane was fairly empty so we were able to continue mingling with each other.
So we have been in Germany now and admired the landscape on the drive to the base where we will be rehearsing for the next three weeks. It really is quite beautiful here. It reminds me slightly of england, but with a vaster expanse of countryside (from what we could see at any rate). So tonight we are going to be having a celebratory meal and the going out dancing/clubbing. I have officially registered for residency in Germany now for whilst I'm here on tour. I have also opened a German bank account and now we are just waiting to find our accomodation, which apparently is the luxury one - so everyone else is slightly jealous haha.
Moving Out, Seeing Beauty
Sitting here in my bed I have a lot to contemplate. There are so many feelings going through my head. In less than three hours I will be setting out on a life-changing journey that will shape a great part of my life.
I'm ready to make this step! There is so much beauty over there that I will see. I've come to appreciate what I can see now that I'm older. Every morning when I'm driving I take a glance at my surroundings; the sun rises, the buildings, the urban jungles that surround our towns and run the skirts of our cities. It will be quite different !! ... Quite exciting... Now I think its time to try and dream these landscapes until I experience them.
I'm ready to make this step! There is so much beauty over there that I will see. I've come to appreciate what I can see now that I'm older. Every morning when I'm driving I take a glance at my surroundings; the sun rises, the buildings, the urban jungles that surround our towns and run the skirts of our cities. It will be quite different !! ... Quite exciting... Now I think its time to try and dream these landscapes until I experience them.
Sunday 3 January 2010
Insomnia - To Be Or Not To Be?
I would like to use the term insomniac to describe myself at the moment. I realise that this is completely inappropriate, and yet it feels apt.
Google defines insomnia as; an inability to sleep; chronic sleeplessness
Right now I would find that I have an inability to sleep. I have to make sure that this is not misconstrued with not sleeping at all. I am getting some sleep, but this can range from anything between 3 and 7 hours (usually more in favour of the former). I find that I am losing the ability to dream, and for me this is an integral part of sleeping. I know that there are people out there that don't dream, or can't find a way to. I have always dreamt from a young age. I find it truly magnificent the degree to which you can create near real worlds for hours at a time. One of the most amazing parts is that despite being asleep say - for two consecutive nights and acquiring 7 hours of sleep - you can feel like the dream has gone on for X amount of time on the first night and a completely different Y amount on the second night. It would be interesting to research into how and why people can have dreams that can appear to be of different lengths, despite them happening over the same amount of physical sleeping time.
I can imagine that there will be many more random ramblings of this kind from me in the coming weeks. I do hope though that this condition does cure itself. I'm not especially looking forward to starting my new job with a lack of sleep problem. However, for now this is your adventurous actor, signing out!
Google defines insomnia as; an inability to sleep; chronic sleeplessness
Right now I would find that I have an inability to sleep. I have to make sure that this is not misconstrued with not sleeping at all. I am getting some sleep, but this can range from anything between 3 and 7 hours (usually more in favour of the former). I find that I am losing the ability to dream, and for me this is an integral part of sleeping. I know that there are people out there that don't dream, or can't find a way to. I have always dreamt from a young age. I find it truly magnificent the degree to which you can create near real worlds for hours at a time. One of the most amazing parts is that despite being asleep say - for two consecutive nights and acquiring 7 hours of sleep - you can feel like the dream has gone on for X amount of time on the first night and a completely different Y amount on the second night. It would be interesting to research into how and why people can have dreams that can appear to be of different lengths, despite them happening over the same amount of physical sleeping time.
I can imagine that there will be many more random ramblings of this kind from me in the coming weeks. I do hope though that this condition does cure itself. I'm not especially looking forward to starting my new job with a lack of sleep problem. However, for now this is your adventurous actor, signing out!
Saturday 2 January 2010
2010 - What Will It Bring?
It's come to that time again where I've wondered if anyone caeres about my life. Perhaps its time to document it in some form or another. I've got a lot of memories from the last ten years, but I am quite happy to put a seal and archive that part of my life and see what the next decade has in store for me.
I was awestruck as I walked back from the pub on New Years Eve. The whole community had come together and celebrated a timestamp on this planet as one. It has always pleased me that for this one night, as far as anyone can tell people put aside all differences and enjoy themselves. All around the world we see people cheering, and revelling in the chance to start afresh - to reinvent, or revamp their personal selves into something that is even more fabulous than before. It was walking down the street and thinking these things that I happened to glance up, and there I was greeted by tens of chinese lanterns. At every corner of the sky that you looked at there was a lantern swooping across the sky - moving ever closer towards the summit of its journey. Even before Vicky and I reached home we could see more lanterns that had been sent off.
I thought that I would share this momentous moment with you all, and hope that everyone has a great start to their New Year!
I was awestruck as I walked back from the pub on New Years Eve. The whole community had come together and celebrated a timestamp on this planet as one. It has always pleased me that for this one night, as far as anyone can tell people put aside all differences and enjoy themselves. All around the world we see people cheering, and revelling in the chance to start afresh - to reinvent, or revamp their personal selves into something that is even more fabulous than before. It was walking down the street and thinking these things that I happened to glance up, and there I was greeted by tens of chinese lanterns. At every corner of the sky that you looked at there was a lantern swooping across the sky - moving ever closer towards the summit of its journey. Even before Vicky and I reached home we could see more lanterns that had been sent off.
I thought that I would share this momentous moment with you all, and hope that everyone has a great start to their New Year!
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