Wow! Lots of bloggy goodness! At least, I hope you think so. I've been blogging more because it's a holiday weekend so I've had more free time than usual to post on here.

Theatre wrap-up: Today was my last volunteer stint (at least, this time around) for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since I didn't tell you about yesterday, you get two days worth in one post.

Saturday night, I drove in and worked at two shows. First up was Movin' Out, which I've worked at before. This time I was stationed at the side exit, so I got a lot of people very quickly after the show ended -- and a lot of money in the bucket, too. Then it was over to Wonderful Town which currently stars Brooke Shields. I got to see the last two numbers, and from what I saw (plus her appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) it looks like she's handling herself just fine. She doesn't have a great voice, but then again neither did the original Rosalind Russell (back in the 50's). The score was tailored around Russell's vocal limitations, so Shields' limited alto range can handle it just fine. The surprise is that Shields will do physical comedy and pull it off. Plus the audiences love her -- after the show they did an on-stage auction of her earrings and raised $2500! I was able to use that in my patter to get people to smile -- and put money in the bucket.

Today I was supposed to do three shows. For the first, Beauty and the Beast, there was a snafu -- I was told to report to the theatre for 4:25, but the show started at 3:00 rather than at 2:00 -- somebody at BC/EFA forgot that Sunday matinees traditionally start at the later hour, so they were just getting to the intermission when I arrived. I couldn't stay because of the other two shows, but there were other volunteers there for the wrong time, so there would be some coverage. Next up was Dracula, the Musical. For this one, I was put at the doors leading from the main lobby to the street. However, they put another collector at the doors leading from the theatre auditorium to the main lobby, so he got all the money (although some generous soul dropped a quarter in my bucket.) Finally it was off to The Producers, where I had a better location and got some laughs by promising that not one dollar of donations went to Bialystock and Bloom (the crooked producers in the show).

I also took the train in today, which I like doing when it's a matinee. I have two options, train-wise. I can choose to take the train all the way into New York (after changing trains in Newark -- my line, the Raritan Valley Line, does not go into the city). Or I can choose to take the train to Newark, then switch to the PATH train to 33rd Street (after changing PATH trains at Journal Square in Jersey City.) Either way, it takes between an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; still, it gives me a chance to get some reading done.

What I'm reading right now is a book entitled Times Square Roulette, all about the four decades of planning and deal-making involved in developing the block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (with some surrounding property included). It's a slog so far -- it reads like a textbook -- and trying to keep all the entities and personalities straight is a bit of a chore. Still, I'm getting an understanding of the complexity of a public/private development deal like this -- and for a deal of this size, all the parties were learning as they went along. I can even understand why, of the nine legitimate theatres on the block, only four have survived as theatres today. (I don't like it, but I can understand it.)

What I've been listening to lately on the car CD player is Enjoy Every Sandwich, a collection of songs by various artists, all written by the late Warren Zevon. I can't say I've ever been a fan of Zevon's work, or even followed him closely. But I'm finding many of these songs interesting enough for second and third listenings. Of course, to balance that out, I'm playing The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield, a 30+ track compilation of songs from the show (including the songs from Streetcar!, the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire that was put on with Marge as Blanche DuBois and Ned Flanders as Stanley Kowalski.)

Saturday morning I got fitted for my new CPAP machine. For those who don't know, I have sleep apnea, a condition where I stop breathing for periods during sleep. Left untreated it can cause heart failure. The machine (CPAP stands for "continuous positive air pressure") feeds air through my nose at just enough pressure to keep the airways open during the night, which means I can have uninterrupted sleep. The new machine was something I wanted since my old machine was over ten years old (it still works, but there have been advances in the technology), but to get it I had to be retested for the apnea. What surprised/pleased the doctor was that I could function at roughly half the pressure prescribed when I was first tested. Anyway, the new machine is quieter, and it comes with a heated humidifier (which eliminates dry mouth, hooray!), so I'm pleased.

Coming up this week is my long-delayed colonoscopy on Thursday morning. The less said about that, and how I have to prepare for it, the better.