Light at the end of the tunnel

Well…I think last night was the turning point for me. I mean that the laughter is the best medicine part. I’ve had so many people all throughout the day approach me and congratulate me on what a great show it was last night. They just rave and rave. It really feels good. So I feel partially like a proud papa and partially like a very good director. As I was coaching them the night before It hit me…I am a great director. Its important that I say that because as an artist I sometimes doubt myself. With the instability at work this past month I’ve been doubting myself a lot. The cast wanted me to give them more criticism so they could hone their craft. So during the walk through for the show, I did give them a lot of pointers, tips, and tricks. They all responded to them really well. I told them which technique worked and which technique they were having troubles with. They really do trust me. What is amazing is the comments I got about the people that a few weeks ago were not very funny. They were all so positive and complimentary. They really adapted well and are learning to be funny. They are taking heed…its not the one-liners that make you funny, its your character’s expressions and body language. Its hard to come up with some zinger one-liners but Will, the 16 year old is masterful at that. We have a bona fide hit on our hands now. I hope I can negotiate a favorable deal with Bahrain TV.

So I got into work today still on a high from that…or was it because I didn’t get much sleep? Its one of the two. But for the first time in weeks I had a nice slow paced day. We are almost finished on Project #2. The clients are coming on Saturday for the final review. So there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel on that one. As for project #3, they are still making changes, but I can’t do anything about that yet. We re-re-record the voice over on Saturday and have to finish the project by Monday. So there is little for me to do on that one until Saturday. So I feel like it’s a little calm before the storm. Then on Tuesday we have another meeting on a project that is already finished. I have a hunch they’ll want a slew of changes and I’ll just have to stand up to them this time. Im finding the clients over here push and push and are incredibly difficult to deal with especially when you compare them to the customers Im used to in the U.S.

So I just felt much more calm today. The funk really is coming to an end. There are still as many unanswered questions and problems as there were four weeks ao, but Im totally content that God will see me through, so why worry? What good will that do me. I think it will slowly dissipate over the course of the next 9 days or so.

I played squash with Darren again tonight. He invited me out with his friends to Upstairs Downstairs This is a restaurant that is one of the nicest in Bahrain. The crowd was a bit older than me by 5-10 years. But we all got along so well. It was they typical classy night out for dinner and drinks. I felt very well connected. But still alone. I long for that intimate (not necessarily sexual) relationship again. The kind where your heart aches when your are away from that person for more than a day. That used to be me…and I’m looking forward to it being me again soon.