bus. train. train. bus. bus. plane. plane. cab. bed.

Hey, the bus thing worked! So well, in fact, that i got to the airport a good two and a half hours before boarding started for my flight. Basically, it was smooth sailing the whole way here; after fifteen-minute connection in Toronto and an arrival in St. John's an hour later than expected, i'm here at the Battery Inn on Signal Hill. It was this same building where our journey ended the year before last, and it's here that i'll be living for the next three weeks.

And for the first two weeks of that, give or take, i'll have a whole suite to myself. Over the past two tours there have been many instances of us having larger and more luxurious accomodations than we would have expected (like the time two of us had a whole house to ourselves in PEI two years ago), and so far the pattern seems to be holding. I've got a bedroom and living room, separate dining area, two TVs, and a full kitchen (sink/fridge/microwave). I don't wanna say this is nicer than my apartment...well, anyway.

The other great thing about this place is that every room has a Newfoundland place-name painted on the door. Just in this hallway there's Lark Harbour, Capahayden, Winterland, and Open Hall. And, of course, my room:


I haven't gone exploring the other floors yet. I wonder if it's too much to hope that there's a Dildo Room.

And with the obligatory "Dildo, Nfld" reference out of the way, i'm going to bed. Tomorrow morning, cast-members old and new will meet and get to work. Til then, i leave you with a commercial for the Discovery Channel, for no other reason than that i really like it...

It's a gamble.

This is just a quick one to let you know i'm about to leave my house. I've discovered there is actually public transit service right to the airport, a much cheaper alternative to the $20 shuttle service which i had thought was my only option. The drawback being, of course, that i might get on the wrong bus, miss my flight, get lost in Montréal-ouest, and never be seen or heard from again. Hey, everything in life is a trade-off.

Wish me luck. See you in St. John's...i hope...

Year Three: Revenge of the Rock

Man, oh man, am i ready to get the hell out of Montréal.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love this city. I love just about everything about living here: the cafés, the bookstores, the adorable hipsters with their elaborate scarves. I love my tree-lined street and the way it's been raining golden leaves onto the sidewalk for days. And i love, love, love the theatre.

I'm just not that wild about being unemployed. And that's been going on for a while now. And i'm getting a little restless. There's always acting to be done, and that's great; i've been meeting theatre-type people and film-type people and other struggling actor-type people. But at some point you actually have to earn money, which means taking the kind of job i left Saint John a year ago to get away from. The kind of job i'm no good at. The kind of job i worked at here until earlier this summer.

Allow me to take a moment to apologize to anyone whom i may have told my job was going great earlier this year. That was a lie. I hated that job. Hated it. Largely because i sucked at it, which was probably why they let me go, and why i didn't mind leaving.

Then someone reminded me that i once had a job i was good at, and really liked. Then they told me i could come do it again. Back to the East Coast, and the little dream job that first inspired this blog two years ago.

So, tomorrow afternoon, i board a plane for St. John's, Newfoundland (via Toronto: apparently to fly from anywhere in Canada to anywhere else in Canada, you have to go through Pearson. It's a law or something.), where i'll be spending the next three weeks rehearsing a short play aimed at informing the youth of today of the risks associated with compulsive gambling. The same short play, in fact, as we did last year, which i assume means i'll be playng the same character.

One other cast-member from last year is returning this year, as well as Soundman v2.0, who was with us last year as well. So, two new castmates, whom we'll meet on Tuesday, when we begin rehearsals. We spend three weeks in St. John's, and then we hit the road, travelling across Newfoundland, Labrador, P.E.I., and New Brunswick.

I'm going to try to update this thing regularly (just in case anyone's actually reading it) with stories of where i am, and what's going on there. And maybe photos, if i'm feeling really ambitious.

In about twenty-four hours, i'll be leaving for the airport. I should probably go pack, or something.

Coffee and autumn leaves.
I hope they have this kind of stuff in Newfoundland.