Back to the Future (Part 1?)

Meanwhile, in the present day…

Hey, gang! Welcome to my life – where anything is possible and nothing is as it seems. I’m Freedom and I’ll be your host, coming at you from within the depths of Geistopia.

Welcome To My Life is a project, an experiment in Life and ART. A living storyboard, if you will. Its premise is that life is experiential, and that you can, and do, experience the life you choose. It is based on The Wheel of Life and The ARTs for The New Millennium as life building tools.

Welcome to my Life is an I T.V. Studios/Geist…House Players Production, in association with the Center for Creative Inspirationalism. JustUs Productions, the parent company, would like to give a ‘Shout-Out’ to the following for their ongoing, and oft-times unknowing, inspiration and support:

Princess Cuddlebug

Princess Sunshine

Craze & Co.

The Shaman

The Pillar

F’n Bob

The Entire Putt-Putt-Putter Clan

Professor Siggy Chong

The VanMan and General Ralph Glossop (may they R.I.P.)

PDT

‘Blue 326’

The Original KLT

The Looch

The Baker

Bert-on

Andy Pandy

The Mudder

Hoagie

Superstar

The Wix-ians

Piz-Niffer

Dancing Queen

The Anamoly

Downtown Encyclopedia Brown

Mama Rabbit

And, of course, a very generous sponsor who (not-so-much) wishes to remain anonymous.

It is…Sunday, October 28, 2018. Time...Averted.

Theme of the Week – Let’s Review, Shall We?

Lesson of the Week – Do What Comes Naturally

Observation of the Week – ‘Service to Spirit’ does not have to be as tedious as it sounds

Hey, Kiddies!! My, what a time you have missed. It has been two months, almost to the day, since my last ‘Current’ post. We have been caught up in the past, searching for the clue that changes everything. Yet, while we have been there, life has still been happening here. Let’s see if we can figure out where we are, eh?

I suppose we do this by pieces and parts. For instance – The Garden. Work came to a complete halt on this project, yet once again. It was a work thing. I started working more. My days were divided up differently. Weather, of course, was a factor. Whatever all was included, the project just stopped. Yet another season past and another one ahead for which to plan.

Walls went up in The Cave and life is very different in there now. It has a whole different energy and vibe. I’m liking it. It’s very comfortable and restful. However, it has left many areas in quite a mess along the way. The project was much larger than originally planned and I tore through it in whatever time I had available. So, there are things here and things there that still haven’t found, or been returned to, their homes.

Along the way, I decided it was time to rework The Fortress. So, that is the mess I am catching up from currently. Once again, things strewn to all corners. I’ll get there. I swear I will. It has just been a very tedious process. I can only work at it for bits at a time. Slowly, but surely.

When it is done, it is time to get back to crafting of all sorts. As I have been going through this process, I have been finding so many projects that are started and ready to be completed. [Not to mention, Yule is just around the corner and the old man is already sending in orders.] It is time. It is time to shit or get off the pot.

JOHNNY: Reverend!!!

*with a squeal* Welllllllll…

It is. I have putzed around with this long enough now. It is time. It is time to either do it and be done with it…or just be done with it. If I am done with it, then so be it. Then I need to just get rid of all remnants of it.

But, if I am going to do it, then I must make it so. It must be real. It does not need to miraculously change my world overnight. But, I must work towards it and work it. I must use all that I have before me – supplies, tools, time, resources, knowledge, experience…Principles.

It is all right there. All I must do is…do it. [Just Do It.]

It’s not just crafting projects that have caught my ear of late. There has been a great deal of writing inspiration and opportunity – random and fleeting moments of inspiration. So, I am committing myself…

WALT: Well, it’s about time…

*Blank stare.*

WALT: Just sayin’. I mean, I thought about making the call a few times, but, ya know…

*A stunned and confused look.* Tha…Tha…I…

WALT: Is stuttering one of the symptoms?

I just can’t even with you today. First, The Big Guy works me like a hand puppet and now you gotta play me like that. Phhht!

So, I am making it my duty *WALT snickers.* Don’t even!

I mean it.

Don’t.

*Pauses.* Making it my duty to *WALT snickers again. A little louder this time. Turning and pointing a stern finger.* I’m not even playin’. Just…just let it go…Ya alright?

WALT: Yeah.

Ya sure? Ya got this?

WALT: Yeah, I’m good. Go ahead. Do your thing.

*Turns back to the audience with a sigh and a blank stare. Pause.* So, I’m getting all of these flashes of stories, pieces of tales, and I am making it my sworn duty to write *WALT gives a guffaw.* Oh, for the love of all that is holy…go ahead. Do it. Let it out already. Just get it over with.

WALT: *Leans and whispers through a chuckle.* You said doodie.

*Both laugh.*

JOHNNY: *With exasperation.* Gentlemen…IF…YOU…PLEASE.

Aw, hell…where was I?

WALT: Doin’ your doodie…*More raucous laughter.*

JOHNNY: Are we through with the juvenile antics? Is ‘Teen Power Hour’ over?

*Recovering.* Sorry.

JOHNNY: Just you know, gentlemen! I may not be able to fire and replace either of you, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. I have…many times…many, many times…oh, have I thought about it…a…lot…

So, as I was saying [snicker & wink] it is my goal to capture these moments when they happen. [Or, shortly thereafter.]

And, the moments/opportunities come in a variety of shapes, weighs, and forms.

For instance, Sunshine has this character she has created. She has been portraying her for months and with quite a bit of success. I am excited for her and with her. When this kid is on, she is on…and she cracks my shit up. She is witty and quick on her feet. Quite frankly, I fear she puts me to shame. When she is on…she is on.

Anyway, she comes to me this weekend and tells me that she wants to do a routine in the school talent show featuring this persona. She said she wants to use a friend to ask her questions, so she can give random and funny answers. She wants to use this kid as a straight man – set…deliver.

I think it is brilliance. She basically wants to take all the quirks and quotes that she and the rest of us have come to know and love the character for and put them into a 5 minute sketch bit. She doesn’t know that’s what she wants to do, but that is what she is seeing in her head. So, she has been giving me the pieces, one at a time, and I have been slowly weaving them into a form, which I run past her for approval.

I have been talking to her about the do’s and don’t’s. We’ve been going over the subtleties of comedy. It has been so much fun. We were even up until 1 AM Saturday morning going over material. I cannot wait to see how she does with it and how it grows. Not just for this one routine but how it will move forward if she does good with it.

This is not the all-inclusive list. There’s a script, or rather, a series of scripts that has been floating around. In fact, I captured a scene from one the other night at the bar. I was just sitting there, chillin’ out, workin’ on my own groove and watching life go by. All of a sudden the whole scene played out before my eyes – both figuratively and, somewhat, literally.

The call for The Book comes once more. It even popped up before my eyes the other night.

The Theatre is going good. We are in transition at the moment. Not only are we between shows, but we are all really trying to get a grasp on what our current work relationship is actually. They have never had someone to just do things. And, I haven’t quite learned all of their little idiosyncrasies yet. But, we’ll get there. We’ve sort of taken things to the next level. I have taken on new jobs, more responsibilities. [Imagine that…not only at one job for almost a full year but actually growing there as well.)

My ‘social’ life has changed. Not by any leaps and bounds but it has definitely shifted. One example is my Friday night visit to the pub. It started out as me just visiting this girl at work, which I still do. But, I have already gotten the sense that the reason I am being taken there has a lot more to do with other things. I’ve come to enjoy his moment, even look forward to it.

Piz and The Man might be trick-or-treating with us on Wednesday night.

I’ve been going to more shows this season. I have already been to three and this weekend The Princesses and I will be going to another. This is a chance to expose them to more theatre and, at the same time, rebuild my relationship with, and support of, this particular company. [Business and pleasure all rolled up in one.]

In a few weeks, The Princesses and I will be going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra, courtesy of Andy Pandy.

I’ve been hanging out [and drinking] more – at home with Hoagie and The Tea Party Gang, at work with The Crew, and even the occasional outing. The luncheon I hope to have with The Looch this week, as an example.

The Seasonal Store is coming to an end and this has me saddened. I really enjoyed it this year. Perhaps, a little too much. By the end, I was like ‘The Company Guy.’ I was doing everything they wanted done. I was doing the job precisely the way the company ‘trains’ you to do it. I’m pretty sure by the end I was annoying my co-workers with how into it all I was getting. I couldn’t help it. I got caught up, swept up.

We, (the management and myself,) realized that I could best serve them on the floor. I can do the register and I can get donations and I can take the customer through the process. I can work the fitting rooms. When I’m back there I am not only fast, friendly and efficient, but I am taking every chance I can to add-on and upsell – just as they tell you to do in training.

I realized in working over this past week that the Seasonal Store helps to satisfy all of my little quirks. It’s great for my ADD tendencies, because I never stop moving and any given moment I can be doing something completely different. It nurtured my OCD because there are always things to tweak, put back in order, and make pretty again.

And time moves on…

Monday, November 5, 2018. Time…Behind.

Once again, there has been so much to write and not nearly enough time to get it out. In fact, I am just barely squeezing it in this morning. [I hope.]

Anyway, the moral of the story was that I learned a lot about myself at The Seasonal Store. The last week in particular, I would get to gaze upon myself from a whole other angle. It’s not a new one. It was more re-visited.

For a very long time [and a long time ago] I could gauge where I was spiritually by the way children responded to me. When I was on par, at my peak, they would be just so fascinated by me - almost in awe. They were drawn to me. You could see it in the way they would look at me. Hear it in the way they spoke to, and engaged with, me.

In my last week at The Seasonal Store, I saw a lot of this. One night, in particular, there was this little girl who followed me around the entire time her family was there – asking me questions, telling me stories. It was like I was her new best friend. On another shift a little 7 month old girl would actually try to leave her mother’s arms for mine.

It’s what DancingQueen used to call ‘The Kringle Affect.’ Of course, part of the reason she gave it that name was because she first saw it during the Yuletide season. The other part is that she knew of my meeting with the old imp.

It all made me step back and think. The truth is, as much as I may not like the idea, if I am going to look for a second income, it is best if I look in retail. In particularly, retail that allows me to really help people find what they want, even if they didn’t know it was what they were looking for. There is a rush in it for me. It lifts my spirit. Once I hit that week of working nights, and dealing with more people – especially children – I was very different. I was totally alive. I could feel the magicks coursing through the Universe.

Those magicks would last up until about Thursday night, then they would wean and fade.

It was this whole flurry and frenzy of activity. I was bouncing in and out of both jobs. Like, literally. There were days that I would go back and forth between the two. In between I was trying to piece my life back together. [Trying to ‘take care of the shop,’ as it were.]

It felt good though I was a bit overwhelmed and burnt out till it was all over…

11/7/2018 9:51:53 PM

…The funny part is that it’s not over. Apparently, far from it. Haha!

WALT: Surprise!!!

Nobody asked you.

WALT: That’s what makes it a surprise, man.

Oh for the love…Do I really have to work with this guy?

Johnny: I’m afraid so, Reverend. It is so stated right here in Section III; Paragraph 5, in Clause B that you…

*Interrupting* And, they say not to make a deal with the Devil…

Always read the fine print, my friends. Always read the fine print. That is something I did not do before I got myself into the arrangement that I am currently suffering. Do not get me wrong. I am not complaining. I feel very blessed, in fact. However, it is kicking my ass.

I am coming off of two very long days. I honestly thought this stuff was going to balance out once the Seasonal Store came to an end. It has not. Tuesday it was approximately fourteen and half hours from the time I left Geistopia until I returned. In between I managed to scrap Just Enough metal to get me through until today, attend a meeting for an upcoming project I am taking on and then head to the Theatre to do any number of the many tasks that I am trying to tackle at the moment. I did some quick set work and some prep and some dishes. I even sat through a meeting and watched the employee preview of the show.

[Which is very enjoyable, by the way.]

Today, I left Geistopia at 0915 and returned finally, with a chance to catch a breath at about 2100. Now, I had been here earlier; However, Hoagie was here with his son and there were things to be done. I had to don my ministry/holistic hat for a bit, be a father and a friend, and at the same time manage a bit of other business. Then it was off to a meeting for The Princesses’ Rainbow Assembly. Then take them to their mom and return home – which is thirty minutes round trip in itself.

As I said, I caught a quick breath, shook of my day as best I could, and then set to tasks once more. I have two pieces of wood that must be painted before I return to The Theatre in the morning. Plus, I have this, and this must get done. I have been trying for almost three weeks to touch base with all of you.

The problem is that there is just so much to get you caught up on after two months of being gone. And, yet, I wasn’t really gone, was I? There have been things happening in the WTML Universe. They just haven’t been the normal and routine things to which we have grown accustomed. There have been things happening in all of the multi-verses of my existence. Everything is shifting and shaping. But, nothing is settling in the way I had projected when I began two months ago.

I’m not complaining. Not even a little bit. I am very happy with the way things are shifting, shaping and settling. It has all just been a little overwhelming. It’s like a 0-60 scenario. I August life was fairly ordinary – for me, anyway. I had my usual goings on – The Pillar and The Shaman and the Quests and all of that. I had whatever time I had with The Princesses. Hoagie would come by from time to time for fellowship and formality. And, I had The Theatre.

My finances were as ‘eh’ as they have ever been.

There wasn’t much activity, especially in the ‘social arena.’

All of a sudden, and what seems like the blink of an eye, I am recovering from a two month run of frenzied and frantic activity. Just in time to start all over again. Only this time it is added and newer activities and commitments. I learned a lot in those two months. [I grew a lot in those two months.] The Seasonal Store was very good for me this year. I made new associations and connections that I see being fostered moving forward. I also got to utilize skills and knowledge I haven’t touched on in some time. Some of them were strictly retail oriented and some related to service industries as a whole. I realized that I understand the service industry. Still, I found myself trying to improve that understanding along the way.

For instance, one night I encountered a deaf couple at the store. This was not unsettling at all. I’ve dealt with deaf customers before; However, because of the layout of the store itself, I found myself ill-prepared to handle the encounter as I was accustomed.

From half way across the store I saw the couple and called out to them to offer my assistance. She kind of just kept on walking. As he followed her, he turned and smiled at me, gesturing that they were both deaf. I smiled and nodded a knowing nod and gave him the only piece of ASL I can ever remember. I remember it because it was half of my first lesson. [I requested that lesson so that I could start taking just one quick moment to connect with a 7 yo deaf girl who was a weekly customer of mine at an ice cream window.]

So, I gestured. He smiled and nodded a knowing nod, and returned in kind. We now understood each other. We had connected. But, for me it wasn’t enough. [Perfectionist Nature.] (Theme of the Week.) I ran to a counter and started to write a note letting them know they could ask me for help if needed. By the time I was done they were already in the line to pay. Moment gone. But, it made me realize that if I want to be a good service employee, I need to be able to communicate with anyone at anytime – easily effortlessly, and comfortably; For me and them.

I realize, of course, that it is absurd to expect all service employees to learn ASL [though I do highly recommend it – at least Just Enough to express what is needed.] However, any, and every, service employee can keep a notepad and pen or pencil on them at all times.

So, that as well was a learning experience for me.

Johnny: Uhm, Reverend, do you think perhaps you could find a way to tie this all up and …get where we’re going?

WALT: Yeah, if you don’t move it along we’re never gonna get done with this crap.

Johnny: Walter!!

Walt: Stop calling me Walter!

Boys. Boys, settle down. We’ve got serious business to take care of here.

Walt: Sayeth ‘The Pot.’

Pot? Pot? Did somebody say, “Pot”?

Johnny: Reverend!!

I’m sorry! It just happens.

Ok, so, with one exception then, let’s stop looking back [we have enough that ahead] and start looking at now. Perhaps along the way you may recall what was and see the difference in what is.

There is The Theatre. This has been a true experience. My role, and responsibilities, has expanded exponentially. This is only expected to intensify and increase over the next several months. For now, it will keep me busy enough. It is going to challenge my schedule. It is going to test my limits.

11/9/2018 10:18:29 AM

And, yet, another set of days come and gone. This is my struggle.

Where were we?

WALT: You were layin’ it all out so we could be done with this shit.

JOHNNY: Walter!!

WALT: Stop calling me Walter!!!

So, there’s The Theatre. It is Divine. I could go on and on…

WALT: Please don’t.

All I can say is that this is the first time in 20 years that I have felt this complete. I like where I am at…and it is right.

Also on the plate at the moment –

A side project that I was hoping for, but at the same time is not moving at a pace I would like. So, I will say nothing more on the matter at this time.

I am looking at auditioning for a show. The motive is to reconnect and re-foster my relationship with a theatre company that is near and dear to my heart. I don’t know how I feel about it yet. But, that will all be determined in about two weeks.

And, of course, there are my Yultide Duties. That list has arrived from the North and I must begin to whittle away at it.

Along the way, and through it all, I must begin to put things back in better order. It is all very much out of control. It’s like ‘The Proxperiment’ all over again.

The next two months are divided like so [from what I may know:] There are three sections. There is the time from now until Thanksgiving. [Or, Act I.] This time will be very ‘Situation Normal.’ In this time, I will have more control, so I must be diligent in my efforts. Because, come Act II – which is from Thanksgiving until Dec. 23 – I will have less time and ability to make things happen. By then the stage is set and it will be as if I am on auto-pilot. Things could get very tense in this time. [The first snag?]

Finally, we arrive at Act the Third. Resolution. This is from Dec. 23 until [about] Jan 6th.

And it all starts…NOW…

So, without hesitation…

WALT: Oh…ah…oh…hold up there. Not so fast.

What?

WALT: You’re forgetting something.

I’m pretty sure I touched on it all.

JOHNNY: Oh, Reverend. Oh…oh, Reverend…

What?!?

JOHNNY: It is right here in Section XXXII, Paragraph 29 – D, of your contract. You must share all the juicy little details.

WALT: You know what we’re all waiting to hear.

You two are terrible. What’s wrong wit you?

WALT: Out with it!

JOHNNY: This is your signature, isn’t it, Reverend?

*A look of disbelief. His had shaking ever so slightly back and forth.* I can’t even…Fine! Fiiiine!

WALT: Johnny, get the popcorn!!

JOHNNY: Extra butter…

Knock it off!!

*Looks back towards the camera* Fine.

Last, but never in the slightest the least – The Anamoly.

I don’t even know what to tell you about all of this.

WALT: Come on!

I’m getting’ there...

I don’t know what to say, because what I have to say I am not ready to say…quite yet. Then all that is left to say is all I have said already.

It’s the same old song & dance.

It is now what it has always been. Only a tad bit more intense. [And, possibly intensifying.] This does not surprise me. I just told Piz within the last two weeks that things were about to get more interesting. I think I am afraid to find out just what that means. There is a moment of shift coming this weekend and I know that. It is right on time – just as predicted in ‘The Curse…’

Speaking of this weekend – I just got a call to go see a new client tomorrow. So, this will be either a Reading or Reiki, or some combination of both. And, I am supposed to do a reading for a friend on Sunday. So there’s that…

WALT: Do not divert.

JOHNNY: We’re onto your tricks, Reverend.

What? Like I said, that is all I can really say right now. Nothing’s changed. She is still having the same affects on me. I’m still catching my breath. I lose time, I lose myself, in her. She is the greatest Timestopper of them all. [Read that paper again, Superstar. You’ll get it. *wink*]

I must just figure out how I am going to deal with that.

Truth Be Told, Right This Moment, only time can tell. And, when it does, I will tell you. All of it.

The good…the bad…and the ugly.

So, without hesitation…

For now and for always, from here in Geistopia this is your beloved Rev wishing you Peace, Love, Light and Freakishness, baby!

Please feel free to leave comments, questions, and concerns. I don’t know you are there if you don’t say, “Hi.” Also, you’re experience of WTML is just as important as mine. So, let me know what you think. Secondly, if you would like to connect, or find out more about me, you can find WTML on Facebook @TheNewWTML or myself at @rev.mgeist.