Thursday, April 07, 2005
Patience
Last night I started my new improv class. I left work a little late, and then was so tired I wasn't paying attention and auto-piloted toward my typical route home, forgetting to take the exit that leads to a quicker route to class. Which meant I was stuck on Constitution Avenue in bumper to bumper traffic, horns blaring, throngs of tourists streaming over the mall on my right. At least I got a glimpse at some of the cherry blossom trees in full bloom. I ended up getting to class half an hour late and moments away from a nervous breakdown - I'm exaggerating, but despite my best efforts at stress management these days, a person has her limits, and this week my job has pushed me to mine. Sitting in traffic last night, inching forward, watching the clock go from 7:05 to 7:10 to 7:15 and realizing I was still nowhere near where our class is held -- required more calm than I could possibly muster in my frazzled, exhausted state.
But then, when I got to class, I got the nicest greeting. I passed my old TA on the way in, and we chatted, and a member of WIT that I've met at a few of their shows said hello, and then I walked into my class and got this enormous, warm hello....it felt awesome. It's the connection I've mentioned before...I guess there's a unique way you bond with people when you perform with them, and even though I don't know very much about them outside of class, in class I feel so comfortable with them...I definitely feel the trust you're supposed to feel with an improv troupe.
There were some people in the class who hadn't gone through the same series of classes as the rest of us, and one woman in particular just seemed way out in left field -- that's the frustrating thing about these classes, the starting and stopping, getting into a groove with people and then needing to find that again, but I suppose I just need to be patient...
I am thinking about work, about needing to deal with crisis after crisis, projects and tasks piling up in the meantime, the backlog getting longer and longer...no amount of organizational skills can make a difference, it's sheer chaos. More and more I'm realizing that the key to a happy life isn't managing, it's adjusting.
But then, when I got to class, I got the nicest greeting. I passed my old TA on the way in, and we chatted, and a member of WIT that I've met at a few of their shows said hello, and then I walked into my class and got this enormous, warm hello....it felt awesome. It's the connection I've mentioned before...I guess there's a unique way you bond with people when you perform with them, and even though I don't know very much about them outside of class, in class I feel so comfortable with them...I definitely feel the trust you're supposed to feel with an improv troupe.
There were some people in the class who hadn't gone through the same series of classes as the rest of us, and one woman in particular just seemed way out in left field -- that's the frustrating thing about these classes, the starting and stopping, getting into a groove with people and then needing to find that again, but I suppose I just need to be patient...
I am thinking about work, about needing to deal with crisis after crisis, projects and tasks piling up in the meantime, the backlog getting longer and longer...no amount of organizational skills can make a difference, it's sheer chaos. More and more I'm realizing that the key to a happy life isn't managing, it's adjusting.
