Back to work.

Hi all! I've just gone back to work. After my last show closed in early November, it was nice to dig into the freelance work and one shot gigs here and there. Yesterday I started the whirlwind rehearsal process that is a Reprise show. I'm reminded of a couple things. First, I do enjoy being around a group of folks, working as a team to pull off a show. When it comes down to it, I'm a social guy and it's great to have that interaction. And second, I'm so incredibly thankful to be a working actor. The work isn't always consistent, but this past year I've been so thankful for the abundance.

Li'l Abner at Reprise already feels like it's going to be a real hoot. Talented, fun cast – really big for a Reprise show – and a really fresh, creative work environment. I'm really happy to be working with old friends and plenty of folks I haven't worked with before. I'm particularly excited to be working with Fred Willard. I'm constantly curbing my Waiting for Guffman turrets.

And the illustration work doesn't stop. I'm really happy to be getting a lot of work done on my huge personal project. I want to dive into this headlong once Abner is up and running. I also just got a fun new assignment from the Riverside Public Utilities Department. I've really enjoyed these educational projects and with this project, we're really building a full curriculum of "going green" study aids.

Well, that's all for now. I've got to get some sketching done before I'm off to a gig. Peace and love, y'all! Go get 'em.

Escape before heading to the back woods.

Some explanation... I'm starting rehearsals for Li'l Abner at Los Angeles musical theatre company, Reprise, on Friday. So after getting in some last minute inking time tomorrow morning, I'll load up the laptop with work and venture south. I know I just got back from holiday, but this is a little different. You know how you have those places that just allow you to relax. I was fortunate to get some of that over the holidays, and now I'm hitting up the local escapes.

I'm looking forward to Li'l Abner. Sounds like a fun cast of old friends and a comedy legend or two. Can't wait to play!

Well, I've got to get to inking if I'm going to venture out in good conscience. Take care, all. Peace & love in 2008! Go get 'em!

Need to buckle down.

What is it about me and times when I have a huge self-imposed work load? I reserve these times for my well-honed procrastination skills and I tune out, whether I decide to repeatedly check MySpace/Facebook or I head out to catch up on my movie viewing. If I ever get a handle on doing my own work when it needs to get done, I'll be an amazingly productive individual.

I may be a little slow on the draw this year, but I think I should figure out a New Year's resolution that fixes this issue. I'll get on that tomorrow.

On a side note, I saw the dress rehearsal of a play at the Pasadena Playhouse this evening, and it was really strange to get recognized so much. Ushers would come up to me and do bits of our Can-Can choreography and reminisce about the show. Felt really nice. Neat folks at the Playhouse.

Well, that's all for now. Peace & love in 2008. Go get 'em!

Home.

Okay, so I've been home for a couple days now. The rain followed me. But I think it may be clearing up a bit.

I'm working on getting settled again and preparing to hunker down with a hefty but happy workload. I'm slightly rearranging the studio – read "bedroom" – for flow and productivity conducivocity. Feng shui, anyone? No?

Anyway, prepare yourself to witness all sorts of new stuff from the Squigs this year. Peace and love in 2008! Go get 'em.

Driftin' into the Drift Inn...

I pray for days like this when I make my infrequent visits to the Central Oregon coast.

I grabbed some joe and headed for the Newport waterfront where I took advantage of the folks' forethought to buy season passes to Undersea Gardens (and other wonderfully kitschy attractions). The Gardens' diver show finds crowds ten feet below the water as a diver unfurls a parade of sea creatures through steel-enforced windows to the "deep" – skittish dungeoness crabs, affectionate wolf eels, anemones on portable tiles, various friendly rock fish anxious for a feeding, and big red octopus, not so much the grappler she once was. The attraction is at once a throwback to the simpler days of the roadside tourist trap and a nostalgic glimpse to my own family's daytripper past. I emerged from below, wound my way through the gift shop, and ambled down the street to Mo's for some world-famous chowder and cheesy toast.

Once back on the road I drove south through foreboding sheets of rain which almost blew me back to the house to wait out the storm. I forged on though, and as I approached Cape Perpetua the sky looked more promising. I first landed at Devil's Churn where I bought a latte and, happy at the waning rainstorm, I hiked a bit to an outlook where I watched the wild waves crashing into this ancient volcanic fissure. (However I kept one hand on the cell phone since there was a group of crazies getting way too close to the sneaker waves.)

Then I headed further south to what has consistently been my favorite spot on the coast – Heceta Head. After I've descended from Coast Highway to sea level, I find myself at the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Mountain Range, home to one of the most photographed lighthouses on the west coast. A panoramic view from left to right offers an ant's eye view of a giant arching bridge supporting the highway above, the mouth of a mountain creek clattering multitudes of weather-worn stones, and a perfect landing of a driftwood-strewn beach. In the hazy near-distance, the crashing waves herald twin monoliths – haystack rocks now protected as home to thousands of shore birds – and the steep evergreen rise to the beacon of Heceta Head Lighthouse and the old keepers' house. It's a wonderland if ever I've seen one.

If my language has gotten a bit flowery, and I'm well aware that it has, it's because of the following experience. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this stretch of the coast, but on the occasional visit I feel like I'm witnessing a bit of heaven on earth, and I just get caught up in it. (It's here and, to date, only here that I take incredibly self-indulgent timed photos of myself jumping in the air. What? Why? I can't exactly explain the silliness.) Today I opted to stop midway on my hike to the lighthouse and found myself on an outcropping above a churning section of the beach between the twin haystack rocks and the cliff leading to the lighthouse. As I called up Nickel Creek's "A Lighthouse's Tale" on the iPod, the sea seemed to put on a show choreographed to the tune. The emotional strokes of the song – albeit rather broadly painted – were punctuated by crashing waves and bits of sea foam swirling though the air. And as the song neared its sad end the sun, nearing setting, broke through the clouds and set the sky on golden fire, at my point of view from a place just behind the rocks. I couldn't take enough photos to remotely capture the show I was seeing. And as I headed down the trail to the beach, the iPod next shuffled a song by Shawn Mullins called "Twin Rocks, Oregon". Weird.

Reluctantly back on the road north, I was like a kid called in for dinner at dusk, wanting a bit more playtime. So I stopped off at Cook's Chasm to see more wave crashing and to feel more of the wind gusts. Then it was back on the road north to Yachats as the purply sky darkened.

Now I'm sitting at the Drift Inn. I've ordered some seafood chowder, an oyster shooter, and a Siletz Oatmeal Milk Stout. I try to hit the Drift Inn on my visits partly because of the amazing food, but even more because of the fantastic artistry of singer/songwriter/cover artist Richard Sharpless. He really is great. And he's tuning up. Gotta go.

Take care, all! Peace and love to you and yours in 2008. Go get 'em!

2008, y'all!

Well, I'm back at the McMenamin's in Lincoln City (because their WiFi connection rocks) and I'm enjoying some chowder before heading north to Tillamook to visit the famous cheese factory. Tomorrow will bring a visit to one of my favorite places in the world – Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head – and then a bite at the Drift Inn in Yachats where Richard Sharpless will be making some singer/songwriter magic. Friday I'll meander back to Lebanon to hang with the family a bit more before heading back to windy So Cal on Saturday.

Also... tonight, Dave Letterman and Craig Ferguson will be back with new shows. I appreciate what the writers' strike is all about, but I've really missed the topical and current aspect of the late night shows. So, hooray!

The weather today is cold and windy and drippy and – well – just so perfectly Oregon-like. I'm feeling a little nostalgic and enjoying a delightful melancholy, and yet I'm eagerly looking forward to the new year. My 2008 will be bringing so many great opportunities, and for the first time these opportunities are dependent solely on my own elbow grease. I can't wait. Bring it on!

So, here at the headwaters of a new year, I wish you all love and joy and especially peace in 2008. Be tenacious with all those exciting new opportunities and adventures. Go get 'em, y'all!

BINGO!

Hi all! I'm typing this little entry from McMenamin's Lighthouse Brewpub in Lincoln City, OR. Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Pam are grabbing a bite elsewhere and then wandering around a bit before we all hit Chinook Winds Casino for our New Year's Eve bingo extravaganza! Tonight's theme finds us at a 1940's USO show. Should be fun. Hope I win.

As we teeter on the edge of 2007, my deeply rooted wish is for peace – in the hearts of you and I, as well as throughout the world. May 2008 bring all the amazing opportunities and successes we all can handle.

As a wee reminder, I've recently posted my latest cast sketch – the Phantom Spectacular in Las Vegas! It was a huge project. Take a peek at the grandeur! :0)

Well, that's all for now. Off to bingo! Peace and love, y'all!