you had me at hello

Well, I met with Mac, which was fun, then brutally honest, then very constructive. Thanks to Breakfast Klub's Wings & Waffles combo for smearing a healthy, thick layer of grease over the whole thing! Anyway, I hadn't done a "check-in" before, but it was good to honestly review my improv strengths & weaknesses. Mac was able to confirm my own self-critique, that my recent troubles at practice have been related to being more distracted, more tired, ... and as a result falling into an analytical forced-acting comfort zone. The toughest things to hear are those things you're already saying to yourself inside your own head, and for me that naked embarrassing truth is that I've been spread thin and inclined to perform less well (and enjoy less) everything, all the time convincing myself that a full plate is its own reward. The same has happened at Rice, where with less time and less sleep I'm just sort of forcing teaching and writing in a way that takes out some of the refreshing lilt of doing it. So ... good, deep breath, ... Mac was the perfect person at the perfect time to help me unpack some of that and I was ready to do it. I feel better. And ready to get back and play more fully in improv. And to write me some thesis. And teach me some classes. For that I'm glad.