The High-End Horoscope

Verdict from last week's blog: stick to red wine. Enough said.

For this blog...let's leave the bar stool and deal with stars and planets.

You know the deal, ladies. We read horoscopes in Cosmo and then laugh with our friends over a Martini and say "...but I don't really believe in that stuff." True, true but then why do we read it in the first place? Is it to see if maybe, maaaaybe there is some nugget of wisdom in there that might actually happen?

Well, this Christmas I received the mother of all horoscopes- a detailed booklet on my year to come from of all people my father! He used to work in Covent Garden, which happened to be the location of an astrological store called Equinox (78 Neal Street, for any Londoners interested.) Equinox prides itself on having the best astrologers in the country and needs your exact time and place of birth (longitude, latitude etc.) to give an accurate diagnosis. All prejudices aside, I'm going to give this high-end crystal gazing a try...remember, open mind, open mind for 2010.

I flick to the first page of the booklet and see that my interpretation has been done by Mr. Robert Currey (so I know who to nag if it's wrong.) I also see that there are a lot of "fire elements" at the time of my birth (April 14th, 11:15 pm, CST). In fact five planets were in positions of "Cardinal Fire." Hmm, maybe this thing does know me. The rest of the descriptions page- zodiacal degree, mode, house cusps etc,- I can't understand at all but it looks a hell of a lot more valid than Cosmo's monthly "your boss will scream at you but you will meet a tall, dark handsome stranger in a bookstore."

Page two outlines how to use the book and a semi-disclaimer: "Astrology is not fortune-telling. This is a Forecast...Like a Weather Forecast, many variables make all kinds of scenarios possible. But unlike a Weather Forecast, you can alter the course of events, turn difficult influences to your advantage and exploit opportunities to their full potential." Sounds good to me. Exploit away.

Before delving into exact phases of my life for the year ahead, the analysis has a "Set the Scene" Page....apparently 2 planets will majorly affect me this year: Jupiter and Saturn. Good thing Mr. Currey has some commentary on what these planets do:

1) Jupiter: Expansion...more specifically in finances (yes, yes, yes!), travel (ooh la la) and studies (hmm, I think I'm more excited about the other two).

2) Saturn: Responsibility (uh-oh). Interestingly enough Currey says "responsibility" will also affect me in the travel sense, in that my journeys will be for business more than pleasure. Hey, fine with me....I am just dying to know why I'll be traveling so much?

Okay, now to the meat 'n' potatoes of Equinox's horoscope:

The year gets divided up into peak periods, some of which overlap. These are named things like "Appreciating the Finer Side of Life" or "Big Offers Require Much in Return, Don't Take On Too Much" or "Home is Where the Heart Is" or "Security Feels Threatened" or "Romance has a Dreamy, Fairy-tale Quality about it." Under all these titles is a window of time (e.g. 2 April to 4 May) and a peak date (e.g. April 16) when the influence of that peak period is supposed to be at it's highest. Obviously this is the point where the cynics might run for the hills but again...open, open, people.

Personally, I can't wait till the "Capitalizing on your Knowledge & Experience. Launch of a Major Project" phase in August. Seems a long way away but till then I have plenty of other phases to get through like "Learning a Specialist Skill" and "Turning a New Leaf. Financial & Psychological Overhaul." Hey, I'm up for the challenge.

I must say though the "Establishing the Structure of Your Life for Years to Come" in September sounds a little scary...let's hope that that is one fun and well-paying structure. Possibly my own show, with me in it, and great friends, and a great romance, tied together in a big red bow. Okay, enough daydreaming. Planets, go to work!

The Hangover "Bad" List

Who said hangovers were just for New Year's Day? Well, not me.

I walked into a "power yoga" class yesterday and besides being in self-denial that after not doing yoga for 2 years I should be doing "gentle yoga," I found the one and half hour pain-fest more excruciating because of the toxins I was sweating out from the night before. I guess healthy California was finally punishing me.

The good news is I didn't throw up. The bad news is I felt like throwing up for 24 hours after my visit to Liberation Yoga. Hangovers and yoga do not mix well- lesson #1.

Lesson #2, you might think would involve me not drinking again or less drinking or only weekend drinking. But then, my sweet friends, remember that I have NO resolutions for this year...only to go with the flow and have more fun. So the solution? Well, at least I should acquaint myself with what is best NOT to drink. Mother to the rescue!

Like a psychic, my mum (or "mom" to my American side) posted this on twitter and I was immediately enthralled: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/which-drinks-give-you-the-worst-hangovers.htm This could all be old news for you and I've heard the same advice given to me in a roundabout way, but how glorious that there is an actual list of drinks to avoid:

• Brandy (fine with me, I don't like it)
• Red wine (there go my romantic dinners...sigh)
• Bourbon (ah well, only people from the South drink that, right?)
• Dark rum (oooh no! I like this one!)
• Whiskey (I drink this when amongst sophisticated male friends to feel more like a man..hmmm)

There is something i would contest to in this TLC article. The implication that white wine is a "light drink" and therefore a better drink. White wine? Really? I seriously think the worst hangover I ever had was from white wine. And isn't it supposed to be less good for your heart than red? Hmm, I think I'll have to put this dilemma to the test.

In the next week, I will have one "red wine night" and one "white wine night." I will drink the same amounts of both each night and charter the results. The white wine night will be harder because I do love me some red but life in the lab isn't always easy, is it folks?

Okay, so before I'm dragged off to AA I better finish this blog...to be continued....

Anti-Resolutions...Join the Revolution!

Happy New Year everybody!!! Hope yours was fun and filled with not remembering much...as was mine.

This is the time when we make resolutions and lists of goals on how we can improve the quality of our lives for the coming year. I've done this since leaving college and, yes, that makes me a geek. Each winter break I sit down and outline what I want for the coming year. Some of it comes true, some of it doesn't but it gives me stuff to aim for. How mature of me. (Or how type "A" should i say?!)

This year, I have decided to do none of it!

Yup, this is not the blog to read if you want to get motivated into doing resolution goal-setting stuff. Reason? Well, first, I realize by now my important goals are so ingrained in me that they've become second nature and it would just be a waste of time and lined paper to write them down.

Second, there is something quite fun about expecting the unexpected and being ready to receive a surprise. See, every year, doing my list of goals, I get all jazzed about them but as the year progresses I'm so intent on getting that specific s*&t done that I probably miss out on some great opportunities outside of my tunnel vision. Blinders are good when you are adamant on getting something done but if you're not letting things come in that might even help you or expand your life in some way, it's rather...well, sad.

Third, and I'm sure a LOT of you can relate, when you write down stuff that 12 months later you haven't gotten done, you feel pretty shitty about yourself. Especially in this industry where the pressure to be perfect at...auditions, self-made material, representation, your looks etc...is all around you. Yes accountability and knowing what stage you're at is good but I think feeling good tops all of this. So let's just say that my resolution is to feel great at all possible moments- be it the bad, be it the good. And I refuse to stand around ticking off boxes this year, I'm gonna experience LIFE again. Remember "life"? (She says, addressing all fellow workaholics.) Yeah, it's that thing that's not in a book, or in a script, or in a casting workshop...it's OUT THERE!! Time to do things a little differently....

Inhale. Exhale. Love ya.