the fiiiiinal countdooooown....

Afternoon, friends.
It is one of those days when I can't remember When I am. Like, at all. I woke up convinced it was November, and Wednesday, and about three hours later than it actually was.
So far, I'm blaming the deadlines.

jailbreakin, baby.

Today, the new computer arrived.
Well.
It is a Dell Inspiron from 2006, and it is many things, but 'new' is not really one of them.
NEVERTHELESS.
I can once again exist on the internet, which is a big deal, guys.
Bard, you are my favorite.
That is all.

Source: store.techturn.com via TechTurn on Pinterest

(essentially what is going down in my kitchen right now.)

Ivan returns!

(That ... is an theatre injoke with a very long backstory that most of you may not get and probably do not care about. So let's just move on to the important bit, shall we?)

TODAY IS THOR'S DAY.

...

YOU'RE WELCOME.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming. Further blog updates will, hopefully, be coming soon...my college laptop has fizzled out on me (rest in peace, Jade m'dear), but a friend is sending me her old one (bless her), and I expect it to arrive any day now.

Until then - Happy Thor's Day, boys and girls. Swing a hammer at someone today.

today, from GoodReads

Source: thatkindofwoman.tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

"Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It's like the tide going out, revealing whatever's been thrown away and sunk: broken bottles, old gloves, rusting pop cans, nibbled fish bodies, bones. This is the kind of thing you see if you sit in the darkness with open eyes, not knowing the future."

(Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, was born on this day in 1939.)

ALSO.

IT'S THOR'S DAY AGAIN.

Guys, this is probably going to be A Thing. Just so you know. 

If you can't handle that...well, you should probably leave now.

8. book that scares you

[Real quick, guys: I just got off of work and, after a block or two of vacillating, decided to come to Starbucks and do work instead of going home and eating dinner/watching Grey's Anatomy.

I had no sooner opened up my computer than one of the baristas came up to my table and, without a word, handed me a latte.
Sign: accepted!]

*

Hello, friends! Long time, no see.
If you've been following along with this li'l books series, you know by now that sometimes I have difficulty making decisions. Today's post illustrates another situation where, much like the Favorite Young Adult Book post, I'm probably just getting hung up on semantics.

hey, guys. GUYS.

It's Thor's Day.

Let's all get out our gauntlets and celebrate.

there's a first time for everything!

Tonight, I am going to my very first grown-up Halloween party. It's only fitting, in that case, that I actually dress up for Halloween for the first time in my life.

What am I going as? Well, here's your clue.



Happy Early Halloween, everyone!

a tribute.

Sometimes I get horribly lonely here. Mostly it hits in the mornings - I'll think, if I never even get out of bed today, who will notice or care?, and What's the point if moving away from home if everywhere I go, no matter how cool, my loneliness comes with me?

But then I realize that I'm not really alone, not ever - and it's not because I live in a warm fuzzy awareness of the Divine presence or something, because let's be honest, I'm not that spiritual. It is because I am deeply, humblingly aware of how much help I have had to get even this far in life, how much support and unconditional love it takes to get me through every singe day, up to and including this one. Even though they aren't with me, I walk all day with my family.

someday...

Someday, I will have reached the level in my field - I'm thinking Cirque du Soleil or similar - where I know Exactly What I'm Doing, and every day I go in to work will look/sound like this.



For now, I just go around playing Fort Minor on my iPod. On repeat. All day.

7. book that you can quote/recite

I thought this was going to be easy.

But then I realized that Shakespeare plays don't count as books (I have a theory that people who hate Shakespeare do so because they were forced to experience him the wrong way; if you learned about hot chocolate by having it shot up your nose, I bet you'd hate that too), and neither do musicals (I was all set to say Les Miserables! but then I was like, oh, wait...), and then it got a heck of a lot harder. I spent several days trying to come up with something interesting and unique, but the truth is, the only real book that I can quote/recite from is the Bible.

Yep...I was a King James kid. Which actually came in really handy while
learning to decipher Shakespeare.

6. favorite young adult book

This was a tricky one. Not because I don't enjoy young adult books, but because when I look at my  Favorite Books with the YA genre in mind, I realize that, Oh Wow, I have lots of YA in here...

(I would segue here into some proclamation about how this proves that I am SO not an adult, but when it comes to books, I can't really make that claim - two of my recent-ish favorite reading experiences have been The Brothers Karamazov and Memoirs of a Geisha. But then, who makes the rules about what age you have to be to enjoy those kinds of books? I first read Memoirs, as I'm sure many people did, when the movie came out. That was in 2005, and I was 15; a Young Adult by any standards.

Anyway...I think we'll save the age-appropriate-books rant for another time.)

After a great deal of dispute with myself and the internet (what do you mean, Phantom Tollbooth is a children's book? That s*** is deep!), I finally settled on Mara, Daughter of the Nile.

Man, this brings back memories.

what's playing on repeat in my brain today.

No, I don't have anything insightful to say about the framing story (I'm just as confused as you are) or the various elements at play here (but I do LOVE a good step-show/gospel melody mash-up). This is just awesome. Enjoy.

pretty much all I have to say today.

1. We just closed Six Dead Queens this weekend. I'm gonna miss those ladies. More immediately, though, the usual post-show immune-system shutdown is proceeding about as expected.

2. As a direct result of the first point, I am now going in for my first shift at Planet Access that does not involve an enormous backpack with food, change of clothes, and laptop for going to the theater afterwards. (It's the little things.)

3. I'm going home tomorrow, for almost a whole WEEK.

Source: tuckedstyle.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I might have little-to-no money and about the same amount of upper-respiratory cooperation, but life is good today.

how to be married to a rock star.

Sometimes I wonder how that relationship works, what with him being all British and such. I mean, middle-aged English men are not generally known for their spontaneity, public nakedness and/or other rockstar behaviors (we make special exceptions for Sir Michael Philip Jagger).

But this explains things pretty well.

http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/29335974187/portrait-of-a-marriage

5. book you wish you could live in

Enter Stage Left: the best thing ever.

(more or less) everything you need to know for your trip to the border. 

This is only one of the most recent books in the great grand shared-world anthology series that is the Bordertown books, but it's the one I got started on. First book I ever contemplated stealing from the library, as a matter of fact (I didn't). Now that I'm older and have something resembling a half-decent income, I've moved on to collecting them in (usually) more legitimate ways.

this happens.

It's a grey, drippy, moody sort of day. Considering the glorious red-and-gold autumness we had all the last week, this feels like a very definite turning point. As they say; winter is coming.
Under these circumstances, I have very little choice - I stay indoors and bake, and drink coffee, and clean out my desk, and listen to hours and hours of NPR.

I think I'm turning into my father, guys.

Source: greenlikebathwater.tumblr.com via Shel on Pinterest

4. book that makes you cry

All right, so I've put this off for long enough. Here's the next post in the on-again, off-again books series - no doubt the post that will make you all think that I am a crazy person who gets waaaaaay too attached to fictional characters. All I can say in my own defense is that this sort of thing rarely happens with me and books - I think the last time was The Hobbit, when I was, like, eight.

You suck, George.

because exploitation of traumatic adolescent memories is totally OK when they're your own, right?

Yeah, I definitely just spent forty-five minutes talking to a stranger about the hairy, pimply, socially awkward and clique-clueless exploits of my youth. She's writing her dissertation on Mean Girls. (Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.)

But I did get a $10 Starbucks giftcard out of it. And at this time of year, when everything at Starbucks is all pumpkin-spicey and amazing, you can't tell me that's not at least mostly worth it.

NO REGRETS.

today is an excellent day.

For the following reasons:

1. My Amanda Palmer CD came.

It's just. So. I can't even. ACK.
GORGEOUSNESS.

things are looking up!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

This blog post brought to you by: I GOT A JOB.

Source: mizozo.com via Paige on Pinterest

Starting sometime next week (or whenever Human Resources contacts me about training), my days will be spent selling eco-friendly clothes to hipsters in Lincoln Square. I'm excited to start; my new boss seems like a pretty great person, one of the few that didn't look confused when I said "Yes, and I'm also a stage manager," in the job interview. Plus, the store is about 15 minutes (ten minutes walking, five on the bus) from my apartment, and it is surrounded by: a coffee shop next door, two bookstores across the street, a frozen-yogurt place down the block, and a Payless around the corner. And if you walk down far enough, there is also a movie theater. Across from the Starbucks. Because there's always a Starbucks.

(Sure is a good thing they aren't paying me in cash.)

sending up a quick signal

"Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more."

-Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Oh, hi.

Remember me? I blog here. It's true! I may tend to go AWOL when life stops being fun to write about (I mean, I like to think this is an Amusing Blog, and it's hard to find much amusement in the endless job applications, money challenges, self-doubt, and tear-inducing levels of exhaustion that have been filling my life of late), but I do still exist!

I don't have much in particular to say, except that I'm still searching for a day job, Piccolo's official run of Six Dead Queens is officially underway, and it has just started to get cold here. It was pretty sudden, too - one day it was all hot and sticky like usual, then that night, boom  - cold front. Somewhere, there is a trusty scarf that I really need to dig out and start wearing when I go out at night.

3. book that makes you laugh out loud

Once upon a time, I wished my Dad was Bill Cosby.

(Sorry, Dad. For what it's worth, I think you are at least as cool as Bill Cosby. And definitely better-looking.)

Then, I realized my father is Bill Cosby.

(At some point, we should talk about that whole sweater-vest thing.)

Several years after that, my boyfriend (who does a fairly decent Bill Cosby impression, although thankfully sans sweater vests) introduced me to a book written by Mr. Cosby, called "Cosbyology: Essays and Observations from the Doctor of Comedy."

In what was, for him, a remarkably poor judgement call, he decided to read to me from this book while we were driving home from school one day. Well, I was driving. But pretty soon I was laughing, so hard my face hurt, so hard, in fact, that I was gasping and crying actual tears and could not see at all and very nearly killed us.

(Sorry, Josh.)

It's a really good book. You should read it. But probably not while driving.

and now, the hard part. (or, GAH YETIS ARE EVERYWHERE)

Hello, my lovely readers.
While I have not actually been ambushed and devoured by yetis cleverly disguised as snowdrifts (or rather, it being 86 degrees in Chicago today, city buses), it is certainly beginning to feel like it.

We all know that moving to a new place - and following your dreams, and being a grownup, and blah blah blah all those associated things - is hard. People who have done so tell you this all the time. It is a widely accepted fact in most of the circles I move in, including but not limited to theatre people, middle-class folk, recent college grads, and In-Denial Twelve-Year-Olds Anonymous.
What most of us don't realize until it is much, much too late, is that simply being told this is not doing diddly to prepare us for the reality. We think, "Okay, it's gonna be hard. That's okay! I will be strong! I will believe in myself! I am a Strong, Independent, More-Or-Less-Grown-Up Professional, and I can totally do this!"

Hold up there, tiger. Here are five real for real things that you had better be ready for.
You're welcome.

2. least favorite book

This is a hard one. I’ve started a lot of dumb/boring/time-wasting books, but two in particular come immediately to mind, and I can’t decide which one I detested more. Both of them were things I had to read for school. Both have clueless, indecisive protagonists with bad attitudes. And they were both – to use my best, most thought-out literary academic language – incredibly lame.

Catcher in the Rye…do I even have to explain this? Cool cover art aside, Holden Caulfield is the proto-hipster (no offense to any hipsters in my audience, but seriously, this guy makes y'all look pretty bad). He doesn’t stand for anything. He doesn’t care about anything. He knows nothing about the world he lives in, and he drifts through it with a complete lack of motivation to do anything but take up space and smoke cigarettes. Just having to spend an entire book (albeit a fairly slim book) riding around in his head pissed me off so much, I had to go have a lie-down. I have a hard time putting up with useless, apathetic people. Especially when I have to write papers about them. 

yeti-free for all of six days now...

Hello, friends!

I've been in Chicago for a little over a week, but it feels simultaneously like it's been barely a day or two and like it's been years. I'm really glad that I didn't know beforehand how exhausting this transition was going to be, because there's a pretty good chance I would have chickened out!

Anyway, first things first: I have an apartment now! I have one roommate, but there will be three of us by October. I moved myself and my two travelling suitcases in on Monday, and my absolutely fantastic boyfriend came up on Tuesday with the rest of my belongings from home.

Here's the photo evidence:

My room, and the air mattress that is my new best friend.

Note the Lookingglass theatre poster. They seem pretty awesome.
I want to see ALL their shows this season.

onward and upward. please, God, don't let the yetis eat me.

Source: fun-gallery.com via Larissa on Pinterest

HOLA, COMERADES.

That is not usually how I begin my blog posts, you are probably aware. Honestly, I stole that just now from Amanda F. Palmer, who writes the rawest most exciting Kickstarter Project Updates ever. (Other Kickstarter-ers: take note!)
I am sitting at someone else's kitchen table, in South Chicago, at 7:30 in the evening (which for me, since I have hardly slept since for the last two days, feels like 2 in the morning), and I thought I was tired until I read her post about what she's been up to.

(Oh, and that link is, if you scroll down far enough, quite NSFW.)

I stand corrected. I am far from really, truly tired. I am merely fortitudinally inconvenienced, that's all.

1. favorite book

Surprised?
Me too! But this has been one of the most important books in my reading history for so long, I thought it deserved some recognition.

booksssssssss

Hello, friends! Happy Monday.

tt's been a little slow around the blog of late, largely due to my writerly stuck-in-a-rut-edness. Happily, after having trawled the internet for inspiration, I have stolen something from tumblr (bwahaha) that should keep us all entertained for awhile.

Source: goodreads.com via Mary on Pinterest

MORE updates on various endeavors! (now with 25% more endeavors and a 300% increase in funny pictures!)

Right, so I feel that the title of this blog post may require some explanation.

Over the course of my blogging existence, Blogger.com has been keeping tabs on my stats - things like where my site traffic comes from, where my audience is reading from (as of today, I seem to have almost as many readers in Russia as I do in the U.S. - thanks, Russia!), and which posts they view the most.

This last, in particular, is incredibly unpredictable. Today I looked up and saw that my most popular post of all time - all time, mind you, since this little cactus' very beginnings - is this one.

Dear readers. I love you. But I have to admit, you mystify me.
Don't get me wrong; it's great that you find my life-updates so interesting! But...what about the koala bears? The combovers? What about Magic Bracelet man? Has everyone forgotten the Magic Bracelet man???

Source: someecards.com via Lauren on Pinterest

there's no such thing as a weekend anymore.

Good morning, internet friends!

Woke up this morning with this song playing in my head; thought I'd share it with you.



This morning I restarted work on a story that I'm really excited about, but also kind of intimidated by. I also outlined a 5-minute play that I've been commissioned to write by the end of next week. It's been awhile since I devoted real time to fiction writing, so I'm a little rusty, but right now I'm just getting words on the page.

In other news, I have a couple of phone interviews for next week, and at least two potential employers waiting on standby to see whether the money works out. I can't be more specific than that just yet, but I am very hopeful.

Happy weekend, everyone, and thanks for reading. I hope to have happy announcements soon...

the thrill of the chase

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you, kid. Let's go.'"

~Maya Angelou

Hello, guys and ladyfriends!

The last few days have been somewhat INTENSE. Not so much in terms of my workplace - although I did nod off and almost fall out of my chair during tech a couple nights ago; I don't think anyone noticed? - but I have been tweaking resumes, writing cover letters, and sending unsolicited Hi I'm Awesome And Soon Available For Employment! emails until I have actually started dreaming in PDF files. Don't ask. It's weird.

Source: lolzbook.com via Eurydice on Pinterest

[Oh, God ... puns. I can't believe I'm doing this. I have intentionally propagated the use of puns. Who am I anymore?????]

[Whatever. It's a koala. I have decided that that makes it OK.]

on my way, don't know where I'm goin'...

Source: bit.ly via reyna on Pinterest

I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago ... I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages.

~Rudyard Kipling

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

~Confucius

all I need is a sidearm.

Source: imgfave.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Weekends are for other people.
Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, guys; you've no doubt noticed that this internship is doing mad damage to my blogging energies. BUT today is a new one and there is a large cup of coffee somewhere just waiting to become one with my nervous system.

To paraphrase one of Tolkien's trolls (I think?): "Tech today, tech yesterday, and &$!@$# if it don't look like tech tomorrow."
Bringin' it.
Happy Saturday!

as the workdays run together...

Good morning, friends!

I've been sitting here for fifteen minutes, trying to think of something interesting to write about, but I have a confession to make: my life does not come with a lot of interesting anecdotes right now. Three (four?) of the summer's productions are in rehearsal so far, and I've met a number of very nice actors and stage managers, and I'm looking forward to working with them all at tech this weekend (which will be the most epic tech I have experienced in my life thus far - I think we have four days in a row of 10/12s). Aside from that...I answer a lot of phones, send a bunch of emails, and run errands. And I watch and listen as much as I can to how the professionals around me are conducting their business.

Oh, and I've started writing a play. It is ridiculous. You can tell I've been spending a good third of my waking hours reading plays; I've gotten sucked right in.

In other news:

something intriguing

something inspiring

and something hilarious.

Happy hump-day. If you've got something interesting going on today, please share in the comments!

Monday: the Random Cameos of My Friends edition

Good morning, people of the internet! Kevin Manley hopes you had a good weekend.

I certainly did - yesterday was my day off (I didn't get out of bed till it was time to call my dad - Happy Father's Day, Dad!), and the day before that, I got to do All The Things. Most of them involving paint. I think Saturday was the first time I have ever been involved in the cleaning/painting of a floor without backing myself into a corner. Please, please, hold your applause...

More news from the weekend:

I was forced to return Choke to the library unfinished, but I now have A Storm of Swords to replace it. If you know anything about Martin (or if you followed that link just now), you will not be surprised when I tell you that it will probably take me forty years to finish it. 

let's all just take a moment...

And behave as if we've got a clue.

Source: jenatru.tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

NYS&F: Day 1

Hello, friends!

I write you from my lunch break, because there was no way I would have had time to blog, eat and dress this morning. I don't know what it is - maybe it's the change in elevation or something - but I've been sleeping like a rock here in Poughkeepsie. Consequently, mornings are difficult.

early mornings + late nights + New York

Source: etsy.com via Lauren on Pinterest

[just because.]

Oooooookay.

I've been sitting here puttering around the internet while occasionally cleaning my (already hopelessly trashed) desk, trying to figure out how best to start with the events of the last couple days. As usual, when in doubt, I revert to my trusty bullet points! Feel free to hop around to the interesting bits. I'm afraid I may be too tired to prioritize just now.

Shameville

The road to Shameville runs thusly.

Here we go, here we go!

Well, here I am, sitting at my gate in Lambert Airport, so sleepy I could easily lie down and go back to bed right here. I'm due to depart in one hour. I finished packing three and a half hours ago. Because that's how I roll.
And then it hits me: I'm GOING TO NEW YORK. By myself!
Who do I think I am???
And then I recall that I am, in fact, a smart, confident, independent Black woman. Because Facebook tells me so.
Appropriately reassured, I settle back, plug in my headphones, and doze off to Florence and the Machine.

Time for another big adventure, everyone!

(Sent from my Android)

working Wednesday

Good afternoon, people of the internet!

I apologize for the lateness of today's post; my computer's been in a bit of a sulk most of the day and I (terrified of getting on its bad side - again) have been running around doing things other than typing. To whit:

1. Packing. Endless, endless packing. I am so close to being done, guys. So. Close.
2. Tutoring (my student has a peer review on her yet-to-be-written analysis paper tomorrow).
3. Eating sandwiches with the irrepressible Lindsay T., who should really have a blog of her own because she is hilarious.
4. Having awkward encounters in the dressing rooms at Target ("Hey, aren't you the same girl who was here yesterday?" "Um...yes?" "Well, you're sure here a lot. It's like we're family!" "Um...no?")
5. Paying strangers to rip out my eyebrow hair, all the while making comments like, "Oh my; they're so thick!" and "You don't do this very often, do you?" and "Wow, you cry a lot."
6. Buying my Very First Ticket To See A Broadway Show.

That's right. This Saturday, at 2pm at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City, I am going to see Venus in Fur! I will be sitting in Balcony Row C, so if any of you, my lovely readers, should happen to be there too, you should come by and say hi.

I feel slightly guilty about not having any actual work news to report today, but rest assured that that will be changing very soon. The day after tomorrow, I leave for my NYS&F job...which means, in about 48 hours, I hope to be drafting a blog post about the No Doubt Ridiculous trip (because something ridiculous always happens when I take a trip).

Much love everyone, and thanks for reading! I will soon be writing you from a different time zone (eep!)...

Monday roundup

Good morning, friends, and happy Monday!

Source: Uploaded by user via Betty on Pinterest

Crepes!

Happy Friday, friends, and hello from my phone!
The fact that I can write a blog post while nowhere near a computer is probably my second favorite thing about having a smartphone. (The first, of course, is the GPS/maps function. I have a gift for getting lost while driving, particularly in my hometown.) Granted, the downside is that I can't figure out how to properly insert a link or a picture to save my life, so if this comes out funny on your screen, please bear with me!

Thursday rain

Source: pinterestschunt223.blogspot.com via Anisha on Pinterest

I'm supposed to take my siblings to a school picnic today, but judging from this morning's drizzle, I kind of doubt that's still going to happen.

It makes me miss England, though. Which, in an odd way, makes me miss all the places I want to go, but haven't been yet. Here are a few of them.

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Cinque Terre, Italy

many hats

Source: vixenvintage.blogspot.com via Simone on Pinterest

Although I like to identify as a theatre professional now (does it count as professional if you have yet to be paid?), I still find myself doing a lot of things that have nothing to do with theatre, for the sake of a paycheck.

Now, for example. I'm a composition tutor Monday - Thursday mornings, and I work in catering on the weekends. Neither of these qualifies as a full-time job (the tutoring gig is only for a few weeks), but they bring in reliable money utilizing my non-theatre skills, and so I'm happy to have them.

I suspect I will have these kinds of jobs, off and on, for most of my life.

Monday Monday

For those of you who are off work, sleeping in, barbequing and otherwise celebrating today – Happy Memorial Day! I enjoy a good barbeque is much as the next person (and probably more than some), but it’s always a bit weird to me to try and celebrate this holiday in a thoughtful manner. On the one hand – a day off work (for some people) and time to sleep in! Yay! On the other hand … it is about remembering our dead. (And if you’re one of the many Americans who is still a bit hazy about which dead those are, don’t be ashamed; educate yourself.) And that doesn’t seem like a cause for celebration so much as for a wake. Or maybe a vigil. Still, this is how we do it. We don’t have anyone in my immediate extended family to remember today, but I know a lot of people do, and our thanks can never be enough.

For the rest of the world – Happy Monday. Here's a roundup of some of the cool things I found on the internet this weekend!

I'd just keep moving, if I were you. this is an unapologetically fangirly post about Gray's Anatomy.

I kind of love this show, guys.

I started watching it about halfway through my senior year of college (wow...I can say that....in the past tense. WOW), when I realized that the oddly homesick-like feeling I was having had much more to do with my withdrawal from medical dramas (mostly House and ER, plus the occasional Nip/Tuck or Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman rerun) than with wanting to go home and sleep in my own bed, or any silly sentimental thing like that.

I still remember being about eight (or maybe as young as five or six) and watching ER at my grandparents' house, mouth hanging open, fingers splayed across my smeary glasses because I was so conflicted about whether to gawk at or hide from the images of horribly injured people lying on tables with all their insides showing.
Now, despite their tendencies to spoil and bewilder me, I have terribly responsible grandparents, and I still don't understand why they let me watch this very adult stuff. Maybe they didn't notice? Or thought I was too young to understand? Not that it matters now. I was, and am, most definitely hooked.

[This is somewhat ironic, given my (so low as to be nearly nonexistent) gore tolerance in various other contexts. Last week I saw Cabin in the Woods with some friends, and while I will grant you that it was a very smart, very meta, very Chris-Hemsworth-aka-Thor-is-in-it movie (all bona fide ingredients for success, in my opinion), I definitely missed large parts of the second half due to having my face buried in my boyfriend's collarbone. Rotting zombies? Sharp pointy things getting stabbed through people? Scary pain-saws? Flesh-eating of any kind? Not gonna happen. I get upset when I'm playing Portal 2 and my animated character gets shot and leaves bloodstains on the wall. This should tell you all you need to know.]

Anyway, I digress. What I really wanted to tell you is that my leading motivation for becoming a better person is now so that I can be more like my favorite characters from Grey's Anatomy.

a lame apology + a video that is the opposite of lame

Hey, guys.

Well, first thing's first - as you've all no doubt noticed, my follow-through could use some work. Like, a lot. Last Wednesday I sat down to write the promised blog post, and my brain froze up like a deer in headlights (and the fact that I hadn't actually done any work that day probably didn't help). You ever get that thing, you know, that really really lame thing, where you're so scared of screwing up that you don't try in the first place?

Yep. That's pretty much my M.O. Am working on it. But it still crops up from time to time. I'm sorry about that, and I'll try to do better moving forward.

ANYway, on to much cooler things, yes?

good ideas come to those who walk

It is true; I keep forgetting it but it's true. Whenever I am out on a walk, it's as if my brain, realizing that I am now preoccupied, seizes its chance to take whatever challenges or questions I've been mulling over and excitedly rips them to bits, making way for a perfectly simple and elegant solution that I really should have seen all along.

This is, of course, as opposed to my brain's usual behavior while I'm sitting at my desk trying to get to work, which is something along the lines of "Oh, wait, what? Did you want something? Mmmm, coffee. MOAR COFFEE. Oh look, a gif of a chicken falling over!" Etc. 

In a related story, I once had some friends who would go for walks - like, serious middle-of-the-day, let's-hike-on-and-on-for-miles-type-walks - all the freaking time. And sometimes I'd go along for solidarity's sake, but the whole time I'd be thinking, "What is the matter with you people? Where are we even going? Why do you all make me feel so fat? WHY IS THERE NO COFFEE?"

Well. Now I get it. And I'm seeing someone about the whole coffee thing, since that's clearly an issue...

graduation

Source: Uploaded by user via Sierra on Pinterest

The big day is finally here. 

5 Things I Learned from Production Managing the New Works Festival

Truth.

back again

Hello, friends!
So, it's been awhile since I wrote here, but Blogger tells me you've been visiting a lot anyway, which is nice to see. I've said this before, but seriously, guys - if there's something in particular you'd like me to do a blog post about, let me know and I'll do it. I'm interested in what interests you.

Anyway, here are the highlights of what I've been up to since we last talked.

1. I finished my last week of undergraduate classes. (woot!)
2. I production managed a play festival.
3. I got published.
4. I received (and signed) my contract for this summer with New York Stage and Film.
5. I went to an amazing end-of-the-year banquet with 50 or so of my closest theatre department friends. (Seriously, it was amazing. You should probably be jealous.)

The senior class, all dolled up in our banquet finery.
Photo taken by Anna Selle, courtesy of Cassandra White.

There are a bunch of things I could write about recent events, but they will definitely not all fit into one post. So I'm going to break them up, and hopefully get through the interesting stuff while it's still current/relevant. In the meantime: I hope you're having a lovely weekend, and thanks for reading!

slightly largeish news

So. So guys.
The news came last week, but I wasn't sure I was going to officially do it until today, and I thought you all might like to know: I have a production management internship with New York Stage and Film this summer!

just keep on truckin'...

Happy Tuesday After Easter! Which, if you're in school, is a lot like Happy Monday!, because we all got Monday off but probably didn't do anything sensible with it, e.g. the homework that is due this week, or in the next three weeks (feels like: eight seconds) before the end of the semester, and graduation. Time to get a move on, I guess.

Here are a few interesting tidbits from my before-breakfast internet woolgathering research:

Why it sometimes really sucks to be a female on the internet (unless, of course, you are as unfailingly sweet and nice as A Cactus Named Valentine): Promixa Thule points out some internet masochism that doesn't have anything to do with porn.

Kris Rusch on being in the arts (she writes primarily towards writers, but I think the advice works for all of us liberal arts kids) and how not to give up on yourself. Or if you have, how to get back on track.

A video about Snow White and the Huntsman costumes, which I would have loved to be a part of making, because they are gorgeous!

The most adorable thing in the world:

Source: urlybits.com via Joshua on Pinterest

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, happy Tuesday, and may the odds (for graduation, at least) be ever in  your favor...

reality.

"Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell - it is redemption."

(Oswald Chambers)

This morning, I don't care whether you're at church, out sunbathing, already hard at work, or too hung over to even think about getting out of bed for another four hours. I've been there, and I'm telling you, this is a fact. Reality is all about redemption. 

Something to think about today.

On a related note, this album is pretty great. I recommend it. 

I need an attention span upgrade.

Hello, friends!

At this moment, I have six blogs and two Google docs I'm switching back and forth between reading, simultaneiously writing a shockingly overdue letter to a dear (and patient) friend, glancing occasionally at my Bio textbook, and trying to get in the mental headspace to edit some intriguing new shorts by my favorite writer to cuddle with.

Also, it's really pretty outside and I wish I was there. But I have so much work to do!
Naturally, that makes Right Now an excellent time to update the blog.

tech week, day seven: long live tech week

Source: thedaybookblog.com via Lauren on Pinterest

[Oh, I hope not, Psychotic Baby. I sincerely hope not.]

Well, friends, this is about the end of it - after tonight, we're into show week.
As with most of the shows I've worked on, it seems simultaneously an eternity and no time at all since we first started. And now it's nearly over! Surreal. Especially since this will be my last show here at Truman (#10, at least?), before I graduate and go on to (hopefully) bigger and better things. It's a bit bittersweet, I guess, if you look at it that way.

Anyway, let's not get bogged down in the Scary Future Thinkings. Here are 10 things I learned during tech week for No Exit.

tech week: day six

Best. Tech. Ever.

We got out of dry tech after only about five hours of work, while the sun was still shining (I can't even remember the last time that happened), and I had time to soak up some sun, do a load of laundry, and cry my way through two extremely harrowing episodes of Gray's Anatomy.
Am I ashamed? Nope.

Unless you've seen it, you just don't know.

Am grinding my way through a big pile of work tonight before sleeping time ... or possibly More Gray's Anatomy Time ... we'll see.
Wet tech tomorrow! BRING IT ON.

tech week: day five

Source: tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

It is GAME DAY tomorrow, boys and girls!

Accordingly, I am blowing/have blown the entire afternoon/evening watching movies with my boo.
Be jealous.

Also, I'm sorry today's post is so late - what with the tests (bleh), the job interview (another place in New York - I think it went well, but I guess we'll see?) and the return of Community (cannot even communicate the magnitude of my glee - it's a pretty awesome show, guys), I've been sort of a busy girl. And now I'm going to drop into a black hole and, more than likely, not have time to post anything else for a week.
Them's the breaks.

Anyway, it's been a fun week guys. We should do this more often. I leave you with a little snippet of what I'm doing right now, and as for show week - wish me luck!

(Only don't. Because that's bad luck in the theater, you know.)
(Not that I'm superstitious or anything. Because I'm not.)
(But seriously. Don't.)



Thanks for reading, friends!

Tech week: day four

Today I thought to myself, "You know, maybe I should slow down a bit. Ease up off the caffeine until it's really, really necessary." And it seemed like a sensible idea.
Then I fell asleep, facefirst in my Bio textbook, at ten in the morning.

Source: icanhascheezburger.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Maybe it's just me, but the French Roast tastes unusually good today...

In other news, I really don't have any other news, because it is gorgeous outside and really, who can concentrate on to-do lists when we're getting 80-degree sunshine in March? It's definitely been a blow-off day. I'll pay for it tomorrow. I'll see you kids then!

tech week: day three

Source: Uploaded by user via Lauren on Pinterest

Lately I've been getting a lot of comments along the lines of, "Wow, I love how laid-back you are," and "Thanks for not freaking out about this!" and "Sorry, I'm late/forgot/don't know my shit ... please don't hurt me ... wait, seriously? You're not gonna hurt me?"

Here's the secret, kids: I keep it cool so that when I do give up and break out the Serious Bizness face, you will know that it is Serious Bizness Time For Freaking Real.
Seriously.
Because if I should ever actually lose it, it must be important - right?

Testing, 1, 2, 3 ...

So, I bought a smartphone. Even though I've been proudly toting my dumbphone for four years, I've finally caved in to the wide, entrancing world of apps and 3G internet service, and really this is just a very long way to say sorry guys, you're never going to see me again because I've sold my soul to Angry Birds.

(Sent from my Android phone)

tech week: day two

Source: imgfave.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I really, really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. But it's hard to argue with that reasoning. Technically, I have gotten 10 hours of sleep in the last 48, so I shouldn't have anything to complain about, but it's hard to remember that when your day starts and ends in the wee hours.

tech week: day one

Source: tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Hello, friends. This week, I have two papers, three tests, three job applications and a truckload of reading due. Oh, also: it's tech week.

(Last week was spring break. I got to sleep a lot and go to Chicago. It was great. It's gone now.)

Given the circumstances, every day this week I'm going to post a silly picture that may or may not be accompanied by ranting, raving, and, if the spirit moves, general inappropriateness. You have been warned. Happy Monday.

Miss Peregrine and art in marketing?

So, I'm not usually impressed with book trailers. Too often they're not well done, low-budget and cheesy. But this one, possibly in part because it's for a book I already know is fantastic, struck me as unusually good. I think it takes advantage of the movie-trailer shtick (as well it should, as it seems like everyone's interest is automatically caught when you play a movie trailer, even if the movie is awful) without sacrificing its general bookishness, if that makes any sense.




More and more these days, I'm realizing there's a real art to marketing. It's not just about targeting potential buyers and coming up with hokey catchphrases and doing a lot of boring paperwork. Years ago, a professor of mine suggested I look into learning it, and I thought she was joking at the time, but now? I may just. If nothing else, I bet it's lucrative.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on that. Happy Tuesday, and thanks for reading!

Monday smarts - "How to Talk to Girls"

Good morning! Ready or not, it's Monday. Here are a few pearls of wisdom to get you started off right. We should all be this smart someday.

Tuesday tunes

This song has been running through my head all morning and makes me want to dance, even though I'm still too tired to get my eyes all the way open. (Who stays up until 2AM for no good reason on a Monday night? Yep. This girl.) Yesterday was a good day, though. Hopefully today will be another.
Enjoy!

P + E (part 2)

So, this is the second "page" (for lack of a better term) of a little storytelling experiment I've been working on, in fits and starts, in between other things (like reading The Tiger's Wife, which is delicious and slow in a way much like honey-flavored whiskey, right down to the way it makes your eyes water when taken in gulps).
If you have a minute to read it, please let me know what you think - are these people interesting? Should I keep writing them? Does the format make it weird to read? That last is probably my most immediate concern, really.
Oh, and the first bit's back here.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy.

Cirque du Soleil

Source: google.com via Laure on Pinterest