It's the End of the World!

Nah, just the end of December. I had a really fantastic Christmas this year and, I'm almost ashamed to say, it's because I didn't go home this year. I know, I know...give me your awww's and your pity and judgment and whatever else. Just get it out of the way. It's hard for a lot of my friends to understand that my family and I just aren't that close. For a myriad of reasons, we are not the ideal family. We don't talk on the phone, we don't know much about each other's personal lives, and it's been that way for a long time. Wah, wah, wah.

SO when it came time to figure out what I was doing for Christmas this year-the answer was really simple. My fantastic friend Steven - along with several other friends - was in Hershey for Christmas because of the Christmas contract. So I made arrangements to bus it to PA for my holiday. Mostly because I knew I'd get even MORE judgment for just staying in NYC.

We did everything that makes us happy and since he didn't want to be with his family either-we felt totally justified. We had delicious food, saw a lot of movies, talked, played games, and had general merriment. I got to spend good quality time with other friends in town and managed to miss the Snowpocalypse in NYC. Go me.

Really though-it's totally cliche, but Christmas is more of a feeling and I was totally Christmas-ified in PA. This is, however, probably the start of a trend in which I invent reasons to not go home for the holidays for many years to come. I know. I'm horrible. But at least I'm happy!

Solstice!

Shortest day of the year also happens to be rather long in the Rachel sector of life. For the last time, I was up at 5:30 am to catch the train to catch the ferry to catch the shuttle to stage manage the show. Staten Island is a lovely, far away place that I will not miss traveling to every day. I will miss my cast. Really. We were 7 people in a wacky situation and I actually believe we made the best of it. We had a show interrupted by a crazy Russian woman. We had more travel time than rehearsal and performance combined. We rehearsed at a rec center with children/teens literally walking in and out of scenes. It was actually pretty awesome and if I lived closer, I'd totally work with Sundog again.

HOWEVER now that it's done, I can focus on some other things. I've got the crazy 3 days before Christmas stuff to deal with (wrapping, mailing, shopping, swearing) and then I get to pack and head to Hershey! I have 2 days of work and a few friend dates between me and my first trip via Megabus. I'm so excited. Then, before you know it, I'll be sad and back on the bus and then back at work and then at a New Year's Eve party and then it'll be 20-fuckin'-11! Holy god. I better get ready!

Christmastime Approaches!

I just got back from an overnight in Maryland. I'm running performances of "A Christmas Carol" with the Sundog Theatre. It's an interesting thing. When I did FoodPlay, everything was very specifically laid out. I had very little set up and there weren't many outside factors to worry about. If we had a table and a chair and a power outlet, we were good to go. Not so with this show. I have wireless mics and a sound board I bring, but I need to use the venue's system and I have to try to put together some semblance of lights. That's new. I've got a pretty good group of people though. I think I might even stay friends with a few after this is all over next week.

It's funny how with just a small show and a simple day job with steady hours, I'm crazy busy and feel way behind. I guess that means my life is going well and I'm in a good place, right? Let's try to stay on the positive, for once. And...go!

I'm going to spend Christmas with friends in Hershey, PA. It's my first year not going to Iowa for Christmas. It's a tough thing...I don't want to go there, but it seems so taboo to not go home for the holidays. I keep getting pity and I don't want that. I made a choice. It is the right choice for me. I'm going to spend more time with people who will make me happier and I will only have spent $55 on bus tickets versus $400+ on airfare.

10 days til Christmas folks...are you ready?