Catch-All

I've been in the new place for one week as of tomorrow. It's pretty great. Still in Astoria. I like the location a lot. There's a bar on the corner, which is a lovely thing. Roommates are good. I live with guys again, which has always been better for me. I've got ALMOST everything out of boxes right now. I had a packing hiatus due to rehearsal and general exhaustion. I have a few more things to go through. The box labeled "decor" is one I haven't bothered to fight with yet.

I think I have too much stuff. Since everything I own (except one dresser, one box of requisite high school junk, and one bag of high school drama t-shirts) is here, it isn't technically a lot. However, I have a lot of things I don't really NEED. Today I declared: "There's a fine, fine line between sentiment and crap." Story of my life. Also, I could use a bigger bookshelf. I tend to keep things on the assumption that if it doesn't work in this place, it could work in the next one. I also tend to leave things behind at places if I am super frustrated with packing. For example, I left a trash can, drying rack, 2 coolers, some plastic flower pots, and a full length mirror in PA. So far, I miss the trash can. And the mirror. And the drying rack. Damn.

Rehearsals have been going pretty well. I'm trying to get back into the mode of Real Stage Manager vs. Theme Park Stage Manager with little to no transition time. I'm doing all right. Not my best, but I'm not unhappy with my performance yet. I meet two more of the actors tomorrow. That'll be neat. Hopefully.

Tiny Tomatoes!

I get ridiculously excited about silly things. Kiddie pools in bright colors. Plants sprouting up from seeds. Tiny tomatoes appearing on a tomato plant of questionable success. I acknowledge that normal people don't get as excited as I do about such things, but...there are such summery things happening around here.

The roommate and I bought a kiddie pool and a hose and some lawn chairs. I planted some marigold and cherry tomato seeds and they look like real live plants now. I got some normal tomato plants and planted them and now there are TINY TOMATOES! Why wouldn't I be excited?

Also haircuts. My friend Tony is wonderful and cuts my hair a couple times a year for the low, low price of one sushi lunch. It's the best deal ever. I trust him and he makes me look pretty. 10 inches and some judgmental comments about how much I don't take care of my ridiculous Asian hair later and I feel fantastic! And did I mention pretty?


Tonight I'm playing some mild avoidance and am conveniently going to dinner to round out a group and preserve some sanity. How's that for vague? My roommate is having a lot of people over to watch the Tony's and after the torture that was last year, I am not going to be here nor at any other Tony's party. Instead, I am going to a birthday dinner where good food and whiskey will keep me happy.

June!

Recently, a friend reminded me that I have this blog. So...this post is for you, Tim.

Life is pretty good. My main show is finally open so I can sleep and eat and shower on a schedule like a normal person. My other show is going to open...really soon. I hope. Did you know sea lions aren't the most compliant animals?

Roommates are still good. Tonight we made homemade ravioli, marinara sauce, garlic bread, and banana bread. I'm drinking a bottle of my very favorite beer. Jazz night starts up tomorrow. Epic television plans with a friend Friday. Bridal shower Saturday. Sushi Sunday. Xmen First Class comes out this weekend. So much good.

Really...that's all I got right now.

My dinner was delicious.

Growing Up?

I am strangely optimistic.

Perhaps that should be phrased: I am optimistic, which is strange.

Things are good roommate-wise for the first time in a while. Two of the three and I have a good system going right now. Blonde Girl #1's fiance declared us "perfect for each other" today. We've already hosted our first dinner party (see below). Last Roommate arrives tonight...we hope she adapts well because we don't really want to change the direction we're headed.


I've got a fair amount of work to do this week, but unfortunately a lot of it is based on waiting for things/people to arrive. In the meantime...there are cookies to bake. What can I say? Hershey domesticates me.

Rehearsalness

We're on Day 11 of rehearsal. It's about halfway through the process. This basically means you're incredibly lucky I woke up too early and can now blog about life. I'm averaging 9 hours a day at rehearsal, though that average is steadily creeping up to 10. The set looked better every day until we stopped working on it. Our scenic people come back next week so it will exponentially improve again once they make their return.
The trophy case drop. This is my favorite. Our scenic painters are the BEST.


A dancer in front of the talent show drop.


I finally got some time over at the other show. They did a run for me (sans diving and sea lions), but it was still funny. They're going to have a great show on their hands.

Things are going pretty good in the non-show aspects of life too. The last of the entertainment folk showed up this weekend. There are people to gather with for every kind of mood. We bought a grill and intend to use it 4-6 times a week, just like last summer. I do need to work on hanging out with the people who don't live in my apartment complex. I have rehearsal fatigue as an excuse now, but that won't matter in 2 weeks.

Roommates are good. The herb garden is thriving. I tried growing dill from seed, but only one wee seedling made it...so I bought a whole dill plant to inspire it to grow. We haven't used the mint much yet, but mojitos are on the horizon.

So really, all is still good in Chocolate town. I'm getting anxious for friends to visit, but that starts all too soon so I should rest up and get ready!

We're All All Right

Pretty much everyone is in town now. A fantastic amount of people arrived in the last three days; it's been so great. All my favorites are here now. The people I have been spending time with are wonderful, of course, since I don't associate with un-wonderful people, but the two I spent the most time with last summer are now here (one being my roommate!), so all feels right in the world. Also, we saw Pwese, which was a delight as always.

Different dynamic this summer. It's kind of interesting to watch it form. Not sure yet how I feel about it. I want to make an active attempt to be less bitterly sequestered than last summer...only time will tell. We had an impromptu cast get together, which isn't as impromptu as it seems since a) 2/3 of the cast lives next door to each other, b) we actually kind of planned it, and c) who else would we hang out with? I like it though.

We embark on Music Rehearsal #3 today. Adventure? A little bit since we're going to try to actually be IN our venue for part of the day. Eep! It's been rather cold here lately. The Floridians and Texans are not pleased. I'm okay with it, but not so happy about it either. Good thing the park is closed today and I can wear a hoodie.

No new pics of the set, maybe later today. I haven't been to the venue in 3 days due to orientation and rehearsal. Really, things are going quite well and the only thing that would make this better would be Life-Changing Chicken Dip, constantly available. Mmm...chicken dip...

Also, allergy town, population: my nose.

Read Thru Eve

We have orientation and a read thru tomorrow. YAY! I'm excited. Some of the guys and I went out to dinner tonight and then came back to my apartment so they could meet my roommate. We ended up playing Catchphrase for a few hours. Fantastic. Things are finally rolling along. The set looks great (see below), people are texting/Facebooking updates from the road, and very, very soon I will be all set for the summer.


I got to bind scores today with this crazy mad hole punch thing and the plastic spiral binder things. Basically, I want my own now so I can turn everything into a book. Office supply joy.

2 of my 3 roommates bake banana bread. We're going to have a banana bread-off. Awesomeness, I am sure.

Productivity, question mark

Apparently I'm not allowed to take more than 2 days between posts. Some people have been tetchy and anxious and I can't be responsible for that kind of thing. So here is another multi-topic-ed post for YOUR enjoyment.

I made a lasagna! I made it with the intention that my roommates could eat some of it after rehearsals, but they've been so tired, they haven't tried it yet. But I have and it rocks. Here's what I put in it:

Sauce: 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, 3/4 diced yellow onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 pkg frozen chopped spinach (messily thawed and drained), 1 package sweet turkey sausage links with casings removed (browned before added to sauce), some sugar (to cut acidity), a little salt (to...do whatever it does that makes it taste good), a dash of paprika, and generous sprinklings of black pepper, dried sweet basil, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Oh, and about a third a cup of water to make it thinner. It simmered for like an hour.

I mixed a 15 oz container of 2% ricotta cheese with an egg, some grated Parmesan cheese, and a lot of dried oregano. Layers: Sauce, 3 whole wheat lasagna noodles, ricotta mix, mozz and parm, sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozz and parm, sauce, noodles, mozz and parm. It got baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes covered and 15 uncovered.

**You should all note this is like the 10th lasagna I've made so I actually do sort of know the recipe. Except the seasonings. I just add stuff til it tastes right. Bazinga! Still a recipe failure. Aw.

Wow. Okay. I also finished Sally's hats and gloves and got them sent off to her. (One is pictured on the left.) Then I started making some baby hats. I'm on my second baby hat right now. I'm trying to think outside the box for my baby items. For instance-not just pale pink and pale blue hats. Not just hats. I'm hoping it works. I need to get my Etsy shop back up and running. It's just kind of sitting there idly right now. Goals for that are: new/better pics, baby items, and trying harder. It's the trying harder that's gonna get me.

Roommates and I had a little bonding Sunday night. We went out to dinner and Stefanie got to have Red Lobster for the first time ever. Then we went to a poker game and Janelle played for the first time ever, which meant she, of course, royally kicked all of our butts. I'm hoping for a poker tourney this summer.

All right. I told myself that with the new blog I would be positive and not bitch and rant all the time like in the old bitchy, ranty blog, but this is still bothering me so I'ma talk about it cuz it's my blog.

Basically, lots of people I know are getting married and buying houses and having babies (in fact, six different friends either announced babies or engagements THIS WEEKEND) and it makes me feel bad about my life. Not because I'm lacking something, but because THEY think I am. I don't wish them ill. I don't want them to not be happy. I'm not jealous. I just don't like the following:

1) I do not like losing friends because we don't have anything in common anymore because I am single.
2) I do not like losing male friends because they got married and being the platonic female friend isn't kosher.
3) I do not like the phrases "Oh, I'm sure you'll meet someone soon", "Well, you've still got time", and "So...are you seeing anyone?"

I don't actually want to get married or have babies, thank you. I like traveling and having a career. Just because I'm a female in my mid-twenties does NOT mean I need a man and a baby to be happy. And apparently, MSN knows what I'm going through: "Single Women Still Feel 'Spinster' Stigma" The subtitle is "Annoyances worst in mid-20s to mid-30s." Great. I can't wait for the next decade. Thanks a lot, MSN.

Whew. Wait. I don't feel better. You mean that venting one's frustrations on the internet doesn't instantly bring about a feeling of golden-hued contentment?! Damn. Back to knitting.

Vindication for My Laziness

I did not go to the gym today. I went on Tuesday and Wednesday and fully intended to go today. Instead, I was a gym failure. I was going to feel bad about myself because of this, but instead I got all self-righteous as the day went on about all the awesome things I've done in the past 36 hours that should make me feel good about myself.

I acquired tickets to the Hershey Bears game without bribing someone else to get them for me.

I walked to the grocery store AND used a reusable bag. (Yay Earth Day.)

I went to Yarn-Love and only bought 2 skeins of yarn that are already promised to a project.
I made all my meals today AND they were all healthy.

I have made good progress on Sally's second hat.

I got Karyn's approval on my current Etsy pricing and projects, as well as Sally's finished hat and gloves.

I got lots of Hershey related work done today...lots of questions answered.

I looked up some post-Hershey employment options. Even made a spreadsheet.

I updated my resume.

I only screwed with Pat Shiner's mind for 10 minutes last night.

I went to Chocolate World and only spent $7.00 (with discount).

I only ate 20 Jelly Belly brand jelly beans for my snack today.

I gave Stefanie some Mucinex and now she feels better.

I planned a lasagna for my tired roommates' dinner tomorrow.

So in short, screw you gym guilt! I'll go tomorrow.

Also...completely unrelated: Janelle brought home goldfish. Now we have herbs and pets. We're SO domestic.
(Photos from top: Hershey Bears in action, Sally's earflap hat, Hershey's Extra Dark chocolate with Pomegranate flavored pieces, Goldy and somethingorother our new fish)