Lazy Day

I want to blog more. Today, a friend told me he was blogging for the first time in months. I stumbled across another friend's blog and it's clear she updates daily, always with insightful things. (Presumably...I only read 2 entries.) So here I am.

I did nothing today. The only reason I put on clothes that weren't my pajamas was to walk downstairs and 3 doors over to order Chinese food. It's the end of Week 2 of the Steady Day Job and I'm feeling it. Though I was also fighting a losing battle with a cold the last few days, which could explain my fatigue.

I was semi-productive though. I figured out what to get a friend for Christmas. I finished a hat (a gift for someone, not an Etsy item). I started a hat for myself since I'm constantly jealous of other knit hats and never make anything for myself.

Nope...that was it. Oh, I guess I did continue to drink copious amounts of green tea in an effort to rid my body of this cold. Bah. Emergen-C for breakfast tomorrow. And maybe a bedtime snack tonight. I'm so adventurous.

Really though...maybe I should challenge myself to blog daily. Nah, that'll never happen. Maybe at least 4 times a week? A sizeable goal. Maybe just once a week to start. Yeah. That's safe.

Worst Blogger Ever (or, an Octoberly update)

It's November...surprise! It's starting off pretty well. Highlights of October:

-Hung out a LOT with friend AraBella. We painted her room, ate a ton of Pinkberry, and made a few trips to Home Depot.

-Finished up the run of TESS: A New Rock Opera. (I was a Production Assistant, if you remember.) It was lots of fun and I was really sad to have missed the last performance, which was an added performance, because I was in Iowa.-Went to the best wedding ever in Minnesota. My good friends from college got married in an "Up" themed wedding and I flew across the country to go.

-Fetched my furniture and other miscellaneous possessions from Iowa and journeyed them cross-country to NYC. Now I feel vaguely trapped, but I like hanging things on the walls.

-Saw "A Life in the Theatre" (twice), "American Idiot", and "The Scottsboro Boys".

-Made a website for my SM side of life. Updated the Etsy site. Ordered some business cards. Y'know...in 48 hours.

-Went to the Great FoodPlay Reunion of 2010 (sans one Carlton Hall) and had a great time. You know it's a good night when a 4 hour dinner goes by like nothin'.

-Had SEVERAL random "small world" run ins all over the city. The guy from UCF who was at TESS strike, the former TSF co-worker who lives downstairs, and the girl at callbacks who is from Des Moines...to name a few.

-And one of the best parts: a surprise visit to Hershey! I tagged along and surprised some of my Chocolate Town favorites. Spent Halloween with them and even got to look for Sasquatch at the zoo.

So...November. It's shaping up rather well. My new show had callbacks yesterday so we should have a cast...like now. Rehearsals start soonly. Started a day job. Made an Etsy sale. Got together with some college friends, one of whom is visiting on his latest epic road trip. Of course, it's only a week in. Anything can happen. And I'm ready.

NYMF!

Remember how I talked about a whirlwind previously? SO true. Wednesday morning I reported to the rehearsal space, helped another gal gather all the props (about 5 loads total), hailed a taxi, got everything to the venue, helped finish the set, helped with props during Q to Q, arranged dinner, and helped run backstage during the show...having never seen/heard a run. It was GREAT! Tonight is another performance and I'm excited. I didn't realize how big NYMF was until some good friends pointed it out. Yay for friends who throw your name around in the world.

Also, I've been working more on Etsy items. I'm going to get a few more ready, redo some photos and get it all posted. Should keep me a bit busy. The day job thing still needs to happen, but in its own time. Like...in the next couple weeks. Thank goodness for planning and frugality.

Lots of people are starting to pop up around the city. Mostly new arrivals from this past summer. Some old friends from summers past. Look at how poetical I can be. Poetry aside, it's nice to be in a new city with old friends. Probably the way I should have been doing it all along.

Crazy Whirlwind

Yesterday I was at IKEA with a friend. We were in the checkout line and my phone went berserk. First was a notification from Etsy that one of my items was listed in a treasury. Pretty cool. Second time it's happened. First time was for some gloves I made.

Second email was from a PSM asking if I was free to be a production assistant (PA) for New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) which starts this week. Turns out, I'm free so I emailed back and talked to the General Manager. Thanks Blackberry for providing me with constant contact with the world. So I'm off to rehearsal today to meet everyone and load out the set. Gulp. What's up, first NYC gig?

Because of the dates of this gig, I am going to have to rush to make it to Jenna and Troy's wedding. I'm flying into Minneapolis the day of the darn thing. It'll be fine...even though I have the sneaking suspicion that this is very similar to the start of a sitcom episode. I'm still going though!

Also, I've launched myself back into Etsy item making. Soon I should have enough baby items to post. I'm thinking of re-doing all my photos and even coming up with a new logo and more aggressive marketing. All in good time.

Week One...Practically Done

It's an interesting thing to move to a new place sans a job. I've actually never done it before. And I'm mostly okay with it.

I've been doing some exploring. A lot of walking. Not really tourist stuff, but going to well-known places. There's usually a goal. Greenwich Village. Times Square. Et cetera. I'm trying to save some of my exploring for later, but it's hard with all kinds of time on my hands. One of my friends has a really good thing going. He has a small NYC notebook that has a subway map, a map of the city, and blank pages to write down places he likes. Restaurants, parks, shops, and stuff all go in there. We realized it will be really cool to look back through it in 6 months.

I have spent a fair amount of time catching up with friends. Seems like every day in my residence in NYC has been devoted to a friend. Roommate from OST, friend from high school, friend from college, friend from Hershey (which doesn't count since he moved here Friday), and multiple friends from college. Last night was beer pong with people I haven't seen in 6 years. It was great. I met a bunch of new people and laughed harder than I have in a long time. I miss being with people whose sense of humor is so attuned to mine.

Also...I kicked butt at pong. At least until the third game.

Ah...Panera Wi-Fi

The joys of moving...packing all your things haphazardly, praying you get a parking spot in front of your building, and realizing the stolen wireless from the neighbors isn't good enough for your chronic Facebooking so you go to the local Panera for hours with a lone cup of coffee to make you seem slightly welcome.

That all happened.

So here I am...New York City. Technically, I'm in Queens, but who's really keeping track? I'm unloaded, semi-unpacked, furniture-less, jobless, and thrilled. I applied for a few retail jobs today. I'm planning on a few theatre jobs apps in the near future too. Probably tomorrow since I bet I have outstayed my Paneriffic welcome here.

Things are good. I saw Natasha today for lunch. I have (tentative) plans to see Kira tomorrow. Other folks are in the wings waiting to jump back into my life, and me into theirs. It's a glorious time to be carefree in the city.

This cookie is delicious.

Pics to come. (Of the apartment...not the cookie.)

Moving Day...Again

I'm moving again! Biiiiiig surprise. But this time I am only moving 4 hours from my current location...not 18-20 like normal. In my usual spontaneous way, I decided about 13 days ago to move to NYC. I actually have roommates and a place and some semblance of a plan. Wacky, I know. I figure, it's only the second most crazy thing I've ever done, so it can't be that bad, right? Plus, when you decide to move to NYC and have roommates and keys to an apartment within 72 hours, you should just do it. (Don't worry...I know who I'm living with and I did not send any money to a stranger promising me things.)

I'm packing the apartment, a little glad I'm the last one to leave this year. I had to run out of town so fast last year that I was all stressed packing while I was working. This time I've been a (little too) leisurely about it, but I'm not planning on leaving until tomorrow morning so it's all good. Today's weather makes me glad I'm not trying to drive into the city and unload a car anyhow.

The end of the season was as expected. Harder on some than others. If you look really closely, you can tell who was feelin' the end of season blues, but for the most part, my kids were okay. We had a great last couple days (despite the two giant holes that ended up in my set the LAST DAY) and since 75% of us are moving/planning to move to the city by 2011, it's not like we'll never see each other again.

Crystal Sneakers 2010 Original Cast. Thanks for the summer of insanity. Smiley face.

Another Self-Deprecating Title

Wah, wah, wah. I suck at blogging. Shut up and quit whining about it, why don't you?

I actually have some future topics I'd like to update the world on, but tonight I'm just too lazy. So why am I blogging at all? Because I spent the last hour reading other blogs while I wait for Aerosmith to get off work and wander over. I have a horribly impulse-buy like personality: if I see it, I want it. If you have pizza, I want pizza. If I'm reading a blog, I suddenly want to write one.

Anyway...only about a month left of this burst of employment. For the first time in my life I don't have a plan and I am not frantically scrambling to find one. I don't have a job lined up after this. I don't know where I'm going. I don't know ANYTHING. I think when it's time to leave, I'm just going to drive west and see what happens.

I think I'm actually kind of sick of the nomad thing right now. I want an apartment. I want a couch. I want all my stuff to NOT fit in my car. I want to hang up my Opus shadow box. I do not want to settle down permanently. I do not want children. I do not want a husband (or a wife for that matter). I do not want pets. I just want some stability.

Speaking of children...I reiterated my vow to never have children to the girls in my cast today and Marisa was astounded. She said she just can't understand someone who doesn't want to have kids. Kelsey thinks I'm going to change my mind. Daily, I am surrounded by girls who have sisters and stable parents and want families of their own. How am I ever supposed to connect with them when we have so little in common at the fundamental, core value level?

Take Your Own Advice

I keep telling my cast and crew that it's all about perception. It doesn't really matter what your intentions were, but how they were interpreted does. For instance: if you're in the audience talking to your friend the entire time you watch the show, it says to the performers that you don't care about them and the work they're doing. Even if you were just raving to your friend about the greatness of the 3rd dancer on the left.

I should take my own advice. Sometimes I get caught up in things and I forget to take a step back and look at the big picture. Sometimes I over analyze and over justify things when I should just take them as they are and shut up. Sometimes I'm just a pretentious so and so.

I hate apologizing because it means I did something wrong.

I Love When I Fail

I'm on a baking spree. Again. Tonight it was rice krispie treats (not baking, I know), chocolate chip cookies, and a shoofly pie. Well...the pie FAILED. The crust, to be more specific. I made an awesome pie crust for the Key Lime Pie experiment of 2 weeks ago and saved half the dough. The dough did not want to be saved and refused to become the shoofly pie I know it could have been. So...I'll have to make more pie crust on a day that isn't today.

I am drinking a lovely Jack Daniels and ginger ale right now. So tasty.

My dresser has gotten me reading vampire books. I read the first two of the Anita Blake series, which is nice and gory, just like I like it. Now I'm on the True Blood books. I've seen the first season, so the book is just taking me down that path again, but E says that it gets different around the 4th book. I think she has them all. Yay!

Work has been a little bleah lately. I succumbed to stress. I didn't realize how draining it's been lately until I imploded on Tuesday night. Thank goodness I had friends to escape to. B and S are the best. So is Epic Scrabble. And fire.