...and a happy New Year

It's New Year's Eve Eve! I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I have been invited to two different parties. The Carlsons are throwing a small gathering where we will play games and stuff. That sounds like a really fun, relaxed time. But Joe Dickson is also throwing a kareoke bash at his house. I would dress up for that one. I'm hoping to go to both, if the Carlsons' party starts early enough (I'm hoping for around 7.)I'm preparing a lot to go to Joe's. I am wearing my little black dress, really cool heels, and a necklace that Mom is loaning me. It's beautiful and probably worth something (she got it when she was young and it was expensive then.) I am also getting my hair done and a manicure. I got new makeup that I can wear at the party and into the new year. I want to start the new year off right. I also have sparkling grape juice for me to drink at the party.

Kris has a Wii Fit and I've been doing that a little. It isn't the best workout tool, but it's better than nothing. According to the Wii scale, my BMI has gone down in the past week. This is a very general measurement. But I do believe I am a little smaller than last week. I have lost about a pound a week since the end of the run. Stephanie confirmed that my arms are more toned. We will be doing measurements the second week of January. Last time they were pretty much the same as the time before, but it was only three weeks since the last time.

Weird dreams: I dreamt that there was some kind of a war and subs were being bombed so much that they covered the ocean floor. I was also in a movie house where they were playing a movie about Al-Quaida attacking a fleet of civilian airplanes. I walked out of the film and was followed by a stream of other people who had lost loved ones in 9-11 (my cousin was in the World Trade Center.) In another dream, a friend of mine was homeless and lying around. A cop came up and asked him what he was doing and my friend said he was just going to sleep. So just some random things.

Well, I'm off to the gym. Hanging up now....

Merry Merry!

Well, Christmas has come and gone, but the Spirit still hangs in the air. They're still playing Christmas carols at the restaurant we went to tonight. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The candlelight service was beautiful, as always. Jeanne's message went along with what I said in an earlier post. When she talked about the spirit of Christmas, and the feeling of the presence of God, she simply said, "Look around you." The community of good souls is what makes Christmas special. God rest ye merry.

We set off for Kalamazoo at around 12:15 AM and got there around 1:30. We went to bed with visions of ham with apricot glaze in our heads. I got up Christmas Day to the sound of rain. I really wanted snow but rain was what we got. I put up the tree while Dad and I watched "A Christmas Story." That is, we started halfway through it and saw the next half. The tree was really pretty. I like to use only glass ornaments on it, which doesn't weigh it down much. We had a wreath and I wound a sparkly garland around it and we hung it outside. It looks good. Mom informed me on the way back to Kalamazoo that I would be making Christmas dinner (really, just the ham.) I was a little nervous about it as it was a new recipe, but it went well. It was delicious. We also had salad, rolls, broccoli, and apple pie. I didn't stuff myself. One of everything. One slice of ham, one serving of broccoli, one bowl of salad, one roll, and one medium-sized piece of pie. Then we did presents. The folks liked what I got them--the DVD of "Up" and a picture from the show. I had all my loot to open and they had a few things. My dad surprised my mom with a canister of pirouettes. They are yummy! Tube-shaped cookies with chocolate swirled through them. We used to eat them all the time in Bloomington. They are her favorite.

Today we went out to dinner and saw "The Princess and the Frog." IT WAS AMAZING. A real must-see. It was visually stunning and the songs were great. The story was wonderful and there was even one un-Disneylike element (one of the most endearing characters dies.) It definitely is one of my favorite Disney movies. We then went to dinner at the Field Stone Grill. I had beef marsala over penne pasta. It was also amazing.This is what I meant when I said the restaurant was still playing Christmas music. It wasn't too loud, just drifting through the background. It was just enough to remind us all that the Spirit is still here.

Worked out with Dad at his gym today. I wore my new workout pants, one of my Christmas "gifts." I felt pretty hot. I worked on the Arc Trainer and then did tri's and back. It was fun to try out their machines. Dad did the leg press and other machines (not sure which ones.) He also walked and did cat-cow. I watched him on the track and he moves pretty well. Maybe not as fast as he should, but not meandering like I thought he did before. It felt good to work out. I will have time to go tomorrow too. I have to find out when the new "semester" starts--I want to do the Step class if we're back in session.

I have decided to go out for "Enchanted April" after all. It is such a wonderful script and I really want to work with Mary. I know some of the people who are planning to try out and it would be great to work with them. This means I won't do the Zumba class, which is all right. I will still do Interval and Step. And there is another class I want to try that is a combination of Pilates, cardio, and weights. That sounds fun. I would do those Monday, Friday and Sunday, work out with Stephanie Wednesday, and work out on my own one or two more days. This could be a really good workout regimen.

We had to cancel Dami on Wednesday because they were going out of town early. I didn't get to give her her Christmas present. She says she collects "weird" things so I have something for her. It's a stuffed astronaut my grandfather got when he bought Intel stock. It has the "Intel Inside" logo on it. It's pretty neat, and right now it's just taking up space on my shelf. So I think she'll really like it. I have a lesson on antonyms planned. So far the lessons have been going really well. I haven't had a chance to start on the language arts segment of our studying, but I will once we start up again. The lesson I planned should only take a half hour or so; I have left the rest of the time for language arts.

Ageesh stood me up two weeks ago. I called him and left a message on his voice mail. The next Friday was a Christmas party I wanted to go to, so I called and cancelled. Again, I got his voice mail. I'm concerned. I hope we are able to reconnect. He may have told me he was going out of town and I just forgot. Or he may be flaking. I don't know. I hope we keep meeting because I need the money.

The Christmas party was for people at my church and friends. It was a caroling party--not the kind where you go out in the snow, but the kind where you sit around the piano and sing in a cozy house. Sing we joyous, all together...heedless of the wind and weather because we're not out there. The hosts (Dick and Joan Witter) set up a book with carols numbered 1-70ish and what you do is you call out the number of the song you want and you do that carol with Dick accompianing on the piano. He also had me sing "Christmastime is Here." This is our little tradition. We are going to sing it next year for the family Holiday Concert.

Well, I better shut up for now. I've got an early day tomorrow.

Hanging up now....

Had a great day at the gym today. I was going to sleep in and skip Interval, but I decided to get up and go. When I got there, however, I found out that the fall term was over and the class wasn't going on. So I decided to make my own "interval" workout. I started by walking/running on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Then I did biceps. Next I was on the elliptical for 12 minutes. After that I did chest. In between sets, I did jumping jacks, ran up and down the hall, and did mountain climbers. I was at the gym for almost an hour and a half but it was worth it, and the time went quickly. This would be a great routine to do a couple times a week. Maybe when I do weights I will do this.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! Adam and I met for dinner and he gave me my present--the DVDs of Empire of the Sun and Terminator:Salvation. I have his present but I forgot to bring it. So we are going to meet tomorrow for lunch.

Dami's mom texted me today asking if I could come over today rather than tomorrow. I told her no. Half an hour is too short a notice for me. Instead, we are meeting Wednesday at 3. Dami is on vacation right now so she is able to meet then. If I were her mom, I would let her have a break, but she is determined to give her the best education possible. I have found that the parents I work with drive their kids very hard. The kids seem to go along with it, though, and thrive on it. I have had to cancel meeting with Karthik all the month of December and will have to cancel these next two Saturdays too. This Saturday is the day after Christmas and the next is New Year's Day. After that we should be on track, however.

Looking at this past year, I have a hard time seeing that I made any progress in any arena at all. I did finish Checking Out. I got to play a great part and I'm on my way to being in better shape. But I don't see much else that has gone on. I haven't gotten a 9-5 job, although I have created one. I guess that's something. I just don't remember doing much of anything. I wonder what this new year will bring.

Hanging with the Redmans and putting a hit out on Dad

Ok, so these may not be Gordy-worthy dreams, but I think they're pretty funny. In the first one, I was taking a bath listening to Lady Gaga on the radio. Richard Redman came in to tell me to keep it down because Dominic was asleep. I was embarrassed because, shall we say, the bath was not a bubble bath. Then Richard, Bridgette, Dominic and I were on a train that made frequent stops. At each stop, we got information that helped us solve a puzzle. My mom picked me up from the final stop and she was pleased I had solved the puzzle.

Mom had taken a cruise with Dad and told me it was "thirty-six hours of hell." I find this weird looking back because 36 hours is awfully short for a cruise (maybe it was a Gilligan's Island type of cruise?) We got back to her apartment, which was in what looked like a tenement, and I went to the bathroom. My dad came in while I was on the toilet and was being very annoying. I threw him in the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go. This didn't seem to bother him. I finally got so annoyed that I made a call and arranged to have him killed. The sniper was going to shoot through the bathroom window so my mom and I agreed it would be best to move to the roof of the adjoining building. When we got to the other roof, we found Marie P. was the sniper and she was saying she just couldn't pull the trigger because she knew my dad (she does not.)

Dreams are fun, aren't they?

I feel fitter every day, despite the fact that I have hit a plateau as far as my weight goes. I think I will start doing more weightlifting at the gym and see where that gets me. I also need to start weighing myself 1x/week like I was before--I've gotten in the bad habit of weighing myself every day. Now that IS a little obsessed.

My church's Christmas Cantata is Sunday. I have had one rehearsal and will have one more Saturday, and that will be it. The Saturday rehearsal is three hours, but it still will really be touch and go. Alan wants me to sing second, which is tricky. The funny thing is I feel better suited to sing the alto part now that I have been singing alto (or even tenor) in the show. So pray, wish, burn a sacrifice, or whatever you do for me!

I saw my sister this past Saturday. She comes up from New Orleans and only gets up once a year or so. She and my brother in law recently converted to Catholicism and I went to a Saturday mass with her. It was an interesting anthropological experiment. She pointed out the advent wreath and I informed her that we celebrate advent too. I even pointed out the Mary candle so now she knows I know a little about all this religion stuff. My church will have a candlelight service Christmas Eve and then I will go home to Kalamazoo that night. Christmas I will put up and decorate the tree (I know, weird, but if I didn't do it nobody would.) We will have dinner when Mom comes home, open presents, and then watch our Christmas specials (How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.) That's our funky,backwards tradition. It's different now that I'm grown up and Margaret is so far away. I don't have a family of my own and the cousins are all spread out, and all my grandparents are gone. So this is how we celebrate. It's not bad. It would be nice to have someone to be with but that's not in the picture now. And Mom and Dad have said they don't want grandchildren anyway, so that's not a big deal. It would be good if Margaret and Doug were closer. They used to live in Grand Haven and they would come over for the day. I have some pictures of that and it made me happy to look at them. Doug had buzzed his hair and dyed it green. He went through phases like that. He didn't like to have his picture taken, so he's holding his hand up and looking away. I might scan some pics and put them up on FB.

I think I might not try out for Enchanted April. I know there are a lot of qualified actresses and I might want to put my emphasis elsewhere. I want to keep up with the choir so the Easter program isn't as daunting as the Cantata has been. Also, I just signed up for a class at the Y that meets Tuesday nights. I didn't realize it until I was signing up but I did it anyway. I want to really concentrate on getting my body the way I want in the New Year. I found a picture of myself taken in 1993 where I look really good. I would love to look like that again. It's good because it shows what I looked like once and I feel I can get back to that. I didn't rip a picture of a 120-pound, 5'7" woman out of Self magazine--this is a real picture, a picture of me.I may be a little older, but I think I can get at least within five pounds of
that. I have put it up on my fridge, and will also put up a pic of me at my heaviest (the experts say to do this.)

My two Korean boys, Paul and Beda, are going home. We had our last meeting Tuesday. It will be sad to see them go. To be honest, I will also miss the money I got from working with them four times a week. The good news is their mom is talking to an adult about me and he may be contacting me. I am also going to meet with Dami twice a week. Her mom wants me to work on language arts stuff with her. My mom says this indicates that Dami's mom is not satisfied with the work Dami does at school. I'm a little unsure about exactly what she expects of me--she wants me to work out of the textbooks and give her homework, but I'm not sure how to do that without either replicating the teacher's work or stepping on the teacher's toes. We shall see. I will continue with the vocab work and that's something I can control at least.

Well, I'm going to dig out that 180-lb picture and stick it up next to the hot one. Hanging up now....

Work, eat, play

I didn't get the car done today and went to the mall instead. I have an appointment to get the car done Thursday. I'm trying to get my Christmas shopping done. We are all buying our own presents this year--that way we are sure to get what we want! Today I found some really neat boots I can wear with my skinny jeans. They are weatherproof and warm, as well as being chic.

I found a way to reach Paul--through baseball, of course. The season is over but I found a publication put out by USA Today that sums up the year and shows teams for next year. He went through and told me what players were good and bad, and what teams were good and bad. We talked about the differences between Korean and American baseball. He wants to be a baseball player for a Korean team because he thinks he's not good at English. I told him I thought his English was very good; he didn't respond to this. I think his reticence may come from a lack of confidence in himself.

Beda's lesson was hit and miss today. I went through a book of puzzles to find ones we could do. Some of them were easier than others, so I picked them. We tried some and he decided that some of them were too hard. I don't want him to feel inadequate. I will try to find him some easier stuff next time. The magazine from yesterday was really good. It's also good to have magazines with photos we can look at and talk about.

I found a good vocab lesson to do with Dami--it's about words that have roots in other cultures. In the first section, the words are defined. The next section asks the student to write a vocabulary word for each "word story", that is, a sentence about their origin. The third section draws connections between people's names and the word that comes from them: for instance, the author mentions that Vulcan is the god of fire and the student makes the connection to the word "Volcano". The student then uses the words in a sentence. There is then a short section where the student picks the best word to fit a definition. This was a lot of fun for her last time, as two of the three words were so obviously not right. Finally, she will have lists of words that require a vocab word to complete them. This is a really good book I am using: it is called "240 Vocabulary Words 5th Grade Kids Need to Know." I am having her write each word on a flash card and we are going over those every week. She did pretty well with her cards last week.

This Saturday I am going to Kalamazoo to see my sister. She is coming up from New Orleans and will be staying with my parents for a few days. I'm looking forward to her visit. Last time she came up she was vegan but she has decided not to do that anymore. She's now a plain old omnivore like the rest of us in our family. We talk on the phone every once in a while. There was a period of about a year when we didn't talk. It was right after her conversion to Catholicism and I don't know if those two occurrences were related. Mom asked her to talk to me and she said "Don't ask me that." I have no idea what was going on.

Worked out on the treadmill today. I went after having had dinner, so I just walked because I felt really full. I got my pulse up to the "athletic" level. I guess this meant that I did almost as much good as I would have if I had been running. Not as many calories burned, but a lot of work done. I weighed myself and I weighed 163, which is interesting. We weigh more as the day goes on, and I had just eaten. But I was only a pound more than yesterday. Does this mean my weight has gone down? I will find out tomorrow.

Hanging up now....

The end (for now)

Well, BT is over. We had a great run. The audiences loved it, we got a mostly positive review from the City Pulse, and Jane Zussman sent out a great review (although it came a little late.) The BEST part of the WHOLE run happened Saturday at 2. After the show, which was a good one, we were standing in the lobby for the "petting zoo." Dami came BOUNCING up to me holding a bouquet of beautiful yellow and orange flowers (no idea what they are.) I gave both her and her mom a hug. I love that whole family. She is such a sweetie and I'm so glad she came. And THEN I saw Paul and Beda and their mom--and Beda was holding a bouquet of roses for me. So my kids came and brought flowers! How cool! I was walking on air.

This week I am back at it at work. I worked with both boys today although I was scheduled to work with just Paul. I brought a kids' magazine for Beda and me to look at, and I'm glad I did, because working with him was kind of impromptu. Paul and I had a decent discussion. I think I make him nervous. I wish I could engage him more. Beda is great to work with. We always have lots to talk about. I may be working with both of them tomorrow night, depending on how it goes after they get their flu shots.

I have to plan a vocab lesson for Dami. I will look through the books I have and pick something good. Last time we did poetry words and compound words. I want her to understand how words are made. Knowing the poetry terms will help her as she moves into her poetry unit at school. She will have a jump on the other kids.

I have given Karthik the task of reading "The Jungle Book." He read ahead and I don't want to discourage this, but I need to keep engaging him. I have this month's "Stone Soup" for us to read. I might have him do some writing on his own--maybe a poem or something like that. Maybe he could even send it in.

I have good news and bad news on the body stuff. The bad news is that the scale says I weigh 162. Stephanie says this could be PMS. I also know I have been a little lax with treats backstage and late-night eating after the show. But the good news is I have some tops that are fitting better. A shirt that I plain couldn't fit into is fine now and a top that was tight across my chest and arms now hangs like it's supposed to. And the best part is my Renfaire bodice. I have two: a smaller leather one I got when I weighed about 145 and a larger cloth one. Summer 2008 I just barely fit into the leather one. Summer 2009 I didn't come close to fitting into it and just barely fit into the cloth one (this was really demoralizing, since this one was bigger.) I tried on the leather one the other day just for shits and giggles and it fit even better than it did in '08! It is comfortable now. Yay!

I know I talk a lot about body stuff and that may seem obsessive. I just want to be healthy. People say I don't look like I weigh 160 and I appreciate it. In general, I like the way I look. But I would like to be smaller overall and weigh less. And I want to make healthy eating choices and work out on a regular basis.

Dad lost three pounds! I don't know how long it's taken him to do it, but I know he hadn't lost any weight when I talked to him last week. Part of it is he is weighing himself on different scales--there is the scale at the gym and the scale at the doctor's (the one that showed the loss.) I think he may have lost even more--he doesn't weigh himself first thing in the morning. I try to weigh myself before Interval every week, to get as close to accurate as I can.

I will really miss BT. I'm sitting here feeling like I have someplace I need to go, but I don't. Living show to show can be hard. I would like to do two shows a year or so. I did two this year--both kids' musicals. I hope to get into "Enchanted April" next year. I'm going for Rose. She is my age and has an interesting transformation in the play. In some ways, she comes the farthest. I really want to work with Mary Job--she does such good work. I'm also going to look at Light in the Piazza and see if there's a role for me. Jane Falion came to the show and sat by herself on the s.r. side. She was the only one in that section. I wondered "Who is that?" and accidentally looked right at her. Real professional. Oh well.

Tomorrow I'm working with the boys, preparing lessons, going to the gym, and getting maintenance done on my car. So for now I'll say...

Hanging up now....

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Weighed myself today and I weigh 158. That means I have lost six pounds in a month! Wouldn't it be amazing if I could keep this up? Let's say I lost five pounds a month. That would put me at 143 in three months. And if I lose a little more than five pounds a month, I could be at 140 in three months--my goal weight! So I'm setting myself a goal of reaching 140 by end of February-beginning of March. That's not far away! Yay!

I get a little sad sharing my successes with Dad. He's not seeing the scale budge at all. I told him today that I just don't have stuff like chips lying around (they do.) I told him about healthy snacks and smaller portions. If I were him, I wouldn't really like hearing what I had to say. I am succeeding where he isn't, and that must be hard to hear.

Missing BT already. It is such a great show and great group of people to work with. I will be sorry to see it go. I have had such a blast playing a character that is so against type for me. I hope more bad guys are in my future. The character I'm going for in Enchanted April is kind of a bitch, so that's playing against type too. She has her reasons, though, and she blossoms like a "Rose" at the end. That's the next show I'm auditioning for.

Had a lesson with Paul and Beda today. I explained to their mom that I wouldn't be able to tutor them Thursday and Friday because of the show. She got the dates for the performances and may bring the boys. I would love it if all of my kids could come.

I think I'll put up my tree tomorrow. I love putting up my tree but the only ones who ever get to see it are my parents. I don't really have people over to my house. Maybe I should have Adam over this year. I still haven't cooked up that steelhead for him.

Church has pretty much gone by the wayside. I haven't gotten up for it in months and I don't miss it. I still pray on my own but I don't know if I even believe anymore. I would like to but I haven't heard the Voice for a while. I guess I still have that sense that things will be all right, and that comes from some higher source. But I've stopped making God the center of my life. I do have a devotional that a friend gave me that I read every night. I have issues with it, though, when it talks about the Enemy and things like that. I think claiming there is a devil is a cop out. Evil things happen because we let them happen. Maybe God is the opposite of that; the good we do is God. No one person we get things from (Many times people have said God is not Santa Claus) but something untouchable that is joy, peace, goodwill towards each other. I don't even know if I believe Jesus was the son of God anymore, but the truth is he came and taught us wonderful things, things we should abide by.

Time to get some yummy caramel apple spice.

Hanging up now....

Around Town

Well, the first weekend of BTM is over. I'm kind of sad in a way. This has been such a great rehearsal period, I kind of don't want the show to end. At the same time, I don't want it to drag on so I don't love it anymore.

I really "saw" Hilda once I did my hair and makeup. I teased out my hair so it stuck out all over my head and pinned up the middle to get it out of my face. This made it look like my hair was standing straight up. I also did "evil eyebrows" that Jane Z. told me how to do--you use an eyeliner to draw a line under the part nearest the nose and up above the midbrow. It really makes me look scary. I find the physical appearance jump starts the characterization. I have done a lot of work but the final touches really do crystallize the whole character.

It's been really interesting performing for this kind of audience. There are a lot of kids, which shouldn't be new--we had lots of kids in the audience for Thunderhoof too. But these audiences are a lot bigger, and louder, and more responsive. It's been both a challenge and a joy.

My folks came yesterday at 4:30. I couldn't help thinking about them as the show went on...would they like this, what would they think of that? I'm almost 40 and yet I'm still sensitive as to how they feel. I guess that never stops. Maybe it shouldn't.

I didn't work with the kids last week because it was production week, so it will be like going back after a vacation tomorrow. I have new magazines for Paul and Beda, and a new vocab lesson for Dami. I won't see Karthik this week because we meet Saturdays at 10 and I will be out late Friday night. And I won't see Ageesh either because I have to go in early on Friday. So I will be making a little less this next week. I didn't make anything last week, though.

Tomorrow is Interval and I'm going to weigh in. I was really careful over Thanksgiving. I had a little white meat turkey with no gravy, some stuffing, a serving of yams and one roll, salad, and cranberry sauce. We did have pie but I didn't overdo it. And I didn't have it the next morning as I've done before. Stephanie said to aim for not gaining any weight over the holidays and not worry about losing. I emailed Dad to give him my last update and he wrote back saying he had not lost "a damn pound." I wish things were easier for him. I don't think he does enough at the gym. He needs to do more cardio and ask more of himself with the weights. Mom has said that when they get a little more money they may set him up with a trainer again. She may be able to get him back on track.

When I was in Kalamazoo, I got to see a little bit of the camaraderie that exists between the members of the condo "neighborhood" my parents live in. They are wonderful people. Anita, one of my favorite people, had everyone over for pie and coffee. She had made a sugar-free apple pie and a pumpkin pecan pie. The ppp was awesome. I love that my parents have such a wonderful community to be a part of. They haven't always been the type that join groups so I'm glad they have found this group now.

Well, Interval is tomorrow and I need to go to bed.

Hanging up now....

Painting Day!

Today is the 18th. I realized something that made my heart stop. We only have THREE full rehearsals before we open! Tonight is a painting night, Thursday we are rehearsing what we'll be doing for Silver Bells, Friday is Silver Bells, and Thursday we are off for Thanksgiving. That leaves Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!

Okay, so I'm done panicking now. I think we will be ready. My voice is totally back and I feel really good about Hilda. The other actors are getting their characters down nicely. The songs are going well and numbers we had a lot of trouble with just a few weeks ago are smoother. Friday should be fun. Silver Bells kicks off the Christmas season in Lansing and is one of my favorite times of the year. I went with Heidi the first year, and it was bustling and crowded. The next two years I volunteered at Riverwalk helping people get in and out of the theatre and keeping order in the lobby. And this year I will be performing! We are doing the first half of the first act and the Monster of the Bremen Wood number.

Today Mark (Rooster) and I were on Coffee Break talking about the show. I was worried we would look like we didn't know what we were talking about since we didn't know what they would ask or anything. But it went fine. I also enjoyed getting up early to go in. I don't usually get up that early and I felt rested and like I had the rest of the day to do things. It was a nice day.

Okay, so I lost another pound! I am now at 161. Looks like I'll be at 160 for Thanksgiving. That's good enough. Dad is doing well; he lost two pounds in one week too. He's not drinking beer and is cutting his sugar intake, and he's seeing a difference. It's great that he is doing so well. I just hope he's getting to the gym enough. I have lost five pounds since I joined the Y. Taking the Interval class has made a big difference, I think. Also, I'm using protein powder, and that's increased how much protein I get by a lot.

I had a great lesson with one of my students, Dami, today. Her parents want me to work with her on vocab so today we did a vocab lesson. It was about using context clues to find meanings of words. There was a story about Theodore Roosevelt with words that were unfamiliar in bold print. She had to define the bold words based on cues in the text. She had two columns, one for what she thought the word meant and one for the dictionary definition of the word. She then looked them up and wrote the correct definition of the word. She guessed well and got about 1/2 of them. I was proud of myself for not giving her the answer. I really need to use "wait time" with her because I think she sometimes is waiting to see if I will give her the answer. I then gave her index cards and told her to make flash cards of all the words. She will then study these every day. She showed me the vocab list her mom has made her do. These are words from Dami's social studies textbook. There are a TON of them! Too much for her to remember, I think. We're taking it in smaller chunks. It's hard for kids to memorize big lists like that.

Well, I'm off to rehearsal. Paint paint paint!

Hanging up now....

Countdown!

We have two weeks and a few days before BT opens! I'm getting nervous. I don't feel as good about Hilda as I did. I don't know if it's because of my voice or if I just feel the pressure or if I need to do something differently. Ann hasn't said so but I don't think I'm doing as well as I should be. Well, I still have two weeks. And my voice is getting better--it doesn't hurt when I swallow and I can speak fine. My singing voice is coming back slowly. The huskiness is actually helping me sing in my chest voice--it slips down quite naturally.

I have lost four pounds in the last two weeks! I'm so excited. I wanted to be at 160 by Thanksgiving but it looks like I may be even farther down than that. If I continue to lose two pounds a week, I will be at 158. And then it's just another 8 pounds to 150, and another 10 to 140, which is where I want to be! If I continue to lose 2 lbs/wk, I can be there in 9 weeks. Wouldn't that be exciting? I would be happy to do it in 12 weeks, which is a scant three months. That would put me at my goal weight by February. Neato! It looks like I'm winning the challenge, which is not what I wanted to happen. I wanted us to arrive at the goal weight at about the same time.

Well, I gotta go--gotta tutor at 4. See ya!

Hanging up now....

Y-M-C-A!

It's fun to stay at the...

Well, I made a big decision today. I am now a member of the Y and have cancelled my Court One membership. I'm really glad about the decision. First of all, there was no enrollment fee and the monthly dues are much less. There are also a lot of classes offered and the facility is great. But there's something else that's hard to quantify, a feeling I have gotten each time I have gone there and that I got again today. There were tons of kids and adults, happy and playful,running around, of all different shapes, sizes, ages, and colors. On the other end of the spectrum is Court One, with its mostly white, upper class tennis players. I don't like what's been going on with the administration at Court One. The people at the Y seem happy and professional. I know Stephanie is happy there, and that's something that is very important to me. Also, this membership extends to any Y anywhere--that means I can go anywhere and there's a Y I can go to.

This damn cold or whatever is not going away. I had my meeting with the Indian guy on Friday and I could tell I was getting worse as I spoke. Then I had rehearsal and I could barely talk, let alone sing. I told my neighbor I couldn't teach their boy Saturday because of my voice, and I of course can't sing in church tomorrow. I'm hoping to be well enough Monday to work with the Korean boys. I just hope I can breathe well enough to sleep tonight. I've been taking Tylenol Cold and I will try putting Vicks on my feet tonight (yes, it really works!)

I really want to go to church tomorrow. It has all been about money lately. Money for the renovations, money for pledges, step up, etc. etc.. I just hate it. Church should not be about making money. I know the church is mainly supported by its parishioners but I still think it's an ugly combination. Well, maybe I would feel better if I had more money. Maybe I'll be able to contribute more now that I am making more. We'll see.

Had a fun lunch with Mom today. We went to the Indian buffet and I didn't eat too much. Today was also my first day at the Y (without Stephanie) and I did the elliptical. I will talk with Dad about what he's doing in his workouts and how he's eating. I'm trying to not eat after dinner. I got back in that habit again, and even if it's healthy food, I know I should stop it.

Well, I promised myself I would turn in early so I'm going to go.

Hanging up now....

One down!

I finished it I finished it I finished it! The first draft of Checking Out is "in the can." I've sent it to several friends and family members and am waiting to hear their comments. I'm really happy with it. I was working on the last scene and I was struck by the thought, "I may finish this tonight." And I did!

However, I can hardly breathe or talk. The not talking thing started a few days ago and the not breathing thing started today. I thought it was getting better but apparently it's getting worse. I'm not taking anything for it yet, but I have been advised to start. I don't think it's H1N1 but I'm taking precautions anyway. Washing my hands a lot, not seeing students, etc. I have been going to rehearsal so I hope it's nothing serious. That's all we need--for a castful of people to come down with the flu.

I'm down two pounds from last week. Dad got his base weight and we will start the challenge. Ladies and gentlemen, start your metabolism. My measurements are also down across my chest, biceps, and waist. I've been making pretty good food choices. There was a Halloween party this past Saturday where there was a lot of yummy food and I didn't eat any at all. Yay me!

So things are going pretty well in my corner. Tutoring is good and it's nice to have $$$ in my pocket. The show is a blast and I'm so excited about Checking Out. I submitted some plays in response to a call for new plays to be done in the Black Box. I heard from the woman in charge and she really likes them, one in particular. She's going to run them by the committee and see what they think.

Well, I've got to go to the copy shop to get some things ready for tutoring tomorrow. Hanging up now....

The usual stuff

Saw "A Few Good Men" with Adam today. Individual performances were great,but I wasn't crazy about the script. Then I went to the gym and did weights. I have been trying to get back on track with the workouts--I had a week or so there where I didn't go enough. I went five times this week, including working out with Stephanie. I am doing a new class which I call "Hell Class," but is really called "Interval." Stephanie teaches it over at the Y. We have been training there and is going to be working there exclusively starting next week. I'm thinking of going with her. It's a nice facility with friendly people. However, Court One is much closer--just down the street.

I challenged Dad to see who can lose 15 lbs. the fastest. He is going back to his old gym and will hopefully be eating better. I am trying to eat better and have cut out those sugary lattes. I'm just drinking iced coffee now, or tea. I have a cute new little coffeemaker I bought for my birthday, and it's working really well. It makes about a cup and a half. Even though it's decaf, it's still really good. I have found that Dunkin' Donuts is a lot better than Starbucks. Starbucks tastes burnt, whereas DD's has a wonderful full-bodied, almost vegetable note taste. I want to get some 8 O'Clock, but Meijer hasn't been carrying the decaf version. I may have to go elsewhere.

Tutoring is going well, however, I had a lesson FAIL with the little Korean boy. We read a copy of a Ranger Rick magazine...actually, we mostly looked at the pictures and talked about them. He really liked that. But then I brought a Highlights magazine and it was too hard for him. The stories were too difficult and he didn't even want me to read them to him. There were some puzzles that we tried to do but they were even too hard for me. There were lots of crafts, which didn't help us. I need to find more magazines suited to him. I will be looking tomorrow.

The show is going well, although tomorrow we are off book and I forgot to work on my lines! I will work on them as soon as I'm done here. It's 9:30 so I guess I should say....

Hanging up now....

Life is good

Bremen Town is a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, I am having more fun with this show since I did Much Ado About Nothing in my little theater group in Muncie, Indiana.Bremen Town may even be more fun. It's great to be mean and order people around. Also, I've never been in a show where I am instrumental in three songs. I've done a lot of chorus work, but never small groups or duets. I'm using my chest voice and am very loud. I was practising during the day when I thought people would be at work but it turned out not everybody was. And how did I know this? After I finished, I heard a faint "Whoo!" and applause. Neat, huh? I sing in my apt. a lot but I've never gotten that kind of response. They may have been being sarcastic but I think if they hadn't liked it they would have pounded on the wall or something. The show is very well cast--both the animals and the robbers are perfect. I'm a little concerned that the woman playing the donkey isn't very loud when she sings. She will be miked, though. I don't like the idea of miking the actors. I'm the loudest and I will really blow people out of the water if I'm miked. I jokingly think they could mike everyone but me. But that would upset the balance.

The tutoring is going really well. I'm meeting with the brothers twice a week and their mom just moved it up to three times a week. I'm charging her 15 bucks for the extra sessions so I'm actually making $100 off her alone. Then I make $40 off the man and his daughter, $20 off the Indian man, and $20 off the Indian kid. So I'm making $180 altogether off the tutoring. Plus I may have another student in the Indian boy's father as he wants me to help him work on his pronunciation during presentations at work. So that would take me up to $190.(I charge either $10 or $15 for "extra" sessions, depending on what the parents and I agree is reasonable.)

So things are going well. I haven't had time to work on Checking Out, but in a way I think that's good--I need to let it all simmer a bit. Maybe I'll have another dream.
It's time for lunch so I'll just say

Hanging up now....

Great news!

I. Got. Into. Bremen Town!!! Best of all, it was the part I really wanted. It was the one I thought I was too young for. The woman I thought would be perfect for it was at auditions, and I almost left when I saw her. She is also producing it. She said she was trying out but she didn't read the first night, staying out in the hall for some reason (to help latecomers, maybe.) The second night she came in and watched while I read and went back out. I got the call later that night and SCREAMED when the director told me (hope I didn't blow her ear out.) I asked her about Marilyn, and she said she would have helped out if no one else was right for the part. Ann was so sweet--when I said I thought Marilyn would have been a great Hilda, she said, "I think YOU'LL be a great Hilda." Rehearsals start tomorrow and I am so excited!

I am partway into CO's last scene. I have written George's big epiphany monologue. I am still not sure where to stick the individual parts. I trust it will all unfold as it's supposed to.

Went home this weekend and caught some gills. Dad caught quite a few and I caught three. We realized too late that I had the wrong lure (jig.) I used his after a while and as soon as I dropped it in I got a bite. I got two nice sized ones and one that was sort of on the small side. Dad said it was 7 1/2 inches but I think it was more like 6 1/2. We ordered Chinese that night and I had the best Mongolian Beef EVER. I also got to have lunch with Mom and we had a nice talk.

I have LOTS of students--I'm very blessed. I am working with four kids now: two brothers, a girl, and one boy who lives downstairs from me. That's convenient because we meet Saturdays at 10. His mom wanted to meet at 7 AM! Way too early for me, esp. on a Saturday. The boys are low intermediate, but the girl is really advanced. She has no accent and reads very well. We're going to work through the school curriculum. The next thing we're going to work on is focusing on playwrighting. I think I'll be able to teach that (ahem.) I am also working with three men. One of them is the father of the girl, and he is fun to work with. He's about low intermediate. The other Korean man is low beginner. The third guy, an Indian man, is high intermediate. He understands English very well but wants to work on his accent so people can understand him better. He is understood by people at work and I understand him, but he is talking about "everyday" people. Personally, I think the people he is talking about are not experienced dealing with those who do not speak English as a first language, people who have a smaller worldview. He mentioned people in fast food restaurants (especially at the drive-thru!) and people talking on the phone. I personally have no problem understanding him, but he does certainly have an accent. I don't want to destroy the way he talks (not possible anyway; he's past the "golden period,") but I have demonstrated how American English is a lazy language. He's going to keep a list of words and phrases that are misunderstood, and we are going to go over how to "Americanize" them. I hesitate to say how most Americans pronounce them. I just talk with the intermediate guy and the low beginner and I are finding topics and discussing them.

So, lots of good things are happening in my life now. I will get to go back to working once a week with Stephanie because of the increased cash flow, and I'm going to start voice lessons with the woman who teaches the girl who starred in Thunderhoof (she has a golden voice.) I have a new friend in Kris, my "Lansing mom"; I went over to her house for dinner again tonight. She is working on her house and tonight she was painting her living room. I got to meet her sister and one of the s'ghetti girls came over. Have I talked about them? They are Kris' best friends, and the name came from a card she got with a picture of four little girls throwing spaghetti at each other. So now they are the s'ghetti girls.

Going to go back to FB and see if there's any more "news."

Hanging up now....

Goodbye Patrick

I fell in love with Patrick Swayze when he wowed us with Dirty Dancing. I was 16 and it quickly became my favorite movie. A friend posted a clip from To Wong Foo which, amazingly, I have never seen. It is pretty cool. He plays his character as a dignified and experienced queen. His illness took him so fast. We don't understand why those we love are taken from us before their time, and perhaps we'll never know. This goes back to this whole idea of cancer coming from the pit of hell that one of my prayer buddies mentioned (I wrote about this a while ago.) My pastor believes there is evil here on earth, that we don't need to believe in a supernatural evil. She thinks we can stop it and that "it makes God cry." So people working to cure cancer just need to work harder. And we can rid the environment of carcinogens. And people can stop smoking or being exposed to smoke (when are we going to have smokefree bars like those in California? I smoked when I lived there and it never bothered me. We just went outside to smoke.)

Well, we know he's dancing in Heaven tonight....

I have three new tutoring clients. I meet with one of them tomorrow morning, one tomorrow afternoon, and one starting next Monday. I'm looking forward to it; I just hope I'm up to the challenge. I'm glad to have three at once. I am charging $20 an hour, and I think this is not unreasonable. So this will be an extra $60 a week. Now if I just got two more clients...I could be making $100 a week. That would be nice.

Well, I'm off to bed so I can be fresh for my clients tomorrow. Hanging up now....

Steelhead!

My plans to work on CO Wednesday were pushed aside by a call from my mom. We have a friend who goes out on Lake Michigan to catch big fish like steelhead, salmon and lake trout. We have been trying to go all summer but haven't had a good day to go. It was more restricted when I was in the show, but now that I don't have that and I don't have a job, we decided I could go during the week. So Mom called about 5:30 on Wednesday to say tomorrow looked like a good day and that I should come to Kalamazoo. I got there at about 8:30, after packing and eating dinner. We had to get up at 6 the next morning, and I tossed and turned, so I was worried about having to get up. But I was so excited it wasn't a problem. We got out to the lake at about 8:30, leaving from Saugatuck. Getting out to the lake and putting the lines in took about half an hour. I caught the first fish at about 9. It was such a thrill! It took about twenty minutes to reel it in. And what a payoff--a beautiful steelhead that was probably about 5 lbs. Dad caught one not long after and then I caught my second one. This one got tangled up in another line and for one terrible moment I thought I'd lost him, because the tension disappeared. Dad then caught a lake trout. It was beautiful--I love the way they're mottled. Our friend thought it was out of season so we threw it back. I caught my third on a shorter line so it didn't take as long to reel in--maybe five minutes. It really put up a good fight and it was HUGE! We guessed 7 lbs. That one was the most fun to catch and a good end to the day. The guys cleaned them and we took them home and ate two fillets that night. They were GOOOD! Dad sent me home with 6 fillets and I plan to cook up one for Adam soon.

Tired--no reason to be but I am anyway. So I'll say good night.

Hanging up now....

Again, sorry about the repeats. I've been looking back over the last few blog entries and have seen stuff repeated. I just can't keep track of what I've written before. Just a failing of mine. I'll try to remember what I wrote and didn't write, and try to write about what is happening NOW to avoid the problem.

So what is happening NOW? I have finished the penultimate scene. I'm very happy with it. It's only 5 pages long but I think it's enough. It covers a lot of good stuff. It ends on a sort of suspenseful note that was kind of unexpected. I've outlined the final scene and will try to start that tomorrow. I'm a little afraid of writing this scene for some reason. Is it because it's the last scene? Am I worried that I won't be able to tie it all up neatly? Have I just enjoyed writing it so much I don't want it to end? If a play is like a child, writing the end is like watching it grow into adulthood--it's bittersweet. Also, there's that fear of sharing it with others. There are several people I want to show it to when this draft is done. I'm pretty much over that fear, though. I think it's just hard because I want it to be good. Hopefully I will get braver as I write it.

I applied to Dunkin Donuts. Haven't heard back from them. I had a dream that I worked for them and I made 100 bucks every two weeks. Better than Evan P., who had lost his job at Channel 6. Michigan's economy--that's the stuff of nightmares.

My trip to Kzoo was nice. Dad and I caught a dozen 'gills. I caught a big one but banged it on the side of the boat and it got away. That's the fun of fishing--getting the fish out of the water and into the boat. Then out of the boat and into the pan, and out of the pan and into my tummy. Yum!

We also had a cookout which was great. I made a pasta salad that went over pretty well. Recipe: 1 box shell pasta, about 8 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 red bell pepper, and one can artichoke hearts. Toss with Kraft Cucumber Ranch. Easy and tasty yum!

Saw my cousin Ric and second cousin Travis at the lake on Sunday. Travis has sustained a football injury and probably won't be able to play the rest of the season. It will be really hard for him. He's into both football and track. He's looking at a college that has a good track program. Good for him. We were talking about reasons for going to college and later Dad asked Travis "So Travis, who are you?" Way to put the teenager on the spot, Dad. I came back with "That's another good reason to go to college." Kids his age don't want to talk about who they are! Especially to old people!

Auditions for "The Bremen Town Musicians" are coming up soon. The script is really cute and the music is fun. There are two female parts; I'm probably too old for one and too young for the other. Same story as usual. But I'm going to give it my best shot and sing "I Want to Be Bad," one of the songs Kelly and I worked on.

I met with Clara yesterday and she gave me the materials for the educational plays. The materials are advertising aimed at schools, not a call for actors. I'd still like to contact them regarding employment. It's a long shot but we'll see. Maybe I could send them a resume and a headshot. I should get my headshots redone anyway.

I have spent way too much time on Facebook today. It's hard to fill your days when you don't have a job. I worked out today and that was good, and I worked on Checking Out, but I spent most of the day on Facebook. I did search for jobs on Craigslist a bit. I'm not right for most of the jobs they advertize. I don't have the experience or the training.

How can someone who has spent much of her adult life in school have so much trouble finding a job?

Hanging up now...

Things are clipping along. Checking Out is going well. I'm well into the penultimate scene. I decided that it's not such a bad thing to have a dialogue-driven play, rather than an action-packed one. There is enough action to keep it interesting. I was concerned at first that it would be too short, but now I think I might have to cut it. I don't really have a way of knowing how long a scene is. I figured ten pages=ten minutes, but I don't know if this is right. It depends on spacing and stuff like that. My play Marriage of Convenience was about an hour and a half, and it was about 100 pages. But it was more widely spaced. CO has lines with the speaker and the dialogue on the same line, whereas Marriage was written more like a screenplay with the speaker centered and the line underneath. So what to cut? That would be a 2nd or even 3rd revision step.

I'm not good at revising. I revised several times in my page-to-stage class, but I wasn't satisfied with the final product. I hate the process. Some people edit as they go along, but I prefer going back after the whole draft is finished. I'm afraid I would never finish otherwise. I think all writers have to choose their own style of revising. I like the idea of making comments in the margin and then using those as a jumping-off point.

No news on the job front. My emails from NES Staffing are all telling me to go back to school. No more school for me!!! I have gotten a few leads from two women who may have something. One of them was the musical director for the show and she has some info about a job where people go into Chicago schools and do educational plays. That would be a perfect fit for me having both the theater and the educational background. Another friend has someone she is going to talk to about my situation. In the meantime, Dunkin' Donuts is hiring--I'm trying to decide if I want to pursue that. It's a job at least.

I talked to my pastor about my feelings concerning the church. She is trying to coordinate a more contemporary service that will meet at 5 on Saturdays. This might be a good service for me. The only thing about it that I don't like is it would be lead by someone other than my pastor. Too bad--I really like her. She has very progressive ideas on many subjects. For one, she doesn't believe we need to have Jesus in our hearts to get into Heaven. She says that a Buddhist or a Muslim still believes in God, and they don't need Jesus to have a relationship with God. She also says that she doesn't think God cares about "whose what goes where" when it comes to sexuality. It is ideas like these that keep me in the church. Hers was the first face I saw when coming into the church, and it is that face that I associate with the church. This is why it will be hard to give her sermons up.

I'm going home for Labor Day. Dad and I will fish on Friday and there is a block party Saturday. We will go out to the lake Sunday. So that should be a fun weekend.

I watched the DVD of Thunderhoof and was really impressed. We all did a great job. Dan really came through. Everyone was professional and funny at the same time, and the show was just a delight to watch.

Exciting news about Kelly--she got in her first show at SIU. It's Company, and she is Susan. It's a role for a high soprano, which is a little odd. I've always seen her as more of a mezzo. But apparently the director sees her as something different. As far as me musically, I'm going to look into the Greater Lansing Arts Chorale. I don't think I'll do the choir at church. And I'm probably not going to do prayer group. I'm seeing a Lugnuts game with my folks so I won't be able to make it this Thursday. I'll try to go next Thursday after that and explain to them that I am moving into a different relationship with God. I pray on my own but I'm not sure if I want to continue with this group. I will think about it and pray about it on my own and see if I can figure out what to do and what to tell them.

I went to the Mich. RenFest this weekend. It was great. I went with the costumers from the show and some of their friends. I am becoming good friends with one of the costumers, Kris. I think she is going to become my Lansing mom. She is just so very warm and fun to be around.

I think I'll go back to FB and see if there is any news. Hanging up now....

Check out Checking Out!

I'm in a groove! I am working my way to the second-to-last scene in the show. It's very robust and funny. I was worried that I had lost that "funnyness" but it's still there. I'm really enjoying writing it. There are some touching moments and unexpected (even to me) turns. I've solved the problem about the pageant scene--it will be suggested by lights and music coming from offstage and the stage will be empty. This will go on for about five seconds. Then the lights will go down and we will be in the last scene. I'm debating putting in a cameo role at the end of the show. He needs to be a very attractive African-American man who is instrumental in the "bad guy" getting his. But I hate to make an actor sit around for an hour and a half. Maybe he could be one of the background characters too (I have thought about having various people come in and out of the scenes as patrons of the hotel.)We'll see.

I might have a lead on the job front; one of my friends from Facebook who I did a show together with ages ago and I have been communicating. She asked what I have been up to and I told her I was looking for work. I said if she knew anyone who was looking for someone with degrees in theater and English Education to send them my way. She wrote back that she might have someone who could help me. I'd love to work with theater in the schools. So now I've got two leads! Better than working at Subway.

Time for lunch. Hanging up now....

Dreamin' and workin', just not for a livin'

I'm not going to turn this into a dream blog like Gordy's; mine are nowhere near as interesting. But I did have some meaty ones last night that I thought I'd share. One concerned Holly. I was driving there alone through a freak snowstorm. Said snowstorm was even more freaky since the fest was actually near the Alabama state line, as Kris M. had told me. I spun around several times but made it to the festival okay. I was wearing my wench costume with long sleeves and my winter boots, but oddly enough I was not wearing my cloak. By the time I got there the weather had cleared up and I became involved in a scene between some of the festival actors. It concerned a guy yelling at another woman over not serving him quickly enough. He made a pass at me and I ignored him because he had treated the woman so badly. He left in a huff, saying I was just a peasant and he would get revenge.

The other dream was a movie. It starred Karen Allen, Christian Bale, (of course) and a teenage actor. The teenager was originally CB but I realized that he was too old. He was really too young for the role too, since his character was the father of the teenager (CB is younger than me.) The story was set in the Old West and the main character was a bank robber. The first scene was really neat--he walks into a bar that Karen Allen owns (a lot of this movie is inspired by Indiana Jones) and starts bragging about what a great robber he is. She asks him how many robberies he has done. He says he hasn't done any yet, but he is tough enough to start right away. She says "You know, girls go to finishing school. This is your finishing school." She nods to the bar patrons and they get up and beat the shit out of him. He survives and CB calls him over to talk. More fun stuff--Kevin Kline played the law. This isn't going to turn into a screenplay because there are a lot of holes, including KA giving CB up to save her son (yes, the boy is their son--more Indiana Jones.) I don't think a woman would do that. Maybe. But it was a fun dream.

The third dream was disturbing and involved Shannon B. I don't want to go into it. Suffice it to say it was a dream I had to wake myself up from. And there were monkeys.

I have some really exciting news. Last night I went through what I had of Checking Out and made comments in the margin (I love Microsoft Word.) Then I got an idea for the picture beginning the next scene. I am now into that and have done the final "funny moment." I have decided the contest scene will actually be suggested by lights and music from offstage and will just be a few seconds. Then the only scene left to write is the Sunday morning check-out scene. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In going back over it, I don't think it's too static. I think it will be ready for second opinions and revising within the next month. !!!!!

No news on the job front. I have put my resume on careerbuilder.com and will do the same for monster.com. I just don't have the kind of long-term job experience that most people my age do. The truth is, I haven't had to work, so there are long gaps when I haven't. However, I got an exciting lead--the music director for Thunderhoof has some books about working in Chicago classrooms. This entails going into classrooms and doing educational theater. How perfect is that? I have a degree in both theater and education. I'm really interested in finding out more.

Well, I'm hungry and I want to work on CO more. Hanging up now....

Let's boogie!

Yesterday was a great closing performance. We had 206 people, which is practically a full house. Several friends came, and the kids got a lot of autographs afterwards. Strike went fast--at least the part I was in. The guys were still taking down the set when I left, but I took out the trash and vacuumed the green room and dressing rooms. I brought Shannon (played Blonderella) my leather bodice to see if it fit. Depressingly, it was almost loose. Well, I know I shouldn't compare myself to other bodies. We are going to the Michigan Renaissance Festival next week with the women who costumed the show.

Tonight was Zumba. I don't know if I've talked about it before, so I'll go over it now. It's a form of Latin American dance that functions as a great aerobic workout. Stephanie teaches it. It usually meets on Wednesday nights but it has been meeting Mondays over the summer. I wasn't able to go to either of them previously because of rehearsals. Now I have time. It's fun to dance, but I am terrible. I vaguely remember being a good dancer, but that has gone away now. Well, I still get a good workout.

No bites on the job front. I've put my resume on careerbuilder.com and am still looking at other postings. I'm also checking in with Personnel World. One of the guys in the show, Mike, suggested I check with the City of East Lansing to see what they have. I went down to City Hall and looked at their job postings. They had two part-time positions open coordinating programs for kids. So I have applied for those. Another interesting lead comes from the music director of the show. Her mother is sending her a pamphlet about jobs in Chicago where people go into the schools and do educational shows. That would be great for me given my background in both theater and education. I just hope I can actually see the pamphlet. If not, I can probably look it up online.

I've pretty much given up on the online dating stuff. No bites. I'm more interested in finding someone here. I haven't given up hope. There are still people out there.

One of my Facebook friends put up a video of his daughter and Marty Underhill singing selections from "Annie." Amy and Marty played Annie and Daddy Warbucks in 2003, and I was Grace (the secretary.) The video was from Starlight Theater's "Starry Night," a fundraiser for the theater. I'm sorry I missed it. They used video footage of the original production, and I'm in it. That was fun to see.

Not much progress on Checking Out--I have to figure out where the characters are in the play. That is, mechanics such as who is where, and when the scene is taking place. I'm trying to time the scenes so they are spaced out over the weekend. The first act took place Friday, and the second act started Saturday. The trick is that much of the action of the pageant is taking place offstage, so the behind-the-scenes stuff is what we'll see. The last scene will take place during check-out time on Sunday. It's possible that I'm done with the majority of it, that I just need to flesh things out and finish them off. There's a few things that need to happen before the end rolls around. The couples need to reconcile, the "bad guy" needs to get his, the travelers need to get sent off, and the staff needs to do their thing. That all will get tied up in the last scene. There are two more funny pictures in my head, one that can happen in the next scene and one that can happen in the last scene. Maybe there will be more funny moments.

Hanging up now....

Goodbyes

I was playing on Facebook on a Saturday night...bored...when I realized, "I haven't blogged in ages!" So here I am.

Thunderhoof is almost over; tomorrow is the last performance. It has been fun but I'm ready to say goodbye to it. I feel like everyone brought a lot to this production and we made it our own. We got a great review in the Pulse, although the reviewer did criticize Dan (actor, not director.) He is getting better. His voice is just so wonderful, it doesn't really matter if his acting isn't the best. And he has been getting better and better. I think he has a great future ahead of him theatrically.

It's been interesting working with Brian. I think he has really enjoyed doing this show, which is a surprise to me. I never in a million years thought he would have done a kids' show. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the kids at all. When we were going out, he took one of those "Keep away from children" stickers off a cigarette lighter and put it on a framed photograph of himself. That's how I think of him when it comes to kids. I guess he's grown and changed too.

One of the 'oke kids, Kelly, has gone off to grad school. She wants to get her master's and go into performing. She is great but I want to tell her to teach or something. She was my voice teacher and is really good at that. I'm not saying she isn't great on stage, she is. But it is so hard to go all the way. Who knows, maybe she will have just the right combination of skill and luck. We'll see where her road takes her. I admire her bravery.

Bad news on the fitness front--I have gained an inch back around my waist. Ick. But I've lost in my arms and legs. I kind of wonder if Stephanie was measuring right, or if she measured wrong last time. I certainly don't feel like I've gained an inch. I can tell I've lost in my arms though, and that is great. I have never had slim arms but now I seem to carry a lot of fat in them. So a loss is great.

Summer is almost over--it's only 9:30 but it's dark out. Fall is coming. I like fall, but we never get a long one. It seems like we have only a few weeks of fall and then winter whooshes in. I hope we have a three-month-long fall: September, October, and November. I think fall should start on Labor Day and go through Thanksgiving. Then winter should last from Thanksgiving through somewhere between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day. By St. Patrick's Day, the snow should have definitely cleared up and spring should be here. That's my decree.

I'm reevaluating my connection to the church. I haven't gone in a while and I don't feel like I'm missing it. I still believe in God, but I don't know if I need to be in any kind of organized church. There have been times in my life when I've clung to the church because I felt I needed it to combat something difficult in my life. Right now my life is pretty much in order and I don't feel that desperation that sometimes leads me into the church body. I'm going to talk to my pastor about this. She has me down to be the liturgist September 6 and I want to tell her I can't do it. I'm not sure how I will approach the prayer group about this. They will be worried that I'm not attending any more. I've already started the separation these last few meetings as I have been in rehearsal. I will have to call up our leader and try to explain to her. She will probably think I'm giving in to Satan or something. She pretty much sees things in black and white and spends most of her waking hours thinking about God, reading about God, and praying to God. I think that's great, but it's not for me. I don't even read the Bible every day like we're supposed to. I guess I have trouble with that "supposed to." There are many ways to be a Christian, by our thoughts and actions as well as the example we set, and I only want to do what God wants for me. I don't think that necessarily involves going to church and singing hymns. I will miss singing in the choir, but I've had some inclination to check out the Greater Lansing Arts Chorale (I think that's what it's called.) That would be an outlet for me to use my voice. Kelly was in it as well as some other people I know who have beautiful voices.

We had two shows today, one at 2 and one at 4:30, and tomorrow we have another matinee. So I'm going to call it an early night.

Hanging up now....

Keep on keepin' on

It occurred to me in my sleep that I could wear the bodice if I just loosened the sides, so I did that and wore my wench costume when I went with my mom the next weekend. It was Celtic weekend so we saw Irish dancing and Highland games. That's where they throw the rocks and stuff. One guy threw a twenty pound rock 96 feet! The Irish dancers were very good. One of them slipped because the stage was very wet (it rained off and on that day) but she recovered right away.

Why do I love the renfaire so much? A lot of it has to do with the fact that I love playing dress-up and being different characters. I have collected my garb over the years and have fun with it. I also really like the shows--they appeal to the actress in me. I'm not a big crafts person, but the booths are kind of fun to look at. The food is pretty normal, unless you want a turkey leg or something (they are very greasy and hard to eat.) My friend from Chicago likes the people watching, and I guess I do too.

I have written a nice bit for Checking Out. It concerns two characters having a misunderstanding in their conversation--both of them are saying things that mean something else to the other. It's hard to keep it on track; I keep having to remind myself what each one is thinking. It could work in a really good way.

I can't believe it's August already! We have just not had summer weather this year at all. I have only laid out by the pool once this year. That is, laid out by the pool when my crazy mother wasn't there to make me persevere despite cool weather. I was visiting at home and she was determined to lie out, even though it was cloudy and windy. She only gets certain days off, so she was trying to get the most out of it as possible.

The set for Thunderhoof is coming together. I helped with sawing and screwing yesterday. Today I painted the "Blondania" section of the set. It's sort of a bluish gray. The hardest part was getting the paint into all the nooks and crannies made by screws and ripples in the material. The guys have gotten the platforms and stairs put up. There's a great gumdrop tree, and Fran and I are going to put flowers on the flower boxes (which I helped build.) One part of me wishes more people had come, but the other part says it's better this way, rather than having a bunch of people standing around waiting for a job.

Speaking of jobs, I have just applied for a Staples job. It involves working on a Business Development Team. The position has a salary and benefits, and I believe a 401(k) as well. It looks pretty interesting. I wrote a bang-up cover letter and sent that along with my resume. We'll see what happens.

Hanging up now....

Renfaires and such

Well, my friend from Chicago came down Friday and we went to the renfaire Saturday. We had a great time. The weather was almost perfect--the weather forecast predicted rain but it held off. The clouds meant it wasn't overly hot or sunny, but it wasn't cold. I was a little disappointed in what I wore--I had to wear my lady costume rather than my wench costume because my bodice didn't fit. I must have gained a lot of weight since last summer--I was able to wear my smaller bodice then and I didn't fit into the bigger one this year. Wenches have more fun than ladies. My friend says I've had a hard year, so it's to be expected.

I didn't feel one way or the other about our visit. I wasn't swept off my feet by my feelings but I did feel there might be something there. I've had a funny feeling lately that I may not be able to love. I've had some opportunities to open myself up and the feelings just haven't been there. Not sure why. The "I'm afraid of being hurt" thing might be part of it. I have been hurt twice in recent memory, even before things got too complicated. One time I was made to feel old--the guy was 27 and felt we were too different in age. The guy from Chicago and I are the same age, so that wouldn't be a problem. The other guy and I had different expectations from the relationship, and it was too complicated.

So that's my love life. I am still looking for a job and working out. My work on Checking Out has slowed to a standstill. I did have a bit where there is some movement and something other than the characters just talking to each other. I need to revisit it and start again. I need to look at it with fresh eyes. I want to send the first act to my friend in Chicago--maybe he will have some insights for me.

Speaking of scripts, I have submitted three plays to Riverwalk to be considered for staged readings. One is a one act, one is a full length, and one is made up of three separate plays with similar themes. Basically, they're all tragedies. Not exactly a light evening out. The full length has a great part for a local actor and director who has a lot of pull in the Riverwalk community. If he likes it, maybe it will get produced.

Rehearsals are going pretty well, although Monday was a little rough. We were supposed to be off book for Act I but some people needed help. The blocking was thrown off too, partly because Dan wasn't there and partly because people had blocking written in their scripts and they couldn't use them. We did not have rehearsal last night and we won't tonight, but tomorrow we will run the show again and we will have to be off book for the entire show. Of course I'm off book already, given the fact that I have so few lines. I think one of the people that will have the hardest time is Brian, because he doesn't have his stage directions. And it was hard for him not having Dan to play off of. Brian is finally on Facebook--I'm wondering if he will read my note with him in it. He has looked as some pictures of me already; it's amazing how much is out there. We make our lives as public as we want to.

Hanging up now...

Almost there!

The Silverleaf Renfaire is Saturday! Even better, my friend from Chicago will be here in less than 24 hours. We're working on a quiz, "Who are you in the Elfquest universe?". It's fun to share stuff like that--we've been following the story since we were kids.

My cat has to undergo radioiodine treatment for her thyroid. She is hypothyroid so they are going to inject her with a radioiodine solution. She will have to be confined to a special room for one week, basically in isolation. The only people she will see are the techs that come in to give her her food. There are no windows and no light--only a small nightlight at night. Then she has to be isolated for a week at home. She will be in the study and I will only get to see her for a few minutes each day.

This is torture! I would have gone with surgery but the doctor I talked to at State said the parathyroid is often damaged during surgery, and the animal needs calcium supplements after that. Unfortunately, I can't give her a pill. She won't let me. So because of her stubbornness she has to have the other treatment. I feel horrible. I will miss her so much over the next week, and then having her crying in the study for another week will be so hard.I hope everything goes okay.

Rehearsals are going well--things are coming together. We didn't have a full cast last night, but we did have some costumes to try on. The dress they're having me wear is pretty ugly. But we have to wear what's given us. I wore some really ugly costumes in Flowersso I am used to it. We also did lobby shots, which I have seen. Some of them are nice. I am the only one wearing any sort of bright color, except for those in our show T-shirts, which are yellow. I look pretty big. I went to lunch with a friend today who thought I had "packed on some pounds." He wasn't being mean, just truthful. I have a long way to go. I didn't work out today or yesterday. I will try to make it there tomorrow. I can't do my usual class because Kevin is coming at 6. But maybe I can work out before then.

Hanging up now...Oh, the story of "Hanging up now."

When I lived in San Francisco, I was in a play called Suburbia 3000in which I played a girl who thought she was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, My song was "Do you wanna talk on my telephone?" I had a telephone that I thought let me talk to the dead. When I was writing my journal entries at the time, I always ended by saying "Hanging up now..." So that's where that comes from.

In the show, I met a woman who played the King--a character who really thought he was Elvis. (Get it? The King?) She was the only female Elvis impersonator, Elvis Herselvis. I'm Facebook friends with her now. Looks like she has dropped the Elvis Herselvis persona but she still performs with a band called "The Mighty Slim Pickins." She still has the same look. And she is still a great performer. She posted a link to the band's video for their song "13 Times" which is just a great song. I still have the melody for it going through my head. I love love love her voice. Picture Elvis crossed with kd lang. Hot!

Hanging up now for real....

Forging ahead

More good news to report. I have lost 4 1/2 inches total in the last five weeks, including and inch and a half around my waist. I feel great! I wore a bikini when I went to Kalamazoo and my parents thought I looked good. I guess the tape measure doesn't lie. My weight is pretty stable, but it's slowly going down too. And I'm working out about four days a week. I'm working with Stephanie every other week. It's too expensive to do every week. But I do take other classes like kickboxing and Zumba, a Latin American dance. Those are covered by the cost of the monthly membership.

Rehearsals are going well. I'm getting positive feedback from the director. My costar, the guy who plays King Zuzz, had a suggestion that was really nice. There is a part where the two of us are onstage and he is talking to a third character. My costar, Bob, turned to me and said that this was weird, that I should have some of the lines. So the director let us split them up. So I have a little bit more of a part! That's really nice. I thought it was great of Bob to think of that.

Silverleaf Renaissance Faire is this Saturday! It has a special place in my heart as the first renfaire I ever went to. My friend from Chicago is coming down to go with me. Not sure how that will go, with the developing feelings I have for him. He lives far away so I'm not sure if rekindling our romance would be a good thing. Besides, we were basically kids. Who knows what it would be like now.

No luck with finding a job. I have applied at everywhere from Macy's to Subway; you'd think that something would turn up. I checked in with Personnel World and they didn't have anything for me. I did the tutorials they sent me for Microsoft Excel but I still don't get it enough to do the test they sent me. I hope to have a job where I don't need to use it, but it's a good thing to know how to do.

Had a little progress with Checking Out; I inserted some action and funniness. I'm worried about who may be perceived as the main character, though. The person I wanted to be the main character doesn't have the line load a main character usually does. In fact, the person with the biggest line load is actually someone I envisioned having a small part. I don't know what a director would do with the curtain call. I was in a production of Once Upon a Mattress where the director originally planned for the Queen to come out last. This was very upsetting to the girl playing Winnifred; I asked the director why he had done this and he said the Queen had more lines. I don't believe that's a reason for a character to take the final bow. We got it straightened out and the woman playing Winnifred got to come out last. People can get huffy about curtain calls; I know I have been surprised a couple of times. I came out with Adam for Flowers for Algernon. This didn't make sense to me. I think I should have come out with the doctors and he should have come out alone. But I guess the director thought we had more equal parts.

That's all, I guess. Hanging up now....

Even more good news...

I haven't written in a while. I wanted to store up news so it actually looked like I had something to talk about. Rehearsals are going well; I've made a few suggestions to the director about things that might be funny and he's going to try them. Although I do have only a small part, I want to contribute as much as I can. We are doing blocking and will start running acts on the 8th. I am in both acts so I will have to be there for every rehearsal starting then. We don't have to be off book until the 20th, but as I have said before, I'm already almost off book myself. The one that will have the most trouble will be Dan, who plays Prince Alex. He's a real "musical" actor--by that I mean he's wonderful when it comes to singing but still learning when it comes to acting. I'm sure he will do fine, though--he looks the part and relates well to Brian (my horsey ex.) Brian will also have a hard time--it's a physically demanding role and much of it is based on cues from Dan. I think they can learn to work together and it will be good for both of them.

I spent a few days in Kalamazoo for the holiday. Dad and I had better luck fishing this time. I caught five average sized 'gills and Dad caught a big one. He also caught a HUGE crappie--ten inches long. I LOVE eating crappie. They taste like something between bluegill and bass. I took some pictures with my cameraphone and would like to get them posted. I would have to get them put on a CD at Centennial--not sure how much that would cost me. We went out to Smith Lake (near Dowagiac, where we have a cabin) and saw my relatives. Both my cousin Dave and my cousin Amanda have s.o.'s. I like Dave's but am not so sure about Amanda's. He seems a little sketchy to me. Maybe I'm being overprotective of her. He's not any sketchier than some of the guys I've brought there. I feel lucky to be part of a pretty much functional family. We all had a great time together.

Mom and Dad and I saw Transformers last night. I was expecting it to be a lot of fun and it delivered. Sure, the plot and characterizations were pretty thin. As I told my parents, it's not an Oscar-winning film (except for maybe the special effects) but it is thoroughly enjoyable. It also follows the trend we have had in movies lately of presenting a positive view of the military. I think since the first Gulf war our picture of the armed forces has changed to a respectful one. Very different from the films starting in the sixties and continuing through the eighties. Transformers didn't present a very good picture of Obama, which was interesting. This is not your Hollywood liberalism at work. That ought to shut the Right up.


Speaking of which, I'm pretty amazed at the Sarah Palin news. Stepping down? Why? We haven't gotten an answer to that question yet. It's very odd. But a good thing for those commie liberals like me, right?

Hanging up now....

Good news

Well, I've got some good news to report. I am in a show called Thunderhoof and the Prince. It's a kids' show that goes up in August. It's being directed by the same guy that directed Fiddler and Annie, a really nice guy. He is one of my favorite directors. I have two roles: a henchman and Queen Zuzzette of Napalot. They are both small roles, but that means I won't have to be at every rehearsal and it will be easy to get my lines down. I basically have them learned already. Actually, none of the roles are that big except for Prince Alex and the horse, Thunderhoof. My ex, the weird one, is playing the horse. It's hilarious! I can't believe he's doing a children's show. He is definitely not fond of children. But he couldn't pass up an opportunity to play a horse.

No progress on Checking Out. I want to give the first act to someone to read. Maybe they will give me an idea as to where to go. My sister is a writer and I told her the characters are just sitting around talking to each other. She said, "Oh, that's not good...."

She was just here to visit. She lives in New Orleans so we only get to see each other once a year. She is an interesting person. Five years ago she and her husband converted to Catholicism and they are very strict Catholics. She doesn't really have a holier-than-thou attitude, but I can tell she thinks her way is the best. She also has become a vegan and the whole weekend was about what she can eat and what she can't eat. She made dinner and introduced me to "Better than cream cheese" which is awesome. The visit was nice, it's just that she acts so right all the time.

Not much to report on the romantic front. I have not had any bites on the site but a few interesting things have been happening off the site. I'm not going to go into that much. Suffice it to say I have struck up an old friendship and we are becoming close again. That is one of the things that is happening.

I haven't written in so long because I find my life rather boring. Who wants to read about my weight loss or my search for a job? I will have more to write about as rehearsals go on. And maybe writing here will help me with Checking Out. We shall see.

Hanging up now....

Sorry

Okay, so I've been going over past blog entries and realized I'm repeating myself. Sorry. And I've lost 1/2 inch, not two inches (Wouldn't that be awesome?)

Hmmm...

Am I untalented or just unlucky?

The last show I was in was Joseph, and just about everybody who auditioned got into that. That was last summer, almost a year ago. I just got back from auditions for Desdemona/Juliet, and I think I did the best I could, but I didn't get in. Granted, there was some pretty stiff competition, but it's still hard to see that I'm not getting any roles. I have done some great parts, though, and I have to remember that. Joseph was great fun. I was honored to play Alice in Flowers. Miss Havisham was a stretch and also very fun. Those are some roles in recent memory. But I feel like these are roles I got when there wasn't much competition. When there is more competition, I don't get it.

I have been asked to audition twice, and both times I got the role. That's a nice feeling. It's also good to see that the person who gets the role I wanted is deserving of it. I don't know who got Constance, but the woman who got Desdemona had a very good audition.

I have had the honor to play some great roles. Alice in Flowers, Miss Havisham, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice. I got to play Satan in college--that was really fun. I was jumping on desks, flipping people upside down, waltzing with embarrassed audience members--great juicy stuff. I played Mercutio in an English class. I was Maggie and Jesse ('night Mother) in a class I took out West. My teacher said I played Jesse better than anyone else she'd ever seen.

I've just had a dry spell. I love being in shows. I guess that goes without saying. Writing a recommendation letter for me, a professor said, "Sarah loves to write but she is in love with acting." Perfectly put. (This man was my mentor and a great playwright himself.) The director of our little Shakespeare company wrote me a letter too, in which he says I came the closest to breaking the "everyone's replaceable" rule. I need to remember these things to help me deal with the rejection.

So there's always the next show. Into the Woods auditions are coming up next. I'm working with a friend on musical numbers. She's introduced me to a writer who writes musical-style songs that don't come from musicals themselves. This means that no one will do the song and the directors will not have heard the song. She thinks I should go for Cinderella. I can see myself doing something small, like one of the stepsisters. That would be fine. I would take anything!

I've come to a rather disconcerting realization with Checking Out. I think some of the first act revelations should come in the second act. So that's going to take some MAJOR adjusting. Like a complete script overhaul. Maybe the first act will be shorter than I originally planned and the second act will be longer. I've still got the problem about my main character. He just isn't in enough of the show. So I have two problems: rounding out the second act and giving him more of a central part. Oh, and solving the problem of the characters just sitting around talking. So that's three.

This past Sunday was Music Sunday at church. It was beautiful. We sang some great stuff and I got to be liturgist. I love singing in church. To me it's a wonderful way of expressing and feeling God's love. Sometimes words alone cannot convey the feelings a union with God gives, and that spills over into the spirit of music. Many songs and hymns come from the spirit of God's inspiration.

I have to use these times to remind me that there is more to life than acting. There are things that don't have to do with rejection. Inspiration, whether it be for writing or singing, comes unconditionally and regardless of who you are. The author may not always achieve her dream of creating, but at least it's an act where you are your own judge. I know when something is good, and I don't need a director to tell me. Singing in church is a little different, since it's a little more like a performance. But I am comfortable within the Spirit and feel led by that Hand. Our choir director is there to guide us, and we are not judged by the congregation. In fact, we have no end of positive feedback from the congregation. Sometimes they even clap, which you're not supposed to do in church.

Tomorrow I meet with Stephanie. I have lost two pounds and, more importantly, have lost 1/2 inch on my hips, upper thighs, and lower thighs. Yay! I am able to fit in the "B" nylons again and don't need the "Q" size. Wearing those is pretty demoralizing.

Well, I'm yawning and I want to get up early tomorrow. Hanging up now...

Some good news....

I got a new phone! I am now with Centennial, which costs much less than my landline. I cancelled my landline and got to keep my Internet with AT & T. My new phone has text messaging, caller ID, and voice mail. I love it. The other good news is that I have written a little more of Checking Out. There are some good lines and some comedic lines. It isn't much, but it's better than the dry spell I was experiencing. I think I have discovered my problem. Some of the first act conversations should probably occur during the second act. So I may have to do some moving around. That may solve my problem. Something to work on in the second draft.

Good news, not so good news...

The not so good news first: I still haven't written any more of Checking Out. It's really beginning to bother me. I would hate to have a started project that languishes in limbo. I have been able to finish the other plays I have written, even the crappy ones. I think so far CO is one of the best things I've written, and it's the only thing I've written in a long time (school kind of pushes out writing anything other than papers.) I've created some great characters and funny situations. I need to let them talk.

So there are two good things for me to report. First of all, the small one, is that I've lost two pounds in the last week. I chalk this up fully to the fact that I've changed my workout routine. I was doing mainly classes (cardio) and not enough weights on my own. Now I'm doing my own weight training and it's been really good for my body. I'm trying to work out with weights on the "off days," days I don't have class. My measurements are down too. My hips, upper thighs, and lower thighs are all 2" less than they were when we last did measurements (about 6 weeks ago.)

And the most exiting thing...I am going to two interviews! One of them is for an insurance company that deals with seniors. The other one, the one I'm really excited about, is the admissions counselor position. I applied for this a long time ago and had given up hearing back. I got a call yesterday (who calls on a Saturday??) from Jane Rohrback wanting to set up an interview. I was in the shower when she called, called her back, and got her voicemail. I'm hoping to hear from her tomorrow.

Something else that is nice...I got a new cell phone! This is not a big deal for some but it is a good thing for me. I am really in the dark ages when it comes to cell phones. Now I can call and text and take pictures (something I've been doing a lot since I got the phone.) I can also send pictures. I sent my friend Adam a picture of Spot so he knows what she looks like now.

Mother's Day was today and I called my mom (on my new phone of course.) I also made her a card but it probably won't get there until tomorrow. I like to make cards for people--the old fashioned way, with pen and paper. I'm not quite up to speed on making them on the computer.

Radio Talking Book has been going okay, not great. I'm still tripping up a lot. I get nervous even though I've had so much experience with cold reading. And the timing isn't right yet--we take station breaks at the top of every hour and I haven't been timing that right. Both times I had to do it I went over. I got some tips from friends on how to help myself, and my mom was really supportive.

I've been taking voice lessons with a kareoke friend, Kelly, to get some songs in my repertoire for musical auditions. We have been working on one called "One Moment" which is really beautiful. It's not actually from any musical, just written by a guy who writes musical-type songs. If I don't get into Desdemona/Juliet, I will use this to try out for Into the Woods. Kelly thinks I should go for Cinderella. I don't think I really have the voice for it but I will try. Maybe I'll end up being a stepsister. The only bad thing about taking lessons with Kelly is that she will be going away to school in the fall, so I'll have to find someone new. I don't want to! She's good.

Hanging up now....

Back home again...

Went to Kalamazoo this weekend but am home now. Aside from my parents living there, I don't see Kalamazoo as home. I don't really have a hometown. We moved to Florida when I was less than a year old, and moved again to Indiana when I was ten. We left Indiana when my mother came up to work in the store and I went to college. I don't really know my way around the town or know anybody aside from my parents and their neighbors. It's weird. I feel more at home here in the Lansing area. I have a life here.

I've been doing RTB for a week now--one hour on Tuesday and one on Thursday. I think I've really been botching it. I stumble over the words a lot and my timing has been terrible. You're supposed to stop right at noon for the station identification but I went over. I hope I'll get better as time goes on.

Had a couple of winks on the site. One is from a guy with the handle "Timmah" so I assume he is a South Park fan. That would be fun. The guy I went out with last week emailed me and said he really didn't feel there was any connection. I feel the same way. He was a nice guy, attractive and articulate, but "the spark" wasn't there. I'm glad we put an end to it when we did instead of drawing it out.

Bad news on the Ji-Yoon front. I will not be working with her any more. The family is moving back to Korea in July and dad wants to have her stop tutoring and get ready for the move. I'm not sure if this is the real reason--seems an awful long time to prepare. I wonder if it was really a matter of money or not seeing results. But for whatever reason, I'm out $15/week. That sucks. I'm hoping I will get recommended again like I have been before.

Haven't worked on Checking Out for a while, but I feel like I could tonight or maybe tomorrow. Mom and I were talking and she said she thought writing was one of the reasons I was put on this earth. Wow! That felt really good to hear that. I know she's my mom and all, but she can be pretty objective. Especially in this area--she recently had a falling out with a friend who is working on a book who she characterized as "sort of a writer." (ouch.)

Speaking of what we were born to do, I have good news to report on the job front--or the absence of bad news, really. I called on the Potbelly job and they haven't filled the position yet. I also applied for a job at the MSU bookstore that would entail ordering textbooks. It sounds like a fun job. The application took about an hour. There was an online interview that wasn't timed but the response time was measured. It had basic interview questions along the lines of "What would you do if ______?" with five choices given, but it also had those stupid word problems like, "If Sally passes Sue in a race, and Sue is going 2x faster than Sharon, how fast is Sally going?" (I don't even know if there is an answer to this one; I just made it up.) I guessed on a lot of those. There were also those dumb number sequence ones, some of which I got. I made up for my weak points by doing really well on the SAT-type questions like, "Elbow is to arm as ____ is to leg." (Knee. Easy, right?)

Gonna see if I can work on the play for a while. Hanging up now....