So according to Blogger, it has been approximately two weeks since my last blogpost. I was really disappointed with myself when I realized that was the case. You see, in the past two weeks I've had thoughts EVERYDAY about posts I should write, clips I should share, etc. But I haven't been. . . and I should be! Remember this post, all about my summer health agenda? Well I'm in that same mood again. Motivated, inspired, ready to work. And that include on this blog! This coming semester is going to be madness - 23 credits, plus an Independent Study, Senior Performance Rehearsals, a Senior Seminar trip to NYC, several clubs, dance and theater performances (and rehearsals, obviously) three different jobs, and auditioning for "Real World," post-grad gigs. Madness. And the thing is, I don't want Such Ado to get lost in the wilderness and madness that will be my life. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, right? The habit I want to make is regular blogging - because I love this creative outlet. Because it makes me happy. Because it will be a convenient way for family and friend to follow along on my journey. And because I want to, damnit!!
So here's the plan, fight fans: daily blogging. That's right. Everyday I'm going to put up one new post - whether it be one of my novella length musings, a link to my favorite song-of-the-moment, a Tiny Taut Toned and Tan 2012 update, or a list of things I am grateful for. Or you know, whatever other random musings pop into my head. I figure if I can fit in my summer camp job, Aida rehearsal, babysitting, family functions, and my new attempts at a health lifestyle daily this summer, fitting in blogging regularly this fall should be a cinch, right?
This is the summer of reinvention folks. Time to grab the bull by the horns and start working towards being the Me I believe I can be. And that means not just healthier and more organized, but more creative and happy too. Here goes nothing!
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Exciting. Scary. Overwhelming. Wonderful.
Hello dear friends!
I have an announcement to make, and some news to share: I hope upon reading it you will be understanding of my lapses in blogposts, or how rarely I've emailed you, or perhaps that long gap between phone calls. As long as I can remember, I have been Busy.
Yes, with a capital B. Working several jobs (even as a young teen, helping to keep the family business afloat) and studying dance and this and that and so on and so forth. Coming to college hasn't been any different: I work somewhere between 2 and 4 jobs depending on the season, and take 8-11 classes at a time, and perform in shows and the shows I don't perform in, I work to gain tech experience. Then there is my never ending parade of injuries (possibly made worse by my rampant business and utter disregard for my body's need of sleep).
And now. . . now I am in a position to see it all pay off. Last week I went into a mandatory group advising session, where my advisor oversees all of her students as we select our course load for the upcoming semester. I was excited to be heading in to select my classes for senior year - and my head was full of all the usual thoughts. Where had the last three years gone? Was I already about to be a senior? How much would I have to work extra to start saving up for moving/loans/etc? Would all the classes I wanted to take fit in my schedule? What about the ones I had to take because they're required your senior year and you simply must do it? And maybe most importantly would I finally have a semester without daily 8am classes?
As I started flipping through the course booklets and filling in my academic classes around my dance levels, I noticed how easy it was. . . how much time and room. Filling in my theatre classes and the schedule started to look more crowded. Thats when my advisor cheerfully asked if I still intended to graduate early? As in, December?
Well ladies and gentlemen, that had never been my plan. I've spent every course registration frantically jamming as many classes into my schedule as I possibly could so that I could graduate as my school's first double major in Dance and Theatre. I didn't know - and neither did the faculty or the department heads - if it could be done at all, let alone in only four years. And here I was in the middle of a group advising session with a little box in front of me to check off. A single smudge of graphite across carbon paper would be enough - all it takes to confirm. Yes, it could be done. Yes, I'd done it. And a semester early, too. Three college degrees in 3 1/2 years. I'd have to take a massive number of credits, of course, and pay the credit overages. And I'd need special clearance from the Dean of the Dance Department and the head of the Theatre Department and the President of Academic Affairs and probably Moses himself was going to have to come down and sign my damn transcript. But it could be done.
And you know what? I'm doing it. I pressed the soft silvery tip of the pencil into the page with a hand I was surprised wasn't shaking. I texted my mother and called Boyfriend and texted my big brother, and I honestly don't remember a word of what anyone said. What I do remember is walking out into the hallway and turning the corner, my huge messenger bag slung over my shoulder, a stunned smile painted over my lips, and almost smacking into my friend Jake. I nearly burst into tears at that moment.
See, Jake is the first friend I made on this campus. We met at 8am in our first college class, a miserably boring 100 level english class with a teacher we loathed (charming kids right?). We're sort of an odd pair: ambitious, hardworking, good grades. Make our advisor crazy because we take more classes than we're supposed to and bend the rules to suit academic visions only the two of us see. We've done everything short of using an actual time turner to accomplish everything on our To Do Lists. And this semester we had our final class together - another English class, with the same professor, in the same classroom. The only difference this time is he was leaving early - graduating in December. I was still going to be here . . . but not anymore. I didn't even have to tell him what had happened. He asked if I'd come from my Advising session and I nodded my head, willing my lead tongue to work, to not just stare like a mute - and then his face lit up in a grin and he opened his arms and I barreled head long into a bear hug that crushed my ribs and lifted my feet off the floor and finally pried a joyful laugh out of my stunned self. We had done it.
We were leaving in December - heading into a world wider than my smalltown mind can conceive, more brilliant than I understand, harder, colder, crueler than I'll know what to do with. But it's our world - the doers and the dreamers and the ones who push and stick just one toe over the edge to see if maybe there is something on the other side.
I have an announcement to make, and some news to share: I hope upon reading it you will be understanding of my lapses in blogposts, or how rarely I've emailed you, or perhaps that long gap between phone calls. As long as I can remember, I have been Busy.
Yes, with a capital B. Working several jobs (even as a young teen, helping to keep the family business afloat) and studying dance and this and that and so on and so forth. Coming to college hasn't been any different: I work somewhere between 2 and 4 jobs depending on the season, and take 8-11 classes at a time, and perform in shows and the shows I don't perform in, I work to gain tech experience. Then there is my never ending parade of injuries (possibly made worse by my rampant business and utter disregard for my body's need of sleep).
And now. . . now I am in a position to see it all pay off. Last week I went into a mandatory group advising session, where my advisor oversees all of her students as we select our course load for the upcoming semester. I was excited to be heading in to select my classes for senior year - and my head was full of all the usual thoughts. Where had the last three years gone? Was I already about to be a senior? How much would I have to work extra to start saving up for moving/loans/etc? Would all the classes I wanted to take fit in my schedule? What about the ones I had to take because they're required your senior year and you simply must do it? And maybe most importantly would I finally have a semester without daily 8am classes?
As I started flipping through the course booklets and filling in my academic classes around my dance levels, I noticed how easy it was. . . how much time and room. Filling in my theatre classes and the schedule started to look more crowded. Thats when my advisor cheerfully asked if I still intended to graduate early? As in, December?
Well ladies and gentlemen, that had never been my plan. I've spent every course registration frantically jamming as many classes into my schedule as I possibly could so that I could graduate as my school's first double major in Dance and Theatre. I didn't know - and neither did the faculty or the department heads - if it could be done at all, let alone in only four years. And here I was in the middle of a group advising session with a little box in front of me to check off. A single smudge of graphite across carbon paper would be enough - all it takes to confirm. Yes, it could be done. Yes, I'd done it. And a semester early, too. Three college degrees in 3 1/2 years. I'd have to take a massive number of credits, of course, and pay the credit overages. And I'd need special clearance from the Dean of the Dance Department and the head of the Theatre Department and the President of Academic Affairs and probably Moses himself was going to have to come down and sign my damn transcript. But it could be done.
And you know what? I'm doing it. I pressed the soft silvery tip of the pencil into the page with a hand I was surprised wasn't shaking. I texted my mother and called Boyfriend and texted my big brother, and I honestly don't remember a word of what anyone said. What I do remember is walking out into the hallway and turning the corner, my huge messenger bag slung over my shoulder, a stunned smile painted over my lips, and almost smacking into my friend Jake. I nearly burst into tears at that moment.
See, Jake is the first friend I made on this campus. We met at 8am in our first college class, a miserably boring 100 level english class with a teacher we loathed (charming kids right?). We're sort of an odd pair: ambitious, hardworking, good grades. Make our advisor crazy because we take more classes than we're supposed to and bend the rules to suit academic visions only the two of us see. We've done everything short of using an actual time turner to accomplish everything on our To Do Lists. And this semester we had our final class together - another English class, with the same professor, in the same classroom. The only difference this time is he was leaving early - graduating in December. I was still going to be here . . . but not anymore. I didn't even have to tell him what had happened. He asked if I'd come from my Advising session and I nodded my head, willing my lead tongue to work, to not just stare like a mute - and then his face lit up in a grin and he opened his arms and I barreled head long into a bear hug that crushed my ribs and lifted my feet off the floor and finally pried a joyful laugh out of my stunned self. We had done it.
We were leaving in December - heading into a world wider than my smalltown mind can conceive, more brilliant than I understand, harder, colder, crueler than I'll know what to do with. But it's our world - the doers and the dreamers and the ones who push and stick just one toe over the edge to see if maybe there is something on the other side.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Getting Lucky
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
Today was my first day off in ages and ages and ages. As usual, it's been a busy semester full of classes, work (I got some extra hours this week! Woo hoo!), and rehearsals which I love! However it can sometimes be a little exhausting. For example, here is my typical Monday:
7:00 am, I drag myself out of bed and into clean clothes, etc. Grab my bags and books and stumble off to. . .
8:00 am Pedagogy class which goes until
9:30 am at which point I go to job #1 in Advising. I file, make appointments, take messages, and otherwise hold down the front desk until
10:50 when my voice lesson starts. Voice ends just in time for me to get to
11:30 Modern 6
1:00 lunch with my roommate
1:30 twenty minutes at the gym before
1:50 Dramatic Literature, which is only an hour long so I get out by 2:50 giving me exactly enough time to go to
3:00 Physical Therapy for an hour and fifteen minutes, getting me out at 4:15 so by
4:40 I'm in Jazz 6 which ends at 6:10, which is convenient since
6:15 is when Hairspray rehearsal starts, which runs until 10:30
10:45 back in my room to start homework which takes me until 12:30ish to complete and call Boyfriend.
Then it's off to bed by 1ish, so I can get up, rinse, and repeat. The classes change, the length of time at the gym changes (someday I get in almost an hour!) but thats about it. It's a busy and fulfilling life, to be sure. I love it. Which is why today, on my first day off, I spent it making sure I could continue living almost the exact same way. I edited my resume and started sending off copies of my headshot, (adjusted) resume, and contact information to local theaters/playhouses/summer stock companies. I researched different performance venues and internships - all of which is work I should have done ages ago, but couldn't because of this stupid hip injury. I didn't know when or if I'd be ok enough to rehearse/perform this summer. If I'm lucky, though, I'll get some performances and some additional work to go along with my day job!
Cross you fingers, blogging world - I'm looking for my lucky break, so I'm trying to be prepared. How do you spend your days off?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Update of Sorts
This is not the post I meant to write: I meant to write to you about the joys of my summer job. The adorable children. The feeling I'm doing something at least a little worthwhile. Every weekday for the past two weeks, I've thought "I have to sit down and write a blogpost about this." Every weekday I've come back and had other things to do and then suddenly it was very dark and I was very sleepy and I figured I could just write it tomorrow. . .
Unfortunately, today is another one of those weekdays. However, I'm holding out hope for tomorrow night, since I've got tomorrow off (well, at the moment I have tomorrow off. That could change at any moment) so while I have a full & busy day planned, I intend to slip some blogging in there!
Tomorrow features errands in the morning, lunch with members of Boyfriend's family, hitting up the local (relatively speaking) Borders closing sale (say it ain't so!), running into the mall (whopee, gift cards!), and maybe seeing Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I know I'm terribly late on the whole "must see movie of the decade" thing. But such is life when one works quite a bit and is living on a budget. I'm so excited. I just know I'm going to cry. . .
Till tomorrow!
Unfortunately, today is another one of those weekdays. However, I'm holding out hope for tomorrow night, since I've got tomorrow off (well, at the moment I have tomorrow off. That could change at any moment) so while I have a full & busy day planned, I intend to slip some blogging in there!
Tomorrow features errands in the morning, lunch with members of Boyfriend's family, hitting up the local (relatively speaking) Borders closing sale (say it ain't so!), running into the mall (whopee, gift cards!), and maybe seeing Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I know I'm terribly late on the whole "must see movie of the decade" thing. But such is life when one works quite a bit and is living on a budget. I'm so excited. I just know I'm going to cry. . .
Till tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
A Certain Rhythm
I've been done with school for about two weeks now. Unfortunately, I didn't walk into a summer job. Most of my teenage years I was "employed," in the family business - I also did a few summers at a local farm. I enjoyed that work quite a lot, actually: it felt good, productive, better than waitressing or fast food or being in doors all day. However, last summer I had my major surgery (it was actually a few procedures all rolled into one) and I was on bed rest for almost two months (I was stubborn and couldn't sit still that long). Since that took me out of the work force, I couldn't apply for a job: I had hoped by the middle of the summer I might be able to work, but that was unfortunately not the case - I was in physical therapy right up until the week I left for school, just trying to be whole enough to dance. This combination of events is why there is no steady summer employment waiting for me when finals ended. However, in a few weeks elementary schools end and summer camps begin, and I have some work opportunities there. I also teach: women's fitness, self-defense, private lessons. I don't make a lot, but I get by. Again, though, not until June do I have the chance to really begin working.
I was relatively pleased, however, to look back at the last two weeks and see I hadn't been entirely unproductive. My days have developed a certain rhythm. There is working on the disaster area that is my new room: it's a combination of everything I bring to and from college, the items my mom brought with me during our forced move, and other assorted things that no one was sure what to do with when they forced moved in. . . and my room was the most available space! It's pretty well sorted now, as I spend part of everyday cleaning, going through belongings, sorting out what stays, whats given away, and what just needs to be tossed.
Then there is cooking: I love to cook and the luxury of making most of my meals is one I will never take for granted again, living on caf food. I've been regularly experimenting in the kitchen: rasberry glaze, fresh hummus, chocolate cake, omelettes with various veggies. Exercise is always in the mix, my 100 morning and 100 bedtime crunches, hand weights, going to the gym for a run. I've had time to play online: retooling my blog, chatting with friends, compiling lists of DIY projects for my new room and for the space I'll be sharing with one of my best friends next year. Watching reruns of favorite shows and brand new movies with Boyfriend. Playing with the dogs. Practicing, practicing, practicing, practicing - I miss my daily dance classes fiercely.
So while I haven't been working, and it's been rainy and blah (never a good thing for motivating me!) I do feel as though I've been able to maintain some level of productivity. What about you, bloggers/followers? What do you do when you don't have to work?
I was relatively pleased, however, to look back at the last two weeks and see I hadn't been entirely unproductive. My days have developed a certain rhythm. There is working on the disaster area that is my new room: it's a combination of everything I bring to and from college, the items my mom brought with me during our forced move, and other assorted things that no one was sure what to do with when they forced moved in. . . and my room was the most available space! It's pretty well sorted now, as I spend part of everyday cleaning, going through belongings, sorting out what stays, whats given away, and what just needs to be tossed.
Then there is cooking: I love to cook and the luxury of making most of my meals is one I will never take for granted again, living on caf food. I've been regularly experimenting in the kitchen: rasberry glaze, fresh hummus, chocolate cake, omelettes with various veggies. Exercise is always in the mix, my 100 morning and 100 bedtime crunches, hand weights, going to the gym for a run. I've had time to play online: retooling my blog, chatting with friends, compiling lists of DIY projects for my new room and for the space I'll be sharing with one of my best friends next year. Watching reruns of favorite shows and brand new movies with Boyfriend. Playing with the dogs. Practicing, practicing, practicing, practicing - I miss my daily dance classes fiercely.
So while I haven't been working, and it's been rainy and blah (never a good thing for motivating me!) I do feel as though I've been able to maintain some level of productivity. What about you, bloggers/followers? What do you do when you don't have to work?
Friday, April 8, 2011
Auditions.
The bane of every performer's existence. We'd kill to get one, pray for them every night, prepare for them everyday, spend all our money on headshots and training before them, scoure the internet and newspapers and grapevine for word of one. . . and we absolutely hate them. At least I do - and I know most of my friends feel the same way. I can't help but be a little exicted for the ones I have lined up right now though. Tomorrow morning/afternoon I'm auditioning for summer stock at a local theater back home. They're season includes "Singin' In the Rain," which is one of my absolutel favorite musicals - and probably my favorite movie musical - and "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum," Stephen Sondheim's first all original, all his own work. I'm armed with a brand new, beautiful color headshot thanks to my incredibly talented friend at quigleyphotos.com. I revamped my resume, updating it to include things like my Irene Ryan Alternate nomination, and my MTE class under the training. I also really enjoy both the shows, and am very very very very motivated to really dive into the auditioning process. I've watched my beautful, talented, and excpetional friend Mary-Elizabeth bust her ass since December auditioning EVERY SINGLE weekend for company after company, so she has employment when she graduates. And lemme tell ya folks, the girl is a gorgeous. . . it's inspired me to really up my game in the auditioning arena. I need to build my resume, get my name out there, get the ball rolling. If it's taking Mary-Elizabeth her whole senior year to find something, Lord knows it's going to take me even longer. So I think the audition should go well, just based on my energy level. . .a at least thats what I'm hoping!
I also throroughly enjoy both the shows and have really improved my vocals this semester, so I think I should be ok. The frustrating thing is I just know I could be a valuable member of the cast: I work hard, I'm a good dancer, a good actress, and a solid, reliable singer. I love the rehearsal process and being on stage: even the longest rehearsals are usually (hey no one's perfect!) fun for me, and the faculty here at my school have really beaten professionalism into us. I just hope I have the chance to be that cast member!
Then on Monday I'm auditioning for a dance company - a brand new dance company - here! My modern teacher is starting his own company, and has opened up the auditioning process to a handful of us in the upper level classes. Monday during class time it is! I would so LOVE to be able to be a part of the inaugural performance this fall - it really should be beautiful, his choreography always is!
I'd appreciate it greatly blogosphere, if you could wish me "Merde," and broken legs these next few days!
I also throroughly enjoy both the shows and have really improved my vocals this semester, so I think I should be ok. The frustrating thing is I just know I could be a valuable member of the cast: I work hard, I'm a good dancer, a good actress, and a solid, reliable singer. I love the rehearsal process and being on stage: even the longest rehearsals are usually (hey no one's perfect!) fun for me, and the faculty here at my school have really beaten professionalism into us. I just hope I have the chance to be that cast member!
Then on Monday I'm auditioning for a dance company - a brand new dance company - here! My modern teacher is starting his own company, and has opened up the auditioning process to a handful of us in the upper level classes. Monday during class time it is! I would so LOVE to be able to be a part of the inaugural performance this fall - it really should be beautiful, his choreography always is!
I'd appreciate it greatly blogosphere, if you could wish me "Merde," and broken legs these next few days!
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