07 December 2006
Just Like Little Red Riding Hood
Today, one of the actors in the show had an appointment he could not reschedule. Guess who got to stand in for him all morning, pretend she was acting in the play, AND wear his fighter pilot hat and goggles? Yep, that's right.
13 November 2006
Value Judgements (RE: Job Security)
1. One of my beautiful/terrifying bosses at the chocolate mecca told me I had made him the best Milk Chocolat he had ever tasted in said establishment. My face got hot and I had to take deep breaths, as this was as bold (coming from a man that first told me that he would send his drinks back until they were passable, and to whom "Not bad" is his version of "Excellent" ) as him asking me to marry him.
2. I was late to work (again) at the bakery on Saturday, and as I sat on the train running deep into Brooklyn, all I could think of was how I was going to get fired, and how I wouldn't be able to say anything other than, "Yes, I understand. I am much more trouble than I am worth." Turns out, the first thing my boss did when I got there was ask me if I would join her family for Thanksgiving dinner. This is the opposite of getting fired.
3. I'm going to start training tomorrow to be an expeditor. This means more responsibility without a raise in pay, and more waiters spending time hating me. I am, however, kind of excited. I like the idea of being the captain of this particular (sometimes sinking) ship.
Also, a simple delight: I've started making friends. The real kind you hang out with when you're not working. I didn't think I would ever have time for such a thing, but even half hour lunch breaks can prove useful in this endeavor. I'm starting to feel like I have a place in this dirty, pretty city.
2. I was late to work (again) at the bakery on Saturday, and as I sat on the train running deep into Brooklyn, all I could think of was how I was going to get fired, and how I wouldn't be able to say anything other than, "Yes, I understand. I am much more trouble than I am worth." Turns out, the first thing my boss did when I got there was ask me if I would join her family for Thanksgiving dinner. This is the opposite of getting fired.
3. I'm going to start training tomorrow to be an expeditor. This means more responsibility without a raise in pay, and more waiters spending time hating me. I am, however, kind of excited. I like the idea of being the captain of this particular (sometimes sinking) ship.
Also, a simple delight: I've started making friends. The real kind you hang out with when you're not working. I didn't think I would ever have time for such a thing, but even half hour lunch breaks can prove useful in this endeavor. I'm starting to feel like I have a place in this dirty, pretty city.
10 November 2006
Chocolate Is Good For You
Now, usually I am not really in a position to consume the massive quantities of chocolate that I handle each week. Eating behind the bar is completely forbidden, and the only time desserts are free for employees is when they are either 1. broken or 2. a mistake. So, my chocolate consumption is basically limited to drinks that I make when no one is paying attention to me. Tonight, though, I got to try three of the big sellers, due to some training session I didn't particularly understand, and DAMN do we make fine desserts. I was taking my dinner break at the time, and any attention I might have paid to my chicken sandwich was given over to bites of a hazelnut praline and chocolate crepe, a "Munchies" waffle (sweet waffles with whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts, ice cream, and chocolate coated wheat balls), and "Mess" (chocolate sponge cake, chocolate ganosh, ice cream, whipped cream, milk chocolate chunks and sprinkles). I realized what a blessing it is that we don't have access to these desserts on a regular basis, because our staff is shockingly attractive and fit across the board, and I'm certain this wouldn't stay the case for long if it weren't for strict consumption rules.
In a few weeks, before they open the new store, they're having an open house for employees at which we can order anything we want, and nurse it for hours, if we so desire. I've hatched a plan with one of my favorite co-workers to first get extremely intoxicated pre-soiree, then to order one Banana Mess and one Strawberry Mess (enough to feed 8-12 people), stay for as many hours as it takes to eat every last bite, and find someone who will care for us during the food coma that will follow.
I'm thinking of fasting in preparation.
In a few weeks, before they open the new store, they're having an open house for employees at which we can order anything we want, and nurse it for hours, if we so desire. I've hatched a plan with one of my favorite co-workers to first get extremely intoxicated pre-soiree, then to order one Banana Mess and one Strawberry Mess (enough to feed 8-12 people), stay for as many hours as it takes to eat every last bite, and find someone who will care for us during the food coma that will follow.
I'm thinking of fasting in preparation.
02 November 2006
"Ah, It Comes and Goes, Comes and Goes."
Okay, I've neglected my duties as a New York City Blogger for over a month now, a fact which was brought to my attention just enough times by groups spanning just enough geographical space for me to realize that if people are reading, then I should be writing. So, while my laundry spins to the sounds of Univision at the laundromat around the corner, I will be sipping a Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale and filling in some gaps.
Job Update:
I work 'til the wee hours in the land of chocolate. I am trained to dress waffles, crepes, and other chocolate goodies, as well as making frozen drinks, hot drinks (my favorite. . .I get to do extra hot drink training next week because I show promise, or something similar), register, and take-out. I, along with my fellows behind the bar, make uncomfortably less than the waitstaff for many hours of hard work, but we're surviving. The pressure is always on, and the turn-over rate is kind of insane. I, however, am sticking it out and enjoying getting to know all of my ridiculously beautiful co-workers. In a few weeks, they're opening a second location a mere block from the Ontological, and I have yet to hear whether or not I'm going to be transfered. I have heard, though, that I was being fought over by the bar managers of each; yay, job security! I leave everyday covered in crusty chocolate.
Also, I still work on Saturdays at a bakery in Brooklyn. This makes life complicated, but my boss asks me about my internship and my mother, so I've grown attached to her, and can't imagine quitting. Also, they haven't fired me even though I've been late for 4 out of my last 5 shifts, all for totally unrelated reasons. I think that my boss's husband would enjoy firing me, but my boss won't let him. Heh.
OHT Update:
I'm an ASM, so I take blocking notes (and occassionally notes for Richard) three days a week at rehearsal. Used to be four, but we had some interns quit, so schedules got shifted and I got moved to an extra night of tech. Seeing Richard work never ceases to be a kick in the pants- he works his way through the show, then goes back to the beginning and keeps a few elements but basically changes the whole thing. He will often say outloud, "Well. That's stupid." Most used sentence opener: "I'm concerned that. . ." usually having to do with the stability of props. The new ending, as of yesterday, involves shackles and dancing parachutes. We'll have to see exactly how long that lasts.
Rehearsals are Tuesday through Sunday, 10-4:30. Tech is Sunday through Friday, 5-9, with a full day on Monday. Interns do about seven shifts a week, split between the two. Tech shifts are used to accomplish the notes that Richard gives after rehearsal, to further develop/create costumes, props, and scenic elements. Initially, I thought that I would just kind of grit-my-teeth-and-bear-it through tech shifts, using rehearsals as the bulk of my learning process. It turns out, though, that I while watching Richard work is bizarre and amazing, I often have very little to do during rehearsals, especially when he's messing with lighting. Not being actively involved sometimes makes it hard to be completely engaged in what's going on. During tech, on the other hand, there is always something to get done, and the work is continuously shifting and growing. I get to put into play all of the random skills I learned in production classes in college, as well as traverse the city in search of materials ranging from mundane (dry wall screws, black elastic) to complicated (4-wire cables) to utterly bizarre (shackles). I am consistantly delighted to be working with my superiors (Peter, Megan, Brendan, and Shannon), as well as my intern cohorts.
I realize that watching the show develop makes it hard for me to keep a grip on what the overall product will evoke, or be 'about' as it were. The themes running through expand and contract, but don't disappear completely, since the video that Richard is working with is in itself a static entity, not subject to a change in content; so, too, are the data banks of voice tapes that Richard has on file. However, the eventual combination of elements could become anything, and we won't know what that is for a long time. What I am looking forward to, in the distant future, is viewing the finished product with people who don't carrywith them the history that I will have, the history of the development, and discussing what they experience in comparison to what I know and see. So, come to New York, fine friends, and we'll have an extravaganza.
If anyone is interested, there's a live podcast of rehearsal every Wednesday at Free103point9.org from 10-4:30 EST, and we have a blog available for your perusal at http://www.wakeupmrsleepy.blogspot.com .
Physical Negligence Update:
1. My second day at the Ontological, I almost got a concussion. I was cutting wood on the chop saw, and when I finished, promptly stood up into the steel stairs to the dimmer room. I immediately had a walnut sized goose egg on my forehead, and had to spend an hour in the production office, icing my head and making sure I didn't vomit. Perks: the swelling went down by the time I went to bed, and I got to hear about every theatre related injury ever sustained by the TD.
2. I have cut both my left hand on the knuckle and my right on my index finger tip while cleaning the meat slicer at the bakery.
3. I sustained a long thin burn on my left arm last Friday on a pizza pan.
4. While not initially painful, I warded off the advances of a Ukranian man on the train on Halloween night by vomiting the entire contents of my stomach (cream of spinach soup, chicken wrap, whiskey and water, orange cosmopolitan, etc.) into my purse. Totally disgusting, I know, but please picture me on the train, one minute trying not to have a conversation with a 35-year-old Ukranian, the next making every effort not to throw up, giving up that effort, throwing up into my bag, excusing myself, getting off the train a stop early, and walking the rest of the way home. Now, that's comedy. The pain, of course, came the next morning/day with the raging, equalibrium-busting hangover that I suffered during rehearsal. Oh, Trashy New York can be so entertaining.
Tomorrow morning I am waking up early to help one of the other interns shoot some footage for an experimental film he's making. On that note, this will have to be all for now, but there will be more to come, in a timely fashion.
All the best from Brooklyn!
Job Update:
I work 'til the wee hours in the land of chocolate. I am trained to dress waffles, crepes, and other chocolate goodies, as well as making frozen drinks, hot drinks (my favorite. . .I get to do extra hot drink training next week because I show promise, or something similar), register, and take-out. I, along with my fellows behind the bar, make uncomfortably less than the waitstaff for many hours of hard work, but we're surviving. The pressure is always on, and the turn-over rate is kind of insane. I, however, am sticking it out and enjoying getting to know all of my ridiculously beautiful co-workers. In a few weeks, they're opening a second location a mere block from the Ontological, and I have yet to hear whether or not I'm going to be transfered. I have heard, though, that I was being fought over by the bar managers of each; yay, job security! I leave everyday covered in crusty chocolate.
Also, I still work on Saturdays at a bakery in Brooklyn. This makes life complicated, but my boss asks me about my internship and my mother, so I've grown attached to her, and can't imagine quitting. Also, they haven't fired me even though I've been late for 4 out of my last 5 shifts, all for totally unrelated reasons. I think that my boss's husband would enjoy firing me, but my boss won't let him. Heh.
OHT Update:
I'm an ASM, so I take blocking notes (and occassionally notes for Richard) three days a week at rehearsal. Used to be four, but we had some interns quit, so schedules got shifted and I got moved to an extra night of tech. Seeing Richard work never ceases to be a kick in the pants- he works his way through the show, then goes back to the beginning and keeps a few elements but basically changes the whole thing. He will often say outloud, "Well. That's stupid." Most used sentence opener: "I'm concerned that. . ." usually having to do with the stability of props. The new ending, as of yesterday, involves shackles and dancing parachutes. We'll have to see exactly how long that lasts.
Rehearsals are Tuesday through Sunday, 10-4:30. Tech is Sunday through Friday, 5-9, with a full day on Monday. Interns do about seven shifts a week, split between the two. Tech shifts are used to accomplish the notes that Richard gives after rehearsal, to further develop/create costumes, props, and scenic elements. Initially, I thought that I would just kind of grit-my-teeth-and-bear-it through tech shifts, using rehearsals as the bulk of my learning process. It turns out, though, that I while watching Richard work is bizarre and amazing, I often have very little to do during rehearsals, especially when he's messing with lighting. Not being actively involved sometimes makes it hard to be completely engaged in what's going on. During tech, on the other hand, there is always something to get done, and the work is continuously shifting and growing. I get to put into play all of the random skills I learned in production classes in college, as well as traverse the city in search of materials ranging from mundane (dry wall screws, black elastic) to complicated (4-wire cables) to utterly bizarre (shackles). I am consistantly delighted to be working with my superiors (Peter, Megan, Brendan, and Shannon), as well as my intern cohorts.
I realize that watching the show develop makes it hard for me to keep a grip on what the overall product will evoke, or be 'about' as it were. The themes running through expand and contract, but don't disappear completely, since the video that Richard is working with is in itself a static entity, not subject to a change in content; so, too, are the data banks of voice tapes that Richard has on file. However, the eventual combination of elements could become anything, and we won't know what that is for a long time. What I am looking forward to, in the distant future, is viewing the finished product with people who don't carrywith them the history that I will have, the history of the development, and discussing what they experience in comparison to what I know and see. So, come to New York, fine friends, and we'll have an extravaganza.
If anyone is interested, there's a live podcast of rehearsal every Wednesday at Free103point9.org from 10-4:30 EST, and we have a blog available for your perusal at http://www.wakeupmrsleepy.blogspot.com .
Physical Negligence Update:
1. My second day at the Ontological, I almost got a concussion. I was cutting wood on the chop saw, and when I finished, promptly stood up into the steel stairs to the dimmer room. I immediately had a walnut sized goose egg on my forehead, and had to spend an hour in the production office, icing my head and making sure I didn't vomit. Perks: the swelling went down by the time I went to bed, and I got to hear about every theatre related injury ever sustained by the TD.
2. I have cut both my left hand on the knuckle and my right on my index finger tip while cleaning the meat slicer at the bakery.
3. I sustained a long thin burn on my left arm last Friday on a pizza pan.
4. While not initially painful, I warded off the advances of a Ukranian man on the train on Halloween night by vomiting the entire contents of my stomach (cream of spinach soup, chicken wrap, whiskey and water, orange cosmopolitan, etc.) into my purse. Totally disgusting, I know, but please picture me on the train, one minute trying not to have a conversation with a 35-year-old Ukranian, the next making every effort not to throw up, giving up that effort, throwing up into my bag, excusing myself, getting off the train a stop early, and walking the rest of the way home. Now, that's comedy. The pain, of course, came the next morning/day with the raging, equalibrium-busting hangover that I suffered during rehearsal. Oh, Trashy New York can be so entertaining.
Tomorrow morning I am waking up early to help one of the other interns shoot some footage for an experimental film he's making. On that note, this will have to be all for now, but there will be more to come, in a timely fashion.
All the best from Brooklyn!
30 September 2006
Mr. Sleepy: Weeks One and Two
So far, I have done all of the following at the OHT:
1. Received a very embarrassing head wound.
2. Re-met Richard. He, of course, shows no signs of recalling the first time that we met. I think that I might be frightened if he did.
3. Painted heads.
4. Bought and schlepped paint, dowels, screws, buckets, luan (which I subsequently scraped my neck on), and large blue mailing tubes.
5. Drank more cups of Mud coffee than I'd like to go into.
6. Successfully maneuvered a jigsaw, a chop saw, drills, an electric sander, and a 3-hole punch.
7. Not so successfully maneuvered poxy, and smelled like it until I changed for work tonight. Sick.
8. Painted heads, built pedestals, drew 1' yellow diamonds on white walls, marked 1/4" stripes on the floor, and hung Christmas lights using an extension ladder (whoa. scary.) and a staple gun.
9. Heard some of loops for this year's show. They made me laugh, even out of context.
Rehearsals start on Tuesday, and I'm excited. It's better than I ever would have expected.
Ha!: There's talk of having some sort of event for the bloggers that hate Richard, where they get discounted tickets and have a talkback moderated by Anne Bogart, who at Bard started an "I Hate Foreman" club, but who subsequently has become friends with him. I think that this is brilliant.
Also: The interns are going to be assigned days to ask Richard questions, and these plus the subsequent responses will be posted on the OHT website. So, if any of you have any questions that desperately need to be answered, please send them my way and I will attempt to work them into the mix.
1. Received a very embarrassing head wound.
2. Re-met Richard. He, of course, shows no signs of recalling the first time that we met. I think that I might be frightened if he did.
3. Painted heads.
4. Bought and schlepped paint, dowels, screws, buckets, luan (which I subsequently scraped my neck on), and large blue mailing tubes.
5. Drank more cups of Mud coffee than I'd like to go into.
6. Successfully maneuvered a jigsaw, a chop saw, drills, an electric sander, and a 3-hole punch.
7. Not so successfully maneuvered poxy, and smelled like it until I changed for work tonight. Sick.
8. Painted heads, built pedestals, drew 1' yellow diamonds on white walls, marked 1/4" stripes on the floor, and hung Christmas lights using an extension ladder (whoa. scary.) and a staple gun.
9. Heard some of loops for this year's show. They made me laugh, even out of context.
Rehearsals start on Tuesday, and I'm excited. It's better than I ever would have expected.
Ha!: There's talk of having some sort of event for the bloggers that hate Richard, where they get discounted tickets and have a talkback moderated by Anne Bogart, who at Bard started an "I Hate Foreman" club, but who subsequently has become friends with him. I think that this is brilliant.
Also: The interns are going to be assigned days to ask Richard questions, and these plus the subsequent responses will be posted on the OHT website. So, if any of you have any questions that desperately need to be answered, please send them my way and I will attempt to work them into the mix.
17 September 2006
i don't care if no one cares what i had for lunch
If you ever come to visit me in Williamsburg, I will take to you the Alligator Lounge, where with every beer purchase they give you a free pizza. My friend Jesica takes herself on dates there, and I'm planning to follow suit in the future.
Also, Theresa has been talking about this restaurant she really likes called Moto since I got here. She said that it was close, that it was tasty, etc. etc. We finally went there today with her parents, who are visiting, and by God if it isn't two blocks away with paninis and brunch and attentive waitresses and a huge wine selection. I will also take you there.
By the way: baked eggs, mixed greens, grilled bread, and two americanos. Don't you wish you were me?
Also, Theresa has been talking about this restaurant she really likes called Moto since I got here. She said that it was close, that it was tasty, etc. etc. We finally went there today with her parents, who are visiting, and by God if it isn't two blocks away with paninis and brunch and attentive waitresses and a huge wine selection. I will also take you there.
By the way: baked eggs, mixed greens, grilled bread, and two americanos. Don't you wish you were me?
15 September 2006
This Dirty, Pretty City
I can't help but enjoy the skyline, even in this slogging, rainy excuse for weather that's going on outside. And all the streets are clean, at least for a day, as the rain beats down on them. Especially in Central Part West. Damn it's clean over there.
I've spent the last two days handing out flyers to Jewish people all over Manhattan, for a Yom Kippur celebration in Union Square that combines various traditional rituals with performance art. I was given a list of Jewish events around town, and asked to flyer them as best I could. I'm not sure that I was very good at my job, as I refused to be aggressive in the way people who usually hand out flyers tend to be. However, I just asked each person "Can I give you one of these?" and smiled, and 90% of them said okay and smiled back. The whole gig definitely made me appreciate how cool and calm working the box office for Fringe Encore has been. I'm going to be really glad, though, when I have a steady income and no longer have to do things like flyer the Upper West Side.
The days of steady (if meager) income are fast approaching, if my sources are correct. More to come on that front, and by God if it doesn't involve thousands of pounds of chocolate. You think I'm kidding? Don't question me.
Tonight when I got off the L train I decided it was time to purchase some groceries and actually cook some food that wasn't eggs with bean sprouts. I made squash blossom quesadillas and broccoli pasta soup. There are leftovers. It's good for me to do these sorts of things in these fateful last few days when I'll actually have the time and energy. My internship starts on Monday, and soon, I will never be able to catch up on my sleep.
P.S. Mystery Commenter: I like this game. Let's play some more.
I've spent the last two days handing out flyers to Jewish people all over Manhattan, for a Yom Kippur celebration in Union Square that combines various traditional rituals with performance art. I was given a list of Jewish events around town, and asked to flyer them as best I could. I'm not sure that I was very good at my job, as I refused to be aggressive in the way people who usually hand out flyers tend to be. However, I just asked each person "Can I give you one of these?" and smiled, and 90% of them said okay and smiled back. The whole gig definitely made me appreciate how cool and calm working the box office for Fringe Encore has been. I'm going to be really glad, though, when I have a steady income and no longer have to do things like flyer the Upper West Side.
The days of steady (if meager) income are fast approaching, if my sources are correct. More to come on that front, and by God if it doesn't involve thousands of pounds of chocolate. You think I'm kidding? Don't question me.
Tonight when I got off the L train I decided it was time to purchase some groceries and actually cook some food that wasn't eggs with bean sprouts. I made squash blossom quesadillas and broccoli pasta soup. There are leftovers. It's good for me to do these sorts of things in these fateful last few days when I'll actually have the time and energy. My internship starts on Monday, and soon, I will never be able to catch up on my sleep.
P.S. Mystery Commenter: I like this game. Let's play some more.
07 September 2006
04 September 2006
Goodbye Blue Monday
Last night I drank Sangria Blanco and PBR in a bar filled with stacks of records, old typewriters, and seating made out of pianos and sewing machines. The drinks were cheap, the barkeep was friendly, and the company reminded me of home. Actually, as far as home is concerned, the whole place was reminiscent, down to the smell, of my old house on Laramie Street.
As a Labor Day gift to myself, I have done whatever has struck my fancy all day. I got up earlier than I had hoped to, due to the knocking and subsequent messing about and loud Russian of the super and his laborer, yet I came out of the deal with a closet door that swings on its hinges and a radiator that will work in the winter. I have eaten several meals, I went out for coffee, got some exercise, read a book, talked to MegaClar, sent some emails, and generally lounged about. Replenishing my various resources before continuing Ye Olde Job Hunt on the morrow.
All the Best from Brooklyn.
As a Labor Day gift to myself, I have done whatever has struck my fancy all day. I got up earlier than I had hoped to, due to the knocking and subsequent messing about and loud Russian of the super and his laborer, yet I came out of the deal with a closet door that swings on its hinges and a radiator that will work in the winter. I have eaten several meals, I went out for coffee, got some exercise, read a book, talked to MegaClar, sent some emails, and generally lounged about. Replenishing my various resources before continuing Ye Olde Job Hunt on the morrow.
All the Best from Brooklyn.
02 September 2006
Danish and Dolly Parton
I got a job working at a bakery on Saturdays (with the forthcoming possibility of more afternoons during the week) in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. I serve coffee, make lots and lots of sandwiches, and have spent every minute so far trying not to get fired, as I feel as though the woman that hired me likes me, but her husband is interested in having me prove my worth as a human being as he stares at me constantly while I work.
The best and strangest thing about this man, however, is his obsession with country music. These people have lived in Brooklyn for at least 20 years, and yet I feel when I'm working as though I haven't really left the midwest at all. To his credit, his love of country extends way beyond Country and Western (thank God) and into Johnny Cash and even Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins (I was near choking when I found that album in his stacks of CDs. . .good thing he wasn't there to scrutinize me at that moment).
And when it's not country, that means the pseudo-father figure isn't working, and it's instead my new corn-rowed friend who introduced me around the neighborhood after my first day of work, and that means there is extremely loud hip-hop on the stereo.
And the bagels are awesome.
Also:
I finally have keys to my apartment.
I finally made it to my apartment after having been unable to go home, for one reason or another, since yesterday at 1:30PM.
I finally bought an umbrella, after trudging through the rain for 10 blocks on my way to the train after work. It's really ugly, and that's okay.
The best and strangest thing about this man, however, is his obsession with country music. These people have lived in Brooklyn for at least 20 years, and yet I feel when I'm working as though I haven't really left the midwest at all. To his credit, his love of country extends way beyond Country and Western (thank God) and into Johnny Cash and even Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins (I was near choking when I found that album in his stacks of CDs. . .good thing he wasn't there to scrutinize me at that moment).
And when it's not country, that means the pseudo-father figure isn't working, and it's instead my new corn-rowed friend who introduced me around the neighborhood after my first day of work, and that means there is extremely loud hip-hop on the stereo.
And the bagels are awesome.
Also:
I finally have keys to my apartment.
I finally made it to my apartment after having been unable to go home, for one reason or another, since yesterday at 1:30PM.
I finally bought an umbrella, after trudging through the rain for 10 blocks on my way to the train after work. It's really ugly, and that's okay.
30 August 2006
Brooklyn Begins
I'm sitting crosslegged on my new bed (!) in my new apartment in a new city, surfing the interweb by candlelight. There are big, tall buildings outside, and a train that I can see from my window. The air is cool and clean after some recent rain, so I have the blind pulled up and the window thrown open wide. So, here I am.
Please send letters that I can put up on my walls. You know the kind I mean. These walls are just begging to be filled with new, exciting things.
Can I just mention how poorly I navigated the city today? What should have taken me 2 hours took 5, and I spent enough time lost on foot that my feet are still on fire. However, I did eventually make it to my two job interviews today, and there are no sure things, that's not bad for my first full day as a New Yorker.
Tomorrow I plan to call everyone I know that lives in the city and ask them if their jobs are hiring. Theresa is going to help me get copies of my resume, so Friday will be dedicated to tossing my credentials at every passing stranger. Once that is taken care of, I plan to actually start living a New York life. That is not to say that I haven't already had a great time (my plan is to see just how many match books I can steal from Barcade), and I've already gotten to see several of my lovely friends that are braving this city life. I just know that I'll get out my brush and start painting this town once I have an actual income with which to purchase paint.
Ah, the sound of sirens in the night.
Please send letters that I can put up on my walls. You know the kind I mean. These walls are just begging to be filled with new, exciting things.
Can I just mention how poorly I navigated the city today? What should have taken me 2 hours took 5, and I spent enough time lost on foot that my feet are still on fire. However, I did eventually make it to my two job interviews today, and there are no sure things, that's not bad for my first full day as a New Yorker.
Tomorrow I plan to call everyone I know that lives in the city and ask them if their jobs are hiring. Theresa is going to help me get copies of my resume, so Friday will be dedicated to tossing my credentials at every passing stranger. Once that is taken care of, I plan to actually start living a New York life. That is not to say that I haven't already had a great time (my plan is to see just how many match books I can steal from Barcade), and I've already gotten to see several of my lovely friends that are braving this city life. I just know that I'll get out my brush and start painting this town once I have an actual income with which to purchase paint.
Ah, the sound of sirens in the night.
25 August 2006
Chicago, Part I
1. I am alone in Dawn's house, preparing dinner. I hope that someone comes home to eat it.
2. Dawn's cat is grooming my armhair with her mouth, and there's nothing I can do about it, as it's vastly preferable to what she was doing moments ago (trying to sit on the keyboard of my open computer, since that is clearly the focus of my attention currently).
I made it, so, so far so good. It's pretty damn swell here.
2. Dawn's cat is grooming my armhair with her mouth, and there's nothing I can do about it, as it's vastly preferable to what she was doing moments ago (trying to sit on the keyboard of my open computer, since that is clearly the focus of my attention currently).
I made it, so, so far so good. It's pretty damn swell here.
10 August 2006
Wednesday Night at The Ghost Parlor
Mt. Gigantic was adorable. I hope they make it to Iowa City in good shape.
I missed most of Hunter Dragon, thinking I would be able to tell when he was starting from the back porch, but being sorely mistaken.
Olympics:
1. DAMN Matt Fields can play the saxaphone.
2. I am really glad that I can call these guys my friends.
3. Record, already.
And: I drank too much Skinny Dip, and spouted what was quite possibly total nonsense in the backyard for over half an hour. Only Mr. F knows the truth.
The evening, in its entirety, was exactly what I needed in my current workaholic state. Thanks.
P.S. There's a surprise torrential downpour outside, just when I thought I might burst. There's thunder and everything.
I missed most of Hunter Dragon, thinking I would be able to tell when he was starting from the back porch, but being sorely mistaken.
Olympics:
1. DAMN Matt Fields can play the saxaphone.
2. I am really glad that I can call these guys my friends.
3. Record, already.
And: I drank too much Skinny Dip, and spouted what was quite possibly total nonsense in the backyard for over half an hour. Only Mr. F knows the truth.
The evening, in its entirety, was exactly what I needed in my current workaholic state. Thanks.
P.S. There's a surprise torrential downpour outside, just when I thought I might burst. There's thunder and everything.
07 August 2006
The Good News
I want the Excitement to live separately from the Trauma.
This apartment is clearly going to be full of magic for us.
*It will be full of fabulous roommates.
*It is only a 15-minute commute from the Ontological Hysteric Theater.
*It actually has 3 bedrooms for 3 roommates (not a sure thing ever in NY).
*One bedroom is smaller, so I can pay a little bit less rent.
*We have a fire escape.
*We can paint it. Fabulous roommates-to-be are painting this weekend.
*Nearby, there is a cute bar, a Walgreens, and a gas station.
*Mike found us a TV/VCR. Though I will never have time to watch it, it is still good to know it will be there.
That's what I know without having even seen it. Think of the possibilities.
Plane tickets have been purchased. The countdown has begun.
This apartment is clearly going to be full of magic for us.
*It will be full of fabulous roommates.
*It is only a 15-minute commute from the Ontological Hysteric Theater.
*It actually has 3 bedrooms for 3 roommates (not a sure thing ever in NY).
*One bedroom is smaller, so I can pay a little bit less rent.
*We have a fire escape.
*We can paint it. Fabulous roommates-to-be are painting this weekend.
*Nearby, there is a cute bar, a Walgreens, and a gas station.
*Mike found us a TV/VCR. Though I will never have time to watch it, it is still good to know it will be there.
That's what I know without having even seen it. Think of the possibilities.
Plane tickets have been purchased. The countdown has begun.
Labor
A few days ago, the universe exploded. At least that's how I described it to my father. While I was at work, I received 4 voicemails from Theresa:
Message 1: We found an apartment.
Message 2: Camron is looking at the apartment.
Message 3: We want the apartment.
Message 4: We need 2000 dollars from you, preferably today.
As exciting as the first three messages were, all excitement was demolished by the prospect of the fourth. I spent the rest of work feeling like I was going to vomit. So did my mother.
After work I went home and took a three hour nap to avoid dealing with the world.
Then, somehow, we managed to scrape together 1500, which is what had to happen right away. That money was officially wired this morning. Thank God.
To increase the chances of having enough money for my September rent in the bank when I leave Kansas in 17 days, I am now doing what I should have been doing all summer: supplementing my income with odd jobs. I am extremely lucky that various opportunities have been made for me over the last few days, opportunities that, I hope, will keep me extremely busy until the moment I leave. In addition to working regularly scheduled hours at the Market:
Job #1: Various feats of manual labor at Jane's house.
Duties include: scrubbing mold, scraping metal, painting walls, cleaning cabinets, vacuuming cobwebs, etc.
Job benefits include: food and beverage, Jeremy's iPod
Lessons learned: Mouthwash helps with mold stains. Metal primer doesn't come off your hands, even with a Brillo pad. Brillo pads will, however, take off skin and irritate seasonal finger bumps. I missed the TV on the Radio memo, but thank God I found out.
Job #2: Yard work/ MXTW organization for Jim.
Duties include: laying mulch and insecticide, readying MXTW info (reader lists, company lists, scripts, author blurbs, etc.) for MXTW.org, and filing
Job benefits include: caffeination, Megan Clark, learning about my history
Lessons learned: MegaClar is good at scrapbooking against her will. Jim will always accidentally call me Gwethalyn.
Job #3: Possible yard work for Jim's neighbors. All has yet to be determined.
I will make it through all of this. I don't have any other choice.
Message 1: We found an apartment.
Message 2: Camron is looking at the apartment.
Message 3: We want the apartment.
Message 4: We need 2000 dollars from you, preferably today.
As exciting as the first three messages were, all excitement was demolished by the prospect of the fourth. I spent the rest of work feeling like I was going to vomit. So did my mother.
After work I went home and took a three hour nap to avoid dealing with the world.
Then, somehow, we managed to scrape together 1500, which is what had to happen right away. That money was officially wired this morning. Thank God.
To increase the chances of having enough money for my September rent in the bank when I leave Kansas in 17 days, I am now doing what I should have been doing all summer: supplementing my income with odd jobs. I am extremely lucky that various opportunities have been made for me over the last few days, opportunities that, I hope, will keep me extremely busy until the moment I leave. In addition to working regularly scheduled hours at the Market:
Job #1: Various feats of manual labor at Jane's house.
Duties include: scrubbing mold, scraping metal, painting walls, cleaning cabinets, vacuuming cobwebs, etc.
Job benefits include: food and beverage, Jeremy's iPod
Lessons learned: Mouthwash helps with mold stains. Metal primer doesn't come off your hands, even with a Brillo pad. Brillo pads will, however, take off skin and irritate seasonal finger bumps. I missed the TV on the Radio memo, but thank God I found out.
Job #2: Yard work/ MXTW organization for Jim.
Duties include: laying mulch and insecticide, readying MXTW info (reader lists, company lists, scripts, author blurbs, etc.) for MXTW.org, and filing
Job benefits include: caffeination, Megan Clark, learning about my history
Lessons learned: MegaClar is good at scrapbooking against her will. Jim will always accidentally call me Gwethalyn.
Job #3: Possible yard work for Jim's neighbors. All has yet to be determined.
I will make it through all of this. I don't have any other choice.
05 August 2006
i blame blogspot.com
So, the content of my blog disappeared after I attempted to add some new links.
Just as suddenly, all is well, except my links disappeared and I had to figure out where in the source code to write them back in.
Thanks to Joey for offering to help me figure things out. Apparently they just needed to figure themselves out, and I was only getting in the way. Oh, you boys with your fancy .coms and aesthetically pleasing headers. I might be a little bit jealous.
Today's tasks, now that work is done:
1. Take a nap.
2. Start deep cleaning Jane's house.
3. Jump in the lake.
Just as suddenly, all is well, except my links disappeared and I had to figure out where in the source code to write them back in.
Thanks to Joey for offering to help me figure things out. Apparently they just needed to figure themselves out, and I was only getting in the way. Oh, you boys with your fancy .coms and aesthetically pleasing headers. I might be a little bit jealous.
Today's tasks, now that work is done:
1. Take a nap.
2. Start deep cleaning Jane's house.
3. Jump in the lake.
02 August 2006
Showers
It's finally raining, and it makes me want to slow dance in the living room to something sweet and vaguely melancholic.
Sometimes I am a walking, laughing, smoking cliche. You don't mind, do you?
Sometimes I am a walking, laughing, smoking cliche. You don't mind, do you?
21 July 2006
Filming Extravaganza II, or, The Mother of All Scenes
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006
Final day of filming for Extravaganza, including The Mother of All Scenes.
8:30 PM: Empathy belly construction.* Boiling bits of plastic baby in giant pot on gas stove in my kitchen. Room temperature exceeds 100 degrees farenheit.
Baby bits soften but do not melt. Plan to meld together baby bits aborted.
Plan to staple baby bits together using industrial staple gun briefly considered.
Decision made to purchase nude colored clothing to create empathy belly.
Boiled baby bits left floating in pot on stove.
9:00 PM: Beige/nude colored clothing apparently not in style. Camisoles of any color, especially beige/nude, apparently not in style.
9:10 PM: Discovery of seamless underpants exactly matching my skin tone that extend above the waist by atleast 7 inches in the Intimates section.
Loud discussion of how pregnant I can look in "slimming" underpants near dressing room before fitting.
9:30 PM: Loud discussion of underpants logistics in cashier's line.
Megan: . . . We can stuff some of the baby bits into the underwear and you'll still look pregnant!
Me: Megan, remember where you are.
Cashier: (look of utter bewilderment)
Megan: Oh. Sorry. I. Uh. I'd like to run this as credit, please. Thanks.
Cashier: Have fun with your baby bits.
10:30 PM: Baby bits stuffed down my underpants.
10:45 PM: Filming begins. One sequence shot over and over, as follows:
1. Sit in bathtub. Bob head back and forth humming "Three Blind Mice."
2. The Bohemian enters, prepares himself, preps for birth. Girl In a Green Dress: dress up, legs splayed out over either side of tub.
3. The Bohemian attempts to enduce natural birth, but is torn away by invisible forces.
4. Girl In a Blue Dress enters tub for C-Section.
5. Girls are horrified. I am ashamed.
Thursday, July 20th, 2006
12:30 AM: One shot to perform C-Section using real scalpel on empathy belly. Bits of batting pop out everywhere.
Gorify C-Section, batting, boiled baby bits and all.
And finally.
A TWO-HEADED, BUG-EYED BABY ERUPTS FROM MY STOMACH.** I am proud. My Dad flickers in the background.
This makes my exhaustion worthwhile. And remember, kids: this IS a comedy.
*This is the second time in two summers I have been fitted for an empathy belly.
**This is the second time in seven years that I have birthed a disfigured doll child in a show at the MAC. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it.
Final day of filming for Extravaganza, including The Mother of All Scenes.
8:30 PM: Empathy belly construction.* Boiling bits of plastic baby in giant pot on gas stove in my kitchen. Room temperature exceeds 100 degrees farenheit.
Baby bits soften but do not melt. Plan to meld together baby bits aborted.
Plan to staple baby bits together using industrial staple gun briefly considered.
Decision made to purchase nude colored clothing to create empathy belly.
Boiled baby bits left floating in pot on stove.
9:00 PM: Beige/nude colored clothing apparently not in style. Camisoles of any color, especially beige/nude, apparently not in style.
9:10 PM: Discovery of seamless underpants exactly matching my skin tone that extend above the waist by atleast 7 inches in the Intimates section.
Loud discussion of how pregnant I can look in "slimming" underpants near dressing room before fitting.
9:30 PM: Loud discussion of underpants logistics in cashier's line.
Megan: . . . We can stuff some of the baby bits into the underwear and you'll still look pregnant!
Me: Megan, remember where you are.
Cashier: (look of utter bewilderment)
Megan: Oh. Sorry. I. Uh. I'd like to run this as credit, please. Thanks.
Cashier: Have fun with your baby bits.
10:30 PM: Baby bits stuffed down my underpants.
10:45 PM: Filming begins. One sequence shot over and over, as follows:
1. Sit in bathtub. Bob head back and forth humming "Three Blind Mice."
2. The Bohemian enters, prepares himself, preps for birth. Girl In a Green Dress: dress up, legs splayed out over either side of tub.
3. The Bohemian attempts to enduce natural birth, but is torn away by invisible forces.
4. Girl In a Blue Dress enters tub for C-Section.
5. Girls are horrified. I am ashamed.
Thursday, July 20th, 2006
12:30 AM: One shot to perform C-Section using real scalpel on empathy belly. Bits of batting pop out everywhere.
Gorify C-Section, batting, boiled baby bits and all.
And finally.
A TWO-HEADED, BUG-EYED BABY ERUPTS FROM MY STOMACH.** I am proud. My Dad flickers in the background.
This makes my exhaustion worthwhile. And remember, kids: this IS a comedy.
*This is the second time in two summers I have been fitted for an empathy belly.
**This is the second time in seven years that I have birthed a disfigured doll child in a show at the MAC. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it.
18 July 2006
Faulty Framework
Last summer, during warm-ups for There Is No More Firmament, I was not paying enough attention to where my feet were in proximity to someone elses feet, and as I shifted from a high level to a low one, I lost my balance and threw my head on the ground. I kept going, assuming that I would be just fine. An hour later, not only did my head hurt (concussed?), but I couldn't turn my head to the right. That's right: I'd given myself whiplash. I had to go to Lawrence to see my chiropractor the next day to right this painful wrong.
Today, with no amusing anecdote about my occassional lack of control over my body, I woke up in my mom's room* and, once again, could not turn my head to the right without seering pain. It's been long enough (almost exactly a year) since the last episode that I can't say whether this feels the same. I do know, however, that 1. I'm having trouble reaching behind my own frame on the right side (reaching the toilet paper should not take so long), 2. it took me two minutes to figure out how to get up from lying down sans pain, a prospect I eventually gave up, and 3. it is totally impossible for me to tip my head towards my right shoulder.
Now, this would be unfortunate enough as it's own little battle. However, this is the final week of rehearsal before tech week for Extravaganza. This is also the week I start rehearsing my solo piece. And this is the first week in eight years of selling fruit that I have been given more than 40 hours.
Someone find me a new body, STAT.
*I slept in the kitchen when I got home last night. It was still probably 90 degrees in the front room of my mom's apartment when I got home, so I decided to drag my sleeping mat into the kitchen, the only room with an air conditioner. When my mom got up for work, she asked me to go sleep in her room so that she could make breakfast.
Today, with no amusing anecdote about my occassional lack of control over my body, I woke up in my mom's room* and, once again, could not turn my head to the right without seering pain. It's been long enough (almost exactly a year) since the last episode that I can't say whether this feels the same. I do know, however, that 1. I'm having trouble reaching behind my own frame on the right side (reaching the toilet paper should not take so long), 2. it took me two minutes to figure out how to get up from lying down sans pain, a prospect I eventually gave up, and 3. it is totally impossible for me to tip my head towards my right shoulder.
Now, this would be unfortunate enough as it's own little battle. However, this is the final week of rehearsal before tech week for Extravaganza. This is also the week I start rehearsing my solo piece. And this is the first week in eight years of selling fruit that I have been given more than 40 hours.
Someone find me a new body, STAT.
*I slept in the kitchen when I got home last night. It was still probably 90 degrees in the front room of my mom's apartment when I got home, so I decided to drag my sleeping mat into the kitchen, the only room with an air conditioner. When my mom got up for work, she asked me to go sleep in her room so that she could make breakfast.
16 July 2006
Pipe down a minute, Chachi. You there: Explain yourself.
"Oh my gosh! I just realized how many boyfriends you have this summer!"
"Yeah, but that pretty one has a girlfriend and lives out of town. . ."
"Oh, but that's better!"
"And none of them know that we're in love."
"You're my hero."
"Yeah, but that pretty one has a girlfriend and lives out of town. . ."
"Oh, but that's better!"
"And none of them know that we're in love."
"You're my hero."
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