« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »
February 28, 2007
I Am Tired of the Snow
Tired of it.
I am tired of waking up in the morning and seeing whiteness where it was green/yellow/brown the day before. Tired of cloudy skies, and cold winds and having to warm up the car before I drive anywhere.
I'm tired of zipping up my coat and wearing gloves. I'm tired of wearing a coat.
And sweaters.
And pants.
I'm tired of wool socks and looking out the window to see that where ten minutes before the skies were blue and the sun was shining, there are once again white flakes whilrling about under lowering greyness.
I.
Am.
Done.
With.
The.
Snow.
I know the snow is a good thing. I know that our aquifer is draining faster than it's refilling. I know that snow melts slowly into the ground and actually provides water for the plants in the area instead of running off into the storm drains. I know that we're suffering from a drought and the more snow we get, the better. I even know that I'm being ridiculous by expecting spring weather in February when we won't get real spring until the end of April. I know this.
But it doesn't mean I'm not ready for shorts and tank tops and Tevas and days that last forever. Because I am.
Believe me, I am.
Posted by sally at 10:34 AM | Comments (1)
February 25, 2007
I Did Not Watch the Oscars
No!
The Hell you say!
'S true. I did not watch them. And though I'm sorry I missed some of the outfits and "hairstyles" (I did indeed hear about the freshly cueballed Jack Nicholson), I had no desire to watch them this year. I've seen hardly any movies, so I felt curiously detached from the whole thing. Plus, I'll be able to find pix of the best outfits online.
I do not feel remotely cheated. It's actually pretty refreshing to not care.
Posted by sally at 09:50 PM | Comments (4)
February 23, 2007
Today Sucked
And that's all I'm going to say about it.
Posted by sally at 04:18 PM
February 19, 2007
How Nice
I have all kinds of things to do tomorrow, and absolutely none of them involve rehearsal or performance.
It's not that I don't enjoy acting, because I do. I love the rehearsal process and I have an equal but different love for the run of a show. (Because it's a different animal.) But I have all kinds of things to do because they kept building up over the course of the last few weeks when I had LOTS of rehearsing and performing to do.
So.
Now I can catch up on the other stuff. Like cleaning my office. And doing the laundry. Even those chores sound good to me based on what comes after. Clean office, clean laundry. Excellent results for an afternoon's hard work. And in preparation for all that laundry and office scrubbing, I'm hitting the sack soon. Because before the laundry and the cleaning comes the teaching. Turns out it takes everything I've got to make it through two classes in a row.
I don't know how K-12 teachers find the stamina. Don't get me wrong, I love my students and am having so much fun in my classes, but man, the teaching wears me out. Even when I don't lecture. The brain starts shutting down after class one. I've asked other actor/instructors, and they have the same problem, so I suspect it has something with teaching class at the same level as in a performance or rehearsal. And in theatre, you should put everything you have into the work, so that you're exhausted by the time you're finished. For those of us who act and teach, I suspect the drive just slops over into the classroom.
Which doesn't sound very professional, but I bet it's entertaining to watch.
Posted by sally at 10:40 PM | Comments (1)
Hey There! Remember Me?
It's been a busy couple of days here. What with performances and classes and two sets of visitors. We have such wonderful friends, and bunches of them came all the way out to the sticks to see Dave's first staged production, By Design, the play that won the KCACTF National 10-Minute Play award last year. It was lovely to see them all.
And exhausting. Because on top of the performances and classes and house cleaning, I have that stupid cold again. I have been told by several helpful people that this damn illness is going to keep cycling through my system as it mutates. So I'll have good days where I feel completely well again and then it will come back. Fantastic. I'm smack in the middle of round two right now, but it's been MUCH lighter than the first go-round (which was a fairly light case as well, for me), so I'm hopeful that my immune system and I will be the exception to the rule.
I can't help but believe, though, that the love and friendship I got to revel in this weekend will help the healing process tremendously. Kate, Judy, Dionna, thank you all so much for taking the time to come see us. I can't begin to tell you how much your support of David's work means to me and how very much I enjoyed just spending time with you.
Posted by sally at 09:45 AM
February 15, 2007
So. Tired.
It's a dark, rainy, blustery, windy day out, and for some reason, that always exhausts me. I am so tired. I feel like I've been running around like a freak, and yet I've not been exercising unduly or even actually running around like a freak. But, man, am I tired.
Today has been a good day, though. My students had to do emotional responses to Lolita, and the stuff they came up with was brilliant. I have the best students in the world. The very best. I don't know how I got so lucky.
Posted by sally at 04:26 PM | Comments (2)
February 13, 2007
Time Away in My Head
Have you ever just needed time away from yourself?
(For once) I recognized the warning signs yesterday. Long amounts of time staring at the computer, doing nothing, certainly not doing the things I needed to be doing. Lots of yawning. Procrastination. Crankiness. Habitrail brain. All of these signs that I hadn't had any "me" time for a while.
Me time is not alone time. Not solely. I can sit and surf the net and be completely alone, and it won't do me a bit of good. All of the competing thoughts are still crashing around in my brain. I need time outside myself occasionally, especially when I've just exited tech week and am teaching lots and in the process of devising new projects for my students. The brain never shuts off, it flits from one project to the next and never really comes to rest.
Which is why the Arboretum Project was so good for me last year. It forced quiet time, time to just exist, focusing on nothing but the world around me and the things I could capture through the lens. I could allow myself the luxury of letting objects of beauty surprise me into gasping. Now, of course, I don't have time for such an ambitious undertaking. My days are all full full full of stuff to do and build and write and think about and memorize and perform. I haven't had time to step outside myself for a while. And I could feel the demons creeping up.
So this afternoon, I did something irresponsible and necessary. I read a book. An entire book. Straight through. A book that was absolutely perfect for taking me out of myself. It's new (to me, anyway, I'd never read it before), it's honest, and it's beautifully written. And when I finished reading Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain, I felt like I'd been alternately bathing and drinking in a virgin spring. I felt refreshed and awakened and rested. Ready to tackle the grading and the lesson planning and the research and the memorization and the writing of a midterm exam.
Thank you, Nuala O'Faolain, for giving me exactly what I needed when I needed it. You have no idea what a lifesaver your book was, sitting atop my TBR pile. Thanks to your memoir, my grading may actually get done tonight.
Posted by sally at 07:28 PM
Whalesong in Moscow
My office always smells funny and is way too warm, so I usually work in here with the windows open. Which is why I know that someone is playing humpback whalesong recordings out of a dorm window at high volume.
I wonder how many other listeners can identify it.
Posted by sally at 02:36 PM
February 12, 2007
This Morning, the Cat Set Himself on Fire
You think I'm joking.
But no.
I believe I've mentioned here before how much Polyphemos enjoys hanging out atop the fridge. I'm not sure I've ever explained how close that is to the gas stove. The two are separated by a set of drawers and about 1.5 feet of countertop. This countertop is what the Boy uses to get to his perch on the fridge.
This morning, I was puttering about getting ready for the day. I filled the kettle, set it on the burner & lit the flame. I ground the coffee beans. I emptied one of the DishDrawers.
And then I smelled burning.
I turned around and looked at the stove. Nothing amiss there. I turned back around and sniffed at the coffee grinder. Nope. I looked toward the stove again. Still no reason for the burning smell.
My eye caught movement up and over, and there on the fridge lay Poly. Whose long, lush tail now has a nice singed spot on the underside about 1/4 of the way up from the base. There wasn't ever any actual flame that I saw, I don't think he really ever caught fire. I think he just lay his tail on the kettle for a moment as he turned to jump onto the fridge. That countertop gets full in the mornings, with the french press and coffee mugs, etc., leaving not much room for ascendant cats.
I'm thinking about using a different burner for coffee making tomorrow morning.
Posted by sally at 09:09 AM
February 09, 2007
ATC Update - December
I wanted to do a little art today, before getting to the whole clean the house/grade papers/do laundry/catch up on readings for classes/write lesson plans thing. So I edited photos of all of the ATCs I created in December and January and now I can post them here. This entry is just for December's ATCs. January will be in another entry which I will post after I shower.
Mad and Crazy - The Rorschach Series
The theme for this swap was "Mad and Crazy," meaning you could do anything you chose. I had been trying to find the right sized ink cartridge for my new fountain pen, and had two open cartridges that hadn't worked to "use up." So I spattered them across a piece of watercolor paper and the Rorschach Series was born. In this series, I continued to play with three dimensions, as I'd begun to in the Perchance to Dream series
Shock Treatment
Crazy Eyes Mad About You
Crazy Beat
This is, by the way, going to be an extremely long entry. Pix of the rest of the ATCs for December and January appear after the jump.
Junk Mail and Labels Series
There were two swaps in December that dealt with recyclables, the Junk Mail series and the Labels series. Each of these required that the majority of items used come from the category of trash in the title. I've included lists of the stuff I used to make each card.
Junk Mail
Cookie Cutter Murder
The card itself is from a tool catalogue cover featuring a photo of lots of different kinds of hammers. The inspiration, however, came from the cookie image, which I got from a bank flier, of all things. I also included a stamp from a "mass mailing" envelope.
Vintage Gardener
This card was from a gardening catalogue. I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I saw the "Vintage Gardener" blurb. In fact, the entire Junk Mail series involves puns and silly jokes. I had a lot of fun playing with images.
Early Bloomer
The base card for this came from the cover of a rose nursery catalogue.
Flowers
This card came from the same catalogue cover as that used for "Early Bloomer."
Labels - Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Series
For all of these ATCs I used recycled items. The only non-recycled stuff is the glitter that occasionally shows up. (I can't help myself.)
Sunflowers I
The card is part of a cardboard box. The embellishments are from a sunflower seed packet, an insert about the vibram soles of my new hiking boots, a postage stamp from a letter I recently received from a friend and glitter, which is a thing I have trouble not adding.
Sunflowers II
The card is part of a cardboard box. The embellishments are a sunflower seed packet, the insert attached to the laces of my new hiking boots, the card for a locally made glass pin and copper wire binding from an old spiral bound notebook I recently dismantled for recycling.
Holiday Lights
The card is cut from the packaging for a pair of fleece socks. The embellishments are from a Starbucks bag and a package of Starbucks coffee. Also, glitter.
Words to Live By
The card is a remnant from craft paper used in other projects. The embellishments are ribbon that was tied around the packaging of some chocolate bars I purchased, an HP Inkjet ink cartridge box, two different tea bags (Choice Tea and Numi Morning Rise Tea), an insert attached to the laces of my new hiking boots, the card for a locally made glass pin and a Starbucks bag.
I named the piece Words To Live By because it seems that’s what advertisers and sellers want us to do, to live by the words and images they promote and so buy more of their products.
Posted by sally at 03:40 PM
I Am Now Officially Baffled
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 167.0 164.8 lbs
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
It's not just the scale; pants are fitting better, my face looks thinner. So I'm losing weight. The important question, though, is HOW?
In the last week, I've been teching a show, along with putting together lesson plans and fighting off a cold. My diet has gone to shit. I haven't been getting enough sleep. I certainly haven't been exercising. The amount of Airborne I've taken alone should have accounted for a rather large caloric intake, as should the daily glass of red wine I've been drinking to help me sleep as quickly and as soundly as possible post-rehearsal.
And should we discuss the cookie dough? Or the chocolate whatever it was I had an entire piece of last night at the opening night party? Or all the bread I ate before then? Or the fig-filled fillo dough?
I follow the diet to a T, focus on eating healthy, low-cal foods and limit my alcohol intake and I gain four pounds. I eat like shit and drink wayayay too much and I lose two and a bit.
It doesn't make any fucking sense.
Posted by sally at 11:24 AM | Comments (3)
February 07, 2007
The Joys of Living With a One-Eyed Cat
I haven't posted pix here in a while, and I took one last night that Dave insisted I share with the rest of the world:
Several Christmases ago, my brother and sister-in-law sent us a really great set of olive oil and vinegar accoutrements for bread dipping. It all came in this great bread basket, which the cats adopted as their own almost immediately. So now it sits on the hearth, occasionally occupied, as it was last night.
As a bonus, a photo of Poly on top of the refrigerator, his new favorite place. From there, he can see out all of the kitchen and dining room windows, plus feel superior to every other being in the house. And he looks so sweet, doesn't he?
Mind you, he did fall off one morning. Dave and I both watched it happen, unable to do anything to stop him. It doesn't seem to have altered his behavior in the slightest. Tough little scrapper, our Poly.
Posted by sally at 12:16 PM | Comments (2)
February 06, 2007
How Do You Spell "Hnnnsshhhhhhk?"
I have one helluva head cold.
The New Works Festival opens Thursday.
Thank goodness I don't say very much. Or move very much.
Posted by sally at 03:24 PM
February 04, 2007
Perfect for Each Other
So on Friday, I got the following IM from Dave:
David says: I got you a Valentine's Present
I could not help myself. I had to come up with the most outrageous possibility, which is why I responded:
Sally says: Is it a pony?
Dave's reply (and the reason for this post):
David says: Dammit
Posted by sally at 11:57 PM
A Wide Range of Interests
So I just finished this book. And I found it full of really fantastic stuff that relates to being an actor, whether or not the author intended it to. But then, I've always believed that theatre is a sacred practice, a gift to the creator. Which of course makes me a bit too "woo" for some people, but there you are.
For example, at the very end of the book, she says, "The great desert monk Anthony once said that 'the prayer of the monk is not perfect until he no longer realizes himself or the fact that he is praying,'" which pretty well sums up what actors strive for throughout the process. We try to become one with the work.
And now that I'm done with that book, I'm starting on this one. From the sacred to the profane, I guess. Though according to the book, the title word was once very sacred indeed and was co-opted to become one of the filthiest words of the English language. Yay for the patriarchy. Nice going.
Posted by sally at 11:35 PM
Oh. Yeah. The Dieting Thing
I've given up on the exercising until after ACTF in Ellensburg. What with classes and rehearsals and the run of the New Works Festival, I'm not going to the gym. It's not going to happen. I am, however, trying very hard to eat right, so I'm not giving up on everything. Just the gym thing. And that's only temporary. Until I can fit it into my schedule again. In March.
On the other hand, I walked downtown and back yesterday, with a backpack full of grading materials. (And on the way back, I had two more books and some groceries.) And I'm walking a lot on campus because of where I have to park and the distance from my office to the building where I teach. Plus, teaching? Exhausting. I can't think for most of Tuesday and Thursday, thanks to the two classes I teach from 9:30-12:15. That's got to be burning some calories.
Speaking of teaching, we had tech for New Works yesterday. And among the 20 people in that theatre were four former and three current students of mine. I felt vastly outnumbered. Mind you, I don't actually teach theatre classes, so it was even odder.
But you're not here for my drivelling on about my students and teaching. You're here for the numbers.
Starting Weight (June 2006): 186 lbs
Current Weight: 168.0 167.0 lbs
Short Term Goal: 150 lbs
Actually, I'm thinking about making 150 my long-term goal as well. If Tyra Banks can be 1-2 inches taller than I am and healthily weigh 161lbs, 150 is probably a good place to head. Mostly, though, I just want to be a size 10 again. And the last time I was there, I weighed 157 (and I was sexxay), so I may not need to get to 140 as I'd originally intended. We'll see.
In other weight/diet-related news (and may I just say, bless Tyra Banks for refusing to buy into the size 0 image), my friend Karma has posted her Dieting Constitution. She's hoping to get one person to sign on per day in February. It's a healthy approach to body image, and worth supporting.
Posted by sally at 09:19 AM
February 02, 2007
Fashion Victim
Only not in the way you think.
I spent part of my morning watching the Paris runway show for the 2007 Christian Dior haute couture collection by John Galliano. It's some of the most beautiful stuff I've ever seen in my life. And the red dress, with all of the ruffles that get darker the closer you get to the floor until the bits in the train are black? I'd buy and wear that dress in a heartbeat.
Posted by sally at 04:17 PM | Comments (2)
Happy Groundhog Day!
It's my day off. Lots of grading, some house cleaning and hopefully time for art.
Dave, on the other hand, has stuff going on until late tonight. It's his busy day at school, he's got dry tech for the New Works Festival and he's still fighting a cold. So I'm on my own today. All day.
I'm going to the local Reiki circle tonight, but after that, I've got nothing planned. Hmmm... Given the circumstances, perhaps it should be movie night.
Posted by sally at 09:59 AM
©2006 - All content copyright Sally Eames-Harlan unless otherwise noted