« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
March 31, 2008
Oh Dear, That Was a Mistake
I just sat down.
Prior to that, I had no idea just how tired I was.
But I am.
Tired.
Not sure how to get my legs moving again.
Or to keep my eyes open, for that matter.
Posted by sally at 02:53 PM
March 30, 2008
Incubating//Unconscious Mutterings #269
Yesterday was tough. Long day following in the tracks of a series of long days. Emotional highs and lows, constant cerebral activity of various types and the knowledge that I still have so much to do.
BUT, I did get about a third of the exams graded and I got to have dinner with Dave and spend some time hanging out with him after. Then I went home (he went back to the theatre to build some more sound cues for the next two shows--despite the conspicuous absence of his name in the program, he is the sound designer) and hit the lines hard for about two and a half hours. Then I crawled into bed and passed out.
I don't have to be at the theatre for another hour or so. I could work on my lines again now, but something deep and calm inside is telling me to not do it. Probably because I need a little more time completely away from the show before I spend the next seven days obsessing about it. Though I haven't had this much trouble getting lines to stick in my head in several years.
So anyhow, I'm incubating.
I worked the text hard and slept, and now I'm doing other things, to try to not think about it for a bit in hopes that it will prove to actually be in my head somewhere for access when I need it. It seems to have worked well for me thus far. The biggest improvements I've made in the process have come after a hard session with lines followed by sleep. Lets hope the last little bits stick this time.
And since we're focused on my psyche right now anyway, here's this week's Unconscious Mutterings:
- Stuffed :: gills, animal, turkey, pudding
- Gills :: fish, underwater, breathing, scotch
- Distance :: far, barrier, inaccessible
- Panties :: thong, show, mouth (Along with the moonshine jug, a thong is one of the important props in Woods of Weaver. It plays a big part in the fight.)
- Checkered :: Past, Nixon.
- Fill in :: Blank, understudy, role, dentist
- Taunting :: Rude, vulnerability, teasing, mock.
- Diner :: Burger, milkshake, scrambled eggs
- Pizza :: MMMMMMM…, pepperoni, cheese, sauce
- Best friend :: David, husband, spouse, wedding ring
And now it's time to find something else to occupy my head. Because I just realized my script is sitting right here, right next to me, and it's taking all of my self-control to not reach over and open it. Pardon me, I think my neroses are showing.
Posted by sally at 08:09 AM
March 29, 2008
PhotoHunt: Absent
You'll notice I haven't yet posted a PhotoHunt entry today. Chances are I probably won't. Things are insane here. Let me just give you a taste of what I'm talking about.
Yesterday's Schedule
7-11am (roughly) -- Stress about a crisis that is resolved as rapidly and unexpectedly as it was dumped in my lap.
11am-12:30pm -- Run around campus making sure new crises don't arise from solution to recently solved crisis, also work to find resolution to OTHER crisis that has reached crisis point and stayed there for the past week or so.
12:30-1:20pm -- Teach
1:20-1:30pm -- Race across campus to second class.
1:30-4:30pm -- Teach
4:30pm -- Race back across campus to meet with students in original building.
4:35-4:55pm -- Meet with students, who were all there on time, unlike their instructor.
5-5:45pm -- Eat dinner at local coffee shop type restaurant while working lines.
6-6:30pm -- Try to work lines some more. Unfortunately, too tired to think.
6:30-8:30pm -- Rehearsal. Run show.
8:30-9:15pm -- Drive home. Stop at grocery store on the way. (Out of wine. I'm currently dealing with stress by drinking. Joking. Sort of.)
9:15pm -- Collapse on couch after first tidying house in exhaustion-fueled frenzy. (You know what I mean, I bet you've done it too.)
11:30pm -- Finally get around to crawling to bed. Pass out almost immediately. From exhaustion, people. I had one glass.
Today's Schedule
8:30-10am -- Rehearse in the performance space on the actual set because we haven't actually done Act II there yet and we tech tomorrow.
10am -- Walk to office, leaving car in parking lot. I'll be back in that building soon enough. Fall on the ice just out side of office building. Feel my sacrum go "gink". Hoping desperately it's fixable by me and won't require finding a chiropractor.
10:15am-1:25pm -- Grade student assignments. Make tea, listen to Zelenka, sigh occasionally.
1:30pm -- Walk back to the theatre for a matinee of Maaike's play, the only performance of it I can actually attend.
2pm -- Curtain held due to some kerfluffle at the ticket desk.
2:30pm(ish) -- Performance begins. It's a good play, there are some strong performances and some not so strong performances. Part of it makes me cry.
3:45pm -- Arrive back at my office. Make some more tea. Begin grading again.
4:30pm -- Finish that stack of assignments. Enter grades in grading spreadsheet. Trying to decide whether to do more grading or to run away and play. Next on the list is exams, and I'm really having trouble with the idea of working on them given that I disagree with the entire concept.
4:45pm -- Decide to practice Avoidance Through Blogging. (It's working fairly well so far, though I think I'm going to have to cave and grade the fucking tests.)
From here? Dinner. Possibly another show. It's either see it tonight or see it tomorrow afternoon, which I'd kind of like to take completely off, actually.
Okay. I'll grade exams for an hour and then call Dave to see if he's ready for dinner. I'll see the show tomorrow. After dinner, I want to go home and work on my lines.
Posted by sally at 04:45 PM
March 27, 2008
Winter Wonderland
Only it's March. Late March. Which means I'm relatively justified in taking issue with the three or so inches of snow on the ground. The three or so inches that weren't there yesterday morning. Or yesterday afternoon, for that matter.
Yesterday, I walked to school. It started to snow during my hike, which was fine. I was plenty warm. And I was treated to the hilarious vision of a guy riding a bicycle into the wind, his entire front thoroughly plastered with snow while his back was almost entirely snow-free. It snowed pretty furiously for a bit there. But then it all melted off. By noon.
We had a couple of flurries that disappeared quickly over the course of the day.
And then last night about an hour into rehearsal, we took a bit of a break and one of the actors looked up and said, "Holy shit. Is it snowing?" It was. Hard. In large flakes. There was about an inch on the ground when I left campus last night around 10:30. It's dumped a bit more since then.
I don't want to complain too much, because we need the water. The aquifer is in desperate need of recharging, and snowmelt is one good way of doing that. On the other hand, I would really, really like some steady sunshine and warmth. I would really like that.
Posted by sally at 07:34 AM | Comments (2)
March 25, 2008
Officially Overloaded
I'm pretty sure that's what you call it when you work steadily while you're at work and then take a brief break and work steadily while you're at home and then work steadily while you're at rehearsal and don't manage to get done all of the things that must be done before the day is out and that is your typical day.
I took the weekend off from grading, in the end. I was itching to make some art, and I'm trying very, very hard to not put my own needs dead last all of the time, but damn. The stack of grading increased a bit yesterday, even though there was no reason for that to happen. And I still didn't get done all of the stuff that needs doing.
On the other hand, I have the beginnings of a very nice mask. Though I coated the whole thing quite thoroughly with vaseline, I didn't apply the damp layer of paper towels I normally use as an additional buffer between face cast and glue, so I'm a bit concerned about how well it will release. Of course, that's at least three more layers of papier mache away, so I'm not too worried at the moment. Though that will change, should I ever get the time to apply those final layers.
Not that that's happening anytime soon. I've got to get Act II memorized first, and those lines are not sticking in my head the way Act I did. I'm not sure why Act II is harder to learn, but it is, even though I'm spending all of my time focusing on learning my lines rather than grading papers and exams. I've even got less to say in Act II, but that little bit does not want to stay.
Posted by sally at 07:27 AM
March 24, 2008
Totally Updateable
Just checking in while waiting for dinner to cook before I rush off to rehearsal. Today has been lovely. Insanely busy and exhausting, but lots getting done, including a walk to and from campus and a bunch of very necessary, highly positive student meetings in gorgeous spring weather. Here's hoping rehearsal is as pleasant and productive.
My stage manager just called. They changed the schedule and don't need me until 8pm. Awesome. Now I can spend a little time with/on my lines. I didn't think I'd get that luxury today.
Posted by sally at 04:02 PM
March 23, 2008
Unconscious Mutterings # 268
Week 268
I say ... and you think ... ?
- Money :: Money Money, ABBA, adverbs
- Unhappy :: sadness, depression, greyness, me
- Joking :: ha ha, cruelty, Snap!
- Chipmunk :: Chip & Dale, Disney, strippers
- Date :: time, calendar, special, dress up, late night kisses on the porch
- Slideshow :: Grand Canyon, California, bad color processing, trips, camping, snow on Father’s Day
- Chicago :: Bears, Bulls, Bean, Becca
- Lifetime :: TV, soap operas, Oxygen
- Skid row :: bum, restaurant, Bowery, Hell’s Kitchen, Seattle
- Edward :: Scissorhands, II, garden, Shakespeare
Yes. I know I'm depressed and halfway to insane. You do too now, after getting this peek inside my head. What an unexpected mix of images and emotions.
As I was making the lists, I was really surprised at how much of a slave to popular culture I am. I mean, look at the number of things that have to do with commercial enterprises and/or the media. I don't follow basketball or football, really, nor do I watch Lifetime TV or the Oxygen Network, and yet they all popped into my head right off the bat. Even if I'm not choosing to put them there, they're there.
By the way, I originally read Slideshow wrong and had the following responses to my inital reading:
Sideshow :: Bob, tattoo, freak, odd, imperfect, humanity
The tattoo part comes from this amazing book I read a couple of years ago called The Electric MIchaelangelo, about a freehand tattoo artist from England who sets up shop in Coney Island. It's gritty and bleak and fantastical and horrific and deeply satisfying. It made me think long and hard about why I have my tatt and whether I want to either embellish it or get another. I do, want to do both, actually. I'm just not sure it's a good idea for an actor to have too much ink on her body.
I knew I was flirting with depression again yesterday when I spent the entire day sitting on the couch surfing. Well, not the entire day. I took some photos and did a little writing, but mostly, I was a lump.
That's always a bad sign. Some of it can be excused, chalked up to the cold I've been healing from, the tremendously full and busy week that was last week and the fact that even if I went to bed before 11 last week, I still couldn't get to sleep before 2am. For no apparent reason. I just couldn't. So I've been tired and sick and I allowed myself yesterday on the couch as the day I should have had earlier in the week to just deal with my cold by letting my body rest. And I do feel much better physically this morning. But my mood matches the greyness outside now, and if it hadn't been for the word association above, I'm not sure I would have noticed. I did, though, so now I have to do something about it. Art or weeding is my first preference, though I should probably do some work. Because I have got grading to do...
I have so much grading to do. Not because it actually needs to be done this time, either. This is a self-imposed grading task I'm talking about here. I have opted to do some really serious copy-editing of a set of student papers, complete with full explanations, so that they can see--should they take the time to--how to make their writing stronger. Instead of five minutes each, they're taking ten to fifteen minutes each to grade. And there are over thirty.
I dreamed about them last night. Not a good sign. Not a good sign at all...
Posted by sally at 10:00 AM
March 22, 2008
Cleo Update
Here's her obituary. You can find Rosary and Memorial Mass information there.
Per memorials, Cleo requested donations be made to your local hospice, cancer research center or favorite cancer charity.
Posted by sally at 10:33 AM
Unconscious Mutterings #267
If you read regularly, you know I made a commitment a while ago to use this space to explore & reveal myself more fully. As an artist, I think that's vital. Hell, as a human I think that's vital. It's also one of the things I'm trying to get my students to do for themselves.
I am a particular fan of the sneaky ways into the psyche, the paths that get around our defenses. I strongly believe that the cracks in the walls and the holes in the fencing are possible routes to treasure. At this point, anything I can do to scootch through is worth the effort, and to feel like I'm playing too? Perfect!
Anyhow, I just discovered Unconscious Mutterings at LunaNina this morning. I'm posting my first entry today because, well, I am. And when she posts the next list tomorrow, I'll respond to that one too. The fact that there are more or less no rules to this really appeals to me. I'm beginning to see rules as the stuff we use to keep from truly exploring who we are.
- Paranormal :: Ghost spooky guilty pleasure
- Alarm :: morning, snooze, fire
- Operative :: spy, agent, working
- Changing :: alter, mid-life, faerie
- Framed :: mounted, matte, glass, photo
- Beer :: food
- Referral :: receipt
- Unmasked :: open, bare, naked, vulnerable
- Movie star :: gorgeous, work, surgery
- Handbook :: rules, regulations, hilarious book I read in high school
Posted by sally at 09:38 AM | Comments (1)
PhotoHunt: Metal
This one was hard. Usually, an idea pops into my head as soon as I read the week's theme, but as late as twenty minutes ago I had no idea what I was going to do.
Ideally, I wanted a picture of someone's braces, but I don't actually know anybody here who has them. So I had to come up with something else. This is it. I think the thing I struggled with most was texture. I didn't really want to do a reflection thing, and a picture of a flat surface is not necessarily all that appealing. I needed texture. I'm still not sure how successful I was here. (In the end, I couldn't decide between these three. It's a multiple image day!!)
All That Glitters
Metal I
Metal II
Posted by sally at 08:47 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 21, 2008
Friday Mornings
I like Friday mornings. At least, I like them when they're allowed to fulfill their proper function, the way I designed my schedule. When my schedule is back under control, like it is now, Friday mornings are project, meeting and class free. Friday mornings are my time off. I don't have office hours and I don't--when my schedule is under control--have grading. It's me time.
Ideally, I don't have anything until I go to teach class at 12:30 on Fridays, though this morning I have to go in early to type up the lesson plan for the three hour Friday class I co-teach. We talked about it yesterday and I wrote some things down, but I didn't type them up because I was grading and wanted to get that done so it wasn't hanging over my head. I still have lots and lots of grading to do, including an exam and a raft of papers that I'm trying to be as picky as possible with, so that the students can turn in final drafts that are just stunning, but it's under control. I think I can get it all done when it needs to be done. Even though my evenings are not my own right now. Or for the rest of the semester, actually, since I just signed on to do another show that begins rehearsals as soon as Woods of Weaver closes.
So when I have a Friday morning like this morning, when I discover that I'm out of the stuff I need to make my breakfast smoothie, when I'm shaking my roll-on deodorant and it flips out of my hand and plops into the toilet, when there is fresh snow on the ground, the streets, the cars, It's not as stressful as it would be to make a quick run to the store on, say, a Thursday, when I have to be in the classroom at 9:30. (Actually, on a Thursday I would have to find alternative breakfast and deodorant solutions because going ot the store before class would be out of the question.)
Even the tedious and neverending noseblowing from this cold isn't quite as annoying as usual on a Friday morning like this morning.
On mornings like this, I feel like I have all the time in the world, and it's a welcome change from the way I normally live my life. If I can have this little breather, the insane workload and busy schedule don't seem quite as heavy. When I don't get my Friday mornings, I get a little bit crazy. It's actually a good indicator that something needs to change, when my I can't keep myself to myself on Friday mornings but instead have to focus on grading or meetings.
To be honest, I prefer having entire Fridays off, but that hasn't worked out this year. It may not work out next year, either, though I'm still shooting for really full at school Tuesdays and Thursdays and grading/art days on Monday Wednesday Friday. I just know that teaching is exhausting enough that I need to not do it five days a week if I can help it. That's why I opted out of one of the classes I'm teaching now.
In the meantime, I have my Friday mornings. And they're soothing enough that I can even be polite to little old ladies in fluffy pink hats who wander down the sidewalk selling Jehovah door to door as though faith were a magazine. Even after the deodorant mishap.
Posted by sally at 08:14 AM
March 19, 2008
For Those Who Knew Her
I don't know that you'll hear about it anywhere else, scattered as we are, but for all my peeps from graduate school who read this, Cleo died today. She'd been fighting cancer for the past two years, and while we suspected it was coming, I'm not sure anybody expected it to happen this soon.
I thought you'd want to know. If I get updates on services or memorials, I'll post them here.
Posted by sally at 03:01 PM
March 17, 2008
March Is the Hardest Month
Three mornings in a row now we've awakened to snow on the ground. It's always been gone by 10am. This morning is no different. It doesn't seem to bother either the snowdrops or all of the bulbs that are pushing through, but it's making me a little crazy. I'm kind of done with winter now, and the snow and the grey days, when combined with some petty human stuff, make feel just a tiny bit like lying down in front of a bus.
On Friday, it rained. And then it snowed. Then it was sunny. It rained some more. Then it hailed. Hard. For a good twenty minutes. Then there was more rain, and then the sun came out, briefly, before setting. When we got up on Saturday, there was snow on the ground.
On Friday, I really started feeling the cold I'd been denying for much of the week. By the time dinner rolled around, all I wanted to do was lie in bed forever. Shivering.
I'm really done with March now. Really. Could we please move on to April with its warmer rains and actual sunshine and fewer colds? And the knowledge that there are only five weeks left of the semester before a whole entire summer of not school and bureaucracy-related silliness? A whole summer of sleeping enough and doing what I feel like and maybe doing some traveling?
Wait a minute. If we skip to April, I'll miss the daffodils.
Never mind.
Daffodils and narcissi are worth a little suffering.
Posted by sally at 08:15 AM | Comments (4)
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Don't want the blog to get pinched, so green it is.
At least for today.
Posted by sally at 07:15 AM
March 16, 2008
The More Things Change...
...the more they stay the same.
Polyphemos, August 15, 2004
Polyphemos, March 15, 2008
The only difference I can see is that he's now too big to fit in the crack without sliding down.
Posted by sally at 08:08 AM | Comments (2)
March 15, 2008
I Hab a Code (plus more nephew pictures)
In my head, in my lungs, it's just nasty. My throat is so swollen and sore (and so full of gunk) I've put myself on vocal rest, to make sure I'm ready for rehearsal tomorrow. I will, however, spare you the details I shared with Dave. I am a contagious, excreting, mouthbreathing mess, and that's all I'm going to say about it. The exact color and flavor of the gunk coming out of my nose and lungs should not be of interest to anybody. Eeeew. I will leave the rest of it up to your imaginations.
But that's not what you came here for. At least, I hope not. Because this post is all about The Boy. And you know what? I'm not even going to write anything. I've got cold brain like you wouldn't believe, and it's affecting my coherence. I'm just going to slap a bunch of pictures up and call it good. These are not even in any particular order. I just put them in when I felt like it.
These photos were taken over the course of three days. Toddlers are busy people.
Afterbath
Out the Window
Mmmm Waffles
(I snapped the above just before he rubbled syrup covered hands in his hair. )
Rolling out Playdough
BlanketHead III
Afterbath II
(Sorry, John, the picture's not about you, though. It's about the happy little face peeping out of the towel.)
Snuggling with Grandma
Penned
Tasty, Unapproved, Snack
Hat
Hat II
Donning the Hat
This whole "hat" situation was hilarious. He carried his head very carefully to assure it wouldn't fall off. What a cutie!
Sleeping
Out the Window II
It rained the last day of my visit, so we couldn't play in the back yard like we did earlier in the week. I couldn't tell if he wanted to play outside anyway or if he was just watching the rain.
Sippy Cup
These last two photos take a bit of explaining. On the last day of my visit, my mom fell asleep rocking Kieran into nap mode. (I had done the same thing earlier. What is it about sleeping babies? Do they send out weariness vibes?) Christmas is my parents' cat. (He came into their lives during the holiday season.) He's one of the snuggliest beasties I've ever met, and while Mom snoozed, he hopped into the chair with her and the Boy and went to sleep curled up in her other arm. And then he stretched and moved and ended up where he is in these two shots.
Christmas & Kieran II
Christmas & Kieran
Apparently Christmas also enjoys the sleeping baby snooze rays.
Posted by sally at 02:19 PM | Comments (2)
PhotoHunt: I Spy
I spy, with my little eye, something RED:
Leetle Tiny Hightops. Official Converse Chuck T. Hightops.
Because how could I possibly not use nephew pictures for this week's post? I had to. It's required. (All the good aunties are doing it.)
I bought him these shoes this week. I had to. (That is my one response to all things nephew-related. I had to. There is no choice in the matter with that boy. I am simply compelled.) The cuteness level was through the roof in the store, so you can imagine how precious they were when actually on him. On second thought, though, you don't have to imagine. Here are pictures. More pictures. Of my nephew.
(Who is clearly the cutest baby ever.)
Punk with Sippy Cup
Yes, he is wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt. It was a Christmas present from his auntie. His only auntie. I bought it in Camden, home of punk rock. Though to be honest, I'm not sure whether it was really a present for him or for his father. (Who got a Sex Pistols shirt from the same market.) It's the sort of outfit that's designed to make a dad proud. And the Boy will be able to wear it for years to come, given the way it fits him right now.
Blanket Head
Because the whole family likes to make the toddler look ridiculous. He will hate us all someday. The bear is actually part of the blanket on his head. It's pretty amazing to me, by the way, how much that boy loves books. He's very careful with them. And he loves to hear stories. My brother was making all of the sound effects for the various machines in that book. I'm sorry I didn't record those as well.
Baby with Bowls//Jump Higer, Run Faster
And finally:
Watching
His eyes are now the same color as mine. That makes me ridiculously happy.
Posted by sally at 09:22 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 10, 2008
Gifts from the Universe
I've done nothing to deserve these, yet somehow, I've been delighted with a number of charming surprises over the last few weeks:
Boots
My friend Maaike dropped by my house on a Saturday morning with a load of boxes and bags. I was still in my pajamas. So was she. She had three pair of boots for me to try on (we wear the same size) that didn't work for her. I fell in love with the first pair she pulled out of a bag, and I've been wearing them ever since. I loooove my new cowboy boots. Looooove them. But you can understand why, can't you?
Jazz Festival and the Lunar Eclipse
As you know from earlier postings, I got to enjoy a lot more of both of these experiences than I expected to. Mostly thanks to living in this annoying little town. (It's not all bad here, just mostly.)
Chick Stuff
An evening with female friends, high hilarity in rehearsals, and an MFA thesis defense which consisted of, along with the scary question part, a reading of part of one short story that I now need to hear the end of and one entire short story about Jerry Seinfeld having an existential crisis at the Latah County Fair, which just about slayed me with the ridiculousness of it all.
Fortuitous Timing of a Newspaper Article
It was in the New York Times. It hit the press (and my consciousness) at exactly the right time to land in some very fertile soil (scroll down to Virgo). I'll write more about it later.
Time to Do Some Yard Work
I spent a Saturday weeding various beds in the front yard instead of doing anything else. It was time outside, it was time for myself, and it took some of the pressure off for this week, since those beds still look lovely. Now I don't have that hanging over me as well as the rest of my life.
A Lost Earring
Which doesn't sound like a good thing, really, especially when I get into which earring I lost, but bear with me.
Dave and I were in the mall on our first Valentine's Day here, and I mentioned something about needing some sparklies to make it a real Valentine's Day. He said, "okay." I figured that meant we'd be heading to Claire's, because that's what I meant. But he steered me instead to an actual jeweler. We visited every single one (there are four or five in the mall--which seems like two or three too many for a town this small, but then, we've got at least six realty companies here too, and an overabundance of Chinese restaurants as I've mentioned before). Eventually, he found what he was after, and I became the proud possessor of not one, but two pair of sapphire earrings (1/2c & 1/4c).
They're my favorites, of all the earrings he's bought for me since, partly because the screw backs on the diamonds do not hold them secure and I've almost lost the diamond studs several times. In fact, now, I have one screw back for the four diamond studs I possess. So I've been wearing the sapphires a lot.
I noticed one day last week that one of the larger studs was gone. I don't know how, I don't know when. It just wasn't in my ear any more. And I spent several days not wearing an earring in that ear because I just hadn't bothered to get out the remaining small earring and shift things around so that all three spots had posts again. It sucked because I loved those earrings. But it reminded me that I need to pay more attention to my own body, my own needs. I have to stop taking things for granted. And it could have been a more expensive reminder. It could have been a diamond.
No Rehearsal over Spring Break
Every time I looked at the rehearsal schedule, I saw the same thing, rehearsal Sunday through Friday. It wasn't until I was standing in the theatre on Friday night that I realized the reason the director kept saying things like "the Sunday after the break," and "when we come back from the break" was that we didn't have rehearsal this week.
I wouldn't have minded having rehearsal this week. I wouldn't have complained about it. It would have been good for me. But not having rehearsal means that I get to take an unexpected trip to Boise (and we found really cheap tickets so I don't have to drive through the still-wintry mountains--another gift) and see my family. But most of all, to see my Boy.
Getting the Grading Done Early
It all went by much faster than I expected. I got all of the arty freshman classes' work finished on Friday evening, and all of the thinky class done on Saturday (including a little slop over into Sunday morning). Some of those piles had been waiting for me for over a week, but they ended up being relatively painless and even interesting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading their ideas. I just hate correcting their grammar and spelling and pointing out logical leaps and errors over and over and over again. But the grading was quick. Much more so than usual.
Having an Unexpected Day Off
As a result of that, I was able to write some exam questions and then spend yesterday however I chose. Which involved lounging around on the couch eating Chips Ahoy and reading the silly stuff that you can only find on the internet. Every time I thought, "I should be doing something," I countered with, "But I'm on vacation so I can do anything I want!"
Finding an Earring
In the bed. On the sheets. When I flipped everything off the bed to straighten things out. I must have been sleeping on it for days. But it's back in my ear now, with a new back. I need to see if I can find a supplier for gold & stainless post backs. What a glorious discovery that was.
As I said, gifts from the universe. How lucky am I? I've been in the middle of several weeks' worth now. I'm hoping my good fortune will continue for a while longer. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the time ahead of me by not taking my laptop to Boise. So I probably won't be posting again until Friday at the earliest. (But I am taking my camera, so when I do post again, I'll most likely have nephew pictures.)
Posted by sally at 09:26 AM | Comments (2)
March 09, 2008
I Am on VACATION!!!!!
I have reprinted the grade sheets that were accidentally printed onto scratch paper (read half used already) last night/this morning and shredded the useless ones. I have written up questions and a study guide for the exam my students take next week. I have written up some ideas for my teaching partner about what else we want them to do next week. Now I just need to take the office stuff in to my office to leave there over the break. (Query: Should my laptop go to the office or stay with me on the trip to Boise. Will I use it? Hmmm...)
But for the next eight days, I have no teaching responsibilities aside from checking my email daily to be sure no one's imploded while we're on break (major group presentations and an exam coming up next week; people might freak out at some point). And tomorrow I leave for three days and four nights in Boise to spoil my nephew rotten and remind him that I exist.
Next on the agenda: art supplies, to spend the evening arting, I think, and then pack. Oh. And wrap Christmas presents. (What. I got them in London and started teaching almost immediately after we came back. I haven't had time to do anything non-school related, much less go to the post office. So I'll just wrap 'em, stick 'em in my suitcase and take 'em along tomorrow.)
I say art supplies because all of my final class sessions of the week last week were art days. One of my students brought these awesome acrylic gel mediums to class and now I must have some. I don't know what I'll use them for, but I'm sure I will think of something.
Posted by sally at 12:56 PM
Done for Reals
I've finished grading the final things, posted grades and sent a warning email. I do not have ANY MORE grading to do until a week from Monday. I may have emails to answer about various questions and/or topics, I have an exam to help write (and a study guide), and papers to sort/file/toss. But I have no. more. grading.
At least until a week from Monday.
Posted by sally at 03:29 AM
March 08, 2008
PhotoHunt: Different
It's a PhotoHunt Two-fer!!
So I've gone back to my archives for this. There just hasn't been enough time to take pictures this week. When I think "different," I think of two different (ha!) concepts:
A difference in perspective
Wineglass Swirl
and
Something outside the norm
Lazy Poly I
So there you are. The world seen through the literal bottom of a wineglass (so not only looked at in a way you wouldn't normally think of, but also through chemically altered eyes) and a one-eyed pirate cat. Technically, both are making you consider reality in a new way. The very physical presence of the different, of the unexpected, requires your brain to either ignore it or to find a way to make the new stuff fit. Which means that encountering difference always makes you different, too.
And that's a very, very good thing.
Posted by sally at 07:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 07, 2008
Done with the Grading! WoooT! But Not Really
Because I still have a big ole stack o'paper from the thinky class. Two sets of written assignments. I would start tonight, as I'm kinda in the mood right now to tackle them, but I thought I'd remember to stop by my office and get them after rehearsal. Which I didn't. Instead I came home and finished the grading for the other classes I teach and then remembered about the papers I didn't pick up on the way. I am not going back to campus to get them. I can do that tomorrow.
Now all I have to do is grade those papers and write some exam questions and then I can TAKE A DAMN WEEK OFF. I just found out tonight that I don't have rehearsal this week, so I think I may head down to Boise to visit my nephew.
And my parents, brother and sister-in-law too, of course. But mostly my nephew. Who I understand is beginning to talk. Time to make sure he knows my name. (I haven't seen him since THANKSGIVING. I hope he remembers me.)
But first, the rest of the grading. I think I may walk to my office in the morning and do it there, where I can lounge about on the couch and eat bonbons and know that no one will bother me. The goal is to get it allllll done tomorrow. Alllll of it.
Posted by sally at 10:09 PM | Comments (3)
March 05, 2008
Tired (And a Little Drunk)
Long day. Rehearsal tonight. GodDAMN, it was fun.
There are not words for how much I love acting.
The rehearsal and the drunk are only temporally* connected, as in, I did the one, then I came home and did the other. I was *not* drunk at rehearsal. Just to make that clear. What I was was corsetted and full of joy. There is nothing greater than being an actor. Nothing compares to it. Nothing. Even when I'm a bundle of neuroses, embarking on a new character (in this instance, a character so new that nobody has ever played her before), I can't imagine anything more wonderful than this.
Any other career path I choose will be second best. Because there is no competing with the glory of this ridiculous, scary, wonderful process. How lucky am I that I figured out this is the thing that makes me happiest?
*I don't know why, but the word "temporally" made me think of this exchange from Douglas Adams' Life, the Universe & Everything.
'Eddies,' said Ford, 'in the space-time continuum.'
'Ah,' nodded Arthur, 'is he? Is he?' He pushed his hands into the pocket of his dressing gown and looked knowledgeably into the distance.
'What?' said Ford.
'Er, who,' said Arthur, 'is Eddy, then, exactly?'"
"'There!' said Ford, shooting out his arm. 'There, behind that sofa!'
Arthur looked. Much to his surprise, there was a velvet paisley- covered Chesterfield sofa in the field in front of them. He boggled intelligently at it. Shrewd questions sprang into his mind.
'Why,' he said, 'is there a sofa in that field?'
'I told you!' shouted Ford, leaping to his feet. 'Eddies in the space-time continuum!'
'And this is his sofa, is it?' asked Arthur, struggling to his feet and, he hoped, though not very optimistically, to his senses."
"Arthur felt happy. He was terribly pleased that the day was for once working out so much according to plan. Only twenty minutes ago he had decided he would go mad, and now he was already chasing a Chesterfield sofa across the fields of prehistoric Earth."
Posted by sally at 11:16 PM
Welcome Cletus!
Stacy at Hollow Squirrel just had a baby! (Well, yesterday.) And she updated the entire world via her Blackberry. As things progressed.
This is one of the things I love about the internet. These people I don't know except via pictures and stories, work their way into my heart and the world gets a little bit smaller and more cozy.
Congratulations to the whole Squirrel family, including new big brother Jojo.
Posted by sally at 08:48 AM
March 03, 2008
Things I Should Be Doing
Include:
Grading
Grading
Reading
Grading
Yep. That pretty much sums it up. I should be doing a lot of things that aren't writing and posting this. And yet, what am I choosing to do instead? This, obviously. And this weekend I spent a lot of time in the yard, weeding. I got all of the isolated beds in the yard done, and half of one of the monster beds by the street. Even though the temperature never got above 45. But it was nice to take care of something that was making me crazy. Or, at least to take care of a big chunk of something that was making me crazy.
It's a good thing spring break is next week, because I need it. Burned out doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind, heart and body. I have two sets of weekly assignments and a handful of major assignments to grade. This would be me not doing that right now. At least I planned my classes this week so that I only really have to "teach" today and tomorrow. The rest of the week it's guest lecturers and art days. Even in the "thinky" class.
Which reminds me. I made a HUGE decision this weekend. HUGE. It was a long time coming, and went through a number of shapes before it turned into the choice I share with you now. I'm dropping to part time next year. Well, maybe. Depending on whether the class I've been asked to teach that they found out they didn't really have the money for but their students are required to take it so they're going to try to find the money but they don't know where they're getting it actually happens or not. I think I'll be at 3/4 time if that comes through. (And at this point in time, I am beyond caring whether it happens or not. I just need to know.)
Anyway, I've decided that I won't be teaching my "thinky" class next year. I'll still teach the Imagination class. Because it's really interesting and challenging and, I think, a necessary option for students. But I won't be teaching one of my freshman classes. The one that's less arty and more, well, thinky.
Why? Because I'm tired. I'm tired and I'm out of shape and I'm out of condition as an actor, and that class is the biggest workload I have and it's wiping me out. Because even though I have a TA, I can't make her do all of the grading. I need to do it so I can get to know the students and see where they're doing well & where they're struggling, so I can adapt the semester to best meet their needs. Which means that I'm grading all the time. And when I'm not doing that, I'm doing the readings so I can be sure to lead the discussions in a useful way. And when I'm not doing that, I'm working up lesson plans. I don't have time to take care of me, and that's vital right now.
So even though I will miss teaching that class, because freshmen are awesome and they grow up so much this first year of college and I really love watching that happen, I will be telling my boss(es) that I cannot teach it next year. I cannot be the artist I need to be if I spend every waking moment being a teacher. Just like I couldn't do it as a full time secretary. I have to be part time.
That was a hard decision to make. Mostly because I've been in the habit of saying "yes!" to everything. It's good for me to do, and I've had some awesome opportunities because of it. But this year, it became clear that I'd said yes to one thing too many. And then I was offered another opportunity to which I also said yes. So I've spent the last three to four months (since mid-November, basically) wrestling with which thing(s) I need to say no to in order to remain sane and healthy. I had made one choice, and then discovered that I didn't have all of the information I needed. So I made another choice. And that got tossed out too, when I got even more information. And now, I've decided to take control of the things I can control, and that includes saying no to teaching a class I've loved for the past three semesters because I just don't feel I can give the students what they need and still take care of myself.
I need to get back into voice lessons. Right now, there's not time. I need to be hitting the gym. Though right now, there's no time. I need to be writing and thinking and working up new monologues and finding places to audition. Why am I not doing that now? No time. The yard needs work and the house needs work and I really want to put together some workshops with my teaching partner, but as of right now, I have no time. Because when the workload does lighten a little bit, I'm so busy being tired that I can't make myself do anything more. I just stare at things. And the rest of the time, I'm doing all the things I need to do to be the best teacher I can be.
But though I love teaching, when people ask me what I do, I still say I'm an actor. Because that's the truth at the center of my heart. I don't have time to be that right now, and it's killing me.
The way I see it, I may be saying no to teaching this class I've been teaching, but I'm actually saying yes.
To me.
Posted by sally at 10:47 AM | Comments (1)
March 01, 2008
PhotoHunt: Party
Ever since I read about the theme, I had a photograph like this in mind. This is from a cheap set of outdoor lights, hung to look like unnaturally pink wisteria. They're on our back porch, which looks kind of magical when all of the lights I have strung are lit. My goal for this summer is to spend more time out there in the evenings than I have done. Which means buying wasp spray early and using it often, I suspect, since the porch roof is apparently tremendously desirable wasp real estate. (Then again, Dave & I are both fairly WASPy, so perhaps it's like attracting like.)
Anyway, parties always make me think of fairy lights and bright colors and warm summer nights. It's only March 1, but a girl can dream...
Party
Posted by sally at 07:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
PhotoHunt - Coming Soon
The shot I have in mind requires darkness. I forgot to take it last night. So expect to see it up here sometime after dark hits the Palouse.
Posted by sally at 04:32 PM
©2006 - All content copyright Sally Eames-Harlan unless otherwise noted