May 30, 2009

Traveling

I'm driving down to Boise today to spend some time with my family. It's the last opportunity I'll have to spend any quality time with them before I move to Chicago. Since I'm not taking a laptop--and I can never remember my password--let's all just assume that I'm not going to post anything until Wednesday, okay*? That way I'll know you aren't expecting anything and I'm not feeling guilty about it. I will be Twittering, however, since I can easily do that from my phone.

Have a lovely weekend. I fully expect to. I'll be seeing the nephew.

*Not posting until Wednesday also means not approving comments until Wednesday, jsut so you know. If I can't get into the program, I can't get into the program.

Posted by sally at 10:45 AM | Comments (1)

May 29, 2009

Recent Projects - Layer Love Class

So I'm in the Layer Love class over at Lost Luggage. Thank goodness it's pretty easygoing time-wise, because I couldn't start when everyone else did. The class began on Monday, May 18, and I was busy making books and some other stuff, and didn't have time to get to the class until Thursday evening, when book parts were resting and I couldn't do anything more with them.

That's when I finally had the time to take a shot at Lesson 1:

For the most part, this particular painting was about figuring out how I could use the materials I had to hand, since much of what she works with is Golden and therefore NOT AVAILABLE IN THIS STUPID SMALL TOWN. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to living in a real city with real art supply stores. Oh. My. GAWD.

So really, for me, Lesson 1 was more an exercise in frustration than in painting. Though I did notice when I wanted to differ from her approaches. Moments where she'd do something with the paint and I'd think, "That's not what I'd do there." I followed her instructions, though, because sometimes you have to do that when you're just learning something new. Try out what you're being taught and see what you can gain from it, rather than rejecting it out of hand.

I'm not particularly satisfied with this piece. I had to use spray paint on it before I got it to a place where I felt it was "acceptable," and that wasn't part of Lesson 1. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now, cut it up and use it for ATCs, just keep it the way it is until an idea strikes me, add more paint to lighten it up and journal on it, I just don't know.* It has some interesting aspects to it, but as a whole, I'm really very "meh" about it. About as extreme a "meh" as is possible, given the milquetoastiness of the emotion.

Lesson 2, on the other hand...

Last night was the first time I really had the time to take a crack at Lesson 2. And my approach was vastly different. For one thing, I opted to use colors I wanted instead of the blues and greens she used in the example. For another, I went much more with my instincts. And though I fucked up a fair amount in the initial stages, I found some stuff I felt pleased with as a result of my recovery actions.

The lesson called for collage elements, which were to go under several layers of paint. I included those, but as I was tearing up my book pages--from A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf--I found some bits of text that spoke to me, and I wanted the viewer to be able to read them. So I set those bits aside and used some other pieces of those pages for the underlayers. I painted the "readable" bits while waiting for the painting itself to dry, and then attached them when it was "done."

This piece isn't finished yet, either, though I have some ideas about where I want it to go. This one will stay whole. On the left, I want to add... something... It needs a figure, preferably a female figure, Victorian, maybe a fairy, on the left. And also possibly something over that to better simulate imprisonment, to underscore the sense you get of light trapped behind bars, quietly making its way out. I have a lovely piece of netting that I'm considering either attaching--though I don't like how it will stick out--or painting and using as a paint application tool. Though I'll want to test that out somewhere else first, in case it doesn't do what I'm wanting it to.

All in all, this class is giving me some interesting experiences. I'm frustrated that I can't get the materials she uses (I could order them and have them shipped, but that's kind of a pain in the ass), or I could just keep muddling along with what I have and what I've learned and see what I can get from it now, and then do it again later when I actually have the right tools. Which is probably what I'll do. I mean, it's not like I'm not gaining anything from these experiences. In fact, one of the biggest positives from the course so far is the discovery that I have a very strong sense of what I want, I'm not just uninformedly fucking around with paint, I'm doing what I feel moved to do. And the reassurance that I'm happier with the results if I go ahead and follow my own creative impusles.

*The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to cut it up into pieces and make it parts of something interesting.

Posted by sally at 02:55 PM | Comments (1)

May 28, 2009

Recent Projects - Japanese Stab Binding III

After the wedding on Friday night, Dave and I went home early. Because we got on a plane Saturday morning and flew to Denver for ANOTHER wedding: Mike and Kellie.

Mike is Dave's godson. A 27 year-old man who looks an awful lot like he did when I met him 13 years ago. Despite the time in the Navy, despite spending long hours in the sun with his frisbee dog, he still looks like he's 14. Which means I'm still not sure he's actually old enough to get married. I'm pretty sure he's actually just the same kid I met 13 years ago whose uncles (one of them my then-fiance) pulled him out of a car by force and upended him in a snowbank. Because he was being mouthy. The whole time, he was clutching frantically at the doorframe of the car and screaming, "Aunt Sally! Help me! Help me, Aunt Sally!" and all I could do was laugh. I laughed so hard I had to hold onto the car myself. For support.

When we got the "Save the Date" card in the mail, it immediately went onto the calendar. Because nothing, but NOTHING, would induce us to miss Mike's wedding. He's just too special.

Kellie--the new Mrs. Godson Mike--seems pretty special herself. No-nonsense, solid, and tremendously funny. Also beautiful. Those Harlan men have a way of picking pretty women. Strong individuals who are also smart and gorgeous. Kellie is no exception. She'll fit right into the family. Another awesome woman I'm proud to be related to.

I must say, though, that I really didn't have as clear an image in mind for their album as I did for James and Seraphina's. I decided to go with the colors on the invitation. And when I found the bauble in a store, I knew I had made the right choice. It was as if the universe itself was telling me their album needed that paper.

And to discover the perfect endpapers in my dusty collection of stuff was just additional support for the idea.

They're both fantastic people. People I want to know better than I do. But this marriage? Even not knowing Kellie all that well, seeing the tears in Mike's eyes as she walked into the room? I think it'll take.

Even if he is only 14.

Posted by sally at 12:35 PM | Comments (3)

May 27, 2009

Recent Projects - Japanese Stab Binding II

The groom entered to the Pirates of the Carribean theme. He inspected his ~~troops~~ groomsmen. They wore a variety of formal wear, all of it black, all of it attractive, all of it individual.

The bridesmaids entered in black dresses that also suited their own styles.

Then, in came the bride, escorted by her mothers. Her dreadlocks were bedecked with a single lily behind her ear. Her strapless red dress showed off her tattoos. She was barefoot. And absolutely stunning.

Thus began the tremendously moving wedding ceremony for our friends James and Seraphina.

I admit, I'm a big old sentimental baby when it comes to weddings anyway, but I was quietly sobbing for much of this one. Like when the bride couldn't get through her vows without weeping until the groom took her hand. Then she was fine. That's the kind of strength these two draw from and give to each other. Or when the groom so gently reached out to soothe the ring dog who decided it didn't like being in the room with all those people. He's such a kind man.

My book for them had to somehow represent the uniqueness and beauty of their union.

So I mixed silver (the details) and gold (the bookcloth). I made the internal pages different lengths. I used a recycled paper for the endpapers. So many things--like hearts and pirates--that shouldn't go together in the way we usually think about things. And yet here, somehow, in this union (and this book), they do.

Must be something to do with love.

Posted by sally at 01:54 PM | Comments (2)

Recent Projects - Japanese Stab Binding I

So this is technically the second recent stab binding I worked on, but I'm re-sewing the first one because I drilled it badly and then sewed it too loose as a result. It's an awesome book, though, and I'll post images of it here once I've re-stitched it.

Basically, this was a warm-up book, to remind me of the things I needed to know to create the gifts I made for the two weddings we attended this past weekend (I'll post those images later). But once I'd finished the covers, I knew it was going to be a really special book, and I decided to instead send it off as a thank you gift to someone who had been so generous that I felt she deserved more than just a note. That certainly added to the pressure to do things right, since the book suddenly had such an important purpose.

I'm really proud of the work I did here. It turns out I can't just make books to figure things out, I have to make every one beautiful, and I'm very, VERY pleased with this one.

It's a fairly small book. 8 1/4" x 5". Potentially an awkward size, but it feels so intimate somehow. Like a precious object. A treasure.

I don't know if you can tell from the image, but the paper is this lovely thick stuff that has flower petal inclusions. It's not stiff, either, it's fairly bendy. Wonderful paper to just run your hands all over.

I sent it off last week and received a reply from the recipient only a couple of days later, which surprised me, since it had to travel across the country. She loved it. Said it made her cry. I'm so pleased. I know I thought it was special, but I'm thrilled to hear that she does too.

Posted by sally at 01:08 PM

May 22, 2009

Off

I'm heading out of town tomorrow morning. Going to another wedding (I was just at one this evening, still a little tiddly from the wine), so I may not be posting for a bit. I haven't decided whether to take my laptop. I probably won't. Anyway, have a lovely looooooong weekend if you're in the States and if not, have a lovely weekend of whatever length yours happens to be.

Posted by sally at 10:56 PM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2009

The Shape of Things to Come

Aside from the whole not starting and finishing with relaxing trips to wonderful Pacific beaches situation (an oversight, and one I will not allow to occur ever again), this summer is shaping up to be as busy as last summer. In the next three weeks I will be in three different cities. Denver, Boise and Chicago. Knowing how rough the traveling almost weekly schedule was on me last summer, I've worked very hard to be sure I have adequate time between trips to maybe wind down and get some work done here at home. Though quite honestly, much of the work I'm hoping to get done will probably need to happen this week or it won't happen at all.

After I get back from Chicago, I have two days before I dive into rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. And then it's about two months until I am no longer a resident of Moscow, but am instead a resident of Chicago.

In an attempt to make this whole summer as insanely cramped with business as possible, I am in the process of applying for a job that begins August 15. Given that R&J closes August 9, I could have a very, VERY busy week in early-mid August should I be hired. But it would be an awesome gig and well worth the dash across the country. However, once I get the application turned in, it's all up to somebody else. So we'll see what happens.

Damn. Tired. Long, full and busy day, with another very like it approaching rapidly.

Posted by sally at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)

May 18, 2009

On Irresponsibility

This story--currently featured on the front page of nytimes.com--is about a woman I went to college with. Possibly two, I don't recall whether Lisa was a student with us or not. Just the fact that a partner and parent is dead makes it a sad, sad situation. What makes it an infuriating situation is knowing that despite the legal paperwork, the hospital treating Lisa when she died refused to allow Janice and the children into her room because they weren't "real family members." Because Janice and Lisa are gay, and the hospital and the state of Florida don't recognize gay marriage as legal.

Because some people have religion mixed up with humanity, a dying woman and her family were denied the comfort of each other's company when the time came to say good-bye.

Honestly. In this instance, What WOULD Jesus Do? Because focusing on sexuality at the cost of love wasn't his deal, as far as I recall from my long ago religious training.

Posted by sally at 03:07 PM | Comments (4)

On a MUCH Lighter Note

Happy

42nd

Birthday

David!!!

Posted by sally at 12:03 PM

Lilacs

The buds on the lilacs are swelling, and for the first time in my life, the thought of their color and scent makes me unbearably sad instead of deeply happy.

Because every time I think about these lilacs, I think about this:

And about how I'll never, ever get to photograph my darling pirate boy again. Oh, Polyphemos, I miss you so much.

Posted by sally at 11:57 AM | Comments (2)

May 17, 2009

I May Have Figured It Out

I am so bad at taking time off when I'm home. Like taking a few well-earned days of rest before tackling everything else. If I wasn't here, I could do it. I could just let things go and be on vacation for a couple of days. But because I'm here, I can't. And I'm wondering whether that's because I'm secretly afraid that if I ignore everything for a couple of days I'll never actually do it at all.

Perhaps that's my problem. I'm afraid I'll become a slug and never do anything resembling work ever ever again.

Or not.

It could just be that there's so much TO DO that it overwhelms me every time I look around and I end up sitting in a little quivering mess in front of my laptop because I can focus on that and ignore everything else around me.

So maybe I should take advantage of that and do some cover letter writing and resume updating.

Posted by sally at 03:49 PM | Comments (2)

May 16, 2009

Pottering UPDATED

It's a lovely day outside, and there's so much I could be doing, and yet, I'm pottering about. I can't decide what to do. I bought some art supplies for the Layer Love class (see the sidebar!!!) I start next week with Julie from Lost Luggage. I went to the going out of business/retiring sale at the local fiber store. I worked on David's birthday present. I gessoed coat two on a canvas and several pieces of chipboard.

I want to clean my office (but it's a bit daunting right now).
I want to work on a birthday present for a friend (but I can't find the words to begin).
I want to clean the kitchen (but that involves moving).
I want to work on the wedding presents that are needed next week (but for that I need some work space, and I need to clean my office and my kitchen workspace to get it).
I want to go for a walk (but I don't want the bother of finding my shoes).

Really what I want, I think, is to take a nap. To just be lazy today because it's summer and it's sunny and I really don't have to be doing anything, but I feel like I shouldn't do that.

This is usually what happens to me at the end of the school year. Summer stretches open and inviting before me and I'm exhausted and paralyzed by possibility. So I spend some time doing nothing and feeling guilty about it. Last year was brilliant because I did that somewhere else, on vacation, so that I had permission to just laze about and rest and unwind. I came back from that four day trip energized and refreshed and excited to get started with the next thing on my list. Whereas this year I am here, surrounded by the mess that is my packed school office and the result of a mad semester of busy. And instead of endless summer, I see deadline after deadline after deadline ahead.

In part, I may be rebelling. In much larger part, I suspect I am feeling overwhelmed by how much I have to do. Which wouldn't be more of an issue than usual except that "to do" involves moving to a brand new city and maybe finding a job before I get there. At least I'm only doing one show this summer so that I can do other things as well.

The key to this situation, I have discovered through years of previous experience, is to just do something. It doesn't really matter which something I do, so long as I do it. Because then, you see, that thing will be done--or at least started--and I will be able to check it off my list. So maybe I'll go take out the recycling. Because there's a lot of it in the kitchen, bags and bags, and I'm pretty sure it's looking at me.

**Update** That's MUCH better. The recycling is out of the kitchen and the gessoed surfaces are dry and there's an actual space I can stand and turn around in in my office. The compost has been tipped in the bin, and two magazines have been ripped up for parts. The gift bags I'm saving to use as book covers (or something) are back on the top shelf of the closet where they belong, and all the images that were piled on the floor are put away. Mind you, there's still a LOT of stuff I could be doing, but it's time to go have dinner, so I'm done for now, anyway. And that's a much nicer place to be than the place I was just hours ago.

Posted by sally at 03:31 PM | Comments (3)

May 14, 2009

Twit

(ter).

Because I have been sucked in by the mob mentality and I have joined.

I fought joining Twitter for a long, long time. First because with my previous phone, all I had was a 10-key keypad, and that would have been beyond irritating for posting with. Texting was a pain in the ass with that thing. Reason two was because I have a blog. Three blogs, actually, so I didn't feel I really needed an additional mouthpiece. I can (mostly) say what I lke here, why do I need to do that elsewhere too?

My main reason for avoiding Twitter for so long was what I'd seen happen to other bloggers. So many joined Twitter and stopped posting as frequently. While that may have been coincidence, it seemed to be a direct result of Twitter. (Also, I am really not good at the short and clever quip. Not my line of country at all, so why put myself in a situation where that sort of thing is de rigeur? I think we have done way too much to foster the short attention span as it is, why give into it myself?)

But my new phone has a QWERTY keyboard, which makes everything to do with text much, much easier. And I found myself wanting to post things when I was away from my computer. Short things, like commentary on what was happening around me. Not snark, because I have issues with that, but fleeting impressions that I wanted to share with someone about things that were happening right then that I probably wouldn't remember when I got back to the laptop.

Still, I wavered. Because I love blogging and have no desire to give it up.

Then an old friend, someone I hadn't heard from in years invited me to join. I wanted to hear what was up with her life, so I broke down and registered. And since I was already there, I also began following the friends of mine I knew were on Twitter.

Which is when I discovered why so many people do it and why so many people enjoy it.

The immediacy.

I'm not with the people I follow. They live in far-distant and exciting places like New York and Chicago and Portland. (And Spokane. AHAhahahahahahaha! Sorry, my little joke.) But I can have almost realtime conversations with them. And I love that.

Since I joined Twitter, I have had to figure out how to be a bit more concise. Which can't be bad for my writing. It's giving me a new challenge, requiring more creativity from me, to fit the 140 character limit and still say what I want to say.

I have also discovered that I'm still not interested in saying my short thing and having it be done in 140 caracters. Witness my multiple tweets on the lack of diversity in images in the New Yorker. I wanted to say it right away and be heard right away, but I didn't want to stop until I was finished expressing myself. I hope my friends don't mind that they get six fast tweets from me and then several hours of nothing. Because that appears to be the way I use this tool.

So. Anyway. Should you not get enough of the blathering here, feel free to follow me on Twitter too. I'm Sallyacious.

Posted by sally at 12:05 PM | Comments (2)

May 12, 2009

In-Between Days

For some reason, I came into this week thinking it would involve some time off. I'm not sure why I thought that.

I was hoping to take a brief trip to the coast after the last final on Friday, but then it dawned on me that Monday is Dave's birthday. And he has jury duty. Which means he can't go with me, and I really don't feel right spending his birthday at the beach while he's in the basement of the courthouse, waiting for the attorneys to say, "Um, no. You're smart and committed and rational and logical and all, but we really don't want all that in a juror, ultimately. We want someone a little less rational and a little more easily moved by metaphor and emotion."

So no brief trip to the coast for me. Unless I wanted to make it VERY brief indeed and drive over on Friday night and back on Sunday. Um. No. It's a nine hour trip.

And though the pace of things has certainly slowed down, the list of things to do has most assuredly not. I've got one last set of assignments to grade--the final exams are activity-based and the grades will be wholly dependent on participation. Then I have an office to pack up and move out of, but first I have to make room here for the stuff from that office. Which means cleaning my office here at the house, and that's pretty much a full day's project as well.

Plus, there are some wedding and birthday and thank you presents I need to make. I'm looking forward to those, but the office move must be my top priority. Because the deadline for that is closer than the weddings/birthdays, etc.

Then, I just have to start making some choices and packing. Packing stuff that won't get brought out again until I'm in the new place in Chicago. I wish the weather would cooperate and just be bloody spring so I can put the winter gear in storage for the summer. But no.

There are other things I need to be doing as well, but I start to get really agitated when I think about them on top of all of the stuff on my list. So I'm not going to. I'm going to pretend like the yard and the house are in FINE shape to sell and don't need any work at all. At least, I'm going to pretend that until some of this other stuff is out of the way.

For now, though, it's one thing at a time, and that means the final grading. It's kind of sad, really. I'm going to miss these students and their openness and their willingness to explore and their creative, beautiful work.

Posted by sally at 10:44 AM

May 10, 2009

Now That's What I'm TAWKIN' About

Last night was amazing. Incredible. Reassuring. Uplifting. Comforting. Inspiring.

It was the performance I knew we could give.

Finally--finally--we hit our stride with this show and gave the performances of our lives so far, I think, both of us. From almost the first minute, I could tell that we were both hot, we were both on, and that the audience was right there with us. And they stayed with us for the entire ride.

Of course there were errors, there were some bits that got skipped. Kate forgot to set her final prop for the show and had to scramble madly to find a substitute, since the thing she needed was on the absolute opposite side of the theatre. I had a couple of moments of costume worry when waistbands began slipping down my hips. But that sort of thing is standard for a night of theatre. The main thing is that we were both confident, centered and powerful. It was wonderful.

It didn't hurt that one of the performance faculty was in the audience making that little "hmmmmm" noise she makes every time a moment gets to her. She made a lot of those last night.

As I ran into the dressing room post-show and closed the door behind me, Kate came in the other end. Our eyes met, I squealed and she responded and we ran towards each other for a congratulatory hug. Because we both knew we'd not only finally given the performances of which we were capable, we'd surpassed them and then some. And then there was a knock at the door and Dave came in. He hugged us both and started to cry, he was so proud. It was a fairly weepy little moment all round.

I feel so much better about things now. I'm so very, very glad I had the chance to redeem myself, to do what I knew I could do. It's a relief and a joy and a huge, huge, HUGE

YES.

Posted by sally at 04:48 PM | Comments (3)

May 08, 2009

Disconnect

What a strange experience.

Last night was a struggle for me. Not in the working really hard, creating obstacles, raising the stakes sense, like good acting is. A struggle in the forgetting lines, fucking up cues, screwing up exits and transitions and everything that can go wrong going wrong sense.

Wednesday night was strong. I discovered who Ruth was. I found the lightness and humor in her that had been evading me for so long. Kate (my fellow actor) and I were really cooking. We were connected and there was fire and energy and despite the obvious weaknesses we've worked against the entire time (it is such a beast of a play, so. many. words.), the play was clearly there and solid and it felt good.

Last night, it was like acting in molasses. Both of us felt it. Part of it was a reaction to "But Wednesday was so strong, why can't I get there again?" and part of it was most likely tired. It's been a long two weeks, what with last weekend not really being a weekend (tech weekend never is) and this week being the final week of the semester. But still. Things just felt... flat. We both met up in the dressing room at intermission and acknowledged that we felt it.

Everything was a distraction last night. The audience. A big splinter in the top shelf of the bookcase that wasn't there before that I kept snagging myself on. My costumes. The fact that I made one exit a scene too early and so had to go back onstage in the next scene with the wrong shoes. (I exited when I needed to, I just struck the wrong stuff from the set and exited out the wrong vom and messed poor Kate up as well because I had the props she needed in my hands.)

We did go back after intermission and hit the ground running. The final three scenes of the play were much stronger, I think, than they have ever been, though even there we had moments of speak... act... speak... act... When I realized we were doing it, that the pace was flagging, I picked things up again, but it was still just one more "stupid stupid stupid, bad actor" moment on the pile of shit that was my performance.

Here's how bad I felt about it: After the show, I hid in the dressing room. I needed to rinse out my hair color stuff, so I took the back exit of the theatre to get to the bathroom to clean my kit. Then I cleaned up every single part of the dressing room that needed cleaning. Put all of my makeup away. Hung up all of my costumes. When there was absolutely nothing else to do in there, I ducked through the doorway into the theatre and sort of scuttled through the crowd of people standing there, hoping maybe they wouldn't recognize me. But they did.

And then the most amazing thing happened.

They told me how much they loved the show. And my perfomance. They enthused about it. They were stunned and shocked and blown away by its power. This wasn't lip service. These people waited to see me and tell me about how much it moved them. How much I moved them. People whose opinions I can trust, because of who they are and of just how energized and excited and passionate they were about what they saw.

I still don't understand how our experiences could be so very different. From the moment when the first thing went badly wrong, I hated pretty much the entire experience. I wanted to apologize to the audience. Because they weren't getting the show I felt they deserved to see. And I kept slogging along, because that's what you do, hoping it would get better, trying to figure out how to make it better, working to make it better and feeling like I was failing miserably the entire time.

And yet, that's not the experience the audience had.

I still don't know what to believe.

Posted by sally at 09:00 AM | Comments (11)

May 07, 2009

Collected Stories Opens Tonight

It's a limited run, just today, tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30 in the Kiva.
$5 per person.

If last night's run is any indication, we're going to have a good show.

You should come.

Posted by sally at 09:21 AM | Comments (1)

May 06, 2009

Query

Why, when I wear my glasses on rainy days, do raindrops tend to hit the back side* of my lenses instead of the front?

Discuss.

* And yes, I do mean the side closest to my eyes.

Posted by sally at 05:43 PM | Comments (4)

May 05, 2009

Three and a Half Months

This post should probably go on Chicagosity instead, but I'm putting it here anyway. Maybe I'll link over to it later.

I spent yesterday afternoon looking at apartments. CHICAGO apartments. Online. (Damn, the world has changed significantly since I first struck out on my own.) I justified it by telling myself that we needed to be sure that the amount we were calculating for housing would work. It's an amount we can afford even if I don't have an income right away*.

So far I have discovered an online apartment rating system and a really useful online rental site. And on that site I located 83 apartment buildings I would be willing to live in. The entire process was made much faster by two things:

1) Three cats, which narrows the field significantly right away, and
2) The discovery that even looking at a building that is more than four stories high as a possible living space makes me hyperventilate. Seriously. My blood pressure increase, my breathing speeds up, my heart starts pounding in my chest, I get all tense and start making little squeaky noises. Any ideas at how many neighborhoods that sort of thing cuts out? Lots.

I mentioned this to our ASM last night during rehearsal and she said, "Well, couldn't you live on the second or third floor of a tall building? And then she got to witness firsthand my reaction to the idea of living in a high rise. "No," she said. "Obviously not."

Dave thinks I'm being silly, but since I'm going to have to live there at least four months longer than he will (a December 2009 graduation date is now assured, by the way), I get to be as silly as I like over these things. My silly wins.

Anyway, I was getting all excited about the apartment hunt, as opposed to overwhelmed like I had been. At least now I won't be jumping into it cold. And then I thought, �You need to slow down, Sal. You've got quite a while to wait.� Which is when I decided to actually figure out how much time I have left in this horrible place.

Three and a half months.

That's it. My time in Moscow finally--finally--has an expiration date. And now I'm scared and excited and worried and jubilant and exhausted and overwhelmed and grinning like a fiend. Because I'm not going to spend the rest of my life here. I have a new place to be, and soon I'll have a home there.

* Please, please, Chicago Community College System, see me for the shining star I am and hire me. Though I suppose that means I need to apply, doesn't it. Lazy cow.

Posted by sally at 09:19 AM | Comments (7)

May 04, 2009

Improving

The bathroom is clean.

I managed to get the garbage bag out to the bin before the truck came along.

Most of the props are at the theatre. There are only a couple left to do that I'm responsible for, the rest are someone else's deal.

My 2:00 meeting was just cancelled.

I don't have to be at the theatre until 7.

The windows are open, it's a lovely--if somewhat brisk--day.

I think I'll walk downtown for lunch. And maybe breathe a bit while I'm at it.

Posted by sally at 01:58 PM | Comments (2)

May 03, 2009

Ridiculous

Whose stupid idea was it (hint: mine) to put up a show the weekend before finals?

We have no dressers.
We have no one for props.
I have major projects due on Tuesday that I'm returning on Thursday, and
final exams due on Thursday that I'm due to return on Tuesday of next week.
And in the meantime, we're teching the show today.

My show. The one I insisted on doing because I wanted to be doing something. The show I thought would be my last in Moscow.

Fortunately, the costume designer has put together stuff for one actor so that she doesn't need a dresser for her quick changes. My costumes are a bit more up in the air right now, but I have faith in Ariel. (Our costume designer.) I'm working on getting props.

Which means that after our 8:30-10:30 am rehearsal yesterday (which followed hard on the heels of Friday night's 6:30-10 rehearsal), I came home, made a list and went shopping. I got about half the items on the list, and then I came home for a break and to sort of reconnoiter. At which point the pace of last week finally got to me (12-14 hour non-stop days) and I lay down on the couch to take a nap. I didn't nap, I never can, but I did do some purely for pleasure reading, which was nice. That and snuggled with some cats who were Very Happy Indeed that I was home and still enough to snuggle.

(Things I missed in the meantime: Renn Faire, which is fun to wander through and laugh at; exercise; a bridal shower; a senior recital--though that was a time confusion. I thought it started at 2:00 and realized at 2:20 that I wasn't going to make it. It actually started at 4:00 which I learned at just after 5:00.)

I hung out with Dave last night, not going anywhere, just eating in the living room while researching swine flu zombies. (Honestly, people, it's a well-done hoax, but it's still a hoax.) And then I was back to gathering props from our own possessions and doing laundry.

Just before bedtime I made the show mondel bread. Since I started it about 10:30, I violated one of my own rules: No new projects or new phases of current projects--except the cleanup phase--after 10pm. Which is probably why I managed to pour roughly double the amount of almond oil into the mix. The lumps of dough did not want to stick together, I burned the loaves and there was almond oil everywhere. BUT, they're baked and less crumbly than last week and I have slightly more than the necessary number of attractive pieces to use for the run, along with a plastic tub full of the not so perfect pieces to use during the four remaining rehearsals.

That was last night.

So far today I have updated my list, gathered/created some more props for the show, boxed up the mondel bread, fed Katala, started another load of laundry and folded one that had been in the dryer. Also typed up all of this. And I've only been up for 90 minutes.

I need to take a shower.

I need to do some more shopping, but Dave's got the car right now so he can get some other props and lumber for a bookcase he needs to build for the show. I'm not sure when his rehearsal starts, but I'm called at four for a cue-to-cue followed by tech. Which means, now that I think about it, that I need to make dinner to take with me. Because I'm going to have to eat it on the fly.

I need to work on my lines.

I need to clean the bathroom. I haven't cleaned the bathroom in two weeks (maybe more).

I need to finish the various projects I've been working on for gifts.

I need to clean the kitchen. And straighten up my workspace.

I need to deadhead the daffodils. And rake the leaves that are still in the yard and prune the suckers and watersprouts off the cherry and crabapple trees.

I need to clean up and vacuum the living room.

I need to just sit and stare at something for a while. And maybe take a walk.

I really hope we can find a props person for this production. So many people are busy with various end of the school year assignments and projects, but I can't do props and star in this show at the same time. I can't. I can't be schlepping all of the perishables around campus and also warm up for the performances. (This particular theatre has no refrigerator or access to running water aside from the drinking fountain in the hallway next to the bathroom. The one the audience uses.) I can't have the various edibles/drinkables ready for Act Two because I can't be running around in full view of the audience during intermission. Well, I suppose I could be, but it's not the ideal solution.

Okay. Venting over. Well, more whining really. But that's over too. Because Dave's back with the car and I need to get back to work.

Posted by sally at 09:17 AM | Comments (3)

Sallyacious

I am an artist. I am here to live out loud. -- Emile Zola