One day...

So hello there. I missed you guys yesterday! For real! I was at home all morning and was going to write but then I realized that I left my computer power cord at work…fail. That wouldn’t be a problem for a normal computer BUT because mine is a PIECE it will not hold a charge at all. So I was all out of sorts. This has become so cathartic for me, and on top of that it is something that is really entertaining. I hope you think so too. I have so much fun writing to you!

So let me tell you a little bit about what has been going on. Well, Tuesday night (my first Tuesday night off in a month) we decided to take part in Taco Tuesday at The Whig…YUMMM! They have a $2 beer special and $0.50 tacos, oh yeah you heard me write, fifty cents tacos. Not only are they cheap THEY ARE DELICIOUS. Seriously my taste buds were going crazy. You can see them being made and you just know the ingredients are fresh.

I had my carpooling companion Kent drop me off at The Whig at 5ish, where I was panning to meet Toft, my ginger friend. Ginger is perfect for Toft because it is a match for his hair and his personality! Anywho, I arrive before T and grab a booth next to the wonderful Larry Hembree. Larry recently reviewed Reasons to be Pretty at Trustus and loved it…YAY! We chatted about the show, my life and the Nickelodeon Movie Theatre of which he is the executive director! He introduced me to Andy Smith festival director for the Indie Grits Film Fest. Soon after our who’s and ha’s Toft arrived and I switched gears.

Toft is a 2L at USC Law and is thinking of participating in the joint JD/MMC degree. Something that makes me salivate like those crazy dogs’s bell! See I graduated from the journalism school at Carolina with a BA in Public Relations. I graduated in ’07 and they were just in talks about the joint degree program. I have always thought of going to law school, I think in a lot of ways it would be a great journey for me. A true test and one I think I would be up to take. Being able to connect it with something I am so thoroughly interested in, mass communication, is just like icing on the cake. But these are just musings for now! We shall see…

Back to tacos. Toft’s beloved Caitlin joined us as well as EG, B and my girl Michelle. We had a couple of these before eating…

I have no idea what beer it is but it was pretty yummy and only $2.

I am usually not a beer drinker. I like wine and for a real night out it is liquor, but recently I have been enjoying the hopped up life. Ever since our trip to Asheville when I was introduced to their locally brewed White Zombie beer, I have found myself more inclined to the taste. This could be a good or baaaad thing!

After beers we saddled up to the bar for these scrumptious delights….

That would be 3 deluxe (beef and black bean) tacos that were so delectable I could have had a dozen more! I paired mine with some spicy salsa and a dollop of sour cream. I was about to devour my final taco when EG proclaimed how amazing the tacos were with BBQ sauce. Really, two things I absolutely adore do not always go together but hey I am trying new things these days…so I added a bit of the brown sauce and WHOA. Mind blown! You must try it!

To top it all off B treated each of us to one of these….

Chaco Taco anyone??? Oh baby it was good.

I think next time to keep and eye on my consumption I will have 1 beer, 3 tacos and no Chaco even though it was totally worth the calories. Next week we will be there again (I can see many more taco Tuesdays in my future) because Tuesday is Michelle’s Bday so we will do BIRTHDAY TACOS….YAYAYAYA! Best idea ever.

After all that we went back to EG’s house and watched the Rocky Horror Glee episode. Oh man I gotta start watching TV. See the thing is I am not really a big TV watcher at all. I like to watch TV in DVD but that is usually way after the fact. But I might have to stalk down the first season of Glee and lock myself in a room! Back to the show, I loved it! I stage managed Rocky at Trustus summer ’09 and it was the hardest thing I may have ever done. That show was cursed I tell you. It messed with my life on every level. It caused problems at my day job, in my relationship and just in general. I had nightmares about this show MONTHS after it happened. I would wake up in China and be terrified that I had to go back to that show again. Ugh. Overall some great things came out of that show and I was proud of the production but it was damned I tell you damned. So it was nice to watch Glee do such a stress free version of it for me to relax and enjoy.

Last night was very productive for me in that I finally figured out what I am going to be for Halloween. I will not tell you and it isn’t really anything super original but I think it is going to be cute. I will make sure to snap a picture or two!

So I have a feeling today is going to be a double posting kind of day, so I am going to go ahead and end it here….see you in a bit!

So what are YOU going to be for Halloween?

High Heeled Theatre-gasm

So I wore heels yesterday, and I am wearing heels again today. I am going to start making a habit out of this. Ya see what had happened was I moved to China. The first question that I am inevitably asked is "Were you the tallest person there?" or some variation of that sort. I mean yes I am tall but hell I am tall for America too. I am roughly 5'10" tall so no matter where I am I am looking at the tops of heads. Of course it was worse in China bc they are just smaller in general. Especially women, my girl friends were a good 5 inches shorter than me and almost half my size width wise. It was definitely an adjustment. It was really nice getting back to America where big girls are all around and appreciated. But anywho, while in China I only whore high heels 1 time, seriously. I wore them on Thanksgiving Day. I figured that is as American a day as I was going to get.

That was a funny day in general. I was the only American at my company so I ended up having Thanksgiving dinner at the Sheraton on the West side of the city with my friends Lindsay and Rob. So basically I had TDay with a couple of Brits in China. I imagine this year will be a lot different. It was tons of fun teaching my Chinese students about turkey day. I am pretty sure the only thing one of my students learned the whole year was that turkeys say GOBBLE GOBBLE. I had them draw the hand-print turkey thing. They loved it. I still have a stack of them that I brought back. While explaining the whole tradition about being with your family and such they were all so confused as to why I was not going to be with my family...which led to a time zone discussion which led to some serious Chinese mind-blowing!

Anyway, turkey day 2009 was the only day I wore heels. The country was too dirty and I was already too tall, so there you have it. Well I haven't had a chance to wear them much since I have been back. Working at the toy store isn’t the best place to wear them...BUT now that I am back at an office job, and really because I have retrieved them all out of storage, they are back in rotation.

There is another reason as to why I am wearing them, I found out last night that I was, indeed, cast in the show I auditioned for on Sunday night. I am absolutely elated. I have wanted to get back on stage for years...well there was an on-stage excursion in China where I sang and Oasis song in front of 100+ Chinese people at a factory grand opening but that is a horse of a different color! The last show I was on stage for was the satirical For Whom the Southern Bell Tolls a parody of The Glass Menagerie. It was fun. Other than that is has been about 4 years. I have been full force behind the scenes stage managing but I have always been a fan of the front.

I have been involved with theatre since age 8, well all my life really. I started dance classes at 3 with Betty Stockman. Oh bless how I loved those finale performances and the great costumes. Then when I was 8 my parents enrolled me in the youth theatre at Workshop on Bull Street. Oh my, I was absolutely in love. I used to perform for my grandmother, Nanny, all the time. I would totally ask her to sit in the kitchen while I would make commercials and would do dramatic readings etc. Well once I started those classes I never stopped. In middle school I was so involved I used to cut class to organize the costume closet. I was stage managing and assistant directing and sewing costumes and doing everything I could possibly get my hands on. I was in love.

In high school I had some wonderful opportunities. I was cast as Amelia Tilford in The Children's Hour in 10th grade with a smattering of other parts. When I was sent to boarding school-ohhh yeah- I was cast as Joann in our drama competition piece from Vanities. We did really well in the first round but then placed 5th overall. I was not really worried about that seeing as from the first round to the second round our school had taken a trip to Italy, awesome, where I was snitched on for drinking and was suspended, not awesome, for two weeks. Dean Booth let me compete before having to go home--umm my bad, it was Italy what can I say.

Anywho. When I returned to Dreher my senior year I opted on early dismissal instead of taking drama. My priorities were waaay out of whack back the- hindsight right! It wasn't until I started taking classes at Midlands Tech to transfer back to USC; there was an enrollment at USC then a not so proper self-unenrollement. I took a class from Christopher Cook. He was trying to start a new theatre company, High Voltage, in Columbia. His first project was for our class. He adapted a script of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and we performed it at MTC. It was amazing in all its simplicity!

Chris and I were soon inseparable when it came to theatre. After that show we worked on 6 shows back-to-back for the next year. I was in theatre heaven. He also adapted a version of Reservoir Dogs that I was in; still today one of my favorite shows ever. After that He cast me as Cavale from the Sam Shepard/Patti Smith crazy town combo Cowboy Mouth. It was the most neurotic script I had ever read and that was the strangest role I have ever had...part of me wants to do it again. What do you say Chris CBM version 2.0. HA

So I owe a lot to Chris for getting me back into theatre. Also while I was SM'ing, lighting, sounding and costuming the High Voltage show Sundance I was reintroduced to a couple of people, friends of friends casual acquaintances. Well one of those persons ended up being one of the most important people in my life to date, one Miss EG Heard. Yep, she was cast in that show along with my good friend Patrick Kelly, and another blog regular Madeleine. It was the beginning of so many beautiful friendships. From that led to my association with the youth theatre Armed Chair at Trustus, which led to my becoming a Trustus Company member, which led to my running the box office for a summer before becoming their publicity manager for a season or 2! Sheesh. Apparently I have dedicated most of my life to theatre. When people ask me why I didn't major in theatre I tell them that I already had, I majored in theatre every day of my life.

All that to say, I am wearing high heels these days because soon I will start rehearsing the role of 1960s housewife hottie Tracy Ann McClain. She is young and good looking and just a little bit on the flakey side...ah just how I like 'em! I am really excited. I am going to channel the looks of Christina Hendricks from Mad Men while toning up the body and down the smarts.

I will keep an ongoing update for you. So you get to take the journey with me and one day I will find you in the audience!

xoxox

As I am!

Ok so let’s talk about what happened this weekend. Well number 1 important thing being that Reasons to be Pretty FINALLY opened on Friday night. It went well, I think. And by that I mean post-show we dressed up and headed out! We went to Art Bar for Friday night dance party USA and to catch the end of Alternicirque’s last outdoor show of the season. And it was game on once we arrived. I have not had much of an opportunity to really go out and let loose since being home. I have relaxed at times for sure but on Friday I was throwing ‘em back and tearing down the dance floor! Yesssss. Upon leaving Baxter drove us back to Trustus so I could pick up the script, Sealed for Freshness I left there(more to come on this shortly). We some how (not surprised though) ended up jumping up on soap box 2010. We just let it all go. EG, B. and I (mainly me) got a whole bunch of frustration off our chests. I don’t remember a lot about what we talked about but all I know is at one point I was crying (good grief) and at another we were playing hide the inappropriately creepy McDonald’s happy meal toy.

Needless to say it was amazing.

Well I apparently was inspired by this recent rant and rave session and continued it when I got home….on the computer…NOT A GOOD IDEA. But not terrible either. I sent an email I probably should have sent a long time ago and defriended a bunch of people off of fbook that should have GONE a long time ago. Not really out of hatred but seriously it is silly when you see someone you are friends with on The Social Network in real life and don’t speak to them. So if you were one of those, or it in general took me longer than 5/10 seconds to figure out who you are DONE and DONE. Some innocents got caught in the crossfire and I had to send a couple of really embarrassing texts the next day asking to pardon the deletion and refriending! Oh Friday night….he like my friend PK said “Sometimes you just gotta let loose!” So I did, and I am. See I know I have a lot of stress built up because I can FEEL the manifestation of it in my back. From my shoulder blades up my neck it feels like I am Tik Tok from Return to Oz(best/creepiest movie ever) and someone is just turning a notch in my back…tighter and tighter. I am so wound up I am going to pop at any moment. I am counting down the days till I can afford to go get a massage…I wish (sings tune from favorite musical Into the Woods.

So I made some decisions on Friday night. I let some people go and we shall see how well that fairs. I am not good at letting people go especially when I care for them…it is the DOG in me….loyal to a fault. We all need to cut ties, even if they are just emotional ties, or maybe even mental ties…the ones that have lost all real emotion and it is now just a mental habit. Like when someone’s name is more than the sum of all their parts. There are a couple of people where if their name shows up anywhere, email, phone, fbook or where-have-you my, my blood pressure rises. Some not as bad as others but I am sure most of you know what I am talking about. If not I can’t really explain it. And the thing is most of those people don’t deserve that reaction from me. I am not saying they are bad people (weeeellll…) but I am saying there is no reason in my current life. They are in the past and will forever remain there and so I shall try now to let them go. Too bad though, in some cases!

But enough of that already. It was a beautiful day on Saturday. I worked all day then had a show that night. Went to Yesterdays, a local late-night post-theatrical excursion hangout. Then home again home again.

I did something super cool on Sunday morning but I can’t tell you about it yet. I will soon, though! It will be included in my post about my art. I have purchased or been given some amazing pieces over the years and want to put them on here so you can see what amazingness is on my walls that brightens my heart everyday!

As for Sunday night I went and audition for the show I mentioned earlier Sealed for Freshness. I haven’t auditioned for anything in a while so it felt good to “stretch the muscle” as EG says and I agree. The show is set in the ‘60s and is a Tupperware party. There are 5 women and one man (who is only briefly seen in the beginning and end). The great thing about this show is that it is such a good character piece for women. I auditioned for two roles and am not sure about the outcome yet, I will keep you posted for sure! It was just a nice audition to go to with all these extremely talented women around. Got a good girl vibe going from it!

So it is Monday and I am coming off a weekend that seems to have barely happened at all. I was so busy! I am working both jobs today on this rainy day but have the night off and I already know what I am going to do….NOTHING! Oh I am going to curl up and read a book in bed. Maybe I will try to have a phone call with a friend who doesn’t live here. That is always a nice thing to do on a night off.

I know this post is lacking pictures but I will make sure to make up for it in the future!

For those of you reading along I hope you have the opportunity to let loose whether it is on the dance floor or by reexamining some of those ties that might not be pulling your heart and mind in the right direction!

Until tomorrow here is a butterfly outside of Trustus that I watched flitter around for a full 10 minutes before walking inside to the dark theatre.

???!...!!

Hey hey hey! If you ever actually here me say that in person it is a hey hey hey in a little singsong. Today is Friday (like you weren't aware of that already). Oh Glory I had the morning off today, fabulous, and so I let myself indulge in an extra glass of wine last night. I have a friend who lives in another city and we stay in contact primarily through text and the occasional phone call. Well after a couple of glasses of wine he got himself a phone call last night! Ha! It wasn't a drunken dial per se because I wasn't drunk but I was tipsy so I wonder what that is called a tips dial perhaps?! I will have to say it was not the best message I have ever left. I am pretty proud of my voicemail ability. It is pretty unique but last night was very much the equivalent of "I carried a watermelon???!!!" from the classic scene in Dirty Dancing! Love that movie and if I actually watched TV I would watch Jennifer Grey on DWTS and vote for her a thousand times over! Anywho, after my failed attempts (lowers head in mock shame) I headed off to bed. We had a wonderful night at the theatre with our Family night preview audience. We ironed out all of the technical snafus from Wednesday night and shaved a total of about 20 minutes off of the show just by adjusting the pace. Good job actors, they are really blowing my mind!

I want to tell you a little bit about Family Night. I don't know the exact details but what I do know it this. Trustus has always been a forward thinking kind of theatre so when they opened up their doors in the 80's they want to make sure that everyone and I mean EVERYONE knew that when they came to see a show they would be appreciate for who they are and welcomed with open arms. This was a time where being openly gay, especially in South Carolina, wasn't necessarily something you were able to take out in the streets. I mean of course there were couple who were out there pushing the envelope but they knew that they were not welcomed every where. Well Trustus would have none of that. So they decided to start FN. It is the night before opening night of every show where GLT&B were welcomed to come and watch the show and in return were asked to give their honest critics of the show! They have become invaluable to our process at the theatre. They will tell us where things were great and are willing to say "I didn't like this or this could be fixed!" Now that it is more acceptable (encouraged) for same gender couples to go out and about on the town it still gives me chills to think that Jim and Kay were a foundation stepping stone to help with equality in Columbia. I am glad to see how far we have come but we sure haven't made it yet. Here's hoping! So let me give you a little visual of these greats...

Jim and Kay Thigpen, Co-Founders of Trustus Theater

They were going to a black tie gala last night hosted by The Cultural Council". Kay was honored for a grant she wrote. I would honor them with something everyday if I could. I have been so involved with Trustus for years now that I really think of them as parents, and for that I am so thankful! Cheers!

Ok Ok, so yesterday I did not take nearly as many pictures as I should have! I tell you I was in a mood. I was being Sassypants McGee. Sometimes everyone needs a little sass in their life. But at work I was introduced to this little treat

It is chocolate that is good for you?! I was skeptical. It doesn't taste like regular chocolate but it is definitely an appealing taste. You can find out more about them here.
I will definitely keep these in rotation! Something else delicious that I tried recently and am absolutely koo-koo for now is Greek yogurt! After picking it out of the fridge at work, I compared the back label to that of Activa and the Chobani just kicked the other yogurts butt in so many different areas, I went to my desk and promptly looked it up on the Interweb. My search led me to one of my new favorite sites Fit Sugar. They gave me a break down on the Greek Yogurt goods then I perused the site a little longer and knew that I had just stumbled upon a helpful tip for my up and coming goal of EGandSMB for a better life! This kid is pumped.

Our show opens tonight...WOOT....and so Monday starts our new and improved work out regime thanks to the classes I love at Golds. I used to go to the gym all the time before China and even while I was in China. Although I love taking classes and in China I wasn't really able to because of the language barrier (to read more about my China gym life check THIS out)! So I am really looking forward to the burn again, the burn of kicking my butt into shape. I tell you 28 has not been so good to my backside, well come to think about it to any of my sides. So with my new found Maddie based inspiration and with my best friend by my side we are going to start our own conversion! Hetero-Life-Mates for a longer, Lovelier Life!

Anywho I am off to finish my laundry read a bit in my book (ah bless) and head down to CKTS then off to the theatre for OPENING NIGHT!!! Love the butterflies when I think about it! I am still feeling a bit off center so I am not sure if I will be hitting the town for celebration after or heading home to cozy up with some delightful dullness! We shall see what may come of the night!

Oh and random fact of the day, I LOVE socks. All colors and sizes. Some of my favorites included a pair that I was given by my ex (and dear friend) Adam. They are thick white cozy socks, but another favorite pair would be these

"Given" to me by EG, they are a staple in my Fall/Winter wear! I have them on my tosies today because the hard wood is chilly and well it is much easier to slide around while dancing (which I will promptly do after posting this). So I hope you get the chance to enjoy a comfy pair of socks and/or dance/sliding around your home at some point today. (Hey doesn't have to be home I do it at the office alllll the time that might sound bad out of context!!)

xoxox

Confection Confession....

Thursday, woooooooo! My little show of appreciation for one of the best days of the week (I would actually say that about all of the days but shhhh don’t tell Thursday).I have a little present for you today!


So I think I told you that I am carpooling to work which is such a delight, but it puts me at work a full hour before the office opens. They entrusted me with a key and I am afforded an hour to get all my Interneting out of the way….except when I show up and the Internet is down….boooooo. It is OK though I will start this little ditty of in Word and transfer it over later. I am seriously considering retaking a computer class because I am really enjoying this blog-venture and want to make it as exciting for you as it is for me! So I will keep you posted, or maybe one day you will load the page and just be BLOWN away by the awesomeness of it all!

Well last night was our first audience for Reasons to be Pretty (great date-night show!!!) and we had some technical snafus but we powered through. I have no idea what the audience thought of it because by the end of the night I had exhausted all energy and emotion and was like poorly drawn cartoon. I felt like someone took me and made a copy from a copy from a copy and that Sumner was trying to run the show. Needless to say by the time I got home I was ready to crawl in bed and sleep like I had never slept before! When EG dropped me off I passed by my parents and they were sitting around in their Japanese kimonos and were knee deep in delightful martini talk! I ended up having a very nice conversation with them. They told me about the exciting holiday plans they have for the family and I tell you Christmas never looked so good! I just hope the E&T will join us because it wouldn’t be a Christmas for me without my bro and his wife. (Speaking of bros I really need to get up to NY to see my oldest brother who lives up there with his feisty wife and 2 great kids who are just growing up too fast!)

I woke up this a.m. with the worst headache. It lasted through my shower and getting ready process. I mean I did have one (two) small glass of wine after the show but that should not have been the cause. Can’t be because I am dehydrated because I literally drink a gallon of water a day!

That is yesterday’s and today’s bottle with my handy dandy Big Blue Cup (the BBC) which helps me not have to drink directly from the jug because I would totally pour it all over myself #coordinated! I know plastic is bad and I usually have a reusable bottle that I refill but this week has been so crazy and because I am such a transient individual I never know when I will be near a water source so I have opted for the big guy to get me through my day. That will all change because I have my sights set on a water bottle at Sid and Nancy (my favorite freaking store EVA holla C,S&R). So come Monday I will be toating around a cute “ironic” bottle (picture guaranteed)!

So after taking some Excedrin (life enhancing pills of joy!) and getting some coffee I am ready to take on whatever you got to throw at me life. Which ummm seems to take the form of a desk full ‘o files, I will conquer you pesky stacks I will!

So yesterday I had a bit of free time (I know right) and spent some of that time reading the Free Times (how convenient) but also wandering around a couple of great places in 5 points. I went into Tic Toc Candy Shop on Santee St. which is where the lollipop picture came from and they also have these tasty treats…

Mmmm M&Ms in every color….

Jelly Belly, the autumn mix is supposed to be an absolute delight!


After loading up a bit on taffy and other sugary confections I stepped next door to my favorite hiding spot:

Dr. Books The 5 Points Book Shop. This place is great. It is wall to wall with old and new, out of print and all sorts of specialty collections like this area dedicated to my passion…

Oh theatre. I tell you might heart beats a little harder when I see bound Shakespeare plays. What is your favorite Shakespeare play? I have sooo many I’ll tell you sometime over a glass of red wine in a dimly lit bar!

Here are some of the treasures I found…

This is from the section entitled Books about Books LOVE IT.

If only I could read French!

Fake cat/weird book combo!

REAL CAT!!!!!!!

After leaving the bookstore with a guarantee to be back soon, I headed across to Delany’s because it was past my lunch time and I wanted some good grub. What better on the chilly damp Wednesday that a cup of chili and grilled cheese. BAM, it hit the spot. That fueled me for a nice afternoon in the toy shop before heading to the theatre for the aforementioned preview audience show. I was really nervous y’all. I won’t be anymore but it was kind of funny!

After leaving the theatre I had a little crisis of confidence and ended up talking to EG a little bit about some of the insecurities I am having in my life right now! Everyone has them, including this look on the bright side sparkles and sunshine girl. Even though overall I am so happy with who I am and the path I am on in life I have my weak points. I am growing up and adjusting to a completely different time and place in life. This is the time where peer groups start veering off in all sorts of direction. Growing up you are all basically doing the same things, go to school go to school go to school. Then get a job get a job get a job. Now all sorts of other aspects are being equated. Buy a house buy a car get married have kids pay off loans take grown up vacations. See your parents retire. It is a truly fascinating time in my life, but sometimes I just get overwhelmed and last night was one of them. There is an aspect about me that I feel has changed, I worked hard to make changes in my life and I succeeded but I lost one thing that I didn’t want to change. I just need to take some time and find it again. Going forward with my life I need to work on finding a balance between the happiness from where I am now and the happiness from before my personal revolution. I tell you what, I am not one to talk about what I don’t have but women need women, more specifically women need mothers and although I have a the support of some fabulous women around me I don’t have the pleasure of talking to my mom.

She passed away a few years ago due to a diabetic induced heart attack (click here to find out about heart problems in women). There really isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her and how much I miss her, she was truly my best friend. But I learned so much from her life and her death and am so thankful to have to ability to see life and death with such a perspective.

Anywho, I am needing to tackle this stack of files and refill my travel coffee cup

(I wish it was bigger…thatswhatshesaid)

I hope this is a truly thankful Thursday for you and I will be back tomorrow, a little late because I AM TOTALLY GOING TO SLEEP IN (and by that I mean I am not getting out of bed until at least 9 a.m.!!! I am such a rebel)


So thanks for reading along and I will “talk” to you soon and here have a gum ball on me!


xoxox

Living this life is going to be the death of me...and I wouldn't have it any other way!!

It is going to rain today y’all. If the sky doesn’t actually produce any precipitation it is gloomy and gray enough to do so! Now I love the sun I really really do but sometimes I love a rainy day. Today it is totally fitting with how I feel! We did not get out of rehearsal until almost 1 a.m. which honestly is frustrating because we all have other jobs. I don’t think that the director necessarily thinks about that, I get that he wants to get done what needs to get done but he also doesn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn like everyone else, so a midnight+ rehearsal doesn’t effect him as much. Now for only having 4-5 hours of sleep I am feeling pretty darn perky. That might be because I am just generally a morning person. I love the beginning of a day, the routine of it all. It might also be because I am carpooling with such a good friend, who is funny even at 7:40 a.m., that it is lifting my spirits a bit (The 2+ cups of coffee help too ;)

Today will be very hectic. I am not sure how I am going to get from job 1 to job 2 and it is a bit stressful. I haven’t found the inbound bus stop near my office yet. I need to get out and look for it but again, it might rain, and it would totally start raining the SECOND I set out on foot. I will figure something out though. I rely a lot on other people and I try my best to let them know how appreciative I am of their help and I know it has got to be a bit frustrating carting me around all over the place. I hope they know that if the tables were turned I would hands-down help them anyway I could!

Tonight is going to be Media Appreciation night at the theatre. It is our first night with an audience and I am nervous and excited! The show has the potential to be really great….we have some obstacles to overcome but I have the faith. There is nothing like live theatre. All the emotions, ah it is hard to explain but last night was a challenge; we were given new set pieces and prop changes and addition my crew basically got set-bombed last night and it was stressful. We are stretching ourselves thin but I know that this is going to be the best (smallest) crew I have had and we will rock it out like a crew has never rocked out a production!!! It is an all girl crew to, we are throwing down!

So I didn’t get to take too many pictures yesterday although I should have because my friend Lydia and I did some good walking around 5 points. So I will have to revisit all the places I went yesterday and take some pics and tell you about all the goodies we saw! I did take this picture at CKTS the other day which I think is great! It is a motto I hope we can all think about when we are out and about on our holiday shopping excursions!

Shop Proud Shop Columbia! We have so many great small business stores around town and I think we should give them our business before going to the big brand name stores, the mega marts and such, don’t get me wrong Wal-mart saved my butt in China but if I can find something from locally owned store I will try!

So I babysat my favorites yesterday and took this adorable picture of Ayla
I am letting Lydia take over a bit on the babysitting because I just don’t have the time, and let me tell you I am torn up over it. I usually babysit little little kids but working with these kids, 9 and 6 years-old, I can have adventures play make believe, talk about our lives and tell each other stories about our day! They definitely will be a part of my life as long as I am in Columbia!

I have already started to think about needing another job. As soon as the show closes next month I will need something to fill my nights! I am going to try a low-key bartending job. My friend Rach said that she would totally go to a bar just to hang out and talk to me so I could see myself doing that. I don’t think with an 8 a.m. job, that I would be able to tend at a place that has late-night ragers (maybe every now and again could be fun) so maybe I can find somewhere that is a good fit….any ideas?

Well that is all I got right now folks. I am running on pure love of life at this point. Although last night was rough and I didn’t get enough sleep and I don’t have a break in sight I am still so jazzed to be a part of everything I have in my life right now! Theatre always, jobs- bring ‘em on, I will take from my day every ounce that I can.

xoxox

It's All Happening!

Today is Tuesday, just needed a quick reminder so I can figure out what my schedule is…I love that it changes daily!! EG and I walked this a.m. as usual, then instead of coming home and consuming extreme amounts of coffee while writing I needed to go straight into the getting ready for my day schedule, have no fear I had time to down a cup of coffee! My life is in a sort of disarray right now. Because I am so busy, I leave my house some time between 8-9 a.m. and don’t get home until around midnight leaving me with no time to organize myself. I hate it to, coming home with my clean clothes strewn across my room and I sure don’t have time for ironing in the morning so I literally am limited to clean/wrinkle free alternatives which is usually just the group that was lucky enough to get my extra second of attention to spread them out flatly instead of just balling them up! Ha, anyway, my life will slow down and I will get everything back together. I am so excited because I am moving in with one of my oldest friends. It will hopefully be a great match. I miss cooking and can’t wait to get back to making a little space for myself….a home that when returning to it I can feel truly comfortable. More on this as it gets into full swing.

So this morning started my new carpooling regime with my friend Kent, one of the founding members of the ADG and husband to co-founder and all around great gal Lydia! As you might know I do not have a car. I have been looking into the bus system and will most likely use it to get to some of my many jobs but when I went on the city’s Web site the had misspelled EDUCATION which was a bit disconcerting. Well one day I was reading an email from K and the tag line had his work address, then it dawned on me….OH YEAH K totally works on the same street as me. So there we go, I will provide monetary compensation and he will pick me up in the mornings. He does have to be at work a full hour before I do but I am going to use this time to do exactly what I am doing now, writing and drinking offensive amounts of coffee!

I am sitting in the little cafeteria on the ground floor of the building where I work. Because this is my inaugural morning I thought I would treat myself to a little treat, so I guiltily-free bought a sausage egg and cheese on wheat sandwich, banana and coffee

I know it looks bad but it was sooo good!

I have a thing for office supplies and today at work they reinstalled my company email, gave me a computer and let me run wild in the supply closet. Not sure if they knew what they were getting into rehiring me. My energy spazz level has tripled, if that is at all possible, since the last time I work here! I know one thing I am going to have to work hard to avoid is the neck and upper back/shoulder issues that come from working at a computer. Luckily I can get up and walk around/ dance around in other people’s offices. I love a company that allows music to play; I think it can be very productive. It definitely lifts spirits when a great song comes on and BAM you are doing a little dance at your desk with a smile on you face….joy!

One thing that is great about the company that work for is that the Assistant Exec. Direc. is on the board of a local pet center and she is a foster parent for strays so she is regularly bringing pets into the office! I had the pleasure to hang out with this guy yesterday

Seriously it doesn’t get much cuter than that.

That reminds me, I had a cat before I went to China. Her name was Beatrix, she is black ninja kitty so her name was appropriate…can you name the fictional badass who is her namesake? I gave the cat to my ex’s little sister. I was pretty close with the family so I know they are taking the best care of her. I doubt I will get her back; I can’t afford her the life of leisure that she is use to now!

**I need to make a not that the keyboard I am currently using is so old that the letters have all been worn away so there are some serious misspellings going on here. They will most likely get caught in spell check k but if not have yourself a nice little chuckle!

So the show I am working on opens this week which means next week starts the EG&SMB for a better life program. In that we are going to kick our morning walk up and mix it up with some weightlifting, spinning and boot camp. I am sore already just thinking about it. Since I am moving too I am going to use it as an opportunity to cook and keep better, healthier foods for myself. I am following Maddie’s blog daily and getting more and more inspiration. That girl needs to start a cookbook! Until I get a juicer I am trying to find good Green Juice alternatives. I tried this

It sounds almost too good to be true, but it was delicious!

I read some forums and opinions are mixed on the subject of pure juices being good substitutions for the actual fruit, so I will keep these things in mind when going about my new routine! I am also going to start following some more nutritional Web sites so if you know of any you like let me know. Hey I might even register for a nutrition class! Why not!

Last night when I was standing on my beloved Saluda St. I realized that whenever we are slow and it is near closing time I always walk directly out the front door of the toy shop and hang on the lamppost. It occurred to me that I love lamp posts. I think it goes all the way back to my childhood when I was absolutely obsessed with The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. I mean I don’t know how many times I went to my grandma’s house and climbed into her antique dresser. I would imagine that the dresses and fur coats were trees and that at any moment I would come upon THE lamp post and meet Mr. Tumns! Oh the glory of youth, I miss the make believe. Although as an adult I still do that. I am the most daydreaming-est person ever. I will have little mini dreams where the things I would love to have happen, actually do. This usually involves a love interest surprising me and telling me that he loves and can’t live without me….anyway, that is how I keep the make believe alive. As an adult though sometimes the daydreams aren’t always pleasant. Once you have experienced trauma and loss those morbid thoughts and images can sometimes take over you thoughts. It is OK I don’t let them freak me out too much because I think that it can be good practice. I mean when tragedy does happen I might be a little more prepared to handle it because I have thought about it, readied myself. I don’t know if that is cynical, I think it is realistic!

Anywho I love lampposts and I can regularly be found here, under this one on that treasured Saluda St.


Well play on playas and I will holler at you tomorrow!

I am off to go make believe! I hope at some point today you can take a second and really get lost in a daydream (preferably when you are not driving) but just relax your eyes and let you mind and heart dance and flourish if just for a minute. You might be surprised by what you create!

xoxox

Oy with the Poodles Already!

Well well well what do we have here? A little Monday morning in my life again. I almost can't believe it has been a whole week since I was talking about how Monday's have such a bad reputation! I still think so, because I mean every day is just another day, it is what we make of it that is the important part. I am going to try and make the best out of this Monday even though I kind of feel like this...

\Take from that what you will.

I have had such a busy existence since last Monday that I feel like could have lived a thousand lives. It is because I haven't had time to recharge my batteries yet. I have been going going going and feel like I am a phone that is trying to run full power on a little tiny bar. My phone will light up and tell you that it has 20% power left. I kind of fell like that. I am running on 20% and if I don't get plugged in soon than it is going to be GAME OVER. But having said all that I will still give 100% in all my daily efforts. It will all calm down as soon as RtbPretty opens on Friday. Right now we are just running ourselves ragged trying to get everything accomplished so that we can deliver a stellar theatrical production to the City of Columbia starting Friday Oct. 22. SHAMLESS PLUG ALERT.

Hmm so let's see if I can recount the weekend and find anything in there that I might have missed that I can use going forward in my day to day. Friday was all day at the toy store which is great but I am having a little trouble committing my mind and energy to the store. By 4 o'clock the monotony of standing around has drained me of my exuberance and I will feel so drained that I have to go sit down in the back for a mini break. We don't get lunch breaks really so it is OK that I take little breaks during the day! I must say that my favorite part of working at CKTS is that it is on Saluda Street in 5 Points. This is like coming home for me. When I walk down that street I see so many interesting and familiar faces that I feel connected. It is a little community of people who work on Saluda St. If some creepo walks into the store and makes me feel nervous all I have to do is call one of the other stores and they will send someone down to stand with me. It may be unnecessary but it is comforting to know, we all have each others backs! I would throw down for my Saluda St. bros if you know what I am saying!

Anywho after leaving the store at 6:30 I can only imagine that I was picked up by EG and we went to rehearsal. I don't really have any recollection of this but I am thinking that is what happened (it all tends to blur when you aren't getting enough time to process and calculate). We swung past my brother and his wife's house (2 of my favorite people on this planet) to feed and water the dogs. E&T live in what I like to refer to as a "Grown up House." It is absolutely gorgeous, they have made for themselves a lovely life and that thrills me to no end. They are great people who do good on a daily basis so they deserve to have something they love and appreciate to come home to, and for them it is each other, their dogs and their home (and a little bit the Gamecocks)!

After taking care of the doggy dogs we headed to the theatre where we devoured our Mucho Margarita taco salads and geared up for a "run through" HaHa that was a good one. This is a relationshipy, literaryish, dialogue laden show and it has definitely been somewhat of a process getting to where we should be BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE!!! I am sure we got out of rehearsal some time near midnight. I was dropped off at E&T's to sleep for the night. It was rather chilly in their house because all the windows were open (yay) but the temp had significantly dropped. I remedied this by pulling a sleeping bag out of the closet and snuggling under and heading off to dreamland. Although, I doubt I dreamt at all!

Pets are an amazing thing! I woke up Saturday morning bright and early. Had some lovey dovey time with my niece and nephew dogs Freddie and Lucy then got ready for work. It may have been the loveliest morning yet this autumnal season. I took to the streets, well the sidewalk really, and hoofed it to work. Stopped by Starbucks to get myself some coffee (I just couldn't find the coffee maker at my bros house). Arrived to work on time then BAM it was go time for the rest of the day. That is how I like it man, we were dolling out the toy shop goods like we were hiding the Golden Ticket. I was surprised that the day crept by, usually when I am busy it is like I get on a rocket ship of time and all of a sudden my day is over. I am pretty sure it was slow moving because I was so excited about the events that were to come that night! (Football and Chili cook-off 2.0)

I know I have told you about 2 very important groups in my life, the ADG which is my very close nit group of friends (YOU KNOW HOW WE DO) and then of course Gamecock nation. Saturday night was going to be a mixture of the 2 and I couldn't have been more excited....well maybe if I had a few more hours of REM sleep I would be a little more excited (I kind of feel like I am having a partial out-of-body experience, consistently trippy). B. scooped me up and we headed over to the L's house for a chili cook-off and Gamecock football. I will just go ahead and say it...the Gamecocks lost. It was sad, I was torn down a bit but I am over it now. We can all learn from our mistakes in ever aspect of our lives and that INCLUDES athletes and coaches. Although it is so hard to be a Gamecock sometimes but we press on.

Let me tell you about the chili though. My friends DO NOT play around. Well for one we are a very competitive group of individuals, sometimes it gets to be a bit much for me and I kind of feel like listening to all the statements being made with an underlying hostility (usually joking but you know what they say about jokes...partially true and all that)and it kind of makes me feel like a kid who's parents are arguing! Well my friends cooked up their A-GAME chili. We had white chili, homemade hush puppies; chipotle pumpkin and candied apple chili just to name a few. It was a delightful time for my belly. I tried them all and picked my favorites! We tallied up the votes at half-time and announced the winner....What do they win you may ask? Bragging rights, oh yeah! Probably the best award you can be given in our group of smack-talking friends. And this year it goes to TheL's for their Candy-apple chili that won for best heat, best topping (candied bacon!!!) and best overall.

After the spirit-crushing Gcock loss I headed home. I didn’t have to be at the theatre until 2p.m (WHAT A MORNING OFF NO WAY) so I stayed up a bit and played around on the computer, AND had a fantastic phone call with my DFDavid. He thought my fbook status LOVE HURTS was in reference to my actual love life, which is precious but a little naive in that I have no love life(and am OK with that ;) but in all actuality was in response to the football loss. I putted around the house showered, and I mean stood under the hot water till it started to run cool. My back has been a bed of knots and tension for almost 2 weeks now so I am doing everything I can to try and loosen the muscles, so I felt (somewhat) justified in wasting a bit of water. It was a true treasure of the night, to just be able to hang out with myself and collect my thoughts although I didn't do much after collecting them so I am still a little spaced out.

I didn't sleep as well as I wanted so I got up early and went for a walk in the crisp morning air, then camped out on the couch and watched/napped to a Sandra Bullock heart-wrentcher hope floats. I am a bit over emotional sometimes (ALL THE TIME) and have a tendency to cry when anything sentimental comes on TV especially in a movie. For some reason getting lost in the characters of a movie will evoke my feelings faster than anything else. I think it is because it is safe to cry at movies. You are crying for other people and other situations, I am more likely to hold back my own tears for my own life situations and then unleash them in a furry the second some movie character brings them up again!

Well I am sure I could write a novel about all that, and hey maybe I will some day! BUT I am about to be late. I need to get the rest of my day going. Job 1/Job 2/Job 3...do it all again tomorrow!

Hey thanks for reading along! I hope that this day you can think about how you cry. Do you have any specific water work triggers? EG cries when she laughs which is a beautiful thing...what about you?


Xoxox

Fortune, Fortunate!

I was told once by a friend that I am much like a fortune cookie. I took this as a compliment in that I have a way of handing out little one-line proclamations, sometimes that make absolutely no sense, but others that are right on the money. When we sit back and evaluate who we are in life we have to take stock in the things we know to be true about ourselves, our negative and positive attributes. One thing I know about myself is that I am insightful; I read people and situations well. It is a power that can be used for good or evil, in my younger wilder days I may have used it carelessly in a selfish manner to get what I want. Now I try and use it for the greater good in a way. I am a constant study of relationships. I love the way our minds and bodies react and change from relationship to relationship. My brain is constantly review facts, storing info. and processing calculations of what I have seen and heard my mind is always churning away with tireless analysis of the world around me.

It used to cause me pain and unhappiness, thinking about this all the time, but that is because I was sad and unhappy. Now that I have gained some sort of control over where my mind goes when deep in the churning process I can keep it on the path of brightness and health instead of that road that is always lurking on the other side, the dark and dangerous road of insecurity and self-loathing. It has been long and hard but overall successful journey to get my mind and heart aligned. All of this came about for you today because I opened a fortune cookie yesterday and written in tiny blue writing was a statement so parallel to how I feel, almost as if the cookie was telling me that I had made it, a check point on the road of life. I passed GO and although I didn't get $200 a deposit has been made on soul (cheesy I know but just go with me). That little piece of paper is telling me to keep doing what I am doing and it will all happen whatever it may be!


Well how was that for a Friday morning? How is your life this week? I could use about 5-10 more hours in my day, and not because I need more sleep but because I have more life I want to live. Don't get me wrong this girl LOVES to sleep but I am really starting to think that I can start cutting my sleeping down an hour or two. Between 6-8 hours is what I normally try and allow myself. I might just stick to 6 and see how my body handles it. I know sleep is great for your body and I love the rest but there is so much going on, so much I want to read or take in each day that I don't get to be a part of because I just don't have the time. And yes I am working on a show at Trustus and if you have every taken part in the live theatre process you KNOW that it is all consuming. You spend hours upon hours working with scripts building characters incorporating lights, sounds, movement, props, costumes all the while dealing with egos and feelings of the different people involved. I am the stage manager and I love the job. The more I am responsible for the better I feel, bring it on. Anywho doing a show will take over your life but it is the best way to spend a night, I love to say "People are funny..." when I see strange or bizarre happenings throughout the world, and let me tell you people who do theatre are HILARIOUS. You want to meet an interesting group of people go sit in on a rehearsal process one night. You will see some of the most monumentally inspiring dedication ever, watching someone truly commit to being someone else and making words on paper become their actual thoughts and genuine desires may be the hardest thing you can ask a spirit to do. And they have to do it for months on end just for one show.

Now for me it is different because I am crew, the commitment is still unshakable and you won't see a group of people work so hard to achieve perfection as a crew of a live theatre stage production. But it goes further for me. I get truly involved; the stage becomes mine, each prop an extension of my duties. Each sound or lighting cue make or break. On the first night of rehearsal I start quilting a blanket (metaphorically speaking) and by opening night if I have done everything I can do and the director has done what they need, I take that blanket and cast it over the show. I take it upon myself to watch out for the well being of everyone and everything that is involved. Somewhere in my heart is a room full of tapestries. Art that I have sewn over the many years (16 to be exact) that I have been stage managing show. Some of those quilts are bigger than others(Rocky Horror), some are a bit moth eaten(The Graduate) but in general they are hanging high reminding me of this wonderful alter-world that I have been so privileged of which to be a part.

All that because I started talking about how I need a few more hours in my day! Ha! Well I am working all day today at the toy store, then off to rehearsal and then I am doing it all over again tomorrow. But you know what thinking about the hours that I will spend in the same place today might make me think about all the things that i will be missing, the fair or time reading my new book, but I really don't feel that way. I am going to go to work and I want to be productive and I want to be a good employee because I am grateful to have a job, an opportunity to make someone's day a little bit happier. Because no matter what we are all in the service industry. We all wake up and spend the day providing something for someone else.

That may be depressing to some who think what am I getting from this but for me I get from the giving. Of course that paycheck every two weeks is necessary but truly I get so much joy in my life from being able to give. So think about that while you are out there in the world. If just for a second stop worrying about what you are getting out of it, turn it around and think about what you can give to it because it will come back to you. We should all think of ourselves as little mirrors, we cast out what we can and it is given back by everyone we come in contact with, so what is on your inside that you are sending out? Is it something you would want to see when you look in the mirror?

Consider your life through Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray that there is a painting of ourselves on a wall and we can watch the deterioration of our souls. That every evil thing we do is physically written on our bodies. Would we still do them? Just because we can't always see the direct effect of our actions, that doesn't mean they don't exist. Think about that when you are making decisions, what do you want your painting to look like!

Life Like.

OOOOooo Child that is how I am feeling this morning, life like, not so much grounded in reality. I had one of those days yesterday where I could have crawled back into bed and stayed there all day. I was bombarded early in the morning with disappointment and hurt feelings and found myself stuck on the verge of tears all day long. Which is no good when you have 4 jobs and you have to make it through the day with a smile. Well of course you don't have to make it through the day with the smile but what kind of day would it be if you didn't?! I refuse to be that employee that complains about the ringing phones or the sometimes unintelligible meanderings of the bureaucratic system. I am so thankful to have the jobs I have, I am doing exactly what I want to right now. I am working or a living, I may have more to do in a day than sometimes feels possible but my day is so full. I interact with so many different people and personalities that the vibes are always moving and changing, what a great way to learn about people and about life and the ways others lead their lives than to be around them, in their periphery watching and enjoying the nuances that each individual brings to this world.

I still have a bit to talk about from this past mountain weekend and I hate that I haven't been as proficient with my postings as I would like, but the new job cuts hours out of my mornings, and well yeah working on a show cuts into your night time hours but all of these things are perfectly fine distractions for me.

OK, so I think I made it through Saturday night for you and now I get to tell you about glorious Sunday. The three of us slept well Saturday night and allowed our bodies some much needed life recuperation. We arose around mid-morning and took to the tiny kitchen to delight our bodies with some coffee and bagels. Hmmm let me tell you about my coffee, this was coffee beans that I put into the grinder and filled to the brim of the pot before brewing a delightfully strong pot of golden brown glory. The night before I procured my little vacation treat, Italian Sweet Cream Non-fat coffee creamer (Usually I would drink sugar free but they don't make THIS stuff sugar free). This deliciousness was first introduced by my best friend Virginia who lives in Florida; I must at some time do an entire Va/SMB post for you it will be highly entertaining I am sure. So armed with my delightfully creamed coffee

I headed out to the porch (remember favorite seat on the planet) in the warm sunlight and fragrant mountain breeze and picked up this...

The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

It is phenomenal so far. One of my favorite movies that makes me cry every time, I didn't realize there was a book and EG highly recommended it so we were a go. But let me say it was a tough choice, one think that is great about the mountain-side cabin is it's plethora of reading material. It is the physicalization of a Google search for "Good vacation reads" with a wide range from old to new classic and comedic. I love books have I told you that? I mean in China that is one of the main things I missed the most about my home country. Not being able to walk into a bookstore and wander for hours reading the back covers, mentally assessing book cover art, if I don't like the cover I really might not read your book, seriously. Anywho books=good, books+coffee= better!!

So after coming up with a basic time parameter for our day, EG and I needed to be back in time for rehearsal and as she put it she would like to have some time before rehearsal to turn herself around that girl can use some words! That allowed us some much desired time to enjoy the porch living. What is it about a porch really? I mean as a child my front porch was my favorite place to play, it was wide open with tall strong wooden pillars and railing. I would imagine it as a stage and would perform my dance recitals or my one woman (girl) show. Sometimes I would just sit on the brick steps and count the cars. It is where I watched joyful homecomings or tearful good-byes. Ever since that time I have always had an affinity for a nice porch. A porch over looking the beach, give me a break I am done my heart will skip a beat to get in rhythm with the waves on a beach house porch. In the mountain, oh the joy, every ounce of my being relaxes and I find that breath deeper and stronger, staring off or reading a book just being in that moment on that porch. Or the joy of going back to that porch in a moment like this where I can bask in the glow of what was, because let's face it the moments that once were, aren't always glowing. But a moment on a porch that is one to hope to return to whether in mind or with body!

After (sadly) leaving the cabin we made our way down to the little town of Black Mountain. This town is splendid, little rows of locally owned shops line the tiny street-sides. There are no high rise buildings to block the beautiful blue sky, really not much noise to break through you mind and disrupt that peace you just came down the mountain from.

Our first stop was at the General Store where I saw, fell in love with- and will one day buy when I have a home to hang it in- this

I mean really HAVE YOU A LITTLE FAIRY IN YOUR HOME...not yet but it is now a necessity!

After that we headed over to the place I have been waiting to go, and which I have often thought about in the year+ since the last time I visited this pleasure town. What one store could keep my attention so long that I literally cannot wait to go back time and time again? I place that serves THIS

Oh it may LOOK like regular ice cream but it is in all actuality my favorite ice cream EVER. Toasted Coconut. It isn't at all what you imagine it will be, if you imagine great things then you haven't even begun to imagine the delight of this tasty treat. I was literally crossing my fingers that they hadn't decided to take it off their menu. Nope we were golden. I also sampled a bit of fudge Mmmmmm before heading outside to decide on a lunch spot. I took a phone call from DFDavid who was in NYC for the weekend. It is always nice to hear from him and we mused on how it would have been nice if I had joined him up there that weekend bc I LOVE the city, but I don't think I would have traded my mountain weekend for anything!

Well after that we found a nice little place for lunch, then hit the road...Hit the road Jack and don't ya come back no more no more no more no more hit the road Jack and don't you come back no moooore Oh sorry for that brief musical interlude.

So after making it through some traffic we were back in Columbia taking on life proper again. All in all it was a fantastic weekend.

Now that I am back in the week, being graciously escorted around town by those who are kind enough to lend this car-less employee a ride, I am happy to think back on the pleasures from this past weekend.

Last night EG and I talked about how sometimes you would love to be able to punch our past, reach in there and give a good one-two. But alas you can't you can only go forward and learn from the things that were good and even more from the things that were bad. You CAN however, give you mind a good smacking every now and again like I did this a.m. with my early morning walk with EG (I must come up with an apt title for our morning escapades into fitness and life, suggestions). We joked and talked and noted by all the "morning" greetings that we heard that life at 5 am isn't all that bad. People are friendly and getting their day started and I am happy to join that group! Today will be a crazy day off coordinating rides and rehearsing (or as EG put it "people walking around feeling things AT each other") but it will be an amazing day because I am here and I am doing it and I am in love with the world and what it gives me. When I shed a tear I am owed a laugh and living the life in between the balance of those two. So thanks again for being you, because you help make me thankful for being me, for our differences and our similarities are pasts and our futures. Send it up!

xoxox

PS Happy Birthday to my beloved Erin R!

The Bender Gallery

So on my early morning walk with EG we were discussing Mondays! I think Mondays have a totally bad rep and I am going to force myself to change that attitude. I mean Mondays are very much contingent on your Sunday and can be very overwhelming when you look at the week ahead of you and everything you have to do, go, be and see. BUT I think we need to change our perspective on this day that happens every week whether we like it or not! If we didn't have Mondays will Fridays feel so good? I am going to get pumped about today, and try my best to think about all the good things that can happen on a Monday! For me I walked and talked with my best friend, we joked about the fabulous weekend we shared and blessed about the great things we have to look forward this week like THE FAIR/PUMPKIN CARVING and oh yeah we are doing a show that opens SOON!


Side note: Happy National Coming out day! I hope that those of you struggling to come to terms with you own personal reality can take this opportunity to free your mind! I love you and think you are special. May we all find the patience in our hearts to appreciate each other for our differences!
And now to the Gallery:


Anywho, so let me tell you about the weekend that I just had! WHOA, awesome! So as I told you Friday night EG, B. and I headed up to Black Mountain where my family has a quaint and peaceful cabin atop the mountain. After not having been there in over a year, and it being midnight+ when we arrived, we had a bit of a struggle finding the right driveway. There was a lot of backing up down extremely NARROW gravel roads. At one point I had to hop in the bed of the truck and navigate B. away from the edge of the mountain. Alas we made it safe and sound BUT our trials were not over...there was no water. One of the first things you do when you get to the cabin is check the water so you can turn on the water heater...but all the faucets just sounded like they were giving their last rights, a shaking rolling death rattle. OH well, we were still in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, and the Gamecocks were playing Alabama the next day so clearly nothing was going to change our delighted mood. We opened a bottle of red wine (B. opted for his Black Label C Royal and coke) and played some cards. The joys of working at a toy store. I brought a deck of cards that are not adorned with any kings or queens, no numbers to be found here BUT instead animals...ooooh yeah I am talking tigers in tutus elephants on skateboards, ice skating cows and the OLD MAID POSSUM, you don't want this broad with her polka dot panties. After a round of old maid, go fish and memory and some wonderful venting of life's tribulations we called it a night.

Saturday morning I woke up early and called my dad. He told me how to get to the water pump and how to turn it on! I promptly went back to bed! Around 10ish we moseyed out of bed and got ready for our first mountain adventure! We were told to hike down to the end of the road take a left at the concrete road and find the hut with all the pipes. I can not express how wonderful it is to wake up on the side of Black Mountain. The way the sun peels through the trees and the wind whips around giving you this feeling of freshness in the air that is exhilarating. Then to wake up with amazing friends and set off for a little gallivant down a mountain lane...my day was already one of my favorites and it wasn't even noon. After making it past some ravenous dogs on a clearly marked NO TRESPASSING territory (we had to the hut with the pipes was behind it) and OK the dog was just barky not bitey...we found the pipe and turned on the water.
HUZZAH, what an adventure friends.

Returning to the cabin we called our friends that were in nearby Asheville to say how-do, and then made our tentative plans for the day. We made ourselves some Indian River mimosas (if you aren't using Indian River you aren't doing it right) and sat on the porch for a spell. The sun was warming up the day nicely and breeze was tickling the chimes like pianist would tickle the ivories! The lounge chair on that porch is close enough to the edge that the sun can streak across your right side, I truly love this because the shadows from the leaves dance and play on my leg and arm and as the wind blows the tree tops the sun sparkles and shines in the corner of me eye!


After readying ourselves, we head out on down the road for a bit of breakfast and by bit I mean a TON. B. and I had recently learned that EG had never been to Cracker Barrel. Really? I feel like that is some what a sin in the South.


After stuffing ourselves on the deliciousness of the CB we putted around the gift shop then headed to town. Asheville is absolutely one of the coolest town's in America. From the buildings to the streets, the personality is apt and everywhere.


I must tell you that I am a HUGE football fan and this was the day we (The Gamecocks) were playing Alabama, the number 1 ranked team in the nation in college football. YIKES. We had put up a good effort but ultimately lost to Auburn 2 weeks ago. Last week was our bye week, thankfully, gave us some extra time to prepare for the Tide! So we walked over to the Bier Garden to say hello to our friends who were having a drink before heading back to their house where they had decided to watch the game. B. EG and I walked around town for a minute...it was Oktoberfest in the city and some great sights were seen (does one ever tire of see old men in lederhosen, I think not).


As the witching hour approached (I LOVE 3:30 games) we head back to the Bier bar for some HUGE screen TV. This was ESPNs Game Day game so needless to say it was the one on the biggest screen. Boy did it deserve that big screen because that was one amazing game. I can't really tell you how wonderful it was to sit there in that bar surrounded by gamecock fans (seriously I ran into friends I hadn't seen since before China who were RANDOMLY in Asheville too) we straight turned that bar into Gamecock Country and rightfully so after seeing what a solid team took the field that day in William's Brice Stadium. We gave 'em hell and I screamed Eat their Face on more than one occasion! *I must tell you that prior to the game EG purchased Zombie magnet poetry and we decorated our table with creative one-liners about the zombie apocalypse, might need to be a new tradition before all gamecock games.* Anyway, we rocked that Tide like they hadn't been rocked in 19 games and took the victory 35-21.
Courtesy of GamecocksOnline.com


As a Gamecock fan you are not really use to successes and extremely well-played games. We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves....almost. What did we do you ask? We took to the streets, we high-fived and clapped and cheered and shared our excitement with half of Asheville. Most people were excited for the Gamecocks to win (not really bc they care about USC but the just wanted Bama to loose. Hey who am I to turn down cheer?) we journeyed around town on our post-victory euphoria then ended up back at the Bier Garden for dinner. It had served us well all day!!

After eating a most delicious tuna steak with pineapple and sweet potato fries we called it a night! We stopped by our friends abode and I must say I was delighted by the creepy, beyond creepy even, Ashville house they where they were staying. The upstairs is normal all clear that kind of deal, but then you get the tour. The small door in the back of the kitchen that seems just a little bit older than the rest of the house opens. A dank smell rises from the carpeted stairs below. You slowly move down the steep ascent and then make it into a cold damp bare room. The light is popped on and a creepy concrete room dashes into appearance. It is bare except for randomness sprawled out around...the weirdest part is the somewhat dirty drain that sits- out of place- in the middle of the floor. Andrew my leader of the creep took me into the adjacent room where to my complete amazement was the perfect setting for a new gore-cult classic. Tiny beds that were plainly made with dulled covers and stale sheets. The make-shift bathroom is drafty and unused. Altogether it was a wonderfully terrifying end to my mountain day.

B. EG and I stopped by the grocery store on the way up to the cabin, because once you get up there you don't want to come back down the 20 minute winding road unless you absolutely have to! We acquired our necessities for the morning munch and head on up the road. Saying goodnight to Asheville was done with sheer pleasure as the day could not have gone off better. We were relaxed, groovy and right on point all day. It melded our needs with our desires to the point of perfection. There were no perforated lines to tear us apart from the joy that was handed down to us fine folks on such a fine day. So three cheers to you Gamecocks, three cheers to you mountain retreat and Asheville streets, three cheers to you mind friends for being there and coming back for more. May the sun warm your way and the moon calm your nights!

xoxox

Put me in Coach!

Ah yesterday was an action packed Thursday! I walked and did some work on the stationary bike before heading off to babysit my cool kid gang. I was driving my dad's electric car so that opened up the possibilities for the afternoon. Usually I walk over to the King's house but now that I had transportation we could go somewhere, and go we did. We went to Emily Douglas Park on Wheat St. (my favorite street in the world), this is the street I grew up on and the park I spent many years playing. It is a lot different than when I was little but there are still things to get excited about! The sand pit for one, the kids immediately rid themselves of shoes and dove into the mound of sand! I took to the swings; there really is nothing as enjoyable as swinging on a swing set. If I look straight up in the air when I start my decent backwards it gives me that little jolt in my stomach...it makes me squeal a little bit! I watched the kids navigate the monkey bars backwards and forwards, I have never been the best at upper body strength so as a kid the MBars terrified me....but like all things I hate I try to find a common ground with them. So I walked over to the metal bars, which I now tower over, and did the only thing that I have ever been able to do with them. I grabbed on and hoisted my legs up and over until I was hanging upside down. After a second Avery joined me and we were just hanging...;)

After leaving the park we headed over to Earth Fare to get a veggie/juice drink from their juice bar! Let me tell you, if you were wondering where the hot spot is at 6 p.m. on a Thursday it is at EF. Apparently kids eat free, so they had a balloon animal maker guy and kids galore. It was a bit overwhelming but it was nice to see so many parents taking the opportunity to feed their kids healthy alternative foods! After getting my juice we headed home. I dropped them off and headed for rehearsal!

EG picked me up and we swung by my bro's house to pick up some props for RtbP. He is graciously loaning us some baseball paraphernalia. I grew up playing baseball/softball and to this day would do anything for a pick up game. I put my old first baseman's mitt on my hand, although after playing softball for so many years a baseball feels so tiny it was nice to just feel the leather of the glove and the stitches in the baseball! When we arrived to the theatre I found that my new favorite Trey was down to toss the ball around. So that is what we did...a bit of back and forth in the rehearsal space but no we couldn't be stopped so we took it to the alley. It was a beautiful night last night, breezy and cool, the sky to the west of Columbia is always astounding at dusk. It may have been getting close to too dark but we were on a mission. I think we were both impressed with our mad arm skills. There were only a couple close calls to broken windows, or when I over threw the ball went barreling towards Huger street...um not good...but was saved by a guy who jovially tossed Trey the ball and joked about how he never understood why the call softballs soft "Because they ain't" Trey was with him all the way!

I thought my arm would be sore today from the few minutes of one-on-one it got with the ball yesterday but it isn't! So I woke up early this a.m. to walk with EG. It was bomb. It is so nice, not as cold as the other morning! I tell you what though the first day you wake up at 5:30 it is all exciting like yeah man look at me being all awesome...not so much the second day. It is still exciting but I was tired for sure. We did a little variation to our walk, added another hill and some jogging. We talked about how one of my ex-boyfriends won't talk to me which is just annoying because I am friends with all my ex's. They all mean a lot to me, they taught me so much about life and myself and having them as friends is a treasure right! But whatevs. We also talked about cute boys and butts and all the yummy things girls talk about at 5:30 in the morning. We ALSO talked about how we are going up to Black Mountain tonight after rehearsal. This is one of my favorite places on the planet, my family's cabin in BMountain. It is right outside of Asheville which I can only imagine is one of the most beautiful places to be in the fall, when the leaves change color! We are going to put around Asheville then meet up with the majority of the ADG at a bar and watch GAMEDAY!!!! Go cocks! On Sunday EG, Boxter (That's Baxter EG's bf) and I will cook breakfast, maybe hike a bit, drink waaay too much coffee and read book in the cool fresh air of the mountain side! Heaven?! I promise pictures of the golden browns and reds and yellows that border the sky!!

While I am thinking about things that I love I must take a moment to tell you about some of the things in my life that I use/wear/need on a daily basis. These are the 3 constants in my life. I may have more but these are big. They will probably seem a little strange but hey have you met me? I am a little strange (a lot)!
These aren't really in order of greatness...


This is The Professor. My Times Square Build-A-Bear creation from the ever favorite trip to NYC with EG in 2006 (I think)! Also on this trip I was kissed by a cute boy in the rain...oh one of my favorite memories! Anywho, The Professor has not left my side since his creation! He has been there through sickness and health, I took him to China and back, so he too is a world traveler. This will be one of those things were if my future child asks for him I will most likely say NO, HE IS MINE. Then go and guilt buy them anything they want!

Next we have:

I know right....let me tell you about this right hur, introduced to me by my MRB back in the 3300 days it has been a stable of my daily life since. I have always been a compulsive lotioner. Every day. No question it is what you do, my mom taught me that. Hydration is important inside and outside of your body. Your skin will be healthier if you treat it well and this lotion is like a daily pampering. It smells yummy and has fewer additives than most name brand lotions. Someone once told me that what you put on your skin can be absorbed into your blood stream...um I would OK thanks for that now I am totally aware of what I put on my skin at all times! So this is it for me, I took 4 bottles of this stuff with me to China; it lasted me the whole year!

Last and the most recent addition to my life:

My jade Buddha! Given to me by my kind and dear friend Maggie Zhi. Maggie and I met bc she is the editor for China Grooves, the expat magazine I wrote for in Xi'an. We became great friends over the 6 months we worked together! I miss her and the magazine dearly. We spent many hours together wandering market streets looking at bits and bobs and on more than one occasion I mentioned how I wanted a jade Buddha necklace. You can buy fake jade all over the place but I wanted the real deal. In China they say that jade stone when worn on the body will heat up and mix with the oils on your skin. Jade is thought to be a healing nutrient so wearing it will prevent disease and well ward off evil. I wear this around my neck every day. The Buddha hangs down on my chest close to my heart! If you see me you will see the red string around my neck. In China everyone had a red string, it might not have a jade Buddha on there but it would have something. Red is the color of China, it is seen as the color of happiness power and prosperity. And so I wear this jade Buddha, to remind me of my life in that land, of the beauty in friendships that I made, the treasures of a culture that I learned and like this stone will carry with me for a life time!

Is it me?

Last night I had a magical experience! The rehearsal process for Reasons to be Pretty has been very unique to me...not because I am unfamiliar with stage managing-child please- but because in one scene there is a bad. We used a mattress on the first night of rehearsals and it has yet to be used again, thus from day two I posted myself on that mattress and have done all of my watching, interpreting and note taking from the most comfortable of spots. Now to see if I can somehow get that mattress up into my booth for the run of the show!

After the delights of rehearsal we skipped over to Paul's house, one of my favorite places in this entire city. It is eclectically decorated, EG and I mused that this house makes us want to curl up with a blanket and read classic literature while sipping green tea till dusk when we would inevitably switch to red wine. Paul is a pusher and into hotness and what was hot last night was a sparkling Shiraz, cheeses from around the world dehydrated mangoes (he done did it himself) which complement the cheese so well, and sips of strawberry vodka. The gathering was a bit of a surprise as I thought we were just going over there for a post-rehearsal catch up, but what a joy to have been surprised with a wonderful group. We buzzed to the low lighting and talked of such glorious things. Personal favorite TO put out is disapproval of society forcing individuals to wake up early. Why, if you hold a job, do you have to get up so early in the morning? Some people just AREN'T morning people! I am totally picking up what he is putting down, I mean I love waking up in the morning and am usually extremely perky but I know so many people, who really blossom in the evenings and would be most productive if they could perform their respective duties then. But alas, we are forced into an early to rise working system. But being the early bird that I am sometimes it is just wonderful to put on my night-owl shoes and step out for a bit!

Because it was nearly mid-night (aack ;) by the time EG dropped me off last night we opted out of the 5:30 a.m. and will pick up tomorrow morning for a bit of body pump...gah I love lifting weights, makes me feel like such a badass! So after finally getting up today (I have solved my sleeping problem, for 10 years I was sleeping with my down comforter but I left it in China bc of lack of luggage room :( anyway I found a spare and have adorned my bed with it and shall now usher in the nights of peaceful sleep!) I made myself a cup of coffee; I tell you what this pod of coffee thing has had about enough of a ride in my life. I am determined to find a spare French press and grinder (my parent's house is like a treasure trove of stuff). Had an English muffin with all natural peanut butter and a banana cut up on it! YUMM! Then I put on my walking shoes for a stroll around this beautiful neighborhood!

It is truly a wonderful city. The yards, the crisp air, the flowers, birds and butterflies. You will find none of these things in the cities of China. I spent a year without seeing a front yard; years ago all the birds of Xi'an had been exported because they were believed to carry disease, so to this day they haven't really returned. There is NO crisp air, the air is tainted with smog and congestion, and there were days when I couldn't see the buildings across the street. It would slowly roll in and take over and you wouldn't even realize until your head was pounding because you were breathing in waste. There are flowers of course because China does a great job of creating beauty where it naturally lacks. Sometimes it is hit or miss- they put up Christmas lights then I think they liked how they looked so they kept them up all year- or you might walk into a park and find a menagerie of tulips and peonies (the national flower). This was always a surprise because you step off a street that is usually dirty and mucky and the trees are brown with dust and then this park is filled with greenery, trees bushes and flowers. But don't look too closely ;)

Butterflies, oh the butterflies. Now is it me or were there no butterflies in Xi'an? This is a question I want to ask my dear friend David, who I think needs to be referred to now as DFD. Since returning to the states I have noticed butterflies everywhere. When the ADG went to Sullivan's I could have sworn butterflies were taking over. Now they are everywhere and I couldn't be happier. It must have been that there weren't any, or not an abundance of them, where I was in China. I mean I am SURE that the beautiful countryside of CN has butterflies but there is definitely a void in the cities! But here I am in the glorious South, seeing these natural pieces of art flying around everywhere and I am pleased. I have also become obsessed with the sky. I mean a year of brown and gray is enough to make someone stop and stare at the mural that is painted up above on a daily basis!

So anywho I am home again, have secured some props for RtbP made myself a salad with spring mix and baby spinach with diced onions and celery with a dash of crasins and sliced almonds. Topped it with a bit of balsamic vinaigrette and some medium spiced salsa. Whoa good! I am on my second cup of coffee but not even sure I can make it all the way through. It is a disappointment, so I think I will switch and have a brew. Some green tea to go!

I will leave you now to do my daily chores, folding laundry and doing dishes, before I go off to babysit some really cool kids. I am so thankful to have the things in my life and that includes dirty laundry ;)

On my last note though I must ask, do you believe in signs? I mean I borrowed a ball from work to be a prop and the toy company's logo on the back of this tiny pink bouncy ball is from Sumner, Washington. I am still pondering that one BUT the one I want to put before you is this...I am being followed by goldfish! Well it started when my stepmom's goldfish died (I had nothing to do with that-thank goodness) but it died then people started posting status updates about eating goldfish crackers then Jen at work brings goldfish snack and likes to eat the one's that have the smile on them, THEN last night at P's he had goldfish in a glass goldfish holder...COME ON NOW! Is it just me? What to take from this...maybe I will buy my SM a new goldfish!