Last night (after watching CONAN, who had Jason Sudeikis on so they could talk about their hair), I dreamed that my mother, sister and I were traveling through either SC or TN and we stopped at an old, worn down thrift shop -- the corrugated roof, thin carpet, blinky light variety.
We stepped in and I started finding things I liked -- a grey pillow, some figurines, an empty journal, and some clothes. There was a pink jacket attached to a sweater and when I pulled them off the rack together, I saw that someone had put them together on purpose, with a tape tag that read "Grand Prize Winner". I was not aware of any Grand Prizes being given away at the thrift store but I hoped it meant I didn't have to pay for all the stuff I wanted because it was growing to a ridiculous amount of stuff.
I went to find the owner, who looked exactly like Jason Sudeikis. It might have been him.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Asian Man = Symbol for...?
I've dreamed two very long dreams in the last couple nights, with Asian men featuring as the villains. I have no idea what that means.
Last night's dream was that my mom and her twin sister (who both looked like Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls) met up somewhere (an airship in Tokyo?) and me and my siblings were there and we were all going to some social function.
Then an Asian man came in and had an altercation with my mom and I thought she was going to shoot him but he shot her three times and left. She was dead instantly.
I sobbed and sobbed while her twin sister rushed around making arrangements for a burial and we took her to the morgue and then her sister and I decided to go after the Asian man...
It's so weird to me that the feelings I have in my dream feel so real, even after waking up. I've felt anger, sadness and shame lately. Very strange.
Last night's dream was that my mom and her twin sister (who both looked like Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls) met up somewhere (an airship in Tokyo?) and me and my siblings were there and we were all going to some social function.
Then an Asian man came in and had an altercation with my mom and I thought she was going to shoot him but he shot her three times and left. She was dead instantly.
I sobbed and sobbed while her twin sister rushed around making arrangements for a burial and we took her to the morgue and then her sister and I decided to go after the Asian man...
It's so weird to me that the feelings I have in my dream feel so real, even after waking up. I've felt anger, sadness and shame lately. Very strange.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Australia
Last night I dreamed that my mother and father had separated and that he'd moved to Australia and was re-marrying. I had a twin, another sister, my real sister, my two brothers, and a younger sister. We went with my mom to Australia to try to convince my dad not to get re-married.
My first viewing of Australia was a very hilly piece of land with long green and gold grass. We made our way to the house my dad and his new soon-to-be were staying. We walked in and I realized he was marrying...
Regina. The Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time.
Instantly I understood why we were trying to break this wedding up. She ungraciously took her things out of the spare bedroom and moved into his bedroom (whoops) and we were sent outside. The wind was blowing and as I looked down, there were tiny scorpions -- or I thought they were. On closer inspection, they were just scorpion carcasses, but every time the wind blew one onto me I was very careful to avoid the stinger.
We went out the back and saw a big horse/zebra...it was chestnut until the hindquarters, where it had stripes like a zebra. It was a big, gorgeous animal, but then we looked up the hill to the left and saw a monstrous liger (I've seen ligers in real life and this one was much stockier, although still a beautiful animal).
We avoided it and rushed down to the cliffs where we went to an underwater pocket of air where people would swim. There were frozen waves above us -- we were completely enclosed in water. We paddled about and my friend Andrew was there, so we started goofing off until he suddenly got serious and said we should be working if we were here.
We left and went back up the hill, trying to avoid the liger again, but it got in our way so we slowly walked past it, eyes down on the ground. We were outside the house and I screamed and pointed at my brother's foot -- a live scorpion had crawled onto him and was attempting to sting him. He got it off (he was wearing flip-flops, for Pete's sake) and we dashed inside, to see Regina floating over the pool (near the horse) in a chair.
My mom and dad started talking and we were there for HOURS. I went back to the spare bedroom and saw my siblings unpacking and I said, "What are you doing?? I've been trying to get out of here for HOURS."
Then I woke up.
My first viewing of Australia was a very hilly piece of land with long green and gold grass. We made our way to the house my dad and his new soon-to-be were staying. We walked in and I realized he was marrying...
Regina. The Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time.
Instantly I understood why we were trying to break this wedding up. She ungraciously took her things out of the spare bedroom and moved into his bedroom (whoops) and we were sent outside. The wind was blowing and as I looked down, there were tiny scorpions -- or I thought they were. On closer inspection, they were just scorpion carcasses, but every time the wind blew one onto me I was very careful to avoid the stinger.
We went out the back and saw a big horse/zebra...it was chestnut until the hindquarters, where it had stripes like a zebra. It was a big, gorgeous animal, but then we looked up the hill to the left and saw a monstrous liger (I've seen ligers in real life and this one was much stockier, although still a beautiful animal).
We avoided it and rushed down to the cliffs where we went to an underwater pocket of air where people would swim. There were frozen waves above us -- we were completely enclosed in water. We paddled about and my friend Andrew was there, so we started goofing off until he suddenly got serious and said we should be working if we were here.
We left and went back up the hill, trying to avoid the liger again, but it got in our way so we slowly walked past it, eyes down on the ground. We were outside the house and I screamed and pointed at my brother's foot -- a live scorpion had crawled onto him and was attempting to sting him. He got it off (he was wearing flip-flops, for Pete's sake) and we dashed inside, to see Regina floating over the pool (near the horse) in a chair.
My mom and dad started talking and we were there for HOURS. I went back to the spare bedroom and saw my siblings unpacking and I said, "What are you doing?? I've been trying to get out of here for HOURS."
Then I woke up.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Finale
Yesterday was our last performance.
We had three great shows, a great turnout, and a fun cast party.
After the show yesterday we changed out of our costumes and "struck" the stage -- all the flats had to go back in storage (they'll be painted over for next semester's production), the props had to be put away in the closet, the trash had to be picked up and the equipment for classes put back on stage. We wrapped cords and returned items (I'd borrowed some huge black frame glasses...I'm a little sad to say goodbye!) and took a few more pictures.
We all went our separate ways for dinner and then met up at 6:30 because our director had rented out a room somewhere for our cast party.
She reserved a Karaoke place for two hours for us! (Of course, just being in a musical, all we wanted to do was sing!) There were some hilarious solos/duets:
Schroeder and Charlie Brown singing "Sisters" from White Christmas (priceless)
Our director making everyone uncomfortable (half the group left) with her rendition of "Baby Got Back" (Snoopy and I were the only ones laughing)
Schroeder/Sally singing "A Whole New World" (just beautiful)
Sally and Charlie Brown singing "Somewhere Out There" from Fievel: An American Tale (wonderful)
Linus singing "I'm Still A Guy" to his girlfriend (amazing)
And two other Christmas songs. We wrapped everything up with all of us belting "Hakuna Matata" (which got us loads of laughs from the wait staff).
I'd never done Karaoke before (neither had half the cast) and so when they begged me to sing, I picked something I thought I knew pretty well: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'N Roll". "None of you are old enough to know this song," I said, by way of introducing it (they weren't).
I didn't do so hot.
And I realized, whenever I sing on stage by myself, I shake.
And then I realized why rockstars or musicians in general have created personas.
It's because you can't sing on stage as yourself. You have to create a character that can sing for you. Performing with others gives you some sort of shield (even if it's just an instrument -- playing harp is waaay less scary), but if you're alone (or in front), it's just you and the crowd and it is TERRIFYING.
This led to a lot of thinking about how Zoe (from my NaNoWriMo project) is going to handle this, because it's definitely something she hasn't thought about (she's never performed live). Lots of scenes are playing through my mind -- there's tons of potential here.
I wasn't going to sing at the karaoke party last night (b/c I'd never done it before) but then I remembered another writer's advice to do things you haven't tried before because they'll enrich your experience and your writing. I'm so glad I listened.
So after a hilarious two hours, we trooped back to school and some of us settled down in our director's room to WATCH OUR PERFORMANCE -- another good exercise in honest criticism, humility and natural pride at our accomplishment. We complimented each other, critiqued ourselves, and laughed at all the parts we hadn't got to watch while we were backstage.
I spent 1:30-11:30 yesterday with these people and I'd do it all again next weekend if I could.
But the play is over and for now, we're done.
I've heard the auditions for next semester will be very competitive, so in order to gain some sort of edge, I need to brush up on a British accent (I found some good tutorials online), shed a few pounds (watching myself onscreen -- I need to be more fit), and memorize a good monologue or two.
I'm sad it's over, but I have work to do -- and I can't wait for next semester!
We had three great shows, a great turnout, and a fun cast party.
After the show yesterday we changed out of our costumes and "struck" the stage -- all the flats had to go back in storage (they'll be painted over for next semester's production), the props had to be put away in the closet, the trash had to be picked up and the equipment for classes put back on stage. We wrapped cords and returned items (I'd borrowed some huge black frame glasses...I'm a little sad to say goodbye!) and took a few more pictures.
We all went our separate ways for dinner and then met up at 6:30 because our director had rented out a room somewhere for our cast party.
She reserved a Karaoke place for two hours for us! (Of course, just being in a musical, all we wanted to do was sing!) There were some hilarious solos/duets:
Schroeder and Charlie Brown singing "Sisters" from White Christmas (priceless)
Our director making everyone uncomfortable (half the group left) with her rendition of "Baby Got Back" (Snoopy and I were the only ones laughing)
Schroeder/Sally singing "A Whole New World" (just beautiful)
Sally and Charlie Brown singing "Somewhere Out There" from Fievel: An American Tale (wonderful)
Linus singing "I'm Still A Guy" to his girlfriend (amazing)
And two other Christmas songs. We wrapped everything up with all of us belting "Hakuna Matata" (which got us loads of laughs from the wait staff).
I'd never done Karaoke before (neither had half the cast) and so when they begged me to sing, I picked something I thought I knew pretty well: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'N Roll". "None of you are old enough to know this song," I said, by way of introducing it (they weren't).
I didn't do so hot.
And I realized, whenever I sing on stage by myself, I shake.
And then I realized why rockstars or musicians in general have created personas.
It's because you can't sing on stage as yourself. You have to create a character that can sing for you. Performing with others gives you some sort of shield (even if it's just an instrument -- playing harp is waaay less scary), but if you're alone (or in front), it's just you and the crowd and it is TERRIFYING.
This led to a lot of thinking about how Zoe (from my NaNoWriMo project) is going to handle this, because it's definitely something she hasn't thought about (she's never performed live). Lots of scenes are playing through my mind -- there's tons of potential here.
I wasn't going to sing at the karaoke party last night (b/c I'd never done it before) but then I remembered another writer's advice to do things you haven't tried before because they'll enrich your experience and your writing. I'm so glad I listened.
So after a hilarious two hours, we trooped back to school and some of us settled down in our director's room to WATCH OUR PERFORMANCE -- another good exercise in honest criticism, humility and natural pride at our accomplishment. We complimented each other, critiqued ourselves, and laughed at all the parts we hadn't got to watch while we were backstage.
I spent 1:30-11:30 yesterday with these people and I'd do it all again next weekend if I could.
But the play is over and for now, we're done.
I've heard the auditions for next semester will be very competitive, so in order to gain some sort of edge, I need to brush up on a British accent (I found some good tutorials online), shed a few pounds (watching myself onscreen -- I need to be more fit), and memorize a good monologue or two.
I'm sad it's over, but I have work to do -- and I can't wait for next semester!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Opening Night
There's nothing like the thrill you get a few hours before you are about to perform.
You think, "Why am I a ball of nerves NOW? It's too early. Ridiculous." And you stuff it down, deep inside, where it can gallivant with the other butterflies, who are stressing you out with their ever-present fluttery questions, such as:
"Did you remember to pack your leggings for the ballet dance?"
"Are you going to forget to bring your black skirts?"
"Is your face going to be so horribly broken out that concealer will not even BEGIN to do its job?"
"What are you going to eat that won't upset your stomach? If you don't eat, it'll be worse!"
"Are you going to forget to take off ALL your jewelry?"
And so forth.
I am now an hour away from being backstage, putting on my makeup, slipping into my dress, making sure all my props are in the right places (two hats and a tee shirt) and delving into the third Dresden Files book to keep my nerves from jangling too much.
I am two hours away from hearing people come inside and take their seats, two hours away from being stuffed in the Green Room to await the director's pep talk.
Two and a half hours away from our first performance.
And once I step onto that old, wooden stage floor, I'll be in another world.
You think, "Why am I a ball of nerves NOW? It's too early. Ridiculous." And you stuff it down, deep inside, where it can gallivant with the other butterflies, who are stressing you out with their ever-present fluttery questions, such as:
"Did you remember to pack your leggings for the ballet dance?"
"Are you going to forget to bring your black skirts?"
"Is your face going to be so horribly broken out that concealer will not even BEGIN to do its job?"
"What are you going to eat that won't upset your stomach? If you don't eat, it'll be worse!"
"Are you going to forget to take off ALL your jewelry?"
And so forth.
I am now an hour away from being backstage, putting on my makeup, slipping into my dress, making sure all my props are in the right places (two hats and a tee shirt) and delving into the third Dresden Files book to keep my nerves from jangling too much.
I am two hours away from hearing people come inside and take their seats, two hours away from being stuffed in the Green Room to await the director's pep talk.
Two and a half hours away from our first performance.
And once I step onto that old, wooden stage floor, I'll be in another world.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
What Has Kate Been Up To?
1. Play rehearsals. Including two early-morning ones (at 5am and 5:30 -- the 5:30 was this morning). I may not be a morning person, but tell me there's a rehearsal at 5 and I'm THERE. I will wake up at any time to get on stage. It has been great to see this production come together in the last few weeks and I *love* my costume. I will admit to being a little sad that I'm not a main character (I feel I could have done a better job than two of the main cast members -- I hope that's not petty and it really isn't jealousy -- I do have a better singing voice and I think I really could have been better. But they had a more open schedule and picked better songs than I did for the audition, both of which I was told about by the director)...I watch them on stage and I hope, I hope, I hope that one day I'll be able to be in bigger roles and show what I'm made of (and, you know, that I can finally prove to myself that I am good at SOMETHING).
2. Working extra hours since my boss had a tragic family emergency and had to be out of state for a few weeks. I feel awful for her but all I can do is sit in the office and wait for her to come back. It hasn't been busy (which is awesome) and I've gotten a lot of support from the department we're under, which is nice.
3. Having another, much more serious crisis -- where I live/work is not conducive to me being a functioning human being. I am suffering in just about every way imaginable. It feels like someone is forcing me to drink a hose full of black ink and it's pouring out my eyes, nose, and ears. That sounds horrid and disgusting, but that's exactly how I feel at the moment. I've got to get out. I've got to get away. I feel trapped. And it's driving me insane. (Maybe literally) That being said, I've realized it's really time for me to learn how to drive. I've got to take vacation hours and go somewhere out of state to catch my breath and realize that I'm not a bug pinned to a card under glass. At least not forever. Hopefully.
4. Making doll clothes -- I found an 8" Madeline doll at Goodwill and brought her home. When I was younger, I had another Madeline, with her friend Nicole, the Bad Hat boy -- Pepito, and the dog Genevieve. I had a little house for them and all the clothing/accessories I could want. Sadly, they are stashed away in storage (trying to locate them via my mom -- maybe I can get to them next summer) so for now I have my poor little Madeline from the thrift store, whose face is covered in pencil marks and paint. I'm going to try and clean her up. I started by finding some Barbie doll clothing patterns and altering them for her. So far, I've made a springtime/Easter dress, a blue jean skirt, a plaid skirt, a short-sleeved knit sweater, two knit hats (one with bear ears!), a scarf, a vest, and a sweater, the last two my own patterns (and ones I hope to make tutorials of and put them on a new blog -- oh, goodness, another blog!)
5. Writing letters to pen pals (NaNoWriMo or my regular correspondence partners) -- I did some artistic stuff yesterday to add some pizzazz to my letters. I'm using envelopes made of magazine pages, colored pens, and I made two little quote thingies (scrapbook paper, colored pens) and two drawings, which I have to color and send off today. I was quite proud of myself for coming up with two drawings and for the quote things, which turned out pretty (I'm making another one today and will also be posting that on the blog).
6. Reading/Writing -- I've started reading the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (the only adult series I've tried -- it's pretty great), amongst other things. I'm also doing NaNoWriMo and I've already cleared 10k (hoping to clear 15k by the end of the day). I'm slowly figuring out a writing process that works and that gets me excited. It has only taken three years. ;)
7. Watching Once Upon a Time. That's about the only show I'm keeping up with right now, besides SNL. Other than that, I'm watching movies from our Netflix queue (Suckerpunch was the last one, and Pirates: Band of Misfits is next!), and various episodes of Freaks and Geeks, Pscyh, The Office, 30 Rock and Phineas & Ferb.
There. That should get you all caught up. :)
2. Working extra hours since my boss had a tragic family emergency and had to be out of state for a few weeks. I feel awful for her but all I can do is sit in the office and wait for her to come back. It hasn't been busy (which is awesome) and I've gotten a lot of support from the department we're under, which is nice.
3. Having another, much more serious crisis -- where I live/work is not conducive to me being a functioning human being. I am suffering in just about every way imaginable. It feels like someone is forcing me to drink a hose full of black ink and it's pouring out my eyes, nose, and ears. That sounds horrid and disgusting, but that's exactly how I feel at the moment. I've got to get out. I've got to get away. I feel trapped. And it's driving me insane. (Maybe literally) That being said, I've realized it's really time for me to learn how to drive. I've got to take vacation hours and go somewhere out of state to catch my breath and realize that I'm not a bug pinned to a card under glass. At least not forever. Hopefully.
4. Making doll clothes -- I found an 8" Madeline doll at Goodwill and brought her home. When I was younger, I had another Madeline, with her friend Nicole, the Bad Hat boy -- Pepito, and the dog Genevieve. I had a little house for them and all the clothing/accessories I could want. Sadly, they are stashed away in storage (trying to locate them via my mom -- maybe I can get to them next summer) so for now I have my poor little Madeline from the thrift store, whose face is covered in pencil marks and paint. I'm going to try and clean her up. I started by finding some Barbie doll clothing patterns and altering them for her. So far, I've made a springtime/Easter dress, a blue jean skirt, a plaid skirt, a short-sleeved knit sweater, two knit hats (one with bear ears!), a scarf, a vest, and a sweater, the last two my own patterns (and ones I hope to make tutorials of and put them on a new blog -- oh, goodness, another blog!)
5. Writing letters to pen pals (NaNoWriMo or my regular correspondence partners) -- I did some artistic stuff yesterday to add some pizzazz to my letters. I'm using envelopes made of magazine pages, colored pens, and I made two little quote thingies (scrapbook paper, colored pens) and two drawings, which I have to color and send off today. I was quite proud of myself for coming up with two drawings and for the quote things, which turned out pretty (I'm making another one today and will also be posting that on the blog).
6. Reading/Writing -- I've started reading the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (the only adult series I've tried -- it's pretty great), amongst other things. I'm also doing NaNoWriMo and I've already cleared 10k (hoping to clear 15k by the end of the day). I'm slowly figuring out a writing process that works and that gets me excited. It has only taken three years. ;)
7. Watching Once Upon a Time. That's about the only show I'm keeping up with right now, besides SNL. Other than that, I'm watching movies from our Netflix queue (Suckerpunch was the last one, and Pirates: Band of Misfits is next!), and various episodes of Freaks and Geeks, Pscyh, The Office, 30 Rock and Phineas & Ferb.
There. That should get you all caught up. :)
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