A time to eat

One new variable in your routine can change everything.

I've recently added three.  Big ones.  I've already mentioned them.

The boy. 
The play. 
The film.

All of these things require my heart, my undivided attention, complete vulnerability, and significant amounts of time....

First of all, it's a drastic shift to go from singledom to boyfriendland.  The process is invigorating and challenging, and this particular relationship makes me feel like I'm in a perpetual state of shock.  ...but, in a good way.  :)

The play has been a process, but we're getting there.  It's now in nightly rehearsals, which will lead us straight into tech week, and then it opens for a two week run.  I've finally invited people to come, but I'm very nervous about it.

Once the show is over, I jump straight into film rehearsals.  I'm exited about the film, but I'm not really sure what to expect from it.

I just canceled EIGHT for December because I already feel in way over my head...

...and, I'm really missing some of my friends that I never really see enough of to begin with....  

A fairytale

It was a magically perfect October day in the mountains of Colorado... The sun was out, the skies were impossibly blue, and my brother and his soon-to-be wife gathered the most generous and loving group of people together to witness their commitment and dedication to one another. 

Todd wanted to find the perfect girl and, with his standards, it was no easy feat... but, it was well worth the wait because he found her.  :)

Here's to wishes for a happily ever after! 

A Lovely Day

I've been meaning to write about a documentary I saw with Maureen and Aatman called A Lovely Day, but I can't seem to find the right words to describe it. It's about these Oakland kids and, after living in Oakland for as long as I have, I've found that there are some things you just have to experience to really understand.  The film seemed to capture that somehow.  

The director of photography was a guy I used to live with back in my West Oakland/Dogtown days.

The golden hour

Home for Todd's wedding! 

It's been a year and a half since I've been home, and I somehow forgot how clear the skies were at night. 

How could I forget so many stars....?

You look like a rabbit

my version:  

After eating a gourmet style burger, Aatman sat across from me slumped slightly in his chair with his elbow resting on the table.  He peered at me over the ruins of our meal as he chomped on a big piece of lettuce that was used as garnish for his burger....

Me:  "You look like a rabbit."

Aatman:  ...  "YOU look like a rabbit." 

his edits: 

After eating a gourmet style burger, Aatman sat across from me slumped slightly in his chair with his elbow resting on the table. In a somewhat pensive mood, he inadvertently picked up a piece of lettuce used as garnish and gnawed insipidly at it while waiting for the check.

Me: "You look like a rabbit."

He snapped out of his trance and peered quizzically at me over the ruins of our meal at what had seemed to be a discordant characterization.

Aatman: "... YOU look like a rabbit."


*heart*

By the bay

Taking a break by the bay to enjoy the gorgeous weather....

I'm sitting on the pier by the stadium and there are a couple of half naked guys in a boat next to me blasting Don't Stop Believing.  Of course.

I was just offered the starring role in a paid short film project where I'll play an FBI agent.  This time I get to do some good fighting on screen.  I'm pretty excited about it.  We'll shoot the film after the first of the year. 

I'm also presently working on a theatre production of the Twelfth Night that will go up in November. 

I'm starting to think I should skip the December installment of 8 and start again in February.... hmmmmm.  We'll see. 

Things that make me laugh uncontrollably, part 1

I was sitting by a fire in the woods with my church youth group and someone decided we should tell scary stories.... I hate scary stories, so I plugged my ears so I wouldn't have to hear them.  Matthew got up and started going on and on about the Silver Fox -- which, supposedly, was a fox that roamed the woods and killed kids, or something like that...  All of a sudden, everyone jumped up and ran to the other side of the fire except me and my friend Lance.  They were laughing and pointing, and when I unplugged my ears they said, "Lance farted really loud and you couldn't hear it because your ears were plugged!!!!"  

Down the rabbit hole.

Sometimes, you have to follow the rabbit to see the woods.

... or something like that ...


I'm guessing you've gathered that I have a boyfriend.

I would like you to know that he is amazing, and that I feel very lucky. :) ...even though the whole thing kind of twists my brain up...

Rebecca's birthday

Rebecca was the first friend I made when I moved to the Bay Area.  We went for a burrito for lunch one day, and have been friends ever since.  Saturday was her 40th birthday.  She had the kind of gathering that reminds me of why I can't seem to leave this place -- lots of music, and lots of genuine, creative, and fun-loving people...  :)

EIGHT (take 4)

September 8th.

Gabriella Arroyo and Ronitte Libedinsky
Christian Cagigal
Lisa Hyde
Carolina Duncan
Meredith Clark
Stephen Ku and Dash Kwiatkowski
Enormvs Muñoz
Matthew Solberg

Rob managed the sound, Carl ran the house, Aatman worked the door, and Dan and Luis shook up the bar... 

This was my first sold out show. 

The crowd was fantastic. 

The lineup was excellent, and in the prefect order. 

I learned that the sound equipment should be checked thoroughly before the show, putting a harp in the middle of a crowd is an excellent idea, and no one will know you have a live chicken in the house until it's held in front of a naked man to cover his... um, stuff. 

You woke up

I'm feeling really grateful right now for: my family, my health, and my incredible friends --

for all of the talented and inspiring people in my life...

for love, for laughter...

...and, for reminders to not take any of it for granted...  

tick tock

This week I'm taking it easy.  It's been in a bit of a whirlwind with the travel, the boy, the show...

By the way, Teresa's bachelorette party was de-lightful.  :)  ...and, I went to the World of Dance with Michael which was awesome.  AWESOME. 

Anyway, as you may know, show planning consumes half of my brain from the moment I commit to a date until the moment I pay the performers.  The process makes me feel alive and stressed out, and generally preoccupied...and, I love every minute of it.  I have no idea how I've managed to facilitate bringing together such talented people to remind us of the importance of -- art.  It's amazing to me.  At every show, I see people challenge themselves and grow....

I am grateful and happy and, you know, terrified.  :)

Bean

I remember sitting in the dark in a house in Greeley...  Chris was playing Apex Twin's ambient works and we were just listening to it -- Danny, Matt, Heywood, Chris, Vanessa, Max, me...  I remember not being sure how I managed to find myself in such exquisite company and how I never wanted to leave it.  

Max got married last weekend to a woman who shines.  :)  And, me and these fools got to spend some very quality time together again because of it.  

<3

Timing is everything.

We're sitting in a wine bar and he starts telling me about the mural club he was in back in Boston...  his story is interesting, but I somehow manage to space out to think about how he held my hand for the first time on the way to the bar.

Holding hands is sweet -- such a simple gesture to be close to someone, while simultaneously feeling like a grand statement about your relationship to the world.  He is not super tall, and his arms are a natural length for his height, but the combination of our heights, plus my 4" heels, (as sweet as it was) resulted in slightly awkward hand holding.  I didn't care, but I did notice and start thinking about it in the middle of his mural story... 

I tuned back in as he was saying something like, "...three stories high...", at which point I sincerely asked (a question that my brain would have never processed as strange until after it had been said aloud).

"Do you have really long arms?" 

He gave me a squinty half smile and a, "Har har... yeah, I have really long arms... No, we used scaffolding!"  

... 

:)