So it’s 1 AM and I’m listening to She & Him and playing on my computer. I have a deadline tomorrow for an article I’m writing for a local magazine. I’m not going to bed until I finish it…which of course directly correlates to why I’m being all introspective and bloggy and distracted. This is one of my first nights being the only one awake in this house. I’ll have you know that 12 people live here right now so the chances of me being the last one to bed are ya know…only 1 in 12. Anyway.

I just looked at this picture of my sister dressed up BEAUTIFULLY for a wedding she went to in Oxford, England this weekend. And I was reminded that we’re grownups. I was once again reminded that life has been happening. This is my life. I’m sitting in a cast house. My job is performing plays. I’m continually growing and learning new things.

Tonight I prayed out loud with some other people in a non-church, non-blessing food setting for the first time in a long time. I can’t even remember the last time I was involved in a situation like that where I was the one praying out loud. It may have happened on some tragic day or a wedding day. I don’t remember. That’s how long it’s been. It used to be a pretty standard part of my life. Safe to say it happened more than once every week 5+ years ago. Hmm.

I watched the film “An Education” again tonight. I was gunning for it when 4 of us girls went to the Redbox. I love this little monologue midway through the film:

My teacher says action is character. I think that means that if we never did anything we'd never be anybody. And I never did anything before I met you. And sometimes I think nobody ever did anything in this whole stupid country apart from you.

Sometimes if you delete certain people from life you find that the life sparkle is gone all of a sudden. You really only recognize it if you’ve ever had it. I know that’s sort of the inversion of what that quote says but nevertheless it’s true.

I realized today that I knew that I loved smart people—intellectual people who know a lot about things like politics and nuclear power and music history. But I kind of had this epiphany that when it comes to someone to spend my life with I’ve really got to have someone with a really high emotional intelligence too…somebody who feels really deeply and understands that part of me. I think if you don’t have that you can’t even really recognize it in other people. Maybe I’m speaking to a subject that I don’t know enough about to make definitive judgment calls on…I don’t know.

Alright, ok, I’m gonna finish this article now. By the way, I totally referenced OSHA in paragraph 4 and I’m personally impressed by that. Carry on…

Lately I've been thinking...

all this time I should've been sitting around strumming Beatles songs.

Grease Lightnin'

New news!

I've been cast in Grease at the Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre! I'll be playing Patty Simcox from June 12th-July 3rd. The character is a complete detour from Liesl and I'm STOKED. To jog your memory Patty is the prudish, high energy so-nice-she's-mean cheerleader who takes Sandy under wing. I'm so excited to play this girl who would've driven me bonkers in high school. :)

Come for a visit!

keepcalmgallery.com

this 'n that. just sayin hey...

Hey! Know what I haven’t done lately? Blogged. Know why? I’m not really sure. The scenario is that I’ve been performing in the Sound of Music for about 3 weeks now. It’s been a busy time including going back to Nashville for Bonnie’s wedding and taking a couple of quick trips to Lynchburg and Washington DC. But I don’t think that’s why I haven’t gotten around to blogging. I aaaactually think it’s because I live in a house with 10 people. And I work with them. And I’m just rarely alone. I don’t have a lot of time to be contemplative. And if I did have things to say they might be analytical thoughts about psychology and relationships and my hangups with the "actor's life." The problem with that is then I’m blogging about people. And that’s not a good idea. And actually I just haven’t been using my computer quite as much as when I lived in Nashville or Lynchburg. And I guess I wrote more in NYC because I had NYC to write about. Cha know?

Anyhow.

I’m loving life here in the Sound of Music world. Unfortunately the show closes a month from tomorrow and then I’m back to square one. (PLEASE COME SEE IT BEFORE THEN!!!!!!) Such is the life of the actor. Within this cast I’ve actually made some amazingly deep connections. I foresee these friendships persisting far beyond the end of this contract.

I’ve had to make a conscious effort to keep reading at the rate I did when I had far fewer roommates. (For an extrovert like me, having the opportunity to hang out with people 24/7 means 19 times out of 20 I’m hanging out with people.) I’ve just begun “The Prodigal God” by Tim Keller. So far I love it and will have more comments after I’ve read more than a chapter and a half.

So I turn 25 next week. I really like the sound of 25. So far 2010 has been a great year. I foresee it getting better and better. By the way, apparently I play 16 pretty convincingly. I got hit on by a 17-year-old after one of the performances. I said “I’m older than I look.” What is age really? If people can believe that I’m 16? And I’m really 25? I mean. The 20’s are weird in and of themselves. Post-college expectations vs. reality… But then to walk on stage and virtually erase 9 years of life? No conclusive thoughts on that…just odd. Aging. Growing up. Getting older and but looking (pretty much) the same. Weird.