exciting and cold

This week has actually been exciting. It started out pretty much horrible but it got a lot better. On Wednesday I had to trade shifts with Solomon which left my morning open which meant I could sing at this workshop for the Elderhostel group. I was happy just to be singing. That evening I found out Alyssa had slipped a disc in her back and might have to have an understudy go on. She still was able to go on as Viola in 12th Night and her roles in Richard but she had to miss Measure and Lear. Alyssa sings a lot in the preshow/interludes of those shows so I of COURSE mentioned to Aaron if they needed someone I would love to do it. They did need someone and I got to sing and I was so happy. I mean, obviously I didn't want Alyssa to be in excruciating pain but I was happy to help out and again, just happy to be singing. Her understudies did great in the roles, too. Lesley got to go on twice as Cordelia. I love it when Lesley is in shows... I just think she is so talented.

Anyway, so ALSO on Friday Johnston and I did our "gig" at the hotel next door. We were in a small ballroom next to the bar and between the bar and the room there were probably 100 people. We were doing this strolling minstrel thing but only people right next to us could hear us because it was just SO LOUD. Rene was in the bar after the show and he didn't even know we were in there singing. Our set was about 25-30 minutes and we did it 3.5 times in 2 hours with really quick water breaks between. I have never sung that much for that long in my entire life. I could have kept singing but MAN was my speaking voice gone! I could only speak to people in my head voice after it was over. I'm a soprano and Chris is a tenor and we both have much, much weaker lower registers so obviously everything we were singing was really high. It was pretty funny. I was exhausted after it was over. My legs hurt, I couldn't speak normally and I was sooo tired, but overall I think it went pretty well. A lot of people complimented us afterwards (and some even started talking to us mid-song) and we made a nice chunk of change so it was worth it. I'd like to do more stuff like that with the hotel so hopefully they will have a need.

My t-shirts for the gift shop came in and they are AMAZING!!! I was so happy. We've already sold a bunch even though they are more expensive than any other clothing items (except hoodies). Every one in the company loves them. They just look super cool. I am very pleased with how this turned out. If I am ever able to order anything new in the gift shop I want to start with the company Immortal Longings. They sent me this AWESOME sample pack (which included a Viola card (that we gave to Alyssa as a get well card) and a Cordelia card (which we gave to Lesley as a thank you card) ) and I totally love them. The drawings are just so pretty.

I've gotten two mean comments from "Anonymous" recently. It's kind of annoying because I'm left wondering: who is this person? I really doubt that anyone I know is secretly that mean. Plus, why on earth would a STRANGER take the time to insult someone they don't know on the internet? Why NOT put your name? It's not like I'd know who it was anyway. And if I DO know the person they clearly don't want to be my friend anymore so why not let me know that so I can erase them from my memory and leave them alone? Plus, if they hate me so much, why are they reading my blog? I mean, come on. Get a life. I don't read Angelina Jolie's blog. I don't like her and therefore I do not care what is going on with her. Anyway, so I've been thinking about, you know, my ENEMIES. I've only had one real enemy and I don't think we're still enemies anymore because those events are like 7 years old. I'm pretty sure the statue of limitations has cleared us of enemy-dom. We also appologised to eachother. That helped the situation. The only person who I have offended deeply enough to want to be this mean to me is Sarah Palin. Sarah, I'm SORRY! I can't help it. I know I'm being a hypocrite, you're just... so.... not presidential material. That's the best way to put it: She's just not presidential material. You don't have the chutzpah. I don't look at her and think, "WOW! I sure respect THAT WOMAN!" I look at her and think, "WOW! You're in way over your head!" So, anyway Sarah, stop leaving me mean "anonymous" comments on my blog. The joke's getting old.

My birthday month begins on WEDNESDAY!!!! I bought some decorations at Target in the dollar section. I am so excited. I can't wait. This is gonna be ONE SSSSPPPPPPPOOOOOOOOOOKKKKYYY MONTH!!

it's finally fall

Chris is in a really bad mood because he doesn't have any money. I told him, "as long as you're an actor you're never going to have any money." I mean, it's TRUE, is it not? Acting sucks. It is so expensive. Any kind of good headshot session costs at least $250 (and that is a BARGAIN), reproductions are at least $100, joining the union costs I think $1100 (plus dues twice a year), you have to buy nice clothes for auditions, if you go to an audition out of town there's travel+hotel+food+registration fee (like UPTAs) and then there's the fact that no one will pay you any money because half the theatres are not for profit and if they're not they have really low wages because there will always be someone who is willing to act for hardly any money and horrible treatment (see: The Barn). This is assuming you take no classes of any kind and do not have a subscription to Backstage. Then there's the staying healthy because you CANNOT just call off work and having no schedule leeway to do anything else. And, if you want to have any kind of real career, you have to live in a big city with rent that is sky-high. Yes, my friends, acting sucks and I would recommend it to no one. It's a lot of fun, though..... you have a LOT of fun.

Chris Johnston and I are singing at this thing on Friday for the government of Virginia at the hotel next door and it is going to be really funny. Funny for ME, hopefully not for the people who are attending this conference. I guess, since we work at a Shakespeare theatre, they assumed we only know Renaissance music, so that's what they originally asked us to play. We, of course, don't know ANY Renaissance music so we had to use this book to find some and let me tell you... Elizabethan music is TERRIBLE! Sometimes people complain that we play modern music during our preshows and interludes but who in their right mind would want to actually listen to Renaissance music? So, anyway, we're playing a couple songs from this book (most of which are featured in at least one Shakespeare play), some original music Johnston wrote for "Midsummer", "Merchant" and "The Maid's Tragedy", one contemporary interlude song we did for "Merchant" and two random contemporary songs that we just want to do. We are going to be doing a "strolling minstrel" thing and I am just happy to be getting to sing in public instead of alone in the lobby of the theatre.

I am looking foward to winter when my face will be less oily. I've been using those oil blotting sheets because I have some serious excess oil. I don't know how I haven't been breaking out like crazy. Anyway, in the winter, a single drop of excess oil will be extremely welcome. My whole face is so dry in the winter that my nose starts bleeding.

I am so excited about my birthday coming!!! Scot told me today that if I wanted to, he and Kate would let me use their half of this house to have a two-story SPOOKY apartment party! Uh.... HECK YES I would want that!! I am totally excited. It is going to be such a SCARY time and everyone is going to have lots and lots of fun! Dollar General and Big Lots better be prepared for me to buy them out of their Halloween decorations.

It finally happened. After months of watching What Not to Wear every day on my lunch break I finally would rather wear a blouse than a t-shirt. They really do look better.

i don't have enough to blog about because nothing happens

I had to work all mornings this week. Most people would LOVE working 9-5 every day but for me it was like.... AHHHHHHH!!!! I started to get anxiety over the fact that I wouldn't be able to sleep past 8am all week which kept me awake at night. Next week is almost exactly the same. The worst part about this is that there is no one at the theatre all day now that the tour left and rehearsals for Richard II are over. Most days it's just me and one other box office person (and sometimes it's just me for hours). Hardly anyone comes in to the theatre to buy tickets in person so I see less than 10 people a day except on my walk to work. It makes me not want to wear anything even remotely nice. It's like, why should I if I'm not even going to see anyone? I could just wear what I'm wearing now (a hilary duff t-shirt, lol) and no one would know. Some days I started to sing in the lobby just because I was the only person in the theatre and no one would know. Now I'm LONELY. I just can't be happy at work, can I?

I got my hair cut on Monday again. I mainly just needed it shorter so that when it grew out really fast (as it will) it wasn't totally weird looking. And, you know, I didn't want it to grow into a mullet. I've fixed that, now.

I really want a ragdoll cat. They're such big, big kitties! Apparently they're the most dog-like of all the cats, so Chris would like it too (he likes cats a lot but he LOVES dogs). First I need to convince our landlord to let us have a cat in the first place, then I need to find a ragdoll cat in a shelter and then I will be a happy girl. Oh, and I have to somehow control the cat allergy Chris has. I just need a kitty.

The woman on What Not to Wear has naturally curly, red hair and hates it. WHAT?? Who would hate that? That's the best kind of hair in the world! I really watch this show too much. I mean, I guess there are worse things to watch (infomercials? anything on MTV?) but our TV is only on 3 channels: TLC, ESPN and Bravo.

i wish i could buy pants in bulk

I hit my head really hard on the refrigerator like an hour ago. It still hurts. You never realize how fast you're moving until you hit something in the middle of moving.

Today Chris and I met Scot and Kate at Costco where I got Fiber One bars in bulk! I had no idea there was a Costco in Harrisonburg and we go there pretty often. Tomorrow I am getting my hair cut again since it grows so fast and if I am going to keep it shirt I need to REALLY keep it short. Right now I'm afraid it will grow out into a mullet. I cannot let this happen.

Today I tried to put on a pair of jeans that used to be my "skinny" jeans. When I bought them they were just the right amount of tight and so when I would wash/dry them they'd be slightly too tight and I wouldn't want to wear them, you know, every week of the month. I haven't worn them in a while and today I put them on and they were so big that I couldn't wear them out. A belt was the only thing to keep them up but the belt made them bunch in the front. I cannot believe those jeans are too big. I had worn a size 8 pants for the last... I don't know... 6 years and now not only am I swimming in a 6 but size 4 is even a little big in some cases. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS. My physical activity level has decreased significantly since June, I eat all the time... so, listen up. Seriously, listen to me and Brittany Spears. If you want to lose weight and not, apparently, do anything at all (except 100 sit ups a night), eat as much fiber as you can and stop drinking regular pop. Cut that sugar down. I am going to WISH this worked for me again in 10 years.

It's above 90 degrees again today which equals horrible in our apartment. This is the only day for the next 10 that is anywhere near this hot and we haven't felt like this in about a month. Tomorrow it's supposed to drop like 10 degrees and another 10 the day after that and just hover around 70 for the foreseeable future. That will be nice. Today it's just sweat city.

Ginna's boyfriend Sheffield just got cast in White Christmas on Broadway. I was talking to him on Friday night after the Richard II opening. I told him he needs to change his name to "Broadway Sheffield." Change his resume and everything. I laughed a lot because he said something like, "Yes... I'll be the most presumptuous fuck in the world. 'Hi, my name is Broadway Sheffield and I'm here to audition for your show'." Speaking of Broadway, John is closing Hair at the Public Theatre... but the show announced on Wednesday that it's moving to Broadway in January! They said they'd take everyone, but John doesn't want to count his Broadway chickens before they hatch, so right now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for him. I talked to him on Thursday for a long time and everytime I do it makes me want to move to NYC. So, then I was talking to Chris about it and he said he didn't think Broadway was an impossible dream for him and I'm thinking, "THAN WHY DO YOU WANT TO MOVE TO DC!?!?!?" Anyway, since most of my friends moved to New York and I have three friends who have worked on (or are about to work on) Broadway and a fiance who thinks it would be easy for him to be on Broadway, I decided in the shower that we are going to move to New York when Chris is done in like.... a year. I'm going to UPTAs in February and I'll either get a job there or be sad in the B.O. but we totally have to save the money to do this somehow.

As I said, Richard II opened and it is a good show! I didn't know if I would like it because it's a history play that's not funny and there's no REAL conflict but I did. When I was bartending two nights this last week other people seemed to be liking it, too. Well, these rude kids on Wednesday did not like it, but I don't care what they think because they were forced to go by their teacher at the community college. The touring troupe left yesterday and Dennis is letting us borrow his car the whole time they're gone which is AWESOME.

Man, my head really hurts and it's making me sleepy. I don't like this.

Tina Fey looked, sounded and acted just like Sarah Palin last night on SNL and it was hilarious. I'm sure she just loathes her. Sarah Palin freaks me out, mainly. I think it's more the Alaska thing than the woman republican thing. I guess I'll never understand killing an animal and then posing with the bloody carcas for a picture. That's just gross. And I know, the meat I'm eating was alive once, but whenever I think about that it's really disturbing. I could never kill animals for a job let alone do it for FUN. I can't even handle raw meat to put it on the George Foreman grill. I just don't know what the "American values" are. I've heard people (Republicans) say that Barack Obama is just too liberal and that most Americans are somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum. But why? Every other big country is WAY more liberal than we are. Is it because American was founded by Pilgrims and Puritans? And why are "European ideas" put in quotation marks? I LOVE European ideas! The Beatles, IKEA, mass transportation, cars with really high MPG, marriage for all... why are we the last ones to get on board? And then, when we finally do, we act like we invented said "ideas" in the first place. How can the country that brought you the ipod be so behind in everything else? America was also founded by EXPLORERS (like my relative, John Ledyard and, you know, Christopher Columbus) who were looking for something new and exciting. Let's take THEIR example! No, not the native killing and gold stealing (which I am sure the Puritans and Pilgrims did, also) but the NEW and EXCITING example! Let's harness the WIND and let it blow us to freedom from oil!*†

*Amerigo Vespucci harnessed the wind and look what happened to him----he's got two continents named after him!!

†Also, after reading this paragraph to him, Chris said, "You should end with, 'So in conclusion, the wind and the republicans can blow me'." I chose not to say it myself but it was too funny to not include at all.

not my dream job. not so much, dennis.

A guy buying tickets just asked Nash and I if either one of us had been involved in shows here in the past. He pointed at me and I told him what season I was in. The man buying tickets said, "So you've given up your life's dream to work in the box office!" I sighed and said no and then died inside.

This week has been really boring. SMALL houses (like under 50 every night) and, of course since I mentioned how well it was doing before, low gift shop sales. Chris and I went to IKEA on Monday and it was fun. He bought the wardrobe (I bought.... measuring spoons) and put it together when we got home that night. It looks good and our room is already so much cleaner after hiding everything we own in the closet. Well, at least all the guitar cases, amps and plastic storage bins.

I was sad to see Stella get voted off Project Runway. She was so funny! I was happy that Leanne won for the second week in a row. She's funny, too, but in a completely different way.

Tropical storm (née Hurricane) Hanna is coming tomorrow! That'll will be.... wet and rainy. I guess I won't be going to the farmer's market again. I'll miss those magic cookies.

I'm so down on myself lately. My confidence is falling... ugh... and it took so long to come back! This is gonna be a long lifetime if I get this depressed every time I'm not performing. Maybe it's like a break up and I'm just not over it, yet. I bet that's what it is, for real. I spent a year with the same 11 people doing one of 3 different things every day and then all of a sudden they're ripped away from me and I'm doing something I'm not interested in. I bet if I were in another show it wouldn't be so bad---just like in a break up. I mean, this would explain how the three people from our troupe that went straight to the next tour cried at the company meeting... it's because they were sad about our troupe breaking up. I have to say, this revelation is actually amazing for me because I was afraid I was JUST SAD. Having found the similarities to a break up gives me hope that I will only be sad for around 6 months (it takes half the time you were with them to get over them) and that maybe after that I won't be sad anymore. God, I hope I won't be sad anymore. It's getting depressing.

Chris wants to cure my sadness by taking me to Ohio for a couple days at some point. I want to do it. I don't know if we can AFFORD to do it but I'd really like to. I always feel better when I see the lake.

i went to work this week, too

EDIT:
I forgot this anecdotal story:
The other day this woman and her daughter came to exchange a t-shirt that was too small. She had the "Top Ten Shakespeare Insults" shirt in medium and wanted large but there were no larges left. I said we had the top 10 pick up lines shirts and the "We Do it With the Lights On" (the HOUSE LIGHTS!) shirt in large but she said they were from a very Christian community and that she wouldn't be able to wear either one of those shirts. I looked at the insults shirt (the first insult being "You are an ass") and said, "You're allowed to wear shirts that insult people but not shirts with Shakespearean pick up lines?" She said, "You just have to understand where we come from." I let her exchange the shirt for a more expensive book without charging the difference.

Today we had a company picnic. There was almost nothing I wanted to eat there. If only I made the choice to try more foods I wouldn't have that problem. There was some REALLY AWESOME cornbread, though. Chris and I brought 3lbs of cole slaw. Neither one of us eat cole slaw but it was at Kroger and we didn't have to put any effort into it. It's not like we can make anything anyway, neither one of us is skilled enough and we didn't have 8 hours for a crock pot chicken. I told him we should have brought Taco Bell.

The Virginia temperature has gone back to normal. I think it's supposed to get hot again later this week. Bleah. I enjoyed not having to run the AC at night.

So, as anyone following me on Twitter knows, I was watching the streamed Radiohead concert on Thursday and it was fantastic. I love everything they do. I've been listening to them all weekend because of the concert and I learned "Karma Police" on the guitar on Friday. I think I've gotten better despite taking an enitre month off from playing. Strumming is still hard but it's coming along. Strumming is like tap dancing to me: it sounds right in my head and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong but I know I MUST be doing something wrong. Especially with tap. That's why I don't tap and never will.

So, yes, we're all puzzled by Sarah Palin. I mean, basically, what John McCain seems to be saying to me is, "You are not pretty enough for me. I only want to be surrounded by beauty queens." My first reaction was, "HE picked a WOMAN!?!?!??!?!" It's just... puzzling. I mean, I can see why he did it for the election (and the only person who will NOT suffer from this pick is Hillary Clinton. She's going to come out of this situation looking amazing), but... I mean... HUH? John McCain reminds me of Grandpa Time.

The other night Chris and I went to Target, like we do whenever we're bored, and I found the EXACT SAME STYLE of shoes that I got at the Ross in the cheapo Target brand. I found the shoes that I bought on Zappos and they retail at $80 original price. YIKES. I mean, the real Steve Madden shoes that I got from Ross were cheaper than the Target brand, but you can bet I thought about getting the brown ones to go along with my teal ones. I didn't... but I thought about it.

My little gift shop has been selling really well lately (Knock on wood). Hopefully by announcing this to the world the sales don't plummet forever. The better the sales are the better I look, being the gift shop manager, and the more likely it is that my bosses will let me continue to order new things. I am going to get the final t-shirt designs this week and send them off to the printing guy. I can't WAIT until they get back.

I want to go on a trip. I wish I had money to go on a trip. I really wish I could take a trip to LA, actually. When I moved away everyone told me to visit and I said, "Oh, I definitely will." I clearly have not and it's about to be 3 years since I left. I wonder if my LA friends would remember who I am by now. Probably not, but there's still a lot of PLACES in LA that I miss. Like, lol, Koo-Koo Roo and Johnnie's Pizzeria.

time of the season

It's freezing today! I'm exaggerating. It's not freezing. It is, in fact, 57 degrees which is not freezing... but that's HELLA COLD for August in Virginia! I like it right now. I'm sure I won't like it after a couple more weeks. It's raining and gray and messy outside. I wore my jacket and thank God I did. I could have worn a hat and gloves!

Well, I'm sure it'll go up to like 90 degrees again before fall is really here for good.

So, there's this new Ross in the town right next to ours and it's still clean and nice so it's, you know, a disount retail dream. Chris took me there last night to cure my sadness and they had these Steve Madden teal heels for $16. These shoes are amazing. Really. They are mary-jane and (as I said) teal and they fit perfectly and I can wear them with anything and everything. Steve Madden is an expensive brand. More expensive than *I* can afford. Oh, Ross. You're so good to me. Anyway, well made shoes are awesome. You never realize exactly how awesome until you have a pair. They don't hurt your feet like crappy shoes, they don't fall apart the next day.... it's a whole new world out there. A world with great shoes that didn't sell well and were sent to Ross. I love these shoes.

On Sunday Chris and I cooked a chicken in the crock pot and it was AMAZING! Just put a bunch of spices on a chicken, stick it in the crock pot, turn it on Low and 8 hours later you have the best, most incredible chicken ever. Chris tried to lift it out of the crock pot to put it on the broiler in the oven and it completely fell apart, that's how tender it was. We didn't even need a knife to get the meat off. CROCK POT CHICKEN WINS!!

Scot, Kate and Ella might move in to the apartment below ours and I really hope they do because that would be so much fun. It's a great apartment; there's a lot of rooms in it. Who wouldn't want to live there? No one. It's the best. Ever.

And this is for Phil: I went to school with a lot of goblins and elves. I work with a lot of elves and two goblins. Sometimes I get sick of the whole goblin/elf world but only because it's a tough life out there for a girl.

seriously

This is the cutest little kid thing I've ever seen in my life. I couldn't help but post it.

Rylie Cate, daughter of United States' Christie Rampone, jumps from the podium in joy after her mom's team won the gold over Brazil in the women's soccer final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008.

(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

i coulda been!

This morning I woke up to find out I had not been chosen to be Obama's running mate and I was SO DISAPPOINTED! I like Joe Biden---he is REALLY funny---but come on. It's ME! I say all the right things. I, too, am funny. I'm young and enthusiastic about life. I buy flowers on Saturdays. I get things pierced and change my hair color/cut on a whim. I can SING! Come on, Mr. Obama, with those kind of qualifications how could you say no? Man.

My hair is not cooperating today but other than today I have had a great hair week. It's weird having short hair again. I feel like I don't have ANY hair in the shower. Everyone says they like it and unless they're lying, that's a pretty good consensus. I like it, too.

Isn't it weird when things you're waiting for are over? You spend so much time thinking about it and then it's like... oh. Well, that's done. Oh man. I just quoted Shakespeare. Jen was saying how someone didn't want to vote for Obama because of his name and I said, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet." That should totally be his campaign slogan for people who are racist and don't want to vote for him because of his name. SEE???? I am TOTALLY vice president material!

maybe i can use my old headshots again

Ok, so I got my hair all cut off and here it is. I hope I don't look too much like a Swiss girl. This is basically the same haircut I had when I lived in Los Angeles... except... now I'm 25 instead of 22. Oh, and now my hair is red. I'm not wearing any makeup in this picture so don't judge me. Carmandy would not approve.

My massage was great. I love getting a massage. She also gave me three referral cards and the people who get them get 50% off and if everyone turns them in then I get 50% another massage. Since I got 50% off the massage I got the other day it would be great doubly great. I had so many knots in my shoulders and neck. It was really bad. I blame that mean guy. The girl who did my hair was really nice and I liked the salon and their incredibly reasonable prices.

Chris is giving a tour with Stephen and he just said (after naming himself and Stephen) "...and we are a couple--" (opens door for Jasmine) "a couple of actors. Not a couple...." and then I laughed a lot and some man on the tour said "Congratulations!" It was really funny. It was probably funnier to me than it is to you, dear reader, but seriously... if you would have been here you would have laughed a lot.

I was so happy that Shawn Johnson finally won a gold medal. She is just so adorable. She could win a gold medal in the adorable routine every day.

The phone has not rung in over 2 hours. Although I am sure it's going to ring any second now that I said that, that is a really long time for no one to call the box office. This is our slow season, though. August and September are worse than the winter, apparently.

We finally got our crock pot!! I am so excited! We also finally purchased a toaster! Wow, what simple kitchen equipment we've been living without. I still don't own a cook book but, you know, one thing at a time.

Yesterday I bartended and the bar had a GREAT night. $206 and there were less than 60 people in the audience. I, however, did not have a great night with tips: I made $8. I was happy that it was more then $5 but man... when you think about that it's crazy. That's less than 5%. Like I have said before, I don't mind if someone orders one thing and doesn't tip... it's when it's multiple alcohol drinks that it gets annoying and almost everyone who came up ordered mulitple glasses of wine or beer. Annoying. That's all... it's just annoying.

Someone finally called. It had been nearly 3 hours but someone finally called. Hooray for $80!

the full moon was waning

Last night at work a man yelled at me because he was disgusted by the ladies next to him, with open toed shoes, who had put their feet up on the wall in front of their seats in the Lords Chair section. He refused to say anything to the ladies, he didn't want US to say anything to them, he just wanted to yell at me. I was more stunned than anything. It was like I was a cat and he picked me up by the nape of my neck---I just hung there and stared at him. This is, of course, without the soothing chemicals that get released in cats when they get picked up by the nape of the neck. In fact, since I obsess over everything, as Chris and I were at the grocery store later my shoulders started to hurt so bad that I wanted to cry. I'm getting a massage on Monday (I had a coupon!) and there couldn't have been better timing. Well, maybe, but this is really good timing.

The most redeeming part of last night was that my friend Chris Johnston had his first day in the box office and it was so good to see him. He told me all about the modernized production of Twelfth Night he just did in Utah... where the soliloquies were done with CELL PHONES. This is apparently the "new" thing for Shakespeare--- soliloquies said to an imaginary person on a cell phone. Someone called us once telling us about this Othello she saw in Norfolk or something where it was set in South Africa and they used cell phones for the soliloquies. She said she LOVED it. That poor woman. These poor PEOPLE. I mean, what are they THINKING??? Ugh. It's so easy... and yet, so easy to completely screw up.

Oh.... anyway... oh. So this massage. I'm really excited. I'm also getting my hair cut which is also exciting. I don't know what I want to do with it... I just want it to be cool. I haven't had COOL hair in a while. I think a lot is going to have to come off since dyeing your hair every month is not the best thing to do to hair. I'm going to research hair when I get done blogging.

So. Michael Phelps, eh? It was just meant to be for him. Everything fell into place for him exactly as he needed it to. Sometimes things are meant to be and sometimes things are not; this was meant to be. No silver medalists should feel bad that they lost to him; IT WAS MEANT TO BE FOR MICHAEL PHELPS. It's not their fault. I'm sad the swimming is over. It was exciting. It was also exciting watching the women's individual gymnastics. I cried a lot. I was watching those two American girls doing their floor routines, heat swelling inside my chest as if I could send them positive thoughts over the TV and half the length of the earth.

I have to do dishes and I do not want to.

multiple choice

Today has been long and pretty boring. I've been watching a lot of Olympics for the first time in years. I felt so bad for that girl gymnast last night. I completely know how she feels. Ok, well, I've never lost a gold medal in a sporting event (I've never participated in a sporting event) but I know what it feels like to have one thing go wrong and then have everything else fall apart around you. That girl needed a hug and a friend.

My advice to actors is this: don't get a non-acting job at a company you used to be an actor for unless you plan on changing careers. It's too sad. What I mean by that is: it will make you sad. Especially if you're around the performing all the time. Maybe if you're never around it it would be okay because you can pretend it doesn't exist but if you're around it all the time it will just make you sad that you're not acting. You will be sad. Don't do it. I like my job enough. The gift shop shop is fun and I like the people.... it just makes me sad.

I think about moving to Toronto every day. I actually could probably move to any city, it's just that Toronto has this mystique about it. I don't know why. I've been there more than any other major city. Maybe because it's Canada. Good old, mysterious Canada. Maybe they'd let us get a kitty there.

Now that I've been to the farmer's market I think about it and look forward to it every day. Chris and I are definitely going to get a crock pot. I saw this crock pot cookbook and everything in it was like "mix ingredients together, put in crock pot, turn on crock pot." That's right up my alley.

Here's a picture of the
beeaaautiful wildflowers that I got at the farmer's market.

On Sunday the final group of the kids' camp performed and they did such a great job. They did all of Hamlet with three different groups and now I think I may have seen Hamlet more than any other play. The girl from the first group who played Ophelia was from Toledo and she had such a nice voice. She should be a recording artist. I wanted to tell her that but she kept getting taken away. Little girl, if you're reading my blog, become a singer on an independent label.

Last week when we were doing laundry Chris found a rawhide dog bone in the dryer amongst all his clean clothes. We don't have a dog. I have to wonder..

A. Was it left in the dryer or the washing machine?

a. What? Why?

B. Was it planted there by a stranger when we went to look at sheet music next door?

C. If it was there before he put his clothes in, how did he not notice it?

D. Is Chris secretly chewing on rawhide dog bones and doesn't want to admit it?

PS - I wrote this post at different times during the day but now after watching Project Runway let me just say that I am SHOCKED Kelli went home. She was my favorite one! Man, those early leads can get you every time.

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

I said I'd do it and I did it: I woke up (ie, I got out of bed. I don't know if I can technically be described as "awake") and went to the farmer's market. I had the added incentive that downtown was having a sidewalk sale so I wanted to see if there was anything good. This beautiful little clothing boutique that I can never, ever buy anything from had a couple little sales out front and this one weird store that sells literally anything you can imagine (make up, faucets, furniture, unicorns, inspirational books... it's so random) had everything 10% off and everything out front was only a dollar INCLUDING a huge basket of contact solution! I don't know where this store get its stuff. The boxes had all been opened before but the solution was still sealed and they didn't expire for a year or so. I wouldn't buy that at Target for the $5 returned box of contact solution but for ninety cents? Yes. Contact solution is really expensive, especially for me since I can't use generic solution (it burns my eyes). Anyway, all told, I spent $12 this morning and got a loaf of whole wheat sour dough bread, a bouquet of wild flowers, two things of contact solution (one had a case and rewetting drops, too!) and 2 big cookies. My bouquet is so pretty. It smells like my grandma's farm.

We also saw all the dogs in the world. Duke barked at a car's breaks while we were walking down the hill, there was a dog which I named "Duke's sister" because it looked like a smaller Duke, a cockerspaniel, a miniature poodle, a chocolate lab puppy, a regular chocolate lab, a big, black lab, and a bunch of other dogs that I couldn't tell the breed of, including one which I said, "That dog is the perfect dog." It looked like the dog in that one commercial for dog food that cocks its ear up. I don't know what the dog food is or what the dog is, but I love that shaggy dog. Our neighborhood kitty, Choxie, was also in the front garden this morning watching cardinals and then she came up to us and rubbed her face all over the front steps. I love that kitty. I wish she was ours.

Today is my sister's birthday! She is 23 which is CRAZY. I guess I didn't realize she was that old. I was 23 when Chris and I started dating. Jim was 23 when we started dating a million years ago. God that's weird. 23. What a weird age. None of these things seem that long ago but if my SISTER is now 23 they must be. TWENTY THREE!!! Wow. Anyway, happy birthday to Jen!! I wish you better health in the new year.

The other day Aaron told me and Chris to come with him and then he gave us all this free stuff that the NEH people had left behind in their living arrangements, where ever those may have been. It was great. We got two couch pillows (that match the couch and rug perfectly), a chair cushion, a bunch of silverware and cooking spoons and uh... probably something else, I just can't think of what it is. I love free stuff so I loved this. Now if only I knew how to cook. I need someone to give me a free cook book. A free, low fat cook book. I can't even think of things that I COULD cook. I'm pretty sure everything I eat can fit into a list of 10. Perhaps a cook book would give me ideas. I can't eat microwavable weight watchers Smart Ones forever and Chris REALLY needs to expand his horizons from lean pockets and lean cuisine pizza. The only thing we cook is spaghetti once in a while (and even that is annoying) and Chris will sometimes make a steak. Everything else except vegetables is microwaved. Gross. I'm going to get salt poisoning.

The Olympic opening ceremonies were pretty cool, huh? Did anyone watch the Puppy Olympics afterwards on Animal Planet? I liked the kitten opening ceremonies. Thank you, Animal Planet.

Oh, so in the Project Runway pool I ended up drawing 9th and I had to choose between Leanne and Stella (everyone else was worse). I like Stella enough but there's NO WAY she can win so I chose Leanne. Chris got Suede which was a pretty good grab for 8th pick. He's annoying as hell but he's okay at designing and least he's not that idiotic, disgraceful BLAYNE who had never heard of The Beatles outside of Across the Universe which was the worst movie I've ever seen. Yes, I am putting that on record: I HATED Across the Universe. Everyone I know said I'd like it. Most people I know DID like it... and I think they must just have absolutely no taste because that movie was HORRENDOUS. It was so cheesy and lame and it was NOT a good representation of Vietnam, or hippies or The Beatles or SINGERS! If they really wanted to make a statement someone should have DIED. It was not Hair, it was not the 60s, it was not anything except CRAP.

I'm sorry, I just really hated that movie and I am ANGRY that I paid $20 for me and Chris to see it and drove 45 minutes to Charlottesville because that was the only place it was playing. It was not worth my time or money and if you liked that movie then... that's just unfortunate for you. It was a bastardized version of the greatest band of all time.

Ok. So..... moving on.... it's really nice out, so far, today! :) It's only supposed to be about 79 degrees and tomorrow there might be THUNDERSTORMS which would be great.

The other day at work I got half my t-shirt order in and I was so happy. The guy came at about 6pm, right when we were setting up for the show and I was a crazy person trying to get 3 or so of each size and type folded, on the shelves and in the computer before we reopened at 6:30pm. The next day I spent about 5 hours folding. It was.... I don't know what it was. He said he might be able to get the other half in by yesterday, but unfortunately he didn't have time to bring them down and we had no one to go get them. It's not a BIG deal, I would have liked to have had them for the YCTC crowd, but oh well. I'll live. I am looking forward to getting them, though... and our graphic design people are working on the new womens' t-shirts! I can't wait until we start doing those. They're going to be so cool. ACTUALLY cool, too, I hope.

vote for meeee!!

I entered this contest on Jason Robert Brown's website. No one knows what the prize is. It's probably nothing but to enter I had to sing "I'm Not Afraid of Anything" and it was a lot of fun. I like singing. Chris and his recorder thing recorded it for me. You can vote until August 10th at 12:01am. Please vote for me. Like I said, I don't know what the prize is, but I want to win it.

Just email "jrbkaraoke2008@yahoo.com" and put "Alisa Ledyard" in the subject line. It will take you less than a minute. Thanks!! YAY!

alisa and tipping

Remember when I used to work at the Olive Garden and I hated my life because no one on the UCLA campus ever tipped more than 10%? I am having flashbacks of that terrible time.

The normal bartenders are both out of town and Nash just left yesterday for Hawaii so I was scheduled 5 bar shifts this week. I was all about it. For some reason I kept thinking I'd make like $20 in tips a performance. WRONG. Try $10 on a $120+ bar total or less. I mean, I really can't complain (but I will). It's more than I'd make sitting in the lobby, I get to watch half the show and it's a more social job than the box office... but MAN. Today no one tipped me until halfway through the first intermission and it was a QUARTER. He did it yesterday, too. I made $5.51 today. You have to really wonder about that 51 cents, don't you? None of the bar prices include change, everything is either $2, $3 or $5. Where did the penny come from? The thing is, if you just want a bag of candy or a bottle of water I'm SHOCKED if you tip me. Even if it's just a coke or something I'm surprised. But if it's $20 worth of alcohol... I mean, come on. I can pour two cups at once!! I had a foam problem on Wednesday but by the end of the night I had learned how to pour beer correctly and there was hardly ANY foam (it takes someone who has never drank beer before longer to learn about preventing foam). I made less than $50 for five shows. I asked Jen if this was normal and she said yes, for the time of the year. That's lame.

There must be a correlation between people tipping and a good audience. Today's audience was awful. It was Twelfth Night and they hardly laughed at anything yet the performance is hysterical. It was the same yesterday morning for Measure... but last night for Lear it was a GREAT audience and they were also very generous tippers. Hmmm.. someone should do research into this.

Ok, that's my tipping complaint blog. I haven't been able to do that for over 2 years. I've enjoyed the two years.

In other news, since everyone went on vacation, I was scheduled 6 days this week but it's ok because I only have to work 4 days next week. Ah, salaried job. I signed up for some Aflac insurance on Tuesday. I'm getting vision insurance. YAY. They will just GIVE YOU MONEY after a year of having the insurance! That's almost as good as Canada!

A Barack Obama canvassing headquarters just opened up on my wlk to work. I haven't stopped in yet, but they've got all kinds of buttons and stuff so I'm sure I will. I DID, however, stop into the bakery yesterday. They're closed today and I didn't get in until one hour before they closed yesterday so I am sure at, say, the beginning of their work week there is more to choose from, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. I got a big piece of cookie from a pie pan for only TWO DOLLARS! That's awesome. Also, I am making a pledge to go to the farmer's market next Saturday. It's always hard for me to wake up in the morning but on my way to work yesterday I caught the tail end of it and it looked GREAT! There's food and flowers and probably some kind of.. craft work... somewhere. There's also all the dogs. Everyone walks their dog to the farmer's market on Saturday.

Chris has decided to start a Project Runway pool at the theatre. We have a list of 13 people involved, we'll draw numbers and based on your number you'll get to pick your designer. If I was first right now I'd choose either Kenley or Kelli. I'm okay with Stella, but there's no WAY she could win, I like Terri and I hate Blaine, Suede and Keith. Everyone else... I don't know enough about them, yet.

Ok, that's all for now.

homemade cookies would be good

Today I actually liked Staunton. We had today off but don't get paid until Thursday so we went to Target and Lowe's to LOOK at curtains but not buy them. It's just been sooo hot in our living room. We put a sheet over one window and it helped so it was clear that curtains would really make a difference. I found what I was looking for at Target but they could only hold things for 24 hours. Chris decided to just buy the curtains then and now our living room might stay slightly cooler. HOORAY!!!!

Anyway, I'm thinking about getting a bike and we were also looking at them at Target. After we got home and put up one window's curtains we decided to go to the bike shop that is literally about a block and a half away from our apartment. Then we went to the outdoorsy shop right next to that. THEN we went to the glass shop and watched some glass blowing happen. After that we went to the train station and found this place called "weddings and things" that has catering for NINE DOLLARS PER PERSON. I was carrying around a brochure from the glass store and I felt like a tourist in my own town. I can't believe I've lived here for a year and never been to these places. The glass shop was really cool. They had expensive stuff but a lot of it was actually affordable by me. I walk by that place every single day. It's practically in my back yard and I had never been there. I guess we'll have to go to the bakery and the butcher I pass every day next! And then maybe I'll make an appearance at the farmer's market! Staunton has so much to offer me right now!

So, a bike. I want one. I wanted one last summer but it never happened. I figure a bike is pretty useful. I could take it to the grocery store and get a little basket to brings things home in. Plus, I can't think of a single place where a bike wouldn't be great to have. I mean, maybe THE MOON, but my immediate plans do not include a trip to the moon. Everywhere on earth would work really well with a bike.

We have absolutely no storage space in our apartment (except our clothes closet) and at least 6 storage bins, 3 amps, 2 guitar cases (and some other instruments under our bed) and lots of other crap. We're considering getting a wardrobe from IKEA and just putting everything in the closet and closing the doors on our dark secrets. Our room is such a mess right now I don't see how this could be a bad idea (except the cost of the wardrobe). The room is so huge and we don't have enough to fill it but filling it with storage bins seems... strange. Maybe a rug would help.

yeah yeah yeah!

Whenever I'm sitting on the couch watching TV or using the internet I tend to stand up too fast and start blacking out on my way to where ever I'm going. Yes, yes, blood rushing to my head... but really, EVERY SINGLE TIME?? Is this normal? Is this going to effect my brain?

I just keep going, though. I just keep walking through the blackness and doing what I need to do. Hahahaha, that sounds like an inspirational message. Remember that when you're distressed. Remember to walk through the blackness and do what you need to do.

I hope everyone knows about Etsy which is like Ebay for homemade items. Oh, it's so great. I haven't actually bought anything from it but I browse it every day. Next time I need a purse.... Etsy, here I come.

I get recognized a lot in the box office from people who saw either A Christmas Carol or any of our touring shows and it makes me feel so.... lame. Yesterday two ladies argued on their way out the door over who remembered me from what. I hate explaining why I'm working in the box office ("uhh... my fiance is in the resident troupe and we wanted to stay together...") and I hate saying "I hope so" when they ask if they can see me in a show again here. Non-actory people generally don't understand the actory life since they have more steady jobs and they're like, "huh?" I think being complimented when you're feeling relatively defeated isn't as much fun as it should be.

I used to hate poodles but now I love them. If I had a poodle I would never shave it and groom it to look like a nightmare show dog, I would let it stay furry and adorable. They are also hypoallergenic! This is good for animal lover Chris, who is allergic to cats, dogs and goats and also suffers from asthma. Poor guy. I have no KNOWN allergies (although I know I must be slightly allergic to something here, and in California, in the air during the spring) and he's allergic to everything he loves the most (ie, goats). I would LOVE a labradoodle but they're too big. A cock-a-poo (God, what an awful name) would be awesome, though.

A hot breeze keeps blowing through the windows. That's nice when it's already hot in here. I love the second floor. Actually, the biggest perk of the second floor is the fact that we can watch squirrels on the roof next door. I want to lure them over to our roof with nuts.

I had a dream last night that I had failed a science class during my last semester of college and had to take classes this fall at Kent. This dream was so realistic (for that part of it. there was a lot of other, weird stuff that happened) that I had to reassure myself upon waking up that I had actually graduated and received a diploma. Thank God that dream's not true. I think, if I suddenly found out I had failed something and hadn't ACTUALLY graduated, at this point I would just forgo the degree. I don't think I can ever go back to school. College is a NIGHTMARE!! AHHHHHH!!!! Chris is thinking about getting an MLitt (master of letters) degree from the school associated with the ASC and I think he's crazy. I mean, not really, it couldn't hurt him, especially since it'd be free for him to go here and it's the only advanced degree in Shakespeare in the world, but like I said, "COLLEGE IS A NIGHTMARE!!!!!"

Do you remember when you first fell in love with Paul Rudd? Was it during "Clueless"? Was it when he played Pheobe's husband, Mike, on "Friends"? During "Anchorman", "40-Year-Old Virgin", "Knocked Up"? You know you're in love with him. You can't NOT BE. Even if it's man-love, you know you've got it. For me, it was during "Clueless." He's my only lasting celebrity crush.

I get really annoyed with improper spelling of the informal version of "yes" which is "yeah." THAT is how it's spelled. ("Yeah, I got stung by a bee. Why did you provoke them?") The word "yah" is not a real word. It's like what you say to a horse to get him to move when you're sitting in a buggy. "Ya" is not "yeah", it's the informal version of "you." ("Don't worry--I got 'ya!!") And "yea" is a version of "yes", but only if you lived 100 years ago or more. It's used like in saying yea or nay. ("Dost thou vote yea or nay for independence?") There is also "YAY" which is an exclamation of excitement. Let's review:

"Yeah" (ye-ah): yes
"Yah" (yaw): horse command
"Ya" (yuh): you
"Yea" (yay): yes, 100+ years ago
"Yay" (yay): hooray

how unfortunate

Chris and I have never been to a concert together. Ok, well, we've been at the same concert at the same time (The Monkees played at Blossom in 1986 and I was there. I was three and a half years old at my first concert. Chris was also there. He was 15. I wonder if he saw the baby in the audience that he'd grow up to marry. Weird/creepy) but never together, which is strange because we both like music A LOT. I've made it my life's work to sing and Chris is quite musically gifted, too, if you didn't know.

When we actually realized we had never been to a concert together we were surprised. Ok, CHRIS was surprised, I've only been to 2 concerts since the Monkees so I was like, "Whatever." Chris has been to a million concerts, including "Mr. Big." He's got this whole, amazing past. It's so funny. ANYWAY, we've been looking, despite our extreme poverty, for concerts. As many of you know, a lot of my favorite artists released CDs this year and are now on tour, so it's been relatively easy. Aimee Mann is coming to Richmond on a Monday in September, Alanis will be in Charlottesville later in the month and the Avett Brothers will be there two days later. Who knows if we'll actually be able to go to these, but it's nice to know they're there.

And then there's Radiohead.

Radiohead is going a lot of places on tour, none of which are near me. They ARE going to Blossom, in Cuyahoga Falls, next Monday (which is actor day off) and the worst part is that Porthouse employees get in to all Blossom concerts for free. So if I had been working there this summer rather than 2 years ago I could have actually gone to the show and for FREE. That sucks. I'd love to see them. They're my favorite band (other than the Beatles, but most of the time I think that's a given).

In other music news, another person who is going to be at Blossom that I can't see is Ingrid Michaelson (and playing there with DMB. Killer) whose voice you probably heard on those Old Navy commercials ("if you are chilly/here take my sweater") or on that Grey's Anatomy show that I refuse to watch. I discovered her after reading Bethany's blog and it was nearly love at first listen. I'm always looking for new music so I look up nearly everyone I hear about. I downloaded her 2005 album and her voice is so sweet and pure and she just seems awesome. I actually got a little upset and thought that she made the album *I* would have made if I could play the piano well... or write a good song. A song that wasn't about vampires. Regardless, anyone who write a song about Charlie Brown wins by me and anyone who is a GREAT singer wins by me, too. She did both!

I have this one vendor for the gift shop who keeps bringing me free stuff. It is so AWESOME. :) She brings them to me for examples of products we could personalize for the ASC but after I show them to people their job is done... and if I didn't take them they'd just sit in the desk (since they're left overs from the other clients). I have gotten a really NICE water bottle, a travel mug, 3 reusable grocery bags, a sling back pack thing, a mouse pad, a flashlight, and some really nice magnets. It's pretty great. I love running the gift shop. I'm like a crazy person with the sales and inventory. I mean, I'd OBVIOUSLY rather be acting, but running the gift shop is a pretty okay consolation.

virginia is for... someone

Yesterday was Chris and my anniversary!!!! Awwwwww. Two years ago on the 19th I had Jessie tell him I liked him (what is wrong with me?) on the drive to Porthouse, the next day we hung out for Dan's birthday and on the 21st we went on our first real date, lunch at Rockne's where several of my friends sat a couple tables away and made fun of us before the directors for the shows we were in saw us and looked... confused. Two years ago TODAY I had rehearsal and Chris closed Our Town and I went to the cast party with him. Two years ago tomorrow we went out to eat at the Macaroni Grill and then to see "An Inconvienent Truth." Chris is amazed that I remember the exact "Timeline of Our Love" (as I call it) but I'm not. I have a good memory (most of the time) and it was such a great time for me that I'm surprised I don't remember MORE about it. It's crazy that we've only been together for two years. It really feel like forever. In a good way.

So, it's a million degrees in our living room. You might think I'm exaggerating. I can't even sit and watch TV without sweating. Oh, MAN is it hot!! It's supposed to rain tomorrow and the temperature should go down but right now it's killer. It actually makes me miss the freezing cold box office.

Stacy London reacts the same way to people during their "big reveal" on What Not to Wear as I do to everyone. All the time. I think we'd be friends.

Man, I really want to take a walk or run but I'm too effing HOT. I can't imagine going out in 90 degrees, sweating MORE and not even getting too cool down. I also need to vacuum the floor and do the dishes but I'll be too roasting before night. See, this is the problem with Virginia. It's got all the bad parts of the south AND the north. It's ridiculously hot in the summer and filled with more bugs than I've ever seen but it still snows and stays cold in winter for a long time. And to top it all off there aren't any palm trees to redeem it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't complain so much. It's the heat. It's going to my head.

I hemmed my pants today. I wish I could take the pants in by myself but I don't know how. I also think I might need a sewing machine for that.

I had a chocolate melting accident in my purse yesterday. We went to Charlottesville and it was hot (obviously) and I had one piece of mini chocolate in my purse... and halfway through the day it was all over half of my purse. We also went to Boston Market and they ran out of chicken. It was a great anniversary. :) Hahaha, it doesn't matter. I was just happy to get to spend the day with Chris. I'm ALWAYS happy when I'm with him and we always laugh and have such a good time, even when we're on fire, and I'm glad we're engaged. It makes more sense than anything that's ever happened to me before.

i want to be a former governor.

I like blogger a lot better than tripod. First of all, it doesn't suck like tripod did. Second, it makes sense unlike tripod. Third, blogger is the FUTURE whereas tripod sucks.

I just joined Twitter. I'm having problems getting it to work for me over the phone right now but once it gets worked out I think it's going to be hilarious. If only it were there on Thursday. The former VA governor was in town and stopped at the theatre and everyone was freaking out. Jen and Jasmine were "asked" to scrub the bird crap off the sidewalks out front. I have no idea how I was able to get out of that one. At first I thought he was a republican and I didn't know why he'd want to visit a non-profit theatre but after he left I found out he was a democrat. There was a marching band playing in downtown for his arrival. It was like a visitor from space was coming and we had to dress to impress. I don't think he noticed the lack of bird crap on the sidewalks. I don't think anyone in the world would notice that.

Also, yesterday, a bug flew right in my eye! I'm not talking like, it flew near my eye, this bug practically landed on my contact lens. It was right as this lady came up to the desk to ask me a question and I flailed my arms about like a crazy person and then said, "Sorry. A bug flew into my eyeball." A couple of weeks ago a little bug flew into my eye as I was walking home and talking to my dad on the phone. It died in my eye and when I got inside I had to remove it from the corner of my eye. Wow. There was a lot of assonance in that sentence.

Yes, twitter will be fun if I can ever get it to work properly.

Chris and I taught a master class on music for the Midsummer Day Camp on Wednesday and it was SO MUCH FUN. They did this little production of The Tempest yesterday (which was so great) so we talked to them about music that we'd want to play if we were in that show based on the play's themes ("Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band, "Magic Man" by Heart, "Rain" by the Beatles, "It's Magic" by Pilot and even "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid) and then we taught them a round using the last two lines of the epilogue. The group was huge--46 kids aged 9-12. They split them up into two groups for our classes. God, they were so great. Chris was a pro at working with them, too. People tend to like Chris a lot. He has that ability to make fun of people that don't know him and they think it's funny, not mean. I do not have that ability. People always think I'm mean instead of just joking at first. I have to win them over with my ways. The WAYS of ALISA.

I also had my second go at house managing on Wednesday and it went a lot better. I had great ushers (not that my first ushers were bad---not by ANY means---I just had a lot of them on Wednesday so I was able to get more done) and Solomon was my assistant so he was able to help me. I have to house manage again tonight. I'm a little nervous but I think it will go okay. I HOPE it will go okay!!

I had a merchandise meeting on Wednesday about getting new stuff. I think it's going to be great. We're going to design new women's t-shirts that are more modern and feminine. Right now we have the list of Shakespeare's Pick-up lines or Insults but what I want to do is get Mary to make some pretty background design and get a great quote about Shakespeare's best female characters. Something the ladies can relate to. Something *I* can relate to, as a lady. Girls like things.

So, that Sara Bareilles isn't just a one-hit wonder, huh?

I should probably go shower so that I can go to work. Tomorrow I will get free pizza!!