Random Musings...
Friday, January 30, 2004
- Umm...wow. I've already been added to the casting agency's website after submitting my info late last night. They said that they had to review my resume, etc. and make a decision on whether or not to take me on. I guess this is a yes. They already started sending me notices too! They were supposed to call me ahead of time, so I'm assuming I'll have a call on my machine when I get home. I hope they know I do have terms!! ;)
Posted at 4:35 PM
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Posted at 4:22 PM
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- I'm extremely frustrated right now. I devote nine hours a day to this desk. If you factor in communte time, nearly ten hours of my 24 hours are devote to being a secretary. Yet, if you ask me, I am no secretary. This is not what my life is about. I am, fortunately, able to just barely squeeze in my acting thing between that and sleep. But I can't do more than that . It is an impossibility.
A very sad story Lane told me has got me thinking again of something I've thought of for a long, long time. I wish I could work for or volunteer for or even run a pet rescue. I've been thinking about this for years. Usually, I live in guilt over feeling so strongly about the issue but not devoting any of my own time to it. But how could I with all these other responsibilities I have? I could go and volunteer on weekends, but I do not want to take away any more time from being with Andrew or having the freedom to go to Orlando to see my family. I donate about $100 a year to Gainesville Pet Rescue, but that is it.
When I look at my life, I see this useless thing that I do from 8:00-5:00 Mondays through Fridays. I wish so badly that I could replace it. What would I do instead, though? If I had my way, I would absolutely work in some way for pet rescue. This is an issue I feel so very strongly about that, like I said, I feel constant guilt over not doing more about it. My dream life here in Gainesville would involve working at such a place for maybe 30 hours a week and then focus on my acting the rest of the time. It would be possible if only there was more money to be made in pet rescue. I don't make a killing, but it is still more than what I would make there. While I hate how selfish it sounds, I really can't take a job that pays significantly less than what I make now.
Seriously, I need to win the lottery very, very badly.
Posted at 12:06 PM
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- This is hilarious and oh-so cute! It's the Peanuts characters dancing to Outkast's "Hey Ya" I was highly amused!
Posted at 10:46 AM
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- Well, I last night I did an electronic submission to a talent agency here in town with my new headshot and resume, and today I am mailing them to the film commission for specific consideration for this upcoming project. I'm finally making some tiny steps to take this acting thing up a notch. Let's see where it goes. It would be nice to finally get some pay for all this extra work I put in, even though I've been perfectly happy doing it for free. Extra cash never hurt anyone.
We're gearing up for our Super Bowl party this weekend. We've had about 18 RSVP, but we're guessing some people are just going to show up, so we're going to have around the same turnout as last year, I suppose. This time around, though we're taking advantage of our new gas grill and cooking out. Andrew and I make a great burger team. Everyone always has great things to say about them! We have our Panthers t-shirts ready to wear and everything. Saturday will be spent shopping for this all and cleaning up the place, especially our patio furniture which has gotten a bit nasty. Hosting parties is a lot of work, but for some reason I enjoy it.
I am so excited for this game. I know the Panthers are huge underdogs, but they've been underdogs this entire time! They weren't expected to win even the first playoff game, so I'm not going to turn into a skeptic now. The Pats look tough, but I'm hoping the Panthers will rise to the occassion.
Posted at 9:01 AM
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Thursday, January 29, 2004
- Here's the headshot Andrew helped me take last night. No, it doesn't quite look like professional quality, but hopefully it will do for now!
Posted at 12:21 PM
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- I got cast in the show! Got the call last night. So, I start rehearsals again on Monday. I got a week off. Why do I do this to myself?? Anyway, the role is pretty cool. I'm pleased. :)
Posted at 11:23 AM
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- Look at places I have been! :)
create your own visited states map
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
Very cool!
Posted at 8:32 AM
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Wednesday, January 28, 2004
- Today we have a concrete contractor coming to our house to give us an estimate on how much it would cost to pave our patio all nice and pretty. Our original intention was to install pavers in time for our Super Bowl party so we could have an indoor/outdoor party, but we were informed by mutliple people that it would be better (and close to the same price) to have concrete poured in instead. Unfortunately, it means it will not be ready for the Super Bowl. I'm hoping to be able to put some pretty design or color to it. I don't want just a slab of concrete back there. We'll see how it turns out.
I also need to call some kitchen people to get a quote on replacing our kitchen countertop. I can't wait for that old one to go!
Posted at 10:56 AM
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- I'm hungry.
I wish I could eat nothing but good food every day. I mean, good food that tastes good and feels good. I don't like this cheap eating and convenience eating. I want a filet minon, lobster, although it doesn't have to all be ultra-expensive. I just want good food. Even simple good foods, like a fresh salad or grilled chicken. Wouldn't it be wonderful to eat only great tasting things that hit the spot and fulfill your cravings with every bite? If I were to win the lotto, besides quitting my job, my food would be the biggest thing in my life to change. I'd even live with my house and car. I just want to eat well.
Posted at 10:49 AM
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- Well, I'm ready to go home already. I got into work five minutes late because parking sucked and I had to park a ten minute walk away. When I walk into the office, the phone is ringing. When I picked up, it was Bitch Prof saying that she tried calling at 8:00am, and I didn't answer. She proceeded to reprimand me for being late. No, she didn't need anything. She was just upset no one was there promptly at 8:00. But seriously, NO ONE else was here. I was the first person to arrive and she didn't need anything anyway. I agree that I should arrive at work on time, but I think five minutes late every once in a blue moon is acceptable and does not merit reprimand!! Ugh! Then, half an hour later, I received a phone call from my boss in New York. The FedEx package I overnighted him on Monday never arrived and he needed it by 9:00am. I tracked it, and it was delayed due to weather. So, the recruiting trip my boss made will have to be done without the recruiting materials I worked for hours on.
I'm ready for home.
Posted at 9:21 AM
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Tuesday, January 27, 2004
- An interesting quiz to see which presidential candidate most reflects your views
My results:
Kerry Score: 96%
Dean Score: 85%
Edwards Score: 84%
Clark Score: 82%
Lieberman Score: 69%
Bush Score: 13%
I deleted Kucinich and Sharpton from my results because they forgot to ask if I'm weirded out by creepy little guys or by insane people.
I'm surprised that Dean placed higher than Edwards and Clark. The 13% for Bush does not surprise me, however!! I knew I hated the man for a reason!
Posted at 1:14 PM
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- Just for fun...
Which Male Celebrity Are You Going to Marry?
You are going to Marry orlando Bloom. He will
always treat you right and is very romantic. He
will do anything for you. He is very polite and
has deep brown eyes and is very good looking
(which is another plus!). He can make anything
cheesy look really hot(like sliding down stairs
on a shield shooting arrows or wearing pointy
ears for example). Congrats!!
Which male celebrity are you going to marry? (10 results that have pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla
Hey, no complaints here!! I wonder what the other possibilities were?
Posted at 10:52 AM
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- I'm so very, very sleepy today. I slept through the alarm and got out of bed nearly half an hour late! I still managed to be the first to get to work, though, as usual. I didn't have time to wash my hair, though. Hopefully no one will notice.
Posted at 9:26 AM
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Monday, January 26, 2004
- What's going on????? I just received an email from the Alachua County Film Commission saying that they are going to be filming a major Hollywood movie here in the area and they were needed Hispanic actresses. Woohoo!!!!!!
Posted at 4:22 PM
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- I found a few more details about who this producer is. It turns out he is not from New York, but rather, a professor here at the University. He has produced several films that air on PBS as well as being screened in film festivals around the world. From what I gather, this current project is to air on PBS, so you guys might get a chance to watch me in action on the little screen! I'll let you know more details as they arise, but for now, it's sounding pretty cool!
In other news, I got utterly and totally wasted Friday night. I went out with the younger members of the cast, and after a nice time in a classy bar sipping on drinks (whiskey for me, of course), we decide to go back to one of their apartments to relive our college days. We played Flip the Cip, which proved to be the death of me. Holy crap, it was SUCH a good time. (I have been quoted as yelling out, "It's time to WIN THIS MUTHAFUCKA!!") The next day, however, I was paying for it dearly. I was throwing up everything I ate up until around 3pm, just a few hours before I had to leave for my last show!! I guess the hangover aided my performance, though! The good that came out of it is that I made a lot more friends who are a lot more like me, and we were so happy to have found each other that we had a very formal phone number exchanging session because we did not want to lose track of each other now with the play being done. One of the girls is in pretty much the exact same situation I'm in. She married a PhD hopeful and followed him to this little ol' town. We had A LOT to relate to! She seemed great, so I'm crossing my fingers that it works out. I feel so silly having to plot out my friendship like this!
So, that was my weekend! Time to start another week. Bleh.
Posted at 8:56 AM
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Sunday, January 25, 2004
- WOW!! I have a very, very exciting story!!
After the show last night (closing night!), I went out to greet the audience. I got a series of compliments, and just as I was about to go backstage, I hear, "Excuse me! Ms. Preston!" I turn around, and there is a man there with his wife. He explains to me that he is friends with the woman who plays my mother. She is old (like late 70's old) and used to be a professional actress in New York. Well, this guy then says that he is producing a TV drama, and he was so impressed with my performance that he would like for me to strongly consider auditioning for it since he believes there is a role that would be perfect for me! He took down my phone number and said he would call me with the details.
WOW!! Ok, so realistically, this could fizzle out to nothing. But still, at the very minimum, I did manage to catch the eye of a professional enough so that he considered "discovering" me out of community theatre. That is wonderfully flattering. However, you never know, and this could become something more. How exciting! I'll let you guys know the details as I find them out...
Posted at 9:58 AM
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Friday, January 23, 2004
- It is such a joy to work in this office. I just overheard the other two office bitches talking about me and saying how various things I said were, quote: BULL. I had to go over there and set the record straight.
Posted at 12:18 PM
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- I did end up going home early yesterday around 3:00. I then proceeded to take a two hour nap. It was lovely! Exactly what I needed. I was still a bit lower in energy, but was able to give a pretty decent performance nonetheless.
I've been loving American Idol lately. Some people are crazy! I mean, really crazy! I'm such a dork, I love this show, even when the losers are gone.
You know, every day on my way to the theatre, I drive by Shands Hospital, which is this huge hospital that people from all over the Southeast come to. I always look up into the large windows that face the street. I usually see small groups of people, obviously looking down at a loved one in bed. Sometimes I see balloons, etc. It always makes me think. I remember how it was when my grandfather was in the hospital my junior year of college after he "died" for eight minutes about a year and a half before he actually passed away. I flew there the very next day, and everyone in my family was there. We flew in from wherever we were to be there. He was in intensive care the whole time I was there, so we weren't allowed to remain in the room with him. Instead, we crowded in the waiting room from early in the morning to late at night for hours and hours. Family and friends would bring us these huge tupperwares full of all sorts of delicious food for our wait, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but we wouldn't leave the hospital for anything. I remember that feeling. I always think of that when I drive by and think of those people I see in the window.
Posted at 9:15 AM
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Thursday, January 22, 2004
- I think the plan today is to go home early. I feel exhausted and still sick. I almost didn't make it to work, but then I decided that it was better to take the half day during the second part of the day to rest up for tonight's show rather than show up here in the afternoon and go straight through the night. Hopefully, I will be able to pull myself away. I'm sick of feeling sick. It's been since October that I have felt crappy. This sucks.
Posted at 8:37 AM
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Wednesday, January 21, 2004
- My friend who won that contest that I asked for you to vote on not only won all those prizes, but he is being scheduled for all these TV appearances now, from a three-part series on a local cooking show, to a satellite interview on either Good Morning America or the Today Show, don't know which. Pretty darn cool! This is the same guy who has already won a VH1 award a couple of years ago for running the best music fan website.
Posted at 4:52 PM
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- Ok, right now, I'm seriously talking like I have a noseplug on. On top of that, my throat hurts so bad that I'm having to talk very slowly and softly. This does not exactly make up for great stage presence. I seriously better have major improvement by tomorrow, or else the audience won't be able to hear me or will think I'm retarded if they can!
I went to the doctor, and he says I probably have a virus, which I think is doctor code for "Just live with it, you big baby" since he gave me nothing except for the advice of taking ibuprofen and using cloraseptic. That's something I had to pay $15 for, thanks doc.
In the meantime my throat feels like sandpaper, my neck feels sore, and the roof of my mouth is all prickly. And don't get me started on post-nasal drip. Yuck.
Posted at 3:02 PM
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- I'm really torn right now as to whether or not I should audition for the next show at Gainesville Community Playhouse. I have tons of people asking me if I'm going to, including the director of the show and a few board members. I guess that means they want me to audition. I would love to be in the show...To Gillian on her 37th Birthday. However, the biggest problem with it is that I would already be auditioning the day after this show is done. I've been so drained by this show. I miss having a life. I just printed out a workout schedule from the student rec center where I used to take the Pilates and Total Body classes. I realized I have not worked out once since I started working on this show. If I do this coming show as well, I won't get to workout again for another several months. That is very frustrating to think. I miss working out, but more than that, it's frustrating to have my life taken over by something so that I can't do anything else. So many times I was invited to birthday parties, dinner, etc., and I always had to say no because of the show.
Acting fulfills me like nothing else, and if I go too long without a show, I really start to get depressed. However, I do feel I need a little "me" time between shows. I need to give myself a chance to miss rehearsing every night. I need to let myself get bored of watching TV every night, you know what I mean? It's such a hard decision. Like I have said a million times before, I wish it was my job, and not the acting that I could ditch. It's nothing about the actual rehearsals that I want a break from. It's the commitment. I hate that in addition to the nine hours I'm in this office every day that I have another three committed, which leaves me just enough time to eat and sleep otherwise. I'm just not happy on that kind of schedule. However, doing shows thrills me like nothing else. I was actually more excited about this show coming up than the one I'm in now. The one I'm in now I decided to audition for on the spur of the moment when I had really had my eyes set on To Gillian... So now what? I'm still so excited about that play, and I know that there are some really juicy roles in there for me. I would be so happy to do that play. Will it drain me and exhaust me, though? Will I have a life? It's tough to give up freedom. Ugh. I'm just so very torn.
Posted at 10:03 AM
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- Back in the office today. I'm feeling better, but not 100%. I'm wondering whether or not I should cancel my doctor's appointment that I had set up yesterday. Not sure. I would, except that I don't want to take any chances with my play starting up again tomorrow. If I take another turn for the worse, then I'm screwed for tomorrow's performance. Hmmm...
I am very sleepy.
Posted at 8:34 AM
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Tuesday, January 20, 2004
- My family came up for the long weekend and saw my show. They were depressed out of their minds, as most audience members were, and I told them it was ok if they didn't want to see it a second time. They took me up on that! It's ok, it seemed that they did geniunely enjoy the performance, but it had the effect on them the play was supposed to have. On Saturday, we went to see Big Fish, which I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED!! It is my favorite movie to come out in a long time, and I highly recommend it. It was just incredible to me! Go see it! Sunday was football day at the Preston household, of course. Unfortunately, the Colts had just a dismal, dismal game, but, my real team, the Panthers, kicked some butt and are now headed for the SuperBowl!! Woohoo! It has been years since a team I actually cared about has made it. Usually I just pick a side when the game starts and pretend I rooted for them all along. I'm having my 6th Annual Super Bowl party. Last year we had between 25 and 30 people! It was so crowded! We invited just as many people this time, though. Whatever!
Today, however, I am sick, and I'm actually writing this from home because, well, it's better than continuing to lay in bed. The glands in my neck are the size of golf balls and I have a nasty cough. I also have some abdominal pain, but I'm hoping it's not what I think it is, because if it is, well, I'm screwed and will probably have to undergo some unpleasant procedures. I'm going to hold out and see what comes of those pains maybe tomorrow before I run to the doctor. I hadn't been sick in well over a year, and all of a sudden since Halloween, I've been sick off and on, though it was with the same thing the whole time. I'm really, really hoping that this is just a random illness! I'm sick of being sick, though.
Posted at 9:56 AM
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Friday, January 16, 2004
- Why does the hour from 4:00-5:00 drag on the longest of all?
Posted at 4:37 PM
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- I love these News of the Weird. These are real news stories that are so bizarre! My favorite is the Rolaids one. Here are some from this week:
Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird
WEEK OF JANUARY 11, 2004
LEAD STORY
Derek Leroy McSmith of Forest City, Ga., has filed 10,618 formal open-records requests to local governments in the last eight months, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. Most were, he said, to satisfy his curiosity about how government works, but one day, he asked for 490 magazines and on another day, he checked out 100 books (and soon, according to the librarian, walked outside and dropped them into the return bin). Each request must be logged in and processed, and a Forest City clerk spends almost full-time on McSmith's work. Several officials said that after they locate his documents, he only glances at them (or, if there is a cost involved, declines the documents). A local First Amendment advocate said the situation was merely "one of the downsides of a free and open society." [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12-26-03]
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News That Sounds Like a Joke
(1) In November, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., set a trap and arrested a 44-year-old man and his 22-year-old associate for having kidnapped a teenager earlier in the day and having sought a $20,000 ransom from his mother; the sting was set up after the men, for some reason, released their victim (who went straight home) but continued to demand the ransom. (2) According to a December Miami Herald story, the condition of museum-goers who grow faint or suffer anxiety attacks while viewing art (or viewing too much in a short time) has a name, Stendhal's syndrome, that, although rare, has been studied for almost 200 years. [New York Post, 12-2-03] [Miami Herald, 12-2-03]
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Fetishes on Parade
Steve Danos, 24, was arrested as allegedly the man who had been sneaking into young women's apartments to watch them sleep and to snuggle with them (and, sometimes, to fold their laundry) (Baton Rouge, La., October). And Stephen P. Linnen, 33, an assistant to Republican legislators in the Ohio House, was indicted on 56 counts stemming from an 18-month spree in which a naked man jumps out from hiding and photographs startled women's reactions (Columbus, Ohio, November). And Japanese men's fetish for schoolgirls' used underwear is such a problem, concluded a civic panel, that shops that cater to them are proliferating, thus enticing more and more girls to become suppliers (Tokyo, October). [Baton Rouge Advocate, 9-30-03] [Columbus Dispatch, 11-21-03] [Mainichi Daily News, 10-4-03]
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Compelling Explanations
Timothy Paul Kootenay, 43, jailed in Aspen, Colo., in November on a California warrant for probation violation, said he would fight extradition on the ground that he is a citizen of the notorious "Republic of Texas" and that, actually, Aspen and Vail are located on a sliver of land that is also part of the Texas nation. Kootenay's separatist colleagues (some of whom have taken up arms) believe that Texas was never legally annexed by the United States and is thus a sovereign nation that should respond only to international law. [Aspen Daily News, 11-19-03]
In a deposition earlier this year as part of his divorce proceedings (and released in November), the president's brother, Neil Bush, admitted that he had had sex with several women while on business trips in Asia, but that he did not seek them out, insisting that they simply came to his door. Asked his ex-wife's lawyer, "Mr. Bush, you have to admit it's a pretty remarkable thing for a man just to go to a hotel room door and open it and have a woman standing there and have sex with her." Responded Bush, "It was very unusual." [Reuters, 11-25-03]
In October in Hennepin County, Minn., Rafiq Abdul Mortland, 38, was sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison as the man who habitually asked store clerks whom he robbed to also hand over some Rolaids. When asked by police why he did that, Mortland said it was to relieve the stress he got from committing robberies. [St. Louis Park Sun/Sailor, 10-15-03]
The parents of a teenage girl, who had inhaled nitrous oxide from "whippet" propulsion cartridges just before a car crash that left her with permanent brain damage, filed a lawsuit in Boca Raton, Fla., in December against the store that sold her the canisters. However, a store manager claimed that, even though his is a video store whose whippets are sold from an "adult" room, he believes that his customers are not inhalant-abusers but just people who want to make their own whipped cream. [Palm Beach Post, 12-10-03]
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The Latest Human Rights
In September, a government appeals board in Melbourne, Australia, changed its mind and ruled that organizers of a lesbian festival could not, after all, limit attendance to just those lesbians who were born female, because that discriminates against transsexual lesbians. The female-born organizers had said they needed to exclude ex-males in order to affirm their identity and "consolidate our culture." [Agence France-Presse, 9-30-03]
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Least Competent Criminals
In November, Michael Patrick Mikitka, 35, was arrested and charged as the man who had held up six banks in one week in the Pittsburgh area, including one in which he had written the holdup note on a check issued to him when he opened his account. In the final robbery, at the PNC Bank in Wilkinsburg, he was on his way out the door when the security guard said that the teller needed to see him again, and as he walked back in, the doors locked, and the guard grabbed him. Pending trial, Mikitka was sent to drug rehabilitation, but he left the facility on Dec. 22 and was re-arrested the same day when he allegedly robbed the same National City bank that he had robbed twice during his November spree. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12-24-03]
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Also, in the Last Month
A woman was summonsed for dangerous driving after she tied the child's seat carrying her 20-month-old infant to a backseat door to keep it from swinging open (Perth, Australia). About 50 inmates at a Portuguese prison refused to eat special Christmas lunches because the bread, usually freshly baked, was not, due to bakeries having closed early the day before (Belas, Portugal). Police said a 29-year-old woman ordered her 11-year-old daughter to help her shoplift clothing, including some items the woman later returned to the girl as Christmas presents (Fort Myers, Fla.). [News Ltd. (Australia), 12-23-03] [Agence France-Presse, 12-26-03] [St. Petersburg Times-AP, 12-25-03]
Posted at 2:15 PM
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- OK, since my other commenting system is down, I went ahead and installed another one. If the other one ever decides to come back, I'll have two, which is fine by me. Just pick whichever one you like the most and use that one. I just hate it when it's all wiped out!
Posted at 8:54 AM
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- The review is in!! Pretty darn good, if I do say so, myself!
My parents are coming in tonight to see me in the show and spend the long weekend here. Should be nice!
Posted at 8:12 AM
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Thursday, January 15, 2004
- Woohoo!! My friend Shep won that tailgating contest I had posted a while ago. He's $5K richer and will be travelling to Houston to partake in the SuperBowl festivities!! Thanks for voting! :)
Posted at 4:41 PM
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- I found out that it's only $200 to fly to Ireland. So, I'm sitting here daydreaming of how wonderful that would be. In looking at a few things here and there, I think Andrew and I could do a weeklong, GOOD trip there for $2000 for the two of us. That's insanely cheap for a weeklong trip to Europe staying at nice places, taking tours, etc. It's so cheap for what it is. However, $2000 is too much money for us right now. *Sigh* If only I could spend money on things that made me happy!
Posted at 12:27 PM
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- If I could design my life exactly as I wanted it to be, I would be an actress, but not too famous. You know the type that is in a million things, but you never know the actor's name? That's who I want to be. The ones who play one of Seinfeld's neighbors in one episode, plays one of Chandler's old girldfriends in another episode, one of the dying people on ER, have a leading roles in regional theatre, and are one of the ones to get killed off in horror movies. That's who I want to be. I'd make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year having fun, and I'd walk around unnoticed. Those people really have it made. That's what would make me happy. I'd be making enough money to take time off for my family from time to time if I wanted to, and then jump right back in every now and then. That is my dream.
Posted at 9:34 AM
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- So sleepy...must be time for another show tonight...
Posted at 9:09 AM
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Wednesday, January 14, 2004
- Just got back from a frustrating doctor's appointment. Bleh. I'm in a bad mood.
And I just had a drop of chili fall on my freshly dry cleaned pants.
Posted at 12:15 PM
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- Last night at around 3am, I woke up whining and crying from the worst stomache I think I've ever had. It was so bad that after waking up, I thought I was going to pass out, even though I was still lying down. I broke out into a cold sweat and everything. I chugged Pepto Bismol straight out of the bottle and lay there moaning for a while. It was so bad! I don't understand. I ate the same thing Andrew ate for dinner, and he was fine. I had a slight stomach ache when I was going to bed, but I figured I should just ignore it and go to sleep. That didn't work. I actually still feel a little sore and nauseous. Andrew has magical hands, though, and he scratched and rubbed my head, and it helped distract from the pain until I was able to fall asleep again. Of course now, I'm exhausted from not sleeping well. Just in time to start the busy half of my week all over again.
I uploaded a few more pictures from the Rochester trip and several miscellaneous ones from my college days as well. They were fun to look at! :)
Tonight, we have a brush up rehearsal for our second chunk of the run. I haven't looked at my script in a long time, so hopefully I remember it all.
Posted at 8:34 AM
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Tuesday, January 13, 2004
- I have this constant problem where I feel that I am constantly portraying the wrong image of myself. Here at work, I feel like most people think I'm bitchy and stuck up. In social settings, I feel like I act like a syrupy, cutesy airhead. I don't feel I am any of those things, yet, if 90% of the people I know would call me one of these things, then it must be a little true. That sucks.
Posted at 11:49 AM
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- Last night I ruined my night off by looking around for new jobs again. That thoroughly depressed me. I won't be doing that again tonight. My nights off are too few and precious to ruin like that.
Andrew and I have two bird feeders in our little yard, and they are the most popular feeders in the neighborhood. It is incredible the huge number of birds that flock to them everyday. This past weekend, there must have been between 20 and 30 birds all pecking away at the same time one time we looked. Incredible. I'm at risk of becoming a bird dork like Lane, because they are so fun to watch and identify. So far at our feeder, I've seen chickadees, house finches, cardinals, tufted titmice, Carolina wren, and mourning doves. Even Lucky likes watching the birds all day. He starts barking and hitting the glass whenever a squirrel tries to come along and crash the birds' party. It's perfect!
PS...when I did a Google image search for titmouse, I was very amused at one of the first returns...
Posted at 8:44 AM
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Monday, January 12, 2004
- Arg!! I wrote out all this stuff and my computer froze just before I could press post. Lost it all. Oh well.
What I pretty much said:
Saturday was finally our first clean run of the play ever. It's about time, you know, three performances into it, right? Geez! I was about to go insane if we didn't get it done right one of these times. We all gave ourselves a huge pat on the back after the show anyway.
But aside from the problems we've had, the show is turning out wonderfully. I hear people crying in the audience during the second act. People are really into this, and we're getting some wonderful compliments. Andrew loved it (of course, he HAD to right??) and keeps talking about it. We're getting good buzz. That's great! Aside from the irresponsibility of a few (perhaps just one) actor, this is the best cast I've ever worked with in community theatre in terms of acting talent. There is no weak link in our cast. Everyone is outstanding and being very effective with their roles. Saturday, since we didn't screw up the last scene, I was able to walk out on stage very proudly for my bow because I know we turned out a real quality show. Very nice.
After Saturday's show, I hosted a little Waiting for Guffman party for the cast. About a dozen or so people came. By the end of the movie, though, we had dwindled down to five. It got to be too late for some, and some people apparently had other places to go. Hmph! Oh well, I think everyone had a good time while they were there, and the movie was good, as always. I've seen that movie close to 20 times probably, and I still see new things. I love it.
Oh, and I scouted out a new prospective friend. I must get to know the lighting girl better. She brought her husband to the party, and they are the most adorable couple I've ever seen. Andrew really liked the guy, too, so I'm going to have to suck her in somehow. How sad is it that I have to plot out my making friends strategies?
Besides theatre, the rest of my weekend consisted of sleep, laundry, and football. Besides laundry, it was heaven. I slept in until about 11am both mornings, which I haven't done in forever. The only reason I got out of bed then was because Lucky was whining to be taken out. Just 4 hours later that his usual morning walk!! Poor guy. Then, football, football, football. I've grown to be quite the Panthers fan. It started because, hey, they're from Charlotte. I got all nostalgic seeing them show scenes from Charlotte when they play at home. I've gotten to really like them as a team, though, and in the playoffs, I always love a good underdog. They upset the Rams in what is being called by some as one of the best football games ever. Of course, I missed the end of it since I had a show. When I got home, Andrew was all animated recounting each and every play after I left. I called my dad, and he was talking all about it too! Wow! I'm so sad I missed the dramatic ending. I'm also glad the Colts won. They're a pretty cool team. I was pretty unsure who I was rooting for for the Pats/Titans game. I felt bad for the Titans when they lost, though, especially after fighting so hard in such horrible conditions (I was thinking of you Lane!) I was disappointed Green Bay lost, so now the Panthers have to head up to Philly next weekend for the second to last football weekend of the season. Man, I'm going to miss football. Six months without it...
Posted at 10:52 AM
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Friday, January 09, 2004
- Well, last night we had our opening. Mixed feelingson how it went. I was elated last night when I actually got a clap after my fifteen minute monologue! Woohoo! It was a shy clap, but one nonetheless. Made me feel like I reached the audience with what could potentially be a very boring time of hearing me talk on and on. The newspaper reviewer was there last night, so hopefully she was impressed and will write something up on me better than last time when I was only described as "beliveable."
I would have been on cloud nine last night had it not been for the final 60 seconds of the play. Remember how concerned I was about lines before? Yeah, there was a total breakdown in the very final scene, which is meant to be a climax of rapid fire lines one on top of the other, the coup de gras. We were doing so well shooting out our lines until...*deadly pause* It was all downhill from there. One of the actors dropped his line and we couldn't get the scene back on track. We were completely derailed for the last minute, fumbling to cover, jumping in too soon or too late, missing cues, etc., etc. etc. The audience probably wasn't as disturbed by it as we were, but I can't convince myself that they didn't notice it. It was pretty bad. Made me mad. I joked about it afterward as did everyone else, but I am disappointed that we messed up like that in front of an audience. Hopefully we'll get our act together (how long have I been hoping for this??) and have a clean performance at some point.
As for everything else, I'm exhausted. Utterly exhausted. Nearly delirious. This morning after showing and getting dressed, I crawled back into bed to sleep for another 15 minutes. I can barely see straight. Hopefully tonight is my last night of sleep deprivation. I plan on going home directly after the show and heading right to bed and not wake up again until noon on Saturday. I think I'm going to host a cast party on Saturday and do a showing of Waiting for Guffman, the greatest movie of all time. I should be ok by then, I hope. I don't want to be a crabby host!
Posted at 9:20 AM
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Thursday, January 08, 2004
- Off to break a leg...
Posted at 4:53 PM
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- An article on our play that opens tonight!
Posted at 3:12 PM
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- Well, tonight is opening night! Woohoo! Let's hope all goes well.
I'm exhausted.
Lucky is very sick, unfortunately. On Monday, he had some terrible diarrhea and threw up a few times. By Tuesday, he was fine although he wasn't eating. Everything else looked ok so we figured it was just something he ate. Yesterday, though, he was in terrible shape. When we got home, he was whining and whining for us to take him out where he had more bad diarrhea. Then, he was all lethargic all night and just sat next to us shaking. It was horrible! So Andrew took him first thing this morning with the vet opened. Well, his stool sample is pretty much normal, or at least there are no traces of the usual culprits. They are doing more tests on it, though, and doing blood tests. He had to stay at the vet, and possibly needs to remain there overnight. He is being rehydrated and the vet is concerned that he might have a blockage. They are going to be doing X-Rays on him. I hope he is ok. He was breaking my heart last night!! I keep thinking about him.
Also, Bobby had surgery on Tuesday for his deviated septum. He has been unable to smell anything for a few years now, so it's about time. I called him Tuesday after the operation, and apparently it was a little rougher than he had anticipated. I haven't had a chance to call him again, but I'm going to try to make time today to see how he is doing. Poor guy.
Posted at 11:34 AM
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Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Rosalie is the #395 most common female name.
0.039% of females in the US are named Rosalie.
Around 49725 US females are named Rosalie!
0.039% of females in the US are named Rosalie.
Around 49725 US females are named Rosalie!
Rosalba is the #1381 most common female name.
0.005% of females in the US are named Rosalba.
Around 6375 US females are named Rosalba!
0.005% of females in the US are named Rosalba.
Around 6375 US females are named Rosalba!
Esteves is the #11238 most common last name.
0.001% of last names in the US are Esteves.
Around 2500 US last names are Esteves!
0.001% of last names in the US are Esteves.
Around 2500 US last names are Esteves!
Preston is the #639 most common last name.
0.019% of last names in the US are Preston.
Around 47500 US last names are Preston!
Source: namestatistics.com
0.019% of last names in the US are Preston.
Around 47500 US last names are Preston!
Source: namestatistics.com
Posted at 4:22 PM
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- I just remembered my dream last night. I dreamt that I went to a smoothie place and the guy there was making me the most enormous, most delicious smoothie ever. I watched as he loaded an entire basket of fresh fruit into an enormous blender. He was so careful to make sure each piece was completely perfect and measured out exact quantities of every ingredient. It was so wonderful.
Posted at 3:13 PM
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- A great little interview with Dave! He talks about his acting, etc. Very nice!
Posted at 11:32 AM
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- Hey, everyone. Favor: Please go to www.footballtownusa.com and vote for one of my friends. His name is Ryan Shepard (aka Shep). He is one of ten national finalists for a tailgating contest. If he wins, he will be flown out to Houston for the Superbowl and win $5000 cash plus a ton of other prizes...possibly a commercial tie-in during the Superbowl!! Shep is the guy who started nancies.org, that crazy website I belong to. He's from Rochester and was a TERRIFIC host during my visit. He's a wonderful guy, so I want to get out as many votes for him as possible. He deserves to win this. Oh yeah, and he's an AMAZING cook.
Posted at 9:47 AM
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- It's freezing here today!! Wind chill in the low 20's outside. And me, I'm just wearing a thin little sweater. I'm stupid, but no, I just can't convince myself to wear my NC winter clothes here in Florida. I will not wear my gloves, my hat, or my jacket, even though it's exactly what I wore when it was this temperature up in NC. It's just wrong to do that in Florida. Just wrong.
I'm exhausted. I'm tempted to ask if I can leave work today around 3pm so I can try to take a nap. I need my 8 hours of sleep, and I'm just not getting it. I leave for work at 7:30, have an hour for dinner, and don't get home until 11:00. A week of this kind of schedule is really wearing me down. Between the craziness of the first week of classes here at work and the grueling dress rehearsals, I'm just wiped out. I won't be able to get a nice amount of sleep until Friday night. I don't know how I'll make it until then.
Posted at 9:21 AM
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Tuesday, January 06, 2004
- Don't you hate when someone around you randomly hurts themselves and you don't know what to do? This guy hanging out outside my office just banged his head into the fire alarm box and it was really loud. There were a couple people around him. They're just like "Are you ok?" And he is, but it obviously hurt like a bitch. I don't know why I always get embarrassed when stuff like that happens. Dumb reaction.
Still not as embarrassing, though, as being the one who randomly gets hurt. Everyone asks you if you are ok. And you are, but it hurts like a bitch and you just have to play it down. "Nah, nah, I'm fine." You just sit there trying to manage the pain for a little while and try to divert attention away.
I hate that.
Posted at 4:22 PM
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- Andrew starts his rural rotation today. Apparently this is one of the more "interesting" rotations. I've heard some stories. It's amazing the stuff that goes on out there.
The bad news is that he doesn't get back until 8pm now because of the added travel time. So, I won't see him today until 11pm again. Sad. :( I hate not seeing him.
You know, for a long time I felt that Andrew and I were still in the newlywed phase. I kept expecting things to fade out a bit as we got more used to living with each other. Seriously, though, the amount of kissing, cuddling, hugging, and snuggling that goes on in our house would make anyone puke. I miss him if too much time goes by without seeing him. He drives me crazy sometimes, and I drive him crazy sometimes, but it's amazing how much we love each other.
Posted at 1:14 PM
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- I'm exhausted. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get through this week! Yesterday, I was so busy here that I didn't have time to eat lunch! Then, the traffic going home was so horrible that I had less than an hour to cook and eat. I could only finish half my dinner. I need to start getting the microwave meals out. Forget about cooking a real meal! So then, I had to run to rehearsal, do our first dress, and I didn't get home until 11:00. I finished the other half of my dinner and went to bed. It will be like this all week! 8:00-5:00 of working straight, 7:00-10:45 of rehearsal straight. Yuck, yuck, yuck. The things I do.
So yeah, last night was the first dress. I'm playing someone in her 40's, so for the first time ever, I had to do some aging makeup last night. Ick! I looked hideous! God forbid I ever look that way. Time to break out the wrinkle cream! Plus, the outfit I'm wearing is so frumpy. It was so strange to look at myself in this oversized jumper with gray in my hair and wrinkles on my face.
The rehearsal itself was ok. I was pretty happy with my performance, but there are still all these lines errors going on. It's terrible! One of the cast members hits about 50% of the words and makes up the rest. Then there is another group who has these deadly long pauses where they just stare at the ground for a while. I HATE line mistakes. Hate them!! I'd rather work with a cast of bad actors who work hard than a cast of good actors who slack off. Line mistakes are one of my pet peeves. I just think it's so unprofessional, and it cheapens the effort that the rest of us have put into the show. I had a little brain fart last night myself and forgot a sentence in my monologue (three page monologue, by the way), and I was so upset. I'd forgive anyone else for that, though. My issue is with people who have never had their lines memorized to begin with. I mean, what are you waiting for? We start in two days!!
Ok, enough of that. If we can pull off a clean show, it's going to be wonderful. We have some very talented people. There are long periods of time where I am onstage without saying anything, and I just listen to the other actors and get really drawn in to their stories. It's wonderful stuff. I think the audiences are going to love us if we can get our act together.
Alright, it's starting to get crazy here, so time to do actual work...
Posted at 9:38 AM
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Monday, January 05, 2004
- Ha ha! Thanks to Lane for providing me with two excellent links, www.ratemyteachers.com and www.ratemyprofessors.com. I have been looking at all my past teachers and professors, and it has been hilarious. I've even been looking at some of the professors I work with here. Very interesting to hear what students have to say about them...
Posted at 4:47 PM
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- Well, I've had quite the busy day. It is crazy around these parts!
Since I haven't posted since before Christmas, I have tons to write about, but I'm so frazzled right now that I can't even begin to think about what it is.
The brief rundown: Andrew's family came down to Orlando to celebrate a big joint Christmas. The amount of presents was ridiculous. I mean, completely ridiculous. Hopefully I will get some pics online so you see what I mean. They literally took up half the living room. It took us nearly 5 hours to get them all opened. When all was said and done, my present highlights were: A generous check from my grandmother to get my kitchen counter replaced, a digital camera, a photo-quality printer, some things for around the house, several nice outfits, and some purses. We were showered in amazing presents! My present to my mom was the hit I had hoped it would be. She began crying when she saw it and she has told everyone she knows about it. Mission accomplished! :)
New Years was also spent in Orlando (we were in Gainesville briefly in between). Lane was able to come over and ring in the New Year with my parents, brother, Andrew and I. It was fun. My dad bought some cheap fireworks that we lit in the street. They were pretty funny, especially since there were a few that were blinding and a few that were deafening. You never knew whether you were supposed to cover your eyes or your ears. The rest were not hazardous to the senses, though, and were pretty cool to see. We toasted with champagne at midnight and then watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year Party for all the second-rate acts that go on after midnight. We did get some good music in, however, with my showing off my new Dave DVD to Lane and he replaying the wonderful U2 DVD for me. It was a deilght!
Besides the holidays, my time has been consumed by rehearsals and football. I am loving all these games! Unfortunately, college is done, and my Gators ended on a bad note, but I'm very into the NFL playoffs too, so I am still having fun. I seriously have no idea what I'm going to do after the Super Bowl.
And rehearsals, wow, I really don't have free time anymore! Yesterday we were there from 1:00-9:00. I was there scene painting on Saturday for about four hours. The rehearsals start half an hour earlier now and we are running them as shows. I can't believe we open on Thursday! What makes me very nervous is that we still have not had one clean rehearsal. There have been major line errors in every rehearsal we have had so far since we went off book. It's terrible. I really hope people start hitting the script hard, because I don't know what's going to happen once we put stage fright into the mix. I really, really hope we get it down. I will be happy once we start having clean rehearsals. Of course, we only have three left at this point!! Eeek!!
Ok, this post has taken me several hours to write! Wow.
I'm hoping to get back to my regular posting schedule now. Classes start tomorrow, so things are crazy around here. Still, I hope to have time here and time there. I like getting something up here at least once a day.
Posted at 1:53 PM
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Friday, January 02, 2004
- HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!
My holidays were wonderful! More later...!
Posted at 8:40 AM
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