e_clare

(If I had to guess, I'd say it was the delicious mocha I had a few hours back.)

Hallo, flist! After getting off to a lousy start, my day has certainly gone up up up. Up into the zone of hyperactivity, apparently.

Oversleeping by an hour is never a good way to begin, but no real harm was done. I went into the city for the afternoon to do my literary job. Turns out that my instinct about one playwright was spot-on: just when I was about to recommend her as someone to invite on the summer retreat, I learned that she had already successfully attended last year. So, yay! Then I organized the slush pile o' submissions, and was handed another pile of plays to read. All three of these new pieces were requested from the playwrights (or their agents) by the artistic director. This is fantastic. I really can't tell you how big a relief it is to read something that has a solid structure, developed characters, and comedy that's actually funny. Even better when it doesn't feel like something we would have happily staged in high school. (Not to knock the plays that we did put on at GHHS -- they were great! Can't beat Kaufman & Hart! -- but they were pretty tame and old-fashioned.)

Anyway, good plays make me happy. Starting to organize the pile of plays To Be Read makes me happy (several date from 2004, and have probably been staged by now). Ugly Betty makes me happy -- and OMG, it's after 8! TV calls me.

via

poisoninjest:

Reply to this entry with your name and post these instructions in your own journal. I will go poke around your list of interests on your profile and ask you one question about one of them. You wax rhapsodic on the subject of your interest for the edification of all and we'll learn something keen about you.

Or in simple terms:

Reply to this meme, I'll pick one of your interests, and you tell me a whole bunch of stuff about it and we all learn a bit more.

Aside: Anybody want to read a cover letter in the next day or so? It'd be muchly appreciated, and I can guarantee a cool Washington postcard for your trouble. :)

Tonight was the fourth or fifth conversation I've had this week about My Future as a gainfully employed adult. As soon as I got back from dinner with the family in Takoma Park and changed out of my wet clothes (HOLY CRAP is it raining a lot tonight), I jumped online and started trying to figure out what sort of job I'm looking for next. There are, happily, a couple of possiblities. There are also many that are not yet possiblities because I lack certain software skills and, y'know, professional experience. *sigh*

I know it's good that I'm looking. The conversation with my uncle -- one of the few other liberal arts grads in the family, and a working journalist -- was helpful in a way that conversations with my mother rarely are. I get inexplicably defensive whenever Mom brings up the job search, but I'm only moderately defensive with Uncle Jeff. It's not that I don't know what I ought to be doing, it's just that I'm reluctant to actually do it. Additionally, the fact that I'd rather not spend the rest of my life in Dayton provides a good incentive for me to really dive in.

Conversely, the fact that I really really want to go to London in September makes me less inclined to look for something substantial. Taking time off for awhile doesn't sound like a bad thing...but I think I know it wouldn't really be good, either. Boo.

The most perfect internship posting ever just landed in my inbox: DC-area, it's paid, the dates would fit my summer plans (*cough*England*cough*), and if I think about it too much, I'm going to jinx my chances. I think I just did. *hyperventilates a little*

This is what I'm doing with my weekend. (Fuck you, thesis!) I am tweaking my resume again, writing a killer cover letter, and picking out clips (are any of my writing samples good enough?!), and sending it all by Monday. Yes. aaaaaaaaagggggghhhh.

Gawker needs an intern. And I'd totally do it. Damn.

(This also makes me feel like I ought to improve the general quality of my posts. It's both cool and distressing that my blog could impact my career, in more than a negative dooced way. Funny world, innit?)

When it comes to wasting time, I am a fucking rock star.

(Why can't I put that on my resume?)

Current Mood: aaaagggh.

Oh AIM. You are so wonderfully entertaining.

( yes, yes it's definitely late )

me: i have to say, that's one thing they don't prepare you for with the women's college
you expect to miss the straight boys...but sometimes, you miss the gay ones just as much

This evening I discovered the apparent source of my compulsive need to bake things: it's what my high school friends do for fun. Last night, it was oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (from a mix) with jfray, The Fabulous Elizabeth, and the rest of that Sophomore Class crew. (It seems that I'll always think of them as sophomores, because that's how old they were when I graduated. Sad, eh?) Tonight, it was vanilla brownies with chocolate chips (from scratch) with Becky P., Rosie (also a Sophomore), and Jen. We all sit around and socialize while baking, clearly -- and there needs to be more of this in The House back at school. It's fun and relaxing, plus there's deliciousness at the end. Is there any greater happiness than baked goods and friends?

Don't answer that.

The downer for the day was finding out that I was supposed to work two days in a row and didn't know it, because nobody called me and my main theater contact is out of town. Now I feel even more superfluous than usual. Brilliant. I'm somewhat excited to be back, despite the total weirdness of not knowing 95% of the people who work there now. Plus I'm working mostly days, which is strange and will prevent me from baking cookies all day with Mom tomorrow.

Now that we've come full circle, I'm off to watch Nora, in continuing celebration of being finished with the Joyce class. Whee!

I'm at work! (How long it's been since I could say that!) Yes, yes, I'm writing mostly just because I can. I'm in Chapin until 1:30, babysitting the Korean Student Association's winter formal. My other options for distraction are drunken people dancing in formal wear, and Ulysses -- need I say more?

I also worked a Christian rock concert in the campus center earlier this evening. That was...interesting...considering my usual relationship with religious pop music of any kind consists mostly of mocking. The good news is, the original songs had decent melodies and the bass player had a surprisingly awesome voice. And I had Ulysses, so I could focus on that and try to tune out the band. The low point was a song with the refrain "lamb/lamb of heaven," to which I just had to add baaaaaa.

I'm so going to hell.

Anyway. The countdown to the end of the semester has begun and wow, do I have a lot to do by December 19th. It'll all get done -- it always does -- as long as I keep myself interested in the final papers, both of which I've connected to my thesis work, I should be fine. I get to write about vampires! And Ulysses. Woo. :)

Victorian Lit: Double lives and identity in Dracula and Dorian Gray.
Joyce: The influence of Travesties (Stoppard, 1974) on my reading of Ulysses.

Also, we have a Suzuki performance on Wednesday. This will also be interesting, as the chorus (of which I was today made Leader, w00t) has some trouble acting in unison. But y'know. It'll all come together somehow.

[ACK! Balloons popping make scary noises.]

OK. Stephen Dedalus is calling my name...I can make it the next 45 minutes, right?

ETA 2:10 AM: ~~No one's awake at the house, but there's a mystery guest on the living room sofa. Oh, the excitement just never ends.~~ Or the doors were shut just because the TV is loud. Sometimes I make things up, and imagine they're way more interesting than they actually are.

Current Mood: surprisingly chipper
Current Music: all the current hip-hop hits you can handle

I walk past the career development center nearly every day on my way into campus. As a senior, this is ostensibly a Good Thing: when I lived on the green, it was easy to imagine that the campus ended at the science buildings, and that nothing across the street actually mattered. (Please note that I didn't set foot inside the gym, which is also across the street, for the first five months of school. Now, of course, I know how important the gym is, too -- it's where I play badminton for college credit. *yes!*)

After eight weeks of extreme guilt every time I went to class, I finally had a career counseling appointment this afternoon. The first step into the rest of my life, etc. The best part was, Counselor Brown and I spent most of the time not talking directly about the angst-producing career-ness; instead, we debated the relative merits of movie magazines (Entertainment Weekly, where we have an alum (!), vs. Premiere, which is snooty but a better publication), talked pop culture (comparing notes on Defamer as a news source), and swapped music recommendations.

People ask why I love my college -- this is why. The close-knit community of the students may be changing, but the faculty/staff-student connection is still alive and well. The apartment I live in was once occupied by my theatre professor and her kids; the futon frame in the living room was given to us by the same career counselor; the pottery on the mantle is from my boss at the Quarterly; and my thesis advisor makes tea for me when it's rainy. ~~Who needs boys?~~ Some days, there is little more I could ask for.

Current Mood: warm fuzzies!

I made it through! I made it through the week!

The first week of November is the one that'll really kick my ass, but I have a wee break until then. *whew*

Tuesday, I had a six-hour shift to work the Howard Zinn event, co-sponsored by the local bookstore and several local social justice groups. Chapin was as packed as I've ever seen it; I heard they were turning people away because there simply weren't seats. Howard and Anthony were both wicked nice, and obviously excited to be here. Since Voices is about the People's Voices, it wasn't a straight-up book reading; instead, 18 performers (including my housemate, Biz, hi!) read excerpts of the documents and speeches. The social justice groups and union organizers wanted to give the event a local slant, so in addition to talking about Shays' Rebellion (which happened in Northampton), there were pieces from a Holyoke mill worker, Frances Perkins, a Northampton peace activist, and a Belchertown military mother (the last two were present to perform their own letters -- very cool).

Howard is obviously getting on in years, and it seemed like his energy flagged near the end of the 90-minute presentation, but he was gracious and chatty with everyone during the book-signing that followed. I didn't have a book, or get a picture taken (like one lucky Becky P. did two years ago), but it was still a thrill to have met him.

I'm off to snuggle up with Oscar in the library, and likely take a nap. It's thrilling how my thesis reading has become my pleasure reading, no?

Mountain Day (Wednesday) was absolutely wonderful. After giving in and going to sleep at 2 a.m., with the Joyce paper still unfinished, I woke up at 6 to check for the Mountain Day announcement -- no dice. Happily, an hour later, the giant announcement was on Pine -- and with great relief, I went back to sleep.

The whole house climbed to the top of Mt. Holyoke (actually Mt. Skinner, but who's counting?), in record time. We cheated and parked at the halfway point, then booked it up the steep trail in under 15 minutes. Took pictures, ate ice cream, back down the mountain in 12 minutes. ('Goats had a 2 pm class in Amherst (sucka!), so we had to be accomodating.)

Then the rest of us drove to NoHo and had more ice cream at Herrell's. Yay!

As for tonight, I teched Thursday Night Edge -- our semi-weekly, up-and-comers play the student center night. The opening act was good: he sounded like Bob Dylan (EXACTLY like Dylan; 'twas eerie), and looked like Buddy Holly. Woo! And the main act was a chick with a guitar, who was neither fantastic nor horrible. She sang some pretty melodies; she needed a better guitar. I spent most of the time writing letters.

What?

And now it is Friday, which is delightful. Anybody want to help me finish my "Dubliners ~~rip-off~~ -inspired story for the Joyce class?

Instead of packing, I watched 28 Days Later for the first time today. I'm far too proud of myself; I don't do scary movies well, and spent a couple of years being too frightened to see it, despite all the good things I'd heard. (To be fair, most of the "good things" were "HOLY SHIT SO SCARY!" so I don't think you can blame me for staying away.)

The thing is, having seen it? It's not actually that scary. Creepy, yes. But I'm a fan of the creepy -- see my affinity for M. Night Shyamalan, or even Buffy the vampire slayer (shutupitwastoocreepysometimes) -- so this worked well for me. And it's interesting from a Hollywood standpoint, with Cillian Murphy and Christopher Eccleston being considerably more recognizable now than when it was made. (I also had a Hey! It's That Guy! moment with Brendan Gleeson, who you may remember from such films as Troy and...King Arthur, maybe? Historical stuff, like that.)

Additionally, having sat through all three alternative endings ("This one's pretty much the same...only Jim's replaced with a chicken!"), I've decided that I really like Danny Boyle. And I need to see Shallow Grave. *makes a note*

My other entertainment experience of the day was reading Osborne's Look Back in Anger at work. Groundbreaking when it was first performed (1956), as usual, it's lost some of its luster. But it's still easy to see how it "revolutionized English drama," and the characters are surprisingly compelling. So hooray. *checks it off Stoppard reading list*

Current Mood: pleased

I'm pathetically glad to be working again. It's not just about the money; it's also about people-watching, hanging out with cool folk like

leikela4 and

pinkpuppybelly, and forcing my movie preferences on the Average Moviegoer (*cough*Murderball*cough*).

My three favorites of the last two days:

Kid who brought his copy of House of Mirth along to see The Aristocrats. I commented on his excellent and unusual (for a guy) choice of reading material, and recommended the movie when he finishes. He was cute, and again, reading Edith Wharton. Major points.

Guy who referred to his large Diet Coke as "my movie woobie. Can't sit through one without it." Just for using "woobie" -- apparently unironically -- in public.

(Kinda hot) Older guy who came out of Murderball and declared it "phenomenal!" I know, man. I know. Also one of the few people who used my name without sounding totally patronizing about it, for which I was grateful. Pet peeve: people who read my nametag and just use my name for the hell of it. When our only conversation has been "What movie?" and "That'll be $14," you don't get to address me by name. Especially not in a smarmy way, thanks.

OMG, NO

Woman who wore a dark-colored thong under white pants. PSA: Please check that your clothing is not see-through under any light, especially if you're going to wear scandalous undies. The general public does NOT need to see that, thank you.

One more

Girl who forced me to claim a fictional boyfriend because she kept saying her brother thought I was hot -- I don't know if you were looking for a discount or what, but geez: I wouldn't date an 18-year-old for anything in the world right now, and also? That's just weird. There's a giant line behind you; please, just take your Skeleton Key tickets and move along.

Because it can't be said enough: MoveOn wants you to save public broadcasting.

* * *
Today was a pretty good day, in the end. Draggy this morning, and exhausting dealing with volunteers, but we're finally getting people who will be able to take over the registration desk, so the Boss and I might be able to do other things during the day. Felt really disillusioned with the whole "internship" deal -- haven't done anything that I expected to be doing, really, besides carrying a couple of things for production -- and after having to clean out the company fridge on Saturday, and fielding all sorts of questions that I don't know the answers to, just because I'm sitting behind the reception desk...I wasn't really looking forward to work.

However, once I got there and got busy, it was good. People are excited, and enthusiastic about helping out. I'm really good at recruiting people to be ushers, and managed to fill a huge need for people (although we still need more, so if y'all know anyone who wants a free t-shirt and a chance to see some free movies...).

I even managed to make it to the opening night film, Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream. Director Stuart Samuels considers the five "true" Midnight Movies to be El Topo, Pink Flamingos, The Harder They Come, Rocky Horror, and Eraserhead -- although the film talked about Night of the Living Dead and Reefer Madness as well. Samuels made good use of archival materials, especially footage of audiences. Very cool. I highly recommend that anyone who's interested in the rise of the cult film check out the film.

And in closing...I took pictures. But my camera's being weird, so they'll go up tomorrow. Cheers.

EDIT: the photos

( Bear in mind, my camera doesn't do night scenes so well... )
-

1. The fact that I'm not inclined to do all of my reading right now, at this moment, while enrolled in only two literature classes, makes me feel that four lit courses (one seminar, two 300s, and an independent study) might be just a bit too much next semester. Yeah.

2. My extreme enjoyment and thrill at doing research, coupled with my equally extreme reluctance to start to shape said research into anything resembling a paper, makes me wonder about dramaturgy as a career. Or a class next spring.

3. After an hour of bright glowing-ness, I leaned down over two rows of seats to tell a UMass kid to stop checking his cell phone every five minutes while there were live actors on stage. As soon as I struggled back into my seat, he checked it again; I should have gone with my original plan of chucking small bits of program at him.

4. What, exactly, is the ratio of increase in my LJ activity to the amount of academic work, as it relates to level of urgency for said work to be completed?

Happy New Year -- it's a little late, but there it is. I've had a really intense week, mostly taken up with work. (Understaffed all week; it wasn't pretty.) My final shift, last night, was sadder than I'd expected. There's a very good possibility it will be my last shift ever. The Arena Grand has been good to me, honestly, and I wish I could stay longer this winter just to pursue friendships I've struck up over long and boring shifts. Mais, c'est la vie. I can't believe I'll be back in western Mass tomorrow afternoon, and am incredibly thrilled about that, which takes the edge off of leaving home.

Now I just have to pack, so's I have stuff to take back with me. Like clothing.
-

My last night of work (for four months!) was tonight. Yay! Also, my last night of earning money (for. four. months.). Um...yay?

I've promised postcards (Chaucer, to torment my fellow English majors; generic updates, for the managers), e-mails, LJ updates, and that I will do my best to fulfill a request for haggis.

Right, then. I'm actually more sad than I'd expected to be about finishing at the theater. It's unlikely I would have been able to survive the summer without it, honestly. Work provided my social life--without completely becoming my life, which was a major problem with the drama camp job in high school. (Eight-hour days spent with kids ages six to 13 are not conducive to high-energy evenings afterwards.)

I'll miss the free movies, of course. But I'll also miss watching them with a really great group of people: drooling over the pretty boys, making up our own (often better) dialogue, and laughing hysterically at inappropriate times (oh, The Notebook! And Sleepover!). These are the things you just can't do with a real audience, and it's just oh-so-fun.

On the upside, odds are I'll be back at Christmas. At which time I'll have three weeks to figure out the names of all the new employees, and try to squeeze in screenings and group dates at the Dube. Even if I don't make it back onto the theater staff, I think I can count on the Dube--and it's great having that at home again.

At any rate, I'm off for one last screening: double feature, We Don't Live Here Anymore (yay! Peter Krause and Mark Ruffalo!) and Open Water (um. at least it's short?).

Current Music: Hanson--"Underneath" (shuddup)

( transcript of my first call of the day )

whee! stalkers are fun.

krikkit911 and i leave for boston in 8 hours. hooray! there, i'll have sushi with banannagoats and watch the amazing race with dad. definitely time for some time off.

things i learned this week:

a wind in the door doesn't make the workday go faster.
cedar point is still fun in the rain, and i will never be talked onto the magnum, ever.
the back roads between oberlin and columbus are multitudinous yet pleasant.
grandview cops are incredibly bored thursday nights, and enjoy chatting up college students in parking lots.
the butter cow and calf are accompanied this year by a butter Lewis and Clark at the ohio state fair--but no sacajawea.
there is such a thing as too much ice cream in one 48-hour period.

Current Mood: so tired

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e_clare

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Where'd this good mood come from?

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Longest week EVER

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