Living Bean

Major Life Decisions

2014-03-15T21:39:00.000-04:00

Things happen to you, around you, despite you so often that when the choice is yours, it's incredibly daunting.

No choice is obviously right. Where is that pull I was relying on?

campin

2013-11-05T22:44:00.001-05:00

Another summer and fall have passed without camping. My friend, Kate's recent blog post makes me envious of that: http://theendlesspursuitblog.blogspot.com/

Her reflections on coddling herself also give me pause. I have so many luxuries and needless items. I may very well use them in shows and as inspirations and -- so very many legitimate excuses. Of course, you have to take care of yourself, but what does that really mean? It all depends who you are. I'm thankful that I have never fallen victim to having a 9-bottle face cleansing regiment, but I also don't have particularly skin. Where would having perfectly clear skin get me? Wasn't it better to use that $20 that week to buy someone else dinner or to pay down that loan just a bit?

In reality, I didn't nor have I ever had the money for a 9-bottle face cleansing regiment. And the month I used up my savings I didn't have anyone to go camping with and when I did, I no longer had the money.

This world is a strange place.

Pity Party

2013-10-31T15:12:00.001-04:00

In the past two weeks I've received a large gash and bump on my forehead via edison cable, a deep cut on my finger from a little metal on a pin spot, and ended up with a blood-drawing splinter from the wood on the top of a scaffolding (that continued to hurt all day because it's too deep to removed.

I would say I shouldn't leave home, but I just gashed open the bottom of my big toe by slicing it on an over-the-door hanger I'd temporarily set on the floor. I didn't even know that callous could be cut through...

Commence pity party at 432 Rogers.

If I ever get married

2013-10-28T15:23:00.001-04:00

If I ever get married, I want to play this song at some point. I'd say when we're walking out, but that might be too slow.

Theaters should have apps with their playbills

2012-08-22T00:19:00.000-04:00

When you move you get rid of things. It just happens. You look at your belongings as they pile up and wonder when you got all of this stuff. You also wonder if you need it. I move enough that I do a cleanse fairly often. As a result most of it I will need, just not until the season changes or an adventure happens.

There are some things I don't need to keep. As much as it pains me to say it, this includes playbills. It is fun to walk down memory lane, but I have so many memory lanes paved for me, I need to limit them. Unless I retire next year I'll never have time to walk down them all. ...that's a joke.

Anyways, I don't want to lose them altogether. I just want them to stop taking up space, so until the internet becomes too crowded, I'm going to write them here. THey won't include all the information, obvious. But, I'll trust that somewhere on the internet I can find who all the dancers were in that musical I saw with that girl I knew when I was young. That was my imitation of myself at 80. Oh dear... that was a weird thought. Confession. I don't know if I want to live to 80. That's a lot of loss to incur, unless The Monkey House comes true. I've been reading a lot of Vonnegut...

The playbills meeting their demise this round include:
Radio City Christmas Spectacular Starring the Rockettes. My former roommate, Lindsay had free tickets so we went. The Rockettes were pretty cool. We could've done without the 3D glasses, but we understand not all kids have our standards. It was also really weird to be at a performance where people were allowed to video and take pictures. I hated that. I hope it never becomes the norm. Put your screen down and watch, my friends. Exhausting. And they make it hard to look at the real people.

Brilliant Traces I hate to admit this, but I can't figure out when this was from. Did I see this play? I don't remember much these days though, so I'm not surprised.

Sweeney Todd Instead of flowers I brought single bottles of beer to the actresses I knew in this show. I don't know why I thought that was a great plan, but it was nice all the same. It was a fun show to see and one of those theatre knowledge thigns I'd been missing

Hamlet and Taming of the Shrew presented by the Plimoth Players this summer. Okay, I'm only getting rid of one of these programs because it was a recent enough show to keep. Also, my name is referenced in one of the bios and I don't know when else that's happened to me.. so I felt pretty cool.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore A WONDERFUL show I saw with my good friend, Rachel Anderson. We both cried our fair shares and missed the beautiful women in our lives instantly. We're some blessed people.

The Bald Soprano at The Pearl Theatre. This was one of the many wonderful shows Sally has invited me to see. It was a fun way to spend an evening. Also, the post opening snacks were scrumptious!

Stomp Jesse and I saw this together during the Summer of 2011 after Blue Man did a ticket exchange. It looked just like the video from elementary school music class. We watched it in the 5th or 6th grade. I have an unusually clear visual of sitting in Shupe and being fascinated by the idea.

Leap of Faith LeeAnn, a friend from work, got me 2 tickets to see Leap of Faith. I bought a third and went with Anna Jo and Jeff when they visited. I always like going to shows when family members visit. I like it best when I can treat. There's a lot a life in theater will stop you from doing, so I like to share and explore as much of it with friends and family as I can

"DeerHunter" release party. I went to a cd release party. It happened once. Let that be noted.

Tell the Way at St. Ann's Warehouse. That happened. They make beautiful programs. I need to up my assistant skills.

Brooklyn Philharmonic as part of the Bryant Park Fall Festival. They were lovely. I went with Cameron & Lindsay. I love Bryant Park's programming. They do an amazing job.

Lysistrata Jones. Not a bad Lysistrata remake, quite honestly. Also, way cuter and with a lot more talent than the posters let on. The posters seemed far too niche-y for the giant house the show was played in.

The Dudleys! was a cute show that was part of the Dream Up Festival. One of the talent management agency's clients I was working with was also in it. I think with a higher budget and more workshopping it could be a really good show. It was a great beginning.

Seymour or The Last Fallen Angel was also part of the Dream Up Festival. I wish it had a bigger audience. I was working box office for the festival and they had an audience of 4 so they had me sit in. It was funny and interesting. The problem was it was such a small cast and production team that it's difficult to create a buzz.

Spiderman Turn off the Dark I think we know that I saw it. It would've been better if I'd had had no expectations. Putting things on Broadway with names and hoopla makes it difficult to be anything. I agreed with the press about the set looking like cardboard cut-ups. Of course, that was the idea... sigh

The Frick Collection. I went to a museum with Kathryn, the assistant costume designer for the show I produced February '11. I wish we theater people had more time and know-how for how to develop friendships. It was really great and I think if we were to have meet in college or anywhere other than here we would've kept doing awesome things. That said, The Frick Collection was pretty solid.

Brief Encounter I have the playbill... I googled it to make sure I saw it. Wow, 2010 was so long ago: http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/theater/reviews/29brief.html?pagewanted=all
I did see it and it was quite aesthetically pleasing. I'd like to see the movie too. I imagine it's a very different experience. They used a lot of the stage. It was very intriguing.

Extraction I went to a play reading that was hosted by a producer whose blog I used to follow. The play was okay. I always want more out of readings. I don't really like music stands and binders.

Sound and Vision: At War was a really cool performance at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. Visual and performance art seem like far more practical ways of discussing war (compared to our usual discussions).

Spoon River Anthology... an 100 person adaptation done by a graduate student at Columbia his final year. Having a cast of 100 is one solid way to sell your houses. I went to see Sloan in it. I loved parts of it and felt like a lot of it was more exploratory than final product. I don't know how everyone else felt, but being sponsored by the University I felt good about that.

Middletown felt like a modern twist on Our Town. Also, I'm tempted to save this program as a reminder to go see things at the Vineyard. I love that theater.

Washington Walks. I don't remember going on any Washington Walks, but I do miss my DC friends.

That's it for this round! So much more to rid myself of!

Again.

2012-08-21T23:42:00.000-04:00

I know I'm not truly back to blogging as the time just isn't there, but there are some things that need documenting.

I am, however, moving. In the time between high school and college graduation, I moved my main belongings 13 times, 14 if you count the month in Czech Republic.

Since graduating from Hope I have:
moved back to Ohio
moved to East Harlem (New York, NY)
moved to South Slope (Brooklyn, NY)
and this Sunday... to Red Hook (more Brooklyn, NY... it's a big place)

Hopefully someday in the next 5 years I'll have one of those homes you stay in. But for now I'm moving into a 3 story building. Our entrance goes to the second and third floors. There are four awkward and nice boys on that floor. On my floor there are four bedrooms, one bathroom, and one common area with the kitchen and living space. There'll be me, 2 girls and one guy. I have yet to meet the guy, but he sounds pretty alright. It'll be an adventure. I'm a little nervous to begin! It's the first time I've lived with people I didn't really know since college. Wish me luck!

2012-06-17T00:51:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day! I say with ridiculous pride that my Dad is the guy in the overalls. The picture was taken just a little over a decade before I was born! Have a wonderful day celebrating the men who are great Dads! Mine is obviously the best, but I'm sure yours is a close second. With countless memories of kayaking, digging up worms for fishing off the pier, drinking chocolate martinis, and our four and a half hour talks driving to/from college, I couldn't be more thankful.

Reading!

2012-06-17T00:43:00.002-04:00

I just listened to this graduation speech. It was an alright speech, with two of the most valuable points being:

1. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and call yourself worldly.
I think a lot of people need that advice and I'm sure I've been a part of that group at one time or another. I look at my world map on my wall and want to go to all of the countries so I can shade them in and say I've been everywhere. I dated a guy whose friend had the goal of having sex with a woman in every country. In case you are wondering, the woman didn't have to be from the country, he could bring her there. Anyways, I understand we all have different goals, but I can't help but hope, for him, that he got even more out of the trip. There's more to say about 'being somewhere to be there', rather than to accomplish an empty objective, but I'm no expert.

2. Read.
For the past few months I've been casually dating a wonderful guy. While we're still dating, we've recently discovered that we may be on slightly different pages in terms of relationship needs. As I've evaluated what's been and what I need I think of more and more wonderful effects he's had on my being. He, knowingly or unknowingly, has helped me eat healthier and perhaps even more beneficial, he's given me some great books to get me back on the reading kick. In the past three weeks I've read Graham Greene's "The Quiet American" and "The End of the Affair". They were both absolutely wonderful and I'm still thinking about "The End of the Affair," though I read it first. Since I only borrowed two Greene's I decided to go for something I thought would be lighter next. I'd brought back one of Roald Dahl's chapter books from home. I don't know how I hadn't read "Going Solo," but it'd been sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for quite some time. It's been the perfect subway book, divided up into adventures. I'd recommend it for a great escape read! While it was lighter, I still found myself tearing up just a little bit at the end. I think reading helps me be more present when I'm not reading. It gives me a genuine retreat from my thoughts. Many people use music, but I tend to find music reinforces where I was already at. Instead, books help me run away to someone else's life or perspective. Sure, I over-identified with aspects of both Greene's books, but the added perspectives were incredibly valuable.

So, more aspects are added to SarCare every day. Some days I do well on lots of fronts, some days I only do well one way or another, but I'm still at it. I ran this morning, did my best to eat responsibly (minus the Mud Mocha... oh, Mud Truck <3). Tomorrow's another day and every day takes energy. Good luck with yours!

Not a Couple, Just a Couple of Readers

2012-06-07T00:26:00.000-04:00

I happen to think the two of us being our own mini-book club is one of the cutest things I've ever been a part of.

Read: "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene. Then, let's talk!

One Day at a Time

2012-06-01T01:36:00.000-04:00

I'm an emotional eater. I've finally begun to manage the typical day-to-day emotions better, but the bigger emotions result in consuming comfort foods. I also find myself staying up late when I'm emotion-filled. I begin to think I can plan and analyze myself away from hurt, fear, or disappointment. Results vary.

That said, after waking up earlier than planned, I had time for a run. I ran 40 minutes this morning to start off my day. I suppose that also contributes to this overwhelming tiredness I am currently feeling.

Before I go to bed, I want to share with you a quote from a book I read during my senior seminar. I included it in my "Life View" paper 2 years ago. I stumbled upon the paper on my computer as I was looking for pictures of my Grandpa. My favorite picture of my Grandpa and me was the top picture on my cover page.

We were being silly. We did that a lot. I think the picture captures the idea pretty well. Grandpa tended to believe you shouldn't pose for pictures, but a smile or mocking-over-grin happened if you kept the camera around enough.

"From his parents Paul learned the enduring lesson that love can only be applied person-to-person"
(Yancey 75)

Just One Little...

2012-05-22T04:36:00.000-04:00

I had a cookie for breakfast. It wasn’t an intentional cookie-breakfast, but I don’t feel guilty about it. It was a delicious cookie, on a plate of other delicious cookies in the kitchen at work. I only took one, enjoyed it with my tea and began working. I kept thinking about those cookies, but ate my yogurt and planned on not eating again until lunch time.

Shortly after checking in with my body and making this decision I wandered into the kitchen to get more tea. What was there waiting, but leftovers from a meeting. On this tray of things that I could’ve passed over, was a ¼ of a large chocolate muffin. Yes, I’d already eaten a cookie, but I love chocolate muffins. So, I took it. With thoughts of it-could’ve-been-worse, I’d like to take this moment to applaud the person who cut all the muffins and bagels and to applaud the people who ate the rest of the chocolate muffin because after one bite, I would’ve eaten a whole one. Actually, if I had bought them at the grocery store I would’ve sat and eaten all 4 chocolate muffins in their little carton in one sitting. As I finished my ¼ I began thinking about picking up a carton of 4 muffins and eating them for the rest of the day. They would, after all, total pretty close to what my daily calorie intake is. That would be okay, right?

I could rationalize the free, hungry-without-breakfast single cookie, but if there was more chocolate readily available, I would have done more than faltered a little. I really want brownies and soft, gooey chocolaty things. Why is moderation so difficult?

SarCare

2012-05-17T18:06:00.000-04:00

SARCARE It’s been a good 6 months since I’ve posted. That break was the right decision at the time, but too many of my mental bits are going to people who don’t “get” it, so here I am. I tried to create other blogs with more focused topics, but alas, why? For now, I’m focusing on tracking my SarCare.

SarCare is the name I came up with yesterday for my intentional self-improvement. I’ve finally moved towards a full-on renovation by 3 recent events/factors:

1. My constant desire to run and/or create and not having time to do either
2. A Friday night, a couple of weekends ago when I (while on a date) was so short of sleep I began crying because I just couldn’t listen or do anything until I was laying in bed. I was 3 feet from a bed at the time.
3. Body image. My body doesn’t feel good and I’ve been knowingly not taking care of it for too long. It’s beginning to show physically and I don’t want that to continue.

I have a lot of areas I want to improve in my life, but SarCare involves a few specific ones to start off with:

1. The Sleep Initiative. Sleep 7-8 hours a night. Yes, I’ve survived and even thrived on less, but since I can’t seem to find a middle ground, 7-8 is the new goal during the workweek. 6 will happen, but can’t be the normal as it allows too easily for a 4 hour night.

2. Operation Vegetable. Increase my vegetable intake. I do okay with fruits, but they’re higher in sugar than vegetables and there’s no reason to keep ignoring it… grown-ups need vegetables. For the first two weeks of SarCare Operation Vegetable also includes a 2-week* removal of the following: coffee, chocolate, ice cream & candy. Alcohol will be limited to one day/week. That’s not really a change for the alcohol, but just a reminder 1x/week.

*exception made for dates if the gentleman offers. I’m determined to not be ‘that girl
< 3. The Friends & Family Plan. A continued effort to reach out to friends and family. Exact details of this plan are still in the works. One major adventure will be a Memorial Day weekend trip home to see my Grandparents, Parents & Ohio friends.

4. Long-term Sustainability. Progress on my to-do list to reach the next step professionally. I’ll keep most actionable tasks (except for books I read) quiet as I don’t like to build up anyone else’s expectations for my career. That said the fields include lighting design & arts programming. If you have access to continued opportunities, let me know!

5. Not Just Any Body. I will give myself time to run and lift. I’ve come up with a couple simple exercises I do each night before bed. They’re complete in less than 2 songs, but keep my physical state alive because sitting in an office chair tires you in the lamest of ways. They’ll be the new base.

Today is Day 2 without chocolate, ice cream, candy or coffee. I realize that might not sound like much to most of you, but I normally consume at least one of those every day. Yeah, a little much, but New York seems to have every flavor of chocolate and when you stumble upon lavender dark chocolate, it can be tough to resist. But, resist I will! Wish me luck.

I was supposed to run today, but took an extra shift at work instead. I’m going to be gone for 5 days so I think financially it was a necessary choice. It’ll either be a night run or a really great, much needed workout on Saturday.

Listening to: “Finally Moving” – Pretty Lights

Nom nom nom

2011-11-21T01:52:00.000-05:00

Warm granola puts cold granola to shame. What have I been doing all my life that I hadn't learned this yet? So, MotherRunner is one of those friend of friend's blogs I read, you know, because she's awesome. On her blog she has this recipe for slow-roasted granola.

I was missing a few things, but as she notes on her blog, granola's forgiving.

8 cups rolled oats... or 4 cups of some oat/rye/barley mix that you use at oatmeal in the morning
1/2 cup sunflower seeds... or not because you don't have them
1/2 cup sesame seeds... or more because you don't have sunflower sea
1 cup sweetened coconut... or a little more because you can
1 1/2 cups chopped almonds... ish. I just hammered my whole almonds until I worried I might be too loud hammering at 11pm on a Sunday night

2/3 cup vegetable oil... or 1/2c since you don't have as many oats
2/3 cup honey... or a little more because you don't have any maple syrup
1/2 cup maple syrup... well you don't have it so how about some brown sugar
1/4 water or 4 egg whites*... I used a fair amount of egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla... or a little more because you like it
1/2 tsp. salt... or a little more because you poured too fast
1/2 tsp. cinnamon... or pumpkin spice because for some unknown reason you have pumpkin spice and no cinnamon

Bumday

2011-07-07T19:50:00.000-04:00

I had a nap dream that I went running, woke up sweaty (it's hot up in these 4 story walk-ups sans a/c) and decided that counted as exercise. Yay!

Child Cases

2011-07-03T22:54:00.000-04:00

First 33 minutes of this PBS/NPR bit are about diseases that look like child abuse. This is absolutely fascinating and the possibilities for incorrect judgments are scary.

A 23 year-old

2011-06-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

I have a to-do list with high priority stickers half-a-page long. However, my brain can't focus because the priority stickers don't hold a candle to... my heart strings?

I don't know what to do with this feeling. Two nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and felt the need to check my computer. So, at about 4am I read a fb posting of a former neighbor. His sister had written on his wall that she'd miss him and she'd give anything to see him one last time. I immediately googled him because I grew up with this kid and this was completely out of the blue. Well, for the next 12-ish hours nothing came up. However, more people wrote on his wall and I started to feel sick as reality tried to set in. I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours sitting on the curbs of Rock Creek Run with this kid. We jumped on his trampoline and played hide-and-go-seek around the neighborhood. He, like most of the neighbor kids would ride his bike around... although I was a weird-o who rollar-bladed instead. He taught me about boys' ears and was a great guy-friend to an (like most of them) insecure Jr. High girl. We passed a lot of time together in the summer. Now that I think about it, there were about 9 or 10 of us all within a year or two of each other. We were quite the neighborhood group. While it's been years since I talked to the majority of the neighborhood kids, in the doorbell ringing, roof and curb-sitting memories we'll remain kids forever.

When someone who you don't see every day passes away it often makes it feel less real. I recognize that my experience and loss is completely different from his closest friends' and family's. It feels more like a destruction of a childhood memory than anything else. As long as my belief in heaven remains intact I can stick with the "you'll see him on the other side" mentality. Perhaps the root of this uneasy feeling is the removal of the shade of invincibility that I live under. He was 23. Outside of alcohol related accidents, who, from my life, dies at the age of 23? No one. And why do these articles keep saying "man". He was just a guy, down the street, with perfect blue eyes and a great sense of humor, who once shot me in the leg with a paintball gun.

A guy who a lot of people are really going to miss in their lives. If you pray, please pray for healing and healthy coping for those closest to and those not-so-far from him.

bbs

2011-05-31T23:34:00.001-04:00

I'm taking a break from this blog. It's mostly to be attributed to the multiple jobs plus design work I'm doing this month. I'm endlessly grateful for the opportunities (and the small, but bigger than last months' paychecks), but they don't leave time for much else.

Sorry to all my long-distance friends I am and will continue to neglect for a little while. You're the best. Thanks for always, and typically patiently, being there.

xo.

Also, Amy is funny.

And this breaks my heart and yet heal again every time a new post is posted.

No, really, "The Life"

2011-05-25T00:33:00.000-04:00

I'm starting with the bad things did happen disclaimer. Skip this section if you don't want to hear about the downers

Disclaimer: My day was not perfect. I messed up my 4th toe on my right foot. I, as usual, had serious moments of insecurity at the first job of the day. I'm not missing a little bit of skin on the top of my right hand. I'm accumulating quite the sleep debt. I've been waking up before 8... every day. I woke up at 5am on Sunday. I ran out of time to eat dinner and my ravioli went bad. I swiped my card at the wrong turnstile on my way home. I saw a girl that looked like this kid-who-broke-my-heart's xgf (who he's pretty much still in L.O.V.E. with) and it made my stomach get a sinky feeling in it... etc. etc. etc.

But, today was a great day!
My tomato plants are growing. I arrived to both of my jobs a tiny bit early. The trains were on time. On my way home from ushering I was so sleepy I swiped my card at the wrong turnstile and despite my abrasiveness the guy at the Astor Place uptown 6 train still let me go in without paying the extra 2.25. While I felt incredibly insecure, people were nice today at job one and I did do a couple of things right.

I ate my lunch sitting on a tiny fence in the median of Broadway, in the sun. I didn't spend any money on lunch because I packed from home and it was delicious. The grumpy elevator man had a 1/2 a moment of less grumpiness when I asked him his name. His name is Jose. He was the perfect character. The freight elevator opened and there he was... a little dirty looking, smoking (no, really, a cigarette... inside, in the elevator), in his tank top with a scowl to make you feel like you didn't fit in the freight elevator with all his crankiness. Jose's alright.

None of my work boo-boos were noticeable to the people around me. I got asked out in seriousness. A friend who moved away from NYC is coming to visit and txted me to ask if I wanted to join her and her friends at Blockheads in a couple weeks. AND it's a day I'm not working!

Job one let out early so I walked to job 2. I was going to go to Barnes & Noble to kill time. Instead I stopped in Madison Square Park and laid in the grass and did NOTHING for a good 30 minutes. I didn't even write emails or make lists; I just smiled at the awesomeness of the world. After sitting there a few minutes 2 guys sat nearby and took off their shoes. I realized they were right, you could take off your shoes. I enjoyed the next 45 minutes of semi-low productivity, barefoot. A little boy waddled over to me and laughed every time I smiled. My eyes started to get stingy because of how blessed I felt in that moment. A few moments later I saw that girl mentioned in the negative section.... good to be back on earth... meh.

I walked to work and decided to stop at Barnes & Noble to change my clothes. The line to the bathroom felt too much like Cedar Point and it simply wasn't worth the wait. As I started to leave (after wishing I could buy at least 20 different books) my best friend [schae] called! We caught up just a little as I [originally typed we, but I guess I was the only one walking] got to work. We were short an usher, so on day 1 of training I was a real usher and met some great kids. These kids, of course, reminded me how I want to work with Jr. Highers/high schoolers and that I believe in physical theater and need to do more of it.

On the train home I met a guy named Seth and his dog named Murphey. They were both super nice and reminded me that if you want to change something (ie. people's inability to make conversation on the train when you know they want to... for however brief) you have to do it. Waiting's just not for me. I walked home surrounded by the perfect temperature of night air.

I arrived home to email from m.d., which always puts me in a good mood. Shortly after replying to that one I received an offer for a lighting designer gig.

Not every day's this great, but I have to soak these days up for other less favorable times.
I hope you're enjoying all of the sunshine & silver linings.

Brooklyn Bridge

2011-05-15T10:11:00.001-04:00

Brooklyn Bridge is one of my favorite New York's tourist attractions. Why? Because it's a bridge. People walk to "experience it" and they bring business to another area of the city, outside of Times Square. There are quite a few places to go out around the Bridge. I've worked in Dumbo before and enjoy that area of Brooklyn, but the Manhattan bars/restaurants had a stronger google presence the other day so we decided to try out The Seahorse's happy hour. People are often ask me for recommendations and finally, I have one. Unlike some of the other fantastic bars/restaurants in the area, Seahorse's Happy Hour is 4-7, 7 days a week. We arrive at 6:10 because of park-enjoying in Brooklyn, but even after the happy hour there are some $2-5 beers. 2 delicious appetizers, 3 drinks a piece, and a true happy hour soundtrack later, we were as content at could be and on our subway home... for kale chips, pseudo-dancing, and roof-sitting.

So, if you're in the Brooklyn Bridge area, I've heard Jeremy's is good, but I know the Sea Horse is bound to be enjoyable.

Kale Chips & Rooftop Views

2011-05-15T09:50:00.000-04:00

Dear World,

Kale chips pre-made in the bag are a little expensive for my budget. However, if you can find fresh kale reasonably price, Kale chips are one of the easiest things to make. I'm not sure if they would've been as good the next day, but fresh out of the oven Allrecipes.com (the first baked kale chips recipe that comes up on a google search) knows simplicity goes a long way.

1 bunch kale <---- We just used all the kale I had. It took 2 baking sheets. Don't be particular about amounts, I'm not sure this is really possible to mess up. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon seasoned salt <---- We used Lowry's. Nom nom nom. Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper. <----Or wax paper

With a knife or kitchen shears carefully <---Or not carefully... whatevs
remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.
Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. <--- Or skip the whole step if you just want to get them in the oven and don't own a salad spinner anyways
Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt. <---- Toss in a bowl if moderation in "drizzling" is not your strong suit
Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes. <---- It took us 15+ the brown edges are important. They cool fairly quickly so if you take 'em out to test, you'll be able to tell if they're to rubbery.

Enjoy!

PS. Last night while making kale chips Lindsay supervised the chips while Joe and I went atop the roof. While up there we experience the quintessential rooftop sitting moment: be minding your own business and all of a sudden glance over and see a guy get un&redressed and pump himself up in the mirror. Don't get me wrong, we were the accidental snoopers. But truly, what more can you want out of life?

Dear Friends and Lovers,

2011-05-03T00:36:00.000-04:00

(of the Midwest)

My dear, dear friends Amy and Nick are getting married on Saturday, May 7th. Now, when two people are this adorable and this in love, you just can't stay home and think about it in your own city. You must board your megabus, be driven a few hours from the stop to Ohio, and then drive a different car to the adorable camp where they once met and celebrate it with your favorite friends who you haven't seen in a year. So, that, my friends, is what I shall do. Below is the itinerary. I'm posting it because

if you are free and in Ohio or Michigan on the respective days, let me know and we'll play. It'll be great!

WEDNESDAY:
Morning in NYC
Afternoon/night on the Megabus

THURSDAY
12:00am: Pittsburgh to Amherst
Sleep
4:30pm Wedding Food Tasting for my sister's wedding!
After that: Cinco de May celebrating with Mike, Jeni, Jenkins, etc.

FRIDAY
Wedding present buying/wrapping
Packing for the adventure
Running with Jessica
Sleepover, either with JB & FW or Melissa

SATURDAY: WEDDING DAY!!!!
Drive to Onekama, Michigan and celebrate the lovers!
Have a day at camp! Note to self: Bring other shoes for wondering around Portage Lake Bible Camp!
And a sleepover with my favorite housemates [minus one... you know, because it's her wedding night] in a cabin!

SUNDAY:
Drop off Jackie in GR and [mope about it]
Drive to Holland, MI for Hope College Graduation 2011
Sleepover somewhere

Monday:
Breakfast with Tim
Lunch with The Grandparents
Quality time with Melissa if no Friday sleepover
Quality time with the parents

TUESDAY:
Morning in Amherst
Afternoon drive to Pittsburgh
Return to New York by midnight
My apartment by 1:30am.

On an unrelated note: Brussel sprouts get a terrible reputation and to those poor mini-cabbages, I'm sorry. you sound way worse than you actually are. Dribble some olive oil, salt & pepper on those veggies and stick them in the oven on 400* and you'll understand. Better yet, let some leaves fall off and let them get super crispy... better than some chips.

On Repeat

2011-04-30T22:13:00.003-04:00

I've been social nearly all week. It makes it hard to get work done. Tonight?
One page magic sheets aka Lighting designer tetris and this man's pandora station:

Or just this song on repeat when I don't like the song on pandora.

bin/been

2011-04-30T02:28:00.000-04:00

Not every plant is growing as tall as the one next to it and not all of the plants are doing well with my here & there trips out of town. But, all of my plants are awesome, beautiful, and bring a lot more happiness to my window sill than there once was.

Did I mention it's been nice out since I came back from Florida?

Amy & Nick's wedding is one week away. I'm pretty excited.

There's someone digging through our garbage bin for bottles and cans to cash in.

Just, ya know, being thankful

2011-04-28T01:49:00.001-04:00

I'm a tabber. I usually only have one window up, maybe 2 if I want to focus on a specific project without the other tabs, but tabs range from 4-24. These days each tab is a potential new job. I'd like to work on some of these tabs tonight so I won't type long, but I have a lot to tell you. Alas, time is short, body is tired and bullet points show up:

-I learned to surf this past weekend! Kind of. I stood up a few times. I'm no expert, but I understand why people love it now.

-I ran today. I sent my broken phone back. I accomplished a task I've had on the to-do list since January. I judged a show down by Lafayette. It was a productive day.

-I love my family. I spent Easter weekend in Florida with my mom's side of the family because my Uncle's wedding occurred on Holy Saturday. I had an absolutely fabulous time. I don't know anyone else with a family as much fun as mine is. One night my immediate family + a fiance + a cousin went in the ocean sometime after midnight and battled the waves for what seemed like hours, or at least an hour.

-The bridal shower was at a restaurant on the ocean. It looked a little fake, but it was real.

-My mom made everyone [no, really, everyone] a delicious brunch Easter morning

-We all danced, and danced a lot at the wedding. My uncle and I even did a bit of swing dancing.

-My sister and I ran 2 out of the 3 days. One of those days was a 6 miler in the upper 80s, lower 90s + humidity.... the morning after a lot of salt water & alcohol. Woo dehydration! I've ran 2 out of the 3 days since I've been home.

-I called about one of my resumes and cover letters today. I'd really, really love this job. The HR department's machine picked up and I was too scared to leave a message.

-Last night Lindsay and I went down to DUMBO to see a friend of mine's friend's show, but alas I made the classic Monday this week, Tuesday next week mistake and there was no show. Instead we wandered a little bit. A seemingly nerdier-hipsterish-our-size marching band came out of a building and played in an empty parking lot. We then got recruited for a comedy show that was actually free, no drink minimum, no tips... just fairly decent comedy.

-I'm unbelievably excited for my sister's wedding in September. I'm also trying to figure out how we're ever going to go get to talk to/see all of those people who will be there. Our family alone has so many amazing people connected to it: "The Moms," both sides of our family, the card group, the Port Clinton friends, etc. etc.

-I'm planning for the days surrounding Amy & Nick's wedding in 2 weekends. So far I'm trying to fit in: Cinco de Mayo with Mike, Jeni, Jenkins +/- whomever else shows up, a run with Jessica, possibly wedding-food tasting for the September wedding, a small roadtrip across Michigan, back, across, and back again, a WEDDING, dancing with the newlyweds, Jackie, Faith & Meghan, a sleepover in a cabin... in the woods... in our sleeping bags!, a stopover in Holland, quality time with Tim, good conversations with Lissa, and probably a little bit of time with my parents... or at least my dad when he drives me back to Pittsburgh to get back on the Megabus.

Enough enthusiasm for the past/present/future, back to that cover letter...

Give thanks and rejoice

2011-04-21T04:48:00.001-04:00

Last year for Lent I wrote a list of things I was thankful for every day. I didn't do that this Lent. It might've helped my frame of mind as I dealt with some especially undesirable stress, but I didn't. However I enjoyed it and throughout the rest of the church calendar year, and again through this year I feel as though my mind is more and more likely to note the things I'm grateful for. Since I won't have time to do it this weekend, here's this year's all-at-once Lenten List of Thankfulness

Thank you to...
Housemates that deal with my quirkiness
Friends that ask for advice, especially the relationship[ish] kind
Sally. One solid good friend* really cuts down a lot of things you can complain about... and gives you someone to complain about the rest to
*Note: I have other friends, but if you live with the people they're semi-exempt because you can't let yourself overuse them and I'm talking short-distance friendships
Everyone else who came to our party. I had an absolutely wonderful time. I would've had a great time even if it'd been just the 3 of us + sally, but taboo and conversation was just...sigh, thank you.
Friends who let me sleep in their beds or on their couches, often with only 2 days advance notice
Touchy-feely-at-appropriate times people. Sometimes you just need a hug +/- and New York isn't a warm fuzzy city so it's great when you can find those people
The optimists
The Awake! who serve as reminders that I have good energy and I should do nothing less than love and radiate the good stuff
My mom who'll still order my prescription if I'm getting too stressed about it
My dad who'll make sure the car's ready for me to drive to wherever or whatever thing it is I need to make visiting other people possible
My long-distance housemates. I'm still so grateful for that last semester of college and you still having you all in my life
Amy & Nick. 2 people in love is a fabulous thing
Kathryn, for making me feel as though people do want to hang out with me!
Everyone who has ever made an effort to hang out with someone else. It's a reminder that "people can like you just the way you are" and sometimes we 20somethings need those
Old text messages that you reread on your old cell phone that still give you new warm fuzzies
My sister who comes to visit and doesn't get frustrated with me when I'm a little bit of a mess
My brother who tolerates me and will pay for most of the present when I'm too poor
The cell phone gods who protected my phone from water damage
Helpful people. There are so many of you in the world and you're wonderful!
My Grandparents who answer the phone with such enthusiasm that you really feel like you matter
My family. I can't wait to see a bunch of them in the next 2 weeks
All of those people who keep emotionally supporting me and are excited that I'm "fulfilling my dream" or whatever phrase they chose to use. I'm not sure if they're completely right, but they do make me feel good about my choices. Thank you!
FB msg pen pals <3 This blog for reminding me that there are superheroes among us... and really good parents that are my own
Isaac for encouraging me to go to church. And then for going to brunch with me afterward and reknewing my faith in theatre... all of the time
American Theatre magazine for reminding me that Boal technique is thriving and purposeful.
People who read my blog so my little counter can lead me to believe that people are interested in my life
Idealist.org for posting meaningful job openings
My plants, for growing sometimes.

Okay, I know that's a weird one to end on, but it just hit me. I'm tired. Thank you for reading. Thanks for being such great people and thank you for being.