Monday: 10/18/04
Thank God that plans changed for this weekend. Instead of the boondocks (i.e. Arkansas) we went to St. Louis, Missouri. I had such a great time. St. Louis is one of my favorite cities in the world now and it helps when you're staying with a wealthy, super nice family in the burbs. I went to the top of the Gateway Arch, toured the St. Louis mansion district, and went to the most awesome museum (really it's a huge jungle gym) way cooler than Discovery Zone. Really there's no place like it and you have to check out the website to get a feel for it (City Museum). We walked around, door-to-door asking voters if we could count on their vote for Kerry and stuff. It was a little disappointing cuz a lot of people either weren't home our didn't answer their door, but I at least feel like I did something. Today, the weather was really crazy and at the moment I'm enjoying a lightening show with surround sound and a tornado watch on top of it. Can't get much better than that!
Monday, October 18, 2004
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Out with the Greek, in with the Chile
Wednesday: 10/13/04
· Okay, so I should be finishing my paper for scenic design right now, but I really don't wanna so I won't. Last weekend was not the most exciting seeing as it was filled with homework and theater. Luckily Iphigenia is over cause it makes me so much freer... to procrastinate, dilly-dally, and waste time. Actually, this week's been busy with work and meetings and all kinds of stuff. I made a very exciting proposal the the Vanderbilt theater board, proposing the institution of a new tradition and project that you probably know about....24 hour theater. It is soooo much fun when we've done it with Lookout! and I knew it would be a great thing to bring here. Today I proposed the idea to the all the members and everyone was really really excited about it and anxious to do it. So, I get to be in charge of this groundbreaking event, yay. I also got my Chile grades from last semester, finally. I did well, but my dance professor gave me a B+, obviously he doesn't know a first-rate dancer when he meets one. This weekend is the beginning of Fall Break (we get Monday and Tuesday off). I'm planning on going to Arkansas (I know, it wasn't my first choice either) with a friend of mine to help out with the Kerry campaign over there. I'm guessing that these Arkansans need help reading the forms or something backward like that. ;-) Then I'd like to try and get my mom to drive down and spend Monday and Tuesday with me which would be great. Also, I'm officially signed up to make another presentation at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) annual conference in Indianapolis in November. You can search for my name under the speakers list here. It'll be exciting and such great experience. I'm going to be talking about how teachers can use technology to develop a sense of voice in society with low socio-economic level students. Trying to give them a new way to speak their mind to the world basically, while incorporating literacy (reading and writing) instruction also. Other than that, make sure you vote (preferably for Kerry) and get everyone you know that can to vote. I'm gonna get back to trying to survive the week. Wish me luck. :-)
· By the way, I joined the Facebook.com thing- I haven't done much with it yet, but let me know if you're on it too.
· Okay, so I should be finishing my paper for scenic design right now, but I really don't wanna so I won't. Last weekend was not the most exciting seeing as it was filled with homework and theater. Luckily Iphigenia is over cause it makes me so much freer... to procrastinate, dilly-dally, and waste time. Actually, this week's been busy with work and meetings and all kinds of stuff. I made a very exciting proposal the the Vanderbilt theater board, proposing the institution of a new tradition and project that you probably know about....24 hour theater. It is soooo much fun when we've done it with Lookout! and I knew it would be a great thing to bring here. Today I proposed the idea to the all the members and everyone was really really excited about it and anxious to do it. So, I get to be in charge of this groundbreaking event, yay. I also got my Chile grades from last semester, finally. I did well, but my dance professor gave me a B+, obviously he doesn't know a first-rate dancer when he meets one. This weekend is the beginning of Fall Break (we get Monday and Tuesday off). I'm planning on going to Arkansas (I know, it wasn't my first choice either) with a friend of mine to help out with the Kerry campaign over there. I'm guessing that these Arkansans need help reading the forms or something backward like that. ;-) Then I'd like to try and get my mom to drive down and spend Monday and Tuesday with me which would be great. Also, I'm officially signed up to make another presentation at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) annual conference in Indianapolis in November. You can search for my name under the speakers list here. It'll be exciting and such great experience. I'm going to be talking about how teachers can use technology to develop a sense of voice in society with low socio-economic level students. Trying to give them a new way to speak their mind to the world basically, while incorporating literacy (reading and writing) instruction also. Other than that, make sure you vote (preferably for Kerry) and get everyone you know that can to vote. I'm gonna get back to trying to survive the week. Wish me luck. :-)
· By the way, I joined the Facebook.com thing- I haven't done much with it yet, but let me know if you're on it too.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Crazy Tennessee
Tuesday: 10/5/04
Two Tennessee laws that I just found out about today:
1. It is illegal to have a raffle of any kind.
2. It is illegal to play pinball if you are under 18.
crazy, huh?
Two Tennessee laws that I just found out about today:
1. It is illegal to have a raffle of any kind.
2. It is illegal to play pinball if you are under 18.
crazy, huh?
Monday, October 04, 2004
Star Struck
Monday: 10/4/04
· Yay for October!! Just a couple of weeks till fall break, then a month till Thanksgiving break, then another month to the end of the semester----yay!!! This weekend was definitely busy. Friday I fell asleep, completely asleep for the first time in my college career. It was in my theater history class and we were watching a movie on the Roman Coliseum and the room was completely dark. Luckily, I don't think anyone noticed and the video wasn't all that important. Still, I was pretty tired. We had our opening night that night and I managed to make it through without screwing up anything, but there was a big cast/crew party afterwards that was off-campus and late at night and I was really looking forward to, but when I got home I realized it was time for bed. Good thing too cuz Saturday morning I had an audition for something I'll describe with more detail later and it was good that I wasn't exhausted. It also could've been very bad if I were exhausted behind the wheel. That's right, in order to get to my audition I had to borrow a car from an overly trusting co-worker. It was soooooo cool!! The highlight of the week, maybe the semester. I've never driven around Nashville before and it gives you such a sense of power. I rode around, not too far off the beaten path cuz I didn't want to get lost, and went grocery shopping and through a drive-through just to drive-through. It was great. I might have to take advantage of that again. Then I had another performance that night. And when I got back to my dorm (thank god the show's only an hour long), my hall was having a big Star Wars screening (ya know, the new DVDs) and my roomies and I went down and I barely made it through all three, but it was still fun. Then I slept until noon on Sunday and woke up just in time to go see The Idiot, a play I had to see for my directing class. It was funny and I felt like I hadn't been to see a play in forever, even though I clearly have. After that, once again, I had to head to the performance. I stayed up late late late doing homework. The highlight of my today was when my directing class professor, Terryl, who is also directing the show I'm working sound on, Iphigenia, in a lecture about casting and auditions used me as an example of someone who had a really great audition and she wanted to give one of the lead roles to, Menelaus, but couldn't because she wanted to cast the main character, Agamemnon, with this 6'6'' guy who would look really awkward beside me, especially when I'm supposed to intimidate him. Basically, she was forced to cast lesser talent in a role which I would have been brilliant in because I'm short. C'est la vie. Hey, right about now across the street from me ABC's Sam Donaldson is monitoring a debate between Ted Turner/Al Gore vs. some conservatives here at Vandy. I wanted to go, but they've been sold out for a while. Also coming soon....Michael Moore, Wynonna Judd, Brad Paisley (country music singer, duh), and others.....
· Yay for October!! Just a couple of weeks till fall break, then a month till Thanksgiving break, then another month to the end of the semester----yay!!! This weekend was definitely busy. Friday I fell asleep, completely asleep for the first time in my college career. It was in my theater history class and we were watching a movie on the Roman Coliseum and the room was completely dark. Luckily, I don't think anyone noticed and the video wasn't all that important. Still, I was pretty tired. We had our opening night that night and I managed to make it through without screwing up anything, but there was a big cast/crew party afterwards that was off-campus and late at night and I was really looking forward to, but when I got home I realized it was time for bed. Good thing too cuz Saturday morning I had an audition for something I'll describe with more detail later and it was good that I wasn't exhausted. It also could've been very bad if I were exhausted behind the wheel. That's right, in order to get to my audition I had to borrow a car from an overly trusting co-worker. It was soooooo cool!! The highlight of the week, maybe the semester. I've never driven around Nashville before and it gives you such a sense of power. I rode around, not too far off the beaten path cuz I didn't want to get lost, and went grocery shopping and through a drive-through just to drive-through. It was great. I might have to take advantage of that again. Then I had another performance that night. And when I got back to my dorm (thank god the show's only an hour long), my hall was having a big Star Wars screening (ya know, the new DVDs) and my roomies and I went down and I barely made it through all three, but it was still fun. Then I slept until noon on Sunday and woke up just in time to go see The Idiot, a play I had to see for my directing class. It was funny and I felt like I hadn't been to see a play in forever, even though I clearly have. After that, once again, I had to head to the performance. I stayed up late late late doing homework. The highlight of my today was when my directing class professor, Terryl, who is also directing the show I'm working sound on, Iphigenia, in a lecture about casting and auditions used me as an example of someone who had a really great audition and she wanted to give one of the lead roles to, Menelaus, but couldn't because she wanted to cast the main character, Agamemnon, with this 6'6'' guy who would look really awkward beside me, especially when I'm supposed to intimidate him. Basically, she was forced to cast lesser talent in a role which I would have been brilliant in because I'm short. C'est la vie. Hey, right about now across the street from me ABC's Sam Donaldson is monitoring a debate between Ted Turner/Al Gore vs. some conservatives here at Vandy. I wanted to go, but they've been sold out for a while. Also coming soon....Michael Moore, Wynonna Judd, Brad Paisley (country music singer, duh), and others.....
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Rehearsals Like Hurricanes
Thursday: 9/30/04
I've seriously had the roughest couple of weeks so far. I know it's no excuse, but hey- I'm just getting used to having a functioning computer, give me a break. I was sick all last week making me fall behind in homework stuff and needing to catch up cuz this week was round-one of the midterm area where more and more is due and will continue to be for the next two weeks on top of which I'm working sound for a really technically complicated Greek tragedy, Iphigenia, that despite being one-hour long, has required a huge time committment all this week as we've been going through tech rehearsals. There's lots of lighting and sound effects, music, body paint, fog, weapons, and blood used and it's actually pretty cool, just difficult to coordinate. I'll post some pictures when we have them. We open tomorrow, by the way. Aside from the general complications of life, nothing too exciting has happened. This weekend should be a little more exciting, so I'll fill you in on that later. I've been working at a special ed school recently, especially working with adolescents with profound to severe mental retardations. It's been a trip. I don't know what I could do with them if they were in my regular ed class. Plus, it's really been a trip on Thursdays cuz our class spends time in the Snoezelen room where there are all kinds of different lights, music, furniture, and other random contraptions going designed to stimulate visually, audibly, and tactilly (I think I made up those last two words). Also, in my set design class we've been building models and I'm just sooooo inept at this arts and craftsy nonsense. Oh, I also experienced my first hurricane as Frances briefly tore through Nashville. It was actually a tropical storm by then, but it did rain awful hard for a day or two. Okay, I need to refocus and do all the homework I need to do before I pass out from exhaustion. I thought I'd write something though. Take care and feel free to write or call: this will led to better chance of a direct response.
I've seriously had the roughest couple of weeks so far. I know it's no excuse, but hey- I'm just getting used to having a functioning computer, give me a break. I was sick all last week making me fall behind in homework stuff and needing to catch up cuz this week was round-one of the midterm area where more and more is due and will continue to be for the next two weeks on top of which I'm working sound for a really technically complicated Greek tragedy, Iphigenia, that despite being one-hour long, has required a huge time committment all this week as we've been going through tech rehearsals. There's lots of lighting and sound effects, music, body paint, fog, weapons, and blood used and it's actually pretty cool, just difficult to coordinate. I'll post some pictures when we have them. We open tomorrow, by the way. Aside from the general complications of life, nothing too exciting has happened. This weekend should be a little more exciting, so I'll fill you in on that later. I've been working at a special ed school recently, especially working with adolescents with profound to severe mental retardations. It's been a trip. I don't know what I could do with them if they were in my regular ed class. Plus, it's really been a trip on Thursdays cuz our class spends time in the Snoezelen room where there are all kinds of different lights, music, furniture, and other random contraptions going designed to stimulate visually, audibly, and tactilly (I think I made up those last two words). Also, in my set design class we've been building models and I'm just sooooo inept at this arts and craftsy nonsense. Oh, I also experienced my first hurricane as Frances briefly tore through Nashville. It was actually a tropical storm by then, but it did rain awful hard for a day or two. Okay, I need to refocus and do all the homework I need to do before I pass out from exhaustion. I thought I'd write something though. Take care and feel free to write or call: this will led to better chance of a direct response.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Back from Chile!!!
Monday: 9/20/04
· First, an apology: My first update comes a little later than I would've hoped for two reasons---1. I was hoping to upgrade the site and unfortunately those plans didn't pan out so I'll be sticking around here for a while. 2. My computer was dead for three weeks. One day, out of no where it just started popping and everything crashed. I've had to replace the hardware and reprogram it and I just got it fixed this weekend. Yay!! I didn't write an email for over two weeks, and it's not as easy to get away with that here as it was in Chile.
· Now, the backstory: This semester's off to a great start generally. My classes are soooo much better than I thought they'd be. Despite the fact that I'm having to share my room (bunkbeds and all) for the first time in forever, I'm really liking it. My roommate, Ronnie, and I have become great friends. Luckily the both of us keep similar hours and are really easy-going, so that's working well. He is pretty messy though....not that that matters. And the other guy, Jeremy, we share our apartment with is cool too. I've also been offered a really cool opportunity to be a full-fledged researcher on this research project where we work with low-income students and teach them how to use technology to share their voice and develop literacy skills. I'm an active participant in all aspects of the project alongside a couple faculty members and grad students. Plus it's $15 per week!! I'm getting a bike soon to help mobilize myself. It was a little wierd my first week back at Vandy this year, but everything's settled now and I'm glad to be with friends and in classes where people know English. I'm taking a bunch of theater classes keeping me active in that area. My computer dying really sucked and I've lost everything that was on the old computer, but what can ya do?
· Okay, here's the update: This weekend I went to the Tennessee State Fair. First of all, it so doesn't compare to California's. It's pretty dinky, yet it has more of that old-fashioned carnival feel that you see in the movies. I did see a funky robot musical performance and kick some ass in the bumper cars. I also won this really nifty blue monkey. But, the highlight was when I was coerced to do Karaoke in front of all the fair crowd. It was pretty funny. I sang "Beat It" so picture some rather espilicious Michael Jackson imitations. Then my roommate did the worst thing ever. He gave me some video games to put on my new computer. Oh my god, after the first installation was complete I could literally see my grades, life, and sleeping hours decreasing rapidly. Of course, now that my computer's feeling better, I've gotten sick. It seems like everyone's sick here, but that doesn't make me feel any better. Still, I'll try to keep up with this thing from now on.
· First, an apology: My first update comes a little later than I would've hoped for two reasons---1. I was hoping to upgrade the site and unfortunately those plans didn't pan out so I'll be sticking around here for a while. 2. My computer was dead for three weeks. One day, out of no where it just started popping and everything crashed. I've had to replace the hardware and reprogram it and I just got it fixed this weekend. Yay!! I didn't write an email for over two weeks, and it's not as easy to get away with that here as it was in Chile.
· Now, the backstory: This semester's off to a great start generally. My classes are soooo much better than I thought they'd be. Despite the fact that I'm having to share my room (bunkbeds and all) for the first time in forever, I'm really liking it. My roommate, Ronnie, and I have become great friends. Luckily the both of us keep similar hours and are really easy-going, so that's working well. He is pretty messy though....not that that matters. And the other guy, Jeremy, we share our apartment with is cool too. I've also been offered a really cool opportunity to be a full-fledged researcher on this research project where we work with low-income students and teach them how to use technology to share their voice and develop literacy skills. I'm an active participant in all aspects of the project alongside a couple faculty members and grad students. Plus it's $15 per week!! I'm getting a bike soon to help mobilize myself. It was a little wierd my first week back at Vandy this year, but everything's settled now and I'm glad to be with friends and in classes where people know English. I'm taking a bunch of theater classes keeping me active in that area. My computer dying really sucked and I've lost everything that was on the old computer, but what can ya do?
· Okay, here's the update: This weekend I went to the Tennessee State Fair. First of all, it so doesn't compare to California's. It's pretty dinky, yet it has more of that old-fashioned carnival feel that you see in the movies. I did see a funky robot musical performance and kick some ass in the bumper cars. I also won this really nifty blue monkey. But, the highlight was when I was coerced to do Karaoke in front of all the fair crowd. It was pretty funny. I sang "Beat It" so picture some rather espilicious Michael Jackson imitations. Then my roommate did the worst thing ever. He gave me some video games to put on my new computer. Oh my god, after the first installation was complete I could literally see my grades, life, and sleeping hours decreasing rapidly. Of course, now that my computer's feeling better, I've gotten sick. It seems like everyone's sick here, but that doesn't make me feel any better. Still, I'll try to keep up with this thing from now on.
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