yesterday i cleaned like a mofo.

i find it hard to be productive and creative in a messy house. now, don't think for a minute that i'm some kind of neat-freakhousemustbecleanatalltimesiwearwhitegloveswhenicheckfordust wierdo, but i can only tolerate a certain level of mess for so long. since i've been so busy over this past summer, i haven't had a chance to clean on a regular basis. the bathroom was gettin' pretty nasty - you can only spot clean a bathroom for so long before you just straight up lose that battle. yesterday i threw a lot of stuff away- some of it was stuff that's been sitting around for years. it felt good. when my house is messy, i feel like my life is spinning out of control. when i get that feeling, it's not sexual healing i need, it's a clean bathroom.

now that it's lookin decent around here, i have some work to get done.. sketches and groundplans. last night i worked on show #1 in bed- can't continue on that one as much until i get a groundplan. also, since NAT starts up soon, i will be picking up show #2 here very shortly. it's a little unnerving when i look at my calendar for septemeber; i'm not entirely sure how i will service shows #1 and #2 with such overlapping schedules in different cities. i'm sure it can be done though, and i will find the way.

it helps that i'm doing lights for #1, that the space is small, and the script is short. there is no intermission and it's about 43 pages long total. i went through that script again last night, making little q notes. there are some opportunities in there for some really cool sutff - saturated colors and maybe some pattern work too.. very exciting. then there's show #3, another show in the big city. for this i am doing the scenery, but all i have to do is drawings and some elevations, then show up for load in. i am not as concerned about this one as #1/#2 because it's production schedule does not appear to overlap with anything at NAT. this is the show i need to work on today and tomorrow; i've got to get revised sketches to the director and a revised groundplan so we can discuss, revise again and then i can create drawings to send to the TD, who will build and paint it.

i think though, that i will brunch before i sketch.. you should never sketch hungry...or, wait, is that grocery shop?... i can never remember.

see, the problem i'm having is - is my schedule typically busy enough to require the use of a pda?  i've been fine without one for this long, and i'm not sure what kind of freelance work i will pick up during the season - am i making enough contacts to warrant spending $$ on something like this? my friend beth has one, a shiny new dell one with all sorts of bells and whistles.. some stuff i'm not sure i'd ever use.  i found a deal on some palm pda's for like  $50, last year's model, and wonder "if i'm gonna buy one, should i just go all out and get one that's got extra stuff so i 'm not just buying a new one next year?"

you see my dilemma?  i want to know, who's got one, do they like it, what kind is it, any advice?

today, my soul is free.   today, i am a liberated woman in control of my own destiny (to a degree).  today, my spirit has been uplifted.  today, i quit Retail.

after careful consideration of schedule, finances, and the physics of the space-time continuum, i've decided that i can afford to quit Retail and pare my activity back to one job.

also today,  i drove into chicago for a production meeting.  i also rescheduled work tomorrow so i could go ride horses in the morning.  also today, before i go to bed, i will have bought a plane ticket to go home.  what a great day.

i was in walmart tonight considering buying a cheap pda.  any thoughts? 

also,   my more-decorating phase is now leaning toward  classic movie posters.

so august is shaping up to be a killer month.  i mean, busy killer.i'm trying to plan a trip home in the middle of august, between beloit and nat, and it's much harder than it should be.

had a staff meeting at nat, very exciting and inspirational.

i plan to quit Retail today or tomorrow, as my schedule is about to get all squirrley, and they plan to start teaching me new stuff - i figure it's a waste of their time since i'd be quitting eventually anyway.  i think i've got enough in the bank to hold me over, so i figure it's time.

i hope to do horses again this week, for the first time in a long time.  i also have to go into chicago tomorrow, or possibly tonight, for  a meeting at 9 am about my lighting gig.  i'm very excited - we're touring the space, and hopefully i'll come back with some sort of groundplan or sketch action for the set.   it's hard to do lighting when you don't know what the set looks like.

my ghetto neighbors are currently blasting the crap out of their stereo.  when i pay rent this week, my landlord and i are gonna have a little sit down.  i 'm  really tired of this bass crap... my sleepand work  habits are actually being affected by my neighbor's stereo and that's just bullshit.

i should shower now - gotta get ready for Retail.