SAB, Matthew

bible trashing, anyone?

appropo

i bought catsup today. the label says : "will work for food".

this weekend there is a jehovah's witness convention in town. during lunch time they all come out to their cars, and tailgate in the parking lot with their coolers and nametags... the sidewalk was full of them yesterday and all i could think was "look at all those people with no birthday".

today i attended a memorial service at nat for one of our board members that passed away last week. it's weird to attend something like that for someone you didn't really know that well - watching someone else's family celebrate their life.

right now i'm listening to indigo girls' rites of passage - it's like the soundtrack to half my college career, gives me flashbacks. good ones though, not like some crazy lesbian acid trip.

tomorrow is a company picnic for nat staff and crew - it's out at the park where we ride ponies; we hope to get in a ride before the picnic.

just sent away drawings for show #3. i think they're done so now all that show needs is color elevations and i can put it to bed for a little bit. got to work on show #1 - order color and stuff 'cause it's creepin up fast. show #2 is lookin like it's gonna be pretty small, not because it's easier (in some ways it's not) but because it's right for the script... things are shaping up in my favor and, since i'm not entirely used to that, it's kinda wiggy.

i'm thinking about starting to title my blog entries... what say you?

well, as it turns out, the $$ i make from shows #1 and #3 will not be spent on a shiny new pda like i had hoped. it will be spent on part of a new fuel pump and coolant sensor for my car. i say "part" because the $450 total dollars in fees from those shows will cover about 2/3 of the cost of the new pump and sensor.

today i hate my car. i had a '91 escort before this.. it was old, but did everything i asked it to. the whole purpose of selling that and getting a newer car was so i could budget for payments instead of surprise $400 radiators and shocks. that has not proved to be the case, and i could not be more pissed about it.

cars suck.

we all see these kids. some of you are these kids.

hipster bingo

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.

my hair is in a ponytail.  this hasn't happened since high school which, suffice to say, was a while back.  it's been growing for a while now, quite by happenstance really.  i've not had the time and the money, simultaneously, since way back in the spring sometime.  i'm not sure what to do with it now - i could either have it cut like usual, or keep it longish and layery-like.  it's a nice change of pace, and i like tucking it behind my ears but sometimes it's a pain in the ass.  suggestions?
 
my fish got a new filter. they are noticeably peppier and the water is markedly clearer.  my wallet suffers for the happiness of a few fishies.  such a softie am i. 
 
i feel i need some new artwork in the house.  i've got several pieces that need framed, or re-framed, and a couple of spots that just need something new.  to this end, i'm surfing the web looking for pieces that strike my fancy.  i've looked at posters of architectural elevations, ireland, vintage theater and movie posters, vintage ad posters, travel posters, and current theater and movie posters.  again, any suggestions?
 
i'm listening to elvis costello.  damn, he's good.  watchin' the detectives.....
 
 

methinks my fishtank requires a new filter. this is upsetting on two levels: my poor fishies are swimming around in shitty water, and a newer/better filter will probably run me around $30 - $35. which i don't really have to spend on a fish filter. hm. i am also seriously considering trading in my plecostamus at the local pet store. he's gotten muy huge, and he positvely fills the fishtank with shit on a daily basis. petland does trades, and i think he's of a substantial enough size to get some good trade-in value. i'm conflicted though, since technically he is my pet and i don't know how i feel about that. i mean, really, he's a fish and won't know the difference. but finding nemo and all that...what's a girl to think?

in other news, i had a phone conference tonight for the scene design gig in chicago - i felt very 'freelance professional'. it was really funny since i sounded very official and "right on top of that rose" while sitting in my living room with harry potter in the background, and wearing shorts and a baseball cap. i loved it. i'm still awaiting meeting minutes from the meeting i had to miss last night due to Retail.

i wasn't able to trail ride today and my heart is heavy. my sleep deprived brain and body rejoiced though, i will admit.
next wednesday i plan to return, depending on what kind of shape guys on ice is in.

yesterday i lay like broccoli. it was glorious.

today i worked retail for a few hours. i really want to quit that job but my uncertain future prevents me from waving goodbye to easy money.

i am currently working on scene designs for two shows about ice-fishing. who knew? and one is a musical!

tomorrow i plan to be still like vegetables. i have managed to have the day off, through some divine intervention. two days off in two weeks!!

i had a meeting in chicago for the lighting design project, which happens in september. it's an adaptation of 'ipheginia' which takes place in a 1930's diner in the american west. it's a very intriguing project on several levels. first, the director has encouraged me to get funky with several moments in the play where we aim to take the audience to a different, wierder, place where they will have a "what the hell?" moment. secondly, the play shares the space with another show that plays after us, on the same stage, every night. this means that i have to come up with a plot sort of in conjunction with another designer that i have never met. lastly (for right now) the theater is a storefront that was once a speakeasy during prohibition. there is ornate plasterwork throughout and it's got 24 exits to other fake storefronts and buildings and alleys. also, it's haunted.

tonight i rented cold mountain. i saw it in the theater and was not sure how i felt about it. i think, on the one hand, that it's an interesting story. on the other, i still feel like there could have been less seemingly un-necessary bloodshed. i feel like there's more story there, and so i hope to read the novel - in my copius free time.

i have to get some sleep now - i want to be well rested for the day of continuous loafing i have scheduled for tomorrow.

more trail rides today. i also got to pat a bunny who purrs.

press conference at work with new guy, upbeat and encouraging but still no job confirmation.

cemented another gig in the city, for september, for lighting design, which i have not done for a while. little apprehensive, but excited. i have a produciton meeting in chicago friday morning and will know more then.

very tired now, as trail ride days start with chores at 6 am.

also full of bad chinese food, which i'm sure i'll pay for somewhere around 3 am.

well, i didn't win the $300 million mega-millions jackpot.

it's a shame really, i'd already planned how to start spending the money and it's a shame all those plans have to go to waste.

last night i saw farhenheit 9/11. has anyone else seen this movie? i'm curious to hear other people's reactions.

my friend gurl is involved with an up and coming theater company in chicago that is currently trying to arrange a european tour for next season and it's possible i could go with them. i have a gig for them in september, doing lights for a show. let's hope it goes well.

my cat is the cutest of all cats.

why buy a motorcycle helmet if it's just gonna ride around on the back of your motorcycle?

two nights ago, in my dream, reese witherspoon was hitting on me,and totally all about me. last night, i was getting ready to leave for ireland again, but with my college roommate, who was sposed to go with me the first time but was unable to. i wonder what will happen tonight.

i helped again with trail rides this wednesday, and it was just as fun as the first time! i got to yell at little kids!!

my ghetto neighbor is all loud tonight. i heard them fighting yesterday - she wants him to go but he won't go. i guess they keep making up, 'cause he's still here. he doesn't work so is home all day drinking and listening to the stereo loudly.

i hate them.

spaghettio's with meatballs = good
spaghettio's with meat sauce = blechhhh

lemonade kool-aid = good
lemon ice kool-aid = blechhhh

'tis true enough

today is the first day i've had off in quite a while. i'm not sure when the last one was, i think sometime back in april. actually, i have the whole weekend to myself, to do as i see fit. i feel guilty though, like there's something i'm forgetting to do. but there isn't.

last night we went and saw the stepford wives. i liked it. my sister and i agree that nicole kidman can do no wrong, and i'll stick to that. matthew broderick is cute like a bunny rabbit. i thought the movie, on the whole, was entertaining. i really enjoyed the aesthetics of the town of stepford, and who among us hasn't wished for a simpler, more black and white life sometimes? i admit though, i was more attracted to the idea of a stepford husband/man because where's the fun in making all the women the same? i would program my Stepford Man to know all there is to know about auto mechanics, home improvement, and stock brokerage, able to do excessive heavy lifting, and to treat me like his mother at all times - and to never, ever argue, second guess, or complain. oh, and with a remote control with a shut off button. he would also need a handy carrying case, so i could put him away when i don't need him.

today i plan to sit around. i do need to run a couple of errands, like hit the bank, and do some grocery shopping, and clean my apartment. the beauty is that i can stretch it out over two days! tomorrow night i'm going in to chicago to gurl's housewarming/birthday party, but that's not 'til 7. on monday we start work on show #2 at new court, and i think that one will go together pretty quick too. next sunday is chicago pride.

i have to sit around some more now, i'm tired from all this strenuous typing.

today i was up at 6, and at the farm by 6:30 to help with campers. we did regular chores and then we (+ a few other volunteers) saddled up a dozen horses to take little kids out on the trail. i rode in the middle of each group, of about 10 kids, on a total of four rides. elizabeth rode in front and kristin rode behind the column to keep all the stragglers in line.
i helped them get on the horse, told them how to steer and during the ride i made sure they all stayed on their horses and tried to get them to stop their ponies from snacking on the trail.

i am tired. i came home and took a nap, and for those of you in the know, you know that means i am really, really tired. i work retail tonight, and i really want to quit that job. the $$ is nice to have but i'm exhausted all the time... i expected "part time" to mean 10-12 hours, but it seems that it really means 18 and i can't handle that. i'm gonna ask them to cut my hours back more and we'll see if that works out better.

i saw harry potter, i am still not sure how i felt about it. i saw all the harry potter characters on the screen, and the hogwarts castle, but it was such a different movie i don't feel like i saw a harry potter movie. i feel like i'll see it again just to be sure. also on the list: stepford wives, and shrek 2.

i have to go dress for retail now.

educating rita is open. this weekend i sat through tech for another show, don't drink the water. i was designer eyeballs for my friend dan - it's his show but he couldn't be there for tech.

sitting for 10 hours in a dark, air conditioned room is a lot harder than it sounds.

now i've got tonight and tomorrow day to relax... then i've got meetings on tuesday for show two at new court.

workin 18 hours this week at M_____.

freakin busy!!

btw: that toilet/lawn ornament is gone!