Saturday, August 30, 2008

Song of the Week

Friday* seems like a good day to post a song that I like, so here we go; a tradition is born. This week's is "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJOzdLwvTHA

It is a catchy, jazzy, precious song. In Thailand, my roommate started singing it one morning while she was getting ready for the day and I was waking up. We soon learned that most of the girls on the team also knew the song, so it was fun to sing it to each other and easy to mean what we sang. I hope you enjoy!

*Haha, I forgot that it is after midnight. Friday's song is actually posted on Saturday, which I did not realize until I posted it originally. I guess "Friday" is somewhat a matter of opinion anyway. The truth is, my friend Meg and I had an hour and a half movie date (Aladdin) tonight, but turned into almost eight hours of time together. It was a wonderful evening and felt like no time had passed at all! Midnight, where did you come from?

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Mid-Week Pampering

WARNING: Girly Content
My friend, Lauren just started working for Mary Kay so I went to one of her opening parties tonight for the Satin Hands treatment and a sampling of face care products and makeup. My friend, Michelle had her beginning Mary Kay party about two months ago, so I felt like a pro at Lauren's (although the summer sun had altered my foundation color). It was great to see Lauren, since we're both in extremely time-consuming majors and don't have many opportunities to hang out. It was also a rare treat to take a break and relax on a school night. I love noticing my face when I walk past the mirror, but there are two problems with this pampering. 1) All the products I tried are really great and all the stuff I own right now is far from great, so I want to buy a lot. 2) Now I don't want to do my homework.
Overall, it was well worth the time. Thanks, Lauren!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Textbooks...and More!

I went to the bookstore to pick up a textbook for one of my classes and as I was leaving the store I reached in the bag to pull out the reciept for examination and my hand fell upon an object with an odd shape and texture. As it turns out, I am now the proud owner of 5 Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner samples. Who says buying textbooks is always a loss?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Snooze and Syllabi

For me, snoozing is something of an art. I time it perfectly so that I have ample opportunity to come to terms with the fact that I need to wake up. Today was the beginning of snooze season and I was well prepared except that I had forgotten one thing: my alarm clock is LOUD. The violent jolt of surprise nearly carried me into the wall. I have faith that I will become accustomed to it, but I do fear some retaliation from my neighbors.
Still, today is a special day! It is syllabus day/assign-the-first-project-due-next-class day. My first prof was MIA, but the others were eager to flaunt their list of daily projects. The syllabi caused me to ask a lot of questions, most concerning the wisdom of renting an apartment rather than making use of the theatre's many resources. Of course, those that know me are rolling their eyes right now knowing that the busiest times are when I'm the most content. The key for me will be to schedule well and to keep the snoozing habit under control.
So here's to the kind of first day that could give you nightmares!
It is so good to be back :)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

What Did You Do For Summer Vacation?

Since school starts tomorrow I thought I would ask the classic question... My answer be as brief as possible.
For the month of June, I stage managed the grad production of Brilliant Traces. It is a very endearing play and one of the best I have ever worked on. Afterward, I bummed around for a while then spent a week living large at my sister's house. I spent the next week touristing in China with my mother, then joined some folks from my church at home in Thailand for three weeks of loving Jesus and loving Thais. I came home and in a daze of jetlag visited some high school friends and my brother/sister-in-law.
Adventure was plentiful this summer. During the show we tore down a barn which became the floor for the set. My travels began by getting stranded at the Beijing airport: my flight was canceled and the airlines would not give me a new flight. I had to spend the night at the airport before I was rescued. However, we made up the time by finding the egg-shaped and very shiny National Theatre, climbing too much of the Great Wall, viewing the Olympic stadiums through an imposing fence, getting lost in the Forbidden City, photographng the pandas at the zoo, and strolling around the grounds of the Temple of Heaven. We also went to Qingdao for hydrobiking. Thailand was laden with tuk tuk rides, days at Thaksin University, gleeful trips to 7 eleven, and lots of laughter and love from our team and the people we met. Thailand was capped off by a few days lounging around an island, riding elephants, spending a half day in Bangkok, and making friends during the 31 hours of August 15 that we experienced (the sun rose twice on the same day).
So that's my summer in a nutshell (a very large nutshell with very small, cramped writing)and to prevent extended wordiness, I will also share some (several) pictures.



We got to dress up as firefighters when we went to tear down the barn.






A guard tower at the Great Wall.







The best bad translation ever. We found this at the Beijing Zoo.





The Temple of Heaven is a Beijing must-see. It is beautiful, accessible, and fascinating.








Our first tuk tuk ride.




The suprise crab in my waffle. I thought there was something fishy about that place...
(Additional photo commentary provided by Alexa)
Yep. We rode elephants.

Peer Pressure

I never wanted to be a blogger, yet here I am. At this time, I would like to point the finger at my sister, Rachel, and say, "She started it!"
I have spent the four months since Rachel began her blog hoping my other sister, Julie, would produce her own blog, but also knowing that if Julie did, I would feel compelled to start one of my own. Julie's blog is now established, so the time has come. I realize that this is not exactly peer pressure since no one told me or even asked me to do this, but I do feel like I gave in to somebody somewhere.
All that to say, welcome to the personal commentary on my life. I feel confident that I will find myself in plenty of ridiculous situations to merit a blog. If not, well, that's just me too.
Enjoy ;)