Happy Birthday!

A few days late, but happy birthday Michael!  Hope it was a blast!

Jersey

Just a note to say I finally made it to Madison and into my dorm room.  I was lucky somehow and ended up in a two-person room without a roommate.  The furniture has been completely rearranged to my liking and I've happily taken over every possible corner and drawer.  It's gorgeous here and quaint; I've already lost count of how many deer I've seen on campus.  I'm too tired to say any more, but I'm happy to be (mostly) settled in.

California Dreamin'

Late in April, I interviewed with South Coast Repertory in California. I was told that they would get back to me within the next week. Well, three weeks later I hadn't heard a thing and just assumed the worst -- I didn't get the job.

This Tuesday, I received a phone call offering me a position.

So. About two weeks after I finish up in New Jersey, I start rehearsals in California. Between September and mid-June I will be assistant stage managing three shows, but they are giving me my own show as well. I am extremely excited and extremely blessed to be a part of this company. I'm afraid that California may take quite a bit of getting used to, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. And hey, my first year out of school and I have some job in theatre. That's better than a lot can say.

Currently, I am making my way to New Jersey -- only a day and a half away from moving in. I'll spend the summer with Shakespeare then make my way to the other side of the country for some more good theatre work. This is the start of Chanis: Coast-to-Coast!

Graduating and Getting Gone

Alright.  An update on this week.

Friday: Most of the family came in for graduation weekend.  I had the opportunity to go out with some of my professors and other seniors for a couple hours while family was occupied, then went to dinner with them.  It started out a bit hectic, but was a nice evening overall.

Saturday: Graduation in the morning which wasn't as tedious as I had expected.  After all the dreading a morning ceremony, I became grateful to get it over with and carry on with my day.  The whole clan went to a steakhouse along the river for lunch.  Good company and a cozy restaurant (good to choose something off the beaten path) and some "green water" for the nephews to play along after the meal.  We even found a duck to feed.  Afterwards, we crammed into my overcrowded living room for a while, then most of the family took off.  My mom stayed and we did a little bit of shopping, a little bit of packing.

Sunday: Church, pack, pack, eat, pack

Monday: Early in the morning my mom and a couple of guy friends helped move me into storage in College Station.  Zach and Stephen are a great team and very friendly movers.  In fact, they were thanking me for giving them something to do.  Freebirds for lunch (yes!) then back to Waco.  Dinner and a movie with a friend, just because we had nothing better to do.

Tuesday & Wednesday: A little bit of erranding, a little bit of packing, quite a bit of the Mentalist.  Also, I got a job. (more on that later)

Thursday: The end of the errands.  Also, I fixed my own cruise control.  That's right.  Who needs big corporate dealerships?  Chevrolet Service Man was clearly not interested in fixing my car and made me order my own part (this may be normal for Chevrolet, but the guy was still rude).  Ordering was simple enough, but I didn't want to go back to the other guy.  When I picked up the part this morning, I saw that it was just a clip in, no fancy wiring involved.  Naturally, I went to the theatre, got a second opinion from the shop foreman and a screwdriver, then I popped out the old switch and installed the new one.  I have a working cruise control, didn't have to pay for labor, and now know to be skeptical of Chevrolet.  All in all, a pretty successful day so far.

Tomorrow is rehearsal dinner, Saturday the wedding, and Sunday I leave town for good.  Busy, busy, but good to be running again!

Master of the Mind

It's been a busy week (go figure), but back to the list!

A few weeks before our sophomore year Victoria Romberg (my freshmen roommate) and I discovered our mutual love of the game "Mastermind."  We played for a while on the gimpy facebook app, but it was nothing compared to the real thing.  Time after time we said that we should get together and play, but guess what, it didn't happen until last Tuesday.  It was a great way to do something fun and reminisce (or, to use a word I'm inventing, "nostalge") before parting ways.  We used the board's scoring system and played to 71, the perfect length for a set of games although 71 is the most random number.  On the way out the door, Victoria discovered my pirate gun (you actually shoot pirates out of the gun) which provided a great deal of entertainment.  We haven't seen each other much since we lived together, so I was grateful we could share the awesomeness that is Mastermind and nostalge a bit.

[scribbles and snapshots]

Hello.  I have started a new blog called [scribbles and snapshots] which is just what as the title suggests.  For this effort, I brought in some friends to help contribute since as you know, the more the merrier!  Check it out and enjoy!

Dam Picnic

My friend Lindsay has made several trips to the Waco Dam over the years and I was always curious to see it.  Once again, we have been planning to do this for a while and finally made it happen this week.  We decided to make a picnic out of it and bring along Anna and Victoria.  We enjoyed our sandwiches and fruit and brownies and the time spent sitting on the wall, watching the waves, and withstanding the wind.  It's a pretty place and I'm glad I finally went, especially with such good people.

Ironically, we had just settled in with our food spread out and ready to dig in when a work truck appeared on the road.  We had to pull everything aside to let them pass.  Oops!