CSU lost a student today. I really didn't even know him. Was introduced to him at a party and knew of him. And yet I still feel so incredibly sad for everyone who did know him, and his family. It sends replays into my mind of the moment I found out that Rea died. I don't wish these moments on anyone. All we can do is pray and hope and be there for each other.

Rest in Peace Joel.

Chaucy Monster

I had to make one of the toughest decisions I have ever made yesterday.

Chaucer had gone in to get neutered and while he was in we had him tested for Feline Leukemia because one of the other kittens in his litter had it. Since only one of the other kittens had it we were sure we had nothing to worry about but just wanted to get him tested. Well at 9:30 in the morning I got the call that he did in fact have it. My world came crashing own. I know it seems a bit melo dramatic that I was this upset over my cat being sick but really my little world didn't h ave far to fall. You see this also happened to be the morning of my best friend's father's funeral.

I called Josh to ask him what he thought we should do but he was just as distraught as I was. There were two choices. 1. Let him live. and 2. Have him put down. I wanted nothing more than to let him live. To have my little boy come home that very night as if nothing had happened. But I knew that by letting him live meant a lifetime of suffering for my little monster.

The way this illness works in cats is they either get sick and die or they live the rest of their life never being sick but always able to pass it on to others. But were we willing to take this 50/50 shot that he would not suffer? Did I mention that a cats life expectancy with leukemia is 3 months to 3 years? Our time with him would be numbered. Also he could never be around babies Even though cats can not spread the illness to humans a babies immune system is so low that it would still make them sick. Knowing that Josh and I want to start a family in about 5 years also made our time with Chaucer limited. And what were we going to do say well we wnat kids now so I guess it's time to put the cat down.

If you haven't already guessed we opted to have Chaucer put down. After seeing Ghost ( our yard cat) suffer until the day he died I just couldn't do that again. Of course I wasn't in Columbus when I made this choice so coming home today was so much fun. Walking in the front door and not being greeted by him was so very sad. My tiny house now feels large and empty. I have been the only one home for most of the day and I feel so depressed to be here by myself.

That little boy drove me up the wall. He chewed threw my cell phone charger, her chewed threw my ipod charger. He eat anything he could fit in his mouth. He always attacked my knitting and woke me up at 6:30 every morning. He bit my face and attacked my feet and always jumped in the sink.

And I am going to miss him so so much.

Nannying it up and some updates

For a month now I have been nannying to amazing little girls. It a job that is so much more amazing than I ever thought it would be. It is days full of playing and laughing a lots and lots of play dough. I am not saying that it is always easy. There are hissy fits and sibling rivalry but it is all a learning experience. I love these two little girls so much already.

Because of nannying I am busy all the time. Get off work around 5 trying to be in bed by 10 and trying to have a social life.... which for me really means knitting a whole lot. I am totally ok with this is :)

Springer starts back up on the 17th and I am so excited to be working in theatre again.

On a much sadder note something that I have been dreading for about 7 years now happened. My best friend's dad passed away . For some reason I thought that since we knew it had been such a long time coming that it would be easier but it just isn't. The Donaldsons have been my second family my entire life. I know that he is not suffering anymore and that he is at peace and that makes me feel a little better, but it will all just take time.

Things are going in a good direction right now. And I am happy with they way things are :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Yesterday my best friend Shannon got married :D

They had a beautiful location in Stone Mountain in a hotel that I didn't even know was behind the mountain.

She looked beautiful and so did the ceremony.

It was a wonderful day and I am so happy I got to spend it with her.

Wait..... Done Dog Done????

Tomorrow officially ends my summer at The Springer Theatre Academy.

-how is it possible that 40 days have already come and gone?!

Let's start with Go,Dog.GO!

What an amazing experience!!There were times when it was hard but it was always oh so much fun. My A5's were so amazing and talented. This is a very hard show, and they took on the challenge with eagerness and did so amazing! After two weeks of shows, it was very hard to see it end. To watch Springer students who have been doing this since they were 5 years old have to say goodbye to being a Springer Student. I am not going to lie. When they gave each other their tributes I lost it. I am so glad that I got this opportunity.

After the show closed it was right back into TA mode. Although with it being the week of 7 presentations it wasn't like I had to much teaching to do. It was a lot of watching what they had been working on and getting to sit there in awe of their talent. A4 made me cry like a little girl and impressed me more than they will ever know. A3 also showed great talent and put on a really cute show.

Tomorrow night is banquet. I have been told I am going to cry my eyes out. It is a time to honor all the hard work the students have done this summer. I am so proud of all of the students I got to work with this summer and am just so sad to see it come to an end.

I don't know what I was expecting to get out of this summer. But the knowledge and experience that I gained will be something that I never forget.

Summer Time and the Living is Hectic

I think it is safe to say that this is one of the busiest summers that I have had to date. Since I haven't updated since graduation I guess I will start with Maymester.

So this May CSU started the Columbus Rep Theatre. This means that for 3 weeks I did nothing but work in the scene shop and go to rehearsals for Nunsense. It was a hectic and stressful time but all in all worth it. The girls are amazing and the show looks great. The process was not without it's drama and it's craziness but for the most part a very enjoyable time.

Now on to June. 23rd birthday, woot! 2 years with Josh! And now Springer Theatre Academy! We are in week 3 of Academy and I am loving it! Getting to see so many groups of kids grow over the last 3 weeks have been so amazing. It is crazy at times and comes with a lot of mornings waking up way before I want to but it is so worth it.

Already I have gotten used to waking up at 7am. This also means that on the weekends I am normally up by 8 or 9 since this is now sleeping in for me. I have gone back to my extreme hermitness and going to bed before midnight but let's be real I am ok with this.

Also on the agenda for this summer has been a whole lot of reading! I am on my 9th book since May. It is one of my favorite things of the summer, just having the time to read a good book at the end of the day to help me unwind.

Josh is busy sending off resumes and trying to land his dram job. I however am trying not to stress about my job situation until later in July. I may have a job in the works but nothing is too final yet. As the summer goes on I am able to completely evaluate a game plan for life after college and look into possibilities that are arising.

Goodbye Undergrad

I have been putting off writing this, as if not writing it will stop the end of my undergrad from coming. But I know that is not how it works.

These five years at CSU have been some of the best and the worst times of my life. I have grown so much as a person, as an actor, a technician and a teacher. Who would have thought that a girl who knew so little about theatre would leave someone so confident in an art that they love. Yes there have been hard times. Yes there are times that I want to throw in the towel, but in the end this is who I am and what I want to do.

I want to end this with some advice to my freshman self.

1. Get enough sleep, but the nights you stay up too late with your friends just because will be magical.

2.Eat. Even when you feel like you don't need to, eat.

3.Study, after all it is what you are here to do.

4.Take every opportunity and make some of your own.

5.Don't be afraid to let people in.

6. Dating is scary, and no one is really good at it.

7. Don't let the cast list dictate your happiness.

Times are going to be hard, but you are going to learn so much from them. This is your time to do what you want to do and learn what you want to learn so enjoy it.

So with that I say goodbye to my undergrad and hello to my new life.

An update on the life of a burnt out college student

As we reach this point in the semester I find it harder and harder to care about most things. Mostly school. There are days I am sure I could just sleep all day but I am never quite sure if that would even help this eternal state of half awake I seem to find myself in. Some days I even forget that I am almost done. In 19 days I will walk across that stage and worry about what comes next. Like I haven't been worrying about that for the last five years...

As strange as it sounds I don't always feel ready to leave. I know that I am ready but I am not always sure that my heart and my head are in the same place. I like school. I get burnt out on it but in the end I really like school. I like being a student. It isn't even a because it is a carefree lifestyle thing. Or a not wanting to grow up thing. I just like school. It makes me wonder if I should look into grad programs, but I just can't will myself to do it. As much as I like school, I think that I have been in some sort of a learning center/school since I was 9 months old and it makes me realize that it is time to get out.

But on the now. 2 weeks of classes left. 19 days till graduation. A whole lot of stress in between. And an strange calm that has set over me.

My last spring break

53 days.

In 53 days I will walk across the stage and be a graduate of CSU. This is still sinking in.

But on to things that don't give me stress dreams.

Last week was my last spring break! It was a great week of relaxing and getting to spend time with friends. On Thursday My mom, Josh and I drove down to Savannah. We went to just check some places out for the wedding. After doing some research from home we were all coming to the conclusion that the wedding might have to be somewhere else. As bummed as I was about this I knew it might be for the best money wise. After looking around on the first day it was looking like Savannah was even more out of the question than we thought. Considering the only place we really liked was a ten thousand dollar MINIMUM!! However on day two we fell in love with a venue.

This is the courtyard of the Mulberry Inn. The lighted room you can see is where the dinner will take place and the doors at the back of the courtyard leads to the dancing area. It was perfect for us. And at a price that didn't make us want to get married by Elvis.

Of course once you have a venue and hear the price the money thing starts to weigh on your mind.I am more than a little stressed out about how many people to invite and were to get the money to pay for this but I know that it will all work out in the end.

While in Savannah I got sick. ugh. I tried so hard to pretend that I wasn't but to no avail. That was a week ago, and I am still sick and now so is Josh.

Internship wise things are still going great. I don't get to work there as many hours as I was before because my new class has started but I am still at least 10 hours a week.

Now I just have to sit back and enjoy my last little time in college. 53 days... wow.

Week 3

These last two weeks of my internship have been a lot of work and a lot of fun!

Last weekend was my very last Thescon. I am happy to say that not only did I survive but it also ran very smoothly. There are always some bumps in the road but nothing too big. It is so strange to know that it is my last Thescon I ever have to go to.

On the internship side I have been busy busy busy! The season announcement party is the 24th so I have been preparing for that. It means a lot of envelopes need to be stuffed and a lot of lists need to be looked at to make sure no one has been left off the list or that we aren't sending invites to the same person more than once. I feel like I am always in a battle with my new nemesis, the printer. I will win this one!

In Dreams/Nightmares opens this week, which is crazy to believe because I feel like we just started. I am both nervous and excited for it to go up. But mainly just excited that I get to see my family and friends!

Internship

New Year, new Internship.

Unlike my last two internships this one is a little closer to home. And of course by a little I mean 15 minutes from my house. This semester I am interning at The Springer Opera House (http://springeroperahouse.org/plaintext/home/home.aspx).

My positions doesn't excatally have a name. I am the nomad of interns. If someone needs help doing something well than that is what I am doing for the day. Right now I am printing hundreds of envelopes and praying that none of them end up upside down...

Unlike my last internship blog I do not plan on updating this one every day. How know, it could happen but I'm not planning on it this time. So here is my list of things I am excited about with this internship


1. Getting to work somewhere that I know people and the place.
2. Getting to work in many different areas of the theatre.
3. Getting to sit in on rehearsals for the different shows going on.


I'm sure there are more but the printing is distracting me.

Pushing Those Limits

This week has been a big challenge for me physically.

Everyday I have either worked out, danced or both. I can feel it in every part of my aching body too. My joints hurt, my feet are sore, my knees and back are bruised and I love every minute of it!

It has pushed my knee and ankle to their limits. I can't even remember the last time my ankle really got swollen but it sure did last night. Luckily Josh went out and bought me an awesome ice pack. My knee has been hurting but it is always hard to tell if it is because it is actually hurt or because it is so flipping cold outside!

It has been a great first week of my last semester :)

Cabin Fever

I find it funny that when I get Cabin Fever I get productive.

I've loved having this time off but I am going stir crazy. Case and point the house. Since this break started I have reorganized every room in the house but the bath room and Megan's bedroom. I've done loads of dishes, witch is the one chore I don't have to do here. We bought a bookshelf and moved all of Josh's and my's movies onto it. This caused us to move the chair and to reorganize the bookshelves in the other room. I've cleaned out the drawers in my bedroom and threw out a bunch of stuff that I don't need anymore. I even got Josh to get rid of some of his old shirts. I even cleaned off my vanity and made it much more usable.

I have also found loads of time to cook and bake. It has been wonderful! It is something that I have always loved to do but just never really have the time for. I know that once classes start tomorrow the only real day I will have time to cook a big meal will be on Sundays. Other days I will have to make due with the fast recipes that I have found.

I will be sad to see this free/productive time go but at the same time I am so ready to be busy again. I also know that after I graduate I wont always be busy with things I like to do so I guess I will embrace this time while I have it.

Resolutions

I'm normally not big on New Years resolutions. They don't get kept or I forget about them. This year I plan on doing some that I think I can actually do.

1. 365 Picture Project: This is something I have wanted to do for a while but decided to wait until the new year to start. You have to take at least one picture every day of the year. I have already put up my first one on Facebook!

2. No Jeans for 1 month. I read about this on Collegefashion.net I wear a lot of jeans so I think this will be a fun challenge for me.

3. Another idea from college fashion, One month dedicated to dresses. I own a few dresses so this wont be the hardest thing in the world but I think the fun part will be finding new ways to wear the dresses so they don't get boring.

4. Read at least one book that is a classic that I just never got around to reading before.


That is were I am starting for now.


Cheers to 2011!