How can you not be in love with beautiful blossoms, warm weather, and sunshine? It's getting really hard to stay inside. I just want to sit out on the grass and read and daydream.
The funny thing is that when I was younger, I hated being outdoors. I hated the bugs, the dirtiness, and the feel of grass. I couldn't get inside soon enough. Now it's the opposite. I wish I could plug my sewing machine and iron in outside and sit in the sun and sew.
On a whim after visiting teaching, I drove up to the temple (with the windows rolled down - my favorite) and just walked around as the sun set. It was magnificent. It was the perfect temperature, and quiet and still and I was quite content.
A lady at work told me today that I had Frida Kahlo hair.
This is what I first thought of:
Frida is sort of known for her uni-brow. But luckily she did not say I had that.
Below is a picture of my hair today. (And please don't mind the unpleasant look on my face. All the ones with with me smiling just looked silly.) I was picturing the picture above and wondering how there was resemblance.
Then I saw this picture:
Ah ha! Now that is tasteful. I'll that as compliment.
Now I really should do my finance homework.
It's a good thing it's the end of the semester.
Anyone notice that my posts have become more frequent with the approach of finals? Yes, blogging has become a nice form of procrastination for me. Hope you enjoy the fruits of my procrastination in the form of this post.
Today on the bus ride home I started feeling horrible. My head was pounding and my stomach didn't feel so great either. I normally do homework on the bus, but reading just made it worse. By the time I got home, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep it off, but of course I have homework so I couldn't do that. So instead I did some yoga, hoping it would help.
All the sudden it dawned on me. I hadn't eaten for 5 hours. Perhaps that had something to do with the misery I was in. Food sounded less than appetizing at the moment, but I slowly ate an orange anyway. I started to feel a little better. So I ate a piece of toast. And then another. And then a bowl of some casserole my mom made the night before. And then some brussel sprouts (yes, I like those things). And then some crackers. And drank two glasses of water. And guess what? I felt better!
Moral of the story. Take time to eat and relax. I forget to do that sometimes. I'm pretty sure I gave myself a migraine from stressing over school and lack of food. I had food in my backpack and I should have just eaten it, but I was too busy doing other things. Bad idea. Probably my lack of sleep hasn't helped either. So here are some goals for me as finals approach: eat, breathe, sleep.
Wish me luck on accomplishing those and doing well on finals ; )
That's how much time left until classes end. And I'm so excited.
This week was crazy busy with a research paper to write, a show to design, and banquets to attend. This research paper was assigned to us a week and a half before it was due - just because the professor forgot to assign it over a month ago. So I had to scramble to write it. I can't say it's the best thing I've ever written, but I gave it all I could with everything I had going on.
Then I inherited a play to design costumes for on Monday... and dress rehearsal is today. No big deal, I can whip up some costumes. ; ) It was a little crazy, but the good thing for me was that since I came in so late and helping them out last minute I gave them a lot of stipulations. For instance, I felt uncomfortable with some of the things in the play, so I told the director I wouldn't go to any of the rehearsals or performances. So I just drop off clothes and they let me know if there are any problems. It's great! And a lot of people are using their own clothes, so really it's not too horrible.
Then I had two banquets to attend, one was to accept a scholarship and the other was to induct new members to Phi Eta Sigma (an honor society I'm an officer in). On Tuesday I went to a banquet with members of the University of Utah Alumni Board to accept a scholarship for next year. It was very posh up in the Rice Eccles Stadium. I meant to take a picture of the beautiful view, but didn't. They served us black Thai rice as part of our meal and I loved it! I need to figure out where I can buy that stuff. It was a lovely evening and though it cut into my homework time, I was grateful for the opportunity to thank the board for giving me a scholarship. It will be such a blessing to me. It has lifted such a burden off of my shoulders. And it has opened up money so I can buy a car. I'm so looking forward to having the independence of a car again. Now if only I can find a car...
And although I spent a good chunk of my time doing homework this weekend, tomorrow I'm going to wish I did more. But you've got to stay well rounded. So I did play. Last night I went to a bachelorette party for an old roommate and friend and all but one of the girls we lived with were there. It was so delightful to have us all together again. How I'd missed those girls!
Anyway, I'm going to regret it if I stay up any more. I'm going to start my day early tomorrow. There's of course much to be done. Plays to read, dresses to make, applications to fill out, etc.
I was going to say something spiritual with it being Sunday and all, but I'm out of time. So just watch this instead:
Tonight I saw Laughing Stock at Pioneer Theatre (and apparently feel like blogging about it more than sleeping). It was fantastic and hilarious. It was a farce about summer theatre companies, the drama that happens backstage (and on-stage) when you put a bunch of actors together to put together three shows with very little time, money or resources. It was absolutely hilarious, and heartwarming at the same time to see this group of actors pull together.
It made me miss performing, probably more than I'd like to admit. There can be so much drama and craziness that happens on and off stage that can make it absolutely crazy (and perfect for a parody). But there is also a certain camaraderie that comes from the hours of working together. Sometimes I secretly wish that I was one of the actors in my classes and not the designer backstage. Not very often, but sometimes.
I loved my acting days in high school and junior high. I played Snow White in Into the Woods, Miss Dorothy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. Those were some of my favorite roles and some of my favorite memories in high school. Learning to tap dance in three inch heels, spending many hours memorizing lines and scrounging up costumes. I loved singing and laughing in the dressing rooms before shows and the cast parties afterwards. So many silly memories of my contact falling out of my eye on stage, or my mic being left on after I'd left stage and everyone could hear my conversation. Just silly things, but it was fun. I love the feeling of being a part of a group to create something wonderful. I suppose I get to do that now with costumes, but it's different. Most of the time the difference is good, but sometimes I wish I was on stage.
Me as a blonde Miss Dorothy
I'm on the left as Miss Cecily Cardew
(I do quite love being called Miss Cecily or Miss Dorothy or Miss V)
A little bit of nostalgia for you. But then that's what the play was about in a way.
Finally pictures from the show I designed last month!
Now, I didn't make any of these clothes from scratch - we didn't have a budget for it. But all the same, I'm pleased with how it turned out. It was quite an adventure hunting around school for clothes that could work or that I could alter. And this is the result! I'm also really proud of the girls learning how to do their hair in an appropriate late 60's do.
*I failed to give credit to the photographer, Michele Collins, who also did the lighting job. What a multi-talented girl!
Last weekend, I was reminded of the goodness of people. So here are two stories.
The first I saw on the bus on my way to work on Friday. The bus driver had pulled over to one stop and opened the doors and announced the route number. A blind lady was standing there waiting for a bus. She shook her head no and said she was waiting for the 200. Another lady came over to her and said, "The 200 is right behind," and took her arm to lead her over. It looked like they were complete strangers. It just warmed my heart to see someone reach outside themselves to help someone they didn't know.
The second story actually happened with me. Last Saturday as I was at lunch with my Grandma and my sister I received a call from a number that I didn't know. I answered it and this girl introduced herself as someone from my stake.
She asked me, "Are you missing a black and white striped scarf?"
"Yes!" I said, surprised. I'd misplaced my favorite scarf a few weeks ago and had sort of given up on finding it at this point.
"Oh good!" She said, "I saw someone leave a scarf on the bus a few weeks ago and thought it was you. I found your number through the stake website. I hope you don't mind me tracking you down."
Of course I didn't. I was very grateful to her that she would take the time to track down this girl she hardly knew to return a scarf. People are such glorious creatures. I'm grateful for the good examples of these people. They make me want to be better and serve more generously.
