Guess Who Said Yes?

Sometimes possibilities don't come in the way that you expect but are often a better fit than you planned. We'll see what the future holds, but USC said "yes." Do I feel like I have been marked with a big fat validation stamp? You bet.

A Merry Celebration of Un-Birthday... Joy.

To say that strange people gravitate toward me is a minimization. The frequency at which I find some stranger wanting to tell me something bizarre has grown at a rate that can be only described as alarming. Sometimes I feel like I have fallen down a hole and found myself lost in a world of madness.

Today, I stopped at a nearby grocery-type store near where I work. My mood was somewhat tense; I was trying to manage three things at once and I hadn’t eaten all day. As I stood in line with my fruit and ice cream cone lunch (yes, I have turned to frozen treats as a way to cope with stress) I heard a high pitched, gargling voice announce, “Yes, this should tide me over until the end of the conference.” There was a strange force to this voice, loud and declarative, like he was talking to everyone in the room but no one was interested. The volume and intensity of the voice suggested that he was directing these comments to me. I was hesitant to turn and look. “Yep. This should be good.” Damn it. Some idiot is trying to get my attention. My head turned slightly to reveal a pimple-faced, twenty something with a bag of gummy worms and a Styrofoam basin of chicken fingers. “There is a conference next door.” “Hmm,” I replied. Apparently he missed my disinterest because he kept on going. “Yeah, it is a science fiction conference. Are you a student here?” “Uh, no. I work next door.” “Oh, well if you were a student you could go for free. But there are all sorts of workshops and lectures. It is really amazing.” “Cool.” I nod my head and try to get the cashier’s attention. “Let me show you.” He balances his food on the display next to us and reaches into his bag to pull out a schedule. Glancing at the schedule I see a lectures like, Bella as a Mother: The Fantasy and Danger of Vampire Offspring and Wizards, Unicorns and You. I nodded and paid for my indulgent lunch, walking away without a word. I guess I should be grateful. It is not every day you run into a walking stereotype. The problem is that this wasn’t the first time some very odd stranger approached me.

Last night I was standing in the fabric store looking at buttons. I swear, I was minding my own business when this lady with a wobbly voice and a shock of white hair to me announced, “I finally found it!” I thought she was talking to herself so I continued looking through the vintage reproduction buttons. “This will be perfect.” She said it a little bit louder, as if to get someone’s attention. I looked in the opposite direction and the past her, down the aisle. Crap. I am the only one here. Smiling, I said, “Oh, what did you find?” She showed me an iron on pattern book with a line drawing of clothes hanging on a line. “I am organizing a reunion and the theme is: Things I Remember About My Mother.” “Oh, how nice.” “My sister and I used to put these things together but she just died.” Tears begin to well in her eyes. “I am so sorry to hear that.” “I bought some fabric for a table cloth. My mother used to hang our clothes out on the line. I wanted to put this image on that cloth.” “What a lovely thought, fabric blowing in the breeze.” “Yes. We used to have chickens. She would chop their heads off and hang them from the line, too. I think I am going to add that to the picture.” “Oh.” She thanked me for talking to her. I told her it was my pleasure. Now I can’t get the image of bloody chicken heads hanging from a clothes line out of my mind.

The third story is a little less detailed. The names and particulars have been withheld to protect the idiots. Let’s just say that earlier this week somebody told me that they loved me in the romantic, I-Can’t-Get-You-Off-My-Mind Way and I became incensed. Not a normal response to a declaration of love, right? Well, it is a pretty complicated situation but one of the things that annoyed me about this pronouncement was that they don’t know me AT ALL.

And that brings us to the thesis question of this blog: Why do the denizens of Crazytown know my address and invite themselves over for a tea party? Is there an invitation on my back to an un-birthday engagment in their honor? Is it the way I look? Is it the way I carry myself? I don’t think I am encouraging these people. If you have the answer, perhaps in the form of an “Eat Me” or “Drink Me” potion, I would be much obliged. I miss my cat.

This Week= Potential for Baldness

Let’s amble down the lane of memories to that day when I decided to forgo applying to UT Austin and Stanford because I didn’t want to take the GRE. There was no point, right? Only a few programs required that test. Why bother? Blissfully I filled out my applications, relieved that although I was spending hours and hours in front of a computer writing essays and treatments, I would not have to spend 4 and a half more taking some inane examination.

Last Monday, my dreams were smashed to bits.

Guess where I am going to be Wednesday morning? That is right: sitting in front of a computer, pretending like I know the definitions of parsimonious and dilettante and that I can remember if the hypotenuse of a right triangle is twice the length of one of the sides then it is a 30-60-90 triangle with the third side equaling s√3. Easy, right? Shut up English and math majors… that question was sardonic and rhetorical.

So, wish me luck as I prepare for this test and work another 56 hour week prepping for two different shoots this weekend. Why do I have to have three shows in production? I am going to lose all of my freaking hair. Guys are into bald chicks, right?

Warning: This is a procrastination blog. It may very well contain nothing of substance.

Here I am again, in the middle of the night, putting off the assignment that needs to be accomplished before the morning. If I were an adjective, I would be “exhausted.” Before you go and think that I am whining without a good reason, consider the forty hours I have put in this week and it is only Wednesday. Well, technically, NOW it is Thursday. Picky, picky.

We start our shoot for my next big show in fewer than eight hours. Will I sleep? Will I shower before my 12-hour day? Who can say? All I can do is report the good news for this week:

1. Emotional wellness plant = purchased, thriving and living in a frog-shaped
pot.
2. Overtime pay- it is days like this that I am grateful that I am not a
salaried employee or contractor. There aren’t very many but today is one of
those days.
3. Discovered I have the ability to crochet fish net stockings and creepy
lingerie. When I told Heather this fact, she reminded me that I owe her that
coconut bra I promised her when she got married. She is right; I totally do.
4. I am finally catching up with my laundry. This sounds like a stupid thing
but I assure you, it has been a long time coming and everyone is grateful.

Okay, I am tired. Maybe a two hour nap and then on to the budget? Wish me luck.

Now the Ramblings...

Once upon a time there was a girl who wouldn’t go to bed despite her early morning meeting. This behavior was completely senseless considering how exhausted she would be when the light of morning snuck through the blinds. Could this girl be saved from herself? Would this girl make it to bed without kicking, screaming and doing a little crocheting to calm her down? Probably not. What does this say about her character? What will become of this sleepy twit? Who knows… but I bet whatever it is, the results are not going to be good. This blog? Case in point.

Good News!

Guess who got her first grad school interview invitation? You know it! What am I going to do next, you ask? I am going to Disney World!

Seeing the Good

From July of 2010 until about now, I have kept myself busy with a project with the working title of "Be the Good." Eventually the project was divided into two groups, Human Kind and Ripple Effect. Despite its obstacles that seemed insurmountable and its untimely demise, it has been one of the most rewarding projects I have ever completed. The people I met and worked with were jaw-droppingly awesome. I would find myself excited to go to work, make new acquaintances and learn all of the ways people created goodness all around them. Here are links to some of my favorites including the piece about Maria Fano, which I directed.

Maria Fano
Jayson Edwards
Jeff Sanford
Michael Padeken
Charlie Sigler
Roi Maufus
Ben Dubin-Thaler
Caroline Eckhert
Larry Wang
The Jacksons

There are so many others that I love... if you have the interest and the time, there are several pages of Human Kind and Ripple Effect pieces.