Thursday, November 15, 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012

From Russia with Love...

St Petersburg is kind of da bomb.
Boating along the Neva River with that boy I married.

And who goes boating without their knitting I ask you!?

We are in St. Pete because the lad is now a graduate student at a Southern California university for theatre set design (so super proud of him!) The professor who runs his program grew up in St Pete, defecting to the US in the 1980s. He still runs a theatre company in St. Pete that his father started, and a required study abroad course is having the students come to Russia and assist for a semester on whatever play they are working on at the moment. The company has been working on Maxim Gorki's play "Dachniki" (usually translated to "The Summer Folk" or "Cottagers") for four years, and we have been mounting the production, and now that the show is in production, we serve as technical staff.

Me chillin' with Maxim Gorki

Gorki is a bit of a controversial figure in modern Russian theatre. His writing is very clearly pro-communist at a time when people were still warming up to communism as a concept. He was touted as the theatrical voice of the Soviet Union by Stalin, and was a very popular playwright in the USSR. However, Stalin did that thing that he had a habit of doing when he claimed to think someone other than him was the best ever: he had Gorki assassinated. Yaaaayyyy.

As a result, a lot of post-USSR theaters have really shied away from performing his plays, given the strong Pro-Stalinist Bolshevik overtones and memories. This production has been really interesting to work on, and to see even how the company reacts to the material.

The company has been amazingly warm and welcoming, helping us navigate the city, Russian drinking, and how to use the metro. In spite of limited English (and less than limited Russian for the Americans), everyone is relatively understood, and everyone gets along.

Some of the amazing things we have gotten to explore: Mushroom picking in the woods around Pavlosk Palace, exploring Peterhof (the fabulous gilded palace of Peter the Great), going to the Hermitage in the Winter Palace (for free with student IDs!) every week (or even a few times a week), going to the Russian Museum (where amazing paintings by Russian artists that Americans have never heard of are stored by the score), and several shows at the Alexandrinsky Theatre with mindblowing sets and costumes. All funded by the Russian Government.

Nothing make me want to be an artist more than being in Russia. I hear that people also feel this way going to Paris, but it smacks you in the face here. Constantly. I have seen more people who actually make their living by painting and acting here than I ever did in New York. 

On Monday (after the husband's birthday), we will be heading to Moscow to visit for a few days. Can't wait!


Monday, September 24, 2012

That's it.

I suck at blogging. But to be frank, a lot has been going on.

May: Got married.

June: Designed lights for and helped mount an off-off Broadway show.

July: Turned a quarter of a century.

August: Packed up apartment, put everything in storage, and got on a plane to Berlin. Amazing, mindblowing theatre.

September: MOVED TO RUSSIA. (until December, but still!)

So. Starting this up again.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

I am terrible at this.

But I am not terrible at this:









150 yds of silk thread and a few almost-blistered fingers later, I am ready to sleep.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Sometimes I break a chain...

But I can't take pictures of what I'm embroidering! It's a belated birthday present for my sister... So once it's in the mail, and she has it in her hands can I post it.

ONLY. THEN.

In other news, Amanda, writer of Proverbial Pen and Ink, is one of the best and most thoughtful people in my life, and I am glad every day to be associated with her.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

More photos, and NERDS!

It seems that Sundays are just getting to be lazy slug days, so here are some photos. I was accomplishing things, I swear!:
Sashiko and Vlogbrothers

So much love.  

 So for readers who don't know, The Vlogbrothers are vloggers... Who are brothers.
They are totally amazing and smart fellows (John, the elder brother, is an awesome New York Times bestselling young adult author, and his brother Hank is an environmentalist/head of a record company/creator of VidCon, a Youtube convention that I WANT TO GO TO), who encourage their viewers to make the world a better place and think about issues complexly.

They spearheaded a movement for their viewers and the world to embrace being enthused about things and people, specifically encouraging such obsessions that will make you a smarter, more thoughtful individual. Some call it nerdy. They call it NERDFIGHTERS. (Not like fighting the nerds, but like being a freedom fighter.)

To demonstrate my love for Nerdfighteria and all that it stands for, here's a quick example:
The rallying cry of a nerdfighter is the phrase, said in many a video, "Don't Forget to be Awesome."

This has also been shortened to an initialism, which has become the name of Hank's music company, and is a good reminder for life in general. That's maybe why...

It's tattooed on my inner arm.
 Along with this, which is not a nerdfighting quote, but which I'm pretty sure that any nerdfighter will agree with:

Other inner arm. It says "I am still learning" in Italian.
Now
1: You know the things that I need to remind myself of every day

And

2: You can identify my corpse, if need be.

Now

3: I am hungry and am going to eat dinner.


Saturday, June 2, 2012

I need to go to bed,

So I'll just leave you with this bit of amazing.

Enjoy:


You're welcome.

Late with a post, but here it is!

Today was pretty terrible. I hate crying at work, and I really hate when people who have no idea how to do my job tell me how I am not doing it properly, when I have been doing everything in my power to make the business run as smoothly as possible.

But, I managed to make it through the day without taking any headache meds (trying to save my stomach lining) but it was mostly thanks to some surreptitious Sashiko that I smuggled into the office:

Because I busted out the macro lens for the Sashiko photo (y'all deserve better photos), I decided to take some detail photos of Joan!

Enjoy!



Those eyebrows and ears are microscopic...

Torso shot!

 Just need to finish Joan's books and Pen necklace, and then this girl is good to rule the office!

The evening got significantly better by meeting that boy I like for dinner and a movie; We went to the AMAZING Landmark Loews Jersey to see the original "The Producers," as part of their "Screwballs and Screwups" weekend. I love this theatre-- if my readers are ever in the Jersey City area, they must try to see something at this extraordinary 1920s movie palace.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

I am tired.

I need to figure out a way to write during the day. These posts are getting sad.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Today was gross.

I felt icky and vomitocious all day, so I skipped going to get blood drawn this evening and just came home.

The only things that will make situations like today better are reading some Game of Thrones, cuddling up on the couch to watch Seinfeld with the boy, and

working more on Joan.

I need to take better pics of her... All of her skin is done in microscopic single-threaded backstitch and stem stitch. 

I really need to remind myself that these are towels, not museum pieces. Nobody cares if her ear stitching is the sort of thing that I really should be doing with a magnifying glass.

But it still makes me so proud.

The next project to tackle with some embroidery is a project that is much bigger. Roommate and best friend/best man Alex is a gifted cartoonist, who has developed a family of characters that (fictionally) reside in the crazy turreted house at the end of our street. They are rather Addams-like in tone, but much angrier and more neurotic. I have a series of embroideries planned, so that he can have someone do something with these characters. I don't think that I will be able to make all of the smaller, individual portraits before we move to foreign parts, but I want to see if I can get a group portrait done by his birthday. Blamsfords, here we come!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Accomplishments of the Day:

1:Day from hell at work, where everything went wrong

BUT

Decided not to care too much.

And that made all the difference.

2: Went through 200+ applications for stockperson jobs (not technically my job, but something that we have figured out that I am quite good at doing) and narrowed down the search to nice people who know how to do the job for interviews over the next few days. It feels nice to potentially be able to offer a good person employment, and to have a supervisor that I am not overly fond of let me do something I am good at AS WELL AS admit that sometimes my judgement is better than hers.

and

3: Joanie got a face/Outfit:

Looking good, Joan. Looking good!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Lazy sluggy day, full of stitching!

In the best possible way.

I've been embroidering all day on my Joan Holloway/Harris towel:


Still working on Joanie...

but the typewriter is finished!

Embroidery is perfect for sluggy days.

I think that I am falling in love with stem stitch. It looks so ropey and pretty... It is funny that it took me YEARS to figure out how to do it. Now I can't stop!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

The Book Thing.

So, I was talking with Ben about the papers I had written in college, specifically the papers that I wrote in my senior year. I wrote a paper about the nuclear bomb as portrayed in Cold War film and media which proved meandering but completely engrossing to write and research.

I was explaining to him that the film The Manchurian Candidate came out at the height of the Cuban Missile crisis, and than contrasted the media reaction to films with sensitive material coming out after the attacks of 9/11 (specifically the postponement of the release of the film Big Trouble, which featured a plane hijacking as a major plot point.)

After a lengthy discussion, we started compiling an outline for a book about the systemic shift among the American public and media in their reactions to film and television from the era of World War II to the post 9/11 era, specifically regarding violent conflicts and their portrayals.

The real reason I think that this book is worth pursuing is that my generation and I were the target audience for the films made after the post 9/11 period, both from an escapist, "comfort-food" angle, and in the films examining the whys and wherefores of the 9/11 tragedy and Iraq War.

Whaddia think, reading audience?

Saturday, May 26, 2012

4 minutes to go.

I have four minutes to post.

Today was spent meeting about Box Colony Theatre, and trying to beat the heat.

Tomorrow I will think through book things and I ask that you question my book ideas as much as possible! I need critics to poke holes in my ideas!

Friday, May 25, 2012

OH!

So I had this idea, whilst talking to my husband, about media and movie stuff. The idea was too big for a paper.

It's gotta be a book.

So. That's happening. So so slowly.

Outlines and stuff.

Still tired.

tired. So tired.

I am so bad at the blogging thing.


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

In which I am a dirty rotten chain breaker.

So.

That happened.

BUT:

While I know I broke the chain, important things were happening.

Things like this:



I got married!!!!!!


It was pretty amazing, and I am thrilled to be married to my favorite human in the world.

The chain is back on!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

I had a super busy day

And have no real time to write.

But DAMNIT, I WILL NOT BREAK THE CHAIN!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Five Days.

I am getting married in five days.

I am stressed about everything other than committing to Ben.

I say that that is better than the alternative.

However, it also means that I am cutting myself a little blogging slack.

I shall be brief for the next few days. I am going to try and get some pictures up so that my lack of words will not be quite so so evident.

:P

Thanks for the patience of my (as of now) limited audience.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Dang, Magz.

Stop with the blogging fails.

Seriously.

I mean come on. I know that your wedding is in six days and that you needed to get your hands looking like adult hands again, and yes, you did need to re-dye your hair so that the hot pink tone it was is not so evident.

But really, did you need to watch three episodes of Bob's Burgers?

(...)
(...)
(...yes.)

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mother's Day, and Banana Nut Muffins.

I had a crazy night last night, and I will go into further detail about it tomorrow.

Tonight I want to talk about Mother's Day.

My mom and I are really two peas in a pod. The same things make us angry, and we push people's buttons in the same way. This means that though we love each other to pieces, we drive each other up a wall on a fairly frequent basis. (It also means that we feel horrible in the same way about making each other insane, and have long periods of butting heads to fix said instances of turning each other nutso.)

However, tonight I want to talk about a really interesting thing that happened to me recently.

As you know if you've been reading, I have committed to writing on this blog every day. What I have not said before is that I have a separate (and also difficult) writing challenge for myself of keeping a daybook/journal/braindumpster/whathaveyou in paper form as well, with the commitment to write in it every day. The original intent was to use it for something like a planning book for this blog, to develop ideas and make them stronger for self publishing on this public forum. However, as is usually the case with me, I was having a hard time getting started.

So I wrote about my pen.

I have a strong love of office supplies that borders on obsessive-compulsive. (I am pretty sure that I also acquired this from my mother as well.) I required the paper surface for my notebook to be smooth and creamy in texture, thick but not too thick, and pens that glide, with ink that looks amazingly black and rich before it dries.

For this notebook I had treated myself to new pens, medium point black gel, that I had recognized in the store as a tool I had used before and enjoyed. I don't think I remembered where I had originally used it, but I knew it would serve in the meantime.

It was not until I wrote in the date that I remembered that this was not just a good pen. This was an AWESOME pen. Ink flowed out beautifully, with no globs in sight, giving me just the right blacker-than-black sheen before drying enough not to smudge. It made my horrible chicken scratch handwriting look nice (or if not nice, charmingly artistic.)

It came back like a punch in the stomach where I had used this pen first.

In 2008, my family went to visit my older brother in Morocco, where he was living and working at the time. I was a miserable little snot on this trip for a variety of reasons, mainly that I was not willing to admit to myself that I was already dealing with major depression. I was determined to be unhappy on this voyage, and so far was living up to my goal rather well.

On the particular day in question, we were making a jaunt to Berber territory, where there was a waterfall. We learned upon arriving that the trip to the waterfall required a significant hike up a very steep mountain. I am pretty sure that hiking is one of my private circles of hell, especially when it is 90 degrees outside. Living up to my goals once again re:miserable snottyness, I baulked and told my family that I would be staying at the bottom, thankyouverymuch. I did not desire more blisters than I had already gotten on our few days in Morocco.

My mother, bless her, decided that she would stay at the bottom of the mountain with me, where we found shade in a tiny Berber cafe. I had planned on knitting on a shawl that I was working on, but quickly got bored. My mother is an avid travel journaler, and had bought a pack of assorted gel pens for the trip. She handed me a burgundy pen, and suggested that if I was bored, I could write in my journal, or maybe get a head start on postcards.

I wrote more in that journal than I had on any trip up to that point. It was an amazing afternoon that I would not trade for anything. For several hours, I was able to forget my horrible attitude, and have a genuinely amazing time with the woman who is almost too much like me to handle.

I hope she remembers that day as fondly as I do, and I hope she knows how amazing I think she is every day, even when one of us is driving the other crazy.

I love you Mom. Happy Mother's Day.

The following clip (just to lighten the mood) is from Adaptation. I saw this clip tonight in the excellent screenwriting documentary Tales From the Script, and it illustrates the primary issue I have when writing. Take it away, Nick Cage:


Saturday, May 12, 2012

More storytime...

And written at a time when I am not about to keel over with exhaustion. Yay Saturdays!

In the aftermath of the crazy, I decided to let go of a major part of what was stressing me out, namely the job that was literally giving me hives. After floundering around in the unemployment pool (including working for a scam artist for a terrible week), I found a job at a costume construction shop in Manhattan, shopping for Broadway costumes. I learned a ton about fabric, being nice to doormen, the garment district, and also about not putting up with verbal abuse. (This shop was MESSED UP. The owners would routinely WAIL at the top of their lungs or scream at employees, while everyone around them would be expected to act as if nothing abnormal was happening.)

On the day that my direct supervisor decided to call me stupid to my face, I decided enough was enough. I marched down to one of the fabric shops where I had been a frequent patron with my resume, and was fortunate enough to have walked in right as they were hiring for Halloween (the busiest time in fabric-shoppingdom), so I was asked if I could come in the next Monday. I've been working there ever since (starting on the sales floor, then having them figure out that I'm bad at sales but good at talking to people, so being moved to giving tours and chatting with out of towners, and finally to my current position of being receptionist/Director of Student Activities.)

Just found out that we have to be in CA by August 20th. Dates are exciting and scary.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Today was busy...

So I didn't get to write as much as I had hoped.

This seems to be a theme.

On the bright side, my boss very generously gave me the fabric that I was about to buy for free, as a wedding gift.

The fabric is indigo-colored silk crepe de chine. This means:
  1. It's an amazing color, like navy with more personality. (As my roommate Alex says, navy is for quitters, and Ben and I have adopted the family motto of "No excuses, play like a champion." Therefore I need some navy with punch, yo!)
  2. It's crepe de chine, so it's got a matte-er look to it, it drapes like a chocolate fountain, and it's hand washable, which is especially great because--
  3. It's silk, so it breathes and feels AMAZING. And because of the crepe de chine thing, it bypasses the ordinary problems of silk (i.e. it needs to be drycleaned most of the time or it spots.)
YAAY.

It's going to make a kick-ass dress. Now I just have to get over the sewing machine fears D:

I also got my nails done in anticipation of the wedding in 9 DAYS! I keep staring at my hands. They have never looked this grown-up before. It's honestly a little baffling. My brain feels like I'm 13, and my hands give me away as a woman in her mid-20s.

When did that happen?!!?

More of the saga of getting to where I am today tomorrow. Tonight, sleep.



Thursday, May 10, 2012

Let's start at the very beginning...

I think it will be helpful to explain how I got to the need to start this blog.

Confession: I am an over-researcher, and and under-doer. I can research until the cows come home about how to do almost anything creative, whether tactile or intellectual, but freeze up when the time comes to execute the thing that I have been researching. This is an attempt to put a stop to a frankly stupid habit. If I want to be a better writer, I have to get out there and just do it!

A short synopsis of how I got to the greater NY area:

My soon-to-be husband and I met at college in Baltimore, where we were very active in our theatre department. Through one of our professors, I got an opportunity to assistant direct for him in a NYC Off-off Broadway premier. As we had very close friends in the NY/NJ area, we decided to move in with our excellent sarcastic friend from college in Jersey City.

The day after graduation, we drove up to New Jersey. (I remember looking at the Statue of Liberty and thinking "What a cute Statue of Liberty model!", forgetting that it was the real deal.)

After spending two crazy (unpaid) months working on my first professional credit, I ended up floundering about in the unemployment pool for a few weeks, generally feeling worthless without work that would be intellectually stimulating. This was not alleviated by my employment at a grocery store with an overly perky attitude. At the same time, I was slated by my non-profit theatre company to direct one of the two short plays for our premier production.

While working at the store provided me a way to make money (though not enough to pay bills), I was hit with a wave of crippling depression, only made worse by the anxiety of losing actors and wrestling with members of my own company. While I managed (by the skin of my teeth) to get through the production process, I also learned that I need to cut myself a little slack and be willing to ask for help when I need it.

I am going to continue tomorrow. With the note, please remind me that when I help, I should ask for it. Like a normal person.


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

So...

I stink and didn't write a proper post today.
I spent my time making an awesome dance mix for my wedding reception.
You're welcome.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

First post, explaining future adventures

Getting married in 12 days to the love of my life.

In our first year of marriage, we will be moving not just from the NY metropolitan area to Long Beach, California, but also spending some months in Russia, studying theatre in St. Petersburg.

It would make sense to chronicle this journey, and so I am starting this blog.

My hope is to write a little (or a lot!) here every day, not only to record our crazy adventures, but to make myself more comfortable with writing with an audience.

Please leave comments, questions, and feedback! I want to start conversations, keep up with friends all over, and make new ones. I have been a lookie-loo in the blogosphere for far too long, and would love to connect with some of the amazing people that write here on the web every day.