Bloggiversary

It's November already my sneaky loves. And upon sitting down to write this post I realized that it has been over a year now since I started this blog!

I started it for a few reasons. For something to do, to keep my family and friends updated on my life, and to start something positive in my life which wasn't so peachy for me a year ago. A lot has changed in the last year. I've moved on from the end of college, the end of a relationship (which had a lot to do with why I started the blog), I've met so many new and amazing people, traveled to new places, made an amazing amount of new friends, worked like 12 different jobs, learned to act (still working on that one), became a runner, and in general have expanded my horizons. It's been quite a learning year. But I can honestly say I am in a much better place now then I was a year ago. Progress- positive progress- thats really all that matters.

This is week 7 of Conservatory. We are now rehearsing As You Like It and working on our scenes. I'm feeling really great about my part in the show now. Behold my inspiration:


O yes... Amiens the singing minstrel man has become Amiens the singing pregnant hippie. You are welcome theatre goers. I'm so pumped about this- you have no idea.

And what else have I been up to lately?

Some Halloween


Some fun times with this pretty lady

Some Mr. Potato Head... unfortunately

And as of Sunday I have reached 14 miles in a day for my Marathon training. I was supposed to be running my first Half Marathon this weekend but they changed the dates to next weekend and I can't do it then because of a workshop we have for Conservatory. Boo. But I already know I can do that distance so I guess I don't need a medal to tell me how awesome I am. And I'll be skipping right to training for a Marathon in the spring. Probably the Cleveland Marathon but it may depend on where I'm living.

The weather is getting not so nice which is putting a slight damper on my outdoor running. This morning it rained and I had to do 5 miles on the treadmill... I wanted to die. It's so boring running inside. I can deal with the cold (although I probably need to invest in some more cold weather running gear)but the rain just makes it impossible unfortunately. It's gonna be a long frigid winter training for a Marathon outside- but I just don't think I can hack more than one hour of running on a treadmill. It's torture.

Speaking of which- now that I'm halfway through Conservatory its time to start considering what the heck I'm gonna do next. Directly after my last show with Conservatory I'll be flying off to Orlando to do the Disney thing with my family!!! And by time thats done I will be flat broke and at this point have no job lined up. So... I should work on that. I am seriously considering moving to Boston with the lovely and talented Emily Karelitz. But a job. I need a job. Preferably a job that does not include sitting at a desk all day long. I'm talking survival job here of course since the real plan is to get an acting job and I'll have a much better chance of getting one in Boston than in Cleveland... plus its close to NYC. Much to figure out in the next 6 weeks.

But I'm having a grand old time these days. I think I'm doing good work here and learning a lot. It's nice to spend this time focusing on myself and what I need to work on. I really miss my family and my friends from home, but the holidays are on there way and I'll be with them for that!

Endless love sneaky readers.

What's in a name?

It is another beautiful morning here in Lenox MA. The last couple of days have been quite lovely here actually. So what have I been up to you ask?

Well week 3 of STI continues to chug along... it's fine... we're halfway there. Nothing further that I care to discuss there.

Now for the fun part! Last night after my work day I decided to tag along with Michelle and Meaghan as they met up with their friends from Wellsley.

There they are- the lovely Alumni of Wellsley College.

I have to say though I didn't know any of them I really had a fun time and felt really comfortable just jumping into the group. And I can only account for this unusual lack of shyness on my part by assuming that I was just so happy to be out with a bunch of GIRLS. I. MISS. GIRLS. There are simply not enough of them at Shakespeare and Company. Being out with six other girls and No men just set my mind at ease and I had such a good time with them. It really made me miss my friends from home though. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the wonderful, amazing, and lovely Lexi and Laura to show up in a mere three weeks. Simple, uncomplicated, girl-time. It's what I desperately need.

So we went into Great Barrington and first stopped at The Well for a drink while we waited for our table to be ready.

I got a mojito. It was lovely.

Then it was off to Baba Louie's (again lol)and I can safely say we demolished that pizza.
Before.

After.

There was not a crumb left on that table.
Then we stopped by the amazing candy store (one of the destinations I plan to take Lexi and Laura to during their visit... and here's one of the many reasons why...

Each of those gummy bears is about the size of a new born baby and costs 40 bucks! That one is for you Laura Cohen.

Then we all made our way back to Shakes and Co for the Friday Night Cabaret. I didn't perform this time. But my boss Mr. Dennis Krausnick did!

He read some of his poetry. I suppose I'm fortunate to be involved in a profession where my superior performs his modern poetry for the company at large. This is a funny place I work at, but what's not to love? Don't answer that.

Something has been rattling around in my head for a while now and I thought I would share. I find that there is nothing I hate more when talking on the phone, or sending text messages then when the person I am talking to uses my name. Now this may seem strange to some- but think about it just for a minute. If you are on the phone with someone, someone you already know, or texting back and forth obviously the other person knows your name. I find in these circumstances that the only reason a person uses your actual name is when 1)They are upset about something and use it for emphasis (almost like when your parents use your full name when you're in trouble) or 2) to be condescending or 3) (though this only applies to one person I can think of) to try to be impersonal.

You see I can always tell when someone is angry with me (or at least trying to be a tool) because they use my name where they don't need to. When someone is just having a normal chat with you they don't call you anything because they already know who they are talking to- or if they call you anything they use some sort of a pet or nickname (darling, hun, girl... something like that) but not Erin. Erin is only used when I'm in trouble for something. Erin is only used when someone is being condescending or trying to make me feel stupid. Calling me Erin in a text or phone conversation makes my spine crawl because I KNOW something is wrong. Is this making sense? I know it seems like a strange thing to be so adamant about, but I've just had so many encounters with it lately and I have yet to be wrong. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I don't particularly like my first name and feel more affection when someone uses a nickname.

My point is I feel that in casual conversation with friends or family using your name is not a necessary part of the conversation, and so it is only used for emphasis purposes, and that emphasis always seems to be for/because of something negative. So in short: Please do not address me by my first name if we are friends, I will automatically think you are mad. ESPECIALLY not in a text message- I mean really it's not like you don't know who you are sending it to and its only a waste of characters, so if you use it there you must REALLY be trying to make a point. Any thoughts on this? Am I just acting crazy? I'd be interested to hear what you think of this my sneaky readers.

In other news I took today off from running but I still plan on reaching my 12 mile goal by the end of the day tomorrow. I just needed some rest- yesterday I was so tired from doing intervals the day before I fell back asleep for 3 hours after my spinning class. I may go this evening actually since the weather has been so nice and cool and breezy here. And next weeks goal? Why 13 miles of course!

Going places

Wow I'm getting pretty addicted to this blogging thing! I've been having so much fun looking at all these other peoples health and fitness blogs that it just seems like so much fun. And it is! Despite the fact that my life is incredibly boring at this point. Still I have much boringness to write about for your enjoyment. Dinner the other night at Baba Louie's was a bust thanks to the 45 minute wait and I super douchey host so Michelle, Meaghan, and I went to The Well in Great Barrington instead and had a grand old time.

There were lots of lava lamps. And I had a yummy salad and a chili cheeseburger with sweet potato fries.

Then yesterday involved further adventures is being way to domestic for my own good. I went for a bike ride after work and picked a lovely bunch of flowers to brighten up my room.
And then decided to make some rice krispie treat type things in order to use up some of the unhealthy foods in my cupboard. So I made cheerio squares with chocolate mixed in and sent them off the the Richard III tech so that I wouldn't eat them all. I'm told they were quite good.

Today was a beautiful day outside and ALL DAY I was aching to go for a run even though I went to spinning this morning already. So I did go for a short 2 mile run after Amorous Quarrel, unfortunately it was rather painful because I don't think my body is ready to run 2 days in a row yet. So I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to do tomorrow mornings regularly scheduled 4.5 mile run or not. I'm hoping it'll be fine but I'm also worried I may be getting a shin splint...eeep. I did reward myself for working out twice today though by having one of the delicious chocolates my designer on Amorous Quarrel got me on opening night as a gift.
Best opening night gift EVER. Thanks Amanda!

And more good news for today- thanks to my amazing mommy and jim I will actually get to join my family on our family vacation for the first time in 3 years. At least for a little while. I'm taking an extra day off of work and spending 2 full days in North Carolina on the beach on July 5th and 6th. And I think it couldn't come at a better time, I've been here now almost 3 months and I am definately in need of a little vacation from Mr. Shakespeare. Plus I've really missed my family and am now looking forward to running on the beach- getting some sun- and getting a bit rejuvinated to face the rest of a long summer full of no acting. Biding your time is an exhausting practice btw.

And for today I'll leave you with this lovely image of the pink skirt that will be the bane of my wardrobe mistress existance for the rest of the summer. It's adorable and awesome onstage- but it hates me- and it always will.

Adventures in the Communal Kitchen

As you may or may not be aware, here at Shakespeare and Company I live in a dorm type situation. And so for cooking and whatnot the Residents here at Larry Hall share one big kitchen. This kitchen is shared by a total of twenty-six people. So as you can imagine there are adventures galore. Space is obviously an issue- frequently- now cabinet space is readily available. The first pick is my lovely cupboard of goodness. Now fridge space- not quite so pleasant. We now have two fridges- one large cafeteria style fridge and one regular sized fridge. But for a while we only had the one... for 26 people. Not fun. This next picture is all the fridge space I have to work with. I put my stuff in a basket to get it out of there easier.

So, as you may have geussed, learning to cook healthy meals in this place- not the easiest task in the world. But I did manage to make one GIANT pot of very healthy veggie soup that will probably last me weeks- was really inexpensive and tastes pretty darn good. I wasn't really anticipating making quite this much- but I had not clue about proportion so... whatever it turned out great. And the WHOLE POT was less than 2000 calories.

Looks good right? I'm pretty proud of myself here. But alas- I was so nice and healthy all day- cooking lovely things from scratch and then proceeded to ruin it by going to Friendly's. A monumental mistake. I had a grilled cheese and french fries and ice cream. I woke up feeling like I had a hangover! My body was not pleased with me. I guess its good to know though that I'm getting used to all these fruits and veggies and whatnot. But despite my waking with a junk food hangover I still managed my 7am run of 4.5 miles. WOOT! And I did it in 46 minutes- not gonna win any races or anything, but I was pleased with myself staying at about 6 mph the whole time- even with the hills.

Tonight I made some oatmeal blueberry cookies. They were delicious- although not very cookie like- very crumbly. So I guess that's actually more junk food- but hey at least I know whats in them. And I used blueberries- I must get some points for antioxidants. I've been practically living off of berries now that they are in season and somewhat affordable.

But yes, the kitchen is an interesting place, a place where 26 people (most just out of college) have to live in harmony and keep the damn place clean. Quite a task if I do say so myself. I'm about to start freaking out if one more person leaves dirty dishes out overnight. There are 26 of us people. You clearly cannot leave your shit out to rot overnight. And I am trying desperately not to become the maid down there- but I always end up cleaning the place for at least about 1/2 and hour a day while I'm cleaning. But it hardly helps. 26 people 3 meals a day. I don't even want to think about how many dishes that is. And if even one person doesn't clean it sucks for everyone.

Listen to me- I'm like a crotchety old woman. Well- at least my mother will be proud- when home I am far less diligent about my dishes. Sorry mommy. It really fine though, we've been sharing the kitchen for about a month and there have been no MAJOR problems just yet. No fires, no fingers cut off- knock on wood.

I dunno, its weird, I get the feeling lately that I'm turning into a real person. I have things that I do that are just my things that I like doing for myself. I've been practicing my music a lot more lately. I think in college I forgot how much I actually enjoy singing- just singing for myself. I think college made me forget why I liked it in the first place and made me concentrate much more on trying to improve, or on comparing my little voice to all the gigantic and perfect ones I was constantly surrounded by at BW. Singing is just good for the soul though, and now I can really feel free to sing whatever I want instead of whatever someone else thinks is right for me.

Still I'm missing home a bit, my friends, my family. I've been away a long time. But now time seems to be flying around here. June is practically over! And its only a little over a week until my first 5k. Still haven't picked a goal time yet, need to do that. Maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 minutes would work.

Ah and just a reminder to all that I still LOVE getting mail. You can find the address in one of the posts below. Think about it!