I've spent a good portion of my day, it seems, getting everything in order for my final end of term conference. It's a one on four meeting between each theater student and the professors during which they review how that student has performed in the previous year. Because this is my last time to meet with them, I'm making a point to gather everything I can - particularly samples of my writing. I've managed to locate one of the monologues I wrote and both the ten minute plays. I'm also going to print out some of my poetry, some of my blog entries, and some of my RP posts so that I will have them in my portfolio if they're ever needed in the future.
Finding the monologues and the poetry had me running all over campus. I also got my paperwork in order from the show I stage managed and pulled together old projects from theater classes as well. On top of all that, I've entered a poetry contest. Now that all that is finished, I need to get my mind off of English and onto Spanish. I can't believe graduation is so close!!!
Life hands you challenges. We all face them in our own way. My way? A pen full of ink and sheer grit.
02 May 2012
01 May 2012
Coffee Cravings
I am a total coffee addict. It is like a life line to me. I do not need it to get going but love it for the flavor and warmth. Also what a great way to wake up in the morning!
But as a dedicated coffee drinker, I have to have times where I can get it on the go. And who does it best? Your right....Starbucks!
So today I am thrilled to offer Two $10 Starbucks e-Gift Cards for giveaway. I am sure you can find a way to use them in no time at all. This giveaway will run from May 1st to May 15th. I want to thank all the blogs that are jumping in on this bandwagon to share. Great group...I know because we all hang out together over on facebook. A bunch of chatty patties and pauls we can be sure. It would be fun if we could all get together at a Starbucks and share.
Here are the girls and boys of the band who brought you this giveaway!
But as a dedicated coffee drinker, I have to have times where I can get it on the go. And who does it best? Your right....Starbucks!
So today I am thrilled to offer Two $10 Starbucks e-Gift Cards for giveaway. I am sure you can find a way to use them in no time at all. This giveaway will run from May 1st to May 15th. I want to thank all the blogs that are jumping in on this bandwagon to share. Great group...I know because we all hang out together over on facebook. A bunch of chatty patties and pauls we can be sure. It would be fun if we could all get together at a Starbucks and share.
Here are the girls and boys of the band who brought you this giveaway!
27 April 2012
Again with the goals
With graduation two weeks away (!!!) I've gone and set more goals for myself and given myself more personal projects on top of my school work. Smart decision? Probably not. Nevertheless, I'm going to try and get everything done. The current project is a writing portfolio. I'm a little surprised I don't already have one pulled together. However, I'm not precisely shocked, which is somewhat unfortunate. Clearly, I know myself too well and don't always work hard enough on shaking myself out of old habits. With that fact recognized, I'll move on. Discussing my own shortcomings is not the topic of this particular blog entry.
The first thing I need for this writing portfolio is more samples of my writing. I do have a few things - research papers written for class, two one act plays I wrote, poems from creative writing, etc. - but I really need to punch it up and show the range of my talents. I'll be pulling entries from this blog to show some of my personal, non-fiction writing. I also plan to lurk some of my own character posts over at a few of my RP sites (more on this later.) Beyond that, I need to figure it out. I could add my NaNoWriMo wins, but am not 100% sure at the idea of including unedited manuscripts that were written in thirty consecutive days and still aren't finished. Besides the sheer massive outpouring of writing for word count's sake that is NaNo, I don't have the means at present to print out those monstrosities. Maybe I could skim some favorite sections and offer them with a summary of the previous action.
For a lot of the writing portfolio, I intend to pull heavily from my favorite RP site and the one I've been on the longest, Big Damn Verse. I've been a member since before that particular site existed and have served as a member of the admin team since fall of 2007. Going into our seventh year, the site has maintained a lot of the same core group of members and a lot of the same staff. We have seven years of original story lines, characters, etc. built up and plenty more to come. If I'm going to be pulling samples of my writing, I'd be stupid not to be pulling from my other online home.
My other big BDV project is a constant work in progress that I need to get caught up on. It won't happen until after graduation, I'm sure, but it's not impossible. That project is the BDV history. I came up with the idea back in 07 or 08 to summarize each of the episodes the ships run through. This would allow new members to know more about what each ship had been through and what sort of characters might fit in with existing story lines. It would also give veteran members a chance to re-read and examine character story arcs away from the massive amounts of collaborative writing that take place in the in-character threads. It seemed like an easy way to step back and make sure we didn't have too many identical SLs running or spot running themes or view a running storyline arc on its own, etc etc etc. I think I kept up with the project for six months, but that guesstimation might be too generous. Now, I feel like I need to dive back into it because 1. it's a project that can, in theory, be "easily maintained" once it gets up to speed, 2. I still think it would offer new members a tremendous advantage, and 3. bragging rights. If I'm able to catch every BDV history thread up to speed on my own, I will be able to say without any doubt that I've read every IC post on the site. That's the theory, anyway.
So, there we have it, the list of things I'm going to work on when I'm not doing homework or packing or cleaning the apartment. Ha! Wish me luck. I'm afraid I'll need it.
Disclaimer: Big Damn Verse is a Firefly/Serenity based RPG. ALL Firefly, Serenity material including characters, Firefly/Serenity photos & graphics belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Studios. The Big Damn Verse is NOT affiliated with any of the above. We make no profit, nor do we ever intend to. Disclaimer text copied from BDV main page.
The first thing I need for this writing portfolio is more samples of my writing. I do have a few things - research papers written for class, two one act plays I wrote, poems from creative writing, etc. - but I really need to punch it up and show the range of my talents. I'll be pulling entries from this blog to show some of my personal, non-fiction writing. I also plan to lurk some of my own character posts over at a few of my RP sites (more on this later.) Beyond that, I need to figure it out. I could add my NaNoWriMo wins, but am not 100% sure at the idea of including unedited manuscripts that were written in thirty consecutive days and still aren't finished. Besides the sheer massive outpouring of writing for word count's sake that is NaNo, I don't have the means at present to print out those monstrosities. Maybe I could skim some favorite sections and offer them with a summary of the previous action.
For a lot of the writing portfolio, I intend to pull heavily from my favorite RP site and the one I've been on the longest, Big Damn Verse. I've been a member since before that particular site existed and have served as a member of the admin team since fall of 2007. Going into our seventh year, the site has maintained a lot of the same core group of members and a lot of the same staff. We have seven years of original story lines, characters, etc. built up and plenty more to come. If I'm going to be pulling samples of my writing, I'd be stupid not to be pulling from my other online home.
My other big BDV project is a constant work in progress that I need to get caught up on. It won't happen until after graduation, I'm sure, but it's not impossible. That project is the BDV history. I came up with the idea back in 07 or 08 to summarize each of the episodes the ships run through. This would allow new members to know more about what each ship had been through and what sort of characters might fit in with existing story lines. It would also give veteran members a chance to re-read and examine character story arcs away from the massive amounts of collaborative writing that take place in the in-character threads. It seemed like an easy way to step back and make sure we didn't have too many identical SLs running or spot running themes or view a running storyline arc on its own, etc etc etc. I think I kept up with the project for six months, but that guesstimation might be too generous. Now, I feel like I need to dive back into it because 1. it's a project that can, in theory, be "easily maintained" once it gets up to speed, 2. I still think it would offer new members a tremendous advantage, and 3. bragging rights. If I'm able to catch every BDV history thread up to speed on my own, I will be able to say without any doubt that I've read every IC post on the site. That's the theory, anyway.
So, there we have it, the list of things I'm going to work on when I'm not doing homework or packing or cleaning the apartment. Ha! Wish me luck. I'm afraid I'll need it.
Disclaimer: Big Damn Verse is a Firefly/Serenity based RPG. ALL Firefly, Serenity material including characters, Firefly/Serenity photos & graphics belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Studios. The Big Damn Verse is NOT affiliated with any of the above. We make no profit, nor do we ever intend to. Disclaimer text copied from BDV main page.
21 April 2012
Freaking out over future plans
I graduate in three weeks. Oh my god. Oh. My. God.
Because graduation is approaching a lot (read: every spare minute) of my free time has been dedicated to my studies, classes, homework, etc. My days have fallen into a pretty regular pattern. Wake up, get breakfast, go to class, eat lunch, go to class, go home, do homework, eat dinner, do more homework, go to sleep to do it all over again the next day.
A lot of things have had to fall by the wayside, including my writing, my blogging, my vlogging, and my RPing. I'm less than thrilled, but school has to be my priority because if it isn't, I may not get out and I have to graduate. Six years at one school is long enough.
There are other concerns, of course. I'm getting zero response on my job search and am beginning to get scared. I'm not sure what to do if I don't get a job. The plan, I suppose, would be to seek a masters in theater (most likely in stage management) or seek a masters in creative writing. The advantage to the latter, aside from the strong appeal, is that I could easily get that degree through online classes.
As for where I'll end up, I suppose only time will tell.
16 April 2012
The best laid plans
Today, I had every intention of getting a lot of things done. I made plans to get a vlog recorded. I worked on my mountain of homework. I wrote more cover letter drafts that I will read and send out tomorrow after a good night's sleep. What I actually completed today, on the other hand, included the updating of my resume, an hour long nap I did not plan on taking, and the mountain of homework. Since I wasn't able to vlog today, here's a blog entry. Personally, I'm just thrilled the homework is done. This means I get to spend tomorrow cleaning the apartment and packing as well as taking a Spanish test and writing a speech. Fun times. Always.
15 April 2012
14 April 2012
A Director's Initial Thoughts
Today was my first directorial debut. I think it went very well. My actors put in three weeks of hard work and they did a fantastic job. The show I chose to direct was "Same Time, Next Year" by Bernard Slade. I decided to focus only on the second act because I felt it had a better story to it and could stand alone if necessary. Right before my show was set to begin, I was so nervous. Despite the nerves, everything got set up in time and Mom, Dad, Other Mom, and Poppa were all there - all parental units accounted for. I have to say, one of the coolest feelings was the moments before the show, when we were getting the stage set. Everyone was helping everyone else, which is how things always work in my theater department. The cool feeling, for me, was when my peers were looking to me, as director of the show, to find out what set pieces I needed and exactly how they needed to be placed, etc. It was a very surreal moment that justified the authority I had as director of the show. There were a few flubs during the performance, but they were fairly minor and it all ran smoothly. I am so very proud of my actors for their hard work and dedication. This is one of the best ways I can imagine to cap off my final semester of college.
13 April 2012
Showtime Approaches
Well, here we go. The play I've been directing opens for its one performance tomorrow at 5pm. I'm really looking forward to it. My actors know their lines and their blocking and things are going to be awesome. Next week will probably be difficult. It seems like a lot of things are being put off in the department because of the one-acts, which means that next week we get to pull everything together for the next main-stage production. After that, the semester starts winding down and then all I'll have to worry about are finals. And finding a job.
The job hunt is a big concern right now. None of the theaters I've been contacting have responded. I'm going to start calling on Monday to follow up. I'm also sending out even more resumes. My goal for this week is to be able to work on my writing as well as keeping up with homework and passing my classes. It's been a while since I was able to write and I miss it. What I'm going to write I'm not sure yet. Only time will tell, I suppose.
The job hunt is a big concern right now. None of the theaters I've been contacting have responded. I'm going to start calling on Monday to follow up. I'm also sending out even more resumes. My goal for this week is to be able to work on my writing as well as keeping up with homework and passing my classes. It's been a while since I was able to write and I miss it. What I'm going to write I'm not sure yet. Only time will tell, I suppose.
10 April 2012
Update from a soon to be college grad
Well, this has certainly been a busy month. I'm directing a one act play that performs this Saturday and am I ever nervous! When I'm not in rehearsal, I'm working on homework, which has not led to much in the way of blog fodder. Having time to blog is, of course, an issue in itself. Since I'm sitting in the green room waiting for class to start, I thought I would type up a quick entry to show that I'm still around. I can't believe I graduate in a month!
20 March 2012
Habits for Life
I will be twenty-five in nine days. For the last month, my approaching birthday has alternately been a cause of stress (twentyFIVE!) and a passing thought (while I freak out about homework instead.) Because I'm growing bored of all this freaking out, I've decided to make a list of some of the habits I've developed that I'm grateful for. A lot of people my age (generally referenced as "twenty-somethings") are spending a lot of time "finding themselves" through working, attending classes, or both. Frankly, I'm more than ready to begin the next stage of my life and it's thanks to many of these habits that I know I am ready.
Sleep schedule - I've seen people look at me like I'm crazy when I use this phrase. I don't understand why, cause it's not complex. I don't stay up til four a.m. and then drag myself to class after just a few hours of sleep. I don't stay up all night working on a homework assignment or studying for a test. I get at least six hours of sleep a night.
Budgeting - There's still money in my bank account! Win! I know how much is there! Double win! When I spend money, I do still have a habit of over-spending, but my shopping sprees aren't very common. After a shopping spree, I spend nothing for several months. Of course, I also live in an on-campus apartment and have no bills, so that makes it easier to spend no money.
Finishing things on time - To be fair, there are times I finish things right before they're due (I am still a college student) but I am breaking that habit. I can say, proudly, that I have never stayed up all night to complete a school assignment.
Focusing my energy where it's needed - I'm not a partier. Never have been. I'm not a big fan of clubs or bars or anything of the sort. Because of this, I'm able to focus on what I want or need to focus on. My attention is on school or my writing or my goals, not on going out and getting bombed.
Relationship drama not found - Okay, story. My freshman year a friend asked me for advice. I told her, honestly, that she didn't want my advice. After saying this three times, I gave in and allowed her to tell me the problem. What it amounted to was "I like this person but he doesn't like me and this other guy texted me and I don't know what he means and etc. etc. etc." Me: "Keep in mind, I told you that you don't want my advice." Friend: "Yes, I do. Please." Me: "Okay. You asked for it. First of all, the person you like doesn't like you. Does not like you. You're wasting your energy. If you want to know what the text message meant, ask the guy. To his face. Also, we have a test tomorrow, so you might want to study for that first." Yeah, I can be a little bit of a wet blanket, but my feet are on the ground and I'm not crying over some break-up or whatever.
Determination and follow-through - If (WHEN) I pass my classes this semester, I graduate in May. I've been here since 2006 and I graduate in May. In one year (after a semester of suspension that led to my ADD diagnosis) I brought my GPA up from a .93 to a 2.6 and now I graduate in May.
Yes, I am ready to get out of school and start the next phase of my life. Maybe with these habits, I can make it in the real world.
Sleep schedule - I've seen people look at me like I'm crazy when I use this phrase. I don't understand why, cause it's not complex. I don't stay up til four a.m. and then drag myself to class after just a few hours of sleep. I don't stay up all night working on a homework assignment or studying for a test. I get at least six hours of sleep a night.
Budgeting - There's still money in my bank account! Win! I know how much is there! Double win! When I spend money, I do still have a habit of over-spending, but my shopping sprees aren't very common. After a shopping spree, I spend nothing for several months. Of course, I also live in an on-campus apartment and have no bills, so that makes it easier to spend no money.
Finishing things on time - To be fair, there are times I finish things right before they're due (I am still a college student) but I am breaking that habit. I can say, proudly, that I have never stayed up all night to complete a school assignment.
Focusing my energy where it's needed - I'm not a partier. Never have been. I'm not a big fan of clubs or bars or anything of the sort. Because of this, I'm able to focus on what I want or need to focus on. My attention is on school or my writing or my goals, not on going out and getting bombed.
Relationship drama not found - Okay, story. My freshman year a friend asked me for advice. I told her, honestly, that she didn't want my advice. After saying this three times, I gave in and allowed her to tell me the problem. What it amounted to was "I like this person but he doesn't like me and this other guy texted me and I don't know what he means and etc. etc. etc." Me: "Keep in mind, I told you that you don't want my advice." Friend: "Yes, I do. Please." Me: "Okay. You asked for it. First of all, the person you like doesn't like you. Does not like you. You're wasting your energy. If you want to know what the text message meant, ask the guy. To his face. Also, we have a test tomorrow, so you might want to study for that first." Yeah, I can be a little bit of a wet blanket, but my feet are on the ground and I'm not crying over some break-up or whatever.
Determination and follow-through - If (WHEN) I pass my classes this semester, I graduate in May. I've been here since 2006 and I graduate in May. In one year (after a semester of suspension that led to my ADD diagnosis) I brought my GPA up from a .93 to a 2.6 and now I graduate in May.
Yes, I am ready to get out of school and start the next phase of my life. Maybe with these habits, I can make it in the real world.
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