A List (i.e. An Engrossing - Yet Specific - Title)

Just when I thought I STILL didn't have anything to write about, I ran across this post... (If anyone can't see it, let me know and I'll re-post the content here)

I now want to make a list.

Out on my mission I was serving in a Singles' Ward, and I once heard the 30-yr.-old Relief Society President say, "My requirements have fallen so far, all I really want now is to find someone male and breathing." This saddened (and frightened) me. A couple of years later I was staying with a friend who had recently divorced. After telling me that sometimes, "you just want a boyfriend", she went on to explain that after having one relationship fail, her standards had gotten higher. Her reasoning was that if she was going to have to wait even longer for the right guy, and she was doing all she could to live obediently (and she totally was), then the Lord would make sure that guy was worth the wait.

I agree with Friend B.

So, the list – it seems that sometimes the largest part of getting what you want is figuring out what it actually IS that you want. (Think Christmas, people.) As I read Tam’s list I saw that I wouldn’t necessarily include all the same things on my list… which got me wondering just what I would include. (You would have thought I’d have started on lists like this a LONG time ago, eh?)

Anyway, I’ll get to pondering, and listing… and I’ll start out with the I-Absolutely-Agree-Is-Number-One slot:

1. Must be Temple Worthy

It’s a Celestial position someone will (someday, maybe) be applying for, after all.

I’ll keep working on it – and I’d love to see your lists, too!

Ha!

Just ran across this -

Email letter chain: "...I like [Achmed's]* idear (sic) as well..."

Next letter, same author: "I realize a disclaimer is needed at this time. Just because I feel that for once [Achmed] may have possibly had a good idea does not mean that I think it happened on purpose or that he's a good person."





I am almost certain the author is joking. Hee hee heeeeeeee.


* Name has been changed, pretty much just to be funny.

Just Stopping in to Say "Hi"

In which we shall see: 5-dollar vocabulary words, cliche phrases, yellow lights, my own Lohan cycle, ice cream, tattoos, hangin' tough, Weight Watchers for arachnids, and more ice cream.

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Fair warning - I don't actually have anything IMPORTANT to say (versus, of course, all of those other earth-shattering expostulations), mostly I just wanted to use the word "expostulations". Kidding. I'm really just trying to keep myself in the habit of writing and finding fun (or at least interesting - hopefully) things to talk about, so that I'm all ready to spring into action when diatribe-worthy topics present themselves.

In the meantime, can I just say that it's odd how, as a theatrically-involved person, most of the "drama" in my life comes from places other than theatre. (And why, exactly, do people say "can I just say"? They're not actually asking permission, and they pretty much DO say whatever it is they're prefacing, so obviously they CAN. Next week: a syntax-by-participle breakdown of Grammar for Dummies.) Our office, for example, has happily maintained its status as the "drama-free" zone for several years now - and then suddenly, we are awash with all kinds of chatter and grumbling and discontent. (I don't want to get too specific - I do still work there, after all... but holler if you need details!) I also work at a performing arts school, and far more gossip and conniving and story-carrying comes from the administration (which then trickles down to us teachers for venting purposes) than from any of the "drama" students. Seriously, what is this tendency that people seem to have to revert to insecure 12-year-olds at the drop of a hat? (There’s another funny phrase for you – what kind of hat? Why is it being dropped? Just how fast does it fall? Etc…)

Last week, I got some oddly mixed signals from a friend of mine - just to make sure I wasn't jumping to unwarranted conclusions I shared the communications with two other (both married, and obviously smarter than me) girls, and they concurred with my interpretation. I still managed to restrain myself and not get all loopy, which turned out to be a good thing as this particular friend quite distinctly did not follow through on any of those signals. (It sounded to me like he was indirectly asking me for a date, it sounded to my counselors as if he was asking me on a date - and then the night of the "date" he showed up with another girl in tow. I don't do harems, and I'm not going to bother third-wheeling after an attention-deficit diva - i.e., the other girl - so I just went home instead. Guys, what is THAT all about? Honestly.)

Lots of weddings and bridal showers and such are cropping up in the family... and I haven't managed to be cast in any show I've auditioned for lately. Together, these two circumstances are causing my rejection complex to flare up... do you think hemorroid cream will work on that? On the other "destructive relationships" hand, chocolate and ice cream and I are engaged once more in a torrid threesome... some tough love will no doubt be in order soon (or an intervention), as my relationship with Exercise may be making tentative progress but is still no more than a wary acquaintance.

Cold Stone is discontinuing their Oatmeal Cookie Batter ice cream. Woes.

When asked, most of my theatre students would choose to see one of their parents (usually their father) obviously tattooed as revenge for being adamantly opposed to tattooing, or would tag some guy they know across the forehead with a variation on a phrase of some kind (most often including the word "manwhore") as a warning to any other girls they might meet. (I have a total of five boys in two classes - they've learned pretty quickly when to shut up and duck.)

I'm still waiting for further information regarding the New Kids on the Block (or, NKotB) reunion - I almost said I was on pins and needles, but that would be painful as well as incorrect.

I still laugh everytime I remember a co-worker describing a large spider that she managed to kill in the office recently as "full-figured". Awesome.


Also, hi.


Watch out for falling turtles,

Cyd


Books I've read in the past 7 days: approximately 6
Family bookclub books I own and should start reading, but haven't: 2
Times the co-worker behind me nods off at his desk in any given hour: around 5 (avg.)
Flavors of ice cream currently inhabiting my freezer: 4 (it's like a plague!)

P.S.A. The next time you go to Cold Stone, try the Oreo Overload but substitute the chocolate chips for either strawberries or raspberries. You will not be sorry.

Exercise Update

It does get easier, right? At some point, I will start to enjoy all this, yes?

*Sigh.*

I've made it through three workouts this week - I gotta tell you, Tuesday's Yoga/Bellydance DVD was a KILLER. Last night's Latin/Afro Dance workout wasn't too bad, worked up a sweat and all that, but it definitely reminded me of just how awkward I can be and how glad I was no one was watching! This morning after an appointment with the chiropractor (if he has children with braces, I'm the one paying the orthodontia bill) I went to the gym and hopped on the treadmill... actually somewhat encouraging as I found I can now run (versus fast walking) for longer than before.

One more workout this week to meet my goal, and two days to do it. Sweet!

Will be looking for an adult dance class - tap, maybe? - just to see if I can really have fun while exercising.

The weather's finally looking promising - what with the cutting of hours at my job and the nearing of the end of the school year, hiking and/or biking might make it onto the workout menu shortly...

Who Will Carry the Word?

In which we shall see: More theatre stuff.

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So one of the great things about working as a dramaturg is having the opportunity to go and research plays. Yes, OK, I get that some of you immediately thought "Wow, I'd rather have a root canal", but trust me, it's really very cool to go digging around in history with a particular frame and set of experiences in mind. (Yes, OK, I also get that I am, once and for always, a total geek.) Anyway, my latest project involves a performance of a piece titled Who Will Carry the Word? which is about a group of female resistance fighters during World War II who have been captured and are being held in the Auschwitz concentration camp. It's intense, and horrifying, and depressing, and incredibly, completely beautiful - the short scenes in this production are intercut with gorgeous music and dance as the characters die and are set free.

I wanted to post here the notes I wrote for the program - I can't wait to see the performances this week (the production did very, very well at the Region and State competitions). I’m very interested in any responses and feedback – too much? Too little? Too cheesy? Brings you to tears too soon? Er, or something like that…

Who Will Carry the Word?
Dramaturg Notes

In the 1920’s the world was still reeling from the aftermath of the Great War. Art and culture were changing, and “expressionism” was gradually adopted as artists developed works that invited emotional, rather than clinical, responses. Theatre was turned on its ear in 1921 when Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of An Author calmly invited audiences to “participate in [the] stories” of his six “real” characters, and reasoned that truth was to be found only in the journey into the self. Surrealism (the dream state) and Neo-Expressionism began to show people what they felt and dreamed, instead of giving them a picture of what they actually were.

By the late 1930’s the world was changing again – moving back into war, this conflict even more pervasive and titanic. As German armies moved across Europe, resistance movements sprang up – and one, in Paris, included a young activist named Charlotte Delbo. Captured in 1942, her husband was shot and she was imprisoned; in 1943 she and 229 other French women were sent to Auschwitz with one of the few convoys from France that included non-Jewish prisoners. The convoy entered camp legend by approaching the gates singing “La Marseillaise”, the French national anthem. Only 49 women returned. Released in 1945, Delbo began to write about her experiences – stories, memoirs, and a play called Who Will Carry the Word?.

In transferring her memories and sufferings to paper, Delbo created immortality – as she transcribed those she had known and lost she also described friends and visions that live anew each time their lines are spoken. While viewing the play the audience is invited to participate in the lives before them, and to change the picture of their own day-to-day existence. As the author asks “who will carry the word?”, she is suggesting that as we discover the truths of courage, heartache, beauty, pain, and faith for ourselves onstage, we might then answer, “I will.”

CB

2008

Thanks, everyone - believe me, you're a great audience!

Watch out for falling turtles,

Cyd

Meaningful phone calls I made this weekend: 3

Meaningful phone calls I tried to make this weekend, but got voicemail: +2

Meaningful phone calls I really need to return: 1 (love you, Becca!)

Two weeks ago: worked out twice

Last week: worked out three times

This week (goal): work out four times (I've got a Bellydance DVD, baby!)

Sunday School lesson I prepared in 45 minutes (after discovering I'd worked for 3 hours on the wrong lesson): 1

The Muffins Reign Supreme

In which we shall see: a muffin-rumble, surrealistic expressionism, the nastiest Final Exam EVER, Conference wackos, and other benefits of trying to speak Spanish.

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This morning's Theatre History class brought a special little teacher-joy-moment when one of the students related some "real life" drama: this morning on the radio he'd heard about an altercation between two roommates who were fighting over the last English Muffin. The "joy-moment"? That's all he had to say, grinning broadly, and the rest of the class burst out laughing.

Trust me, that's a huge payoff for a drama teacher who completed a unit that included The Importance of Being Earnest (which could have been subtitled The Importance of Constantly Eating and Making Sure You Get the Last Muffin).

We'll be finishing up the year with Six Characters in Search of an Author, in which the characters are real and the actors are the audience while the audience watches the actors trying to portray the characters and the characters mock them. Heads are already exploding all over the classroom and nervous tremors are starting up - although that last was nicely alleviated through the "earthquake" drill we also had this morning... Isn't there supposed to be a better way to protect yourself during an earthquake now than the "climb under the desk" method? We'll also do one Eugene O'Neill play (I think it'll be A Long Day's Journey Into Night, since I do have the Katherine Hepburn version on DVD) and a quick unit on Oriental Theatre... and wrap it all up with a comprehensive final. Yep, a test on EVERYTHING THEY HAVE LEARNED THIS YEAR.

I freely admit, I am evil. Bwah ha haaaaa! (But not stupid - the final will be the week BEFORE the end of school, and the last few days of class will involve attendance points, trivia games, and movie challenges. And treats.)

I'm still recuperating from Conference Weekend, and looking forward with all my heart to the day (wait, "looking forward with all my heart"? What a silly image) when I'll be able to actually focus on all four sessions and hear more than just random snippets. Relatively speaking, it was a pretty mellow ticketing experience - we only had a few criers, a scarce handful of extremely angry people, and just one certifiably crazy lady (she actually was scary). One woman did threaten to leave the Church if we didn't give her tickets, but I just opened my eyes wide and pretended I only spoke Spanish. Nice to see it works both ways!

Watch out for falling turtles (...clutching english muffins),

Cyd


Days I've gone without chocolate: (groan)
Days I've exercised recently: (groan again, but ask me tomorrow)
Days my supervisor has spoken to me: 1 out of 12
Percentange completed of my five-year-old Conference afghan: 85%

International Exploits

Currently, we're in the middle of International Week - the days before General Conference (LDS) when visitors from outside the US (and Canada) can pick up tickets to attend the meetings. We see all types of people, all ages, all languages (I'm managing to scrape through on "baby-talk" Spanish, and every so often I can testify to the Gift of Tongues!), and... various other, er, levels of presentability... Anyway, just a while ago a very attractive young-ish man was being helped by the girl next to me, and when he left I remarked that he was very attractive. She (married) said that I should run out and ask him on a date. I laughed, and suggested that I could give him Conference tickets if he would go out with me! She enthusiastically encouraged me to do so (we both agree our boss would have approved the move) but I managed to stall until he left the lobby... and then I turned around to discover that Elder Duarte, a member of the Seventy, had stepped into the office to use the phone and was standing about two feet away.

I wasn't quite prepared to ask just how supportive the Church really is on getting on with those eternal families! (But if he had OK'd it, I probably would have had to take Elder Duarte along on the date.)

Oy.


Watch out for falling turtles,

Cyd


Days I've gone without chocolate: 5 of 5
Number of languages I've heard today: 10
Number of accents I've heard today: 20+
Number of French swear words I taught my Theatre History class today: 1