this week, oh this week

(oh, Megling, remember, remember that night in my apartment in Mesa? When we talked, for the very first time, about not being able to cope? About meds and friendship and lying about it all? Thanks. And thanks for reminding me 2 years later, as I was dealing with moving and falling really hard for a boy and trying to get him back and graduating and failing a class and getting over mono, how far I had come, and telling me you were proud of me. You are amazing.)

'cause i felt the other one needed it's very own post

Here's what's going on in my life of late:
-In rehearsals for Candide. It's going to be just ok, not great, not painful. Runs August 29-Sept 21st, if you are so inclined. The script is funny, and it's all emsemble-y, which is nice. It'll be funnier if you know things about Voltaire.
-Starting work on LEVYdance's home season. November 12-15. I've seen 2 of the 3 new pieces that are going up, and we're also doing NuNu from the rep. They are all amazing, very diverse pieces. I've seen the beginnings of the 3rd new piece, and it's looking pretty good. You should definitely come see this, as it's a company I love, the show is going to be great, it's in an alley, and it's my first big(ish) design in the city.
-Living in Oakland. I kind of love it.
-Commuting to the city on Wednesdays and Sundays to see my friendies.
-Thinking about what's next. I applied for my first non-theater job post-college on Friday, which created a huge tailspin in my world. I've come out of the swirl of confusion and self-doubt feeling pretty good. It'll be (if I get hired) a flexible retail job, that will be my health insurance job. I have some strangely big holes in my schedule, when I'm teaching strange hours in Marin and will be getting paid enough to live on, but have time to work some more hours but it'd be hard/impossible to take other shows. And, when I'm in crazy tech week(or weeks in the spring for the festival), I can work one or two shifts a week and keep the job/health insurance. I'm feeling good about this, as it's a job I won't hate, that'll be flexible so theater will still be my profession, and they don't expect me to stay forever. And, I will be able to go to the doctor/dentist/get new glasses. The only negative side is that I will probably stay in the east bay (if I get this job). The only gig I have in SF in the coming year is November home season for LEVYdance. I'll commute a lot that week, and once a week or so before/after to see rehearsals/meet with Ben. Other than the sporadic electrics calls (I have 5 days of work this month), that's it in SF. If I'm working this retail job in Berkeley, and mostly working up in San Anselmo, it doesn't make sense to live in the city. Also, I am having a really hard time finding a place to live in my price range. It's cheaper, and there are more options out here. Anyway, we'll see. I haven't stopped looking for a place in the city, because I love love love it there, and I miss my friends and the neighborhood feel (you know, having a coffee shop/restaurant/anything else you could possibly need within walking distance).
-Maybe going to LA for a few days in October. Meeting up with my mom (it's half way), and seeing some friends from AZ that are going to Cal Arts. Had sort of planned an LA trip with another friend, but I feel like it's maybe a bad idea and not actually going to happen. Seeing my mom would be great, too.
-Becoming a bit more active in the local Couch Surfing community. Which is awesome.
-Missing the summer Olympics AGAIN. Although, I can catch up online, I just haven't yet.
-Katie was here last week. It was fantastic. I miss her like crazy, and she should move to SF next year.
-Another ASU friend is moving here this week! That makes 3 of us! Hooray!

Alright. Will be in the city on Thursday during the day for sure. Maybe Wednesday, too, if I can find a place to crash that night. As for Arizona...I thought I had 3 weeks off in December and was going to do a week in Phoenix, a week in Tucson and a week in Mexico. Now it looks like I have about a week and a half off, and if I get this silly retail job I may not be in Phoenix at all. Then, I leave on tour on Dec 31st (look for me in Washington DC, New York, and one more city yet to be named). So, next AZ visit: no idea. Maybe April (that'd make a year...geh). Also, in LA again the first week of April (on tour again), and pac northwest in June.

NOT a blog

So, sometimes I read other friend's blogs and think they are much more interesting than mine. Then I remember, I don't have much to say. I started writing these irregular postings as a way to keep far away friends in the loop. So, this is not a blog. It's a journal that I choose to make public. I'm not saying anything very interesting, new, or world shattering. But, I'm not trying to, either. This is just what's goin' on in my life.

Here's what one of the lovely Dell Arte ladies says 'bout this, and it makes me love her even a little more:

and, oh yeah, just for the record, just because i get shy about it all sometimes: THIS IS NOT A BLOG. for starters, i absolutely detest&depise the word "blog." it's just so gay. ya know?

this is more like a personal journal that's open to the public (or at least my friends list.) and to me, a "blog" implies some sort of open discourse on Matters Important. and also, a lot of self-importance, and that's like the last thing i think of all my blah-blah-blah. it's just that words are fun toys, ya know? (and i super get off on recording in the venacular.) and i couldn't write a piece of fiction if a gun were held to my head since i can only write what i know, ya know? and sometimes these silly words are just hollering to get out of my head.

so, yes.

this is not a blog.

Welcome to Oakland!

+
-no more rush hour bridge traffic commute to rehearsal
-lots of street parking close to my apartment
-my own room
-my two housemates seem to be TOTALLY awesome
-3 windows in my very large room
-sunshine
-shared food with two vegetarians that buy produce at a farmer's market

-
-far from friendies (except Jack and Ed)
-long commute to work at LEVYdance (but not during rush hour, at least, and less days)
-the car parked directly in front of the house: tires slashed, window broken, wires pulled out, obviously been stolen and abandoned. it's been there for a week, apparently.
-i ALWAYS get lost in Oakland. ALWAYS (ok, except on my way to this house...which i took as a good sign)


Attention: shameless plug ahead!
Saturday, August 6th, at Studio Gracia (19 Heron St., off 8th between Folsom and Harrison). Drink. See. Nibble. Dance. LEVYdance hosts the Salon (part deux). I'll be there. Working (and, most likely, drinking lots of beer) and mingling. The first one was muchly fun, and some really great work was shown (and some ok work, but none that I disliked).

Each artist is invited to show 5 minutes - no costumes, no lights, no fuss.
Just raw, risky and fun.

Channel Surf 5 minute New Works by:
Kara Davis (dance)
Nils Bultmann (music)
Elizabeth Castaneda (dance)
Mark David Ashworth (music)
Sarah Chiesa (dance)
LEVYdance (dance)
Marcos Duran (dance)
Chrissy Anderson-Zavala (poetry)
The Cloud City Rejects (music)

two showings, 8:30pm and 10pm
11:30pm-2am
Dance Party!! w/ DJs Pozibelle and Scott

Admission:
$10 at the door

back.

and was seen wearing my plastic rimmed glasses, a v-neck t shirt and drinking a pbr last evening at a trendy dive bar in the mission. the same day that i read the adbusters article about hipsters which has set several people all abuzz. liza, i think, has the best, most optimistic thoughts on this article and hipsterdom in her blog today (check, but don't wreck it...it's under my friends-s-s-s).

anyway.

I'm back in the city. After a lovely drive of sun, good music, and road-trip style bonding, Lindsey B. and I were greeted outside her inner richmond apartment by fog, grey skies, and wind. We promptly scrambled for our hoodies. I put on my hazards and pulled partway into a near by driveway. We unpacked onto the curb, and I watched our stuff/my car as L.B.J. ferrying loads inside. The familiarity of city life enveloped us, feeling strange and not fitting quite right. After 3 days back, I am re-acclimated to sitting in bay bridge traffic, spending 20+ minutes looking for a parking spot, walking, talking and thinking a little bit faster.

I dove right back in, no rest for me. Within 2 hours of being back in the bay area, I had a place to live, and then was on my way to a production meeting. I move into a 1 month sublet in north oakland on Wednesday (after a week on the floor of Lindsey and Gillian's apartment). After that, I'll hopefully move back into the city.

As for Blue Lake. I loved it up there, and I loved Dell Arte. I miss them both terribly. However, I'm not done with San Francisco. I still feel like I have a lot to explore and do and meet here. As for getting a job with Dell Arte. I didn't ask, so it wasn't offered. At some point, I'll probably ask, and it'll probably be offered. For now, I'm content with the likelihood of next summer, a Thanksgiving visit, and talking about how great BL is with Lindsey B.

To sum it up, a phone conversation:
G.L. : Are you happy to be back home?
M.F. :Home? There isn't a place that feels like home to me. But, yes, I'm happy to be back in the city.