No one can replace Tami!

About a week ago I was at the Davis Post Office sending off a belated birthday present for Ethan Wiley, the son of Kate & Chris. I saw a woman whose hair was curly in a style similar to mine. Or at least what mine USED to be. So I got up the nerve to ask her where she got her haircut. "Salon de Arcelia, right next to my consignment shop," she said. She gave me her card and put Arcelia's number on the back. Downtown Sac???!!! Hmmm, I have to get in the car!?

It's been a few weeks since someone complimented me on my hair. Usually when those are clumped together, you can bet that it will be time for a cut within 2 weeks.

With the LACK of humidity in these parts, I am trying to get used to what my hair does and what products from my arsenal work best. Lately, there's nothing that I can do to keep it looking presentable all day long. It's been about 10 weeks since my tearful goodbye with Tami at VanMichael's in VA-HI. Holy cow, 10 weeks???!! I met Tami at the Van Michael's in Buckhead when they raised money for the tsunami victims by giving reduced priced haircuts and donating the proceeds. While I resisted the higher price and tried bartering with her for a while, I just had to suck it up since her haircuts were so stinkin' great.

So yesterday, after watching a bit of Tadashi Suzuki's King Lear and ARTs bobrauschenbergamerica on video for my CORE class, I reverted to my old ways and went to see if anyone at David's Haircutting could do their thing. I found this particular place on the local wiki site. All of the stylists were recommended and they were not charging an arm and a leg.

Of course when I arrived, only one stylist was there and she was booked up for the remainder of the day. I decided to treat myself to lunch -- drown out the disappointment with food -- instead. My meal at the Davis Noodle Shop was okay. Huge portions, but my Spicy Chicken was deep fried. Not my favorite. I brought it with me to Christine's, so we will "doctor" it up for dinner tonight.

Once I got home from lunch, I called Salon de Arcelia and left a message. If she didn't call back, I planned to head over to Lil Bit Sassy to see if there was someone available. As I walked to Dutton Hall to pick up some unknown financial aid check, she called me back with an appointment for 11AM today. I decided to make it a Sacramento Day -- complete with a Slumber party at Christine's to end the day.

I have been in Sac a few times with Chad, but for the most part I really didn't know where I was going. I got to the corner of J and 24th, but I didn't see the Salon or the consignment store. And then I completely doubted myself with the number. Was it 2100 or 2400? Um, help.

I drove around the block with a slightly larger circumference and when I passed 24th again I pulled over to re-group. I looked up to my left and there they were. Arcelia is super cool and has expanded her "practice" to include massage, reflexology and facelift facials. She and her husband are hugely spiritual and she is a true artist. My hair was her canvas and she gave me a great cut. I am never happy with how anyone else styles my hair, so I cannot wait to play with it myself. But she did give me these cute-as-a-button kiss clips!

It's FINALLY here!

After so many questions about school and my opinions of it, I can finally say that I will be able to tell you tomorrow. I'm officially orientated and many times welcomed -- heck, I even went to convocation, (but that was more about the marching band playing at it's conclusion) -- so I guess "they" feel I'm ready to go.

Wish me luck!

Some educ-me-cation, please John...

I was pulled over today by a bicycle cop.

Isn't that funny?

After a full day of sitting on my hiney at orientation I decided to take a bike trip to the post office to pick up my mail. See, my ditzy landlord ordered that some mailbox locks be changed and she gave the locksmith the WRONG address. So for some "unknown" reason I could not open my mailbox all last week. She came by and sprayed some WD-40 thinking the lock was stuck. So, I put a hold on my mail.

Last Friday, I got a knock at the door and some nice locksmith guy explained the whole situation and gave me a new key. Oddly, enough I got a phone call TODAY from my landlady asking what ever happened with the lock.

Davis is like the biking capital of the world. Okay, maybe not the world but the city's logo is a bicycle. Everyone's got one, and bike lanes are prevalent. Did I mention the terrain is FLAT! Too bad most people do not wear helmets and I have seen WAY too many people talking on their cell phones while peddling away.

I am not that adept in the bicycle riding department, so I am the proud owner of a super cool red helmet and go very slow. But give me a few months and I will have KILLER quads!

So, on my way to the post office today, I failed to make a complete stop at the corner of 3rd and C. The officer made a U-ey and eased over in my direction. No flashing lights, no hoopla. There was even a moment where I thought "is this guy stopping for me?"

I was informed by John, the former radiology professor, and part-time policeman that bicycles must follow the same rules as cars and the $140 fine for rolling through a stop sign is the same for both. Yikes! Since there was a chance that he was going to ticket me, I turned on the charm and asked "while I've got you here" if there's anything else I need to know. You know I am all about the education, right now. He gave me some strange radiologist fact, as a joke, and then praised me for wearing a helmet.

According to my new buddy John, he makes $30/hr. to be outside in the sun and keep everyone safe. He added that his grandkids have quite a college fund. He asked me what I did and I told him that I was a grad student in the department of Theatre and Dance -- studying acting. He asked me if I was acting "right then."

I immediately thought of the book Sanford Meisner On Acting. It's a fascinating book about Meisner leading a group of students through his approach. Early in the book he asks his class if they were listening to his instructions as an "actor" or as a "character."

With this additional knowledge, I giggled and smiled at the nice police officer and said, "no acting officer, this is me."

A ride to the coast or SHOUT OUT #3

With departmental orientation starting tomorrow I decided to replace my day of laundry, grocery shopping & syllabus planning and take the 90 minute drive to Marin County today.

The terrain goes from flat, flat, FLAT to mountainous and for lack of a better word -- interesting. 80W to 37W to 101S -- a drive I highly recommend and much shorter in feel than it's 75 miles.

For most of the trip out there I was on the phone with Melanie, the teacher of record of DRA 10, the class I teach this fall quarter. I have been freaking out about my lack of teaching experience and after our conversation I feel that I'm much further along than I thought. I mean I have a theme and everything. I also have TONS of support, I just have to ask.

I was on the phone with my father as I drove into Sonoma County and got excited about the thought of being surrounded by some great vineyards. Unfortunately you cannot see any of them from the freeway, so with constant changing of the radio, eventually landing on Garrison Keillor, I stumbled into Marin.

My destination was Mill Valley and the Marin Theatre Company -- the new artistic home for Jasson Minadakis. I wanted to see the first show of the new season, Love Song by John Kolvenbach. It was a truly lovely bittersweet comedy. I was amazed that I have not been to a theatre or seen a show since The Servant of Two Masters in the beginning of July.

I emailed Andrea and Jasson on Friday, but due to Yom Kippur I did not finalize plans with them until this morning. After a brief phone call with Andrea at 9:38, we realized if I wanted to meet her and Alexis Weiss at noon, I had to be on the road in 20 MINUTES!!

I took a quick shower and jumped in the car with my bottle of water, DRA 10 file folder, cosmetic bag and hands-free cell phone attachment.

I made great time and had a yummy brunch at TOAST with Andrea and Alexis. It was so refreshing to see familiar, friendly faces. We each moved our lives across the country and are starting new adventures. We each certainly had good rental housing stories to share. It was during this conversation that I learned a bit of news that warrants a shout out.

My third official shout out goes to Andrea and Jasson Minadakis for quitting smoking and becoming yoga enthusiasts (read: obsessed!) They had both tried to quit for a while, but as you may know the crazy West Coast hippies are not a fan of cigarettes. I am not sure what the "last straw" was, but it certainly could have been when someone in Mill Valley SPIT at Jasson as he walked down the street puffing away. Close your mouth, hush that gasp and remember that one, class.

So, let's raise a glass of very well-priced California wine to my favorite non-smokers.

Namaste!

Reasons to smile

1. Starting the day with a nice walk, a hot cup of coffee and a fresh bagel
2. TONS of books at my disposal in the library
3. My snuggling kitties
4. My super cool red helmet from the Bike Barn
5. Said helmet only costing me $10.75
6. Keeping up with all of the experienced people in my first Core Fitness class
7. The songs on my ipod Shuffle
8. My clean apartment
9. A good WIFI connection today
10. The weather -- a sunny 65

Things that make you go, hmmm...

Today was the first day in my academic career that I was addressed as a "scholar."

Be very afraid, folks.

It was to a large group of us during the orientation seminar about how to work efficiently with your mentor or major professor -- but still.

Today was also the first day we saw a stitch of rain. And I'm talking about the cold and yucky kind, not the warm and refreshing.

Coincidence or is it a sign from a higher power? Don't forget that we are in the middle of the Days of Awe.

Oooh, is that the marching band??!! Gotta go!

Isn't technology interesting?

I am still "borrowing" free wifi from a neighbor. I love that I get a little pissy when this does not work -- as if I am entitled to be able to get on the internet whenever I damn well please.

The joys of using a shared server also allow me to view any itunes libraries that are on the same server. Isn't that wild?

So today I am listening to the eclectic library of "musaq" who has a bit of reggae, hip hop, The Beatles and Thelonius Monk.

I scanned the list quickly and believe the only song we both share is Johnny Cash's Desperado.

Which is a horrible verion, by the by.

Is that dirt under my fresh manicure?

My fellow first year MFA actress buddy, Christine recently celebrated a birthday. I missed her birthday during the week, so I planned to take her out to dinner this weekend.

Think bigger, you say? Well okay.

Classes haven't started yet and she had a weekend without the kids, therefore we decided to make more of the weekend and drove to Lake Tahoe to hike and camp. Really, it just came out of suggestion of drinking hot chocolate and brandy in front of the fire.

Jen and Lachlan would be proud.

My last camping experience was around Cherokee, NC and ended in a rainstorm with me in a tent surrounded by water. Lachlan tried to awaken me, but since the rain was so loud (and I was a tad intoxicated), I almost slept through he and Jen trying to escape to dry ground. Thanks to Bill Murphey who opened his Unto These Hills cabin and allowed us to take over his living room.

The drive is about 2 1/2 hours from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. As usual I got a tad carsick and was very happy to back into a nice spot at the campground and get out of the car.

We set up camp and decided to head back into the more touristy part of town. And just because we could, we crossed the border into Nevada and drove past the casinos. All this while munching on a splurge of KFC popcorn chicken and cole slaw.

Christine is an experienced camper and I spend the last day or so trying to pull my own weight. The views on the hikes were just breathtaking. Thank god I had the good excuse to stop and oohh and ahh, just so I could catch my breath.

My clothes all smell like campfire and yes, my mani doesn't look so good -- but aren't you all jealous?

Turn that frown...

So last night while eating chips and salsa and drinking a gin and tonic, before Christine came over to join me in eating more chips and salsa and more cocktails! -- I got a voice mail from Jade, my advisor. She mentioned something about a TA position for fall. Um, I am already a TA for Drama 10 this fall, what could she possibly mean?

So today she informed me that since Jesse, a fellow MFA actor (and blog reader!) is taking the quarter off to teach, there is a slot open to work on The Third Eye Festival -- an undergraduate play festival where they handle all things, but need a little guidance.

So I am now the official Assistant Artistic Director of the festival and get an additional 25% TA ship for Fall and Winter quarters. The position is technically a 50% TA ship, but since I can only take on 75% (with a petition from the department) I have more responsibility and get DOUBLE the amount of money split over 2 quarters.

I will read the three plays over the next few days and then get ready for meetings, auditions and a bevy of rehearsals in the weeks to come. The plays are not performed until January, so I'm sure you will hear the frustrations and excitments until then.

I am very excited about this project. Hopefully the additional time commitment will not kill me.

Not so charming

I got an email today from Della that said that she and Ed really thought I brought some interesting things to the table, but they really need a man. You know, Claude Levi-Strauss and all.

I totally agree and think that the process would have driven me crazy, but it's still a rejection. And rejection sucks.

That on top of this Rosh Hashana time of reflection and being lonely. I'm sad.

I'm having a sad day.

Not being familiar with different tunes to known prayers at synagogue this morning, walking to and from with sandals that hurt my feet kinda started the day off badly.

I don't think watching The Royal Tenenbaums has lifted my spirits nor has observing tashlich by throwing a small piece of sourdough into the stagnant, algae green water at the Arboretum.

So, on my way home I stopped at the department to pick up The Shape of Things from my mailbox. It's the one of the plays I am using in my DRA 10 class and I sat by the Egghead sculpture called "Stargazer" on campus to read a scene or two.

Things are looking up.

The joys of fighting

When I found this cute cottage apartment listed on craigslist right in downtown Davis, I fought to get it. I kept emailing the woman who manages the property, called her numerous times and heard her say over and over again that I don't want to live in her property.

Needless to say, that made me fight more and eventually I signed a year lease. Upon arrival from the airport I found a hot, tiny, dirty apartment -- which with a little TLC has become quite charming.

But Hope, um, we know all this already. We read your blogs. Heck, we are newly subscribed.

Yes, dear ones, I know. This just a precursor to say I may have done it again. Ready yourselves for a bunch of links.

One of the main reasons I chose UC Davis is the collaborative nature of the program and the fact that there is a physical theatre IN RESIDENCE on campus. The first show of the season, Collapse, is a co-production between that physical theatre, Sideshow, and the new hoity, toity arts center, The Mondavi Center. (Yes, the wine dude donated a chunk of change to build it and in fact, a new wine institute is under construction right next door.)

Anyway, I contacted the choreographer a few weeks back and asked to meet with her to express my interest in working with her and Collapse especially. At our meeting at Cafe Bernardo, she said that she really would like to work with me, but does not think there is a role for me in this project. Well, poops.

However, yesterday, out of the blue, I got an email from her saying that there MAY be a role and asking me to come to a rehearsal/audition at 6:30pm on Tuesday. Yippeee! My "fight" on this one was more internal. I had a secret hope and in fact my parents already have their tickets to come opening weekend.

I asked Della if I need to do any prep and she reminded me that the project is based on a book of the same title by Jared Diamond. Well, the full title is Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. I know, how are these crazies going to make a dance piece about this?

So, I reserved the book at the public library and did whatever research I could online. Easter Island, Rwanda, Montana, yada, yada, yada. I also watched part of a lecture the author gave earlier this year at Columbia. I did fall asleep during the middle section, but I do intend to go back and watch that tomorrow. *grin*

This evening, I walked to the dance studio and upon arrival Della introduced me to the stage manager and ASM. She showed me the set model and we waited for the other performers to arrive -- Sara, a second year MFA actor and Dave, a grad student in sociology who is doing his dissertation on theatre and performance. They are playing the roles of "A" and "B" respectively. We warmed up on our own and prepared to do a read-through. I asked Kristin, the SM for a script and looked at the role of "C" who apparently "enters later."

The script is certainly not linear and I have to be honest and say that I am not quite sure what the arguments are. My character is referred to as "he" and the end of the script as it stands right now is a long, glib monologue C gives about the hutus and the tutsis.

After the reading, we ask lots of questions and start a discussion when in blows Ed, the writer with his DOG! Unfortunately, he spends much of the time explaining how the characters are feeling and what we should be doing. Um, how 'bout WRITING that??!! In the SCRIPT?!

We work on the big monologue and as I find out in the only other scene I have right now, my character is based on Claude Levi-Strauss. And please remember, that I just received the script not an hour earlier and I am still not sure if I am cast in this crazy thing. Incorporating the direction, "you just had 3 Pernod and are smoking galoise, speaking indifferently to your ever adoring grad students" is basically impossible because I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING!

We end around 9:45pm and there is a brief discussion of scheduling, but Della still does not mention my continued involvement. She just says that things "went well" and that she will email me the specifics. Um, am I cast? Do you prefer a man to play this role? When the heck are rehearsals?

Well, folks all these questions have yet to be answered, but let's hope that something charming is the result.

I live in a weird frog-lovin' town...

For the past 2 years I was involved in a production of the musical A Year with Frog and Toad and just a few days ago completed a stint as a giant frog mascot. I have an affinity for the little buggers, I have to admit -- which makes me giggle and sigh when I read stuff like this...

Toad Hollow is the famous miniature village located on the eastern entrance of the Toad Tunnel near the main Davis Post Office. Ted Puntillo Sr., the builder of the Toad Hollow village, has also written a book title "The Toads of Davis," which tells the story of the town's legendary toad tunnel. In 1995, the city of Davis spent $14,000 to build a frog and toad tunnel under the Pole Line Road overpass across Interstate 80 -- between the post office and an empty field on the other side of the road expressly so frogs could cross the road safely.

Did you know that the Frog Tunnel was not put in at the exact spot where the frogs cross the road? Apparently, it was put in several feet away from the crossing location, and today the frogs ignore the tunnel and still cross the road where they always have, which means they continue to get squished by cars!

Subscription only

Hey all, I need to put on my more professional hat in a few days as I continue prepping for my students to be. Since it's uber easy to google me, I just want a little extra security.

No pressure, but if you want "in," just let me know.

Facebook = crack

So, the other day my friend Sarah made a comment on her blog about facebook. You mean, that networking site for college kids? Wait, I'm a college kid.

I went to check it out 2 days ago and have not been able to be off it for more than a few hours.

I have been made into a zombie by my friend Christopher who I did a show with in 1992, I have drawn graffiti with my soon-to-be classmate Christine and have had a virtual food fight with some guy name David who I didn't even know.

I do have to say that it's nice to connect with some folks who I have not spoken with in a while, but needless to say it's addicting.

Don't do it, Sarah.

Or if you do, wanna be in my zombie army? I'm a Leftenant!

No more corn dogs!

Well, truthfully there were not any corn dogs, but I reached the end of my California State Fair experience on Monday, the day we celebrated the strength of trade and labor organizations.

So no more frog suit, but I did wind up with eating bad Thai food, a frozen banana with chocolate & nuts, fried artichokes, a fish taco with fried zucchini, a chocolate dipped soft serve cone and one fantastic root beer float during the 16 days of fun and adventure.

Chad (of Chad Unlimited fame) also came down to the final 2 days of the fair and we saw Chicago and Weird Al Yankovic.

Totally cool. Both are completely underrated. Here are some old youtube clips for your viewing pleasure.



I have to admit that I did get up and groove to this Chicago song. It's one of my faves.

And this Weird Al character was quite a show man. He interspersed his great songs with video clips like this, so he could change costume. I swear the man just about wore a completely different outfit for each song. Enjoy!

So, I didn't get my road trip...

But Scott Gross of the New York Times did. He's the Frugal Traveler.

Really cool stuff. Check it out, here. I wanna do week 12 of his journey. The Pacific Coast. Anyone wanna join me?