"It's a school night, y'all."

It hasn't been a "school night" for me in a really long time.  The lead up to the first day of classes (tomorrow!) has been filled with adventure and stress and travel and ridiculousness.  Since arriving in Westchester County on August 20th, I have:

• trained for and began an on-campus job
• moved my belongings not once, not twice, but 3 times
• met all of my fellow graduate students, both first and second years
• broken my key in the lock of my new place
• slept in the office of my on-campus job
• interviewed all my professors for the upcoming year

Getting locked out of my house was the most stressful event of these, obviously, exacerbated by the fact that my cell phone was dead, it was 3am, and I had been traveling since 7:30pm the night before.  Registration was beginning in 5 hours and I had no way of contacting anyone.  I now keep my broken key on my key ring as a reminder that I am capable of handling myself - even in the most ridiculous, unlucky, frustrating situations, even while sleep-deprived.


One of the revolutionary things about the education philosophy of Sarah Lawrence is that the student is solely responsible for their course of study.  There is a certain number of credits you must take, but it is your choice what classes you take.  This means that registration is an entire week here, and during that week you decide what classes you might be interested in, and then you go interview each professor individually to see if the class (and the professor) is a good fit for you.  Then once classes start, there is a drop/add period for the following 3 weeks, in case your initial impression was wrong.

At the moment, I am enrolled in 12 classes.  Yeah, double digits.  So I'm grateful for the drop/add period, in the event I've bitten off more than I can chew.  There are as follows:

1. Contemporary Dance I
2. Dance/Music Improvisation
3. Contemporary Collaborative Performance
4. History of Musical Theatre
5. Acting Poetic Realism
6. Graduate Lab
7. Playwriting for Solo Performance
8. Devise/Direct/Perform
9. Puppetry: Marionettes
10. Alexander Technique
11. Design Elements

It's been a while since I've been this excited.    :)

10, 000 miles (and one week) later I'm no worse for the wear.

Mileage on first day of tour 2/3:  55, 309
Mileage on last day of tour 4/2:  64, 964

The drive home was lovely.  I took my time, stopped when I wanted to, relaxed and got to truly enjoy the ride.

I started with lunch at Barley's Taproom with buddy Jake - a student at UNC-Asheville.  Then I hopped around Asheville for a bit, looking for a dress for another wedding that I'm going to in July.

I finally hit the road around 4pm - putting my arrival time at about 8pm.  Plans changed, however.

I'd always planned to stop in Winston-Salem to see Jeremy, a senior at NCSA and one of my favorite people.  I'd promised my lactose-intolerant self one scoop of Baskin Robbins chocolate chip ice cream.  I ended up pressing on (missing Jeremy) and heading to Durham to see if City of Medicine - a monthly improv show in the style of Grey's Anatomy - wasn't sold out.  I got to see it, and then I made my way to Raleigh to have a late dinner with Lori and Eric at the Mill.

The complete list of cities in which I performed:

Robbins, NC
Walstersboro, SC
Wadesboro, NC
Martinez, GA
Americus, GA
Ellasville, GA
Lenoir, NC
Clayton, NC
Selma, NC
Chesapeake, VA
Gloucetser, VA
Powhatan, VA
Virginia Beach, VA
Jarvisburg, NC
Manassas, VA
Leesburg, VA
Woodbridge, VA
Sterling, VA
Reston, VA
Glenshaw, PA
Cleveland, OH
Cincinnati, OH
Grand Rapids, MI
Temperance, MI
Edgewood, KY
Louisville, KY
Lexington, KY
Brevard, NC
Raleigh, NC
Fuquay-Varina, NC
Cary, NC
Durham, NC
Apex, NC
Tryon, NC
Albemarle, NC
Hartsville, SC
Coulmbia, SC
Fellsmere, FL
Sanford, FL
Tifton, GA
Cumming, GA (still funny)
Lawrenceville, GA
Charlotte, NC


90 performances total.  RIDICULOUS.

And now I week after my return, I hit the road once more for Virginia Beach   :)

I'll keep you posted.

Georgia is gone with a bang.

While leaving Georgia I encountered several amusing sights:

I drove through Bethlehem, GA.  Cute.

Driving through , passed a sign for insurance salesman Rhett Butler - I kid you not -  he works for State Farm.

Driving through Athens, passed a barber shop called "Samson & Delilah".

Driving through Washington, passed a plantation that appears to now be a museum.  Confederate flag hanging by the front door and everything.  

BONUS:  About 20 seconds after crossing into SC, I'm informed that a good portion of Interstate 20 is named the "Strom Thurmond Highway".

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I decided that the only way to end this day was to eat at the Cracker Barrel.  :)

Weekend Wrap-Up From Duluth, GA

ORLANDO WAS AMAZING!!!!!


I wanna live there - SERIOUSLY.  Weather was kickass, the atmosphere was laid-back and welcoming, and I saw a wonderful show at the Orlando Shakespeare Company.

I also went shopping at an Outlet mall that was 3 times the size of Crabtree Valley Mall.  I may or may not have pushed aside my general dislike of shopping to peruse the outlet stores of Adidas, Journeys, and Forever 21.  I purchased my first official pair of converse (gray), two pairs of cute dress pants, and a polka dot shirt - you know how I feel about polka dots.  :)

On Saturday I checked out Lazy Moon Pizza at the suggestion of Margaret Ellen, and saw some of the UCF campus - they offer an MFA in Acting.  Hmmm.

Then I skated over to Orlando Skakes to see if I could get a ticket at the student rush price.  I scored hardcore - a $10 ticket for a FRONT ROW SEAT.  The show was excellent and made me want to work there.  Made me want to live there.

We'll see.   :)

Weekend/Week/Weekend Update from Florence, SC :)

It's been a busy time and I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while.

I was in Raleigh this past weekend and week, catching up with people and absorbing their positive energy and enjoying every moment of privacy I could steal.  I saw a bunch of theatre (you'd think I'd be sick of it by now) and ate at Gypsy's 3 times!!!!!  I'm lame.  :)

Still editing the video from my day o' fun with Will Stutts  - look for that soon!

I've actually just wrapped up a lovely weekend.

Saturday morning I performed at the Tryon's Children Theatre - an event over 30-years old where many different types of acts come and perform: from jugglers to mimes to ventriloquists.  We shared our space with the best ventriloquist I've ever seen in my life.  Too cool.  We performed in an art-house movie theatre, very similar in design and vibe to the Rialto Theatre of Raleigh - Truly Awesome, except that I fell on my ass (yes, literally) both shows.  Well, God has to keep us humble.  :)

Tryon Theatre - The slipperiest theatre thus far!

Our show was well-received; the Prince jokes were greatly appreciated by the adults in the audience.  :)  We also got to participate in the parade; they closed down the street in front of the Fine Arts Building and we walked behind a banner and waved at children.  It was one of the most adorable things I've ever been a part of.

Then I continued my adventure to Greenville - a mere 40 minutes from Tryon - to meet the divinely lovely Meghan Meier!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd told her I just wanted to go to Barley's for pizza; the rest of the activities were up to her.  We traveled to Simpsonville to celebrate one of her friend's birthday, and played on the swing set in the backyard.  She took me to see the house that she's closing on the end of the month, and then we were off to downtown to participate in the Google event.  The city of Greenville asked people to come downtown Saturday night to gather in the park and spell out the word 'Google' with red, blue, and green glow sticks in an effort to get Google to bring their fiber optic network there.  It was amusing making fun of the people who were a little too excited/enthusiastic to spell, but when all 2500 volunteers did the wave, I've gotta admit, it was a sight to see. It was a really fun, once-in-a-lifetime thing to do in downtown Greenville.

I'm in the big G, part of the tab part!

Having walked around all evening, Meghan and I decided to ride a rickshaw to Barley's.  (As many times as I've wanted to ride one in downtown Raleigh, I find it amusing that the first one I ride is in a town I'm visiting.) Pizza was kickass as usual, but we were exhausted as ever, so instead of getting into more trouble we decided to head home.  After a pathetic attempt to watch Bedknobs & Broomsticks, we settled into sleep.

I slept really well.  And I actually got enough.  I REALLY needed that.

Sunday was brunch at an uppity place called High Cotton.  Wasn't sure if they were actually going to let me in -  I mean, it was South Carolina, and I was wearing jeans - but it was a pretty fancy schmancy place.  The food was eh.  It was okay, I guess.

Then Meghan and I finally sat our butts down in her living room and watched Bedknobs & Broomsticks.  Being that it was the 25th anniversary DVD edition, there were many deleted songs added back into the final cut.  They should've left them out, quite frankly; the editor has a job for a reason.

And now, I am back on tour - the final stretch.  13 days to be precise, with as many performances.  We're basically going in one big circle:  Columbia, SC to Orlando, FL to Tifton, Ga to Cumming, GA to Columbia, SC and then back to Asheville.  I'm planning to treat myself to a LEGENDARY drive home; I've most definitely earned the right to control my travel destiny for a day of awesome.

Stay Tuned!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up From Ann Arbor, MI and Romulus, MI - Part ONE.

2nd DAY OFF!!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't complain.  It's nice to have time to decompress.......and SLEEP.  

I spent Friday (1st Day off) trying to kill time.  We had to check out of the hotel at noon, but we were staying in Grand Rapids, and the next hotel's check-in didn't start til 3pm.  So I spent the majority of the day in Woodland Mall, a mall that contains every single store you've ever entered in your life. Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, DSW, Marhsalls, Nordstrom, etc., the list goes on.  There were plenty of restaurants around as well, so stopped at the Red Robin for lunch.  

After checking into the hotel, I returned to the mall to get myself into trouble.  I've always gotten great deals on clothing at TJ Maxx, so I thought I'd check out the selection and make some bad decisions. 

TJ Maxx was disappointing - although I did a couple of $5 DVDs - so I decided to head over to DSW.  

Worst (Best?) Decision Ever.

Katherine Heigl:  What's wrong with comfort and efficiency?

Gerard Butler:  Nobody wants to f*ck it.

I must preface this story by saying that I do not like to shop in general.  You may recognize the above quote from the worst film of 2009, The Ugly Truth - if not, you dodged a bullet there.  But I guffawed at those lines. I'm the girl that dresses for comfort - not cuteness.  If I can wear jeans, I'm going to.  Me in a dress is a rare occurrence.  

And shoes.  I'm not gonna buy a pair of shoes unless they're gonna be comfortable, and I'll be able to wear them with a large percentage of my wardrobe.  I'm not into buying shoes that match just one or two outfits.

Once every few years, I'll see a piece of clothing that speaks to me - that truly captures my essence.  And that happened on Valentine's Day.  I was in Ross shopping for a dress - I'm singing at a wedding in April and I wanted to attempt to look nice - and my mom came across this blue cocktail dress that fits me like a glove.  AND it has POCKETS!!!!!  Love.It.

My mom promised to keep a lookout for shoes that would go with it.  Fast forward to me in the DSW.  I called my mom to ask her what kind of shoes I should be looking for; I was hoping that she wouldn't say blue.  She did, of course.  Blue or silver.  Um, okay, silver?  SERIOUSLY?  I expressed my concerns that I would wear these shoes once and then they'd collect dust in my closet, but my mom reassured me that if I bought a cute pair, I could wear them to dress up jeans and skirts - should I ever decide to put one on.

Touche', Mom, Touche'.

So off I went.  I really despise the trying on part of shopping more than anything else (except maybe the "surrendering money" part), so I only picked up shoes that I actually thought I would wear.  I would take a picture and send it to my mom (finally, a useful purpose for a camera phone) and then she would yay or nay.

These are the shoes I viewed:

Shiny.  First shoe I saw - and the only one I tried on that wasn't from the clearance rack.

Ugly.

I kept trying to convince my mom that beige would work, but she was right.  Nice shoe, though.

Still not sure how I feel about this one.  (Not a good sign.)

The runner up.

The WINNER.  (They're actually a little big, but I bought cushy insoles!)

I bought these, too.  Same brand.  (Bandolino - check out bandolino.com.)

I spent more than I planned, but I got both pairs for $60!!!!!  Check out the SAVINGS!!!!!

SCORE.

And that was my shopping Friday.  Lord have mercy.  My mom is such a bad influence.  When I go to the Tonys, she will have picked out my outfit; it'll be one less thing I'll have to worry about.  The thing about shopping is that once you start, it's hard to stop.  I found myself trying on shoes I didn't even want.  However, I do know what I'll buy if I ever let myself enter a DSW again:

WORD.  :)

Travel Tips from Lorm: The Hotel Edition

Choosing a hotel is the most critical part of a trip.  If you're staying at a crappy place, it can totally make or break your experience.  

Having been on the road this past month and staying in a new hotel practically every night, I wanted to offer some tips for selecting a hotel.  

Here's how I rank hotels; the qualities/amenities I require are listed by importance, starting with the most essential:

• Cleanliness.  The most important thing is that a hotel be clean - ESPECIALLY the bathroom.  If the bathroom isn't clean, I don't feel clean.  It has to look and smell clean.
• Free internet.  I shouldn't have to pay an extra daily fee to have something that is pretty much a universally acknowledged necessity in 2010.  
• Free breakfast.  It's nice to be able to walk to breakfast in your pajamas.
• Decent cable channels.  I've now been to 3 hotels that have 5 ESPN channels, Cartoon Network, but no Comedy Central.  WTF??????
• Decent curtains.  One of the first things I associate with hotel living is being able to sleep in without any intrusion from the outside world, including the most obvious - daylight.  If the curtain doesn't keep daylight out, I'm sorry - it's a lame curtain.
• Microwave/Refrigerator.  Now we're getting into nice extras, but it's nice to be able to store leftovers and reheat them later - it saves money.
• Open Space for my luggage.  I like to keep a clean, open room.  It sucks when there's so much furniture in a room that you're tripping over your suitcase.

Based on this criteria (and others), I've come to these conclusions:

My favorite chain of hotels is the Hampton Inn.  If I'm not mistaken, Hilton purchased all the Hampton Inns so they are now under the umbrella of Hilton hotels - meaning they're awesome, but not nearly as expensive as staying at a Hilton.  Comfortable beds, excellent breakfast, and spacious rooms.

I've stayed at a few Hyatt Places recently.  The design of each of them is identical, and they are BEAUTIFUL.  

Lobby area.

Front Desk Area.

Rooms are HUGE.

Pretty SWEET.

The downside of the Hyatt Place is that they don't offer free breakfast.  The food they do offer is pretty pricey.  However, if space is what you're looking for, Hyatt Place is the place for you.  :)

STAY AWAY from Days Inn altogether.  You can never be sure what level of clean you're going to get.

If you find the Hyatt Place and Hampton Inn chains out of your price range, pull up to a Comfort Inn or a Quality Inn.  They're owned by the "Choice Hotel" chain of hotels, and they're affordable.  They always have free internet, free breakfast, and decent cable.  Most of the ones I've stayed in have also provided a microwave/fridge, a fitness center, and a business area, should you need to print something out.

Well, that's my 50 cents.  I should've been a travel agent.