Christmas Vacation

I am now in the boredom section of christmas break.
I have so far been to MN to the mall of america and seen "Alter Boyz" while Danielle was visiting. (Between blizzards that is)
Alter Boyz was great! I loved it. It makes fun of christianity in a good way, in a way that makes you think about the kind of christian you are. It's also very punny, which I like. I think I'm liking being the only audience member under the age of 40 in an audience, you get more attention from the actors and you know that you're the source of all the audience response... kinda fun.
I then got sick from my sister... Merry Christmas to me.
Then we played games at grandparents for christmas and yesterday we played Rock Band at my aunts' house (without the boys there!) Just practicing for when we do play with the boys... hehe.
Today I'm bored and watching a House Marathon.
Happy late christmas, Happy New Year and Enjoy the boredom!

Negating the stupidity of the world

I just took a crap-tastic test. It's so crappy that I'm blogging about it, that's how crappy it was. I didn't even do the extra credit because it was just so crappy... I can't wait until I'm a teacher and I'm teaching the class...my kids will actually learn something and I'll test them on the things they learned and studied! The big part of this semsester was on the 1890s-today. You know how many questions were on the test about those 7 chapters? 2 questions both about the 1920s!!!!!! Oh and make sure you know when the sewing machine was invented because it's on the test! Was it? No! (1846)
And when the zipper was invented, because it's on the test! was it? No! (1891)
And know which fabrics are natural, manufactured and synthetic because they're on the test! Were they? No! (natural-cotton, linen, wool, silk. manufactured-rayon, acetate. synthetic-polyester, nylon, acrylic and blends.)
How about, why were pantyhose invented? because they had to wear something under micro mini skirts!
Who invented blue jeans and why? Levi Strauss when he was panning for gold in California during the gold rush bc men kept ripping the butts out of their jeans. He also had the great idea of dying denim blue.
When were jeans made popular? they were adopted in the 60s as a symbol for liberating the working class.
Who pays $2,000 for a pair of vintage Levi 501 jeans? some dork in Japan
What's the difference between vintage and retro? Vintage is the actual old clothing (a dress made and worn in 1960) Retro is short for retrospective and takes inspirations from the past (a dress made and worn today that was inspired by or looks like one from 1960)
What is mod style? adopted by the Beatles and it was the belief that boys could wear pretty clothes too.
When was is popular for couples to dress alike? 1970s
When did Chanel start designing, where and when was her come back, and what did she design? She started in the 1920s in france, had her own couture house, her comeback was after WWII in 1946 (which was when Dior brought out his "The New Look") and she was known for making matching sweaters and skirts and making the suntan look popular.
Who invented Couture? Charles Worth
Who was Paul Poiret? He was a french couturier in the 1930s (with Erte and Vionnet and Schapairelli) that liberated women by getting rid of the corset and creating the hobble skirt, which tied the knees together and made women hobble--also known as the speed limit skirt.
I could go on forever!!!!! Does this test show that I know something? No, because it was written so crappily! I should have just written "watteau back" 50 times on it because there were 5 questions on that, asking the same thing 5 different ways!!!!! And, I had the best presentation in the class, BY FAR and i get a 98/100. Why? because she's mad at me and doesn't want to give me 100.
I am going to be a good teacher because I have to negate the stupidity of the world!

Motivation for sale?

Anyone have motivation bottled and for sale? When is science going to think that up? They'll make a bazillion dollars when they do! Especially in college bookstores!
What stinks is when I get motivated, I have to clean first before I can do anything so I have a space to work on! There are just some things that don't have a place to live because they're used to much... so where do they go when they're "away"? On the other half of the room...that I have to clean before I can do the next project. Maybe there's a flaw in my system...
Then there are the things that I just plain hate doing. I don't mind doing laundry, but I hate putting my clothes away. I don't mind loading the dishwasher, but unloading it isn't fun. And cleaning bathrooms...there isn't anyone that likes doing that!
I fly out in 5 days!!! Eeek! All I have to do is a costume design project where I turn people into bugs, make soup and find a white elephant gift and go to a christmas party that i really don't want to go to, read a half of a costume history text book and take an exam on it, build a bustle and a dress to go over it, and clean my entire house--including the really messy craft room. Ready... set... maybe I'll start on that tomorrow.

It's December, right?

It sure doesn't feel like December... There's still leaves on the trees and I'm outside running around in the sunshine and 50 degree weather today! It's supposed to be cold raining tomorrow though, so don't hate me too much. I'm going to go study for finals some more... Lord, let me be driven and focused for just one more week!

Happy December!

Happy December all! Huzzah! It's finally here!
Fun story from today. I was coming downstairs from my costume history class today and was about to go through the double doors when Darin opens the door, "hi, Britta." And he stops to hold the door open for me.
Just then, Willie comes through the other door, "hi, Britta." and stops to hold open that door.
Now I'm standing there with both doors open for me about to go through.
Just then, Wade comes around and stops, "hi, Britta." He stands next to Darin and holds that door open for me (even though it's already being held open.)
"Hi my 3 southern gentlemen," I said as I walked through the doors.

I later told this story to Diane and Danielle along with my husband from the plane story. I then realized that I have a lot of fun experiences in my life. Everyone has these experiences, but I think my outlook on life is such that I just notice and enjoy it more. I like irony more than the normal person I guess... I'm not sure. We then discussed that I should go to grad school in creative writing. UA has a great creative writing program I hear. Diane said that she'd buy a book I wrote because it would be ironically funny. That made me feel good. I will write a very random book someday I think. I'll keep ya posted!

"You're the prime minister"

I hear that its snowing at home now! There's a chance of snow here tonight... i think that's really funny actually that I may have a snow day tomorrow! I'll take a picture for the blog if I do!
I feel like it should be late evening instead of 2 in the afternoon! long morning of traveling! I went from Sioux Falls at 6:55am to Cincinnati then to Birmingham then drove an hour to Tuscaloosa!
My first flight I sat next to a quite attractive southern gentleman. I decided I was going to marry him then decided against it because 7am is just too early to be charming. We actually didn't talk to each other but it was fun to invent things about him. He kept on invading my leg space though. I stopped trying to move around to make him comfortable because i was uncomfortable. Maybe the marriage wouldn't work out if he is going to invade my precious little leg space like that!
I'm actually going to go see Australia with Emily (neighbor) now instead of being good and doing homework! I'm on break still so I can have one last hoorah! I'm having diner and baking cookies with the neighbors on thursday night too so that should be fun! I like just sitting around and visiting! Hopefully next semester I'll be able to spend more time with Emily and rebecca (baby!) now that the adjusting to grad school is over! Emily said she thinks she's getting a sewing machine for christmas (don't tell her husband she knows!) so she needs me to teach her how to use one! Emily really wants to learn how to make baby clothes... we'll see how that goes! Britta needs to learn baby clothes first! I bought her a cross stitch bib a month or 2 ago for me to teach her on but we haven't gotten around to that either...
Oh the things we say we're going to do because we think we have all the time in the world!

Now I'm back from the movie-- It was good but very long. One of those that you think it's done then it's not. You should go see it though. Hugh Jackman is probably older than my dad but he's still really hott! I wish they wouldn't have used blue screen computer stuff for the parts with the cows and riding on horses, that wasn't as cool as it could have been!

Oh--a story I was going to put on here then forgot. I was at Barnes and Noble studying last week and there was a man there with 3 kids--I assume Mom was shopping in the store somewhere. But the little boy (probably about 7 or 8) looks at his little sister (probably 5 or 6) and says, "I'm McCain and you're Palin!" Dad said, "who am I then?" Son, "you're the prime minister." I just sat there and laughed. I wonder if anybody told him that McCain lost a few weeks ago.

Death by Panier!

Okay, in order to understand the title--you must first google "panier" and you will realize that it is a very complicated contraption worn beneath a very complicated dress. Then google "robe a la francaise" and you will have a good idea of what I'm building for my construction class homework. All of us are very sure that this stupid aparatus will be the death of all of us (which we are making out of PVC pipe instead of the boning we're supposed to be using bc we don't have any in the shop!). Have you ever tried making a dress out of 1/4" PVC pipe? We actually had the scene shop kids down in the shop with us today working on them because we can't get the stupid things figured out. Emma's is especially complicated, I don't envy her at all.
Well, it's finally cold here in AL. It was kinda wierd. It was hot (like 75 degrees) then it rained and now it's about 30 outside. What happened to fall? It was like BAM! winter. Oh well. I go home in a week for thanksgiving, then it'll really be winter.
Dad and Brett just got home from Colorado yesterday. Brett shot 7 elk while they were on their hunting trip. He gave 3 of them away bc it would have been illegal to keep them. But still, we have 4 elk in our freezers at home now. I love how I have such odd stories to tell my friends!
Reckless opens on tuesday. I'm quite excited. I'm very pleased with how the costumes turned out for the show. Very 80s--but not gross campy 80s. More like shoulder pads and knock off power suit kind of 80s.
I'm working on an African project for my costume design class-"Death and the King's Horseman"- we'll see what happens with that. I do get to design some masks so I'm going to totally use my new favorite Taymor book!
I best do homework and go to bed.
Love you all!

Heat Wave!

We're having a heat wave! Record heat tomorrow, 81 degrees! It's not right to wear shorts in November. The kids here were complaining about how cold it will be soon. It snowed once here and the snow stayed around for 2 hours! Emma and I just shook our heads.
Heiress is open! hooray! Such stress the shop has been under lately! The dance show has dress rehearsal tomorrow and opens on tuesday. Then a week from tuesday RECKLESS opens! My show is sailing along smoothly and I'm praying that it stays that way!
I bought myself a treat today, I new tea cup and one of those dippy little christmas trees that are about 8 inches tall. I want a tree regardless of how Charlie Brown it looks!
I should be working on homework, but instead I cleaned my place up a bit and am now making a christmas wish list on Amazon.com while I watch Harry Potter!
I've decided that I want to be Julie Taymor when I grow up. Google her if you don't know who she is because her stuff is incredible! She is the one who did the costumes for Lion King on Broadway along with a lot of other sweet stuff! I am taking mask making and advanced makeup next semester and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! Eeeeee!!!!
A few days ago I broke my rearview mirror and I went to the auto store and fixed it all by myself! Aren't you proud of me, Dad?
Becky's been teaching undergrad classes for Donna this week since Donna's gone and I'm so jelous of her! She was asking us what she should talk about on friday and I was like "I wanna teach!" She's going to do something that involves watching Gone With The Wind! Argh! So unfair!

Life in detail

This week started off with a surprise (if you couldn't tell from my last post...) My Mom called on friday night at 1am and asked if I wanted to do lunch on saturday... So on saturday Mom came into Tuscaloosa for a few days. We went to Cracker Barrel and then Danielle came over after the football game to have a movie night with us.
Sunday was the day of Wild Party first dress rehearsal so Mom and I went into work at 1am. I ran around crazy getting things ready while I gave Mom to Emma for hand sewing duty. Haha--little did she know she was going to be put to work when she got here! It was nice having Mom here otherwise we would not have gotten the clothes done in time for dress rehearsal! Dress rehearsal went very well!
Monday I went to class and Mom came in to visit during my lunch break. She had orientation that morning...I may have a sister for a roommate next year, but that's really really up in the air right now! I went to Reckless rehearsal that night and then got home around 8:30. I stayed up late and got up early because I had 3 sets of thumbnail drawings for Twelfth Night due the next day.
Tuesday was a really nice day. I got up and got to spend some time with Mom before class. Donna surprised me with giving me the day off of work (which is standard for the assistant to have the day off of the day of thier show opening I guess) so I could hang out with Mom before her flight. We set up my hammock she brought me and ate turkey for lunch! After mom left I took a long nap and went and got my haircut. Then I was up late doing thumbnails for Reckless!
Thumbnails went over really well. I'm praying that it'll be an easy show to costume! Guy cast normal people in the show (vs. a bunch of petite/child size actors) so I don't know how much I can rely on our stock costumes. Be praying that I can find a "Price is Right" gold suit!
The run of Wild Party has gone well. I have learned one thing about actors. They are so very talented at breaking costumes in abnormal ways--like ripping the teeth out of a zipper. AND they will ALWAYS rip their crotches out of their pants--it is a guaruntee! Every night for 6 days we have had to repair at least 2 pairs of pants before the show was even over! One ripped the waistband out of his pants, I have no idea how you even do that!
Friday night I went for Thai food with Matt, Emma, Darin and Diane. It was a nice evening because I just felt so relaxed. It almost felt unnatural how mellow I was. We talked about stage combat class and Diane and I decided that we wanted to do some sword fighting in the costume shop jumping from table to table. Then matt and I went to see Wild Party together and I wore my new black dress. It was fun!
Yesterday Diane and I worked all day long. It was actually a nice day--despite dealing with 2 performances of Wild Party. I tried to run away from them but I still got ran to when there was a problem. Note to self: when there's a show going on, stay away from the costume shop! I went in wanting to work on Reckless and ended up doing fixes for Wild Party and just generally getting annoyed by the undergrads. But, it was a nice day in the end... maybe I'm wierd.

Surprise!

ATTENTION EVERYONE!
Don't ever try to surprise me with anything, EVER! I don't do surprises at all. I hate them and you have no idea how much they stress me out, even if it's "just for fun." Don't do it!

Wonderful Day!

This morning I got up at 6am to go to Birmingham with Alex and Diane. We went shopping for the show that Diane is designing (The Heiress) which opens in 3 weeks. We have to make a ton of dresses that are the HUGE hoop skirt kind! So we went to "the playhouse" to see any possible rentals then we went to the fabric store and looked at every bolt of fabric at least 3 times. After that we went to the Galleria mall and got ice cream. We got home around 5 pm. We all went and took naps then met again at the movie theatre to go see The Dutchess. It was such a good movie!!!! I HIGHLY recommend it to EVERYONE! Believe it or not, it was such a wonderful day! I would love to do that more often!

Walgreens and Life...

Here's a story. I went to Walgreens the other night to buy a stapler (of which there are no normal ones in this state!) and the sales clerk just randomly says "you know, you're pretty" as he's scanning my stuff. I just looked at him and said "uh, thank you" and walked out the door. It was so awkward! The man had on a pink shirt and better manicured nails than me, LONG nails!--It was too wierd.

Okay, I refuse to let this become a blog where I just whine about everything so I will just let it be said that the costume shop is stressed to the max. Today was the first day of fall break, and we put in a 9 hour work day instead of breaking. We even had homework due this morning even though we didn't have class. So, it's been a pretty stressful time and a pretty bad week. Next week won't be better, but we're opening wild party the next week and then life will be a bit better! And the show is so pretty, even though it's a big pain in the butt now! I decided that after all this underwear I've sewn and found and dealt with that I'm going to be the next Victoria Secret!

Amethist Pie

After a long 14 days of straight work, it was time to have fun! On Friday night, Emma and I went to diner together at Olive Garden and had A LOT of Italian food (tour de Italy...)! It was really fun just relaxing and having girl time with Emma.
After that, I picked up Danielle. We had a bit of a misunderstanding over tea. Diane had asked her to make tea and I couldn't understand why we were just going to bring hot water over to Diane's house. Then Danielle pulled Sweet Tea out of the fridge and the lightbulb turned on! I started laughing and explained that we don't drink iced tea at home like they do here!
Then Danielle and I went to Diane's place to watch movies. We watched Captain Corelli's Mandolin--which was so good! Then Diane and I made an Amethist Pie while Danielle watched Corpse Bride and looked online for Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments for here themed christmas tree that she's so excited about. While the pie was baking, we watched Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst. It was such a pretty movie. The pie was also quite yummy-blueberries, raspberries and craisins! It was a late night but a much needed night of relaxation!

Has anyone seen my brain?

My brain
looks like fried jell-o.
It's either shrivelled up or greatly swollen.
I don't know where it is
in this week of waking up to
"is it Friday YET?"
I hope it comes back
soon...


I'm over worked, over stressed, over exhausted and under paid. Yet, having the time of my life most of the time!

Dogs in Church

Okay, this really happened.
I went to church this morning and sat down right as the service was starting. We sang and danced around and it was great. The sermon started and I hear a "ruff" behind me. "Someone clearing their throat," I thought. Then little metal clinking noises start, "a baby playing with mom's keys or something." Then the Lord's Prayer, "forgive us our" *BARK!* I turn around and there is a dog sitting on the chair directly behind me!
Really people, who brings their dog to church? Then all I could think about was if dogs go to heaven or not...

Look what I did!

Here's pictures of my homework!
The "drape" pictures are for Costume Construction and the thumbnail is for Design 3.

Baptism by Fire

It's official, I'm a Grad Student!
I just had the busiest week ever. I had a bazillion presentations this week (more than my peers) and I got them all done on time and they were quality work! I am very proud of myself for that and for not having to stay up later than 2am on any given night this week. I actually didn't get stressed out until after it all was finished--more like when your body decides to shut down because it can't run on adrenaline anymore sort of things!
I had renderings for Arcadia in Design 3 due on Tuesday (presentation 1). I had a lot of fun rendering some of the characters--Jellaby especially, I made him fat and he's really adorable! I'll put a pic on here after I get him back!
Wednesday, I taught in my Costume History class (a 50 minute lecture= presentation 2). I actually had a blast doing it! I spent HOURS setting up my powerpoint, putting together guided notes, finding and making handouts, pulling actual costume pieces to bring in and inventing "Elizabethan Bingo."
In class: I passed out the handouts--which included an Elizabethan coloring sheet I found and a "design your own Tresham Triangle" worksheet I made! Then I started my presentation, covering a the Tudor family tree from Henry VIII-Elizabeth I, social and political context, the reformation, art and theatre of the time and architecture. Then, we discussed men's costume. After that, I dressed up 2 guys in the class in some pieces and played "what are you wearing?" Then I presented on women's clothing, dressed up 2 gals and played "what are you wearing? round 2." After that, we played "Elizabethan Bingo." I passed out blank bingo cards, put up a slide with new terms on it, and let them make their own bingo cards (with a "free indulgence" in the center space-- 10 points for anyone who gets that reference!) Everyone got real excited when I passed out M&Ms to use as their little bingo markers. Then I played a series of slides that contained pictures of these terms, each slide had 12 seconds for them to identify and mark their cards. The first bingo was crowned King of the class with a King-size snickers. Then we reviewed the bingo slides to see if they got them all right. I'm sorry if this section dulls you, but I HAD SO MUCH FUN TEACHING!!!! I loved it, and how many people can have fun preparing a lesson plan?
Thursday, I had my half drape for costume construction due (presentation 3= a 16th Century dress, picture will be included here later.) It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to do it, but I know that it will only get harder as Donna continues shoving huge loads of new things into my brain! My little brain is so tired by the time I get home everyday!
Also on Thursday, I had a presentation (#4) on the costume design group Motley. It was interesting researching Motley's designs because there are actually 3 people who make up Motley! It's not often you find a group of people doing designs under 1 name! And then I had to show and tell (presentation 5) my research and collage for the next play we're doing in design 3: Suburbia. Suburbia is about a bunch of 20-somethings who are stuck in the rut of suburban life and hang out outside the seven-11. It's an awesome play for anyone who likes theatre! I highly recommend reading it!
Thursday night, after having a party to stain the new costume tables (and getting a huge headache from that!), I did no homework--I couldn't anymore!-- so I watched Mansfield Park and ate ice cream.
Friday after work, I went shopping for art supplies and fabric swatches with Diane and Danielle. We ate some good mexican food, too!
Saturday I realized how terribly messy my house really was so I cleaned! I also sewed myself a toga for festivities later that night. I went to a BBQ at Krystal's apartment with a handful of the other grads and then most of us went to Guerrilla Theatre--sort of a talent show that the undergrads do once a month. This month they had a toga theme. I was really really impressed at the quality of stuff! It was a lot of singing and dancing from the musical theatre majors this time. Everyone told me I looked like a little Sprite in my costume.
Today, Sunday, is homework day and dress rehearsal for Moon Over Buffalo! Life doesn't seem to stop! But, the last few days have been full of fun and "me" time so I think I am refreshed enough!
Next weekend is USITT Masterclass-- Oy! I'm sure I'll write about that next week!
Love and Hugs to all who read this!

Sunday

Sleep in
have a long conversation with a new friend
enjoy the service at my new home church
attend a class after church on Christian Essentials
go to WalMart, buy a toaster
drive home
eat some coffee cake while checking email
put away the laundry that's been neglected
take a long nap
watch M*A*S*H
read a chapter of costume history on the Northern Renaissance
discover that Scarlett parts 3 and 4 are on
watch it while drawing and enjoying the sound of the rain
make hot chocolate
consider snuggling into freshly laundered sheets
good Sunday

Mail Ambush!

I was emotionally ambushed by my mail yesterday.
Before that: I recieved a "we have a package you have to pick up" slip in the mail on Wednesday. I didn't understand why they didn't leave them by the door like always. So I ran to the post office after work (which is very out of my way) on thursday and got there 12 minutes after they closed! I was very not happy when I went online to figure out if there's more information about how to get this re-delivered.
So yesterday I come home to 2 boxes by my front door! Yay!
The first box has "Miss Britta, sorry about this. I would usually leave thesse at your door but there was several people walking around working and I just felt better if I didn't leave them that day. I didn't want anything to happen to them. Thanks, Mail Lady." That made me forgive her for the frustration of the last couple days. The package was my birthday present from my sister in Austrailia! She sent be a beautiful scarf/pashmina and some other stuff, including Cadbury chocolate! (which was a bit melty from the heat). I started to cry as I sifted through all the wonderful things she sent me.
The next box was from Mom- 6 pairs of jeans and 2 beautiful new dresses. I immediately tried the black dress on and started to cry again.
Lastly, I got a card from my grandma with a letter in it from my grandpa. I cried harder at that one.
My friend Danielle was coming over to hang out, so I answered the door bawling, wearing a fancy cocktail dress and holding a letter and some mushy chocolate.
It was an emotional mail day.
Thanks for the mail everyone!

I met Captain Hook!

Yesterday at Chili's, while waiting for my chicken fajita quesodillas; I was reading my books on the costume designer group Motley (as I was alone). I noticed the cover of one of the books: captain hook wearing a quite frilly red and pink jacket. Before I knew it, the real captain hook was whizzing by my booth, running laps around his parents' table! He stopped, gave me a mischievous grin and continued on. The next lap, he stopped again. I took this opportunity, when would I ever talk to captain hook again? "You know, there's a picture of captain hook on the cover of my book..." and I showed it to him. His eyes brightened and smile widened, "him's hook's better, because mine's only made of pwastic." I told him I was sure that his was just as good. Then he showed me how to use a hook to move silverware from one end of the table to the other, very impressive! I told him he could show the book to his mamma as long as he gave me his best pirate "argh!"

Email to Amy

I wrote this in an email to Amy, but it's what's going on so thought I'd post it here. In addition, I went to my first Piggly Wiggly yesterday!

In my construction class, I'm working on a 1600s gown--well, half of one. We're only building "half drapes" (a half of a costume) so we can cover more periods in the class. I'm a bit sad, I wanted to make costumes that I could wear! But, my dummy is my size so I can at least know how to enlarge patterns via the split and spread method for my own purposes! I get to work from a real pattern this time, but I think Donna will take that away by the end--everyone else has to drape the dresses, meaning stick the fabric on the dummy and make a pattern that way.
For shows, I've been making boxers and dealing with underwear. The show is "Wild Party" which is a 1920s orgy musical basically and everyone (20 people) runs around the stage in their underwear, so I've been putting sexy black lengerie on dummies for about 3 days now, then adding gardrs and stockings and feather boas. So, I had an army of prostitutes to keep my company while I was sewing black satin boxers for the men.... yep. Costume History class has left me in the dust a bit, there's just so much information and Donna's a very "teach yourself" kind of prof, so it's a bit hard.
Design class is going well. I've actually gotten several compliments on my drawing! my people have movement and character, even if they're not exactly proportional! So that feels really good.
Last week, for the garage sale, Emma and I sorted a gazillion hats! I bet there's 250-300 hats that we got rid of! It was fun though, to see all the crazy things we had! Great pictures came from that!
Today is my first Alabama Football Game experience. That's a real headache! I have to have my car moved from my parking lot by 4:30 (which is nice bc we leave work early on game days for that reason). they tail gate on the quad starting tonight (when the game's tomorrow night!) It's just nuts! i was going to stick around and get pizza with some people, but it was just too much to fight traffic and find parking that I just came home. I think I'm going to take a nap anyway! With love from a hurricane Gustav kinda day! (I think I've forgotten what a sunny day looks like, haven't had one in almost a month!)

Homesick

Okay, I've been here for over a month, so I thought I would just skip this part if it didn't happen by now. But, of course, it sneaks up on you, when you're vulnerable, just before you fall asleep. You're laying in your bed, not the one you've had for the past four years but a new one with sheets that smell and feel new regardless of how many times you wash them, and thinking about all you have to do. Then you wonder where you have to go in order to do those things, hope that they're on your map and you can do all of it before class. I'm homesick. I want a hug. A GOOD hug that only a good friend can give, the kind of friend who has seen you grow up. I miss Northwestern. No, I miss my NWC family, and how working 24-7 was so much more fun because I wasn't in charge. I'm in limbo now, I'm in charge but I still have a boss yet there are those who think I'm the one in charge. I don't know where I fit in this puzzle, God. However, I know that this is right, how I'm supposed to feel, and that God wants me here. I'm going to go cuddle with my teddy bear, I'll work more on this growing up bit tomorrow.

Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta!

Danielle invited me to go home with her this weekend on friday at noon. By 4, we were in the car on our way towards the Alabama boarder. Friday night we hung out with Danielle's friends from high school whom she hasn't seen in years. We went to Applebees and bowling. It was quite funny, Danielle and I were the ones who were fading fast by midnight and the mommies were still going strong!
Saturday, we slept in and had homemade breakfast. Sourgum Syrup on homemade buscuits--so yummy! Then we went into Atlanta. First stop: Margaret Mitchell Museum on Peachtree street. I loved it! I was sad that there were no movie costumes there, but the renderings for them were so it was just as good! Then we went to the World of Coca-Cola via Marta (the Atlanta subway system). We rode the subway with thousands of Alabama and Georgia football fans and fantasy/sci-fi characters from the Dragoncom convention. It was very interesting! The World of Coke was fun though! We got to taste test all 60 coke products from around the world--Danielle and I liked the African ones the best!
Sunday I had a migrane so I had to miss out on the canoeing, but it was nice to just rest for a whole day. I was fine by the time everyone got home and we watched the Sound of Music. Oh, the memories from High School!
Today we slept in on accident and woke up at 10:30 (we meant to leave at 10am!) so we watched CSI and ate pizza then drove the 2 hours home. It was a nice trip, but I'm not ready to dive back into homework and school just yet!

General Update

Alabama is great! It's still really hot and really moist so I don't go outside that much! But classes are so good and homework isn't too overwhelming yet, but I think period construction will get there! I am making friends quite easily, but it's wierd because I don't know how to interact with undergrads...some of them are older than me and I'm set so much higher above them....may be a problem but hopefully not. I do miss my friends, I don't laugh as much and I definately don't get as many huggs. Even just sitting around talking quickly turns to something important about a show or work that needs to be done in the shop or a class. Hopefully that won't be telling of the next 3 years.

First Week

Hello all who read this! Well, my first week of classes went well. I really don't feel like I'm in classes most of the time, it feels like I'm just sitting around talking with people that I have similar interests with. I secretly hope that it stays that way.
We've been working hard in the costume shop, lots of dusty purging and heavy lifting! It was a good time to get to know Danielle and Diane. Emma came later but I already sorta know her. They're going to be my new family for the next 2 years (they graduate a year before I do). Then there's Becky--they costume shop manager--and Donna--my costume prof.
This weekend has been a bit wierd! Hurricane Faye has been just sitting on Florida so we've gotten lots of rain and wind from that. I guess it's been unusually cold her (85 degrees) because it's normally in the high 90s low 100s this time of year. I prefer the rain I think! But any store I go into, it takes forever because everyone's inside "doing projects they have been putting off" according to the lady in Hancock Fabrics. I was in that store for 3 hours waiting in lines to get fabric cut and check out! It was redicoulous!
I went to a barbeque tonight that the profs were throwing for the theatre grads. It was a bit different than everyone hoped because of the rain. I thought this was the perfect reason to make a better-than-sex-cake because I could eat some without eating the whole thing! Everyone (keep in mind that I only know about 5 people there), but EVERYONE came up to me and gave me a hug hug or something to thank me for the amazing cake. I thought it was funny. The people from the north (Minnesota and Iowa) that I know down here say that they don't do cake and bars like we do... and there's no such thing as potluck down here either. Sadie (from Minnesota--an acting grad) says that "they don't know how to do potluck here! and there's no hot dishes either!" I like her a lot! She's acting as the deaf parapalegic in the show I'm costume designing this semester.
Oh, new term for those who like to know things like this. A grocery cart= a buggy or a basket down here.
I went to an amazing church this morning! Its a church on campus--The Church of the Highlands. Of course there were a lot of college age kids there, but it was so good! And the church is mostly a bunch of small groups that come together on sundays. I'm really excited about that aspect, I really wanted a small group to get to know really well. I pray that God will put me where he wants me. God affirmed me this morning in the service about being here. God wants us to take a step of faith sometimes.

New place, school, people, life...

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile. Life has been a bit nuts! About 12 days ago (it seems longer than that and shorter than that at the same time), Mom and I departed with a car full of stuff for Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Then we moved into a completely empty house with whatever was in the car, then commenced to go shopping. All we did was shop for 9 days: furniture, toilet paper, dishes, TVs, everything and anything you need in a house! Believe it or not, it was exponentially easier to buy furniture than it is to buy a garbage can to go in my bathroom! I refuse to pay $35 for a garbage can that sits next to my toilet! It was interesting shopping with my mother. She didn't care if I bought a leather sofa but she really had an opinion on which shower curtain I chose! She hated the purple fleur de lis in the store, but she loves it now! How funny she is.
My neighbors on the left side of my duplex are fantastic. Emily and I get along fantastically! She's my big sister. I like her husband, Reb, a lot and their daughter, Rebecca, is beautiful. I think we're going to have a blast together watching Disney movies and going to Walmart on thursdays! :D
I just finished my Graduate Teaching Assistantship workshop--which was thursday and friday--so I am now qualified to teach undergraduates. I met the one other new theatre graduate there so that very much serendipity! I had supper with my professor--Donna-- for my birthday with my mother, and she kept saying "there's a new directing grad but nobody knows anything about him!" so it was really neat to finally meet him. We're going to have a great time together!
Wow, I'm too little for teaching! It's very possible to have students who are older than or the same age as me! Eeek! At least I won't be teaching until fall '09 so I'll have a little more time to grow up! I would really love to teach though, I think I could do that when I grow up. I don't know what I'll do when it's time to get a real job 3 years from now, but I'm honestly not worried about it right now. I think I'll know exactly what I want to do by this time 3 years from now. Until then, I'm going to study, work hard, and have a little fun in my "spare time."
There's a possibility of a roommate too... she may be moving in on friday, but I don't want to jinx it so I won't talk about that!
Classes are starting on wednesday. I have "orientation" on monday and tuesday... we're cleaning and reorganizing the costume shop in a very major way so I get to help with that! Donna said to make sure that I didn't wear anything nice those two days... nothing like diving in!
Please pray for continued smoothe transition and for a good church family!

Whoa Summer! Where'd you go?

I started working with MSIP 6 weeks ago, it feels like 6 days. I miss my new friends greatly. We had such a fantastic time this summer hanging out everyday and traveling all over this side of the state, Omaha and Kansas City. I feel very useless now. Going from a 24-7 job to none has been quite a shock actually, I couldn't sleep my first night home because I didn't have 15 girls knocking on my door to tell me goodnight or to ask something or to just have some girl bonding time--"Britta, I think I'm in love with..." was always my favorite way they started out the bedtime conversation! It's also weird not having people around me during meals and not having Merritt saying "POOL! Britta, Pool!" everyday at about 1:00 in the afternoon.
But, here we go, getting ready for Alabama in 28 days! A month sounds like a long time right now, but I know that it'll fly. I'm hoping that Grandpa will give the the new Dodge Caliber that he won at the Wagner casino on the 4th of July! That color blue is the same as my eyes you know! *hint hint* C'mon grandpa, you know your grandbaby needs a new car to go with her new life! :-D
I've done A LOT of sewing in my one day home so far, I made a quilt for my sister and converted a pair of jeans into a skirt for myself. (Your sewing machine is getting good use Grandma!)
I went and worked out this morning at the Fitness Center, which I hate! I much prefer swimming at the Dome everyday! I hate sitting on a machine, I get so bored so quickly! I've gotten so used to multi-tasking that I don't think I know how to just enjoy doing one thing at a time anymore. I also tanned, so that was nice I guess. I should just use the real sun, but it's really HOT here! I know, "it's hot in Alabama" but that's why I picked costume design for a profession, I will be perpetually stuck in dark dungeons all my life!
Here's a fun fact: I turn 22 exactly one month from today!

Lonely June post!

Here's my one and only post in June! Summer has been crazy since I started my job at MSIP in Vermillion! I've been to Brookings and Sioux City more times in the past 4 weeks that I have ever in my life! I have 7 kids that are a part of my "Diamondback" family group. We have a lot of fun together, and they also test me and push me out of my comfort zone quite regularly which is great for me! I've learned a lot about Native American culture through this experience and dealing with racial reconciliation in general. I have some amazing co-workers that I have a lot of fun with! I wouldn't change this experience for anything! I know I will feel a void in my life when I move home on July 10.
In other news, my sister is safely in Australia now eating Kangaroo for dinner (seriously) and taking pictures with Koalas. She starts school in Victoria soon. My brother is fine from what I hear, he's always fishing so nobody sees him all that often! Mom and Dad are great as well.
Here's a headline: I OWN A HOUSE! It's a little duplex garden home on Buttermilk street in Tuscaloosa, Alabama! It has a spare bedroom currently so if anyone's ever in the south, give me a call! I recieve payment for room and board in chocolate! More news and pictures to come in July! Happy 4th everyone!

Lazy+Bored=Home

I've been graduated for 13 days now, and I'm bored out of my mind! Here's a bit of an update:
I've slept in, a lot, since coming home. I've crocheted a premie hat-it's green and cute! My aunt Deb and I sewed a Scarlett O'Hara dress which fits Amy perfectly. Amy and I hung out in Sioux Falls yesterday and saw The Bucket List--which was so fun!-- and went to a water aerobics class at the wellness center and met Bethy, Laura and Lindsey at the Drive-In theatre in Luverne--Indiana Jones was horrible and the part of Iron Man I saw was pretty good.
Now the weather is crappy and it's really cold. What happened to spring and summer?

Roll Tide!

Just got back from UAlabama! How beautiful Tuscaloosa is! I learned that Jesus and Football are the two religions that rule my future home--"Roll Tide" being the war cry of the Crimson Tide football fans. There is a stadium on the UA campus that seats 80,000 and it sells out every game. Also, every corner is adorned with a Southern Baptist Church--welcome to the Bible belt! The campus is 4 square miles--big!--and picturesque, I'm going to enjoy spending LOTS of time there! The theatre department is beautiful! It's probably one of the oldest buildings on campus and is nothing special (other than HUGE!), but the people are beautiful. I hung out with my future fellow students a lot and I felt right at home--they are a family that I'm excited to be a part of! I also have 2 costume assignments for the fall-- 1) assitant costume for my design prof for "The Wild Party" and 2) costume design for "Reckless" which is directed by a Directing Grad who I'm very excited to work with! I found a beautiful place to live that feels really "homey," a 2 bedroom/2bath apartment about a 10 minute drive from campus on a road that literally runs through campus. There's a pool, club house, gym and on-site laundry in my new gated community. I'm praying for a roommate now, but living alone will be fine, too. God is so good: He provides if you wait on His time!

JOB!

I now have a job! I'm working for Upward Bound/MSIP this summer at USD. Basically, I'm an RA/camp counselor for high school students (mostly from reservations) that come and take classes and "experience college" for 6 weeks! I'm excited about it, and the fact that I'll have a few weeks to do nothing/other stuff that I want to do!

14 days...

What does a senior in college do 14 days before she graduates?

She doesn't have a summer job yet, her possible seasonal employer is really slow at everything...

She has something like a future--grad school--but that is still very uncertain. Next week, during finals week, she's going down to tour the school and look for housing. She is excited that she may be possibly adopting her aunt's dog, so she may have a roommate next year after all.

She has more homework than she knows what to do with and no ambition to do any of it!
She took a BIO 250 exam today, which she didn't really study as hard as she could have for. She thinks, "I'll pass the class, so I'll graduate."

She wonders how many chapel credits she has, and if she'll have enough... "maybe I'll graduate." She'll graduate if she doesn't, she'll just have to write a paper about how NWC chapel has impacted her life. "Chapel has changed my life--I learned how to sing the Doxology in 4 part harmony!"

Thinking about leaving makes her feel a bit like the rat she dissected on thursday in Bio lab... fresh and frozen and cut and changed and so very uncertain of what's inside and outside of her.

She had to write her part of the senior girls' "advice to underclass-women" letter last night. What can she say about 4 years of college? She doesn't really remember what life was like before she came here--of course she still remembers some, but she has willingly forgotten most of it. "Take care of yourselves, each other, and this place." "Love each other well, do good work." "To the King."

God, do I have to leave?
God, I want to leave, I'm ready.
I don't want to leave.
I'm excited about the future.
I am so scared of what comes next.

What does a senior in college do 14 days before she graduates?
Prays. Cries. Rejoices. Trusts God.

"We are always in a rhetoric"

A response to my history and theory of rhetoric homework. I really like the self-definiton of myself as a rhetor--and the rhetoric I carry with me--at the bottom.

We’re always standing somewhere as we speak, already inventing in the ways that we can, already in an ideology that is already constructing a rhetoric that is already constructing an ideology, already serving imperatives that generate the ways in which we will invent, dispose, and state. –Corder, page 99

Corder makes me think of a baby’s first word. My mother isn’t sure of my first word, but I did speak before my older brother, Brett. Mom thinks my first word was “Brett.” I remember the celebration when my youngest cousin said something like his first word—“ball.” I watch home movies and see my sister and I interacting, I am dancing around in a pink tutu singing “The Yellow Rose of Texas” while my sister wears a red dress and crawls around on the floor being my pet lion. From this, my mother decided to put me in dance classes and voice lessons and found opportunities for my sister to job shadow anyone that had anything to do with animals. We can’t help being in rhetoric—it’s as natural and involuntary as breathing. People learn to communicate even before we can even speak—baby’s crying for example. When we learn speech, our communications grow from basic needs to complex emotions and ideas. Even in our play, we communicate what type of person we are and our parents can choose a route of nurturing from our cues.
What rhetorics do I carry around with me? I carry the South Dakota farm girl rhetoric, where I wear a t-shirt, jeans, no shoes and ponytail everyday—dressing up is a pair of jeans with no holes, my hair down, a “nice” t-shirt and non-tennis shoes. I carry around the rhetoric of an academic: using words automatically in everyday speech that my family members don’t understand and having conversations with roommates about post-modernity and how to relate to a post-modern generation within the church. I carry around the rhetoric of a thespian, devoting much time and energy to studying all aspects of story and different ways to present stories to others, how to get them from the page to the stage. I carry around the rhetoric of a Christian, praying out loud when I’m nervous or scared or worried, not carrying who hears me. I carry around the rhetoric of a college student, always having a book with me and scheduling every second of my day for optimum efficiency, then procrastinating it all. I carry around the rhetoric of a close friend, dealing with the tough stuff of life—family members moving, breaking up, wondering what God wants—alongside my friends, supporting each other. I carry around the rhetoric of a caregiver, always making sure other’s basic needs are met before I consider my own. I carry around the rhetoric of a writer and reader of books, communicating best through written word. I carry around the rhetoric of an artist, communicating pictures of costumes in my head to a director through drawings.

The Highest Calling?

The show opens with preview on Thursday. "The Highest Calling?" is it's title, an original piece by Jeff Taylor--a prof at NWC. I'm the costume designer. I have put in so much work that I am intimately connected with these costumes. I'm emotionally involved with them, I love the costumes and have enjoyed this process so much. I hope that others have enjoyed it, or at least not hated the process--especially my team that I've worked so closely with.
I'm sorry if I make you mad, but I just want this show to be so beautiful! I want it to be what we've all dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. I want it to have the result that Mr. T has been yearning for since he birthed the idea of writing this play. Strengths and weaknesses have been made aparent, mine and others. But where is the love? Are we not to show Christ to each other? What about grace? I'm not saying that I deserve any of it. I've been trying hard to show that in working with my crew. I've been doing my best to be a good leader and let other people take care of their responsibilities and offer help and encouragement if they need it. But I can't do it all, that's why I decided to have a team--that's why you all are necessary. Theatre is collaborative. I just want you all to look good, that's all I've ever wanted. My job is to make others look good, to be comfortable in their character's skin, and to help tell this story. That's what I want to do with my life. I'm sorry if you don't, but please, don't make me cry. Don't make me feel bad, like I've let you down, like I'm the villian here, because I am not. Please, lets just put on a beautiful show.
In Christ's Love. To the King.

Evolution?

Biology homework response again, I guess creation issues inspire prose poetry from me... It's inspired by this quote: “If you rewound the clock several hundred million years, and then allowed evolution to proceed forward again, you might end up with a very different outcome” (Collins, 204-5).

Evolution?
Rather than a flood this time, God decides to completely redo the entirety of creation. No more humans and animals to repopulate, no more land and water, earth and sky, night and day. But being that it’s the seventh day, God is resting. To save himself some trouble of the thunderbolt throwing and lightning cloud formulating, he takes out his large pocket watch and winds it up into fourth and fifth dimensions. The watch clicks, pops, jumps like a wingless penguin soaring high across the sky, and emits a sweetly foul smell. The time hand whizzes to liquid white-black, the space hand dissolves and reappears in a translucent form while the light hand dances across the face and sings an eerie aharmonic song. The stars roar and the ocean blinks, the land floats and the sky falls. Animals begin falling apart, pieces breaking off with every step, stroke and flutter. Swirls form, mini Tasmanian devils who soak continents into their pores as they mate and multiply through wind whispers. After the light hand strikes Nothing, the full funnel of emptiness is sucked into the clock, and God begins again.

"The Creation"

I sent "The Big Bang Theory" to Jeff Barker. He said it reminded him of "The Creation" and sent it to me. I think this is one of my favorite poems now. I really enjoy how there is oral residue within the poem--starting with "And..." quite frequently is an example of that. In this year's Drama Ministries Ensemble, all my lines in "Pottage" and most of them in "Jars of Oil" started with the same oral residue. I love how my liberal arts education is now starting to finally show itself to be true, overlapping liberal arts. Also, I love how Johnson copied the bible in his poem, starting with "AND." Horray for memorizing the KJV for an entire school year!

The Creation
James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)
(A Negro Sermon)

AND God stepped out on space,
And He looked around and said,
“I’m lonely—
I’ll make me a world.”

And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said, “That’s good!”

Then God reached out and took the light in His hands,
And God rolled the light around in His hands
Until He made the sun;
And He set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.

Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said, “That’s good!”

Then God himself stepped down—
And the sun was on His right hand,
And the moon was on His left;
The stars were clustered about His head,
And the earth was under His feet.
And God walked, and where He trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then He stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And He spat out the seven seas;
He batted His eyes, and the lightnings flashed;
He clapped His hands, and the thunders rolled;
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around His shoulder.

Then God raised His arm and He waved His hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And He said, “Bring forth! Bring forth!”
And quicker than God could drop His hand.
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said, “That’s good!”

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that He had made.
He looked at His sun,
And He looked at His moon,
And He looked at His little stars;
He looked on His world
With all its living things,
And God said, “I’m lonely still.”

Then God sat down
On the side of a hill where He could think;
By a deep, wide river He sat down;
With His head in His hands,
God thought and thought,
Till He thought, “I’ll make me a man!”

Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled Him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand;
This Great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till He shaped it in His own image;

Then into it He blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.

The Big Bang Theory

A response to my Biology homework when we're studying The Big Bang Theory: prose poetry.

God’s seated on a cloud in a celestial garden scribbling away on a chalk board then copying the perfect equations into His Book of Life, scattering bits of iridescent, multi-colored chalk on the floor, blowing eraser dust from his book, and banging out the erasers sending out an atmosphere of dust. Then, the bits of chalk and dust began to skitter about, as they have been God breathed, and swirl about God and interact with each other, sending off tiny shocks and sparks and giggly, tickly sounds. The dust bits tickle God's ears and nose, causing a colossal sneeze! This excites the dust particles into sending out squeals if delight! And God laughs from enjoyment. He begins to dance and hum as He scratches away within His Book. And with one divinely astounding punctuation mark, He deems "it is good" and slams the book closed. The energy from this big bang of the Book scatters the lively particles, creating a great force of light, and they are then formed and shaped by a loving, paternal God according to His good instruction manual that they were born of. When He was finished, He kissed His creation with the dust of stars and signs it "with everlasting and unconditional love."

Secrets of a Running Stream...

This blog is created in order to help others keep up with what I'm up to as I leave northwest Iowa for the great unknown. I feel a bit like I'm trying to lasso a black hole, but I'm excited none-the-less. I am not sure what will appear in this blog, but it will be more or less amusing as I tend to write about the funny things happening in my life. Expect a lot of theatre talk as I'm moving to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to pursue my Masters of Fine Arts degree in Costume Design at the University of Alabama there. I am excited and frightened! God is guiding me.