The Apocalypse Had A Preview Show And I Missed It

As you may know or have experienced,  Baltimore/the upper half of the East Coast has had quite the encounter with the mother we call "Nature" recently.

Or have we?

Tuesday, August 23, 2011, approximately 1:50pm: Boyfriend and I leave my house to go to Patapsco State Park for a hiking outing.  We're sitting in the car at a red light.  I'm fiddling with something from my purse and briefly experience an odd but unimportant sensation, and look up to see a car whiz past us.  No big.  In the same moment he says "whoa" but doesn't elaborate on why.  We get a few minutes down the road and I check my phone to find four missed calls in the five minutes since I've left home.  I return the call, and my mother answers and proceeds to excitedly tell me that our house shook back and forth from an earthquake and things fell off the walls.  

"That explains why the car was shaking" he says.  "?!" is pretty much all I silently say.  What kind of a moron misses an earthquake?  Well, this one, apparently.  Then I was scared to go hiking, but we went anyway without further incident.

Fast forward to Saturday, August 27th,  after everyone has been emphatically predicting that Baltimore is going to be slammed with a Category 1 hurricane that weekend.  I'm very jaded when it comes to weather predictions but despite that, spent Friday evening good naturedly scouring four different stores looking for D batteries for flashlights

How did I spend the entire weekend?   Waiting out a huge rainstorm, basically.  I slept and watched way too much of the "Dick Van Dyke" show and prepared for school and Phi Theta Kappa activities.  My house had electricity almost the entire time, we lost phone and internet only briefly, and nothing flooded or blew away.

Yet several people I know were (or still are) without power for hours or days.  The chips fall where they may, I suppose.  Now I've spent two days waiting for school to start (because it was without power), and have almost completely lost what enthusiasm and energy I had mustered up for my first week back.  Also my sleep clock is incredibly screwed up, and my mind is always racing even when my body is tired.  Hence this badly-written, multi-tense post. 

So pardon me if one day you are sitting around reminiscing about the great natural disaster week of 2011 and the best I can give you is a blank stare.

Also, I hope you and yours are safe. <3

[August] Obsessions

I didn't want to skip a month in my Obsessions series, and I have something to share with you!  Clearly, this blog has occupied some of my obsessive attention this month.

I've wanted for some time to make significant changes to it.  It has had the same widgets, the same look, the same general everything for the past year.  I had also come to greatly dislike the name, the one I gave it almost three years ago.  I'll probably be in college for a few more years as I transfer to a university, and the title seemed to put limitations on my blog's longevity and topics.  I don't write just about college, or theatre, which were the things I originally envisioned being the theme of my blog.  Plus, I just felt a little ridiculous saying "Debbie: The College Years" out loud. :-p

The truth is I may not be in theatre forever.  I may start "the married years" while still in "the college years".  Anything can happen, I've grown, and I want to continue to take my blog with me.

So if you look around, there are some changes.  The name, quite obviously.  I brainstormed for awhile trying to settle on something cute and descriptive for a blog that would have no identifiable theme, except well, my life!  I owe the clever dude behind Why Men Can't Cry for "Deb's Blurbs".

The design (though similar to the old one) and the pages are all new.  Everything is purposefully simplified and organized.  If you look to the newly-placed sidebar on the left you will find only the archive (called "Blurb Catalog") and my labels ("Blurb Guide").  My brief profile is at the top under the title, and I wanted that to double as a quippy welcome as well as a description in place of the old one.

The things I write about probably won't change much, except that I feel a new freedom and excitement in what I share with you.  So, visit for a few minutes and then tell me what you think!  I'll be back to regular writing sometime soon. :-)

An Intermission

I know that I once quoted myself as saying " 'Hiatus is a slow and painful death.' ", but I just spent the last few minutes writing a paragraph telling you I'm taking a break from blogging (and then deleted it).  Despite the double-quote contradiction (:-p), I am indeed taking a break.  I love blogging, but I haven't enjoyed it lately.  I have a lot on my mind, and this summer's writing has felt like a broken record.  Thanks for being a member of the small audience who for one reason or another takes an interest in my life.  If you'd like to continue to do so, you can check back in a few weeks.  

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My twitter will still be in use and open tweets can be found here.

Some News On The Shows of The_Moment

Lines are due this week for all the pieces in the play festival "@The_Moment: #5shortplaysonlifein2011". My lines in the cell phone piece, Con-Text, are down pretty well, I think, but the other piece, 140 Characters, worries me. I want to surprise anyone who's coming to see the show so I won't be saying too much, but 140 script is about Twitter and it's very unconventional!

The rehearsal process have been productive. Within two rehearsals for each piece I could strongly feel the vision that each director has. I feel a strong connection to our project, and enjoy the various reactions I get when I say "I'm playing a cell phone!" haha

On a personal level, rehearsals are a bit frustrating. Most of the other people in the company have worked together and have very close relationships. We have married couples, roommates, siblings, co-workers, and best friends all intertwined in some manner in the group. I feel distinctly like an outsider; though I try every week to be as fearless and friendly as possible. It's healthy to be an outsider once in awhile, I suppose. I don't need to be held back by preconceived ideas the others in the group may have about my abilities, and it will make me more empathetic for other situations in life.

Doggy Days

My doggy care dictated me to be awake over an hour ago, and means I now have time to blog before work!  Shocking, right?

Once I got into a groove for this week, I've loved [almost] every minute.  It's no new thing to care for all my own needs and make my own schedule, but it's a new and exciting thing to do it without someone looking over my shoulder.  Can any 20somethings who still live with mom and dad relate? :-p

We did have a few worrisome moments a few evenings ago, involving the puppy eating medicine that was not intended for her.  After a call to the vet, the acquisition of some Hydrogen Pyroxide, and a few tears (mine) she was right as rain again.  I thought I was going to be sick when I watched her throw up all the medicine, and thankfully Boyfriend was over for dinner and cleaned it up.  (Sorry hun.)

Theatre technician duties started this week, and it's all just as frustrating as I thought it would be.  I'm insecure about my lack of knowledge and abilities and worried I won't learn quickly enough.  Also, adjusting to my boyfriend turned co-worker relationship is a bit awkward at times; though thankfully we've been great about talking any concerns through at the end of the day.  This week is a low maintenance event (a dance show put on by campers) but it's also very rushed.  Today we have two rehearsals and then an evening performance.

Tomorrow my long weekend starts!

Woman of the House

My first night alone wasn't too bad, but I don't think living alone long term is my cup of tea!  I'm kind of lonely, and a little paranoid at night.  The house I'm caring for is a lovely and old Cape Cop-style house (my favourite kind :-), in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by similar homes.  The dogs I'm caring for are a gentle elderly collie and a hyper Labradoodle puppy.  We've been taking in the "I Love Lucy" marathon on the Hallmark Channel (in honors of Lucille Ball's would-be 100th birthday yesterday).

Both Shannon and Nathan have come to visit so far, and I picked up plenty of groceries for the week.  The dogs require that I get up early and go to bed early, but since I start work this week it's a good schedule to have.  The only part of the job I hate is having to pill the collie.  He needs lots of medicine that he refuses to eat with his meals, so every 12 hours I have no choice but to literally put pills down his throat (followed with treats and hugs).  I feel so awful when I do it, but he'll feel worse if he doesn't take it.  And to think that a year or two ago, I could barely sit near a dog without squirming!

Well Then.

I failed my driving skills test due to lack of parking within 12 inches away from the curb. :-(  I'll practice more and try again soon!

Tomorrow house sitting adventures begin. :-D  Cooking meals just for me, watching whatever I want on TV, not sharing a bathroom with anyone, going to work, going to rehearsal, caring for doggies, and basically being in charge.  Bring it onnnn.

"Boom, Boom, Boom"!

Sometimes I'm loathe to admit I enjoy as much popular music as I actually do.  Because let's face it, what's typically gracing the top listed on iTunes isn't usually creative or soul-stirring music.

This song is no exception; it's not brilliant.  But it sure does cheer me up! :-)  I've been singing it a lot lately.

Also, I think I'm obligated to like a song called "Firework" considering how much I LOVE them!  Now I feel like blogging about fireworks and all the good memories I have of seeing them...but I think I'll save that for another day when I need another post about cheerful things. :-)

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August Headlines

It's August already, canyabelieveit?!  In about 3 weeks I go back to school (for my final year at CCBC!!) but I'm not thinking or preparing too much for that yet.

I'm presently in between jobs.  Next week I'll be assisting in some manner while a grade-school camp uses our theatre for their end-of-summer show.  From what I understand, there are also some odd jobs that Boss and Boyfriend are planning on giving to the Newbie... :-p

I also have a job watching someone's home and pets starting this weekend and staying there for a week.  I guess I'm looking forward to being in charge and having my own space, but for the most part I anticipate being kind of lonely.

Rehearsals for my show have been going on for two weeks now, and my lines are due in two weeks.  We're presently looking for a theatre in which to put on our production.

The biggest news is something that I usually avoid telling people, but I decided to go ahead and share it here anyway: I'm finally taking my driving skills test at the MVA tomorrow!  The thought of actually finally having my license is surreal, and I'm really, really nervous about the test (which will include the course, parking skills, and a road test).  Wish me luck!