First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLEN!
Here we are again, without the script increasing by even a word. I worked at Universal, I worked on other stuff at home, and I went to D&D where we had a player versus player fight that we didn't even get close to finishing. We'll be back killing each other all over next week. For my 750 today I decided I might try to write up the background for my D&D character. Her name is Riley.
You think you're life is tough? You think you've had it hard? You think your existence is cursed? Try being the daughter of the Elven Queen and King; and born a half-elf. Yep, that's right folks, my mother, the Elven Queen, slept around. Not only that, but she got caught in the worst way; my birth. Before you ask, I don't know my father. The only things he gave me besides life were psychic abilities and a strange spear shaped birthmark. I never asked about him, my mother never said anything, and he never came forward to claim me. Not that I can blame him, the King almost had me beheaded, my father would surely have been killed. The worst thing was that my mother had no idea that I wasn't going to be the King's child. They paraded around, gathered gifts, had a lovely room all made up for their princess and within two seconds I ruined everything. The King would have killed me then and there, but my mother begged him not to. Despite her very obvious infidelities, the King loved my mother. Of course that didn't mean that he could face the public humiliation of having an unfaithful wife.
I spent the early part of my life completely locked away from the outside world. As far as the Elven Kingdom was concerned I was born sickly and had to be confined to my bed. The only people I saw for the first fourteen years of my life were my mother, the serving girl (a halfling named Katy), and the elven captain (a fighter named Zanroar)that the King sent to train me. It was Zanroar that discovered I had psychic abilities and trained me to use them to augment my fighting. He trained me with every weapon, but my favorite was always the great axe. For my fifteenth birthday the King got me a great axe of my own. It was truly a thing of beauty. He figured that since I wouldn't be the courtly princess I could be useful in tournaments, and I was. Dressed up in enough armor people didn't even know I was a girl. No one ever suspected that the sickly Elven Princess Cairath and the Elven King's champion Riley were the same person, and it got me out of the castle. It was the only time the King ever took an interest or even spoke to me really.
Life certainly wasn't what I would have wanted it to be, but I had a decent existence. That all changed shortly after I turned 17. My mother died suddenly of a fever and it was a simple thing for the King to say that the sickly Cairath had also perished. I thought that perhaps that meant I would continue as only the King's Champion, that while my fighting would never win his love, it had at least earned his respect. I was wrong. My mother and the empty casket containing Cairath had been laid to rest for less then an hour when the King came to my chambers. He informed me that I had until dawn the next morning to leave the kingdom, and I was to never return. He gave me a letter that I wasn't to open until I left and bid me take the great axe, for he would never allow one of his warriors to wield something that had been soiled by a halfbreed like me. I left within the hour.
You're probably wondering what was in the letter. I don't know. I've never opened it. I carry it with me everywhere, but I've never had an interest in reading it. There is nothing the King could say to me to make up for what my life became over the next ten years. The only thing I had to my name when I left the kingdom were the cloths on my back, the great axe, and the letter. I had no money, no food, no transport, nothing. So I made a living the only way I knew how, but fighting. I kept the name Riley, for when a name was absolutely necessary, but most of the time I gave no name. I became a gladiator and fought for my supper every night. At first I hid who I was behind armor, but then I learned that I fought better without it, and that other gladiators might hesitate more fighting a woman. For ten long years I fought men and beasts for the entertainment of the masses, and I never lost a fight.
I thought I would spend my entire life in the arena, but about three years ago something changed. Zanroar, my trainer from all those years ago, found me. He pulled me from the arena and convinced me that my true calling was that of a hero. That I could fight not just for entertainment, but for what was good in the world. That I could fight to protect others. I'll admit that the idea didn't interest me much at first. If there was one thing the arena had taught me it was that trust and alliances will always be broken, and I wasn't too keen to join a band of heroes. But I'd also learned that death was just around the corner for all of us, and that made me realize I should do what I could. At first I just took on quests I could complete myself, and that worked well. I didn't have to rely on anyone else, it paid better than the arena, and I got to help people (which I discovered I quite liked). Word of my deeds started to spread and soon I had more quests than I could handle. Still I went at it alone. That was until the mayor called me in and bundled me up with this lot. I don't trust them, but they seem to be working well enough towards the goal, so I'll stick with them for now. Only fate knows what tomorrow will bring, but whatever it is I'm ready to face it.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
April 2nd
I'm here, I'm going to write 750 words, I've made almost no progress on my script, and I'm watching Hulu as I type this. Oh, and I also worked for ten hours today. I work at Universal Orlando in the Revenge of the Mummy rollercoaster. I check lap bars, load the gates, scan express passes, and greet people at the entrance and unload, basic stuff. It's not exactly the job I dreamed I'd have when I moved to Orlando, but I have a blast. I moved here to work at Universal, and this was the job that was hiring. Even if I'm not in the job I wanted, I love the job I have. I love the people I work with SO much! Seriously, I worked 10 hours today and it felt like nothing. When things are really moving and there are people everywhere, I can't get enough. I love the madness. Even when it's slow I love watching the people that come to our roller coaster. Looking at clothes, hair, styles, behaviors, I find it all fascinating.
Outside of a lot of work I don't have much to report for today, cause I didn't do much else. I worked a little on Ascendio (the Harry Potter conference I'm helping run this summer) and I stared at that script I was going to write (which is still sitting at two pages). I ate a slice of cake, which was yummy, and now I'm sitting here trying to come up with 500 more words so that I can finish this challenge and get that pretty green X on my calendar. The problem is I have no idea what I want those 500 words to be about.
Let's start with TV. I watch a lot of Hulu, it's what I like to put on while I'm doing other work (especially boring typing). I rarely find shows I don't want to at least give a shot. Someday I would love to write for TV (if I can get a good enough idea), and I considered it for my script frenzy, but I'm doing this musical instead. Which may or may not work out depending on how terrible it is. Anyway, back to TV. If it's currently on normal networks (non cable) I've probably watched at least an episode. If it's on Hulu I've likely watched most of the show. I really enjoy a wide variety of shows. Just now I'm watching Don't Trust The B---- In Apartment 23, which is a half hour comedy show about a crazy girl and her apartmate in NYC. It's right up my alley. But the BEST part is that one of the stars is James Van Der Beek (who was Dawson in Dawson's Creek) and he plays himself. I think it makes the whole thing rather hilarious! He complains that people only remember him as Dawson, he gets recognized on the street, etc, but he's still "acting" in a show. It's very meta, and I appreciate that. Plus the entire show is a little crazy, a little wacky, and a lot funny, so I love it.
Outside of the realm of TV (can you believe I have time for other things) I've been reading The Help. I'm not very far in, but it seems to be a fascinating book. I really like the narrative style, and I feel like I'm not only enjoying the story, but learning something as well. Once I finish the book I'm going to reward myself by seeing the movie. I think it will be interesting to see if I find it as powerful as I find the book. I'm also preparing to read the next Vampire Diaries. It's funny because I've read all the books and I've seen the show. I love both incarnations, but they are WILDLY different. It's like they took the names of the book characters and some of their distinguishing features, and then made up an entirely different world/plot. The funny thing is, that while in films about books changes often bother me, I don't bat an eyelash at this. I wonder if it's because they aren't trying to be similar, the TV isn't trying to be an adaptation. I can't be mad that they left things out because they didn't really put anything in. They're separate entities in the truest sense, and I think that's what makes it bearable.
And that's my 750 words for today. This challenge seems to be working well, if only the rest of my goals would follow. =)
Outside of a lot of work I don't have much to report for today, cause I didn't do much else. I worked a little on Ascendio (the Harry Potter conference I'm helping run this summer) and I stared at that script I was going to write (which is still sitting at two pages). I ate a slice of cake, which was yummy, and now I'm sitting here trying to come up with 500 more words so that I can finish this challenge and get that pretty green X on my calendar. The problem is I have no idea what I want those 500 words to be about.
Let's start with TV. I watch a lot of Hulu, it's what I like to put on while I'm doing other work (especially boring typing). I rarely find shows I don't want to at least give a shot. Someday I would love to write for TV (if I can get a good enough idea), and I considered it for my script frenzy, but I'm doing this musical instead. Which may or may not work out depending on how terrible it is. Anyway, back to TV. If it's currently on normal networks (non cable) I've probably watched at least an episode. If it's on Hulu I've likely watched most of the show. I really enjoy a wide variety of shows. Just now I'm watching Don't Trust The B---- In Apartment 23, which is a half hour comedy show about a crazy girl and her apartmate in NYC. It's right up my alley. But the BEST part is that one of the stars is James Van Der Beek (who was Dawson in Dawson's Creek) and he plays himself. I think it makes the whole thing rather hilarious! He complains that people only remember him as Dawson, he gets recognized on the street, etc, but he's still "acting" in a show. It's very meta, and I appreciate that. Plus the entire show is a little crazy, a little wacky, and a lot funny, so I love it.
Outside of the realm of TV (can you believe I have time for other things) I've been reading The Help. I'm not very far in, but it seems to be a fascinating book. I really like the narrative style, and I feel like I'm not only enjoying the story, but learning something as well. Once I finish the book I'm going to reward myself by seeing the movie. I think it will be interesting to see if I find it as powerful as I find the book. I'm also preparing to read the next Vampire Diaries. It's funny because I've read all the books and I've seen the show. I love both incarnations, but they are WILDLY different. It's like they took the names of the book characters and some of their distinguishing features, and then made up an entirely different world/plot. The funny thing is, that while in films about books changes often bother me, I don't bat an eyelash at this. I wonder if it's because they aren't trying to be similar, the TV isn't trying to be an adaptation. I can't be mad that they left things out because they didn't really put anything in. They're separate entities in the truest sense, and I think that's what makes it bearable.
And that's my 750 words for today. This challenge seems to be working well, if only the rest of my goals would follow. =)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
April 1st
Gosh, here I am sitting down to write 750 words (without my required 3 pages of script done for Script Frenzy I might add) and I'm at a complete loss for what to say. I wish that creativity was just flowing from me like an unstoppable river, but the truth is that all I can think of is how tired
I am, that it's almost midnight, and that I really am not doing well writing this script/musical.
Actually let's talk about my musical for a second. Maybe hashing out some details here will help me go places with it later. I think part of my difficulty is that I'm concentrating too much on the lyrics and I really should just write my first thoughts and move on. I find myself counting syllables and worrying about the rhyme scheme and that slows me WAY down. Dialogue I type and never give a second thought to, but lyrics I ponder and ponder and write and rewrite. I'm breaking ALL of the Script Frenzy rules. At least I think I am, assuming they are the same rules as NaNoWriMo. So starting tomorrow, NO MORE REWRITING! I'm going to write lyrics with the wrong number of syllables and incorrect rhymes, and I'm NOT going to care. I just need to get the idea out of my head and move on. I can always come back later and make it flow. Or Lena can come back and make it work. See, this 750 words is already helping. I have direction. =)
Now, the script I'm writing is tentatively a musical (depending on how I feel about it as I go on). It's about a serving girl in a kingdom filled with heroes and heroines. The girl's name is Addison, and the basic idea will be that she had a hand in every great tale told by anyone in that entire kingdom. Basically she's almost a Mary Sue, but I wanted to be more serious about this show, so she'll have faults as well. The problem is I'm not sure my idea will pan out into anything worth seeing. It's more like a series of vignettes that will hopefully wind together into the story of Addison's life. My plan was to make people think twice about the little people in their lives, and recognize that those who get the glory aren't always those who do the work. However, it might end up being a messed up pile of stories with no connection, no purpose, and barely enough singing to make it a musical. Still, I can't be concerned with things like that at this stage or I'll drive myself insane. Instead I need to focus on happier thoughts, and figure if I can write this entire script (even if it's a pile of crap) then I'll be able to write another and hopefully, somewhere down the line, one of them will be worth something.
Outside of Script Frenzy I heartily enjoyed April Fool's Day. Besides celebrating the birth of my favorite fictional twins (Fred & George Weasley), I got to laugh at a fantastic series of web pranks. The YouTube Collection (bringing YouTube offline as a DVD series), Think Geek products (which I wish were real), 8-bit Google Maps, LeakyCon2013 on the moon, MyHogwarts joining with Twilight, and my personal favorite the Sony VAIO Q (the quarter sized computer). Every single year I'm impressed by the things these websites come up with. I also spend a lot of time thinking it must be a BLAST to work for Google because of the sheer magnitude of pranks they pull every year. I wonder if there's an April Fools team that just spends the rest of the year planning all the pranks for the various Google owned sites. Sort of like the Santa Claus of pranks (the Weasley twins should apply for this job).
Then there was the time I spent out of the house, eating a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Seasons 52. Really great food, and pretty healthy to boot. I had steak with veggies and roasted potatoes, some flat bread with chicken, and a red velvet cake dessert shot. Overall it was delicious, and I'd recommend the place to anyone looking for a wonderful (if a bit pricier) meal. I also went to Barnes & Noble, where I showed great restraint in only purchasing one book (for myself, I did get two for my brother), did some much needed grocery shopping (yes, I need popcorn, stop judging me), and got some cigar boxes which I'm going to be using for a special project.
And look at that, successfully over 750 words with time to spare. So far so good for the April challenge. Now, if only I can get the script to work out right. =)
I am, that it's almost midnight, and that I really am not doing well writing this script/musical.
Actually let's talk about my musical for a second. Maybe hashing out some details here will help me go places with it later. I think part of my difficulty is that I'm concentrating too much on the lyrics and I really should just write my first thoughts and move on. I find myself counting syllables and worrying about the rhyme scheme and that slows me WAY down. Dialogue I type and never give a second thought to, but lyrics I ponder and ponder and write and rewrite. I'm breaking ALL of the Script Frenzy rules. At least I think I am, assuming they are the same rules as NaNoWriMo. So starting tomorrow, NO MORE REWRITING! I'm going to write lyrics with the wrong number of syllables and incorrect rhymes, and I'm NOT going to care. I just need to get the idea out of my head and move on. I can always come back later and make it flow. Or Lena can come back and make it work. See, this 750 words is already helping. I have direction. =)
Now, the script I'm writing is tentatively a musical (depending on how I feel about it as I go on). It's about a serving girl in a kingdom filled with heroes and heroines. The girl's name is Addison, and the basic idea will be that she had a hand in every great tale told by anyone in that entire kingdom. Basically she's almost a Mary Sue, but I wanted to be more serious about this show, so she'll have faults as well. The problem is I'm not sure my idea will pan out into anything worth seeing. It's more like a series of vignettes that will hopefully wind together into the story of Addison's life. My plan was to make people think twice about the little people in their lives, and recognize that those who get the glory aren't always those who do the work. However, it might end up being a messed up pile of stories with no connection, no purpose, and barely enough singing to make it a musical. Still, I can't be concerned with things like that at this stage or I'll drive myself insane. Instead I need to focus on happier thoughts, and figure if I can write this entire script (even if it's a pile of crap) then I'll be able to write another and hopefully, somewhere down the line, one of them will be worth something.
Outside of Script Frenzy I heartily enjoyed April Fool's Day. Besides celebrating the birth of my favorite fictional twins (Fred & George Weasley), I got to laugh at a fantastic series of web pranks. The YouTube Collection (bringing YouTube offline as a DVD series), Think Geek products (which I wish were real), 8-bit Google Maps, LeakyCon2013 on the moon, MyHogwarts joining with Twilight, and my personal favorite the Sony VAIO Q (the quarter sized computer). Every single year I'm impressed by the things these websites come up with. I also spend a lot of time thinking it must be a BLAST to work for Google because of the sheer magnitude of pranks they pull every year. I wonder if there's an April Fools team that just spends the rest of the year planning all the pranks for the various Google owned sites. Sort of like the Santa Claus of pranks (the Weasley twins should apply for this job).
Then there was the time I spent out of the house, eating a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Seasons 52. Really great food, and pretty healthy to boot. I had steak with veggies and roasted potatoes, some flat bread with chicken, and a red velvet cake dessert shot. Overall it was delicious, and I'd recommend the place to anyone looking for a wonderful (if a bit pricier) meal. I also went to Barnes & Noble, where I showed great restraint in only purchasing one book (for myself, I did get two for my brother), did some much needed grocery shopping (yes, I need popcorn, stop judging me), and got some cigar boxes which I'm going to be using for a special project.
And look at that, successfully over 750 words with time to spare. So far so good for the April challenge. Now, if only I can get the script to work out right. =)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Let's Try This Again
Remember that time ages ago when I was gonna blog every week? Well, I thought seven weeks was really close to all year...right?
Yes, yes, yes, I know, it's not even close to a year. Let's be honest, I gave up. This happens a lot, and not just to me. Giving up is a part of life (or it seems that way anyway). I think it's part of human nature, but it's also part of the way we set goals. Last year I managed to organize 105 people into a full length musical show in just a few days, I moved over 1,000 miles from home, I got my first real job, I wrote a 50,000 word novel, I made a video every week, and yet I couldn't be bothered to write a weekly blog. Why? Perhaps because I find my life to be boring, perhaps because I'm too busy thinking of stories to write non fiction every week, perhaps because I'm better at videos. All of those are possible reasons, but the simple truth is, I didn't want it enough. Without the true and unrelenting desire, you'll never finish anything you aren't required to. The instant you realize this isn't something you must do, and you don't really want to do it, why would you even bother?
That's the hole I fell into last year, but this time it's gonna be different. Why? Cause I want it to be. I'm setting different goals. For the entire month of April I plan to post 750 words here every single day. They might be a story, a recount of my day, or a detailed description of the thing I found under my bed. They will surely be unedited, unrefined, and more often than not incoherent, but that's alright. Truly it's not about the words themselves by rather the writing. Then if I make it through April I'll set a new goal, maybe here, maybe on YouTube, maybe in the real world, and then I'll set another and another, until I reach them all.
So I'll see you in April. It's gonna be an interesting ride.
Yes, yes, yes, I know, it's not even close to a year. Let's be honest, I gave up. This happens a lot, and not just to me. Giving up is a part of life (or it seems that way anyway). I think it's part of human nature, but it's also part of the way we set goals. Last year I managed to organize 105 people into a full length musical show in just a few days, I moved over 1,000 miles from home, I got my first real job, I wrote a 50,000 word novel, I made a video every week, and yet I couldn't be bothered to write a weekly blog. Why? Perhaps because I find my life to be boring, perhaps because I'm too busy thinking of stories to write non fiction every week, perhaps because I'm better at videos. All of those are possible reasons, but the simple truth is, I didn't want it enough. Without the true and unrelenting desire, you'll never finish anything you aren't required to. The instant you realize this isn't something you must do, and you don't really want to do it, why would you even bother?
That's the hole I fell into last year, but this time it's gonna be different. Why? Cause I want it to be. I'm setting different goals. For the entire month of April I plan to post 750 words here every single day. They might be a story, a recount of my day, or a detailed description of the thing I found under my bed. They will surely be unedited, unrefined, and more often than not incoherent, but that's alright. Truly it's not about the words themselves by rather the writing. Then if I make it through April I'll set a new goal, maybe here, maybe on YouTube, maybe in the real world, and then I'll set another and another, until I reach them all.
So I'll see you in April. It's gonna be an interesting ride.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Hello Week 7
I'm actually quite impressed with myself. I would say that this is the longest I've ever kept up with a blog. Even when I think I have nothing to tell you I still manage to come up with something. However, this week is NOT one of those weeks. This week I know exactly what I want to tell you about. I want to talk about The Final Battle.
The Final Battle is a full length musical about the last 200 pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. I wrote it, along with my friend Lena Gabrielle, and the show was performed at the Infinitus Harry Potter conference in Orlando Florida last July. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I get to do it all over again.
This year The Final Battle will be performed in Orlando at LeakyCon2011, and I couldn't be more excited. We've kept a lot of the same cast, crew, and orchestra, and I just today finished adding all the new people to our group. Rehearsals have begun and set design is moving and I'm overall just getting incredibly excited to work on all of this again. It's true that it's a TON of work, and at some points I'm sure I'll be seriously stressed out, but it will be worth it. The people that I get a chance to work with are all incredibly talented and their willingness to go on this crazy journey with me still amazes me sometimes. After all, it isn't everyday that someone asks you to create a musical almost exclusively through Skype and two days of in person rehearsals.
Every single time I log into gmail or onto Skype for rehearsals I'm reminded how much I love the people that are involved in this show. It's so wonderful to just get together and chat about nothing, and seeing them at rehearsal in Orlando last year was like arriving at a room full of your best friends. A project like this forces you to become close to people and it's a testament to the strength of our group that all that stress produced close friendships rather than arguments or rivalries. I was sad to leave them all after Infinitus, and even sadder to have some of them unable to return for LeakyCon, but I'm thrilled to be able to work with a lot of them again.
Just like last year, I expect this journey to be anything but easy. However, despite all the hardships I also expect it to be fun, exciting, exhilarating, uplifting, and full of lasting friendships. Everyone involved is wonderful and I absolutely love them all!
Till I next fail at failure.
The Final Battle is a full length musical about the last 200 pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. I wrote it, along with my friend Lena Gabrielle, and the show was performed at the Infinitus Harry Potter conference in Orlando Florida last July. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I get to do it all over again.
This year The Final Battle will be performed in Orlando at LeakyCon2011, and I couldn't be more excited. We've kept a lot of the same cast, crew, and orchestra, and I just today finished adding all the new people to our group. Rehearsals have begun and set design is moving and I'm overall just getting incredibly excited to work on all of this again. It's true that it's a TON of work, and at some points I'm sure I'll be seriously stressed out, but it will be worth it. The people that I get a chance to work with are all incredibly talented and their willingness to go on this crazy journey with me still amazes me sometimes. After all, it isn't everyday that someone asks you to create a musical almost exclusively through Skype and two days of in person rehearsals.
Every single time I log into gmail or onto Skype for rehearsals I'm reminded how much I love the people that are involved in this show. It's so wonderful to just get together and chat about nothing, and seeing them at rehearsal in Orlando last year was like arriving at a room full of your best friends. A project like this forces you to become close to people and it's a testament to the strength of our group that all that stress produced close friendships rather than arguments or rivalries. I was sad to leave them all after Infinitus, and even sadder to have some of them unable to return for LeakyCon, but I'm thrilled to be able to work with a lot of them again.
Just like last year, I expect this journey to be anything but easy. However, despite all the hardships I also expect it to be fun, exciting, exhilarating, uplifting, and full of lasting friendships. Everyone involved is wonderful and I absolutely love them all!
Till I next fail at failure.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
According to My Planner It's Still Week 6
Of course my planner is notorious for simply conforming to my needs and ignoring the truth of reality, but we can all just pretend that isn't true. Technically I never laid out what days my weeks began and ended, so this is still a week 6 post, that's completely allowed.
This week I want to talk about school, well about one class specifically. Honestly, if I was just talking about school this blog would become a long series of complaints about classes I'd rather not be in and work I'd rather not do, but that's a subject for another time. This post is all about actor's voice.
I know what you're thinking. What is an econ major doing in a class called actor's voice? The answer is, she's having a complete blast! Do you remember all the pretend games you used to play as child? Do you remember being a pirate? A knight? A princess? Now imagine you have a chance to play like that with a group of college kids. Welcome to actor's voice.
I'm not saying that the class is all about playing around, because it's really active and kicks my butt twice a week, but is SO much fun. We walk on all fours, we log roll, we crab walk, we have wheelbarrow races, and we bounce each other like basketballs. All of this is really hard work and I always end up really sore, but it's also a complete blast.
Then we turn on music and pretend to catch balls of energy and let the game evolve from there. We build castles, we have zombie apocalypses, people die and are brought back to life, we travel from one end of the room to the other avoiding the lava on the floor. Every single day we tell a story without words and build things and create things without talking to each other. We just feed off each others energy and see what happens, and it's magical. There really is no other way to describe it. What happens when you trust everyone else to work with you and build a story is nothing but magical and I'm always sad to leave that class.
This week we did our first round of animal etudes, which basically involves becoming an animal and working through a scene with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Scenes ranged from cats using the litter box to deer crossing the road to a jaguar catching a water buffalo. I was a snake in a cage who was fed a mouse. It's amazing what can happen when you decide to just "be" an animal rather than acting like one. Things become instantly recognizable, and so much more entertaining. I can't wait until next week's finals. I'm planning to be an owl.
Basically I've decided that this isn't a feeling I ever want to lose. Anyone want to get together and play pretend with me?
Until I next fail at failure.
This week I want to talk about school, well about one class specifically. Honestly, if I was just talking about school this blog would become a long series of complaints about classes I'd rather not be in and work I'd rather not do, but that's a subject for another time. This post is all about actor's voice.
I know what you're thinking. What is an econ major doing in a class called actor's voice? The answer is, she's having a complete blast! Do you remember all the pretend games you used to play as child? Do you remember being a pirate? A knight? A princess? Now imagine you have a chance to play like that with a group of college kids. Welcome to actor's voice.
I'm not saying that the class is all about playing around, because it's really active and kicks my butt twice a week, but is SO much fun. We walk on all fours, we log roll, we crab walk, we have wheelbarrow races, and we bounce each other like basketballs. All of this is really hard work and I always end up really sore, but it's also a complete blast.
Then we turn on music and pretend to catch balls of energy and let the game evolve from there. We build castles, we have zombie apocalypses, people die and are brought back to life, we travel from one end of the room to the other avoiding the lava on the floor. Every single day we tell a story without words and build things and create things without talking to each other. We just feed off each others energy and see what happens, and it's magical. There really is no other way to describe it. What happens when you trust everyone else to work with you and build a story is nothing but magical and I'm always sad to leave that class.
This week we did our first round of animal etudes, which basically involves becoming an animal and working through a scene with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Scenes ranged from cats using the litter box to deer crossing the road to a jaguar catching a water buffalo. I was a snake in a cage who was fed a mouse. It's amazing what can happen when you decide to just "be" an animal rather than acting like one. Things become instantly recognizable, and so much more entertaining. I can't wait until next week's finals. I'm planning to be an owl.
Basically I've decided that this isn't a feeling I ever want to lose. Anyone want to get together and play pretend with me?
Until I next fail at failure.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Nothing Matters More Than The Cat
I had a lot of ideas rolling around in my head for this weeks post, but as of this morning none of them seem to matter. That's because playing pretend for credit, writing about wands for a grade, and making house bracelets all pale in comparison to the fact that at 10am this morning I went with my family to the local vet and put my cat Curious to sleep.
I got Curious for my sixth birthday and he has been my cat, and my best friend, for almost 17 years. I remember clearly the day I went with my mom to the animal shelter to pick him out. There were two white kittens to choose from, one male and one female. I distinctly remember wanting the female kitten before we arrived, but lots of people wanted the female and the male kitten had such an adorable kink in his tail. I was smitten. We paid $22 for that tiny white ball of fur, of which $12 was returned to my parents when they neutered him a few days later.
We packed him into a carrier and headed for home, and we only made it halfway when I started spoiling him. It started small. He was crying because he hated the carrier, so I opened it up and let him out. After all, he was my cat and I wanted to play with him. It didn't matter to me that we were driving and he was small enough to crawl under the seats of the car and that my mother was going to get upset and we'd have to spend a lot of time coaxing him back into the carrier to get him inside; I just wanted him to be happy.
The instant we arrived inside our house I let him loose, and away he went. He ran through every room and outside in our fenced in yard. He was excited to explore everything and I was excited to follow him around and watch him be adorable. I watched as he attacked bedspreads and chased a bird in the yard and batted at himself in the mirror. He seemed to be infinitely curious, and I remember saying "You're really curious." Within about an hour that was not only a description of the way my kitten acted but also his name.
Curious went through a lot as a young kitten. He had to deal with an overbearing older cat who didn't like to share her food or her water or her scratching post of her humans. He was chased by and excited 3-year-old (my brother) who thought that the kink in his tail was a great handle. He was carried around and forced to spend time playing "house" with a young girl who shall remain nameless.* Then, when he'd been with us for less than a year, he was packed into a carrier and moved from California to Iowa.
Living in Iowa brought a lot of changes for Curious. Treca (the older cat) passed away and suddenly he went from second fiddle to king of the house. He wasn't allowed outside anymore, and he had to be declawed, but he had free reign of the house. He soon took possession of all the best seats in the house and carved out a great spot under the table, right next to my chair, where he could easily be given table scraps. He spent his nights sleeping with me or my parents and most of his days sleeping in a sunny spot on the furniture. He became an excellent mouser and would often drop his kills by my bed so when I awoke in the morning I would know what a good hunter he was. Curious even tried catching the various rats and hamsters I kept as pets over the years. He never managed to catch any of them, although he did manage to knock one of my hamsters down the stairs in its exercise ball.
As Curious grew he gained a few nicknames. Annoying was added to his name because of his tendency to whine to be pet and whine to be fed and whine to eat human food and whine because he just felt like it. My brother added Road Runner to the list because Curious had a way of tearing through the house like a rocket. Ankle Biter was my mom's contribution because she was always up earliest in the morning and Curious would often nip at her ankles to make sure she knew she should hurry up and feed him. He was a family cat. That is until his litter needed cleaning, at which point he became exclusively my cat.
As I started getting older things changed. I went off to college and only saw Curious every few weeks. He'd still sleep in my bed sometimes, but more and more he spent his time with my parents or my brother. I would celebrate the moments at school when I'd pull our clothes covered in white cat hair, because it would remind me of him.** He stomach got sensitive and suddenly he was also my cat when he threw up. We started giving him special food and more and more often gave into his demands for part of our dinner, well at least I did.
Then this November things started to change. Curious stopped eating for days, and while before I'd always been able to convince him to eat even when my parents couldn't, this time was different. Curious lost all the hair on half his face. He spent most of his time lying in front of the heater vent in the kitchen or sleeping with me or my parents at night. I dug a grave, prepared for him to die, but then he didn't. In fact he made a huge turn around and by New Years most of the hair had grown back and he was eating and running up and down the stairs. I went back to school thinking he might live until I moved to Florida.
A few weeks into school my parents called to say that Curious had gotten much worse. His face had swollen up, he had trouble breathing, and the only thing they could get him to eat was canned tuna. They got antibiotics from our local vet, but they didn't seem to make any difference. My mom took Curious to a specialist and after running a few tests they determined that Curious had cancer and it was a tumor that was growing inside of his nose. At that point my mom thought they might have to put him down without me, but he came home from the vet and ate a whole bowl of food. Things seemed to be at an equilibrium until this Wednesday, when my dad called to say that Curious had stopped eating and was having trouble walking and did I want them to put him down. I said that I wanted to be there, and so they waited until I could come home this weekend.
When I arrived home yesterday Curious was almost unrecognizable as my loving energetic playful best friend. The tumor was so big that it had almost swollen one of his eyes shut. He'd always been a big cat, and a diet of table scraps had meant he had some meat on his bones, but not anymore. I could see his skeleton when he walked and when I pet him he was nothing but skin and bone. It was hard for me to look at him sometimes, it just made me so sad. Petting him as he passed at the vets and burying him was one of the saddest things I've ever had to do, but it wasn't nearly as sad as listening to his labored breathing and watching him weave back and forth as he walked. I know that letting him go was the right thing to do. I'll miss him terribly.
RIP Curious Annoying Road Runner Ankle Biter Vance. I'll always love you. <3
*It's me. I hope you got that.
**While back home my parents would lament my decision to get a white cat that sheds CONSTANTLY
I got Curious for my sixth birthday and he has been my cat, and my best friend, for almost 17 years. I remember clearly the day I went with my mom to the animal shelter to pick him out. There were two white kittens to choose from, one male and one female. I distinctly remember wanting the female kitten before we arrived, but lots of people wanted the female and the male kitten had such an adorable kink in his tail. I was smitten. We paid $22 for that tiny white ball of fur, of which $12 was returned to my parents when they neutered him a few days later.
We packed him into a carrier and headed for home, and we only made it halfway when I started spoiling him. It started small. He was crying because he hated the carrier, so I opened it up and let him out. After all, he was my cat and I wanted to play with him. It didn't matter to me that we were driving and he was small enough to crawl under the seats of the car and that my mother was going to get upset and we'd have to spend a lot of time coaxing him back into the carrier to get him inside; I just wanted him to be happy.
The instant we arrived inside our house I let him loose, and away he went. He ran through every room and outside in our fenced in yard. He was excited to explore everything and I was excited to follow him around and watch him be adorable. I watched as he attacked bedspreads and chased a bird in the yard and batted at himself in the mirror. He seemed to be infinitely curious, and I remember saying "You're really curious." Within about an hour that was not only a description of the way my kitten acted but also his name.
Curious went through a lot as a young kitten. He had to deal with an overbearing older cat who didn't like to share her food or her water or her scratching post of her humans. He was chased by and excited 3-year-old (my brother) who thought that the kink in his tail was a great handle. He was carried around and forced to spend time playing "house" with a young girl who shall remain nameless.* Then, when he'd been with us for less than a year, he was packed into a carrier and moved from California to Iowa.
Living in Iowa brought a lot of changes for Curious. Treca (the older cat) passed away and suddenly he went from second fiddle to king of the house. He wasn't allowed outside anymore, and he had to be declawed, but he had free reign of the house. He soon took possession of all the best seats in the house and carved out a great spot under the table, right next to my chair, where he could easily be given table scraps. He spent his nights sleeping with me or my parents and most of his days sleeping in a sunny spot on the furniture. He became an excellent mouser and would often drop his kills by my bed so when I awoke in the morning I would know what a good hunter he was. Curious even tried catching the various rats and hamsters I kept as pets over the years. He never managed to catch any of them, although he did manage to knock one of my hamsters down the stairs in its exercise ball.
As Curious grew he gained a few nicknames. Annoying was added to his name because of his tendency to whine to be pet and whine to be fed and whine to eat human food and whine because he just felt like it. My brother added Road Runner to the list because Curious had a way of tearing through the house like a rocket. Ankle Biter was my mom's contribution because she was always up earliest in the morning and Curious would often nip at her ankles to make sure she knew she should hurry up and feed him. He was a family cat. That is until his litter needed cleaning, at which point he became exclusively my cat.
As I started getting older things changed. I went off to college and only saw Curious every few weeks. He'd still sleep in my bed sometimes, but more and more he spent his time with my parents or my brother. I would celebrate the moments at school when I'd pull our clothes covered in white cat hair, because it would remind me of him.** He stomach got sensitive and suddenly he was also my cat when he threw up. We started giving him special food and more and more often gave into his demands for part of our dinner, well at least I did.
Then this November things started to change. Curious stopped eating for days, and while before I'd always been able to convince him to eat even when my parents couldn't, this time was different. Curious lost all the hair on half his face. He spent most of his time lying in front of the heater vent in the kitchen or sleeping with me or my parents at night. I dug a grave, prepared for him to die, but then he didn't. In fact he made a huge turn around and by New Years most of the hair had grown back and he was eating and running up and down the stairs. I went back to school thinking he might live until I moved to Florida.
A few weeks into school my parents called to say that Curious had gotten much worse. His face had swollen up, he had trouble breathing, and the only thing they could get him to eat was canned tuna. They got antibiotics from our local vet, but they didn't seem to make any difference. My mom took Curious to a specialist and after running a few tests they determined that Curious had cancer and it was a tumor that was growing inside of his nose. At that point my mom thought they might have to put him down without me, but he came home from the vet and ate a whole bowl of food. Things seemed to be at an equilibrium until this Wednesday, when my dad called to say that Curious had stopped eating and was having trouble walking and did I want them to put him down. I said that I wanted to be there, and so they waited until I could come home this weekend.
When I arrived home yesterday Curious was almost unrecognizable as my loving energetic playful best friend. The tumor was so big that it had almost swollen one of his eyes shut. He'd always been a big cat, and a diet of table scraps had meant he had some meat on his bones, but not anymore. I could see his skeleton when he walked and when I pet him he was nothing but skin and bone. It was hard for me to look at him sometimes, it just made me so sad. Petting him as he passed at the vets and burying him was one of the saddest things I've ever had to do, but it wasn't nearly as sad as listening to his labored breathing and watching him weave back and forth as he walked. I know that letting him go was the right thing to do. I'll miss him terribly.
RIP Curious Annoying Road Runner Ankle Biter Vance. I'll always love you. <3
*It's me. I hope you got that.
**While back home my parents would lament my decision to get a white cat that sheds CONSTANTLY
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