So, after two days and more money than I really have, my car once again has all four windows. It's now sitting, probably cold and damp and lonely, in the parking lot at the dealership, where the damage to the door lock must now be inspected and assessed and hopefully repaired tomorrow. It's not a complete nuisance - I did have a perfect excuse to spend 40m in the car with Cute Guy on the way back from Solvang - but it is enough of one to count. The good news is that it should all be over soon. The police think they may have caught the...irritating people...after they broke into another garage last night and stole a bike. I really hope that not only the fingerprints the police took from my car are useable at all, but that they match up to one or more of these people, and a little karmic justice wouldn't be sneezed at, either. A scratch from all that broken glass gets infected or something small but irritating like that. Not that I'm petty or anything.
In other news, I finished the second part of CP #1 today and am moving on to the third and final part. Tech in Solvang is going well, although it's FREEZING down there and I'm really glad they moved me up to the booth and out of the wind a night early. (And I can knit up there!) I got my free upgrade cell phone today, and am really excited about it. (It's basically my Sony Walkman and Sony Ericsson phone's lovechild - and it's blue!) The keypad is a little small, but I can live with it. Now I just have to get a headset for it!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
Picking up the pieces...
...luckily of nothing earth shattering or overly dramatic. I did get to spend a good 45m sweeping up broken glass from my garage floor this morning, though. At a time far, far earlier than anyone should ever be awake on their day off (okay, so that is slightly exaggerated - it was, like, 9:00a, but given the fact that I'd already been up for two hours, and had only fallen asleep four hours before that, it felt wayy too early).
Why the sudden urge for cleanliness? Because some jackass (pardon my language, but I'm not really in a mood to be polite) decided to break into my garage...AGAIN. This is the third time in less than three months my garage has been broken into. Oh, and the third time's quite the charm, too - this time he/they decided to break into my car, as well. Luckily, I apparently keep nothing of fenceable value in the car; I never leave my purse or phone in the car, my stereo is crap, I don't really listen to CDs, and my portable XM radio was brought inside at the beginning of the summer in order to better listen to Cubs games. Things *I* consider valuable, like the over $150 worth of sparring, kickboxing, and haganah gear and weapons I keep in my duffel bag in the very back, apparently aren't worth stealing. Which is good, because I also keep my current belts in that bag, and I'd've been REALLY pissed if someone had stolen my black belt. As far as I can tell, the only thing missing, oddly, is the little binder that contained the car owner's manual and my registration and insurance cards. (A fact that I didn't notice until much later, when I realized it wasn't on the passenger floor with the rest of the stuff from the glove compartment and notified the police promptly when I saw the registration was gone.) The back window was shattered, and the lock on the front passenger door is broken on the outside. There doesn't seem to be any body or paint damage, though, which is good. Insurance will cover anything over my deductable, and the police have filed a report and even dusted for fingerprints, though they aren't sure there's anything useable.
But still...why me? This time, mine was the ONLY one hit. Why my garage AGAIN? And how in the world can I prevent it? Padlocks, as we know from previous experiences, just get cut. And completely negate the point of having a remote door opener. I told Gil about it before kickboxing today, and he volunteered to sit in my garage for a few nights with a comfortable chair. As he's a big guy, does haganah and aikido, and is literally covered in tattoos, *I* wouldn't want to mess with him if I came upon him in such a situation. I was talking with Mrs. S and Ma'am about it after classes tonight, and Mrs. S said that they'd had both their vehicles broken into on the street in front of their house. She has a couple of numbers for repair shops for me, which I'll call tomorrow.
The ladies (Mrs. S and Ma'am) taught tonight, as the guys were apparently watching Monday Night Football (yes, it's that big of a deal in our dojahng, you can even forego uniform shirts for team jerseys on Monday nights during football season). It was fun. It always makes me a little nervous when Mrs. S is there, because I'm just not used to working with her in that context, but it would be fun to have her in class more. Ma'am did kickboxing today, too, which was fun. She partnered with one of the newer ladies, as Gil had already claimed me as a partner after I'd told him about my morning. That was good - I'd really needed someone like Gil or Mr. R or Sir as a partner today to work off some frustration. They can hold the bag really well and don't look shocked or surprised if you just pound the hell out of it (some of the newer/less active in the school people look like I'm trying to break them sometimes). It was the first time I've really been angry enough to imagine a face on the bag, even though I have no idea whose face belongs there. We also started regular class with sparring, and I initially got partnered with Mr. M and Bob (our punching dummy), so by the time I got to the lower belts, I didn't have quite the anger energy going anymore. No instructor class tonight, since Sir wasn't there, so I didn't start my weapons form. I don't really get any new material in regular class at all anymore; it all comes in instructor class now. Mrs. S told me afterward that if I'd mentioned it, she would have started teaching it to me, but alas. Someday! I have hope!
In happier news, CP #1 is moving along quite nicely. I seem to always jinx myself if I say that I'll have something finished soon, so I won't say that. I will say that it is going much faster than I had anticipated, although I think I might have to rework something after I block it. I'm going to finish another section of it first, though. And I've finally settled on the yarn for CP #2. I still have no idea what I am going to use for CP #3, though. I have a few ideas, but not sure if any of them will fit into the budget. I'll have to shop around and see. Yarn shopping, sigh, life is so rough!
Why the sudden urge for cleanliness? Because some jackass (pardon my language, but I'm not really in a mood to be polite) decided to break into my garage...AGAIN. This is the third time in less than three months my garage has been broken into. Oh, and the third time's quite the charm, too - this time he/they decided to break into my car, as well. Luckily, I apparently keep nothing of fenceable value in the car; I never leave my purse or phone in the car, my stereo is crap, I don't really listen to CDs, and my portable XM radio was brought inside at the beginning of the summer in order to better listen to Cubs games. Things *I* consider valuable, like the over $150 worth of sparring, kickboxing, and haganah gear and weapons I keep in my duffel bag in the very back, apparently aren't worth stealing. Which is good, because I also keep my current belts in that bag, and I'd've been REALLY pissed if someone had stolen my black belt. As far as I can tell, the only thing missing, oddly, is the little binder that contained the car owner's manual and my registration and insurance cards. (A fact that I didn't notice until much later, when I realized it wasn't on the passenger floor with the rest of the stuff from the glove compartment and notified the police promptly when I saw the registration was gone.) The back window was shattered, and the lock on the front passenger door is broken on the outside. There doesn't seem to be any body or paint damage, though, which is good. Insurance will cover anything over my deductable, and the police have filed a report and even dusted for fingerprints, though they aren't sure there's anything useable.
But still...why me? This time, mine was the ONLY one hit. Why my garage AGAIN? And how in the world can I prevent it? Padlocks, as we know from previous experiences, just get cut. And completely negate the point of having a remote door opener. I told Gil about it before kickboxing today, and he volunteered to sit in my garage for a few nights with a comfortable chair. As he's a big guy, does haganah and aikido, and is literally covered in tattoos, *I* wouldn't want to mess with him if I came upon him in such a situation. I was talking with Mrs. S and Ma'am about it after classes tonight, and Mrs. S said that they'd had both their vehicles broken into on the street in front of their house. She has a couple of numbers for repair shops for me, which I'll call tomorrow.
The ladies (Mrs. S and Ma'am) taught tonight, as the guys were apparently watching Monday Night Football (yes, it's that big of a deal in our dojahng, you can even forego uniform shirts for team jerseys on Monday nights during football season). It was fun. It always makes me a little nervous when Mrs. S is there, because I'm just not used to working with her in that context, but it would be fun to have her in class more. Ma'am did kickboxing today, too, which was fun. She partnered with one of the newer ladies, as Gil had already claimed me as a partner after I'd told him about my morning. That was good - I'd really needed someone like Gil or Mr. R or Sir as a partner today to work off some frustration. They can hold the bag really well and don't look shocked or surprised if you just pound the hell out of it (some of the newer/less active in the school people look like I'm trying to break them sometimes). It was the first time I've really been angry enough to imagine a face on the bag, even though I have no idea whose face belongs there. We also started regular class with sparring, and I initially got partnered with Mr. M and Bob (our punching dummy), so by the time I got to the lower belts, I didn't have quite the anger energy going anymore. No instructor class tonight, since Sir wasn't there, so I didn't start my weapons form. I don't really get any new material in regular class at all anymore; it all comes in instructor class now. Mrs. S told me afterward that if I'd mentioned it, she would have started teaching it to me, but alas. Someday! I have hope!
In happier news, CP #1 is moving along quite nicely. I seem to always jinx myself if I say that I'll have something finished soon, so I won't say that. I will say that it is going much faster than I had anticipated, although I think I might have to rework something after I block it. I'm going to finish another section of it first, though. And I've finally settled on the yarn for CP #2. I still have no idea what I am going to use for CP #3, though. I have a few ideas, but not sure if any of them will fit into the budget. I'll have to shop around and see. Yarn shopping, sigh, life is so rough!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Plotting! Muha!
(ETA: Um, duh...I forgot to mention that I did finally finish my third Olympic project a few days ago. I now have a new pair of socks to wear next week in Solvang, yay!)
Okay...so by my reckoning, I have four projects to get done by Christmas. No, I will not be sharing specifically what these projects are, and no, they aren't for family members (mostly - one person has made a few not-so-subtle hints, and it's actually not the person who reads this the most!). Okay, one of the projects is in the "I want to make something for this person but have no idea what" category, so it might drop to three projects. One project is new for me, but easily do-able. One is a repeat for me (if I can find yarn I like). One is totally new ground and I'm not 100% sure I can pull it off at all, if I even work up the courage to try it. I hearby dub them Christmas Project #1, 2, 3, and 4. I started working on CP #1, the new but easy project, Sept. 1 (not on purpose, that was just the day that I finally got the right gauge going and could start the real project), so the way I figure it, I have four months to do four projects. At the rate #1 is going, this should be plenty of time, if I can do a project a month. #2 will be the new ground project for October (or whenever I finish #1), mostly because if that one takes me longer, I can fudge on the repeat project (#3) and the no idea project (#4). Sound like a plan?
I got to go to the dojahng for about an hour and a half on Friday and just worked on forms. I had the place to myself and it was so nice! I felt like I had actually accomplished something, and was able to focus on things. I hadn't realized how much time had gone by until Sir came back from whatever errand he'd been running. I was able to make it to FIGHT on Tuesday and most of kickboxing on Wednesday, so I haven't been completely out, but it will be good to be back in on Monday night. I can't wait to start my weapons form!
They're also doing a women's self-defense seminar on Saturday, Sept. 27th, from 11:30a-1:00p. I will probably be there, and I have at least two girls from work who have expressed an interest in it (although one did say it looked like fun. "Fun" isn't generally the first word that pops into my head with "self-defense," but whatever). Sir said it will be a lot of the basic stuff we do in haganah, just kind of broken down a bit more and more focused on female sizes and strengths. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can get you more info. I can also get you a discount, if that helps =)
I've also started reading, well, listening really, to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series (I have the current four books in audio format, which I'm discovering I really love and I really wish the Cast In... series could be on audiobook, because I really want to reread them all before the new book comes out next month, and I just don't have time right now). Anyway, if anyone has thought about checking out the series, if you're really into teen vampire romance, characters you want to slap upside the head and knock some sense into, and lots of angst, this is totally for you. If not, well, check it out - it isn't bad fluff reading - but don't spend money on it (and that's saying a lot, as I'd rather spend money on books than food, usually). I love my friend dearly, and normally agree with her literary tastes, but this is definitely NOT the "next Harry Potter!" Harry Potter does have its angst, but it also is full of literature and history and growing up and learning to stand up for yourself and for what you believe is right. I look forward to the day that I can read that series with my children. This series, so far (I've finished the first two books and am seriously considering just skipping to the end of the fourth one, which is not like me at all), is about a girl who needs to grow up and get over herself. I'd be really, really surprised if it lasted long enough that any children of mine would even want to read it.
Okay...so by my reckoning, I have four projects to get done by Christmas. No, I will not be sharing specifically what these projects are, and no, they aren't for family members (mostly - one person has made a few not-so-subtle hints, and it's actually not the person who reads this the most!). Okay, one of the projects is in the "I want to make something for this person but have no idea what" category, so it might drop to three projects. One project is new for me, but easily do-able. One is a repeat for me (if I can find yarn I like). One is totally new ground and I'm not 100% sure I can pull it off at all, if I even work up the courage to try it. I hearby dub them Christmas Project #1, 2, 3, and 4. I started working on CP #1, the new but easy project, Sept. 1 (not on purpose, that was just the day that I finally got the right gauge going and could start the real project), so the way I figure it, I have four months to do four projects. At the rate #1 is going, this should be plenty of time, if I can do a project a month. #2 will be the new ground project for October (or whenever I finish #1), mostly because if that one takes me longer, I can fudge on the repeat project (#3) and the no idea project (#4). Sound like a plan?
I got to go to the dojahng for about an hour and a half on Friday and just worked on forms. I had the place to myself and it was so nice! I felt like I had actually accomplished something, and was able to focus on things. I hadn't realized how much time had gone by until Sir came back from whatever errand he'd been running. I was able to make it to FIGHT on Tuesday and most of kickboxing on Wednesday, so I haven't been completely out, but it will be good to be back in on Monday night. I can't wait to start my weapons form!
They're also doing a women's self-defense seminar on Saturday, Sept. 27th, from 11:30a-1:00p. I will probably be there, and I have at least two girls from work who have expressed an interest in it (although one did say it looked like fun. "Fun" isn't generally the first word that pops into my head with "self-defense," but whatever). Sir said it will be a lot of the basic stuff we do in haganah, just kind of broken down a bit more and more focused on female sizes and strengths. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can get you more info. I can also get you a discount, if that helps =)
I've also started reading, well, listening really, to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series (I have the current four books in audio format, which I'm discovering I really love and I really wish the Cast In... series could be on audiobook, because I really want to reread them all before the new book comes out next month, and I just don't have time right now). Anyway, if anyone has thought about checking out the series, if you're really into teen vampire romance, characters you want to slap upside the head and knock some sense into, and lots of angst, this is totally for you. If not, well, check it out - it isn't bad fluff reading - but don't spend money on it (and that's saying a lot, as I'd rather spend money on books than food, usually). I love my friend dearly, and normally agree with her literary tastes, but this is definitely NOT the "next Harry Potter!" Harry Potter does have its angst, but it also is full of literature and history and growing up and learning to stand up for yourself and for what you believe is right. I look forward to the day that I can read that series with my children. This series, so far (I've finished the first two books and am seriously considering just skipping to the end of the fourth one, which is not like me at all), is about a girl who needs to grow up and get over herself. I'd be really, really surprised if it lasted long enough that any children of mine would even want to read it.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Titles and Quotes
I've had a couple people ask me via emails about the changes to my header and blog title. Honestly, I didn't know that anyone but me ever paid any attention to them, so getting questions from three different people was kind of surprising. Anyway...
1. I changed the blog title after earning my black belt. I thought it was a subtle way to try to incorporate the three main things I talk about here. Black. Stage. Stitches. The black is probably a little obscure, but it works for me.
2. No, I have no suddenly become dissatisfied with my professional life. I still really like the original quote in the header - "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" - and think it is very much applicable to me. I've been using the new quote as a binder cover for my production calendar for the past year and a half, though. I see it on there every time I need to check a date or time. It really struck me, though, when I earned my black belt - I had attempted something that seemed absurdly out of my scope in every way and achieved something I never thought I could do. The new quote is a personal reminder to me to not be content with what I always do, even if it's good, and look into the "this could be ifs" instead. (ETA: The runner up quote was "All the world's a stage...and I'm calling my own damn cues!")
I hope that clears things up. Opening went well tonight, although we're all dead and doing a matinee and an understudy rehearsal tomorrow is not appealing in the slightest. (Insert standard understudy rehearsal rant here.) I did tell my kids (my ASMs, we have a running joke about me being Mom and they're my kids, although I drew the line at having the deck crew as grandkids) that if I was there, they had to be there, so now they're plotting ways of holding me hostage so I can't go into work. The latest plot that I know of involves something with zip ties and tugboats. I'm curious now. (This is what happens when you have three stage managers in a tiny office after the second show of the day on the Saturday after tech. It's a bad, bad situation!)
Btw, it's not unusual, in fact, I've come to expect, dreams about the show during tech weeks. Normally they're just the show itself, with something weird or odd going on that I have to deal with - trying to do The Sound of Music in a different theater, for example. Last night, however, I had a dream that one of my ASMs, my ALD, and myself were running a halftime show at a little Khorey League-type baseball field (yes, I know, baseball doesn't have halftimes, your guess is as good as mine). Afterwards, we went to this sports tourist shop. It turns out that this shop was in my house (um, mansion), and when my ASM went to buy something, I told the cashier to put it on my tab because I was Mrs. Roarke. (Sadly, Roarke himself never showed up...) Clearly, running a zany musical comedy, checking baseball scores, and having a J.D. Robb book on the nightstand creates some weird subconscious realities after a 60+ hour week...
1. I changed the blog title after earning my black belt. I thought it was a subtle way to try to incorporate the three main things I talk about here. Black. Stage. Stitches. The black is probably a little obscure, but it works for me.
2. No, I have no suddenly become dissatisfied with my professional life. I still really like the original quote in the header - "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life" - and think it is very much applicable to me. I've been using the new quote as a binder cover for my production calendar for the past year and a half, though. I see it on there every time I need to check a date or time. It really struck me, though, when I earned my black belt - I had attempted something that seemed absurdly out of my scope in every way and achieved something I never thought I could do. The new quote is a personal reminder to me to not be content with what I always do, even if it's good, and look into the "this could be ifs" instead. (ETA: The runner up quote was "All the world's a stage...and I'm calling my own damn cues!")
I hope that clears things up. Opening went well tonight, although we're all dead and doing a matinee and an understudy rehearsal tomorrow is not appealing in the slightest. (Insert standard understudy rehearsal rant here.) I did tell my kids (my ASMs, we have a running joke about me being Mom and they're my kids, although I drew the line at having the deck crew as grandkids) that if I was there, they had to be there, so now they're plotting ways of holding me hostage so I can't go into work. The latest plot that I know of involves something with zip ties and tugboats. I'm curious now. (This is what happens when you have three stage managers in a tiny office after the second show of the day on the Saturday after tech. It's a bad, bad situation!)
Btw, it's not unusual, in fact, I've come to expect, dreams about the show during tech weeks. Normally they're just the show itself, with something weird or odd going on that I have to deal with - trying to do The Sound of Music in a different theater, for example. Last night, however, I had a dream that one of my ASMs, my ALD, and myself were running a halftime show at a little Khorey League-type baseball field (yes, I know, baseball doesn't have halftimes, your guess is as good as mine). Afterwards, we went to this sports tourist shop. It turns out that this shop was in my house (um, mansion), and when my ASM went to buy something, I told the cashier to put it on my tab because I was Mrs. Roarke. (Sadly, Roarke himself never showed up...) Clearly, running a zany musical comedy, checking baseball scores, and having a J.D. Robb book on the nightstand creates some weird subconscious realities after a 60+ hour week...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tech has eaten me, and other minor things
Just a quick note to let people know I'm alive. I really haven't even been reading anyone else's blogs lately, either, although what I have read seems to indicate that most people are just as busy as I am, since they haven't had any new posts either.
We're opening Hot Mikado Saturday night (tomorrow for me, since I haven't slept yet). It's wicked fun and I'm really proud of it. Production photos are up here. Our set is like a page out of a giant coloring book. I love it! We had our first real audience tonight, and they made it clear they had a good time from the very beginning, which was awesome. It's pretty rewarding to see that the two 15+ hour days and the two 13+ hour days I've put in so far this week haven't been completely in vain. Now just two more 12 hour days to go and then we get a well-deserved day off. Oh yeah, and we teched the entire show in less than nine hours. Coulda knocked me over with a feather! And, can I just say, my ASMs rock. Not only are they good at their jobs, but they are also people I enjoy being around, even after a 15 hour day. It's nice on so many levels! I'm definitely buying them drinks tomorrow night!
Let's see. I don't have class this Monday because of Labor Day, but I was able to talk Chrissy into letting me have Tuesday evening off from callbacks, so I can at least go to FIGHT this coming week. I finished my form this past Monday, and Sir said he'd start teaching me my weapons next time I'm in class. (I REALLY hate being back down to one night a week!!!!) He also said he'd look at his schedule and see if there are any times during the day that he might be able to come and "just happen" to unlock the door for me so I can have somewhere to work on my forms. The new class schedule there starts Tuesday, so we have to wait for that to settle in with everyone first, but he said it should be possible. There are two kind of big changes. The first is that sparring is back in the dojahng on Friday nights now. The second is that sparring is later on Friday nights than before because they are adding in an aikido class on that day! Gil, who is a black belt in it, will be teaching it. I'm excited, even though I can't start it until November.
There's a fight at the casino near the end of September, too, that I know people are going to (at least Mel and Ma'am are going). I can't make the fight, as I have a show in Solvang that night, but we're hoping to meet up for drinks or something afterwards. Should be fun. I went into the dojahng over dinner the other day to deal with some contract stuff, and ended up talking to Mel for about twenty minutes instead of eating. Oops...
I did not get the rest of my Olympic knitting completed. I still have about an inch and a half on the sock leg, and haven't gotten to touch the Tumbling Blocks scarf. Tech kind of got in the way of that. Again with that work thing being really inconvenient!
Have not gone out with Cute Guy pretty much since July. We keep saying we need to go out again, but it just hasn't worked out. He's going to be working on some other shows in the area for a while after this one ends, though, so there might be a possibility. I kind of think that's probably pretty much done now, though. We'll see.
Anyway, I'm out to try to get a decent amount of sleep and still wake up early enough to grab a rehearsal room before tech to work on forms, if one is open. I haven't gotten to all week because of my own rehearsals and classes, and I REALLY need to! Two weeks out of tkd class is two weeks too many!
We're opening Hot Mikado Saturday night (tomorrow for me, since I haven't slept yet). It's wicked fun and I'm really proud of it. Production photos are up here. Our set is like a page out of a giant coloring book. I love it! We had our first real audience tonight, and they made it clear they had a good time from the very beginning, which was awesome. It's pretty rewarding to see that the two 15+ hour days and the two 13+ hour days I've put in so far this week haven't been completely in vain. Now just two more 12 hour days to go and then we get a well-deserved day off. Oh yeah, and we teched the entire show in less than nine hours. Coulda knocked me over with a feather! And, can I just say, my ASMs rock. Not only are they good at their jobs, but they are also people I enjoy being around, even after a 15 hour day. It's nice on so many levels! I'm definitely buying them drinks tomorrow night!
Let's see. I don't have class this Monday because of Labor Day, but I was able to talk Chrissy into letting me have Tuesday evening off from callbacks, so I can at least go to FIGHT this coming week. I finished my form this past Monday, and Sir said he'd start teaching me my weapons next time I'm in class. (I REALLY hate being back down to one night a week!!!!) He also said he'd look at his schedule and see if there are any times during the day that he might be able to come and "just happen" to unlock the door for me so I can have somewhere to work on my forms. The new class schedule there starts Tuesday, so we have to wait for that to settle in with everyone first, but he said it should be possible. There are two kind of big changes. The first is that sparring is back in the dojahng on Friday nights now. The second is that sparring is later on Friday nights than before because they are adding in an aikido class on that day! Gil, who is a black belt in it, will be teaching it. I'm excited, even though I can't start it until November.
There's a fight at the casino near the end of September, too, that I know people are going to (at least Mel and Ma'am are going). I can't make the fight, as I have a show in Solvang that night, but we're hoping to meet up for drinks or something afterwards. Should be fun. I went into the dojahng over dinner the other day to deal with some contract stuff, and ended up talking to Mel for about twenty minutes instead of eating. Oops...
I did not get the rest of my Olympic knitting completed. I still have about an inch and a half on the sock leg, and haven't gotten to touch the Tumbling Blocks scarf. Tech kind of got in the way of that. Again with that work thing being really inconvenient!
Have not gone out with Cute Guy pretty much since July. We keep saying we need to go out again, but it just hasn't worked out. He's going to be working on some other shows in the area for a while after this one ends, though, so there might be a possibility. I kind of think that's probably pretty much done now, though. We'll see.
Anyway, I'm out to try to get a decent amount of sleep and still wake up early enough to grab a rehearsal room before tech to work on forms, if one is open. I haven't gotten to all week because of my own rehearsals and classes, and I REALLY need to! Two weeks out of tkd class is two weeks too many!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Perspectives
Remember how I posted that I was having trouble adjusting to the learning pace of my new tkd curriculum? It was so slow and all? As I was leaving after class last night (which felt really good, even with kickboxing, and I nailed all five of the color belt forms we worked on, including the two I so royally screwed up last week!), I got into a discussion about my upcoming schedule with Sir. I guess normally people are expected to know to the second kihap (the halfway point) of the regular form and I think part of the weapons form for their first midterm. I have seven more moves to learn tomorrow night and then I'll have the entire form. I might start weapons tomorrow, which means I will probably learn the whole thing by the end of September. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, and including the fact that starting next week I'm back to only Mondays until after White Christmas opens in mid-November - sighcryweepsobboohiss! - he's expecting me to be eligible to midterm in October! Boggle! HE thinks I'm working extremely quickly!
I don't want to be totally gone again for the next two months just as I've gotten back into the routine, mostly because I know myself and I have a really hard time working on forms on my own because it's such a hassle to find space to do it. I might ask if there is a time I could come in either for a private lesson, or just come in and work on my own. I doubt there is too much free time, and the private lessons can add up quick, but it'd be really awesome to have just one extra day in there a week. Particularly since I'm not only giving up half of my tkd and kickboxing, but also all of my haganah for the next two months. NOT a fan! (Frank swore tonight that if I wasn't going to be there, he wasn't going to come in either - "I don't like the new girl. She doesn't hit very hard!" She JUST started this week, and I assured him that she was in kickboxing too and we'd whip her into shape soon enough if she stuck with it.)
I did strike a deal with Chrissy, though. If our evil plot goes as planned, which I'm pretty sure it will, as our interns rock so far, I will call all of the Thursday morning brat mats for the run of White Christmas. In return for letting her sleep in and save on gas, she'll call all of the Friday night performances. Which means...once that show opens, I can go to class five nights a week AND to Klondike's after sparring on Fridays! Muha! She wanted to know why I wanted Friday nights off, if I had a hot date or anything. Yup! With my sparring gear, a hot pizza, and a cold beer!
I don't want to be totally gone again for the next two months just as I've gotten back into the routine, mostly because I know myself and I have a really hard time working on forms on my own because it's such a hassle to find space to do it. I might ask if there is a time I could come in either for a private lesson, or just come in and work on my own. I doubt there is too much free time, and the private lessons can add up quick, but it'd be really awesome to have just one extra day in there a week. Particularly since I'm not only giving up half of my tkd and kickboxing, but also all of my haganah for the next two months. NOT a fan! (Frank swore tonight that if I wasn't going to be there, he wasn't going to come in either - "I don't like the new girl. She doesn't hit very hard!" She JUST started this week, and I assured him that she was in kickboxing too and we'd whip her into shape soon enough if she stuck with it.)
I did strike a deal with Chrissy, though. If our evil plot goes as planned, which I'm pretty sure it will, as our interns rock so far, I will call all of the Thursday morning brat mats for the run of White Christmas. In return for letting her sleep in and save on gas, she'll call all of the Friday night performances. Which means...once that show opens, I can go to class five nights a week AND to Klondike's after sparring on Fridays! Muha! She wanted to know why I wanted Friday nights off, if I had a hot date or anything. Yup! With my sparring gear, a hot pizza, and a cold beer!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Pics as promised!
First across the finish line was...Boatneck Bluebell!
Pattern from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits. Yarn is Caron Simply Soft (100% acrylic) in Berry Blue. I like it, although if I made it again, I'd add another inch before starting the ribbing on the body. I haven't worn it other than to try it on yet, it's a tad heavy for the weather right now, but I'm hoping to soon! I think with a good bra the body will fit fine, but we'll see.
My new sweater was followed a few days later with...the dropped lace stitch scarf.
Pattern by Dee Jones for Mountain Colors. Yarn is Mountain Colors Twizzle (85% wool, 15% silk) in Sweet Pea. The picture doesn't show off the stitch pattern very well at all, but actually this was a pretty quick knit - worsted weight yarn on US 10 needles. I just put it down for a few months at a time. I really cannot say how much I love this yarn, though! It was so soft and squishy to work with, and got even softer after washing and blocking. Fabulous! Can't wait to wear this scarf! (Okay, so actually, I didn't wait - it wasn't completely dry, but I took it to rehearsal Saturday so I could finish unravelling the dropped stitches. It was just a bit damp, but good enough!)
Next up is the second of the Wendelin socks. I did end up frogging the heel (again), and when I went to re-knit it, I realized that the reason I'd made such crazy mistakes with it was because I'd started doing one type of heel then switched for some reason to another type halfway through it. Short row and gusset heels don't mix well. At least, not the way I was trying to combine them! Now all is back on track, though, and if I did nothing but knit tomorrow, I could probably finish it then. I probably won't, but it's possible.
Last up, and the one that will definitely take up the most time, is going to be the Tumbling Blocks Scarf. Cashmere laceweight is heaven to touch, but does not knit up particularly quickly on US 4 bamboo needles. I really don't like the needles, btw, but I'm a bit worried that if I change to my favored Options, my gauge will change too noticeably. Plus, cashmere and slick metal don't sound like a good combination. I kind of wish I had a Harmony wood needle for it, but oh well. I'll make do.
And, remember how excited I was about these guys? Well, that particular pattern just so happened to be in my mailbox the other day! Thanks, Mom! It's taking a lot of willpower to not make one immediately, but I don't have quite enough black and white feltable yarns right now, which forces me to be good and finish my other projects first. They're awfully darn cute, though!
I did get to help with Day in the Park today for a few hours before rehearsal. It was fun. Mr. R led some of the Leadership kids in a short demo, and then we had a booth where kids could come and learn to punch and do an easy board break. I mostly watched Sir, Mr. R and Ma'am work with the kids and help keep equipment organized while I was there, but it was still fun. I got to spend a tiny bit of time with Mrs. S again, which was nice. She seems pleased that I'm hoping to get reinvolved with kickboxing, and encouraged me to watch and learn from the instructors this morning, although I did get a "Well, I'm pretty sure I've seen YOU there on Mondays and Wednesdays, too," from Ma'am at one point when I was trying to decide if a kid was really interested in trying out a board or not and asked her to go talk to him.
Ma'am and I saw a gorgeous dog there today, too - calm, friendly, completely gentle, five months old, and paws the size of salad plates. Purebred Great Pyranees. Beautiful coloring, and literally sat almost to my waist. At five months! That's going to be one HUGE dog someday! Just from a brief interaction with him, I'd say they have the intelligence and friendliness of Labs and Goldens, but just don't really feel the need to get excited about much of anything, not even retrieving or running. I guess when you're that size, there's not much to get excited about!
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Halfway Point
We're halfway through the Olympics, and I am halfway to my goal of turning four UFOs into FOs! One is in the wash and the other is drying on the blocking board covered with a towel (Teddie seems to have decided the wet yarn is his perfect soulmate, which necessitates the secrecy). I'll try to get pics up tomorrow or Sunday (tomorrow might be a little crazy), and you'll have to find out which ones hit the finish line then! Muha! (Okay, so Ravelers can probably figure it out, but the pics still aren't up there yet either.)
I've also hit the halfway point in learning my new regular form. The form isn't really all THAT much longer than any of my previous forms (81 moves), but Sir (who was back in class Wednesday night) and Mr. R have only been adding five or six moves, if that, per class. It's definitely the slowest pace I've ever gone on formwork, and it's taking some getting used to. I'm used to having to learn an entire form and get it to testing level in eight or nine weeks, which means that normally at this point I'd've learned the whole thing and would be starting to clean it up, really drilling stances and chambers and that sort of thing. It's like we've suddenly hit the brakes and the new pace is throwing me just a little. My life runs in rush mode; bad habits are hard to break.
We are going to keep up with the instructor class being half colorbelt forms and training drills, and the other half is going to be our (Ma'am, Mr. R, and Jorge, another second degree) time to work on our own forms and drills. (I also work on my new form during regular class, but I don't get anything new added to it until later in instructor class. Sometimes I help the lower belts with their forms and other black belts with the self defense in regular class, too.) We go a little longer at night now, but I like it. It's neat and kind of inspiring to see the teachers learning new things. Apparently I can do all the colorbelt forms just fine, unless Sir is in the room. I was nailing them with Mr. R, Ma'am and Jorge, but Sir comes back and I got stuck in both the camo form AND the green belt form. Bah! I am, however, actually helping out with a Day in the Park kids' event on Sunday morning, which I think will be fun. I'm a little nervous about it, though. I think it will be Sir, Mrs. S, Mr. R, Ma'am, and me, and I'm DEFINITELY the lowest and most inexperienced out of that bunch. But, on the other hand, how am going to learn if I just stay in class the whole time? I just hope I'm at least useful to them.
I did get to go to kickboxing on Monday (the routine hasn't changed that much) and my hamstrings kept reminding me of it on Tuesday. It was really nice to get back into the swing of it, but it was a little hard to realize that I'm not in the shape that I need to be in order to do that classload. I did want to make it again on Thursday (Wednesday is just too soon after rehearsal), but I got stuck at work with new interns and was only able to make it to FIGHT - just in time to get more bruises on my arms from knife sparring. Shane has really sharp fingernails, btw. I know. He dug them into my wrist and I still have the marks today!
Anyway, meeting for Midsummer tomorrow morning and then lunch with Cute Guy and the girl who is taking over his internship for this coming year before rehearsal tomorrow. Might go see Ragtime tomorrow night with her, too.
Go Phelps!
I've also hit the halfway point in learning my new regular form. The form isn't really all THAT much longer than any of my previous forms (81 moves), but Sir (who was back in class Wednesday night) and Mr. R have only been adding five or six moves, if that, per class. It's definitely the slowest pace I've ever gone on formwork, and it's taking some getting used to. I'm used to having to learn an entire form and get it to testing level in eight or nine weeks, which means that normally at this point I'd've learned the whole thing and would be starting to clean it up, really drilling stances and chambers and that sort of thing. It's like we've suddenly hit the brakes and the new pace is throwing me just a little. My life runs in rush mode; bad habits are hard to break.
We are going to keep up with the instructor class being half colorbelt forms and training drills, and the other half is going to be our (Ma'am, Mr. R, and Jorge, another second degree) time to work on our own forms and drills. (I also work on my new form during regular class, but I don't get anything new added to it until later in instructor class. Sometimes I help the lower belts with their forms and other black belts with the self defense in regular class, too.) We go a little longer at night now, but I like it. It's neat and kind of inspiring to see the teachers learning new things. Apparently I can do all the colorbelt forms just fine, unless Sir is in the room. I was nailing them with Mr. R, Ma'am and Jorge, but Sir comes back and I got stuck in both the camo form AND the green belt form. Bah! I am, however, actually helping out with a Day in the Park kids' event on Sunday morning, which I think will be fun. I'm a little nervous about it, though. I think it will be Sir, Mrs. S, Mr. R, Ma'am, and me, and I'm DEFINITELY the lowest and most inexperienced out of that bunch. But, on the other hand, how am going to learn if I just stay in class the whole time? I just hope I'm at least useful to them.
I did get to go to kickboxing on Monday (the routine hasn't changed that much) and my hamstrings kept reminding me of it on Tuesday. It was really nice to get back into the swing of it, but it was a little hard to realize that I'm not in the shape that I need to be in order to do that classload. I did want to make it again on Thursday (Wednesday is just too soon after rehearsal), but I got stuck at work with new interns and was only able to make it to FIGHT - just in time to get more bruises on my arms from knife sparring. Shane has really sharp fingernails, btw. I know. He dug them into my wrist and I still have the marks today!
Anyway, meeting for Midsummer tomorrow morning and then lunch with Cute Guy and the girl who is taking over his internship for this coming year before rehearsal tomorrow. Might go see Ragtime tomorrow night with her, too.
Go Phelps!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Olympics! (And a mental slap upside the head)
Okay, I love the Olympics. I know some people are boycotting watching them because they don't like China. I say that goes against the entire concept of the Games - that the whole point of the Olympics is that you can compete against each other without hating each other, despite politics and world problems, and look what we can do when we all work together just in sports. What could we do if we worked together on the really important stuff? And despite its flaws, China has opened its doors to the world at least for a brief few weeks and invited us to come in anyway.
Anyway, I love the Olympics. Sports (well, except basketball, which I still think is boring to watch) that I'd never THINK about watching before are suddenly fascinating. I've watched swimming (of course), badminton, equestrian something, men's and women's volleyball, boxing, men's gymnastics, fencing, and even a judo match. So cool! Of course, I want to try to see a tkd match, but they are next week and being broadcast online at strange hours. And I could talk about how cool the Opening Ceremonies were for hours. The "artistic" portion was just plain jaw-dropping, the Parade of Nations was really interesting and educational (I didn't know the Chinese didn't have a set alphabet!), and the lighting of the torch...well...just go to NBC Olympics and watch it for yourself. (Btw, can I just say that I LOVE the design of the Cauldron this year! It's gorgeous!)
Anyway, I'm not doing any of the formal knitting-related Olympics KALs, but I've decided that the Olympics are for my four UFOs: the Boatneck Bluebell Sweater, the second Wendelin Sock, the Dropped Stitch Scarf, and the Tumbling Blocks scarf. Just before the Ceremony started on Friday, I was getting everything ready, found my place in the pattern for the BB sweater, counted stitches, and realized I was four stitches short. I don't know how I got to be four stitches short (well, obviously I decreased four times but I don't know where), but it was correct on the other sleeve (the ribbing columns make it easy to count), so I had to frog back and fix it. Now I'm pretty close to being finished with the stockinette portion of the sleeve and then just have the cuff to do, seam it, and be done.
It's been really tempting to knit on either the sock or the Tumbling Blocks scarf during rehearsals, as we've been doing tons of choreography this week (one of the bad/good things about heavy dance shows is doing choreography overandoverandoverandoverandover) and the director is a knitter herself, but I haven't yet. I might check in with her about it today, though, since we aren't doing ANYTHING new, just cleaning. This show is going to be awesome, though - if you love to watch swing dancing, or just guys dancing, this is your show. The first eight numbers are ALL guys, then we add the girls in and swing for a while longer. It's pretty cool, although I'm going to have to build in lift calls before the performances for this one. First time in about two years we've had a show with mandatory daily lift calls and warmups.
I did get a sort-of answer to my ponderings about my board breaks in class, too. I had been under the impression that once I chose my options, I was stuck with them until my next test. Mr. R explained the other night after FIGHT that I could try different options as much as I wanted and figure out what I like best. Yay! And I didn't make it to kickboxing last week, but I'm going to tomorrow. I made the mistake of making brownies the other day, then we had an Opening last night with lots of food and alcohol, and I haven't done anything since Thursday night, so I'm going to need to burn off some empty calories! I am going to stay after rehearsal today and work on forms, though, as I need to have brown belt (my assigned form) down cold for tomorrow night.
We've had a bunch of new white belts in the adult class lately (two young teens, an older teen, and two new women older than I), and I worked with one, Chad, the older teen, Monday night. I remembered how I felt when I was a white belt working with a black belt, and since he seemed to be fairly intelligent for a high school boy and asked questions, I did a lot of explaining and demonstrating that day, but didn't really think anything about it. Apparently it made an impression on him, though - Thursday before FIGHT I was stopped by a gentleman coming off the mat from kickboxing class:
Him: "Hi...do you remember Chad? He's new in the taekwondo class?"
Me: "Oh sure. I worked with him the other night. [me realizing that this is probably a parent, turns out he was the stepdad] He seems to be a good kid."
Him: "Yeah, he is. He's been talking about you all week. He said that you were really great to work with - that you knew what you were doing and helped him out a lot...[him realizing what class is next] Do you do this, too?!"
Me: "Yeah. In a really good week, I'll do the kickboxing class, as well."
Him: "Geez...no wonder you know what you're doing!"
I looked around to make sure Mr. R wasn't listening, leaned over, and told him the truth - "I just have really great instructors!" He laughed. I made to shake his hand:
Him: "I'm [I don't remember his name, sorry]."
Me: "Nice to meet you. I'm..."
Him: "Katie. I know."
The whole conversation kind of threw me a little - Mr. R teased me that Chad has a teenboy crush on me - but I don't generally expect total strangers to know me, or to compliment me like that. And then I slapped myself upside the head. I'm in instructor class, this is what I'm training to do - to help other people learn what I've learned so far. Obviously white belts aren't the only ones learning something!
Ooo...beach volleyball now!
Anyway, I love the Olympics. Sports (well, except basketball, which I still think is boring to watch) that I'd never THINK about watching before are suddenly fascinating. I've watched swimming (of course), badminton, equestrian something, men's and women's volleyball, boxing, men's gymnastics, fencing, and even a judo match. So cool! Of course, I want to try to see a tkd match, but they are next week and being broadcast online at strange hours. And I could talk about how cool the Opening Ceremonies were for hours. The "artistic" portion was just plain jaw-dropping, the Parade of Nations was really interesting and educational (I didn't know the Chinese didn't have a set alphabet!), and the lighting of the torch...well...just go to NBC Olympics and watch it for yourself. (Btw, can I just say that I LOVE the design of the Cauldron this year! It's gorgeous!)
Anyway, I'm not doing any of the formal knitting-related Olympics KALs, but I've decided that the Olympics are for my four UFOs: the Boatneck Bluebell Sweater, the second Wendelin Sock, the Dropped Stitch Scarf, and the Tumbling Blocks scarf. Just before the Ceremony started on Friday, I was getting everything ready, found my place in the pattern for the BB sweater, counted stitches, and realized I was four stitches short. I don't know how I got to be four stitches short (well, obviously I decreased four times but I don't know where), but it was correct on the other sleeve (the ribbing columns make it easy to count), so I had to frog back and fix it. Now I'm pretty close to being finished with the stockinette portion of the sleeve and then just have the cuff to do, seam it, and be done.
It's been really tempting to knit on either the sock or the Tumbling Blocks scarf during rehearsals, as we've been doing tons of choreography this week (one of the bad/good things about heavy dance shows is doing choreography overandoverandoverandoverandover) and the director is a knitter herself, but I haven't yet. I might check in with her about it today, though, since we aren't doing ANYTHING new, just cleaning. This show is going to be awesome, though - if you love to watch swing dancing, or just guys dancing, this is your show. The first eight numbers are ALL guys, then we add the girls in and swing for a while longer. It's pretty cool, although I'm going to have to build in lift calls before the performances for this one. First time in about two years we've had a show with mandatory daily lift calls and warmups.
I did get a sort-of answer to my ponderings about my board breaks in class, too. I had been under the impression that once I chose my options, I was stuck with them until my next test. Mr. R explained the other night after FIGHT that I could try different options as much as I wanted and figure out what I like best. Yay! And I didn't make it to kickboxing last week, but I'm going to tomorrow. I made the mistake of making brownies the other day, then we had an Opening last night with lots of food and alcohol, and I haven't done anything since Thursday night, so I'm going to need to burn off some empty calories! I am going to stay after rehearsal today and work on forms, though, as I need to have brown belt (my assigned form) down cold for tomorrow night.
We've had a bunch of new white belts in the adult class lately (two young teens, an older teen, and two new women older than I), and I worked with one, Chad, the older teen, Monday night. I remembered how I felt when I was a white belt working with a black belt, and since he seemed to be fairly intelligent for a high school boy and asked questions, I did a lot of explaining and demonstrating that day, but didn't really think anything about it. Apparently it made an impression on him, though - Thursday before FIGHT I was stopped by a gentleman coming off the mat from kickboxing class:
Him: "Hi...do you remember Chad? He's new in the taekwondo class?"
Me: "Oh sure. I worked with him the other night. [me realizing that this is probably a parent, turns out he was the stepdad] He seems to be a good kid."
Him: "Yeah, he is. He's been talking about you all week. He said that you were really great to work with - that you knew what you were doing and helped him out a lot...[him realizing what class is next] Do you do this, too?!"
Me: "Yeah. In a really good week, I'll do the kickboxing class, as well."
Him: "Geez...no wonder you know what you're doing!"
I looked around to make sure Mr. R wasn't listening, leaned over, and told him the truth - "I just have really great instructors!" He laughed. I made to shake his hand:
Him: "I'm [I don't remember his name, sorry]."
Me: "Nice to meet you. I'm..."
Him: "Katie. I know."
The whole conversation kind of threw me a little - Mr. R teased me that Chad has a teenboy crush on me - but I don't generally expect total strangers to know me, or to compliment me like that. And then I slapped myself upside the head. I'm in instructor class, this is what I'm training to do - to help other people learn what I've learned so far. Obviously white belts aren't the only ones learning something!
Ooo...beach volleyball now!
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Colors and things...
#FFD700 |
Your dominant hues are red and green, so you're definately not afraid to get in and stir things up. You have no time for most people's concerns, you'd rather analyze with your head than be held back by some random "gut feeling". Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation. |
Totally stolen from Inky. Most of it is right, except for the whole not listening to people's concerns or my gut feelings. I can't honestly claim that, seeing as how the biggest decisions of my life, so far at least, have been along the lines of "this feels right" even when I had no real rational reason to think so. And listening to people's concerns and making them work is kind of what I do...
Anyway, picked up the sweater again the other day and am starting the increases for the final third of the sleeve. After that, I have several inches of stockinette still, but my plan for Friday night is to curl up on the couch and watch the Opening Ceremonies, and I figure that will be a good time to knock that out and finish knitting the darn thing. (I STILL can't figure out why I didn't knit the darn sleeves in the round. Stupid me and actually following the pattern when everything in me is saying "You HATE knitting sleeves flat and seaming them! You know how to adjust the pattern, just do it!" I need to listen to me more often, apparently.) I also worked on the sock the other night during the show - oh yeah, I've been deck crew for the past three performances of Ragtime, due to a crew member getting bit by a spider! Luckily, I got out of it tonight - and when I got home found the most godawful hole that I've ever made picking up gusset stitches. So now I'm debating whether or not I can live with it or just bite the bullet and frog it back. (Probably the latter, but I haven't quite worked up to that yet.)
I have a couple of ideas for some Christmas presents, not counting Chrissy's, but am not 100% sure I can pull them off. Someday when I have free time (yeah, right) I'm going to sit down with a stitch dictionary and see if I can chart out what is in my head. I know I can do all of the techniques, it's just putting them together by myself that is a little daunting.
Class stuff behind the cut. I didn't think I had anything to say, but apparently I did.
Class tonight was fun. Instructor class has been far more interesting than regular class now that all of us are black belts. At least while Sir is still on vacation, it's kind of been more of just a black belt class - that's where I've been really learning my new form, and we've been going through all of the self-defenses again. We've been working on the color belt forms, too, but Mr. R's been doing it a little differently, and I, for one, really like it. Monday night, he assigned each of us specific forms to bring in for tonight. Tonight, we each led our assigned forms and then got assigned new ones for next Monday. It's a little like homework, but I'm remembering and focusing better this way. I wonder if that is something the Mr. R just does or if Sir asked him to start it while he was gone. I hope the latter, because I like it.
Mr. H came in tonight to help Mr. R out with the adult class, and before we got started he asked me why I wasn't an instructor yet. I've only had my belt for ten days, geez! And I still have to get completely solid on form memorization (I still tend to blank easily, even though I can do them almost fine when I'm not leading them) and I have almost no weapons training whatsoever. I kind of feel like I was holding the rest of the class back, but I can't imagine trying to start re-learning color belt forms now. I think going back and trying to learn eight or nine forms again while trying to learn this new form would make my head explode. The black belt forms start breaking habits that you learn with the color belt forms (like aiming before you punch, and telegraphing what hand strike is next during the chambers), so it's almost like having to learn basic techniques all over again.
I also have to figure out what I want to do for my board breaks now. I have the options of any hammerfist, knifehand strike, elbow strike, or palm heel for the hand technique, and a jump side kick over two obstacles (yeah, I will NOT be doing that one, seeing as how it's my favorite break and all and adding obstacles just doesn't sound like a real good idea), a jump reverse side kick, or a spin hook kick for my foot technique. Mr. R said technically I could do palm heel strikes until kingdom come if I wanted to, but somehow I suspect Sir would want me to do something different this time around. (The exact phrase that sprang to my mind was "He'd tell me to grow up and learn something," which Mr. R agreed with wholeheartedly.) Knifehand strikes and I don't get along very well, either, but I was always pretty good with elbow strikes. I've never actually had to do a hammerfist break of any kind, but they seem like fun, too. I'll have to think about this. I have at least a year to learn. Do I want to challenge myself and try techniques that I find scary, or go with ones I am already more powerful with? Hmm...I have to have at least an idea of what I want to do by Monday so we can work on it in instructor class. This will take some thought...
I might try to do kickboxing before FIGHT tomorrow. I got a new sleeve-style brace that I actually REALLY like a lot. We'll see!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Too Many Goodbyes...
It's been a long week...
First, our resident LD left for grad school in Boston this weekend. He and I weren't especially close, but were friends all the same and we worked pretty well together. Then, our TD, Steve (yes, THAT Steve, my ex), left the next day for grad school in New Haven. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him, due to the craziness of work this week, and I regret that. (Although, in all fairness, I have no idea what I'd say to him. I really hope that Yale keeps him busy and it's everything he was hoping for!) Then our recent SM grad, who was also my ASM for the Solvang run of Godspell (we decided it was fitting that she did her first show here, Dames At Sea, and her last show here with me), moved down to Fullerton today to finish her undergrad, and stopped in rehearsal yesterday to say goodbye. It's getting to be that time of year again, I guess. I made her a pink hedgehog =)
I was supposed to go down to LA today and stay through Wednesday working on shows for John, but Saturday one of the Ragtime crew was admitted to the ER with a possibly infected spider bite, so Trey (one of my Mikado ASMs and will be a year-long intern) and I had to cover her track all weekend, plus do my own rehearsals. She has to go back in "to have another procedure" on Tuesday, so we're not expecting her to be able to run her track for Tuesday or Wednesday's performances either. John is understandably NOT happy with me right now, but it actually does take two people to cover her track when neither of them are particularly familiar with the backstage of this insanely crazy show, and frankly, PCPA has the much stronger claim on my time, as that salary pays my bills and rent. Plus the idea of driving three hours each way and adding yet another show into my brain and working almost three weeks straight without a day off kind of made my head explode, particularly after doing back to back 14 hour days here.
The good thing is that now I can go to class tonight and not miss an entire week of tkd, so I'm not really broken hearted about not going to LA. I know about the first dozen or so moves of my new form now! Sir said he wants me to get at least to midterming point with my regular form before starting weapons, but he'll let me do single bahng mahng ee first, which I'm excited about. I might even go to kickboxing today. We'll see. Sir and Mrs. S are on vacation for a few weeks, so it will be Morgan teaching FIGHT and probably Mr. R and Ma'am teaching tkd. I think Gil, the guy I mentioned in my last post, is teaching kickboxing, since I haven't been able to be there regularly in about two months and I'm sure he knows the current routine better than I do! I want to start getting back into kickboxing, but it's just at that perfect time of the day, where if everything goes right, I can make it, but if someone needs me for five extra minutes, I can't. I'm also still a little concerned about my elbow. I did classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last week (I can't make sparring on Fridays at all, as they start at 5:00p and I'm in rehearsal until then), and it was....okay. The guys got a little rough on Thursday, and Morgan seems to have a love affair going with pushups and planks, which I agree I need to work on, but really hurt after the first two sets. We're also doing a lot of blocking and choreography in rehearsal right now, so I'm writing for almost four hours straight, which doesn't help the ligaments, according to the doc. I think kickboxing aggravates it more than the others because of the last ten minutes or so, which is usually medicine balls and floor work on hands and knees. I kind of feel like I should be involved with it again, though. I'll try it tonight and see how it goes. It would be great to at least do it on Thursdays before FIGHT.
In fibery news, I mentioned earlier that I did make another hedgehog. I purposely didn't felt this one quite as small because I wanted it to be a little more huggy. Still working on the crocheted Log Cabin, and realized today that if I just sat and worked on it, I'd be finished knitting the Boatneck Bluebell sweater really quickly. I just have about a third of a sleeve left to do and then seam them up. (WHY didn't I do the sleeves in the round?? WHY?) I'm kind of in a blah knitting place right now. Nothing is particularly interesting or inspiring to me. The new Mystery Stole signups are open, but as last year's is still languishing in my WIP basket, I probably shouldn't start a new one. I finished the heel on the second Wendelin sock about a week and a half ago now and haven't picked it back up since. Chrissy says she really really really wants a Lady Eleanor "like mine" for Christmas, and I saw a yarn at Michael's (I think a Patons) that I think would work really well for her, and is far cheaper than Noro (which I never want to work with again, although I do have to admit my stole is gorgeously painted), but I also found another stole pattern a few weeks ago that just screams Chrissy to me. I haven't seen a yarn or beads for it that I really like yet, though, and I can't decide which pattern to go with, the one I KNOW she likes because she keeps stealing mine, or one that's different that I'm pretty sure she'll like? I need to get something like that started fairly soon. It IS August now, after all...
Now, because I randomly woke up at 6:30a for no reason on my day off, I'm going back to bed.
First, our resident LD left for grad school in Boston this weekend. He and I weren't especially close, but were friends all the same and we worked pretty well together. Then, our TD, Steve (yes, THAT Steve, my ex), left the next day for grad school in New Haven. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him, due to the craziness of work this week, and I regret that. (Although, in all fairness, I have no idea what I'd say to him. I really hope that Yale keeps him busy and it's everything he was hoping for!) Then our recent SM grad, who was also my ASM for the Solvang run of Godspell (we decided it was fitting that she did her first show here, Dames At Sea, and her last show here with me), moved down to Fullerton today to finish her undergrad, and stopped in rehearsal yesterday to say goodbye. It's getting to be that time of year again, I guess. I made her a pink hedgehog =)
I was supposed to go down to LA today and stay through Wednesday working on shows for John, but Saturday one of the Ragtime crew was admitted to the ER with a possibly infected spider bite, so Trey (one of my Mikado ASMs and will be a year-long intern) and I had to cover her track all weekend, plus do my own rehearsals. She has to go back in "to have another procedure" on Tuesday, so we're not expecting her to be able to run her track for Tuesday or Wednesday's performances either. John is understandably NOT happy with me right now, but it actually does take two people to cover her track when neither of them are particularly familiar with the backstage of this insanely crazy show, and frankly, PCPA has the much stronger claim on my time, as that salary pays my bills and rent. Plus the idea of driving three hours each way and adding yet another show into my brain and working almost three weeks straight without a day off kind of made my head explode, particularly after doing back to back 14 hour days here.
The good thing is that now I can go to class tonight and not miss an entire week of tkd, so I'm not really broken hearted about not going to LA. I know about the first dozen or so moves of my new form now! Sir said he wants me to get at least to midterming point with my regular form before starting weapons, but he'll let me do single bahng mahng ee first, which I'm excited about. I might even go to kickboxing today. We'll see. Sir and Mrs. S are on vacation for a few weeks, so it will be Morgan teaching FIGHT and probably Mr. R and Ma'am teaching tkd. I think Gil, the guy I mentioned in my last post, is teaching kickboxing, since I haven't been able to be there regularly in about two months and I'm sure he knows the current routine better than I do! I want to start getting back into kickboxing, but it's just at that perfect time of the day, where if everything goes right, I can make it, but if someone needs me for five extra minutes, I can't. I'm also still a little concerned about my elbow. I did classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last week (I can't make sparring on Fridays at all, as they start at 5:00p and I'm in rehearsal until then), and it was....okay. The guys got a little rough on Thursday, and Morgan seems to have a love affair going with pushups and planks, which I agree I need to work on, but really hurt after the first two sets. We're also doing a lot of blocking and choreography in rehearsal right now, so I'm writing for almost four hours straight, which doesn't help the ligaments, according to the doc. I think kickboxing aggravates it more than the others because of the last ten minutes or so, which is usually medicine balls and floor work on hands and knees. I kind of feel like I should be involved with it again, though. I'll try it tonight and see how it goes. It would be great to at least do it on Thursdays before FIGHT.
In fibery news, I mentioned earlier that I did make another hedgehog. I purposely didn't felt this one quite as small because I wanted it to be a little more huggy. Still working on the crocheted Log Cabin, and realized today that if I just sat and worked on it, I'd be finished knitting the Boatneck Bluebell sweater really quickly. I just have about a third of a sleeve left to do and then seam them up. (WHY didn't I do the sleeves in the round?? WHY?) I'm kind of in a blah knitting place right now. Nothing is particularly interesting or inspiring to me. The new Mystery Stole signups are open, but as last year's is still languishing in my WIP basket, I probably shouldn't start a new one. I finished the heel on the second Wendelin sock about a week and a half ago now and haven't picked it back up since. Chrissy says she really really really wants a Lady Eleanor "like mine" for Christmas, and I saw a yarn at Michael's (I think a Patons) that I think would work really well for her, and is far cheaper than Noro (which I never want to work with again, although I do have to admit my stole is gorgeously painted), but I also found another stole pattern a few weeks ago that just screams Chrissy to me. I haven't seen a yarn or beads for it that I really like yet, though, and I can't decide which pattern to go with, the one I KNOW she likes because she keeps stealing mine, or one that's different that I'm pretty sure she'll like? I need to get something like that started fairly soon. It IS August now, after all...
Now, because I randomly woke up at 6:30a for no reason on my day off, I'm going back to bed.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sinking In...
First off, thank you all for the congratulations! I go back and forth between feeling like I totally don't deserve it, what do I know about martial arts? I just barely started!, and feeling like with all the training and learning I've done so far, it's about time. My belt is folded and put away in my gear bag, but I keep going over to look at it and make sure my name actually IS on it. Gil, one of the guys in haganah whose son is in tkd, asked me today if it had sunken in yet. I don't think it really will until class tomorrow when I have to wear it for the first time. I hope I can tie it correctly! (Mental note to self, the name goes on the left side...)
Sir always says that earning your black belt isn't the end of a journey, it's the beginning of a new one. A black belt just means that you've learned the basics and shown honor, respect, and desire to continue learning. From now on, forms get harder and longer. My new form is going to be 81 moves, almost double what any of my previous forms have been, but I'll have at least a year to learn it. I'll also have weapons forms now, but I don't know which ones yet. Ma'am said usually people start with single ssahng jeol bahngs (single nunchucks), which still don't interest me in the slightest. I'd much rather do single or double bahng mahng ees (fighting sticks) like we've done in instructor class. Bo staff (can't think of the Korean for it) looks cool, too. I guess whatever Sir puts in my hand is what I'm going to start with, though. It will be nice to have a whole year to learn two new forms while reviewing all of the color belt forms, instead of having to learn a new form every two months and trying to remember all of the color belt forms.
There are nine basic haganah self-defenses that we are teaching the black belts now, and you add three for each of the first three dans. Testing for first dan requires three, second dan six (the previous three plus three more), and third requires nine. It was interesting watching Mr. R's self-defense test, and I could recognize and mostly remember all nine. I was getting a little frustrated with Sir during the last couple classes I had with him before my test, because in instructor class and haganah he kept having me do only my three defenses over and over again. I knew them, and he knew I knew them, and I didn't get why he wouldn't let me do anything else for almost two weeks straight, when we usually rotate through them. I came thisclose to complaining "But I can do these in my sleep!" but as soon as I thought that, I realized what he was doing. That was the point. To get me to the point where I didn't have to think about them, I just DID them. Those instructors, they're pretty sly sometimes.
First regular class tomorrow night. I think Sir and Mrs. S are leaving on vacation, but Mr. R said that if I wanted to stay after and go through instructor forms, he'd help me. It will be nice to get back into the rhythm of classes again! During the ceremony, while he was tying on my new belt, Sir leaned over and whispered, "So, you're only here for one class a week huh? Machine..."
Sir always says that earning your black belt isn't the end of a journey, it's the beginning of a new one. A black belt just means that you've learned the basics and shown honor, respect, and desire to continue learning. From now on, forms get harder and longer. My new form is going to be 81 moves, almost double what any of my previous forms have been, but I'll have at least a year to learn it. I'll also have weapons forms now, but I don't know which ones yet. Ma'am said usually people start with single ssahng jeol bahngs (single nunchucks), which still don't interest me in the slightest. I'd much rather do single or double bahng mahng ees (fighting sticks) like we've done in instructor class. Bo staff (can't think of the Korean for it) looks cool, too. I guess whatever Sir puts in my hand is what I'm going to start with, though. It will be nice to have a whole year to learn two new forms while reviewing all of the color belt forms, instead of having to learn a new form every two months and trying to remember all of the color belt forms.
There are nine basic haganah self-defenses that we are teaching the black belts now, and you add three for each of the first three dans. Testing for first dan requires three, second dan six (the previous three plus three more), and third requires nine. It was interesting watching Mr. R's self-defense test, and I could recognize and mostly remember all nine. I was getting a little frustrated with Sir during the last couple classes I had with him before my test, because in instructor class and haganah he kept having me do only my three defenses over and over again. I knew them, and he knew I knew them, and I didn't get why he wouldn't let me do anything else for almost two weeks straight, when we usually rotate through them. I came thisclose to complaining "But I can do these in my sleep!" but as soon as I thought that, I realized what he was doing. That was the point. To get me to the point where I didn't have to think about them, I just DID them. Those instructors, they're pretty sly sometimes.
First regular class tomorrow night. I think Sir and Mrs. S are leaving on vacation, but Mr. R said that if I wanted to stay after and go through instructor forms, he'd help me. It will be nice to get back into the rhythm of classes again! During the ceremony, while he was tying on my new belt, Sir leaned over and whispered, "So, you're only here for one class a week huh? Machine..."
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Am I Ever Glad That's Over! (Long and No Fiber Stuff)
It's over! My black belt test is over! I won't know the results until Monday, but I think I did okay. Not stellar, but I don't think I sucked either. Mr. R and I were the only adults testing for rank this time around (Mr. R was testing for his third degree), but it was kind of nice to have a friend who was going through the same thing I was (only worse, really, for him)! Misery loves company and all that, I guess.
Basically, what happened (and I have no photographic evidence of any of this, because me and anyone I would ask to take pics were all kind of busy at the time, so you'll have to take my word for it) was that I arrived around 4:45p (in my Haganah pants and white shirt) and started stretching out while watching the end of the littlest kids' test. At 5:00p precisely, we (myself, Mr. R and Anthony, a kid who also tested for his first degree) started running. 15 really boring minutes later (no, I still don't like running), we were done with that and started in on the rest of our PT: we alternated 4 sets of 25 pushups with the 1-minute each drills of triple knees, triple punches, and triple groin kicks, then alternated our 4 sets of 25 situps with our 4 sets of 20 squats. I was partnered with Mr. R the whole time, and it wasn't too bad. I did have to go to my knees for the last two sets of pushups, but I did make it through the first 50 before my elbow started complaining.
After that, we were dismissed to change into our doboks, and Sir set up a couple of mats outside for Mr. R and I to continue stretching out and keep warm on until it was time for the formal test (mostly because it was boiling hot with all of the bodies starting to pile into the dojahng as the rest of the color belts and their families arrived. It was awesome to have those few minutes of cool breeze and relative quiet to think - I am so glad he did that!!). Finally, Sir calls us all together, introduces the judges (himself, Mrs. S, and Ma'am), introduces Mr. R, myself, and Anthony as testing for rank, bows us in, and we get started.
Forms first, and I think I did pretty darn good on that. I didn't stick one of my kicks (my first reverse hook kick) quite as well as I would have liked, but I think that was my only mistake in that. I did my form the same time as Mr. R did his, and you have to hold your final position until everyone is done with their forms and the judges give the "bahroh" command. Man, the third degree form is LONG! We were sent to get into our sparring gear after that, while the lower color belts went through their forms/one steps and the mid-terming black belts did their weapons forms. (Mr. R and I both went back outside to our mats - again, it was cooler, quieter, and Sir didn't want to take the chance that we would cramp up from sitting down for too long between stages.)
Sparring is still definitely my weakest area. I did two regular matches, one against Mr. R and one against a brown belt, got a short break while Anthony did his marathon spar, then I had to do MY marathon spar. A marathon spar is when basically everyone your age/rank and above lines up and you have to spar them all back to back to back. For me, that was the brown belt again, Jorge (a second degree), Mr. R again, another brown belt, and, thrown in at the last second (literally, I thought I was done and he attacked me), Mr. M. I caught my toe somehow on Mr. M's uniform and thought I had broken it, but after a second the pain went away, so I guess I just jammed it. (My first thought, after registering pain, was "it cannot be broken, because I have to finish this! I'm so tired and this is the last one!") I have a list of things I know I did wrong during the matches, and I intend to talk to Sir to confirm them and get better at it, but *I* thought my matches were decidedly less than stellar. Sir and Mr. R both move really fast, but at least they tend to have more control than Mr. M and Jorge, in general. Sparring either of those two scares me, because the odds of getting hurt go way up. Oddly, while I didn't really have it in me to do anything decent against Sir or Mr. R (not that I could have anyway, either of them could mop the floor with me if he so chose), I would almost have preferred them again. I just trust them more, I guess. I want to spar like them when I grow up (which is going to take a LOT of practice, if today is any indication!). On the other hand, I stayed inside to watch Mr. R's marathon spar, and I'm really glad that it wasn't Sir's face that I saw when I heard "Katie, look out!" and turned to just barely block a kick to the head from Mr. M! I was so bloody tired at that point that I might have cried! Mr. R got the dubious honor of having to spar Sir last in his marathon, but I thought he did a good job. (And I don't think he cried, but everyone was sweating so much at that point, no one would notice.)
We finally got to take our sparring gear off, sat through all of the color belts' board breaks, self-defense, and random PT drill (pushups, in today's case), but for some reason we went right into our self-defense. I had three, a punch, a groin kick, and a static front choke, and got partnered with Ma'am the whole time. Basically, she just kept coming at me with various attacks for I think a minute or a minute thirty. Wasn't really timing it, actually. In a way, I'm glad it was Ma'am, because I always get partnered with her for this in instructor class, and because one of my fears was that I would automatically go for a takedown like we do in Haganah (we don't do takedowns in TKD, not regularly, anyway, we do a push-off and then a kick to the knee or groin), and since she still has a bad knee, I knew I couldn't take her down. (I'd've been interested to see what I would have done against Sir, though.) I know I started getting sloppy towards the end, just out of sheer fatigue, but Ma'am told me afterwards that she thought I did really well on it, so I guess we'll see. I hope they let us know what our scores were in the different categories after Monday.
Finally, finally, we did our board breaks. I went first, two stations, one board each. Get set up, bow in, and my first break, my reverse side kick that I NEVER have problems with, didn't break. Suck it up, blow through the palm heel break easily, but I didn't get that stupid kick break until the third, and final, attempt! I NEVER have problems with that kick! I have blown through it every time I've done it since I learned it. Argh! I think I set it too low the first two times. I'll have to ask. The audience was actually really distracting, too, I'll have to learn to tune that out better next time. It's really cool to have people cheering for you and all, but honestly, I'm already putting enough pressure on myself at that moment!
Finally, around 7:45p (yes, three hours after I arrived), that was the end of it. We bow out, and it's done. Mr. R, Miss G (another black belt, I think she's starting high school now, but she sometimes helps with the little ones and was the floor conductor for the test) and Ma'am all gave me hugs, and several parents that I don't really know very well came up and shook my hand (why? I really don't know them, or honestly, their kids, from Adam!), and I did get invited to go out for pizza afterwards (and trust me, I was STARVING by then), but I really wanted to just have a beer and hang out with Sir, Mrs. S., Ma'am and Mr. R, (and I didn't even really want to think about the test or the results at that point), but the three judges were going to get their own table so they could talk over the final scoring, which is fair and kind of their jobs, Mr. R was going to go out with some friends who came to watch him, and I didn't really feel like sitting with more kids and parents that I sort of know but not really in another really hot and crowded room, so I came home instead.
I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow, and I technically have the day off from work, but since I left early today to go to the test, I need to go in tomorrow to do the paperwork from today's rehearsal. I might also drop in on Invalid rehearsal and I might go see Heart's Desire tomorrow night. Cute Guy sent me a text last night asking to go out to dinner again soon, so I may do that, too. Haven't decided yet. Rehearsal and the final Godspell performance Sunday night, and then Monday I find out the results from today! Sir usually gives a short speech/intro about people when they earn a ranking belt, and while I'm really curious to know what he would say about me, I'm also afraid I'll cry if he does. Assuming, of course, that my forms, PT, and self-defense scores were good enough to offset the sparring and board breaks, they may not have been. I know there's no sense in worrying about it now, the test is over and I can't go back and fix anything, but it's going to be a long wait until Monday night...
Basically, what happened (and I have no photographic evidence of any of this, because me and anyone I would ask to take pics were all kind of busy at the time, so you'll have to take my word for it) was that I arrived around 4:45p (in my Haganah pants and white shirt) and started stretching out while watching the end of the littlest kids' test. At 5:00p precisely, we (myself, Mr. R and Anthony, a kid who also tested for his first degree) started running. 15 really boring minutes later (no, I still don't like running), we were done with that and started in on the rest of our PT: we alternated 4 sets of 25 pushups with the 1-minute each drills of triple knees, triple punches, and triple groin kicks, then alternated our 4 sets of 25 situps with our 4 sets of 20 squats. I was partnered with Mr. R the whole time, and it wasn't too bad. I did have to go to my knees for the last two sets of pushups, but I did make it through the first 50 before my elbow started complaining.
After that, we were dismissed to change into our doboks, and Sir set up a couple of mats outside for Mr. R and I to continue stretching out and keep warm on until it was time for the formal test (mostly because it was boiling hot with all of the bodies starting to pile into the dojahng as the rest of the color belts and their families arrived. It was awesome to have those few minutes of cool breeze and relative quiet to think - I am so glad he did that!!). Finally, Sir calls us all together, introduces the judges (himself, Mrs. S, and Ma'am), introduces Mr. R, myself, and Anthony as testing for rank, bows us in, and we get started.
Forms first, and I think I did pretty darn good on that. I didn't stick one of my kicks (my first reverse hook kick) quite as well as I would have liked, but I think that was my only mistake in that. I did my form the same time as Mr. R did his, and you have to hold your final position until everyone is done with their forms and the judges give the "bahroh" command. Man, the third degree form is LONG! We were sent to get into our sparring gear after that, while the lower color belts went through their forms/one steps and the mid-terming black belts did their weapons forms. (Mr. R and I both went back outside to our mats - again, it was cooler, quieter, and Sir didn't want to take the chance that we would cramp up from sitting down for too long between stages.)
Sparring is still definitely my weakest area. I did two regular matches, one against Mr. R and one against a brown belt, got a short break while Anthony did his marathon spar, then I had to do MY marathon spar. A marathon spar is when basically everyone your age/rank and above lines up and you have to spar them all back to back to back. For me, that was the brown belt again, Jorge (a second degree), Mr. R again, another brown belt, and, thrown in at the last second (literally, I thought I was done and he attacked me), Mr. M. I caught my toe somehow on Mr. M's uniform and thought I had broken it, but after a second the pain went away, so I guess I just jammed it. (My first thought, after registering pain, was "it cannot be broken, because I have to finish this! I'm so tired and this is the last one!") I have a list of things I know I did wrong during the matches, and I intend to talk to Sir to confirm them and get better at it, but *I* thought my matches were decidedly less than stellar. Sir and Mr. R both move really fast, but at least they tend to have more control than Mr. M and Jorge, in general. Sparring either of those two scares me, because the odds of getting hurt go way up. Oddly, while I didn't really have it in me to do anything decent against Sir or Mr. R (not that I could have anyway, either of them could mop the floor with me if he so chose), I would almost have preferred them again. I just trust them more, I guess. I want to spar like them when I grow up (which is going to take a LOT of practice, if today is any indication!). On the other hand, I stayed inside to watch Mr. R's marathon spar, and I'm really glad that it wasn't Sir's face that I saw when I heard "Katie, look out!" and turned to just barely block a kick to the head from Mr. M! I was so bloody tired at that point that I might have cried! Mr. R got the dubious honor of having to spar Sir last in his marathon, but I thought he did a good job. (And I don't think he cried, but everyone was sweating so much at that point, no one would notice.)
We finally got to take our sparring gear off, sat through all of the color belts' board breaks, self-defense, and random PT drill (pushups, in today's case), but for some reason we went right into our self-defense. I had three, a punch, a groin kick, and a static front choke, and got partnered with Ma'am the whole time. Basically, she just kept coming at me with various attacks for I think a minute or a minute thirty. Wasn't really timing it, actually. In a way, I'm glad it was Ma'am, because I always get partnered with her for this in instructor class, and because one of my fears was that I would automatically go for a takedown like we do in Haganah (we don't do takedowns in TKD, not regularly, anyway, we do a push-off and then a kick to the knee or groin), and since she still has a bad knee, I knew I couldn't take her down. (I'd've been interested to see what I would have done against Sir, though.) I know I started getting sloppy towards the end, just out of sheer fatigue, but Ma'am told me afterwards that she thought I did really well on it, so I guess we'll see. I hope they let us know what our scores were in the different categories after Monday.
Finally, finally, we did our board breaks. I went first, two stations, one board each. Get set up, bow in, and my first break, my reverse side kick that I NEVER have problems with, didn't break. Suck it up, blow through the palm heel break easily, but I didn't get that stupid kick break until the third, and final, attempt! I NEVER have problems with that kick! I have blown through it every time I've done it since I learned it. Argh! I think I set it too low the first two times. I'll have to ask. The audience was actually really distracting, too, I'll have to learn to tune that out better next time. It's really cool to have people cheering for you and all, but honestly, I'm already putting enough pressure on myself at that moment!
Finally, around 7:45p (yes, three hours after I arrived), that was the end of it. We bow out, and it's done. Mr. R, Miss G (another black belt, I think she's starting high school now, but she sometimes helps with the little ones and was the floor conductor for the test) and Ma'am all gave me hugs, and several parents that I don't really know very well came up and shook my hand (why? I really don't know them, or honestly, their kids, from Adam!), and I did get invited to go out for pizza afterwards (and trust me, I was STARVING by then), but I really wanted to just have a beer and hang out with Sir, Mrs. S., Ma'am and Mr. R, (and I didn't even really want to think about the test or the results at that point), but the three judges were going to get their own table so they could talk over the final scoring, which is fair and kind of their jobs, Mr. R was going to go out with some friends who came to watch him, and I didn't really feel like sitting with more kids and parents that I sort of know but not really in another really hot and crowded room, so I came home instead.
I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow, and I technically have the day off from work, but since I left early today to go to the test, I need to go in tomorrow to do the paperwork from today's rehearsal. I might also drop in on Invalid rehearsal and I might go see Heart's Desire tomorrow night. Cute Guy sent me a text last night asking to go out to dinner again soon, so I may do that, too. Haven't decided yet. Rehearsal and the final Godspell performance Sunday night, and then Monday I find out the results from today! Sir usually gives a short speech/intro about people when they earn a ranking belt, and while I'm really curious to know what he would say about me, I'm also afraid I'll cry if he does. Assuming, of course, that my forms, PT, and self-defense scores were good enough to offset the sparring and board breaks, they may not have been. I know there's no sense in worrying about it now, the test is over and I can't go back and fix anything, but it's going to be a long wait until Monday night...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Everything and Nothing
Sorry so long since my last post. It's been that weird combination of both very busy but nothing really new going on. ETA: I've actually had this post written since Saturday and have been waiting for pictures. I took the pictures Sunday before work, transferred them to my computer today (Monday), and promptly deleted them by accident. Now the camera battery is dead and I'm tired of waiting, so just imagine pictures and I'll eventually get around to taking new ones and adding them in.
Let's see...first off with the fibery stuff, since this IS a knitting blog. I finished my beret (again). It's still not quite as deep as I'd like it, but as I'm already thisclose to running out of yarn, I'll have to live with it. It's pretty cute, though. Now I'm working on the second of my Wendelin Socks (getting ready to turn the heel), and I'm doing another attempt to teach myself crochet. The circular chevron baby blanket (which I did get to give to the intended recipient while I was in Illinois) didn't take nearly as much yarn as I'd expected, so I'm using the leftovers to do a log cabin in a half-double stitch. It started a little wonky, but I think I've got the hang of it now. I'm thining I may switch to crochet for things like full-size afghans, because they do seem to go faster that way, mostly because a crochet stitch is much larger than a knit stitch. I think I still prefer knitting for clothing pieces, though.
Let's see. My black belt test is Friday, and I'm terrified. Okay, I'm not TERRIFIED. I know I know the material and we did a mandatory workout Saturday morning which incorporated all of the PT we're going to have to do, and while it wasn't a stroll in the park, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd expected. But I'm still nervous. For one thing, it's the first time in, like, a year that I've tested in front of an audience, which is daunting. For another, it's for a Black Belt. I know that we're going to be graded evenly in every category (form, sparring, board breaks, PT, and self-defense), so one or two mistakes won't completely kill me. But what after all this - all the classes, the training, the fun - I do something stupid and screw it up? How disappointing would that be? For everyone - me, my instructors, my friends there...Yikes! I know the odds of that are actually pretty low, but pride goeth before a fall and all that. I've never really been nervous about a test before, but I'll be glad when this one is over! Sir told me tonight to just relax. I told him I wouldn't be able to relax until after Friday and he just started laughing. My teachers are so mean sometimes =)
We've opened Ragtime, and I have to admit, it's...gorgeous. I'm really really really REALLY glad it's not myheadache show - it literally came down to the wire whether or not the show would open on time, due to the power outages and just the sheer size and scope of it - but it IS a fantastic show and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. I'm very proud of my coworkers on this one! Everyone has totally outdone themselves on this one and, frankly, it deserves a Regional Tony, even though we aren't really big enough to get nominated. It makes me cry every time, though, and I've seen it several times throughout the process. Godspell has three more performances in Solvang. I still really like that show and we still have fun with it, but with the rep schedule now, it kind of feels like the interruption to the regular schedule. Plus, with over 50 performances already, and the cast and crew's brains mostly on Ragtime and, now, Hot Mikado, it's like the show is that one other thing we have to get done before we can go to bed. Oh yeah, Hot Mikado is in rehearsal, so I'm back in the rehearsal room in the afternoons now. From July 15-July 27, we officially have all five summer shows going in some stage of production at the same time. Mikado and The Imaginary Invalid are in rehearsal, Ragtime is performing in the Marian, and Godspell and The Heart's Desire are repping in Solvang. It doesn't help that Ragtime's understudy rehearsals are still going on, too, but tomorrow should be the last time we have to deal with that three shows in one day nonsense - Ragtime understudy rehearsal in the morning, Hot Mikado regular rehearsal in the afternoon, and a Godspell performance that night, with mostly the same casts. Yay!
Not sure what is going on with Cute Guy right now. We'll go for weeks with only the most necessary professional contact and communication (I'll try to get an outside conversation started but it doesn't work), get to the point where I'll get myself steeled to the "Okay, he's just not interested anymore" idea, and then he'll suddenly call or stop by the office out of the blue "just to say hi" or to see how I'm doing. Confusing! Argh! Meh! Boys! Anyway, I'm definitely not going to worry about him this week - the focus is going to be on the black blelt! Maybe I'll let work sneak in sometimes, but I want that belt and I want everyone to know that I deserve to wear it!
Let's see...first off with the fibery stuff, since this IS a knitting blog. I finished my beret (again). It's still not quite as deep as I'd like it, but as I'm already thisclose to running out of yarn, I'll have to live with it. It's pretty cute, though. Now I'm working on the second of my Wendelin Socks (getting ready to turn the heel), and I'm doing another attempt to teach myself crochet. The circular chevron baby blanket (which I did get to give to the intended recipient while I was in Illinois) didn't take nearly as much yarn as I'd expected, so I'm using the leftovers to do a log cabin in a half-double stitch. It started a little wonky, but I think I've got the hang of it now. I'm thining I may switch to crochet for things like full-size afghans, because they do seem to go faster that way, mostly because a crochet stitch is much larger than a knit stitch. I think I still prefer knitting for clothing pieces, though.
Let's see. My black belt test is Friday, and I'm terrified. Okay, I'm not TERRIFIED. I know I know the material and we did a mandatory workout Saturday morning which incorporated all of the PT we're going to have to do, and while it wasn't a stroll in the park, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd expected. But I'm still nervous. For one thing, it's the first time in, like, a year that I've tested in front of an audience, which is daunting. For another, it's for a Black Belt. I know that we're going to be graded evenly in every category (form, sparring, board breaks, PT, and self-defense), so one or two mistakes won't completely kill me. But what after all this - all the classes, the training, the fun - I do something stupid and screw it up? How disappointing would that be? For everyone - me, my instructors, my friends there...Yikes! I know the odds of that are actually pretty low, but pride goeth before a fall and all that. I've never really been nervous about a test before, but I'll be glad when this one is over! Sir told me tonight to just relax. I told him I wouldn't be able to relax until after Friday and he just started laughing. My teachers are so mean sometimes =)
We've opened Ragtime, and I have to admit, it's...gorgeous. I'm really really really REALLY glad it's not my
Not sure what is going on with Cute Guy right now. We'll go for weeks with only the most necessary professional contact and communication (I'll try to get an outside conversation started but it doesn't work), get to the point where I'll get myself steeled to the "Okay, he's just not interested anymore" idea, and then he'll suddenly call or stop by the office out of the blue "just to say hi" or to see how I'm doing. Confusing! Argh! Meh! Boys! Anyway, I'm definitely not going to worry about him this week - the focus is going to be on the black blelt! Maybe I'll let work sneak in sometimes, but I want that belt and I want everyone to know that I deserve to wear it!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
How to Have a Good Fourth (picture heavy)
1. Enjoy good food and good company
Mostly because they start playing with the good stuff after dark, and they don't let "the girls" play at that point. It's strictly a guy thing in my family - from about the time they are two (only a slight exaggeration), and they wait ohsopatiently for dark:
Oh well, we got to sit all cozy in the chairs and watch the show.
3. I do mean responsibly, though. Alcohol and fireworks do NOT mix. Goofing around or being stupid and fireworks do NOT mix. Any of the above will get you banned from ever lighting one again for life (if you're really lucky). Accidents do happen, though, so #3 is Complete the day with all extremities still attached, even if that means sprinting a bit more than you'd anticipated.
(The fuse was just a bit shorter than we'd expected...)
4. Honor the troops.
Cuz, y'know, without them, there wouldn't be an Independence Day to celebrate. Don't think I really need to explain that one any further.
5. Catch a good ol' all-American baseball game. (Okay, so this is July 5th, don't be picky.)
Especially when it's the biggest rivalry in baseball - a Cubs/Cards game on a gorgeous day in St. Louis - and my beloved Cubbies are in first place in, like, everything, and it's about 45% Cubs fans in Busch Stadium (haha!). Of course, they had to lose that day, just because we were there. Sigh. This is the year, though! Cardinals fans really need to learn the words to "Take Me Out To the Ballgame." Everyone knows it's "root, root, root for the Cubbies" not whatever they were mumbling when they finally realized they should be singing. *Sniff haughtily* At least it was a good game (we were winning until the ninth), and it's still one of the friendliest rivalries in baseball. I saw one person with a clear identity crisis, though. She had on a Cards tshirt with a Cubs jersey over it. Someone please find her, because that lady obviously needs help.
6. Look young enough to get carded at a ballgame.
I was a bit miffed that I got carded and my brother (who is two years younger than me) didn't, but even I have to admit that I look like I'm about ten in that photo.
This would be the Fourth of July lunch - jumbo shrimp wrapped in sage leaves and pancetta, with a nice crisp Tolosa chardonnay on the side. (Mom's good company, of course, too, but she was taking the picture.)
Fourth of July dinner - a chicken fry with the whole family! My dad, brother, cousin, and great-uncle were in charge of making the gravy while Grandma supervised. (The second picture is my great-uncle - my grandfather's brother - with hmm...let's see....my grandfather's cousin. I think. The family on that side kind of sprawls a bit.)
2. Break a few laws Responsibly light off a few small firecrackers.
Mostly because they start playing with the good stuff after dark, and they don't let "the girls" play at that point. It's strictly a guy thing in my family - from about the time they are two (only a slight exaggeration), and they wait ohsopatiently for dark:
Oh well, we got to sit all cozy in the chairs and watch the show.3. I do mean responsibly, though. Alcohol and fireworks do NOT mix. Goofing around or being stupid and fireworks do NOT mix. Any of the above will get you banned from ever lighting one again for life (if you're really lucky). Accidents do happen, though, so #3 is Complete the day with all extremities still attached, even if that means sprinting a bit more than you'd anticipated.
(The fuse was just a bit shorter than we'd expected...)4. Honor the troops.
Cuz, y'know, without them, there wouldn't be an Independence Day to celebrate. Don't think I really need to explain that one any further.5. Catch a good ol' all-American baseball game. (Okay, so this is July 5th, don't be picky.)
Especially when it's the biggest rivalry in baseball - a Cubs/Cards game on a gorgeous day in St. Louis - and my beloved Cubbies are in first place in, like, everything, and it's about 45% Cubs fans in Busch Stadium (haha!). Of course, they had to lose that day, just because we were there. Sigh. This is the year, though! Cardinals fans really need to learn the words to "Take Me Out To the Ballgame." Everyone knows it's "root, root, root for the Cubbies" not whatever they were mumbling when they finally realized they should be singing. *Sniff haughtily* At least it was a good game (we were winning until the ninth), and it's still one of the friendliest rivalries in baseball. I saw one person with a clear identity crisis, though. She had on a Cards tshirt with a Cubs jersey over it. Someone please find her, because that lady obviously needs help.6. Look young enough to get carded at a ballgame.
I was a bit miffed that I got carded and my brother (who is two years younger than me) didn't, but even I have to admit that I look like I'm about ten in that photo.7. Enjoy the people of the Midwest, even if you don't like the weather.
Although I did get TWO thunderstorms while I was there - one the first night and one the last night! Yay!
Now it's back to keeping Chrissy sane during Ragtime tech while also trying to prep Hot Mikado and deal with the paperwork resulting from my garage getting broken into and my bike stolen. At least I get a few extra evenings off this week so I can hit class hard!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
The lights are on...
...and no one's home! I'm leaving very very very VERY early (ie. I have to be on the road at 3:30a) tomorrow to drive to Santa Barbara, then fly from there to Illinois for a few days! Some of us seem to be pretty excited about it. I'm excited to actually be there and spend time with everyone, but I'm really trying to decide what to do about the whole leaving so early thing. I HAVE to go to FIGHT tonight, and stop in on rehearsal after that, and even if I had the entire evening completely off, I'd have to be asleep at 6:30p in order to get 8 hours in before driving. I don't know about you all, but 6:30p is almost the precise middle of my day - unless I took some major knockout meds and was already feeling VERY crappy (which I'm not) there is NO way I am getting anywhere near a decent amount of sleep tonight. So I may or may not actually be conscious when I finally arrive in the Midwest.
I do have the second Wendelin sock, my mp3 player, my digital camera, and I'm going to try to hit the bookstore tonight to get a new book to read without airport prices. If not, I have a few options at home that I either haven't gotten around to yet or really enjoy reading again.
I finished my beret this morning! I don't have pics yet (check back this evening, if I get everything else done), but it's okay. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it - I was really afraid that I was going to run out of yarn, so I just did the bare minimum of rows on it. It makes for a wearable, but very shallow, beret. Of course, I ended up with PLENTY of yarn left over, so when I get home, I might actually frog back to before the decreases and add another inch or so to it. I'd like to be able to pull it over my ears a bit if I need to - it IS for Solvang in September, after all.
Let's see, what else before I go? Oh yeah!!! I have an official, set-in-stone, if-you-are-one-second-late-you're-screwed date for my black belt test! It will be Friday, July 25th. The physical fitness test will start at 5:00p, and the actual testing will begin at 6:00p, with the results announced at the belt ceremony the following Monday, July 28th. It kind of sucks that it's on a Friday instead of Saturday, as now I'm have to ask if I can get out of Hot Mikado rehearsal early, whereas that Saturday is one of the few all year that I actually get completely off, but if that's what needs to happen...25 days away!
I do have the second Wendelin sock, my mp3 player, my digital camera, and I'm going to try to hit the bookstore tonight to get a new book to read without airport prices. If not, I have a few options at home that I either haven't gotten around to yet or really enjoy reading again.
I finished my beret this morning! I don't have pics yet (check back this evening, if I get everything else done), but it's okay. It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it - I was really afraid that I was going to run out of yarn, so I just did the bare minimum of rows on it. It makes for a wearable, but very shallow, beret. Of course, I ended up with PLENTY of yarn left over, so when I get home, I might actually frog back to before the decreases and add another inch or so to it. I'd like to be able to pull it over my ears a bit if I need to - it IS for Solvang in September, after all.
Let's see, what else before I go? Oh yeah!!! I have an official, set-in-stone, if-you-are-one-second-late-you're-screwed date for my black belt test! It will be Friday, July 25th. The physical fitness test will start at 5:00p, and the actual testing will begin at 6:00p, with the results announced at the belt ceremony the following Monday, July 28th. It kind of sucks that it's on a Friday instead of Saturday, as now I'm have to ask if I can get out of Hot Mikado rehearsal early, whereas that Saturday is one of the few all year that I actually get completely off, but if that's what needs to happen...25 days away!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Catching up on a boring week...
So I do actually have everything unpacked, and after about ten days, Teddie decided he had moved in, too:
He spent the first week or so under the bed, although he did come out to eat and use the litterbox. He was REALLY not happy with me, though - first, we're at a new place with that smells like another kitty, with weird sounds and smells and things aren't in the right place and where ARE we?! and THEN it becomes 100+ degrees all week with no air conditioning in the apartment. Yeah, I was definitely NOT voted #1 Kitty Mama last week (although I did brush him every day and make sure he had cold water and shade in several places throughout the apt). Apparently, he's gotten over it, for the most part. I did get totally dumped for Cute Guy the other night, though. He came over Monday night after class to watch a movie, and as we were sitting on the couch, Teddie comes out, looks at me, looks at Cute Guy, looks at me again, and promptly jumps up onto Cute Guy's chest, curls up, and falls asleep. I guess I know where I stand now, geez! (Btw, if you ever get a chance to watch a BBC documentary called Shakespeare Behind Bars, I highly recommend it. It's really fascinating to see how classical theater affects even convicts.)
Anyway, other than the unfaithfulness of my cat, not much has been going on. After three or four days of The Most Boring Bind-Off Ever (aka an applied I-cord bind-off), I have the baby blanket done:
I had big hopes of getting a picture with it all layed out nicely, the colors and shape displayed to the fullest advantage...and then realized that I have absolutely no idea where my blocking pins are! I think they're the same place ether region as my oven mitt and my "I solemnly swear" t-shirt. Sigh. Plus, it's too big to fit on my blocking board. So this is just a picture of a clean, finished blanket. Baby blanket #6, I might add. No more babies for a while, okay people?
On that note, I counted up all the projects I've completed since I started knitting about four years ago now. 6 baby blankets, 3 full-sized afghans, 11 pairs of socks, 2 hedge hogs, 3 pairs of felted clogs, 1 pair of fingerless gloves, 2 pairs of mittens, 4 sweaters/shirts, 6 scarves, 2 Christmas stockings, 2 bags, and a hat, for a total of 43 FOs. Wow! On top of this are 3 more scarves, 1 more pair of socks, another sweater, and another hat (I finally started my beret for Solvang yesterday) all otn right now. I knit to keep myself sane, apparently.
I still have not gotten an official testing date for my black belt test yet, although that should come out next week. Most likely, I will be testing on Saturday, July 26th, and getting the results on Monday, July 28th, but that isn't confirmed. Yikes, only four weeks away! I'm pretty confident, though. I can do all of the PT consistently except for the pushups, which tend to hurt my elbow after the first two sets. I'll suck it up for the test, though, because I know I can. I know my form inside and out. I blew through both of my board breaks the other night after class (I'm doing a reverse side kick - my absolute favorite kick - for my kick and a palm heel strike for my hand break). I know all of the self-defenses that are taught to tkd students, thanks to Haganah and instructor class. I don't think my sparring is quite up to par, but Sir said we'd start working on it in regular adult class, so that will be good. It will be the first time in a long time that I've tested in front of a crowd, though, so I'm a little nervous about that. I am volunteering to help out with a kids' day camp at the local Y next month, though, which I think will be fun and will be a good opportunity to get used to working in front of the kids again. I don't think I'll be doing my instructor test with the black belt test, as I'm still kind of shaky on three forms, but the camp should be a good time to work with the other instructing staff and get to watch them, too!
Work is going okay - Godspell is going strong in Solvang (we need bigger houses, though, bring your friends!), The Heart's Desire will join us there soon (a beautiful show, I highly recommend it!), Ragtime opens two weeks from Saturday and is just jaw-droppingly amazing, even in the rehearsal room, and The Imaginary Invalid and Hot Mikado both start rehearsals in the next three weeks. I'm going home to Illinios next week while Desire techs in Solvang, so look forward to pics from my crazy family's Fourth of July chicken fry and the Cubs/Cards game at Busch Stadium on July 5th!
Gotta get going...got a little skit to do in Solvang tonight, and then I think Cute Guy is coming over afterwards!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Moved!
I'm all moved into the new apartment. I'm not unpacked but I am moved. Small steps. Really, I just have to unpack my books and non-daily-use toiletries (why I even still have a hair dryer and curling iron is beyond me!), and figure out how I want to lay out my living room area. While I do have a new (and much much much more comfortable and bigger) futon now, that's really the only living room furniture I have. My desk looks absolutely tiny there. I am making a list of stuff I really want to save up to get, but the start of it is:
small dining table with at least two chairs
tv cart
living room bookcase(s)
artwork for the walls
I don't have internet yet at home (hopefully tonight I can sit down and get it all straightened out), which is driving me absolutely batty of course, so I've been watching some saved TV episodes (I really really recommend getting a computer with Windows Media Center on it and hooking it up to your tv. Seriously...being able to record shows to your computer is the most convenient thing ever. I can watch them on the computer when I don't have cable access, and I can convert them to .mp4 format so I can watch them on my Walkman on the bus. It's pretty darn cool. And you can also use it as your regular media player for watching live tv/dvds/listening to music/etc.) but I haven't really been knitting much. I've been trying to get things unpacked and the minute I sit down, I tend to not get back up again. And I'm still working on binding off that baby blanket. The I-cord looks really good, but honestly, it is The Most Tedious bind off EVER! It takes for-ev-er!
Didn't make it to class on Monday (moving pretty much wiped me out), but did get to go to FIGHT for the first time in about a month last night. Small class, two new people (one lady who said she really loved it! yay!), and it wasn't a very hard class, although my elbow still really does NOT like the plank! I ended up having to take another anti-inflammatory both after class last night and this morning. Bah!
Me: Sorry I didn't make it last night...
Sir: It must have been something major for you to not come in whenever you could right now.
Me: Moving?
Sir: Ah. Yes, that would be something major.
I love my instructors!
small dining table with at least two chairs
tv cart
living room bookcase(s)
artwork for the walls
I don't have internet yet at home (hopefully tonight I can sit down and get it all straightened out), which is driving me absolutely batty of course, so I've been watching some saved TV episodes (I really really recommend getting a computer with Windows Media Center on it and hooking it up to your tv. Seriously...being able to record shows to your computer is the most convenient thing ever. I can watch them on the computer when I don't have cable access, and I can convert them to .mp4 format so I can watch them on my Walkman on the bus. It's pretty darn cool. And you can also use it as your regular media player for watching live tv/dvds/listening to music/etc.) but I haven't really been knitting much. I've been trying to get things unpacked and the minute I sit down, I tend to not get back up again. And I'm still working on binding off that baby blanket. The I-cord looks really good, but honestly, it is The Most Tedious bind off EVER! It takes for-ev-er!
Didn't make it to class on Monday (moving pretty much wiped me out), but did get to go to FIGHT for the first time in about a month last night. Small class, two new people (one lady who said she really loved it! yay!), and it wasn't a very hard class, although my elbow still really does NOT like the plank! I ended up having to take another anti-inflammatory both after class last night and this morning. Bah!
Me: Sorry I didn't make it last night...
Sir: It must have been something major for you to not come in whenever you could right now.
Me: Moving?
Sir: Ah. Yes, that would be something major.
I love my instructors!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Whoops...
To correct an error in the previous post...
Um, I apparently can't count. I said I had nine rounds left on the blanket, thinking I had one round of yellow, four rounds of pink, and four rounds of blue left. Turns out, I had five - I was almost done with the pink, not the yellow. I'm now doing an applied I-cord bind off instead of a border, and while that is going slower than molasses and I am already bored with it, it DOES look pretty good. I'm hoping to finish binding off tomorrow.
We're opening a world premiere (The Heart's Desire) tomorrow night. Our straight plays never sell very well, but they are so beautiful. I won't actually get to see this one until Sunday afternoon, although I am planning to hit up the Opening party tomorrow night after the Godspell performance!
My 13th wasn't too bad, if you discount the fact that I put in a 15+ hour day (understudy rehearsal, a KCOY publicity broadcast, and a performance) and broke a fairly major set piece tonight. Now I'm finishing off a bottle of wine that Cute Guy and I opened a couple nights ago and curling up to go to sleep. How was yours?
Um, I apparently can't count. I said I had nine rounds left on the blanket, thinking I had one round of yellow, four rounds of pink, and four rounds of blue left. Turns out, I had five - I was almost done with the pink, not the yellow. I'm now doing an applied I-cord bind off instead of a border, and while that is going slower than molasses and I am already bored with it, it DOES look pretty good. I'm hoping to finish binding off tomorrow.
We're opening a world premiere (The Heart's Desire) tomorrow night. Our straight plays never sell very well, but they are so beautiful. I won't actually get to see this one until Sunday afternoon, although I am planning to hit up the Opening party tomorrow night after the Godspell performance!
My 13th wasn't too bad, if you discount the fact that I put in a 15+ hour day (understudy rehearsal, a KCOY publicity broadcast, and a performance) and broke a fairly major set piece tonight. Now I'm finishing off a bottle of wine that Cute Guy and I opened a couple nights ago and curling up to go to sleep. How was yours?
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