It's about time!

Wow! It's been a while since I've written anything, didn't realize I'd been neglecting my thoughts for so long. Well though I doubt there are many people affected by my lack of writing, I apologize to anyone who was. The reason I haven't been writing is because I've been too busy to think...seriously...I don't joke about these things.

So since it's been to months let me catch the blog up on all the crazy happenings.
(It's subtitled because that's how compartmentalized my mind has been since reading week.)

The Last 5 Years:
So Lea and I were driving one night and she starts telling me about this new musical she's been learning a song from and how amazing it is. She puts it on her iPod and I absolutely loved it! I go home and Google it and discover it's by a composer named Jason Robert Brown...and suddenly it all made sense. Jason Robert Brown = JRB who is referred to in the first episode of The Battery's Down, a reference which left me confused as to what I was missing....and with this discovery I finally understood! The Last 5 Years is a beautiful musical. It is about the last 5 years of a romantic relationship and is told through soliloquies. The female begins at the end of the story and moves backwards to the beginning while the male does the reverse and it's a joy to listen to.

Anything Goes:
On March 12 and 13, Hillel of Greater Toronto presented a student production of this witty musical. It was AWESOME and HILARIOUS and I had the privilege of stage managing it!
Starting on March 6th, the show consumed my life. I entered a warehouse that afternoon at 4pm and did not leave until 10:30. The next morning I went to get my passport...because a week later I was going to New York and my passport had expired so now I had to get it rushed (New York will be explained later)...I forgot my flight information and, thinking I needed to get this done, went to Kinkos printed it and went back to line up for a second time - why can't the passport office just rush your passport because you want it rushed??? I'm still paying $75 more, why can't they do it becuase I want it? - anyways after waiting for an hour and a half, I broke down in tears from frustration and decided to leave. I got home and went to the warehouse for 11am (my day started at 7am). It wasn't long before I started to notice that this set which we were priming didn't have any support beams and was so complicated that we didn't know how it all pieced together. In addition to all this, the worst snow storm of the year was starting up on the outside. At 3pm after a few moments of panic, I braved the snow to pick up my friend Dave - the theatre genius - who came in and solved all our problems. Now I make this sound easy but really it took until 9pm before we were actually able to feel like we were getting somewhere. Having constructed the set with supports, we departed at 1:15am confident that all that was left were the flats and some detail painting. (I would also like to point out that my parents were at a cottage this weekend and my sister was a trooper and put up with me abandoning her for the entire time, despite her hatred of sleeping when noone else is home.) The snow didn't stop falling, so despite having planned to go in from 4-6pm, after doing my application for a fellowship, I went in at 2pm and didn't do my application. The expected 3 hour job ended at 12:45am. In total 15 people, including some very dedicated Hillel staff, worked on the set. However, we concluded that it was the blood, sweat, and tears of Rachel (our director), Lea, Jaime (two cast members), and myself who spent the whole day working Saturday, in the freezing cold warehouse, while the snow didn't stop outside. One of the funniest moments of the weekend was when Lea went to get our dinner at 9pm when we were starving. First she was short money, then when she came back to drop off the food and go back with the rest of the money, her 4x4 vehicle got stuck in the unplowed parking lot. Next Jaime and I went out, not properly dressed for the conditions, to help dig her out. However, we forgot to bring the money with us so Jaime went back to get the money, while I continued to dig. We got Lea out of the snow and then Jaime and I had to walk backwards with the food through the parking lot because the wind was blowing the snow too hard. This of course was hilarious and we began laughing really hard. This laughing fit was extended to Rachel and we all proceeded to laugh inexplicably through our meal and the return of Lea and through her meal. We listened to The Last 5 Years obsessively this night. The next day we returned to the warehouse one last time, after our dress rehearsal, to take apart the set and pack it into the truck that would take it to the theatre.
On Monday I had a very busy day. I had a conference call for the UJC Pro Day (which I got accepted to!) at 10am, but first I had to wake up at 6:30 and go get my passport - that's right I lined up at 7am -- 3rd in line! I was out of there at 8:06 they open at 8am - at 1pm I had a phone interview with the University of Florida Hillel for their Arts Director position and by 11:59pm I had to submit two applications for fellowships at Hillel International in Washington, D.C. At 8pm I submitted my application and headed over to the theatre to help finish loading in the set. We were supposed to be out at 10, we left at 11pm.
Tuesday was dress rehearsal day...yay! I got there nice and early at 9am and spent the time until 2pm going crazy trying to mark the set and gather set/prop pieces. At 2pm, Jaime and I left for food and errands. Jaime quickly assumed the role of my personal assistant - answering my phone, texting people, replying to texts, and making phone calls. It was hilarious and yet one of the most amazing things that could have happened at that time. I thank Jaime with all my heart for being so helpful because for the 15 minutes I was without her at York, I lost my mind and couldn't think straight...that's how much was going on inside it at the time. Our dress rehearsal was fabulous, the tech rehearsal however was slightly concerning and we decided to cut some set pieces and I may have been guilty of taking my stress out on people who didn't deserve it.
Wednesday was opening night...all I had to do was make some signs and lists for backstage....turns out Rachel needed to pick up programs and go to value village and we both wanted to make gifts for the cast - so since I was lacking in the transportation department we combined are tasks and had what turned out to be a relaxed afternoon pulling things together and eating fast food for the umpteenth time in the past week - we discussed how we missed real food.
So all drama aside the shows were amazing! It's so interesting how bonds are always formed in the theatre. I strengthened friendships with acquaintances and left with a whole lot of new friends. Its rare to find a cast with so much love...I experienced it in my first and second year with VCP and it was nice to find it again in this environment.

New York and the UJC Pro Day:
On Saturday March 15th...having pretty much JUST finished Anything Goes - like only had one day off - I boarded a plane to New York. Having been accepted to the UJC Pro Day I needed to be in New York for interviews on the 17th, so I decided to make a long weekend out of it and visit Sophia and Dave. So I went to Sophia's residence in Brooklyn Heights (my accommodations) on Saturday morning, dropped off my stuff and we headed into Manhattan for brunch, a walk, and a cupcake. I love how easy it is to find brunch in New York - you just have to expect to spend $13 on it. Sophia then took me to see Union Square where just down the street I noticed a Max Brenner's and got very excited - we decided that we were going there on Monday after my long and hopefully great day of interviews. That night we went for sushi around the corner from where she lives and I had an amazing salmon and avocado salad - good luck finding that elsewhere - it was delicious! Sophia then took me to see the promenade by the water and then we went in to the city for a movie - we saw Definitely Maybe - my new favourite chick flick.
Sunday I got to sleep in while Sophia went to see her new apartment on the Upper West Side. When she came back we went for burgers and fries or in Soph's case grilled cheese at a small place around the corner called 5 Brother's ...they claim to be the best in the area and I don't doubt it. However, they cook with peanut oil. For those of you who don't know, despite how yummy peanut oil makes food taste, it is one of my pet peeves because of the restrictions it places on those with nut allergies. After lunch, we went in to the city in search of some accessories for my interview outfit...H&M had them and it was cheap. Check. We walked around SoHo for a bit, stopped in at Victoria Secret and headed back to get ready for dinner. That evening we went to Crown Heights to visit Dave and have some dinner. I knew Dave lived in an orthodox neighborhood, but I didn't know it would feel like Jerusalem meets the Tel Aviv bus station. I was worried I wasn't snius enough. Rather than searching for a place to eat that we wouldn't feel out of place in, we went into a deli, ordered an array of food and for $30 we had ourselves a feast at Dave's place followed by Family Guy and some great YouTube videos I'd yet to see. Having feared we were heading into the middle of nowhere on the way out, our train ride back was relatively faster.
Monday morning Soph and I both had to leave early so waking up was not a problem. We then left her place and I was left on my own to find the subway and make my way to 111 8th Ave. I was set, we'd been using the subway a lot and I was sure I could do this no problem. My day started by me getting on the wrong train :S...let's just say it was an uncomfortable moment and I got off at the 1st stop where, luckily, I could catch the train I wanted. Everything else went smoothly...thank goodness. I got to the building and went into the wrong board room - embarrassing - then experienced 10 minutes of the most uncomfortable silence in the right boardroom. I had 6 interviews on my schedule and after my first I added one more. The entire day was a whirlwind. I sat in numerous offices with gorgeous views, spoke with different people about different jobs, and learned a lot about myself. I went in willing to take anything anywhere. I came out willing to go anywhere but much more sure of what I wanted to do. One of the things i was more sure of was that I wanted to work for Hillel. In my first interview, I was stopped 3 minutes in and asked why I wasn't applying there, and when I said I was, the interviewer jumped at the opportunity to help me get things rolling. All in all it was a successful day. Dinner at Max Brenner was amazing and then since Soph and I were not in the St. Patty's Day mood we went to see Juno...finally...it was awesome!
Tuesday I learned the joys of catching a cab in morning traffic and headed back to Toronto. I was back at Hillel by 5pm that night, in time for work.

End of School:
As of the start of March I still had 3 papers and a project to do. I finished one 5 page paper in the 3rd week of March - 4 weeks after it was supposed to be due. I then turned my focus to my 15 pager which I needed to submit by April 7th. I spent the last week of March and first week of April conducting interviews and wrote my paper in one sitting, only to find out I could have until the 10th. I submitted the paper on the 9th. I then spent the 10th writing my final 5 page paper which was due the next day. In between all this I managed to pull together a website with my group for my comm class. I can proudly say that as of Friday April 11th, I have finished my undergraduate degree. I got 85% on my 15 pager and an A on my final 5 pager. Only one unknown mark remains but I'm predicting straight As on the year.

The Job Hunt:
Side note: One of the Hillel Fellowships actually called a reference, which I'm told is quite an accomplishment, but in the end I was rejected from both. This is okay, I was taking a long shot applying.
I came back from New York and went on a Hillel application spree, the final tally was:
10 applications
I've since had:
5 first round interviews
4 second round interviews
and in on case I'm even having a 3rd round!
I had a video skype call from Penn State and next Monday I'm heading down to Albany...very exciting stuff!
So far, 2 rejections and 1 I'm not to positive about, but all in all a great experience. I'm really hoping one of these jobs pans out and a lot of people are fairly confident at least one will so think positive thoughts for me. :) I'll let you know all this all works out.

That's it for now...I'll post something about Camp Hillel and Pesach another time.

I am: Crazy, Brave, Brilliant?...you decide!

So here's a story for you:

Yesterday was a snow day, more so there was too much snow and bad driving conditions so I couldn't have a car to leave my house, so I slept until quarter to 2 and then spent 4 hours cleaning the house because my mother offered to pay us. Once all that was done, I naturally got bored and started exploring the Internet (while The Internet is for Porn from Avenue Q played in the background...). In checking the Spring Awakening Facebook group page I noticed that someone had said watch The Battery's Down and thought to myself "what's that?" well whether than doing the smart thing and searching it, I left it for a while leaving myself to ponder what that meant. Upon my next perusal of Facebook I noticed a group on my group homepage title "The Battery's Down" Fans...lightbulb moment!...so I went in and followed the links and found an amazing thing titled The Battery's Down:
and

Watch it and you'll know what I mean. Anyways, in the cast list a name popped out at me that seemed familiar but I didn't know why, so naturally I goggled it and that brought me to this: http://www.keenanblogger.blogspot.com/
One of the most entertaining blogs I've ever seen and it's especially cook because I discovered that Andrew is in Toronto right now doing Spelling Bee.

So that was my story, which is the background for the events of tonight.
Long story short, cuz I'm a little too tired to write full details, which means it will still be kind of long: Shayna and I went down to Yonge and Dundas for dinner and whatever to follow. I made the connection that we were right at the Elgin Theatre, where Spelling Bee is happening, and it's 9:30 = show is almost over. So I convinced Shayna that we should stage door - who knows maybe they'll come do something with us. So reluctantly, while simultaneously reminding me how much pleasure she was going to take from making fun of me for this, we went and fit in with the crowd leaving the theatre and then waited by the stage door. While waiting, my friend Brian (from VCP) and his family walked by (I was mortified - I was now caught doing something I could barely convince my friend of by another person I know.) This turned out to be a positive thing because Brian's sister works for Dancap and informed me of a talk back on Wednesday after the matinée, which I'm now going to try to get into. Anyways, after everyone else came out the stage door and I got used to explaining that I hadn't actually seen the show yet...as well as fussing over the mat that was tripping everyone...like any stage manager would do....Andrew, Dana, and Vanessa came out and to really keep the story short I had a brief conversation with them....well at least brief for me....and don't think I creeped them out.

So after this Shayna and I went to Fran's for dinner at sometime after 10pm - this is now one of my new favourite places to eat in Toronto. We both indulged in a platter of death known as macaroni and cheese - it was soooooooooooo goood.....but I think I could feel my arteries clogging...

Anyways here are the morals of the night:
Don't wait until the last possible day to use your amazing discount at a retail store
Don't be afraid to go to a stage door and be yourself...we'll see if the following is true...you just might make friends
Apparently there's something called Cool Cap and it's going to make me happy
Fran's has ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT breakfast and therefore it's AWESOME!!!
Macaroni and cheese is yummy but deadly
Corey Payette and I are meant to be friends because we obviously share the same tastes in blogs et al.
Plain White T's are going to be the next big thing...
and finally
The Battery's Down IS the greatest thing since sliced bread and if you are a fan of musical theatre/theatre people you NEED to watch it.

Voiceless

I've lost my voice....not in some metaphorical sense, the literal/physical one. Weird as some may think, I got sick with a cold and within a day I had a friend instruct me to stop speaking because she could hear me getting laryngitis. So here I sit for a second day, with no other way to express my self but in writing/typing.

I'm proud to say I've handled this current illness very well. Generally, I just fight through it and don't slow down - unless of course I'm contagious...as I told some people who asked - I push myself when I'm sick but I don't get others sick. This time around I've been careful not to speak too much, I've gone to the Doctor to check there was nothing terrible disguised as a cold - nope, but I'm currently on more drugs then I can keep track of (Cold-FX, nasonex, symbacourt, and biaxin)- and tonight I even decided to stay home and rest instead of going to the pub night event that I really wanted to attend.

Now as interesting as not speaking has been, it kind of sucked at rehearsal last night. As stage manager, I really needed to be staying on top of the cast and keeping them on track but I couldn't and unfortunately we haven't been working long enough for them to have a routine and my ASM's don't have my instincts yet....so as much fun as talking through my computer was, this situation was quite frustrating.

So that's all I wanted to share tonight...nothing to philosophical to say...I'm definitely appreciating the power of speech. The next few days are quite busy, so hopefully I'll have something fun to write about soon.

Scared...out of my mind, going crazy, SCARED

Well it seems I lost the ability to write for the past two months...things were definitely happening, but I wasn't inspired to write. To sum up November - it was a busy month of theatre and travel. Our first Cabaret was great, the run of The Farm Show was wonderfully touching...it seriously moved me and made me think differently about the farming communities in Ontario..., and the last Improv was rewarding - as they took a risk and succeeded. In November, I also traveled to Nashville, Tennessse for the United Jewish Communities General Assembly - I made tons of amazing contacts and had a great experience in the complex fondly called the biodome. I also went back to London for a 3rd time for a fun filled girly weekend...we saw a great young theatre performance of the Pajama Game, went to a country bar, and then had a girly night at another bar.

December was unproductive and dramatic... I was supposed to do a lot of work and reading for this semester and didn't. Although, I did get a job at the GAP...so I was productive working there, so much so that they want to keep me as long as they can afford me. The drama was in the friends zone...and it was more a decision to free myself of the drama...I cut some ties for the time being and I think I'll be better off for it.

On the 25th, I turned 22 and spent the day/night at my cousin's cottage in Gravenhurst...it was beautiful, the snow was fresh and untouched.

New Year's was back in London...completely unexpected location...we'll some it up as intoxicated and it was also a lot of fun....I made an asparagus lasagna and proved that I might survive on my own one day....hopefully in the near future, as I've realized I'm reaching that point where it's only natural for me to live on my own for a bit...good thing is my mom agrees.

Ok time to connect this to my title...this was the first new year I can remember that I was not excited for...this might because I'm not fond of the number 8....but I think it's more because of everything that's going to happen in it, and you can't blame me for being scared....

In 3 months I will be finished all my work for my undergraduate degree....
In 2 months I will have applied for the fellowship I'm hoping to get
In 3 months I'll know if I got accepted for the fellowship
In 4 months I'll know where I'll be living next year if I was selected
In 3 months I'll know if I have a job or if I have to panic and find something else for September

So it seems March = SCARY!!!

I have a 15 page research paper to write and I'm very behind on it.
I'm stage managing a show, I'm promotions manager for my theatre company, I'm on Hillel board, I have a part-time job, and I have 3 classes to juggle....that's a lot...all by my choice...truth be told that's how I thrive. It's just a little scary sometimes...

It's all very exciting, but standing on the verge of the rest of my life and the real world is scarier than I thought it would be, but I suppose that's just normal....right?

I Now Know Anything IS Possible...

Just to add...not really a thoughtfull post but something that's still amazing to me.

On Wednesday at 11:45pm I sat to finally begin writing my 1500 word essay due the next day at 10am. Stupid I know, but I didn't have much choice. I was at Jewtopia for the evening and we all know I'm a procrastinator and crammer through and through. Oh and in addition to having to write an essay, I have to figure out how to write it in PowerPoint.

At 5:21am, I finally finished the essay and turned off my computer. I thought the product was good, but worried that I'd missed obvious points and under examined points. Alas, there was nothing more I could do, my brain was drained.

So long story short...the paper was worth an A according to my professor...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Moral: I now know anything is possible, including getting A's on papers that are written in the early hours of the morning and not proof read.

Dance Club Ettiquette?

Last night I attended a birthday celebration at one of Toronto's new dance clubs, Cantina Charlie's. This was my first time going to a club, in Toronto, since the last time I went to Cantina Charlie's in July. Upon returning to my friend's home at 2:30am, I found myself sitting asking many questions.

I dance. In the right environment - essentially with the right music - I can dance until the club closes without stopping for more than a few minutes every once in a while. When I dance, I don't think about how I look and I don't care much about what I'm doing and who it's with. All that really matters is whether I'm having a good time or not and how I feel...i.e. am I embarrassing myself? do I feel uncomfortable?

In my experiences, it is very apparent to me that I could be doing much worse...all around me there are people kissing, feeling each other in places that shouldn't be touched in public, and in some cases performing acts that shouldn't be done in public either. In the meantime, all I do is dance with my friends, occasionally grind with a cute boy that passes by, and - in the cases where a stripper pole is present - it sometimes gets used. :S

Yet, I still get questioned as to whether I'm having fun or not in a tone that implies I'm "behaving badly". I don't understand! Is it really that bad to let the music fill your body and dance along with it? What's wrong with letting a boy that doesn't scare me dance with me? Has dancing with boys become the equivalent of a one night stand?

I danced with 4 different boys last night...Natalia would be proud...I got complimented by one of the guys who was out with us for doing well, but it seemed I was being judged by a girl for the same reasons I was being complimented. What's up with that?

Now I know I'm not providing much background thought leading up to this question but the question I'm inspired to ask is...have we blurred the lines of appropriate behaviour so much that we can no longer be socially appropriate for everyone at the same time?

I'm constantly being told to do what makes me happy and not worry about what others think...but there are certain lines that still exist that most people, including myself, don't want to cross in anyone's eyes. It just is becoming clear that it's almost impossible to stay on the right side of the line in everyone's opinion and thus it's becoming essential to only worry about yourself. If this is true, we can all stop worrying about how we appear in other's eyes because it won't matter anymore. We've lost the base line for judgement....what happens in a world where people serve only themselves and don't worry about what other's think? (Not just ideally but in actuality) Is this a good thing that we're finally not caring? Or does this open doors for really bad behaviour?

It's a shame that I'm writing this so early in my blogging...as I don't think I have many friends reading this yet and I'd really like to hear their thoughts....guess I'll just have to inspire them to read.

Busy doesn't begin to describe...

I've been so busy since the last entry, I've hardly had time to breathe. So I don't have anything inspiring or interesting to discuss right now, but I don't want to go much longer without writing anything. So here are some randoms:

Thought - it's amazing the difference 3 inches makes - that's what I had cut off my head this week and it feels so much better.

Desire - I've been inspired to follow a dream. I've realized there's not much stopping me from producing theatre and I think one day I just might.

Reminder - I need to move out. My family is a constant reminder that I need to move out and grow up. Not because I can't stand them but because I've finally matured to that point where I need my space.

I could keep going with the random thoughts/comments but I need to go...not enough time.