Sometimes a Manic Hobgoblin gets the better of me. I live in a sweet, old house in central Austin. I travel a few times each year. I have too many pets, and love each one more than the next.
Remember last year when I wrote a blog post about how caring for little furry souls as a job proved to be too much pressure for me? Remember how I said that in my next job, I just wanted to make things pretty? An exciting opportunity is afoot. I hope to share details soon.
If I jump at this opportunity, I'll leave the acting agency I'm with currently, and likely quit doing dinner theatre, at least for a while. I need to let go of one trapeze bar to catch the next. I have a lot of self esteem and identity wrapped up in being a (paid!) part-time actress. Thank goodness I have a sturdy net in the form of Chad.
Come see children's TV show hosts behaving badly in "Can You Say Murder?" I play Detective Safety, also known as Clarice Dixon. She has a lisp. So it sounds like "Detective Thafety, altho know ath, Clarithe Dikthon." I try to give every character I play a unique quality that real-life people have. Real people sometimes have speech impediments or verbal idiosyncrasies. I sometimes repeat what people say to me if I like the way it sounds or if I'm trying to process exactly what they meant by what they said. That's my real-life verbal oddity.
Hope to see you at the show! (Click on the above graphic to make it larger so you can call for reservations.)
Um. Hi. This is Janie. I am the dog. I have some thoughts and suggestions about the 1952 House.
I like my Mitchell Gold couch. It's real nice, but sometimes the people try to lay on it too. There is not enough room for both of us to stretch out. I found these chevron beds on flash-sale site Ruelala.com. If Jenn and Chad curl up, one of them could fit on each, and I could have the couch to myself.
Let's talk about the artwork in the 1952 House. Too many photos of chandeliers and too many limited-edition, hipster-made prints featuring cats and Pee Wee Herman. Let's have some dogs in the art. Not those silly poker playing dogs. Dogs don't play poker. We don't have thumbs. Our wagging tails would give away our hand, because we're guileless creatures. So here is some nice art from that sale too. I especially like the one about mutts that is a riff of that Sir Mixalot song. Although, I prefer the term "mystery-mix" to "mutt".
Also, and I can't stress this enough, please put the treats in the kitchen where I can reach them. I get tired of looking at you hopefully 15 times a day. Trading tricks for treats cheapens us both. Really.
**Credits: chevron beds by Thro, Marlo Lorenz. Artwork by Artehouse, Ginger Oliphant. All available on Ruelala.com for a limited time.**
We needed a break from our jobs, the 1952 House, our sweet (but demanding) pets, chores and whatnot. The rule in selecting the vacation destination this year: no big dirty cities. We wanted nature, cooler weather and not much of a hipster scene. Hood River, Oregon filled the bill.
Waterfalls, hiking, a brewery tour, daily siestas, reading fiction, touring local fruit stands/orchards and gazing out our hotel balcony doors at windsurfers filled the schedule. Being out in the boonies as it were, we had a great view of the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Milky Way.
We also toured the Bonneville Dam mainly to check out the innovative, wildlife-friendly fish ladder. When we heard about the 450 pound Sturgeon fish down at the hatchery, we HAD to go meet him. His name is Herman. He is a big boy.
On the way to the Portland Airport (just over an hour drive from Hood River) we decided to take a detour through Portland to shop at Powell's Books and deconstruct some Voodoo Doughnuts. The short time we spent in downtown Portland reminded us why we didn't want to vacation in a big city. Too many one-way streets, too little parking, too many aggressively weird people being aggressively weird.
Hopefully by next summer, the bank account will be ready for a trip to Ireland. If not, I vote for a stateside vacation in some other small town with not much to do aside from gawking at nature and soaking up cooler temperatures.
I'll be performing in another dinner mystery show at Maggiano's on Monday. If you want to make me cry, ask me if I know all my lines yet to play the Master of Ceremonies / Detective, Heather Weathers.
Just like the nation's economy, the budget at the 1952 House isn't what it used to be. On the count your blessings side of the fence, we have all that we need. On the glass half empty side of the fence, we don't have all that we want. Who does, right? A friend asked recently what I bought with my generous employee discount at my part-time retail job. My disappointing (to her and to me) reply, nothing. I got that job to help with the financial situation, not to be Spendy McGee.
Indulge me while I tour the items I would purchase if I could redecorate a bit right now. Starting in the living room:
I love these unique Wezandla Wire Pendants from West Elm for the existing dining room light fixture. They would match our black dining table and red dining chairs most magnificently.
Perhaps you've sensed the West Elm theme? Um, employee discount! However, there are a few non-West Elm items for which I am pining.
Mark your calendars for my birthday on October 8th. I'll be accepting gifts in the form of large bags of cash or preloaded Visa gift cards. Thanks in advance for your generosity.
The phrase, "it is no picnic", usually refers to something, someone or some event that is not fun or relaxing. Conversely, picnics are supposedly fun and relaxing, sustaining to the body and spirit.
Growing up, when my family had been apart for long periods of time between moves to new cities for my Dad's job, he usually wanted to spend time together with a picnic. He loved nature, healthy food and time together. That's not to say that there weren't ants, other creepy-crawlies, sudden gusts of wind/rain, or eye-rolling from my sister and/or I. My dad loved picnics.
What's your metaphorical "picnic"? That thing you like to do with other people that makes you feel great?
My picnic is going out dancing. I love a good DJ, swing band or 80s cover band. Though I lack formal training, general skills or innate rhythm, I make up for it with enthusiasm.
I also love playing board games with friends: especially Clue, Apples to Apples and Taboo.
Working part-time at West Elm, helping Chad plan an open house celebration for his office and learning a new script for last night's dinner mystery show that premiered to an appreciative audience, have eaten up most of my time, energy and brain power over the past few weeks. A few fleeting thoughts managed to ricochet briefly inside my noggin.
The people I work with at West Elm are so fun, interesting and unique. I could certainly make more money at another job, but would miss out on colorful coworkers who share my aesthetic sensibilities and extroverted nature.
I still like doing dinner theatre, but I don't like learning a new script nearly every month. When I spend hours at home studying lines, the profit margin plummets on those paychecks. Not to mention that my fellow actors also feel and display stress at performing a new script for the first time. Collectively, we most enjoy performing a script we've done a few times.
When someone is needlessly rude in my general direction or earshot, I remind myself of this quote from Plato, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Of course, sometimes someone is so needlessly rude that I look up their profile on one of many social and professional networking websites to find out that they love littering the internet with photos of themselves and hope to go to seminary school. Really?!
Sometimes the people that you think are your best, most loyal friends are just passing through your life like tourists snapping photos. Conversely, people that you once thought of as a temporary acquaintance become your most trusted advisers, sympathizers and conspirators.
I miss puppies and kittens. I don't want to adopt anymore furry housemates, but would love to foster some temporarily after vacation.
I love my gym. I love the yoga class that a sweet soul named "Pixie" teaches. I love putting my headphones on and spending quality time listening to music I like. I love a good stretch. I love feeling healthy and strong.
In the summer, I am even less interested in food than usual. It's too hot and sticky to eat, but then I get cranky from not eating. If left to my own devices, I'd subsist on a steady diet of fruit smoothies and non-dairy Italian ices all summer.
I have this weird decision weighing on me. It's weird, because I've rebuffed it so many times. Yet it keeps circling and buzzing in my ear. It defies logic and a simple pro-con list. It's eating up any extra brain power (which isn't much) I have. It's the kind of decision that if I wait a little longer, will probably cease to be an option. It's one of those things that might make me happier and more fulfilled, but I also have nightmares about it.
That's all I can say.
Wait! I can also say that the decision does not in any way involve human babies. I'm not pregnant, nor do I want to be. That's one decision with which I'm very much at peace. My maternal instincts only kick in for puppies and kittens.
Next Monday, June 4, I'll play famous Italian movie star Anjelika Lotta in Maggiano's Murder Mystery Monday series, The Good, The Bad and The Dead. It's a spaghetti western... at an Italian restaurant... get it?
Some might argue that being an actress is a hobby, but I get paid to act, so I argue that it is a job. I also argue that being a homemaker is a job, because many people pay housekeepers to clean, organize, launder, tidy and whatnot their houses. I got my second/third (depending on how you personally look at it) job at West Elm, because we need stuff at the 1952 House. Here's a partial list in order of priority:
VACATION - need to see some nature in the Columbia River Gorge at end of summer
Car Repairs for my lovable, aging vehicle
King Size Mattress - current one boasts amazing hill and two deep valleys
Fridge - current one makes bad noises and was born in the 1980s
Microwave - big crack in the door frame that Chad assures me is not a problem?!?
Stove/oven - born in 1991 and cantankerous
Parking Pad - full of treacherous cracks and doesn't match paverstone driveway
Fat, Prosperous Savings Account
I also got my second/third job to meet some people and be social. At this stage in our lives, friends are so busy with family and careers, that working is the new socializing.
Have a great memorial day weekend. I'll be at West Elm for part of it. Come say hi.
Limited finances? I start my new part-time job at West Elm on Monday. As if the employee discount weren't enough enticement, they'll pay me. The location is perfect. I get free garage parking. Dinner theatre gigs have also been abundant lately. I'll post info for the next open-to-the-public show soon. Mark your calendar for Monday, June 4!
Need to fly the coop? Chad and I plan to hightail it to the cooler climate and slower roll of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon in August or September. I hear it rains there -- even in the summer!
Want some icy refreshment? Hello, Rita's! We've already been a few times this spring. Cotton Candy and Icy Pear are my favorite Italian ice flavors, while Chad usually opts for an ice and frozen custard mix. Of course I also like getting my meal through a straw with "The King" fruit smoothie from Central Market's smoothie & coffee bar. Who knew that putting peanut butter in a smoothie could be so deliciously perfect? Um, the fine smoothie mixologists at CM did!
One of my former short-term foster kittens has grown up to be a genuine hero! Mouse (featured in this blog post) foiled a rattle snake hiding on his new family's porch, and lived to tell about it! His former long-term foster mom, and friend, E forwarded the following email:
Well, part of me doesn't even want to tell you this story but the other part wants you to know. Warning...get some Kleenex! I believe Mr. Mouse came into our lives for a reason. One of the things he loves to do is sit on the back porch with me and get some fresh air. I don't let him out but he certainly loves to bird watch. This Sunday morning we went out and he went running behind a flower pot by my rocking chair. To our surprise there was a diamondback rattlesnake. 2 feet, 4rattles. And Mr. Mouse was bit. It was obvious to me he was badly injured. I rushed him to the emergency vet in Austin. We didn't come home until 9pm that night and I've been worried about whether he'd make it through. Now he is running, playing, cuddling, just his normal sweet self. This story is more than just about his great recovery. Had Mr. Mouse not found that snake on the back porch, there's no telling what would have happened. Had it bitten one of our girls,well, I don't want to think about it. I am absolutely disgusted that we had a snake anywhere near the house, disturbed that my sweet kitty was hurt...but oh so grateful he protected us. Mr. Mouse now has hero status in our house! Just sharing about how your little fuzz ball has made a difference in our lives. Thanks for saving him, he's an angel. Here he is watching Idol with me now. I think he likes Skyler.
Look how big and handsome and heroic he is now! I think his new family should amend his name to be Mr. Mighty Mouse! Just, wow!
Friday night I got to play a wacky spiritual medium turned detective in A Spirited Murder for a group of students, administrators and faculty at University of Texas San Antonio. I had a blast, as did most of the audience and fellow cast members. I also loved the long, dark wig I got to wear. (That's me in the sparkly top.) The only downside was that I had to learn a completely new script in which my character had the lion's share of the lines. I had serious homework studying the script each night for a week.
Sunday morning I got to play a Hollywood actress turned detective in Murder on the Happy Trail for a group of high school band members and their chaperones at the Dave & Busters in San Antonio. It was a murder mystery brunch as opposed to a murder mystery dinner. We couldn't have asked for a better audience. They were so fun, receptive and engaged! However, this meant another road trip to San Antonio and more studying. I've done this script many times before, but our current director added about 10 pages of material back into the script that was previously cut. I had to learn new parts and remind myself of the old material, again with the lion's share of the lines.
On Monday, May 14 I will be in another new show with another completely new script to learn. At least this time, I'm not the detective and there is no road trip to San Antonio. Thank goodness! See flyer below for details. This show is open to the public. (That's you!)
Chad and I took a self-guided downtown living tour today. We saw some opulent highrise condos, some mediocre midrise condos on the sleepier & seedier side of downtown, one decaying but very expensive house in the middle of the dirty bar scene, and one lovely historic home amid trees that was not for sale and merely a tease.
After a very sweaty day of tromping around downtown, I'm convinced that the urban heat core is very real. It felt ten degrees hotter due to the lack of shade and the asphalt radiating heat back up towards the sun from whence it came. I'm also convinced that I don't want to live downtown. In fact, we were so tired, dehydrated, overheated, and just done with downtown, that we skipped the after-party with its promises of free refreshments and door prizes.
Someday we might find ourselves in a lowrise condo near Castle Hill, where trees abound, and we can walk to Whole Foods and the veterinarian. For now and for the foreseeable future, however, I love our 1952 House.
Chad and I were cruising up West 5th Street the other day when what to my wandering & wondering eyes should appear, but windows papered in Jonathan Adler logos of a store that will soon be here! Yes! We are getting a Jonathan Adler store in Austin!
Naturally I made my way to the nearest computer post-haste to apply for a retail sales job online. I hope I get a job at the new Jonathan Adler store, but will shop there enthusiastically regardless of the application outcome.
I love Jon A's (yeah, that's my special nickname for him) quirky, fun, let-the-pets-on-the-furniture approach to decorating. Because you know I love my decorating and my pets equally most days.
One of my favorite Jon A quotes, "I believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay."
My dear Chad learned this lesson the hard way, when he (being my straight husband) got overly-opinionated during our newlywed search for a sitting surface. I wanted a clean-lined, modern sofa in a neutral color that we could accessorize with colorful pillows to suit our many moods. Chad wanted an overstuffed, odd-shade of olive, behemoth of a couch that had to be special ordered. We lived with that (I'm sorry, but eww-ugly) couch for first five years of our marriage. If only we'd had Jon A's Happy Chic books back then, I could have chosen my battle a bit more wisely with Jon A's sage words of wisdom to back me up!
I just put four, UPDATE: make that five!, more dinner mystery shows on my calendar for the next few weeks. Phew! If I could get six to eight shows a month on a consistent basis, I wouldn't need to get another part-time job. Acting could be my only part-time source of income.
Chad and I live in a perfectly lovely city with noise, museums, theaters and shopping. No more city vacations for a while. I'd like our next vacation to offer relaxation and respite from the daily grind, preferably with some nice nature, but no golf courses.
If you have relaxing destination suggestions in the USA (no golf course resorts!), please leave a comment with a link. Hoping to vacate Austin for five days in August or September.
I get many more spam comments advertising unsavory objects & subjects than real comments from friends, family or benevolent visitors on this blog. One comment today caught my eye:
hey there jennchad1952house.blogspot.comblogger found your site via search engine but it was hard to find and I see you could have more visitors because there are not so many comments yet. I have discovered site which offer to dramatically increase traffic to your site(not gonna post link)they claim they managed to get close to 1000 visitors/day using their services you could also get lot more targeted traffic from search engines as you have now. I used their services and got significantly more visitors to my site. Hope this helps :) They offer most cost effective (again, not pimping that link)Take care. Jason
Jason,
I appreciate you searching out my modest blog "via search engine". You and other strangers are welcome to read my ramblings when you stumble upon them.
However, I enjoy my low-key life and relative anonymity. I do not desire to generate more stranger-traffic to my blog. I do not want to moderate more spam-bot comments than I currently do.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. No thanks on the offer to increase traffic.
Incidentally, I tried to monetize this blog for a short while with AdSense automatically generated advertisements. I hoped that decorating resources would feature strongly in the ads. However, given my predisposition to semi-annual food-poisoning and frequent digestive tract maladies, all the ads were for diarrhea medications. Eww.
I quit my Lenten vegan quest last Sunday with weeks to go until Easter. I'm no longer vegan, but a lacto-ovo-vegetarian once more, and likely for the rest of my days. I definitely learned some things during my vegan experimentation.
I love my not-tested-on-animals, made in the USA, available in eleventy-million delicious flavors, Bonne Bell Lipsmackers, which have beeswax in them. The vegan hemp oil lip balms can't compete on price, flavors or moisturizing. Sorry bees.
I am not at all lactose-intolerant, but I am quite soy-sensitive. I'll spare you the disgusting details of discomfort. Trust me. Tofu and other highly-processed soy products do BAD things to my digestive tract.
Vegan cheese and vegan milk substitutes are so not to my liking.
I ate more highly processed foods as a vegan and gained a few pounds. I felt denied at meal times. Consequently, I overindulged in junky food stuff that parades as healthy.
If I had a million dollars, lived in downtown Austin and could eat every meal from the Whole Foods salad bar or ready-prepped sections, avoiding soy products, I might do okay as a vegan. I still wouldn't ENJOY being vegan.
If you think it's a pain in the patootie trying to dine out with a vegetarian, multiply that by at least ten when it comes to dining out with a vegan, especially in the suburbs or in cities that are less hippie-dippie-tolerant than Austin. A little perspective: Austin recently ranked #8 on the list for the most vegetarian/vegan-friendly cities in the United States of America.
Did I mention the soy-sensitive thing? Yeah? Well, it bears repeating. I am soy-sensitive, and it is pretty dang uncomfortable.
There. My terrible confession. I'm a vegetarian, but I can't make it as a vegan for even forty days.
Time for me to procrastinate again. I have another script to re-memorize. At least eighteen months passed since I last performed this show. I'm the detective (again) which means I must remember the lion's share of the lines. I set the terrible precedent of memorizing the entire script back in my younger, brighter-eyed days. Dangit!
If you have $60 to spare, you can attend the show.
I've mentioned before on this blog that I am no longer on facebook. I deleted my account permanently last year. I got tired of seeing photos of events to which I was not invited. (Busted! You know who you are.) I got tired of reading the 15 congratulatory comments about every little thing that someone deigned to humble-brag in a status update. I got tired of being forced to "like" marketing campaigns under false pretenses when I really just wanted to enter a sweepstakes. I got tired of seeing people play their most well edited, greatest hits. I want to hear my friends, colleagues and acquaintances hit that achingly honest sour note once in a while, because if you're not going to be honest (funny-looking moles, bad vacations and all), then we're not really friends and never will be.
While still on facebook, I also caught myself wanting to search for people with whom I attended elementary school, junior high and the first two years of high school, but not really wanting to find them. In a weird way, I want to keep those happy, and even those not-so-happy memories of the people, places and times spent together in context. I don't want to know if my favorite little boyfriend from sixth grade got fat, lost all his hair and now sells used tires for a living to support his eight children and six ex-wives. I want to remember how we made each other laugh, got into trouble together for not paying attention in class and how we didn't speak to each other out of overly-self-conscious embarrassment for the four days we were officially "going together".
My family moved around more than most during my school years. I wouldn't know these former elementary and junior high classmates walking around in adult skin if I bumped into them on the street, so why should I spy on them online? Plus, if you moved around to new places like I did as a kid, you may agree that the only upside to helplessly being uprooted every few years was the opportunity to reinvent yourself. While my senior year high school friends might still recognize me, and think "yeah, that makes sense", anyone from elementary school probably forgot me many years ago. On the off chance that those elementary schoolmates do remember me, the adult version of me likely wouldn't be relevant compared to the fourth-grade version of me that they remember.
Lately I have been acutely aware that I don't have any lifelong (or even nearly lifelong) friendships. This lack of super-longstanding friendships leaves me feeling a bit untethered at times, yet also free from the past. I feel free to enjoy life in the moment, without worrying about how to spin it into a status update that will impress (or at least not alienate) friends, frenemies and family. I feel unfettered by past expectations and declarations. I appreciate the people in my life (really in my life) that much more.
Even vegetarian restaurants might bring you a buttered (with butter made from cow milk), toasted bun when you order the supposedly vegan veggie burger. Ugh.
I like scrambled tofu better than I like scrambled eggs. Yay!
Sweet Ritual is a vegan ice cream shop near my house. They serve a "Glitterbeast Sundae" which is my new favorite indulgence. Yum!
Almond milk tastes like a milkshake, and is too thick. Coconut milk is too fatty. Low-fat rice milk is almost just right until the rice aftertaste hits. None of these stand up to hot coffee or hot tea. Eww.
Thank goodness for Wheatsville Coop and their clearly labeled vegan bakery items, hot food bar items and cold case takeaway items. The popcorn tofu po'boy sandwich is super-tasty and satisfying.
Being a vegan proves to be more expensive and require much more planning than being a vegetarian.
Lots of different junk foods are vegan including NewmanOs (like Oreos, but slightly healthier and more expensive) and most potato chips and tortilla chips. Of course fruits and vegetables are vegan, as well as many pastas. Finding vegan bread is tricky, unless I'm at Wheatsville Coop or Whole Foods. Thank goodness I live in Austin where most restaurants and food carts in town offer at least a few vegan dishes.
I thought that the vegetarian soy bacon in our freezer was vegan, but oops, the ingredients list clearly show egg and milk ingredients. So that was my first slip-up. I ate one piece on a bean taco Monday morning before scanning the ingredients.
On Leap Day yesterday, I was in San Antonio for a private show. Despite the fact that I planned ahead by slurping a vegan smoothie on the way to San Antonio and brought some almonds and an apple, I allowed myself some decidedly un-vegan cheesy noodles and a dinner roll after the show. I was hungry, tired, cranky and suffering from either a cold or terrible allergies. I needed some comfort food, and was in no position to find the vegan version of comfort food at 9:00 PM in the San Antonio Dave & Busters. Leap Day doesn't count, right?
With that confession, I started back on the vegan plan this morning. Chad and I are even going to try vegan pizza tonight. Don't worry, there's a backup dinner in the fridge in case it's gross.
I cannot overstate enough that I know the dinner mystery shows in which I am paid to act are expensive. I cannot overstate enough that I do not expect friends to attend. Here's the flyer for the next public show. The price has risen to $60 per person which includes delicious Maggiano's buffet dinner and the show, but does not include tax, tip or alcohol-drinks.
*Update: There are currently 66 reservations for Monday's show, so it's a go! Better get busy studying my lines, huh? The $60 price tag includes two drinks. If you drink wine or beer on Monday nights, then I guess the price is a better deal than previously thought.*
"I haven't seen her in, like, forever," sniffed Friend 1 while trying to decide whether or not to be personally offended by the conspicuous absence.
"Yeah. Me neither. I heard she, like, overdosed on live theatre. She's in rehab, or under house arrest or something," Friend 2 said in a stage-whisper. "Eww. I hope she has one of those ugly ankle bracelets to keep her off the stuff, you know, like Lindsay Lohan wears."
"Well I heard she's seeing a show tonight, then in a show tomorrow night. And, I totally busted her at Office Depot printing a new script for a show she's doing in two weeks. She tried to look all nonchalant and innocent about it. She may have ODed, but she's not in rehab. She's totally still using." Friend 3 clearly disapproved.
I love the 1952 House. I am truly thankful to have such a nice home.
That said, I look at real estate listings the way some people look at pornography: not too often but with guilty enthusiasm and wanting.
I've added my top three dream homes to that fancy "Wists" widget on the right side of the blog. Hubba, hubba! Look at those beauties!
*Update: After stalking, or, um driving by, the three houses in person, I've ditched one of them from my wish list. The offending house did not have covered parking, and dared to locate itself on a main artery from MoPac Expressway. Chad and I have shared too many homes on noisy roads here in Austin. We vow to learn from these highly trafficked experiences and find the perfect home tucked away on a quiet street next time.*
That show I did for the FronteraFest new works theatre festival won "best of week". I performed again with longtime-pal & author-extraordinaire, Max Langert, Saturday before last. Max's show is eligible to show twice again next week for "Best of Fest" at the Hyde Park Theatre to already sold-out crowds! I'll update when I find out the schedule for sure.
*UPDATE* Max's awesomely funny show "The Requirements" won Best of Fest! We are honored to perform again at Hyde Park Theatre on Tuesday 2/14 and Friday 2/17!
Last Saturday I performed with my Murder Mystery Players Austin pals in two back-to-back performances (double paycheck!) of "Murder on the Happy Trail" to benefit Friends of the Killeen Public Library. I survived the road-trip, and had a fabulous time at both shows! Friends of the Killeen Public Library already signed a contract for next February -- yay!
Last Monday I performed in the first Murder Mystery Mondays at Maggiano's for 110 lovely audience members. Thanks to heavy promotion from local oldies radio station 98.9 FM, we had two dining rooms opened up for the show. I had a blast, and felt such positive energy from the audience during that 1929 show "Death Plays the Market".
I'm loving the paychecks and positive energy garnered from doing what I am naturally & compulsively motivated to do!
That said, I still need to apply for a part-time day job next week. Sadly, I can't make ends meet on a stage actress' paycheck here in the ATX, not with my exquisite taste in fabrics, fashions and travel.
I should be studying two different scripts for three upcoming shows. Instead I'm salivating over Nanette Lepore's Spring Lookbook while wondering how long I'll have to wait for my favorite items to go on clearance sale, and admiring the preview of the Jason Wu line for Target while plotting my online shopping strategy.
I'm also sharing some photos of the current bedroom decor at the 1952 House. I redid the bedroom to the current colorful stuff over eighteen months ago. Before that, muted orange peacock bedding from West Elm graced the bed. I don't recall photographing, much less sharing that. Before the peacock bedding the well documented graphic brown & white Dwell bedding kept us cozy.
The lovely cat prints over the bed are by Medium Control print studio. I picked up the prints at Austin's Renegade Craft Fair last spring. The quilt and larger square pillow cover came from The Company Store, but are no longer available. The XOX pillow sales benefited St. Jude's and came from PB Teen in the 2010 holiday season. The quilted white pillow shams are from Target.
If I get a retail job at Crate & Barrel or West Elm later this month, I'll probably cash in on the employee discount with new bedding. I try to sublimate my (self-diagnosed) obsessive compulsive disorder in positive ways such as redecorating, rather than touching the oven knobs forty-eight times before leaving the house. I always launder, package, label and donate the still stylish cast-offs so that some lucky Goodwill shopper can redecorate their place. It's a win-win, really... REALLY!
Friday I took a super-fun furniture upholstery class at Spruce here in Austin. The result is this lovely bench. I got the fabric at Fanny's Fabrics on South Lamar on sale for a steal! The bench will spend its days in Chad's fancy new office.
I'm a vegetarian. I love cuddly critters. It's hard for me to look at animals and draw a line between "let's be friends" and "you are food".
What a person chooses to put into or onto their body is a very personal decision. I don't presume to preach to anyone that they should be a vegetarian based on my personal beliefs. However, I've been on the receiving end of many tirades about how I should not eat eggs (not even free-range, organic eggs) or dairy products (not even ethically raised, humanely harvested, organic milk or cheese). I've also read reports about reduction of honeybee populations and mysterious honey shortages.
Lent starts with Ash Wednesday on February 22 this year. For forty days through Easter on April 8, I will go vegan. Vegans abstain from using or consuming products that contain animals or animal byproducts. Personally, the hardest part for me will be avoiding honey and beeswax. I'll have to give up honey in my tea and my favorite beeswax lip balms. Luckily, most of my bath and cosmetic products are already vegan. I'll miss cheese and milk, but will experiment with nut cheeses, soy cheeses, almond milk and coconut milk. (I already know I loathe soy milk. Ick.)
Living in Austin, vegan options at restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, grocery stores and cosmetic sections abound. I'll enjoy exploring the plethora of products. If I have to travel during Lent, it may be tough to find vegan food, but I'll plan ahead.
I'm not throwing out my wool, cashmere or leather that I already own. I stopped buying leather a few years ago, reasoning that the pigs and cows die for that leather. However, I still have leather shoes, bags and belts purchased many years ago. Little baby lambs die to make shearling, so none of that in my possession! I still buy cashmere and wool, because the sheep and goats are shaved, not killed. Admittedly I should do more research on whether the woolly-beasts enjoy good living conditions. I won't purchase any new animal byproducts during Lent. If you stumble upon a cashmere sale of epic proportions, I do NOT want to know!
Will I remain a vegan after Lent? Maybe... but I'll likely go back to being lazy vegetarian who enjoys dairy products and cashmere socks. Don't judge, please.
Chad is going vegetarian for Lent this year. I'm proud of him, and ready to support him. I'll also reserve judgement when Lent ends.
Fronterafest Short Fringe runs like a round robin tournament. If the judges, audience and/or technical theatre crew like us, you may be able to catch the show again.
Monday, February 6 at 7:00 PM
Murder Mystery Players at Maggiano's in the Domain
Death Plays the Market: It doesn't pay to be the accountant to a wealthy couple on October 29, 1929. Fabulous vintage costumes make this show extra fun!
In the course of my varied and spotty work history, I've held many retail positions.
1. Mervyn's somewhere in Plano, TX one summer in high school: I worked in the home goods section. I didn't know the merchandise very well, but I could balance a cash register quickly & correctly, helped customers pretty well and compulsively cleaned & tidied.
One day a fellow male employee of high-school age followed me to the stock room where he cornered me, begging me to let him touch my butt. I literally ran from him, but didn't report him. I missed that very special episode of 90210 that dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace. On the plus side, I still have a pretty beach towel that I bought with my employee discount.
2. Margo's at Collin Creek Mall during high school and college holidays: Margo's sold inexpensive, but not disposable, women's clothes, shoes and accessories. I worked there longer than any other employee, training most of my managers along the way, and outlasting their tenure. I knew the inventory like the back of my hand.
Once, a sweet, cross-dressing man wanted to try on the ladies' clothes in the ladies-only fitting room. I let him. None of the women shopping at Margo's that day were bothered by him. He was very polite, though I did question some of his color choices. Moss-green with his coloring? Eww.
One year around Christmas, a frazzled middle-aged man entered the store waving a Victoria's Secret catalogue in the air. "Oh great." I said to myself, pondering how to best eschew this probable pervert. When I tried to direct him to the Victoria's Secret store, he sighed with exasperation. "My wife wants clothes, not lingerie, from this Victoria's Secret Catalogue, but I waited too long. The clothes are sold out. I need to find clothes that are like these she picked." Ooooohhh.
3. Breed & Company on 29th Street during summer and fall of my senior year of college: I was relegated to the cashier corral where I stood behind a cash register for hours on end. For the most part, I really liked working at Breed's. Except for that one time a very wealthy old man argued with me about the sales tax on his receipt for ten minutes while the line behind him grew longer and longer. Then a few of the customers who witnessed the exchange decided that they should also treat me as if I were mentally incompetent, and fuss at me. You know, since I made them wait so long in that line while I let that rich old man fuss at me.
4. Toy Joy during spring of my senior year of college: Toy Joy continues to be that hipster paradise for all things cheap, plastic, glow-in-the-dark and/or Sanrio. Kids of all ages flock to this place conveniently located near the University of Texas.
The other employees during my short employment at Toy Joy hated me. I didn't have enough of an alternative lifestyle, enough piercings or enough tattoos for their liking. They tried to get me fired, and very nearly succeeded until one of the owners worked a shift with me. At the end of the shift Owner-Lady told me I was a great employee, and apologized for nearly firing me based on punk-rock hearsay. I blew that popsicle stand shortly before graduation, because life is too short to deal with surly co-workers.
5. That store that shall not be named. I'm scared to write much about this place lest one of the litigious-happy owners accuse me of defamation. Let's just say I still have nightmares about this store and one of the owners. My toes still bear scars from ten hour days spent in high heels on concrete floors. But, dang, I made a ton of money there!
6. Old Navy one holiday season: Again with the concrete floors, but this time in sneakers for not much money. This Old Navy, now closed, was right by my apartment on the sketchy side of town. Homeless people would wander in and talk my ear off, because I was a captive and polite audience.
I used the employee discount to treat everyone to clothes from Old Navy that Christmas. I liked my coworkers, but couldn't deal with the low pay after the holiday season.
7. J. Crew for two years post-college in that dying mall: Working in an upscale store in a dying mall was too weird. People did, and left, some crazy things in the J. Crew fitting rooms.
An old lady with too much makeup and lots of obvious plastic surgery urinated in the big fitting room one day. I still see her at my gym. Just gross.
Lots of dirty diapers festered in the fitting rooms, despite our store's location next door to the public restrooms that had diaper changing stations. Cups of urine from potty-training gone wrong also made frequent appearances in the fitting rooms.
A flasher showed his junk to a sweet, unsuspecting female employee in those fitting rooms.
A customer yelled at me and berated me in the fitting rooms one day for not folding her pants cuff correctly. She then told me, "save the drama for your mama." Back at you, Lady Bossypants.
I found a tiny, plastic baggie of a powdered substance in the fitting room one busy Saturday. One of the younger employees informed me that I likely had an eight-ball of cocaine in my hand. Another employee who studied at UT Law School told me I should call the police and turn in the substance to the authorities. I did. A week later, I called the police with my case number to make sure I hadn't found a baggie of anthrax. Good news it wasn't anthrax. But, yep, it was low-quality cocaine cut with sugar.
Lots of people attempted to shoplift by putting on layers of clothes under their street clothes, or stuffing clothes into bags, backpacks or purses in the fitting rooms. J. Crew had tiny anti-theft devices sewn into the more expensive items that would set off the alarms as would-be shoplifters tried to exit. Employees were not allowed to accuse anyone of shoplifting or call mall security or the police, but we were allowed to suggest that people return to the fitting room. *Wink-wink.* Most would-be shoplifters were so embarrassed that they made up weird excuses about dental work or mobile phones setting off the alarm as they skulked back to the fitting rooms to dump the merchandise they were trying to steal.
Of course, I also found many of the anti-theft tags removed from clothes and stuffed behind the tiny space between the wall and fitting room mirrors, or tacked to the underside of the small stools in the fitting rooms, or stacked meticulously on top off the skinny wall frames separating the fitting rooms.
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I'm writing cover letters to apply for some retail jobs this week. Upon reflection, one could correctly call into question my sanity. I need something to keep me out of gangs (like the Junior League) and off of drugs (like martinis during the daytime). I also need to make more money than my weekly acting gigs can pay if I'm to keep up with my fashion aspirations. *Sigh.* I have great taste and a limited budget. (I'm looking at you, Nanette Lepore!)
Chad agreed to hosting more kittens at the 1952 House for a few days while their regular foster-mom travels for work. Meet Minnie, Melia and Matthew! They are shy wee beasties, but very playful.
I spent part of last Saturday volunteering at Austin Pets Alive Tarrytown. It's a tough job, snuggling puppies and kitties. Oh yeah, and greeting the human visitors.
This puppy is Jett. He's a Catahoula-mix. I love him, but explained to him about the overcrowding sitch at the 1952 House. He's gonna find a great home... with someone else.
Chad and I hosted the BEST weekend guests ever at the 1952 House Saturday night and part of Sunday: kittens! We babysat the little fuzzy sugarplums while their foster-mom partook in some holiday cheer. Honestly, the kittens were holiday cheer for me.
At 25 days old, the babies eat every three hours during the day and can go up to six hours overnight between feedings. Totally worth the slightly out-of-ordinary schedule: Mouse, Moonpie and Magee were great little eaters.
Kenji and Sonic (resident cranky cats at the 1952 House) didn't like the kittens much, but Marigold (old lady Persian cat) and Janie (just the best dog ever) expressed respectful fascination with the babies. Let the squee-ing begin!
Learning a new script for a role/show I haven't done before is stressful. I try to pretend it isn't. Pretending doesn't work. Procrastinating also doesn't work.
Tonight I did a new show in San Antonio for a private party. All week I worked on the character and memorized lines. I assembled my costume including lots of accessories and a borrowed wig. I researched our client and the historic hotel which hosted our show, so I could throw in references to personalize the script.
I drove in Friday afternoon traffic for over two-and-a-half hours on rain-soaked roads with fellow actors who don't know the meaning of "use your indoor voice". Yes, white-knuckled the whole way.
The show itself was so much fun to perform. The audience thoroughly enjoyed it, and participated enthusiastically where they should. Several people approached me after the show to offer compliments -- always a welcome bonus to the paycheck!
Despite my ringing ears and headache from being trapped in a car with my fellow actors for over four hours today, I guess it was worth it. (And, yes, we made much better time on the return trip.)
Now that I have this "first" of playing a new role under my belt, I can sleep easier, breathe a sigh of relief and start reading a new book. *sigh* Now where is my favorite bookmark? You know, the one shaped like a kitten?
Waterfalls, hiking, a brewery tour, daily siestas, reading fiction, touring local fruit stands/orchards and gazing out our hotel balcony doors at windsurfers filled the schedule. Being out in the boonies as it were, we had a great view of the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Milky Way. 
Got this as part of a marketing email today, and thought it was pretty stinkin' cute!
