Happy Thanksgiving!

This was my first Thanksgiving away from my family and I daresay it turned out quite well! We planned for our friends to come over the day after Thanksgiving for a pot luck dinner since many of us are without family in the city. Megan and I spent Thanksgiving day cleaning and getting every thing ready, but we did manage to make a nice little Thanksgiving dinner of Buffalo wings for ourselves.

It took a lot of prep time to get our apartment ready for guests.
We did a lot of cleaning:

Some crafting: 

Some food prep: 

I cheated and ordered Boston Market sweet potato casserole

Megan did not cheat and made pie! Pumpkin and Pecan! 

A little bit of Decorating:

My dollar store center pieces turned out quite nicely indeed

And it all turned out to be worth it because out apartment was incredibly quaint when everyone arrived:

All in all it was a lot of fun! There was too much delicious food, some really incredible friends, and so much to be thankful for! 

I have only known these crazy kids for 6 months but I couldn't be more thankful for them in my life!

Turning Over New Leaves

So this past Saturday I had my last day watching Des, which made me very sad because he was really a joy to take care and put a smile on my face every day.
I mean just look at this kid!

We had a lot of fun together! 

So it was definitely hard to say goodbye. But unlike most of my other nanny positions I am not leaving the state so I will hopefully be called upon to babysit every now and then. 

So here was my job in review: 

• I got really caught up on my reading: 
• The Hunger Games Series
• Bossypants
• The Boxcar Children (because they had it and why not? You know for nostalgia's sake)
• Wicked (just in time to get to see Wicked in a week!!)
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
• Mirror Mirror
• Truth in Comedy (Just started this)
• Devil in the White City (I just started reading this and I am super excited!)
• I got to read lots of Children's books and practice different character voices, because you can only read the same book so many times before you have to mix it up for your own sanity!

• Because Sharon works as a stage manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre I have had a lot of opportunities to meet people and see theatre in the city that I wouldn't have had otherwise
• Shadowed the SM of Shrek at Chicago Shakes
• Shadowed the SM of Pullman Porter Blues at The Goodman
• Got tickets to see Cyrano de Bergerac at Chicago Shakes 
• Travis got the see The Table at Chicago Shakes
• And next week I get to shadow the SM of Wicked at the Oriental Theatre!! 
• Plus Sharon helped me with my cover letter and resume for the Young Performer Supervisor at Chicago Shakes for their production of Gypsy in January! 
• Most importantly, I got to play with a wonderful little boy every day who made me smile and laugh and play like a kid again! Which is great not only for improv but also just to be reminded of how wonderful and exciting the world is. 

I recentl just got hired at a toy store called Timeless Toys for the holiday season. Then after the holidays I will either have a job working theatre professionally or I will go back to nannying... either way I am very excited for the new year.

And since this post will be going out on Thanksgiving here is what this job made me thankful for:

• Sharon and Geoff for giving me a job and then for being incredible and helping me out in the theatre world as well
• Des for bringing joy to my days
• For having a new job to help me make it through the end of the year and the holiday season

And those are just a few of them!  

Looking forward to Thanksgiving with friends tomorrow! 

The Never Ending Halloween

Having never experienced Halloween outside of the suburban bubble or a small college town, Halloween in the city is a totally different beast.

Growing up in the suburbs Halloween is easy and exciting! After having planned my costumes (and trick or treating route) sometimes for months in advance being set loose in the neighborhood was a few hours of joyous (generally freezing cold) bliss! With an average 8-10 pound haul of candy I was set until Christmas. At a very early age we were set loose (chaperone free) in the neighborhood with a watch and a check in time... otherwise we were about as free as you could be! I am proud (or ashamed) to admit that I trick or treated all through high school and don't regret it for a second.

My first experience with Halloween in the city made me realize how easy it was to be a kid in the 'burbs. It had never occurred to me that children in the city can't go door to door to trick or treat. Instead they often collect candy from businesses in the area. My first encounter with this was jarring and eye-opening. I didn't realize what was happening at first. As I got off the train on my way to class I was immediately surrounded by hoards of young children dressed to the nines in costumes running between all the different shops and restaurants. My initial thought was "aww, that's cute! All the businesses decided to have a trick or treating event for the kids on a Sunday afternoon." And then it came to me, "kids can't go trick or treating door to door knocking on strangers doors asking for candy!" I thought to myself "man, they are really missing out, they have no idea what trick or treating is really like..." That is suburban naivety right there. Of course they are not missing out, that is just what Halloween and trick or treating is to them.

Different areas of town had their trick or treating extravaganza at different times on different days all last weekend and this week. (If I were growing up here I would see that as a perfect opportunity to make it Halloween Week and trick or treat every night).

This leads me to my second observation about Halloween in the city (although this is true of college as well). Halloween is not just one night! There were parties all last weekend, wednesday and thursday of this week and I can only assume that there will be a few more this weekend.

So what does that mean for me? That means that I have to continue reminding myself that seeing a guy in a luchador mask, a teletubby on a motorcycle, a man with no pants crutches and an Obama mask (ObamaCare), and Poison Ivy are still mostly socially acceptable.

My Halloween was a nice low key party with friends. Here you can see me with a pirate and a cowgirl. I was Rachel Berry circa Season 1 of Glee (although you can't tell in this picture). 

When Family Comes to Call

Last weekend my parents, little sister, and grandma came to visit Chicago and it was quite a treat! Without asking for it I had Friday off, so I had a full four day weekend with my parents and it was fabulous!!

Look! Here we are waiting for Let Them Eat Chaos on The Second City Mainstage

My parents and sister (Mary) got in late Thursday night. So we started all of our adventures bright and early(ish) on Friday.

Friday: 

My Mom, Dad, and Sister ventured all the way from the loop down to my neck of the woods to see my lovely apartment and eat at "a cute little ethnic place" by my house. I had yet to eat at any of the "cute little ethnic places" by my house, so I had no idea which one to take my parents to. Thankfully they stopped a "cute little mexican bakery" on their way to my house and got a recommendation of a Mexican Restaurant close by. It was pretty delicious, and as a matter of fact I just finished off the home made tortilla and fajita left overs as I sat down to write this blog. 

After Lunch we ventured on down back to the fun and exciting touristy areas of Chicago. We decided since we didn't have much time before we had to leave to go get my Grandma at Midway, we went down to the Navy Pier and walked around. 

Ohio Street Beach. I have very vivid memories of playing on this beach as a 10 year old the last time my family visited Chicago

Navy Pier

On the Navy Pier they have a Fun House Maze, which I remember going through as a young child when we vacationed in Chicago. So just for the heck of it my parents paid the outrageous $20 for my sister and I to do the Fun House Maze. Now I wish I could tell you that it was really lame and the maze wasn't really a maze and we didn't spend 20 minutes running around in circles and running into mirrors. I wish I could say that my sister and I whose cumulative age is 36 could reason our way out of this maze, but alas, that would be a lie. My sister and I got so lost that we spend probably 20 minutes running around while many other people came and went, finally we got a hint from the people who run the house that you have to push. After that is was easy peasy (although again I would be lying to you if I told you that I didn't scream at the silly little noises and gusts of air...).

 After our adventures on the Navy Pier my Dad and I hopped a couple of trains to Midway to pick up my Grandmother. And after we were going to meet Megan at Giordano's (deep dish pizza), however, we did not have the forethought to think there would be a 2 hour wait.. So after much confusion we ended up eating delicious barbecue at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap. 

Saturday: 

Being in my early 20's and the person that I am I could not fathom making plans before 11 with my family. They on the other hand toured the Tribune building and one of the bridge houses before our 11 o'clock meet up at Lou Malnati's (a better deep dish pizza joint as recommended by several people on the train ride from the airport). 

After our delicious and filling pizza our plan was to head down to Shedd Aquarium, however, apparently all of Chicago also had that plan. The line was an hour and half long just to get tickets (why can't we get away from lines?). So in a quick change of plans (seems to be a recurring theme on this trip) we headed next door to the Field Museum. 

Here we all are again (Dinosaurs!)

The Field Museum has a rad Ancient Egypt exhibit, an enormous amount of Native American stuff, and a pretty decent dinosaur exhibit (which we rushed through as the museum was closing). But what I really wanted to see was the Chicago Worlds Fair exhibit that wasn't open until October 25th (coincidentally today, the day I am blogging) so we didn't even get to see it :(

Oh well! There was also a giant fancy party being set up throughout  the day. Beautiful tables with gorgeous center pieces, waiters in tuxes with white gloves, and a red carpet amongst other extravagant things. As we were leaving we started to see the lucky guests arrive in their limousines in their fancy ball gowns and tuxes (NOTE: this is not an exaggeration). 

We had planned to go down to the Twin Anchors in Old Town for dinner, but we were all pretty much pooped so we headed to a little fast food(ish) restaurant called Pockets (cue concierge at hotel sticking his nose up at the very idea). So yet again our plans changed. 

Sunday: 

We woke up bright and early (6 am for me) to make it to the Aquarium a solid 30 minutes before it opened, just to be sure! But to be clear... it was totally worth it! Shedd Aquarium was everything that I wanted it to me and more, I more or less turned into a 5 year old at Disneyland! 

Outside the Aquarium

Yes, my parents did buy the souvenir, green screened photo of us at the Aquarium because "It was just such a good picture... everyone had their eyes open."

The Aquarium was fantastic!! We got to see the special jelly fish exhibit where I learned more about jellyfish than I ever thought possible! There were some that were so tiny and clear and looked like little contact lenses, and they talked about some that get as big as mini vans, weigh 450 pounds, and can capsize a boat easy! We got to go and touch the sting rays, which is a first for this Colorado Girl!

We spent a while here and my sister and I were forced to leave by our bored parents. 

We got to see the Beluga Whales and Sea Lions getting fed. We caught the aquatic show where they showed us how easy it is to train a dolphin (in fact it is just like training a dog... and they proved it!). We even got to see the 4D Sea Monster movie, which was my Grandmother's first ever 3D, let along 4D, experience complete with something hitting your legs, bursts of air on your face, getting splashed in the face with water, and a rather jarring punch to back during the Shark Attack. I couldn't stop laughing it was so much fun.

For lunch my parents ran down to one of the hot dog vendors and I enjoyed my very first ever Chicago Style Hotdog. 

Mmmmm.... Delicious

After Lunch I had to duck out of the Aquarium to rush down to Wrigleyville for class at the iO. After which I rushed down to Second City for Let Them Eat Chaos. The show was fabulous as to be expected and my mom bought me a rad Second City sweatshirt (which I happen to be wearing right now). 

I didn't include my face because it is quite a hot mess this Friday afternoon. 

Sunday: 

On Sunday we had a nice brunch at a cute little breakfast place near my parents hotel, called West Egg Cafe. Afterwards we just walked around the Magnificent mile and my grandmother bought me this great hat (which I will not model right now, due to the fact that my hair is a disgusting mess). Hopefully I will post a good picture of it at a later date.

I said goodbye to my family before I had to go to class. I had such a blast seeing them last weekend! It was really great to get to see my family since I wont be able to make it home for Thanksgiving!

Now to start saving money for Christmas... 

Laundromat Thoughts

I posted this on Facebook earlier today. 

I chose to be a real adult (rather than a pretend adult) and do laundry THEN watch SNL and eat cookie dough ice cream! 

I am sitting alone in the laundromat (which is much busier than I would have guessed for it being the middle of the day on a rainy Tuesday) and thinking about my life and career! I know deep thoughts for a Tuesday at the laundromat 

I wrote this blog in a notebook first, who needs modern technology... (also, I don't understand how people take instagram pics of everyday life, cuz I felt so stupid taking this picture.)

Last night after our last Level 1 class our teacher, Megan Hovde, let us ask any and all questions we could think of about Chicago, Second City, Comedy/Improv, and her career. It continued for so long that we moved the discussion to the bar across the street. She talked about a lot of great stuff and gave some really wonderful advice. Here are the bits of advice that stuck with me: 

• Don't quit your day job
• You don't have to be a "starving artist"
• On average is takes 5-7 years of classes and putting yourself out there to get into touring shows
• Get involved
• Don't get too involved (Advice is never straightforward)
• Be a triple or quadruple threat
• learn to dance
• learn to sing
• learn to play an instrument
• take acting classes 
• if you have considered learning how to do something, now is a good time to learn
• You have to be persistent and persevere, it could take many tries at auditioning to get cast with Second City

If you know me at all you know that a couple of things on that list terrify the shit out of me (especially singing). After being told "You have to sing, you got into a business where you say 'Yes and...' not 'Yes, but not that....'" I have resolved to get over my fears (no matter how many dollars and tears I have to shed). First, voice lessons to get over my fear of singing in front of people and then musical improv classes to get over my fear of not having the words given to me. 

Other classes I would like to take in the next few years of my life: 

• Stand Up
• Dance (Which kind? Who knows! Some of everything?)
• Writing
• Movement
• Clowning
• And more... 

I figure if this is what I want to do I better learn all I can about it. I am not entirely sure how all this is going to manifest itself in terms of a career, but what I do know is that I want to keep going and find out! 

On the Prowl

Here we are on the hunt for a job, yet again. Don't worry... I didn't get fired... But my job will be ending in a month. So I  have been hitting the nanny applications hard. So far I have applied for 35 new jobs. And I have had a few bites. The past couple weeks I have had 4 interviews and 2 more scheduled for this week.

One job in particular stands out as being absolutely terrifying! The family has two daughters and they want someone who will speak spanish to them. Now despite the fact that I have no where on my profile listed that I speak spanish they wanted to talk to me. To be fair I have taken 5years of Spanish in high school and college, but I am by no means conversational (what does that say about our education system's language programs... or my inability to learn a language). Anyway, while they seem like a lovely family and in many respects a good fit I am not sure if I can function speaking only in spanish at work.

In a totally different job avenue I have applied for a job at the Goodman Theatre as their Young Performer Supervisor for A Christmas Carol. It would be a great job for me as a stage manager who also takes care of children. It would be combining two of my greatest strengths!! Not only that but it would be great for my professional resume. Unfortunately, due to my improv classes and rehearsals/performances, it would pose a bit of a scheduling problem. But I figure I would apply anyway and just see what happens.

Wish me luck as I am embark on one of adulthoods least fun adventures, The Epic Job Hunt!!

BYOT

Last week I promised I would write a post dedicated to seeing Shrek from the stage manager's booth... To be fair I kept my promise and wrote a beautiful post about how much I learned and how fun it was. But alas, it was all lost to cyberspace..

Because of this unfortunate turn of events I will just say I had a blast, learned a lot, enjoyed the show, and I would be more than willing to talk about it so call me, beep me, message me, email me... You know the drill. But here are a couple pictures for you. 

View from the booth

So a couple of really fun things have been happening in my "comedy" career the past few weeks. 

First things first, a group of friends and I started an improv group. We have rehearsed a few times and performed 3 times at a show called BYOT, (Bring Your Own Team) an "open mic" type situation for improv teams. It has been a lot of fun and we have gotten a pretty good response, which is really encouraging. 

Photo courtesy of Travis

We haven't quite settled on a name just yet, but we have tried out a new one each week including Fare, Prince John III, and most recently Southeast of Wellington. This week we will hopefully be deciding on a permanent name that suites us a unique group of improvisers. 

BONUS: Alli, a good friend from school, visited Chicago last weekend we got to hang out with her and she honored us with her presence as an audience member at BYOT! And most importantly Alli will be moving here in a few short months and we can continue to have wonderful evenings like last Saturday!! 

In addition to rehearsing and performing with a talented group of people that are quickly becoming some of my closest friend, I auditioned for and was cast in a coached ensemble at Second City. So what that means is that I will be rehearsing for the next 10 weeks with an entirely new group of people (who I have yet to meet) and a coach learning a new form of improv. Then come December we will have 3 performances in the Skybox theatre on December 5th, 12th, and 19th (in case you plan to be in Chicago any of those weeks). I meet for my rehearsal tomorrow and I can't wait to see who I will be performing with and what style of improv we are going to do. I am super excited to learn a new form of improv, get to work with another faculty member at Second City, get more feedback and coaching on my improv, get to perform on a Second City stage, and get to put an official Second City group on my resume. 

Look at me taking the improv world by storm... and loving every second of it!!