An Ode to My Apartment

As we draw nearer and nearer to saying a final goodbye to our first apartment in Chicago I can't help but reminisce about  how adorable and fun this apartment was. As many a romantic novelist has said "There's no love like the first" (Nicholas Sparks). And I would like to amend that and say "There is no apartment like the first" (Emily Forest). I mean you never ever really forget that first crappy, cheap little apartment that you found and financed all by yourself. And regardless of how truly terrible it is you still feel a sense of pride when you think about how you found it and how you worked hard at your minimum wage job to afford it. Saying goodbye to your first adult apartment is one of those bitter sweet moments in life, inevitable and for the better.

So here is an ode to my terrible, crappy, and charming first apartment in the city.

Wasn't it fun for the first two weeks we lived here when there was no hot water to shower or to do the dishes? Nothing says "congratulations your an adult" like not having hot water.

That charming way the smoke alarm in the kitchen goes off when it's just too hot, no smoke needed. Nope sorry you can't turn on the oven or boil water on the stove, if its over 80° outside you don't want to wake the irrational smoke alarm. 

Wasn't it cute how the neighbors dog killed all the grass so the front yard consisted of mud in varying stages of puddle form. 

And how in the winter your vast cavernous rooms were impossible to keep warm, so I spent the series of polar vortexes wrapped in blankets and sweatshirts never venturing farther than a few feet from a space heater. 

And while we are on the subject of cold weather. Remember how the back door froze shut so we had to carry the trash all the way through the house and then risk our lives walking across the alley of ice to the trash cans. 

Remember when you thought it would be funny and cute to short circuit the ceiling fan and cause half the apartment to be without electricity for 3 days. There is nothing quite like peeing by battery-operated-LED-lamp light. 

How I will miss the repetitive and mind melting music of the ice cream truck, providing us with the soundtrack for our summer

Oh the adventures you took us on! 

And to you Mr. Raccoon living in the roof, I commend you for finding a rent free home for the cold cold chicago winter. 

Will I be sad to see our little apartment go? A little bit. Will my new apartment have "charming," "eccentric" and "vintage" characteristics that might drive me up a wall? Probably. 

But for right now all my energy is focused on being excited about moving to a nicer and closer apartment. 

Stoop Kids never leave the stoop! 

A New Era

Alright, that's it, I'm done. It's been so long since I have written ANYTHING that I am literally going CRAZY!!

I mean come one! Is this the face of a sane person? 

Aside from emails and text messages I have written absolutely nothing. Not a single blog post or sketch! I never really realized how much  enjoyed the cathartic and creative release of writing until I stopped doing it. This last year I became so in love with writing that I had all these dreams and aspirations of maybe someday writing a book (or books.) Maybe novels or illustrated childrens books, who knows! But quite frankly I won't come anywhere near writing a book if I can't even motivate myself to write a blog post once a week. I am going to have to be exponentially more motivated to write and confident in my writing if I want to ever try to write anything significant.

So I will end my embargo on writing. I know the last time I set a goal to write a post once a week I ended up derailing and sending my goal train flying into the bottom of a deep deep canyon where traces of the smoke can still be seen. 

This time I won't go so far as to set such a lofty goal as to write once a week for this blog. But I would like to write at least once a week for something. Wether it's for this blog or a sketch or some other project I need to keep writing to restore my soul to its former place of creative output. 

And in case you've missed it I have been doing some awesome and crazy stuff recently:

-I am still working at The Lookingglass and I am having an absolute blast! 

Just a small window into my life... a phone full of pictures taken by 13 year olds. 

-I just signed a lease on a new apartment and will be slowly moving into it over the course of the next month. 

The switch plate for the lights in my new house! 

-And I finally and officially made my relationship with my incredible girlfriend public on Facebook! 

We received an overwhelming amount of love and support from friends and family. 

So here we go! Kicking off a new era in this blog, and what better time than exactly one year after starting it! 

Taylor and Jordan's Day Off

I would like to share the adventures that I had when Taylor and Jordan came to Chicago for spring break.

It was such an incredible week, you know how sometimes being around certain people just feels like home, thats how it is with Taylor and Jordan. The moment they arrived it felt like no time had passed since we last hung out and even though it will be another year till I see them again I know that the time passed doesn't matter, especially since the next time I see them they will be living in Chicago!

Ok quit the sappy, cheesy stuff Emily!

Having Taylor and Jordan here was great. We jam packed our week full of touristy things and improv! I also started my new job (but that's a post for another day) so they had to find their way around Chicago and the CTA by themselves a lot.

Let's just dissect this day-by-day shall we?

DAY 1: ARRIVAL

After a 6 am arrival time they rested most of the morning and early afternoon (rightfully so).  After nap time we picked up Megan from Second City after her classes.

We headed down to the loop to do the obligatory Bean/Millennium Park visit.

We got to the river just in time to see the remnants of the St. Patrick's day river dyeing. 

Clearly we are all soul mates! 

And since we were in the neighborhood (and invited several weeks in advance) we headed to Alli's ritzy high rise apartment (owned by her mom) for some fun times and serious ogling at the view. 

What? No picture?!?

DAY 2: LAZY SUNDAY

We spent the day sleeping in and grocery shopping to stock up on lunch and snack food for the week. Then Taylor and Jordan headed down to Second City for a drop in class that sounded like a lot of fun! Megan and I met up with them afterwards for the free set on the Mainstage. 

DAY 3: FIELD MUSEUM

A slow start to our day still gave us more than enough time at the Field Museum to see The Chicago World's Fair Exhibit which I have been itching to see since it opened in October, only 3 days after my last visit. 

Oh and we saw dinosaurs... lots of dinosaurs 

Parasaurolophus! 

And T-Rex! 

And Brachiosaurus! Oh my! 

Then we had to high tail it out of their to go to an On Hiatus (check us out!) improv show!

"High tail"... Get it? 

DAY 4: MY FIRST DAY AT WORK 

I had my first day at my new job (but that's a post for another day) so Taylor and Jordan went to the Art Institute... 

Looking at art... 

And then met Megan and I at Second City to see The 102nd Mainstage Revue (which has since been titled

 Depraved New World and is getting great reviews). 

DAY 5: I DON'T KNOW 

Taylor and Jordan headed to The Shedd Aquarium... I think... 

Huh?

Then of course we dragged them to another one of On Hiatus' shows. 

DAY 6: THE WHOLE CITY 

I can't know for sure because I wasn't there, but I hear that Taylor and Jordan met Megan during her lunch break at the Lincoln Park Zoo. 

Followed by taking a tour of the city by going straight up! 

View from the top of the Sears Tower! 

This is a picture of the John Hancock building, which I work in...
(but that's a post for another day)

Then like the super classy kids that we are, we had a homemade meal by firelight. 

Look how cute we are! 

DAY 7: THE LAST DAY 

Taylor and Jordan braved the South Side to check out The Museum of Science and Industry and this happened: 

I mostly have no idea what happened on some of these days. I only have pictures to piece together my own stories of what I think happened. Like this:

This is clearly... Yeah... I've got nothing! You guys are one of a kind... or two of a kind...! 

DAY 8: DEPARTURE 

Yeah... I feel you guys, saying goodbye was super tough. But in no time at all you will be living the dream here in Chicago with me!

BONUS PICTURE: 

Look at these cool cats hanging out in the Cozy Corner! 

#100HappyDays

I recently saw a post on my Facebook that made me stop, it was a link to the 100 Happy Days Challenge webpage (which can be found here). I had already found myself smiling that morning because the snow on the city was so picturesque and beautiful, it reminded me of why I love the snow so much. This winter has been wrought with poor winter weather conditions that made me dread the threat of precipitation because it just meant more nasty, dirty, icy snow piles on the sides of the street. But Wednesday morning was different, the rain froze and turned into the snow and stuck to everything and left the city looking like a picture out of story book.

Day 1 Wednesday

Signing on to do the 100 Happy Days Challenge I though to myself that I could absolutely find at least one thing every day that made me happy. So here we are 5 days into the challenge and I actually look forward to what is going to make me smile in the coming days. On the website you sign up and tell them where you will be posting your pictures to and what day you started. So I started an instagram, you can find me at cozycornerwithem on instagram. The challenge has been a great way for me to document my days, find something to smile about (although it hasn't been that difficult so far). I only had one day when I forgot to take a picture during the day... not that I forgot to be happy but the weather was beautiful and I just forgot to take a picture so late in the day I took a screen shot of the weather.

I absolutely love this idea and I would encourage everyone to try the challenge. It takes almost no time forces you to find the silver lining in your life. Plus it encourages you to take pictures of your life everyday. I often feel like I don't take enough photos of my life... but now I have an excuse to take them.

What Adulthood Means to Me

Just because I am 22 years old, 90%financially independent of my parents, living in a new city on my own, and pursuing my dreams does not automatically make me an adult. An age, the ability to vote, drink, buy porn, or even financial independence are the least of the things that make a person an adult. It is true that as an adult I can walk to McDonalds in my PJs at 4 in the afternoon, eat raw cookie dough for breakfast, or stay up till 3 in the morning on a weeknight watching reruns of Friends. But does this make me an adult or just an independent child? Now don't get me wrong I will continue to be an independent child for as long as possible.

However I have decided that I want to attempt to be more of a true adult. This is not going to change everything but I am hoping it will manifest itself in some small changes that will help me look and feel more grown up and more professional. 

Buy more groceries 

While I find it totally acceptable to eat raw cookie dough for breakfast I should probably stop resorting to ordering in $30 of Chinese food just for the egg roll and soup. Even though I am a long way from making all my meals from scratch I am getting closer. The past week I only ordered in or ate out once. Progress!! 

Look more professional

During college I more or less perfected the tired theatre student grunge look. I sported the ponytail, jeans, sweatshirt outfit 7 days a week. Dont expect a full What Not to Wear transformation but I have made it my goal to reserve my baggy sweatshirts for the weekend and at the very least put on a nice pair of jeans and a nice sweater during the week. I am pretty low maintenance so makeup is a struggle for me in the morning, but a little mascara goes a long way and only takes a minute or so to put on. Baby steps! 

Open a savings account 

Nothing says being an adult like financial security not just financial independence but security. I will be moving apartments soon and some extra money for moving costs would be nice. Not to mention I would like to start a little mest egg in the event that I ever tour and need a little extra cash. I might even want to invest some money (Gasp!) in the near future. Ahhh, adulthood is closing in on me... I am thinking rationally and saying things like "financial security" and "nest egg."

Ok, so maybe I am still be far from proactively planning homemade meals, owning a whole weeks worth of presentable outfits, or even something crazy like purchasing my first home. But becoming an adult doesn't happen overnight with your 21st birthday power hour hangover and I like to think of myself as an adult so I guess I should start acting like one. 

4 Things I Learned From Dead Man's Cell Phone

In celebration of the one year anniversary of opening my first show as a stage manager, NAU Theatre's production of Dead Man's Cell Phone, I decided I would make a list of the Four Things I learned from Dead Man's Cell Phone. 

To be clear this list is not in anyway a list of ways in which the process of the show made me a better stage manager, theatre practitioner, adult, critical thinker, or problem solver. This is a list of facts that I now know to be true, thanks to this show and a years reflection.

So Here it is:

Four Things I learned From Dead Man's Cell Phone:

1. Everyone is connected to their phones, nonstop. 

Mrs. Gottlieb: There are one or two sacred places left in the world today. Where there is no ringing. The theater, the church, and the toilet. But some people actually answer their phones in the shitter these days. Some people really do. 

Alli Ritter as Mrs. Gottlieb
Note: All photos are taken from NAU Theatre Department's archived photos of the spring 2013 production of Dead Man's Cell Phone 

Have you ever been in the bathroom while someone is talking on their phone? One of two awkward situations immediately arises in these situations. 1. You think they are talking to you... which is always awkward and borderline mortifyingly embarrassing for you, never them. 2. You are now privy to way too much information about this person's life... and no less, you know they are having this conversation while "on the shitter." This play, incidentally, first premiered only 25 days before the very first iPhone was released, June 2007. (coincidence? probably, but maybe not.) And to be fair there is probably no sacred place left, phones go off in the theater and church all the time these days.

2. Women should feel confident to put makeup on in public

The Other Woman: A woman should be able to take out her compact and put lipstick on her lips with absolute confidence. No apology.
Jean: I have always been embarrassed to put lipstick on in public. 

Charity Ormand as Jean and Chelsea Hightower as The Other Woman

I have always been like Jean, but since the production of Dead Man's Cell Phone I always think about what The Other Woman said. Every time I feel too shy or self conscious to put lipstick, or heck even tinted moisturizer, on in public I remember what The Other Woman said. I then proceed to continue to feel weird about it and usually wait till I am alone or can go into a bathroom. But, most women do feel totally comfortable putting lipstick, or even all their makeup, on in public or on the train.
Which leads me to my next point.

3. People in transit are soulless shells  of humans. 

Gordon: I get onto the subway. A tomb for people's eyes. I believe that when people are in transit their souls are not in their bodies. It takes a couple minutes to catch up... So airports and subway stations are very similar to hell. 

Rob Barnes as Gordon

I never realized how true this really was until I lived in a city with easily accessibly mass transit. Never in my whole life have I felt more like I don't have a soul than when I have to sit for 45 minutes to an hour on a train or bus to get anywhere in the city. Nothing sucks your energy, excitement, and happiness more than a long commute on public transit. No matter how awake or how energized I am, as soon as I get on the train I feel like a zombie that hasn't slept in years.

4. Everyone should own a light up umbrella. 

Ever been walking home in the dark while its raining? I bet you have, at least once in your life. So invest is a light up umbrella. It keeps you dry. It lights the way. And it looks hella badass!

NAU Theatre Department's cast of Dead Man's Cell Phone 

I just wanted to share that picture because this show gave me happy, tingly, theatre magic feels every night. Mostly thanks to the awesome lighting, done by one of the professors that I still look up to as a truly incredible theatre practitioner and artist, Ben Alexander.

Okay, enough reminiscing for the time being.

It's the Circle of LIfe

It's the Circle of Life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding

In the Circle

The Circle of Life

You  might be asking yourself why I started this post with the lyrics to The Circle of Life from Disney's The Lion King. And you know that is a great question... and to be honest the answer is very simple because life is a circle, my life is a circle, hence It's the Circle of Life! 

Did that not make it clear enough? Ok, let me start at the beginning... 

On July 18, 1991 a bright, beautiful, smart, and talented baby girl was born... 

Ok maybe not that far back. But I will take you back exactly one year from today. It was Friday February 22, 2013 and I was getting ready to open my very first show as a stage manager, Dead Man's Cell Phone, at Northern Arizona University. I sat with my beautifully organized, color-coded prompt book. I checked in with my whole team. I peeked out of the booth checking to make sure that my father made it to the correct place on time. And then I started my first actual show as the Big Number 1, you could just call me Ms. Stage Manager. That's right at exactly 8:02 (according to my handy dandy performance report) I called "Q23 GO." 

Fast forward to RIGHT NOW!! I received in the mail my contract for my first contracted full time professional job at an award winning regional theatre. I know that I had a job at The Goodman Theatre, but I was just a replacement for the last 3 weeks of the show so for the sake of technicality, metaphors, and my circle we are going to say that this is my first professional theatre job. For those of you who don't know I will be the Young Performer Supervisor for In the Garden at The Lookingglass Theatre starting in March. 

In case you are wondering, yes... that is white out because even though I am 22 I incorrectly wrote down both my social and my phone number... 

I guess you could say I am slowly finding my "place in the path unwinding."

Bonus Picture (because now I am suffering from nostalgia): 

Bonus Fact: Miss Alli (on the right of me) just moved to Chicago!!