What is One Thing I Could Not Live Without

I had a super busy day yesterday between work, an improv workshop, and performing in my first sketch show in Chicago (!!!!!!!), I had very little time to write. But I did have a lot of time to think because I can't seems to catch a break with these long waits for busses and trains.

What is the one thing I could not live without? 

My immediate gut reaction to this is to be really sappy and say my friends and family, which could be regarded as one entity and therefor still playing by the rules. 

However my second reaction is to say really unimpressive and silly things like fuzzy blankets, a good book, or the ability to take long hot showers. Which really is lame compared to friends and family. 

When it really comes down to it though its probably caffeine. I can't even get through the first two waking hours of my day without a hot cup of tea or a diet coke. 

Am I proud of this? No, but it's probably the truth.

Last night I performed in my first sketch show in Chicago! It was just a 20 minute sampling of the sketches that On Hiatus has been writing, but I had a blast! There is nothing like being reminded why you love doing what you're doing. And despite that fact that our show was at midnight and we played to an audience of maybe 12 people we still had a blast! 

Thanks to Travis for actually remembering to take some photos. 

What is My Dream Job?

Despite the fact that ever since you're old enough to think people have been asking you what you want to be when you grow up, it seems pretty crazy that I still have no idea. I can't say that I ever had a single Dream Job at any given point in my childhood I've always wanted to be dozens of things, often at the same time.

The only job I know that I never considered having was a Doctor. Both of my parents are doctors and much to their chagrin, not a single one of their 4 children have any desire to pursue medicine or even science at all.

Instead, here is what I wanted to be:

-Pilot- I am not entirely sure why because I actually hate flying.

-Marine Biologist- This one still sounds like fun. I would love to go out into the ocean and study marine animals. I have also always wanted to be a Dolphin (but that's the answer to a different question).

-Teacher- Of many different subjects including but not limited to; art, history, english, elementary, theater.

-Olympic/Professional Triathlete

-Olympic/Professional Figure Skater

-Olympic/Professional Gymnast

-Olympic/Professional Swimmer

-Olympic/Professional Synchronized Swimmer
          -Needless to say I only actually did one of these things (swimming) so how I ever hoped to
          achieve a professional level at figure skating is truly beyond me.

-Labor and Delivery Nurse- This is the closest I came to my parents being proud of me.

-Astronaut- Until I found out about all the math and science

-Cosmetologist- Because, why not?

-Actress- For a while when I saw a movie or play that I really loved I would lock myself in my room and perform the scenes from it in front of the audiences of thousands of adoring fans.

It's really no surprise that I got into acting and improvisation because how else could I be all of these things? Just in the past week I have been an Ancient Egyptian Queen, a character from a Dicken's novel, a menopausal woman, a cracked out kid, and the woman from this iconic picture:

Quite frankly if I was asked this question today the list would be nearly as long. I can't bring myself to decide how I want to spend the rest of my life. 

My new list looks a little like this. 

-Performer- Sketch, improv, film, theatre, you name it I want to do it. 

-Writer- Between my new found love of blogging and my desire to write great Second City worthy sketches I have found a passion for writing. Some days I just want to write everything! Novels, children's books, sitcoms, jokes for late night television, sketches for Second City, sketches for SNL, how to books, and much much more!

-Singer/Songwriter- (Yes Mom, you read that correctly) A girl can dream can't she? 

-Director- I would love to direct theatre and sketch shows in Chicago. It just seems like so much fun! 

-Stage Manager- No matter how much I think I love writing and performing sometimes I miss the power and control of sitting in the booth making sure everything goes well. 

If I could really have my Dream Job, I would be able to do all of these things as I feel inspired and as the opportunities presented themselves. I would never have to worry about a job, I would always just have projects lined up in one of the categories listed above. 

And now for my Autumn pictures of the day!

Someone is clearly not enjoying Fall as much as me!  

Fall Colors!!

Blogtober14: If I won the Lottery

Hey guys! I decided to embark on this really cool and super challenging project called #Blogtober14 which a a blogging challenge coordinated by my good friend Taylor and her fellow blogger Helene! The challenge consists of 31 blogging prompts to help encourage creativity to write a different blog post every single day for the entire month of October!

Seeing as I have been trying to challenge myself to write more I figured this would be a great opportunity to combat writers block and motivate myself to committing time every day to write. So for the following month I will be writing in accordance with the prompts provided by Taylor and Helene! I am so excited for this I even stopped watching the season premiere of Once Upon a Time to start writing... and that's huge!!

So let's get this show on the rode: 

If I won the lottery... Honestly, I would probably start out with some pretty responsible spending plans. I would most definitely pay off my student loans and credit card debt. It would be tough to enjoy a bunch of new fancy things if the government still has a hold over me for trying to get a higher education. I would meet with a financial planner and get some money invested for future use.  I would travel a little, and maybe send my parents on a fun trip or two and thank them for always supporting me and slipping me money so as to make sure I eat. Well that's enough responsible stuff for now.

I have always thought that if I had a lot of money, aside from spending it on a decent wardrobe and maybe some bedsheets that don't look like I just graduated from high school, I would invest in being creative without the strain of financial worries. Wouldn't it be fantastic if I didn't have to nanny to feed myself and keep a roof over my head. 

I think my days would look something like this: 

9:00am- Wake up, make breakfast and drink a cup of tea while reading a book

9:45am- Shower and get ready

10:30am- Paint, sketch, draw, etc... (and of course because I won the lottery I would have my own art studio)

1:00pm-Make lunch

1:30pm- Write

3:30pm- Play musical instruments, write songs (again, because I have won the lottery I will have several musical instruments including but not limited to a piano and a guitar. And of course I will have paid for lessons so that I can play them all really well). 

5:30pm- Start making a delicious and nutritious dinner for myself and whomever else would like to join me. 

Then I would be free to spend my evenings and nights hanging out with friends attending rehearsals, classes, shows, and whatever else strikes my fancy. 

In hindsight after typing this I realized that I would never adhere to such a strict creative schedule. But the idea is there. I would spend my time creating art, traveling the world, learning things I never had time or money for before, and enjoying the small things in life. I might even publish a book, write a few songs, and put my art up in a gallery somewhere.

I also think that with the right amount of money it would be super awesome to renovate an old theatre (kind of like the old Uptown movie theater) and transform it into a bunch different theatre spaces for all different types of artists to showcase their work. There would be art by local artists in the lobby, a couple different theaters in different styles to suit different types of shows, and rehearsal spaces that groups could rent out for a low cost. 

Isn't that every artists dream to be able to fully pursue their work without the burdens of a modern society obsessed with having to trade actual money for goods and services. 

It's All Happening So Fast

Guys! It's happening, it's all happening and so quickly! This past weekend I performed in my Level 4 show at Second City with my incredibly talented Conservatory cast, watched so many of my closest friends take the stage in their final Conservatory Graduation show, and On Hiatus just made the leap from improv to sketch.

A year ago I was just starting the conservatory. I was surprised, terrified, excited, and more or less clueless as to what the year had in store for me. A year ago the idea of writing a sketch was completely incomprehensible. I didn't know the first thing about writing a sketch. I didn't know what types of sketches their were or even how to generate ideas for them. Yet, here I am in the throws of writing two different sketch shows. Just this week alone I have to write 2 black outs, 1 needle drop, and a relationship scene. Heck, this time last year I wouldn't have even understood 90% of those words.

I feel only feelings of awe and gratitude to my Conservatory class, Bad Reunion, for kicking ass and having a blast at our second show this past Sunday. From kids with polio, to salty nuts, from crazed milkmen, to bloody knees this cast does everything 110%. (PS the bloody knee was mine, I died a bit too dramatically. There is nothing quite so jarring as standing on stage and glancing down at your legs to realize you have a trail of blood all the way from your knee to your ankle.) I can't even wait to see what our next show has in store. We have two weeks to put together some rad sketches and I have no doubt this group will go above and beyond as always.

Remember this group of crazy kids?

Well 5 of them just graduated from the conservatory at Second City and I couldn't be more proud of them! 

And now the 7 of us will be embarking on a great adventure together that we have been talking about, dreaming about, and planning for over a year now! That's right On Hiatus is writing our very own sketch show! We just hired and incredible director, Tiffani Swalley, who has already pushed us to create some pretty fantastic sketch comedy!! So in the next couple of weeks we are going to perform at Midnight Melt so we can submit our work to Sketchfest. And even if we don't get into Sketchfest we hope to have a run in the Skybox in early spring of this coming year. 

And in other news I got bangs! 

I guess, needless to say, lots of things are changing and it couldn't be more thrilled to be on this ride!

Just a Basic Girl Who Loves Fall

Recently I have seen a lot of blog posts and articles out there circling the web commenting on and poking fun at white girls who love fall. Let me tell you something, I don't know why other white girls like fall so much and I am not even sure why I like fall so much, but what I do know is that since I pulled my peacoats and scarves out of storage a week ago I can't stop smiling.

According to Buzz feed there are Things All Basic White Girls Do During the Fall so I picked out my favorites to see how I measure up to all other basic white girls based on my love of fall.

1. "Get on the Pumpkin Spice Latte grind"- Well I don't like coffee.... but if I did I would probably be spending my paycheck on some PSL goodness
2. "Filter the shit out of the trees as they change colors"- You know I don't actually have a single picture of the trees changing colors, however, I think I will have to take a couple this year because they are just so charming. 
3. "Buy some 'fall' candles and burn them until the entire house smells like an autumn walk"- Ok, yes... I actually stock up on 'fall' scented candles so that my house can smell like an autumn walk all year long. 
4. "Take a picture with a pumpkin they spent all day searching for"- No, but only from lack of opportunity. Growing up we always had the choice of the cream of the crop pumpkins from my father's garden... as an adult however I don't even know where the closest pumpkin patch is aside from the box of pumpkins in Trader Joe's. 

   

   Throwback about 7 years to the Heyday of Dad's pumpkin patch

5. "Buy anything that says Pumpkin Spice on it"- Not anything... but I may or may not have purchased a pack of pumpkin spice Pillsbury cookie dough last week.
6. "Coordinate Halloween costumes with other basic white girls" - I have done this since high school....

   

   Secret Agents! 

7. "Express their excitement for the season with photoshop" - I don't even know how to use photo shop
8. "Make cookies with their kitchen aid"- That would require me to have a kitchen aid, or at the very least not eat all the raw cookie dough of the Pumpkin Spice cookies I just bought
9. "Crunch dead leaves in Ugg boots" - Crunch leaves? Yes. Ugg Boots? Nope.
10. "Take engagement photos"- I am not engaged, if I am being honest, though, I could see getting married in the fall... 
11. "Abuse the hashtage #thankful"- I have never used it before, but by golly I am #thankful for fall
12. "Make sure that everyone who comes over to their house knows that it is indeed fall"- See #3 about fall candles
13. "Throw a pile of leaves in the air for instagram"- Isn't that the best part of fall! I used to spend hours raking the leaves and jumping in them with the neighbors as a kid! And now to find a tree. 
14. "Complain about how cold it is while wearing a Northface"- Look here Buzzfeed... you don't know me! 
15. "Stay out all night Black Friday shopping" - Something I have actually never done is Black Friday shop... Do I start this year? who knows... 
16. "Turn a Friday night into a Jack-o-Lantern carving party"- Ok, who hasn't done this? 

    

    We used to throw the greatest Jack-o-Lantern carving parties

17. "Throw a festive Friendsgiving"- Only the best Friendsgiving for the best friends! Remember this? 
    
18. "Wear an infinity scarf, take a selfie in it, then never take it off for the rest of the day"- Minus the selfie I am fairly certain this is me on everyday in fall. 

Ok Buzzfeed... I am a white girl and I do in fact love fall an awful lot. So what? I am not ashamed of it, I am not afraid to admit it! And if anyone has a problem with that they are not invited to my Pumpkin Spice, fall candle, Jack-o-Lantern, friendsgiving, Fall Party! 

The Things We Do For Kids

Many of you who clicked on this link might be expecting a beautifully written piece about how much we sacrifice for our children because we love them so much. However, I am not a mother and I am grossly under qualified to write any article that is touching especially about children seeing as I do not have any. The closest I can come to talking about that is to postulate at the endless amount of things that my parents did for me.

But Alas, this is purely a post detailing the most ridiculous things I have found myself doing as a full time nanny.
I am currently taking care of a 5 month old little girl who needs constant attention, not because she is upset, but in fact because she is happy. So if I take my focus off her for more that about 60 seconds she begins shrieking, a sound that would put the the Howler Monkeys at the zoo to shame. Because of her need to always have my completely undivided attention I have devised increasingly creative ways to keep attention while getting other things done (like eating, cleaning, or gosh forbid preparing her food).

So here is a list of some of the most ridiculous things I have found myself doing in any of the several nanny positions that I have held in the past 5 years:

• Improvising an entire lyrical dance to Hallelujah, specifically the Shrek version
• Wearing plastic spoons over my eyes and grass in my hair because I "look so amazing" and should "get married like this"
• Pretend to know way more about Star Wars than I actually do so as not to be outsmarted by a 5 year old. 
• Doing the Tango to Ke$ha music
• Really doing anything and everything to Ke$ha music
• Carrying on full conversations with myself as two different characters 
• Talking to an infant as if they are a fully educated adult with fully formed ideas and opinions
• Singing Disney songs in Character voices
• Using various parts of my body as percussion instruments
• Making up the most absurd nicknames just to keep kids on their toes. Like Sassy Pants, Sweet Potato Head, Mocha Choca Latte, Goober, Pookie, Etc...
• Making my face do things no other human being should ever see
• Making my voice do things that no other human being should ever hear 
• Reading out loud high brow news articles and books, because Goodnight Moon is so overrated

Case and Point: Somebody woke up early from their nap before I was done writing

Truly I enjoy my job so much and who else gets to try out characters, sing at the top of their lungs, and dancing like an idiot in a totally judgement free environment? The answer is not a lot of people, and for that I am eternally grateful that I get paid to be this ridiculous. 

What is Blogging Anyway?

When I started this blog my goal was to share my adventures in Chicago while pursuing my dreams. I figured my blog could serve as a way to keep my family and friends informed about my life, document the craziness that only comes from being 22, moving to a big city, and trying to be a comedian. possibly also to shed some light on the jungle that is life after college for friends who were looking to pursue their dreams as well. But as I have now been in Chicago for over a year and settled into the mundanity that is adulthood I feel as though I have lost sight of why I started blogging in the first place. In between paying bills, job hunting, learning to feed myself, and remembering to shower I forgot how truly awesome and unique my adventure is. (Ok... So maybe not totally unique compared to all the other comedians in Chicago, but still awesome and unique in its own right). 

You know what I did last night? Right before meeting with a super talented group of people, that I now consider some of my best friends, with plans to write a sketch show in the coming months, I signed up for a flippin' voice/singing class!! I have always wanted to learn how to sing but I was always told I couldn't! I would never have signed up for this class if I wasn't in Chicago pursuing dreams like these. My crippling fear of singing in front of anyone other than my shower head is going to get nipped in the bud in the coming months! How awesome is that!!

I live my life in a constantly shifting oxymoron of levels of maturity. I spend my days pretending to be an adult In someone else's home feeding, caring for, and almost raising another persons child. While I spend my nights pretending to be a child and shedding all inhibitions if adulthood so I can pretend to be a princess in a castle, a research historian whose expertise is European history, a doctor, an alien from outer space, or really whoever the hell I feel like pretending to be! What? How cool is that? Last week I played dress up with 11 other "adults"! (Can we even actually call ourselves adults?) 

So I guess what I am saying is I am not entirely sure the direction my blog is going to take and it might take me a little bit of time to write more consistently. But that doesn't detract from the fact that I love writing and I love blogging and I am really excited to see what direction my blog takes in the coming months. Plus, perks of being a nanny... On most days I have a solid 3 hours of quiet time to write! Not a lot of people with full time day jobs have that luxury. 

So stay tuned for the magical transformation that may or may not befall my blog in the impending future. 

Preview of potential paparazzi pictures... If I were to ever be successful enough for paparazzi to care.