Half and half

Today could be split in two. And if I could eliminate the first part, I would be a bit less bitter.

After nearly a week of lovely 60+ degree weather in Chicago, the cold front came through. Torrential rains and a 30 degree temperature drop. But first, the rain. It was storming up a, well, storm as I enjoyed my morning oatmeal, but I figured it would blow over by the time I had to walk to rehearsal. And as I walked the first block and a half, I thought I was right. It hadn't completely stopped, but largely under control. In the course of half a block, the skies opened up. My slicker/umbrella combo was completely pointless, as I was super saturated in record time. Especially as the rain found a perfect stream down to my skivvies. By the time I got to the theatre, I was laughing, partially because I was so supremely wet that I could not get wetter, and partially because I knew I had dry socks and sweats tucked in my bag.

I stripped off the outerwear and dashed for the washroom, where I proceeded to strip, depositing my sopping clothes into a sink. Then dried myself and my puddle before extricating the delightfully dry clothes. And I promptly excused myself backstage, where I tossed my stuff in the dryer. I felt especially proud of myself, since my planning meant I was not the goofy-looking intern sitting on the dryer in my undies waiting.

Techs as a general rule have great suck potential. Tempers are short, you are locked in a dark room doing the same things over and over again for ages. Unfun. And when I attempted to share some creative insight, I was promptly verbally bitch-slapped to the gutter by the director. Ouch. But it's okay; it's not like he even knows my name.

So I left rehearsal under pretense of teaching, came home, watched House and Scrubs, finished Devil in the White City, and debated the merits of going back. I mean, going back suggests that I found intern-abuse acceptable, but not going back suggested I was a wimp. Tough call. Since there wasn't anything amazing on cable, and I didn't feel like working on grad apps, I went back.

Chatted with box office staff, had an intern bring me a cookie, then sat and made snarky comments for the rest of the evening with one of the interns from the last show. Ah. And after rehearsal, she and I went next door to the 24 hour diner that serves sweet potato fries and alcoholic beverages. Mmmm. Spiked hot chocolate is an excellent way to cap off an evening. Especially as you discuss various celebrity pairings (Angelina and Edward Norton?, Johnny Depp and Scarlett Johanssen?)

With the combo of my favorite medical shows, and the second half of rehearsal, my day was reclaimed.

on iTunes: Cake - "I Will Survive"