Spring quarter starts

I don't know if it's the warmer weather or what, but today I have been super motivated with the beginning of spring quarter. New classes, getting into a routine again, such as it is. I only have one officially scheduled class. Very open schedule to allow for my thesis, which is still giving me the willies.

Got up a little early, hit the library twice, crossed a bunch of stuff of my list. And I feel like really eating decent food and going to the gym. We'll see how long that lasts. Still plowing through my tango books. Nothing like procrastinating on my thesis by reading stuff for my thesis.

Reconvene at the Gator

There are two primary joys of spring break - leaving town/work for a few days to do something totally different or the same at a different pace, and the social reconvening the night before classes.

Last night, people were trickling back into town and gravitating to the Gator, which is our bar of choice. I didn't even realise how many people were there until I got there and saw the whole crowd. Everyone was excited to see people, had new things to talk about instead of rehashing old bitcheries, very relaxed. Somehow the drinks just tasted better, the jokes were funnier, and all was right in the world. There were lots of drinks, group shots, and plans to sell plasma to the vampires in a pyramid scheme.

Winter quarter is notoriously crappy and a thing to survive, so if people weren't glad to be back, they were at least glad it was no longer winter quarter. There's plenty of work to do this quarter, but more people want to play, and take dance lessons. Woo! In the meantime, I have two books to finish, a CFP to submit and a syllabus to develop. Ideally by tomorrow. *snerk*

on iTunes: "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" - Goldfrapp

Dogsitting

Technically, it's actually pet sitting, but Catface is so low-maintenance, I spend much more time with Bachus. He's part beagle, part lab, and part crazy. But fun.

I got back to Athens yesterday, just as Smokin' Fairy headed out, so I get to look in on the animals. Bachus is just such a perky, jumpy dog. Last night, we watched House (he sat on my lap, all 70lbs of him), then I worked on my drumming skills in Rockband. On the easiest songs and easiest setting, I am pretty good. He runs all over the yard, and is very good about responding when he is called.

Today, I got up at 7.30AM to let the dog out so he doesn't explode. Then this afternoon, after everyone had lunch, Bachus and I went for a ride. He loves the car and couldn't get more excited, sticking his nose through the cracked windows or sunroof, jumping around all over the car. Headed up to Stroud Run, which muchly reminds me of Walnut Creek in Charlottesville, only even further out. I have never been out there before, which was evidenced by the "scenic" route we took. I pretty much just gaged how close I was based on the pooch's excited panting in my ear. Unfortunately, there were a bunch of people to make sure I kept him on the leash. Which is a real trick, since Bachus darts and runs, usually at the same time. So I got some cardio and amused looks before realising I had clipped the leash to the wrong ring. But since he is a good crazy dog, he came right back to me.

I am so spoiled by the very mellow Arnie, who doesn't respond to his name, but also doesn't run. When we would go hiking, he insisted on being the leader, which was funny, especially when I would take the lead. It made me a bit homesick for my Cville life, but meanwhile, I have surrogate pets and the world's most comfy couch (my butt was so happy when I finally sat on it last night. Squishy!).

Fuerzabruta

Stunning, exhilarating, visceral, creative. Phenomenological!

I have been dying to see De La Guarda since I found out that they had created a brand new show. Well, actually, I have wanted to see De La Guarda since the last time I saw it, back in 2004 with Villa Villa. So on my blink-or-you'll-miss it trip up to New York, I had to see it.

And it was totally worth it! Even seeing the show by myself was a total blast, because so much of the show is about collectivity and audience participation. I would say that the theme is "Breaking through the Boundaries." Guy on treadmill bursting through a wall of boxes, watching people just pass him by. A confined "office" exploded as 6 people dance vitally. A giant circle of mylar with people on either side. Two girls running across a mylar curtain that only heightens the drama with the different colors in the lighting. And of course, the water ceiling. Holy crap! Watching these girls skitter and surf across the water above, interacting with each other and the audience. Culminating in a big jump-around dance party.

De La Guarda single-handedly made me understand Phenomenology, especially in terms of theatre. It plays with all of your senses and awareness, forces you to use your body and interact. Feeds on the collective energy. The lights are very saturated and bright, occasionally strobed. You hear not only the throbbing soundscape, but the sounds of the mylar, the breath and stomps of the dancers. You smell the fog as it surrounds you. You feel the water, the bass, the other bodies around you. And the water ceiling makes you feel as if you are underwater, which is a unique physical experience. The show takes place in so many dimensions, in front, behind, above, etc, maximizing on the space. It is impossible to be passive.

Not unlike Blue Man Group, which I saw on my last night in Chicago. Something I had been meaning to see for ages, since I know Blue Men. Total blast. It was proscenium, but funny, unexpected, and visually exciting. It made you totally reconsider paint, PVC pipe and marshmallows. They used audience members, violated expectations and used rolls of paper and black light. It was genuinely FUN. In the same way that I stood agape watching Fuerzabruta, jumping around and dancing in the rain, I left Blue Man chuckling and thinking.

I love theatre like this. I wish I was that creative. Instead, I can just encourage everyone with a pulse to see it. Old people, young people, non-theatre people - everyone was getting into it! And if anyone wants to go, I will totally see it again.

on iTunes: "Beautiful" - Goldfrapp

People in the city

This is me waiting as patiently as I can for the NYPL to fill a 15minute request that I put in an hour ago. This is me distracting myself from my obscenely growly stomach that might get the rest of me kicked out. (don't make me regret not bringing the power pack)

I don't know what is taking so damn long. Did they have to fire up the Delorean? Or call in the Ghostbusters? I might not mind if I was allowed to bring my book in to read. If I had known it was going to take so long, I would have put in the request before watching Tango Argentino. MERG!

It's fun to be back in a real city, although as much as I like New York, I will always love Chicago more. It's been a few years since I've been here. Kicking into city-mode. All black, walk with purpose, don't linger in front of maps or chain restaurants. But as I stood on the subway platform, I discovered I left my ear buds in my car in VA. For some reason, riding public transit without my iPod makes me feel very vulnerable. And without a cell phone, I would feel naked. And I'm not sure when or why that happened.

Waiting for the train

This little NY adventure involved getting up at 6.30AM to catch a ride to the train station with my uncle. But the first train I could get doesn't leave till 9.35AM. So I sip my scalding coffee and enjoy the internet.

I don't even remember the last time I had to get up that early. Maybe when I was working in Chicago? All I know is that it is dark, and having two kitties on the couch with me made it all the more unpleasant to get up. That was nice though. In the middle of the night, after letting Jack out, I felt little paws on me, then I felt something warm against my thigh. Belle had curled up against me. And every time I moved, she just re-cuddled. It was great. And since Pandora had no one to play with, she slept by my feet. It only confirms how much I want to live with kitties.

Staying behind in NJ meant I didn't have to ride in the van with my dad driving, which is usually a pretty dicey proposition. Sitting in the van, with him blazing across lanes, I just turn back into a surly 17 year old again.

Another train bummer - 30th Street station has a Ben & Jerry's with 3 new flavors (all of which sound amazing), but for obvious breakfast-oriented reasons, it isn't open yet. Because unlike all the grownups, I would totally order a 3 scoop sundae for 1st meal.

Easter with the fam

For years and years, Easter was a major production. It involved new dresses, hats, an egg hunt (or stealthily hiding them), gnawing on Redstone bunnies, and permission to eat as much junk food as you wanted, because it was Easter. When you are 7, this is the shiznitz. Many moons later, things have changed.

It was family uniform to wear black pants and festive shirt. Last night we still dyed eggs and decorated cookies, but now the eggs are crazy colored with the occasional snark scrawled in wax. Found out that a couple Easters ago, the Fashionista ran over the Easter bunny. Well, a bunny, on Easter. The St. Joseph statue in Mom's garden has been decapitated, and I got really excited by coffee and soy crisps in my Easter bag (no more baskets).

The big transition bummer - no Cadbury eggs, which I look forward to for the whole year. Maybe in addition to the cheesesteak I want to pack for dinner (never been a fan of the Easter ham), I can swing by the CVS and pick up some eggs.

Train wreck

It should really be the name of our little rockband. Well, at least when I play the drums.

Smokin' Fairy finally procured Rock Band, which has been the agenda since it was generally agreed that Guitar Hero 3 was meh. And to celebrate Spring Break and the fact that none of us had a Damoclean deadline, we busted out the Rockband. Smokin' Fairy is a video game pro, so he was rockin' pretty hard. I do decently on guitar after months of GH, but I am absolutely, comically pathetic at drums. Like, impressively bad. Somehow, you put me in front of the little drum pads with sticks and I lose all musicality and physical coordination. This became a prime source of entertainment for everyone else as I threatened to smack them with drumsticks. But since my Little had similar issues, we made a rocking MA team, with me on kick and crash, and her on the actual drums. How many dramaturgs does it take you ask? Shut it, says I.

I got a little practice time in before migrating to G.Style's house for Lost. Then got a call from my "little" who was still in town, to our surprise, and wanted to hang out. There was some coordinating of pickups and packups, and then we all rocked out till like 3AM. Blessing or curse, the microphone wouldn't work, but we had the drums, and two guitars, which Smokin' Fairy described as the Fisher Price rock set. Or the set up for a band of midgets. Or Mini-Kiss! The Rockband playlist is awesome, and possibly superior to GH. Although that might be because I have nearly all of the RB songs on my iPod, and had to download alot of GH. (Although "Elephant Bones" and "Who Was In My Room Last Night" were happy discoveries.)

Now I lust after an Xbox.

Starting spring break

What a lovely feeling to wake up at noon and not feel guilty. To realise that nothing MUST get done today. Other than Rockband and Martini Night.

It's pretty nice, if still nippy out, so Smokin' Fairy and I walked to the dining hall to burn more of my meal plan. Great in theory, less great in reality. But their dining halls are way swank compared to the UC or Marketplace.

I think I will finish the tango book that Visual Bookshelf is hassling me about, maybe pick up some fiction, make travel arrangements, finish my SAMLA abstract and pack dirty laundry by dumping it through my sunroof. Or maybe I will sit on my butt and watch Firefly. Last night, I got to go out and see Be Kind Rewind and be generally social! Ah, choices.
Meanwhile, Chicagoist's list of "how do you know it's spring" amuses me, mostly with its accuracy.

Coffee shop hoppin'

In the death throes of winter quarter, I am seeking inspiration in new spaces and variations on the theme of caffeine. My apartment is littered with half-drunk cups of coffee, socks, and random refuse from junk food. But I am not really getting any work done at home. The couch is an evil seducer. It knows my weaknesses and preys upon them. (I refrain from assuming gender, which Kallisti made fun of me for, but mostly because I think it's up to the couch to decide how he/she participates in the gender spectrum.)

Currently, I am packing up to leave Perks, having finished a sexy smoothie. It's a little more polished than some of the other coffee shops. And it has like some of my favorite music on its rotation. Beta Band, Portishead. Stuff I loved a few years ago. But they close at 9. So I will be meeting people up at Donkey, where hopefully I will be able to just finish this paper. The first 5 pages came pretty readily. It's the current 5 that just aren't happening. I need to kick inspiration into overdrive.

Donkey has a distinctly different feel. And smell apparently. The stale smell of coffee, the rain, students who are wearing the same sweats for days. But it's hippie and homey. When I was wrestling with my absurdism paper, a trip to Donkey seemed to kick things back into gear so that I was able to finish. Here's hoping the same thing happens this quarter. How fabulous is it that for the week of finals, Donkey stays open 24hours!

Also fabulous: no damn Starbucks.

Ending the quarter

Nothing like tying up loose ends before escaping town for a few days.

• met with a playwright to discuss his work over coffee. fun, but it tapped into a style of analysis I really haven't used in a while. And I'm so busy deconstructing, I sometimes forget how to interact and process like a normal person.
• met with my advisor about teaching next quarter and my thesis. He seems very confident, and it's good that someone is.
• dinner at the dining hall with Smokin' Fairy. It sucks alot less when there is someone else. Although the temptation to eat crap is pretty high.
• sat in on Dali rehearsal before driving my "lil sis" home.
• working on grades, which is mildly depressing. At least I get to make it pretty in my spreadsheet.
• trying to remember where I stashed the Bullshit, because I have writing to get done.
  

How very high school

To say the least, I am very excited to finally be done with this film class and professor. I managed to restrain my comments on the evaluation to one notebook page, single-spaced, featuring the phrases "waste of my time", "difference between culturally-significant and personal taste", "not as advertised", "treated like high schoolers".

This last one really kicked in again today as I finished writing my final paper. Admittedly, I get to write about Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which is one of my favorite films. And I applied some queer theory to it. But the fact that I made a strong, substantiated, non-fluffed argument in 5.5 pages instead of 6-8 meant that I had to resort to high school tactics. Suddenly, I am playing with fonts and margins, filling paragraphs with extraneous adjectives and plot description. I have had to do this kind of crap since I was a sophomore in high school. It's just really frustrating, because with just about any other professor, especially at the graduate level, I am able to write something strong, succinct and just believe in the integrity of my writing instead of trying to cater to some checklist of how many sources, what font point size and margin maximums. Really, it's just insulting. Oh well, that's done, and now I can focus on much greater things.
on the tube: Cubs and Sox in pre-season

Variable Theremin Collaborative

(not me, because she was way graceful/cool)

How cool is this - I just "played" a theremin! By play, I mostly mean flail around a stage, but still cool.

Theremin: instrument with 2 antennae that react to movement. One antenna controls pitch; the other volume. And you play it without touching it.

But wait - there's more! It gets even cooler! This is an e-theremin! Developed by The Variable Theremin Collaborative, which is funded through Arts for Ohio in cooperation with the @Lab (which is chock full of cool tech toys and sexy computers). I have a rough idea how it works. There are two cameras to capture movement. The motion is put into a computer, multiplied and turned into mHz. Half of the stage is pitch, the other volume. But with two moving bodies, the computer regularly gets "confused" and averages the movement into a new sound.

Add to this a percussionist, a cellist, a violinist and a sound mixer.

It's this crazy synergistic loop! The dancers generate movement, which generates sound in the theremin. The musicians improvise based on the theremin and/or the dancers. Visuals are projected, generated from a feedback loop. And when the exterminate all the bugs, there will be a motion capture body suit involved! It's the ultimate in multimedia interaction.

(playing in the @Lab)

When it was my turn, I was up with an older guy who moved subtly. As I am very much not a dance soloist, I tried to react to him or the music (this is why I do ballroom - I am never the only person up there making an ass of myself). It begs to be played with/by contact improv-ers. When I watched the other people, including the trained dancers, I was much more interested when they interacted with each other or the music than in their own zone. I mean, all by itself, it was a cool dance performance. The music was a little crazy, but since I knew why, it was OK. And it was hugely apparently who was the senior dancer, since she was so much freer in her body, and had a much larger movement vocabulary. But junior girl gets points for pinch-hitting when the original dancer didn't show.

on Pandora: "That's the Way We Get By" - Spoon

Grad decisions

Oh the hilarity. Oh the irony. On the day that I mail my official documents to UCSB and Wisconsin, I get a letter from Oregon.

1. UCSB: Accept! I will be living at the beach for 5 years working with people who have an academic crush on me. I will be subsidized, since I was awarded the Regent Special Fellowship. woo!
   
2. Wisconsin: Decline. One of the best programs in the country, great and structured, but not as excited about my research. But I did receive a great fellowship and funding package.
3. Oregon: Wait listed? This was my safety school, not exactly on the mainstream radar of theatre or PhD, and they only waitlisted me. I laughed out loud.

I love that I had such great options to choose from, and that it is done. Now I just have to finish this quarter, write my thesis, finding something to do for the summer, then get rid of anything that doesn't fit in the Civic which me and mom will be driving across the wonderland that is Oklahoma.

MA Mischief

To celebrate our mentor's birthday, we 2 MAs decided to make a little bit of an event of it.

Last week, we all were forced to read Miss Julie by August Strindberg. It's a hateful play by a hateful man. But this was mitigated by the wonderful little webtoon - Strindberg and Helium. Grim, dour bearded Strindberg ponders the miseries of life accompanied by cheery, floaty, pink Helium. So I asked Smokin' Fairy to hook me in to the Baker sound system. After the quiz, she headed backstage, and I dashed to the soundbooth to play Helium. He was a couple flavors of confused; the class thought it was hiliarious. And then he turned around to find one of his MAs holding a bunch of pink balloons. Hee. And for our private Theory class, we had tiramisu.


It was fun to plan a little mischief, tapping into some of our more theatre-like talents. It was funny, because I got to the theatre and realised that I was wearing my blacks. It was also nice to do something fun for him, because he is such a great mentor and person.

Now I try to get excited about reading Deleuze and Guattari.

Pets by proxy

I love animals, but I have never actually have had pets of my own. Dustbunny and Scat were technically Cheese Fiend's, but having lived with them for so long, complete with feeding, cleaning up cat barf, and sharing the bed with them, I feel like they are my girls, too. I miss my crazy ninis, who I haven't seen since I moved away from Charlottesville. While in Charlottesville, I also had a dog by proxy, who I still get to see occasionally.

Since moving to Athens, I have other pets by proxy, even though I don't live with them. There is a feisty black dog, Fern, who lives in my building. It's nice to come home and be able to say hi to the dog while I dig for my keys.

Then there's Baccus and Catface, who belong to Smokin' Fairy. It's nice to go over there and play with animals. Catface kinda looks like Dustbunny, without the crazy. And Baccus is just nuts. There is another dog, Molly, who just looks so put upon. And when I helped Smokin' Fairy take Baccus to the vet, I feel like I was officially a pet-owner by proxy. He's ok. Had doggie pink-eye. But it was good that there were two of us, since he is so "friendly", you need one person to fill out forms and one person to wrestle with the pooch who just wanted to say hi to the little terriers and puppies and the severely anti-social Bull Mastiff. After an impressively quick appointment, we took the backroads, and I shared the front seat with him.

I can't wait to get my own animals. I am waiting till I make my next move, because the idea of sticking cats in a box for some hellishly long car ride, or trying to find someone to fly with them.

watching Mystery Diagnosis

PJ Productive

Perfect weather to hole up inside in PJs and just get shit done. It's snowing and blowing. There is a baklava of ice/snow/crap/repeat on all surfaces. But my apartment has a space heater, my squishy-addictive bed, and piles of things to be read, cleaned, sorted, etc.

Because I know better than to go outside. Walking home from the Gator was treacherous enough last night. Made some friends as the wiser of us opted to just walk on the street instead of sliding down the sidewalk. This made so much more sense: the streets are less trafficked than the sidewalks at that hour; since they are darker and warmer from the cars that HAVE driven on them, they haven't been as icy; as roads, they are more likely to be treated than sidewalks in front of frat houses. Oh, and the added bonus of not breaking your butt or going undergrad bowling (a bunch of staggering undergrads skidding down the hill on needs one person to slip and crash into all of them - STRIKE!) Also entertaining, the girls in capris and peep-toed stilettos. These girls have enough problems under the best of conditions (getting a heel caught in the cobblestone is hilarious for all the rest of us).

And I got home about 5 minutes before it started thunder-sleeting. Although it was a bummer to leave the scene early (there was much hilarity involving next year's Halloween costumes, a suddenly-appearing Mariachi band as emphasis, and other such).

on iTunes: "Beautiful Day" - the Eels

Worst of all worlds

It is totally disgusting outside. I am not sure how to describe the precipitation. It's wet like rain, cold, and painful like sleet, but coming down in big chunks like snow. All of the worst parts of what can come out of the sky short of frogs.

But it is excellent weather to hole up in a coffee shop and get postmodern. Which is a concept I think I actually get. Maybe because it is a lived condition rather than theory. Or because Facebook is such a great example of it. Or because it taps into my favorite modern art (or is it postmodern - like Dada?) Or maybe because I downed half of my dirty chai in like 10 minutes.

OK. Now I have to write a bunch of emails about teaching, work on my prospectus and write thank you notes. Thankfully, all of this can be done within the confines of my apartment, in my jammies, under the covers and parked next to the space heater.

Santa Barbara winds

When I finally got back to my apartment and crawled into bed, the thought running through my head was, "Well that was weird."

The short version: I was scheduled to be in Santa Barbara for 36 hours, 15 of which I spent doing UCSB crazies. All in all, it went very well, but I was/am totally wiped out.

The considerably longer version: Friday was the longest leap day ever, and not just because I gained 3 hours. Got up to team-teach the 271 class. It was fun talking about dramaturgy and our experience, being as laid back as we wanted. Sadly, when I got home, I realised I delivered that whole lecture with my fly down. *sigh*

But I couldn't dwell on that since time was at a premium. I had to juggle packing (no fashion panic allowed), with prepping my lecture and finishing my film paper. However, it did give me an excuse to skip the Spring lunchbag. Got to bust out my new rolly suitcase.

Drove to Columbus, which is like an hour an a half away. Unpacked my laptop to discover that I had totally forgotten to pack my power cord. Doh! I finished my paper, which I was happy to be done with. I HATE that class. Emailed it to Smokin' Fairy and got on the plane. Sat next to a very skinny Mormon who seemed to take up alot of my seat. I munched on my puppy chow and listened to the iPod. Turbulence was so crazy, it actually woke me up from my plane nap. Took a puddle jumper from Phoenix to SBA. It was really frustrating trying to find non-meat airport food, but I did find a bean burrito. Got into a breezy Santa Barbara around 9.30, waited for the shuttle and read my cyborg theory. Stayed up till midnight prepping my presentation.

My vampire hours helped me out with my CA schedule. But nothing could really help with the non-stop schedule. Didn't even get a chance to down my coffee or grab a muffin since there were already UCSB people waiting in the lobby. There were several rounds of introductions, divided into two cars, where I managed to spill my coffee all over the grad students new robot car.

Mini-conference: really interesting. Got to hear a variety of different topics from different people (current and prospective grads, faculty, etc). My tango presentation went over really well. Not hardcore academic, but engaging and fun. Especially after a super-dull presentation just before me. Got some great feedback which has me rethinking parts of my thesis (in a good way).

The scenery: OK. We had lunch by the lagoon. Yup, I said lagoon. It was beautiful, sunny. It is very hard to be schmoozed by faculty and still eat a sandwich at the same time. Didn't really get a chance to talk to some of the current grads to get the scoop. After the mini-conference, we all were toured around campus, but is beautiful and conveniently laid out. Saw my first coral tree, and had a chance to talk to the other prospectives. We split up again to drive around Santa Barbara (and get some caffeine), which Superguy, my new UCSB BFF, ordered with all of his Starbucks expertise.

There was another little reception, with awesome food and fresh pineapple. More chatting. Then Idiot's Delight, which was pretty, if plotless. We were taken back to the hotel around 11PM, and the lot of us did some debriefing in the lobby.

It is so weird to be courted, instead of trying to sell myself to them. I have decided that one guy needs to not come so that Superguy can. I liked UCSB very much, and it has alot to offer. But so does Wisconsin. I'm not really ready to make a decision, but how wonderful to have such a great decision to make.

watchin' some SVU