The Hunger Games and the truth about Friday the 13th

Wow, a lot has happened since I last wrote, which is probably why it took me a couple weeks to get another post up. I left one show, did a 24 film fest, and opened two shows. And read three books.

The Hunger Games (5/5/4)
Those are the ratings for all three since I'm not sure I could completely differentiate one from the other after reading them in four days. I would almost go so far as to say Ender's Game lovers would like this one, but I don't want to get your hopes up THAT high. I don't even know what to say about those books except that you should clear your calendar before starting them or you may ditch some people or get kicked out of class for reading or something, and that would be bad. I, for one, started sneaking reading it on my iPhone during a rehearsal I was directing. Yeah, I'm that responsible.

Maybe I should name this post "Lack of Responsibility" instead, I think that may be a pretty accurate theme of this post.

Anyways, the last one was really good, I was just thought that the ending was a little anticlimatic and after all that drama between Katniss and her two guys, it was resolved too easily.

the last Spirit Singers show

Friday the 13th
I've been working with a 7th-12th grade group at my church since last July, and they performed their show on Friday the 13th this year. I kind of laughed when I found out it was Friday the 13th because seriously, what director in their right mind would pick that day to open a show? Tell me how un-superstitious you are all you want, in theater you just don't mess with that stuff because too much could go wrong. So I laughed and thought "Only at church would this happen."

So we started work on this show in like, January, cast in February? (correct me if I'm wrong) and we had 5ish months to put it together.

Three weeks before opening one of our leads got pulled for reasons unbeknown to me. He'd also choreographed about half of the show and couldn't even come to rehearsals to help us work though his choreography. And that was bad, but mostly we all just felt really bad for this student  because he didn't get to be part of a show he put so much of himself into.

And you know what else happened? My co-director, my boss if you will, the pastor who had created this group and had worked at this church for 23 years QUIT HER JOB the night before we opened. She had her reasons and I don't blame her, but seriously universe? How cursed am I?

And I mean, the show went really, really well. I managed to run the sound (cue up a CD player and press "play" and "pause" not real hard work like a mix board or anything), our replacement remembered ALL of his lines even though he'd only been to about two rehearsals, and everyone just did a really fabulous job.

Sometimes my life feels a little like this.

The Truth 
So let's do a run down of the last year of shows I've done:
Law of Life (opened Sat, plays one more day): had to delay opening because other lead/choreographer dropped out two weeks before show, other dance dropped out a few weeks before that.
Prodigal: one lead got pulled a few weeks before opening, director quit
XX Fest: week one other lead got horribly sick, week two I got sick
*Winter Spirit Singers show: nothing bad happened?
Godspell: fired director two days before opening

So at first I looked at this run down and thought "OMG my theatre career is cursed!! Maybe it's a sign!! I should stop doing theatre!!" And then I realized...some of those shows got better after crazy things happened. Maybe I should run with the opportunity I may be given. As far as I can tell from a brief conversation Friday night it sounds like the church's plan is either I run the group or no one does. The only problem is, how can I run a group that meets from 5:15-7pm in Redmond and still do acting in Seattle? What exactly should I be focusing on?

Focus
The one thing I've been managing to do is keep my plants alive.

Now they're taking over my apartment! They're everywhere!!!

My cucumbers are getting big enough I actually have to start worrying about  terracing them.

Gardening, Guitars, and Shows (oh my)!

Fact of the day: I am more famous then my blog.

You’re probably thinking “what on earth are you talking about Jana?”

Well, if you google my full name, you see me. I think it’s actually me for the first page. If you google the name of my blog you see not my blog. I would check further than the first page, but google seems to be having a breakdown and is not working. In fact I’m not even typing this in my blog right now, I’m writing it in Word because I can’t get to my blog.

In other news, you may have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. You also may not have, but that’s cool, I understand you have other things to do with your life then constantly be checking my blog. The reason I changed the name of my blog is because I decided to write about whatever the hell I want to (thanks Ray, sorry to any grandparents/church family I’ve insulted with my foul language).

Eat, Pray, Love
I am currently reading Eat, Pray, Love. I’m done with the Italy section and onto the India section. This book really makes me wish that I could a) travel to Italy, b) speak Italian c) still speak French, d) do lots of Yoga, meditation, and prayer, and most importantly e) spend four months at a time focusing on something. I utterly lack focus in my life except, perhaps, acting and theater. Yet even there I usually want to do something different every show. Sometimes I want to do something different halfway through the show, which is super healthy. I usually just do like a zillion different theatrical things at once, but never work on them at home. In fact, usually I’m so busy between work and rehearsal that I don’t really have time to work on anything at home. Or at the very least, I don’t have the energy.

And then, when I do have time, I dream about all the things I could/should/want to be doing. I dream about getting good enough at guitar that I could sit and play on Greenlake on a sunny day. I dream about being super awesome at Mary Kay so all I ever did was plan parties and make pretty gift baskets and drink wine and have girl time ALL THE TIME! I dream about having a basketful of kids who I sing songs with (a la Maria in The Sound of Music), kids who know French and are well versed in musical theater AND classic rock.

So I’m working on both getting things done that need to get done (i.e. laundry, unpacking those last few boxes, de-cluttering my apartment), doing shows, working, and LEARNING (guitar & gardening)! I may not have been a huge fan of school, but I feel like I need to always be learning something…otherwise what’s the point? I can’t stand sitting still, and I really can’t stand the thought that I’m not progressing towards…something. I’m not really sure what that something is, but I think the process of trying to get there is more important then the goal. Besides, how can you know what you want ‘till you get what you want and you see if you like it? (One month till Into the Woods rehearsals start!)

The Garden

Some plants are definitely doing better than others. Surprisingly, one of them is that Pisa-like Snapdragon. 

last week.                                                                         this week!

However, I'm pretty sure I've killed my cucumber. And yet...I have broccoli and stocks growing (you can see them behind the snapdragon!) 

Note to self: do not leave cucumber out in a very cold rainstorm. It used to be so big and pretty :( 

What do you wish you could do that you haven't (really) accomplished?

Apartment Garden!

I Kill Plants: A History
I killed lucky bamboo once. For some reason I decided to keep it in my dance room, which I never used, instead of some location where I might actually see it and feel sorry for it as it withered and died. I think the rational was that it got the most sun in there, or I could leave the blinds open for it, or something. After the death of the lucky bamboo, I decided that I was not a plant person. Yet, three weeks ago I decided that maybe I should buy some plants and grow them.

There was hope for these new plants I wanted to buy. Senior year of college, my roomie Marie decided to buy our house a plant that we lovingly called our love fern. It was a spider fern? Anyway, she chose it because it was apparently pretty tough and hard to kill which she thought was perfect for us (mostly me). And we didn't kill it. Not only that but it tried to shoot off little baby ferns. So at the end of the year, Marie gave each of us a piece of our love fern. I now have two, because Suzy moved to Boston and forgot hers. So I've had these plants all by myself for a year, and neither of them have died! I also got a cactus as a present after a production of "Nosies Off!" which is also still alive!

The thing about cacti is - how can you be sure they're still alive?

Week One
I spent like, maybe $20 on dirt, planting pots, 2 already alive flowers, and 3 packets of vegetable seeds. And I figured the flowers I could maybe keep alive, but the vegetables were a different story. I vaguely remember having a unit in 2nd or 4th grade where we grew plants, and all I really remember was that the plants grew and were somewhat edible. So I read the instructions on the back of packets to see how deep to plant the seeds, and how far apart they needed to be, and I planted them. Now you have to realize that I was just using the little start pods that you get, and I had no idea what I was going to do if these things actually freaking grew, because there was no way a cucumber plant could survive in this tiny little pot that I had, but I decided that IF any of these plants actually sprouted, I could deal with them then.

Week Two
Now that nice part about really being too busy to ever be home is that I really only checked the plants every couple days to water them, so I was spared the anticipation of hourly checking to see if they'd sprouted yet. After about a week I went to water the carrots, and there were all these little green shoots coming up!!

But now what?? I can't actually grow a carrot in a 6" deep pot!! I didn't think it would actually grow! I thought I was too bad at being a grownup for such a thing to happen!! So these carrots were slightly worrisome, but also still babies so I still had some time. A few days later the cucumbers sprouted, so I realized I might actually need to get something to plant these babies in if I was going to one day be able to eat them.

Maybe I'm not good at transplanting - after moving my snapdragon to a pretty pot, it now leans very badly.

The roots probably shouldn't look like this. Maybe I should put more dirt over it, to stabalize?

Week Three 
I cleaned my cat's litterbox, and as I emptied the last of the litter into the box I had an inspiration. I could use this plastic container as a planter! Shoot, I could even paint it cool if things worked out. And luckily I'm such a lazy slob that I not only had this container, but the last empty litter container! Scissors didn't work too well to try and cut into the box, but stabbing near the top with a knife did, so I cut off the top and had my two planters, one tall and one small. "Transplanting" (in quotations because I have no idea how to do it without killing everything involved) went well for the cucumber, except that I ran out of dirt and only filled up the litter container halfway, but the carrots may have all been massacred. I'd already watered them that day, and then I had "thinned" them, so the dirt was mud and the plants were already discombobulated and basically I may have killed everything. But I planted a few more next to the sprouts, so maybe I'll get lots of baby plants soon! I'm not going to get too excited, because it did snow several miles north of my apartment, so it was probably cold and my plants probably shouldn't have been outside during the nighttime yet.

Week Four 
Yesterday, I went to the store and spent a ridiculous amount of money on 2 more flowers, 3 more packets of seed, 2 bags of dirt, and 2 ceramic pots to put plants in (one big, one small). I also got some of those real planter cells, so now I have like a million places to put these plants and I'm clearly just too enthused about this.
Today I planted a couple more carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers as well as the new plants: Walla Walla onion,  broccoli, and stocks. I got really excited about the stocks because they're flowers and pretty. Look:

so I also sprinkled them on a pot that I'm already trying to grow something in. But the thing is - I labeled all of my pots so that I would know how to take care of them, and this one doesn't have a label. So clearly it's just a pot of dirt and now is going to be flowers. Also - planting stocks are really fun because you sprinkle them on top  of the dirt. So I pretty much wanted to sprinkle any piece of dirt I could find with the things. But I guess you're supposed to not sprinkle them too close together, and I COATED those tiny little pots, so they might all kill each other.

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd (4)

UPDATE ON AUDIOBOOKS

Now that I've actually been driving around places, I really, really like audiobooks. I go through at least one a month and it's awesome. This book is the first one I actually took out of my car and played at home, and it was kind of nice to fall asleep listening to it. However, I then had to figure out where I was in the CD when I fell asleep, which was annoying. My car saves my place, which is super convenient. Before, when I was bus-ing everywhere I tried uploading a book to my ipod to listen to, which was really nice except when I listened to music in between and completely lost my place. Which was even harder to find because I sometimes didn't even remember which cd I was on. It was a sad adventure and I never finished that book ("The Prime of Miss. Jean Brodie") even though it was only 3 CDs long. I am a failure.

UPDATE ON THE BLOG

I'm thinking about just writing about whatever I feel like, instead of just randomly talking about the books I read. I may also still talk about the books I read. Or maybe I'll just start another blog that is only about me. Thoughts?

ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THE BOOK I READ:

 

I wish I was a cool, blog-savvy person who knew how to write this next to the ginormous picture of the book, but I'm not. *sigh* 

Maybe I'll revoke my previous statement about liking audiobooks. I feel less of a response to this book then I usually do when I read books. Usually I read them much faster than it takes me to listen to the book, since I only listen while I'm driving. I think I may have given it a 5 if I actually read it, but since I didn't, I didn't really know what I wanted to rate it, because I didn't remember how much I liked it...maybe I'm just weird.

Short Jananopsis (where I tell you what I think is important, which may not be what Amazon or the back of the book says its about):
Basically, this girl deals with her mom dying and hating her dad and the South sucking and no one liking her or her only friend, who happens to be an older black woman named Rosaleen. She runs away from home because Rosaleen tries to register to vote and ends up getting arrested and Lily (the girl) thinks she's going to get killed in jail, probably because she is (she spit on a white man's shoe who just so happens to think that black people shouldn't vote. Or have rights. Or not be slaves.). They end up living with these sisters who make honey and they just pretend like they aren't running from the cops.

I think You'll Like this Book if You Like:
-Ya-Ya Sisterhood
-other Sue Monk Kidd novels
-fun cultures

You May Not Like This Book if You Don't Like:
-women (or women sitting around talking)
-coming-of-age stories
-bees
-sad things occasionally happening. (It's not a totally depressing book, but I definitely cried)

Coming up Next:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which so far is amazing. I don't know why I'm writing this instead of reading it.)
OR PERHAPS -
one of the many books I've already read and haven't written anything about because I'm lazy. And had a broken laptop.

And after that:
I really want to read a laugh-till-you-pee book. Like Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. But for adults. So more like Bridget Jone's Diary. Maybe I'll read the second one?

I also need a car-audiobook. For that I kind of like books I've been putting off for awhile. But now I've been out of school and actually reading so that list is dwindling fast. Perhaps Patty Clark, Ha Ha Ha? I don't want anything super depressing because crying on your way to work is awkward. Suggestions?

Yours in absolute nerdiness,
Jana :D

VOTING! & The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (5)

If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you'll like this. It's set in DC, which I liked because I'm more familiar with the area so I was like, "Oooo! I know that building! I've been there! I've seen.....well no....not that....seriously? Is that even true?"

I'm better at writing about books just as I finish it, but I finished this on Thursday and then was really sick so I never wrote about it, and now I have no real opinions except that it was awesome and some "Oh! That [mega spoiler] part was so crazy! I was so pissed and then...." do you want to know how I felt? No. That'd be like telling you the ending of a Harry Potter book. I'm not that lame.

Anywho so I was real sick and started reading The Other Queen, which is not my favorite Philippa Gregory and I might not finish it because I was bored. Nothing happened and I know how it ends and I hate all the characters because their dumb or doomed. That's probably why I loved The White Queen, because I had never studied that part of the story and I had no idea what was going on.

And I had to return Three Cups of Tea, but I checked out the book, so I might finish that soon, but I already started my first Agatha Christie! And then I got a whole bunch of books from the library! What is a girl to do? I think I'll just catalog my books because I have a zillion.

OMG, I just realized one of the books I checked out today is in large print. I don't think I'll read that one because it looks like someone's shouting at me.

So, you choose! What book should I finish first:
a) Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
b) A Murder in Three Acts - Agatha Christie
c) The White Queen - Philippa Gregory
d) None of those, pick a new book!

In Which Jana Has an Epic Journey in Search of Books

Today was a weird day. Woke up at 5:30am when my alarm clock was going to wake me up at 6:30 and, get this, did not fall back asleep. Weird. Went to day two of work as a PA. I listened to some Michael Jackson and other dance-in-your-car worthy tunes. Got in just a few minutes early to work. And then potential disaster struck: I was asked to navigate someone to the monorail platform by the Space Needle so we could switch cameramen because the one at the needle shoot wasn't feeling well so the producers wanted him at the hotel so he could rest asap. Well, I knew how to get to the Space Needle. I'd even, luckily, checked to figure out how to get back on I-5 correctly this morning since I got lost last night. However, I had no idea where the monorail platform was. I was pretty sure I could figure it out, but too scared to tell anyone I wasn't 100% sure. Miraculously, I totally found it without looking too stupid. And found us some quick parking that was of questionable legality but did not get a ticket.

Switched drivers, got back, nothing exciting for awhile. Doot doot dooooo, did some work, had some lunch, drove back to the Center to get the show's anchor so he could do a voice over for the commercial and we totally shop talked. Yeah he was in Second City performing for 7 months. Yeah he's on tv. And yes, he too was afraid of theater kid parties in college and was not one of the cool kids. There is hope yet for my life.

Oh yeah, and at lunch I got to hear stories from the Jerry Springer and Steve Wilco shows.

About now I'm really hoping they never, ever read about how star struck I was at meeting people who have actually worked on things I've heard of. I am so glad I had no idea about any of this before I started talking to them. I would have been so terrified to talk to them.

Fun fact: Jerry Springer is one of the nicest guys ever. Apparently he's a really great neighbor too.

And about now you're probably wondering what on earth this story has to do with books, almost there! I left right at 6 and got truckin' home, listening to some Disney on the way. What a fabulous, fabulous day. The drive is like an hour with the traffic. I was getting closish to home and was debating weather or not to go to the library. If you read last night, I was out of books and wanted some new ones. But then I was thinking about it and I have a ton of books on my shelves that I could read - I could finally organize them all! And pick one! Plus I really wasn't sure I remember how to get to the library. My exit is 179...totally tuned back into the exit numbers at the sign for 178 and was like "oh no!!!! must get over!!!" which I did, and got off the exit, no problem.

Then I realized: I had no idea where I was. I got off an exit too early. But, no big deal, right? I can totally find my way through to my apartment. I'd been navigating Seattle and Seatac all day, how bad is Mountlake Terrace? Got totally lost. And then found the library! And was like: sweet. Getting some books. Then I'll just get back on the freeway and go home. So I was looking through the catalog and was like...shoot...I have no idea what I want to read...so I decided to just browse the shelves. So I browsed, and found a promising book, I See You Everywhere, but it wasn't the book, so I kept browsing. And what did I find? There was one Philippa Gregory book left. And it was one I hadn't read! It wasn't The Red Queen, but it was The Other Queen, which I also wanted to read at some point. Score! And then I was like, "But I really wanted to read something more action-y next," so I kept looking a little longer. And guess what I found? The Lost Symbol, the other book I was hoping to get from the library.

What a perfectly marvelous day. But then I got slightly lost on the way home. I had been too lazy to plug my ipod back in and listen to exciting tunes, so I left it on NPR. They were talking about some news, and I was sort of paying attention but mostly lost and frustrated, and I kept hearing that they wanted people to text/email and say where they were while they were listening. They were stationed in England. They mentioned 3 or 4 people who sent stuff in. And one of them was the Kitsap Sun! I was totally in that paper! Yet another sign that I am going to one day be totally famous. Hahaha. But seriously. I know that paper. And they were mentioned on NPR. Ok that's not really cool, I should probably eat dinner before trying to tell any stories because I think my filter turns back on eventually.

And then, full circle, disaster strikes. While walking up the stairs to my apartment I found a SPIDER had built a web across the stairwell!!!!! It was like...a foot above my head...but I tested the air under it with a book or something and the web shook...so it was DEFINITELY NOT SAFE TO GO UNDER! So I went back down the stairs, miraculously found a stick right near the bottom of the stairs, and successfully evaded the spider.

Finis. 

The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier (4.8)

Oh dear it's been awhile! In my defense, I have actually managed to procure a job, which starts next week because I had a three day job planned for this week, and I had some auditions to prep for. The real reason behind the delay is that I just didn't have any books I felt like reading and preferred to watch Netflix. Instant watch is both a blessing and a curse to those with lots of time on their hands. Or those who don't have the self control to turn it off even though its past their bedtime.

Enough excuses. I loved this book. I thought I might, because I've liked Tracy in the past, but the premise reminded me of a favorite book from when I was 10 or 11, and I am a grown up now, so that was a turn-off. (If you don't know me, or tongue-in-cheek doesn't transfer over the internet: note that I still love Harry Potter and don't think I'm a pretentious snob, however much I wish I was.) Here is how the back starts, "Meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin - two women born centuries apart, yet tied together by a haunting family legacy," ...snore? But then at the very bottom it says, "A beautifully crafted story shot with vivid colors," and the cover was so pretty that I just decided, "Why not? The library closes in 10 minutes and I have nothing else to read." Well, The Times (London) was right, it was beautiful, and I loved every page of it. Whoever wrote the blurb should re-write it.

Actually, I'm not sure I liked it as much when I first started reading it...but it gets good and it ends fabulously. It's one of those books that always makes me feel so connected to my fellow women. It has that feeling of the secret mystery of being a woman that I always love in a book. The Red Tent had a similar feeling, and so did The Color Purple. I loved those books too. You should read them. The Color Purple first, it was better. And shorter. But if you're a sucker for historical fiction, The Red Tent is super good.


The Virgin Blue is the third Tracy Chevalier I've read, and I think it's my favorite of them all, then The Lady and the Unicorn, and then Girl with a Pearl Earring. However, that is the order I read them, from most to least recent, so they very well may be equally good and I just like the most recent best. If you like Philippa Gregory, but a bit more poetic, less sexy, and without any (for this novel) historical fact, you'd definitely like this. Oh, and there's some magic. Sort of. And we all know I'm a sucker for all things magical.

In the CD player: Three Cups of Tea
Next to read: ....good question! Obviously I need to stop by the library again. I have another Margaret Atwood, but I'm feeling something different. Although I'd totally read The Red Queen if I can get it from the library.
Also awaiting others returning them to the library:  The Lost Symbol - it'll be my first Dan Brown since high school! I got a little too into him and read like...all of his books that were out right after The Da Vinci Code, and I felt like he was trying a little too hard to be Michael Crichton, so I stuck to the original.
Maybe I'll read the sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I know I have that somewhere...