run to the oceanrun to the sea

So, Jessi asked the question, will I ever blog again? I started this post a couple days ago in response, and then britta chimed in too. So, I'm finishing it today. Here you go. Life has slowed down considerably, but there are things to catch up on. I've formatted this post in a numbered list for easy commenting. It's mostly chronological.

1. Roofsliding opened! Hooray for theatre! The reviews (both published and unofficial) were mixed. Lots of people said the set was the best part about the show . . . which was a great boost for my ego, but not that great of a compliment for the show. Hmmm. I went to the student/faculty forum where they discussed the show and why the title changed a bunch of times. During the discussion at the forum, it became clear that the original ten-minute short piece that had been expanded into the full show had a completely different feel than what had ended up onstage. Instead of expanding on and really digging into the original story/relationship of the ten-minute, the playwright basically just added a bunch of other characters and storylines. I wish I had known more about the original short piece before I designed it, but it really didn't come into discussion (even thought the director was familiar with it). And, I guess it didn't really matter since the playwright had added so many other things to change the tone of the show.

2. My family came to Utah the last week of March. It was great. They saw my show, loved my set, went to SLC with me to see the Joseph Smith movie and tour the roof of the Conference Center, helped me pack, and took a bunch of my stuff back home with them. Heidi got to meet everyone, which is awesome and has been needing to happen for, about a million years now . . . since she and I are prehistoric friends. Also, Steven got to meet some of my theatre friends, which, didn't go all that well . . . but we watched Signs that night which made up for everything.

3. I went to General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. It was pretty cool. I met Matthew's family . . . or, at least, three out of five.

4. I dated a boy. His name is Matthew. It was good. We met on the ACTF trip to LA in February and officially started dating at the beginning of April . . . it was so official I put it on facebook. We didn't have much time together because he was in a show, then came finals, we had a film festival, and then I had to graduate and stuff . . . now, he is in London, which is awesome, but too far away.

5. I finished my printmaking class in a blaze of glory. My last piece was entitled "All the World's a Stage" (collective, "Awwww . . . " from the theatrically-minded readership) and the print was pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Kind of ironic seeing as how my speech for graduation from high school had that same title. Good old Shakespeare. You can set your life by him.

6. I finished my independent study class with only hours to spare. Yay for last-day procrastination! I got an A-. Bam.

7. I won the TMA Outstanding Student Award. I am outstanding to the tune of $2000. It was pretty rad, and I was a celebrity that night. Also, Matthew won one of the Mayhew writing awards, which also includes cash. The Outstanding Student Award is the highest one the TMA department gives out every year and the application for it was pretty extensive. I had to fill out about seven pages of info/grades/short answer stuff and then was selected as one of six finalists to present to the entire TMA faculty (both film and theatre). I made a quick powerpoint with photos of all the stuff I've done design- and painting-wise these last five years. Everyone was impressed. Go me.

8. We held the first Semi-Annual Chromolume Film Festival at David's and it was pretty great. I am now thoroughly indoctrinated with Stephen Sondheim.

9. I finished my Hamlet paper and got 100% on it. It was good. (Both the grade and the paper.) Also, I love Ethan Hawke, in the most celebrity crushiest of ways.

10. Matthew and I went to Squatters, per one of britta's New Year's Resolutions for me. Speaking of which, I need to update that list. I'll do it when I finish this post. Anyway, Squatters was amazing. The atmosphere was great, the food was stellar, and our waitress was extremely friendly and cool. It was a near-perfect dining-out experience. If there had been live music, that would have been cool, but the space doesn't really allow for that, as I recall. Oh, and we ate at the bar . . . which is amusing because we didn't order drinks. Silly Mormons . . . eating at brew pubs.

11. I said goodbye to the scene shop. It was weird. In true workaholic fashion, I stayed late the last day I worked. I worked a twelve-ish hour shift and left around 9:30pm. Leaving a place like that is one of those things that marks the end of a chapter in my life.

12. My family came down to Utah again to graduate me! That was their third trip to Utah in the five years I was there . . . the first one being when they dropped me off freshman year. Well, Mom and Steven drove down with me the summer I bought my car, but that wasn't a family occasion, really. Anyway, I appreciated their support.

13. GRADUATION! I attended the BYU Commencement exercises in the Marriott Center Thursday afternoon. It was neat to see everyone . . . there were something like, 6500 graduates. Friday afternoon I went to the third of the three convocations for the College of Fine Arts and Communications. The TMA students graduated with the Music students. Weird. Well, I guess it was because I'm a designer that I kept thinking it would fit better to have us graduate with the Visual Arts majors. I suppose most people associate theatre more readily with music than with the visual or fine arts. Anyway, the ceremony was nice, and moderately short. Several of my favorite/most important professors didn't come. I was actually really disappointed . . . much more than I realized I would be. Rodger was there, though. He stood onstage to greet us and shake our hands as we received our diploma cases. Yeah, they just handed out the cases, not the actual diplomas. They're mailing them in the next six to eight weeks because they have to go through the system, make sure we don't have any outstanding fees, make sure we passed all our classes, etc. It hasn't arrived yet . . . but, I was sorting through stuff in my room the other day and found my high school diploma. Cool. I think I'll store them together in a box somewhere.

14. I cleaned my apartment and moved out of Muirbrook Properties. That place has been my "home" the last three years and I packed up and shipped out on April 26. Steven was nice enough to help me Saturday morning . . . cramming everything in the car and doing the last bit of cleaning and vacuuming. I got my deposit returned to me in the mail the other day. Hooray for unexpected money! And, even though the crazy cleaning inspector lady allegedly said our apartment was the most poorly cleaned of both buildings, I got my full deposit back. I'm glad our landlord is nice.

15. On our way out of town, my brother and I stopped at a scene shop in south Salt Lake to say goodbye to Heidi. She was working on a giant cardboard puppet (for that movie which shall remain nameless) and that day was my last chance to see her for a while since she's in India now and off to law school (probably on the east coast) like, a day after she returns to the States. Well, she has maybe a week or something, but still. Way not enough time to recover from foreign disease, pack your life to the other side of the country, and begin an almost entirely unfamiliar course of study. Hey, go Heidi! More power to you, you crazy lady.

16. I made that famous trek from SLC/Provo back to Astoria. We did it in one go and made it in just over 14 hours, I think. I wonder if I'll ever do it again?

17. I came home. It rained. It was good.

18. I went to the beach.

19. I spent a week in Salem helping out my grandma. She and I don't get along all that well, but I did my best to practice patience. I'm glad I decided not to live there for the summer, but I actually liked Salem. In all the years I've visited grandma, we never once went to the downtown. Since I had my own car this time, I kinda went wherever I wanted when I was out and about . . . the downtown is hip. I wish I could have spent more time there. I found a sweet little coffee place with wi-fi and felt right at home. As I told britta, there are cool people in every city.

20. I began the job hunt. So far, I have sent letters of interest and my resume in for positions in/at scenic painting, graphic design, interior/closet design, theatre box offices, print managing, picture framing, custom tile work, art galleries, glass sculpture (studio assistant), photo research, and shipping. I have applied in Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake. Nothing has worked out . . . or even come close to working out. Any and all suggestions and information welcome.

21. Outside of the job-hunt, I spend my time chillin' at home. I've been to the beach several times (and there's a bunch of sand in my car to prove it), been to a live show (yay Blind Pilot!), helped mom with projects, been out to dinner at four new places (if you count the Silver Salmon as one), been to the Urban, been to the Wet Dog, bought the new Death Cab album, been to Video Madness . . . I mean, Video Horizons (twice), put my feet in the Columbia, and driven over several bridges. You never know how much you'll miss bridges until they simply aren't around anymore.

So, that sums up what I've been doing the past couple months. Sorry the blog was so neglected for so long.

As far as future plans go, I'm going to keep applying for jobs and looking for apartments. And, as far as the immediate future is concerned, tomorrow Karl is teaching me how to throw on a potter's wheel . . . finally. He's been promising for years. And, that's pretty much all I've got planned for now.

Oh, and I'm taking him to the Wet Dog some time this week since he's never been. Picky little weasel.