I wrote a letter to a friend yesterday. And, naturally, I was about 5 months behind on writing back. So rather than recount all of my adventures, I let her know what I'd done that day.
- applied to another theater internship
- rehearsed for a short play with Raconteur Theatre
- sent in a proposal for a rap music video to Nstinx (who is actually a friend of mine and his music is amazing -- I can't believe he isn't signed yet).
- continued work on my play about John Wilkes Booth
- Got promoted at Teavana

And this light shined down on me. My life is awesome. It's just hard to see past the obstacles to awesomeness sometimes (living at home, never get to see friends, working too much, not getting paid enough). But I plan on life getting better. I have a new job at Skechers (instead of Old Navy), and that pays by commission and, you know, gives me hours. So I have a surplus of money FOR SAVINGS. I have more money in the bank right now than I've ever had in my life. So plan for life:
- buy car off parents
- move out
- ???
- PROFIT!! (aka get a paying job in theater)

While I'm applying to a lot of theater internships, I had interviewed for and been rejected by a lot of them at this time last year. So that sucks. But I'm applying for the ONE theater fellowship in Columbus. And that pays $260 a week. First off, most of the shit at good theaters I applied to doesn't pay. Secondly, that's more than I make per week at either one of my jobs. Fantastic. So while I may still be stuck in effing Columbus next year, at least progress will be made?

Now if I can just make time to make meet new people and hang out with them. O the things I'd do for just one person in my life who likes the same combination of geeky/artsy shit I do.

Directing again for Raconteur Theatre. Whoo. I'm having a jolly good time, and the work reinforces what I already knew: I want to do theater with my life. But I need a niche in this economy. And directing is not a niche. So I'm trying to explore and pursue other interests.

I've been puppeteering for my church since I was little, and I love the ability to assume a character. Take that to the next level, putting on a full body mask (ie: fursuits) and that explains my fascination with furries. Whereas old theatrical and ritual masks allowed you to assume a community owned persona, fursuits and new mask methods allow you to create these personas as you go. I want to study all ends of this -- but start with masks.

There are no mask-makers in Ohio to apprentice under. Hell, there aren't mask-makers anymore! Very frustrating. I find a niche I like and I can't do anything about it. So now I'm ordering books online. But like all hobbies, I bet this requires a lot more money for supplies than I can spend.

I am re-applying to theater internships AND going down to DC over Valentine's weekend to attend an internship fair. Maybe DC is more interesting than Columbus? Who knows. Part of me wants to be this very mobile thrillseeker guy, and part of me just wants to settle down and curl up with a boo (ie: currently Dwayne). I basically just feel like a trapped animal. I'm not doing what I want to do, and even doing what I want to do in Columbus is a constant battle. I have primary contacts at Available Light Theater (hot stuff right now) and I can't do any back stage or artistic stuff. It's... infuriating. Not that. Just everything.

But on the bright side, I love the following.
A groupt of artists is turning the old Columbus Wonderbread factory into studios and businesses called Wonderland. Amazing. Do want.

Oof it's been awhile. Let me go down the list and strike a few things off.

1. Learn How to Drive
Done! Well that was a freebie.

4. Spend a day in Mt. Vernon
I finally spent a day in town this past summer. I ate all my meals downtown and visited the historic sites. After that, I biked to Gambier and drank. It was a good day.

12. Listen to all of the Rolling Stones Readers’ 100 Greatest Albums [98/100]
I listened to a lot of stuff I'd never heard and now love [Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix]. Overall, an amazing and fantastic experience. Everyone should do this. I can at least hold my own in a music conversation now. It's kind of a great feeling.

20. Be the lead in a play
Got cast in a play coming up in August as the villain (who also appears to be the main character)! Updates on that, as they come.

30. Eat lobster
Red Lobster win.

68. Take someone to do something they always wanted to do
Took a friend on a picnic in the park. It's amazing the things some people have never done.

72. Climb a tree every time I’ve used enough paper to kill one
One tree has been climbed. It turns out there's a LOT of paper in just one tree.

90. Wear an awesome Halloween costume
I went as an ironically twinkly vampire this year. Not as awesome as the colony collapse disorder group effort I saw, but sill cool.

32. Go legitimately sledding
Just did about a week ago. Finally went to the Wo-town sledding hill. Man, I have never done that before. I always went to the Westerville hill. Sad. :-(

X. Never eat fast food more than twice a month [continuous]
I switched this one out because two retail jobs officially ruined that one.

Here's what I got for X-mas:

- DEVON CLOTTED CREAM!!!!!!!!!!    (I am still amazed, and it says a lot about me that this is my favorite gift)
- Chocolate, Nutella, scone mix, digestives, tangerines, instant lunches
- $155
- Seven Guitars by August Wilson
- Y: The Last Man vol. 5
- Shakespeare in Love
- Arrested Development:  the complete series
- Zelda: Spirit Tracks
- Running with Scissors by Augusten Borroughs (from my boo)
- The Invention of Love by Tom Stoppard (from KT)
- tonsilitis (ew.)

I had been really frustrated with my life lately and easily set off, so I decided to sit down Christmas Eve and do my meditation for the first time in... awhile. It was very relaxing, I was at peace with my life, and gung ho about tghe future immediately afterward. So I went to bed. Then I woke up at 5 am with tonsilitis on Christmas morning. FML

Went to the doctor, dropped $80 to find out that there was nothing they could do at this location for me. And, as I suspected, I need my tonsils out. That will end my problems with chronic strep throat and general esophagal nastiness. Oh, and the nosebleeds. I hate those. It sounds more serious than it is, but it's really just another fact in my life at this point. I am at home today and not working so I can fully recover. And even though I'm home, I'm still drinking a lot of tea. I'm ok with being a tea snob now.

What else is new in my life? I'm looking for a way to reinvent my career path. I'm emailing a bunch of Kenyon grads to hear their own personal post-college stories. Basically... I want to quit Old Navy ASAP because it's the job from hell and it sucks my soul. I go home each night feeling ill and miserable. Teavana is still fun, but was just insanely stressful this time of year at Easton, the shopping mecca of the midwest. One day I sold $2100 worth of stuff. Which was disheartening after I calculated that I made more money for the company in 1 day than they've paid me in 3 months. Ouch. Talk about a blow to my self-esteem. The play I'm stage managing is getting under way. In fact, this day off is a blessing so I can email a ton of people about that. Rehearsals start in a week-ish, so I need to get on that. I feel a little out of the loop and disheartened about the company. The artistic director is pretty good at keeping me in the loop, but the director of the show (while I love him as a person), has been doing a lot of my job for me. I feel a little useless. But that happens at my other 2 jobs also.

My daily schedule goes like this right now:
Wake up > Work > Theater stuff > apply for more jobs > sleep
Which is why I haven't been so jolly or... 'available' lately. I'm trying to be happier though. I have a boyfriend now, we just started dating. His name is Dwayne and he makes me smile. So I figure that's a good start to readjusting my life path. I'm trying to focus less on my money woes, but they're o so numerous! Boyfriend and trying to write again are good for that. Being over the hump of the retail year also helps.

Thinking about what to do with my life after the play goes up in March. I'm acting in a play this summer (maybe). I've been cast, but one of my college professors might also do a piece in Chicago I want to get in on. I'd also like to direct a play. It's been awhile and I'm frustrated about the lack of creativity in my life. Next fall... I'm looking into applying for a Fulbright and the JET program in Japan. It wouldn't be til almost two years from now when I'd leave, but it gives me something to work toward. Grad school might have to wait. Although most all of my friends have graduated now, so everyone's home. It's a bit weird. But hey, so it goes.

EXPERIENCED:
a lot since october. Notable?
Moon, Princess and the Frog, Precious, The Road, Doctor Who
The Amber Spyglass (Philip Pullman), The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien), A Christmas Carol (Dickens), a lot of Hellboy, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (August Wilson), Armageddon in Retrospect (Kurt Vonnegut)

Theme for my life: 'The Reeling' by Passion Pit. I've even YouTube'd it for you:
www.youtube.com/watch

The best thing to happen to me this week:

I'm on break from working at Teavana in the mall. The dress code there errs on the side of dressy, and I'm pushing it that day. I'm wearing an orange argyle sweater over a dress shirt, with khaki's and nice black shoes. But I've seen these wristband things around that I want, so I go to Hot Topic to check them out. I know I look like the biggest tool ever walking into a Hot Topic like this. Here I am, dressed like a dad, perusing the middle school emo girl store. And then a customer walks up to me and asks (as I'm admiring a black vest covered in chains, while wearing my argyle sweater), whether or not I work there. I know the bright colors make me stick out, but I wasn't aware that goth had become SO GOTH that it went back around to business semi-casual.

I've been at my jobs long enough now that I'm applying for big boy employment again. As stupid as the OSU website is, I've been applying there a lot. I even went to introduce myself in person -- which required me to go to campus. And you know what? I'd never been on campus-campus before. Yeah, I've been on High Street. But... there are ovals on campus! And quads! It actually does look like a real college! So now I have my map of campus to help me find my way around while I'm down there looking like a frosh. And at OSU, there are freshmen far older than me.

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Essentially, my life travels in a simple loop. Wake up, read a book, work, drink, sleep. It's a pleasant cycle, but a boring one. Oh, my first student loan is due soon. This is the start of a very ugly, retarded thing.
 

----------------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
In Bruges
Moon
The Golden Compass - Philip Pulman
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pulman
Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo
The Memory of Water [Hill Theatre]
A Flea in Her Ear [Bolton Theatre]
Who Do You Think You Are? - SITI Company [Wexner Center]

Let me tell you about my boat:

Easton Town Center -- the mecca of shopping. You think I'm kidding? Google Maps it. Switch to Sattelite view and be disenchanted with humanity. This place might've been cheaper to build if they went to the UK, ripped up two square miles of land, and airlifted it to Ohio. It's an outdoor mall, lain out to feel 'European'. And it works, it does resemble shopping in Europe. Minus the American aesthetics and inflated prices ($275 for a pair of jeans? No thank you, Nordstrom). I come here to feel rich and successful. But now I work here, which can be fun too. Last time I worked at Easton, I read Edward Bellamy's treatise on the shortcomings of capitalism, Looking Backward. So it's one of those things that's fun to me in a sociological kind of way (or sociopathological).

And I sell tea. Organic, delicious, loose leaf, only bought from the top 5% of tea crops in the world kind of tea. And it's healthy -- too healthy. All the free radicals and whatnot just keep come pouring out of my body. Which, as you can only too graphically imagine, is from one of two holes.

I kept fucking up yesterday though. Haven't made a good sale yet. The other guy I'm training with is a Chinese major, so he has an incredible knowledge of the meanings of things already. So I constantly feel like I'm playing catch-up. And training for two jobs at once isn't fun. Kind of nice to have a life, but I just wish that I could have a life in theater already.

Speaking of which, my 2010-11 Yale Drama brochure arrived in the mail. I am pumped. But it featured Jennifer Tipton -- the achilles heel of all 09 Kenyon Drama majors. She was on our comps, and no one knew who she was. Now none of us will ever forget. But anyway, I feel like I'm falling out of practice with theater and I just want to get back on track. I don't feel like I've been wasting my time, but everything seems excruciatingly hard to land for me. So many of the other grads have theater things already. Why can't I be doing a show right now?


----------------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
Blankets - Craig Thompson
Departures

----------------------------------
THIS WEEK: Stargate Universe (!!!), SITI company at the Wex, Raconteur gathering

Birthday swag:
Y: The Last Man (vol. 1+2), Batman: Hush, Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass [which is surprisingly addictive for a DS game), All Quiet on the Western Front, In Bruges, Throne of Blood (!!!), 2 mix CDs of current alternative radio hits (yay for friends in radio!), cash-moneyz, The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, King Lear (w/ Ian McKellen and his dong), and Metroid Prime 3

Went in for not one, but TWO interviews on my birthday. Got both of the jobs. Lovely. So now I'm essentially full time at nigh minimum wage. Working at both Teavana and Old Navy. One sounds fun and exactly the kind of place for me. Guess which one. Also, I spent $60 on tea there already. That couldn't have hurt my chances. Further, I also signed an agreement to join the first ensemble company of Raconteur Theater. So, you know. Three jobs in one week -- that's not too bad now, is't?

I also went to Waterfire as my birthday activity. Sort of. I had a dinner of Japanese food with good friends ON my birthday, followed by hookah. This was supplementary, but the main thing I wanted to do. Pretty much everyone flaked out or couldn't do it. Very disgruntling. One guy I had just met was able to come. We had a good time. Saw the opera. It was a VERY poor English translation of Italian. Some of the lines, I kid you not, were "You are shady!" and "I wasn't sleeping. I was just pretending." But sung. So imagine sounding even worse. Oh, and the only musical accompaniment was on an electric keyboard. Played poorly by a geriatric man. It was astounding in how bad it was. The director was directing for the first time and the tech was horrible. I couldn't see anybody from the front row and there was ONE yellow light for gods know why. Anyway, had a laugh and ended up at Shadowbox later. Which was also fun. So while most everyone I knew wasn't there, I had a great time. And you know, there were 30 bonfires on the river downtown to accompany the opera. So at least it looked pretty.


--------------------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
The History of Shotguns
Big Bang Theory
Y: The Last Man
Batman: Hush
La Boheme -- opera columbus
Bad to the Bone - Shadowbox Cabaret

---------------------------------------
THIS WEEK: training, DEPARTURES, Zelda and Metroid action, SURROGATES

I almost got a puppy this week. I failed. That kind of taints the rest of the week in comparison.

One thing I forgot to mention last time was that in Inglourious Basterds, I know the actor who played Hitler. I hung out with him in his dressing room after a play in London -- a bad play, but he was good in it. He's a friend of Wendy's, so the entire time I was watching the movie -- all I could think in horror was 'I've hung out with Hitler!'  But this also means that I'm connected to Quentin Tarantino by two degrees of separation. I'm putting him on the board of famous people that somehow revolve in my circle within two degrees. So far, this also includes Martin Scorcese, Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenneger, and Jim Borgman.

I have succesfully set up a bachelor pad in my basement. By 'pad', I mean section of carpet and pipes I've liberated, and by 'bachelor', I mean a couch, Wii, and microwave. So far, much enjoyment has been had and many Metroid asses have been kicked. This gives 'pad' gives me some sense of privacy in an otherwise very open house. Of course, this now means that I am literally a college graduate who spends most of his time in his parents basement. Fantastic.

I have two very strong candidates for part time jobs lined up -- I hope they mesh together. And both interview me. Both are retail. One would be at the aptly named Teavana, where I will drink and sell delicious organic tea all day. The other is at Old Navy, where also 50% of the people I know in Columbus do or will work. Been in a foul mood, but working on connecting with new people and making friends. I'm afraid that I'm stuck at home until I can afford a car, insurance, and actual apartment rent. Yay, life. Trying to make the most of that, which mostly entails sitting in my bachelor pad and playing Metroid.

That could be a punchline if it weren't so sad.


-----------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
The Last Unicorn
Michael Clayton
Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Metroid Prime 2
Woodstock: Back to the Garden @ Shadowbox Cabaret

----------------------------
THIS WEEK: Birthday celebrations, Restaurant Hama, booze, DEPARTURES, Waterfire: Opera, interview, Metroid Prime 3 (?!)

The shortlist of quirky stories:

- I don't understand the American fear of socialized healthcare. What's so frightening? These town hall meetings on TV are really pissing me off. Mostly, because I have a lot to gain if this passes. ie: healthcare. Then I can get that cancerous mole on my back taken care of.

- Driver's license: check. Now, instead of moping around the house, I sit in a car all day. It's a welcome change.

- Still trying to buy a car. I -love- the Ford Focus, so I was really hoping to buy one. I found some sketchy one on the east side of the city. And it being the east side, of course that guaranteed the seller would be sketchy too. As a preface to this story: there is a Russian mafia in Columbus. This is a fact. I don't want to get killed for advertising it on the internet, so let it suffice to say that I know through my dealings with a crazy Russian lady who grew up under Stalin. So I get to this dodgy dirt-lot repair shop and this Of-Mice-and-Men-esque stuttering guy takes me around the corner to see the owner -- who had some Russian-sounding name. There's a door in the wall behind the shop. This door leads to a concrete room with a single lightbulb on a cord hanging from the ceiling. I kid you not, there was the owner and three people in business suits sitting around a card table. At that point, the red lights were blinking in my head and I just looked at the car for shits and giggles. The one they advertised... didn't even start. But they had another Focus they had forgotten about that did start. But it was manual, so I said I'd learn stick and get back to them. I didn't. And that's how I almost bought a car from the mob.

- Went to Kenyon on Convocation Day. That's 5 years in a row I've been on campus for that day. Hung out with Caitlin, Susan, Julian, Fraser, Kaitlyn, Martine, Luis, Stephen, Michael, Robby, and Jamal. It was pretty epic and I enjoyed myself immensely. If I could afford to drive up there every week, I would.

- I am part of Raconteur Theater now. Or, rather will be part of their ensemble soon. And I am stage manager for their first show this season in December/January. I also read scripts for them and evaluate them for production. So, this entails more awesome things than if I had got an internship somewhere else, it pays if I'm working on a show, and could lead to stuff with them in the future. It's just not a very big company yet. But basically, life confuses me.

- Holy shit. I have a lot of Pokemon cards.

- I started running in the park nearby. Only made it through about 4 laps around the park (it's small). And I walked most of the time. I have no stamina. I'm doing this because I want to be healthier, and also because I have awkward stores of fat on my lower back that both disgust and intrigue me.

- I have non-consensual auto insurance. It's a frustrating thing -- but it also allows me to drive. Dammit.

- Griffin, Phil, and I are writing plays every 2-4-ish weeks. Short plays. But anything to keep the juices flowing. I've so far only written about 6 pages, but I like what I have. I think it's going somewhere. Inspired by a James Thurber story.

- The Road is the best book of the last three years.

- It's strange to run into classmates from high school because they're now married to a guy who dresses up in full knight armor and fights with a new friend of mine, also in full armor. Now imagine reuniting and chatting while this is happening in the background. I have skill in meeting strange people.

- I may have failed miserably at my summer reading list, but at least I bought new books! [...] I've found that working my way through a 600 page of contemporary American poetry is tedious, though enlightening. I'm simultaneously working on a book about 50 Theatre directors of our time, and an anthology of Virginia Woolf's short stories. In other words, I'm in lust for an actual novel. And my wandering eyes have left enamored with the following books: Norwegian Wood, The Elephant Vanishes, God of Carnage, The Road, Neuromancer, Brave New World. No more new books, dammit. This needs to be a New Year's resolution of mine. I currently have 125 books in my room that I haven't read. Of course, that also means that I have a more dizzying amount of books that I have read.

- Driving is nice, because now I don't have to ask my dad three days prior, the night before, and the morning of for a ride somewhere 5 minutes away that then takes him 4.5 hours to get ready to drive me to while I sit around aimlessly, reluctant to get involved in anything new.

- Downloaded a lot of Wii games. Finally beat Super Mario RPG and Kirby's Dreamland 3 -- both of which have eluded me since Middle School. Sin and Punishment is next. Then, World of Goo, Samurai Showdown 2, and Mega Man 9. I <3 my Wii. I'd play with it until I went blind [...].

- Now that I drive, I need to actually buy CDs so I'm not limited to my naive high school collection of film soundtracks, Celtic New Age, and Evanesence.

- I really like driving. If you hadn't guessed.


---------------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
Ponyo
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Sanctuary
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
A lot of poetry
Super Mario RPG
Kirby's Dreamland 3
Sin and Punishment

-------------------------------
THIS WEEK: car?, Raconteur reading, applying for jobs, looking for an apartment(??), Gallery Hop, house party at Max's

Things are slowly falling together with this 'life' thing. Nothing too exciting to report yet. I'm attached peripherally to an up-and-coming Columbus theater group now. No money in it yet and probably not until spring (if I even make it that high up in the company). The company is Raconteur and you should check out their website here -- because I geek out over it. Applied for a lot of jobs. Now, my 'dream job' seems to have been lowered to secretary. Or barista. I'm torn over that one, so hopefully it won't come to choosing.

Remember when my dream job was an internship in DC with the Shakespeare Theater Company where I would get to direct a show OR an internship with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Oregon where they paid for my classes? Yeah. What happened to that??

In the mean time while I wait for life to start, I'm secluding myself in my room and pretending that I don't live at home. It's fun. In all the ways that it's not. No crazy adventures to report. Because, you know, spending time in your room isn't conducive to -adventure-. The most exciting this week was when Collin, Mark, and I made 'man-cakes' (a manly version of cupcakes) and watched Fast and Furious for our mantastic night. Which was a hoot. But keep in mind that that's the most fun thing I've done in 7 days.


[EDIT: I want this]

----------------------------------
EXPERIENCED:
Dramaturgy and Performance
Through the Looking-Glass - Lewis Carroll
The Evening's at Seven - James Thurber
"Queer" - Sherwood Anderson
A Haunted House - Virginia Woolf
Being Human
Fast and Furious

---------------------------------
THIS WEEK: ...
(really stretching for things to look forward to:) looking at cars, written portion of driver's test, Raconteur reading,