February in Review

Hello my little-but-lovely blog audience! February is drawing to a close, and I like to go back to review each month as it happens, make sure I'm really getting the most out of my life. If I'm not, I try to fix it next month! I also just love journaling and keeping track of what I've been up to, in to, and anything in between. So here is my "February in Review" that I crafted myself! Feel free to borrow or straight up steal my form; but you MUST make up your own answers.


Home Base: NE Minneapolis

What I Did:
Most importantly, saw one of my dream shows go up under my direction and learned a LOT in the process. Additionally, I wrapped up box office work on the Theatre Mu show, began work Agnes Under the Big Top, restarted my personal blog, officially began writing for Jacks & Jills (details pending), went to my first casino (and didn’t lose any money), turned 25A, saw four plays in one weekend, saw a guy who’s like a baby brother to me turn 21, accidentally went on a date with someone who was engaged to a man, went to my first Oscar party, made a couple of really awesome new friends, obtained Alice in Wonderland posters.

Where I went:
Not the best month for travel, but I did hit up Hinckley, MN (my first casino trip!) for Jake’s birthday. Blackjack and hot tubs make for a wonderful little getaway.

Key Hangouts Around Home Base:
Jodie and Jordan’s house, Sam’s house, Wilde Roast Café, Lush, Maxwell’s; while I still hit up Uptown Minneapolis and Lowertown St. Paul quite a bit this month, I feel like I actually started owning that I live in the NE and work on the West Bank. As such, I hung out a little more there because I found things that were fun and had ambience and deals that I like.

Power Music :
Live: Vaudeville, Sick of Sarah
Albums/MP3s: The Pierces, The Beatles, The Swell Season, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.

Most Loved Television:
Admittedly, two of them are major guilty pleasures; Pretty Little Liars and RuPaul’s Drag Race. But also, Modern Family and Portlandia. And Friends on DVD.

Best Movies I watched this month:
The DVD version of The Vagina Monologues; Stardust and Saved for the millionth time. Didn’t have much time to get out to the movie theaters. The Oscars did give me a nice fat list of things I know I need to see.

Best Theatrical Experiences of the Year:
My three-day, four-show blitz!; Opening (and then closing) one of the shows that means the absolute most to me.

Biggest Challenge of the Month (and how I overcame it):
There were a lot of problems on the administrative side of Gadfly this go ‘round, and I’m honestly not sure that I WAS able to overcome it for the current show. That being said, in a way I did ‘overcome’ it because I learned SO much in things going the way I did and honestly think that things will go really well for the next several shows.

Best Thing I Did for Myself:
Picked myself up by my bootstraps after falling off the junk food wagon; didn’t beat myself up when things didn’t go perfectly professionally ; resisted the temptation to fall back into negative dating patterns (and boy was there temptation).

Favorite thing I fed myself:
Veggie and brown rice stir-fry; lots of chai soy lattes, pumpkin pancake, chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva, Chardonnay, Blue Moon, lots of locally brewed beer.

Best Books I Read:
Dog Sees God (a play that Gadfly is doing next year), Last Summer at Bluefish Cove (another play that we will hopefully do...sometime)

Best Websites:
Fell majorly back in love with social networking after deleting several nuisances; A Softer World for my artsy AND dark humor fix; Jessica Mullen’s blog for general inspiration; Alicia Silverstone’s ‘The Kind Life’ which keeps me going when I don’t feel like sticking to my diet; Sassy Gay friend clips on YouTube and Cracked.com just for laughs.

Couldn’t Be Without:
My roommate; living in a theatre-rich area (with the exception of a small but still culturally rich beach or lake town), reading as escapism, smart actors who can really cut to the core of a character (this only relates to directing, of course), random road trips, my latest ex-roommates, a couple of my friends from Iowa, near-daily correspondence with Anne and Ginger (preferably both) as well as my sister, hummus, smoothies/smoothie juice.

Favorite News Stories (in Headline form):
Maryland passes gay marriage; Obama Drops Defense of DOMA; Gas Briefly Drops Below $3.50 a Gallon, Former McDonald’s CEO to Start New Vegetarian-Friendly Fast Food Chain.

And while I do not like the Minnesota threats to cut art funding, the federal threats to cut Planned Parenthood funding, or the earthquake in New Zealand, I DO love how so many wonderful people have rallied together in attemps to right these wrongs (or at least in New Zealand’s case, make them more bearable).

Quotes of the Month:
“I’ve enjoyed our chats lately. You’re an inspiring lady”
~Cassandra Rising

“If you’re the crazy snake man, we’re not having babies.”
~Maggie Becker (Gadfly grant writer)

“Art is not in the eye of the beholder, it is in the soul of the artist.”
~Seth Godin

“The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it too”
~The White Stripes upon their sudden break-up

“If we wake up in full-make-up, we’ll pain the town blue, because baby red so passé”
~The Pierces