But it’s hard to be away from B for 9+ hours a day, counting my commute. So sometimes I find myself wondering, Where is that Perfect Job for me?
The one that’s a career, not just a job.
Flexible hours, but generally 9-5.
Preferably there’s a daycare onsite.
They pay me what I think I deserve to get paid. Plus awesome benefits (including dental and vision) for me and my whole family. Plus a retirement package.
There’s the possibility of advancement.
It’s something I enjoy doing, ideally in the arts. It is both challenging and satisfying on a daily basis.
Casual dress code, friendly work environment, fun coworkers.
A boss who’s also a mentor.
Maybe I can work from home some of the time.
I guess as long as I’m reaching for the stars, some Google-style cafeterias offering free lunches wouldn’t be so bad. And maybe, like, an on-site gym? I guess it’d be cool if they issued me an iPad too. And paid for my personal phone? Which I use for work stuff occasionally.
So if anyone hears of a job like this, ideal for a San Francisco-based almost-30-year-old with an English degree, could you let me know?
I think I may have overdone it yesterday a little bit. I was part of this trio at work planning an appreciation party for all of our volunteers. Luckily it was a fun team of people because we spent a lot of time stuck together, and had to get creative several times.
Yesterday was the brunch, and I left home at 7:45am to pick up food and get to the venue. Then at 10:15 I went on another run to pick up the rest of the food, and all of the coffee. The rest of the time, when I wasn’t in the car, I was on my feet. I didn’t have to move or carry anything crazy, but even just standing around is kind of exhausting. The party was from 11:30-1:30, and after that it took us another hour to break everything down and pack everything back into our cars.
After I got home, Drew and I went to Ikea and bought two lamps and two shoe racks. Like we’re outfitting two identical houses. We also went by Old Navy where, walking past a clearance rack, I saw a pair of jeans sticking out with a tag on them that said $.97. These jeans just happened to also be my size (well, my pre-pregnancy size). I figured, this gives me something to shoot for, and they were less than a dollar. I mean, when does that ever happen?
(Last night after we got home, I tried on the jeans, against my better judgment…but they totally go on! I mean, aside from the whole buttoning-and-zipping thing. But that will come. I’m just happy that they almost fit!)
Anyway, after all the walking around yesterday, this morning when I stood up I was so sore from the waist down. As the day has gone on it’s gotten better, but I think I might have overdone it slightly yesterday. At least now that the party is behind us, I know that it’s pretty much just smooth sailing until you-know-what in a week and a half.
We went to a wedding yesterday. At the reception – which was a full-on 9-course Chinese banquet, although I counted 11 courses before the cake – the girl next to me started making small talk. Her date (fiancee? husband? boyfriend?) was part of the band and so he was up and down through most of dinner, so somewhere between the shark fin soup and the abalone with mushrooms, she asked me what I do.
When I told her I work at a theatre company, she asked me which one, and it turned out she’s actually kind of into theatre. She’s actually been to see shows that we have put on, the most recent 3 years ago, but that’s still far better than most people I find myself making small talk with. I immediately upgraded my conversation from the standard “talking about my work with people who don’t care about theatre.”
“What have you seen around here that’s good?” she asked me, and I reached out for anything, anything we’ve seen lately.
But it appears I’m a theatre major failure, because it’s been months since I’ve seen anything. Well, I guess I’ve seen shows at my work. I resorted to fibbing and talking about shows at other companies, that I’m sure were very good, but they closed before I had a chance to see them.
Erin recently saw Chinglish at Berkeley Rep, and she raved about it, so I almost said that I’d seen that, but luckily something stopped me, because it turned out that my tablemate LOVES David Henry Hwang and saw Chinglish last week. Yeesh, that could have been messy.
After the reception I got to thinking: we should really see more Bay Area theatre. There is so much here. It’s just that a lot of it is so spread out and/or difficult to get to. And let’s face it. I’m into being at home and in pajamas by 8pm these days. I missed opening night of my own company’s current show, and haven’t actually managed to see it yet – and this is the last week of performances.
But I think I might see if I can get tickets to see Chinglish. I’ve heard such good things.
Yesterday I found myself back at the Safeway in Mill Valley, which has given me great stories in the past.
I stopped in there to pick up a sandwich for lunch before the final 2 performances of God of Carnage at MTC. Sandwiches are great, and probably on my favorite things list, even though I’ve been eschewing turkey (and that’s just one of several things) because of potential harmful effects during pregnancy.
So I just wanted to stop by and get a cheddar, avocado, and veggie sandwich on sliced sourdough.
A good sign: there was no one in line when I walked in. So I went straight up to the counter, where a super polite young man said, “I’ll be right with you.” Then, he went on to say, “Good afternoon, what may I get you?”
Wow, such service. I started explaining what I wanted.
“So you want a veggie sandwich – would you like me to describe the veggie sandwich to you?”
“Um, that’s okay,” I said, “What I want is actually a “California Dreamin'” without the turkey and bacon.”
“The “California Dreamin'” now goes by the name “Turkey Bacon Avocado,” he said.
“Okay.”
He began to assemble the sandwich. Kind of sloppily. I don’t understand why sandwich-makers at Safeway don’t know how to make a sandwich. They always pile everything on the center of the bread. Don’t you know you have to spread the avocado to the edges? And you shouldn’t just stack all the tomatoes in the center? It’s not rocket science, people. Make the type of sandwich that you would want to eat.
And it’s not just Mill Valley Safeway. It was in Mountain View that I watched a guy squirt mustard on one slice of bread, and then pick up both slices, one in each hand, and stare at them, puzzled, until he slowly smashed them together and rubbed the mustard around.
Wow.
When Mill Valley guy was finishing up (having just placed a large pile of pickles in two square inches), he said, “Now, our policy dictates that I charge you an extra fifty cents.” For avocado, I assume? “But I’m debating in my head whether or not to charge you that. That policy is in place to deter people from ordering sandwiches like this. But I don’t think we’ll suffer any damages – any long-term damages, that is – because I don’t think many people will order sandwiches like this.”
“Um…okay.”
WTF? For the record, here is the part of the menu that makes me think that it’s acceptable – nay, encouraged – for you to actually order what you want to eat, rather than just choosing from the 8 pre-designed options.
The key word here is “choose”…
Finally he handed it over. And I walked 10 feet away, found the voice memo application on my phone, and dictated what he had just said, because I was worried I’d forget part of it.
Then I called Drew and told him about it.
When I got to the theater, I found he didn’t even cut it in half for me. Which is kind of the most annoying part. I mean, who wants to pick up an entire sandwich?
Apparently the bane of Safeway’s existence – a product of theirs that someone ordered and paid for.
First world problems, am I right?
When the actors started arriving, one of them (with whom I had just bonded over orchids the prior day – I’m starting to think we might be some kind of soulmates or something) started telling a story about how he’d just stopped to pick up a sandwich at Safeway. We then went on to bond over our annoyance at the crazy people working there, and how in New York, you can just order food and then get it and then get out in record time, but here it seems to take people forever to get anything done.
Yeah, we were those people.
Anyway, the sandwich was okay, the shows went great, I was home by 10:30 and in bed by 11:15, and I got to sleep in until 8:30 this morning. So overall…life is good.
This weekend felt longer than three days, but in that kind of weird draggy way. Allow me to explain.
On Saturday we had a dinner-and-game-night at our place, which I spent the day kind of stressing about, since it was an eclectic crowd of people and I’m not quite used to playing hostess yet. But overall everything went very well (possibly better than I had expected) and I learned that I love the game Balderdash, which I have never played before but now want to play all the time.
On Sunday, Drew and I went with Erin to San Jose to help out her dad with this steampunk convention he was doing. It was part of FanimeCon, but apparently only sort of? We didn’t really have all the details, but we were mostly there to do little odd jobs and make sure no one stole any of the equipment. It was…nerdy, honestly, and I don’t need to get into it but there was some major judging going on there. (By us; of the people attending the convention.) It was a fun day though, and it’s always good to branch out and spend some time around people wearing full out Victorian costumes (with steampunk accessories) and speaking in bad British accents.
Also, this bag of heads. But I have no idea why.
On Sunday night Drew and I started our Modern Family marathon – we hadn’t watched any of this most recent season, which ended last Wednesday. At least, we thought we hadn’t, until we started watching episodes and realized we’d actually seen about 4. But marathoning it is more fun than watching a half-hour episode once a week.
That’s mostly what we did on Sunday (after finishing reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the morning), until after 9 episodes I said, “I need a break,” and then right after that Hulu Plus said “You’ve been watching for 3 hours, need a break?” Oh how we laughed.
We went for a walk but didn’t really accomplish anything while on it. Well, we did pick up a menu from this Thai place near us that we may try out later this week.
We watched some more episodes that night, but we still have maybe 8 or 9 to go, which I think is a nice amount. Although, I do want to finish them this week because I think I’d like to cancel Hulu Plus before I have to pay for another month. (That’s how I roll.)
When I came into work this morning, I found a post-it saying “Gotcha!” taped over the laser on my mouse (so it wouldn’t work). I also found these people taped under the handset of my phone:
If you’re not familiar with Game of Thrones, that’s Cersei (she’s sort of a bad guy) and Tyrion (he’s totally the best guy). Tonight we watch episode 9 of season 2, which aired on Sunday, and which I have heard is an amazing episode. I am pretty stoked. (And I highly recommend if you’re not watching, you begin immediately.)
And, finally, if you’re keeping score, today marks 22 weeks pregnant for me, which is the end of the 5th month. (The counting is complicated, but trust me: 22 weeks = 5 months.) This week the baby is the size of a papaya, and probably weighs about a pound. This isn’t a particularly huge landmark, but we’re celebrating every single little one, plus I just kind of like this picture I took this morning. So please enjoy this relatively infrequent pregnancy update!
As I mentioned, this weekend I was at an arts marketing conference with NAMT (National Alliance for Musical Theatre) in beautiful Seattle, Washington. It was gray when we arrived, and yet within 2 hours of being there, 3 separate native Seattlites (that must be what they’re called, right?) had commented about how great the weather was. On Friday and Saturday it was actually pretty clear and nice, for which I say to you, Seattle, YOU’RE WELCOME for bringing up the California weather, and leaving the Bay Area in rain.
I thought I would make some lists about this weekend, since I love making lists.
Things I learned at the conference
Doing post-show audience surveys (every show, every audience member) is very useful
Lots of theatres in NAMT are not non-profit (we are)
We should allow patrons to take their drinks into the theatre
People are greatly divided on “tweet seats” (I’m on the “opposed” side)
Lots of people get around discounting by raising the ticket price, and then cutting it in half, but really it ends up being about the same cost that it was originally – tricky!
Some people think you should give your patrons special treatment, not if they’ve been just a long-time subscriber, but you should use a more “What have you done for me lately?” approach
Awesome shows I saw
First Date – a new one-act musical, a co-production between ACT and 5th Avenue Theatre (loved it!)
It Shoulda Been You – a musical comedy at the Village Theatre, with a major twist right before intermission
How much I overpacked
Two tank tops (even though I used four, or something…that is definitely classic overpacking)
One work top
One long-sleeved non-work top
Two pair of socks
One pair of underwear (that’s technically not overpacking, that’s just good planning)
One book (I finished The Night Circus, read about 100 pages of The White Castle, but didn’t crack open Bright Lights, Big City yet)
What I missed about California
My own bed (well…sort of my own bed)
My own toiletries (the hotel stuff was all lemon-sage-scented, which is fine, but isn’t really my style…and there’s never enough conditioner, am I right?)
Wireless internet (the hotel wifi was all over the place, and impossible to get on in some places)
Because I missed the boat on having a comprehensive wedding blog (one of my top 5 regrets ever), I have become slightly obsessive about documenting everything just in case it’s important. Most lately, the devolution of our apartment.
Here it is near the beginning of the breakdown. The hutch is (mostly) emptied out but everything is basically still there:
As the hutch and dining room set move out, everything else starts moving around:
The bedroom and my awesome red shelves, now emptied of books. Well, almost:
The living room only seemed to grow more crowded as we packed, despite my giving away 6 bags of clothes/shoes/etc, and 2 boxes of kitchen stuff, and us throwing away tons of trash:
Possibly making some progress? The desk is gone from the bedroom:
The couches, now freed from their restraining covers, move their waterprint patterns out the balcony and over the side (no room to get them out the front door).
Drew blinds me with the dresser mirror. Maybe he’s tired of me taking pictures while he and his dad move the heavy stuff.
So much room!
Yet still so much stuff!
While Drew and his dad drove the couches to the storage, I made it my job to clean off the bed.
I liked to put blinders on and pretend that this was all that was left. Ignorance is bliss.
The truck filled with boxes:
Our stored stuff, filling up the space:
My plan was to open every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen that still had stuff in it, and close them as I emptied them out.
I got some boxes from work with some strange codes on them…
Progress!
Then a break to take pictures. The masks were mostly because I was using Easy Off in the oven, and that stuff is toxic. But then it was fun to just keep them on.
I am really loving this afternoon spent with my head in an oven. So fun.
Actually, this is preferable.
The final day. Seriously, what is all this stuff.
FINALLY! What a giant bedroom.
What a sparkling bathroom.
What an empty living room!
And of course, to say goodbye, San Bruno had to dress up in its finest.
So long, first apartment in our married life! You were a good little apartment! I will think of you fondly!
The show I’m working on (not backstage, just marketing) is The Secret Garden. It opens tomorrow. This week was the Invited Dress (Tues) and previews (Wed-Fri). Invited Dress is always rough – particularly at this theatre and this time of year, where the lobby is small and it’s freezing outside, things get really crowded since people start lining up ~40 minutes before the house opens. It’s just a little stressful. So after the show started (and it’s been this way on all the Invited Dresses), Jonathan and I needed to sit in the lobby and decompress. Then we needed to go to Target for some retail therapy.
This weekend I’m working on another reading at Marin – it’s called Silent Sky and is slated to be in their 2012/13 season. I’m excited about it – but it got cut down from the original Wed-Mon schedule to just Fri-Mon, and since I already had a conflict this evening, I’ll just be in Sat-Mon. I’m still excited to get back into the rehearsal hall.
On Wednesday, Drew and Erin and I watched Martha Marcy May Marlene. Depressing! Also, I didn’t like the ending.
Tonight – my prior conflict – a bunch of us Davis alum are taking a little field trip to see a fellow alum’s new theatre company’s debut show: The Last 5 Years. It’s in SF somewhere. I’m pretty sure Drew knows how to find it. This started out as a relatively small gathering but has expanded rapidly to involve about 8 people. A diverse group of people – and we don’t all know each other, which is always fun.
Last night, TheatreWorks volunteered at KQED, answering phones for their pledge drive. Someone dropped out of our group at the last minute, so I enlisted Erin to help. It was fun, except that the phones went down at some point so for the last hour (?) we didn’t really have anything to do.
My last phone call before the phones went down was from this woman who started by launching into a story about how she was watching Frank Sinatra (the program was Sinatra Sings) and how she has always loved him. She wanted to know how she could get his music so she could play it in her house. I explained that the lowest pledge level was $75 and the gift at that level was the CD of his music. Then I had to explain what a CD was. She asked if it was like a tape, and apologized for not knowing, but she is “an 89-year-old woman” and just didn’t know what she had in her house.
After trying to explain CDs – and a brief foray into explaining the DVD, which was available at the $100 pledge level – she said maybe she should ask her children if she had a CD player, and I agreed that maybe that was a good idea. I told her I would hate to send her the CD if she wasn’t able to play it.
She was totally sweet and very kind, and what I’m praying is that she says to her children, “I want this Frank Sinatra CD and I can get it from KQED if I pledge $75,” and I hope that they either help her do that, or just say, “Mom, if you just want to listen to Frank Sinatra, let’s swing by Best Buy and pick you up a brand new CD player and also his complete discography.” Or something. I just hope they’re not mean to her.
I mean, even if they just hooked her up to YouTube and made her a playlist of songs. Even that would be okay.
Anyway, that’s my week in review. I am currently FREEZING. Okay, now you’re completely up to date.
On Sunday afternoon, I sat down to finally start my Nanowrimo 2011.
For those who don’t know, Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month – it’s November of every year and you can find more info here. Basically, you write 50,000 words in the month of November, and it’s a great bonding experience (if you can find someone else who’s doing it), and fun, and you feel so accomplished at the end.
But this year has just been kind of crazy. We were busy every evening last week, and then I was in Lodi for Liz’s wedding Friday and Saturday. And in the past years that I’ve done it (2003, 2006, 2010), I’ve written during the day, while at work – well, last year I was working backstage, so I did a lot of writing in the dark with a flashlight during the show – and right now, work is really busy so I can’t fall back on that.
So Sunday was the first day that I could begin this year’s novel. I had an idea for it and everything. I was ready.
But then I started writing…got through 500 words…just 7500 more to go to catch up with my projected word count for Nov 6th…and I thought, There are so many other things I want to be doing right now.Books to read and time to spend with Drew and I have to bake a cake tonight. And this weekend is our 2-year anniversary, and I want to be able to relax and have fun and not be feeling guilty the whole time that I’m not writing.
So I decided: not this year. Which is weird, because I haven’t actually ever quit once I’ve started. I feel weird about it. And like I have to defend my decision. But whatever.
There are some other word-related activities I want to get done this month:
Blog more often (I still have a Sleep No More blog post to write…right?).
Submit to the paper again.
Work on that musical that Jonathan and I keep saying we’re going to write.
And if I do all that, I guess I don’t have to feel guilty about quitting Nanowrimo. So…I should get on that.
The Cameraphone Diaries 