but it's not the end

Okay, trying this again. I had internet issues halfway through writing this post and lost it all, so now I'm a little annoyed. Anyway, we'll try to cover the important things. This afternoon will be the final performance of Crazy For You. It's been a great time. And so, I've compiled a top ten list of great moments during the run of the show.

10. Clint flubbing his final spoken line during rehearsal (two days in a row) and Kim threatening to shoot him on the spot if he did it again.

9. Mike playing rimshots after the jokes Tuesday night.

8. Julie dancing in the sound booth, distracting both actors and musicians.

7. Jordan's death scene and various last words: "Tell Polly I love her", "I see the light--it's beautiful", "Rosebud"

6. Orchestrating a fanfare for Jeff's entrance into the auditorium, and having his shake his baton at us. ("Get your Jeff on." -Seth)

5. Adam being flipped by a girl half his size and nearly falling into the pit--every night.

4. Ricky Mooney

3. Finding flowers on all of our chairs in the pit before Friday's show.

2. The whole orchestra laughing hysterically during a serious spot in our final rehearsal because Jeff put on his parka, zipped it up to his nose and directed a song that way.

1. Jon breaking the steps down into the pit Saturday night, causing the house to be opened late so it could be fixed.

And now I've wasted enough time and really ought to get back to my homework. After the show this afternoon I'll be rocking out to Audio Adrenaline at their last show ever in South Dakota. Woot!

-Kim

dancing queen

I got back to my dorm room not long ago, coming in late from a dance on campus. Since I'm now way too energized to fall asleep, I'll tell you all about it while I wait to get sleepy. Sorry if the thoughts seem disconnected--that's just how I am right now.

I never really liked dances in high school. They were always awkward affairs. But since coming ot USF, I've grown accustomed to the idea of jumping around like an idiot. I used to be terribly self-conscious of my body and the fact that I really can't dance. That's still not completely gone, but now I realize that we all look like idiots together, so we might as well make the most of it and have fun. They played Footloose tonight, which is my favorite song to jump around on. I danced so hard tonight that my feet hurt, and I know my legs are going to be sore tomorrow. (Add that to my sore back and shoulders from pit rehearsal, and it's looking like a slow-moving day.) This dance, though not replacing one from last year as the best dance ever, came very close to doing so. Aside from the random rap in the middle, the music was good, though a bit loud. My ears are still ringing. And even better, there was only one awkward slow song. To make it less awkward, I danced with Corinne. We took turns spinning each other, just to be fair. But apparently Todd and Liessman didn't like that. They interrupted our dance, and both Corinne and I danced the last 20 seconds of the song with a guy. Shocking, I know. The other shocking part of the dance was that Shane was wearing Jimmy's plaid dress pants, and they actually fit him quite well. Shane told me he's excited how many people he knows now that he and Jimmy are roommates.

And now for the downside of the dance. The rap, of course, was not appreciated by me or my close friends. I've never understood how people can dance to it. And I'm not even going to start on the lyrics. Then there is the song I like to refer to as the hip-hop square dance, since it consists of the rapper just calling out dance steps. I refuse to participate in that one, as it just seems profoundly stupid. And sadly, USF students are ruining Cotton Eye Joe. I love that one because it's great for jumping around and general hoe-down foolishness. But now everyone does the Electric Slide to it. I don't get it. They could at least attempt an actual country line dance. But no, they do the Electric Slide for that and every other song they feel the need to line dance during. People used to know other dances, but now everyone just keeps doing the easiest thing and forgetting anything else. Sigh. And then they ended the dance with Life is Life. You don't need to tell us life is life, we know life is life. ("Harold knew trees were trees...") But at least it's got a good beat.

Anyway, now that I've told you everything I can think of, I guess it must be time to get to bed. Tomorrow I need to do laundry, and then a few of us are going to the symphony in the evening. I love that the music department gets free tickets. As long as my ears stop ringing by then, I'll be good to go.

-Kim

life happens

Okay, so it took a little longer than anticipated to get around to writing this post. Oh well. As Jane Jewel said, life happens. In this case, "life" refers to the spring musical here at USF. We're getting into full swing with rehearsals now, with the show a week out. Last night we put the cast and musicians together for the first time. It was a little rough, but it's so good to have that taken care of so early for once. From here on out things can only get better, and we actually have more than one rehearsal to do it in.

On a similar note, we found another violin player for the pit orchestra. She's a freshman, and she plays very well. So well, in fact, that she would be better than me, had she had the music as long as I've had it. At first I wasn't sure if I could handle her upstaging me, but she's not even trying too. She keeps worrying about playing things right, and tells me how relieved she is that I'm taking all the top notes and solos. Wow. That impresses me so much. Sure, she's never done a musical before, so in that respect it makes sense that I should take the lead, but she's helping me as much as I'm helping her. Even when she was first sightreading, having her next to me gave me more confidence to play out on some of the more difficult sections. This musical is proving to be just as fun and meaningful as the last one, and I can't wait until we get really good at it.

As for my novel, well, I've not been working on it yet. With the musical right now, I barely have time to keep up with my courses, let alone throw in extra work on top of it. But that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. Taking advanced composition this semester is giving me plenty of opportunities to write new things. Just the other day, after reading something Dyer gave us about freewriting, I sat down and started writing the draft of a short story that has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks now. If not for the essay I read, I might not have started the draft for some time. It's just too bad it doesn't fit the assignment that's due tomorrow. Oh well, I guess I can make time for that sort of writing too. My plan is to start carving out time for editing once the musical has passed. Until then, I think the theatre may own my soul. Hopefully I'll get it back undamaged.

I get distracted so easily. My train of thought keeps stopping to pick up passengers in very strange places, and I'm not even sure how it got there. Since I can't remember anything else of import, I guess we'll call this the end of the line.

-Kim

it is finished

The rough draft was complete as of extremely late Tuesday night, so late it was actually Wednesday.

A more creative and thorough update will follow after I complete my reward to myself: reading Terry Pratchett's "THUD!" for the pure enjoyment of it.

bidin' my time

I never know what day it is anymore, and it's starting to bug me. This morning I was sure it was either Friday or Wednesday, but no, it's Thursday. Darn it! Not that there's anything wrong with Thursday, but it's no fun being confused all the time.

I should be writing a chapter right now, or practicing my pit music. Actually, I've already been doing both today. But I can't really concentrate on either one at the moment. I think my brain is clogged, and getting a whole lot of thoughts out of the way might just release the pressure and allow things to run smoothly again. So here we are.

Yesterday was fun. Jesse and I randomly played a game of Scrabble. I broke 300 for the first time, which was absolutely amazing. Then when we finished we were going to dinner at the caf. While I was butting my hoodie on, Jesse randomly decides to whak me in the head, so I chased him out of the pod. And of course, we run out the door and nearly run into an admissions counselor giving a tour to a high school girl. They tried their best to ignore us, but I found it terribly funny.

I can't believe that interim is nearly over. It feels like it barely started last week, even though I've actually had nearly three and a half weeks of almost total freedom. A week form today I'll be back in class, and even though I'm excited for what I'll be taking this semester, I don't want to start those classes quite yet. I've grown to like my writer's life, and I'm not keen on giving it up. Maybe that's why I'm having trouble finding the right words right now. Maybe part of me doesn't want to finish. Well, too bad for that part, because this thing is too close now to stop. It's funny though, the timeline I have written out looks short enough, but everything takes longer than I think it will to write out. And not just timewise, but with the wordcount. Just yesterday one scene turned into four scenes boucing perspectives back and forth, and now may be its own chapter. I thought I would be writing the battle by today, but maybe not. On the other hand, it's really not that much further until the pirates attack, so maybe I could get there by tonight.

Interim break is going to be awkward. The caf isn't open, so I maybe should go home, but I need to be in town on Sunday for my group. Also, it seems a lot easier for me to work at school than at home. There just isn't a good work space for me there. In any case, I wouldn't go home until Sunday night, so it really doesn't matter right now.

You know, I wish I could write this fast on my book. Somehow, I just don't worry so much if I sound like an idiot in my blog, even though I can't edit it again before it's seen. Yet my story, which will undergo quite serious editing before I'm done, I worry about. I edit as I write, not typing anything until I'm sure it's what I want to say. It's really starting to annoy me that it takes all day to write 2000 words this way. (Well, that includes an hour each for lunch and dinner, sometimes longer depending on who all I run into.) But I'm so close now. Maybe I could just buckle down and get it done.

It's weird. Everyone around me is getting so much done for their futures. Tiff got a great internship for spring semester, and Audrey is already assured one for the summer. Adam is done applying for grad school and just needs to hear back from them. Me? I still don't know what I'll be doing this summer or even what I should try for. I talked to Mark the other day about going the library route, and he had lots of good advice, but not very much of it helps me right now. Maybe it's still too early to know where I'm going or how I'm getting there. I feel like I'm driving down an interstate at night (which I hate, by the way), only able to see the road right in front of me, not any farther. It's an exercise in faith, I suppose, to keep moving down a road I can barely see. Is this the point where I set the cruise control and just keep going, or do I need to put on a burst of speed and pass that minivan in the slow lane? I keep hoping the sun will rise so I can see the whole path before me, but it shows no signs of appearing yet. Maybe it's for the best. After all, life would get boring if I could see it all ahead of me. I suppose I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for those helpful little green signs that are only visible as you zip past them.

-Kim


Quote of the Day from Corinne at lunch:
"We want to learn to live like the Native Americans, using every part of the buffalo. We'll just take the head."