Mom's November Trip

This post is super late!!!  I just haven't had a lot of time to download the pictures and get everything organized!  I know, there is all this "smart" technology that makes it quick and easy, but I'm still doing it the old fashioned way. 

My Mom and her friend Sherry came to visit me in Chicago this past November.  It was such a fun trip and came just at the right time in my life.  When I'm getting all sad and sorry for myself and feeling so homesick that I can hardly take it, these two lovely ladies came with all their positivity and energy and love, so I slipped out of my slump pretty quickly.  

They mostly came to watch the musical "Wicked" but we fit in a lot of other stuff during their four days here.  We went to the aquarium, ate some classic deep dish, and of course did a lot of shopping.  Here are a few pics. (A lot are taken with my "old fashioned" I-phone 4, so they aren't the best quality)

Finding them at the airport was the first step.  I went up the stairs, they went down.  So I went down...and they of course would go back up.  We chased each other like that for a while.  Right then I knew this trip was going to be an adventure ;)

We went to the Hershey's factory and they got to fill their own pail with LOTS of chocolate!

Waiting for the Beluga Whale show to start!  I should have taken more pics of the whales, but I was too busy clapping!  We spent the whole day at the aquarium, just taking our time.  Supposedly there was a tornado outside.  There are worse places we could have been stuck.

It was football Sunday so the penguins were having some fun.

We saw a 4D underwater adventure show.  It was awesome and freaky at the same time.

WICKED!!!!  I love this show so much.  Although I've seen it before and have all the words memorized, it is still exciting to watch.  Mom and Sherry loved it!  I, once again, cried like a baby.  It was Diana's first time seeing the show too...I think she liked it, although the people singing in the seats next to her were probably just as entertaining as the show itself.

In front of the Chicago Theater

It was Sherry's Birthday so we had some YUMMY cheesecake.  The staff sang Happy Birthday while Sherry turned super red! The best part was when mom "went to the bathroom" and came back not even a minute later.  Sherry knew something was up then.

This is the entrance to Target.  Mom was pretty excited so we took a picture. Sometimes, it's the little things in life :D

Garrett's popcorn is the best...so yummy, fresh, and warm right out of the store.  We stood in line for 30 minutes.  In the cold. AND rain.  But if you go to Chicago, you gotta go to Garrett's.  It's like a rule or something.

We had so much fun and I felt so lucky to get to spend some time with these two lovely ladies!  It's so fun showing my city to people and I LOVE these two people SOOO MUCH!!!!



I'm an actor, a singer, a director, a writer...

I can't decide.  What am I?  There are so many things that I find interest and passion in.  I have been told on multiple occasions that I have to pick something.  I can love all types of art, but need to focus on one.  That's probably true and it's probably time. 

In acting, we are told that we can only have one objective at a time.  We fight for one thing at a time.  In a specific moment, we want one thing.  We might want it so that we can get to the bigger and better things, but we only have one objective. 

The simplest way to explain this is using a fight scene.  Right now I (the character) want to escape from the danger (my super-objective).  But there are all these obstacles; zombies, an army of droids, a fire breathing dragon, dementors...the list could go on and on, but let's keep it simple.  It might seem impossible, but I just have to defeat each thing, one at a time.  First I would probably have to use myself as bait for the dragon, and just when he was about to blow fire at me, jump out of the way, but be close enough to the zombies so that he just sets them all on fire.  Zombies: check. And then I might as well keep running past the droids, pull out my light saber and try to take down as many as I can, while the dragon (accidentally) stomps on all of them and crushes them.  Droids: check.  Then since I have my light saber out, I might as well let the dragon swallow me whole, and then slay him from the inside out because we all know that's the only way to really make sure that a dragon dies.  Dragon: check.  Then I would be so happy about getting this far and full of happy thoughts that I could produce my patronus, which of course is a beluga whale, and take out all the dementors.  Dementors: check.  See?  I could only do one thing at a time.  It's not possible for me to stab the dragon while taking out the droids.  I only have one light saber!!!!!

And I (back to being Whitney) only have one life.  I need to decide what I'm going to do with it.  The whole reason I'm writing this is because I lost focus these past few months.  I forgot what I ultimately want and made some poor decisions.  When I moved to this city, I made a list of professional goals for myself.  But when I had the opportunity to sing with a Chicago band, I forgot about those goals and agreed to a few months of Chicago fame.  Needless to say, that didn't pan out well for me.  Not only did I turn down a well paying role with a theatre company and miss three auditions because of this "opportunity" but I didn't even get to perform with the band for a full month before the singer that I was replacing decided to come back.  I give you permission to dope slap me.

I could dwell on the "what if's" and "if only's" of the whole situation, but basically it was a good lesson.  Why on earth did I turn my back on acting for even a second?   This industry, this art, this career is all or nothing, and for being an all or nothing person (to a fault) I have been fairly wishy-washy about being an actor.  But that stops now.

It doesn't mean that I can't have other passions and hobbies.  It doesn't mean that I put my life on hold until I'm successful.  It just means that I have one focus.  One thing to fight for.  One objective...and that is to act.  On stage, in auditions, scene studies and classes...there are lots of opportunities.  I just have to fight for them.  And from now on, I'm all in.

P.S. I'm not as violent as this post suggests. 
P.P.S I'm also not as nerdy as this post suggests, so any corrections on how zombies or other non-existent creatures die aren't welcome.  I'm just proving a point here people.

Today's my Birthday...nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, Happy Birthday to me...

Well, here it is.  I've arrived.  My late twenties. 

For the past two weeks I have been anxious, moody, unable to sleep, and sort of having a constant sinking feeling in my stomach.  I couldn't figure out what was bugging me.  But when I woke up this morning I knew immediately.  I have been dreading this birthday for a whole year now.  I knew it had to come someday, I was just hoping that it wouldn't be so soon.   TWENTY-SEVEN!!!  25 was fun, 26 was no biggie, and now I feel like 27 just smacked me in the face and said, "Whitney, get it together!"

Last time I was home I was looking through a photo album with some high school photos and memorabilia and came across the "Senior Spotlight" in the local newspaper.  I was featured in this short, little spotlight when I was 18.  It asked my favorite food (spaghetti) favorite color (purple) favorite memory of high school (which I'm sure I made up something) and where I saw myself in 10 years.  My answer was travelling around the world making a living acting and directing.  That was 9 years ago.  I have one year left to accomplish that goal.  Okay, that's not true, I have my whole life to accomplish that goal.  But sometimes it sure does seem like time is ticking away.  On top of all that, I just read an article that said for most women their prime time for getting good acting jobs is a small 5-7 year window and that window usually ends at 30.  Cue my over dramatic tantrum, rolling around on the floor like a 3 year old crying that "I'm doomed to be mediocre for the rest of my life" and "I'm going to be old too soon" and  "Three years is hardly enough time to win my Oscar!"

But at some point during the day my attitude changed.  Maybe it was the moment where the mom of Makayla (a girl I babysit once a week) asked me how old I was today.  Her guess was 23 or 24, but only because she knows I graduated.   When I said 27 she didn't believe me.  So yeah, I guess I'm not too worried about "getting" old, because I still pass for 18 most of the time. But also because I still feel like that wide-eyed 18 year old who doesn't have a clue and just wants to explore the world and experience everything!  But mostly, my attitude changed when I started (at 6:30 AM!) to receive phone calls, texts, and LOTS of Facebook posts just reminding me how much I am loved.  Despite the fact that I worked literally from 9 AM to 11 PM because I forgot that it was my birthday, others did not forget. And I felt so special because of that little fact. It's nice to know that whether I'm 17, 57, 107 or (sigh) 27...I am loved. And because of that, I'm going to be just fine. :)

P.S.  My parents sent me this birthday card and it cracked me up.  Aren't they the best?

P.P.S. I came home to this!  Ice cream and a cosmo magazine.  I'm going to go stuff my face with sugar and have some girly giggly time with my bestie.  :)

Movie Review

Last night Diana redboxed Looper.  She had to be at church by 8:00 this morning, and I have a 10 hour work day, so why not start a movie at 10:30???  We liked it so much, that she said I should blog about it.  So here is my review.

But before that rambling starts, can we all just take a moment and admire this cutie patootie????

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

He is on my list of possible future husbands.  I mean, not only did I have a little crush on him way back when he was the sweet foster kid that saw angels in the outfield....


But then he stole my teenage heart when he was a nerd/loser in one of the best movies ever made....


And his career as a MAN has only made me fall deeper and deeper.  Seriously, he is going to be Robin, and I don't know what can be better than what we are seeing below. 

Oh right...sorry, the movie.  Anyway, it was way better than expected.  I don't really remember a whole lot of previews for it and I don't recall hardly any publicity.  But I did know going into it that it was about time travel, and that young guy in the present is suppose to kill his future self...and they fight.  Action man himself, Bruce Willis, is awesome.  Does this guy age?!?! I'm pretty sure he just becomes more and more of a BA!  And he doesn't disappoint in this movie.  Sometimes, in these action films, it's difficult to believe that one man with one gun can take on twenty armed men.  But I believe Bruce can do it.  And did you know Emily Blunt is in this movie?  I didn't, or I forgot maybe.  But when I saw her, D and I were both like, "YES!"  Love her always.

So yeah, all the actors get an A+ from me.  But what I really liked about this movie was that the time traveling didn't trip up the story.  You know how when you watch movies about traveling to and from the future, it get's all crazy and things stop making sense?  Well this movie didn't have that problem, because the actors basically told us, the audience, to not worry about it.  Jeff Daniels has a line addressed to Mr. Adorable himself that basically says,"We could sit here and talk about it  for hours, but just trust me."  Then later Ole' Brucie tells Joseph that time traveling gets confusing and we could try to figure it out but that takes too long and we need diagrams and such.  So, the audience knows just to let it go and enjoy.  And that's what we did. 

This film also had quite a few twists and turns and unexpected laughable moments.  But that's not surprising when you have two charming men like Joseph and Bruce.  But my favorite moments were when Joseph Gordon-Levitt had the exact facial expressions as Bruce Willis.  Diana actually had a moment were she yelled, "Oh my gosh, that was the Bruce Willis smolder!"   Well done Joseph. 

All that to say, you should rent Looper.  Good times.



List 20 random facts about yourself

Some of these may be well known, but others might not be.  It is surprisingly hard to come up with 20 facts that aren't totally lame like "I have brown hair".  I tried to be creative and list things that are not so obvious or that might be a discovery for you all.  So here we go.

1. I am one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet.  I know some of you are thinking, "Mmhhmmm, I know that's right."  Part of the problem is that I put a lot of pressure on small decisions, like at the store, what kind of bread should I get?   I will stand there for way too long weighing the pros and cons of white vs. wheat, whole grain vs. mixed grain, small sliced vs. large sliced.  This is good sandwich bread, but is this good french toast bread???  Then I realize that I don't even make french toast, so just freaking pick a bag of bread already, Whitney!!!!  The other problem is on the other end of the spectrum completely; I actually don't care.  Ironically I usually feel this way about bigger decisions.  Like where to go after grad school...I was sorta like "Hmmmm, where is everyone else going?"  But big or small, deciding is hard.   If you ask me where I want to eat, my answer will be "not seafood" and from there I honestly DO NOT care. Fastfood, sure.  Sit down, fancy restaurant, sure.  Chinese, Italian, Mexican, American...I DON'T CARE.  And if you make me decide, like some friends do...I will have a panic attack and throw myself into some sort of frenzy over where to grab a bite to eat.

2.  As you could have gathered from #1.  I don't like seafood...and I'm sort of scared of fish.  I really think they are gross...seriously gross.  Ew, I could gag just thinking about the ocean.  And yet, I may or may have not shed a tear when some of the goldfish in the pond back home died.  I have chosen not to become so attached to my parents pond fish from now on.

3. I really like trees.  Well, nature in general sorta fascinates me, but I really always try to take a moment and appreciate an amazing tree.  Whether it be for it's size, for it's flowers, amazing green leaves, or the small ones that are still trying to get started, I always like them and notice them.

4. I really, really hate social media and I'm sort of scared of where it is taking us (as in the human race).  Ironic that I am saying this over a blog right?  But that doesn't count...just ignore that little detail. I hate that the only way people keep in touch is through Facebook, twitter and Email.  Don't get me wrong, I am more guilty of this stuff than anyone, which is kind of why I hate it.  I love being stuck under a rock and never coming out to be social, and then just randomly posting something on Facebook so that my "friends" know I'm alive.  But really, we are a pretty arrogant species thinking that we are interesting enough to post our food in some sort of artsy fartsy way online, but that strangers/people aren't interesting enough to look up from our mobile device, whatever it may be, just to smile and say hi.  I don't think this really hit me till I moved to the city and I realized nobody has the time of day for each other.  So on the rare occasion some stranger does say "hi" to me, I have a quick panic attack and think "Oh my gosh, what am I supposed to do???  What am I supposed to say??? Oh yeah..." After an awkward pause I finally respond with "Hi."  Like I said,  I am more guilty than most.

5. Fact 5 is that I need to shorten these up :)

6. My favorite color is purple.  Not this purple.  Not this purple.  But THIS purple.  Look how decisive that was.

7.  I don't ever want to settle down.  I want to always keep moving and I don't see myself ever deciding on one place to live for the rest of my life.  I will stay in the city for a few more years and then go somewhere else that I haven't lived before.  At least that is how I see my life.

8. I like nail polish.  I will make sure my nails are painted before putting any make-up on my face.  It's important to me.  But I have only had one manicure...ever!  If my toenails clash with my open toed shoes, I have to change the polish quick or pick a different pair of shoes.

9.  My favorite flower is the sunflower. Here you go :)

10. I played the drums in high school   Mostly the timpani.  Random right?

11. I'm still sorta obsessed with cheerleading and will watch competitions online, and I kinda sorta wanna see Bring it On the Musical on Broadway.  (I'm so embarrassed)

12. I could eat fruit all day every day, but have to force myself to eat vegetables.  But let's be real, we all know I live on cookies.

13.  Speaking of food, I'm getting better at cooking.  Well sort of.  The crock-pot is my best friend.  I just throw stuff in there and then eat it when I get home.  Easy.  More things have turned out than not.  I'm not saying everything tastes amazing, but it's edible...which is really all I'm going for.

14.  I get to spend my days with this little one.  Right now I am juggling three jobs, one of which is nannying for Evie three days a week.  She has completely stolen my heart.  But she has also made me realize more than ever, I really do not want kids.

15. I am 5 feet and a 1/2 inch tall.  It says 5`1" on my resume.  I will never be a Disney princess because the height requirement is 5'4"-5'7" and the cruise lines that I have looked into performing for have a 5'5" requirement.  I guess that just means I'm destined for better things.

16. My favorite place that I have ever been is Venice.  But I never want to live there, just visit once in a while.  I want to live in London...I think it suits me.

17.  I’m obsessed with chick flicks and romantic comedies.   I'm sort of embarrassed when someone asks what my favorite movie is and the first thing that pops into my head is "Pretty Woman" or "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days".  What can I say, they make me happy. And yet...I have a  pessimistic view on relationships and love.

18. I'm obsessed with lists and calendars.  Right now I have a Google calendar, a planner, and a daily journal of to-do lists and goals.  I spend more time making to-do lists, than actually DOING the items on the list.

19. I have a hard time getting rid of stuff.  Half of my clothes are still from high school partly because I haven't grown since 6th grade, but also because I get really sentimental about silly things.  I will look at a t-shirt and think, "That's the shirt I was wearing during such and such".  But the weirdest items that I get attached to are socks.  I fall in love with socks.  My dad gave me a pink pair with little elephants on them a long time ago...those are my favorite (and I'm slightly paranoid about losing them or wearing them out.)

20.  I become addicted to food in a weird way.  We can call it a phase if you want.  There was the drinking to much milk phase where my parents would buy an extra gallon of milk just for me.  There was also a cranberry juice phase and a Gatorade phase.  There was a lemon phase where I would put lemons on and in everything.  Last summer was my strawberry phase.  I would go buy 3lbs of strawberries and eat all of them in one day, pretty much in one sitting, and then get sick because that is just too much sweetness.  Right now I'm in my Greek yogurt phase.  I can't get enough of it! 


There you go.  20 completely useless, random facts about me. 

Long Casting Rant

Last week I had two auditions in the same arts center building.  The first required one dramatic monologue, the second required two comedic monologues and a song.  I had work that morning and had just run to another audition so I was rushing to this building but managed to get there 10 minutes ahead of time.  And of course it is busy and loud and there are people everywhere.  I was having trouble finding the right room when a guy popped his head out and asked if I was there to auditon.  I said yes, he asked my name, I gave it, and he said "Wow you are early...that's great."  The audition started out with a short interview?  They asked what my day job was, any interesting facts about me, and then noticed that I had the ukulele on my resume.  They asked if I played well and I said yes...and told them my ukulele is purple (I think it is an interesting and important fact and I'm sort of proud of the purpleness for some reason).  I was wondering to myself why they were asking about music so much when it hit me...I was in the second auditon room....not the first! 

I was supposed to have at least 20 minutes in between my auditions to get ready for this.    My mind was totally in dramatic monologue mode.  I wasn't ready to be funny!  I was still on the fence between three monologues and if I'm being honest, had no idea what song I was going to sing.  (It was accapella and they weren't specific about genre, so I could pretty much whip anything out)

Normally my auditions are very polished.  "Hello, my name is Whitney Rappana.  I will be performing A, B, and C for you today. Blah, Blah, Blah. Thank you very much." 

This was the messiest, most unpolished, rambling audition I have ever had.  A voice in my head said, "Well you are in the wrong room and have no idea what you are doing.  You are screwed anyway, so you have nothing to lose."  And wow, did I treat it that way!

I still wasn't completely positive of what audition I was at, so I asked what they wanted to see.  They looked a little taken aback and said two comedic monologues. 

(the following is me stumbling through my audition)

"Ok.  Right. Sure.  I guess I will do...um...The Owl and the Pussycat by Bill Manhof." I did it. They laughed.

"Now for my second piece...I will be doing...um...sorry, I'm sort of figuring this out as I go.  Well I guess I will just do House of Blue Leaves by John Guare."  I did it.  They laughed even more.

"You wanted a song too right?  What style of music are you looking for?"

"Oh no. Were you not able to prepare a song?"  he asked.

"Oh I have like five songs that I could perform for you, I just want to make sure that I give you what you are looking for."

"Oh. Something sort of with a contemporary feel, a little poppy, you only need to do about 16 bars."

"Ok.  Well let's see.  Um...I'm going to sing Five and Half Minutes by Kerrigan and Lowdermilk.  It's sort of poppy, really belty, if that's alright?"

"Go for it"

"Ok.  Let me just think of the middle verse so you hear the best part." ( I hum to myself for a minute) "Crap, I can't think of it."  (Rack my brain frantically trying to start in the middle of a song).  "I'm sorry, I seriously cannot for the life of me remember how the middle starts."  (I hum a little more trying to speed through the first verse so I can remember how the second starts)

"We can just keep watching this if you want, because this right here is entertaining enough" He jokes.

"Ha.  Ok, It's clearly not coming so I will just start at the beginning and you can stop me when you get bored."  I sing.  (NAIL IT!)  They listen, laugh, and stop me right after I hit the big note.

"Is there anything else you need to see?" I ask.

"No, I think we have seen everything we need." 

"Cool.  Well thank you so much! And thanks for your patience through all that"

They laugh, say thank you one more time, and I get the heck out of there!

I got a callback but it was cancelled because of weather.  So he called me and said they loved my audition and really wanted to work with me.  And that's how I got cast in Chicago; by being a complete nutcase that didn't have a clue what she was doing and couldn't be anything but her goofy, giggly, air-headed self because she didn't think it could be any worse. 

The End.

Here's what's up

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted! The goal was to post at least once a week...but I can hardly manage once a month!  I am terrible with keeping on top of these sort of things and keeping in touch with people.  

Here is a quick recap of my and Diana's lives. 

-It's cold.  And it has snowed more in the last month than it has all winter.  We are more than ready for spring weather and have decided that maybe two years in Chicago will be enough ;)

- We are still stuck in this little, nasty apartment.  It's teaching us patience and tolerance and building character.  HA!  How is that for an optomistic attitude?  But seriously, we are thankful for clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads and for each other...because this whole sucky apartment experience would seriously blow if we were doing it alone. 

Our tiny apartment

- Diana has an interniship at Claire Simon Casting.  She has been doing this since the New Year and finishes up in April.  It has kept her very busy. 

- She is also opening Julius Ceaser with the company Babes with Blades!

- I was cast in a play..  WOOT!  It's a comedy with a lot of adult humor.   I get to sing and play my ukulele!!!! I'm pretty excited about that.  

We take acting very, very seriously

- I have also become an excellant egg cook.  Just yesterday I made us outstanding scrambled eggs, if I do say so myself.  Yup, I'm growing up and learning to cook.  Although I tried to make instant pudding a few weeks ago and it didn't turn out.  I'm thinking it was just a bad box :D

- Winston is fluffier than ever.   He is enjoying the snow the most out of the three of us.  Eating it and jumping around and digging till he finds mud is pretty much his favorite thing.  He had stopped eating his dog food because he is a picky diva...or maybe because of an ongoing upset tummy.  It's hard to tell.  We recently changed brands and he is back to eating two cups of food a day.  (I know you are as excited as I am)

And that's all I have to say about that.





  

Cheesy love song

With my new Ukulele I wrote a silly lovesong.  Diana helped!

So...this whole "adult" thing...

I suppose that I have been an adult for a while now, but in all honesty, I still don't feel like an adult.  Technically I have been out on my own since I was 18...making my own choices, my own money, and my own mistakes.  But really, I have been in school that whole time, so it feels like all the freedom wasn't really unleashed until recently.  Moving to a city and basically having the mindset of "I can do anything I darn well please!" has brought out a different side of me.  Not good or bad...just different.  Needless to say, this whole adult thing has it's ups and downs. 


Up:  I can eat anything I want!  Ice cream for breakfast? Done!  Cookies for lunch? Done!  Cookies and cream ice cream for dinner? Done!

Down:  I have to consider my weight and health becasue I am (gasp) 26 years old!  Ice cream and cookies aren't going to cut it a few years down the road.  (Okay, if I'm being completely honest, the ice cream and cookie diet isn't really cutting it now)


Up:  My free time is awesome.  I can do whatever I want!  Naps, movies, shopping, walks, play my Uke, friendship time, video games*, taking a shot of vodka at noon just because I wanna...(hahaha, just kidding...no, but really).   No more teachers, books, deadlines, or people checking in on progress...well except my parents, but that's just because they are good like that.

Down: Ha!  Who am I kidding?  There is no downside to this.


Up: I am my own boss.  I am my own motivator.  I answer to me. 

Down: Where is my A+?!  My Sticker!?!  My gold star!!!!


Up:  I can be friends with whomever I want.  My friends aren't chosen for me based on who is in my class.  I can pick what type of person I want to be and form my friendships based on who will help me become that person.

Down: Let's be real, I'm really not very good at making friends.  My bubble is comfortable.


Down:  Bills. Rent. Money. The pressure of planning for the future while still trying to live in this moment. (This doesn't have an "up".  It just doesn't.) 


That's all.


* It has occurred to me recently that I should invest (to use my Mom's favorite word) in a Wii. I'm not really a "Gamer" persay, but I do enjoy a good game of Mario Racecart every now and then. I feel like playing video games would be a very prodcutive way to waste my time. So if anyone wants to send me a Wii out of the goodnes of his heart (*cough* Dathan *cough*) I would be open to recieving the gift.

Here's to the New Year!

Well I have had a wonderful and relaxing break.  My days have been spent with family, naps, food, naps, games, and well...more naps.  I had a few short days to spend with my brother and another week with just my parents.  And two nights ago I was able to say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013!  Last year was a trying year for various reasons.   It was a year where I had to step back a number of times and think, "Ok, what is the lesson that I am supposed to learn here?  What do You want me to take away from this?"  But let me accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative (get it? it's a song!)  Here are a few of my 2012 highlights.

1. I travelled to Naples FL with the rest of my MFA class to perform The Inspector General and our showcase.  That was a blast!  It was a week that I got to spend with the people that I love in the warm sunshine doing what we all love to do!  This was a week that I won't ever forget...especially since I recorded all most every second :)

2. I graduated with my MFA.  Cool beans!

3. I performed with four other people in The Winter's Tale for Regent's Summer Shakespeare show.  The five of us threw that thing together!  Definitely the fastest rehearsal process I have ever been a part of.  Less than three weeks of rehearsals, I played three different characters, and learned those shakespeare monologues faster than I ever thought I could.  Shakespeare has always scared the crap out of me (if I'm being honest) but there was no time to be intimidated with this process.  Yeah, that was fun.

4. I directed Thoroughly Modern Millie for a high school summer camp.   It never ceases to amaze me how much these teens touch my heart while working with them.  They are always so eager to learn and are always giving their all.  Not to mention, I really love this musical.  The experience was fun, challenging, stressful, and extremely rewarding...everything I hope for while directing a show.

5. I moved to Chicago!  Love the city, love my roommate, and I'm looking forward to great things here.

And with all that behind me, I can start 2013!  I have a new job, a new haircut, and a new apartment (hopefully, more on that later).

Last but not least, I know the whole world has been sitting on the edge of it's seat wondering if I got that purple Ukulele.  Well of course I did!!!!  Ha, I'm so spoiled.  I have had it for one full week now, and below are a few of the songs that I have learned...in the order that I learned them.  I put together a little medley. A few mistakes here and there and Mom and Dad got home right at the end which distracted me...but it's still fun.

Oh yeah, and I named her Kewenah  (ku-weh-nuh) which is Hawaiian for rosy refelction of the sky.

Love to all!