What’s a book that has helped you professionally?  Theatre Management, by Stephen Langley, is one that I have used for several classes, both in undergrad (one of my majors was theatre) and in grad school (performing arts management).  It contains a lot of valuable information, and I know that I will be using it a lot once I start working.

This post is for the Day of Blogs 2008! I am blogging for Children’s Literacy Initiative. For more information about what I am doing, please click here, or you can sponsor me!

Things have been very busy around here as I am frantically trying to finish my apartment before school starts up! I’ve got about 2 more weeks - orientation is most of the second week of September, then classes start on the 13th - eek! I’m so nervous . . . I’ve REALLY enjoyed not having to go to class this past year, LOL! But I’m also excited because I’ve missed getting to work in the theatre.

I’m also nervous because I’m going to keep working at Starbucks. Class is about 12 hours a week plus 20 hours a week of working on campus for academic credit . . . and then 30-35 hours a week at Starbucks. I hope that I don’t kill myself. Organization and motivation will have to be key.

I’m really liking my new apartment. For the first time I’m living somewhere that feels like it could be home. I haven’t felt that outside of my parents’ home before, I’ve always felt like I was just at the current stopping point. It’s a little strange living by myself though (I really really want kittens, but so far my parents say no . . .)

How are you doing? I feel like I haven’t heard from my (few) readers in forever . . . I don’t even know who still pays attention to my blog anymore, I’ve been so sporadic lately . . .

OK, let’s try this again! I really do want to get back to blogging regularly, things just seem to be a little unorganized at the moment. However, as I am about to tell you, that will soon change.

First off, I’m transferring to a new store . . . today was my last shift at the Starbucks that was “my Starbucks” as a customer, and my first Starbucks home. Our new store is said to be opening on August 4th, but sometimes these things get pushed back a bit, so we’ll see if that actually winds up happening like it’s supposed to. It was sad today though - MANY regulars talked about how they will miss me, and there was a banner and a cake . . . it was really sweet. Oh, and I hit 6 months with the company on the 5th of August, so woo hoo!

OK, enough sadness, onto the AMAZING news! I have been accepted into grad school for next year! This whole things has come together very quickly. A former director of mine (I stage managed Marvin’s Room for him) got me in touch with his wife who is apparently very well connected in the theatre community in this region. I spoke with her on the phone, and she told me about this new program (just graduated their first class this year) that North Carolina School of the Arts is offering - it’s an MFA in Performing Arts Management. Not only is it right up my alley, but it’s right down the road (NCSA is in Winston-Salem). So I contacted the head of the program and went in for what I thought was an informal chat, but wound up being my first interview. We discussed the program (which is set up very similarly to the FSU program), and the possibility of me jumping into their class for this fall at the last minute. This was just over a month ago. Things were left very much up in the air, and then he had to leave town for a couple of weeks.

After much back and forth trying to arrange a time for me to meet with him and the other full time faculty member (who I had not met previously), we finally set a meeting for this past Wednesday. We sat down, talked, reviewed my application (which I had submitted while the head of the program was out of town). They told me that they couldn’t officially tell me if I was in, the admissions department had to do that, but they could tell me if they were recommending me for admission, and they said they would get back to me in the next few days to let me know if they were, in fact, recommending me.

I was quite shocked to check my email Wednesday night with an email saying that they were going to recommend me for admission! So, unless I fail the background check (like that will happen), I’m in! I am currently an unofficial member for the NCSA grad class of 2010! I will be here in Winston-Salem for the next two years, and then the third year of the program is spent in an internship . . . somewhere. They have some people that stay nearby, some people in NYC, some in Boston . . . it just depends.

So yes, I have a life plan, I am SUPER pumped about it, and I can’t wait to get started in September!

Aside from that, my family is doing well, AJ is great, my new apartment is slowly coming together (did I mention I moved 2 weeks ago? - living by myself for the first time EVER - eek!), and I’m loving my job with E. Webscapes. Yay!

Now if only I could convince my mom to let me get a kitten like I want . . .

Oh yeah, almost forgot about the kittens! About a month ago, I helped AJ remodel his condo (repainted EVERYTHING, ripped out the carpet and sanded down and refinished the hardwood floors, picked out all new furniture, the works)! While we were waiting outside for the Chinese delivery guy, a very tiny and very cute little kitten came up to us! We figured he was just a kitten that got loose (actually, at the time we thought he was a she), so we pet him, gave him some water, and then were going to go about our business. Well, the food came and we walked across the street to the park so we could sit at the picnic table to eat. And the kitten followed us! He played in the tree the whole time we ate, coming to us every once and a while for a bite of chicken, and then he followed us back across the street when we went back to AJ’s. At this point we realized he was a stray, so we took him in for the night. The next day we took him to the vet and found out that he was a very healthy 10 week old kitten that we decided to name Jazz.

He is such an awesome cat - so lovable, and playful! I have always always ALWAYS been a dog person, and never in a million years would I think of getting a cat. But Jazz absolutely won my heart over, and I will never feel that way about cats again. Here’s a picture of Jazz when we first got him (he’s grown a lot now) - he’s got really cool markings, including spots on his back:

Well, after about 3 weeks we decided Jazz needed a playmate. So we went to the Humane Society and got another little kitten. This one is even tinier, and we named him Ninja (well, AJ named him . . . I disapproved of that name because it doesn’t suit him, and we never call him that, we always call him “the little one” . . . so there). Here’s a picture of him giving me kisses (bad pic of me, but he’s so cute) - he is COMPLETELY black . . . no white at all:

Anyways, they’re technically AJ’s kittens, and they get to live with him, and I love them so much and they act like I’m their mommy, so I think they’re mine too. But I really would like one (or two) to have at my own place. So, must talk Mama and Daddy into this . . .

Oh yeah - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? AWESOME!!!!!

Well, I guess that I definitely needed a blogging break! I am so sorry it’s been forever since I posted - a few of you have been wondering where I am, but I really haven’t gone anywhere, I’ve just been busy!

Not too long after I stopped posting I started to hang out with a co-worker of mine a lot, and now we’re dating :-). His name is AJ, and he’s a really awesome guy. VERY different from anyone I’ve ever been interested in in the past, but it works somehow. We’ve been actually dating for about a week shy of 2 months now.

On top of that, I’ve also been hanging out with other new friends from work. It think I just needed a break from online life to adjust to my new life that is emerging here. Life in Winston-Salem is very different when you’re not encased in the little Wake Forest bubble, so I’m kind of discovering the city for the first time.

I did hear back from Florida State University about grad school - it was very frustrating because they said they’d get back to me in a week and a half to two weeks, and it actually took about SEVEN weeks, so by the time I got that email I almost didn’t care about what the answer was, I just wanted an answer at all! Which, unfortunately, was no. So that’s another thing I’ve been doing the past month or so . . . reevaluating where I want to go and what I want to do. At the moment I am intending to spend another year here in North Carolina. They got back to me so late about the theatre management program that it was too late for me to apply for any other graduate programs, so this coming year I will be taking another year off. But honestly, I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. I think a little more time to think things through would be good.

As far as jobs go, I LOVE working for Starbucks. It really is the awesome company to work for that everyone says it is. I thought that it had to be hype, but it’s not. I love this job - just had my 4 month anniversary with the company! And things have been going VERY WELL with working for E. Webscapes . . . I’ve just passed my 3 months with them! E. Webscapes is full of such awesome designers and staff members, they’ve really made me feel right at home!

I’ve traveled a little bit since I last posted - I went home at the beginning of April to join the Episcopal Church (#5 on my 101), and then I took AJ home with me in May to go to the TPC golf tournament. And this past weekend I went to Georgia to visit my mother’s mom (who is REALLY not doing well, so prayers that she finds comfort would be appreciated).

Also, I turned 23 this past Thursday (June 7), so I’m getting old, LOL!

A few little administrative things - I never marked of #46 on my 101, but I completed subscribing to and reading a newspaper, I closed down my Doodlebug website, so #74 is no longer an issue, and I forced AJ to sit down with me and watch all six episodes of Star Wars in a row, starting with Episode I. If you’re into Star Wars and haven’t done this, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a full day’s commitment, but my view of all the movies has changed, and I like the prequels more now. I think watching them like this allows you to see them the way that Lucas intended them to fit together. So yeah, nerdy moment over, #81 is completed.

What all have I missed with all of you? Hopefully I will be back to posting regularly now. I didn’t mean to leave everyone hanging high and dry! I’ve missed blogging!!! Please comment and let me know how all of you have been doing!