A Heart in New York

City Rain, City Streets

2012-01-21T20:35:00.004-06:00

I'm listening to Ryan Adams' album Love is Hell. He's singing about City Rain and City Streets.

It's rained entirely too much this Fall and Winter in Alabama. The temperature climbs up to the seventies and the water gets squeezed out of the this tropical atmosphere like from a sponge. It drips and and fogs and settles in for days and days.

I don't spite the occasional shower, especially in spring and summer. But this pattern has me thinking mother nature needs a therapist, and its making me want to see my own more often than usual.

The rain here is nothing like New York City rain. New York rain can be brutal, its true. Literally flooding the streets up to mid calf and God help you if you have on fashionable footwear. A cheap umbrella can be found easily enough, but be careful not to put out the eyes of your fellow walkers on the street. But the rain puts a glossy lacquer on everything. As the evening falls the lights start to shine and reflect off of shiny black asphalt and the pools of water that stay behind, sparkling and shining like jewels. The rain washes away some of the less desirable scents of the street and renews everything for another busy day of hustle and bustle.

Here the rain turns everything a muddy grey smelling of dirt and old dogs. There's no quick storefront, coffee shop or restaurant to dart into out of the hardest of rain. Here you either stay in or go out and get drenched.

In New York if you do get caught in a down pour with no umbrella and miles to go before you sleep, there's something romantic and wonderful about the way that where ever you're going half of the people there will also look like chic little drowned rats as well and you're all impossibly cool anyway. That's New York City Rain in your hair, pockets, shoes. You can't get that anywhere else.

2:42:34

2011-10-02T19:28:00.002-05:00

2:42:34
That's how long it took me to run 13.1 miles for the first time in my life.

Amazing.

I'm still processing the experience. From the time the alarm went off at 4 AM yesterday until 2:30 in the morning when I hit the pillow after a night of celebrating, it hasn't really felt like my life.

I don't do things like this, do I?

We started steady and strong with lots of help from the cooler temperatures that we've trained in. Everything they say about nerves and excitement making you run faster is true. This took its toll on me around Mile 7 and 8. Mile 10 is marked right before the biggest hill of the race. By then I was making deals with my self to continue. By Mile 12 I was making deals with God.

The feeling of crossing the finish line was so unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was like I outran my old self somewhere and was wandering around in some place I'd never seen or been to before.

The aching in my calves was also something I'd never experienced. Like waking in the night with double charlie-horses in the back of my legs. No amount of stretching, squirming or bananas seemed to help. Beer did though. And sitting down.

After resting and consuming the most delicious free barbeque sandwich and two or three beers in the sun I was ready to go home and try to sleep off and recuperate in time for a post-race celebration and my running buddy Emily's house. It was difficult to sleep, kind of like I was sleeping in someone else's bed, in someone else's house.

That night the party was small and we moved the celebration to a couple of bars not exactly known as the classiest of joints. It was a perfect way to relax and release after this big day.

When I awoke at noon-thirty today, I still feel like I'm in someone else's life. Maybe I did outrun that other person yesterday. I'm ok with that.

Punkin' Head

2011-08-28T11:34:00.007-05:00

25 Days 4 hours 48 minutes 10 seconds

As of this moment that's how long until Fall officially starts. In my mind September is really the beginning of Fall. I'm fooling myself, especially because this is Alabama, and it may not even feel like Fall on Christmas Day. But two weeks ago I had my first craving for watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and that's my cue for shifting into Fall mode.

Luckily, I booked a fall wedding cupcake order and they want to try the pumpkin with maple cream cheese icing. I'm preparing a tasting for them today and so the smell of fall baking is in the air at my house.

I made this recipe last Fall and it was pretty popular. I struggled to get the full maple flavor in the icing last year but today I used the full amount called for and just mixed the butter and cream cheese with it for a LOT longer that I had before. The result was a smooth fluffy very maple flavored base to add the powdered sugar to. I still feel like maple is far too subtle a flavor so I boosted it with a smidge of vanilla. Yum.

The couple I'm doing a tasting for also wanted to try a vanilla with almond butter cream and I couldn't resist doing the icing in some Fall colors - copper, willow green and Ivory. Here's hoping the love them all!

NYC BOOK REVIEW: The Island at the Center of the World

2011-03-30T18:57:00.005-05:00

I love Audible.

Since I've started Megalicious Cupcakes, officially, I've started getting several orders a week. I find that listening to music while I bake is fun, but sometimes I need a little more human interaction. I kept hearing the offer for a free audiobook on my Moth p odcast and finally downloaded the Audible app to my iphone.

IT IS AMAZING! I just love it. My first book was a The Island at the Center of the World.

Its a history of the first Dutch settlers who came to live in and colonize Manhattan. I learned so much! I have known of the early Dutch influence but I didn't really understand that Manhattan began as a business enterprise. The colony existed to make money for the Dutch West India Company through the collection of pelts and other riches that the new world contained.

I also didn't know about the character of the Dutch during the mid 1600s. I believe that the character of New York, even of the US itself comes from these early freedom loving, self ruling, capitalistic settlers. People of all nations, religions and social classes functioned together as part of this colony. Not with out conflict, of course. But it seemed that most could put aside their differences and get along in a sort of "to each his own as long as it doesn't impede my happiness and well being" kind of attitude.

The reader is LJ Ganser who gives the characters such life, and takes us easily back and forth from the first person narrative of the author, who discovered these histories along with the rest of the world, after the ancient Dutch documents we recovered and translated after many years of storage in the New York State Library, to the number of historical characters such as Descartes and Vermeer, Peter Stuyvesant and perhaps the most captivating and little-known, Adriaen van der Donck.

I highly recommend this 14 hours of listening to anyone interested in New York or early American History.

Really? Really!

2011-03-30T18:45:00.004-05:00

Has it really been three months since I've blogged?

So sad. That must be why I'm full of pent up rage and bitchiness. That or something....

Today I paid the price for taking a Monday off to deal with personal business. As all working people with responsibility know, taking a Monday off is a fatal error. Tuesday is maybe ok. Wednesday, you start to feel some pressure building as end-of-week deadlines approach. By Wed afternoon you feel the strain of the Thursday morning panic attack. Your schedule is chock-full of meetings all day Thursday and Friday and you've run out of time to do the desk tasks that must be done this week.

Your options are: A) stay really late at work so that you can't wake up in time or with the energy for the morning run. You know, the "healthy" thing you're supposed to be doing to "relieve stress." This also requires skipping the home obligations, like getting your Junior League Rummage Sale items together for drop off tomorrow, which you will have to do on lunch and skip the meal or scarf it down like a mad woman in the car. (This means it has to be fast food which will counteract the run, if you get it in tomorrow morning.)

Or, B) you can go home, eat leftovers, get the rummage sale items together, log in to work at home, stay up all night and finish as much desk work as possible and try to wake up in time to run in the morning.

I'll go with B. We'll see if I get logged in. We'll see if that media alert, those press releases, those event plans, etc, get done. We'll see.

So Ready!

2010-12-05T19:36:00.010-06:00

Its time again for another trip to the the big apple!

Wednesday morning at 6 AM I'll board a US Airways flight from Montgomery to Charlotte to Laguardia with Travis and my niece Amber. This is a return to the holiday NYC vacation and a graduation gift for Amber, who finished high school this summer.

I am stoked for many reasons. The top two are: 1) CHRISTMAS IN NYC! 2) sharing New York with someone who has never seen it before. I swear this could be my job. Easy.

So, what will we do? Everything possible in 5 days and 4 nights. I expect exhaustion, muscle soreness, tender feet and frostbite (figuratively) on noses. Otherwise we didn't try hard enough.

As usual, we are packing something into every single second, and that's still not enough time to do so many things that we really want to. You can check out everything on my tripit agenda.

I've been looking forward to this so long that I've got all the packing done, all the house cleaning done, and provided no catastrophe's tomorrow at work, I'm prepared to be out of the office a few days too. This left me with a luxurious weekend of baking, light housework and hanging with Miss Kitty.

The fruits of my weekend?

Take a look:

Peter Pan Birthday Cupcakes on Saturday morning! Vanilla cupcake with almond buttercream sprinkled with fairy dust (edible gold glitter and stars)

Pumpkin Cheesecake muffins for Sunday breakfast

Rosemary bread - first bread I've ever made!

A very yummy weekend!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

2010-10-17T19:18:00.008-05:00

Times are a-changin' again and boy am I ever glad. This summer, and specifically August and September, have really kicked my butt. I took on too much, was blessed with some great opportunities and now welcome this time of transition.

This year I was accepted into the Emerge Montgomery Torchbearers Leadership Class II. Its a young professionals leadership class that lasts several months and involves a number of class days where local and state leaders speak to us. We take part in several interactive learning opportunities like simulated society (SimSoc) and do a final project as part of a small group. We completed our project on Sept 11, and we present on it at the final retreat this week. I've learned a lot and I'm really grateful for the experience.

In July, I was contacted by a local magazine called RSVP and offered a chance to be profiled in the bi-monthly "List" of young professionals that are the current "to know" group. I saw this as a great opportunity to launch Megalicious Cupcakes. So, Travis developed a logo for me and my AWESOME brother created a web site and now I am up and running! I'm still working on all of my paperwork for the business license but I have filed as an LLC. The magazine brought me a lot of business and I've been making cupcakes every few days since the article hit.

The season at ASF started a bit early this year in late September with a world premiere by Pearl Cleage featuring Jasmine Guy. The income goal made up a modest portion of our overall income so it was pretty important that we do well. Missing a month and a half of prep time for a show really sucked and has left me pretty well scrambling to catch up.

I also trained for my first 5K this summer. I ran it on Oct 2, with a time of 40:49 and a 13" pace. Not bad, they tell me, for a first time race. I didn't stop running and that was my goal. I call it success. I've continued to run and plan to begin training for an 8K in November. I like this new habit and hope I can make it permanent.

My niece also just got accepted into college at Auburn University Montgomery (my alma mater) and is thinking about graphic design as a major. I'm thrilled, and I think she's going to be great at it. Like most artists, she'll probably find the non-art classes a challenge but I know she can do it.

And speaking of her recent academic achievements, Travis and I are taking her to NYC as her high school graduation present. We'll be going Dec. 8 -12. This has also got me excited for the change of season and the advent, not of Christmas, but of Christmas in NYC!!!

Blog, Blargh

2010-09-07T10:28:00.003-05:00

What did I learn today?

It's only 10:30AM and surprisingly the answer is, a lot.

I have today off work because I worked yesterday's Labor Day Jazz on the Grass event. Today was day one of week six of my couch to 5K training program and while I didn't want to sacrifice the cool early September morning to my day-off laziness, I did plan to start my run around 7:00 AM.

As I backed out of my garage I noticed the neighbor girl waving at me, in more than a good morning way. She obviously needed something. It turned out that she missed the bus and needed a ride to school. I thought about how I had the day off, and this kid probably wasn't going to get to school today if I didn't take her, so I said yes.

This put my run back another 30 minutes or so, starting a little after 7:30 AM. This is where lesson number one started to make sense. There are many more people and cars in the park than at 6 AM. This makes me slightly anxious. There's also more direct sunlight. So much for the cool September air.

Week 6 Day 1 is a return to segmented runs rather than a long solid 20 minute or more run that I enjoyed so much on Sunday morning. This is a pain. Its much harder on my knees and breathing to stop and start like that.

You know what else is hard on my knees? Falling.

Yep. I had my first runner's fall today. There's a wooden footbridge about half way through my course. I've run over it most every other time I've run in training. Today one of the boards gave up the ghost right under my foot. Of course this caused me to trip and fall.

I had just started my 8 minute segment and was feeling great until the fall. I recovered. Stood up and walked the rest of the bridge to be sure nothing was seriously damaged. I seemed fine so I continued my run.

Lesson 2: Falling while running hurts more than knees. It's hard to love yourself enough to keep running after the fall. Your entire system is thrown off by the jolt of survival chemicals your body produces after a fall. You feel shaky and sad and like the earth is literally picking on you like a school yard bully.

But continue I did and I know I covered more ground, having to add a new section to my course in order to complete the run. So, I guess it was worth it.

So let's review. Lesson one: Even on your day off, get up and run early. You would have avoided the bus-missing neighbor girl and it would have been cooler and calmer for your run.

Lesson two: Don't fall. Or, be wary of rickety wooden footbridges. Or, city parks are not properly maintained in Montgomery. Or, get over it - you're going to fall down sometimes. Take care of yourself and don't bitch. But feel free to blog about it.

Hopefully the rest of my day will be less educational.

Review: Montgomery Film Festival 2: This time its personal.

2010-07-25T09:34:00.009-05:00

The second annual Montgomery Film Festival took place last night at the Capri Theatre in Old Cloverdale.

The Festival accepts submissions from professional and

amateur filmmakers in a number of genres and languages.

This year the festival included eight short films. Only two of the submissions came from local filmmakers, Your Casanova, directed by Prattvillians Jimmie Rogers and Michael Turner, and Find A Way, from Stephen Poff, who was also the cinematographer/director of photography on Your Casanova.

Local by way of association, was a documentary called In Our Shoes, which was directed by Jen Suran and shot on location at Five Points South in Birmingham.

The remaining five shorts came to us from a Brazilian director, Spain, Canada and Michigan.

Here's my short review of each film:

La Barba Brutta

A silent film featuring opera and shaving.

Director: Davi Abreu

Runtime: 2:15

This was a great little short film. Shot in black and white in what is probably the director's suburban bathroom, it features the filmmaker contemplating his beard and the best tool with which to shave it, finally settling on a large butcher knife - all while lip-synching Rossini's Largo Al Factotum from The Barber of Seville. It was cute and got several laughs from its 2 minutes and fifteen seconds.

Afghan

An afternoon surprise forces two friends to make the best of a bad situation.

Director: Pardis Parker

Runtime:11:40

The filmmaker is Canadian and this short is probably set in Halifax. Racist vandals have spray painted "Go Home Afghan" on the side of a white volkswagon in front of a small house shared by two friends. The white friend comes home, sees the car, comes in the front door and begins a conversation with his Afghan friend about the different ways they can react to this rude message on film. The options range from the traditional "piss on it" to an elaborate image of the Afghan friend wrapping himself in an ET afghan and raising a lighted finger at the car, to driving the car into two tall stacks of cardboard boxes representing the World Trade Towers. This is all discussed in a humorous way, eliciting lots of laughs. The action shifts to outside in front of the car where each of the ideas (except that copyrighted ET moment) are played out. Near the end, the emotional toll of this experience on the Afghan character becomes apparent. When that's started to settle on the audience the camera pans up to show the white friend dressed in a KKK tunic, holding an Apple Pie - part of an elaborate, satirical response they'd

discussed earlier. Big laugh payoff here.

This was a great short, funny and meaningful, and well executed. Strong performances, strong dialogue and smart-funny. Not the most memorable or exciting of the evening though.

In Our Shoes

A documentary exploring the impressions brought on by shoes.

Director: Jen Suran

Runtime:7:00

Ok, this was a good idea, but it could have benefited from more subjects and more footage. There's some nice imagery of the Five Points fountain, and of feet crossing the street, walking down the sidewalk, but it seemed that there were only about twenty people in Five Points that day because we see the same shoes over and over. There was no clear connection between what impression was made on others by the shoes the subjects were wearing, or how that impression was accurate or not based on the words of the subjects. Also, it was hard to really know what shoes each subject was wearing. I think the whole point was lost, and parts of this seven minute short seemed to go on too long, or to have no real relevance.Neat idea, but not well executed. Although it has made me consider a documentary idea... for that I'll give it credit.

The Gynecologist

A gynecologist's day turns upside down when an unusual patient asks for an examination.

Director: Alfonso Camarero

Runtime: 10:00

Despite the fact that a horror short was included in the submissions, this dark comedy wins the gross-out award on this blog. This Spanish film might be pure comedy. It might be soci

al commentary about the health-care system in Spain, which according to this movie, places administrators at the top of the beaurocratic ladder, dictating to a gynocologist that she must examine a patient, who though referring to himself (and his father) as female, has male genitalia. It might also be a commentary on gender roles and political correctness. Its really hard to tell. One thing that's not hard to tell is that most of the men in the audience were feeling some serious sympathy pains by the end of this interesting submission.

High production values, pretty good acting and thought provoking.

Your Casanova

A young man awakens from a recurring dream that proves more real than expected.

Driectors: Jimmie Rogers and Michael Turner

Runtime: 15:51

Remarkably high production values marked this movie which the creative team said cost a whopping $60. A first-time attempt on the part of most of this team, including the writers and directors, that rose the the occasion on gross-out factor, awesome death-screams, and a distinctive, gritty look, including the best titles in show thanks to Stephen Poff.

Our horror story follows a young man who keeps dropping off into a recurring dream

wherein he murders and mutilates a woman he has recently proposed to. As the day goes on the murder scenario begins to replay itself with his current girlfriend.

There's some weakness in the plot, and the actors were too young for the roles and the least experienced of all the actors on screen last night, but great editing covers a multitude of sins. A great first time effort from these locals.

Copper Penny

Director: Jay PulkAfter pulling a prostitute from the street, a desperate man's request puts a twist

on his already awkward situation.

Runtime: 5:45

BEST DRAMA AWARD WINNER

This was my favorite of the non-local submissions. In it, an awkward late-middle aged man enters a motel room with a street-walker type prostitute. The hooker character is in control of the scene, trying to find out what the man is interested in for the night. He explains that his wife is cheating, and what he really wants is to be told how to be better in bed, so that his wife might stop cheating. He tries to light her extra long cigarette with an impotent lighter that will not flame up. She finally turns him out, explains she wants him to leave. He does, and seems devastated. He walks slowly to the curb outside the motel and as she looks out the window to watch him two cops open the door and ask the prostitute what happened. Its clear this is a sting and she's undercover. Just then, the man steps out into traffic and is run down by an oncoming vehicle. The woman examines the lighter the man left in the room. Its a retirement gift from the police force.

This short was shot well, written well, and acted well. For fiction entries I'd say it was the best. Perfect short story form. Well deserving of the Best Drama Award it received.

Find a Way

The River Region United Way focuses on the need for donations and time in the community.

I don't need to review this. You can see it yourself, and you should.

Stephen Poff and the team at LWT are responsible for this. Its a great public awaren

ess piece, but also beautifully put together.

Two Men, Tow Cows, Two Guns

An unexpected visitor interrupts a family's quite day at the farmhouse. Starr

ing John Dunsworth (Trailer Park Boys_

Director: Purdis Parker

Runtime: 6:40

AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER

FESTIVAL AWARD WINNER

BEST COMEDY WINNER

This thing is too funny to explain, but John Dunsworth plays the stoic father who reluctantly opens the door to find a redneck neighbor covered in cow blood, claiming he has shot a cow and delivered it to the back deck. The redneck neighbor is insistent that they use all of the animal and milk it immediately. A social worker is visiting with the wife, and an (asian? maybe) child of about 8-10 years old is dutifully following the father back and forth from the front door to the back to examine the cow situation, except when he's jumping in his father's green chair. The humor of this piece is best distilled in the line when Dunsworth scolds the child for jumping on the chair by saying "I'll cut your legs off and feed them to homosexuals." That's probably the best way to explain this hilarious film. See it if you get a chance.

If you missed the Montgomery Film Festival 2 you really missed a great night. Please bookmark the web site, friend them on facebook and keep in touch to see what comes around in this festival next year.

Congrats to all the filmmakers featured in this young festival. Keep up the great work!

Cowgirls "Impressive" says Howley

2010-06-14T14:54:00.005-05:00

Our new production of Cowgirls began previews this weekend and reviewer Michael Howley says "Talent Abounds"in Cowgirls and found "foot stompin' delight" in the show!

Here are a few excerpts from his review

Talent abounds in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's production of "Cowgirls", directed by Karen Azenberg, who also directed & choreographed ASF's production of "West Side Story", and choreographed "A Christmas Carol: the Musical" and "Beehive".

* * *

Not only do the six actresses act and sing their roles, they are also called on to play an assortment of musical instruments ranging from cello to mandolin and from piano to washtub in the two hour performance; and they demonstrate a variety of musical styles from classical to country. Impressive.

* * *

Most of the play is an extended exposition, and it isn't till the final moments that they actually perform as the "Cowgirl Trio". But when they do, the event is a foot-stompin' delight -- partly because they have transformed into a really good country act, and partly because we have become invested in their lives.

* * *

When Act I opens on Peter Hicks's two-level interior of Hiram Hall in Rexford, Kansas, one can almost smell the years of smoke and spilled beer, the brown wood aged just enough and the numerous photographs of country stars and old advertisements reach out to include the audience, so the external world that is never seen through its windows hardly matters. This is the world for the present.

* * *

Individual personalities emerge as we watch the relationships grow, and by the end, most audience members will have chosen a favorite and will cheer the spunk and achievements of this excellent ensemble.

Read the entire review on his blog at www.theatremontgomery.blogspot.com

Check out this number from the show featuring Jessica Tyler Wright as Mary Lou.

Local Politics as Unusual

2010-06-05T20:47:00.004-05:00

I've lived in Montgomery, Alabama all of my life, and most of it I've had a mind to notice politics. Its usually been national politics, but this year I became intensely interested in local elections as well. One of the local races that was voted on this Tuesday was a family court judgeship. Judge Patricia Warner was up for re-election with opposition from Kathy Brown, and both are Democrats. I've heard on local talk radio stations that Judge Warner's actions are quite questionable. Someone else in Montgomery must agree.

Cupcake Cannon

2010-05-02T10:42:00.003-05:00

I would like to say that this is a brilliant little video. Great music. Arfully shot. And cupcakes. Cupcakes everywhere.

Lately

2010-05-01T09:05:00.013-05:00

In the past few weeks I have been pretty busy and haven't kept up my 365 project. I had to let it go because I knew with 3 shows opening, several events at the theatre and begining the Torchbearer's Leadership class I would probably not have time to work in my daily photo, but more so, I couldn't put the pressure on myself daily to do the photo and post it, and try to say something interesting every day. It was just too much. So here's a little update.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week Iattended the first weekend retreat of the EMERGE Torchebearer's Class II. The purpose of the weekend was an orientation and immersion with the group of young professionals in the class. It included a ropes course and several teambuilding activities as well as some class time on professional etiquette and basic leadership training.

On Friday, ASF celebrated Shakespeare's 446th birthday with a free party in the Shakespeare Garden. It was lots of fun and very successful with free ice cream and cake for attendees as well as performances of Shakespeare's worksby the Curtain Call Players, agroup of experienced acting students from our camps and academy classes.

This awesome cake was donated by Liger's Bakery.

This week, on Tuesday, we had Field Day at ASF which was rediculous fun and incredibly well thought out by our company manager and assistant to the production office. There was a cookout and an elaborate bunch of relays, games, contests, etc.

Earlier that day, the cast of All's Well that Ends well participated in a video for Joy to Life Foundation.

The rest of the company participated in a pink glove video at Field day too. Haven't seen that video yet but here's a photo.

That night I got to see The Dead Weather at Workplay. AMAZING. It will get its own post sometime soon, but in the mean time, here's a little Jack White for you.

For now, I'm off to take pics at the YSWP Awards Ceremony and then to a Torchbearers Small Group meeting.

Later tonight - May Day Member Party at ASF with the cast of Rep.

Woohoo!

Day 100: lonely

2010-04-11T18:53:00.001-05:00

Day 100: lonely, originally uploaded by Megart.

Don't get me wrong. I love my job. But there are some ironically lonely moments.

Running a party can be one of the loneliest parts. When we open a show we always have a post-show dessert reception with the cast afterwards. A few hundred patrons will stick around and slowly peel away after they've had their fill of free champaign. As they leave the cast, crew and artistic staff and their families continue on for a while talking and drinking and celebrating culmination of their collaboration in the opening of another show.

Theatre admins do not tend to appear at these events and so, as the event manager, I find myself with little social inclination at the event since the people that I have worked with on this production are not present, and while I get to know the folks on the production side I can't possibly bond with them they way that they do with each other, working long hours through rehearsals and tech.

It's rewarding to see everyone enjoy the party, but I find my self feeling a bit withdrawn and isolated at the event. I really wish that more of our admin staff were inclined to attend the events. It doesn't help that they are always on a Sunday afternoon, which is not the most inviting time for a work related event.

Anyway, we had a double opening today and it went great, no problems and I got home about an hour earlier than expected. Now I've got my feet up and trying to claim the last few hours of the weekend as my own.

And.... yes, I've fallen down on the 365 project. I've just had entirely too much going on at work, and its possible I'm going to do it again this week as i'll have at least one evening completely out of town with limited access to the internet.

Day 98/365: Sprout

2010-04-09T01:12:00.001-05:00

Day 98/365: Sprout, originally uploaded by Megart.

On Saturday I planted lots of veggies in my garden. I waited a few days and then started checking every morning and afternoon for a sprout. This afternoon I found the first one! The stringless green bean awakes!

Let's hope this is the first of many!

Day 97/365 starting over again

2010-04-08T00:12:00.001-05:00

Day 97/365 starting over again, originally uploaded by Megart.

Continuing the theme of sleeping.. or waking up, yesterday you saw my view every night before bed. Tonight its my first site each morning - flashing, beeping 6AM.

booooo......

Day 96/365 reflecting on the day

2010-04-08T00:10:00.001-05:00

Day 96/365 reflecting on the day, originally uploaded by Megart.

Lately the 365 is just about going to sleep. Here's another, every night, i lean over and reflect on the day before turning off the lamp. Tuesday night my reflection in the shiny silver lamp was my 365.

Day 95/365 HistoryofRussia

2010-04-05T22:58:00.002-05:00

Day 95/365 HistoryofRussia, originally uploaded by Megart.

Ok. maybe there were some sleeping pills in my easter leftovers, because about 5 minutes after i ate i completely passed out on the couch. I guess it could also have been the History International channel's History of Russia: Land of the Czars Part 1. I was out before Peter the Great took power.

Day 94/365: eastereggs

2010-04-05T22:54:00.001-05:00

Day 94/365: eastereggs, originally uploaded by Megart.

Had a great easter with the fam. Ham and cheesey potatoes and collard greens and much, much more. Now I have all these peanut butter eggs and strawberry cupcakes left over...disaster...

Day 93/365 veggie garden

2010-04-03T21:27:00.001-05:00

Day 93/365 veggie garden, originally uploaded by Megart.

The first Saturday in April is a great day to plant vegetables. So says I, who has at least one brown thumb. Last night I bought tons of seeds for squash, zucchini, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Today I planted them and lots of flowers too. It was a nice day, but a little gloomy by comparison to the last few days. i'm hoping that tomorrow will be bright and shiny for easter and to get these seeds interested in being my dinner in a few months.

Day 92/365 Outake

2010-04-03T21:22:00.001-05:00

Day 92/365 Outake, originally uploaded by Megart.

Last night I was too tired to deal with 365 and may have officially failed for real on this project. I took some shots but didn't really like them - so I got mad and went to sleep. So, today I'm posting an outtake from the other night at dinner at El Rey. Travis is doing something to deserve this face, I'm sure.

Day 91/365 Typewriter Tip Tip TIp TIp Tip Tip

2010-04-01T22:31:00.001-05:00

Day 91/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

I owe someone 1000 words. I only have 860 something. Gonna have to come up with a few more in the AM, cuz I'm tired!

I'm looking forward to having tomorrow afternoon off!

Day 90/365: Death by furball

2010-03-31T22:17:00.001-05:00

Day 90/365: Death by furball, originally uploaded by Megart.

Another lovely day. We made it to see A Single Man tonight. It was good. Beautiful of course, thank you Mr. Ford. Not as captivating as i expected though.

Not much else going on at the moment, but will have insane events for the next 6 weekends in a row. I'm pretending that isn't going to happen.

Day 89/365: El Rey Hi-Jinx

2010-03-30T22:39:00.001-05:00

Day 89/365: El Rey Hi-Jinx, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today was another amazing spring day and I was dying to sit out side for dinner. Travis and I tried to eat at El Rey then go to see A Single Man at the Capri. We had just gotten our quesadillas at about 7:15 and decided to try for the movie tomorrow night. I had a nice margarita and decided i shouldn't drive home quite yet. In the mean time Travis and I took a series of ridiculous 365 photos. After dinner we walked down the park in front of the Methodist Church and sat till my buzz wore off. It was a lovely night.

Day 88/365 ouchie

2010-03-29T22:15:00.001-05:00

Day 88/365 ouchie, originally uploaded by Megart.

Yesterday's sunburn was in full effect today. Warm and tingly. I've been alternating between moisturizer and noxema to pull the heat out. It mostly works, except when I get busy and lose track of time and haven't applied either of the treatments in a while.

I'm hoping my method works and I avoid peeling, especially my toasted nose.

Ouch.

Day 87/365 Airshow

2010-03-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

Day 87/365 Airshow, originally uploaded by Megart.

We went to the air show at Maxwell AFB today. I got a rockin' sunburn and had a great time. It was exactly the dose of patriotism I was looking for. Also, the amount of fresh air and sunshine I was able to take in might have given my winter blues the the permanent boot. Here's hoping.

Day 86/365: Eye spy

2010-03-27T22:10:00.001-05:00

Day 86/365: Eye spy, originally uploaded by Megart.

It was a beautiful day today. The weather was perfect and I could not stay inside this morning. Granted, I went outside to go shopping. But still it was outside.
We auditioned cats for Lettice & Lovage today. So many cute kitties! Later we did the advance photo shoot for Lettice & Lovage which I think went pretty well. Now I'm tired and need to charge up for a big day tomorrow when we will fight the rain showers to attend the AIr Show at Maxwell Airforce Base. I'm craving some patriotism.

Day 85/365 Tina Fey Hair

2010-03-26T23:54:00.001-05:00

Day 85/365 Tina Fey Hair, originally uploaded by Megart.

1) I had number 7 in the top ten worst headaches of all time today.
2) I got a haircut today. It turned out to look a little like Tina Fey's hair on last night's episode of 30 Rock when she went to dinner with Floyd.
3) My glasses are apparently crooked.
4) I haven't seen the sun 6 months and thusly, I am the pale horseman.
5) I saw Nobody with Travis tonight and followed it by a very disappointing Bananas Sinclair at Sinclair's.
6) I have a press event and a photo call tomorrow.
7) I will not be able to recreate this hair style tomorrow.
8) My cat bit my nose tonight. Probably vengeance for posting that pic of her sharing a nosicle with me.
9) I wore heels and hose for like 13 hours today. HATE.
10)Today is over.

Day 84/365 nosicles

2010-03-25T22:39:00.001-05:00

Day 84/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

Miss Kitty does this once a day pretty much. Its the sweetest thing evar. Not much else to say about today. Lots of work. A little dinner. A little sleeping now.

Day 83/365: sunset

2010-03-25T22:34:00.001-05:00

Day 83/365: sunset, originally uploaded by Megart.

I've finally caught up with the time change and I'm starting to like it. I get this extra time before I go home or after I'm home and I"m not starving to death and immediately ready for bed. Yesterday afternoon I took the extra time to walk around the park at work and shoot a sun set phot at one of the picnic tables. You can't really see it, but I have headphones in. I'm listening to Spoon. Nice.

Day 82/365 Spoon

2010-03-23T22:30:00.007-05:00

Day 82/365 Spoon, originally uploaded by Megart.

Ok, so as you know, I saw Spoon (its a band) live at Workplay on Friday night. I knew I liked their music before but didn't own much. Now I'm obsessed.

I've always developed fascinations with bands, singers, guitarists. Usually they're kind of in the background until I see the band live. That's the moment when it can either fade or go over the edge into full on rock-star-crush.

There have been several rock-star-crushes in the history of Meg. In college I was a bit of metal head. I had been listening to a band called Corrosion of Conformity for a while, and had the opportunity to see them in Birmingham. Band member Pepper Keenan shook my hand from the stage and I had brief thing for Pepper for a few months after.

Later, I discovered Old Crow Medicine Show. I've seen them several times and the whole band has such personality there's a String-band-star crush that rotates through the members each time I see them.

Recently (within the past two years I think) my room mate and I discovered

Chris Thile and Punch Brothers. This music is sort of string band/blue grass in the instruments, but has a much more complex and structured composition. The are all adorable, nerdy and

delicious. Ditto on the string-band-star crush for them.

So back to Spoon. I didn't have a clue what they would be like live and I feared a pompous, rich kid, indie vibe. And despite a prolonged hesitation between the opening act and Spoon taking the stage, they turned out to give one hell of a show. It was a real rock show, more aggressive than the recorded stuff and pretty responsive to the crowd. Here's where the rock-star crush comes in. Britt Daniel is the front man for the band and according to my thorough post-concert research the brains behind it all.

He's a total rock star on stage. There's a bit of Bowie and Sex Pistols in his posture and stomping around on stage in his leather motorcyle jacket, "fitted shirt" and jeans (song title pun there - google "spoon fitted shirt") and tousled strawberry blond hair. But, his focus and attention to the sound of the instruments and his charisma take the performan

ce beyond a showy stage presence. Its about making good music, not just looking cool.

After the concert I initiated stalker mode by looking up Britt's city of origin (Austin), influences (Bee Gees) and marital status (single & straight). And unlike most indie sensations these days, he's no baby - born in '71.

Rock-star-crush is now in full effect. So, I'm listening to Spoon these days and googling interviews, videos and photos of Britt. And collecting more spoon tunes by the minute.

Next full blown rock-star-crush on the radar: Jack White when I see him with The Dead Weather in April.

Day 81/365: action laundry

2010-03-22T23:14:00.001-05:00

Day 81/365: action laundry, originally uploaded by Megart.

Nice productive Monday, even if a bit cold. Tomorrow seems potentially good as well. I've got to finish a marketing budget for next season tomorrow morning so I'll be waking up bright and early. Before bed i had to get some laundry folded quick fast, so an action laundry shot accompanies tonight's post.

In other news, my walking tour post may turn into an article for a local mag. I'll keep you posted.

Day 80/365: single vision

2010-03-21T22:14:00.001-05:00

Day 80/365: single vision, originally uploaded by Megart.

Just a little fun with my spectacles for my 365 today. Nice lazy Sunday topped off with some delish ala thai with Travis and a few pre-made chocolate chip cookies before bed.

Tomorrow: Conquer the world. Or something just as challenging.

Treasures Found on Mildred Street Walking Tour

2010-03-21T11:17:00.037-05:00

Yesterday morning the Landmarks Association held another of its fabulous walking tours. This time the area explored was Mildred Street. Once the home of prominent Montgomerians, it was devastated by the invasion of the interstate which left sweet shaded through streets chopped off like amputated limbs. As property values dropped the area was left to decay and many of the original architectural treasures are now gone. But some remain, and as interest in reviving Montgomery's downtown area grows, restoration enthusiasts and even some young families are taking on the project of saving the remaining homes and buildings in the area.

Our tour began at the Figh-Picket House located at 512 South Court Street, which houses the Montgomery Cou nty Historical Society where the group assembled for donuts and coffee before we trekked out down Mildred Street.

Historians Dr. Richard Bailey, Robert Gamble, James Fuller and Mary Ann Neeley lead us down Mildred Street to the corner of Mildred and Sayre to the Sayre Street School. Now the home of Jean the Florist, the building features symmetrical and heavily decorative Victorian elements. The school was built in 1891 and was one of the first public schools as Alabama began to organize a public education system. I wish I'd taken better notes because now I don't remember a lot of what was said, but I believe it was a girls school and I do remember that Zelda Sayre (Fitzgerald) attended and was apparently not a great student. Across the street was a small private school that was run out of the home of a prominent Montgomery woman. Her students were trained in the classical disciplines and took annual trips to Europe, even into her advanced age. In fact, she died in London on one of these trips. After her death, the school was closed.

Further down Sayre street the home of Grover C. Hall, the former editor of the Montgomery Advertiser who won a Pulitzer Prize for bringing attention to theactions of the KKK. The house is in terrible disrepair and really needs a savior, pronto. There is a desire among some

preservationists to join the forces of Historical Society, Landmarks and the Advertiser to find a way to purchase and save this building for the future. Personally, I'm for it.

On the way back down Sayre street some interesting architectural elements were pointed out on some of the town houses on Sayre Street including these wild stone faces and the name Dreyfus in the sidewalk. This Dreyfus is the same Dreyfus in Dreyfus funds of NYC.

Next we traveled further down Mildred to the corner of Holcombe and Sayre St. where stands the Old Ship AME Zion Church, the oldest black church in Montgomery. The church given to the local black population by the Court Street United Methodist Church (now First United Methodist in Cloverdale) in 1852. The frame building was rolled to its current location in logs by slaves and freedmen under the direction of the freed black contractor Thomas Wilson (who also organized the Emancipation Proclamation celebration across the street). The church is beautiful and features two vignettes in the stained glass depicting the rolling of the church to Holcombe street and the other showing after being bricked in.

Further up Mildred Street a lovely wild lot of flowers and growth was

pointed out as a part of the Wilson Nursery, which stood as an income producer for the Wilson Family from antebellum days through the war. There is an account of the Federal troops coming into the area and setting up camp, destroying some of the plants and causing Mrs. Wilson a great deal of distress. Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald mentions the scent of the pear trees wafting through her childhood neigborhood from the "old Wilson nursery" in Save

Me the Waltz, her semi-autobiographical novel. There are still some bulb plants, lilies and snow-bells as well as some magnolias growing today which are descendants of the original plants in the nursery.

As we approached Goldthwaite Street a grand old antebellum home appeared on the left. Its clearly in the midst of renovation and we were welcomed in to see the progress. Gorgeous and a hidden gem as one of the only remaining examples of antebellum architecture in Montgomery.

After exploring this home we traveled down Goldthwaite and as we made our way past the the first mass of vines and trees and vegetation a gasp inducing view materialized as we discovered Winter
Place. This home looks like a haunted mansion with Montgomery's only Mansard roofs in the Second Empire style. There is a twin-house in the neo-classical style attached by a walkway. We were met at the door by the ambitious man who is restoring this amazing place. First the history of the building was revealed. The Winter Family (who gave us the famous Winter building downtown) constructed this massive house after suffering losses due to a failed business venture in the construction of plank roads. Having to sell their home on Madison Avenue, they moved to the "suburb" of Goldthwaite Street.

Later, when a Winter daughter married a Thorington the twin house was constructed to house the new family. The house was inhabited until 2007 by a Thorington but the house was in terrible decay. Major Craig Drescher found and purchased this decaying gem and began a long and still ongoing process of saving and restoring it. He says his dream would be to live in main house and make the twin house available for event rentals with an urban wine cellar in the basement of the twin house. It will be brilliant when completed.

The tour was one of the most interesting that I have taken so far and I encourage anyone reading to take advantage of any opportunity to do one of these. You can find out about them on the Old Alabama Town web site or facebook page. Montgomery has such a rich and interesting history that you'll never know unless you seek it out. Get out and explore it!

Day 79/365 yes that is a creepy building over my shoulder

2010-03-20T22:45:00.002-05:00

DSC02554, originally uploaded by Megart.

That creepy building is a fantastic example of the some of Montgomery's most interesting architecture and history. Its called Winter Place and its Montgomery's version of Grey Gardens.

I went on the Landmarks Association Mildred Street Walking tour today. I'll be posting another entry soon with lots of photos and the story (as best as I can recount it) of Winter Place.

Day 78/365: Spoon

2010-03-20T08:49:00.006-05:00

I saw Spoon live at Workplay last night. Crappy blurry 365 resulted.

law&order

2010-03-19T00:57:00.001-05:00

law&order, originally uploaded by Megart.

Time for a little Law & Order before bed. Oh Jeremy Sisto, you are fun to watch.

Another long day. Strange start since i couldn't decide what clocks were actually set correctly and almost woke up an hour too late. I feel so behind and I don' t know if I'll ever catch up. But, I will endeavor to do so.

Tomorrow, a trip to Bham for an exciting meeting about our new web site to come, and seeing Spoon in concert with Lern.
Yay!

Day 74/365 Happy Green Eyes day

2010-03-17T19:53:00.001-05:00

Day 74/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Travis gave me a little bendy tripod to use with my 365s and this is my first shot. It just so happens that my green sweater makes my eyes mo green than usual which is pretty cool since its St. Patty's day.

Hooray!

spoils

2010-03-16T22:32:00.001-05:00

spoils, originally uploaded by Megart.

Well, I'm home. Sorry there weren't more pics this time. I spent so much time in the conference I didn't really take much time for strolling and snapping.

I got home around 9 and unloaded my spoils. several books, some chocolates, some bagels for a colleague by special request, a new tote bag... and my foot. which is tired and wants me to go to sleep.

Day 74/365 A

2010-03-15T23:28:00.001-05:00

Day 74/365 A, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today was lovely, but my feet hurt. The second day of the conference was overall a very good day with most of the sessions above average. Afterwards, I checked out the current exhibits at MOMA, including the Tim Burton and Marina Abramovic in a performance art piece. The artist was seated at a table in the center of a slate floored room. Visitors are invited to join the artist at the table and sit silently. It was pretty amazing how intensely still the artist could be for obviously hours. The exhibit runs from March through May. That's a long time! I feel like I got to see something important, but I still didn't get it.

Afterwards I met Tommy and Ren for dinner at the Edison Hotel before seeing It's All about Me, the Dame Edna show on Broadway at Henry Miller's Theatre. The renovated theatre is very beautiful and still smells like a new car.

Afterwards a quick trip to the apple store on 5th Ave and the A train home. Tomorrow should be a nice built-in vacation day before heading back to Montgomery (boooooooooooo......).

From the 9th floor of the Kimmel center at NYU

2010-03-15T12:13:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting by the west facring window on the 9th floor of the Kimmell
Center waiting for my next breakout session at the ArtsReach
conference. I can see a boat at the the peir peeking through a space
between two buildings on the left. On the right the tops of buildings
in Jersey?
In between overlapping layers of organic colored brick and glass tiles
in an urban mosaic. Beautiful.

Day 73/365

2010-03-14T21:21:00.001-05:00

Day 73/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

Its been raining, and is going to keep raining pretty much the whole time I'm here in New York for the Arts Reach conference. Today I went down to the Kimmel Center at NYU for the conference and the views were amazing. The sessions ended around 3:30 PM and I needed to purchase a new charger for my black berry and stopped in at Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore. It was adorable and I saw at least two cats and they were sooooo cute! They had a good selection of books and it was so cosy and sweet.

After that I decided to see what shows had Sunday night performances. Ultimately I decided that I wanted to get home a little earlier than a show would allow me to do, so I wandered around a bit looking for dinner. I ended up getting a shawarma plate and brining it back to Tommy's house. Now we're chilling (literally - its cold in this apartment) and I will soon be sleeping.

Today my 365 was taken while waiting for the subway at 72 Street. There was a really loud crazy guy yelling something about "103" and "gonna punch the *#$% out of you" so I got on the D instead of waiting on the A, which meant that it took a bit longer to get home than I planned. But I made it home safe and sound eventually.

Day 72/365: Tommy & Meg show @Duplex

2010-03-14T01:22:00.001-06:00

Day 72/365: Tommy & Meg show @Duplex, originally uploaded by Megart.

Fun times at the Duplex with friends old and new. Thats all I should say in my condition at 3 AM.

exhausted arrival

2010-03-13T10:13:00.001-06:00

exhausted arrival, originally uploaded by Megart.

After a long Friday of trying to get all my tasks accomplished before going out of town my flights to NYC we delayed and I arrived at 2:30 AM. TIRED and starving to death! A quick bowl of fruity pebbles and then deep asleep.

Not sure what we're going to do today. Its my friend Ren's birthday so we'll have fun no matter what it is!

Off to have birthday cake for breakfast.....

here2dayder2morrow

2010-03-12T00:39:00.001-06:00

here2dayder2morrow, originally uploaded by Megart.

I'm sleepy and excited. The final dress/photo call for Nobody was excellent. The show is really there and everyone seems happy and excited, if also a bit exhausted. Pretty soon we'll see if people like it or not!

Tomorrow night at this time I'll be at Tommy's getting into my PJs and looking forward to a fabulous Saturday in New York, followed by two jam-packed conference days. Woo hoo!

But tomorrow morning, its all about getting the 2010-11 marketing budgets before I can get too excited about getting outta town!

Day 69/365: sleepy

2010-03-10T23:17:00.001-06:00

Day 69/365: sleepy, originally uploaded by Megart.

I'm hoping for some sound sleep but I think these storms may not allow it.

Long day. Early in to work because i had two out of office meetings. Got lots done, I think, and saw the dress rehearsal of Nobody. The show is very good and I can't wait to see what people think of it.

Before I go out of town we have a photo call tomorrow night. So, another long night before I go out of town. I better get as many winks in tonight as I can. Going to get to that now....

Day 68/365: groan

2010-03-09T21:45:00.001-06:00

groan, originally uploaded by Megart.

Had a pretty good day. Scored a big name author for the Alabama Book Festival...I'm sure it will be announced soon but I don't think I should say anything yet.

Just as I was feeling good about that I read on facebook that I totally failed to give our brilliant photographer credit for the photos that are plastered all over a two month issue of a local magazine. Cover shot, even!

Oh I wanted to puke. My 365 expresses how it felt pretty well.

Day 57/365: Happy Monday

2010-03-08T21:06:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday, originally uploaded by Megart.

The Gub'ment gave me back some of what was mine today. Nice thing to come home to.

Had a good Monday. We had an after hours event for the new play Nobody tonight. It was a meet and great with the cast and a performance of one of the songs. I had a small RSVP list of about 13 people. Four of them showed up. It was still a lovely evening, but somewhat disappointing that so few showed.

I'm starting to think about the upcoming weekend in New York. I'm traveling to attend the Arts Reach Conference. I'll be staying with my friend Tommy and taking an extra morning to enjoy the city. I'm hoping to catch a show or two and celebrate a friend's Birthday while I'm there. The first thing I better figure out is what to wear. Right now the forecast calls for rain all weekend. Sadness.

Day 67/365: kittyfeet

2010-03-08T00:34:00.001-06:00

Day 67/365: kittyfeet, originally uploaded by Megart.

I think staying up all night two days in a row screwed up my ability to post the correct day of my 365 yesterday.

Anyway, today was for napping. Still trying to sleep off the cupcake making hangover.

Woke up around 9:30 and went to brunch and purse shopping at 11 with friends. After that - nap time. Miss Kitty slept right there, where you see her the whole time I napped. SO CUTE.

Tonight I watched the designer run through of our play Nobody. Its really good. i wish more people were going to see it and I'm not sure that people in Montgomery can deal with it. We'll see.

Oscars!! So excited that Hurt Locker won best pic and Katherine Bigelow won best director. That movie was so good and it was so nice not to have to listen to some political activism crap in an acceptance speech. Very inspiring.

And now, TO BED! I have a big week ahead that will end with me in NYC!!!

Day 65/365: moobies

2010-03-06T21:15:00.001-06:00

Day 65/365: moobies, originally uploaded by Megart.

Gorgeous wonderful perfect day.

I woke up late (due to a second all-nighter on the cupcake front) around 10AM. My nephew stayed over after helping me out with the cupcakes so I made a breakfast of biscuits, eggs and bacon and felt better, despite the lack of sleep, than I have in a long time.

Maybe its because the temperature finally went over 60 degrees. Maybe I'm high on cupcake fumes.

Lunch with Katy, Travis and Melissa followed by Alice in Wonderland, which is where I snapped this pic of Travis and I outside the movie theatre. These 3D glasses are pretty stylin' I think.

Day 64/365: Step 2 - Make it pretty

2010-03-06T21:09:00.001-06:00

Day 64/365: Step 2 - Make it pretty, originally uploaded by Megart.

Step 2 in living the cupcake dream. Last night I finished the big cupcake order. I couldn't get started until after visiting a magazine release party for RSVP Magazine which is featuring our Hamlet on the cover. I got started after 7 PM and with the help of my sister and two of her children we cranked out lots of cute and hopefully tasty treats. My sister and niece left around midnight, and my nephew stayed with me to finish up. We left the kitchen around 4 AM. I was waaaay too wiped out to make the little photo collage I had in mind so here it is today.

Day 63/365: Step one

2010-03-05T01:53:00.001-06:00

Day 63/365: Step one, originally uploaded by Megart.

I've been working on this side thing with cupcakes. Its just been an idea for a while, but recently an opportunity to take on a big order under someone else's business has made itself available. Tonight was step one: baking over 200 cupcakes.

It only took 6 hours.

Tomorrow: Step two - ice the cupcakes.
Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Red Velvet
Vanilla Bean with Milk Chocolate Butter Cream
Pina Colada

YUM

Nose-Cozy Update

2010-03-03T22:29:00.003-06:00

Thanks very much to my brother who pointed out that nose cozies do exist. I might buy one. You can too here.

hard worker working hard.

2010-03-03T22:25:00.001-06:00

hardworker, originally uploaded by Megart.

My mom had her retirement party today after 20 years at the Montgomery Airport where she has been the account all those years. I was what, 9 or something (?) when she started? I wrote all of my school papers on her computer at work and the airport has always felt like a home for me in a weird way. Now, I wonder how it will feel when I go to the airport. And, I guess I'll have to pay to park my car when I travel too.

I was out of the office a few hours to attend the party so I stayed late tonight. I was furiously typing away when a friend dropped by to say hello and cracked a joke about my furious typing and suggested it for my 365. Done! Credit for the title goes to him.

Tonight Travis and I did shopping for a BIG cupcake project...more on that in future 365s....

Day 61/365: hoodie

2010-03-02T21:30:00.001-06:00

Day 61/365: hoodie, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today it was cold again. And my house was so cold tonight. Thermostat says 76. Thermostat lies. My nose is so cold.

I need a noze-cozy. This may already exist, but it could be my brilliant invention. This would be a warm nose-shaped fabric that covers the nose to keep it warm. There's great potential for this to actually be really gross, but it might just work.

My 365 photo is the opposite of a nose-cozy.

Did someone call Consuela?

2010-03-01T21:47:00.001-06:00

Did someone call Consuela?, originally uploaded by Megart.

My bathroom desperately needed a cleaning tonight so I engaged in a little stress-relief cleaning. Not true. It doesn't help de-stress. It causes stress. But still, I do it. Nightmares about foul water pouring out of the shower head compel me to do so.

Now, my tub, toilet, sinks, floors and mirror are squeaky clean. Also, the catbox is clean. Hooray for dirty jobs when they are done.

Day 59/365: gassinup

2010-03-01T21:37:00.001-06:00

Day 59/365: gassinup, originally uploaded by Megart.

Last night I left my laptop in someone's car and couldn't upload my gassin'up photo.

I drive a 2000 Toyota Rav4 which requires 12 gallons of gas about every week and a half. Its just infrequent enough that it sneaks up on me and I end up having to stop way too late at night sometimes to put gas in the car. Last night at 10 or so I was doing exactly that when I shot day 59.

strangecandy

2010-02-27T22:58:00.001-06:00

strangecandy, originally uploaded by Megart.

Tonight after watching the All's Well rehearsal I stopped by the Winn Dixie to pick up some fake out cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow morning and passed by the crazy easter candy aisle. I saw these shiny retro looking packages and had to investigate.

I had found Gold Brick and Heavenly Hash eggs. I've heard of Heavenly Hash before, but for some reason thought they were from the North east. The packaging claims New Orleans as home, so I guess that's all wrong.

I tried the Heavenly Hash tonight. Mmm... A thin coat of chocolate over marshmallow creme with two candied, roasted almonds in the center.

Looking forward to trying the gold brick and to sharing with Travis.

upstairs

2010-02-26T22:18:00.001-06:00

upstairs, originally uploaded by Megart.

Long day for a Friday! A full day of work plus a fantastic pre-show event tonight for WSFA.

No matter how easy an event, no matter how comfortable the shoes, my feet are always in pain after a party at the theatre. When I get home, the shoes must come off as soon as possible when I get home. Tonight the 365 was take on the stairs on the way up to my bedroom. Shiny shoes!

Looking forward to a nice day tomorrow and watching the dress rehearsal of All's Well tomorrow night.

Good night!

Punchalicious

2010-02-25T23:29:00.007-06:00

Tonight the Punch Brothers played to a small but warm Montgomery audience. They played lots of new songs that will be on the forthcoming album. Aparently there's some mystery about when the album will be released. Thile says "a Tuesday." Which Tuesday remains unknown.

From the sound of what they played, this will be another excellent album. I can't wait to get it.

They also played a Radiohead song in the encore. Amazing. The video below is a short sample of that song.

You can see photos from the concert here on my flicker page.

Punch Brothers in Montgomery

February 25, 2010

Day 56/365: Punch you the throat

2010-02-25T23:24:00.001-06:00

Day 56/365: Punch you the throat, originally uploaded by Megart.

Work was too much. I almost can't deal.
Tonight we (Travis, Loren, my sister and two of her kids, Lyle and Abbi) went to see Punch Brothers. I've been looking forward to it for a long time. I really enjoyed the show, as I knew I would. I have to say, I could have sold many more tickets to that show than MPAC did. A shame because Punch Bros deserve a bigger house than that in Montgomery. Half the audience were people who work at or are members at the theatre. The rest were hipster kids. But there were only about 200 people there at all.

Then, I tried to take a photo at the autograph signing area for my 365. It was extremely frustrating and I'm surprised I was able to get what I did here. You can see I'm barely able to hold back my look of total frustration and my blotchy cheeks of anger here. Oh well. 365 project almost ruined my night. But not quite.

Day 55/365: computer

2010-02-24T22:18:00.001-06:00

Day 55/365: computer, originally uploaded by Megart.

I've been behind a computer all day, working on projections, etc. My eyes are tired and I'm zapped of all creativity. Therefore, this post is short and disappointing.

Command Appearance

2010-02-23T22:14:00.003-06:00

Command Appearance, originally uploaded by Megart.

Heather, Miss Kitty says hello.

Today was one of those days where the meetings, impromptu conversations, and new tasks outran me and I'm quite sure I've missed something important that i should have followed up on. That's ok. It will be waiting on me tomorrow.

This thing with my neck is getting worse so I'll have to call the chiropractor tomorrow and see when I can get in. And, if my budget can swing it, maybe a massage on the weekend to get the muscles to calm down again.

Also, I'm watching Metallica: Some Kind of Monster on TV right now. St. Anger made me lose my love for Metallica. I was such a big fan before it. I like the documentary but I still think these songs are terrible. Its like each band member was in separate places on the earth. Kirk's guitar is non-existent. James' vocals are either out of key or the guitar/bass is in such a low key he simply can't sing in a way that fits them. It was like they jumped on the nu-metal trend about 2 years after it ended and it just didn't work.

I miss my old Metallica. Boo.

cuhcake shake

2010-02-22T22:43:00.001-06:00

cuhcake shake, originally uploaded by Megart.

I'd read about Burger King's new cupcake shake over the weekend and I had to give it a try. Pretty good. A little like liquified walmart cupcake icing. Not gourmet but kinda tasty if you're craving it.

A very productive Monday at work, and tonight we saw Young Victoria. It was gorgeous and lovely and wonderful - just as I expected.

Day 52/365

2010-02-21T21:56:00.001-06:00

Day 52/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

Ouchie. I don't know why but every few weeks I'll wake up with a terrible headache and neck pain. It will feel like I consumed massive amounts of alcohol the night before, but I haven't. Travis says I need a new pillow. Katy says I need my wisdom teeth out. Probably need both.

Addy Satudday

2010-02-20T22:47:00.001-06:00

Addy Satudday, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today Montgomery Ad Fed held the Addy Awards. I have been working on the committee and assisted with the set up this morning and attended this evening. The theme was AddyLand (like Candy Land) which was adorable, with candy all over the place.

The event was held at the capital city club in Montgomery's tallest building. I tried to snap a little skyline photo after the party. Not very clear and i don't look particularly happy, but that's what I got.

ruh roh

2010-02-20T00:35:00.001-06:00

ruh roh, originally uploaded by Megart.

This is what time it was when I got home tonight. So, I was late posting the 365. Oh well.

Long day. My roof got fixed. We had a pre-show event. I did a curtain speech. I had dinner with my sister that lasted till midnight.

Good times.

Longer posts in the future. Promise.

gimmee samoooooaaaah

2010-02-18T22:34:00.001-06:00

gimmee samoooooaaaah, originally uploaded by Megart.

TGI Girl Scout cookies. The girls outside of Hobby Lobby got me on Monday.

We've gotten in full on into projections for next season which is threatening to take over my work life. Dangerous as there's another show opening in March and lots to do in advance of that.

Meanwhile, roof repair happens tomorrow.Yay!

Day 48/365: peekaboo

2010-02-17T22:46:00.001-06:00

peekaboo, originally uploaded by Megart.

Pretty good day. Busy. We've started season planning for next year and tonight my homework was to do the first round of projections. I enjoy them, but parts of it are such a guessing game that its difficult to ever feel confident in the numbers.

Meanwhile, the contractor will come look at my roof tomorrow at lunch time and last night I booked my NYC trip for March. i discovered a new "bill me later" option on USAirways web site, which comes in handy since i had these home repairs pop up at exactly the wrong time.

I'm excited to go to this conference in March - the first theatre conference I've attended. I hope its worth the personal investment I'm making (the theatre has cut all conference and travel fees). I'm sure it will be, even just for the contacts I might make.

Day 47/365: missed hair cut

2010-02-16T22:50:00.001-06:00

Day 47/365: missed hair cut, originally uploaded by Megart.

I was supposed to get my hair cut today but my 10:30 season planning meeting went on until noon. Boo. So now I just have out of control hair. Probably for the best because I had to pay the repair man over $110 to repair my dryer. Plus, the roof will be repaired later this week which I'm sure will end up costing me over $100. And, on top of that, I've got to pay for my fees and plane tickets for the Arts Reach Conference in March between this pay period and the next one.

Oh the burdens of having a job that I want to do, a house and the appliances I need to live in it, and the opportunity to enrich my knowledge base. I'll just have to bear up under the strain with uncut hair.

Day 46/365: shoeshopping

2010-02-15T22:52:00.001-06:00

shoeshopping, originally uploaded by Megart.

As I mentioned yesterday, I needed new shoes badly, so I took advantage of a day off to shop. I found three pairs for less than $100 all together.

Top: black wedges with buckle detail
middle: Brown faux croc/ostritch (?) pumps
Bottom: black patent open lace up oxford with grey suede detail

Fun times. Plus I scheduled the roofer to come work on the house and had the dryer repair guy take a look at my dryer which has been screaming like banshee.

Yay for a productive day off.

Day 45/365 for real this time

2010-02-14T21:24:00.001-06:00

Day 45/365 for real this time, originally uploaded by Megart.

I think I called yesterday's photo Day 45. Today is really day 45.
Travis suggested I do a photo of myself like a cat stalking a cupcake. It turned out pretty funny.

I had a good Valentine's Day. ASF did the first member dining room event with Valentine's Brunch that was very successful. It was very fulfilling to have an idea come together as planned, and for it to have made several people very happy as well.

After, Travis and I saw Valentine's Day (the movie) and it was very cute. I have tomorrow off which I will probably use to go shoe shopping since all my nice shoes have worn out and are killing my feet as my aching tootsies are telling me now.

If I buy any, they will probably be involved in the 365 for tomorrow.

Balentimes

2010-02-14T00:37:00.002-06:00

Balentimes, originally uploaded by Megart.

Travis offered me a Blu-ray player for my birthday and I opted for the ipod nano instead. For Valentines I got the Blu-ray player. It has netflix, pandora and youtube and networks with my Samsung TV. NICE!
Looking forward to seeing all my DVDs in better than ever quality and collecting Blu-rays from now on.

SWEET!

Thank you Travis!

Sweetheart Social Group

2010-02-13T10:15:00.001-06:00

Sweetheart Social Group, originally uploaded by Guy Eats Octopus.

Here's a fun picture taken by a coworker of a group of ASFers at the cocoa social yesterday. Fun times!

Chekhovian snow

2010-02-12T21:28:00.001-06:00

Chekhovian snow, originally uploaded by Megart.

I took a little time off this morning and made about 80 something mini cupcakes for the cocoa social we had this afternoon at work. It was just beginning to snow when I woke up at 7 AM. It continued to snow until late into the afternoon, dropping several inches of snow on the warm Alabama ground. There was a good amount of accumulation and they say its going to get cold enough through the weekend to keep the snow on the ground.

Several tragic things happened in Alabama today which dampened the snow-day joy a bit. Slippery roads in Builock county caused a mother to slip off the road and put her SUV in a pond. She was able to get out but her two children were not. Very sad, In Huntsville, an instructor opened fire on campus at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Terrible.

But, there were lots of very happy children and families playing in the park today as I left the theatre. The east side of the park has several hills and there were lots of sleds and inner tubes sliding down in the snow. Tiny kids and dogs were so cute in the snow. It was impossible not to smile at the quite peaceful happiness out there.

My 365 was of course a snow picture. I have no idea why I took this other than that I looked like hell due to not having properly prepared to leave the house before coming to the cocoa social. I guess i decided to hide behind the branch there. I think i could be auditioning for a Chekhov play, because i look overly sentimental, looking off into a cold, distant, meaningless nothing. Well, that's how I feel about Chekhov anyway. Sacrilege, I know. But this is MY blog and I'm gonna be honest about how I feel.

Happy snow day!

Day 42/365

2010-02-11T22:50:00.001-06:00

Day 42/365, originally uploaded by Megart.

Its supposed to snow 3-5 inches tomorrow morning, so tonight I'm sleeping in my snowflake PJs.

I'm taking the morning off tomorrow to meet the pest control guy and make lots of tiny cupcakes for a cocoa social at work tomorrow afternoon. There will probably be drama about the snow, which is crazy, but still, its going to happen. There will be calls all day asking if the show will be cancelled. We wont cancel unless the power goes out and we can't restore it. We did cancel one of the student matinees because all of the schools called to say they wouldn't travel due to the weather.

Tonight at Publix the guy at the check out said people had gone insane today purchasing food in case of....what I don't know. 3-5 inches of snow is simply not likely to shut down the city.

My friends at work who are natives of more northern climates think this is complete over-reaction. I think maybe we aren't over-reacting, but more taking advantage of the rare opportunity to experience "extreme weather." Maybe we're stocking up and refusing to drive because we want to stay cozy by the fire eating hearty winter foods with our families.

I'm just sayin'.

Day 41/365: dinner and tv with Trabs

2010-02-10T22:02:00.001-06:00

dinner and tv with Trabs, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today was kind of whatever, although I did get some important things on my list checked off.

Tonight was dinner and TV. For dinner Travis and I went to Texas Roadhouse. (Hold back your excitement if you can.) I've been silently holding a grudge against Travis for years, since the place opened, because he wouldn't ever go there. A few days ago he told me he went there with a co-worker and I totally called him on it, so he promised to take me there soon. The food was fine, not stellar, but there are going to be times when I want average steakhouse and this will be my place.

Now, its American Idol and House catch up time.

Enjoy this portrait of relaxation.

roof leak

2010-02-09T21:48:00.001-06:00

roof leak, originally uploaded by Megart.

Last Thursday night my roof started to leak. Today the adjuster came out to take the photos and now I get to wait on a roofer to come out and look at it to see if they'll cover it and if so, would it be worth it to file the claim.

I was all ready to be cynical and grumpy with the adjuster if necessary, but he was really nice. Plus he didn't seem to look down his nose at my dirty little townhouse and the wallpaper that's falling down in the hallway or the old water damage from before I bought it that I haven't dealt with yet.

In the photo you can see the old water damage that looks so dramatic. I'm actually pointing at the little crack where the water dripped through on Thursday night.

I REALLY hope the roofer comes out tomorrow to look at it. I want to get this stuff done! and maybe this will be my opportunity to get the old water damage fixed too.

2010-02-09T08:26:00.001-06:00

Quizzes Girls Games

casting a shadow

2010-02-08T22:45:00.001-06:00

casting a shadow, originally uploaded by Megart.

Tonight Stephen finished the last part of his short film in the parking lot at ASF. It included a high-speed chase and a dead guy. It was awesome. I couldn't resist using this as my 365 opportunity.

Get yoself sum lipgloss

2010-02-07T22:26:00.002-06:00

Get yoself sum lipgloss, originally uploaded by Megart.

A was having a crappy day a few weeks ago and a wonderful friend sent a e-giftcard to Sephora with a note to get myself some lipgloss and cheer up.

The lipgloss came in this week. It has this lip plumper stuff in it which makes my lips cold and minty feeling which is kind of wonderful.

I've been putting it on all the time, even when completely unnecessary. Needless to say, my mood has improved.

Thanks KK.

hat weather

2010-02-07T01:18:00.001-06:00

hat weather, originally uploaded by Megart.

Its snowing buckets on friends in more northern regions, but its pretty darn cold down here too.

I didn't really plan for the weekend because I was too busy this week to stop and figure out what to do with my one day off today. So, I got up a bit late and drove down to Liger's Bakery to pick up some breakfast pastries. The delicious apple fritter made me miss being a kid when my mom would get us treats from Liger's. I called her and talked for a while which was nice.

Because I hadn't planned anything i was feeling really wasteful of my time, and knowing I had a few projects I should work on, i was feeling kind of crappy when i called Travis to save me from it by taking me to a movie.

We saw When in Rome, which was better than I expected. Later Travis and I went out to the airport to help out some more with Stephen's movie. That was fun and we didn't get home until after midnight.

Tomorrow, opening for Harriet's Return.

Day 36/365: making a moobie

2010-02-05T23:25:00.001-06:00

Day 36/365: making a moobie, originally uploaded by Megart.

Tonight Stephen Poff used some ASF props and the ASF scene shop to shoot part of a movie project. I observed, and provided a few interesting medical props (via my brother's vet clinic - thanks bro!) for the scene and stuck around to observe. It was fun times.
Looking forward to more fun as we shoot more scenes tomorrow.

Day 35/365: 75%

2010-02-04T23:46:00.001-06:00

Day 35/365: 75%, originally uploaded by Megart.

This dry erase board at work is updated daily with the ticket sales info. The show we are currently marketing, Harriet's Return, is at 75% of its income goal. It opens on Sunday. This is a very good sign.

Today was full. In addition to a full day of work, we had an invited audience for Harriet (they loved it), photo call and a video shoot. So another late night.

Its raining again, and just seconds ago I heard a drip, drip, drip to my right. My roof is apparently truly leaking. This is very disappointing.

I was just about to pay off a credit card. Dammit.

I am cat furniture

2010-02-04T08:56:00.001-06:00

I am cat furniture, originally uploaded by Megart.

Day 34 was another Fail. I left my laptop at work because I stayed late for a rehearsal and didn't go by my office before I left. So, I couldn't post this portrait of myself as cat furniture.

Enjoy.

the opposite of an annoying TV show

2010-02-03T00:08:00.002-06:00

the opposite of an annoying TV show, originally uploaded by Megart.

my personal protest against lost
OR
my personal celebration of the last season

Ok, I should be very thankful for Lost, because its put ASF in print A LOT due to Michael Emerson's success with the show. He's an alum of ASF and that gets mentioned often.

However, my room mate is a big fan of the show and I am not. So, for several years I've seen bits and pieces of the show as she's been watching around the house. I have never been able to get into it and I kind of hold that against the show.

Every time I see the show I see the same three or four scenes being replayed over and over again. When I do see something new, it of course makes no sense and I'll ask my roommate what it means, and she of course, has no good reason for me because not knowing what the heck is going on or why seems to be part of the appeal of this show. This seems to be because the whole point of this show is to just jumble up some random scenes that make no logical or chronological sense and force the viewer to make assumptions about what the heck the writers are thinking. Then, in the next episode, present a whole new bunch of scenes that don't make sense. Its impossible to care about anything that's going on in this show unless you start at the very beginning.

Anyway, I'm so glad its ending. I'm expressing my anti-lost sentiment with this 365.

o-e-o-e-o

2010-02-01T21:37:00.001-06:00

o-e-o-e-o, originally uploaded by Megart.

Milk's favorite cookie takes a bath.

Today was super busy and super productive. Feeling a little warn out and I think I should be sleeping very soon so that perhaps I can get up early enough to go to the gym and work off these delicious cookies.

Perhaps. Or maybe it will be cold and I might stay in the bed for as long as possible. We shall see.

Rah-Rah ah-ah-ah

2010-01-31T22:08:00.001-06:00

Rah-Rah ah-ah-ah , originally uploaded by Megart.

Meh. I missed Ga Ga's opening number and will have to google it tomorrow. However, the rest of the Grammy's haven't failed to disappoint. Except Jeff Beck is about to play a tribute to Les Paul that should be fabulous.

Today Travis and I went downtown and walked around a bit. I forgot my camera and lost a great opportunity for a 365. But, it was still a nice afternoon.

Day 30/365: Photobombed

2010-01-31T01:20:00.002-06:00

Day 30/365: Photobombed, originally uploaded by Megart.

Tonight I volunteered for Clefworks at their performance at 129 Coosa. The show was excellent. A full report will be posted tomorrow. After the show and the cleanup I was invited to a hilarious meal at Waffle House with the musicians and other members of the Clefworks organization.

I decided this was a good place for my 365 and while explaining the process by demonstration I got photobombed by Glenda Allred. (See Glenda, I told you this would end up on the internet!)

Waffle House was all of 2 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived and continued to drop the entire time we were there. Our server was a high-spirited young lady who found it very challenging to get every element of each person's order to them in any sort of level of completeness. She also calculated everyone's bill on her cell phone, which was pretty hilarious, but not as funny as when she told us our $40 bill was so big we were going to have to "be bustin' some suds."

An entertaining conclusion to an already brilliant evening!

before the concert

2010-01-29T22:07:00.006-06:00

before the

concert, originally uploaded by Megart.

This morning I attended a concert at Flowers Elementary of the Jack Quartet as part of the outreach efforts of Clefworks. It was a very moving experience and I'm very glad I attended.

The musicians played various pieces and interacted with the 300+ elementary students. After the concert the musicians spoke with a small group of the students, allowing the children to touch the instruments, ask questions and even pluck a string or two.

I was late to a meeting because of this but I think it was worth it.

Capricious

2010-01-28T22:25:00.002-06:00

Capricious, originally uploaded by Megart.

Thank goodness I was able to sleep until 7 today. No early interviews. But, I did have a busy day, with meetings and even a nice mid-day interview on public radio. The end of the day was very exciting as I attended the first concert of the Clefworks series at the Capri theatre with Travis and a friend from the theatre. We met for pizza across the street from the Capri theatre. The Capri has this great old fashioned marqui and lighted sign. Earlier in the day I had decided that this would be a great place to take my 365.

I took several shots trying to get a satisfactory picture that wasn't too fuzzy and blurry. This one is great because the cute girls working at the counter are clearly thinking "what the heck is going on with this chick?"

We met another friend from the theatre at Tomatino's and we all sat together for the concert. The performance, by a string quartet called JACK, was of various modern and traditional pieces paired with clips from cartoons and movies. It was a fun way to spend the evening.

On the Radio

2010-01-27T20:47:00.001-06:00

On the Radio, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today started at 6:45 AM with an interview on WVRV to talk about Harriet's Return and ended at 6:45 PM on WVAS talking about Harriet's Return and the Provocative Premieres.
I'm tired!

I shot this tonight right before the WVAS interview. WVAS has one of the most laid-back atmospheres of any radio station (which makes sense because they are a jazz station) and they are always so nice when I come by.

I followed a state representative and local restauranteur with a new book. At the end of the interview a listener had called in and asked the station to give me their info for a group sale, so I'd say this long day was worth it!

Obligatory photo taken at desk

2010-01-26T20:32:00.001-06:00

Obligatory photo taken at desk, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today started at 7 AM when I arrived to meet a a group that was using one of our spaces for s meeting. They were kind enough to share their lunch, so I didn't leave the office at all today. I was feeling a little stir-crazy by the time I took this shot.
I have been avoiding the obligatory self-portrait at my desk, but it had to happen eventually. At least I had my pretty scarf and decent hair. I wonder if this is the look that I give all those reps to who come to ask me to buy advertising.....

This week on Cupcake Challenge

2010-01-25T22:55:00.002-06:00

This week

on Cupcake Challenge, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today was good for a Monday. Over lunch a co-worker and I decided to make thank you cupcakes for some of the sponsors for the Auction. So tonight I worked on the Cumulus cupcakes. I tried to pipe on the logo, but it was clearly not going to work out. So Denise suggested alternating colors and I added Thank You to the blue ones. I probably made too many. But that's ok.

Tomorrow night: WSFA.

Day 24/365 Temptation

2010-01-24T23:41:00.002-06:00

Temptation, originally uploaded by Megart.

There's not much that I find more tempting than that flashing beacon of warm, rich, sweet temptation that is the Hot Doughnuts Now sign at Krispy Kreme.

Tonight I worked photo call for Hamlet. Stephen Poff shot some excellent photos for us tonight and I can't wait to share them.

The shoot started at 4:45 and finished around 9, leaving me with very few options for dinner. On my search I encountered temptation at Krispy Kreme. Luckily, I resisted. But it turned out to be a pretty good 365 opportunity.

Somehow I don't think McDonald's was a legitimate second option though.

Day 23/365: watchin Hamlet

2010-01-24T16:00:00.001-06:00

watchin Hamlet, originally uploaded by Megart.

HUGE day! That's my excuse for not posting day 23 on day 23.

First thing I had a great breakfast with several friends. Katy was down from Bham to help with the Auction so we had breakfast at Shashy's before the day's events kicked off.
From around 1:45 - 6:30 I worked a satellite viewing/listening party at The Tipping Point, a new coffee house/bar that will be opening soon. I'm looking forward to spending Saturday mornings in that place. It was lovely.
After that I sat in on Hamlet dress rehearsal to make my shot list for tonight's photo call. Its always exciting to eavesdrop on that process. That's where I took the shot for yesterday's 365. i wanted to get something with the set in the shot, but i didn't really have time to get the shot. I'm sitting house right on the far aisle seat at the back of the house.
After that, I headed out to the Alley Bar downtown to celebrate a successful auction that brought in around $60k! I stayed out too late and was too toasted to get online. Thus, a late 365 posting today.

Day 22/365: What you said?

2010-01-22T23:15:00.001-06:00

What you said?, originally uploaded by Megart.

This 365 post is hardly worth posting. Today was casual Friday with some time spent helping prepare for the Armchair Auction. Not much to tell. I'm pretty sleepy and Miss Kitty and I were spending some quality time together right before bed. There's so much being communicated in this look.

Day 21/365: readin

2010-01-21T21:30:00.001-06:00

readin, originally uploaded by Megart.

So tired....Such a long day that ended with a pretty good board meeting.

As a follow up to the TCG article I posted on FB the other day, and the ensuing arguments, drama, etc., here's some news. Apparenty this article has spurred many conversations, even within our community at the theatre. Our artistic director mentioned in the board meeting today that he and the cast of our rep season will do a bit of experimental work with the text of Hamlet and All's Well (the two Shakespeare's in our season) to try out this theory of "translating" or "updating" Shakespeare. I'm really excited about this and can't wait to see how it materializes.

Since i was too tired to even out any effort into my 365 photo today i'm going to allow my eyelids to win the battle and go to bed.

illumination

2010-01-20T23:16:00.001-06:00

lamp, originally uploaded by Megart.

There's not much to report today. This morning I did a rapid succession of interviews on the radio about the upcoming auction fundraiser for the theatre, followed by a nice long catch up meeting with my boss. I also off a few important things on my to-do list today.

Tonight Travis and I watched American Idol followed by Great Performances at the Met: The Audition. An oddly perfect match. It was really fun to watch a show that was shot in a famous location where we have toured. That facility is a marvel. Strange how it can feel familiar, despite the fact that I've only been there once.

There is a board meeting tomorrow, and before the meeting the new Audience Development committee will meet. This should be interesting!

Fortunate one

2010-01-19T22:12:00.005-06:00

Fortunate one, originally uploaded by Megart.

Today was better. Busy, and semi-productive.

Tonight I had good old takeout and my fortune cookie had sage words to offer. I'm going to take it to heart and be more executive.

In other news, I enjoyed a run through of our production of Hamlet today. It was really good and I can't wait to see the full production.