Red Stripe

Whoo-hoo! Today was absolutely gorgeous! Jess and I went for a walk this morning and then I headed to rehearsal where I overshot by about 40 minutes thinking that I would have to fight UW commencement traffic, but there wasn't any, so I was able to sit outside and enjoy the

lovely weather for a little longer... I was supposed to see a movie this afternoon too, but I passed on it to get a late lunch and sit in the sun drinking with Dani (because what's better in the summer than a drinking in the middle of the day for no reason?).

Then I hit up Howl and let me just say that the line was absolutely

ridiculous! But I guess that's what you get from a single screening of the Allen Ginsberg biopic starring James Franco (with a little Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels and Mary Louise Parker thrown in).

Today I wore my H&M red striped blouse, Pitaya cropped jeans and gold Zara sandals with my straw Aprie hat.

Simple

The look of calm in the above pictures belie the intense fear that is resonating inside me right now over the idea that I have to go and dance for the 5th in a few hours... (that and thoughts of the last time that happened keep creeeeeping into my head--not such a good experience that time...) And I haven't been to ballet in MONTHS (mental note to start going consistently again...). But I am NOT psyching myself out, oh no! Just preparing for the insanity. Whew...

So I said that the audition went well, but I really didn't give any details (still in the "I was asked back to dance!" euphoria). So basically there were, like, 16 people in the room. And it was a small room, so that was a little intense. And as I was singing I saw buzzbuzzbuzz whispering and buzzbuzzbuzz smiling and as soon as I finished they were asking the pianist (RJ--yay!) "what was that top note?" "what was the range in that song?" So, basically, I knew I had rocked it! And left super proud of myself. And they were running behind, so I only was able to sing "Stranger Here Myself" too. w00t!

Then I went home and in the midst of making myself dinner (I am always STARVING post-audition), they called me to ask me to come to the dance call this afternoon!

Last night I also went to a SIFF movie (final wknd!), The Sentimental Engine Slayer, which, as I was telling Jess, was probably the most interesting non-linear movie I have ever seen. I am still unsure whether or not I actually LIKED the film, but I LOVED the style. It was so personal. Every scene felt like you were eavesdropping. It was in both Spanish and English and oftentimes they would just break into Spanish and there would be no subtitles, but you would get the gist of what they were saying. Or a character would be talking but there would be too much background noise to hear them. Like real life. And there wasn't really an ending... I loved that.

There was, however, a "talker" sitting directly behind me. Now, people who have been to the movies (or plays) with me know that I like to whisper something to my neighbor now and again, but she was genuinely a "What?! That was weird!" talker. I almost expected to hear her say "Don't go in there! The killer's behind the door!" I can only count my lucky stars this wasn't a horror movie. Almost turned around to tell her to shut it at one point... BOO on talkers!

So, anyway, today to work, dance call, and the music/movement rehearsal tonight I am wearing my black stretch jolt pants and light blue Rubbish tee from Nordys, white tank from Costco, grey Fossil boyfriend sweater and grey plastic shoes from Target.

PS If you wanna see a SIFF movie this weekend for free, go onto siff.net and take a look at the schedule, click the amount of tickets you want to purchase (under SIFF mbr), then use any one of these codes under the "redeem vouchers" area. If you need my log in or anything, just let me know. First come, first serve. I just don't want them to go to waste.

EW7TV587896

S8PTV587897

743TV587898

XTETV587899

KDCTV587900

Floral Arrangements

Tonight's the big callback. And, of course, I feel unprepared (even though I am). And I'm exhausted. But super-excited! And I do have about 2 hours after work to go home, change, warm up, wander over there and then perform my 2 songs. Whew! So much work and stress leading up to about 5 minutes of performance. But such is life (especially, when it comes to auditions).

After my audition, I am going to kill sometime tonight and then head to The Sentimental Engine Slayer at SIFF. Trying to get all 20 movies in

the 3 weeks just might kill me... But I do have 5 tickets left that I don't think that I can use (not with rehearsal and NWNW thrown in there), so

if anything catches your fancy, just lemme know and you can buy them

off me. All the movies (minus the closing night gala) are up for grabs at a mere $8 (normally $11). And there is no way that I can get in there and use them all before Sun. If you want recommendations I can help with that, too! Just let me know!

Today I am wearing my thrifted floral blouse, H&M wide-leg jeans and black bdg saddle shoes from UO.

But Black and White ARE Colors...

This weekend's insanity only increased yesterday. I went to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza at Marymoor Park yesterday with my mom, sister, aunt and grandma and it's like every time I go to one of their shows I love it, but at the same time feel so unaccomplished. Not that I necessarily want to be able to walk around my body while my chest stays on the floor exorcist style (or yes, we saw this), but ya know, something weird and marketable would be awesome. Or, like my sister said, "there are girls up there just standing and singing, you could do that". Yes, yes I could.

Afterwards, we tried our absolute hardest to get dinner, but it seemed like we were thwarted at every turn. Finally, around 530pm, after 3 false alarms and a beer, we ended up at Piatti in U Village... only 2 hours after the show ended...

Then I was supposed to go to NWNW's mainstage show at OtB, but... totally punked out. I was SO tired and the thought of a 2-hour show and then an afterparty just did NOT gel with what I needed last night. So, I totally flaked... And I loved it. Watched Whip It and passed out by 10pm. I also think I am gonna skip the SIFF movie I had loosely planned for tonight (Disco and Atomic War) and give myself another early night. I do have my first voice lesson in a really long time tonight in preparation for my audition at the 5th on Thurs...

Yesterday, I ran to the bus (and missed it) and then slipped into my PJs too fast to take a pic, but I was wearing my black v-neck Gap dress (super on sale), grey Spanx tights from the Rack with my thrifted grey boots and Mod Cloth grey belt.

Today, I am also rocking the Black and White color palate in my white H&M ruffled blouse with black buttons, black Express v-neck cardigan and striped Lux trousers from UO with my Linea Paolo black patent flats from Nordys. I also grabbed my black beaded necklace and pink and black heart-shaped Marilyn earrings (color!).

Orange You Glad to See Me?

OK, so can we talk about Brotherhood for a second? What is it with gay men who shouldn't be attached that are so hot? Seriously? What is it? It was a great movie. Really attacking the issues of ideology versus true nature. Sad. Really sad. But moving for sure.

Today was literally insane. I went to yoga this morning, then rehearsal, NWNW studio show, shower, SIFF movie and then hanging out with the roomie. CRAZY TIMES. I mean, honestly, I didn't get to shower until what? 6 hours after yoga ended? Insane.

Tonight I saw Fathers and Guns, which oh my god, was HILARIOUS! Seriously. SO FUNNY. Both were definitely 4 outta 5's for me. Lovely.

Tonight I wore my new mattie m tank from Nordys , $6 H&M skirt, polka dot leggings, brown seychelles pumps from Loehmanns, thrifted sweater and Aprie straw hat.

(I'm Peeking) Over Your Shoulder

So I already extolled the brilliance that was FFOK, but lemme add one more thing. Korby's organ BROKE during the first song, so by the time I got there, everything was being played in "organ" style on a casio keyboard (or as he referred to it a "crotch organ"). And it STILL worked. Amazing.

I also saw Tsar yesterday at SIFF and lemme just preface this with Ivan the Terrible? Pretty much an AWFUL person. Yeah, of course everyone confessed to his made up plots, under threat of torture most people would 'fess up to ANYthing... Crazy. He wasn't just power hungry, either, he wanted God to send him signs that he was doing the right thing. He believed he was an instrument of God's will. Creeepy. And, sadly, very timely. Religious fanatics seriously creep me out. Good movie though. Some tough torture sequences, but beautifully shot and acted. Plus the movie reel died on us for about 5 min, so we all got free vouchers! Success!

Tonight I have my first real rehearsal for As You Like It. Table work on a scene I am assuming I am only in to sing and fill out the "men" in the forest. Then I'm going to see a movie about gay neo-nazis falling in love called Brotherhood... should be interesting. Hopefully no more torture though. I think I'm tortured out for a while...

Of course, in all the fun I was having last night, I stayed out too late (and on the way home was yelled at by a homeless man to "go home" and I was like "I am!"), so today I am exhausted and wanted to be comfy. I am wearing my stretchy black Jolt pants from Nordys, purple off the shoulder The Ballet Studio tee by American Apparel with black racerback Express tank underneath and black Chinese Laundry booties with silver studs. I am also wearing my mirrored earrings and purple bracelets.

Tomorrow I get to go to yoga (yay!), but then have to miss a SIFF movie I really wanted to see because I have rehearsal (boo), but MIGHT be able to get back in time to catch the wknd 1 NWNW studio series at 5pm (fingers crossed) and then catch a movie, Fathers and Guns at Uptown tomorrow nite... YIKES. Weekend is gonna be jam packed...

Brought to You By the Color Green

Mmmmmmm... the text workshop we had last night in lieu of rehearsal reminded me how much I LOVE learning. Makes me wanna go to grad school. Just completely immerse myself in technique. Of course, which technique (and by default, which grad school) do I want to study? No idea. That's what lets me know that I WILL someday go, but also that right now is not the time...

Speaking of acting, I found out a few days ago that I have a callback to the 5th Ave for ensemble in A Christmas Story The Musical in about a week... No jinxing, but w00t! Supes excited about that!

Tonight I am not called for rehearsal, so I am going to Tsar (all about Ivan the Terrible) at Neptune at 7pm and then possibly a little Frances Farmer Organ Karaoke? Mayhaps, mayhaps...

For all of this excitement (there's SUN, too!) I am wearing a thrifted lbd, green striped Cardigan sweater, grey Mod Cloth belt, Steve Madden black boots and old grey knee socks.

Oh, and PS it looks like the BBOS winning purse is the yellow Kate Spade. Crossing my fingers I get it before the 13th!

Hot Hot Hat

Yesterday, after spending $100 on new books at Elliott Bay Bookstore (including the new Sookie Stackhouse!), I wandered into a store on Broadway that is usually far too spendy for me, only to chance upon the perfect straw fedora. And on sale, too! The salesgirl even said as I was buying it, "I couldn't tell if that was ours or if you already owned it. It suits you so well." and $10 later I walked out with a new hat! Success!

With my new straw fedora from Aprie, I am wearing an empire-waisted blue-grey Zara tunic, bdg dark denim jeans from UO and grey plastic Target shoes. I also threw on my thrifted black 3/4-length sweater for the office (it's always chilly).

I saw two movies yesterday and, honestly, they could not have been more different. Like I said last post, my Mama, Seestor and I went to see an Iron Man 2 matinee and I really liked the movie. It definitely is an example of superhero genre movie serving as a character study (a la the reinvigorated Batman franchise) instead of relying purely on the WHAM, BAM, POW crazy-insane fights that often plague other superhero movies. It was a nice continuation of the first Iron Man and props to director, Jon Favreau (who also plays Happy), for giving himself a pretty kick-ass fight sequence!

Lindy and I then wandered around Elliott Bay and grabbed lunch at the Elysian before splitting up. Then I wandered slowly down Broadway, killing time and ending up at Roy Street Coffee and Tea (the Starbucks designer coffee store) reading before my next movie Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime started at Harvard Exit.

It was an interesting movie. A continuation of the characters and story he started in Happiness (but with different actors) and if you like Todd Solondz movies (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, Palindromes) you would probably like this movie. It is very dark (pedophilia, growing up, forgetting, forgiving, lying, suicide...), but also super-hilarious. Definitely a black, black comedy. And Allison Janney, Ciaran Hinds and Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle) were brilliant. Plus fun little cameo from Gaby Hoffmann (of Now & Then fame), Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman) and Ally Sheedy (Breakfast Club, anyone?). I liked it, but then I like movies like this...

Then I got to walk home (downhill, thank you very much) learning that I am almost directly below Harvard Exit, just ya know, with I-5 in between...

Bak to Black

Yesterday was a bit insane and also lazy. Morning was crazy trying to get to Dad and Pam's to get furniture, then Jess and I set it up and were STARVING, so we went to eat at the Tom Douglas pizza joint, Serious Pie (serious yum!) and then I had plans for the afternoon, but... I ended up naping and watching the rest of Angel instead. Then I passed out at, like, 9 or so... Guess I needed sleep... I was planning on taking a picture of what I wore when I went out last night, but... since I didn't... no pic...

Today, I am heading to Iron Man 2 with my Mama and Seestor and then hopefully Elliot Bay for some books and Harvard Exit for Life During Wartime tonight. I am wearing my black jolt pants from Nordys, black thrifted sheer cowlneck tee and black Chinese Laundry booties with silver studs.

I Love the 80's

On my way to the double feature at the Egyptian for Farewell & My Life Without Sex with the Roomie.

Wearing a thrifted floral top, H&M $6 skirt, bright blue leggings from Macy's and Steve Madden black slouch boots.

PS seriously add Buddy Holly glasses on me and I am a hipster's wet dream in this outfit...

Excited!

All You Need Is Love

Do do do do do!

I am wearing my thrifted grey Love x4 tee, dark grey j brand jeans from Nordys, green striped Cardigan New York sweater and black Chinese Laundry studded booties. Plus you can see what a great job she did with my hair! Thank GOD I got it cut. It had been over 3 months. Gross.

It is ridiculous outside. Nasty. No fun at all. AND the start of Memorial Day weekend (WTF?!). Lovely. Looks like it'll be good weather to stay inside and watch plays/movies, which is exactly what I have scheduled.

Tonight Dani and I are going to Candide at the 5th, tomorrow I have plans with the roomie to see a double feature of Farewell & My Year Without Sex at SIFF, Sun is possibly a SATC (but not SATC2)-style brunch with my seestor, shopping at Neimans and/or The Hedgehog and Mon is another SIFF, Life During Wartime. Plus I am definitely doing yoga tomorrow morning (it's almost been a month...). Busy weekend, but it should be good.

Naughty Nudes

Gaw! Work has been absolutely insane this week (prepping for the Holiday weekend--w00t!). I mean, I haven't even taken a lunch yet (and looks like I won't). Hopefully, it will calm down after today, once everything starts to close up for the weekend...

After a night off for rehearsal last night (and three more coming up tomorrow, Thurs and Fri), I am seeing two movies tonight at SIFF. First, I'm heading to Pac Place to see Excited and then up to the Egyptian to catch Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (with Andy Serkis). Can't wait to relax and watch a couple movies. Believe me, I need it.

I am rocking the neutral colors today in my black BDG saddle shoes from UO, Banana Republic tan houndstooth tights and shimmery tan bow blouse with ruffles, $6 H&M skirt and grey Mod Cloth cardigan with lace collar.

Regal Royal

Well, today turned out to be quite a nice day! Sunny, but windy, but I like sunny! I feel like I've been spending so much time inside watching things the last few days that it was nice to get out for lunch and do some light (W magazine article on Cate Blanchett--I love her so much!) reading at lunch. That and the SIFF catalogue... figuring out what my last week off has in store for me, film-wise anyhow.

Today was also the first GreenStage rehearsal/meet & greet Yay! My cast! I am super-excited to start this show. I think it will be such a fun way to spend the summer.

I wore my royal blue Bellatrix tank with beaded neckline with my mustard yellow Halogen cardigan with lace collar both from Nordys, BDG skinnies from UO and brown Sperry Top-Siders.

I'm A Little LOST in Ruffles

So, yesterday was the LOST series finale and, oh there was drama. Apparently, Comcast went out in the Seattle area about 15 minutes into the final episode, which we realized when the DVR stopped recording about 45 minutes later... Dani called and yelled and we ended up in Kirkland at one of Nate's friend's houses watching his DVR'd finale (thank GOD for DVR). And then, I really am not sure what I thought about it. To protect those of you who have not seen it I will go into NO details, but it was a little confusing... Not that that is anything new, but... I was a little LOST.

Before the LOST finale-ness Dani and I hung out watching the SIFF movies Nowhere Boy and I Am Love. And let me just say, Nowhere Boy was effing brilliant! The 19-year-old kid who played John NAILED him. Really, a very, very powerful performance. Plus I loved that John "Imagine" Lennon was such a badass in his youth. Plus the kid from "Love, Actually" played Paul and he was super adorable! And he can sing! And Kristin Scott Thomas. I mean, enough said, right? She was (and always is) BRILLIANT!

I Am Love was a little more... um, I think the technical term is "art house", but I would go with artsy fartsy... It took itself waaaay too seriously and although it was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous to look at and Tilda Swinton was near-perfect, the story as a whole was really lacking a core. There didn't seem to be any reason why you were watching this thing... frustrating.

But overall, I think 3 out of the 4 movies I saw this weekend were really good. Winning weekend, for sure.

For all my running around to sit and watch I wore my BDG dark denim jeans from UO, Sam Edelman reptile shiny bronze pointy-toed flats from Loehmanns in NYC, ruffled grey Fossil tank and navy & cream polka-dot Parfait ruffle cardigan from Nordys.

Sounders and SIFF

So much for a relaxing morning! I ended up at the Sounders/Earthquakes game (they lost. stupid effing refs) and it was super fun (except for the creeper next to me who was real NASCAR dumb)!

I wore my Ljunberg (yum!) jersey (he played well, but a little stressed with the refs lack-of calls--boo refs), dark grey j brand skinnies, light grey Fossil zip-up and Sperry Top-Siders with my super old red AE puffy down vest.

Then, I went to a double feature at SIFF! Busy, but awesome day. Here I wore the same j brand jeans, black UO Max tee, mustard yellow cardigan from Nordys with my light brown Blowfish side zip boots.

Cyrus and Holy Rollers were very good. I liked Cyrus a lot. It was really funny. Great one-liners and you can never go wrong with John C Reilly, but it was definitely missing something. A little bland.

But Holy Rollers was effing brilliant! Hold crap! Sad and lovely coming of age movie. Jesse Eisenberg is a fantastic actor. I mean, the kid from Zombieland? Who knew?

Another full day tomorrow: cleaning in the morning, Nowhere Boy & I Am Love in the afternoon with Dani (yay!) and LOST SERIES FINALE tomorrow night.

I'm A Real Boy

Finally feel like a real person again! Success! I have (mostly) conquered the bug of ill. Although I will not jinx it and will super take care of myself this weekend too...

I am excited for this weekend! Not only am I SIFF-ing up a storm (decided on Cyrus, Holy Rollers, Nowhere Boy & I Am Love), but I get tonight and tomorrow during the day off to do other non-movie watching things. Like reorganize my kitchen. And go to yoga. And generally be a normal, non-sick person. Hooray!

Plus the LOST series finale is on Sun! So excited. They have really set it up to be an extravaganza (all 2.5 hours of it) and I get to watch it with all my friendz, so yay! And (I love Dani for this) we are going to play JackFace--bahahahaha! Oh, Jack...

Today, for my re-entry into life I am wearing my j brand grey skinnies, red BP pointy-toed flats, long cream UO tank with black detailing at the top, Express black v-neck cardigan and F21 cropped red swing jacket with my crazy pearl, black chain, gold chain and fake diamond Aldo necklace.

I really love that jacket, but I hate the fact that the lining bleeds. It's not like I paid a lot for it, but it's so cute and I can only wear it with black... boo... Any tips on how to get it to STOP bleeding? I will try anything!

Exciting weekend. Plus Pam is back in town packing up my parents' stuff to move down to Panama, so I'm hoping to get some tables or bookshelves that way (hint, hint)!

SIFF First Full Week and 2nd Weekend

OK, here are the ones I am looking at for week number two!

Not to be missed:

--Katalin Varga (Hungry) Wed 5/26 7pm at Uptown: a modern day revenge fairy tale

--Hideaway (France) Thurs 5/27 7pm at the Egyptian: what happens when a pregnant woman's partner dies and she connects with his gay brother

--Down Terrace (UK) Fri 5/28 915pm at Neputune: The British Sopranos

--Farewell (France) Sat 5/29 630pm at Egyptian: a spy vs spy story set in Moscow 1981

--The Hedgehog (France) Sun 5/30 7pm at Uptown: a sad young girl with a video camera filming the tenants of her apartment complex over a year

--Life During Wartime (USA) with Allison Janney Mon 5/31 845pm at Harvard Exit: how Americans act when they think no one is watching

Might be fun:

--Excited (Canada) Tues 5/25 7pm at Pacific Place: a love story about premature ejaculation

--Every Day (USA) with Liev Schreiber Sat 5/29 11a at Neptune: a story of a man dealing with life's transformations

--Henry of Navarre (Germany) Sat 5/29 2pm at Neptune: historical thriller about the rise of Henri V

--My Year Without Sex (Australia) Sat 5/29 930pm at Egyptian: what happens to a family when the wife cannot have an orgasm for one year or risk triggering a brain aneurysm

--Amer (Belgium) Sat 5/29 midnight at Egyptian: an giallo triptych focused on Ana

--The Dancer and the Thief (Spain) Sun 5/30 8pm at Neptune: a retired thief tries to reconnect with his family only to learn they have moved on without him, set in post-Pinochet Argentina

--The Dry Land (USA) Mon 5/31 130pm at Harvard Exit: an Iraqui vet comes home and has trouble adjusting to his civilian life

--The Big Dream (Italy) Mon 5/31 130pm at Neptune: an undercover cop meets and falls for a Catholic girl in 1968 Rome

OK, I know it's a LOT, but I will be in rehearsals after next week, so I wanna see as many as I can!

SIFF Opening Weekend

I figure I'll post the movies that I really wanna see and then if anyone is interested in seeing them with me and the dates/times work out, feel free to tag along.

Not to be Missed:

--I Am Love (Italy) with Tilda Swinton playing Sat 5/22 7pm & Sun 5/23 415pm both at the Egyptian

--The French Kissers (France) Sat 5/22 945pm at the Egyptian

Would be Fun:

--George A Romero's Survival of the Dead (Canada) Fri 5/21 midnight at the Egyptian

--Bus Palladium (France) Fri 5/21 9pm at Pacific Place

--Castaway on the Moon (South Korea) Sun 5/23 930pm at the Neptune

Please let me know if you are interested too! Roomie (and usual SIFF +1) is outta town this weekend, so dates to any of these would be much appreciated.

I will do next week and weekend when I have more of a chance to SIF(F)t through the rest of the movies

Sweating in the Rain

Ah, spring in Seattle! It is supposed to be in the high 60's all this week and rainy... I mean, how does one dress for that? Especially with all the walking I do? I guess I will have to be creative.

Today I am wearing my Mod Cloth green checkered wrap dress with my F21 zebra print belt, H&M black leggings and black Chinese Laundry booties with silver studs. I am also wearing my H&M military jacket over it all. I think it works. I was warm enough on my walk into work and also feel fine in the office (trust me, this is a hard line to toe).

So, I am officially, sick. I feel gross and a little floaty in my head, with a lovely cough. Plus I feel like my nose and eyes are constantly running...Awesome.

Prescription for this week: sleep, fluids, unpacking.

Roomie is outta town this coming weekend, so I will try to tackle our kitchen on Sat or Sun and get it all unpacked and organized. In order to finish my room though, I think I need another little table or bookshelf. Since I lost all the closet space from my last place, I guess I need furniture. Plus I have the room for it. Goodwill trip, anyone?

SIFF also kicks off on Thurs, so I will be trying to cram in as many indie movies as I can before I start rehearsals on 6/1...