Let the Grad School Mayhem Begin

It's official. I'm going to drama school this fall. (Funding pending, of course.)

Commence the freak out.

Not at all stressing of course. Just...you know....EXTREME hyper excitement, bordering on insanity. Mainly because I should secure my funding and get my first check into the school in about...oh....two weeks. Not at all insane. I'm just going to be drinking excessive amounts of wine tonight. I got this. Not like I'm trying to raise $2,500 more dollars for my half marathon charity run this summer either.

DONATE HERE: Lindsay's Awesome Run Full of Delight and High Expectations

I really should have tried harder to win the lotto. Because everyone knows that is a solid financial decision.

As is wine investment. I may need to take out stock in my favorite wineries. Are they even publicly traded? Do I even have a clue what I just said? No. Pulling stuff out my ass at this point. Just making really good decisions about healthful living and solid financial investments, is the name of my game. Clearly.

More on grad school abroad later...when my brain is working properly.

Cheers,
Lindsay

Sunday Confessional (That's Never Posted on Sunday, Apparently)

This post was originally crafted on Father's Day, such a good time to do a 'Sunday Confessional'. Confession: I got my taste for excellent scotch from my Dad. He knows the good stuff. Though Johnnie Walker Blue is not quite my first choice all the time...I'm more of a Woodford Reserve kinda girl. Bourbon over scotch...sometimes. And Jameson whiskey is always a standby for any night, any occasion.

You'd think I'm 50 instead of 28.

Now to my Sunday Confessions (which are more like Tuesday Confessions, but that just sounds silly. And I'll post these things whenever I damn well get around to it. Sunday I was busy watching Man of Steel and helping my Dad eat lots of delicious food. Good times):

1. I have already had a few conversations with my sister last week about "do I have this book in real format? should I buy it on kindle or buy the book itself? I'm not sure if I actually own it already." The problem with be an obsessive book buying addict. I really don't know all the books I have. Someday, I'll compile a list. Maybe someday soon.

My pretty sister and me. I appreciate this photo most of all because  for once, my head is not looking 3x the size of hers...which is actually is. I wear men's x-large caps, FYI.

2. Got a cavity filled on Thursday morning, the day after I had returned from five days in London. They had found the cavity, just a small surface one, the day before I went to London. By the time I got it filled, despite always brushing, flossing and using mouthwash daily, because of my trip to London and my insatiable sweet tooth when there, it had increased considerably. I've also gained five pounds. I can only tell that because....

3. within five days of being in London, I've gone up in cup size. No lie. Me + visiting London = weight gain every time. I think I'll be better when I live there....swear.

4. While going through customs in Toronto airport on Wednesday, looking all greasy, grumpy, frumpy, agitated by Canada's completely ridiculous customs format (3 step process: step 1-scan your ticket, do you have a bag? yes, go to step 2. Step 2-sit down and wait an exorbitant amount of time waiting for your name to appear on a screen, name on screen? yes? go to step 3. Step 3-Wait in line at the usual customs check point...totally lame), I managed to get hit on by the customs officer. He barely asked me the necessary things needed to be asked when going through customs. When we hit on the topic of my being involved in theatre he kept insisting that I should take him to a show in Toronto since Rochester, where I live, is not far. He even wrote down his number for me...which I promptly lost when going through security scan. Ummm, fairly certain that him and my Dad could have bonded over college memories together cause he was definitely his age.

5. Friday. My sister and I got some ice cream after lunch before heading back to work. I always ask for a "kiddie" or "baby" size because I want SMALL. Instead they look at me, take my adult size into consideration, and hand me an ice cream usually the size of my head. But seriously, ice cream makers, I want a cone the size of what is appropriate for a 3 year old. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME? And by that I mean, I did indeed eat most of my extra large ice cream and the proceeded to act high the rest of the afternoon. Me and Lauren had a serious case of the giggles and barely got our work done. At one point we were dancing through the warehouse (my Dad owns the company where we work) and my sister sang out "I want to do an interpretive dance of all the things in the warehouse!" Now I suppose that's a confession for my sister, but I was really egging her on the whole time. We spend a lot of time together, considering we both live at home and work in a very tiny office together. Often my "date nights" are out with my sister to get sushi or see a movie. And she even has a boyfriend. IT'S BECAUSE I'M AWESOME. Cute, single, Henry Cavill-lookalikes take note.

CLEARLY sugar addicts. Consuming the goods from Alice's Tea Cup in Central Park, NYC.

6. My sister insisted I add my triumphant success with Champagne bottles this weekend. BTW, as part of my job at Folger theatre, I had to open Champagne bottles frequently. I was a PRO. Seriously. I could uncork around 30 bottles in under 5 minutes. When it's free champagne night at Consort, you better well have those bottles ready! Well I brought Champagne to my brothers house for Father's Day brunch on Sunday and while I was preparing our mimosas, I took the cage part off of the bottle and then went to prepare the orange juice. Not sure why I didn't just fully open the bottle, but did you know? When you take the cage off the top of a Champagne bottle, the pressure on the cork is left to build under the cork and within 30 seconds...POP...off it went. For half a second I seriously considered doing my "DC tuck and fall to the the ground because some body's got a gun" move. After getting lectures from every...single....member...of my family I won't be making that mistake again.

Had to include a truly respectable fam photo. My brothers know how to rock it. Obviously, I am the one with the impressive strength in the family.

7. Another one for Friday. The ice cream high day. Lauren was complaining about invoices getting moved around her desk and I was commiserating as well due to my pens and post-its being stolen from my desk. We decided the best way to deal with this situation, working for a company that is made of mostly men besides us two, that the only way for the men to keep their hands off our stuff is to cover everything in tampons. We'll use them as paper weights and mix them in with our pens in the cup holder. GENIUS. And obviously, after that gem of an idea introduced, we are no longer allowed to consumer sugar.

I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't take us seriously. For realz yo.

That's it for this week's Sunday Confessional...maybe next week I'll post it on Sunday. GENIUS.

Cheers,
Lindsay

Sunday Confessional

**NOTE: This was originally supposed to be posted on Sunday when I was in London. However, I do not know how technology works and therefore it did not go up then. So just pretend it's Sunday and let the humor wash over you like a gentle rain while you enjoy your hot coffee and pancakes. 

I feel like I need to have a weekly "Confessional" post. Purge myself of all the stupid stuff I've done that week and to make others just feel dandy and smart about all their decisions in life. Unless you're doing drugs. Even I'm not that stupid. Stop it.

Fun side fact: Raised Catholic and when to Catholic school until I was 10. Did not understand the point of confessional every month. I actually made shit up to confess because I couldn't come up with any good examples in my real life (probably the start of my self-involvement. In my world, I am a darling angel.) Some examples: "Ummm, I broke a vase." "I lied to my Mom about it." Repeat that every month. I wonder if the priest ever caught on or just thought I was a household deviant.

1. Past weekend. Went to a bachelorette party where, when I was not even drunk, I proceeded to chuck my iPhone into the hot tub. Nothing really tops the humor in hearing four girls screeching "where is it? I GOT IT, I GOT IT!" We're adults, and we know how to party.

2. Monday. Decided I would be going on a diet to lose ten pounds by end of June, just in time for one of my best friend's wedding where I will be attending dateless. Promptly opened a bottle of red wine. Probably doubled my calories for the day. Diet win.

3. Tuesday, no coffee, only two cups of tea. Attempted to lock front door of house by clicking my car key fob at it. Seriously.

4. Tuesday. Convo with sis: Her-"I really wish I lived back then." (In regards to the 1920s in Syracuse) Me-"I don't wish I lived then. But I do wish I was the doctor's companion and could travel back then for a little fun."  .........yup. Crickets.

5. Tuesday. Sis and I could not figure out if the spot on the carpet was dog pee. Stuck my nose in it. Definitely dog pee.

6. Wednesday. When I was driving around looking for food after my dentist appointment, I actually said out loud to myself "I need something to put in my mouth to counteract this cleanliness." I pulled over to have a good laugh. Couldn't figure out who to call to relay the dirty joke I told myself, so I'll just leave it here.

7. Wednesday Night. Found leftover package of Marshmallow Peckers from bachelorette party. Talked my little sister into making a s'more out of them. Couldn't stop making penis jokes in front of my parents. This is what happens when you live at home as an adult. Good, wholesome, family fun. I do believe I told my Mom that my marshmallow was a ten-second man.

Cheers,
Lindsay Xxx

Preparing for London

My plane flies off tonight to London, connects in Toronto (a first for me, never flew through Toronto airport before) and then I'll be landing in London at 10am Friday morning. This will be my first time flying with an airline that's not Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, so I'm more nervous than usual. Have already packed a small carry-on in case they lose my luggage somehow.

I'm quite jittery about my audition as well. I'm going over for an audition with a second grad school (oh I didn't tell you did I? On my last trip I auditioned with one grad school and got ACCEPTED. Baller. So no matter what, I will be heading over for grad school in the fall. But this second audition is still très important to me.) I've looked at this school for several years now and really respect the school and the course. Additionally, unlike a lot of US schools, this school does a full day audition. Six hours, or around that, of workshopping my two audition pieces. That right there is a beautiful thing. Something I really appreciate, considering my CV (resume) is not as varied as I'd like, for someone heading off to grad school for acting. It really gives me an even playing field with people who have a more extensive theatre history or even have their undergrad degree in it (I did love getting my BA in English but I really wish I could have tried harder at doing a double major with theatre as well.)

I think I'm most nervous about the fact that for this audition I have to do contrasting pieces. My modern piece I am unmoving on. It must be this one comedic piece I love. So that means my Shakespeare/Jacobean piece must be dramatic. I do have one from years ago that I did for Central, read about that absolute gem of a time here. But I just feel much more comfortable with any of my comedic pieces than I do with dramatic ones. I do love my speech from Measure for Measure (Isabella, scene 2, act 4 "To whom should I complain?") but I know there's a lot of work I need to do on it and how I approach it.

This audition will most certainly be a learning experience.

Anyways, in preparing for this trip, I wanted to share with you all that it takes for me to get out of the house and on to the flight over. I tend to obsess over what I pack and how to pack it. If you are heading over to London, it's as important how you pack, as what you pack. As soon as you're off that flight, unless you're rich, you need to haul all your stuff onto public transportation. I just discovered the Heathrow Express, which is the best thing ever and despite being more poor on this trip, I'll still be throwing down the $40 to shorten my trip into London. It's the height of luxury for those who can't really afford luxury.

So I have packed my very large purse with things I need to grab while in transit and on the plane. A large carry-on with a book, my journal, a few necessities for the overnight flight that I don't need immediately at hand, but somewhat accessible (face wipes and that such thing), a change of clothes and my running equipment because this is a carrier I've never flown on before and I'm always very paranoid about my luggage getting lost.  My large luggage bag has rotating wheels which are perfect for running with luggage, which one will always do when getting to and from the airport in London, and is only 2/3 full. I left it this way so that on the way back I can throw all my clothes in it and leave the carry-on to store some gifts for friends (or...ahem...chocolate and tea for myself...).

Here's a few crappy photos from my iPhone:

 This stuff is included in my carry-on and my luggage: luggage--mini shower supplies (can't resist, they're so cute!), seasonal allergy medicine (don't know what London's spring will be like, it's been 8 years since I've been there in the spring), makeup supplies and a massive container of the best body lotion ever. Carry-on: book I borrowed from British friend, Wolf Hall (having difficulty getting through it. Historical fiction hasn't ever been something I've really gotten into, but I'll be working my way through it on the plane I suppose, when not having panic attacks about my monologues), my journal, a folder full of all the important information customs may ask for (flight info, address of where I'm staying, audition letter from school, etc, etc) and my London A to Z guide. Even though everyone uses Google Maps nowadays, I find that using the guide is still more helpful as Google Maps has been known to be wrong and I've never been lead astray by London A to Z.

Mainly for my purse I have a baggie for all my liquids--contact solution, hand sanitizer, perfume in a small container with roller, waterproof liquid eyeliner (necessary for long flights), mascara, gum, deodorant, lotion, Q-Tips, hair comb, Tylenol, chap stick and Vaseline, tums and Prilosec (I am a Crohnie after all. I can handle my heartburn situation at home without drugs at the moment, as long as I'm really good with my food, but I can't really stop myself from OD'ing on tea and biscuits when in England, so drugs are necessary), Iron and other meds, my plays, sunglasses (one is for running, the other is just plain necessary for being anywhere outdoors), small notebooks I record food/money spent/running log, small purse with British pounds in it and my passport.

I absolutely will use every bit of what I've packed. My clothes have been reduced down dramatically from what I would normally take. But I'm trying not to be the usual over-packer that I am, and I never really wear all the clothes I bring. I'll spare you a photo of that.

What would you bring on a trip overseas? See anything missing that you absolutely have to have with you?

Cheers,
Lindsay Xxx

P.S. No headphones for this trip due to the fact that I threw my phone in a hot tub (oh yes I did) at my friend's Bachelorette party, needed to dry it out in a bag of rice and now have a piece of rice stuck in the plug hole for my headphones. I am awesome in every way.

Doing Your Thang

My little sister and I have been talking lately about having a fitness "thang". You know...you're thing you do that you work at all the time, maybe you've worked very hard at being awesome at it, have all the fun accessories, read the books, read the blogs...it's your "thang".

Lauren, little sis, has decided that cycling is her thing and has gone at it full swing. She's got the cool, fast road bike, a weekly cycle goal (40 miles a week, 200 in total before June 21st) and she even has a really sweet helmet and matching riding cloves. I'm a bit jealous.

My running is definitely almost my thing, but I'm not quite sure if it'll stay my thing. I've always had a hankering for yoga and martial arts to be the center of my fitness expertise. But really, deep down, I just want to be one of those people that enjoys and participates in all kinds of physical activities. I definitely did not grow up that way. Like a vampire to sunlight, I saw it as a death wish.

Until of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer came along and that's where my yoga (Sarah Michelle Gellar was a fan) and martial arts (Buffy's official thang) obsession came in.

But for now, I'm just trying to be open minded about other physical activities and give them a go.

And now I can't feel my ass. God, biking is hard. Soooo hard. I have found an 8 mile run easier. Okay, okay, it has just been my first day. But damn my butt is sore. And my ego bruised as my sister goes flying ahead of me and beats me home by 10 minutes while I'm still huffing and puffing like a couch potato who's never been outdoors.

Granted, she has explained to me that her bike is a road bike and therefore is meant to go faster than the mountain bike I've been using today. But still, I want it to feel better because I run, damnit.

I completely understand and accept that biking uses different muscles than running does. Which is often why people recovering from running injuries usually switch to biking. Even though it's hard, I'm determined to make this a regular thing. Especially since money is tight currently, the amount I save on gas, small it may be, will ease my stress a bit.

We did about 10 miles today just riding to and from work. We come home for lunch so that adds on the extra miles. It is only a 2.5 mile ride from our house to the office but I have never been more irritated with living in a hilly village. Fuck hills. They're stupid and if they don't make my ass rock hard by August I'm calling it--biking is a fraud.

Additionally, something my sister mentioned to me that is so true about biking, specifically the side effects that come when one uses a mountain bike for....not mountains. They're heavier and harder than a street bike, requiring a much greater effort to operate....and goddamn am I raging hungry after one 2.5 mile trip. There went my breakfast-poof, there went my lunch-poof. And I have pms right now, so essentially....I am going to eat EVERYTHING THERE EVER WAS.

Honestly, running hasn't even jacked up my appetite like that. I really don't feel like good things are going to come of it. I've enjoyed running several miles and still feel okay with my doctor-restricted small, carby portions of food my stomach can adequately digest. Today, on the other hand, I was all like "WHERE IS MORE FOOD? GIMME." Except caffeinated excessively and with really crazy helmet hair. I'm like every one's childhood monster under the bed, but with leggings and a powerful odor. (Oh yes, I stunk today. Didn't even really sweat that much. I sweat buckets when running and barely smell worse that a wilting rose.)

So the jury is out on this one folks. But again....fully expecting to be able to bounce quarters off my ass by Labor Day. Actually....I don't really know what that means, I heard it in a rap song. REALLY STRONG BUTTOCKS, I want amazing thighs and a butt I can place things on like a shelf. I really don't think that's asking very much, do you?

Courtesy of my little sis.
She is way cuter...but can't escape the dorkiness. Also, YES we get to go home for lunch every day and play with that cute button, Charlie. BE JEALOUS.

Cheers,
Lindsay Xxxx

P.S. If you'll kindly take note of the shirt I'm wearing in that tiny, upper right hand corner photo. Yes, it is a beer tee-shirt. I have been huffing and puffing all over town in a beer tee-shirt. HEIGHT of sophistication. Don't you wanna be me?