My grandmother passed away early this morning. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a while now, and over the last few months it had grown progressively worse. Some of the family had gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday this last Saturday evening. I don't know whether she knew we were there, but we were able to see her. She was an incredible woman.

popularity

MUTEMATH keeps getting better every time I see them. the first time I saw them wasn't really on purpose, even though they were headlining. I went because a friend of mine was opening for them. last night though was off . . . the . . . HOOK! The Whigs performed wonderfully as local boys should, and the surprise was the first of the opening acts - Jonezetta. I'm sure if I go through my old issues of RELEVANT there will be a article about them somewhere, because I know I've heard of the name prior to this tour, but I can't remember when or where exactly.

as this is the third time MUTEMATH has played Athens in less than two year, I'm sure that they'll be back again soon. there seems to be a mutual affinity between the band and the town. go figure. interesting too that a band who sounds the way they do came from New Orleans. very cool.

crashing down

(sorry Mat!)

so the ceiling at work caved in last night. not ALL of it, but I good chunk of sheetrock and insulation was on the floor when I opened the door this morning. My boss had called me last night as I was heading to the cast party for South Pacific to warn me about what I'd see when I came to work the next morning. as I found out from the building manager this morning, a pipe had burst in the apartment above, flooding both that space and the store below. we had thought it was the tenants up to their flood-inducing keggers. so this time it wasn't. at least not entirely.

so today I watched more soggy pieces of sheetrock and chunks of insulation crash to the floor as the maintenance guys ripping them out of the ceiling. when I wasn't wondering if they were going to fall off the ladder it was kinda entertaining. and we actually had some decent sales too.

how was your monday? ;-)

winding road

ok, so I'm pensive. not that it's anything new . . .

I am having an amazing time performing in South Pacific. it's fantastic. not that I haven't flubbed a few dance steps, but it's still great anyway.

I keep thinking about what I want to write, what I want to say in my music. I must be over-thinking it, because I don't remember it being this hard before. but when you realize how much you cared what people though, you get a little self-conscious about what you're saying. I guess. still working that out. still working alot of stuff out actually.

I don't know where I'm going with any of this, and I have another performance tomorrow, so I'd better get some sleep . . .

here it goes again

it was impressive enough as a no-cuts, one shot video . . . and then they did it live . . .

I don't want to be

the internet just isn't that interesting.

there comes a point when stuck at work with little to do that you just can't read another blog, or another news site, or window shop (ha!) another website. and I want to get out of here so that I can go work on things at home. oh, and THEN there's the continuing quarter-life crisis thing. should I go to grad school? that feels like postponing the inevitable. quit this job and temp again? find another job period? move to another city? having choices and opportunities is a good thing, but it doesn't make it easy.

I hate moving. the thought of trying to move the studio contents ALONE is daunting enough. it's great in that the process forces you to get rid of accumulated random objects, but I still hate it.

oh, and why is it that it's the rednecks who want grills "like for your teeth"? I thought that was a hip-hop thing.

random thoughts

(yes, still a song title!)

I freaked out Walter (old guy who chases people with his wheelchair Downtown) or he's just the new Rumpelstiltskin. say "hello, Walter" as you pass him on the sidewalk (before he tries to get money out of you) and he'll leave you alone. or at least that day anyway.

the two podcasts that I enjoy have been MIA this week - RELEVANT & Grey's Anatomy. what gives?

finally . . . my mom is fine, so thanks for the prayers. she was rushed to the ER monday night. I'm not going to go into the details, but everything is fine. she's just been rather worn out the last few days. I will say that my Pastor's wife is fantastic. she came and helped out tuesday with some follow-up doctor's visits. I've known of pastor's wives who coordinate other people in the church to take care of that, but rarely do it themselves. she volunteered.

that's all for tonight . . .

honey bun

South Pacific opens next week at The Morton Theater (Downtown Athens on Washington Street). ACT is producing it. for the cast list and such click here. it's running friday and saturday the first weekend (Oct. 13 &14), and thursday through sunday the next weekend (Oct. 19 - 22).

it's going to be alot of fun, so you should totally come. PLUS . . . there are UGA home games BOTH WEEKENDS . . . *wink wink, nudge nudge*. come on, you know you want to come!

Bring the Pain

I just got home from rehearsal and my legs HURT. not in subtle way, but in an obvious "I don't want to walk" kind of way. and it's awesome.

why?

because once I'm working out, it's ok. getting started is where I have the troubles. so between running all over Downtown and dance rehearsals, I might start getting in shape yet. bring the pain . . .

All I Need

this title is one from a song that I friend of mine wrote. it also happened to close the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy tonight. the song is a favorite of mine, and seeing Mat doing this (from a distance) brings joy in a way that I can't really explain. it's a personal thing, but when I watch my friends out doing what they love and succeeding at it at the same time - I couldn't be happier. maybe because I've also watched as people I loved threw everything that they dreamed of away.

the last few months I've been thinking alot about what I want to do now. I've been applying for jobs, thinking about grad school, cleaning out/organizing my studio . . . alot of thought and alot of prayer. I'm an artist , and I always have been. BUT . . . I haven’t been able to get really excited about it. not enough to make it my career. it's something I've always done, and I'll always do, but I've felt like it wasn't the main thing. it sounds crazy, right?

so I recently auditioned for a musical. I hadn't sung in front of anyone in several YEARS, and I hadn't auditioned in what, five at least? the audition was terrifying, I locked me throat up and threw my timing off, but Tom (the director) saw through it or just took a chance. rehearsals have been a re-learning curve to say the least. it's hard and I'm having to really work at it, and I love it.

and then a couple of days ago it started to hit me - I didn't have to work at Art. not much. and that sounds conceited, but it's true. it came just easily enough that I didn't have any real motivation to work any harder. I loved it, but it just wasn't enough of a challenge. music has always been different. I love it, but most of the time I'm picking apart every little moment. if I didn't have to work on the pieces then I had stage fright to compensate for. and when that was ok then I had new pieces to work on. it challenges me and terrifies me. I love being on stage, in rehearsals, and in writing sessions. for three years I left it behind and focused on a degree, but now I have to try to make THIS work. I'll still be using the jewelry torch, and the sewing machine, and the paints, but I can't leave music behind again.

so that's where I'm at.

Back In The Saddle Again

I auditioned for the ACT production of South Pacific this week, and I made it. it was the first time that I had auditioned for anything in four years. maybe five. so yeah, I was a nervous wreck, but I knew once I did it I'd be fine, and the next one will be just like any other audition (back when I was auditioning all the time). I just wanted to be back in, and to be performing again. anything really, because it would give me the extra motivation to get my voice back in shape and my head back into performing. so being on stage? fabulous. not a problem. alot of faces out there is easier for me than two. the worst part is over, and now I get to have fun. and you may think I'm crazy, but I even love the rehearsals, the required set painting, the striking . . . all of it.

and I found more of the floor and the tabletops in my studio today.

Simple Pleasures

it's the little things in life . . .

"The United States Postal Service issued a new set of commemorative stamps depicting classic motorcycles. Unfortunately, the USPS forgot to spell-check the final version of the collector's items, because they misspelled a keyword, marking the stamps "motorcyle." Upon hearing this, RELEVANT copyeditor Tia Stauffer went postal ...9/1/06 | 2:48 PM"

that make me happy.

I <3 slices . . .

fight song

I'm going all Grey's A & titling my blog entries with song titles . . . or we'll see how that works anyway . . .

UGA beat Western Kentucky today . . . *gasp*, "really???" . . . shocker. but "yay" none the less.

Pat has a new layout on his blog, so I got curious as to new templates, thus the new look of this one. (darn you!) but now all of my links are gone, so I'll have to redo them. they needed updating anyway.

I have some new projects I'm working out, and I'll soon be sharing the plans here. just a few more details to work out first.

growl growl, grumble grumble

tomorrow is the first game of the fall football season . . . . this I am very happy about.

tomorrow means that all of the obnoxious neanderthals, jerks, and drunks will come climbing out of the woodwork, trashing everything everywhere they go . . . this I am not happy about.

go dawgs.

I started reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller, and something occured to me. What if "favor" has nothing to do with what we do on the checklists of our religion? What if has more to do with how we live. And not live in the I tithe, I smile at people, I give to charities around the holidays, etc., etc., but actually live. Going out and doing things, dreaming and then acting on the dream, writing, playing sports with strangers at the park. Because God created us for fellowship with Him, right? A relationship is alot more fun when the other person has a life.

Pirates II

So first they set a record friday as the highest grossing movie on its first day of release, and THEN by having the best opening weekend. Having seen this movie TWICE in twenty-four hours . . . it's awesome. If you can see it in DLP, then do that as well. Also, a second viewing is as enjoyable as the first, if not more so. I enjoyed it more the second time (even though I loved it the first). No spoilers here . . . just go watch it!

Oh, AND I loved that it proved again that . . . .

a. Hollywood is too full of itself: people want to see really good movies, and they'll pay to see them on a big screen. A drop in revenue means that someone's not doing their job, NOT that people are downloading illegally.

b. Critics are irrelevant and out of touch.

three movies to go see . . .

Superman Returns. yes, I loved it! (even with the interesting choice of story lines from the comic book.)

The Devil Wears Prada. I haven’t read the book, but I know that they definitely took some liberties when adapting it to the screenplay. this was to make them nicer or something. anyway, even if you just see it for the clothes, it's great. HOWEVER . . . the characters are great. loved this movie as well!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. this doesn't need any recommendations. if you saw the first one, then you're probably just as excited as I am. if you aren't . . . then really . . . LIGHTEN UP!!! in the meantime, go find the Black Pearl cereal . . . seriously . . .

coffee cure

I caught this in slices over at RELEVANT :

"A new study has found that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of liver damage. According to the research, “drinking coffee cuts the risk of cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol—by 22 percent per cup each day” …6/13/06 | 5:39 PM"

interesting . . .

family

I went to Atlanta this afternoon with my father to visit my grandmother. She has rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s, and just a few months ago my grandfather made the decision to put her into a care home. He did his best to care for her for as long as he could, but things got to be more the he and the rest of the local family could handle. It's hard seeing her slip away like this. This was the woman who ran Dekalb for years, helped to lead political campaigns, chaired committees, and mothered four sons and a daughter. She was an incredible grandmother as well. Dad just sat there with her, talking to her when she had some good moments, and helping with what he could. When the other ladies in the common room of the home got too boisterous, she sent us on our way.

The best part of the trip though was the ride with my father. The conversations we've had while driving to and from Atlanta are some of my favorite memories. Today's certainly made the trip a little easier.

Downtown life

There's a distinct difference between day life and nightlife in Downtown Athens, and anyone who's seen both knows it. In the day life we get Walter. If you don't know Walter by name, you probably know him as the old guy in the wheelchair. And if you know him by that, then you've probably been chased by him in said wheelchair (or at least yelled at). This guy is like a Twinkie (I'd say cockroach, but that would be offensive) in that it seems like he'll be around forever. Heck, he's been harassing Athens folk for cash and meds since before I was born! My dad has stories from his ER days of Walter's antics. Don't feel too bad for the old guy (Walter, not my dad) though, he gets a nice fat check from the government every month, and someone obviously does his laundry.

If he harasses you too much, just call the cops. They know who you're talking about.