Tab: A British Army term for a loaded march.

2010-08-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've decided to approach blogging in a different way.
The new blog is not blocked, so you don't have to do anything to read it.

You can find it here:
http://www.imafraidofbees.blogspot.com/

2010-07-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hidden Cove Karaoke

What was supposed to be a day at the beach was cancelled due to sporadic rain.

But Andi, Z, Dan, Ilana and I still went to Hidden Cove for karaoke later.

There was an unusually large and obnoxious crowd, so it took forever to get to sing.

I didn't go until right as we were leaving.

I still had fun though, people kept stopping me to tell me they liked my shoes.

That's really all it takes for me to have fun.

That and whiskey.

2010-07-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last night = Tired today

I did get to leave work early for a doctor's appointment though.

Then I napped for the rest of the day.

That's a win, folks.

2010-07-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

Work Meeting

My company had it's first ever entire office meeting today.

Because there are so many people here we had to walk to an auditorium about 5 or 6 blocks away to have it.

It also ran over, leaving me very little time to rush home and eat dinner before Sketch had our tech rehearsal.

For those not in the biz, a tech rehearsal is when you run through the beginning/end of every scene for the purposes of light cues and not smashing into each other when it's dark.

This lasted til midnight.

We were the very last people to leave the building.

Lights were out, ominous gates were drawn.

It would have been eerie if I wasn't so tired.

2010-07-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Apartment a.k.a. The Slanty Shanty

It may look like the curtain is askew in this picture.

In reality, the apartment is slanted.

It's getting worse.

I'm pretty sure we can start charging people admission soon.

The good news is I will be moving to a new apartment November or December.

With Z.

Hopefully our apartment will be upright with lots of closet space.

2010-07-12T13:02:00.001-07:00

Z brought Bearek Jeter a friend from New York.

Look! It's Meerkey Mantle!

2010-07-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Another busy day, Zumba first.
I wish I could get a picture of class happening, but pulling out my phone while everyone is jumping around seems like asking for trouble.

I left a little early to catch a workshop with Joe Bill.

I always have a blast at these. I still really enjoy the learning process that comes with being an improviser.

Then another sketch rehearsal.
This one was mostly spent writing out the scenes that are going in, so we will have set lines.

The show has an official theme now, so we have homework to come up with an appropriate opening.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to YouSwoop I had my first ever facial today.
I was very surprised that I found it super relaxing.
I don't know why, but I think I expected it to hurt.
It didn't.
Some things tingled.

Before that I had Yoga and Zumba. The Yoga class is new and the teacher is very, very calming.
Which is appropriate.
The teacher for Zumba is very, very gay.
Also appropriate.

Later Zach cooked dinner for us.

It was an early dinner, because I had to head to second city for rehearsal right after.

The show is really starting to come together and I'm looking forward to putting it up.
Which is good, since we only have 3 weeks before it opens.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Zach's first show back with All Skate.
Below he and Mike pose for their A&E original crime drama.

The show was fun, but the only audience members were a handful of frat guys who were very drunk.
They muttered thing during all of the shows that would have been heckling if it had been louder.

In other news, my new iPhone came today.
It's the best.
I'm pretty sure the camera on it is better than my actual camera.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Zach got back from the boat today.
The whole thing was a huge mess, not just for him but for every employee on this particular ship.
Even some of the second city cast left, which is pretty unusual.

To celebrate him being home we went to Hot Doug's and to see Toy Story 3.
Both were delicious.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Our usual karaoke place was closed tonight because of the holiday.
So Andi & I went home and discovered several karaoke channels on YouTube.

Andi was excited to find 'Hava Nagila', which she had to learn for something years ago.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

On rare occasions I have to cover the reception desk at work.
They still use the switchboard from when the company first opened.
In 1967.

-- Post From My iPhone

2010-07-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Novelty Golf

Dan, Ilana, and I headed out to Lincolnwood to play some miniature golf this evening.
There is a super fun course there called Novelty Golf; complete with drawbridges, trick holes, and a castle.
And a computerized sex tester...

(Ilana and I both got positive results. Dan got a bad one.)

Before playing, we stopped by the Bunny Hutch.

It's a hot dog stand straight out of 1950.

Possibly named the Bunny Hutch because of the creepy severed bunny head behind the counter...

Then we headed over to golf. They have 2 courses and we opted to do the 'Frankenstein' course.

Which includes an elephant.

Dan became very competitive when he realized I was beating him.
Then sort of furious.

Dan: How are you beating me?? How? Girls aren't good at sports.

Then he tried to cheat.

Despite getting hit in the head with the windmill blade(yep, that happened)...I still won.
Since if you can pinpoint the moment on the score card when that happened.
(Note: Dan is Iceman, Ilana is Dan Gordon, and I am Helicopter).

Did you find it?
I bet you did. Great job!

2010-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Bearek Jeter has a new home in my cubicle.

So far no one has yelled at me.

2010-06-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

SketchCo Poster

My first attempt at using real photoshop went pretty well, and this poster is the result.

Sure, I was up til 3am to try and get it into Second City on time and came to work on 3 hours of sleep, but it was totally worth it, right?

The show opens July 30th at 9pm in the Skybox.

It's mostly about sex and death...as you may have guessed.

2010-06-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

Dentist Waiting Room

I finally went to the dentist about the tooth I chipped ages ago.
I have a great fear of dentists, but this one was amazing and nice and made me very comfortable.

I have to go back and have magic new teeth pieces put on the chipped tooth, plus another tooth that has the wrong kind of filling in it. I imagine this happened with the dentist in Texas who is responsible for my fears.

Guess what's expensive?
Magic teeth pieces.
Great job, other dentist. Now I can add this anger to the memories of you roughly scraping at my gums while I saw the reflection of blood filling my mouth in your glasses.

2010-06-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

While doing laundry this evening, I suddenly noticed a mysterious blotch on my arm.
It got lighter and lighter and itched quite a bit.
I was starting to wonder if it was a spider or bug bite when it disappeared.

Things like this happen to me more than they should.

2010-06-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

SketchCo Running Order

Our show tonight went really, really well.
We only have one more in-process show next Saturday and then we go on a show break until we open July 30th.

Some things are pretty solid to go in the final show, others we are still working on.
Overall, I'm very happy with everything and I'm excited for the review to go up.

After shows Andi & I headed to...karaoke!

I didn't have much of a voice, from being sick and all. But I still had a blast of a good time.

Here, Andi sings with an older fellow that insisted she do a duet with him but would not tell her what song he chose.

It was "I Got You Babe".
Watching put me somewhere between unbelievable discomfort and pure glee.

Matty joined us after Skinprov...

For the life of me, I cannot remember what he sang. I do remember that it was lovely.

2010-06-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Mixer

I laid around all day and was feeling much better by the evening.

The doctor assured me that, while the symptoms last 7-10 days, they lessen dramatically after 2 or so.

I was feeling better enough to go coach The Mixer this evening.

It was fun, as always. It's nice to get to do a show with a bunch of enthusiastic people once a week.

2010-06-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

Doctor's Office

I woke up at 4am with the worst sore throat of my life and a fever.

I called into work immediately.

I slept most of the day and was only able to coax myself into visiting the doctor with the promise of a frosty on the way.

The diagnosis "the virus that's going around".

There's no antibiotics for this virus, which lasts 7-10 days and I was instructed to stay home tomorrow.

I went home and slept 15 hours straight.

Blegh.

2010-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Commercial Audition

I had an audition today for a commercial that was improvised "in the style of those Sonic Commercials".

I'm pretty sure my improv experience is the only reason I was sent on the audition, because I do not look old enough to play a 12-year-old's mother. Older sister, maybe.

But I went and was happy to do it anyway.

When they called my name up for the group, the dude playing the 'father' looked around, confused.

DUDE: Wait, do I not get a wife?

CASTING LADY: Yes, Tabitha is playing your wife (points).

DUDE: Oh. OH. I'm so sorry, you just look SO YOUNG. Like, way too young.

ME: Yep.

The dude then proceeded to barrel through the audition, doing everyone's parts for them.

On the way out, he gave me his business card and a handwritten flyer to the party he is having this Sunday.

I did not book the commercial.

2010-06-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Ribfest

The winner of ribfest was, you guessed it, ribs.
Andi, Alan, and I went in the afternoon and had our fill of ribs.
We ran into Nikki and Ross and had a lovely chat.
There were puppies everywhere.
On the way out I had funnel cake.

It was a big win, all around.

2010-06-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sketch Run-Through

Today was super busy.

I had a dance class (which was a blast) followed by haircut and then Sketch did a brief run-through before our show.

Things are coming together quickly now, the picture above is of one of my favorite blackouts in the show.

Almost everything got a good audience response, so that is promising for when the run opens.

After the show, Keith had a party at Lincoln Karaoke:

It was fun, as usual, but pricey. So we checked out at midnight and went to what will surely become a regular hangout for Andi and I. The Hidden Cove. They were having karaoke as well and it was easy to get on the list without having to wait forever. We were there well into the morning.

At one point, a stranger came up and asked me to sing a duet with him.

I assured him I was terrible and he said that no, he had heard me sing twice earlier and that I was great.

I told him that rapping is not singing.

But I did it anyway and had fun.

Even though I did sound terrible.

2010-06-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

Dan's "Special" Margarita

Thursday is friend date night, so Andi, Dan, and I took Collin (our houseguest) to Garcia's and to the comic book store.

At Garcia's, Dan insisted that his margarita be "somehow more special than everyone else's".

So he got some girly fruit set-up.

We were once again helped by the comic sales puppy...

She recommended more Walking Dead and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.

Today Z also got his official return date from the ship - October 2nd.

Which is just in time for my birthday the following day.

We're trying to figure out if I'm going to be able to go visit him sometime this summer. With work and shows and other trips and visitors here, scheduling gets overcomplicated.

Plus the ship wants crazy advance notice.

The ship seems to be generally crazy though.

Everything from 13 hour work days to several fires on the boat.

Fires.

On the boat.

2010-06-09T06:49:00.000-07:00

Custom Art!

I have a houseguest this week, a former Four Day Weekend student who came up to see improv and get a feel for the city before he moves here this fall.

As a thank you for lodging he offered to draw me "anything I wanted". I asked for a picture of Batman fighting zombies. I had no IDEA this guy was so talented. I mean, look at that picture.

He brought me a print of it that will be hanging in my room soon AND offered to make another one.

Which means I will soon have a series of comic covers hanging in my room, all from the imaginary 'Batman vs. Zombies'. Squee.

2010-06-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Skate Workshop/Rehearsal

All Skate had a workshop/rehearsal with the lovely Bill Arnett.

It was a lot of fun, but it's been a little adjustment to get used to playing without 2 of our teammates.

But we are really proud of them, even if they abandoned us to be on important boats.

Skate is currently in the process of applying to be a member team at The Playground. Which means we have a showcase show this Friday at 10pm. It should be a fun night of very fast-paced shows (each team gets 10 minutes).

So...if you wanna come see us...

Short Shorts

Friday, June 11th

10pm

The Playground

2010-06-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Shopping

Andi & I went out to the big mall in Schamburg, where we had several shopping montages (pictured) and then Andi lost her phone (we did find it).

I did not purchase the headband in the picture.

But I kind of wish I had, in case I ever get cast as Ms. Peacock.

2010-06-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Maifest

Maifest is a German festival. It lasts for 3 days. It happens in Lincoln Square. Literally in my backyard.
Oh, such singing and puking and yelling and breaking glass and peeing on the side of my house...

Then it goes away. Until Oktoberfest.

2010-06-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Dan Cooks Broccoli

I had dinner with Dan tonight, it's our "date" night.
He cooked fish and broccoli and we watched the most terrible movie we could find.

I believe it was called "Animals"...Sayid from Lost was in it.
It was utterly terrible and basically porn. I've never seen so many graphic sex scenes in a "regular" movie.
In the movie, people turn into werewolf-type creatures that are made of electricity and fog. Then they attack people. I can't give you much more of a plot then that...because there wasn't one.

2010-06-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Dance Studio

Through the lovely deals that come from Living Social, Andi & I were able to get a month of unlimited Dance-Workout classes at a studio down the street.

It has been a great experience so far - there are so many different kinds of classes - that I think we will keep going once our deal is over.

Our first class there was Cardio Bounce.

It was a lot of fun, but man has it been awhile since I've danced at that pace. There was a brief moment where I thought I might die. Then I was okay.

2010-05-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ilana tries to work a lighter.

Today Dan had a bar-b-que to make up for missing the big one on Saturday.
It was a lot smaller and very silly fun.

Ilana confessed to us that she couldn't light a lighter so we took turns showing her how.
It was more because she was afraid she'd burn herself than anything else.
Dan: "Fire scares her like scorpions scare me." (If you know Dan at all you know that scorpions scare him a LOT. Even if it's just a picture.)

We agreed that no one could leave until she did it, but she got it after a few tries and everyone cheered.

The party died down and the remaining few of us went to see...

It was TERRIBLE.
I loved it.

2010-05-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Update to Dan's Palm Reading Move...

apparently it didn't go well for Alan.

2010-05-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

Amy joined the SketchCo cast tonight and Nikki will be joining us soon.
It's nice to have some more ladies.

Overall today was pretty stressful, I woke up with a pretty terrible stomachache and couldn't go run errands like I had initially planned. Then I got lost on the way to an audition (I never made it, but they were understanding when I called) and almost ran out of gas trying to become on-lost.

By the afternoon, things were better and Andi & I popped into Adal's birthday bar-b-que for a little bit before our rehearsal. I got to catch up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in awhile, which was nice. Plus there were turducken brats. Oh, yes those are real. Real awesome.

2010-05-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Comic Book Store

Dan, Andi, & I went on a date to Garcia's and the comic book store down the street.
One of the puppies that "works" at the store was begging to be pet.
We obliged.

I picked up some more trades of 'The Walking Dead', which is quickly becoming one of my favorite series.
It is about zombies. And people.
And how people survive after the zombies come.
If you like zombies you should read it.
If you don't like zombies, then I don't know what to tell you. Zombies are awesome.

2010-05-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

A package came from my mom today with these little owls inside.
I just love them.
I have really started building up a collection of owl things. Which I am absolutely fine with.

Today was also my audition for Second City.
It did not go well. Granted, it could have been a lot worse.
But it also could have been a lot better.

2010-05-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

LOST-watching.

Tonight was the series finale of Lost.

Dan, Andi, & I hunkered down to enjoy the 2 1/2 hour event.

I really enjoyed it.

I especially enjoyed Target's Lost-themed ads.

Like this one...

2010-05-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Garcia's with Andi

Garcia's is really the only Mexican food I like in the city.
The nice thing about that is that it's located right by my house.
As often happens on Saturdays, I got a text from Andi asking if I wanted to go to late lunch.
Because we are too lazy to get up and go to the other ones room. I mean, it is Saturday.

Later Sketch had a rehearsal where we pitched some more sketch ideas and then turned around and put them into the show.

There's a new set on the De Maat stage, which is great.

The downside was that there's no light backstage yet.

So between scenes you had to feel your way around using the walls.

The good news is I only crashed into something once.

2010-05-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Jury Summons

Barf.

It's not just that I might have to try and pay attention to a case of some kind.

It's the 7 hours you have to sit at the court and wait to see if you will serve on a jury.

7 hours that makes this bolded paragraph on the bottom of the summons necessary:

"Bring Change for Vending Machines"

This can only mean that people are constantly asking the desk for change. All day. Every day.

But really, shouldn't it say to bring food? Pack a lunch?

No one can be fair and impartial on an empty stomach.

2010-05-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

New Headphones

The headphones that my iPhone came with disappeared a few weeks ago during the migraine epidemic.

I searched and searched but eventually gave up.

I liked them because they had a little microphone on them so you can use them to talk on the phone.

But...it's probably for the best that they vanished. I think they were starting to shock me. With electricity.

Is that possible?

Every once in a while they would make a funny noise and one of my ears would feel like it was pinched inside. Then I would forget about it until it happened again.

I opted to get non-earbud headphones because frankly, the earbuds hurt. Even when they weren't shocking me. And they fall out a lot.

These new ones are squishy, comfortable, and incredibly girly. You can't see in this picture but the top part looks like a blue headband.

In the wee hours this morning I received this text...

So Z made it safely. I already miss him.

We won't get to talk much during the first part of his trip, while he's waiting in France for the boat to be ready. But there are definitely worse places you could have to wait for something. Like not France.

2010-05-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

Heels!

I've decided to start dressing up for work a little more than I have in the past.

Part of the reason is that since I have been feeling sort of down about the migraines, dressing up a little has been making me feel better.
Another reason is that work and shows and normal things were all sort of feeling the same to me. Then I realized it was partially because I basically wore the exact same thing for all of them, so nothing really stood out. It was all one blur.

But no more!
Part of dressing up means wearing heels more frequently.
I decided I wanted to do that, but not be inhibited at all by it.
So I've started buying different kinds of those gel sole/insert things that are made specially for heels.
And I have to say, worth it. I can run in my high heels if I want to, plus they are super comfortable.
All because of things like this...

...which I only discovered because of a commercial with Stacy London (right ladies??).
I think I will buy anything she tells me to.

2010-05-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Gingers Improv Night

CHOKE ON IT had a show at Ginger's tonight.
It was only the second time we've been able to do a show since Timmy got back from the boats.

The show was super fun and as usual there was a moment when everyone on stage broke and couldn't stop giggling for at least 30 seconds.

As a bonus the team Sam Hill played as well. It includes some of my favorite people, like Anthony and Chris (pictured), and it's always fun to watch them do bits.

2010-05-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Dan shows Alan his "move".

Today was Z's going-away party.
It started at 2 in the afternoon and went until around 8.

Dan had enough to drink for me to egg him into showing everyone the "move", which is fake palm-reading the girls hand. It's ridiculous, really. But I can also see it working. And that makes me sad.

2010-05-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

SketchCo Rehearsal

We've started the process of pitching and putting up scene ideas for the SketchCo show.
The first rehearsal was a lot of fun and a lot of making each other laugh.

The show that followed went really well and a lot of stuff hit.

After Sketch, House had an equally good and fun show.

It was also Z's last show with us, since he was hired to Emcee on a cruise ship.

For House we ask for suggestions that fall within 4 pre-determined categories. Since it was Z's last show, they were all based around him. Things like "Jobs you Hate" and "People who talk too much".

2010-05-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

Email

Today I received an email asking me to do the invitation-only auditions for Second City.
They are looking for TourCo understudies and people for boats.

It's my first time being invited and I'm very excited about it.
Plus I haven't gotten to audition for anything improv-related in forever and I was starting to get stir-crazy.

2010-05-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Lost and Wings Night

Andi, Zach, and I ordered Buffalo Wild Wings and watched Lost tonight.
They're pretty much the best wings ever.
Spicy Garlic? Yes, please.

In other news, I don't care for the child actors that Lost cast to play Jacob and MIB.
It was very distracting when they were "acting".

2010-05-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Anthony, post Gypsy Fuck Fight show.

I headed to The Playground tonight to see Gypsy Fuck Fight do a show and to give notes to Vagabonds.
Both shows were great and made me laugh a lot. Gypsy has become one of my favorite teams to see.

Afterwards some of us headed to the L&L to hang out a bit.
Anthony shared one of his stories, where he dressed in a suit and wandered into a gang party.
They got him super drunk and the story ends with him yelling at a cop and then fighting his roommate in their apartment, naked.
It shares the theme of most of Anthony's stories, which is "how are you not dead?"

2010-05-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

Logan does his catwalk pose.

Between the Sketch and House shows at Second City, we find many ways to entertain ourselves.
This week it was Logan's bizarre and unsettling model walk that made everyone uncomfortable.

Well, it made me uncomfortable...no one's hips should move that far out.

2010-05-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today...

was rough. I was up late with arguably one of the worst migraines I've had yet.

So no work. Again.

I'm trying to get things figured out on that end, but may have to take a temporary medical leave.

I'm hoping to squeeze into my doctor's office this week so that I can maybe avoid that.

But at least it's an option.

On the upside...those things on the wall behind me are dvd shelves.

Aren't they cool?

The answer is yes.

2010-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tim Visits

Today there was a bbq at Tim's old place to celebrate him being in town.
Luckily I didn't have to be there til around 4...a time when the migraine is a dull roar.

So I got to go and eat hot dogs with cheese already inside them, catch up with friends, and go home.
It was really, really, really nice.
I haven't had a social outing since the headaches got worse.

Am I talking about them enough?
It's like having a baby.
I would show you pictures of them if I could. But not proudly.
I would show them to you like the dad who barely knows the girl and was really hoping he wouldn't have to follow through on fatherhood.

2010-04-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Shooooes.

So I've also been cooped up indoors for days and days and days.
I get very squirrelly, so sometimes, during the few evening hours where I feel okay, I often go out and look at pretty things.
Like shoes.

I like those shoes.
I can't believe I like those shoes.
They're stupid.
And awesome.

2010-04-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Z makes breakfast.

Being incapacitated with migraine...oh, about 70% of my week...isn't always terrible.
Sometimes your boyfriend feels bad for you and makes you bacon and eggs.
And doesn't yell at you too much when you give bacon to the kitty.

2010-04-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dinner With Norm

I had to have a big, house ensemble-related meeting with Norm tonight.
The upside to that is that Norm always cooks dinner and is an excellent cook.

This time was extra special, because the end of the meeting was Norm loaning me some comic books.
He has the most comic books EVER.
Including Iron Man #1. Which...he drew on with crayon.
Did your nerd heart just scream?
To be fair, he was 5 when he got it.

2010-04-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Array of Migraine Stuff

I know I've touched on migraines a little, but I've been reluctant to go to in depth on this.
What with the whole, trying to be positive this year, it is kind of a downer.

But it has officially become a big part of my life.
Huge.
I've been missing a lot of work, and they are nice about it but I feel terrible to miss so much.
I have to call my doctor all the time to try a new prescription because whatever I'm trying isn't working.
At best, it gets me down to a regular headache. Kind of.
A regular headache if regular headaches felt like your brain had a sunburn.

On the upside, between the hours of 2pm and 10pm, I'm sort of okay.

2010-04-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Knee Bruise

Today as I was hustling up the steps to the train station, some hooligan rapidly changed trajectory and jumped in front of me.
I had to stop suddenly and (of course) lost my balance, knee-planting into the corner of the step.
I hit it a couple times, this is one of 3 bruises around my knee.

So I slowly got up, limped back home (which isn't far) and iced my knee.
Then I very slowly and carefully went back to the train station and to work.

Maybe I should change this blog to entries on each of my many bruises?.
But maybe not, if nothing else I've learned that it's surprisingly hard to capture what a bruise really looks like with my camera phone.

2010-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Living Room

Here's a cute view of some of the changes Andi & I made to the living room.

That's our old sofa, with a classy slipcover over it. The pillows in the back are also the old pillows with covers on them.

And that's my bookshelf that I've been in love with for years and finally bought.

That's it for this entry, look at our cute living room. Look at it.

2010-04-14T07:23:00.001-07:00

Dr's Office, Waiting Room

So I did go to the doctor yesterday about those pesky migraines.

The neurologist, specifically.

The doctor was a very, very nice man who was also very, very jewish.

In his questioning it came up that I perform at Second City (are you ever under bright lights?).

"My son did something at Second City. Maybe just classes. I don't know. My son doesn't tell me anything."

I had a series of tests done, some of which seemed very odd. (Touch your nose, touch your finger, nose, finger).

In the end, I got some different prescriptions to try and I have another appointment at the beginning of next month to see how they are working.

I also had to have some bloodwork done...and I hate having blood taken.

Plus the woman butchered my arm...

Am I right? I mean, come on.

To be fair, the red mark on the left is because I'm allergic to band-aid glue. Sigh.

But that bruise/red mark on the right is all from the needle.

2010-04-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Dan Dance Break

After shows, Dan treated Andi & I to some different dances.
One to a Dropkick Murphy's song...

And one to 'The Bear Necessities' from The Jungle Book...

It's blurry, but I think you can feel his glee.

So you may have noticed, there is a pretty big gap in entries for the past week.

That's because I had a series of increasingly bad migraines and didn't really do anything.

Other than lay in the dark and eat.

But not at the same time.

2010-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Robits!

I really had to talk myself out of buying one of these.
"What are you going to do with a robot, Tabitha?"

They remind me of my Uncle, who collects old toys. I bet he would like them.

The girl one is even all sexy.

2010-04-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Monologue

I had to learn a monologue for an agency audition today.
I have not had to do a monologue in ages.

It took a while to find one I liked that wasn't completely overdone.
Luckily Amy directed me to one she liked and it was great.
In fact, the girl at the agency even commented on how much she liked it.

So...I did get signed.
I want to say finally, but I really didn't pursue it before last year.
And even then, I wasn't pushing that hard.
But I decided this year (as a resolution of sorts) that I wanted this to be something that I accomplished before next year.

I'm very excited about it.
Plus I have another agency audition set up for next month.
Things feel like they are moving forward now and that's good.
I need them to.

Oh, and before the audition I ran to the bathroom and was met with this:

Um...April Fools?

2010-03-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

After Skate rehearsal I went to see a friends band play in a very small bar/band venue.

I had a really fun time. I usually do when I see a band even though it often appears that I'm not.
And people will come up to me, assuming I hate the music.

Here's the thing.
I have a lot of...idiosyncrasies.
And most of them do not go well with the concert environment.

For starters I am claustrophobic, so I usually put some distance between me and the crowd.
I also have to have my back to a wall, which will push me even further away from the stage.
I try not to jump around because of my various body injuries. Also the intense clumsiness and likelihood of someone smacking into me.
Since one of the injuries involves a torn meniscus in both of my knees, I will sit down if there is a chair available.

All of the above equals me sitting still and watching from a distance.
I can see how that could be intrepreted as not having a good time, I can.
But I am, I promise.
If I was up jumping around in the group it would only end in tragedy.
Then I would not have a good time.

2010-03-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Costume change in WAS.

This may be my favorite costume I've ever had in a show.
It got a big reaction when I entered.
That dress is from Avril Lavigne's clothing line.
Oh, yes.

2010-03-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

WAS Green Room

Last night WAS did our first triple feature performance, we have one more next Wednesday.

It went really well and there was a good house, especially for a show on St Patrick's Day.

Standing backstage right before we went out, we all stared at each other's costumes.

Kayce: We've really captured all the stereotypes of trashy, haven't we?

2010-03-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Alllllll Skate!

Skate had a very, very fun show tonight at The Playground.

It was extra good, because it was John's last show before he leaves for his Second City boat adventure.

We'll all miss him while he's gone.

He brings a very fun and positive energy to everything we do.

And he had my favorite line in the show:

"Sexy orphans, get in here!"

Classic John.

2010-03-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

WAS Rehearsal

The ladies of WAS had our final rehearsal before our Triple Feature on Wednesday.

Here they are running through the song "My Married Boyfriend".

I don't sing.

I do, however, wear an Ashlee Simpson t-shirt and pout.

2010-03-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

The home improvement saga continues.

Andi & I spent chunk of Saturday at Ikea in Schaumburg.
I finally bought the shelves I have been lusting after for 2 years.

Here's Andi, sitting in a chair that she called a "people cup".

She's very happy.
Cut to several hours later when we're both exhausted and cranky.
There are no pictures for that.

Instead, here's a picture of me sawing a plastic thing off of the fancy lightbulb that our living room uses. The light had a spot for the plastic things to fit into, but they were on the wrong side. From what I could tell, this was just so you would have to use the same brand every time.

I promise it's safe...or at least, I promise I didn't get electrocuted when I plugged it in.

2010-03-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

Apartment

Andi & I have decided to make some improvements to our apartment.

We have lived there for about 3 1/2 years now and we kind of realized we're not moving.

So we figured, why not fix it up exactly how we want it.

Which led to painting the living room. Just one wall though...not the whole room.

We had a few problems...including one spot on the wall that refuses to be painted.

I think it looks like an owl.

An owl that's holding a gun.

His prescence doesn't really matter though...he will be behind the couch. I just hope that doesn't make him get mad and shoot us

2010-03-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

Backstage on Saturday

Between the Sketch and House shows on Saturday, we usually have some time to kill.

We spend it in one of the De Maat classrooms, which is also considered backstage.

This room is pretty far into the De Maat and as we were sitting around, a dressed-up woman scurried by the door, heading toward, well, nothing really. Either to on stage or the roof exit.

Andi: Whoa those were some big boots.

Me: Yeah, they were.

Scott: (jumps up and runs after her)

From the hallway: (low talking)

The woman walks back by, going the other direction.

Scott: (flouncing back in) They weren't that big. She had a coat on.

Me: We said boots.

Scott: Boots?

Andi: Yes, boots.

Scott: (throws himself down and pouts, as pictured)

2010-03-05T12:43:00.001-08:00

While I was home, I coerced my brother (who is 17 now) into letting me have one of his art pieces.

I picked this one, it's very different from the stuff he usually does and I liked it a whole lot.
But I'm sure it's no surprise it was my favorite. After all, there is blood in it.

2010-03-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

Day 4 in Texas.

I was up early(ish) today to head over to Four Day to teach a workshop on characters.

The workshop was a lot of fun - it was a really great group to work with and they were fun and funny to watch.

A lot of them emailed me later asking some things and expressing some interest to visit or move to Chicago. I hope they do, there was a lot of talent in the room and I think they'd have a great time here.

I invited my Dad to sit in the theater and watch the workshop, which he did. I was hoping to give some insight into what classes are like, what I do when I say I'm teaching. It's hard for me to find an easy way to explain it, so I figured show, don't tell (improv joke!!). I think he enjoyed watching.

We went by Jack in the Box on the way home, so I could have a sourdough jack and satisfy the craving I have had for MONTHS. It was the best, just the best.

Then I headed to the airport where I was perplexed to see several women flying into Chicago in open toed shoes. Or even...

flip-flops! I didn't see where any of them went after we landed, but I bet wherever it was their feet were cold...and covered in snow.

2010-02-27T07:32:00.000-08:00

Day 3 in Texas.

Today I spent with my Dad, going through some things and visiting the veteran cemetary where my grandparents ashes are. I didn't come home when my grandmother passed away, she hadn't wanted a service or, I'm guessing, for anyone to be inconvenienced. It's very like her. It was a strange feeling going to where the ashes are kept.

And even stranger to be in a picture with the plaque covering them. I didn't want to smile, that seemed innappropriate, so the picture came out looking like the dvd cover for my drama where I solve mysterious war crimes. After the cemetary, we went to check on her house, which is up for sale now.

She lived here as long as I knew her and it was another strange feeling to go there and her not be there. And also for all of her stuff to be gone.

That evening we went to another restaurant I love, the Italian Inn. It was very, very good.

After, I met up with my old roommate/bestie, Mike.

We caught up on things and noticed some older women hugging our waiter as they left.

Mike (to waiter): Any luck with those cougars?

Waiter: That's my wife bro.

Mike: (silence)

Me: (supressed laughter)

2010-02-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

Day 2 in Texas.

Four Day Run-through

During the day, my mom, Shane, and I went out for Mexican food. I haven't had good enchiladas in ages, it was great. I didn't have a whole lot of time to hang around, I had to be at Four Day super early to go through the running order for their show that night.

Most of the regular cast (including the musical director and emcee) were away on a corporate gig, so there were 4 sit-ins for the show, plus the regulars Frank and Dave.

We went through the show order and then Frank took all of us to have dinner on Four Day.

Both shows were a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed playing and I am so grateful that I was able to. Four Day as a whole has had a huge influence on my improv and it was nice to come back and be a part of the show. It also gave my family a chance to see me perform, which I appreciate. They don't get to see me very often.

Plus I forever have the memory of waiting backstage, Frank dressed like Zach Galifinakis from the Hangover and me as the baby attached to him with a backpack, as he mumbled "We are adults. We are adults. This is the stupidest thing I've ever done. We are ADULTS."

2010-02-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

My first day back in Texas the improv troupe I started in high school had a show.

I hadn't been able to see them play since I moved and my brother is currently a junior at the high school so he met up with me and we watched together.

It was fun and weird to watch them play in something I started so many years ago.

After the show, Shane & I met up with my mom & Jeff for...

Razzoo's...crawfish and shrimp en brochette (that's shrimp wrapped in bacon with a jalapeno center on a bed of dirty rice). It's a little like heaven. My heaven.

That night, Tim & I reunited to do our 2-person improv show, Yager Park, at Four Day Weekend.

It was so much fun getting to play with Tim again.

At some point during the show, I started thinking wow, this feels long. But we pushed past it and kept going. It turns out our show ran AN HOUR AND A HALF, as opposed to the 45 minutes we thought we were getting. I'm surprised the show was received so well, that's a long time to sit and watch bits.

2010-02-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

Skate Rehearsal...After

The wonderful Jeff Griggs is working with All Skate while he's in town from boating.
We had a super fun and silly rehearsal where I laughed until my sides ached.

After rehearsal we converged outside and Jeff took a few steps away, assuring us he was just waiting for the bus. We insisted that he wanted to hang out with us and was waiting for an invitation.
I mean...doesn't he look kinda sad and lonely?

Dear Griggs,
Did you want to hang out with us? Do you need something next week? A ride, maybe?
Whatever you need, buddy. We're here for you.

2010-02-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

Costume Shopping

W.A.S. is doing a new version of our show as part of The Annoyance's Triple Feature series.

In this new version, we've decided that my character, Titanic, will be going on a date.

So I went and got her a dress...from Avril Lavigne's clothing line.

2010-02-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Scott's Bday

After HouseCo several of us went to celebrate Scott's birthday at Ten Cat.
Celebrating, of course, means drinking to excess.

Which led to this mystery picture...what could be happening??

Cue omnious music.
You'll never know...unless, I guess, you ask Scott. Then he'll probably tell you.

2010-02-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Burger

For Lent, Andi & I are having a Bacon Burger every Thursday.

Bacon wins. Again.

2010-02-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

CHOKE ON IT reunion!

Choke had our first show since Timmy returned from the boat. It also happened to be his first long form improv show in 4 months.
It was so, so much fun.

As usual about halfway through we all got the giggles and had to stare at the floor and avoid eye contact.
I can't remember what was said exactly - there was mention of being hit by a car and blood being everywhere...and later something about stomping someone's face in...then some choice "object work".
It could have been anything, really.

2010-02-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

Texas Show Plug.

For those of you in the Fort Worth area, Tim Yager & I will be doing a 2-person show next Thursday.

Here are the details:

Yager Park

Thursday February 27th

9pm

Four Day Weekend Theater in Sundance Square

312 Houston Street

Ft. Worth, TX 76102

We haven't done our 2-person show in over a year.
It will be completely improvised and pretty much guaranteed to be weird. In a fun way.

2010-02-17T07:42:00.001-08:00

All Skate was supposed to have a show last night, but it was cancelled due to no audience.

I blame Lost.

As you can see, we made good use of our free time.

2010-02-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

Offer Letter.

I was officially offered a full time position at the job I have been temping at for the past few months.
I am very, very excited about it.

Not only do I like the people here, but they also let me joke around with them.
It's a big change from the cranky stock brokers at my last company.

A job where someone can ask me to correct something because they made a spelling error and I can reply "way to spell, no-spell" is pretty much the dream. Or at least, it's my dream.

2010-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

I often swing by the CVS that shares my work building for food or candy, and I find this box catching my eye all the time.

I understand that this brand means to say "oh, I feel like myself again".

But I always read it as "Me, Again".

2010-02-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

WAS Meeting

WAS will be performing a new version of the show at the Annoyance in March, as part of the Triple Feature series.

I am excited to get to work with these girls again, they are tons of fun.

And I'm also excited to get to play Titanic again. Kohl's is having a sale on Avril Lavigne's line and I'm pretty sure Titanic would be all over that.

2010-02-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Mary Louise Parker

At Skate rehearsal last night I was once again compared to Mary Louise Parker.
I've been getting this more and more since Weeds started airing, and I have to say - I do see it.

Last night however, was the first time I've been told we also make the same facial expressions.
Weird.
Maybe she's...future me.

2010-02-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

Baby doll.

Norm and I have started texting each other pictures of horrifying dolls.
He sent the one above.
So I sent this one:

Then he sent this one:

On and on that way.

I have learned that most people find these more disturbing than amusing.
But I really like them, they tickle me in a delightful way.
I think would like to start collecting them. I already have 2 sort of creepy dolls. But they aren't really comparable to these.

So if you see one...I want it.

2010-02-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Cubicle Decorations.

I have a meeting on Friday to discuss making this a permanent job.
This is great, for a lot of obvious reasons. But it also means I am more comfortable decorating my cubicle.

Down at the far end is the flyer for CHOKE ON IT, which a co-worker commented on in a sly way.
Obviously there's some innuendo there but I was surprised that it's the poster they chose to comment on. After all, the HouseCo slogan is "Come Inside".

2010-01-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Gchat

When I first switched over to gmail, I didn't realize that you can choose how peoples names appear in your chat window. Matty pointed it out, saying he had changed Dan's name to "Fag Monster Dan".

Which, when you're talking to him, just appears as "Fag".

Today I realized that you can also change someone's picture. So I took the picture Dan already had and altered it. Gmail was also kind enough to offer to email Dan a link of the picture and suggest he change his profile picture to what I have.

Dan, via gchat (Warning, strong language. Put your toddlers away.):

Fag: oh fuck you

me: excuse me kind sir?
Fag: that fucking picture
no, im not updating my picture
me: oh, well when I look at MY gchat picture of yours, it looks as though you have.
Fag: CHANGE IT

Despite the swearing, I'm not changing it.
And if anyone would like a copy of the picture for their own gchat, just ask.

2010-01-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

Currently reading...

To make up for my brief foray into teenage vampire novels, I am now reading House of Leaves.

I cannot recommend it enough.

It has more thought put into it than any book I have ever read.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may want to read it, but one of the chapters looks like this:

So now I look crazy on the train because some of the text is upside down and I am constantly turning the book this way and that. Or I'll come across pages like this:

And then I really do notice people looking at the book and then at me.

But it could be worse. At least there's not large type font of the word "psychic vampire".

2010-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

Leftover files

I spent the past two days cleaning out all of the things the last person at my desk had.

It was a LOT. This is just a fourth of the things that were hidden under the desk.

I had to put gloves on to do it, because apparently I am allergic to something that she used on her hands. Possibly a lotion. But it's all wiped down now and so I should be fine.

Apparently, hives gets you sent home early from work. But not in a fun way, since Benadryl makes you feel like a crazy person.

2010-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Speaking of Flowers and Norm, awhile back Flowers drew me this picture of Norm.
It now hangs on the wall above my bed.
(Crooked, because the house is on a slant and the hardest thing ever is to try and hang a picture straight on a slanted wall, I mean, come on.)

2010-01-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Twisty, viewed from the light booth

Nick & I have done notes for Twisty the past 2 Saturdays, as Norm has had prior engagements.

This week they applied our notes from last week really well and had a great show. I was super proud of them.

The best part of doing notes is sitting in the booth with Flowers, who insists on giving notes of his own -

"Put plus 2 points for that."

(after playing a sound effect) "Write down 'Classic Flowers'."

"They're not initiating, they're dominating."

2010-01-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

HouseCo Audience

Ticket sales for HouseCo have been going like crazy. Normally the tickets all go on Saturday, since we get a lot of walk-ups. But this week we were almost sold out by Thursday.

So by Saturday the show was sold out. It was a fun show, it always is, I look forward to it every week.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy performing for a room full of muggles, many of whom have never set foot in Second City before, and may never again. We get a lot of people who are passing through, visiting family or friends, who bring them to the show.

I know this because we interact with the audience quite a bit. And also because every now and then someone will recognize me on the street and grab my arm, which is terrifying until they start telling me they were at the show.

2010-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

Washington & Wells...almost

Every day my train pauses right before the Washington & Wells stop, which is the stop before I get off.

We can be there briefly - for 20 seconds - or for awhile - 8 minutes or so.

It is the absolute difference between being on time and late for work.

Of course, people here understand more than somewhere where you would drive in. The train effects everyone.

But it is frustrating to be so close and only be able to sit and wait.

2010-01-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

Ginger's Ale House

The last few days have been all about last minute - CHOKE ON IT was asked to sub in for another group at Ginger's tonight. Since Timmy is on the boat (and CHOKE isn't allowed to have sit-ins), Andi & I did a 2-man.

It was fun, as always, but I am very excited for Timmy to be back soon so we can start doing the 3-person shows again.

Timmy & I try to talk every week on his one day in Miami. Or as he refers to it, "dirty, skank-ass Miami". In between bits about JC Chasez, we are trying to make some plans for CHOKE to possibly have a run somewhere when he gets back.
I am hoping it pans out...doing those shows has been some of the most fun I have had. And none of us are really sure how it all happened, all of the sudden we were friends, then we were doing shows together and giggling.

2010-01-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

Chicago Sketchfest

Around 3:30 today I received a call from Logan asking me if I could fill in for one of the actors in Ruby Weapon. I agreed, and then only had 2ish hours to learn the lines before heading down to the theater.

Luckily it wasn't a ton of lines and everyone was helpful about answering my questions.

The show was a lot of fun and the highlight (for me) was seeing a band that included a flute, violin, and accordian play 'Kiss from a Rose' while Tim Racine sang to a giant mutant monster (played by Mike Madgiak).

2010-01-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

The line for Hot Doug's.

Even though it was pretty cold, Andi & I ventured over to Hot Doug's for some delicious meat.
The wait outside was at least an hour but there were some entertaining distractions in line, for one thing I couldn't tell if the teenagers in front of us were dating or brother and sister. A mom-type was with them and she fussed over them equally. But then the 2 teenagers seemed to be pretty flirtatious. I never did figure it out.

By the time we were almost in my toes were so cold they hurt and I sincerely considered bailing...but we were so close, so I toughed it out.

Once we were in I had a bacon sausage hot dog and an antelope sausage hot dog, with duck fat fries, of course. Totally worth it.

Side note: Later that night the HouseCo show sold out and then Sunday we already had 30 pre-sold tickets for next weekend. I'm pretty excited about it, audiences really seem to be enjoying the show. Which is great, since I enjoy doing it.

2010-01-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

Zach & Alan's kitty.

All Skate had a show tonight, one of our first scheduled weekend shows.

Afterwards I went over to Zach's and amused myself by playing with the kitty and a laser.

For about an hour, I think.

She got tired of it before I did.

2010-01-08T06:57:00.000-08:00

Burns

My hair has gotten pretty long (for me) so I have been curling it in lieu of getting a cut. The downside is I burn myself every time. Every. Time.
These are 2 recent ones and as you can see, they are pretty close together.

That's right, I'm not only burning myself repeatedly, it's also roughly in the same spot.
I have no idea how it's happening either, I am trying to be careful and then suddenly there's a searing hot pain.

It's probably somewhat related to my clumsiness, as most of my bruises and scars are.
It really takes a special kind girl to constantly burn herself, repeatedly walk into door frames, and trip going up the stairs.

2010-01-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Laundry Day.

Lately Andi and I have been trying to do our laundry in a reasonable amount of time (ie not wait 2 months). We've been shooting for once every 2 weeks, but sometimes our other obligations will get in the way and it will take longer.
Because of the holidays it took 3 weeks this time, which ended up not being so bad.
The laundromat was even deserted, only one other girl was there and she left awhile before we did.

It's a cute time for Andi and I to chat and catch up, even though we live together we aren't both home very often.
The last time we went a strange woman decided to butt in on our conversation.
She completely misintrepreted what we were talking about and gave us some unsolicited advice, then launched into how disgusting Tiger Woods was. I managed to slip away, leaving Andi alone with her.

Woman: ...and he was just sleeping with all these women...
Andi: (dejectedly) Oh...

Andi then caught my eye across the room and I couldn't stop giggling.
She wasn't mad though, I'm sure if she could have escaped instead of me, she would have.

2010-01-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

HouseCo poster in my cubicle.

Things are still going well at work, although January is the last official month of the temping portion of this gig.
But people seem to enjoy working with me and after I hung up the poster, they even started requesting tickets for my show. One of the admins came the weekend after Christmas and she really seemed to enjoy it.

So I am hopeful about getting hired on permanently, but I don't want to jinx it.
I only have a few cute decorations up - the SC chair mentioned earlier, some pictures, the poster - but that's it.
After all, I don't want to have too much to carry if it doesn't work out.
But it will work out...right? Right?

2010-01-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

Currently Reading...

A once-favorite author of mine, LJ Smith, has been re-releasing her books from about 10 or more years ago.

When I was in junior high I began reading her various series, one of which involved the end of the world.
At some point while writing the books the author had a family medical emergency and stopped writing before the very last book was completed. 15 year old me was devastated.
So devastated in fact, that it's been a decade and I have never stopped checking to see if the book would be released.

Then one of her other series, The Vampire Diaries, was picked up by the CW to be a tv show. Suddenly all of her books are available AND she is finishing the last book from the other series. So I purchased every book from the unfinished series (The Night World) plus the trilogy pictured above.

Re-reading the books I feel a mixture of young awkward me, delighted with every word in the book, combatting with older awkward me, who is well aware that these books are geared towards a much younger audience. Younger me usually wins. But older me reared its head today on the train when I came across the phrase "psychic vampire" and suddenly realized that the font is large enough for strangers around me to be reading along.