Idea

I recently tried to sell a bunch of clothes to Plato's Closet, but they were lame and did not buy them. I'm thinking of just pricing them really cheaply myself, then listing them and offering them to my friends to buy. Same for any movies/books I am unable to sell tomorrow (attempt #2 to make enough money to pay my bills by hocking my stuff!). Hopefully people will be interested...I feel like my friends are generous enough to help me out with a few bucks and get something nice in return for it.

You know, I could sell all my clothes. I could sell all my CDs. I could sell all my DVDs. But every time I sell one of my books, my heart breaks a little. If there's one thing I love, it's reading, and if there's one more thing I love, it's shopping for a new book. I donated a TON of my books to the Invisible Children book drive this year, and that was hard enough, trying to decide which books I could part with just to be nice and try to help a good cause. Now I'm trying to figure out which I can part with for totally selfish (necessarily, but still selfish) reasons. It's really depressing to watch my bookshelves become emptier and emptier. But I don't really have much in the way of options at the moment, so you do what you gotta do. Eventually I'll have money enough to start rebuilding my collection. Until then, I'm hanging on to what books I can and sucking it up as far as the others go.

Anyway. Here's hoping I am successful in selling lots and lots of books, movies, and CDs tomorrow, and here's hoping that my clothes, jewelry, and shoes successfully sell among my friends!

Far

I'm currently listening to Regina Spektor's new album (thanks, NPR, for being even more awesome than usual), called "Far", and I think I'm in love.

It's possibly her most mainstream-sounding one...which, okay, for Regina Spektor can't get but so mainstream. She's always going to be quirky and weird no matter one, and will probably never write a song that can be mistaken for anyone but her. Which is fantastic. Anyway, like I was saying, there are more drumbeats and fewer piano solos, there are more backing vocals and fewer vocal tricks, and yet the lyrics remain unmistakably Regina:

"They started off beneath the knowledge tree
Then they chopped it down to make white picket fences
They marched along the railroad tracks
And smiled real wide for the camera lenses
They made it past the enemy lines
Just to become enslaved in the assembly lines"

Easily my favorite song on the album is quoted above, the song called "Blue Lips". She shows off her incredible talent for lyricism, her unusual and yet soulful voice, and it is something that is completely singalongable.

Though the album "11:11" will probably always remain my favorite Regina Spektor album, with "Soviet Kitsch" at a close second, she has yet to put out a single song that I dislike. I love every one of her songs for various reasons, and considering the number of songs she has put out, that's pretty amazing. She might be the only artist I can say that about. I absolutely adore her music and I can't wait to hear more!

Currently reading...

Books I read this month/intend to finish this month:

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Year of the King by Antony Sher (I strongly urge all theatrical folks to read this book...absolutely fascinating journal of the creation of a character)
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh
French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
Sir Thomas More by a lot of folks including Shakespeare
Richard III by Shakespeare
My Name is Will by Jess Winfield

There's not really a theme to my reading, is there? I hop all over the place.

I need to win the lottery. Like...now.

I need to magically have $400 in my bank account by the end of this month in order to make my car payments.

I'm not going to.

Here's why:

1. I am not paid for my work with Richmond Shakespeare (it's being treated like an unpaid internship). That's all well and good, and it wouldn't be a problem if I had been reimbursed the $75 I spent to make props for the show. And the only other problem is that it does cost me some mileage on my car, meaning I have to buy gas more often, and gas is getting really expensive all over again.

2. Ukrop's gives me 5 hours a week. That's it. That means I get MAYBE $30 a week. Next week, thankfully, they scheduled me for a whopping 10.5 hours AND I was able to score an extra shift from a friend who needed to be covered. Even so, it's not enough.

3. My job at After Six won't start until the restaurant opens. Which makes sense. It's just a little frustrating.

4. Babysitting is sporadic and my most regular family goes to the beach a lot in the summer, meaning they don't need me.

I currently have $40 in my account. I need to multiply that by 10 in the next two weeks somehow in order to not overdraw my account or totally obliterate both mine and my father's credit.

Any ideas?

Poor Judd is Dead...

My computer, a little secondhand Dell laptop named Judd, died. Well, no, he didn't actually die. But he won't turn on. When I press the button, he just flashes his lights and goes back to sleep. It's like trying to rouse a teenage boy for school on a Monday morning.

I would take Judd to get repaired, but I have $40 to my name at the moment. This is what happens when your job only gives you 5 hours a week. I'm considering selling a kidney.

A Midsummer Night's Rehearsal

Tonight, we start rehearsals once again for "A Midsummer Night's Dream", so that we can restage the production for our early July run. I am really excited. I've missed this cast so much. I've said it before - this is the most fun I've ever had working on a show. Everyone working on it is so likeable, fun, dorky, hilarious, and ridiculously talented, the play itself is a joy, and the opportunity to work with a new group like Richmond Shakespeare and the fact that we're going to be at the stunning Agecroft Hall soon is really thrilling for me.

My only regret? That I didn't have time to bake brownies for the cast today. Ah, well. There's always later.

Also.

Check out the awesome picture of the cast of "Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls" from Night Light Collective (with my adorable boyfriend right in the center!):

L-R: Rebecca Muhleman, Alison Haracznak, Adam Mincks, Carolyn Boucher, Brad Tuggle, Gabrielle Cauchon, Kerry McGee. (Photo: Matt Cowan)

I saw a preview of the show at the theatre appreciation party at Sycamore Rouge last Sunday, and it looks really fantastic. This always seems to happen: I'm disappointed that I'm not cast in something, and then I see it happen and I'm like "Oh, that totally makes sense, I'm glad I wasn't because it wouldn't have worked." This cast clearly is a perfect fit with one another. Can't wait!

ALOHA, SAY THE PRETTY GIRLS
by Naomi Iizuka

directed by Bonnie Gabel

July 24-26 8:00 pm
*with a preview July 23
@
Gallery5
200 W. Marshall St.

Best Job Ever?

My newly revived passion for the A.V. Club website has awakened a new career goal in me: write for them.

I had been neglecting my reading for quite some time - months, in fact - before Adam reintroduced me to the love that is the A.V. Club. I just spent the past hour reading about Sarah Palin's reaction to Letterman's bad joke (and, subsequently, her almost-equally-poor-tastedly-executed counter joke), being amused by the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow referred to Billy Joel as William, and reading recaps of "House" that I thoroughly agree with (and love the description of his new Cottages as the New Coke team...they really are, aren't they? I miss the Foreman-Chase-Cameron dream team, but then, I'm old-fashioned).

Random: the ice cream truck is driving down my street and if I had a dollar and was not still in my tiny nightie and braless you'd best bet I'd be running out to get me one of those red-white-blue masterpieces of a popsicle.

Anyway.

I think everyone should be reading the articles on this website. They are very funny, sometimes searing, frequently off-the-charts smart, and always entertaining whether or not you agree with them. And I really, really, really would love to be one of their writers. Here's hoping.

L'Obsession.

No, that's not how you say that en francais. I just thought it looked cute.

Lately, I have a fixation on all things French. I made Adam a French dinner (French onion soup, baguette with cherry-topped brie, and creme brulee) the other night. I wore my Eiffel Tower necklace today. I almost cried because my Eiffel Tower lamp broke but I can't bring myself to throw it out even though it looks ridiculous. I checked out every French film my library had to offer, with "Moulin Rouge" for good measure since it's set in Montmartre. I've been randomly speaking French to Adam in order to teach him because we have this notion that someday we'll run away from America, live in Paris, and open a French version of Plan 9/The Byrd Theatre. It'll be called Jigsaw Puzzle (inside thing). It'll have a shop full of indie/foreign films, a full bar, and a room for film screenings.

Though if that doesn't work out, I still vote that an awesome backup plan would be for him to run a pasta shop called Saucy Mincks and for me to run a bakery called Sweet Caroline's.

Anyway.

This obsession with France has made me spend two hours today on ModCloth.com, bookmarking their items that sound even remotely French, for the day when I can afford them (ha). It made me spend an hour on allrecipes.com looking for more French cooking to try. It made me dig through my closet for forty-five minutes trying to find my old beret. No luck. Better get a new one.

I think I have un petit probleme.

What a Freaky Thing This is...

...and by "Thing" I mean "THUNDERSTORM".

Richmond is pretty much the Scary-Ass Storm Capital of the east. At least, I think it might be. I haven't exactly spent a lot of time elsewhere. But we've gotta be in at least the top 5.

For someone who is not a fan of storms (read: cowers in the fetal position when they strike), this can be problematic. For example, one of my favorite things is outdoor theatre, whether viewing or performing. Here in good ol' rVA, shows can get rained out really easily. And scarily. Uncool.

So here's what I'm pleading with Zeus about lately: STOP IT. At least stop it whenever Richmond Shakes is doing a show. Okay? That would be great. Thanks.

Shut Up, ModCloth.com!

Stop tempting me with your siren song of adorable clothes that I can't afford!

I've spent all afternoon on that website, just browsing and wishing I had money to burn so that I could purchase it all. Everything on there is just precious!

To calm myself and keep myself from going into a spending frenzy, I've decided that I'm going to start saving loose change and spare dollar bills. Once I can afford something I want from there, I can get it - but NOT before! No dipping into the checking account and that's final!

Hopefully I can hold myself to that and not succumb to temptation...

Definition of a weird evening...

...is knitting a pink baby blanket for your boyfriend's new niece while eating sushi and watching "The Big Lebowski".