Class of '07 Reunion

Hey, who , if any of you are planning on/thinking about going to the one year reunion on May 17th?

A summary of my last few weeks:

• 4 people: Ryan, Liz, Christin, and Danner. Ryan is my best friend here (I'm pretty much over having a crush on him), and Liz, Christin, and Danner are all graduating this year (unfortunately). The five of us have been hanging out nonstop, and it's the first time since I've left you guys/ been in California that I've felt like I've been spending my time with the kind of people that I'm meant to be spending my time with.
• 2 trips to Disneyland: ... and one of the trips was on the day of my return to California. Both times have been with the above four people. 
• 6 incredible movies in the theaters: "Juno" (My favorite of the year so far - hilarious, witty, unique, and omplete with a perfect cast. You all need to see it. ); "Atonement" (Impeccable sound design and cinematography - my second favorite of the year. See it even if you think you wouldn't like it.); "Dan In Real Life" (Funny and heartwarming - and a better film than it will probably get credit for); "Teeth" (Something I never would have seen on my own due to the content, but surprised me by completely winning me over - it is absolutely hilarious, different from anything else in theaters, and a truly well-made film - a Sundance winner! You guys have to go see it in theaters - half the experience is sharing it with others.); "Cloverfield" (Pretty good and different from just about any other film of it's kind. Made well and worth seeing for the experience, especially in the theater... but be prepared to get motion-sick!); and "There Will Be Blood" (It's obviously an amazing film with incredible acting by multiple actors, but I had a hard time sitting through the whole thing). I've also recently seen "Enchanted" (adorable!), "The Bucket List" (eh), and "27 Dresses" (eh. But James Marsden's hot).  I am still eager to see "No Country For Old Men," "Into the Wild," "P.S. I Love You," and "Sweeney Todd."
• 3 films that I've been working on: 1 ) "Sombrero," which starts tonight and will have me on set from 10pm-10am every night. I'm the UPM for this film, which is a job I love and which is a realy important job on set. This film also has the best crew I've ever worked with... and the script is hilarious. I can't wait to meet the cast. 2) "The Moment She Fell," which is the film that I was assigned to for school, but with which I really lucked out - I got assigned to a film with a script I love and with a producer who is wonderful to work for and who is encouraging me to learn in every aspect of producing this film. It's a lot of work, but I'm really enjoying it. 3) "Eli Vs. The Rope," which is the first film that I worked on this year. I was the 2nd 2nd AD when it started, but we did pick-ups (bringing the cast back to get shots we missed or didn't like from the first time around) yesterday, and I got to be the 1st AD. This position is one of the most important jobs on set (s/he basically runs the set), and I've been dying to try it. Danner (the director) knew this, and offered me the position - and I had a great time! We not only got all of our shots off, but we also got some extra ones. I had also spent the entire day before yesterday securing a last-minute location for these pickups (we'd lost the one we had), which was a good producing experience for me, if not a totally stressful one.
• 1 trip to the beach with 1 bottle of wine: Probably my favorite night since I've been to California. I went with those four previously mentioned people (honestly, everything I've written about has been with these people) at 9pm at night, and we just lay on the beach, drinking wine and watching the stars for about an hour. Amazing.
• 2 kid's movies: We watch "The Land Before Time" and "An American Tail" a lot. It's really fun, actually. We quote them by now. 
• 3 games: Taboo, Catchphrase, and Asshole are played often. I'd like you all to know that I am the clear champion of Taboo around here. Thank you, Amanda, Rose, and Mollie for being such effective teachers. 
• 1 all-nighter. That was last night. In order to prepare for the 10pm-10am shoots this week, we stayed up last night watching movies, playing games, and going out to breakfast this morning. I slept today from 8:30am-6:30pm, and I'm hoping I'm ready to do the shoot tonight!

I think that should just about do it! I'd say I've had a pretty amazing few weeks. Miss you all. It was so great to see so many of you over break... I just wish I could have seen more of you!

I Should Have Been A Librarian

...and tap danced on a lab bench wearing lab goggles.

Life is good. Aside from a certain small cat making a habit out of spilling my plants (and their dirt) all over the carpet, winter on the island has been a lot of fun.



We don't get enough snow to bother an ant, and during last weekend's unseasonably warm weather, I went on a twelve mile hike between vineyard houses (my parents' and where I live) and was still able to go to tap class the next day. Which, I should mention, is a twice-a-week deal, and ballet on Wednesday. If you'd like to watch me embarrass myself in a bright red, flashy, metallic costume on a large stage, come by on June 29th. Hello, Rock Lobster. The good thing about dance is that I can be a tired, achey, cranky, headachey mess, jump around for an hour and leave feeling like I could conquer the world. Gotta love those endorphins.



We filmed our "live" show at the library this morning, and I finally realized why I love libraries so much (aside from the fact that there are a MILLION BOOKS- I could read a book a day for ten years and still have more to read!): it's because I can talk in my normal, quiet, speaking voice, and that's how you're supposed to sound!

I may have agreed to go swing dancing with my landlord next Sunday.

Miss you all.

And Knowing Is Half The Battle!

Thank you Ms. Rowell for finally kicking off posts on the New Year! I am quite tired and need to be in CT tomorrow for work at the ass crack of dawn but I want to tell you all my story. It was Tuesday morning. The sun remained hidden behind the world not yet coming to say good morning but I needed to beat the rush hour traffic to the Maritime Aquarium for I had 4 pre-school classes to teach between 830am and 1230pm. I was unaware at the time that this school is in the bronx until I saw the phone number the morning of. And, seeing as this is my first travel program on my own, I was unaware of location nor calling ahead of time for parking information. After calling the school at 720 for an address and then, after mapping it out on google, i saw that it is about 45 minutes away on 95 and i needed to move quickly! As fast as i could, i netted animals, got them in the cooler, got the cooler in the car, plugged in the address, and took off for the school.

According to Ken (my Australian TomTom), I had arrived but could not find a school sign nor legal parking areas so I pulled over and put on the hazards. I took the cooler and bucket of extra water out and put it on the cart and began my search. The bucket, although covered, continued to fall off the cart slowing me down but after about 10 minutes, a nice woman was able to inform me of the location of the school. I entered the school, signed in and asked about parking. They told me to pull it around and double park until 10am, then I'd have to move it to alternate side so I dont get a ticket. Awkward but needed to be done so I ran back to my car only to find that I had already gotten nailed with a $45 parking fine. Unfortunate.

Then, in the middle of my second class I needed to run out again at 10am to move it over, leaving the chaperone and teacher behind to control the children who I directed to divide them into 4 groups and rotate them at each of the four tables to look more closely at different marine animals. I beat the officer standing next to my car by near seconds from a second ticket. She was unwilling to listen to my refute of the first ticket. So, I returned to see the teacher bringing 1 group at a time to the adjoining room until all the groups had gone and then she left with a quick good bye. I was confused, a 45 minute class had run 20 minutes short.

Finally, all 4 classes had ended. Two evaluations of my classes were finished and returned and everything seemed to look pretty good on paper. I was proud of myself! (although, i continued to think about the ticket the school and aquarium are both unwilling to pay). Before leaving I emptied out the extra water - less to carry - and brought up the cooler a flight of stairs. As I went down the short, steep, ramp with my cooler/cart, the cart spun out and of course, the cooler came off spilling animals onto the sidewalk. The most crucial being the small horseshoe crab, an educator's favorite animal for any class. I quickly picked up all animals; snails, crabs, sponge, etc. and put them in the cooler and go to the car as fast as possible. This is going to have to be a very fast trip back to the aquarium. For us, itd be like trying to breath at the top of everest. I made good time getting back and luckily all animals survived!!! I continued working the rest of the day, a solid 12 HOURS!

I should start writing books. I hope I didnt bore you too much! HAPPY NEW YEAR AND KEEP POSTING!!! Gnite!

I hung my mirror

Moving in has been a very long, slow process. I realize I don't have a full length mirror, but how am I going to carry one across the city? I know I need more than two pots, but they're expensive. I could use more bookshelves, but where would they fit, etc...

I have barely felt like I live here recently. The day school got out I headed to MA for a quick early Christmas. Then I rushed back to NY for a fun, rowdy, Jewish Christmas. Then I jetsetted off to Prague where I got to see Rose. I arrived back in NYC on the 1st only to dive back into teaching the next day. I spent this whole weekend visiting various family members and now I'm back and it's home and i like it (despite the dead mouse we found under our kitchen table).

That said, as I climbed into bed and decided to check my email one last time, my thoughts turned to you all.

What adventures have you all had? What is something you do every day that surprises you? Who do you go to for the small crises? What have you felt proud of recently? What dreams plague you? What pictures are hanging on your walls? Where do you get your groceries? What do you like the most about your life?

I'm surprised by the little responsibilities I never thought I'd have (like making a class website or removing a dead mouse). I'm surprised by the relative ease with which I get up each morning and head off to faculty meetings, parent meetings, classes filled with adolescents etc... I've begun turning to my amazing co-teachers for everything from needing to borrow a bathroom key to feelings of total frustration and inadequacy. My walls are covered with prints from various museums, but spotted with pictures of you all and remnants of our non-stop silliness...

and on that note, I'm going to get some sleep. But know I am thinking of you all and wondering about all of the little things that make up your new lives.

Happy New Year,
a