Big Tour: Tired (It's a Pun. Read This and You'll See Why.)

Well Blog, I've done it. I've escaped the humdrum desk job life that once consumed me and am wrapping up day one of what has become known as "big tour". We had plans for Rockford, Illinois tonight, but a suddenly-leaky tire held us up in the appropriately-named Hixon, Wisconsin. I was hoping it was a slow leak, but alas Blog, I could hear the air hissing out of the tire immediately after filling it up. In moments, our pressure was at a sad zero pounds per square inch, and we were stuck amongst truckers and Sconnies alike in a quiet cafe that serves GIANT chocolate malts.

Here's where I wish I had skills, Blog. I should know how to change a tire, but I don't. It is a basic process, but the last time I attempted to remove a lug nut, it was rusted on so tight not even my super strong and manly boyfriend at the time was unable to loosen it. In the end, it ended up stripped and swearing ensued.

Of course I'm going to assume removing a tire from a 1992 Mercury Topaz is a bit of a different experience than removing one from a brand new Toyota Camry, but I wasn't about to dive in to find out for myself. Not in my tired and hungover state (turns out my last night in Minneapolis was a friend/bar hopping extravaganza... totally worth it). Plus we're traveling for business, so this sort of a thing is taken care of for us.

Here's the part where I would post the sad picture I took of the deflated tire, but you're not having it for some reason, Blog. Are you not feeling up to uploading images this evening? I've never run into this problem with you before. Then again, I've never really run into having a low tire in the middle of Wisconsin, or missing the exit to our hotel in the middle of Wisconsin, or having faulty hotel keys once we finally checked in to the hotel that is in the middle of Wisconsin. Maybe it's not you, Blog. Maybe all of this has something to do with the middle of Wisconsin.

I still don't feel like I'm gone from home for the next two months. Probably because I'm only about 50 miles away from Winona right now. Yup. Winona. We didn't even make it to the actual middle of Wisconsin.

Still I love that my job has turned into finagling websites to find tire places that are open on a Saturday morning. I also love that my current job makes small children laugh and squeal with joy. Children are amazing, Blog. I had no idea. I could go on, but I'll save it for another day.

Here's to hoping we actually make it to Chicago tomorrow to see the one Goblirsch Jr. wow us with his Macbeth skills. I like to think I'm getting all the hairy stuff out of the way with this touring thing on my first day.

Hello From the Road!

Blog, it's going to be an unfocused post today, but I'm giving this "blogging from the road" thing the old college try. Right now I'm in a bar in Madison, Wisconsin watching football with this group of people who have somehow become my tour family. I've ended up in a comedy band that plays in basement bars and skate shops. So this is what it's like at the top...

Like I said, it's an unfocused entry, Blog. That means only one thing: pictures!

Look at my road family, Blog! This is how we eat after performing in a skate shop.

Look at our merchandise Blog! Buy some!

Look at the show we are bringing to the masses in the Midwest!

See us in our van, Blog? Fun every second!

This is what we look like when we're singing songs.

And this is what we look like when we are prepared for the winter cold in a Motel 6 in Fargo.



This is fun, Blog. You should try it sometime.

Yet Another Ode to Theater

First things first, Blog...

OMG DOWNTON ABBEY I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I HAVE BEEN LIVING UNDER THIS ANTI-POP CULTURE ROCK FOR ALL THESE YEARS!!

I am learning, Blog. I am learning about the Edwardian Era of the 20th century. I'm learning about the elegance and ridiculousness of aristocrats who live in a castle. I'm learning about the relationships people have with one another. I'm feeling feelings again! Major nerd feelings geared towards fantastical characters on a screen, but feelings nonetheless! Feelings I can apply to my life and be inspired by! Feelings that tell me I'm not alone! That it could be worse! That I too could prefer a chaise lounge to that of an upright chair when it comes to relaxing in a corset.

Masterpiece Theater is changing my life. I should have known this was going to be a thing for me. It's not my fault that I'm the spawn of people who religiously taped I Claudius when it aired on PBS during my childhood. God it was so boring when I was seven! But now. NOW! Bring it on Masterpiece Theater! I realize my parents have impeccible taste when it comes to late night public programming. Don't get me started on Ken Burns' Civil War...

I think there's an element of excitement for me today Blog because I spent my entire afternoon doing what I absolutely love in this life: making theater. I'm reminded this Fringe season that it's not all about being on stage for me. I am in love with the entire process of putting on a show. I need to do this more. I need to learn how to run a light board. I need to call cues more often. I need to assess a stage picture and figure out if it works. And if it doesn't? How do I make it better?

I've said it time and time again that I feel cursed with the fact that I was destined to have a heart that lives in the world of the performing arts. I think I've stifiled it for the most part since it is a ridiculous profession when you really think about it. Let's get some people up on a platform, soak them in lights, and listen to what they have to say. But it's the core of every piece of entertainment you see out there. The music you listen to is made by people who stand in a light in front of other people watching them. The movies you pay $12 to see are put on by people standing in front of cameras and technicians lighting them with all sorts of contraptions. The TV shows you watch, LIKE DOWNTON ABBEY, are created the same way. The stage is where it all started and it's where my heart lies and I totally am aware that every July I get all gushy over the performing arts and aspire to become something great and get this sort of a thing in my life right away. But let's face it. I never take action.

Except for today before the tech rehearsal I so thoroughly enjoyed, I auditioned for a company that tours children's shows around the country. If I get it? I leave my current job and take a leap of faith for the thing I've loved to do ever since I can remember. Ever since I was an annoyed seven year old who didn't want to watch I Claudius, but instead wanted her mom to play showtunes from the Reader's Digest Unforgettable Music Memories collection so she could put on an old dress and play "Broadway" in the mirror. Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! wasn't just a catchy tune. It was a dream. An perfectly attainable dream!

I'm appropriately dramatic about this. I told the cast I pseudo directed today that their movements and decisions, no matter what they are, must be deliberate on stage. The audience trusts deliberate action. So does fate. I have to take my own direction and deliberately go through with this, no matter how stupid or foolish I feel. Some of the best advice I got from one of my acting teachers in college was a simple word: commit. Commit to your actions and you will find your way.

So I auditioned for this big thing. If I get it, I'm doing it. If I don't? I'm still moving in with Andy Browers. I've been asked to potentially manage this band. I am looking here for opportunities both acting and tech-wise. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but I have to trust that my interest has given me enough knowledge to start. I technically earned a minor in Theater alongside my major in English. I might as well put it to use since my main course of study is just what I speak and write every day anyway. I don't regret a lot, but I do regret not taking the actual thing I love and making it my major. It's never too late, I guess.

Revelation Via Writing This Entry: I'm Kind of Dumb

Hey blog. I don't get this. I can put a counter on you that lets me know how many people come over and visit? I tried putting one in here since livejournal never had such a thing. Or maybe it did and I never was aware of it because I suck at computers. Nonetheless, I've read the instructions on putting a counter on my blog, and now I can't find it. It seems I've done this correctly because, like I said, I read the directions. A lesson I learned in kindergarten (due to embarassing consequences due to me not reading the directions for a particular art project). However, now I can't find the counter. Is it because I made it invisible? Well, what's the point of that? I thought at least I'd be able to see it since I'm the one who is so curious as to how many people come across this thing. Whatever. I give up on you counter. I'm going to write about Wisconsin now.

My boyfriend is taking me to Wisconsin today. I'm excited! We are going to visit his dad in Door County. I've never been to Door County, but I've heard good things, so I'm looking forward to this. I hear it's really scenic and there are good jams you can purchase at gift shops. I like a good jam from time to time. I think Door County and I have the potential to be friends. My bread has been bland lately.

Other things that we will do in Wisconsin is probably drink a bunch of beer, see Lake Michigan, and go to a Packer game! Oh football how I love thou/thee/thy. Boyfriend was kind enough to purchase tickets for the both of us to sit at Lambeau Field and freeze our little butts off while watching Aaron Rodgers get sacked time and time again. Oh but it will be fun. Plus, maybe he won't get sacked too much since they are playing the Lions. We'll see!

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I used to hate Wisconsin. I think it is because all of the Sconnies who come over and live in Minneapolis don't know how to drive. They go slow. They don't use blinkers. They change lanes without a moment's notice. You'd think they were from North Dakota and not just from across the St. Croix. Although they very well may be driving that way because they are drunk. One thing I've learned from dating a Sconnie is that they like to drink a lot.

Oh my god blog. Update! I just read the final instruction about my blog counter. I realize now that I have set it up through a website that I must log in to in order to see my stats. I see now that one visitor has visited since your inception. That visitor is probably me, so it looks like it's just me and you blog. I guess my blog navigation isn't too different from Sconnie driving. And I guess my aptitude for reading directions hasn't changed much since kindergarten. Fiddle sticks!

Let's play later.