Quack Quack Quack

So, I'm a bit of a liar. I didn't see A Midsummer Night's Dream like I said I was going to. Instead, I got to experience my first live hockey game at the Braemar Arena in Edina, MN. It was a college summer league and I had to employ every single trivia fact from The Mighty Ducks to successfully follow the game, but I did it and it was very entertaining. Who know? There may be a die-hard hockey fan buried deep within me somewhere. The mascot for the team was the Edina Mites... isn't that hysterical?

After the hockey game, I went to Adele's Frozen Custard... delicious! I had a caramel apple sundae. Just imagine how good that sounds and it was that great.

Yesterday I did the ultimate touristy thing to do in Minnesota and went to the Mall of America. I spent three hours walking around and I only went into two stores. I also went to the aquarium that is inside the mall: Sea Life. It was such a novelty to be in an aquarium in a mall. Of course I stopped by Nickelodeon Universe and the Lego store but the coolest place I stumbled upon was a store called Bettie Page that has all things inspired by the era of the notorious Bettie Page. Super cute stuff. So, the Mall of America, I've done it and that's that.

Today is my first day at the Guthrie and I can't wait!!!!! Only a few more hours! Until then though, here are some pictures from Sea Life.

 

Jellyfish... very serene and yet really creepy. It's probably the no brain thing. 

 

Fish and stuff in the aquarium

Bottom feeders

 

That is a shark! 

This should be the first picture, but it isn't. Sorry about that, I guess. It's like at the end of a movie when the title flashes again before all of the credits roll.

Fate and Other Happenings

Everything about Minneapolis and what I have experienced in the four days I've been here leads me to believe that I was meant to come here. I have had one positive experience after another and couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life right now. I was destined to work at the Guthrie, and I don't even start working until Tuesday.

I went to see God of Carnage in the McGuire Proscenium at the Guthrie yesterday with my friend Milton. In addition to seeing Milton, which was wonderful, I got to sit in Row G of a famous theater and watch a brilliant performance of a superb play. As I was looking through the program, I read some of the selected credits for two of the actors and saw The Straight Story. Most people don't know what that is, but it is a film based on the true story of Alvin Straight who rode a tractor from Iowa to Wisconsin to see his sick brother when he was in his 70's. It is significant that two of the actors in my first Guthrie show were in this film because Alvin Straight is the uncle of my neighbor Walter back home. It really is a small world and I'm loving that fact more and more every day. Also, one of the actors was in Drop Dead Gorgeous, another great film that connects me to this place and these people.

And today, I'm going to the Public Theater of Minnesota to see A Midsummer Night's Dream, just one more thing that makes it feel like fate that I'm here.

I took a leisurely stroll around downtown Minneapolis yesterday after God of Carnage and snapped a few tourist photos for posterity. Downtown Minneapolis is beautiful; the perfect combination of history and modernity, factory and fantasy.

 

This is a view of the Pillsbury mill from across the river. 

 

The Mill City Museum is right next to the Guthrie. Very cool. 

The Guthrie as seen from the historic Stone Arch Bridge. 

Hennepin Avenue Bridge 

This isn't downtown. This is the Smith Douglas More House in Eden Prairie that is also a coffee shop. I go there every single day. 

Gold Medal Flour mill right next to the Guthrie

And of course, the fabulous Guthrie Theater! 

New Digs

Here are some pictures of the house I'm staying in. 

 

Closet and desk in my basement room

 

Back room with washer/dryer, refrigerator, stove and microwave. This door also serves as my private entrance. 

 

Basement living room

 

My bathroom 

 

Bed #1 and shelves 

 

Bed #2 and beside table 

 

Dresser and general beautification area 

Real World: Minnesota

I am in Minnesota! It is hard to believe that I have successfully moved to Minneapolis and am sitting in a coffee shop right now writing this post.

Yesterday, I left Missouri at 7:40 am and arrived in Minnesota at 4:15 pm. I stopped in Macon for gas, Kirksville for errands, Bloomfield, IA for a snack and Albert Lea, MN for gas again. In the course of an eight and a half hour drive I stopped for approximately 30 minutes and wasn't even going stir crazy by the time I arrived at my new pad. I'm fairly impressed with myself considering that this was my first long haul and the only other long drive I've ever done was 3 hours to Fairfield, IA.

So, my new digs. I'm living in the basement room of an older couple. The room has two twin beds, north and west facing windows, two bookshelves, a beside table, a dresser, a full closet, a desk, a large mirror and it's own bathroom. If that wasn't amazing enough, the couple I'm staying with is adding an outlet in the bathroom for my various beauty electronics. The rest of the basement is also furnished. There is a couch, television, treadmill, washer and dryer, two refrigerators, a microwave and a stove. There is also a separate entrance for me to use when I get back late from work. The house is only 15 minutes away from the Guthrie, is 4 minutes away from a Dunn Bros Coffee with free Wi-Fi and is across the street from a gargantuan Baptist church.

I had dinner with my host family last night and we immediately delved into subjects ranging from politics to religion, education and art. It was wonderful and I already love the couple because they are so warm and welcoming and told me that I should consider myself at home with them. I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay!

Okay, I'll try to stop raving. It's difficult though, because this just seems perfect. I'm so lucky to be here.

I have a meeting today at the Guthrie with the Intern Coordinator and I get to go in through the Stage Door! I have no idea what to expect from my meeting today, but I'm ridiculously excited about it! I will post again when I know more about my job. Meanwhile, I'm going to go explore!

Kazoo

I sent in my application for a 12 month stage management internship at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre today, thus getting one step closer to completing my goal of living in all of the M states. It's a weird goal, but it's a goal nonetheless.

I can't wait to get to Minneapolis and start doing something. I now understand the turmoil of being unemployed and I'm not handling it well. I watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Despicable Me and The Social Network today.... my eyeballs are trying screaming.

I miss my friends, because none of them are here and I can't see Harry Potter on opening night... which means I can celebrate my childhood for a few extra hours.

11 days to the big move.

Time Travel Ketchup

Where have the last three weeks gone? Into dodgeball, rehearsals, hall meetings, crafting, water parks, tag, epic pirate vs. ninja battles and natural disasters just to name a few. It has been a few days since the end of JBA and I still can't believe that it is over. It seems a daunting task at the beginning of training but once the kids arrive, it is a whirlwind. I will attempt a short recap of my second summer at the world's best job. Week 1: Kids arrived on Saturday in a blur of teenage madness and settle in to their rooms. Some of my favorite kids from last year came back and made my day. Sunday was the rules meeting and getting to know your professor and a kid asked if we were going to do The Book of Mormon as our JBA show. I was impressed and stunned that a 12 year old knew about the show and thought we could pull it off in two weeks. Monday was the start of a standard week with class in the morning, lunch, afternoon class, dinner, activities and bed. Sounds pretty chill, but it is non-stop action from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm. Not to mention the big events like Water Olympics (where I got the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life-- it's been two and half weeks and I'm still sore from it), Pirate vs. Ninja Day (Aaarrgh- I'm a pirate lover all the way), Dodgeball (which I was surprisingly good at this year), Halloween (I was Wilma Flintstone), Carnival, Lazy Sunday (I lazed about with the best of them and watched Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black...dumb) and Humans vs. Zombies. Working with three preceptors in the theatre class meant that we could take it easier this year, but with 22 kids it was about the same amount of work as 2 preceptors with 18 kids. We also had students who wanted to do tech rather than performance so I took them under my wing and they served as board ops during the show. 

So, natural disasters. In the first week we had a fire and a tornado. The second week was pretty calm and in the third week we had a huge storm that caused the entire city of Kirksville to lose power for several hours an multiple campus buildings were without power for days after the fact. The storm flooded part of the residence hall we were staying in and all of the staff had to stay awake for most of the night to assure children that the town wasn't sinking. Without power, the theatre class couldn't do tech for the show, Witch/Fairy until Wednesday morning for a Thursday evening show, but it all worked out and the show was a hit. JBA 2011 was a great success and a great ending to my time in Kirksville. On Sunday morning, I got up and checked out of C-Hall and left K-Vegas in my rear view mirror, never to return again.... at least until next session's Water Olympics.

My whole life has been JBA for the last few weeks and now that I'm back home it is a frantic game of get ready for the great northern migration to Minneapolis. I'm cleaning and packing and recovering from summer camp and going to the bank and getting my oil changed and about a million other things. I'm also dog sitting for a friend who is out of town.

I got spoiled when I came back from Kirksville. My theatre teacher from high school took me out to lunch with my best friend. My parents took me out to dinner to celebrate my homecoming and my grandma's birthday and partially because I think they feel guilty for not waiting to celebrate the Fourth of July with me. They decided to celebrate on the 2nd and I didn't come home until the 3rd. My aunt took me out to lunch to catch up and then my mom took me to Best Buy and I got a hands-free ear piece for my cell phone. I feel super futuristic and important when I use it. Technical gizmos are awesome!

Other random things:

I bought some special ketchup before I left for JBA and had some today, it was tasty.

It is my plan to make several mixed CDs for the drive to Minneapolis. I'm searching through music right now and fear I won't have enough CDs.

I recently found an internship at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre that is 12 months and paid with insurance so I'm applying for that. I updated my resume and it now includes the Guthrie, which is so cool!

One of our rabbits had bunnies and they are too cute to handle. I've had a cute overload lately between tiny twelve year-olds, stuffed animal gifts and real animal pets.

I'm addicted to a game on Facebook called Gardens of Time (judge all you want) and I spent most of today playing it.

Soon, I will have a GPS and be heading to Minnesota and then things will get exciting!