It Feels like my Birthday- November 14, 2013

Today, I celebrated the birthdays of one of my favorite people in the whole entire world.

This little guy turned 7 years old today. I can't believe he's already getting so big!!! I can't believe I've lived half my life without having a brother like him in my life. I love you Jesse!!!!

My sisters are growing up so much too!! They grow more and more beautiful every time I see them. :)

Sorry to be the biggest bragger in the universe, but yeah. I kinda have the best family ever. You'd say the same thing if you were me.

What?? Rachel has pictures of herself with her family? From today?? How is that possible???

Well today started out pretty well! For once, I got to bed at the time I was wanting to, so I got a decent amount of sleep! Yay!!

My morning was pretty much spent cleaning up and attempting to figure out my schedule for next semester. There's one class I really want to take and that would work perfectly in the schedule I have right now, but it's FULL. I'm so upset and I hope it opens up soon... That would just work out perfectly!!

Class was nice! Got some lunch and then spent the next two hours doing more chore-like work around my room and failing to concentrate on any homework... whoops. I really should've gotten homework done. I'm going to regret it later- this is going to be a full weekend...

I could hardly contain myself during Spanish class. I constantly was checking my phone, tracking down where my mom's and sister's iPhones were... Finally, around 6:30, I got a text saying to come outside!!

That's right, my family's here for the weekend!!!!! To visit me!!!! My grandparents from Montana, two of my sisters, my brother, and my mom!!! Dad and Melissa are coming a bit later, but still!!! Everyone's going to be here and I couldn't be happier!!!!

They brought me to their hotel with them, where we all had a really fun dinner! Since it was Jesse's birthday dinner, we even got dessert. It was adorable- Jesse's ice cream got a candle put in it by our waiter, and so we all got to sing happy birthday :) It was quite a treat!!!

So I got to spend some wonderful time with all of them back up in their rooms, talking and playing and seeing Jesse open his birthday presents. I forgot my present to him in my dorm room, but he'll get it tomorrow. I'm sure he won't forget! :)

They were getting pretty tired, so Grandpa brought me back to campus around 10:30 or so. I was beaming, just beaming! It feels like it was my birthday instead of Jesse's because of how much of a treat it is to see all of them!!

Speaking of treats, this next message is to all the amazing parents of my dear friends from back home. You know who you are:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

My mom brought your gift to me with her from home, since mailing it would've been a bit counter-productive, but every one of the treats and notes you sent me is SO appreciated and I LOVE it!!!!! You guys are the best parents of friends I could ever have!!! Mom, that includes you. I LOVE YOU!!!

For those who are unaware, every one of my friends' parents wrote me a small note and sent a little treat to go with it!!! I feel so incredibly blessed!!!

After I got back to campus, I dropped my stuff off in my room and hung out with Thomas at Starbucks for a bit, just because! I got to meet his friend, Wells, too, so that was an additional nice treat to my day!!

I feel so blessed. So incredibly blessed. I have an amazing family and great friends and I'll never, ever take them for granted.

I love you all!!!

Fight on, friends <3

Quite Possibly the Highlight of my Life So Far- November 13, 2013

Part of me is devastated right now... the other part is floating on Cloud Nine.

Well, first of all, Acting class was really fun!!! We worked through the One Act I'm in today, and I got a LOT of notes.... yeah... I guess I wasn't doing it too well. But I'm learning!!! By the time we finished I was doing a lot better!!! I feel like I'm learning, at least. I still worry that what I'm learning in this class I won't be able to figure out how to carry over into other pieces I work on, but for now, we have progress!!!

I hardly paid attention in my Philosophy discussion... I tried, honestly, I just couldn't follow what my TA was talking about and I feel like the outline explains most of it anyways... the whole topic of Personal Identity is really confusing...

I wandered around in the bookstore for a while, then finished my outline for Philosophy. Once that was done I did some stuff on my to do list until class. Taking it fairly easy though...

Philosophy I basically paid 10 minutes of attention during the whole 75 minute class.

I think I'm ever over-exhausted or slightly sick. I've been out of it and tired-feeling all day... Ugh.

So tonight, I was planning on getting nearly all my homework done and then maybe going to Cru. Then I heard wonderful, beautiful news.

Kristin Chenowith was on campus.

O.M.G. right?!?!?

I was so excited when I heard the news that two security guys that work in Pardee got excited by my being excited. They helped me, over the course of the next half-hour or so, figure out the best place to see her.

There was an event going on on campus for a group of super prestigious people who've donated over a million dollars to the school. There were two huge tents built earlier this week, and this evening one tent was devoted entirely to check-in and wine and socializing. People were dressed up all over the place, there were people waiting for valet parking (to park, as the valets, that is), and another huge tent right behind the alumni house that had one see-through wall. It was lavishly decorated- A nice-sized stage, tons of tables, waiters, there was even a chandelier!

The security guys helped me maneuver all over and around Marks Hall until I could find a place where security wouldn't tell me to "keep moving" and where I could sit and do homework for a while. I pulled a chair out of the Marks Hall study room and sat in it from 7:30 until 9:30

At 9:30... I heard the announcer mention her name... and the curtain went back.

And I cried of joy.

The spot I was hiding was hidden from security, but gave me a nearly perfect view and I could hear every word she said.

She was wearing a USC t-shirt for her first number

She sang Popular, then 9-5, then Girl in 14G, and then invited a USC alumni onstage to sing For Good with her.

I can die a happy woman. This is the part of me that is absolutely ecstatic right now. I saw Kristin Chenowith perform. Live. Maybe about 75 yards away from me and besides that, only separated by a plastic sheet.

I can't even put words to it. I can't. I just can't.

If you don't know who Kristin Chenowith is, go Google her and you'll understand why I love her so much. She's one of the actresses who's really inspired me... really, really inspired me. She's also incredibly, beautifully talented, beautiful, and... everything. The woman is a goddess of Broadway.

And, to why I'm partially devastated...

After her performance, I ran all around the stage trying to find the nearest place where she might come out so I could maybe possibly meet her. I saw a friend of mine in one of these gateways, and it turns out, he and three of his friends were able to go back and meet her because they knew someone who knew her. For obvious reasons, I couldn't tag along, but I was still waiting at the gate when they came back and were being completely ecstatic.... I'm so jealous...

I was eventually able to get backstage myself, just because no one really cared anymore who was back there and who wasn't. I spotted her trailer, stood right next to it, even, but she'd already left.... :( I was so close!!! I just didn't get back there soon enough... I'm sure if I'd gotten back there right after my friends had gotten back, I would've gotten to meet her. That and if I hadn't been so worried about being rude. I was trying to not be too awkward or odd or fan-girlish, but all that did was make me super shy...

I was so close... So close...

Maybe I'll get another opportunity to meet her... someday... If I ever learn how to act...

Since I'm still not feeling quite normal, I've been just hanging out in my dorm room since... I ought to get homework done, but I really need sleep too. I haven't gotten enough done today! Every time I sit down to be productive, I don't know what to do... :(

Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better and be able to do more. And hopefully I won't regret missing my chance to meet Kristin.... I got to see her perform. That's something incredible in itself. I just have to remember that!!! And in the moment, it was incredible!!!

So, Fight on, Friends.

Storm in the Air...- November 11-12, 2013

Another wave is approaching. 

I sit, in this present moment, in the calm before the storm. I'm slowly entering the storm even as I type this and the deadline for my Philosophy outline draws closer.... Let me explain.

Monday, during acting, we continued work on our One Act plays. I'm going to be working on mine tomorrow during class, and I know already that this is going to take a lot of work and energy and concentration.

I went to my Intro to Production Lab, but technically, as soon as I turn in a shop hours sheet from Lady Windemere's Fan, I'll be over the hours I need to complete the required hours for the class. But I fire-proofed some cardboard boxes and painted a set and mopped a stage anyways.

After that, I had to finish the Philosophy homework I failed to do on Sunday. I finished in time, and go to respond to a really sweet email!

One of my acting teachers from high school, Mr. Barrett, is producing Jam Jar Sonnets again at the new school he's teaching at, in Texas. For those of you who don't know/remember, Jam Jar Sonnets was the Advanced Drama class show last year that I got to be a part of. I played an incredible role, Amanda Wells, and it's still to this day one of my favorite shows I've ever been in.

Anyways, the girl who's playing Amanda now, in this new production, sent an email asking for some help on the character, since I've played her before. It made me really, really happy to get to, once again, dive into Mandy's character, especially now that I have a little more added knowledge from my classes that I've been taking here at USC! It was one of the highlights of my day for sure :)

Philosophy class was philosophy class. I started drifting off to sleep near the end of class, so I took a quick nap afterwards, then worked out, then took a shower, then went to get dinner with Jinny. And then I did homework, i.e., started this philosophy outline that I haven't finished yet.

Then I went to a music practice room, practiced for my voice lesson and played a bit of piano, made that photo blog from yesterday, and finally went to bed.

Full day, right? Today was about the same...

My Intro to Production class was pretty nice. Nothing too special. I worked on my outline more in the lounge after class, then went to get lunch with Jinny. Then it was my Text Studies class, which was fascinating. The play we're reading how has a lot to think about in it... It's a non-linear play and has a lot of repetition and other symbols and actions that are very open for interpretation. Oh yeah, it's called The America Play. I don't remember the author...

Worked on homework a bit more until my Spanish class. That was alright, then I got dinner. Procrastinated for a while talking to my friend Andrew from home, started looking at classes for next semester, went to the Intervarsity Bible Study (that Julia led really well!!!), rehearsed my 101 scene with my group members, Rachel and Lucas, and now I'm back in the lounge where the Bible Study was with some of the other Intervarsity folks. They're having a study party, so I joined to work on my outline. 

I can't concentrate on my outline anymore. I've felt horribly crummy all day and now I just don't feel like focusing anymore... It's not due until 3 tomorrow. I've got time to finish it tomorrow... right? Golly, I hope so.

As soon as I turn in this outline, I'm going to have to scramble to finish the homework that'll be due next week and the rest of this week. This includes a midterm, a project, starting a different project (due in the beginning of December), extra Spanish homework, the Philosophy paper that will follow from the outline, and working on my 101 one act. Plus, my family's coming later this week for the weekend (yay!), I have to register for classes for next semester and it's giving me a REALLY hard time, and I have the opportunity to go to Disneyland with people from IV next week that I want to take advantage of... really badly.

I can feel the storms approaching and I see the rain clouds in the air.... Hand me my umbrella and turn on "Singing in the Rain." I'm going to need it!

Fight on, friends.

My Weekend in Pictures- November 8-10, 2013

As promised, Friday through Sunday- in pictures!

It was just going to be Friday, but when I didn't post the pictures/write a blog that night, I figured I'd just keep going... and the same thing happened Saturday night.... So now we have Friday through Sunday! Huzzah!!

Friday:

The time I finally got out the door on Friday... Whoops...

All ready to go!!! 

This is my mirror, by the way. The dryer left
some of my clothes still a bit damp, which is why
I've got clothes hanging up on my closet.

And this... is the first thing I see when I leave
the building. It's going to be a beautiful
Southern Californian day!

The entrance to EVK. I got breakfast here
Friday.

It looked like this. NOM NOM NOM.

I also ran into these two lovely ladies while I was leaving!
Sneha is on the left and Astha on the right.

Though, here's a better picture of Sneha :)

After I left EVK, I headed to somewhere I could study for a bit
before my class. This is McCarthy quad: the quad near my dorm
I have to travel through to get basically anywhere.

I decided to go to LiteraTea! At least, the
courtyard outside of it. 

I sat out here and studied the One Acts for my
acting class for a while.

By the time I was done with that, it was back to
EVK for a small lunch. This is the school
newspaper they have outside.

And this is the line that sometimes builds up.

It's so fun to see tours on campus!! It reminds me
of when I took tours at colleges....

Walking to class....

I don't know why these random spectacles come
to my school on occasion. This time, a young
boy was dancing to music playing from that tent.
He was good and the music was loud... but why?

That building marks the Campus Center. I spend
time there often.

There was a sale at the bookstore.

Construction hardly ever stops on this campus!!!
I believe this is the building for the new school
of dance coming, cause they've been working on
it for quite a while! It's always loud to walk by
though.

The track.

This is the little off-road where I have to go to get
to a lot of theater-related events. For instance...

...the Drama Center (DRC) is here. It's right next to a theater,
The Massman Theatre, as well, which is where all of the
ISP shows perform (Independent Student Productions)

And then finally, the building I have class in.

It's awfully pretty on the outside.

Awkward sneaky picture of my TA in class.

Another awkward sneaky picture of some of my classmates
right before we all got up to leave. I was asked why I was
taking photos by a girl sitting behind me... The things I do
for you guys. Sheesh.

At 1pm, Commedus Interruptus, an improv group, always
performs out on this area of grass. I only catch the last 10
minutes or so of their performance, but they're really
great!! Plus, I have a couple of friends in the troupe,
like Tyler and Richie.

So, in between this time, I forgot to take pictures. What happened though was I ran into Thomas and he introduced me to his friend Annelle! We hung out for a while before I went back to my dorm and... I think I did homework? I don't remember. But I eventually got ready to go to the theater.

Back to EVK for om nom noms. 

EVK was really empty at this time, because I was eating
earlier than the normal rush. Plus its Friday, so most people
are out and about.

And... the stage!!!

Lady Windemere's Fan at top of show

And me, all in black and ready to work!

This chandelier is used in Act 2. It's beautiful,
especially with the stage lights reflecting
off of it.

This is my fellow crew-member, Jeff. He's cool.
We hang out and talk a lot, even in Spanish
on occasion, just because we can. When I took
this photo he said to the camera, "Hello, readers!"

Backstage Stage Left is a little less exciting than onstage.
But this is where I spend most of the show...

...Chilling with these guys. Jeff and Zach. 

There's crew members on the other side of the stage too!
This is Devon. She's really fun, and came to visit us to
hang out at this particular moment.

I wanted to take a new profile picture
for Facebook.

So I took a couple and chose my favorite

I like the idea. Especially because there were
so many fans around.

I freaking love being here. Honestly,
I do. Just being in the area gives me the
thrill of something exciting about to happen!!!

A lot of the individual actors have their
own particular warm ups. This actor
was dancing onstage, for no real reason.

So I took pictures of him.

In my own little cranny of the stage platform,
I sit where I can get light and do my devotions
or homework. I can never really concentrate for
long, since I always get distracted by what's
happening onstage.

Isn't it a beautiful set?

More set photos. Cause it's pretty.

This should've been my cover photo.

yup.

Here's a photo of the ensemble during
Act 2. It's a party scene, and therefore
the  one with the most people.

After Act 3, Jeff, Zach, and I went to one of the
bathrooms to wash the dishes used onstage.
I usually rinsed them off, then scrubbed them
all with soap. The boys rinsed off the soap in
the sink and did most of the drying. We had
a pretty good system going on!

End of show!!! Yay!!! That's Emily, the Stage Left ASM
(Assistant Stage Manager)

One of the ushers found a program for me!!!
I collect, them, so this makes me happy!!!

Plus, it's my first EVER appearance in a USC
show program!!! Take a look at that!! :D

Lady Windemere's Fan. Ready for the next performance

Well-done, everyone.

Walking back to my dorm, alone.

The campus is so serene on Friday nights. It's odd, I know, but
everybody's either out on the town or hidden away in
a dorm room, so there's no one really around...

So, after hanging in my dorm a bit, I met up with
this guy again! Thomas and I went scavenging for
a place where I could show him his FIRST DISNEY
MOVIE. AAAh. Fina-freaking-ly.

Thomas's first normal Disney experience. We watched
Beauty and the Beast and he loved it which makes me
happy!!! We ended up talking and hanging out for a long
while after the movie was over. Stayed up... pretty darn late.
Let's just leave it at that..... Yeah... it wasn't really a smart
idea, but it sure was fun, and therefore, worth it.

Saturday:

I spent my morning out in front of Leavy Library
with some Starbucks and homework.

A lovely view of McCarthy Quad!

And a very tired, but still happy, me. Thomas and his roommate
John found me here, so I got to hang out with both of them even
MORE which was awesome!!! (forgot to mention: John and
some of his and Thomas's friends hung out with us
after we finished the movie last night, so I was seeing more
of the both of them)

Aaaaannddd.... we're back. Backstage, that is.

A different view of the set at the top of the show, since
there was nothing else to do.

All in black and ready to go!!! The show was
the first matinee of the run, and went pretty
well, despite how tired everyone was. 

While we were washing dishes, Zach and Jeff spent the
time waiting for me to finish scrubbing and rinsing some
of the dishes to engage in a full-on, lightsaber
battle. I was able to dry my hands in time to catch
a few moments.

I regret, they were not the most climactic moments, but
man, it was awesome.

Zach won, eventually.

We had a break between shows (there's
two on Saturday) and walking back to
Pardee to start mine, I saw a wedding!!!

A better view. They were taking their wedding photos
in front of Tommy Trojan. How sweet!!! 

And this is just another gorgeous picture of the campus.

I was bored and tired walking back.

So I took selfless

Lots of them.

I tried to cross my eyes here. It's hard to tell.
I got some food and did something else in my
dorm that I don't remember.... 

...But then it was back to the theater for the nighttime performance!

All the crew. Hanging out. Waiting for the show to start
because the stage was already swept and preset. Huzzah.

The actors got to do their warmups onstage this time, instead
of downstairs where the audience can't hear them. They're so
entertaining to watch, even when it's just a warm up!! They
had me grinning like I was watching the whole play.
This particular warm up was a song of "The Grand Old Duke
of York" as they marched around the stage, avoiding saying
the words "up" and "down." This makes sense if you
know the song.

So ready for the show to start...

I spend a lot of time Snapchatting
backstage, since I wait around quite
a bit. Kristina sent me this
from Downtown Disney and I
was SO jealous she was there!!!!

But most of the pictures are from Kris,
my adorable sister. Love ya!!!

The play ended, I went back to my dorm, and slept like a rock. I learned a lesson on Saturday- never stay up super super late when you have to work two shows the next day.... I still say Oh Well, it was worth it, but nevertheless, I felt pretty exhausted.

Sunday:

I got up mega late. This was my breakfast and
lunch at EVK.

At least I got to eat with these lovely ladies!!! From left to right:
Kieryn, Sneha, and Jinny (my roommate)

I wanted a better picture of Kieryn. Isn't she
lovely? :) And yes, that is a Dr. Who shirt.
All three of these girls are obsessed.

A lovely mornin...afternoon...

Walking back to the theater once again.

And once again, all in black and ready to go.

This campus has so. many. squirrels. So many
squirrels. Thomas named them all Ralph. I
name them all annoying. Cute, but annoying.

Sunday was closing... One last look at the
lovely set, all ready for Act 1

I had some time to myself onstage before I was called away
to go get the headsets...

I love shows set in this Victorian time period area. At
least the late 1800's or so, that is. It makes for beautiful sets
and costumes, and, depending on the play, really
witty dialogue. I love Oscar Wilde's writing so much!!!
There are some lines that make me laugh no matter how
many times I hear them.

Waiting and waiting and waiting for the show
to start....

I took photos while I waited. I thought this looked
cool.

BORED.

GAH. START THE SHOW.

Plz.

The ceiling of the theater.... just cause.

And we're off on closing! The play opens with
Lord Darlington calling on Lady Windemere on her
birthday. Here they both are, played by Tyler and
Natalie. 

We're supposed to have a couple cookies for
a few actors onstage during the party scene
who are supposed to eat something. Normally,
Emily puts them in a really pretty or simple
arrangement... buuuttt she decided to get creative
for the last show :) It was my job to bring it
out onstage.

Act 3 was my favorite act of the entire play. There
is a ton of witty dialogue between the men in the play
right after a pretty dramatic moment, to provide some
comic relief and set up the next plot point.
I absolutely adore the lines, and the gentlemen performed
them very, very well.

Sam (Lord Windemere) found a sharpie and got
creative on the prop table. Other actors soon
followed suit.
Sam is so funny!! He's also an incredible actor.
I really look up to him and admire him a lot
for how much dedication he puts into his
performance. You may not be able to tell
from a silly little drawing, but the man who
drew it is a fantastic actor, and the type of actor
I hope I can be someday. I wrote him a little note
to tell him so, which he liked. So I'm glad :)

But yes. The prop table got some scribbles.

Including this one from Emily. LOL!

The show ended, the actors got offstage, and the crew spent about
4 minutes standing there thinking "...now what?..." As if on
cue, a huge swarm of Technical theater lab workers came
zooming in, and chaos ensued. Pure chaos. I felt like I went from
"Useful crew member" to "random person who has no idea
what they're ever doing ever" in about ten seconds.
Welcome to strike at USC.

These next few pictures are just ones I could snap of the
strike process.

The beautiful set came down...

My first job was pulling out staples. After I helped with props
for a bit, that is.

Everybody pitched in.

I snapped a picture of Richie and Tyler while I had my camera
out. Just because they were standing behind me.

This was a nice job to do if you needed a rest: put weight on
the pipe while the crew took the counterweights off!

Boo yah. I took out some screws.

It didn't feel very quick, but we really cleared the set out
quickly.

The chandelier was complicated to take down. I admire how
they did it, since I got to watch the whole thing.

I even found myself in the lights!!!

The crew came up with a fun little handshake that we did
on occasion. It involved fists in the middle that turned
into hands clenched on motorcycle handlebars. Then
we "vroomed" off in different directions: ready for action!!!

At the end of strike, we all gathered together to do it one last
time.

And... the stage is bare!

From Act 4 to 7:20pm (when we finished),  I didn't sit down once.

Goodbye, Bing Theatre. And Goodbye, "Lady
Windemere's Fan."

Crewing this show was one of my best decisions I've made
since coming to USC. I would do it again in a heartbeat,
even though being onstage instead of backstage
would be just as incredible.

Natalie (Lady Windemere) was SO sweet! She
got all the crew members chocolates and little
Barbie arms, since we were "helping hands" :)

I didn't take any more pictures that day... except this one.
After working all day, I was exhausted. Almost too tired to
get a proper dinner. It was at EVK again, but then I went back
to my dorm room and started my Philosophy homework. The
cast party was happening... but I didn't go. I was just too tired
and felt like I needed to at least start homework. I ended
up doing it like this, on my bed... Didn't finish. Decided to finish
it on Monday since I was too tired, as you can probably tell.

And that's all for the weekend!!! Seriously though, crewing "Lady Windemere's Fan" was incredible. I met so many new people that I really admire and have fun around. Plus, I'm really grateful for getting this kind of experience during my first semester here. You'll be seeing me back in the theater soon, I hope. In the meantime... I really want to read more Oscar Wilde plays...

As you can tell, I'm posting this on Monday night, and Monday isn't included in this blog!! I need some sleep though, so I'll tell you all about how today went tomorrow.

Fight on, friends :)