Envy is nearly always a commentary on your own shortcomings....

That  little envy complex is at it again.

Ermergherd Blergh!

Coming to terms with going back to work.
I'm having a bit of a hard time being OK with the fact that, after 6 years of sleep deprivation, ungodly commutes, and the hardest academic challenges I've faced in my life up to this point, I'm not moving on right now. I'm stuck, in fact, to maximize my savings during my deferment, I'm most likely headed back to the same temp jobs I had before I decided to go to college. That my friends is depressing, especially when status updates and tweets tell me how excited everyone is to be moving on. I mean to say I don't begrudge anyone that, goodness no, but I feel like I'm the little kid next door in one of those after school specials, somberly looking on as my best friend drives away to their new home.

Actually, that is sort of literally what is happening in at least one respect.  I am losing probably my closest friend. In a little more than a week and I'm doing what I always do when I'm about to lose someone important. The conversations become shorter, fluffier...the friendship, through distancing, wanes and when she leaves its not all that hard. I have a good idea  she'll read this, but I don't think she's ever seen me in my systematic withdrawal.  Fuck. This stops now. I'm gonna see if she wants to do Korean one last time before she leaves.  Damn I will miss her.

I have my list (which I've ignored since graduation, to be honest) and I'm trying to stay focused on getting things done on that list, and possibly expanding it. A huge miss-communication about deposits on the part of the apartments we were supposed to be moving into, has left my roommate and I shafted on $125 and staying with family for the next month.  The bright side to this is that I think it will give me time to get some more work done on the memoir/biography I've been working on with my grandmother.  There's also been talk of traveling with her up to PA to see my brother this month. That's would be an immensely welcome change of scenery, to be honest.

• Volunteering for the Obama Campaign/Elections
• Get a job/Save money
• Develop lifestyle change that involves regular workouts
• Finish getting source material (interview/documentation), start first draft of Sands...
• Do some acting work
• Read a few good books and document them starting with:
   and 

Having a plan...or at least a general idea.
About the immediate future. I'm really not sure what to do, no option is glaringly better than the others. 
Things to keep in mind:

• The Beineke Scholarship
• Critical Language Scholarship
• Christianson Work Abroad Grant 
• Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals
• DAAD - Undergrad Scholarship
• National Geographic Glimpse Correspondents Program 

 

This could be a problem... 

Those temp jobs that feel like selling out and returning to a miserable past life...suddenly don't look so bad.  Time to get to work.

Might have a paying gig in Atlanta next week, for a major cable show...

DLG Viral Video Contest: Stay Aware, Stay Alive.

A video by my friend Stephanie! Watch and like!

Deferment Part II

So, I filled out the paper work and put it in the envelope. I went down tot he ATM and withdrew the tuition deposit from savings. I went to Amscot and got an international money order with the withdrawal and put the whole shebang aside for two days getting used to the fact that I'd be here for another year...

Like the resounding hum of a Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross beat...something nagged at me about this, I came to feel cheated like I had signed my life away, something did not feel kosher.

I talked it out mentally and with others and came to a stark conclusion. I'm afraid of a year. I am terrified at the prospect of another twelve months, of getting settled in to something too permanent. But I can't go now, either.

So after hours of mental agony, weighing pros and cons, stuffing that envelope, and getting as close as I can to mailing my response, I changed my mind. 

I unpacked the letter, daintily scribbled over the "X"on the "Fall 2013" box and remarked its sister, "Spring 2013."

After three weeks, I feel at peace with this decision because I have enough time to sort everything out and make a little money, and get everything done, but it's not enough time to get invested, again. Now where's that temp services number? I've only got seven months...

Deferment

So with a lot of reflection, I think I have decided to defer my acceptance into Columbia.  Lack of resources for an entire relocation within 3 months is the biggest reason, but there are also a number of things that I feel I need to do or wrap up here before jumping into the next chapter of my life in New York.
It was a very personal decision and I would like to thank John for words and experience that reinforced my first instinct.

With a plan coming into shape about what I want to accomplish over the next year, I don't intend to be lazy, far from it.  There is a list (isn't there always?).  Most of the reasons were in the last post.




So yeah, here's to a year of amazing things getting done.

You know...and that's from a really smart guy from Purdue.

Extreme Dilemmas

  So, I'm now struck with an extreme dilemma.   Here I am in the midst of Storybook invitations and Final grades which are about as stellar as you would expect, with all the extracurricular stuff I had going on.  I'm hedging bets and emailing professors.  One about a specific grade on a paper I believe I should have gotten an A on...had I actually understood the topic.  The other two are entire class grades.  One I am 9 points off an A, out of 530pts officially, and the second will be something mathematically close to 17 out of 1000pts off an A, which hasn't been posted yet.  In both instances, I feel I have an A's worth of understanding and with all the extra stuff I had going on an A's worth impressive short scheduled writing feats.

  I wrestled with deciding if I should approach both professors and when I saw the B post for the 9/530 class I plucked up the courage to actually write the professor, something I find myself too exhausted to do with the 17/1000 professor.

  The second thing I'm wrestling with is the deferment. On one hand going this fall equates to going with no money, no connections, exhausted and jumping into toughest work load ever with "new pond" syndrome.  It also means getting on with life/Getting to work on my bachelors, staying on my game academically.  Staying presents a slew of pros like being able to volunteer for the presidential campaign, save up money, learn to take care of my body after years of taking care of my brain/get fit, ability to strengthen connections, get back in to regional acting work, but it would probably mean putting off the bachelors by another year, and working at a non-theatre day job.  I think these are all valid reasons, but I also feel my judgement is clouded. It's been nearly three weeks since I got my decision, and while a huge part of me wants Columbia right now, pragmatically I'm so not convinced it's the right thing to do right now.

Grades Coming In...

A - ☑ - Honors Western World: Modern Europe (Social Sciences Req. - 3 Hours)

Click to Read
Honors Early Modern European History Final

B - ☑- Honors Public Speaking (Communications Req. - 4 Hours)

B - ☑- Honors Selected Topics in History: Irish History and Revoloutions (Elective - 3 Hours, fulfills Honors Class req.)

A - ☑- Stagecraft (Dramatic Arts Elective - 3 Hours)

B - ☑- Voice and Movement Techniques (Dramatic Arts Elective - 3 Hours)

Also I got my credit transfer report from Columbia, they are transferring 34 credits total not including the 15 I'm taking now. :)  Starting to feel a lot better.

Graduation!

Things I Want...at this very minute.

1. A Time Turner

2. Super Sized Rockstar

Ken Jennings: "Go get em."

So I'm doing the College Test for Jeopardy tonight, so as a one off I tweeted Ken Jennings for some encouragement:

t-2 weeks and counting...

1. 4/4/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 4
   Covers: Lighting design paper work, Scene shop hand tools, Scene shop hand and portable power, tools, Scene shop stationary power tools, Scenic materials, Fasteners and adhesives
   Grade: A
2. 4/5/12 - Public Speaking Major Speech 2
   Persuasive speech
   6 min; Speech portfolio: Purpose/thesis development, audience Connections, Works cited, Formal outline, Note cards
   Grade: A
   
3. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 1
   A)Choose a decade in American history and view any film, which, in your view, epitomizes or represents that decade.  In essay form, answer some or all of the following questions. How does this film define the decade? (Consider all aspects of “mise-en-scene” if you wish.)  OR B)View a film that addresses a historical event in America. Briefly research that event and compare and contrast the historical facts with the film’s interpretation. 
   2-3 pages, 12pt double-spaced
   Grade: 98/100
4. 4/9/12  - Connections Essay 2
   Write a synopsis (1-2 pages max) of an idea for a film that addresses a cultural or historical issue. In this paper, identify (a) the theme, (b) major characters, (c) setting, and (d) plot including the background, rising action, climax, falling action/denouement. Balance telling your story succinctly with including enough detail for me to understand your concept.
   Grade: 38/40
5. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 2
   Self-reflection - Think about all your general education courses. Discuss how one in particular has prepared you for subsequent academic courses and/or for your future career. Identify specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you gained, which will insure your future success.
   1-2 pages max, 12pt , double-spaced
   Grade: 48/50
6. Connections Discussion Participation
   Grade: 10/10 
7. 4/10/12 - Irish History Paper 2
   Custom topic: Comparing and Contrasting the Famine Era Irish Traveling Accounts of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont from Peter Gray's The Irish Famine
   5-7 pages (10 max, excluding works cited), 12pt, double-spaced
   Grade: B+
   
   
   
8. RTBP Marketing Blitz
   Laser cartridge busted...printing delayed!
9. 4/16/12 - Voice/Movement Play Review
   Two pages, double spaced
   
10. 4/17/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance?
11. 4/18/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance?
12. 4/19 - Public Speaking Group Symposium Presentation
    9 min part in 45 min speech
    supposedly conclusion...more to come
13. 4/19/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
14. 4/20/12 - District Student Activities Funding Meeting
    9AM, Ybor, District wants to cut all Extracurricular Performing/Visual Arts funding from Ybor Campus
15. 4/21/12 - RTBP Load-in
    
    
16. 4/22/12 - RTBP Lighting/Focusing
    Ahead of schedule!
17. 4/24/12 - RTBP Tech Rehearsal
    *Everything running very smoothly...just a couple of rough spots in memorization, but sound and staging running very well!*
18. 4/25/12  RTBP Tech Rehearsal
19. 4/25/12 - Jeopardy College Championship Online Test
    9PM EST
    
20. 4/26/12 - Irish History Final
    Take home final due
    3, 2-page responses to given topics, 12pt double-spaced
21. 4/26/12 - RTBP Final Dress Rehearsal
22. 4/27/12 - RTBP  Performance
    6:30 Crew Call
    
23. 4/28/12 - RTBP  Performance
    6:30 Crew Call
    
    
24. 4/29/12 - RTBP Performance/Strike
    1:30 Crew Call 
25. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 5
    Covers: Curtains and stage drapes, two-dimensional scenery, flat construction, Hardware/joints/knots, Dimensional scenery: platforms and wagons, Scenery: Windows and doors, Scenery: Stairs
26. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Paper
    1 - 2 page / 500 word (typed) paper discussing the Lighting and Scenic design for Betty's Summer Vacation.
27. 4/30/12  - Mod European History Final
    Take home essay based on info Covering Chaps 19:Empire Modernity and the Road to War-24:The New Globalism
    Assigned or due on the 30th?
28. 5/4/12 - Commencement
    2PM, 1:00 check-in
    
    
29. 5/7/12 - Stagecraft Final
    Semester Cumulative
30.  5/7/12 - Voice and Movement Final
    Memorized Performance final - "Comings and Goings" Excerpts
31. 5/8/12 - Honors EOY Social!
    Western Mystery Dinner Theater

 

Well...crap.

There goes 30k out the window.  Not to be crass but, shit.

I GOT IN!

 
19 June 2010 8:56AM EST was my first post here.

The time you see on this post is the exact time I received my acceptance call.

17 April 2012 9:49AM EST.

1 year, 9 months, 29 days, 53 minutes, and the title of this blog is now true.

It is an oddly stark reflection and there is much yet to be done to finish with HCC.  It's all bit overwhelming. I'm forgetting things.  Miscommunication is rampant; I'm exhausted.  I've seen people just check out after they receive news like this.  Just let go and fuck the world, for lack of a better idiom.  I don't want to be one of these people. I've come so far to let things slip now because of complacent satisfaction.  It seems so easy though.

Let's face it though, when in the past two years, or the six since I started college, or the ten since I entered high school, flunked out, and went back, have I done what's easy?  A little horn tooting is not what I'm aiming for, but in this moment maybe I should.

I'm the second person in my family to go to college, the first to get in to an out of state school, never mind an Ivy.  I'm wrapping up a significant part of my life and actually have viable options for the next steps.

list update...fast and furious

1. 4/3/12 - Reasons to be Pretty?
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
2. 4/3/12 - Public Speaking Field Trip
   Lara Logan talk at USF
3. 4/4/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 4
   Covers: Lighting design paper work, Scene shop hand tools, Scene shop hand and portable power, tools, Scene shop stationary power tools, Scenic materials, Fasteners and adhesives
   Grade: A
4. 4/4/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
5. 4/5/12 - Public Speaking Major Speech 2
   Persuasive speech
   6 min; Speech portfolio: Purpose/thesis development, audience Connections, Works cited, Formal outline, Note cards
   Grade: A 
6. 4/5/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
7. 4/5/12 - PTK Pinnacle Scholarship Essay
   2 winners receive PTK Membership fee paid in full
   500 words
8. 4/6/12 - Straz Center Phone Interview
   7PM, for PT House Management position :)
   
   
9. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 1
   A)Choose a decade in American history and view any film, which, in your view, epitomizes or represents that decade.  In essay form, answer some or all of the following questions. How does this film define the decade? (Consider all aspects of “mise-en-scene” if you wish.)  OR B)View a film that addresses a historical event in America. Briefly research that event and compare and contrast the historical facts with the film’s interpretation. 
   2-3 pages, 12pt double-spaced
   Grade: 98/100
10. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 2
    Self-reflection - Think about all your general education courses. Discuss how one in particular has prepared you for subsequent academic courses and/or for your future career. Identify specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you gained, which will insure your future success.
    1-2 pages max, 12pt , double-spaced
11.  4/9/12 - Screenwriting Pitch
    Write a synopsis (1-2 pages max) of an idea for a film that addresses a cultural or historical issue. In this paper, identify (a) the theme, (b) major characters, (c) setting, and (d) plot including the background, rising action, climax, falling action/denouement. Balance telling your story succinctly with including enough detail for me to understand your concept.
12. 4/10/12 - Irish History Paper 2
    Custom topic: Comparing and Contrasting the Famine Era Irish Traveling Accounts of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont from Peter Gray's The Irish Famine
    5-7 pages (10 max, excluding works cited), 12pt, double-spaced
13. 4/10/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
14. 4/11/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
15. 4/12/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
16. 4/13/12 - Student Excellence Awards7pm, Formal Dinner and Awards Presentation from Campus President
    
    
    
17. RTBP Marketing Blitz 
18. 4/16/12 - Voice/Movement Play Review
    Two pages, double spaced
    
19. 4/17/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance?
20. 4/18/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance?
21. 4/19 - Public Speaking Group Symposium Presentation
    9 min part in 45 min speech
    supposedly conclusion...more to come
22. 4/19/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
23. 4/20/12 - District Student Activities Funding Meeting
    9AM, Ybor, District wants to cut all Extracurricular Performing/Visual Arts funding from Ybor Campus
24. 4/21/12 - RTBP Load-in
    
    
25. 4/22/12 - RTBP Lighting/Focusing
26. 4/24/12 - RTBP Tech Rehearsal
27. 4/25/12  RTBP Tech Rehearsal
    
28. 4/26/12 - Irish History Final
    Take home final due
    3, 2-page responses to given topics, 12pt double-spaced
29. 4/26/12 - RTBP Final Dress Rehearsal
30. 4/27/12 - RTBP  Performance
    6:30 Crew Call
    
31. 4/28/12 - RTBP  Performance
    6:30 Crew Call
    
    
32. 4/29/12 - RTBP Performance/Strike
    1:30 Crew Call 
33. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 5
    Covers: Curtains and stage drapes, two-dimensional scenery, flat construction, Hardware/joints/knots, Dimensional scenery: platforms and wagons, Scenery: Windows and doors, Scenery: Stairs
34. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Paper
    1 - 2 page / 500 word (typed) paper discussing the Lighting and Scenic design for Betty's Summer Vacation.
35. 4/30/12  - Mod European History Final
    Take home essay based on info Covering Chaps 19:Empire Modernity and the Road to War-24:The New Globalism
    Assigned or due on the 30th?
36. 5/2/12 - Stagecraft Final
    Semester Cumulative
37. 5/4/12 - Commencement
    2PM, 1:00 check-in
    
    
38. 5/7/12 - Voice and Movement Final
    Memorized Performance final - "Comings and Goings" Excerpts
39. 5/8/12 - Honors EOY Social!Western Mystery Dinner Theater!

My stats...

I love reading these.  Lol.  Especially, the audience tab.
So, I thought I'd take time to say "Hi!" to everyone.

Russia is my second biggest readership: Привет мой 170 русских читателей! Спасибо!
Third is Germany: Hallo, meine deutschen Leser! Vielen Dank!
Iran is 4th. Y'all gonna make me work for this. *google search*: سلام به خوانندگان ایرانی  ! تشکر از شما!
#5 is a tie between Spain and the Ukraine! Hola a mis lectores en España! ¡Gracias! / Привіт мій Іспанії читачі! Спасибо!
#6 is The Philippines: Kumusta sa aking mga na filipino mga mambabasa! Salamat sa iyo!
#7 is the UK!  What up mates! Thank you!
#8 Argentina: Hola a mis lectores argentinos! ¡Gracias!
#9 The Netherlands!: Hallo aan mijn Nederlandse lezers! Dank je wel!

...and that's my top 10 readerships!  Thanks for making cctoivyleague an international blog!   
 
  

Work list Update 1... ♫Let's / get down / to busi / ness...♫

    Made it through the week.  That's a good thing. People on the CC boards who have called in are saying they've called the C:GS office and have been told that depending on when everything was submitted, applicant's may get acceptance notices through May 1st. I don't know if I can survive that sort of anxiety. Especially, since NYU and Barnard my be out of the picture because of lack of application money and the inability to navigate the non-trad independent unfriendly CSS Financial Aid Profile to gain a waiver.

    The stagecraft quiz was a bomb, there just wasn't enough time to study as well as I want to. grr... It'll prob be a low B or High C *ugh* I left class and campus crying, utterly disgusted that I know I can do better. The speech went well, supposedly I went over...I don't even want to guess how much, I didn't bother to ask this time.  All semester, my speeches have run long.  There is a competition on environmental speeches that prof is offering 10pt extra credit for participating in. *looks meekly at Gulf Hypoxia speech from last semester* hmmm...

    I also didn't get my entry in for the pinnacle scholarship for PTK.  *sigh* It sucks, and there really is just no other word for it, that I qualify for things like these "honor societies" and because I can't pay exorbitant membership fees I don't get the honor.  I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one. Same thing is sort of happening with NSCS.  On one side, I suppose you could argue that it's all redundant accolades, who cares it's too late to really participate in anything with either org.  My answer to that is, well I've qualified for both for numerous semesters and every semester the price of the accolade my hard work has earned, seems to go up.

List with due dates, Blue=Big Deal, Green=Done, Strike=Didn't get done:

1. 4/3/12 - Reasons to be Pretty?
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
2. 4/3/12 - Public Speaking Field Trip
   Lara Logan talk at USF
3. 4/4/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 4
   Covers: Lighting design paper work, Scene shop hand tools, Scene shop hand and portable power, tools, Scene shop stationary power tools, Scenic materials, Fasteners and adhesives
4. 4/4/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
5. 4/5/12 - Public Speaking Major Speech 2
   Persuasive speech
   6 min; Speech portfolio: Purpose/thesis development, audience Connections, Works cited, Formal outline, Note cards
6. 4/5/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
7. 4/5/12 - PTK Pinnacle Scholarship Essay
   2 winners receive PTK Membership fee paid in full
   500 words
8. 4/6/12 - Straz Center Phone Interview
   7PM, for PT House Management position :)
   
   
9. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 1
   A)Choose a decade in American history and view any film, which, in your view, epitomizes or represents that decade.  In essay form, answer some or all of the following questions. How does this film define the decade? (Consider all aspects of “mise-en-scene” if you wish.)  OR B)View a film that addresses a historical event in America. Briefly research that event and compare and contrast the historical facts with the film’s interpretation. 
   2-3 pages, 12pt double-spaced
10. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 2
    Self-reflection - Think about all your general education courses. Discuss how one in particular has prepared you for subsequent academic courses and/or for your future career. Identify specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you gained, which will insure your future success.
    1-2 pages max, 12pt , double-spaced
11.  4/9/12 - Connections Movie 
    Produce a 1-3 minute film - Produce a documentary or mock-umentary (think Best in Show or Spinal Tap) addressing any aspect of life today. This may be done simply on a camera phone or may be done using a camcorder and editing software if you are so inclined. It is certainly OK to improvise with your phone. In the end, it should “say something.” Think about what you wish to shine a light on.  It may be a serious topic or be a humorous slant on some aspect of pop culture.  Have fun with this, but spend some time on it.  It is easy to spot the haphazard attempts.
    3 min. running time max.
12. 4/10/12 - Irish History Paper 2
    Custom topic: Comparing and Contrasting the Famine Era Irish Traveling Accounts of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont from Peter Gray's The Irish Famine
    5-7 pages (10 max, excluding works cited), 12pt, double-spaced
13. 4/10/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
14. 4/11/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
15. 4/12/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
16. 4/13/12 - Student Excellence Awards7pm, Formal Dinner and Awards Presentation from Campus President
    
    
    
17. 4/17/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
18. 4/18/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
19. 4/19 or 24th or 26th/12  - Public Speaking Group Symposium Presentation
    9 min part in 45 min speech
20. 4/19/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
21. 4/20/12 - District Student Activities Funding Meeting
    9AM, Ybor, District wants to cut all Extracurricular Performing/Visual Arts funding from Ybor Campus
22. 4/21/12 - RTBP Load-in
    
    
23. 4/22/12 - RTBP Lighting/Focusing
24. 4/24/12 - RTBP Tech Rehearsal
25. 4/25/12  RTBP Tech Rehearsal
    
26. 4/26/12 - Irish History Final
    Take home final due
    3, 2-page responses to given topics, 12pt double-spaced
27. 4/26/12 - RTBP Final Dress Rehearsal
28. 4/27/12 - RTBP  Performance6:30 Crew Call
    
29. 4/28/12 - RTBP  Performance6:30 Crew Call
    
    
30. 4/29/12 - RTBP Performance/Strike1:30 Crew Call 
31. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 5
    Covers: Curtains and stage drapes, two-dimensional scenery, flat construction, Hardware/joints/knots, Dimensional scenery: platforms and wagons, Scenery: Windows and doors, Scenery: Stairs
32. 4/30/12  - Mod European History Final
    Take home essay based on info Covering Chaps 19:Empire Modernity and the Road to War-24:The New Globalism
    Assigned or due on the 30th?
33. 5/4/12 - Commencement
    2PM, 1:00 check-in
    
    
34. 5/7/12 - Stagecraft Final
    Semester Cumulative
35. ??/??/?? - Voice and Movement Final
    Memorized Performance final - "Comings and Goings" Excerpts

God, I Hope I Get It...

Calls for Columbia GS: have started going out.  There is one confirmed acceptance on the CollegeConfidential boards.  She had her app in, in mid February and they tend to go by order of submission, so the rest of us on the boards are officially on alert.  That phone is going to be super-glued to me starting now.

God, I hope I get it!
I hope I get it.
I've come this far, but even so
It could be yes, it could be no
What's coming next...

Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch, turn, turn, out, in, jump, step, step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch, turn, turn, touch, down, back, step,  pivot, step, walk, walk, walk.

Countdown to Finals Pt.1

Yep it's that time again. Time to start parsing finals work lists.  Seems crazy, I know, but there is only 5 weeks left and so much to do so I need to organize and prioritize.  Hmm, I quite like that.  Here's a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch:

I quite like him too...

Anyway. List with due dates, Blue=Big Deal:

1. 4/3/12 - Reasons to be Pretty?
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
2. 4/3/12 - Public Speaking Field Trip
   Lara Logan talk at USF
3. 4/4/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 4
   Covers: Lighting design paper work, Scene shop hand tools, Scene shop hand and portable power, tools, Scene shop stationary power tools, Scenic materials, Fasteners and adhesives
4. 4/4/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
5. 4/5/12 - Public Speaking Major Speech 2
   Persuasive speech
   6 min; Speech portfolio: Purpose/thesis development, audience Connections, Works cited, Formal outline, Note cards
6. 4/5/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
   5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
7. 4/5/12 - PTK Pinnacle Scholarship Essay
   2 winners receive PTK Membership fee paid in full
   500 words
8. 4/6/12 - Straz Center Phone Interview
   7PM, for PT House Management position :)
   
   
9. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 1
   A)Choose a decade in American history and view any film, which, in your view, epitomizes or represents that decade.  In essay form, answer some or all of the following questions. How does this film define the decade? (Consider all aspects of “mise-en-scene” if you wish.)  OR B)View a film that addresses a historical event in America. Briefly research that event and compare and contrast the historical facts with the film’s interpretation. 
   2-3 pages, 12pt double-spaced
10. 4/9/12 - Connections Essay 2
    Self-reflection - Think about all your general education courses. Discuss how one in particular has prepared you for subsequent academic courses and/or for your future career. Identify specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you gained, which will insure your future success.
    1-2 pages max, 12pt , double-spaced
11.  4/9/12 - Connections Movie 
    Produce a 1-3 minute film - Produce a documentary or mock-umentary (think Best in Show or Spinal Tap) addressing any aspect of life today. This may be done simply on a camera phone or may be done using a camcorder and editing software if you are so inclined. It is certainly OK to improvise with your phone. In the end, it should “say something.” Think about what you wish to shine a light on.  It may be a serious topic or be a humorous slant on some aspect of pop culture.  Have fun with this, but spend some time on it.  It is easy to spot the haphazard attempts.
    3 min. running time max.
12. 4/10/12 - Irish History Paper 2
    Custom topic: Comparing and Contrasting the Famine Era Irish Traveling Accounts of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont from Peter Gray's The Irish Famine
    5-7 pages (10 max, excluding works cited), 12pt, double-spaced
13. 4/10/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
14. 4/11/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
15. 4/12/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Run rehearsal in Directors Absence
16. 4/13/12 - Student Excellence Awards7pm, Formal Dinner and Awards Presentation from Campus President
    
    
    
17. 4/17/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
18. 4/18/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
19. 4/19 or 24th or 26th/12  - Public Speaking Group Symposium Presentation
    9 min part in 45 min speech
20. 4/19/12 - Reasons to be Pretty
    5-8 Rehearsal Assistance
21. 4/20/12 - District Student Activities Funding Meeting
    9AM, Ybor, District wants to cut all Extracurricular Performing/Visual Arts funding from Ybor Campus
22. 4/21/12 - RTBP Load-in
    
    
23. 4/22/12 - RTBP Lighting/Focusing
24. 4/24/12 - RTBP Tech Rehearsal
25. 4/25/12  RTBP Tech Rehearsal
    
26. 4/26/12 - Irish History Final
    Take home final due
    3, 2-page responses to given topics, 12pt double-spaced
27. 4/26/12 - RTBP Final Dress Rehearsal
28. 4/27/12 - RTBP  Performance6:30 Crew Call
    
29. 4/28/12 - RTBP  Performance6:30 Crew Call
    
    
30. 4/29/12 - RTBP Performance/Strike1:30 Crew Call 
31. 4/30/12 - Stagecraft Quiz 5
    Covers: Curtains and stage drapes, two-dimensional scenery, flat construction, Hardware/joints/knots, Dimensional scenery: platforms and wagons, Scenery: Windows and doors, Scenery: Stairs
32. 4/30/12  - Mod European History Final
    Take home essay based on info Covering Chaps 19:Empire Modernity and the Road to War-24:The New Globalism
    Assigned or due on the 30th?
33. 5/4/12 - Commencement
    2PM, 1:00 check-in
    
    
34. 5/7/12 - Stagecraft Final
    Semester Cumulative
35. ??/??/?? - Voice and Movement Final
    Memorized Performance final - "Comings and Goings" Excerpts

Student Excellence Awards Invite

"Dr. Shawn H. Robinson, Ybor City Campus President, Cordially Invites You to Attend the 39th Annual Student Excellence Awards"

Semester of Craziness...Titles

Partners in the Parks
I applied for consideration for funding for the  Fire Island to Ellis Island excursion being run by Southern Utah Univeristy's Partners in the Parks program, run by Dr. Joan Digby. 
The programs description details: exploring "sites as varied as the rugged National Seashore on Long Island to National parks and National Historic landmarks in New York City. The Long Island segment will include hiking and camping on Fire Island, sailing aboard a 19th century oyster sloop, and a behind the scenes visit to Sagamore Hill, the summer home of President Theodore Roosevelt. The New York City segment will include several National Park System sites, among them Liberty and Ellis Islands, and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Participants will visit America’s first public park, Central Park, and contrast it with NYC’s most recent park developments in Brooklyn and Manhattan’s Meatpacking District: Brooklyn Bridge Park and the High Line, respectively. An important focus will be the connection between New York City as a port and its complex history of immigration. This week long seminar will include workshops on field biology and photography, readings and discussions of literature and history. Participants can expect an evening on your own in the Big Apple."  I was instantly excited when I learned of this opportunity and can't wait to hear if I am selected.

RNC Internship
I've also been extended the opportunity to intern at the Republican National Convention being hosted here in Tampa.  The process involves writing on a chapter of my one true historical love, Alexis de Tocqueville, specifically Democracy in America.  I'm a little apprehensive of the prospect, as I am very distinctly liberal.  While I'm assured that the internship would be an honor for anyone despite political leanings, and that the work would mostly consist of paging and working with the marketing team.  I'm not entirely sure if I could endure, morally, promoting the interests of what is quickly becoming such an indoctrinated party.  My full viewpoints on the extremism of both sides and why I consider myself a socially liberal fiscal conservative could fill an entire post on its own.  So we shall see how selection goes.  The office politics of Honors itself could command a full discourse at the moment, too.

NSCS Induction
A couple of weeks ago, I was inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars!  My grandmother and partner attended with me.


USF Acceptance
I was accepted to USF provisionally.  Obviously, I have yet to return confirmation paperwork. This is the image I shared with my best friend B. :

She wants Hampshire, New College, and UMass, the rest are mine. We've both been provisionally accepted to USF, and I've just gotten notice in the last few days that I have received the Transfer Student Achievement Scholarship from the USF endowment.  It's a $1000 per semester, so not great, but good news.


Pam Iorio
I also had the honor of attending an appearance by former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.  The Honors Institute was gracious enough to give out copies of her book Straight Forward: Ways to Live and Lead.  It was a decent read and as the title suggests, it was straight forward about the five tenets of leadership she has come to embrace in her many turns in local Tampa politics.


Reasons To Be Pretty
A few weeks into the semester I started collaborating with a friend on a student run production.  We settled on Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty.  We set out a budget with approval from  the club adviser and secured funding from Student Government.  Thus I became a "Producer".  I helped run auditions and became "Director's Assistant." When the Director friend ended up having conflicts because of another show he's acting in, I was designated to run rehearsals while he's gone and thus became "Assistant Director."  When he started to loose faith in the SM he has, he secretly designated me the real "Stage Manager."  He's got his head on straight, I promise.  This project has been like our baby this semester, you know if the parents hated each other or I was a just a good friend who is his surrogate, carrying it for him to raise on his own.  I don't mind, with the right opportunity and his sheer will, I think the Tampa theatre scene could see a large impact from him in a few years.

Sound Board Op for Vanities/Cocaine 
In other personal theatre news, I successfully completed my run as sound board op for Vanities/Cocaine, which included working the grid cleanup/lighting load in for the show.  Load in was by far the best work out I have had in a while, everything hurt, there was bruising!  Kinda want to do it again, though, felt good to just be in the theatre working for hours.  I manages 30.5 of them actually just over double the 15 required for stagecraft class.


Passing of Jesse Karns/Leadership Project is back on
About a week ago we received word that our friend and leadership project member Jesse Karns died.  I cried for a good bit when I found out, but then, Jesse was the sort of guy worth crying over.  At 27 he knew how to live.  Full throttle on adventure, he sky-dived, went deep water fishing, camped out.  He was extremely well read and philosophize with the better minds of the day given the chance, I'm sure of it.  Never mind the fact that he did all this from his powered wheel-chair.  He had been injured in a training exercise in the military that left him paralyzed from the neck down in his early 20's.  But obviously that didn't matter.  He was killed in a car accident coming back from an out of state trip with a friend.
On that note, the defunct 5k we had tried to plan to benefit Haiti, the 5k that was essentially the brainchild of Jesse, Dani M., Sarah Ashley B., and myself, the 5k he never got to see though completion...is back on. Renamed: The Jesse Karns Memorial 5k, proceeds will be split between the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund and The Special Operations Warrior Foundation.  Dani, Sarah Ashley, and I are looking at a December running.  "But you will be in NEW YORK?!," you wonder....

I think I'm set on deferring
I don't know for sure, but financially it's a good plan.  Stay here for a year with out school, work a lot hopefully in a theatre venue. Save up some money, which there is none of now despite best efforts.
I was actually quietly let go from Ruth Eckerd nearly a two months ago, after the manager came to the conclusion that my school/EC schedule required too much time off. Luckily I had some money: Financial Aid and Tax refund...that dwindled slowly but was ample for the past two months as I didn't bother with looking right away but focused on my classes and obligations.
With a little more than a month left in the semester I've started looking again.  I'm also pondering taking a throw away summer class, post commencement for the boost of a last refund. Something easy, Intro to music, perhaps. Columbia does require a Music Hum survey to graduate...