for i am the pirate king

As I was killing a marginal amount of time today I came across these photos, all of which are from plays I appeared in at Theatre in the Grove, my very favorite community theater ever. While certainly not the most professional, well-financed, or well-organized theater I've ever worked with, these people were like my family for my first two years of college. I miss them very much, and if I ever find time (more likely, I suppose, if I quite killing it) I'd love to work with them again.

This is from Little Women. The script was terrible, but the cast was a joy.

These next three photos are from South Pacific, in which I played Ensign Nellie Forbush (can that really be right?). The dapper-looking gentleman with the turban is my dear friend David McHarg, who sprung my first stage kiss on me in our very first rehearsal (picture not shown).
My last show to date with Theatre in the Grove was The Pirates of Penzance. I was a pirate. Obviously.

furthermore...

I realize it's pret-ty lame to blog twice in a row like this (I mean, sheesh, lady, structure your freakin' thoughts already), but I've been meaning to share this for months, ever since it appeared on my friend Molly's fabulous blog. Seriously, this woman is hilarious. I know we're all busy--what with the flailing economy and the hoarding of supplies and whatnot--but if you can find nine minutes out of your day this video is completely worth it. To my Mormon readers: note how she structures this speech almost exactly like a General Conference talk: Brief gospel setup followed by long allegorical story followed by moral. To my non-Mormon readers: Elna Baker has been featured on "This American Life." What more could you want? What more could anyone want?

cheating

So, like a dutiful blogger, I looked up the sixth picture in my sixth photo album today (thanks, Charlotte!) and it was a picture of myself and my ex (thanks, Charlotte), and that's just not happening. Instead I decided, for the good of the order, to post the sixth photo in the sixth album of my England file.

This is Leicester Square on my last day in London. It was December. It was cold. But what did I care? I was in London, for heaven's sake.

alive and well in pdx, or eight things that are making me happy and one thing that isn't

Dear blog-

Contrary to all appearances, I am, in fact, alive and well. I know I've been neglecting you, but I've been busy: moving, researching graduate schools, searching for jobs, cleaning my apartment, setting up my furniture, spending time with friends, dating Ross... Anyway, sorry. But I am BACK and ready to go, starting with this entirely subjective and disjointed list.

EIGHT THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

1. The Max. Public transportation, lovingly known as the Max. For the uninitiated, the Max is, quite simply, one of the best systems of public transportation in this country (although it still sucks when compared to Europe). I still drive a lot, of course, but with my apartment's convenient location (within walking distance of a Max station) I find it increasingly convenient to just Max it.

2. PhD Comics. I stumbled upon this comic strip, PhD Comics (short for Piled Higher and Deeper) and it is hilarious. I've found my voice in academia, and it speaks to me in four brightly-colored panels.


3. Ross. My boyfriend can put together Ikea furniture without directions. If I wasn't dating him for the free dinners, I'd be dating him for that.

4. The PSU Library. So although my apartment is awesome in many ways, it's not so awesome in others. One of the more minor of its drawbacks is that I don't have internet access. But as luck would have it, Ross (see #3, above) has at his disposal an entire university of computer access, which access I steal regularly with great abandon and minimal guilt.


5. The Zoo. Here's my feeling about the Oregon Zoo, and zoos in general: it would be wonderful if we had no need for them, if society and the universe were ordered such that there was no need to keep endangered animals on display. However, until that day comes, I am grateful that I get to work and teach at such a fine example of what zoos can accomplish towards conservation and education.

6. The Portland sky. I forgot some things about Portland and the Northwest in general while I've been away. For instance, I completely forgot how the clouds and the rain give the sky here an incredible depth that is completely lacking in the blue skies of Orange County. I didn't take this picture, but it's a decent example of what I mean.

7. The New York Times Magazine. One of the biggest blessings of being back in Portland is that I've had lots of time to read (see #8, below). It's a small thing, but I picked up this article in the New York Times Magazine at the Hillsboro library yesterday and I've been thinking about it since. Caution to my more sensitive readers: this is a fairly graphic and controversial article about the work of three female sexologists, but if you're willing to dive in it's also extremely fascinating and thought-provoking.

8. Reading. Like I mentioned above, I've had a lot of time to read since I've been back and it has been fantastic. I am currently working my way, for instance, through volume 1 of the Norton Anthology of English Literature, and today I read Peter Shaffer's Equus on the Max. I'm currently reading a biography of Lewis Carroll, and later today I'm going by Barnes and Noble to pick up Q and A, the book upon which Slumdog Millionaire (which was incredible) is very loosely based. Anyway, that's enough of that, and enough links. All I mean to say is that I feel very lucky to be able to spend so much time with literature.

AND ONE THING THAT ISN'T...

1. PCs. I miss Grammy's Mac. I have converted, and my conversion is incontrovertible. No matter what Ross says.

apartment lust, part 2

Why do I do these things to myself? This is the second unaffordable studio apartment I've fallen head-over-heels, madly in love with (for the first, see here), although I've had several crushes in between. Like any good unrequited devotion, my infatuation with the apartment has gone through stages. At first I was captivated by the building's classically handsome exterior.   

As I got to know the apartment better, however, I found myself drawn to its inner beauty, like the black and white tiles and flattering lighting in this bright bathroom...

... the crisp clean lines of these cabinets (notice the dependable continuity of the tiling)...

... and, most particularly, the hardwood (the word play stops here) floors and chandelier. *Sigh* Of course, it is only a studio apartment (and a steeply priced studio at that) but I don't care. I like it just the way it is. As Shakespeare said, "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with a remover to remove: O no! It is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken." That's one of my favorite Shakespeare quotes, second only to the little-known "Dear Universe: please give me $725 monthly (plus utilities) right now so I can live in this beautiful place." 

*The sonnet quoted is Sonnet 116, readable in its entirety here.

frost/nixon

As promised, I reward myself for my hard work yesterday by going to see "Frost/Nixon" at the Triangle Square theater last night. It was amazing; absolutely one of the best films I've seen all year (possibly the best, if I allow for a tie with "Wall-E"). The trailer doesn't do it justice at all. In the trailer, Frank Langella's Nixon seems overbearing and forced, more of a tired caricature than an impression. And I'll partially agree: at the film's beginning Langella's portrayal was a little distracting. But that's part of the point, I think: Frank Langella wasn't trying to imitate Richard Nixon, he was was trying to convey his essence. To do that, he had to break the audience's expectation for how Richard Nixon should seem onscreen. Once he did that, he was, I thought, incredibly convincing*. I quote Roger Ebert:

"Frank Langella and Michael Sheen do not attempt to mimic their characters, but to embody them. There's the usual settling-in period, common to all biopics about people we're familiar with, when we're comparing the real to the performance. Then that fades out and we become absorbed in the drama."

Go see it. 

*Disclaimer: Bear in mind, of course, that I was born twelve years after the Watergate scandal broke, so my ability to judge the accuracy of Langella's impression may be somewhat hampered. However, my ability to judge a good performance is not, and this was a very good performance, with an even better one by Michael Sheen. 

vertigo

It's taken me a while to get these pictures up. My apologies about that. Visit here for some explanation. 

Anyway, over Christmas break Ross and I went rock climbing and camping at Joshua Tree National Park. That was my second time going and Ross' first (we've both since gone again, with my ward). I'm kind of a huge fan.

  

This was our tent. It took us forever to find this site: apparently, Joshua Tree is popular in the winter. Late at night (it must have been 11:00) we climbed up onto that rock to look at the stars. Life is hard when Ross is here. 

This is a Joshua Tree. Apparently, according to J-Tree's website, Joshua Trees were named by Mormon pioneers:

"By the mid-19th century, Mormon immigrants had made their way across the Colorado River [editor's note: take THAT, Colorado river!]. Legend has it that these pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward." 

Me, relishing life at the top of the hardest climb in the world. Rock climbing is a great experience: it's very safe if you're very careful, and there's absolutely nothing quite like making it to the top of a difficult climb. 

Ross part of the way up the hardest climb ever. 

Of course, he finished it like a champ. 

We climb in Hidden Valley, my favorite part of Joshua Tree. It's got a ton of fantastic climbing and really beautiful light in the late afternoon. 

I'm pretty grateful to this guy for teaching me how to climb. And some other things, I guess.