Happy New Year to all of y'all out there in the great blue yonder. For those of you up north, I plan on coming up again for 10 days or so late Feb/early March, exact dates TBD shortly. As for the whole New Year thing, I am ever the optimist. I remember last year that I was terribly optimistic about 2006 and even though it's definitely been the most emotionally and intellectually challenging year so far, I'm even more optimistic about 2007. Just try and break me, World, you'll never suceed! I don't do the whole New Year's Resolution thing since they always seem to exsist only to get broken. Instead I plan to keep working towards finding inner tranquilty and happieness, developing and deepening relationships and friendships, and experiencing life to its fullest. I wish the same to all of those out there. Remember that there is more to life out there than dieting and making more money (though I wouldn't argue with a touch more money in my life ;-) ).

In other news, I got a sewing machine for xmas, which I am totally excited about, even though I realize how domestically-lame-sounding this makes me. I already knit and bake and now I want to learn to quilt, so all I really need is a guy to keep me barefoot and pregnant and I'll be the perfect housewife *rolls eyes in really big circles in case someone failed to catch the sarcasm of that last statement, hah* Getting back to the real world-I'm finishing filling out my grad school applications, UCLA's is due on the 8th and I'm having a hard time getting in contact with one of my professors who said she would write me a reccomendation, I realize it's late to be following up, but the holidays sort of resulte in the deadline sneaking up on me. Also get to start filling out FAFSA for my first time...oooooo exciting.

Getting back to New Years, I had a totally fantastic night with Ann, my best chick friend from high school. We went to this trendy dive bar (normally trendy and dive are contraictions, but not so in LA) with a dance floor and a pool table and met some really great guys. Nothing like getting bought drinks and a midnight kiss to make the evening great.

I shoul be finishing cleaning the apartment-my roomate gets home today after being gone over a week and I have stuff everywhere!

So for those of you who were concerned about the workplace fiasco, they very quickly changed me to full time and gave me my hours back-I still haven't figured out how to go about getting paid the correct amount of overtime for holidays, but the paystubs last and i can deal with that after the holiday business is over

As of late, I have taken the CSET multiple subject, the CBEST, and the GRE general test, receiving passing, passing, and a 1390 (not stellar, but the program im applying for only necessitates a 1000 so i didnt study all that much). Also with the grad school applications and scholarship applications which together equal a whole lot of BS essay writing. For those of you that didn't know I was applying for grad school, I am applying to USC and UCLA's MA Education/Teaching credential programs to teach K-6, no I am not abandoning theater-I would ultimately like to run/teach/work for an arts outreach program that targets innercity/at risk youth. I have the theater experience, so now I'm getting the teaching experience! I was getting bored with stage managing and I'm always looking for something new that peaks my interest and I've really been missing working with kids (which I've done for years and years prior to now).

I've been getting theater work pretty steadily. I have a show that opens on friday which runs for 6 weeks which is paying me quite well by 99 seat standards and I'm working a LA Philharmonic gig for the city of culver city tomorrow which is equal to a week's worth of work at the bookstore, so yay for that.

xmas vacation is only from the 23rd-26th, but I have the best of intentions to come home for 10 or so days mid-late Feb around the time of stitches so that i vcan hit both the knitting and the snowboarding.

the roomate's b/f moved in with us last weekend. he's totally sweet and a whole lot neater than either of us (for example he wrapped up and put away the leftover pizza that i left out when i left the house today! it's sorta making me feel bad). it's nice that the roomate is happy now, but it's soooo weird living with a couple-just a new experience that's gonna take some adjusting to. it's not a permanent thing, just till he gets a job out here and a place of his own.

knitting. lots of knitting. i dont have a working camera right now though. soon ill try to borrow the roomate's to take pics. a couple pairs of socks lately, a new pair of me designed beautifully cabled armwarmed from moss green unworsted 3ply wool ala jasmin that have a matc`hing scarf in the works. lots and lots of baby hats! i'mon #4, they are good to work on during shows since it's just knit stitch. ive been making them with leftover sock yarn, so they are turning out in all sorts of cute stripes and colors. yay caps to the capitol! i also finally picked up my afghan again after not working on it for almost 2 years, ive decided that its going to be my brother's highschool graduation present from me. its so warm and cozy to knit b/c its big enough to cover my legs and lap at this point, but the weight and the large needles bug my wrists so i have to limit myself to only a few rows at a time.

ttfn!

so, for my own sake, I will not mention the name of the evil empire that I work for, mostly out of fear, but my spider sense is starting to tingle and it's telling me that the corporate retail chain that I work for really is evil. they instituted severe hour cutbacks, effective in 8 days (I went from 40 to 29, which folks, is not what I sign-ed up for), other people ranged up to 60% cuts in their hours. i had overheard mumblings between managers before about how we were scheduled for way many more hours than corporate wants them to be scheduling, but we have a huge store and were generally under the impression that we were functioning understaffed, even after the half dozen hiring fairs this fall. what i don't understand is how said manager can think that it is okay for him to post this new schedule (only 8 days in advance) without having uttered a single word preparing employees for cutbacks, apologizing, mentioning it at the morning meeting he led to day, or even tacking a note under it explaining the situtation and encouraging us to come talk to him. Instead he posted this schedule midday and then carefully avoided the non-lead staff as they gradually noticed and freaked out because now they could pay their rent, just not also eat in the same month. and we're talking freak out like i wasn't the only one who needed to excuse myself to hide in a bathroom stall until i could collect myself and keep from crying while on shift.

So in the event that this was going to be more than a once in a lifetime schedule, I followed said manager into the breakroom after I clocked out and confronted him, ready to give my 2 weeks notice. he contended that since i was only a part-time worker that I wasn't garaunteed hours. i freeze-part-time? I applied only for a full time position, and since being hired, have worked a regular schedule of 40 hour weeks for the PAST FOUR MONTHS. at this point i question the legality of keeping me on the books as part time while clearly working me full time. See there are things like, full time workers are elligible for health insurance after 60 days, part time after one year; and additional differences included short term disibility leave, etc etc. And I had actually heard rumblings from other employees before about them keeping workers on the books as part time even though they work full time, which to me sounds like they are evading having to give out benefits. in response to my questioning of the legality of this practice he responded that he'd talk to the hire ups and "find out."

At the end of sticking up for my own financial need, I bring up the fact that he has a whole store of employees that are freaking out and that it was really poor form to do this to everyone. granted my voice is shaking in my attempt to finish this conversation without breaking out in tears, which i did manage to do, barely, but i did. and if nothing else i proved that i am an employee that isn't afraid to speak up about injustices. i then go back to where my coworkers were awaiting my return and let them know what I had gleaned-and break down crying. oh, I forgot to add, that I went through this entire freak-out day on one hour of sleep, which is the result of an awesome halloween party, but still.

I call the mom on the way to my car and proceed with the full out panicked bawl, because I wasn't actually able to get promised 40 hour weeks and I just politely told of the guy who just gave me the glowing performance review. after calming down and examining the handbook we got as new hires I begin to realize other things, for example:

a) when we got to the health insurance pamphlet in our training kit our store manager told us to disregard it because it "didn't apply to us, just to leads"-even though, me at the minimum, was being scheduled for full time and should have had the process of applying explained as opposed to explained away

b) our handbook defines "full-time" as working 40 or more hours a week

c) i realized that I had not been paid the holiday pay that was due to me, based on the scale in our book. ive worked two holiday weeks so far and was paid holiday pay based on having worked 20hr work weeks each time. let's reference the above part where i mention the 40hr weeks i work and I found one of the two pay stubs that clearly shows them not giving me 3 hours of holiday pay that I was entitled to. The other holiday week, I know I didn't work my full 40 hours because I had another commitment, but I can't find the stub for that one, but I'm pretty sure that they paid me at least one hour short-which isn't that big of a deal in terms of money, but in terms of practice-it's HUGE

I mentioned these things to my mom on the phone and her response was to go do some homework at the California Labor Board's website, cause as my mom said, this is the sorta thing that class action lawsuits are made of....

On the bright side, a couple hours after getting home from work, said manager called me at home to let me know that he had gotten me eight hours of shift back, so only at 37, but significantly better. I think he got the picture that I was really not happy and not afraid to express it :-D

So I've been getting comments recently that I never post anymore, so here's a general update about the life and times of me. I guess I've gotten out of the habit of postings since I'm no longer spending an insane amount of time at my computer attempting to complete college assignments and unlike some others, I don't have a cushy desk job with lots of free time ;-).

So my roomate and I are more or less settled into our new place, although we both still have unpacked boxes, all the day to day stuff is set up and we have Tivo, which excites me to no end (since I havent even had regular access to cable tv for the past 4 years!). We get along fantastically. She's got me watching the first three seasons of alias, I've got her watching House and Bones. We have a couch, a dining room table, a hooked up stove (it took us over a month to get it hooked up), secured wireless internet, all the essentials. I've also been teaching her to knit! yay!

I'm still working in bookstore hell, which isn't so much terrible as the hours and pay suck. Though I just got my performance review (even though i've only been there 3 months) and it was glowing and I got a raise of a whole quater! (that's was sarcastic excited btw). So now I'm working 40hrs a week at Ca's new minimum wage of $8/hr (it doesnt officially become the new minimum wage till late next year, but still). On the plus side, I do have several attractive and intelligent coworkers that I've been making friends with (go me!). Though there is still that difficulty of how to bridge the work-friends to real-life-friends gap, but I'm workin at it. Along with my raise, I got a "So where do you see yourself here in the long run speech" and then proceded to ask me if I was interested in being considered for promotions, which of course I am, at least until I find a real job.

But in the event that I dont secure a real job in my field in the next several months, I'm already studing for the CSET and GRE with the intention of applying to both USC and *cringe* UCLA combo MA in education/CA teaching credential grad programs for this coming summer, in hopes of getting my Multiple Subject Credentials which are good for K-6th grade. The CSET basically covers everything you learned from 4th grade till you graduated high school plus some added fun stuff. In five hours you are tested on english, literature, lingustics, history (from the dawn of mankind on, including the california and mission history you learned in 4th grade), math through geometry/trig, science (bio, chem, and physics), physical education (harder than it sounds), human development, art history, and visual and performing arts. Each section contains both multiple choice and essays. Yeah, lame. I test on Nov 4th, wish me luck!

In the realm of theater work, I just closed a very successful show in Hollywood that was about doing animal rescue post Katrina with a fantastic 6 person ensemble cast. We are hoping to open it back up in a different space here in LA in about a month. Our producer is also in the talks with theaters in Santa Fe, New Orleans, and Chicago who have expressed interest in bringing our original cast out to do limited engagements.

Romantic life updates: none

I'm really missing home, but it's hard to get time off work long enough to come up, especially since i haven't been employed there for very long. I won't be making it home for thanksgiving for the first time ever and for Xmas I will be up for a total of less than 72hrs-I cried when I realized that. Once we hit 6 months though, we are entitled to one week paid vacation, so I hope to be coming up for a week or two once things slow back down in late january/early feb.

*sends love to everyone up in the bay area*

So I have my own apartment. My mom's name is on the lease with mine, but that huge cashier's check with the deposit, the first month's rent, and the pet deposit all came from my bank account...it was kinda surreal handing someone that much money, but I adore the place! I will post pictures as soon as I resize them (they're on my facebook though for those of you who have access to that).

I officially live on Venice Blvd (which sounds really cool but is no where near the beach). At this moment, I also officially don't have a roomate. I have two good prospects though that seem to mesh well with me, hopefully at least one of them will actually apply/get accepted by the leasing office.

So the new place is a 2bed/1bath in a 6 unit complex in the "Mid-Wilshire" area, aka 1.5 miles from where I'm currently living. Huge living room, separate dining room, smallish kitchen (oh well, it has gorgeous new tile though). Gorgeous hardwood floors throughout, substantial bedrooms (obviously not as huge as my current one, but still big enough for the furniture). I'm slowly moving my stuff over there in boxes with my tiny echo. My parents are coming down in a little over a week to help me move the furniture. One of the silly things that really makes me happy: they have someone who takes the trash and recycling bins to the curb each week! I hate doing that! (especially since most places in LA dont have nice sideyards like in SJ, so you have to lug the bins quite a ways.

I love interior decorating, but I hate that I have so little money to decorate...it will be a work in progress for quite some time, especially since furniture gets the first priority. Right now the only furniture i have for the living/dining room is one bookshelf, a TV, and my papasan chair!

I'm off to get some sleep now, I'm working on a production of Amadeus that goes up at the Hollywood Bowl (at least 12,000 tickets have been sold for it so far, for this one night event, think 3 times the size and nicer than Shoreline) tomorrow and I have to be there at 7am (sooooo early). It's been a fantastic process though and I've met some truely great people that are in the industry! Yay for business cards and networking! I love you, vistaprint!

My life status update & why I'm finding it hard to sleep at nights:

1. a)I'm working 40 hours a week, 6am-2:30pm Tues-Sat to bring home less than $250 a week after taxes.
    b)By the time I get home from #1a, I'm tired and sore and usually in bed before ten, which has resulted in very little socializing.

2.a) As of this moment I have 29 days left to be out of my current residence.
   b)I have no leads for a new residence yet (despite many phone calls and apartements viewings). Things are either waaaaay to ghetto or out of my price range.
   c) My future roomate is in Portland and thus can't help with the apartment search. She is also currently unemployed, as she is finishing her classes up there right now, which will only make finding someone to approve our rental application more difficult. Because finding a place that will let us bring our combined total of three cats hasn't been hard enough!

I've been working other small theater gigs and have some more lined up (including a one week, very profitable gig coming up), but the housing deadline combined with retail sucking out my soul is definitely starting to get to me. I've started packing so that once I find a place, I can be ready to move out of here ASAP, since it might come down to that depending upon how the search goes.

Other than the early hours and the low pay, I don't mind the retail job so much. I like my coworkers and they like me. If I get promoted before I find a more profitable full-time job, I just might stay there for a while.

Answer: I have no idea.

Four years in college later, I have no idea.
Correction: I know exactly what you do with it! You get a well paid, full-time. year-round ,multi-year position at a well established not-for-profit theater company that produces work of artistic merit and treats it employee fantastically! Hah! There are maybe 50 of those jobs in the greater LA area (at least 30 of them are at CTG) and they are all filled by middle-aged people who have no thoughts in their minds about leaving their fabulous jobs until they are eighty and die!

So back to realistic solutions. Hopefully the answer isn't "Indefinitely working in retail starting at 6am Tues-Sat while picking up various theater related work in the evening." Cause I have to tell you, getting up at 4:30am on a Saturday is miserable. And working retail alone won't pay the rent (along with the food and the gas and the insuarance etc etc etc)

But for now, we all do what we can. The one answer to this question that I have learned over the past year is that you can't plan it out. One door closes, others open. Oppourtunity is all in the perspective. Don't set out a path for yourself-you won't be able to follow it. All there is to do is put yourself out there in whatever capacity you can while still paying the majority of your bills and you do the best god damn job that you can. Because as well all know now-Michael RItchie got to be Artistic Director of CTG by being the best damn follow spot operator at Williamstown!