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laurabirdd
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Name: Laura
Gender: Female
Interests: I am interested in... Theatre, teaching, singing, learning, auditioning (I guess I have to be), dogs, horses, cooking, baking, good coffee, entertaining (having friends over to my house), Dance Dance Revolution (nerdy, but true), reading, revolutionary living (I said I'm interested in it, I didn't say I'm good at it!).
Expertise: I am an expert at being a novice.
Occupation: Actress, waitress, Standardize
Industry: The arts, hospitality, medicin
Message: message me
AIM:  laurabirdd
Member Since:
7/7/2004
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| Life is ok!
Ok things are happening.
I didn't get Christmas Carol :(. Ah well, such is show business. But on the up side, I applied at Crazy Mocha! It's building a coffee shop a block away from my apartment, and I would love, love to work there. Can you imagine?! Going to a coffee shop. Every day! And getting paid for it! :) On the down side, I gave them my application (saying I want to work on the North Side but would train elsewhere) a week ago, and I have not heard back. I content myself by saying that they're probably really busy right now. That's all.
So I feel pretty useless. I don't have any Standardized Patient work this week (or last week) and I turned down the offer of some Extra work in order to get the phone call and interview that never came. I had a dream that I was on Project Runway and was actually doing pretty well, so maybe I'll start drawing or designing clothes for fun. I started reading a book about stand-up comedy, and I thought, "I could do that!" I check my e-mail every day for news from the coffee shop. Since I'm not earning any, I try to cost as little money as possible, so I spend my days at the library or at home since I don't want to waste gas or anything. I know I don't have to do all that, Eric wouldn't mind, but I do anyway. I'm just such a restless person, I feel like I have to be helping out in some way! I really am a restless person.
But I am incredibly blessed to have some time off, to myself- I've been reading a lot- African American youth fiction to help get to know our kids' culture better. And just some other youth fiction- it's really my thing more than real, live grown-up books. It's quick and easy and really compelling! I just read a book about football called, "Pop!" by Gordon Korman, and I am please to say that his writing style has really grown since his, "Twinkie Squad" days. (Although "The Twinkie Squad" can still make me laugh like crazy). The story was wonderful- I cried a little. Or at least teared up. I've also been cooking and baking. I even bought some yeast the other day in hopes to make real bread.
Performing Arts Academy last week was really tough. We still need volunteers. My faithful volunteer had a family emergency, so I was on my own after battling a cold for 4 days. Technically, I'm not supposed to teach by myself if there are more than 6 kids, and there were only 4 at the beginning of class- the other 5 trickled in throughout the first half-hour, when it was too late to cancel class. By the end of the class, I was at my wit's end. I hope it goes better this week. If anybody has advice for handling teens and pre-teens, please let me know. And I know that everybody has prayers to spare, so prayer for more volunteers would be great. Great great. :)
So things are ok! I know they are actually better than ok: I am an incredibly blessed woman- I have a wonderful husband, a career/jobs I enjoy, a wonderful family, and a whole host of other blessings. But I am also human and even in the face of many blessings, I sometimes see things through grey-colored glasses and think of this beautiful life as just ok. I think I'm just spoiled so when things don't go my way, I get pouty. I'm sure Eric can corroborate that. :) I found this verse that's been helping me with ok-ness:
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." (2nd Corinthians 14:2).
I like the picture. And the idea that even though I'm not doing a lot to contribute financially, God is using me to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere I go. | | |
| I feel like I just blogged! And yet I look and see that it has been about 10 days.
Auditions, auditions, auditions. That is my life right now. One yesterday, one today. Both pretty big auditions with the possibility of leading to pretty big jobs. And they involve singing. So that's all the more nerve-wracking. In 6 hours, it will be over, and I'll be making dinner and getting ready to watch The Mentalist.
Book update:
Eric and I have finished "The Hunger Games." We are currently number 92 out of 116 on the library's waiting list for the sequel.
Urban Impact Performing Arts Academy:
Please pray for volunteers!
We currently have a waiting list for Middle and High School Acting class, and we would love to take them, but we just can't unless we have more volunteers to chaperone bathroom trips and make sure everybody's sitting down and listening. You do not have to be an actor or a singer or anything! Just somebody who can call kids who are late, help with crowd control, and take unruly kids out into the hall.
Another prayer request:
My co-teacher for the Musical Theatre class had to leave us for work-related reasons. For the next two weeks, I need somebody to come in at 4 and do warm-ups and range checks while I get out of work and travel to class.
Thank you for your prayers! They are the most valuable assets we have. :) | | |
| Hello everybody!
I usually don't blog when I'm overwhelmed with lots of information, but I'll break this up into nice little paragraphs, so you can read about what you want to read about!
G-20 Summit:
Eric and I are safe! All the world leaders are safe! Some tear gas flew, some windows were broken, but I think the police and army and SWAT teams and everybody handled themselves pretty well. It could have been a lot worse.
My birthday:
I'm 26! My birthday was wonderful. I started by making/making up scones, which actually turned out really good- with hazelnuts and cranberries. They didn't even need a glaze! Kelly, my friend who's staying in our extra bedroom during my current show, brought cupcakes to rehearsal! They sang happy birthday and everything! I got calls from my family, and received many hot drinks and gift cards for hot drinks. :) Eric's side of the family has me outfitted for winter with some very cute new clothes. And Eric refinished a dresser for me and I can't wait to see it in our bedroom. :) All in all, it was a great birthday, and I'm happy to be 26 and literally look half my age! haha
Urban Impact:
Is crazy busy. They had to give up their offices for the G-20 summit, as they were being used as a police and security headquarters. Eric spent all last week driving to meetings at his supervisor's house, or at a very kind church outside of the city. Performing Arts Academy starts this week! I am officially teaching Musical Theatre and High School Acting. So I've got to work on my syllabus for those. :)
Shows I'm in:
I just finished with Love's Labour's Lost, and it was a blast. I had such a great time. The las weekend was very rainy, but the people are great, and that's what matters. Currently, I'm working on the Young Playwright's Festival at City Theatre, and that is also wonderful. the people (again) are really fun, energetic, professional, kind people. It is a pleasure to work with them.
Other things:
I love having a library so close to us. It's wonderful. Eric and I are reading Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- great book! I highly recommend it to anybody who likes a good, fast-moving story. Who cares that it's youth fiction?! It's great. Dinner planning has gone by the wayside, as we are all so busy. However, today I have no planned commitments. So it's pasta with chicken and a cream sauce for dinner!
Tonight:
Tonight, I am looking forward to Urban Impact planning with my hubby, making a delicious dinner, watching some House, and reading a good book.
I am loving today. :) | | |
| Well, we've moved!
Eric and I are now happy residents of the North Side. Unpacking has been a chore, of course. I know that everybody says it, but you never really realize how much stuff you have until you move. And what do you do with it? I mean, where do you put 6 boxes of sparklers you got as a gift for Easter?
Along with these questions, we have a few more: Why does our digital antenna (I know, big technology here) make us choose between ABC and FOX? Aren't they all coming from generally the same area? When exactly will the Crazy Mocha they are renovating be open and ready for business? And why do theatres never tell actors when they DIDN'T get the job? (that last question has nothing to do with the North Side, it's just an age-old question that actors ask themselves)
There are many blessings that come with our new apartment. One is convenience- Eric's job is a mere 10 minute walk away. There is a brand new library (a never ending source of free information and entertainment) one block away. As I've already mentioned, a brand new Crazy Mocha will open at some undetermined date. Another is space- our new apartment has a second bedroom! In fact, our prayers for friends and visitors have already been answered as that bedroom is spoken for during the last two weeks of September, and the first week of October. :) We are thrilled to have a place for friends and family who want to visit, or simply a friend in need of temporary housing! The blessings are numerous and too many to list.
Rehearsals for Loves Labours have been great! I play Moth, a gangsta-wanna-be page boy who is very witty and pretty cute, if I do say so myself. The experience has been great- the cast is great, the rehearsals are fun, and I think we're going to have a very fun and entertaining show. It goes up every weekend in September at 2:00. First and last weekend at Frick Park by the blue slide playground, second weekend at Mellon Park (by 5th and Shady), and the third weekend at Kennard Park (by Reed and Kirkpatrick).
Alright, well it's time for me to get back to my apartment and think about dinner. It was good to have some time to explore facebook and post a blog and everything I've missed over the past few weeks. See you around! | | |
| Hello friends!
We're back! Actually we've been back for a while, left again, and now we're back again.
Long story short: The Support-Raising Trip Across America was wonderful. We moved slowly and steadily forward in our support, got to see many wonderful friends and family members, and spread Pittsburgh Popcorn all over the mid-western United States.
I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a long time- life is hectic, and then I feel bad for not blogging in a long time, so I keep putting it off. But no more!
The trip from which we just returned was another trip to Missouri. Eric's grandmother passed away last week, so we just returned from her visiting hours and funeral. It was a sad occasion made much better by the large gathering of family and friends as well as the assurance that his grandmother is in Heaven, reunited with her Lord.
We are on somewhat of a hiatus from Urban Impact evening programs. Currently, only Eric's discipleship group is meeting in the evenings. This does not mean, however, that we are not busy! As all of you teachers out there know, much of teaching is planning. During the day, at the UI offices, Eric does a LOT of things, one of which is to create all of the Theatre curriculum for our Fall semester of the Performing Arts Academy. The structure and content of the classes is changing, so we have four new or redesigned courses to teach: Elementary Acting, Middle and High School Acting, Improv, and Musical Theatre. We have learned a lot from teaching last semester, as well as teaching in various places over the summer, so we're really excited to give our new skills and ideas a whirl!
We're also in the middle of moving! Since my last blog, we signed a lease for an apartment on the North Side, within walking distance of Urban Impact. We've upgraded to a two-bedroom apartment specifically so that we can host small groups and guests. We're excited to start living in the community we're learning to love, and we hope that people come visit us! (if it's any incentive, last week we scored free tickets to a Steelers pre-season game and walked to the stadium. It was a bit of a walk, but it was still just a walk!)
Life for me is a different kind of busy. I am no longer teaching at the children's theatre every week, but my work as a Standardized Patient is picking up! For those of you who don't know what that is- I pretend to be a patient for medical students who are learning to be doctors. And that's about all I can tell you since it's pretty top secret! Other than that, I'm in Love's Labours' Lost with Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, and that has been pretty fun. I haven't played a tomboy in a long time, so it's fun to get back on that horse.
So that's the update from Pittsburgh! I'll try to keep up with it more regularly. :) | | |
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