Some musings on friendship

I don't have much to say, but what I do have I'll scribble down right here. The topic on the forefront of my mind is friendship, namely because of the beautifully quirky bunch of friends who have recently been given to me through the wonderful world of working at a theatre.

Three and a half weeks ago, I found myself sitting in a theatre with a group of people who I did not know. The adults all knew each other, so I was out of that group, and there were three people around my age who didn't seem like they wanted to talk, so I did not talk to them either.

Three and a half weeks ago, the theatre would be silent until work began since no one talked.

Today, though, I can walk into the theatre already laughing from a conversation with one of them. I can be the crazy person I am around them without feeling self-conscious. I even consider one of the guys one of my good friends.

The fact that so much can change in less than a month baffles me. Take, for example, my new friend Walt*. When I first met him three or so weeks ago, I took him as arrogant; now, though, he's one of my favorite people, and we're so similar it's strange. We used to not talk at all; at some point, though, Walt and I did start talking, and now we tease each other like siblings and can hold really good conversations. I don't know what the turning point was, but I'm glad it happened. I've found an invaluable friendship.

Even the adults seem to like having us around ("us" being myself, Walt, the 20-year-old Sarah*, and the 22-year-old Richard*), and treat us like their younger siblings/cousins/nieces/nephews. The other day, I asked Daniel*, the guy I technically work under, if I am a bother. He laughed and said, "No, not in the least bit. You could do anything and still leave a warm fuzzy feeling in me. If anyone else did what you did, it would probably be annoying. But you are completely fine."

Honestly, that answer both worried me and made me really happy. I guess that's what makes someone your friend, though, right? People you care about and love being around can do things that would be so bothersome if other people did them, but since it's that certain friend you're alright with it. (This explanation excludes the fact that everyone says I remind them of a 5 year old because I'm so easily amused. Also, apparently I'm just the most adorable person ever. Whoopdiedoo.)

Looking at these quickly formed friendships makes me think about all the people I've known for months and years, yet still I do not have friendships with them nor do I know them. It's funny the way you can be drawn to some but not others.

What are your opinions on friendship?

peace

-eleanor

*Names have been changed.

Family. Etc.

It's days like these when I'm reminded that I consider my friends to be my family, and my mother, father, and brother to be my mandatory housing mates.
...when I'd rather go to Church by myself than have to ride in a car with my mother and sit all suffocated by my family in a pew. I can't concentrate on Church when my family is around.
...when my family's presence stresses me out to the point of tears. But I have to push the tears away- hide them- or else I'll be bombarded and attacked with stupid questions about whether I'm okay. Yes, I'm fine, just leave me alone. I'll be fine if you leave me alone.
...when I arrive at my internship, not wanting to be around people, yet find myself being melted quickly by the warmth of my co-workers.
...when all negative thoughts exit my mind, and are replaced with the laughter, jokes, and grinning which only my co-workers can instigate. And I mean "instigate" in the best sense of the word.
...when I stop considering my co-workers as "co-workers". When I begin to refer to them as my family.

I must step out of my mind and into my heart. Thank you, God, for blessing me with such amazing people to spend hours upon hours with. I could not have asked for a better group to consider a family.

Though, I must jump back to my mind and my secular aspects of life. Here are some of today's highlights:
1. A 5 year old was sitting on my lap, and I told her she should introduce herself to my friend, Alec, who was sitting next to me. She promptly turned her head away from him and said, "NO!"
2. My "boss" and I bonded over both having obnoxious laughs (and both having been in situations where people identified that we were in an audience because of our laughs).
3. I started laughing for no good reason in the middle of silence during dinner (everyone was starving, thus constant eating, thus minimal talking at first). Alaine* said, "Well, that's a good example of someone laughing when they feel awkward." John* asked me, "Did you feel awkward?" I said, "No! I didn't feel awkward. I just thought the silence was hilarious." John then followed with, "Do you want me to make you feel awkward?" Alaine said, "That would be illegal, John."
4. John told us about how he found this "Organic Batter Blaster" funny as shit:

... which, inevitably, lead to a whole slew of extremely inappropriate and sexual jokes. Yes, 30-something year-old men are just as prone to dirty jokes as 18-year-old guys. (If you're a boy reading this, can you guess what the jokes were about??)
5. I laughed so freaking hard during dinner that I ended up bruising my ribs against the belt I was wearing around my dress. ("Bruising" meaning my ribs were sore for 3 hours after our massive fit of laughter. Awesome.)

*names changed


Well, it's all in a day's work, right?
Toodles, loves :)
-eleanor

Just like a library book...

...this post is overdue. (Oh, how witty of me.)
Sorry for the delay in posting a new post. Hm.. that sounded redundant. Poo.

Because it's past 1 in the morning and I'm in a weird state between alert and sleepy, I made a split-second, spur-of-the-moment decision to create a list of amusing things I've heard over the past few days. Hanging out with theatre folk definitely has its perks.

A List of Quotes Which Were Extremely Funny In Context:

• "Is that what they're calling it these days? 'Going to camp'? While all the other kids were playing Capture the Flag, you two were playing 'Capture the... Hmmmm...' "
  
  
• "Oh, it's on! Bring it! You're not wearing heels anymore!"
  
  
• "I went on Wikipedia, and I searched that. Okay, well, I didn't search it on purpose..."
  
  
• "Are y'all drinking cokes because you're underage?"
  "Why yes, that's exactly why, actually."
  
  
• "How old are you?"
  "17."
  "Ohmygod..."
  
  
• "I looked down and thought 'Woah. I've never before seen her feet during this play. Ever.'"
  
  
• "Okay, fine. You know what? Yeah. I'll call my mom and tell her that a boy in a bar is telling me to stay late."

...You're not laughing? Hm. Well, at least I am.

Until next time,
-eleanor

P.S. Come to the Festival of Independent Theatres!! Go here for more info :)

Je suis intelligente, peut-etre? Ou... Les autres gens sont stupids?

So... I signed up for a two-week "Adult Intensive" French class. In a class of 8 people, with all but one other person over the age of 30, I know the most French.

Let me re-phrase:
I'm the only one who can actually carry on a basically coherent conversation.

I knew it would be easy at the beginning, but after two days we've only talked about basic pronouns, the alphabet, numbers, and the days of the week, plus the present of etre and avoir. People all around me stumble through simple, simple things with thick American accents. Some don't seem to even understand how to follow a worksheet nor how to understand the teacher when he explains stuff in English. HELLO! Worksheets have the same layout in English and French and Spanish and every other freaking language! Just because the questions and answers are in French, does not mean the layout of the assignment is drastically different from a multiple-choice worksheet in, say, US History or Biology! PLEASE, PEOPLE! Use yo' noggins!

I'm torn. I really like being in a French class, since it's keeping me in touch with the language over the summer. I just worry it's not doing me any good. I was hoping for a French class to strengthen my skills and boost my speaking confidence, yet I feel like I'm going to forget all the complicated stuff I learned since this is such a basic, basic class.

At least mon prof is funny. He keeps me engaged in this massive review session.

My question for you who are reading this: Should I keep in the class, or should I drop it? (The guy in charge said they'd refund the money if I found the class too simple.)

Dear Diary...

Dear Diary,
Yesterday I almost ran away from my house... I shy away from using the word "home" sometimes. The yelling and screaming among my family members, ricocheting off the walls and tunneling deep into my head, made me shake, squeezing all the salt water from my body out through my tear ducts. I was scrubbing spots on the kitchen floor at the time of the eruption, merely an innocent and unassuming bystander at the scene of a war, a war of the spontaneous combustion variety, the result of an omnipresent volatile substance carried within an interestingly high number of human beings.
"Just grab the keys and drive away. The door is only a few strides away. You have keys. Just get in the car and drive."
I felt my body try to lunge from my crouched position on the floor, but all I could do was just grip my cloth tighter, scrub the already-gone spots harder. All I could do was go over and over the same spot on the floor... scrubbing in circles, circles, circles... while tears steadily and heavily flowed from my eyes.
Inhaling cleaning vapors never felt so good yet so unrewarding. Staying crouched on my knees on the floor never felt so safe yet so completely vulnerable.
Diary, why could I not rise from the floor and run out the door?
Why would my body not move? Why did it just wait out the waves of the argument crashing down all around me?
When all I'm left with is a dirty washrag and a tear-stained face, I wish I did not have a family.
At least, not this family.
Until next time Diary,
eleanor

My Ears, My Poor and Confused Ears

DISCLAIMER: With the exception of the last bullet point, the phrases/ideas below do not reflect the opinions or beliefs of the author. Rather, this is a blog-interpretation of the day's events, inspired by surrounding people.

Things one hears/learns when hanging around theatre folk for extended periods of time:

- There is always a place for strong language, and strong language will always have a place.
- Smoking can be considered a hobby.
- Interns inadvertently become afterthoughts.
- Some people are silly and annoying and petty. ...But said people are still really awesome. We love said people.
- If your first cigarette is a Marlboro, you'll never want to smoke again. But if you then smoke a Camel, you'll completely understand why people smoke.
- Naked people on stage is cool. Girls popping out of their shirts is cool, too.
- "Welcome to theatre!" means the same thing as "I hope you like sex jokes, cussing, and cigarette smoke, because you're going to be around all of the above quite a bit."
- When an intern reads a book and a co-worker announces that there is a Literate among us, someone will undoubtedly mishear and think that the person said the intern is illiterate. Consequently, a whole slew of jokes ensues, all in good fun.
- There are two kinds of people: cool people and annoying people.
- Theatre people can be multifaceted, can be recipients of more than just a theatre major, and can give really good college advice.

And that was basically 4 hours of my day.

Ciao,
-eleanor

Operation: W.H.I.T.E. (Willful Heat Immersion to Tan Eventually)

Normally, I'm a pale person. In fact, I usually embrace my paleness and, as a lover of quaintness, I reminisce on the Olden Days when people puffed white powder on their face to make themselves extra pale.
...Also, I'm deathly afraid of skin cancer, thus that ever-present fear generally is enough to keep my body nice and sunscreened, and my mind comfortable with having pale skin.

However, an occasion has arisen to temporarily warp my mind into succumbing to the American subculture of basking in the sun to get a tan. The occasion: Senior pictures.
The result: Operation W.H.I.T.E. (see title of post)

Operation W.H.I.T.E. began today. Almost two hours in the sizzling summer sun. Splendid.
"My word, you must be terribly pink!" you may be thinking. But, um, no. I'm still rather pale. That is because Operation W.H.I.T.E. has been carefully crafted by yours truly to be the most healthy approach to tanning ever known to mankind!!! (Okay, that's an overstatement. But keep reading, anyway.)

Basically, here's what W.H.I.T.E. entails:
Ingredients
-SPF 25/30 Sunscreen
-strapless dress
-stimulating work of literature
-iPod
Recipe
-Lay 2 towels in backyard; create pillow mound to prop up head while reading
-Lie down, face up, on towels
-Remain this way for about an hour, listening to iPod or just taking in the lovely sound of nature
-Switch to lying on stomach, and read book. Books are awesome.
-Remain this way for about an hour.
-Come inside your house.
**Must bring a nice glass of water outside with you so that you don't dehydrate! Tanned skin won't look good if your body isn't hydrated!**

Repeat this every other day, or so, so that eventually you will have a nice (and healthily obtained!!!) tan.

(I intentionally likened my tanning soon-to-be ritual to a recipe because the outdoors is like a friggin oven. Mehhh.)


Yes, friends, that is my grand Operation W.H.I.T.E. Call me crazy, but it's going to work.

I. Love. Sunscreen.

Au revoir,
-ellen

Montreal, s'il vous plait!

In just two months, I will have begun my last year of high school. In 4 months, Early Action applications will almost be due. Consequently, college/university/whatever-its-called has been on the forefront of my mind. Here's an itty bitty snippet of my thinking:

Criteria for college:
a) must have multiple major options which tickle my fancy
b) must be supportive of the arts
c) must be big enough that I don't see the same people everywhere I turn, but small enough that I recognize people as I walk the campus
d) must be in/near a large(ish) city
e) must have French courses available for non-majors

Possible majors:
*) theatre studies/theatre arts
*) psychology
*) education (secondary, preferably)
*) graphic design (or something of the like)

I refuse to study theatre in Manhattan or Chicago or any other Hard-Core Cut-Throat acting city.
I do not want to spend my life acting, but...
I still love performing. However...
I'm not sure if I should major in theatre or not, because...

I'm looking at McGill University in Montreal, PQ. In case you didn't know, Montreal is one of THE GREATEST CITIES DANS TOUT LE MONDE. Les Quebecois sont genials! People walk or bike everywhere-- yes, bike lanes in the street which people actually use!! There are art hubs coming out the wazoo, street musicians playing beautiful music, grand trees and gorgeous parks... ahh I could go on all day. The bestbestbest part is the FRENCH! (I swear I'm not a total, crazy francophile, though. Not yet, at least. Maybe some day.)
If I apply to McGill (which I will), and get accepted to the school (which I hope I will), and decide to go (which will depend on the pending acceptance and the amount of financial aid I receive), I would be immersed in the French language with a culture of people who are so very willing to help beginning French speakers. In fact, a friend of mine just told me how accepting the Quebecois are towards Canadians and Americans who aren't fluent in French. That. Is. AWESOME. Want to know why it's awesome? Because I'm not fluent in French!
But I will be.
Someday.

Only *potential* problem: no major in theatre

But you know what...
If I get accepted, maybe this will be a time for me to branch out un peu. Maybe it will be time for me to take a step back, and try to decide whether having a major in theatre is really all that important. I do have other talents and interests after all.

And you know what?
(Excuse me for making a mathematical inequality out of the humanities, but...)
French may very well be > Theatre

Until next time, au revoir!

-eleanor

Lamination, Pasteurization, Canadians, etc...

Here's the DL, homedawgs. I have this wicked sweet internship this summer with a theatre festival near where I live. Here's what's gone down for the three days I've worked so far. I'll be updating every day. Or every other day. You get the picture. Enjoyyyy :)

June 28, 2010

First night of festival prep. Helped with the layout for festival passes. Printed and cut out 2-week and 4-week passes; numbered them; laminated them. Completed a total of 81 passes. Met the soundboard guy, the light panel guy, and the production manager.

At the very beginning of prep tonight, I received a compliment from my mentor, David. I had suggested a way to keep all the icons on the festival pass while keeping all font type at a legible size, which he and Graeme could not figure out. When on the phone with another festival coordinator, David said that his intern (meaning moi) is a genius and saved them from getting in trouble with a sponsor who almost got left off of the pass because of layout. (GIRL POWER!) A few minutes later, David basically said that I was talented and that talented people are really helpful to have around. Brownie points for me.

The majority of the night found me putting the passes together. Yes, it was somewhat tedious. But never did I find cutting and laminating not enjoyable. In fact, I was surprised how quickly 4+ hours of paper work went by. I'm the type of person who loves making sure I'm doing things "just so"-- getting lines straight and air bubbles out and whatnot-- so this very necessary part of the festival preparations fit me perfectly. I was able to use my OCD tendencies for the greater good! When I left, I gave David the 81 passes I had completed. Tomorrow I shall conquer the remaining 54!

June 29, 2010

Second night of festival prep. Laminated festival passes. Updated festival contact sheet. Made photocopies of contact sheet, theatre floor plan, rehearsal and performance report templates, cue sheets, and 5 of the scripts involved in the festival.

Once again, I experienced the “office side” of theatre. Behind every great show is great organization and preparation, and I’m coming to find that I love being part of the behind-the-scenes side. First, I quickly completed the remaining passes. Next, David asked me to take the contact sheets for four of the companies and compile them onto the festival's master contact sheet in the same way the production manager had arranged the already-compiled company contacts. I felt super duper tech-savvy, being able to copy and paste from Excel into Word with ease. Ha. Needless to say, I finished the contact list much more speedily than my soon-to-come photocopying assignment.

While pushing buttons is amusing, I quickly discovered that photocopying is only fun if you find diversions while waiting for myriad sheets of paper to print. So, as per usual, I hummed the RENT soundtrack to myself and had intrapersonal conversations, among other similar pass-times. At one point, a piece of paper jammed itself into the machine, and so one of the crew members helped me fix the problem.

Everyone is so friendly. Really. Graeme remembered my name right away, and says “hi” to me every time he sees me. Alett is so easy to work with. David is really chill, yet has everything pulled together. Russell, Amanda, and Ken seem nice, too, though I rarely interact with them. Alec sounded really snobby yesterday (silly member of the class of ’10), and we didn’t exchange any words today, but I’m trying (kind of) not to pre-judge him seeing as I don’t really know him.

In conclusion, I love the casual, artsy, able-to-joke-around-while-getting-work-done atmosphere!

June 30, 2010

Last day of festival prep. Made photocopies of one more script. Folded curtains and put them in bags. Cleaned the box office; put it in order. Touch up painting on the walls of the theatre.

My time at the theatre once again began with a deluge of rain and an early arrival of 10 minutes ‘til 5. “Darn” and “Yay”, respectively. Kenneth and I got to have a small conversation before everyone else arrived, chatting about college and whatnot (he just graduated from university. Snaps for crew bonding!). He reminds me so, so much of my cousin—their mannerisms are spookily parallel, plus they have the same hair color and similar facial features. OH the oddities of life.

Around 5, the production manager got me the last script to photocopy, so I finished that... not without some photocopier problems, though. Page 10 just getting jammed in the rollerthingamabobber. STUPID MACHINES! GAH! (This mayhap with the photocopier proved to be the only aggravating part of my day).

Amanda (the other intern) and I then folded unused curtains and put them in bags. I had never worked with curtains before, so this was a learning experience. I learned I would not like to work with curtains as part of my future job.

Then, she and I cleaned the box office, a space akin to a second home since I had been photocopying and laminating in it for the past two days.

"Hi, my name is Ellen aaaand... I like to party (like an office worker)!" Hot Rod...ish. (Hm... I think I just sounded lame.)

Amanda and I bonded over cloth folding, rearranging of precariously placed boxes, and discussion about the unnatural nature of how superfluously pasteurized milk needs not be refrigerated (the last of those three having to do with the stash of milk boxes for the theatre's day-time kiddie campers. Gross. The milk, that is... not the kiddies).

Alas, the box office did not need much “cleaning”, so she and I headed back to the theatre, where Graeme duly handed us paintbrushes and a can of glossy black paint. Painting over scuffs and worn portions of the walls provided yet another time of bonding for Amanda and myself. Crew bonding is a wonderful thing.

One piece of information—I suppose you could call it information—which I gained today did not come so much from the work I was doing but from the person with whom I was working. When talking about college, Amanda told me that she had to decide whether to major in drama or biochemical engineering (her university wouldn’t let her double major). This reminded me that I have ample options available to me, that I have choices to make, but that I can be multifaceted. Currently, I don’t know whether to major in theatre, psychology, or education... maybe even graphic design. I know I want to double major for sure, but that requires narrowing the list to two majors, non? Our exchange of words and anecdotes set firmly in my mind that I will not attend a university if it does not permit me to double major in the fields I wish to pursue. I want (and for the sake of my sanity, need) to keep as many doors open as possible.

But getting back to my internship...

At 7, the powers that be did not have any other tasks for Amanda and me to work on, so she and I were released early.

On a side note, I take back yesterday's statement about Alec being snobby. After making an effort to communicate (*Alec sits a seat away from Amanda and me.* Me: “We don’t bite.” Alec: “Well, then I’ll sit next to you.”), I feel as if our co-working will go swimmingly. Huzzah!


* * * * *


To conclude this first post on my new bloggieboo...

HAPPY CANADA DAY, LOVES!



What a wonderful reason to have a party, eh?

A bientot,
-eleanor