Joining TFA New Mexico!

Hello everyone!

I've got a new blog that tracks my experiences during Teach For America: New Mexico. I'll be teaching elementary school on an Indian reservation in Gallup, so keep in touch by visiting www.DarbyOnTheRes.blogspot.com.

Yay!

Tech

Yesterday may have been the last day I will ever tech a show. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?! I may never ever work on tech for theatre ever again. SO STRANGE.

You Better Read This

No one reads this, but you know what? THAT'S OK. It's fun for me to think things and then write them and then realize that no one caresssss. It's fun. It's awesome. I'm alright with it.

Excuse me, I need a kleenex.

JUST KIDDING!

Today, I tried to fix a vacuum and I failed. How do you replace the belt? I watched a YouTube video about it, but it didn't help very much. Why would someone post a video about how to fix a vacuum belt? Obviously there's a demand (case in point: me), but it makes me wonder how people even EXISTED before the internet?

Dan O'Brien Alert #5

Dan submitted for a role in the Vegas Cirque du Soleil show LOVE. Here's his submission video....and I'm in it too!

See the Sites

Here are some websites that I love and thought you might enjoy:

www.WomenBeTrippin.com

My friend, Jake, and two of his buddies created a site to explore why women are crazy. Sometimes, I must admit, we really, really are. If you need a laugh, go here.

www.SarahRhoadsPhoto.SquareSpace.com

This is a blog created by a husband and wife photography team based out of Seattle that shoots (among other things) engagement and wedding photos. Their stuff is beautiful and Sarah's music taste is awesome. If you need to see some pretty photos, go here.

www.Myspace.com/BeerAndTacos

My brother, Sean, ROCKS and his music is even better. He has been playing guitar since we were little kids and he is a constant source of inspiration for me. If you need to have your mind blown, go here.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

It feels like everyone in the world has already read this book and I’m happy to say that I’ve finally joined the club! Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff is a fantastic book by Richard Carlson about finding inner peace by keeping little things from taking over your life. The author provides 100 ways to calm down and learn to put things in perspective by making small daily changes.

I gobbled up everything he wrote about and was inspired to change my thought processes instantly, but I think Point #54 resonated the most, so I wanted to share it with you…

54. UNDERSTAND THE STATEMENT, “WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE”
(This is the title of another book that I’ve also heard of, but never read)

The author explains that a common obstacle along the path to inner peace is our tendency to believe that if we were somewhere else – on vacation, with another partner, in a different career, a different home, a different circumstance – somehow we would be happier and more content. In reality, we wouldn’t! He explains, “The truth is, if you have destructive mental habits – if you get annoyed and bothered easily, if you feel angry and frustrated a great deal of the time, or if you’re constantly wishing things were different, these identical tendencies will follow you, wherever you go.”

My brain does this a lot. I often find myself ragging on Los Angeles and thinking that if I just lived in a different city, my life might be better, or if I finally went to grad school, I’d feel more accomplished, or if I worked in a different industry, I’d meet “better” people…this kind of wishful thinking can snowball in my brain endlessly. After reading this book and devoting some time to self reflection about my own thought processes, I’ve realized that the more I focus on being ok with where I am (instead of where I’d rather be), the more at peace I am with myself.

The author goes on to say, “Someone once asked me, ‘What are people like in California?’ I asked him, ‘What are people like in your home state?’ He replied, ‘Selfish and greedy.’ I told him that he would probably find the people in California to be selfish and greedy.”

This concept has really turned my thinking upside down. I hope that I can move forward feeling empowered by the knowledge that my attitude towards my surroundings and the people that I interact with will directly affect my experiences and my happiness with my current place in life.

Why?

Why do I love the show, Jon & Kate Plus 8 so much? I don't watch very much tv, but now that I have the DVR thing, I can't get enough of this show. It's about a husband and wife who have two sets of multiples: twins and sextuplets. Each episode is about something pretty basic..."Twins Turn 7," "Beach Trip," "Housekeeper Hunt" and so on. Sounds boring, but I swear it is the greatest show ever. I know every child's name. I even know their birth order. Am I just weird? What is it about this show that makes it so captivating?


(A FEW DAYS LATER)

Ok, so it's a few days after I started writing this entry. Since then, I've spent some time online researching the show and what people think about it. I was sad to find that there are some rumors (which seem pretty legit) that Kate is a psycho who has hired hands all over the place, cooking organic meals, folding laundry, playing with the kids, etc. That ruins the entire show! You're supposed to believe that they're a struggling family, but they're not and now I am upset.

There is really no purpose to this entry, I just wanted you to know that my Jon & Kate Plus 8 bubble burst.

Barnstormers Promo!

Here's the video I just made for the camp!!!!

These are a few of my favorite things!

I can't focus at all today. Work is not an option. So, I've decided to write a list of things that I like:

1. Popping those plastic packing bubbles that you use to protect glass.
2. Picking wax off of candlestick holders. Also, pouring glue on your fingers, letting it dry and then picking it off. Also, sticking fingers in hot wax, letting the wax dry even though it burns and then picking it off.
3. Partially melted rocky road ice cream.
4. Getting out of the pool and lying on really hot concrete.
5. Christmas time in Seattle (think chai tea and freezing ferries).
6. Lightning and thunder when you're inside....rain too.
7. Bonfires/campfires of any kind, especially with guitars and good friends.
8. Post-it notes, paper clips, file folders, to-do lists and other organizer-type items that are arguably unnecessary.
9. Playing board games with wine. Well, with people...People that are drinking wine.
10. Ipod shuffles that fit my mood perfectly.
11. Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. I could eat that for every meal, every day for the rest of my life.
12. Meeting inspiring people who are passionate about what they do.
13. Listening to my brother play guitar.
14. Long walks leading to farmer's markets.
15. Blogging at work.

Dan O'Brien Alert #4

Dan O'Brien ACTUALLY checked my facebook profile today. I had to tell him how to do it, but it happened all the same.

Bad Apple

Matt Damon talks about Palin....

Trim a little off the top

My hang up with plastic surgery is that it feels like cheating. When you're born, you are dealt certain cards and that should be IT. You shouldn't get to trade in a few of them to make your hand better...that is CHEATING. People should be learning to love their bodies exactly the way that they are. If they DON'T, they should be using the money they would have spent on surgery to see a therapist. Doesn't the desire to risk your life in order to fit social standards of beauty ("feel better about yourself" as many say) indicate that there's something emotionally wrong with you?

"I'm doing this for me...because I want to feel better about myself." A lot of women use these lines to pretend (to others and probably to themselves as well) that they don't care what other people think about their bodies. Bullllllllshit. That just cannot be true. Of COURSE you care about what other people think, are you superhuman? Even the most emotionally stable and confident people care at least a little about how they are perceived by others. Take apart that statement, "I want to feel better about myself"...Your solution to this problem is to lie down on a table, fall into a drug induced coma and allow a perfect stranger to take a knife to your FACE and BOOBS??? Aren't there less life-threatening ways to feel better about yourself?

Forget RISK, I haven't even gotten into why plastic surgery is absurd in terms of pure COST. (I know I am getting riled up when the caps lock comes in). Nose jobs cost anywhere from $3,000-$8,000. Breast Augmentation: $4,000. Liposuction: $8,000. Facelift= $9,000. Are you kidding me? Use that money to get a massage and read a good self-help book! Afterwards, you'll have a lot left over to use to, I don't know, make the world a better place? ANYTHING would be more worthwhile.

To be fair, I admit that I've thought about what fun it would be to change certain things about my body, but then I stop taking CRAZY LADY DRUGS and remember that the way I feel about myself on the outside is a direct reflection of how healthy I am on the inside.

Palin? Really?

Here are some fun facts about McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin:

1. She thinks global warming is a hoax
2. She supports the teaching of creationism in public schools
3. She's opposed to abortion, even in the case of rape and incest
-member of Feminists for Life of America (largest and most visible
pro-life feminist organization)
4. In July of this year, she asked CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow, "What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?"
5. She strongly promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska and supports the drilling of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve
6. In May 2008, she objected to the decision to list polar bears as an endangered species. (I just wanted to include that one because I like polar bears)
7. She supports the death penalty
8. She opposes same-sex marriage (she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage)
9. She is a life member of the National Rifle Association, and is popular among gun rights activists

If you ask me, McCain's got a winner on his hands.

Obamarama

Michelle Obama's speech was phenomenal. She gives me hope.

Um...

can't stop smiling... :-)

Too quiet

So I was alllll excited for today because it's the first day off that I've had in a while, but now that it's here, I kind of hate it. I feel like I am going through withdrawal. I miss the screaming and the crying and the laughing and the questions. It's really weird. A camper called me today and I was so excited just to talk to her. Now I am lying on the couch in our living room and I've run out of things to do online. Thankfully, we have load-in for another show tomorrow. Soooo, it's back to the theatre I go.

Would You Rather...

Tomorrow is the last day of camp. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry....
I think my favorite camper quotes happened today in the car while Andrew (a counselor) and I were driving the kids home....

Camper: Would you rather...lick peanut butter off a hobo's foot...or kiss Andrew??
(Andrew and I look @ each other - ARE THOSE COMPARABLE?!)

Camper: Would you rather...eat a raw egg OR sleep with your ex-boyfriend?
Me (thinking): YOU ARE 9 YEARS OLD!

Camper (to Andrew): Would you rather...kiss a boy or...eat a smashed up face?

Dan O'Brien Alert #3

Camper: Where does Dan live?
Me: Near the theatre.
Camper: Where does Culli live?
Me: With Dan.
Campers in unison: Ewwww...I bet their house smells like armpits!!!!

I Heart La Quinta

Lots of sun and a pool filled with bathwater....

Reading....

...until it was too hot to sit down....

Overall, a pretty sweet 4th of July :-)

Can't.... Sleep....

I have to wake up in less than six hours to go pick up the kids, but I can't force myself to fall asleep. I've tried pretty much everything. When I can't sleep, I usually check my email 86 times, close my computer, read, check my email again, close my computer, lie in bed thinking of everything I have to do tomorrow and concentrating on not checking my email again.

Today I interviewed each camper so that I could compile bios for their show program. My 3 questions:

1. What is an interesting/fun fact about you? My favorite answers included, "I am smart because I know a lot of things" (6 yr old)..."I was born good at math" (8 yr old) and "I think I will turn into a werewolf when I turn 13" (other 6 yr old).

2. What's your favorite thing about camp? "The counselors are pretty and handsome"..."Camp is a place where people respect me" (I am not making that quote up!)..."I get to pretend to be someone else for a while"....."My favorite thing about camp is Werewolf Boy!" (same 6 yr old above who thinks one of our counselors is a werewolf because he is hairy)

3. Who would you like to thank? "My baby turtle"