Everyone is staring to take off for their respective spring breaks. Now that finals are over and I am finally free to hang out, so many people are leaving and I now seem to be attempting to occupy myself. One thing that'll give me something to worry about is March Madness. I entered a pool with my good old housemates from the days of yore Emma and Megan. I'm not really sure that anything is at stake but our pride. So far, my bracket is looking pretty good, although I admit that I haven't predicted any upsets for this initial round.
Other than that I will be memorizing lines, playing some poker, and cozying up with the final Harry Potter.
I tried to post my picks for the NCAA bracket but couldn't get it to turn the right way. Hmm.

Thank goodness for friends and a good steak

MARINATED GRILLED FLANK STEAK

Juice of 1 lemon 1/2 c. soy sauce 1/4 c. dry red wine 3 tbsp. vegetable oil 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce lg. clove garlic, sliced Pepper to taste Green onion or chives, chopped Celery seed, optional 1-1 1/2 lb. flank steak Mix all ingredients in pan in which meat is to be marinated. Marinate 2-12 hours in refrigerator, turning occasionally. Grill. Slice meat diagonal across the grain and serve. So easy and good!

I had really been craving a home cooked meal lately not to mention red meat which I rarely have without my parents around. Tonight Jackie and Jef were here and we had decided to do dinner and I suggested I could barbecue a steak on my new grill. I can't say that I have ever operated a barbecue much in my life. I feel like usually there is some man around that wants to take over so i let them be the responsible one, but tonight it was me and I actually had to read the instructions about how to light the charcoal. It kept going out too. I'd pour lighter fluid on and have it flaming then it would just sputter out. Finally we figured out that if you blow on it the charcoals can catch each other on fire easier and that resulted in all of us squatting, frog-style and blowing on the flames for a good ten minutes. Good times.
The meal was delicious, the company, delightful, the desert delightful. Couldn't ask for more than a good dinner with friends. Not to mention we got quite a bit of studying done before the meal. GO us! I think that making the most of finals week is about all you can do to keep sane and be able to have the motivation to finish all of those papers.

St Patrick

He was a missionary in Ireland, huh? Interesting. I sorta wish there was some exciting story about how he was a martyr or did something cool. Oh well. Any excuse to celebrate.
I have been working on and off on my paper and other work today and the rest of the time has been spent basically pampering myself. I somehow feel like the more I pamper myself, the more i get done and more efficiently. If I take time to take a bath, check my e-mail, look at pictures and such then I can get myself to pound out a page of my paper in only a matter of minutes. But if I were to sit here staring at my computer screen that page would take me a good hour. So, personally, right now, I plan to err on the side of pampering.
As finals week approaches and I still have a few things to finish up, I am looking forward to having next week over and being able to read some Harry Potter (I am on the final book) so that I can really just get in some pleasure reading and movie watching. I am planning to try out my new barbecue tomorrow to cook some steaks. We'll see how that turns out. I better go to the grocery store tomorrow morning and start marinating them.
I will be sad when Jef and especially Jackie leave to go and have their spring breaks. I know i agreed to do this show and be here over spring break but I am realizing that it will be a strange and hard feeling to be left behind by so many people. The cast keeps talking about having lots of parties but there are many more hours of the day where I might feel a bit lonely especially since it looks like it might snow and I will be stuck inside. Yuck. I am ready for the nice weather again. I had to bring my seeds that I planted inside for fear that it might frost over tonight.
As for St Patrick's day, thanks to the pope for moving the celebration to today so that I can study on Monday night.

Let the Sunshine In

Sometimes a song hits me just right. Tonight that song was the Decemberists "Of Angels and Angles". That's Noah's favorite band and always reminds me of him. Most of their songs tell these fantastical stories and yet this one is so simple and beautiful.
I got a lot done today. Maybe not the kinds of things I should have gotten done like papers and research and such, but I got a lot done outside. And why not, it made 64 degrees here in Eugene today. Apparently I thought that this called for a trip to Fred Meyers to buy a barbecue, but instead of just buying that I also bought a good broom and some seeds. So when I got home today (after also being suckered into buying a pack of Girl Scout cookies) I swept off my whole outdoor patio, bagged the leaves, and potted two packs of seeds which will hopefully turn into basil and oregano. It's amazing to me how motivating the nice weather can be. I look forward to not having as much school work so I can really just give in to my desire to be outside all of the time.
I also bought some more Java Logs today. They are a truly fascinating invention as well. A log made from recycled coffee grounds that lasts a few hours in the fireplace, is good for the environment, and burns incredibly well. I am impressed. Good work Java Log.
Can't wait to try out my new charcoal Weber grill next. I already succeeded in putting it together (before I planted the seeds and swept off the porch) now let's hope I can figure out how to use it.


"Of Angels And Angles"
-The Decemberists

There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles
There's a ticking at the sill
There's a purr of a pigeon to break the still of day

As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away

There's a tough word on your crossword
There's a bed bug nipping a finger
There's a swallow, there's a calm
Here's a hand to lay on your open palm today

As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away

There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles

Moving away from a show, and into another.

Well, I think that Tony really pulled through for me. I've gotten some great responses to the show. Seems like it really made people think about it and was interesting to watch. I was very happy that a lot of the humor in it came out. It's funny, I think I just had this thing towards the end (when I started to get a little nervous about the show going up) and I just decided not to care what anyone else thought, including the faculty. Tomorrow I'm going to start "making the rounds" for feedback from the faculty but from the response I've gotten so far, people have reacted in a very positive way to the show. I was so ready to be on the defense and brush off any harsh comments or lack of any comments at all and now I feel overwhelmed in a sense by all of the good things I've heard. It was nice...reaffirming, to be told things that make me think, "Looks like I'm doing the right thing", "Looks like maybe theatre is the place for me to be after all". It's not that I doubted theatre itself but I think we all have doubts sometimes about where we are and our paths and it always good to have someone say something to you that makes you feel like you took the right turn somewhere down the road.
Now it is onto rehearsals for Wild Oats for me. It will feel a bit strange to drop being a director and to move into the role of acting again. I'm excited to be the one on stage again. Sometimes it is hard to just sit in the seats because I love to be up there doing it too, but every time I have been in the director's seat it has still been so incredibly fulfilling in a completely different way.