I am a RIDICULOUS dog parent. There is just so much love in my heart for this crazy little canine. I couldn't have anticipated the feeling in a million years.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Playing catch up...
In an attempt to not go a full month since posting, here I go.
I've been visiting my grampa in the hospital every spare weekend day/holiday I have free. While I have found some solace in having time with someone to talk and listen and learn, I have come to the conclusion that aging sucks. There is not much that is graceful and happy and natural about dying; tubes, machines, incontinence, pain, fright and loneliness certainly aren't pleasant- how many people do we actually know that pass peacefully in their sleep? However... I am not going to write a long angsty post about this and dwell on it. It wastes time.
Easter.
Easter was wonderful- my more immediate family (my mom's side) and my grampa's immediate family that live on this continent made up a lovely trilingual crowd of 25. It was really refreshing to have English NOT be the main language spoken and to communicate with people by touches and smiles and gestures. The important stuff spoken was, of course, translated from Armenian into English and French and it was just so easy to enjoy. Lots of Armenian food and pastries, and a solid round of the egg game (of course I didn't win, but my grampa taught me his secret for next year)... Russell bravely tried the khema, and was applauded by the family. All in all it was a bittersweet day, the first and last (most likely) of such celebrated easters, but I am so glad to have the memories.
Luminarium.
So much Luminarium news. Our Kickstarter campaign was launched, endured, and a success- we raised $2100 in 18 days! Read more here. Consequently, we released our dance film 'Everything But Blue' at an event to conclude the campaign--Watch here! It was well attended, and a lot of fun. Since then it has been full-steam ahead in rehearsals working towards finishing our new piece for Commencement Concert at Mount Holyoke College, May 21, that we were invited to showcase work in. After that, we embark on our mini-tour across Massachusetts- with performances just about each week from mid-May through June. June 26 is the date of our first benefit gala- both a fundraiser and just general celebration for Luminarium's first anniversary! It will be held at AKA Bistro in Lincoln, MA and there will be lots of amazing hors d'oeuvres and live music and drinks and fun. Tickets will be available for purchase soon, details at www.LuminariumDance.org. I CANNOT believe all we have done in a year. Seriously. Day to day it feels so commonplace to push hard and create and accomplish, but when I look back on the year, its really stunning. After June we take our show to New Hampshire for fall, and then back to Cambridge for a show towards the end of the year. Stay tuned, we have plenty on our agenda.
Other?
Life is good. Lots of accomplishments artistic and otherwise, and some promising opportunities on the horizon. I've befriended a tiny mouse. I have a backyard of my own and I can enjoy warm nights such as this one. The dog is wonderful, my friends are wonderful, and I feel fairly grown up at 23.75 years. I guess the only semi-not great thing is Russell's current work situation. He is currently (and mandatorily) working 72 hour work weeks in Worcester on a large government project and will be doing so for at least the next 6 weeks, but possibly for another 9 weeks. It is lousy for him to come home at like 8pm, have dinner, and then go to bed to wake up at 4:30 or so. We have barely any time to hang out and I miss him! Paychecks with 32 hours of overtime certainly aren't lousy, however, and make me feel slightly sheepish about my odd mix of part time work. At least it has an end date, and then life can go back to normal- or what we consider normal.
Other other news... let's see. A little girl I coached on acting at work got three callbacks based on the audition material we worked on! It was a triumph and I was so proud. I successfully potted a plant (this shouldn't be such a triumph, but it is since I have been relying on Russell to do these types of things). I found an AWESOME new mascara that I love. It is sandal weather.
Really, I feel like I can end this with "it is sandal weather" because it is really my favorite thing ever. No need to elaborate or go on and on in this blog post... summer time!
Oh wait. Wanted to add that the live trees inside Westminster Abbey were fabulous. I didn't really watch the royal wedding or much coverage (just looked at pictures online of that beautiful dress) but noticed the trees on the segment on the news. Beautiful blooming trees make things better.
Ok the end, for real.
I've been visiting my grampa in the hospital every spare weekend day/holiday I have free. While I have found some solace in having time with someone to talk and listen and learn, I have come to the conclusion that aging sucks. There is not much that is graceful and happy and natural about dying; tubes, machines, incontinence, pain, fright and loneliness certainly aren't pleasant- how many people do we actually know that pass peacefully in their sleep? However... I am not going to write a long angsty post about this and dwell on it. It wastes time.
Easter.
Easter was wonderful- my more immediate family (my mom's side) and my grampa's immediate family that live on this continent made up a lovely trilingual crowd of 25. It was really refreshing to have English NOT be the main language spoken and to communicate with people by touches and smiles and gestures. The important stuff spoken was, of course, translated from Armenian into English and French and it was just so easy to enjoy. Lots of Armenian food and pastries, and a solid round of the egg game (of course I didn't win, but my grampa taught me his secret for next year)... Russell bravely tried the khema, and was applauded by the family. All in all it was a bittersweet day, the first and last (most likely) of such celebrated easters, but I am so glad to have the memories.
Luminarium.
So much Luminarium news. Our Kickstarter campaign was launched, endured, and a success- we raised $2100 in 18 days! Read more here. Consequently, we released our dance film 'Everything But Blue' at an event to conclude the campaign--Watch here! It was well attended, and a lot of fun. Since then it has been full-steam ahead in rehearsals working towards finishing our new piece for Commencement Concert at Mount Holyoke College, May 21, that we were invited to showcase work in. After that, we embark on our mini-tour across Massachusetts- with performances just about each week from mid-May through June. June 26 is the date of our first benefit gala- both a fundraiser and just general celebration for Luminarium's first anniversary! It will be held at AKA Bistro in Lincoln, MA and there will be lots of amazing hors d'oeuvres and live music and drinks and fun. Tickets will be available for purchase soon, details at www.LuminariumDance.org. I CANNOT believe all we have done in a year. Seriously. Day to day it feels so commonplace to push hard and create and accomplish, but when I look back on the year, its really stunning. After June we take our show to New Hampshire for fall, and then back to Cambridge for a show towards the end of the year. Stay tuned, we have plenty on our agenda.
Other?
Life is good. Lots of accomplishments artistic and otherwise, and some promising opportunities on the horizon. I've befriended a tiny mouse. I have a backyard of my own and I can enjoy warm nights such as this one. The dog is wonderful, my friends are wonderful, and I feel fairly grown up at 23.75 years. I guess the only semi-not great thing is Russell's current work situation. He is currently (and mandatorily) working 72 hour work weeks in Worcester on a large government project and will be doing so for at least the next 6 weeks, but possibly for another 9 weeks. It is lousy for him to come home at like 8pm, have dinner, and then go to bed to wake up at 4:30 or so. We have barely any time to hang out and I miss him! Paychecks with 32 hours of overtime certainly aren't lousy, however, and make me feel slightly sheepish about my odd mix of part time work. At least it has an end date, and then life can go back to normal- or what we consider normal.
Other other news... let's see. A little girl I coached on acting at work got three callbacks based on the audition material we worked on! It was a triumph and I was so proud. I successfully potted a plant (this shouldn't be such a triumph, but it is since I have been relying on Russell to do these types of things). I found an AWESOME new mascara that I love. It is sandal weather.
Really, I feel like I can end this with "it is sandal weather" because it is really my favorite thing ever. No need to elaborate or go on and on in this blog post... summer time!
Oh wait. Wanted to add that the live trees inside Westminster Abbey were fabulous. I didn't really watch the royal wedding or much coverage (just looked at pictures online of that beautiful dress) but noticed the trees on the segment on the news. Beautiful blooming trees make things better.
Ok the end, for real.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Extremes...
My life is funny right now.
There is so much going right, and then there are just a few tough things that are hard to handle.
Positive before negatives, yes?
There is so much going right, and then there are just a few tough things that are hard to handle.
Positive before negatives, yes?
- Steph got engaged. I think that is absolutely fantastic and I am so happy for her and Wes (and Charlotte).
- 'How to Succeed in Business...' is over, and ended up going well. I am so happy I got to choreograph with director Fran White again, and I really enjoy working at Babson College- there are some great people there. While it was a somewhat dance-sparse show, I had fun with the style of it all.
- Luminarium has a somewhat permanent rehearsal space on Thursday nights at Green St Studios in Cambridge, MA! You have no idea what a pain in the ass finding consistent rehearsal space is, this is amazing.
- Luminarium ALSO is in the midst of a Kickstarter Campaign, that looks like it is going to be super successful. In the first 36ish hours we have 13 backers and have brought in nearly $800! 16 days to go.... check out our project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ldc/performing-arts-project-bringing-art-to-underserve
- Luminarium is getting a blurb and photo in the alumna magazine!
- We are totally committed to having our first SPONSOR BENEFIT GALA! A lovely place in Lincoln is hosting this great event for us in June, and we are just embarking on details. I feel so legitimate as a dance company right now (if the last 3 bullet points didn't demonstrate that)
- Lawyer search 2011. No details about this yet to give, but, it's a total feel good in my life right now.
- Job opportunities. Another no info for you yet...
SO all of that feels so great and makes me excited and buzzing at all times.
Unfortunately, at the bottom of my gut, there is this nasty darkness. My grampa who is such a fixture in our family has been rediagnosed with cancer, which is already in his spine and hips and he is in a lot of pain and rapidly deteriorating. This is crazy to me, at Jenn's bday celebration in March you could kind of notice it- and whipped out this pill and was like 'ok this is my cancer pill!' Now I guess you can tell he is scared, and just going downhill fast. I am not technically going to see him until Easter, but how will he be then? I have no idea how he is doing, I just have second hand info from my mom, and it is so scary and sad. My grampa since I can remember has been the most comparable human being to yoda- at least a Middle Eastern version. He is always so stable with his philosophic statements about life, and can get away with poking very subtle jokes at anyone, while interspersing some fresh armenian word in there. It is just very tough to have to stand around and basically wait for someone to die, while they are in pain and scared about dying.
Blah.
How does one balance such high ups, and low downs...
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