RONEN IS GONE!!!!

I'm starting this post at 2:31 AM MST. A zillion amazing things have happened in the past 3 days and I would wait until I'm bored at the airport to write about them all, but I just said goodbye to Ronen and so the idea of starting to clean the bathroom now or attempt to go to sleep would just be stupid because I'm too sentimental. So here I am writing my blog on the bathroom floor so the light doesn't bother anyone else. Let's just jump right in where we left off, shall we?

Chapter 8 - The Jazz
As I mentioned earlier in the summer, I was asked to be involved in one of the items auctioned off after the cabaret. This item was to have live jazz at an event and I was one of four singers along with 3 band members. The winning bid was $13,000 and the people who won were actually a group of people, mostly members of the board, who had a party solely to have us perform. Now, I've mentioned before that the people who live in Grand Lake are pretty well off, but I really really need to mention it again because, honestly, this kind of lifestyle is incredible and The Jazz performance really brought to my attention how freakin lucky I've been this summer to be treated the way I have. SOOO MANY open bars and full meals and parties on the lake with boat rides and the works all amounted to this day. It was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY we have had this entire summer. It was 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We were in someones backyard who had a private boat dock where the technical equipment was set up. Behind us were boats in the lake and there was food for us and wine and ALL the important people in town who have come to be like our own parents and grand-parents were there. Well let me tell you that I was NERVOUS! I mean, we only rehearsed our songs one time and it's not like I perform all the time these days. It's kind of rare for me to perform now and this was a pretty big deal gig. And you know what? I rocked. I'm sorry, but I sounded damn great up there. I first got to the mic and gave my little intro which was something to the effect of, "I actually didn't come here to sweep or mop any floors or run any fog machines or call the actors to places, I came here to sing so thank you so much for having me on this lovely day!" My first song was The Way You Look Tonight which I sang as a ballad in a REAL low key and pretty slow, but I worked the hell out of it and had a lot of fun. My second song was East of the Sun and West of the Moon which was also a lot of fun. After we had all performed we had the opportunity to mill about with all the guests and it was so great hearing the compliments from people. One woman was even in tears saying how fantastic it was that I am so multi-talented and it's touching that someone with such talent in performing could work backstage just to make theater happen. I was very humbled and really it was just such a NICE event for the last few days here.

Chapter 9 - Closing Pirates
There's really very very little to say here. I really didn't ever do anything for pirates except carry a wooden pirate ship across the stage and throw balls of black tape at someone. But Pirates was my favorite of the three shows because the talent in this cast is incredible and they sang it so well. I'll miss having such a relaxed job on a show.

Chapter 10 - The Great Scavenger Hunt of '09
So after Pirates we had a scavenger hunt. Let me tell you, I don't think I have consumed that many different types of hard liquor in one night in my entire life. A lot of the things on the list were things to be done in bars or involving alcohol. I'm actually going to keep most of the details of what went on that night to myself, but I will say that I had a great time and it MAY have involved skinny dipping in Grand Lake. =P

Chapter 11 - Closing All Shook Up...what a night!!!
I've mentioned a few times, I think, that we have been raising money all summer to build a new theater. I really downplayed that fact in this blog because the Raise the Curtain campaign was kind of a huge freaking deal all summer long. Everything we did was to raise $4 million for the first phase of the building project. Phase 1 includes the actual building of the new theater and all summer they've been showing blue-prints and what not promising huge and incredible things if we could just raise the money. This entire summer I've felt kind of like we were being whored out to raise money for them. However, during the curtain speech for our final performance of our last show, it was announced that we had raised the money. I cried. It was so beautiful how...gosh, I'm having trouble finding words for it even now because I'm getting choked up! It's just so incredible that this town and this community and these people care about this theater thing so much. It's not like this anywhere and I just feel so so blessed to have been able to not only bear witness to such generosity and commitment but to have also made a direct impact on it. WE were the season that raised $4 million! That's...oh, it's just so much and as many rough times as I had working for these people, I'm so proud to have been a part of this company this year. I don't regret my decision to come out here in the slightest.

There had been a rumor going around that Tim Allen was coming to the final show. A rumor, mind you, but it seemed plausible because Grand Lake is such an expensive place to live and it is true that Tim Allen owns a house around here. So I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised when everybody came backstage after the first number FREAKING OUT because they really did see him in the audience. I was kind of bummed, though, because I'd forgotten to put my contacts in that evening so I couldn't really see him at all through the small crack in the curtains that hide the backstage. I figured at the time, "Whatever, it's cool he's here and I know what he looks like."

The show was great. I cried at the end of the first act when they all sang I Can't Help Falling in Love with You because it was, in my opinion, the best song of the summer and so moving. Cat and I had a pretty radical dance party at the end of the show backstage. And after the bows were finished and the cast had gone outside to get their congratulations from everyone, I slipped out to just in front of the curtain where the side entrance is so I could watch the band play one last time. Next thing I know, Tim Allen is standing right in front of me because he was sneaking out before the hustle and bustle. He touches me on the shoulder and says "Tell everybody I had a really great time this evening." And that's how I met Tim Allen!

Okay, but for real it's 3AM and I have to clean the bathroom for a 7:30 AM checkout. More to come from the airport!

I could write a book

Alright!! Lots going on, but here is your blog. Finally! (PS - I'm going to wait until I'm sitting in the airport to go on facebook and steal pictures from people, but when I do I'll be posting them on shutterfly) There's a lot to talk about, so please multiply each chapter in awesome points by about 100 because it loses some enthusiasm and awe when I try and write about so much. I've really been having a fantastic last few days here.

Chapter 1 - My hike
Sunday was a big day. I woke up at around 7:30 to meet Mark, the bagpipe player from Brigadoon who also happens to be a park ranger, for a hike on the East Inlet trail. I had really hoped I'd get the opportunity to climb Baldy this summer (Baldy is the most unique looking mountain around here and kind of the sentimental one to the people in town) but it would have been a huge endeavor and it give me a reason to come back. Anyway, it was a really refreshing journey. Nothing stupendous to see but I did get a MUCH closer look at Baldy which was neat because I could look all the way to where I usually see Baldy from and it was like the view that I've had this entire summer was backwards. Mark was a decent hiking partner too. He gave me a neat (fake) tattoo from a bagpipe band that he's into.

Chapter 2 - Steamboat Springs
I sorta rushed Mark to get us back home because I was FINALLY able to work out a plan to meet with my mother's cousin, Andrea, and spend a night in Steamboat. It's truly a shame that it took this long to get the opportunity and I wish I could have had more time because it was SO FUN! First off, Andrea is fantastic as is Steve. We got to talk about family and what not the entire ride there and then we spent the night pub-crawling to all their favorite places. It was really nice to get out of this tiny town and actually see things like, oh I don't know, buses? Haha, it was as if I was trying to ease my way back into city living. I will say I got kinda fed up with hearing "Hide your beagle, Vick's an Eagle!" all night, but we'll let it go. =P Anyway, I got to sleep in a real house with a real bed and a TV in the room even! It's the little things, you know? After a fantastic nights worth of sleep, I got to explore Steamboat on my own for a little while before having to ride back with Steve to Grand Lake in time for changeover. So Baldy and also Andrea are TWO reasons why I have to come back here.

Chapter 3 - The Freedom Band plays at The Lariat
So some of the people in the company have grooved out together over the summer playing real folksy type music. They call themselves The Freedom Band and they're really really excellent. They performed at the cabaret and even recorded a cd together I believe. Anyway, one of the bars that we often go to in town, The Lariat, agreed to have the band play there on Monday night. It was so much fun! I drank more than I usually can and the whole company was out enjoying the show. It was neat to get out of the theater but still all hang out together.

Chapter 4 - Final Evening Changeover/Slumber Party at Marks
Not much to say about the final evening changeover. I find it really incredible how many times I did such hard manual labor right after shows this summer. I mean, I did evening changeovers at PSF last summer, but not to this scale. These were HUGE set pieces and very heavy and often times I was responsible for bringing down some of the heaviest things because I was too short to carry large lighter pieces. So I'm pretty damn proud of myself for getting through the summer this way (and pretty ripped if I may say so). Cat bought the 10 of us beers afterwards and we all drank together in the theater.

After that, I went to one of the company member's friend's cabin which they'd loaned him for when they were away. We had a slumber party complete with video games, board games, food and beds. It was really cute.

Chapter 5 - Cleaning the bathroom
OH EM GEE. I worked on the bathroom for, like, 4 hours yesterday. It's definitely way cleaner than it was when we got here. I can't believe I didn't pass out from toxic fumes. Seriously, 4 HOURS.

Chapter 6 - FINAL BRIGADOON
It feels like just yesterday when I was freaking out trying to find plastic bottles and fake heather for this damn show. It feels weird now that it's over. The final show went really well...okay no. The first act did. Act 2 was kind of a shit show if you'll excuse my language. People messed up lines, choreography, songs, the works, but it wasn't too bad in all honesty. I ran the fog machines for the last time this summer and thank goodness for that because I'm so over them. Brigadoon had the most and the youngest kids as guest artists and it was sad seeing them so sad about closing a show. I don't know if it's that there are still two more closings or if I just didn't love the show as much as others I've done or if I've just been doing this for so long that the sentimental value doesn't hit me as hard anymore, but I didn't cry or anything. I suppose I'll miss it in a way, but probably not much.

Chapter 7 - Striking Brigadoon
There's really not much to say about this. We tore Brigadoon apart today. I cleaned the props loft weeks ago so I didn't have to work on that much. I cleaned up a little backstage but I'll have to work at it a lot more on Sunday when all the shows are finished.

Okay, I'm definitely losing steam here so I'm going to save The Jazz for tomorrow. Take care! 3 more days!

I'M SO SORRY!!!

I really do apologize, everybody. I DID write out another post that night but I suppose the internet backstage gave out before I got it on the website. I really will update very soon, I have to tell you all about my trip to Steamboat Springs! but things are REALLY hectic now because we're in our final days. I'm currently 25 mins from starting the last performance of Brigadoon for the summer so I don't really have the attention span to give you an in depth post before I have to give my next time call to the actors, but the next post will be about my trip to Steamboat, my hike with the bagpipe player, closing this show, the Freedom Band performance at a local bar and anything else I can think of. So close to coming home!!!

Packing sucks

I'm gonna do a real post tonight during the show. Heads up.

Biebs and the Bear: A Story About G-d

Haha, that title is kinda ridiculous, but I worked really hard on it so don't judge.

Two days ago I woke up earlier than usual with the intention of taking my usual hike to the pool. I've never been very specific as to how I get to the pool so let me break it down for yall. Usually people drive up to the lodge and it's about a 5 minute drive. Because I don't have a car but I don't feel like waiting around for them (particularly because they don't get up till 1 when the clouds are already coming out) I hike there. The Tonahutu Trail goes for maybe half a mile before there is a turn off with some overgrown path that leads to the shut down lodge. It's sort of a roundabout way of getting to the pool because it actually takes you in the opposite direction first, but I enjoy being outside anyway and it's good exercise and only takes about an hour.

So it's 9:00 AM in the morning when I reached the trailhead for the Tonahutu Trail and I start thinking, "I have my whole day ahead of me and who really cares if I get a tan? Should I maybe just stay on this trail for the whole 4 miles and try and make it to Granite Falls?" I didn't have my camera or my phone on me and I was a little afraid that I would be disappointed if I spent my day going out there and seeing this beautiful thing just to forget it the next day. On the other hand, I want to pack in as many experiences as possible while I'm out here and I didn't want to regret spending a day at the pool when I could have gone exploring. I decided that I would stay on the trail and that I alone would notice if my tan doesn't make me look like a golden goddess when I go home.

About 2 minutes after I made my decision that I would pass the turn off for the lodge and keep going on the trail, I heard a rustling sound. No, lie. I heard branches breaking. It sounded larger than the tiny scurrying animals I usually hear when I'm on the trail. An elk? Maybe even a moose? The cracking branches sounded more like a person was messing around off the track so I glanced over to my right. And there it was. About 25 feet away from me through the few trees the beetles haven't killed off I saw a black bear. He wasn't enormous, not quite as big as a moose. Or maybe he was, I'm not really sure, because the moment I realized what I was looking at was also the moment my brain went, "Well ef me if this bear sees you because you don't have your phone and you're effed." Granted I always tell people (Cat specifically because she's an out doorsy person) when I go on my walks through the woods, and this particular trail isn't very far from humanity, but I also realized at this moment that I never want to be without my cell phone again. Actually, I wasn't nearly as panicked now as the time when I saw the four moose. Moose are about 10 times more likely to attack someone than a bear is. The bears really don't care about you at all. I think the reason I was startled as I was was because I'd never really expected to see a bear while I was out here and especially not while I was hiking. Many residents of the town have been telling us all summer that they've lived here for many years and never even seen one bear and the ones who have seen them where when the bears were looking through dumpsters for food. This bear was out in the daytime looking for whatever in the woods and I was there too. How incredibly lucky I was to witness this! Of course, that didn't cross my mind until a little bit later.

So anyway, I see the bear and remember that the advice we were given for coming across a bear in the woods is to make yourself seem as large as possible. It never really crossed my mind until this point how freaking stupid that would make me feel. I was pretty certain the bear had zero interest in me because it hadn't stopped at all, it just kept walking parallel to the trail I was on in the direction from where I was coming from. I decided not to draw any more attention to myself by yelling or anything, but I stuck my arms out to my sides and hoped that the sweatshirt I was wearing made me large enough. About 10 seconds later I was very surprised to see 2 boys about my age coming in my direction on the trail. I excitedly told them I had just seen a bear and pointed it out to them. Having passed the view on to someone else, I hightailed it passed them and continued on the trail. Needless to say I felt fulfilled enough to skip out on the full hiking excursion and did go to the pool instead where I spent a lovely few hours listening to 2 15 year olds talk about getting drunk. One other cool thing, though, is that when I reached the pool and opened the gate there was a snake lying across the cement. I haven't really been able to figure out what it was but my BEST guess at this point is that it was young western terrestrial garter snake.

Here's the G-d part. I always wanted to believe that there was more reason for my coming out here to work than just the money and the job. I know there were many reasons I could use like getting away from the city or trying to be independent from my friends for the summer, but I don't think I whole-heartedly believed that any of those were special reasons for coming out here. I think the reason I did decide to come out here really was only because it was the only theater job I found. How sad it would have been if I left here feeling the same way because the truth of the matter is I didn't LOVE this job. Don't get me wrong, I am proud of the work that I've done and it's not everyday you find work where you don't have to come in until the day is over, but the people I worked for bummed me out and the rest of the company was just very negative at the time. However, the bear experience, along with many other experiences I've had out here, has given me reason to wonder if maybe there WAS another reason for me coming out here. I'm learning that I really really really enjoy being out in the wilderness, climbing these mountains and seeing these things, and maybe when I graduate I don't have to jump right into the theater world. Maybe I want to be a trailguide. Maybe I want to travel and go backpacking across Europe. I don't know. What I can say is that I'm so very very thankful to have had these experiences while I'm out here. I don't know where I stand on all my religious beliefs and I'm even less certain about how I feel about the concept of there being a G-d who hears us and what not, but I must say I feel a little blessed to have had such a unique experience that many locals have not even had. So I thanked G-d that day. And it didn't feel silly. It felt very fulfilling.

As promised, I've stolen a few pictures from our hike up to Sky Pond and put them in this post. I will be stealing more pictures and putting them on my shutterfly at some point, but for now I hope these will do.

Staff Cabaret, Sky Pond, and maybe some more...maybe

Okay, I MUST say this before I say anything else at all because I have been trying to figure out for 2 months how to fit it into a blog post and I just haven't been able to. I love the dogs out here. I am by no means a dog person, but everyone in town has these HUGE dogs that they keep in their stores and walk down the street with. I'm talking about untrimmed mountain dogs, not these stupid little hypoallergenic dogs they've got in Philly. I'm really going to miss the dogs out here.

Onward with the real post. Saturday night after Brigadoon was another "After the Show" cabaret concert featuring the artistic staff - aka the people who don't like me, I mean, my bosses. It was actually a nice evening with some of my favorite songs being performed. However, the whole thing made me a bit angry. All of the artistic staff have been a part of RMRT for many years now and in between songs they would tell stories about their experiences with this company. The reason it made me angry was that they spoke about these life-changing times with each other and how they have such good memories singing around the campfire with the staff before them and so forth and I thought, why have they disconnected themselves from us? Why don't THEY come and sing with us or treat us well or so forth? They said we're the best company they've had in years, so why do they treat everyone like shit? Granted I get a lot more crap from them than many of the other company members, but there's a general feeling from everyone that we're treated like children. They tell us all the time that we should be thankful to everyone in town for all they do for us and we are! We don't need to be reminded of common courtesy and so forth. It's just frustrating hearing them talk about this beautiful thing when I don't believe it's all there. I think in past years the company bonded together much more than we have this year and I blame the people in charge for festering a sense of wrong-doing on all of our parts. Phew, I didn't word that as well as my feelings are about the topic, but it doesn't really matter. I'm done bitching.

I don't consider myself a very physically active/fit person but I've been trying to challenge myself while I'm out here. I'm really happy about it because it's given me a few experiences that make me believe I may actually miss this place. See, I don't want to go home regretting not making the best of my situation while I'm out here. What is my situation? Well, I'm working at a theater where I usually don't go into work until 7 at night and it's smack dab in the Rocky Mountains. If there was ever a time to pick up the hobby of going hiking it would be now. So yesterday I climbed a mountain to a place called Sky Pond. And despite whatever ill feelings I have toward the people I work with, I must say that it did, in fact, change my life. Just a little bit, but it was really a remarkable experience.

I went with Cat, Ronen and Kent's friend Jack. Jack spent 3 years in the army and I was worried that I would be a wreck on this trip but I did really really well for myself. Particularly considering that I've made myself sick once again. Bad cough. We woke up way early and left Grand Lake at 7:20AM (we were supposed to leave at 7 but we spent 10 minutes pounding on Ronen's door and then had to turn around once we'd left him and he called us saying his alarm hadn't gone off). Cat drove us on the scenic highway that goes to Estes Park and we parked in a lot near the trailhead and took a shuttle to where the trail starts at 9,240 feet. This particular trail had many different stops along the way and got progressively more difficult as we went on. The first section of the trail took us to Alberta Falls which were perhaps the most beautiful waterfalls I've seen since I've been out here. At this point there were still lots of kids and families on the trails.

We continued up and were able to behold the most beautiful view that overlooked the Rocky landscape. This is where we had our first major photo op and where I smashed my knee into a rock trying to get on top for a picture. I had to climb the whole damn mountain in pain but it was totally worth it. The going was still pretty easy at this point.

We kept going and we reached these meadows that were filled with colorful flowers. Running water flowed past us the entire trail. It was kind of like a movie, in all honesty. I knew places like this existed but definitely not in Pennsylvania. It was so neat seeing all the green meadows even at however many feet up. I kept my eyes out for eagles the whole time because I'd really like to see more before I leave here but unfortunately eagles don't come out on Sundays.

Right after we passed our first patch of snow we reached The Loch, a HUGE lake that looked like it would be a lot of fun to swim in were it not so freaking cold. The trail split in two here and you could go around to the other side to get a different view of the lake. Jack and I went to one side to get a picture of Ronen and Cat from across the lake and they did the same. Did I mention that part of my drive to get out and hike is to fill my vain desires to get pictures of myself in cool places? In the distance we could see The Continental Divide.

We walked and walked and walked. The trail had been getting increasingly steeper/narrower/rockier as we walked to this point, but when we reached the next waterfall, Timberline Falls, we were surprised to see that we would have to climb up these very steep stone steps to keep going. We climbed the steps to get closer to the falling water and it was breathtaking. Huge boulders sat at the base of the waterfall and you could get to them by stepping on smaller rocks which of course we had to do to take pictures. After that photo op was finished, we went back to the trail and were surprised once again to find that the steps hadn't even been the most complicated part of the trail to Sky Pond. The trail actually stopped being so much a trail and more of a rock climbing excursion THROUGH the running water! It wasn't like a billion feet up or anything, but I've definitely never done anything like this before. It reminded me of being at Camp Harlam and climbing the rock wall only with real rocks and water. It was so much fun!

We reached the top and I managed NOT get blown over by the wind which was so strong we had to shout to hear each other. It was also freezing cold up here. It was also one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Climbing over the last ledge we beheld another lake more splendid than anything we'd seen on the trail before. Sky Pond. It was incredible. You could look across the lake and once again see all the mountains in the distance. I'm a little bit sad that I forgot to make a stone pile because I wanted to leave my mark, but cest la vie.

We sat down and had lunch. After we were finished, I turned to Cat and yelled that I wondered how far the trail kept going because I'd seen some people continue past us. We looked at the map and realized that we were wrong and hadn't even reached Sky Pond yet. This was the Lake of Glass. Ronen confessed that he'd had an inkling there was more to go because he'd seen two lakes on the map, but he didn't want to keep climbing up waterfalls. Lucky for him the rest of the trail was nothing like what we had been on climbing up to the Lake of Glass. It was just a straight trail with a very slight incline. It was interesting because at this point I believe we'd passed the line where trees are still able to grow. There were still shrubs and flowers. It was funny to see all the greenery up there with the snow.

We made it to Sky Pond where we could look across and see this enormous glacier. This place was WAY less windy and it was very quiet. Mostly because the people who'd actually made it to this point were too exhausted to talk but also because of the lack of wind. We stayed for a few minutes to take our final round of pictures before we turned around to go back down. The way down wasn't too bad. My knee was really killing me at this point, but at least we were going down hill.

The four of us got the most fantastic Indian food in Estes Park for an early dinner and sat around talking for a few hours. I also bought myself a Baha, one of those hippie sweaters that I've wanted for years but never wanted to spend the money on. It was only like $18! After that we drove back to Grand Lake admiring the stars along the way. I'll be stealing pictures from Cat and Ronen shortly and will post them on biebs.shutterfly.com asap (Actually, I'm currently sitting backstage during a performance of Brigadoon, but I'll put at least a few pics from Cat's facebook album in this post when I get back to my cabin).

I mentioned that I'm sick again. I know that it's stress about leaving in 2 weeks. It's not because I'm happy about leaving and it's not because I'm sad about leaving. I'm still sorting out whether or not I'll be more happy or sad to go. There are so many things that make me unhappy out here like the stress of my job and the negativity in people, but I don't hate my job. In fact, it's really a pretty swell gig I've got going here. And it's beautiful and I'm doing things I've never done before that are making me a healthier person in the long run. I think I'm sick because it's change and I always react oddly to change. I must say that I'm REALLY looking forward to finally seeing my friends and family and roommate again. Speaking of which, I got a package from her today! Funny story, she and my grandmother both sent me the same exact Emerald Green nail polish.

I bought a new navel ring today and when I was trying to put it in I dropped part of it down the sink in the women's dressing room. In my frustration trying to get it out of the drain I slammed my hand against the pipe which shattered the ring on my index finger. Sad story, but I managed to get the other one out of the drain at least. This time in two weeks I'll be landing in Philly airport!

From Sunday to now

Sunday was a day off for us. Ronen and his father and his father's girlfriend invited me to go along with them to Estes Park which is about 50 miles away and you get there by way of a scenic highway. It was a really gorgeous drive. We stopped at about a million places to take pictures. Speaking of which, I'm currently uploading a whole bunch of pictures that I stole from Ronen because my camera hasn't been working. Some of them are from events that happened earlier this summer but I hope you enjoy. You can check them out at biebs.shutterfly.com

Like I said, we stopped pretty frequently to take pictures along the way so it took us a few hours to get there. Estes Park isn't really anything special but it's the biggest town I've been in since coming to Colorado. Just gift shops and restaurants and stuff. We all had lunch and then shopped for about an hour. We took a cable car up to the top of a mountain where we could see the hotel that they based The Shining off of as well as another beautiful view of the Rockies. Honestly, it wasn't a particularly eventful day but it was really nice of Ronen's father to adopt me for the day.

The days have kind of been meshing together at this point. There was a company horse back riding excursion. We didn't really go anywhere special and it was only an hour long of walking on a peaceful trail through their property, but it was kind of funny seeing a caravan of 20+ people on horses.

I let Putt-Putt buy me ice cream. Also uneventful. I wasn't really feeling very well either so it wasn't a long date or anything. We got ice cream, watched some TV and then he walked me home. Poor guy's tryin, but I'm just not having it. It's all good, he's leaving in two days or something and then I won't have to worry about him anymore.

Yesterday a couple who owns a house on the lake invited the company over for the afternoon to have food and fun. It was incredible. The weather didn't seem very promising but there were many patches of sun throughout the afternoon. In addition to eating my heart out, I went tubing in a tube being pulled by their boat (and fell out) and then got to try wade boarding (and fell off). I still can't get over how kind people are to us out here.

I'm sorry, these things were all probably a bit more exciting than I make it out to be here in this blog, but I've been in a weird place lately. I'm sure it's because we're leaving so soon. There's so much happening in two and a half weeks and at the same time there's very little happening now. I've got a lot going through my mind that if I can sort it out I will be happy to share it with you all. Just things about leaving here and what I'm doing when I get back to Philly and so forth. I'm also going to eventually go through all the other company member's pictures of the summer and steal a bunch so I can share them with you because there are a few good pictures that I don't have.

Again, sorry for the lack of enthusiasm in this post. I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my afternoon. Pool's closed. =(

Around the World!!!

Wow! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd written. It's sometimes hard to motivate myself to update because there's so much time to just sit around and dwell on nothing, but I suppose I have a lot to talk about in this entry.

Needless to say, the rest of that day did NOT go as I had hoped. However, it turned out swell by the end. Let me mention first that it had been decided that Saturday night would be another theme party/competition. The theme was Around the World and each cabin was told to pick an obscure country to present for the rest of the company. Food, drink, costumes and decorations were all a necessity. My cabin was combined with the adjoining cabin. We, the duplex, chose Fiji for our country.

Okay, so after I finished writing about how I was going to spend time at the pool I had to go changeover the set from whatever it had been the night before into the pirates set because the children's youth theater production of To Be or Not to Be...a Pirate? uses our set. that took until about 12:45. I went back to the cabin to change into my bathing suit. I asked if there was anything I could to do help set up for the party. Since the other girls were already working on food and drink and decorations, they asked if I could go gather some long grass for our costumes and for decorations. Well, that took for freakin ever. Okay, it took an hour. But I gathered grass for an hour. Then finally as I was ready to set off for the pool, Ronen came up and reminded me that I'd told him I'd go see the kids show with him that day. I was grumpy about it, particularly cause I was still supposed to go on this stupid ice cream date with Putt-Putt, but he told me it was only 40 mins so I should go with him. After much pestering (and MAYBE a trip to Grumpy's for some pre-show shots of tequila) I agreed to go see the show. It was awful. And I know they're just kids, but ug. It was bad news. Not only that, it was AN HOUR AND A HALF long. So by that time it was well past 4, I called Putt-Putt and asked if we could reschedule I didn't make it to the pool because we had to change the set back over. BUMMER.

Despite being grumpy about not making it to the pool, the Around the World party TOTALLY made up for it. The competition was judged by the RMRT alum who had sung the special event the night before. Now, I did say the rules said obscure countries. Here's what it turned out to be. Fiji, Greenland, Texas, 78% of the earth's surface (so the ocean) and Columbia. It was all INCREDIBLE. Fiji went first. Everyone in the entire company came into our cabin and we had the judges and some others sitting around on a carpet we'd laid out. The drink we made was called Caba which is some ritualistic root drink that actually tasted pretty terrible but it was a lot of fun having everyone clapping their hands and doing the rituals and what not. Anna made a pineapple sweet potato back with cheese melted on top. Everyone got to try a little bit and it was fantastic.

Onward to Greenland! Scott and Sarah are the vegan couple of the company who live together. We all packed into their cabin which they had decorated with white sheets draped everywhere. They were both wearing winter gear. They didn't have any food for us, we all got hot chocolate with schnapps which tasted great. We also got a fun fact! Did you know that if Greenland were to melt that the water level of the ocean would rise 23 feet? Cool, huh?

Next was the main house who chose Texas as their country. The main house consists of the most people out of any cabin, seven of them under one roof (although one of them is pretty anti-social so he didn't really participate). Most of the kids from there are from southern states and like to joke with each other that they're a southern family anyway. They all talked with annoying accents and yelled alot. They had American themed balloons everywhere and a confederate flag which was...cute. Jack Sweeney grilled hot dogs and they were phenomenal. Their beverage was a gin bucket with an ef ton of gin in it, but I guess that's what happens when you have 6 people buying booze.

THe ocean was next. Cat lives by herself so she joined Luke and Christina, the other resident couple of the company. I don't recall their decorations, but they looked incredible. Christina just looked like a sea urchin or something. Luke walked around in a bathing suit and life preserver and Cat had a mermaid costume. They actually made vegan avocado sushi! They also had blue jello with Swedish fish sticking out and they made Velveeta pasta shells. They called their drink "Whale's Milk" and it consisted of milk, caluha and vodka. By this point we were all drunk as hell which made us that less prepared for...oh gosh, Columbia.

The loft house did Columbia. While the Fiji house consisted of only females, Columbia's house is the home of one actor, two musicians and the lighting designer. All male. All effing crazy. Honestly, words can't really describe their house. Kent, the lighting designer, set them up with red lights all over the house. The borrowed the jail cell that had been used in the Buffalo BBQ Parade. Josh, the actor, was locked in the cell with bags of powdered sugar that looked like cocaine and danced around saying sexually perverted things to all the girls. They made fried plantains and some sort of dulce de leche cake which was effing incredible. Honestly. their booze scared me so I didn't have any of it and I don't really recall what it was. They also burned about 20 sticks of incense at the same time. The whole cabin complex still smells like Columbia.

In the end, Fiji won for most authentic, Texas won best pride and Columbia took home the Roustabout t-shirts with the overall win. It was so much fun and I don't think I've been more drunk since I got here.

I have more stories from the past few days including my trip to Estes Park and my....huhhh, ice cream date with Putt-Putt, but it's 1:00 here and I want to get up early tomorrow before a lunch party we've been invited to.

The Parent Train has pulled into Grand Lake!

The weather has been so awful here but today is supposed to be SUNNY till like 4 today which means I'm totally hitting the pool! I'm supposed to go on an ice cream date with the guy from the putt-putt at 4 but I'm gonna call him and ask if we can make it later so I can stay at the pool longer. I'm not really that into him, but he offered ice cream so... you know. ::shrugs::

Both Ronen (my gay Jewish partner in crime) and Kathleen (my outspoken bunk-bed mate) have their parents in town these few days. My parents were going to come this week but some things came up back home and unfortunately weren't able to make it out. It's all good, though, I'm just about 3/4 through my time here so soon enough I'll be seeing EVERYONE again!

Ronen invited me out to lunch yesterday with his father and his father's girlfriend which was really kind of them. He's a very very quiet dude which Ronen said made him a little uncomfortable sometimes so I did a great deal of talking and question asking. I think I make a good impression on parents because Ronen's dad seemed to enjoy my company. Too bad he's a gay and can't be my boyfriend...or can he???

We went shopping for a little bit after that. We were hoping to find some friendship bracelets for the two of us or something but they were all a little bit too girly for Ronen's taste. We're going to try and find some hemp so that we can make our own. I did pick up some spray for my cowboy boots so the suede doesn't get messed up and also a pretty pimp gift for my niece. I'm going to have to send it to New York I think cause I don't know how else I'll get it home.

Last night after the show was some special event with some RMRT alumni who've made it to Broadway singing at the Daven Haven. I heard it was great, but I didn't go because Kathleen wanted to take her parents to Grumpy's bar. There were only a few of us there but we had a nice time. Kathleen's father bought us drinks and we talked about...well, Kathleen. Again, though, it was really nice.

I got YET ANOTHER PACKAGE from my family yesterday. I told them to cool it with the packages cause the other kids are getting jealous. However, this was an awesome package. My grandmother included a 52 piece make-up kit from ULTA which will be PERFECT for when Kathleen does the Biebs-int0-Lauren make-over, an event that people are highly anticipating at which Kathleen will transform me from runaway teen to...an adult. The rest of the package included THE COOLEST WATER BOTTLE I'VE EVER OWNED (from Eddie Bauer) a magazine, some food and hairbands and an ice cube tray. And my medicine. I'm so excited about the water bottle, it makes my life.

Alright, early changeover today because of the diva concert last night and skipping it then. I'll be at the pool if you need me after 12. Cheers, friends!

Because I don't feel like working...

I SHOULD be at the theater right now cleaning up the props loft, but it's gross outside and I'm just so uninspired. Then again, when it's nice out, I'm also way uninspired because I just want to sit by the pool and work on my tan. Actually, the best thing for me to do at this very moment would be to get off my butt and go for a run. It's really really cold here. The past few days it's hailed for a few minutes at least one time. I was out and about for all of them. No, we missed the BIG hail storm when we went on our rafting trip, but Ronen and I had to take cover under a tree on our hike up the mountain and yesterday I had to take cover in a store for a little while.

Speaking of that, I went on a shopping spree yesterday. I was looking at old pictures of myself from when I came home from working at Camp Harlam and noticed how by the end of the summer I'd decked myself out in rubber-band bracelets and bangles up the wazoo and I was also painting my nails a lot. I painted my nails a lot last summer too. I don't know why but it always happens in the summer that I decide to be one of those girls who accessorizes like it's they're job, but I looked at myself and all I was wearing were my class ring and some wooden beaded necklace from LAST summer when I went through this accessory phase. I always wear out of it by September, but I figured it was time to do a bit of shopping.

First, I stopped by the hair salon to get my eyebrows waxed. I didn't touch my eyebrows from May 08 till this past March because I wanted a natural look and then I got them waxed but asked for a natural look anyway. Well now I'm tired of being a hippie and I miss having shaped eyebrows so the plan was to get them waxed here but when I went into the salon she told me it was a weeks wait. Sad face.

Most of the jewelry that I bought is just cheap meaningless stuff which was the idea. It's all stuff I can wear in the shower and never have to take off. We were told at the beginning of the summer that often people give us discounts because they love the theater so much. Since I'm not recognized as often as my job keeps me behind the scenes, I don't usually get the discounts. I try and drop the fact that I work at the theater when I talk up store owners. One person did give me a 50% discount on two bracelets I got at her store as opposed to the regular 25%. One is just a silver chain and the other are some cheap orange beads. At another store I got a colorful beaded bracelet and then a bracelet made with beaded hemp seeds. No discount, but I'm happy with both of the items.

One store I spent a really long time (too long, actually) trying to pick the perfect size hematite ring for my index finger. The reason I say too long is because they were only a dollar and I shouldn't have been so picky, but I'm really stingy. While I was trying on rings, this magnetic bracelet caught my eye and I decided to skip out on the ring and just pick a magnet bracelet. When I went to pay, the store owner said "I saw you trying so hard to pick one of the rings" and when I told him that I'd been stressing that I'd finally pick one and then it would just fall off, he told me that if I found one close enough to just take it so that way I wouldn't feel bad about losing it. So that was nice.

My favorite purchase came from this adorable old woman's store who I think I'm gonna end up going back to when I'm ready to put some money down on a Grand Lake sweatshirt. I bought a really cheap necklace that is wood with white beads, but I also found a ring that fit my left ring finger. When I say fit, I mean it actually fits on my hand and looks decent which is not typical for me in stores like this because I have such small hands. It's really pretty. Sterling silver with an opalescent stone in it. The woman told me it was actually made on an Indian reservation, probably Navajo. I'm stoked about it.

When I got home, I decided to take a swing at shaping my own eyebrows which I've never done before. I don't think I did a half bad job. At one point I had to stop myself for fear of overdoing it and I'm sure they could still use some work, but they're worlds better than they were. I had my silver nail polish on and decided I wanted to see what the green looked like so I started painting over the silver and then just decided to paint only 5 fingers. Trying to further my corky camp counselor look, I painted one nail purple and one nail blue. So basically I look ridiculous.

Wow, I'm so sorry, this was the most worthless post I've ever done. As you can tell, my job doesn't always keep life exciting. Cest la vie. I need to figure out what to do now because I hear thunder so I suppose a run is out of the question. We'll seeee.

Things I should have written about and will at some other point:
Apprehensions about going back to Philly both socially and career based
Deciding to be a vegetarian for a month
The epic fail I promised to describe to you all when I was in a better mood
The new addition to the Dani/Biebs residence

Someone bought me for $13,000!!!

Alright alright, my last post was not very informative so I'll try and to a better job now of describing the cabaret.

The opening number that I was in was called "Raise The Roof" from the musical The Wild Party and it was fine. It was me and all the actors in the company. Actually, it wasn't fantastic but for having one week to learn four parts and choreography I'd say we did pretty decent. The next few numbers included a trio singing from some show I don't know, the two leads from All Shook Up doing a song together, two people swing dancing to "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing", a solo ballad, a girl signing another jazz song, Ronen and Aly dancing and singing as Siamese twins, and a few others.

My song went really well. I messed up the words and sang part of the 2nd verse twice but I'm totally over it. I'm just really excited that I actually got up there and performed. It was neat and you could tell that people were excited to see a tech person up there performing. Unfortunately, my camera broke and I was unable to video the rehearsal, but when I get the dvd I'll be sure to post my number up here so you can all admire how fantastic I am.

Following me was my roommate Kathleen singing Beat It by Michael Jackson with complete choreography and then the hot dog and hot dog bun "You're Lovely" number which I never got the opportunity to see because I was in the number after that. The jellyfish dance. Actually, the song is called "Different" and it's from the musical Honk and it was great. It's this "duck" singing about how he's different from all the other ducks (the show Honk is the story of the ugly duckling) but Mark made such a beautiful set-up for the whole thing. 5 of us had umbrellas with sheer cloth hanging over them and flashlights and all the lights were out so it looked like jellyfish floating across the stage. His flashlight was green so while we all "swam" together, he looked odd from us all. I'll be sure to post that number as well.

The girls number was fantastic. It started out with a girl on stage saying "Um, guys, does anyone know what show we're doing tonight?" and the lights come up and she has seventeen costume pieces in her hand. The joke is that since we're a repertory theater and do a different show every night we never know what show we're doing till we get there. The music starts up and the girls start entering from the back just the way the boys do when they're searching for Harry in "Run and Get Him" which is the song we arranged to do. I run out on stage and scream "PLACES PLEASE!" in my panicked voice that the actors like to give me a hard time about. The first verse the girls sang was about not knowing which show they were doing. They run off-stage and Cat and I enter. She sings about needing more time to finish putting the set up, I sing about killing anyone who's moved my props, and then Cat sings "Why are we freaking out? They're the ones who are gonna look ridiculous onstage!" We run away and the girls who do most of the quick changes in All Shook Up come out and sing about that. Then there's another verse where the girl understudying Fiona tells her that she'll go on for her tonight because she looks sickly but Fiona says she's feeling fine and will go on. Then all the other girls ran out and we actually sang one of the real verses from the song only with a tap dance break. Then we started circling the two girls like the choreography goes during the wedding scene in Brigadoon, and it's revealed that the one girl has tied up and gagged the other. There's a big fight until Bob Scott (the flamboyant gay man who cooks for us all the time) gets up out of the audience and tells us all to stop freaking out. We sing a verse of praise for him and the number is over. I'm sorry, that was probably boring, but I wanted to be thorough.

The boys did their number "I'm The King Of Grand Lake" which also featured Bob Scott as the king. Both the boys and girls decided to use him as a secret weapon oddly enough. It was kind of funny. So before the last number, the artistic director invited Sally and Chad Scott (some of the people in charge here who I don't think like me much but I work for all the same) onstage and said something about a trio of Scotts. I think there was GOING to be a gag about Bob Scott again, or at least that's what the artistic director THOUGHT was happening, so he said "Wait, I said a TRIO of Scotts!" And Sally says, "We have three! One, two, and," she said, pointing at her belly, "three." Our company manager and managing director were able to hide from us ALL that Sally has been pregnant this whole summer. She's already three months in. It was really cute and then the company came out and sang "What I Did For Love." End of the cabaret! Off to...mayhem.

So after the cabaret we went to the place where they held the silent auction. What we had been told about this is that it would probably be one of the best evenings we'd have this summer. Why? Well, for one, we'd all be super relieved that the cabaret was over and we could start relaxing again. Also, open bar. We were told to have a good time. Not TOO good a time, but a good time. Apparently last year the girl who had Elisa's job popped out of her dress and a board member complained so we were strictly warned that if you drank too much you should leave. I think I probably hit that point in the night. I believe I may have had an entire bottle of chardonnay all by myself in addition to the multiple oyster shots I took. I had an effing good time, friends. The whole time we were drinking and eating, people were coming up to us and telling us how splendid we were. I was on cloud nine because SOOO many people came up to tell me what a wonderful job I'd done and how impressed they were. I got a FANTASTIC backhanded compliment at one point when a woman came up to me and said "I had NO IDEA you were talented!" but I think she was a little bit drunk so I wasn't really offended.

The auction was ridic. I took for granted how rich everyone is here. Honestly, I was busy drinking most of the night to pay attention to what was going on, but I know that the most expensive prize ended up being $20,000 for the leading men in the shows to come sing at a venue. The Jazz, the group that I was in, was the last to be auctioned off. All I remember is climbing some stairs and standing with the rest of the crew while people yelled out numbers and the final bid was $13,000. So that should be a lot of fun.

I guess now would be a good time to mention my attire. Why? Because it was JUST after the jazz night was auctioned off that I lost my dress. I had gone outlet shopping a few days earlier with some people but couldn't find anything I was in love with except this one hippie dress that was cute but not appropriate for jazz. It was a bit hippie-esque so I decided that I would wear it for the opening number. What I DID end up wearing was a read dress I borrowed from one of the actresses that was BEAUTIFUL but a bit low cut for someone with my proportions...or lack thereof. Basically, I have no boobs so nothing to keep the dress up. We made it through the cabaret with some double sided scotch tape but for some reason I decided to risk it and just wear my bra underneath for the party. Good thing I went with the bra because, as I said, the dress fell down. I'm fairly certain nobody noticed, though, because I wasn't asked to leave. HOWEVER, Elisa was. Now, no one is saying she drank to much. In fact, we're all fairly certain she was doing just fine. What we think happened is that they were just particularly sensitive to her situation because it was the HER from last year who had the incident and Elisa is pretty well endowed. It was really annoying of them to suggest she needed to go home, but rather than make a scene there, we left. This is where my night ended as far as I was concerned.

I missed everyone going to the bar, drinking more, Elisa crying a lot, Ronen getting annoyed at Aly, etc. Somehow I managed to walk myself half way home, was picked up by another company member who left early to mack it with his girlfriend, and I passed out in the on the couch. The next morning I found my purse in the adjoining cabin and found MYSELF in my bed. I spent an hour being proud of myself for making it into bed before I was informed that I had in fact been picked up and placed in my bed by Kent. I don't know WHY I always pass out when I drink a lot, but I wish I could manage to stay awake for longer so that I could have fun with everyone, though it sounded like the night got a bit dramatic for my tastes anyway.

Yesterday, the day AFTER the craziness, was the company rafting trip. WHY exactly they choose the day when everyone is the most hungover for this excursion I do not know. What I DO know is that it is very difficult to sober up when you can't vomit. Because of my surgery last summer, I'm no longer able to throw up, say, all the alcohol I'd consumed the night before. So for the first half of the trip down the Colorado River I was still pretty drunk. We had such a fantastic time though! I saw a bald eagle sitting in a tree and a tiny coyote. I also got to work on my spectacular tan. =) I don't know, there's not too much to tell about rafting because it was so laid back. It wasn't particularly rough at all so no one fell out or anything like that. Some people went cliff jumping but I chose not to because the water was freezing and my head was already pounding.

Today I went up Shadow Mountain again but this time Ronen came with me. It was a really nice day minus the hailstorm we got stuck in. All of a sudden the sky was pelting ice at us! But we made it to the top, had a nice lunch, and now here I am looking at a pile of dishes that need to be done before I go to change-over and then All Shook Up.

One last thing before I end this annoyingly long post. My father sent me the cutest thing in his package to me. It's a Biebs' Daily Disposition Chart with a happy face on one side, a storm cloud on the other, and it came with directions to move the pointer to where my disposition is on that particular day so everyone knows how to handle me. I hung it by where I sit during the shows. If I can get my camera to work I'll post of picture of it.

Love you all! Now that the cabaret is over I'll try and be better about posting regularly.

Life is a CABARET!

Tonight is the Cabaret!!! Huzzah! And I my nails are drying so I can't do anything with my hair so I've decided to update!

So what is the cabaret? It's another event to get money from all the rich people who love theater here in CO. But a cabaret is a cabaret, pretty self explanitory. A number of people are singing straight solos, duets and/or trios. There is a swing dance number, two guys dressed in a hot dog and hot dog bun costumes singing "You're Lovely", opening and closing numbers with the whole company and the boys and girls numbers.

Every year the guys and the girls rival each other in their numbers. It's a big secret and it's not revealed until the dress rehearsal what the other gender is doing. This year, both numbers are spectacular! The girls took a song from Brigadoon that all the boys sing when they're chasing this one guy through the town who actually gets killed at one point during the song. It's the men singing "Run and get him! Run and get him!" The girls version is pretty much all of us running around backstage yelling "Run and QUICK CHANGE!", a quick change being when you only have a few seconds to change your clothes before the next scene. I don't know, I'm doing a horrible job of describing it, but I'll let each one of you borrow the dvd when it's edited (they're filming tonight!). The boys number is from the Disney movie musical "Newsies" and it's a bunch of paper boys singing about being in the paper. Our boys changed it to fit being written up in the local paper about our shows being awesome, and they have great choreography.

I'm in the girls number, the opening and closing numbers ("Raise the Roof" from The Wild Party and "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line), some other boys number where I dance around in the dark with a flashlight and an umbrella with cloth over it pretending to be a jellyfish, and I'm singing "The Lady is a Tramp". Phew! 5 numbers! But I'm totally ready for it as long as the dress I borrowed from Christina doesn't fall off me.

After the cabaret, there is an auction where people bid on things donated by locals or that we company members put together. One of the auction items is a night of jazz and I'm going to be participating in that for whoever wins.

Sorry, this was super rushed but I have to be getting ready so that I still have time to mop and sweep before my regular routine. I'll give you more details about the acts and about this evening in the next few days. Cheers!

(My camera is broken!!!)

Yay! Part 2

Except I'm not feeling very "Yay!" right now. I woke up at 7:30 this morning after having been trapped in my room all night while Cuddlefest 09 (an excuse for my cabin mates and some extra company members to get drunk and lie on top of each other) happened ONCE AGAIN in my living room. Which wouldn't have bothered me as much if it had only been the one night, but this is the third day in a row I've woken up and haven't been able to be comfortable in my cabin because "Jane" and "John" are sleeping together on the damn couch and Elisa is in bed and Kathleen is in bed and the only place for me to be is coffin of a bunk where I can't even sit up all the way and always have to pray that I don't die when I get on it because the thing is falling apart. Thus, I'm outside at the effing picnic tables and I'm cold and really grumpy. A perfect way to start the day, right?

Okay, enough of negative Nancy. I have stories to finish. Let's see... I read the entire first Twilight book in 2 days. Not necessarily because I loved it that much but because it was something to do. Honestly, it was a bit juvenile as far as love stories go but it was enjoyable all the same. I'm waiting for the company manager to finish reading the 2nd one so I can borrow it from her. I'd go out and buy it myself but that's not environmentally conscious.

Remember how I mentioned weeks and weeks ago that a lot of businesses around here have closed down in recent years? Well an interesting thing happened this past week. Two of the closed down buildings opened up and had sales to get rid of whatever items were in the store. I decided to check them out to see if anything was worth buying. What did I find? Well, in addition to a gift for my roommate, I purchased my own pair of blue suede shoes. Moccasins to be exact, and they're totally awesome. I didn't wear them the day I bought them cause I was afraid my toe would bleed and ruin them, but the next day I wore them to the pool. Cat drove me home from there and it wasn't until I was all the way back at the cabins when I realized that I'd left them on the roof of the car back in the parking lot. Devastated, I halfheartedly called one of the people still at the pool and asked them to scan the parking lot knowing well that chances were I'd never see my $13 treasures again. But, as if by the grace of goodness, when Erin Crabb got out of the car she was holding my shoes which she had retrieved for me from the middle of the highway. So I still have blue suede shoes! And yes, they do make me cooler.

Actually, I got two pairs of shoes in the past few days. I ordered some running shoes from ebay. They're pretty boring, just plain old white athletic shoes, but I paid a quarter of what they originally sold for and they're brand new. I also got a 3 page letter from Dani which made me feel kinda bad because I had literally JUST put her gift in the mail along with a note a scribbled on the back of a Subway napkin because I didn't have any paper on me. Later today I'm going to write her a long letter to make up for it. It was so nice hearing from her. I miss her something awful and I truly cannot wait to get back to Philly so we can go back to our quasi-couple relationship.

Alright, let's talk about the Buffalo BBQ Parade! For the record, I didn't see any Buffalo or BBQ's for that matter. But I was in the parade. Oy vey. First, let me explain that this past weekend was Buffalo BBQ Weekend. The parade was the only thing I took part in. For the most part I just stayed by the cabins to avoid the crowds. Actually, I did see a couple who were both wearing Phillies shirts but when I called out to them from about 7 feet away, they didn't even turn to look so I'm thinking they may not even have spoken English. Anyway, the parade is supposedly this big deal competition for who has the best float and what not. RMRT build a jail and put it in the back of the pick-up truck while some of the company members got in the costumes for Jailhouse Rock from All Shook Up and danced around. But that's not what I did. Oh no. For some reason I was recruited to walk with the kids from the youth theater program. All bazillion of them. When I got there I was really out of place because I didn't have a shirt that matched all the kids and staff members, but one of the girls in the teen program who recognized me from when she works as a spotlight operator for one of the mainstage shows was nice enough to hand me a shirt so I didn't look like the adult creeper. Then I got a fake eye-patch with a skull and crossbones emblem on it because the teen theater is doing a pirate show. So I looked like an asshole but that was okay because the little kids were totally into it. We marched through the town chanting about how cool the theater is and waving to people along the way. I'd forgotten how annoying it is to be in a parade because of all the stopping and starting. It's no better when you have to stop right in front of a pile of horse crap because everyone and their mother rides a horse through the Buffalo BBQ Parade. Cest la vie, it was nice seeing the kids so excited. And then at the end Sally made me give my shirt back which made me really really sad.

I'm still stuck outside. =(

I played poker the other night. I don't know why I do that to myself. I hate losing money. I'm not a bad player, but I never win. I came in 3rd and I'd say that was pretty damn good considering a few people bought in multiple times. I lost on a two pair 3's and Queens cause Omer had a flush. Dammit. Kent walked away with $40 some.

I'm still gonna save talking about the cabaret for another time when it gets more exciting. Which leaves Benifiber being the only topic I didn't hit. I've been drinking this stuff in my water called Benifiber which kinda masks the fact that I'm drinking water cause I hate water. It also has fiber in it...exciting, right? Haha, alright, gotta venture back in and find a place (the bathroom?) to get changed. I'm going kayaking with Cat in about half an hour. Thank goodness I have somewhere to be aside from here. Guhh......

Yay!

Hola friends! There's much to talk about!
Let's start with Saturday. Saturday I did lots and lots of laundry. Like, I washed all of my clothes because this is only the 2nd time this summer I've done laundry. Yeah I'm that gross. During my laundry endeavors, I found $40 in my clothes. Awesome. So while my laundry was being done I decided to walk on over to the Dairy King...yes, Dairy King, and get some french fries and ice cream. Actually, I decided not to get ice cream because I've been doing so well in my pursuit to eat healthier and be healthier. So I got french fries and then walked over to Circle D and bought one of those Naked drinks or whatever that has all the fruit in it. A really really good call, I'd say. Totes better than ice cream. Plus I have a bunch of fudgsicals in the freezer that I keep forgetting about.

ANYWAY, while I was waiting in line for the french fries at the take out window in front of DK, I feel a twinge of pain in my toe, the one that I'm pretty sure was broken. I didn't think anything of it because, well, it's a broken toe and they tend to hurt. I was wearing sandals (I'd like to mention now that I just took a moment to grab a fudgesicle from the freezer. I couldn't resist.). Right, sandals. And toe. So I'm standing there and all of a sudden I hear this screaming which startles the hell out of me. I look down to see this two year old girl screaming bloody murder, eyes locked on my big toe which has, for some reason, started oozing blood and puss. I guess there was just a lot of pressure built up that needed to get out. In any case I wasn't really in any more pain than I'd been in before but it looked pretty gross. Her mother explained that she'd recently cut herself and learned about blood and pain. The reason she was screaming was that she was afraid I was hurting so I had to try and tell her I was okay. The whole episode was really cute.

SO the plan was to finish this post this evening after the show, but I just finished drinking a white Russian that someone made for me and honestly I don't think I can type any more out. However, you can anticipate hearing all about the Buffalo BBQ Parade, my time at the pool, buying blue suede shoes, buying running shoes, getting a letter from Dani!, reading Twilight, drinking BeniFiber, and tales of my bed falling apart. Cheers!

Randoms

So this post will be somewhat scattered because my cabinmate is watching a movie on my computer but I wanted to update before going out for my run. Her computer is broken and she's still waiting for a new one. =(

Pictures are FINALLY up on biebs.shutterfly.com so you can check them out now. I haven't uploaded pictures from a few things that have gone on since then, I'm just waiting till more things happen. Hope you all enjoy!

Things have been pretty easy going lately with this fantastic schedule. I got myself pretty badly burned at the pool but I'm pretty much recovered now so life is happier. Minus breaking my toe during a scene change the other night. There's not much that can be done for it though and I don't like it slowing me down so I'm still running and what not. Painfully.

There's a boy who works at the putt-putt who is vying for my affection. I'm not really into him, but bless his heart he's trying so I let him buy me drinks at the bar and walk me down the street at the end of the night. I'll keep you all updated on the romance standing.

It has come to my attention that MULTIPLE conversations have gone on with various company members about how I have the biggest range of looking like a runaway teenager who just rolled out of bed to quite the hottie when I clean up. I don't think this upsets me in all honesty. Frankly, I know I look like death many many days and I'm okay with that. Especially out here I let myself go alot. Perhaps not the greatest habit but I'm really not trying to impress anyone. Plus, it's nice to know that people notice when I actually TRY to look nice. I don't know, I hear there are some pretty awful pictures of me on facebook now so we may have to do some untagging.

Lastly, I received TWO packages this week and they're both fantastic!!! My mother and grandmother hooked me up with SOOO MUCH STUFF! I got running pants and a running shirt and a book on astrology and food and nail polish and candy and a bag and more! It's so exciting getting packages like that and I'm really thankful for them. My mother also sent me the first book in the Twilight series which I am already thoroughly engrossed in. My other package was a total surprise all the way from Australia! Joel sent me some pictures from years ago that made me laugh and then my favorite candy that they have over there. It's Cadbury chocolate with strawberry centers. SOOOO GOOD. So thank you!

Well, 38 days left. It seems incredible. Wish me luck, folks!

I am broken

My entire body is sun burnt and I broke my big toe during a scene change last night. Very sad.

Kegs, eggs, pajamas and hats!!!

I know that I promised pictures, but today was a great day and I'd rather write about that instead of posting pictures. I promise I'll post them on shutterfly tomorrow... well, today I suppose because it's past 4:30 AM here...which means some of you may be waking up right now in time to read this!!! (minus Joel who seems to read and comment on my blog in his sleep)

My day started off way earlier than it needed to. I woke up at about 9:00 and decided that today would be the day I'd start jogging. So I had a healthy breakfast of Crispex and a banana and set off. I think I could get the hang of this jogging thing, but I don't think I'll be able to keep it up in the city. One, it's not scenic enough and two, the only time I'd ever run in the city would be early in the morning to avoid traffic and people and I've heard too many horror stories about woman getting attacked in the morning. So ef that, I'll just make the best of my time now. Anyway, I went for a half-hour long trek from the cabins to the trail head of the mountain I climbed a few weeks ago. It was cute. Not particularly exciting, but I did get to run along Grand Lake for awhile so that was nice.

When I got back to the cabins, I called my father to find out the correct way to make his pasta and eggs. Why? Let's go back about 3 days ago when a number of people were outside during pre-show discussing how, in past years, a big thing to do during this part of the summer was cabin theme parties. Sometimes they were competitions between cabins of sorts, sometimes they were just dress up parties, whatever. It was decided that we needed to start the wagon rolling and have a party tonight. However, the possibilities for party themes sort of got way ahead of us, and by the end of pow-wow it was decided that we would combine four of the ideas together. Thus, the concept of our Kegs, Eggs, Pajamas and Hats Party was created. In the next three days a poster was made (actually, Erin just drew some pictures of the four categories on a piece of notebook paper and posted it on the call board), prizes were compiled (actually, Josh's mother found a bunch of t-shirts that say ROUSTABOUT on the front and All Shook Up on the back and she bought them all for him so it was decided to give them away as prizes) and aside from those two things, everyone seemed pretty low key about this whole thing. However, once I heard t-shirts were involved I KNEW I had to win one of the categories. The Best Keg category confused me so I crossed that off early. As far as pajamas go, I brought with me some long pants with moons and starts but that's about it so I actually opted for thigh high socks since they were more colorful. Regardless, I knew Best Pajamas may be a stretch. I thought it would be easy enough to find a hat (more on this later) but the category I decided to place my wager on for myself was Best Eggs. And who better to help me with this endeavor but Papa Bieber and his fantastic pasta and eggs concoction. Which brings me way back to this morning when I called him and told him I was cooking eggs for 15 people (which I absolutely did not do. Again, more later.) He gave me specific instructions and I listened carefully taking notes.

After that, I went to visit Ronen (my fellow Jewish friend who I went hiking with yesterday and is such a fantastic person) who was working in the box office. The two of us decided to go searching for hats together when his shift ended. We came across moose ears and a faux raccoon hat in a gift store and decided to go to the party with a concept of the huntress and the hunted for the party. It was pretty brilliant if I may say so myself.

We had two performances of Shook today. I must say I really enjoy doing Shook. Mostly because there's so much damn space backstage and I'm not by myself during this show. Plus, the music is fantastic. In between the shows, I went home, cooked my pasta and sauteed the onions for later in the evening, and then painted my nails. Very exciting. Kathleen made a bunch of deviled eggs which I tried and decided that my pasta and eggs dish probably wouldn't hold a candle to them or anything else that anyone cooked but I had already started and figured that it would be easy enough to finish cooking once the party started.

After the show, this alum artist from RMRT who's apparently been on Broadway performed a bunch of songs at a local bar/restaurant where one of our first get-to-know-the-townspeople functions was held. I decided not to go. Honestly, I was too tired and grumpy and just didn't care enough. I'm not sorry about it either. I'm sure he's very talented and he did come by the cabins later to hang out, but whatever. To each his own and I think it's great he's lucked out and made it as far as he has but Broadway IS NOT the end all be all in this industry. Sorry, rant.

When people started getting back to the cabins, Michael Rosen had already started a fire in the pit and a few people were already decked out in PJs. Once Ronen got back, we put on our hats and then went running through the cabin area with me chasing him with a fake rifle we found during intermission in the props loft. It was great. After we'd flaunted our hat concept off to Sarah who was judging the Kegs, Pajamas and Hats categories, I went back to my cabin to finish my dish. It had been decided that Micahel Rosen would act as the impartial judge and that only his opinion counted, but all people who submitted dishes made enough for at least a handful of people to try. My original plan had required 2 dozen eggs. I think I ended up actually making 4 eggs. I don't honestly remember, I was a bit intoxicated already by this point. I think I had at least 4 spectators at any given point. It was kinda funny. I'm not a cook by any means but everyone thought I knew what I was doing because mine involved onions. I mixed up my batch, threw some ketchup in and mixed it up and had all people in the kitchen try it. They all thought it was great so I was excited about bringing it out for Michael to try. When I gave it to him, he seemed very satisfied and explained his judging criteria (something about consistency, something about taste and something about moisture if I remember correctly). After he tried my eggs, I continued to drink along with everyone else and the boy from the put-put who I kinda blew off at a bar and magically reappeared this evening to tag along at my side...which didn't suck.

Late in the evening, I decided that I wanted to know the winners of all the categories so I rounded up the people who initiated the party in the first place and told them we had to have the ceremony before we all get too drunk. When everyone was gathered at the fire, Michael was the first to present the winner of his category. And who do you think won best eggs? Why, it was yours truly! Granted, 2 of the 5 dishes entered were eggs and whatever was in the fridge which is kinda gross, but what-the-frick-ever. I got my shirt and that's REALLY all that mattered. Then there were calls for standing on a stump and a speech and unfortunately I think this may have been recorded so I'll have to watch out I don't get tagged in anything terrible on facebook. I do know that I thanked my father for giving me the recipe and I thanked my cabinmates for always keeping me entertained.

So that was pretty much my day. I got some exercise, I ate a healthy breakfast, I got a cool raccoon hat and I won a t-shirt for cooking an award-winning egg dish. A good day indeed to make up for some really rough days the past few weeks. Things are really looking up, I think. Cheers, everyone!

July 5th ONWARD!

My most sincere apologies for not updating again. The days have all kind of been blending together so rather than going day by day from this point out, I'll tell you what my days have been like in general and then share some special experiences that have happened in those days.

I'm sure I've explained this before, but I'll do it again for good measure. Now that all 3 shows are open, I'm generally not called until 1 hour before the show time. Most nights the show starts at 8:00 so I basically have from morning until 7:00 to do absolutely nothing. Not everyone has this schedule. Some people work in the box office and some people work with the youth theater program which I know nothing about. But even the people in the box office don't work there every day so sometimes they aren't called until 7 as well. This will be pretty much how the rest of the summer plays out with exceptions for the cabaret, matinee and early performances, etc. Regardless, I'm going to have a frick ton of free time.

Two of my days off were spent waking up relatively late and then going to the beautiful pool with people. I'm trying to get a tan but it's just not working out. I don't understand, I haven't even gotten burned. They say that it's easier to tan/burn here because we're closer to the sun, and I haven't been using my regular level of SPF, I've been using 15. And no burn. And no tan. And no glowing beauty for Biebs. But there's plenty of time I suppose.

One of my days off I went for a hike. This was part of my ambitions to be healthier and work out, something that I don't think is actually gonna happen because I hate doing all the stupid toning things that the magazines say to do. I hate cardio too. And eating healthy. ANYWAY, I decided to take a hike and I'd heard about this little area that a bunch of the company members went to together one of their first days here that I'd passed on because I had so much work to do. I was told that it could barely be considered a hike because it was so short but it was really pretty. Cat told me that I could hike on further than that if I wanted a longer walk. Well, I guess I went the wrong way and ended up on a legit trail but it wasn't too terrible or anything. I saw a lot of people on horses on my way and a lot of other hikers. It wasn't terribly scenic but there were a few points that were just gorgeous and I took a lot of pictures of things along the way. After about an hour an a half I turned around to go back. On the way I saw FOUR MOOSE. It was nuts. Two adult males, one female and a buck. One of the males was in water. I took pictures (from a distance, of course) and then continued on my merry way.

Today I'm going hiking again with Ronen. I don't know where we're going but I'm probably not gonna bring my camera this time. He wants to break in his new shoes and I just want to work hard. If it's pretty I'll go back later and take more pictures. See, that's the great part of this job. Yeah, I work hard labor every night from about 7 till midnight, but I'm only half way through the summer and most days I can just do whatever I want. I'm going to order a really easy dress pattern I think and make a dress out of some of the fabric I found for Brigadoon. I've never made a dress before but why not start? And learn astrology and write a song and finish LOST and start Twilight and do all sorts of crazy things. I have so much time!!!! And I suppose work out. UG! I just hate working out!

So tomorrow or this evening I will be posting a few pictures from the 4th of July and also from my hike. I'll be posting them on biebs.shutterfly.com very shortly as well, but it takes a long time to put pictures up so I'll need to have some serious sit down time to do it.

One other thing before I go. I didn't realize this until recently but I actually have a different address for letters than I do for packages, so if you are still interested in sending me anything, here is how to reach me. (Note: I've received two messages from people who told me that letters they tried to me were sent back to them, but one person WAS able to send me a letter with the incorrect address so if you did not get your letter forwarded back to you that means I did receive it. I'd like to thank that person for the kind words and let them know that their letter did reach me!)

For letters:
Lauren Bieber
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
PO Box 1616
Grand Lake, CO 80447

For packages:
Lauren Bieber
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
404 Vine Street
Grand Lake, CO 80447

Take care, all!