Ducklings Go Forth

Pause Button

2011-08-17T15:22:00.000-06:00

On Monday I got back from vacation and found a huge pile of stuff on my plate. So much stuff that - especially with school starting - I'm going to have to put something on hold. Unfortunately, it looks like that's going to be my sewing (until I can get rid of something else, anyway). I still need to post pictures of the final Regency undergarments and I'm only half done with my costume backlog, but my next project (a Regency dress) will have to wait. However, I do have lots of things to look forward to when I get started again. On our grand tour of visiting friends and family in Virginia, Eric and I spent some time in Colonial Williamsburg doing the tourist thing and I brought back some goodies from the bookstore.

So many patterns, so little time!

Textbooks!

2011-08-16T18:46:00.000-06:00

Classes start on Thursday and here I have all my books in a row and I'm ready to go! Can you guess what I'm studying based on these titles?

A Victorian Corset from Simplicity 5726 (2009)

2011-07-15T18:00:00.001-06:00

After I finished Eowyn's Shieldmaiden Dress a costumer friend of a friend of my mom's said that it made her want to teach me how to make a real corset. I haven't seen her since, but I'm sure she'd be glad to know that in 2009 I left plastic boning behind and did it.

I found the fabric years ago on the discount upholstery pile at G Street Fabrics and after I made some Ren Faire garb from it, I saved a yard. When I decided to make my first corset, I was glad I still had it! The facing fabric is backed with coutil and the corset is lined in black cotton. I think I made a muslin for this, but I must not have paid it much attention. The final corset is fairly large on me and the bust is too big even with the back overlapping. Practically, this means that I can't wear this corset without something underneath it. The pattern was pretty good and explained things well, but the Silverado corset pattern just fits me so much better.

At the 2009 Maryland Renaissance Festival. You can
see how my mom was able to lace the corset
completely closed.

Hogwarts Wear

2011-07-14T14:53:00.000-06:00

In light of tonight's premiere, here is a look back at the various pieces and outfits I've worn to Harry Potter book and movie releases over the years. Unfortunately, I won't be going tonight at midnight and in costume. It's not really something that one can do alone.

This is the pattern I used to make my wizard's robes
in 2003. They were my first real costuming project.

The first event I went to was the midnight release of Book 5 at a local bookstore with my friend Christine. At the time, I was under the mistaken idea that I was a Ravenclaw and wore my robes with a blue plaid skirt and white button-down. Before the next release (Book 6) I made t-shirts for Christine and myself.

The front of the shirts I made: I'm in Sirius denial...

Padfoot Lives!

During the previous year I had also found an ankle length size 12 pleated grey linen skirt in the costume storage at my high school theatre department. It came home with me one day, where I took it in and hemmed it into a schoolgirl skirt.

Movie 5 was the next midnight premiere I did with friends. I loaned out my robes and kept it simple with a white button-down and my grey skirt. By this time I had realized I was a Slytherin, but my red hair was somewhat of a Gryffindor characteristic...so I borrowed a tie.

Me, as Lily Evans, prior to the summer 2007
premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix."

Dueling against Bellatrix Black before the movie.

Later that same summer, I dressed up again for the midnight release of Book 7. This time I loaned out my skirt and decided to get my Death Eater on!

Assaulting innocent muggles in my living room.

The last time I dressed up was for an evening screening of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I drove 2 hours to be able to go with friends, this time opting to be Ginny Weasley.

Ginny Weasley in 2009

While I will drive 2-3 hours to go to a costumer party or a midnight release, the distance has gotten a bit too extreme now that I'm in Texas. I was blonde last year, so I contemplated showing up by myself as Luna Lovegood and just walking around really spaced out, but it's not really much fun if you don't have people to go with. In any case, I'll be set next time I need to dress up for a Harry Potter event. Except I should probably break down and buy a Slytherin tie.

Eowyn's Shieldmaiden Gown (2003)

2011-07-08T18:00:00.003-06:00

This was my first major costuming project and I'm still pretty proud of it. That's not to say that it's not without problems, but the final product was fairly impressive for my skill level at the time. I made this dress to wear to the midnight premiere of The Return of the King, having been inspired by glimpses of it in the trailer for The Two Towers and Katherine's recreation. I also used her instructions for drafting the corset.

Me, wearing the dress the night of The Return of the King premiere.

This dress consists of three parts: the corset, vest, and chemise. I made the vest using Simplicity 9888, which I'd fortunately already had on hand. The pattern is intended for knits, so I added a zipper up the center back to close the vest. I used three rows of Fishhooks on each side to make a cap sleeve and trimmed the neckline with Waves. The fabric for the vest and corset is a faux suede from Warehouse Fabrics. This was the first project where I encountered my neckline issues, which you can see I corrected in the vest with a dart on either side.

The corset is quilted all the way around and boned with plastic featherweight boning (this was LONG before I discovered the wonders of steel). It is also trimmed with Fishhooks and features hand-sewn eyelets for the back lacing. The chemise is the only part that I'm not really happy with, but the fabric is gorgeous. I based it on a bliaut pattern from Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Holkeboer and underestimated the amount of fabric I would need, thus the sleeves came out a little wonky. I was also working so close to the wire that it was never hemmed properly - just basted.

I learned a lot of skills from working on this project, which I still use today; pintucks, hand-sewn eyelets, drafting, pattern resizing - all kinds of things. I just wasn't ready to tackle embroidery at the time.

Elizabeth Bennet's Green Spencer Jacket (2004)

2011-07-01T18:00:00.001-06:00

Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice"

Keeping with our Regency theme, here is the 2nd half of my high school regency wardrobe. I actually adapted a pattern to make this jacket and used left over materials from Arwen's Blood Red Gown (you'll read about that next week). Thus, the jacket is blue velvet, not green, and lined in red satin. I altered the Regency bodice pattern from Patterns for Theatrical Costumes by Katherine Holkeboer; raising the neckline, cutting the center front, and adding the collar. Because I was using a bodice pattern, the waist is a bit higher than I would prefer and the sleeves are a little tight at the wrist. However, that didn't prevent this jacket from entering my everyday wardrobe when I was in high school. Unfortunately, now I can't even close the front frogs.

The jacket front on my dress form. You can see the red lining peeking out.

The jacket back. I guess the collar is a little wonky.

Regency Day Dress from Butterick (2004)

2011-06-24T18:00:00.003-06:00

Since I am currently working in the Regency, let us visit my first attempt in this era. In 2004 I made a day dress using this Butterick pattern. The instructions were excellent and the pattern went together easily, but there were some design elements that I don't really like. The square neckline is very low and has rather sharp corners, which would probably make it impossible for me to wear my new corset underneath. Also, the sleeves are enormous and I can't get a spencer jacket over them comfortably. My main complaint is the closure, which works with a series of hooks and eyes below the waist and lacing above. I find it to be very inelegant. I originally made this dress in a green calico, but it was said that I looked like a sprig of grass - thus, the addition of the gold ribbon at the waistline. I think it helps to break up the color, but there is sill an abundance of green.

Unlike most of my high school costuming projects, this dress is fully lined and impeccably made. There are only two things that I would do to improve the construction: hand sew the eyelets and turn under the edge where the eyelets are sewn.

No, I'm not wearing a corset. The bust is just too small now.

The back of the dress, on my dress form.

Regency Corded Corset: Week Two

2011-06-22T19:25:00.001-06:00

Last week I made a great deal of progress on the Regency Corded Corset.

Monday: I cut out the lining pieces from plain white cotton and attached the back and side pieces to the corset. I pressed back the seam allowances and whip-stitched the fold to the seam ridges. I need to insert the gussets and sew the busk pocket before I can attach the center lining piece.

Monday: The inside of the corset with side and back lining pieces attached.

Tuesday: I back-stitched the bone casings at the center back and marked the eyelet positions, then inserted the gussets into the front lining. I don't want to attach the front lining until I've sewn the busk pocket. The pattern for the straps I had previously cut were too short. Today I adjusted it, then attached and lined the straps. At this point, there really wasn't anything more that I can do without getting more supplies.

Tuesday: The inside of the corset, with the front lining pinned in place.

The center back with pins marking the eyelet placement.

Wednesday: I went out in search of supplies! Rather than fork out the $20-$30 for a busk, I went to Lowe's to pick up a couple of paint stirrers. Unfortunately, they were all out. This required me to stop at Home Depot. They had plenty of paint stirrers. I find it rather incredible that they just let you take them for free even if you're not buying anything else. Another stop equipped me with embroidery floss and bias tape. When I got home, I sewed the busk pocket, attached the front lining piece, and made the first two eyelets. As I understand that they are stronger, I've chosen to sew these eyelets using buttonhole stitch.

Thursday: Eyelets, 30 ct. That's it.

Friday: With the eyelets complete I was able to try the corset on for the first time. I was impressed with just how well the cording works, but I cannot wait to get bones for the center back as it wrinkled quite a lot under the laces. I started binding the corset's edges, beginning with the bottom. I won't be able to finish binding the top until I get the boning inserted.

I'm currently taking a break from this corset to work on the shift which will go underneath it. When that's finished, I'll order the boning and lacing I need to finish.

The corset facing as it currently stands.

The fully lined inside of the corset.

Two of my buttonhole stitch eyelets.

Eleanor of Aquitaine from Butterick B4377 (2005)

2011-06-13T18:00:00.002-06:00

Seeing as how as of last Monday this costume no longer exists, I thought I should go ahead and write it up. I studied Theatre for all four years of high school in a program which culminated in the senior project of a one person show. The assignment was to write and perform a 30 minute one person show as a historical character. I chose Eleanor of Aquitaine and titled my show "Eleanor, by the Wrath of God, Queen of England." It wasn't half bad and fortunately no one suggested that I try to do a French accent. That would have been very confusing as every accent that comes out of my mouth sounds like Russian.

In any case, I made this dress as my costume for the performance and it was a pain in the ass. I do not at all recommend this pattern to anyone. There were lots of little problems, but the biggest came when I tried to attach the skirt to the bodice. Instead of gathering the waist of the skirt there was extra fabric at the bottom of the bodice. I fudged with the seam allowances and masked some of this with trim, but it was pretty awful. This was also one of my first encounters with necklines and how well they don't fit me. This one ended up being tucked and darted within an inch of its life until the rest of the bodice no longer fit!

Clearly, the best part of this dress was the fabric. I ordered a silk jacquard from Thai Silks and dyed it red using Rit dye in my mom's washing machine. This was my first experience dyeing fabric and I was very happy with how it turned out. Can you see why I don't want this fabric to go to waste?

The Johnny Jump Up

2011-06-13T15:29:00.001-06:00

I have a confession to make: I do not like beer, or, rather, there are very few beers that I actually enjoy drinking. My favorite is Magic Hat #9, but it's not sold in Texas so I haven't had any since we moved here. What I do like is CIDER. Because of nights spent at the Green Leafe my very favorite cider is Strongbow, another beverage difficult to find in Texas. I thought I saw some at the Shoppette on post within the first couple of months we were here, but I never saw it again. I even tried to special order it, but they said it wouldn't be possible. Woodchuck is a poor substitute.

But today, I was running a couple of errands on post and I stopped into the Class Six on my way back to the car to see if they had anything new and/or exciting. AND THEY DID!

I found two six-packs and I bought them both. Squee!

Regency Corded Corset: Week One

2011-06-12T22:20:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned previously, last week I started working on a corded Regency corset reusing a red silk jacquard as the facing. I'm using this pattern with the gussets altered to make the corset accurate for the Regency, rather than the Romantic period. I'm also using Katherine's instructions for making the corset in the period way, but I've diverged in a couple of ways. To keep the silk from slipping off the coutil, I whip-stitched the edges of all the pieces before starting construction. The period method of sewing seams creates a ridge, making the seam stiffer than a modern machine sewn seam. This is my first corded structural garment and I'm a little nervous of how supportive it will be, so I sewed cording on both sides of every seam. I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm just so used to steel. The other alteration I've made was because of a mistake. I forgot to cut seam allowance on the back piece, therefore I added an extra piece the length of the corset. This should work out pretty well since I cut it wide enough to fold over to the back and whip-stitch to the seam ridge. This will provide a thick support for the eyelets.

The silk facing of the corset.

The inside of the corset, waiting to be lined. There will also be cording on either side of the busk at center front.

A close-up of two if the seams, showing the whip-stitched edges, seam ridge, and cording on either side of the seam.

iHave a Penny Tee!

2011-06-12T13:20:00.002-06:00

Jennette McCurdy wearing a Penny Tee as Sam Puckett in the episode "iWas a Pageant Girl."

I'll admit it. I am 23, have no kids, and I watch Nickelodeon. Not everything on Nickelodeon, mind you, just the two shows created by Dan Schneider* iCarly and Victorious. It all started back in college when my roommate Michelle and I first discovered iCarly. It was funny, well-written, and its young cast did an excellent job week after week. It took some time, but before long I had Eric watching iCarly, too. I showed him this video when I came to visit him over spring break.

And then, Michelle gave me Season 1, Volume 1 on DVD for Christmas, so Eric was forced to sit through a few episodes when he came to visit me over the holidays. After he left, I think he started watching iCarly on his own to feel closer to me, but then he realized what a good show it is and continued watching it for its own sake.

That brings us to yesterday. Last night we stayed in before dinner to watch the first crossover between iCarly and Victorious, iParty with Victorious. It was pretty awesome and in the aftermath of such awesomeness, Eric couldn't hold off anymore and decided that he had to give me my birthday present early, rather than letting it sit in a bubble mailer for the next three months. He had been hinting to me that he'd done really well and that it was one of a kind, but I had no idea what to expect.

Eric was right - he did do good. I am now the proud owner of a Penny Tee worn by Jennette McCurdy in the episode "iWas a Pageant Girl." It's authenticated and everything. I knew that Dan Schneider had auctioned off a bunch of iCarly and Victorious stuff in May to benefit St. Jude's Children'e Research Hospital, but I had no idea that Eric had bid on anything.

And that, my friends, is why it's called a "Penny Tee"

Since it is a real costume piece from the show, here are a couple of construction details in case you want to make your own Penny Tee or you're just curious. The base for the shirt can be found here and the base for the shirts worn by Nathan Kress is this one, I think. After purchase, the binding on the left sleeve was removed and replaced with a finely ribbed navy blue jersey. It looks like they didn't even serge it as it is held on by a single row of straight stitches. They also deconstructed the last inch of the sleeve seam to add the new binding into the seam. This was also resewn with a single line of straight stitches. The penny (a 2008 D) had two holes punched in the sides and was hand sewn to the new navy blue binding.

*If you're a child of the '90s, you're probably already a fan of Dan's work, as he was responsible for All That and Goodburger. His slightly more recent shows include The Amanda Show, What I Like About You, Zoey 101, and Drake & Josh.

Recycling

2011-06-10T12:37:00.000-06:00

Last week I finally tried to take self-timed pictures with my camera. Fortunately, the bar separating our living room and kitchen is perfectly positioned to allow me to take full-length shots. Thus, I unpacked all my old costume projects, tried them on, and took new pictures. In doing so, I found a couple of things that no longer fit and have enough construction issues that prevent me from wanting to pass them on to anyone else. However, the fabrics are gorgeous and plentiful, therefore I have decided to cut them up and recycle the fabric. This gives me a red silk jacquard, red satin, and dark blue velvet to play with. My current project is a set of Regency corded stays, entirely hand-sewn using period techniques. Just for the fun of it and because I have the fabric at hand, I've decided to make the face from the silk jacquard. This probably isn't exactly period, but it is pretty.

A silk jacquard I dyed red in 2005

1878 Natural Form Bustle Overskirt from TV234 (2011)

2011-06-02T16:24:00.004-06:00

1878 Long Draped Overskirt

I purchased this pattern using Christmas money with the goal of making myself a Steampunk outfit. I found a brown linen pinstripe at Jo-Ann's and went to work. This was my first time using a Truly Victorian pattern and it will definitely not be the last. The most difficult part of this skirt are the pleats on the back and side front pieces, but they came together perfectly and easily. The skirt's volume is held back into a bustle with two sets of ties and until they're sewn in it's very difficult to see the final shape of the skirt. When I tried on the skirt after putting them in, it looked perfect!

All of the volume, none of the underwear, and just high enough on the sides to show my boots. I am exceedingly pleased with how this skirt turned out.

To go with this skirt I made a corset (using the Laughing Moon Silverado pattern) in red faux suede with a hand embroidered design of gears. My original intent was to do machine appliqué, but that turned out to harder than expected. I already have a gorgeous pair of boots and a blouse to wear with this outfit, but I think the accessorizing will be just as fun as making these pieces.

Wishlist: I have wanted Leia's Endor uniform since I was a very little girl. I remember trying to wrap braids all the way around my head, but they wouldn't reach. At this young age, I though the telephone was a magical piece of technology that could get you anything. I suggested to my mom that we could call "the people" and get a helmet. Unfortunately, she cut me off before I could finish my sentence and said "We are NOT getting a wig." That was the end of that and I never got to be Leia for Halloween.

Goggles!

2011-06-02T15:24:00.002-06:00

I have the boots, I whipped up a skirt, found a shirt that will work, and finally finished my corset. This means only one thing: it's time to accessorize! I think most people agree that it's the accessories that really complete any Steampunk outfit: the jewelry, weapons, hats, mechanical robot arms, etc. With that in mind I decided to start with one of the most important aspects and ordered these. I searched long and hard for a pair of goggles which met my exacting standards. I didn't want anything with plastic or elastic, nor did I want something that would break the bank. I was very fortunate to find an affordable pair made from brass and glass with a leather strap. Slightly more unwieldy than elastic, but I think it's worth it.

Steampunk Embroidery

2011-05-17T22:09:00.000-06:00

For my new Steampunk outfit I decided to try my hand at embroidery to embellish the corset. I found several downloadable hand embroidery patterns at Urban Threads. I bought some embroidery floss and tried one out on a scrap of fabric left over from my Medieval Dress.

My first ever attempt at embroidery!

The test square turned out much better than I expected. Since I had limited resources, I just printed the pattern out on regular paper and tore it off after I finished outlining the designs. Fortunately, I had an embroidery hoop that my mom had bought for me sometime during my childhood. The gear in the corner by itself was the first one I tried, before I'd gotten to the store to buy embroidery floss. Happy with my first attempt, I constructed the corset face and inserted the busk. For the final pattern, I combined 3 embroidery designs so that they would travel diagonally across the corset. I printed the original designs and taped them together until I was satisfied, then traced the combined pattern onto tear-away stabilizer. With the design ironed to the corset pieces, I began stitching the outlines. At the time I was working a job with a lot of down time, so after a couple of days I started bringing the corset into work and embroidering at my desk. It took me about a week to finish the outlines.

The right side of the corset with the embroidery outlined.

The left side of the corset with the embroidery outlined.

It took another two weeks to fill in the outlines once I tore away the stabilizer. Again, many hours were spent embroidering at my desk. On my last day at work I offered my boss the choice of letting me go home early or watching me embroider in a corner for the next 5 hours. He sent me home early. I bought a second, smaller, hoop so that I could work on individual gears without running into the busk, the grommets, or the edges. I finally finished the corset after a month's work and at last my fingertips will get a break from the constant work.

The finished left side

The finished right side

The entire design from the front

Me, wearing the finished corset with my 1878 Long Draped Overskirt

A Medieval Dress from Butterick B4827 (2010)

2011-01-30T20:20:00.005-07:00

Misses' Medieval Dress and Belt

When I was in high school I had a website called "The Plaid Circle" which I mostly used to detail my sewing projects. It was hosted over at Yahoo Geocities and no longer exists. Since I am trying to start costuming again I've decided that you will now be treated to a monthly costume post about my latest projects and going into my closet to document things I've made in the past (some of which still fit me).

Last October I worked on a very simple princess seamed Medieval dress. I picked up the pattern this summer when BMV had a $2 online pattern sale and I put it away for a rainy day with the other patterns I picked up. I was itching to make something and went to my local Joann's after work (this town really needs a good fabric store). I picked out a dark blue polyester shantung for the dress and a taupe poly shantung for the underskirt. I can hear all over you booing my use of polyester, but shush. I wanted fabric that day and I can only afford to buy silk online. Also, it's machine washable and if I were obsessed with historical accuracy on this project there are a lot of things I wouldn't be doing that I am. Like sewing a Butterick pattern on my Bernina and using fusible interfacing.

The one thing I've noticed since my last projects is that I no longer feel rushed to stay up all night and finish it. Especially when I was in high school, I used to focus so much on having a finished garment in my hands that I would skip little things and end up with a garment that was quickly made but not really of the quality that I know I'm capable of. This time I am remembering to do silly things like clip seam allowances and press seams. However, it didn't prevent me from affixing the right sleeve to the armseye in the wrong place. Definintely, still something I need to work on.

I'm not completely happy with the final result. The skirt drape in the front means there's not enough fullness in the back, I haven't gotten the belt to sit right, and my shoulders are definitely narrower than the standard measurements used in patterns.

I will leave you by adding a project to my wishlist. I really want this dress worn by Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria:

My 2010 reading list ended at 79 books, so I am aiming for more this year and I'm off to a very good start:

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K Rowling

2. Ballet Shoes*, by Noel Streatfeild

3. Shackle and Sword, by Alanna Morland

4. The Princess Diaries, by Meg Cabot

5. Princess in the Spotlight, by Meg Cabot

6. Princess in Love, by Meg Cabot

7. Princess in Waiting, by Meg Cabot

8. Princess in Pink, by Meg Cabot

9. The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle*, by Patrick Rothfuss

10. Princess in Training, by Meg Cabot

11. Party Princess, by Meg Cabot

12. Princess on the Brink*, by Meg Cabot

13. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling

14. Princess Mia*, by Meg Cabot

15. Forever Princess*, by Meg Cabot

16. Outbound Flight*, by Timothy Zahn

17. Waiter Rant*, by Steve Dublanica

18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling

19. Captive Queen*, by Alison Weir

Rosalita

2010-11-17T20:54:00.002-07:00

Today I said goodbye to a dear friend. My 1998 Mazda 626...Rosalita or more informally known as Rosie. Some of you may even ridden in her. I know MK hated her, but I loved her. I still remember the day my parents drove up to our house in her. I hadn't even known they were going to buy a car that day at all, but suddenly there was a second 626 at our house and I was going to learn to drive her. I drove Rosalita all through the 12th grade before bringing her to William & Mary for my junior and senior years. I was in three accidents the first year I drove her (two of which were my fault, one of which was a single car incident) and she kept me safe. However, I know it was time for her to go. Last summer she got new tires, last fall her transmission was rebuilt, two months ago the exhaust pipe was weleded back together, and last week the starter broke. Among her features that no longer functioned 100% at the end were the power windows, power locks, CD player, and radio. Rosalita was becoming a money pit and it was time to let her go.

Goodbye, Rosie. You served me well.
I will also miss her few bumper stickers:

A Santos/McGarry campaign sticker - only understood by the nerdy
A W&M decal complete with feathers - something that no longer exists
The Human Rights Campaign equal sign - I will probably get another one of these for my new car

Speaking of my new car, meet Ella:

She is a 2011 Ford Fiesta and my very first NEW car! So far we are getting along splendidly. A few days before Rosalita died Eric brought home a decal for her of Rosie the Riveter. I think Ella might now be getting that decal in memory of Rosie.

I don't have any good pictures of Rosalita, but here's one last picture of her parked in front of the Duck with MK, who may have hated her almost as much as Eric did.

Reading, Writing, but no 'Rithmatic

2010-10-24T14:08:00.003-06:00

About a month ago I attended a welcome coffee at the Big Colonel's house. This was my first visit to Colonels' Row and I was pretty excited to see the inside of one of those gorgeous houses. It did not disappoint. I think every officer's wife shares the dream that someday her family will get to live in a house like that one. While we were all in the parlor (no TV = must be a parlor) I realized that there was something rather unsettling about the decor. There were three bookcases that were maybe 30% full of books and the rest were filled with bric-a-brac. I have never lived in a house where 110% of the bookshelves were used. My parents are both huge readers with giant piles of books on the floor and double shelved. For a while there was even a giant pile in the hallway waiting to be mooched. I have inherited their love of books and I recently bought a new bookcase which has enabled me to temporarily un-double my shelves. I fully intend to never have an empty bookcase. If I ever did, I would probably go crazy.

In other news, I'm going to try writing again. I haven't written any fiction since high school, but this November I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month.Things I have on my side: a plot concept which is not young adult fantasy and the fact that I read more books in one year than the average person does in ten years.

On that note, here is my reading update:
68. Light Thickens*, by Ngaio Marsh
69. Behemoth*, by Scott Westerfeld
70. Dracula: The Undead*, by Dacre Stoker & Ian Holt
71. Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce
72. Suite Francaise*, by Irene Nemirovsky
73. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, by Lauren Willig

I Won't Grow Up

2010-10-05T10:38:00.005-06:00

I graduated from William & Mary with a double major in Russian/Post - Soviet Studies and Medieval/Renaissance Studies, but that was nowhere near my intentions as a freshman. Previously, it was a double major in English and Medieval/Renaissance Studies, but the original plan was to major in Theatre with a minor in either Government or Russian (or possibly both). There was even a brief period of time when I considered designing my own major in Mythology. The classes I took freshman year were all over the map: Psychology, Accounting, English, Theatre, Russian, Mythology, Dance, History. This indecisiveness seems to have followed me to the Real World. Since graduating over a year ago I have hopped from one idea to the next. I worked at a book store and felt that I could be happy doing that for years to come. Unfortunately, that opportunity was cut short by the move to Texas. Launching off of my success at Borders, I spent a couple of days wanting to actually make books. Very quickly, this idea transformed into wanting to be a librarian. I spent a week researching Library Science distance learning programs and tapping my mom's network for connections. I even applied to volunteer at the public library. They accepted me and I toured where I would be helping out...but I never actually showed up or finished the paperwork. In August I started stage managing again and decided that I really did want to pursue theatre as a career no matter how crazy that idea was. I ordered books for professional development and finally put together a stage manager's kit. Now that my stint at the Shakespeare festival is over, I'm not so sure I want to make the theatre my life.

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I feel like a small child who says astronaut one day, then Firefighter the next.

Today I had the latest idea in this chain of unfinished thoughts. With the stinking mess that is American politics today, I want to be politically active and educated. I've spent so much time studying the way things are outside this country that I really haven't given the USA it's fair share. I missed out on American history and government in elementary and middle school, then in high school my teacher was so abominable that it went in one ear and out the other. It did stay in my brain long enough for me to do well on the AP exam and exempt myself from studying US history in college. The same thing happened with US government. I just spent 30 minutes at work researching political science masters programs, because that's what I do with these ideas. It's full speed ahead for a few days, but it's soon forgotten and replaced by some other master plan. Still, it wouldn't hurt to add some US history to my reading list.

When I was four years old, I wanted to be a fisherman. Currently I am an Audio/Visual Technician and Army Wife who moonlights as a Stage Manager.

Reading Update:
44. Naamah's Curse*, by Jacqueline Carey
45. Draco Veritas+, by Cassandra Claire
46. Soulless*, by Gail Carriger
47. Changeless*, by Gail Carriger
48. The Backstage Guide to Stage Management*, by Thomas A. Kelly
49. Cast in Chaos*, by Michelle Sagara
50. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
51. Soulless, by Gail Carriger
52. City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
53. City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
54. City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
55. Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card
56. Voyager*, by Diana Gabaldon
57. Shadow of the Hegemon, by Orson Scott Card
58. Nightlight*, by The Harvard Lampoon
59. In the Hand of the Goddess, by Tamora Pierce
60. Clockwork Angel*, by Cassandra Clare
61. Blameless*, by Gail Carringer
62. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
63. A Room with a View*, by E. M. Forster
64. Everything is Better with a Gorilla*, by Andrew Gall
65. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue*, by John McWhorter
66. The Thirteenth Child*, by Patricia C. Wrede
67. Good Omens*, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

* denotes a book I have not previously read. Yes, I enjoy re-reading books. Not everyone gets that.
+ This may actually be fanfiction, but I think it still totally counts. It is over 1000 pages long, better written than some of the actual Harry Potter books, and the author is now published. Cassandra Claire and Cassandra Clare are indeed the same person.

These Things Do Happen

2010-07-14T16:30:00.006-06:00

It looks like it's happening again. I keep becoming a fight director by accident. Last summer I choreographed three unarmed fights because the director didn't want to hire anybody else. This summer it would appear something similar is about to happen. Only this time - with rapiers. I went to the line-through last night for Othello and there were discussions of meeting later this month to start blocking and choreographing the fights. I asked exactly who would be doing said choreography and the director replied "all of us." This rang so many alarm bells and raised just as many red flags in my brain. To the director's knowledge the company does not have a regular fight director and in the past they've used wooden swords. However, the festival is moving to a vastly superior space this year and really need to up the production value. To me, using real swords will definitely help with that. Eric and I each have a rapier as does at least one of the actors (all suitable for stage combat), so it would seem finding weapons shouldn't be that large a problem. I checked my notes from meeting with the artistic director and the company does have a regular fight director, but it's the actor with whom my director has already had a falling out. He was Iago....now he's not. In any case, this creates a situation where I feel I need to step in. If only because I have this irrational fear that if I don't and one of the actors hurts themselves goofing around with swords Pops will come all the way to Texas to kill me. If you've never met Pops, he can be a very scary man when he wants to be. To this end, I took my rapier and dagger to the park (by park I mean the grassless, treeless, patch of dirt that passes for a park here) across the street from our apartment complex to see how much I could remember. I can remember quite a bit. All my parries, most of my footwork, most of the proper names for things, and many of the principles. I'll still need to ask certain more knowledgeable friends for a bit of a refresher, but I think I might actually be able to make a pretty good go of it. I do need to work everyday as I have a week and half to recover my technique, not to mention my arm strength.

...and book update:

39. Vision of the Future, by Timothy Zahn

40. Dragonfly in Amber*, by Diana Gabaldon

41. The Book of Lost Things*, by John Connelly

42. Trickster's Choice, by Tamora Pierce

43. Trickster's Queen, by Tamora Pierce

Too Darn Hot

2010-06-07T16:26:00.000-06:00

The last two No-Technology Tuesdays haven't really worked out. Two weeks ago my derelict director decided that he was finally able to cut his script, so I spent that Tuesday reformatting and checking his newly cut script. Which, by the way, is still 5000+ words too long. Last week Eric came home and had the day off to unpack and settle in. You don't tell a man who's been in the middle of nowhere for two weeks that he can't watch TV or do laundry. That would be cruel and unusual punishment. As for my goals while he was gone, that didn't work out so well. I made a small dent in the Netflix queue (and added more to it), but I didn't touch the thank you notes. Now it's crunch time, because I have to finish those before Eric and I go to DC or I will never hear the end of it from my parents.

Yesterday the temperature here reached 109 degrees. It doesn't look like it will dip below 95 for the rest of the summer. Eric enjoys this heat, but I think he's crazy. My only comfort is that the highest the humidity ever gets around here is 15% - and that high is a very rare occurrence. Normally the air is dry as a bone.

I've pictured myself ending up in many places over the years, but never in the middle of a Texan desert 4000 feet above sea level. This truly is the most alien place I have ever lived. Eric and I joke that we don't actually live in Texas, but an affluent part of Mexico. I hear Spanish more than English when I'm out in the city, there's a taco stand on every corner, and the houses are painted bright colors. We even decided at one point that this is really Busch Gardens Mexico. I can see Mexico from our apartment and one of my performance venues this summer is within sight of the main border crossing.

People still ask me how I'm adjusting to life here and I still tell them the same thing: The sun takes some getting used to. It has rained maybe three times since December and on a normal day there is barely a cloud in the sky. Instead of thunderstorms we get sandstorms and they still scare me. The high winds make all kinds of noises at night and the sand gets everywhere. I found out yesterday that even when we have thunderstorms the sand gets picked up and blown around. I finally had to buy sunglasses and I wear them everywhere now. After only a few days it becomes pretty obvious why they call this place the Sun City. Fortunately, the sun has not managed to turn my hair blonde, but for only the second time in my life I have a tan.

Various and Sundry

2010-05-19T17:16:00.000-06:00

Two "No Technology Tuesdays" have now come and gone, so I guess it's time to write about it. Not using the lights and air conditioning was easy as I pretty much do that everyday. The hardest part was not using my computer. It's part of my routine: I wake up and do all my computer stuff while I have breakfast. I still had fun while resiting temptation. I got a lot of reading done, including some down by the pool. I'm even starting to get some sun. I'm going to try to keep it up at least until the next power bill comes.

Some other interesting things have happened during the past week. Eric was promoted to 1LT, which he doesn't think is a big deal (it's pretty much a guaranteed promotion if you don't screw up) but it does come with a pay raise. I also had my first rehearsal for Twelfth Night. I met most of the cast and we did a line through. It went well and this seems like a solid group of actors, so I'm excited. The show that's going to be trouble is Othello. The director still hasn't cut his script and the line through is less than a month away. He's also not very communicative - he's only replied once to my onslaught of emails. His assistant director doesn't know what's going on either, except that there is no script and still no Othello. This could get very bad. This director's name is Charlie, so I'm resisting the urge to leave him voice messages ala Charlie the Unicorn. "Charleeee, where's your script, Charleeee? Give me your script, Charleeeee!"

I had pretty much decided to stop actively looking for a job. This is, of course, when people start to call me. Not only do I have a second interview for the A/V Tech job tomorrow, I had a completely different interview today. This was at UTEP and it was for an "Events Assistant Coordinator" position. It pays better than the A/V job, the hours are slightly less weird, and it has great potential for advancement and mobility. I wants it. Can has job, please? I think the interview went pretty well, but I have no idea what I'm up against. I'll just have to keep busy for the next two weeks until they make their decision.

Since Eric is out of town until the end of the month, I've decided to set some short-term goals. Before he gets back I'd like to put a dent into my Netflix queue and finish my half of the thank you notes. Fortunately, these two activities can go hand in hand.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I am a TV addict and needed some help culling down the body of shows I watch. Well, the networks have decided to do that for me. Heroes, Scrubs, and 10 Things I Hate About You have been officially cancelled. The Pacific ended last weekend and The Tudors is in it's final season. That still leaves me with 22 shows, but it's a start.

Here's an update on my reading as benefited by "No Technology Tuesday":
34. Outlander*, by Diana Gabaldon
35. Shadow of the Past, by Timothy Zahn
36. Shopaholic and Sister*, by Sophie Kinsella
37. Under a War-Torn Sky*, by L.M. Elliott
38. Shopaholic and Baby*, by Sophie Kinsella

No Technology Tuesday

2010-05-10T11:16:00.000-06:00

I don't consider myself to be a huge environmentalist, but I feel like I try to do my part. I recycle, bring my own bags to the grocery store, try not to use the air conditioning, and I hate buying bottled water. Unfortunately, over the past month our power bill went up by about $20. Eric has been turning on the A/C pretty high at night, but I use just as much electricity what with all the technology I keep on during the day. In order to combat our rising power bill (and save electricity) I've decided that tomorrow will be my first No Technology Tuesday. With the exception of kitchen appliances and the bathroom light, I will not use electricity during the day. I'm not going to deprive Eric of his TV when he gets home, so that will mark the end of the day. I got the idea from Kerry, who tried not using any electricity on days when she worked two shifts and didn't have a raid. I am kind of looking forward to it. Not having my computer or the TV will encourage me to get more reading done and I might even go sit by the pool for awhile and get some sun.

Madman with a Box

2010-05-08T16:40:00.001-06:00

(Some Doctor Who spoilers in this post)

Now that he's had a few chances to win our hearts and minds I think it's time to weigh in on the Eleventh Doctor.
I'm a fan. As he stated himself, he is most certainly a madman with a box. He's definitely a younger doctor and I think he's a bit wilder than David Tennant. Occasionally he has that truly mad glint in his eye that I appreciated so much about Chris Eccleston. I don't think any of this season's episodes are as good as David Tennant's best, but there's definitely potential. I'm also not sure they've nailed down who this Doctor is. His character seems to fluctuate a bit, whereas with David Tennant he had it sorted after The Christmas Invasion. It could just be a part As for Amy Pond, I love her. I really think she is fantastic. Better than Rose, better than Martha. I'm having a hard time comparing her to Donna, because Donna was awesome. I've known I liked Amy since the beginning, but I think she really won me over when she actually jumped the Doctor at the end of Flesh and Stone

The Eleventh Hour
I thought this was a good introduction to Amy Pond and the Eleventh Doctor. The scene where he keeps trying different food was especially amusing. I'm glad that the imaginary friend scenario actually worked out this time (as opposed to The Girl in the Fireplace when the Doctor showed up too late).

The Beast Below
This wasn't especially memorable, but the masked men were really creepy. I did like the Star Whale - it's always a nice change to encounter a benevolent alien life form. Queen Elizabeth was also a good character.

The Victory of the Daleks
Always fun to hang out with Winston Churchill, but wtf new rainbow Daleks. I just hope they're not behind the big bad this season. Can we just leave them alone for a while? I did enjoy using technology to allow the fighters to fly through space to destroy the Dalek ship. I know he generally makes an exception for the Daleks, but Eleven is a little quick to commit genocide.

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone
Yay Weeping Angels! Good two-parter and it was good to learn more about the angels. River Song kind of bothered me in this episode. I liked her better when she was older, but I guess that means she gets better with time. I was a little upset that the Doctor showed no qualms about using a gun, even if he wasn't using it to actually hurt anyone.

Vampires of Venice
The Doctor owes Cassanova a chicken! Also, I'm really glad that he's stopped saying "Geronimo." I do feel like the Tenth Doctor would have offered to find the space-fish a new home world. Number Eleven did try to stop the mother from dying, but I still felt that he was a little hasty to destroy a species. He did, however, show his normal firearms anxiety in this episode.

Seriously? Cracks in the time/space continuum? That's what's leading up to our big bad? And somehow it all comes back to Amy Pond as it seems the crack originates on her wedding day. I just hope there's something new behind it. Something not the Cybermen or the Daleks. Based on all the talk about silence and the end of everything, it looks like the Doctor has to save the universe again. *Yawn.*

Surviving Unemployment

2010-05-06T13:55:00.003-06:00

I mentioned the other that for various reasons I'm currently unemployed. I've been looking since I moved here at the end of December and I've applied for a number of positions, but it wasn't until last week that I got my first interview. It was for an Audio/Visual Technician position at one of the local universities. I am definitely qualified for the job and the interview went well, but I probably won't get it. It is a supervisory position and I was probably one of the younger and less experienced applicants. What really troubles me is that I'm not sure I even want it. The hours would be a little strange - working weekends and evenings according to the event schedule. I've gotten used to being home when Eric gets home from work and being able to make him dinner. Especially since most days he's either exhausted or frustrated, or both. I also use my free time to run errands, buy groceries, and keep the apartment clean, in addition to reading and watching TV (and occasionally playing video games). I'm to start working out again, which is something else I probably wouldn't have time for if I got this job. Basically, I'm hoping they don't offer it to me so I don't have to think about turning it down.

This dilemma makes question whether I want to work at all right now. I am currently signed on to stage manager a Shakespeare festival in August/September and that will pay decent money, but nothing really significant. I had thought about giving up theatre as there's not really much of a market here, but after only the first couple of meetings I've had about the Shakespeare project, I've remembered just how much I love it. Maybe with the new connections I'm making I'll be able to find enough work to make me feel like I'm contributing. Other paths I've considered include getting my Masters in Library Science. I've been organizing other people's stuff (much to the aggravation of my friends. Sorry) almost my entire life and working at Borders really showed me how much I also love working around books and sharing books with others. There is even great catharsis to be found in ripping the cover off of a mass market paperback, though many people will object to my saying so. From what I've seen from job postings here there are always a couple of librarian positions open in either the schools, universities, or public library system. It wouldn't make me rich, but I could have steady, fulfilling employment.

This brings things back around to money. Eric makes enough for us to comfortably. This would be plenty if we weren't planning on having a family someday or if he never wanted to retire. One of the main incentives for me to work right now would be to put away money for the future. On the other hand, I'm also concerned about the cost of grad school should I choose that path. We both managed to graduate college without debt (but owing much gratitude to our families for this) and I'd like us to stay that way.

I blame feminism for another problem I have with unemployment. I feel like I've been raised in a society where it is no longer acceptable to stay at home instead of working and I'm guilty that a part of me wants to do so. Maybe if my mom had been a housewife I'd feel different, but she wasn't. She built her own business and became a nerd goddess. I'll probably never be that successful, but I'd certainly feel bad if I don't even try.

I think my current solution to these problems is to use all this free time as best as I can and to start engaging in more productive activities.

Time enough at last

2010-05-04T14:53:00.000-06:00

I have a lot of time on my hands. I don't have any kind of regular schedule besides generally waking up around 8:30 am (the Eastern facing windows in my bedroom make it impossible to sleep much later) and starting dinner around 5 pm. Thanks to the economy, an obscure B.A., a heavy theatrical background, and a lack of Spanish skills, I am unemployed.

At first, I filled most of the hours by reading. To date I have read 33 books this year, though not all of them for the first time. It would be more, but I got sidetracked by the endless possibilities of TV and movies and am only now returning to my rather large pile of books to read.

Books I have read in 2010 (* indicates reading for the first time)

1. First Test, Tamora Pierce
2. Page, Tamora Pierce
3. Squire, Tamora Pierce
4. Lady Knight, Tamora Pierce
5. Terrier, Tamora Pierce
6. Bloodhound, Tamora Pierce
7. People of the Book*, Geraldine Brooks
8. Heir to the Empire, Timothy Zahn
9. Wild Magic, Tamora Pierce
10. Wolf Speaker, Tamora Pierce
11. Emperor Mage, Tamora Pierce
12. The Realms of the God, Tamora Pierce
13. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan*, Sophie Kinsella
14. Shopaholic Ties the Knot*, Sophie Kinsella
15. Dark Force Rising, Timothy Zahn
16. Betsy-Tacy*, Maud Hart Lovelace
17. Betsy-Tacy and Tib*, Maud Hart Lovelace
18. Book of a Thousand Days*, Shannon Hale
19. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown*, Maud Hart Lovelace
20. Heaven to Betsy*, Maud Hart Lovelace
21. Betsy was a Junior*, Maud Hart Lovelace
22. Betsy and the Great World*, Maud Hart Lovelace
23. The Magicians*, Lev Grossman
24. The Last Command, Timothy Zahn
25. Ender in Exile*, Orson Scott Card
26. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen*, Leanda de Lisle
27. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily*, Lauren Willig
28. The Lightning Thief*, Rick Riordan
29. Allegiance*, Timothy Zahn
30. Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
31. The Lost Symbol*, Dan Brown
32. Kushiel's Chosen, Jacqueline Carey
33. Kushiel's Avatar, Jacqueline Carey

Many books I've read before, and a huge range of books I hadn't read. The Lost Symbol was by far the worst of the bunch, but I enjoyed the rest. All the discussion of fanfiction on various blogs (mostly Diana Galbadon's) today made me think of something. For a while I definitely considered Tamora Pierce to be my favorite author. I clearly still enjoy her books and I own almost all of them (I'm only missing Melting Stones), but I have never even considered reading fanfiction based on them. Tammy is one of the others who encourages fanfiction and treats her fans wonderfully, but I've just never felt a need to be part of that fandom. Then again, I haven't read much outside Harry Potter. I follow stories based on a couple of TV shows and I used to read some based on RENT and Les Miserables, but I don't think I've read any literary fanfiction outside of HP. Does this say bad things about JK (that I wasn't satisfied with her books) or good things about the fandom (that the stories I read were just plain awesome)? Probably a little of both. I do love Harry Potter, but I also have Cassandra Claire's The Draco Trilogy saved to my hard drive and now that she's published, I make sure I pre-order her books. I still have moments when I can't remember if something happened in the actual series or in a fic I read.

I mentioned that instead of reading I've been watching a lot of television. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it, but I enjoy television and I probably follow more shows than any one I know (I certainly have the time for it). Currently airing shows that I follow include Castle, How I Met Your Mother, 10 Things I Hate About You, Glee, Bones, Doctor Who, The Pacific, Army Wives, Merlin, Primeval, Skins, Party Down, True Blood, The Amazing Race, Project Runway, Degrassi, Make It or Break It, Torchwood, The Tudors, and iCarly. Even I'm astonished by the length of that list. And that's not all. Shows that may or may not be cancelled that I will continue to watch and/or need to catch up on include Life on Mars, Being Human, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Scrubs, Heroes, Robin Hood, and Life Unexpected. I find myself hoping that at least one of those on the edge is cancelled (preferably Life Unexpected) so I can stop watching it. Clearly I need to prioritize and cut down, but I'll admit it: I'm a TV Addict. Oh, and did I mention that I'm currently watching NCIS on DVD? If you read this, please give me a suggestion of at least one show I should cut from my schedule and a good explanation why. I guess I just love how the longer format of a television series allows for more exploration of the characters and their world than a movie does. Not that I don't like movies. I love movies. My Netflix queue is ridiculously long and I'm constantly adding to it.

Wedding Post #1

2009-01-31T12:57:00.006-07:00

So, blogging from Russia didn't really work out so well. Internet was expensive and time was scarce. However, I think it is time to reinvent this blog once more as I've finally embarked on that terrifying journey - planning my wedding.

On Thursday I was sitting in Swem printing out an enormous quantity of reading when I finally got a phone call back from the Williamsburg Winery, where Eric and I had pretty much decided we needed to hold our reception. As luck would have it, I was their first booking for December 2009 and our first choice for dates was completely open. On my way home that day I stopped off at the Wren Building to see if my luck would hold out and the same date would be available for the Wren Chapel. Score!!! The same day was completely open at the Wren Chapel, too.

With the date set and the locations found, I can legitimately start planning my wedding. Thanks to Anna L, I've now spent hours reading Offbeat Bride for ideas and inspiration. I may not be as offbeat as a lot of the brides featured, but I am totally buying into the idea that I can do whatever the hell I want with my wedding (as long as Eric's OK with it, naturally). So far, this hasn't led to any drastic decisions, though I have already accessorized the wedding dress I haven't picked out yet. I'm also thinking alot more about DIY options than I was before.

In my hours spent online, I took a few minutes to research the Army dress uniform Eric wants to be married in. I really like the dress blues, but there had been a question about what tie should be worn with them for the wedding (Eric said bow tie, I said straight tie). According to AR670-1 the Dress Blue uniform should only be worn with the black bow tie after retreat (5pm, I think) at which point it is the equivilant of a civilian tuxedo. The black bow tie is sometimes worn during the afternoon to very formal events. As I have no intention of my wedding being a "very formal" event (probably more like semi-formal), the black bow tie would be innappropriate. It pays off to do your research.

In terms of my dress, I'm strongly considering having it made. I have a pretty good idea of what I want and while I have found a couple of dresses online that are close, it is unlikely I'll find exactly what I want at the bridal salon. Not that I won't give it a try first.

Russian Attitudes

2008-07-06T05:04:00.004-06:00

Sometimes it hits me just how much growing up in Moscow affected my attitude about some things. Yesterday was one of those days. Our group went to Peterhof, which was as beautiful as it always has been and I'm uploading the photos to Picasa right now, and afterwards we went to a church in the town of the same name. As a child,I was yelled at by enough Babushas that it is now a gut instinct for me to cover my head when I enter an Orthodox Church. Yesterday I didn't have my scarf with me because I knew there weren't any churches in the palace complex and I felt very uncomfortable going into this church with my head uncovered. The other girls don't really get this, but at least Tony generally makes sure that we all have our heads covered. Seeing large groups of tourists in Orthodox churches where not a single head is covered kind of annoys me. It may not be my church, but I feel like it's disrespectful to not follow the rules.

Outside the church in Peterhof was our first real encounter with gypsy children. There were only 3 or 4 of them so they weren't very dangerous, but one little girl was especially persuasive. Several group members gave her 5 ruble coins, so she followed us for several blocks trying to milk us as much as possible. Laura did tell everyone not to give her any more, but Sarah asked how could you not just give everything. How can I ignore a gypsy beggar girl and not feel remotely bad about it? Because I know that one child can lead you to a gang of a dozen who will take everything you have, no matter how generous you've already been. This is a very Russian attitude and I know that the Roma are treated like dirt across Europe, but it does happen and they are dangerous.

Today, I am resting. Our schedule can be pretty exhausting and getting to rest on one day of the weekend is necessary. On Friday we celebrated the 4th of July with great pomp. The new Russian House tutor (Vera) took us to a huge market to do some shopping (I bought a dress for 400R) and then she found us a fireworks store. Together we bought 1200R worth of fireworks and went home to all have dinner at "Steak House" (shashlik!). Some of the Canadians we see at SpezFak were having a bonfire down behind the dormitories, so we joined them and a bunch of other international students. As the sun slowly set, we learned that Russian fireworks are not to be trusted as several of the rockets failed to take flight and half of the big salute failed to go off. It was an excellent night, even if no one was happy about getting up to go to Peterhof the next morning.

Another adventure this week was doing laundry in Russia. Several other members tested the water for us, but on Wednesday Andrea and I hauled our dirty clothes down to the student laundremat, where the staff washed and dried our clothes at 120R per load (fabric softener was 10R extra). As laundry vocabulary isn't exactly a high priority at the W&M Russian department, figuring out what I wanted to say was a little difficult.

Moscow

2008-07-01T03:57:00.003-06:00

Again I've fallen into a pattern of neglect with my blog. I'm not good at this and being tired all the time doesn't help very much.

This weekend we all went to Moscow. We left Friday night on the midnight train (the Cmena) and got back this morning on the same train at about 7:45am. This was our most strenuous 3 days yet. We had so short a time in Moscow and Tony wanted to make sure we did as much as possible with that time. This meant walking across the city for 12 hours straight with a rare stop for food. On Saturday we arrived at the train station and rode the metro out to our hotel, which was very nice but it was way out of the city (only 3 metro stops away from the end of the line). The first thing we all did was fight Tony for the right to take showers before we did anything else. Clean and refreshed, but still tired, we hopped back on the metro and rode out to Red Square - the primary destination for a short Moscow trip. We wanted to see Lenin that morning, but most of Red Sqaure was blocked off for the graduation of the Kremlin Regiment. It was pretty cool that we got to see the tail end of that. Then we got the obligatory pictures with St. Basil's in the background, walked around GUM, and grabbed some lunch. Emily and I ran over to McDonalds, which is definitely better in Russia than in the US. After lunch we met with our tour guide to go around the Kremlin. By then it was 2pm and she repeated some stuff Tony had already said about St. Basil's and Red Square so our Kremlin tour was a little cut short. We were rushed through the churches inside the Kremlin walls, but were unable to walk through the park or the museum. After our tour, Tony asked her for advice on a place to have dinner cheaply and he SHOULD NOT HAVE LISTENED. We sat through several hours of bad food and bad serviceat Yalki Palki on the Old Arbat. When we turned onto the Arbat I barely even recognized it. They've dressed it up a bit, but it's still the biggest pedestrian street in that part of town. After dinner we walked down the rest of the street to hop on the metro. Instead of going clubbing as we'd originally intended, we called it an early night and got some sleep before our next adventure.

On Sunday morning we returned to Red Square again to see Lenin. Tony approached a guide and paid 300R a head to jump us to the front of the line - a great time saver. This was actually the first time I'd seen Lenin. When we were living in Moscow we just never bothered, something for which Eric has given me a pretty hard time about. In the mauseleum you are forced to keep moving and silent by the very creepy looking guards. Lenin himself doesn't look that real. He's kind of pasty, but his hair doesn't look real and one of his hands is folded so you can't see where his fingers have decayed. The entire thing is pretty weird. After Lenin, we went into Our Lady of Kazan, the State Historical Museum, and St. Basil's. At Kazan, we managed to visit our 2nd Orthodox service - we'd managed to visit Christ the Savior during services the night before. In the museum I saw something that had never meant anything to me before: one of the books printed by Ivan Federov in his printing house before he was run out of town. I'd also forgotten just how awesome St. Basil's is on the inside. After lunch we left Red Square for the Tretyakov Gallery. Totally better than the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The RM might have the larger collection, but the Tretyakov has better pieces. I was however very distraught when I discovered at 4:20pm that the chapel housing the Virgin of Vladimir (one of the holiest icons in Russia) had closed at 4pm. For dinner, Tony sent us down to Tverskaya where we had an amazing meal at Tibet. I had ginger chicken and an order of steamed buns - it was so tasty. After a walk down Tverskay in the pouring rain we had another night in, though we did watch the EuroCup final between Spain and Germany.

On Monday, Tony arranged an excursion for us out to Sergeev Posad, somewhere the program had never been before but I had. Unfortunately he couldn't come with us, so we were at the mercy of our guide. We received a tour of the monastery, including visiting churches during services again, and were then released until lunch. We spent a while in the monastery's gift store, where the icon lady looked very confused when I had Laura ask her about the Madonna of the Burning Bush. I bought a pair of mittens from one of the souveneir sellers, and as is to be expected, went straight for the 100 percent cashmere 1000+ Rubles shawl (which I did not buy). Lunch was fairly good, but very heavy and fairly rushed. We ate at Ruski Dvornik, a place so touristy it was painful. After lunch we were shoved back onto our bus so that we returned two hours earlier than expected. Two hours that we had to wait for Tony at our hotel. Not many people actually felt like there was much wrong with our day trip, but as I've actually had the fantastic tourist trip there I definitely felt very rushed and did not appreciate the bus ride back to Moscow on a full stomach. We made up for it with our last hours in the city. We were exploring the area around the train station and decided to try and visit the old Leningradskaya Hotel - one of the 7 Sisters. Hilton has aquired and renovated it, but left alot of the original detailing, and is planning to open it in July. Somehow the young events coordinator found time to give us a tour including the hotel's presidential suite. It was fantastic.

I wish we'd been able to spend more time there, but it was a fairly good trip and everyone seemed to like Moscow alot.

Week's End

2008-06-21T06:11:00.002-06:00

Well, I've now been here in St. Pete for a week. I'm exhausted, but thoroughly enjoying myself. Last night there was a big festival for all the graduating students. The center of town shut down and there were concerts, fireworks, and the ship with red sails. And of course, lots of drinking in public. Our entire group went downtown with Vera, the new Russian House tutor, to join in the festivities. You needed a ticket to get into the concerts, but we walked down Nevsky Prospekt to the Neva and watched from its banks. We saw the ship from a distance and some of the fireworks went off right next to us, but the best experience was just the festive spirit of the entire city. We finished off at our Local (SPB - the only good bar we've found on our part of the island) and went home as the sun was brightening the sky again (around 4am).
Earlier this week we got to share in a similarly festive occassion. Laura's 21st birthday happened to coincide with the Russia v. Sweden football match. We joined her and Robchik at The Shamrock ( the Irish bar owned by a W&M alum) for the festivities. There was lots of chanting (Ole! Ole, ole, ole! Rossiya, champion!), shouting, and some of us got our faces painted with Russian flags. We stayed for the entire match and almost didn't make it back across the bridge to Vassilevsky Island. We were the last pedestrians to cross and then we waited to watch the bridge open to let the barges pass through. Since all public transportation had long since stopped running, we all walked at least 5 miles across the entire island to get back to our apartments. Along the way, everyone we passed would see the flags on our faces and start chanting again. It was a true cultural experience.
My classes started this week, too. We all took an oral interview so that the university could place us, but there weren't enough people in our group to form two classes. 4 of us (Chris, Sarah, Kurt, and I) were taken down the street to take a written test so they could place us in a class with otehr foreigners at SpezFak. We did OK and are now studying with Group 15 every morning. Our schedule and proffessors rotate, but we're with the same students every day (or at least the ones who bother to show up). Our classmates are from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and France - the Koreans especially are alot of fun. We alternate topics each day, studying grammar, writing, phonetics, conversation, and reading. Everything is pretty fun except for the grammar. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have Tony's literature class after class, which is just like any other literary analysis class and can get out of hand sometimes.
This Sunday we're taking a day trip out of the city to visit the imperial palace and grounds at Pavlovsk. Next weekend, we'll go to Moscow.

More pictures posted over at http://picasaweb.google.com/anniemosher

Playing Catch-up

2008-06-17T10:41:00.007-06:00

Friday, June 13 - Saturday, June14:

On Friday the 13th I left Washington with eight other students. This particular flight was fantastic. The in-seat entertainment system featured movies and tv on demand as well as full album listening. I watched the Spiderwick Chronicles and listened to Calvin Harris - I created Disco as well as Sophie Milman's new album. I also finished reading Stanger in a Strange Land. I sat in a row with Laura and Katie M. We received special treatment (including lotion and advice) from Robbie our flight attendent. All in all it was a very civilized flight, though Andrea did throw up behind me. At Heathrow, the 2 hour proposed window to transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 proved a bit excessive as we managed to transfer in 30-40 minutes. I had my first glorious taste of Fanta Lemon. once our gate was posted, we made our way there and met up with Tony for the first time.

Our second flight was not good at all. The seats were rather cramped and we weren't at all together this time. I sat between Laura and a Russian man who insisted on practicing his English with me. I was already feeleing pretty bad thanks to my normal air sickness and severe abdominal spasms which had started a bit earlier, when the flight crew served breakfast, the stench of which was nauseating. Who ever thought it twas a good idea to serve a full English breakfast on an airplane. I spent the rest of the flight fighting nausea, though I did have the forethought to request a barf bag from a flight attendant. Inevitabnly, as we were approaching St. Petersburg I did vomit - and naturally felt much better afterwards, I apoligized to the flight attendant as I handed him the "present." Unfortunately this meant that I missed flying in over St. Petersburg, though I was able to look out the window over London and identify such sights as Tower Bridge and the London Eye.

In St. Pete, the passport control lines weren't as bad as I thought they would be and I emerged quickly into the baggage claim (the passport woman even winked at me). There we soon realized that four of us were without luggage. After filling out forms in triplicate, we were told that our bags were still in London but should be here by the following day. Luckily, I'm in the same apartment as Andrea and I was able to borrow a shirt and toiletries from her.

Andrea and I were delivered to our apartment building and host mother. The apartment has 6 doors leading to it and requires 5 different keys to get in. My room is pretty spacious and has a balcony overlooking the a canal. I also have a desk, wardrobe, and a nightstand. The bed is very thin and very hard, resembling the many Intourist beds I have slept on. The blue curtains are pretty, but they don't completely block out the sunlight - makes it a little hard to sleep during White Nights. I've been studying Russian longer than Andrea, so I've been conducting most of the conversations with out host mother, but Andrea understand most of what we say. After dinner, Laura, Emily, Andrea and I did a bit of exploring. We found the metro, I bought a toothbrush, and we visited this internet cafe. I went to bed not long after that and hoped to beat the jet lag before too long.

P.S. I've started posting photos here

Last Day in USA

2008-06-12T19:32:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow I leave for St. Petersburg so I've gone ahead and changed the title of my blog in anticipation. I am no longer stuck in the duck but will soon be a duckling abroad! Laura has been staying with me for the past couple of days so that we can go to the airport tomorrow afternoon. Earlier tonight we pounced on British Airways on-line check in to make sure we (and 4 other girls from our program) could sit together. Claiming those seats as fast as possible was almost like registering for classes. This afternoon we ate our last American meal at the Silver Diner, where we were served by the lovely Michelle. I also stopped by Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple books. The large hardcover Kushiel's Mercy isn't the most practical plane reading, but I refuse to wait two months to read it.

With one errand left to run, only a little packing left to do, and all my prep work (finally) done on my Alexander Nevsky project, I'm ready to relax tonight and start my summer tomorrow.

Маленькая проблемя

2008-05-22T12:08:00.003-06:00

Today there was a minor crisis.

Yesterday, Tony emailed everyone in the program to inform us that the Russian consulate is now requiring a recent HIV test for all student visa applications. I thought that this information might be dubious, as he was referring to the New York consulate which had required the test in the past and not the DC embassy, which has not enforced this requirement. To confirm, I called Travel Document Systems, the service which is handing our visas. They told me that, yes, I needed to get tested but also that I wasn't in their system.

Travel Document Systems did not have my visa application which I mailed to them exactly one week ago.

I mailed it Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation out of Williamsburg last Thursday and the USPS had confirmed delivery on Saturday, May 17. Travel Document Systems is not open on Saturday. The building isn't even open on Saturday.

I spent three hours on the phone alternating between the USPS and TDS, neither of which could give me any kind of straight answer or stories that matched up. Finally I managed to talk to someone in the central DC post office, then I called TDS again. At last, I found someone who thought to look in yesterday's mail to see if anything had come in. He found both Laura's and my applications, then hand carried them over to the Russia desk. How do I know that he did this? The woman working at the Russia desk called me 10 minutes later to let me know that I could fax over my HIV test results.

Now, my application has found its way, I have an appointment for an HIV test tomorrow, and soon I will have my Russian visa.

Всё хорошо, что хорошо кончается!

Summer Reading 2008

2008-05-21T22:03:00.018-06:00

Each summer for a very long time I've kept a list of the books I read - generally more than 50 each year. Summer is my time to relax and get some serious reading done. While most of the titles are not serious, this is the only time each year that I can spend night and day reading as many books as I can get my hands on.
Key:
* indicates a book I have not read before. This mark is necessary as I have a tendency to re-read alot of books.
+indicates a book I am reading for school. This mark is necessary because I am doing preparatory work for my summer study abroad program. Or at least I will soon.

1. The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce
2. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
3. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
4. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
5. A War of Gifts, by Orson Scott Card*
6. Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine*
7. The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray*
8. The City of Ember, by Jeanne Duprau*
9. City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
10. Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein*
11. Kushiel's Mercy, by Jacqueline Carey*
12. City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare*
13. Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs*
14. Brideshead Revisted, by Evelyn Waugh*
15. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides*
16. Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier*
17. Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris*
18. Rostnikov's Corpse, by Stuart M. Kaminsky*
19. In High Places, by Harry Turtledove*
20. The Flanders Panel, by Arturo Perez-Reverte*
21. Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer*
22. Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld*
23. Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld*
24. Specials, by Scott Westerfeld*
25. Extras, by Scott Westerfeld*
26. Long Way Down, by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman*
27. Vile Bodies, by Evelyn Waugh*
28. The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham*
29. A Walk with Jane Austen, by Lori Smith*
30. Becoming Jane Austen, by Jon Spence*
31. Darcy's Story, by Janet Aylmer*

New Blog Link

2008-04-29T23:53:00.003-06:00

Just to let everyone know, I've added another blog link. My friend Megan will soon be departing for China. As Mike will be returning soon, we'll all have to turn to her for Chinese adventures.

Coming soon: I take this blog from the Drunk Duck all the way to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Forbidden Planet Crashes into Oblivion

2008-04-17T18:13:00.005-06:00

It would have been fantastic. It would have been different. I could have done it. I was finally believing that could do it, but apparently all I'm good for is management and counting money.

Stupid people don't realize I went through 4 years of theatre in one of the best high school programs in Northern VA. Most of the time, W&M mainstage pales in comparison to what we accomplished. This would have been a challenging, ensemble show and my actors would have really grown during it.

I never wanted to direct, but I kept watching people do it badly and I wanted to correct them and make it better. I was absolutely terrified to propose, but I worked through that and did it. I proposed and it felt like it fell on deaf ears. I took one look at the small gathering of people in Washington 307 and I knew I wouldn't get it. Nine people voted on proposals this semester. Only nine out of nineteen eligible voters actually cared what show we'd do in the fall.

Zan and Allison will do a fine show, but it will be the same thing we always do. They've both already directed for SitD, so I guess I felt like it was my turn. Like I said, I never wanted to direct until now.

I'll never know for certain if I could have done it. This was my one chance.

Что с тобой?!

2008-02-10T21:12:00.001-07:00

Friday:
Seeing as how Abigail went to all the trouble of telling me to update this thing in a Facebook wall post, I should probably obey her command. Especially since she posted such lovely Bath pictures. I am so jealous, but we must remember that she is not here to experience the Burg first-hand. In fact, studying abroad this semester is as close as she will get to attending her own funeral. Those of us stranded here certainly do spend our time wishing you were here, too. (That's not a lie. Michelle and I watched Amelie last night and wished you were here).

However, prior to the watching of Amelie, I went to the opera. Not something I get to do often, since opera tickets have a tendency to be a bit too expensive for poor college students like me. Lea, Andrew, and Kerry were getting student rush tickets for Virginia Opera's Eugene Onegin, so I decided to join them. For $20 a piece we sat in the fourth row for opening night of one of the greatest Russian operas. I kind of freaked when I saw how awesome our seats were. Fortunately the two leading ladies were actually Russian, so they looked the part and could actually pronounce everything properly. Unfortunately, compared to them, the leading men looked downright British. It was a strange blend of Pushkin and Jane Austen. There were some rather tragic pronunciation errors, but as a whole I enjoyed the production. The set was also pretty fabulous, except for the ROUND WINDOW in the Dacha. Russians generally do not use round windows in traditional construction. It looked out of place. The most amusing aspect was how many different ways one can manage to translate the phrase "что с тобой?" which literally means "what's with you?". Seriously, about a dozen different translations all equally elaborate. Here's the video preview for the production:

Saturday:
Saturday began a small trend for the weekend. A trend of not telling Annie when we are meeting to go do something. I went to 2nd Saturday in Richmond, but somehow the email telling us to meet at 5:30 pm instead of 8 pm did not make its way into my inbox. It all worked out well, though. I got ready in 10 minutes (I forgot my water bottle) and we still made it to Richmond before one of the other cars. We all had dinner at a Thai restaurant which helped add a more social aspect to the Swing Club. The dance proper was pretty good, too. Not exceptional, but I got a couple memorable dances in. Overall Swing drama is getting a bit better, but more on that another time. I am definitely the most bitter and jaded officer on the executive board, though.

Sunday:
I tried to call Eric on Saturday night to prevent a recurrence of the "let's not tell Annie when we're leaving" game, but his phone was off all night. He called me today at 12:05 to tell me we were meeting to go to the range twenty five minutes later. We compromised and he picked me up forty minutes later so I actually had time to take a shower and not be the smelly kid. Again, it all turned out well. Jon and Eric were teaching Erin how to shoot, so I didn't feel like I was cramping their style going today. I mean, I do know how to shoot (I shot a .22 on the JV Rifle Team for 3 years in high school), but in a rather different environment and I am more than a bit rusty. In ascending order, here is what Erin and I shot today:
Ruger 10/22
AR -15 assault rifle
AK-47 assault rifle
CETME battle riflle
Mossburg battle shotgun (I can't find a wikipedia page, but it exists I swear!)

The shotgun kicked the most, but it was a good kind of pain. A fairly successful weekend, but I didn't exactly get much homework done. I still don't want to do work, so I might goof off tonight and skip going to the gym (I went 3 times last week!) tomorrow morning to get the rest of my work done.

Almost Friday

2008-01-31T11:09:00.001-07:00

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I get out of class at 12:20 pm, return to an empty house, make lunch, and sit down in front of the television. My afternoon entertainment for the past two weeks has been Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel channel. The man is cynical, sarcastic, and downright rude sometimes, but he will eat ANYTHING. On Tuesday I saw him eat torpedo soup, a curry-based dish in which the primary ingredient is bull's penis, in Malaysia. I think I'll pass on that. I can't even decide whether I enjoy this show or not. I like watching travel shows if just because I like seeing fun places, but Anthony Bourdain can be a bit trying. I catch the tail end of Passport to Europe before he comes on and it has such an optimistic outlook on travel that No Reservations can be a bit of a shock. He refers to his show as something which he has conned the Travel channel into producing. Somehow I doubt his cynicism and the reality of his character. I don't know what to make of this man, but I do find his antics entertaining even if his narration (part cynicism, part philosophy) can get old pretty quickly.

Today, Michelle has made my decision for me: she is on the last disc of Lost Season 3 and demands that we watch that instead. I'll have to visit Las Vegas through the eyes of a chain-smoking asshole another time.

My great success for the day: I was not the stupid kid!!! In Medieval and Renaissance Music all that prep work payed off. I was able to answer questions intelligently and I followed all of the material we covered today. Victory is mine!

all the cool kids are doing it

2008-01-30T22:33:00.001-07:00

well...they are. Mike and Abigail have abandoned Williamsburg for China and England (respectively), so there doing it. Kay is stuck in Williamsburg with the rest of us, so she's doing it. I might as well do it, too.

I may not be overseas this semester, but I am probably taking my hardest course load...ever.
17 credits:
Russian 304 w/ Sasha Prokhorov
The Crusades w/ Phil Daileader
Early Modern Book w/ Carter Hailey
Medieval and Renaissance Music w/ Thomas Payne
History and Religion of Ancient Israel w/ Julie Galambush

Ok, so most of those classes aren't actually that difficult, but they're all with incredible professors. The only one that has any possibility of kicking my butt is Medieval and Renaissance Music. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome class, but I'm the stupid kid. I swear I can read music, I swear I deserve to be in this class. I just never learned music theory. Tonight I analyzed our pieces for tomorrow so that I may not be as stupid as I was on Tuesday. The music majors can pick all the information I spent two hours writing down tonight in about 5 seconds. They can pick notes out of thin air, too. I can't do that. I'm trying so hard, but I really hate being the stupid kid. Russian, however, makes me feel almost smart enough to make up for that. I'm applying to study abroad in St. Petersburg this summer, which will give me 9 credits towards my major and hopefully improve my Russian. I would LOVE to make Intermediate High in my oral proficiency interview before I graduate. That application is due this Friday and I still need to write the essay for it. I also applied for Mortar Board this week. I hadn't expected to be invited to join and I only submitted the application because I knew it would look good if I did get in, but now I'm actually worried about not getting in. The application includes an outline of your activities in three sections: scholarship, leadership, and service. I don't have a service category. I've never really done any community service. It's just never been something I made time for. Michelle has applied as well, but she actually has stuff to list under that category. I don't even care that much about getting in, but it would suck if I didn't.

I need to stop worrying about things that don't matter that much. I've got enough going on as it is, what with the 17 credits, being an officer in two different clubs, holding a job, and having a boyfriend.

Life is busy.