Auntie Hannah's Recipes

Through some amazing combination of Cherry Coke, a Cadbury creme egg, and the lingering taste of my ever-popular spearmint gum, I produced the taste of a lightly-campfire-toasted marshmellow.

never did nap - showing?

I'm turning Macbeth into a (short) comedy for my Hist/Lit paper. I'm realizing there's places not meant to be in a comedy and am attempting to work around such. However, I'm more entertained by the little details I'm throwing in for my own amusement rather than cultural accuracy (which then gain a works cited spot and should therefore be bumped up a rank on my list of things to add).

Fav thus far: Because King Duncan and Banquo are just playing a trick on Macbeth, and will see what hilarity will ensue. Instead of a pack of witches, B and M meet a traveling fair (where B reinterprets their words to be the prophesy, blah blah blah). The only reason I settled on something was to mock the most famous stage direction in all Shakespeare, letting my main guys "Exit, pursued by a fair."

still no napping

Cold Chinese food with sauce drenched chopsticks, rain finally letting lose now that I'm inside again, Red Dwarf and friends in twenty minutes...it doesn't really matter if I don't have a rough draft for Monday, right? I mean, as long as I'm paying attention to the truly important things in life.

No napping!

I've gotten in the habit of taking an afternoon/early evening nap in the last few days, mostly because I felt awful and wanted to not feel my throat burn for a few minutes or sixty.

That, however, directly related to why I was not quite so sleepy when it hit 1:30, 2:30 a.m. and didn't see the need to fall asleep. And then I'd need a nap the next day, because I was up so late. And so on.

I'm trying to break that train today, but I'm not certain that I'll last. I have too many papers to write in the next few days (the rough and final drafts of the last Hist/Lit paper ever, the workshop and final drafts of my senior sem paper), which already equals staying up forever in the vast attempt to make my writing sound somewhat intelligent (in H/L's case, this equals "just enough to not take the final").

If anyone needs me, I'll probably be in my room. Whether I'm residing with the computer or the bed is entirely in flux.

I won't comment on how much of that time has gone to broadway Little Mermaid info hunts.

I don't feel like writing this paper.

Some is because it's Friday evening and no one should have to do homework on Friday evening. Unfortunatly, most of my Saturday is already spoken for (visit event stuff will essentially last from 9:00 until 2:30ish) and Sunday will also feature tech rehearsals for one-acts. Right now, I'm stalling around until people show up on my doorstep and we head off to the recently-moved-inside drive-in, meaning tonight is out also.

Some is mostly because it won't take long once I finally crack down and work, so I don't want to crack down and work. Therefore, I keep playing games and roaming throughout the internet and facebooking every ten minutes or so.

Some is also because the senior apathy has set in and it took its sweet time arriving. That's both good and bad.

Silly leadership scholarship, requiring extra paperwork. I'd just turn in my original proposal, but I think they'd notice that I didn't cover any actual evaluation of how I did. And that I turned in my original proposal, as is. (Well, I might change the date. Maybe.)

all my professors seem to like me

I'm feeling much better, so we don't need to be concerned about my possibility of having real mumps (insulting people by saying they have mumps will probably stay part of the room's lingo, much like exclaiming over "Bono miracles" and complaining that someone's gonna make coats out of us). At least, my throat is fine again, proving that complaining does in fact help things. My ears feel clogged still, and I'd be willing to try out an ear candle at the moment, just because. The fuzzy, echo-y effect of hearing anything is a bit interesting, but not necessarily how I want to live the rest of my life.

In other news, the bookstore attempted to charge me twice for my cap and gown until I pulled out the $93-whatever entry in my checkbook as proof that I'd already done so. Apparently it pays to balance your checkbook. My job ap will land in Texas tomorrow noon-ish and hopefully there are still openings and the intern director (who emailed me all this info just last weekend) isn't messing with my head. Movies tonight actually means gorging on popcorn. Just what the doctor ordered.

hit in the face with an ax...and other metaphors for feeling awful

I feel like utter crap and wish my throat would just erupt and get over it. Maybe the secondary fires from such an incident could also take care of my ears, which keep trying to pop or explode or make want to jab something straight thru both. I'm far from the only sick person around right now, and I know we keep joking about the mumps (I did get those shots, right Mom?), but we all know what a huge baby I am about being sick. This is probably part why it doesn't happen often: universe protection. Anyway, I'll probably get over it fairly quickly, but my life currently exists of napping and throat spray and trying to fill in everything else between both.


In other news, it's actually be a fairly stupdendous day. Top above top, my presentation went well and my reading delivery was compared to Sarah Vowell, which was a nice side note. I also got to wear the swanky suit, which is a nice plus.

The rest of the positive included bacon first thing (even if it was for Melissa, there was still some set aside for me), saving a friend a trip to the media library with my personal Ashman/Menken collection, having all sorts of reference letters ready to go, getting to play Spike (the school mascot) at the visit event this weekend, and defending my typewriter's honor in finance class. I'm now going to look up song clips from the upcoming Broadway version of "Little Mermaid." Because, why not.

sincere thanks

A special shout-out to Lemon Drop for making my headphones actually more comfortable than before, even if I was somewhat upset that they broke. If I usually only wear them over one ear, they might as well only cover one ear to begin with!

Just when I think I'm out...

I'm working sound board for the one-acts. This is nice, since it allows me to keep my score of "working every one-acts, every semester." It's also pleasant to continue adding to list of experience, help out a friend, and hang with all the delightful people also stuck in the booth during the show. These are all positive things.

At the same time, though, I feel like I've said goodbye to Truman theatre so many times already this semester and keep finding one more way to hang on.

And then I go back to facebook.

When I've just finished with a large paper or a hefty exam (or both, as in today), and gain some free time once more, I play this little game called "what should I be doing right now?" The rules are simple, I just put together a list of assignments, extra projects, and random crafts that--now that I have the time--I should do instead of frittering away the blissful non-last-minute hours I have.

Currently, this list includes:
* continue practicing for my senior sem presentation
* finish my senior sem paper
* write one last short paper for Shakespeare class
* read the rest of "Cymbeline"
* read "Cyrano de [can't spell]"
* write a rough draft (and final draft) of my Hist/Lit paper
* throw together a leadership recap
* working on the duct tape dress
* trip planning!
* utilizing all those years of soda tab saving = crafty belt!

unrelated: I miss my tricycle

I wish people emailed me as often as I checked my email.

co-MVPs

I love it when I can bring my sources together to confirm facts. Especially when I should be doing real work.

Also: Guy Patterson, what are you doing with yourself?

your fault, Dana

If David Garrick were still alive today, I'd totally go out of my way to make sure we were BF/GF 4ever.

simple pleasures

Oh, Easy Cheese, I love you so!

coordination

I switch my eating/typing hands for just two seconds and I end up with a keyboard full of chicken nugget and a thumb doused in sauce. Yum.

recipe for gross

I always forget, Cherry Coke + Wringley Spearmint gum = dirt flavor.

Why, of course I know what dirt tastes like. I may not be as country as Melissa, but I'm country enough.



EDITED: I did not mean to imply in any way that Melissa eats dirt. I'd just to clarify that before the angry starts.

tidbits

* Today I supported the classics club (during their all-day Homerathon) by purchasing a button stating "morituri nolimus mori," or "those of us about to die don't want to." I figured it was a good choice as it was one of the few not calling my woman a whore (or some other variation).

* Do you think it's obvious that I don't care as much as I once did on my campus tours? I just can't bring myself to pull out as much energy for prospective students as I once had.

* I'm completely over-stocked in Easter candy now, so thanks Mom. This also helped with a bribery factor after those delightful indoor water fights.

* Related: I now plan to keep a load watergun on my desk at all times, just in case. I probably shouldn't mention that here as now people will know and be prepared.

* My favorite headband is still damp with Pepsi (don't ask), but I might wear it anyway because my hair is starting to want to form pigtails naturally now. This should be stopped before it becomes worse.

* I'm sorry that I seem to be brushing you off lately, unnamed person, but you keep popping by when I'm not willing to deal with people.

* Related: why am I so sleepy all the time anymore? Am I paying for the past weekend when I did basically nothing but watch movies and consume Cherry Coke? I can't exist on that much caffeine all the time; my meal plan will give out early.

indoor watergun fight!

Happy undergrad research day!

sweet morning birdsong

Seriously, Smith--is the best course of action when you can't sleep to decide to continue the ever-going job hunt? I mean, it's one thing to pop in the Gilmore Girls tape at 1:00ish, and even more so to work on the duct tape dress afterward. But emailing intern contacts at western theatres? Not the greatest insomnia cure...especially when you end up in the Ryle computer lab at 4:30ish to print out applications for later in the day.

instead, I'll change into techie black to head over for opening night and a supreme lack of ushers (apparently I should open my mouth sooner about these things)

I need to wash dishes because I'm out of spoons. Maybe I just need to learn to be utensil ambidextrous, like all that cottage cheese eating I do with forks for fun.

.......

Mission uncovered, accomplished, and hidden from the authorities. !!!

Only somewhat related, I think we're about to form a monkey-based crime fighting superhero team. Good thing I have experience in such fields.

go, go gadget flashlight!

Right now, in my all-black techie duds, I feel a little superhero-ish. If it wasn't a tech rehearsal that will last forever, I would consider throwing on my boots to complete the look. All I truly need now is a shady backstory and a scar with a story as a future plotline point. Maybe a mission would be helpful, too.

time reference

About seven hours ago, I was about to post after the approximately six hours spent volunteering at dry tech (yum fresh fruit). The right-before-it-hits rain smell was in the air, and I wanted someone to run through puddles with once it finally roared through.

Instead, I was invited for tacos with Ashley, Anna, Michael, and Heather, watched "Blue Hawaii" and portions of "The Ten Commandments" between weather bulletins, aided a fake fight, sorta-built a fort, finally figured out what Adair County looked like (hint: like the zillions of other small counties in NE Missouri), and semi-sprinted back to Ryle through a fresh burst of rain. Basically, my life still brings out magic.

break has begun!

Family classic?! Geez, I was freaked out at times by "E.T." and I'm a jaded 21-year old college student.

I'm moving on to something less frightening, like "Rear Window" or "Sunset Boulevard."

Yum, Yummy!

Around the bite of sandwich that tastes like feet (hint: there's always an eventual bite of Sodexho sandwich that tastes like feet), that's when it's time to end lunch.

Ha! Like I would actually go speed dating.

I hate when I know a juicy tidbit--and even have a source of verification!--but can't say anything about it due to officially "unofficial" status. I must say, though, I am somewhat inspired. I don't know what I'll do with that burst of inspiration, but I have an entire weekend to think. And, you know, do tech stuff and homework and whatnot.

smoke on the water

Merv just tried to play Led Zeppelin, followed by the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. I think he has a virus.

Ah! Lennon! (Not to be confused with Lenin, or even "Batman and Lenin: A Musical Extravaganza!," which is the kind of broadway show I could always get behind. Someone needs to start writing music....)

And, flying in the face of yesterday, I'm apparently going speed dating before rehearsal tonight. That won't make life awkward at all.

Hey there, Truman Bookstore! I feel so much better after spending all that money on overpriced graduation merchindise (that wasn't in stock, but I understand that whole "just pop by, we won't call you thing"--you're obviously busier than I am). I mean, I was really angry to spend almost a hundred dollars on an outfit I'll never wear again and 25 notecards. But when you gave me the free shampoo sample, that really just evened us back out. Thanks for knowing what I was really after! Maybe you can overcharge me for gum when I come in next week, too!

five weeks left

Prime Minister: Oh, no. That is so inconvenient.

You said it, sir. And cue the oboe...at least, I think it's an oboe.

need to blow-dry my hair/tying up loose ends addition

* I moved out of the Party House yesterday, which was appropriately sad (especially once I moved back into the dorms and had to leave my giant Pile Of Mess before running off for food-rehearsal-Ambassadors). My final act would've been playing the piano, but I stopped to help a baby bird stuck in a bush out front (simple snip of string). Somehow, that was better. Though I will miss that piano.

* Rehearsal, you say? Not again, Hannah! I'm on deck crew for the musical, and don't do much beyond pushing/pulling some platforms, a bit of flyrail, and the huge doors at the back. I'll mostly be backstage, singing along between flights of homework.

* When I'm not elsewhere, of course, like the GRE tonight. Oh, silly GRE, and your testing of my mathematical skills.

* The gigantic new Ambassador training went well this weekend, despite the sucking up of my afternoon/early evening. The night tour was even better, as it offered release from rehearsal AND crazy stories about the University (some I already knew, plus one I told to the group). Favorite story: back when the quad was mostly a lake, it was tradition for a boyfriend to steal one of the lilypad flowers for his girlfiend as a sign of affection. Actually, more than affection, since then President Kirk paid the campus janitor to sleep in Baldwin's basement in case someone tried to swim out to the flowers in the lake. If the janitor heard anything? Shoot them, was Kirk's command, and many shots were fired at students over the years (though obviously no one was hurt). The campus police now claim this janitor as their first officer.

* How's schoolwork coming among all this? Let's not ask silly questions.


EDITED: (1:15ish) I have a happily official letter telling me the Fine Arts Department wants to give me an award of some form. I hope there's a summer job attached.

EDITED: (1:55) And now I'm on hold with the Computer-Based Testing Center, since someone apparently scheduled me to take the GRE at 1:30 instead of 6:00. Thankfully, the offical card THEY gave me says 6:00, so I hopefully won't be out any money. Just a minor headache and kink in the Box Office phone line.

momentary dress set back as I realize hem allowances aren't needed for duct tape

In other news, I totally road tripped to Columbia yesterday just for Steak 'n Shake. (And the mall. But mostly Steak 'n Shake.) I'd spread some details, but I'm currently more interested in duct tape.

continuing in the apparent graduation hate

I'd feel more friendly about taking the Graduation Survey Questionaire if it'd deem me worth of loading promptly and this keyboard (it supposedly has fewer issues if taken on an on-campus lab computer) didn't have so many sticking keys. Maybe it's just me.


EDITED: and whoever keeps clicking their apparently scary-long (to make such a racket) nails on the community desk will soon face my wrath if this survey doesn't let up soon.

EDITED: Oh, lord, this is the longest, slowest survey known to mankind.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

I'm going to ignore (now that it's finished, of course) that the senior exit portfolio is due tomorrow. And that I just got an email about the graduation fair next week to help me square away everything I need in one simple half hour. And that I'm signed up for the GRE. And the email about working in the box office "one last time." And all the other, non-graduating people with an ongoing countdown until the end of the school year. And the "week twelve" (of sixteen) label on my senior seminar syllabus.

And, basically the fact that it's April and all that the fourth month stands for (at least, in the view of "filled with all sorts of school crap that's suddenly due").

I will maintain breathing. I will graduate. I will go on the European Adventure. I will dance at various weddings and possibly one family reunion. I will laugh and probably cry multiple times within the next month, one hopefully more than the other. I will quote and be quoted, act like a small child in and out of children's theatre class, and work backstage as long as they'll have me. I will turn in papers, but mostly I'll scream at "LOST" with friends and lose sleep to late-night movies and card games. I will clear off my desk for easier homework access, but mostly to have somewhere for the crafts to go.

But first, I will maintain breathing.

my ear is bleeding

In other news, I have more fodder for my ever-growing despising of frat boys, not that it needed any assistance...and not that I'll say anything when inevitably asked about Greek life at Friday's weekly tour. I will quote the stats and mention the philanthropy focus and try to deeply hide the tone of bitterness in my voice.

In other - other news, I have basically all of the top portion of my duct tape dress cut out and now need to size and "stitch." I'm making it a two-piece to ease wearing and hopefully it won't be too difficult to fit. I potentially need someone to hide it all from me so I start doing homework again, as much as I enjoyed the weekend break from thinking about actual work.

"Life's gonna suck when you grow up/and it sucks pretty bad right now"

I'm apparently dealing with the upcoming invite-only workshop of the children's theatre show by listening to Dennis Leary's "Life Sucks Song."

It's at 2 p.m. in the black box, if anyone else feels inclined to come.

post-awful week, post-hermitizing, post-stress relief breakdown

So.

My goal for next week is to not let it get me down as much as this past week, which should be aided by the lack of lab show-ness to eat up evenings and generally wear me out before I have the opportunity to do so myself.

It's also the last week I have with the Party House (and free laundry), so we only have one more week to throw that "Cutting Edge 2" party I've been threatening people with. Yes, I know how to have a fantastic time.

I will miss the piano.

Keeping with the random, I've decided it's hard to spend money when you have absolutely no cash, especially if other people are spending the money for you (example - picking up food for a barbeque) and you're requried to pay them back.

Also, I hope I never, ever again have to turn away such a large crowd of upset zombie fans. Seeing as I'll probably never, ever again be involved with a play about zombies, I'll chalk that up as one goal I can keep.