Life Renovations

... aaaaand two months later, I thought it was about time for me to write another entry! I told you I suck at keeping on top of this kind of stuff.

Quick recap of that last 2 months: basically lived at work what with all the special events happening at the theatre lately, karaoked to "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid at the Geva staff holiday part and convinced my boss's 3-year-old daughter that I was Ariel, saw some shows, went home for Christmas and spent all 4 days acting like a complete idiot just to make my 6-month old nephew to laugh, began working out with a personal trainer, discovered the luxury of a steam room, went to NYC and rang in 2012 with half a Carvel ice cream cake smashed into my hair, got a new entertainment center, went on a few dates, auditioned for some shows and got an awesome role in The Little Dog Laughed at Blackfriars (coming this March), and began planning a trip to Italy for May 2012. Oh yeah, and had like 6 dentist appointments over the course of those 8 weeks (see "Oh Cheeseburgers, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" post from November for the inciting incident of this ongoing tooth saga). My dentist and I are tight now- we text each other. Seriously.

So for my first post of 2012, I will fill you in on two of my "life renovation" plans that I hope to tackle over the next few months.

1) Paint the bedroom. My bedroom is currently the same light dove grey that is featured throughout the rest of my apartment. Paired with the icy blue dresser I refinished last summer, the white headboard I upholstered last Spring, white curtains and nightstands (upon which sit white lamps) and the white/icy blue/pale grey bedding, I've determined that my room is just a little too bland for my taste. So I've decided to repaint the walls a darker shade of grey to make all those lighter items really POP. After much internet research on the subject of "dark grey bedrooms", I think I've finally chosen my new shade: Behr's "Creek Bend", a darker warm grey. Valspar's "Porcelain Shale" came in at a close second. By the way, who makes up these names for paint? I want THAT job. Where the hell do they come up with this stuff? My first color would be a golden brown that I would name "Apologetic Twinkie". Other colors in the collection might include "Exhuberant Fjord" (an icy blue), "Apoplectic Rocket" (a bright red), and "Rhetorical Reef" (a charming shade of deep coral).

2) Step-up my game as a performer. I've been auditioning for stuff for well over 10 years now... it's time I really got my shit together. Don't get me wrong, I've been pretty successful and have a nice track record (I shall take a moment to brag- this week, for the first time EVER, I didn't get into a show that I auditioned for... in 10 years. That's pretty good.), but I fully acknowledge that there are things that I have been either ignoring, avoiding or just plain finding shortcuts around. For instance, I have never gotten a professional headshot taken. The shot I've been using for the last 2 years was a photo I took of myself on my Canon SD 1100 in the hallway of my old apartment at 1am. It's decent and it's gotten me by, but it's time to invest in the real thing, baby. In addition, I've decided that I need to compile a "book" for auditions. Back in the day when I was at school, there was no talk of preparing a book of pieces for auditions- that didn't get added to the curriculum until after I had graduated and the Music Theatre program at Naz really took off. It would have been very helpful information to have had at that time, when I was constantly searching for music and monologues and had countless resources at my disposal. Well, better late than never I guess! So I'm going to start actively seeking audition-appropriate pieces that appeal to my strengths so I am TOTALLY prepared with an arsenal of "talent weapons" at auditions from here on out!

So those are two of my many "life renovations" for 2012... anyone have any fun ideas to consider? I'm taking suggestions!