Wow...it's been a while. Things have been pretty crazy, but at the same time, I haven't had much to blog about. I was home in Indy, mom & I visited g-ma & family for Mother's Day, back to Indy, then the following weekend in a wedding the wedding in Cinci, then back to Chicago a few days later to start back at work right away. My new show is open & running, and I have to say that this is one of the most talented casts I've worked with so far. I love listening to them tell their story every night. (I listen b/c from where I am backstage, I can't see them.)
But there is one big thing to report...I have a new job! This past year, I did some stage managing for a group here in Chicago called Fifth-House Ensemble. They're a chamber orchestra (10 musicians), who specialize in innovative, mixed media performances. This season, they put together a series (3) shows that used actors to tell fairy tales with movement set to their music. The shows were directed by a director I worked with my two years at ISF; she's brilliant, and I love her, so I agreed to do the work for free. Obviously, the shows turned out amazingly.
While in Indy, I got a phone call from their Executive Director. The person who had been helping with their Operations & Marketing was leaving, and she was curious if it was something I'd be interested in doing. Long story short, I'm the new Operations & Marketing Director for Fifth-House Ensemble!!!
I started my training this week, and am super excited to get going! Today was my first staff meeting, and I already had some ideas & thoughts to share. One of my current tasks is brainstorming ways to boost their social media use. Obviously, an exciting task for me, the Twitter & Facebook obsessive! I think my work with their blog, twitter, and facebook will be my favorite part of my job! I will also be helping a little with their education & outreach programs. Mostly scheduling, I imagine. Bringing the arts to children is something I believe in very strongly; I think children experiencing the arts is crucial to their development & growth as humans, even if they don't end up pursuing the arts as a profession or hobby. So, obviously, I'm super excited about this part of my job too.
The pictures I've dispersed throughout this post are from my time in Oberlin visiting my g-ma and from the wedding in Cinci.
In the mean time, I finished my second adult sized blanket! This Giant Granny Square afghan is my wedding gift for my second BFF whose wedding I'm in this summer. Her wedding isn't until August, but her shower was a couple of weeks ago back in our hometown-Indy. Since she and her fiance live in Brooklyn, and the wedding is in Cleveland, and they are asking for gifts to be mailed instead of brought to the wedding, I decided (with approval from the bride) to get the afghan finished & give it to her at her shower. (Also, then I didn't have to be crocheting a giant afghan in the middle of the sweltering summer in my non-AC apartment...) It actually worked out wonderfully...she mailed all of her shower gifts back to NYC and was able to use the blanket for soft packing.
Also. She loved it. We both teared up a little when she opened it. It is TRULY an amazing feeling...giving something you have hand made with love & devotion to someone who is one of your closest friends in the world who really loves and appreciates your work.
I used 3 skeins of Caron One Pound yarn...it's not super soft to begin with, but HOLY COW when it's washed, it is unreal soft! And a J/10 hook. I decided to treat myself to a Tulip ETIMO hook for the last 1/3 of the blanket. It was TOTALLY worth it. I'm in love, and I hope to purchase more of these hooks in the VERY NEAR FUTURE.
