Friday was one of the longest days. Like always I needed a serious nap. I've decided that I need a job where I can wake up at ten. That afternoon I left early to pick up some client assistance cards from the REGIONAL office in Hoover. Apparently , calling it the state office is incorrect and highly offensive. After visiting with my friend Lee, I drove to my parents' house to have dinner with them before heading back to be on call for house fires that evening. I went on call at 4:30. I got a call at 4:34. Thus my dinner sadly never took place. This was my first call to respond to after hours, so I was a bit nervous. Luckily, the team in Greene County was very prepared to respond. All I had to do was help them over the phone and get the information put into the computer for them. They did a great job. Now hopefully Tuscaloosa will be able to step up and do that as well, or I'm going to be very busy once Mike leaves in a couple of weeks. While it is more rewarding to respond to fires yourself, I think it really demonstrated the importance of volunteerism in this organization. We're on our way to working ourselves out of a job, which is the point during the last year of the contract.
I got done putting the information into the computer just in time to make it to Ashley Frazier's birthday dinner at Surin. I could eat that tofu coconut soup multiple times a week. It is too good. Alex Lann and Sarah Langcuster both came into town for the event. It was nice having a group of people from Wesley Foundation together again. It made Tuscaloosa feel a little homier than it has in some of the past few months. All of my friends that have moved to other cities have explained how difficult it has been for them to meet new people. and I can't agree more, which is odd since I didn't actually move anywhere yet. The twenties are just such an odd transitional stage during which there are so many possibilities. People get married and have children, go to grad school, move home, get jobs across the country, travel, etc. Now that my one year deferment for making a major life decision is almost over, I am back to the uncertainty with which my life was plagued last year around this time.
After a short sit in The Houndstooth and at Waffle House, Casey wanted to go out, and I obliged since I hardly ever go out anymore. This was made evident by me realizing that after five years of living in Tuscaloosa again I discovered that the bars say open until three on Fridays. I enjoyed myself, but I was too tired to be extrovertedly social. That is too often the case. If I weren't so tired maybe my roommate and I could bond more... I'm sure he'd love for me to join his porn video club in the living room with his friends. I wish I were kidding.
Saturday, Cody and I saw Cabin in the Woods. I am a Joss Wheedon fan and could easily see his style in the movie. It was a very intelligent satire of the American horror movie industry. It points out how similar all of the formulas are with stock characters that lack depth and die in the same order. This made some of the dialogue vapid and seemingly terribly written, but it was on purpose. I knew pretty early on what was happening, but I was surprised the directions it took to the ending. It's a pretty high body count with a scene very reminiscent of a scene from season 4 of Angel in which a very large beast slaughters a lawfirm with direct connections to evil demensions. #recycling
Sunday, I went to see Natalie and others in Fefu and Her Friends by Maria Irene Fornes at the University. It was definitely a cerebral play giving the audience something to think about. It lacked a central plot and action, but I don't think the playwright intended it to have those things. The open endedness leaves it up for discussion and thought, which is one of the things I enjoy most about theatre. I love when it challenges conventions and makes you consider why you believe what you do and gives insight into what situations were like in the time the show was written. Natalie was wonderful, as always. I don't know when I'll get to see her in a show again, so I'm glad I got to hear her giggle on stage before I go wherever I go.
That night Sydney and I went to Iguana Grill and Gleeked out a bit. This is what she brings out in me. I'm trying as much as possible to spend time with people and not sit in my room watching Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer over and over again regardless of how much I love them.
Monday, I went to see the University's production of Chicago. It was wonderful. The entire cast was enjoyable to watch. The choreography was interesting and very well done. Caroline Schmidt portrayed a very different version of Roxie Hart, the show's protagonist, as she tries to get off for killing her lover. The show plays a lot with the role of the media and how it can form and shape opinions of the masses about certain people or events. If it was true in 1920s Chicago, it's even truer now. Any show that has an unorthodox main character provides an intriguing dilemma. Do we cheer for her to avoid the death penalty even though she's a terrible person and completely guilty? We do, which is why Schmidt's character choices are so important. If Roxie isn't likeable, then the audience would not be invested in her journey from poor adulteress to ex inmate Vaudeville performer. It has three more shows if you haven't seen it yet. Even if tickets are sold out, you can still do standby! Zacc, Emmie, and Drew all did amazingly as their principle roles as well.
Tuesday, I had my last Hispanic Service Providers meeting before our Brazos Abiertos health fair. The closer we get the more it seems like it will actually happen, but I am still so scared it will fail. I've never been in charge of something this large and planning it in so little time with so little guidance has been stressful. I will be so glad once it has finished. I know it will do great things for the Latin American community in Tuscaloosa, and I hope that HSP can get back on its feet for next year's fair. If we hadn't have done this year's I'm afraid they would have fallen apart. Now more than ever the Hispanic community needs help in determining where they can receive the help they need without fear. I also am doing the introduction for the event, so I hope my Spanish is up to par... He practicado cosas cuales quiero decir pero estoy nervioso. Nunca he hablado en frente de dos cientos personas en español.
After the meeting, I headed to Nashville to see my friend Tim Rosko's senior music composition recital at Belmont. It was FANTASTIC. I could not have been more impressed. He composed nine original pieces: three choral arrangements, three piano selections, and three pieces for a string quartet. I took my first day off since Presidents' Day, so it had to be worth seeing! Afterward I went with him and some of his friends to a Mexican restaurant close to campus called Chago's. They have a Pollo Gringo dish that includes I can't say no to Mexican. When I tried to dictate a text message to Tim saying that, my phone interpreted as "I can't say no to sex again." I wanted to make that this blog's title but chickened out.
Wednesday I drove back after staying up until three watching Tim write a paper... Too good of a friend. I picked up Dianna Duffy, a UA graduate and friend, from the train station. I had lunch, dinner, and Grey Lady time with her and some other people. I have this tendency to think that if I don't constantly stay in touch with people that it will cause the relationship to fade, but I've come to learn that it isn't really true with most of the people who were in Alpha Psi Omega. It's easy just to pick right up with them. I was so glad to get to spend time with her before she starts law school at Loyola in the fall.
The trivia world, both my teams had respectable performances: The Midnight Society on Wednesday and Terell's Going to College on Thursday. Now I am sitting in the office and slowly awaiting the weekend. Only 13 minutes away! We have been fireless all week. Knock on wood. Next week will be pretty busy and maybe emotional as we approach the one year anniversary of the tornado. I cannot believe it has been a year or that I've been at Red Cross for 10 months. I tried to make this post a good mixture of introspection, commentary, and daily details, so I hope at least a portion of it was up your alley, as they say.
Join the Porn Video Club!! It sounds like a blast!!
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