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somebody intervene. again. May 3, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : misc. adventures, rants & raves , 3 comments

My name is Abby, and I have a shoe problem. But probably not in the way that you might assume. My shoe problem does not consist of my purchasing too many pairs of shoes; in fact, it is quite the opposite. I buy one pair of shoes and wear them to shreds and refuse to replace them.

When I went to West Marine and bought my Top-Siders some time in… 2005, it must have been, they looked like this:


Boring, brown, leather. Pretty standard, really.

I bought them mainly because my parents had at the time a Thing against being barefoot on boats, so I figured I’d let them buy me these shoes and we’d match when we were sailing and I’d leave them on the boat and never think of them again.

So I did that for a few months, until the end of one particular sailing expedition. I accidentally wore them back to school, or packed them, or something, and so they ended up in my closet for whatever reason. And there they sat until I had an important realization. I said to myself, “Self,” I said, “if you wear those, you don’t have to bother to put on socks, but you’ll still be in dress code.”

And thus began a long and blissful relationship.

A few days after I started wearing them, I took out the laces. They were dumb and leather and didn’t stay tied, and the shoes stayed on just fine without them. I wore them at least three times a week all through the rest of high school. When I got to college, laundry started costing money, and I started looking for ways to conserve clean socks, and I started wearing my trusty topsiders all day, every day. They now look like this:


Still boring, still brown, still leather; no longer at all standard.

New features to note:

Fine. You get the point: my shoes are old. But here’s the thing: today, I went to the shoe store and tried to buy another pair. I had the exact same shoes, in the same size, in my hands, in line for the register, and I realized I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t! The little men in my head kept telling me I had at least another year left in my current shoes. Their opponents pointed out that I can no longer wear these out to nice places, and that they now have to be paint/build/work shoes.

But I don’t care. I’m not replacing them until they fall apart in the middle of Sheridan Road.

-@

things that are true! April 15, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : live theatre, misc. adventures, rants & raves , 1 comment

Anyone who claims that technical theatre is not athletic (I’m looking at you, Todd Marble) should experience how sore I am today and think again. Yesterday I showed up for my afternoon crew, which involves hanging around with the lighting grads and staff and clambering around in high places, and got sent over to Cahn Auditorium - the space WAY across campus where Waa-Mu goes up in a few weeks. (I hate Waa-Mu. I think it is in insult to the intelligence of the theatre community at Northwestern. But I don’t mind working in Cahn, so it wasn’t so bad.)

Anyway, I got there and was given a task and immediately wished I’d brought my Stetson hat and whip. I had to take two hundred foot cables, carry them up a ladder, string them across a veritable chasm, feed them through a little tiny hole, shove the ends through two more little tiny holes and feed it all down a 15 foot drop.

Easy peasy, right? Except for the part where I had to string the cable across a chasm. That was a little more difficult. I was supposed to lower myself onto a pipe running across the wall, but I got about halfway down and had a series of realizations: “This pipe is a lot further down than I thought it would be.” “I seem to have let go of the ledge. Hmmm.” “I wonder how far down the floor is?”

It wasn’t very far, but Indiana Jones would not have been proud. It was not a graceful move. (I still maintain that it’s because my mother never took me to ballet lessons in my formative years.)

Anyway, to make a long story short, I fell in a couple of chasms, balanced on a couple of teetery beams right above a couple of chasms, contorted my arms around doors and walls and attempted to defy physics… the list goes on.

The moral is:

I’m sore, and I wanted to complain about it.

-@

hoooo boy. April 9, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : misc. adventures, rants & raves, ye olde sporte , 4 comments

I don’t have school on Wednesdays, but I sure did learn something: ice and pavement are not the same thing. Brilliant!

Backstory.
Almost two and a half years ago, I fell off a bench and landed pretty squarely on my left knee. I broke neither the bench nor my knee, but the latter did bruise pretty badly and the nerves at the surface were temporarily deadened. The bruise healed up pretty nicely, even considering the fact that a few weeks later I started playing hockey for the first time and found myself on my knees more frequently than my skates.

Fast-forward to a few weeks ago: the nerves in the skin on my kneecap were just starting to heal or regenerate or do whatever it is nerves do. Then I was struck by inspiration! I said to myself, “Self,” I said, “I know what you should do! Throw yourself down a flight of stairs!” “Okay!” said my body in return. “Sounds great!” My feet contrived a way to trip me and down I went, a-tumbling to the bottom of the stairs.

On my left knee. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. I was kissing my nerve endings goodbye.

Long story short, I went to the doctor, they told me I was an idiot and put me in a knee brace. Fast-forward to a few days ago. I was in the Sports Authority shopping for a new bike helmet (because my old one got stolen which is SO COOL GUYS REALLY) and I saw a display of hockey gear on sale, I guess ’cause apparently the season’s over? So that got me thinking about ice skating and how I should probably wear knee pads when I do so, because of this knee thing. So then I was in the rolling sports aisles getting these knee pads and I spotted some rollerblades on SUPER SALE:


Admit it. You’re into them. It’s okay. I won’t tell.

They’re technically roller hockey skates, but they were at a really good price - less than my helmet and set of pads combined - and I don’t know what the difference is between roller hockey skates and regular in-line skates, and I figured I used to play ice hockey anyway. So I bought them.

Over the past few days, I’ve been taking them out around the parking lots behind my building and it’s super fun. So today, I had to drop by school for a quick meeting, and I figured, why not skate there? The reasoning: if the distance between my apartment and school were flat ice as opposed to flat roads, I could skate there easily in about seven minutes.

However, my friends, I will say it again: ice and pavement are not the same thing.

The trip was hard. Way more fun than walking there, but it took a lot more out of me than I had expected it to. I didn’t think I’d have such an immediate, pressing need to shower when I got home. There was increased friction, there were spontaneous route changes due to potholes in the sidewalks, there were trillions of little tiny pebbles and sticks looking only to bring about my certain death. It was ridiculous, and now I’m tired.

And whiny.

-@

it’s spring. March 5, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : birthdays in history, fun with google, music & concerts, rants & raves, the photo project , 5 comments

No matter what you try to tell me, the little men in my head have decided that it’s finally spring and my mood today reflects that proclamation. I feel great today.

For starters, I have a new favorite song. Not an all-time favorite song, mind you - Madonna still has that market cornered for me. I just have a new song of the moment. I bought Brandi Carlile’s most recent album The Story yesterday after “Turpentine” was playing on the radio when I woke up, and I’ve been listening to that song ever since. Take a listen in a background window while you read the rest of this entry, and you will be afforded a multidimensional sensory image of my current state.

Another great thing about today, aside from the bright sun and the thirty-five degree weather, was something that happened to me at the Rock as I was coming out of my first English class on the way to my second. I generally ignore whoever’s out there when I pass by - they’re trying to get me to sign up for their club or come to their event or do something else I have no interest in - but today, there were dueling causes. One kid was sitting at his dinky little table trying to sell baked goods for the benefit some human rights protest somewhere. I can’t be sure. He didn’t even have a sign.

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happy national grammar day! March 4, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : birthdays in history, language & literature, rants & raves, the photo project , 1 comment

Tuesday, March 4th is more than just Antonio Vivaldi’s 330th birthday and my half-birthday, ladies and gentlemen. It is, apparently, National Grammar Day. From the website:

“We believe language is something to be celebrated. March 4th is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative. So March forth on March 4th! Celebrate your mother tongue!

Also, there’s already a National Punctuation Day, and it didn’t seem fair to leave clauses and such things by the wayside when the commas that embrace them get such attention.”

The thing that I love about this day that I’ve just discovered, other than having cause to celebrate one of the nerdy things I enjoy on my half birthday, is the name of the organization behind it: SPOGG. The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. Join here. You’ll be glad you did.

In other news, I wish I had a motorcycle, and that it was warm enough to drive one up and down Lakeshore Drive. That would be perfect. Speaking of which:

My theoretical bike would have to be that shiny.

-@

argh. March 1, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : academic pursuits, live theatre, rants & raves, the photo project , 2 comments

For whatever reason, I can’t get at my old deviantart page right now, so here’s one from the newer vault. I like it solely for its potential.

It’s a bench. Did you notice? Because it is.

Tech for Tattoo Girl starts today. I’m already completely burned out. Usually it takes me until about the Wednesday of tech week, when we’re in dress rehearsals, to be exhausted and sick of this crap. But I’m there now, a few days early, wishing I could just …. skip rehearsal for the next week. Which is completely not possible.

The last week of school is also bearing down on me. That, I’m more pumped for, because that means it will soon be reading week, when I’m going to sleep in til ten (that’s late for me these days, except for today), work leisurely on some papers or something, and go to rehearsal. It’s going to be relaxing and great and I can’t wait.

But one week stands between me and that bliss. One week. Tech, I will vanquish you.

I will vanquish you very slowly, and I’ll probably complain about it the whole time.

-@

we’re halfway there! February 29, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : academic pursuits, rants & raves, the photo project , add a comment

WHOOO-OOA! LIIIIVIN’ ON A PRAAA-AAYER.

Sorry. Sometimes the little Bon Jovi cover band in my head just has to be heard.

About three more inches of snow last night, I see from looking out my window… but my computer says it’s 34 degrees outside! Above freezing! Heat wave! I couldn’t be more excited.

Well, I’d be more excited if I weren’t so hungry, but as soon as I sign this post I’m heading over to breakfast. So by the time you’re reading this, you may rest assured that I couldn’t be more excited.

Here’s today’s photo.


Full view it here for it to look way, way cooler.

I love the contrast between the inside areas of the leaves and their edges in this photo. But that’s not all that I love about it. I just can’t put my finger on the rest.

Anyway, it’s time for school. Did I mention that this quarter is almost over? Next week is the last week of classes (and tech week for my winter show). After that comes reading week (which is also the first week of rehearsals for my spring show), then finals week and then spriiing break.

(This side has birds on it.)

-@

four inches in five hours February 26, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : rants & raves, ten-second updates , 2 comments

I’m so sick of snow.

When I grow up, I want to live in a place and have a job that both allow me to wear Chacos to work year ’round.

Can’t wear Chacos in the snow.

I wish my feet looked like this right now:


photo by sarahfelicity on Flickr

Night night.

-@

I think I finally get it. February 24, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : rants & raves, technophilia, the photo project, wish list , 1 comment

I never thought I’d find myself feeling the need, however legitimate, to get myself a DSLR camera. I’ve got a great SLR and a great little digital camera, both Canon, and they both have served me very well for their respective purposes. I took a few photography classes in high school, and they were the best way to get a class credit for a term I ever could have imagined. I learned a lot and had a great time and I have a portfolio I’m pretty proud of from those days. My digital camera works like a dream for my non-artistic photography endeavors - gatherings, concerts, snapshots, whatever.

It never occurred to me that a mix of the two would make my life better until I took them both out shooting yesterday. It was a beautiful Saturday evening and I went to the park near my apartment to play with the light. I shot SLR until I was out of film and then I switched to digital and felt the difference instantly. I missed being able to tweak my focus and my depth of field, but I was loving being able to see my photos immediately and switch instantly back and forth between B&W and color. The combination would be the best of both worlds!

Eventually I found myself taking digital photos and making a mental note to come back to the park at the same time of day once I’ve got more film and have gotten my SLR’s battery changed. I want to do up some of these shots for real-style. (more…)

somebody intervene. please. February 22, 2008

Posted by Abby T in : language & literature, rants & raves, wish list , 2 comments

My name is Abby, and I have a problem: I’m going broke on books I don’t have time to read.

The main problem is the fact that there are two bookstores and a library between my apartment and my school. If it were just a library, there wouldn’t be a problem - libraries are free, after all, and my library card is perfectly good. The thing is, though, that the library is across the street from three great restaurants, and my walk home from school hovers right around lunchtime every day. So instead of going broke on lunch in restaurants every day, I alter my route and therefore walk by Borders or Barnes & Noble (or both, if I’m blessed/cursed by fate). I have to say it is taking every iota of willpower I can muster to keep me from going in there more than once a week, and I buy books every time.

Here’s the thing. I’d pack myself a bag lunch and just go to the library, but that’s not how I read. I’m a college student. I rarely get all of my required reading done, unless I’m “speed reading” (a mostly-useless endeavor which for me consists of idly turning pages while on the phone), in which case there is little to no comprehension of the material involved. Needless to say, I don’t exactly do a lot of reading for pleasure unless I’m on a break from school, and given my penchant for taking summer classes those times are rare these days.

So if I stopped at the library on my way home, it’d be pretty disastrous. I’d check out book after book, bring them home, set them on my counter and ignore them for weeks. A year or so ago this wouldn’t have been a problem, since I had a convenient family member who could theoretically have made fines disappear (why did I never take advantage of that?!). Fortunately for her and unfortunately for me, she managed to find herself an awesome new job, leaving me high and dry in library-land. So, if I chose that route home, I would be going broke on fillo wrapped brie parcels and library fines, as opposed to just tasty lunchtime treats.

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