Leg warmers and Vampires

Hello all! I can't believe I have not blogged for a month. The thing I don't like about not blogging for a month is that when I do blog I can't decide how to blog about the past month! That is why I decided to call this post leg warmers and vampiers. Two un-related things...yet they have a part of my heart right now...and now you might be getting a feel for this intresting blog post.

Well I have lived in Boston for 2 months now. I think I am starting to get the hang of life here and I am loving every bit of it! I love what I do for 8 hours + a day. I am house managing right now...we are currently in act two and I have nothing to do! I am starting to feel like I am not an "assistant" because I am doing so much and have a voice in projects and get to do a lot of things with no instruction when my boss is swamped and says oh ok why don't you just take a stab at it! LOVE IT! So today I got to see the first "big" thing I "designed" up close and personal. I worked on a donor brochure for like 3 weeks and I wanted to punch my computer because I was so frustrated with design work...but it was such a great feeling to see something I had spent so much time on in my hands and know that it will go to over 2,000 people. I feel like I am in 3rd grade and want to show everyone what I made in arts crafts...don't be suprised if you see a donor brochure show up in your mail box! Next week The Lt. Of Inishmore opens...I can't wait to see this show...it is a dark comedy...very bloody....read the script....can't even imagine how they can make this work on the stage....there is a live cat in the show...a cat...who can train a cat? There are also a lot of dead and bloody cats in the show....intrested? haha!! Come to Boston! Ok one more story and then I will sum up my life in bullet points like Al! (Yes Al, YOU are AL!) So I usually make a curtain speech when I house manage but tonight I was told that a board memeber would make the speech...so I did not even look at what I was suppose to say...and then 5 min to curtain I find out I have to make the speech! So I was a little disoriented to say the least...I thought I did a bad job...but this man came up to me during intermission and said your speech was fantastic...you have such fantastic stage presence...we were all glued to what you were saying...he was so sincere and I was so flattered...but it really was like the Lord speaking to me in a funny way and giving me this new sense of confidence in acting...I have been debating auditioning for a show (content wise) and I basically made up mind last night that I was going for it and then with this comment today I was just like YES! I can do this...if I can captivate people when I tell them to turn off their phone then I can translate that into a monologue...I know this is random but it made such a difference in my approach to this upcoming audition. It really was a burst of confidence that I really needed!

Ok BULLET POINTS start now!

*I went to NYC last week! It was great but lets just say a lot of things went wrong on this trip and a lot of things happened that I can't write on this blog...so if you want to know details...you should call me...it won't be a disapointing story...besides the mishaps it was wonderful...I saw Ann Hathaway on the street...said Hi! Paul Shaffer walked into French Roast on Saturday when I was having brunch with friends...In The Heights was AMAZING!!! Please see this show if you can!! It is some of the BEST dancing I have seen on Broadway yet! One of my favorite parts of the trip was spending the entire afternoon in Central Park with Erica and eating breakfast the next day with Christina...I LOVE that park! If I lived in NYC I would go there every day. I did public transportation by myself in NYC which is a huge deal for me...I decided the Boston subway is WAY nicer than New York...their subway is gross! It makes Boston's look like a million bucks! It was nice to get back into Boston...for the first time Boston really felt like home when I came back...and I was like man I can't wait to get back to a slower pace of life...only NYC can make Boston life "slow." I love NYC more than ever and I know I will live there one day but I am glad that day is not today.

This bullet thing is not working...I just wrote a book up there....ok these next two will really be bullets....

*I bought a pair of leg warmers in NYC and I want to wear them everyday...I want 10 pairs in every color for every outfit...I belong in the 80's!

*I am also currently obsessed with the Twilight series...bought the first book this weekend and all I want to do is read it!!! Yes it's about vampires...but it is about so much more...it is a beautiful love story and I look forward to any time I am on the T or Bus because I get to enter this wonderful world that Stephanie Myer has created...let's just say I think I found my Harry Potter! haha!! Please tell me someone else out there is reading this series or knows about it....I got on the band wagon way late...

And now we are back full circle...leg warmers and Vampires!

Until Next Time,
Dez!

My Boston Adventures Thus Far!

So I can't believe I have not updated my blog since I got to Boston!  I have now lived in Boston for 3 and a half weeks and I feel like everyday I fall in the love with the city more and the city feels a little bit more like home.  So let me try and hit the highlights!  

*Work-I love work!  I work for three people and that can be a challenge at times but really I can't complain at all.  I love what I do and I wake up everyday excited about work!  I love working for a theater that produces their own show because I feel so much more connected to the artistic side of things which I feel brings new life and vision to what I do for the theater.  I have made a couple of friends that are working on the play my theatre is putting together right now.  Actually one of the best moments in Boston so far has been running into people I know on the bus!  Also, are they're two other assistants who are right around my age that just started working at my theater and I have loved getting to know them.  One of them even lives really close to me so we get to commute together on the way home!   So work has been so fun and I our first show opens next week...Eurydice!! I can't wait to see it...it is going to rain on stage!!

* Exploring-  I have seen a lot of Boston and these are my favorite's: 

1) The North End-it's the little Italy and it is right by the harbor and it is beautiful.

2) Beacon Hill- has the BEST pizza shop every call Upper Curst and it's so close to the river....I am dying to go run around the Charles!

3) The Boston Commons- it's like Boston's Central Park...I hear the pond on the commons turns into an ice skating rink in the winter so I am so excited for that!  

*Acting-So I said I was going to start auditioning for shows once I got to Boston and well I went to my first audition last week!  It was so much fun to get to perform (even if it was for 3 people!) and go through an audition process again...I did not make the show BUT the director said "that was really great" in a very sincere voice when I finished my monologue and it made me feel really good.  I mean when I was reading the show I could not see myself as of the characters....sooo...I guess it was a long shot from the beginning!  I also went to a hip hop class on Monday and I loved it and I will now go every week!  I feel as if I am doing the things that I use to LOVE but did not have much of an opportunity to do in school now in Boston!  There is just so much opportunity here to do that kind of stuff!

*Also an interesting thing to note is that I have read 5 plays in 3 weeks.  I love reading on the T and my work has a bunch of plays laying around so I feel like I will I always be able to read a play at any given moment!

*I went to my first Red Sox game tonight and it was such a great/new experience!  It is completely different from a Rangers game.  The stadium is so so much smaller but that is the beauty of Fenway! You feel like you are so close no matter where you sit!  It was such a fun game and I watched more baseball tonight than I ever have at any other baseball game!  I wish I could go to 10 more games.....too bad the season is ending!  I do have to say that I feel as if that was my initiation for living in this city!

Well I hope you enjoyed this update on my life.  I feel bad because I have been stalking blogs for 3 weeks and I have not given anything back...I just takin and not givin to our little blogging community...so I know there are more of you out there that are just reading and not writing and I am here to say you better be givin if you keep takin!! Ohh boy that was my random tangent and now it is very late and I must rest my head!  

The First 24 Hours

So I have now been a Bostonian for a little over 24 hours and it sure has been an adventure already.  I have learned a lot already.  For example, Wal-Mart does not exist.  If you want oh say hangers or panty hose you go to CVS...I was shocked that CVS could carry such a wonderful assortment of things.  Thank goodness CVS is 4 minutes from my new house!  I love love love my neighborhood.  It looks nothing like Texas.  It is very New England!  And the best thing is walking 4 min and you are in the middle of Davis Square...my new obsession!  I love this square.  There are always people walking/hanging around in the middle of the square.  There are tons of shops, a cool theatre, restaurants, and yes the giant CVS!  At night people play music in the middle of the square and people sit under the trees that have twinkle lights and just hang and it is lovely!  Now I just need people to hang in the awesome square with!  My roommates have been fantastic.  Annie (my roommate only for 1 week, she is subleasing) gave me a tour around the area and literally made me learn street names.  I had to get us home after she was done explaining!  That came in handy today when came out of the subway in the wrong direction.  

So I am all unpacked (or as much as you can be unpacked when you don't have furniture) and I have spent hours on Craiglist searching for stuff.  I now own a vanity, TV stand, and desk!  My room is much bigger than I expected so as silly as it sounds I am very excited to buy a full size bed!  I am also very thankful for my friend Alice!  I hung out with her last night and tonight.  We explored another square (Inman) and had dinner at a fantastic sandwich place.  Across the street they were giving out free popcorn and drinks and showing Episode 4 of Star Wars (We learned Inman does this once a summer and tonight was the night!)  For all who know my Star Wars obsession I took this as a sign that me and Boston are meant to be!  

Public transportation is so funny.  I enjoy people watching.  The bus is especially interesting...but I feel like I am made for the subway and walking.  I love it!  And I am trying very very hard to seem like I know what I am doing.  As long as I wear my red sox hat I think you would believe me!  My interesting story of the day was seeing the same two guys atthe exact subway stop at different times of the day.  I feel like for a big city that is unusual.  But these boys stuck out!  One was carrying a bike with two extra tires on his arm and the other had on really short red wind pants.  I now consider them my friend.  Haha!!  Well I hope you enjoyed my account of the first 24 hours!  More to follow...hopefully with pictures!

My 3 Minutes of Fame!

So I have been pretty obsessed with the Kid Kraddick in the Morning Show since I was a kid.   I think secretly deep down somewhere inside I want to be a radio personality.  I have a strange obsession with this show.  I think Al is the only one that truly "gets" my love for this show because she had to listen to me talk about the show for an entire summer.  I listen to this show on my way to work everyday (as I have done for the past 3 summers in Dallas).  Needless to say I have tried countless times to be a part of the show and call in.  So when I was driving to work on Thursday it did not take much for me to call when Kidd said if you saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 last night call us and tell us what you thought.  I sat with the number in my phone thinking things through for a brief moment.  I started thinking"Dez you really have a chance here.  What are the chances of that 15 year old who saw the movie last night to be up at 8 am on their way to work?  Are you ready for this?  What will you say? blah blah blah" And then I pressed talk.  The phone started ringing.  I am starting to get very nervous.  They answer the phone and here is what happens from there:

Lady: "Kid Kraddick in the Morning"

Me: Oh hi I was just calling to give a review of shottp2  I did not think anyone would answer!

Lady: What did you want to say?

Me: Well I thought the movie was fantastic but I did not cry as much as I did in the first one.  I cried buckets in the first one and I walked in with the expectation that this movie would tug at my heart in the same way.

Lady: Ok thats great when Kidd says your name say EXACTLY what you just said to me and get straight to the point.  Do not reveal your market or your age!  Turn your radio off and be ready to go in just a bit.

I can now hear the radio through the phone and I am freaking out!

British guy:  Hi Desiree.  I just wanted to tell you that when Kidd says your name really feel like you can say whatever you want about the movie.  Really feel like you can express yourself.

Me: Oh ok well the lady before you said to say exactly what I said to her.

British guy:  Oh yeah get to the point but say whatever you want

Kidd Kraddick: Hi Desiree so what did you think about the movie?

Me:  I repeat word for word what I said to the first lady! 

Kidd:  So thats how you judge a movie?  By how much you cry?

Me:  Well I just had the same expectation that I was going to have the same emotional connection to the characters that I did in the first one but I did not relate emotionally the same way I did in the first movie.  And I cried BUCKETS in the first one and I shed a tear in this one.

Kidd:  So who did you connect with the most?

Me: I connected with Carmen the most.  I connected with her the most in the first movie because of her parents divorce and in this one she is very close to her mom and she can't be there for her mom when she is pregnant and the twists and turns of that story line really got to me.

Kidd:  Oh thats America Fererra she is in Ugly Betty.

Me: Yes she is.  I don't watch that show but I really like her.

Kidd:  Well thank you for your review Desiree.

Click. 

I freak out and realize my dream to be on that show just came true!  WOW!

The End

I officially have a job in BOSTON!

So I just thought I would make a quick post and say that I took the job at The New Repertory Theatre!  I am now officially the Marketing/Development Assistant!  I am absolutely beyond belief excited!  I sent my first e-mail to this theatre in February and started intensely pursuing them early April after I visited with them in Boston.  It has been a crazy journey with this theatre and I really can't believe I am actually going to be working at this theatre.  I feel very adult with my very own benefits and after reading my full very detailed job description I am just so excited!  YAY!  I am also very relieved that I won't be going to Boston without a job.  That could have gotten scary very fast.  

I feel like this summer I have fallen even more in love with the theatre and the arts.  I am so excited to be involved in putting a show on a stage.  I feel like I have a lot of dreams that revolve around the theatre.  Some are big others not so big.  I am realizing that it is ok to dream big and go for it.  There is nothing stopping me from making it happen.  If its in my heart there is a reason for it and I know I have the determination/motivation to see it happen.  So just in case your curious and you want to dream with me here is are a few big dreams:

1. Act on a broadway stage

2. Write and direct a play

3. Work for Disney Theatrical

4. Be involved in "that" play that "revolutionizes" Broadway and the theatre....if you know what I mean!

So as I begin to pursue one dream, starting at The New Rep in Boston, I also have a lot of big dreams ahead of me to conquer! 

Did that just happen?

Well after such intense demand by my lovely friend Celina I believe it is time for a blog update.  In this entry I will try to stick to the theme of my subject line and highlight the past couple of weeks of my life:

1. I saw Jeresey Boys on Thursday night in Pit Orchestra seats.  What does that mean?  Well, they added seats in the area where the orchestra sits because they are not needed for this show and I got the honor of sitting on the front row of those seats.  So the actors are seriously right in my face and they could see us!  At the beginning of the show the first guy that came out got on his knees looked directly at me and WINKED!  Oh my I was freaking out...it was a that just happen moment?!  I mean that has never happened to me in a national broadway tour!  Anyways, this musical is awesome and echo Amy by saying that our Frankie Valli also had the BEST voice I have ever heard in my life!  I did not want the night to end.  I loved our seats, making eye contact with most of the cast, and dancing in my seat!

2.  If you can recall me and the other intern at work tackled a HUGE project this summer- cleaning out Dallas Summer Musicals basement aka DUNGEON!  When I first entered the dungeon it was a wreck...boxes everywhere, playbill, b-roll, flyers, files scattered all over the place dating back to 1990!  Well I am happy to report that we are finished cleaning out the dungeon and even you can walk in there and locate the 1998 playbill of The King and I!

3.  So I interviewed for two jobs two weeks ago.  Through a series of events I accepted a seasonal job (until Feb) at a theatre which produces 4 national educational tours a year.  The job I really wanted (marketing/development assistant at New Rep Theatre) told me I was 2nd on their list just because I do not have much graphic design experience.  They said nothing was final and they would be in touch with me.  I gave up hope and had to accept the other job if I did not want to let it slip through my fingers.  Today I get a phone call- The New Rep wants to offer me the job!!! AHHH!!  They are even bumping the hours from 30 hours/wk to 40 hours/wk which means I will also get BENEFITS!! YAY!! Maybe this sounds like a weird thing to get excited about but you don't the non-profit arts world!  So this is my biggest "DID THIS JUST HAPPEN" moment!!  I mean I think I am going to have call the other people back and tell them I was offered a permeant job...I hope they understand!  I mean this is exactly what I want to be doing right now...work in a theatre in Boston that produces their own shows and do marketing!! 

Well that is all for now!  I will let you know what happens with the job drama!

Bob, Wedding, Jo-Bro's

Wow it has been a while since I have blogged and a lot has happened in between!  Well in order not to make this post obnoxiously long I will hit some highlights:

* I got my haircut and boy do I mean CUT!  As most all of you know/have seen/stalked me on facebook (love you al!) I cut my hair into the "katie holmes bob" as I like to call it!  I have wanted to cut my hair short for a good while, and well I somehow got the guts to do it.  I feel like it kind of goes with my life at the moment if you know what I mean.

* The first Tri wedding was a blast!  It was crazy watching Jess get married.  Everything was beautiful and it was so Jess and well the saddest part of the evening was retiring the J-Patt nick name.  It was one of the best weekends of the summer because EVERYONE (besides mickey mouses' personal assistant) was in town and it was fantastic!

* K-Bo and I got to go see the Jonas Brothers on Wednesday in the best seats I have ever had in my life for a concert.  We literally scored the LAST seats in the whole Superpages.com Center and it was a miracle.  A wonderful lady at my work helped us get these tickets.  We were in the front center section on like row 20 but the stage came into the audience and when they would come out onto that part of the stage we were like on row 5!    It was the first time I have not stared into a jumbo screen but could actually see the people performing on the stage!  The concert itself was great and I love the Jo-Bro's even more.  Katie and I also enjoyed viewing the fanatic teenage crowd and their dramatic comments.  I made friends with the 16 and 12 year old next to me.  They might have thought I was weird at first but when I left they gave me a hug!  

* I basically have a place to live in Boston!  Its in Sommerville and very close to Davis Square!  I am so so pumped and the girls are awesome.  They are 2 Harvard PhD students!   Pictures maybe coming soon?!

* I have 2 interviews next week!  One on Monday and one on Tuesday.  Oh I am praying that one comes through!  One of the places I am interviewing with I have been talking to since April!

* I am for sure going to start acting again when I move to Boston.  I really feel like a volcano with this pent up desire to perform.  I have not had much of an outlet in four years and I have to have a way to release this passion.  I have started reading this book called The Artist's Way.  It talks about how we all have a creative drive because our Creator is Creative.  It makes so much sense.  God is SO creative.  I am awe struck by it in one of way or another everyday.  So why would I not have this creative drive?  This is such a longer story and just reading a chapter of this book has lead to a lot of self revelation about myself and the Lord.  I am trying to incorporate this book into my daily time with the Lord.  I feel like I need to start pursuing the Lord on a more creative level as well.  I feel like the Lord is teaching me a lot about this right now and I am sure you will hear more about it in later posts.  I am even toying around with the idea of getting a MFA in acting.  Crazy huh?  Yesterday I even updated my acting resume.  This is no joke!

So this post got longer than what I expected.  Hope you enjoyed it!