Glass is potentially half empty with a possibility of half full

These past couple of weeks have not been some of my finest. Yes, some of that is my own fault. I'm holding down a couple of jobs, doing my work for the Porchlight board and committees, joining two more DAR committees, helping to plan my 10 year high school reunion, and producing a play. Fine, I overcommitted - again. However, nothing new so that's not really the root of the crappiness.

It's because my arms hurts. There, I said it. I have a high pain tolerance and usually handle it just fine. When I got my wisdom teeth out, I took some Nuprin and went to marching band practice the next day. When I broke my finger, I wrapped it up in a drugstore brace and went about my business. But this endless pain/ache in my right arm and no feeling in my right middle finger for almost two weeks is driving me nuts. I have things to do! None of this semi-handicapedness - "I ain't got time to bleed." (Thanks, Jesse Ventura!) Tests come back negative, doctor give somewhat useless advice - and I'm still hurting.

So...right arm is not cooperating. To top that off, Friday my wallet is stolen. Most irritating part? Not calling all of the banks and filing a police report. Not not being able to take out any money in case of emergency. Most irritating was the loss of the wallet itself! I loved that wallet!! It was cute and tiny and had a leather owl on it...grrrr....

Glass half empty.

However, that said...good things can still happen. I had a great time doing dinner and the theatre with a friend. This morning I'm cutting down the alley to catch the bus and my regular homeless guy wishes me a happy day and to stay warm. After my morning meeting (on a Saturday), two of my fellow committee members offer me a ride downtown. Then I'm looking at movie times and the guy exiting a movie tells me I'm pretty.

Maybe...glass half full.

Now, tonight, I'm chillaxing in my adorable apartment with a happy cat, a good movie, and delicious leftovers. Yeah, my arm hurts and I can't buy online this beautiful coat that is 80% off. Yet in the larger scheme of things, la vie est belle.

A new buddy

A couple of weeks ago, I was leaving for work. I typically exit through my back door and cut through the alley. On my back porch I have a little covered area where some brooms, shovels, pots are stored (I haven't cleaned it out yet since taking over the lease). Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was completely freaked out by a noisy squirrel that made a hasty exit as I came through the door. Fine - squirrel wants to hang out, fine by me. The scene has been repeated several times since. Although, now that I know where all of the noise is coming from, I'm no longer scared witless before I've had my first hit of caffeine.

Yesterday, same thing - I exit and so does the squirrel. However, as I looked over, I noticed something new. My squirrel buddy has made a nest of newspaper and plastic over the past few weeks. Looks like he's decided to stay. Fine by me - he's not making too much of a mess and is pretty cute.

Looks like I have a roommate after all.

It's time for some Musical Theater

I heart musical theater. I've seen Phantom like 14-some odd times at theatres around the world. I love the big, grand productions, but also the small, intelligent shows found off, off, off, off Broadway. And by that, I mean they're not even in NYC...ha.

So after a couple of years in Chicago missing the feeling of being involved in theatre, I decided to make the move and become a part of a smaller theatre here. I did some research, talked to some peeps, and finally settled on Porchlight Music Theatre. I e-mailed them with some interest and got a reply to meet with some board members and then attend a board meeting.

Long story very short - last month I became a board member of PMT. And I have to say, it's been fantastic. I mean, if I get up on a Saturday at 7am to make it to the northside at 9am for a committee meeting, that says love. I have our fall benefit on Monday, an opening next Sunday, and lots more to look forward to in the spring. We're doing Into the Woods. What's not to love?

I look forward to sharing my experience there. And hopefully, when you're in Chitown, you can come with me. Theater needs all kinds of support.

Oh yes, one more completed: 27) Sit on the board of a theater

Reasons I Heart the Autumn

• Pumpkin spice candles
• Hooded sweatshirts with comfy jeans
• Snuggling up with a book and tea under an afghan
• Hot apple cider
• History Channel specials on the history of Halloween and the origins of Thanksgiving
• Colorful knitted hats
• Pumpkin muffins at The Corner Bakery
• Colored leaves
• Going for runs in my neighborhood and seeing the university back in session
• Theater shows and opening nights
• Scarves and fingerless gloves
• Cozy after-work drinks with friends
• Good movies at the theater
• The chill in the air in the evenings
  

Some Monday Night Cuteness

Done and Done

Sisters

I've decided to embrace my twenty-sevenness. I've decided that eight days into this milestone year, that it's going to be a great one. In fact, I'm going to will it that way. Twenty-seven will be less anger, less frustration, less disappointment, and less worry. Twenty-seven will be more adventure, more happiness, more work, and more tomfoolery. But I have a feeling...call it a sense...that I won't be alone in having a super fantastic year.

This past weekend I was in DC for a conference of an organization for which I have started doing some fundraising consulting. As I flew into National and hopped the blue line to Metro Center, I was struck with a wave of nostalgia for my time in the nation's capitol. Most people know that I lived there for year, but I also has interned in DC for two summers previous to that, and some of my best memories are from those times: sharing a studio with someone I barely new (but came to be good friends with), working three blocks away from the White House, outdoor Shakespeare performances, hot summer nights at The Trap, going to Arlington Cemetary on Memorial Day, standing in the back of a cold theater watching the dress for Sweeney Todd, and taking my first ever ballroom dance classes.

My year there as a full-time resident was not quite as successful, no matter how much I wanted it to be. Yet, this past weekend made me realize that I've come a long way since then and now remember more of all of the outstanding, bright memories that I have. One reason, however, that I will always be grateful for my time in DC is because I had the chance to live with my older sister. For the first time, I think, we developed a true, grown-up sisterly relationship, for which I'm truly thrilled because what a ride it has been since. All of the inside jokes, cajoling, scarcasm, and celebrity gossip shared has made me appreciate my sis in a way that I might not have had we not shared a house. Not everyone is lucky enough to get the chance to make that discovery.

Especially when those sisters are truly fabulous. Because, well, we are - from the top of our heads to the tips of our fabulous shoes. We've each had some great milestones this past year between the two of us including being featured in print, TV, and online. Alone or together, we've acted onstage, taken NYC by storm and toured Europe. We've created the Snark Sisters and long may they live. My sis is getting ready to start an exciting new job, bringing the Hall sister fabulousness to a whole new audience.

And we're just getting started. Because we're the Hall Sisters, and that's how we roll.

40 Days

Today marks three very important events: Easter, my 27th birthday, and the end of my 40 days of happiness/release of anger & bitterness. I have to say, there were a variety of successes and failures in the last 40 days as I worked to have a more positive outlook. And as I look back from the tail end of my venture I realize that, while this is no quantifiable goal, I feel like I have achieved a modicum of success. I'm pretty good at no longer obsessing about work once I'm not there, if I get shoved, pushed, or knocked over on the bus I roll with it, and I'm exponentially better at staying calm and at peace when everyone else seems to be freaking out.

So, overall, success...for now. I will definitely have to continue to work out it, but I have a very good start. Listed below is the quotes that I have collected in order to share them with you all one last time!

1. A man's as miserable as he thinks he is.--Seneca
2. Pleasure is spread through the earthIn stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.--William Wordsworth,
3. We must laugh before we are happy, for fear of dying without having laughed at all.--Jean de La Bruyere
4. There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. --Salvador Dali
5. Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.--Jacques Prévert
6. If you want to be happy, be.--Leo Tolstoy
7. Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.--Palmer Sondreal
8. Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy.--Robert Anthony
9. The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.--Mark Twain
10. If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.--Edith Wharton
11. Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place. But there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around.--E.L. Konigsburg
12. Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.--Cynthia Nelms
13. Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.--Robertson Davies
14. Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad.--Norm Papernick
15. Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.--Fyodor Dostoevsky
16. What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner.--Colette
17. The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.--James Openheim
18. Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open.--John Barrymore
19. Happiness depends upon ourselves.--Aristotle
20. Doing nothing is very hard to do ... you never know when you're finished. --Leslie Nielsen (Thanks, Dad!)
21. In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.--Theodore Roosevelt (Thanks, Dad!)
22. Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer. --Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens (Thanks, Dad!)
23. May you live all the days of your life."--Jonathan Swift (Thanks, Dad!)
24. If A is success in life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z. Work is X, Y is play and Z is keeping your mouth shut. --Albert Einstein (Thanks, Dad!)
25. Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance."--Samuel Johnson (Thanks, Dad!)
26. The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.--Groucho Marx (Thanks, Dad!)
27. Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.--George Burns (Thanks, Mom!)
28. The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.--Benjamin Franklin
29. Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.--Guillaume Apollinaire
30. A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.--Francis Bacon
31. Your life and mine shall be valued not by what we take...but by what we give.--Edgar Allen, Founder of Easter Seals (Thanks, Mom!)
32. It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?-- Winnie the Pooh
33. Happiness is only real when shared.--Christopher McCandless (Thanks, Holden!)
34. Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.--Storm Jameson (Thanks, Holden!)
35. To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.--Ralph Waldo Emerson
36. Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.--Henry Ford
37. Our life's a stage, a comedy: either learn to play and take it lightly, or bear its troubles patiently.--Palladas
38. We are disturbed not by events, but by the views which we take of them.--Epictetus (Thanks, Meredith!)
39. I think that being relaxed at all times, and I mean relaxed, not collapsed, can add to the happiness and duration of one's life. And relaxed people are fun to be around.--Cary Grant (Thanks, Meredith!)
40. finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could. some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day. you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.--emerson

Making fun of Indiana should not be a pastime...

But sadly, for moviemakers, I'm afraid it's too late.

Yesterday, I saw that the preview for Johnny Depp's new movie Public Enemies (about John Dillinger) had been released. Since this movie involves three of my favorite things: violence, history, and violence in history, I am very excited for its arrival in theaters. However, about 1:08 minutes into the preview, all I could think was "Come on!" When told that he was being expedited to Indiana for trial, Dillinger replies, "I have absolutely nothing I want to do in Indiana." I mean I get it, born to a loser of a father in Indianapolis and imprisoned for a time in Crown Point, it's probably not his favorite state, but that had to make the preview!? Of all things important to this movie, Dillinger's distate for Indiana made the list? Okay, fine, I'll live with it. Although, I think eventually he would hate Wisconsin far more than Indiana, but whatever, I won't judge.



Moving onto another movie, The Royal Tenenbaums. While no Rushmore, I still enjoyed the film. Except for one part when Margot Tenenbaum, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, explained that she is adopted and at one point she went to find her family which, she deadpans, "live in Indiana." Cue the the ignorant hicks. (about 10 seconds into the video)



One last example from Mean Girls. Around the 3 minute mark, Rachel McAdams' character makes a remark about a past boyfriend, Kyle, who was "totally gorgeous but then he moved to Indiana." (cue eyeroll) It's Indiana people, not the Bermuda Triangle.



And these are only three of many, many examples of how Indiana has become the movie equivalent of a cultural wasteland where the great unwashed reside and can be referenced conveniently when needed. I'm not sure if it's laziness or prejudice, but I'm sorry, please stop referencing the Hoosier State in such a manner.

So, in my Lenten goal of finding happiness and letting go of bitterness, I offer you the clip below. It is one of the best examples found in a movie of what makes Indiana great. And if you don't know what movie this is from, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore.

I'm very thankful for...

Yesterday, my friend D and I made the voyage east to South Bend for a friend's wedding. And boy what an adventure...it was anything but what we expected!

D picked me up on the southside and we made our way to I-90 which runs straight to South Bend...sounds easy right? Well, we had just hit Gary, when the car started to quickly lose speed, and it turned out...we were out of gas!! According to the needle we should have been okay for a few more miles, but oops!! guess not. So what's a girl to do?

D calls her fiance (we were driving in his car) to ask him to come meet us with some gas. He says he'll hop in D's car and be there as soon as he can. Sounds good, right? Except for the fact that he then calls back letting us know that he can't get D's car started and won't be able to get to us to help!! We then just both sort of look at each other like, "Well, what are we supposed to do now?" We weren't close to any exits or anything.

We decided to try and at least get the car completely on the shoulder of the highway as people seem to drive like maniacs on I-90. D popped in into neutral and I got out and pushed and we moved the car into a safer position. I have to say though, crappy situation aside, I was totes proud of myself for pushing a BMW SUV all on my lonesome - especially in a dress!

However, that move turned out to be helpful in more than one way. Just as I was getting back into the car, another car pulls in front of us and a young guy steps out of the car and asks us what's wrong. When we tell him that we're out of gas, and he offers to go get us some and come back!! Practically giddy that this guy is helping us we chill in the car waiting for him to return.

And he does...parking on the other side of the highway and jumping the barrier with a gas can and filling up the tank so we can get to the next gas station. Ridiculously grateful, we ask him much we owe, and he won't let us pay. I give him my card, asking that he at least send us his address so we can send him a card (and a check)...we'll see if I ever hear back! We then proceed onto the wedding and all is well.

But the real moral of this story is that there are still good people out there. Brilliantly generous and genuinely caring people out there. People willing to go out of there way to help, are out there. I am still incredibly grateful to our stranger who could not have been kinder.

Ashes to Ashes

Today marks Ash Wednesday, the first day in the Lenten season and always a very important mark of time to me during the year. Easter time is one of my favorite - especially this year as my 27th birthday is on Easter Sunday!

But before we get to that, we have 40 days of Lent. Each year since high school, I have tried to give something up as a way to understand the sacrifice that has been made by various groups of faith-filled people throughout the years. Unfortunately, this year I woke up this morning still with no idea of what I would give up! I solicited my sister for advice, but between the two of us - nothing. And it's important to me to make a decision that would mean something, otherwise, what's the point?

Thankfully, I found inspiration in my noontime church service. The pastor, a very "tell it like it is" Brit defined Lent through three things - generosity, prayer, and discipline. Generosity both to the church and others, prayer to God, and discipline in our daily lives. I had never heard of it broken down in such a way, but I really appreciated his way of thinking. He also told us we need to "gird our loins," which I have to say, I also appreciated

He then stated that "mean-mindedness is the death of the human soul." An extremely strong statement, but one that truly resonated with me. Just this past Sunday, I had been at an Oscar party and someone there remarked to me that I seemed to be a very negative person for only being twenty-six. Between these two comments, I felt like I should take the hint and reassess my, what has become, inherent negativity.

Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should have a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism in their lives. It makes things interesting. But in the past couple years, due to various circumstances and situations, I have come to border on bitter rather cynical, angry rather than sarcastic. I have literally made myself sick from stress and worry.

So that's what I'm giving up for Lent - anger and bitterness. While this is not quantitative goal with which I can measure or demonstrate my success, I am hoping it will lead to a lifestyle change where I no longer think evil thoughts about the woman who walked right in front of me on the sidewalk or obsess about how I think I was slighted in some way.

To that end, I think this is a process that should be shared - in small measures instead of leaps and bounds. So as my daily reminder to keep this Lenten process in mind, each day I will post - in the right column - a great quote, Bible verse, song lyric, etc. To use others' more positive experiences to help me in my quest to be a calmer, happier person.

Please feel free to share with me some of your favorites throughout the coming 40 days so I can in turn share with others!

P.S. The first quote posted is one of my absolute favorites!