Summer Update

I have completely and utterly failed at my objective this summer. I was planning on updating regularly. However, due to my laziness and constant away-from-home time, I have not been meeting the expectations I have set for myself. I apologize to any of you who still check this site to see if I've updated. Let me update you on some things as there have been a few changes since my last post.

My contract with Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls ended last week. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a terrible thing. However, I received news that Nancy and Bruce would be moving to South Carolina, as Bruce got a job there. This saddens me because CTCSF was going to be expanding the company next year when they took up residency at the Sioux Falls Orpheum Theater. This expansion will not be happening. I have taken on some of CTCSF's old gigs that they did periodically in Sioux Falls, so I might be making some extra money during the school year.

I am not dating Meriah anymore. Things came up and we decided we should break up. At first, I was unsure about the decision, but quickly came to realize that it was for the best.

As opposed to the school year, I am actually dating people this summer. Crazy?!! Yes. Most definitely crazy. I went on a date with a lovely girl a couple of nights ago. It was the most fun, random date I have ever been on. I hope for many more fun times with her.

I have already begun my work for the school year. I am the production stage manager co-chair for Viking Varieties 2007. I am excited for this show to get going. It should be a fun time. I am also stage managing Urinetown: the Musical, the second show of the season. In addition to all of that, I am the production stage manager/company manger for the whole year. I am going to keep busy this year, but I am also vowing to leave myself some personal time.

The personal time shouldn't be too hard to come by since I am going to be living in a house this year. I am super excited for that. Anyway, I am tired of typing already. I will try to update again soon. I don't want to promise anything, because I am probably going to break hearts if I promise.

Time well-spent

I am now done with the show that is known as Tom and Huck....for now. We will be presenting this show with a different group of campers at the end of the summer. I think it will be much smoother now that all of the staff know what to expect. Anyway, we are moving on to our rehearsals for Too Many Frogs. This show we will be presenting in Terrace Park in about 4 weeks. It should be fun. We are still getting some things arranged for the show. They are mostly minor things such as props and puppets, etc. This summer has begun to be extremely fun. I am loving working with Nancy and Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls. This is good because she hinted at offering me a full-time job with her after I graduate. That would be wonderful. I can't begin to imagine how good that would be. I would get to stay in Sioux Falls and do what I love. What could be better?

I am thoroughly enjoying spending time with my girlfriend, Meriah. I don't think this summer could get any better.

Tom and Huck

This summer I am working as the production stage manager for the Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls. They have a two week summer camp that began two days ago, on Monday. I was really excited to be working with kids since I haven't gotten the chance to babysit or to visit the afterschool program in a long time. My day begins between 7:30 and 8am when I have to be at Augie to get ready for camp. My day doesn't officially end until our final staff meeting at 5:30pm. The last two days have been very tiring thus far. We have had auditions and finally today, after quiet time (my favorite time of the day), the cast list was announced. Now, it has definitely been interesting working with some of these kids as they seem very advanced. One little girl, Sylva, put on her audition sheet that she wanted to audition for the role of tom Sawyer. She's already gender-bending! I love it! Unfortunately, she didn't get the role of Tom. Another of my favorite times of the day is pool time. Mon-Thurs, after lunch, we go to the Elmen Center to swim for about 45 mins. This is built in to the day so the kids can take a break from rehearsals and let off some steam in the pool. However, I get extremely tired after the pool. I want nothing more than to just fall asleep. I really wish there were a designated time during my day where I could go take a nap.
All of this fun with the kids leaves me so tired at the end of the day. The last thing I think about is hanging out with friends, but I try to make some time to do that. I don't even get to spend time with my wonderfully amazing girlfriend. Oh yeah....Newsflash: Sean is dating a lovely girl named Meriah. Sankofa brought us together...a touching story really.
Day two of camp down......8 more to go.......

Empty House

So, I am in the stereotypical position that every movie about college students involves. I have the house to myself until Monday. Yep, now, in every single movie, what is the reaction of the college student? A Party. A big, crazy party. What am I going to do? Party. Not the big, crazy type, but with just a few close friends. That is all. Nothing crazy.

So, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 today with my friend Johanna. It was pretty good. I just didn't feel the gratification of finishing a movie. Maybe because I was very annoyed with the stupid guys sitting two seats over. Every time an "attractive" woman was on screen, they made degrading comments such as, "wow, did she get hot." During a preview to a movie there were women in lingerie, so they decided to make disgusting grunts and cat-called. People like that make me sick. Guys like that give guys like me a bad rap.

My Father

Tomorrow is the day my family departs on the annual McCain family West Bend camping trip. Growing up, I have memories of my father, most of them very serious. However, he does get into the kidding-type mood. As I sit here at 4am, I realize how much of a kid my dad really is. Never fail, he never sleeps the night before the big camping trips. He gets so excited about it. The reason I mention this is because on my way to the bathroom, I smelled coffee. It was my dad; he has already gotten up for the day. I always see my dad as this hard-ass who refuses to let himself get excited about anything except financial stability.

Veering from my father, I would like to mark tonight as the best night of the summer so far. It was definitely very spontaneous...although hoped for. Midnight walks downtown, late-night ghettoPan visits, and a wild goose chase for the spotlights in the sky just don't mean much unless you are with someone you "get." I long for more nights like this.

Summer

Finally, after what seems like 50 years worth of work crammed into 3 months, I am done with school for the year. Two words come to mind when I realize that I am done: Thank God. This summer, rather than leaving Sioux Falls to do summerstock theatre, I bagged a theatre job in town. I am going to be the production stage manager for The Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls. I am super excited to start this job. I start on Tuesday. I still have things to do to get ready for work on Tuesday. It shouldn't be too hard, but the last thing on my mind is doing more work. I need just a couple of days of laziness before I will get my motivation back.

In other news, I have internet in my room at my house. This is a revolutionary accomplishment as as I was growing up, and all the way through my high school years, I had dial-up internet. This was a nuisance to me as I wasn't able to ever keep up with the times because I could never download the latest music. (And I sure as hell couldn't afford to spend money on every new artist's CD.) I always begged and begged my parents to get broadband internet, however they never budged....until a week before I moved away to college. I haven't lived at home since the times of the dialup internet.

I have my own computer, like most college students of today, and I am working as a stage manager this summer. This means that I need internet access. The dilemma is that my house was built in the 40s. Thus, the outlets consist of only two-prong electricals, which can be remedied with the three-prong converter. This also means that there is no way to get broadband to my room. So, to remedy this I purchased a wireless router and set up a protected, wireless network in my house! Now, I am able to surf the net, at broadband speed.

I know that might not be as interesting to you, but to me, this is a huge accomplishment. The next thing to do is to set up a coffee shop in my house. Then, I will have everything I need.

In Mourning

I just found out that Kurt Vonnegut died. I almost cried when I found out. I am big into classic literature (which I put Vonnegut's work under the category of). I have been a huge fan of his writing since high school. (yes, I know that wasn't that long ago, but in comparison to how long I have been living, it is a substantial amount of time.)
I think it would be nice if everyone picked up a Vonnegut book and read it in memory of him. That is all.