HFCS: effika’s blog

It rained over two inches this weekend. Much needed rain, and it provided a nice backdrop to the weekend.

On Saturday O.U.I! had their first rehearsal of the season, plus an admin meeting. We had passed out flyers and sent a mass mail through the school about needing admin people, as 2 of ours are graduating. We got 6 or 7 people, all of whom (except one) were there because they thought this was auditions. Doesn’t really bode very well for their reading comprehension abilities (or maybe O.U.I!’s ability to write clearly) but they were all at least interested in the group in general, most of them having been to a show before. I think we’ll have 2 people to replace our leaving admins, but I think that’s all. See, we also announced to them that we are going to hold an Improv Institute, a 6-7 week intensive workshop designed to give them enough knowledge at the end to put on their own show, and perhaps even start their own troop if they wanted. We also told them that if we did have auditions it wouldn’t be until spring, and if they came they’d have a leg up on the general riff-raff auditioning. Having players do administrative duties isn’t a good thing, but it’s really hard to find people who are just admins and don’t want to play. I think most of those there on Saturday would rather play in another troupe than be side-lined into admin stations.

Saturday night Jay and I also made 2 very brief appearances at Katie’s birthday party, which went pretty well despite the torrential downpour on her luau. I had some of the best cake I’ve ever eaten (chocolate raspberry!) and a very good kebab as well.

There was also an apartment-warming sort of party for Julie Saturday night after practice. There was pizza, board games, I Never (sans alcohol, but plus scorekeeping), and furniture. Furniture is important— Julie and her roommate Allie had to wait a week to get their furniture up from Texas. It was worth the wait, though– they got a very nice set of new furniture (a case of someone buying the furniture, realizing it doesn’t match their decorating vision, and giving the furniture to relatives) and it really pulled together the feel of the apartment. While lounging on the comfy couch playing I Never, the power went out. Candles and flashlights were sought, and the back door opened for a cool breeze. The group of us ended up playing I Never until almost 3am, having lost track of the time when the lights went out. I am rather glad we were playing I Never without alcohol, as I apparently have more random life experiences than most of the people there and would have ended up plastered quickly. I always did say it’s better to regret something you have done than something you haven’t.

Sunday Jay & I and friends were going to go to Shakespeare in the Park to see Taming of the Shrew done as a western. I was doubtful as to whether the event would go on— it was sprinkling all day and the ground would be soggy from the 1.99″ of rain we received on Saturday. Jay, Julie and I decided to head up there anyway, figuring we’d see a movie if the play wasn’t going on. Well, we called from the Subway by UCO and found out it had been cancelled so we drove around until we found a showing of Snakes on a Plane. That Subway by UCO is apparently so awesome that I’ve eaten more at it than at the nearest Subway to our apartment. Snakes on a Plane is, of course, terrible and all up in the gratuitist violence/nudity, but it’s worth seeing at least once, perhaps at a dollar theater.

And that brings us to today. Why the long post? Because the water is out. The girls downstairs have a leak somewhere in the kitchen (they thought it was us at first) and a plumber is trying to solve it. Our apartment complex (pardon me, privately-owned condominium homeowners association) was built in an extremely retarded fashion, such that if any plumbing work has to be done water to the entire complex must be shut off. No shut-off valves on the buildings, just one down by the pool. The water is only supposed to ever be shut off on Wednesdays from 10am-12pm, but I guess having a leaky ceiling is important enough to have it off from 10am this morning until after 2 in the afternoon. I learned during the Great Ice Storm of 2000 that I’d rather have water than electricity, and I still stand by that.