home

back in chicago.

back to the grind.

Colorado Eve!

in 24 hours, i will be sitting on a plane next to tiffany and katy.

we will be giggling.


now i just have to survive these next 20 minutes, waiting to do my online check in thing for southwest. i mean, i've never done this before. gone on a little trip all by myself. never ever in my whole life. Big Kid!

november?

how is this year almost over?
how is time flying by so quickly?
and the holidays? already?


ugh.

so much things.

it is still october, right?

so, we ran that race thing. and we got a bunch of free bagels and bananas and burritos. and medals, like winners often do. and my feet still hurt from doing it. thus, i need to buy new shoes. sometime very soon.

i hate buying things. i really hate it. i only have one pair of jeans that is really out-of-the-house appropriate. those gym shoes that ruined me that i've had for two years. my black flats that i've had for, i don't know how long.....but i bought them when adam and jen lived in arizona, and that was years ago.....that have holes in each toe. and my glasses, which i kind of feel nervous driving with because of the incredible blurrrrrr.

i need new things. like, need. i'm not saying 'need' when i should be saying 'want' here. "do you want a bag for your bottle of water and single banana? because i know you don't need one.....oh, you do? you need one? you need a double bag, in fact? yeah. i bet you do. i.just.bet." i'm saying need. these are things i need. let's see how long it takes me to actually get them...


what i want?
a piano.

really?

we're running a race thing tomorrow.

so. that's ridiculous.

a day off!

kevin has the day off today. so, naturally, he's still in bed.

BUT when he gets out of bed, we're going to go the best buy to re-buy the stuff that was robbed of us. then we're going to go to eat somewhere. with a groupon. because that's how fancy we are.

also, i was recently told that i'm 'too pretty' to be in a certain play, by four people. so, THAT's nice. annoying, but nice. more auditions around the corner, anyway. as there always are...

work, for me, is wonderful. i love working downtown, for one thing, but the store atmosphere is infintely better than my old store. which is really exciting. i'm working nights for now, making my normal hours 4pm-12am. the night crew is great. and my scooter makes me the coolest girl at the party. duh.

kevin's work is going well, too. he's figuring out his schedule, so as to try to be home most fridays. but, in order for that to happen, he has to work really really long days mon-wed. (hence the extra-tired-still-in-bed-at-11:17-ness) we'll see how it goes.

theeeeee end.

mother, that's not what patience looks like

not at all.

just know that we're a step closer.
and things are being written up and sent places.
and stuff.

practicing patience

that's what 820 needs.


patience.



....and a big bankroll.

jeepers...

so many things.

we got robbed, for one. kevin's computer was stolen, and a drill, and some money and MY PIGGY BANK. i mean, seriously. come on, people. BUT, it's fine really. daddy drinkall is going fix our broken-down-door, and the insurance man is going to give us some money. this is why we don't have nice things.

i've been on the audition circuit as much as possible, seeing how unemployment still has a firm grasp on--wait, what? what's that you say? oh yes. i am no longer unemployed.

thank. heavens.

i'm going to be working at Trader Joe's again....but at a different store. i'm going to be downtown this time around. like, downtown. with the skyscrapers and everything. i'm really excited about it. it'll be fun to work down there for awhile....so....city-y and all. i start on thursday. the first day of autumn, the first day of work, the first day of A WHOLE NEW LIFE! or something. i'm excited to get discounted food again. that'll be nice.

kevin's run of the nerdologues at the pub theatre is over now, but they have big plans for the show's future. they're already talking about making some changes and putting up the show somewhere else after taking a little break. which. is good. because the show is really funny. nerdy. and funny.

oh, and my computer officially crashed again. and i don't know if i care enough to try to salvage it's memory....or if i'll just get tiffany's computer, and put its brain into mine and do it that way. only time will tell. or something.

and, cross your fingers about 820. i'll explain that later. but. make sure your fingers are crossed regardless. thanks.

september!

we just got a bundle of brand new pencils, and have our three-ring binders close at hand. hello school!

. . . . . oh. i guess not.

fall is around the corner, though. which is exciting. as long as you can look beyond the inevitable doom that lies ahead, chicago in autumn is fantastic. hoodies and jeans. changing leaves. new theatres seasons starting up after the down-trodden dog-days of summer. the light-at-the-end-of-the-wrigleyville-tunnel. crisp fall cook-outs. s'mores. it's good. and nostalgic.

kevin is busy with his improv and sketch stuff, as always. he's still got two more Nerdologues shows, and then a new White Rainbows show that opens in october. and he was just placed on an improv team at IO, which is really exciting for him--he's with a bunch of his friends and is looking forward to performing there.

i, on the other hand, am still unemployed. just waiting for the trader joe's downtown store to give me a call. my application is in the boss' "applications i like" folder, which is grand. so now, i wait. until they realize how desperately they need me. which will be soon, i'm told. cross your fingers.

besides that, i'm auditioning all over. some are good, some are bad. such is the life. it's fun, though. so that's good.

and we just had the 2nd ever Taco Tuesday last night, and it was a huge success. again. lots of people came--some from my time in michigan, some from college, some from kevin's comedy life now....it was wonderful.

now....watch this!

this is what unemployment looks like

...with a title like that, you'd think i'd post a photo up here.

but.

i'm not going to.

i've been home a little over a week now, and things are moving like molasses. my application is sitting patiently at the downtown Trader Joe's, waiting to be gobbled up by the captain down there. i think it's mildly promising...but the wait is getting old. at least i have the beach, and some tea-able friends, and auditions to keep my mind moderately occupied....most of the time.

tiffany is in milkwaukee doing Cabaret at the Rep, so i'm sure some visits are in store.

kevin is heading to michigan (of all places) this weekend for an improv festival with his group, Boxxo. i, on the other hand, having had enough of michigan for quite some time, will be staying home for a couple audition-like things and a possible movie/film/on-the-set/hangout session with my friend catherine on sunday.

stand back, mr soderbergh. i'm on my way.

well met, well met!

home.

for good.


for now.


onnnnnn with auuuuuuditions!

holy catfish!

that. is what the lady at the library just said to me. like, welcome back to jackson.

also, i got pulled over on my scooter on the to the farmers' market this morning. again, jackson.


SO. last night's show. comedy of errors. literally.

as i only have ten minutes on this computer, i'll have to sum up, but just know that the actual incident can barely be described in plain words and will never be as remotely funny upon re-telling as it was whilst living it in real life. in front of an audience. this being said, i'll just give you a list. because i like lists.

1. our stage manager is out of town this week, so her assistant ran the show for the first time.
2. at our brush-up rehearsal we found that one of our actors was an airport on the east coast.
3. on one of my exits into the house, the doorknob stayed in my hand. the door then closed, knobless, and the four of us who had just exited dissolved into silent titters of laughter backstage.
4. hundreds of light/sound cues were missed
5. lines were dropped.
6. costumes were clipped together, and laughter was on the tip of every tongue.
7. it was the most fun i've had on stage here thus far.

30 seconds left....

back already

hello chicago.

it's like i live here. or something.


more of the same for this trip. no. that's a lie. nothing of the same really, and less of it. went out to dinner yesterday (happy two years, for the second time) and then did a little shopping at ragstock. to those who don't know, ragstock is a resale/vintage/wonderfully cheap store that kevin is absolutely in love with. came away with a couple new shirts-a kevin's choosing-and a potential halloween costume, the surprise of which i will not ruin by posting it up here.

today, i think i'm going to the gap. if i ever shower and get dressed. we'll see what happens.

what's this? what's THIS?

kevin filmed yournews.

we got new phones.

i went on a bad audition.

we saw Inception.

i went to the doctor.

i will go to the dentist.

kevin had a show at the playground.

i ate a turkey sandwich.

this are things that happen in chicago. when i'm in chicago.

and i'll be headed back to jackson on thursday morning.

with this on my ipod.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGhCsznO0S8&feature=related

of course.

Dis sho am good!

tech tech tech

we did a cue to cue of R&J on sunday, and then a full run. today, we put the tech onto Comedy....starting at 1pm. and then do another run of R&J tonight. until 11pm.

it promises to be a very. long. day.

BUT. we just had an awesome breakfast at the Roxy Cafe. belgium waffles with blueberries. so. good. a bunch of the guys got biscuits and gravy. and there were blueberry pancakes. and peanut butter french toast. and apple butter. and the little boy behind us got and incredible looking cinnamon roll.

come. we will eat there together. and then nap on the couch for the rest of the day, instead of being in rehearsal for 10 hours.

food. coma. commence.

cards cards cards

so none of the houses really have tv up here. i mean, we have televisions. but. they don't work. or aren't hooked up right. or something. at the boys' house, they (of course) have some videogamethings that let us watch dvds on their tv, but other than that.

nada.

which means! we are all delving into the depths of cards. lots of hearts, some gin, some rummy, and i still have to teach a few people the thrills of euchre. i've been promised a re-learning of cribbage (good thing dad got me a cribbage board for christmas that one year....which he and adam continued to play all day. thanks, dad.) and we might venture into the realm of pinochle and backgammon. the backgammon board almost fits into the palm of my hand. travel size! yay! any other suggestions? maybe spoons. . . i never learned sheepshead. . . .


and, so you aren't confused, i'm moderating the comments on this thing because we've been getting a lot of spam.....is there a way to stop that? i have no idea. so. if you don't see your comment right away, fear not. it will be there in due time.

scooters and snails and puppy dogs tails

the scooter. is fixed.

i just rode it to the library. lovely.


next up, the YMCA. and then to run lines with my romeo, maybe eat at the Crazy Cowboy (whoa!) and perhaps watch some soccer? no. probably not.

kevin left early this morning (and we saw snails! and i took photos! that i can't upload to this library computer! later!), after visiting for a couple days. he got here around 3am on wednesday night, and we got to play around jackson all day yesterday because i happened to not be called for rehearsal. awesome. we watched the teenage mutant ninja turtles, ate guacamole, played euchre with some of my castmates, and kevin fixed the scoot scoot. so. it was a successful trip.


but now, to the gym. before i lose this strange 'motivation' thing...

and the hits just keep on comin'

and now my computer won't start. so. ugh. of course, it doesn't really matter, seeing how we don't have internet yet....but. it also means that i cannot while away the hours watching movies. and, instead, am being forced to peruse my scripts and learn my lines. no fun.

but at least the power is on. and most of the gas.....seems like our pilot light is out in the oven, but that's fixable.

and the scooter is still refusing to start. so i'm walking everywhere.

and i'm learning that jackson. is. not. a place where i'd like to live.


so. that's that.

oh, and feel free to send me care packages of any kind. foods, loves, letters, anything:

Amanda Reader
c/o Michigan Shakespeare Festival
215 W. Michigan Ave
Jackson, MI 49201

like, DO it.

internet?

library internet. at 15 minute intervals

and no power yet in our house.

and no gas, either.


ah, shakespeare. summer-camp-style.

t minus 2 days. . . and counting

annnnnnnnnd i'm starting to freak out.

Blush & Bashful. . . and almost famous.

we are music.
more photos to come, thanks to mr. austion oie.

Sleeping, Eating, Listening, and Galloping

1. Kevin has been working at University of Chicago (a la When Harry Met Sally and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arc) for a whole month. and i'm guessing none of you know what he has been doing there. well, sometimes i don't even know. so. you shouldn't feel too left out. this morning, though, i forced him to write a little sum-up of things. for the sake of history and what not. and, here it is:

i study sleep

currently, i'm learning how to score sleep. there are different parts of sleep, or stages. everyone has heard of REM sleep. (rapid eye movement). but there are 4 other stages also, and they are indicative of the quality of sleep that people have. so at the sleep lab, we research sleeping disorders and the quality of sleep, hopefully helping people have better sleep. i am a study coordinator, i am basically the contact for all of the research participants. a lot of administrative work, but i get my hands on the research side too, which is refreshing. the research project i am the lead for a study that focuses on how people sleep in their homes compared to a sleep lab. most research is done in a laboratory setting. (its like sleeping in a hotel room, a controlled environment) but our principal investigator has an anthropological background, so she contests that sleep will be a lot different at people's homes. so we are doing a large research project that is basically quality control and can highly affect all sleep research that comes afterwards. and i've found myself in a highly reputable research lab, at a highly respectable research institution. it's pretty cool. and i swim every day for my lunch hour. the study hasn't officially started yet, so i'm not doing that much yet, but i will be.


2. my sister and her fam have been on a month-long adventure themselves. you can read about it here. or, if you're lazy, i'll just tell you: they have been eating a Paleo diet. which bascially means, eating like cavemen. lots of fruits and veggies and meats, but no breads or grains or bottom-of-the-food-pyramid-s. while kevin and i had intended on joining them on this journey, we....got distracted. BUT. we are starting now. today. so, we'll be cave-ing it for the month of May. and, most likely, stealing all of the recipes allyson posted on her blog. so. thanks, al.


3. i recently hired (for free! payable by friendship!) my friend ross to be the author of my summer playlist. see, one's summer playlist is a very important aspect of season. without it, you may find yourself listening to the -gasp- radio all summer, suffering through song after song by Ke$ha, Adam Lambert and everyone on the New Moon soundtrack (keep in mind, i don't really know who those people are that i just listed and am just blindly judging them based on....well, nothing. but really, that tic-tok song is ridiculous, regardless of the hip-ness of the beat). here is the so-far list....with a few additions of my own. because i have flawless taste. duh.

in tall buildings
pernice brothers
the delgados
lou barlow
shapers
sloan
hayden
pomplamoose
the bird and the bee
the morning benders


4. galloping.

what does this mean? you think. what is she talking about? did they buy a horse to pull their scooters? what?

no horses, don't worry.












it's better than horses.

awhile back i auditioned for Michigan Shakespeare Festival. then last week, i went in for a callback. then, on monday. i got it. SO. this summer, from june 14-august 8 i will be residing in Jackson, MI. and the shows we're putting up are:

The Comedy of Errors, in which i will be playing Luciana, the female-almost-lead.
and
Romeo and Juliet, in which i will be playing. . . . like. . . . Juliet.

so. there's that. you might also know it as,

j.o.y.

for the love of all things summer

ice cream.
i made this ice cream. out of coconut milk. and chocolate. and honey. and vanilla. and the freezer. it is lovely.

also, there is news. good news.

i will tell you of this good news soon. but be patient.
now, i'm going to go watch Arrested Development. i just started and am on season one and i am loving it.

also, i have to write a thank you note for the audition i went on tonight. we became monsters and ate each other and growled and carried each other across the room and were children. and it was wonderful.

we are ready.

to. scoot.

in a nutshell

1. kevin got a new job. a big-kid job at UofC
2. we are dog-sitting
3. i am going to be in this play
4. allyson took fantastic new headshots for me, and i'll be getting them this week
5. we sent our tax stuff to adam
6. i am sick, and have been since monday
7. kevin is got onto a Playground Incubator Iprov team
8. we just bought two scooters


for to be expounded upon later.

i mean, really.

what else IS there?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/mis/1641075726.html

like, really really. here's to mind courage.

i almost forgot...

what it's like to see incredible theatre.

we've lived in this city for a year now. a year plus. this is what i've seen:

*xanadu - water tower place - starring tiffany n topol
the seafarer - steppenwolf
great falls - profiles
desire under the elms - goodman
the wonderful world of dissocia - profiles
the tempest - steppenwolf
the mercy seat - profiles
graceland - profiles
fake - steppenwolf
the addams' family - downtown
killer joe - profiles
august: osage county - broadway tour
american buffalo - steppenwolf
the shape of things - columbia college staged reading
killer joe - u of i, krannert center

that may seem like a lot, but it doesn't feel like it. not at all. maybe because those last four were all seen within the past 10 days.

and there are these still to see before the end of february:
awake & sing - northlight (seeing it on thursday with eleni)
hughie/krapp's last tape - goodman
lucid - the athenaeum

and these before the end of march:
subUrbia - the nine
a separate peace - steppenwolf
the long red road - goodman
a history of the american film - u of i, krannert center
the twins would like to say - steppenwolf garage
brother/sister plays - steppenwolf

and these are only the ones that i can think of right now.

so. if you want to see one of these with me. do. otherwise, i'll go alone. and i won't feel bad about it. because i love it.

so many things....

not really though. well. i mean, we're really busy, but it's all the same stuff. kevin's doing show after show, and i'm going to work before the sun comes up (which sometimes peaks out while i'm driving down lake shore. gorgeous. i love this city) and auditioning when i get the chance.

still, i don't like my bedtime being...well, right now.like, goodnight.

Amanda Lynn

like, i GOT it

more to come.....but, i mean, it's mine.

from laptop to desktop: a crisis averted

(that has now turned into a large thorn in my side.)

the bright side: my computer LIVES!
everyone go ahead and breathe a sigh of huge relief.

on the other hand, however, it has been reborn into infancy, and thus i have been forced to spoon-feed it information that i had foolishly once imagined to be safe and sound. ah, the falsehoods of complacency. and so, while my wedding/honeymoon/halloween/countless-girls'-night-out photos are all (apparently) intact, they are all also jumbled up into one title-less, order-less, and category-less heap of a folder. i am now subject to sifting through thousands of said photos, re-grouping them individually into categories of my choosing. which, i am sure, after 2 hours or so, will merely end up being categories of sweeping generalizations, such as:

"Photos with Kevin"
"Photos not taken in Illinois"
"I'm in most of these...if not, someone else is. Also, landscapes."

another tearjerker for the crowd: before the infamous Compy Crash of Aught Ten, i had been working diligently on my website, http://amandareader.com/ and upon its completion on Jan 2, i had intended to pay the hosting costs and launch it on the 3rd. now, take a moment to scroll down to my last post. note the date. yes. of course. Compy Crash of Aught Ten occurred mere hours after i had finalized my iWeb project, saved it to my desktop, and taken a few precious moments to prepare my mental self to be hurtled through cyberspace and onto "The Web." perhaps the untimely events that transpired thereafter should simply be seen as knights in shining armor, saving the world from yet another ill-devised-self-promoting website....thus giving me a second chance at creating a more appealing, professional site that will attract a new distinctive crowd. yes. let's hope that's the case.

and here's some solid proof (that, if you choose to save, i would recommend using a disk of some kind, emailing it to yourself, or simply printing it out like people used to do in ancient times so only fire or forgetfulness could lay harm to it.....after all, who relies on hard drives these days, anyway?) of my computer being alive and (mostly) well again after his brain transplant:

his new brain and (an older) me:

regardless, it's nice to be back with mr finkleton once more. he was sorely missed. i have, over the past two Mac-able years, simply forgotten how to adequately use a 'pc computer thing.'

it feels good to be typing on fruit again.

so. happy birthday to me, i guess.

what a way to start

welp. my computer exploded last night.

great.

so, i went to the apple store in evanston today to have them undo the internal-humpty-bumpty damage. but it was closed.

double great.

...the good news:

~i have flossed every day this year.

~i made vegetable soup (but it is nowhere near as good as sherry's).

~i went to the gym today

~i randomly bumped into an old friend on my way to said gym

~i had a dream about a puppy last night and woke both myself and kevin up, laughing

~i am going to go eat some of that soup

...the bad:

~i might go into mourning if my computer is not awakened from its slumber (and by 'might' i mean 'will') (and by 'mourning' i mean 'have a total nervous breakdown'). because much will have been lost if he doesn't wake up. a lifetime of photos, mainly. and other sentimentally mushy things i don't even want to think about. three cheers for the inheritance of my father's impeccable memory that enables him to recall every detail of life and history that my mother has ever whispered in his ear.....

oh, wait. . .

so. strange as it may seem, please send your prayers to Mr. Finkleton, my Macbook. may he awake refreshed tomorrow (but not so refreshed that he doesn't remember all the stuff i've been pounding into his brain for the past two years) lest i begin to forget what my honeymoon looked like. thank you.