Dressing Some Fools

So, the cabaret is over and life can get back to normal. It's back to homework, and meetings, and slaving away over a hot laptop. The show went fantastically though, and I couldn't be more proud of the result. We had great music, a great cast, great audiences; what more could a director ask for? Aside from fame, fortune, and her own personal pool boy.

My life will now be taken over by costuming the fall play, Neil Simon's Fools. The play is about a small Russian village that is cursed with stupidity. A teacher comes to the town, falls in love with a girl and discovers he must break the curse or become stupid himself. Publishing companies should definitely recruit me to write play summaries. I just made that show sound even more enticing, if that's even possible. I might just be a summary writing prodigy. Anyhow, the costuming is going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to get started.

The other main project that should be consuming my life, when I am responsible enough to work on it, is writing the winter show. I will be student directing the winter play at Grace and I'm planning something a little different than years past. I am writing my own comedy sketch show, much like you would see at The Second City or Saturday Night Live. It's a tall order, but I think I can handle it. I have a handful of sketches already written that at least make my mother laugh. I suppose that's a start.

I have quite a bit of work to get done, so I will sign off for today, but not without leaving you with some grand nugget of wisdom. Maybe I'll make that my new thing. I have many of them. Here goes...

When your day is looking dismal and hopeless, remember, it's already tomorrow in Australia...and if that doesn't help than suck it up and eat some chocolate. You'll be fine.

Have a lovely day. Keep on truckin'!

You Can Lead A Reader To A Blog...

This week has been absolutely insane trying to prepare for opening night of the cabaret. Luckily, I have discovered that if you sleep less at night, it's like gaining hours in the day. Feel free to use that tidbit to enrich your life. If it ends up destroying it, don't blame me. I can lead a reader to my blog, but I can't make him copy my shennanigans.

The show is looking so amazing and I'm extremely proud to be able to call myself the director. I'm still nervous about everything coming together in such a short time, but I'm sure my gang of performers can pull it out. A gang of performers? Hmmmm...I like it. Instead of doing drive-bys and bustin' caps, we'll do dance-bys and sing for elderly people and orphans. Less tough, but more fun.

I best be off. I have a humor column to write, cabaret rehearsal to direct, and that pile of homework isn't going to do itself. If it did, my life would be a lot easier; but it would be really weird and I would have to assume there were demons or fairies in my room. Wow. Maybe this "not sleeping to gain hours" thing is starting to catch up with me. Have a lovely day! Keep on truckin'!

Camp-Out

Hey Guys!
So tonight, I am totally pumped because we are going to campout on Warsaw's courthouse yard. We are taking a stand for awareness about homelessness. Legislators are trying to pass an order for Warsaw to build homeless shelters and so we are camping out so that Warsaw sees that we as a school care about our community. We as Christians are called to love those that our less fortunate then us and so we are doing our part in taking part of this awareness stand!

What are you doing in your community for those who are less fortunate?

Take a stand. Make a difference. Be as Christ be.

- Jaimie

Life Is A Cabaret!

Ahhhhh...It's finally starting to feel like fall...and then winter...and then summer for about two hours...and then spring later in the evening. Oh, Indiana. I shall never understand your weather. Now, a few weeks into the year, it seems as if I'm finally finding my stride. I'm getting to class on time, paying attention, and sometimes I even do homework. The days are quickly getting busier though.

This year, I'm directing the second annual cabaret at Grace. It's a collection of show tunes from a variety of musicals to fit this year's theme, "From Shows You Will Never See At Grace." The shows were chosen for a variety of reasons, such as content, language, technical difficulty, and ethnicity. ("Ethnicity" referring to not having enough *ahem* "diversity" to pull off a show, like "Hairspray," "The Color Purple," or "West Side Story." ) The songs themselves, however, are pieces that should be well received by a Grace audience. I'm working with an amazing cast of Brice Williams, David Lepor, Elly Roseberry, Bekah Porterfield, QueenEtta (Peaches) Sharkey, and the beautiful and talented Marlene on piano. I'm so excited about the show, and I know it will all come together. Please come see the show in the Little Theatre September 25-26 at 7 and 11 p.m. both nights. Please pardon my absolutely shameless plug.

Well, I have much to do and much less time to do it in, so this will have to be a shorter update. I guess I really only had time to promote my show for my own selfish gain. I think it makes up for it if I take a moment to wish you a very lovely day. Enjoy the summery weather...for the moment. Keep on truckin'!

  I have to do a little bragging. This year, I have the opportunity to be the editor of the school newspaper, The Sounding Board. Going into this year, the newspaper staff had some big plans for how to improve the paper. It was exciting to see the enthusiasm of staff members while they were brainstorming. A lot of hard work has gone into changing the paper. This past Friday we launched a new design structure. I was so excited for the launch after I saw the proof. My excitement also contained hesitation. I really wanted the student body to like the new layout. If it wasn't well received, it would have felt like the work was done in vain. 

   So far the comments I have been hearing are really positive. The cleaner lines are appreciated and the whole style change seems to encourage readers. More students are now reading the paper and taking an interest in it. It's really exciting to be a part of this! I can't wait to see what other changes the staff can put into motion. 

September 11th

Today is a day to remember.

To remember those lives that have been lost in this war of terror. To remember their families who were delivered that folded up flag, never to see their loved ones again. To remember that the government did what they thought was best. To remember that our God is good, that we survived these horrendous attacks. To remember the bravery of the passengers that stopped the terriorists. To remember those lives that were lost who went to work that day because that's what you do everyday. To remember that no matter who you are, if you have Christ in your heart as your Savior you have nothing to fear, not even death. To remember that our God conquered the grave and He is victorious.

Today is a day to remember.

My Last First Day

I realized recently that this year I had my last first day of school. It was bittersweet in a way. This year I didn't have my mom take my picture in front of the car, backpack on my shoulder, pants hiked up to my armpits, braces shining in the sun, with my thick pink glasses firmly in place. This year the picture was braces-free. :)

I'm finally back at Grace after spending an AMAZING semester in Chicago studying comedy with the famous, Second City. The experience helped me grow in so many ways and I'm beyond grateful to have had the opportunity. I essentially went to "Joke School" for a semester, however, that puts much more pressure on me to be a laugh a minute. For that reason, I will no longer blog in a humorous manner, so has not to disappoint with jokes that don't work. It's serious and sentimental from here on out.

Now, in my senior year at Grace College, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the memories made and lessons learned. The friends I've made here are so dear to me and I know that I will continue to foster these relationships for the rest of my life....ok...I can't do this. This serious thing isn't me. Let's try this paragraph again.

I'm a senior!!!! Woooohooooo!!!!!!!!! I love my friends all the crazy things we've done such as, mattress sliding, painting Alpha rock, late night Taco Bell and Steak-N-Shake runs (not usually on the same night), theatre cast parties, that one time at Winona Lake at two in the morning....ummm...ok that's enough of that for now.

I'm so excited about this year and can't wait to see what this semester has to offer! Luckily for you, this is why God made blogging...so you can experience it with me. Have a lovely day! Keep on truckin'!

One week down and, well, I don't know how many to go. It always seems the first few weeks of school are the hardest. A new schedule, new home, and the homework, all take getting used to but it is a welcome change of pace.
After a summer of long work hours, little vacation, and the abscence of school friends, I am really excited to be back here at Grace. It's great to be back with friends that are like family as well as profs who are willing to help me get the most out of my money.
The more time I spend down here, the more I like it. As a junior, I can't believe how fast the past couple of years have gone. I remember when I first arrived on campus as a clueless freshman. I've learned so much since then and I'm looking forward to learning more. The classes definitely get better once you get past the basics. Even though they also get harder, I can't wait!

Fall is here...and life has returned!

Wow! I just realized it has been awhile since I've blogged....it has been crazy busy here as a fresh wave of energy has come back to campus (hence the title: new life). We were super excited to welcome the students back to school this past weekend. It is so neat to see old faces and many new faces on campus and to feel the energy and life they bring back to Indiana. Today however, all the students are walking around in a bit of a fog....syllabus shock I think! It is a little humorous to see them realized that now is the time to start classes and work. I remember those feelings very clearly. You wonder why the prof.'s give so much work and how you will ever get everything finished. It is quite overwhelming but somehow everything gets done (and you still manage to spend time with friends making great memories!)
So while the air is getting cooler and the days shorter there is new life here in Winona Lake and we welcome it with open arms!