VACATION!

I am on V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N !!!!! Yesterday my dad started at 5:00 AM in Costa Mesa, CA. I watched Olympic qualifying heats in swimming while I got ready to head to the Airport. The shuttle left at 5:45 and I got to John Wayne International Airport in Orange County by 6 am to find a LONG line of passengers that I was told by at least 6 people never existed. My flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:19 so I decided not to panic. I watched one man argue with the counter agent because he had been late for his flight (by 3 hours from what I could discern) and because he didn't call and say anything the airline canceled his ticket(s). All I know is the man was mad and holding up the line. It took almost an hour to get through check-in/security and I was passed by 3 people whose "gates are boarding RIGHT NOW-I need to get through the line . . .". Apparently those people had also heard that the O.C. airport is a breeze to get through. Lucky for me when I got to my gate our flight was delayed because we were waiting for our aircraft go navigate construction on the run way to get to the gate from its overnight parking spot. I guess it doesn't matter where you are - construction is always a pain. My flight was also delayed because of fog in San Francisco. I learned that this is usually the case so if you plan to fly through San Francisco try to avoid the morning when it is most likely to be foggy. It was a short flight up to the bay city and when we got there, there was definitely a wall of fog that appeared to be surrounding the airport. I took the shuttle bus to the terminal my gate was in and waited. I was shocked by the rudeness exhibited by the gate attendant towards some passengers. One man couldn't find his gate and got snapped at and another woman was apparently being to needy. A man in line for a sandwich at the deli next to my gate was mad because they were out of a certain kind of cheese. I was eager to get out of the negative atmosphere and on to the plane. The plane for the last leg of my trip was TINY! The rows of seats were arranged like this:
(seat) aisle (seat) (seat)
I was in the seat by itself and glad to have my own little corner. A little bit of a bumpy plane ride but I survived enough to successfully rent my first car on my own and navigate I5 to get to Ashland. My hotel - though not the fanciest has everything I need. I checked into my Super8, took a quick nap and headed into the heart of Ashland. I spent 20 minutes sitting in the park basking in the sun and was told "you look like a local, could you recommend a place to eat?" I am not sure what "local" in Ashland actually looks like but I am happy I fit that bill and "yes I could recommend a place to eat what do you feel like eating?"  I ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Martollie's Pizza where it is $6.95 for a LARGE slice of pizza, half a plate full of salad and a refillable drink. I always sit at the bar that faces the street and "people watch". Ashland is one of my favorite places to people watch. There are artists, tourists, hitchhikers, packs of children, people with dogs. It is a kaleidoscope of people.
I saw Henry V last night in the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre and it was pretty amayzing. The weather was perfect. I was comfortable the whole night in a skirt and tank top. The starts were pretty brilliant and I even had descent patrons watching the show on either side of me. Having seen Henry IV parts one and two here at the festival the last two years it was really fun to see the triad completed. I was particularly struck by the word play in this script. Shakespeare, whom I have always thought to be a great writer, was particularly clever with this script. The acting was superb and there were a few choices made with the script that particularly intrigued me. Nothing like starting out my first day in Ashland with an amazing show.
Today I will see two shows - Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella and The Merry Wives of Windsor Iowa. Both new plays or new ideas of a plays. Happy Sunday! Hopefully I'll have a picture or two to post soon :)

The Hummingbird Tree and new rules for "Hide and Seek"

So I got around to taking a photo or two of the enormous Hummingbird tree I mentioned before. It is crazy how many of these birds swarm this tree. I never got a good picture of the actual birds themselves as they are a bit too far away for the lens I have with me but the tree is still nice to look at.

Humming Bird Tree in the morning

Humming Bird Tree in the evening after rehearsal

Today while sitting on my tiny little porch a storm of boys on bicycles parked themselves beneath me and began arguing about the rules of hide and seek. The intensity of the argument seemed to be fueled by the fact that the boy on the orange bike, who was the apparent outcast of the group, insisted on tagging along. By group decision the boy on the orange bike was prounounced "it." Did you know that if you are "it", also known  the one who is doing the seeking, you are not allowed to speak - ever, you must walk your bike while seeking - no riding allowed and to successfully "find" a person you must successfully throw them into the pool.

I'm not sure about these new rules but after about 20 minutes of arguing the terms were deemed acceptable and the pack rode off to hide leaving the boy on the orange bike in the shade of a tree to count to 300.

This is my house for the next five days. I've spent a week here already. It's not so bad. A little warm for my taste but as I said before it is within walking distance of everything I need for the first two weeks of my employment. The whole place is small enough that it fits in my 8-16mm lens quite easily. The door on the other side of the television leads to the bathroom/dressing room/closet area. The bed is in the dark cave on the left side of the picture, and the kitchen and front door are behind the bar. 

This is the view from my patio with out hide-and-seekers. I can always tell when it has reached the hottest part of the day because the tennis players abandon the courts.

Happy Sunday! 6 days until a plane takes me to Ashland!

Back down south in C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A!

Last Sunday I flew out of Montana and into Orange County. In May I was offered a position post-internship with the South Coast Repertory Youth Conservatory. For the first two weeks I will be the Assistant Stage Manager and the last two weeks I will be the Production Assistant.
We are producing Seussical: The Musical with 31 students ages 10 thru 22. It is a HUGE cast and lots to keep track of. My first few days have mostly be comprised of making massive amounts of paperwork that track props and people as they move throughout the show. It is a fun little musical filled with all of Seuss's subtle social and moral issues. The music is whimsical, brimming with joy and innocence and in a few moments quite beautiful.
While I'm not overly thrilled about spending 5 weeks away from Montana in the summer it seemed like a good opportunity and I do get to work with some of my favorite people from SCR. For the first two weeks I am living in a studio apartment that the theatre owns. It is almost exactly a mile from work which is handy because I no longer have a car in california. While the apartment warms up quite a bit while I'm gone during the day I can usually get it cooled off by the time I go to bed. I have a nice view of the tennis courts and a particularly tall tree that has these big yellow flowers on it. The hummingbirds seem to frequent it in the evenings. Maybe I'll take a picture of it this weekend - though I might be too busy as I have plans to spend most of the day laying at the pool. I am currently listening to the Harry Potter series on audio book - I read them all myself a few years ago but it sounded like an easy thing to do in my spare time and I am reading, reading (out of an actual book no batteries required) The Red Tent. So far I am enjoying both and having a hard time trying to decide which one to dedicate time to before bed. Hard choices I know.
I am counting the days until I get to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. I am taking a mini vaction in the middle of Suessical. The way they hired me was weird so I ended up with 9 days of unemployment right in the middle of the rehearsal process so I decided to take advantage of that time to go watch plays. It is my "continuing education" and I'd rather spend money at the Shakespeare festival than in Orange County.
Maybe now I'll be a little bit better about posting. Not that I have a huge fan base - but I do know there are a few of you out there. Happy FIRDAY! (or it likely will be by the time you read this) :)

R Family

I met this family at a bridge next to a blossoming canola field in the RAIN! I love the colors from this shoot - and the Montana mountains in the background are phenomenal! Thanks for making my job so easy!

Thanks R family for enduring the rain! You all get A's for being great smilers :)

Baby F

I have been rather lazy about posting on this blog since I returned to MT. I am however back in California with extra hours of free time so I figure it's time I catch up. I have known Baby F's mom since I was a senior in high school. It has been so fun watching her little family grow. Her second was the first newborn I ever did photos of. The latest addition to the family - Baby F - is just as sweet as can be. Thanks for always indulging my crazy ideas! Your girls make me smile!