Revenge of the Nerds

Okay, so there is this dude I went to school with. I'm not giving any names to protect both of us. Anyway, one would definitely classify this guy as a nerd (and I was a grunge outcast myself in high school, so don't be getting any ideas about my classification). I remember him as always being nice, smart, and admittedly, sort of cute. Come on, we're all adults, we can admit now whether or not we thought someone was cute. He always had a nice face. Clear skin, nice smile.

So anyway, I've seen him a few times since moving home. Twice at the Hy-Vee getting groceries. We always look at each other with this vague look like "I know that person, but what is their name?". Ha! Still not telling you. This morning I saw him at the Y. It's always strange, seeing people that you remember from your past. For example, I also saw my 5th grade teacher at the Y today. He looked the same, except a little more saggy than 20 years ago. But when I saw The Nerd, working out on the floor below me (the walking track overlooks the weight room), I couldn't believe my eyes. The Nerd was buff. I mean in a skinny sort of way, but still. Muscle. And he was really workin' it and succeeding. It was SO WEIRD. I think it's great, because wouldn't it be awesome for all those folks who (most likely) teased him (I never did) all those years ago could see him now, looking kinda... Hot. Good for him. Way to go, nameless-nerd-but-no-longer-a-nerd!!

In other random news, Kimberly closed with a full house on Saturday. It was awesome. Sunday I awoke with a sore throat that I'm still sort of fighting (E-mer-gen-C rocks) accompanied by exhaustion like I've never felt. Today is my day off, so I spent the morning at the gym, and am not going to do much else in the meantime. Which means NO WORK. I think I'll take a shower. Have lunch. Take the dogs to the groomer. And have a cook-out with some old friends. Perfect.

Week(s) in Review

I'm a fuckwit. Really. No, go ahead and call me that. I can't believe it's been 10 days since my last post. But to be honest, I haven't had the time to do anything, much less sit for an hour (or less) and blog. I miss it, too. Blogging is such a release for me, and I enjoy doing it. But once I tell you of our last ten days, you may begin to understand how I haven't been able to.

Opening weekend of Kimberly went good. Small crowds, but I was sort of expecting that. A theatre company no one has heard of, a play no one has heard of, and, well, it's a PLAY. If we had done a musical, it woulda sold like hotcakes, just as Elegies did. Oh well, this second weekend has been way better, and with tonight closing, I'm sure we'll have a nice big crowd. Last Sunday we had a cast/crew party at our house, and it was a blast. Here's a few from the event.


The gang



The latest craze, Vodsicles!



Scott and D



The infamous Cranapple-tini. Delish!



I love this photo of Bryan and I.


In the meantime, we've started rehearsals for Bees. What a great cast and fun show. It's such a different feel than Kimberly, both material and people involved. I am excited we've already gotten going.

Tuesday, Rob and I met with our realtor Kim, and she showed us 5 houses. The first one she showed we absolutely LOVED and decided to make an offer Wednesday morning. I'll spare you all the details of waiting, but Friday at 2 we found out the house is ours!! It's this gorgeous Victorian beaut in the Broadway Historic District in Rock Island. It's move-in ready (we'll paint a room or two), and we should close before or by August 29. It's all happened so fast, but we are overjoyed with the outcome. The best part about living there is the close proximity to all our friends, including Abbey and Anya, the adorable lesbian couple we've fallen in love with, and their little boy Oliver. We will live only 2 blocks from them!! We had lunch at La Flama with them on Thursday, and played in the fountain in downtown Moline just after.


Oliver and Mama Anya



Oliver and Rob



Oliver and Rob...again


In closing, I am ready for September 1. The house will close, the season will be done, and I can get back to taking care of myself. Because seriously? I'm not. And it's taking it's toll. I haven't been to the gym as much as I'd like. I'm not eating right. I'm not getting enough sleep. Frankly, I look like shit. More importantly, I feel like shit. Next year, I'm not directing/producing every show. It's much harder than I thought it would be, and I really wanted to take care of myself this summer. To get a little more fit and feeling good to make that baby. Don't think it's gonna happen this summer. There is always the fall...

Home Sweet Home

While I have been entirely too busy (and still fighting off the shingles), I thought I'd take a moment to write. Monday morning, Rob and I had a meeting with the loan officer at MidwestOne Bank in Davenport, and got approved for a home loan!!!! Yowee!!! We are thrilled beyond belief to be making this next step in our lives together. After 8 years of being starving, rent-controlled grad students, we have finally crossed the threshold into adulthood, and will buy our first home. There are many houses in our price range that we have already been looking into, and can't wait to make a place ours. Yippee!! Will keep you updated on the process.

Kimberly opens in two days, and it is really coming together. A few days ago, I was stressed beyond belief (and still am, for other reasons entirely. If you're curious, send me an email), but now, the cast and crew are pulling together and it's looking pretty stellar. If you're in the area, come and see it!!

Week in Review

I used to be so much better at writing. That was, of course, when I had the time to do so. I hope to be at it much more come August when the season has settled down.

This past week has been quite eventful. We are now in Hell Week for Kimberly Akimbo, which opens on Friday. It's going to be a long week, but a good one.

The first big, important news is that my sister and brother-in-law welcomed their new baby, a girl named Isabella Rose. I'm sure Enzo wanted a boy, but we are all thrilled to have a little girl in the family.

Isabella Rose Giovannucci


Since Rob and I can't say we have any babies on the way yet, here are a few pics of our loves, Maddy and Ike.





Thursday, Rob and I headed to the Nati for some fun and exhaustion. Mid-way during the trip, I noticed how itchy my left arm had become, and realized my exhaustion and lack of care of myself had led to shingles... again. I didn't let it hamper my mood, though, as we had a night of mayhem ahead of us.

We met my old student Jess and her mom at Pompilio's for amazing Italian food.


Afterward, we drove around our favorite city and stopped at Graeters for some ice cream.



After Graeters, we headed up to Devou Park, where you can see the Cincinnati Skyline. It was a beautiful night.



From the foot of the Roebling Suspension Bridge


At 9, we met some pals at Below Zero for lots of drinks and revelry. Here the lovely and talented Lori Valentine and I.



A Side Show reunion, from L to R, Michael P, Alan, Me, Kera and Michael Shawn.



The next morning was the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony, the whole reason we went to the Nati. It was a long few hours (we left in the middle of it) to see Rob get hooded. Here his is.



Dr. Rob



We celebrated at our favorite little downtown sushi eatery, Ko Sho, then over to Rookwood Pavilion for some great shopping. We hit the mecca of all shoestores, and our favorite kitchen store Sur La Table before heading to Aglamesis Bros. for a brownie sundae (pronounced just as it looks- Ag-Luh-Me-Sis).

Let's get some shoes, betch (and I did!)


We headed home Saturday morning, and I slept most the way, trying to get enough rest to combat the awful fire that is now coursing through my left arm. When we got home, we hit Hy-Vee for some groceries and encountered this amazing pair of rainbows. It was awesome.



And last but not least, a promo shot from Kimberly Akimbo.



Now, off to the theatre, and then, to bed.

Week in Review

I am nuts. How in the world did I think I could direct 2 shows in 8 weeks? I'm a crazy person. I've made the decision to ask for director/play submissions for next summer because there is no way I can direct all the shows again. While, yes, I am overjoyed with doing it all, I am exhausted. Beyond any kind of exhaustion I have ever experienced. The past few weeks, it's been the close of Elegies, rehearsing for Kimberly, teaching lessons, going out with friends (or having them over until all hours), and of course, the producing aspect of Kimberly, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Today is the first day since probably April that I have no obligations until rehearsal at 7pm. After rehearsal last night, I came home and cleaned the house because, really, it was disgusting -when have I had the time to do it?- did the dishes, then just sat. I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series and am on book 6 (Half-Blood Prince). Watched an episode of Supernatural I ituned (is that a verb? It is now), took a Benedryl and went to sleep. I needed it. Today, I'm planning on doing nothing. Maybe watch another ep. of SPN, because a girl can never have too much Jensen, and read my HP book 6.

Kimberly has been the biggest thing going on in my life, of course, but the week was eventful none-the-less. Friday night, D ,Bryan, Aaron, Jill, Rob and I headed over to the Greek Cultural Festival at the baseball stadium. It was a beautiful night, and we wanted a gyro. We gorged ourselves on a ton of Greek food (Baklava. Yum.) then headed back to our house, when Jake arrived to play after Comedy Sports. At nearly 11, I promptly told them I was about to pass out from exhaustion, and off they went. Yesterday was my academy Spring Recital. 10 of my students performed, and they all did just beautifully. It was a lovely little program.

In other news, P-dub finished boot camp in San Antonio, and is now in Monterey, CA learning Arabic. The picture on his facebook profile is a little scary. The adorable, baby-faced youngin' with curly hair is gone, and has been replaced by a chisled, skinny, buzz-cut military man. The only thing that remains constant are his eyes. Am unsure how I feel about his new look. I've always told him he looks good with a little more meat. But for his current post, I'm sure this look works better.

Thursday, Rob and I head to Nati for a few days for Rob's doctoral hooding ceremony. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! It's been since November that I've been, August for Rob. The plan? First, eat at Pompilio's for the best Italian food ever created. Head to Below Zero for a little get-together with our Nati friends. Am excited to see Michael Shawn, Matt and Jason, Mark, my Chuck, and my little siamese twin from Side Show, Kera. Not so little anymore though, as she just graduated from NYU with a degree in MT. It's been 3 years since we've seen each other, and I can't wait to see how she has grown (figuratively, not literally, as she was always the same height as me- we did play conjoined twins, you know). Other than that, we will be at CCM much of the trip for Rob's graduation stuff. He already has the diploma, but he wanted to walk in the ceremony and get his hood and stuff. Should be fun! I promise to take many pics to post for our return.

And I leave you with the cast photo from Elegies. Esther's husband Scott took this. So awesome!

Week in Review

What a wonderfully busy and lovely week we've had. The weather has been perfect, which allowed Rob and I to put in the vegetable garden, and for me to plant flowers in the front flowerbeds.

After Elegies closed, I am now deep in the trenches of Kimberly Akimbo, which opens in just 2 1/2 weeks. It is definitely a whirl-wind summer of theatre, but I'm really enjoying it all. I do hope my cast is as well!

Last week, we helped celebrate Gerin's (girl Erin) graduation from Bradley with a night at Ribco for karaoke. We had such a ball, and I finally got to see my husband get up on stage to sing one himself. He and Aaron did a lovely rendition of Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime.


Erin serenaded us with some crazy thrash metal tune.


I did a little Pat Benetar (I mean, what else, really) and some Bonnie Raitt before doing a little harmony with Jake on Africa by Toto. We all had a blast.



Friday night we partied at Andy's to say farewell to the traveling Daniel, and throughly exhausted ourselves for the rest of the weekend. August's vacation to Michigan is looking brighter and brighter.
Saturday Rob and I made our first summer trip to Davenport's Farmers Market for our weekly produce and beef. Am looking forward to the next weeks when the vendors will be a bit more plentiful.

Tonight, Rob and I went out to see our first movie in about six months (the last, I think, was Enchanted back on Thanksgiving- yikes) to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Can I just gush a little while about how great this movie is? Karen Allen is just beautiful and perfect, reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood. Harrison Ford is punchy and still amazing, doing most of his own stunts. And Shia LaBeouf (hello?! When did he get HOT?) is always spot-on, but what a different role for him. He was perfect. They all were, really. And it was exactly how I expected it to be - full of crazy adventure, sci-fi, mystery and good ol' fun. I will definitely see it again. After I see Sex and the City.