Curtain Call.

Many goodbyes this weekend. Family, visiting friends, Mikado.

The hardest of these was the ending of the short visit of my family. My mom and two younger brothers arrived Saturday evening, and my sister and older brother arrived Sunday. It was bliss getting to hug them again, laugh, share stories, hear their thoughts on the show, and just be with them. I loved Mom's happiness in getting to attend Moody Church with me, little brothers, and friend Joe. It was wonderful having support in the audience that was specifically for me. My sister was my personal make-up artist/photographer on Sunday which was incredibly special. After the show/cast party Sunday evening, my sister, friend Melissa (dropped her off at her home in South Bend), and I drove to IN to join mom and brothers at my mom's cousin's house for the night. In the morning, we drove to Ashley, IN to visit a darling house that's now my mom's but has been in the family for a long time. I was so excited to visit, but it was sad to see how much repair it needed! I'm trying to convince Mom to move into it, so that she'll be close to me ;). The beautiful little house smelled the same, and everything was in place from when we have visited for family reunions throughout the years. I used to dream and hope that I owned that house when I was little. The city of Ashley is so intimate, and it's such a cute little town to ride a bike or take a walk through during nice weather. The smiley face water-tower is a warm sight to see when approaching Ashley.

After a little bit, it was time for my beloved family to return to NC for work/school. I was torn. was so ready quit my jobs and follow them back home. I realized, though, that although it would be an easy decision, it wouldn't be that smart, because I did come up to Chicago for a reason...theatre...and I do enjoy the city....

I couldn't hold in the tears as we parted. Mom reminded me that they have said many goodbyes here. In the past, though, I was always in the car leaving to NC with my family while saying goodbye to other relatives. When they started the car, I hopped into my car and bawled. I decided to visit the cemetery that was close by where my Grandma, Great Grandma, and a couple of other relatives are buried. Approaching the cemetery on that overcast day brought more tears, but seeing a squished kitty just outside of the entrance didn't help anything.

I got out of the car and walked over to my Grandma's graveside. Yes, more tears. Thoughts filled my mind of how we lose so many people in our lives. The day was March 15th--which is the year and a half marker of Dad passing away...which brought goodbyes even more to my attention.

Afterwards, I drove back home. Chicago home. Decided to stick to my reasons why I came to Chicago in the first place.

Last week, the Mikado cast performed successfully 1 dress rehearsal and 3 performances. I had friends in attendance at the dress rehearsal, so it was a delight. A big talk of the night and days to follow was a quite hilarious event that happened. It was Act I just after the "Three Little Maids from School" song, and the ladies chorus were giggling at the characters KoKo and Yum-Yum. We were waiting for Nanki-Poo to enter so that we could fawn over him, but he didn't enter....he wasn't even in the wing.....so we continued to giggle as Japanese school girls not really knowing what to do, and thankfully Poo-Bah and Pish Tush decided to do some improv comedy. It was Brilliant. We found soon got work on the stage that Nanki-Poo was locked in his dressing room!! Of course we all cracked up, but the audience was still oblivious to what had happened. After a good while, they were finally able to break into the dressing room, and he made his entrance. We were all quite relieved.

On Saturday, my friend Joe came into town a few hours before my Mom and little brothers made it here, and we had a lovely time. He brought homemade cookies! My family made it just in time to wave hello before I had to leave to get into costume, so I was thrilled to see them and our cousins, the Perez family after the show. We had a bit of a tailgating party as we munched on chips and sandwiches that windy evening. Lovely memory.

The performances went very well! Of course, you are your hardest critic, and there will be things in your head that you know you need to work on. It was such an enjoyable experience for me, though. I'm thrilled to have been a part.

My most looked forward to moment each rehearsal/performance: Being lifted up at least 8 feet into the air during the happy/party scene of the chorus right before our slow motion dance scene (rejoicing that Katisha can't do anything about Nanki-Poo). Steve was the 6'5" muscular guy who was my dance partner for the scene. He came up with the idea one rehearsal, and we stuck with it due to my excitement. It was always such a thrill, and I made sure we got pictures.

At the curtain call of each performance, we carried on the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition and sang God Save the Queen. It's the same melody as My Country tis of Thee, which seemed to have confused the audience, because they stood up as soon as they heard the introduction. They must have thought "Oh! It's a patriotic song.." and confused it with Star-Spangled Banner? Whatever went on, it was quite amusing.

It's been wonderful that the cast has continued to get together to watch movies and socialize. Next on the agenda is to watch Aladdin!

Work at the Skydeck and Auntie Anne's has continued to be lots of fun! The week has been a gorgeous one, so we had many visitors at the Skydeck to see the city on such gorgeous days. The most odd comment that I received during my time there was while working at the Jackson (streetlevel) gift shop. A group of about 6 guys and girls in the 18-20 age range came into the shop, and one guy commented, "Can I buy the cashier?". I was busy with the register at the time, so it didn't hit me until a few seconds later, and I looked up with the strangest face. That was the moment when I needed the Primm Lady wittiness. Nope, didn't come. It was needed not because I was interested...but because I wanted to scare him away. haha.

The past couple of days I've had the privilege of judging the Female Vocal Solo, Large Vocal Ensemble, and Youth Choir categories for the IACS Senior High Fine Arts Tournament. The coordinator of the tournament contacted me last week to see if I could be a part due to a recent judge cancellation, and it worked out marvelously with my schedule. I was thrilled to take this opportunity. I was very nervous, though, going into it due to this being my first time being a "real" judge, and not having to turn in my judging sheets to a teacher to be critiqued. So much responsibility and power was placed into my hands! As the competitions went on, I became more comfortable with everything, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to share what I have learned in my education with the contestants. I was a part of the NCSA and AACS Fine Arts competitions, and my school actually went up against a couple of these schools that I've judged back in the day at the National competition.

I've been schocked at how well they take care of the judges and staff of the competition! My eyes couldn't believe themselves at lunchtime when I happened upon the chocolate fountain surrounded by fresh fruit and other goodies to drench in deliciousness. A fellow female vocal judge who is a voice teacher at a nearby college remarked, "Do you think it would be inappropriate if i just stuck my tongue under the fountain?" We laughed and laughed. You know that's what everyone secretly wanted to do.

Chicago decided that it needed some more snow! Everyone woke up to a beautiful snow-covered and still snowing city today. It's gorgeous, but most everyone is ready for the warmer weather to actually stay :).

Big audition for the Ravinia Festival's performances of Annie Get Your Gun this coming weekend! It would be an amazing gig to get into due to the lead roles having been casted by fantastic people. Even auditioning for it will be an incredible experience!

This evening after work I will be taking the train to Elkhard, IN to visit the Perez family and see Caitlyn's performance of Seussical the Musical. It'll be a fun little trip! :)

Hope your weekend is magnificent,

TLE

Sunshine.

Yesterday was my first day at the Willis (Sears) tower Skydeck gift shop. I've been so pumped about my special ID badge. I guess I just feel a tiny bit powerful. There are 4 stores which the company operates in the tower. I trained yesterday at the gift shop on floor 103 (where the ledge, and observation area is), and I fell in love with the job. The view was inspiring. It was a clear sunny day in Chicago. The view from the gift shop is towards the east, so I caught myself gazing at Lake Michigan many times. Absolutely gorgeous. I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of the customers. It was so adorable when people would have me pick through the money in their hand to get the right amount for payment. Some of the customers' limited English was so cute. A new employee next to me asked a man how he was doing, and he asked if he found everything ok. The man replied in a darling accent, "No, thank you." He must be used to being offered more products at the register.

I've wanted to work for a cruise line for quite some time, but those types of jobs are hard to come by. While at Willis Tower, I realized that it was kind of like working on a cruise--without the warm sun and traveling. You briefly come into contact with tourists, do what you can to make their experience memorable, meet people from all over the world, and more.

It's kind of funny to practically be a tourist myself since not being very familiar with the Chicago area yet, and having people ask me how to get to places. I have to explain my newness to the area and direct them to another employee.

The other employees have been very welcoming and fun to be around! A perk of the job is that I can take people up to the Skydeck! Can't wait for my family to come for the performances and take them up there.

Today, I worked in the main store which is on the lower level. It's like the gift shops at Disney that traps you into walking through it to exit after the ride. I laughed at every comment made like, "Oooh....that's goood...making you walk through the store" or "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY OUT!" Yep, both ends of the spectrum of attitudes were heard on the subject.

Back to yesterday--when I was getting my things out of my locker, a fellow employee asked, "Why are you so happy?" So I paused....thought about it...and replied, "Because that's how I am, I guess."

It got me thinking about the experiment that I've been doing this week. I absolutely do not want to be like a majority of people who have glum faces on their way to work everyday. I want to enjoy work, to have a positive attitude and spread a light-hearted air to the people that I come into contact with. Even though I would rather just sing for a living, it isn't possible at this point in time, so I want to make the most of it. Though I despise mornings, I force myself to smile and hum songs on the way to the train. While at work, I make myself think of how thankful that I am to have these jobs. I think of every positive aspect in the job and let negative incidents quickly leave my thoughts. It has been a delight so far!

The Mikado!

This week has been full of rehearsals! They have been grand and much work has been accomplished. Guess what! I was able to see my costume last night. We had costume fittings, and it was so much fun to take a look at them all. We are finally moving into our stage space this Sunday afternoon! We are all so excited. I've heard that the hall is absolutely gorgeous. Some of the cast members are picking up the set tomorrow from storage and delivering it to the stage. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend! I'm having to skip out due to an audition for Court Theatre! Yay!

Something very happy from today:

I am the proud owner of a Chicago Public Library Card. My first books that I checked out? Two books on Chicago and Jane Austen's Persuasion.

I have a confession. I didn't finish Mansfield Park....it got away from me as different things added to my schedule. Hopefully these books and the others on my "want to read" list will be conquered.

This past Tuesday, March 2, would have been my Dad's 54th birthday. Since I couldn't be with my family, I decided to make my own celebration of his life. I had intended on baking a birthday cake, but my eye caught a gluten/dairy/basically everything free brownie mix from Trader Joe's, so I purchased it. My apartment lacks a mixing bowl and a brownie pan, so I used a pot and a cake pan in their places! After realizing that I didn't have any eggs, I substituted a cup of Almond milk. My dark chocolate desires urged me to mix in 85% cacao chunks, and crushed up some of my cats cookies for a little more variety. They turned out to be extremely moist/gushy--but delicious! They are incredibly RICH. You can't tell that they are actually good from the picture below---and my lack of cooking/baking history doesn't scream their wonderfulness---but my roommate and her boyfriend didn't die when they ate them, and they said that they were yummy, so I'm guessing that they are edible to the rest of the public.

Everyone tells me that this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous----in the 40's. Being from NC I laugh it up, but I'm equally excited.

Hope yours is amazing.

TLE

Opening night: Less than 2 weeks away.

The cast of the Mikado has successfully completed 2 full run-throughs of the show! Tonight we will rehearse with the chamber orchestra in a recital hall which will bring even more exciting emotions to each one of us. It's been fantastic observing and participating in the rehearsals, seeing the improvements, and how well the show is coming together. This past week, our costume designer flew in from NYC, and has been attending the rehearsals. The costumes are going to be incredible. They will be a twist of traditional Japanese costumes with a modern/artsy flair. She let us try out the gorgeous parasols, fans, and shoes. We can't use them any more until tech week so that we don't mess them up--which is a good thing at least for me...something wretched would happen to mine, I'm sure. As the blocking has continued, I now get to dance (more like a mini-spin) very briefly with the Mikado as he is singing his solo! We also have a tiny bit more choreography in a fun scene. Thankfully everything is sticking to my brain, and I don't really doubt whether or not I'll remember the choreography and blocking.

My family and some friends will be attending the show, and I'm thrilled to see them all! I get to show them my little knowledge that I've gained so far of the city!

A random thought from today: I absolutely love how my family can be so far away, yet so close. An example would be how my sister called me up just to ask what size of a particular item at the store that she should buy. We randomly call each other and ask simple questions/advice on such things. It's great :).

This past week, we began training for Jamba Juice/Auntie Anne's! I originally thought that I was going to be trained for Jamba Juice, but Monday came, and they had decided to put me on Auntie Anne's for the first couple of months then they will cross train me and others on Jamba Juice. At first it was a disappointment, but when I heard all of the noise on the other side and realized how much they have to learn from their complex menu before the opening day...I was very content! . The pretzel perfect Auntie Anne's employees weren't banging our heads up against the walls. A plus is that we all work well as a team! Our trainer Vikki was so much fun. On the first day of training, we learned how to master the art of rolling the dough and doing a special hand twist to make the pretzels look beautiful. My rolling wasn't going so well, and our manager asked, "Rachelyn do you do any baking or cooking at home?" I shyly replied, "Not really..." and she said, "Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and you just might be our great cashier!" I laughed and laughed at this. Of course. The ladies Primm aren't exactly known for our cooking abilities. Thankfully I have improved so that I have been able to have more variety in my job duties. Something we all learned very quickly: BEWARE of the 600 degree oven when you are the baker. I already have at least 2 battle wounds.

It's very amusing watching customers walk by the store. Especially when you greet them, and you know that they saw you, but they are refusing to look. The other kinds are those that walk by and they are looking at the menu or the fresh hot pretzels being put into the warmer, and you know that they are drooling inside and highly contemplating whether or not to purchase one. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

When I'm sitting during my lunch break gazing out the window at Navy Pier, I always keep my eyes fixed on the yachts that are used during the spring/summer months for dinner cruises. I have such lovely memories of going on a dinner cruise with my sister and a friend around NYC, and of course my longing to go on a bahama/carribean cruise (or in fact anywhere) again with my family grows. Speaking of lunch---Thursday the 25th was the day that we had our grand opening. Due to the chinese restaurant across the way was quite appealing, and it looked like it needed a customer, I decided to go there for lunch. The guy prepared everything, took it to the register, then proceeded to hand me my order saying, "Don't worry about it for today." I was shocked--not really knowing why. He then said, "It's your first day on the job, right? Don't worry about it for today." I thanked him, reassured him that I will give them more business, and happily went on my way, because I just got a free lunch!!

You know what? I've been hoping to become sick of the pretzels, so that I won't want to buy them on my lunch break, but each time I work, the smell haunts me. I don't think I have the ability to get sick of food from working with it.

One day after work, I was "freshening up" in the restroom before my Willis Tower skydeck gift shop 2nd interview/job offer. There was a little boy near the sink who looked about 2 years old, possibly closer to 3, that noticed what was in the girl's hand next to me, and he said, "Is that an iphone or an itouch? My Daddy has an iphone." .........................How in the world did that tiny kid even know how to speak that many words let alone know that there is an iphone and itouch out there?

So, as you may have gathered, I had a job offer for the Willis tower skydeck gift shop! I am now a part-time employee (which equals 2 part-time jobs), and I'll begin training Thursday. I'm super excited...mainly to get a cool ID badge that allows special access. :)

Loneliness and making friends was a topic that I touched on in my last post. Things are starting to brighten! Getting to know fellow co-workers, making acquaintances at Moody Church, talking more with the cast members, hanging out with Josh (who I had the interested meeting story about), my friend John and his fiance inviting me over to watch the Olympics one night, getting a beautiful card in the mail from my friend Jimmy, e-mails from friends I haven't heard from in a while, and more have been such blessings. I still need to follow my goal of meeting one new person a day!

This past Sunday morning I attended Moody Church again. The service was once again refreshing. Afterwards, I met with a lady with the SALT (20's-30's) Bible study class and guy from the Crossroads (college/grad students) class. They were incredibly kind, and they spoke with me some about each class and the church. I decided to try the Crossroads Bible Study class, because I assumed that they would be closer to my age. I walked into the room, looked around, and observed that the kids looked like high-schoolers! They must have all been freshman. It was fine, though due to just enjoying being there. I'm looking foward to visiting the SALT class next week! Hopefully it will be more suitable. I'm also looking into joining the choir! There have just been conflicts with their rehearsals, because of the Mikado rehearsals, but maybe in the future.

It's been interesting how pumped I am to go to church each week and strive listen attentively during the service/Bible study. Oh, how much students at BJU take for granted the Word being fed to them each day! I was one of them, although I tried to not be.

This weekend I have a big audition for Court Theatre! This theatre is what I recently saw a production at which was called "The Year of Magical Thinking". The auditions are their non-equity general auditions for musical theatre. I'm sure that the only way I even got one was through a friend who is the house manager of the theatre, so he knows people to talk to. So exciting!!

On a different note:

As the time has been approaching March 2, I've been so prayerful for my family and reflective on the beautiful memories of my Dad. He would have turned 54 on March 2nd. I still have to remind myself that he is gone, as do most people who lose a loved one. My mind has a hard time accepting that we won't ever see him again on this earth. He isn't just on a long trip. There are still so many things that I want to tell him, experience with him, and get his advice on. As rough as it is and will continue to be, I'm so thankful that he is experiencing our Heavenly Father's glory and splendor, and that we will join him someday. Truly, "Oh, what a day that will be!"

TLE