just in time.

Upon returning to Chicago after a lovely time with my family over New Years, I have to admit that I was scared out of my mind. I didn't have a job, didn't hear back from any of my many applications, didn't have enough money to pay my credit card bill, let alone next month's rent. Right before I checked in at CLT on my way to ORD, my sister read my worried face. She said, "You'll find a job soon. You're good at that." It comforted and motivated me. When I returned, time started ticking. A part-time job that I thought I was going to get fell through, and even though my friend Kyle was very kind in helping me get back with Event Network at Shedd Aquarium, I knew that even if I was hired with them the week that I would interview, I wouldn't get paid enough by the time Februrary rolled around. I avoided the thought completely of asking my family or anyone for money if it had to come to it. I knew that the only way I would be able to pay bills on time was if I got a cash paying job such as a random voice gig, promo event, or nannying. I was reminded of the thought that I often heard growing up: "God is never late, but He's seldom early." I knew I needed to trust Him. I had to remind myself that He'd take care of me as He has always met my needs.

I continued my daily routine of checking craigslist, sittercity.com (referred to me by my friend Jill who is fellow singer/actress but babysits), and other job websites. Last Sunday afternoon, I noticed a new ad on sittercity.com for a family that needed a full-time nanny. I applied, and shockingly heard back shortly to interview that evening. I met the whole beautiful family--Mom, dad, and a 1.5 year old girl and 4 year old boy. The whole interview/conversation was so pleasant. We all clicked. They let me know that they were going to interview a couple more people, and I'd find out soon.
I was excited about the opportunity. I've always enjoyed babysitting in the past. Being a nanny, of course, is completely different from my more recent day job experiences (retail). You still affect people's lives, but long term. You're a role model. You have a the chance to be even more of a blessing.
Wednesday morning I received a call from the mom letting me know that they chose me to be their nanny. I was excited, thankful, relieved, and I'm sure many more feelings can classify in what I was feeling.

I began Wednesday afternoon, and had two full days on Thursday and Friday. I'm amazed at how great of kids they are. Completely adorable, too. The family is wonderful. There will be many posts in the future with quotes...for sure.
Here's one:
Just after the baby Sofia and I picked up Alexander from school, we were driving home, and I was pointing out the cool clock store that we were passing. After a little pause, I asked Alexander a question. He said, "I am thinking a thought, and no one can talk to me when I am thinking about something." haha.


Last night I had the grand privilege of attending the premiere of the first big screen production that my friend Hunter (old coworker from Skydeck but a film guy) has been a part of. It was shown at the beautiful Music Box Theatre which shows independent films, and is actually near cheateau byron (the Primm ladeez apartment). It was a documentary on William S. Burroughs. I've never heard of him until the invite to see the documentary, but before I went to see it, I only knew that he was a controversial figure who was friends with artists who I'm familiar with. Boy, the whole experience was interesting. There was a Q/A time with the director named Yony afterwards. I was shocked at how young he was. Late 20s. Very cool. He had been working on the documentary for 4.5 years!



Hunter!



If you look carefully, you will see what the temperature read when this next photo was taken yesterday morning...

I call this photo: AHHHHHHH!!

Funny thing is, it was even colder than that. The poor car couldn't register what it was it was so freaked out.



Rehearsals for "The Sorcerer" begin tomorrow afternoon! A rush of excitement just filled me as I typed that. hehe.

I'm in!

Wednesday, I received an incredibly thrilling phone call. The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company offered me a role as an alto in the ensemble, and I tried so hard to hide my excitement. Most would wonder what's wrong with expressing your excitement? Well, if you've spent much time around me, you would realize that Rachelyn's happy mood is 5x more expressive than the average human, and when something exciting occurs, it's pretty much 10x more. From previous experiences, I've realized that this can be overwhelming for people who aren't expecting it. ;)

It feels so wonderful to be able to be able to give people a show when they ask if I'm singing in anything. As do all people concerning each of their fields, I don't feel like a legitimate performer unless I'm working on something performance related. Friends' reactions to the great news was so encouraging, too. Many congratulated on twitter, and a Chicago friend, Hunter Spears, demanded a celebration dinner. Super Burrito on Irving park by the brown line was the choice. Delicious.

Another great thing happened on Wednesday, as well. The night before, I had gotten in contact with a lady through Sittercity.com that needed someone to babysit her 2 year old son the next morning while she had a dentist appointment. I got the job, and played everything from Thomas the Train to Barbies (I played the girls) with little Jack. I got really inspired by one of Barbie's dresses....when I saw it I immediately thought, "CONCERT DRESS!" Here it is:

Naturally, it will need some modification. Picture the giant lace butterflies completely lined in sequins. Ahh, Yes.

Friday, I enjoyed attending a surprise party for my friend Josh. If you look back to the middle of my post on February 19, 2010, you can actually read the crazy story of how we met. We've kept up since! :)

You never quite know how surprise parties are going to turn out (obviously), but by Josh's reaction when he stepped inside his apartment after getting something to eat with his friend Lauren, we all knew it worked. I wish I had a photo of his reaction. Complete shock. I got to thinking....if I was expecting a nice quiet evening after a long day of work when I walked in the door....I wonder if I'd be ticked off.....haha.

I attended the Saturday evening performance of "Grey Gardens" at JPAC, and I was absolutely impressed. I had been getting the insider throughout Jill's and Austin's rehearsals, so I don't know exactly what my expectations were, but it was great. The musical is very hard core emotionally (as is the documentary), but it's such a fascinating story. Mary Nigohosian who had the roles of Edith in act I and Edie in Act II was stunning. She was even more as Edie in Act II. She had Edie's mannerisms and voice down perfectly. The audience loved it in Act I, but they livened up even more in Act II due to their recognition of the characters/lines straight from the documentary. Jill and Austin were both fantastic. This was my first time seeing Jill perform. She was the role of Edie in Act I. She is incredible with her ability to sing fantastically in both legit voice and belting! Everything about Austin was perfect for the role of Gould. The rest of the cast did such a great job, too. It really is a must see for Chicago local theatre goers. 

Yesterday I found a great opportunity to be a full-time nanny for a family with 2 adorable children. I actually interviewed with them last night, too, and it went very well. They were great to get to know. I should find out by this evening if I have the job, and I'd start tomorrow!

If that doesn't work out, the Shedd Aquarium gift store manager contacted me to set up an interview. My friend Kyle who is friends with the manager informed me the other day that they were going to contact me soon, and they did. :)

Off to rehearse for upcoming auditions....

FREE Days, Snow, and Shows.

I love Chicago's museums, and I really love the museums' free days. There are a couple of great websites such as this one that have all of the free days nicely compiled together for our enjoyment.

Yesterday, I was able to see two dear friends that I haven't seen in a long time. My sweet friend Iliana came to visit for part of the day. She lived across the hall from me in college 2.5 years ago, and she just happens to be from a suburb an hour away from the city. She took a train into town, and we headed over to the Shedd Aquarium prepared for the worst line to wait in which has happened in previous experiences on Shedd free days. To our surprise, we only waited about five minutes! Being an animal lover, or maybe fanatic would be a better word, I ate up every minute there. After we visited, we stopped in the gift shop, and I spoke with the manager about the possibility of getting hired back with Event Network and working there at the Shedd. Event Network owns the gift shops in multiple tourist venues, and I was employed by them when I worked at the Willis (Sears) Tower then transferred to the AMNH.

 Here are just a few pictures of our time there! (Not wonderful quality due to my camera/difficulty taking photos through tanks)

My new little friend Iliana bought for me! :)

Monday evening I had dinner with the newly married Joe and his father-in-law at Gino's East! My family has known Joe and his family for many years from attending the same church/school. Joe came into town with his father-in-law for business related matters, and it was so wonderful to see him and catch up on life. Gino's East is a famous deep dish Chicago pizza place, and I've heard great things about it. It was delicious.

Chicago is blanketed with white again! While walking home today I had a moment that I've only ever seen on TV or in Movies. I was waiting to cross the street during rush hour, and a giant snow plow was zipping a long on the side of the road that I was on. I saw that it was madly spraying everything in its path , and I tried to think of a quick get-away plan. The moment I turned to run, it attacked me. Soaking wet, I just laughed and laughed and proceeded to wait to cross the street. Thankfully I was near home, so I didn't freeze too long. I can imagine it was a funny sight to see for the traffic around! I bet the snow plow drivers have contests for how many people they can soak. I know I would.... ;)

I'm very excited to attend the musical "Grey Gardens" opening at the JPAC this weekend. My friends Jill and Austin are in it! When I heard of the musical, it was suggested that I watch the documentary of the two ladies on Hulu or netflix to watch the story of the ladies of Grey Gardens. When I watched it, I couldn't believe how young Edie acted for her age, and I couldn't get over how adorable Edith was. It was so cute to watch her smile and sing a long listening to her recordings of herself singing back in her vocal prime. Her never ending love of ice cream, cats, and singing make me think I'm going to be a lot like her when I'm in my 80's. haha. 

If you're in the Chicago area, ticket info can be found here.

Hurdle.

Today marks the first time in my singing/acting career that I've gone into an audition, hugged, and recognized more than one person in the waiting area. I've always felt like the anti-social person hiding in the corner whenever I've attended auditions. Everyone always knows everyone--except for me. What brought on this change? I auditioned for the G&S Opera Company which I was in the Mikado with last year. This year they are doing G&S's "The Sorcerer". A new friend of mine named Denise (singer/actress that recently moved from the south as well) came with me to audition as well, and I'm sure I might have freaked her out with my hyper-excitedness as we neared the University of Chicago where the auditions were to be held. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by friends. I mentioned overcoming the hurdle of not knowing anyone to Denise and she knew exactly what was talking about! Oh, and The audition went pretty well, too!

Ahh...It was such a warm feeling. 

Domestic Diva

The Primm ladeez used to be known for their inability to cook and that one of their top qualities wanted in a man was talent in the kitchen. When I lived with my aunt and uncle just over a year ago as I was finishing up my last semester, I was inspired by my aunt's fabulous vegan cooking and careful attention to detail when she cooked. A dish that I soon adopted when I moved out was Broccoli Potato Soup. It was pretty much the only real meal that I could put together at the time, if you don't count spaghetti, mac n cheese, grilled cheese and PB&J. Before I moved to Chicago and when I'd visit home and make it for the family, I'd look at everyone to get their reaction, and soon have a proud smile. Since then, my cooking knowledge has expanded greatly--especially upon the return to Chicago. Oh, and I've perfected the Broccoli Potato Soup recipe. ;) A recent guest Alex Maryol was the lucky first person to try the tweaked version. Rebecca and I have discovered that you kind of have to know how to cook around the holidays and when you want to entertain guests.....haha. 

There have been two tragic disasters during this quest, but I'll tell just one of them. It's been a tradition for the Easterday women (Mom's side) to make the "Red and Green Jello" for Christmas dinners. I really wanted to attempt this task, so I asked mom for the recipe. My sister and I were going to visit the Perez family (Mom's cousin Coleen and family), and I wanted to bring the Easterday tradition. I bought the ingredients and began the task. When it was supposed to be finished, I could not figure out what in the world I did wrong. I skyped with Mom, showed her the runny Jello, and we figured out my mistake. OH YEAH! THE CREAM CHEESE AND COOL WHIP! Off to the store again. Round 2 took place, and this time it worked! Again, I watched everyone take a bite to see their reactions (and boy was it intimidating---Jose Perez makes amazing food...), and they went back for seconds! Success. :)

Red and Green Jello!

I mentioned my trip south in my previous post. The first day of this trip was the most thrilling New Year's Eve  ever. Our NYE's usually consist of amazing parties with family and friends. This one was just the 6 Primms. Mom had an idea that she had heard about---Carolina Christmas at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now if that doesn't sound redneck...... ;). She said it was a light display at the speedway, but it was $20 per car. I was hesitant about it, but agreed and thought it had the potential to be a fun time. We arrived, and it being NYE, we sped right in since there were such few cars. Talk about amazing light display! It was so awesome to be inside of the speedway, driving through the light display, and drive next to the track that the race cars go on. Little did we know, that the most AMAZING part of the whole evening was at the end. We were on the path, and there was a sign next to the track that said, "CHOOSE". We were so confused, not actually believing that they would let us drive on the track! Mom rolled her window down, and the guy standing there waving us on said, "Have fun!" Ok...well, mom sped up and we felt like we were zooming. All of us were screaming, Jonathan was covering his eyes, but she still wasn't driving on the slanted part. Guess what passes us in our mini-van? A 15 passenger van. Laugh it up. So, she was only going 55mph.... Soon the chance to drive on the track ended, and we saw a sign that let us go around again. We were picking who would drive next, and if you have ever experienced my brother Matthew's driving, you'd be kind of scared to let him go over 80 on an angled race track, too...so Rebecca hopped in the driver's seat. We enter the track, she speeds up to 95, once again we're all screaming, Jonathan is freaking out, and I was worried we'd tip over. What's weird about the part about us screaming---none of us really scream on roller coasters. I really wish we had a recording of our mini-van zipping around the track and our screams coming from the van. So, it was worth the $20. ;) Who gets to say they drove on the Charlotte Motor Speedway? 

Today, I auditioned for Circle Theatre's upcoming production. I had heard that they were a great company, but I never auditioned for or attended one of their shows. I walked into the theatre, was kindly given and informed about the audition forms, and was soon told I was "in the hole" (their version of "on-deck"..."up next") They led me to a room where she said I could vocalize before it was my turn. I was shocked and so happy. I haven't been to an audition yet where they had a special warm up room! I had prepared Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, so I was vocalizing through it. Then they come and get me, explain the audition process, and I handed my music to the music director. Finished my song, read the side from the script they had given, and went on my merry way. Everything about the atmosphere really made it the best experience I have ever had!

I'm super excited for tomorrow afternoon's audition for the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company's "The Sorcerer". I had a truly wonderful time with them last year in The Mikado! It'll also be great to see old friends at the auditions.

Completely different note...

Over the past few months, I've had some difficulties, and since music is my main outlet for expression, I slowly put together a playlist that related the things that were going on. Ok, yes..I admit it...it could be called a sappy breakup playlist....

 It all started with a song from the musical The Last Five Years--"Still hurting" then it went to "I'd give it all for you" from the same musical. When Shontelle's music video came out for "Impossible" I was shocked. It was like watching my life. Rebecca added one to it when she said to me that this particular song was just like me--"Boom" by Anjulie. Another shocking video that was even more like watching my life was "When Love is Gone" from the Muppets' Christmas Carol. Soon these were added:

--"I Don't Believe You"--Pink

--"Hold Me Now"--Renee Olstead

--"If I Were A Boy"--Beyonce

--"What Hurts the Most"--Rascal Flatts

--"Perfect Nightmare"--Shontelle

--"Last Kiss"--Taylor Swift

Now here comes my daily inspiration that always boosts my spirits ;)...wait for it...ok it's an obvious one...Jason Derulo's "Ridin Solo".

Mmmhmm.

New Year, New Website....

New business cards, New Auditions,  New trip, New presents, New roommate...and probably even more news...

Can't believe it's 2011. I'll most likely still be writing December 2010 for the next couple of months. I was able to fly down with my sister to spend NYE in North Carolina with my family then a road trip with them to Florida. I can't express enough my love for Florida. The warmth, the palm trees, the sand, the smell, the odd tap water taste, the lizards, the large light up street signs, Disney World...Yesss. Since we've had family there way before I was born, we've gone every single year.

#1: New Website! After years of dreaming and scheming, rachelynprimm.com finally exists. Photos and Media will be uploaded soon, but I'm happy it's here. My brilliant artist sister, Rebecca Primm, designed the page. I was so proud of myself to figure out how to attach my blog as well as social networking links to the site.

#2: New business cards! The brilliant Rebecca Primm took the website design and tweaked it a bit. Can't wait to hand my first one out :)

#3: Auditions. This month is a big month for auditions. The theatres have come back from vacation, and one of them is the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company with which I was in the Mikado last year. Other theatres that I will be auditioning for include Light Opera Works, Circle Theatre, Jedlicka Performing Arts Center, and possibly Drury Lane (an equity theatre!).

#4: Roommate! A very fun art director named Jacquie will be staying in the Primm ladeez apartment. She'll be in my sister's room while Rebecca is in Charlotte working on two gigs until mid-February. She's very awesome, and a great fit. I'm excited for times to come.


Conversation of the day involving Jonathan my 12 y/o brother and me:
(Background: Jonathan has always wished our family would live in the same home together forever and ever...)
  
Jonathan:     "Why do you have to go back to Chicago? Why can't you stay here and live here with us like Rebecca?"

Me:             "There are more theatre opportunities there...plus Rebecca is only staying for a month...."

Jonathan:     "So, are you living there permanently?"

Me:             "For now..I don't know exactly how long, though."

Jonathan:     "Well, you are going to have to come back soon, though, because you don't have enough money."

Me:             "You are so encouraging."

Jonathan:     "Thank you. Is that a compliment?"


Poor guy. I'll miss him. :)