After much ado....

...and much questioning and friendly badgering from friends and family, I am making my return to the blogosphere after an 8-month hiatus. Things have been crazy, what can I say? Let me catch you up to date on the happenings since I left you. It's a lot...but you asked for it! :)

May
As my last post foreshadows, there wasn't much time for a break after all! Between the PTO conference at school (which was awesome), rehearsals starting for Mu's production of Happy Valley (which I stage managed), and meetings for the Xperimental Theatre, the rest of May flew by in a flurry. Not only that, but during one of our X meetings at a local coffee shop I ran into Mixed Blood Theatre's Artistic Director Jack Reuler (who I knew from my days at Mu), who recruited me to fill a part-time development associate position at the theatre over the summer while they were engaged in a staff transition.

June
So, I started with Mixed Blood right away the next month, and between work there and rehearsals for the Mu show, June managed to fill up as well. On the 20th the cast and director and friends and I flew to NYC (after a layover in Indianapolis, in which we spotted Kato Kaelin (sp?) of OJ fame) to do the show on 42nd St. as part of the first ever National Asian American Theater Festival. It was a whirlwind six days, and aside from doing four performances of our show we managed to see one other show, attend the closing night party, see the Twins play the Mets at Shea Stadium, lunch in Chinatown, visit Little Italy, Central Park, Times Square, Roosevelt Island, have Korean food twice and Japanese once, eat Knishes in the Lower East Side, have a champagne brunch in Chelsea, sing Karaoke, and meet up with new and old friends - whew! It was an unforgettable trip!

July
Sam and I kicked off July with a week up north, first at a friend's lake home, and then at his family's cabin. It was heavenly to be able to just completely relax and be lazy. I kept working at Mixed Blood, getting to know the fabulous staff. We celebrated birthdays and weddings and new babies. Sam continued playing on his Monday night softball league, and I started work with Penumbra Theatre, the renowned African American theater company in St. Paul under the guise of the August Wilson Fellowship which I was awarded for the school year. We also spent time with Sam's great uncle Tommy and his daughter Heather who came from England for a short visit.

August
I finally cracked down and starting studying hard for my subfield exams which were to be the first weekend back to school in September. I finished up at Mixed Blood, ramped up work with Penumbra, and kicked Xperimental Theatre activities into high gear. It felt like being back in school full time.

September
...was insane! I know I'm generally always busy, but this was ridiculous! Classes started, and right away the first week I had an Xperimental Theatre show open, the Penumbra show open, a meeting for Senior Seminar (which I am TA-ing), a kickoff meeting for the X, an all-department meeting, and subfield exams - which took the entirety of the 72 hours we're allotted (I wrote 2 ten page papers in three days). As soon as I handed those in, I had to moderate a symposium for the Penumbra show REDSHIRTS. After more classes and meetings and such, the next week we had another X theatre event - a staged reading, and another Senior Sem gathering. Sam turned 30 on the 21st, and to celebrate we had a weekend of events including a Twins Game, the Renaissance Festival, and much card playing at our house, not to mention hosting our out-of-town friends. We finished up the month with a friend's wedding, for which Sam was a groomsman. It's a wonder we survived it all.

October
More of the same - classes, Senior Seminar, Penumbra, and the X. We also had a number of really interesting guest lecturers at school. And, I helped out my mom and sis with their Fall Flea Market at their B&B.

November
Ditto October, minus the lecturers and Flea Market.

December
After more craziness, I completed my third semester of coursework, and am now halfway done with it! Coursework, not the program. (Who knows how long the entire program will take - it will depend on how quickly I can crank out a thesis and dissertation, and how many drafts my advisor will make me do.) And then it was on to the Christmas, and in my family, the birthday rush. Mid-month we attended 5 parties in 48 hours! And that wasn't including a low-key dinner outing at the delicious 112 Eatery for my 30th b-day. We survived the holidays, including 3 family Christmases, and despite the busyness, it felt like we got in good quality time with everyone. Throw in a super-fab New Year's bash, and it was a lovely holiday break!

And now, here we are in 2008! For the next two weeks I'm going to try and balance school projects with fun stuff. I hope I can see you all, if I haven't already, before I return for spring semester. I hope your holidays were relaxing, and I resolve to be better about blogging in the New Year! :)