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Jan. 11th, 2010

Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

 Happy belated birthday, [info]froofie !

Jan. 1st, 2010

Laurel Mucha

2009: Year in Review - LJ First Sentences

I'm feeling much better psychologically than yesterday which was kind of, um, scary isn't exactly the right word, but it's been a while since I smacked down like that, that hard. Stuck in the Middle of the Highway, a game from elementary school in which several kids occupy the swings on one of those long swing sets and begin to swing in opposition to one another. Sunday: Snow! Trying to be grateful... that we had the money to replace the window in my car that someone heaved a brick through last night. A girl, about 11, brilliantly intelligent, a genius perhaps, but a terrible student, who finds her intellect stirred not in study but in her own imagination and in the unseen world with which she communicates. So, tonight I'm whining to yamguitar tonight because I wish I was progressing just a little bit faster with my hoop (yes, the one I've only had about a week!) Entertainment Manager-On-Duty for the day. Spent most of yesterday shopping for NOLA clothes with yamguitar. I am actually, officially watching Grey Gardens, the documentary, all the way through tonight. So, I want to be a theatre professor. All I want to do is whine. I know things aren't so bad, but still... Needs to Wean off of Facebook.

Dec. 5th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Needs to Wean off of Facebook

.

Nov. 29th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

FOR SALE: Parts Car, $500 obo




Details, details... ).

x-posted to [info]atlanta and [info]ljatlanta

Nov. 13th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Kara Needs a Car... STAT!

Hey gang, in case you didn't already see this announcement in the 53 other places I posted it, I'm looking for a car and I need it pretty quick. I can pay cash for a beater that works well. My mechanic must inspect any contenders. Got one to sell? Know anybody who does?

Nov. 6th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

There are many things I hate about my "day job" like the fact that it's a corporate environment which hires artists like self. This can cause a lot of friction when dealing with brass types who pride themselves, nay, revel in the fact that they are not "creatives." They say that word with a mixture of condescension and fear that only dependence can muster, as if they were saying "witches."  We are a necessary evil in their world because they are a corporation that produces entertainment, but one gets the sense that they view us like we're aliens who are just a little beneath them. Speaking of beneath, I also hate that the job is kind of beneath me in that it is producing, writing, directing, and acting, but for the lowest possible common denominator and with the intent of offending none nor even making them think too much. This is an important point. Whenever I present ideas, the litmus test of whether we'll go for it is whether or not it will appeal to the under-twelve children of the brass. I also hate it because I've learned that the only path to survival or success there is being a "yes man." I was astonished that this paradigm actually existed in the real world, but I've watched incompetence survive, rise, and even prosper by mere virtue of the fact that it says, "Yes, I will. Yes, I think so." It doesn't even have to actually deliver, it merely has to say it is willing, willing, willing to take orders pleasantly, placidly, and without alteration or question until the next contradictory order comes down the pike. It does not pay to be a "creative;" it pays only to say, "Yes." Pay is another thing: this company like many others, I'm sure, is leaning on the old "economy" to avoid raises and promises it's made.

Having said that, there are things I love and hate about it. It is a double-edged sword in that they refuse to make me full-time so they won't have to pay for benefits, but I also take advantage of that by making my own schedule, taking time for teaching, performing, auditioning, whatever, whenever I like. They don't always like this but they know that I provide a service they need on time so they usually let me do as I please. This is good for an actor. Another thing about the job that has been both good and bad for me has been the, how shall I say it, growth opportunities that have occurred there. I have had run-ins, reviews, and rants with my immediate supervisors that have left me ready to clear out my desk and march home, but my need for the cash and my appreciation for my immediate team (more on that later) have forced me to take a more zen approach to a lot of the frustrations there.  Interestingly, getting detached from the work while still doing it completely, well, and on time have led me to a much greater sense of enjoyment at work. Yes, it's made me a "yes man," too, but I'm not attached to the outcome of appreciation or raises or promotions. This may be due in some part to our having secured private health insurance, but I remember its starting to happen many months before.

There are, too, things I love about the day job. I really do adore my immediate team. We are a real hodge-podge of personalities and types, but we have achieved a sense of family. There are moments when I adore each of them and moments when I've wanted to strangle each one... family. I know and they know we are all there for one another on the job or off. There is a sense of genuine caring there. Also, the company has a program that really helped us out when we had our unfortunate thievery incidents earlier this year. Everyone involved worked terribly hard to make the programs available work for us and it really did help a tremendous amount. And then there is the reason I enjoy the most: the nature. An encounter with a glorious sight today is what prompted this little contemplation here. I looked up this afternoon and the trees were in a riot of color surrounding the pale gray of the rock under an impossibly blue sky. It hurt my eyes almost to look at it. The last few weeks have been marked by numerous sightings of foxes and about two months ago a beautiful doe and TWO fawns came to feed in the side yard outside my office window for nearly half an hour wending their way from one thicket of trees to the other. The "office" is a dilapidated house with rotting window sills, a plethora of insect life, and an odd petroleum smell... but there are deer just outside my window on a golden afternoon under the trees.

Nov. 2nd, 2009

Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

All I want to do is whine. I know things aren't so bad, but still...

Oct. 29th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Writer's Block: Seeing stars

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Submitted By [info]blue_mariposa88


View 2288 Answers


V from V for Vendetta



Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

We recently got a license plate and vehicle description of at least one of the jerkwads dumping tires in our neighborhood from a good samaritan driving in the neighborhood. The other day while out walking the dog, [info]yamguitar got a little phone video of the truck in question pulling out of the dump site. The police have been to his house and even talked to him on the phone. They can't do much unless one of us in the neighborhood has actually seen them placing tires and is willing to prosecute. That makes it difficult, but at least he knows we know it's him and we're watching.

Actually, I say we neighbors gather up all the tires we can, go find his house (the police told us his street name and hey, we've got plates and a vehicle description already) and dump them all over his yard.

This neighborhood could be glorious... with its trees and hills and vistas, oh the vistas we have here... if only people would stop trying so goddamn hard to live in squalor.

Oct. 4th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Come See The Library Dragon!




WHO: Me, the delightful [info]elliedee , as the eponymous slitherer

WHAT: The Library Dragon by famed Atlanta storyteller, Carmen Agra Deedy

WHERE:
Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta, GA

WHEN: Tuesdays - Fridays @ 10am, Sat/Sun @ 2:30pm, now through Oct. 18

WHY: 'Cause it's hilarious for kids and adults alike! Recommended for ages 5 and up.


Sep. 15th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to wonder if Kanye West isn't a bit of a douche. Nah. It is just me.

Sep. 10th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Friday Five

1. Will or did you go on vacation this summer?
Yes

2. Where will/did you go?
New Orleans

3. What do you like about the place?
There is so much! I have always had this odd, powerful attraction to New Orleans. It has perhaps the most unique, individual character of any US city. It is warm and beautiful and subtropical and steeped in Southern Gothic charm while remaining extremely European in its attitudes and lifestyle. It is romantic and old and drenched in waters and silt and seafood... and rum. I really like the friends I have who live down there. It is an artistic city and one that is largely laissez faire when it comes to how individuals live their lives.

4. What don't you like about the place?
The cost of housing is high after Katrina. Several parts of the city still haven't recovered and the city's infrastructure is still wobbling from its losses. I have little interest in Bourbon Street or Mardi Gras. The corruption and crime that had been widely addressed and corrected in city government and services prior to the storm are back.

5. Where do you want to go next summer?

??????

Sep. 1st, 2009

Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

So, it seems that the payroll person entered SOMEONE ELSE's check as mine when she did payroll, AND she paid me at the rate I was paid for my last gig not what was negotiated for this gig. To her credit, she cut me a check today which I promptly cashed. But, this is the second time my payroll information has been input incorrectly and I haven't been paid in a timely fashion by this same company. Seriously?
Laurel Mucha

(no subject)

I am actually, officially watching Grey Gardens, the documentary, all the way through tonight. With every frame, I grow more terrified of my future.

Aug. 14th, 2009

Flat Ellie

(no subject)

Every day I have the best of intentions: exercise, walking the dog, housekeeping, sending out those actor packets, studying my lines, writing my screenplay. But, every day, when I'm finally able to carve a few solid hours out of my day to work on my stuff, I am overcome by a killing exhaustion. Then, when I do go lie down, I can't sleep.

Aug. 13th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

And, finally...

ALBUM #5
Tags:

Aug. 11th, 2009

Laurel Mucha

For those not on Facebook...

...who'd like to see our vacay/C&E wedding pics:

ALBUM #1

ALBUM #2

ALBUM #3

ALBUM #4

Album #5 is coming soon.


Tags:
Laurel Mucha

Two Lists

THINGS WE DID IN NEW ORLEANS
  1. Ate
    • The Gumbo Shop
    • Stanley!
    • Mona Lisa
    • Angeli on Decatur
    • Corner Tavern
    • Acme Oyster House
    • Broussard's
    • Commander's Palace
    • Cafe du Monde
  2. Toured (mostly self-guided)
    • St. Louis Cathedral
    • Jackson Square
    • The Garden District and Audubon Park
    • The French Market
    • St. Louis #1 Cemetery
    • Haunted History Tour, thanks to Charles and Elizabeth
  3. Shopped
    • The French Market
    • Hundreds of French Quarter gift and souvenir shops
  4. Swam... in the grimy but deliciously cool little pool in the courtyard of the Place D'Armes hotel
  5. Partied on Bourbon Street with bride and groom... barefoot (just me).
    • Cats' Meow
    • The Famous Door
  6. Slept... not enough
  7. Drank... too  much
  8. Visited with lots of friends including the NOLA factions
  9. Broke out in hives for some reason

THINGS I MUST DO NOW THAT WE'RE BACK

  1. Finish posting photos
  2. Type up travel journal
  3. Complete TPS1107 syllabus
  4. Post syllabus, if I can access servers
  5. Start buckling down on Dragon lines and music in prep for rehearsals starting
  6. Catch up at the Mountain
  7. Try to get over the fact that I'm no longer in New Orleans
Tags:

Aug. 1st, 2009

Laurel Mucha

Confessions of a Shop-a-holic

Spent most of yesterday shopping for NOLA clothes with [info]yamguitar Read more... )

Jul. 31st, 2009

Laurel Mucha

I got the ways and means...

Four days to Nawlins, y'all, for true!

I'm compiling a list of things to do near our hotel. As it stands...
  • Jackson Square
  • St. Louis Cathedral
  • French Quarter Visitors' Center
  • Cabildo
  • The Presbytere
  • New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum
  • The Cafe du Monde French Market
  • Cafe Beignet
  • Muriel's Bistro
  • New Orleans House
  • Cat's Meow Karaoke Bar
  • Marie Laveau House of Voodoo
  • Faulkner House Books
  • Jackson Brewery, which isn't a brewery at all
  • Woldenberg Park
  • Bourbon Street
  • The streetcar
CLOTHES - Check!
Well, all I need is an outfit for the wedding itself. I found a great one at Target yesterday but it was one size too small and was on clearance so they didn't have any more. Yam and I are supposed to go look today. I hope to get him in a seersucker suit and have him say things like, "Mayg-nooooooool- ya!" all day.

HOUSESITTERS - Check!

PACKING - no check

Oh, jeez, now the panic begins.

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Laurel Mucha

January 2010

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