Clearly, I spake too soon in the last entry. Detailed narrative... sure, I have it in my head; next time, I should consider time constraints, too ;)
Today I attended the first meeting of the "Let's Have Coffee Meetup Group." Though there were only three of us who attended - Sam, the organizer, and Donna, apart from myself - I had lots of fun. The picture to the left is of me and Donna at the Pontiac Coffee House. It's a real neat place and definitely not your typical coffee shop, and they definitely have great coffee and food.
I've always preferred things like these - small, intimate gatherings where you really get to know other people - as opposed to loud, raucous parties where all you really do is drink and go crazy. I don't mind the latter occasionally, in fact, last night, I went out with the troops from the Arts Center of the Ozarks to Fayetteville for a night of drinks and punk rock. It was fun to spend some time with the actors outside of the theatre and get to know them a little bit more. Naturally, the ones that came were in my age group, though some of them even thought I wasn't old enough to gain admittance into a bar. Ha! That made my night ;) James, who plays Tranio in our production of Taming, treated us all out to a round of Tequila Sunrises.
The production is going well, I think, though some actors are struggling with memorizing their lines. As AD, it's my job to make sure that all the actors are there, to open up before and close down after rehearsals, and most importantly, be in charge of Line Rehearsals/Nights. I was fully in charge of rehearsals for the first time this Thursday (Harry, the Director, was there the first Line Rehearsal night to make sure I was okay with it). I had to push some of the actors a bit hard because they obviously did not spend much time studying their lines. What kills me the most is when they don't even know when they're supposed to say something! I tried to make sure though that I didn't push them too hard. At the end of it, Chris, who plays Gremio, said "thank you so much for your patience and leadership tonight, I could not have done it without you." Tom, who plays Baptista, also said his thanks and promised to work on his lines more. Wow. That made my whole evening.
As I spend more time here by myself and get to know myself more, I'm finding I'm a bit of an old soul. Or maybe that I'm simply an extrovert on the outside but I really am quite antisocial on the inside. For instance, I find that I enjoyed this morning's coffee meeting much more than last night's carousing... and that I'd rather travel or read a book or write than go out and party. Not that this is a new realization by any means - it's more of a reinforced thought in the back of my head.
This month has been both absolutely exhausting and exciting for a lot of people: Brad with his new house, me with my Bentonville and theatre stuff + handling Nestle while Rachel was out on vacation (what a slacker), Rachel with her stuff...man. I can't believe we're in mid-August already. Soon, it will be time to come back to Austin and then off to Florida for Letti's wedding! I am very excited and happy for Letti, she really deserves all the happiness and blessings in the world! We are also planning a sailing cruise while we are in town. It's been AGES for me and I so miss the ocean. So far, it'll be me, Rachel, Ruth, and Capri flying in.
Oh before I forget, Sam (from this morning's meetup group) shared a very useful site for you travellers out there. Check out http://xjet.com/. Really neat site and great deals on airfare from Austin to select cities! I'd have to fly out of Tulsa from this end, but the prices would make it worth the drive.
Hope all is well in your part of the world!
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This month I also had my annual review with my ever-so-awesome Boss, Brad. It was nauseating. I can't believe I only got 10 out of 15 Outstandings. That sickens me (I'm sure Brad will puke if he gets to read this :P).
I love reviews. I've always loved getting feedback on how I'm doing. I want to hear if I'm doing well or not, and if not, how I can improve on my stuff. Lots of exciting things came out of that meeting, the point most important being my future with RW3. I love this company and I love my job. The fact that they choose to invest so heavily in my professional and personal development - which ultimately benefits the company, of course - makes me feel that I can really make a big difference in our business and the world.
I mentioned to Brad a few weeks ago while I was in Austin on my plans to take an MBA and when we finally decide to open an office in England, to study theatre and lit there while I work. It feels so great to let him know of my dreams and just know that he supports me in everything (good) I do. So, for now, I am currently looking for good online MBA courses. Brad suggested I take an international MBA because that will be most fitting for when RW3 goes global. I stumbled across two strong contenders: Northeastern University and Thunderbird University. Both schools are internationally accredited and highly ranked by BusinessWeek and Forbes. I had my interview with an admissions officer from Northeastern yesterday, and he said it was his job to determine if I'm even qualified to begin with, and if so, to help me get in to the program (apparently, not very many are accepted).
The interview went really well though I told him I wasn't sure of the timeline as to when I start school just yet (I find setting realistic expectations at the very beginning helps a LOT in almost ANY situation). I also looked into the University of Phoenix program, but was not very impressed with their courses, plus they lacked the accreditation these other contenders have. So, we'll see. I'm very excited about this plus everything else I am sure will come pretty soon. We are looking to open an actual, physical office here and hire someone else to do more of the sales stuff. I hope our current prospect accepts. I think he's great.
So for now I must bid thee adieu...
See YOU at the tracks! :)
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