Let's start in the Mid...

About a month ago I started writing a musical. I've done this once before, and what came of it was my very first theatrical creation "Out of the Sandbox" Which you can find on my Directing Page....you can also listen to a sampling of the sound design I created via my SoundCloud.

Creating "Sandbox" was exhilarating. In retrospect I envy my younger self for not being afraid to tell a story in the way I thought it would best be told. My younger self made mistakes and missed opportunities and didn't exactly put together a perfect piece...and thank God for that. Because it was a success, despite all the stupid reasons we don't follow through with something creative. 

Okay - so - back to writing a new musical. The idea was, "hey, I have a bunch of songs I've written over the years...I wonder if I could fit some of them into a story!" So I did. 

So far it is title "Mid", and it's on its second-ish draft. It is the story of three women who are pulled, against their wills, into Mid, the land where people go when they die with unfinished business. We follow the women as they try and discover why they are there and how to get back to the land of the living. 

It has been wonderful to tell a story about women who are strong, weak, dynamic etc. The story is very fairytale-esque, (the only genre I seem able to explore as a writer!), and the music is, so far, singer-songwriter to the max. 

I have had the honor of receiving feedback from many talented storytellers who are also friends. I am also enlisting the help of a few fellow musicians to help me tell the music side of the story. I would like to always collaborate when I storytell; this process feels like the perfect opportunity to really stretch myself as far as getting feedback, communicating my creative intentions, and again, following through no matter what. My goal is to have a public reading/singing of this story.

That's all folks - for now!

-Gin

Gin, Jane and Jasper

I'm putting together a schedule/list of activities for my very special upcoming birthday. I'm turning 25 and wanted to make it memorable, social and a sort of milestone as 25 feels like an important one to me.

The plan has, for a while now, been to have an all-day crawl starting with Coffee, moving on to Books, and ending in Pubs :)

So far lots of people are interested, and regardless of how many people can make it, I know it will make a good day.

Reflecting on some of the things I love most is one of my favorite things to do. Favorite books, movies, authors, drinks, etc...for one I love making lists, and for two I love recalling the memories attached to each "favorite".

Here are a few of my favorite things and the memories attached:

"Gin and Tonic"
Currently my favorite cocktail
*When I first tasted Gin, I hated it.  But - I reasoned - it's basically my namesake drink...I immediately resolved to learn to love it...and for once that worked! Now I love the fresh taste. Plus, it always reminds me of a particularly involved evening of laughter, tears, drinking and revelry with my two roommates a few years back. You two know who you are.

"Jane Eyre"
Favorite Book
*this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. I read this book once a year, I practically revere Jane, and I find new and beautiful things in every read....oh yeah and I collect copies of the book :)

"Jasper Fforde"
Favorite Author
*Fforde has become my favorite author over the past few years and has stayed there. He is from Wales, he never attended university, he worked in film and he writes stories that are humorous, heartfelt, fantastical, and believable in the most wacky sense. Also his subject matter has included Jane Eyre, alternate realities, literary love, JMW Turner, and dodos. I'm a huge fan and I still retain a spot of misery for not being able to attend a booksigning when he was here in Seattle. Hopefully next time...


I have more - who doesn't? - but let's leave it at that.

-Gin

For here and for now...

I am going to post again...because I am embarking on my next adventure, which is Grad School. 

Also, writing regularly is objectively a good thing. 

Also, I want to write my memoirs one day and have been lately very inspired to get things started in that department.

My current state of residence is as follows: Seattle, WA, specifically on a sketchy street on Capitol Hill - 

I don't exactly know when the above was written but it had to have been in the last year! I am still living on said-sketchy street on Capitol Hill, I am halfway through my Grad program, and I am in a consistent state of panic and numbness.

A friend once got me onto the idea of what we will all title our autobiographies one day. Besides the initial fun of coming up with the title, the concept has stuck with me over the past couple of years.

In case you are wondering, it will be called "Lasagna Girl", potentially with an added qualifier, because I am the queen of self-qualifying :) The story of this title will have to wait for another post...

...over time I've added chapter titles to this autobiography. Again, I'll have to write posts later on detailing the stories behind each, but here are the chapters so far:

-What we Learned from Helens and Ces
-I Had a Twin but She Quit
-My Concern over Book Series and how they Forever Altered my Reading Experience
-You Try hand Try and Try; then you mess up once and THAT is when you would have succeeded...if you had tried.
-I love you Scar Face
-Is that MY Dragon?
-Unintential Punchlines

Today I'd like to share the latest chapter title, and some thoughts on the content:
"My Six-Week Summer"

The six weeks are the ones I am currently inhabiting. You see my grad program has us in school all year-long, so our one break comes in the very middle, for the next six weeks of a particularly beautiful Seattle summer.

Of course, when I say "beautiful", I am speaking strictly of the weather. Not to sound as depressed as I am, but seriously, this is a rough break so far.

I am currently working for a staffing company where the "flexible" schedule means my paycheck is equally "flexible" in content.

I've been unsuccessfully on the job hunt ever since leaving my last Quarter-Time Job several months back. Now that I am on "break", I can devote myself to the task whole-heartedly.

Now allow me to put a lid on the negativity for of moment. Because in all of the aweful that is job-hunt, roommate-hunt (this one ended successfully!), and happiness-hunt...I recently learned three very important very encouraging things about myself.

1. I love routine
2. I love working hard
3. I love financial independence
4. I do not like living alone (this one could change I suppose, depending on where I am in life)

These are things I am willing to bet a LOT of people love/don't like. These are things I should have already KNOWN about myself. Somehow these facts were rather knew to me. They are specifically things of which I have always assumed the opposite.

I thought I hated routine. I thought I was lazy. I thought I liked being taken care of in a lot of ways. And I definitely thought I just wanted to be left alone when it came to home-life.

So I hope there are others who are learning that they're previous self-identifiers are crap. Especially if they are things that you know, deep down, are negative for you.

Sending out all my love and hope. Will be happy to receive in return :)

-Gin