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Sunday, August 31, 2003 @ 7:57 PM
What Binghamton Looks Like
This is Champlain Hall, where I live.
Hey, look, it's a corner of room 231, where I live.
This is the door nametag my R.A. made for me. Cute, no?
This is the Fine Arts building, featuring the Watters Theatre.
This is our library. I haven't been by when it's actually open yet.
This is the University Union. I like the clock.
The sun sets on SUNY Bing. Another day closer to classes starting.
From Champlain 231
I made it here, somehow.
I am here.
Did you ever shift positions, after sitting in the same place for a really long time? Maybe you were sitting Indian-style for nineteen years and then you suddenly straightened your legs?
It's a feeling like that.
This is my mailing address: Kellie Powell BU #07313 POB 6007 Binghamton, NY 13902-6007
Lots and lots of pictures are coming soon.
Thursday, August 28, 2003 @ 1:28 PM
Da Goodbye
Four-ish hours to go.
Josh called me this morning, exactly five minutes after I woke up. We talked for a good long while before I realized it was a weekday and I was probably already over on my minutes. I had brunch with my Mom's, and then I picked up Donnelle. I made her a CD and she brought me a blue Fruit Roll-Up with tongue tattoos. This didn't feel quite as silly as I'm feeling describing it. For about ninety seconds, my tongue said: HOT! I'm going to miss that little fireball.
I'm leaving Normal without having said goodbye to Stephanie, which is not only sad, it's infuriating. I'm leaving in a little bit to see Julie and Liz, and Dan's catching up with me sometime before 4:00. We're leaving around five, as soon as Lindsay gets here. Me, my mom, my brother, and their girlfriends.
And beyond that... I have no plans, and no idea what to expect.
Fucking. Awesome!
Right about now, there are a lot of words floating around in my head. The words of Bret Swanson, the words of Green Day, quotes from Fight Club... But most prevalently is the simple phrase:
It's about time... that this world... goes up in flames...
Oh. My God.
Twelve hours to go. I'm leaving Normal in twelve hours. I'm not coming back for, like, three months. Jesus Christ. I don't have any friends there. I've never even been there before. I'll spend the first few days freaking out, and I'll spend several weeks after that alone in my room, making magnets.
I can't sleep. (Big f'n surprise, right?) When I get up tomorrow, I'm going to brunch with the Mom's. Then I'm meeting up with Dan, Donnelle, R.J., and maybe Julie J. and maybe Liz, and we're all going to go play or something. I'll kiss Julie goodbye if I get the chance to. I think that will be something.
And then, I'll go home, and I'll pack up the van, and my brother will get out of school, and then his girlfriend will arrive from wherever it is that she lives, and then we'll leave. And we'll drive through the night and into the next morning, and I'll show up at school looking half-dead and feeling worse, and then... then, the gravity of what I've gotten myself into will really hit me.
... This is going to be fun.
Monday, August 25, 2003 @ 9:59 PM
Scared For My Life
Lately... I'll be organizing my liferoom, and I'll pick up the Druid that Dan gave me, or a picture of Steph, Julie, and Cori playing Twister, and I'll realize: Oh, God, I'm leaving everything I've ever known behind in three days.
And then I think: Oh, wait. That's kind of the point.
Tonight, I'm going to watch The Godfather, and then go to Blockbuster to rent another batch of movies by my lonesome. Tomorrow, I'm hitting U-High, to drop off CD's and awards for the classes of 2004 & 2005. Wednesday I'll see whoever is still in town, and Thursday, I'll load up a van and read Player Piano all the way to a place where no one will know my name.
I'm psyched. Really. Don't let the terror fool you.
Saturday, August 23, 2003 @ 12:29 PM
The Last Supper
The second bi-annual spaghetti dinner was a tremendous success, despite the unbearable heat wave. It was strange though, because it was the first time I had seen most of the guests in a long while, and most of them also assumed it would be the last. So, they were saying "Hello and goodbye," only to see me again last night, and probably again this afternoon. I'm realizing that Goodbye is almost always a process.
Last night, Dan, Donnelle, Jeff, Caitlin and I all headed out to the middle of nowhere for a "party" thrown by Julie Fisher's boyfriend. The party was nonexistent when we got there, as we were the only guests. Also, we couldn't go inside the house. We put Jeff in the drunk and then three members of our group went streaking down the road. Just to pass the time.
What made the outing worth it was Caitlin's prank phone call to Jeff's new roommate. (I originally wrote Dan's new roommate, thanks Red for catching that.)
I've been trying to reach people, but it looks like a lot of people have taken off for their colleges. I thought I was leaving Wednesday night, but my mom changed our plans and now we're leaving Thursday night instead. So, I have six days.
Today, I'm letting my mother buy me clothes, and then I'm going to see American Wedding. 5:00 at the Palace if you're natcher ordinary grandma.
Thursday, August 21, 2003 @ 12:11 PM
See You in Purgatory, John...
The concert last night was great. The Julie-Ryan Uber-Being drove me a little up the wall with their gross couple-y-ness, but it was well worth it. Most of the old favorites had been re-worked, and it was a much different experience than listening to a CD. Also featured seizure-worthy lighting design and great segues.
As we were walking in to the Coronado Theatre, we saw two men with very gross, graphic signs. They were protesting abortion. When asked why they were standing in front of a theatre and not a clinic, they answered, "We were there yesterday, but nothing's going on there right now. This is where all the people are." And I guess things got a lot more heated after we got inside the building.
John Rzeznik greeted us thusly: "Hi, Fornicators! Sinners! Homosexuals! Women!" And then proceeded to tell us that he enjoyed watching through the windows as the concert-goers told the protestors to leave. He said, "That guy is going to be so surprised when he and I run into each other in Purgatory. He'll be like, 'What're you in for?' and I'll say, 'I drank a lot and cheated on my girlfriend... What're you in for?'
"...and he'll say, 'I stood in front of a Goo Goo Dolls concert and told people they were going to Hell.'"
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 @ 10:39 AM
Slow
Not much to report. Saw The Life of David Gale, and I highly reccommend it. I had lunch with Dan at Pizza Hut, and we had "our" waitress. Even though we hadn't been there in about a year, she remembered us and our drink orders.
I'm basically just tying up loose ends in Normal. It's not too interesting, but I'm trying to make some plans. Spaghetti and the like.
Cool T-Shirts Ideas From the Guerilla Theatre Troupe: * Homosexuality is gay * WWJD for a Klondike bar?
And to Dan, if he's reading:
BRB! -Christ
Saturday, August 16, 2003 @ 5:20 PM
Geeker Joy
Since I returned to the house on Hanson Drive, I've been unpacking, sorting through a closet full of clothes I never wear, and watching hours upon hours of TV. I barely got to watch any TV all summer, and now I'm trying to fit a summer's worth of TV into fourteen days. It's all kinds of pitiful, I know.
But...
Today, I was flipping through and caught part of an episode of "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" on Noggin, and guess what I saw? Steve Buscemi as a guidance counselor (and Ellen's father) and Janeane Garofalo as a teacher in an episode called "X = WHY?"
And something made me think that that was worth sharing with all of you. =)
Friday, August 15, 2003 @ 2:42 AM
Expect
So I moved out today. I was the last one of the three of us to start packing and the first one to finish. All that's waiting is the dreaded unpacking, sorting, and re-packing process. And my job. In theory, I have a job waiting for me.
I was here for less than an hour before my family started to drive me nuts. Ugh, Christ.
What was amusing, though, was when my mom and Maddy said that we needed to talk about what was expected of me for the next two weeks. One of them actually used the phrase, "Lay down the law." Which to really appreciate, you have to understand that there hasn't been any "law" to speak of for at least two years. Really they were just setting me up to give me a present. It was a new trench coat. (They're talking about burning the old one.)
I love my mom, and I love Maddy, too. (Or, as Dan calls her, "The tough lesbian ex-cop with a motorcycle and a heart of gold.") But I'm already plotting ways to spend as much time as possible out of the house. It's not that my family is annoying. It's just awkward for me to be here. I feel like a foreign exchange student. For serious.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 @ 5:41 PM
Thank You, Smashing Pumpkins
...Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed? Does it make you happy you're so strange?...
Last night, Dan and I saw Pirates..., which I liked very much in spite of myself. Ah, and Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp are gorgeous. (Justin's mom inspired the phrase "oddballian cinema" to describe Depp's work - feel free to adopt this addage). Then we had Justin, Kat, and Michelle over. Steph came home, and after the guests left, the three of us bought a disposable camera and headed to Maxwell Park for our last night as roommates. We took the pictures way too quickly, and played on the swings and junk until the police came and asked us to leave. I have dozens upon dozens of memories that took place in Maxwell Park, and now I have just a few more.
We all fell asleep in the living room at around three last night, and spent the afternoon packing. We listened to the brand-new "Summer of Trogdor Mix: Parent-free in 2003!" CD I made and played the "remember when?" game. Our silverware drawer contains three unused spoons. Almost every dish in the apartment is in or near the sink, waiting to be washed one last time. Seems more poetic than it probably is in actuality.
Tonight is the end-of-season banquet for the company. We will have awards and talk about what we would like the company to do and be, next. I hate the idea of leaving a brand-new company on hiatus. Partially because the connotative meaning (for me) of "on hiatus" is "dead (for a while?)".
This has been a weird and very difficult summer, for lots of reasons. I don't know if I could have gotten through it if I hadn't known that I'd be leaving in the fall. That has probably made all the difference.
And I'm not sure if I'm supposed to see the end for the beginning, or the beginning for the end. I'll let you know if I figure that out.
...Delivered from the blast The last of a line of lasts The pale princess of a palace cracked And now the kingdom comes Crashing down undone And I am a master of a nothing place Of recoil and grace...
Monday, August 11, 2003 @ 7:05 PM
From Inside, As Well
Three Days of Rain has ended. The Saturday and Sunday night shows were not nearly as well attended as Opening Night - we dwindled down to about twenty-five for closing night. And then disasters struck. Justin broke a door - not the one we built, but one that was already existent in the Coffeehouse. We lost an entire power strip for two minutes. Will forgot to light the scene of Steve thrashing through the rain. But, hey, c'est la vie, indie. On the plus side, Sunday night's audience was the most responsive, and I got some really positive feedback - and some not so positive feedback, but honestly? Anyone who didn' t love this show can fuck themselves, for serious. Strike was relatively painless. I still need to pick up the kitchen unit and clean out the sink with paint thinner, and return the key to the University Heights Church. Awards Night is going to be on Wednesday - if only I could find those ballots we made... =(
Last night the cast party turned into what I had been aiming for in the hotel - an epic monstrosity. This morning, we carried six bags of trash to the parking lot and then Stephanie swept up the crumbled crackers. I think I might someday write a play about the party last night. Just because it was so weird and I got the story in pieces. Like... Dan and Justin L. left on bikes to buy butter, cheese, and a spatula. Later, he made and sold grilled cheese sandwiches to the party guests. Willy W. hit on Katie Sans Pie and she fled in terror, forgetting her zombie game. Stephanie put make-up on David J. and then he tried to molest her while Bobnoxious threw up in the bathroom.
Sunday morning, I woke up with a black eye - well, actually, it was red. It later turned an odd shade of lavendar. I have no idea where it came from. David J. licked it, and it mysteriously got better. Today when I woke up, my eye wasn't swolen at all, but I found a gigantic bruise on my left thigh. Where the hell do these injuries keep coming from? Stephanie made breakfast for Bob and I, and then Josh showed up completely out of nowhere. I went with him the post office, and then I bought him a tank of gas as part of a Reality Bites style revenge plot (ask me). Then Erin showed up - also completely out of nowhere. Unfortunately, she was only in town for about an hour, but she'll be back on Saturday for move-in. We're already making lists of movies we want to rent and stuff we want to do.
Before I leave for New York, this is what I want to accomplish: * Go camping (or at least get together with friends and burn stuff) * Play Monopoly * Yell at David Robinson (or at least write him a scornful letter) * Collect and pay off all my debts (Krystal & Steph owe me, I owe Steve Vittitoe) * Get back The Usual Suspects from Bob and burn The Wallflower Mix for Paige * Get the Director Application form finished and put it on the Not My Shoes site * Make a collage * Write to Tessa * Have the ISU Crew over for spaghetti * See The Life of David Gale and Bowling for Columbine
Saturday, August 09, 2003 @ 4:22 PM
Talking to Rocks
Opening Night came and went. We had a great crowd. We had fifty chairs and fifty programs, and we could only find three programs leftover when the night was over. We made pretty good money, too. I kind of doubt we'll have as big a crowd tonight or Sunday, but you never know. I did mail out about 40 fliers and put up another 80. So, we'll see.
The show went really well, although I was paranoid the entire time because I'm practically deaf, therefore I assumed no one else in the room could hear. Everyone I talked to said they could hear fine, though, even Will who sat in the very back with me. I still plan to tell everyone to be louder.
We had three major disasters, and they all pertained to lighting. First, the strobe light fell from the ceiling during Act I scene 7. It nearly hit Lauren's little brother, but her mom grabbed it, steadied it, and then decided to let it hang there for a while. During the next blackout, I sent Will up to yank it out of the cord it was plugged into (and hanging by) and come back. Unfortunately, this wasn't quite as easy as we thought it would be. The lights went dark. Seth made his entrance in the darkness (as planned), and Nan said, "Hello?" and Seth said, "Oh! Jesus!", which ordinarilly would have been my cue to turn the lights on. But I wasn't going to turn the lights on until Will got back with the strobe light in hand. So, I waited. Seth improv-ed something like, "Where's the light switch?" And Nan replied, "I don't know." Then everyone heard an incredibly loud ripping noise - the noise of duct tape being ripped off of a wall. Everyone in the room burst out laughing - including me, in spite of myself. Will finally got back to the booth, I turned the lights on, Seth & Nan started their scene. I gave Will Irvin a big kiss on the side of his face and told him that as far as half the patrons were concerned, he stole the show.
Then the left practical, a lamp, wouldn't turn on. Finally we figured out that the bulb had died, ridiculous since it was only two weeks old. So, to make up for the missing light, we turned on the "rain outside" light to make up for it. Unfortunately, that light, because it had a gel attached to it, started to smoke. Will and I didn't notice, but Steve and Dan did, and Steve decided to unplug it. I, not knowing what the hell was going on, went to bitch him out, when he announced, "It was smoking." To which I could only say, "Oh. Well, good call then."
The cast party was infinitely smaller than I expected, but I had a good time getting to know Justin's girlfriend, Val; having Nietzche with Steve, and drinking lots and lots of Screwdrivers. Hopefully tonight's party will be the epic monstrosity I promised people.
I got plenty of compliments on the show - mostly pertaining to the casting. But most of them were hard to take seriously - they came mostly from family, friends, and former teachers of myself or cast members - for the most part, people who don't really know anything about theatre at all. What really made the night worthwhile, though, was Brandon.
He walked up to me, in the middle of Act II, and said, "Kellie! I just realized: Walker is the man his father wanted to be!"
Someone gets it. That's enough for me.
Thursday, August 07, 2003 @ 1:32 AM
Nightmare
Tonight I had a terrible, horrible nightmare, and now I can't get back to sleep. I dreamt that Krystal injured herself and couldn't be at rehearsal tonight, and didn't know how badly she had injured herself or how out-of-commission she would be for the next few days. So, being the only other person present who knew all of her lines, I had to take her place. I dreamed I had to go through all of it - kissing Steve, cuddling with Justin, showing my cast how bad of an actor I am and my under-arm hair... My cast just sat there, watching me. Asking themselves how I could consider myself qualified to lead them when I had no acting skills whatsoever. I dreamed that I took my anger and frustration and uncontrollable fear out on each of my actors, giving them just cause to resent me for the rest of my natural life. And then, Krystal called Steve and told him that she was fine, and would be at rehearsal tomorrow night.
Oh. Wait. No. All of that actually happened.
My bad.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003 @ 4:18 PM
Consider This Your Engraved Invitation
COME TO MY SHOW! Three Days of Rain Written by Richard Greenberg, Directed by Kellie Powell Starring: Dan Oltman, Seth Gorden, Lauren Schumacher, Steve Vittitoe, Krystal Wilcox, Justin Irvin Friday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 9 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 10 at 5:00 p.m. The Coffeehouse, Downtown Normal (114 E. Beaufort) IT'S FREE! More info: http://notmyshoes.net/threedays.html
And, if the prospect of seeing something wonderful that I directed is not quite enough incentive: There will be massive (and I do mean massive) parties afterwards.
Just so you know - if you don't come, I will probably never forgive you. I might pretend like I understand your reasons for not coming, but I will, most likely, carry a grudge against you to my grave. You might never know it, but I will resent you for an eternity.
The horrible part is, I'm really not kidding.
Catch Up
I could post about how Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were the longest and most difficult days I've had in quite a while. I could talk about why I'm so incredibly stressed about the show right now and how hard I'm fighting to not go off the deep end. But the thing is, every show has it's problems, and it always comes together. Three weeks ago, we didn't have a performance space. Two weeks ago, no one was off-book. This show is going to be spectacular, the best thing I've ever done. And I'm proud of what I do. And I'm lucky, because I have something in my life that I can be proud of.
By the end of this incredibly long day, Steven Vittitoe had become convinced that what I needed was to get really, really smashed. So: He brought liquor to my house and I drank with him and with my roommates. We bounced around to techno music and then Steve and I got caught up on each other's personal lives. It's amazing how much he doesn't know about me. I wasn't aware that there was anyone left in Normal, IL who didn't know that my parents are divorced, that my mother's a lesbian, and that my younger brother was kicked out of U-High and spent time in rehab. But apparently, Steve either didn't know this or didn't remember. We talked about all kinds of way-too-serious stuff. Like... grandparents dying. It was pretty intense, but Dan provided some much-needed comic relief.
Sunday, August 03, 2003 @ 1:48 AM
Just FYI...
I should be dating a Cancer. (June 21 - July 22.)
What Zodiac Sign Are You Attracted To?
Saturday, August 02, 2003 @ 1:18 AM
Off-Road
Forgive me, I'm a little punch-drunk right now... I had to stay up with a depressed roommate until about three in the morning, then I had to get up at six to go to St. Louis with Dan. I got home about twenty minutes ago, to find an e-mail from Mr. Weckesser, basically expressing that it might not be such a good idea for me to come to Michigan tomorrowlater today. I feel bad, because I wanted to see the show he's working on, and I'm not going to. But I'm also relieved. If I don't have to spend ten hours driving to and from Michigan, I have a lot more time to spend getting ready for Tech Week.
If you were wondering if I might need help, the answer is a big Yes. Call me so I can exercise my Mad Delegating Skillz.
I'm not sure of anything... but sure, I could use a hand. --DBC.
"I think Sideburn is a great name for a villain." --Kellie.
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