THE LIFE OF JEN

hey, my new username is lunaknows. please friend me. i am phasing this one out!

until later...

so tonight i went over to my friend nan's houses in allegan, as well as camp.

it made me feel a bit emotional.

there are a lot of memories there, both good and bad. driving down 102nd ave, with my windows/sun roof down with nothing but stars and a big old moon.... there's something awesome about driving for 40 minutes on back roads, surrounded by fields, with a handful of stop signs and one stoplight stopping you.

camp was the same old camp. floods of memories there. walked around with nan and heather and checked out what was new, what remained the same. very refreshing.

and i always love going to nan's. everyone always makes me feel really welcome, and i just feel great when i am out there. some of the best moments of my whole life took place in the woods/fields of bloomingdale.

so..... yeah.

until later....

well, it's been awhile since i have updated, mostly because i have been busy... and lazy... and totally absorbed in harry potter land. i finished book 7 in about 24 hours, and it was breathtaking, i thought. there were some absolutely heart-wrenching scenes, and upon finishing i immediately felt the sense of loss felt by many people. and i felt it for a good week. who am i kidding, i am still sort of feeling it. i cannot explain it, it's so nerdy because i know it is just a book... but it isn't. i know i wasn't a kid when i began reading the stories, but i was about 19, living in nyc, beginning to find myself. as i changed and morphed throughout my college years, the series was a constant in my life between moves and friends and everything else. i am sad to let it go!




also, OOTP was A-MA-ZING. it more than exceeded my expectations... so much so that i went to see it by myself a second time, and immediately felt like i wanted to start it over again. so i will probably see it a third time. it's weird, it is probably my least favorite book, but was definitely my favorite of the movies so far. and i am a big POA fan.

so now i am on vacation and planning on enjoying that despite getting a crown on my tooth wednesday morning. GROSS. call me if you'd like to hang out... i may be going to the beach on thursday if you have some time off and would like to come.

until later...

peace out, mr. wizard. you were loved by millions!

until later...

so last night i wasn't feeling very well. i had big plans to go swimming and maybe for a run, but i had this horrendous headache that i attribute to lack of good sleep. i went to bed early and am presently feeling much better than i do most mornings. i really have to make it my business to go to bed earlier.

in other news, in my fog-headed "i don't want to do anything" moment, i watched "real world denver- s$%& they shoulda shown". now, i actually watched the whole season this year, for some reason. but this show, it definitely lived up to it's title. what the crap were they playing all season when they could have been showing this stuff??? it was sooooooooooo funny. if you care about the denver cast and get a chance to catch it, it's worth it.

until later...

We all have great stories about our theatrical experiences so now it's time to share.

1) What was the first play you ever did? What role/job?
I think it was my fourth grade play, "Jackie and the Beanstalk." I was Swindler #1 and had to perform a rap about magic beans. "These beans, great beans, strong beans, fine beans... these ain't has beans, these are BEST beans..." etc. There's more. LOL.

2) What was your most recent show? What job/role?
Last show I did was "Reefer Madness" at Whole Art, playing Sally. Messy. A lot of falling down.

3) What was your most fun show/role?
Probably Peter Pan. Flying was hard work (much harder than it looks) but overall, I had sooooooooo much fun with the role and the people.

4) What was your most challenging show/role?
All of my American Eagle Productions shows in Chicago. Yes, they were children's theatres. But we didn't have rehearsals, just got a script and a video and sometimes a vocal tape if you asked nicely. You rehearsed by yourself for a week or two, learning dances and blocking off of the video and music from your vocal tape. Then you went on with the cast and the first time you ever did it with them was the first time you did it in front of an audience. Not to mention the added bonus of it being a tour, thereby always being in a new locale. Yikes. I learned a lot.

5) What is the most bizarre show or role you've ever done?
Hard to pick. Mary Ingalls in that redunkulous production of "Independence Day" is up there, pretending to be blind ("Sage!" "Onions!") was pretty funny.

6) Has anyone ever written a show for you?
My friend Neeley wrote a monologue with me in mind in college for her one-act play. I think it was about a jock getting her period for the first time. LOL, yup, that's me!

7) Have you ever gotten romantically involved with a co-star?
Eh, just Michael. LOL! We met during "Zombie Prom" in November of '05 and here we are.... still dating! :)

8) Have you ever quit a show to accept a better one?
In fifth grade I quit "Once Upon A Pea" at my elementary school (I think I was a dancer in the "My Perogative" dance and don't ask me what that has to do with "Princess and the Pea") to be in "Really Rosie" for CYT. I was pretty excited to be in a CYT show, that was a big deal.

9) Have you ever completely blown character on stage?
oh yeah. AEP was not necessarily professional for being technically professional. we were often breaking character. like that time dan was singing "come out and play" as ethel merman in a tigger suit. ot when i suddenly forgot aaaaaaall the words to a becky thatcher song and keith did not help... just humming and laughing at me. super.

10) What show are you just dying to do?
Hmm. I would like to play the Narrator in "Joseph". I'm excited about "Ragtime", it's been on the list for a long time. There are plenty of shows I'd like to do, but I think I have done a lot of my dream shows. I've been lucky. I'd like to do "Parade", someone do it!

11) Have you ever done one of your "dream" shows?
Title role in "Peter Pan". Audrey in "Little Shop". Star To Be in "Annie", but I'd like to play Hannigan when I'm old enough.

12) Who was your favorite director?
Ben, Randy, Roy Hine, Kathy Mulay

13) Who was your least favorite director?
Elbows McCokeySnort (for Bill)

14) What is the most surprising role you have ever been offered?
Ariel in "Footloose" for me, too. That was totally out of my comfort zone of what I usually did, and I think the director's took a chance on me and I appreciated that. I have not been able to shake the "sexy blonde" since, which is ridiculous considering how unsexy I consistently feel, lol.

15) Have you ever injured yourself onstage?
Ugh, the busted foot in "Reefer" was the worst, having to dance on that foot was nooooooooooot fun. The whole night was a blur.

16) Have you ever worked on an original play?
Just Neeley's piece. I would love to do a Late Night next year, though.

17) What show have you done multiple times?
i don't like to do shows twice. technically i did "annie" twice- was in it once, and directed it once.

18) Have you ever done different adaptations of the same show?
nope.

19) What roles do you usually get?
sluts. lots of sluts. and the occasional 10-yr-old boy.

20) Have you ever had an onstage kiss?
ugh, yes.

21) What was your scariest moment in a show?
again, busting my foot in "Reefer" was scary. didn't know what was wrong with it, it was soooooooo painful. also, that time hannah schubs bit the big one during "footloose" rehearsal, i thought she broke her neck. that time katie bit the big one jumping off the bridge in "footloose" was uber-scary too.

22) What is your best show memory?
So many good ones. Finale of "Fiddler" in '97. "Footloose" with all of my friends. "Little Shop" and "Peter Pan" were soooooooooooo much fun.

23) What is your worst show memory?
My dad died halfway through rehearsals for "Guy and Dolls" in high school. I did the show anyways, but that was a tough time.

24) Have you ever pulled a prank on someone in a show?
I think AEP was one big prank. I remember one time we decided I was going to play the baby spider instead of... i think Bill. Anyway, i thought dan was going to totally lose it, because he was not-so-good with not breaking onstage.

25) Have you ever been the recipient of a prank during a show?
Again. AEP. We were so bored with the mundane children's shows we just kinda messed around. Very professional.

You know what makes me crazy about my job?

Pop Tarts. Delicious Pop Tarts. Kinds you've never heard of because they are not in stores yet.

Like half strawberry/half blueberry. And Hot Chocolate, which I think is in stores now. And my new fave- Gingerbread. Yummy.

So now I need to resist because I want to lose 20 pounds this summer for "Ragtime". Can I do it? Maybe.

If I stay away from Pop Tarts.

until later...

so, anna is lucky she is so cute.

this morning she is eating cereal, and with a smile on her face, says, "you're a jerk." it was really funny. and she kinda said it to her special K more than to me. i laughed and then told her not to say it anmore.

also, in the car en route to school she was certainly jamming out to the allman brothers ("i like this song!!!"), complete with conga arms.

AND when we got to school she ran out on the playground, yelled "i'm wearin' underwears!" and pulled her shorts up to show everyone.

excellent.

<3 anna.

until later....

so....

i'm excited now.

*dancing commences*

until later...

OH YEAH, I get to go see a "Shrek 3" premiere with the girls tonight!

Pretty awesome. :)

until later...

i thought this day couldn't get more depressing till i just watched Barry Gibb on american idol. the only surviving bee gee singing terribly. pretty sad.

i digress. we lost another close family friend to cancer today. very sad. i don't know what else to say about that.

hugs for all.

until later...

hey guys,

in case you missed memos posted on myspace and facebook, birthday celebration tomorrow night at burdicks.... that's tuesday night at about 9:30. be there!

until later...

paris, have fun in jail.

hahahahahahahahahahahha.

Binder Park Zoo today. Anna is always fun at the zoo, but...

JEN: And those are prairie dogs.

ANNA: Do they say their prayers?

I thought this kinda stuff only happened to Bill Cosby.

until later...

um, what is super cute is anna.

yesterday afternoon she turned on her disney princess CD and started twirling around to little mermaid. in sunglasses, lipgloss, tinkerbell tshirt, purse, pull-up (no pants), and cinderella glass slippers. and then she started singing along.

"i've got gadgets and gizmoes a plenty. i've got whozits and whatzits *good lord*".

good lord. lololol. (in place of "galore" for you non-disney speakers.)

until later...

Aaaaaaaahhhhhh spring.

I love spring.

This weekend was totally busy, but nice anyways. Margo made her first communion, followed by a nice brunch at the club. She looked totally gorgeous in her dress, too. So cute.

Then Meg joined the throngs of WMU grads this weekend (congrats also to Allison and Prescott), only with a nursing degree in lieu of the traditional theatre degree. :) We threw a party at my apartment complex, it was pretty fun. I put together an embarassing little slideshow, I was kinda proud.

Yesterday Michael and I had some much needed outside time. Yes, we closed our laptops and rode bikes down the Celery Flats trail. Then we went to Putters for mini-golf and the batting cages. It felt sooooooooooo good to swing that bat. I had a few really good hits, too.

Today my arm hurts. LOL.

There are some really pretty flowers in this house right now, and they smell incredible. Hooray for another beautiful day!

until later....

is there a place that everyday kids like me can look at WMU cast lists?

i just wondered.

how are you all? i'm pretty good, enjoying my break. next on the agenda, auditioning for a show that the family i nanny for can see?

until later....

"reefer" closed.

i busted my footclosing night. it's not broken, just seriously bruised and veeeeeerrrrrrrry swollen. and tender.

i am back at work.

the end.

until later...

View of Carolina Beach

More sun, please!
The three of us (me, Kelly and Katie) on the steps of some federal building.

Well, friends. Here I am in North Carolina, day 3.5. I won't lie, it is totally beautiful here. It's been 85 degrees and mostly sunny since Kelly and I got here Sunday night. It is going to be a rude awakening if that snow isn't gone by the time we get home tomorrow night.

We have certainly had a relaxing time, though. It's been nice to enjoy the sun (and some color, woot!), Kelly and I were even bold enough to get in the ocean a few times. I even went under, because I am a badass. LOL. It's been fun hanging out with Katie, she has shown us a lot of really cool spots in Wilmington. I also was overjoyed to see palm trees in NC, something I didn't know they had here. Made vacation seem that much more tropical.

More details upon request. :)

See you all soon.

until later...

I just want to go on record as saying that if Miley Cyrus (ie Hannah Montanna) ends up anything like Lindsey Lohan, I will die inside. Because like Li-Lo was, she is beyond adorable.

The end.

Until later...