Do You Remember, Dancing in September?

Well it's officially September. Can't you just hear that Earth, Wind, and Fire song playing? Labor Day is here and school has begun for kids of all ages. It's still kind of weird not to be one of them. There are college kids crawling all over Oakland, heading too and from class. But not me. There's not class for me this semester. We'll see about the next one still.

Saturday night, the Friends of the Park held a concert at Zelie Park. The Clarks, or should I say the Infamous Dicks, played a free concert on one of the ball fields to raise money for the park. The name change is due to the fact that the drummer was not part of the ensemble. They played Clarks songs and some great covers. Rawah and I had such a great time! I even knew most of the words!

It was such a great atmosphere, just sitting out on the baseball field with about 800 other Zelieites and enjoying a great concert. There were kids running around everywhere doing cartwheels and playing tag. It's definitly not something you'd find quite the same in the city.

Sunday Kurt and I took advantage of the georgeous weather and went bike riding at Moraine. Every time it gets pretty I say to myself I'm going to get my bike out and ride but there always seems to be something else to do. But I put my foot down yesterday and we loaded up the bikes, got air in my tires (yes it's been that long!) and set out. We only got lost once on the way there! There was a detour marked that we had to take, but instead of dropping us off at the North Shore like the original road was supposed to, we got turned around and ended up at the South Shore. Eventually we made it to the head of the trails and set out.

Now the bike trail at Moraine is 7 miels long if you do the whole thing, and it's not a loop. That means you could potentially take a 14 mile bike ride. Ha ha ha ha... no possible way. At least not for a while! So Kurt and I rode 3 miles out and 3 miles back in for a total of a 6 mile ride. Just about right. I wasn't completely exhausted and he wasn't completely fresh! The trail was very nice though, winding all through the woods with lots of little hills and some flat parts where you could see the lake. We'll have to do it again soon!

Tomorrow it's back to work after the long weekend, but at least there are things to look forward to on the horizon! Let's see, we've got:

Sept. 12: WVU Football Game
Sept. 15: My Birthday!!!!
Sept. 18-20: Mercyhurst Homecoming
Sept. 24-25: G20 in Pittsburgh
Oct. 7-10: Seattle to visit the relatives

Looks like I've got some interesting posts coming up on the horizon! 22 seems so old, but in 8 more days it'll be official. I don't know how to celebrate 22 though. Maybe I should make up for my dud of a 21st birthday (I was soo sick with a cold!) and do something exciting! Any thoughts?

Making Use of My Unusual Talents

Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I've been really interested in working on the stage. Not in front of the lights and the crowd, but behind the scenes making all the magic happen. I spent 4 years of high school doing Living Stations at St. Ferdinand's church working on lighting and 10th-12th grade running crew for the Seneca musicals. I loved the energy and the action! The little things that brought it all together for the audience and made it a real experience.

When I got to college I was lucky enough to get a work study job at the Performing Arts Center on campus. Whenever I wasn't studying or in class, I was at the theater putting up lights, mopping floors, hanging curtains, or running sound for a show. I spend most of my weekends and many of my weeknights backstage or behind a booth listening to speakers or rehersing lighting cues with the wind ensemble.

I was worried that once I graduated college I'd lose this important part of my life, because how many opportunities are out there for amateur stage hands who can't commit full time to a theater? Luckily for me, I found the perfect place!

The Strand Theater in Zelie just opened this summer, after more than 20 years of being closed and falling into disrepair. With a lot of hard work and love, it's been restored into a beautiful theater that we've been using every weekend since it opened last month! We've had live bands, classic films, and Debbie Reynolds! This past weekend, a local guitar school put on two concerts, each featuring 10 bands, all under the age of 18! They were great, and the theater was just about sold out!

I've been running projection and lighting for some of the larger shows, as well as taking my turn at the concessions booth during movies and other events.

I love working at a small theater like this because they appreciate all they help they can get, so my small contributions of time are welcomed whenever I can give them. There aren't many people my age who know the difference between sound and light cables, or how to focus a stage light without burning your hands. I guess college taught me something after all!

I needed something to get involved in now that college with all it's built in activities are over and this has been a great way to stay busy and see a lot of great movies and performances. I love that I can help out in my own community and still doing something I really enjoy! I wish all little towns could have a theater like this!

This weekend we're showing Casablanca! "Round up the usual suspects" and come out and see the Strand!

Hopefully I'll get back to this soon with all the rest of my happenings in the real world. It's amazing though how much time work takes up when you've got a full time job. Weekends just never seem long enough any more!