Homeworkouts & Hairdos

I started making a list of things I want to do before the grad school whatnot begins. But grad school decided to begin a little earlier than I anticipated.

I have homework. Already. From the school that *technically* I haven't even applied to yet.

(I know, I know. I've got to get on that whole application thing... But I did mail in the letter confirming my acceptance of their offer today, so that's something. I'll start contacting some new potential recommendation-letter-writers tomorrow. I promise. Or maybe Friday... I mean, the application isn't technically due until May 1...)

Yes. Homework.

Exercise homework. A sort of fitness regimen, if you will. A homeworkout.

And recommended reading. That'll be a piece of cake. I read with speed. The biggest problem with that one is actually shelling out cash to buy the books. What a pain. Why don't people just give me things for free?

The exercise thing is trickier (by the way, I think I have successfully learned how to spell exercise now. Yay for making an effort to keep my New Year's resolutions!). I hate exercise with a burning passion. So let me share what was written (everything in italics)...

Work on your fitness: aerobic, anaerobic, and flexibility and
flow.

I looked at that list and was briefly transported back to high school, as I'm sure that's the last time I came into contact with the word "anaerobic". Just that one sentence, and I was already groaning.

Running, speed walking, treadmills, elliptical machines, and swimming are good for aerobic work.

Well, running is out. Generally, I only run when I'm being chased. Or when I'm late for something. I mentally associate running with punishment. In gym class, whenever you did something wrong, you had to run laps. Punishment. Not something that you do for recreation. Speed walking is pretty much the same way. For some reason, I would actually consider a treadmill... but I don't have access to one. Same with an elliptical machine (to be honest, I'm not even positive what an elliptical machine is). And swimming is a big fat HA! I don't do swimming. I don't wear swimsuits. I don't much like large bodies of water. And I definitely don't want to be swimming where other people might be swimming. God forbid they should see me splashing around, completely clueless, wearing a hideous bathing suit and praying that my body looks less terrible when distorted by the water. No. Too terrible to contemplate.

I've been taking the stairs a lot at work (12 flights up a skyscraper, thank you very much), which I'm pretty sure is aerobic. Of course, that's only like 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week... But it's something. And I dance a lot, which I'm sure is aerobic... Alright, I've got to dance more. My coworker suggested buying something like Hip Hop Abs or Turbo Jam (the latter of which she owns), but I don't think I really want to shell out $60... (Although Rockin' Body did look tempting... I'm so easily suckered by informercials).

Cybex, Nautilus, Free Weights, Pilates, and Power Yoga are good for anaerobic work. Anaerobic work builds your stamina for voice and also ups your metabolism, helping you to use calories well and to burn more fat, thus becoming leaner.

I'm pretty sure that part of that first sentence was gibberish. Cybex? Nautilus? I think those were aliens in a sci-fi flick I saw once. My mother used to do pilates and tried to get me to give them a try once... I was bored out of my mind. Same thing happened when I tried Yoga, although I'm betting that "Power Yoga" is more active...

I think I'm going to buy some weights online, as this is the least repulsive of the suggestions. I had a whole discussion with my coworkers about how massive of weights to get today. I was thinking I should start small, like 2-3 pounds. One of them said to do 5, and the other said I was a wimp and should do 8-10. I don't know... I think I should go smaller and just do more reps... After all, the possibility of me hurting myself is pretty large, as I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

Do you think Tai Chi would count as anaerobic? I took a class in "Tai Chi for actors" once, and I totally dug it. Maybe I'll ask my professor if that would be alright...

Flexibility and Flow can be addressed through yoga, stretching classes, or body rolling work.

Seriously? There are such things as "stretching classes"? That just sounds funny. I'm not sure I want to know what "body rolling work" entails... And you already know my antagonistic attitude towards yoga... Damn. I can't figure out the least of the evils on this one... I'm pretty flexible already... Maybe I can get away without it? *sigh* I guess I'll look into this stretching and body rolling stuff. But I am NOT doing yoga.

There was nothing in the email about changing my diet, but I know I'm going to have to. Theatre grad school is extremely physically demanding (one of the current first years lost 40 pounds in 5 months). I'm going to have to start eating a lot healthier.

Also... The current first year class contained three vegetarians, and all of them switched over to eating meat within the first couple of months of the program. NOT because it's required of you; they don't care if you eat meat or not. But you need a lot of protein in your diet in order to get through it, and the easiest way to do that is by adding meat back into your diet.

I've also heard that when former vegetarians start eating meat again, they lose weight (which would be great... I could stand to lose a few pounds at the moment). Which I guess makes sense. I think I've been eating more since becoming a vegetarian in November. The food is lighter, so I don't feel as full as I used to. Sometimes I'll eat a whole meal, and then eat a slice of bread or two just so that I'll feel more satisfied. And I don't think I'm getting enough protein, which is probably sending my blood sugar completely out of whack and making me feel hungry sooner than I would if I were eating meat. And I'm lacto-ovo, which means I'm still eating cheese to help get protein (more than I used to, actually). And cheese is like 30% fat (for the record, I will never give up cheese... I'm addicted to it. But I should eat less of it). A lot of foods that are vegetarian-friendly are high in calories, carbs, or sugars. I know I'm eating more carbs than I used to (mostly pasta and bread -- which horrifies my South-Beached parents).

I know I have at least four readers who probably aren't thrilled with me after those last two paragraphs (three vegans and a vegetarian, that I know of)... Sorry guys. I told you back when I started that the vegetarian thing was going to be rough on me. I'm just proud of myself for lasting as long as I have. I'm sure I've helped to save several cows, chickens, and turkeys in the past four months. And I've developed a whole new appreciation for salad (especially with spinach leaves... and I love salad dressing. I highly recommend the Balsamic Vinaigrette and Honey Dijon Vinaigrette made by Cindy's Kitchen. I get them at Whole Foods). But I think we all knew it wasn't going to last... I love chicken fried rice far too much to be a vegetarian forever. I'll try to stay this way until I move to Florida. And who knows? Maybe I'll become a vegetarian again once I've finished grad school.

Really, though, I don't know what my reasons are for being a vegetarian in the first place. I don't care about animals at all. I don't believe in global warming (because it's all a lie... but that's a platform for another day). I think it's mostly just so that I can say I tried it. And part of it was because I thought it would be healthier (but the ways I compensate for no meat aren't healthier at all). And a little because it feels elitist to be able to say that I'm a vegetarian (which, I'm not going to lie, is fun). But I hate it. I miss meat so badly, I can't even tell you. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I'm completely miserable. You have no idea how badly I want to order chicken... Or a cheeseburger... Or even just eat Sloppy Joes.

Anyway.

As I said before, I started making a list of things I want to accomplish before grad school:

- Dye my hair something bold (don't worry, I'll explain)

- Finish the first draft of my novel-in-progress (wish me luck on this one... I've put 11 chapters online, and I STILL don't know where it's headed... I have plenty of plans and ideas, but not the entirety of the ending. I wouldn't care, but there are people reading it online now, and I don't want to disappoint them by leaving the story half-written and open-ended)

- Lose another 7-12 pounds (for the record, I could lose over 20 and still have a healthy BMI)

- Learn the musical A Tale of Two Cities well enough to discuss it (I own the demo, and the pre-Broadway run of it just took place at my grad school back in November. It would be handy information. Plus, I hear it's really great.)

- Whiten my teeth (and start wearing my retainer again... my teeth don't look as perfect as they used to)

- Read the 2 books Margaret recommended (obviously a recent addition)


I mentioned the hair thing briefly at the end of my last post. (ETA: Whoops. I think it was actually two posts ago.) So here's the deal... I have had pretty much the same hair my whole life. It was always long, because that's the way my mother liked it. That, and I was always doing plays. I thought that having long hair made me easier to cast (especially for things like Fiddler on the Roof). And then once I was in a show, I wasn't allowed to change my hair (pretty standard, really). So it stayed: long, brown, and boring.


(Amy, Meg, Megan, and me after a performance of "Fiddler on the Roof". I mentioned both Amy and Megan in Michigan Loves Me. Believe it or not, my hair was several inches longer than this at one point in time. November 1999.)

At one point, my hair reached down to my third lowest rib (I memorized that, as I figured it would never get that long again). I wanted it short so badly. I used to dream about cutting my hair...

So I did. One day, the summer before I went to college, I pulled out a pair of scissors and started cutting.


(After my haircut attempt. June 2002.)

Oh, I probably also should've mentioned that this was back when I *thought* I had straight hair, and fought with it constantly. I didn't realize how much texture my hair has until I got to college... Anyway, I thought I'd done a decent job (it wasn't nearly as uneven as it looks in this photo), but my mother was terrified and insisted that I go to a salon so that they could "fix it". Which was fine with me. It ended up getting even shorter.


(That's the best pic I could find of the short hair... sorry about the dark background. That's my friend Sean. Some people think he looks like John Mayer, but I don't see it. June 2002.)

With my hair short, I started noticing that it was indeed wavy.


(awwww... freshman me. October 2002.)

Although I fought it a great deal... That was the year I discovered straightening irons.


(me with Marisa. I ended up living with her in Rome our sophomore year. Spring 2003.)

And then I started missing it long. So I grew it out. And now, I get a haircut about once every nine months. (I'd post a picture, but I'm sure you know how my hair looks now. And if you don't, you can scroll up.)

As for color... It's pretty much always been brown. My mother used to insist that my grandmother would have a heart attack if I dyed it. After all, she grew up with my grandmother saying that you should "keep the color of hair that God gave you". But I dyed it black to play Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables, and she didn't seem to care. Since then, I've only dyed my hair with temporary dyes. They're supposed to wash out in two weeks, but they linger a little longer in my hair. I've done various types of red, purple, and black, but they really only tint my hair... It's never a drastic change.

Why? Because I have to look like my headshot. Those things are expensive as all get out. And when you don't look like your headshot, you really just have to toss them out and start over. Very important as an actor that they represent you.

But now, things are different...

Between now and the time I start grad school, I won't be in any shows. There's just no time. If I auditioned for something now, the performances would be going right around the time that I'd be quitting my job and packing like a mad woman. And while I want to look like my headshots when I get to grad school, I have a five month window when I don't feel obligated to look like me. And so I don't want to. I'm going to have to let jobs dictate the way I look for the rest of my life. I'm going to take advantage of this time and go nuts.

I don't want to change the length, as I like having it long at the moment. It's a lot easier now that I've figured out that I don't need to fight it to make it look good (I totally dig it in the picture at the top, for example... totally messy, but in the way that makes it look like it might be intentional). I still go through phases where I imagine grabbing scissors and chopping it off again, like I did that one time... maybe someday I'll stop fighting that urge. Just not now. For now, I'm keeping the hair.

I sent a text message to my stylist, Karen, to ask if I would make a good blonde. After all, I've worn blonde wigs in shows before... including one show where people told me that it looked great. (look in Theatre Changes Everything if you want to see... I've put enough pictures in this entry already). She responded that it would be way too much upkeep, considering how dark my hair is naturally.

I suggested becoming a redhead, but she thinks it would be tough to find a shade that would be good with my skin tone. She says I look good with dark hair, and should keep it dark.

Drat. Maybe I'll just dye it navy. Or violet. That'd be dark, right?

Her suggestion was to put in streaks of "copper and plum". So maybe I'll go that route... I just know that I want a big change while I can still have one. I wouldn't mind not looking like me for a few months. I'd like a break from being me, just for a little bit. I am an actress, after all. I love being people who aren't me.

My hair appointment is on Wednesday, the 26th. Karen said we can discuss it then. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them. The decision is still up in the air.

Moving on...

There have been four more introduction e-mails sent by my future classmates:

- One fellow is "a life long Alaskan" who likes to fish and hike. He is a songwriter and does slam poetry.

- A girl writes, "I'm from Southern California area, but I am not "So Cal"." Among her interests, she lists classic films, "science fiction nerding out", Alfred Hitchcock movies, vintage everything, old hollywood glamour, thrift shopping, and musical theatre.

- A thirty-something guy who got his BA back in 1997 (I was in 7th grade!). He's had a really interesting life, including being a nanny to twins and living in Japan for a year. And he's currently in the cast of the national tour of the musical The Wedding Singer (Side note: I LOVE THAT SHOW!)

- Another California girl (who went to undergrad with the one above... meaning that there are two sets of people in my class that know each other already from undergrad. Weird). She loves art (especially surrealism and modern). She loves dance (mainly hip-hop and modern). She loves to decorate. She also writes, "I am totally a poetry groupie, I can't do it worth a damn, but I am always there to support a great poet!"


I'm so excited. I think my class is going to be fascinating! There's only one guy who hasn't written back yet... I hope he does. I feel like I have an incomplete set or something right now since I'm missing his e-mail.

Anyway. I've got to go get dressed for the karaoke party I'm headed out to.


May you occasionally take a break from being yourself.
Don't be afraid to try on someone else's shoes (or hair).

~A~


P.S. I had an intense urge to title this post, "Work It out, Chameleon!". Haha! Oh, that makes me laugh (and for no good reason). But I decided it was a little strange, and that I would be the only one laughing.