an outline

change

I. things that have changed

a. our president
1. the inauguration of barack obama as the forty-fourth president of the united states took place on january 20, 2009. the inauguration, with a record attendance for any event held in washington d.c. marked the commencement of the four-year term of barack obama as president and joseph biden as vice president. with his inauguration as president of the united states, obama became the first african american to hold the office and the first president born in hawaii. the theme of the 56th inauguration was "a new birth of freedom," commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of abraham lincoln.

b. my relationship status
1. after two years, austin and i decided to call it quits. there are a few reasons why this is for the best.
i. our lives are very different from one another. although he being in school and me not being in school may not seem like a huge deal, it actually has taken quite a toll. being in school takes up the entirety of his time, and rightfully so. also, with me living in salt lake (which, no, is not THAT far from him, BUT) it is more difficult to spend what spare time we do have, together.
ii. we are both still young. too young to get married. and after 2 years of dating, what else is there to do? :)
iii. after a few month of calling ourselves "on a break" or "seeing other people," it was made clear that that wasn't really working, nor was it a very good idea in the first place. we both decided that being together wasn't right for either of us anymore, and are now manning up and calling it what it is. a break up.
2. worry not. we are still very good friends and probably always will be.

c. my casting rut
1. since moving to salt lake, i have auditioned and been called back for many shows, only to ultimately be told, "thanks, but no thanks." this was to be expected. you really have to put in your fair share of audition time before you actually get cast. (usually.) but finally, i have been told, "we'd like to cast you." woo hoo! i will be spending my summer performing in salt lake acting company's gem "saturday's voyeur." the cast and creative team are superb and i can't wait to start rehearsals in late april! (the beauty is it's a real job. i.e. it pays. well.)

II. things that must change

a. the weather
1. it's enough already with the snow and cold. it's lovely in december, bearable in january, but by february it becomes too much. the worst part is, i know it will most likely last through march. why?
2. also, i have a darling new beach cruiser whose soul is slowly dying as she sits in the garage, waiting to be taken to liberty park.

b. my hair
1. my locks are in dire need of a trim at the very least. however, i am currently in rehearsals for musical of musicals and have been forbidden by the costume designer to change my hair. i realize that a trim would not inflict his (the costume designer's) wrath, HOWEVER, i want a big change and plan to do so when the show closes, thus don't want to spend money on a trim when i'll no doubt be spending big bucks in the near future to make it look like this:
i. color:

ii. cut:

c. my attitude
1. i've had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about an incident of which i won't bore you with details. i assured myself, that given time, i would get over it, but am now infuriated - months later - that i simply haven't.
i. i'll gladly accept any tips on moving on, with open arms.
ii. i'm still confident that peace of mind is on its way.

d. my physique
1. it's not that i'm in terrible condition; i just figure while change is a big topic right now, i might as well include a change (perhaps upgrade is a better word) in my workout routine.
i. i was recently inspired by watching how gwyneth paltrow maintains her solid physique on oprah. she works out for 2 hours a day, 6 days a week (which may not always fit into my schedule) but she eats whatever she wants. i'm much more the type to work out more so that i can still eat carbs.

summary: the things that have already changed are great. i'm grateful for those changes. the things that must change, will. it's just the working and waiting for those changes that sometimes make me crazy. such is life.

peace.