Sorry guys, still a week behind. Somehow time continues to
move forward at a pace more rapid than the week before!
This week I began my first official, full week at the new
blog. I so enjoy the company: our
lunch breaks are full of banter and weekend anecdotes. And the relationship
with the café downstairs means lots of free coffee and tea, which is always a
plus. There is also a coveted music chord, which when hooked to your computer
means the entire office is subjected to your tunes. I continue to try to prove
my music taste worthwhile to my boss, who trusts me more now that I’ve declared
my love for bluegrass in addition to obscurity. I had the night off tonight and
of course, made it back from the gym in time for a rousing round of X-Factor. The whole family unit is really
addicted, each taking a vested interest in a performer and mercilessly
critiquing the performances of the others. Not as friendly as you were imagining, hey?
Tuesday continued our exciting improv performances (still festival time here!) and we had
quite the stacked audience. Brett, Kaps, Holly, Mrs. Noone and Ciara all spared their Tuesday night to
watch us perform. The performers (i.e Martha, Hannah and I) left a bit
distraught but our endlessly supportive attendees promised it wasn’t as painful
as we were imagining. Afterwards, we ventured to a nearby bar and found ourselves
in the middle of easily the most challenging game of trivia ever played. It was
soundtracked to current music but confused by the televisions streaming some of the best videos out of the 90's. I'll take "Don't Speak" as a background any day.
This Wednesday, I took a bit of a leap of faith in my talent and gave
Improv Melbourne a try. It is the leading company here and the important place
to be for any type of serious improv work. The class was cool, full of very supportive and
interested people and despite coming 30 minutes late (a very long commute/bus
ride mishap), the instructor was more than receptive to my presence. I was really taken by some of
the characters in the class, particularly the male who undoubtedly served as the
model for the “Kronk” character in Emperor’s New Groove. I really mean it- I’ve
never seen such a caricature of a face in my life. I immediately bonded with an Irish girl called Katie and we trained home, discussing theater ambitions and American tendencies to be competitive in nearly every setting. She had picked up on my intensity in class, apparently.
After work on Thursday, I met Bretts, Jimmy, Kappy and Ellie for
an Indian feast. We ate like sultans for $10.oo. It should be noted that I
learned a very valuable lesson at this dinner. When people are engaging in the consumption
of their food, it is not acceptable to attempt to initiate conversation. When
silence fell upon the table, I took this as a cue to ask an innocent and
overarching question: "How was everyone’s week?” The response to this was close
to murderous (largely glares and exasperated groans) and as a result, I will continue to
practice feeling comfortable in food-induced silence. We went to an incredible
gig afterwards (showed off some of their tunes last week) and Lauren, Holly and
I felt inspired to pick up the cello and marry a guitar-wielding male. Ali Barter
and Vance Joy performed for a very excited crowd packed into a wooded bar, with a really whimsical decor of autumnal tones and floral backdrops. The performance of note,
however, was not either headliner. Rather, it was the drummer whose facial
expression varied from worrisome anger (will he attack the singer, we wondered
aloud) to pure joy (alas, he will not because he seems really ecstatic). On the
ride home, we basked in the giddiness present from experiencing such a talent-filled show
and our sing-alongs were certainly worthy of some Mahogany Blog representation.
Friday, I headed into Beat after work and was gifted with
the greatest of all things: the chance to do album reviews. My editor summoned
me to his desk (his speech and general being is endlessly in a state of a hung-over drawl) and
asked me if I was up for reviewing some of the latest album releases. At Beat,
I often find myself masking my excitement in an attempt to not overwhelm the
“coolness” around me, i.e. the people who show a limited range of emotion,
fluctuating from mild semi-interest to apathy. Thus, I contained my “Oh my
gosh! That would be the coolest!” and deferred to my mental “Cool Translator”:
“Yeah, that would be rad. I’ve been checking some of these out, so I’m cool to
write on them”. Thank you mental
translator.
I headed to Brunswick after Beat for the big Friday show,
which was arguably one of the better improv shows I’ve been in. We were short on cast so the group was
intimate, which lent itself to a tremendously close and connected group
dynamic. The improvised musical number at the end was way more Irving Berlin than
we thought we could pull off and the audience nearly erupted at my Lauryn
Hill-esque ode to a stapler earlier in the show.
Hania was
visiting from the UK, so Pece picked me up to amble around St. Kilda with
Bretts and Kaz. We met Hania’s boyfriend Rich, whose close association with
Prince William was only exacerbated by his regal intonation and word choice. We
had a great night playing a highly competitive game of Jenga in a bar boasting
everything from a bed to a fish tank to BBQ grills in its interior.
Saturday started with a delicious brunch on Chapel Street
with Hania, Rich, Pece and Bretts. We had a wander in the sunshine afterwards and window shopped
effectively- no purchases made! I squeezed in a quick beach run between
strolling and the final improv show. The full cast in tow, our last show failed
to meet the standards set by the previous night but there were laughs to be had
despite some obvious conundrums. I caught up with Hannah and her sister
afterwards and at one point, I think the shrillness of our voices accurately mirrored the
excitement of our exchanges. Our anecdotes were just too funny, I guess, and we didn’t take the hearing needs of other
patrons into consideration.
Sunday was a lovely bonding day for Martha and me. The
weather was incredible so we basked in the sun and listened to music, opting for a beach walk for further Vitamin D absorption. I went to the market to buy supplies for dinner for the
family and ended up planning one of the seller's upcoming trip to the states. Feeling pleased with such a cool human connection, I ventured to the hot yoga class at the gym, coming home feeling peaceful and ready to try my hand at Thai food. Success!
So many good songs this week, had a hard time choosing!
Deerhoof: Sexy, But Sparkly
Daniel Rossen: Untitled
La Sera: Break My Heart
Haim: Don't Save Me
Lots of love xoxoxo
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